September 2, 2019 4:03 am
DENVER (AP) – Steven Brault came into the dugout after his first big league home run ready to celebrate with his teammates. Instead, they greeted him in jest with silence. It was only fitting after he quieted the Colorado Rockies’ bats for most of the afternoon. Brault hit a towering shot into the second deck and pitched effectively into the seventh inning to lead the Pittsburgh Pirates over the Rockies 6-2 on Sunday for a four-game sweep. Adam Frazier homered on the first pitch of the game, the second straight day the Pirates did that. Kevin Newman connected against Tim Melville on Saturday night, and Newman also led off Thursday’s game with a home run. It was the third time in major league history a team hit three leadoff homers in a four-game series. Pittsburgh had 63 hits and 37 runs at Coors Field over the weekend. Brault, who pitched three years at Regis University in Denver, socked a 441-foot solo homer that made it 3-1 in the seventh. He rounded the bases trying unsuccessfully to suppress a smile and was met with indifference when he got to the dugout. “That’s the longest silent treatment I’ve ever seen and everybody got mad at Trevor (Williams) for breaking it so early,” Brault said. “It’s cool to get the silent treatment, that’s a cool feeling.” Brault (4-3) allowed only one hit until Nolan Arenado lined a two-out fastball into the seats in left field in the sixth for his 35th home run. Brault left in the seventh when the Rockies got a run on two hits and an error, but Richard Rodriguez got out of the jam by fanning Trevor Story. Brault allowed just one earned run and four hits in 6 1/3 innings. Josh Bell and Colin Moran each hit an RBI single for the Pirates. Bryan Reynolds had three hits. Pittsburgh could have scored more runs but Colorado cut down three baserunners in the first six innings. Reynolds was thrown out at home trying to score from first base on a double in the third, Starling Marte was picked off in the fifth when he broke for second too early, and Erik Gonzalez was thrown out trying to stretch a single in the sixth. That helped limit the damage for Jeff Hoffman (1-5), who was recalled from the minors before game. Hoffman lasted just two innings in his previous start for the Rockies but held Pittsburgh to two runs and nine hits over five innings Sunday. It wasn’t enough to prevent last-place Colorado from losing its sixth in a row.
September 1, 2019 8:03 am
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) – Sean Clifford completed 14 of 23 passes for 280 yards and two touchdowns to lead No. 15 Penn State over Idaho 79-7. Making his first career start, Clifford chipped in 57 rushing yards on seven carries and hooked up with receiver KJ Hamler for scoring strikes of 36 and 21 yards. The Nittany Lions overcame early sloppiness before coasting the rest of the way to their biggest point total since an 81-0 win against Cincinnati in 1991.
August 31, 2019 4:00 am
Washington County has, quite possibly, the top three teams in Class 2A. Wash High topped Charleroi, 42-14, the Little Prexies scoring the last 36 points of the game. Burgettstown handled Seton-La Salle 35-8 with the Blue Devils putting of the last 28 points against the Rebels. McGuffey went toe-to-toe with perennial power Clairton, beating the Bears, 42-27, after a 14-14 tie.
In other action, Mt. Lebanon topped Canon-McMillan, giving Bob Palko his first win as head coach of the Blue Devils. Peters Township beat Upper St. Clair for the first time. Greensburg Salem downed Trinity in overtime. Thomas Jefferson rolled Ringgold and Aliquippa pounded Waynesburg. Carmichaels edged Beth-Center while Fort Cherry dropped to 0-2 with a loss at Carlynton. West Greene ran past Bentworth. California won easily at Monessen while Chartiers-Houston opened the home schedule with a shutout against Jeff-Morgan. Avella won a non-conference home game against Bishop Canevin and Mapletown lost at Trinity Christian, WV.
August 30, 2019 3:51 am
UNDATED (AP) – Clemson is looking like the same dominant team that captured last year’s national championship. Travis Etienne ran for a career-high 205 yards and three touchdowns, including one from 90 yards out as the Tigers opened their season with a 52-14 pounding of Georgia Tech. His 90-yard score tied for the longest rushing TD in Tigers history. Etienne added scoring runs of 14 yards and 48 yards as Clemson opened a 35-0 lead. Trevor Lawrence was picked off twice after throwing just four interceptions last year. He finished 13 of 23 for 168 yards, including a 62-yard scoring strike to Tee Higgins. In other college football action:
– Kellen Mond threw three touchdown passes and ran for another score in just more than three quarters as No. 12 Texas A&M hammered Texas State, 41-7. Mond threw for 194 yards and accounted for three touchdowns in the first two quarters as the Aggies raced to a 28-0 halftime lead.
– Zack Moss ran for 181 yards and a touchdown and No. 14 Utah scored three more TDs off three BYU turnovers and beat the Cougars 30-12 on Thursday night in the opener for both teams. The Utes (1-0) earned their ninth straight victory in the 100th game in the Holy War rivalry. Moss propelled the offense after halftime by gashing the Cougars for a series of big runs. He averaged 6.2 yards on 29 carries.
August 30, 2019 3:48 am
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) – Mason Rudolph and Kyle Allen turned in solid efforts and appeared to solidify their No. 2 quarterback roles for their respective teams in the Carolina Panthers’ 25-19 preseason win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday night. Pittsburgh’s Rudolph continued to outperform Josh Dobbs, completing 7 of 11 passes for 125 yards, including a 31-yard touchdown pass to Johnny Holton. The second-year quarterback from Oklahoma State led three drives resulting in a touchdown, field goal and a missed field goal to give the Steelers a 16-10 halftime lead.
Dobbs started, but both of his possessions came up empty and he finished 3 of 5 for 21 yards for the Steelers (3-1). Allen has been Cam Newton’s presumed backup in Carolina, starting three of four preseason games, and there was no reason to believe anything has changed in Ron Rivera’s mind. Allen led one drive, completing 4 of 6 passes for 41 yards while showing good pocket presence and the ability to escape pressure by slipping out of the backfield for a 13-yard run and a first down. The drive ended in a missed field goal. Rookie Will Grier played the remainder of the first half for Carolina (2-2) and had mixed results. The third-round pick from West Virginia completed 11 of 18 passes for 189 yards, including a 34-yard touchdown to Aldrick Robinson. However, he also was the victim of a strip-sack by linebacker Jayrone Elliott, who returned the fumble 88 yards for a 7-0 lead. Grier continued to struggle with his decision making, tossing an interception along the right sideline, although there appeared to be some confusion over the route with intended receiver Jaydon Mickens. It was Grier’s third pick of the preseason. Taylor Heinicke, last year’s No. 2 quarterback, has been fourth on the depth chart throughout the preseason. He completed 7 of 10 passes for 89 yards and two touchdowns, and a 2-point conversion pass to lead Carolina’s second-half comeback.
August 29, 2019 3:54 am
UNDATED (AP) – Goalie Goalie Cam Ward has signed a one-day contract with the Carolina Hurricanes so he can retire as a member of the team he helped lead to a Stanley Cup. General manager Don Waddell called Ward “a cornerstone for this organization for more than a decade.” The 35-year-old Ward won the Conn Smythe Trophy as MVP of the 2006 playoffs and holds numerous club records for goalies, including 318 victories, 668 regular-season games played, a .557 winning percentage and 27 shutouts.
August 28, 2019 3:49 am
NEW YORK (AP) – There were moments on Tuesday when Naomi Osaka looked nothing like a No. 1 seed or a defending U.S. Open women’s singles champion. She fell behind 3-0 and wasted a match point in the second set while displaying questionable body language. But Osaka eventually found her rhythm and completed a 6-4, 6-7, 6-2 victory over Anna Blinkova despite finishing with 50 unforced errors, more than double Blinkova’s total of 22 in the opening-round match. American Sloane Stephens is out of the U.S. Open in the first round, just two years after winning the title. The No. 11 seed was stunned, 6-3, 6-4 by the 127th-ranked Anna Kalinskaya. Coco Gauff has won her U.S. Open debut with a comeback effort against Anastasia Potopova. The 15-year-old Gauff lost the first set and was down a break before posting a 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 victory. Gauff got a wild-card entry from the U.S. Tennis Association after making a surprising run to the fourth round at Wimbledon last month, her first Grand Slam event. Gauff and Osaka are joined in the second round by fourth seed Simona Halep, who also needed three sets before posting a 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 victory over American Nicole Gibbs. Halep had dropped her previous U.S. Open matches, falling to Maria Sharapova and Kaia Kanepi. Sixth seed Petra Kvitova and No. 7 Kiki Bertens dropped just six games apiece in breezing into the second round. Men’s second seed Rafael Nadal remains unbeaten in opening-round matches at Flushing Meadows following a 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 win against Australian John Millman. Nadal had little trouble against the player who knocked out Roger Federer in the fourth round last year. There were a trio of top-10 upsets on the men’s side as fourth seed Dominic Thiem (teem) was dispatched by Thomas Fabbiano in four sets. Eighth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas was beaten in five sets by Andrey Rublev and No. 10 Roberto Bautista-Agut dropped a five-setter to Mikhail Kukushkin.
August 25, 2019 7:56 am
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – Andrew Luck watched one last game from the sideline Saturday. Then he said goodbye to the NFL. The Indianapolis Colts quarterback heard boos as he walked away from the field, then walked to the podium and made the surprise decision official. The oft-injured star is retiring at age 29. “I am going to retire,” he said. “This is not an easy decision. It’s the hardest decision of my life. But it is the right decision for me.” Luck said the repeated injuries, the lingering pain and continual rehab took away his love for the game. Word first leaked about Luck’s plans during the fourth quarter of Saturday’s 27-17 loss to the Chicago Bears when ESPN’s Adam Schefter first reported Luck felt mentally worn down and had met with team owner Jim Irsay to inform him of his decision. Luck has most recently struggled to recover from a lower left leg injury. Luck’s former coach Chuck Pagano made his first return to Lucas Oil Stadium since he was fired as the Colts’ head coach following the 2017 season. Luck did not play that season because he was recovering from surgery on his throwing shoulder. He returned last season and led the Colts back to the playoffs for the first time in four years, winning the league’s Comeback Player of the Year award. But in March, he suffered a strained left calf, was held out of all of the team’s offseason workouts and returned on a limited basis for three practices at training camp in July. Lingering pain forced him back to the sideline and the Colts later determined that he had an injury near the back of his left ankle. Coach Frank Reich had said he hoped to have an answer about Luck’s availability for the Sept. 8 season opener after the third preseason game. This might not have been the one he wanted – and certainly didn’t expect. Jacoby Brissett now inherits the starting job.
August 24, 2019 4:12 am
ATLANTA (AP) – Brooks Koepka owns a one-shot lead over Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy through two rounds of the Tour Championship. Koepka two-putted for birdie on the final hole for a 3-under 67. He reached 13 under in the new format where the score to par is what decides who wins the $15 million FedEx Cup bonus. McIlroy moved up the leaderboard by closing with consecutive birdies for a 67. Thomas didn’t make a birdie on the back nine and shot 68. Xander Schauffele made eagle on the 18th and was two shots behind.
August 22, 2019 3:46 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Patrick Corbin pitched eight scoreless innings to remain unbeaten in more than two months, and Asdrubal Cabrera’s three-run home run capped a six-run third as the Washington Nationals rolled to an 11-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday night. Corbin (10-5) struck out four and walked two while throwing 93 pitches to help the Nationals maintain their lead atop the National League wild-card standings. Signed to a six-year, $140-million contract in free agency in December, Corbin has not lost since June 11. The left-hander is 5-0 with a 2.12 ERA in 12 starts since then. Joe Musgrove (8-12) gave up six runs and seven hits in five innings as Pittsburgh lost for the 29th time in 37 games since the All-Star break. Adam Eaton opened the scoring in the third with an RBI double and Anthony Rendon followed with a two-run single, giving him 100 RBIs. Following a walk to Juan Soto, Cabrera hit a drive to straightaway center field to make it 6-0. It was Cabrera’s second home run since being claimed Aug. 6 off waivers from the Texas Rangers and 14th overall. He was filling in at second base for Brian Dozier, who is on paternity leave. Corbin retired 11 batters in a row until Jacob Stallings and Erik Gonzalez hit consecutive singles with one out in the fifth inning. However, Corbin escaped the jam by getting pinch-hitter Melky Cabrera to fly out and Kevin Newman to ground out. Washington added three runs in the eighth when Yan Gomes hit a two-run double and scored on a double by Corbin. In the ninth, pinch-hitter Adrian Sanchez and Trea Turner hit back-to-back RBI singles. Josh Bell’s run-scoring double in the ninth prevented the Pirates from being shut out.
