June 25, 2024 3:34 am
CINCINNATI (AP) — Bryan Reynolds extended the longest active hitting streak in the major leagues to 22 games with a two-run home run and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Cincinnati Reds 9-5. Reynolds’ streak is the longest by a Pirate since 2003 when Kenny Lofton hit safely in 26 straight games. The Reds’ Hunter Greene (5-3) issued a six-pitch walk to leadoff batter Andrew McCutchen and Reynolds followed with his home run to put the Pirates ahead 2-0. Jared Triolo’s two-run home run off Buck Farmer made the score 8-0 in the fifth. Pittsburgh’s Mitch Keller (9-4) allowed three earned runs on six hits in 5 2/3 innings.
June 24, 2024 4:18 am
PITTSBURGH —(WPXI)- Paul Skenes tossed a career-high seven innings and Bryan Reynolds extended his hitting streak to 20 games but the Pittsburgh Pirates fell 3-1 to the Tampa Bay Rays at PNC Park in the rubber match on Sunday afternoon. Yandy Díaz homered on Skenes’ first pitch of the game but the rookie right-hander settled in and delivered another strong start for the Pirates (37-40). The Díaz home run was the lone run allowed by Skenes across his seven innings pitched. He allowed six hits walked and struck out eight batters. This article originally appeared on PittsburghBaseballNOW.com.
June 24, 2024 4:12 am
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers are on the verge of pulling off one of the biggest comebacks in sports history. They can win the Stanley Cup in Game 7 of the final against the Florida Panthers on Monday night after falling behind 3-0 in the series and reeling off three consecutive victories. The previous time an NHL team with that deficit came all the way back to hoist the Cup was the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1942. The Oilers are doing their best to block out the ramifications of this improbable rally by focusing on the final game of the season.
June 23, 2024 6:10 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI)-Jared Jones delivered a strong bounce-back start and Oneil Cruz homered into the Allegheny River for the Pittsburgh Pirates in a 4-3 win over the Tampa Bay Rays at PNC Park. In his last start against the Rockies in Colorado, Jones was charged with a career-high six runs in just 4.2 innings pitched. Jones (5-6) rebounded for the Pirates (37-39) on Saturday and held the Rays (37-40) to two runs on three hits and three walks with eight strikeouts across seven innings.(This article originally appeared on PittsburghBaseballNOW.com.)
June 23, 2024 11:16 am
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — After beating Tennessee 9-5 in the College World Series finals opener Saturday night, Texas A&M faces its most difficult task of the season. The Aggies must knock off the high-powered No. 1 national seed one more time Sunday to claim their first national championship. The Aggies (53-13) put themselves in position with Gavin Grahovac homering to begin the game, breaking it open with a five-run third inning and bringing in Evan Aschenbeck to pitch 2 2/3 innings of shutout relief to turn back a Tennessee offense that was starting to get cranked up. The No. 3 Aggies capitalized on a couple errors that led to two runs — Tennessee has committed eight in four CWS games — and on the inability of pitchers Chris Stamos (3-1) and AJ Causey to consistently hit their spots. Grahovac drove Stamos’ 0-2 fastball out to right for the first leadoff homer in a CWS finals since Sam Fuld did it for Stanford against Rice in Game 2 in 2003. Causey walked Jace LaViolette leading off the third, Jackson Appel’s comebacker deflected off Causey’s foot for a base hit and Hayden Schott followed with an RBI single to start the Aggies’ five-run outburst. Kaeden Kent, son of ex-major leaguer Jeff Kent, made it a seven-run game in the seventh with his homer into the right-field bullpen.
Tennessee (58-13), trying to become the first No. 1 seed since 1999 to win the championship, will go into Sunday’s Game 2 having lost consecutive games just once this season and not since March 16-17 at Alabama. The Vols, the nation’s most prolific home-run hitting team in three decades, used the long ball to create some anxiety for the Aggies in the bottom of the seventh. Dylan Dreiling’s two-run shot to right ended the night for reliever Josh Stewart (2-2), and Hunter Ensley’s high fly over the left-field fence off Brad Rudis made it 9-5. The Vols have 180 homers this season, eight behind LSU’s NCAA record set in 1997. Ensley was the only batter Rudis faced. Aggies coach Jim Schlossnagle brought in Aschenbeck, and the left-hander retired six in a row before back-to-back singles put runners on the corners with one out in the ninth. The National Stopper of the Year struck out Ensley and Kavares Tears to end the game.
June 22, 2024 8:45 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Josh Lowe homered twice, including a three-run blast in the sixth that broke open a close game, and the Tampa Bay Rays breezed past tye Pittsburgh Pirates 10-3 on Friday night. Lowe hit a solo shot to right off Luis Ortiz in the third inning and went deep again with two aboard in the sixth to give the Rays a rare breather amid a string of tight finishes. Ben Rortvedt added three hits, including a three-run homer in the ninth. Jose Siri also had three hits and made a pair of spectacular catches in center. He chased down a line drive to left-center by Nick Gonzales leading off the second and ended the game by robbing Jack Suwinski of extra bases with a leaping grab at the wall. Bryan Reynolds hit his 11th homer of the season to push his hitting streak to a career-best 18 games. The left fielder is hitting .342 in June. Suwinski had an RBI double for Pittsburgh and Ke’Bryan Hayes added an RBI single. Pittsburgh managed just five hits and only two over the final five innings. Carmen Mlodzinski (1-3) gave up a run in the first 1 2/3 innings before giving way to Ortiz. The right-hander who had hoped to make the starting rotation out of spring training has thrived in a long relief role this season but struggled on a steamy night with temperatures in the mid-90s. Tampa touched Ortiz for six runs on 10 hits in four innings. He failed to retire the Rays in order once and things got out of hand in the sixth. The loss came on a day Pirates chairman Bob Nutting said he’s given general manager Ben Cherington the green light to seek trades that will help an offense that has kept the Pirates from emerging from a crowded if underwhelming NL Central pack.
June 22, 2024 4:24 am
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Leon Draisaitl made his first major impact in the Stanley Cup Final, and the series is heading back to South Florida. Draisaitl set up Warren Foegele’s early goal, Adam Henrique and Zach Hyman scored and the Edmonton Oilers forced a Game 7 by beating the Florida Panthers 5-1 in Game 6. They are the first team to tie the final after falling behind 3-0 in the series since the Detroit Red Wings in 1945. They have the chance Monday night in Sunrise to join the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs as the only NHL teams to come all the way back from that deficit to hoist the Stanley Cup.
June 21, 2024 2:16 am
The 2024 Pony League World Series has a new title sponsor. Southpointe-based Printscape has put its name on the annual tournament that brings teams from across the country and from around the world to Washington County. It replaces Dicks Sporting Goods. Printscape owner John Dziak called the move a “no brainer”. The company has been a long supporter of the tournament for years. World Series Tournaments, Inc President and Chairman Nathan Voytek only half-jokingly said the deal is especially great given all the signage needed at Lew Hays Pony Field. Voytek says they are “ecstatic to have Printscape on board”. He cited their “commitment to our community and athletics”. Printscape also has the naming rights to the Arena in Southpointe. The Pony League World Series will be played from August 9 through the 14th. Washington County Chamber of Commerce President Jeff Kotula says the annual event means some $6 million in economic impact for the County with 30,000 people visiting each year.
June 21, 2024 4:36 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Pirates are starting to gain momentum thanks to a pitching staff that is coming of age. Mitch Keller, Colin Holderman and David Bednar combined to shut out the Cincinnati Reds as the Pirates took two of three from their NL Central rivals. The 1-0 win marked Pittsburgh’s fourth shutout in June. The Pirates have needed to rely on their pitching to keep them hovering around .500 while the offensive searches for a spark. Keller says the pitching staff’s willingness to share information and ideas has helped the group become close in a short period.
June 21, 2024 4:34 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Alex Nedeljkovic is getting his wish. He’s staying in Pittsburgh. The Penguins have re-signed the veteran goaltender to a two-year deal that carries an average annual value of $2.5 million. The 28-year-old Nedeljkovic went 18-7-7 with a 2.97 goals-against average in 38 games for the Penguins last season. The team relied on him heavily down the stretch and his play helped fuel a late-season surge that nearly carried Pittsburgh to the playoffs.
