April 19, 2022 3:46 am
MILWAUKEE (AP) – Christian Yelich belted a grand slam for his first homer of the season and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-1. Yelich’s two-out slam capped a five-run rally off Pirates starter Zach Thompson in the fourth inning. The 429-foot blast was Yelich’s fourth career grand slam. Eric Lauer got the win for Milwaukee, allowing one run and five hits in six innings while striking out five and walking one. Pittsburgh got its only run in the fourth on rookie Diego Castillo’s first career homer, which came one pitch after Castillo swung at a slider from Lauer that hit him in the knee.
April 19, 2022 3:48 am
UNDATED (AP) – The Cleveland Browns have spoken to an NFL investigator looking into claims by former coach Hue Jackson, who said the team intentionally lost games in 2016 and 2017. Jackson, now coaching at Grambling State, indicated in a series of posts on social media that the Browns paid him bonuses incentivizing him to lose. Jackson later softened those claims. The Browns went 1-15 in 2016 and 0-16 in 2017 under Jackson. NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy confirmed the league engaged former SEC chair Mary Jo White to look into Jackson’s allegations. The team said it welcomed the chance to address Jackson’s claims.
April 18, 2022 3:51 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Michael Chavis drove in the go-ahead run in the seventh inning as the Pittsburgh Pirates came from behind to beat the Washington Nationals 5-3 and take the four-game series.Chavis’ single to left field against Nationals reliever Steve Cishek (0-1) scored Josh VanMeter to put the Pirates in the lead and complete the comeback from down 3-0. Pittsburgh also came back from three runs down to beat Washington in the first game of the series on Thursday.
April 18, 2022 3:53 am
UNDATED (AP) – Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Boston expects to be without multiple unvaccinated players for an upcoming series at Toronto. Starting pitcher Tanner Houck told the Boston Globe on Sunday that he is not vaccinated against COVID-19 and won’t pitch during the four-game series beginning next Monday. He would have been in line to start the second game. To enter Canada, the Canadian government requires a person must have received a second COVID-19 vaccine dose at least 14 days prior to entry.
April 18, 2022 3:56 am
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. (AP) – Jordan Spieth used a marvelous approach shot on the first playoff hole to beat Patrick Cantlay and win the PGA’s RBC Heritage. Spieth hit a 56-foot shot from a greenside bunker to 7 inches of the cup. He won his 13th PGA Tour title and second straight on Easter Sunday after taking the Valero Texas Open a year ago to end a four-year drought. Playing four groups ahead of Cantlay, Spieth birdied Harbour Town’s par-4 18th lighthouse hole in regulation, holing a 10-footer for a 5-under 66 and 13-under 271 total.
April 18, 2022 3:55 am
BRISTOL, Tenn. (AP) – Kyle Busch eluded the spinning cars of Tyler Reddick and Chase Briscoe to steal his first Cup win of the season on slick, wet, dirt-covered Bristol Motor Speedway. Reddick was chasing the first Cup win of his career. He led 99 of the 250 laps. and controlled the race from the final restart with 24 laps remaining. But lapped traffic allowed Briscoe to close in on Reddick and he timed his move for the win for the third turn, when Briscoe tried to slide his way past Reddick on the inside. Reddick finished second and faulted himself for not holding off Briscoe. Joey Logano was third, followed by Kyle Larson and Ryan Blaney.
April 17, 2022 1:10 am
BOSTON (AP) -Jeremy Swayman rebounded from a rough stretch with 23 saves and the Boston Bruins clinched a playoff spot by holding off the Pittsburgh Penguins 2-1 to halt a season-high three-game losing streak. Trent Frederic and Erik Haula scored first-period goals for the Boston, which went on the skid after winning 17 of 21. Former Bruin Danton Heinen scored for the Penguins, who fell to 2-5-1 in their past eight. Casey DeSmith stopped 27 shots.
April 17, 2022 1:09 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Michael Chavis capped a three-hit night with a leadoff triple in the eighth inning, and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Washington Nationals 6-4. Diego Castillo drove in Chavis with a single, giving Pittsburgh a 4-2 lead. Chavis has reached safely in eight of 14 plate appearances this season. Dillon Peters relieved Pirates starter Bryse Wilson to pitch two no-hit innings, ending with his second walk. David Bednar surrendered one hit and one walk in 1 2/3 innings.
April 17, 2022 1:11 am
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. (AP) – Harold Varner III shot an 8-under 63 in the third round to take a one-shot lead at the RBC Heritage. Varner had eight birdies in a bogey-free round to match Cameron Young’s opening score as the lowest at Harbour Town Golf Links this week. Varner is 11-under overall as he seeks his first PGA Tour victory. Patrick Cantlay, Shane Lowry and Erik van Rooyen are a shot back.
April 16, 2022 4:02 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) -Nelson Cruz and Josh Bell drove in three runs each and Washington Nationals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-2. Each of the top four hitters in the Nationals’ lineup — Cesar Hernandez, Juan Soto, Cruz and Bell – had two hits while combining to go 8 for 17. Erik Fedde (1-0) allowed two runs and four hits in five innings, struck out six and walked two. Three pitchers combined for four scoreless innings of scoreless, one-hit relief.
