ST. LOUIS (AP) — Yadier Molina pushed the St. Louis Cardinals to a deciding Game 5 of the NL Division Series, poking a tying single in the eighth inning and lifting a sacrifice fly in the 10th to beat the Atlanta Braves 5-4. Molina slung his bat far into the outfield after his winner, and the packed crowd at Busch Stadium roared. Game 5 will be Wednesday back in Atlanta. The Cardinals will have ace Jack Flaherty on the mound, and the Braves will go with Mike Foltynewicz.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs did to themselves Sunday night what rivals have been trying to do for the better part of two years: They slowed themselves down. In what became a 19-13 loss to the Colts, the Chiefs committed 11 penalties for a whopping 125 yards to spoil a nip-and-tuck game that wasn’t decided until the fourth quarter. Next up is red-hot Houston, fresh off a 53-32 romp over the Falcons.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas freshman Roschon Johnson has gone from an emergency option in the offense to the team’s most reliable tailback. Johnson was recruited as a quarterback and was No. 3 on the depth chart when he moved to running back because the position was decimated by injuries. He’d shown flashes of promise early, then broke out with 121 yards on 21 carries last week in a win at West Virginia. He says his plan is to eventually return to quarterback. No. 11 Texas plays No. 6 Oklahoma in Dallas on Saturday.
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — A year ago, Oklahoma defensive coordinator Mike Stoops brought a shaky defense into the rivalry game with Texas. He was fired the day after a 48-45 loss to the Longhorns. This year, things appear to have changed under new defensive coordinator Alex Grinch. The Sooners are allowing just 19 points per game and have held their past four opponents to 20 or fewer points heading into the annual showdown with Texas.
WACO, Texas (AP) — Baylor starting quarterback Charlie Brewer has been cleared to play for the No. 22 Bears. While Brewer is good after taking a hard hit in a win at Kansas State, starting left tackle Connor Galvin will be out 4-6 weeks after getting injured early in that game. Baylor is 5-0 this season and ranked for the first time. The Bears play Texas Tech on Saturday.
National Headlines
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The New York Yankees have completed a playoff sweep of the Minnesota Twins and will advance to AL Championship Series. Gleyber Torres got New York going with a second-inning home run and scored on each of his two doubles, giving Luis Severino sufficient support and fueling the Yankees to a 5-1 victory over Minnesota.
WASHINGTON (AP) _ Max Scherzer’s season-saving, seven-inning pitching performance and Ryan Zimmerman’s three-run homer lifted the wild-card Washington Nationals to a 6-1 victory over the league-best Los Angeles Dodgers to force a deciding Game 5 in their NL Division Series. They will face off on Wednesday in Los Angeles.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) _ The Tampa Bay Rays cut their AL Division Series deficit to 2-1 with 10-3 romp over the Houston Astros. Former Astros hurler Charlie Morton allowed one run and three hits while striking out nine over five innings. Astros manager AJ Hinch announced after the game that Houston will start Justin Verlander on three days of rest in Game 4 of the best-of-five matchup at Tropicana Field on Tuesday. Tampa Bay will use Diego Castillo as an opener.
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) _ Matt Breida ran 83 yards for a touchdown on San Francisco’s first play from scrimmage, Baker Mayfield was harassed into his worst game as a pro, and the 49ers stayed unbeaten for their best start in nearly 30 years, beating the Cleveland Browns 31-3 Monday night. San Francisco, now 4-0, joined the 5-0 New England Patriots as the only remaining undefeated teams in the NFL. It’s the first time the 49ers have won their first four games since 1990.
Monday Scores
AMERICAN LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
Final Tampa Bay 10 Houston 3
Final N-Y Yankees 5 Minnesota 1
NATIONAL LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
Final St. Louis 5 Atlanta 4 (10 Innings)
Final Washington 6 L-A Dodgers 1
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
Final San Francisco 31 Cleveland 3