October 1, 2021 3:46 am
TORONTO (AP) – Aaron Judge hit two of New York’s five home runs and the Yankees extended their AL wild-card lead by beating the Toronto Blue Jays 6-2. Gleyber Torres and Anthony Rizzo also connected off Blue Jays starter Robbie Ray, and Brett Gardner added a solo homer as New York slimmed its magic number to clinch a postseason spot to two. The Yankees are two games ahead of Boston and idle Seattle, both 89-70, after the Red Sox lost to last-place Baltimore 6-2 earlier Thursday. Toronto trails New York by three games.
October 1, 2021 3:51 am
CINCINNATI (AP) – The Cincinnati Bengals won a battle of recent No. 1 picks, doing it in comeback fashion. Evan McPherson kicked a 35-yard field goal as time ran out to give the Bengals a 24-21 triumph over the Jaguars. Cincinnati trailed 14-0 at halftime before Joe Burrow led a pair of quick TD drives in the third quarter. The first player taken in the 2020 draft was 25 of 32 for 348 yards and a pair of TD passes to C.J. Uzomah. Tyler Boyd had nine receptions for 118, while Uzomah grabbed five passes for 95 yards to help the Bengals improve to 3-1. Trevor Lawrence ran for a touchdown, but the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft failed to throw a scoring pass, completing 17 of 24 for 204 yards and no interceptions for the 0-4 Jaguars.
October 1, 2021 3:44 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – The offense isn’t the only unit struggling on the Pittsburgh Steelers. The defense has looked ordinary at times during back-to-back losses to Las Vegas and Cincinnati that dropped the Steelers to 1-2. Having star outside linebacker T.J. Watt out with a groin injury has hurt Pittsburgh’s pass rush, though veteran defensive end Cam Heyward says injuries aren’t an excuse for shaky play. The Steelers will have their hands full when they visit Green Bay in Week 4.
September 30, 2021 3:48 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Willson Contreras drove in all of the Cubs’ run as Chicago beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-2 to end a seven-game losing streak. Contreras’ two-run double high off the right-field wall in the seventh inning rallied the Cubs from a 2-1 deficit. He also accounted for the game’s first run with a long sacrifice fly to center field in the fifth. Bryan Reynolds became the first Pirates player to hit two triples in a game since Josh Harrison in 2014. Pittsburgh fell to 59-99, putting the Pirates on the brink of the ninth 100-loss season in franchise history.
September 30, 2021 3:49 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Pittsburgh Pirates reliever David Bednar has revived his career with his hometown team. Bednar arrived in Pittsburgh last January as part of a deal that sent starter Joe Musgrove to the Padres. The 26-year-old from the northern Pittsburgh suburbs has evolved into one of the team’s most dependable relievers. Bednar entered the final week of the season with a 3-1 record and a 2.11 ERA in 60 appearances. He has been named the team’s pitcher of the year. Bednar says he hopes to keep the momentum going into next season.
September 30, 2021 3:52 am
UNDATED (AP) – The AL wild-card races just got a bit tighter. The Boston Red Sox are back within a game of the New York Yankees for the first wild card, with the Mariners a half-game behind the Sox and a half-game ahead of Toronto. The Red Sox’s four-game skid is over after J.D. Martinez smacked a solo homer and a two-run double in a 6-0 shutout of the Orioles. Hunter Renfroe also homered to back Nathan Eovaldi, who allowed four hits over six innings. Alex Verdugo added a two-run single in the eighth for Boston. Bo Bichette homered twice for the Blue Jays, including the tiebreaking blast in the eighth inning of their 6-5 victory over the Yankees. Marcus Semien slammed his 44th home run, breaking the single-season record for second basemen. The Jays lead the majors with 251 home runs, six off the team record. Jose Berrios retired the first 14 Yankees in order, striking out seven, before giving up three straight hits in the fifth. The Yankees had won seven in a row.
September 29, 2021 3:49 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin says he’s not going to hit the panic button with the team sitting at 1-2. Tomlin says his players have to have “tough skin” and learn quickly if they want to bounce back following home losses to Las Vegas and Cincinnati. Tomlin added quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will continue to rest rather than practice on Wednesdays in order to preserve his long-term health. The 39-year-old Roethlisberger has three touchdown passes and three interceptions through three games. Pittsburgh visits Green Bay in Week 4.
September 29, 2021 3:47 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Colin Moran hit a three-run home run and drove in four runs as the Pittsburgh Pirates dealt the Cubs their seventh straight loss, rallying to beat Chicago 8-6 on Tuesday night. Moran’s homer, his 10th of the season, to deep center field in the first inning opened the scoring. The Pirates scored four runs in the sixth for a 7-6 lead. Moran singled home an insurance run in the seventh and reached base four times. Bryan Reynolds had three hits and scored three times for Pittsburgh, which won for the second time in six games.
September 29, 2021 3:51 am
UNDATED (AP) – A 17-game winning streak has allowed the St. Louis Cardinals to wrap up the second National League wild card with five days to spare. Dylan Carlson, Nolan Arenado and Jose Rondon homered to back Adam Wainwright in the Redbirds’ 6-2 victory over the Brewers. The game was tied 2-2 in the fifth until Tyler O’Neill hit a run-scoring single, his 22nd RBI in his last 20 games. Wainwright allowed two runs and seven hits in six innings for his 17th victory. He’s won his last six decisions. St. Louis was 71-69 on Sept. 11 before the winning streak, the longest in team history and the longest in the major leagues since Cleveland took 22 in a row in 2017.
September 28, 2021 3:47 am
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) – Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott lost the handle on the ball while being rushed in the end zone, spotted the Eagles an easy touchdown and then proceeded to dismantle them. Prescott threw for three touchdowns in his first home game since he suffered an ankle injury on the same field almost a year ago, Trevon Diggs returned an interception 59 yards for a score and Dallas dominated Philadelphia 41-21 on Monday night. Except for the fumble, Prescott was efficient, going 21 of 26 for 238 yards without an interception in the first NFC East game for both teams. Ezekiel Elliott ran for a season-high 95 yards and two touchdowns, and tight end Dalton Schultz had the first two-TD game of his career. Prescott’s first game at AT&T Stadium since the season-ending compound fracture and dislocation of his right ankle in Week 5 last year against the New York Giants was also the return to full capacity, with 93,267 inside and the retractable roof open at the $1.2 billion facility.
