NEW YORK (AP) — Cam Schlittler pitched another playoff gem against the Boston Red Sox, and Ben Rice also burned their hometown team with a late grand slam and six RBIs as the New York Yankees opened this Wild Card Series rematch with a 9-0 victory. With the Yankees minus star slugger Aaron Judge because of a calf injury, Rice homered twice, doubled and finished with four hits to power the offense. No. 9 batter Austin Wells drove in two runs for New York, and 21-year-old rookie George Lombard Jr. had three hits in his postseason debut. Rice and Schlittler were both raised among Red Sox fans in Massachusetts and went to college in New England before getting plucked by the Yankees out of Boston’s backyard in baseball’s amateur draft.
ATLANTA (AP) — Austin Riley hit a three-run homer off All-Star closer Jhoan Duran in the eighth inning and the Atlanta Braves rallied past the Philadelphia Phillies 5-3 on Tuesday in the opener of a best-of-three National League Wild Card Series. Duran, who allowed just two homers in 61 regular-season games, gave up a single to Michael Harris II before hitting Ozzie Albies with a pitch. Riley drove the go-ahead blast over the wall in right-center field. Harris had three hits. Braves ace Chris Sale dueled for much of the game against left-hander Jesus Luzardo, who was sharp after missing the last couple weeks of the regular season with left shoulder inflammation.
NEW YORK (AP) — Jonquel Jones had 21 points and 13 rebounds and the No. 8 seed New York Liberty beat the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx 87-71 in Game 2 of their WNBA playoff series and advanced to the semifinals. Breanna Stewart added 21 points and Sabrina Ionescu had 18 to help the Liberty become the first No. 8 seed to eliminate a No. 1 seed in the league’s 30-year history. The WNBA has undergone a number of different playoff formats. And in many of the formats, it wasn’t possible for those seeds to match up. However, in 2022 the league changed to the current format in which the top eight teams play in the quarterfinals. Now, New York awaits the winner of the Atlanta-Washington series. The Dream are up 1-0 and play at Washington on Wednesday night. The semifinals begin Sunday.
HOUSTON (AP) — Colson Montgomery hit a solo homer and Sam Antonacci drove in two runs to lead the Chicago White Sox over the Houston Astros 6-3 in Game 1 of an AL Wild Card Series. The White Sox, in the postseason for the first time since 2021, made a remarkable turnaround this year to become the only team in major league history to follow consecutive 100-loss seasons with a playoff berth. They had lost 100 games three straight seasons, including 121 defeats in 2024, setting the record for most losses since 1899.
Lamine Yamal led World Cup winner Spain as it defeated Croatia in the Nations League to add to its record unbeaten streak in its homecoming game, while England rebounded from its opening loss to the world champions with a win over 10-man Czech Republic. Yamal scored twice and set up another goal as Spain beat Croatia 4-1 at home to reach 40 games unbeaten. England needed second-half goals by Anthony Gordon and Harry Kane to defeat the Czechs 2-0, with the hosts playing a man down from the 23rd minute after Pavel Sulc was shown a red card.
HOUSTON (AP) — The Chicago White Sox received a letter from Pope Leo XIV on the same day of their playoff opener against the Houston Astros. The Sept. 9 letter was addressed to White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf. The team says the note arrived at Chicago’s Rate Field ahead of Game 1 of its AL Wild Card Series against the Astros. Leo is a White Sox fan dating to his days growing up in Chicago. He was known as Robert Prevost or Father Bob when he went to the World Series opener 21 years ago, a 5-3 White Sox victory over the Astros.
MIAMI (AP) — Former NFL star wide receiver Antonio Brown is scheduled to be in a Miami courtroom to accept a plea deal that will let him avoid prison time on a reduced charge in an attempted murder case. Defense attorney Mark Eiglarsh has said Brown will plead no contest Wednesday to aggravated assault and be sentenced to probation. Eiglarsh also said adjudication will be withheld, meaning Brown will not be considered a convicted felon. Brown could have faced up to 30 years in prison if convicted of the original charge. Brown is accused of grabbing a handgun from a security staffer after a celebrity boxing match in May 2025 and firing two shots at a man he had been in a fistfight with earlier.
The Senate has passed a bill aimed at controlling spending and addressing issues in college sports. The bill, which took over four months to pass, faces challenges in the House. Sen. Ted Cruz hopes the House will pass it within four weeks, but the House isn't scheduled to return until after the midterm elections. Some Republicans and Democrats have concerns about the bill, including antitrust protections and the employment status of student-athletes. The bill offers lawsuit protections to the NCAA and increases revenue-sharing with athletes. If the bill doesn't pass, conferences may consider self-governance models.
HOUSTON (AP) — The crowd at Daikin Park was surprisingly sparse as the Houston Astros — baseball’s first division winner with a .500 or worse record — opened their Wild Card Series with a 6-3 loss to the Chicago White Sox. Large swaths of seats, especially in the upper deck, sat empty while right-hander AJ Blumbaugh delivered the game’s first pitch at 4:10 p.m. The bottom two levels were much fuller than the upper deck, but many seats in the lower two decks were also empty. The announced attendance was 34,011, in a park with a capacity of 40,963.
It’s a years-long controversy that has gripped English soccer and beyond: Did Manchester City’s ownership engage in large-scale rule-breaking in an effort to transform the team into a global superpower and serial title winner? The answer, the Premier League says, is yes. In a stunning verdict announced Tuesday, the Premier League published a statement confirming City was guilty of almost all of the 115 charges leveled against the Abu Dhabi-controlled club for alleged breaches of financial rules in the world’s most popular league for much of the last two decades. Here’s a closer look at the case:
Finals
AMERICAN LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
Final Chicago White Sox 6 Houston 3
Final N.Y. Yankees 9 Boston 0
NATIONAL LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
Final Atlanta 5 Philadelphia 3
Final San Diego 8 Chicago Cubs 0
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Final OT Florida 1 Carolina 0
Final Montreal 3 Toronto 2
Final Boston 3 N-Y Rangers 0
Final OT Vancouver 6 Edmonton 5
Final Vegas 5 Chicago 2