MLB
The New York Yankees won the American League East title for a first-round bye in the playoffs, dispatching the Baltimore Orioles with a 10-1 victory behind Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Gerrit Cole. When Cedric Mullins hit a game-ending groundout to shortstop Anthony Volpe, the Yankees came out of the dugout and formed a brief jumping huddle between the mound and second base. New York improved to 93-66 and will open its 59th postseason at home Oct. 5 in a best-of-five Division Series against a winner of next week’s wild-card round. Judge hit his major league-leading 58th homer and increased his RBIs total to 144, the most in the big leagues since Ryan Howard’s 146 in 2008.
Aaron Civale pitched six scoreless innings in his last start before the postseason and Joey Ortiz was a home run short of the cycle as the Milwaukee Brewers defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-2. Civale allowed three hits, struck out five and walked one. He is 6-1 with a 2.57 ERA in his last nine starts. Ortiz, a rookie third baseman, tripled in the third inning and came home on Brice Turang’s ground out to open the scoring. Milwaukee hosts an National League Wild Card Series beginning Tuesday. The Pirates lost for the ninth time in 13 games.
Charlie Blackmon had three RBIs and three runs in one of the final games of his professional career, Michael Toglia had three hits and two RBIs, and the Colorado Rockies avoided a sweep with a come-from-behind 10-8 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. A two-run, game-tying double from Ezequiel Tovar was the catalyst of a five-run eighth inning for the Rockies, who had lost five of their previous six games before Thursday. The double was Tovar’s National League-leading 45th of the season. Ryan McMahon’s double to right field in the next at-bat brought home Tovar for what would be the game-winning run.
Will Smith hit a tying, two-run homer and the Los Angeles Dodgers scored three more runs in the seventh to beat the San Diego Padres 7-2 and clinch the NL West title. The rally was dampened by an apparent injury to All-Star slugger Freddie Freeman, who left the game after awkwardly colliding with Luis Arráez and the first base bag trying to avoid being tagged out. Freeman grabbed at his lower right leg before hobbling off the field. The Dodgers clinched at home for the first time since the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. They overcame an early 2-0 deficit and a solid outing by Padres starter Joe Musgrove.
Shohei Ohtani is headed to the postseason for the first time in his career after the Los Angeles Dodgers won the NL West by scoring five runs in the seventh inning in a 7-2 win over the second-place San Diego Padres. The Dodgers had not clinched at home since the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, when cardboard cutouts replaced fans in the stands. The last time fans were on hand for a clincher at home was 2018. A sellout crowd of 52,433, including retired Dodgers star Manny Ramirez, packed Dodger Stadium for the finale of the crucial series between the top two teams in the NL West. All-Star slugger Freddie Freeman sprained his ankle and was on crutches after the game.
The Kansas City Royals completed a series sweep with a 7-4 victory over the Washington Nationals. Pinch hitter Adam Frazier’s one-out, line drive base hit to left field in the top of the ninth drove in two runs, breaking a 4-4 tie and guiding the Royals to their third straight win following a seven-game losing streak. Salvador Perez's second single of the game scored Frazier, chasing Nationals closer Kyle Finnegan (3-8). Kris Bubic's scoreless eighth earned the win. Hunter Renfroe hit his 14th homer of the season to open the scoring, a 424-feet shot that left the Park at 108.4 mph.
Otto Lopez doubled home the go-ahead run in the 13th inning as the Miami Marlins beat the reeling Minnesota Twins 8-6 on Thursday night. Carlos Correa homered for the Twins, who were 2 for 19 with runners in scoring position and stranded 15 on the night. The Twins have lost six of their last eight and now trail the Tigers and Royals by three games in the race for the last two AL wild card spots. They would be eliminated with one more loss or one victory by Detroit and Kansas City.
Justyn-Henry Malloy’s eighth-inning sacrifice fly helped the Detroit Tigers rally from a 3-0 deficit to move closer to the postseason with a 4-3 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. Detroit, who have won five straight, entered the game tied with Kansas City for the second and third American League wildcard spots, two games ahead of the Minnesota Twins.
The Chicago White Sox averted a record-breaking loss for the third straight day, beating the Los Angeles Angels 7-0 behind Chris Flexen’s sharp pitching performance. Chicago improved to 39-120 with its three-game sweep of Los Angeles. It has been tied with the 1962 New York Mets for the modern major league record for losses since Sunday’s 4-2 setback at San Diego. The White Sox have three games left this weekend at Detroit. They finished their home schedule with a 23-58 record. Flexen struck out seven in 6 1/3 innings in his first win since May 8.
JJ Bleday hit an RBI single and made a magnificent catch in center field, Shea Langeliers had a sacrifice fly, and the Oakland Athletics went out winning in their final scheduled game at the Coliseum by beating the Texas Rangers for a series victory. Bleday and Zack Gelof delivered defensive gems to delight a sellout crowd of 46,889 under a cloudless blue September sky. Fans alternated chants of “Sell the team!” and “Let’s go Oakland!” amid all the mixed emotions and nostalgia at the Coliseum, where the A’s have played since 1968 and enjoyed so many memorable moments.
Manager and former Oakland outfielder Mark Kotsay fought tears as the Athletics bid an emotional farewell to their beloved Coliseum they’ve called home since 1968, complete with all its quirks like plumbing problems and rally possums. Also those stray cats who helped inspire Hall of Famer Tony La Russa’s former Animal Rescue Foundation. Longtime supporters and kids alike stole away from work or school to be at the park for the matinee finale against the Texas Rangers. Kotsay says he will treasure this for the rest of his life.
N-Y Mets at Atlanta 1:10 p.m. (Postponed until Monday)
NFL
Dak Prescott threw one of his two touchdown passes to CeeDee Lamb and the Dallas Cowboys taunted the Giants yet again, winning 20-15 for their seventh straight victory over New York and 14th in 15 games. Prescott has won his last 13 starts against the Giants. He found Lamb for a 55-yard catch-and-run touchdown on a play that ended with the receiver being called for taunting. There were some significant injuries in the fourth quarter with Dallas' Micah Parsons carted off the field with a leg injury and the Giants' Malik Nabers suffering a concussion.
Malik Nabers of the New York Giants sustained a concussion and Micah Parsons of the Dallas Cowboys was carted off the field with an ankle injury during the Cowboys' 20-15 victory Thursday night. Nabers was hurt with 3:30 to play when he fell hard near the Giants' bench while attempting to tiptoe the sideline and catch a fourth-down pass from Daniel Jones. Nabers finished with 12 catches for 115 yards, his second straight game of 10-plus catches for at least 100 yards. Parsons also left in the fourth quarter.
WNBA
Star power, a quest for a three-peat and two franchises looking for their first championships highlight the WNBA semifinals that begin Sunday. League MVP A'ja Wilson and the Las Vegas Aces will face Breanna Stewart and the New York Liberty in a WNBA Finals rematch from last season while Alyssa Thomas and the Connecticut Sun take on Napheesa Collier and the Minnesota Lynx in the other series. The Aces are looking to become the first team since the Houston Comets to win three titles in a row. New York is looking for its first WNBA championship. Minnesota was the dominant team last decade winning four titles in a seven-year span from 2011-2017. They haven’t reached the Finals since 2017. Connecticut has reached the championship round twice since the Lynx’s run, but lost each time.
The Chicago Sky fired coach Teresa Weatherspoon after one season, reports said Thursday. The Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Tribune cited unidentified sources in reporting that Weatherspoon had been let go. The Sky did not immediately return a message sent by The Associated Press seeking confirmation of the reports. Chicago finished this season 13-27 and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2018, despite drafting star rookies Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso. The next coach will be the team’s fourth since the Sky won the WNBA championship in 2021.
GOLF
The Americans have dominated the Presidents Cup and the opening session at Royal Montreal was no different. They swept the first day for the third time in Presidents Cup history. Scottie Scheffler had a few feisty moments with Tom Kim. Xander Schauffele delivered some big shots late in his match and Keegan Bradley put the finishing touches on the fourballs sweep. The last time the Americans swept the opening session, they went on to an 11-point victory. The Internationals are tying to avoid losing for the 10th straight time. They couldn't buy a putt on the back nine.
Three weeks after being asked to modify a $2.78 billion deal that would dramatically change college sports, attorneys redefined the word “booster” in the plan. They hope that will satisfy a judge’s concerns about the landmark settlement designed to pay players some of the money they help produce. As expected, the changes did not amount to an overhaul but the hope is that it will clear the way for U.S District Judge Claudia Wilken to give the agreement preliminary approval. The replacing of the term “booster" is designed to better outline which sort of deals will come under scrutiny.
COLLEGE SPORTS
Seven Mountain West schools have agreed to remain in the league amid overtures by the Pac-12 and other conferences to lure away more of its teams. The move comes after the Pac-12, which was reduced to just two teams after last summer’s realignment, announced two weeks ago that four Mountain West teams would join the league in 2026. Utah State then agreed to join earlier this week. The seven remaining Mountain West schools signed a memorandum of understanding to stay, including Air Force, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, San Jose State, UNLV and Wyoming.
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