September 23, 2020 2:36 am
UNDATED (AP) – Belmont Stakes winner Tiz the Law won’t run in next month’s Preakness, spoiling what would have been a highly anticipated rematch with Kentucky Derby winner Authentic. The Preakness on Oct. 3 at Pimlico concludes this year’s reconfigured Triple Crown series, which was run out of order because of the coronavirus pandemic. Jack Knowlton, managing partner of the Sackatoga Stable, which owns Tiz the Law, tweeted that it’s “disappointing Tiz the Law will not be able to run in the Preakness.” Knowlton says the colt will be pointed toward the Breeders’ Cup at Keeneland in November.
September 22, 2020 3:56 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Jon Lester scattered four hits over six innings and the Chicago Cubs inched closer to their first NL Central title since 2017 with a 5-0 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Lester struck out one and walked one to pick up his first victory since Aug. 11. He retired the first nine batters he faced and kept the lowest-scoring team in the majors in check. Kyle Schwarber responded to being benched in the middle of a loss to Minnesota by doubling twice and driving in a pair of insurance runs in the eighth with a shot to the gap in right-center field.
September 22, 2020 3:49 am
LAS VEGAS (AP) – The Las Vegas Raiders have won their first game in a new hometown. Derek Carr threw three touchdown passes and the Raiders rallied from an early 10-point deficit to beat the Saints, 34-24. Carr was in complete control for most of the night, completing 28 of 38 passes for 282 yards. Darren Waller caught 12 of the passes for 103 yards as Carr’s most trusted option. Carr engineered four straight scoring drives in the second and third quarters to turn a 10-0 deficit into a 24-17 lead. Saints quarterback Drew Brees was 26 of 38 for 312 yards with one TD and one interception.
September 22, 2020 3:53 am
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) – The Stanley Cup final is knotted at a game apiece after the Tampa Bay Lightning rediscovered their power-play touch. The Lightning scored three goals in a 3:53 span of the first period to beat the Dallas Stars, 3-2. Tampa Bay netted back-to-back power-play goals to go ahead for good and break a 1-for-18 skid with the man advantage. Brayden Point opened the scoring 11:23 into the contest, three minutes before Ondrej Palat made it 2-0. Nikita Kucherov and Victor Hedman set up both power-play goals. Kevin Shattenkirk provided the game-winner at the 15:16 mark of the opening period. Goals by Joe Pavelski and Mattias Janmark got Dallas within 3-2, but Andrei Vasilevskiy shut the door over the final 14 1/2 minutes to secure the victory for the Lightning. Game 3 is Wednesday.
September 21, 2020 4:01 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Ben Roethlisberger threw for 311 yards with two touchdowns and an interception and the Pittsburgh Steelers fended off a spirited comeback by the Denver Broncos 26-21. The Steelers (2-0) knocked out Denver starting quarterback Drew Lock in the first quarter with a right shoulder injury but didn’t secure the win under safety Terrell Edmunds sacked Broncos backup Jeff Driskel on fourth-and-2 with less than two minutes to go. Driskel completed 18 of 34 for 256 yards with two touchdowns and a pick and absorbed a serious pounding at the hands of Pittsburgh’s defense.
September 21, 2020 3:58 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Yadier Molina hit a two-run homer and Jack Flaherty pitched six dominant innings as the St. Louis Cardinals kept their hold on a postseason spot with a 2-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Molina’s home run to the bleachers in left field came in the seventh inning off Derek Holland and extended St. Louis’ winning streak to a season-high four games. The Cardinals had been shut out by Joe Musgrove over the first six innings. Flaherty allowed only one run and two hits while striking out 11 and walking two.
September 21, 2020 3:56 am
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) – Anthony Davis had the last word in Game 2 of the NBA’s Western Conference finals. Davis made a 3-pointer as time expired to give the Los Angeles Lakers a 105-103 victory over the Denver Nuggets and a series 2-0 lead. He scored 22 of his 31 points in the second half, including the Lakers’ last 10 of the game. The Nuggets had trailed by as much as 16, but Nikola Jokic scored 11 straight Denver points down the stretch, including a basket that made it 103-102 with 20 seconds to play. LeBron James had 26 points and 11 rebounds for the Lakers, while Jokic finished with 30 points and nine assists. Jamal Murray scored 25 points for the Nuggets, who are back in action on Tuesday.
September 21, 2020 3:55 am
MAMARONECK, N.Y. (AP) – Bryson DeChambeau has won the U.S. Open — the first major championship for golf’s long-hitting mad scientist. He shot 67 on Sunday to finish at 6 under. Third-round leader Matthew Wolff shot 75 to finish second, six strokes back. DeChambeau is the third person in history to win an NCAA title, a U.S. Amateur and the U.S. Open. The others are Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods. DeChambeau was the only player under par in the final round, laughing off Winged Foot’s narrow fairways and thick rough with his booming drives that averaged 325 yards.
September 20, 2020 7:31 am
PITTSBURGH — Tyler O’Neill hit a two-run double to end a no-hit bid started by Pittsburgh’s Mitch Keller, and the St. Louis Cardinals rallied to beat the Pirates 5-4 Saturday night. Keller threw 84 pitches over six no-hit innings and was pulled from the game leading 4-0, but the Cardinals scored five runs off relief pitchers Geoff Hartlieb and Sam Howard in the seventh. O’Neill broke up the no-hit bid and keyed the inning with his bases-loaded double against Howard (2-3). St. Louis improved to 25-24 and is a game ahead of Cincinnati and Milwaukee for second place in the NL Central. The top two teams in each division advancing to the expanded postseason. The 24-year-old Keller spun a gem in his second start since missing six weeks with a strained left oblique, but was pulled well short of finishing it off. He walked two and hit O’Neill with a pitch before retiring his final 14 batters, finishing with six strikeouts. Keller knew his chances of going nine innings were slim. Hartlieb relieved in the seventh and promptly loaded the bases by walking Brad Miller and Paul DeJong and drilling Yadier Molina. Howard then came in and allowed O’Neill’s line drive into the left field corner.
September 20, 2020 7:29 am
PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh coach Pat Narduzzi watched the Panthers put together a nearly flawless practice last Tuesday, one so close to perfect that Narduzzi admitted he practically had to invent something to complain about. That won’t be an issue going forward. While Narduzzi remains high on his team, No. 25 Pitt still has plenty to work on following a sloppy 21-10 win over Syracuse on Saturday. A week removed from a romp against overmatched Austin Peay in the opener, the Panthers (2-0, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) looked very much like a work in progress against the Orange (0-2, 0-2). Seven penalties, three missed field goals and two turnovers allowed Syracuse to hang around well into the second half before Pitt finally pulled away behind a dominant defensive performance.
