MLB
Mark Vientos hit a tiebreaking, two-run single during a five-run outburst in the fifth inning as the indefatigable New York Mets continued their thrilling week by beating the Milwaukee Brewers 8-4 in an NL Wild Card Series opener. The Mets didn’t earn a playoff berth until they rallied late from a three-run deficit to win the opening game of a makeup doubleheader Monday in Atlanta, one day after the regular season was supposed to end. Now they’re one win from heading to Philadelphia for an NL Division Series. Milwaukee has lost 10 of its last 11 playoff games, a stretch that began with its Game 7 home defeat against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2018 NL Championship Series.
Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a towering two-run homer on his first playoff swing in four years and Michael King struck out 12 in his first postseason start as the San Diego Padres beat rookie AJ Smith-Shawver and the Atlanta Braves 4-0 in Game 1 of their NL Wild Card Series. Tatis’ 415-foot shot landed in the second deck in left field at Petco Park and sent the towel-waving, sellout crowd of 47,647 into a frenzy. The 25-year-old star missed just more than 2 1/2 months this season with a stress reaction in his right thighbone.
Tarik Skubal added perhaps his most important accomplishment to date to an already sparkling resume Tuesday. The AL pitching Triple Crown winner gave the Detroit Tigers their first postseason victory in more than a decade with a sensational playoff debut in a 3-1 victory over the Houston Astros in Game 1 of their AL Wild Card Series. Skubal, who had had 228 strikeouts to go with 18 wins and 2.39 ERA, allowed just four singles and walked one in six innings.
Bobby Witt Jr. hit an RBI single in his playoff debut to back Cole Ragans’ six sharp innings and help the Kansas City Royals return from a nine-year postseason absence with a 1-0 victory over the Baltimore Orioles in Game 1 of their AL Wild Card Series. Witt is a 24-year-old shortstop who led the majors with 211 hits and a .332 batting average this season. He singled to left field Tuesday off a 95 mph, first-pitch cutter from 2021 NL Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes with two outs in the sixth. Maikel Garcia came around to score after drawing a walk, stealing second and moving to third on a groundout. Ragans left after 80 pitches because of cramping in his left calf. Lucas Erceg earned the save.
WNBA PLAYOFFS
Sabrina Ionescu scored 24 points and the New York Liberty beat the Las Vegas Aces 88-84 to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five semifinal series last night. Game 3 is Friday night at 9:30 in Las Vegas with the two-time defending champion Aces trying to avoid being knocked out by the team they beat in the Finals last year. No team has rallied from a 2-0 deficit to win a best-of-five playoff series in WNBA postseason history. Only Phoenix was able to force a Game 5 in 2018 against Seattle. A'ja Wilson scored 24 points and Jackie Young added 17 for the Aces, who now must have a historical rally to reach the WNBA Finals for a fourth consecutive year.
Courtney Williams scored 17 points and Alanna Smith had 15 points to help the Minnesota Lynx offset an off night for star Napheesa Collier and beat the Connecticut Sun 77-70 to even the best-of-five WNBA semifinal series at one game apiece. Collier scored 80 points in the two-game sweep of Phoenix in the first round. She was held to nine points on 3-for-14 shooting though she led the Lynx with 12 rebounds and five assists. Connecticut will host Game 3 on Friday and Game 4 on Sunday. Alyssa Thomas had 18 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists for the Sun.
NFL
Buffalo Bills edge rusher Von Miller was suspended four games by the NFL on Tuesday for violating the league’s personal conduct policy. The NFL did not reveal the reason for the suspension, which comes as Buffalo prepares to play at the Houston Texans on Sunday. Miller is the NFL’s active leader in sacks. He's eligible to rejoin the Bills ahead of their home game against Miami on Nov. 3. Miller was accused last November of assaulting his pregnant girlfriend at their home outside Dallas during the Bills’ bye week. No charges have been filed, and Miller said in July he considered the case closed.
TENNIS
Second-ranked Aryna Sabalenka has matched her career-best 15 straight wins after beating Madison Keys 6-4, 6-3 to advance to the quarterfinals of the China Open. The three-time Grand Slam winner started her streak with a title at Cincinnati in August and continued with a run to the championship at the U.S. Open last month. She also won the Australian Open earlier in the year. Her previous streak of 15 was achieved across the 2020-21 seasons. The Belarusian has won 30 of 31 sets played during her current streak. Top-ranked Jannik Sinner will play rival Carlos Alcaraz in the men’s final later Wednesday.
SOCCER
Karim Adeyemi starred as Borussia Dortmund has run riot against Celtic while Barcelona and Manchester City claimed their first wins in the restructured Champions League. Adeyemi scored a first-half hat trick as Dortmund routed Celtic 7-1 at home. Robert Lewandowski got Barcelona off the mark as the Spanish giant eased to a 5-0 home win over Swiss team Young Boys. İlkay Gündoğan got City off to a 4-0 win at Slovan Bratislava. Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal outclassed his former team Paris Saint-Germain in a 2-0 win. Debutant Stade Brest routed Salzburg 4-0 away for its second win in as many games in Europe’s premier competition.
COLLEGE SPORTS
Basketball powerhouse Gonzaga will become the latest member of the rebuilt Pac-12 Conference. The school announced the move on Tuesday. Gonzaga will move from the West Coast Conference, where it has dominated for most of the last quarter century into a conference that was being rebuilt around football, but should be pretty stout on the basketball court. Adding Gonzaga still leaves the Pac-12 in need of another football-playing member for College Football Playoff purposes. Meanwhile, UTEP has agreed to join the Mountain West.
LACROSSE
The Albany FireWolves lacrosse team is staying put. The National Lacrosse League franchise says it has signed a six-year agreement to remain at MVP Arena in downtown Albany. The FireWolves have called the Albany County-owned venue home since relocating to the Capital Region in 2021. The franchise, which reached the Finals last year, starts its next season on November 30th.
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