Mets snap skid, beat Braves, 7-3
ATLANTA — Jacob deGrom set a career high in wins, and Dominic Smith and Gavin Cecchini each drove in two runs as the New York Mets snapped a five-game skid with a 7-3 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Saturday night. DeGrom (15-9) allowed five hits, one run and two walks in seven innings. He struck out seven while topping his personal mark of 14 victories in 2015. The Mets had lost eight straight on the road and had just four wins in their past 18 games away from Citi Field, but they led 5-0 by the fourth inning. Cecchini and Juan Lagares had RBI singles in the second, Brandon Nimmo and Asdrubal Cabrera had RBI doubles in the third and Cecchini doubled again in the fourth. Freddie Freeman hit his 27th home run of the season for Atlanta to make it 5-1 in the sixth, but the Mets tacked on two more runs in the seventh on Smith’s two-run double. The Braves had won seven of nine but they couldn’t overcome a third straight poor start by R.A. Dickey (9-10). The 42-yearold knuckleballer is 0-2 with a 10.05 ERA since beating Philadelphia on Aug. 30.
AUTO RACING
› SONOMA, Calif. — Josef Newgarden moved a step closer to his first IndyCar series title by leading a Penske parade into the season finale. Four of the five drivers still mathematically eligible to win the championship today are from Team Penske. In qualifying, they showed they have the raw speed to grab this title. But it’s Newgarden, in his first season driving for Penske, who led the charge. He’s the points leader and three times broke the track record in Saturday’s qualifying session. His final run in his Chevrolet was at 1 minute, 15.5205 seconds and gave Newgarden just the second pole position of his career. The bonus point he earned for the pole gives him a four-point lead over Scott Dixon entering today’s race, which is worth double points. Newgarden, a Nashville resident, was ecstatic after the pole-winning run and celebrated with his Penske team. He’s trying to become only the second United Statesborn driver in 11 years to win the championship. His upgrade to Penske equipment this season has led to four victories and put him in control of the championship. If he finishes higher than all the other contenders today, he wins the title. Penske drivers Will Power, Simon Pagenaud and Helio Castroneves qualified second, third and fourth. Dixon was sixth and struggled through all three qualifying sessions.
› JOLIET, Ill. — Justin Allgaier pulled away off the final restart and won the NASCAR Xfinity Series race Saturday at Chicagoland Speedway, his second win this season in the second-tier circuit. JR Motorsports had a banner day with Allgaier’s win and the official coronation of Elliott Sadler’s regular-season championship. Xfinity opens its postseason this week at Kentucky Speedway. Sadler and Allgaier were locked into the playoff field. Jeremy Clements, Cole Custer, Matt Tifft, William Byron, Ryan Reed, Brennan Poole, Daniel Hemric, Michael Annett, Blake Koch and Brendan Gaughan are the rest of the playoff drivers.