July 4, 2026 9:19 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — Braxton Ashcraft won his fourth consecutive start and the Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Washington Nationals 7-1 Saturday afternoon. Henry Davis and Brandon Lowe both drove in two runs for Pittsburgh, which got back to .500 at 45-45 after dropping three of its past four. James Wood hit a leadoff homer for the Nationals, whose three-game winning streak ended. Ashcraft allowed a run and six hits in 5 2/3 innings and struck out seven. The 26-year-old right-hander has a 3.04 ERA and 32 strikeouts in four starts since June 17 and has won eight of his past nine decisions.
July 3, 2026 11:12 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — Luis García Jr. and Daylen Lile each homered twice, and José Tena also went deep for Washington as the Nationals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 9-5. Foster Griffin allowed a run and four hits in five innings, lowering his ERA to 2.87 for the Nationals. Washington has won five of six. Bryan Reynolds homered for Pittsburgh’s only run. Mitch Keller allowed five runs and eight hits in six innings. The temperature at game time was 100 degrees, and the ball was certainly carrying.
July 4, 2026 3:35 am
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Lionel Messi and Argentina beat Cape Verde 3-2 on Friday and advanced to the World Cup Round of 16 in a thrilling match in which the tiny island nation challenged the reigning champion until the final minutes of extra time. The go-ahead score for Argentina was credited as an own-goal after Cristian Romero’s header deflected off Cape Verde’s Diney Borges in the 111th minute. Messi scored early in regulation, his record-extending 20th career World Cup goal. Argentina advanced to face Egypt in Atlanta on Tuesday.
July 4, 2026 3:43 am
NEW YORK (AP) — The WNBA has gotten a lot more attention the past few seasons with the addition of Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and others to the league. A multi-billion dollar media rights deal, million dollar salaries and higher attendance have been the positives. An increase of social media vitriol toward players and teams has been the negative. Social media hatred toward players and teams is nothing new and isn’t just directed toward WNBA players. It’s been going on for more than a decade toward the league and its players. However, it has gotten worse lately with players and coaches receiving threats for things that happen on the court.
July 3, 2026 1:13 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Esmerlyn Valdez tripled, singled and knocked in two runs, Endy Rodriguez and Nick Gonzales homered and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Philadelphia Phillies 6-1 on Thursday. The Pirates split their four-game series in Philadelphia, closing with a win against a Phillies team that had won 11 of its previous 15 games at Citizens Bank Park. Jake Mangum had three hits and a run scored, while Brandon Lowe had a pair of hits, scored a run and reached safely three times for Pittsburgh. The Pirates had 14 hits and limited the Phillies to four.
July 3, 2026 4:22 am
Alex Ovechkin is returning for a 22nd NHL season after re-signing with the Washington Capitals. The league’s career goal-scoring record holder inked a deal with a $1 million salary and bonuses worth an additional $8 million. Ovechkin turns 41 in September. He has 929 goals after scoring 32 in his 40-year-old season. The Russian superstar broke Wayne Gretzky’s mark of 894 goals in April 2025. He had said in recent months he was waiting until the offseason to decide whether to return or retire. Ovechkin in a news release sent out by the Capitals declared, “I’m back.”
July 3, 2026 4:25 am
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Stewart Cink got off to a great start in a bid to win his third straight senior major. Cink was the only player to make five birdies on the back nine at Scioto Country Club on Thursday, shooting a 3-under 67 for a share of the first-round lead in the U.S. Senior Open with Charlie Wi. The 53-year-old Cink has four wins in nine PGA Tour Champions starts this year, including the Senior PGA Championship and the Tradition. The last player to win the Senior PGA, Tradition and U.S. Senior Open in the same year was Jack Nicklaus in 1991. Scioto, the Donald Ross course hosting its third U.S. Senior Open, is where Nicklaus learned to play the game.
July 1, 2026 4:17 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Trea Turner hit a three-run home run during a five-run second inning, Bryce Harper’s misjudged double scored two runs in the fourth, and the Philadelphia Phillies beat struggling Pittsburgh ace Paul Skenes and the Pirates 10-6. Skenes (6-8) lasted four innings, allowing six hits and a season-high seven earned runs. He has not won in his last nine starts. Henry Davis hit a homer as the Pirates scored twice in the third, but Brandon Marsh got one of those runs back with a solo shot in the bottom half. Orion Kerkering (6-0) got five straight outs in the seventh and Jhoan Duran pitched the ninth for his 22nd save.
July 2, 2026 4:20 am
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Folarin Balogun scored his third goal of the World Cup before being sent off with a red card in the second half, and Malik Tillman converted on a free kick to give the 10-man United States squad a 2-0 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina to advance to the round of 16. Balogun dominated the first half with his goal and several other chances that helped the U.S. control the match early but the Americans had to scramble down a man after his foul against Tarik Muharemovic in the 64th minute. Tillman helped seal the win when he scored on a free kick from just outside the box in the 82nd minute.
July 2, 2026 4:23 am
LONDON (AP) — Barbora Krejcikova needed seven match points to knock French Open champion Mirra Andreeva out of Wimbledon in the biggest upset of the women’s tournament so far. Coco Gauff also reached the third round after coming from a break down in the third set to beat Solana Sierra. Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka and men’s No. 1 Jannik Sinner also advanced. Novak Djokovic finished off Day 3 by beating Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 on Centre Court to continue his quest for a 25th major title.
