Chris Sale was one of the ace left-handers Tarik Skubal idolized as a teenager. Now the two will be linked forever after winning their first Cy Young Awards on Wednesday. Skubal was a unanimous pick for the American League honor following a brilliant season with the Detroit Tigers. Sale’s selection in the National League capped an incredible comeback with the Atlanta Braves after the 35-year-old had been derailed by injuries since helping Boston win the 2018 World Series. “It means a lot. It’s a special night,” Sale said. “I just can’t express how thankful I am for everybody that stuck by me. It would have been easy to jump ship and write me off.” Skubal and Sale shared the MLB lead with 18 wins this season and dominated their respective leagues. Sale went 18-3 and topped the NL with 225 strikeouts, while his 2.38 ERA in 29 starts was the best among all major league qualifiers. It was his first season in the National League during a big league career that began in 2010 with the Chicago White Sox.
STORRS, Conn. (AP) — Geno Auriemma soaked in the moment. UConn’s Hall of Fame coach now stands alone atop the NCAA basketball wins list. Auriemma broke a tie with former Stanford women’s coach Tara VanDerveer, earning his 1,217th career victory with an 85-41 win over Fairleigh Dickinson on Wednesday night. “We never sat down and said hey, let’s make a 40-year plan and see if we can make this happen,” Auriemma said. “It’s about coming here every day and trying to be better than we were yesterday.” He has spent four decades building UConn into the standard for women’s college basketball. The school celebrated those 40 years Wednesday night.
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) — Maya McDermott scored a career-high 37 points and Kayla Laube added 21 as Northern Iowa beat No. 8 Iowa State 87-75 on Wednesday night. The Panthers (3-1) trailed 53-45 with 7:36 left in the third quarter before going on a 31-7 run over the next 12:17. McDermott continually cut through Iowa State’s defense, making 14 of 21 shots, including 3 of 4 3-pointers. Audi Crooks led Iowa State (4-1) with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Addy Brown had 21 points and a game-high 12 rebounds, but 17 of those points came in the first half. Emily Ryan finished with 13 points, six assists, and five rebounds.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Andrew Wiggins scored 27 points, Stephen Curry added 23 points and eight assists and the Golden State Warriors beat the Atlanta Hawks 120-97 on Wednesday night. Trayce Jackson-Davis finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds, and Buddy Hield contributed 11 points off the bench. Jalen Johnson led the Hawks with 15 points and 14 rebounds, and Trae Young also had a double-double with 12 points and 11 assists. Draymond Green, who had made multiple 3-pointers in each of the past five games, went 0 for 4 from deep and had nine points, nine assists and seven rebounds for the Warriors. Green and Wiggins each had two blocked shots.
WEDNESDAY SCORES
NCAA WOMEN TOP 25
No. 1 South Carolina 77, Clemson 45
No. 2 UConn 85, Fairleigh Dickinson 41
No. 4 Texas 83, Tarleton State 41
No. 7 LSU 85, Tulane 74
Northern Iowa 87, No. 8 Iowa State 75
No. 10 Kansas State 111, Milwaukee 46
No. 12 Ohio State 106, Ohio 42
No. 23 Oregon 70, Auburn 68