MLB:
The longest postseason drought in baseball is over -- the Toronto Blue Jays have clinched their first AL East championship in 22 years. In a double header, Toronto humiliated Baltimore 15-2 in the first, then Baltimore swung back and bested Toronto 8-1, and Boston topped the Yankees 9-5 in 11 innings.
The St. Louis Cardinals clinched their third straight NL Central title by routing second-place Pittsburgh 11-1 in the second game of a twin bill. Jason Heyward had a grand slam in the Cardinals' 100th victory. St. Louis has won 11 division titles since 1994. The Pirates won the first game 8-2. Pittsburgh ace Gerrit Cole allowed two runs in seven innings of work to pick up his 19th win.
Meanwhile in another double header Minnesota beat Cleveland 7-1 in the first and then Cleveland topped Minnesota 10-2 in the second, Oakland eded the Angels 8-7, Texas tripled up Detroit 6-2, Kansas City won against the White Sox 5-3 in 10 innings, and it was Houston over Seattle 7-6.
In the National League, Philadelphia beat the Mets 7-5, Atlanta blanked Washington 2-0, the Cubs won against Cincinnati 10-3, Pittsburgh defeated St. Louis 8-2, Arizona beat Colorado 3-1, Milwaukee shut out San Diego 5-0, and it was San Francisco over the Dodgers 5-0.
In interleague play, Tampa Bay won against Miami 6-4.
Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred envisions more experiments to find ways to speed up the game, such as limiting pitching changes and trips to the mound, or requiring each pitcher to face multiple batters.
Concerned the average time of nine-inning games climbed to 3 hours, 2 minutes in 2014, owners and players agreed to install clocks to time between-innings breaks and pitching changes, and to require hitters to keep at least one foot in the batter's box in many instances. The average has dropped to 2:56 this season.
Speaking at a sports symposium in New York, Manfred also said he doesn't see any need to expand the designated hitter to the National League.
MLB-METS INJURIES:
New York Mets slugger YoenisCespedes has two bruised fingers of his left hand after being hit by a pitch. X-rays were negative.
The NL East champion Mets say Cespedes was bruised on the middle and ring fingers. He was hit by an 89 mph fastball from Philadelphia's Justin De Fratus in the third inning.
Acquired at the July 31 trade deadline from Detroit, Cespedes is batting .287 with 17 homers and 44 RBIs in 54 games with the Mets.
In another ominous sign for the Mets, rookie left-hander Steven Matz has been scratched from his scheduled start today because of a back injury, putting his playoff availability in question.
Matz had been slated to pitch in Wednesday's game, then was pushed back a day when he woke up Tuesday with a sore back following a poor night's sleep. Manager Terry Collins said the back issue was lingering.
MLB-SHUTDOWNS:
The Cleveland Indians have shut down left fielder Michael Brantley for the rest of the season because of a sore right shoulder. Brantley injured the shoulder trying to make a diving catch last week in Minnesota. He ends the year with a .310 batting average with 15 homers and 84 RBIs in 137 games. Brantley finished third in the AL MVP voting last season.
Seattle Mariners ace Felix Hernandez is done for the season after manager Lloyd McClendon decided not to have the right-hander pitch on the final weekend. McClendon said it wasn't worth the stress on Hernandez's arm to have him make one more start.
Hernandez finishes the season with an 18-9 record and 3.53 ERA.
NHL:
In the NHL preseason play, the Rangers edged Boston 3-2, Detroit topped Pittsburgh 7-2, New Jersey doubled up Philadelphia 4-2, and it was Carolina over Washington in a shootout 4-3.
NFL:
Two days after saying he expected to play this weekend, the return of New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz seems to be on hold. Coach Tom Coughlin says Cruz was unable to practice yesterday after feeling some discomfort in his calf. Cruz participated in some individual drills, but he shut it down before the team phase of practice.
New York Jets wide receiver Eric Decker remains sidelined by a sprained left knee that could cause him to miss a second straight game. Decker was injured in Week 2 against Indianapolis and did not play against Philadelphia last Sunday. The Jets travel to London to play AFC East rival Miami this Sunday.
The Patriots have released linebacker Dekoda Watson. The Patriots have also released offensive lineman Chris Barker, wide receiver Kenbrell Thompkins and defensive lineman Joe Vellano from the practice squad.
The New England Patriots have acquired defensive tackle Akiem Hicks from the New Orleans Saints in exchange for tight end Michael Hoomanawanui. New Orleans drafted Hicks in the third round in 2012. He's been a starter since 2013. Hoomanawanui started 12 games for New England last season, making three catches. He's played in two games as a reserve this season without a catch.
In other moves around the NFL:
— Drew Brees' return to the New Orleans Saints' lineup seemingly will come sooner than later, even if the club's all-time passer isn't quite ready to guarantee he'll be back under center against Dallas on Sunday night. Brees, who took most of the snaps at today's practice, says he "obviously felt good — good enough to do that." He sat out last week with a bruised rotator cuff.
— The Packers have placed tight end Andrew Quarless on injured reserve/designated to return with a sprained left knee. He will miss a minimum of eight weeks. Quarles was injured in Monday's win over Kansas City.
— Minnesota cornerback Xavier Rhodes has passed his post-concussion tests and resumed practice with the team. He was injured when he ran into teammate Andrew Sendejo during a game against San Diego last week. Rhodes is expected to be OK when the Vikings play Sunday at Denver.
— The Browns have signed third-string quarterback Austin Davis to a two-year contract extension through 2017.
Auto Racing:
One of upstate New York's signature auto racing events is getting a new home. Super DIRT Week will move next year to the planned Central New York Raceway Park north of Syracuse.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo says the state will invest $5 million to help develop the racetrack in addition to $2.75 million previously committed. Cuomo says the state also will pay for some marketing and promotion of the new facility.
The New York State Fairgrounds has hosted the five-day DIRT racing event for decades. But the state fair grandstand and racetrack will be demolished this year as part of a massive makeover of the fairgrounds. The new raceway park is being built in Oswego County by Glenn Donnelly, who started Super DIRT Week more than three decades ago.
NASCAR:
Three-time NASCAR champion Tony Stewart has announced his retirement from the Sprint Cup series, following the 2016 season. The soon-to-be 45-year-old Stewart hasn't won a race in over two years. He said he wasn't pressured into the decision and that his involvement in the death of dirt track racer Kevin Ward Jr. during a race a year ago had nothing to do with it either.
Stewart says that Clint Bowyer will replace him in the No. 14 car in 2017.
In news regarding the Ward case, a federal judge in Utica, New York, has ruled that a lawsuit against Stewart over the death of Ward, whom he struck over during a race, will remain in central New York. The Post-Standard of Syracuse reports the judge rejected a request from Stewart's lawyers to have the case transferred from Utica to Rochester.
Ward had gotten out of his car after it spun out and was walking toward Stewart's approaching car when he was hit by the NASCAR veteran's vehicle.
Olympics:
Elena Delle Donne, Candace Parker and Sue Bird will lead a group of U.S. basketball players to Europe to train in preparation for next year's Olympics. Joining them will be Stefanie Dolson, Candice Dupree, Angel McCoughtry, Danielle Robinson, Courtney Vandersloot and Tina Charles. Brittney Griner will be with the team after serving a suspension mandated by USA Basketball for her domestic violence arrest in April. UConn senior Breanna Stewart will also be making the trip.
NCAA:
The UConn's men's basketball team ended its summer workouts and unofficially began the new basketball season yesterday by completing the annual Husky run through campus. Sophomore swingman Daniel Hamilton was the first member of the team to complete the annual 3.1-mile race. He finished in 20 minutes, 21 seconds.
A federal appeals court in San Francisco says the NCAA does not have to allow schools to pay players up to $5,000. As part of the same ruling the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the NCAA's use of college athletes' names, images and likenesses in video games and TV broadcasts violated antitrust laws.
The NCAA had appealed U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken's 2014 decision to allow players in the top division of college football and in Division I men's basketball to be paid. The money would have been put in a trust fund and given to them when they left school.
The Appeals Court said the NCAA could not stop schools from providing full scholarships to student athletes but vacated a proposal for deferred cash payments.
NBA:
Bulls guard Derrick Rose has had surgery to repair his left eye socket after he was injured in practice yesterday. Coach Fred Hoiberg says Rose should be able to resume basketball activities in about two weeks. That would be just two weeks before the season opener against Cleveland Oct. 27.
The Denver Nuggets signed veteran forward Mike Miller to a one-year deal. Miller played last season for the Cleveland Cavaliers, where he saw action in 52 games and averaged 13.5 minutes. The 15-year veteran has also played for Memphis, Miami, Washington, Minnesota and Orlando.
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