MLB-LDS-SCHEDULE

White Sox, Brewers and Dodgers try to stay alive

UNDATED (AP) — Houston, Atlanta and San Francisco all have a chance to wrap up their best-of-five division series with wins Tuesday.

The Los Angeles Dodgers head into Game 4 trailing rival San Francisco two games to one. The reigning World Series champions managed just five singles in Monday night’s 1-0 loss and went 0 for 4 with runners in scoring position. The formidable lineup that led the NL with 830 runs and hit 237 homers in the regular season has been shut out twice in three games against the Giants.

The Atlanta Braves can wrap up their NL Division Series against Milwaukee at home. Pinch-hitter Joc Pederson launched a three-run homer in the fifth inning Monday night, sending the Braves to their second straight 3-0 win against the Brewers. The blast made a winner out of Ian Anderson, who limited Milwaukee to three hits and no walks while striking out six over five innings. Four relievers followed with one inning of work, allowing Atlanta to complete a five-hitter. Will Smith worked the ninth for the save.

The Astros have revamped their rotation for Game 4 of the AL Division Series after a rainout Monday in Chicago. Lance McCullers Jr. will pitch instead of José Urquidy (ur-KWEE’-dee). McCullers shut out the White Sox on four hits over 6 2/3 innings in the opener. Carlos Rodón (roh-DAHN’) is scheduled to start for Chicago, with Game 1 starter Lance Lynn available out of the bullpen. Houston leads the series 2-1.

NHL-SCHEDULE

NHL season opens with two games

UNDATED (AP) — The NHL season gets underway Tuesday night with a pair of games. Tampa Bay will raise its Stanley Cup championship banner before facing Pittsburgh and the Seattle Kraken will play their first regular-season game on the road at Vegas. The games will kick off the NHL’s first full, 82-game season since 2018-19.

There will be more high-level hockey over the next nine months than ever before. With the addition of the Kraken as the NHL’s 32nd franchise, 1,312 regular-season games are set to be played before the start of the playoffs next spring. Add 30 games in Beijing as the league’s players return to the Olympics and the road to the Stanley Cup becomes a marathon.

The league will take a break in February so its players can travel to China for the Olympics.

NHL-CANADIENS-SUZUKI

Canadiens’ Suzuki gets 8-year, $63 million deal

MONTREAL (AP) — The Montreal Canadiens have signed center Nick Suzuki to an eight-year, $63 million contract extension. The deal will pay Suzuki an average annual salary of $7.875 million.

The 22-year-old led the Canadiens in playoff scoring last season with 16 points — seven goals and nine assists — in 22 games to help the team reach the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 1993.

Suzuki had 15 goals and 26 assists in 56 regular-season games. He has 28 goals and 54 assists in 127 NHL regular-season games and 11 goals and 12 assists in 32 playoff games.

NBA-NETS-IRVING

Nets say Irving won’t play until he can do it full time

NEW YORK (AP) — Kyrie Irving won’t play for the Brooklyn Nets until he can play in all their games.

The Nets announced Tuesday that Irving won’t play or practice with them until he can be a full participant, ending the idea that he would play in only road games.

Under a New York mandate, professional athletes playing for a team in the city have to be vaccinated against COVID-19 to play or practice in public venues. Without mentioning his vaccination status, general manager Sean Marks said Irving has made a decision that keeps him from being able to perform with the team.

Irving wasn’t even eligible to practice with the Nets in New York until Friday, when the city told the team that its training facility was considered a private venue. Irving then joined the team at an outdoor practice Saturday and worked out with the team Sunday, but didn’t play in Brooklyn’s exhibition game at Philadelphia on Monday.

Coach Steve Nash had said that the Nets knew they were going to be missing Irving for some games. For now, at least, it will be all of them.

NFL-GERMANY

NFL picks 3 German cities to bid for regular-season game

LONDON (AP) — The NFL has selected the cities Düsseldorf, Frankfurt and Munich to enter a final bidding stage to host a regular-season game in Germany.

Next season is the target for Germany to host its first game though it could also debut in 2023 because of potential scheduling conflicts with soccer’s World Cup in Qatar.

The NFL says the three cities have been invited to proceed to the “candidate phase” of the process. The cities will now “participate in deeper conversations about staging games in Germany.”

The NFL has played 29 regular-season games in London since 2007.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.