(File Photo: Source for Photo: Pittsburgh Pirates’ Jacob Gonzalez hits an RBI single during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Le)

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Rafael Flores Jr. hit a three-run home run and Brandon Lowe added a solo shot to lift the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 6-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday.

The Pirates entered the game, having scored only eight runs in their previous six games.

Carmen Mlodzinski (7-6), the third Pirates pitcher, gave up one run and one hit in 3 1/3 innings. Six Pittsburgh pitchers held the Cardinals to just three hits.

Rookie Brycen Mautz (0-1) took the loss in his MLB debut for St. Louis. He gave up four runs on five hits and a walk in three innings. Mautz struck out eight.

In the fifth, Flores drove a 3-2 slider into the left-field bleachers for a three-run homer, extending Pittsburgh’s advantage to 5-1.

Three consecutive errors in the sixth led to a run for St. Louis. With one out, shortstop Jocob Gonzalez booted two grounders followed by center fielder Oneil Cruz misplaying a routine fly. Pittsburgh also made three errors in Friday’s game.

The Pirates went up 2-1 in the fourth. Jake Mangum singled to left but rookie Joshua Baez misplayed it and then didn’t hustle after it. Mangum raced to third and was ruled out before the call was challenged and overturned. Mautz then gave up a run-scoring single to Gonzalez.

Baez hit his first home run at Busch Stadium in the third inning, sending an 0-1 slider from reliever Evan Sisk into the left-field seats. Baez made history when homered in each of his first three major league at-bats on Aug. 15 in Chicago.

Lowe homered in the first inning with one out.

Before the game, the Cardinals designated reliever Caleb Ferguson for assignment and recalled Mautz.

Up next

Cardinals LHP Matthew Liberatore (5-12, 5.44) faces Pirates’ RHP Braxton Ashcraft (13-5, 3.59) on Sunday afternoon in the series finale.

(File Photo: Source for Photo: St. Louis Cardinals’ Quinn Mathews pitches in the first inning of a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Friday, Aug. 28, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Michael Thomas)

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Quinn Mathews allowed one run over 5 2/3 innings for his first major league win and Jimmy Crooks hit a two-run homer to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 4-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday night.

Mathews (1-2) threw 102 pitches in the longest of his four starts. He struck out seven for the second time and walked one in his first outing at home.

Ryan Fernandez followed Mathews with two scoreless innings. Fernandez left after a two-out walk to Brian Reynolds in the eighth and Caleb Ferguson got the final out when Reynolds was hit on the foot on a single through the infield by Oneil Cruz. Ryne Stanek struck out two in the ninth for his second save.

Nolan Gorman had a one-out double off Jacob Jones (2-6) in the third and Crooks followed with his fifth home run of the season for a 2-0 lead.

Jordan Walker and José Fermín singled leading off the fourth, and Nathan Church hit a sacrifice fly for a 3-0 advantage.

Jared Triolo had two of Pittsburgh’s six hits and drove in a run with a two-out single in the fifth.

Walker singled and scored on a two-out throwing error by shortstop Jacob Gonzalez for a run in the eighth.

Jones surrendered three runs on seven hits with a walk and six strikeouts over 4 2/3 innings.

St. Louis (68-68) improves to 6-2 on the season against the Pirates (65-71), who have scored five runs in their last four games.

Up next

The Pirates have not announced Saturday’s starting pitcher. The Cardinals will send out RHP Kyle Leahy (10-4, 3.13 ERA).

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Buffalo Bills quarterback Shane Buechele (6) runs the ball for a short gain in the second half of a preseason NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Orchard Park, NY., Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Buffalo Bills rookie head coach Joe Brady closed a perfect preseason with a come-from-behind victory and the opportunity to get Josh Allen’s insights as a play-caller on the sideline.

Now comes the next challenge for Brady, as the 36-year-old enters the season as the NFL’s youngest coach and overseeing a team with Super Bowl aspirations.

For a moment, all that could wait, with Brady instead savoring the closing minutes of a 28-27 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday night. With 1:06 left, Ian Wheeler scored on a 2-yard run and the Bills went ahead on Steve Buechele off-balance completion to Dante Pettis for a 2-point conversion.

“There’s so much to be proud of for those guys,” Brady said.

“Some of those guys might not ever play football again and I wanted to make sure they did everything they can to play good football,” he added, referring to NFL teams making their final cuts this weekend. “I learned a lot about just the mindset of both our starters, just how they were on the sidelines, (and) the makeup of the football team.”

As for Allen’s involvement, Brady said he welcomed the opportunity to have Allen on the headset sharing his thought process with the game on the line.

“Usually the first things that come to his head are the things that I probably should be calling. So I’ve had a lot of fun with it,” Brady said.

The Bills closed the preseason 3-0, while the Steelers finished 1-2 and face a few injury questions.

Second-year quarterback Will Howard, who started the game, was being evaluated for an undisclosed injury and not made available to reporters, the team announced.

Also, special teams ace Ben Skowronek appeared to hurt his head while tackling Mecole Hardman on a kickoff return in the first half. Skowronek was escorted up the tunnel and coach Mike McCarthy did not have an update on the player’s status.

The Steelers’ last chance to pull ahead ended at Pittsburgh’s 38, with Drew Allar’s pass sailing behind tight end Lake McRee on fourth-and-7 with 44 seconds remaining. It was a disappointing finish for Allar in an outing the rookie was attempting to separate himself from Howard in the competition for the Steelers’ third-string job.

“I feel good about everything that I put on tape,” Allar said. “I think the biggest thing is I have a lot of great mentors, between players and coaches to learn from. From the things I’ve done well and also the mistakes I’ve made.”

With Rodgers back home resting in Pittsburgh, and primary backup Mason Rudolph watching from the bench, Howard and Allar finished with mixed results.

Allar finished 9 of 18 for 88 yards and oversaw one touchdown drive that was capped by Eli Heidenreich scoring on a 9-yard run to open the second half.

Howard, a sixth-round pick in 2025, started and went 9 of 15 with two touchdowns — both on drives starting inside Buffalo’s 30 — and an interception on seven possessions in the first half. The interception was Howard’s third of the preseason, after being picked off twice in a 17-0 loss to the New York Jets last weekend.

Howard completed a 13-yard touchdown pass to Germie Bernard to open the scoring, and also hit McRee for a 5-yards touchdown.

Kaden Wetjen also scored on a 45-yard punt return that put the Steelers ahead 27-17 four minutes into the fourth quarter.

With Kyle Allen appearing to have locked up the primary backup job behind Josh Allen, Buechele handled the quarterback duties in finishing 26 for 38 for 196 yards. After Wheeler scored on third down, Buechele back-pedaled in the face of pressure before getting off a pass to Pettis, who was open along the left side of the goal line.

“I thought this was one of my best preseasons, if not the best,” said Buechele, who has split his first five NFL years between Kanas City and Buffalo, and made his first game appearance last season with the Chiefs. “I don’t know how this thing is going to roll, but just staying in prayer and seeing what happens.

Frank Gore Jr. scored on a 1-yard run for Buffalo, and receiver Skyler Bell also found the end zone on a 28-yard scamper off a reverse.

Up next

Steelers: Open regular season hosting Atlanta on Sept. 13.

Bills: Open regular season at Houston on Sept. 13.

(Credit and Caption for Photo: South Williamsport, Pennsylvania – August 24: Phenix City’s Kinley Rasmus #16, representing the Southeast Region, hits a single against East Side, representing the Mid-Atlantic Region, during the Little League World Series at Howard J. Lamade Stadium on Monday, Aug. 24, 2026 in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune via Getty Images)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Williamsport, PA) According to the Lycoming County Visitor’s Bureau, more than 70,000 players, coaches, and fans traveled to Williamsport for the 79th Little League Baseball World Series, which injects an estimated $40 million into Pennsylvania’s economy.

This competition has included teams from 44 of the 50 U.S. states and 29 different countries and it was first held at Memorial Park in Williamsport in 1947.