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Deadspin | Pirates turn to ace Paul Skenes against Rays     Apr 17, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA;  Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes (left) shakes the hand of manager Don Kelly, right, upon accepting his Cy Young Award from owner Bob Nutting before a game against the Tampa Bay Rays  Tampa Bay Rays at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Philip G. Pavely-Imagn Images   A day after he was presented his 2025 National League Cy Young Award, Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes will be on the mound to face the visiting Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday afternoon.  Skenes (3-1, 4.00 ERA), who will oppose fellow right-hander Drew Rasmussen (1-0, 1.13) on Saturday, was presented the award by 1990 Cy Young winner and former Pirates ace Doug Drabek before the Pirates’ 5-1 win over Tampa Bay.  Skenes, who is 1-0 with an 0.64 ERA in two career starts against the Rays, has pitched more like a Cy Young winner since his disastrous Opening Day outing against the New York Mets in which he gave up five runs and didn’t survive the first inning. He is 3-0 with a 1.56 ERA in his three starts since then, allowing just six hits — including two solo home runs — striking out 17 batters and walking five.  In his most recent start, against the Washington Nationals on Monday, he allowed a solo home run to CJ Abrams with two outs in the first and did not allow another hit over his six-inning start in the Pirates’ 16-5 victory.  A major difference for Skenes this season has been the Pirates providing significant run support.  Pittsburgh scored only 11 runs in Skenes’ 10 losses last season. This season, they have scored a combined 25 runs in the innings before Skenes has exited his four starts and have scored seven or more runs in every game he’s started. Against Washington on Monday, the Pirates scored 15 runs over the first six innings.  “I told the guys after the game, ‘It makes it easy to pitch,'” Skenes said. “Even if I’m not getting it while I’m in the game, being out there pitching and knowing that it’s going to happen at some point makes it a lot easier to pitch.”   Rasmussen, an All-Star last year, is settling back into his normal pitching routine after a hectic 10-day period that followed the birth of his daughter. Rasmussen was scratched from his scheduled start on April 7 when his wife went into labor, and he spent the next four days on the paternity list and the family medical emergency list.  Rasmussen made a decision to pitch last Sunday against the New York Yankees without much time to prepare. He threw a gem in which he tossed six shutout innings and allowed one hit, no walks and struck out seven on 76 pitches in beating the Yankees 5-4.  “Stevie (his wife) and I ultimately decided maybe a little bit of normalcy would be nice,” Rasmussen said about choosing to come back early and pitch last Sunday. “Just kind of trying to focus on execution, putting a little bit more weight on (catcher Hunter Feduccia’s) shoulders and just taking it pitch by pitch. I don’t know if I shook off (Feduccia’s pitch call) once, in all honesty.”  Rasmussen said his wife, newborn daughter, and their son are all home, and he was able to resume his normal routines this week.  The Rays lost Rasmussen’s first two starts despite him not allowing more than one earned run over five innings in each outing. He has 17 strikeouts, one walk, and am 0.56 WHIP over 16 innings.  His next task will be to get the Rays back on track after they had their six-game winning streak snapped on Friday. Rasmussen is 1-0 with a 2.19 ERA in six career appearances vs. Pittsburgh, including one start.  –Field Level Media    #Deadspin #Pirates #turn #ace #Paul #Skenes #Rays

Deadspin | Pirates turn to ace Paul Skenes against Rays
Deadspin | Pirates turn to ace Paul Skenes against Rays     Apr 17, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA;  Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes (left) shakes the hand of manager Don Kelly, right, upon accepting his Cy Young Award from owner Bob Nutting before a game against the Tampa Bay Rays  Tampa Bay Rays at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Philip G. Pavely-Imagn Images   A day after he was presented his 2025 National League Cy Young Award, Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes will be on the mound to face the visiting Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday afternoon.  Skenes (3-1, 4.00 ERA), who will oppose fellow right-hander Drew Rasmussen (1-0, 1.13) on Saturday, was presented the award by 1990 Cy Young winner and former Pirates ace Doug Drabek before the Pirates’ 5-1 win over Tampa Bay.  Skenes, who is 1-0 with an 0.64 ERA in two career starts against the Rays, has pitched more like a Cy Young winner since his disastrous Opening Day outing against the New York Mets in which he gave up five runs and didn’t survive the first inning. He is 3-0 with a 1.56 ERA in his three starts since then, allowing just six hits — including two solo home runs — striking out 17 batters and walking five.  In his most recent start, against the Washington Nationals on Monday, he allowed a solo home run to CJ Abrams with two outs in the first and did not allow another hit over his six-inning start in the Pirates’ 16-5 victory.  A major difference for Skenes this season has been the Pirates providing significant run support.  Pittsburgh scored only 11 runs in Skenes’ 10 losses last season. This season, they have scored a combined 25 runs in the innings before Skenes has exited his four starts and have scored seven or more runs in every game he’s started. Against Washington on Monday, the Pirates scored 15 runs over the first six innings.  “I told the guys after the game, ‘It makes it easy to pitch,'” Skenes said. “Even if I’m not getting it while I’m in the game, being out there pitching and knowing that it’s going to happen at some point makes it a lot easier to pitch.”   Rasmussen, an All-Star last year, is settling back into his normal pitching routine after a hectic 10-day period that followed the birth of his daughter. Rasmussen was scratched from his scheduled start on April 7 when his wife went into labor, and he spent the next four days on the paternity list and the family medical emergency list.  Rasmussen made a decision to pitch last Sunday against the New York Yankees without much time to prepare. He threw a gem in which he tossed six shutout innings and allowed one hit, no walks and struck out seven on 76 pitches in beating the Yankees 5-4.  “Stevie (his wife) and I ultimately decided maybe a little bit of normalcy would be nice,” Rasmussen said about choosing to come back early and pitch last Sunday. “Just kind of trying to focus on execution, putting a little bit more weight on (catcher Hunter Feduccia’s) shoulders and just taking it pitch by pitch. I don’t know if I shook off (Feduccia’s pitch call) once, in all honesty.”  Rasmussen said his wife, newborn daughter, and their son are all home, and he was able to resume his normal routines this week.  The Rays lost Rasmussen’s first two starts despite him not allowing more than one earned run over five innings in each outing. He has 17 strikeouts, one walk, and am 0.56 WHIP over 16 innings.  His next task will be to get the Rays back on track after they had their six-game winning streak snapped on Friday. Rasmussen is 1-0 with a 2.19 ERA in six career appearances vs. Pittsburgh, including one start.  –Field Level Media    #Deadspin #Pirates #turn #ace #Paul #Skenes #RaysApr 17, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes (left) shakes the hand of manager Don Kelly, right, upon accepting his Cy Young Award from owner Bob Nutting before a game against the Tampa Bay Rays Tampa Bay Rays at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Philip G. Pavely-Imagn Images

A day after he was presented his 2025 National League Cy Young Award, Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes will be on the mound to face the visiting Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday afternoon.

Skenes (3-1, 4.00 ERA), who will oppose fellow right-hander Drew Rasmussen (1-0, 1.13) on Saturday, was presented the award by 1990 Cy Young winner and former Pirates ace Doug Drabek before the Pirates’ 5-1 win over Tampa Bay.

Skenes, who is 1-0 with an 0.64 ERA in two career starts against the Rays, has pitched more like a Cy Young winner since his disastrous Opening Day outing against the New York Mets in which he gave up five runs and didn’t survive the first inning. He is 3-0 with a 1.56 ERA in his three starts since then, allowing just six hits — including two solo home runs — striking out 17 batters and walking five.

In his most recent start, against the Washington Nationals on Monday, he allowed a solo home run to CJ Abrams with two outs in the first and did not allow another hit over his six-inning start in the Pirates’ 16-5 victory.

A major difference for Skenes this season has been the Pirates providing significant run support.

Pittsburgh scored only 11 runs in Skenes’ 10 losses last season. This season, they have scored a combined 25 runs in the innings before Skenes has exited his four starts and have scored seven or more runs in every game he’s started. Against Washington on Monday, the Pirates scored 15 runs over the first six innings.


“I told the guys after the game, ‘It makes it easy to pitch,'” Skenes said. “Even if I’m not getting it while I’m in the game, being out there pitching and knowing that it’s going to happen at some point makes it a lot easier to pitch.”

Rasmussen, an All-Star last year, is settling back into his normal pitching routine after a hectic 10-day period that followed the birth of his daughter. Rasmussen was scratched from his scheduled start on April 7 when his wife went into labor, and he spent the next four days on the paternity list and the family medical emergency list.

Rasmussen made a decision to pitch last Sunday against the New York Yankees without much time to prepare. He threw a gem in which he tossed six shutout innings and allowed one hit, no walks and struck out seven on 76 pitches in beating the Yankees 5-4.

“Stevie (his wife) and I ultimately decided maybe a little bit of normalcy would be nice,” Rasmussen said about choosing to come back early and pitch last Sunday. “Just kind of trying to focus on execution, putting a little bit more weight on (catcher Hunter Feduccia’s) shoulders and just taking it pitch by pitch. I don’t know if I shook off (Feduccia’s pitch call) once, in all honesty.”

Rasmussen said his wife, newborn daughter, and their son are all home, and he was able to resume his normal routines this week.

The Rays lost Rasmussen’s first two starts despite him not allowing more than one earned run over five innings in each outing. He has 17 strikeouts, one walk, and am 0.56 WHIP over 16 innings.

His next task will be to get the Rays back on track after they had their six-game winning streak snapped on Friday. Rasmussen is 1-0 with a 2.19 ERA in six career appearances vs. Pittsburgh, including one start.


–Field Level Media

#Deadspin #Pirates #turn #ace #Paul #Skenes #Rays

Apr 17, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes (left) shakes the hand of manager Don Kelly, right, upon accepting his Cy Young Award from owner Bob Nutting before a game against the Tampa Bay Rays Tampa Bay Rays at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Philip G. Pavely-Imagn Images

A day after he was presented his 2025 National League Cy Young Award, Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes will be on the mound to face the visiting Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday afternoon.

Skenes (3-1, 4.00 ERA), who will oppose fellow right-hander Drew Rasmussen (1-0, 1.13) on Saturday, was presented the award by 1990 Cy Young winner and former Pirates ace Doug Drabek before the Pirates’ 5-1 win over Tampa Bay.

Skenes, who is 1-0 with an 0.64 ERA in two career starts against the Rays, has pitched more like a Cy Young winner since his disastrous Opening Day outing against the New York Mets in which he gave up five runs and didn’t survive the first inning. He is 3-0 with a 1.56 ERA in his three starts since then, allowing just six hits — including two solo home runs — striking out 17 batters and walking five.

In his most recent start, against the Washington Nationals on Monday, he allowed a solo home run to CJ Abrams with two outs in the first and did not allow another hit over his six-inning start in the Pirates’ 16-5 victory.

A major difference for Skenes this season has been the Pirates providing significant run support.

Pittsburgh scored only 11 runs in Skenes’ 10 losses last season. This season, they have scored a combined 25 runs in the innings before Skenes has exited his four starts and have scored seven or more runs in every game he’s started. Against Washington on Monday, the Pirates scored 15 runs over the first six innings.

“I told the guys after the game, ‘It makes it easy to pitch,'” Skenes said. “Even if I’m not getting it while I’m in the game, being out there pitching and knowing that it’s going to happen at some point makes it a lot easier to pitch.”

Rasmussen, an All-Star last year, is settling back into his normal pitching routine after a hectic 10-day period that followed the birth of his daughter. Rasmussen was scratched from his scheduled start on April 7 when his wife went into labor, and he spent the next four days on the paternity list and the family medical emergency list.

Rasmussen made a decision to pitch last Sunday against the New York Yankees without much time to prepare. He threw a gem in which he tossed six shutout innings and allowed one hit, no walks and struck out seven on 76 pitches in beating the Yankees 5-4.

“Stevie (his wife) and I ultimately decided maybe a little bit of normalcy would be nice,” Rasmussen said about choosing to come back early and pitch last Sunday. “Just kind of trying to focus on execution, putting a little bit more weight on (catcher Hunter Feduccia’s) shoulders and just taking it pitch by pitch. I don’t know if I shook off (Feduccia’s pitch call) once, in all honesty.”

Rasmussen said his wife, newborn daughter, and their son are all home, and he was able to resume his normal routines this week.

The Rays lost Rasmussen’s first two starts despite him not allowing more than one earned run over five innings in each outing. He has 17 strikeouts, one walk, and am 0.56 WHIP over 16 innings.

His next task will be to get the Rays back on track after they had their six-game winning streak snapped on Friday. Rasmussen is 1-0 with a 2.19 ERA in six career appearances vs. Pittsburgh, including one start.

–Field Level Media

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Cobolli downs World No. 3 Zverev to reach first Munich final <div id="content-body-70877912" itemprop="articleBody"><p>Flavio Cobolli ended top seed Alexander Zverev’s Munich Open title defence on Saturday, as the Italian eased past the World No. 3 in straight sets to reach the final.</p><p>Fourth seed Cobolli beat the home favourite 6-3, 6-3 in just under 70 minutes in their semifinal.</p><p>The 23-year-old’s commanding performance dashed Zverev’s hopes of a record fourth title on the clay in Munich.</p><p>Cobolli will face either second seed Ben Shelton of the United States or Slovak qualifier Alex Molčan in Sunday’s final.</p><p>“One of my best matches ever against one of my closest friends on tour,” Cobolli said. “I’m a little bit shy when I play a top player, but today I played one of my best matches and I’m really happy.”</p><p><b>ALSO READ: <a href="https://sportstar.thehindu.com/tennis/italy-host-atp-250-grasscourt-event-wimbledon-tuneup-starting-2028-sinner-alcaraz-rome-fifth-slam/article70862669.ece#google_vignette" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Italy to host grasscourt ATP event prior to Wimbledon from 2028</a></b></p><p>Cobolli took control early, breaking Zverev to love in the fourth game of the opening set.</p><p>Zverev struggled to make an impact on Cobolli’s serve, and when the World No. 16 broke again in the first game of the second set, the match began to slip away from the German.</p><p>Two powerful crosscourt forehands, followed by a crisp volley to close out the seventh game, handed Cobolli a double break and the opportunity to serve for the match.</p><p>Zverev briefly fought back, earning his first break points of the contest and converting on his second attempt to delay the inevitable.</p><p>However, Cobolli regained control in the next game, earning match point with a forehand on the run before Zverev miscued a deep return to seal the result.</p><p>Cobolli advances to his second final of the season and will look to add to the title he won in Acapulco in February.</p><p class="publish-time" id="end-of-article">Published on Apr 18, 2026</p></div> #Cobolli #downs #World #Zverev #reach #Munich #final

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INDIANAPOLIS — It’ll be hard to find any contest this WNBA season that compares to Thursday’s Fever-Aces showdown.

Both teams had enormous scoring runs across the first three quarters, then played down to the final buzzer in overtime and regulation. A pair of costly miscues from Caitlin Clark at the end of each segment set up Chelsea Gray for two buzzer beaters, the first to send the game to the extra session and the second to give the Aces an improbable win.

“We still battled,” Clark said postgame. “We still fought and we put ourselves in position to win the game and then, honestly, it was me that made costly errors for us. So that’s on me to help us win. That’s my job. That’s what I get paid to do.”

No game is decided by the play or mistakes of one player, but Clark’s late faux pas will certainly draw attention, as is the case with everything she does.

At the end of regulation, both Clark and Mitchell had chances to ice the game away at the line in the final seconds. The latter split her pair, missing the second before A’ja Wilson stepped out of bounds to turn the ball over while trying to save it.

Clark would eventually get to the line with seven seconds left and the chance to make it a two-possession game with Indiana up 75-72. She would miss both looks, keeping the door open for Las Vegas. Gray took full advantage, coming up with a loose ball on a broken play before calmly burying a long-range look to tie the game.

“This can’t happen,” Clark said. “Those are free throws I usually make. Certainly frustrating. Obviously, one of them gives us a two-possession lead and I kind of cost my team there for sure. So that’s on me.”

The two teams traded baskets throughout the extra session with Wilson and Mitchell doing the lion’s share of the scoring for their respective teams. Eventually, the Fever found themselves in a familiar spot, leading by one with just under 30 seconds remaining.

A bit of confusion and miscommunication left Clark standing near mid-court with Wilson, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, in front of her, 30 feet from the basket. Despite the situation, Clark could not create a shot and turned the ball over after Wilson tipped a pass in the air and corralled it. The Aces did not call a timeout and raced down the court before Gray capped off her heroics with the game-winner.

All that came after some huge momentum swings in the first three frames. The Fever were flying up and down the court in the second period, blowing the game open with a 24-4 run to take a 42-22 lead with four minutes left in the first half.

In direct response, the Aces scored the final 15 points of the second period and the first seven points of the third quarter to take the lead. In the end, the Aces went on a 40-11 run that spanned their largest deficit and largest lead of the game, the latter coming at 62-53 early in the fourth.

Clark certainly had a role in pulling Indiana back into the game, including a pair of big threes that gave Indiana the lead, the latter coming with 1:48 left. An Aliyah Boston puback off her own miss put the hosts ahead 74-72 with 30 seconds left before the Fever forced a miss from Wilson to set up the frantic finish.

Postgame, Clark willingly shouldered the blame for the loss. However, on a night when the Fever turned the ball over 21 times, gave up 12 offensive rebounds and shot 35% in the second half, her head coach wouldn’t let her.

“I think you like that as ownership,” Stephanie White said. “But as an athlete and as a coach and as somebody who’s been around for a long time, it doesn’t come down to one singular thing. Like we know that. She’s disappointed in herself certainly, as I’m sure a lot of our players are. But we got to use it as fuel.

“And she’s going to be better. I know she’s going to be better on Saturday because of it. I mean she’s a competitor. She’s a fighter…But it doesn’t come down to one thing and I know, again, it’s easy to look at it and think that it does, but it was a collection of things. If we cut our turnovers in half, it’s a different ballgame.”

#Caitlin #Clark #takes #blame #wild #Fever #loss #Aces #happen">Caitlin Clark takes blame in wild Fever loss to Aces: ‘This can’t happen’  INDIANAPOLIS — It’ll be hard to find any contest this WNBA season that compares to Thursday’s Fever-Aces showdown.Both teams had enormous scoring runs across the first three quarters, then played down to the final buzzer in overtime and regulation. A pair of costly miscues from Caitlin Clark at the end of each segment set up Chelsea Gray for two buzzer beaters, the first to send the game to the extra session and the second to give the Aces an improbable win.“We still battled,” Clark said postgame. “We still fought and we put ourselves in position to win the game and then, honestly, it was me that made costly errors for us. So that’s on me to help us win. That’s my job. That’s what I get paid to do.”No game is decided by the play or mistakes of one player, but Clark’s late faux pas will certainly draw attention, as is the case with everything she does.At the end of regulation, both Clark and Mitchell had chances to ice the game away at the line in the final seconds. The latter split her pair, missing the second before A’ja Wilson stepped out of bounds to turn the ball over while trying to save it.Clark would eventually get to the line with seven seconds left and the chance to make it a two-possession game with Indiana up 75-72. She would miss both looks, keeping the door open for Las Vegas. Gray took full advantage, coming up with a loose ball on a broken play before calmly burying a long-range look to tie the game.“This can’t happen,” Clark said. “Those are free throws I usually make. Certainly frustrating. Obviously, one of them gives us a two-possession lead and I kind of cost my team there for sure. So that’s on me.”The two teams traded baskets throughout the extra session with Wilson and Mitchell doing the lion’s share of the scoring for their respective teams. Eventually, the Fever found themselves in a familiar spot, leading by one with just under 30 seconds remaining.A bit of confusion and miscommunication left Clark standing near mid-court with Wilson, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, in front of her, 30 feet from the basket. Despite the situation, Clark could not create a shot and turned the ball over after Wilson tipped a pass in the air and corralled it. The Aces did not call a timeout and raced down the court before Gray capped off her heroics with the game-winner.All that came after some huge momentum swings in the first three frames. The Fever were flying up and down the court in the second period, blowing the game open with a 24-4 run to take a 42-22 lead with four minutes left in the first half.In direct response, the Aces scored the final 15 points of the second period and the first seven points of the third quarter to take the lead. In the end, the Aces went on a 40-11 run that spanned their largest deficit and largest lead of the game, the latter coming at 62-53 early in the fourth.Clark certainly had a role in pulling Indiana back into the game, including a pair of big threes that gave Indiana the lead, the latter coming with 1:48 left. An Aliyah Boston puback off her own miss put the hosts ahead 74-72 with 30 seconds left before the Fever forced a miss from Wilson to set up the frantic finish.Postgame, Clark willingly shouldered the blame for the loss. However, on a night when the Fever turned the ball over 21 times, gave up 12 offensive rebounds and shot 35% in the second half, her head coach wouldn’t let her.“I think you like that as ownership,” Stephanie White said. “But as an athlete and as a coach and as somebody who’s been around for a long time, it doesn’t come down to one singular thing. Like we know that. She’s disappointed in herself certainly, as I’m sure a lot of our players are. But we got to use it as fuel.“And she’s going to be better. I know she’s going to be better on Saturday because of it. I mean she’s a competitor. She’s a fighter…But it doesn’t come down to one thing and I know, again, it’s easy to look at it and think that it does, but it was a collection of things. If we cut our turnovers in half, it’s a different ballgame.”  #Caitlin #Clark #takes #blame #wild #Fever #loss #Aces #happen

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