Alex Bregman and Framber Valdez played the lead roles as the Houston Astros opened up a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven ALCS with a 3-2 victory over the New York Yankees on Thursday.
Bregman's three-run homer over left field opened up a 3-0 third-inning lead, with the Astros pitchers putting on a show to keep the Yankees at bay.
Valdez pitched across seven innings, with nine strikeouts, allowing only four hits, although his fielding error led to both of the Yankees' runs in the fourth inning.
Bryan Abreu ended the eighth inning with back-to-back 99mph fastballs to strike out Giancarlo Stanton after a 3-1 count.
Ryan Pressly got the save in the ninth, his third of this postseason, despite walking Josh Donaldson, striking out three batters including Matt Carpenter for the win as he tried to check his swing.
The Astros were great on defense, with third baseman Bregman knocking down a Gleyber Torres grounder straight to shortstop Jeremy Pena, who threw to first base to close the sixth inning.
In the eighth, outfielder Kyle Tucker plucked a great catch on the wall from Aaron Judge's right-field shot which fell inches short of a go-ahead home run with a runner on first.
Judge and Stanton had plated in the fourth, after Valdez fumbled the latter's grounder back to the mound before throwing wildly to first base, allowing both to third and second base respectively. Anthony Rizzo and Torres got the RBIs.
The third-inning blast from Bregman, who went two-for-four, means he has the most postseason home runs for a third baseman ever in the majors.
The Dallas Cowboys have not made an official announcement, but according to Dak Prescott he will be back starting at quarterback on Sunday against the visiting Detroit Lions.
When asked during a press conference on Thursday if he would be starting on Sunday, Prescott responded, “I am.”
He then paused briefly and said, “I think.”
Though he tried walk back his slip-up, all signs point to Prescott being under center for the first time since suffering a fracture near his right thumb in the fourth quarter of a 19-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on September 11.
He has been medically cleared to practice and got through a full training session on Thursday for the first time since his injury.
''It's about staying where my feet are,'' Prescott said. ''Just thankful I went out there and had a good practice. Just put my mind right where I am, and when I look up I'll be prepared ready to go for Sunday.''
Prescott said he had no issues throwing and joked that he threw 140 passes – his way of saying he has no limitations.
"I did everything. I wasn't limited by any means," Prescott said. "There wasn't a pitch count. I think I threw about 140 balls, something like that. I just made that up, but there was no pitch count. I was full go."
He threw 40 passes during a practice on Wednesday and also threw on the field prior to the Cowboys’ 26-17 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles last Sunday.
That marks the only blemish on Dallas’ record since the season opener.
Cooper Rush led the Cowboys to four consecutive wins in place of Prescott, completing 61.9 per cent of his passes for 775 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions for a 97.1 passer rating before completing 47.4 per cent of his 38 attempts for 181 yards with a TD throw and three picks for a 37.3 rating in Week 6.
''He went out there and did everything I expected Cooper to do,'' Prescott said. ''Understand that everybody had to raise their level and everybody is going to continue to raise their level. That is what he has done and what the team has done. Now I can come back and we can keep rolling.''
Prescott, however, also struggled in Week 1, completing 48.3 per cent of his 29 attempts for 134 yards and an average of 4.6 yards per throw with one interception and a 47.2 rating.
All-Star point guard Darius Garland has been cleared of any structural damage after suffering a left eye laceration in the Cleveland Cavaliers' 108-105 loss to the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday.
Garland exited the game in the second quarter after an accidental poke to his eye from Raptors guard Gary Trent Jr.
The Cleveland guard could not return to play with his eye closed over, with Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff confirming it was a "laceration on the inside of his eye lid" after the game.
The Cavs provided a status update on Thursday, revealing that Garland does not require surgery.
"The location of the injury required further evaluation and Garland missed the remainder of the game versus the Raptors," the Cavs said.
"Garland will be re-evaluated over the next couple of days and his status will be updated as appropriate."
Cleveland's next game is against the Chicago Bulls on Saturday.
The Cavs are expected to contend for the playoffs this season, having bolstered their side with the addition of Donovan Mitchell alongside an emerging line-up featuring Jarrett Allen, Evan Mobley and Garland.
Garland averaged career-best numbers in 2021-22 leading to his maiden All-Star selection, with 21.7 points on 46.2 field goal percentage, 8.7 assists and 1.3 steals per game.
Defending CJ Cup champion Rory McIlroy started strong to be one shot behind joint leaders Gary Woodland and Trey Mullinax after the opening day at Congaree Golf Club in South Carolina.
The Northern Irishman is tied with six players at five-under after carding opening rounds of 66, including recent Shriners Children's Open winner Tom Kim.
McIlroy pieced together birdies on the fourth, fifth and sixth holes, but his round leveled out, finishing bogey-free.
Woodland was one of the pre-tournament favourites and he impressed early, with three straight birdies to open his round.
The American dropped three bogeys to slow his progress, but sunk a 21-foot birdie putt on the par-four 18th to finish his round with nine birdies and a share of the lead.
Co-leader Mullinax birdied four of his first six holes and six of his first 11, highlighted by a 23-foot birdie putt on the 11th.
Kim, who is only 20-years-old, stormed up the leaderboard late with three birdies in his final six holes, including rolling in a 28-foot birdie on the 16th although he slipped from the lead with a bogey on the 18th.
McIlroy and Kim are joined by Cam Davis, Kurt Kitayama, Aaron Wise and Wyndham Clark in carding opening day rounds of five-under-par.
Norwegian Viktor Hovland and American Tyrrell Hatton headline the following six-member group at four-under.
Two-time PGA Championship winner Justin Thomas is back at three-under, while former world number one pair Jon Rahm and Jason Day are at two-under. Scottie Scheffler finished with an even round.
Three-time major winner Jordan Spieth had a poor round that included a double bogey on the sixth and four bogeys to be four-over-par.
Dominic Thiem saw off Francisco Cerundolo for the second time in the space of a week as he dug deep in the deciding set to win 6-1 1-6 7-5 at the European Open.
The Austrian downed the Argentinian in straight sets six days earlier in Gijon but found this a sterner test of his capabilities against the sixth seed.
Nevertheless, the former US Open winner shook off a second-set collapse and then responded to going a break down in the decider, winning four of the final five games to seal a quarter-final clash with favourite Hubert Hurkacz.
He was joined in the last-eight by two more unseeded players, as David Goffin and Sebastian Korda recorded straight-set upsets over third seed Diego Schwartzman and fourth-ranked Karen Khachanov respectively.
At the Stockholm Open, fifth seed Alex de Minaur made swift work of American J.J. Wolf, dispatching him in a 6-4 6-2 win to set up a quarter-final with Canada's Denis Shapovalov.
Defending champion Tommy Paul is out however, losing to Sweden's Mikael Ymer, who recorded a 6-2 6-3 victory that earns him a clash with top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Slippery court conditions contributed to a backlog in fixtures at the Napoli Cup, meaning first-round matches were followed by second-round encounters on Thursday.
Nevertheless, second seed Matteo Berrettini made light work of Roberto Carballes Baena, winning 6-4 6-2.
Roberto Bautista Agut, seeded third, slipped to a 6-4 6-4 loss to Mackenzie McDonald, with the American joining Berrettini in the last eight.
Serena Williams says the chances of her returning to the court are "very high", despite declaring her intention to step away from tennis before the US Open last month.
Though she deliberately avoided saying she would retire prior to the tournament, instead saying she planned to "evolve" away from the sport, many believed Williams' third-round exit at Flushing Meadows last month was the last time she would be seen playing competitive tennis.
Her defeat to Ajla Tomljanovic was met with the kind of fanfare that suggested she was calling it a day on an illustrious career that included 23 grand slam titles, the second most in history behind Margaret Court.
But Williams implied she could yet step on the court again when speaking at a TechCrunch Disrupt event in San Francisco on Wednesday.
In quotes collected by the San Francisco Standard, Williams said: "I am not retired.
"The chances [of me returning] are very high. You can come to my house and [see] I have a court."
Trinidad & Tobago confirmed their spot in the 2023 Netball World Cup in Cape Town with a 43-27 win over the USA at the Netball Americas World Cup Qualifiers at the National Indoor Sports Centre in Kingston on Wednesday.
The Trinidadians went into the game with five wins from five knowing another win would confirm their spot in the World Cup next year.
They came out swinging, opening a 10-point gap by the end of the first quarter to lead 18-8. That gap swelled to 14 by halftime as they held the Americans to only five baskets in the second quarter to lead 27-13. Trinidad & Tobago doubled the USA’s score as it was 38-19 by the end of the third quarter. The Americans won the fourth quarter 8-5 but the damage was already done.
Goal attack Joelisa Cooper’s 20 goals from 24 attempts and goal shooter Afeisha Noel’s 15 goals from 16 attempts means T&T will join Jamaica, who have already qualified based on rankings, in next year’s World Cup, with one more Americas spot yet to be confirmed.
“We did what we came to do,” said Trinidad & Tobago head coach Kemba Duncan.
Even with a spot in the World Cup sealed, Duncan says a goal of the team is to finish the qualifiers undefeated. Their remaining games are against Barbados on Thursday and Jamaica on Saturday.
“We have to remain disciplined, execute our game plans and support each other on the court.”
T&T beat the Cayman Islands 60-21 earlier on Wednesday.
Elsewhere, goal shooter Faye Agard’s 44 goals from 47 attempts helped Barbados get past St. Vincent & the Grenadines 57-36 for their fifth win in as many games. They also beat Grenada 60-38 earlier on Wednesday.
The Bajans were behind 10-12 after the first quarter before making a remarkable 15-point turnaround in the next two to lead 43-26 heading into the fourth, eventually winning 57-36.
“After the first quarter, I realized that what I wanted wasn’t happening so I introduced wing attack Brianna Holder into the game because I wanted to add more speed,” was the response of Barbados head coach Margaret Cutting when asked how they were able to turn it around.
They are within striking distance of confirming their spot in next year’s World Cup alongside Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago and will look to cement their place when they meet the Trinis on Thursday.
“We had two games today so we’re going to go back to our hotel, have some ice baths, have our dinner then go back to the drawing board and plan for tomorrow’s game,” she added.
Wednesday’s other games saw Jamaica beat Grenada 74-48 and the Cayman Islands get a 47-42 win over Antigua & Barbuda.
Thursday’s other games will see St. Lucia tackling Jamaica, St. Vincent playing Antigua & Barbuda and USA playing the Cayman Islands.
Tyson Fury praised Derek Chisora for accepting a December 3 fight, aiming a not-so-subtle dig towards Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua.
The two heavyweights will go toe-to-toe at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with Fury's WBC belt on the line, after the Gypsy King was unable to secure an agreement to fight either Usyk or Joshua.
That led to disappointment among fans, with the initial reception for a trilogy bout against Chisora not a positive one, but Fury always intended to fight before the end of the year and says his opponent has "balls" which others in the division lack.
"You've got the so-called guys in the division, the 'top guys', we offer them fights but there's no smoke. You offer it to Chisora, boom, he's sat here opposite me," Fury said in Thursday's press conference.
"The man has got balls. In today's society, in this boxing game, there's a lack of balls. You know who you are, these people who don't want smoke.
"With Chisora, he does what it says on the tin, he goes to war. We're going to get a war. I did outbox him comfortably the second time, but his style has changed and so has mine.
"When you've got two heavy forces colliding with two heavy bombs, someone is getting knocked out. If he lands a big punch on me, I'm getting knocked out. If I land a big swing on him, he's getting knocked out.
"The fans are going to win, 100 per cent. I promised Chisora for years that we would have a third fight. We're going to put on a hell of a fight."
Promoter Frank Warren has outlined Fury's future in the ring beyond the trilogy bout against Chisora, with a proposed unification bout against Usyk still planned for the first quarter of next year.
"If Tyson comes through December 3, he's going to fight Oleksandr Usyk and after that he may wind up fighting Joe Joyce," Warren told TalkSport.
Tyson Fury will fight Derek Chisora for a third time at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium after a proposed bout with Anthony Joshua fell through.
Talks over a fight between Fury and Joshua fell through, but there will be another all-British heavyweight battle in London.
WBC champion Fury will defend his title against Chisora, who he beat when they first met in 2011 and got the better of again almost eight years ago.
Fury intends to fight Oleksandr Usyk in a bid to become the undisputed world heavyweight champion in the first part of 2023, but next up will be Chisora.
The unbeaten 'Gypsy King' earned a unanimous decision when he fought Chisora for the first time and had his arms raised again after his fellow Englishman was retired by his corner at the end of the 10th round in their rematch at Wembley.
Fury, 34, insisted he had retired after stopping Dillian Whyte in April, but it was no surprise when he made a U-turn to resume his career.
Unbeaten in 33 fights, the 34-year-old will be a strong favourite to beat Chisora for a third time.
The 38-year-old Chisora stopped Kubrat Pulev in his last bout at the O2 Arena in London, taking his record to 33 victories and 12 defeats.
WBA world champion Daniel Dubois will make a first defence of his belt against South African southpaw Kevin Lerena on the undercard.
Frank Warren, Fury's promoter, said: "I am thrilled to be delivering a Tyson Fury world title defence in front of the British fans in London. Tyson clearly conquered America across his trilogy with Deontay Wilder and there is also huge demand to stage his fights from sites across the world.
"Tyson wanted to fight in his home country again this year following his special night at Wembley Stadium in April. This brings us to the magnificent Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and a match against an old rival in Derek Chisora.
"Derek, also a big favourite with British fans, has reinvented himself in recent years and Tyson has long stated his wish to fight him for a third time.
"Tyson can't afford any slip-up in this fight as he has the much-publicised undisputed match-up with Usyk in the new year which we're really looking forward to."
Rory McIlroy has hit back at Phil Mickelson by claiming the American's verdict that the PGA Tour is "trending downwards" is illogical.
Northern Irishman McIlroy has been one of the most prominent opponents of the LIV Golf breakaway tour, which made Mickelson an early flagship signing.
Mickelson said in Jeddah last week: "I firmly believe that I'm on the winning side of how things are going to evolve and shape in the coming years for professional golf.
"I see LIV Golf trending upwards, I see the PGA Tour trending downwards. And I love the side that I'm on."
McIlroy has the likes of Tiger Woods in his corner, staying true to the tour that has for many years provided their livelihood.
"I think the people that have decided to stay here and play these tournaments, they or we haven't done anything differently than what we've always done. We're sticking to the system that has traditionally been there," McIlroy said.
"The guys that have gone over to LIV are the ones that have made the disruption they're the ones you have put the golf world in flux right now.
"For them to be talking the way they are, it's bold and there's a ton of propaganda being used. But I certainly don't see the PGA Tour trending downwards.
"Ninety-five per cent of the talent is here. You've people like Tom Kim coming through and that's the future of our game.
"I don't agree with what Phil said last week. I understand why he said it, because of the position he is in, but I don't think anyone that takes a logical view of the game of golf can agree with what he said."
Dustin Johnson, Cameron Smith, Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau are among the other high-profile players who turned their back on the PGA Tour
McIlroy, competing this week at the CJ Cup in South Carolina, has a chance to go back to the top of the world rankings, if he has a stellar week and Scottie Scheffler struggles.
With no points currently available at LIV events, it has made the route back to number one perhaps less arduous than it might have been for McIlroy.
McIlroy said: "If I get back to number one this week, it's like my ninth time getting back.
"It's like a heavyweight boxer losing a world title, and it's the journey of getting it back. That's the journey I've been on over the last 12 months."
Across his previous eight stints at number one, McIlroy has spent 106 weeks atop the rankings.
He ardently wants top spot again but says the fact of being number one would still have him wanting more.
"I got to number one in the world [for the first time] after I won the Honda Classic in 2012, and it'd been a goal of mine for maybe six months up until that point," McIlroy said. "I ended up getting there after the Honda, but I remember waking up the next morning and being like, 'Is this it?'.
"You work towards the goal for so long but don't feel any different after having achieved it, so it's a matter of having to reframe your goals and re-framing what success looks like.
"I think that's one of the great things about this game. No matter what you've achieved or what success you've had, you always want to do something else. You've got to maybe work harder to stay there."
Tua Tagovailoa says he was "wondering what happened" after being knocked unconscious by a big hit in the Miami Dolphins' defeat to the Cincinnati Bengals.
The Dolphins quarterback was briefly hospitalised after hitting his head on the ground while attempting to extend a play during a 27-15 Week 4 loss.
Tagovailoa has not played since, but he cleared the concussion protocols last weekend and is set to start against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.
The 24-year-old has spoken for the first time about the injury he sustained on September 29.
He said: "I wouldn't say it was scary for me at the time because there was a point where I was unconscious, so I couldn't really tell what was going on.
"When I did come to and kind of realised what was going on and what was happening, I didn't think of anything long term or short term. I was just wondering what happened."
Tagovailoa has vowed to learn from the experience and change his approach where necessary.
"Throwing the ball away hasn't been something that I've done in the past really well," he said.
"Because I'm trying to make plays, and so just learning from that – if it's not there, it's okay to throw it away. It's the longevity of me just being able to be the quarterback for this team and not try to make something out of nothing."
Miami started the season with three consecutive wins but are now 3-3 after three defeats in a row.
Tagovailoa warned he will not be returning with a magic wand to ensure their fortunes are turned around immediately.
"I just gotta be myself – I'm not the saviour of this team. I don't just come in and we start winning games," he said.
"It's a team deal. The defense gets us stops, the offense goes and puts points on the board, and the defense can help put points on the board as well as special teams.
"So for me, I just look at it as coming into this week and just be myself. Don't try to force anything. Don't try to make plays that aren't there – just give our playmakers the ball and let them go to work."
Paolo Banchero said his dazzling NBA debut was a moment he had "been working for my whole life" after showing why the Orlando Magic made him the first overall pick.
The 19-year-old American-Italian set a Magic points record for a rookie by scoring 27 points with 11-of-18 shooting against the Detroit Pistons, also claiming nine rebounds and providing five assists.
Banchero, who shone for Duke before declaring himself for the 2022 NBA Draft, could not prevent the Magic losing the game 113-109, but his bow at the top level was still one to savour.
The previous most points scored by a Magic rookie on debut was 13 by Mo Bamba four years ago, and Banchero soon sauntered past that mark, while Jaden Ivey did likewise, finishing with 19 points.
Banchero became the first player since LeBron James in 2003 to have a 25-5-5 game or better on debut in the NBA.
His points tally was the most by a number one overall pick on his NBA bow since Allen Iverson scored 30 for the Philadelphia 76ers against the Milwaukee Bucks in November 1996, ESPN said.
"[It is] a moment that you've been working for my whole life – trying to get to this point right here," Banchero said. "It's definitely a milestone.
"I'm proud of myself for getting here. But also, this is the start. It's not the end. You just have to come in and be prepared, be ready and play our best, play my hardest."
He added: "Obviously, would have liked to win. But I just wanted to play hard, play for the team, and that happened, so it's a blessing."
What's more, Banchero felt it could have gone even better on a personal level.
"It's crazy. I felt like I left a lot of points on the board," he said.
"Credit to my team-mates for finding me. It's always nice to see the ball get in that early, get easy buckets around the rim. That's how I try to play, inside out. Try to get easy stuff around the basket and expand out and do more stuff throughout the game."
New Orleans Pelicans star Zion Williamson was giddy at his postgame press conference after securing a dominant 130-108 road win against the Brooklyn Nets in his first competitive outing since May 2021.
Williamson missed all of this past season with recurring foot injuries, but used the offseason to get into the best shape of his professional career, and he picked up right where he left off.
Before his injury, Williamson averaged 27 points per game at 61 per cent shooting in his second season after being drafted first overall back in 2019, and he showed no signs of rust, dropping 25 points on 11-of-22 shooting with nine rebounds, four steals and three assists.
Speaking to the media immediately after the win, Williamson could not keep the smile off his face when talking about how excited he is to be back on the court with this Pelicans group.
"The Nets are a great team, a great organisation, but today we just wanted to show how special this group is," he said during his on-court interview.
"We got the win, most importantly that's what we want to do, but if you see the bonds we have on the court, and on the bench, we really have a special group and I'm excited to show the world what we can do."
Later in his sit-down press conference, he reflected on his feelings about returning after such a long layoff, and what it is like to play with this group, since he has not played since the Pelicans' acquisition of C.J. McCollum.
"Simply playing the game I love, which I didn't get to play for a long time, was a breath of fresh air," he said.
"There were times where there was a loose ball, and it ended up in C.J. or [Brandon Ingram's] hands, and I didn't even crash [for rebounds], I'm like 'oh that's good'. Man, it's special. If you know basketball, to get a chance to play with two players like that, it's special.
"All three of us are unselfish, we all have the same goal, and that's to win. When you want to win, you put aside the personal goals and everything else. Whatever I've got to do, whatever they've got to do to win, that's what we're all going to do.
"It's one thing when you're excited for yourself, but when you see people you work hard with, and go to battle with, and they're genuinely excited for you and wishing you the best – you can't ask for much more than that."
Despite top-scoring in the game with 28 points (10-of-17 shooting), Ingram made it clear who sits atop the Pelicans' pecking order, calling Williamson "one of the best players in the league".
Pelicans head coach Willie Green also enjoyed the show, saying: "It's like he didn't miss a beat – you just throw the ball to him and watch what he does. He's fun to watch."
It was a great day for the highly ranked Americans at the Guadalajara Open on Wednesday, headlined by world number five Jessica Pegula and her 2-6 6-3 7-6 (10-8) comeback win over Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina.
Pegula, who is now locked into the top-eight and therefore will qualify for the WTA Finals, struggled to win points on her serve in the opening set, but raised her 57 per cent success rate up to 69 per cent in the second set, and 66 per cent in the decider.
The American had to come from a break down in the second set to keep her tournament alive, and she will now face Canada's Bianca Andreescu in the third round.
Meanwhile, fellow United States star Coco Gauff was too good for Italy's Elisabetta Cocciaretto, winning 7-6 (7-1) 6-3 to book a third-round clash with another Italian, Martina Trevisan, who earned her way there with a 6-0 4-6 6-3 win over Katerina Siniakova.
The other two seeded Americans were also successful, with 13th seed Madison Keys coming from a set down to defeat Ajla Tomljanovic 3-6 6-4 6-3, and 14th seed Danielle Collins repelled the challenge of Magdalena Frech 6-3 6-4.
There were positive signs for former world number five Eugenie Bouchard, who ended up losing, but showed she still has her talent by taking a set off world number 23 Jelena Ostapenko in a 7-5 2-6 6-1 result.
Russian pair Anna Kalinskaya and Liudmila Samsonova both emerged in three-set outings, with Kalinskaya outlasting Elise Mertens 6-4 0-6 7-5, while Samsonova upset world number four Aryna Sabalenka 6-4 2-6 6-2.
World number 12 Veronika Kudermetova kept her WTA Finals hopes alive with a 6-4 7-5 win over Donna Vekic, and the Czech Republic's Marie Bouzkova ousted Colombia's Camila Osorio 6-3 6-1.
In the late window, Sloane Stephens eliminated Olympic gold medalist Belinda Bencic 6-4 6-4, and top overall seed Paula Badosa retired due to injury after losing the first set 6-2 against Victoria Azarenka.
The San Diego Padres produced a stunning comeback on the road to defeat the Philadelphia Phillies 8-5 in Game 2 of the NLCS on Wednesday.
San Diego were staring down the barrel of a two-game deficit when Alec Bohm, Matt Vierling, Edmundo Sosa and Kyle Schwarber drove home a run each to jump ahead 4-0 in the second inning.
The Padres would get two runs back in the bottom of the second, courtesy of solo home runs to Brandon Drury and Josh Bell, and to manager Bob Melvin's credit, he stuck with starting pitcher Blake Snell despite his rough start, and he was able to pitch three scoreless innings to set up the comeback.
Trailing 4-2 in the fifth inning, the Padres rattled off five runs, with Bell and Drury again delivering, as well as young star Juan Soto and catcher Austin Nola, who got his hit off his brother, Aaron Nola, who started on the mound for the Phillies.
Manny Machado put on the finishing touches with a 424-foot bomb in the seventh inning, before closer Josh Hader came in to put the Phillies away.
By striking out all three batters he faced – after doing the same in his last outing, and striking out his last two batters the time before that – he became the first pitcher in MLB history to strike out eight consecutive batters in the postseason.
Game 3 and Game 4 will both be played in San Diego, before heading back to Philadelphia for Game 5 in the best-of-seven series.
Verlander dices up the Yankees in Game 1
Houston Astros ace Justin Verlander showed why he is the heavy favourite to take home the American League Cy Young Award, pitching six dominant innings in his side's 4-2 win against the New York Yankees in Game 1.
Verlander struck out 11 batters while only allowing one run from three hits and a walk, with that one run coming from a Harrison Bader solo homer in the second inning to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead. Bader did not hit a home run for the Yankees in the regular season after being acquired at the deadline, but now has four in his past six playoff games.
Their lead was short-lived as Martin Maldonado tied things up with an RBI double later in the second inning, before the Astros hit three solo home runs to jump out to a commanding lead.
Lourdes Gurriel and Chas McCormick went deep in the sixth inning, before rookie Jeremy Pena hit his fourth homer of the postseason to extend the lead to 4-1 in the seventh.
Anthony Rizzo would connect on a consolation home run in the eight inning, but Astros closer Ryan Pressly was up for the task, coming in to collect a four-out save with three strikeouts.
Game 2 will remain in Houston, before the series heads to New York for Game 3 and Game 4.
The New Orleans Pelicans sent a statement to the rest of the league with a 130-108 pounding of the Brooklyn Nets in their opening game of the season on Wednesday night.
Playing away from home, the Pelicans enjoyed a red-hot start, with eight points in the first quarter from Zion Williamson helping to build a 32-14 lead at the first break.
The Nets showed some fight in the second quarter, putting up 36 points in the frame to trim the margin to 58-50 as Kevin Durant had 21 in the first half, but the Pelicans came out of halftime and dropped 40 points in the third period to put the game to bed.
In his first game since May 2021, Williamson looked in tremendous shape, scoring 25 points on 11-of-22 shooting while adding nine rebounds, three assists and four steals.
He was supported in fine fashion by Brandon Ingram, who top-scored for the Pelicans with 28 points (10-of-17 shooting), seven rebounds and five assists, and C.J. McCollum chipped in 21 points and six assists as well.
For the Nets, Durant showed he is still arguably the best scorer in the league with 32 points on 11-of-21 shooting, and he also tallied four blocks in an impressive two-way performance despite his team's shortcomings.
Box-office Banchero validates top draft selection
Paolo Banchero was not thought to be an option for the Orlando Magic with the first overall pick until the day of the NBA Draft, but he showed exactly why they took him with a spectacular debut in a 113-109 loss on the road to the Detroit Pistons.
Banchero shattered the Magic record for points by a debuting rookie – previously set at 13 – with 27 on 11-of-18 shooting, and he also grabbed nine rebounds and dished five assists in a complete performance, posting a plus/minus of plus two in his 35 minutes.
It was a great debut for rookie Jaden Ivey as well, who the Pistons selected with the fifth overall pick, as he put up 19 points on eight-of-15 shooting with four assists and three steals.
Ivey complemented last year's top pick Cade Cunningham beautifully, with Cunningham running the show on his way to 18 points (six-of-16 shooting) and 10 assists, while newly acquired Bojan Bogdanovic top-scored for Detroit with 24 points on eight-of-16 shooting after hitting six of his first seven three-point attempts.
Morant lifts the Grizzlies in overtime
Ja Morant had his potential game-winner wiped off the board due to a contentious charging foul, but his Memphis Grizzlies got the job done at home in overtime to defeat the New York Knicks 115-112.
Morant was the game's top-scorer with 34 points on 11-of-24 shooting, and his nine assists was equal with New York's Jalen Brunson for the most in the contest.
Starting in place of the injured Jaren Jackson Jr, Santi Aldama gave a good performance with 18 points (seven-of-14 shooting) and 11 rebounds, while Julius Randle was the Knicks' best player, scoring 24 points (nine-of-16 shooting) with 11 rebounds and six assists.
Mitchell shines in Cavaliers debut despite loss
The Cleveland Cavaliers were treated to a terrific debut from star offseason acquisition Donovan Mitchell, but it was not enough to overcome an early Darius Garland injury in a 108-105 road loss to the Toronto Raptors.
All-Star point guard Garland only played 13 minutes before his night ended with a rough poke to the eye in the second quarter. Taking over some of Garland's point guard responsibilities, Mitchell dished off nine assists as well as leading the game in scoring with 31 on 12-of-21 shooting.
All five Raptors starters scored at least 15 points in classic Toronto fashion, with Pascal Siakam tallying 23 on nine-of-20 shooting with 11 rebounds and four steals, while reigning Rookie of the Year Scottie Barnes had 15 points (seven-of-14 shooting) with seven assists and a game-high plus/minus of plus 20 in his 32 minutes.
Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Marquise Brown got a second opinion on his injured left foot and will be sidelined at least one month.
Coach Kliff Kingsbury gave the injury update Wednesday, and although he admitted he didn’t know the exact nature of the injury, he said it won’t require surgery.
"It looks like it’ll be indefinite. I think at least a month, I would say," he said via video from Bo Brack of PHNX Cardinals podcast. "We’ll evaluate it and go from there."
It was originally being reported that Brown would be sidelined at least six weeks after he was injured in Sunday’s 19-9 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
Brown ranks fifth in the NFL with 43 receptions and has the seventh-most receiving yards with 485, while his three receiving touchdowns account for half of Kyler Murray’s TD passes.
Murray, though, will have a pair of new weapons at his disposal for Arizona’s Thursday night game against the New Orleans Saints.
Robbie Anderson will make his Cardinals debut after being acquired from the Carolina Panthers on Monday, and DeAndre Hopkins will rejoin the team with his six-game suspension for violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs now over.
Cameron Norrie fought back from a first-set loss against Aslan Karatsev to advance into the quarter-finals of the Stockholm Open, keeping hopes of qualifying for next month's ATP finals alive.
Norrie's return to action, having withdrawn from last month's Korea Open with illness, was not plain sailing as Karatsev won the first set tie-break 10-8 to put the Brit under pressure.
However, the 27-year-old responded by taking the next two sets 6-3 6-4 to seal safe passage, helped by six first-serve aces, which also maintains his hopes of a spot in November's finals and sets up a tie against 19-year-old Holger Rune.
Top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas was given a sterner test by Maxime Cressy before eventually securing a spot in the quarter-finals 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (14-12) in a two-hour contest, while Denis Shapovalov also beat Antoine Bellier in straight sets.
The number one seed is through at the European Open in Antwerp as well as Hubert Hurkacz toppled Jack Draper 7-6 (7-5) 6-7 (5-7) 6-1.
Britain's Dan Evans eased into the final eight after securing a 6-2 6-1 victory against Constant Lestienne, while there were also victories for Yoshihito Nishioka and Richard Gasquet.
Elsewhere, sixth-seed Sebastian Baez was a 7-5 7-6 (7-3) winner against Lorenzo Sonego in the Napoli Open, where Roberto Carballes Baena and Corentin Moutet were among the other victors.
The PGA Tour has announced four more "elevated" events for the new season that will see increased prize money and fields guaranteed to feature the world's best players.
The Phoenix Open, RBC Heritage, Wells Fargo Championship and Travelers Championship will now all have $20million (£17.8m) prize purses meaning there are now 17 elevated events throughout the course of the current season.
The other 13 elevated events are comprised of the four majors, the Players Championship, the three FedEx Cup Playoff events, the Genesis Invitational, the Arnold Palmer Invitational, the Memorial Tournament, the WGC Match Play and the Tournament of Champions.
The idea of elevated events was initially developed in August in collaboration with numerous high-ranking golfers after several high-profile PGA tour golfers left to join the Saudi-backed LIV Golf series.
The invitational series offers lucrative signing bonuses that vastly outweigh potential PGA tour prize money winnings and has secured the services of current Open champion Cameron Smith as well as two-time major champion, Dustin Johnson.
But it is hoped these elevated events, which the PGA Tour's top stars are committed to playing, will dissuade more players from leaving in the future and ensure the best players play together more frequently.
The four newly announced elevated events are only for 2023; the expectation being that other events will be given elevated status in the coming seasons.
There is also potential for events in Europe on the DP World Tour to be given elevated status as part of the "strategic alliance" with the PGA Tour.
The Scottish Open, which is co-sanctioned by both tours, could well be one event given elevated status as part of this alliance in future seasons.
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