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Marlins beat Pirates 4-3 to close on playoff spot

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Marlins beat Pirates 4-3 to close on playoff spot


Josh Bell’s two-run double keyed a four-run, eighth-inning rally and the Miami Marlins moved closer to a playoff berth with a 4-3 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday night.

The Marlins did little through seven innings but broke through against Colin Selby (2-2) to reduce their magic number to earn the NL’s third wild-card spot to two.

Miami entered the weekend with a chance to clinch the franchise’s first playoff berth in a non-pandemic-shortened season since 2003. The Marlins didn’t get into Pittsburgh until almost dawn on Friday morning following a long night in New York in which their game against the Mets was delayed for more than three hours with two outs in the top of the ninth before finally being suspended with the Marlins up 2-1.

They would love to avoid needing a return trip to Citi Field to wrap up the regular season. Their 10th victory when trailing after seven innings this season helped.

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Miami had just one runner reach third base over the first seven innings before jumping on Selby when he came on for Ryan Borucki with one out in the eighth.

Garrett Sampson started the surge with a single. Luis Arraez followed with a pinch-single that raised his batting average to a major league-best .354. Selby loaded the bases with a walk to Jorge Soler and Bell — who spent his first four seasons with the Pirates from 2017-20 — delivered a double off the right-field wall to bring the Marlins within one.

Jake Burger’s RBI single tied the game and Jazz Chisholm’s sacrifice fly off Carmen Mlodzinski put Miami in front. Huascar Brazoban (5-2) earned the victory with a scoreless seventh. Tanner Scott worked a perfect ninth for his 11th save in 15 chances.

Miami improved to 33-13 in one-run games, a turnaround from 24-40 last year.

Edward Cabrera whose strong performances this month have played an important role in Miami’s surge to contention, allowed three runs — two earned — six hits with three walks in 3 2/3 innings.

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Miami closed on its first postseason berth in a full 162-game season since beating the New York Yankees to win the 2003 World Series.

Endy Rodriguez had two hits and an RBI for the Pirates. Liover Pegeuro and Conner Joe also had two hits for Pittsburgh but the bullpen faltered late as the Pirates lost for the ninth time when leading after seven innings.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Marlins: Arraez (ankle), who is almost assured of winning the NL batting title a year after he did the same in the American League while playing for Minnesota, fielded some grounders at second base and did some running before making just his third appearance since Sept. 18. Arraez was replaced by pinch runner Nick Fortes following his single in the eighth.

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The series continues on Saturday evening.



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Pittsburg, PA

Pittsburgh Steelers veteran linebacker suffers unexpected knee injury

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Pittsburgh Steelers veteran linebacker suffers unexpected knee injury


PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Steelers veteran linebacker Tyler Matakevich suffered a knee injury against the Baltimore Ravens and would have missed practice on Sunday, the team estimated on their Sunday injury report.

Matakevich missed multiple games with a hamstring injury earlier this season but has returned and become a core part of the special teams room. If he can not play, the Steelers have inside linebacker Devin Harper on the practice squad, or they could turn to someone else, like Jonathan Ward, to encapsulate what Matakevich does on special teams.

Matakevich plays on all units, including both coverage teams. The Steelers re-signed him this offseason from the Buffalo Bills to help bolster their special teams units with the new NFL kickoff rules. He has four tackles in nine games for the team on those units.

With just four days until the Steelers face the Kansas City Chiefs, any new injuries will have a tough time healing before that game, and it seems likely that those players will have to sit or play through the injury on short rest.

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Pittsburg, PA

Texans Release Former Steelers WR

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Texans Release Former Steelers WR


Former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Steven Sims is searching for a new NFL home after the Houston Texans cut ties with the 27-year-old WR and kick returner. The Texans announced the move following the elevation of another receiver to their 53-man roster for their Week 16 matchup.

This was the former Steelers receiver’s second season in Houston. In seven games as the team’s returner, he returned seven kick-offs for 195 yards but failed to find the end zone. He wasn’t factoring into then offense at all, with just one carry and three receptions through his seven weeks of action.

The Steelers are quite familiar with Sims. During the 2022 season, he became the team’s primary kick and punt returner. He also became a fixture in the offense as a slot receiver. As a receiver, he hauled in 14 receptions on 23 targets for 104 yards and zero touchdowns. He also added on 13 rushing attempts for 70 yards.

He was much more productive in the return game. The speedy receiver fielded 19 punts over 12 games with the Steelers, collecting 105 yards. On kick-offs, he had 17 attempts for 434 yards, including a season-long of 89 yards.

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In his career, Sims has made a name for himself on special teams. He broke into the league with the Washington Commanders and had a sensational rookie season in 2019 as a returner. That year he had 32 return attempts and collected 819 yards, including a 91-yard return for the sole return touchdown of his five-year career.

Sims went undrafted in the NFL following his collegiate career at Kansas. With the Jayhawks, he hauled in at least 50 catches in three straight seasons. His career best came as a sophomore, when he racked up 859 yards and seven touchdowns over 12 games.

It’s been a tough week for former Steelers receivers. Sims joins former star receiver Diontae Johnson in the free agent market. Johnson had recently been acquired by the rival Baltimore Ravens but lasted just a few weeks before being released.

Make sure to bookmark Steelers On SI to get all your daily Pittsburgh Steelers news, interviews, breakdowns and more!



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Pittsburg, PA

Icy roads, snow across Pittsburgh area leads to several crashes

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Icy roads, snow across Pittsburgh area leads to several crashes


Icy roads, snow across Pittsburgh area leads to several crashes – CBS Pittsburgh

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Snow across the Pittsburgh area on Saturday morning made a mess of the roads. KDKA-TV’s Ricky Sayer was out tracking some crashes and shares some close calls.

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