September 1, 2019 8:00 am
DENVER (AP) – One thought raced through Joe Musgrove’s mind as he watched Kevin Newman launch the first pitch of the game into the seats. “Hell yeah,” the Pittsburgh starter said. The Pirates have been having a lot of those moments against Colorado this weekend as their offense has battered Rockies pitchers for three games. Josh Bell hit his 35th homer, one of three on the night for Pittsburgh in an 11-4 rout of Colorado on Saturday night. The Pirates had 17 hits and have now recorded at least 15 in each game of the series, tying the franchise record for a three-game span set in 1936. Newman has nine of Pittsburgh’s 48 hits, including three homers, in 14 at-bats in the series, and this was his second leadoff shot. Jose Osuna also connected, and the Pirates won for the 14th time in 18 games at Coors Field. Pittsburgh will try for a four-game sweep Sunday. “It’s not like they’re taking hitting pills and show up. They’ve been working to be better,” manager Clint Hurdle said of his team. “It’s a combination of them getting pitches to hit and not missing them, and (the Rockies’) rotation is not the rotation they started the year with. They’re trying to do the best they can with what they got.” Ryan McMahon and Daniel Murphy homered for the Rockies, who have lost five in a row and 11 of 13. A loss Sunday would be the second time in a week Colorado has been swept in a four-game series. Colorado finished 9-19 in August during which the pitching staff posted a 6.36 ERA, the worst in franchise history for the month. Pitchers also tied a team record by allowing 56 home runs in August. Not even the feel-good story of Tim Melville could help the Rockies on Saturday. In his first two starts since being recalled Aug. 21, the 29-year-old journeyman was 1-0 with a 0.75 ERA. After two innings and five runs – four earned – Saturday, his ERA was 3.21. Newman connected off Melville (1-1) during a two-run first. The Pirates added three more in the second, two on a double by Bryan Reynolds. Reynolds had three hits and a front-row seat for Newman’s 426-foot blast leading off the game. “I’m on deck just starting to get loose and he hits a homer and I’m like, ‘OK, here we go,”‘ Reynolds said. “He’s been doing it all year but it’s safe to say he likes playing here. Every time he’s up there he’s getting a hit, hitting it over the fence.” McMahon hit is 19th in the second and Colorado added another in the third, but Bell and Osuna had solo homers in the fourth off Wes Parsons to make it 7-2. Bell’s 35 homers are a franchise record for a switch-hitter. Musgrove (9-12) went six innings to get his first win in six starts thanks to another big lead early. “I can’t say enough about our offense,” he said.
August 31, 2019 4:04 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Defending ACC Coastal Division champion Pittsburgh hosts Virginia in a season opener with some serious stakes. The Cavaliers are the preseason favorite to win the Coastal in 2019 thanks in large part to versatile quarterback Bryce Perkins. The Cavaliers, however, have beaten the Panthers just once since Pitt joined the ACC in 2013. Perkins says his team needs to be ready because it has a target on its back thanks to the offseason hype. Meanwhile in Central PA, led by defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos and standout linebacker Micah Parsons, the Nittany Lions are young. But they also have depth and talent unlike previous seasons under coach James Franklin. Quarterback Sean Clifford will start his first game when the No. 15 Penn State hosts Idaho on Saturday.
August 29, 2019 3:53 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Serena Williams and Roger Federer each experienced a frustrating first set before advancing to the third round of the U.S. Open. Williams made key adjustments to her serve and straightened out her other strokes before completing a 5-7, 6-3, 6-1 win against 17-year-old American Caty McNally. The eighth-seeded Williams avoided what would have been her earliest loss in 19 appearances at the U.S. Open The 121st-ranked McNally had never won a match at any major tournament until Monday. Federer fell behind for the second time in three days before rallying for a 3-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 victory over Damir Dzumhur. Federer also lost his opening set against a qualifier on Monday before advancing. Top seed Novak Djokovic battled through shoulder pain while disposing of Juan Ignacio Londero, 6-4, 7-6, 6-1. Djokovic received treatment throughout the match before joining Federer in the third round. Men’s No. 7 Kei Nishikori needed four sets to get past American Bradley Klahn. No. 12 Borna Coric pulled out with a lower back strain, giving a second-round walkover to Grigor Dimitrov. That leaves just six of the top-12 men’s seeds still alive at Flushing Meadows. Venus Williams was dispatched in the second round as fifth seed Elina Svitolina earned a 6-4, 6-4 victory. The 39-year-old Williams fought off five match points in a 22-point game to hold serve before Svitolina improved to 13-3 in Grand Slam matches this year. Women’s second seed Ash Barty and No. 3 Karolina Pliskova each cruised to a straight-sets victory to reach Round 3. American and tenth seed Madison Keys was a 6-4, 6-1 winner against Lin Zhu. Rain altered Wednesday’s schedule, forcing the postponement of all matches except those in the two main show courts with retractable roofs.
August 29, 2019 3:50 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – J.T. Realmuto had three hits, including a homer and a triple, Corey Dickerson also went deep and the Philadelphia Phillies got 17 hits in a 12-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday night. Cesar Hernandez contributed three hits and three RBIs. Rhys Hoskins doubled, tripled and drove in a run to help the Phillies stay close in the NL wild-card race. Philadelphia began play two games behind the Chicago Cubs for the second NL wild card. Every Phillies starter had at least one hit and RBI. Starling Marte homered and had three hits for Pittsburgh, and Josh Bell hit a two-run shot. Pirates rookie Bryan Reynolds, who began the day leading the NL in batting, went 0 for 3 to snap his seven-game hitting streak and drop his average to .330. Vince Velasquez (6-7) bounced back from a forgettable outing last time out, going five innings and allowing two runs on five hits with five strikeouts and no walks. Velasquez coughed up a 7-0 lead in the third inning of Philadelphia’s 19-11 loss at Miami last Friday. Phillies manager Gabe Kapler didn’t give Velasquez the opportunity to blow a lead this time, lifting the right-hander for a pinch-hitter in the fifth even though he had only thrown 75 pitches. Mitch Keller (1-3), a 23-year-old rookie making his seventh career start, pitched into the fifth for Pittsburgh and gave up eight runs on 11 hits with eight strikeouts and a walk.
August 27, 2019 3:49 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Sean Rodriguez lined a home run leading off the bottom of the 11th inning to give the Philadelphia Phillies a 6-5 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday night. Josh Bell hit a solo homer off Philadelphia closer Hector Neris to tie it at 5 in the ninth after Corey Dickerson hit a two-run shot against his former team in the eighth to give the Phillies a one-run lead.
But after stranding five runners in the ninth and 10th, the Phillies won it when Rodriguez went deep against Michael Feliz (2-4) for his fourth career walk-off homer. Rodriguez was in a 1-for-21 slump before he connected. Bryce Harper launched a solo homer to right field with two outs in the eighth in his first game back from paternity leave to cut it to 4-3. After J.T. Realmuto’s infield single, Dickerson ripped one out to right to give the Phillies a 5-4 lead. Dickerson, acquired from the Pirates before the July 31 trade deadline, has 21 RBIs in 19 games for the Phillies. Bell has been slumping and wasn’t in the starting lineup but he crushed a 432-foot homer off Neris for his 33rd this season. Neris has five blown saves in 28 chances this season. Rhys Hoskins fouled out with the bases loaded and one out in the ninth and heard a chorus of boos as he walked to the dugout. Harper struck out swinging at a 3-2 pitch to send it to extra innings. Mike Morin (1-0) tossed two scoreless innings for the win. Phillies starter Jason Vargas allowed four runs and seven hits in six-plus innings. Pirates starter Joe Musgrove gave up two runs and five hits, striking out six in six innings. Kevin Newman’s two-run single off reliever Jared Hughes in the seventh gave the Pirates a 4-2 lead. Brad Miller slammed an opposite-field, two-run shot in the fourth to give the Phillies a 2-0 lead. Miller was only 4 for 27 with two RBIs since his last homer on July 16. The Pirates cut it to 2-1 in the fifth when Adam Frazier ripped a double with two outs and Musgrove smacked an RBI single off the left field wall.
August 26, 2019 3:56 am
ATLANTA (AP) -Rory McIlroy has captured the biggest cash payout in golf history by surging past Brooks Koepka (KEHP’-kuh) in the final round of the Tour Championship at East Lake to win the FedEx Cup and its $15 million prize. One shot behind, McIlroy took the lead with a three-shot swing on No. 7 and never let Koepka or Xander Schauffele catch him. McIlroy closed with a 4-under 66, a score that would have won the Tour Championship in any scoring format. He finished four shots ahead of Schauffele. McIlroy joined Tiger Woods as the only players to win the FedEx Cup twice since it began in 2007. Meanwhile, Atlanta police say six people injured by debris from a lightning strike at the Tour Championship on Saturday have been treated and released. A powerful bolt struck a 60-foot pine near the 16th fairway about 30 minutes after the third round was suspended because of storms in the area.
August 25, 2019 7:58 am
ATLANTA (AP) – Six people were taken by ambulance from the PGA’s Tour Championship Saturday after lightning struck a pine tree just off the 16th tee at East Lake in Atlanta. The lightning struck the top and shattered bark all the way to the bottom about 30 minutes after play was suspended by the foul weather. Fans had been asked to seek shelter when the FedEx Cup finale was stopped, but Atlanta Police spokesman James H. White III said five adults and one female juvenile had sought shelter beneath the tree. He said they were taken to hospitals for further treatment, all of them alert, conscious and breathing. The weather prevented 26 of the 30 participants from finishing their rounds. Justin Thomas is the overall leader at 12 under, one shot ahead of Brooks Koepka and Rory McIlroy. All three had completed five holes before play was halted.
August 23, 2019 3:46 am
ATLANTA (AP) – Xander Schauffele has grabbed a share of the FedEx Cup lead by firing the best score ever for an opening round in the Tour Championship. Schauffele began the tournament six strokes back under the new scoring system for the FedEx Cup before firing a 6-under 64 that leaves him 10-under with three rounds remaining. He’s now tied with No. 1 seed Justin Thomas and Brooks Koepka . Koepka birdied three of his last four holes for a 67. Thomas carded a double-bogey and missed a pair of 3-foot putts for a 70 after entering the tournament with a two-shot advantage. The score to par is all that matters in deciding who wins the FedEx Cup and the $15 million prize.
August 23, 2019 3:43 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Max Scherzer pitched four innings in his return from the injured list, giving up one run as the Washington Nationals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-1 on Thursday night. Scherzer allowed four hits, struck out three and walked one. The three-time Cy Young Award winner was put on the IL on July 26 with a strain in his upper back – a day earlier, he made his first start since being on the injured list with a back issue. The Nationals hadn’t set a pitch count for Scherzer in this game, but said they would closely monitor him. He threw 71 pitches, 48 for strikes. Anthony Rendon and Howie Kendrick homered for Washington, which leads the NL wild-card race and won for the ninth time in 11 games. The Pirates fell to 8-30 since the All-Star break. Steven Brault (3-3) allowed two runs in six innings. Scherzer is 7-0 in his past 11 starts. Hunter Strickland (2-1) allowed one hit in two innings for the win. Scherzer struggled in the third, using 25 pitches and allowing Adam Frazier’s seventh home run of the season on a fastball with one out. He stranded runners on first and second by striking out Colin Moran. Kendrick singled, doubled and hit his 14th homer, a two-run drive in the eighth that made it 4-1. Rendon hit his 28th home run in the ninth.
August 23, 2019 3:39 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – The Pittsburgh Steelers are turning to Ray Sherman to serve as the club’s interim wide receivers coach following the death of Darryl Drake. This is Sherman’s second stint with the Steelers. He served as the team’s offensive coordinator in 1998 under former head coach Bill Cowher. The 67-year-old Sherman has made 10 coaching stops in the NFL during his lengthy career, last serving as wide receivers coach for the St. Louis Rams from 2012-15.
