×

SPORTSBRIEFING

Pirates announce HOFers

PITTSBURGH — The inaugural class of Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Fame will feature 19 players, including 16 who are enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame, the team announced Sunday.

The inaugural class includes former Pirates greats Honus Wagner, Paul Waner, Lloyd Waner, Fred Clarke, Jake Beckley, Max Carey, Pie Traynor, Roberto Clemente, Ralph Kiner, Arky Vaughan, Willie Stargell, Bill Mazeroski, Dave Parker, Danny Murtaugh and Steve Blass along with former Crawfords and Grays, Josh Gibson, Ray Brown, Buck Leonard and Oscar Charleton, from the Negro Leagues in Pittburgh.

The Pirates will unveil the Hall of Fame display on Sept. 3 during a special induction ceremony that afternoon on PNC Park’s Riverwalk. The inaugural class will then be honored as part of a special pregame ceremony on the field prior to the game that night against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Guardians blank Astros

CLEVELAND (AP) — Triston McKenzie held Houston to two hits and struck out eight in eight innings, Luke Maile homered for the first time in three years and the Cleveland Guardians defeated the Houston Astros 1-0 on Sunday.

McKenzie (8-8) retired 15 straight hitters before pinch-hitter Kyle Tucker walked with one out in the eighth. Pinch-hitter Jose Altuve then bounced into an inning-ending double play, and McKenzie let out a yell and pounded his right hand into his glove as he headed to dugout behind a loud ovation from 22,688 fans.

McKenzie admitted the moment got him pumped up.

“It was less the guy and more the spot the team was in,” he said. “Being up 1-0 in the eighth, that’s a huge out, especially a double play to end the inning.”

Altuve, who homered twice off McKenzie last season, wasn’t in the starting lineup but bench coach Joe Espada found an opportune moment to use his star second baseman. Altuve was 3 for 6 off McKenzie before Sunday.

McKenzie walked one and threw 91 pitches. He struck out Alex Bregman to begin the second, but Trey Mancini and Chas McCormick followed with one-out singles to put runners at first and second. McKenzie struck out Mauricio Dubon and Jake Meyers to end the inning.

“He had no margin for error today, and fortunately he didn’t make any,” Cleveland manager Terry Francona said.

The 25-year-old right-hander was 3-1 with a 1.34 ERA in July, but had allowed a three-run homer in each of his last two starts — both losses.

Maile’s fifth-inning home run off Christian Javier landed on the home run porch in left field for his first homer since May 20, 2019.

“I wasn’t really looking for anything in particular,” Maile said. “He got me 0-2 pretty quick and then there was a fastball up that I checked my swing on. I thought if anything he might have sped me up a little bit, so I had to focus on getting started just a little earlier.”

Emmanuel Clase struck out two of the three hitters he faced in the ninth for his 24th save in 26 opportunities.

Harvick ends long drought

BROOKLYN, Mich. (AP) — Kevin Harvick got his groove back, fittingly at one of his favorite tracks.

Harvick ended a 65- race winless drought that lasted nearly two years with his sixth victory at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday.

“Good timing, for sure,” he said.

Harvick’s win shakes up the playoff race with just three races remaining in the regular season, leaving little time for drivers to earn a spot in the 16-car postseason, and gives a boost for a veteran that entered the weekend No. 17 in points.

“Everybody that doubted us doesn’t know us,” he said.

NASCAR has had 15 different Cup winners this season. If there are two new winners over the last three races, a driver with one win will be eliminated from the 16-car playoff with a tiebreaker based on points. Ryan Blaney and Martin Truex Jr. are top-10 drivers in points, but they have not finished first to put their postseason positioning in peril.

Harvick’s No. 4 Ford pulled away from Bubba Wallace and the rest the field following a restart with 35 laps to go at the FireKeepers Casino 400. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver took advantage of clean air, helping him coast to his 59th victory, including five wins since 2018 on the two-mile oval in the Irish Hills region of southern Michigan.

Harvick had not won since claiming a NASCAR Cup Series postseason race on Sept. 19, 2020, at Bristol Motor Speedway.

“It’s been a while,” he acknowledged. “Michigan has been a great place for us.”

Wallace finished second in his No. 23 Toyota — 2.9 seconds behind Harvick — followed by Denny Hamlin in his No. 11 Toyota.

“Seconds not good enough for the playoffs,” said Wallace, who needs to win one of the final three regular-season races to earn a spot in the postseason.

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

Starting at $4.39/week.

Subscribe Today