WJPA Sports

PITTSBURGH — Michael Perez and Bryan Reynolds hit three-run home runs during the seventh inning and the Pittsburgh Pirates rallied for a 6-3 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Saturday. Perez homered to right off Bryan Shaw (1-2) to put the Pirates ahead. Four batters later, Reynolds hit a 98 mph fastball from James Karinchak that sailed over the stands in right, bounced into the Allegheny River and was measured at 428 feet. Down 2-0 entering the seventh, the Pirates were aided by six walks, three each by Shaw and Karinchak. It is the most walks the Pirates have drawn in an inning since also coaxing six bases on balls in 1976 against the St. Louis Cardinals. Perez’s home run was his fifth of the season in the backup catcher’s 27 games. Prior to this season, he had gone deep just twice in 84 games. Reynolds has a team-leading 12 homers. He has homered five times in 16 games in June while batting .345. Pittsburgh has won the first two games of the series after entering on a 10-game losing streak.

UNIONDALE, N.Y.  — With goalie Semyon Varlamov out of position in the closing seconds, New York defenseman Ryan Pulock knew he needed to get in the way of Ryan McDonagh’s shot at the open net. It was the biggest play in the Islanders’ latest series-tying Game 4 win. Matt Martin capped a three-goal second period, Pulock made a diving stop and the Islanders held on to beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 Saturday night to even their Stanley Cup semifinal series at two games apiece. Josh Bailey and Mathew Barzal also scored, and Cal Clutterbuck and Adam Pelech each had two assists. Semyon Varlamov finished with 28 saves to help the Islanders win a Game 4 to tie a series after dropping the previous game at home for the third time this postseason.