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SEATTLE (AP) Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and George Springer woke up Torontoâ€s offense as the Blue Jays hit five home runs to rebound from an early deficit, routing the Seattle Mariners 13-4 Wednesday night and closing to 2-1 in the AL Championship Series.

Julio Rodríguezâ€s two-run, first-inning homer off Shane Bieber put Seattle ahead and stirred thoughts of a possible sweep in the best-of-seven matchup by a team seeking its first World Series appearance/

Andrés Giménez then sparked the comeback with a tying, two-run homer in a five-run third against George Kirby.

Springer, Guerrero, Alejandro Kirk and Addison Barger also went deep as the Blue Jays totaled 2,004 feet of homers among 18 hits.

Guerrero had four hits, falling a triple short of the cycle, after going 0 for 7 as the Blue Jays lost the first two games at home.

“No one expected us to win the division, no one expected it us to be here, and I think the guys take that to heart.†Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. “I said it when we left Toronto: I hope we find some slug in the air out here. Maybe we did.â€

In the 2-3-2 format, teams that lost the first two games at home and won Game 3 on the road have captured the series three of 11 times.

A crowd of 46,471 at T-Mobile Park for Seattleâ€s first home ALCS game since 2001 saw the teams combine to match the postseason record of eight combined home runs, set by the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis in Game 3 of the 2015 NL Division Series and matched by the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston in Game 2 of the 2017 World Series.

Giménez hadnâ€t homered since Aug. 27 before his drive off a fastball from Kirby

“Really big swing to get us going,†Schneider said.

Kirby allowed eight runs, eight hits and two walks, taking the loss. All eight hits were during the first three pitches of the at-bat.

“The first couple innings I thought he was dynamite,†Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. “This is a team thatâ€s going to hurt you if you make mistakes on the plate. It looked like there were a couple that they were able to get to.â€

Kirbyâ€s run-scoring wild pitch put Toronto ahead 3-2 and Daulton Varsho followed with a two-run double.

Springer homered in the fourth, tying Bernie Williams was fourth on the career list with his 22nd postseason homer. Guerrero hit his fourth of the postseason for a 7-2 lead on the first pitch of the fifth.

Kirk added a three-run homer in the sixth and is hitting .413 (19 for 46) with eight RBIs in 14 games at T-Mobile Park.

Bieber, who got the win, pitched shutout ball after the first and wound up allowing four hits in six innings – the longest outing by a Blue Jays starter in seven postseason games.

“Obviously didnâ€t the start the way he would have wanted to, but thatâ€s pretty much who he is,†Springer said. “He can battle back from anything.â€

After the Blue Jays opened a 12-2 lead, Randy Arozarena connected in the eighth against Yariel Rodríguez for his first home run since Sept. 9 and Cal Raleigh, who led the major leagues with 60 home runs during the regular season, followed three pitches later with his third of the postseason.

Seattle RHP Luis Castillo, who pitched 1 1/3 innings of relief against Detroit in Game 5 of the Division Series, starts Thursday against RHP Max Scherzer. The 41-year-old, a three-time Cy Young Award winner, is 0-3 over eight postseason starts since the 2019 World Series opener, and hasnâ€t started a game since Sept. 24.

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A closer look at Montrealâ€s five goals in Thursdayâ€s victory over Detroit and an assessment of how many can truly be pinned on John Gibson.

The Detroit Red Wings had a troubling start to the season of Thursday as they found themselves down 3-1 early in the first period. They saw their chances in the second and third but never were able to crack the Habs defense and young goaltender Jakub Dobes. Montreal ended up prevailing 5-1 as the Red Wings were booed off the ice in their very first game of the season.

John Gibson Pulled In Red Wings Debut As Part Of 5-1 Loss To Canadiens
The Detroit Red Wings have seen it all through 100 years of history in the National Hockey League, and have delivered multiple cherished memories for their legions of fans across the world.

Every facet of the Red Wings†game came under scrutiny, the offense struggled to finish, the defense blew key assignments, and newly acquired goaltender John Gibson couldnâ€t come up with the saves Detroit needed. While the forwards generated a decent number of chances, it wouldnâ€t be fair to pin the loss solely on Gibson. Most of Montrealâ€s goals were avoidable, but defensive breakdowns turned them into easy opportunities for the Canadiens.

Take the Habs first goal for example. The Canadiens opened the scoring with a quick and efficient passing play. Brendan Gallagher, positioned along the boards, spotted a streaking Zach Bolduc breaking up the ice. After receiving a pass from defenseman Mike Matheson, Gallagher immediately sent the puck ahead into open ice, perfectly placed for Bolduc to collect.

Bolduc blew past Red Wings defenseman Travis Hamonic and forward Michael Rasmussen, creating a clean breakaway. He finished the play with a low blocker-side shot past goaltender John Gibson for the first goal.

Breakaways are difficult for any goalie to stop, but the Red Wings†defensive struggles continued on Montrealâ€s second tally. The pairing of Hamonic and Albert Johansson was again caught out of position. Johansson was caught deep in the offensive zone, allowing Canadiens forward Oliver Kapanen to slip behind him. A quick pass found a charging Alex Newhook, setting up a two-on-one rush.

Bookmark The Hockey News Detroit Red Wings team site to stay connected to the latest news, game-day coverage, and player features.

Newhook fed Kapanen across the slot, and although Gibson managed to get a piece of the shot, it wasnâ€t enough to prevent Kapanen from burying it into the open net.

“We Earned Those”: Todd McLellan Says Red Wings Deserved Fan Boos After 5-1 Loss
Throughout his first Training Camp as head coach of the Detroit Red Wings, Todd McLellan emphasized the importance of mental fortitude and responding the right way when things inevitably go wrong over the course of an 82-game season.

Montrealâ€s next two goals came off unfortunate deflections, one off Ben Chiarotâ€s stick and another off Johansson, continuing Detroitâ€s defensive woes. The fifth goal was likely the only one Gibson could have handled better. On a Canadiens power play, Cole Caufield fired a point shot that Gibson initially stopped but failed to control. The rebound kicked directly into the slot, where Juraj Slafkovsky pounced and fired it home.

Ideally, Gibson would have directed the rebound to the corner or toward the side boards, keeping it away from a dangerous netfront chance. While the shot itself was difficult to handle, better rebound control or a quicker defensive response from Detroit could have prevented the goal.

Gibson was eventually pulled for Cam Talbot in the third, who finished the game with saves on four shots. Gibson’s final stat line was just eight saves on 13 shots with five goals allowed but the game tells a very different story as many of the goals he never had a chance on.

The Red Wings management team took a big swing grabbing Gibson and he likely has more to prove than what was showed on Thursday. Thereâ€s no word yet on who will start Saturday against the Maple Leafs, but if Gibson gets the nod again, the hope is that heâ€ll have a better chance to showcase his abilities, rather than being left in no-win situations where heâ€s forced to make highlight-reel saves on odd-man rushes and breakaways.

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LOS ANGELES — Martin Necas scored two goals, Nathan MacKinnon had two assists to become the leading scorer in Avalanche history, and Colorado opened the regular season with a 4-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday night.

Sam Malinski and Artturi Lehkonen also scored during Coloradoâ€s three-goal second period. Scott Wedgewood made 24 saves during a commanding performance by the Avalanche in their first game back from their disappointing first-round playoff exit to Dallas.

Kevin Fiala scored a power-play goal with 4:53 left for the Kings, who matched the franchise records for victories and points last season before their fourth consecutive first-round playoff loss to the Edmonton Oilers.

Darcy Kuemper stopped 19 shots for Los Angeles, which made only a few changes under new general manager Ken Holland — but the defence-first club looked slow during the Avs’ second period.

Anze Kopitar began his 20th and final NHL season after the Los Angeles captain announced his impending retirement last month.

Colorado captain Gabriel Landeskog played in his first season opener since October 2021 and his first regular-season game since March 10, 2022. He missed the past three regular seasons due to multiple knee surgeries, only returning for the playoffs last April.

MacKinnon’s first assist was his 1,016th point in 871 games, pushing him past Joe Sakicâ€s 1,015 points in 870 games for the Avalanche — although Sakic scored an additional 626 points before his Quebec Nordiques moved to Denver.

This game was played exactly 30 years after the Avalanche visited the Forum in Inglewood for their first road game following relocation.

Lehkonen made it 3-0 on a rebound after Norris Trophy winner Cale Makar made a stunning drive to the net. Necas added a power-play goal in the third.

The Kings surprised their fans by wearing a previously unannounced third jersey for the game after warming up in their regular home sweaters. The new jersey is black and silver with the historic crown logo blown up into the main crest.

Avalanche: Host Mammoth on Thursday.

Kings: At Golden Knights on Wednesday.

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Sevilla thrashed Barcelona 4-1 on Sunday, ending the champions†unbeaten start in La Liga and denying them an opportunity to return to the top of the table.

Hansi Flick, Barcelonaâ€s manager, said: “Today, I have to accept this defeat, and Iâ€m looking positive, in a way. We also see the negative points in our game, which we have to change. The first half wasnâ€t good … we had no solutions to play out, it was really not good. But in the second half, the reaction, I appreciate a lot. What we did, how we played, it was really good to see.

“With this defeat, this emotion … itâ€s important that we keep it, and when we start again after the break, we will fight. We will fight for every title.â€

Sevilla took the lead in the 13th minute, after Isaac Romero went down while jostling for the ball with Ronald Araújo near Barcelonaâ€s six-yard box. Alexis Sánchez sent former Arsenal teammate Wojciech Szczesny the wrong way to convert the spot kick.

Romero doubled Sevillaâ€s lead in the 37th minute, but Marcus Rashford scored from Pedriâ€s lobbed pass to make it 2-1 just before half-time.

Barcelona had a chance to equalise when Adnan Januzaj brought down Alejandro Balde, but Robert Lewandowski fired wide from the spot in the 76th minute before José Ãngel Carmona and Akor Adams scored two late goals, as the visitors remained two points behind the leaders, Real Madrid.

“Itâ€s one of the happiest days of my life. We deserved to win from start to finish,†said José Ãngel Carmona, who scored Sevillaâ€s third goal.

The Barcelona midfielder Pedri said: “We lacked intensity, we couldnâ€t get the ball out of our half, we didnâ€t know what to do with the ball … we were never at our best. We need to improve a lot of things so that we can start winning games again after the break.â€

Celta Vigo and Atlético Madriddrew 1-1 in the late game. Atléticoledthrough a sixth-minute own goal from Carl Starfelt before Clément Lenglet was sent off five minutes before half-time. The hosts took advantage midway through the second half when Iago Aspas equalised but Celta could not find the winner.

Christian Pulisic missed a penalty as Milan had to settle for a 0-0 draw away to Juventus on Sunday, denying the visitors a return to the top of the Serie A standings.

After Napoli and Roma, along with Inter, all registered wins over the weekend, the pressure was on Milan and Juventus to keep pace at the top, leading to a cagey game.

Massimiliano Allegri was back at Juventus as an adversary, taking on the club where he won five league titles in his eight seasons in Turin, but there was no happy return for the Milan manager.

The first half brought little in the way of entertainment, but both sides did manage to create scoring opportunities, with the hosts let down by the struggling striker Jonathan David.

David had the goal at his mercy when set up by Pierre Kalulu in the box but lost his footing at the crucial moment while for Milan, Santiago Giménez continued his Serie A scoring drought.

A corner shortly after the break gave Juventus a gilt-edged chance to take the lead but the Milan keeper Mike Maignan spread himself to keep out Federico Gattiâ€s shot from point-blank range. Minutes later, Milan had their golden opportunity when Lloyd Kelly bundled over Giménez in the box but Pulisic blazed his penalty over the bar.

Second-half goals from André-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Rasmus Højlund helped Napoli battle back to earn a 2-1 home win over Genoa.

Napoliâ€s perfect start to the league campaign was ended by a 2-1 loss at Milan last weekend, and Antonio Conteâ€s side risked a second successive defeat before a spirited fightback.

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Conte opted to rest Kevin De Bruyne, for the first 50 minutes at least, after the Belgian midfielder had started all seven games this season, bringing in winger David Neres, but it was Anguissa who proved vital to Napoli.

Napoliâ€s Rasmus Højlund (centre) celebrates scoring the winner against Genoa to cap a spirited comeback. Photograph: Alessandro Garofalo/LaPresse/Shutterstock

Genoa took the lead with an audacious piece of magic from Jeff Ekhator in the 33rd minute. Brooke Norton-Cuffy rounded Mathias Olivera, took the ball into the area and squared a pass which 18-year-old Ekhator finished off with a deft back-heel strike from just inside the six-yard box.

Leonardo Spinazzola also came on and it was his cross which led to Napoliâ€s equaliser 12 minutes after the break with their first effort on target.

Genoaâ€s Johan Vásquez got to the cross ahead of Højlund but the loose ball bounced kindly for the unmarked Anguissa to pounce with a header. Then, 15 minutes from time, Anguissaâ€s shot was parried away by the keeper and this time Højlund was there to capitalise with a low strike from the edge of the six-yard box.

Roma fell behind early but came away with a 2-1 win at Fiorentina, to leave the hosts waiting for their first league win of the season.

Gian Piero Gasperiniâ€s Roma had conceded just one goal in their five league outings but it was Fiorentina who were in front in the 14th minute when a ball over the top by Hans Nicolussi Caviglia found Moise Kean. Kean twisted and turned his way towards the area before rifling a shot from outside the box into the far top corner to net his first goal of the season.

The lead lasted all of eight minutes before Artem Dovbykâ€s backheeled flick from inside the box ended with Matías Souléâ€s first-time cannoned shot from the edge of the area which left Fiorentina keeper David de Gea with no chance.

Roma took the lead on the half-hour mark from a corner. Bryan Cristante lost his marker and powered a bullet header from outside the six-yard box.

Kean had another chance before the break but this time his effort smashed off the upright and in the second half Fiorentina substitute Roberto Piccoli saw his strike from distance bounce off the crossbar.

In Ligue 1 on Sunday night, Paris Saint-Germain were held 1-1 at Lille. Nuno Mendes put the visitors ahead in the 66th minute before Ethan Mbappé scored an equaliser against his former club five minutes from time. PSG stay top with 16 points while Lille climb to seventh.

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Sep 28, 2025, 10:06 PM ET

TORONTO — The Toronto Blue Jays capped a turnaround from worst to first by holding off the New York Yankees to win the AL East on the final day of the season, their first division title in a decade and the seventh in team history.

“The job is not finished,” slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. said after a 13-4 win over the Tampa Bay Rays that clinched the division crown and secured a bye into the Division Series. “We’ve got to continue to play hard and play good baseball.”

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The Blue Jays finished 74-88 a season ago, last in the AL East and 20 games behind the first-place Yankees.

“I think everybody believed that last year was not who we were as a team,” outfielder George Springer said. “From day one of spring training you could kind of feel the vibe.”

This year, a four-game sweep over New York from June 30 to July 3 was part of a season-best 10-game winning streak that vaulted Toronto into the division lead for good.

“Once we kind of hit our stride, we didn’t think anyone could beat us,” manager John Schneider said. “This is, in my opinion, the toughest division in the game. I don’t think anyone, besides the people that are here soaking wet like me, expected us to be in this position.”

Toronto lost six of seven down the stretch, falling into a first-place tie with New York, but held onto the top spot in the American League by winning its final four games.

“We almost broke at the end but, from that point on, we didn’t break in the division,” Schneider said. “That was obviously a huge four games for us.”

The Blue Jays won eight of 13 meetings with the Yankees this season, giving them the tiebreaker after both teams finished 94-68.

Springer hit one of four Blue Jays home runs in Sunday’s rout, his latest drive in a productive season that seemed unlikely in 2024, when the 2017 World Series MVP struggled through one of the worst years of his career, hitting just .220.

“I can’t say enough about him,” Schneider said of Springer. “Fitting that his last at-bat was a home run. He’s the heart and soul of our team. He’s infectious when he plays and he’s infectious in the clubhouse.”

Toronto will face the winner of the best-of-three Wild Card Series between the Red Sox and Yankees in the ALDS, giving the Blue Jays a valuable opportunity to rest and recover while its foes battle in the Bronx this week.

Game 1 will be Saturday in Toronto, and the Blue Jays have home-field advantage throughout the AL playoffs.

Arguably no one needs the break more than shortstop Bo Bichette. The two-time AL hits leader and two-time All-Star hasn’t played since Sept. 6, when he injured his left knee in a collision with Yankees catcher Austin Wells.

“It’s kind of exactly what we needed,” Schneider said of the five-day break before the Division Series. “I hope that [Bichette] gets a chance to contribute to this. He’s been instrumental to what we’ve been doing here the last six years.”

Bichette has been hitting off a tee and throwing, but has yet to resume running.

“Every day I’m feeling better,” Bichette said. “I’ll be doing everything that I possibly can to get back.”

Toronto hasn’t won a postseason game since losing the American League Championship Series to Cleveland in 2016. The Blue Jays won wild-card berths in 2020, 2022 and 2023 but were swept by Tampa Bay, Seattle and Minnesota, respectively.

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  Bradford DoolittleSep 25, 2025, 12:49 AM ET

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  • MLB writer and analyst for ESPN.com
  • Former NBA writer and analyst for ESPN.com
  • Been with ESPN since 2013

CHICAGO — In a season with so many teams clustered in the top couple of tiers of baseball’s standings, one day can shake things up for a team. So it was on Wednesday for the Chicago Cubs, who can see their immediate future with a lot more clarity now than when the day started.

The Cubs’ 10-3 rout of the Mets didn’t change their place in the National League seeding hierarchy, but it did solidify it, an appropriate outcome on a day when Chicago’s roster appears to be taking its eventual postseason shape. It also snapped a season-worst skid.

The Cubs got production up and down their lineup while dispatching of a Mets team desperately clinging to the NL’s last playoff slot. Rookie Matt Shaw homered among his three hits, Michael Busch’s two-run homer was his 31st of the season and electric center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong scored from second base on a Clay Holmes wild pitch when the Mets righty failed to cover the plate, igniting the Wrigley Field crowd.

“Wrigley’s already got [electricity] in it, like everybody that shows up is ready to party,” Crow-Armstrong said. “So I think everybody knows that we’re getting close to October baseball, and with that feeling in the air, being able to embrace that is the most fun thing ever.”

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The Cubs’ offense has been up and down during the second half of the season, but Wednesday’s game was a reminder that when their attack is rolling, they can beat a team with power or speed.

“It’s our brand of baseball,” said Cubs starter Matthew Boyd, beneficiary of the Cubs’ onslaught. “We slugged, we scrapped across runs, we manufactured runs, we kind of did a little bit of everything. That’s the danger, the potency in this lineup, that we beat you in multiple ways.”

This all backed a solid 5â…“ innings from Boyd, who earned his 14th win of the season, allowing just two runs. For Boyd, whom the Cubs signed as a free agent last winter even though he logged just 39â…” innings last season for Cleveland, it was a fitting end to a regular season in which he started 31 times, his most since 2019.

“I get to go play in front of these fans,” Boyd said. “Like tonight, they just give you so much energy. It felt like a playoff atmosphere, but they’ve been doing that since April. I’m just so grateful for everything.”

The playoff implications were also important for the Cubs who replaced Boyd, including closer Daniel Palencia, who worked in middle relief hours after being activated from the IL.

The Cubs’ victory Wednesday night moved them 2½ games up on the Padres in the race for the fourth seed in the NL playoffs. Matt Marton-Imagn Images

Palencia, whose 22 saves lead the Cubs, retired both batters he faced, striking out one and cracking 100 mph with his fastball. Palencia had been out since Sept. 7 because of a right shoulder strain.

“We just need to get Daniel in games,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “But it was really good to get Daniel back, and he looked good.”

Palencia’s return buoys the Cubs’ bullpen days before the start of the postseason. More good roster news could be in the offing later this week. Counsell said before Wednesday’s game that the club is hoping to welcome star right fielder Kyle Tucker back to the active roster Friday, at least as a DH initially.

If that comes to pass, the Cubs’ roster will look a lot more complete than it did just one day before, when they squandered a five-run lead and fell 9-7 to the Mets for their season-worst fifth straight loss. That defeat returned the gaze of Cubs fans to the NL standings, where the San Diego Padres had moved within 1½ games of the Cubs in the race for the fourth seed — and home-field advantage when the clubs play next week in the wild-card round. Securing that spot is the Cubs’ lone remaining regular-season goal, and it’s a big one.

“I just think that’s hugely important,” Crow-Armstrong said. “We know how to play ball here. We love embracing everything that comes with this place.”

Wednesday’s win was coupled with San Diego’s loss to Milwaukee, putting the Cubs firmly in control of that race. For now, though, the Cubs remain more focused on themselves than on what the Padres are doing.

“It’s a slippery slope if you watch other teams, wanting certain situations and whatnot,” Boyd said. “We take care of our business, things will work out. All the focus, all the energy, should be focused on what we do, right?”

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