MLB
Adolis García homered twice and drove in five runs as the Texas Rangers reached their first World Series in 12 years with an 11-4 blowout of the Houston Astros in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series. García, the ALCS Most Valuable Player, went deep for the fourth straight game and set a record for RBIs in a postseason series with 15 as the road team took every game. Corey Seager got things started for the Rangers with a long home run in the first inning. Nathaniel Lowe also connected for Texas — one of six major league teams without a World Series title. After winning their Lone Star State showdown with defending champion Houston, the wild-card Rangers open the World Series at home Friday night against Arizona or Philadelphia.
The Philadelphia Phillies are set to play their first Game 7 in franchise history after losing 5-1 to the Arizona Diamondbacks in Game 6. Game 7 is tonight in Philadelphia at 8:07. Kyle Schwarber, Trea Turner and Bryce Harper all went hitless for the Phillies. The Phillies send left-hander Ranger Suárez to the mound in Game 7. Manager Rob Thomson said ace Zack Wheeler would be available to pitch out of the bullpen.
Tommy Pham and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. hit back-to-back homers and Merrill Kelly struck out eight to help the Arizona Diamondbacks force Game 7 of the NL Championship Series with a 5-1 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. The winner of Tuesday night’s game advances to the World Series against Texas, which beat Houston on Monday night for the AL pennant. The Diamondbacks came ready in Game 6 to back up the bold pregame words from manager Torey Lovullo and tamed Phillies bats and the hostile home crowd.
Texas Rangers slugger Adolis García is the American League Championship MVP after setting a record for RBIs in a postseason series with 15 and extending his home run streak to four games. The Cuban slugger known as “El Bombi” went deep twice in their 11-4 win in Game 7 over the Houston Astros to advance to the World Series. He had an opposite-field solo homer in the third and added another solo shot in the eighth that pushed the Rangers to an 11-3 lead. He struck out four times in Game 6 before a grand slam in the ninth inning of that 9-2 win.
Cristian Javier flopped and the Houston Astros never recovered, losing 11-4 to the Texas Rangers in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series. Javier got the start and recorded just one out, allowing three runs and four hits in the first inning. So much for Houston’s bid for baseball’s first repeat champion since the Yankees won three in a row from 1998 to 2000. The Astros’ trouble at home finally caught up to them. Houston went 39-42 at Minute Maid Park during the regular season, but it secured the AL West title with a win at Arizona and a Texas loss on the final day. It went 1-5 at home in the playoffs.
NFL
Minnesota 22 San Francisco 17
Kirk Cousins connected with rookie Jordan Addison for two first-half touchdowns, Camryn Bynum intercepted San Francisco’s Brock Purdy twice in the fourth quarter, and the Minnesota Vikings beat the 49ers 22-17. Christian McCaffrey scored twice for the 49ers. They lost their second straight game for the first time in a 34-game stretch and fell to 5-2. The Vikings improved to 3-4. Cousins went 35 of 45 for 378 yards. Addison had seven receptions for 123 yards.
The defending NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles have traded for two-time All-Pro safety Kevin Byard to help a banged-up secondary. The Tennessee Titans and Eagles confirmed Monday night they swapped Byard to Philadelphia for safety Terrell Edmunds. The Titans also will receive the Eagles’ fifth- and sixth-round draft picks in 2024, pending both players passing physicals. Byard has 27 interceptions since becoming a starter in 2017. The deal fills a big need for the Eagles. They lost safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson to Detroit in free agency and are dealing with injuries in their secondary.
Tua Tagovailoa, Tyreek Hill and the Miami Dolphins’ high-octane offense were shut down by a gang of kelly green Eagles. Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills gave Bill Belichick a week off from job speculation. Jared Goff and the Detroit Lions failed their biggest test against a stingy defense. Three of the NFL’s most-hyped teams had a rough Sunday. The Dolphins had a chance to showcase the league’s most prolific offense in a prime-time matchup in Philadelphia. Instead, they got knocked around by a defense wearing throwback uniforms who looked and played like Buddy Ryan’s ferocious group led by Reggie White and Jerome Brown.
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Montreal 3 Buffalo 1
Jake Allen made 36 saves to lead the Montreal Canadiens to a 3-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Monday night. Allen made several big stops in net for the Canadiens, guiding Montreal to its second win in a row. Brendan Gallagher, Justin Barron and Tanner Pearson scored for Montreal. Jeff Skinner scored for the Sabres, who dominated the flow of play and outshot Montreal 37-27, but Buffalo was unable to capitalize on the scoreboard. Eric Comrie made 24 saves.
NBA
The regular season opens today in the NBA, with the Lakers at Denver at 7:30 p.m., and Phoenix at Golden State at 10 p.m.
Damian Lillard went to Milwaukee, Bradley Beal went to Phoenix, Jrue Holiday ended up in Boston and Chris Paul ended up with Golden State. Victor Wembanyama arrived in San Antonio, Nick Nurse took over in Philadelphia and LeBron James is now the oldest player in the league. As always, the NBA is opening a new season with new looks. The Denver Nuggets are hoping this season doesn’t end with another new champion. The NBA’s 78th season starts Tuesday, with a ring ceremony in Denver highlighting the opening-night celebration. The Nuggets beat Miami last June to become the league’s fifth different champion in the last five years.
Giannis Antetokounmpo has indicated on social media that he has agreed to a contract extension with the Milwaukee Bucks. The post came as ESPN reported that the two-time MVP had agreed on a three-year extension worth $186 million, with a player option for the 2027-28 season. Antetokounmpo’s announcement came Monday while Minnesota’s Jaden McDaniels, Washington’s Deni Avdija and Orlando’s Cole Anthony led the first wave of fourth-year players to reach agreements on contract extensions ahead of the NBA’s deadline.
NCAA
The latest realignment to hit college athletics was announced by the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Monday. The conference says Merrimack College and Sacred Heart will join on July 1st, leaving the Northeast Conference. Among the other colleges in the MAAC are Siena, Iona, Marist, Fairfield and Quinnipiac. The additions bring the number of member colleges to 13. In a statement, the Northeast Conference said it recognizes the departures “with a high level of disappointment.”
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