GRIFFIN ON WAY BACK

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pirates rookie shortstop Konnor Griffin’s right forearm strain is improving, and the 20-year-old is optimistic he’ll be back soon.

Griffin initially reported discomfort in his forearm after a loss to the Chicago Cubs on May 27. He appeared as a designated hitter over the next two games before going on the 10-day injured list on May 31.

The team thought his stay on the IL would be brief, though the timeline for his possible return was pushed back after the nature of the injury turned out to be a little more severe than the club anticipated. Griffin is eligible to come off the IL on Wednesday but remains out indefinitely.

Griffin, who made his big league debut in early April as a teenager and quickly signed a nine-year deal with the team, was seen by multiple physicians. Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said imaging of Griffin’s right (throwing) arm indicated the UCL was “stable.”

While Griffin indicated he hoped to start a throwing program as early as Wednesday, Tomczyk indicated any throwing activity won’t begin until Griffin meets with the medical team “in the coming days.”

Griffin, who turned 20 on April 24, was hitting .270 with four home runs, 22 RBIs and 14 stolen bases at the time of the injury.

“Just trying to take a little break and really make sure I don’t hurt myself worse and just take our time with it,” Griffin said in the Pittsburgh clubhouse before Tuesday’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers. “It’s still middle of the season, so we’ve got some time to rehab and get back and be ready to roll towards the last half.”

Griffin, who pitched in high school before being drafted in the first round of the 2024 draft, said he’d never experienced any issues in his throwing arm before but made it a point to be proactive in bringing it to the attention of the club’s medical staff.

“I think we caught it at the right time, where I’m not going to have to miss the whole year,” he said. “I can just miss just a couple weeks and try to be back out there as soon as possible.”

DODGERS SLUG PIRATES BULLPEN

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Andy Pages hit a two-run homer and added a sacrifice fly during a seventh-inning outburst against Pittsburgh’s bullpen as the Dodgers quickly pulled away once Pirates ace Paul Skenes exited in a 12-3 win on Tuesday night.

Skenes, the reigning NL Cy Young winner, allowed two runs and struck out seven in six innings. He retired Los Angeles star Shohei Ohtani all three times he faced the four-time MVP, getting Ohtani to ground out twice and fanning him once in his best start in nearly a month.

When Skenes left, the Dodgers pounced.

Dalton Rushing led off the seventh with a single off Wilber Dotel (1-0), advanced to third on a single through the hole by Alan Freeland and scored the go-ahead run when Pirates catcher Henry Davis’ attempt to pick Rushing off third hit the Dodger catcher instead and rolled away.

Things only got better for Los Angeles. Ohtani followed with an RBI-double and Pages hit his fourth home run in 12 career games against the Pirates to make it 6-2. A throwing error by Pirates second baseman Brandon Lowe, a couple of bases-loaded walks, and Freddie Freeman’s 2,500th career hit — a sharp RBI-single to center — highlighted the rest of Los Angeles’ biggest inning since an 11-run outburst against St. Louis on June 2, 2021.

Will Klein (2-2) picked up the win in relief of starter Eric Laurer, who allowed two runs in 5 2/3 innings.

Bryan Reynolds and Ryan O’Hearn hit back-to-back homers in the first to give Pittsburgh some early momentum. Pittsburgh managed just three hits the rest of the way to drop its fourth straight game and fall back to just one game over .500 at 34-33.

Skenes is now 0-3 with a 4.50 ERA over his last five starts.

Up next

The series continues Wednesday, when Ohtani (6-2, 0.74 ERA) goes for his fifth straight victory on the mound. The two-way superstar has allowed just one run over his last four starts. Jared Jones (1-0, 4.82) starts for Pittsburgh.

YANKEES EDGE GUARDIANS

CLEVELAND (AP) — Jazz Chisholm Jr. homered leading off the eighth inning and the New York Yankees defeated the Cleveland Guardians 3-2 on Tuesday night.

Spencer Jones also went deep with his first major league home run for the Yankees, who have won three straight and are 10-4 since May 24.

Cleveland’s Angel Martínez had two hits and an RBI. The Guardians have dropped three straight and five of six. They are also 2-6 in their last eight home games.

Chisholm once again used one of Aaron Judge’s bats and drove a full-count slider from reliever Tim Herrin (0-2) into the right-field stands to put the Yankees on top. It was his third homer in his last six games.

Chisholm led off the second with a walk before Jones, the 25th overall pick in the 2022 amateur draft, connected on starter Slade Cecconi’s cutter down the middle of the plate and drove it 443 feet over the center-field wall.

The Yankees’ bullpen pitched five scoreless innings. Camilo Doval (2-0) got the win. Fernando Cruz walked the leadoff hitter in the ninth before striking out the next three for his first save.

Cleveland evened it in the third on RBI hits by Chase DeLauter and Martínez. DeLauter’s single to drive in José Ramírez snapped an 0-for-18 Guardians slump with runners in scoring position.

Yankees starter Gerrit Cole gave up two runs and five hits with four strikeouts in five innings. The 2023 AL Cy Young Award winner was making his fourth start this season since returning from Tommy John surgery.

Cecconi allowed two runs on six hits and struck out seven in five innings.

Yankees LHP Carlos Rodón (1-2, 2.88 ERA) faces Guardians LHP Parker Messick (6-2, 2.40) in the series finale Wednesday afternoon.

BIG 12 TALKS SORSBY

(AP) — Big 12 athletic directors took part in a conference call Tuesday with Commissioner Brett Yormark to address the situation around Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby and the court ruling that restored his NCAA eligibility for the upcoming season.

The temporary injunction issued Monday by a Texas district court prevents the NCAA from enforcing its ban of Sorsby. The transfer QB had been ruled ineligible for what will be his final college season after he acknowledged years of gambling that included at least 40 bets on his own team while a freshman at Indiana.

Since NCAA rules call for a permanent loss of eligibility for any player who wagered on his own team, the judge’s decision sent shockwaves through college sports, including in Texas Tech’s own league.

Yormark said there was a “thoughtful and productive conversations” with the athletic directors as “we continue to work through the broader implications of this situation.”

In a statement without getting into specifics, the commissioner said many of the ADs voiced their opinions.

“We will continue to have open and honest dialogue amongst the group, and until there is something to report, these conversations will remain within the conference,” he said.

AIYUK CALLS 49ERS STUPID

SANTA CLARA, Calif (AP) — Disgruntled receiver Brandon Aiyuk called the San Francisco 49ers “stupid” and said the team is mad at him because of how much money he got in his latest contract.

Aiyuk is currently on the reserve/left squad list after he stopped showing up late last season as he rehabilitates a knee injury that has sidelined him since October 2024. He wants to be released and join a new team, but the Niners have shown no urgency to make a move even though general manager John Lynch has said he doesn’t expect Aiyuk to play for the team again.

“You want to know why they really mad though? They mad because they stupid,” Aiyuk said on social media on Tuesday. “They dumb. They mad they paid me $50 million in eight months and then voided my guarantees.”

Aiyuk signed a four-year, $120 million extension with San Francisco just before the start of the 2024 season following a lengthy contract “hold in” that kept him out of practice that summer.

LIV RACING THE CLOCK

(AP) — LIV Golf has 46 days between the end of a tournament in Spain and the next one in England, and it could be the most important stretch of the season for CEO Scott O’Neil.

The league is reeling from the decision by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund to stop paying for it at the end of year, having already spent some $6 billion since its June 2022 launch.

O’Neil is pushing “LIV 2.0” and seeking some $300 million from outside investors to keep the league going in 2027 and beyond. He appeared Tuesday on CNBC and said he has received a positive response from the initial push.

“I’ve had five meetings, formal meetings, so far,” O’Neil said. “I’ve got 18 more meetings this week and about the same next week. What’s been really interesting is how do you slice this? Is there one partner that comes in, maybe a big private equity firm, at the full $300 (million), or do you have 10 or 12 investors at $50 and $25 million units?”

But O’Neil said there was one element as critical as the money itself.

“What we don’t have is a lot of time,” he said. “So we’re very urgently out there talking to those who are interested. We like the pool, but we have to get this done through the summer.”

The long break — created when a new event in New Orleans was postponed — has generated speculation whether LIV would be funded through the year. O’Neil was asked if he could guarantee the last four events would be played.

“What I can guarantee is a heck of a return if you come invest in this business,” he said.

The PGA Tour has not offered any insight into a potential return of any LIV player, perhaps the most attractive being Jon Rahm, because they are still under contract.