NFL
Aaron Rodgers threw two touchdown passes in a superb homecoming performance, New York’s defense was dominant and the Jets rolled to a 24-3 victory over the New England Patriots. Rodgers started his first game at MetLife Stadium since leaving just over a year ago with a torn Achilles tendon in New York’s opener. He finished 27 of 35 for 281 yards with TD tosses to Garrett Wilson and Allen Lazard as the Jets ended an eight-game home losing streak against the Patriots. Breece Hall ran for a score for New York. Drake Maye, the No. 3 overall pick in April, made his NFL debut late in the game.
MLB
Mark Vientos, Pete Alonso, Brandon Nimmo and Francisco Alvarez homered off Taijuan Walker, and the New York Mets scored 10 runs in three straight games for the first time in their 63-season history with a 10-6 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies. Philadelphia, which leads the NL East by six games over second-place New York, failed in its second attempt to clinch after losing Wednesday at Milwaukee. The Phillies would clinch a playoff berth with one win over the Mets during the four-game series. New York won its fourth straight game and leads Atlanta by two games for the NL’s final wild-card position.
Logan Gilbert allowed two runs pitching into the sixth inning and reached the 200-strikeout mark for the season, J.P. Crawford had a key two-out RBI single as part of Seattle’s three-run first inning, and the Mariners beat the New York Yankees 3-2. Seattle salvaged the final game of the series and stayed on the fringes of the playoff race, pulling within two games of Minnesota and Detroit for the final wild card spot in the American League ahead of a six-game road trip to Texas and Houston. A day after clinching a postseason berth, the Yankees saw their lead in the AL East trimmed to four games after Baltimore’s victory.
Zack Littell allowed one hit over seven innings and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Boston Red Sox 2-0. Littell (8-9), who made his team-leading 28th start in his first full season as starter, struck out seven and did not issue a walk. After Edwin Uceta pitched a perfect eighth, Garrett Cleavinger worked a 1-2-3 ninth to get his sixth save in seven chances. Nick Sogard’s two-out single in the third was Boston’s only hit of the game. Brandon Lowe and Dylan Carlson drove in Tampa Bay's runs. Boston fell four games back of the third AL wild card. The Rays are five back.
Anthony Santander hit a game-ending, two-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning, and the Baltimore Orioles moved closer to a postseason berth with a 5-3 victory over the San Francisco Giants. Santander's longball off Ryan Walker was his 42nd of the season. Casey Schmitt tied it on a single in the top of the inning. Baltimore entered the game Thursday having lost three in a row and eight of 10. The Orioles moved three games ahead of idle Kansas City for the top AL wild-card spot. The Giants were eliminated from playoff contention.
Andrés Giménez singled home José Ramírez from second base in the 10th inning as the Cleveland Guardians clinched a playoff berth in dramatic, fitting fashion, beating the Minnesota Twins 3-2. As Ramírez rounded third, Cleveland’s dugout emptied onto the field in celebration as the Guardians posted their MLB-leading 42nd comeback win and second straight in extra innings. The Guardians are the second AL team to qualify for the postseason, following the New York Yankees, who locked up a spot Wednesday. Cleveland now has a chance to possibly end baseball’s longest active World Series drought, dating to 1948 when the team was known as the Indians.
Kevin Gausman pitched five no-hit innings before exiting with lower back tightness, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit two solo homers after that and the Toronto Blue Jays blanked the Texas Rangers 4-0. Texas had only two singles against Gausman and four relievers. Gausman got his 13th win with six strikeouts and one walk. Guerrero has 30 homers after going deep in the seventh and ninth innings. The reigning World Series champion Rangers were officially eliminated from the AL West race, falling 9 1/2 games behind the division-leading Houston Astros with nine games remaining.
Jon Singleton’s tiebreaking two-run double with two outs in the eighth inning lifted the Houston Astros to a 3-1 win over the Los Angeles Angels. Houston’s magic number to clinch the AL West dropped to five. Yusei Kikuchi allowed five hits and a run while striking out nine in six innings as the Astros improved to 9-0 in his nine starts since a trade from Toronto on July 29. Taylor Ward hit a leadoff homer for the Angels, who went 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position to snap a two-game winning streak.
Matt Olson hit two of Atlanta’s six home runs, Chris Sale coasted to his career-high 18th win and the Braves beat the Cincinnati Reds 15-3. The Braves remained two games behind the final NL wild-card spot. Sale (18-3) leads the majors in wins, ERA (2.38) and strikeouts (225). Sale pitched five innings, allowing two runs and five hits with two walks and six strikeouts. It was the 18th consecutive game in which he allowed two runs or fewer.
Shohei Ohtani has become the first major league player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a season. He did it by going deep three times and swiping two bags yesterday against the Miami Marlins. Ohtani hit his 49th homer in the sixth inning, his 50th in the seventh and his 51st in the ninth. He finished 6 for 6 with 10 RBIs while becoming the first player in big league history to hit three homers and steal two bases in a game. The Japanese superstar reached the second deck in right-center on two of his three homers at LoanDepot Park.
Yasmani Grandal homered, Nick Gonzales drove in the winning run with a single in the eighth inning, and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the St. Louis Cardinals 3-2 to snap a three-game losing streak. Pirates starter Luis Ortiz allowed two runs on five hits and had seven strikeouts in six innings. Carmen Mlodzinski (4-5) and Dennis Santana each tossed a scoreless inning, and Aroldis Chapman pitched the ninth to earn his 10th save in 15 chances. Brendan Donovan drove in both of the Cardinals runs. JoJo Romero took the loss.
Brandon Pfaadt tied an Arizona franchise record by striking out seven straight batters to highlight his dominating performance as the Diamondbacks boosted their playoff hopes by defeating the Milwaukee Brewers 5-1. The Brewers were playing one night after clinching the NL Central title. Pfaadt collected a career-high 12 strikeouts while allowing just one run and two hits in seven innings. He silenced Milwaukee five nights after allowing eight runs over 1 2/3 innings in a 15-8 loss to the Brewers. Pavin Smith hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning for the Diamondbacks.
Seiya Suzuki homered, Cody Bellinger drove in three runs and the Chicago Cubs topped the Washington Nationals 7-6 on Thursday night to stave off elimination from the postseason. Joey Gallo hit a three-run home run for Washington, which has dropped four straight. The Cubs trailed 6-5 after Gallo’s shot in the sixth but took the lead for good with a two-run seventh. Bellinger singled in the tying run and Isaac Paredes came up next and added an RBI groundout. Dansby Swanson had three hits and scored four times for Chicago, which remained seven games out of the final NL wild card berth with nine to play after New York and Arizona won earlier Thursday.
In what has become a fall custom, the Los Angeles Dodgers are heading to the playoffs. The Dodgers clinched their 12th consecutive postseason berth Thursday with a 20-4 rout of the Miami Marlins on the same night that star slugger Shohei Ohtani homered three times and stole two bases to become the first player in major league history with 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a season. The magic number for the NL West-leading Dodgers to clinch the NL West dropped to six. They hold a 2 1/2-game lead over the Milwaukee Brewers in their pursuit of the NL’s No. 2 seed.
Shohei Ohtani's feat of becoming the first major leaguer with at least 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a season was met with extra editions of newspapers for fans to read on their way to work. Ohtani raced past the 50-50 milestone as he hit three homes and stole two bases in a game during the 20-4 rout of the Miami Marlins on Thursday, securing a playoff berth for the Dodgers. The news topped morning headlines, and “Ohtani-san” was the No. 1 trending topic of social media platform X.
Among the roughly 23,000 men who played played Major League Baseball over the past century-and-a-half, none had a season with 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases — until now. Shohei Ohtani became the first 50-50 player on Thursday when the Los Angeles Dodgers star hit his 50th and 51st home runs and stole his 50th and 51st bases.
WNBA
Tina Charles had a record night to lift the Atlanta Dream into the WNBA playoffs with a 78-67 win over the New York Liberty yesterday. Charles finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds, breaking the league records for both career rebounds and double-doubles. Rhyne Howard and Naz Hillmon each scored 13 points to lead the Dream. Atlanta came into the game knowing it could clinch a playoff berth win a victory while the Liberty had nothing really to play for having already sewn up the No. 1 seed. The two teams will meet again Sunday in the first round of the postseason in New York.
Tyasha Harris scored 15 points, DiJonai Carrington had 12 points and 12 rebounds, and the Connecticut Sun erupted in the third quarter to throttle the Chicago Sky 87-54. With the win in their regular-season finale, the Sun (28-12) clinched the No. 3 seed in the playoffs and will face sixth-seed Indiana in the first round starting Sunday. The loss eliminated Chicago (13-27) from playoff contention. Dana Evans scored 14 points for the Sky, Isabelle Harrison had 13 and Kaela Davis added 12. The Sun outscored the Sky 23-6 in the third to pull away.
Sika Kone scored a career-high 20 points and the Washington Mystics pulled out a 92-91 win over Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever on Thursday night before a record crowd of 20,711, the largest in WNBA history. The Mystics began the game with a shot at the final playoff spot but that hope ended when the Atlanta Dream won at New York to secure the No. 8 seed. Ariel Atkins and Emily Engstler scored 17 points apiece for Washington. Indiana had already locked up the No. 6 seed and pulled its starters midway through the second half. Clark had eight points, eight assists and five rebounds in 20 minutes.
Dearica Hamby scored 20 points, Rickea Jackson added 19 and the last-place Los Angeles Sparks closed the WNBA season with a 68-51 win over the playoff-bound Minnesota Lynx. The Sparks ended an eight-game losing streak and stopped Minnesota’s seven-game winning streak. The second-seeded Lynx are home against seventh-seeded Phoenix in the best-of-three opening round on Sunday afternoon. Resting All-Star and Olympian Napheesa Collier and 3-point sharpshooter Kayla McBride, the Lynx had their worst offensive output of the season as no player reached double figures and the team shot 28.6% from the field.
Megan Gustafson scored a career-high 24 points and the two-time defending champion Las Vegas Aces rolled to a 98-84 win over the Dallas Wings on Thursday night despite resting four starters. The fourth-seeded Aces open their best-of-three first-round series at home on Sunday against the fifth-seeded Seattle Storm. Tiffany Hayes added 21 points for the Aces, who rested MVP favorite A’ja Wilson, as well as fellow Olympians Kelsey Plum, Chelsea Gray and Jackie Young. Sydney Colson scored 13 points, Kierstan Bell had 12 and Alysha Clark contributed 10. Satou Sabally scored 25 to lead the Wings, who were without top scorer Arike Ogunbowale because of illness.
Diana Taurasi tired to address the Phoenix Mercury crowd, but was interrupted. They wanted her to play one more year. Taurasi hasn't announced whether she will or not, marking Thursday night's game against Seattle as the potential final at home of her 20-year career. The Storm spoiled Taurasi's night with an 89-70 win, but did little to diminish what she accomplished during an unparalleled career. If this is the end, Taurasi leaves as a six-time Olympic medalist, three-time WNBA champion and the league's all-time leading scorer. The Mercury's season will continue with a best-of-three playoff series against Minnesota, but there's no guarantee she will return for another home game.
The impact of this year’s transformational WNBA season can be found anywhere one looks. Sold out arenas became the norm. Television ratings helped expand the fan base. The continual record-breaking quests of Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, A’ja Wilson and others emerged as part of routine conversations. Social media posts spurred sometimes heated debates about everything from basketball to culture. Yes, Year 1 of the Clark & Reese Show has been unlike anything the league has ever seen and with the playoffs looming, the final chapter is still unscripted. It's just what the league needed.
SOCCER
Two of the world’s most exciting young players shone on club soccer’s biggest stage but with mixed fortunes. Teenager Lamine Yamal’s goal couldn’t prevent 10-man Barcelona from falling to a 2-1 defeat at Monaco in the Champions League and bringing an end to its perfect start to the season. It took Florian Wirtz less than five minutes to score on his Champions League debut. Wirtz also netted another as Bayer Leverkusen romped to a 4-0 win at Feyenoord. Europa League winner Atalanta had a penalty saved in a 0-0 draw with Arsenal. Atlético Madrid beat Leipzig 2-1 and Benfica topped Red Star Belgrade 2-1. Brest’s first-ever appearance in European competition ended in a 2-1 win over Sturm Graz.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Texas coach Steve Sarkisian says freshman quarterback Arch Manning will get his first career start Saturday against Louisiana-Monroe. Regular starter Quinn Ewers continues to recover from a strained muscle in his abdomen. Manning relieved Ewers in last week's win over UTSA and passed for four touchdowns and ran for another. Texas is playing its first game as No. 1 since 2008. The Longhorns start their first SEC schedule Sept. 28 against Mississippi State.
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