The Pittsburgh Steelers have signed Pro Bowl fullback Roosevelt Nix to a four-year contract.
The 25-year-old Nix played in all 16 games for the AFC North champions this season. Used primarily as a blocking back for All-Pro Le’Veon Bell
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Nix initially signed a reserve/futures contract with the Steelers in January, 2015 and gradually worked his way into a starting job. He’s played 41 of a possible 48 regular season games during his time in Pittsburgh.
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Matt Carpenter had a hunch a fastball was coming. When the pitch arrived, he delivered.
Carpenter hit a tiebreaking solo homer with two out in the ninth, helping the St. Louis Cardinals edge the Philadelphia Phillies 7-6 on Tuesday night.
Carpenter also had a tying two-run double in St. Louis’ four-run seventh. Tommy Pham homered and singled for the Cardinals, and Kolten Wong also went deep.
Odubel Herrera and Carlos Santana connected for the Phillies.
Seranthony Dominguez (1-1) struck out the first two batters in the ninth and had Carpenter in a 0-2 hole. But Carpenter lined the next pitch, a 98-mph fastball, over the wall in right to extend his homer streak to three games.
Carpenter noticed Dominguez shake off catcher Jorge Alfaro just before the 0-2 pitch and believed the right-hander wanted to throw a fastball.
”I wouldn’t say I sold out for it, but I was ready for it
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A hard-throwing rookie, Dominguez began his career by tossing 15 2/3 scoreless innings and entered with 27 strikeouts and a 1.27 ERA in 21 1/3 innings.
”You have to step in the box ready to go,” Carpenter said.
Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said Dominguez’s pace actually helped Carpenter.
”You’ve got a guy with that live of an arm, you just need to get the barrel to it,” Matheny said. ”It was a nice swing path.”
The Cardinals trailed 4-2 before rallying against Vince Velasquez and Tommy Hunter.
Velasquez got the first out of the seventh before a single and hit batsman brought manager Gabe Kapler to the mound. Hunter got pinch-hitter Greg Garcia to line out to left before Carpenter doubled, Pham singled and Jose Martinez made it 6-4 with another two-run double.
The Phillies tied it in the eighth on Rhys Hoskins‘ two-run double. Austin Gomber started the inning, but was lifted for Jordan Hicks (3-1) with two out and runners on first and second. Three of Hicks’ four pitches to Hoskins were fastballs that registered at least 100 mph, but the slugger drove the final 101-mph heater into the gap in right-center.
Hicks pitched a perfect ninth
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”Frustrating game to lose, obviously,” Kapler said.
The Phillies opened the scoring with Santana’s RBI groundout in the first. Pham extended his career-best hitting streak to 13 games with a two-out homer to deep left in the third, tying it at 1.
Herrera continued his hot hitting against St. Louis by driving the first pitch he saw in the third, a 79-mph curveball, into the seats in right for a 2-1 Phillies lead.
Cesar Hernandez’s bases-loaded walk in the fourth made it 3-1, but Philadelphia wasted a chance for more when Luke Weaver got Hoskins to pop out to shortstop before fanning Herrera to leave the bases full.
BAD BREAK
The Phillies also lost infielder J.P. Crawford for four to six weeks when he was hit by a Weaver pitch in the fourth
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”It’s really tough,” Kapler said. ”I feel for him the man. I feel for him the player.”
ROAD RAKING
Carpenter has hits in 12 straight road games and is batting .412 with six homers and 11 RBIs over that streak.
FOR STARTERS
The Cardinals’ rally took Weaver off the hook. Weaver was in line for his fifth straight loss when he left after permitting four runs and six hits in five innings.
Velasquez was charged with four runs and four hits in 6 1/3 innings. He struck out eight and walked three.
CRAZY ABOUT CARDS
Herrera is batting .360 with five homers and 21 RBIs in 25 career games against the Cardinals.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Cardinals: RHP Matt Bowman (blister right hand) was placed on the 10-day disabled list and replaced by RHP Greg Holland. Holland pitched a perfect seventh with a pair of strikeouts.
Phillies: OF Nick Williams suffered a broken nose in the field on Monday night, and Kapler said after Tuesday’s game that Williams would go through concussion protocol on Wednesday before getting clearance to play.
UP NEXT
Cardinals RHP Michael Wacha (8-2, 3.24 ERA) will oppose Phillies RHP Jake Arrieta (5-5, 3.33 ERA) in the series finale Wednesday afternoon. Wacha had his career-best eight-game winning streak snapped in a 13-5 loss to the Cubs in his last start. Arrieta will try to help the Phillies win their first series over St. Louis since August 24, 2014.
