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.
July 26, 2019 3:39 am
LATROBE, Pennsylvania (AP) – The Pittsburgh Steelers and coach Mike Tomlin have agreed on a one-year contract extension that will run through the 2021 season. The club announced the deal as players arrived at Saint Vincent College for the start of Tomlin’s 13th training camp with the team. Tomlin is 126-66-1 since replacing Bill Cowher in 2007. He has led the Steelers to a pair of Super Bowl appearances – winning one – while capturing six AFC North titles and eight playoff berths overall
July 24, 2019 3:41 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Paul Goldschmidt homered for the second straight night, Jose Martinez added his 10th home run this season and Dakota Hudson rebounded from a shaky start to lead the St. Louis Cardinals past the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-3 on Tuesday night. Goldschmidt, who hit a go-ahead grand slam in the 10th inning on Monday, delivered a two-run drive to the left-field seats in the third inning off Chris Archer (3-7). Martinez put St. Louis in front with a solo shot leading off the fifth, and Hudson and two relievers shut down the Pirates after spotting Pittsburgh a 3-0 lead. Hudson (10-4) surrendered a Starling Marte homer three batters into the bottom of the first, then settled down. The 24-year-old rookie didn’t allow a run the rest of the way, working 6 1/3 innings, giving up six hits and three walks to improve to 8-1 in his last 12 starts. Giovanny Gallegos and Andrew Miller retired the last eight Pittsburgh batters, with Miller throwing a perfect ninth for his third save. St. Louis moved to 9-2 since the All-Star break to close ground on the first-place Chicago Cubs in the quickly widening NL Central. The Cardinals and Pirates were separated by a half-game at the break. The gap has expanded considerably over the last two weeks. Pittsburgh fell to 2-9 since over its last 11 games, with four of the losses to St. Louis. Archer couldn’t take advantage of Marte’s 17th home run and has now given up 24 home runs in 96 2/3 innings. Acquired in a trade with Tampa Bay last summer that sent future All-Star outfielder Austin Meadows and pitcher Tyler Glasnow to the Rays, is 6-10 with a 5.01 ERA with the Pirates. Hudson has been the most consistent member of the Cardinals’ rotation and has lost just once since May 7. It looked like he was in trouble early, but he worked crisply after laboring through the first. Goldschmidt’s drive inside the foul pole in left with one on in the third gave him six home runs this month and 20 for the fifth straight season and seventh time in his nine-year big league career. Martinez, who preserved a 6-5, 10-inning win Monday by throwing out Kevin Newman at home, put the Cardinals in front an inning later. Hudson didn’t let the rally go to waste. Pittsburgh’s best chance came in the fifth when a single and two walks loaded the base with no outs. Pitching coach Mike Maddux came out to talk to Hudson, and Hudson responded by striking out All-Star Josh Bell on three pitches and getting Colin Moran to hit into an inning-ending double play.
July 23, 2019 3:50 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – The Pittsburgh Penguins and forward Zach Aston-Reese have avoided arbitration by agreeing to a two-year, $2 million deal that runs through the 2020-21 season. The two sides came together minutes before heading to arbitration. The 24-year-old Aston-Reese posted career highs of eight goals and nine assists despite being limited to 43 games because of a hand injury.
July 21, 2019 7:43 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Joe Musgrove scattered two hits over six innings, collected his first double of the season and scored on a textbook head-first slide to beat a throw by Philadelphia right fielder Bryce Harper and lead the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 5-1 win on Saturday night. Musgrove (7-8) tied a season high with eight strikeouts, walked two and allowed only an unearned run in the sixth to win his third consecutive decision. Batting just .133 this season, Musgrove opened the scoring by doubling with one out in the third off Zach Eflin (7-10), then racing home ahead of a strong throw from Harper after a sharp single to right by Bryan Reynolds. Starling Marte went 3 for 4 with a pair of doubles and an RBI for the Pirates. Corey Dickerson added two doubles and an RBI as Pittsburgh won for just second time in its last eight games on a night the franchise honored the 40th anniversary of the 1979 team that won the World Series. This year’s group is unlikely to follow in the footsteps of Hall of Fame first baseman Willie Stargell and All-Star outfielder Dave Parker, but received a needed jolt from Musgrove while trying to emerge from a post All-Star break funk that has dropped them off the pace in the NL Central. The Phillies managed just three singles against Musgrove and three Pittsburgh relievers to fall to 4-5 since the All-Star break. Eflin, who entered with just one victory in his last six starts and a 13.00 ERA in July, ran into trouble in the third and drop to 2-7 on the road. Reynolds came home on Marte’s first double of the night and Marte raced across the plate on a soft single to center by Josh Bell to give the Pirates an early 3-0 lead. Eflin lasted just four innings, giving up three runs on five hits with three strikeouts as his ERA ticked up to a season-high 4.25. The Phillies scratched across a run in the fifth when a walk and an error by Bell at first base put runners in scoring position with no outs. Brad Miller scored on a groundout by Adam Haseley but Musgrove returned from a 28-minute rain delay to strike out pinch-hitter Nick Williams and Scott Kingery to end the threat.
July 20, 2019 6:54 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Although Bryce Harper had the tiebreaking RBI single in the seventh inning, it was Jean Segura’s lengthy at-bat in the following inning to drive in an insurance run that was the talk of the Philadelphia Phillies’ clubhouse. Segura came to the plate with two outs and the bases loaded and forced Pittsburgh reliever Kyle Crick to throw 13 pitches before he hit a slow roller to the right of first baseman Josh Bell. Segura, playing through a banged-up left heel suffered when he fouled a ball off his foot on Monday, gutted it out and beat a covering Crick to the base by a fraction of a second. That gave the Phillies a two-run lead and they added three more in the ninth on a night they finished with 15 hits in a 6-1 victory over the Pirates on Friday night. The Phillies won back-to-back games for the first time since July 2, and did it with important late-game contributions in both. Harper’s single off Pirates reliever Richard Rodriguez (3-4) in the seventh scored pinch-hitter Brad Miller to give the Phillies their first lead of the game. Miller reached on a single to left and advanced on a walk and fielder’s choice to set the table for Harper, who finished 2 for 5 with a double. The run snapped a 19-game scoreless streak for Rodriguez. Rookie outfielder Adam Haseley added a solo homer, his second in two games, and a run-scoring double to cap it for the Phillies. In the ninth, Maikel Franco drove in J.T. Realmuto with another infield single, Cesar Hernandez scored on a wild pitch and Haseley plated Franco with a double. The rally made a winner of Juan Nicasio (2-3), who pitched one-third of an inning in relief of starter Arrieta. Arrieta worked 5 2/3 innings of one-run ball. He struck out four and allowed six hits. He’s been dealing with a bone spur in his elbow but has allowed two runs over 10 2/3 innings in his last two starts. Pirates starter Jordan Lyles bounced back from his worst start of the season, striking out seven in 5 2/3 innings while allowing one run. In his previous start, he gave up seven runs and didn’t get out of the first inning.
July 19, 2019 3:51 am
UNDATED (AP) – Seattle’s NHL expansion team has announced its general manager – Ron Francis, a Hall of Famer and a two-time Stanley Cup winner. He will have complete control of operations under Seattle Hockey Partners CEO Tod Leiweke. The yet-to-be-named team will debut in 2021. The Seattle club said Thursday it has more than 32,000 season ticket deposit holders and another 25,000 on a waiting list Francis had a prolific NHL career. He finished with 1,798 points in 1,731 games over 23 seasons for the Hartford Whalers/Carolina Hurricanes, Toronto Maple Leafs and Pittsburgh Penguins, where he won the Stanley Cup in 1991 and 1992.
July 18, 2019 3:54 am
UNDATED (AP) – A police report says the death of former Nashville Predators captain Greg Johnson was an apparent suicide, according to the Detroit News. The paper says it obtained a Rochester Police report, and that Johnson was found by his wife shortly before 10 a.m. on July 7. A gun and a single bullet were found near him. No suicide note was left. The Oakland County Medical Examiner declined to discuss findings from an autopsy. Johnson was with Nashville for the franchise’s first season in the league. He spent the last seven years of his career with the Predators. He also played for Detroit, Pittsburgh and Chicago during his 12 years in the NHL. Johnson was 48.
