September 2, 2021 3:50 am
CHICAGO (AP) – Rookie Gavin Sheets hit two home runs, leading the Chicago White Sox to a 6-3 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday night. Sheets, who was promoted from Triple-A Charlotte before the game, hit a three-run homer off Max Kranick (1-3) with two out in the fourth inning to snap a scoreless tie.White Sox starter Carlos Rodon (10-5) pitched five innings of five-hit ball.
September 2, 2021 3:51 am
UNDATED (AP) – For the first time since May 30 the San Francisco Giants are looking up at another team in the NL West standings. The Dodgers took over first place in the division, moving a half-game ahead of the Giants with a 4-3 comeback win over the Braves. Los Angeles wasted a 2-0 lead and trailed 3-2 before Justin Turner and AJ Pollock delivered RBI singles in the bottom of the eighth. Max Muncy and Austin Barnes hit solo homers for the Dodgers, who have made up 4 1/2 games on the Giants in two weeks. Dansby Swanson’s eighth-inning homer put Atlanta ahead before the Braves saw their lead in the NL East trimmed to two games over the Phillies. The Brewers completed a three-game sweep of the Giants with a 5-2 victory that gives Milwaukee a 10 1/2-game lead in the NL West. Jace Peterson broke a 2-2 deadlock with an RBI single in the seventh. Lorenzo Cain added a two-run blast in the ninth to secure the Giants’ fifth loss in six games.
September 2, 2021 3:53 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – The Pittsburgh Steelers have placed defensive end Stephon Tuitt on the injured reserve/return list. Defensive coordinator Keith Butler says Tuitt has an unspecified issue with one of his knees. Butler added he expects Tuitt to be back at some point but isn’t sure when. The 28-year-old is coming off a career-best 11 sacks during the 2020 season. The team also placed offensive lineman Zach Banner and running back Anthony McFarland Jr. on the IR/return list.
September 2, 2021 3:54 am
UNDATED (AP) – The New Orleans Saints will open their regular-season schedule in Jacksonville instead of the Superdome. The Saints will take on Green Bay in Jacksonville on Sept. 12 after practicing in Dallas for the better part of two weeks. The venue change was announced three days after Hurricane Ida battered the Louisiana coast as a Category 4 hurricane, leaving the entirety of New Orleans in darkness until small pockets of the city began to get power back on Wednesday.
September 1, 2021 2:27 am
Following an opening-week victory, the Chartiers-Houston football team was set to host Riverview Friday night. That game has been postponed due to “multiple cases of COVID-19” on the Riverview squad according to the school’s athletic director, Mario Rometo. The school has suspended all football activities until at least Sept. 7. Chartiers-Houston will have an off night before traveling to Mapletown for its next game, Sept. 10.
September 1, 2021 3:54 am
Yasmani Grandal and Jose Abreu homered, and five relievers combined for 4 2/3 innings of two-hit ball as the Chicago White Sox beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-2 on Tuesday night. The Sox hold a 10-game lead in the AL Central and won for the fourth time in five games. The Pirates lost for the fourth time in six games. Michael Kopech (4-2) picked up the win. Bryse Wilson (2-6) took the loss.
September 1, 2021 3:56 am
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) – The New England Patriots have shown Cam Newton the door after just one season with the team. The Pats have released the 2015 NFL most valuable player, paving the way for rookie Mac Jones to open the season as the starting quarterback. Veteran players say Jones has impressed them in training camp with his work ethic. Jones won a national title last year at Alabama. The Patriots are trying to rebound from a disjointed 2020 season. Newton finished 7-8 as the starter and the Patriots went 7-9 overall after Tom Brady’s departure.
August 31, 2021 2:10 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – The last-place Pittsburgh Pirates have fired hitting coach Rick Eckstein. The Pirates have struggled to produce offense all season. Pittsburgh is dead last in the majors in runs scored, home runs, slugging percentage and on-base plus slugging. The Pirates are also 27th in the majors in batting average and are on their way to a third straight fifth-place finish in the NL Central. The team is in the early stages of a franchise-wide reboot under general manager Ben Cherington. Eckstein had little to work with at the major league level while the organization focuses on stockpiling prospects.
August 31, 2021 3:51 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin says he likes what he’s seen from the team’s defensive line during training camp. The group has been practicing without veteran Stephon Tuitt, who has not suited up at all during camp following the death of his younger brother in June. Reserves Chris Wormley, Isaiah Buggs and Carlos Davis have performed well at times over the summer. Wormley says the group is taking a “next man up” mentality with Tuitt out and is doing whatever it can to support him. The Steelers open in Buffalo on Sept. 12.
August 31, 2021 3:54 am
DALLAS (AP) – The displaced New Orleans Saints have begun to practice in Arlington, Texas, after Louisiana was hit hard by Hurricane Ida. Saints players and staff, along with about 120 family members, relocated to North Texas in advance of the storm. Coach Sean Payton says the Saints will practice through Wednesday at AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys. That is before a previously planned break before the start of the regular season.
