June 27, 2019 1:40 pm
HOUSTON (AP) – Josh Bell hit his 21st homer, Corey Dickerson had four hits and three RBIs, and rookie Dario Agrazal threw six strong innings to earn his first major league win as the Pittsburgh Pirates routed the Houston Astros 14-2 on Wednesday night. Bell connected off rookie Framber Valdez (3-4) for a two-run shot in the first inning and the Pirates added two runs each in the second and third to build a 6-1 lead and cruise to their fifth victory in six games. Pittsburgh led 8-2 entering the ninth before tacking on six runs when Houston manager AJ Hinch sent first baseman Tyler White to the mound with his team way behind. Agrazal (1-0), called up from Triple-A Indianapolis before the game, yielded five hits and one run in his second career start. Jung Ho Kang added a two-run homer for Pittsburgh. Kevin Newman had four hits, capped by a two-run homer, to extend his hitting streak to a career-high 16 games – longest in the majors. George Springer had three hits, including a leadoff homer in his second game back from the injured list. But the AL West-leading Astros failed to generate much offense besides that as they lost for the eighth time in 10 games.
June 5, 2019 9:34 am
BEDFORD, Mass. (AP) – Boston Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy says Zdeno Chara will be checked out in Boston to see whether he will be able to play in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final. Chara took a deflected puck off his face in the second period of Game 4 on Monday night, which the St. Louis Blues won 4-2 to tie the series at two games apiece. He returned to the bench for the third period wearing a full face shield, but he did not play. Game 5 is Thursday night in Boston.
June 5, 2019 9:33 am
Chartiers-Houston rallied from a three-run deficit after five innings to knock off District 10 champion Union City, 7-3, Monday afternoon, capping a strong day for area teams in the first round of the state playoffs. West Greene, West Allegheny and Keystone Oaks softball were also first round winners along with California and Seton-La Salle baseball. The PIAA quarterfinals are schedule for Thursday. Click for PIAA Brackets — SOFTBALL — BASEBALL
PIAA Quarterfinals — Softball / Baseball
Thursday, June 6
1A California vs. D-10 champion West Middlesex, 1:30 pm at Pullman Park, Butler
2A Seton-La Salle vs. WPIAL third-place Laurel, 2 pm at Shaler HS
1A West Greene vs. D-9 runnerup Clarion, 2 pm at Slippery Rock Univeristy
2A Chartiers-Houston vs. WPIAL runnerup Frazier, 3 pm at Peters Twp. HS — WJPA-AM (1450)
3A Keystone Oaks vs. D-6 champion Bald Eagle Area, 5 pm at St. Francis Univ., Loretto
5A West Allegheny vs. WPIAL third-place Penn-Trafford, 5:30 pm at Peters Twp. HS — WJPA-AM (1450)
June 17, 2020 3:47 am
UNDATED (AP) – NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Jarrett says he has tested positive for coronavirus and now is in quarantine. The three-time Daytona 500 winner and 1999 Cup champion made the announcement during NBCSN’s Hall of Fame announcement show on Tuesday. The 63-year-old Jarrett told viewers that was why he didn’t return to the television studio with the rest of the crew. He says the only symptom he has is a slight cough that he’s has gotten better each day since his test last week.
June 16, 2020 3:44 am
UNDATED (AP) – The agent for Ezekiel Elliott says the star running back of the Dallas Cowboys has tested positive for the coronavirus. Rocky Arceneaux tells the NFL Network Elliott is feeling OK and recovering. A person with direct knowledge of the diagnosis tells The Associated Press that Elliott had the positive test about a week ago and could be described as symptomatic. Only players who have been rehabilitating injuries have been allowed inside team facilities during the shutdown. That hasn’t included Elliott.
June 14, 2020 7:28 am
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) – The PGA Tour has returned after three months because of the pandemic, and it has not taken long for fans to see what they were missing. Xander Schauffele made a 12-foot birdie putt on the last hole for a 66 and a one-shot lead over an All-Star cast at the Charles Schwab Challenge. Among those one shot behind were Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas and U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland. Among the 14 players separated by three shots were Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose. That sets up what should by a dynamic Sunday with no spectators allowed on the course. But there were unofficial spectators watching at Colonial even though none are allowed on the course. There weren’t even tickets for Colonial members. But some of them had obstructed views from one of three temporary party tents and grandstands set up in the yards of nearby homes. The cheers from there could be heard at the far end of the course.
June 13, 2020 4:27 am
(AP) – The head of the Tokyo Olympics says 80% of the facilities needed for next year’s games have “basic approval” to be used. But organizing committee president Yoshiro Mori says “there are also venues that already have reservations from other users for next year.” Organizers say that two of the largest venues needed for the Olympics have not yet been secured. They are the 5,000-apartment Athletes Village and the Tokyo Big Sight. That is the venue for the main press center. Organizers are also still unable to say what the delay caused by the coronavirus pandemic will cost and who will pay.
June 13, 2020 4:25 am
UNDATED (AP) – Major League Baseball has offered players 80% of their prorated salaries and a 72-game schedule starting July 14 in an effort to start the pandemic-delayed season. That’s according to details of the proposal obtained Friday by The Associated Press. Players would get 70% of their prorated salaries during the regular season and the rest for completion of the postseason. The players’ last offer was for an 89-game regular season at full prorated pay. MLB proposed that players be guaranteed about $1.25 billion in salaries, earn an additional $200 million if the postseason is completed plus a $50 million postseason players’ pool even if no tickets are sold. The union’s proposal would guarantee players $2.2 billion. Before the new coronavirus caused opening day to be pushed back from March 26, salaries had been set to total $4 billion. Players have insisted they receive 100% of their prorated salaries, the terms the sides agreed to in March. But MLB told the union that playing in empty ballparks without gate revenue would cause a loss of $640,000 for each additional game played and that teams can’t afford 100% prorated pay. The union has said it doubts MLB’s figures but has not received sufficient financial disclosure to make a full evaluation.
June 12, 2020 3:49 am
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) – Golf is the second major sport in the U.S., behind motor sports, to resume a schedule shut down by the COVID-19 pandemic. The start was even more quiet than usual on the PGA Tour, only the silence never left over the next 12 hours as golf was back to business at the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial. Justin Rose and Harold Varner shared the lead at 7-under 63, with Justin Thomas among those a stroke back. Tom Lehman, a 61-year-old former champion at Colonial, got in on the act with a 65. Sung Kang made a hole-in-one on the 13th hole and didn’t realize it until he was 50 yards from the green. Ryan Palmer, a Colonial member who raised money for COVID-19 relief efforts during the shutdown, was chosen to hit the first official shot on the PGA Tour in three months. Colonial came to a standstill at 8:46 a.m. when everyone on the course honored a moment of silence for the death of George Floyd and the outrage it has sparked worldwide on racial injustice.
June 10, 2020 3:44 am
UNDATED (AP) – The familiar scene of Confederate flags waved by fans at NASCAR tracks could soon be a relic of racing’s good ol’ boy roots. Bubba Wallace — the lone black driver in the sport – this week declared it is time for the stock car series with deep ties to the South to ban the flag at its properties and formally distance itself from what for millions is a unwelcome symbol of slavery and racism. The signs are everywhere that NASCAR could do so. As the nation grapples with social unrest largely tied to the death of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis, the predominantly white field of drivers united for a video promoting social change. A black NASCAR official took a knee before Sunday’s race near Atlanta in what may have been a first and the governing body vowed to do a better job of addressing racial injustice.
