October 9, 2020 3:53 am
CHICAGO (AP) – The Chicago Bears are 4-1 after defeating Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Cairo Santos kicked a 38-yard field with 1:17 left as the Bears beat Brady for the first time in six tries, 20-19. Brady threw for 253 yards and one touchdown, but the Buccaneers came up short after winning three in a row. Brady appeared to lose track of downs on Tampa Bay’s final drive. After DeAndre Houston-Carson broke up his fourth-down pass with 33 seconds left, Brady put up four fingers, appearing to think he had one more down. Nick Foles beat Brady in their first meeting since Foles led the Eagles to a Super Bowl 52 victory over the Patriots. The Super Bowl 52 MVP completed 30 of 42 passes for 243 yards and a touchdown in his second start since replacing Mitchell Trubisky.
October 9, 2020 3:49 am
UNDATED (AP) – The Tampa Bay Rays finally ended Giancarlo Stanton’s home run streak at five games, but they couldn’t close out their AL Division Series with the Yankees. Luke Voit hit a solo homer and Gleyber Torres added a two-run blast as the Yankees beat the Rays, 5-1 to force a deciding fifth game in the series. Voit’s second-inning shot put New York ahead to stay before the Yanks’ pitchers made the lead stand up. Jorden Montgomery gave up three hits over four innings, and the bullpen tossed no-hit, shutout ball the rest of the way. The Yankees also cooled off Randy Arozarena, who went 0-for-4 after collecting 11 hits in the Rays’ previous four games. Game 5 is Friday in San Diego. Meanwhile, Carlos Correa slammed a three-run homer and had five RBIs as the Houston Astros clobbered Oakland, 11-6 to advance to the AL Championship Series for the fourth consecutive year. The Astros trailed 3-0 until Michael Brantley smacked the first of his two home runs, a two-run blast in the fourth. Jose Altuve also homered and Houston’s bullpen didn’t allow a run until the ninth inning after starter Zack Greinke was reached for four runs over 4 2/3s.
October 9, 2020 3:46 am
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) – Justin Turner put the Dodgers ahead to stay with a record-breaking hit during a big inning as they finished a three-game sweep of the NL Division Series with a 12-3 win over the San Diego Padres. Turner’s RBI single broke a 2-2 tie as part of a decisive five-run outburst in the third inning. It was his 64th postseason hit, breaking a tie with Steve Garvey for the most in team history. The Dodgers are going to the NL Championship Series for the 14th time, matching the St. Louis Cardinals for the most appearances. They will face the Atlanta Braves. The Braves are in the NL Championship Series following a 7-0 shutout of the Marlins. Kyle Wright struck out seven and held the Marlins to three hits over six innings of his postseason debut, helping the Braves complete a three-game sweep in the division series. Travis d’Arnaud hit a two-run double and Dansby Swanson collected two RBIs to help Atlanta reach the NLCS for the first time since 2001.
October 8, 2020 3:51 am
UNDATED (AP) – The Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers have moved within one victory of a showdown for the National League pennant. Rookie Ian Anderson combined with four relievers on a three-hitter as the Braves blanked the Marlins, 2-0. Anderson struck out eight over 5 2/3 innings before the Atlanta bullpen tossed no-hit ball the rest of the way. Atlanta is the third team in major league history and first since the 1966 Orioles to open a postseason with three shutouts in its first four games. Dansby Swanson and Travis d’Arnaud both homered for the second straight day to help the Braves take a 2-0 lead in the NL Division Series. Marlins starter Pablo Lopez struck out eight and gave up three hits over five innings, including the two home runs.
The Braves can wrap up the series on Thursday. The Dodgers also can finish up a three-game sweep on Thursday following a 6-5 win over the Padres. Corey Seager delivered three hits for Los Angeles, including a two-run double in the third inning to put the Dodgers ahead to stay. Cody Bellinger padded the lead with a solo shot in the fourth and also robbed Fernando Tatis Jr. of a potential go-ahead, two-run home run in the seventh. Clayton Kershaw was sailing until Manny Machado and Eric Hosmer hit back-to-back homers in the sixth. Kershaw got the win after allowing three runs and six hits over six innings. Kenley Jansen gave up a pair of ninth-inning runs and Joe Kelly walked a pair before retiring Eric Hosmer with the bases loaded to end it. Losing pitcher Zach Davies was reached for four runs and nine hits over five frames.
October 8, 2020 3:56 am
The Rays are up 2-1 in their AL Division Series after blasting three more home runs in an 8-4 trouncing of the Yankees. Kevin Kiermaier provided the big blow with a three-run homer off losing pitcher Masahiro Tanaka to break a 1-1 tie. Randy Arozarena added a solo shot to chase Tanaka an inning later, and Michael Perez smacked a two-run shot against Chad Green in the sixth. Charlie Morton gave Tampa Bay five strong innings, striking out six and allowing one earned run and four hits. Giancarlo Stanton slammed a two-run blast in the eighth for the Yankees. He’s the first player in major league history to homer in each of his first five games of a postseason. The Rays can finish off the Bombers on Thursday.
The Oakland Athletics forced a Game 4 in their AL Division Series by downing the Houston Astros, 9-7. Chad Pinder supplied the Athletics’ fifth and final home run of the day, a three-run blast in the seventh. The A’s went ahead to stay in the eighth when Sean Murphy and Pinder lifted sacrifice flies. Tommy La Stella, Mark Canha, Matt Olson and Marcus Semien also homered for the Athletics. The Astros suffered their first loss of this postseason despite longballs from Jose Altuve and Aledmys Diaz.
October 8, 2020 3:46 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger says he feels as if he’s “starting from scratch” after the team’s unexpected week off. The Steelers were given Week 4 off by the NFL after the league postponed Pittsburgh’s game against Tennessee because of a COVID-19 outbreak on the Titans. Roethlisberger says he believes his team “got the short end” of the decision to call the game. The 38-year-old Roethlisberger says he spent a portion of the weekend playing catch with his son. The Steelers return to action at home this week against cross-state rival Philadelphia.
October 8, 2020 2:57 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Matt Murray’s time in Pittsburgh is over. The Penguins sent the two-time Stanley Cup-winning goaltender to Ottawa in exchange for forward prospect Jonathan Gruden and a second-round pick in the 2020 draft. Murray became expendable when Pittsburgh rewarded All-Star Tristan Jarry with a three-year contract over the weekend. Murray went 117-53-19 with a 2.67 goals against average and a .914 save percentage in five seasons with the Penguins. He helped the Penguins win the Stanley Cup in 2016 and 2017 but has struggled in recent years with his form and his health and spent much of last season splitting time with Jarry.
October 7, 2020 3:55 am
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) – The Los Angeles Dodgers had a walk in the park to start the National League Division Series. The Dodgers had already drawn nine free passes before Mookie Betts got their first hit the sixth inning. They went ahead to stay on Corey Seager’s sacrifice fly right after that in a 5-1 win over the NL West rival San Diego Padres. Game 2 in the best-of-five series is Wednesday night. The Dodgers walked 10 times, matching the NLDS record for a nine-inning game. San Diego used nine pitchers for the third time in four postseason games. Meanwhile, the Atlanta Braves have taken the opener of their NL Division Series. The Braves trailed 4-1 and 4-3 before erupting for six runs in the seventh inning of a 9-5 victory over the Miami Marlins. Travis d’Arnaud put Atlanta ahead with a three-run homer right after Marcell Ozuna tied the game with an RBI single. Dansby Swanson capped the rally with a two-run blast that put the Braves ahead, 9-4. Ronald Acuna Jr. became the youngest player to lead off the first inning with a home run. But Miguel Rojas answered back with a solo blast before Garrett Cooper’s two-run double highlighted the Marlins’ three-run third. Ozuna and d’Arnaud each provided run-scoring doubles in the bottom of the third to jumpstart the Braves. The Marlins are without left fielder Starling Marte, who continues to recover from a broken hand suffered in Game 1 of their Wild Card Series with the Cubs. Game 2 is Wednesday at Houston.
October 7, 2020 3:52 am
UNDATED (AP) – The Houston Astros are one win away from reach the American League Championship Series for the fourth straight year. Not bad for a team that finished two games under .500 during the truncated regular season. George Springer homered twice and the Astros grabbed a 2-0 lead in the AL Division Series by downing the Oakland Athletics, 5-2. Springer put Houston ahead to stay with a two-run blast in the third inning. The Astros closed the scoring on back-to-back solo shots by Martin Maldonado and Springer in the fifth. Framber Valdez shook off solo homers by Khris Davis and Chad Pinder to get the win, allowing just three other hits over seven innings. Losing pitcher Sean Manaea was pulled after Maldonado’s homer, charged with four runs over 4 1/3 innings. The Astros can complete the sweep on Wednesday.
The Rays were able to even their AL Division Series at a game apiece despite two more long home runs by Giancarlo Stanton. Randy Arozarena, Mike Zunino, Manuel Margot and Austin Meadows hit home runs for Tampa Bay in a 7-5 downing of the New York Yankees. Rays pitchers compiled 18 strikeouts, with Tyler Glasnow setting a team-record with 10 while allowing four runs and just three hits over five innings. Glasnow was twice victimized by Stanton, who has three home runs in the series and five in his last four postseason games. The Rays knocked around J.A. Happ, who entered for Deivi Garcia in the second inning. Happ surrendered Zunino’s two-run shot off the facade of the second deck in left with two outs in the second for a 2-1 lead. Happ also served up Manuel Margot’s two-run homer to straightaway center with one out in the third, making it 5-1 and allowing Tampa Bay to withstand Stanton’s three-run blast.
October 7, 2020 3:48 am
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) – The Los Angeles Lakers have given themselves three chances to win their first NBA championship in a decade. Anthony Davis drained a game-clinching, 3-pointer with 39.5 seconds left as the Lakers downed the Miami Heat, 102-96 to take a three-games-to-one lead in the Finals. The long bucket made it 100-91, starting the celebration that took the Lakers all night to earn. LeBron James finished with 28 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists in helping L.A. bounce back from Sunday’s 115-104 loss to Miami. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 15 and Danny Green added 10 for the Lakers, who didn’t trail at any point in the final 20-plus minutes. Jimmy Butler scored 22 points for Miami, which got 21 from Tyler Herro and 17 from Duncan Robinson. Bam Adebayo delivered 15 points in his first game since missing two straight with a neck injury. The Lakers can wrap up the series on Friday.
