MLB:
The New York Mets finally have their first win in a 13-game stretch against the two best teams in the National League West.
The Mets had dropped five in a row and trailed 1-0 in the ninth before pulling out a 6-2, 12-inning victory over the Giants in San Francisco. Kevin Pillar snapped a 2-2 deadlock with a three-run homer before Chance Sisco added an RBI double.
J.D. Davis forced extra innings with a sacrifice fly in the ninth before the Mets improved to 1-5 in their string of games against the Giants and Dodgers.
New York remains 4 1/2 games behind the NL East-leading Braves.
The outcome allowed the Los Angeles to climb within three games of San Francisco. Max Muncy hit two of the Dodgers' four home runs while driving in five runs in a 9-0 thrashing of the Pirates. AJ Pollock and Corey Seager also went deep as the Dodgers earned their six straight win.
Mitch White was terrific over 7 1/3 innings of relief, limiting Pittsburgh to two hits and two walks while striking out six.
In other major league action:
Freddie Freeman hit for the cycle and the Braves survived the Marlins’ six-run ninth to earn an 11-9 victory. Freeman is the first player in Atlanta Braves history to hit for the cycle twice, completing it with a two-run homer in the sixth. Charlie Morton was sharp over six innings, striking out nine and holding Miami to two runs and three hits.
Atlanta's lead in the NL East is up to 3 1/2 games after the second-place Phillies lost for the sixth time in eight games since an eight-game winning streak, 4-2 to the Diamondbacks. Humberto Castellanos earned his first major league win on the mound and added two hits at the plate for Arizona. Castellanos helped himself with an RBI single in the fourth that scored Christian Walker.
Jackie Bradley Jr. scampered home from third base on a wild pitch in the 10th inning as the Brewers outlasted the Cardinals, 6-4. Avisail Garcia homered twice, including a tying blast in the ninth inning. Willy Adames also homered in Milwaukee’s 17th win in its last 19 road games.
Michael Hermosillo Ian Happ and Sergio Alcantara homered for the Cubs in their second straight win over the Reds, 7-1. Hermosillo’s two-run blast was his first home run since 2018, highlighting the Cubs’ four-run second. Chicago banged out 12 hits and won for just the fourth time in 19 games since moving several key plays at the trade deadline.
The Reds remain 1 1/2 games behind San Diego for the second NL wild card following the Padres’ seventh loss in eight games, 7-5 to Colorado. C.J. Cron had two hits and three RBIs and Trevor Story homered for the Rockies. Colorado scored five runs in 3 1/3 innings against Jake Arrieta before he left his Padres debut with an injured left hamstring.
Josh Bell hit a three-run homer off former teammate Brad Hand to push the Nationals past the Blue Jays, 8-5. Juan Soto and Carter Kieboom also connected for Washington, which won back-to-back games for the first time since July 27-29. Marcus Semien homered twice and Teoscar Hernández went deep for the fourth consecutive game for Toronto.
The Rays doubled up the Orioles, 8-4 behind Ryan Yarbrough, who came off the COVID-19 related IL and went five scoreless innings. Wander Franco, Austin Meadows and Ji-Man Choi drove in two runs apiece, with Franco providing three of Tampa Bay’s 12 hits as the Rays maintained their five-game lead in the AL East. The Orioles joined the 1911 and 1935 Boston Braves as the only teams to record a pair of 14-game losing streaks in the same season.
Anthony Rizzo came off the COVID-19 injured list and furnished a two-run single while the Yankees scored four times in the second inning of a 5-2 victory over the Red Sox. Andrew Velazquez hit a pair of RBI singles to help the Yankees complete a three-game sweep and move one game ahead of the Red Sox for second place in the AL East. Andrew Heaney had his best start since joining the Yankees, limiting Boston to a run and two hits over seven innings.
Hunter Dozier’s two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh allowed the Royals to earn their third straight win over the Astros, 3-2. The game ended when Andrew Benintendi threw out Chas McCormick trying to score from second on a single by Jose Altuve (al-TOO’-vay). The loss keeps the Astros’ lead in the AL West at 2 1/2 games over Oakland.
The Athletics absorbed a 3-2 loss to the White Sox as Luis Robert had three hits and two RBIs for the runaway leaders in the AL Central. White Sox starter Lance Lynn was ejected by third-base umpire Nic Lentz in the middle of the fourth when he complained and appeared to throw his belt during a foreign substance check at the dugout. Liam Hendriks got the final five outs against his former team, striking out the side in the ninth, for his 28th save.
Jorge Polanco drove in the game-ending run for the third time in four games, lining a bases-loaded single in the 11th inning to give the Twins an 8-7 win over the Indians. Minnesota erased a 5-2 deficit with six straight hits in a five-run fifth, including Miguel Sanó‘s two-run double. José Ramírez homered and hit an RBI double for Cleveland before scoring the winning run on a wild pitch in the ninth.
Kyle Seager crushed a two-run homer three batters into the Mariners’ 3-1 downing of the Rangers. Seager’s 421-foot drive midway up the first deck in right field was his club-leading 27th of the season and his 37th career homer against Texas. Marco Gonzales followed up a two-hitter against Texas last week by allowing six hits over 5 1/3 shutout innings.
Shohei Ohtani smacked his 40th homer and pitched eight sharp innings in helping the Angels beat the Tigers 3-1. The Japanese right-hander allowed six hits, struck out eight and walked none. Detroit slugger Miguel Cabrera sent a ball to the warning track in the ninth inning but remains stuck on 499 career home runs.
MLB:
Oakland Athletics right-hander Chris Bassitt has a broken bone in his cheek but no eye damage after being struck on the side of the head by a line drive.
Bassitt was taken to the hospital after being hit by a drive from Brian Goodwin in the second inning of Tuesday’s 9-0 loss to the White Sox in Chicago. He was released from Rush University Medical Center after receiving stitches for two cuts on his face and being diagnosed with a fracture in his right cheek that will require surgery. The A’s say an exam of his right eye was normal for vision and no other damage was found in the eye or the orbital bone.
In other MLB news:
Tigers broadcaster Jack Morris has been suspended indefinitely for racist comments made about Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani during Tuesday’s game. When asked by play-by-play announcer Matt Shepard how the Tigers should pitch to Ohtani in the sixth inning, Morris adopted an exaggerated East Asian accent while saying “be very, very careful.” When Ohtani came back up in the ninth, Morris issued a lengthy apology.
NFL:
An attorney for 22 women who have filed lawsuits accusing Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson of sexual assault and harassment says he and some of his clients have spoken to the FBI about the case. Tony Buzbee told The Associated Press that the FBI “reached out to me, and I responded.”
In a news conference Wednesday, Watson’s lead attorney said FBI agents approached him in April over allegations that one of the women who has sued Watson tried to extort $30,000 from him. The attorney said agents interviewed Watson.
In an email, a spokeswoman for the FBI’s Houston office said she could neither confirm nor deny the existence of an investigation.
In other NFL news:
Jets guard Alex Lewis is retiring from football, according to a person with direct knowledge of the decision. The 29-year-old Lewis last practiced on Aug. 5, when he came off the field with what coach Robert Saleh said was a head injury. Lewis was entering his third season with the Jets, who acquired him from Baltimore for a seventh-round draft pick in 2019.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL:
Nebraska has announced that the NCAA is looking into its football program amid allegations Cornhuskers staff improperly used analysts and consultants with the knowledge of coach Scott Frost. The team also allegedly moved workouts off campus last year when such activities were banned during the pandemic.
Athletic director Trev Alberts confirmed the investigation first reported by The Action Network. Citing unidentified sources, The Action Network report said Nebraska has “significant video footage” confirming practice violations occurred in the presence of Frost and other assistants.
Frost said any workouts were approved by his superiors.
TENNIS-US OPEN:
Defending champion Dominic Thiem has pulled out of the U.S. Open, saying he will miss the rest of the year because of a right wrist injury.
Thiem was hurt in June while playing in the Mallorca Open, He said the pain returned last week after he hit a ball during training. Doctors recommended he wear a wrist splint for another six weeks before resuming training.
Two-time champion Venus Williams has been given a wild card into the U.S. Open. The seven-time Grand Slam champ has fallen to 112th in the WTA ranking, below the 104 cutoff for automatic entry into the women’s main draw.
CoCo Vandeweghe also was awarded a wild card by the U.S. Tennis Association after injuries dropped her to 160th in the ranking.
JAPANESE GP:
This year’s Japanese Grand Prix has been canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic. The race in Suzuka had been scheduled for Oct. 10.
Formula One says it is working on the details of a revised calendar.
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