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  • Best vs best: MLS Cup final pits LAFC, Philadelphia Union

    Best vs best: MLS Cup final pits LAFC, Philadelphia Union

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    LOS ANGELES — Major League Soccer’s playoff system rarely rewards the league’s best regular-season teams with the championship celebration they would get in most other top domestic leagues.

    This season, the identity of the league’s best team will be crystal-clear when the MLS Cup is raised Saturday.

    Los Angeles FC and the Philadelphia Union were the top teams in their respective conferences all year long, and they finished the regular season with identical point totals. They’ve survived the playoff gauntlet to play for both franchises’ first MLS Cup title in a rare instance of the best truly facing the best.

    “I think it’s two teams that deserve to be here, the best two teams in the regular season,” Philadelphia captain Alejandro Bedoya said.

    For the first time in 19 years, MLS’ two conference leaders are playing for the title. They’ll meet at Banc of California Stadium amid the roiling, raucous fan atmosphere created for LAFC, which is seeking the crowning achievement to its half-decade of success since joining MLS in 2018.

    “I said from the first day, this club is special,” LAFC captain Carlos Vela said. “This is a really good chance for us, for myself to do something good for them and get something back for fans, for the club, for families, for everybody that’s involved in this club. We have to enjoy it and bring everything, because it’s the most important game of this club.”

    LAFC will attempt to become only the second team in the past 11 years to win both the Supporters’ Shield as the regular season’s top team — the championship standard in nearly all other top soccer leagues — and the postseason playoff trophy. Just seven of the league’s first 26 regular season champions also won the MLS Cup final.

    Philadelphia and LAFC were the two highest-scoring teams in the league this season while topping their respective conferences and finishing with 67 points apiece. LAFC won the Supporters’ Shield because it had two more victories, but Philadelphia had a far superior goal differential.

    These two teams have reached their league’s pinnacle together by taking dissimilar paths. They’ve been two of MLS’ most consistently successful teams over the past half-decade, winning three of the past four Supporters’ Shield trophies.

    Philadelphia’s foundation is built on the products of its innovative player academy, and the Union bolster their lineup with under-the-radar transfer acquisitions. The Union’s starting lineup costs a fraction of LAFC’s group, but under the innovative strategic mind of longtime coach Jim Curtin, they have built a durable core that fits perfectly into an aggressive style of play.

    While the Philadelphia Phillies play in the World Series and the undefeated Philadelphia Eagles reign atop the overall NFL standings, the city’s scrappy soccer team is trying to grab its own trophy.

    “Growing with the club since I (arrived) there in 2014, the club has really come a long way,” said Andre Blake, the Union’s star Jamaican goalkeeper. “I think the biggest thing is the culture has changed, and we are really more of a club that’s never satisfied. We always want to win. We’re not just OK with being in the league. We want to be one of those clubs that every time you talk about the MLS, our name pops up.”

    LAFC has made a splash from its start with Mexican star Vela, but the club has made smart acquisitions from unusual spots across the globe to build a powerhouse roster. After missing the playoffs last season, LAFC roared back to dominance under first-year coach Steve Cherundolo, the German-trained native Californian who instilled a flexible, detail-oriented tactical mindset.

    Vela has been solid as usual, but LAFC’s best player has been Cristian Arango, who has scored a whopping 30 goals in 51 matches since signing out of Colombia’s domestic league last year.

    “We are in a position to do something good, to really say we made something special,” Vela said.

    The Hollywood team with co-owners including Will Ferrell and Magic Johnson also landed two more major stars this year, signing Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini and Welsh forward Gareth Bale at midseason.

    While the 38-year-old Chiellini has been a solid contributor in central defense and a strong leader, LAFC has reached the final with a minimal contribution from Bale. The Welsh superstar scored two quick goals after joining the club, but he has played only five minutes since Sept. 18 and none since Oct. 2 while dealing with an unspecified injury, possibly prioritizing his fitness for Wales’ first World Cup appearance in 64 years later this month.

    Just as he often was at Real Madrid, Bale is largely a hobbled spectator while his club chases trophies. Yet Bale also has a knack for delivering on big stages, making him a compelling factor in the MLS Cup final.

    “One of them barely plays, but he’s a big guy, right?” Bedoya said with a grin when asked to evaluate LAFC’s big-name additions. “That’s a headline. But no, it’s a team that has incredible talent. We all know that. That’s no disrespect to him. He’s a fantastic player.”

    ———

    AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports

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  • Astros rookie star Peña delivers again in World Series win

    Astros rookie star Peña delivers again in World Series win

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    PHILADELPHIA — Jeremy Peña trotted around third base, looked toward the Houston dugout and gave the most casual two-handed shrug you’ll ever see on a ballfield.

    Like it was any routine game in May.

    Only this was November. In the World Series. In the biggest game of his life.

    Yep, this Peña postseason just kept getting better and better.

    Showing the polish and poise of a proven veteran, the 25-year-old Peña put on quite an all-around performance Thursday night. He became the first rookie shortstop to homer in the World Series, added two key singles and made a critical leaping catch in a 3-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 5.

    “Rookie or not rookie, it doesn’t matter,” Peña said. “We’re in the World Series. You just go out and play. Go compete and let the best man win.”

    Having already won the AL Championship Series MVP award and a Gold Glove in the last two weeks, the emerging star from the Dominican Republic helped Houston move one win away from the ultimate prize — the World Series trophy.

    Ahead 3-2 in the matchup with the Phillies, it’s hard to imagine now the Astros started the season with many fans wondering how in the world they would replace All-Star shortstop Carlos Correa, who signed with Minnesota as a free agent.

    “I never saw it as having to fill shoes,” Peña said. “I just had to come in and be myself, play my game. But at the end of the season, once we accomplish our goal, which is to go all the way, then I’ll sit down and reflect on the journey. But there’s still work to do and we’ve got to lock in.”

    Again proving the biggest moments in baseball aren’t too big for him, the expressive and exuberant Peña grounded a hard RBI single up the middle in the first inning, then reached high to spear Nick Castellanos’ liner to thwart a potential rally in the third.

    In the fourth, Peña lofted a go-ahead, solo drive into the left-field seats for a 2-1 lead and chased Phillies starter Noah Syndergaard.

    “It felt good off the bat but I didn’t know if it was enough,” Peña said. “I was running normal and then when the umpire signaled, that’s when I started jogging.”

    Peña pointed his right index finger high as he approached second base and slapped his hands together after crossing the bag. He gave a shrug moments later — shades of Michael Jordan, maybe — and put his hands together to form a heart after touching home plate.

    No wonder manager Dusty Baker and the Astros love him so much.

    “Well, he came into camp as a young player. He had his eyes open. He always paid attention. You could tell he was very attentive and confident, but quiet,” Baker said. “Boy, he’s played remarkably well. Boy, I mean, he’s really carried us for a while here through this postseason, and that’s especially tough for a young player, a young shortstop. And I’m just glad we have him.”

    Peña showed he could play small ball, too, adeptly delivering a hit-and-run single that set up a much-needed insurance run in the eighth.

    The three-hit show made Peña 8 for 21 (.381) with a pair of doubles to go along with the homer in the World Series.

    That’s all come after he was 7 for 16 (.353) with two home runs and two doubles in the four-game sweep of the Yankees in the ALCS.

    “I just go out and enjoy it, have fun, play hard, play my game, and then just trust my preparation,” Peña said. “There’s a lot of preparation that’s gone into this.”

    He credited his Houston teammates for helping him keep his composure under pressure in close games this time of year.

    “They prepare for every single game. It rubs off on you. They have a sense of calmness because they have been here I guess four years out of the last six,” Peña said. “So you just gravitate towards them and just go out and compete and have fun.”

    The Astros thought they saw something special as Peña batted .253 with 22 home runs during the regular season while excelling on defense.

    This October — and November — the Astros and the baseball world have seen just how special.

    “I talked to him earlier in the year about being ready, especially in a clutch situation, and to remain aggressive. And he works at it. He works at his game,” Baker said.

    “Every once in a while these guys come along — not that often. But it just goes to show you, I mean, his future is very, very bright.”

    ———

    AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports

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  • Wife of Phillies’ Hoskins puts beers on her World Series tab

    Wife of Phillies’ Hoskins puts beers on her World Series tab

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    PHILADELPHIA — Jayme Hoskins is tapped in to Philly sports fans.

    The wife of Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Rhys Hoskins has let fans crush some World Series beers on her tab. Jayme Hoskins has turned into a baseball barfly and let the free beers fly during recent Phillies’ postseason games.

    The beer runs are nearly as popular as the ones the Phillies poured on against the Astros in Game 3, a 7-0 drubbing that included a homer from Rhys.

    Wearing a red Phillies blazer with “Hoskins” printed on the back, Jayme had fans chanting her name Wednesday night as she sidled up to the closest bar to right field on the concourse before Game 4.

    She had previously tweeted out section 104 as the corner bar of her choice at Citizens Bank Park and sent out a hint she could be found there again about 30 minutes before first pitch — and her husband set to take the field at first base.

    “If you know anything about baseball and it’s quirks then you know where beers are about to be,” she tweeted.

    One bartender painted Hoskins “No. 17″ in red on her cheek and wore the first baseman’s “Ring the Bell” T-shirt. Another exclaimed, “she wants 50 more?” when Jayme ordered another round.

    Yes, of 50. At $17 a pop.

    Hoskins may as well have been Rhys as fans mobbed her for selfies, and she took a knee for a group photo with dozens of World Series suds suckers. She was polite — she is a Phillies fan, after all — and asked the drinkers to have their IDs ready and to say “please” and “thank you” to the servers sliding out Buds at a faster rate than her husband is crushing postseason homers.

    She sent her first “beer here!” tweet when the Phillies clinched the NL pennant in Game 5 of their Championship Series against San Diego. She joked on Twitter that someone should buy her a beer.

    Hoskins said she then decided, “No, I’m buying you all a beer.”

    She kept up the boozy tradition — the couple hosted a charity event this year at Philly’s Yards Brewery — and has no plans to stop for Game 5 on Thursday night

    “I’ve been hearing about Red October for about seven years,” she said. “It has not disappointed in any way. It’s been amazing.

    “And I know it’s not over!”

    Joseph Connolly of South Philly, wearing a Bryce Harper jersey, sipped his first free Hoskins beer at the first World Series game of his life. The 28-year-old Phillies fan read Hoskins’ tweets and, ahem, just happened to linger in the area at the same time frame as her tweets from previous beer giveaways.

    “It’s one of the more generous things you could ever do,” he said.

    Rhys Hoskins was on board with his wife playing baseball bartender.

    “Whatever it takes right now, really,” he said before Game 4. “She’s having a lot of fun with it. Obviously, the fans are enjoying it, too.”

    Hoskins, though, just might pass on one of those Budweiser tall boys. The slugger’s beer of choice: Yuengling.

    ———

    AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports

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  • TV audience for World Series Game 3 on Fox down 2.7%

    TV audience for World Series Game 3 on Fox down 2.7%

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    Philadelphia’s 7-0 win over Houston in Game 3 of the World Series was seen by 11,162,000 viewers on Fox, down 2.7% from last year’s third game

    PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Phillies’ 7-0 win over Houston in Game 3 of the World Series was seen by 11,162,000 viewers on Fox, down 2.7% from last year’s third game.

    Atlanta’s 2-0 victory over the Astros last season was seen by 11,469,000. That game was on a Friday night, while this year’s Game 3 was on a Tuesday.

    This year’s audience was up 34% from the 8,339,000 for the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 6-2 win over Tampa Bay in 2020, the lowest-rated World Series.

    Including Fox Deportes and Fox’s streaming platforms, this year’s Game 3 was viewed by 11,373,000. The game, which began at 8:05 p.m. EDT and ended at 11:13 p.m., drew a 29.1 rating and 56 share in Philadelphia and a 21.9/47 in Houston.

    Game 3 was postponed by rain on Monday night.

    The first three games this year averaged 11,179,000 viewers on Fox, up 2% from the three-game average of 10,964,000 last year and an increase of 25% from the three-game average of 8,977,000 in 2020.

    The rating is the percentage of television households tuned in to a broadcast. The share is the percentage viewing a telecast among those households with TVs on at the time.

    ———

    AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports

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  • Eagles are largest of 8 road favorites in Week 9

    Eagles are largest of 8 road favorites in Week 9

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    Jalen Hurts and the undefeated Eagles are looking for the first 8-0 start in franchise history while the rest of Philadelphia is focused on beating another team from Houston.

    When the Eagles (7-0) visit the Texans (1-5-1) on Thursday night, the Phillies will host the Astros in Game 5 of the World Series. It will be a potential Series-clinching game for the Phillies if they can win Game 4 Wednesday night.

    The Eagles rarely take a backseat to another team in Philly, but they understand they haven’t accomplished anything yet.

    “Dawg mentality is that nothing matters of what happened before,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. “We’re ready to go get ready to go 1-0 this week. That’s something that it’s just a mindset that we have as an organization.”

    The Eagles are the largest among eight road favorites in Week 9. They’re 13 1/2-point favorites, per FanDuel Sportsbook.

    Pro Picks considers this a second bye in three weeks for the Eagles.

    EAGLES, 34-13

    Los Angeles Rams (plus 3) at Tampa Bay

    Tom Brady and the Buccaneers (3-5) are struggling. They’ve lost five of six, the offense can’t score, the defense is poor and coaching has been a problem. The Rams (3-4) have their own issues, but Aaron Donald could dominate a weak interior offensive line in a rematch from last January.

    UPSET SPECIAL: RAMS, 22-20

    Los Angeles Chargers (minus 3) at Atlanta

    The Chargers (4-3) are supposed to be championship contenders. The NFC South-leading Falcons (4-4) are supposed to be rebuilding. This week both teams play like it.

    BEST BET: CHARGERS, 31-20

    Green Bay (minus 3) at Detroit

    Aaron Rodgers and the Packers have lost four in a row and are 3-5 for the first time since Brett Favre was in Green Bay. The Lions (1-6) have lost five in a row after the “Hard Knocks” hype. The Packers are due for a breakout win.

    PACKERS, 30-23

    Seattle (plus 1) at Arizona

    Kyler Murray has been a major disappointment and the Cardinals (3-5) are 11-17 at home under coach Kliff Kingsbury. Seahawks QB Geno Smith is thriving in his first full season as a starter since 2014, leading Seattle (5-3) to first in the NFC West.

    CARDINALS, 27-24

    Miami (minus 5) at Chicago

    The Dolphins (5-3) reloaded at the trade deadline, bolstering both sides of the ball. The Bears (3-5) were sellers and buyers.

    DOLPHINS, 24-20

    Carolina (plus 7 1/2) at Cincinnati

    Joe Burrow and the Bengals (4-4) need a rebound like the Panthers (2-6) after the Browns whipped them.

    BENGALS, 27-16

    Las Vegas (minus 1 1/2) at Jacksonville

    The Jaguars (2-6) have lost five straight. The Raiders (2-5) went from nearly knocking off eventual AFC champion Cincinnati in the playoffs to last place.

    JAGUARS, 20-17

    Indianapolis (plus 5 1/2) at New England

    This isn’t Peyton Manning vs. Tom Brady anymore.

    PATRIOTS, 23-20

    Buffalo (minus 12 1/2) at New York Jets

    The Bills (6-1) outscored the Jets 72-27 last season. But these aren’t the same old Jets.

    BILLS, 28-17

    Minnesota (minus 3 1/2) at Washington

    The Commanders (4-4) have won three in a row, including two straight with Taylor Heinicke. Kirk Cousins beat his former team the only other time he faced them.

    VIKINGS, 24-19

    Tennessee (plus 12 1/2) at Kansas City

    Chiefs coach Andy Reid is 20-3 after a regular-season bye. The Titans (5-2) have won five in a row. One streak will end.

    CHIEFS, 27-17

    Baltimore (minus 2 1/2) at New Orleans

    The Ravens (5-3) are aiming for two straight road wins against the NFC South opponents. It won’t be easy against the Saints (3-5).

    SAINTS, 26-24

    2022 RECORD

    Last Week: Straight up: 7-8. Against spread: 7-8.

    Season: Straight up: 71-52. Against spread: 65-57-1.

    Thursday Night: Straight up: 5-3. Against spread: 4-4.

    Monday Night: Straight up: 5-4. Against spread: 4-5.

    Best Bet: Straight up: 6-2. Against spread: 6-2.

    Upset Special: Straight up: 3-5. Against spread: 4-4.

    ———

    Follow Rob Maaddi on Twitter at https://twitter.com/robmaaddi

    ———

    AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL and https://twitter.com/AP—NFL

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  • Harper, Phillies tie World Series mark with 5 HR, top Astros

    Harper, Phillies tie World Series mark with 5 HR, top Astros

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    PHILADELPHIA — Bryce Harper bashed a home run on the first World Series pitch he saw in Philadelphia, and then figured out how the Phillies could hit a few more.

    The $330 million star offered quiet advice to Alec Bohm — and then it got really loud in Philadelphia.

    As for those whispers in May that the Phillies were finished? Forget about ’em. The secret has long been out: these Phillies are for real.

    Now, they’re two wins away from their first World Series championship since 2008.

    Harper hammered his sixth postseason home run, whispered an assist to Bohm before his solo shot and the Phillies tied a World Series record with five homers to rout the Houston Astros 7-0 Tuesday night and take a 2-1 Series lead.

    Brandon Marsh also homered, and Kyle Schwarber and Rhys Hoskins hit back-to-back shots in the fifth inning to chase Astros starter Lance McCullers Jr. Philadelphia used the long ball to end the long wait for its first World Series home win since Game 5 of the 2009 World Series.

    Those Phillies couldn’t finish the job.

    Ranger Suárez tossed three-hit ball over five shutout innings and inched this year’s team closer to getting it done.

    Harper, Bohm, Marsh and the rest of the Phillies on the last team to qualify for the playoffs are two wins away from ending the season as the last team standing. With a sparkling 6-0 record at Citizens Bank Park this postseason, the Phillies just may not return to Texas.

    “It’s our fan base. I mean, plain and simple.” Harper said. “They keep us going, keep us fired up.”

    Another red, raucous, resolute crowd of 45,712 let the Astros have it from the first pitch with chants of “Cheater! Cheater!” for Jose Altuve and “Check the Bat! Check the Bat!” for Martin Maldonado.

    The fans — already amped from the jump after another sliding catch by right fielder Nick Castellanos in the first — didn’t wait long to go wild for the home run barrage.

    With leadoff hitter Schwarber on first base, Harper repeated his flair for playoff power when he ripped a two-run shot off McCullers into the right field seats for the fast lead. That made Harper 2 for 2 on home run swings in Philly — he sent the Phillies to the World Series with a two-run drive in Game 5 of the NL Championship Series to beat San Diego.

    Harper crossed the plate and again exclaimed “This is my house!” before he ripped off his helmet, exposed his Phillie Phanatic headband and was mobbed by teammates in the dugout.

    Harper’s homers shake the stadium to the point they should be measured on the Richter scale rather than in feet — and they seem as automatic these days as a Phillie Phanatic spin on his ATV. Harper has hit four postseason homers that gave the Phillies the lead and showed that, yes, Bryce Bombs do go off in November, the first time more World Series games will be played in this month than October.

    Oh, and Harper might have a second career as a homer whisperer.

    Harper beckoned Bohm from the on-deck circle and back to the dugout for a quick word of advice.

    Maybe Harper saw McCullers tipping his pitches?

    “I think that’s just general conversation,” Harper said. “Trying to get as much information as we can from each other. We just tried to have the best at-bats we could.”

    Whatever the quiet counseling was, it worked, and Bohm lined his first postseason homer leading off the second inning and the 1,000th in World Series history into the left field seats for 3-0 lead.

    So c’mon, Alec, fess up, what did Bryce tell you?

    “That’s between us,” Bohm said on TV with a shrug and a big smile.

    Marsh took the baton on the long-ball relay and knocked one into the right field seats that was dropped by a young kid from Delaware. The home run stood after a brief review — as it seems nothing can interfere with Philadelphia’s playoff push — and it was 4-0.

    With that, McCullers had allowed four homers to his first nine batters. The right-hander who got his left triceps inked with nods to Houston got absolutely tattooed by the Phillies.

    Schwarber, the NL home run champion, again dumped a two-run shot into a thicket of English ivy, Arborvitae and Holly beyond center field, and Hoskins connected on solo shot for a 7-0 lead that ended McCullers’ night.

    McCullers became the first pitcher to give up five home runs in a World Series game.

    “I don’t really get hit around like that, so I was a little bit in disbelief,” McCullers said.

    Suárez, the scheduled Game 4 starter before Game 3 was postponed a day by rain, delivered with the performance of his career and shut down the big bats in the AL champs’ lineup.

    He needed only two pitches to get the first two outs of the game and struck out Yordan Alvarez to end the first. The few jams he got into, Suárez worked his way out, notably in the second when he whiffed Chas McCormick and left two runners stranded. He retired Altuve to end the fifth on a soft foul pop with two runners on base.

    Four relievers each tossed a scoreless inning to finish the five-hitter.

    THE CHAMPS ARE HERE

    Philly sports champions Mike Schmidt, Julius Erving, Brandon Graham and Bernie Parent threw first pitches to 2008 World Series champions Ryan Howard, Cole Hamels, Jayson Werth and Shane Victorino. Country music star Tim McGraw, son of the late Phillies reliever Tug McGraw, received a huge ovation and wore his dad’s No. 45 McGraw jersey. McGraw closed the 1980 World Series with a strikeout.

    UP NEXT

    The Phillies send RHP Aaron Nola (2-1, 4.57 ERA in the postseason) to the mound against Houston RHP Christian Javier (1-0, 1.35 ERA) in Game 4. Nola was done after 4 1/3 innings in Game 1 of the World Series, though he retired the final six batters he faced and left in a tie game after the Phillies rallied from an early 5-0 deficit — and won 6-5.

    ———

    More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports

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  • Astros burst ahead, beat Phillies 5-2, tie World Series 1-1

    Astros burst ahead, beat Phillies 5-2, tie World Series 1-1

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    HOUSTON — Framber Valdez made a five-run lead stand up after Houston’s lightning first-inning burst, Alex Bregman homered and the Astros beat the Philadelphia Phillies 5-2 Saturday night to tie the World Series at one game apiece.

    Just like in Game 1, the Astros rushed to a 5-0 lead. Unlike ace Justin Verlander in the opener, Valdez and Houston held on.

    Valdez rebounded from a pair of poor outings in last year’s Series to pitch shutout ball into the seventh, and the bullpen survived a couple of jams to close things out.

    “Framber did a great job,” said Jose Altuve, who broke out of a 4-for-37 postseason slump with three hits. “Just amazing performance by him and our bullpen, as well.”

    Altuve, Jeremy Peña and Yordan Alvarez all doubled as Houston took a two-run lead four pitches in against Zack Wheeler. A throwing error by shortstop Edmundo Sosa allowed another run in the first, and Bregman added a two-run homer in the fifth.

    A day after coming back for a 6-5 win in 10 innings, Philadelphia tried to rally in this one, too.

    With the Phillies trailing by four runs, Kyle Schwarber hit a drive deep down the right-field line with a man on in the eighth against Rafael Montero that was originally ruled a two-run homer by right field line umpire James Hoye.

    First base umpire Tripp Gibson at first signaled for umps to conference and the call was reversed on a crew chief review when it was determined the ball was just to the foul side of the pole.

    Schwarber, who led the NL with 46 home runs this season and added three more in the playoffs, then hit a long drive that was caught at the right field wall.

    Ryan Pressly finished the combined six-hitter, giving up a run on an error by first baseman Yuli Gurriel on Brandon Marsh’s grounder.

    Following the split in Houston, the Series resumes Monday night when Citizens Bank Park hosts the Series for the first time since 2009.

    Of 61 previous Series tied 1-1, the Game 2 winner went on to the title 31 times — but just four of the last 14.

    After struggling to a 19.29 ERA in a pair of Series starts in last year’s six-game loss to Atlanta, Valdez pitched with polish and poise. His cheeks glistening with sweat, the 28-year-old left-hander struck out nine and walked three, allowing four hits in 6 1/3 innings.

    He blew by batters with a fastball averaging 95.6 mph and baffled them with his curve, which got six of his strikeouts — three of them looking. Unusually, he changed his glove and spikes mid-outing.

    When the Phillies put two runners on for the only time against him in the sixth, Valdez struck out Game 1 star J.T. Realmuto with high heat, then got Bryce Harper to bounce a first-pitch sinker into an inning-ending double play.

    “His sinker was fantastic. His curveball was pretty good,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “His putaway pitches were good.”

    Thomson didn’t take issue with Valdez rubbing his palm — social media was abuzz, wondering if there was some substance there.

    “The umpires check these guys after almost every inning and if there’s something going on MLB will take care of it,” Thomson said. “We saw it the last time he started, too.”

    Nick Castellanos led off the Phillies seventh with a double and Valdez left after a groundout advanced the runner. Montero allowed Jean Segura’s sacrifice fly to the left-field warning track.

    A day after the deflating defeat, the Astros came out swinging and became the first team to open a Series game with three straight extra-base hits.

    Altuve lined a sinker into left, and Peña drove a curveball into the left-field corner for a 1-0 lead.

    Alvarez fouled off a pitch and drove a slider high off the 19-foot wall in left.

    “I was pulling for a fourth, actually,” Baker said. “Try to score as many runs as you can. Because you know Wheeler is one of the tougher guys in baseball.”

    Wheeler should have escaped down just 2-0, but shortstop Edmundo Sosa bounced his throw to first on Gurriel’s three-hopper for an error, the ball glancing off the mitt of first baseman Rhys Hoskins.

    Bregman, healthy after two injury-hampered seasons, hit a two-run homer to left in the fifth when Wheeler left a slider over the middle of the plate. Bregman has six career Series homers and three this postseason with nine RBIs.

    Wheeler gave up five runs — four earned — six hits and three walks in five innings, a day after Aaron Nola struggled.

    “I think everybody deserves a poor start every once in a while,” Thomson said. “Those guys have been so good for us for so long, and I fully expect them to come back and be ready to go and pitch well for us.”

    BIG DIFFERENCE

    Houston won 106 games during the season and Philadelphia 87, the second-highest win disparity in the Series behind the 93-win Chicago White Sox beat the 116-win Cubs in 1906.

    UP NEXT

    RHP Noah Syndergaard will start Game 3 for the Phillies and RHP Lance McCullers Jr. for the Astros. Phillies LHP Ranger Suárez will take the mound for Game 4, and likely LHP Cristian Javier for Houston.

    ———

    More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports

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  • Realmuto, Phils rally past Astros in 10 to open World Series

    Realmuto, Phils rally past Astros in 10 to open World Series

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    HOUSTON — A timely swing by J.T. Realmuto propelled the Philadelphia Phillies to an unlikely win in the World Series opener.

    A terrific stab by right fielder Nick Castellanos gave him that shot.

    Realmuto hit a solo home run in the 10th inning and the Phillies, saved by Castellanos’ sliding catch, rallied past the Houston Astros 6-5 Friday night.

    Down 5-0 early against Astros ace Justin Verlander, the Phillies became the first team in 20 years to overcome a five-run deficit to win a World Series game.

    They can thank Castellanos for getting the chance. Known much more for his bat than glove, he rushed in to make a game-saving grab on Jeremy Peña’s blooper with two outs in the ninth inning and a runner on second.

    “All in all, it was a great game, a great come from behind victory, and it just showed the resilience of the club again and how tough they are and they just never quit,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said.

    Realmuto, who hit a tying, two-run double in the fifth off Verlander, completed the comeback when he led off the 10th by sending a fastball from Luis García into the seats.

    Realmuto hoped for the best as he saw right fielder Kyle Tucker pursuing the ball.

    “Once I saw him running back to the wall, I was thinking in my head, ‘Oh, please just don’t catch it, just don’t catch it.’”

    He didn’t, the ball sailing just beyond his reach.

    Realmuto circled the bases in a scene he dreamed about as a kid.

    “Oh, absolutely. Yeah. Absolutely. I mean Wiffle Ball games in the backyard, the whole 3-2, bases-loaded, two-out situation. I probably had 7,000 at-bats in that situation growing up,” he said.

    And did he usually deliver?

    “Every time, yes,” Realmuto said, laughing.

    Realmuto became the first catcher to hit an extra-inning home run in the World Series since Carlton Fisk waved his walk-off fair in the 12th inning of Game 6 in the 1975 Series against Cincinnati at Fenway Park.

    Big-hitting Bryce Harper added two singles for the Phillies in his World Series debut. The two-time NL MVP is batting .426 (20 for 47) with five homers this postseason.

    Tucker homered twice for the Astros, who had been 7-0 in this postseason.

    “Disappointing, yeah, for sure,” Verlander said. “I need to do better. No excuses.”

    Houston had a chance in the 10th when Alex Bregman doubled with one out. After Yuli Gurriel drew a two-out walk, David Robertson bounced a wild pitch that put runners on second and third.

    Pinch-hitter Aledmys Díaz was then hit by a 2-0 pitch from David Robertson — but plate umpire James Hoye ruled that Díaz leaned into the pitch and didn’t permit him to go to first to load the bases.

    Díaz grounded out on a 3-1 pitch to end it.

    The last team to blow a 5-0 lead in the World Series was the 2002 San Francisco Giants, who squandered their chance in Game 6 to close out the Angels and win the title under manager Dusty Baker.

    Baker saw it happen again this time as manager of the Astros, by the same 6-5 final score.

    The 106-win Astros hadn’t lost to anyone since Philadelphia beat them on Oct. 3 behind Aaron Nola to clinch a wild-card spot as a third-place team and earn its first playoff trip in 11 years.

    Houston raced out to a big lead thanks in large part to Tucker’s two homers. But the Phillies stormed back as Verlander again struggled in the World Series.

    Perfect as he took a 5-0 lead into the fourth, he exited after the fifth with the score 5-all. That left him 0-6 with a 6.07 ERA in eight career World Series starts — hardly the line for a pitcher who’s expected to soon pick up his third Cy Young Award.

    The Astros fell to 0-5 in World Series openers and dropped their first game this postseason after sweeping in the AL Division Series and AL Championship Series.

    Seranthony Domínguez pitched a scoreless ninth to get the win when Castellanos made his stellar play.

    With Jose Altuve on second base after his two-out single and stolen base, Peña hit a ball that came off the bat at 68 mph and went only about 200 feet. Castellanos ran a long way, then with a lunge made the inning-ending catch while sliding to the ground.

    Right before the pitch, Castellanos moved in a little closer.

    “That was just what my instincts told me to do. I just thought he had a better chance of trying to bloop something in there than torching something over my head,” he said.

    In the opener of the NL Division Series against Atlanta, Castellanos drove in three runs and helped preserve the lead with a somewhat similar catch in the ninth of that 7-6 win.

    “I’ve had a couple people say that it seemed like a carbon copy of each other,” he said. “But I’m just happy that an out was made and we were able to go on and win both those games.”

    In the World Series for the fourth time in six years — and after losing to Atlanta in six games last year — these Astros are looking to give Baker his first title as a manager and get their second championship after winning it in 2017, a title tainted by a sign-stealing scandal.

    The surprising Phillies, who have two championships, are in the World Series for the first time since 2009. They bounced back from a 21-29 start that led to manager Joe Girardi’s firing.

    Tucker had the orange-clad home crowd rocking early as he became the first player in franchise history with a multi-home run game in the World Series. One of the few players in the majors to hit without batting gloves and suddenly exuding attitude, he had four RBIs a year after finishing the Fall Classic without one.

    The normally mild-mannered Tucker punctuated his first homer with a nifty bat flip and mixed in an expletive as he screamed toward the dugout while beginning his trot.

    Nola took a perfect game into the seventh inning in his last trip to Minute Maid Park, more than three weeks ago when Philadelphia secured its first playoff spot since 2011. Things didn’t go nearly as smooth in his return Friday.

    Tucker sent an off-speed pitch from Nola soaring high and into the seats in right field to put Houston up 1-0 with no outs in the second. Gurriel, Chas McCormick and Martín Maldonado added singles for another run.

    Peña, the ALCS MVP, doubled to open Houston’s third before Yordan Alvarez grounded out. He was initially ruled safe, but the Phillies challenged the call, and it was overturned.

    Bregman, who was Nola’s roommate at LSU, walked before Tucker went deep again, knocking a ball into the stands behind the bullpen in right-center to extend it to 5-0.

    Verlander, who had an MLB-best 1.75 ERA in the regular season, allowed six hits and five runs in five innings. He joined Roger Clemens as the only pitchers in major league history to make a World Series start in three different decades but still could not claim that elusive World Series win. Friday was his 12th career start in a postseason series opener, tying him with Jon Lester for most in MLB history.

    Verlander, who started his third Series opener, retired the first 10 batters before Rhys Hoskins singled with one out in the fourth. Harper and Castellanos singled for a run and Alec Bohm hit a two-run double to cut the lead to 5-3.

    Brandon Marsh opened the fifth with a double before Kyle Schwarber walked. Realmuto sent them both home with a double off the wall in left-center to tie it at 5-all.

    UP NEXT

    Philadelphia’s Zack Wheeler opposes Framber Valdez when the series continues Saturday night.

    ———

    More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports

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  • National anthem singer flubs lyrics at World Series opener

    National anthem singer flubs lyrics at World Series opener

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    HOUSTON — Grammy-nominated singer Eric Burton lost track of the lyrics during “The Star-Spangled Banner” before Friday night’s World Series opener between Houston and Philadelphia.

    With players and staff lined up on the field for the traditional pre-game ceremony, and a giant American flag unfurled across the outfield, the Black Pumas band leader went off track on the second line. He sang: “What so proudly we hail’d at the twilight’s last streaming” instead of “gleaming.”

    He continued correctly with: “Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight.” But then, instead of “O’er the ramparts we watch’d were so gallantly streaming?” he backtracked to “What so proudly we hail’d at the twilight’s last” before again singing “streaming” instead of “gleaming.”

    Burton then picked up correctly with “And the rocket’s red glare, the bomb bursting in air” and finished uneventfully.

    Burton performed at last year’s televised concert for President Joe Biden’s inauguration.

    ———

    More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports

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  • Inflation, gas prices looming over sports biz, concessions

    Inflation, gas prices looming over sports biz, concessions

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    CHICAGO — Dan Coyne makes an annual trip from his Pennsylvania home to watch the Chicago Bears with his brother, Dave, who has season tickets.

    The brothers got something to eat a couple hours before the game. Dave Coyne, 47, normally stays away from the concessions at Soldier Field, but “I only had to pay for myself tonight,” he said. “I didn’t have a kid or my wife with me.”

    That’s the calculus in play as fans balance their favorite sporting events — the games they missed desperately during the COVID-19 pandemic — with persistently high inflation and gas prices that loom over everything these days.

    U.S. inflation jumped 8.2% in September from a year ago, the government reported this month. That’s not far from a four-decade high of 9.1% in June. Higher prices for housing, food and medical care were among the largest contributors to the rise.

    Given the industry’s reliance on disposable income, the inflation numbers are a troubling sign for sports business leaders.

    “What’s historically accurate for teams is that they tend to try to take less on the ticketing side because once somebody comes in they typically will make up for it once they are inside,” said Ron Li, a senior vice president at Navigate, a data-driven consulting firm in sports and entertainment. “But with costs rising pretty much across the board after the turnstile, I think they have some decisions they need to make.”

    According to Team Marketing Report, the average cost for a family of four to attend a 2022 Major League Baseball game was $256.41, an increase of $3.04 from the previous season. The main engine behind the rise was the cost of tickets, with the average general ticket price increasing 3.6% to $35.93.

    Despite the jump in prices, Americans have largely kept up their spending, particularly on entertainment and other services like travel that they missed out on during the pandemic. Still, there are signs the solid spending won’t last: Credit card debt is rising and savings have declined as consumers, particularly low-income ones, have taken hits to their finances from the spike in inflation.

    Sitting on a bench in front of Soldier Field, about to watch his beloved Bears play in person, money wasn’t exactly a big concern for Corey Metzger.

    Or any concern, really.

    “This trip has been a long time in the making, and I’m splurging whatever I got to spend to make it happen,” said the 45-year-old Metzger, who works in law enforcement in Fargo, North Dakota.

    Casey Lynn, 43, a low-voltage technician from Minneapolis, and his wife, Lori, 44, a commercial lender, aren’t big football fans, but they decided to check out the Bears on a trip to Chicago. While Casey Lynn said he is bothered by the ticket surcharges, the couple didn’t want to pass on the opportunity to see the game.

    “The gas is a necessity. Electric’s a necessity. The sports isn’t a necessity,” he said. “But when in Rome, why not?”

    Of course, the cost of games often includes a trip to the concessions stands for a hot dog or a beer. Concessions typically have a higher profit margin for sports teams and providers, but increased costs for goods, transportation and labor have cut into those margins.

    The changes come after concessions companies were already profoundly impacted by the pandemic.

    “The whole model has been kind of disrupted in a pretty big way as we’re dealing with inflation of 10, 15, 20, 25, 30% when we have typically underwritten 2 or 3%,” said Jamie Obletz, president of Delaware North Sportservice. “And you can imagine the impact that that’s had on us and what it’s forced us to think about and do over the past six to 12 months, like a lot of companies.”

    Paul Pettas, a vice president with Sodexo Live!, estimated overall costs are up 10% to 15% over the past 12 to 24 months.

    “In reality, costs are up across the board, but we certainly try to do as much as we can to keep that down and not have that affect the average fan or guest who comes to our events,” he said.

    Concessions companies also are experiencing lingering issues with their supply chains, which have improved recently but remain a factor. Obletz recalled his company running out of peanuts midway through the 2021 World Series in Atlanta, so two workers drove a truck to another venue, loaded up and then drove through the night to get back to Truist Park.

    “Things are not great,” Obletz said. “They’re better than they were, it feels like, three to six months ago, and our hope is that it continues to improve.”

    The issues have forced concession companies to get creative in an effort to address the rising costs with minimal effect on consumers in terms of culinary options and price.

    Chefs are redesigning menus to replace items that face significant cost increases and consolidating other options. They are using analytics to examine portion sizes — do consumers need six chicken fingers or will five work instead? — and taking a closer look at their vendors.

    “There’s dozens of things like this that we’ve tried to do and are doing as we speak, trying very desperately to offset those pricing increases that we’re seeing,” Obletz said.

    Alison Birdwell, the president and CEO of Aramark Sports + Entertainment, said the company is leaning on analytics and its data science team “more than ever” when it comes to menu strategies and new concessions items.

    “With that guidance, we are working to give fans the items they’re looking for while simultaneously being efficient with our product and mitigating significant increases in cost,” Birdwell said in a statement to AP.

    ———

    AP Economics Writer Christopher Rugaber contributed to this report.

    ———

    For more AP coverage of the impact of inflation: https://apnews.com/hub/inflation And for more AP sports coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/sports and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports

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  • Cardinals’ Wainwright back in 2023; coaching staff to change

    Cardinals’ Wainwright back in 2023; coaching staff to change

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    Adam Wainwright will pitch for the St. Louis Cardinals next season, choosing to return for an 18th with the club while longtime teammates Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina head into retirement.

    Cardinals president John Mozeliak said Wednesday that the 41-year-old Wainwright informed the NL Central champions of his decision to return shortly after they were eliminated by the Philadelphia Phillies in the wild-card round of the playoffs. Wainwright did not pitch during either game in part because he had struggled with his delivery late in the season.

    Wainwright finished 11-12 with a 3.71 ERA in 32 start, his first losing season in which he made at least 20 starts. He won just twice over his final six starts, though, and had a 7.22 ERA while dealing with what he called a “dead arm.”

    Wainwright earned $17.5 million on a one-year deal last season. Terms of his contract for 2023 have not been disclosed.

    The right-hander will head into next season needing five wins to reach 200 for his career. Wainwright is 15 behind Jesse Haines for the second-most wins in franchise history; Bob Gibson is the leader with 251 of them.

    Wainwright and Molina set the major league record for career starts as a battery last season, eventually hitting 328 starts together. But with Molina heading into retirement, Andrew Knizner is in line to be the everyday catcher, though Mozeliak did indicate Wednesday that the club would be in the market for help behind the plate.

    In other news, Mozeliak said he was willing to offer new contracts to pitching coach Mike Maddux and hitting coach Jeff Albert but both decided to step away. The 61-year-old Maddux had been with the Cardinals since 2018 and Albert spent time with the Astros before taking over as the Cardinals hitting coach ahead of the 2019 season.

    The Cardinals had already lost bench coach Skip Schumacher to the Marlins as their manager this week. And with bullpen coach Bryan Eversgerd being reassigned as a special assistant within the organization, Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol will have four spots to replace on his staff heading into his second season in charge.

    Turner Ward, who had been the assistant hitting coach, could be a candidate for promotion. Pitching strategist Dusty Blake also will be back and could be among the candidates to replace Maddux as the pitching coach.

    ———

    More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports

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  • AP source: Schumaker hired as manager of Miami Marlins

    AP source: Schumaker hired as manager of Miami Marlins

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    MIAMI — Skip Schumaker was a candidate to take over as manager of the Boston Red Sox and New York Mets in recent years, only to see those clubs pick someone else.

    The Miami Marlins didn’t let him get away.

    Schumaker has been hired by the Marlins to become the 16th manager in franchise history, a person with knowledge of the negotiations said Tuesday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press because the Marlins had not announced the hiring.

    He comes to Miami from St. Louis, where he spent this season as the bench coach. Schumaker had been a first-base coach and associate manager for San Diego from 2018 through 2021, then joined the Cardinals’ staff.

    The 42-year-old Schumaker takes over in Miami for Don Mattingly, who managed the Marlins for seven seasons. Mattingly went 443-587 with Miami, winning the NL Manager of the Year award after leading the Marlins to the playoffs in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.

    Mattingly’s contract expired when this season ended, and he and the Marlins’ front office — owner Bruce Sherman and general manager Kim Ng — agreed it would be best for both sides not to enter into a new deal.

    That prompted a search by Miami, and Schumaker became the pick.

    Schumaker played in the majors for 11 seasons, mostly with the Cardinals, and now gets his first managerial opportunity with Miami — which shares a spring training complex in Jupiter, Florida, with St. Louis.

    Schumaker was a starter for the Cardinals team that won the 2011 World Series. The California native batted .278 in 1,149 games while primarily playing second base and the outfield. He retired in March 2016 while in camp with the Padres on a minor-league deal.

    ———

    AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports

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  • Love ’em or hate ’em, Series-bound Astros keep on winning

    Love ’em or hate ’em, Series-bound Astros keep on winning

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    They’re off to the World Series for a fourth time in six seasons, a remarkable feat of staying power for a franchise in any era of baseball history, let alone one that includes a 12-team playoff gauntlet filled with potential pitfalls.

    Astros pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. put it succiently on Sunday night: “This is not easy.”

    Even so, the dichotomy that is this generation of Houston Astros will probably never go away.

    They left no doubt that they’re the best team in the American League this season, sweeping aside slugger Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees in four games after Sunday’s 6-5 victory.

    It should be a lovable group. There’s pint-sized star Jose Altuve, two-time All-Star Alex Bregman, ace right-hander Justin Verlander and a slew of up-and-coming players like ALCS MVP Jeremy Peña, Yordan Alvarez and Kyle Tucker. There’s also Dusty Baker, the 73-year-old manager who is still searching for his first World Series title and the oldest man to lead a team to the Fall Classic.

    And yet…

    The stench of the 2017 cheating scandal — when the Astros were found to have illicitly stolen signs that season — still lingers, even though 21 of the 26 players on this year’s ALCS roster were not on the 2017 team.

    Only Altuve, Bregman, McCullers, Verlander and Yuli Gurriel remain. The quintet has endured a firehose of hate from fans and even fellow players since the scandal was brought to light before the 2020 season. The catcalls were still heard at Yankee Stadium over the past few days, but as the Astros piled up the runs and wins, there was a hint of another emotion.

    Grudging respect.

    “They got better treatment here this time than in previous times here,” Baker said. “So maybe it was a different crowd or maybe the crowd has finally forgiven things of the past.”

    That’s probably wishful thinking.

    But it’s also probably time to admit that these Astros — trash cans or no trash cans — are simply really good at baseball.

    “When everything happened a few years ago, we knew the one thing that we could do is we could win and we could win and win a lot,” McCullers said. “I understand people are still not going to like us. They’re going to boo us, but at some point you have to respect what we’re doing.”

    It’s a franchise that’s kept rolling despite the upheaval the cheating scandal wrought. Manager A.J. Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow were suspended for a year by MLB and eventually fired before being replaced by Baker and James Click. Many of the best players from that 2017 team have retired or moved on to other teams.

    Star outfielder George Springer left for the Blue Jays. Two-time All-Star shortstop Carlos Correa signed with the Twins. Right-handed pitcher Charlie Morton left for the Rays and is now with the Braves.

    Altuve is among those who have witnessed it all. Now his team is back in the World Series: The Astros host the Phillies in Game 1 on Friday.

    Those who wanted the Astros to suffer a quick, embarrassing downfall in the aftermath of 2017 continue to be disappointed.

    “When you talk about Springer, Charlie Morton, Carlos Correa, you’re talking about all superstars, and to get players to fill that spot it’s not easy,” Altuve said before Game 4 on Sunday. “The fact that we’re still playing really good and being in these situations, like I said, we just have to give a lot of credit to the front office group.”

    In a way, the Astros saga is a fitting chapter for a sport that can never seem to completely enjoy its biggest moments.

    Judge set the AL record for homers with 62 this season and the debate raged about whether he should be considered the all-time single-season record holder. Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa all hit more in the National League, but for many, their accomplishments are overshadowed by links to performance-enhancing drugs.

    Now the debate will rage about the Astros.

    Altuve has become a pro at deflecting vitriol. He knows some in baseball would love for them to go away.

    That doesn’t appear to be happening any time soon.

    “I do as best as I can to keep everything away and just focus on the game and just be ready to help my team,” Altuve said. “Like I said, it doesn’t matter where I play, I just got to be 100% focused on the game.”

    ———

    More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports

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  • Hot Harper carries Phillies into 1st World Series since 2009

    Hot Harper carries Phillies into 1st World Series since 2009

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    PHILADELPHIA — The billionaire owner of the Philadelphia Phillies pounded his fists on Bryce Harper’s chest and joked the Phillies slugger was almost underpaid at $330 million over the life of his contract.

    It was absurd to put a price tag on the moment for John Middleton as he pulled in Harper for a hug while the National League championship celebration swirled around them on the field. This was a moment the duo visualized when Middleton took a jet in February 2019 to Las Vegas to court Harper in meetings and dinners that would eventually yield a 13-year, $330-million deal, the biggest in baseball history for a free agent.

    So when Harper and Middleton finally embraced — once the Phillies beat San Diego 4-3 on Sunday in Game 5 of the NLCS and reached their first World Series since 2009 — yeah, the feelings were a bit more personal.

    “You bet it was! Of course it was,” Middleton said. “(It’s) $330 million later, mutual promises of being committed to winning and doing whatever it took to win.”

    Harper delivered in the postseason, a place seen only in fits and spurts for a franchise that has two World Series championships in 140 years. The tater forever etched as an all-timer in team history — the one that had Middleton and Phillies fans everywhere pleading for the ball to keep going — was his game-winning, two-run homer in the eighth that lifted Philly into the World Series and left even Harper momentarily bewildered.

    “Oh my gosh. I just did that,” Harper said in the dugout.

    Sure did.

    Next stop, Houston.

    The Phillies open the World Series on Friday against the Astros with more than a puncher’s chance against the defending American League champions strictly because of Harper. The numbers only tell part of the tale, even as the 30-year-old designated hitter is piling up stats among the best in postseason history, all while declaring Citizens Bank Park is his house. He leads in the clubhouse, and from his Phillie Phanatic cleats and headband, to his novelty T-shirts to his shoutouts for Philly sports legends, he has embraced the fans and the pressure of playing in the city like few outsiders ever have in any sport.

    “All the things we thought he was, have turned out to be true,” Middleton said. “There’s been no disappointments. Sometimes when you go through that process you think you understand somebody and what you really get is a little bit different. There is nothing different with Bryce. He is just committed to winning. He’ll do whatever it takes. I think if I told him he had to play third base, he’d play third base.”

    The right fielder who bowed to Phillies fans each time he ran out to start the game was forced into a DH role in April because of a small tear in the ulnar collateral ligament of his throwing elbow. Because Harper could not throw with the injury, had the National League not adopted the DH rule this season, he might have missed a considerable chunk of time, if not the season. Remember, too: When Harper’s thumb was broken by a pitch from San Diego’s Blake Snell in late June, there were concerns he might not be back until next year.

    The 2021 NL MVP slumped a bit late in the season as the Phillies made a run a the NL wild card. But in the playoffs against St. Louis, Atlanta and the Padres, Harper’s numbers soared higher than his jersey sales. Unlike Padres slugger Manny Machado, Harper did not ask for an out in his contract, though his postseason play would have provided ample negotiation fuel.

    Among his October achievements:

    — Harper is hitting .419 with six doubles, five homers, 11 RBIs, 10 runs scored and a 1.351 OPS in the postseason.

    — His 11 extra-base hits are most for a Phillies player in a postseason and his 10-game hitting streak matches Lenny Dykstra (1993) for the team’s longest in the playoffs.

    — Harper’s go-ahead home run was the sixth in MLB postseason history in the eighth inning or later that gave his team the lead when trailing in a potential series-clinching game.

    “As good as it gets,” Phillies manger Rob Thomson said. “I mean, he’s proved to me over and over and over again that there’s no moment that’s too big for him, and he’s come through so many times. You just kind of expect it when he goes to the plate.”

    Harper almost does, too. With the Phillies down 3-2 and reliever Robert Suarez on the mound, Harper had a message in the dugout.

    “Let’s give them something to remember,” Harper said.

    He got the help he needed once J.T. Realmuto led off the inning with a single. Padres manager Bob Melvin elected to stay with the right-handed Suarez against the lefty Harper rather than bring in Josh Hader, the hard-throwing lefty closer.

    Harper started 1-1, then fouled off three straight pitches in the rain as a sellout crowd of 45,485 grew louder. He took ball two. Then, boom. Harper hammered a 98.9 mph sinker to left-center, and minutes later, the Phillies had won the game and the pennant. He had long ago won over Philly.

    “I just looked at my dugout and kind of it’s for all of them,” Harper said. “It’s for this whole team. It’s for this whole organization. We haven’t been here for a long time. It’s for every single fan that’s here now and that isn’t here. It’s for all of them no matter where you came from, who you are, you’ve got Phils on your chest, you’re family. I really believe that. That’s from right here.”

    ———

    More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports

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  • World Series teed up: Harper, Phillies go deep, face Astros

    World Series teed up: Harper, Phillies go deep, face Astros

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    Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber breaking the Bank in Philly. Yordan Alvarez launching moonshots in H-Town.

    Dusty Baker trying for a most elusive win. Justin Verlander, too. A fired-up Harper and All-Stars J.T. Realmuto and Zack Wheeler, stepping onto baseball’s biggest platform for the first time.

    Yo! The Philadelphia Phillies, of all teams, are headed to the World Series. Against those back-for-more Houston Astros, y’all.

    A pretty tasty matchup starting Friday night at Minute Maid Park, a Fall Classic full of vibrant sights, scents and sounds.

    Think cheesesteaks, hoagies and water ice vs. BBQ brisket, Tex-Mex and Blue Bell ice cream.

    The Phanatic and Phils fans need a late rally at Citizens Bank Park? Dial up something from “Rocky.” Want to party in Houston? Sing and clap along with mascot Orbit to Moe Bandy’s bouncy “Deep in the Heart of Texas” during the seventh-inning stretch.

    Harper already has hit five home runs this postseason. In the signature swing of his career, his eighth-inning drive against San Diego on Sunday in Game 5 sent the Phillies into the World Series for the first time since 2009 and earned him the NL Championship Series MVP.

    The Astros are 7-0 this postseason after finishing off a four-game sweep of the New York Yankees in the AL Championship Series. Alex Bregman’s go-ahead single keyed a 6-5 win Sunday night.

    After losing the World Series last year, Houston opened as a solid favorite to win the title this year, according to FanDuel.

    Odds are, crowd might witness a Schwar-bomb or the Chas Chomp along the way.

    But no possibility of seeing a sibling rivalry. Astros reliever Phil Maton broke a finger on his pitching hand when he punched his locker after a shaky performance in the regular-season finale, an outing that included giving up a hit to his younger brother, Phils utilityman Nick Maton.

    City of Brotherly Love, not so much. But a nice treat for fans in both cities: The Philadelphia Eagles, the NFL’s only unbeaten team, visit the Houston Texans on the travel day between Games 5 and 6, if those are needed.

    Weather won’t be an issue with the retractable roof in Houston. No telling what the elements will be with the open air in Philly.

    With the likes of Jose Altuve, ALCS MVP Jeremy Peña, Rhys Hoskins and Alec Bohm, this World Series is a best-of-seven matchup representing some of the game’s best present and future. Plus a good piece of the past — remember, these teams have played each other nearly 600 times.

    There was the thrilling 1980 NL Championship Series, when Mike Schmidt, Pete Rose, Steve Carlton and the Fightin’ Phils outlasted Nolan Ryan at the Astrodome on the way to their first World Series title.

    Years later, closers Brad Lidge, Billy Wagner, Mitch Williams and Ken Giles spent time with both clubs. So did future Hall of Famers Joe Morgan and Robin Roberts.

    And this neat piece of history — the Phillies were the first team to ever beat Houston, back in 1962 when the expansion Colt .45s lost at Connie Mack Stadium.

    Funny, the Phillies are also the most recent team to beat the Astros. Way back on Oct. 3, Philadelphia opened the final series of the regular season with a 3-0 win at Houston, with Schwarber homering twice as Aaron Nola outpitched Lance McCullers Jr.

    The Astros then closed out an AL-best 106-56 record by winning the next two behind Verlander and Framber Valdez — Philadelphia still leads 297-283 in their head-to-head matchups, mostly all before Houston moved from the National League to the American League in 2013.

    Houston then swept Seattle in the AL Division Series and the Yankees in the ALCS featuring its winning formula of imposing starting pitching, a dominant bullpen and a lineup full of home run hitters such as Alvarez and Kyle Tucker.

    This marks the Astros’ fourth trip to the World Series in six years and their only title in 2017 was tainted by an illegal sign-stealing scandal. Last season, they lost to Freddie Freeman and the underdog Atlanta Braves in six games.

    At 73 and in his 25th season as a manager, Baker is looking for a crown to cap his ample resume.

    “I mean, victories drive me. And I’ll get it,” he said during the ALCS. “You can’t rush it before it gets here because it ain’t here yet. So you just got to put yourself in a position to do it.”

    Verlander, the likely AL Cy Young Award winner after bouncing back from Tommy John surgery, is hoping to improve his 0-6 mark in seven career World Series starts.

    The Phillies, meanwhile, looked like a big zero this year before getting to this point in October.

    Stuck at 21-29 going into June, they fired manager Joe Girardi a few days later and put the interim tag on bench coach Rob Thomson. Then suddenly, the Phillies took off.

    They overcame Harper’s broken thumb, sidelining the two-time NL MVP for two months, beat out Milwaukee for the final playoff spot in going 87-75, and quickly topped NL Central champion St. Louis in the wild-card round. Philadelphia eliminated defending World Series champ Atlanta in the NLDS and topped San Diego in the NLCS.

    Now, with Thomson having been rewarded with a two-year contract, the Phillies are the first third-place team in baseball history to reach the World Series.

    Philadelphia lost to the Yankees in its last trip this far. A year earlier in 2008, Lidge capped off his remarkable year of going 48 for 48 in save chances to close out the Phillies’ second title as a team led by Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Howard beat Tampa Bay in five games.

    Spurred by their rollicking home crowd, Harper and this bunch of Phils hope to add another banner.

    Thomson is trying to join Jack McKeon (Marlins, 2003) and Bob Lemon (Yankees, 1978) as the only managers hired in midseason to win the title. To the 59-year-old Thomson, it’s not such a surprise his team is in this position.

    “Coming out of spring training … we knew we had a good ballclub. We knew our bullpen was good, rotation was good, we had great offense,” he said earlier in the playoffs. “We just got off to a little bit of a slow start and kind of spiraled.”

    “And we had ups and downs during the season, just like any other club does. But they knew that they were going to come out of it at some point and start winning again. And we did,” he said.

    —————

    More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports

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  • Cortes hurt, leaves after tying 3-run HR in ALCS Game 4

    Cortes hurt, leaves after tying 3-run HR in ALCS Game 4

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    NEW YORK — Nestor Cortes’ fastball dropped 3 mph from the end of the second inning to the third in Game 4 of the AL Championship Series, and New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone walked to the mound with head athletic trainer Tim Lentych.

    “He said he was fine,” Boone recalled. “I’m not going to just pull him out of the game because he isn’t perfect.”

    Eight pitches later, Cortes allowed a tying three-run homer to Jeremy Peña and the Astros went on to a 6-5 victory Sunday night that completed a four-game AL Championship Series sweep.

    “It’s kind of embarrassing that that happened, obviously, with the circumstances we were in,” Cortes said.

    Cortes had reaggravated his strained left groin during workouts in the five days ahead of the Division Series opener against Cleveland on Oct. 11 but made a pair of starts against the Guardians and won Game 5.

    He allowed a single and a walk in the first two innings against the Astros, then walked Martín Maldonado leading off the third and had a 2-1 count on Jose Altuve when Boone made the mound visit after his eighth pitch of the inning.

    “He asked me how I felt and I told him, `I feel well enough to compete. I feel great,’” Cortes recalled. “He knows I’m a competitor. He knows that it’s going to be hard to take me off the mound. And I think I showed all year that I’ve gained respect from him to leave me out there and grind through it.”

    Cortes threw 17 fastballs in the first two innings against Houston ranging from 89.4 to 92.4 mph. His seven in the second inning were from 87.7 mph to 89.1 mph.

    His control was off. Cortes went to three-ball counts on seven of 11 batters and he threw just 28 of 55 pitches for strikes.

    “It gradually got worse. It started locking up on me there in the third,” Cortes said.

    Altuve’s walk marked the first time the 27-year-old All-Star left-hander walked consecutive batters this year. He fell behind 3-1 when Pena homered on a cutter, driving it into the left-field seats.

    “I don’t think that homer was because I was hurt,” Cortes said. “It was just, he put a good swing to it. I thought I had located the pitch pretty well.”

    Cortes did not pitch between Aug. 21 and Sept. 8 because of a strained left groin, then returned to make five regular-season starts and two in the Division Series, when he allowed three runs in 10 innings.

    “It’s been lingering for a while,” he said.

    Cortes thought he could pitch through it and Boone believed him.

    “We’ve been dealing with this on different levels for a couple months,” Boone said. “He said he was fine and then obviously wasn’t quite fine enough.”

    ———

    More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports

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  • Judge, slumping Yankees on the brink after getting blanked

    Judge, slumping Yankees on the brink after getting blanked

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    NEW YORK — Back home for a must-win game, Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees generated more boos than base hits.

    One more punchless performance and their season is over.

    Handcuffed again by Cristian Javier and Houston’s stingy pitching staff, the power-packed Yankees went down meekly Saturday on three harmless hits in a 5-0 defeat that left them on the brink of a four-game sweep by the Astros in the AL Championship Series.

    “Our backs are against the wall now,” first baseman Anthony Rizzo said in a quiet Yankees clubhouse. “Collectively, we’ve just got to do a better job of putting pressure on them.”

    New York must find a way to bust out of its playoff slump Sunday night in Game 4 and beyond, or it will be 13 years and counting without a World Series appearance.

    That’s a long time in the storied annals of baseball’s most successful franchise. But the only hope remaining for these $254 million Yankees is an improbable rally that would make them just the second team in major league history to overcome a 3-0 deficit in a best-of-seven postseason series.

    Boston accomplished the feat in the 2004 ALCS against the rival Yankees on the way to winning its first World Series championship in 86 years.

    Right now, though, New York would welcome something as simple as a clutch single — because the Astros are Yankees kryptonite.

    “I think they’ve attacked the zone,” Yankees third baseman Josh Donaldson said. “They have good stuff. They have good arms over there. Can’t take anything away from those guys, but we just need to be better.”

    After totaling just four runs during two losses in Houston to begin the series, New York’s normally potent lineup looked even more overmatched Saturday in providing zero support for ace Gerrit Cole.

    Judge, who set an American League record with 62 home runs during the regular season, went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts and never got the ball out of the infield. New York is batting .128 with 41 strikeouts in the series.

    This from a team that led the majors with 254 homers during the season and finished second in runs to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

    “I don’t think I’m perplexed about it. It’s just the nature of the game sometimes,” said outfielder Harrison Bader, who made a costly error when he nearly collided with Judge in right-center. “It’s a small sample size.”

    Giancarlo Stanton doubled on a 3-0 delivery with one out in the fourth inning — the first hit Javier had allowed in 167 pitches versus the Yankees this year. The 25-year-old righty threw seven innings and struck out 13 in a combined no-hitter by three Houston hurlers at Yankee Stadium on June 25.

    This series was supposed to be an entertaining clash between the American League’s preeminent powers, but the Yankees have been no match for Houston pitching.

    “They’re not really missing over the big part of the plate a lot,” Rizzo said.

    The playoff-proven Astros improved to 8-2 against New York this year, including October. They eliminated the Yankees from the postseason in 2015, 2017 and 2019, and are right on the cusp of doing it again.

    Yankees manager Aaron Boone has shuffled his lineup during the series in an attempt to get the offense going. Nothing has worked.

    “Obviously, frustrating day. It felt like we had some pitches there with Javier to do some things with and just fouled some pitches off. I thought there were some good at-bats sprinkled in there. But obviously just not able to mount enough,” Boone said. “We just need to get a little bit of a spark and something to bounce our way and try and grab a lead and play with it a little bit.”

    As the Astros paraded six pitchers to the mound, New York was in danger of being held to one hit for the first time in its 422-game postseason history before Matt Carpenter and Bader got consecutive singles with two outs in the ninth.

    Donaldson then struck out to end it, bringing the last round in a string of boos all day from the scattered fans who remained.

    “I think they were booing a lot tonight,” Donaldson said.

    ———

    More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports

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  • Today in History: October 22, JFK reveals missile bases

    Today in History: October 22, JFK reveals missile bases

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    Today in History

    Today is Saturday, Oct. 22, the 295th day of 2022. There are 70 days left in the year.

    Today’s Highlight in History:

    On Oct. 22, 1962, in a nationally broadcast address, President John F. Kennedy revealed the presence of Soviet-built missile bases under construction in Cuba and announced a quarantine of all offensive military equipment being shipped to the Communist island nation.

    On this date:

    In 1836, Sam Houston was inaugurated as the first constitutionally elected president of the Republic of Texas.

    In 1926, Ernest Hemingway’s first novel, “The Sun Also Rises,” was published by Scribner’s of New York.

    In 1928, Republican presidential nominee Herbert Hoover spoke of the “American system of rugged individualism” in a speech at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

    In 1934, bank robber Charles “Pretty Boy” Floyd was shot to death by federal agents and local police at a farm near East Liverpool, Ohio.

    In 1968, Apollo 7 returned safely from Earth orbit, splashing down in the Atlantic Ocean.

    In 1979, the U.S. government allowed the deposed Shah of Iran to travel to New York for medical treatment — a decision that precipitated the Iran hostage crisis.

    In 1981, the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization was decertified by the federal government for its strike the previous August.

    In 1995, the largest gathering of world leaders in history marked the 50th anniversary of the United Nations.

    In 2001, a second Washington, D.C., postal worker, Joseph P. Curseen, died of inhalation anthrax.

    In 2014, a gunman shot and killed a soldier standing guard at a war memorial in Ottawa, then stormed the Canadian Parliament before he was shot and killed by the usually ceremonial sergeant-at-arms.

    In 2016, the Chicago Cubs won their first pennant since 1945, beating the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-0 in Game 6 of the NL Championship Series. (The Cubs would go on to beat Cleveland in the World Series in seven games.)

    In 2020, in the closing debate of the presidential campaign, President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden clashed over how to tame the raging coronavirus; Trump declared that the virus would “go away,” while Biden countered that the nation was heading toward a “dark winter.”

    Ten years ago: President Barack Obama sharply challenged Mitt Romney on foreign policy in their final campaign debate, held in Boca Raton, Florida, accusing him of “wrong and reckless leadership that is all over the map”; the Republican coolly responded, “Attacking me is not an agenda” for dealing with a dangerous world. An Italian court convicted seven experts of manslaughter for failing to adequately warn residents of the risk before an earthquake struck central Italy in 2009, killing more than 300 people. (The verdicts were later overturned.) American Indian activist Russell Means, 72, died in Rapid City, South Dakota.

    Five years ago: The latest allegations of sexual harassment or assault in Hollywood targeted writer and director James Toback; the Los Angeles Times reported that he had been accused of sexual harassment by 38 women. U.S.-backed fighters in Syria captured the country’s largest oil field from the Islamic State group, marking a major advance against the extremists. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe scored a major victory in national elections that decisively returned his ruling coalition to power.

    One year ago: The Supreme Court allowed a Texas law banning most abortions to remain in effect while agreeing to hear arguments in the case. Florida businessman Lev Parnas, who helped Rudy Giuliani’s effort to dig up dirt on Joe Biden in Ukraine, was convicted in New York of campaign finance crimes. Actor Peter Scolari, best known for his role on TV’s “Newhart,” died in New York at 66 after a two-year battle with cancer. Jay Black, front man for the 1960s rock band Jay and the Americans, died at 82.

    Today’s Birthdays: Black Panthers co-founder Bobby Seale is 86. Actor Christopher Lloyd is 84. Actor Derek Jacobi is 84. Actor Tony Roberts is 83. Movie director Jan (yahn) de Bont is 79. Actor Catherine Deneuve is 79. Rock musician Eddie Brigati is 77. Former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour is 75. Actor Jeff Goldblum is 70. Rock musician Greg Hawkes is 70. Movie director Bill Condon is 67. Actor Luis Guzman is 66. Actor-writer-producer Todd Graff is 63. Rock musician Cris Kirkwood is 62. Actor-comedian Bob Odenkirk is 60. Olympic gold medal figure skater Brian Boitano is 59. Christian singer TobyMac is 58. Singer-songwriter John Wesley Harding (Wesley Stace) is 57. Actor Valeria Golino is 56. Comedian Carlos Mencia is 55. Country singer Shelby Lynne is 54. Reggae rapper Shaggy is 54. Movie director Spike Jonze is 53. Rapper Tracey Lee is 52. Actor Saffron Burrows is 50. Actor Carmen Ejogo is 49. Former MLB player Ichiro Suzuki (EE’-cheer-oh soo-ZOO’-kee) is 49. Actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson is 47. Christian rock singer-musician Jon Foreman (Switchfoot) is 46. Actor Michael Fishman is 41. Talk show host Michael Essany is 40. MLB infielder Robinson Canó is 40. Rock musician Rickard Goransson (Carolina Liar) is 39. Rock musician Zac Hanson (Hanson) is 37. Actor Corey Hawkins is 34. Actor Jonathan Lipnicki is 32. Actor Sofia Vassilieva (vas-ihl-lee-A’-vuh) is 30. Actor Elias Harger is 15.

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  • Rangers hire 3-time World Series champion Bochy as manager

    Rangers hire 3-time World Series champion Bochy as manager

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    The Texas Rangers have hired Bruce Bochy as their manager, bringing the three-time World Series champion with 2,003 career victories out of a short retirement to take over a team that has had six consecutive losing seasons.

    Texas made the surprising announcement Friday, just more than two weeks after its season ended. Bochy agreed to a three-year contract.

    The 67-year-old Bochy hasn’t managed since 2019, when he stepped away after 13 seasons and those World Series titles with the San Francisco Giants. The first championship came in five games over Texas in 2010, and the Giants won again in 2012 and 2014.

    Rangers general manager Chris Young was a pitcher for San Diego in 2006, which was Bochy’s final season with the Padres before going to San Francisco.

    “As we went through the interview process, Bruce’s passion and excitement about returning to the dugout was very evident,” Young said. “It became clear he was the ideal individual to lead our club as we continue to build a championship culture here in Arlington.”

    Bochy was 951-975 in 12 seasons with the Padres (1995-2006) and took them to the last World Series in 1998. The former big league catcher had a 1,052-1,054 record in San Francisco from 2007-19.

    The Rangers said they’d hold an introductory news conference on Monday. Bochy said in a statement he was excited to be joining the team after several days of extensive conversations with Young and a meeting with owner Ray Davis.

    “Their vision and commitment to putting together a club that can contend and win year in and year out is impressive, and I became convinced I wanted to be a part of that,” Bochy said. “If I was going to return to managing, it had to be the right situation. I strongly believe that to be the case with the Rangers, and I can’t wait to get started.”

    The Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Royals and Miami Marlins have the three remaining manager openings among the 30 teams.

    Fourth-year Rangers manager Chris Woodward was fired Aug. 15, two days before president of baseball operations Jon Daniels was also let go. Texas went on to finish 68-94, eight wins more than 2021 but what Young said after the season “was about half of our internal expectations.” They lost 35 one-run games, a franchise record.

    Texas was 17-31 under interim manager Tony Beasley, the longtime Rangers third base coach who was once Young’s manager in the minor leagues. Several young players got extended looks during that span, and the GM said in August that Beasley wouldn’t be judged solely on win-loss record. Beasley was interviewed for the job two days after the season ended.

    When speaking after the season, Young had declined to comment when asked specifically if the managerial search could proceed without knowing whether Bochy had interest in the job. But he acknowledged then how much he loved playing for Bochy and expressed his respect for the man he considers one of the most successful and respected managers in the major leagues.

    “With a calm and steady presence, he has a remarkable ability to connect and communicate with players, coaches, and staff, and his teams have always played with maximum effort,” Young said Friday. “His knowledge of the game, as well as his integrity is unmatched.”

    Texas last offseason committed a half-billion dollars to free-agent shortstop Corey Seager ($325 million, 10 years) and second baseman Marcus Semien ($175 million, seven years), and also signed right-hander Jon Gray ($56 million, four years) to be their No. 1 starter. Left-hander Martin Perez was an All-Star after returning on a one-year deal before spring training.

    While there were never any expectations that the Rangers would go from 102 losses in 2021 immediately to a title contender after that big spending spree, they never had a winning record at any point this season and peaked at 24-24 at the end of May. The six consecutive losing seasons are the most in the half-century since the franchise moved to Texas in 1972.

    Davis has indicated the team is ready to add to its starting rotation, and potentially sign a middle-of-the-lineup bat.

    “I don’t plan on spending as much money as we did last offseason,” he has said. “But we plan on spending some money.”

    ———

    More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports

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  • MLB Playoffs: Astros seek 2-0 lead vs Yanks; NLCS tied, off

    MLB Playoffs: Astros seek 2-0 lead vs Yanks; NLCS tied, off

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    Justin Verlander and the Houston Astros got the jump on the New York Yankees again.

    Now they’ll try to take a 2-0 lead in the AL Championship Series when All-Star lefty Framber Valdez pitches against Yankees right-hander Luis Severino on Thursday night in Houston.

    It’s a day off in the NLCS, with the Padres and Phillies tied 1-all as their best-of-seven series shifts from San Diego to Philadelphia for three games beginning Friday night.

    Verlander recovered from a rocky start and struck out 11 over six strong innings to lead the Astros past the Yankees 4-2 on Wednesday night.

    Yuli Gurriel launched a tiebreaking homer in the sixth. Chas McCormick and rookie Jeremy Peña also went deep as the AL West champions improved to 4-0 in the playoffs after going 106-56 during the regular season.

    It was a familiar result in the power struggle between the teams over the past few years.

    Houston knocked New York out of the playoffs in 2015, 2017 and 2019 before going 5-2 against the Yankees during the 2022 regular season.

    This is the sixth straight ALCS appearance for the Astros, their third meeting with the Yankees during that span.

    Houston is trying to reach the World Series for the second consecutive season and fourth time in six years. New York hasn’t made it since beating the Phillies in 2009 for the most recent of its 27 championships.

    Verlander set a major league record with his eighth double-digit strikeout game in the postseason. He passed Clayton Kershaw (213) to become the career leader in postseason strikeouts with 219.

    New York whiffed 17 times in all to only two for the Astros — the largest difference ever in a postseason game.

    “They’re obviously really dynamic,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “Outstanding starting pitching, but can shorten the game with the best of ’em. So we’ve got to find a way to break through against them.”

    Valdez went 17-6 with a 2.82 ERA during the regular season. He led the American League with 201 1/3 innings pitched and three complete games. In Game 2 of the Division Series against Seattle, he allowed four hits and two runs over 5 2/3 innings.

    Severino was 7-3 with a 3.18 ERA in 19 starts this season. He yielded eight hits and three runs over 5 2/3 innings in Game 3 of the ALDS versus Cleveland.

    Here’s what else to know about the MLB playoffs Thursday:

    THURSDAY’S SCHEDULE (All times ET)

    ALCS Game 2: New York Yankees at Houston, 7:37 p.m., TBS

    OH, BROTHER!

    In danger of heading to Philadelphia down 0-2 in the NLCS, the Padres produced another huge rally in front of their rowdy fans to put some punch into the all-wild card matchup.

    Brandon Drury hit a go-ahead, two-run single during a five-run outburst in the fifth inning and San Diego stunned Aaron Nola and the Phillies 8-5 on Wednesday to tie the NLCS at one game apiece.

    The fifth-inning surge started with Padres catcher Austin Nola hitting an RBI single off his younger brother that brought the sellout, towel-twirling crowd of 44,607 to life after San Diego trailed 4-0 early.

    Drury and Josh Bell hit back-to-back homers. Manny Machado went deep late.

    The rally was similar to the one the Padres pulled off Saturday night, when they scored five runs in the seventh inning of a 5-3 victory that eliminated the 111-win Los Angeles Dodgers.

    Joe Musgrove is scheduled to start Game 3 for his hometown Padres against Ranger Suarez.

    STILL SLUMPING

    Astros star Jose Altuve, a three-time batting champion, went 0 for 3 with a walk in Game 1 against the Yankees and is 0 for 19 this postseason.

    The 2017 AL MVP hit .300 with 28 homers during the regular season.

    “Jose, he’s due to break out and have some remarkable games,” Houston manager Dusty Baker said. “This guy has been good for so long, and sometimes the rest of your lineup’s got to carry a guy like that until he gets going.”

    OFFSEASON INJURY UPDATES

    José Ramírez didn’t let a torn thumb ligament stop him from leading the Guardians during a surprising season.

    Cleveland’s All-Star third baseman played the second half — as well as the team’s playoff run that ended Tuesday in the AL Division Series — with a torn right thumb ligament that will require surgery.

    Meanwhile, the Seattle Mariners will head into the offseason with four key players needing downtime or surgery to heal injuries, including AL Rookie of the Year favorite Julio Rodríguez. The star center fielder broke his left pinkie during the Game 3 loss to Houston that ended their AL Division Series.

    The Guardians said Ramírez injured the ulnar collateral ligament in his thumb during a June game in Los Angeles. The 30-year-old could have opted for surgery, which would have sidelined him for two months, but decided to keep playing.

    He’ll have an operation in the next few weeks. Renowned hand specialist Dr. Thomas Graham will perform the surgery in Dayton, Ohio.

    The Guardians said the rehab will not significantly impact Ramírez’s offseason training or availability for next season.

    Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto said an exit exam this week revealed the injury to the 21-year-old Rodríguez, but he’s not expected to need surgery. He got hurt sliding headfirst into second base on a double in the eighth inning of what became an 18-inning marathon defeat.

    Also needing downtime to recover from injuries are Seattle catcher Cal Raleigh (left thumb) and standout reliever Andrés Muñoz (foot), while outfielder Jesse Winker has already undergone one of two operations needed to repair injuries to his left knee and neck that he dealt with during the season.

    ———

    More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports

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