June 12, 2021 3:39 am
MILWAUKEE (AP) -Christian Yelich hit a bases-loaded double and Pittsburgh relievers issued three consecutive bases-loaded walks in a five-run seventh inning that helped the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Pirates 7-4. The Brewers tied a franchise record by drawing six walks in the seventh-inning rally that put them ahead for good. Ke’Bryan Hayes hit a two-run homer and Ben Gamel and Gregory Polanco added solo shots for Pittsburgh. The Pirates have lost five straight. The Brewers have won 12 of 14 and are tied with the Chicago Cubs for the NL Central lead.
June 12, 2021 3:38 am
PARIS (AP) – Novak Djokovic has advanced to the French Open final and will play fifth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas on Sunday. Djokovic stopped Rafael Nadal’s bid for a 14th French Open title and handed the King of Clay just his third loss in 108 matches at the tournament. Djokovic dropped the first set of the semifinal match before rallying for a 3-6, 6-3, 7-6, 6-2 victory. He won the last six games as he takes aim at his second French Open championship and 19th Grand Slam title. Nadal had been 7-1 versus Djokovic at Roland Garros, losing to him in 2015. Nadal beat Djokovic in last year’s final. Fans were allowed to stick around for the end of the four-hour match. French officials lifted the 11pm curfew that would have otherwise forced the crowd of 5,000 to leave the stadium.
Tsitsipas edged sixth-seeded Alexander Zverev 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 4-6, 6-3 to reach his first Grand Slam final. Tsitsipas was in meltdown mode at the start of the fifth seed, trailing love-40 after a double-fault before winning five straight points. He broke serve to go up 3-1 and cruised the reset of the way. Tsitsipas had been 0-3 in Grand Slam semifinals. Djokovic will try to join Roy Emerson and Rod Laver as the only men’s players to win each Grand Slam singles title at least twice.
June 12, 2021 3:34 am
RIDGELAND, S.C. (AP) – Chesson Hadley shot a 5-under 66 for a two-stroke lead over Dustin Johnson in the Palmetto Championship at Congaree. Hadley was at 11-under 131 at Congaree Golf Club, his lowest total through 36 holes since the The RSM Classic in 2016. Johnson opened his afternoon round five shots behind Hadley but was tied for the lead through 17 before a double-bogey concluded his 3-under 69. American Tain Lee is third at 7 under after a 68 as he plays his third career PGA event.
June 11, 2021 3:48 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Mookie Betts hit the 25th leadoff home run of his career and the Los Angeles Dodgers continued their dominance of the Pittsburgh Pirates in a 6-3 win. Betts took the third pitch he saw from Mitch Keller (3-7) and sent it into the bullpen beyond the centerfield fence. Cody Bellinger added two hits and Zack McKinstry drove in two runs as Los Angeles won its 13th straight over the Pirates. Phil Bickford picked up his first save when the game was called with one out in the top of the eighth inning after a rain delay of an hour and 15 minutes.
June 11, 2021 3:55 am
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – Giselle Juarez threw her second consecutive complete game and Oklahoma won its fifth national championship, beating Florida State 5-1 in the Women’s College World Series. The Sooners had lacked a dominant pitcher heading into the series but Juarez answered the call, allowing one run on two hits in the decisive Game 3. Oklahoma won Game 2 6-2 behind Juarez, who went 5-0 at the World Series and was named Most Outstanding Player. She allowed four runs in 31 1/3 innings. The top-seeded Sooners dropped a stunner to James Madison in the series’ opening game, but recovered to beat the Dukes and then got past Florida State after dropping Game 1.
June 11, 2021 3:53 am
LAS VEGAS (AP) – The Vegas Golden Knights have advanced to the Stanley Cup semifinals with four straight wins over the Colorado Avalanche following back-to-back losses. Alex Pietrangelo scored his first goal of the postseason to put the Knights ahead to stay in a 6-3 downing of the Avalanche. Pietrangelo’s 46th shot of the playoffs found the back of the net with 18 seconds left in the second, breaking a 3-3 deadlock. Marc-Andre Fleury made the lead stand up by making 11 of his 30 saves in the final period. Fleury’s 89th career playoff win leaves him all alone in fourth on the NHL’s all-time list. Nick Holden, William Karlsson, Keegan Kolesar and William Carrier also scored for the Knights before Max Pacioretty added an empty-netter. The Golden Knights next face the Canadiens, who come off a four-game sweep of Winnipeg and have won seven in a row. Game 1 is Monday in Las Vegas.
June 10, 2021 2:43 am
PONY Baseball and Softball has announced that it will have the 2021 DICK’S Sporting Goods PONY League World Series from August 13-18 at Lew Hays PONY Field in Washington. After canceling all World Series play in 2020 due to the Coronavirus pandemic, PONY Baseball and Softball President and CEO, Abraham Key, was delighted to announce the annual August classic will return to Washington County this summer. “PONY is proud to announce the dates for the 2021 DICK’S Sporting Goods PONY League World Series,” said Key. “As you can imagine, the last fifteen months have been challenging, and we are not yet back to 100% operational. However, there is significant domestic and international interest in resuming a normal tournament season, including the DICK’S Sporting Goods PONY League World Series.” World Series Tournaments, Inc., PONY’s host organization for the event, echoed Key’s sentiments. “World Series Tournaments, Inc. is once again excited to be hosting the DICK’S Sporting Goods PONY League World Series on behalf of PONY Baseball in Washington County,” said Nathan Voytek, President of Tournaments, Inc. “The tournament is a staple of summer for our community and region, and we look forward to again seeing the top thirteen- and fourteen-year-old youth baseball players from around the world compete on historic Lew Hays PONY Field.” Although it is certain that there will be a 2021 tournament, it is not certain which of PONY’s international zones will be represented. Thus far, PONY has announced that, due to international travel restrictions, its Mexican and European zones will not be represented, causing the field to be reduced from ten to eight teams. PONY is still working on securing a representative from its Caribbean and Asia-Pacific Zones. However, PONY will have all four of its domestic zones represented, along with the Host-Area zone and the host team, Washington County.
June 10, 2021 2:45 am
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – Jocelyn Alo’s go-ahead homer in the sixth inning helped Oklahoma beat Florida State 6-2 on Wednesday night and force a decisive Game 3 for the Women’s College World Series title. Alo’ s homer gave the Sooners the Division I single-season record for home runs with 159. Giselle Juarez improved to 4-0 in the tournament and has allowed just three earned runs in 24 1/3 innings. The deciding game will be played Thursday afternoon. Oklahoma is seeking its fifth national championship. Florida State is trying for its second title in four years.
Best-of-3 Championship Series: Oklahoma vs. Florida State
Thursday – Championship Series Game #3 – 2:45pm ET
June 9, 2021 3:56 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Mookie Betts hit the 25th leadoff home run of his career and the Los Angeles Dodgers continued their dominance of the Pittsburgh Pirates in a 6-3 win. Betts took the third pitch he saw from Mitch Keller (3-7) and sent it into the bullpen beyond the centerfield fence. Cody Bellinger added two hits and Zack McKinstry drove in two runs as Los Angeles won its 13th straight over the Pirates. Phil Bickford picked up his first save when the game was called with one out in the top of the eighth inning after a rain delay of 1:15.
June 9, 2021 3:54 am
UNDATED (AP) – The Tampa Bay Lightning are eight wins away from a second consecutive Stanley Cup. The Lightning have reached the semifinals with a 2-0 shutout of the Hurricanes in Game 5.
Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 29 shots for his second shutout of the postseason and third of his playoff career. Vasilevskiy and the Lightning held Carolina to two goals in the three games at Raleigh, stopping 97 of 99 shots. Brayden Point snapped a scoreless tie with his eighth goal of the playoffs, a power-play tally just over four minutes into the second period. Ross Colton added an unassisted goal midway through the third. The Bolts will play the winner of the Islanders-Bruins series, which New York leads, 3-2.
Meanwhile, a 3-2 win gives the Vegas Golden Knights a three-games-to-two advantage in their second-round series. Mark Stone scored on a breakaway 50 seconds into overtime, sending the Knights to their third straight victory. Trailing 2-0 entering the third, the Golden Knights found another gear with Alex Tuch scoring 1:03 into the period and Jonathan Marchessault tying it up just 3:04 later. Marc-Andre Fleury was sensational at times while stopping 28 shots. Fleury picked up playoff win No. 88, which ties him with Billy Smith and Ed Belfour for the fourth-most in NHL history. Colorado appeared in command after a 2-0 lead courtesy of Brandon Saad late in the first and another from Joonas Donskoi in the second. The Knights can close out the series at home on Thursday.
