CINCINNATI (AP) — Sal Stewart hit a two-run homer, had four RBIs, and scored the winning run as the Cincinnati Reds rallied to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-7 on Friday night.
Stewart’s two-run single off Wilber Dotel (1-4) in the eighth tied the score 7-7. Stewart scored the go-ahead run from third on Brandon Lowe’s fielding error.
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Cincinnati Reds' Hunter Greene pitches during the first inning of a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Friday, July 31, 2026, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Tanner Pearson)
Pittsburgh Pirates' Jake Mangum celebrates after a solo home run during the second inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds on Friday, July 31, 2026 in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Tanner Pearson)
Cincinnati Reds' JJ Bleday rounds the bases on a solo home run during the third inning of a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Friday, July 31, 2026, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Tanner Pearson)
Cincinnati Reds' Hunter Greene pitches during the third inning of a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday, July 31, 2026 in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Tanner Pearson)
Pittsburgh Pirates' Paul Skenes pitches during the third inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds on Friday, July 31, 2026 in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Tanner Pearson)
Emilio Pagán (4-1) struck out one in one inning for Cincinnati.
The Pirates trailed 5-4 with two outs in the eighth, but three straight RBI singles by Henry Davis, Jake Mangum and Lowe put them ahead 7-5.
Reds right-hander Hunter Greene, who's been mentioned in trade speculation, made his fifth start since coming off the injured list and allowed four earned runs on seven hits with two walks and four strikeouts.
Nick Gonzales' first-inning single with the bases loaded drove in two runs to put Pittsburgh ahead 2-0.
Pirates right-hander Paul Skenes was 5-0 with a 1.38 ERA in seven career starts against Cincinnati, but he struggled on Friday. Skenes allowed five earned runs on seven hits with a season-high four walks and seven strikeouts.
He needed 36 pitches to get through the first inning. Tyler Stephenson doubled home JJ Bleday with the Reds' first run. Stephenson scored the tying run on Nathaniel Lowe's single.
Mangum's third home run of the season and first since July 9 put the Pirates ahead 3-2 in the second.
Bleday tied the score 3-3 with his 19th home run on Skenes' first offering with one out in the third.
Stewart's home run in the fourth inning put the Reds ahead 5-3. It was his 23rd of the season, tying him with Spencer Steer for third-most for a Reds rookie, one behind Joey Votto who hit 24 in 2008.
Pirates RHP Braxton Ashcraft (10-4, 4.05 ERA) will oppose Reds LHP Andrew Abbott (5-6, 3.85) on Saturday night.
Cincinnati Reds' Hunter Greene pitches during the first inning of a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Friday, July 31, 2026, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Tanner Pearson)
Pittsburgh Pirates' Jake Mangum celebrates after a solo home run during the second inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds on Friday, July 31, 2026 in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Tanner Pearson)
Cincinnati Reds' JJ Bleday rounds the bases on a solo home run during the third inning of a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Friday, July 31, 2026, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Tanner Pearson)
Cincinnati Reds' Hunter Greene pitches during the third inning of a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday, July 31, 2026 in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Tanner Pearson)
Pittsburgh Pirates' Paul Skenes pitches during the third inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds on Friday, July 31, 2026 in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Tanner Pearson)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A judge in Colorado and a Nashville chancellor issued rulings Friday that will give 30 basketball players a fifth season of eligibility and prevent the NCAA from keeping them out of the transfer portal.
I’Ashea Myles of the Davidson County Chancery Court issued a temporary injunction to Jalen Washington and 18 other players to retain their eligibility.
“Defendant shall recognize Plaintiffs as eligible for the 2026–2027 basketball season and shall not deny or impede their recruitment, transfer, or certification on the basis of the challenged eligibility determination,” Myles wrote in her 33-page ruling.
A few hours later, U.S. District Court Judge Charlotte N. Sweeney in Colorado granted a preliminary injunction giving student-athletes from the high school Class of 2022 another year of eligibility for the upcoming school year. Former Minnesota basketball player Cade Tyson was among the 12 athletes named in the Colorado case.
Sweeney ruled that the injunction should cover the entire class of 2022 high school graduates facing similar circumstances.
Myles, who heard motion arguments July 22, also ordered that the transfer portal open at noon Monday until 8 a.m. on Aug. 10 for any player wanting to enter and schools wanting to reach out.
The NCAA referred The Associated Press to a statement from President Charlie Baker on X on proposed legislation to regulate college sports. Baker called the “chaos” from Friday's rulings are why it's “long past time” leaders in college sports call for the immediate passage of the Protect College Sports Act.
“Failed professionals will continue to use college sports as a fallback option — robbing the next class of young athletes of college scholarships," Baker said.
On June 23, the NCAA approved a new eligibility model for Division I athletes that will allow five seasons of competition over a five-year period that begins with their full-time enrollment or the academic year following their 19th birthday, whichever occurs first.
Washington, who played last season at Vanderbilt, was the lead plaintiff in the complaint filed July 6 by the Texas Trial Group seeking the injunction. Others include Chendall Weaver, last at Texas; A.J. Storr, Mississippi; Jason Edwards, Providence; Daniel Egbuniwe, St. Bonaventure; and Zachary Davis, Memphis.
“On the eve of congressional consideration of the Protect College Sports Act, the NCAA points to its inevitable judicial losses as evidence that Congress should grant it broader legal protections,” the Texas Trial Group said in a statement to The Associated Press.
"The timing is difficult to ignore. First create the litigation. Then point to the litigation as the reason judicial oversight should be curtailed. No one should be surprised to learn that Mr. Baker is a career politician paid millions of dollars a year to essentially running a lobbying campaign under the guise of a `voluntary association.'”
Myles wrote in her 33-page ruling granting the injunction that “the NCAA has not applied the challenged eligibility rules uniformly among similarly situated student-athletes" with a pattern of extending years of eligibility to “certain groups of players.”
She noted a waiver for the 2025-26 season for those who played at least one season at a junior college or NAIA school, and Myles wrote each plaintiff played against students who got waivers to play additional seasons or attended junior colleges.
The chancellor's order also enjoined the NCAA from enforcing its rule of restitution against the athletes and colleges they play for this season.
AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
FILE - Vanderbilt forward Jalen Washington (13) shoots the ball past Arkansas forward Malique Ewin, right, during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the final of the Southeastern Conference tournament March 15, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV, File)
