October 4, 2023 4:59 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Joe Christopher, an outfielder on the 1962 expansion New York Mets, died Tuesday in Edgewood, Maryland. He was 87. The Mets said he died at his home, where he was receiving hospice care. Christopher made his big league debut with Pittsburgh in 1958 and appeared in three games in the 1960 World Series. He was selected by the Mets in the 1962 expansion draft. He spent four seasons with New York, was traded to Boston and spent a final season with the Red Sox in 1966. Christopher had a .260 career batting average with 29 homers and 173 RBIs.
October 3, 2023 4:33 am
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Rookie cornerback Devon Witherspoon scored on a 97-yard interception return late in the third quarter and the Seattle Seahawks tied a team record with 11 sacks in a 24-3 victory over the struggling and offensively inept New York Giants. Geno Smith threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to DK Metcalf late in the first quarter after a strip-sack by defensive end Mario Edwards Jr. set up a short drive. Kenneth Walker III added 1-yard TD run as the Seahawks (3-1) won their third straight. Bobby Wagner, Jordyn Brooks, Witherspoon and Uchenna Nwosu each had two sacks. Wagner also had 17 tackles. The Giants are 1-3.
October 3, 2023 4:30 am
The Pittsburgh Penguins are hoping for a return to normalcy after missing the playoffs for the first time since 2006 last spring. The Penguins made a splash during the offseason by acquiring three-time Norris Trophy-winning defenseman Erik Karlsson from San Jose. Pittsburgh also signed promising defenseman Ryan Graves in free agency. Franchise icons Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang remain the club’s foundation. Crosby and Malkin are coming off productive seasons and Karlsson’s arrival should take some of the scoring load off their shoulders.
October 2, 2023 4:40 am
PITTSBURGH — According to an NFL Network report, Steelers QB Kenny Pickett suffered a bone bruise and muscle strain against the Texans in his left knee. That leaves the door is open for Pickett to suit up and play against the Ravens if things progress well. Mitch Trubisky finished out the game Sunday in Houston and would appear to be in line to start if Pickett cannot go. Pickett was seen in the locker room on Monday without a knee brace on his injured left knee. The quarterback appeared in good spirits after suffering a reported MCL sprain in that knee on a fourth down sack by Texans defensive Jonathan Greenard. We could find out more about his injury when Mike Tomlin meets with reporters at noon today. You can hear his news conference on 1450AM.
October 2, 2023 4:42 am
HOUSTON (AP) — Rookie C.J. Stroud had another big game Sunday, throwing for 306 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Houston Texans to a 30-6 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. It’s the second straight win for the Texans and their first at home since beating the Chargers on Dec. 26, 2021. Houston’s 24-point win marked its largest margin of victory since a 57-14 win over Tennessee on Oct. 1, 2017. Stroud, the second overall pick in the draft, continued his strong start and he threw a TD pass to get things going in a first half where they built a 16-0 lead. Sunday was his second 300-yard passing game and he has thrown six touchdown passes with no interceptions in his first four games.
October 2, 2023 4:40 am
HOUSTON (AP) — Pittsburgh quarterback Kenny Pickett sustained a knee injury in the third quarter Sunday against the Houston Texans and it’s unclear if he’ll play next week. Pickett threw for 114 yards with an interception and struggled to move the offense before leaving with the injury. The loss ends a two-game winning streak for the Steelers (2-2) and will likely increase the pressure on third-year offensive coordinator Matt Canada after another subpar offensive performance. Tomlin said Pickett is being evaluated and that he’d know more about his injury later in the week.
October 2, 2023 4:49 am
PITTSBURGH — Miguel Andujar and Jack Suwinski delivered run scoring doubles in the eigth inning as the Pirates closed out the season with a 3-0 shutout win over the Miami Marlins at PNC Park. Dauri Moreta gets the win in relief. He struck out the side in the eighth inning and David Bednar closed it out with his 39th save. The Pirates finish the season with a 76-86 record. That’s 14 games better than last season.
October 2, 2023 4:51 am
PHOENIX (AP) — MLB’s postseason bracket is set, with the American League and National League wild-card matchups beginning Tuesday. It’s the second year for the new October format, which includes an opening round, best-of-three series with all of the games at the higher seed’s ballpark. In the AL, the No. 6 seed Toronto Blue Jays will face the No. 3 Minnesota Twins and the No. 5 Texas Rangers travel to the No. 4 Tampa Bay Rays. The NL features the No. 6 Arizona Diamondbacks against the No. 3 Milwaukee Brewers and the No. 5 Miami Marlins at the No. 4 Philadelphia Phillies.
October 2, 2023 4:41 am
BOSTON (AP) — Tim Wakefield, the knuckleballing workhorse of the Red Sox pitching staff who bounced back after giving up a season-ending home run to the Yankees in the 2003 playoffs to help Boston win its curse-busting World Series title the following year, has died. He was 57. The Red Sox announced his death in a statement Sunday. Wakefield had brain cancer, according to ex-teammate Curt Schilling, who outed the illness on a podcast last week — drawing an outpouring of support for Wakefield. The Red Sox confirmed an illness at the time but did not elaborate, saying Wakefield had requested privacy.
October 2, 2023 4:44 am
GUIDONIA MONTECELIO, Italy (AP) — The Ryder Cup is staying in Europe, just like always. Team Europe had a big lead at Marco Simone outside of Rome and made sure it capped off a dominant week. Rory McIlroy won his match to become the leading scorer for Europe for the first time. Tommy Fleetwood delivered the winner by driving the 16th green to assure the half-point Europe needed. The Americans were never really in this Ryder Cup after falling behind big on the first day. They were coming off a 10-point win at Whistling Straits and thought this might be the year they ended three decades of losing on European soil. The final score was 16 1/2-11 1/2.
