AP Sports Summary for September 19th, 2024:
Yankees clinch playoff berth by beating Mariners 2-1 in 10 innings
SEATTLE (AP) — Following a one-year absence, the New York Yankees are back in the playoffs. After spending last year sitting at home when the postseason arrived, the Yankees wrapped up their place in the 2024 playoffs with a 2-1 win over the Seattle Mariners in 10 innings Wednesday night. New York has the best record in the American League at 89-63 and leads second-place Baltimore by five games in the AL East with 10 to play. The latest victory ensured the Yankees at least a wild card. It's the 59th postseason appearance in franchise history, but the Yankees are still trying to end a World Series drought that dates to 2009, when New York celebrated its 27th title.
Ohtani steals 49th base in Dodgers' 8-4 win over Marlins
MIAMI (AP) — Shohei Ohtani stole his 49th base and moved closer to becoming the first player in major league history with 50 homers and 50 steals in a season as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Miami Marlins 8-4. Ohtani, who began the day two shy of each mark, singled to lead off the game then swiped second. He flew out to left, struck out, lined out to right and struck out in his next four plate appearances. Tommy Edman hit his sixth homer in the last eight games for the NL West-leading Dodgers, who remained 3 1/2 games ahead of second-place San Diego. Enrique Hernández and Will Smith also went deep and Freddie Freeman had three hits for the Dodgers.
Brewers outperform preseason expectations again to win 3rd NL Central title in 4 years
MILWAUKEE (AP) — The Milwaukee Brewers became the first major league team to clinch a playoff spot when they sealed their third NL Central title in the last four years. The Chicago Cubs' 5-3 loss to the Oakland Athletics enabled the Brewers to wrap up the division crown. This marks the Brewers' seventh postseason berth in the last eight years, the franchise's longest run of sustained success. But this run to the playoffs has been a little different. Manager Craig Counsell left for the rival Cubs last offseason. Corbin Burnes, the 2021 NL Cy Young Award winner, was traded. All-Star outfielder Christian Yelich and pitchers Wade Miley and Robert Gasser went down with season-ending injuries. Yet the Brewers took over first place for good at the end of April and never looked back.
A flying bat and a baserunning mistake cost Mariners chance to make up ground in playoff race
SEATTLE (AP) — With their playoff chances slipping away, the Seattle Mariners found a painful new way to lose. The Mariners fell to the New York Yankees 2-1 in 10 innings on Wednesday night, but it was how the bottom of the 10th played out that will be remembered in Mariners lore as another chapter in a season that has gone awry. Julio RodrÃguez was picked off third base for a bizarre double play after dodging a flying bat that slipped out of the hands of Randy Arozarena when he struck out swinging. The Mariners missed a chance to make up needed ground in the AL West and wild-card races after both Houston and Minnesota lost.
Man City and Inter Milan draw 0-0 in goal-shy Champions League. PSG scores late to beat Girona
GENEVA (AP) — Where did all the goals go? The 0-0 draws between Manchester City and Inter Milan in their rematch of the 2023 final, after Bologna and Shakhtar Donetsk also could not find a goal, capped an untypically goal-shy evening for the Champions League on Wednesday. Just 13 were scored in six games one day after 28 were fired in Tuesday. There were only four 0-0 draws in the 96-game group stage last season. Paris Saint-Germain got a stoppage-time goal to beat Girona 1-0. Borussia Dortmund scored three late goals to win 3-0 at Club Brugge.
Panthers star Matthew Tkachuk opens up about the death of his friend Johnny Gaudreau
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Matthew Tkachuk estimates that he tells a story about Johnny Gaudreau's exploits, both the on-ice and off-ice variety, to somebody at least once a week. And he's not going to stop, either. Tkachuk spoke Wednesday about the death of his longtime friend and former teammate, calling Gaudreau "the most offensively talented player I've ever seen." Gaudreau and his brother, Matthew, were killed on Aug. 29 when police said they were struck by a suspected drunken driver while they were riding bicycles on a rural road in New Jersey. Tkachuk spoke at the Panthers' media day, the first formal event of the new NHL season.
Coco Gauff splits with coach Brad Gilbert after more than a year and one Grand Slam title together
Coco Gauff has split from coach Brad Gilbert after more than a year and one Grand Slam title together. The pair announced the news via separate messages on social media on Wednesday. The end of their partnership comes 2 1/2 weeks after Gauff's defense of her 2023 championship at the U.S. Open unraveled amid 19 double-faults during a three-set loss to Emma Navarro in the fourth round at Flushing Meadows. That was the latest in a series of disappointing-for-her results in recent months for Gauff, a 20-year-old American who recently dropped from No. 3 to No. 6 in the WTA rankings.
WNBA awards Portland an expansion franchise that will begin play in 2026
The WNBA is headed back to Portland, with Oregon's biggest city getting an expansion team that will begin play in 2026. The team will be owned and operated by Raj Sports, led by Lisa Bhathal Merage and Alex Bhathal. They paid $125 million for the franchise. The Bhathals started having conversations with the WNBA late last year after a separate bid to bring a team to Portland fell through. It's the third expansion franchise the league will add over the next two years, with Golden State and Toronto getting the other two. The Golden State Valkyries will begin play next season and Toronto in 2026.
Jaromir Jagr opens 37th professional season in his Kladno Knights team's Czech league loss
Jaromir Jagr has opened his 37th professional season. In what is expected to be his last season, the 52-year-old winger set up a power play goal for hometown team Kladno Knights in a 5-1 away loss to Pardubice in the Czech league. It was the first time Jagr had played a season's opener since the Calgary Flames released the NHL's second-highest points scorer in 2018. He returned six years ago to Kladno, the team where he made his debut as a teenager and which he owns.
Derek Carr and the Saints buck the NFL trend of early season offensive struggles
The worst start to an NFL season for passing offenses in years hasn't hit the New Orleans Saints. While quarterbacks and offenses around the league have struggled to get going, Derek Carr and the Saints are clicking with an early efficiency that might not ever have been reached before in the NFL. The Saints followed up a 47-point outburst in the season opener against Carolina by beating the Dallas Cowboys 44-19 on Sunday, becoming the fifth team to score at least 44 points in each of the first two games of a season.
AP-Scorecard
Here are the scores from yesterday's sports events:
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INTERLEAGUE
Final Oakland 5 Chicago Cubs 3
Final San Diego 4 Houston 0
Final San Francisco 5 Baltimore 3
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AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final L.A. Angels 4 Chicago White Sox 3
Final Boston 2 Tampa Bay 1
Final Cleveland 5 Minnesota 4
Final Texas 2 Toronto 0
Final Detroit 4 Kansas City 2
Final N.Y. Yankees 2 Seattle 1
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NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final Arizona 9 Colorado 4
Final Atlanta 7 Cincinnati 1
Final L.A. Dodgers 8 Miami 4
Final N.Y. Mets 10 Washington 0
Final Milwaukee 2 Philadelphia 1
Final St. Louis 10 Pittsburgh 5
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MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER
Final tie Miami 2 Atlanta 2
Final Philadelphia 5 New York City FC 1
Final tie CF Montréal 2 New England 2
Final Columbus 2 Toronto FC 0
Final Orlando City 2 Charlotte FC 0
Final tie Vancouver 1 Houston 1
Final Sporting Kansas City 4 Colorado 1
Final Cincinnati 2 Minnesota 1
Final Nashville 1 Chicago 0
Final Real Salt Lake 3 FC Dallas 2
Final tie Austin FC 1 Los Angeles FC 1
Final Portland 4 LA Galaxy 2
Final tie San Jose 2 Seattle 2
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TODAY'S SPORTS SCHEDULE
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INTERLEAGUE
San Francisco at Baltimore 1:05 p.m.
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AMERICAN LEAGUE
Minnesota at Cleveland 1:10 p.m.
Toronto at Texas 2:35 p.m.
N-Y Yankees at Seattle 4:10 p.m.
Boston at Tampa Bay 6:50 p.m.
L-A Angels at Houston 8:10 p.m.
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NATIONAL LEAGUE
Atlanta at Cincinnati 1:10 p.m.
L-A Dodgers at Miami 4:40 p.m.
Arizona at Milwaukee 7:15 p.m.
Philadelphia at N-Y Mets 7:15 p.m.
Pittsburgh at St. Louis 7:15 p.m.
Washington at Chi Cubs 7:40 p.m.
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NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
New England at N-Y Jets 8:15 p.m.
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WOMEN'S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Atlanta at New York 7 p.m.
Chicago at Connecticut 7 p.m.
Indiana at Washington 7 p.m.
Los Angeles at Minnesota 8 p.m.
Dallas at Las Vegas 10 p.m.
Seattle at Phoenix 10 p.m.
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