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#SportsReport: Nationals Win NL Pennant; Astros Beat Yankees

Washington Nationals logo
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Washington Nationals Logo

The Nationals have their first pennant in franchise history, and Washington has its first pennant in 86 years. The Nationals completed a four-game sweep of the Cardinals in the National League Championship Series by erupting for seven runs off Dakota Hudson and Adam Wainwright in the first inning of a 7-4 victory in Washington. 

Patrick Corbin and three relievers combined on a five-hitter against the punchless Redbirds, who managed just 16 hits the entire series. Anthony Rendon put Washington ahead with his seventh RBI of the postseason, a sacrifice fly that scored leadoff hitter Trea Turner. Juan Soto hit an RBI double and Victor Robles followed with a RBI single before Yan Gomes poked a two-run single that chased Hudson. Wainwright later served up a two-run single by Turner to put the Nationals ahead by seven. The Redbirds began to chip away at their deficit when Yadier Molina homered in the fourth inning off Corbin. St. Louis later scored three times in the fifth, capped by a two-run double by Jose Martinez. Corbin left the game after striking out 12 and allowing four hits over five innings.

The Nationals had never won a pennant, even when the franchise was the Montreal Expos from 1969-2004. Washington’s last pennant winner was the 1933 Senators, who dropped a five-game series with the New York Giants. Washington will host Games 3 through 5 of the World Series.

The Houston Astros now have back-to-back victories since opening the American League Championship Series with a 7-0 loss to the New York Yankees. Gerrit Cole tossed seven shutout innings today and the Astros homered twice in a 4-1 win over the Yankees in the Bronx. Cole struck out seven and worked around five walks by holding New York to four hits. The right-hander has won his last 19 decisions since allowing six runs over five innings of a 9-4 loss to the White Sox on May 22. Cole is 3-0 with 32 strikeouts and a 0.40 ERA in three starts this postseason.

Jose Altuve and Josh Reddick hit solo homers off losing pitcher Luis Severino, who gave up five hits over 4 1/3 innings. Altuve opened the scoring two batters into the game and provided two of the Astros’ seven hits. Reddick added a second-inning blast to make it 2-0. Altuve also scored on a wild pitch in the seventh before Yuli Gurriel lifted a sacrifice fly later in the inning. The Yankees were blanked until red-hot Gleyber Torres homered off Joe Smith. Torres is 5-12 with two home runs and six RBIs in the series after hitting .417 with a home run, three doubles and four ribbies in the division series against the Twins. Game 4 is Wednesday in the Bronx. Both managers have said they will make it a bullpen day.

NFL

One NFL executive says the Detroit Lions were unfairly punished by an erroneous penalty during Monday’s 23-22 loss to the Packers in Green Bay. Executive vice president Troy Vincent says the second hands to the face call on Lions defensive end Trey Flowers was incorrect. Flowers was flagged for the same infraction during the second half. Vincent felt the first call was legitimate but said of the second: “When you look at and review the play, it's not something you want to see called.” Flowers had never been whistled for hands-to-the-face fouls in his five-year NFL career. The second penalty allowed the Packers to continue a game-winning drive that put them near the Detroit goal line before Mason Crosby hit a game-winning field goal as time expired. The Lions led 22-13 with just over nine minutes remaining before Green Bay stayed atop the NFC North at 5-1.

The Patriots have signed tight ends Ben Watson and Eric Tomlinson and released quarterback Cody Kessler. New England announced the moves on Tuesday. Watson rejoins the team less than a week after being released.

Jalen Ramsey has been traded by the Jaguars to the Rams in a series of moves by Los Angeles. The Rams acquired the disgruntled cornerback for first-round picks in 2020 and 2021, along with a fourth-round pick in 2021. The two-time Pro Bowl selection had asked to be traded a month ago.

The Rams have traded two-time Pro Bowl cornerback Marcus Peters to the Ravens for linebacker Kenny Young and an undisclosed pick in the 2020 draft. Peters has been a starter since the Rams acquired him from Kansas City before last season. He has five interceptions since joining Los Angeles, but his rookie contract expires at the end of this season.

The Browns have dealt disappointing center Austin Corbett to the Rams for an undisclosed 2021 draft pick. Corbett was viewed as a potential long-term answer at left tackle when the Browns took him with the 33rd pick in last year’s NFL draft, but he hasn't developed as quickly as the team had hoped. Corbett appeared in three games this season after playing in 11 last year.

The league says the number of concussions in exhibition games this year rose to 49 from 34 in 2018, an increase of 44 percent and a setback in efforts to reduce brain trauma. Concussions in preseason practices fell to 30 from 45 in 2018, perhaps a reflection of the NFL's decision this year to eliminate drills that involve especially violent one-on-one contact. The total of 79 preseason concussions in practice and games was the same a year ago.

The Chicago Bears have put Pro Bowl defensive tackle Akiem Hicks on injured reserve, the latest blow on the injury front for a team trying to keep up in the NFC North. Hicks suffered an elbow injury Oct. 6 against the Oakland Raiders. Coach Matt Nagy had suggested Hicks might return this season and putting him on IR allows the Bears to bring him back in eight weeks.

Cowboys defensive end Tyrone Crawford is set to undergo season-ending hip surgery for an injury that bothered him through the offseason. Crawford tried to play through the issue early this season but was active for just two games, recording his only sack in Week 2 at Washington.

The Steelers say defensive end Stephon Tuitt is done for the season and was placed on injured reserve, two days after he tore a pectoral muscle in the first quarter of a 24-17 win over the Chargers. The six-year veteran was in the midst of his best season, racking up 3½ sacks and six tackles for loss in just over five games.

Saints defensive back P.J. Williams has been suspended two games for a violation of the NFL's substance abuse policy. The league statement does not specify which banned substance Williams was determined to have used. However, Williams was arrested in January for allegedly driving while intoxicated just days after the Saints' loss in the NFC Championship game.

Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield is limited in practice after injuring his left hip against Seattle. Mayfield was hurt on a run in the second quarter. He left the field briefly for treatment and tests but didn't miss a play in Cleveland's 32-28 loss Sunday.

NHL

Michael Frolik scored in his 800th NHL game and the Flames snapped a two-game losing streak by defeating the Flyers, 3-1. Andrew Mangiapane also scored, and Elias Lindholm added an empty-net goal for Calgary. Brian Elliott made 35 saves in his first start of the season for Philadelphia.

The Tampa Bay Lightning picked up a much-needed win after opening 1-2-1 on their six-game road trip. Andrei Vasilevskiy turned back 33 shots and the Lightning bounced back from Saturday’s 4-2 loss at Ottawa by downing the Canadiens, 3-1. Vasilevskiy stymied a team that was averaging four goals a game, blanking Monday after Jeff Petry beat him in the first period. Braydon Coburn, Steven Stamkos and Tyler Johnson scored to help Tampa Bay move to 3-2-1 on the season. Carey Price stopped 19 shots for the Habs, who are off to a 2-2-2 start.

Toronto earned a 4-2 win over the Wild as Morgan Rielly tied a Maple Leafs record with four assists in one period. Mitch Marner provided a goal and two assists while the Leafs scored four unanswered goals in the second period to erase a 1-0 lead. Andrea Johnsson, Auston Matthews and John Tavares also scored to help the Maple Leafs win for the second time in five home games.

Petr Mrazek notched his 19th career shutout and first of the season in the Hurricanes’ 2-0 decision over the Kings. Martin Mecas opened the scoring 4:16 into the second period and Teuvo Teravainen added an empty-netter. Carolina improved to 3-0 on the road and is 6-1 overall to become the first team with 12 points this season.

Pekka Rinne is 4-0 this season after making 33 saves in the Predators’ 5-2 win over the Golden Knights. Nashville trailed 2-1 until Colton Sissons, Calle Jarnkrok and Filip Forsberg scored in the first seven minutes of the second period. Kyle Turris and Nick Bonino also tallied for the Predators, whose 28 goals are the most through the first six games of a season in team history.

Arizona had dropped 10 straight in Winnipeg before Christian Dvorak scored a pair of goals in the Coyotes’ 4-2 victory over the Jets. Nick Schmaltz had a goal and two assists to back Darcy Kuemper, who turned back 38 shots. Kuemper has allowed two goals or less in 11 straight games, tying the franchise record set by Nikolai Khabibulin.

J.T. Miller had a pair of goals in the Canucks’ third consecutive win, 5-1 over the Red Wings. Elias Pettersson and Alex Edler each had a goal and a two assists while helping Vancouver go 3-for-5 on the power play. Thatcher Demko had 26 saves and blanked Detroit after the 30-second mark of the contest.

NBA

LeBron James' standing among basketball fans in Hong Kong took a hit because of comments the NBA star made about free speech. Fans gathered on courts amid Hong Kong's high-rise buildings Tuesday to vent their anger. When a ball smashed into a photo of James' face stuck above the hoop and dropped into the basket, the Hong Kong protesters cheered. They also trampled on jerseys bearing his name and gathered in a semicircle to watch one burn. The Lakers forward touched a nerve among protesters for suggesting that free speech can have negative consequences. They have been protesting for months in defense of the same freedom that James said can carry "a lot of negative." The protesters chanted support for Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey, something of a hero among demonstrators in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory for having tweeted on Oct. 4 in support of their struggle, infuriating authorities in China.

© The Associated Press 2019. All Rights Reserved. 

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