MLB
Pete Alonso launched another homer off Aaron Nola, and Sean Manaea took a two-hit shutout into the eighth inning as the New York Mets beat the Philadelphia Phillies 7-2 in Game 3 of their National League Division Series. Jesse Winker also went deep and Starling Marte had a pivotal two-run single to help the wild-card Mets, playing their first home game in 16 days, grab a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series. Game 4 is 5:08 tonight at Citi Field, with All-Star Ranger Suárez scheduled to start for Philadelphia against fellow lefty Jose Quintana. With a win, New York advances to the National League Championship Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers or San Diego Padres.
Six months of success for the Philadelphia Phillies could be wiped out before the leaves start to turn. With one more loss to the New York Mets, a 95-win regular season would become an afterthought. Tuesday night’s 7-2 loss dropped the Phillies into a 2-1 deficit in the best-of-five NL Division Series. Seeking their third World Series title after 1980 and 2008, the Phillies reached Game 6 of the World Series in 2022 before losing to Houston. They took a 3-2 lead over Arizona in last year’s NL Championship Series, and then dropped Games 6 and 7 at home.
Fernando Tatis Jr.‘s towering two-run home run highlighted a six-run second inning, and the San Diego Padres held on to beat Shohei Ohtani and the rival Los Angeles Dodgers 6-5 to take a 2-1 lead in a tense NL Division Series. The Padres moved within one victory of eliminating the Dodgers in the NLDS for the second time in three seasons. Game 4 is 9:08 tonight at Petco Park. Tatis’ impressive homer gave the Padres a 6-1 lead, but Teoscar Hernández hit a grand slam with one out in the third.
Police in California say thieves surrounded Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Walker Buehler last month and stole a pricey watch off his wrist. Police said Tuesday that Buehler was not threatened during the Sept. 28 incident at the Santa Anita Park horse racing track in the Los Angeles suburb of Arcadia. Police investigated two more watch thefts on the same day. Police say they were all victims of organized groups who steal high-end watches in large crowds during events. It came weeks after another professional athlete in California was the victim of a brazen mugging.
Luis Tiant has died at the age of 83. The charismatic Cuban with a horseshoe mustache and mesmerizing windup pitched the Red Sox to the brink of a World Series championship and pitched himself to the doorstep of the Hall of Fame. He was known as “El Tiante.” Major League Baseball announced his death in a post on X on Tuesday. The Red Sox confirmed that he died at his home in Maine. Tiant's death comes one week after that of all-time baseball hits leader Pete Rose, whose Cincinnati Reds faced Tiant’s Red Sox in the 1975 World Series — still considered one of the greatest matchups in baseball postseason history.
Major League Baseball has announced it will produce and distribute local broadcasts for the Cleveland Guardians, Milwaukee Brewers and Minnesota Twins next year. All three teams had contracts with Diamond Sports Group that expired at the end of the regular season. The Texas Rangers, whose deal also expired last month, also announced they will no longer be partnering with Diamond. They are assessing their options for next season. The addition of the Guardians, Brewers and Twins means MLB will be handling the production and distribution of at least six teams going into 2025.
WNBA
Napheesa Collier had 27 points and 11 rebounds and Courtney Williams contributed 24 points and both-ends-of-the-court energy to lead the Minnesota Lynx past the Connecticut Sun 88-77 and into the WNBA Finals for the first time in seven years. Kayla McBride fueled a strong start with 10 of her 19 points in the first quarter as the Lynx advanced to face the top-seeded New York Liberty in a best-of-five series starting Thursday night at 8 in New York.. Minnesota finished two games behind New York during the regular season. They have won three of four matchups with New York this year. DiJonai Carrington had 17 points and 12 rebounds for the Sun.
NHL
Sam Bennett scored twice, Sam Reinhart and Evan Rodrigues each had a goal and an assist, and the Florida Panthers opened defense of their Stanley Cup championship by topping the Boston Bruins 6-4 in the opener for both teams. Euto Luostarinen and Jonah Gadjovich also scored for Florida, while Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 24 shots for the Panthers. Florida raised its championship banner before the game. Pavel Zacha, Charlie McAvoy, Trent Frederic and David Pastrnak scored for Boston, which had won five consecutive openers. Florida is 4-1 in its last five openers.
Jordan Kyrou scored two goals less than two minutes apart late in the second period, and the St. Louis Blues rallied from an early two-goal deficit to beat the Seattle Kraken in the season opener for both teams on Tuesday, 3-2. Philip Broberg also scored for St. Louis, his goal sandwiched between the two by Kyrou. All three goals came in a span of 1 minute, 55 seconds. Vince Dunn and Eeli Tolvanen scored two minutes apart early in the second period for the Kraken. Blues goalie Jordan Binnington made 30 saves. Philipp Grubauer had 22 saves for Seattle.
Utah Hockey Club never trailed after getting first-period goals from Dylan Guenther and Clayton Keller and held off a late rally to beat the Chicago Blackhawks 5-2 in the season opener for both teams. Guenther finished with two goals after adding an empty netter in the final minute. Barrett Hayton added a second-period goal and an assist for Utah. Ian Cole capped the scoring with 22 seconds remaining. Teuvo Teravainen and Nick Foligno scored for Chicago. Guenther scored the first goal in Utah’s franchise history after blasting a slap shot down the middle five minutes into the first period.
NFL
New York Jets owner Woody Johnson sensed his struggling New York Jets needed a change and now, so he made the stunning decision Tuesday to fired coach Robert Saleh Tuesday just five games into his fourth season after the team’s 2-3 start following a 23-17 loss to Minnesota in London on Sunday. Johnson said the current Jets squad is one of the most talented in the franchise's history. Saleh was 20-36 as coach of the Jets. His firing marks the first time in Johnson’s 25-year tenure that a head coach has been fired during the season. Defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich will serve as interim coach for the rest of the season.
A person with knowledge of the decision says the New England Patriots are planning to give first-round draft pick Drake Maye his first pro start in the hopes of ending a four-game losing streak under veteran journeyman quarterback Jacoby Brissett. Brissett was 79 for 135 with two touchdowns and one interception in five starts this season. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the team hasn’t announced the switch. NFL Network first reported Maye’s promotion. The Patriots host the Houston Texans on Sunday. Maye made one previous appearance for New England, coming in at the end of a Week 3 loss to the New York Jets and going 4 for 8 with 22 yards.
The NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers and NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning have left Florida ahead of Hurricane Milton to practice the rest of the week. The Bucs departed Tuesday morning, relocating to New Orleans, where they'll face the Saints on Sunday. The Lightning left Monday night for Raleigh, North Carolina, to continue preparations for their season opener against the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday night. Milton, currently a Category 5 hurricane, is projected to make landfall in the Tampa Bay area tonight. The Lightning’s home opener against Carolina is set for Saturday night and is on as scheduled for now.
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