ST. LOUIS (AP) — Manny Machado homered and drove in three runs to back Clayton Kershaw, and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the St. Louis Cardinals 9-7 in the opener of a four-game series between playoff contenders. The Dodgers snapped a five-game losing streak against the Cardinals and moved to within one game of St. Louis for the final NL wild-card spot. The Cardinals, who went 22-6 in August, lost their second straight game and fell to 5-7 in September.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes drew raves for his four-touchdown performance in a season-opening win over the Chargers. Now Mahomes will try to help the Chiefs beat the Steelers on the road for the first time in 31 years. Mahomes says he’s not worried about his team’s spotty history against Pittsburgh. The Steelers are looking to rebound from an ugly season-opening tie in Cleveland in which they turned the ball over six times.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Andy Reid laughs and shrugs when you ask him where he draws up some of his plays. Sometimes it’s on the back of a restaurant napkin, or a scratch piece of paper on an airplane. One thing is certain: Many of them end up working.

UNDATED (AP) — Tony Gonzalez is the most accomplished tight end in NFL history. He’s now a nominee for the 2019 class of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. So is safety Ed Reed. And cornerback Champ Bailey. And linebacker London Fletcher. All are first-year eligible players among the 102 modern-era nominees. The field will be pared to 25 semifinalists in November and 15 finalists in January.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — The Big 12 is in the spotlight this week with a series of games against Power Five schools, to say nothing of Oklahoma State’s game against Boise State. The highlight is No. 15 TCU against fourth-ranked Ohio State. But whether it’s Kansas-Rutgers or Texas-Southern California, the league has a chance to make a national statement.