July 23, 2022 3:40 am
PITTSBURGH-The Pittsburgh Pirates acquired right handed pitcher Colin Holderman from the New York Mets on Friday. The Bucs traded designated hitter Daniel Voglebach in exchange for Holderman. The 26 year old reliever has a record of 4-0 with a 2.04 ERA in 15 appearances. Additionally, the Pirates activated outfielder Greg Allen from the 60 day injured list and designated for assignment Michael Perez.
July 23, 2022 3:58 am
PiITTSBURGH-The Pittsburgh Pirates signed four draft picks on Friday. They signed the 2022 Competitive Balance Round A pick Thomas Harrington, second round pick Hunter Barco, third round pick Jack Brannigan and eighth round pick Cy Nielson. Harrington is a right handed pitcher from Campbell University in North Carolina. Barco is a left handed pitcher from the University of Florida. Brannigan pitched and played third base for Notre Dame and Nielson is a left handed pitcher from Brigham Young. All four have been assigned to Pittsburgh’s Florida Complex League.
July 22, 2022 3:54 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Penguins avoided arbitration with forward Kasperi Kapanen, re-signing him to a two-year deal with an average annual value of $3.2 million. The deal, announced Thursday, keeps the former first-round pick at the same salary level as the three-year deal that expired at the end of the regular season. Kapanen was wildly inconsistent last season, scoring 11 goals to go with 21 assists in 79 games. His goal total marked the lowest of Kapanen’s career in a non-pandemic shortened season. Kapanen, who turns 26 this weekend, called last season the “worst” of his professional career. The re-signing indicates Pittsburgh’s management views the dip in his production as an anomaly. Kapanen has 63 goals and 89 assists in 321 games with Pittsburgh and Toronto. He has added five goals and eight assists in 38 playoff games.
July 22, 2022 3:49 am
MILWAUKEE (AP) – Blame it on lingering effects of the pandemic, resentment over the lockout or fears over the economy. Major League Baseball teams head into the final 2 1/2 months of the regular season struggling to fill the stands now that they no longer have to worry about pandemic-related attendance restrictions. MLB reached the All-Star break with an average attendance of 26,409. That represents a drop of 5.4% from the All-Star break of 2019. That’s the last season that wasn’t impacted by the pandemic.
July 22, 2022 3:48 am
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) – Kyler Murray has agreed to a long-term contract that will keep the quarterback with the Arizona Cardinals through the 2028 season. The two-time Pro Bowl selection was taken with the No. 1 overall pick out of Oklahoma after he won the Heisman Trophy and has largely delivered in his quest to make the Cardinals a better franchise. Arizona had a 5-10-1 record during his rookie season in 2019 but the Cardinals improved to 11-6 last season before losing to the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Wild Card round during the playoffs.
July 21, 2022 3:46 am
WASHINGTON, Pa. – The Wild Things played host to the 21st Frontier League All-Star Game Wednesday night. Washington welcomed the best players from the league for the third time in franchise history and the first since 2013. Nine Wild Things were represented for the West, but the East all-stars stole the show, winning 8-1. The East collected 11 total hits while the West tallied eight. There were no errors recorded in the All-Star Game in front of a crowd of 3,748 fans. Tri-City shortstop Pavin Parks was named All-Star Game MVP finishing 2-for-3 with a single, solo home run, and two runs scored. Frontier League play resumes on Friday concluding All-Star festivities to begin the second half of the 2022 season.
July 21, 2022 3:49 am
RALEIGH. N.C. (AP) – Charles Johnson, the former Colorado receiver who won a Super Bowl title with New England in a nine-year NFL career, has died. He was 50. The university confirmed Johnson’s death Wednesday through Heritage High School, the Wake Forest school where he was an assistant athletic director. WNCN-TV in Raleigh reported Wednesday that police found a body in a hotel room Sunday during a welfare check at a Hampton Inn and Suites and that a preliminary investigation indicated no signs of foul play. Johnson was selected 17th overall by Pittsburgh in 1994 and played for the Steelers, Philadelphia, New England and Buffalo. At Colorado, Johnson was a freshman on the Buffaloes’ 1990 national championship team.
July 20, 2022 3:41 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Giancarlo Stanton and Byron Buxton homered back-to-back in the fourth inning to rally the American League over the National League 3-2 in the All-Star Game. It was the AL’s ninth straight victory in the Midsummer Classic. Nine-time All-Star Clayton Kershaw got the first start of his career for the NL and pitched one inning. He gave up a leadoff single to Los Angeles two-way star Shohei Ohtani. The NL got a solo shot by Paul Goldschmidt and Dodgers star Mookie Betts had an RBI single in the first. Dodger Stadium hosted the All-Star Game for the first time since 1980.
July 20, 2022 3:43 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Clayton Kershaw’s news conference after his first All-Star Game start was nearly over when Blake Grice spoke up. The 10-year-old from Denver said his grandfather was a Dodgers fan and a Redondo Beach native who died of brain cancer. Meeting Kershaw allowed Blake to check off an item on his grandfather’s bucket list. Kershaw smiled and grabbed Blake in a protective hug. Kershaw is reminded of what he means to baseball and to Los Angeles during every start he makes at Dodger Stadium. He serendipitously got his first chance to start an All-Star Game in his home park, and he met the occasion with an eventful, scoreless first inning.
July 20, 2022 3:45 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred is defending the sport’s treatment of minor leaguers, prompting immediate criticism from the players’ advocacy group. Manfred says the sport has made “real strides in the last few years in terms of what minor league players are paid.” A minor league advocacy group called Manfred’s comments “callous and false.”
