PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pirates fired manager Clint Hurdle before Sunday's regular season finale against Cincinnati following a stunning second-half collapse that dropped Pittsburgh to the bottom of the National League Central and included a series of off-the-field issues.Pittsburgh entered Sunday 69-92, including 25-47 since the All-Star break.Hurdle went 735-720 in nine seasons with Pittsburgh, helping the franchise emerge from 20 years of losing to reach the playoffs three straight years from 2013-15. The Pirates never advanced past the Division Series and are assured of a third losing season in their last four years. Hurdle had two years left on an extension he signed in 2017.Pittsburgh general manager Neal Huntington called it "an extremely difficult decision" for the organization."We've all fallen short," Huntington said. "We all haven't done what we needed to do to not have this day. Clint's tenure here should be celebrated. He was the absolute right man at the right time. He walked... [More]

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pirates fired manager Clint Hurdle before Sunday's regular season finale against Cincinnati following a stunning second-half collapse that dropped Pittsburgh to the bottom of the National League Central and included a series of off-the-field issues.Pittsburgh entered Sunday 69-92, including a 25-47 since the All-Star break.Hurdle went 735-720 in nine seasons with Pittsburgh, helping the franchise emerge from 20 years of losing to reach the playoffs three straight years from 2013-15. The Pirates never advanced past the Division Series and are assured of a third losing season in their last four years. Hurdle had two years left on an extension he signed in 2017.Pittsburgh general manager Neal Huntington called it "an extremely difficult decision" for the organization."Words cannot express how much respect and appreciation I have for Clint as a person and a leader," Huntingon said in a statement. "He was the right person at the right time to take on the enormous challenge... [More]

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Clint Hurdle hopes to return for what would be his 10th season as the Pittsburgh Pirates' manager in 2020.Hurdle has two more years remaining on a deal that started with the 2018 season.Pittsburgh began Thursday 67-91, its most losses since 2010. The second half of the season included several clubhouse incidents, including a fight between relief pitchers Felipe Vazquez and Kyle Crick.General manager Neal Huntington says he is not discussing personnel decisions until after the season."The conversations between Neal and I have all been about next year," Hurdle said before the Pirates played the Chicago Cubs. "I don't have anything more to say other than I plan on coming back and I want to come back."Hurdle led the Pirates to three straight appearances in the NL wild card game from 2013-15, which followed 20 consecutive losing seasons.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh Pirates All-Star closer Felipe Vázquez was arrested Tuesday on multiple felony charges, including statutory sexual assault, soliciting a child and pornography, and was placed on administrative leave by Major League Baseball.Vázquez was taken into custody by Pennsylvania State Police on one count of computer pornography/solicitation of a child and one count of providing obscene material to minors, both felonies, stemming from an investigation in Florida. He was later charged in Westmoreland County, which is located east of Pittsburgh, with felony counts of statutory sexual assault, unlawful contact with a minor and corruption of minors and a misdemeanor count of indecent assault of a person under 16 years old.It was not immediately known if the charges in Pennsylvania were related to or independent of the Florida investigation. Vázquez's attorney, Michael Comber, did not immediately return a message seeking comment from The Associated Press.Vázquez was arraigned... [More]

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh Pirates All-Star closer Felipe Vázquez was arrested Tuesday on felony charges of pornography and soliciting a child and was placed on administrative leave by Major League Baseball.Vázquez was taken into custody by Pennsylvania State Police on one count of computer pornography/solicitation of a child and one count of providing obscene material to minors. His arraignment was scheduled for later Tuesday.The Florida Department of Law Enforcement said it began investigating the 28-year-old Vázquez in August after learning of an alleged sexual relationship between Vázquez and a teenage girl living in Lee County, Florida. Vázquez, who lives in Saint Cloud, Florida, and the victim began the relationship when the girl was 13, authorities said.The girl, now 15, allegedly received a text message from Vázquez in July in which he was performing a sex act. Vázquez also texted the girl to ask if she wanted to meet for a sexual encounter following the end of the baseball season,... [More]

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Pirates right-hander Kyle Crick required season-ending surgery on the index finger of his pitching hand after he was injured in a clubhouse fight with fellow reliever Felipe Vázquez.Crick said punches were thrown and that the first punch was thrown by Vázquez, who declined to speak to reporters after Pittsburgh's 5-4 loss to the Giants."One of those clubhouse altercations. A lot of bickering back and forth. Punches were thrown," Crick said. "You kind of have to at some point stand up for yourself and start throwing back. It's one of those deals where it's unfortunate. It's two losers in this deal. Nobody can win fighting a teammate. It's just an unfortunate deal."Both players were fined undisclosed amounts by the Pirates for violating their contracts.The altercation occurred before Monday's game against the Giants. Crick had surgery Tuesday to repair the extensor tendon, performed by Dr. Scott Hanson in San Francisco. The club expects Crick to be ready for spring training."The... [More]

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The Pittsburgh Pirates say right-hander Kyle Crick required season-ending surgery on the index finger of his pitching hand after he was injured in a clubhouse fight with fellow reliever Felipe Vázquez.Both players were fined an undisclosed amount by the Pirates for violating their contracts.The altercation occurred before Monday's game against the Giants. Crick had surgery Tuesday to repair the extensor tendon, performed in Dr. Scott Hanson in San Francisco. The club expects him to be ready for spring training."The behavior exhibited by these two players last night is unacceptable, inconsistent with the standards expected of a major league player and will not be tolerated by the organization," executive vice president and general manager Neal Huntington said.The team did not provide further details about what happened.Crick went 3-7 with a 4.96 ERA over 52 appearances and 49 innings this season.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Judge hit a go-ahead, two-run homer to keep up his power resurgence, Gleyber Torres added his 34th home run and the New York Yankees beat the Texas Rangers 4-1 Wednesday night to move 43 games over .500 for the first time since 2009.Judge is hitting .317 with eight homers and 12 RBIs in his last 15 games. He connected off Lance Lynn (14-10) in the third inning to become the fifth Yankees player with 20 homers this season.Torres homered in the fourth, tying Gary Sánchez for the team lead and joining Joe DiMaggio as the only Yankees to hit 34 homers at age 22 or younger. The home run was the 200th off the Rangers this season.New York improved to 92-49, including 11-2 when using Chad Green as an opener.Green pitched two innings and Luis Cessa (2-1) followed with three. Cory Gearrin allowed a ninth-inning homer to Rougned Odor.Lynn dropped to 0-4 in his last six starts. Texas matched its season worst of five games under .500 at 68-73.DODGERS 7, ROCKIES 3LOS ANGELES (AP)... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Judge hit a go-ahead, two-run homer to keep up his power resurgence, Gleyber Torres added his 34th home run and the New York Yankees beat the Texas Rangers 4-1 Wednesday night to move 43 games over .500 for the first time since 2009.Judge is hitting .317 with eight homers and 12 RBIs in his last 15 games. He connected off Lance Lynn (14-10) in the third inning to become the fifth Yankees player with 20 homers this season.Torres homered in the fourth, tying Gary Sánchez for the team lead and joining Joe DiMaggio as the only Yankees to hit 34 homers at age 22 or younger. The home run was the 200th off the Rangers this season.New York improved to 92-49, including 11-2 when using Chad Green as an opener.Green pitched two innings and Luis Cessa (2-1) followed with three. Cory Gearrin allowed a ninth-inning homer to Rougned Odor.Lynn dropped to 0-4 in his last six starts. Texas matched its season worst of five games under .500 at 68-73.RED SOX 6, TWINS 2BOSTON (AP) — Mookie... [More]

Marlins first. Miguel Rojas flies out to center field to Bryan Reynolds. Isan Diaz grounds out to second base, Cole Tucker to Josh Bell. Starlin Castro doubles to right field. Garrett Cooper doubles to right field. Starlin Castro scores. Jorge Alfaro walks. Lewis Brinson strikes out swinging.1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 left on. Marlins 1, Pirates 0.Pirates first. Adam Frazier flies out to deep center field to Lewis Brinson. Bryan Reynolds reaches on error. Fielding error by Miguel Rojas. Colin Moran hit by pitch. Bryan Reynolds to second. Josh Bell singles to center field. Colin Moran to second. Bryan Reynolds scores. Jose Osuna grounds out to shortstop. Josh Bell out at second.1 run, 1 hit, 1 error, 1 left on. Marlins 1, Pirates 1.Pirates fourth. Cole Tucker flies out to left field to Austin Dean. Jacob Stallings walks. Trevor Williams strikes out on a foul bunt. Adam Frazier triples to deep right field. Jacob Stallings scores. Bryan Reynolds grounds out to second base, Isan Diaz to Garrett... [More]

Pirates third. Jacob Stallings singles to center field. Erik Gonzalez flies out to right field to Aristides Aquino. Trevor Williams out on a sacrifice bunt to shallow infield, Derek Dietrich to Freddy Galvis. Jacob Stallings to second. Kevin Newman walks. Bryan Reynolds doubles to right field, advances to 3rd. Kevin Newman scores. Jacob Stallings scores. Fielding error by Derek Dietrich. Starling Marte grounds out to shallow infield, Alex Wood to Derek Dietrich.2 runs, 2 hits, 1 error, 1 left on. Pirates 2, Reds 0.Pirates sixth. Kevin Newman walks. Bryan Reynolds walks. Kevin Newman to second. Starling Marte reaches on a fielder's choice to shortstop. Bryan Reynolds out at second. Kevin Newman to third. Josh Bell hit by pitch. Starling Marte to second. Jose Osuna singles to second base. Josh Bell to second. Starling Marte to third. Kevin Newman scores. Colin Moran pinch-hitting for Pablo Reyes. Colin Moran homers to right field. Jose Osuna scores. Josh Bell scores. Starling Marte scores.... [More]

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Carlos Santana hit a grand slam in the 10th inning, and the Cleveland Indians beat the Minnesota Twins 7-3 on Sunday to win the four-game series and forge another tie for the AL Central lead.The Twins tied the game with four hits in a two-run ninth against Brad Hand (5-3), using a single by Luis Arraez and a double by Marwin Gonzalez to extend the game.As pinch-runner Ehire Adrianza tried to score the winning run from first base, left fielder Tyler Naquin grabbed the ball off the bounce from the wall and zipped a throw to shortstop Francisco Lindor, whose relay home was in perfect position for catcher Kevin Plawecki to tag Adrianza with ease.Twins closer Taylor Rogers (2-3) allowed a single, a walk and another single on a bunt by Greg Allen to load the bases with none out for Santana, who quickly erased the late-inning drama with one big swing.The Twins and Indians play six more times, all in September.ORIOLES 8, ASTROS 7BALTIMORE (AP) — Rio Ruiz hit a two-run homer with... [More]

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Carlos Santana hit a grand slam in the 10th inning, and the Cleveland Indians beat the Minnesota Twins 7-3 on Sunday to win the four-game series and forge another tie for the AL Central lead.The Twins tied the game with four hits in a two-run ninth against Brad Hand (5-3), using a single by Luis Arraez and a double by Marwin Gonzalez to extend the game.As pinch-runner Ehire Adrianza tried to score the winning run from first base, left fielder Tyler Naquin grabbed the ball off the bounce from the wall and zipped a throw to shortstop Francisco Lindor, whose relay home was in perfect position for catcher Kevin Plawecki to tag Adrianza with ease.Twins closer Taylor Rogers (2-3) allowed a single, a walk and another single on a bunt by Greg Allen to load the bases with none out for Santana, who quickly erased the late-inning drama with one big swing.The Twins and Indians play six more times, all in September.ORIOLES 8, ASTROS 7BALTIMORE (AP) — Rio Ruiz hit a two-run homer with... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — Aaron Sanchez looked like a reinvented pitcher in his Houston debut, throwing six stellar innings to start the Astros on a combined no-hitter Saturday night in their 9-0 victory over the Seattle Mariners.Sanchez was an All-Star in 2016 and led the American League in ERA, but he's struggled badly this season and had lost 13 straight decisions to lead the majors with 14 losses. Three days after he was acquired from Toronto at the trade deadline, the 27-year-old right-hander teamed with Will Harris, Joe Biagini and Chris Devenski to shut down Seattle.It was the second time in less than a month the last-place Mariners were no-hit by multiple pitchers. The Los Angeles Angels used two pitchers in a combined no-hitter July 12 against Seattle on a night when they honored late left-hander Tyler Skaggs by all wearing his No. 45 in their first home game since his death.Sanchez (4-14) struck out six, walked two and hit a batter in his first victory since April 27 for Toronto.Seattle's... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — Aaron Sanchez looked like a reinvented pitcher in his Houston debut, throwing six stellar innings to start the Astros on a combined no-hitter Saturday night in their 9-0 victory over the Seattle Mariners.Sanchez was an All-Star in 2016 and led the American League in ERA, but he's struggled badly this season and had lost 13 straight decisions to lead the majors with 14 losses. Three days after he was acquired from Toronto at the trade deadline, the 27-year-old right-hander teamed with Will Harris, Joe Biagini and Chris Devenski to shut down Seattle.It was the second time in less than a month the last-place Mariners were no-hit by multiple pitchers. The Los Angeles Angels used two pitchers in a combined no-hitter July 12 against Seattle on a night when they honored late left-hander Tyler Skaggs by all wearing his No. 45 in their first home game since his death.Sanchez (4-14) struck out six, walked two and hit a batter in his first victory since April 27 for Toronto.Seattle's... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Pittsburgh pitcher Keone Kela was suspended for 10 games, wild-swinging Cincinnati reliever Amir Garrett for eight and Yasiel Puig for three after a furious brawl between the Pirates and Reds.Major League Baseball issued eight suspensions Thursday, two days after the fight at Great American Ball Park.Three players on each team were suspended, and all elected to appeal. They will be allowed to play until the process is complete.Reds manager David Bell was suspended six games, starting Thursday night when Cincinnati visits Atlanta. Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle was penalized two games, to begin Friday night when the Pirates play the New York Mets.Puig was suspended for his aggressive actions on what turned out to be his last day with the Reds. The outfielder was later traded to Cleveland, which hosted Houston on Thursday night."Things happen in the moment. You need to defend your teammates," Puig said. "Off the field, we're all friends."Pirates infielder José Osuna was suspended... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Pittsburgh pitcher Keone Kela was been suspended for 10 games, wild-swinging Cincinnati reliever Amir Garrett for eight and Yasiel Puig for three after a furious brawl between the Pirates and Reds.Major League Baseball issued eight suspensions Thursday, two days after the fight at Great American Ball Park.Three players on each team were suspended, and all elected to appeal. They will be allowed to play until the process is complete.Reds manager David Bell was suspended six games, starting Thursday night when Cincinnati plays at Atlanta. Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle was penalized two games, to begin Friday night when the Pirates host the New York Mets.Puig was suspended for his aggressive actions on what turned out to be his last day with the Reds. The outfielder was later traded to Cleveland, which hosts Houston on Thursday night.Pirates infielder José Osuna was suspended five games while Pittsburgh pitcher Kyle Crick and Reds pitcher Jared Hughes each got three.All of... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Pittsburgh pitcher Keone Kela has been suspended for 10 games, Cincinnati reliever Amir Garrett for eight and Yasiel Puig for three after a furious brawl between the Pirates and Reds.Major League Baseball issued eight suspensions Thursday, two days after the fight at Great American Ball Park.Three players on each team were suspended, and all elected to appeal. They will be allowed to play until the process is complete.Reds manager David Bell was suspended six games, starting Thursday night when Cincinnati plays at Atlanta. Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle was penalized two games, to begin Friday night when the Pirates host the New York Mets.Puig was suspended for his aggressive actions on what turned out to be his last day with the Reds. The outfielder was later traded to Cleveland.Pirates infielder José Osuna was suspended five games while Pittsburgh pitcher Kyle Crick and Reds pitcher Jared Hughes each got three.All of the suspended players were fined undisclosed amounts.... [More]

CINCINNATI (AP) — Major League Baseball is reviewing video of the latest fight between the Pirates and Reds, with Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle expecting suspensions on both sides.Reds manager David Bell faces a significant suspension for running onto the field and going after Hurdle during the ninth inning of Pittsburgh's 11-4 win Tuesday night. Bell already had been ejected from the game.Hurdle spoke with Chief Baseball Officer Joe Torre on Wednesday before an afternoon game against the Reds that concludes their raucous series. Hurdle said MLB was reviewing video of the numerous confrontations during the game, which turned into a fight in the ninth when Reds reliever Amir Garrett charged the Pittsburgh dugout.Four from each team were ejected, including about-to-be-traded Yasiel Puig."Yeah, I anticipate suspensions, and seeing some of the things that our guys were involved with, there definitely could be ramifications coming our way as well," Hurdle said.The NL Central rivals have a... [More]

CINCINNATI (AP) — Major League Baseball is reviewing video of the latest fight between the Pirates and Reds, with Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle expecting suspensions on both sides.Reds manager David Bell faces a significant suspension for running onto the field and going after Hurdle during the ninth inning of Pittsburgh's 11-4 win Tuesday night. Bell already had been ejected from the game.Hurdle spoke with Chief Baseball Officer Joe Torre on Wednesday before an afternoon game against the Reds that concludes their raucous series. Hurdle said MLB was reviewing video of the numerous confrontations during the game, which turned into a fight in the ninth when Reds reliever Amir Garrett charged the Pittsburgh dugout.Four from each team were ejected, including about-to-be-traded Yasiel Puig."Yeah, I anticipate suspensions, and seeing some of the things that our guys were involved with, there definitely could be ramifications coming our way as well," Hurdle said.The NL Central rivals have a... [More]