July 3, 2019 3:47 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Adam Frazier is enjoying his return to the leadoff spot for the Pittsburgh Pirates. The second baseman hit a three-run home run off Chicago’s Mike Montgomery after a long rain delay to lead the Pirates to a 5-1 victory over the Cubs on Tuesday night. One game after tying a major league record by clubbing four doubles, Frazier finished 4 for 4 and scored three runs as the Pirates won for the ninth time in 13 games. Frazier hit those four doubles on Monday while filling in at the leadoff spot while rookie Kevin Newman got the day off. Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle kept Frazier in the top spot even with Newman back in the lineup, and Frazier responded by continuing to torch the listless Cubs. Frazier led off the bottom of the first with a single off Kyle Hendricks (7-6), doubled off Hendricks again in the third, then took Montgomery into the seats above the Clemente Wall in right field shortly after a two-hour, five-minute rain delay to give Pittsburgh a five-run lead it never came close to squandering. The Cubs managed just six hits against starter Joe Musgrove and five relievers and didn’t get a runner past first base until a two-out double by Addison Russell in the eighth. Willson Contreras hit an RBI double in the ninth against Pittsburgh closer Felipe Vazquez to avoid the shutout. Clay Holmes (1-0) worked two scoreless innings to pick up the win. When Frazier ripped a single leading off the seventh, it gave him a hit in seven straight at-bats, becoming the first Pirate to reach that milestone since Freddy Sanchez did it on May 25-26, 2009. Frazier is 9 for 10 through the first two games of a crucial homestand for Pittsburgh, which is trying to stay in the NL Central race despite a series of injuries to the pitching staff. Starling Marte had two hits for the Pirates and Josh Bell picked up his major-league leading 78th RBI on a sacrifice fly as Pittsburgh backed up an 18-run outburst against Chicago to pull within two games of .500 (41-43) for the first time since June 2. Hendricks, making his first start since going on the injured list on June 15 with right shoulder inflammation, ran into early trouble. Frazier laced the third pitch he saw from Hendricks into center field. Marte followed two batters later with a single of his own and Bell’s drive to right field easily scored Frazier to put the Pirates up. Pittsburgh pushed the lead to 2-0 in the third when Frazier led off with a double and scored when Marte doubled to right. Hendricks gave up two runs in three innings with a walk and four strikeouts for Chicago, which has dropped three straight and four of five.
July 2, 2019 3:51 am
UNDATED (AP) – The Golden State Warriors have reason to smile again after losing All-Star forward Kevin Durant to a free-agent contract with the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday. All-Star guard Klay Thompson has announced on Instagram that he is staying in the Bay Area. He is expected to sign a five-year max contract for $190 million when the NBA free agent moratorium period ends, remaining with Golden State just as he had hoped all along. Thompson had been scheduled for surgery this past week for a torn ACL in his left knee after he was injured during a Game 6 loss to the Toronto Raptors in the NBA Finals.
July 2, 2019 3:49 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Josh Bell certainly looks ready for the Home Run Derby. Pittsburgh’s All-Star first baseman hit three home runs to boost his season total to 25, leading the Pirates to an 18-5 rout over the Chicago Cubs on Monday night. Bell, who will be part of the eight-man derby field in Cleveland next week, hit a three-run shot off rookie Adbert Alzolay (1-1) in the first, a two-run drive off Alzolay in the second and finished off a four-hit, seven-RBI night by taking new Chicago closer Craig Kimbrel deep in the eighth as Pittsburgh began a pivotal seven-game homestand by pounding out a season-high 23 hits. Adam Frazier finished 5 for 6 and tied a major league record with four doubles. Colin Moran had a career-high five hits for the Pirates. Jung Ho Kang hit his seventh home run of the season off Chicago infielder Daniel Descalso, who made a cameo on the mound in the seventh with the game well out of hand. Jose Osuna hit a solo home run off Kimbrel, who came on to get some work after making his debut with the Cubs last week. Bell became the 20th Pirates player to hit three home runs in a game and the first left-handed batter to do it since Hall of Famer Willie Stargell in 1971. Frazier’s four doubles matched a mark shared by many players – Matt Carpenter of St. Louis was the last to do it on Aug. 26, 2018.
July 2, 2019 3:47 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford began his team’s longer-than-expected offseason by talking about the need for a culture change. Two months later, the process is finally underway. The Penguins opened free agency by signing versatile forward Brandon Tanev to a six-year deal worth $3.5 million annually. The 27-year-old Tanev spent the first four seasons of his career with Winnipeg, earning a reputation as a quality penalty killer and a hard-working two-way player.
July 1, 2019 4:23 pm
WIMBLEDON, England (AP) – In a match up of youth vs. experience, the youngest woman in the draw beat the oldest at Wimbledon. Fifteen-year-old Coco Gauff beat five-time champion Venus Williams 6-4, 6-4 in a first-round meeting between two players with a 24-year age gap on Court 1. The 39-year-old Williams had won four of her seven Grand Slam titles before Gauff was even born in 2004. The 313th-ranked Gauff is the youngest player to enter the main draw at Wimbledon since Laura Robson in 2009, having come through qualifying last week. Gauff, playing in her first Grand Slam match, converted her fourth match point when Williams sent a forehand into the net, then broke into sobs before shaking hands with her opponent.
July 1, 2019 8:20 am
WIMBLEDON, England (AP) – Play has started on Day 1 at Wimbledon in cool, dry conditions. Among the players in early action on the outside courts are 2018 runner-up Kevin Anderson and three-time major champion Stan Wawrinka. The high temperature is expected to be about 21 degrees C (70 degrees F) with only occasional clouds. Matches on Centre Court and No. 1 Court are scheduled to begin later.
July 1, 2019 8:18 am
UNDATED (AP) – Kevin Durant is on the move, Khris Middleton is staying put and Damian Lillard is going nowhere after the NBA free agent frenzy began on Sunday. Durant says on Instagram that he has worked out a max deal of four years and about $164 million with the Nets. The All-Star forward could have gotten five years and $221 million from the Warriors if he stayed with them. Middleton plans to agree to a five-year deal worth nearly $179 million to remain with the Bucks. Bucks general manager Jon Horst confirmed an agreement has been reached with Middleton. A person with knowledge of the negotiations says Lillard and the Trail Blazers have agreed on a four-year Supermax extension that will be worth nearly $200 million. The Blazers will pay Lillard $29.8 million next season and $31.6 million in 2020-21, according to the source. No deals can be signed until July 6 because of the league’s annual moratorium.
June 30, 2019 11:13 pm
DETROIT (AP) – Nate Lashley shot a bogey-free 9-under 63 on Saturday to open a six-stroke lead in the Rocket Mortgage Classic at 23-under 193. The 36-year-old Lashley slipped into the field at Detroit Golf Club as an alternate and the 353rd-ranked player has put himself in position to win for the first time on the PGA Tour. He tied for eighth in February in the Puerto Rico Open – played opposite the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship – for his only top-10 finish on the tour. Lashley, the first- and second-round leader, started Saturday with a one-shot lead and pulled away with the low round of the day. J.T. Poston (66) was second. Cameron Tringale (65) was another stroke back.
June 27, 2019 1:41 pm
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) – Florida Panthers goaltender Roberto Luongo has decided to retire after 19 seasons.
The 40-year-old Luongo made the announcement Wednesday on his Twitter account. His 489 career victories are third in NHL history behind only Martin Brodeur and Patrick Roy, and Brodeur is the only goalie to have appeared in more games or made more saves than Luongo.
June 24, 2019 11:01 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Kevin Newman walked with the bases loaded in the 11th inning to cap a four-run rally as the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the San Diego Padres 11-10 on Sunday. The Pirates rallied from three-run deficits in the ninth and 11th innings to earn the series weep and improve their winning streak to five. Jacob Stallings hit a pitch-hit, two-run single to tie the game at 10. The Pirates then loaded the bases before Newman’s sharp eye ended the four-plus hour affair. Francisco Liriano (2-1) earned the win, while Matt Wisler, who entered the game with one out in the 11th, took the loss. After San Diego led 7-4 following an eighth-inning two-run single from Manny Machado, closer Kirby Yates – who was previously 26 for 26 in save situations – allowed three runs on three hits and a walk. With runners on second and third, Newman started the comeback with an RBI single off Yates that scored Diaz. Bryan Reynolds drove in Adam Frazier, and Melky Cabrera scored Newman on a dribbling ground-out to the pitcher two batters later to force the extras. Pirates starter Steven Brault lasted five innings, giving up three runs (three earned) and six hits. Joey Lucchesi gave up four runs (four earned) and six hits on 86 pitches (56 strikes) over five innings.
