WORLD SERIES
Royals are Bum-med out
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) β Madison Bumgarner was fantastic in Game 1 of the World Series last Tuesday. He was even better Sunday night as the San Francisco Giants took a three-games-to-two lead over Kansas City in the Fall Classic.
Bumgarner tossed the first World Series shutout in 11 years, allowing four hits while striking out eight in the Giants’ 5-0 shutout of the Royals. No Giants pitcher had tossed a shutout in a World Series game since Jack Sanford in 1962. Florida’s Josh Beckett was the last pitcher to throw one, beating the Yankees to win the 2003 World Series.
Bumgarner now has the inside track on the series MVP after allowing just one run and seven hits over 16 innings in his two starts. He scattered three hits in seven innings of the Giants’ series-opening win against the Royals.
Bumgarner is 4-0 in four career World Series starts, allowing one run in 31 innings for a microscopic 0.29 ERA.
Brandon Crawford had two hits and three RBIs to lead the Giants’ offense. He drove in the first two runs with a second-inning grounder and an RBI single in the fourth. It remained 2-0 until the eighth, when pinch-hitter Juan Perez hit a two-run double and scored on Crawford’s single.
Losing pitcher James Shields allowed two runs and eight hits in six innings. Shields is 0-2 with a 7.00 ERA in the series.
The loss does come with a silver lining for the Royals. The only other time they were shut out in a World Series game was 1985, when John Tudor helped the Cardinals take a three-games-to-one lead. Kansas City came back to win the last three games and their only championship
The Giants can clinch their third World Series title in five years as early as Tuesday in Kansas City. Jake Peavy will take the mound for San Francisco against Yordano Ventura.
MLB-CARDINALS/TAVERAS OBIT
Taveras dies in car crash
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) β St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Oscar Taveras has died in a car accident Sunday in his native Dominican Republic.
The 22-year-old Taveras made his major league debut this year, hitting .239 with three homers and 22 RBIs in 80 games for the NL Central champions. He was considered the team’s top hitting prospect when he was recalled.
NFL-SCHEDULE
Cardinals win thriller against Eagles
UNDATED (AP) β The Pittsburgh Steelers have their first winning streak of the season following Ben Roethlisberger’s (RAWH’-lis-bur-gurz) record-setting performance in a 51-34 win over Indianapolis.
Roethlisberger set franchise records with 522 passing yards and six touchdowns, with three TDs coming in the Steelers’ 28-point second quarter. The yardage total was the fourth highest in NFL history and made him the first quarterback to go over 500 passing yards more than once.
Roethlisberger completed 40 of his 49 passes without an interception for the 5-3 Steelers. Antonio Brown had 10 catches for 133 yards, Heath Miller rolled up 112 receiving yards and Le’Veon Bell had 92 yards on 24 carries for the 5-3 Steelers.
The Colts ended a five-game winning streak and dropped to 5-3 while Andrew Luck threw for 400 yards, three touchdowns but two interceptions.
The best finish of the day was in Tempe, Arizona, where Carson Palmer heaved a 75-yard touchdown pass to John Brown with 1:21 remaining before the Cardinals held off a late drive to beat the Philadelphia Eagles 24-20. Palmer’s game-winning throw came just 35 seconds after Cody Parkey hit a 20-yard field goal to put the Eagles ahead. Philadelphia was forced to settle for the short field goal after the Cardinals staged a successful goal-line stand.
The Eagles came close to pulling out the victory, driving 64 yards to the Arizona 16 before Nick Foles threw into the end zone on the final play. Jordan Matthews caught the ball out of bounds, leaving the Cardinals 6-1 and dropping the Eagles to 5-2.
Palmer threw for 329 yards and two touchdowns, while Larry Fitzgerald had seven receptions for 160 yards and a TD.
Foles threw 62 passes, completing 36 for 411 yards, two touchdowns to Jeremy Maclin and two interceptions.
Also in the NFL:
β Seattle was in danger of suffering their third straight loss and falling to 3-4 until Russell Wilson tossed a 23-yard scoring strike to Luke Willson with 47 seconds left to lift the Seahawks past Carolina 13-9. Wilson finished 20 of 32 for 199 yards with one interception and the one touchdown to Willson on a seam route. The Panthers held the defending Super Bowl champions in check before Wilson led a nine-play, 80-yard drive for the only touchdown. Cam Newton was 12 of 27 for 121 yards with an interception and a fumble for the 3-4-1 Panthers.
β Andy Dalton atoned for a pair of fourth-quarter turnovers by scoring on a one-yard sneak with 57 seconds left in Cincinnati’s 27-24 win over Baltimore. The drive was highlighted by Dalton’s 53-yard pass to Mohamed Sanu (sah-NOO’), who finished with five receptions for a career-high 125 yards. Dalton was 21 of 28 for 266 yards with an interception, a fumble and two sacks as the Bengals moved into the AFC North lead at 4-2-1, percentage points ahead of the 5-3 Ravens. The Bengals wasted an 11-point lead as Dalton’s fumble and interception helped the Ravens pull ahead 24-20 with 3:59 left.
β Matt Prater hit a 48-yard field goal as time expired to complete Detroit’s comeback in a 22-21 win over Atlanta in London. The Lions trailed 21-0 at halftime before improving to 6-2 and dropping the Falcons to 2-6. Matthew Stafford finished with 325 yards passing, completing 24 of 47 attempts for two touchdowns and one interception. The Lions held Matt Ryan to 66 passing yards after he threw for 160 and two TDs in the first half.
β The Lions took over the NFC North lead when the Green Bay Packers were crushed by New Orleans 44-23, leaving the Saints 3-4. Drew Brees (breez) completed all but five of his 32 passes for 311 yards and three touchdowns. Mark Ingram shredded the Packers’ line, reeling off 172 yards and scoring one TD on 24 carries. Aaron Rodgers had 418 passing yards and was picked off twice while throwing for just one touchdown for the 5-3 Packers.
β Tom Brady was terrific in New England’s 51-23 romp over Chicago, completing 30 of his 35 passes for 354 yards and five touchdowns. He threw three scoring passes to Rob Gronkowski and one each to Tim Wright and Brandon LaFell as the Patriotsd won their fourth in a row to improve to 6-2. The 3-5 Bears fell behind 45-7 early in the second half and lost for the fourth time in five games. Chicago quarterback Jake Cutler finished with 20 completions in 30 attempts for 227 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.
β Buffalo’s Kyle Orton threw just 17 times and still tied a career high with four touchdown passes as the Bills crushed the New York Jets 43-23. Sammy Watkins had three receptions for 157 yards and a touchdown to help the Bills improve to 5-3 and hand the Jets their seventh straight loss. Jets quarterbacks Geno Smith and Michael Vick combined for six turnovers, with Smith throwing three interceptions in the first 10 Β½ minutes before he was benched.
β The Chiefs are kings of Missouri after Jamaal Charles ran for a pair of TDs and Knile Davis returned a kick 99 yards for another touchdown in Kansas City’s 34-7 rout of St. Louis. Alex Smith was 24 of 28 for 226 yards passing, and Davis capped a run of 34 unanswered points with a short touchdown run in the fourth quarter. Justin Houston recorded three sacks while the 4-3 Chiefs were holding Austin Davis to 160 yards, one touchdown, an interception and seven sacks. The 2-6 Rams didn’t score after Davis threw a TD pass to Lance Kendricks on the opening series.
β Cleveland is 4-3 after scoring a pair of four-quarter touchdowns to beat the Raiders 23-13 in Oakland. The Browns led just 9-6 until Brian Hoyer threw a four-yard scoring strike to Andrew Hawkins with 14:17 remaining. Ben Tate added a five-yard touchdown run for the Browns, who won despite just 39 yards on 25 carries. Hoyer was 19 of 28 for 275 yards.
β Miami returned a pair of Blake Bortels interceptions for touchdowns, which proved to be the difference in the Dolphins’ 27-13 triumph at Jacksonville. Louis Delmas went 81 yards for the first pick Brent Grimes scampered 22 yards for the second to put the Dolphins ahead 17-3 early in the third quarter. Ryan Tannehill completed 16 of 29 passes for 196 yards, including a TD that put the Dolphins ahead 24-6. The Jaguars’ biggest bright spot was Denard Robinson, who ran for 108 yards to become the first Jacksonville player in three years to top the century mark.
β Minnesota ended a three-game skid as Anthony Barr returned a fumble 27 yards for a touchdown on the first play from scrimmage in overtime to push the Vikings past Tampa Bay 19-13. The 3-5 Vikings extended the game on Blair Walsh’s 38-yard field goal with 17 seconds left in regulation. Bridgewater threw for 241 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions to improve to 2-2 as an NFL starter.
β Arian Foster ran for 151 yards and scored three touchdowns as Houston downed Tennessee 30-16 to end a three-game skid. Foster topped 100 yards rushing in his fourth straight game. J.J. Watt had two sacks and forced a fumble to help the Texans even their record at 4-4.
NHL-SCHEDULE
Sharks end Ducks’ win streak at 7…Kings complete perfect homestand
UNDATED (AP) β A pair of streaks ended in the San Jose Sharks’ 4-1 win over the Anaheim Ducks. The Sharks halted their four-game losing streak and stopped the Ducks’ seven-game winning streak.
Joe Pavelski and Tommy Wingels scored power-play goals, while Patrick Marleau and Logan Couture (koo-CHOOR’) had two assists apiece. Antti Niemi (AN’-tee nee-EH’-mee) stopped 33 shots and blanked the Ducks until Matt Beleskey scored with 5:07 remaining.
Elsewhere in the NHL:
β Jeff Carter and Tyler Toffoli (tah-FOH’-lee) each had a goal and three assists as Los Angeles downed Columbus 5-2 to complete a 6-0 homestand. Tanner Pearson notched a pair of third-period goals for the Kings.
β Scott Darling stopped 32 shots in his NHL debut to lead Chicago’s 2-1 win over Ottawa, ending the Blackhawks’ two-game skid. Patrick Kane assisted on Jonthan Toews’ (tayvz) goal for his 500th NHL point.
β Vancouver scored three times in a 1:47 span of the second period before completing a 4-2 victory against Washington. Henrik Sedin (she-DEEN’) tied it with a power-play goal late in the second before Nick Bonino and Luca Sbisa (suh-BIH’-sah) tallied 25 seconds apart to put the Canucks ahead 3-1.
β Winnipeg beat Colorado 2-1 on Bryan Little’s goal at 4:35 of overtime. Andrew Ladd provided a goal and an assist, and Ondrej Pavelec (AHN’-dray PAV’-lehk) finished with 22 saves.
T25-POLL
No change at the top
UNDATED (AP) β Mississippi State remains the No. 1 team in The Associated Press Top-25 poll. The Bulldogs received 46 first-place votes while second-ranked Florida State got the remaining 14. Completing the first five are Alabama, Auburn and Oregon.
The second five this week consists of Notre Dame, Mississippi, Michigan State, Georgia and TCU.
NASCAR-QUALIFYING
A 1-2 finish for Hendrick
RIDGEWAY, Va. (AP) β Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon capped an emotional week for Hendrick Motorsports by finishing 1-2 in the Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 at Martinsville Speedway.
Earnhardt claimed his fourth win of the Sprint Cup season, one week after he was eliminated from the Chase for the championship. Gordon had the best finish among the eight remaining contenders for the Sprint Cup title.
The strong performances by Hendrick come on the 10-year anniversary weekend of the fatal plane crash that killed owner Rick Hendrick’s son and nine others aboard.
Chase driver Ryan Newman was third, and Tony Stewart finished fourth. Chase drivers Joey Logano and Matt Kenseth were fifth and sixth.
PGA-McGLADREY CLASSIC
Playoff win for Streb
ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. (AP) β Robert Streb earned his first PGA Tour win by closing with a 7-under 63 and making a 4-foot birdie putt on the second playoff hole in the McGladrey Classic. He won a three-man playoff over Brendon de Jonge and Will MacKenzie. The win sends Streb to the Masters in April. The 27-year-old from Oklahoma has never played in a major.
CHAMPIONS TOUR-SAN ANTONIO
Allen overtakes Dawson to win Champions Tour event
SAN ANTONIO (AP) β Michael Allen closed with a 6-under 66 to overtake Marco Dawson and capture the Champions Tour’s AT&T Championship in San Antonio.
Allen finished 15-under to beat Allen by two strokes after opening the final round three shots back. Dawson closed with a 1-under 71.
Woody Austin was three shots back and one ahead of Scott Hoch (hohk) and Tom Pernice (pur-NEES’) Junior.
LPGA TOUR
Event final delayed to Monday
HAINAN ISLAND, China (AP) β The final round of the LPGA event in China has been suspended and play will resume Monday.
When it resumes, Lee-Anne Pace will have a four-shot lead after 13 holes of play. American Michelle Wie (wee) stands in second place with fellow American Jessica Korda and Caroline Masson, five shots off the pace.
TENNIS-WTA FINALS
Williams wins
SINGAPORE (AP) β Serena Williams got some revenge in the WTA Finals at Singapore. She had been beaten by Simona Halep (HAL’-ehp) earlier in the tournament, but in the final roared to a 6-3, 6-love win. The loss to the Romanian player was the most lopsided for Williams in 16 years.
She won 11 of the last 12 games in the match to join Martina Navratilova (nah-vrah-tih-LOH’-vuh) and Steffi Graf (grahf) as the only players to win five titles in the season-ending championships.
