Braydon Radue tossed 3.2 shutout innings and doubled in the sixth, driving in the eventual winning run as Washington County downed Paderborn, Germany, 2-1, at the DICK’S Sporting Goods PONY League World Series. Radue allowed just three hits, all singles before giving way to the bullpen. The Host team opened the scoring in the third. Ryan Huey doubled with two outs and moved to third on an infield single to short. When the ball was thrown away at first, Huey scored to make it 1-0. Huey singled to open the sixth and raced home on a ringing double by Radue, putting Washington County up, 2-0. Paderborn scored its only run in the bottom of the frame on a pair of infield errors. Alex Eslep retired the final four batters of the game to earn the save. Washington County advances to the winners bracket Monday night to face the Monterrey/Manchester winner. Troy Stimpson had two hits for Washington County.
Manchester, NH scored four runs after two out in the sixth to rally past Managua, Nicaragua in Game 4 of the World Series. The East Zone champions managed just one hit prior to the uprising. With two out and nobody on in the sixth, trailing 1-0 since the first, Levi Locke singled. Nate Duquette eventually walked but during his at-bat, Locke got caught in a rundown must made it back to first safely when nobody covered after the first throw. Brody Labbe’s double to the gap in right put Manchester in front, 2-0. Labbe moved to third on a wild pitch, then scored on Chris Centorino’s RBI single. A balk moved Labbe to second and he scored the winner’s fourth run of the inning in an RBI single off the bat of Seth Lecuyer. Patrick Roy got the win in relief of starter Owen Hazelbaker. Roy held Managua to just one hit over two innings of relief. Locke worked a clean seventh to earn the save. The Caribbean champions used a two-base fielding error, a passed ball and a double-play to score their only run. Managua drops to the elimination bracket Sunday evening against Paderborn. Manchester plays Monterrey, Mexico early Sunday afternoon, the final preliminary game.
The final game of the day, Edogawa, Japan vs. Palmview, Texas, was suspended in the fourth with Palmview leading 3-1. Edogawa wasted a couple early chances to score but got on the board with a fourth-inning, two-out double by Kaisei Fukuchi, scoring Natsuke Nakamura. Palmview sent just the minimum number of batters to the plate through three innings off Edogawa starter Yugo Inoue. The Asia-Pacific squad made a change to start the fourth, leading 1-0, and Palmview strung together three singles, a walk and a sacrifice bunt to score three times, each run coming after a 35-minute lightning delay. Play lasted only another 10 minutes when more lightning was detected and the game was suspended. Action will resume at 12 noon on Sunday, followed the three games on the original docket.
Sunday’s schedule:
12:00 noon Edogawa / Palmview completing (Palmview leading, 3-1, batting in bottom of the fourth).
1:00 pm Monterrey, Mexico vs. Manchester, NH
3:30 pm Bay County, MI vs. Covina, CA (elimination game)
6:00 pm Paderborn, Germany vs. Managua, Nicaragua (elimination game)
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Cincinnati Reds’ game in Pittsburgh against the Pirates on Saturday night was rained out and will be made up as part of a split doubleheader on Sunday. The opener is scheduled for 1:35 p.m., when LHP Brandon Williamson (4-2, 4.54 ERA) will take the mound for the Reds against Pirates right-hander Mitch Keller (9-8, 4.39). Keller is 0-4, allowing 27 runs in 26 2/3 innings across five starts, since pitching in the All-Star Game on July 11. The nightcap is set for 6:05 p.m. Luke Weaver (2-4, 6.75) will start for the Reds against Pittsburgh’s RHP Andre Jackson (0-0, 5.16).
Palmview, TX used a six-run sixth inning to bust open a close game, beating Bay County, MI, 9-1, opening night at the DICK’S Sporting Goods PONY League World Series. Bay County took a 1-0 lead on LJ Hartman’s solo home run in the first, the 1,400th home run in the 71-year history of the tournament. Palmview tied the game in the third on Alexis Lopez’ sacrifice fly and took the lead later in the inning on an RBI double off the bat of Javier Garza. Lopez and Garza would add RBI later in the game with Rolando Solis driving in a pair. Palmview will take on Edogawa, Japan Saturday afternoon. Bay County drops into the elimination bracket on Sunday.
Youngstown, OH took advantage of eight walks, a pair of hit batters and a couple clutch hits to build a 7-0 lead, then held off a late rally, beating Covina, CA, 8-6. Jayden struck out a dozen batters, eight in a row at one point, and drove in four runs to get the win. Amos singled in a pair in the third, then doubled in two more runs an inning later. Covina scored twice off the starter in the fifth, then two more off Layne Rider in the frame. The Californians plated a pair of runs in the seventh, one on Omar Arretche’s solo home run but couldn’t pull even. Youngstown is off until Monday night’s winners bracket. Covina takes on Bay County in the tournament’s first elimination game.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Elly Da La Cruz hit a two-run triple in the first inning and drove in three runs, and Luke Maile belted a three-run homer as the Cincinnati Reds routed the Pittsburgh Pirates 9-2 for just their second victory in nine games. De La Cruz’s triple into the right-field corner sparked a three-run first. The rookie shortstop then scored on a double by Spencer Steer. Reds manager David Bell shuffled his slumping team’s lineup and dropped De La Cruz from leadoff to the No. 3 spot. The 21-year-old had hit just .207 in 22 games at the top of the order. Maile’s homer in the fourth off Jose Oviedo extended the lead to 6-0. Cincinnati rookie Andrew Abbott took a shutout into the sixth.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Baker Mayfield continued his bid to follow Tom Brady as Tampa Bay’s starting quarterback and jumpstart his career with a solid, if not overly impressive preseason debut for the Buccaneers in a 27-17 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Mayfield was 8 of 9 for 63 yards and one touchdown over five series against a mix of Pittsburgh starters and reserves. Steelers starter Kenny Pickett, who worked one series, completed six of seven passes for 70 yards on a 10-play, 83-yard drive and finished with a 33-yard TD throw to George Pickens. Mason Rudolph tossed a 67-yard TD pass to Calvin Austin III for Pittsburgh.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Ke’Bryan Hayes drove in three runs for the third straight game and the Pittsburgh Pirates rallied past the Atlanta Braves 7-5. Pittsburgh salvaged a split of a four-game series with the NL East leaders by overcoming an early four-run deficit behind Hayes and a strong effort out of the bullpen by Thomas Hatch. Hatch pitched four scoreless innings to win for the first time since 2020. Matt Olson hit his 40th home run of the season for Atlanta to move into a tie with Shohei Ohtani for the major-league lead.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Ronald Acuña Jr. had three hits and Michael Harris II tagged on a popup to right field and scored on a close call in the eighth inning, lifting the Atlanta Braves to a 6-5 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Harris raced home on Austin Riley’s fly into shallow right off Carmen Mlodzinski (2-3) that was fielded by backpeddling Jared Triolo. Harris slid in ahead of the throw to home by the second baseman. He was originally called out for possibly having left third before Triolo caught the ball, but the call was reversed following a review and the Braves moved ahead 6-5. Acuña was 3 for 6, including an RBI double in the fourth, one day after leaving in the sixth inning of Tuesday’s 8-6 win after being hit on the left elbow by a pitch.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Michael Lorenzen threw the 14th no-hitter in Philadelphia Phillies history, a dazzling performance in only his second start with his new team, which beat the Washington Nationals 7-0. The 31-year-old Lorenzen struck out five, walked four and improved to 2-0 since he was acquired from Detroit at the trade deadline for a minor leaguer. Lorenzen retired Lane Thomas on a grounder to open the ninth and struck out Joey Meneses looking. The crowd of 30,406 erupted when Lorenzen retired Dominic Smith on a flyball on his 124th pitch to end the game. Lorenzen flipped his cap backward and was mobbed by his teammates in a rowdy celebration near the plate.
The Atlantic Coast Conference presidents have chosen not to vote on whether to add Stanford and California to the league. That’s according to two people with knowledge of the situation who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because neither the ACC nor the schools disclosed their internal discussions publicly. The ACC’s inaction keeps the Northern California schools in limbo as they look for an escape from the crumbling Pac-12. The ACC has also been looking at SMU, the Dallas-based school from the American Athletic Conference, as an expansion target.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Orlando Arcia’s two-run double with two outs in the top of the ninth capped a three-run inning and rallied the MLB-best Atlanta Braves to an 8-6 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday night after star right fielder Ronald Acuña Jr. left the game. Pirates closer David Bednar came on to start the ninth with a 6-5 lead but took his third blown save in 26 opportunities this season. Arcia’s double came immediately after Kevin Pillar hit a tying single with the Braves down to their final out. Arcia also homered and finished with three hits and three RBIs to help the Braves end their three-game losing streak.
