April 15, 2026 4:21 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — CJ Abrams went 3 for 4 with a home run, a double and two RBIs as the Washington Nationals held off the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-4. Abrams hit a solo shot down the left-field line in the fourth inning. He also hit the third of three consecutive RBI singles in the first inning. The shortstop is 9 for 17 in his last five games with three home runs and seven RBIs. Mitchell Parker (1-0) struck out five in two scoreless innings of relief as the Nationals won for the fourth time in five games. Gus Varland got the save. Brandon Lowe and Joey Bart hit solo homers for the Pirates.
April 15, 2026 4:21 am
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Jimmy Snuggerud scored twice and assisted on both of Dylan Holloway’s goals in the third period as the St. Louis Blues rallied from a three-goal deficit to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 7-5 on Tuesday night. Pittsburgh raced out to a 3-0 lead in the first period despite resting most of its regular players, including Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, with the playoffs looming this weekend. The Blues surged ahead with five consecutive goals in just over 20 minutes, with Holloway and Pavel Buchnevich scoring 44 seconds apart in the third period.
April 15, 2026 4:23 am
NFL reporter Dianna Russini has resigned from The Athletic less than a week after published photos of her and New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel at an Arizona resort prompted an internal investigation at The New York Times-owned sports outlet. The New York Post last week published the photos of Vrabel and Russini at the Sedona hotel and said they were taken before the NFL owners meetings that began in Phoenix on March 29. Russini joined The Athletic in 2023 after nearly a decade at ESPN, where she held various roles, including SportsCenter anchor, NFL analyst and insider. She hosted a podcast for The Athletic and made appearances on their video platform.
April 15, 2026 4:25 am
Sergio Garcia has apologized for his tantrum during the final round of the Masters. Garcia hit a bad tee shot on the second hole and twice slammed his driver into the turf. He also slammed the club against a bench and broke off the head. The Masters had an official issue a code-of-conduct warning to him a few holes later. It’s the first time the conduct policy has been used at the Masters. Garcia says he respects and values everything about the Masters and Augusta National and regrets the way he acted. He says that has no place in golf.
April 14, 2026 4:23 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Paul Skenes allowed one hit in six strong innings and Brandon Lowe homered for the third time in two games, driving in five runs as the Pittsburgh Pirates steamrolled the Washington Nationals 16-5 to begin a four-game series. Skenes struck out six and walked one while improving to 7-1 in his last 11 home starts. The only run he gave up came on a first-inning homer by CJ Abrams. Lowe became the first Pirates player to knock in at least five runs in consecutive games since RBIs became an official statistic in 1920. Spencer Horwitz also homered for Pittsburgh.
April 14, 2026 4:25 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Philadelphia Flyers have clinched a playoff spot for the first time since 2018, defeating the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2 in a shootout. Tyson Foerster scored the decisive goal on Monday night, setting up a first-round matchup with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Flyers coach Rick Tocchet and general manager Danny Briere have been instrumental in the team’s rebuild, focusing on young talent like Matvei Michkov and Trevor Zegras. Fans celebrated the long-awaited return to the playoffs, marking a significant milestone for a franchise with one of the NHL’s longest championship droughts.
April 14, 2026 4:26 am
Famed ESPN broadcaster Dick Vitale is facing another battle with cancer. Vitale said Monday that biopsy results had confirmed a diagnosis of melanoma in his lung and liver cavity, which will have him starting immunotherapy. It marks his fifth battle with cancer. That fight sidelined him from the airwaves for two years before his return shortly before March Madness in 2025. In a statement from ESPN, the 86-year-old announcer affectionately known as “Dickie V” says he’s “fully confident I’m going to make it 5 for 5″ in beating cancer.
April 13, 2026 4:25 am
CHICAGO (AP) — Michael Busch ended an 0-for-30 slide with a tying, two-run single in the eighth inning and Carson Kelly had a winning single in the ninth as the Chicago Cubs overcame a five-run deficit to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-6. Brandon Lowe hit a grand slam and a solo homer off Jameson Taillon, and Oneil Cruz homered leading off the game for Pittsburgh, which led 5-0 before third-inning solo homers by Dansby Swanson and Moisés Ballesteros against Bubba Chandler.
April 13, 2026 4:23 am
HOUSTON (AP) — Phil Garner, a three-time All-Star infielder who went on to manage the Houston Astros to their first World Series appearance, has died. He was 76. Garner’s family issued a statement Sunday saying Garner died Saturday after a two-plus-year battle with pancreatic cancer. Nicknamed “Scrap Iron” for his blue-collar approach to the game, Garner had a 16-year playing career with the Oakland Athletics, Pittsburgh Pirates, Astros, Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants. He made All-Star teams with Oakland in 1976 and with Pittsburgh in 1980 and 1981. (PHOTO: Pittsburgh Pirates)
April 13, 2026 4:26 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Logan Thompson stopped 24 shots, and the Washington Capitals kept their slim playoff hopes alive by beating the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-0 in perhaps the final home of Alex Ovechkin’s brilliant career. To reach the postseason, the Capitals must defeat Columbus in the season finale Tuesday night and hope Philadelphia fails to win either of its last two games. The 40-year-old Ovechkin intends wait until the offseason to decide whether to retire or return for a 22nd season. The all-time NHL leader in goals with 929, Ovechkin has played in every game this season and leads the Capitals in goals (32) and points (63). The spirited, sellout crowd saluted Ovechkin during Sunday’s game with chants of “One more year!” and “Ovi! Ovi! Ovi!”
