September 8, 2019 7:15 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Marcell Ozuna hit a three-run homer to break out of his slump and Adam Wainwright pitched seven strong innings, helping the St. Louis Cardinals maintain their lead atop the NL Central with a 10-1 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday night. The Cardinals entered the day 2 1/2 games ahead of Chicago for the division lead. After Dexter Fowler opened the scoring with an RBI single earlier in the third inning, Ozuna connected against Steven Brault (4-4) for his 26th home run of the season and a 4-0 lead. The cleanup hitter also walked twice after having two hits in his 35 at-bats. Wainwright (11-9) helped himself with a double and single while lasting seven innings for the second straight start. He gave up one run and six hits. Starling Marte drove in the Pirates’ run with a single in the third. He had three RBIs and four hits, including a first-inning triple Saturday, in seven at-bats in two games since missing the previous two with a leg injury. Tommy Edman and Harrison Bader chased Brault with a pair of RBI singles that extended the lead to 6-1 in the sixth. Brault allowed six runs and six hits in 5 1/3 innings with two walks, a balk, a wild pitch and a hit batter. Brault hadn’t given up more than four runs in 15 appearances – 13 starts- ) since May 12, when St. Louis also tagged him for six in 3 2/3 innings before losing 10-6. Paul DeJong tacked on two more runs with a double off Clay Holmes, making it 8-1 in the seventh. Bader hit an RBI double in the ninth before Andrew Knizner scored on a groundball to cap it. Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina extended his hitting streak to 14 games with a single to center in the ninth inning. His career best string is 16 games.
September 8, 2019 7:14 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Kenny Pickett passed for a career-high 321 yards, including a 74-yard touchdown to Maurice Ffrench, to lead Pittsburgh to a 20-10 win over Ohio on Saturday. A week after getting sacked four times and barely completing half of his attempts in a loss to Virginia, Pickett fared far better in his second game trying to run new offensive coordinator Mark Whipple’s pass-heavy offense. Pickett completed 26 of 37 passes and looked far more comfortable against the Bobcats. Ffrench finished with 10 receptions for 138 yards. His long catch-and-run early in the second quarter gave Pitt (1-0) a 10-point lead the Panthers never came close to squandering. A.J. Davis ran for 89 yards for Pitt and Vincent Davis added 50 on the ground, including his first career touchdown that put the Panthers up 17-0. That was more than enough cushion for a defense that kept the Bobcats (1-1) in check. Defensive tackle Jaylen Twyman finished with three of Pitt’s six sacks as the Panthers never let Ohio quarterback Nathan Rourke get going. Rourke hit on 15 of 27 passes for 177 yards and couldn’t make anything happen with his legs. Rourke, who ran for 75 yards in Ohio’s season opener against Rhode Island, finished with minus-43 yards on the ground. The Bobcats finished with 35 yards rushing on 29 attempts, with no rush gaining more than eight yards. Ohio’s only real push came late in the third quarter when De’Montre Tuggle’s 7-yard touchdown run drew the Bobcats within 10. Ohio would get no closer. The Bobcats managed just one first down over their final three drives and Pitt’s size advantage up front wore Ohio down. The Panthers took over at the Pitt 7 with 7:05 remaining and never let the Bobcats get the ball back, bleeding the clock behind an offensive line that pushed Ohio around until the clock hit zero.
September 7, 2019 4:02 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Pittsburgh will try to avoid its first 0-2 start since 2005 when Ohio visits Heinz Field. The Panthers are coming off a 30-14 loss to Virginia in the season opener. Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi says he’s encouraged by what he saw against the Cavaliers despite the 16-point margin. Ohio is coming off a solid victory over Rhode Island in its opener. The Bobcats are led by coach Frank Solich, who was born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, a short drive from Heinz Field.
September 6, 2019 2:59 am
UNDATED (AP) – Star receiver Antonio Brown is not with the Oakland Raiders four days before the season opener amid reports he could be suspended over a confrontation with general manager Mike Mayock. Mayock said at the beginning of practice Thursday that Brown wasn’t at the Raiders facility and won’t be practicing a day after Brown posted a letter from the GM on social media detailing nearly $54,000 in fines for missing a practice and walkthrough. ESPN reported earlier Thursday that the two had a confrontation over the posting of the letter and that the Raiders plan to suspend Brown. Teams have the right under the collective bargaining agreement to suspend players up to four games for conduct detrimental to the team. A suspension would also void the more than $29 million in guarantees over the next two seasons contained in Brown’s contract with the Raiders.
September 6, 2019 2:55 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Brian Moran became the first player in major league history to make his debut while facing his brother on the mound, striking out younger sibling Colin in the Marlins’ 10-7 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday night. Brian (1-0) entered in the fourth inning with the Marlins trailing 5-2. After Bryan Reynolds led off with a groundout, Colin stepped to the plate having doubled in each of his first two at-bats. The 30-year-old Brian fell behind 3-1 before throwing back-to-back sliders to strike out Colin looking. The 26-year-old Colin shouted toward the mound on his way back to the dugout. Moran hit Josh Bell with a pitch and then got Melky Cabrera to fly out in his only inning of work. The Marlins rallied for four runs in the fifth, allowing Brian to get the win. Colin finished 2-for-4. They became the first siblings to face each other in a pitcher-batter scenario with one of the brothers making his major league debut, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
September 5, 2019 2:57 am
UNDATED (AP) – Ezekiel Elliott has a new contract with the Dallas Cowboys, just in time for the regular season. The star running back and the club agreed on a $90 million, six-year extension that will make him the NFL’s highest-paid player at his position and end a holdout that lasted the entire preseason. Elliott will get $50 million guaranteed. The $15 million-per-year average on the extension surpasses the $14.4 million Todd Gurley got from the Los Angeles Rams last summer. Gurley’s guarantee was $45 million. The 24-year-old has a contract that totals $103 million over the next eight seasons.
September 3, 2019 3:52 am
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) – Ninth-ranked Notre Dame has opened its season by spoiling Scott Satterfield’s first game as Louisville’s head coach. Ian Book threw for a touchdown and ran for another as the Irish dumped the Cardinals, 35-17 at Louisville. Jahmir Smith had a pair of short rushing touchdowns for Notre Dame, which trailed 14-7 in the first quarter before Tony Jones Jr. ran for an 11-yard TD. Jones carried 15 times for 112 yards to help the Irish outgain the Cardinals, 425-383. Louisville freshman Javian Hawkins rushed for 122 yards on 19 carries.
September 3, 2019 3:49 am
UNDATED (AP) – The St. Louis Cardinals remain three games ahead of the second-place Chicago Cubs in the NL Central following victories by both teams this afternoon. Adam Wainwright scattered four hits over seven scoreless innings as the Cardinals won for the 10th time in 12 games, 3-1 over the Giants. Kolten Wong delivered a run-scoring triple and Paul DeJong had an RBI single as Wainwright reached the 10-win plateau for the 10th time in his career. The Cubs kept pace by scoring five times in the seventh inning to rally past the Mariners, 5-1. Kyle Schwarber’s bases-loaded triple broke a 1-1 tie and sent Chicago to its first win in three games. Anthony Rizzo went 2-for-2 and was hit by two pitches. He’s now the Cubs’ all-time leader in being hit by pitches with 139, topping the mark of 137 set by Frank Chance over a century ago.
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.
