May 2, 2021 7:24 am
WASHINGTON — Bryan Rust scored two unassisted goals, Tristan Jarry made 23 saves and the Pittsburgh Penguins shut out the Washington Capitals 3-O Saturday night to reclaim first place in the East Division. Trade deadline pickup Jeff Carter also scored his fourth goal in 10 games in a Penguins uniform. Jarry registered his second shutout of the season as the Penguins beat the Capitals for the sixth time in eight meetings this season. Two nights after each team clinched a playoff berth, this potential postseason preview looked awfully lopsided. The Penguins pounced on opportunities and scored on three of their first 13 shots against Ilya Samsonov to suck the life out of the crowd of just over 2,000. It was far from the complement of talent either team would want in a playoff series. The Capitals didn’t have captain and leading goal-scorer Alex Ovechkin and top defenseman John Carlson because of lower-body injuries, and the Penguins remained without forward Evgeni Malkin and Brandon Tanev with injuries that have kept them out for several weeks. But Pittsburgh hasn’t slowed down. With captain Sidney Crosby inching into the MVP discussion, the Penguins have won 16 of 23 games without Malkin and again look like a legitimate Stanley Cup contender.
May 2, 2021 7:27 am
PITTSBURGH — Jack Flaherty pitched six solid innings to keep his record perfect and Paul DeJong hit a three-run homer in the first inning to send the St. Louis Cardinals over the Pittsburgh Pirates 12-5 on Saturday night. Flaherty (5-0) struck out nine while winning his fifth straight start. He gave up three runs on six hits and two walks and improved to 7-1 in 10 career starts against the Pirates. DeJong’s drive off Trevor Cahill (1-3) capped a four-run first. The first run of the inning scored when Tommy Edman hit a leadoff double and scored on Paul Goldschmidt’s one-out single. The Cardinals have scored 61 runs in the six games Flaherty has started this season. St. Louis won for the seventh time in nine games. The Cardinals have also won six games in a row at Pittsburgh and 14 of their last 16 at PNC Park. Edman, Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado each had three of the Cardinals’ 15 hits. Arenado drove in three runs with a two-run, bloop double in the seventh inning that put St. Louis ahead 7-3 and an RBI triple in a five-run ninth. Rookie Justin Williams capped the ninth-inning outburst with a pinch-hit, two-run homer. Colin Moran had three hits and two RBI for Pittsburgh, which lost its third straight game. Cahill lasted 5 1/3 innings, allowing five runs and seven hits with five strikeouts and three walks.
May 2, 2021 7:28 am
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — John Velazquez was in a familiar place, in the lead aboard Medina Spirit in the Kentucky Derby and holding off the stretch bid of three challengers. This time, Bob Baffert couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Medina Spirit won by a half-length on Saturday, giving Baffert his seventh victory, the most of any trainer in the race’s 147-year history. The jockey and trainer — both Hall of Famers — teamed up eight months ago to win a pandemic-delayed Derby in September with Authentic, who raced to an early lead and hung on. That wasn’t so surprising. This one was. Sent off at 12-1 — astronomical odds for a colt trained by the white-haired, two-time Triple Crown winner — Medina Spirit was in a street fight thundering down the stretch. The dark brown colt was pressed by Mandaloun on his outside. Hot Rod Charlie was coming fast outside of Mandaloun, with 5-2 favorite Essential Quality giving chase on the far outside. Velazquez earned his fourth Derby victory aboard the colt that was purchased as a yearling for $1,000 and was a bargain-basement buy at $35,000 for current owner Amr Zedan of Saudi Arabia. By comparison, Zedan recently paid $1.7 million for an unraced 2-year-old.
May 1, 2021 12:11 pm
GREENVILLE, PA — Third-seeded Washington & Jefferson College earned a 2-1 victory over No. 4 Westminster College Friday night in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) Men’s Soccer Championship Tournament title match at Alexandre Stadium in Washington. The Ptitle is the second-straight for W&J and is the program’s fifth overall. The Presidents also won back-to-back conference titles in 2003-04. Friday night’s match was the first time since 2010 that the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds will play for the PAC championship.
Westminster (5-5-1) took the lead in the 15th minute when junior Tyler Caterino (Monessen) received a pass from sophomore Payton Goodwin (Plum) in the box off a deflection from a free kick. W&J (8-2-1) evened the match at 1-1 in the 43rd minute when junior Thomas Einolf (Middletown) tallied an unassisted goal in the 43rd minute. In the 81st minute freshman Jayden Da (Rockville, MD) drew a foul to gain a free kick opportunity for W&J. Junior Joey Feola (Central Catholic) chipped a ball into the box that sophomore Zach Bowser (Beaver) delivered with a header for the game-winner. W&J junior Samuel Miller (Lewisburg) made six saves in the victory. Westminster sophomore Jad Jadallah (Canfield, OH) had two saves in the loss. Westminster finished with a 23-11 advantage in shot attempts (7-4 on-goal). Westminster also had an 8-1 edge in corner kicks.
May 1, 2021 10:17 am
PALM HARBOR, Fla. (AP) – Sam Burns and Keegan Bradley share the lead heading into the third round of the PGA’s Valspar Championship in Florida. Burns surged up the leaderboard with an 8-under 63 to catch up with Bradley who carded a 66. Bradley ended his 65 by holing out for eagle from 100 yards in the ninth fairway, over a deep bunker to the elevated green. The shot left him guessing until he saw the fans jump out of their seats. They are four strokes ahead of Lucas Glover, Max Homa and Charley Hoffman. Phil Mickelson bogeyed two of his final three holes and missed the cut by one shot.
May 1, 2021 10:15 am
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) – The Kentucky Derby is back in its traditional spot on the sports calendar – the first Saturday in May. After getting postponed until September last year because of the pandemic, it returns today with about 45,000 fans in attendance – about 100,000 fewer than usual. Essential Quality is the early 2-1 favorite in a field of 19 horses. The 147th edition could be one of several firsts. A Black jockey could win for the first time in 119 years and a female trainer could win for the first time. Trainer Bob Baffert, a six-time winner, goes for his record seventh, albeit with a 15-1 shot.
May 1, 2021 4:06 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) -Matt Carpenter hit his second pinch, three-run home run in as many days and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-3. Carpenter connected off Duane Underwood Jr. in the sixth inning to put the Cardinals ahead 6-1. Carpenter took the Philadelphia Phillies’ Aaron Nola deep Thursday in a game the Cardinals won 4-3 in 10 innings. St. Louis’ Tyler O’Neill had three hits, including a leadoff home run in the fourth inning. Nolan Arenado hit two run-scoring bloop doubles as St. Louis won for the sixth time in eight games.
May 1, 2021 4:03 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – The Pittsburgh Steelers are intent on giving Ben Roethlisberger as many weapons as possible before he calls it a career. The Steelers selected Penn State tight end Pat Freiermuth in the second round of the draft. The team ignored major concerns along the offensive line to address depth at tight end after Vance McDonald retired in January. The pick is the second at an offensive skill position in as many selections for the Steelers. Pittsburgh selected running back Najee Harris in the first round. The Steelers selected Illinois offensive lineman Kendrick Green in the third round.
May 1, 2021 4:01 am
(AP) – The Pittsburgh Penguins are happy but not satisfied after clinching a 15th straight playoff berth. Pittsburgh’s postseason streak is the longest active streak in major North American professional sports. The team’s celebration after a victory over Washington that clinched a spot in the Stanley Cup playoffs was muted. While head coach Mike Sullivan praised his team for its hard work, he said it only sets the stage for the “real fun” that will begin when the postseason starts in a little over two weeks.
April 30, 2021 3:53 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – The Pittsburgh Steelers are turning to Alabama star Najee Harris to give their running game a jolt. The Steelers selected Harris with the 24th overall pick in the NFL draft. They hope he can help a rushing attack that finished dead last in the NFL in yards rushing in 2020. Pittsburgh is looking to maximize whatever time left it has with veteran quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. The 39-year-old restructured his contract to ensure he would be back for an 18th season. Harris provided the opportunity to grab a player who could make an immediate impact.
