(Credit for Photo: (AP Photo/Nick Wass) Caption for Photo: Washington Commanders safety Darnell Savage in action during the second half of an NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks, Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025, in Landover, Maryland.

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) The Pittsburgh Steelers have signed veteran safety Darnell Savage to a one-year contract. 

Savage, 28, has appeared in 88 games with 82 starts during his seven NFL seasons. He was a first-round pick by the Green Bay Packers in 2019 and spent five seasons in Green Bay before stints with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Washington Commanders and Buffalo Bills. 

Over his career, Savage has recorded 367 tackles, 10 interceptions, 40 passes defended, 11 tackles for loss, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and one sack. One of his interceptions was returned for a touchdown. 

In 2025, Savage appeared in 12 games with the Jaguars, Commanders and Bills, totaling 25 tackles, three passes defended and one forced fumble. 

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Pittsburgh Pirates’ Oneil Cruz (15) celebrates his three-run home run against Houston Astros starting pitcher Mike Burrows during the sixth inning of a baseball game, Tuesday, June 2, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Karen Warren)

HOUSTON (AP) — Oneil Cruz and Brandon Lowe hit three-run homers and Endy Rodríguez added a two-run shot to power the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 10-6 win over the Houston Astros on Tuesday night.

Jake Mangum tied a career-high with four hits to help the Pirates to their fourth straight victory.

Yordan Alvarez had three RBIs and hit his 21st home run, which ranks second in the majors behind Kyle Schwarber’s 22. But his big game wasn’t enough to keep the Astros from their third loss in four games.

The Pirates trailed by 2 with no outs and two on in the sixth before Cruz launched his 14th homer of the season into the bullpen in right-center field to give them a 5-4 lead.

Lowe’s home run, which clanged off the foul pole in right field, came in the eighth to make it 9-4.

Pittsburgh starter Bubba Chandler (2-6) allowed five hits and four runs — three earned — in five innings.

Houston added two runs in the ninth to cut the lead to 4 before loading the bases with one out off Dennis Santana. Gregory Soto took over and struck out the next two batters for his eighth save.

Mike Burrows (3-7) permitted eight hits and six runs — five earned — in five-plus innings after being traded from Pittsburgh to Houston in December.

Jeremy Peña hit a leadoff single before Alvarez gave Houston an early lead with his opposite field shot to left field.

There was one out in the second when Rodríguez hit his first home run this season to tie it 2-2.

Peña reached on an error by Nick Gonzales with no outs in the third before Alvarez walked. The Astros took a 3-2 lead when Peña scored on a single by Christian Walker.

Brice Matthews hit a one-out single in the fourth and moved to third on a single by Christian Vázquez. Matthews scored when Peña lined into a force out that made it 4-2.

Up Next

Pittsburgh RHP Paul Skenes (6-5, 2.89 ERA) opposes RHP Spencer Arrighetti (7-1, 1.34) on Wednesday night.

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Pittsburgh Steelers linebackers Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt (90) and Nick Herbig participate in the team’s NFL football practice in Pittsburgh, Tuesday, June 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) Linebacker Nick Herbig says he wants to be a Pittsburgh Steeler for life. He appears to be on his way after agreeing to a contract extension with the club today. 

Sources told people like ESPN’s Adam Schefter that the deal is four years for $100 million, including $42 million guaranteed. 

Herbig, 24, a fourth-round pick out of Wisconsin in 2023, is coming off a career-best seven-and-a-half sacks last season. He skipped portions of practice at the start of mandatory minicamp while his agent and the Steelers finalized the details of the extension. 

Herbig isn’t the only young Pittsburgh defender seeking a new deal. Cornerback Joey Porter Jr. has said he wants to be among the highest-paid players at his position in the NFL.

(Credit for Photo: Photo Courtesy of MLB.com, Photo of the Pirate Parrot)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) The Pirate Parrot, the mascot of the Pittsburgh Pirates, ranked third in a new survey by Bovada Sportsbook that measured the popularity of Major League Baseball mascots.

According to Bovada, the survey polled 3,000 MLB fans and ranked 28 mascots based on entertainment value, humor and fan engagement.

The Pirate Parrot received a score of 6.25 out of 10.

The mascot finished behind the Philadelphia Phillies’ Philly Phanatic, which ranked first, and the Baltimore Orioles’ Oriole Bird, which placed second.

Here is the results of this survey, according to a release from Bovada:

Rank	Mascot	Team	Entertaining	Humorous	Engaging	Final score
1	Phillie Phanatic	Philadelphia Phillies	35.20%	30.93%	18.33%	10.00
2	The Oriole Bird	Baltimore Orioles	29.57%	21.83%	15.87%	6.55
3	Pirate Parrot	Pittsburgh Pirates	27.83%	23.07%	15.27%	6.25
4	Wally the Green Monster	Boston Red Sox	26.80%	21.03%	14.27%	5.36
5	Mr. Met & Mrs. Met	New York Mets	25.37%	19.73%	14.60%	5.00
6	Mariner Moose	Seattle Mariners	25.10%	20.70%	13.70%	4.81
7	Bernie Brewer	Milwaukee Brewers	25.60%	19.57%	13.70%	4.70
8	Clark the Cub	Chicago Cubs	23.93%	17.87%	13.60%	4.07
9	Billy the Marlin	Miami Marlins	23.17%	18.07%	13.07%	3.79
10	PAWS	Detroit Tigers	22.33%	17.93%	12.23%	3.32

(Credit and Caption for Photo: Pirates pitcher Carmen Mlodzinski delivers during the third inning against the Rockies on Thursday, May 14, 2026, at PNC Park. (Christopher Horner | TribLive)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) The Pittsburgh Pirates reinstated pitcher Carmen Mlodzinski from the restricted list yesterday, making him available for the team’s series opener tonight against the Houston Astros in Houston.

Mlodzinski was placed on the restricted list Sunday after informing the team he was not ready to pitch in the series finale against the Minnesota Twins at PNC Park. The move came after he was shifted to the bullpen last week to make room for Jared Jones in the starting rotation.

Mlodzinski is 4-3 with a 3.76 ERA in 11 appearances, including nine starts, for the Pirates this season.

(File Photo: Source for Photo: FILE – Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Justin Lawrence throws during a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, April 13, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean, File)

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Twins acquired right-handed reliever Justin Lawrence from the Pittsburgh Pirates for cash on Monday night.

The 31-year-old Lawrence was 0-2 with a 5.32 ERA in 23 appearances for the Pirates this season. He was designated for assignment by Pittsburgh on Friday.

Lawrence debuted with Colorado in 2021 and spent four seasons with the Rockies before Pittsburgh claimed him off waivers in March 2025. He has a 5.05 ERA over 222 major league appearances, all in relief.

The Panama-born Lawrence was a 12th-round pick by the Rockies in the 2015 amateur draft. He appeared in 69 games for Colorado in 2023 and had a 3.72 ERA and 11 saves. Last season, he allowed one run in 17 2/3 innings for the Pirates for an ERA of 0.51.

To open a spot for Lawrence, the Twins will make a roster move before Tuesday night’s game against the visiting Chicago White Sox.

(Credit for Photo: Courtesy of Schellhaas & Sons Funeral Home & Cremation Services, Inc.

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Beaver County, PA) Former Quaker Valley basketball coach Vincent Cortese passed away on Thursday at the age of 92. He was born on September 9th, 1933 and was preceded in death by his wife of 68 years, the late Mary Lou Cortese, his sisters, Sarah, Mary and Rose, as well as his brothers, Tony and Joe. He is survived by relatives including his four children. Vincent led the Quakers to their first outright section basketball title in school history in 1972. In 2011, he was enshrined into the Pittsburgh Basketball Hall of Fame for his outstanding career. He was also inducted into the Quaker Valley Sports Hall of Fame in 1998 as an individual and 2012 as a coach. He was the Principal of Quaker Valley High School from 1977-1992, served as President of PASR and was a volunteer with the Knights of Columbus. He was also the President of The Salvation Army, Sewickley Chapter. Friends will be received on Thursday, June 4th from 3-7 p.m. at Schellhaas & Sons Funeral Home & Cremation Services, Inc., 1600 Stone Mansion Drive, Sewickley. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held Friday, June 5th at 10:30 a.m. at Saint Luke the Evangelist Parish, Saints John & Paul Catholic Church, 2586 Wexford Bayne Rd, Sewickley, PA 15143.

(Credit for Photo: Photo Courtesy of Robert Morris Athletics, Caption for Photo: Robert Morris Athletic Director Chris King)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Moon Township, PA) The athletic director of Robert Morris University is stepping down. 

In a press release issued yesterday, the university announced that Chris King is resigning from his position as vice president and director of athletics. 

King has served as the Colonials’ athletic director since 2019. 

A university spokesperson said a national search for King’s successor is already underway.  

(File Photo of the PIAA Logo)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Beaver County, PA) Yesterday, six Beaver Valley teams competed in the PIAA playoffs for baseball and softball. Blackhawk softball and Hopewell baseball are moving on with their respective wins. According to a report from the Beaver County Times, here are the scores from yesterday’s results, and a schedule change for one matchup for Quaker Valley lacrosse that will now take place this afternoon:

High school baseball

[D10-No. 1] West Middlesex 12, [WPIAL-No. 4] Western Beaver 9 (1A)

[WPIAL-No. 3] Hopewell 9, [D10-No. 1] General McLane 1 (4A)

[D10-No. 1] Fairview 3, [WPIAL-No. 4] Riverside 1 (3A)

[D6-No. 2] Philipsburg-Osceola 4, [WPIAL-No. 1] Ellwood City 1 (3A)

High school softball

[WPIAL-No. 2] Blackhawk 12, Vs [D9-No. 1] Punxsutawney 6 (4A)

[D6-No. 1] Westmont Hilltop 4, [WPIAL-No. 3] Ellwood City 2 (3A)

PIAA high school lacrosse playoff schedule

Tuesday, June 2nd

[WPIAL-No. 2] Quaker Valley at [D6-No. 1] Bellefonte, 4 p.m. (2A)

(File Photo of the PIAA Logo)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Beaver County, PA) The 2026 PIAA sports playoffs for several sports begins today.

A total of seven Beaver Valley high school programs (4 baseball, 2 softball, 1 girls lacrosse) will be aiming to punch their ticket to Penn State on June 11th-13th and compete for a state championship.

According to a report from the Beaver County Times, here is the schedule of games taking place:

Note: All first-round games are played on June 1 unless otherwise noted

Baseball

• Riverside Vs Fairview, 1:30 p.m. at Mercyhurst University (3A)
• Western Beaver Vs West Middlesex, 2 p.m. at Jack Critchfield Park (1A)
• General McLane Vs Hopewell, 4 p.m. at Mercyhurst University (4A)
• Philipsburg-Osceola at Ellwood City, 4 p.m. (3A)

Softball 

• Ellwood City Vs Westmont Hilltop, 4 p.m. at Hiram G. Andrews Center (3A)
• Blackhawk Vs Punxsutawney, 4 p.m. at Groundhog Field (4A)

Girls Lacrosse

• Quaker Valley at Bellefonte, 4 p.m. (UPDATE: will be played on Tuesday, June 2nd)