Yordan Alvarez was the hero again for the Houston Astros with a go-ahead two-run homer in a 4-2 win over the Seattle Mariners which opened up a 2-0 ALDS lead on Thursday.
Alvarez, who delivered a walk-off three-run homer in the Astros' 8-7 Game 1 victory, took center stage in the sixth inning with his side down 2-1 with a runner on, when he blasted Luis Castillo deep over left-field.
The Astros slugger, who hit 37 homers in the regular season, became the first player in major league postseason history to hit multiple career go-ahead homers in the sixth inning or later when his team was trailing.
The Mariners opted to walk Alvarez in the eighth inning, shuffling Jeremy Pena to second base, enabling Alex Bregman to pad the lead with an RBL single from reliever Andres Munoz. Pena beat right-fielder Mitch Haniger's arm to home plate on Bregman's shot.
Kyle Tucker had launched a second-inning roof-scraping solo homer to have the Astros up 1-0 early, but Mariners pitcher Luis Castillo gave up little, retiring after seven innings with seven strikeouts, allowing five hits and three runs.
After second baseman Jose Altuve's brilliance in the field with a leaping throw to close the third inning, Seattle claimed the lead with two runs in the fourth, with Carlos Santana driving in Eugenio Suarez who got home when pitcher Framber Valdez threw it away at home plate.
Dylan Moore's first-up line drive to right drove in Mitch Haniger to put the Mariners up 2-1, before Alvarez intervened with his two-run shot in the sixth.
The Astros issued seven walks but still won, with Ryan Pressly striking out Ty France for the save. Starting pitcher Valdez had six K's in five-and-two-third innings, allowing four hits.
The Mariners will host their first postseason game in 21 years when the series resumes on Saturday, although they will be facing elimination.
Yankees-Guardians postponed
MLB confirmed that Game 2 of the New York Yankees-Cleveland Guardians' ALDS would be postponed due to the forecast of sustained inclement weather.
The game will instead be played at Yankee Stadium on Friday, with the hosts looking to open up a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series. Game 3 remains scheduled for Saturday in Cleveland.
Andy Murray overturned a first-set deficit to defeat Pedro Cachin gripping 2-6 7-5 7-6 (7-3) and book his spot in the quarter-finals of the Gijon Open.
The three-time grand slam champion lost a 56-minute opening set but showing his trademark doggedness to defeat his Argentine opponent and earn a fourth Tour-level last-eight berth of the season.
It sets the Briton up with a last-eight encounter against Sebastian Korda after the unseeded American delivered the upset of the day to knock out third seed and home favourite Roberto Bautista Agut in a 5-7 6-4 6-4 triumph.
Elsewhere, first seed Andrey Rublev saw off a fightback from Ilya Ivashka to also book his place in the quarter-finals, with his reward a tie against Tommy Paul.
At the Firenze Open, top seed Felix Auger-Aliassime saw off a second set scare from Germany's Oscar Otte, with the Canadian ultimately triumphing 6-4 6-7 (2-7) 6-2.
He will meet eighth seed Brandon Nakashima, who ran out comfortably in straight sets against Altug Celikbilek with a 6-3 6-4 win.
Third seed Lorenzo Musetti also made smooth work on his own turf, with a 6-3 6-0 demolition job against Bernabe Zapata Miralles, to set up an encounter in the last eight with Mackenzie McDonald.
Number two seed Anhelina Kalinina cruised through to the last eight of the Transylvania Open on Thursday thanks to a straight sets victory over Ysaline Bonaventure.
The Ukrainian barely had to break sweat on her way to a 6-3 6-2 triumph to set up a quarter-final meeting with Anna Blinkova, who beat Xinyu Wang 6-4 2-6 6-1.
Fourth seed Anastasia Potapova had an equally comfortable time in her last-16 match against Viktorija Golubic in Cluj, strolling to a 6-2 6-3 win.
Xiyu Wang, seeded seventh, had a tougher time in her meeting with Elena-Gabriela Ruse, the Chinese player ultimately overcoming her Romanian opponent 6-1 6-7 (8-10) 7-6 (8-6).
In Thursday's other match, Nuria Parrizas Diaz beat Dalma Galfi 6-1 6-4.
Phil Mickelson says he has on the "winning side" with LIV Golf and believes the PGA Tour is "trending downwards."
Mickelson defected from the PGA Tour to join the Saudi-backed breakaway series on a hugely lucrative contract in June.
Dustin Johnson, Cameron Smith, Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau are among the other high-profile players who turned their back on the PGA Tour to sign up for LIV Golf.
As he prepares to tee off in Jeddah on Friday, six-time major winner Mickelson is in no doubt he made the right decision.
He said: "Golf is very lucky to have the PIF [Public Investment Fund, the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia] invest in the game… being influxed with billions of dollars.
"Now the US and the UK are not favourable to this, but everywhere else in the world, LIV Golf is loved. It is very negatively viewed currently [in the US and UK], but that has been changing and evolving already and in a few years LIV will be not only accepted but appreciated, because of the involvement and the influx of capital and what it is doing."
He added: "I've spoken with people who have had dealings that have not been positive with the [PGA] Tour and have had nothing but positive experiences with LIV.
"For a long, long time, my 30 years on the PGA Tour, pretty much all the best players played on the PGA Tour. That will never be the case again.
"I think going forward you have to pick the side you think is going to be successful. And 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."
Sergio Garcia admits it was "a hard decision" to eschew next year's Ryder Cup, stating he does not feel as if he would be "very welcome" amid the bitter PGA Tour-LIV Golf Invitational Series split.
The Spaniard, a six-time tournament winner, will not represent Team Europe next year at the Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Italy after failing to enter his name by last Friday's deadline.
While Team USA-eligible defectors are barred from inclusion following PGA Tour membership suspension, no call has been made on their opponents.
But even if he was to get a sponsor's invite, Garcia says he will not feature next year, acknowledging he is sad to feel ostracised amid the fallout of his defection to the Saudi-backed tour.
"It was a hard decision," he said. "But unfortunately, it doesn't feel like I'm very welcome there, so I don't want to be a bother to anyone.
"I've always said I love the Ryder Cup too much. I obviously would love to keep being a part of it. [But] when I see that so many people are against [me playing], if the team is better without me, I'd rather be out of it.
"There's obviously several guys who feel strongly that way. The [DP World] Tour is of that same thought. So I don't want to be something that might hurt the team.
"Obviously it's sad for me, how much I love the Ryder Cup and everything I've been able to do with Europe. That's the way they want it. I'm just helping out."
The Freedom Skate Park in Bull Bay, St Andrew in Kingston, Jamaica, was officially opened on Wednesday.
Minnesota Twins shortstop Carlos Correa will exercise an opt-out clause in his contract and test the free agent market for a second straight year.
Correa signed a three-year, $105 million deal with the Twins in March that included player options for both 2022 and 2023.
The 28-year-old, who spent his first seven MLB seasons with the Houston Astros, will enter a potentially stellar free-agent class after a strong first season in Minnesota in which he batted .291 with 22 home runs, 64 RBIs and a .366 on base percentage in 136 games.
"With the year that I have had, my health and my being at the best moment of my career at 28, that is the right decision," Correa told El Nuevo Dia newspaper.
Correa's decision was expected after the 2015 American League Rookie of the Year was unable to secure a longer-term contract during an uncertain 2021-22 offseason impacted by a labour dispute between MLB owners and players that lasted into March.
He agreed to join the Twins shortly after the end of the lockout after the team offered the attractive opt-out clauses.
"I have been in this business for a long time, and I know that things do not always go the way one wants them to," Correa said about his previous experience with free agency.
The two-time All-Star figures to have plenty of competition in an offseason market headlined by New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge, and that is also expected to include frontline starting pitchers Jacob deGrom and Justin Verlander.
Correa will also be one of a number of high-calibre available shortstops, with the Los Angeles Dodgers' Trea Turner, Xander Bogaerts of the Boston Red Sox and the Atlanta Braves' Dansby Swanson also set to hit free agency.
In addition to his relatively young age, Correa will also have the benefit of not being eligible to receive a qualifying offer from the Twins that would have required other teams to surrender draft pick compensation to sign him.
Correa said he would certainly consider returning to the Twins, who were tied for the AL Central lead on September 4 before struggling down the stretch and finishing 78-84.
"I have a good relationship with Minnesota," he said. "I am very interested in being able to return."
Carson Wentz will start for the Washington Commanders in their clash against the Chicago Bears despite not being 100 per cent fit due to a bicep injury.
The 1-4 Commanders were unsure whether Wentz would be available for Thursday's contest due to the short turnaround after Sunday's loss to the Tennessee Titans, when he sustained the injury.
However, he threw the ball well in practice, albeit in a walkthrough session, and will lead the offense from the start against the Bears, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reports.
The Commanders will hope that Wentz can get through the matchup against the Bears unscathed and then heal up with extra rest before their Week 7 clash at home to the Green Bay Packers, with a 10-day gap between the games.
Wentz's availability is a boost for a Commanders team already without significant members of their offense, with receiver Jahan Dotson and tight end Logan Thomas set to miss Thursday's game.
The Commanders sit bottom of the fiercely contested NFC East, where all their division rivals currently rank 4-1 or better, with the Philadelphia Eagles leading the way as the only undefeated side left across the NFL (5-0).
Several of the teams down to participate in the Americas Netball World Cup Qualifier which begins on Sunday at the National Indoor Sports Centre in Kingston, have already arrived ready to do battle for spots in the Netball World Cup.
Brendan Steele holds a one-shot lead after finishing his first round with a flourish at the Zozo Championship.
Steele started with a six-under 64 to lead the way at Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club on Thursday.
The American made a first birdie at the second hole and came alive after the turn, making another six gains as his only blemish came with a bogey at 14.
Steele holed his approach shot at the par-four 17th and another birdie at the last put in out on his own at the top of leaderboard in Chiba, Japan.
The 39-year-old has not won a PGA Tour event since retaining his Safeway Open title five years ago.
Adam Schenk is second place following a bogey-free 65, with fellow Americans Sam Ryder, Matthew NeSmith and Keegan Bradley a further stroke back.
Rickie Fowler and Xander Schauffele are nicely poised just three shots off the lead along with Kazuki Higa, Maverick McNealy and Mito Pereira.
It was not a good day for defending champion Hideki Matsuyama on home soil, as he is down in 41st after a one-over 71.
Bill Belichick was typically guarded when asked about Mac Jones' status as starting quarterback once he is fit to return for the New England Patriots.
Second-year quarterback Jones has missed the Pats' past two games with an ankle injury but did manage to return to practice on Wednesday.
Reports said Jones did still not have full mobility during the session, though, meaning his availability for Sunday's showdown with the Cleveland Browns remains unclear.
Bailey Zappe completed 17 of 21 passes for 188 yards, finishing with one touchdown and an interception on a steady debut outing when acting as understudy for Jones in last week's triumph over the Detroit Lions.
Head coach Belichick was asked whether Jones can return this week, to which he replied: "We'll see where he is today. I don't know."
Belichick was also non-committal about whether Zappe's performances will determine who starts under center.
"They're totally independent, it doesn't have anything to do with it," he added.
For his part, Zappe is taking things in his stride and ready to step into the breach once more should he be called upon.
''I'm preparing to do what my coaches tell me I'm supposed to be doing,'' he said. ''Right now, that's to take practice reps and do what I can do to help the team.''
The Pats are bottom of the AFC East standings through five games with a 2-3 record.
Manny Machado hailed a "huge" win for the San Diego Padres after playing a starring role in levelling up the NLDS against the top-seeded Los Angeles Dodgers.
Home advantage at Petco Park beckons for the Padres in the third and fourth games, with the series tied at 1-1 after the early proceedings in LA.
The Dodgers had taken a 5-3 win in Game 1, but Bob Melvin's Padres came back a day later and flipped that scoreline in their favour to level the series.
Machado enjoyed silencing the Dodgers fans. He had a stint with Los Angeles in 2018 before joining up with the Padres, making him a target for some in the crowd.
"Any time you come to Dodger Stadium, you know the fans are going to be on you. Any time you go to any stadium, the fans are going to be on you," Machado said.
"That's the beauty of postseason baseball. That's why you want home field advantage. Coming here, taking one from them at their place and going back home now 1-1, being able to maybe even win it at home will be fun in front of our fans that deserve it."
Machado played a key role by going two-for-five, including a first-inning solo homer along with a third-inning RBI, while Jurickson Profar got his fifth RBI this postseason to put the Padres up 4-3 in the sixth inning.
Jake Cronenworth added another with a solo blast over right-field in the eighth inning before Josh Hader closed it out.
Machado added: "[We're] going 1-1, going back home, so that's huge.
"We're going to compete. Ultimately at the end of the day we know that they're the division champs. They own the best record in baseball. They've played very well against us all year, but at the end of the day we're going to go out there and compete, and we're going to go out there and leave it on the field. We're going to try to do everything possible to help our team win every single day.
"We want to get to the World Series, we want to bring a championship to San Diego. Ultimately, the group is just getting together and just grinding this out."
With this National League Divisional Series tantalisingly poised following Wednesday's 5-3 win, manager Bob Melvin spoke of his anticipation of the next two games back in San Diego on Friday and Saturday, and what they would mean to fans of his team.
The Padres last reached a World Series in 1998, so the prospect of edging closer to that goal should ensure a feverish atmosphere. The double-header at home will be the Padres' first postseason games in front of their own fans since 2006.
"They've been waiting for this for a while, and they've supported us all year," Melvin said.
"The drama that took place during the regular season, I think we had 10, 12 walk-offs or something like that, that they were a big part of.
"They incentivise us. We feel like they're part of us. To be able to reward them, get home, and have some playoff games for them, it feels really nice."
Giannis Antetokounmpo has no concerns over the Milwaukee Bucks' poor preseason results but does want to see an improvement to the team's "habits".
The Bucks are 0-5 in exhibition games following a 107-97 defeat to the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday, a clash in which Antetokounmpo had 24 points on the back of 6-for-21 shooting and grabbed 14 rebounds.
While such results may seem at odds with the Bucks' standing as one of the favourites for the NBA title this coming campaign, Antetokounmpo acknowledged there is plenty of time to find rhythm during the regular season.
However, the Greek superstar wants to see an improvement with some basics on the floor.
"It doesn't worry me," Antetokounmpo said. "What worries me is our habits and building good habits.
"Right now, we're not vocal enough. We're not urgent enough. We're not hungry enough. But at the end of the day, it's the preseason. We have the whole regular season to find ourselves."
Having featured for Greece at Eurobasket during the close season, Antetokounmpo has had his minutes carefully managed by the Bucks, with the Nets game just his second tune-up action.
While conceding to feeling "a little bit out of rhythm", Antetokounmpo is ready to once again set the tone for the Bucks.
"It's not going to be easy. I think sometimes your mind forgets and thinks it's going to be easy. But I feel like, me personally, you've got to come out and set the tone, play hard," he added.
"Build good habits, play to improve, play for the team. And as a team, we have to be hungry, we've got to play together, we have to defend better."
Grayson Allen (illness), Pat Connaughton (calf) and Wesley Matthews (ankle) were all absent against the Nets - the latter having sat out all of the Bucks' warm-up matches.
Khris Middleton will definitely miss their season opener against the Philadelphia 76ers having only recently returned to practice following wrist surgery.
But Antetokounmpo has confidence in the depth of the roster.
"Guys are down, who knows when they're going to get back, so this is who we have right now," he said.
"We still have a great team, but we're seven or eight days from the next game and when it really counts. We've got to buckle down and start trying to build good habits."
Zion Williamson will be day-to-day despite exiting the New Orleans Pelicans' 120-103 preseason loss to the Miami Heat on Wednesday early with left ankle soreness.
The 2019 NBA Draft top overall pick missed all of last season with a foot injury, meaning there was concern with his departure with 6:42 left in the second quarter against the Heat after rolling his ankle entering the lane.
But Williamson and Pelicans head coach Willie Green both clarified that the decision was precautionary.
Green said: "He's doing fine. Looks like, I think, he might have rolled his ankle a little bit. He’ll be day to day."
Williamson had 11 points on three-of-seven shooting until that point, having spent a few more minutes on court trying to play through pain.
"It was one of those things where it happened and I popped back up, like, 'Yeah, I'm straight,'" Williamson said.
"Played a few minutes after that, it felt fine. Then they sent me to the back just to double check. We wanted to look at it, had a doc look at it, and he just said a little day-to-day soreness. And, but outside of that, I personally feel fine. Wasn't bad news from the docs."
Williamson averaged 27.0 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists in the 2020-21 season, where he became an All-Star, having played only 24 games in his rookie season.
The Pels have one more preseason game against the Atlanta Hawks on Friday, before starting their NBA campaign against the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday.
The San Diego Padres tied up the NLDS against the Los Angeles Dodgers with a nail-biting 5-3 victory in a game that included five solo home runs on Wednesday.
Manny Machado played a key role going two-for-five, including a first-inning solo homer along with a third-inning RBI, while Jurickson Profar got his fifth RBI this postseason to put the Padres up 4-3 in the sixth inning.
Jake Cronenworth added another with a solo blast over right-field in the eighth inning before Josh Hader closed it out.
Yu Darvish pitched five innings with seven strikeouts but allowed seven hits and three runs.
The Dodgers had their chances, with nine batters left on base, while they did not have a hit with a runner in scoring position all night.
Freddie Freeman, Max Muncy and Trea Turner all scored solo home runs for the Dodgers. Freeman, who went two-for-four, got on base with a ninth-inning double but Will Smith was caught short of the wall in right-field by Juan Soto to end it.
Clayton Kershaw had six K's across five innings for the Dodgers, restoring his position as the MLB's all-time leading postseason strikeout leader with 213.
Pitcher Brusdar Graterol made a key play down 4-3 in the sixth inning, throwing out Wil Myers at home from a Trent Grisham bunt, but the Dodgers could not capitalise with the Padres' bullpen again exceptional, led by Robert Suarez.
The next two games of the NLDS are at Petco Park where the Padres will be playing in front of their fans in a postseason game for the first time since 2006.
Wright leads Braves to level up with Phillies
Kyle Wright threw six stellar innings as the Atlanta Braves squared the NLDS as they blanked the Philadelphia Phillies 3-0.
After a lengthy rain delay, Wright allowed only two hits with one walk, whilst striking out six Phillies, before reliever A.J. Minter pitched a perfect seventh inning.
The Braves piled on all three runs in the sixth inning with three consecutive two-out singles, as Ronald Acuna Jr overcame a 96mph fastball from Zack Wheeler to his elbow to break the tie, driven in by Matt Olson whose line hit got by first baseman Rhys Hoskins on an in-between hop.
Austin Riley's gentle dribble got Dansby Swanson to home plate, before Travis d'Arnaud grounded to center-field to drive in Olson.
Coco Gauff won the battle of the American teenagers as she progressed into the San Diego Open second round with a 6-3 6-3 over Robin Montgomery on Wednesday.
The 2022 French Open finalist beat fellow 18-year-old Montgomery in a rain-affected match in one hour and 23 minutes, to clinch a last-16 clash with Bianca Andreescu.
The match marked Gauff's first game on tour since losing to Caroline Garcia in the US Open quarter-finals last month, although she had to endure an overnight rain delay, resuming on Wednesday up 6-3 3-2.
Gauff only needed 20 minutes on Wednesday to close out the victory, finishing the match with 3-0 aces, winning 76 per cent on her first serve and converting four of seven break points.
Croatian qualifier Donna Vekic continued her strong run with a 6-3 6-2 win over 2022 US Open quarter-finalist Karolina Pliskova. Vekic moved into the third round, having beaten Maria Sakkari in the first round too.
Fourth seed Jessica Pegula eased her way into the third round with a 6-3 6-1 victory over wild card Coco Vandeweghe in only 69 minutes. Pegula can secure her first WTA Finals qualification this week.
Danielle Collins was another American victor, triumphing 6-2 6-4 over Italy's Martina Trevisan in one hour and 27 minutes, reaching her third quarter-final of the year.
Ben Simmons acknowledges that part of being Ben Simmons means he is going to hear plenty of criticism via social media.
The Brooklyn Nets swingman, who has often been on the wrong end of tough criticism, also understands that it is just social media and he can’t let it bother him.
The 26-year-old once again received plenty of jibes after a video of him airballing a shot during an event in a Brooklyn park on Sunday went viral.
It was just another instance of insults directed at the former number one overall pick, but he understands he just has to brush it off.
"It finds me all the time," Simmons told ESPN prior to Wednesday night's preseason game against the Milwaukee Bucks. "And it doesn't f---ing stop. Sometimes I'm even sick of it, but then I'm like, 'OK, I'm Ben Simmons, you know? It comes with being Ben Simmons right now'.
"Even the other day there was a clip of me airballing a shot at the park. Meanwhile, like 10 guys airballed multiple shots. So it's like people will find one clip and try to make it that everything - like Ben can't do [this or that].
"Like come on man, you think I'm just airballing every shot? It's not true. But it comes with it, and you got to have tough skin and I realize that, but nah, I can't take everything personally. It's social media."
And there has been plenty of hostility aimed his way over social media in the last 16 months - despite him not playing a game in that time.
In the 2021 Eastern Conference semifinals, he was ridiculed mercilessly for passing up a wide-open dunk late in the Philadelphia 76ers’ Game 7 loss to the Atlanta Hawks.
That was his final game for the Sixers, as he sat out last season due to mental health concerns while being called soft by his critics. He then never suited up for the Nets after being acquired at the trade deadline due to a lingering back injury.
Simmons, though, tells himself the reason he is on the receiving end of so much mockery is because he can still produce at a high level on the court.
"Because people know what I can do, what I'm capable of," Simmons said. "I believe that's what it is. Like if I was somebody that wasn't capable of doing certain things, I don't think people would be on my ass as much.
"And I don't mind it because it kind of motivates me in a way. Obviously, sometimes it's a lot for anybody to deal with that, but I look at it a little bit like a respect thing, in a way."
Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa will miss another game due to concussion, confirmed head coach Mike McDaniel.
Tagovailoa was highly unlikely to feature in Sunday's game against Minnesota Vikings despite returning to the practice field this week, but McDaniel declared he would not play on Wednesday.
The Dolphins QB has not played since being concussed in the Week 4 game against the Cincinnati Bengals on September 29.
Tagovailoa's replacement, Teddy Bridgewater, was also concussed in their Week 5 game against the New York Jets, meaning rookie quarterback Skylar Thompson will make his first career start versus the Vikings.
"Now, when talking about this week and playing, I don't see a scenario - I don't see him being active. I do not plan to have him play at all," McDaniel told reporters about Tagovailoa.
"As far as his exact timeline of when he's going to play, I'll be excited to consider that whenever that comes up. Right now, I'm just really focused on him getting out there and feeling good and being around his teammates, and that those types of decisions aren't in the immediate future right now. I'll handle that when that comes after."
McDanel revealed Tagovailoa may pass concussion protocol the Week 6 game but that the Dolphins would not rush him back despite being depleted in that department with Bridgewater out.
"He hasn't done a thing on the football field for literally two weeks," McDaniel said.
"I don't think that that would be fair to the player. That wouldn't be fair to the team… I don't feel comfortable putting him in that situation."
Tagovailoa was stretchered off and briefly hospitalized after hitting his head on the turf and being concussed against the Bengals.
That came only four days after a similar incident against the Buffalo Bills where he was evaluated for concussion at halftime, having appeared unstable on his feet but cleared to play on.
The incident led to the NFL Players' Association conducting a review of the league's concussion protocol, which was amended last week to include ataxia as a symptom. Bridgewater was the first player impacted by the protocol change in Week 5.
The Dolphins are on a two-game losing streak, sitting 3-2 after beginning the 2022 season with three successive wins.
Atlanta Braves reliever Tyler Matzek will undergo Tommy John surgery and miss the entire postseason.
Braves manager Brian Snitker confirmed the news prior to Game 2 of the NLDS against the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday.
Matzek had experienced discomfort in his elbow late in the regular season and the Braves have now determined he requires surgery to resolve the injury.
"Hate it for him," Snitker told reporters. "He's struggled with things all year. I don't know, maybe this is the reason.
"I think him going ahead and getting it done and starting the process, I think he feels really good about that."
The 2021 World Series champion has been a valuable member of the Braves bullpen over the past few seasons.
Matzek appeared in 13 postseason games last year, giving up just three runs as the Braves won the World Series title, although he has been less effective this year.
The surgery puts 31-year-old left-hander Matzek's availability for the 2023 season in doubt.
"He's still a young man, can have a really good career as we've seen what he can do," Snitker said.
"I hate it for him that he can't experience this again. But talking to him, when he left to go for the examination, he was in a good place, and I think he felt good about his future and going ahead and taking care of this."
Matzek later tweeted: "Thank you to everyone for the support. Plan to come back stronger after this."
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