MLB
Gerrit Cole held the Kansas City Royals to a single run over seven innings last night, sending the New York Yankees to a 3-1 victory that put them back in the American League Championship Series. The six-time All-Star scattered six hits and struck out four before giving way to the New York bullpen. Clay Holmes breezed through a perfect eighth inning and Luke Weaver handled the ninth, extending the scoreless streak by Yankees relievers to 15 2/3 innings this postseason. Juan Soto, Gleyber Torres and Game 3 hero Giancarlo Stanton drove in runs for the Yankees. Michael Wacha failed to make it through five innings for Kansas City, which managed only five runs over the final three games of the series. New York will play Cleveland or Detroit in the ALCS starting Monday night at Yankee Stadium.
Pinch-hitter David Fry had a go-ahead, two-run homer in the seventh inning, then bunted home an insurance run in the ninth to help the Cleveland Guardians force a decisive Game 5 against the Detroit Tigers in their AL Division Series with a 5-4 victory. Cleveland ended a streak of 11 losses in postseason elimination games dating to Game 6 of 1997 World Series. Game 5 is 8:08 Saturday night in Cleveland, with ace Tarik Skubal set to start for the Tigers. The winner advances to the ALCS against the New York Yankees starting Monday.
In the National League, Shohei Ohtani will get his wish to see Los Angeles Dodgers teammate Yoshinobu Yamamoto face off against San Diego's Yu Darvish in the decisive Game 5 of the National League Division Series. The Dodgers announced late Thursday that Yamamoto will be their starter after manager Dave Roberts was cagey about his team's plans earlier in the day. The Dodgers used eight relievers to shut out the Padres 8-0 and set up the dramatic finale between the heated rivals. Ohtani had wanted to see the Yoshinobu vs. Darvish matchup earlier in the series, but the Dodgers switched Yoshinobu to Game 1 and the Padres started Darvish in Game 2.
The Tampa Bay Rays say it may take weeks to fully assess how much damage was done to Tropicana Field, which saw its roof ripped to shreds by the force of Hurricane Milton as the deadly storm barreled across much of Florida. The team said no one was injured when the St. Petersburg ballpark was struck by the storm on Wednesday night. A handful of “essential personnel” were inside Tropicana Field as the roof panels were blown apart, much of the debris falling on the field and seats below.
From their playoff pumpkin to the purple Grimace seat and that catchy pop song by infielder Jose Iglesias, the merry New York Mets are riding a wave of good-luck charms and infectious camaraderie to unexpected October success. First baseman Pete Alonso says: “What’s the point if you’re not having fun? That’s a part of the culture here." Up next, the wild-card Mets face the San Diego Padres or Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS beginning Sunday in California.
WNBA
Napheesa Collier’s turnaround jumper with 8.8 seconds left lifted the Minnesota Lynx to a 95-93 win over the New York Liberty in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals. With the game tied in OT, Collier faked in the lane and scored. New York had a chance to tie it but Breanna Stewart’s layup at the buzzer was off. Courtney Williams had 23 points, Kayla McBride 22 and Collier 21 for Minnesota. Jonquel Jones led New York with 24 points and 10 rebounds. Game 2 of the best-of-five series is 3 p.m. Sunday in New York. Before the game, WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert announced that the league is expanding the Finals to best-of-seven next year.
NHL
Josh Doan tied it with 1:54 left and Dylan Guenther scored his second goal of the game in overtime to give Utah a 5-4 victory over the New York Islanders on Thursday night. Doan tied it 13 seconds after Islanders newcomer Max Tsyplakov scored his first career goal to give New York a 4-3 lead. Lawson Crouse and Barrett Hayton also scored and Connor Ingram stopped 21 shots to help Utah improve to 2-0 in its first season in Salt Lake City after moving from Arizona. Utah beat Chicago 5-2 at home on Tuesday night. Anthony Duclair, Bo Horvat and Jean-Gabriel Pageau also scored for New York in its opener. Semyon Varlamov made 21 saves.
Steven Lorentz had a goal and an assist, goalie Dennis Hildeby won his first NHL game and the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the New Jersey Devils 4-2. Hildeby, Toronto’s fourth-round pick in the 2022 draft, stopped 22 shots in his NHL debut. Max Pacioretty, Bobby McMann and John Tavares also scored for the Maple Leafs. Jesper Bratt and Timo Meier scored goals for New Jersey. The loss spoiled the home debut of Devils coach Sheldon Keefe, who was fired in May after guiding the Maple Leafs for five seasons. He replaced Lindy Ruff, who was let go by New Jersey near the end of the last regular season.
Jeremy Swayman made his season debut for the Boston Bruins in a 6-4 win over Montreal in the Bruins' home opener. The start came just four days after signing a new $66 million contract and three after his first practice with the team. Backup Joonas Korpisalo played in Tuesday’s season-opening 6-4 loss to the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers.
Anze Kopitar opened his 19th NHL season providing the Los Angeles Kings a familiar lift. The 37-year-old scored a natural hat-trick with three third-period goals in rallying the Kings to a 3-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres. The Kings captain delivered with numerous questions facing a team coming off its third straight first-round playoff exit, and with key defenseman Drew Doughty out with a broken ankle. Kopitar enjoyed his seventh career three-goal outing by tying the game 13 seconds into the third period, scoring the go-ahead goal with 1:38 left and sealing the victory with an empty-netter.
Anthony Beauvillier scored twice, Joel Blomqvist made 29 saves in his NHL debut and the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Detroit Red Wings 6-3 on Thursday night. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, each with two assists, figured in four of the six goals as the Penguins rebounded from season-opening 6-0 home loss to the New York Rangers on Wednesday night. Marcus Pettersson, Erik Karlsson, Kevin Hayes and Drew O’Connor also scored for Pittsburgh. Alex DeBrincat scored twice for the Red Wings in their opener. Vladimir Tarasenko added a goal.
Linus Ullmark made 30 saves in his first game for Ottawa, helping the Senators open the season with a 3-1 victory over the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers on Thursday night. The Panthers lost captain Aleksander Barkov to an injury late in the third period when he crashed into the end boards. Tim Stutzle opened the scoring on a first-period power play and put it away in the third with an empty-netter. Shane Pinto also scored for Ottawa in the first period. With the Senators holding a 2-1 lead late in the third, Ullmark made saves on Anton Lundell, Mackie Samoskevich and Carter Verhaeghe. Gustav Forsling scored for Florida with 4:12 left.
Matt Boldy and Joel Eriksson Ek scored on a strong night for the second line, Mats Zuccarello added a power-play goal and the Minnesota Wild opened the season by beating former coach Dean Evason and the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2. Filip Gustavsson had 30 saves for the Wild. They improved to 10-1-1 in season openers on their home ice. Gustavsson gave up a power-play goal by Zach Werenski with 2:54 left. Kent Johnson had a goal and an assist for the Blue Jackets. They played their first game under Evason.
Dallas scored three goals on consecutive shots in the second period to hold off the Nashville Predators 4-3 in the season opener for both teams. Mason Marchment scored two goals in the win, while Roope Hintz and Jason Robertson each had a goal. Logan Stankoven had three assists. Dallas opened with a win against a Central Division foe it split the series with last season. Filip Forsberg scored a goal and had an assist. Nashville scored twice in the third. Ryan O'Reilly and Steven Stamkos each hitting the post within the final 50 seconds.
Brayden Schenn scored 45 seconds into overtime and the St. Louis Blues spoiled an impressive debut from No. 1 overall pick Macklin Celebrini to beat the San Jose Sharks 5-4. Justin Faulk tied it with 47 seconds left in regulation and before Schenn scored the game-winner to give the Blues their second straight win to open the season. The Blues overcame a 4-1 deficit in the third to force overtime. Celebrini had a goal and an assist.
NFL
Nathaniel Hackett is out as the New York Jets’ play caller on offense. Interim coach Jeff Ulbrich announced Thursday he is replacing Hackett with Todd Downing, who has been the Jets’ passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Hackett will remain the offensive coordinator in title. Ulbrich took over as coach Tuesday after owner Woody Johnson fired Robert Saleh with the team off to a 2-3 start and on a two-game losing streak. Ulbrich said the change in offensive play callers is a different take on things and a fresh approach for a struggling offense.
Brock Purdy threw for 255 yards and three touchdowns, and the San Francisco 49ers never trailed in a 36-24 victory over the Seattle Seahawks. Deebo Samuel had a 76-yard catch-and-run touchdown and finished with three catches for 102 yards for the defending NFC champions. San Francisco improved to 3-3 and moved into a tie with Seattle for first place in the NFC West after an uneven start to the season. George Kittle added five receptions for 58 yards and two scores for the 49ers, who beat the Seahawks for a sixth straight time. Seattle's Geno Smith threw for 312 yards but was intercepted twice.
TENNIS
Rafael Nadal has announced his retirement. His tennis career will be remembered because of the numbers, yes — the 14 French Open trophies, the 22 Grand Slam titles overall, the nearly two decades in the top 10, and so on — and, without a doubt, because of his riveting rivalries with Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. Also, indelibly, because of the all-out effort and energy he brought to the court every time. So long, that is, as his body allowed. Perhaps not surprisingly, it was his health that eventually forced Nadal to announce his retirement on Thursday after competing only sparingly the past two seasons.
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