Category: Scores

High School Boys Basketball – Friday January 6, 2017

Quaker Valley – 78

Beaver Falls – 58

Harper homers, hears “MVP!” chants as Phillies beat Braves

Harper homers, hears “MVP!” chants as Phillies beat Braves
By AARON BRACY Associated Press
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Hitless in five at-bats to open his anticipated first series with the Philadelphia Phillies, Bryce Harper grabbed teammate Nick Williams’ bat looking for a spark.
One big swing of the borrowed lumber later, Harper was on the top step of the dugout, roaring back at the fans chanting “MVP! MVP!” for their $330 million man.
Harper homered deep into the second deck in right-center field for his first hit with Philadelphia and celebrated with an emphatic curtain call, highlighting the Phillies’ 8-6 win over the Atlanta Braves on Saturday.
Harper, swinging Williams’ stick after a slow start to the season, crushed Jesse Biddle’s fastball 465 feet with two outs in the seventh. Fans gave Harper a standing ovation, hollering and clapping in a fashion rare for March baseball.
After getting high fives in the dugout, Harper climbed out for a curtain call, throwing both fists in the air and shouting “Let’s go!”
“It was a really cool moment,” Harper said. “The fan base, the stadium, the electricity we have in this place, it all came together.”
Maikel Franco and J.T. Realmuto went deep for Philadelphia, which also launched three homers in Thursday’s season-opening 10-4 win over the Braves.
“Offense definitely created some electricity in the ballpark, and I think that’s going to be our defining characteristic,” Phillies manager Gabe Kapler said.
Harper — wearing bright blue cleats instead of the gaudy, green Phanatic spikes he sported on opening day — unfurled the powerful left-handed swing that has Citizens Bank Park rocking like it was 2008, the last time the franchise won the World Series.
Prior to his homer, a hitless Harper was just like the rest of the red-clad fans — cheerleading the other Phillies hitters.
Harper greeted Franco after his homer with an elaborate celebration outside of the dugout, the two of them mock shooting a bow-and-arrow. They did the same jocular celebration when Harper went deep.
Harper already has unique celebrations with many of his teammates. He simulated a basketball layup with outfielders Andrew McCutchen and Odubel Herrera after both wins. On Thursday, Harper was the basket. On Saturday, he mock dunked into the arms of Herrera.
“We have a great group of guys, a lot of energy,” Harper said. “(The celebrating) just adds to the fun.”
Besides power at the plate — not to mention the box office and merchandise shop — Harper has brought much-needed energy to the Phillies, who are hoping to end a seven-year postseason drought.
The club’s start hasn’t disappointed in the least.
Adam Morgan (1-0) faced one batter in the fifth inning.
Dansby Swanson and Charlie Culberson homered, and Freddie Freeman had four hits and drove in two for the Braves.
The game was tied at 4 in the fifth when Realmuto lined a two-run homer to left-center off Wes Parsons (0-1).
Franco hit a two-run shot off the foul pole in the fourth. He’s the sixth player in franchise history to homer in each of the team’s first two games, joining Hall of Famers Mike Schmidt and Chuck Klein, plus Howard, Scott Rolen and Danny Litwhiler.
Phillies starter Nick Pivetta allowed four runs and eight hits in 4 2/3 innings.
Atlanta’s Bryse Wilson, a 20-year-old rookie making his second career start, gave up four runs and five hits in 3 1/3 innings.
“We’re just having a hard time keeping them in the ballpark,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “It’s a very explosive offense. … We’re just going to have to keep fighting, come out and get one tomorrow.”
TENNESSEE TRADE
Harper’s home run ball was collected by two Braves fans from Tennessee, he said. The slugger, who received the ball postgame in a yellow envelope from a Phillies official, will send the fans a bat and ball as thanks.
SNEAKER CREATURE
The Phillie Phanatic returned the favor after Harper honored the fuzzy, green mascot on opening day. The Phanatic’s oversized sneakers featured images of Harper’s face on the toe.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Atlanta: Ender Inciarte fouled a ball hard off his right foot in the seventh inning but was OK.
Philadelphia: Right-handed reliever Tommy Hunter (right flexor strain) felt soreness while rehabbing in Florida on Thursday. His anticipated mid-April return likely will be pushed back as a result.
UP NEXT
The teams wrap up the three-game series Sunday night with Philadelphia RHP Jake Arrieta opposing Braves rookie RHP Kyle Wright.
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More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Pirates vs. Reds game, Saturday March 30, 2019 washed out due to rain

This afternoon’s PIT @ CIN game (Saturday, March 30th) has been postponed. It will be made up as a split doubleheader on Monday, May 27th as follows

Game 1 – 1:10pm ET (the game was originally scheduled at 2:10pm ET on May 27th and has been moved to 1:10pm ET to accommodate the split DH)  Airtime is 12:45

Game 2 – 7:10pm ET (rescheduled game)  Airtime is 6:45 Beaver County Radio

Rinne leads Predators to 3-1 win over Penguins

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pekka Rinne stopped 42 shots to lead the Nashville Predators to a 3-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday night.

Rinne was 63 seconds from his fifth shutout of the season when Nick Bjugstad scored for Pittsburgh.

It was the second game in eight days between the teams and a rematch of the 2017 Stanley Cup Final, won by Pittsburgh in six games.

Viktor Arvidsson’s 32nd goal of the season – a power-play goal – set a career high and also was the 100th of his NHL career. Craig Smith and P.K. Subban also scored for the Predators, who moved into a first-place tie in the Central Division. Nashville, which clinched its fifth straight playoff berth Monday, has won five of seven after losing four of its previous six.

Matt Murray made 23 saves for the Penguins, whose three-game winning streak ended. Pittsburgh, which had a chance to tie the New York Islanders for second in the Metropolitan Division, came in having won 10 of 15 games and earned points in 14 of 16.

Rinne won for the first time in Pittsburgh and defeated the Penguins for just the second time in 10 career regular-season starts. In six previous career starts in Pittsburgh, including the playoffs, Rinne was 0-6-0 with a 5.14 goals-against average and a .822 save percentage. He allowed three goals or more in every other appearance in Pittsburgh.

Rinne allowed 12 goals and made just 34 saves during three 2017 Stanley Cup Final in Pittsburgh. He was strong on Friday, stopping 22 first-period shots. Rinne has eight wins and one shutout in his last 13 starts total. The 2018 Vezina Trophy winner recorded his 27th win of the season.

Pittsburgh outshot Nashville 22-11 in the first period, but the Predators held a 1-0 lead through 20 minutes thanks to Rinne. It was the fourth time this season the Penguins recorded 20 or more shots in a period.

Smith scored the lone goal of the period for Nashville when he deflected Matt Irwin’s point shot behind Murray.

Arvidsson scored a power-play goal from inside the top of the left circle at 17:36 of the second period to put Nashville in front by two goals. Ryan Johansen had an assist on the goal to become the second player in team history to record a 50-assist season.

NOTES: Nashville won at Pittsburgh for the first time since Feb. 1, 2015. … D Olli Maatta returned to the lineup for Pittsburgh after missing 21 games with an upper-body injury. … F Evgeni Malkin (upper body), D Kris Letang (upper body) and D Chad Ruhwedel skated on Friday morning, but did not play against Nashville. … Nashville recalled G Troy Grosenick on an emergency basis from Milwaukee of the American Hockey League because of an illness to G Juuse Saros. … Smith joins Filip Forsberg as the only players in Predators history to record five 20-goal seasons. Pittsburgh’s Jake Guentzel played in his 200th NHL game.

UP NEXT

Predators: Host Columbus on Saturday.

Penguins: Welcome Carolina on Sunday.

Scoring Updates: Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Nashville Predators, Friday March 29, 2019 at 7:00 p.m.

 First Second Final 
Pittsburgh Penguins

001
Nashville Predators123
GoalsPredators:
Craig Smith (1:35)
Predators:
Viktor Arvidsson (17:36)		Predators:
P.K. Subban (17:28)

Penguins:
Nick Bjugstad (18:57)

Bucs can’t overcome a rough Seventh inning and falls 5-3 to Reds in the opener.

New-look Reds rally for 5-3 win over Pirates on Dietrich HR
By JOE KAY AP Sports Writer
CINCINNATI (AP) — Derek Dietrich’s three-run homer in the bottom of the seventh inning rallied the new-look Reds to a 5-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday, an encouraging start for a Cincinnati team looking to escape last place.
Playing their first game under manager David Bell , the Reds got starring performances from two players signed for backup roles last month. They also ended the game with a relief pitcher playing center field, a sign of Bell’s openness to new ideas.
Two players who joined the organization last month on minor league deals became part of Cincinnati’s opening day lore.
Shortstop Jose Iglesias doubled twice and drove in a run. After Jose Peraza’s homer off Jameson Taillon (0-1) tied it in the seventh, Dietrich put the Reds up 5-2 with his pinch-hit homer off Richard Rodriguez . Dietrich got a curtain call from the crowd of 44,049, the largest for a regular season game at Great American Ball Park.
Newcomer Zach Duke (1-0) retired the two batters he faced. Closer Raisel Iglesias came on in the eighth and gave up a solo homer by Corey Dickerson. Bell replaced him with two on in the ninth — another unconventional move. David Hernandez loaded the bases with a walk to Pablo Reyes before retiring Dickerson on a grounder to end it, getting his first save since 2017.
Reliever Michael Lorenzen got into the game as a pinch runner in the seventh and played the last two innings in center field. He didn’t have a ball hit his way.
The win opened a notable season for the Reds. Commissioner Rob Manfred was grand marshal of the pregame parade that kicked off baseball’s 150th anniversary celebration of the first all-professional team, the 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings.
The Reds gave themselves an offseason makeover with three trades, including the addition of Yasiel Puig from the Dodgers. The right fielder got one of the loudest cheers — fans chanting “PUUUUIIIIIIG!”— during pregame introductions and went 0 for 4 with a pair of strikeouts.
Pittsburgh’s Jung Ho Kang singled home a pair of runs in the sixth, an early return on the $3 million, one-year deal he signed last November.
The Pirates open the season with a depleted outfield. Right fielder Gregory Polanco is recovering from shoulder surgery, and fill-in Lonnie Chisenhall went on the injury list pregame with a broken right index finger. Adding to the problems, center fielder Starling Marte was a late scratch from the lineup because of a migraine.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Pirates: In addition to Chisenhall, the Pirates put fifth-starter Jordan Lyles (sore right side), C Elias Diaz (virus), RH Dovydas Neverauskas (oblique) and OF Jose Osuna (neck) on the injury list. They also moved RH Edgar Santana (Tommy John surgery) to the 60-day list.
Reds: Put INF Alex Blandino, 2B Scooter Gennett and LH Alex Wood on the 10-day injury list.
UP NEXT
Pirates: After an off-day Friday, Trevor Williams (14-10) tried to build upon his second-half success last season. His 1.38 ERA after the All-Star break was second-best in the majors behind Tampa Bay’s Blake Snell (1.17).
Reds: Sonny Gray (11-9) makes his third career against the Pirates. The Reds got him in a trade with the Yankees on Jan. 21 after he agreed to add three years to his deal worth $30.5 million through 2022.
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More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Penguins surge to 5-2 win over Rangers

 

NEW YORK (AP) — Teddy Blueger scored two goals, Matt Murray made 33 saves and the Pittsburgh Penguins surged to a 5-2 win over the New York Rangers on Monday night.

Justin Schultz, Nick Bjugstad and Matt Cullen also scored for Pittsburgh. Phil Kessel and Marcus Pettersson each added two assists.

Murray improved to 6-0-0 against the Rangers in the regular season and 5-0-0 at Madison Square Garden.

Pittsburgh pulled into a tie with the New York Islanders for second place in the Metropolitan Division with 95 points. Both teams trail Washington by one point for first.

Brendan Lemieux and Vinni Lettieri scored for the Rangers. Alexandar Georgiev, coming off a 44-save effort in a 2-1 overtime win Saturday night at Toronto, stopped 31 shots.

Trailing 2-1, the Penguins roared back with three goals in the second.

They tied the game 61 seconds into the period on the power play. Sidney Crosby had the puck behind the Rangers net and sent a pass to Schultz, who one-timed it past Georgiev for his second of the season.

Cullen gave the Penguins their first lead when he sent a high shot past Georgiev’s left shoulder at 7:17.

Later in the period, with the Penguins killing a penalty, Blueger skated in on a break and sent a pass to Bryan Rust. The puck deflected behind the net and Rust sent a pass to Blueger, who scored on a backhand for his fifth of the season at 13:12 to make it 4-2.

Blueger added his second of the game at 7:38 of the third. Jared McCann sent a shot at the net and Blueger got enough of the rebound to put it in for his sixth of the season. The goal withstood a replay challenge for offside.

The Rangers, who will miss the playoffs and are playing out the string, got off to a fast start in the opening period.

Mika Zibanejad skated into the zone and sent a pass to Pavel Buchnevich at the left faceoff circle. Buchnevich quickly sent a cross-ice pass to Lemieux, who wristed it past Murray for his 12th of the season at 8:25. The goal was Lemieux’s third with New York since being acquired at the trade deadline from Winnipeg.

The Rangers made it 2-0 on the power play when Lettieri fired a one-timer from the left faceoff circle past Murray at 15:15 for his first goal of the season.

Just 26 seconds later, Bjugstad got the Penguins on the board when he scored his 12th of the season. He got a loose puck and squeezed it through Georgiev’s pads to make it 2-1.

NOTES: Penguins center Evgeni Malkin remains out with an upper-body injury. He hasn’t played since March 16 against St. Louis. … D Kris Letang missed the game with an upper-body injury. His status is day to day. Zach Trotman replaced him in the lineup. … Rangers forward Jesper Fast will miss the rest of the season because of an injury. D Marc Staal was out with a lower-body injury and forward Chris Kreider is day to day after missing Saturday’s win at Toronto.

UP NEXT

Penguins: Host the Nashville Predators on Friday night.

Rangers: At the Boston Bruins on Wednesday night.

Scoring Updates: Pens vs. Rangers, Monday March 25, 2019 at 7 p.m..

 

 First Second Final 
Pittsburgh Penguins

145
New York Rangers222
GoalsRangers:
Brendan Lemieux (8:25)
Vinni Lettieri (15:15)

Penguins:
Nick Bjugstad (15:41)		Penguins:
Justin Shultz (1:01)
Matt Cullen (7:17)
Teddy Blueger (13:12)		Penguins:
Teddy Blueger (7:38)

Keselowski routs field to earn win at Martinsville Speedway

Keselowski routs field to earn win at Martinsville Speedway
By JENNA FRYER AP Auto Racing Writer
MARTINSVILLE, Va. (AP) — Brad Keselowski gave Team Penske and the new Ford Mustang its third Cup victory through the first six races of the season by routing the field at Martinsville Speedway.
Keselowski led 446 of the 500 laps around the shortest track on the NASCAR schedule and was only challenged a handful of times by Chase Elliott — the only driver to pass Keselowski on the track Sunday.
Although Elliott led 49 laps, a late caution sent the field to pit road and Keselowski beat Elliott back to the track. Elliott could never get close enough to challenge Keselowski for the win again.
“The car was really good. Just a great day for a team,” Keselowski said. “Just one of those days you dream of as a race car driver, where you’ve got a great car.”
The 446 laps led is the most for a winning driver since Kyle Petty led 484 to win at Rockingham in 1992. It was the most laps Keselowski has ever led in a single race, passing the mark of 312 laps out front at Texas Motor Speedway in 2015.
He credited the offseason work by Ford, which rolled out a new Cup car at the start of the season, and the Team Penske pit stops that got him off pit road first every time he came in for service.
“Ford worked really hard in the offseason to build these cars and make them real strong and so far, so good,” said Keselowski. “It’s just a great day for our team, awesome execution on pit road. Those guys work really hard.”
Ford has three wins this season, all from Team Penske, while Toyota won the other three races.
Martinsville, a paperclip-shaped track at 0.526 miles, typically forces drivers to gouge each other out of the way. The tight confines of the tiny Virginia track raises the aggravation levels for most of the field and usually leads to bumping, banging and busted-up race cars. But NASCAR’s new rules package, in its first stop at a short track, seemed to hamper drivers’ ability to close on the leader and it limited passing opportunities.
The one time Elliott did pass Keselowski, he studied Elliott’s lines and took notes for when he was back out front.
“He was certainly faster on that short run, and when he passed me I learned just enough,” Keselowski said. “The pit crew got me back in front of him on the next to last pit stop, and I seemed to kind of apply the lessons.”
Keselowski started the race third behind teammate Joey Logano, who led the first five laps of the race. Keselowski briefly nudged Logano out of the groove on the sixth lap and took off for the rout that earned him his second Martinsville grandfather clock.
Elliott finished second in a Chevrolet from Hendrick Motorsports — the first top-five finish for a Hendrick driver this season.
“I felt like we were about as even with him as we could be,” said Elliott, who second-guessed the timing of one of his attempts to pass Keselowski.
“When he did get the lead, there was a little advantage to being out front, being able to work traffic … I tried to move up there at the end, and I don’t know if I could have got to him. Maybe if I moved up a little sooner, maybe next time.”
Kyle Busch was third in a Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing. Busch had won two consecutive Cup races before Sunday, the Truck Series race Saturday at Martinsville, and was seeking a weekend sweep. Busch notched his fifth top-five finish of the season while making his 1,000th career NASCAR national series start.
“We fought hard for today’s finish, not a finish that we wanted to get,” Busch said. “Thought we had a chance to win actually, but could have been a whole lot worse. We’ll go on.”
Penske driver Ryan Blaney was fourth, while Gibbs driver and five-time Martinsville winner Denny Hamlin was fifth.
Stewart-Haas Racing drivers Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer were sixth and seventh, Gibbs driver Martin Truex Jr. was eighth, then SHR drivers Aric Almirola and Daniel Suarez completed the top 10.
Ford drivers took six spots in the top 10, while Gibbs and Toyota claimed three of the slots.
JOHNSON SLUMPS
Jimmie Johnson leads all active drivers with nine victories at Martinsville, but his struggles spanning more than a year continued Sunday. He was lapped during the second stage and finished 24th. Since winning the fall 2016 race, Johnson has not finished higher than 12th.
NO REPEAT WINNER
Clint Bowyer was the defending race winner and worked his way to fifth as he exited pit road from a pit stop in the third stage. But he was penalized for speeding onto pit road and dropped to the back of the pack on the restart.
“Well, there went that,” he moaned over his radio.
Bowyer was flagged for speeding on the next round of pit stops, too, and finished sixth.
UP NEXT
NASCAR goes to Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday. Kyle Busch won the race last April.
___
More AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/apf-AutoRacing and https://twitter.com/AP

Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski announce

Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski announces retirement
By KYLE HIGHTOWER AP Sports Writer
BOSTON (AP) — The New England Patriots’ gentle giant has decided to hang up his cleats.
Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski said Sunday that he is retiring from the NFL after nine seasons.
Gronkowski announced his decision via a post on Instagram , saying that a few months shy of his 30th birthday “it’s time to move forward and move forward with a big smile.”
“It all started at 20 years old on stage at the NFL draft when my dream came true, and now here I am about to turn 30 in a few months with a decision I feel is the biggest of my life so far,” Gronkowski wrote in his post. “I will be retiring from the game of football today.”
Drew Rosenhaus, Gronkowski’s agent, confirmed his client’s decision to retire.
The tight end, who turns 30 in May, leaves as a three-time Super Bowl champion who established himself as one of the most dominant players at his position.
But he has been dogged in recent seasons by back, knee, ankle and arm injuries that have limited his ability to stay on the field.
It led him to hint at retirement following New England’s Super Bowl loss to the Philadelphia Eagles to end the 2017 season and again last month after the Patriots’ Super Bowl win over the Los Angeles Rams.
In his Instagram post, Gronkowski thanked the Patriots organization, coach Bill Belichick and New England’s fans for their support during his nine NFL seasons.
“Thank you for everyone accepting who I am and the dedication I have put into my work to be the best player I could be,” Gronkowski wrote.
Gronkowski’s teammates almost immediately began to flood social media with well-wishes.
“Love you man!!” quarterback Tom Brady wrote on Instagram, along with an emoji of a goat to refer to Gronkowski as the greatest of all-time. “Couldn’t be a better person or teammate!!!!”
It was a sentiment shared by receiver Julian Edelman.
“The other goat,” Edelman posted on his Instagram page.
Though he won’t have the longevity of some of his contemporaries at tight end, Gronkowski is expected to get strong consideration for the Pro Football Hall of Fame when eligible.
Gronkowski was one of Brady’s favorite targets after being drafted in the second round of the 2010 draft.
He had his fourth career 1,000-yard receiving season in 2017 and was an All-Pro for the fourth time that season.
But at times he looked like a shell of himself during the Patriots’ Super Bowl run this past season. Gronkowski finished the 2018 regular season with just 47 catches for 682 yards and three touchdowns.
He had one of his best games of the season in the Patriots’ Super Bowl win over the Rams, hauling in six catches for 87 yards, including two receptions on New England’s only touchdown drive during their 13-3 victory.
A fan favorite in New England for his gregarious and playful persona that included awkward dance moves and touchdown celebrations, Gronkowski was one of the most dominant tight ends of his era.
His 12 career postseason touchdown receptions are the most by a tight end in NFL playoff history. His 81 career postseason catches are also best among tight ends.
He’ll also retire with 79 career TD catches — regular season and playoffs — which is third all-time by a tight end behind only Antonio Gates (116) and Tony Gonzalez (111).
Brady and Gronkowski connected on 78 TD passes. It is the second-most scoring connections between a quarterback and a tight end in NFL history behind only Philip Rivers and Gates (89) and is fifth overall between quarterbacks and all pass-catchers.
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More AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL

McCann scores twice to help Penguins hold off Stars, 3-2

 

DALLAS (AP) — Jared McCann scored twice, including the go-ahead goal on a spinning short-handed play in the third period, and the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Dallas Stars 3-2 on Saturday night.

McCann has 11 goals in 26 games since coming over in a trade with Florida, and now leads the Penguins with three short-handed goals. He has four overall this season.

The Penguins stayed even with the New York Islanders for second place in the Metropolitan Division with 93 points, a point behind Washington.

The Stars finished a five-game homestand with their fourth loss, three in regulation. Dallas holds the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference by two points over Colorado with Minnesota a point behind the Avalanche.

Dallas was looking for its first lead after Jack Johnson was called for holding and the Penguins were just trying to clear the puck when Teddy Blueger poked it away from John Klingberg at center ice. McCann took the pass as he was spinning and flipped the puck over Anton Khudobin.

Matt Murray, who made 29 saves, kept the Penguins in front by stopping a shot from Tyler Seguin and keeping the puck between his legs behind him as he was sprawled on the ice with Alexander Radulov trying to poke it into the net.

The Stars had a 6-on-4 advantage for the final 80 seconds after Bryan Rust was called for holding, but couldn’t get one past Murray. Khudobin had 27 saves.

Jake Guentzel opened the scoring with his team-leading 38th goal for Pittsburgh in the first period.

The Stars scored two tying goals in the second. Seguin easily beat Murray on a cross-ice feed from Radulov barely a minute into the period. Andrew Cogliano pulled Dallas even at 2-2 with 80 seconds left by beating Murray in transition after taking a pass in stride from Klingberg.

The Penguins had a goal waved off in the second period when Teddy Blueger was called for goalie interference Erik Gudbranson’s shot from outside the circle. Gudbranson’s chance came after a wild scramble in front of the net ended with Taylor Fedun sweeping the puck out the crease when Khudobin was beaten.

NOTES: Stars D Jamie Oleksiak was a healthy scratch in his first game against Pittsburgh since the Penguins traded him back to Dallas in January. The Stars sent Oleksiak to the Penguins in December 2017. Both deals involved a fourth-round pick. … Not long after scoring the game’s first goal, Guentzel was stopped on a one-timer right in front of Khudobin. … Stars F Jason Spezza was a healthy scratch for the second time in three games.

UP NEXT

Penguins: Finish four-game trip Monday at the New York Rangers.

Stars: Start four-game Canadian swing Monday at Winnipeg.