ATLANTA (AP) β Devin Hester set an NFL record with his 20th career return for a touchdown as the Atlanta Falcons crushed Tampa Bay 56-16. Hester brought back a punt 62 yards for a TD midway through the second quarter, breaking the previous league mark of 19 TD returns set by Deion Sanders. Matt Ryan threw for 286 yards and three touchdowns, and Julio Jones had nine receptions for 161 yards and a pair of scores.
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) β Nick Marshall threw for 231 yards and two touchdowns as fifth-ranked Auburn beat No. 20 Kansas City 20-14. The Tigers forced three turnovers and improved to 3-0 despite being held to only 130 yards, 200 below their season average. Wildcats quarterback Jake Waters had 245 passing yards but also tossed two interceptions.
ST. LOUIS (AP) β The St. Louis Cardinals still enjoy a 2 Β½-game lead over Pittsburgh in the National League Central. Tony Cruz hit a walkoff single in the 13th inning to give the Cardinals a 3-2 victory over Milwaukee, which allowed the Pirates to move 3 Β½ games ahead of the Brewers for the second NL wild-card berth. Starling Marte hit a solo homer Gerrit Cole allowed two runs and six hits in seven-plus innings as the Bucs completed a three-game sweep of Boston 3-2.
CHICAGO (AP) β Andre Ethier (EE’-thee-ur) and Dee Gordon supplied RBI doubles while the Los Angeles Dodgers put together a five-run seventh to erase a 4-1 deficit and beat the Cubs 8-4 in Chicago. Yasiel Puig (YAH’-see-ul pweeg) had three hits and singled home the go-ahead run as the Dodgers stretched their lead in the NL West to 2 Β½ games over San Francisco.
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) β Jake Smolinski was 4-for-4 and Nick Martinez allowed two runs over 5 2/3 innings as the Texas Rangers thumped Oakland 7-2 to complete their second straight three-game sweep. Smolinski lined an RBI single to spark the Rangers’ four-run first against Athletics starter and loser Sonny Gray. The A’s have dropped 15 of their last 20 to fall a half-game behind Kansas City for the AL’s first wild-card berth, and just one game ahead of Seattle for the final playoff slot.
