August 5, 2019 7:22 am
The field is set for this year’s DICK’S Sporting Goods PONY League World Series. The final four berths were claimed Sunday. Hagerstown, MD, Brownsville, TX and Simi Valley, CA won US Zone tournaments and Youngstown, OH claimed the Host Area title, each qualifying for the 68th PONY championship tournament. Hagerstown returns after a one-year absence. Brownsville and Youngstown are each making their third-straight appearances. Simi Valley won the West for the first time since 2006. The four teams join London, UK, Arecibo, Puerto Rico, Guasave, Mexico, Chinese Taipei, Bay County, MI and Washington County in the two-division double-elimination field. Play begins Friday. Follow the action on WJPA-AM (1450) and on our PONY World Series webpage: CLICK HERE!
August 4, 2019 7:52 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – A.J. Davis and Todd Sibley Jr. are ready to be next in a long line of great running backs at Pittsburgh. Davis and Sibley will take over the position this year after Qadree Ollison and Darrin Hall headed to the NFL. Hall and Ollison each ran for more than 1,000 yards last season while helping the Panthers win the ACC’s Coastal Division title. Davis says he is embracing the high standards at the place that calls itself “RB U.” Davis says the goal is to outdo those who came before him.
August 4, 2019 7:50 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Marcus Stroman’s debut with the New York Mets didn’t quite go as planned. Wilson Ramos made sure it didn’t matter, hitting a go-ahead two-run home run in the eighth inning and adding a three-run double in the ninth to lift the Mets to a 7-5 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday night. Stroman, acquired in a trade with Toronto last Sunday, allowed three runs on seven hits in 4 1/3 sometimes shaky innings but received a no decision when the Mets pounced on Pittsburgh’s bullpen. New York trailed 3-1 in the seventh when Jeff McNeil hit a pinch-hit solo home run to get the Mets within a run. Robinson Cano doubled off Kyle Crick (3-6) leading off the eighth and Ramos followed with a shot to the seats in right-center field to put New York in front. Ramos provided insurance in the ninth when his drive to the Clemente Wall in right field off Chris Stratton cleared the bases. Ramos finished 4 for 5 with a career-high six RBIs for New York, which won for the ninth time in 11 games. Amed Rosario added three hits for the Mets. Justin Wilson (3-1) earned the victory by pitching a scoreless seventh. Bryan Reynolds had four hits for Pittsburgh. Starling Marte went 3 for 5, including a two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth off Mets closer Edwin Diaz to get the Pirates within two. Diaz struck out the last two batters to end it. The Mets acquired Stroman last Sunday in exchange for pitching prospects Anthony Kay and Simeon Woods-Richardson, a surprisingly aggressive move for a team that hasn’t been above .500 since mid-May and found itself on the fringe of the NL wild-card race as the trade deadline neared. The deal gave New York a needed jolt, and the Mets arrived in Pittsburgh riding a seven-game winning streak that ended in an 8-4 loss on Friday night, just their sixth since the All-Star break. Stroman grew up on Long Island about 50 miles from Citi Field. A first-time All-Star this season for Toronto, Stroman welcomed the pressure of playing for a team where the pressure to win is unrelenting. Still, he looked jittery early. His new teammates handed him the lead before he threw his first pitch as a Met thanks to an RBI-single by Ramos and Stroman immediately gave it right back. The Pirates welcomed the 5-foot-7 right-hander to the National League by ripping four straight singles before Stroman managed to record his first out. Marte’s sharp single tied the game and Stroman walked in a run when Jose Osuna held on a borderline full count pitch to force home Reynolds. In all Stroman needed 35 pitches to get through the first inning. He eventually settled down to retire eight straight at one point but was lifted after walking Josh Bell to put runners on first and second with one out in the fifth. Reliever Luis Avila?n came on to put out the fire but Pittsburgh pushed its advantage to 3-1 when Avila?n hit Kevin Newman with a pitch to force in a run. Stroman’s debut with the Mets came on the same night Pittsburgh starter Chris Archer celebrated his one-year anniversary in Pittsburgh. Archer received a standing ovation after earning a victory over St. Louis in his debut with the Pirates on Aug. 3, 2018, a nod to the optimism the trade to bring him over brought to a young club trying to stay competitive in the NL Central. Things haven’t exactly gone as planned. Archer has struggled to find any sort of consistency with the Pirates and headed to the mound winless in his last nine starts. While Archer’s winless streak continued, he overcame a shaky 33-pitch first inning to work six innings, giving up one run on five hits with two walks and six strikeouts. Archer also kept the ball in the park, a rarity for a pitcher who led the National League in home runs allowed (25) entering Saturday. Archer’s sharp performance wasn’t enough to keep Pittsburgh from falling to 4-17 since the All-Star break.
August 2, 2019 4:57 pm
(AP) – Jung Ho Kang’s time with the Pittsburgh Pirates – and quite possibly in the major leagues – is over. The team designated the South Korean third baseman/shortstop for assignment on Friday. Kang hit .169 with 10 home runs and 24 RBIs in 65 games this season. The 32-year-old Kang signed with Pittsburgh in January 2015, becoming the first position player to jump directly from the Korean Baseball Organization to the majors. He made a splash as a rookie, finishing third in Rookie of the Year voting after hitting 15 home runs. His season ended abruptly that September when he broke his leg after getting taken out at second base by Chris Coghlan of the Chicago Cubs. Kang returned in 2016 and hit 21 home runs before his career went into a tailspin after getting arrested in Seoul in December 2016 on charges of driving under the influence of alcohol. Kang received a two-year suspended sentence, spent the entire 2017 season on the restricted list after being unable to secure a visa back to the U.S. and played in just three games at the end of the 2018 season. The Pirates cut him last September before bringing him back on a one-year deal worth $3 million. Kang played well defensively while splitting time at third base and shortstop, but he failed to find any sort of consistency at the plate. He never hit better than .222 in any month this season. “As hard as he’s tried and the work that he’s put in, it hasn’t transferred to the game right now,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. “So that’s the hard part. … We saw a guy come in here and was a significant player, a significant addition to the lineup with a power component that was real and a style of play that worked. The time away though, seemed to affect him more offensively than defensively.” The Pirates recalled shortstop Erik Gonzalez from his rehab assignment at Triple-A Indianapolis. Gonzalez fractured his collarbone in a collision with center fielder Starling Marte in April.
August 1, 2019 4:21 pm
NEW YORK (AP) – Pittsburgh pitcher Keone Kela has been suspended for 10 games, Cincinnati reliever Amir Garrett for eight and Yasiel Puig for three after a furious brawl between the Pirates and Reds. Major League Baseball issued eight suspensions Thursday, two days after the fight at Great American Ball Park. Three players on each team were suspended, and all elected to appeal. They will be allowed to play until the process is complete. Reds manager David Bell was suspended six games, starting Thursday night when Cincinnati plays at Atlanta. Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle was penalized two games, to begin Friday night when the Pirates host the New York Mets. Puig was suspended for his aggressive actions on what turned out to be his last day with the Reds. The outfielder was later traded to Cleveland. Pirates infielder Jose Osuna was suspended five games while Pittsburgh pitcher Kyle Crick and Reds pitcher Jared Hughes each got three. All of the suspended players were fined undisclosed amounts. Pirates pitcher Trevor Williams, Reds first baseman Joey Votto and Reds outfielder Phillip Ervin also were fined, as were several players on both teams for taking part in the brawl while on the injured list. The NL Central rivals have a history of run-ins that included a fracas in April at PNC Park. MLB executive Joe Torre announced the penalties and said the incidents between the Reds and Pirates “remain a source of concern” and were reflected in the level of discipline imposed. The Reds and Pirates next play on Aug. 23 at Pittsburgh.
July 31, 2019 2:59 pm
CINCINNATI (AP) – Major League Baseball is reviewing video of the latest fight between the Pirates and Reds, with Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle expecting suspensions on both sides. Reds manager David Bell faces a significant suspension for running onto the field and going after Hurdle during the ninth inning of Pittsburgh’s 11-4 win Tuesday night. Bell already had been ejected from the game. Hurdle spoke with Chief Baseball Officer Joe Torre on Wednesday before an afternoon game against the Reds that concludes their raucous series. Hurdle said MLB was reviewing video of the numerous confrontations during the game, which turned into a fight in the ninth when Reds reliever Amir Garrett charged the Pittsburgh dugout. Four from each team were ejected, including about-to-be-traded Yasiel Puig.
In a side-note: Corey Dickerson has been traded from the Pirates to Philadelphia.
July 31, 2019 3:43 am
CHICAGO (AP) – Chris Kunitz has retired after winning four Stanley Cup titles in 15 NHL seasons. He is joining the Chicago Blackhawks’ front office as a player development adviser. Kunitz, 39, will work with the coaching staffs for the Blackhawks and their American Hockey League affiliate in Rockford.
July 30, 2019 3:52 am
LATROBE, Pa. (AP) – Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver James Washington is eager to take a step forward following an uneven rookie season. Washington caught just 16 passes in 2018, numbers that paled in comparison to teammate JuJu Smith-Schuster. Washington spent a portion of the offseason working on a cotton farm in Texas with his father, spraying weeds and helping fix tractors. Washington says the work gave him a chance to relax and reset as he enters his second year in the NFL.
July 28, 2019 7:45 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Steven Matz threw an efficient five-hitter for his first complete game in 90 major league starts, and the New York Mets got home runs from Michael Conforto and J.D. Davis in a 3-0 victory Saturday night over the sinking Pittsburgh Pirates. Matz (6-6) struck out seven and walked none, needing just 99 pitches to earn his first win since June 8 against Colorado. The left-hander, making his third start since a brief stint in the bullpen, handed the last-place Pirates their seventh straight loss and 13th in 15 games since the All-Star break. Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle was only around for the first three batters of a swift contest that took 2 hours, 10 minutes. Hurdle was ejected by plate umpire Hunter Wendelstedt after Starling Marte was called out on strikes to end the top of the first inning. It appeared Hurdle came onto the field to escort Marte away and make sure he didn’t get tossed. But when the skipper said something to Wendelstedt from a distance, it was Hurdle who was given the thumb. Pirates starter Trevor Williams (3-4) held the Mets hitless until Davis doubled off the right center wall with two outs in the fifth. Conforto sent a changeup into the second deck in right field for a solo shot in the sixth. Davis added a two-run drive to center in the seventh after Pittsburgh shortstop Jung Ho Kang let Todd Frazier’s popup drop for a gift single. Matz went right at the slumping Pirates, throwing 67 strikes. He was aided by two timely double plays, including when New York went around the horn on Melky Cabrera with runners at the corners to end the sixth. Three innings later, Matz pounded his pitching hand into his glove after retiring All-Star slugger Josh Bell on a routine grounder for the final out. The fourth-place Mets (49-55) have won three in a row and are 9-5 since the All-Star break.
July 27, 2019 4:42 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Trade candidate Zack Wheeler showed off a live arm in his return from the injured list, Jeff McNeil hit the first of four Mets homers and New York beat the slumping Pittsburgh Pirates 6-3 Friday night. Wheeler (7-6) struck out seven over 5 1/3 innings in his first start since July 7 due to right shoulder fatigue – an issue he called an impingement. With contending teams watching closely, the right-hander averaged 96.8 mph on his fastball and looked sharp until Adam Frazier clocked a two-run homer in the sixth inning. Wheeler allowed three runs, six hits and no walks. McNeil hit a three-run homer, and Todd Frazier, Pete Alonso and Wilson Ramos added solo shots for the Mets. Alonso’s homer was his 34th. Pirates rookie starter Dario Agrazal (2-1) got roughed up for the first time in his short big league career, and Pittsburgh dropped its sixth straight. The Pirates are 2-13 since the All-Star break. With Mets closer Edwin Diaz nursing a sore left big toe a day after being hit by a line drive, Seth Lugo pitched the ninth for his first save of the season. Wheeler, who can become a free agent after the season, expects to be dealt prior to the July 31 deadline and even has his bags packed at home. Manager Mickey Callaway acknowledged that Wheeler faced a “difficult task” tuning out the trade talk, but he expected the 29-year-old to lock in for game time. He looked sharp early, striking out leadoff hitter Corey Dickerson with a 98.2 mph fastball. Wheeler allowed a run in the second on two soft singles and Colin Moran’s one-hopper that skipped off shortstop Amed Rosario’s glove for an RBI infield single. Wheeler retired 12 straight before running into trouble in the sixth. Melky Cabrera led off with a single, and Adam Frazier drove a two-run shot to cut New York’s lead to 4-3. Wheeler got an out and allowed a single to Josh Bell before being pulled after 73 pitches. Mets fans near the home dugout gave Wheeler a standing ovation as he walked off. Wheeler has experience with the deadline drama. Sunday will mark eight years since he was acquired from the San Francisco Giants for veteran outfielder Carlos Beltran. McNeil and Ramos each hit their 10th homers. Todd Frazier clubbed his 14th a day after ending a 1-for-18 skid with two hits. Agrazal was pulled after allowing Alonso’s one-out homer in the sixth. He gave up five runs on three homers, and his ERA rose from 2.25 to 3.24 in his sixth career start.
