AP Sports Summary for September 23rd.
Minnesota Twins clinch AL Central title with 8-6 win over Angels
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Twins have clinched the AL Central title with an 8-6 victory over the Los Angeles Angels. Alex Kirilloff homered and drove in three runs, and the Twins held on late to win the division crown for the third time in five seasons under manager Rocco Baldelli. Pablo López pitched six innings for the Twins, allowing three runs and five hits with seven strikeouts. Jhoan Duran gave up a run in the ninth but got the final out with the bases loaded to secure his 27th save of the season.
Ronald Acuña Jr. joins exclusive 40-40 club with 40th home run of the season for Braves
WASHINGTON (AP) — Ronald Acuña Jr. has joined baseball's exclusive 40-40 club by hitting his 40th home run of the season for the Atlanta Braves to go along with his 68 stolen bases. The only other players to have at least 40 homers and 40 steals in the same year were Alfonso Soriano for Washington in 2006, Alex RodrÃguez for Seattle in 1998, Barry Bonds for San Francisco in 1996, and Jose Canseco for Oakland in 1988. Acuña connected off Nationals left-hander Patrick Corbin leading off the top of the first inning. It was his 34th career leadoff homer and eighth this season. The 25-year-old Acuña was already the only player in major league history with 30 homers and 60 stolen bases in one season.
Judge hits 3 home runs, becomes first Yankees player to do it twice in one season
NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Judge became the first New York Yankees player to hit three home runs in a game twice in one season when he connected in the seventh inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Judge hit a three-run homer in the third and a two-run shot in the fifth off rookie starter Brandon Pfaadt. The slugger added his third homer of the night by reaching the second deck in right field with a solo drive off Slade Cecconi. After rounding the bases, the reigning AL MVP took a curtain call from the Yankee Stadium crowd. Judge also doubled during his second career three-homer game — both coming within the past month. He also went deep three times Aug. 23 at home against Washington.
Cowboys carry on after star cornerback Trevon Diggs' season-ending knee injury
FRISCO, Texas (AP) — The Dallas Cowboys are carrying on without Trevon Diggs after the star cornerback's season-ending knee injury. The Dallas defense has been playing at a level that matched the club's Super Bowl expectations. Now the depth of that unit will get a severe test after Diggs tore his left ACL in practice. The coaching staff and owner/general manager Jerry Jones are confident in that depth. DaRon Bland is likely to start alongside offseason free agent pickup Stephon Gilmore. Jourdan Lewis could get most of the slot work. Lewis made his season debut last week after missing most of 2022 with a broken foot.
49ers give contract extensions to coach Kyle Shanahan and GM John Lynch
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The San Francisco 49ers have given coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch multi-year contract extensions. The duo joined the 49ers together in 2017 and by their third season built up a team that had won just two games the year before they arrived into a consistent contender. The Niners made it to the Super Bowl in the 2019 season before losing to Kansas City and the NFC title game in back-to-back seasons in 2021 and 2022. San Francisco is off to a 3-0 start this season after beating the New York Giants 30-12 on Thursday night.
Column: Coach Prime dominates the college football world. What might come next?
Deion Sanders hobbles to get around these days, but his ability to command an audience is even more potent than it was during his speedier playing days. Just three games into his first head coaching job in college football's top division, Coach Prime has been the talk of the sporting world. It's certainly not too soon to ponder where this phenomenon might lead. Can the Colorado Buffaloes keep winning even with a brutal schedule ahead of them? If they do, will a more prominent school come calling for Coach Prime? Has Sanders established a new template for building a program?
Ludvig Ã…berg dealing with lofty expectations as Europe's widely admired Ryder Cup rookie
Ludvig Ã…berg is the world's most talked-about young golfer and is about to play in his first Ryder Cup less than four months after the 23-year-old Swede turned pro. It's not just his long and accurate drives that set him apart from other up-and-coming talents. It's the composure and temperament that helped Ã…berg rip through the college golf scene in the United States and was noticeable even before that as a kid playing in southern Sweden. Yet the tension and raucous atmosphere of a Ryder Cup can bring the fire out of even the most mild-mannered of golfers.
Jets' Rodgers is focused on getting healthy and playing again but won't put a timeline on his return
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — Aaron Rodgers misses being around his New York Jets teammates and feels a bit isolated at times as he recovers from surgery on his torn left Achilles tendon. The star quarterback joked during an appearance Friday on "The Pat McAfee Show" that it's like the reverse darkness retreat. The 39-year-old Rodgers said he doesn't want to get caught up in timelines for his recovery from the injury. He says he's focused on getting healthy and putting himself in position to play again.
US breaking pros want to preserve Black roots, original style of hip-hop dance form at Olympics
U.S. breaking pros who hope to compete in the Paris Olympics next year have a challenge. As ambassadors to the country where the hip-hop dance form originated, they want to preserve breaking's focus on originality and its ties to Black and Latino culture. But as Olympians, they will also have to hone the technical moves their international competitors have perfected. In the past, judges in breaking competitions have been very subjective. But that won't be the case with the Olympics, where officials will use a newly developed judging system to decide who is the best in one-on-one battles. The Paris Games mark breaking's Olympic debut.
Megan Rapinoe's legacy with US team is bigger than soccer
Megan Rapinoe was always unabashedly authentic during her soccer career, whether she was advocating for equal pay and racial justice or scoring an elusive goal off a corner kick. The 38-year old is also showing a more vulnerable side as she prepares to step away from the game. Rapinoe sobbed following the U.S. loss to Sweden at the recent Women's World Cup in Australia, knowing it would be her final tournament with the national team. She was emotional again last weekend, playing her final rivalry match between her NWSL team, OL Reign, and the Portland Thorns. On Sunday, Rapinoe will play her final game in a U.S. jersey when the national team faces South Africa at Chicago's Soldier Field.
AP-Scorecard
Here are the scores from yesterday's sports events:
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INTERLEAGUE
Final N.Y. Yankees 7 Arizona 1
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AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Toronto 6 Tampa Bay 2
Final Boston 3 Chicago White Sox 2
Final Cleveland 9 Baltimore 8
Final Texas 8 Seattle 5
Final Kansas City 7 Houston 5
Final Minnesota 8 L.A. Angels 6
Final Oakland 8 Detroit 2
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NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final Chicago Cubs 6 Colorado 0
Final Milwaukee 16 Miami 1
Final Atlanta 9 Washington 6
Final Philadelphia 5 N.Y. Mets 4
Final Pittsburgh 7 Cincinnati 5
Final San Diego 4 St. Louis 2
Final San Francisco 5 L.A. Dodgers 1
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NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE PRESEASON
Final Arizona 5 Los Angeles 3
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TODAY'S SPORTS SCHEDULE
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INTERLEAGUE
Arizona at N-Y Yankees 1:05 p.m.
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AMERICAN LEAGUE
L-A Angels at Minnesota 2:10 p.m.
Detroit at Oakland 4:07 p.m.
Chi White Sox at Boston 4:10 p.m.
Toronto at Tampa Bay 4:10 p.m.
Baltimore at Cleveland 6:10 p.m.
Seattle at Texas 7:05 p.m.
Kansas City at Houston 7:10 p.m.
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NATIONAL LEAGUE
Atlanta at Washington 1:05 p.m. (Postponed)
Colorado at Chi Cubs 2:20 p.m.
N-Y Mets at Philadelphia 4:05 p.m.
Milwaukee at Miami 4:10 p.m.
Pittsburgh at Cincinnati 6:40 p.m.
St. Louis at San Diego 8:40 p.m.
San Francisco at L-A Dodgers 9:10 p.m.
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NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE PRESEASON
Arizona at St. Louis 3 p.m.
St. Louis at Arizona 8 p.m.
Arizona at Los Angeles 12:05 a.m.
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TOP-25 COLLEGE FOOTBALL
(6)Ohio St. at (9)Notre Dame 7:30 p.m.
(15)Mississippi at (13)Alabama 3:30 p.m.
(19)Colorado at (10)Oregon 3:30 p.m.
(14)Oregon St. at (21)Washington St. 7 p.m.
(22)UCLA at (11)Utah 3:30 p.m.
(24)Iowa at (7)Penn St. 7:30 p.m.
Rutgers at (2)Michigan 12 p.m.
(16)Oklahoma at Cincinnati 12 p.m.
(4)Florida St. at Clemson 12 p.m.
(18)Duke at Uconn 3:30 p.m.
(20)Miami at Temple 3:30 p.m.
UTSA at (23)Tennessee 4 p.m.
Arkansas at (12)LSU 7 p.m.
Charlotte at (25)Florida 7 p.m.
(3)Texas at Baylor 7:30 p.m.
UAB at (1)Georgia 7:30 p.m.
(17)North Carolina at Pittsburgh 8 p.m.
(5)Southern Cal at Arizona St. 10:30 p.m.
California at (8)Washington 10:30 p.m.
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MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER
CF Montréal at Atlanta 7:30 p.m.
Charlotte FC at Cincinnati 7:30 p.m.
New York at D.C. United 7:30 p.m.
Toronto FC at New York City FC 7:30 p.m.
Los Angeles FC at Philadelphia 7:30 p.m.
New England at Chicago 8:30 p.m.
Columbus at FC Dallas 8:30 p.m.
Houston at Sporting Kansas City 8:30 p.m.
Saint Louis City SC at Minnesota 8:30 p.m.
Vancouver at Real Salt Lake 9:30 p.m.
Colorado at Portland 10:30 p.m.
Nashville at San Jose 10:30 p.m.