October 6, 2021 3:44 am
BOSTON (AP) – The Boston Red Sox have earned themselves a few days in Florida. The Bosox have moved into the AL Division Series by thumping the Yankees, 6-2 in the wild-card game. Xander Bogaerts and Kyle Schwarber belted early homers and Alex Verdugo drove in three runs to back a sterling performance by Nathan Eovaldi. Bogaerts set the tone with a two-run homer in the bottom of the first, two innings before Schwarber’s solo blast. Verdugo padded Boston’s lead with an RBI double and a two-run single. Eovaldi allowed a run and four hits while striking out eight over 5 1/3 innings, blanking New York until Anthony Rizzo homered in the sixth. Gerrit Cole was pulled with two on and no out in the third, charged with three runs and four hits. Giancarlo Stanton had three of New York’s six hits, including a ninth-inning homer. The ALDS begins Thursday in St. Petersburg as the Bosox take on the league-leading Tampa Bay Rays.
October 6, 2021 3:42 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Ben Cherington says he is seeing signs of improvement at the major-league level. The Pirates finished in last place in the NL Central for a third straight season while the organization focused on restocking talent at the minor league level. Cherington says the team’s relentlessness and 13-12 record over the final 25 games offered proof manager Derek Shelton’s message is getting through.
October 6, 2021 2:45 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin’s confidence in quarterback Ben Roethlisberger remains strong despite a 1-3 start. Tomlin says the 39-year-old Roethlisberger is “absolutely” the right quarterback for the Steelers. Roethlisberger has struggled with accuracy at times this season and has thrown as many interceptions as touchdowns. Tomlin says Roethlisberger is dealing with a hip injury that could limit his practice time ahead of a visit from Denver in Week 5.
October 5, 2021 3:43 am
INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) – Justin Herbert threw for three touchdowns, Austin Ekeler rushed for 117 yards and scored twice and the Los Angeles Chargers knocked the Las Vegas Raiders from the unbeaten ranks with a 28-14 victory. Los Angeles, 3-1 for the first time since 2014, is part of a three-way tie atop the AFC West with Las Vegas and Denver. The Raiders’ loss leaves the Arizona Cardinals as the NFL’s lone undefeated team after four weeks. Herbert, who completed 25 of 38 passes for 222 yards, accounted for all of his TDs in the first half as the Chargers built a 21-0 halftime lead. The Raiders scored on their first two possessions of the second half to draw within a touchdown, but Ekeler gave Los Angeles some breathing room with an 11-yard scoring run.
October 5, 2021 3:40 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – The Pittsburgh Steelers are scrambling for answers following a 1-3 start. Pittsburgh’s latest setback came in a 27-17 loss to Green Bay. The defeat dropped the Steelers two games behind AFC North rivals Cleveland, Cincinnati and Baltimore a month into the season. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger says the team needs to look inward for answers. Pittsburgh welcomes Denver to Heinz Field in Week 5.
October 5, 2021 3:46 am
Jacksonville Jaguars coach Urban Meyer has apologized to his family, his team and owner Shad Khan for actions he called “just stupid.” A video surfaced Saturday night showing a woman dancing close to Meyer’s lap. Another video appears to show Meyer touching the woman’s behind. The 57-year-old Meyer called a team meeting to address his actions and vowed to “own it.” He says his actions were “just stupid.’
October 4, 2021 3:50 am
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) – Aaron Rodgers connected with Randall Cobb for two touchdowns and ran for another score as the Green Bay Packers won their third straight, 27-17 over the Pittsburgh Steelers. Cobb caught a 23-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter to put the Packers ahead for good and scored again on a 1-yard reception that made it 27-10 in the third period. Rodgers has 420 career touchdown passes, tying Dan Marino for sixth all-time. Rodgers went 20 of 36 for 248 yards in his first home start against the Steelers, the only team he hadn’t faced at Lambeau Field. PIttsburgh has lost three straight.
October 4, 2021 3:56 am
UNDATED (AP) – The weather was poor, but the outcome was sunny for Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Brady was a winner in his return to Foxborough as he rallied the Bucs to a 19-17 win over New England. Brady was 22 of 43 for 269 yards with no touchdowns on a rainy Sunday night, but he engineered the fourth-quarter drive to beat his former team. The winning drive was capped by Ryan Succop’s 48-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter. Ronald Jones had an 8-yard scoring run for the defending Super Bowl champions. Brady broke Drew Brees’ NFL career passing yardage record and became the fourth quarterback with victories against all 32 NFL teams, joining Brees, Brett Favre and Peyton Manning. New England had a chance to win, but Nick Folk’s 56-yard field-goal try hit the left upright with with less than a minute to play. The Patriots are 1-3 for the first time since 2001, when Brady took over the offense. Patriots rookie Mac Jones finished 31 of 40 for 275 yards and two touchdowns.
October 4, 2021 3:53 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Joey Votto hit his 36th home run and the Cincinnati Reds finished their season with a 6-3 win over Pittsburgh. Rookie Reiver Sanmartin (2-0) beat the Pirates for the second time in as many starts. Cincinnati finished over .500 (83-29) over the course of a 162-game season for the first time since 2013. Pirates shortstop prospect Oneil Cruz hit his first major-league home run for the Pirates. Pittsburgh finished 61-101 while coming in last in the NL Central for the third straight season.
October 3, 2021 1:52 am
BEAVER FALLS, Pa. — The No. 11 Washington & Jefferson College football team erased a double-digit second half deficit to pick up a 24-20 victory at Geneva College in a Presidents’ Athletic Conference game on Saturday. The win improves W&J to 5-0 overall and 4-0 in PAC play. Geneva, now 2-3 overall, 2-2 in the League, built a 14-0 first-quarter lead, thanks to two grinding drives led by QB Amos Luptak. The Presidents started their comeback with a26-yard scoring pass from Justin Heacock to Andrew Wolf early in the second quarter. After forcing a punt, W&J quickly moved inside the Geneva 10 but the drive stalled out and the Red & Black settled for a 22-yard Sean Disbrow field goal to pull within 14-10 at the half. The Golden Tornadoes scored early in the third on a 47-yard pass from Luptak to Payton Schell, their second TD connection. The PAT kick was wide ride, but Geneva led 20-10. W&J’s defense held the Beaver Falls squad to just four first downs over the final 24 minutes of the game. On the Presidents’ next possession, EJ Thompson, filling in for an injured Joey Koroly, scampered in from nine yards out, to get W&J within a field goal. Wolf set up the go-ahead score, with a 26-yard punt return deep into Geneva territory. Heacock found his favorite target in the back of the endzone for the 19-yard touchdown and W&J escaped with the win.
