August 18, 2023 4:35 am
More NFL hopefuls are getting an opportunity to stick around a little longer to showcase their skills this summer. One cutdown deadline will make things more difficult for personnel staffs because 1,184 players will become available at the same time. Teams are relying on their scouting evaluations to be prepared to scoop up talented players who get cut. Plus, they’ll be busy assembling a 16-man practice squad so it’s going to be a hectic time. When the league eliminated the first two rounds of roster cuts in March, it allowed teams to carry 90 players throughout the preseason. Rosters have to be trimmed to 53 by Aug. 29.
August 18, 2023 4:36 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Austin Barnes hit a solo shot in the eighth inning, helping the Los Angeles Dodgers win their 11th in a row with a 1-0 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers. The NL West-leading Dodgers swept the NL Central leaders, outscoring them 14-3 in three games. The Dodgers earned their 12th shutout of the season. Lance Lynn dueled Brewers starter Corbin Burnes although neither figured in the decision. Burnes gave up two hits in seven innings, struck out nine and walked two. Barnes hit his first homer since last September and he also singled for his first multi-hit game of the season.
August 17, 2023 2:36 am
Washington County trailed Japan by one run through six innings, though the locals had just one hit after the first. But the Asia-Pacific squad pushed across six runs in the sixth and rolled to win PONY Baseball’s 71st World Championship, downing the hosts, 8-2. Kaito Saita doubled to open the game and scored on Kaisei Fukuchi’s RBI single in the first. Ryan Huey singled and scored on Troy Stimpson’s run-scoring double in the bottom of the inning. With two out in the fourth, winning pitcher Yugo Inoue singled in the infield, move to third on a sharp single to left and scored on Haruto Kawasaki’s basehit up the middle. Meanwhile, Inoue was holding Washington County to just three batters an inning from the second through the sixth. Japan used a walk, a sacrifice/error, a base hit and a hit-batter to open the seventh, chasing reliever Jayden Roach. Another hit-batter, a walk, a single and two more errors spelled the end of Washington’s title hopes. Brayden Radue singled in the bottom of the inning, later scoring on Ayvari Chandler’s base hit but two strikeouts ended the threat with the bases loaded. Washington County was playing in just its third winner-take-all PONY championship, the first since 1998, also a loss to the Asia-Pacific champion. Stimpson won the John D. Voytek Memorial Award as Washington County’s leading hitter. The Washington catcher went 8-for-15 (.533) with an inside the park home run, three doubles, four singles, five runs batted in and two runs scored. Click for Bracket.
Batting Champion: Ayden Vieth, Covina, CA (8-14, .571)
ERA Award: Luus Guajardo, Monterrey, MX (8.2 IP, 1 ER, 0.81 ERA)
August 17, 2023 1:08 am
NEW YORK (AP) — DJ Stewart had his first multihomer game in two years, leading the New York Mets to an 8-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Stewart, who also homered as a pinch-hitter in Tuesday’s 7-4 loss, hit a solo shot in the second inning Wednesday off Johan Oviedo (6-13) and delivered a two-run homer in the fifth off Ryan Borucki. The two-homer game was the third of Stewart’s career and his first since Aug. 12, 2021, when he went deep twice for the Baltimore Orioles. Pete Alonso hit his 36th homer, a solo shot that moved him into the Mets’ top 10 list in RBIs with 469, snapping a tie with Keith Hernandez.
August 15, 2023 11:52 pm
Click for Bracket. Hear every game of Washington’s 60th PONY League World Series on WJPA-AM (1450) or Click Here!
Brayden Radue homered, doubled twice and drove in four runs as Washington County downed Monterrey, Mexico, 9-5, Wednesday morning, advancing to the DICK’S Sporting Goods PONY League World Series championship game for the first time in 25 years. The hosts will face Edogawa, Japan. Winning pitcher Ryan Huey kept Monterrey batters off balance, allowing just two hits over the first five innings, both singles. Meanwhile, the local hitters, held to just three hits in last night loss, banged out that many in the first inning, taking a 1-0 lead on Radue’s first double, scoring Troy Stimpson. Radue stroked a no-doubt two-run blast onto the bank in right field in the third. Gavin Dantry homered to left in the fourth. Washington County batted around in the fifth, scoring five runs thanks to Dantry’s sac fly, RBI singles from Huey and Stimpson, plus a run-scoring double by Radue. Monterrey got on the board with a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth, and touched up Huey for three in the seventh before Alex Eslep got a strikeout to end the game.
Washington County is in the PONY League World Series championship round for the fifth time, the third time in a winner-take-all situation (1955 win, 1998 loss). The locals made the final rounds in the 1982 & 1985 tournaments but needed to win twice to claim the title. Japan has won only one PONY title, that by Okinawa in 2013.
5:30 pm Gates Open
6:30 pm Pregame Ceremonies, PONY Hostess
7:00 pm Line-ups & Play Ball
August 15, 2023 11:55 pm
Click for Bracket. Hear every game of Washington’s 60th PONY League World Series on WJPA-AM (1450) or Click Here!
Tuesday scores
Game 11 Edogawa, Japan 6, Youngstown, OH 2
Game 12 Washington County 7, Monterrey, Mexico 5
Game 13 Youngstown, OH 3, Covina, CA 1
Game 14 Monterrey, MX 5, Manchester, NH 1
Division Finals
Game 15 Edogawa, Japan 12, Youngstown 7
Game 16 Monterrey 4, Washington County 2
Game 11 Winning pitcher Yugo Inoue stroked a two-run double in the first, Keito Tsuruta added another in the third, leading Edogawa, Japan to a 6-2 win over Youngstown, OH in a winner’s bracket game Tuesday. Inoue teams with Tsuruta and Haruka Otake to hold Youngstown scoreless until the final inning. Ryan Weibling drilled a two-run home run over the scoreboard in right for the Host Area team’s only runs. Layne Rider took the loss for Youngstown, allowing the first three runs of the game. Edogawa advances to the Division Finals, clinching a spot in the World Series title game with one more win.
Game 12 Troy Stimpson drove in three runs, including a two-run inside-the-park home run and Brayden Radue tossed a five-inning complete game, drive in one run and score another, leading Washington County past Monterrey, MX Tuesday afternoon. The Host team scored twice in the first, three more fourth, then what proved to be the game-winning runs in the final inning. With a run already across the plate in the fourth, Troy Stimpson hit shot off the fence in centerfield and rounded the bases, driving in Ryan Huey ahead of him. Radue held Monterrey without a hit through three innings before the Mexico squad loaded the bases in the fourth. Fernando Quiroga stroked a grand slam over the fence in left, the 48th grand slam in World Series history. Leading 5-4, Ayvari Chandler doubled in the fifth, was sacrificed to third, and scored on Asher Donley’s sacrifice fly. Huey singled, stole second and scored on a Stimpson single. Luis Guajardo homered for Monterrey to set the final score. Washington County moves to the Division Finals, needing one win to reach the World Series championship game.
Game 13 Ben Oddis blasted a walk-off, three-run home run to give Youngstown a 3-1 win over Covina, eliminating the West Zone champions. Ayden Veith singled in the third, scoring Roman Spencer in the Covina third but the Californians had only one more hit the rest of the way. Youngstown stranded seven baserunners over the 2nd, 3rd & 4th innings but needed only three batters to win it in the bottom of the fifth. Layne Rider doubled, chasing Covina starter Omar Arretche. Fabian Marez walked Jayden Amos, the only batter he faced. Roman Spencer came on and Oddis blasted the game-winner over the fence in right. Ford Stacy got the win, allowing just one run and five hits in the five-inning complete game.
Game 14 Owen Hazelbaker homered to open the game, but winning pitcher Miguel Alejandro, Jr. held Manchester to just two singles the rest of the way as Monterrey, Mexico eliminated the North Zone champions, 5-1. Luis Guajardo doubled and scored on a pair of first-inning wild pitches, tying the game. Roberto Saucedo struck out but reached on a wild pitch, moved to second on a balk, and scored with back-to-back singles by Alejandro and Enrique Cuevas. Alejandro scored on an infield error. Fernando Quiroga singled in a pair of runs in the third to set the final. Alejandro worked the complete-game, five-inning win, allowing just one run, three hits and one walk while striking out five.
Game 15 Youngstown took a 7-3 lead in the top of the fifth but couldn’t hold it as Edogawa, Japan scored eight runs on just three hits in the sixth, eliminating the Host Area champions. Japan jumped in front in the first on a three-run home run off the bat of Koudai Minematsu. Youngstown scored once in the third, then scored five times in the fourth, thanks to Brayden Verroco’s RBI single, a two-run double by Logan Patellis, Ryan Weibling’s single and an RBI ground out. Layne Rider doubled to open the fifth and scored on a wild pitch, put Youngstown up, 7-3. Edogawa used two hit-batters, four walks, a strike out wild pitch, a pair of two-run singles by Kai Mayagi and Yugo Inoue, plus at least three wild pitches. Shota Takeshita got the win, retiring four of the five batters he face late in the game, putting Edogawa in position to win Japan’s second PONY title.
Game 16 Fernando Quiroga and Roberto Saucedo doubled back-to-back in the third, giving Monterrey all it needed to hand Washington County its first loss in the tournament. Quiroga doubled with two out in the inning, then scored on Saucedo’s two-base hit, chasing Washington County starter Keegan Williams. Colton Temple held the Mexico champion to just one run the rest of the way but the locals couldn’t solve Luis Guajardo who finished with a dozen strikeouts. The hard-throwing righthander allowed just one hit until the sixth when Brayden Radue singled homw Noah Westfall and Troy Stimpson. A strikeout ended the threat. The two teams will meet for a third time with the winner going to the championship game to face Japan.
August 15, 2023 4:32 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Jason Delay hit a two-run double in a six-run seventh inning, and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the New York Mets 7-4. Pittsburgh stranded 10 runners through six innings before sending 10 batters to the plate against a trio of pitchers in the seventh. Pittsburgh scored its first three runs via a bases-loaded walk, a bases-loaded hit batter and a bases-loaded passed ball before Delay doubled off rookie right-hander Grant Hartwig. One out later, Bryan Reynolds hit a run-scoring triple. Colin Selby, making his fourth big league appearance, entered a 1-1 game in the sixth and got the win.
August 14, 2023 11:23 pm
Covina, CA ousted Palmview, TX, 15-5, and Manchester, NH eliminated Managua, Nicaragua, 11-1, both in five-inning games at the DICK’S Sporting Goods PONY League World Series Monday. Then, Mother Nature put a stop to further play with steady rains and, at times, heavy downpours. Winners’ bracket games Monday evening, featuring both local teams, were postponed to Tuesday. Tournament officials are hopeful of resuming play at approximately with Games 11-14 to be played as 5-inning contests. The Division Finals, Games 15-16, are tentatively set for Tuesday evening as regulation 7-inning games. Click for Bracket. Hear every game of Washington’s 60th PONY League World Series on WJPA-AM (1450) or Click Here!
Tuesday scores/schedule: (ALL TIMES TENTATIVE, SUBJECT TO REVISION)
10:00 am Game 11 (winners’ bracket) Youngstown OH vs. Edogawa Japan
11:45 am Game 12 (winners’ bracket) Washington County vs. Monterrey Mexico
1:30 pm Game 13 (elimination) Covina CA vs. Youngstown / Edogawa loser
3:15 pm Game 14 (elimination) Manchester vs. Washington County / Montererry loser
Evening (times to be determined)
6:00 pm Game 15 Youngstown/Edogawa/Covina Division Finals
8:30 pm Game 16 Washington County/Monterrey/Manchester Division Finals
Palmview led 4-0 and 5-4 only to watch Covina erupt for 11 straight runs, eliminating the South Zone Champions. Nathan Arellano homered in the Covina first inning and finished with two hits, five RBI and three runs scored. Arellano threw three scoreless innings of relief to get the win. Palmview scored four in the first on just one hit. Covina tied the game in the bottom of the frame thanks to a fielder’s choice and Arellano’s home run to deep left. Palmview scored a run in the top of the third to lead, 5-4, before the West Zone champs plated three in the third, four in the fourth and fifth to walk off with the run-rule win. Covina awaits the Youngstown/Edogawa losers in the elimination bracket.
Monday scores/schedule:
Game 9 (elimination) Covina CA 15, Palmview TX 5 (5 innings)
Game 10 (elimination) Manchester NH 11, Managua Nicaragua 1 (5 innings)
Game 11 (winners’ bracket) POSTPONED Youngstown OH vs. Edogawa Japan
Game 12 (winners’ bracket) POSTPONED Washington County vs. Monterrey Mexico
Manchester scored seven run in the first and never looked back, cruising past Managua and ending the Caribbean champions’ stay in the World Series. Seven different Manchester plays drove in runs, Jace Labore and Chase Crowell each had a pair of RBI. After one out in the first, eight straight East Zone players reached safely on three singles, three walks and a pair of hit-batters. Single runs in the third and fourth innings for Manchester set the stage to end the game early. Labore hit a solo home run to lead off the fifth. After one runner was thrown out at home trying to invoke the run rule, Levi Locke singled to center field, plating Owen Hazelbaker with the game’s final marker. Manchester will face the Washington County/Monterrey loser in the elimination bracket.
August 15, 2023 4:36 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Francisco Lindor became the first Met to reach 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases since 2008 as New York beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-2 to win consecutive games for the first time in two weeks. Jonathan Araúz hit a two-run homer while Daniel Vogelbach and Brandon Nimmo added solo homers as the Mets scored in each of the first six innings in a home game for the first time since June 25, 1987, against the Cubs. Pete Alonso added an RBI double as the Mets won consecutive games for the first time since July 27-28 right before they traded veterans Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander along with several others ahead of the trade deadline.
August 15, 2023 4:38 am
A person familiar with the terms tells The Associated Press that three-time Pro Bowl running back Ezekiel Elliott has signed a one-year deal with the New England Patriots worth $4 million. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team hasn’t announced the move. The person says the contract can be worth up to $6 million with incentives. Elliott ran for 68 touchdowns and more than 8,000 yards in seven years with the Dallas Cowboys. After being drafted fourth overall out of Ohio State in 2016, he led the NFL in rushing yards in 2016. He was the runner-up for the AP Rookie of the Year award. He also has more than 2,300 receiving yards and 12 TD catches.
