(File Photo: Source for Photo: Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani (17) watches his solo home run off Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Mitch Keller during the third inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Thursday, June 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani hit his 13th homer of the season before leaving the game due to left knee inflammation and Los Angeles beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-6 on Thursday night.

The reigning NL MVP hit a solo homer in the third inning. He also had a single and walked twice, reaching base in all four of his plate appearances before being lifted for a pinch hitter in the seventh inning.

It was not immediately clear when Ohtani began feeling discomfort in the knee.

Dodgers starter Justin Wrobleski left the game in the fifth inning with a left hamstring contusion. The left-hander was hit by a line drive off the bat of Bryan Reynolds. The ball ricocheted off Wrobleski to first baseman Freddie Freeman. Wrobleski collided with Reynolds while taking Freeman’s toss at first base.

Andy Pages also had two hits for the NL West-leading Dodgers, who took two of three in the series. Kyle Tucker hit a two-run single, and Miguel Rojas drove in two more runs.

Pirates rookie Rafael Flores Jr. hit his first MLB home run, and Brandon Lowe also went deep. Flores, Nick Gonzales and Spencer Horwitz had two hits apiece.

Wrobleski allowed four runs in 4 2/3 innings. Mitch Keller (5-4) was tagged for five runs in four innings.

Jack Dreyer (3-1) pitched a scoreless seventh inning and Tanner Scott got the last four outs for his seventh save.

Up next

Dodgers: RHP Roki Sasaki (4-3, 4.03 ERA) pitches against White Sox LHP Anthony Kay (5-1, 4.40) on Friday night in Chicago.

Pirates: Host Miami on Friday night with RHP Braxton Ashcraft (5-3, 3.28 ERA) facing Marlins RHP Sandy Alcantara (5-4, 4.33).

(File Photo of a Gavel)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Tacoma, WA) Attorneys with Alliance Defending Freedom filed a lawsuit Tuesday on behalf of a fifteen-year-old female wrestler against Washington state officials in Tacoma.

According to the lawsuit, a male wrestler sexually assaulted the female athlete during a high school girls’ wrestling tournament in December of 2025. The event was sponsored by the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of the female wrestler and her mother, Stephanie Brown. The plaintiffs allege that state officials directed the female wrestler to compete without informing her that her opponent was male and later failed to report the alleged assault to law enforcement within the timeframe required by state law.

The lawsuit claims officials waited 53 days before notifying law enforcement, despite a state requirement that such incidents be reported within 48 hours.

(File Photo of the Blackhawk School District Logo)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(University Park, PA) Blackhawk softball will look to capture its first PIAA state championship when it faces Valley View in the 2026 Class 4A title game at 1:30 p.m. today at Nittany Lion Softball Park in University Park.

The Lady Cougars enter the championship game with a 15-5 record, while the Valley View Cougars of Archbald bring a 23-3 mark into the contest.

Valley View, the District II champion, won the Class 4A crown last season and is seeking back-to-back state titles.

Blackhawk is attempting to become the first WPIAL team to win the PIAA Class 4A softball championship since Beaver claimed the title in 2021.

(Credit for Photo: Photo Courtesy of Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images, Caption for Photo: Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Joaquin Davis)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) The Pittsburgh Steelers recently signed wide receiver Joaquin Davis and cornerback Daryl Porter, Jr. to one-year contracts.

Davis entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent following the 2025 NFL Draft. He spent time with the Denver Broncos and the Minnesota Vikings as a rookie last season and was on the Vikings’ practice squad before remaining with the organization through the 2026 offseason.

Davis played in 42 games over four seasons at North Carolina Central, finishing his college career with 92 receptions for 1,211 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Porter returns to the Steelers after spending part of the 2025 season on the team’s practice squad. He was elevated to the active roster for Pittsburgh’s Week 16 game against the Detroit Lions.

Porter, the son of former NFL defensive back Daryl Porter Sr., originally signed with the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted free agent following the 2025 NFL Draft. He joined the Steelers after being released during the Bills’ training camp.

Porter began his college career at West Virginia before transferring to Miami, where he became a two-year starter. During his collegiate career, he recorded 108 tackles, 18 passes defended and one interception.

(Credit for Photo: AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) The Pittsburgh Pirates announced that catcher Henry Davis was placed on the paternity leave list yesterday as his wife, Sofia, prepares to welcome their first child. 

This season, Davis is batting .138 with five home runs and 17 RBIs. 

In a corresponding roster move, the team recalled catcher/first baseman Rafael Flores Jr. from Triple-A Indianapolis. 

Flores Jr. appeared in seven games with the Pirates in 2025. He has a career Major League batting average of .200 with two doubles. 

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Pittsburgh Pirates’ Oneil Cruz steals second base against the Atlanta Braves during the second inning of a baseball game, Saturday, June 6, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Erik S. Lesser)

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Pirates placed center fielder Oneil Cruz on the 10-day injured list on Wednesday with a broken left hand.

Cruz was injured while sliding into the plate during the fourth inning of a loss to Atlanta on Saturday. Cruz was available as a pinch-runner on Sunday and the club had been hopeful he would avoid a stint on the IL. But additional tests revealed non-displaced fractures between his ring finger and his pinkie.

The move, retroactive to Monday, means the Pirates will have to try to stay in the mix in the NL Central without one of their most productive hitters. Cruz is hitting .264 with 14 home runs and 44 RBIs. His 98 strikeouts also lead the majors.

Pittsburgh recalled utility player Billy Cooke from Triple-A Indianapolis to take Cruz’s roster spot. Cooke is hitting .190 in 32 games this year for Pittsburgh.

The Pirates also placed catcher Henry Davis on the paternity list and recalled catcher Rafael Flores Jr. from Triple-A.

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Pittsburgh Pirates’ Tyler Callihan (37) takes a curtain call on the dugout steps after hitting a three-run home run off Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Kyle Hurt during the eighth inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Wednesday, June 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Tyler Callihan hit the first two home runs of his career, a solo shot off Shohei Ohtani in the fourth inning and a go-ahead, three-run blast off reliever Kyle Hurt in the eighth as the Pittsburgh Pirates rallied past the Los Angeles Dodgers 9-8 on Wednesday night.

Ohtani gave up season highs in runs (four), earned runs (three), and hits (six) in 6 2/3 innings as his ERA ticked up to 1.06. The four-time MVP struck out six and walked three before being removed following Brandon Lowe’s two-out, two-run double in the seventh.

Ohtani hit a two-run homer off Gregory Soto in the ninth, his 12th of the season, to draw the Dodgers within one. Soto retired the next two batters for his ninth save.

A Los Angeles comeback hardly seemed necessary when Ohtani exited with a 6-3 lead, seemingly in position to win his fifth straight start.

Callihan, a utility player, sent a fastball from Ohtani 427 feet over the right-field stands at PNC Park. With two on and nobody out in the eighth, Callihan pounced on a changeup from Hurt (1-1) to give the Pirates their first lead at 7-6. Spencer Horwitz added a two-run shot later in the inning off Jack Dreyer as Pittsburgh ended a four-game skid.

Evan Sisk (1-0) got the final out of the eighth.

Ryan Ward hit his first career grand slam for the Dodgers, a liner to the seats in right in the sixth that gave Los Angeles a 6-1 lead.

The Pirates, who gave up 10 runs in the seventh inning of a blowout loss on Tuesday, responded in the eighth to win for just the third time this season when trailing after seven innings.

Up next

The series wraps up on Thursday. Justin Wrobleski (7-2, 2.62 ERA) starts for Los Angeles against Pittsburgh’s Mitch Keller (5-3, 4.81).

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Pittsburgh Pirates’ Konnor Griffin singles off Minnesota Twins pitcher Taj Bradley, driving in a run during the first inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Friday, May 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pirates rookie shortstop Konnor Griffin’s right forearm strain is improving, and the 20-year-old is optimistic he’ll be back soon.

Griffin initially reported discomfort in his forearm after a loss to the Chicago Cubs on May 27. He appeared as a designated hitter over the next two games before going on the 10-day injured list on May 31.

The team thought his stay on the IL would be brief, though the timeline for his possible return was pushed back after the nature of the injury turned out to be a little more severe than the club anticipated. Griffin is eligible to come off the IL on Wednesday but remains out indefinitely.

Griffin, who made his big league debut in early April as a teenager and quickly signed a nine-year deal with the team, was seen by multiple physicians. Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said imaging of Griffin’s right (throwing) arm indicated the UCL was “stable.”

While Griffin indicated he hoped to start a throwing program as early as Wednesday, Tomczyk indicated any throwing activity won’t begin until Griffin meets with the medical team “in the coming days.”

Griffin, who turned 20 on April 24, was hitting .270 with four home runs, 22 RBIs and 14 stolen bases at the time of the injury.

“Just trying to take a little break and really make sure I don’t hurt myself worse and just take our time with it,” Griffin said in the Pittsburgh clubhouse before Tuesday’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers. “It’s still middle of the season, so we’ve got some time to rehab and get back and be ready to roll towards the last half.”

Griffin, who pitched in high school before being drafted in the first round of the 2024 draft, said he’d never experienced any issues in his throwing arm before but made it a point to be proactive in bringing it to the attention of the club’s medical staff.

“I think we caught it at the right time, where I’m not going to have to miss the whole year,” he said. “I can just miss just a couple weeks and try to be back out there as soon as possible.”

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani celebrates on second base after driving in a run with a double off Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Wilber Dotel during the seventh inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Tuesday, June 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Andy Pages hit a two-run homer and added a sacrifice fly during a seventh-inning outburst against Pittsburgh’s bullpen as the Dodgers quickly pulled away once Pirates ace Paul Skenes exited in a 12-3 win on Tuesday night.

Skenes, the reigning NL Cy Young winner, allowed two runs and struck out seven in six innings. He retired Los Angeles star Shohei Ohtani all three times he faced the four-time MVP, getting Ohtani to ground out twice and fanning him once in his best start in nearly a month.

When Skenes left, the Dodgers pounced.

Dalton Rushing led off the seventh with a single off Wilber Dotel (1-0), advanced to third on a single through the hole by Alan Freeland and scored the go-ahead run when Pirates catcher Henry Davis’ attempt to pick Rushing off third hit the Dodger catcher instead and rolled away.

Things only got better for Los Angeles. Ohtani followed with an RBI-double and Pages hit his fourth home run in 12 career games against the Pirates to make it 6-2. A throwing error by Pirates second baseman Brandon Lowe, a couple of bases-loaded walks, and Freddie Freeman’s 2,500th career hit — a sharp RBI-single to center — highlighted the rest of Los Angeles’ biggest inning since an 11-run outburst against St. Louis on June 2, 2021.

Will Klein (2-2) picked up the win in relief of starter Eric Laurer, who allowed two runs in 5 2/3 innings.

Bryan Reynolds and Ryan O’Hearn hit back-to-back homers in the first to give Pittsburgh some early momentum. Pittsburgh managed just three hits the rest of the way to drop its fourth straight game and fall back to just one game over .500 at 34-33.

Skenes is now 0-3 with a 4.50 ERA over his last five starts.

Up next

The series continues Wednesday, when Ohtani (6-2, 0.74 ERA) goes for his fifth straight victory on the mound. The two-way superstar has allowed just one run over his last four starts. Jared Jones (1-0, 4.82) starts for Pittsburgh.

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Pittsburgh Pirates’ Konnor Griffin takes infield practice before making his Major League Baseball debut in the Pirates’ home-opener against the Baltimore Orioles in Pittsburgh, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) Pittsburgh Pirates rookie shortstop Konnor Griffin is expected to miss more time than originally anticipated because of a right arm flexor strain. 

Griffin was placed on the 10-day injured list on May 31st prior to the Pirates’ game against the Minnesota Twins at PNC Park. 

Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said the organization plans to be “more conservative” with Griffin’s recovery, and a timetable for his return has not been established. 

Before the injury, Griffin was batting .270 with a .327 on-base percentage and a .402 slugging percentage, good for a .729 OPS. In 51 games, he recorded 51 hits, nine doubles, two triples, four home runs and 22 RBIs. 

Griffin also stole 14 bases in 15 attempts. 

The Pirates signed Griffin to a nine-year, $140 million contract extension on April 8th, the largest contract in franchise history.