MLB
Following a one-year absence, the New York Yankees are back in the playoffs. After spending last year sitting at home when the postseason arrived, the Yankees wrapped up their place in the 2024 playoffs with a 2-1 win over the Seattle Mariners in 10 innings Wednesday night. New York has the best record in the American League at 89-63 and leads second-place Baltimore by five games in the AL East with 10 to play. The latest victory ensured the Yankees at least a wild card. It’s the 59th postseason appearance in franchise history, but the Yankees are still trying to end a World Series drought that dates to 2009, when New York celebrated its 27th title.
Jose Quintana extended his scoreless streak to a career-high 22 2/3 innings and Brandon Nimmo’s three-run homer capped a nine-run fourth as the surging New York Mets beat the Washington Nationals 10-0 to finish a three-game sweep. Luisangel Acuña homered again for the Mets, who have won 15 of 19. They moved a season-high 16 games above .500 and remained tied with Arizona for the second of three NL wild cards — two games ahead of Atlanta for the league’s last playoff spot. Acuña, Mark Vientos and Starling Marte each drove in two runs as the Mets followed a 10-1 victory Tuesday night with another blowout of Washington. Quintana allowed two hits in seven innings. He held Washington without a run in three starts covering 21 innings this season
Jake Bauers hit an RBI single in the ninth inning and the Milwaukee Brewers, who had clinched the NL Central earlier in the day, beat Philadelphia 2-1 to prevent the Phillies from securing a playoff berth. Bauers’ single off Phillies closer Carlos Estévez (4-5) scored Jackson Chourio, who had tripled. Milwaukee closer Devin Williams (1-0) struck out Alec Bohm, Bryson Stott and Brandon Marsh in order in the ninth. Bohm gave Philadelphia a 1-0 lead in the second inning with his first home run since Aug. 15. Milwaukee clinched its second straight division title a by virtue of the Chicago Cubs’ 5-3 loss to the Oakland Athletics.
Trevor Story homered in the sixth inning then scored the winning run on Jarren Duran’s single in the eighth as the Boston Red Sox beat the Tampa Bay Rays 2-1. Story opened the eighth with a comebacker single off Drew Rasmussen (0-2). After stealing second and third, he scored when Duran grounded his hit to right past a drawn-in infield. Justin Slaten (6-2) worked out off a first-and-third, no-out jam in the seventh for the win and Kenley Jansen worked the ninth for his 27th save in 31 chances. Ryan Pepiot struck out a career-high 12 in six innings for the Rays and Taylor Walls had an RBI single.
Tyler Soderstrom homered and Zack Gelof hit a tiebreaking double in the eighth inning as the Oakland Athletics beat the Chicago Cubs 5-3, putting the Milwaukee Brewers in the playoffs. Chicago’s loss clinched the NL Central title for the Brewers, their third in four years. Milwaukee became the first major league team to reach the 2024 postseason. The 22-year-old Soderstrom drove in two runs and scored two more to help Oakland to its first series victory over the Cubs since 2013. Brent Rooker was 2 for 3 with an RBI and two walks. Tyler Ferguson threw a hitless seventh for the win, and Michel Otañez struck out two in the eighth. Mason Miller earned his 27th save, setting a franchise rookie record.
Dylan Cease pitched brilliantly into the ninth inning and Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Donovan Solano hit consecutive homers in the eighth for the San Diego Padres, who beat the AL West-leading Houston Astros 4-0. Machado homered twice for the Padres, who won two of three against the Astros and stayed 2 1/2 games ahead of the Diamondbacks and Mets for the first NL wild card.
Mike Yastrzemski homered on the game’s first pitch, Michael Conforto also hit a solo shot and the San Francisco Giants beat the sinking Baltimore Orioles 5-3. The Orioles have lost eight of 10 to fall five games behind the first-place New York Yankees in the AL East with 10 to play. Before its current skid, Baltimore held a half-game lead. For the second time in two nights, Yastrzemski put the Orioles in an immediate hole with a leadoff homer. On Tuesday, he did it on the second pitch. In this one, he hit Dean Kremer’s initial offering into the right-field seats.
Eric Wagaman scored with one out in the 13th inning when Jordyn Adams’ grounder deflected off the glove of third baseman Miguel Vargas, and the Los Angeles Angels dealt the Chicago White Sox their 117th loss, rallying for a 4-3 victory on Wednesday. Instead of winning consecutive series for the first time in four months, the White Sox tied the 1916 Philadelphia Athletics for the third most losses since 1900. Chicago needs to go 7-2 in its final nine games to avoid the post-1900 record of 120 losses by the 1962 expansion New York Mets.
Brayan Rocchio singled in Andrés Giménez with the winning run as the AL Central-leading Cleveland Guardians scored three times in the 10th inning to beat the Minnesota Twins 5-4. The Guardians reduced their magic number for clinching a playoff berth to one. Kyle Manzardo and Will Brennan both had RBI singles off Ronny Henriquez before Michael Tonkin entered and gave up Rocchio’s second career walk-off hit, a chopper to right through a drawn-in infield. Carlos Correa had a two-run single off Hunter Gaddis that gave the Twins a 4-2 advantage in the top of the 10th.
Adolis García hit a two-run homer in the sixth inning, Cody Bradford pitched seven strong innings after the worst start of his career, and the Texas Rangers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 2-0. The win kept the defending World Series-champion Rangers alive in the AL West race, trailing first-place Houston by nine games with 10 to play. García launched a first-pitch sinker over the left-field wall off Toronto starter Bowden Francis (8-5) after Wyatt Langford singled. Bradford (6-3) allowed five hits and no walks while striking out six. Kirby Yates pitched a perfect ninth inning for his 31st save in 32 opportunities.
Tarik Skubal allowed three hits over five innings for his 17th win and the streaking Detroit Tigers beat the Kansas City Royals 4-2 on Wednesday night to move within a half game of a playoff spot. Riley Greene hit a go-ahead home run as the Tigers won their fourth straight and ninth in the last 11 games. Skubal, who has won his last five decisions, made his case for the AL Cy Young Award stronger by matching Atlanta’s Chris Sale for the major league lead in wins and lowered his AL-leading earned run average to 2.48. He walked one and struck out seven. Will Vest got the final two for his second save.
Corbin Carroll hit two home runs for his third multi-homer game of the year, Eduardo Rodriguez struck out a season-high 11 and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Colorado Rockies 9-4 to avert a series sweep. Randal Grichuk also homered and doubled, Christian Walker drove in two runs with a single and a sacrifice fly, and Pavin Smith had an RBI double in the Diamondbacks’ three-run ninth inning. Arizona remained tied with the New York Mets for the second of three NL wild cards, two games ahead of Atlanta. The Rockies got two-run singles from Ezequiel Tovar and Sam Hilliard.
Marcell Ozuna homered, Gio Urshela drove in three runs and Spencer Schwellenbach pitched six innings of one-run ball as the Atlanta Braves beat the Cincinnati Reds 7-1 on Wednesday night. The win allowed the Braves to stay within two games of the Mets for the final National League wild card spot. Ozuna greeted Tony Santillan with his 38th home run of the season in the seventh, a solo shot that broke a 1-1 tie. The blast ended Ozuna’s home run drought at 26 games and his RBI drought at 19 games.
Shohei Ohtani stole his 49th base and moved closer to becoming the first player in major league history with 50 homers and 50 steals in a season as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Miami Marlins 8-4. Ohtani, who began the day two shy of each mark, singled to lead off the game then swiped second. He flew out to left, struck out, lined out to right and struck out in his next four plate appearances. Tommy Edman hit his sixth homer in the last eight games for the NL West-leading Dodgers, who remained 3 1/2 games ahead of second-place San Diego. Enrique Hernández and Will Smith also went deep and Freddie Freeman had three hits for the Dodgers.
Jordan Walker hit a bases-loaded double to highlight a six-run seventh inning, lifting the St. Louis Cardinals to a 10-5 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday in the third game of a four-game series. Brendan Donovan hit a two-run homer and Masyn Winn added a solo homer. Billy Cook, who was called up Sept. 8, hit his first big league homer, a three-run blast, for the Pirates. Rookie Michael McGreevy pitched three innings to pick up the win. David Bednar took the loss, giving up three runs in 1/3 inning in relief.
MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER
Mikael Uhre scored a goal in his third consecutive game, Tai Baribo added a goal and an assist and the Philadelphia Union beat New York City FC 5-1. Baribo opened the scoring in the 15th minute and then fed Uhre for a one-touch finish to make it 2-0 in the 25th. NYCFC (11-11-7) conceded its most goals since a 7-0 loss to the New York Red Bulls in 2016. Alonso Martínez scored for New York City, which is winless in eight straight, in first-half stoppage time to make it 3-0. Dániel Gazdag, Jakob Glesnes — off a corner kick by Kai Wagner — and Jesús Bueno each added a goal for the Union. Wagner has 50 career assists, tied with Sébastien Le Toux for most in franchise history.
Tom Pearce and Nathan Saliba scored in the second half — the first goals of their careers — and CF Montreal rallied for a 2-2 draw with the New England Revolution. New England (8-16-4) jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the 24th minute on Bobby Wood’s third goal of the season. Teenage defender Peyton Miller notched his first assist in his fourth career start and sixth appearance. Miller, at 16 years, 315 days old, is the eighth youngest player in league history to record his first assist. The Revolution took a two-goal lead in the 35th minute and held it through halftime when 19-year-old Esmir Bajraktarevic took a pass from Gil and scored his third goal of the season and career. Montreal (7-12-10) pulled within a goal in the 54th minute.
Alexey Miranchuk scored on a booming shot in the 84th minute to give Atlanta United a 2-2 tie with MLS-leading Inter Miami, which brought on Lionel Messi as a substitute. After making a triumphant return to the Miami lineup with two goals and an assist last weekend, Messi started this game on the bench. Coach Gerardo Martino wanted to manage the minutes of his 37-year-old star, who is coming back from an injury with the club in the midst of a busy stretch. Messi trotted on in the 61st, shortly after Leo Campana had scored off a deflected free kick to put the Herons in front. The lead didn't hold, leaving Miami with 63 points and an eight-point edge in the race for the Supporters' Shield.
Juan “Cucho” Hernández had a goal and an assist after subbing in to begin the second half, sparking the Columbus Crew to a 2-0 victory over Toronto FC. Goalkeeper Patrick Schulte finished with three saves to earn his 12th clean sheet of the season for Columbus (15-5-8), tying him with Los Angeles FC’s Hugo Lloris for the league lead. Neither team found the net until Cucho took a pass from Jacen Russell-Rowe in the 51st minute and scored for the 14th time this season. Russell-Rowe’s assist was his first of the season. The Crew took a two-goal lead in the 70th minute when defender Andrés Herrera used an assist from Cucho to score his first career goal in his third start and fourth appearance. Sean Johnson totaled two saves in goal for Toronto (11-16-3).
Facundo Torres scored a goal in the 52nd minute, Duncan McGuire added a late goal and Pedro Gallese had two saves to help Orlando City beat Charlotte FC 2-0. Orlando City (12-10-7) has won three games in a row — all shutouts. Martin Ojeda chipped a one-touch cross to the back post and Torres calmly tapped a volley into the net that gave Orlando City a 1-0 lead early in the second half. McGuire chipped a shot over goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina to make it 2-0 in the 89th minute. Charlotte (10-11-8) has lost three consecutive games and is winless in six straight.
Brian White scored in the second half to rally the Vancouver Whitecaps to a 1-1 draw with the Houston Dynamo. Houston (12-9-8) took a 1-0 lead into halftime after Ezequiel Ponce scored on a penalty kick in the seventh minute of stoppage time. Ponce’s third goal this season came after Amine Bassi drew a foul on Whitecaps midfielder Pedro Vite following a video review. It was Ponce’s sixth career appearance, all starts. Vancouver (13-8-7) scored the equalizer in the 73rd minute when White, who entered in the 60th, used assists from Fafá Picault and Ryan Gauld to find the net for the 13th time this season. Picault’s assist was his fifth, matching his career high for a single season. Gauld’s assist gives him a career-best 13 on the season.
Alan Pulido and Erik Thommy each scored two goals to help Sporting Kansas City beat the Colorado Rapids 4-1. Pulido beat goalkeeper Zack Steffen with a rolling shot from the top of the penalty area to give Sporting KC a 1-0 lead in the ninth minute. He doubled the lead in the opening minutes of the second half when, after a Rapids turnover, he split a pair of defenders in the center of the area and scored on a side-netter in the 49th. Thommy added goals for Kansas City (8-15-7) in the 69th minute and another that capped the scoring in the 82nd. Michael Edwards, a 24-year-old defender, scored his first MLS goal in the 75th minute to pull the Rapids to 3-1.
Yuya Kubo and Luca Orellano scored first-half goals and FC Cincinnati held off Minnesota United 2-1. Kubo, making his club-record 150th appearance for Cincinnati (17-8-4) across all competitions, found the net in the 34th minute for a 1-0 lead. It was his 10th goal of the season. Defender Chidozie Awaziem picked up his second assist in his fourth career appearance, all starts. Orellano used assists from Kubo and defender Ian Murphy to score in the first minute of stoppage time for a 2-0 lead at the half. It was the eighth goal for Orellano in his first season. Kubo picked up his second helper of the campaign and Murphy pegged the first of his three-year career. Minnesota United (11-12-6) pulled within 2-1 in the 54th minute on a penalty-kick goal by Kelvin Yeboah.
Sam Surridge scored a goal in the 19th minute, Joe Willis had three saves, and Nashville SC beat the Chicago Fire 1-0. Surridge played a header, off an arcing entry from Hany Mukhtar, that went high above the crossbar before dropping inside the post to give Nashville a 1-0 lead. Nashville (8-13-8) has won back-to-back games following an eight-game losing streak. The Fire had 58% possession and outshot Nashville 10-5.
Gavin Beavers became the youngest goalkeeper to notch an assist on a spectacular goal by Anderson Julio — one of his two on the night — and Real Salt Lake defeated FC Dallas 3-2. Defender Brayan Vera scored on a penalty kick in the 11th minute to put Real Salt Lake (14-7-8) up 1-0. Vera’s PK came after Julio drew a foul on Dallas defender Sebastien Ibeagha. It was the second goal this season for Vera and the fifth of his two-year career. Julio made it 2-0 with an unbelievable goal in the 24th minute. Beavers set the record for youngest keeper to be credited with an assist at 19 years, 142 days. Dallas (9-13-7) pulled within a goal at halftime when Jesús Ferreira scored off a free kick in the first minute of stoppage time.
Teenager David Martínez scored early in the second half to help Los Angeles FC rally for a 1-1 draw with Austin FC. Austin (9-12-8) took a 1-0 lead into halftime when Jáder Obrian used the first career assist from Osman Bukari to score in the second minute of stoppage time — his sixth netter this season. Bukari made his fifth appearance, all starts. Martínez scored the equalizer for LAFC (14-7-7) in the 62nd minute with assists from defender Ryan Hollingshead and Eduard Atuesta. It was the second goal for Martínez in his 11th career appearance — all as a substitute. Hugo Lloris finished with two saves for LAFC, which is winless in its last four overall but unbeaten in its last six matchups with Austin.
Evander scored a pair of goals and the Portland Timbers remained in play for the postseason with a 4-2 victory over the LA Galaxy on Wednesday night. Jonathan Rodriguez and Felipe Mora also scored for the Timbers, who are currently in eighth place in the Western Conference conference with five games remaining. The Galaxy (16-6-7) remain atop the top spot the conference standings and have already clinched a playoff spot. The teams that finish eighth and ninth in the conference will play a single-elimination wildcard match on Oct. 23.
Paul Marie scored in the 89th minute for San Jose, Amahl Pellegrino added a goal for the Earthquakes in a 2-2 tie with the Seattle Sounders. Jordan Morris scored two first-half goals, his second multi-goal game this season, for Seattle. San Jose (5-21-3) has lost five of its last seven. The Earthquakes have 17 points and a minus-31 goal differential, both are the worst in MLS. The New England Revolution are second worst with 27 points and a minus-24 goal differential. Marie tapped a one-touch shot, off a perfectly placed ball from Jeremy Ebobisse, into the net from point-blank range to cap the scoring. Seattle (13-9-8) has 47 points, tied with the Colorado Rapids for fourth in the Western Conference.
TENNIS
Coco Gauff has split from coach Brad Gilbert after more than a year and one Grand Slam title together. The pair announced the news via separate messages on social media on Wednesday. The end of their partnership comes 2 1/2 weeks after Gauff’s defense of her 2023 championship at the U.S. Open unraveled amid 19 double-faults during a three-set loss to Emma Navarro in the fourth round at Flushing Meadows. That was the latest in a series of disappointing-for-her results in recent months for Gauff, a 20-year-old American who recently dropped from No. 3 to No. 6 in the WTA rankings.
NHL
Matthew Tkachuk estimates that he tells a story about Johnny Gaudreau’s exploits, both the on-ice and off-ice variety, to somebody at least once a week. And he’s not going to stop, either. Tkachuk spoke Wednesday about the death of his longtime friend and former teammate, calling Gaudreau “the most offensively talented player I’ve ever seen.” Gaudreau and his brother, Matthew, were killed on Aug. 29 when police said they were struck by a suspected drunken driver while they were riding bicycles on a rural road in New Jersey. Tkachuk spoke at the Panthers' media day, the first formal event of the new NHL season.
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Where did all the goals go? The 0-0 draws between Manchester City and Inter Milan in their rematch of the 2023 final, after Bologna and Shakhtar Donetsk also could not find a goal, capped an untypically goal-shy evening for the Champions League on Wednesday. Just 13 were scored in six games one day after 28 were fired in Tuesday. There were only four 0-0 draws in the 96-game group stage last season. Paris Saint-Germain got a stoppage-time goal to beat Girona 1-0. Borussia Dortmund scored three late goals to win 3-0 at Club Brugge.
WNBA
The WNBA is headed back to Portland, with Oregon's biggest city getting an expansion team that will begin play in 2026. The team will be owned and operated by Raj Sports, led by Lisa Bhathal Merage and Alex Bhathal. They paid $125 million for the franchise. The Bhathals started having conversations with the WNBA late last year after a separate bid to bring a team to Portland fell through. It’s the third expansion franchise the league will add over the next two years, with Golden State and Toronto getting the other two. The Golden State Valkyries will begin play next season and Toronto in 2026.
NFL
Aaron Rodgers will make his first home start for the New York Jets since tearing his left Achilles tendon four snaps into the opener last year, and will face the New England Patriots take at 8:15 tonight in New York. Rogers hasn’t lit up the scoreboard or the stats sheets in his first two games back and has attempted just five passes beyond 10 yards. But he has been mostly efficient. The Jets ended a 15-game skid against the AFC East-rival New England Patriots in last season's finale. They'll try to start their own winning streak when they face the new-look Patriots, who are coached by former linebacker Jerod Mayo.
The worst start to an NFL season for passing offenses in years hasn’t hit the New Orleans Saints. While quarterbacks and offenses around the league have struggled to get going, Derek Carr and the Saints are clicking with an early efficiency that might not ever have been reached before in the NFL. The Saints followed up a 47-point outburst in the season opener against Carolina by beating the Dallas Cowboys 44-19 on Sunday, becoming the fifth team to score at least 44 points in each of the first two games of a season.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Conference realignment has done more harm than good for college football and it’s easy to lament what has been lost in the name of chasing dollars. Then Week 4 of the season rolls around and the schedule is highlighted by No. 6 Tennessee at No. 15 Oklahoma in the Sooners’ first Southeastern Conference game and No. 11 Southern California visiting No. 18 Michigan in USC’s Big Ten debut. Yes, those matchups were created by greed, but they are pretty tasty. That’s how they get you.
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