(Credit and Caption for Photo: Pirates second baseman Brandon Lowe celebrates an RBI single against the Boston Red Sox next to first base coach Tarrik Brock on Aug. 16 at PNC Park. (Christopher Horner | TribLive))

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) The 2026 Pittsburgh Pirates finished their season with a winning record of 82-80 after their 4-2 win yesterday against the Detroit Tigers in Detroit.

The Pirates have not finished an MLB regular season with a winning record since 2018, which was when they finished with a record of 82-79.

Even though the Pirates did not make it to the 2026 MLB playoffs, they head into the 2026 offseason with several improvements from their 2025 season.

The 2026 Pirates had 11 more wins than all of last season, and they broke several franchise records in this year’s campaign.

These include the most home runs ever hit by a Pirates team with 186, and the most strikeouts by Pirates pitchers with 1,496.

The 2026 Pirates also had a major improvement on offense from last season, because they scored 767 runs this year, compared to 583 runs in 2025. 

(Credit and Caption for Photo: Pitt wide receiver Bryan Hamilton scores a touchdown during the second half of a college football game against Bucknell at Acrisure Stadium, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (Matt Freed, Post-Gazette))

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) Pitt’s college football team improved to 4-0 on the 2026 season and broke two school records in their 59-0 blowout win against Bucknell on Saturday at Acrisure Stadium.

Pitt had 579 passing yards and 766 total yards in that game, which are both school records.

Sophomore quarterback Mason Heintschel also tied an Atlantic Coast Conference record with his second game of the season with six touchdowns.

Heinstchel had six touchdowns and threw for 403 yards in that game.

The Panthers will travel to Blacksburg, Virginia to play Virginia Tech on the road this Friday, October 2nd at 7 p.m. Eastern Time for their next game.

(File Photo of a Football)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Brighton Township, PA) Over 100 young athletes in Brighton Township will miss the chance to compete in their respective playoffs this fall due to an age eligibility issue that involves one player.

These playoffs will occur in two weeks.

The affected teams consist of players that are from kindergarten through fifth grade and according to Amanda Dobrich, “They’re penalizing our children, all three teams, the Mighty Mites, Termites and the Twerps for the Brighton Township Bears.”

This eligibility issue comes from a player who turned thirteen years old in April, which violated the rules of the Beaver County Youth Football League (BCYFL).

That football league made an emphasis that the situation was not the fault of the family of the player. 

According to a letter sent to families by the league, Brighton Township was aware months before the season began that the player’s age would create an eligibility issue.

The family received information from Brighton Township that an exemption would need to be requested.

However, the league stated that this request was never brought before the board and no exemption was approved.

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Kirby Yates, right foreground, is hugged by a teammate after being taken out of the game during the second inning of a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)

DETROIT (AP) — Two-time All-Star reliever Kirby Yates says he is retiring after making his first start Saturday in a 12-year big league career.

The 39-year-old Yates, who went undrafted out of junior college, shook hands with teammates and plate umpire Laz Diaz while leaving the field after pitching 1 2/3 innings for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He started opposite Detroit Tigers right-hander Justin Verlander, who was also making his last appearance before retiring.

It was Yates’ 518th appearance since debuting with Tampa Bay in June 2014, and he confirmed after the game that it was his last.

“This is it,” he said. “Just didn’t really want to say anything publicly before, until the end. It was great. It was an awesome day. Really cool thing to kind of be a part of, especially what’s going on on the other side. Seeing emotions on both sides was something you don’t forget. It was a good day.”

This was the third time both starting pitchers made their final regular-season appearance in the same game after at least 12 seasons. Hall of Famers Christy Mathewson and Mordecai Brown did it in 1916, and Paul Derringer and Vern Kennedy did it in 1945, according to MLB.com.

Yates led the majors with 41 saves for San Diego in 2019. He finishes 32-29 with 101 career saves, including three this season for the Los Angeles Angels.

The right-hander pitched for the Rays, Yankees, Angels, Padres, Braves, Rangers, Dodgers and Pirates. He was an All-Star in 2019 with San Diego and 2024 with Texas. Yates was left off the Dodgers’ postseason roster last season but did receive a ring as part of the World Series championship celebration.

Yates was born in Hawaii and went to high school there. He was selected by the Boston Red Sox in the 26th round of the 2005 amateur draft out of high school, but did not sign. Four years later, he signed with Tampa Bay after going undrafted out of Yavapai College in Arizona.

Despite compiling a 3.19 ERA in 46 outings this season, Yates says he knows it’s time to step away.

“I don’t have anything left, let’s put it that way,” he said. “I’ve been running on fumes here for a while.”

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Pittsburgh Pirates’ Konnor Griffin runs the bases after hitting a home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)

DETROIT (AP) — Konnor Griffin homered and the Pittsburgh Pirates recorded their first winning season in eight years with a 4-2 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Sunday in the final game for both teams.

Pittsburgh (82-80), which improved by 11 wins over 2025, hadn’t finished with a record over .500 since going 82-79 in 2018.

Detroit, which made the postseason the previous two years, finished 76-86, an 11-win drop from 2025.

Griffin led off the game against River Ryan (0-1) with his sixth homer, and the Pirates doubled the lead in the second on an RBI single by Jake Mangum. Pittsburgh had the bases loaded with one out later in the inning, but Beau Brieske came out of the bullpen to get Griffin to hit into an inning-ending double play.

Pittsburgh increased the lead to 4-0 with a pair of runs in the fourth. Billy Cook’s two-out double brought home Nick Gonzales, and Griffin followed with an RBI single.

Detroit got on the board with two homers off Antwone Kelly in the seventh.

Kevin McGonigle, who had Detroit’s only hit in the first six innings – a fourth-inning single – led off with his 18th home run to make it 4-1. After Riley Greene grounded out, Eduardo Valencia homered for the second straight game.

The Tigers, though, didn’t score again. Mason Montgomery pitched the ninth for his 18th save.

Tigers manager A.J. Hinch removed McGonigle in the top of the eighth, allowing him to receive a standing ovation after a season that has made him the favorite for the American League Jackie Robinson Award.

The 21-year-old finished the season hitting .278 with 18 homers, 97 runs and 95 walks, becoming the fourth rookie to finish with 95 runs and 95 walks since 1947. He joins Jim Gilliam (1953), Joe Morgan (1965) and Aaron Judge (2017).

Pirates left fielder Bryan Reynolds started, but came out of the game in the third inning, allowing him to play in all 162 games this season.

The game drew a crowd of 30,165, bringing Detroit’s season total to 2,322,353 – a 3.8% drop from last season.

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Genevieve Verlander, left, hugs her dad, Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Justin Verlander, during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)

DETROIT (AP) — Justin Verlander made a teary farewell, accompanied by his 7-year-old daughter as he left a major league mound for the final time in the Detroit Tigers’ 4-3 come-from-behind win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday.

Eduardo Valencia hit a game-ending, two-run homer off Mason Montgomery (6-4) in a three-run ninth that included Kevin McGonigle’s RBI groundout. Valencia became the first Detroit rookie with a walk-off homer while trailing since Lou Whitaker on July 28, 1978, according to Major League Baseball.

Verlander allowed two runs and five hits in 5 1/3 innings with one walk and six strikeouts in his 91-pitch outing. The 43-year-old right-hander was making his second start of the year and first since March 30 in a season derailed by a sore hip and hamstring injury.

After Brandon Lowe hit a foul popup starting the sixth, Tigers manager A.J. Hinch walked from the dugout toward the plate and pointed toward the seats. Genevieve Verlander, wearing a Tigers jersey with her dad’s name and number, sprinted to the mound and hugged her father, who reached down to embrace her and started shaking and sobbing.

Verlander finished 266-159 in 557 starts with a 3.33 ERA and 3,560 strikeouts, eighth on the career list.

Pittsburgh took a 2-0 lead on solo homers by Brandon Lowe in the fourth and Nick Gonzales.

Javier Báez hit an RBI double in the sixth, and Bryan Reynolds extended Pittsburgh’s lead to 3-1 with a run-scoring triple in the eighth.

Jacob Waguespack (2-2) pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings.

Pittsburgh (81-80) needs one win for its first winning season since 2018.

The Pirates’ Kirby Yates made his first career start after 517 relief appearances, then said he is retiring. The 39-year-old right-hander allowed two hits over 1 2/3 innings.

Pirates center fielder Oneil Cruz left in the third inning. He fell awkwardly while trying to field McGonigle’s bloop single in the first.

Up next

Tigers RHP River Ryan (0-0, 0.00 ERA) and Pirates RHP Jared Jones (5-6, 3.87) start Sunday in the final game before Comerica Park’s name changes to Fifth Third Park for 2027.

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Detroit Tigers’ Spencer Torkelson celebrates after his solo home run against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the seventh inning of a baseball game Friday, Sept. 25, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

DETROIT (AP) — Spencer Torkelson finished a single short of the cycle, Jackson Jobe allowed two runs in 5 1/3 innings and the Detroit Tigers beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-7 on Friday night after nearly wasting a six-run lead.

Detroit led 8-2 after seven innings, but RBI singles by Nick Gonzales and Ryan O’Hearn and a three-run homer by Rafael Flores Jr. pulled the Pirates within one run in the eighth.

Torkelson got some help from the Pirates defense – his second-inning triple was a sinking liner to right that evaded a diving Jake Mangum, and his double was a routine fly ball to shallow right-center that fell untouched among three fielders. He hit his 26th homer in the seventh and was on deck when the Tigers made the final out of the eighth.

Pittsburgh (81-79) needs one win for its first winning season since 2018.

Jobe (3-3) allowed three hits and two walks while striking out eight. He returned in August from Tommy John surgery and finished with a 3.91 ERA and 51 strikeouts in 46 innings.

Kenley Jansen pitched the ninth for his 498th save, his 22nd in 28 chances this season.

Bubba Chandler (9-9) gave up six runs, four hits and four walks in 2 2/3 innings.

Dillon Dingler had a two-run single, raising his career-high RBIs total to 91.

The game started 30 minutes late because of lengthy ceremonies honoring Justin Verlander on the eve of his final MLB start.

Up next

Verlander (0-1, 12.27) makes his first start at Comerica Park since Aug. 20, 2017, when he beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-1.