October 21, 2020 3:51 am
\ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) – The Los Angeles Dodgers are three wins away from their first World Series title in 32 years. Cody Bellinger and Mookie Betts homered to support Clayton Kershaw as the Dodgers whipped the Tampa Bay Rays, 8-3 at Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas. The Dodgers went ahead, 2-0 on Bellinger’s two-run homer in the fourth before tacking on four more runs in the fifth. Bellinger was fit to play after suffering a right shoulder injury while celebrating his tiebreaking home run in Game 7 of the NLCS two nights earlier. Bellinger went deep off Tyler Glasnow, who struggled with his command. Glasnow was reached for six runs on three hits and six walks in 4 1/3 innings. Kevin Kiermaier’s solo blast in the fifth pushed Tampa Bay within a run before Betts scored on a fielder’s choice in the bottom half to restore L.A.’s two-run lead. Will Smith, Chris Taylor and Kike Hernandez followed with RBI singles. Betts led off the bottom of the sixth with a blast to widen the gap. Justin Turner and Max Muncy added consecutive doubles to give Los Angeles an 8-1 lead. Kershaw limited the Rays to two hits and a walk while striking out eight over six innings. Kershaw is 3-1 this postseason.
October 21, 2020 3:53 am
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) – Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred says he hopes to keep two of this year’s innovations: expanded playoffs and starting extra innings with runners on second base.
Manfred also says the 30 teams combined for $3 billion in operating losses due the pandemic, which caused all 898 regular-season games to be played in empty ballparks without fans.
After opening day was delayed from March 26 to July 23, MLB and the players’ association agreed to expand the number of teams in the playoffs from 10 to 16. Manfred has previously advocated a future expansion of the playoffs to 14 teams.
October 20, 2020 3:48 am
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) – The Kansas City Chiefs controlled time of possession in Buffalo on Monday while improving to 5-1 this season. Patrick Mahomes and Clyde Edwards-Helaire highlighted a Chiefs attack that gained 466 total yards in a 26-17 win over the Bills. Mahomes was 21 of 26 for 225 yards, including a pair of scoring strikes to Travis Kelce. Edwards-Helaire provided 161 of Kansas City’s 245 yards rushing. Mahomes’ first scoring toss made him the fastest player with 90 career TD passes. Mahomes did it in his 37th game, three fewer than the old mark held by Dan Marino. The 4-2 Bills managed just 206 yards in suffering their second straight loss. Josh Allen was 14 of 27 passing for 122 yards, two TDs and one interception. Meanwhile, It was a nice homecoming of sorts for quarterback Kyler Murray and head coach Kliff Kingsbury as the Arizona Cardinals hammered the Dallas Cowboys to improve to 4-2. Murray passed for two touchdowns and ran for a third in the Cardinals’ 38-10 dismantling of the Cowboys. The Dallas native misfired on eight of his first 11 passes and finished 9 of 24 for 188 yards. But Murray hit Christian Kirk in stride on an 80-yard touchdown for a 21-0 lead in the second quarter. Murray also ran for 74 yards as Arizona won their second straight since losing two in a row. Kingsbury picked up his first win in the Longhorn State since being fired by Texas Tech two years ago. It was a tough night for Ezekiel Elliott, who set up the first two Arizona TDs with fumbles and finished with just 49 yards on 12 carries. Andy Dalton also struggled for Dallas in his first start since replacing injured quarterback Dak Prescott, completing 34 or 54 passes for 266 yards and two interceptions. Dalton didn’t get the Cowboys into the end zone until his one-yard TD toss to Amari Cooper with 2:48 remaining. Dallas still leads the NFC East despite a 2-4 record.
October 20, 2020 3:45 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – The Pittsburgh Steelers are preparing for life without linebacker Devin Bush. The second-year pro left their 38-7 win over Cleveland with what coach Mike Tomlin called a “significant” left knee injury and is likely out for the season. Robert Spillane filled in capably in Bush’s absence, getting six tackles in the first extended playing time of his career. The Steelers will likely have to find ways to get creative to make up for the loss of Bush, who had not missed a snap all season before going down. Pittsburgh travels to fellow unbeaten Tennessee this week.
October 20, 2020 3:43 am
UNDATED (AP) – Penn State says running back Journey Brown could miss the season due to a “medical condition” that was discovered during the offseason. 247 Sports first reported the eighth-ranked Nittany Lions could be without their leading rusher from 2019. The school confirmed it in a statement. Penn State opens its season Saturday at Indiana. The Nittany Lions already took a significant loss this offseason when All-America linebacker Micah Parsons opted out in August. Brown, a fourth-year junior, ran for 890 yards, 12 touchdowns and 6.8 yards per carry last season.
October 20, 2020 3:54 am
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) – The Los Angeles Dodgers and Tampa Bay Rays open the World Series Tuesday in Arlington, Texas. It’s a matchup of the top teams in each league, although the Dodgers and Rays needed seven games to win their championship series. Former Pirate Tyler Glasnow will be the Rays’ Game 1 starter, one day before Blake Snell takes the mound. Glasnow was 5-1 with a 4.08 ERA in 11 starts during the regular season and 2-1 with a 4.66 ERA in four postseason starts. The Dodgers will counter with Clayton Kershaw for the series opener. The three-time NL Cy Young Award winner is 2-1 with a 3.32 ERA in four postseason starts, leaving him with an 11-12 record in his postseason career. The Dodgers have home field advantage based on their regular-season winning percentage and will bat last in games 1, 2, 6, and 7.
October 19, 2020 3:56 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – James Conner ran for 101 yards and a touchdown and the Pittsburgh Steelers battered the Cleveland Browns in a 38-7 blowout victory. Pittsburgh improved to 5-0 for the first time since 1978 with the win. Ben Roethlisberger added 162 yards passing and a score as Pittsburgh emphatically ended Cleveland’s four-game winning streak while extending the Browns’ skid at Heinz Field to 17 and counting. The Browns (4-2) were unable to get anything going against a defense that sacked aching Baker Mayfield four times. Mayfield also threw a pair of interceptions and was pulled late in the third quarter.
October 19, 2020 3:52 am
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) – The Los Angeles Dodgers are National League champions for the 25th time after winning the last three games of their NLCS against Atlanta. The Dodgers erased deficits of 2-0 and 3-2 before completing a 4-3 win over the Braves in Game 7. Cody Bellinger gave L.A. the lead with a solo homer off Chris Martin in the seventh, one inning after Kike Hernandez tied it with a solo blast. Will Smith furnished a two-run single for the Dodgers, who will take on the Rays in the World Series beginning Tuesday. The Braves were held to three hits, none after Austin Riley’s RBI single with nobody out in the fourth inning. Atlanta had runners on second and third with no outs in the fourth before a pair of base-running blunders led to a 5-2-5-6 double play. The Braves put just one player on base the rest of the night and were robbed of a home run when right fielder Mookie Betts reached above the wall to take one away from Freddie Freeman. Winning pitcher Julio Urias retired all nine hitters he faced to get to 2-0 in the series. Although the Dodgers are in the World Series for the third time in four years, they are seeking their first championship since 1988.
October 19, 2020 4:02 am
UNDATED (AP) – Clemson is spending a seventh consecutive week atop The Associated Press college football poll. The Tigers extended their team-record run as No. 1 by crushing Georgia Tech, 73-7 in Atlanta. It was the most lopsided ACC game ever, the most points scored by Clemson in a road game and the most ever allowed by the Yellow Jackets since the modern era. Clemson picked up 54 first-place votes, while second-ranked Alabama claimed the remaining eight. Notre Dame is third, followed by Georgia, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, Penn State, Cincinnati and Florida. The Bulldogs fell one notch with Saturday’s 41-24 loss at Alabama, and North Carolina dropped from fifth to 14th with a 31-28 setback at Florida State.
October 18, 2020 3:09 am
Here’s a rundown of the weekend’s high school football results and what this week’s games mean.
6A Canon-McMillan lost at North Allegheny, 35-0. Coupled with Mt. Lebanon’s win over Norwin, the Big Macs go into the final week one game back of the Blue Devils for the final playoff spot. Canon-McMillan hosts Norwin while Mt. Lebanon visits Seneca Valley.
5A Peters Township clinched at least a share of the Allegheny Six Conference title with a 45-7 win over Bethel Park. The Indians finish the regular season at West Allegheny.
4A Trinity lost to Belle Vernon, 52-14, ending the Hillers hopes of returning to the playoffs.
2A McGuffey blanked Chartiers-Houston, 56-0, to win the Century Conference title, the Highlanders’ first championship since 1994. The win also set up a winner-take-all showdown for second place and a likely playoff berth when Frazier visits Wash High next week. Those teams each won 39-0 games–Frazier against Beth-Center and Wash High at Charleroi. Waynesburg lost a non-conference game against Ligonier Valley.
1A California beat Carmichaels Saturday night 49-20, with the Trojans taking the Tri-County South championship. Avella hosts Carmichaels next Friday with second place and a WPIAL playoff berth going to the winner. Bentworth and the West Greene at Jeff-Morgan are also alive to finish third and enter the WPIAL wild card discussions.
