April 12, 2023 3:54 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Buddy Robinson and Andres Athanasiou scored 26 seconds apart in the third period and the Chicago Blackhawks dealt the Pittsburgh Penguins’ playoff chances a significant blow in a 5-2 win. Pittsburgh began the night needing wins in its last two games over Chicago and Columbus to extend the longest active playoff streak in major North American professional sports to 17. Instead, Petr Mrazek made 38 saves for the Blackhawks to stun the Penguins in their home finale. Florida clinched a playoff spot with Pittsburgh’s loss.
April 10, 2023 3:56 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Rookie Ji-Hwan Bae hit a game-ending three-run homer in the ninth inning, and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Houston Astros 7-4. Pittsburgh led 4-2 entering the ninth, but Houston’s Chas McCormick hit a tying one-out, two-run double off closer David Bednar, who blew his first save opportunity in five chances. Rodolfo Castro led off the bottom of the ninth with a single against Ryan Pressly and pinch-hitter Andrew McCutchen singled with one out before Bae drove a 2-2 changeup 403 feet to right-center for his second career homer and first walk-off hit. Ji-Man Choi and Jack Suwinski also homered for the Pirates, who have won six of eight.
April 10, 2023 3:49 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Yordan Alvarez had three hits and boosted his RBI total to a major-league-leading 16 by driving in two runs in the Houston Astros’ 8-2 win over Pittsburgh. Kyle Tucker added two hits and drove in three runs as the reigning World Series champions sent the fast-starting Pirates to the second loss in their last seven games. Framber Valdez allowed two runs on three hits in seven innings to earn his first victory of the season. Ji Man Choi hit his first home run of the year for Pittsburgh.
April 11, 2023 3:51 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Oneil Cruz will miss at least four months after having surgery to repair a fractured left ankle. Cruz sustained the injury while sliding home awkwardly during a 1-0 victory over the Chicago White Sox. The Pirates placed the 24-year-old Cruz on the 10-day injured list and recalled utility player Mark Mathias from Triple-A Indianapolis. Rodolfo Castro will get the majority of playing time at shortstop in Cruz’s absence. Cruz’s injury comes with the Pirates off to their best start since 2018.
April 10, 2023 1:10 am
PITTSBURGH (WPXI) – Pirates star shortstop Oneil Cruz is going to miss time after fracturing an ankle in Sunday’s game against the Chicago White Sox. The injury happened on a play at the plate, Cruz slid awkwardly in a collision at home plate and stayed on the ground for several minutes while the two teams emptied the benches in a minor skirmish. Manager Derek Shelton said it’s too early to tell how long Cruz will be out of action. Cruz had one home run and three stolen bases on the year before leaving the game on Sunday. Johan Oviedo outdueled Michael Kopech to lead the Pirates past the White Sox 1-0. Oviedo (1-0) allowed five hits — all singles — and struck out five in 6 2/3 innings as the Pirates won for the fifth time in six games. David Bednar retired the side in the ninth for his fourth save.
April 10, 2023 3:27 am
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Jon Rahm has become the fourth Spaniard to win the Masters. Rahm trailed Brooks Koepka by four shots to start the marathon day of 30 holes, which was necessary to complete the rain-delayed third round. He wound up with a runaway victory when Koepka collapsed in the final round. Phil Mickelson turned in a 65 for a remarkable charge by the 52-year-old three-time Masters champion. But that was never going to be enough. Rahm won his second major championship and moves back to No. 1 in the world. The Masters is his fourth victory of the year. Mickelson and Koepka carry the flag for LIV Golf by tying for second four shots back of Rahm.
April 10, 2023 3:25 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Boston Bruins have broken the NHL record for wins in a season after beating the Philadelphia Flyers 5-3 behind David Pastrnak’s hat trick that got him to 60 goals for the first time in his career. Bruins picked up their 63rd win to break a tie with the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings and 2018-19 Tampa Bay Lightning. Charlie Coyle and Pavel Zacha also scored and Jeremy Swayman made 34 saves for Boston. The Presidents’ Trophy winners were without several key contributors including top two centers Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci and No. 1 defenseman Charlie McAvoy. They nevertheless won their sixth in a row.
April 9, 2023 6:19 am
DETROIT (AP) — Sidney Crosby became the 15th player in NHL history to reach 1,500 career points, scoring two goals and adding an assist in the Pittsburgh Penguins’ crucial 5-1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings. Crosby has 550 goals and 950 assists and is the sixth-fastest player to hit the 1,500-point milestone, accomplishing it in his 1,188th game. The milestone came on a power-play goal at 3:01 of the third period. Alex Nylander, Danton Heinen and Evgeni Malkin also scored for the Penguins, who are fighting for a playoff with less than a week left in the regular season.
April 9, 2023 6:21 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Yasmani Grandal, Luis Robert, Oscar Colás had two hits and drove in two runs each to lead the Chicago White Sox past the Pittsburgh Pirates 11-5. Tim Anderson, Andrew Benintendi and Andrew Vaughn also had two hits each for Chicago, which jumped on Pittsburgh starter Vince Velasquez (0-2) early to end a two-game skid. Andrew McCutchen had three hits for the Pirates, including his first home run for Pittsburgh since 2017.
April 9, 2023 6:22 am
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Heavy rain that left pools of standing water across Augusta National brought play to a halt at the Masters on Saturday. That means Brooks Koepka and the rest of the field will have a long Sunday slog to determine who will wear the green jacket. Many players had returned to the course early Saturday to finish their second rounds and were greeted by heavy, cold rain. It briefly subsided for the start of the third round, but rain returned and play was suspended with the leaders on the front nine. That means they will finish the third round early Sunday before playing the final round.
