NEW YORK (AP) — Max Fried dominated Boston in the playoffs for the second straight year, Cody Bellinger and Luis García Jr. homered, and the New York Yankees romped over the Red Sox 9-2 for a two-game AL Wild Card Series sweep. Clinging to a 2-1 lead after Willson Contreras homered to end Boston’s 26-inning postseason scoreless streak, the Yankees broke the game open with a six-run sixth after Spencer Jones reached on a wild pitch while striking out leading off — with the help of a video review. New York will face AL East champion Tampa Bay in an AL Division Series starting Saturday.
WEST ORANGE, N.J. (AP) — Ryan Lasko was a promising outfielder in the Athletics organization on a path he hoped would one day make him a major leaguer, having established himself in Double-A ball. Speed and defense were his greatest assets. His plans changed in an instant on June 30, on one hustle play he'd made hundreds of times. Playing center field for the A’s Midland team at Frisco, Texas, Lasko sprinted toward the ball as right fielder Devin Taylor did the same. Their heads crashed when both went diving trying to make the catch. Lasko needed immediate surgery for two broken vertebrae in his neck. He was paralyzed. Now, the goal has changed, he tells The Associated Press: He's working to become independent again.
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Pinch-hitter Gavin Sheets blasted a two-run homer, five Padres pitchers combined on a five-hitter, and San Diego swept the Chicago Cubs out of the NL Wild Card Series with a 4-1 victory in Game 2. Xander Bogaerts drove in the first run for the surging Padres, who followed up their 8-0 victory in Tuesday’s opener with another dominant mound performance. The Cubs led the majors in runs and and the NL in homers this year, but they managed just eight hits over 18 innings against San Diego’s inspired staff. The Padres advanced to face the MLB-best Milwaukee Brewers in an NL division series.
FRISCO, Texas (AP) — The Dallas Cowboys are acquiring disgruntled cornerback Joey Porter Jr. from the Pittsburgh Steelers, two people with knowledge of the deal tell The Associated Press. Pittsburgh will receive two draft picks from Dallas, a sixth-rounder in 2027 and a second-rounder in 2028, one of the people told the AP. Both people spoke on condition of anonymity Wednesday night because the teams hadn’t announced the deal. Porter has been inactive all three games this season for the Steelers. The fourth-year pro has been dealing with a back issue and had also been in the middle of a contract stalemate with Steelers management over a new deal.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Rams coach Sean McVay says the NFL told him officials made a mistake in calling a late pass-interference penalty that swung Los Angeles’ loss at Denver. Cornerback Josh Wallace was flagged for interfering with Broncos wide receiver Pat Bryant, negating his interception and extending the drive, allowing Denver to score a touchdown with 47 seconds remaining to deal the Rams a 30-26 defeat. Replays showed Bryant had grabbed Wallace, not the other way around. Meanwhile, Puka Nacua practiced on a limited basis Wednesday, and McVay believes the star wide receiver is on track to play Sunday at Philadelphia.
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Arike Ogunbowale scored a WNBA playoff-record 45 points, including a tying 3-pointer in the final seconds of regulation, and the Dallas Wings beat the Golden State Valkyries 108-100 in an overtime thriller, forcing a deciding Game 3 in their first-round series. Ogunbowale opened the extra period by banking in a 3, then hit another one to put Dallas ahead for good at 103-100 with 1:46 remaining. Gabby Williams scored a career-high 36 points for the Valkyries. The deciding game will be Friday night in San Francisco.
HOUSTON (AP) — The Chicago White Sox used a big first inning and a three-run homer from Chase Meidroth to propel them to a 7-3 win over the Houston Astros to sweep their AL Wild Card Series. It’s the first time Chicago has won a playoff series since beating Houston in the World Series in 2005. Under the direction of second-year skipper Will Venable and with a letter of support from Pope Leo XIV, the White Sox advanced to face AL Central champion Cleveland in the AL Division Series beginning Saturday in Cleveland.
ATLANTA (AP) — Alec Bohm put Philadelphia ahead with a two-out home run in the 10th inning and the Phillies beat the Atlanta Braves 4-3 to force a decisive third game in their National League Wild Card Series. The Phillies rallied with back-to-back homers from Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper after trailing 3-1 in the seventh. Harper’s homer made up for a crucial fielding mistake an inning earlier. Andrew Painter, a starter in the regular season, saved the Phillies’ beleaguered bullpen with three scoreless innings to close things out. Painter stranded two runners in the 10th when he struck out Dominic Smith with a successful ABS challenge.
NEW YORK (AP) — With the Boston bats ice cold at Yankee Stadium again, a couple of quick hooks by Red Sox rookie manager Chad Tracy led to an early postseason exit. Same story, different year. And this time, top starter Sonny Gray wasn’t happy about being lifted after only 70 pitches. For the second consecutive season, the Red Sox were sent home for the winter by their biggest rivals when the New York Yankees rolled to a 9-2 victory Wednesday night and a two-game sweep of their Wild Card Series. While the Yankees easily advanced to a best-of-five Division Series against AL East champion Tampa Bay, the Red Sox were outscored 18-2 overall and left to lament a miserable finish to this roller-coaster ride of a season.
There has been a noticeable number of empty seats for MLB's Wild Card Series games that are played in the afternoon. The Atlanta Braves drew just over 30,000 fans at Truist Park on Tuesday, well short of the stadium's capacity over 41,000. The Houston Astros had a similar problem, drawing roughly 34,000 fans at Daikin Park, which also holds more than 41,000. Since MLB permanently expanded the playoffs to a 12-team bracket in 2022, attendance at day games during the Wild Card Series has been a problem. The main issue is it's hard for fans to attend day games during the week because people have to work and children are back in school.
Finals
AMERICAN LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
Final Chicago White Sox 7 Houston 3
Final N.Y. Yankees 9 Boston 2
NATIONAL LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
Final Philadelphia 4 Atlanta 3
Final San Diego 4 Chicago Cubs 1
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Final Pittsburgh 7 Philadelphia 0
Final Toronto 2 N-Y Islanders 1
Final Colorado 8 Los Angeles 4