The Rays strike back to even up the ALCS

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The Rays strike back to even up the ALCS

Wed, Oct 14, 2026 ·

10 min read

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📸 Pics du jour

⚾️ St. Petersburg, Florida

The Rays beat the Guardians , 3-1, on Tuesday to draw even in the ALCS behind another gem from Freddy Peralta (6 IP, 6 K, 0 R) and an uncharacteristic blunder from José Ramírez, who booted a two-out grounder in the fourth inning that ultimately led to all three of Tampa Bay's runs.

A tale of two seasons:Peralta, a Cy Young contender last year in Milwaukee, was terrible in his first (and surely only) season with the Mets, pitching to a 4.99 ERA in 22 starts before being traded to Tampa at the deadline. He went 5-2 with a 3.25 ERA for the Rays in the regular season and has now allowed just 1 ER through 10.2 excellent postseason innings.

⚽️ Chester, Pennsylvania

The USWNT fought back for a 2-2 draw against top-ranked Spain, erasing an 0-2 halftime deficit behind a 49th-minute goal from Ashley Sanchez and an 86th-minute equalizer from Mallory Swanson — her first national team goal as a new mom.

Down, but not out:This was the first time ever that the USWNT avoided defeat despite trailing by multiple goals at half. Should they find themselves in a rematch with La Roja during next summer's World Cup in Brazil, they'll surely draw from the resilience they displayed in this one.

🏒 Columbus, Ohio

Brady Tkachuk scored his first three goals as a Panther in epic fashion, recording a natural hat trick in a span of eight minutes during a 7-3 rout of the Blue Jackets. And here's the kicker: Brady's brother, Matthew, assisted on all three goals! All in, the Tkachuks combined for nine points, tied for the most in game by brothers playing on the same team since 1985.

Goal-scoring frenzy:The fourth annual Frozen Frenzy featured 112 goals , just two shy of the most on a single day in NHL history. The 222 players with at least one point set a new NHL single-day record.

💯 Big Numbers

⚾️ 2-0

The Brewers are the 17th pre-series betting underdog to take a 2-0 lead in a League Championship Series since the round expanded to seven games in 1985. And if history is any indication, the Dodgers could be in trouble, as 13 of the previous 16 such teams (81%) went on to win the series.

Zoom out:That data tracks almost exactly even with a much broader scope, as teams with a 2-0 lead in any best-of-seven MLB playoff series have gone on to win 79 of 95 times (83%). Just four of those 16 successful comebacks came this century: 2025 ALCS (Blue Jays over Mariners), 2023 NLCS (Diamondbacks over Phillies), 2020 NLCS (Dodgers over Braves) and 2004 ALCS (Red Sox over Yankees).

🏈 58 touchdowns

Jahmyr Gibbs' latest monster game (207 total yards, 2 TD) gave him 58 career touchdowns from scrimmage, breaking Barry Sanders' record for the most by a player before turning 25. And with Gibbs' 25th birthday still five months away (March 20), he has plenty of time to put that record well out of reach. Something about those Detroit running backs, man…

Dynamic duo:Gibbs isn't the only Lion off to an excellent start. Jared Goff's 1,485 passing yards rank second in the league, and he's the first QB in NFL history with 12+ passing TDs and zero giveaways through the first five games of a season.

⚽️ 19x

Viking pulled off a stunner against Bayern Munich in Tuesday's Champions League action , battling the German giants to a 3-3 draw thanks to a last-minute equalizer . How's this for David vs. Goliath: Bayern's squad has a market value ($1.17B) roughly 19 times that of Viking ($62.7M).

Going streaking:Bayern's Harry Kane netted two goals in the second half to extend his Champions League scoring streak to nine games, tied for the second-longest in the competition's history, trailing only Cristiano Ronaldo (11 straight).

🏀 No déjà vu: MJ jersey sets record (again)

For the second time in two weeks, a Michael Jordan jersey from the 1998 "Last Dance" NBA Finals has sold for a record-setting eight-figure price.

Going once, going twice:Jordan's away jersey from Game 2 of that series sold for $14 million in a private deal announced by Hunt Auctions. The price is a record for any game-worn basketball jersey.

Another song for the Last Dance:Three Jordan jerseys from the 1998 Finals have now cleared the $10 million barrier.

Game 1:Sold for $10.1 million in a Sotheby's auction in 2022.
Game 2:Sold for $14 million in a private sale announced Monday.
Game 3: Sold for $12.3 million in a JOOPITER auction on Sept. 29.

Seeing red:Both the Game 1 and Game 2 jerseys were in the Bulls' away red. That color has proven more desirable than the home white, perhaps because of the iconic imagery associated with Jordan's "Last Shot" and "Flu Game," both of which were Finals games played in Utah. The Game 2 jersey's value was also enhanced by:

Strong provenance:Ownership could be traced back to the jersey's purchase directly from the Bulls.
Robust authentication:MeiGray and SIA authentication conclusively photomatched* the jersey to Game 2.
Authenticated autograph:The Game 2 jersey is the only one featuring a Jordan autograph, which Upper Deck authenticated.

Keeping score:Jordan — and that specific series — now account for the second, third, and fourth-most expensive sports jerseys of all time. But they're not even in the same ballpark as Babe Ruth's "Called Shot" jersey from the 1932 World Series, which sold for $24.1 million in 2024.

*Photomatching is an authentication process in which unique attributes of a jersey — like the placement of mesh holes, numbers, letters and threads — are identified in high resolution photography of the item in game action.

⚽️ Philadelphia's saving grace

Philadelphia's major sports teams have endured a miserable stretch lately , and the internet is letting them hear about it. But amid all the misery on the diamond, gridiron and ice, Philly has quietly found a saving grace: the scorching-hot Union.

How bad has it been?Well, as the Carolina Hurricanes tweeted on Sunday, "We've won more games in Philly in the last nine days than the Flyers, Eagles, and Phillies combined." So… not great.

Indeed, the Phillies fell to the Braves in the Wild Card Round, the Eagles have lost three straight games ( and pretty much all of their running backs ), and the Flyers (0-5-3) are winless through eight games, tied for the second-worst start to a season in NHL history . Their games haven't been close, either, with an abysmal -20 scoring differential.
And if you include Penn State, as some Philadelphia sports fans do, that's another football team that has lost three straight games after opening the season as a ranked CFP hopeful.

Enter, the Union:In the midst of all this losing, Philly's MLS team has rattled off the single best 13-game stretch in league history, going 11-0-2 since returning from the World Cup break. Not bad for a club that sat in dead last before this run began.

The Union entered the season with high expectations after winning the Supporters' Shield (best record) a year ago, but won just one of their first 15 games, prompting them to fire head coach Bradley Carnell and replace him with developmental team coach Ryan Richter on an interim basis.
Richter's tactical and philosophical changes sparked a much-needed reboot, vaulting Philly (12-10-6) to sixth in the East. His decision to deploy Cavan Sullivan as a full-time starter didn't hurt either, as the 17-year-old has tied the MLS single-season record for goal contributions by a teenager (20).

Speaking of MLS streaks…The Union aren't the only club to turn their season around with a historic run. St. Louis City (14-6-8) are unbeaten in 20 consecutive games across all competitions, matching the longest such streak in league history . That includes 13 wins and five draws in league play after opening the season with just one win in their first 10 matches.

What to watch:Philadelphia (at third-place Chicago) and St. Louis (vs. first-place Vancouver) will both look to extend their streaks tonight as all 30 MLS teams take the field with the regular season winding down.

📺 Watchlist: Wednesday, Oct. 14

⚾️ NLCS, Game 3

The series shifts to Los Angeles (8pm ET, FS1) , where the Dodgers are on the ropes after dropping both games in Milwaukee. Shohei Ohtani will remain in the lineup despite his prolonged slump (3-for-20 in the postseason).

The Brewers' not-so secret weapon:Milwaukee's relievers have been nearly unhittable in these playoffs. They threw five perfect innings on Monday, the most by any team's bullpen in a game in postseason history; and across the postseason they've allowed just 1 ER in 28.2 innings (0.31 ERA) while striking out 26 batters.

More to watch:

⚽️ Champions League:Man City vs. PSG (3pm, Paramount+) ; Roma vs. Real Madrid (3pm, Paramount+) … Two of nine games to close out Matchday 2.
🏒 NHL:Canadiens at Capitals (7:30pm, ESPN+) ; Stars at Avalanche (8:30pm, TNT) … The only games on tap following Tuesday's 16-game frenzy.
⚽️ MLS:Chicago vs. Philadelphia (8:30pm, Apple) ; St. Louis vs. Vancouver (8:30pm, Apple) … Philly and St. Louis both look to stay historically hot (see above).

Got plans tonight? Gametime is the best place to score last-minute tickets to the events in your city. Get tickets now!

🏈 College football trivia

Oregon was ranked in 70 consecutive AP polls before falling out of the Top 25 this week, ending the fourth-longest active streak among FBS schools.

Question:Which three schools have the longest active AP poll streaks?

Hint:They're all currently ranked in the Top 10.

Bonus points:Which school holds the longest-ever streak, having appeared in 348 straight AP polls from 1981-2002?

Answer at the bottom.

🏎️ First look: Horner interview

Former Red Bull Racing boss Christian Horner sat down with Autosport (part of the Yahoo Sports Network) at his house for an hour, and we've got a 24-minute YouTube cut that F1 fans will want to watch.

What he gets into:Why he thinks Red Bull pushed him out; how Red Bull built its own engine from scratch (and what it's like watching it win without him); "Drive to Survive" and the Toto Wolff rivalry, which he says turned into theater.

📸 Photo finish

🇳🇴 Bodø, Norway —The Aurora Borealis light up the sky above Bodø/Glimt's stadium on the eve of their Champions League match today against Borussia Dortmund.

Our planet is pretty incredible.

Trivia answer:Alabama (302), Georgia (155) and Ohio State (103). Bonus:Nebraska

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