Mar 3, 2023 4 min read

Pirates play to tie

Pitching dominated Friday night as the Pittsburgh Pirates and Baltimore Orioles played to a 1-1 tie in Sarasota, Fla.

Ji-Hwan Bae started at second base and batted leadoff for the Pirates. After singling to start the game, Bae stole second base and came around to score on a Jack Suwinski single.

The Orioles’ only run scored in the bottom of the first inning when Ryan Mountcastle smacked an RBI double into the left-field corner.

Vince Velasquez made his first start on the mound for the Pirates. He allowed one run on one hit, a pair of walks and a strikeout in two innings.

David Bednar followed Velasquez, striking out a pair, the second of which came via a pitch clock violation, in a 1-2-3 inning.

The Pirates were held to four hits by six Baltimore pitchers.

In auto racing

Chase Elliott injured his left leg in a snowboarding accident in Colorado on Friday and will miss this weekend’s NASCAR race at Las Vegas.

Hendrick Motorsports said NASCAR’s most popular driver was scheduled to have surgery Friday night. Team owner Rick Hendrick didn’t immediately reply to a request by the Associated Press for more information about Elliott’s condition and the accident.

Josh Berry will drive the No. 9 Chevrolet on Sunday in place of Elliott.

“Chase’s health is our primary concern,” Hendrick said. “He’s spoken with several members of our team and is understandably disappointed to miss time in the car. Of course, he has our full support and we’ll provide any resources he needs.”

In the NBA

Paolo Banchero scored 31 points and finally got a couple shots to fall from long range to help the Orlando Magic beat the Charlotte Hornets 117-106 on Friday night.

• Jonathan Isaac’s comeback story has been sidelined again by another season-ending injury, this time a torn adductor muscle.

Isaac had surgery Friday to repair the muscle and will miss the remainder of the regular season, the Magic said. He felt discomfort on his left side Tuesday after practice, and an MRI on Wednesday showed the severity of the issue.

He played in 11 games this season, after missing 2-½ years following a serious knee injury and other setbacks. And now, he faces another period of recovery and rehabilitation.

In college football

Coach Chip Kelly has signed a two-year extension with UCLA that keeps him under contract through 2027, the school said Friday.

The Bruins were 8-4 last year and finished 21st in the final Associated Press Top 25 poll, the first time since 2014 that they had been ranked at the end of the season.

“I am excited about our football program under the leadership of Coach Kelly and his talented staff,” athletic director Martin Jarmond said in a statement. “The football program is on an upward trajectory, both on the field and in the classroom. Coach Kelly and his staff have done a tremendous job developing young men as demonstrated by their academic excellence.”

Kelly is 27-29 through five seasons in Westwood, but is 16-8 the past two years. He took over after Jim Mora Jr. was fired in 2017 and had a roster predominantly filled with underclassmen his first two seasons.

In baseball

Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. left Friday’s spring training game against Tampa Bay because of right knee discomfort.

Guerrero walked toward the clubhouse with an athletic trainer in the second inning and was replaced defensively by Rainer Nunez to start the third.