MLB
Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit a game-ending infield single with one out in the 11th inning and the New York Yankees outlasted the Kansas City Royals for a 4-3 victory. Juan Soto launched a go-ahead homer in the sixth for the Yankees, who increased their AL East lead to 1 1/2 games over Baltimore. Shortly before Chisholm came through, the Orioles lost 5-3 in 10 innings at Fenway Park when Tyler O’Neill hit a walk-off homer for Boston. Luke Weaver struck out three in 1 2/3 hitless innings for the win. New York took two of three in a series between playoff contenders. Kansas City fell 4 1/2 games behind first-place Cleveland in the AL Central but holds the league’s second wild card by 1 1/2 games over Minnesota.
Tyler O’Neill hit a three-run walk off homer to left field with one out in the 10th inning to give the Boston Red Sox a 5-3 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. O’Neill connected off Keegan Akin after Rafael Devers struck out and Romy Gonzalez reached on second baseman Jackson Holliday’s fielding error. O’Neill has 30 homers this season. It was his second walk-off RBI this season and fifth overall. Greg Weissert got the victory after giving up Emmanuel Rivera’s RBI single in the bottom of the 10th. The Orioles tied it at 2 with two outs in the eighth on Anthony Santander’s 41st homer, a shot to right off Justin Slaten.
Francisco Lindor broke up Bowden Francis’ no-hit bid with a tying homer leading off the ninth inning, Francisco Alvarez added a three-run shot and the New York Mets scored six times in their last at-bat to beat the Toronto Blue Jays 6-2. With the crowd on its feet to start the ninth, Francis got ahead of Lindor 0-2 before the four-time All-Star drilled a 92-mph fastball to right field for his 31st home run. It was the second time in four starts Francis lost a no-hitter on a leadoff homer in the ninth — Taylor Ward connected off the right-hander for the Angels on Aug. 24. Francis became the first pitcher to lose two no-hit bids in the ninth inning during one season since Nolan Ryan in 1989.
Weston Wilson drove in the tiebreaking run with an infield single down the third-base line, and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Tampa Rays 3-2 to complete a three-game sweep. Nick Castellanos homered and Zack Wheeler struck out nine batters over six innings as the Phillies reduced their magic number to clinch their first National League East title since 2011 to nine. Wilson’s hit came with two outs in the sixth and went all of 70 feet down the line, but it was perfectly placed and allowed Castellanos to score from third. It marked the third-straight game a Philadelphia bench player came up with the go-ahead hit. The Phillies got game-winning hits from Kody Clemens and Cal Stevenson in the first two games of the series.
Ketel Marte homered and had four RBIs, Eugenio Suárez hit two homers and the Arizona Diamondbacks routed the Texas Rangers 14-4. The Diamondbacks won the series opener between last year’s World Series’ teams 6-0 and jumped on Cody Bradford early in the series finale. Randal Grichuk hit a two-run homer off the right-hander in a three-run first inning, Suárez added a solo shot in the second and Marte hit his three-run shot in the fourth. Adrian Del Castillo added a three-run shot in the fifth inning and Suárez closed out a 4-for-4 day with a solo shot in the seventh. Arizona had a season-high 13 extra-base hits to tie San Diego for the top NL wild card spot. Marcus Semien hit a solo homer and had two RBIs for the reigning champion Rangers.
Kerry Carpenter matched a career high with four hits and the Detroit Tigers kept pace in the AL wild-card race with a 7-4 win over the Colorado Rockies. Carpenter came up in the seventh inning needing a homer for the cycle — the first for a Tigers player since Carlos Guillen in 2006 — but hit an infield single. Tigers starter Casey Mize allowed four runs and six hits in 4 2/3 innings, striking out seven without walking a batter. Tyler Holton got the win with two scoreless innings of relief and Jason Foley earned his 22nd save with a scoreless ninth. Tanner Gordon took the loss.
Bryan Woo took a perfect game into the seventh inning, Luke Raley had a two-run single and the Seattle Mariners beat the San Diego Padres 5-2. J.P. Crawford added a two-run double as Seattle moved within 3 1/2 games of first-place Houston in the AL West by splitting a two-game series with the Padres. Woo retired his first 19 batters before Fernando Tatis Jr. lined a home run to left field with one out in the seventh. Woo’s fastball caught too much of the plate and Tatis was able to keep it fair down the line to end the perfect game, no-hitter and shutout with one swing.
Lane Thomas had four RBIs and the Cleveland Guardians held on behind their bullpen to beat the Chicago White Sox 6-4 for a three-game series sweep. Austin Hedges added a solo home run for the AL Central-leading Guardians, who moved 4 1/2 games ahead of second-place Kansas City when the Royals lost 4-3 in 11 innings at Yankee Stadium. Cleveland and New York are tied for the best record in the American League. The Guardians finished 6-3 on a three-city trip that included stops in Kansas City and at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Chicago dropped a franchise-record 15th straight at home, lost its 17th in 19 overall and was swept for the 24th time.
Matt Wallner homered for the second straight game, Brooks Lee snapped an 0-for-19 stretch with a go-ahead, two-run double and the Minnesota Twins beat the Los Angeles Angels 6-4. Royce Lewis nearly had his sixth career grand slam for Minnesota in the seventh inning, as his drive to left field was initially called a home run but a review showed that the ball hit off the top of the wall and back into play for a two-run double. Nolan Schanuel had his 13th homer of the season among three hits, and Jordyn Adams added his first career homer for Los Angeles, which has lost four of five.
Kyle McCann hit a two-run homer, Brent Rooker had two hits and two RBIs and the Oakland Athletics beat the Houston Astros 5-4 on Wednesday night. The Astros have lost three straight games and their lead in the AL West has narrowed to four games over Seattle with 17 to play. Houston also lost All-Star second baseman Jose Altuve, who exited after the fifth inning with right side discomfort. McCann hit a two-run homer off Hunter Brown, and Rooker hit an RBI single off Caleb Ferguson as the A’s plated three to take a 5-3 lead in the sixth.
Pittsburgh left-hander Bailey Falter carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning and the Pirates beat the Miami Marlins 3-1 for a sweep of the season series. Falter (8-7) allowed three walks before Jonah Bride dropped a single into left field with one out in the seventh, the first of two hits allowed. Four of Falter’s five strikeouts came in the first five batters, striking out the side in the first inning on 10 pitches. The Marlins lost each of their seven games against the Pirates this season. Jonathan Bermúdez (0-1) got through two innings for Miami, allowing three runs and three hits with one walk in his first major-league start.
CJ Abrams hit a home run, Jake Irvin gave up one run and two hits in six innings, and the Washington Nationals beat the Atlanta Braves 5-1. Atlanta starter Max Fried kept his team close, but the Braves only had six hits and fell one game behind the Mets — 6-2 winners over the Blue Jays on Wednesday — in the race for the third NL wild card. Irvin (10-12) held the Braves hitless for 5 2/3 innings. He struck out five and walked one. Fried (9-9) allowed four runs on 11 hits over six innings, striking out six and walking none with one hit batter on 94 pitches.
Paul Goldschmidt’s double in the eighth inning scored Michael Siani with the tiebreaking run, and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Reds 2-1. Siani led off the eighth with a single and stole second. With out one, pinch-hitter Alec Burleson was hit by a pitch. Goldschmidt, who had singled in the first inning, doubled to center off pitcher Buck Farmer (3-1), scoring Siani. JoJo Romero (7-2) got the final two outs in the eighth inning and earned the win. Ryan Helsley needed just eight pitches for a 1-2-3 ninth inning and earned his MLB-leading 44th save in 48 opportunities. Santiago Espinal knocked in the Reds' run.
Mike Yastrzemski homered and drove in four runs, Blake Snell struck out eight in five innings, and the San Francisco Giants beat the Milwaukee Brewers 13-2. Jerar Encarnacion also homered and had three RBIs, and Tyler Fitzgerald and Patrick Bailey each had three hits. Snell (3-3) gave up on run and four hits to get his first home win in a Giants uniform. The reigning NL Cy Young Award winner rebounded after going just one inning in his last start. The Giants knocked around Brewers starter Colin Rea (12-5) early, beginning the game with consecutive four-run innings.
Gavin Lux singled in the go-ahead run with two outs in the seventh inning and the Los Angeles Dodgers rallied after blowing a 7-3 lead to beat the Chicago Cubs 10-8. Shohei Ohtani hit his 47th home run and stole his 48th base while three other Dodgers went deep in the first inning for the NL West leaders. The Dodgers' magic number to clinch the division dropped to 11 after San Diego lost at Seattle. Dodgers reliever Michael Kopech loaded the bases on three straight walks in the ninth before getting out of the jam and earning his 13th save.
WOMEN’S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
A’ja Wilson became the WNBA’s single-season scoring leader and finished with 27 points and 12 rebounds to help the Las Vegas Aces beat the Indiana Fever 86-75 last night for their 14th straight win in the series. Wilson passed Jewell Loyd’s total of 939 points on a jumper from the free-throw line with 26.4 seconds left before halftime. Wilson needed just 35 games to top last year’s record by Loyd, who needed 38 games. Wilson’s previous high was 912 points, set in 40 games last season. She finished the game with 956 points this season and could potentially be the first player in league history to reach 1,000 in a year.
Aaliyah Edwards had 15 points and 10 rebounds, Brittney Sykes added 14 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, and the Washington Mystics beat Chicago 89-58 on Wednesday night to move within one game of the eighth-place Sky for the final playoff spot. Washington (12-24) is tied for ninth with Atlanta (12-24), which hosts the Mystics on Friday in the first of a home-and-home series. Chicago (13-23) closes the week against playoff-bound Minnesota and Phoenix — before a matchup with Atlanta on Sept. 17. Washington shot 50% from the field, with 11 different players making a field goal. The Mystics allowed a season-low 58 points after the Sky shot just 36% with 15 turnovers.
Skylar Diggins-Smith had 26 points, Gabby Williams scored 13 of her 17 in the second quarter and the Seattle Storm beat the Los Angeles Sparks 90-82. Seattle (22-14) stayed within one game of fourth place Las Vegas (23-13), which also won Wednesday, in the WNBA standings. The Storm play at Dallas on Friday before returning home for a matchup against the Sparks on Sunday. Los Angeles (7-30) is off until Sunday. Seattle had its lead trimmed to 75-74 with 4:19 remaining on a Rae Burrell basket, but the Sparks did not make another field goal until Rickea Jackson’s layup with 27.1 left. Williams responded with two free throws at the other end with 25.6 left to regain an eight-point lead.
NFL
The Buffalo Bills and Dolphins face off at 8:15 tonight in Miami.
Meanwhile, Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill is acknowledging that he could have handled himself better in the initial moments of a traffic stop Sunday that left him handcuffed and pulled out of his car by police officers near the team’s stadium. Hill also said he wants one of the officers involved in the incident dismissed from the police force. Hill said Wednesday that he wishes he did some things “a bit differently,” including leaving the window of his car down when officers instructed him to do so. He rolled up the window instead. The incident escalated quickly from there.
The NFL averaged 21.0 million viewers per game during the league’s opening week, making it the most-watched Week 1 on record. The league and Nielsen said Wednesday that the per-game average on TV and digital platforms was a 12% increase over last year. Nielsen began electronic measurement of viewing in 1988. All told, 123 million people saw at least part of one game, its highest total for an opening week since 2019. NBC had the most-watched game, with defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City’s 27-20 victory over Baltimore in last Thursday’s opener averaging 29.2 million on TV and digital. Tom Brady’s first game as Fox’s top analyst — Dallas’ 33-17 win over Cleveland — averaged 23.93 million.
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes says he won't endorse either Donald Trump or Kamala Harris, even as the former president continued to call Mahomes' wife a supporter of his campaign. Brittany Mahomes had liked, then unliked, a social media post in August outlining the “2024 GOP platform.” Patrick Mahomes made his declaration the day after Taylor Swift, who is friends with the Mahomes family, endorsed Harris for the presidency. The three-time Super Bowl-winner said: “I don’t want my place and my platform to be used to endorse a candidate or do whatever, either way. I think my place is inform people to get registered to vote. It's to inform people to do their own research and then make the best decisions for them and their family.”
Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson said he was surprised by the latest civil lawsuit filed against him by a woman who alleges he sexually assaulted her four years ago. The woman filed the lawsuit in Texas claiming Watson forced himself on her during a dinner date at her apartment in 2020. Watson says he was unaware of the allegations before Monday. Watson says he can't be concerned about possible new punishment from the NFL over the matter. The league is examining the new lawsuit to see if he violated the personal conduct policy. He's made just 13 starts in three seasons with Cleveland.
OLYMPICS
When details from a scientific experiment that could have helped clear embattled Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva landed at the World Anti-Doping Agency, the leader of that organization’s reaction was unequivocal: “We have to stop that urgently,” he wrote. No mention of the test became public and Valieva’s defense at the Court of Arbitration for Sport went on without it. The skater was eventually disqualified from the 2022 Winter Olympics after testing positive for a banned heart medication. The AP obtained previously undisclosed details about what could have been a helpful turn of events for Valieva during the probe. They painted a picture of WADA leadership wanting no connection to information that could’ve helped Valieva but ended up unpublished and unused in her defense.
GOLF
Rory McIlroy says the made-for-TV match in December between stars of the PGA Tour and LIV Golf is not about sending a message. McIlroy says it's more about an illustration of what can happen between rival tours and what golf has been missing. McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler are set to play Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau. The only times they've played together this year were in the majors. Jon Rahm is playing LIV Golf's event in Chicago. He says he wants to play his minimum four European tour events this year. But he's not interested in paying fines to do that.
COLLEGE SPORTS
The Pac-12 is ready to begin its rebuild. The conference is targeting Boise State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Colorado State of the Mountain West. According to two people with knowledge of the situation, those schools could be accepted as members, starting in 2026, as soon as this week. The people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the conference’s discussions with possible new members were not being made public. The Pac-12 is currently a two-school conference. Oregon State and Washington State are the only remaining members after the league was picked apart by other conferences.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
The rubble that remains from the collapse of the Pac-12 Conference a year ago created the situation that will play out Saturday with the oddest of rivalry weekends. Oregon State will host No. 9 Oregon in Corvallis, while a few hours' drive up the road, Washington State and Washington will play at a neutral site in Seattle. They are both non-league contests for the first time since the early 1960s. The two remaining schools grasping onto the Pac-12 flag take on their two in-state opponents that bolted for an opportunity in the Big Ten amid the chaos of realignment.
Welcome to rivalry weekend in September. As college football fans continue to adapt to the new world order brought on by conference realignment and playoff expansion, among the changes are a couple rivalries that used to cap off regular seasons are now taking place before summer ends. Despite the Pac-12 falling apart last year, Washington and Washington State and Oregon and Oregon State are playing Saturday. The Huskies and Ducks are now in the Big Ten. The Beavers and Cougars are now the Pac-12. That’s it. Just them. Both rivalry games will be played in September for the first time.
© 2024 Associated Press. All rights reserved.
