August 14, 2019 3:49 am
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) – Pittsburgh Pirates slugger Josh Bell has pulled himself out of a recent slump with some extra film study and a return to better habits as a hitter. Not only has he found his form, Bell helped the floundering Pirates find their footing. Bell homered and had three RBIs to help the Pirates rally for a 10-7 win over the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday night. “It’s awesome to get our bats alive,” said Bell, who homered for the fourth straight interleague game to set a new Pirates record. “Hopefully it starts a new trend the next couple of weeks and hopefully we can finish this thing strong.” Jose Osuna drove in two runs, and Bryan Reynolds added a solo homer for the Pirates, who have won consecutive games for the first time since July 6-7 against Milwaukee. Trevor Williams (5-5) allowed five runs in five innings. He was tagged for three runs in the first inning, but responded to take some pressure off Pittsburgh’s bullpen and get back to .500 on the season. Pittsburgh, which is now in position to sweep a series for the first time since June 21-23 against San Diego, can thank its offense for getting back on track. And no one has been more important to that turnaround than Bell, whose two-run shot to center tied the game at 5 as part of a four-run fifth inning. The Pirates took a 6-5 lead on Osuna’s double to left that scored Colin Moran, and Pablo Reyes drove in another run to make it 7-5 and tag Taylor Cole (2-4) with the loss. Bell’s 31st homer of the season continued a recent long-ball flurry with his fourth homer in the past three games. He is also one away from tying Bobby Bonilla’s 1990 team record for homers by a switch-hitter in a season at 32. “I think things got a little bit sped up for me there for a little bit, so I’m just trying to focus on the timing of everything ,” Bell said. “If I can start early and slow I’m in a good place, I can see the ball. So I’m just trying to stay there.” Justin Upton had three RBIs and Shohei Ohtani added two for the Angels, who have lost 10 of their past 12. Albert Pujols moved into a tie for 15th place in career hits with an RBI single in the first inning. After falling behind 4-0 on Ohtani’s RBI triple in the second inning, the Pirates started their comeback in the third. Bell dropped a bloop single into left field to get Pittsburgh on the board, with Reynolds scoring and Bell reaching third on a throwing error by Angels starting pitcher Griffin Canning to pull within 4-2. Moran’s double drove in Bell and cut the deficit to 4-3 before Luis Rengifo made it 5-3 with an RBI single in the bottom of the third. Pittsburgh went up 8-5 on Osuna’s sacrifice fly with the bases loaded in the sixth inning. They made it 10-5 in the seventh on an RBI double by Adam Frazier, who had three hits, and Reynolds’ solo homer. “We’ve just connected the dots offensively,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. “(Starling) Marte has three hits today and we didn’t mention his name, so there’s a lot going on.” Pujols tied Adrian Beltre (3,166) in career hits with his single up the middle to drive in a run as part of a three-run first inning for the Angels, with Ohtani and Upton picking up the other RBIs. Upton had a two-run single in the ninth inning to score Mike Trout and Ohtani that pulled the Angels within 10-7 before Felipe Vazquez (22) came in to see out the game. “Sometimes you got to believe in things you can’t see,” Hurdle said. “And we’ve had different guys step up the last two days in different areas and give us big pushes.”
August 13, 2019 12:38 am
Washington County got the potential tying run to second with nobody out in the final frame but couldn’t cash it in, losing a 5-4 decision to unbeaten Bay County, Michigan. The winners scored twice in the first before the Hosts plated three runs in the fourth on four hits, including a two-out two-run double by Andrew Kocan. The teams traded unearned runs before Bay County took advantage of another error in the sixth to take the lead. Back-to-back walks opened the Washington seventh, but Cole Schmidt struck out a pair of Washington hitters to end the game. Washington County plays Simi Valley Tuesday at 12:30 with that winner needing to knock off Bay County twice to reach the final. Follow the action on WJPA-AM (1450) and on our PONY World Series webpage: CLICK HERE
Tuesday’s tentative schedule (weather permitting):
10:00 am Youngstown, OH vs. Arecibo, PR (loser eliminated)
12:30 pm Washington County, PA vs. Simi Valley, CA (loser eliminated)
5;30 pm Chinese Taipei vs. Youngstown/Arecibo winner
8:00 pm Bay County, MI vs. Washington County/Simi Valley winner
August 12, 2019 3:19 am
Washington County, PA sent 10 batters to the plate in the fourth inning, blowing the game open on the way to an 11-1, six-inning win over West Zone champion, Simi Valley, CA. Andrew Kocan singled home two runs in the first, giving the Hosts a 3-0 lead, then doubled home a pair in the six-run fourth. Jake Egizio had two hits and two RBI. Connor Helbling, Mason Fixx and Calvin Daniels each drove in a row. Daniels now has 8 RBI in two games. Matthew Smith got the win, allowing just one run over four innings. Washington County is 2-0 in the tournament for the first time since 2001 and will play Bay County, MI in the winners’ bracket final Monday night. Simi Valley managed just three hits, all singles, and drops into the elimination bracket Monday afternoon.
Guasave, Mexico eliminated Hagerstown, MD, 3-0, Sunday afternoon. Brownsville,. TX stole an all-time record 18 bases and held London to one hit, eliminating the European champions, 12-2, in six innings. Follow the action on WJPA-AM (1450) and on our PONY World Series webpage: CLICK HERE!
Monday’s schedule:
10:00 am Elimination game–Arecibo, PR vs. Guasave, MX
12:30 pm Elimination game–Simi Valley, CA vs. Brownsville, TX
5:30 pm Winners’ Bracket–Chinese Taipei vs. Youngstown, OH
8:00 pm Winners’ Bracket–Bay County, MI vs. Washington County, PA
August 11, 2019 7:21 am
The Hosts scored in every inning, rolling to a 23-3 five-inning PONY World Series win over London, UK. Calvin Daniels had four hits and drove in seven runs, one off the all-time World Series record. Mason Fixx drove in four runs to help himself to the first-round win allowing just two runs on two hits. Washington County will face Simi Valley, CA Sunday afternoon (1 pm). The Washington County win is the Host’s first since 2017 and snaps a four-game losing streak in PONY World Series play.
In other action, Bay County, MI scored twice in the sixth to down Brownsville, TX, 3-2. The winners trailed 2-0 but scored once in the fifth, then used a couple base hits, an error, a steal of home and a wild pitch to win it and advance to Monday night’s winners’ bracket game. Defending champion Chinese Taipei took advantage of three errors to score nine times in the first inning on the way to a 14-0 five-inning win over Arecibo, PR. Pai, Chen An and Yang, Tzu Chun went back-to-back following catcher’s interference and a groundball error. Hsu, Shao Yu added a two run home run an inning later. Follow the action on WJPA-AM (1450) and on our PONY World Series webpage: CLICK HERE!
Sunday’s schedule include three games:
1:00 pm Washington County, PA vs. Simi Valley, CA
3:30 pm Hagerstown, MD vs. Guasave, MX (loser eliminated)
6:00 pm Brownsville, TX vs. London, UK
August 11, 2019 7:17 am
Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Francisco Cervelli has been cleared to return to catching and will begin a rehab assignment with Double-A Altoona Sunday. He has not played since suffering a concussion on May 25 against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
August 10, 2019 3:43 am
(AP)- Pittsburgh junior defensive lineman Rashad Weaver’s season is over. The school announced Friday that Weaver will miss all of 2019 after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during practice Thursday. Weaver led the Panthers with 6 1/2 sacks, 14 tackles for loss and three fumble recoveries in 2018 while helping Pitt win the ACC’s Coastal Division title.
August 8, 2019 3:46 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Keston Hiura hit two home runs and drove in three runs Wednesday night, powering the Milwaukee Brewers to an 8-3 win and three-game sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Hiura hit a two-run homer with two out in the first inning for an early 2-0 lead. He sent a fastball from Trevor Williams 388 feet over the wall in right-center. His second homer, the 13th of his rookie season, was a solo shot that made the score 6-1 in the fifth. He also had a double in the third inning. It was Hiura’s first multi-homer game, and came as he had just three hits in his first 21 at-bats in August. The Brewers moved past the St. Louis Cardinals and into second place in the NL Central, three games behind the division-leading Chicago Cubs. Milwaukee entered the series mired in a four-game losing streak, and had lost six of seven. The Pirates fell to 4-21 since the All-Star break. Junior Guerra (5-3) picked up a second win in as many nights. He allowed one hit and one walk in two innings in relief of Drew Pomeranz, who gave up one run in three innings. Pomeranz was pressed into duty after Zach Davies was placed on the 10-day injured list with back spasms Monday. Williams (4-5) allowed six runs on eight hits in five innings after shutting out Milwaukee in 19 straight innings. The Brewers had not scored off Williams since scoring one run on three hits in a 1-0 win on Sept. 19, 2017. Jacob Stallings got Pittsburgh on the board with a solo homer, his third of the season, in the third inning. Bryan Reynolds and Starling Marte had RBI singles in the seventh to cut it to 8-3.
August 7, 2019 3:43 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Yasmani Grandal had two doubles and an RBI and the Milwaukee Brewers, without a resting Christian Yelich, beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-3 on Tuesday night. Grandal drove in Ryan Braun with a double to left-center, the first hit off Pirates starter Steven Brault, in the fifth inning, before scoring when Trent Grisham grounded into a double play as the Brewers moved out to a 2-0 lead. Grandal doubled again in the seventh inning off Francisco Liriano (4-3), giving Milwaukee runners on second and third with no outs. A one-out walk to Grisham loaded the bases, and Braun scored on a sacrifice fly by Orlando Arcia to give Milwaukee a 3-2 lead. Grandal had one hit in his first 19 at-bats in August before his first double Tuesday. Yelich sat one day after getting four hits, including two home runs, in Milwaukee’s 9-7 win over Pittsburgh on Monday. The day off was intended to manage a nagging back injury Yelich has been dealing with this season, manager Craig Counsell said. The Brewers won their second straight after losing four in a row. The Pirates are last in the NL Central after falling to 4-20 since the All-Star break. Grisham scored after being caught in a rundown and tagged at home in the ninth. Pirates catcher Elias Diaz was called for setting in the base path without receiving the ball, and Grisham’s run made it 4-2. Junior Guerra (4-3) relieved Milwaukee starter Chase Anderson with two outs in the sixth. He got Pablo Reyes to fly out with runners on first and third. Anderson allowed two runs on six hits in 5 2/3 innings. Matt Albers allowed one run in the ninth before getting Kevin Newman to line out and stranding Reyes at third. It was Albers’ second save. Brault, who gave up two runs on three hits in 5 1/3 innings, was perfect through four innings before walking Braun to lead off the fifth. He came off the injured list after last pitching July 5, when he sustained a shoulder strain against Milwaukee. Bryan Reynolds cut it to 2-1 in the sixth with a home run, his 11th, off Anderson that traveled 410 feet into bushes beyond centerfield. Jose Osuna tied it at 2-2 with a double past third baseman Mike Moustakas, driving in Starling Marte.
August 6, 2019 3:51 am
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) – Veteran defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk has signed a one-year, $1.75 million contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Lightning vice president and general manager Julien BriseBois announced the deal Monday. Shattenkirk played 73 games for the New York Rangers last season, finishing with two goals and ranking first among the team’s defensemen in assists (26) and points (28). The 30-year-old has spent nine seasons in the league, also playing for Washington, St. Louis and Colorado. He has 75 goals, 349 points and 368 penalty minutes during his career of 609 games. He was an All-Star with the Blues in 2015 and has five goals and 34 points in 60 career playoff games.
August 5, 2019 3:56 am
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) – Veteran wide receiver Jordy Nelson is retiring as a member of the Green Bay Packers. The 34-year-old Nelson played in Green Bay from 2008-2017, winning a Super Bowl with the team before spending last season with the Oakland Raiders. Nelson had 550 receptions and 69 touchdown catches in his 10 seasons in Green Bay. He made the Pro Bowl in 2014, missed the 2015 season with a knee injury and was named the 2016 Comeback Player of the Year. He played in 15 games for Oakland last year, finishing with 63 receptions for 739 yards and three TDs.
