WNBA PLAYOFFS
Alyssa Thomas had 19 points and 13 assists to help the Connecticut Sun sweep Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever out of the playoffs with an 87-81 win last night. The third-seeded Sun will now face Minnesota in the semifinals Sunday, after the Lynx swept the Phoenix Mercury 101-88 last night. Clark played much better in Game 2 than she did in her postseason debut last Sunday. The AP Rookie of the Year finished with 25 points and nine assists, but it wasn’t enough. Aliyah Boston added 16 points and 19 rebounds.
Napheesa Collier scored 42 to tie a WNBA playoff record for points in a game, and the Minnesota Lynx swept the Phoenix Mercury 101-88 on Wednesday night. Collier tied Breanna Stewart and Angel McCoughtry for the 42-point record when she made 1 of 2 free throws with 3:18 left in the fourth quarter. It was one of just two misses from the free-throw line in 14 attempts for Collier, who was subbed out with 58.3 seconds left. Minnesota plays again on Sunday against Connecticut, which advanced to its sixth consecutive semifinals after an 87-81 victory over Indiana earlier Wednesday.
MLB
The last two games of the pivotal series between the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves have been postponed due to the forecast for inclement weather. New York, Atlanta and Arizona are battling for the last two NL wild cards. Heading into the day, the 87-70 Mets were in the second spot, a half-game ahead of the Diamondbacks and a full game better than the 86-71 Braves. The last two games of the three-game set, originally scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, the games will be made up as a doubleheader Monday in Atlanta. The first game will start at 1:10 p.m., with the second starting 40 minutes after the last out of the first.
Gunnar Henderson had three of Baltimore’s 12 hits in the first four innings, and the Orioles again prevented the New York Yankees from clinching the AL East title by holding on for a 9-7 victory despite another home run from Aaron Judge. Colton Cowser drove in three runs for the playoff-bound Orioles, who tagged substitute starter Marcus Stroman early and improved to 8-4 against New York with one matchup left in their season series. Judge went deep for the fourth game in a row, connecting on his major league-leading 57th homer in a four-run ninth inning. The three-run shot off Matt Bowman upped Judge’s total to 142 RBIs, also most in the majors.
Nick Castellanos, Trea Turner and Kody Clemens homered, and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Chicago Cubs 9-6 and clinched a first-round bye in the playoffs. Castellanos had three hits and scored three times. Bryson Stott also had three hits and Brandon Marsh drove in three runs for the Phillies, who claimed their first NL East title in 13 years on Monday night. Coupled with Milwaukee’s 2-1 loss to Pittsburgh, Philadelphia secured the bye and home-field advantage in the NLDS. Nico Hoerner homered twice for Chicago, and Isaac Paredes hit four singles.
Jonatan Clase hit his first career home run, Kevin Gausman pitched six innings to match his career-high in wins and the Toronto Blue Jays beat Boston 6-1, eliminating the Red Sox from postseason contention. Clase went 3 for 3 with a walk, scored twice and drove in two. He extended Toronto’s lead to 6-1 with a homer off Josh Winckowski in the seventh inning. Alejandro Kirk, who extended his career-best hitting streak to 17 games, had three hits and three RBIs for the Blue Jays. Gausman (14-11) allowed one run and four hits. He walked three and struck out three.
Steven Kwan needed just one swing to show he’s playoff ready. Kwan returned from the injured list and homered leading off Wednesday night’s game as the Cleveland Guardians continued to tune up for the postseason with a 5-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds. Kwan had been out with a back issue and his return provided a nice boost for the AL Central champions, who are trying to catch the New York Yankees for the top seed in the postseason. With Kwan returning, Cleveland optioned outfielder Myles Straw to Triple-A Columbus. Kwan led the majors with a .352 average at the All-Star break. But the 27-year-old was hitting just .201 in 50 games before being placed on the IL.
Five Kansas City relievers pitched 6 2/3 innings of two-hit ball after starter Michael Lorenzen’s early exit, Robbie Grossman hit a two-run single, and the Royals held on to the second American League wild card with a 3-0 win over the Washington Nationals. Michael Massey singled in a run off DJ Herz (4-9) to help lift the Royals to a second straight shutout victory after a season high-tying seven-game losing streak. Kansas City and Detroit are both 84-74 but the Royals hold the tiebreaker over the Tigers for the second wild card. Daniel Lynch IV worked 2 2/3 scoreless innings for the win and Lucas Erceg got the save.
Minnesota’s Manuel Margot scored from second in a five-run seventh inning on one of four Miami errors and the Twins rallied to beat the Marlins 8-3 on Wednesday night. Christian Vázquez’s sacrifice bunt in the seventh was thrown wide of first base, allowing Margot to score. Carlos Correa followed with an RBI double that scored Vázquez, and Carlos Santana added a three-run double as Minnesota snapped a three-game losing streak and sent Miami to its 100th loss of the season for the fourth time in franchise history. The Twins kept their playoff hopes alive with the victory.
Mitch Garver and Julio Rodríguez homered, and the Seattle Mariners took advantage of five Houston errors during an 8-1 victory over the Astros. Seattle won for the fifth time in seven games as it tries to rally into an AL wild card. It is chasing Detroit and Kansas City for one of the last two spots. The Mariners were down 1-0 before rallying in the sixth. George Kirby pitched six innings of four-hit ball in his third consecutive win. He struck out six and walked one.
Parker Meadows and Spencer Torkelson homered, and the Detroit Tigers strengthened their bid for an AL wild card with a 7-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. Detroit moved 10 games over .500 with its fourth consecutive victory. It is tied with Kansas City for second in the wild-card standings behind Baltimore. The Tigers play the Rays on Thursday before finishing the season with three home games against the lowly Chicago White Sox. Detroit is 29-11 since Aug. 10, thanks to ace Tarik Skubal, one of the favorites for the AL Cy Young Award, and a cast of young pitchers.
The Chicago White Sox avoided a record-breaking 121st loss for the second straight game, beating the Los Angeles Angels 4-3 on Andrew Benintendi’s 10th-inning single. Chicago is tied with the 1962 New York Mets for the modern major league record for losses in a season. It plays Los Angeles again on Thursday before finishing its schedule with three games at Detroit. Benintendi delivered the go-ahead hit for the second time in as many games when he lined a one-out single to left-center against José Quijada, helping the 38-120 White Sox put off infamy for the second night in a row. Designated runner Miguel Vargas scored from second.
Wyatt Langford and Adolis García homered to help the Texas Rangers spoil the final scheduled night baseball game at the Oakland Coliseum, beating the Athletics 5-1. An animated crowd of 35,270 came out on a chilly late September evening, regularly chanting “Sell the team!” as a message to owner John Fisher. The A’s have played in the Coliseum since 1968 and are scheduled to move to Sacramento for at least the next three seasons while waiting for a ballpark they hope to open in Las Vegas.
Liover Peguero slashed a two-run double, Luis Ortiz pitched seven strong innings and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Milwaukee Brewers 2-1. Ortiz (7-6) allowed one run on four hits with a walk and five strikeouts in seven innings. His only mistake was a second-inning pitch to Jake Bauers that Bauers sent to the seats in right-center for his 12th homer of the season. Peguero, called up in the final week of the season, doubled off Freddy Peralta (11-9) to produce the only offense the Pirates needed to beat the NL Central champions.
Iván Herrera had two hits and two runs scored, Masyn Winn tripled and doubled and Erick Fedde struck out 10 as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Colorado Rockies 5-2 on Wednesday night. Pedro Pagés had two RBI singles and Thomas Saggese added a pair of hits for the Cardinals, who will try to complete a series sweep in Thursday’s finale. Brenton Doyle homered leading off the ninth against Matthew Liberatore, who was relieved by Ryan Helsley. Sam Hilliard then grounded into a game-ending double play for Helsley’s 48th save in 52 chances. The Rockies need to win three of their final four games to avoid their second straight 100-loss season.
Zac Gallen struck out 11 in six stellar innings, pinch hitter Pavin Smith hit a three-run homer and the Arizona Diamondbacks ended a three-game losing streak with an 8-2 win over the San Francisco Giants. Arizona needed a rebound after a losing streak that included a blown eight-run lead in a loss to Milwaukee and Tuesday’s lackluster 11-0 loss to the Giants. The Diamondbacks responded behind a strong performance from their ace to tie the New York Mets in the NL wild card, a game ahead of Atlanta. Gallen gave up a run-scoring double to Tyler Fitzgerald in the second inning, but shut the Giants down after that.
Shohei Ohtani singled in the go-ahead run before stealing his 56th base of the season in the sixth inning and the Los Angeles Dodgers edged the second-place San Diego Padres 4-3 to move within a victory of clinching the NL West. The Dodgers increased their lead over the Padres to three games with four to play. They need a win in Thursday's series finale to earn their 11th division title in 12 years. Both teams have already clinched postseason berths. The Padres remain 3 1/2 games ahead of Arizona and the New York Mets for the NL's top wild-card spot.
The baseball that Shohei Ohtani hit for his 50th home run, which gave him 50 homers and 50 stolen bases in the same season, is going up for auction on Friday. Ohtani became the first player in Major League history in the 50-50 club. The Los Angeles Dodgers superstar accomplished the feat last week in Miami. The opening bid for the ball is $500,000. There is black scuffing and abrasions on the white leather ball, which was authenticated by Major League Baseball. The fan who caught it is working with Goldin, a New Jersey-based auction house.
NFL
Tonight on Thursday Night Football, the Giants and the Cowboys face off at 8:15 in New York.
NHL PRESEASON
Tampa Bay 8 Florida 7
Washington 5 New Jersey 3
Columbus 3 St. Louis 0
OT Vancouver 4 Calgary 3
Winnipeg 6 Edmonton 1
Dallas 5 Minnesota 2
Detroit 4 Chicago 2
Los Angeles 3 Vegas 2
An emotional video tribute to Johnny Gaudreau and 13 seconds of silence — for his uniform number — opened the Columbus Blue Jackets’ first game at Nationwide Arena since the star player’s death nearly a month ago.The tributes came just prior to the Blue Jackets’ 3-0 preseason victory over the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday night.Gaudreau and brother Matthew were killed Aug. 29 near their boyhood home in New Jersey when police said they were struck by a suspected drunken driver while they were riding bicycles on the eve of sister Katie’s wedding. The driver who police say struck them is charged with two counts of death by auto, along with reckless driving, possession of an open container and consuming alcohol in a motor vehicle.
COLLEGE SPORTS
UNLV and Air Force have decided to remain in the Mountain West, allowing the conference to thwart off attempts at further poaching by the Pac-12 and American Athletic Conference, according to a person with knowledge of the decision. The person spoke to The Associated Press on Wednesday night on condition of anonymity because the schools had not made their intentions public. The Mountain West declined to comment on its internal discussions. The conference has already lost five members to the rebuilding Pac-12 over the last two weeks, incuding Utah State earlier this week.
because of a dispute over a $100,000 NIL payment that was promised but never paid after he agreed to transfer to the Rebels last winter, Sluka’s agent told The Associated Press. Sluka’s announcement came in a social media post. The Rebels are 3-0 led by the Holy Cross transfer, who can preserve his last year of college eligibility by not playing in any more games.
SOCCER
Omar Campos and Kei Kamara scored in extra time and Los Angeles FC won the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup for the first time with a 3-1 win over Sporting Kansas City. Olivier Giroud scored for LAFC in regulation, which ended knotted at 1-1. It was LAFC’s first appearance in the Open Cup championship and snapped a run of four straight title matches without a victory. The team’s last trophy came in the 2022 MLS Cup final. Erik Thommy scored for Sporting KC, which won four previous Open Cup finals, with the last in 2017.
NBA
LeBron James and son Bronny James are already scrimmaging with the rest of the Los Angeles Lakers during voluntary offseason workouts. JJ Redick and his new coaching staff are already planning and discussing the moment early in the new season when a father and son will share an NBA court for the first time. The specifics of that historic day aren’t set yet, but Redick shares the basketball world’s anticipation of the chance to watch the top scorer in NBA history playing alongside the Lakers’ new second-round draft pick. Redick sees only positive aspects in pairing the duo on the court.
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