The Los Angeles Dodgers are one victory away from their first World Series title in 32 years. Joc Pederson and Max Muncy hit solo homers as the Dodgers beat the Tampa Bay Rays, 4-2 to take a three-games-to-two lead in the World Series.
It was Muncy's third homer and 12th RBI with two out in this postseason. It took L.A. just two batters in taking the lead. Mookie Betts led off the top of the first with a double and scored on Corey Seager's single. Clay Bellinger's RBI single made it 2-0 later in the inning. Winning pitcher Clayton Kershaw worked 5 2/3 innings for the Dodgers, allowing two runs and five hits. Kershaw was helped out when Manuel Margot was thrown out attempting to steal home in the fifth inning. The three-time Cy Young Award winner has two of L.A's three wins in the series. Randy Arozarena delivered an RBI single that got Tampa Bay within 3-2 in the third inning. It was his 27th hit of this postseason, breaking the old mark set by Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval in 2014. Rays starter and loser Tyler Glasnow was reached for four runs over five innings. The Dodgers can wrap up the series on Tuesday.
NFL
Tyler Bass tied a franchise record with six field goals to help the Bills beat the Jets, 18-10 and end a two-game skid. Bass kicked a 40-yarder with 1:56 left after also making kicks of 53, 48, 46, 37 and 29 yards. Josh Allen finished 30 of 43 for 307 yards but couldn't get the 5-2 Bills into the end zone. The Jets led 10-0 in the second quarter before falling to 0-7.
Elsewhere in the NFL:
Jeff Wilson Jr. rushed for a career-high three touchdowns and 112 yards before leaving with an ankle injury in the 49ers' 33-6 romp over the Patriots. San Francisco quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo finished 20 of 25 for 277 yards with two interceptions in his first game against his former team. Patriots quarterback Cam Newton struggled throughout, completing 9 of 15 passes for 98 yards and three interceptions before being replaced by Jarrett Stidham in the fourth quarter. The 4-3 Niners dropped the Pats to 2-4 and handed New England its worst home loss under Bill Belichick.
Washington racked up six sacks, an interception and a forced fumble while allowing just 142 total yards in a 25-3 blowout over the Cowboys. Montez Sweat led Washington with 2 1/2 sacks and Cole Holcomb had one along with an interception to help Washington improve to 2-5. Rookie Antonio Gibson ran for a season-high 128 yards and a touchdown as Washington stopped a five-game losing streak. Dallas quarterback Andy Dalton was 9 of 19 for 75 yards before being injured on a shoulder-to-helmet hit that led to the ejection of Jon Bostic.
The Pittsburgh Steelers held on to win a battle of the AFC's last two undefeated teams. Ben Roethlisberger threw two touchdown passes to Diontae Johnson while the Steelers were building a 27-7 lead in a 27-24 win over the Titans in Tennessee. Benny Snell Jr. added a 1-yard TD run, and Ray-Ray McCloud set up a touchdown with a 57-yard punt return. But the Titans scored 17 unanswered points in the second half and were in position to force overtime until Stephen Gostkowski missed wide right from 45 yards with 14 seconds left. The Steelers improved to 6-0 for their best start since 1978, when Pittsburgh won its first seven on the way to the Super Bowl. Ryan Tannehill threw for 220 yards and two TDs for the 5-1 Titans.
Pittsburgh is now the NFL's only unbeaten team following Seattle's 37-34 overtime loss at Arizona. Zane Gonzalez made a 48-yard field goal with 20 seconds left in OT after drilling a 44-yard field goal as regulation expired. The Seahawks led 34-24 until Christian Kirk caught an 8-yard touchdown pass with 2:28 left. The pass came from Kyler Murray who threw for 360 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. Seattle's Russell Wilson completed 33 of 50 passes for 388 yards, three touchdowns to Tyler Lockett and three interceptions.
The Chiefs overcame 14-degree temperatures and a snowy field to hammer the Broncos for the 10th straight time, 43-16. Kansas City scored touchdowns on Byron Pringle's 102-yard kickoff return, Daniel Sorensen's 50-yard interception return and Clyde Edwards-Helaire's 11-yard run in which he broke five tackles. Patrick Mahomes finished a methodical 15 of 23 for 200 yards and a touchdown as the 6-1 Chiefs handed the Broncos their fourth loss in six games. Le'Veon Bell ran six times for 39 yards in his Chiefs debut.
Tom Brady threw for four touchdowns and ran for a fifth as the Buccaneers outscored the Raiders, 45-20. Brady's final scoring strike moved him ahead of Drew Brees for the most in NFL history, hours after the Saints QB threw for a pair. Brady finished 33 for 45 for 369 yards for the 5-2 Bucs. Derek Carr went 24 for 36 for 284 yards, two TDs and one interception as the 3-3 Raiders were unable to build on a big win at Kansas City before the bye.
Baker Mayfield passed for five touchdowns, including a 24-yard go-ahead score to Donovan Peoples-Jones with 15 seconds left in the Browns' 37-34 triumph over the Bengals. Mayfield misfired on his first five attempts before completing 22 of his next 23, the last coming on a leaping grab by People-Jones to win it for the 5-2 Browns. Rookie Joe Burrow hit 35 of 47 passes for a season-high 406 yards and three touchdowns, including a 3-yard scoring pass to Giovani Bernard on fourth-and-1 to give Cincinnati a 34-31 lead with 1:06 left. But the Bengals couldn't stop Mayfield's final drive in falling to 1-5-1.
The Packers rebounded from their first loss of the season as Aaron Rodgers threw for 283 yards and four touchdowns in a 35-20 win over the Texans. Rodgers was sharp just a week after throwing for two interceptions and no touchdowns in a 38-10 loss at Tampa Bay. Green Bay's strong day on offense was aided by a career-high 196 yards receiving by Davante Adams, who had touchdown receptions of 3 and 45 yards. The Packers moved to 5-1 and dropped the Texans to 1-6.
Playing without his top two receivers, Drew Brees passed for 287 yards and two touchdowns in the Saints' 27-24 victory against the Panthers. Brees completed 29 of 36 passes to eight targets despite not having receivers Michael Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders in the lineup. Panthers kicker Joey Slye attempted a potential game-tying, 65-yard field goal try on 4th-and-19, but the ball fell just short of the crossbar. New Orleans improved to 4-2 and dropped Carolina to 3-4.
Justin Herbert got his first NFL win as the Chargers topped the Jaguars, 39-29 to end a four-game skid. Herbert passed for 347 yards and three touchdowns as well as running for a score. The sixth overall pick in April's draft completed 27 of 43 passes. He also rushed for 66 yards a single-game high for a Chargers QB.
Matthew Stafford connected with T.J. Hockenson on an 11-yard touchdown pass as time expired before Matt Prater's 48-yard extra point gave the Lions an improbable 23-22 victory over the Falcons in Atlanta. The Falcons had a chance to win it with a chip-shot field goal, but Detroit was given a chance to get the ball back when Todd Gurley scored on a 10-yard run with 1:04 to play. Stafford drove his team 75 yards in eight plays, connecting with Hockenson on a 13-yard pass, Danny Amendola for 22 yards and Kenny Golladay for a 29-yard gain to the Falcons 11. The Lions are 3-3 following their second straight win, while Atlanta is 1-6.
In NFL news, the league has fined the Tennessee Titans $350,000 for violating protocols leading to the league's first COVID-19 outbreak during the season. That's according to a person familiar with the discipline. The Titans had 24 people, including 13 players, test positive for COVID-19 between Sept. 24 and Oct. 11. The outbreak led the NFL to postpone two Tennessee games and reschedule two others. The NFL and its players association sent officials, including infectious disease experts, to Nashville where they reviewed video and interviewed players, coaches and other personnel. The person who spoke to The Associated Press says the NFL found the Titans failed to wear masks at all times and were "insufficiently clear" to players about not meeting or working out once the facility closed.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Indiana jumped into The Associated Press college football poll Sunday after pulling off the weekend's most dramatic upset. Indiana is No. 17 after beating No. 8 Penn State in overtime, the Hoosiers' first victory against a team ranked in the AP top 10 since 1987. It's Indiana's highest ranking since 1993. Penn State slipped 10 spots to No. 18 after losing to the Hoosiers for just the second time in 24 meetings since joining the Big Ten. Clemson remains a rock-solid No. 1 and Alabama is second. The Tigers received 52 first-place votes and the Crimson Tide got the remaining 10. Ohio State, Notre Dame and Georgia round out the top 5 and are followed by Oklahoma State, Cincinnati, Texas A&M, Wisconsin and Florida.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Arizona has been accused of nine counts of misconduct, including five Level I violations, in a Notice of Allegations sent by the NCAA last week. That's according to a person familiar with the situation. The violations include a lack of institutional control and failure to monitor by the university, and lack of head coach control by basketball coach Sean Miller. Arizona had been in the NCAA's crosshairs since 2017, when assistant coach Emanuel Richardson was among 10 people arrested as part of a federal corruption investigation into college basketball.
NHL
The Buffalo Sabres have avoided arbitration with forward Sam Reinhart and goaltender Linus Ullmark by working out one-year contracts with both players. Reinhert signed for $5.2 million and Ullmark for $2.6 million. Reinhart ranks second behind Jack Eichel in Sabres points since the two became teammates in 2015.
And more state leaders are observing COVID-19 outbreaks linked to indoor ice rinks. Vermont's health commissioner said Friday an outbreak connected to recreational hockey and broomball at an indoor rink in Montpelier grew to more than 40 cases. Earlier this month, Vermont Gov. Phil Scott signed an executive order halting new reservations at skating rinks through the end of the month. The Massachusetts health department recently ordered all indoor ice rinks closed until Nov. 7 after more than 30 COVID-19 clusters were traced to skating facilities. New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu says indoor ice arena activities can resume starting Oct. 30 but participants and staff will have to get tested for COVID-19.
NASCAR
NASCAR's Cup playoff race in Texas had to be postponed after 52 laps on a misty day that slowly deteriorated to drizzle while it never actually rained before the event was called off. The delay was just over four hours, and the restart is planned for Monday morning. But the forecast isn't promising with a 90% chance of rain overnight and the forecast high temperature barely reaching 50 degrees. Clint Bowyer emerged as the leader with Jimmie Johnson second in the last Texas race as full-time drivers for both veterans.
F1
British driver Lewis Hamilton has made Formula One history by winning the Portuguese Grand Prix. Hamilton's 92nd career victory moved him one ahead of German great Michael Schumacher. Hamilton finished nearly 25.6 seconds ahead of Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas for his eighth win of another dominant season. He also took an extra point for the fastest lap to extend his huge championship lead to 77 points over Bottas with just five races left.
INDYCAR
Scott Dixon is the IndyCar champion for the sixth time and second in three seasons. Dixon clinched it with a third-place finish at St. Petersburg, a good enough showing to beat Josef Newgarden for the title. Newgarden's best and probably only chance to keep his IndyCar crown was to win the season finale. He used a spectacular two-car pass for the lead to indeed win, but it wasn't enough.
PGA
Patrick Cantlay rallied from four shots behind to win the Zozo Championship at Sherwood. Cantlay closed with a 7-under 65 for a one-shot victory, the third of his career, and first in his home state of California. All three required making up a deficit of three shots or more. Justin Thomas and Jon Rahm finished one shot back. Rahm took the lead with a birdie on the par-5 11th, only to drop shots on each of the next two holes. Thomas started the round with a one-shot lead but fell back by hitting into hazards on consecutive holes down the stretch.
In the LPGA, Ally McDonald gave herself a big birthday present by winning the Drive On Championship for her first tour title. The 28-year-old from Mississippi held off Danielle Kang by a stroke on the Great Waters Course, closing with a 3-under 69 for a 16-under 272 total. Kang birdied the par-5 18th for a 68.
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