NFL-SCHEDULE
Steelers hosting Ravens
PITTSBURGH (AP) β This evening’s NFL game is a battle of AFC North rivals Pittsburgh and Baltimore. The game is being played on the Steelers’ home turf and the home team comes in with a big question mark at the quarterback position. Ben Roethlisberger (RAWTH’-lihs-bur-gur) will miss the game after suffering a knee injury last week and Michael Vick is getting the start. He joined the Steelers just a month ago.
Pittsburgh has won two of its first three games and is a game back of the unbeaten Bengals in the division while the Ravens are winless after three games for the first time in franchise history.
These teams know each other very well. Along with meeting twice in the regular season last year, the Steelers beat the Ravens in the AFC wildcard game in January, 30-17. Overall the Steelers lead the series 24-18. They have split the last 30 regular-season meetings with 20 of them decided by seven points or less.
BASEBALL
One division left
UNDATDED (AP) β The only undecided division in baseball is the American League West, where Texas tops Houston by 2 Β½ games and the Angels by three. Coming up tonight, the Rangers are hosting the Angels in the first of a four-game series to finish the regular season while the Astros are off. They open up a season-ending three-game series at Arizona on Friday.
The American League’s second wildcard spot is still up for grabs and the Angels are battling the Astros for the position. Houston has a half-game lead over the Angels while the Twins are 1 Β½ games back of the second spot.
There are several day games on the schedule and in Baltimore the newly crowned AL East champion Blue Jays conclude things with the Orioles. David Price, the outstanding mid-season acquisition of the Jays, takes a 9-1 record with a 2.30 earned run average into the game in his 11 starts since joining the team. This will be his final start of the regular season.
The NL East champion Mets are in Philadelphia this afternoon while the NL West champion Dodgers are in San Francisco. The remaining day games feature the playoff-bound Cubs in Cincinnati and the Padres home to the Brewers.
The most important game of the night has the Twins playing the Indians in Cleveland. Minnesota continues to hold out hope of a spot in the playoffs as they keep playing for the second wildcard spot.
The remaining games tonight feature the Yankees entertaining the Red Sox, Miami at Tampa Bay, the Nationals in Atlanta, the White Sox home to the Royals and the Rockies at Arizona.
