MLB-NLCS
The Los Angeles Dodgers are heading to Chicago with a two-games-to-none lead over the defending World Series champs in the National League Championship Series.
Justin Turner capped his four-RBI day by slamming a three-run homer off John Lackey in the bottom of the ninth to give the Dodgers a 4-1 win over the Chicago Cubs. Turner's second homer of the postseason ended another dramatic night for the Dodgers, who remained unbeaten in these playoffs and moved within two wins of their first World Series appearance since 1988. It came on the 29th anniversary of Kirk Gibson's walk-off homer that gave Los Angeles Game 1 of the World Series against Oakland.
The Cubs went ahead on Addison Russell's solo homer in the fifth inning, but the lead didn't last long. Turner tied it with an RBI single in the bottom half of the inning.
Russell's home run was one of just three hits by Chicago. Turner and Clay Bellinger each had two of the Dodgers' five hits.
Kenley Jansen worked a hitless ninth to get the win. Brian Duensing was the loser.
Game 3 is Tuesday at Wrigley Field.
The Yankees will try to reverse the trend after losing two 2-1 games in Houston tonight at Yankee Stadium. The game starts at 8:08 p.m.
NFL-SCHEDULE
The Green Bay Packers lost a ballgame, sole possession of first place in the NFC North and their All-Pro quarterback on Sunday.
Aaron Rodgers broke a collarbone in the first quarter of the Packers' 23-10 loss at Minnesota. Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr drove Rodgers into the turf after he got rid of a roll-out pass. Rodgers was carted off the field and examined before the team announced he could miss the remainder of the season.
Backup Brett Hundley threw his first NFL touchdown pass, but he was just 18 of 33 for 157 yards, three interceptions and four sacks.
Harrison Smith had 1½ sacks on safety blitzes, a diving interception and two pass breakups in helping the Vikes move into a first-place tie with Green Bay at 4-2.
Minnesota quarterback Case Keenum went 24 for 38 for 239 yards, while Jerick McKinnon ran 16 times for 69 yards and a TD. McKinnon also had five receptions for 30 yards and a touchdown.
Meanwhile, the Chiefs became the last NFL team to lose.
Le'Veon Bell ran for 179 yards and a touchdown and Antonio Brown made an acrobatic touchdown catch in the fourth quarter of the Steelers' 19-13 triumph at Kansas City. Ben Roethlisberger was 17 of 25 for 252 yards just a week after throwing a career-high five interceptions in a loss to Jacksonville.
Pittsburgh's defense was stout, holding NFL rushing leader Kareem Hunt to 21 yards on nine carries and limiting quarterback Alex Smith to 246 yards and a TD. The Chiefs entered the game averaging a league-best 414 yards and 33 points.
The 4-2 Steelers dropped the Chiefs to 5-1.
Elsewhere in the NFL:
— Tom Brady set an NFL record with his 187th regular-season win as the Patriots turned a 14-0 deficit into a 24-17 win over the Jets at the Meadowlands. Brady finished 20 of 38 for 257 yards with two touchdowns to Rob Gronkowski, helping New England improve to 4-2. An officials replay review turned Austin Seferian-Jenkins' apparent four-yard TD for the Jets into a fumble at the goal line in the fourth quarter, to end the drive as New York fell to 3-3.
— Adrian Peterson turned back the clock in his Cardinals debut as the 10-time Pro Bowl running back ran for 134 yards and two touchdowns in a 38-33 win over the Buccaneers. Carson Palmer completed his first 14 passes and finished 18 of 22 for 283 yards and three touchdowns with one interception as Arizona moved to 3-3. Ryan Fitzpatrick threw for 290 yards and three touchdowns for the 2-3 Bucs after starting quarterback Jameis Winston suffered a right shoulder injury in the second quarter.
— Running backs Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara combined for 237 yards from scrimmage and the Saints' defense forced five turnovers in a wild 52-38 win over the Lions. New Orleans saw a 45-10 lead shrink to 45-38 in the second half until Cam Jordan scored on an interception at the goal line for the 3-2 Saints. New Orleans scored a team-record three times on defense and dropped the Lions to 3-3.
— The New York Giants picked up their first win of the season as Jason Pierre-Paul recorded three of their four sacks in a 20-10 win at Denver. The Giants also had a goal-line stand, picked off two passes and didn't allow a touchdown until late in the fourth quarter. Orleans Darkwa had 117 yards rushing against the 3-3 Broncos.
— The Falcons dropped to 3-2 by wasting a 17-0 lead in a 20-17 loss to the 3-2 Dolphins. Jay Cutler threw a pair of touchdown passes and Cody Parkey kicked a pair of field goals after Tevin Coleman's six-yard scoring run put Atlanta ahead by 17 with 5 1/2 minutes left in the first half. Parkey hit the go-ahead field goal with 2:30 remaining, and Miami clinched the win when Reshed Jones intercepted a Matt Ryan pass with 39 seconds left.
— Texans quarterback DeShaun Watson passed for 225 yards and three touchdowns in a 33-17 win over the winless Browns. Watson is the first rookie in NFL history with at least three TD passes in three straight games. He's also the first rookie to throw at 15 touchdowns in the first six games of a season. The Texans evened their record at 3-3, while the 0-6 Browns absorbed their 16th consecutive road loss.
— The Rams are 4-2 after scoring twice in special teams in a 27-17 win at Jacksonville. Pharoh Cooper returned the opening kickoff 103 yards and Malcolm Brown brought back a blocked punt eight yards into the end zone for the second special-teams touchdown. The Jaguars slipped to 3-3 despite rookie Leonard Fournette, who ran 75 yards for a TD and finished with 130 yards on 21 carries.
— The Redskins blew a 17-0 lead but improved to 3-2 with a 26-24 victory against the 0-6 49ers. Kirk Cousins threw for 330 yards and two touchdowns, and he also ran for a seven-yard TD that put Washington ahead by nine with 3:28 left before C.J. Beathard threw a 45-yard scoring strike at the two-minute warning. Beathard replaced Brian Hoyer at halftime and threw for 245 yards in his NFL debut, getting the Niners within field-goal range on their last series before a penalty and an interception killed the drive and left San Francisco 0-6.
— The Bears coughed up a 14-point, second-half lead before Connor Barth hit a 40-yard field goal in overtime to complete a 27-24 win at Baltimore. Jordan Howard ran for 167 yards, including a 53-yarder that set up the game-winning score for the 2-4 Bears. The 3-3 Ravens trailed 17-3 until Bobby Rainey brought a kickoff 96 yards for a score and Michael Campanaro's 77-yard punt-return for a touchdown led to the game-tying, two-point conversion with 1:37 remaining.
— The Chargers pulled out their second straight win since an 0-4 start by beating the Raiders 17-16 on Nick Novak's 32-yard field goal as time expired. Philip Rivers went 25 for 36 for 268 yards with one touchdown, and Melvin Gordon ran for 83 yards and scored twice. The Raiders had taken the lead on a 47-yard end-around by Cordarrelle Patterson, but TD and the return of quarterback Derek Carr weren't enough to prevent Oakland from dropping its fourth in a row.
NFL-KAEPERNICK
Colin Kaepernick has filed a grievance against the NFL.
The former San Francisco 49s quarterback alleges that he remains unsigned as a result of collusion by owners following his protests during the national anthem.
Kaepernick started a national conversation about political activism by athletes last season when he decided to sit, and then kneel, during the anthem to bring attention to mistreatment of African-Americans by police.
Other players have continued the protests this season, prompting an angry response from President Donald Trump, who said players should be fired for not standing during the anthem.
NHL-SCHEDULE
The Vegas Golden Knights bounced back nicely following their first-ever NHL loss on Friday.
Alex Tuch and Vadim Shipachyov each scored his first NHL goal as the Knights beat the visiting Bruins, 3-1. Shapichyov did it in his first league game, while Tuch did it in his seventh.
Malcolm Subban was a winner in his Vegas debut, turning back 21 shots against his ex-team. Subban was acquired off waivers by Boston on Oct. 3.
Elsewhere on NHL ice:
— Drew Doughty and Anze Kopitar each had a goal and an assist as the Kings nipped the Islanders, 3-2. Doughty's short-handed goal gave Los Angeles a 3-1 lead 5:44 into the third period.
— The Sabres have their first win of the season after Chad Johnson turned back 25 shots and Benoit Pouliot scored the go-ahead goal in the second period of a 3-1 decision over the Ducks. Justin Bailey and Johan Larsson also scored for Buffalo.
NHL-NEWS
The Vegas Golden Knights have placed goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury and forward Jonathan Marchessault on injured reserve.
Fleury didn't practice Saturday after taking a knee to the head against Detroit on Friday. With Fleury out at least seven days, rookie Malcolm Subban becomes the Golden Knights' de facto starter despite two games of NHL experience.
In other NHL news:
— A person with direct knowledge of the situation says the Canadiens have placed veteran defenseman Mark Streit on unconditional waivers to terminate his contract. The 39-year-old could return to his native Switzerland to play and prepare for the Olympics once his contract is terminated. Montreal signed him to a $700,000, one-year deal with performance bonuses in the offseason.
NASCAR-TALLADEGA
Brad Keselowski gave his NASCAR championship hopes a big boost by winning Sunday at Talladega.
Keselowski earned an automatic berth into the third round of the playoffs after entering the race ranked 10th among the 12 contenders. He passed Ryan Newman on the high side of the track to take the lead, then used a crossover move to hold off Newman and teammate Joey Logano to secure the win.
There were only 14 cars running at the conclusion, and only four were playoff drivers. The race was red-flagged three times for nearly 35 minutes.
Newman finished second and was followed by Trevor Bayne, Logano and Aric Almirola, all non-playoff drivers.
T25-COLLEGE FOOTBALL POLL
The latest AP college football rankings have been jumbled following weekend losses by four of the previous top-10 teams. However, Alabama remains No. 1 after picking up all 61 first-place votes following Saturday's 41-9 rout of Arkansas.
Clemson's loss to Syracuse makes Penn State the new No. 2 team in the poll. Georgia is third, followed by TCU and Wisconsin.
Ohio State, Clemson, Miami, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State round out the top 10.
Washington fell from fifth to 12th with its 13-7 loss to Arizona State. Washington State's 37-3 loss to Cal dropped the Cougars seven notches to 15. Auburn slid 11 spots to 21st by losing to LSU, 27-23. LSU is back in the poll at 24th.
West Virginia and Memphis also cracked the poll.
TENNIS-SHARAPOVA
Maria Sharapova has won her first WTA title since returning from a doping ban. The 30-year-old Russian defeated Belarusian teenager Aryna Sabalenka to win the Tianjin Open as a wild-card entry, 7-5, 7-6.
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