For the first time in 32 years the Los Angeles Dodgers can call themselves World Series champions. The Dodgers closed out their seventh championship by rallying for a 3-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 6 of the Fall Classic. It erases the pain felt by the Dodgers and their fans following World Series losses in 2017 and '18.
The Rays led 1-0 until Los Angeles scored twice in the bottom of the sixth. Austin Barnes came home on a wild pitch by reliever Nick Anderson before Mookie Betts outraced first baseman Ji-Man Choi's throw to the plate on a fielder's choice. Betts put a capper on the clincher by leading off the bottom of the eighth with a home run. The Dodgers' rally occurred right after Rays starter Blake Snell was lifted with one out in the sixth. He allowed just two hits while striking out nine in a 73-pitch performance. Manager Kevin Cash pulled the 2018 AL Cy Young Award winner immediately after Austin Barnes singled. Snell's next three batters would have been Betts, Corey Seager and Justin Turner, who were a combined 0-for-6 with six strikeouts against the left-hander on Tuesday. Instead, Cash went with Anderson, who was charged with at least one run in each of his last seven appearances. Tampa Bay's lone run came courtesy of a first-inning blast by Randy Arozarena. It was Arozarena's 10th home run this postseason, extending his major league record. The Dodgers allowed just five hits, two coming after starter Tony Gonsolin was pulled with two out in the second inning. Julio Urias retired all seven batters he faced to get the save. Winning pitcher Victor Gonzalez struck out three of the four batters he faced. Nick Anderson took the loss.
Seager was named the MVP of the series. Seager batted .400 with a .556 on-base percentage, two home runs and five RBIs in 26 plate appearances. The Dodgers had played 5,014 regular season games and were in their 114th postseason contest since Orel Hershiser struck out Oakland's Tony Phillips for the final out of the 1988 World Series.
Justin Turner was removed from the game following the seventh inning, after registering Major League Baseball's first positive test for the coronavirus in 59 days. And he wasn't on the field as the Dodgers began enjoying the spoils of a title earned during a most unusual season. Commissioner Rob Manfred confirmed Turner's positive test moments after presenting the World Series trophy to Los Angeles. Turner returned to the diamond about an hour after the game, hugging longtime teammate Clayton Kershaw and sitting front-and-center for a team photo next to manager Dave Roberts with his mask pulled down under his bushy beard. The 35-year-old Turner has been a staple in the Dodgers' lineup for seven of their eight consecutive NL West titles.
In other MLB news:
Owners will vote Friday to approve the sale of the New York Mets to billionaire hedge fund manager Steve Cohen. That's according to a person familiar with the situation. The proposed purchase of 95% of the Mets by an entity of Cohen was already approved by MLB's ownership committee. Cohen needs approval from 23 of the 30 club owners for the deal to be finalized. The sale values the franchise at $2.4 billion to $2.5 billion.
Starling Marte is staying with the Miami Marlins after the team exercised its $12.5 million contract option for next year. Miami decided to pick up Marte's option rather than pay him a $1 million buyout. The move Tuesday prevents Marte from becoming a free agent this offseason. The 32-year-old outfielder was acquired from Arizona for three players at the Aug. 31 trade deadline and helped the surprising Marlins reach the playoffs by finishing second in the NL East. Marte went 2 for 4 with a double in the first-round opener against the Cubs but was hit by a pitch late in the game and missed the rest of the expanded postseason with a broken left hand.
NFL
Carolina Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey is off injured reserve and could play Thursday against the Atlanta Falcons. The 2019 All-Pro arrived at the Panthers' practice Tuesday with a red jersey and a baseball cap signifying an injured player, but he quickly put on a black practice jersey and a helmet. McCaffrey hasn't played since Week 2 when he suffered a high ankle sprain in a loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
In other NFL news:
Wide receiver Dez Bryant has signed with the Ravens and has been assigned to the practice squad. Bryant last played in 2017, when he had 69 catches for 838 yards in his eighth and final season in Dallas. He signed with New Orleans in November 2018 but tore his Achilles tendon before getting into a game.
The Rams have released rookie kicker Samuel Sloman after seven games with the team. Veteran NFL kicker Kai Forbath is expected to take over for Sloman. The Rams signed Forbath last week off the Bears' practice squad.
The Cardinals have placed defensive end Zach Allen and linebacker Isaiah Irving on injured reserve two days after the team's 37-34 overtime win against the Seahawks. Several other Arizona players left the game with injuries, including defensive tackle Jordan Phillips, linebacker Jordan Hicks and running back Kenyan Drake.
The Lions have acquired veteran defensive end Everson Griffen from the Cowboys for a conditional draft pick that could be as high as a fifth-rounder in 2021. The 32-year-old Griffen has 77 career sacks, including 2 1/2 this season as a reserve in seven games with Dallas.
Free agent safety Eric Reid says he declined an offer to join Washington's practice squad following a season-ending injury to safety Landon Collins in Sunday's win over Dallas. Reid tells The Associated Press that he doesn't think playing on the practice squad is reflective or indicative of his career. The 28-year-old Reid played two seasons for Washington coach Ron Rivera in Carolina.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Penn State running back Noah Cain will miss the rest of the season with an injury, another blow to the Nittany Lions' backfield. Penn State coach James Franklin declined to give specifics of Cain's injury, but the sophomore left Saturday's game against Indiana early and reportedly was seen on the sideline later with a walking boot on his left foot. The loss of Cain comes about a week after Penn State announced its leading rusher from last season, Journey Brown, could miss the entire season with an unspecified medical condition.
In other college football news:
Two Conference USA football games scheduled for the weekend have been postponed because of COVID-19 issues. No. 19 Marshall was scheduled to play Florida International on Friday night, but FIU had to call off the game because of a lack of available scholarship players. North Texas at UTEP on Saturday was called off because a surge in COVID-19 cases in El Paso, Texas, has led to a stay-at-home order in the city.
The Florida Gators are reporting six new positive tests for the coronavirus in the past week, bringing the team's total for the month to 37. The 10th-ranked Gators returned to practice and meetings starting Monday following a two-week hiatus because of a coronavirus outbreak. Coach Dan Mullen, at least two assistants and more than two dozen players tested positive following a road trip to Texas A&M earlier this month.
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney says linebacker James Skalski will miss several games with a knee injury and will have arthroscopic surgery. The fifth-year senior was Clemson's second-leading tackler before missing last week's win over Syracuse. Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence says he still has options about next season despite previously saying he expected this to be his final college season. The 6-foot-6 junior widely considered to be the likely No. 1 pick in next spring's NFL draft. The question has come up whether Lawrence should consider staying depending on which team has the top pick in the upcoming draft.
Southern Mississippi interim coach Scotty Walden has left the school to become the head coach at Austin Peay. Walden takes over a program that had been without a coach since Mark Hudspeth resigned in July. Walden's departure means Southern Miss will be on its third head coach of the season.
A judge in Ohio has sentenced a California man to a year and a day in prison for threatening a shooting at Ohio State University in 2018. The government says Daniel Rippy made the threats during Ohio State's defeat of Michigan during the teams' annual football match-up. Federal Judge Algenon Marbley had harsh words for Rippy at Tuesday's sentencing, saying he epitomized fandom spiraling out of control, something that can be ignored in the age of mass shootings. But Marbley also said he recognized that Rippy's mental health issues contributed to the incident. Rippy apologized several times for his actions.
NHL
The Colorado Avalanche have agreed to a four-year deal with newly acquired defenseman Devon Toews. The deal reportedly is worth $16.4 million and runs through the 2023-24 season. Colorado picked up Toews from the New York Islanders on Oct. 12 in exchange for a second-round pick in 2021 and another in '22.
In other hockey news:
An arbitrator has awarded Red Wings forward Tyler Bertuzzi a $3.5 million contract for the upcoming season. The 25-year-old Bertuzzi has scored 21 goals in consecutive seasons. He was an All-Star during the pandemic-shortened 2019-20 season and led the team in goals while setting career highs with 27 assists and 48 points.
The Hurricanes have signed defenseman Haydn Fleury to a two-year contract. Fleury had four goals and 10 assists in 45 games last season.
COLEMAN
Men's 100-meter world champion Christian Coleman has been banned for two years because of three violations of doping control rules. He will miss the Tokyo Olympics next year. Track and field's Athletics Integrity Unit says Coleman will be banned until May 2022. The 24-year-old American had been provisionally suspended from competition since May. Details of his three missed appointments with sample collections officials in 2019 were revealed weeks later. Coleman can appeal his ban at the Court of Arbitration for Sport. He was favored to win Olympic titles after taking gold in the individual 100 and 4x100 relay at the 2019 world championships in Qatar.
NASCAR
NASCAR will make a fourth attempt to complete its playoff race at Texas Motor Speedway on Wednesday after persistent mist and cold temperatures continued the long delay. The race began Sunday and drivers completed 52 of the scheduled 334 laps before mist and drizzle halted the action. The weather did not relent on Monday or Tuesday as NASCAR spent about two dozen futile hours trying to dry the track. The resumption of the race was set for Wednesday at 3 p.m. EDT at the Texas track. The Cup Series is scheduled to finalize the championship field next Sunday at Martinsville Speedway in Virginia. It is not clear how NASCAR may have to adjust scheduling based on the postponements in Texas.
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