WEATHER FORECAST FOR THURSDAY, JULY 4TH, 2019
TODAY – VARIABLE CLOUDS WITH SCATTERED
THUNDERSTORMS. HIGH – 86.
TONIGHT – MOSTLY CLOUDY SKIES WITH SCATTERED
THUNDERSTORMS MAINLY DURING THE
EVENING. LOW NEAR 70.
FRIDAY – MIXED CLOUDS AND SUN WITH SCATTERED
THUNDERSTORMS. HIGH – 87.
SATURDAY – MIXED CLOUDS AND SUN WITH SCATTERED
THUNDERSTORMS. HIGH – 84.
SUNDAY – RAIN SHOWERS IN THE MORNING WITH
SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARRIVING IN THE
AFTERNOON. HIGH – 82.
Pirates rally against Kimbrel in 9th to edge Cubs 6-5
By WILL GRAVES AP Sports Writer
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Chicago Cubs splurged on closer Craig Kimbrel last month in hopes of shoring up the back end of their spotty bullpen.
So far, the seven-time All Star is fitting in for all the wrong reasons.
Jung Ho Kang scored on Corey Dickerson’s sacrifice fly to cap a frantic ninth-inning rally off Kimbrel and lift the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 6-5 victory over the struggling Cubs on Wednesday night.
Kimbrel (0-1) came on to protect a one-run lead and pick up his second save since signing a three-year deal with Chicago. Instead he trudged to the dugout with his teammate walked off with his first loss since joining the Cubs. The Pirates used a walk, a flare that turned into a double and some aggressive base running to win their third straight.
The closer walked Elias Diaz on a full count with one out. Kang followed with a double to right that Chicago’s Willson Contreras couldn’t track down. Diaz beat the throw to the plate from Chicago second baseman Addison Russell on Adam Frazier’s fielders’ choice. Kang sprinted home when Kyle Schwarber’s heave from left field following Dickerson’s fly ball was late to set off a giddy celebration.
“I think my stuff was moving and I was throwing it where I wanted to a little bit more, but didn’t get the results,” Kimbrel said. “That doesn’t always work out.”
Not the way the Pirates are playing.
Pittsburgh has won 12 of 17 following a seven-game losing streak to pull within one game of .500 (42-43).
“That was nuts. Craziest ending to a game that I’ve ever seen,” said Pittsburgh first baseman Josh Bell, who hit his 26th home run of the season and added a double to give him 59 extra-base hits, the most ever by a National League player before the All-Star break. “I feel like that just adds to the momentum.”
Starling Marte collected three hits for the Pirates. Frazier’s streak of hits in seven straight at bats ended in the first but he singled in the seventh. Melky Cabrera went 3 for 4 and delivered a two-run home run off Chicago starter Yu Darvish but was also thrown out at home by Contreras to end the eighth while trying to score on a single by Colin Moran.
All it did was set the stage for Pittsburgh’s 21st comeback win of the season.
“We play hard from the beginning to end,” Diaz said. “It’s special.”
REELING CUBS
Victor Caratini homered from both sides of the plate for the Cubs, including a go-ahead two-run shot in the seventh off Francisco Liriano to give the Cubs a 5-4 lead. Javy Baez added his 22nd home run for Chicago but the Cubs lost their fourth consecutive game.
Chicago missed a chance to pull even with Milwaukee for first in the jam-packed NL Central, where all five clubs are separated by 4 1/2 games heading into July 4.
“These kinds of losses are difficult but you have to come back and play the next day,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. “That’s how the game is set up. I do like the fact that we played a better brand of baseball. We did a lot of things well in spite of not having everybody out there.”
No team has been able to take control of the division. Chicago looked like it was ready to in early June, but an 8-19 stretch brought the Cubs back to earth.
Chicago president Theo Epstein has threatened changes if the Cubs don’t get going, and Chicago called up outfield prospect Robel Garcia on Wednesday after he racked up 21 home runs in the minors following a five-year stint playing in Italy.
Garcia ended up striking out in the eighth in his first big-league at bat, but by then Caratini had already given the Cubs the lead.
Caratini’s fourth home run of the season and second of the game put Darvish in line to win his first game since April 27. Darvish endured a stretch of 10 straight no-decisions — the longest by any starting pitcher in 42 years — before a loss to Atlanta last week. He worked crisply for most of his 6 2/3 innings, allowing four runs on seven hits with six strikeouts and no walks while throwing 62 of his 86 pitches for strikes.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Cubs: RF Jason Heyward was held out of the lineup due to pain in his left side and his back. He hopes to play Thursday.
Pirates: RHP Jameson Taillon (right elbow strain) plans to play catch in the near future and hasn’t ruled out a return to the mound this year. Taillon, who hasn’t pitched since May 1, said recent imaging on the elbow suggested he is healing. … C Francisco Cervelli (concussion) has been cleared to practice. … RHP Keone Kela (right shoulder inflammation) threw a bullpen session on Wednesday and is scheduled to throw a simulated game on Saturday. … RF Gregory Polanco (strained left shoulder) will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Indianapolis on Thursday.
UP NEXT
Cubs: Jose Quintana (5-7, 4.12) will try to win consecutive starts for the first time since April in the series finale on Thursday.
Pirates: Jordan Lyles (5-4, 3.71) takes a three-game losing streak into Thursday.
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More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
WASHINGTON (AP) — Joe Biden reported raising $21.5 million for his presidential campaign in the second quarter. That has the former vice president trailing Pete Buttigieg, who was virtually unknown a few months ago. Biden’s campaign announced his second quarter fundraising total on Wednesday. Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, reported raising $24.8 million in the quarter, $3 million more than Biden.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is insisting that he is not dropping efforts to include a citizenship question on the upcoming 2020 census, even as the U.S. Census Bureau has started the process of printing the questionnaire without the controversial query. Trump says in a tweet Wednesday that, “News Reports about the Department of Commerce dropping its quest to put the Citizenship Question on the Census is incorrect or, to state it differently, FAKE!” He says, “We are absolutely moving forward.”
WASHINGTON (AP) — The District of Columbia says it expects the federal government to pay for any damage to roads caused by military tanks and other heavy vehicles brought to city for President Donald Trump’s Fourth of July event. Kevin Donahue, the city’s deputy mayor for public safety, tells The Associated Press that civil engineers will assess roads and bridges after the holiday to determine if there’s been damage.
The long standoff in South Heights is finally over. Beaver County Radio News correspondent Sandy Giordano has the update…
Planning a getaway over the 4th of July weekend? Jim Garrity of AAA has some tips for those among the millions projected to be on the read beginning today. Beaver County Radio News Intern, Kristian Biega, has more on the story…
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PITTSBURGH (AP) — The owner of an alligator that escaped from a Pittsburgh home last month is facing charges stemming from the discovery of numerous animals at the residence. Police filed 33 counts of neglect against Mark McGowan on Tuesday, along with single counts of animal cruelty and recklessly endangering another person. Authorities started investigating McGowan after “Chomp,” a 5-foot (1.52-meter)-long alligator, was found along a city street June 6. A few days later, they removed 32 animals from the home.
Pennsylvania is moving to replace the federally operated Healthcare.gov with its own website to sell Affordable Care Act-compliant policies in a bid to get more people into it and lower their costs. Gov. Tom Wolf signed legislation Tuesday after it passed the Legislature unanimously last week. The administration says it expects it can lower premiums by 5% to 10% for the 400,000 people who buy policies in the marketplace. Wolf’s insurance commissioner, Jessica Altman, said the savings can especially help the roughly 80,000 people who buy policies through Healthcare.gov, but whose incomes are too high to qualify for a federal tax subsidy.
A woman who gave a waitress in Clearwater, Florida a $5,000 tip was arrested after using her boyfriend’s credit card, according to authorities. 24-year-old Serina Wolfe of Buffalo, N.Y., was upset that he wouldn’t buy her a plane ticket to New York, according to an arrest affidavit. Initial reports said she left the generous tip for a waitress grieving the loss of her dog. Deputies said he initially put a hold on the card so she couldn’t buy a plane ticket, but once he lifted the hold, she gave the $5,000 tip. Wolfe denied making the purchase. Then her boyfriend reported the charge to his credit card company as fraudulent, saying he believed she was drunk or trying to get back at him. Clear Sky Cafe, where the tip was given, was notified the purchase was fraudulent Monday, but they had already paid out their waitress for the amount of $5,000 for the tip and $55.37 for the food. Wolfe voluntarily handed over the card she used to deputies and was arrested for grand theft. It is unclear at this time whether or not the server will get to keep the money.