September 28, 2020 3:57 am
CLEVELAND (AP) – The Cleveland Indians are staying home for the first round of the postseason – with the New York Yankees coming to town. Carlos Santana had four RBIs and delivered a go-ahead, two-run double in the seventh inning as the Indians rallied past the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-6 to gain home-field advantage for their wild-card series. The Indians finished second in the AL Central and grabbed the No. 4 seed in the American League playoffs when the Chicago White Sox lost to the crosstown Cubs. Cleveland will face the fifth-seeded Yankees in a best-of-three series beginning Tuesday at Progressive Field. The opener features a prime pitching matchup, with Cy Young Award favorite Shane Bieber scheduled to face Yankees ace Gerrit Cole.
September 28, 2020 4:03 am
UNDATED (AP) – Ron Roenicke has been told he will not return as manager of the Red Sox, ending a one-year, shotgun stopgap on the final day of a pandemic-shortened season that resulted in a last-place finish in the AL East. Roenicke was hired on the eve of spring training after Alex Cora was implicated in Houston’s sign stealing scandal.
September 28, 2020 4:01 am
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) – The Miami Heat are going to the NBA Finals. Bam Adebayo scored a season-high 32 points and grabbed 14 rebounds as the Heat closed out the Eastern Conference Finals in six games, rallying for a 125-113 win over the Celtics. Boston took its largest lead of the night at 96-90 before Adebayo and Tyler Herro sparked a 26-6 run that put the Heat in control.
Jimmy Butler scored 22 points in earning his first trip to the Finals. Herro finished with 19 points, more than half of it coming down the stretch. Jaylen Brown had a team-high 26 points for the Celtics, who have been eliminated in the East finals three times in the last four seasons. Jayson Tatum had 24 and a career-high 11 assists in the loss, while Marcus Smart and Kemba Walker each scored 20.
The Heat square off against the Lakers on Wednesday.
September 27, 2020 7:20 am
CLEVELAND — The Indians will have one eye on the field and one eye on the scoreboard on the final day of the regular season. Cleveland suffered a setback in its bid to host a first-round playoff series and had its six-game winning streak snapped with an 8-0 loss to Joe Musgrove and the major league-worst Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday night. The Indians fell one game behind the Chicago White Sox for second place in the AL Central and were eliminated from the division title race when Minnesota beat Cincinnati. In order to earn home-field advantage for the best-of-three wild-card round, Cleveland must beat the Pirates and have the White Sox lose to the Cubs on Sunday. The Indians hold the tiebreaker over the White Sox. Any other outcome sends Cleveland on the road. Pittsburgh rocked right-hander Aaron Civale (4-6) for a career-high eight runs in four innings. Rookie Ke’Bryan Hayes had five hits and Colin Moran had a three-run homer and four RBI. Bryan Reynolds and Jose Osuna also homered as the Pirates won for the third time in 19 interleague games. Hayes scored three runs, doubled three times and had two singles, and is batting .370 (30 for 81) since making his major league debut on Sept. 1.
September 27, 2020 7:22 am
PITTSBURGH — Patrick Jones II wants No. 21 Pittsburgh’s defense to be the best in the country. Not just in points allowed. Not just in yards allowed. Not just in sacks or turnovers. All of it. The Panthers are certainly playing like it. Jones collected three of Pitt’s seven sacks, helping the Panthers beat No. 24 Louisville 23-20 on Saturday. The win pushed Pitt (3-0, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) to its best start since 2014 and adhered to a blueprint the Panthers believe can carry them to the conference title game in December: tough, physical defense and enough offense to get by.
September 27, 2020 7:23 am
STILLWATER, Okla. — For Chuba Hubbard and Oklahoma State, it wasn’t pretty, but in the end, when it really mattered, he and his team made the plays they needed to. Hubbard scored on a 23-yard run with 1:17 remaining to salvage a difficult afternoon and help No. 15 Oklahoma State beat West Virginia 27-13 on Saturday. Sidelined for a number of key plays after fumbling on consecutive second-half possessions, Hubbard ended up with 101 yards on 22 rushes for his 12th 100-yard performance in his last 13 games. With the additional action, Hubbard’s backup, L.D. Brown, gained 103 yards on 11 carries, including a 66-yard touchdown run, for Oklahoma State (2-0, 1-0 Big 12). It was the first time since a 2016 contest against TCU that Oklahoma State had two different running backs rush for over 100 yards in a Big 12 outing.
September 27, 2020 7:25 am
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — More than a decade since Corey Perry won the Stanley Cup as a young player and years after Joe Pavelski fell two wins short, the greybeards aren’t ready to leave the bubble and give up on another opportunity for a championship just yet. Pavelski tied it with 6:45 left in the regulation, laid out to block a shot in the first overtime and Perry’s second goal of the game came in double OT to give the Dallas Stars a 3-2 win over Tampa Bay and force a Game 6 in the Stanley Cup Final. Anton Khudobin made 39 saves and Perry’s winner 9:23 into the second OT was a manner of redemption for the Stars a night after they lost in OT on a questionable penalty call when Tampa Bay scored on the ensuing power play. Game 6 is Monday night
September 26, 2020 4:20 am
CLEVELAND (AP) – César Hernández’s RBI double with two outs in the ninth inning helped Cleveland rally for its third walk-off win in four days, a 4-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Indians’ sixth straight win kept their hopes alive for winning the AL Central. Before the comeback, the Indians had one hit. Pinch-hitter Jordan Luplow and Delino DeShields drove in runs before Hernández took his turn at being a hero. Pittsburgh starter Mitch Keller pitched five no-hit innings. He’s the first NL pitcher with back-to-back no-hit outings of at least five innings since Johnny Vander Meer threw consecutive no-hitters in 1938.
September 26, 2020 4:22 am
(AP) – NFL stars J.J., Derek and T.J. Watt shared a house growing up. They will share an NFL field for the first time when J.J. and the Houston Texans visit Derek, T.J. and the Pittsburgh Steelers. The meeting marks the second time in the last 93 years that an NFL game will feature three brothers playing at once. J.J. Watt, the oldest, says the day is a testament to the environment in which the brothers were raised. J.J. and the Texans are off to an 0-2 start, while T.J. and Derek are both making an impact for the 2-0 Steelers.
September 26, 2020 4:26 am
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) – The Tampa Bay Lightning showed the importance of power-play goals as they took a three-games-to-one lead in the Stanley Cup final. Kevin Shattenkirk’s power-play goal 6:34 into overtime sent the Lightning to their third straight win, 5-4 over the Stars. Brayden Point scored twice for Tampa Bay, which spotted Dallas a 2-0 lead before netting three goals on power plays. Yanni Gourde (YAH’-nee gohrd) had a power-play goal and Alex Killorn gave the Lightning their first lead about seven minutes into the third period. Joe Pavelski forced OT midway through the third with his second goal of the game, which also tied him with Joe Mullen for most career playoff goals by a US-born player. The Lightning can wrap up the series on Saturday.
