WAMC Sports News: Giants Beat Mets, Take On Cubs In NLDS

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Update on the latest in sports:

MLB-SCHEDULE

Bumgarner, Gillaspie push Giants into NLDS

NEW YORK (AP) — It was a gem by Madison Bumgarner, a blast by Conor Gillaspie and a wild-card victory by the San Francisco Giants.

Bumgarner went the distance on a four-hitter and Gillaspie launched a three-run homer in the ninth inning off Jeurys Familia (jeh-REES' fah-MEEL'-yuh) to send the Giants to a 3-0 shutout win over the New York Mets. The outcome puts San Francisco in the National League Division Series against the Chicago Cubs.

Bumgarner ran his consecutive postseason scoreless streak to 23 innings by silencing a ballclub that won 27 of its final 40 regular-season games. The lefty's only trouble came in the bottom of the fifth, when T.J. Rivera led off with a double before Bumgarner worked out of a first-and-second jam.

Bumgarner also has a 23-inning scoreless streak in winner-take-all postseason games, having worked five shutout innings of relief in Game 7 of the 2014 World Series, and a complete-game blanking of the Pirates in the wild-card game that year.

Bumgarner is 8-3 with three complete games and a 1.94 ERA over 97 1/3 innings in his 15 career postseason appearances.

The Giants teed off on Familia after leaving the bases loaded in the eighth inning against Addison Reed. Brandon Crawford greeted the Mets' closer with a leadoff double in the ninth and Joe Panik worked out a walk that was followed by Gillaspie's blast. Gillaspie had two of the Giants' five hits in his first major league postseason game.

Familia now has one loss and three blown saves in his last five postseason appearances. He led the majors with 51 saves during the regular season.

The Mets wasted a terrific outing by Noah Syndergaard (SIHN'-dur-gahrd), who was struck out 10 and held the Giants to two hits over seven shutout innings. Syndergaard was working on a no-hitter until Denard (deh-NAHRD') Span poked a two-out single in the sixth.

The Giants' division series gets underway Friday at Wrigley Field. Johnny Cueto (KWAY'-toh) is expected to take the mound for Game 1 against Cubs hurler Jon Lester.

MLB-ALDS

Hamels opens for Rangers

UNDATED (AP) — The Rangers have announced that All-Star lefty Cole Hamels will start Game 1 of the ALDS Thursday against Toronto. Hamels went 15-5 this year but was 1-1 with a 7.31 ERA over his last six starts. He didn't face the Blue Jays during the regular season.

Yu Darvish will start Game 2 for Texas, followed by Colby Lewis and Martin (mahr-TEEN') Perez if a Game 4 is necessary.

As for the other AL Division Series, 22-game winner Rick Porcello will start the opener of Boston's series against the Indians Thursday in Cleveland. Porcello will oppose Trevor Bauer before David Price hooks up with Indians ace Corey Kluber in Game 2 on Friday.

The Blue Jays say they are planning tougher security measures and alcohol policies at the Rogers Centre after a fan threw a can at Baltimore outfielder Hyun Soo Kim during Tuesday's AL wild card game. Toronto has apologized to the Orioles and pledged to help authorities identify the spectator.

Elsewhere in the majors:

— Nationals second baseman Daniel Murphy says he felt good after working out with the team in preparation for Game 1 of the NLDS against the Dodgers. However, the runner-up for the National League batting crown won't say whether he'll be ready for Friday's opener. Murphy hasn't started a game for the NL East champions since Sept. 17 due to a strained muscle in his buttocks.

— The Detroit Tigers have exercised their 2017 contract option on manager Brad Ausmus (AWS'-muhs) despite a disappointing finish to the season. Ausmus is 250-234 in three seasons with the Tigers, leading them to an AL Central title as a rookie skipper before finishing last in 2015. The team made a 12-game improvement this year but dropped its final two games last weekend to finish 2 1/2 games out of a playoff berth.

— Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia (suh-BATH'-ee-uh) is slated for right knee surgery a procedure GM Brian Cashman considers to be minor. Sabathia went 9-12 with a 3.91 ERA this year while pitching with a brace on the knee.

— Barry Bonds is among three coaches who have been dismissed by the Marlins. Miami finished fourth in the majors in batting at .263 but fourth-lowest in runs at 655 and next-to-last with 128 homers in Bonds' lone season as hitting coach. Miami also fired third base coach Lenny Harris and bullpen coach Reid Cornelius.

— Attendance at Major League Baseball games dropped 1.1 percent this year from 2015. The 30 teams combined to draw 73,159,044 fans for an average of 30,169 per game. Those numbers are down from last year's total of 73.76 million and average of 30,517.

Astros "do not condone" minor leaguer's tweet about Mendoza

HOUSTON (AP) — The Astros say they "do not condone" a tweet posted by one of their minor league infielders criticizing broadcaster Jessica Mendoza during ESPN's NL wild-card broadcast.

Screen grabs of the tweet Wednesday night showed second baseman Brooks Marlow wrote "no lady needs to be on espn talking during a baseball game specially Mendoza sorry." The tweet was deleted from Marlow's account.

The Astros said in a statement that they have spoken with Marlow and he "agreed that his tweet was inappropriate and insensitive and has apologized." The team also apologized to Mendoza, calling her "an outstanding broadcaster that we have had the pleasure of working with this season."

Mendoza, a former professional softball player, began broadcasting games for ESPN last year. She's a member of ESPN's "Sunday Night Baseball" broadcast team and the most prominent woman calling national games in a male sport.

Marlow was a 29th-round pick in 2015 after playing at Texas. He split this season between Class A affiliates Quad Cities and Lancaster.

NFL-INJURIES 

No Palmer for Arizona

UNDATED (AP) — Arizona Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer won't play in Thursday night's game against San Francisco. Coach Bruce Arians says the veteran signal-caller remains in the concussion protocol and has not been cleared to play.

That means backup Drew Stanton will make the 13th start of his 10-year NFL career. Stanton hasn't started since 2014, when he went 5-3 after Palmer went down with shoulder and knee injuries.

In other NFL news:

— Jets safety Calvin Pryor plans to appeal his nearly $25,000 fine by the NFL for a hit on Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Doug Baldwin. The NFL deemed that Pryor struck the head and neck area of Baldwin, who made a 38-yard catch on the play in Seattle's 27-17 win last Sunday.

— The Cowboys have placed left guard La'el Collins on injured reserve with a right big toe injury that required surgery. Collins will be eligible to return after eight weeks, but coach Jason Garrett says it's too early to tell whether Collins could do that.

— Bears wide receiver Kevin White will be placed on injured reserve with a fractured left fibula suffered in Sunday's win over Detroit. The seventh overall pick in the 2015 draft missed his entire rookie season with a stress fracture in the same leg. White leads the Bears this season in receptions with 19, and has 187 receiving yards.

— Washington has signed three-time Pro Bowl safety Donte Whitner and placed David Bruton on injured reserve. Whitner was still available after turning down a contract offer from the Rams.

— The Jaguars have put starting left guard Luke Joeckel on injured reserve with a left knee injury that could force him to miss the rest of the season. The Jags also signed offensive tackle Bryce Harris to the active roster.

— Chargers cornerback Jason Verrett says he has a partially torn ACL in his left knee that will require surgery and end his season. Verrett was a Pro Bowler last season, his second in the NFL.

— Eagles linebacker Nigel Bradham was back at practice Wednesday after being arrested at Miami International Airport on a misdemeanor concealed weapons charge Sunday. Bradham said he forgot the loaded gun was in his backpack when it was discovered by TSA workers.

In NBA Preseason Action

NBA-ROSE-RAPE TRIAL

Jury hears opening statements in Rose suit

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Opening statements were heard Wednesday in a $21 lawsuit brought against Derrick Rose. The New York Knicks guard and two other men are accused of raping an incapacitated woman in August 2013.

The woman's attorney called the incident a "classic gang rape," but the defense counters that she was a willing participant.

The jury of six women and two men will have to decide if the accuser consented to sex or was too intoxicated from either alcohol or drugs to give consent.

In NHL Preseason Action

NHL-OILERS

Teenager named Edmonton captain

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — The Edmonton Oilers have made 19-year-old Connor McDavid the youngest captain in NHL history.

The No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 draft has just 45 games of NHL experience under his belt, but he delivered 16 goals and 48 points despite missing 37 games with a broken collarbone.

The team did not have a captain last season.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL-TEXAS-STRONG

Strong has backing of school president

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas football coach Charlie Strong has received a vote of confidence from one of the university's leaders.

School president Greg Fenves has tweeted that he had a "great call" with Strong and the university is behind its athletes and coaches for the upcoming game and the rest of the season. The tweet comes after athletic director Mike Perrin told a reporter he needed to evaluate how the team lost to Oklahoma State last weekend.

Strong is 13-16 in three seasons at Texas and under pressure to turn things around in Austin. He came to the Longhorns after going 37-15 in four seasons at Louisville, including a 23-3 mark in his last two years with the Cardinals.

GOLF-PRESIDENTS CUP-WOODS

Woods to be at President's Cup, one way or another

JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) — Tiger Woods will be at Presidents Cup next year, with or without his golf clubs.

U.S. captain Steve Stricker has chosen Woods, Ryder Cup captain Davis Love III and three-time Presidents Cup captain Fred Couples to be his assistants for the matches next year at Liberty National.

Woods was an assistant to Love at Hazeltine when the U.S. won the Ryder Cup over Europe last week.

He is to return to competition next week after being out more than a year recovering from back surgery.

COLLEGE ATHLETICS-BAYLOR

Ex-Baylor staffer admonishes school

DALLAS (AP) — Baylor University's former Title IX coordinator says top campus leaders undermined her efforts to investigate sexual assault claims.

Patty Crawford told "CBS This Morning" that school officials were more concerned with protecting the Baylor "brand" than the students. Crawford added that the university set her up to fail from the beginning.

She resigned from the post on Monday and says she received "resistance" from senior leadership, although she did not identify those leaders.

Baylor has received a storm of criticism over claims it mishandled sexual assault cases for several years. An outside review determined school administrators contributed to a "hostile" environment against assault victims.

INDYCAR

Penske lands Newgarden

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (AP) —Team Penske has added Josef Newgarden to its IndyCar roster, giving the organization the top four drivers in this season's standings.

Newgarden joins a lineup that includes reigning champion Simon Pagenaud (see-MOHN' PAH'-jeh-noh), three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves (EHL'-ee-oh kas-troh-NEH'-vus) and former series champ Will Power.

Newgarden finished fourth this year in the series and was the top free agent in IndyCar. He becomes the first American driver on Penske's open wheel roster since Sam Hornish Jr. in 2007.

BOXING

A troubled heavyweight champ

LONDON (AP) — Heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury says he suffers from manic depression and that he has been bingeing on cocaine and alcohol to deal with the problem.

The British boxer, who won the WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight titles from Wladimir Klitschko (VLAD'-uh-meer KLICH'-koh) last November, spoke of his problems with depression to Rolling Stone magazine.

A rematch with Klitschko was postponed for a second time last month after Fury was declared "medically unfit."

Houston leads Australian-dominated Fiji International

NATADOLA, Fiji (AP) — Anthony Houston shot a 7-under 65 on Thursday in the Fiji International, leading 10 Australians atop the first-round leaderboard.

Houston eagled the par-5 17th and had six birdies and a bogey at Vijay Singh-designed Natadola Bay.

The European Tour is sanctioning the event for the first time, teaming with the PGA Tour of Australasia.

Stephen Leaney and Jake Higginbottom were a stroke back, Jason Norris, Damien Jordan, Matthew Giles, Aaron Pike and Aaron Wilkin shot 67, and Ryan Haller and Matthew Griffin followed at 68.

Brandt Snedeker, coming off the United States' Ryder Cup victory Sunday in Minnesota, topped the group at 69 along with fellow Americans Boo Weekley and Ryan Carter.

Singh had a 70. The 53-year-old Fijian is a three-time major champion.

American Heath Slocum also shot 70.

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