October 6, 2022 3:50 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Minnesota’s Luis Arraez finished with the lowest average for an American League batting champion since 1968, and the Mets’ Jeff McNeil won the National League title. The New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge missed out on a Triple Crown, edged by Arraez .316 to .311 for the AL title after sitting out the final day of the regular season. McNeil sat out until the eighth inning and made it first-time batting champions in both leagues, his .326 average one point ahead of the Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman. Arraez’s average was the lowest for an AL batting champion since Boston’s Carl Yastrzemski at .301 in 1968.
October 6, 2022 3:49 am
The owner of a sports memorabilia auction house says he has offered $2 million to the fan who caught Aaron Judge’s American League-record 62nd home run. JP Cohen, president of Memory Lane Inc. in Tustin, California, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he has texted and emailed Cory Youmans, who caught Judge’s milestone shot Tuesday night at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. Cohen says Youmans has not yet replied. Youmans grabbed the historic souvenir on the fly as it sailed into the front row of section 31 in left field.
October 5, 2022 3:57 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Albert Pujols drove in two more runs and the St. Louis Cardinals went on to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-7 in 10 innings Tuesday night. Pujols hit a two-run single in the third inning to push his career total to 2,218 RBIs. That came a night after he broke a tie with Babe Ruth for second place on the career list. Hank Aaron holds the record with 2,287. Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol then removed the 42-year-old Pujols at the end of the inning. St. Louis opens postseason play Friday when it hosts a best-of-three National League wild-card series. Juan Yepez gave the Cardinals the win when he hit a tiebreaking single with one in the 10th inning.
October 5, 2022 3:50 am
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) – Yankees slugger Aaron Judge led off the nightcap with his American League-record 62nd home run and Gerrit Cole set the franchise single-season strikeouts record even as New York lost 3-2 in Texas for a doubleheader split. Leody Taveras hit a two-run homer for the Rangers in the fifth inning of the second game Tuesday night. Texas had lost 5-4 in the opener to extend its losing streak to seven games. Judge drove the third pitch of second game into the first row of seats in left field to end his long, tiring chase to break Maris’ mark that had stood since 1961. He had gone 1 for 5 with a single and scored the decisive run in the opener.
October 5, 2022 3:53 am
The entire Major League Baseball playoff picture is now set. The four matchups in the wild-card round were locked in Tuesday night, right before the last day of the regular season. Every series starts Friday and is a best two of three. Plus, the higher seed will host every game. In the National League, the San Diego Padres visit the New York Mets while the Philadelphia Phillies play at the St. Louis Cardinals. In the American League, the Seattle Mariners visit the Toronto Blue Jays while the Tampa Bay Rays play at the Cleveland Guardians. The postseason was expanded from 10 teams last year to 12 this season.
October 5, 2022 2:32 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – The Kenny Pickett era is officially underway in Pittsburgh. The rookie quarterback will make his first career start when the Steelers visit Buffalo. Pickett was the 20th overall pick in the draft. He made his regular-season debut in the second half of a 24-20 loss to the New York Jets on Sunday. Pickett ran for two touchdowns but also threw three interceptions, including a pick late in the fourth quarter that set up New York’s game-winning drive. Pickett replaces Mitch Trubisky, who was signed in the offseason but benched against the Jets as coach Mike Tomlin looked for a spark.
October 4, 2022 3:49 am
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) – Deebo Samuel turned a short catch into an electric 57-yard touchdown, Talanoa Hufanga returned an interception for a score and the San Francisco 49ers beat the Los Angeles Rams 24-9. Jeff Wilson Jr. also scored on a 32-yard run that gave the Niners their seventh straight regular-season win over their in-state rivals. The Rams won the matchup that meant most in last season’s NFC championship game on the way to a Super Bowl title, but this meeting looked more like their recent regular-season meetings. San Francisco used a relentless defense to slow down coach Sean McVay’s offense and got enough big plays for the win.
October 4, 2022 3:57 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Albert Pujols hit his 703rd home run, breaking a tie with Babe Ruth for second place in career RBIs, but the St. Louis Cardinals lost to Pittsburgh 3-2 when the Pirates drew four consecutive walks in the ninth inning to force home the winning run. The 42-year-old slugger connected off right-hander Mitch Keller, pulling a two-run shot into the left-field stands to snap a scoreless tie in the sixth. It was Pujols’ 35th career home run at PNC Park, his most at any visiting ballpark. The drive gave him 2,216 RBIs, passing Ruth on the all-time list. Hank Aaron holds the record with 2,297.
October 4, 2022 3:51 am
HOUSTON (AP) – Aaron Nola took a perfect game into the seventh inning and Kyle Schwarber homered twice as the Philadelphia Phillies clinched their first playoff berth in 11 years with a 3-0 win over the Houston Astros Monday night. Philadelphia’s postseason drought was the longest active one in the majors after the Seattle Mariners clinched their first playoff berth in 21 years Friday night.
October 4, 2022 3:54 am
CHICAGO (AP) – Tony La Russa stepped down as manager of the Chicago White Sox because of a pair of health issues. The announcement ends a disappointing two-year run in the same spot where the Hall of Famer got his first job as a big league skipper. La Russa is a three-time World Series champion who turns 78 on Tuesday. He left the team on Aug. 30 because of issues with a pacemaker that was implanted in February. La Russa says a different, previously diagnosed health problem led to his departure. La Russa directed Chicago to the AL Central title last year, but the team fell short of expectations this season.
