AP Sports Summary for October 4th.
Wheeler strikes out 8, Castellanos tells Phillies to put a ring on it in 4-1 win over Marlins
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Zack Wheeler struck out eight and pitched into the seventh inning to lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a 4-1 win over the Miami Marlins in the opener of their NL Wild Card Series. The Phillies moved within a victory of an NL Division Series matchup against Atlanta. Cristian Pache and Bryson Stott had run-scoring singles for the Phillies. Alec Bohm and Nick Castellanos added RBI doubles. Phillies reliever José Alvarado struck out Yuli Gurriel with two runners on in the seventh to end a threat.
Twins stop record 18-game postseason skid on strength of Royce Lewis home runs
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Royce Lewis hit home runs in each of his first two at-bats to carry the Minnesota Twins to a 3-1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays in the opener of their AL Wild Card Series. That ended Minnesota's record 18-game postseason losing streak. Lewis hit a two-run shot off Kevin Gausman to left field in the first inning. He went deep to right leading off the third and became the third player in history to homer in each of his first two career postseason plate appearances. The Twins last won a game in the playoffs on Oct. 5, 2004.
Diamondbacks hit Burnes hard to rally for 6-3 victory over Brewers in Wild Card Series opener
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Corbin Carroll, Ketel Marte and Gabriel Moreno homered against Corbin Burnes, helping Arizona erase an early three-run deficit and sending the Diamondbacks to a 6-3 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 1 of their NL Wild Card Series. The rally put Arizona in a prime position to advance. Game 2 of the best-of-three series is Wednesday, and the Diamondbacks have ace Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly lined up after rookie Brandon Pfaadt lasted just 2 2/3 innings in the opener. Arizona, which clinched an NL wild card in the final days of the season, had been 0-14 in postseason games when trailing by at least three runs.
Montgomery sparkles, Rangers beat sloppy Rays 4-0 in AL Wild Card Series opener
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Jordan Montgomery scattered six hits over seven innings, helping the Texas Rangers beat the sloppy Tampa Bay Rays 4-0 in their AL Wild Card Series opener. Corey Seager and Josh Jung drove in runs and the Rangers benefitted from four errors by the Rays, who also fizzled offensively before a crowd of just 19,704. Texas moved within a victory of a AL Division Series matchup against Baltimore. Tampa Bay, lost its sixth straight postseason game since winning its 2021 Division Series opener against Boston. The Rays have one run in their last three playoff defeats, hitting .133.
MLB playoffs guide: Openers Tuesday at Minnesota, Tampa Bay, Milwaukee and Philadelphia
Major League Baseball's playoffs open Tuesday with Toronto at Minnesota, Texas at Tampa Bay, Arizona at Milwaukee and Miami at Philadelphia. Defending champion Houston gets five days off until the Division Series start, as do Atlanta, Baltimore and the Los Angeles Dodgers. There will be a lot of familiar faces in October, particularly in the National League. The speedy and strong Ronald Acuña Jr. — the one and only member of the 40-70 club — will lead the Braves as they try to win their second title in three years.
Lorenzen, Buxton, Hernández, Cueto out for Wild Card Series; Correa, Siri, Bush on rosters
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Michael Lorenzen, Byron Buxton, Johnny Cueto and Jonathan Hernández were among the players left off rosters for Wild Card Series, while the Texas Rangers made the surprise inclusion of former top draft pick Matt Bush. Minnesota included Carlos Correa and rookie Royce Lewis along with right-hander Chris Paddack, who returned from Tommy John surgery. Correa hasn't played since Sept. 18 because of plantar fasciitis in his left foot and Lewis has been sidelined since straining his left hamstring on Sept. 19. Outfielder Jose Siri made Tampa Bay's roster after missing the season's final three weeks with a broken hand.
Damian Lillard says he can help the Bucks on defense while embracing championship expectations
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Damian Lillard understands he has a reputation for being an elite offensive player but not a particularly strong defender. The seven-time all-NBA selection looks forward to changing that perception now that he's on a new team. Lillard began training camp with Milwaukee on Tuesday after the Bucks acquired him last week. Lillard believes he can help the Bucks continue to play quality defense as they chase their second title in four years. The Bucks believe Lillard's extraordinary skills on offense will make up for whatever they might sacrifice on defense.
New rest rules don't bother NBA players, who say they only want to sit out when they are hurt
With a new "player participation policy," the NBA has made it clear that healthy players should be on the court. No argument from the players, who insist they aren't interested in sitting. Some don't like load management any more than the fans who wonder why some of the best athletes in the world so often need a night off. But they also want the league to understand that there are times when they have to listen to their bodies or their doctors. In those cases, they say no policy will cause them to take a risk.
Pac-12 teams falling into a pecking order following undefeated starts
A month into the season, teams across the Pac-12 are getting a sense of where they stand. The conference kicked off what may be its final football season by going 13-0 for the first time since 1932, the most wins by an FBS conference without a loss to start a season since at least 1980. Now that the dust has started to settle a bit, Pac-12 teams have started falling into a pecking order. At the top are No. 7 Washington, No. 8 Oregon and No. 9 Southern California. Then come No. 13 Washington State, No. 15 Oregon State and No. 18 Utah.
Analysis: Zach Wilson proved Robert Saleh, Jets' confidence in him was deserved
Zach Wilson proved the trust Robert Saleh and the New York Jets had in him was deserved. Dissed publicly, dragged online, and disrespected by everyone from Broadway Joe to almost every former-player-turned-talking-head, Wilson responded by outplaying Patrick Mahomes on "Sunday Night Football" only to come up short after losing a fumble in the fourth quarter. There are no moral victories in sports but Wilson's performance in New York's 23-20 loss to the defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs was a major positive for a team still reeling from losing Aaron Rodgers in the season opener. Despite falling to 1-3, the Jets and their fans finally have reason for some optimism.
AP-Scorecard
TODAY'S SPORTS SCHEDULE
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AMERICAN LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
Final Texas 4 Tampa Bay 0
Final Minnesota 3 Toronto 1
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NATIONAL LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
Final Arizona 6 Milwaukee 3
Final Philadelphia 4 Miami 1
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NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE PRESEASON
Final Tampa Bay 2 Florida 0
Final OT Washington 5 Boston 4
Final Dallas 3 Colorado 1
Final Chicago 4 Detroit 2
Final Los Angeles 4 Anaheim 1
Final San Jose 2 Vegas 0
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