Latest from Kristie Rieken
WILD-CARD ROUNDUP
Tarik Skubal, bullpen lead Tigers to 1st playoff victory in 11 years
Tarik Skubal kept up his stellar season with a sensational playoff debut and the Detroit Tigers got to Framber Valdez early in a 3-1 win over the Houston Astros in their AL Wild Card Series opener on Tuesday.
ROUNDUP
Homer-happy Astros clinch AL West for 7th time in past 8 seasons
Jason Heyward hit a go-ahead, two-run homer and made a dazzling defensive play as the Houston Astros beat visiting Seattle 4-3 on Tuesday night to clinch their fourth consecutive AL West championship. San Diego and Cleveland also had memorable evenings.
Italy earns Olympic women's volleyball title, beating defending champ U.S. in straight sets
Italy beat the defending champion U.S. team Sunday to win gold in women's volleyball at the Paris Olympics. The victory came in straight sets, 25-18, 25-20, 25-17. The Italians ended a dominant tournament having lost just one set.
Korda ties LPGA Tour record with 5th consecutive victory, winning Chevron Championship
Nelly Korda etched her name in the LPGA Tour record books Sunday, winning her record-tying fifth straight tournament with a two-stroke victory in the Chevron Championship in The Woodlands, Texas, for her second major title.
Canada's Henderson, top-ranked Korda both one shot back in Chevron Championship
Canada's Brooke Henderson rocketed up the leaderboard and into a tie for second, being one shot off the lead at the Chevron Championship when the third round was suspended Saturday because of lightning in The Woodlands area, in Texas.
Nelly Korda chases 5th straight victory at 1st major of LPGA season
Nelly Korda hasn't really considered her place in history as she prepares to chase her fifth consecutive victory, which would tie the LPGA record, this weekend at the Chevron Championship.
Astros' Ronel Blanco no-hits Blue Jays in 8th MLB start after birth of daughter
Ronel Blanco of the Houston Astros threw the first no-hitter in the majors this season, blanking the visiting Toronto Blue Jays 10-0 on Monday night.
ROUNDUP
Mahomes, Rice lead Kansas City to wild-card win over Miami in 4th-coldest game in NFL history
Patrick Mahomes threw for 262 yards and a touchdown, had his helmet shattered when he took a hit in the second half, and proceeded to lead Kansas City to a 26-7 rout of the visiting Miami Dolphins in the fourth-coldest game in NFL history Saturday night.
ROUNDUP
Astros promote bench coach Joe Espada to manager, replacing retired Dusty Baker
Joe Espada took a leave of absence as bench coach of the Houston Astros last year to spend time with his father when he fell ill with heart complications. On Sunday, he finally gave his father the long-awaited news of his promotion to manager of the club.
SERIES TIED 3-3
Rangers thump Astros to force Game 7 against defending World Series champs
Nathan Eovaldi remained perfect this post-season, and Mitch Garver and Jonah Heim homered early before a ninth-inning grand slam by Adolis Garcia helped the visiting Texas Rangers avoid elimination with a 9-2 win over the Houston Astros in Game 6 of the AL Championship Series on Sunday night.