August 5, 2019 3:57 am
GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) – J.T. Poston has won the Wyndham Championship for his first PGA Tour title, shooting an 8-under 62 for a one-stroke victory over Webb Simpson. Poston tied Henrik Stenson’s 2-year-old tournament record at 22-under 258. He became the first player since Lee Trevino in 1974 to win a 72-hole stroke-play event on tour without any bogeys or worse. The native North Carolinian began his round three strokes back and eventually took the lead for good with a birdie on the par-5 15th hole.
August 5, 2019 3:54 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Mets star Robinson Cano appears headed back to the injured list after straining his left hamstring, an injury that overshadowed Noah Syndergaard’s sparkling outing in a 13-2 rout of the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday that pulled New York within one game of .500 for the first time since mid-June. Cano lined a hit to right in the fourth inning, his third hit of the game and ninth hit in his last 15 at-bats. He pulled up after rounding first and grabbed at the back of his leg. Melky Cabrera threw to shortstop Kevin Newman, who tagged out Cano. Cano limped as he returned to the dugout. In his first season with the Mets after being acquired from Seattle, the 36-year-old Cano was limited to one game between May 22 and June 16 because of a strained left quadriceps. He is hitting .252 with 10 homers and 32 RBIs. New York, which won for the ninth time in 10 games, began the day four games back for the second NL wild card. The Mets had not been within one game of .500 since they were 33-34 before play on June 13. Pittsburgh, wearing the gold and black throwback uniforms of the Pirates 1979 World Series champions, lost its seventh straight series and is 4-18 since the All-Star break. The Pirates are last in the NL Central at 48-63. J.D. Davis hit a 449-foot home run into the fourth floor of the left-field rotunda, on a first-inning changeup from Joe Musgrove (8-10). Syndergaard (8-5) allowed three hits, singled twice and pitched shutout ball into the seventh. After allowing Bryan Reynolds to single with one out in the first, Syndergaard didn’t give up another hit until Jose Osuna doubled with one out in the seventh. Colin Moran hit an RBI single later in the inning. Syndergaard had multiple hits in a game for the first time since Sept. 27, 2016, against Miami and scored after each of his two singles. Michael Conforto homered on Musgrove’s third pitch, his 22nd home run this season, and Davis’ two-run homer put the Mets ahead 3-0. Jeff McNeil also homered for the Mets, who led 6-0 by the third, 8-0 by the fourth and 11-0 by the sixth and 13-0 by the seventh. Musgrove gave up eight runs and 10 hits in 3 1/3 innings, raising his ERA to 4.69. Jose Osuna homered in the ninth off Jeurys Familia.
August 4, 2019 7:57 am
CANTON (AP) — Ty Law has become the first Pro Football Hall of Famer from New England’s standout defense that won three Super Bowls in the early 2000s. Law, one of the most versatile and physical cornerbacks the NFL has seen, was inducted Saturday night. “Hopefully, that’ll open up the door, finally letting one of us in, and hopefully that opens up the flood gates for a lot of other deserving guys to one day be Hall of Famers, as well,” Law said. Law, whose uncle is Hall of Fame running back Tony Dorsett, was selected for five Pro Bowl teams and was a two-time All-Pro. He finished with 53 career interceptions, twice leading the NFL in that category, had more than 800 tackles, 169 passes defensed, five sacks, and scored seven times. He was a first-round pick by New England out of Michigan in 1995 and played 15 seasons in the NFL, 10 with the Patriots. He also had two one-year stints with the New York Jets and with Kansas City, and one with Denver. Perhaps Law’s most noteworthy game came in the 2002 Super Bowl, when his hard-hitting style upset Rams receivers and threw off the “Greatest Show on Turf. That was emblematic of his attacking style – and soon after led to rules changes limiting how physical defenders could be against receivers. Law was presented by his friend, Byron Washington, and paid hefty tribute to his hometown of Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, which also produced Hall of Famer Mike Ditka. “We are a community built on love, strength, struggle, and that Quiptown pride,” he said. “We did it, Aliquippa. We are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.” Law joins fellow corner Champ Bailey, Pat Bowlen, Gil Brandt, Tony Gonzalez, Ed Reed, Kevin Mawae and Johnny Robinson in the Class of 2019.
August 3, 2019 1:34 pm
GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) – Byeong Hun An is the leader through two rounds of the Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, North Carolina, one shot ahead of Brice Garnett.
An followed Thursday’s 62 with a 5-under 65 for a 13-under total. Webb Simpson and first-round co-leader Sungiae Im are among six players just two shots off the lead.
August 2, 2019 3:47 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Recently retired forward Matt Cullen is sticking with the Pittsburgh Penguins. The team announced Cullen is joining the club’s hockey operations department in a player development role. General manager Jim Rutherford called Cullen a “valuable asset” who will put his 21 years of NHL experience to use while working closely with Rutherford and head coach Mike Sullivan.
July 31, 2019 3:44 am
CINCINNATI (AP) – The Pirates have suspended bullpen coach Euclides Rojas for two games because of what it termed a contract violation, Pittsburgh’s second suspension this month involving the bullpen. Rojas began serving the penalty Tuesday against the Cincinnati Reds. The club had no further comment. Reliever Keone Kela also served a two-game suspension in July for an unspecified violation of his contract. Yahoo Sports reported that Kela was suspended due to an altercation with a team employee.
July 30, 2019 3:53 am
CINCINNATI (AP) – Jordan Lyles is heading back to the Milwaukee Brewers, who are desperate for starting pitching as they try to repeat as NL Central champions. The Brewers acquired the veteran right-handed pitcher from the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday in exchange for pitching prospect Cody Ponce.
July 29, 2019 3:52 am
NEW YORK (AP) – All-Star pitcher Marcus Stroman was acquired by the Mets from the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday for a pair of top prospects, a trade that makes it likely New York will deal one of its current starters by Wednesday’s deadline. A 28-year-old right-hander who made his first All-Star team this season, Stroman is 6-11 in 21 starts despite a 2.96 ERA that is fifth-best in the American League. He is not eligible for free agency until after the 2020 season. Toronto received 24-year-old left-hander Anthony Kay and 18-year-old righty Simeon Woods Richardson. As part of the deal, New York gets $1.5 million from the Blue Jays to offset much of the $2,506,452 remaining on Stroman’s $7.4 million salary this year. The 5-foot-7 Stroman is 47-45 with a 3.76 ERA in six big league seasons. He grew up on Long Island near Mets starter Steven Matz, about 50 miles from Citi Field.
July 28, 2019 9:31 am
Coming off a fast first half mile, Brian Scears took Southwind Ozzi to the front down the back stretch and ran away from the field to win the 53rd Delvin Miller Adios Pace for the Orchids Saturday at The Meadows. Southwind Ozzi crossed the finish line in 1:48.0, just one-fifth of a second off the Meadows track record set in the 2012 Adios, and the fastest mile pace of the season at the local track. Prince of Tides, with Dave Palone in the sulky, set the early pace, covering the first quarter in 25.3 seconds, hitting the halfway point at 53.3. That’s when Scears had seen enough and moved to the front for good. For Scears, it’s his third Adios Pace victory (2001, 2010), this time by seven lengths on Prince of Tides. Stag Party was third, Captain Victorious fourth. Southwind Ozzi, Prince of Tides and Captain Victorious won elimination heats a week ago at The Meadows.
July 27, 2019 9:10 am
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) – Matthew Fitzpatrick shot a 6-under 64 in the FedEx St. Jude Invitational to take a two-stroke lead at the midway mark of the World Golf Championships event.
The 24-year-old Englishman birdied the first four holes and finished with seven birdies and a bogey. He took the lead with his fifth birdie and added two more on the back nine to finish at 9-under 131 at TPC Southwind. Billy Horschel, Patrick Cantlay, Cameron Smith and first-round leader Jon Rahm were tied for second. Horschel shot a 66.
