HOMER-HAPPY JAYS REMAIN IN HUNT
Steven Matz pitched seven solid innings to win his fifth consecutive decision, Danny Jansen homered and drove in three runs, and the host Blue Jays kept their playoff hopes alive by defeating the Orioles 6-4 Friday night.
The Orioles put a scare into the Blue Jays with a four-run eighth, but closer Jordan Romano limited the damage as he got the final five outs for his 23rd save in 24 chances. Jansen hit a two-run homer off Thomas Eshelman (0-3) in the third inning, his 10th, and Corey Dickerson added a solo shot off Brooks Kriske in a four-run sixth. The Blue Jays lead the majors with 253 homers.
Matz (14-7) allowed two runs and six hits, walked one and struck out five in his longest outing of the season.
♦️ Gary Sánchez and Rougned Odor struck out with two runners on to blunt a ninth-inning rally and the host Yankees’ lead atop the AL wild-card race got tighter in a 4-3 loss to the Rays. Their edge fell to one game over the Red Sox and two games over the Blue Jays.
♦️ Hunter Renfroe and Bobby Dalbec hit back-to-back homers in a four-run sixth and the Red Sox beat the host Nationals 4-2.
♦️ Second baseman Cole Tucker made a spectacular diving catch, then hit his first career grand slam to cap an eight-run rally in the eighth inning that sent the host Pirates to a 9-2 victory over the Reds.
† Longtime ace Adam Wainwright, 40, will return to the Cardinals next season after reaching agreement on a one-year contract for 2022.
GOLF ACCURATE ZALATORIS SETS COURSE RECORD
Will Zalatoris broke the course record at Country Club of Jackson (Mississippi) with an 11-under 61 to share the lead with Nick Watney and Sahith Theegala in the Sanderson Farms Championship. Voted the PGA Tour rookie of the year despite not having full status, Zalatoris was so zeroed in that his longest putt for par was three feet.
♦️ So Yeon Ryu and Jodi Ewart Shadoff share the lead at 65 after one round of the ShopRite LPGA in Galloway, New Jersey.
MISCELLANEOUS JABEUR KNOCKS OFF TOP SEED SVITOLINA
Ons Jabeur continued her career season by upsetting top-seeded Elina Svitolina 6-4, 6-2 the quarterfinals of the WTA Chicago Fall Tennis Classic.
Jabeur, who came into the tournament ranked a career-best 16th, fell behind 4-1 in the first set before rallying for a 6-4, 6-2 victory over the sixth-ranked Svitolina. The Tunisian won her 43rd match of the year, tying her with second-ranked Aryna Sabalenka for the most on the WTA Tour.
The sixth-seeded Jabeur will play fifthseeded Elena Rybakina in the semifinals. Rybakina led Olympic gold medalist Belinda Bencic 6-4, 3-1 when Bencic retired because of a right knee injury. In the other semifinal, two-time Grand Slam champion
Garbiñe Muguruza will face 2019 French Open runner-up Marketa Vondrousova.
♦️ Clemson men’s basketball coach Brad Brownell signed a two-year contract extension that will tie him to the school through the 2025-26 season. Brownell is the program’s all-time victories leader with a 201-149 record over 11 seasons.
♦️ Fulham defender Tim Ream withdrew from the United States’ next three World Cup qualifiers for family reasons and was replaced by Nashville SC defender
Walker Zimmerman.