October 13, 2021 3:47 am
UNDATED (AP) – Three down, one to go in baseball’s Division Series. The Astros have moved on to the AL Championship Series against the Boston Red Sox, and the Atlanta Braves have earned a spot in the NLCS. Jose Altuve belted a three-run homer, scored four times and stole a base as the Astros eliminated the White Sox in Game 4 of the Division Series, 10-1. The rout puts the Astros in the ALCS for a fifth straight season. Carlos Correa and Alex Bregman each hit a two-run double as Houston bounced back from Sunday night’s 12-6 loss. The Astros earned their three victories by a combined 19 runs. The Astros’ bullpen fired two-hit ball over five innings after Lance McCullers Jr. held Chicago to a run on five hits and three walks over four innings. The White Sox didn’t score after Gavin Sheets hit a solo homer in the second to give them a brief lead. Michael Brantley had three hits and two RBIs for Houston, which will host Game 1 of the ALCS on Friday.
The Braves beat the Brewers, 5-4 on Freddie Freeman’s solo homer off Josh Hader in the eighth inning.
Atlanta trailed 2-0 in the fourth and 4-2 in the fifth before beating Milwaukee for the third straight game since a series-opening loss. Eddie Rosario tied it the first time with a two-run single. Travis d’Arnaud made it 4-4 with an RBI single. Rowdy Tellez belted a two-run homer for the Brewers, who scored just six times in the series. Tyler Matsek worked a scoreless eighth to get the win. Will Smith put the potential tying run on base in the ninth before fanning Christian Yelich to end the series.
October 13, 2021 3:53 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster’s season is over. Coach Mike Tomlin says Smith-Schuster will have surgery to repair an injured right shoulder and is heading to injured reserve. Smith-Schuster sustained the injury in the second quarter of a victory over Denver last week that ended a three-game losing streak. The Steelers will turn to James Washington among others to fill the void left by Smith-Schuster’s absence. Pittsburgh hosts Seattle in Week 6.
October 12, 2021 3:50 am
BALTIMORE (AP) – The Baltimore Ravens put together a fourth-quarter comeback before Lamar Jackson completed one of the finest performances of his NFL career. Jackson hit Marquise Brown for a five-yard touchdown in overtime to send the Ravens past the Colts, 31-25. It was the fourth TD pass of the night for Jackson, who was 37 of 43 for a career-high 442 yards. He also ran for 62 yards on 14 carries. Brown and Mark Andrews each caught two scoring passes as the AFC North leaders improved to 4-1. Baltimore trailed 25-9 in the fourth quarter before scoring two touchdowns, blocking a field goal and watching Rodrigo Blankenship miss a 41-yard kick in the final minute of regulation. Carson Wentz completed 25 of his 35 passes for 402 yards and two scores for the 1-4 Colts.
October 12, 2021 3:48 am
UNDATED (AP) – The Las Vegas Raiders will have a new coach for Sunday’s game at Denver. Jon Gruden has stepped down following emails containing racist, homophobic and misogynistic comments. Emails acquired by The New York Times show that Gruden frequently used misogynistic and homophobic language directed at Commissioner Roger Goodell and others in the league. The Wall Street Journal said Friday that Gruden used a racist comment to describe NFL Players Association leader DeMaurice Smith in 2011. The Times acquired emails sent from between 2011-18 when Gruden was an analyst for ESPN. They show his use of derogatory language went well beyond that.
October 11, 2021 1:56 pm
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster’s season is over. Coach Mike Tomlin says Smith-Schuster will have surgery to repair an injured right shoulder and is heading to injured reserve. Smith-Schuster sustained the injury in the second quarter of a victory over Denver last week that ended a three-game losing streak. The Steelers will turn to James Washington among others to fill the void left by Smith-Schuster’s absence. Pittsburgh hosts Seattle in Week 6.
October 12, 2021 3:54 am
UNDATED (AP) – The Boston Red Sox have advanced to the AL Championship Series by knocking out the league’s best team in the division series. The Red Sox coughed up a 5-0 lead before Kike Hernandez lifted a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth to give Boston a 6-5 victory in Game 4. It was the third straight win by the Bosox following a series-opening loss at St. Petersburg.
Christian Vazquez opened the series-winning rally with a single, moved to second on a bunt and scampered to third on Travis Shaw’s base hit. Danny Santana replaced Vazquez on the base paths and scored the deciding run. Rafael Devers opened the scoring in the Red Sox’s five-run third by slamming a three-run homer. Wander Franco got Tampa Bay with 5-3 in the sixth with a two-run blast, two innings before Kevin Kiermaier hit an RBI double and scored on Randy Arozarena’s single. Garrett Whitlock tossed two perfect innings of relief to get the win. J.P. Feyereisen was the loser. It brings an abrupt end to the season for the Rays, who’d been eyeing back-to-back trips to the World Series after winning a league-high 100 games during the regular season.
The Giants have regained control of their NL Division Series, taking a two-games-to-one lead with a 1-0 shutout of the Dodgers. Evan Longoria’s solo blast in the fifth inning off Max Scherzer broke a scoreless tie and was one of just three hits for San Francisco all evening. Longoria was in an 0-for-23 funk before connecting. Scherzer allowed only two other hits while striking out 10 over seven innings, but the Dodgers managed just five hits off former teammate Alex Wood and the Giants’ bullpen. Tyler Rogers got the win in relief of Wood, giving up three hits over 1 2/3 innings. One swing has given the Atlanta Braves a two-games-to-one lead over Milwaukee in the NL Division Series. Pinch-hitter Joc Pederson launched a three-run homer in the fifth inning, sending the Braves to their second straight 3-0 win against the Brewers. The blast made a winner out of Ian Anderson, who limited Milwaukee to three hits and no walks while striking out six over five innings. Four relievers followed with one inning of work, allowing Atlanta to complete a five-hitter. Will Smith worked the ninth for the save. Pederson’s home run came after Brewers starter Freddy Peralta scattered three hits over four innings. Adrian Houser took the loss. The Braves can wrap up the series at home on Tuesday. Game 4 of the AL Division Series between the Chicago White Sox and visiting Houston Astros was postponed with rain in the forecast. Carlos Rodon is still scheduled to start the game for Chicago on Tuesday, with Game 1 starter Lance Lynn available out of the bullpen. Astros manager Dusty Baker will go with Lance McCullers instead of Jose Urquidy.
October 11, 2021 3:48 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Ben Roethlisberger threw for 253 yards and two touchdowns and the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Denver Broncos 27-19 on Sunday to snap a three-game losing streak. Rookie running back Najee Harris added a career-best 122 yards rushing and a touchdown for the Steelers, who improved to 2-3. Denver quarterback Teddy Bridgewater nearly rallied the Broncos from an 18-point deficit. Bridgewater threw a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown passes. His last pass, however, was picked off by James Pierre. The Broncos have dropped two straight following a 3-0 start.
October 11, 2021 3:53 am
UNDATED (AP) – The Boston Red Sox used extra innings to take a two-games-to-one lead over the top-seeded Tampa Bay Rays in the American League Division Series. Christian Vazquez slammed a two-run homer in the bottom of the 13th to give the Red Sox a 6-4 win. Boston was ahead, 4-2 in the eighth inning before Wander Franco homered and Randy Arozarena tied it with an RBI double. Franco also scored on Austin Meadows’ two-run homer in the first inning. The score was still 4-4 when Yandy Diaz singled with one out in the 13th. Kevin Kiermaier then stroked a ball off the right-field wall that hit the warning track, caromed off outfield Hunter Renfroe and over the fence into the bullpen with Diaz crossing home plate during the play. The umpires conferred and went to the headsets before correctly awarding Kiermaier a book rule double, sending Diaz back to third. Boston’s Kike Hernandez made it 4-2 with his seventh consecutive hit, a solo homer in the fifth. He also singled home a run. Kyle Schwarber also homered for the Red Sox, who can wrap up the series on Monday.
Meanwhile, the White Sox have avoided a three-game sweep in the AL Division Series by turning a 5-1 deficit into a 12-6 rout of the Astros. The game changed in the third inning as Yasmani Grandal smacked a two-run homer and Leury Garcia delivered a three-run blast. Grandal also was hit by a throw in a three-run fourth, allowing Luis Robert to come home and put the White Sox ahead to stay. The Astros lost despite Kyle Tucker’s two-run homer and two-run double. Garcia had four ribbies for the White Sox, who host Game 4 on Monday.
October 11, 2021 3:49 am
UNDATED (AP) – The NHL season gets under way Tuesday night with a pair of games. Tampa Bay will raise its Stanley Cup championship banner before facing Pittsburgh. The Seattle Kraken will play their first regular-season game on the road at Vegas. The games will kick off the NHL’s first full, 82-game season since 2018-19 and there are more games than ever, thanks to the Kraken: 1,312 in all. The league will also take a break in February so its players can travel to China for the Olympics.
October 10, 2021 1:52 am
#12 Washington & Jefferson rolled past St. Vincent, 63-22, Saturday afternoon, picking up a sixth straight and remaining atop the Presidents Athletic Conference. Justin Heacock threw for 188 yards and five touchdowns, two each to Andrew Wolf and Payton Skalos. Colton Jones threw a pair of scoring passes and EJ Thompson ran for 122 yards and two scores for W&J. Cameron O’Brien also scored twice for the Red & Black. The Presidents’ defense forced five turnovers including two interceptions by Nick Freiwald. St. Vincent quarterback Brady Walker threw for 276 yards and two touchdowns but was picked off twice and sacked six times. W&J is 6-0, 5-0 in the conference heading into an off week. St. Vincent drops to 3-2 overall, 2-2 in the league.
