PITTSBURGH (AP) — Cole Young hit a two-run home run in the seventh inning in his first major league game in his hometown to lift the Seattle Mariners to a 3-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday night.
The 22-year-old second baseman’s drive into the right-field bleachers kept the Mariners in first place in the AL West with a 41-39 record. Young grew up in Pittsburgh’s northern suburbs and starred at North Allegheny High School.
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The Seattle Mariners' Colt Emerson (4) makes it back to first base safely as Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman Spencer Horwitz (2) catches the ball on a pick off attempt in the fifth inning of a baseball game, Tuesday, June 23, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Philip G. Pavely)
Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Mitch Keller throws a first inning pitch to the Seattle Mariners in a baseball game, Tuesday, June 23, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Philip G. Pavely)
The Seattle Mariners' Colt Emerson (4) makes it back to first base safely as Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman Spencer Horwitz (2) catches theb ball on a pick off attempt in the fifth inning of a baseball game, Tuesday, June 23, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Philip G. Pavely)
The Seattle Mariners' Cole Young celebrates a two-run home run against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the seventh inning in a baseball game, Tuesday, June 23, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Philip G. Pavely)
The Mariners’ other run came in the fourth inning when Cal Raleigh led off with a solo shot off Mitch Keller (5-5). That ended a streak of 64 plate appearances since Raleigh’s last homer on April 27.
Raleigh has just eight home runs this season after hitting a major league-high 60 last year. He was on the injured list with an oblique strain from May 14-June 15.
Young’s home run enabled George Kirby (6-7) to end a five-game losing streak and win for the first time in eight starts. Kirby allowed two runs (one earned) in six innings, allowing eight hits, striking out five and walking two.
Andrés Muñoz pitched a perfect ninth for his 14th save.
Keller remained winless in his last five starts as he gave up three runs and seven hits in six-plus innings with four strikeouts and one walk.
The Pirates took a 2-0 lead on an RBI single by Marcell Ozuna in the second inning and a throwing error by third baseman J.P. Crawford in the third.
Crawford and Josh Naylor had two hits each for the Mariners. The Pirates got two hits each from Brandon Lowe and Nick Gonzales.
Mariners RHP Bryan Woo (6-5. 3.94 ERA) faces RHP Braxton Ashcraft (6-3, 3.18) on Wednesday night.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
The Seattle Mariners' Colt Emerson (4) makes it back to first base safely as Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman Spencer Horwitz (2) catches the ball on a pick off attempt in the fifth inning of a baseball game, Tuesday, June 23, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Philip G. Pavely)
Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Mitch Keller throws a first inning pitch to the Seattle Mariners in a baseball game, Tuesday, June 23, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Philip G. Pavely)
The Seattle Mariners' Colt Emerson (4) makes it back to first base safely as Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman Spencer Horwitz (2) catches theb ball on a pick off attempt in the fifth inning of a baseball game, Tuesday, June 23, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Philip G. Pavely)
The Seattle Mariners' Cole Young celebrates a two-run home run against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the seventh inning in a baseball game, Tuesday, June 23, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Philip G. Pavely)
NEW YORK (AP) — The Washington Wizards selected forward AJ Dybantsa, who led the nation in scoring in his one season at BYU, with the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft on Tuesday night.
Dybantsa averaged 25.5 points, highlighted by a 43-point effort that broke BYU's freshman scoring record. He was the first of eight straight college freshman taken to begin the draft.
At 6-foot-9 and 217 pounds, Dybantsa has drawn comparisons to Kevin Durant, who happens to be his favorite player. Durant grew up in the Washington area, and Wizards fans can only hope Dybantsa can live up to the comparisons.
They certainly hope he will be better than center Kwame Brown, the pick Washington made in 2001, the first time it had the No. 1 selection after the NBA changed draft formats to eliminate territorial picks in 1966. The Wizards took John Wall in 2010 the other time, and he did turn into an All-Star.
He appeared to say a quick prayer after his name was announced, then went on stage to greet Commissioner Adam Silver and slipped on a black Wizards hat that matched nicely with his black suit.
Dybantsa beat out fellow freshman Darryn Peterson of Kansas, who was taken at the No. 2 pick by Utah. While some thought Peterson had the most talent in the class, the guard missed 11 games during the season because of injuries and illness, potentially creating some questions that Dybantsa didn't have.
Cameron Boozer, the college player of the year in his one season at Duke, was taken at No. 3 by Memphis. Caleb Wilson, another freshman forward from rival North Carolina, went to Chicago with the next pick.
Those players were the expected top four throughout the pre-draft process, though there was certainly a case for Peterson to go first with his promise. Or for Boozer, with his body of work after he put up 22.5 points, 10.2 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game for Duke, where his father, Carlos, also played before becoming a two-time NBA All-Star.
The uncertainty was expected to begin at No. 5. The Los Angeles Clippers acquired the rights to it after a trade with the Indiana Pacers and used it on Illinois guard Keaton Wagler. The host Brooklyn Nets then went with Louisville guard Mikel Brown Jr.
Darius Acuff Jr. to Sacramento at No. 7 and Kingston Flemings to Atlanta at No. 8 continued the run of scoring guards before Dallas went back to the bigs — and created a reunion in the process — by taking Morez Johnson Jr. from Michigan. Johnson was congratulated by national champion Michigan teammates Yaxel Lendeborg and Aday Mara, who were also in the green room, and then hugged his old and new coach. Dusty May left the Wolverines to coach the Mavericks on the eve of the draft.
Lendeborg and Mara didn't have to wait long for their turn. The Golden State Warriors took Lendenborg with the No. 11 pick and the Oklahoma City Thunder followed by going for the 7-3 Mara.
The draft is always a celebration, when all teams have hope, but the cheers seemed even more frequent than usual. They began when Silver opened his remarks by hailing the NBA champion Knicks and NBA Finals MVP Jalen Brunson, with a number of fans in Barclays Center wearing Knicks jerseys. Nets fans, who endured a miserable season watching the home team in the arena, applauded the selection of Brown, who had a 45-point performance to highlight his season that was cut short by a back injury.
The Milwaukee Bucks, who are losing two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, picked up two rookies. They took Arizona guard Brayden Burries with the No. 10 pick and are acquiring the rights to Tennessee forward Nate Ament, who was taken at No. 13 by Miami but is part of the package the Heat are sending to Milwaukee in the trade for Antetokounmpo that was agreed to Monday.
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba
Cameron Boozer, right, poses for a photo with Adam Silver, left, NBA Commissioner, after being selected by the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round of the NBA basketball draft, Tuesday, June 23, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Darryn Peterson is interviewed after being chosen by the Utah Jazz in the first round of the NBA basketball draft, Tuesday, June 23, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
AJ Dybantsa, right, poses for a photo with NBA commissioner Adam Silver, left, after being selected by the Washington Wizards as the first pick in the first round of the NBA basketball draft, Tuesday, June 23, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
AJ Dybantsa arrives for the first round of the NBA basketball draft Tuesday, June 23, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
AJ Dybantsa arrives for the first round of the NBA basketball draft Tuesday, June 23, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
Prospective draftees pose for a group photo with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, center, before the first round of the NBA basketball draft, Tuesday, June 23, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
FILE - Kansas guard Darryn Peterson (22) works against Arizona guard Jaden Bradley (0) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Arizona, Feb. 28, 2026, in Tucson, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri, File)
