Sports briefs
Steelers add 9 to practice squad
Pittsburgh announced its practice squad on Wednesday, including eight who were released in the final roster cutdown.
The Steelers added former Dallas cornerback Anthony Brown.
Cornerback Luq Barcoo, running back Greg Bell, defensive linemen Breiden Fehoko and Jonathan Marshall, receiver Dez Fitzpatrick, linebacker David Perales, safety Trenton Thompson and tight end Rodney Williams were signed to the practice squad.
Pittsburgh released punter Braden Mann on Wednesday. The Steelers currently have 52 players on their roster, but will add another prior to their Sept. 10 home opener against San Francisco.
Girls soccer
Taylor Ramsdell’s brace came within one minute of each other, as Charleroi blanked Chartiers-Houston, 3-0, on Wednesday in Class 1A Section 2 play.
The Cougars and Buccaneers were scoreless the first 36 minutes before Ramsdell connected. Bella Carroto and Rhianna Grogan assisted on Ramsdell’s tallies.
Carroto finished off a corner kick that was sent in from Camryn Musser with 24 minutes remaining in the match.
- Emily Kisner scored two second-half goals and Cassidy Sicchitano earned a clean sheet in Bentworth’s 2-0 victory in Class A Section 2 play at Waynesburg Wednesday night.
- Laurel Highlands rallied for a 2-1 victory over Belle Vernon in Class 3A Section 2 action.
Grace West scored in the first half for a 1-0 lead that the Leopards took into halftime.
The Mustangs scored both of their goals in the second half.
Abby Showman made six saves for Belle Vernon, who host Charleroi Saturday.
Boys soccer
Canon-McMillan edged Peters Township, 2-1, on Tuesday night in Class 4A Section 2.
Alex Parise set up Blake Gabelhart for the Indians’ goal. Peters Township played the last 20 minutes of the match with 10 players.
- Montour blanked South Fayette, 1-0, in a Class 3A Section 2 match on Wednesday evening at Montour.
U.S. Open
Novak Djokovic and Iga Swiatek rolled to straight-set victories to move into the third round at the U.S. Open on Wednesday, fighting not only their opponents but sticky, 85-degree Fahrenheit weather on the hottest day at the tournament so far.
Swiatek, the top-seeded defending champion from Poland, had only slightly more trouble in her 6-3, 6-4 victory over 322nd-ranked Australian Daria Saville in Louis Armstrong Stadium. Swiatek has never lost in a major to a player outside the top 100.
In the biggest upset of the day, seventh-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas fell in the second round to 128th-ranked Swiss qualifier Dominic Stricker 7-5, 6-7 (2), 6-7 (5) 7-6 (6), 6-3.
Ending the four-hour match with a forehand winner that just caught the baseline, Stricker raised his hands and flopped on his back to celebrate his first-ever victory over a top-10 player in only his third Grand Slam appearance.
Cubs edge Brewers
Cody Bellinger drove in the tiebreaking run with a ricochet infield single in the eighth inning and the Chicago Cubs beat Milwaukee 3-2 on Wednesday to pull within three games of the first-place Brewers in the NL Central.
Bellinger’s sharply hit ball up the middle glanced off the right ankle of reliever Joel Payamps and to third baseman Andruw Monasterio. Bellinger beat out Monasterio’s throw, allowing Mike Tauchman to score from third. It was Chicago’s third and final hit of the game.
After dropping the first game of the series Monday, the Cubs came back to take the next two with solid pitching and defense. At 71-62, Chicago is a season-high nine games above .500.
Bellinger, with 18 RBI in his last 12 games and a major league-leading 54 since July, has helped lead Chicago’s climb back into the playoff picture.
Reds top Giants
Christian Encarnacion-Strand homered and drove in three runs in his first four-hit game in the majors, and the Cincinnati Reds beat the San Francisco Giants 4-1 on Wednesday to avoid a three-game sweep.
Encarnacion-Strand, a Bay Area native who played at College Park High School in Pleasant Hill, finished a triple shy of the cycle.
Elly De La Cruz and Luke Maile each had two hits, and Hunter Greene outdueled Logan Webb in his first career start against San Francisco.
Greene (3-6) struck out six in 5 1/3 innings in his first win since June 17. The right-hander, who missed much of this season with a right hip injury, allowed an unearned run and three hits.
Guardians rally past Twins
The Cleveland Guardians aren’t conceding, despite all that has gone wrong for the defending AL Central champions this season.
Kole Calhoun, of all players, sure won’t allow it.
Calhoun hit a three-run home run in the 10th inning to cap a late comeback against the Minnesota bullpen, and the Guardians beat the Twins 5-2 on Wednesday to trim their division deficit to five games.
The 35-year-old outfielder, who has been playing first base out of necessity after three other organizations let him go this season, hit an 11th-inning tiebreaking double Sunday at Toronto to give the Guardians (64-70) that series win. They went 4-2 on this road trip.
Five relievers had a hand in squandering another stellar start by Sonny Gray, who gave the Twins seven scoreless innings. Emilio Pagán (5-2) took the loss despite pitching the best of the bunch. He got the first two outs in the 10th and intentionally walked José Ramírez before yielding to rookie Kody Funderburk, who made his major league debut Monday with two perfect innings against the Guardians.
Calhoun crushed his 3-0 fastball into the seats behind right-center, prompting a collective sigh from the crowd of 20,169.