Sports
After ending skid, Pirates look to build on win against Cardinals
May 15, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Braxton Ashcraft (35) delivers a pitch against the Philadelphia Phillies during the first inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images After ending a four-game skid on Wednesday, the Pittsburgh Pirates are now looking to take their midweek series against the Cardinals outright in the decisive game on Thursday in St. Louis.
Ivan Herrera’s walk-off three-run shot was the last of four Cardinals home runs in their 9-6, 10-inning win on Tuesday night. On Wednesday, Pittsburgh won 7-0 to record its first shutout in St. Louis since a 5-0 win on April 13, 2023.
Konnor Griffin finished 4-for-5 with three runs, serving as the catalyst for the Pirates’ victory.
Griffin entered the season with a massive weight of expectation surrounding after being named MLB.com’s No. 1 prospect in the preseason. He struggled at the start, hitting .182 in his first 19 games.
On his 20th birthday on April 24, Griffin went 3-for-4 with his first career homer in Pittsburgh’s 6-0 win at Milwaukee. He hasn’t looked back, raising his batting average nearly 100 points to .278 in less than a month.
“Training this offseason, getting ready for moments like this and just being able to do it together, winning games, that’s all we want to do,” Griffin said, according to MLB.com.
Teammate Jake Mangum said of Griffin, “I’m proud of Konnor. He keeps playing good ball, and he’s going to be good for a long time for Pittsburgh. Everybody that pulls for the Pirates, pulls for the Pittsburgh community, they should be really happy that this guy’s going to be here for a long time.”
Braxton Ashcraft (2-2, 3.09 ERA) will start for the Pirates on Thursday. The 26-year-old right-hander is approaching the one-year anniversary of his major league debut, when he came out of the bullpen to throw three shutout innings in the Pirates’ 5-0 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on May 26, 2025.
Ashcraft threw 6 2/3 innings and allowed four runs in his latest start, Friday against the Philadelphia Phillies. He took a no-decision in a game Pittsburgh eventually lost 11-9 in 10 innings.
In two career starts against St. Louis, Ashcraft is 0-1 with a 6.30 ERA. He faced the Cardinals on April 28 and got a no-decision after yielding six runs on six hits in 4 1/3 innings.
Dustin May (3-4, 4.81 ERA) will take the ball for the Cardinals.
The 28-year-old right-hander didn’t factor in the decision in his latest start, a game St. Louis won 5-4 in 11 innings over the Kansas City Royals on Friday. He allowed three runs on four hits in six frames, walking four and striking out three. The result left him winless in his past four outings.
St. Louis manager Oliver Marmol said of May’s work that day, “Overall, I felt like — especially early in that game — the fastball had really good life at the bottom of the zone and he was able to just overpower guys with it.”
May is 0-1 with a 6.35 ERA in his two lifetime starts against the Pirates. He wound up with a no-decision at Pittsburgh on April 27 after throwing six innings of two-run ball.
St. Louis first baseman Alec Burleson and right fielder Jordan Walker were both pulled late in the Wednesday loss after being hit by pitches, but Marmol stressed after the game that those were precautionary moves with the score out of hand.
Marmol said of Walker, “He wanted the at-bat if the game was any closer.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Trent Grisham (knee) exits Yankees-Blue Jays game
May 12, 2026; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; New York Yankees center fielder Trent Grisham (12) looks on during the sixth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images New York Yankees center fielder Trent Grisham exited Wednesday’s game against the visiting Toronto Blue Jays because of left knee discomfort.
The Yankees said he was checked out by team physician Dr. Christopher Ahmad and will undergo further testing.
In the second inning, Grisham hit a pop up off Trey Yesavage that fell between left fielder Yohendrick Pinargo and third baseman Kazuma Okamoto.
Grisham jogged slowly to first base as he thought the ball was going to get caught. He accelerated to second when it was not fielded and appeared to be running awkwardly.
Grisham exited after the Yankees batted in the fourth and was replaced by rookie Spencer Jones, who played most of his minor league games in center field.
Grisham is hitting .174 with six homers and 27 RBIs in 49 games this season. He hit .235 with 34 homers and 74 RBIs last season and accepted the one-year $22.5 million qualifying offer to return to the Yankees in the offseason.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Carmen Mlodzinski gets plenty of support as Pirates shut out Cardinals
May 20, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Carmen Mlodzinski (50) pitches against the St. Louis Cardinals during the first inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images The Pittsburgh Pirates got a home run from Spencer Horwitz as they emphatically snapped their four-game losing streak with a 7-0 win over the host St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday night.
Carmen Mlodzinski (3-3) threw five scoreless innings for Pittsburgh, which outhit the Cardinals 15-5. Four relievers completed the shutout. Rookie Konnor Griffin led the way for the Pirates offensively with a 4-for-5 night and three runs scored.
There was also a milestone moment for Pirates center fielder Jhostynxon Garcia, who recorded his first career RBI in the win. Garcia was making only his second start for Pittsburgh after being called up on Tuesday.
JJ Wetherholt went 2-for-4 at the top of the St. Louis order and Victor Scott II hit a double.
Mlodzinski worked around a single and a walk to strand two on base in the first inning. The Pirates struck first in the top of the second with Horwitz’s fourth home run of the season.
Pittsburgh mounted a two-out rally in the fourth to extend its lead. After Griffin reached on his first of two infield singles and Endy Rodriguez walked, Garcia’s RBI single doubled the Pirates’ advantage.
Cardinals starter Michael McGreevy (3-3) was chased after loading the bases without recording an out on three consecutive singles in the sixth. Justin Bruihl came on in relief and got out of the jam, but not without allowing Pittsburgh to add on with Nick Gonzales’ sacrifice fly.
McGreevy finished with three runs allowed in five-plus innings. The right-hander struggled to miss bats, allowing 10 hits and striking out only one hitter.
St. Louis also loaded the bases in the bottom of the sixth, but Yohan Ramirez struck out Masyn Winn, and Jake Mangum made a sliding grab at the wall in right to rob Cesar Prieto of extra bases and keep the shutout intact.
The result was put beyond doubt when Pittsburgh put up four runs off Matt Svanson in the eighth. Mangum and Gonzales hit RBI singles before Bryan Reynolds blew open the inning with a two-run double.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Second-period surge leads Knights past Avalanche in West finals opener
May 20, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Vegas Golden Knights right wing Pavel Dorofeyev (16) scores past Colorado Avalanche goaltender Scott Wedgewood (41) during the second period in game one of the Western Conference Final of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images DENVER — Dylan Coghlan and Pavel Dorofeyev scored 2:33 apart in the second period, Carter Hart made 36 saves, and the Vegas Golden Knights beat the Colorado Avalanche 4-2 in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals on Wednesday.
Brett Howton also had a goal and Nic Dowd scored into an empty net for Vegas, which grabbed home-ice advantage from the Presidents’ Trophy winners.
Game 2 of the best-of-seven series will be played Friday night in Denver.
Valeri Nichushkin and Gabriel Landeskog scored while Scott Wedgewood turned away 24 shots for Colorado, which trails in a series for the first time in this postseason.
Vegas captain Mark Stone (lower-body injury) and Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar (upper body) were scratched.
Both teams had chances in a scoreless first period. Keegan Kolesar nearly gave the Golden Knights the lead on a partial breakaway early on. Logan O’Connor hit the post for the Avalanche, and Hart made a save on Nazem Kadri in the waning seconds of the period.
Vegas finally broke through at 12:29 of the second period. Brandon Saad sent a pass to Coghlan in the slot, and Coghlan’s wrister beat Wedgewood through the pads for his first goal of the postseason.
Colorado’s Ross Colton took a roughing penalty less than two minutes later, and the Golden Knights took advantage. Mitch Marner stretched out with the puck and whipped a pass to Dorofeyev coming down the right side. Dorofeyev sent a one-timer to the short side past at 15:02, his 10th goal of the playoffs.
Vegas made it 3-0 early in the third after killing off a Colorado power play. Howden knocked down the rebound of Ben Hutton’s shot with his glove and tapped the puck by Wedgewood at 1:34.
The Avalanche answered at 5:53 when Nichushkin redirected Colton’s pass beyond Hart.
Wedgewood came off when Colorado went on the power play at 16:52, and Landeskog cut the deficit to one at 17:39.
The Avalanche pulled Wedgwood again, but Dowd sealed it into an empty net at 19:15.
–Field Level Media
Trent Grisham (knee) exits Yankees-Blue Jays game
Carmen Mlodzinski gets plenty of support as Pirates shut out Cardinals
