JUPITER, Fla. (AP) — Top prospect Konnor Griffin homered for the third time this spring in the first inning of the Pittsburgh Pirates' matchup with the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday.
The 19-year-old Griffin, ranked as MLB Pipeline's No. 1 prospect, started at shortstop for the Pirates and hit a two-run shot off Kyle Leahy to give Pittsburgh a 2-0 lead.
Griffin went deep twice against the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday.
The Pirates drafted Griffin in the first round in 2024. He reached Double-A last year, where he hit .337 with a .960 OPS in 21 games for Altoona.
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FILE - Pittsburgh Pirates' Konnor Griffin plays during a spring training baseball game, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026, in Clearwater. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum,File)
BERLIN (AP) — Jamie Leweling scored twice and Stuttgart routed Wolfsburg 4-0 to boost its chances of Champions League qualification while leaving the visitors in the Bundesliga’s relegation zone on Sunday.
Deniz Undav started Stuttgart’s party in the 21st and Leweling made it 2-0 nine minutes later after another well-worked team move, before grabbing his second with a deflected shot in the 42nd.
Stuttgart eased up in the second half. Substitute Nikolas Nartey completed the scoring in stoppage time with another deflected shot that squirmed in off the far post.
Stuttgart consolidated fourth place, the last for Champions League qualification, with 10 rounds remaining. Leipzig was five points behind Stuttgart before its game at Hamburger SV later Sunday. Bayer Leverkusen was six points behind Stuttgart before visiting Hamburg for their postponed 17th-round game on Wednesday.
Wolfsburg dropped to second-last after its fifth defeat from a run of seven games without a win. The Volkswagen-backed team’s coach Daniel Bauer is its second this season after he took over – initially on an interim basis – from the fired Paul Simonis in November.
Traveling Wolfsburg fans brought a giant banner saying “relegation fight,” as if they needed to inform the players of their predicament.
Fares Chaibi scored one goal and set up the other for Eintracht Frankfurt to beat Freiburg 2-0 and leapfrog the visitors into seventh place.
Both goals came in the second half with Chaibi setting up Jean-Matteo Bahoya to seal the win in the 81st.
It’s the second win from two at home without conceding a goal under new coach Albert Riera. Frankfurt’s only defeat in four games under the Spanish coach was a 3-2 loss at Bayern Munich last weekend.
Bayern is the heavy favorite to win the league again after its 3-2 win over closest rival Borussia Dortmund in Der Klassiker on Saturday.
The Bavarian powerhouse is 11 points clear and has only dropped points in four games from 24 so far this season.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Wolfsburg's Adam Daghim, left, in action against Stuttgart's Adam Daghim during the German Bundesliga soccer match between VfB Stuttgart and VfL Wolfsburg in Stuttgart, Germany, Sunday, March 1, 2026. (Harry Langer/dpa via AP)
Stuttgart's Nikolas Nartey, center, scores during the German Bundesliga soccer match between VfB Stuttgart and VfL Wolfsburg in Stuttgart, Germany, Sunday, March 1, 2026. (Harry Langer/dpa via AP)
Wolfsburg's Konstantinos Koulierakis, left, in action against Stuttgart's Ermedin Demirovic during the German Bundesliga soccer match between VfB Stuttgart and VfL Wolfsburg in Stuttgart, Germany, Sunday, March 1, 2026. (Harry Langer/dpa via AP)
Stuttgart's Deniz Undav celebrates after scoring during the German Bundesliga soccer match between VfB Stuttgart and VfL Wolfsburg in Stuttgart, Germany, Sunday, March 1, 2026. (Harry Langer/dpa via AP)
Stuttgart's Jamie Leweling, right, celebrates after scoring during the German Bundesliga soccer match between VfB Stuttgart and VfL Wolfsburg in Stuttgart, Germany, Sunday, March 1, 2026. (Harry Langer/dpa via AP)
