Pirates score 10 in 1st, beat Cubs 14-3

The Associated Press

http://www.espn.com/mlb/

July 9, 2017

Pittsburgh Pirates' Francisco Cervelli hits a grand slam against the Chicago Cubs during the first inning of a baseball game, Sunday, July 9, 2017, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

CHICAGO -- While the Chicago Cubs packed up quickly for the All-Star break, Bob Marley's "Three Little Birds" played over the speakers in the home clubhouse at Wrigley Field. "Don't worry about a thing," Marley sang, "Cause every little thing gonna be alright."

The Cubs are hoping Marley is right, but there was no sign of any turnaround on Sunday.

Jon Lester surrendered 10 runs in the first inning of the shortest start of his 12-year career, and the Cubs stumbled to a 14-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

"It kind of speaks for itself," Lester said. "It's embarrassing."

Chicago (43-45) heads into the break with a losing record for the first time since it was 40-54 in 2014. The reigning World Series champions also trail NL Central-leading Milwaukee by 5 1/2 games after the Brewers held on for a 5-3 victory against the New York Yankees.

The Cubs were 53-35 at the break a year ago.

"We are frustrated," manager Joe Maddon said. "We're not playing our game."

Francisco Cervelli matched a career high with five RBI and Jordy Mercer drove in three runs as the Pirates closed out a 5-2 road trip with their fifth win in six games. All-Star Josh Harrison homered in the ninth and Chad Kuhl pitched three innings of one-run ball in an emergency start after Jameson Taillon was scratched due to flu-like symptoms.

Pittsburgh sent 15 batters to the plate in its highest-scoring inning since it got 10 in the seventh against Colorado on May 17, 2009. It was the first time it scored at least 10 in the first inning since June 8, 1989, against Philadelphia.

"It was a lot of fun," manager Clint Hurdle said. "This team, we have been able to rally in a lot of different ways."

Cervelli hit his third career grand slam into the basket in left with two out. McCutchen followed with a drive to left-center for his 17th homer, chasing Lester and drawing a smattering of boos from a frustrated crowd of 41,604 at Wrigley Field.

"Throw up 10 like that in the first inning, it was huge," McCutchen said. "We kept going, we kept pushing and didn't stop there in the first."

Lester (5-6) was charged with four earned runs and six hits. He also struggled in his previous outing, allowing six runs in five innings in a loss to Tampa Bay on Tuesday.

The left-hander was hurt by an error on third baseman Kris Bryant, who booted David Freese's one-out grounder with runners on first and second. Josh Bellthen hit an RBI single, Jose Osuna doubled home two more runs and Mercer made it 5-0 with a two-run single.

"If I make that play, the game is completely different," Bryant said.

Kuhl allowed two hits and walked three on just two days' rest after he pitched a career-high seven innings in a 6-3 win at Philadelphia on Thursday night. A.J. Schugel (1-0), the second of three Pittsburgh relievers, pitched three innings for the win.

The Pirates (42-47) improved to 5-1 at Wrigley this year and stayed seven back of Milwaukee. They were 46-43 at the All-Star break last season.

AILING TAILLON

Taillon had intense flu-like symptoms when he got to the ballpark and was visited by paramedics, according to Pirates trainer Todd Tomczyk. He felt better after a while, but the symptoms returned while he was warming up.

"I think we can all attest to the warrior mentality that Jameson has, the competitor that he is," Tomczyk said.

The 25-year-old Taillon is 3-1 with a 1.98 ERA in five starts since returning from surgery for testicular cancer.

BRIGHT SPOT

Cubs rookie Victor Caratini entered before the Pirates batted in the fifth and went 3 for 3 with two doubles. He snapped a 0-for-9 skid to begin his career.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Pirates: Cervelli was shaken up after he was hit on his left leg by a pitch in the third inning, but stayed in the game.

Cubs: 2B Ben Zobrist got the day off. He is batting just .136 (3 for 22) in six games since he was activated from the disabled list on July 1 after being sidelined by an injured left wrist. "It's been a tough first half, one of the toughest of my career," he said. "Injuries-wise, I've been battling stuff all year so far."

UP NEXT

Pirates: RHP Gerrit Cole (7-7, 4.43 ERA) is scheduled to start Friday night in the opener of a three-game series against St. Louis. After the Cardinals leave town, the Pirates host the Brewers for four games.

Cubs: LHP Mike Montgomery (1-6, 3.75 ERA) will start Friday night's game at Baltimore. Montgomery replaced Lester and allowed two runs and three hits in three innings.

---

More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

Gregory Polanco, Ivan Nova power Pirates over Cubs 4-2

The Associated Press

http://www.espn.com/mlb/

July 8, 2017

Pittsburgh Pirates' Gregory Polanco celebrates with Andrew McCutchen after hitting a two-run home run against the Chicago Cubs during the sixth inning of a baseball game Saturday, July 8, 2017, in Chicago. (Nam Y. Huh/AP Photo)

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/sports/article160365969.html#storylink=cpy

CHICAGO -- Although Gregory Polanco hasn't always lived up to his advance billing, he showed Saturday night why there was so much hype when he was promoted to the major leagues three years ago.

Polanco hit a two-run homer in the sixth inning and Ivan Nova pitched three-hit ball into the seventh, leading the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 4-2 victory over the Chicago Cubs.

"Gregory's been swinging the bat better," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. "The ball's coming off his bat, the velocity, he's covering pitches."

At 6-foot-5, Polanco can have a long, looping swing, but has been working on being more direct to the pitch and now has an eight-game hitting streak.

"I've been just trying to stay short," he said.

Josh Bell had three hits and two runs scored, while Francisco Cervelli and Jordy Mercer each drove in a run for the Pirates.

Ian Happ and Kyle Schwarber had back-to-back home runs for Chicago, which has not won consecutive games since a three-game streak June 18-20.

Nova (9-6) struck out six and walked one in 6 2/3 innings. Besides the homers, the only other hit he allowed was a second-inning single to Schwarber.

"It's what we've seen from this guy since we got him," Hurdle said of Nova. "It was a good mix of pitches."

Felipe Rivero, who reached 102 on the radar gun, got the final four outs for his sixth save.

Cubs starter Jake Arrieta (8-7) allowed four runs (three earned) and six hits in 5 2/3 innings. He had allowed an unearned run through five innings before being knocked out in the sixth.

"It's my job to hold the lead," Arrieta said. "It's upsetting that I couldn't do that in that situation."

The Pirates took a 1-0 lead in the fourth. Bell led off with a double, advanced to third on a passed ball and scored on a groundout by Cervelli.

Nova retired 11 of the first 12 batters he faced before giving up back-to-back bombs with two outs in the fourth. Happ hit a 3-1 pitch into the left-field bleachers, while Schwarber's high drive landed about six rows deep into the bleachers in left-center.

Arrieta worked a 1-2-3 fifth after getting the lead, but ran into trouble in the sixth. Bell led off -- again -- with a double and one out later Polanco homered to put Pittsburgh back on top 3-2. Perhaps most impressive was the homer came on a 92-mph fastball that appeared 6 inches outside.

"It happened so quickly," Chicago manager Joe Maddon said. "Jake was going along very nicely. Historically, Polanco has got not really great numbers against Jake. So, all good -- and then a homer.

"That pitch almost looked like a pitchout, it was so far away from him, and he hit it well."

Cervelli followed with a single and scored all the way from first on a double by Mercer to make it 4-2.

FLIPPING THE SCRIPT

Arrieta has a 7.29 ERA in his last six starts against the Pirates, allowing at least one homer in each outing. Before that, he had a 1.46 ERA in his first 12 starts against the Pirates -- including a shutout in the 2015 NL Wild Card game.

BEST AGAINST BEST

With righty Kris Bryant coming to the plate with two outs and one on in the eighth, Hurdle called for left-handed closer Rivero even though right-hander Juan Nicasio was in the game.

"That's the MVP from last year and he's our closer," Hurdle said.

Rivero walked Bryant but got lefty Anthony Rizzo to ground out to end the threat.

ROSTER MOVES

The Pirates recalled INF Phil Gosselin from Triple-A Indianapolis and LHP Antonio Bastardo was designated for assignment. Gosselin, 28, batted .135 in 24 games (37 at-bats) during a stint with Pittsburgh earlier in the season.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Cubs: RHP Kyle Hendricks, on the DL since June 5 with right hand tendinitis, will make a rehab start on Monday for Double-A Tennessee.

UP NEXT

Pirates RHP Jameson Taillon (5-2, 2.73 ERA) takes a scoreless streak of 15 1/3 innings into his start Sunday in the finale of the three-game series. Cubs LHP Jon Lester (5-5, 3.94 ERA) looks to bounce back after allowing a season-high six runs in his last start.

One man's quixotic quest for Super Steelers' autographs comes to close

By Kevin Gorman
http://triblive.com/sports/
July 6, 2017

Palmyra resident Merrill Shaffer owns a Steelers helmet with the signatures of every player who was on all four Super Bowl teams in the 1970's along with head coach Chuck Noll.

The signatures are special to Merrill Shaffer, for they belong to the Super Steelers of the 1970s that served as his heroes.

The names are signed in gold on a black replica Steelers helmet, and just looking at them together reminds Shaffer of cherished childhood memories.

Only one thing was missing.

Since Jack Ham first signed the helmet in 1994, Shaffer had filled it with autographs from coach Chuck Noll and every Steeler who was a member of the franchise's first four Super Bowl championship teams — except for one player.

Loren Toews, a former linebacker who now lives in San Jose, Calif., was the lone exception. Without Toews, Shaffer wondered whether he'd ever finish what began as a personal project but soon evolved into a maniacal mission.

“I think a lot of people would think it would be the opposite, that it would be one of the superstars that would be inaccessible,” said Shaffer, 47, a Lancaster County probation officer who lives in Palmyra, near Hershey. “Actually, they are accessible. But Loren wanted to main his privacy.”

With the helmet nearly complete by 2000, Shaffer wrote a letter to Toews. Two years later, he received a response on official letterhead, with an apology and an autograph.

“He wrote that they don't travel to the East Coast anymore but wished us the best of luck,” Shaffer said. “On a black piece of construction paper he had signed his name — with a gold ribbon, so if we never got his signature on the helmet that at least we had it.”

That became little consolation to Shaffer, who had spent almost as many years seeking out Steelers to autograph his helmet as they did chasing One for the Thumb.

This is the story of one man's quixotic quest to collect the autographs of his heroes.

“I'm not sure why I wanted to limit it to the 22 players and Chuck Noll that won all four of those rings, but it was pretty special,” Shaffer said. “I'd be hard-pressed to think of dynasty teams that had that many players who stayed on one team for that long.”

At first, it was easy. After retiring, many Steelers signed at card shows to celebrate the 25th anniversaries of the Immaculate Reception and then Super Bowl IX.

That's where Shaffer found Ham — whose name is the shortest but autograph the biggest on the helmet — and fellow Hall of Famers like Mel Blount, Joe Greene, Jack Lambert, John Stallworth, Lynn Swann and Mike Webster.

Getting Terry Bradshaw was another story. Shaffer's mother, Rose Walter, was visiting Dallas and offered to take the helmet with her. She addressed a letter for Bradshaw in black ink but left the town name blank. Upon arrival, Walter went to the post office, confirmed the name of Bradshaw's hometown but wrote it in blue ink.

That caught the eye of Bradshaw's secretary, who read the letter and informed Walter he would be at his office that day if she wanted to stop by with the helmet. Bradshaw's signature and No. 12 are prominent on the front.

When Franco Harris appeared at a farm show in Harrisburg, a broker friend surprised Shaffer by bringing Harris to their wholesale warehouse to sign the helmet.

Nothing, however, compared to Noll's attempt to autograph it. Shaffer used the same gold-paint marker, but shook it too much before handing it to the late coach. As soon as Noll touched the marker to the helmet, it exploded and ink went everywhere.

“Thank God it wasn't near any other signatures. It was terrible. The look on his face, I'll never forget it. He looked so sorry,” Shaffer said. “The first thing he did was pick up a rag and tried to wipe the ink off. Instead, he smeared it. My wife, Karen, painstakingly flaked every ounce of paint off. You can't even tell that it ever happened.”

What worried Shaffer was that a Steelers player would die before he got their signature. He was heartbroken in the late 1990s, when an associate mistakenly informed him Steve Furness died — only to run into the defensive tackle at a Steelers reunion a year before his death in February 2000. Since then, Webster, Dwight White, L.C. Greenwood and Noll have passed away.

Shaffer was fortunate to find guard Sam Davis, now 73 and in a wheelchair, at an autograph signing in Monroeville.

“When I saw him, I was like, ‘My god, that's one I need,' ” Shaffer said. “He was shaky. His signature is not the best, but it's there.”

By 2000, Shaffer had signatures of 21 of the 22 Steelers who were on the first four Super Bowl teams.

Only Toews was missing.

So, you can only imagine Shaffer's resignation when the Steelers honored the 40th anniversary of their first Super Bowl champions a few years ago, and he spotted No. 51 standing there at Heinz Field.

“I have checked nonstop for 17 years for anything Steelers-related that he could be at, and that was the only thing he appeared at,” Shaffer said. “My wife said, ‘If you can get someone from the Steelers to hold him there, I'll drive there right now!' ”

At Easter, Shaffer mentioned his missing autograph to his cousin, Brian Walter, an engineer at General Electric in Erie. When Shaffer mentioned where Toews lived, Walter responded his family was going to San Francisco in June and he would be happy to take the helmet to have Toews sign it.

“I almost had tears in my eyes. I couldn't believe this was coming to an end,” Shaffer said, “that we were going to complete this.”

Walter and his family were thrilled to become part of the helmet's journey and met with Toews and his wife, Valerie, on June 20 at their family's real-estate office. Toews took his time, practicing his autograph in the air, before signing it below Lambert's name.

When Walter texted a photo, Shaffer was overjoyed. Most of all, he felt a sense of satisfaction.

In the collectibles world, Shaffer's Steelers helmet is considered a rarity because fans tend to get the autographs of the Steel Curtain or Steelers in the Hall of Fame.

“If I put it out in my store, I'd probably put a price of $1,500 on it and take offers from there,” said Dan Means, owner of Sports World Specialties on Smithfield Street, Downtown.

Joel Parknavy of Steel City Collectibles in McKeesport estimates Shaffer's helmet could fetch twice as much, perhaps more if it went to auction.

“That's impressive. I don't see how many people pull it off. It's hard to do,” Parknavy said. “The guys from the '70s now are up in age. It's not likely they're going to be out and about. Good for him for not giving up on that.”

For now, Shaffer has no intention of selling the helmet. He is open to the idea of loaning it to the Steelers, if they would be interested, to display at Heinz Field or the Heinz History Center.

“I can't imagine wanting to part with it,” Shaffer said. “I guess everybody has their price at some point — I don't know what that would be — but it's more than monetary value to me. No. 1, the players that are on that helmet and coach that signed it, that means a lot to me. There's a lot of happy memories, just looking at it. I like to be able to have something like that to remember them by. No. 2, I almost feel like I'd be betraying the people that helped me along the way.

“I don't think it's the most valuable piece of Steeler memorabilia, and I would never proclaim that to be the case. I don't know if it's one of a kind, but being that it's that specific to those 22 players ... it's a unique piece of history.”

One that was completed with a signature moment for the Super Steelers.

Kevin Gorman is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at kgorman@tribweb.com or via Twitter @KGorman_Trib.

http://triblive.com/sports/kevingorman/12472696-74/gorman-one-mans-quixotic-quest-for-super-steelers-autographs-comes-to-close

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Polanco, McCutchen lead Pirates past Phillies

The Associated Press

http://www.espn.com/mlb/

July 6, 2017

Pittsburgh Pirates' Josh Bell hits a two-run home run off Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Jeremy Hellickson during the fourth inning of a baseball game, Thursday, July 6, 2017, in Philadelphia. At right is catcher Andrew Knapp. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

PHILADELPHIA -- Josh Bell didn't let a defensive miscue get him down. He just made up for it with his bat.

Bell homered, doubled and drove in three runs, and Gregory Polanco had four hits with a home run and two RBI to lead the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 6-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday night.

Andrew McCutchen added three hits with two doubles for the Pirates, who have won three straight.

Bell made up for his third-inning defensive gaffe with a two-run homer in the fourth before a go-ahead RBI double in the eighth.

"I think he did what you need to do," manager Clint Hurdle said. "He got back in the moment in what he could do to help his team win a ballgame."

Philadelphia went up 1-0 when Andrew Knapp scored from first base after Bell wasn't paying attention on catcher Elias Diaz's pickoff attempt.

"Diaz made a perfect pickoff throw and I've never seen that play before," Hurdle said.

The ball went all the way to the right-field corner. Bell was distracted as Andres Blanco's bat went flying out of his hands and into the stands on the play.

"It stunk," Bell said. "My initial feeling was, `Thank God it didn't hit me because Diaz throws like 100 (mph)."

Pirates starter Chad Kuhl provided encouragement in between innings, and Bell responded with his 16th homer to set a Pirates record for homers by a rookie before the All-Star break.

"(Kuhl) picked me up and said, `Love you bud," Bell said. "And I said, `I'm going to get it back for you.' And I was able to in the next (at-bat), so it was a cool situation."

Kuhl (3-6) allowed three runs -- two earned -- and six hits in a career-high seven innings.

Juan Nicasio pitched a perfect ninth for his first save.

After Bell's homer made it 2-1, two batters later Polanco lined starter Jeremy Hellickson's changeup into the seats in right to give the Pirates a two-run lead. Bell later broke a 3-all tie in the eighth with a double off Joaquin Benoit (1-3) that scored the go-ahead run.

Aaron Altherr had two hits and two RBI for the Phillies.

Altherr tied it at 3 in the seventh with a two-run single. However, he was thrown out at second base trying to stretch the single into a double. It was the second time that happened to Altherr and the third time to a Phillie in the game. Odubel Herrera was caught trying to reach second right after Altherr in the second inning.

"If those were closer plays, it wouldn't have been a big deal," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. "But when you're out by that much, I think they should've shut it down."

Left fielder Jose Osuna got an assist on all three plays. The last time the Pirates had three assists by an outfielder was 1991 when Cecil Espy did it.

The game was delayed 47 minutes at the start by rain and was played under a persistent drizzle for most of the night.

EARLY FIREWORKS

A crowd of 33,059 sat through the weather in anticipation of postgame fireworks. Whether by accident or not, some fireworks were shot off with one out in the top of the seventh causing reliever Pat Neshek to step off the mound until they were finished.

HELLICKSON UPDATE

Hellickson allowed three runs and five hits with four strikeouts and no walks in six innings in what could have been one of his last starts for the Phillies before the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline.

NOBODY LEFT

Despite six hits and three walks, the Phillies didn't leave any runners on base. According to the Phillies, it was just the 16th time since at least 1913 that has occurred.

BULLPEN BLANKS

Pittsburgh's relievers pitched 11 scoreless innings in the four-game series, allowing five hits with 13 strikeouts and three walks.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Pirates: Bell was drilled in the lower back on Altherr's throw from right field as he was sliding into second in the eighth inning. After some assistance from the trainer, he remained in the game and said afterward he was fine.

Phillies: Rookie OF Nick Williamswas not in the lineup a day after crashing hard into the wall in right field, but he lined out to left field as a pinch-hitter in the sixth inning.

UP NEXT

Pirates: Pittsburgh opens a three-game series at the Cubs on Friday. RHP Trevor Williams (3-3, 4.67) pitches for the Pirates against RHP Eddie Butler (4-3, 4.18). Williams is 1-0 with a 4.50 ERA in three appearances, including one start, against the Cubs this season.

Phillies: Philadelphia opens a three-game home set against San Diego on Friday night with RHP Nick Pivetta (2-4, 4.85) facing Padres LHP Clayton Richard (5-8, 4.85).

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More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

Rick Tocchet's departure would leave a void on Penguins' coaching staff

By Mark Madden

http://www.timesonline.com/sports

July 6, 2017

Rick Tocchet and Phil Kessel after winning the 2017 Stanley Cup in Nashville (Getty Images)

Rick Tocchet, a Penguins assistant coach the past three seasons, seems very likely to be appointed head coach of the Arizona Coyotes.

Usually, an assistant coach’s departure is inconsequential.

Not so with Tocchet.

Tocchet is a rarity. Tocchet takes the credibility and dynamic personality he wielded as a player and translates it to the coaching profession. It’s tough for a coach (let alone an assistant coach) to be a leader. But Tocchet did his level best to lead, and it meant a lot to the Penguins.

More specifically, Tocchet was the “Kessel whisperer.”

Phil Kessel can be frustrating to coach. Kessel has his own vision of the game. It’s a successful vision, but it involves minimal physical contact, almost never blocking shots and, occasionally, not shooting enough.

You can tell Kessel what to do: For example, head coach Mike Sullivan constantly told Kessel to put more pucks on net.

But Kessel won’t necessarily do as he’s told: For example, Kessel’s shot total this past season (229) was 45 shots lower than last year’s and Kessel’s lowest for an 82-game schedule since his second NHL season of 2007-08. Bizarre for a player with five seasons of 30 goals or more.

Kessel scored 23 goals this past campaign, his fewest for an 82-game season since ’07-08.

If you win the Stanley Cup, none of that is a problem.

If you don’t, it becomes a problem.

Kessel’s style does no damage in the locker room. He’s beloved as a teammate.

But Sullivan was often less than pleased with Kessel. Tocchet, however, served as a buffer and conduit between Sullivan and Kessel, and did his best to steer Kessel in the preferred direction. He also talked Sullivan off the ledge regarding Kessel.

If Tocchet leaves, who does that?

“(Tocchet) just gets it,” Kessel told the Buffalo News when Tocchet was rumored as a candidate for the Sabres’ head coaching job, since filled by Phil Housley. “He understands what it’s like to play the game, to be a player. He makes it fun. I don’t want to see him go.”

If Tocchet leaves, the potential for problems between Sullivan and Kessel is greatly magnified (although far from guaranteed).

It’s not all about Kessel, though.

Tocchet is a throwback, no-nonsense coach, light on analytics and high on old-school hockey values. He has a knack for knowing when to kick a player up the backside, or throw a sympathetic arm around his shoulder.

Tocchet was a big part of winning two consecutive Stanley Cups. As important as an assistant coach can be. The same can be said of Jacques Martin.

Sullivan stirs the drink, of course. But he’s been surrounded by a quality staff. When Tocchet leaves, a big adjustment will be required.

Joe Mullen is available. The ex-Penguin has been coaching since 2000, and recently finished an 11-year stint with the Philadelphia organization.

But this is Sullivan’s first chance to hire, so employing someone with a personal connection is much more probable than employing someone with a Penguins connection. Mullen isn’t near as dynamic as Tocchet, anyway.

Whoever Sullivan does get won’t have that connection with Kessel. Tocchet got through to Kessel like few coaches have.

Mark Madden hosts a radio show 3-6 p.m. weekdays on WXDX-FM (105.9).