June 18, 2025 4:25 am
DETROIT (AP) — Javier Báez hit two of the Detroit Tigers’ four home runs in a 7-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Báez hit solo homers in the fifth and seventh innings on the day he reached 10 years of major league service. Wenceel Pérez and Riley Greene also homered for Detroit. Casey Mize (7-2) got the win, allowing three runs — two earned — on five hits in six innings. He struck out four without walking a batter. Pittsburgh’s Carmen Mlodzinski (1-5) allowed four runs in two innings of relief for the loss.
June 18, 2025 4:26 am
DETROIT (AP) — Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Bryan Reynolds left Tuesday night’s game against the Detroit Tigers in the second inning when his wife went into labor. Reynolds struck out to end the top of the first and didn’t make a play in the field in the bottom of the inning. He was replaced by Alexander Canario in right field and is expected to be added to the paternity list after the game. The 30-year-old Reynolds, a two-time All-Star, is hitting .222 with eight homers, 39 RBIs and 81 strikeouts in 71 games.
June 18, 2025 4:28 am
MIAMI (AP) — Nick Castellanos has been benched by Phillies manager Rob Thomson for “an inappropriate comment” the outfielder made after he was pulled for a defensive replacement a day earlier. The move ends Castellanos’ streak of 236 consecutive starts. Thomson says Castellanos is “very emotional” and “wants to play every inning of every game.” The manager says Castellanos made a comment after being removed from Monday night’s game that led to his benching on Tuesday. Max Kepler started in right field.
June 18, 2025 4:30 am
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — The Florida Panthers repeated as Stanley Cup champions by beating the Edmonton Oilers 5-1 in Game 6 of the final. They are the NHL’s first back-to-back winners since Tampa Bay in 2020 and ’21 and the third team to do it this century. Sam Reinhart scored four of the five goals, including the Cup clincher again. The Panthers have won 11 of 12 playoff series since Matthew Tkachuk arrived by trade and Paul Maurice took over as coach in the summer of 2022. Connor McDavid was again denied the first title of his career in his second consecutive final. Canada’s Stanley Cup drought reached 32 years. Panthers star Sam Bennett won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.
June 17, 2025 4:37 am
The Steelers have signed strong safety DeShon Elliott to a new three-year contract worth a reported $15.5 million dollars. Elliott was entering the final year of a two-year contract that totaled six-million dollars. He started 14 games last season recording 108 tackles with an interception and two fumble recoveries.
June 17, 2025 4:31 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shohei Ohtani gave up a pair of two-strike hits and a run in his Los Angeles Dodgers pitching debut against the San Diego Padres, which came 21 months after the two-way superstar had elbow surgery. Ohtani threw 28 pitches — 16 for strikes — in the first inning as Dodger Stadium fans hung on every one. They oohed when a fastball was clocked at 100.2 mph — the second-hardest pitch thrown by a Dodgers hurler this season. After getting through the top of the first on the mound, Ohtani struck out swinging at the plate leading off the bottom of the inning against Dylan Cease. Los Angeles reliever Anthony Banda replaced Ohtani in the second. Ohtani finished 2 for 4 with two RBIs as the Dodgers won 6-3.
June 17, 2025 4:29 am
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Jalen Williams had a career playoff-high 40 points, MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 31 and the Oklahoma City Thunder moved one win from a title by beating the Indiana Pacers 120-109 in Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Monday night.It was the 10th — and by far, the biggest — time the Thunder stars combined for more than 70 points in a game. Williams was 14 of 24 from the field, and Gilgeous-Alexander added 10 assists for the Thunder.Pascal Siakam had 28 points for Indiana, which now trails the series 3-2 and will play host to Game 6 on Thursday night.
June 16, 2025 2:10 am
OAKMONT, Pa. (AP) — J.J. Spaun turned a sloppy mess of a U.S. Open at wet and nasty Oakmont into a thing of beauty at the end Sunday with two stunning shots that carried him to his first major championship. First came his driver on the 314-yard 17th hole onto the green for a birdie that gave him the lead. Needing two putts from 65 feet on the 18th to win, he finished his storybook Open by holing the longest putt all week at Oakmont for birdie and a 2-over 72. That made him the only player to finish under par at 1-under 279. It gave him a two-shot victory over Robert MacIntyre of Scotland. And it made Spaun, the 36-year-old Californian who resembles the late Pittsburgh Steelers great Franco Harris, a major champion in only his second U.S. Open. “I never thought I would be here holding this trophy,” said Spaun, who finished last year at No. 119 in the world with only one PGA Tour title in his career. “I always had aspirations and dreams. I never knew what my ceiling was. I’m just trying to be the best golfer I can be.” (Photo: AP)
June 16, 2025 2:13 am
CHICAGO (AP) — Ian Happ hit a game-ending single in the 10th inning, and the Chicago Cubs edged the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-2 on Sunday. The Cubs used a double steal to put runners on second and third in the 10th against David Bednar (1-5). Jon Berti struck out swinging for the first out, but Happ followed with a liner to right, delighting the crowd of 40,162 at Wrigley Field. The NL Central leaders won three of four against the last-place Pirates. Every game was a one-run contest. Dansby Swanson and Michael Busch each had two hits for Chicago. Swanson and Seiya Suzuki each drove in a run. Chris Flexen (4-0) pitched a 1-2-3 10th for the win, completing a four-hitter. Spencer Horwitz had two hits and drove in a run for the Pirates. Alexander Canario had a run-scoring groundout. Each team scored two runs in the first. Horwitz singled in Oneil Cruz for the game’s first run, and Swanson tied it at 2 with an RBI single in the bottom half. Colin Rea pitched six innings of four-hit ball for the Cubs. He struck out four and walked one. Pittsburgh right-hander Mitch Keller surrendered three hits in six innings. Keller lowered his ERA to 4.08 on the season, but he is winless in his last 14 starts.
June 16, 2025 4:33 am
BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Red Sox have traded Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants in a blockbuster deal. The Giants sent right-hander Jordan Hicks, lefty Kyle Harrison, outfield prospect James Tibbs III and minor league righty Jose Bello to the Red Sox for the 28-year-old designated hitter, who had bristled at his demotion from third base this year. Devers is one of baseball’s most feared sluggers. He is batting .272 with 15 homers and 58 RBIs in 73 games after he connected for a solo drive in Boston’s 2-0 victory over the New York Yankees.
