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Midwest Sports Headlines: 9/28/20

Sports

September 28th, 2020 by Ric Hanson

Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press

UNDATED (AP) — All the playoff matchups in Major League Baseball have been set. The expanded 16-team field was filled out on the final day of this pandemic-altered season. The Milwaukee Brewers got a playoff spot despite a losing record, and so did Houston. The St. Louis Cardinals also advanced with a win. The best-of-three wild-card round begins Tuesday with four American League games. In a marquee matchup, Shane Bieber of the Cleveland Indians faces Gerrit Cole of the New York Yankees. The National League games start Wednesday, when the Brewers play at Dodger Stadium. There will be no fans permitted in ballparks for the opening round.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Harrison Bader tripled and homered to help the St. Louis Cardinals clinch a postseason berth on the final day of the regular season with a 5-2 win over Milwaukee, and the Brewers also earned a playoff spot Sunday via help on the West Coast moments later. St. Louis will be the fifth seed in the NL and will open a three-game wild-card series at San Diego on Wednesday. By winning, the Cardinals avoided having to travel to Detroit for two makeup games Monday. The Brewers will be the eighth seed after the San Diego Padres beat San Francisco 5-4.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Brady Singer finished his rookie season with a stellar performance, Alex Gordon wrapped up his long Royals career with a fond farewell and Kansas City ended its season with a 3-1 win over the Detroit Tigers. Adalberto Mondesi and Ryan McBroom homered for the Royals, who finished just above the last-place Tigers in the AL Central in their first season under manager Mike Matheny.

UNDATED (AP) — The Minnesota Twins clinched baseball’s final available division title, taking the AL Central when the Chicago White Sox lost to the Cubs, 10-8. The Twins needed the Cubs to beat their crosstown rivals following Minnesota’s 5-3 loss to Cincinnati.

ATLANTA (AP) — Nick Foles replaced Mitchell Trubisky in the third quarter and tossed three touchdown passes over the final 6 1/2 minutes of the Chicago Bears’ wild 30-26 comeback win over the Falcons in Atlanta. The Bears improved to 3-0 for the first time since 2013 after becoming the latest team to rally from a huge second-half deficit versus Atlanta. The Falcons are the first team in NFL history to lose back-to-back games in which it led by 15 or more points in the final period.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Aaron Rodgers passed for 283 yards and three touchdowns, and the Green Bay Packers remained unbeaten with a 37-30 victory over the New Orleans Saints.

Stephen Gostkowski made his career-high sixth field goal of game, a 55-yarder with 1:48 left that lifted undefeated Tennessee to a 31-30 victory over the Vikings. Derrick Henry rushed for 119 yards and two third-quarter touchdowns while Ryan Tannehill passed for 321 yards for another comeback after trailing most of the game.

UNDATED (AP) — The relationship between Andy Reid and John Harbaugh grew roots in Philadelphia, and the two successful NFL coaches have remained friends despite competing against each other for supremacy in the AFC. Harbaugh used much of the knowledge he absorbed during his 10-year run as an Eagles assistant under Reid to become a successful head coach with the Baltimore Ravens. Although Reid and Harbaugh stay in close contact, communication was put on hold in the days leading up to the Monday night showdown between Reid’s defending champion Kansas City Chiefs and the Ravens, who have won 14 straight regular-season games.