May 4, 2024 3:48 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Henry Davis will try to work out of his early season funk in the minors. The Pittsburgh Pirates have optioned the former first-overall pick to Triple-A Indianapolis. Davis, a catcher, is hitting just .162 with no home runs and four RBIs in 23 games for Pittsburgh. The 24-year-old, the top selection in the 2021 amateur draft, has struck out 29 times in 83 at-bats. Pittsburgh activated two-time All-Star catcher Yasmani Grandal off the injured list to take Davis’ spot on the roster. Grandal missed most of spring training with plantar fasciitis in his left foot.
May 4, 2024 1:56 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Penguins have fired assistant coach Todd Reirden. General manager Kyle Dubas announced the decision Friday, which came just weeks after the Penguins failed to make the playoffs for a second straight season. Reirden was in charge of Pittsburgh’s power play. The Penguins struggled while on the man advantage all season despite having a star-studded unit that included Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and Erik Karlsson. Pittsburgh converted on just 15% of its power play opportunities, 30th in the 32-team NHL.
May 3, 2024 4:34 am
TORONTO (AP) — William Nylander scored twice, Joseph Woll made 22 saves and the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Boston Bruins 2-1 on Thursday night to force a seventh game in the first-round Eastern Conference series. Toronto has overcame a 3-1 series deficit, also staving off elimination with a 2-1 victory in overtime in Boston on Tuesday night, to send the series back to Boston for a winner-take-all finale Saturday night. The series winner will face the Florida Panthers. Jeremy Swayman stopped 24 shots for the Bruins, who also blew a 3-1 lead against the Florida Panthers last year in the first round before losing in Game 7 following a record-setting regular season. Morgan Geekie spoiled Woll’s shutout bid with 0.1 seconds left.
May 3, 2024 4:31 am
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Comcast has blacked out 15 regional sports networks offered by Bally Sports, escalating a contract dispute with their distributor. The cutoff that began Wednesday affects games played by a dozen Major League Baseball teams based in nine states. Diamond Sports Group, which distributes the networks under the Bally name, called the blackout “disappointing” and blamed Comcast for refusing to “engage in substantive discussions.” Comcast, meanwhile, said that Diamond has declined several of its offers, such as allowing Diamond to unilaterally renew its existing agreement with Comcast for a year. As a result, Comcast said, it no longer has rights to the sports broadcasts and had no choice but to cut them off.
May 3, 2024 4:34 am
Tiger Woods is headed to the U.S. Open after receiving the first of what likely will be many special exemptions. Woods has been eligible for every U.S. Open since he played in his first one in 1995 as the reigning U.S. Amateur champion. By the time he played his first Open as a pro, Woods already was the Masters champion. And 14 more major titles followed. Jack Nicklaus received eight U.S. Open exemptions. Arnold Palmer received five. Woods is a three-time U.S. Open champion as part of his 15 majors. The U.S. Open is June 13-16 at Pinehurst No. 2.
May 2, 2024 9:27 am
The high school baseball & softball seasons are sprinting to the finish line. So far, 11 baseball and 9 softball teams from the Washington/Greene County area have locked up WPIAL playoff berths. Six more Washington County teams (3 baseball, 3 softball) are still in contention. Numbers in both categories will change on Thursday. Canon-McMillan softball can clinch a playoff spot with a home win against Baldwin, a team much improved since the Big Macs put an early-season 21-3 beatdown on the Highlanders. We’ll have today’s game on WJPA-AM (1450) with free video/audio stream on the WJPA Sports Network. Airtime is set for 4 pm. CM could still qualify after a loss but the Big Macs would need to pull a pair of upsets in their final two games to get in.
The 1A Section 2 softball title will be decided today when Chartiers-Houston (11-0) hosts Carmichaels (9-1), resuming their April 16th suspended game tied, 5-5, entering the 14th inning. CHHS won the other regular season meeting, 6-5, three days later.
Canon-McMillan’s baseball team faces Central Catholic with the winner qualifying and the loser eliminated from contention. PCC won both games against CM earlier this week.
Softball–Clinched: Bentworth, Charleroi, Chartiers-Houston, McGuffey, Trinity, Carmichaels, Jeff-Morgan, Waynesburg, West Greene. Alive: Beth-Center, Burgettstown, Canon-McMillan
Baseball–Clinched: Avella, Burgettstown, Charleroi, Chartiers-Houston, Fort Cherry, McGuffey, Ringgold, Trinity, Carmichaels, Waynesburg, West Greene. Alive: Beth-Center, Canon-McMillan, Wash High
May 2, 2024 4:31 am
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Ross Stripling threw six strong scoreless innings to earn his first win in nearly two years, and the Oakland Athletics hit two home runs to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-0 to complete their first series sweep of the season. Abraham Toro and Tyler Nevin both went deep to help the A’s to their fourth straight victory. Kyle McCann added two hits and an RBI. Stripling allowed three hits, had two strikeouts and retired the final seven batters he faced to gain his first win since Oct. 1, 2022. Five Oakland relievers combined for three innings to complete the A’s fourth shutout of the season.
May 2, 2024 4:33 am
WNBA teams have started experiencing the Caitlin Clark effect and the top overall draft pick hasn’t even played her first game. To capitalize on Clark’s popularity, the Las Vegas Aces and Washington Mystics have moved games against the Indiana Fever to bigger arenas. When Clark played road games in college last season at Iowa, they were either sellouts or set attendance records at every single one. The two-time reigning WNBA champion Aces relocated their game on May 25 from the 12,000-seat Michelob Ultra Arena to the 18,000-seat T-Mobile Arena. The Mystics game against Indiana on June 7 will be played at Capital One Arena — Washington’s former home.
May 2, 2024 4:35 am
PHOENIX (AP) — WNBA star Brittney Griner says she thought about killing herself during her first few weeks in a Russian jail after her 2022 arrest on drug-related charges. Griner spoke for the first time about her monthslong detention in Russia during an hourlong interview that aired Wednesday night on ABC. Her memoir, “Coming Home,” is set to be released on May 7. Griner was detained after arriving at a Moscow airport after Russian authorities said a search of her luggage revealed vape cartridges allegedly containing oil derived from cannabis. She says she had suicidal thoughts “more than once” but decided against it.
May 1, 2024 4:33 am
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — JJ Bleday hit a go-ahead home run with one out in the fifth and a two-run drive in the seventh for his first career multi-homer game, leading the Oakland Athletics past the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-2. Mitch Spence struck out two over three scoreless innings for the win in relief of starter Alex Wood. The left-hander is still winless over four starts in Oakland since joining the club as a free agent Feb. 2 — and he is yet to pitch more than 5 2/3 innings having made seven 2024 starts. Connor Joe homered in the first and singled in the fifth for the Pirates.
