Update on the latest sports
APMLB-SCHEDULE
Judge delivers in 9th, Yanks clinch playoff spot in final AB
UNDATED (AP) — Aaron Judge drove home the winning run with a one-out single in the ninth inning and the New York Yankees clinched a playoff berth on the last day of the regular season by beating the Tampa Bay Rays 1-0.
Yankees shortstop Gio Urshela made a Jeter-esque catch, charging recklessly into the visiting dugout, and New York finished the year 92-70, punching a fifth consecutive postseason ticket after nearly falling into a labyrnth of tiebreaker scenarios.
Elsewhere around the majors:
— The San Francisco Giants finally won the NL West without needing to wait for the rival Dodgers’ result on the season’s final day, pounding the San Diego Padres 11-4 for a franchise-record 107th victory to top the 1904 New York team. Logan Webb did it all in leading San Francisco to its first division crown since 2012. Buster Posey had an incredible day, too. Webb walked off to a standing ovation when replaced in the eighth after allowing three straight singles. He struck out eight and didn’t walk a batter while pitching seven-plus stellar innings, and also hit a two-run homer in the fifth to clear the fences for his first time in his career.
— Austin Riley drove in two runs with two hits and the Atlanta Braves looked postseason ready in a 5-0 win over Noah Syndergaard and the New York Mets in the final regular season game for both teams. Syndergaard allowed two runs, including a leadoff homer to Jorge Soler, in his one scheduled inning. It was Syndergaard’s second start after returning from Tommy John surgery. The Mets were held to three hits. They suffered one final letdown in their disappointing season. The NL East champion Braves won the season series 10-9.
— Julio Urías has become the Dodgers’ first 20-game winner since Clayton Kershaw in 2014. He allowed one run over 6 1/3 innings, and playoff-bound Los Angeles beat the Milwaukee Brewers 8-3 to extend the NL West race to the final day of the regular season. The left-hander struck out seven and walked two. The Dodgers got home runs from Trea Turner, AJ Pollock and Corey Seager in winning their 14th in a row at home, tying a 100-year-old franchise record. The NL Central-champion Brewers got a ninth-inning homer from Willy Adames.
— AL batting champion Yuli Gurriel hit a winning RBI single in the ninth inning, and the AL West champion Houston Astros headed to the postseason with a 7-6 win over the Oakland Athletics. urriel hit .319 and became Houston’s second player to win a batting title after Jose Altuve in 2014, ’16 and ’17. Gurriel became the second Cuban-born big league batting champion after Tony Oliva. Houston finished 95-96 and opens the Division Series at home Thursday against the Central champion Chicago White Sox. Oakland was 86-76, finishing nine games back of the Astros in third place.
— Aaron Civale allowed only three singles while pitching six scoreless innings and the Cleveland Indians closed out their 107th and final season under that name with a 6-0 win against the Texas Rangers. The 80-82 Indians will become the Guardians by next season. They finished with their first losing season since 2012. Four relievers followed Civale to close out Cleveland’s ninth shutout victory this season. Rangers rookie starter Dane Dunning allowed four runs in three innings. The Rangers finished with 102 losses for their fifth straight losing season. It was the 15th time they were shut out.
— Nick Fortes hit a tiebreaking two-run home run in the fourth inning, and Derek Jeter’s Miami Marlins closed their 11th losing season in 12 years with a 5-4 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies. Bryce Harper doubled and walked before being replaced in the bottom of the third. A contender for NL MVP, he hit .309 with 35 homers, 84 RBIs and a major league-best 1.044 OPS. Fortes sent a drive off off Hector Neris into the Marlins’ bullpen in left for a 5-3 lead, his fourth home run since he was called ip from Triple-A on Sept. 17.
— Joey Votto hit his 36th home run and the Cincinnati Reds finished their season with a 6-3 win over Pittsburgh. Rookie Reiver Sanmartin beat the Pirates for the second time in as many starts. Cincinnati finished over .500 over the course of a 162-game season for the first time since 2013. Pirates shortstop prospect Oneil Cruz hit his first major-league home run for the Pirates. Pittsburgh finished 61-101 while coming in last in the NL Central for the third straight season.
MLB-NEWS-ANGELS-OHTANI
Ohtani open to longterm talks with Angels in offseason
UNDATED (AP) — Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani says he is “very open” to negotiating a longterm contract with the club this offseason. Ohtani spoke before the Angels’ regular-season finale in Seattle, then led off with his 46th home run to reach 100 RBIs for the first time in the major leagues. Ohtani could have pitched on turn on the final day of the season, but opted to skip his final start. Ohtani is finishing his fourth season with the Angels and is signed through the end of next season.
Elsewhere around the majors:
— Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Max Muncy has left in the third inning against the Milwaukee Brewers after injuring his left wrist. Catcher Will Smith fielded a bunt by Jace Peterson and fired to Muncy. Peterson arrived at the same time, when Muncy had his left-handed glove in front of the runner. The ball hit Peterson in the back. Muncy went down on his back and grimaced in pain. He was replaced by Albert Pujols.
— Boston Red Sox slugger J.D. Martinez left the team’s regular-season finale against the Washington Nationals in the sixth inning with a sprained left ankle. Boston replaced him with a pinch-hitter in the top of the sixth, and Hunter Renfroe moved from center field to right in the bottom half. Martinez began Sunday with a .286 average, an AL-leading 42 doubles, 28 homers and 99 RBIs. The Red Sox went into the day tied for the top AL wild-card spot with the New York Yankees.
— The New York Yankees put All-Star infielder DJ LeMahieu on the 10-day injured list with a sports hernia ahead of their scheduled regular-season finale against the Tampa Bay Rays. New York also transferred slugger Luke Voit to the 60-day injured list, ending the 2020 home run champion’s season. LeMahieu was pulled from New York’s game Thursday at Toronto after six innings and hasn’t played since.
NFL-SCHEDULE
Patrick Mahomes throws 5 TD passes, Chiefs beat Eagles 42-30
UNDATED (AP) — Patrick Mahomes threw five touchdown passes three different ways, including three to Tyreek Hill, and the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Philadelphia Eagles 42-30 on Sunday.
Andy Reid returned to Philadelphia and earned his 100th career win with the Chiefs, becoming the first coach in NFL history to win 100 games with two teams. Reid’s 140 victories with the Eagles are the most in franchise history.
Jalen Hurts threw for a career-high 378 yards and two TDs but Philadelphia (1-3) couldn’t keep up with Kansas City’s high-powered offense.
The Eagles had three touchdowns called back because of penalties in a 43-30 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. The Eagles were too sloppy on critical possession inside the 20-yard-line. The Eagles entered with an NFL-worst 35 penalties. They were whistled for nine more against the Chiefs. The three negated TDs turned into just two field goals.
Elsewhere around the NFL:
— Linebacker Tremaine Edmunds had the first of Buffalo’s four interceptions, and the Bills suffocated the offensively inept Houston Texans 40-0. Micah Hyde, Tyler Matakevich and Jaquan Johnson each had interceptions, while Cam Lewis forced a fumble as Buffalo overwhelmed rookie quarterback Davis Mills in his second career start. The Bills limited Houston to 109 yards of offense — 8 in the first half — and six first downs to post their second shutout in three weeks. Buffalo blanked Miami 35-0 on Sept. 19. The Bills have two shutouts in a season for the first time since 1990.
— Carson Wentz threw a pair of touchdown passes to Mo Alie-Cox and the Indianapolis Colts got their first win of the season by topping the sputtering Miami Dolphins 27-17. Jonathan Taylor rushed for 103 yards and a score for the Colts. Indianapolis avoided what would have been its first 0-4 start since 2011. The Colts spent most of the day frustrating former Indianapolis quarterback Jacoby Brissett, who threw a pair of touchdown passes in the fourth quarter but struggled for much of the afternoon.
— Dak Prescott threw four touchdown passes, Ezekiel Elliott had his first 100-yard rushing game of the season against the NFL’s No. 1 defense and the Dallas Cowboys beat the Carolina Panthers 36-28. Elliott finished with 143 yards as the Cowboys rolled up 245 yards on the ground after the Panthers allowed just 135 total in the first three games. Carolina’s Sam Darnold had two rushing touchdowns to become the first quarterback in NFL history with at least five TDs on the ground in the first four games. The Panthers were without injured star running back Christian McCaffrey.
— Myles Garrett and the Cleveland defense produced another dominant performance. This one gave coach Kevin Stefanski a victory over his old team. The Browns beat the Minnesota Vikings 14-7 to improve to 3-1 on the season. The Vikings fell to 1-3. Garrett was credited with one-half of Cleveland’s two sacks and four hits on Kirk Cousins. Greedy Williams became the first player this season to intercept Minnesota’s quarterback. The Browns again leaned on their two-pronged rushing attack with predictable success. Cousins hit Justin Jefferson for a touchdown on the opening drive. The Vikings failed to score on 11 more possessions.
— The New York Giants have their first win of the season. The Giants erased a 21-10 deficit in the fourth quarter and beat New Orleans 27-21 in overtime. The Giants rallied thanks to a 54-yard touchdown pass from Daniel Jones to Saquon Barkley and got the 2-point conversion. They then forced punt and drove for Graham Gano’s tying field goal, from 48 yards out. The Giants won the coin toss in overtime and drove 75 yards for the winning score, Barkley’s TD run from 6 yards away.
— Taylor Heinicke ad-libbed a 30-yard touchdown pass to J.D. McKissic with 33 seconds remaining, rallying the Washington Football Team to a 34-30 victory over the Atlanta Falcons. Heinicke completed 23 of 33 passes for 290 yards and three touchdowns — two of them in the final 3:52 to pull it out for Washington. Both were vintage Heinicke, whose heroics ruined a big day for Atlanta’s Cordarelle Patterson. He became the first Atlanta player since 2018 to score three touchdowns in a game.
— Jared Goff and the Detroit Lions struggled in the red zone during a 24-14 loss to the Chicago Bears. On five drives inside the Chicago 20, the Lions scored one touchdown. It was the eighth straight loss for Detroit since it rallied for a 34-30 victory at Chicago on Dec. 6. The Lions almost stopped their slide last weekend against Baltimore, but Justin Tucker kicked an NFL-record 66-yard field goal to lift the Ravens to a 19-17 victory. Goff says the Lions have to keep believing in each other in order to turn around their season.
NFL-NEWS
Big Ben joins exclusive TD club with No. 400
UNDATED (AP) — Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger has thrown his 400th career touchdown pass, becoming just the eighth NFL player to reach that milestone. Roethlisberger capped the game’s opening drive with a 45-yard TD pass down the right sideline to Diontae Johnson.
Both starting quarterbacks in today’s Steelers-Packers game have reached the 400-touchdown club. Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers ranks seventh in NFL history with 418 touchdown passes.
Elsewhere around the NFL:
— Rookie quarterback Trey Lance started the second half for the San Francisco 49ers. The third overall pick got the nod to begin the third quarter with Jimmy Garoppolo nursing a calf injury. His return is questionable. Garoppolo threw a TD on the opening drive but struggled after that for San Francisco. Lance had played only seven offensive snaps the first three games in a situational role.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL-POLL
Iowa up to No. 3; Clemson out of Top 25 first time since ’14
UNDATED (AP) — Alabama and Georgia remain the top two teams in The Associated Press college football poll after a week in which nine ranked teams lost.
Iowa moved up to No. 3 and is gearing up for No. 4 Penn State in its biggest home game since the 1980s. No. 5 Cincinnati has its highest ranking in 12 years. Oklahoma, Ohio State, Oregon, Michigan and Brigham Young round out the top 10.
Clemson is out of the AP Top 25 for the first time since 2014 despite beating Boston College. The Tigers had been ranked in 107 consecutive polls. Kentucky, Texas, Southern Methodist and San Diego State entered the AP Top 25.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL-COLORADO COACH-PHOTOJOURNALIST
Karl Dorrell sorry for shoving photojournalist’s camera
BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — University of Colorado football coach Karl Dorrell has apologized for shoving a photojournalist’s television camera as he trotted off the field following the Buffaloes’ blowout loss to Southern California on Saturday.
On Sunday, Dorrell apologized both publicly and personally. His acknowledgement came a day after athletic director Rick George was criticized on social media for tweeting an apology on behalf of his head coach.
NHL-NEWS
Canucks get contracts done with Hughes and Pettersson
UNDATED (AP) — The Vancouver Canucks have signed restricted free agents Quinn Hughes and Elias Pettersson to new contracts.
Hughes got a $47.10 million, six-year contract with a $7.85 million annual salary cap hit that puts him among the highest-paid defensemen in the NHL.
Pettersson signed for $22.05 million over three years with a $7.35 million annual cap hit. The 21-year-old Hughes had three goals and 38 assists in 56 games last season. The 22-year-old Pettersson had 10 goals and 11 assists in 26 games last season and missed time with a wrist injury.
Elsewhere in the NHL:
— The NHL has reached out to Robin Lehner to set up an interview after the goaltender made several accusations on social media. Lehner in a series of tweets Saturday said teams give players sedatives and anxiety pills without a doctor’s consent and referenced the Philadelphia Flyers and coach Alain Vigneault. He also accused the Buffalo Sabres of mismanaging an ankle injury when he played for them. Lehner claimed to have proof and tweeted at the league and Players’ Association that they know how to reach him. The 30-year-old Swede who plays for Vegas said the Golden Knights do not give players those drugs without doctor’s orders.
NBA-WARRIORS-WIGGINS
Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins receives COVID-19 vaccine
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Golden State Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins has received his COVID-19 vaccine and will be eligible to play in all games. The Warriors said coach Steve Kerr made the announcement to reporters after practice before the team traveled to Portland to play its first preseason game.
Wiggins faced the possibility of not being allowed into Golden State’s home building at Chase Center for games come Oct. 13 when the San Francisco Department of Public Health begins requiring proof of vaccination for large indoor events.
LPGA-SHOPRITE
Celine Boutier rallies with a 63 to win ShopRite LPGA
GALLOWAY, N.J. (AP) — Celine Boutier of France is the winner at the ShopRite LPGA Classic. Boutier rallied from five shots behind by closing with a 63 on the windy Bayview Course at Seaside in New Jersey. Then she had to wait to see if it would be good enough.
Jin Young Ko and Inbee Park were one shot over the last four holes and neither could manage a birdie. Their last chance was the par-5 18th hole. Ko three-putted from about 70 feet, missing her birdie from 8 feet. Park missed a 10-foot birdie chance.
Brooke Henderson also tied them for second.
NASCAR-TALLADEGA-RAIN OUT
Rain pushes NASCAR playoff race at Talladega to Monday
TALLADEGA, Ala. (AP) — NASCAR’s playoff race at Talladega Superspeedway has been rained out and rescheduled for Monday afternoon. NASCAR pulled the plug early because Talladega does not have lights and television partner NBC was scheduled to air Tom Brady’s return to New England after the race.
NASCAR does not like to start a race unless it believes it can complete the full distance.
The 500-mile race averages 3 hours, 41 minutes and NASCAR likely would have run out of daylight as well as push NBC right up against the NFL game.
NASCAR-TOWNLEY KILLED
Former NASCAR driver Townley killed in Georgia shooting
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Investigators say a former driver in NASCAR’s lower divisions has been killed in a shooting in Georgia that also wounded a woman.
Athens-Clarke County Coroner Sonny Wilson told the Athens Banner-Herald that 31-year-old John Wes Townley died shortly after the 9 p.m.. Saturday shooting in an Athens neighborhood. Police say a 30-year-old woman was hurt, but didn’t detail her condition. Police say they have spoken to the shooter, who knew the victims. No arrests have been made.
Townley raced eight seasons and made 186 starts across the NASCAR Xfinity and Truck Series.
