MLB
Jose Altuve had a two-run homer taken away due to fan interference in the first inning of Game 4 of the American League Championship Series on Wednesday night. The call wound up costing the Houston Astros dearly as the Boston Red Sox rallied for an 8-6 triumph that gives them a three-games-to-one lead in the series.
Red Sox outfielder Mookie Betts was trying to make a leaping catch when Astros fan Troy Caldwell appeared to have made contact with Betts' glove before the ball ricocheted onto the field. Crew chief Joe West made the interference call, which stood following a replay review of 3 minutes, 13 seconds.
The game ended on a defensive gem as left fielder Andrew Benintendi made a diving catch with the bases loaded for the final out, completing a frustrating night for the Astros.
Houston eventually took leads of 4-3 and 5-4, but the Red Sox went ahead to stay on Jackie Bradley Jr.'s two-run homer in the sixth inning. Bradley launched a grand slam that capped the scoring on Tuesday's 8-2 rout of the Astros.
Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers also had two RBIs for the BoSox, who can wrap up the series on Thursday at 8:09 p.m.
George Springer and Tony Kemp homered for Houston.
NLCS:
The Los Angeles Dodgers are one win away from back-to-back trips to the World Series for the first time in 40 years.
Clayton Kershaw worked seven masterful innings and the Dodgers grabbed a three-game-to-two lead in the National League Championship Series by downing the Milwaukee Brewers, 5-2. Kershaw had his best performance of this postseason, limiting the Brewers to a run and three hits while striking out nine. The lefty retired his last 13 batters and blanked Milwaukee following Lorenzo Cain's RBI double in the top of the second.
The Dodgers' bats didn't get going until the fifth, one day after they had a grind out a 2-1, 13-inning victory. Austin Barnes tied it with an RBI single, one inning before Max Muncy and Yasiel Puig delivered run-scoring singles.
Justin Turner added an RBI single in the Dodgers' two-run seventh, a rally that came in handy after the Brewers scored with two out in the ninth.
Kenley Jansen got the final out to earn the save.
Brandon Woodruff lasted longer than any Brewers pitcher, striking out eight over 5 1/3 innings. But he took the loss after yielding two earned runs and five hits over 5 1/3.
Brewers starter Wade Miley faced just one batter before manager Craig Counsell went to his bullpen. Counsell decided to give Miley a short workday in preparation for a longer start Friday in Game 6 at 8:39 p.m., which now looms as a possible elimination game for Milwaukee.
No Sale for Game 5:
Red Sox manager Alex Cora says lefty ace Chris Sale is still feeling weak and won't start in Game 5 of the AL Championship Series against Houston.
Cora says his lanky hurler lost weight because of the stomach illness that led to him spending a night in a hospital after starting the ALCS opener. Sale hasn't thrown a bullpen session since rejoining the team Tuesday.
In other MLB news:
Dodgers star Manny Machado has been fined by Major League Baseball for kicking Milwaukee first baseman Jesus Aguilar in the NL Championship Series. MLB fined Machado an undisclosed amount a day after the baserunning incident caused the benches to clear at Dodger Stadium and prompted Brewers MVP candidate Christian Yelich to call Machado a "dirty player."
Major League Baseball says an investigation has concluded that a Houston Astros employee seen taking photos or video near Cleveland's dugout during Game 3 of the AL Division Series was merely monitoring the field to ensure the Indians weren't violating any rules. MLB issued a statement Wednesday afternoon saying it considers the matter closed. The defending champions came under scrutiny after Cleveland filed a complaint about a man associated with Houston attempting to photograph or video the Indians' dugout last week.
Yankees shortstop Didi Gregorius has undergone Tommy John surgery on his right elbow that is expected to keep him out of action for much of next season. General manager Brian Cashman said last week that Gregorius will be sidelined "until sometime next summer."
NBA
The New Orleans Pelicans have opened their NBA schedule with a dominant performance in a win over the Rockets at Houston.
Anthony Davis delivered 32 points, 16 rebounds and eight assists as the Pelicans hammered the Rockets, 131-112. Nikola Mirotic had 30 points for New Orleans, which outscored Houston 76-44 in the paint and hit 40 percent of its 25 3-point attempts.
The Rockets hardly resembled the team that came within one victory of the NBA Finals last spring, shooting 33 percent from beyond the arc and allowing over 130 points in a regulation game for the first time since Jan. 17, 2015 against Golden State.
Twenty other teams are opening their NBA season tonight, one day after the Celtics and Warriors began the campaign with victories:
The Bucks pulled out a 113-112 win over the Hornets as Giannis Antetokounmpo contributed 25 points, 18 rebounds and eight assists. Antetokounmpo made two free throws with 23.7 seconds remaining to put the Bucks ahead after the Hornets battled back from a 20-point deficit behind 41 points from Walker. Khris Middleton had 19 points and Eric Bledsoe added 17 for Milwaukee.
Bojan Bogdanovic scored 19 points and Victor Oladipo added 16 in the Pacers' 111-83 rout of the Grizzlies. Domantas Sabonis finished with 14 points and 15 rebounds in Indiana's most lopsided season-opening win since entering the NBA in 1976.
Kawhi Leonard had a successful debut with Toronto as he provided 24 points and a team-high 13 rebounds in a 116-104 victory against the Cavaliers. Kyle Lowry scored 27 points as Toronto won its opener for the sixth straight year and gave Nick Nurse his first coaching victory.
DeMar DeRozan had a strong performance in his first game as a Spur, furnishing 28 points in a 112-108 downing of the Timberwolves. Jimmy Butler started and dropped in 23 points after agreeing to play with the Wolves while the team tries to accommodate his trade request.
The Knicks racked up a team-record, 49-point second quarter in a 126-107 rout of Atlanta to win the debut of head coach David Fizdale. Tim Hardaway poured in 16 of his 31 points while New York outscored the Hawks, 49-25 in the second period. Atlanta shooting gaurd Kevin Huerter, a Clifton park native, came in late in the 4th quarter with five minutes to play and pulled down three rebounds in that short window.
Devin Booker scored 19 of his 35 points in the final 6:44 to help the Suns turn a four-point lead into a 121-100 rout of the Mavericks. First overall pick Deandre Ayton made 8 of 11 shots for 18 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and had six assists in his NBA debut.
Donovan Mitchell scored 11 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter to push the Jazz past the Kings, 123-117. Rudy Gobert had 19 points and 15 rebounds, Joe Ingles scored 22 and Derrick Favors added 18 points and nine boards in Utah's sixth straight win over Sacramento.
Nikola Jokic scored 21 points and Gary Harris added 20 in the Nuggets' 107-98 victory over the Clippers. Denver trailed 92-84 with 5:14 left before going on an 11-2 run, highlighted by a go-ahead putback by Jokic.
The Pistons were 103-100 winners over the Nets behind Andre Drummond's 24 points and 20 rebounds. Blake Griffin added 26 points to help Detroit withstand Caris LaVert's 27 points for Brooklyn.
Rookie Mohamed Bamba dunked twice and blocked a shot during a 9-0 run that pushed the Magic past the Heat, 104-101. Aaron Gordon had 26 points and 16 rebounds for the Magic, who managed to win despite failing to hit a field goal over the final 4 1/2 minutes.
Thursday the Philadelphia 76ers take on the Chicago Bulls at 8 p.m.
Suns sign Crawford:
The Phoenix Suns have officially announced the signing of veteran guard Jamal Crawford.
The 38-year-old Crawford is entering his 19th NBA season and has a career average of 15 points per game. The three-time winner of the NBA's Sixth Man award averaged 10.3 points in 80 games with the Minnesota Timberwolves last season.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Saint Rose College Basketball coach Brian Beaury has announced his retirement after 32 years.
"It is just time," Beaury told the Times Union Wednesday afternoon. "I need to hit the pause button and do some other things right now. What I didn't want to do was keep prolonging what is inevitable.
Beaury had a coaching record of 643-326. In the 27 years St. Rose has competed at the NCAA Division II level Beaury led the Golden Knights to the tournament 14 times. Beaury's teams made it to the Elite Eight three times, getting to the Final Four in 1998.
Beaury’s assistant coach Mike Perno will serve as head coach for now. Perno played for Beaury and graduated from St. Rose in 2000.
NHL
Alex Ovechkin is on a goal-a-game pace through the Washington Capitals' first six contests.
Ovechkin scored twice on power plays, but the Caps needed Matt Niskanen's goal to earn a 4-3 overtime win against the Rangers.
Braden Holtby stopped 29 of the 32 shots he faced in arguably his best game of this season. Mika Zibanejad, Jimmy Vesey and Chris Kreider scored for New York, which was playing the second half of a back-to-back after beating Colorado in a shootout Tuesday.
Elsewhere on NHL ice:
The Flames ended the Bruins' four-game winning streak as Michael Frolik scored twice and Johnny Gaudreau notched his 100th career goal in Calgary's 5-2 decision over Boston. Mikael Backlund and Michael Stone each had two assists as Calgary earned its second straight home win.
The Canadiens pulled out a 3-2 win over the Blues on Brendan Gallagher's goal with 11 seconds remaining. Max Domi scored his first goal since being traded to Montreal, and Mike Reilly added a goal and an assist to help the Habs improve to 4-1-1 with their third straight win.
Ryan Kesler scored twice and the Ducks improved to 5-1-1 with a dominant 4-1 win over the Islanders. John Gibson turned back 34 shots and blanked New York until Casey Cizikas scored on a double deflection with 35 seconds to play.
Thursday on the Ice:
The New Jersey Devils take on Colorado at 7 p.m.
The Flyers go against the Blue Jackets at 7 p.m.
The Boston Bruins take on the Edmonton Oilers at 9 p.m.
The New York Islanders travel to Los Angeles to take on the Kings at 10:30 p.m.
The Sabres take on the Sharks at 10:30 p.m.
NFL
Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott has chosen recently-signed Derek Anderson as his starting quarterback for Sunday's game against the Colts.
McDermott says rookie signal-caller Josh Allen has been ruled out with a sprained elbow suffered in last weekend's loss to Houston.
The 35-year-old Anderson goes from being lured out of semiretirement last week to serve as Allen's mentor to preparing to make his first start in nearly two seasons. He got the nod over turnover-prone Nathan Peterman, who threw two interceptions in the last two minutes of Sundays' 13-10 setback against the Texans.
Thursday’s NFL Matchup:
The Denver Broncos will face off against the Arizona Cardinals at 8:20 p.m.
In other NFL news:
Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill has been ruled out of Sunday's game against the Lions because of an injury to his throwing shoulder. Tannehill also missed last Sunday's overtime win against the Bears, allowing Brock Osweiler to throw for a career-high 380 yards and three touchdowns.
The Bears say pass rusher Khalil Mack is day to day because of an ankle injury sustained early in Sunday's overtime loss at Miami. Playing without the two-time All-Pro would be a huge blow, particularly with Tom Brady and the Patriots visiting on Sunday.
Safety Andre Hal has resumed practicing with the Texans, giving the team 21 days to take him off the non-football illness list and add him to the active roster. Hal is in remission after being diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma in May.
NASCAR
Kyle Larson has been docked 10 points by NASCAR for a rules violation that could bring an end to his championship chances.
Chip Ganassi Racing was penalized for breaking NASCAR's policy on damaged vehicles during the race at Talladega Superspeedway. The points deduction announced Wednesday drops Larson to 36 points below the cutoff for the final transfer position to the third round of the playoffs. NASCAR will cut the playoff field from 12 to eight drivers following Sunday's race at Kansas.
Larson crew chief Chad Johnston was fined $25,000 for the infraction and car chief David Bryant was suspended one race.
USA GYMNASTICS
Former USA Gymnastics president Steve Penny has been arrested following his indictment by a Texas grand jury. The indictment alleges he tampered with evidence in the sexual assault investigation of now-imprisoned gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar.
Penny resigned under pressure in March 2017.
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