Penguins 4, Blue Jackets 3: Scrappy start

Jack Johnson, right: “They’ve only won one game. They have to win four.”

PITTSBURGH — Losing a two-goal lead was hard for the Blue Jackets to take. The neutral-zone turnovers must be eliminated, the penalty kill can be sharper, and the winning goal that sailed under the right arm of goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky has to be stopped. But amid the debris of a 4-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins last night before 18,646 at the Consol Energy Center, the Blue Jackets found more than a glimmer of hope that their first-round Stanley Cup playoff series can be competitive.

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Michael Arace commentary: Jackets in bad mood after big lead slips away

PITTSBURGH — Forget the Blue Jackets’ past, and all those terrible teams, and all those mediocre teams. Forget the one playoff team they had before, the one that got swept.

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Blue Jackets notebook: Youth will help Jackets this time, Boll says

PITTSBURGH — Only three Blue Jackets players were around for the team’s other playoff appearance, a fact that makes it tough to compare this postseason with the one in 2009. But youth is on the Blue Jackets’ side this time, right wing Jared Boll said.

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Ohio State football: Defense responds to aggressive approach

There was an unmistakable air about the Ohio State defense coming out of spring practice. Call it a renewed confidence. It certainly wasn’t there in January after playing Clemson in the Orange Bowl, when the Buckeyes were blitzed by yet another strong passing game and suffered a second straight loss. Since then, coach Urban Meyer has said that Ohio State did not have a defense worthy of competing for a national championship and that he intended to fix it.

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Indians 3, Tigers 2: McAllister, Gomes key to taming Detroit

DETROIT — On a cold night at Comerica Park, Zach McAllister continued his hot pitching against a team he has seldom pitched well against.

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Reds 4, Pirates 0: Cueto takes control, strikes out 12

Billy Hamilton of the Reds steals second base in the first inning in front of the Pirates’ Neil Walker. Hamilton would later score on a wild pitch.

CINCINNATI — Johnny Cueto’s stuff ranges from good to dominant depending on the day. What never varies is Cueto’s desire to compete, to win every pitch.

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Clippers 3, Mud Hens 1: Bauer uses heater for win on cold night

TOLEDO — For the record, Trevor Bauer has pitched in colder weather than what chilled him and the Clippers to the bone last night at Fifth Third Field.

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College notebook: Minnesota State players want to keep interim coach

Players at Minnesota State-Mankato refused to practice for their former coach yesterday, greeting his reinstatement by an arbitrator by demanding that the interim coach keep the top job.

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Sports report: Jets agree to deal with former Titans running back

The New York Jets and former Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson have agreed to terms on a deal. The team announced the move but didn’t release terms.

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College football: Probe into Florida State’s Winston flawed, report says

Questions persist about how Florida State and the Tallahassee Police Department handled rape accusations involving Jameis Winston.

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Clippers: Carson happy he’s still in organization

Matt Carson, right, hit 14 home runs and batted .252 with the Clippers last season.

INDIANAPOLIS — Rain, with the grin-and-bear-it possibility of snow in mid-April, postponed a game last night between the Clippers and Indianapolis Indians at Victory Field. Clippers outfielder Matt Carson used the time before the announcement to take a round of batting practice with his teammates in the indoor cages. Bad weather in April is nothing new to Carson, who is in his second season with the Clippers and his 13th as a professional.

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Sports report: Browns sign former Bengals fullback Pressley

The Cleveland Browns signed fullback Chris Pressley, a potential lead blocker to open holes for new running back Ben Tate.

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