October 4, 2023 4:39 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Zack Wheeler struck out eight and pitched into the seventh inning to lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a 4-1 win over the Miami Marlins in the opener of their NL Wild Card Series. The Phillies moved within a victory of an NL Division Series matchup against Atlanta. Cristian Pache and Bryson Stott had run-scoring singles for the Phillies. Alec Bohm and Nick Castellanos added RBI doubles. Phillies reliever José Alvarado struck out Yuli Gurriel with two runners on in the seventh to end a threat.
October 4, 2023 4:37 am
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Corbin Carroll, Ketel Marte and Gabriel Moreno homered against Corbin Burnes, helping Arizona erase an early three-run deficit and sending the Diamondbacks to a 6-3 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 1 of their NL Wild Card Series. The rally put Arizona in a prime position to advance. Game 2 of the best-of-three series is Wednesday, and the Diamondbacks have ace Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly lined up after rookie Brandon Pfaadt lasted just 2 2/3 innings in the opener. Arizona, which clinched an NL wild card in the final days of the season, had been 0-14 in postseason games when trailing by at least three runs.
October 4, 2023 4:37 am
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Royce Lewis hit home runs in each of his first two at-bats to carry the Minnesota Twins to a 3-1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays in the opener of their AL Wild Card Series. That ended Minnesota’s record 18-game postseason losing streak. Lewis hit a two-run shot off Kevin Gausman to left field in the first inning. He went deep to right leading off the third and became the third player in history to homer in each of his first two career postseason plate appearances. The Twins last won a game in the playoffs on Oct. 5, 2004.
October 4, 2023 4:36 am
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Jordan Montgomery scattered six hits over seven innings, helping the Texas Rangers beat the sloppy Tampa Bay Rays 4-0 in their AL Wild Card Series opener. Corey Seager and Josh Jung drove in runs and the Rangers benefitted from four errors by the Rays, who also fizzled offensively before a crowd of just 19,704. Texas moved within a victory of a AL Division Series matchup against Baltimore. Tampa Bay, lost its sixth straight postseason game since winning its 2021 Division Series opener against Boston. The Rays have one run in their last three playoff defeats, hitting .133.
October 4, 2023 4:59 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Joe Christopher, an outfielder on the 1962 expansion New York Mets, died Tuesday in Edgewood, Maryland. He was 87. The Mets said he died at his home, where he was receiving hospice care. Christopher made his big league debut with Pittsburgh in 1958 and appeared in three games in the 1960 World Series. He was selected by the Mets in the 1962 expansion draft. He spent four seasons with New York, was traded to Boston and spent a final season with the Red Sox in 1966. Christopher had a .260 career batting average with 29 homers and 173 RBIs.
October 3, 2023 4:33 am
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Rookie cornerback Devon Witherspoon scored on a 97-yard interception return late in the third quarter and the Seattle Seahawks tied a team record with 11 sacks in a 24-3 victory over the struggling and offensively inept New York Giants. Geno Smith threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to DK Metcalf late in the first quarter after a strip-sack by defensive end Mario Edwards Jr. set up a short drive. Kenneth Walker III added 1-yard TD run as the Seahawks (3-1) won their third straight. Bobby Wagner, Jordyn Brooks, Witherspoon and Uchenna Nwosu each had two sacks. Wagner also had 17 tackles. The Giants are 1-3.
October 3, 2023 4:30 am
The Pittsburgh Penguins are hoping for a return to normalcy after missing the playoffs for the first time since 2006 last spring. The Penguins made a splash during the offseason by acquiring three-time Norris Trophy-winning defenseman Erik Karlsson from San Jose. Pittsburgh also signed promising defenseman Ryan Graves in free agency. Franchise icons Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang remain the club’s foundation. Crosby and Malkin are coming off productive seasons and Karlsson’s arrival should take some of the scoring load off their shoulders.
October 2, 2023 4:40 am
PITTSBURGH — According to an NFL Network report, Steelers QB Kenny Pickett suffered a bone bruise and muscle strain against the Texans in his left knee. That leaves the door is open for Pickett to suit up and play against the Ravens if things progress well. Mitch Trubisky finished out the game Sunday in Houston and would appear to be in line to start if Pickett cannot go. Pickett was seen in the locker room on Monday without a knee brace on his injured left knee. The quarterback appeared in good spirits after suffering a reported MCL sprain in that knee on a fourth down sack by Texans defensive Jonathan Greenard. We could find out more about his injury when Mike Tomlin meets with reporters at noon today. You can hear his news conference on 1450AM.
October 2, 2023 4:42 am
HOUSTON (AP) — Rookie C.J. Stroud had another big game Sunday, throwing for 306 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Houston Texans to a 30-6 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. It’s the second straight win for the Texans and their first at home since beating the Chargers on Dec. 26, 2021. Houston’s 24-point win marked its largest margin of victory since a 57-14 win over Tennessee on Oct. 1, 2017. Stroud, the second overall pick in the draft, continued his strong start and he threw a TD pass to get things going in a first half where they built a 16-0 lead. Sunday was his second 300-yard passing game and he has thrown six touchdown passes with no interceptions in his first four games.
October 2, 2023 4:40 am
HOUSTON (AP) — Pittsburgh quarterback Kenny Pickett sustained a knee injury in the third quarter Sunday against the Houston Texans and it’s unclear if he’ll play next week. Pickett threw for 114 yards with an interception and struggled to move the offense before leaving with the injury. The loss ends a two-game winning streak for the Steelers (2-2) and will likely increase the pressure on third-year offensive coordinator Matt Canada after another subpar offensive performance. Tomlin said Pickett is being evaluated and that he’d know more about his injury later in the week.
