Morikawa Wins PGA Championship

August 10, 2020 4:04 am

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – American Collin Morikawa has become a first-time major champion by winning at San Francisco’s Harding Park.  The 23-year-old closed with a 6-under 64 to win the PGA Championship by two strokes over Paul Casey and third-round leader Dustin Johnson. Morikawa was tied with Casey before an eagle on the par-4 16. He closed with consecutive pars for a 13 under total.  Johnson fell behind with a bogey on the par-5 14. He also was second in last year’s PGA Championship, three months after his runner-up finish at the Masters.  Jason Day, Matthew Wolff, Bryson DeChambeau, Tony Finau and Scottie Scheffler shared third at minus-10.

Pirates Series In St Louis Postponed

August 10, 2020 4:03 am

PITTSBURGH (AP) –  The entire three-game series between the Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis that was set to begin Monday night at Busch Stadium has been postponed while the Cardinals deal with a COVID-19 outbreak. There have now been 27 games postponed by Major League Baseball because of coronavirus concerns. The Cardinals have not played since July 30 and have had 13 games scrapped. Miami and Philadelphia each had seven games postponed earlier and have returned to the field since the disruptions. MLB said Sunday night that the league and the Cardinals “believe it is prudent to conduct additional testing while players and staff are quarantined before the team returns to play.”

NHL; Blue Jackets Advance

August 10, 2020 4:02 am

TORONTO (AP) –  Joonas Korpisalo stopped 33 shots and the Columbus Blue Jackets advanced to the first round of the NHL playoffs with a 3-0 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs in a decisive Game 5. Zach Werenski’s floater from the left point in the first period held up as the deciding goal. Liam Foudy sneaked in a shot from a bad angle with 8:20 remaining, and captain Nick Foligno sealed the victory by scoring into an open net with 23 seconds remaining. The Maple Leafs ran out of offense with captain John Tavares misfiring by hitting the post while facing a wide-open side in the first period. And Toronto ran out of remarkable comebacks two nights after rallying from a three-goal third-period deficit in a 4-3 overtime win in Game 4.

Pirates Series at St. Louis Postponed

August 9, 2020 8:32 pm

Major League Baseball announced Sunday that the upcoming three-game series between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Pirates, scheduled for Monday through Wednesday at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, has been postponed.  In light of the most recent positive test results, MLB and the Club believe it is prudent to conduct additional testing while players and staff are quarantined before the team returns to play.  More information regarding the Cardinals’ resumption of play will be announced later in the week.

Pirates Drop Another Interleague Game To Tigers

August 9, 2020 7:44 am

PITTSBURGH (AP) –  Niko Goodrum, Miguel Cabrera, C.J. Cron and Jeimer Candelario all homered in the first inning and the Detroit Tigers drilled the Pittsurgh Pirates 11-5. Detroit sent four of Derek Holland’s first 11 pitches over the fence at PNC Park to propel the Tigers to another big offensive outburst against reeling Pittsburgh. Detroit beat the Pirates 17-13 in 11 innings Friday night. Nine of the Tigers’ 16 hits Saturday went for extra bases. Their four homers in the first marked the first time they’d gone deep four times in the same inning since they did it on June 1, 2013, against Baltimore.

Twyman Opts Out At Pitt

August 9, 2020 7:45 am

PITTSBURGH (AP) – Pittsburgh junior defensive tackle Jaylen Twyman has opted out of the 2020 season to focus on next year’s NFL draft. Twyman was a second-team All-American in 2019 when he registered 10 1/2 sacks. He said in a statement posted on Twitter that he will return home to Washington, D.C. The 6-foot-2, 290-pound Twyman said his decision is not about COVID-19, but rather about taking care of his family’s needs.

Flyers Earn Top Seed In Eastern Conference Playoffs

August 9, 2020 7:46 am

TORONTO (AP) – Rookie Nicolas Aube-Kubel scored twice, and the Philadelphia Flyers defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-1 on Saturday night to clinch the Eastern Conference’s top seed through the playoffs. The Lightning not only dropped the game in completing preliminary round-robin play with a 2-1 record, Tampa Bay’s star defenseman Victor Hedman did not return after appearing to twist his right ankle while going down untouched midway through the first period. The Lightning did not provide any details on the 2017 Norris Trophy winner’s status except to announce he would miss the remainder of the game. áJoel Farabee had a goal and assist, Tyler Pitlick scored into an empty net with 1:20 left, and Carter Hart stopped 23 shots for the Flyers, who finished 3-0.

Dustin Johnson Leads PGA Championship Headed Into The Final Round

August 9, 2020 7:49 am

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – Dustin Johnson shot a 5-under 65 in the third round at TPC Harding Park to enter the final round as the PGA Championship leader at minus-9. He had eight birdies in the round, which helped him forget a bogey on No. 6 and a double three holes later. Both times, he birdied the next hole. Johnson’s only major victory was the 2016 U.S. Open. Eleven other players will be three shots back heading into Sunday’s round. Scottie Scheffler also fired a 65 that leaves him tied with Cameron Champ at 8 under. Two shots back are Brooks Koepka, Paul Carey and Collin Morikawa, who fired a 65.

Canadiens Oust Penguins

August 8, 2020 3:41 am

TORONTO (AP) – Artturi Lehkonen flipped a shot past Tristan Jarry with 4:11 remaining to lift the Montreal Canadiens to a stunning 2-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins that clinched their first playoff berth in three years. Paul Byron took advantage of a Pittsburgh turnover, darted behind the Penguins net and slipped a pass to Lehkonen in front. The 25-year-old Lehkonen found enough space between four Pittsburgh players to slip the puck into the open net. The Penguins mustered little down the stretch and Shea Weber added an empty-net goal in the final seconds as the 12th-seeded Canadiens captured the best-of-five qualifying round over fifth-seeded Pittsburgh in four games.

Pirates Lose In Extra Innings

August 8, 2020 3:36 am

PITTSBURGH (AP) – Niko Goodrum drove in five runs, two on a double in a big 11th inning that sent the Detroit Tigers over the Pittsburgh Pirates 17-13 in a startling slugfest. Both teams finished with 16 hits, surprising since each club had four players in the starting lineup batting under .190. Those numbers soon changed as Detroit played its first game in five days. Erik Gonzalez, batting ninth for the Pirates, drove in six runs. He homered, doubled and singled twice as Pittsburgh lost for the eighth time in nine games and fell to 3-11, the worst record in the majors.