July 3, 2024 4:28 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Nolan Gorman hit his second career grand slam, and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-4. Matt Carpenter dropped a soft single into left to load the bases with no outs in the fourth inning. Gorman followed with his 17th homer of the season, a 415-foot drive to left-center on a 1-2 sweeper from Mitch Keller. Cardinals starter Kyle Gibson gave up four runs, all in the fifth, and five hits in five innings. He struck out eight and walked one. Ryan Helsley struck out one in a perfect ninth inning, earning his major league-leading 31st save in 32 opportunities.
July 3, 2024 4:29 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Shohei Ohtani won’t participate in the Home Run Derby on July 15 despite the Japanese superstar ranking second in the majors with 27 homers for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Ohtani has taken part in the Derby just once, exiting in the first round in 2021 at Coors Field in Denver. This year’s event is at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. He says he’s in the middle of his rehab from an injured elbow ligament and subsequent surgery last fall that is keeping him from pitching this season. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts says it’s not Ohtani’s responsibility alone to the carry the sport.
July 3, 2024 4:52 am
PITTSBURGH — The Penguins have released the regular season schedule. The team released the schedule on Tuesday, a day after announcing the 2024-25 regular season starts in Pittsburgh against the division-rival New York Rangers on Oct. 9 at 7:30 p.m. Following the home opener, the team plays seven of the next nine games on the road but then plays 14 games in a 20-game stretch at home. The team says November is packed with home games, including a five-game homestand against San Jose, Tampa Bay, Winnipeg, the first-ever matchup against the Utah Hockey Club and Vancouver. The team also has five-game homestands in January and March and plays 14 sets of back-to-back games. Pittsburgh faces each Metropolitan Division opponent twice, each Western Conference opponent twice and each Atlantic Division opponent three times.
July 3, 2024 4:31 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese will team up on the WNBA All-Star team to play against the U.S. Olympic team led by A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart. The pair of remarkable rookies were selected Tuesday by a combination of votes from the media, fans, players and the league’s 12 coaches to play in Phoenix on July 20. Clark was the leading vote-getter from the fans with her Indiana teammate Aliyah Boston finishing second. Reese was fifth. Joining the rookies on the WNBA team were DeWanna Bonner and Brionna Jones of Connecticut, Allisha Gray of Atlanta, Dearica Hamby of Los Angeles, Jonquel Jones of New York, Kayla McBride of Minnesota, Kelsey Mitchell of Indiana, Nneka Ogwumike of Seattle and Arike Ogunbowale of Dallas.
July 3, 2024 4:30 am
LONDON (AP) — Novak Djokovic wore a gray sleeve on his surgically repaired right knee while winning his first-round match at Wimbledon. Djokovic never faced a break point along the way to a 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 victory over qualifier Vit Kopriva in under two hours on Tuesday. It was Djokovic’s first match since tearing the meniscus in his knee at the French Open on June 3. The 37-year-old Djokovic has won seven of his men’s-record 24 Grand Slam titles at the All England Club and was the runner-up to Carlos Alcaraz last year. Djokovic hurt his knee during a five-set win at Roland Garros, then had surgery in Paris on June 5.
July 2, 2024 4:37 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – The Pittsburgh Penguins have traded forward Reilly Smith. Smith goes to the New York Rangers for a 2025 5th-round draft pick and a 2027 2nd-round draft pick, the team announced Monday. Smith was with the Penguins for one season, scoring 13 goals and 27 assists for 40 points in 76 games. The Penguins will retain 25% of Smith’s salary.
July 2, 2024 4:39 am
The Nashville Predators made a big splash on the opening day of NHL free agency by signing Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault and Brady Skjei. Marchessault, the 2023 playoff MVP got a five-year deal worth $27.5 million. Stamkos leaves Tampa Bay after 16 seasons that included winning the Stanley Cup twice and making two other trips to the final. He signed for $32 million over four years. Jake Guentzel signed with the Lightning as part of them replacing Stamkos. Teams combined to commit a record $1.12 billion in salaries.
July 2, 2024 4:40 am
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The United States was eliminated from the Copa America with a 1-0 loss to Uruguay on a questionable second-half goal by Mathías Olivera, a defeat that will increase pressure on the U.S. Soccer Federation to remove coach Gregg Berhalter before the 2026 World Cup. Uruguay scored when Nicolas De La Cruz swung a free kick in front of the U.S. goal. Matt Turner parried a header by Ronald Araújo, who outjumped defender Tim Ream, but the rebound went right to Mathias Olivera and he tapped the ball in with his left foot. Olivera appeared to be offside on the initial header.
July 2, 2024 4:40 am
WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Naomi Osaka has played a match at Wimbledon for the first time in five years and played at the tournament for the first time in six. The former No. 1-ranked player has won four Grand Slam titles elsewhere but has never been a big fan of grass-court tennis. Osaka moved into the second round at the All England Club by pulling out a 6-1, 1-6, 6-4 victory over Diane Parry. Coco Gauff and Emma Raducanu also won. And so did defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, who said he felt nerves before facing a qualifier at Centre Court. One of the tournament favorites, Aryna Sabalenka, pulled out with a shoulder injury.
July 1, 2024 4:35 am
ATLANTA (AP) — Oneil Cruz and Rowdy Tellez hit two-run homers in the fifth inning and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Atlanta Braves 4-2 to avoid a three-game sweep. Pirates left fielder Bryan Reynolds’ 25-game hitting streak ended. It was the longest streak in the majors this season. Cruz’s homer traveled 452 feet and reached the right field seats quickly with a listed exit velocity of 117.3 mph. Schwellenbach walked Edward Olivares before Tellez hit his fourth homer off the right field foul pole. Left-hander Bailey Falter allowed only one run in five innings despite four walks.
