Last Update on May 18, 2013 07:55 GMT

NHL-PLAYOFFS

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Sidney Crosby's latest hat trick made a goaltender disappear while helping the Pittsburgh Penguins take a 2-0 lead in the NHL's Eastern Conference semifinals.

Crosby scored the Pens' first three goals before Brenden Morrow notched the eventual game-winner in the second period of a 4-3 triumph against Ottawa. Crosby's third goal of the night chased Senators goaltender Craig Anderson, who stopped 18 of 21 shots.

Paul Martin and Kris Letang (leh-TANG') each had two assists to help the Penguins earn their fourth straight win since Tomas Vokoun replaced Marc-Andre Fleury in goal. Vokoun stopped only 19 shots but blanked the Senators over the final 17:59.

Kyle Turris, Colin Greening and Jean-Gabriel Pageau (pah-ZHOH') scored for Ottawa, which hosts Game 3 on Sunday.

MLB-LATEST SCORES

UNDATED (AP) -- The Pittsburgh Pirates took advantage of a pair of dropped fly balls to turn a 4-1 deficit into a 5-4 win over the Houston Astros.

Travis Snider scored the winning run after right fielder Jimmy Paredes collided with second baseman Jake Elmore with two out in the ninth, allowing Russell Martin's fly ball to land on the turf. Chris Carter dropped a fly to right for a three-base error in the sixth, allowing Garrett Jones to hit an RBI double. In between, Pedro Alvarez tied the game with a two-run homer before the Pirates won for the seventh time in eight tries to move a season-high eight games over .500.

Also in the majors, Paul Goldschmidt was 4-for-5 with two homers and four RBIs as Arizona hammered Miami 9-2. Eric Chavez also homered and had four hits to back Trevor Cahill, who gave up one run and five hits in eight innings.

David Freese (freez) hit a grand slam to highlight the Cardinals' six-run first in a 7-6 downing of Milwaukee. The big rally allowed St. Louis to withstand a pair of three-run homers by Aramis (ah-RAH'-mihs) Ramirez and win for the 13th time in 16 games.

Domonic Brown drove in the tiebreaking run on an infield grounder in the eighth as the Phils beat Cincinnati 5-3 to end the Reds' six-game winning streak. Cliff Lee had to settle for a no-decision, blanking the Reds until Jay Bruce hit a two-run homer in the seventh.

The Dodgers enjoyed a 4-2 lead until Justin Upton launched a grand slam in the sixth inning of Atlanta's 8-5 win over Los Angeles. Paul Maholm (mah-HAH'-luhm) gave up two earned runs and eight hits in six innings for his fifth win.

Adam LaRoche hit two towering home runs and Chad Tracy's solo shot in the 10th inning lifted the Washington Nationals to a 6-5 victory over the San Diego Padres.

Jordan Pacheco hit a grand slam and had five RBIs as Colorado outscored San Francisco 10-9. Carlos Gonzalez padded the Rockies' 11-hit attack by going 2-for-4 with a solo homer, two RBIs and three runs scored.

Matt Harvey pitched into the eighth inning and delivered the tiebreaking single as the New York Mets beat the Cubs 3-2 in Chicago. Daniel Murphy and David Wright hit solo homers to help Harvey improve to 5-0.

Hiroki Kuroda (hih-ROH'-kee kuh-ROH'-dah) tossed two-hit ball while striking out five over eight innings of the New York Yankees' 5-0 shutout of Toronto. Losing pitcher Mark Buehrle (BUR'-lee) fell to 1-10 in 15 starts against the Yankees.

Kelly Johnson smacked a three-run homer and had four RBIs while Tampa Bay was building a 12-4 lead in a 12-10 win at Baltimore. Yunel Escobar (yoo-NEHL' EHS'-koh-bahr) had three hits and three RBIs to back Jeremy Hellickson, who became the second pitcher in Rays history to win a game despite allowing eight runs.

Boston has a three-game winning streak after Jonny Gomes (gohmz) lifted a sacrifice fly in the 10th inning to give the Red Sox a 3-2 win at Minnesota. Bosox designated hitter David Ortiz is hitting .344 after going 3-for-4 with an RBI.

Miguel Cabrera went 3-for-4 and doubled home the tiebreaking run in the sixth inning of Detroit's 2-1 triumph at Texas. Rick Porcello allowed a run and five hits in 5 2/3 innings to help manager Jim Leyland get his 1,699th career win.

Jason Kipnis belted a three-run homer in the bottom of the 10th to lift Cleveland past Seattle 6-3. Drew Stubbs also homered and started the winning rally with a walk before the Indians won for the 15th time in 19 games.

Josh Donaldson homered in the seventh inning before Adam Rosales hit an eighth-inning blast to give Oakland a 2-1 win over Kansas City. The homers spoiled a nice outing by Royals starter James Shields, who struck out nine and went the distance on a six-hitter.

Chris Sale struck out 12 while allowing three hits over 7 2/3 innings to pitch the Chicago White Sox past the Angels 3-0. Solo homers by Alex Rios and Adam Dunn helped Sale claim his fifth win.

MLB-NEWS

UNDATED (AP) -- Andy Pettitte has become the 13th player to land on the New York Yankees' disabled list, one day after straining an upper back muscle during a 3-2 loss to Seattle.

Vidal Nuno (NOON'-yoh) is being recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to replace Pettitte in the rotation. Nuno beat the Indians in his first major league start on Monday.

The Yankees did not place catcher Chris Stewart on the DL after he injured a groin Thursday night.

In other baseball news:

-- Right fielder Jason Heyward has been activated from the disabled list by the Braves. Friday's game marked his first appearance since his appendix was removed April 22.

-- Reid Ryan has been named president of the Houston Astros. The eldest son of Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan was the CEO of a group that owns the Triple-A Round Rock Express and Double-A Corpus Christi Hooks. His father played for the Astros from 1980-88.

-- St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Jake Westbrook has received another elbow treatment, The Associated Press has learned, likely pushing back his return. The right-hander is on the 15-day disabled list with elbow inflammation and had been scheduled to throw Friday. He told the AP he had an injection to his elbow Friday.

-- Reliever Vinnie Pestano has been activated off of the disabled list by Cleveland. The team's top set-up man went on the DL with a sore right elbow on May 1. To make room on their roster, the Indians optioned left-hander Nick Hagadone to Triple-A Columbus.

NFL-NEWS

UNDATED (AP) -- Jets running back Mike Goodson is facing drug and weapons charges after a New Jersey traffic stop. State police say Goodson was a passenger in a vehicle stopped early Friday morning. A police spokesman says both Goodson and the man driving were charged with possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia and three weapons charges stemming from a handgun found in the vehicle. Goodson played three seasons for Carolina and one for Oakland before the Jets signed him to a three-year deal in the offseason.

In other NFL news:

-- The Bears have all of their draft picks under contract after giving guard Kyle Long to a four-year package. Long was taken with the 20th pick as the Bears try to beef up a line that ranked among the worst in recent years.

-- Seattle Seahawks defensive end Bruce Irvin was suspended for the first four games of the 2013 season after the league announced he violated the NFL policy on performance-enhancing substances. Irvin will be to Seattle's active roster on Sept. 30 following the Seahawks' Week 4 game against the Texans.

-- The Oakland Raiders have signed free agent punter Chris Kluwe (KLOO'-wee) as a possible replacement for the departed Shane Lechler (LEHK'-lur). An eight-year NFL vet, Kluwe played in 127 games for the Minnesota Vikings with a 44.4 yard career average. He ranks second all-time in Minnesota history with a 37.3 net average.

PREAKNESS-BLACK EYED SUSAN

BALTIMORE (AP) --Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert and Kentucky Derby-winning jockey Joel (joh-EHL') Rosario teamed up to win the Black Eyed Susan stakes at Pimlico today with Fiftyshadesofhay.

Fiftyshadesofhay made a late move to overtake Marathon Lady to win the race for 3-year-old fillies held annually the day before the Preakness since 1919.

In the Preakness Baffert will enter Govenor Charlie. Rosario is aboard Orb, the heavy morning line favorite for the 138th Preakness Stakes.

A field of just nine will compete in the second leg of the horse racing Triple Crown tomorrow.

NBA-KINGS

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson says that a deal is in place to sell the Kings to a group led by software tycoon. Johnson helped assemble the new ownership group in a bid to keep the Kings in California's capital city, a feat that was accomplished earlier in the week when NBA owners rejected a bid to move the franchise to Seattle.

The NBA is expected to officially approve the sale next week.

GOLF-VENTURI

UNDATED (AP) -- Former U.S. Open champion Ken Venturi has died at age 82 just 12 days after he was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.

Venturi had been hospitalized the last two months for a spinal infection, pneumonia and an intestinal infection. He won the 1964 U.S. Open at Congressional despite playing with severe dehydration, and overcame a childhood stuttering problem to spend 35 years in the broadcast booth with CBS Sports.

PGA-BYRON NELSON CHAMPIONSHIP

IRVING, Texas (AP) -- Keegan Bradley remains the leader through two rounds of the PGA's Byron Nelson Championship near Dallas.

Bradley followed Thursday's course record-breaking 60 with a 1-under 69 for an 11-under total, three shots ahead of Tom Gillis and Sang-Moon Bae. John Huh, Ryan Palmer and Charl Schwartzel are four strokes back.

Teenager Guan Tianlang missed the cut following a 77 that left him 7-over.

LPGA-MOBILE BAY

MOBILE, Ala. (AP) -- Jessica Korda is the leader through two rounds of the Mobile Bay LPGA Classic after firing a 7-under-par 65 that leaves her minus-13 for the tournament. She's one ahead of Karrie Webb, who also played a bogey-free round and birdied her last three holes for a 63.

NASCAR-ALL-STAR RACE

CONCORD, N.C. (AP) -- The lineup is set for Saturday's All-Star Race and Sprint Showdown at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Carl Edwards will start from the pole for the All-Star race after posting a qualifying speed of 145.556 mph. Dale Earnhardt was second in qualifying to earn a spot in the front row, just ahead of Kurt Busch and Greg Biffle.

Martin Truex Jr. took the Sprint Showdown pole at 193.424 mph and is joined on the front row by Jamie McMurray. Juan Pablo Montoya and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. make up Row 2.