MLB:
The Houston Astros have come away with a split of the first two games in the World Series.
Jose Altuve doubled early, homered late and scored twice as the Astros whipped the Braves, 7-2. Altuve hit a leadoff double and scored in the first inning before adding a solo homer in the seventh.
Jose Siri, Martin Maldonado and Michael Brantley delivered run-scoring hits while Houston scored four times in the second inning off Braves starter and loser Max Fried . Siri’s RBI single and daring baserunning sparked the rally.
Jose Urquidy picked up the win after striking out seven while allowing two runs and six hits over five innings.
Travis d’Arnaud was the center of Atlanta’s attack, hitting a solo homer and scoring on Freddie Freeman’s RBI single.
Fried was lifted in the sixth inning, charged with five earned runs on seven hits.
Game 3 is Friday in Atlanta.
A Cleveland-area roller derby team that has called itself the Guardians since 2013 is suing Cleveland’s newly renamed Major League Baseball team to stop it from using the Guardians name.
The former Cleveland Indians announced in July that they would change the team’s name to Guardians after years of criticism that the former name and Chief Wahoo logo was racist.
A lawsuit filed Wednesday in federal court in Cleveland says the baseball team changed the name despite knowing the roller derby team was using it. The Indians issued a statement saying team officials don’t think there’s a conflict.
In other MLB news:
Nelson Cruz has received Major League Baseball’s Roberto Clemente Award for character, community involvement and philanthropy. The 17-year MLB veteran and seven-time All-Star provided financial support to 1,200 families in his hometown in the Dominican Republic during the COVID-19 pandemic.
NBA:
The Brooklyn Nets are among the favorites to win the NBA championship, but they are still seeking their first winning streak of the season.
The Nets are 2-3 as they continued to alternate losses and wins with a 106-93 setback against the Miami Heat. Bam Adebayo had 24 points and nine rebounds for the Heat, who outscored Brooklyn, 30-20 in the paint and had a 15-2 edge in second-chance points.
Jimmy Butler added 17 points for Miami, while teammate P.J. Tucker finished with 15.
Kevin Durant had 25 points and 11 rebounds for Brooklyn.
Checking out Wednesday’s other NBA action:
Sacramento wasted a 13-point lead in the final period before Harrison Barnes drained a 3-pointer over Devin Booker at the buzzer to lift the Kings past the Suns, 110-107. Barnes had 22 points and Buddy Hield thrived in his role off the bench, pouring in 26 points in just 27 minutes. Booker furnished 31 points and Deandre Ayton added 21 with 21 boards for the 1-3 Suns.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander contributed 27 points and the Thunder rallied from 26 down to beat the Lakers, 123-115. Darius Bazley added 20 points and rookie Josh Giddey had 18 points and 10 assists in Oklahoma City’s first win in five games this season. Russell Westbrook had 20 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists for the Lakers, who played a second straight game without LeBron James because of an ankle injury.
D’Angelo Russell, Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards combined for 79 points as the Timberwolves held off the Bucks, 113-108. Russell finished with 29 points, four more than Towns and Edwards. Giannis Antetokounmpo had 40 points and 16 rebounds for the Bucks, who were without starting center Brook Lopez and point guard Jrue Holiday.
Miles Bridges scored 30 or more points for the third time in four games, hitting a 3-pointer with 1:02 remaining to put the Hornets in control of a 120-111 win over the Magic. Bridges scored 31 points and Gordon Hayward added 24 in Charlotte’s fourth win in five games. Cole Anthony led Orlando with 24 points and six assists.
Montrezl Harrell scored 25 points on 10-of-13 shooting and had 11 rebounds in the Wizards’ third win in four games, 116-107 over the Celtics. Spencer Dinwiddie added 22 points and Bradley Beal had 17 for Washington. Jayson Tatum’s 23 points led Boston.
Trey Young scored 31 points and the Atlanta Hawks capitalized on 21 offensive rebounds to hold off the Pelicans, 102-99. Atlanta went in front for good when John Collins came straight down the lane unimpeded to put back Young’s missed 3 off the back rim with a dunk with 55 seconds left. Collins had 16 points and 12 rebounds for the Hawks, who’ve begun the season with three victories in their first four games.
The Raptors won in Toronto for the first time in 20 months as Fred VanVleet had a season-high 26 points and a career-high 10 rebounds in their 118-100 victory over the Pacers. OG Anunoby scored a season-high 25 points for the Raptors, whose previous win in their home arena was Feb. 23, 2020. Scottie Barnes had 18 points and seven assists, and fellow rookie Dalano Banton came off the bench to score 10 points as the Raptors won in Toronto for the first time in four tries this season.
CJ McCollum provided 25 points and Damian Lillard had 20 for the Trail Blazers in a 116-96 thumping of the Grizzlies. Anfernee Simons had 17 points off the bench for the Blazers, who held Ja Morant to a season-low 17 points. Morant had averaged 35 points and eight assists through the Grizzlies’ first three games this season.
Collin Sexton scored 26 points and Darius Garland chipped in 16 in the Cavaliers' wire-to-wire win over the Clippers. It was the Cavs’ first road win against the Clippers since March 13, 2016. USC product and Cavs rookie Evan Mobley had 12 points and 10 rebounds in his homecoming game.
NHL:
The Florida Panthers are the 14th team in NHL history to win their first seven games of a season.
Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 29 shots and Eetu Luostarinen scored the go-ahead goal in the Panthers’ 4-1 victory over the Bruins.
Anthony Duclair and Mason Marchment also scored, and Owen Tippett added an empty-net goal. Sam Reinhart and Gustav Forsling each had two assists.
Charlie Coyle tallied for Boston.
Elsewhere on NHL ice:
Dylan Larkin scored 1:37 into overtime to complete the Red Wings’ comeback in a 3-2 win over the Capitals. Adam Erne and Robby Fabbri tied it after Washington took a 2-0 lead. Alex Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov had power-play goals for the Capitals, but Thomas Greiss stopped the rest and finished with 26 saves.
The Maple Leafs’ four-game losing streak is over after William Nylander scored on a 2-on-0 breakaway in overtime to complete their 3-2 victory over the winless Blackhawks. John Tavares and David Kampf also scored for Toronto, and Jack Campbell stopped 25 shots. Chicago got 36 saves from Kevin Lankinen but dropped to 0-6-1.
The Golden Knights also earned a 3-2 overtime win as Evgenii Dadonov provided the deciding goal against the Stars. Jonathan Marchessault tied the game with a shot from the left faceoff dot with 1:02 remaining in the third. Laurent Brossoit stopped 32 of the Stars’ 34 shots in his first start for Vegas.
Cam Atkinson had two goals and the Flyers scored twice in the third period to hand the Oilers their first loss of the season, 5-3. Claude Giroux, Nate Thompson and Sean Couturier also scored as Philadelphia moved to 3-1-1. Tyson Barrie, Connor McDavid and Zach Hyman countered for the 5-1 Oilers.
Tampa Bay Lightning winger Nikita Kucherov is expected to be out 8-10 weeks after having surgery for an unspecified lower-body injury.
Kucherov was injured Oct. 16 in Tampa Bay’s third game of the season. He doubled over in pain after an innocent-looking collision in the third period of the Lightning’s game at Washington.
Kucherov was Tampa Bay’s leading scorer on each of the past two Stanley Cup runs. He missed the entire regular season last year recovering from hip surgery.
In other NHL news:
Blackhawks CEO Danny Wirtz has met with his players a day after a report detailed how senior team leaders badly mishandled allegations that an assistant coach sexually assaulted Kyle Beach during the team’s Stanley Cup run in 2010. The ramifications now stretch into several corners of the NHL. Florida coach Joel Quenneville is slated to meet with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman Thursday. Winnipeg general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff also is planning to talk to the commissioner. Both were with the Blackhawks when the allegations were first reported to team leadership.
NFL:
Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis says he doesn’t believe the team was targeted in the leaking of emails that led to the resignation of coach Jon Gruden. But he wonders about the timing of the leaks, and says he was not given a reason for delays in his team being told about them.
Davis said he would like the league to release a written report of the investigation. The NFL has said it will not be release documents from the independent investigation of the Washington Football Team, saying the league is protecting the identities of those who testified.
Davis also acknowledged the team has reached a settlement with Gruden, who received a 10-year, $100 million contract to return to coach the team in 2018. He did not reveal terms of the settlement.
In other NFL news:
Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield tested his injured left shoulder by practicing Wednesday. If all goes well, he intends to play Sunday against the Steelers. Mayfield says he understands there are short and long-term risks if he keeps playing. He could take another big hit or worsen it with a fall.
Dak Prescott has been limited in practice with a right calf strain as the Cowboys prepare to visit the Vikings. The star quarterback was injured on the winning touchdown pass in overtime against New England.
Texans quarterback Tyrod Taylor returned to practice Wednesday for the first time since injuring his hamstring in Week 2 His status for Sunday’s game against the Rams remains uncertain.
Quarterback Mike White will make his first NFL start Sunday for the Jets against the Bengals in place of the injured Zach Wilson. The Jets acquired 36-year-old QB Joe Flacco from Philadelphia on Monday, but coach Robert Saleh said that Flacco will not practice until Friday because of personal reasons.
An NFL Network report says the Bears will rest edge rusher Khalil Mack this week and possibly longer because of a lingering foot injury.