August 5, 2025 4:28 am
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Aaron Judge will be activated by the New York Yankees on Tuesday, when he is eligible to come off 10-day injured list. He hasn’t played since July 25 because of a flexor strain in his right elbow. Judge hit off Yankees minor league pitchers at the team’s complex in Tampa for the second day in a row Monday, then was in Texas for the series opener. Manager Aaron Boone said after the Yankees lost 8-5 in 10 innings that the two-time AL MVP would be available Tuesday. If he plays in Texas, Boone says Judge will be the designated hitter.
August 5, 2025 4:29 am
The NCAA has decided not to expand the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments beyond 68 teams in 2026. Dan Gavitt, NCAA senior vice president of basketball, announced the decision. Discussions about possibly expanding to 72 or 76 teams for the 2027 tournaments remain ongoing. NCAA President Charlie Baker believes adding teams could enhance the tournament’s value. He mentioned having productive talks with TV partners CBS and Warner Bros. Their current deal, valued at about $1.1 billion annually, runs through 2032.
August 4, 2025 4:27 am
DENVER (AP) — Spencer Horwitz homered twice and drove in a career-high six runs to lead the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 9-5 win over the Colorado Rockies. Horwitz hit a two-run homer in the second inning, added a three-run shot in the sixth and knocked in his sixth run with a ground out in the eighth.Nick Gonzales knocked in a run with an infield single in the first inning before Tommy Pham hit a two-run homer, his fifth, for Pittsburgh. Mickey Moniak (two RBIs), Hunter Goodman and Jordan Beck (two RBIs) hit consecutive homers in the bottom of the sixth inning as the Rockies closed within 8-5.
August 4, 2025 4:29 am
GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — Cameron Young is finally a PGA Tour winner and there was no stopping him in at the Wyndham Championship. Young took any drama out of the final round when he made five straight birdies led by nine shots. He coasted home from there and shot 68 to win by six. The victory follows seven runner-up finishes on the PGA Tour. He becomes the 1,000th player to win a PGA Tour-recognized event. Matti Schmid got the 70th and final spot for the postseason by closing with three straight birdies. Davis Thompson three-putted the final hole to miss out.
August 4, 2025 4:31 am
NEWTON, Iowa (AP) — William Byron fought off fuel worries in the closing laps to win the NASCAR Cup Series race Sunday at Iowa Speedway. Byron went the last 144 laps of the 350-lap race without a stop en route to his second victory of the season — he won the Daytona 500 in February — and 15th overall. He also took the season points lead from Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott. Byron lost gambles on fuel twice this season, at Michigan and Indianapolis, but held on with the help of a caution-filled final stage to win by 1.192 seconds over pole-sitter Chase Briscoe. Byron led 141 laps. Brad Keselowski was third. He came into the race needing a win to get into the playoffs.
August 3, 2025 7:32 am
DENVER (AP) — Jordan Beck ended Paul Skenes’ scoreless streak with a three-run homer in Colorado’s six-run sixth inning, and the Rockies beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-5 on Saturday. Warming Bernabel continued his stellar start to his big-league career with two doubles and a single and Orlando Arcia homered for Colorado. Jaden Hill (1-0) picked up his first major league win for the Rockies, who withstood a three-homer day by Pittsburgh’s Liover Peguero. Skenes hadn’t allowed a run in 18 straight innings before faltering in the sixth. Beck followed a leadoff single and walk with his 13th home run, and Bernabel’s double chased the NL All-Star starter. Skenes allowed four runs and five hits while striking out eight in five-plus innings. Braxton Ashcraft (3-2) came on and gave up three hits that put the Rockies ahead 6-4. Peguero’s first two home runs — the first leading off the game and a three-run shot in the fifth — gave Pittsburgh a 4-0 lead. He added another solo shot with two outs in the ninth to cap his first multi-homer game of his career. The game went into a rain delay for 1 hour, 4 minutes, before the start of the eighth.
August 2, 2025 3:48 am
DENVER (AP) — Brenton Doyle hit a walkoff, two-run homer in a five-run ninth inning and the Colorado Rockies overcame a nine-run first-inning deficit to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 17-16 on Friday night. The Rockies are the sixth team in major league history to win after surrendering nine first-inning runs according to Elias Sports Bureau. Cleveland was the last to do it in 2006. Colorado trailed 16-12 before rallying off Dennis Santana (3-3). Hunter Goodman hit his 20th homer with one out. Jordan Beck walked and scored on rookie Warming Bernabel’s first triple. Thairo Estrada had an RBI single, and Doyle hit his eighth home run with one out to win it.
August 2, 2025 3:53 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Ben Cherington believes the team’s moves at the trade deadline created flexibility going into 2026. The Pirates sent away third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes, closer David Bednar and starting pitcher Bailey Falter in exchange for prospects. Cherington says the team will use the next two months to provide opportunities for younger players and will explore adding a veteran bat through trade or free agency during the offseason. Pittsburgh is in last in the NL Central despite a strong pitching staff led by Cy Young candidate Paul Skenes.
August 2, 2025 3:51 am
BEREA, Ohio (AP) — Quarterback Kenny Pickett returned to the field for the Cleveland Browns after missing three practices because of a hamstring injury. Pickett did only individual work and did not participate in any team drills Friday. It was still a step forward for the four-year veteran, who was expected to be out at least a week after getting hurt during a red-zone drill late in practice on July 26. The Browns have three more practices scheduled before traveling to Charlotte, North Carolina, for a joint practice with the Carolina Panthers on Wednesday.
August 1, 2025 2:47 am
After dealing Gold Glove third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes to the Cincinnati Reds and left-handed reliever Caleb Ferguson to the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday, the Pirates traded two-time All-Star closer David Bednar to the New York Yankees and left-handed starting pitcher Bailey Falter to the Kansas City Royals, then flipped newly acquired lefty reliever Taylor Rogers to the Chicago Cubs. Cherington says the moves add more talent to the system and creates “some maneuverability” to reallocate payroll to other parts of the team including improving its offense.
