MLB
Pitcher Luis Severino twice misplayed grounders, leading to a pair of unearned runs in the second inning that put the Los Angeles Dodgers ahead for good in an 8-0 romp that gave them a 2-1 National League Championship Series lead. After the Mets loaded the bases with one out in the bottom half, Francisco Alvarez and Francisco Lindor both struck out against Walker Buehler. New York's NLCS batting average is down to .179, with Lindor and Pete Alonso both 1 for 11, Brandon Nimmo 1 for 10 and Alvarez 1 for 9. Game 4 is 8:08 tonight in New York.
Shohei Ohtani hit a three-run homer to punctuate the Los Angeles Dodgers' 8-0 victory over the New York Mets in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series. Kiké Hernández hit a two-run shot to make it 4-0 in the sixth inning and waved to the Citi Field crowd he quieted. Los Angeles rebounded from a loss at home and grabbed a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series by pitching its fourth shutout in the past five playoff games. Ohtani connected in the eighth, a 410-foot drive that soared into the second deck in right field. Max Muncy went deep in the ninth for his 13th career postseason homer.
José Ramírez's late home run in Game 2 of the ALCS was a positive sign for the Cleveland Guardians. Trouble is, Aaron Judge gave the New York Yankees one as well. Ramírez connected in the ninth inning for just his second homer in this postseason. The All-Star third baseman is capable of going on a hitting tear and carrying the Guardians, who might need that to cut into New York's 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. Judge homered for the first time this October in the seventh inning. Clarke Schmidt will start Game 3 for New York against Cleveland's Matthew Boyd.
Meantime, the Yankees and Guardians play Game 3 of their American League Championship series at 5:08 tonight in Cleveland. New York leads 2 games to none.
WNBA PLAYOFFS
Sabrina Ionescu hit a tiebreaking 3-pointer from the top of the key with 1 second left and Breanna Stewart scored 30 points to help the New York Liberty beat the Minnesota Lynx 8-77 on Wednesday night, taking a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five WNBA Finals series. The Liberty are now one victory away from winning their first title ever. Game 4 is at 8 Friday night in Minnesota with a deciding fifth game in New York on Sunday if necessary. With the game tied at 77, Ionescu had the ball at the top of the key and dribble around before pulling up and hitting the 3-pointer that broke the tie. Minnesota didn’t get a real shot to tie at the buzzer.
NHL
Sidney Crosby scored a power-play goal at 1:38 of overtime and the Pittsburgh Penguins rallied to beat the Buffalo Sabres 6-5. Evgeni Malkin became the 48th player in NHL history to score 500 career goals and Crosby became the 10th player in NHL history to reach 1,600 regular-season points in a career. Bryan Rust had two goals, Drew O’Connor scored a short-handed goal and Jesse Puljujarvi added his second of the season. Tristan Jarry allowed three goals on five shots in the first period before he was pulled. Joel Blomqvist came on and finished with 26 saves. J.J. Peterka scored twice for Buffalo. Ryan McLeod, Tage Thompson and Jordan Greenway also scored for the Sabres and Alex Tuch had two assists. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped 36 shots.
David Pastrnak and Hampus Lindholm scored 13 seconds apart in the second period as the Boston Bruins beat Colorado 5-3, sending the Avalanche to their fourth straight loss. It’s the longest skid to start a season for the Avalanche since 1998-99. That squad got back on track, though, behind a lineup that included Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg and Patrick Roy. Cole Koepke, Charlie Coyle and John Beecher added goals for the Bruins. The Avalanche had goals from Ross Colton and Cale Makar. Alexandar Georgiev allowed four goals. He’s now surrendered 17 goals over four games. Last season, Georgiev led the NHL with 38 wins.
Auston Matthews broke out of a season-opening points drought, scoring his first goal and adding his first two assists as Toronto’s captain in the Maple Leafs’ 6-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday night. Matthews made it 2-0 midway through the first period, quickly regaining control after fanning on a shot and beating David Rittich with a wrist shot. The NHL goals leader last season with 69, Matthews also assisted on two power-play goals to to help the Maple Leafs win for the third straight time after an opening 1-0 loss at Montreal. Bobby McMann scored twice in Toronto’s three-goal first period, Morgan Rielly, William Nylander and John Tavares added goals and Anthony Stolarz stopped 32 shots.
Leo Carlsson scored 54 seconds into overtime and the Anaheim Ducks won their ninth consecutive home opener, 5-4 over the Utah Hockey Club. Clayton Keller put Utah ahead 4-3 with 9:10 to play in regulation, but Pavel Mintyukov tied it for Anaheim with 5:05 left. Carlsson, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 draft, then converted a pass from Troy Terry for his first goal of the season. Robby Fabbri got his first goal since joining Anaheim, and Terry also scored. Lukas Dostal made 26 saves. Keller and Barrett Hayton both scored their fourth goals in five games this season for Utah.
TENNIS
Serena Williams says she had a benign branchial cyst “the size of a small grapefruit” removed from her neck and “all is OK.” The retired tennis star posted Wednesday on social media that she found a lump on her neck in May, had an MRI exam, and was told she didn’t need to get it removed if she didn’t want to. So she didn’t then, “but it kept growing,” Williams wrote. After more tests, including a biopsy that was negative for cancer, Williams said, her doctors said she should have a procedure. Williams turned 43 last month.
SOCCER
England’s national team will have a foreign coach for the third time after hiring German Thomas Tuchel. Smaller soccer nations often let foreigners lead their national teams but coaches from overseas countries are still rare among the top powers in international soccer such as Spain, Germany, Italy and Brazil. Spain and Italy in particular have a strong coaching pedigree and a deeply ingrained soccer culture. However, four of the top nine teams in the world ranking are now led by a coach from a different country and the likes of Germany and Brazil appear more open to having a foreign coach. One expert says coaching methods are more universal now and “it's more the personality that counts and not the nationality.”
NBA
Lonzo Ball got a rousing ovation in his long-awaited return for the Chicago Bulls after being sidelined for nearly three years because of a knee injury. Ball scored 10 points in 15 minutes in the Bulls’ 125-123 preseason victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night. The point guard also had an assist, a steal and a block in his first appearance since Jan. 14, 2022. Ball underwent a cartilage and meniscus transplant in his left knee last year after several procedures failed to fix his injury. He thought he “was moving great” and the knee gave him no trouble “at all.” Ball got a rousing ovation when he subbed in for Josh Giddey following a timeout midway through the first quarter.
NFL
Kansas City Chiefs owner Clark Hunt says he has no issue with kicker Harrison Butker forming a political action committee designed to encourage Christians to vote for “traditional values.” Butker announced his UPRIGHT PAC last weekend. Hunt says the Chiefs have players “on both sides of the political spectrum" and he supports efforts to “make a difference.” The Hunt family has supported a group urging Missouri voters to reject a ballot measure that would overturn a near-total ban on abortion in the state. Butker drew attention earlier this year for a commencement speech at a private Catholic college.
Davante Adams expects to make his debut for the New York Jets on Sunday night at Pittsburgh. The star wide receiver was acquired from Las Vegas on Tuesday. Adams was limited at the Jets' walkthrough practice session, but said he'll be able to play against the Steelers. Adams missed the Raiders’ past three games with a hamstring injury that coincided with his request to be traded. He's reunited with Aaron Rodgers. Adams caught 615 passes from Rodgers for 7,517 yards and 68 touchdowns during eight seasons together in Green Bay.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
The NCAA football rules committee has issued guidance to close a loophole that allowed second-ranked Oregon to exploit an illegal substitution penalty late in its victory over Ohio State to take time off the clock. With Ohio State driving on its final possession of the game and just seconds left, Oregon was flagged for having too many defenders on the field. While the Buckeyes gained 5 yards, the move took four seconds off the clock and Ohio State didn't have time to call a timeout for a potential game-winning field goal. The NCAA coordinator of football officials says in a statement the new guidance looks to “take away any gain for the defense” from committing an intentional penalty.
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