October 21, 2019 3:46 am
Lamar Jackson ran for 116 yards and a touchdown while also making key throws when necessary in leading the Ravens past the Seahawks, 30-16. The second-year quarterback ran for an eight-yard touchdown late in the third quarter on fourth-and-2 to give the 5-2 Ravens the lead. Russell Wilson was 20 of 41 passing for 241 yards and an eight-yard TD in the first quarter to Tyler Lockett. Seattle slipped to 5-2. Meanwhile, Gardner Minshew threw a short scoring pass that put the Jaguars ahead 17-10 early in the fourth quarter of a 27-17 victory over the winless Bengals. Yannick Ngakoue returned an interception 23 yards to clinch the win as Jacksonville left Cincinnati with an 0-7 record for the first time in 11 years. The Bengals managed only 33 yards rushing, all by quarterback Andy Dalton.
October 20, 2019 8:00 am
HOUSTON (AP) – Jose Altuve has powered the Houston Astros into their second World Series in three seasons. Altuve launched a tiebreaking, two-run homer off Aroldis Chapman in the bottom of the ninth to give the Astros a 6-4 victory over the New York Yankees in Game 6 of the American League Championship Series. The blast came a half-inning after DJ LeMahieu belted a two-run homer to knot the score. It appeared the game would go to a 10th inning after Chapman retired his first two hitters. But George Springer kept the ninth inning alive with a walk before Altuve wrapped up the third pennant in Astros history and set up a meeting with the Washington Nationals in the Fall Classic. The Yankees chipped away after Yuli Gurriel’s three-run homer put Houston ahead 3-0 in the first inning. The Yankees got within 3-2 on Gio Urshela’s solo shot in the fourth, but Altuve provided an insurance run for the Astros by scoring on Alex Bregman’s grounder in the sixth. Altuve scored three of the Astros’ six runs and had two of their six hits. Robert Osuna got the victory despite surrendering LeMahieu’s bomb. The outcome would allow Houston manager AJ Hinch to start Gerrit Cole in Game 1 of the World Series on Tuesday. Cole is 19-0 in his last 25 starts since a May 22 loss to the White Sox.
October 20, 2019 7:55 am
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. (AP) – Sean Clifford threw three touchdown passes and ran for another score to lead No. 7 Penn State to a 28-21 win over No. 16 Michigan on Saturday night. The Nittany Lion quarterback hit KJ Hamler on 25- and 53-yard scoring strikes and hooked up with tight end Pat Freiermuth for a 17-yard touchdown in a game Penn State (7-0, 4-0 Big Ten) never trailed. Hamler, who had a 100-yard kickoff return to start the second half called back on a holding penalty, finished with six catches for 108 yards. The Wolverines battled back from a 21-7 halftime deficit and with just over two minutes to play, had a chance to tie the game on fourth-and-goal from Penn State’s 3. But Michigan wideout Ronnie Bell dropped what would’ve been the tying touchdown with Penn State safety Lamont Wade playing tight coverage. The Nittany Lions took control of the game early. Clifford hooked up with Jahan Dotson for 37 yards to set up the scoring toss to Freiermuth who beat Khaleke Hudson in coverage. Penn State went up 14-0 on its next drive when Clifford scored on a 1-yard run made easier by a 44-yard rush from Ricky Slade. It got easier when back-to-back Michigan offside penalties moved the ball to the 1. Tariq Castro-Fields intercepted a Shea Patterson screen pass midway through the second quarter and Clifford arced his second touchdown pass to Hamler five plays later to make it 21-0. The Wolverines cut Penn State’s lead to 21-7 with an eight-play drive that burned 4:27 before halftime. It ended with Zach Charbonnet beating Penn State defenders to the end zone on a 12-yard run. Charbonnet added another 12-yard run with 1:05 left in the third to make it 21-14. Patterson, who completed 24 of 41 passes for 276 yards, plunged in from a yard out to cap the scoring in the fourth.
October 20, 2019 7:53 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 29 shots against his former team, leading the Vegas Golden Knights to a 3-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night. Fleury recorded his 445th win, tying Terry Sawchuck for seventh on the NHL career list. Fleury, who made his second career start for Vegas against the Penguins in Pittsburgh, also registered his 57th career shutout. The Golden Knights won for the fourth time in five games. Paul Stastny scored his fourth of the season, a power-play goal in the second period, and William Karlsson and Mark Stone added empty-netters in the final 90 seconds. Fleury kept the puck out with a sliding cross-crease shoulder save on Juuso Riikola’s power-play chance in the third period. Pittsburgh had several quality chances during another third-period power play, but came up empty against Fleury. Penguins forward Zach Aston-Reese hit the crossbar earlier in the period. Tristan Jarry made 21 saves for Pittsburgh, which had won five in a row. The Penguins played without six regulars, including five of their top nine forwards and a defenseman from their No. 1 pairing. Jared McCann was held out after he scored in Friday’s home win against Dallas. He has missed two of the team’s last three games after also sitting out on Wednesday. Defenseman Brian Dumoulin was a late scratch after taking pregame warmups. Forwards Evgeni Malkin, Alex Galchenyuk, Nick Bjugstad and Bryan Rust are all on injured reserve. Fleury allowed five goals on 38 shots in a 5-4 loss against the Penguins in his initial return to Pittsburgh on Feb. 6, 2018. He didn’t start when Vegas last played in Pittsburgh on Oct. 11, 2018. Fleury, the No. 1 overall pick in 2003, spent his first 13 seasons in Pittsburgh and helped the Penguins win three Stanley Cup titles before Vegas selected him in the 2017 expansion draft. Fans gave Fleury a loud ovation as soon as he hit the ice for pregame warmups. Fleury chatted with several former teammates prior to the game, including starting goaltender Matt Murray, who had the night off. Fleury also playfully threw passes to Penguins captain Sidney Crosby and defenseman Kris Letang during pregame warmups. Fleury made a sharp first-period pad save on a Patric Hornqvist one-timer during a Pittsburgh power play. Letang hit the post on Fleury’s blocker side later in the period. Vegas opened the scoring after Aston-Reese was whistled for goaltender interference on Fleury. Stastny one-timed a Cody Glass pass into a partially open net at 3:48 for his fourth goal in five games.
October 19, 2019 7:43 am
Canon-McMillan clinched a Class 6A playoff berth despite losing to Central Catholic. Peters Township knocked off Bethel Park to stay in a first-place tie with Allegheny 8 Conference co-leader Moon. Burgettstown edged Brentwood to win the Three Rivers Conference championship. Wash High stayed unbeaten and will play McGuffey next Friday for the Century Conference title. West Greene capped a clean run to the Tri-County South championship while California beat Chartiers-Houston to win a playoff spot and eliminate the Bucs in the process. All told, seven of the 14 Washington County teams have qualified for the WPIAL playoffs. West Greene is the only Greene County playoff qualifier.
October 18, 2019 3:47 am
NEW YORK (AP) – George Springer and Carlos Correa each hit three-run homers and the Houston Astros got another wild ace off the hook to beat the sloppy New York Yankees 8-3 Thursday night and reach the cusp of a second World Series visit in three years. The Astros lead the AL Championship Series 3-1, putting the 2017 World Series winners on the brink of a showdown with the NL champion Washington Nationals. Houston still has Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole queued up for this series, and the Yankees will have to beat both to survive. Verlander will start Game 5 on Friday night against James Paxton.
October 17, 2019 3:47 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Rain has pushed Game 4 of the AL Championship Series to Thursday night. The Houston Astros and New York Yankees will play tomorrow night instead, with Game 5 on Friday at Yankee Stadium and Game 6 in Houston on Saturday if necessary. Houston leads the series 2-1. It’s expected that Houston will start Zack Greinke against the Yankees’ Masahiro Tanaka in a rematch of Game 1. Tanaka pitched six sterling innings as New York won the opener 7-0. Both clubs had planned to use bullpen openers Wednesday, and the day off will be welcome for New York after manager Aaron Boone used five relievers to cover 4 2/3 innings Tuesday. Of course, now the teams might play the final four games without a day off, culminating in Game 7 on Sunday. With the Yankees leaning heavily on their bullpen this month, the starter-driven Astros could be at an advantage. Greinke, a 2009 Cy Young Award winner acquired from Arizona at the July 31 trade deadline, has struggled through two starts this postseason. He allowed six runs and couldn’t finish the fourth inning against Tampa Bay in Game 3 of the AL Division Series, and the Yankees hammered two homers and scored three runs against him in six innings in the ALCS opener.
October 17, 2019 3:15 am
Two of Independent Professional Baseball’s oldest and most established Leagues are pleased to announce that they will join forces. Beginning with the 2020 season, five former members of the Can-Am League will merge into the Frontier League. Members of the Frontier League and the new teams from the Can-Am League will make up the 14 team circuit. The New Jersey Jackals, Quebec Capitales, Rockland Boulders, Sussex County Miners and Trois-Rivieres Aigles will play in the Can-Am Division. The Washington Wild Things and Lake Erie Crushers will join the Division as well. The seven remaining teams will make up the West Division of the Frontier League. Those teams are the Evansville Otters, Florence Freedom, Gateway Grizzlies, Joliet Slammers, Schaumburg Boomers, Southern Illinois Miners, and the Windy City ThunderBolts. The Washington Wild Things will play in the Can Am Division, which will take them to the New Jersey Shore and north into Quebec City in Canada. Wildthings owner Stu Williams is excited about the new league but looks to other possibilities that baseball teams can take advantage of. He would like to see about putting together a concert series that would play in each of the 14 cities in the league. The New League will be known as the Frontier league and they will play a 96 game schedule beginning on May 14th and ending on the Sunday before Labor Day.
October 16, 2019 3:49 am
NEW YORK (AP) – The Houston Astros now have back-to-back victories since opening the American League Championship Series with a 7-0 loss to the New York Yankees. Gerrit Cole tossed seven shutout innings today and the Astros homered twice in a 4-1 win over the Yankees in the Bronx. Cole struck out seven and worked around five walks by holding New York to four hits. The right-hander has won his last 19 decisions since allowing six runs over five innings of a 9-4 loss to the White Sox on May 22. Cole is 3-0 with 32 strikeouts and a 0.40 ERA in three starts this postseason.
Jose Altuve and Josh Reddick hit solo homers off losing pitcher Luis Severino, who gave up five hits over 4 1/3 innings. Altuve opened the scoring two batters into the game and provided two of the Astros’ seven hits. Reddick added a second-inning blast to make it 2-0. Altuve also scored on a wild pitch in the seventh before Yuli Gurriel lifted a sacrifice fly later in the inning. The Yankees were blanked until red-hot Gleyber Torres homered off Joe Smith. Torres is 5-12 with two home runs and six RBIs in the series after hitting .417 with a home run, three doubles and four ribbies in the division series against the Twins. Game 4 is Wednesday in the Bronx. Both managers have said they will make it a bullpen day.
October 15, 2019 3:48 am
UNDATED (AP) – The National League Championship Series could end as soon as Tuesday evening. The Nationals have grabbed a three-games-to-none lead with another stifling pitching performance in an 8-1 thrashing of the St. Louis Cardinals. Stephen Strasburg provided the latest gem by a Nats starter, striking out 12 and allowing an unearned run and seven hits over seven innings. Strasburg’s performance leaves Washington starters with an ERA of zero over 21 2/3 innings in the series. He also lowered his career postseason ERA to 1.10 over 41 innings.
Howie Kendrick doubled three times and had three RBIs for the Nationals, who are one win away from the first National League pennant in franchise history. Kendrick doubled home a pair to cap a four-run third and added an RBI double in the fifth. Ryan Zimmerman added to the Nationals’ 11-hit attack with an RBI double and a run-scoring single. Victor Robles homered in the sixth inning after missing Washington’s previous five games with a hamstring injury. The Cardinals’ lone run came when outfielder Juan Soto misplayed Paul DeJong’s single, allowing Jose Martinez to score from second. Losing pitcher Jack Flaherty was tagged for four runs and five hits over five innings. The Nationals have more runs in the series than the Cardinals have hits. Washington has outscored St. Louis, 13-2 while limiting the Redbirds to 11 hits. Patrick Corbin will try to close out the pennant for the Nationals Tuesday against Dakota Hudson.
