Pittsburg, PA

Ortiz cruises through 7 innings, Cruz has 3 RBIs as Pirates win 6th straight, 4-1 over Phillies

Published

2 years ago

July 20, 2024

Ortiz cruises through 7 innings, Cruz has 3 RBIs as Pirates win 6th straight, 4-1 over Phillies

Associated Press

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Luis Ortiz pitched seven shutout innings, Oneil Cruz had a home run and three RBIs, and the Pittsburgh Pirates stretched their winning streak to six games with a 4-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday night.

Ortiz (5-2), who had not gone more than six innings this season, gave up three hits and two walks with two strikeouts to lower his ERA to 2.57.

“Obviously, it feels good to go out there and throw seven scoreless, but it’s just an inning-by-inning thing that I’ve prepared my mind for,” Ortiz said. “To go out there every inning, first pitch to be aggressive and attack the strike zone. The results are there.”

Andrew McCutchen led off the sixth inning by hitting a 3-1 sinker from Cristopher Sánchez (7-5) 431 feet into the bullpen in left-center field. Nick Gonzales, who hit the winning RBI single in the ninth inning of an 8-7 win Friday night, got on with a two-out single and scored on Cruz’s double off the wall in right.

“I didn’t even know we had six (straight) wins but I think it’s just the way our mentality is,” McCutchen said. “Just show up, try to win today. Obviously, with the pitching we’ve been able to have, our starters have been going out and we’ve been able to get some timely hitting when we’ve needed, even if our starters aren’t able to be able to shut them out like Ortiz did today.

“The timely hitting, guys staying within themselves, it’s just all-around good baseball. When you play good baseball, you win games. It’s what we’re doing right now.”

Cruz hit a two-out, two-run home run 422 feet off a fastball from Matt Strahm to make it 4-0 in the eighth. He also had three RBIs on Friday.

“This kid likes the lights. I think we’ve seen that the last two nights,” Pittsburgh manager Derek Shelton said. “He’s stepped his game up a little bit. And he’s healthy now, which before the break, he wasn’t healthy. It’s been very much needed, and it’s fun to watch.”

Bryce Harper hit his 22nd homer off Pirates closer David Bednar with one out in the ninth.

Sánchez was pulled after allowing two runs on eight hits in 5 2/3 innings for the Phillies, who have lost three games in a row and four of their last five.

“That happens,” Sánchez said. “That’s just part of the game. You just have to make the right adjustments and keep it going.”

Gonzales came close to putting Pittsburgh ahead in the first inning, driving a liner to center that would have scored Bryan Reynolds from second. But Johan Rojas made a diving catch, going forward and stretching to his left to keep it from slipping into the gap.

“They’re good,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said of the Pirates. “I mean, they’re talented. They’ve got good starting pitching. They’ve got thump in the middle of their lineup. They’ve got a good bullpen, especially the back end. They’re a good club.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Phillies: C J.T. Realmuto, who had right knee meniscectomy surgery on June 12, was reinstated from the 10-day injured list. He was 1 for 3 with a walk. … LHP Ranger Suárez (low back spasms) and RHP Zack Wheeler (back tightness) will return for Philadelphia’s next series at the Minnesota Twins. Suárez will start Monday and Wheeler will take the mound Tuesday.

UP NEXT

LHP Marco Gonzales (1-0, 2.45 ERA) will take the mound as the Pirates go for the three-game sweep Sunday, opposite Phillies RHP Tyler Phillips (1-0, 4.50).

___

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

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Pittsburg, PA

Gas prices stressing budgets of Pittsburgh-area first responders

Published

11 hours ago

May 13, 2026

Press Room

Gas prices stressing budgets of Pittsburgh-area first responders

Gas prices continue to sit near the $5 mark for the better part of the Pittsburgh region. Not only is it impacting people’s wallets, but it’s also hitting the bottom lines of first responders’ operations.

While gas prices are not impacting day-to-day operations, budgets are always tight, and if prices stay high, it could have some long-term impacts. First responders say they’ll still come when you call 911, so there’s no need to panic, but there is some concern behind the scenes.

“We can’t charge more for our services. The only way to weather the storm is to become more efficient,” Regional Emergency Support Quick Response Service director Mike Gallagher said.

RESQRS said gas is normally about $2,500 to $3,000 a month. From March to April, it was $5,500. The ambulance they wanted to get this year is now on hold as costs go up.

“It definitely has affected other parts of the business and how we operate,” Gallagher said over Zoom.

It’s the same for volunteer firefighters. Southern Allegheny Valley Emergency Services had its bill go from $300 to $400, up to $1,000 last month. This price spike was, of course, never anticipated when making the budget last year.

“It absolutely wasn’t. We just have to take money from other things and reprioritize,” SAVES fire chief Mike Daniher said.

Medic Rescue in Bridgewater, Beaver County, covers that county and takes patients to Wexford and Pittsburgh hospitals. They easily rack up hundreds of miles a day driving. Insurance doesn’t cover gas spikes, and fuel reimbursements are set from the prior year.

“I don’t see how it would be sustainable in the long term without some changes in financing,” Medic Rescue director of operations Bill Pasquale said.

An immediate impact for many services is putting new equipment on the back burner. While grants can be used for that, there’s no guarantee it’s accepted.

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Pittsburg, PA

Pittsburgh will have afternoon storm chances on Wednesday with gusty winds and lightning

Published

23 hours ago

May 13, 2026

Press Room

Pittsburgh will have afternoon storm chances on Wednesday with gusty winds and lightning

It will be stormy this afternoon, and then cooler for the rest of the work week.

Temperatures then warm up with record-setting temperatures possible early next week. It’s going to be a busy stretch of weather. Let’s get right into it.

Wind gusts throughout the day in Somerset – May 13, 2026

KDKA Weather Center

Rain chances today are low overall. The headline is the storm chance that occurs this afternoon. Gusty winds, frequent lightning, and isolated but intense downpours are expected as a narrow line of storms develops and rolls through Western Pennsylvania. The line of storms will be intensifying as it moves from the west to the east.

Right now, it looks like the storms will roll through between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.

Conditions in Pittsburgh – May 13, 2026

KDKA Weather Center

By the time you see this blog, our best chance for morning rain should have come and gone. Rain totals will not be very impressive today; most will see less than 0.05 inches of rain.

That excludes rain coming from afternoon storms.

Afternoon storms could add another fifth of an inch of rain for those who see the most ‘intense’ cells sliding through their areas. Temperatures in the morning are in the 50s. We will quickly rise up to the mid-60s for temperatures this afternoon ahead of storms. Temperatures will then dip back down to the 50s for the rest of the day, with brisk winds coming in from the northwest at around 15 mph.

Thursday highs will only hit the mid-50s.

We stay cool through Friday morning. We’d have to worry about frost on Friday if it wasn’t for the cloud cover that’s expected. Friday highs will be near 70°. Saturday and Sunday highs are expected to hit the low 80s both days.

A perfect ‘storm’ of low humidity levels, plenty of sunshine, and a strengthening sun angle will allow us to potentially see record highs early next week. I have high temperatures in the 90s on both Monday and Tuesday next week.

The record high for Monday is 91°, and that is what I am forecasting for a high.

7-day forecast: May 13, 2026

KDKA Weather Center

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Pittsburg, PA

Kitten tied in bag and tossed from pickup truck in northern Pennsylvania, police say

Published

1 day ago

May 12, 2026

Press Room

Kitten tied in bag and tossed from pickup truck in northern Pennsylvania, police say

A small kitten was tied up in a bag and thrown from a moving pickup truck in Warren County, Pennsylvania State Police said.

State police posted on the PSP Tips Facebook page on Tuesday, asking for help figuring out who threw the kitten out of a moving vehicle on Conewango Avenue in Glade Township around 6:45 p.m. on May 4.

Troopers said the kitten, estimated to be six to eight weeks old, was tied up in a black disposable bag. The kitten wasn’t hurt. Police shared a photo of the tiny gray kitten perched on a trooper’s shoulder.

A small kitten was thrown from a pickup truck while tied up in a bag in Warren County, Pennsylvania State Police said.

(Photo: PSP Tips/Facebook)

Investigators described the vehicle involved as a white, single-cab Chevrolet pickup truck with no registration plate and rust on the body of the truck. It was seen heading north on Conewango Avenue around 6:45 p.m. on May 4, so anyone with cameras in the area is asked to check their footage between 6:30 p.m. and 7:15 p.m. that night.

Anyone with information is asked to contact state police in Warren at 814-728-3600 and ask for Trooper Holsopple or Corporal Koebley. People can also call the PSP Tips line at 1-800-472-8477 or submit a tip online.

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