September 20, 2025 5:24 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Lawrence Butler hit a go-ahead, three-run homer, Nick Kurtz added a solo shot and the Athletics beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-3 on Friday night. Mitch Keller didn’t allow a baserunner until Kurtz, a native of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, homered with two outs in the fourth to get the Athletics within 3-1. It was the 33rd homer for Kurtz, who had plenty of family and friends in attendance as he tied Jose Canseco (1986) for the second-most home runs by an A’s rookie. Mark McGwire hit 49 in 1987. Carlos Cortes had a one-out single in the fifth and Zack Gelof walked with two outs before Butler launched his 21st home run, a 424-foot shot to right-center, to put the Athletics up 4-3. Spencer Horwitz, Bryan Reynolds and Nick Gonzales drove in first-inning runs against Luis Severino for a 3-0 lead. Severino (7-11) allowed three runs — one earned — on seven hits in five innings. Michael Kelly retired Tommy Pham on a double-play grounder with one out and runners on the corners in the ninth for his second big league save. Keller (6-15) gave up four runs on four hits in five innings. Gelof left in the bottom of the fifth after re-injuring his right wrist diving for a ball between first and second. The second baseman underwent surgery on March 26 and has played just 30 games this season. The Athletics (73-81) have won two straight and seven of eight, while the Pirates (65-89) have lost five in a row and 12 of 13.
September 19, 2025 4:26 am
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Josh Allen threw three touchdown passes and Terrel Bernard intercepted Tua Tagovailoa with three minutes left to secure the Buffalo Bills’ 31-21 win over the Miami Dolphins. James Cook had 108 yards rushing and a 2-yard TD as the Bills continued their dominance of Miami. Buffalo has won seven straight and 14 of the past 15, including playoffs, against its AFC East rival. The Dolphins fell to 0-3 and coach Mike McDaniel will likely face more questions about his job security. Allen finished 22 of 28 for 213 yards and improved his record to 14-2 over Miami.
September 19, 2025 4:23 am
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — The Pittsburgh Steelers have struggled in New England since 2002, winning only once there in seven games. Aaron Rodgers is in his first season with the Steelers, but has also faced challenges in New England, where he’s 0-2. The setbacks, which include a 25-22 loss while with the Jets last season are still vivid in Rodgers’ mind. This may be his best opportunity to get a win yet. The Patriots’ defense ranks last in the NFL against the pass through the first two weeks. But New England could get back its best pass defender this week, with cornerback Christian Gonzalez practicing for the first time since suffering a hamstring injury during training camp.
September 19, 2025 4:24 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Philadelphia Eagles are defending their controversial tush push play amid criticism from people around the NFL. The Eagles used the play seven times in their win over the Kansas City Chiefs. That led to a new round of criticism, largely because officials struggle to catch false starts and the Eagles are seemingly getting away with offensive linemen moving early. Philadelphia hosts the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday in a rematch of last season’s playoffs. Both teams are 2-0. Rams coach Sean McVay says he’s had conversations with the league office to understand how the tush push is officiated.
September 18, 2025 2:07 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Ian Happ homered and drove in three runs, and the Chicago Cubs clinched their first postseason berth since 2020 with an 8-4 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Chicago has won four in a row and seven of eight overall. It leads the NL wild-card standings with an 88-64 record. Nico Hoerner had two hits and scored three times for the Cubs. Justin Turner hit a pair of RBI singles after entering in the sixth. The Cubs grabbed control with three runs in the sixth, helped by errors on Pirates reliever Yohan Ramírez and catcher Joey Bart. Aaron Civale pitched three scoreless innings for the win.
September 18, 2025 4:24 am
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — New York Jets quarterback Justin Fields has been ruled out for Sunday’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with a concussion. Coach Aaron Glenn announced the decision Wednesday. Fields remains in the concussion protocol after being injured in the Jets’ loss to Buffalo last Sunday. He fell backward when he was sacked by Joey Bosa and the back of his helmet hit off the turf. Tyrod Taylor will start in Fields’ place. The 36-year-old Taylor last started for the Giants in 2023. He missed the Jets’ preseason games due to a knee injury. Glenn isn’t concerned about Taylor being behind in any way. Taylor has 58 career NFL starts.
September 16, 2025 4:22 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Michael Busch hit a leadoff home run against Paul Skenes, and the Chicago Cubs moved closer to a playoff berth with a 4-1 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Cubs reduced their magic number to one for securing their first postseason berth in five years. Skenes, a heavy favorite to win the NL Cy Young Award, struggled. The right-hander gave up three runs in 3 2/3 innings and fell to 10-10 on the season. Cubs rookie Cade Horton allowed one run over five innings to move to 11-4. He is 8-1 since the All-Star break.
September 17, 2025 4:24 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Kaleb Johnson’s mistake in Pittsburgh’s loss to Seattle has cost him his role as kick returner. Steelers coach Mike Tomlin says Johnson is off special teams in the “short term” following a pivotal miscue against the Seahawks when Johnson failed to chase after a live ball, leading directly to a Seattle touchdown. Tomlin believes in Johnson’s talent and plans to give him a chance to recover from the error. Johnson, a third-round pick, was averaging 23.9 yards per return before the incident. Pittsburgh faces challenges with injuries in their defense as they prepare to play New England next week.
September 17, 2025 4:27 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — A new poll finds sports fans are likelier to use a combination of streaming services and traditional TV options to access their favorite teams. The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll shows this complicated and often expensive patchwork is common for many sports fans and leaves them beholden to multiple platforms and subscriptions if they want to keep up with their teams. About 4 in 10 people who follow sports “extremely” or “very” closely use both cable and satellite TV and a sports streaming platform. That’s compared with about 2 in 10 people who follow sports “somewhat” closely.
September 16, 2025 4:26 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Jameson Taillon allowed two hits in six innings, and Michael Busch and Pete Crow-Armstrong homered as the Chicago Cubs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-0 and got closer to clinching a postseason berth. Chicago (86-64) opened a four-game lead over San Diego for the top NL wild card and trails NL Central-leading Milwaukee by five games with 12 games remaining. The Cubs won for the fifth time in six games and sent the Pirates to their ninth loss in 10 games..
