Category: Saturday Sports Slam

Suarez powers Reds past Pirates 7-4Suarez powers Reds past Pirates 7-4

Suarez powers Reds past Pirates 7-4Suarez powers Reds past Pirates 7-4
By ALAN SAUNDERS, Associated Press
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Eugenio Suarez hit a tiebreaking three-run homer in the eighth inning, and the Cincinnati Reds cooled off the Pittsburgh Pirates with a 7-4 victory on Saturday night.
Pittsburgh opened the season with six wins in seven games and then jumped out to a 4-0 lead against Cincinnati in the second. But the Reds chipped away at the deficit before Suarez finished the job.
Joey Votto hit a sacrifice fly in the third, and Jesse Winker added an RBI single in the fifth. Suarez then tied it at 4 with a two-run single off Dovydas Neverauskas with two out in the sixth.
Suarez came up again with two on in the eighth and drove a 0-1 fastball from George Kontos (0-1) over the wall in left. He finished with three hits.
Wandy Peralta (1-0) pitched two scoreless innings for the win and Raisel Iglesias worked the ninth for his second save.
Cincinnati right-hander Sal Romano allowed four runs and seven hits in five innings. He struck out one and walked one.
Corey Dickerson hit a two-run double for Pittsburgh in the first. Josh Harrison added a sacrifice fly in the second, and Adam Frazier had an RBI single.
But Cincinnati’s pitching tightened up after that, retiring 16 straight Pirates from the third through eighth innings.
Chad Kuhl struck out seven in five innings for Pittsburgh. He was charged with two runs and five hits.
TRAINING ROOM
Reds: OF Scott Schebler (right elbow) missed his fourth straight game after being hit by a pitch Sunday against Washington. The impact did damage to the ulnar nerve in Schebler’s elbow and he is dealing with a lack of feeling in his hand as result. The Reds are still contemplating a move to the disabled list.
Pirates: RF Gregory Polanco was a late scratch with right foot discomfort after fouling a pitch off his foot on Friday night. He is day to day. Frazier replaced him in the lineup. … RHP Joe Musgrove (right shoulder strain) will begin throwing next week in Chicago.
UP NEXT
Reds: Tyler Mahle (1-0, 0.00 ERA) will pitch the series finale on Sunday afternoon. Mahle, 23, will be making just his sixth career start, but it’ll be his third against Pittsburgh. He made his major league debut against the Pirates last August.
Pirates: Jameson Taillon (1-0, 3.38 ERA) will make his second start of the season. He tied a career high with nine strikeouts against the Minnesota Twins on Monday.

Moran and Marte lead Pirates over Reds 14-3

Moran and Marte lead streaking Pirates over Reds 14-3
By JOHN PERROTTO, Associated Press
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Rookie Colin Moran had four hits and three RBIs, and Starling Marte hit a bases-loaded triple to lead the streaking Pittsburgh Pirates over the Cincinnati Reds 14-3 on Friday night.
Moran’s two-run single with two outs in the third inning just dropped in front of diving center fielder Billy Hamilton and put the Pirates ahead for good at 4-2. Marte’s triple keyed a six-run sixth inning that included Corey Dickerson’s two-run double as Pittsburgh extended its lead to 10-2 while playing through a steady rain.
Pittsburgh is off to a 6-1 start following an offseason in which the Pirates traded five-time All-Star center fielder Andrew McCutchen and ace pitcher Gerrit Cole.
Dickerson had three hits, including a triple, and Jordy Mercer had two doubles among his three hits. The Pirates had 15 hits, including two each by Marte and Josh Harrison. Harrison also drove in two runs and Josh Bell drew three walks.
Gregory Polanco hit a two-run double during a four-run seventh that made it 14-2. He has six extra-base hits and 11 RBIs in seven games.
Trevor Williams (2-0) scattered two runs over 5 1/3 innings despite allowing 10 hits. He pitched six hitless innings to win at Detroit last Sunday in his first start of the season.
Luis Castillo (0-2) allowed four runs and six hits in five innings and has a 9.00 ERA through two starts. His 3.12 ERA in 15 starts last season led NL rookies.
Jesse Winker had three hits for the Reds, and Joey Votto, Jose Peraza and Castillo added two each. Cincinnati hit into three double plays and stranded 10 runners in losing for the fifth time in six games.
Moran and Mercer hit back-to-back RBI doubles in the second inning. The Reds tied it in the third on run-scoring singles by Winker and Votto but didn’t score again until the ninth.
Clay Holmes, a 25-year-old right-hander, pitched the final two innings for Pittsburgh in his major league debut and allowed one run.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Reds: RF Scott Schebler (bruised right elbow) missed his third straight game. He was injured last Sunday when hit by a pitch from Washington LHP Sean Doolittle.
UP NEXT
Cincinnati RHP Sal Romano (0-1, 4.50 ERA) is to start against RHP Chad Kuhl (1-0, 6.35) on Saturday night. Romano gave up three runs in six innings against Washington ast Sunday, when Kuhl allowed four runs in 5 1/3 innings at Detroit.
___
More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

Penguins top Senators 4-0 to earn home-ice in 1st round!!!

Penguins top Senators 4-0 to earn home-ice in 1st round
By WILL GRAVES, AP Sports Writer
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Penguins will start their bid for a Stanley Cup three-peat home.
Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel banked in goals off Craig Anderson minutes apart in the second period, Casey DeSmith stopped 34 shots and the Penguins beat the Ottawa Senators 4-0 to clinch second place in the Metropolitan Division and home-ice advantage in the opening round of the playoffs.
Phil Kessel collected his 34th goal of the season and Patric Hornqvist pushed his career-high to 29 when he beat Anderson late in the third period for the Penguins, who will host Columbus, New Jersey or Philadelphia next week.
Anderson finished with 19 saves but was beaten twice from behind the goal line in the second period as the Senators lost for the ninth time in 11 games.
Crosby was standing just off the right post when fired a shot that smacked off Anderson’s left pad and into the net 1:25 into the second period. Guentzel scored from nearly the same spot just over six minutes later, flicking a rebound off the end boards that hit Anderson’s left leg and skittered in for his 22nd of the season.
That was more than enough for DeSmith, given the start a night after top goaltender Matt Murray played in a draining overtime victory over the Blue Jackets. DeSmith was sharp throughout while picking up his first career shutout, and by the time Kessel took a slick feed from Riley Sheahan and fired it into the open net 6:55 into the third the Penguins could turn their attention to the postseason.
Not so for the Senators.
Ottawa and Pittsburgh met in the Eastern Conference finals 10 months ago, with the Penguins winning on an overtime goal in Game 7 before going on to beat Nashville for their second straight Cup. The Senators hoped it would be a springboard to becoming perennial contenders. Instead they will miss the postseason for the third time in five years.
That hasn’t been the case in Pittsburgh for more than a decade.
The Penguins overcame a sluggish first half of the season to extend their playoff streak to 12 straight years, the longest active streak in the league. Now they’ve turned their attention to capturing a third straight Cup, something no franchise has done since the New York Islanders won four consecutive titles from 1980-83, more than two years before the oldest player on the Penguins — 32-year-old defenseman Matt Hunwick — was born.
Pittsburgh heads to the postseason relatively healthy outside of forward Derick Brassard, who is skating but remains out indefinitely with a lower-body injury. The Penguins also go in with the top power-play in the league and the best home-ice advantage in the Eastern Conference after picking up their 30th victory of the season at PPG Paints Arena.
NOTES: Both the Senators and Penguins wore a butterfly decal with the initials “JP” on the back of their helmets to honor an Ottawa-area teen and longtime Senators fan who died this week due to a rare and debilitating skin condition. Jonathan Pitre, 17, was nicknamed “”Butterfly Boy” and developed a close relationship with the team after sharing his battle with epidermolysis bullosa. … Kessel played in all 82 games this season and has played in 692 consecutive games, the third-longest active ironman streak in the league. … Crosby played in every game for the first time in his 13-year career. … The victory was head coach Mike Sullivan’s 200th in the NHL.
UP NEXT
Senators: Finish up the season in Boston on Saturday.
Penguins: The first round of the playoffs next week. Pittsburgh has won at least one playoff series in four of the last five seasons.
___
More NHL hockey: https://apnews.com/tag/NHLhockey

43rd Quigley Classic To Be Broadcast Live Tonight On Beaver County Radio

Tonight Beaver County Radio presents coverage of the 43rd Quigley Classic at Quigley Catholic High School in Baden, with air time set for 6:15. The Quigley Classic features 38 seniors playing their final game in girls’ and boys’ basketball among the top players in the County and surrounding schools.

Here are the rosters for tonight’s games, with players listed in alphabetical order of last name:

GIRLS HOME [Coach: Bill Del Tondo]
Alexis Ball (Freedom)
Sydney Barney (Beaver)
Island Bradley (Beaver Falls)
Patience Gipson (Cornell)
Madison Hiltz (Central Valley)
Marisa Metropoulos (Quigley Catholic)
Tori Mitchell (Beaver Falls)
Myka Smith (Cornell)
Sydney Wolf (Riverside)
Paige Ziggas (Beaver)

GIRLS AWAY [Coach: Mark D’Alessandris]
Nicole Costa (Avonworth)
Savannah Fischer (Ambridge)
Megan Guthrie (Ambridge)
Kara Haslett (Ambridge)
Lauren Kaminski (Hopewell)
Taylor Lambright (Blackhawk)
Taylor Parrish (Hopewell)
Chloe Rabold (Ambridge)
Tailyn Silver (Blackhawk)
Lily Tedesco (Avonworth)

BOYS HOME [Coach: Josh Alderson]
Jesse Auman (Blackhawk)
Adam Brady (Beaver Falls)
Zach Cardwell (Quigley Catholic)
Nick Duer (Quigley Catholic)
Mackenyze Kuzbicki (Blackhawk)
Trent Michael (Blackhawk)
Gabe Samangy (Central Valley)
Owen Smith (Central Valley)
Ty Thellman (Riverside)

BOYS AWAY [Coach: Bill Sacco]
Brian Davidson (CW North Catholic)
Elijah Ford (Aliquippa)
Santino Guandolo (Freedom)
Javin Melvin (Freedom)
Jay Mike (Aliquippa)
Michael Raines (Aliquippa)
Desmond Ross (Cornell)
Anthony Roth (Ellwood City)
Alex Skowron (Quaker Valley)

The final games in our 70th year of high school basketball coverage come your way beginning at 6:15. The girls’ game tips off at 6:30, and the boys’ game will start at 8:30.

Polanco’s two-run homer lifts Pirates over Reds, 5-2

Polanco’s two-run homer lifts Pirates over Reds, 5-2
By JOHN PERROTTO, Associated Press
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Gregory Polanco hit a two-run home run during a four-run fifth inning to lift the Pittsburgh Pirates over the Cincinnati Reds 5-2 on Thursday night.
Polanco broke a 1-1 tie when he drove a ball into the shrubbery in center field off Homer Bailey (0-2). Polanco also had a tying sacrifice fly in the third inning, giving him three RBIs as the Pirates won for the fifth time in six games.
Steven Brault (2-0) pitched one-run ball over five innings in his first start this season. The left-hander allowed three hits, struck out four and walked four. He took over the rotation spot left by Joe Musgrove, who has a right shoulder strain.
Brault also got the win in the opener last Friday when he worked three scoreless innings in relief at Detroit.
Bailey allowed five runs — four earned — and seven hits in 4 2/3 innings with three walks and two strikeouts. He is 3-10 with a 4.75 ERA in 22 starts in March and April during his 12-year career.
Josh Harrison started the Pirates’ fifth by drawing a leadoff walk, and Polanco followed with his second home run. Corey Dickerson hit an RBI triple with one out and scored when shortstop Jose Peraza fumbled Francisco Cervelli’s two-out grounder for an error.
The Reds’ Adam Duvall hit a solo home run, his second, in the eighth inning off George Kontos.
Cincinnati, which has lost four of five, scored the game’s first run in the second. Scooter Gennett came home on the second of Brault’s two wild pitches in the inning.
Dickerson also doubled, and he and Harrison each had two of Pittsburgh’s nine hits.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Reds: RF Scott Shebler (bruised right elbow) was not in the lineup after being hit by a pitch in Cincinnati’s previous game Monday but is expected to play Friday. … LHP Brandon Finnegan (strained left biceps) is scheduled to make a rehab start Monday for Triple-A Louisville then be activated from the disabled list if all goes well. … RHP Kevin Shackelford (strained forearm) is close to throwing a bullpen session.
Pirates: SS Jordy Mercer (jammed right pinkie finger) returned after sitting out Wednesday’s loss to Minnesota and went 1 for 2 with a double and two walks.
UP NEXT
Reds RHP Luis Castillo (0-1, 10.80 ERA) will face RHP Trevor Williams (1-0, 0.00) on Friday night in the second game of the four-game series. Castillo allowed six runs in five innings in a loss to Washington last Saturday in his first start of the season. Williams pitched six hitless innings last Sunday to win at Detroit.
___
More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

Pirates hold on for a 5-4 win over the Twins in the home opener!!! Bucs now 4-0 to start the season!!!!

The Pittsburgh Pirates got the home schedule of to a good start with a 5-4 victory Monday afternoon over the Minnesota Twins in the home opener at PNC Park.

The Bucs now move to 4-0 to start the season. The twins are now 2-2 on the young season.

Jamison Taillon got the win after a stellar 5 2/3 innings. Colin Moran hit a Grand Slam Home Run in the First inning to lead the Bucs to victory.  The Pirates scored 5 runs on only 5 hits to take a 5 to 0 lead after one inning.  Another rocky performance by relievers Santana, Smoker led to 4 Twins runs in the sixth as Taillon tired and was removed after allowing two runs.

George Kontos came in to pitch a scoreless ninth and gain his second career save and his first of the season.

The Pirates are off tomorrow and the series will conclude with the Twins on Wednesday evening. The Bucs will send Ivan Nova to the mound looking to bounce back from his season opening rocky performance in Detroit last Thursday. The Twins will counter with Jake Odorizzi who will be making his first start of the season.

Tune into A.M. Beaver County with Matt Drzik and Pat Septak tomorrow morning for all of the highlights of today’s game.

Pens fall to Capitals 3-1!! Caps clinch division title!!

Capitals top Penguins to clinch Metropolitan Division title
By WILL GRAVES, AP Sports Writer
PITTSBURGH (AP) — There was no dogpile in the dressing room. No champagne celebration. Not even a beer. Nothing.
The Washington Capitals have been here before. Many times, actually. It’s not that they don’t appreciate winning Metropolitan Division title after Metropolitan Division title like the one they wrapped up with a 3-1 victory over rival Pittsburgh on Sunday night.
It’s just that they’re tired of division banners being the only ones raised to the rafters.
Still, star Alex Ovechkin knows not all playoff runs are created equal. The group that skated off the ice at PPG Paints Arena after keeping the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions in check for three taut and occasionally chippy periods is not the juggernaut that rolled into postseason in 2016 and 2017 only to be sent home in the second round by Pittsburgh.
“We lost lots of players,” Ovechkin said after playing in his 1,000th career regular season game. “Guys in the locker room, experience guys. But different guys step up and they play different. … We play as a team.”
One that hopes following a familiar script will lead — at last — to an unfamiliar ending.
Philipp Grubauer made 36 saves to continue his push to supplant Braden Holtby as Washington’s top goaltender as the Capitals won for the 10th time in 12 games to assure themselves of home-ice advantage through the first two rounds of the playoffs.
“We had a challenge there from the beginning (of the season) on,” Grubauer said. “We lost a couple experienced guys. We learned from our mistakes and we’re still learning. It’s nice to wrap that up, for sure.”
T.J. Oshie, Dmitry Orlov and Tom Wilson scored for Washington and Grubauer did the rest, including a spectacular glove save on Penguins star Sidney Crosby in the third period that served as an exclamation point on the kind of performance that would fit right in over the next two months.
“Last couple games we played in here weren’t too good, so it’s a momentum builder for us,” Grubauer said. “We have to make sure we play the right way next couple games. It’s going to be huge.”
The Penguins have the top power play in the league but went 0 for 5 with the man advantage. Patric Hornqvist picked up his 27th of the season late in the third period to avoid a shutout. Matt Murray stopped 31 shots but couldn’t quite match Grubauer.
“I thought that’s probably as good as our power play has looked the last month, we just didn’t score,” Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said.
A night after earning a playoff berth for a franchise-record 12th straight year, the Penguins lost at home in regulation for just the second time since Jan. 4 to end a late push for a division crown. Not that it matters much to Pittsburgh. The Penguins have ended each of the last two regular seasons as the division runner-up to Washington. And each time the Penguins have used a second-round playoff series victory over the Capitals as a springboard to the Stanley Cup.
“We never win division,” Pittsburgh center Evgeni Malkin said. “It’s not first time. It’s not surprise. We’re fine.”
Ovechkin called becoming just the 57th player in NHL history to play at least 1,000 games for one team “a milestone” but didn’t exactly get caught up in the moment. The 32-year-old knows his career has been equally defined by his 603 goals and his team’s inability to make a deep playoff run.
Despite seven division titles and nine playoff appearances since he made his debut in 2005, Ovechkin has never played on a team that reached the Eastern Conference finals. Postseason success is the only thing that’s eluded him, but Washington appears to be peaking behind Grubauer.
Washington coach Barry Trotz opted to give Grubauer his first career start against Pittsburgh and Grubauer responded brilliantly. He was at his best in the second period, when the Penguins’ lethal power play had four chances to draw even and came up empty each time, including an extended two-man advantage in which Grubauer received a little help from the crossbar when a shot from Malkin clanged off the crossbar.
The lucky bounce preserved a 1-0 lead. Orlov pumped in his career-high 10th just after a Pittsburgh power-play expired later in the period, firing a shot from the slot that went between the legs of Penguins defenseman Olli Maatta and over Murray’s right arm.
When Tom Wilson redirected Matt Niskanen’s shot from the point by Murray 23 seconds into the third period the Capitals had another division title wrapped up but not bragging rights. That will have to come later.
NOTES: Washington went 0 for 4 on the power play. … Malkin was given a 10-minute misconduct with 1:01 left in regulation after mixing it up with Oshie. … Penguins C Derick Brassard missed his third consecutive game with a lower-body injury. … Pittsburgh is 9-7-2 on the second night of back-to-backs this season.
UP NEXT
Capitals: Visit St. Louis on Monday. Washington beat the Blues 4-3 on Jan. 7.
Penguins: Get three days off before finishing regular season with a back-to-back starting on Thursday in Columbus.
___
More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/tag/NHLhockey

Pirates beat Tigers 8-6 to sweep doubleheader, series!!!

Pirates beat Tigers 8-6 to sweep doubleheader, series
By NOAH TRISTER, AP Baseball Writer
DETROIT (AP) — Josh Harrison, Starling Marte and David Freese homered for Pittsburgh, and the Pirates completed a doubleheader sweep of the Detroit Tigers with an 8-6 victory Sunday night.
Pittsburgh won the opener 1-0 behind six no-hit innings from Trevor Williams, then took control of the second game with five runs in the fifth.
Pittsburgh swept the three-game, season-opening series against the rebuilding Tigers. The highlight of the day for Detroit was Miguel Cabrera’s first home run of the season, a solo shot in the sixth inning of the second game.
Chad Kuhl (1-0) allowed four runs and eight hits in 5 2/3 innings in the nightcap. Detroit starter Ryan Carpenter lasted three innings in his major league debut, yielding three runs and five hits.
Felipe Rivero saved both games for Pittsburgh, striking out the side in the ninth to end the opener and getting the final three outs of the nightcap after coming in with a man on second and an 8-5 lead. Rivero allowed four runs in the ninth inning in the first game of this series, a 13-inning victory by the Pirates on Friday.
Harrison hit a two-run homer in the third — it looked initially like he’d have to settle for a double when the ball bounced back into play, but the call was changed to a home run after a review on his flyball to the left-field corner. Marte added a solo shot one out later to give the Pirates a 3-2 lead.
It was 3-all before Pittsburgh’s big fifth inning. Buck Farmer (0-1) allowed a sacrifice fly by Jordy Mercer, then another run came home on a wild pitch. Francisco Cervelli added an RBI single, then Freese connected for a two-run shot to left.
In the opener, Williams (1-0) was pulled with a no-hitter in progress after six innings. He threw 84 pitches, his count boosted by five walks, and was replaced by Michael Feliz to start the seventh.
“I was playing Russian roulette all day with the walks, so I totally understood the move,” Williams said. “It was 1-0 when I came out and it ended up 1-0, so it worked perfectly.”
Nicholas Castellanos quickly ended the no-hit bid with a one-out double off Feliz. George Kontos pitched the eighth and Rivero finished the combined two-hitter.
Michael Fulmer (0-1) gave up one run, four hits and two walks in eight innings, striking out three.
Gregory Polanco’s RBI double gave the Pirates a 1-0 lead in the first, and that held up as the game’s only run.
The doubleheader was scheduled after a rainout Saturday. Attendance was 14,858 for the opener and 18,438 for the nightcap.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Pirates: RHP Joe Musgrove threw 92 pitches in a Gulf Coast League game Saturday and is expected to join the Pirates’ rotation later this week.
Tigers: LF Victor Reyes left the second game with a right forearm laceration after he went diving after a shallow fly and accidentally took SS Jose Iglesias’ legs out from under him. Iglesias held on for the third out of the fifth inning but appeared frustrated, flinging the ball all the way over the fence in left. The game marked Reyes’ major league debut. … RHP Mike Fiers (back) is scheduled to throw a simulated game Monday at Detroit’s extended spring training facility and could come off the disabled list later in the week.
RIVERO VERSUS CABRERA
Rivero went to a 2-0 count on Cabrera to start the ninth inning of the first game, but got three straight swinging strikes on fastballs.
“I was behind in the count, so he knew I was going to be throwing fastballs,” Rivero said. “He just couldn’t catch up with them.”
Cabrera hit an RBI double off Rivero in the second game.
UP NEXT
Pittsburgh has a quick turnaround for its home opener Monday against Minnesota. Jameson Taillon (8-7, 4.44 ERA last season) starts for the Pirates against Lance Lynn (11-8, 3.43).
Francisco Liriano (6-7, 5.66) makes his Tigers debut Monday against Kansas City’s Jason Hammel (8-13, 5.29).
___
More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball
___
Follow Noah Trister at www.Twitter.com/noahtrister