Strong pitching and a tsunami of late-inning offense have allowed the Washington Nationals to head home with a two-games-to-none lead in the World Series against the Houston Astros. The Nats erupted for 10 runs over their last three at-bats and rolled to a 12-3 rout of the Astros.
Kurt Suzuki’s solo homer broke a 2-2 tie and ignited the Nationals’ six-run seventh off losing pitcher Justin Verlander and Ryan Pressly. Adrubal Cabrera and Ryan Zimmerman followed with two-run singles to give Washington a six-run cushion, and the lead continued to grow with Adam Eaton’s two-run blast in the eighth. Cabrera capped his three-RBI night with a run-scoring single later in the eighth, and Michael A. Taylor went deep for a solo shot in the ninth. Anthony Rendon doubled home a pair just three batters into the game to put Washington ahead. The Astros immediately responded as Alex Bregman ended a 3-for-22 skid with a two-run blast in the bottom of the first off winning pitcher Stephen Strasburg. Strasburg struck out seven and worked around seven hits to improve to 4-0 this postseason. Verlander was reached for four runs and seven hits over six-plus innings to fall to 1-3 in the postseason. Two of his three walks came around to score. The Nationals have won eight straight since falling behind two games to one against the Dodgers in the NL Division Series. Game 3 is Friday in Washington.
Game 1 of the World Series wasn’t exactly a boon for Fox, although it won Tuesday’s TV ratings war. The Nationals’ 5-4 victory over the Astros averaged fewer than 12.2 million viewers, down 11.4% from last year’s Fall Classic opener between the Red Sox and Dodgers. It averaged just 3,000 more viewers than the record low for the opener of a Fall Classic, when the Giants beat the Royals in 2014. However, it was the best viewership for a game this postseason, about 4.7 million more than the previous high for Game 6 of the ALCS between the Astros and Yankees.
NBA
Kyrie Irving scored 50 points in a record-setting Nets debut, but lost his balance and missed a potential winning shot in overtime that allowed the Minnesota Timberwolves to pull out a 127-126 victory over Brooklyn. Karl-Anthony Towns had 36 points and 14 rebounds for Minnesota, and Andrew Wiggins finished with 21 points, including the go-ahead basket with 1:19 remaining.
The Spurs opened their schedule with a 120-111 victory against the Knicks as LaMarcus Aldridge dropped in 22 points and Bryn Forbes chipped in with 20. Dejounte Murray was productive in his first game since tearing his right ACL in a preseason game Oct. 7, contributing 18 points, eight boards and six assists. RJ Barrett had a solid NBA debut for New York, scoring 21 points on 9-for-13 shooting with five rebounds and two assists in 37 minutes.
The Philadelphia 76ers have opened their NBA schedule by knocking off one of their top Atlantic Division rivals. Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons carried the Sixers to a 107-93 win against the visiting Boston Celtics. Embiid finished with 15 points and 13 rebounds, while Simmons paced Philadelphia with 24 points. Furkan Korkmaz and Tobias Harris buried consecutive 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to give the 76ers a 10-point lead after they missed 21 of their 24 attempts from beyond the arc over the first three quarters. Gordon Hayward led the Celtics with 25 points and Jayson Tatum had 21, but Kemba Walker scored just 12 on 4 of 18 shooting in his Boston debut.
In NBA news, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has announced that Salt Lake City will host the 2023 All-Star Game. Salt Lake City previously hosted the NBA All-Star Game at the Delta Center in 1993, when Jazz teammates Karl Malone and John Stockton were named co-MVPs.
Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler missed Wednesday’s game against Memphis for what the team is calling "personal reasons." Butler was with the team for the game-day shootaround this morning, and told the team that he wasn't going to be able to play around mid-afternoon. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra says "everything's fine" and that there is no reason for concern over the Butler situation.
NHL
The Tampa Bay Lightning used a last-minute goal to steal at least one point from the Pittsburgh Penguins. Victor Hedman scored a power-play goal with 56.8 seconds remaining to give the Bolts a 3-2 victory over the Pens. The Penguins thought they might have scored in the closing seconds of regulation, but video review showed Kris Letang’s shot never completely crossed the goal line. Alex Killorn and Cedric Paquette also scored, and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 37 saves as Tampa Bay won for the third time in four games since a 2-2-1 start. Brandon Tanev and Jake Guentzel scored and Tristan Jarry stopped 45 shots in the Penguins’ third straight loss since a five-game winning streak.
The Senators’ four-game losing streak is over after Anthony Duclair scored twice in their 5-2 victory over the Red Wings. Chris Tierney, Mark Borowiecki and Jean-Gabriel Pageau also scored as Ottawa won for just the second time in nine games. Detroit has dropped six in a row.
In NHL news, the Colorado Avalanche say forward Mikko Rantanen is week to week with a lower-body injury suffered in Monday’s 3-1 loss at St. Louis. Avalanche coach Jared Bednar says he's optimistic Rantanen doesn’t have a "four-to-six week injury.” He’s tied with Nathan MacKinnon for the team lead with 12 points, scoring five goals and seven innings.
The Chicago Blackhawks have placed defenseman Connor Murphy on long-term injured reserve and recalled blueliner Dennis Gilbert. Murphy hurt his groin in Tuesday’s 2-1 shootout loss to the Golden Knights.
SOCCER
Alejandro Pozuelo converted a penalty kick in the 90th minute for his second goal of the game and Toronto FC beat top-seeded New York City FC 2-1 in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Playing without striker Jozy Altidore (quad) and defender Omar Gonzalez (hamstring), Toronto advanced to face the winner of Philadelphia-Atlanta game Thursday night on Oct. 30 for a spot in the MLS Cup.
NFL
The Patriots have placed receiver Josh Gordon on injured reserve with knee and ankle injuries suffered in a Week 6 win over the Giants. Gordon is among New England's leading receivers this season, catching 20 passes for 287 yards and a touchdown.
Jets guard Kelechi Osemele says he is having surgery on his injured right shoulder Friday despite the team not yet approving the procedure. The Jets have been fining Osemele for conduct detrimental to the team for not practicing. He says he and his agents have filed a grievance against the Jets.
Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid isn’t ruling out quarterback Patrick Mahomes for Sunday’s game against the Green Bay Packers. Mahomes was expected to miss several games after dislocating a kneecap in last night’s blowout win at Denver. But he was expected to throw during Wednesday’s practice, raising the possibility the NFL’s reigning league MVP could return sooner than expected from a dislocated kneecap. Reid said backup Matt Moore will continue to prepare is if he's against the Packers.
Falcons coach Dan Quinn says quarterback Matt Ryan is hopeful he'll return from a sprained ankle to play Sunday against Seattle. Ryan did not practice Wednesday, and Quinn says the team "will have a better sense" of the quarterback's status on Friday.
Left tackle Russell Okung will make his season debut for the Chargers on Sunday at Chicago. Okung has been out all season recovering from a pulmonary embolism caused by blood clots.
The Cardinals have signed Alfred Morris and Zach Zenner to add depth at running back following injuries to David Johnson and D.J. Foster.
The Lions have signed running back Paul Perkins after putting running back Kerryon Johnson on injured reserve with a knee injury.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh has sent an email to parents of his players, refuting a report saying representatives are working on his departure from the school. In an email, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press, Harbaugh says the idea that he's looking to leave his alma mater is not true. He says it happens every year by unspecified "enemies" to disrupt the program and impact recruiting. Harbaugh is in the fifth season of a seven-year contract and is 43-16 since taking over the program.
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