June 23, 2025 4:27 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Tommy Pham went 3 for 3 and drove in three runs, Spencer Horwitz and Bryan Reynolds also had three hits, and the Pittsburgh Pirates used a five-run fifth inning to beat the Texas Rangers 8-3 and avoid a three-game sweep. Pham tied it 2-all with a sacrifice fly in the fourth and capped the fifth-inning rally with an RBI double for a 7-2 advantage. He drove in Pittsburgh’s final run with a double in the seventh. Horwitz went 3 for 4 with two doubles. He scored three runs and drove in two. Reynolds had a double and scored as the Pirates finished with 15 hits.
June 23, 2025 4:29 am
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished off his MVP season with 29 points and 12 assists, and the Oklahoma City Thunder pulled away in the second half to beat the Indiana Pacers 103-91 and win the NBA championship. Jalen Williams scored 21 for the Thunder, who were pushed to a Game 7 brink in the NBA Finals — but finished off a season for the ages. Oklahoma City won 84 games between the regular season and the playoffs, tying the 1996-97 Chicago Bulls for third-most in any season. The Pacers lost star Tyrese Haliburton early in Game 7 to a serious lower right leg injury.
June 23, 2025 4:30 am
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — LSU knocked previously unbeaten Coastal Carolina ace Jacob Morrison out of the game with a four-run fourth inning and the Tigers won their second national championship in three years with a 5-3 victory in the College World Series finals. The Tigers completed a two-game sweep of the Chanticleers, who entered the finals on a 26-game win streak and on Sunday saw coach Kevin Schnall and first base coach Matt Schilling ejected in the bottom of the first inning. LSU gave the Southeastern Conference its sixth straight national title in baseball and 11th in 16 years.
June 23, 2025 4:31 am
CROMWELL, Conn. (AP) — Keegan Bradley has won the Travelers Championship for the second time in three years. This one was a stunner. He was trailing Tommy Fleetwood by three shots with four to play at the TPC River Highlands. He was still one shot behind playing the 18th. Bradley hit his approach to just under 6 feet for birdie. Fleetwood came up 50 feet short and took three putts for bogey. Bradley now moves to No. 9 in the Ryder Cup and he’ll have some decisions to make whether he should give up his role as U.S. captain to play at Bethpage Black.
June 22, 2025 5:45 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Corey Seager singled in the tiebreaking run in the sixth inning and rookie Kumar Rocker won his second straight start and the Texas Rangers beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-2. Seager’s sharp single to center field scored Josh Smith and put the Rangers ahead 2-1. Marcus Semien followed with a sacrifice fly. Rocker (3-4) gave up two runs and five hits in 5 1/3 innings after pitching five scoreless innings against the Chicago White Sox in his previous start last Sunday. The Rangers have won the first two games of the series and will try to finish the sweep on Sunday. Mitch Keller (1-10) took his 10th consecutive loss, allowing three runs and three hits in 5 2/3 innings.
June 22, 2025 5:48 am
LONG POND, Pa. (AP) — Dale Earnhardt Jr. won his NASCAR national series debut as a crew chief in Saturday’s Xfinity Series at Pocono Raceway. Pressed into unexpected service, Earnhardt called the shots for 18-year-old prospect Connor Zilisch in the No. 88 Chevrolet and they both landed in victory lane. Earnhardt made a pit stop from his day job as team owner at JR Motorsports with normal crew chief Mardy Lindley suspended one race because of a lug nut infraction earlier this month at Nashville.
June 21, 2025 4:41 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Jacob deGrom struck out seven in six strong innings, Corey Seager hit his first home run since May 10 and the Texas Rangers beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-2. DeGrom (7-2) retired the first 11 batters and allowed two runs and five hits in six innings with one walk. The two-time Cy Young Award winner extended his franchise record to 12 consecutive starts of allowing two runs or fewer and five hits or fewer. Seager homered with one out in the fifth inning off rookie Mike Burrows (1-2). Texas’ Adolis Garcia had three hits and the Pirates’ Joey Bart had three hits.
June 20, 2025 4:26 am
DETROIT (AP) — Isiah Kiner-Falefa hit a two-run single in a four-run 10th inning, and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Detroit Tigers 8-4 for a split of a doubleheader. The Tigers won the first game 9-2 behind four RBIs from Riley Greene. Pinch-hitter Ke’Bryan Hayes led off the 10th with a single to right, scoring pinch-runner Tommy Pham from second. The Tigers challenged the call, and A.J. Hinch was ejected for arguing after the call was upheld. Nick Gonzales singled, and a sacrifice bunt put runners on second and third. An intentional walk to Jared Triolo loaded the bases, and pinch-hitter Joey Bart had an RBI single to make it 6-4. One out later, Kiner-Falefa hit a single to left to bring home two more runs.
June 20, 2025 1:57 am
DETROIT (AP) — Riley Greene drove in four runs for the second time in a week, leading the Detroit Tigers to a 9-2 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first game of Thursday’s doubleheader. Tigers starter Tarik Skubal improved to 8-0 over his last 13 starts, allowing two runs on six hits and three walks in 5 2/3 innings. He struck out six. Greene, who also had four RBIs in Friday’s 11-5 win over the Cincinnati Reds, is hitting .333 with 15 RBIs in 16 games in June. He also hit one of Detroit’s four sacrifice flies — a total they had only reached once in at least 70 years.
June 20, 2025 4:29 am
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Obi Toppin scored 20 points, Andrew Nembhard added 17 and the resilient Indiana Pacers sent the NBA Finals to a winner-take-all Game 7 by rolling past the Oklahoma City Thunder 108-91 on Thursday night. Pascal Siakam had 16 points and 13 rebounds for Indiana, while Tyrese Haliburton — playing through a strained calf — scored 14 points for the Pacers, who started slowly and then turned things into a blowout. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 21 points for the Thunder, who pulled their starters after getting down by 30 going into the fourth. Jalen Williams added 16. Game 7, the first one in the NBA Finals since 2016, will be Sunday night in Oklahoma City.
