First Call: Najee Harris called top-10 in NFL; Jose Quintana shines in Cardinals debut; Joe Musgrove's struggles mount

A former NFL star at running back has a favorable view of Steelers’ 2021 first-round pick Najee Harris. Jose Quintana was great in his first start after leaving the Pirates.

Another ex-Pirate, Joe Musgrove, is going through tougher times. And a former Penguin is getting a coaching job.

All that in Friday’s “First Call.”

Number nine for Najee

NFL.com’s Maurice Jones-Drew released his rankings of the NFL’s top running backs. He chose every franchise’s top ball carrier and listed them 1-32.

Steelers running back Najee Harris was listed ninth. That was one spot behind Los Angeles Chargers standout Austin Eckler and one spot in front of Carolina Panthers star Christian McCaffery.

Here is Jones-Drew’s assessment of Harris:

“With a player not named Ben Roethlisberger under center on a permanent basis for the first time since 2003, the Steelers’ offense is primed to go through No. 22. He had an outstanding rookie campaign with zero fumbles on 381 regular-season touches. He’s durable and poised to lead the unit in the run game while also providing a big boost in the pass game.”

Jones-Drew mentioned the durability of Harris. It was a trademark of his rookie season. But Harris hasn’t practiced at training camp since Monday after being stepped on during a drill at Saint Vincent College.

Quintana’s quality start

Former Pirates pitcher Jose Quintana was stellar in his first start with the St. Louis Cardinals.

The ex-Pirate was dealt to St. Louis on Monday along with Chris Stratton. In exchange, the Pirates were given right-handed pitcher Johan Oviedo and minor league infielder Malcom Nunez.

Quintana debuted against the Chicago Cubs Thursday night in the second game of a doubleheader. He twirled six innings of one-hit ball. The only big mistake that Quintana made was allowing a solo homer to Chicago’s Patrick Wisdom. Aside from that, Quintana yielded just two walks while striking out seven. His ERA dropped to 3.39, and the Cardinals won the game 7-2.

Stratton closed out the game with no runs allowed in the ninth. St. Louis also won the first game 4-3. The two wins for the Cardinals, coupled with the Milwaukee Brewers’ loss to the Pirates, elevated the Cards into a first-place tie atop the National League Central with Milwaukee at 57-48.

Musgrove mess

Despite signing a $100 million contract recently, things haven’t been great on the mound for former Pirate Joe Musgrove.

On Thursday, the Padres starter dropped his fifth straight decision. It was a 7-3 loss to the Colorado Rockies. Musgrove started the year 8-0 with a 1.59 ERA. He’s now 8-5 with an ERA of 3.00. The loss he endured against the Rockies featured six earned runs allowed, eight hits and one walk.

In the game, another newly acquired former Pirate, Josh Bell, had two hits for the Padres. So did his fellow ex-Washington National teammate Juan Soto. He doubled and tripled. But neither player homered.

Blossoming in Baltimore

The Pirates are heading to Baltimore to play the Orioles for three games, starting Friday night. The timing seems pretty good for the Pirates. They have won three in a row and just finished a sweep of the Brewers.

But the Orioles just completed a sweep, too, taking three in a row from the Texas Rangers. After winning seven of 10, the surprising O’s are 54-51. That’s only good for fourth place in the stacked American League East. They are two games out of a wild-card spot.

Baltimore has been very good at Camden Yards as well, posting a 29-20 record so far.

From the ice to the bench

A former Pittsburgh Penguin has a new job coaching.

It’s ex-Penguin forward Rob Klinkhammer. He’ll be joining the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs as an assistant coach. Klinkhammer joins another former IceHog in Jared Nightingale on head coach Anders Sorensen’s staff.

We're bringing the into 2022-23! We welcome back @Bobbyklink as an assistant coach!

Full : https://t.co/fEfcs2toRX pic.twitter.com/yWbPT95RE4

— Rockford IceHogs (@goicehogs) August 4, 2022

Klinkhammer played in Rockford when he was in the minor leagues. He only played 10 games with the Penguins netting a goal and two assists during the 2014-15 season. He also played with Chicago, Ottawa, Arizona/Phoenix and Edmonton.

Klinkhammer had some success internationally. He finished his playing career in the KHL in Russia, including winning the Gagarin Cup in 2018. Last year, he had six goals and 10 assists in 41 games with the Moscow Dynamo. He also won the bronze medal with Team Canada at the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang.