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ByAndrewBaggarly BayAreaNewsGroup SANFRANCISCO BusterPoseydid not appear to be in pain. His face did not crease into a grimace. In the moments after a 93 mph fast- ball drilled him behind the left ear, he sat in the dirt and stared ahead. He looked like he was ponder- ing where he left his car keys. The first baseball game of the seasonatThirdandKingisalways a celebratory affair, full of cere- mony, saturated sights and plush sounds. But there was a minute of sickening silence shortly after the perfect, three-part harmony of the cast of "Hamilton" and be- fore cheers that accompanied Mark Melancon's recording the fi- nal out in the Giants' 4-1 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks. The loudest and least forget- table sound of the afternoon was the thwack in the first inning when Taijuan Walker threw a pitch that Posey could not avoid. The ball struck him on the hel- met and its impact crumpled him to the dirt. It was the second pitch that Posey saw at home this season, and although he was able to get up under his own power, there was no discussion about trying to stay in the game. The Giants put Posey through a full concussion protocol. They did not diagnose him with one, and Posey told teammates that he felt fine. But the Giants have gone to NATIONAL LEAGUE WITHOUTPOSEY,GIANTS SUBDUE DIAMONDBACKS Ca tc he r l ea ve s g am e a er t ak in g p it ch t o t he h el me t NHATV.MEYER—BAYAREANEWSGROUP The Giants' Buster Posey lays on the ground a er being hit by a pitch in his helmet on Monday. THEARON W. HENDERSON — GETTY IMAGES The Giants' Brandon Crawford scores on a throwing error by Arizona pitcher Taijuan Walker to catcher Jeff Mathis in the bottom of the fourth inning on Monday. By John Hickey Bay Area News Group KANSAS CITY The A's believe they are watching the maturation of a good young starting pitcher in Jharel Cotton. Then on a day like Monday in a 2-0 win over the Royals, he gets them to thinking he's mature al- ready, even at 25 with less than 10 Major League games to his credit. The Royals were riding the crest of an emotional pregame in which they saluted Yordano Ventura, who died in an automobile accident over the winter. The A's didn't know Ven- tura all that well, but many of them were moved by the tribute and the return of Ventura's wife, Maria, to Kauffman Stadium Monday after- noon. The ceremonies broke into Cot- ton's pregame warmup rituals. Then all he did was go out and allow two singles and no runs over seven in- nings as the A's, now 4-4, beat the Royals for the seventh consecutive time dating back to last season. "He seemed calm and poised," catcher Stephen Vogt said. "For those who weren't watching him warm up, he got interrupted about four or five different times. For him to keep his focus, he came out of the gates ready to go." Cotton, hammered for eight hits and five runs in his first start, threw fastballs almost exclusively early on, AMERICAN LEAGUE Cotton stymies Royals offense with seven sparkling innings Staff report PARADISE Corning's Jared Burreson and Marc Lengtat took first and second respectively in a cold, wet Paradise tournament Thursday at Tuscan Ridge Golf Course. Burreson went 39 out and 41 back for a winning 80 for the round and Lengtat was 41 out and 44 back for a second place 85 on the day. Third place went to Paradise's Anthony McDowell, who went 44 out and 47 back for a 91. Oroville's Wyatt Brown took fourth with a 47 out and 46 back for 93. The Cardinals took second place as a team, with a card of 600, behind Paradise at 565. The Oroville Tigers took third and the Las Plumas Thunderbirds took fourth. Juan Ramirez shot a 134 for the Cardinals, Randy Reynolds shot 145 and Clyde Talley carded a 156. The Cardinals were scheduled to return to action Monday at Lake Shastina. The Red Bluff Spartans are scheduled to return to the course with a 1:30 p.m. shotgun start Thursday, April 27 at Butte Creek Country Club, hosted by the Chico Panthers. GOLF Burreson, Lengtat finish 1, 2 at Paradise tournament By Cam Inman Bay Area News Group SANTACLARA All 49ers reported Monday for the start of their first offseason program under coach Kyle Shanahan. Cornerback Tra- maine Brock wasn't among them, however, because of his release Friday after a domestic-violence arrest. "This definitely sends a mes- sage to do the right thing, not only on the field but off the field," said left tackle Joe Staley, the 49ers' longest-tenured player who's en- tering his 11th season. Shanahan said he didn't intend to use his first team address to make an example of Brock, who officially showed up on Monday's waiver wire for a failed physical based on a preexisting injury. "You're dealing with people's lives so I never want to use a situ- ation as 'sending a message,' Sha- nahan said. "It's just us trying to do the right thing, whatever that is. Each situation is different." Brock spent the past eight seasons with the 49ers, and he started 31 of their past 32 games at left cornerback. His arrest, however, resulted in his release. "We spent the day trying to figure out all the information as much as you can," Shanahan said. "You never do get all of it, but there was enough there that we felt it was a decision we had to make and move on from (Brock)." Shanahan said he relayed "a bunch" of messages in his first team address, and running back Carlos Hyde's favorite takeaway was Shanahan's desire for every- one to "be the best." Shanahan replaced Chip Kelly 49ERS Pl ay er s re po rt to offseason pr og ra m, minus Brock Staff report RED BLUFF The Red Bluff Spar- tans baseball team (13-2 overall, 6-1 league) were scheduled to kick off play at the Fresno Easter Clas- sic Monday against the Consumnes Oaks Wolfpack (9-5 overall, 7-5 league). TheSpartanswillcontinueatthe tournament through Wednesday. The Lady Spartans softball team (15-9 overall, 1-2 league) is scheduled to visit the Durham Trojans (9-8 overall, 1-1 league) for a non-league game at 4 p.m. Wednesday. Corning The Corning Cardinals base- ball team (5-5-1 overall, 2-1 league) is scheduled to begin play Tuesday at the Shasta Lake Spring Slam tournament in Shasta Lake City. Play will continue at the tourna- ment Thursday. The Cardinals are scheduled to host the Gridley Bulldogs (8- 7-1 overall, 1-2 league) at 4 p.m. Wednesday. The Lady Cardinals (5-6 over- all, 0-3 league) are scheduled to host the Durham Trojans at 4 p.m. Tuesday and the Gridley Bulldogs (3-8 overall, 0-3 league) at 4 p.m. Wednesday. Los Molinos The Los Molinos Bulldogs (5-1 overall, 2-0 league) are scheduled to visit the Williams Yellowjack- ets (0-9 overall, 0-2 league) at 4 p.m. Wednesday. The Lady Bulldogs (3-4 over- all, 1-2 league) are scheduled to visit the Williams Yellowjackets (3-5 league, 0-1 league) at 4 p.m. Wednesday. Both teams will be off after Wednesday until they host the Mercy Warriors boys and girls Tuesday, April 25. Mercy The Mercy Warriors (2-7-1 over- all, 0-1 league) are scheduled to host the Burney Raiders (8-5 over- all, 1-2 league) at 6:30 p.m. Tues- day at Diamond Park in Red Bluff. The Mercy Lady Warriors (1-3 overall, 1-0 league) are scheduled to host the Burney Raiders (14-4-1 overall, 3-0 league) at 4 p.m. Tues- day at Diamond Park. Tennis The Spartans tennis team is scheduled to visit the Chico Pan- thers at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday. The Cardinals tennis team was scheduled to host the WSL Championships Monday and host the Anderson Cubs at 3:30 p.m. Thursday. Track The Spartans track team is scheduled to visit Oroville's Har- rison Stadium for a 2:30 p.m. meet Wednesday. PREP BEAT SpartansbaseballatFresnotourney GIANTS PAGE 2 ORLIN WAGNER — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS A's starting pitcher Jharel Cotton delivers to a Kansas City Royals batter during the first inning on Monday. A'S PAGE 2 49ERS PAGE 2 SPORTS » redbluffdailynews.com Tuesday, April 11, 2017 MORE ATFACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS B1