July 19, 2022 1:45 pm
With a huge role in WPIAL and PIAA baseball championships and an NCAA tournament win under his belt, former Canon-McMillan star Cam Weston was drafted last night by the Baltimore Orioles, the first pick in the eighth round of the MLB Amateur Draft. Now a junior at the University of Michigan, Weston tossed 81.2 innings this year for the Wolverines, second most on the squad, finishing the season with a 5-4 record with 92 strikeouts vs. 38 walks, including 2.1 scoreless innings of relief in the NCAA tournament win over Oregon. The right-hander was named to the Big Ten All-Tournament team following the Wolverines’ championship run. Weston was on the mound for the final inning when Canon-McMillan won the 2018 PIAA 6A Baseball championship, closing out a 10-3 win over Bensalem for the Big Macs’ second state baseball title.
July 19, 2022 3:46 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Washington Nationals star Juan Soto won his first Home Run Derby. He held off Seattle Mariners rookie Julio Rodríguez in the final 19-18. The 23-year-old Soto hit 53 total homers to win the mid-season power showcase, showing off his incredible talent. Soto was locked in at the plate even during a tumultuous recent stretch packed with speculation about his possible departure from the Nats after turning down a huge contract extension. Soto beat Cleveland’s José Ramírez 18-17 in the first round before getting past 42-year-old Albert Pujols 16-15 to reach the final.
July 19, 2022 3:47 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) – A lot of baseball fans are likely to be rooting for the All-Star Game to be tied after nine innings on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium. That’s because of a new rule this year that says if the All-Star Game goes to extra innings, it will instead be decided by a Home Run Derby. The American League and National League will each send up three hitters, and they’ll get three swings apiece to determine the winner. With the All-Star Home Run Derby always popular the night before the game, Major League Baseball decided to make a slugging showcase part of the Midsummer Classic. New York Mets star Pete Alonso has already told NL manager Brian Snitker that hed gladly take part.
July 19, 2022 3:49 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Major League Baseball is considering a pitch clock for next year along with shift limits, larger bases and restrictions on pickoff attempts. A clock experiment in the minor leagues cut the average this year to 2 hours, 37 minutes from 3 hours, 4 minutes at a similar point for non-clock games last year. The average time of nine-inning MLB games increased from 2 hours, 43 minutes in 2003 to 3 hours, 13 minutes in 2020 before dropping to 3 hours, 2 minutes so far this season. An 11-person competition committee with six management representatives, four players and one umpire will make the decisions. Limited use of robot plate umpires is possible as early as 2024.
July 18, 2022 3:01 am
DENVER (AP) — Kevin Newman and Michael Chavis had three hits apiece, and the Pittsburgh Pirates ended their 12-game road trip with a 8-3 win over the Colorado Rockies. Jason Delay and Jake Marisnick also had two hits and Tyler Beede (1-1) pitched two innings of relief for the Pirates. Pittsburgh had a season-high 16 hits to end a four-game skid and finish its 11-day, four-city trip 6-6.Elías Díaz doubled and tripled for Colorado, which had its five-game winning streak snapped. Brendan Rodgers and C.J. Cron had two hits each and Austin Gomber allowed three runs — two earned — in five innings of work for the Rockies.
July 18, 2022 3:06 am
The Pittsburgh Pirates selected shortstop Termarr Johnson with the fourth overall selection in the 2022 First-Year Player Draft on Sunday. The 18-year-old Johnson was rated the No. 4 prospect in the draft by both MLB Pipeline and Baseball America and was tabbed by the latter as the “Best Pure Hitter”, second- “Closest to the Majors” and tied for third for “Best Defensive Infielder” among high school players in this year’s draft. MLB Pipeline also rated Johnson as the “Best Hitter” in this year’s draft class. As a junior in 2021, the five-foot-10, 175-pound left-handed hitter was rated by Baseball America as the No. 1 high school draft prospect in the country after he hit .417 with eight doubles, five triples, nine home runs and 23 stolen bases. Johnson, who graduated from Mays (GA) High School, was a 2021 Perfect Game All-American Classic selection. The club has selected right-handed pitcher Thomas Harrington with the 36th overall selection in the Competitive Balance A Round, and left-handed pitcher Hunter Barco with the 44th overall pick in the Second Round. Harrington, who turned 21 on July 12, went 12-2 with a 2.53 ERA (26 ER in 92.2 IP), 111 strikeouts against just 18 walks and a .204 opponent average in 15 starts for Campbell University last season, earning Big South Pitcher of the Year honors after he led all NCAA pitchers in wins and set new school records in both wins and strikeouts. Barco, 21, went 5-2 with a 2.50 ERA (14 ER in 50.1 IP), 69 strikeouts, 11 walks and a .187 opponents average in nine starts with the University of Florida in 2022 before undergoing season-ending Tommy John Surgery in May. Prior to suffering the injury, he was named the No. 1 pitcher in college baseball by D1 Baseball on March 30 and earned SEC Pitcher of the Week and Dick Howser Trophy National Pitcher of the Week honors on February 22.
July 18, 2022 1:45 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Penguins have acquired defenseman Jeff Petry and forward Ryan Poehling from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for defenseman Mike Matheson and a fourth-round pick in 2023. The Penguins also dealt defenseman John Marino to the New Jersey Devils for defenseman Ty Smith and a third-round pick in 2023. Petry had 70 goals and 178 assists in 508 games with the Canadiens. Matheson had 11 goals and 20 assists in 74 games with the Penguins last season. The 22-year-old Smith, selected by New Jersey in the first round of the 2018 NHL draft, has seven goals and 36 assists in 114 NHL games. The team also signed their 2022 first-round pick, defenseman Owen Pickering, to a three-year, entry-level contract. Pickering’s deal will begin when he turns professional.
July 18, 2022 3:07 am
BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Cameron Smith’s dad is kicking himself that he didn’t make the journey to St. Andrews to see his son win the 150th British Open. Smith mentioned in his championship winner’s news conference that his father made the late decision not to fly all the way from Australia just for a week “and he’s definitely kicking himself now.” Des Smith was among the Aussies keenly following on TV as the 28-year-old golfer started the final round four shots behind and then completed the best closing round the Old Course had ever seen to win the title by one stroke. It finished in the early hours Monday local time in Brisbane, where Cameron Smith the golfer stamped his name among the sporting greats.
July 17, 2022 7:41 am
DENVER (AP) — Kris Bryant had three hits and an RBI, Charlie Blackmon extended his hitting streak to seven games with an RBI single, and Jose Urena pitched six scoreless innings in the Colorado Rockies’ 2-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday. Bryant singled in an unearned run with two outs in the fifth inning and Blackmon drove in an insurance run with a two-out single in the seventh as the Rockies extended their winning streak to a season-best five games. Bryant reached four times, on three hits and walk. Daniel Bard pitched around an inning-opening walk in the ninth for his 20th save in 22 chances. Pirates’ right-hander Mitch Keller (3,-7) was the hard-luck loser, giving up an unearned run and five hits in six innings while striking out six and walking two. He has given up one earned run in his last two starts. With two outs in the fifth inning, Pirates’ rookie shortstop Oneil Cruz threw the ball into the Rockies’ dugout for a two-base error after fielding Connor Joe’s routine grounder. Bryant followed with an RBI single to center field to break a scoreless tie.
July 16, 2022 3:44 am
DENVER (AP) – Brendan Rodgers homered and drove in four runs, C.J. Cron hit his 21st home run and German Marquez became the second Colorado pitcher to reach 900 career strikeouts as the Rockies beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 13-2. Elias Diaz had two hits and three RBIs and Charlie Blackmon had three hits and two RBIs as the Rockies extended their winning streak to four games. Marquez gave up two runs and six hits in 6 2/3 innings before leaving after being struck in the back of the right leg by a one-hopper from Kevin Newman. Marisnick had two doubles and scored a run and Jason Delay had a run-scoring single in the fifth for the Pirates, who have lost three in a row after a four-game winning streak.
