April 21, 2021 3:50 am
UNDATED (AP) – Infielder Neil Walker announced his retirement at age 35 after 12 major league seasons. Walker hit .231 with no homers and three RBIs in 18 games with Philadelphia this year. Walker hit a career .267 with 149 homers and 609 RBIs for Pittsburgh, the New York Mets, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, Miami and the New York Yankees. Primarily a second baseman but also an occasional first baseman and third baseman, he had 12 homers and a career-best 83 RBIs for the Pirates in 2011, and reached his career high of 23 homers in both 2014 and 2016.
April 21, 2021 2:25 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI)- The Pittsburgh Steelers have signed head coach Mike Tomlin to a three-year contract extension, keeping him with the team through at least the 2024 season. Tomlin was hired by the Steelers in 2007. He’ll enter his 15th season with the team in 2021. “I am pleased to announce we have extended Mike Tomlin’s contract through the 2024 season,” Steelers President Art Rooney II said in a statement. “Mike is one of the most successful head coaches in the National Football League, and we are confident in his leadership to continue to lead our team as we work to win another championship.”
April 20, 2021 3:53 am
UNDATED (AP) – Alex Smith has retired after making an improbable comeback from a gruesome broken leg, saying he’s ready to leave the NFL but believing he’s still able to play quarterback. Smith earned AP Comeback Player of the Year honors for getting back on the field last season, two years removed from an injury that required 17 operations. The first player taken in the 2005 draft threw for 35,650 yards and 199 touchdowns in 174 regular-season games.
April 20, 2021 3:50 am
Cincinnati outfielder Nick Castellanos will begin serving his two-game suspension when the Reds start a series with the Diamondbacks in Arizona on Tuesday. The suspension was upheld Monday by Major League Baseball special assistant John McHale Jr. after Castellano appealed. Castellanos was punished for inciting a benches-clearing brawl during a game against St. Louis on Apr. 3.
April 20, 2021 3:50 am
UNDATED (AP) – Miami Marlins center fielder Starling Marte will be sidelined for at least a few games with a non-displaced fracture of his left rib suffered while batting in the ninth inning of Sunday’s loss to San Francisco. Marte will refrain from activity for five to seven days before being evaluated, and he’s expected to go on the injured list. He’s batting .316 with an OPS of .912, three stolen bases and two home runs.
April 19, 2021 3:57 am
MILWAUKEE (AP) – Colin Moran doubled home the go-ahead run in the 10th inning and also hit a three-run homer as the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Milwaukee Brewers 6-5. The Pirates withstood a two-homer performance from Milwaukee’s Daniel Vogelbach to win the deciding game of this series. Pittsburgh has won two of three in each of its last three series to recover from an early six-game skid. Pittsburgh’s Bryan Reynolds and Milwaukee’s Avisail Garcia also homered.
April 19, 2021 3:59 am
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) – Sam Reinhart scored twice, and the Buffalo Sabres played spoiler in the East Division playoff race with a 4-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Rookie Arttu Ruotsalainen and Rasmus Asplund, with an empty-netter, also scored for Buffalo. The Sabres bounced back a day after becoming the NHL’s first team eliminated from playoff contention following a 3-2 loss to Pittsburgh. The Penguins had a 4-0-1 run snapped and squandered an opportunity to move to within a point of the East-leading Washington Capitals, who lost at Boston earlier in the day. Jason Zucker and Teddy Blueger scored for Pittsburgh.
April 19, 2021 4:02 am
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. (AP) – Stewart Cink had a steady, stress-free 70 to cap off a dominant week and win his third RBC Heritage title. The 47-year-old Cink finished 19 under at Harbour Town, four in front of Emiliano Grillo and Harold Varner III. Cink became the fourth player on the PGA Tour to win twice in the same season after turning 47, joining Sam Snead, Julius Boros and Kenny Perry. Cink had set 36- and 54-hole scoring records this week.
April 18, 2021 7:26 am
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Evan Rodrigues was so focused on the Pittsburgh Penguins’ late-season push to win the East Division title the forward didn’t realize the implications that came with beating his former team, the Buffalo Sabres. While the Penguins jumped into second in the tightly contested divisional race, their 3-2 win on Saturday also eliminated the Sabres from playoff contention. Rodrigues spent his first five-plus seasons in Buffalo before being traded to Pittsburgh a year ago. Tristan Jarry stopped 23 shots over the final two periods and 28 overall. Bryan Rust and Jared McCann also scored, and the Penguins improved to 10-2-2 in their past 14. Pittsburgh earned its 59th point to move one ahead of the idle New York Islanders, and remain three behind the Washington Capitals.
April 18, 2021 7:28 am
MILWAUKEE — — Brett Anderson pitched seven effective innings and the Milwaukee Brewers built a big lead early and breezed past the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-1 on Saturday night. Jackie Bradley Jr. hit a leadoff single in the first inning and the Brewers went on to score five times, with every run coming with two outs. Bradley, who had three hits, tripled and scored in the second as Milwaukee made it 7-0. Anderson (2-1) and Pittsburgh starter Trevor Cahill (0-2), both 33 and having started their major league careers in 2009, made their third starts of the season. They had had rough first starts, but in their second outings, both gave up just one run in five innings. Their paths diverged Saturday. Anderson allowed one unearned run and six hits, walking one and striking out three. The Pirates’ run scored on one of three throwing errors by shortstop Luis Urías. Cahill, signed as a free agent on March 21 and playing for his eighth team since 2015, retired the last seven hitters he faced before his outing ended after four innings.
