October 1, 2019 3:46 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Mason Rudolph was outstanding in helping the Pittsburgh Steelers get their first win of the season. Rudolph was 24 of 28 for 229 yards and two touchdowns as the Steelers whipped the Cincinnati Bengals, 27-3. Most of his passes were quick hitters that allowed Pittsburgh to control the clock and continue long drives. The Bengals led 3-0 until Rudolph connected with James Conner on a delayed screen for a 21-yard touchdown in the second quarter. Pittsburgh broke the game open with Rudolph’s 43-yard heave to rookie Diontae Johnson midway through the third. Jaylen Samuels added new wrinkles to Pittsburgh’s offense, running for 26 yards and a touchdown and grabbing eight passes for 57 yards. Samuels also was credited with three completions on “pop” passes to teammates in motion that traveled all of three feet. The Steelers sacked Andy Dalton eight times, picked him off once and forced a second-quarter fumble of the Cincinnati quarterback. Dalton was 21 of 37 for just 171 yards. The Steelers avoided their first 0-4 start in 51 years and beat the Bengals for the ninth straight time. Cincinnati is 0-4 under new coach Zac Taylor.
September 30, 2019 3:54 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Aristides Aquino hit his 19th home run, Tyler Mahle pitched five shutout innings to pick up his first win since May and the Cincinnati Reds beat the Pirates 3-1 Sunday shortly after Pittsburgh fired manager Clint Hurdle. Brian O’Grady connected for his second home run and Alex Blandino added a solo shot as Cincinnati finished 75-87 under first-year manager David Bell, an eight-win improvement over 2018 and the club’s best record since it posted a 76-86 mark in 2014. Eugenio Suarez went 0 for 4 to finish with 49 home runs. Mahle (3-12) struck out five and allowed three hits to win for the first time in 13 starts. Michael Lorenzen worked the ninth for his seventh save. Jose Osuna delivered an RBI single for Pittsburgh. Trevor Williams (7-9) gave up two runs and five hits in seven innings. Tom Prince managed the Pirates, who parted ways with Hurdle after nine seasons shortly before the game’s first pitch. Aquino connected in the second. He entered the day tied for ninth among major league rookies in home runs even though he didn’t debut until Aug. 1. The Pirates finished 69-93, a 13-game drop from 2018 and the franchise’s worst mark since losing a major-league worst 105 games in 2010, the year before Hurdle’s arrival.
September 29, 2019 7:12 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pirates broadcaster Steve Blass was honored in a pregame ceremony as he gets set to end his run of 34 years in the booth Sunday. Blass has spent a total of 60 years in the organization since being signed as an amateur free agent in 1960 from Falls Village, Connecticut. He pitched 10 seasons for the Pirates from 1964-74 and threw a complete game in Game 7 of the 1971 World Series to beat the Orioles. The Pirates announced that Blass will be part of the inaugural class next year when they establish a team Hall of Fame.
September 28, 2019 3:54 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Kevin Newman hit a two-run homer with two out in the ninth inning to give the Pittsburgh Pirates a 6-5 victory over the Cincinnati Reds. Jake Elmore set up Newman’s game-ending swing with a leadoff single against Raisel Iglesias. After Erik Gonzalez and Melky Cabrera grounded out, Newman hit a drive into the bleachers in left for his first career multihomer game.
September 27, 2019 3:51 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Joe Musgrove pitched three-hit ball through six innings as the Pittsburgh Pirates beat Chicago 9-5 on Thursday night and extended the Cubs’ losing streak to nine games. In his last start of the season, Musgrove (11-12) was charged with three runs, two earned, while striking eight and walking two as the Pirates recorded a three-game sweep. Musgrove won his final three outings. The Cubs are in the midst of their longest losing streak since dropping 12 straight in 2012. Chicago will miss the postseason for the first time since 2014 after being eliminated from the NL wild-card race Wednesday night. Chicago, however, can still play a role in the outcome of the NL Central standings. The Cubs close out the season with a three-game series at division-leading St. Louis starting Friday night. The Cardinals hold a one-game lead over Milwaukee. Melky Cabrera, Jose Osuna and Pablo Reyes each had three hits for the Pirates, who finished with 15 hits. Reyes also doubled and tripled. Jose Quintana (13-9) was tagged for seven runs, five earned, on 12 hits in his last start of the year. The left-hander won his other four starts against Pittsburgh this season and ended the year allowing 23 runs in 13 1/3 innings in his last four outings. The Pirates built a 7-0 lead against Quintana. Reyes hit a two-run triple in the first inning, Osuna and Jacob Stallings had run-scoring hits in a three-run third and Jake Elmore’s RBI single capped a two-run seventh. Two of the seven runs scored on errors. Musgrove gave up all three of his runs in the sixth when Ian Happ hit a two-run double and scored on Victor Cartini’s single as the Cubs closed within 7-3. The Pirates answered with two runs in the bottom of the inning when Adam Frazier hit an RBI single and was driven in by Cabrera, who doubled.
September 26, 2019 3:44 am
LEXINGTON, Okla. (AP) – A middle school football player in Oklahoma has died after competing in a game near Oklahoma City. Lexington High School football coach Dale Berglan told The Oklahoman that Riley Boatwright died Tuesday after playing a game in Stratford, Oklahoma. A cause of death is not known. Boatwright’s death is the second this month of a scholastic football player in Oklahoma.
September 25, 2019 3:47 am
UNDATED (AP) – The St. Louis Blues have bolstered their blueline by getting All-Star Justin Faulk from the Carolina Hurricanes for fellow defenseman Joel Edmundson and a prospect. The defending Stanley Cup champs immediately signed Faulk to a seven-year, $45.5 million extension that begins next year. The 27-year-old Faulk set team records for defensemen with 85 goals and 258 points during his eight seasons with the Hurricanes, who selected him in the first round of the 2010 NHL draft.
September 24, 2019 3:41 am
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) – The Tampa Bay Lightning have signed restricted free agent forward Brayden Point to a $20.25 million, three-year contract. Point will count $6.75 million against the salary cap through the 2022-23 season. Point’s contract ends a long stalemate with the Lightning that caused the budding 23-year-old star to miss most of training camp. Point put up 92 points last season as the Lightning won the Presidents’ Trophy only to be swept in the first round of the playoffs.
September 23, 2019 4:02 am
UNDATED (AP) – Antonio Brown says he is finished with the NFL. Brown said in a Twitter rant Sunday morning that he “Will not be playing in the NFL anymore.” He went on to take shots at other people in football who have been accused of sexual misconduct, including Patriots owner Robert Kraft and longtime Steelers teammate Ben Roethlisberger. Brown was released by the Patriots on Friday, two days before their game with the Jets and 11 days after signing with the team. The four-time Pro Bowl receiver was cut by the Raiders two weeks ago, five months after he was acquired from the Steelers for draft picks and signed to a $50 million contract.
September 22, 2019 7:04 am
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) – Kendall Austin threw 202 yards, Martell Pettaway ran for a pair of scores, and West Virginia held on for a 29-24 victory over Kansas to open Big 12 play Saturday. Kennedy McCoy added 73 yards rushing and a touchdown, and Evan Staley bounced back from an early miss to hit three field goals, as the Mountaineers (3-1) improved to 8-1 against the Jayhawks. The Mountaineers held Kansas (2-2) to 377 yards total offense, one week after new coach Les Miles’ bunch had 567 yards and five TDs in a rare road rout of Boston College. And much of the yardage Saturday came as the Jayhawks drove frantically for a touchdown with 2:10 left in the game.
