April 10, 2022 7:48 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson always thinks pass-first to Alex Ovechkin, especially during a third-period two-on-one. Wilson’s decision to shoot, rather than pass to the greatest goal scorer of this generation, gave the Capitals one of their most important wins of the season. Wilson broke a tie with 8:25 left and the Capitals beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 6-3 on Saturday. Ovechkin tied it for Washington on a power play at 4:49 of the third period with his 44th goal of the season, and Wilson matched his career high with his 22nd — sending a wrist shot over Tristan Jarry’s glove from the left circle. The Capitals have won two second straight to move four points behind Pittsburgh for third place in the Metropolitan Division. Washington has won five road games in a row, one shy of equaling the franchise record. Marcus Johansson, Dmitry Orlov, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Martin Fehervary also scored for Washington, and Ilya Samsonov stopped 29 shots to become the 10th goalie in team history with 50 career victories. Bryan Rust, Jeff Carter and Brian Boyle scored for Pittsburgh, and Jarry made 39 saves. The Penguins have lost four in a row and seven of nine.
April 10, 2022 7:49 am
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Cardinals bench coach Skip Schumaker learned less than an hour before game time that he’d be filling in for ill manager Oliver Marmol. Nolan Arenado helped make his job a lot easier. Arenado hit three doubles and a single, Paul DeJong homered and St. Louis, minus its rookie skipper, beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-2 Saturday. Marmol, a winner in his debut Thursday as a major league manager, was at Busch Stadium before the game and diagnosed with the flu. He tested negative for COVID-19 and left the ballpark. Arenado drove in three runs in his second four-hit game since being traded to St. Louis prior to the 2021 season. St. Louis starter Miles Mikolas threw a career-high 41 pitches in the first inning, but gave up just run in that span. He was pulled in the fourth. Relievers Kody Whitley (1-0), Nick Wittgren, T.J. McFarland and Ryan Helsley and Giovanny Gallegos combined to throw 5 1/3 scoreless innings. Mitch Keller (0-1) allowed four runs on six hits and two walks in four innings.
April 10, 2022 7:50 am
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — The harsh cold and relentless wind. The lead late Saturday afternoon at the Masters. All the elements were there for Scottie Scheffler to start feeling the pressure of trying to win his first major at Augusta National. Scheffler never looked worried until the final hole, and then only briefly. His lead at four shots, his confidence level high, Scheffler’s wild drive to the left of the 18th fairway into the trees didn’t bother him nearly as much as the sight of the spotter poking around in the leaves in a desperate search for the golf ball. Like everything else this week, Scheffler figured it out. He took a one-shot penalty, dropped it onto pine straw and then ripped a 3-iron from 240 yards that hit the green and rolled just over the back, leaving him two putts for a bogey that felt much better. Scheffler had a 1-under 71 — one of only nine scores under par in the third round — that gave him a three-shot lead over Cameron Smith going into Sunday.
April 9, 2022 4:06 am
CLEVELAND (AP) – The Cleveland Browns added another quarterback as they try to figure out what to do with Baker Mayfield. The team agreed to a one-year contract with backup QB Josh Dobbs, a deal that was tweeted by his agent and confirmed by a person familiar with the contract who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. Earlier, the Browns agreed to re-sign safety Ronnie Harrison to a on-year deal, his agent Drew Rosenhaus told AP. The Browns were in the market for another quarterback after Nick Mullens, who made one start for them last season, signed as a free agent with the Raiders. Mayfield is still on Cleveland’s roster while the Browns try to find a trade partner for the former No. 1 overall pick.
April 9, 2022 4:07 am
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) – The hottest player on the PGA Tour is threatening to turn the Masters into a runaway. Top-ranked Scottie Scheffler has a commanding five-stroke lead through two rounds at Augusta National. Scheffler fired a 5-under 67 under windy conditions to move to minus-8. He began the day two shots behind first-round leader Sungjae Im, who finds himself in a second-place tie with Shane Lowry, Charl Schwartzel and Hideki Matsuyama. Only four other players in Masters history have led by five shots after 36 holes, most recently Jordan Spieth in 2015. All of them went on to win. Scheffler has won three of his last five starts on the tour and doesn’t appear to be overwhelmed by the stage of Augusta. Tiger Woods made the cut at 1-over, salvaging a 2 over 74 after playing the first nine holes in 39. Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka missed the cut, as did Jordan Spieth and Xander Schauffele.
April 9, 2022 4:10 am
UNDATED (AP) – The Carolina Hurricanes appeared ready to add at least one more point to their lead in the NHL’s Metropolitan Division. Instead, they remain two ahead of the New York Rangers following an agonizing loss to the Islanders. Kyle Palmieri scored with 14.1 seconds remaining for the Islanders in a wild final minute, less than 43 seconds after Vincent Trocheck tied it for Carolina. The Hurricanes weren’t crisp at all on their way to losing for the third time in four games.
April 8, 2022 3:50 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Frank Vatrano and Artemi Panarin scored in the second period, Igor Shesterkin stopped 30 shots for his fourth shutout of the season and the New York Rangers beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-0. Dryden Hunt added an empty-net goal in the final minute and Mika Zibanejad had two assists for New York, which is 6-1-1 in its last eight games – including three victories against Pittsburgh. Tristan Jarry had 21 saves for Pittsburgh, which has lost four of five and is 2-5-1 in its last eight.
April 8, 2022 3:48 am
ST. LOUIS (AP) – Adam Wainwright pitched six scoreless innings, Tyler O’Neill hit a three-run homer and drove in a career-high five, and the St. Louis Cardinals celebrated Albert Pujols’ return with a 9-0 season-opening win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Yadier Molina threw out a runner trying to steal second in the first game of his final big league season, and Nolan Arenado and Tommy Edman also homered for the Cardinals, who won the managerial debut of 35-year-old Oliver Marmol. Paul Goldschmidt drew four straight walks, the first player to do that on opening day since Manny Ramírez in 2002. The Pirates had just six hits and lost budding star Ke’Bryan Hayes to left forearm spasms in the first inning.
April 8, 2022 3:53 am
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) – Tiger Woods played pretty well at the Masters on Thursday. Sungjae Im was a little better. Im opened with a 5-under 67 for a one-stroke lead over Cameron Smith at Augusta National. He recovered from a pair of bogeys with a 12-foot eagle putt on the 13th and added a late birdie. Smith opened and closed with double bogeys, but he also had eight birdies.
Scottie Scheffler and Dustin Johnson are two shots back, as are Danny Willett and Joaquin Niemann. Woods had three birdies and two bogeys in a 1-under 71 that leaves him tied for 10th. It was his first competitive round since shattering a leg in a car accident 14 months ago.
April 8, 2022 3:54 am
UNDATED (AP) – Two Black coaches have joined Brian Flores in his lawsuit alleging racist hiring practices by the NFL toward coaches and general managers. The updated lawsuit filed Thursday in Manhattan federal court adds coaches Steve Wilks and Ray Horton. Wilks alleges he was discriminated against by the Arizona Cardinals in 2018. Horton claims he was subjected to discriminatory treatment when he interviewed for the Tennessee Titans head coach position in January 2016.
