MLB-WORLD SERIES
The Houston Astros climbed out of a two-run hole on Wednesday, then blew a two-run lead in extra innings before knotting the World Series at a game apiece.
George Springer unloaded a two-run homer off Brandon McCarthy in the 11th inning to lift the Astros past the Dodgers, 7-6 in Los Angeles. Cameron Maybin started the rally with a leadoff single and stole second before scoring on Houston's fourth home run since the ninth inning.
The Astros stormed back from a 3-1 deficit, tying the game on a solo shot by Marwin Gonzalez in the ninth before Josh Fields served up back-to-back homers by Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa in the top of the 10th. Yasiel Puig countered with a solo blast leading off the bottom of the 10th, but Houston was one out from a 5-4 win until Enrique Hernandez poked an RBI single to extend the game.
Joc Pederson and Corey Seager also went deep for the Dodgers, who were coming off a 3-1 victory in the opener.
Astros starter Justin Verlander had a no-hitter until Pederson's solo shot in the fifth inning. Verlander also surrendered Seager's two-run homer but no other hits in his six innings of work.
Winning pitcher Chris Devenski worked out of the 10th-inning jam but gave up Charlie Culberson's blast in the 11th before closing out the win, striking out Puig to end it.
The teams set a World Series record by combining for eight home runs, six coming in the last three innings. Each team had four homers, but the Dodgers were outhit 14-5.
Astros manager A.J. Hinch has announced his starting pitchers for the next two games, saying Lance McCullers will pitch Friday and Charlie Morton will take the mound Saturday. The two were outstanding in Game 7 of the AL Championship, combining on a three-hit shutout in a 4-0 win over the Yankees.
Yu Darvish is slated to start Game 3 for the Dodgers, followed by Alex Wood.
MLB-HANK AARON AWARD
Astros second baseman Jose Altuve and Miami Marlins outfielder Giancarlo Stanton are the recipients of the Hank Aaron Award in their respective leagues.
Altuve won the AL batting championship for the third time in four years, hitting a major league-best .346 with 24 home runs, 81 RBIs and 112 runs scored. The five-time All-Star also led his league with an 8.3 wins above replacement.
Stanton was the majors' top power hitter this year, belting 59 home runs and 132 RBIs with an NL-leading .631 slugging average. Like Altuve, Stanton paced his league in wins above replacement at 7.6.
In other major league news:
— Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia is expected to miss more than a month of the 2018 season. The team said on Wednesday that Pedroia had surgery to restore the cartilage in his left knee and will return to major league action in seven months, which would put him back in the lineup in late May.
NBA-SCHEDULE
The Philadelphia 76ers continue to show they have plenty of talent, but they still have issues when trying to close out a victory.
Eric Gordon capped his 29-point performance by nailing a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Rockets a 105-104 win at Philadelphia. The Sixers led by eight with about two minutes left until the Rockets scored the game's final nine points.
James Harden had 27 points and Clint Capela added 16 with 20 rebounds for the Rockets.
J.J. Redick topped the 76ers with 22 points, Joel Embiid had 21 and Robert Covington 20.
Checking out the other NBA results:
— The Nets stunned the Cavaliers as Spencer Dinwiddie hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 43 seconds left in Brooklyn's 112-107 win over Cleveland. Dinwiddie provided 22 points for the Nets, who blew a 14-point lead in the final quarter before improving to 3-2. LeBron James had a triple-double with 29 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds, but he missed a pair of throws with 7.6 seconds left and the Cavs trailing by two.
— Kevin Durant drained the tying 3-pointer with 1:02 remaining and Stephen Curry added the go-ahead trey 30 seconds later as the Warriors escaped with a 117-112 win over the Raptors. Curry paced Golden State with 30 points, Durant finished with 29 points on 11-for-20 shooting and Klay Thompson delivered four 3s and 22 points. Toronto dropped its 13th straight at Golden State despite DeMar DeRozan's 24 points.
— LaMarcus Aldridge hit for 31 points and the Spurs moved to 4-0 by beating the Heat, 117-100. Rudy Gay added a season-high 22 off the bench to help Gregg Popovich get his 1,154th career coaching win, one shot of matching Phil Jackson for sixth all time.
— Russell Westbrook had a triple-double of 28 points, 16 assists and 10 rebounds as the Thunder dumped the Pacers, 114-96. Oklahoma City's Paul George faced his former team for the first time and finished with 10 points in 19 minutes before fouling out midway through the fourth quarter.
— Brandon Ingram scored 19 points and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope hit a 3-pointer with 58 seconds remaining in the Lakers' 102-99 comeback win over Washington. Larry Nance Jr. finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds for Los Angeles, which trailed by 10 entering the fourth quarter before denying the Wizards their first 4-0 start in 39 years.
— The Mavericks had been 0-4 until Dennis Smith Jr. delivered 19 points and five assists for Dallas in a 103-94 verdict over the Grizzlies. Wesley Matthews chipped in 16 points, Harrison Barnes had 15 and Devin Harris added six in his first game since the death of his brother last week.
— Frank Kaminsky scored 20 points off the bench and the Hornets led by 23 at halftime of a 110-93 downing of the Nuggets. Dwight Howard had a double-double with 15 points and 19 boards, while Kemba Walker added 19 points and five assists for Charlotte.
— The Pistons rolled to a 122-101 win over the Timberwolves as Tobias Harris scored 34 points and Avery Bradley added 20. Andre Drummond had 15 points and 15 rebounds for Detroit, which led 63-44 at halftime despite allowing the first nine points.
— T.J. Warren scored 20 of his 27 points in the second half as the Suns knocked off the Jazz 97-88 to improve to 2-0 under interim coach Jay Triano. Devin Booker added 17 for the Suns, including a crucial 3-pointer with 1:29 to play.
NBA-INJURIES
Philadelphia 76ers rookie guard Markelle Fultz sat out Wednesday's game and will miss two more with soreness in his right shoulder.
The No. 1 pick in this year's draft has had shoulder issues that have greatly affected his shooting so far this season. He has missed 18 of his 27 field-goal attempts and is just 6-for-12 from the line.
Also in the NBA:
— San Antonio point guard Tony Parker was able to practice with the Spurs' G League affiliate Wednesday, but the team has not released any timetable for his return. The six-time All-star hasn't played since rupturing a tendon in his left quadriceps during last season's Western Conference semifinals.
— Former NBA Commissioner David Stern believes medicinal marijuana use should be allowed, but the league says it won't allow players to use it for recreational use. Stern was interviewed by ex-NBA player Al Harrington for the website Uninterrupted's documentary "Concept of Cannabis." Stern said he thought there was "universal agreement that marijuana for medical purposes should be completely legal."
NFL-NEWS
Tonight’s Thursday night football matchup will be the Miami Dolphins at the Baltimore Ravens at 8:25 PM. Dolphins QB Jay Cutler will not play tonight, after injuring his ribs in Sunday’s game against the Jets. Backup quarterback Matt Moore will make his first starting debut this season for the Dolphins.
Dwight Freeney's retirement from football is on hold after the three-time All Pro signed a one-year deal with the Seattle Seahawks Wednesday.
Freeney had given himself one more week before deciding the rest of the season would likely be spent on the golf course. Seattle needed a defensive end after Cliff Avril was placed on injured reserve due to a neck injury.
Elsewhere around the NFL:
— The Jaguars have signed speedy linebacker Telvin Smith to a four-year contract extension. Smith leads Jacksonville with 58 tackles, three pass breakups and two interceptions this season.
— Mike Nugent is the Cowboys' new kicker while Dan Bailey recovers from a strained right groin suffered in last week's 40-10 rout of the 49ers. Nugent played the previous seven seasons with the Bengals before spending training camp with the Giants over the summer.
— Matt Prater is under contract with the Detroit Lions through the 2020 season after receiving a three-year extension. Lions general manager Bob Quinn says Prater has proven to be one of the NFL's best kickers.
— Panthers coach Ron Rivera says Luke Kuechly is on pace to play Sunday against the Buccaneers after practicing Wednesday in full pads. The league's 2013 Defensive Player of the Year participated in the full practice but hasn't been cleared from the concussion protocol.
— Rookie quarterback Mitchell Trubisky has another target after the Bears acquired receiver Dontrelle Inman from the Chargers for a seventh-round pick, pending a physical. Inman had usually been a third or fourth passing option for the Chargers, grabbing 107 passes for 1,463 yards and seven touchdowns over four seasons.
NHL-SCHEDULE
The St. Louis Blues and Columbus Blue Jackets were Wednesday's NHL winners.
Jaden Schwartz and Alex Pietrangelo scored second-period power-play goals as the Blues won for the third time in four games, 5-2 over the Flames. St. Louis had been in an 0-for-18 skid with the man advantage until Schwartz and Pietrangelo tallied 2:46 apart to put the Blues up 3-1.
Mikael Backlund scored twice for the Flames, who dropped to 4-1-0 on the road.
Seth Jones had a goal and an assist for Columbus in a 5-1 victory against Buffalo. Jones, Nick Foligno and Matt Calvert scored during the final 4:40 of the second period to put the Jackets ahead 4-0.
Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 34 of 35 shots in the Blue Jackets' fifth win in their last seven games.
SOCCER-FIFA SCANDAL
A former judge who led Guatemala's soccer federation is the first person sentenced in the U.S. in the FIFA world soccer scandal.
Hector Trujillo has been sentenced in federal court in Brooklyn to eight months in prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud and conspiracy in June. Trujillo admitted accepting nearly $200,000 in bribes from a company trying to secure sports marketing contracts.
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