September 5, 2019 2:55 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Rafael Nadal has reached his 33rd Grand Slam semifinal and prevented Diego Schwartzman from making it to his first. Nadal beat Schwartzman 6-4, 7-5, 6-2 in Arthur Ashe Stadium to move a step closer to a fourth U.S. Open championship and 19th major title in all, which would be just one short of Roger Federer’s record. Nadal will meet No. 24 Matteo Berrettini of Italy in the semifinals Friday.
September 4, 2019 3:48 am
DETROIT (AP) – Niklas Kronwall is retiring after 15 seasons with the Detroit Red Wings The hard-hitting defenseman announced his retirement in a video Tuesday on the team’s Twitter account, saying he would be taking a new role within the organization. Kronwall played 953 games in his NHL career and was part of the Detroit team that won the Stanley Cup in 2008. Kronwall had three goals and 24 assists in 79 games last season.
September 3, 2019 3:44 am
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) – The New York Jets have hired former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward as a full-time offensive assistant. Ward worked with the Jets during the summer as a coaching intern and impressed coach Adam Gase and his staff. The 43-year-old Ward is the Steelers’ career leader with 1,000 catches, 12,083 yards receiving and 85 touchdown catches.
September 2, 2019 4:08 am
UNDATED (AP) – Justin Verlander has become just the sixth pitcher in major league history to toss at least three no-hitters, and the first to do it twice as a visitor in the same ballpark. Verlander threw a season-high 120 pitches and faced just one batter over the minimum in tossing a gem in the Houston Astros’ 2-0 win at Toronto. He didn’t allow a base-runner after Cavan Biggio worked out a one-out walk in the first inning. Verlander struck out 14 and completed the fourth no-hitter in the majors this season by retiring Bo Bichette on a grounder to third baseman Abraham Toro. It was a fitting end to the game since Toro broke a scoreless tie with a two-run homer in the ninth. The gem comes eight years after Verlander no-hit the Blue Jays in Toronto and 12 years after his first no-hitter. The 36-year-old also improved to 17-5 this season and lowered his ERA to 2.56.
August 31, 2019 4:08 am
PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The NFL Preseason is in the books, and teams are set to have rosters trimmed to 53 players Saturday. All teams must have rosters submitted by 4:00 p.m. and a practice squad will be set within a day after that. The Steelers went 3-1 in preseason play, including to victories at home against the Buccaneers and Chiefs, and another on the Road against the Titans. There are a few positions to keep in mind as the team trims the roster, including how many wide receivers, linebackers and defensive backs the team decides to keep.
August 31, 2019 4:01 am
DENVER (AP) – Dario Agrazal pitched three-run ball into the sixth inning, Melkey Cabrera hit a three-run homer, and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Colorado Rockies 9-4 on Friday night. Starling Marte had three hits and tied a career-best with four runs scored. Josh Bell also had three hits and drove in a pair of runs, and Bryan Reynolds doubled twice and drove in a run for the Pirates, who guaranteed themselves at least a split of the four-game series. Trevor Story hit his first career leadoff homer, the seventh by a Rockies player this season and the first since Charlie Blackmon did it July 21 in New York against the Yankees. Ian Desmond had three hits, including a home run, as the Rockies fell to 2-10 in their last 12 games. Agrazal (4-3) allowed three runs on nine hits, settling down to keep the Rockies in check after Story’s leadoff homer. He walked none and struck out two.
August 30, 2019 3:45 am
DENVER (AP) – Kevin Newman had two homers among his four hits and drove in three runs, Jose Osuna also homered and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Colorado Rockies 11-8 on Thursday night. Newman homered to lead off the game, igniting a seven-run first that he capped with his second hit of the inning, a two-out RBI single that chased Colorado starter Chi Chi Gonzalez. It was the second career leadoff home run for Newman, who also did it June 27 at Houston. Adam Frazier added four hits, including a pair of run-scoring singles, and Colin Moran had two hits, including a two-run double in the Pirates’ big first inning. Trevor Williams (7-6) went seven innings and allowed three runs on seven hits in helping the Pirates win for the fifth time in seven games. He struck out six and walked none. The Pirates have won 12 of their last 16 games played in Colorado, dating to July 27, 2014. Gonzalez (0-6) trailed 3-0 before getting his first out and was down 7-0 when he exited in favor of Yency Almonte with two outs in the first in his shortest start of the season.
August 28, 2019 3:50 am
UNDATED (AP) – Tiger Woods says he has had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee to repair what he describes as minor cartilage damage. The surgery was not believed to be serious, and Woods says on Twitter he expects to return to practice. Woods had the surgery last week during the Tour Championship. He won the Masters in April for his 15th major but did not finish among the top 30 in the FedEx Cup who qualified for the final event at East Lake.
August 27, 2019 3:45 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Serena Williams had little trouble with Maria Sharapova as the two rivals kicked off the night session at the U.S. Open. The eighth-seeded Williams rolled to a 6-1, 6-1 rout that gives her 19 straight wins over Sharapova. Williams took control by winning the final five games of a 24-minute opening set, then the first two of the second set. Sharapova has dropped 20 of their 22 meetings and hasn’t beaten Williams since a pair of victories in 2004, including Wimbledon. Men’s top seed Novak Djokovic has breezed into the second round, but it took a while for women’s No. 2 Ash Barty to get going. Djokovic is 34-1 in his last 35 Grand Slam matches following a 6-1, 6-1, 6-4 win over Spaniard Roberto Carballes on opening day at Flushing Meadows. The 34-year-old Djokovic is seeking his fourth U.S. Open title, his 17th major championship and third Grand Slam crown this year. Barty amassed 36 unforced errors and got less than half her first serves in before walking off the court with a 1-6, 6-3-6-2 victory. The reigning French Open champ rallied after dropping the opening set in 28 minutes. Women’s third seed Karolina Pliskova also struggled in her opener, overcoming 32 unforced errors for a 7-6, 7-6 win. Roger Federer dropped his opening set against a qualifier ranked 190th before coming back to eliminate Sumit Nagal of India, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4. American Reilly Opelka pulled off an upset of men’s 11th seed Fabio Fognini, and women’s No. 14 Angelique Kerber was knocked out by Kristina Mladenovic.
August 26, 2019 3:51 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Trevor Bauer had another rocky outing for Cincinnati, allowing eight runs in three innings as the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Reds 9-8 Sunday to sweep a three-game series. Since being acquired from the Cleveland Indians prior to the July 31 trade deadline, Bauer (10-11) is 1-3 with a 7.62 ERA in five starts. Seven of the runs charged to him Sunday were earned, and he had two walks and two strikeouts. Bryan Reynolds hit a bases-loaded triple high off the right field wall to cap a three-run second inning that put the Pirates ahead for good at 5-3. The sweep was Pittsburgh’s first since taking three from San Diego on June 21-23. Eugenio Suarez’s leadoff home run in the ninth inning drew the Reds within a run, but Felipe Vazquez retired the last three hitters for his 23rd save in 25 opportunities. Pirates leadoff hitter Kevin Newman went 4 for 4, was hit by a pitch and stole two bases in helping send Cincinnati to its sixth straight road loss. Pittsburgh has won 10 consecutive games at home against the Reds, dating to last season. Dario Agrazal (3-3) allowed four runs in five innings to end his three-game losing streak. The rookie struck out five and walked two. Starling Marte’s run-scoring double with two outs in the eighth proved critical as it gave Pittsburgh a two-run lead at 9-7. Cincinnati rookie Josh VanMeter hit a two-run home run in the top of the inning that cleared the right field stands and bounced into the Allegheny River to make it a one-run game. Kyle Farmer also homered for the Reds and Jose Iglesias had three hits. The Pirates led 8-3 by the end of the third inning. Newman led off the first with a double and scored on a single by Reynolds before Josh Bell hit a sacrifice fly drew Pittsburgh 3-2. After Reynolds put the Pirates ahead an inning later, Jose Osuna hit an RBI double, and Agrazal and Newman also drove in runs in a three-run third. The Reds jumped on Agrazal for three runs in the first on consecutive RBI singles by Aristides Aquino and Iglesias and a sacrifice fly by Curt Casali. Farmer hit a solo shot in the sixth off Michael Feliz to get Cincinnati within 8-5.
