October 12, 2019 4:09 am
ST. LOUIS (AP) – Anibal Sanchez isn’t one of the Washington Nationals’ top-three starting pitchers, but he managed to stifle a ballclub that scored 13 runs in its previous game. Sanchez carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning before the Nats completed a 2-0 shutout of the Cardinals in St. Louis to capture the opener of the National League Championship Series. He put just three runners on base before pinch-hitter Jose Martinez cleanly singled to center with two down in the eighth for the Cardinals’ first hit. Sean Doolittle immediately relieved Sanchez after the hit and got four straight outs to finish the one-hitter for his first postseason save in two years. The Nationals got their first run in the second inning on an RBI double by Yan Gomes off Cardinals starter and loser Miles Mikolas, who gave up seven hits while striking out seven over six frames. Howie Kendrick doubled the lead with an RBI single in the seventh against reliever John Brebbia.
Game 2 is Saturday in St. Louis. Washington ace Max Scherzer starts in his hometown, and Adam Wainwright gets the ball for St. Louis.
October 11, 2019 3:45 am
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) – Tom Brady moved up the NFL’s all-time list for passing yards for the second straight game and helped the New England Patriots improve to 6-0 for the first time in four years. Brady finished 31 of 41 for 334 yards as the Patriots dumped the Giants, 35-14. The 42-year-old quarterback moved ahead of Peyton Manning for second place for aerial yardage and also ran for two scores as New England took advantage of the mistake-prone Giants. The reigning Super Bowl champion Patriots also returned a blocked punt for a touchdown and forced four turnovers, including a fumble return for a score. Julian Edelman had his second straight 100-yard receiving game, catching nine passes for 113 yards. New York QB Daniel Jones had his worst game since taking over for Eli Manning in Week 3, completing just 15 of 31 passes for 161 yards and three interceptions. The Giants are 2-4 following their second straight loss.
October 11, 2019 3:44 am
HOUSTON (AP) – The Houston Astros have survived an unexpectedly tough series with Tampa Bay to advance to the American League Championship Series against the New York Yankees.
Gerrit Cole worked eight strong innings and the Astros continued their playoff charge by downing the Rays, 6-1 in Houston. Cole followed his 15-strikeout performance in Game 1 of the ALDS by fanning 10 while limiting the wild-card champs to one run and two hits. He blanked the Rays after Eric Sogard’s second-inning homer. Houston took control with a four-run first as Jose Altuve and Yuli Gurriel sandwiched RBI singles around Alex Bregman’s two-run double. Michael Brantley and Altuve added back-to-back homers in the bottom of the eighth to cap the scoring.
Losing pitcher Tyler Glasnow was reached for four runs and five hits over 2 2/3 innings. Houston will host Game 1 of the ALCS on Saturday.
October 10, 2019 3:48 am
UNDATED (AP) – Vontaze Burfict’s appeal to overturn his suspension for a helmet-to-helmet hit has been denied, keeping the Oakland Raiders linebacker off the field the rest of the season.
Appeals officer Derrick Brooks has ruled that he would not reduce the longest suspension ever handed down for an on-field infraction. Brooks is appointed jointly by the NFL and the NFLPA and heard Burfict’s appeal of the ban for the final 12 games of the regular season and the playoffs. Burfict was punished for his hit on Indianapolis tight end Jack Doyle on Sept. 29. It was the third time Burfict has been suspended for a dangerous hit on the field.
October 10, 2019 3:46 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Howie Kendrick hit a tiebreaking grand slam off Joe Kelly in the 10th inning, and the Washington Nationals overcame a three-run deficit with a late rally to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-3 Wednesday night and advance to the NL Championship Series against St. Louis. Three-time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw blew a 3-1 lead by allowing homers to Anthony Rendon and Juan Soto on consecutive pitches in the eighth. The wild-card Nationals open the NLCS at St. Louis on Friday night. The seven-time defending NL West champion Dodgers, who led the NL with 106 wins, remain without a World Series title since 1988. Adam Eaton walked against Kelly leading off the 10th, Rendon doubled on a drive that lodged in the left field wall and Soto was intentionally walked. Kendrick fouled off a pitch, then hit a 97 mph fastball just over the wall in center for his second career slam. The other one was a game-ending, 11th-inning drive against San Francisco in August 2017. Daniel Hudson got the win, retiring Will Smith on a drive to the right field warning track with one on and one out in the ninth, then getting Chris Taylor on a liner to center. Sean Doolittle pitched the 10th for the Nationals.
October 9, 2019 3:51 am
The Nationals and Dodgers have had a travel day to go coast to coast again ahead of their win-or-go-home Game 5 in the NL Division Series. Washington will send 18-game winner Stephen Strasburg to the mound against Walker Buehler in a marquee matchup Wednesday at Los Angeles. Meanwhile, The Cardinals and Braves are off before Wednesday’s decisive Game 5 in Atlanta. Yadier Molina rallied St. Louis in Game 4, poking a tying single in the eighth inning and lifting a sacrifice fly to end it in the 10th.
October 8, 2019 3:45 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Pittsburgh Penguins star Evgeni Malkin and Nick Bjugstad will be out indefinitely with injuries. Coach Mike Sullivan says Malkin’s lower-body injury will require a longer recovery than Bjugstad’s but added it is not season-threatening. The team has not described Bjugstad’s injury Both centers were injured during a 7-2 victory over Columbus.
October 7, 2019 9:25 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Jay Gruden has been fired as head coach of the Washington Redskins after an 0-5 start to his sixth season. The team announced the move Monday and said offensive line coach Bill Callahan would replace Gruden on an interim basis. Owner Daniel Snyder and team president Bruce Allen informed Gruden he was out early Monday morning, a day after a 33-7 loss to the New England Patriots.
October 7, 2019 3:50 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Russell Martin delivered a two-run double and a two-run homer as the Los Angeles Dodgers hammered the Washington Nationals, 10-4 to take a two-games-to-one lead in the NL Division Series. Martin’s double put Los Angeles ahead to stay and sparked a seven-run sixth that began when Game 1 starter Patrick Corbin replaced Anibal Sanchez. Kike Hernandez also hit a two-run double in the sixth before Justin Turner capped the rally with a three-run homer. Meanwhile in St. Louis, the Atlanta Braves have a two-games-to-one lead in the NL Division Series following their second straight win. The Braves were held to four hits before scoring three times off closer Carlos Martinez in the ninth inning to pull out a 3-1 victory over the Cardinals in St. Louis. The Redbirds were one out from a 1-0 win until Dansby Swanson laced an RBI double and scored on Adam Duvall’s two-run single.
October 6, 2019 6:10 am
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) – Kenny Pickett threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to V’Lique Carter with 38 seconds remaining, and Pittsburgh rallied to beat Duke 33-30 on Saturday night after wasting a 23-point lead. Pickett finished 29 of 48 for 268 yards with three touchdown passes to help the Panthers (4-2, 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) claim a wild victory – their fifth straight in this Coastal Division series – after the teams combined for 10 total turnovers with each scoring TDs in the final 90 seconds. Pitt led 26-3 with less than 3 minutes left in the third quarter, only to have the Blue Devils turn three straight turnovers into touchdowns and then take a 30-26 lead on Quentin Harris’ 44-yard touchdown pass to Deon Jackson with 1:30 remaining. Pickett needed just four plays to put the Panthers back in front. He found Carter over the middle and the Pitt running back got past defensive back Marquis Waters with a spin move on his way to the end zone. Patrick Jones II then sacked Harris on the third play of Duke’s next drive, jarring the ball loose, and Phil Campbell III recovered it with 22 seconds to play. Harris finished 18 of 43 for 165 yards with two rushing touchdowns for the Blue Devils (3-2, 1-1). But he had five of Duke’s six turnovers – two interceptions and a fumble during a four-play span of the first quarter, plus a third-quarter fumble in addition to the game-sealer. Pickett threw TDs covering 19 yards to Taysir Mack and 4 yards to Nakia Griffin-Stewart for the Panthers, and Paris Ford returned one of his two interceptions 26 yards for a touchdown before he was ejected for targeting.
