NLCS-BRAVES/DODGERS

Braves win first pennant in 22 years

ATLANTA (AP) — The World Series matchup is set after the Atlanta Braves captured their first National League pennant since 1999.

Eddie Rosario unloaded a tiebreaking, three-run homer in the fourth inning before the Braves’ bullpen made the lead stand up in a 4-2 win over the Dodgers in Game 6. Rosario set an Atlanta franchise record and became only the fifth player in baseball history to record 14 hits in a postseason series.

Rosario’s blast chased Walker Buehler, who surrendered seven hits and three walks over four frames. Buehler started in place of Max Scherzer, who was scratched from the start late Friday night.

Austin Riley doubled home the game’s first run in the opening frame, but the Dodgers tied it on Cody Bellinger’s RBI single in the fourth.

Will Smith worked a 1-2-3 ninth for his fourth save of the postseason after a brilliant relief stint by winner Tyler Matzek, who escaped a huge jam in the seventh by striking out the side.

The Braves will head to Houston for Game 1 of the World Series Tuesday night against the Astros.

T25 FOOTBALL-SCHEDULE

Cincinnati, Oklahoma barely stay unbeaten

UNDATED (AP) — The nation’s second and third-ranked teams struggled on Saturday before remaining unbeaten.

Arquon Bush picked off a pass with 25 seconds remaining to secure second-ranked Cincinnati’s 27-20 victory at Navy.

The 7-0 Bearcats appeared in control until the Midshipman scored a touchdown and recovered the onside kick with 48 seconds remaining.

Desmond Ridder threw for 176 yards and two touchdowns. Jerome Ford’s 43-yard touchdown run made it 20-10 in the third quarter as the Bearcats scored on four straight possessions.

Third-ranked Oklahoma overcame a sluggish first half by outscoring Kansas, 35-13 in the second of a 35-23 win over the Jayhawks.

Caleb Williams threw for two touchdowns and ran 40 yards for a score on a pivotal fourth down play. A 66-yard run by Trevon West set up the Sooners’ go-ahead TD early in the fourth quarter.

Jason Bean passed for 246 yards and a score for Kansas, which led 17-7 late in the third quarter before Oklahoma moved to 8-0.

Illinois completed an upset as Casey Washington caught a 2-point conversion pass from Brandon Peters to end the first nine-overtime game in NCAA history, a 20-18 victory for the Illini against seventh-ranked Penn State. The teams exchanged field goals in the first two overtimes, then began to alternate 2-point attempts in the third OT as part of a format tweaked ahead of the 2021 season.

Chase Brown and Josh McCray combined for 365 rushing yards and a touchdown for Illinois.

The eighth-ranked team also suffered an upset as Brock Purdy threw for 307 yards and two touchdowns to help Iowa State beat Oklahoma State, 24-21. Breece Hall scored the go-ahead touchdown with 5:29 left, then the Cyclones’ defense forced a three-and-out and stopped the Cowboys on fourth down with 1:09 left.

Purdy completed 27 of 33 passes, and Xavier Hutchinson had a career-best 12 catches for 125 yards and two touchdowns for the Cyclones.

In other top-25 finals:

— Bryce Young threw for two touchdowns and ran for two others in fourth-ranked Alabama’s romp over Tennessee, 52-24. Young was 31 of 43 for 371 yards and turned five of his scrambles into TDs or first downs. Brian Robinson ran for 107 yards and three touchdowns for the Crimson Tide, who scored 21 points in the first six-plus minutes of the fourth quarter.

— C.J. Stroud threw four touchdown passes and TreVeyon Henderson scored three times in leading No. 5 Ohio State to a 54-7 rout at Indiana. The Buckeyes scored the final 37 points of the first half, allowing coach Ryan Day to pull his starters after three quarters.

— Blake Corum and Hassan Haskins combined for 229 yards rushing and four touchdowns as sixth-ranked Michigan took care of Northwestern, 33-7. Corum finished with 119 yards rushing and two touchdowns for the Wolverines. Haskins ran for 110 yards and two scores. Michigan outscored the Wildcats, 23-0 over the first 17 minutes of the second half.

— No. 10 Oregon was a 34-31 winner over UCLA as Travis Dye became the first player in Football Bowl Subdivision history to score touchdowns on four consecutive carries. Dye finished with 35 yards on 14 carries for the Ducks, who trailed 14-0. Anthony Brown had 381 yards of total offense for the 6-1 Ducks.

— Matt Corral (koh-RAL’) threw for a touchdown and ran for another while 12th-ranked Mississippi scored 31 straight points in a 31-17 victory against LSU. The Rebels had 470 yards of total offense against the Tigers, LSU’s first game since it was learned that head coach Ed Orgeron would leave at the end of the season.

— Kyren Williams ran for a season-high 138 yards and two short touchdowns on 25 carries in Notre Dame’s 31-16 victory against Southern Cal. Williams had a 1-yard run late in the third quarter to put the 13th-ranked Irish up 24-3 en route to their fourth straight victory in the 92-game series.

— No. 16 Wake Forest won a shootout as Sam Hartman threw for a career-high 458 yards and five touchdowns in a 70-56 win against Army. Hartman also ran for a TD and had scoring passes of 41, 54 and two of 75 yards as he matched the Michie (MY’-kee) Stadium record for touchdown throws.

— Ainias (ay-NEE’-ahs) Smith had a 95-yard punt return for a touchdown and Jalen Wydermyer added two TD catches as No. 17 Texas A&M clobbered South Carolina, 44-14. The star rushing duo of Isaiah Spiller and Devone Achane combined for 256 yards and two touchdowns.

— Miami posted a 31-30 victory against No. 18 N.C. State as Tyler Van Dyke passed for 325 yards and four touchdowns. Charleston Rambo had two scoring receptions and Jaylan Knighton totaled 166 total yards, 83 apiece on the ground and through the air.

— Kaegun Williams and Chance Bell ran for touchdowns and 22nd-rated San Diego State withstood Air Force’s comeback bid to win, 20-14.

— Kenny Pickett threw for 302 yards and two touchdowns as 23rd-ranked Pittsburgh topped Clemson, 27-17.

— Frank Harris threw two touchdown passes to Zakhari Franklin and No. 24 UTSA celebrated its first national ranking with a 45-16 victory over Louisiana Tech.

— Chez Mellusi ran for 149 yards and a touchdown, while Braelon Allen had 140 yards on the ground and two scores to help Wisconsin beat No. 25 Purdue, 30-13.

NBA-SCHEDULE

Cavs top Hawks

UNDATED (AP) — Evan Mobley showed why the Cleveland Cavaliers took the Southern Cal product with the third overall pick in this year’s NBA draft.

Mobley had 17 points and 11 rebounds to help the Cavs rally for their first win of the season, 101-95 versus the Hawks. He scored seven points during a 21-0 run that put Cleveland ahead 67-58 in the third.

Ricky Rubio had 23 points and eight assists for the Cavaliers, who trailed by 13 in the second quarter before avoiding an 0-3 start.

Checking out Saturday’s other NBA action:

— The Bucks were 121-111 winners at San Antonio as Khris Middleton scored 28 points and Giannis Antetokounmpo (YAH’-nihs an-teh-toh-KOON’-poh) added 21.

— CJ McCollum’s 28 points led the Trail Blazers to a 134-105 victory over the Suns.

— Ja (jah) Morant led five starters in double figures with 28 points in the Grizzlies’ 120-114 downing of the Clippers.

— Karl-Anthony Towns scored 15 of his 25 points in the first quarter of the Timberwolves’ 96-89 victory against the Pelicans.

— The Mavericks rallied from an early 14-point deficit as Luka Doncic (DAHN’-chihch) contriibuted 27 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds in their 103-95 victory at Toronto.

— Oshae Brissett scored 18 points, including the go-ahead inside basket in overtime, as the Pacers outlasted the Heat, 102-91.

— DeMar DeRozan dropped in 21 points and Nikola Vucevic (nih-KOH’-lah VOO’-cheh-vihch) added 15 with 18 rebounds to lead the Bulls’ easy 97-82 verdict over the Pistons.

NHL-SCHEDULE

Rangers rally late, beat Sens

UNDATED (AP) — The New York Rangers put together a late three-goal flurry in earning their fourth straight win.

Chris Kreider, Ryan Lindgren and Barclay Goodrow scored in the final six minutes to turn the Rangers’ 2-0 deficit into a 3-2 victory at Ottawa. Alexandar Georgiev (GYOHR’-gee-ehv) made 26 saves and Goodrow provided the game-winner with 2:03 remaining.

Elsewhere on NHL ice:

— Vancouver spoiled Seattle’s first-ever home game as Bo Horvat scored twice and Conor Garland had a goal and an assist as the Canucks doubled up the Kraken, 4-2.

— Jonathan Huberdeau (HOO’-bur-doh) scored twice, including the go-ahead goal in the third period of the Panthers’ season-opening fifth straight win, 4-2 versus the Flyers.

— Ilya Sorokin (EEL‘-yah sah-ROH’-kihn) stopped 26 shots and Brock Nelson furnished a goal and an assist in the Islanders’ 3-0 shutout of the winless Coyotes.

— Drew O’Connor tallied twice and Marcus Pettersson provided a goal and two assists for the Penguins in a 7-1 thrashing of the Maple Leafs.

— Cale Makar collected two assists in regulation and scored in the sixth round of the shootout to give the Avalanche a 4-3 decision over the Lightning.

— Calgary wasted a 3-0 lead before Elias (eh-LEE’-uhs) Lindholm completed his second career hat trick with a one-timer 2:46 into overtime, sending the Flames past the Capitals, 4-3.

— Vincent Trochek (TROH’-chehk) scored twice and the Hurricanes moved to 4-0 with a 5-1 win at Columbus.

— The Wild are 4-0 after Ryan Hartman scored with 12.1 seconds showing on the clock in overtime, giving Minnesota a 2-1 victory against the Ducks.

— The Blues rolled to a 7-3 win over the Kings behind David Perron’s (peh-RAHNZ’) three goals and an assist.

— Paul Stastny (STAS’-nee) scored twice and Kristian Vesalainen (veh-sah-LAY’-nehn) netted his first NHL goal in the Jets’ 6-4 decision over the Predators.

— The Devils came away with a 2-1 win over the Sabres on Pavel Zacha’s (ZAH’-kahz) goal at 3:09 of OT.

— The Canadiens’ season-opening, five-game losing streak is over after Mathieu Perreault had a hat trick in a 6-1 rout of the Red Wings.

NHL-NEWS

3 players miss practice due to COVID-19 protocol

CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago Blackhawks star Patrick Kane, forward Ryan Carpenter and defenseman Erik Gustafsson missed practice Saturday because of the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol.

The announcement doesn’t necessarily mean that any of the players tested positive. General manager Stan Bowman said during training camp that the team was 100% vaccinated.

Chicago hosts the Red Wings Sunday night.

PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS-DOMINION CLASS

Flesch leads through 36

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Steve Flesch birdied the par-4 18th hole for a 5-under 67 and a two-stroke lead over Bernhard Langer and Steven Alker through two rounds of the Dominion Energy Charity Classic, the first of three PGA Tour Champions playoff events.

Flesch reached 13-under 131 with his second straight bogey-free round on The Country Club of Virginia’s James River Course in Richmond. He has played the back nine in 9 under.

Langer shot a 67 and Alker followed his opening-round 63 with a 2-under 70.

PGA-ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP

Masters champion Matsuyama wins by 5 shots in Japan

CHIBA, Japan (AP) — Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama (hih-DEH’-kee maht-soo-YAH’-mah) had three birdies in five holes on the back nine and eagled the 18th for good measure for a five-stroke victory at the PGA Tour’s Zozo Championship.

Matsuyama finished with a 65 and a 15-under total of 265. It was his seventh PGA Tour victory and first in his native Japan.

Americans were tied for second at 10-under: Brendan Steele shot 66 and Cameron Tringale 69. Tringale trailed Matsuyama by two strokes going to the 18th hole but the Japanese player’s eagle and the American’s bogey made it a five-shot cushion.

The PGA Tour’s only stop on the Asia swing has attracted only three of the top 20 players in the world rankings.

In 2019, Tiger Woods won the inaugural Zozo Championship, the first-ever PGA Tour event in Japan. Last year the tournament was moved to California due to COVID-19 restrictions.

LPGA-SOUTH KOREA

Jin Young Ko wins LPGA South Korea, set to move to No 1

BUSAN, South Korea (AP) — Jin Young Ko birdied her first playoff hole with fellow South Korean player Hee Jeong Lim to win the BMW Ladies Championship.

The LPGA Tour said Ko is projected to become world No. 1 with the win, overtaking American Nelly Korda. Ko was No. 1-ranked from July 20, 2019, to June 27, 2021, a streak of 100 consecutive weeks, and was also world No. 1 for 12 weeks in early 2019.

It was Ko’s 11th career LPGA win. Lim led by four strokes going into the final round but Ko’s 8-under 64 moved her to 22-under 266, level with Lim after Lim’s final-round 68.