TORONTO — A poor start by Jose Berrios put the Toronto Blue Jays in an early hole Tuesday night. A lack of clutch hitting later in the game proved just as costly.
Jose Abreu homered in Chicago’s four-run first inning and the White Sox held off two late-inning threats in a 5-2 win over the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.
“When you’re struggling to score runs, it is tough,” Toronto manager Charlie Montoyo said of trying to overcome an early deficit. “But one thing about this team is they don’t quit. They’re facing good pitching and we were in the game until the end.”
The Blue Jays gave up a season-high 18 hits but still sent the potential tying run to the plate in the eighth and ninth innings. Reliever Liam Hendriks got out of both jams to help end Chicago’s three-game losing skid and send Toronto (65-59) to its eighth loss in 11 games.
Luis Robert scored twice for the White Sox (73-54), who got a strong start from Dylan Cease (10-6). He gave up a solo shot to Corey Dickerson, one of just four hits allowed over his seven innings.
Berrios (8-7) struggled from the outset in his shortest start in over three years. Robert and Yoan Moncada singled before Abreu belted an 0-1 offering – just the fifth pitch of the game from Berrios — for his 26th homer of the year.
Danny Mendick added an RBI double before Berrios fanned No. 9 hitter Zack Collins to end his 33-pitch frame. Berrios lasted just two more innings before being replaced by Trent Thornton.
“I felt strong and healthy, I just didn’t execute well in that first inning,” Berrios said.
Abreu drove in another run on a groundout after the White Sox put runners on the corners in the fourth. Cease, meanwhile, retired the first 11 batters before Vladimir Guerrero Jr., singled in the bottom half of the frame.
Toronto’s first extra-base hit came in the fifth on an Alejandro Kirk double. He moved to third on a Lourdes Gurriel Jr., single but both runners were stranded when Santiago Espinal popped up.
Abreu picked up his third hit of the game an inning later but Gurriel’s strong throw from left field prevented the Chicago slugger from stretching it to a double.
Josh Palacios and Teoscar Hernandez also had an assist apiece. It was the second time in club history that all three Toronto outfielders had assists in the same game.
Dickerson turned on a 97-m.p.h. fastball in the seventh inning for his fifth home run of the season.
In the eighth, the Blue Jays threatened after one-out singles by Espinal and Bo Bichette. Hendriks replaced Michael Kopech and walked Marcus Semien to load the bases for Guerrero, who worked a full count before grounding into an inning-ending double play.
Gurriel drove in Hernandez to make it a three-run game in the ninth. With two runners on, Hendriks struck out Palacios and got Espinal to ground out to end it.
Cease fanned seven and issued one walk over his tidy 95-pitch outing. Berrios, acquired at the trade deadline from the Minnesota Twins, allowed four earned runs and nine hits while striking out six.
Toronto entered play 4 1/2 games behind the Boston Red Sox in the race for the second American League wild-card spot. The Blue Jays started the day with a 13.1-per cent chance of making the playoffs, according to FanGraphs.
The White Sox started the day with a nine-game lead on the second-place Cleveland Indians in the AL Central. Announced attendance was 14,553 and the game took three hours 12 minutes to play.
Notes: Toronto pitching coach Pete Walker was ejected by home plate umpire Mark Carlson after a mound visit in the first inning. … The White Sox reinstated utilityman Leury García from the 10-day injured list before the game and optioned right-hander Ryan Burr to triple-A Charlotte. … Outfielders Joe Carter, Devon White and Shawn Green recorded an assist apiece for Toronto against the California Angels on July 5, 1995. … The Blue Jays will send left-hander Robbie Ray (9-5, 2.79 ERA) to the mound Wednesday night against right-hander Lucas Giolito (9-9, 3.77).
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 24, 2021.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski and New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe remain undefeated in women’s doubles at the WTA Finals.
The 2023 U.S. Open champions, seeded second at the event, secured a 1-6, 7-6 (1), (11-9) super-tiebreak win over fourth-seeded Italians Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini in round-robin play on Tuesday.
The season-ending tournament features the WTA Tour’s top eight women’s doubles teams.
Dabrowski and Routliffe lost the first set in 22 minutes but levelled the match by breaking Errani’s serve three times in the second, including at 6-5. They clinched victory with Routliffe saving a match point on her serve and Dabrowski ending Errani’s final serve-and-volley attempt.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will next face fifth-seeded Americans Caroline Dolehide and Desirae Krawczyk on Thursday, where a win would secure a spot in the semifinals.
The final is scheduled for Saturday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Nov. 5, 2024.
EDMONTON – Jake Allen made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and 26th of his career as the New Jersey Devils closed out their Western Canadian road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday.
Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist and Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored for the Devils (8-5-2) who have won three of their last four on the heels on a four-game losing skid.
The Oilers (6-6-1) had their modest two-game winning streak snapped.
Calvin Pickard made 13 stops between the pipes for Edmonton.
TAKEAWAYS
Devils: In addition to his goal, Bratt picked up his 12th assist of the young season to give him nine points in his last eight games and now 15 points overall. Nico Hischier remains in the team lead, picking up an assist of his own to give him 16 points for the campaign. He has a point in all but four games this season.
Oilers: Forward Leon Draisaitl was held pointless after recording six points in his previous two games and nine points in his previous four. Draisaitl usually has strong showings against the Devils, coming into the contest with an eight-game point streak against New Jersey and 11 goals in 17 games.
KEY MOMENT
New Jersey took a 2-0 lead on the power play with 3:26 remaining in the second period as Hischier made a nice feed into the slot to Bratt, who wired his third of the season past Pickard.
KEY RETURN?
Oilers star forward and captain Connor McDavid took part in the optional morning skate for the Oilers, leading to hopes that he may be back sooner rather than later. McDavid has been expected to be out for two to three weeks with an ankle injury suffered during the first shift of last Monday’s loss in Columbus.
OILERS DEAL FOR D-MAN
The Oilers have acquired defenceman Ronnie Attard from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for defenceman Ben Gleason.
The 6-foot-3 Attard has spent the past three season in the Flyers organization seeing action in 29 career games. The 25-year-old right-shot defender and Western Michigan University grad was originally selected by Philadelphia in the third round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Attard will report to the Oilers’ AHL affiliate in Bakersfield.
UP NEXT
Devils: Host the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.
Oilers: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes threw for 291 yards and three touchdowns, and Kareem Hunt pounded into the end zone from two yards out in overtime to give the unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs a 30-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night.
DeAndre Hopkins had two touchdown receptions for the Chiefs (8-0), who drove through the rain for two fourth-quarter scores to take a 24-17 lead with 4:17 left. But then Kansas City watched as Baker Mayfield led the Bucs the other way in the final minute, hitting Ryan Miller in the end zone with 27 seconds to go in regulation time.
Tampa Bay (4-5) elected to kick the extra point and force overtime, rather than go for a two-point conversion and the win. And it cost the Buccaneers when Mayfield called tails and the coin flip was heads. Mahomes and the Chiefs took the ball, he was 5-for-5 passing on their drive in overtime, and Hunt finished his 106-yard rushing day with the deciding TD plunge.
Travis Kelce had 14 catches for 100 yards with girlfriend Taylor Swift watching from a suite, and Hopkins finished with eight catches for 86 yards as the Chiefs ran their winning streak to 14 dating to last season. They became the sixth Super Bowl champion to start 8-0 the following season.
Mayfield finished with 200 yards and two TDs passing for the Bucs, who have lost four of their last five.
It was a memorable first half for two players who had been waiting to play in Arrowhead Stadium.
The Bucs’ Rachaad White grew up about 10 minutes away in a tough part of Kansas City, but his family could never afford a ticket for him to see a game. He wound up on a circuitous path through Division II Nebraska-Kearney and a California junior college to Arizona State, where he eventually became of a third-round pick of Tampa Bay in the 2022 draft.
Two year later, White finally got into Arrowhead — and the end zone. He punctuated his seven-yard scoring run in the second quarter, which gave the Bucs a 7-3 lead, by nearly tossing the football into the second deck.
Then it was Hopkins’ turn in his first home game since arriving in Kansas City from a trade with the Titans.
The three-time All-Pro, who already had caught four passes, reeled in a third-down heave from Mahomes amid triple coverage for a 35-yard gain inside the Tampa Bay five-yard line. Three plays later, Mahomes found him in the back of the end zone, and Hopkins celebrated his first TD with the Chiefs with a dance from “Remember the Titans.”
Tampa Bay tried to seize control with consecutive scoring drives to start the second half. The first ended with a TD pass to Cade Otton, the latest tight end to shred the Chiefs, and Chase McLaughlin’s 47-yard field goal gave the Bucs a 17-10 lead.
The Chiefs answered in the fourth quarter. Mahomes marched them through the rain 70 yards for a tying touchdown pass, which he delivered to Samaje Perine while landing awkwardly and tweaking his left ankle, and then threw a laser to Hopkins on third-and-goal from the Buccaneers’ five-yard line to give Kansas City the lead.
Tampa Bay promptly went three-and-out, but its defence got the ball right back, and this time Mayfield calmly led his team down field. His capped the drive with a touchdown throw to Miller — his first career TD catch — with 27 seconds to go, and Tampa Bay elected to play for overtime.
UP NEXT
Buccaneers: Host the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
