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McCutchen gets 2,000th hit, Pirates ride Keller to 2-1 victory over struggling Mets

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 20:32:16 GMT

PITTSBURGH (AP) — If he’s being honest, Andrew McCutchen thought he’d have gotten to 2,000 hits long ago. During the Pittsburgh Pirates star’s run as one of the best players in the game in the early 2010s — a stretch in which electric centerfielder won an MVP and was an All-Star five times — the hits came so easily it seemed as if they’d never stop.Then, well, “baseball happened.” Pitchers adjusted. The magic he once summoned so regularly waned. He bounced around from city to city and position to position.Peace arrived in January when McCutchen returned to Pittsburgh on a one-year deal. He vowed to appreciate his second stint in his adopted hometown more than he did his first. That’s what made the moment when his 2,000th hit — a sharp single to left leading off the bottom of the first in a 2-1 win over New York on Sunday — so sweet.McCutchen was just a 22-year-old kid on June 4, 2009, when he fisted an 0-2 pitch from New York starter Mike Pelfrey ...

De La Cruz flashes speed, sparks Reds over Cardinals 4-3

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 20:32:16 GMT

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Rookie Elly De La Cruz flashed his speed, getting two hits, reaching base four times and scoring the go-ahead run with a headfirst slide on an eighth-inning grounder to spark the Cincinnati Reds over the St. Louis Cardinals 4-3 on Sunday.De La Cruz beat out an infield single in the first inning with 31.2 foot per second sprint speed, and the 21-year-old tied the score 2-2 with an RBI single in the third off 41-year-old Adam Wainwright.De La Cruz walked in the sixth, stole second and scored on Tyler Stephenson’s single to tie the score 3-3. Then in the eighth, De La Cruz walked on a full-count offering from Jordan Hicks (1-4) leading off, advanced on Spencer Steer’s groundout and took third on Willson Contreras’ passed ball.With the infield in, Stephenson hit a two-hopper to Paul DeJong, and the shortstop’s throw was slightly up the first-base line and in the dirt. The ball bounced off Contreras’ mitt as the catcher tried for a swipe tag...

Egypt’s Al Ahly wins 11th African club title with late goal to deny defending champion Wydad

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 20:32:16 GMT

CASABLANCA, Morocco (AP) — Egypt’s Al Ahly won a record-extending 11th African club title on Sunday as a late header by defender Mohamed Abdelmonem wrestled the crown away from defending champion Wydad at its home stadium in Morocco.Abdelmonem’s 78th-minute goal saw the second leg of the African Champions League final end 1-1 and gave Al Ahly a 3-2 aggregate win.It is the Egyptian giant’s third title in four years and was revenge for a loss to Wydad at the same Stade Mohammed V in Casablanca in the one-off final a year ago.Yahia Attiyat Allah put Wydad ahead in the 27th minute when his left-footed free kick from out on the right side drifted past everyone and into the far corner of the net.At 1-0 on the night, Wydad was winning on away goals. The Wydad fans let off fireworks from that point on, causing referee Bamlak Tessema Weyesa to have to stop the game for a few minutes in the second half for the smoke to clear.Abdelmonem ended the celebrations for the home fan...

Another horse dies at Belmont Park, 2nd fatality in 24 hours after Belmont Stakes

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 20:32:16 GMT

Arcangelo, with jockey Javier Castellano, crosses the finish line to win the 155th running of the Belmont Stakes horse race, Saturday, June 10, 2023, at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)(AP/Seth Wenig) Arcangelo, with jockey Javier Castellano, crosses the finish line to win the 155th running of the Belmont Stakes horse race, Saturday, June 10, 2023, at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)(AP/Seth Wenig) NEW YORK (AP) — Another horse has died after racing at Belmont Park, the second fatality in 24 hours after the Belmont Stakes.Mashnee Girl fell near the quarter pole and sustained a catastrophic injury to her left front leg, according to New York Racing Association spokesman Pat McKen...

Castellanos’ homer helps Phillies to series win over Dodgers

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 20:32:16 GMT

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Nick Castellanos homered, Trea Turner had three hits and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-3 on Sunday.Bryce Harper had two hits, an RBI and reached base all four times to help the defending NL champion Phillies win the finale of the three-game series for their seventh victory in eight games.“This is the kind of baseball we knew we could play,” Turner said. Freddie Freeman and Jason Heyward went deep for the Dodgers, who have lost six of eight and dropped 3 1/2 games behind first-place Arizona in the NL West.The Dodgers aren’t panicking.“We’re a good team and we know it,” Freeman said. A sellout crowd of 44,287 made their way to the ballpark in spite of the traffic woes caused by the collapse of I-95 North in Northeast Philadelphia. The site of the collapse is about 15 miles north of Citizens Bank Park, and the road is a major route for fans traveling to the stadium complex in South Philadelphia that is the home to the Phillies, 76ers, Flye...

Verona beats Spezia in Serie A relegation playoff, Ranieri’s Cagliari promoted

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 20:32:16 GMT

MILAN (AP) — Hellas Verona will continue to play in the Italian top flight next season after it beat Spezia 3-1 in a relegation playoff on Sunday, sending its opponent down to Serie B.Cyril Ngonge scored twice to help Verona secure its Serie A status. Spezia had a chance to get back into the match midway through the second period after Verona defender Marco Davide Faraoni was sent off but M’Bala Nzola saw his penalty saved.Claudio Ranieri’s Cagliari will be one of the teams that replaces Spezia in Serie A after it beat Bari in a promotion playoff.Both Verona and Spezia finished the regular season level on points, on either side of the relegation zone. Under new rules there was a playoff to decide who would join last-place Sampdoria and Cremonese in being relegated.If the rules hadn’t been changed, Spezia would have stayed up as it had the better head-to-head record.It was the first relegation playoff since 2005, when Parma beat Bologna over two legs.This was a one-off match in Reggi...

Nuggets home championship win would be rare for Colorado teams

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 20:32:16 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- Only two of Colorado's four major sports teams have won championships and only one was won at home. Since the Super Bowl is played in a predetermined location, it's rare to be at one of the home fields of the teams playing. And the locations are chosen with warm weather in mind, which means it's never been and most likely never will be played in Denver. So that rules out the Broncos ever winning a Super Bowl at home. With the Broncos out, that leaves the Colorado Avalanche who have won three Stanley Cups since the franchise moved from Quebec to Denver. And only one of them was won on home ice. Want to see the Nuggets play in Game 5? Get ready to spend Game 7 of the 2001 Stanley Cup Final was played at the then-named Pepsi Center when the Avalanche defeated the New Jersey Devils in the best-of-seven series to win the Cup. All post-championship celebrations have wreaked some havoc on the city but the Avs home win 22 years ago was especially memorable. The Denver Pol...

Tix for trade: Local barber offers free haircuts for life in exchange for Nuggets tickets

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 20:32:16 GMT

FREDERICK, Colo. (KDVR) -- A local barber has jumped on the bandwagon for unique trades to get his hands on Game 5 Denver Nuggets tickets. But his offer is for life. "I am willing to trade free haircuts for life in exchange for one to two tickets to Game 5 and I don’t care where I sit," Ozzy Villarreal, a barber at Creative Minds, said. Villarreal said that whoever makes the exchange could get set up for a haircut every two to three weeks. "An average American male will spend $20,000-plus worth of haircuts in a lifetime to put things in perspective," Villarreal said. Want to see the Nuggets play in Game 5? Get ready to spend Villarreal posted the trade on the Facebook group, Denver Nuggets Ticket Exchange, where dozens of others have also posted unique trades to get their hands on tickets. "I can do a wide variety of haircuts as shown in my work with the exception of long/layered hair," Villarreal said. "I would even consider adding lifetime haircuts for kids into the deal for be...

Most active Philippine volcano spews lava, locals ready to evacuate in event of explosion

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 20:32:16 GMT

DARAGA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippines’ most active volcano has begun spewing lava in a gentle eruption, putting thousands of people on heightened alert for the possibility of a violent explosion that would force them to suddenly evacuate from their homes, authorities said Monday.More than 12,000 villagers have left their homes so far in mandatory evacuations from the mostly poor farming communities within a 6-kilometer (3.7-mile) radius of Mayon volcano’s crater in northeastern Albay province. Those evacuations began after the volcano begun showing signs of renewed restlessness last week.Authorities cautioned that thousands more remain within the permanent danger zone below Mayon, which has long been declared off limits.With the volcano beginning to expel lava Sunday night, the high-risk zone around Mayon may be expanded should the eruption turn violent, said Teresito Bacolcol, director of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology. Bacolcol said if that...

Reports: Over 7,000 evacuated in Cuba due to extensive floods

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 20:32:16 GMT

Widespread flooding has forced thousands of evacuations and rescues in Cuba.Heavy rain in the central and eastern portions of the country caused water to rise this weekend.According to reports on the island, more than 7,000 people have had to leave their homes after they were damaged or destroyed. Many have also lost their crops.Rescuers rushed families on to their planes to fly them to safety.Men, women and children have been taken to state shelters or homes of relatives after waiting in their flooded neighborhoods for help to arrive.“They came to our rescue early, and we didn’t want to go out, but we had to go out now.” said a man through a translator.In some areas, roads and bridges collapsed under the weight of the floodwaters.