
PHOENIX (AP) — Zack Wheeler delivered another postseason gem with seven shutdown innings, Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmulto homered and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-1 to take a 3-2 NL Championship Series lead. Philadelphia moved one win from its second straight World Series appearance, regaining control after wasting late leads in consecutive one-run losses at Chase Field. Bryson Stott hit an RBI single and Harper slid home in a collision with catcher Gabriel Moreno as part of a double steal that built a 2-0 lead in the first off Zac Gallen.
HOUSTON (AP) — Houston Astros pitcher Bryan Abreu was suspended for two games and fined by Major League Baseball, which said he intentionally threw at Adolis García of the Texas Rangers during Game 5 of the AL Championship Series. MLB said all six umpires decided Abreu’s pitch was intentional. MLB said it “took into account the dangerous nature of the pitch and its potential impact on player safety.” Abreu would start the suspension with Game 6 on Sunday unless he appeals. García and Astros pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. were fined, along with Texas pitcher Matt Bush and Astros mamager Dusty Baker.
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Will Howard threw three touchdown passes, including a 61-yarder to DJ Giddens, to help Kansas State beat TCU 41-3 in a rematch from the Big 12 title game last season. Howard went 10-for-16 passing for 154 yards with three touchdowns and 62 yards rushing. Howard started at quarterback for the Wildcats, but K-State quickly used both Howard and freshman Avery Johnson. Giddens ran for 85 yards, including a 2-yard touchdown to make it 7-0, and his 61-yard catch-and-run gave the Wildcats a 21-3 lead going into the second quarter. Josh Hoover went 23 for 43 for 187 yards with an interception for TCU in his second career start. The Horned Frogs were held to 300 yards, their lowest total this season.
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Dillon Gabriel passed for 253 yards and three touchdowns against his former team, Oklahoma stopped a two-point attempt in the closing minutes and the sixth-ranked Sooners held on to beat UCF 31-29. Nic Anderson caught five passes for 105 yards and two touchdowns for the Sooners. John Rhys Plumlee passed for 248 yards and two touchdowns for UCF. Javon Baker had five catches for 134 yards and two touchdowns and RJ Harvey ran for 101 yards for the Knights. UCF is still seeking its first Big 12 win.
HOUSTON (AP) — CJ Baxter rushed 16 yards for a touchdown with 5½ minutes left in the fourth quarter, and No. 8 Texas stopped Houston on 4th-and-1 in the final minute on the way to a 31-24 win over Houston. Jonathon Brooks rushed for 99 yards and Xavier Worthy had 92 receiving yards and a touchdown for Texas (6-1, 3-1 Big 12). Quinn Ewers was 23 of 29 for 211 yards and two touchdowns, but exited after taking a hit on a scramble late in the third quarter. For Houston, Donovan Smith was 32 of 46 for 378 yards and three touchdowns.
PROVO, Utah (AP) — Kedon Slovis threw for 127 yards and two touchdown passes, and BYU forced five turnovers to power a 27-14 victory over Texas Tech. LJ Martin piled up 93 yards rushing on 10 carries. The Cougars (5-2, 2-2 Big 12) never trailed despite totaling only 277 yards on offense. Jake Strong threw for 236 yards and a touchdown but also had three interceptions in his first start for Texas Tech. Tahj Brooks added 105 yards and a score on the ground. The Red Raiders (3-5, 2-3 Big 12) lost in their first game in Utah.
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — Ollie Gordon II rushed for a career-high 282 yards and scored four touchdowns to lead Oklahoma State to a 48-34 victory over West Virginia. Alan Bowman threw two scoring passes for the Cowboys. Oklahoma State earned its third straight win and moved into a second-place logjam in the league. Gordon now has four straight 100-yard rushing performances. He surpassed his previous single-game high of 168 yards set a week ago in a 39-32 win over Kansas. Gordon put the game on ice with scoring runs of 46 and 53 yards in the final four minutes. West Virginia has lost two straight.
CINCINNATI (AP) — Blake Shapen threw for one touchdown and ran for another, kicker Isaiah Hankins hit all four of his field goal attempts and Baylor edged Cincinnati 32-29 in the teams’ first-ever meeting. While the Bears grabbed their second straight win on the road, the Bearcats lost their fifth straight game and remained winless in Big 12 play. Bearcats running back Myles Montgomery, who finished with 103 yards and two scores on 10 carries, opened the fourth with a 4-yard touchdown run to make it 29-21. Hankins kicked his fourth field goal of the day, then Cincinnati quarterback Emory Jones and wide receiver Xzavier Henderson linked up for a 29-yard touchdown and a two-point conversion made it 32-29 with 5:03 to play. But Cincinnati's offense stalled on its final possession.
UNDATED (AP) — Penn State is still chasing elite under coach James Franklin. The seventh-ranked Nittany Lions lost a seventh straight game to Ohio State on Saturday, needing more than 59 minutes to finally get into the end zone against the third-ranked Buckeyes. Ohio State has All-American Marvin Harrison Jr., the native Pennsylvanian who set a career high with 11 catches for 162 yards and a touchdown. Five years since, Franklin said his program was great but not elite, the Nittany Lions still aren't. Meanwhile, in the Big 12 don't book that Oklahoma-Texas championship rematch just yet.
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — J.J. McCarthy threw three of his career-high four touchdown passes in the first half and No. 2 Michigan routed Michigan State 49-0 on Saturday night. The Wolverines (8-0, 5-0 Big Ten) were dominant from the start and didn’t let up, predictably a year after the Spartans roughed up some of their rivals in the Michigan Stadium tunnel. Instead of kneeling to run out the clock, quarterback Alex Orji ran 6 yards for a touchdown with eight seconds left. Michigan State (2-5, 0-4) has lost five straight games since former coach Mel Tucker was suspended and later fired for acknowledging he had having consensual phone sex with a vendor, who is a sexual assault activist and rape survivor.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Cole Becker made a 38-yard field goal as time expired, and No. 14 Utah blew an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter before rallying for a thrilling 34-32 victory over No. 18 Southern California. Caleb Williams ran for an 11-yard touchdown with 1:46 left for the Trojans. But Bryson Barnes punctuated Utah’s winning drive with a spectacular 26-yard scramble to get the Utes well into field goal range for Becker’s winner. Two-way sensation Sione Vaki caught two touchdown passes and accounted for 217 total yards while the Utes sent Williams and Lincoln Riley to their first loss at the Coliseum.
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Jalen Milroe passed for two touchdowns, Jihaad Campbell returned a fumble for a score in the fourth quarter and No. 11 Alabama uncorked 27 straight second-half points in rallying for a 34-20 victory over No. 17 Tennessee. With its national title hopes on the brink, Alabama turned in its most dominant half of the season. And it came against a border rival who had helped end ’Bama’s championship aspirations a year ago. The comeback was fueled by big plays from Milroe and tailback Jase McClellan and a defense that smothered Joe Milton III and the Volunteers after the half.
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Dragan Kesich made four field goals and Minnesota won at Iowa for the first time since 1999 to snap an eight-game losing streak in the series, holding the No. 24 Hawkeyes to 12 yards in the second half in a 12-10 victory Saturday. With the Floyd of Rosedale bronze hog statue at stake in the cross-border rivalry, Iowa appeared to take the lead with 1:21 left when Cooper DeJean returned a punt 54 yards for a touchdown. But after a review, DeJean was ruled to have made a fair-catch signal. Iowa still had the ball, but Justin Walley intercepted Deacon Hill’s pass with a minute to play. The Gophers (4-3, 2-2 Big Ten) held Iowa (6-2, 3-2) to minus-2 yards in the third quarter.
SATURDAY SCORES
NATIONAL LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
Final Philadelphia 6 Arizona 1
TOP-25 COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Final (3)Ohio St. 20 (7)Penn St. 12
Final (4)Florida St. 38 (16)Duke 20
Final (11)Alabama 34 (17)Tennessee 20
Final (14)Utah 34 (18)Southern Cal 32
Final (22)Air Force 17 Navy 6
Final (6)Oklahoma 31 UCF 29
Final (20)Missouri 34 South Carolina 12
Final Minnesota 12 (24)Iowa 10
Final (23)Tulane 35 North Texas 28
Final (9)Oregon 38 Washington St. 24
Final (8)Texas 31 Houston 24
Final Virginia 31 (10)North Carolina 27
Final (13)Mississippi 28 Auburn 21
Final (19)LSU 62 Army 0
Final (2)Michigan 49 Michigan St. 0
Final (5)Washington 15 Arizona St. 7
Final (25)UCLA 42 Stanford 7
SUNDAY NFL SCHEDULE
Atlanta at Tampa Bay 1 p.m.
Buffalo at New England 1 p.m.
Cleveland at Indianapolis 1 p.m.
Detroit at Baltimore 1 p.m.
Las Vegas at Chicago 1 p.m.
Washington at N-Y Giants 1 p.m.
Arizona at Seattle 4:05 p.m.
Pittsburgh at L.A. Rams 4:05 p.m.
Green Bay at Denver 4:25 p.m.
L.A. Chargers at Kansas City 4:25 p.m.