Pirates place Rule 5 pick reliever Veal on disabled list with a right groin strainPITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates have placed rookie left-handed reliever Donnie Veal on the 15-day disabled list due to a right groin strain. Ryan Howard hits 2 homers, including grand slam, to lift Phillies over Nationals 9-6PHILADELPHIA — Ryan Howard hit his club-record eighth career grand slam and added a solo homer to lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a 9-6 victory over the Washington Nationals on Saturday night. Swing, and a miss: Pens’ stars don’t come through as missed chances lead to 3-1 lossDETROIT — Evgeni Malkin on a breakaway, just missed. Miroslav Satan with an open net in front of him, just missed. Sidney Crosby off the post, just missed. The Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 1 of their Stanley Cup finals rematch against Detroit? Just missed. Howard hits two homers, including grand slam, to lift Phillies over Nats 9-6PHILADELPHIA — Ryan Howard hit his club-record eighth career grand slam and added a solo homer to lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a 9-6 victory over the Washington Nationals on Saturday night. Karstens pitches 7 strong innings, Pirates snap 3-game skid with 7-4 win over AstrosPITTSBURGH — Jeff Karstens pitched seven efficient innings to win for the first time in more than a month and the Pittsburgh Pirates roughed up Wandy Rodriguez, snapping a three-game skid with a 7-4 victory over the Houston Astros on Saturday night. Nationals recall INF Gonzalez from Triple-A Syracuse, option OF Maxwell to minorsPHILADELPHIA — The Washington Nationals have recalled infielder Alberto Gonzalez from Triple-A Syracuse and optioned outfielder Justin Maxwell to the minor league club. Rookie Maysonet’s 4 hits, Moehler’s complete game lead Astros past Pirates 6-1PITTSBURGH — Brian Moehler pitched his first complete game in nearly nine years and rookie Edwin Maysonet homered while going 4 for 4 and driving in four runs, helping the Houston Astros end a seven-game losing streak with a 6-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday night. Victorino has 4 of Phillies’ 16 hits in 5-4 win over NationalsPHILADELPHIA — Shane Victorino had four hits and the Philadelphia Phillies tied a season high with 16 hits in their 5-4 victory over the Washington Nationals on Friday night. Person with knowledge of talks: Jordan offered 76ers coaching jobThe Philadelphia 76ers have an agreement in principle with Eddie Jordan to become their next head coach. Phillies right-hander Brett Myers will have hip surgery, could miss seasonPHILADELPHIA — Phillies right-hander Brett Myers will have hip surgery, and he could miss the rest of the season. Penn State records show Hall of Famer Paterno makes more than $1 million a yearSTATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Penn State coach Joe Paterno is a millionaire. Expansion Philadelphia Union names national team assistant Peter Nowak as first head coachCHESTER, Pa. — Major League Soccer’s newest franchise has tapped national team assistant Peter Nowak as its first coach. Confident Penguins believe ‘08 loss prepared them for rematch with defending champ Red WingsPITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Penguins will travel Friday to the city called Hockeytown for their second Stanley Cup finals in as many seasons against Detroit, yet forgive them if they’re convinced they already live there. |