The Cubs are looking for a new manager after team leadership decided not to renew the contract of Joe Maddon. The Cubs skipper was the first person to manage the team to a World Series win in over a hundred years in 2016. Maddon leaves the Cubs with 471 wins, 18 playoff wins, and the all-important World Series win. But Maddon was his typical self and took the coming job change in stride.

Maddon was the only Cubs manager to lead the team to four consecutive playoff appearances.

Clinton becoming a prominent football program is all about collaboration between the junior football league (JFL) program and the head football coach at the high school level.

During Apple n' Pork coverage on WHOW, JFL coach Wes Graves talked about the collaboration between the two and how that is impacting what is happening with Clinton football.

It costs around $150 per student to play in JFL but Grave says parking cars across Business 51 from the CH Moore Homestead grounds help them cover the cost of other things like field rentals and paying officials. 

Coach Graves says numbers are very strong in the program this year. He says they have just over 90 players across their three teams. He credits the administrators in their various school buildings promoting the program and allowing them to get in front of them. 
 

The Cardinals clinched the NL Central in their last game of the regular season, using Jack Flaherty's arm and Paul Goldschmidt's bat Sunday to win their first division title since 2015 with a 9-0 victory over the Chicago Cubs.

The 23-year-old Flaherty tossed seven impressive innings. He gave up two hits, stuck and six and walked one in an efficient 69-pitch stint.

Flaherty (11-8) stood in the on-deck circle waiting to hit in the bottom of the seventh. After Harrison Bader was retired, Shildt called Flaherty back to the dugout to remove him for a pinch-hitter.

Flaherty has allowed just seven runs over his last 12 starts. He has an 0.91 ERA after the all-star break.

St. Louis scored twice in each of the first of two innings against Derek Holland (2-5). Goldschmidt singled after Holland walked the first two batters.

Fowler added a two-run homer in the second for a 4-0 lead. He has a career-high 19 home runs.

Carpenter's drive in the third off Duane Underwood Jr. pumped the lead to 8-0. Goldschmidt added his team-high 34th homer in the fourth.

Chicago infielder Ben Zobrist pitched a scoreless eighth for the Cubs, striking a swinging Yadier Molina to end the inning.
 

Chase Daniel threw for 195 yards and a touchdown after Trubisky exited with a left shoulder injury, and Chicago swarmed NFL rushing leader Dalvin Cook in a 16-6 victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.

Things weren't looking so good for the Bears (3-1) when Trubisky went down in the opening minutes.

The No. 2 overall pick in the 2017 draft, he was scrambling on the sixth play from scrimmage when Danielle Hunter dragged him down. The quarterback's non-throwing arm got pinned awkwardly under his body as the ball popped out. Minnesota made the recovery, but a holding penalty against Anthony Harris negated the play.

Trubisky headed to the sideline and walked to the locker room a few minutes later. Nagy said he wasn't sure of the extent of the injury.

Daniel came on and connected with Tarik Cohen on a 10-yard touchdown to complete a 14-play drive. The 10th-year pro completed 22 of 30 passes.

Allen Robinson had seven catches for 77 yards. Nick Williams had two sacks. Khalil Mack and Roy Robertson-Harris each had 1 1/2.

Starting 5-0 for the first time in 35 years is going to have to wait as the Clinton Maroons were rolled by the Tuscola Warriors 41-6 Friday night in Central Illinois Conference high school football action from Tuscola. 

As heard on WHOW and at dewittdailynews.com, the Maroons were led by the Nate Ennis State Farm Player of the Game Clayton Welch who had 6 catches for 45 yards. Garrett Wayne had 10 carries for 62 yards, was 10 of 21 passing for 21 yards, and one interception. Tyrese Petty had 9 carries for 23 yards.

The Warriors were led by Logan Tabling with 14 carries, 103 yards, 3 touchdowns, was 8 of 17 passing, for 73 yards.

With the loss, Clinton falls to 4-1 on the season and 2-1 in the conference. Tuscola improves to 3-2 overall and 1-2 in the conference.

Tune in Friday, October 4th, as the Maroons stay at home for homecoming versing St. Teresa. You can hear the game live on the Big 1520 AM/92.3 FM/106.5 FM WHOW, online at dewittdailynews.com, on the WHOW app, and on Amazon Alexa.

Central Illinois Conference Action Friday....

Central A & M    28
Decatur St. Teresa    26

Sullivan-Okaw Valley    15
Meridian        25

Shelbyville        28
Warrensburg-Latham    20

Other area high school football scores Friday....

Oakland Tri-County 29

Argenta-Oreana 33

Urbana 6

Bloomington 58

Champaign Central 28

Peoria Richwoods 14

Ridgeview 7

Eureka 49

Champaign Judah Christian 10

Danville Schlarman 72

Decatur LSA 28

Sangamon Valley 65

Springfield Southeast 35

Decatur MacArthur 66

East Peoria 12

Limestone 27

Fisher 0

G.C.M.S. 42

Dee-Mack 16

Heyworth 12

Mahomet-Seymour 8

Mt. Zion 43

Pleasant Plains 7

Maroa-Forsyth 54

Arcola 26

Toledo-Cumberland 28

Cerro Gordo-Bement 7

Villa Grove-Heritage 55

Tri-Valley 28

LeRoy 7

Blue Ridge 0

Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond 51

The Monticello Sages scored on their first two possessions of the third quarter and held off Bloomington Central Catholic at the five-yard line on the last play of the game for a 21-14 Illini Prairie Conference win Friday night at Homecoming in Monticello.

Trailing 14-7 at the break, Monticello's Matt Kerr caught a 21-yard pass from Nick Tackels to start the scoring. 

After a 67 yard run by Chris Brown where it appeared he scored, officials marked him out at the six-yard line, Tackels punched it in for the go-ahead score and Monticello’s defense stood tall on the final drive of the game where BCC was five-yards from the goal line but Kerr knocked down the final two pass attempts and the Sages held on for their fourth victory this year.

Kerr finished with five catches for 108 yards and a touchdown. Tackels was 10 for 21 with 228 yards passing and a touchdown and rushed 11 times for 44 yards and a touchdown.

Hayden Graham had two grabs for 61 yards and Spencer Brown caught two passes for 54 yards.

BCC drops to 1-4 overall.

Monticello is in Tolono next Friday night to take on Unity. Game time is 7 pm. Hear all the action on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com. 

Illini Prairie Action Friday...

IVC        27
Prairie Central    7

Rantoul            10
Champaign St. Thomas More    14

St. Joseph-Ogden    19
Pontiac        0

Olympia        3
Tolono Unity    28

You have to go all the way back to 1984 for the last time the Clinton Maroons football team started a season 5-0 and tonight the 2019 squad is looking to turn back time when they hit the road against Tuscola.

The Warriors have dropped two straight and are looking to end that skid after a loss to Decatur St. Teresa. Clinton Coach Chris Ridgeway says Tuscola throws the ball very well and they are looking at some changes on defense.

Win the turnover battle and the Maroons can win the game. That is what Coach Ridgeway is preaching this week as he feels his team can really move the ball. 

Tonight's game kicks at 7 pm and all the action can be heard on The Big 1520 AM/92.3 FM/106.5 FM WHOW and online at dewittdailynews.com. 

Tonight in the CIC....

Central A & M at Decatur St. Teresa

Sullivan-Okaw Valley at Meridian

Warrensburg-Latham at Shelbyville

The Monticello Sages will put their 3-1 mark on the line tonight when they welcome Bloomington Central Catholic High School to town for Homecoming in Illini Prairie high school football action from Monticello High School.

The Sages dropped Rantoul 44-6 last Friday night and Head Coach Cully Welter felt his team played well as he saw good things and also continues to see areas they could improve on.

Coach Welter says after a tough year last year, BCC has their program headed back in the right direction and they have some athletes that can play.

Game time tonight is 7 pm and can be heard on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com. 

Tonight in the Illini Prairie....

Illinois Valley Central at Prairie Central

Pontiac at St. Joseph-Ogden

Rantoul at Champaign St. Thomas More

Tolono Unity at Olympia

Apollo

Effingham at Charleston

Mt. Zion at Mahomet-Seymour

Taylorville at Mattoon

Big Twelve

Bloomington at Urbana

Champaign Centennial at Peoria Notre Dame (Sat.)

Normal West at Peoria

Peoria Manual at Normal Community

Peoria Richwoods at Champaign Central

Central State Eight

Chatham Glenwood at Jacksonville

Decatur Eisenhower at Springfield (Sat.)

Normal U-Highat Springfield Lanphier

Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin at Rochester

Springfield Southeast at Decatur MacArthur

Lincoln Prairie

Arcola at Toledo Cumberland

Cerro Gordo-Bement at Villa Grov-Heritage

Blue Ridge at Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond

Sangamon Valley at Decatur LSA

Oakland Tri-County at Argenta-Oreana

Mid-Illini

Limestone at East Peoria

Dunlap at Metamora

Morton at Washington

Pekin at Canton

Sangamo

Auburn at Athens

Maroa-Forsyth at Pleasant Plains

New Berlin at Pittsfield

Riverton at Petersburg PORTA

Williamsville at North Mac

Non-Conference Action tonight....

Collinsville at Lincoln

El Paso-Gridley at Tremont

Eureka at Ridgeview

Fisher at Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley

Heyworth at Dee-Mack

LeRoy at Tri-Valley

The short-handed Philadelphia Eagles promoted the second-year undrafted cornerback to the active roster two days before the prime-time matchup in Green Bay. James responded by making the game-winning play in the 34-27 win over the Packers on Thursday night.

With 25 seconds left, James jumped a quick slant by Marquez Valdes-Scantling and tipped Aaron Rodgers' pass into the end zone where Nigel Bradham collected it and sealed the victory.

Jordan Howard gashed Green Bay for his second career three-touchdown game and the Eagles (2-2) ended a two-game losing streak.

Howard finished with 87 yards on 15 carries and two touchdowns rushing and one receiving, Carson Wentz went 16 for 27 for 160 yards, three scores and no turnovers, and the Eagles rebounded after losing consecutive games by a combined seven points.

Rodgers started 10 for 10 and finished 34 for 53 for 422 yards, two touchdowns and a fumble that set up a short Philadelphia scoring drive.

Davante Adams had a career-high 180 yards on 10 catches for Green Bay, but he wasn't on the field for the Packers (3-1) on the last drive because of a toe injury.

After punting on its first two drives and falling behind 10-0, Philadelphia scored on four straight possessions against a defense that had only given up 35 points through the first three games.

Sacked six times in the previous two games, Wentz managed to stay upright. Zach Ertz had a team-high seven catches for 65 yards, and Alshon Jeffery, who missed all but six snaps over the past two weeks with a calf injury, finished with 38 yards and a touchdown on three catches.

Jimmy Graham had six catches for 61 yards and a 14-yard touchdown that tied the game at 27-27 with 3:16 to go in the third.

The Eagles picked up the victory despite committing nine penalties for 93 yards.

The Packers are in Dallas next Sunday. 

The Illinois State Redbirds are on bye this week before a big matchup with North Dakota State next week at Hancock Stadium in Normal.

Illinois State quarterback Brady Davis threw for a career-high 419 yards and two touchdowns to lead the No. 10 ranked Redbirds (3-1) to a 40-27 win over the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (2-2) on a rainy Saturday night at Hancock Stadium.

Andrew Edgar finished the game with a career-high 228 yards on a career-best 12 receptions for the Redbirds and tied a career-high with the two touchdown receptions.

The Redbirds host the defending national champion and No. 1 ranked North Dakota State on Oct. 5 at Noon.

After two straight disappointing losses, the Illinois Fighting Illini football team will head into a bye week trying to figure things out.

The Illini were gashed for almost 700 yards of total offense against the Nebraska Cornhuskers last Saturday night as Nebraska stormed back in the second half for a 42-38 win. 

The Illini defense was on the field for almost 40 minutes against Nebraska. The Cornhuskers dominated time of possession 37:04 to 22:56.

Illinois was just 1 for 12 on third down last Saturday night and Nebraska finished 11 for 19.

Illinois heads to Minneapolis next Saturday afternoon for a 2:30 pm kick against Minnesota.

Francisco Lindor, Jose Ramirez, and the Indians were blanked on four hits Thursday night in an 8-0 loss to the Chicago White Sox.

The Indians dropped two games behind idle Tampa Bay for the second AL wild-card spot. Both teams have three games left - Cleveland visits playoff-bound Washington while the Rays are at Toronto, which is 29 games below .500.

Cleveland rookie Aaron Civale (3-4) entered his 10th major league start with a 1.82 ERA, and didn't allow a hit until Yoan Moncada lined a single with one out in the fourth. The 24-year-old right-hander then walked Zack Collins before James McCann hit his 18th home run for a 3-0 lead.

Daniel Palka, who entered 7 for 77 (.091) this season, lined Civale's next pitch into the right-field bullpen for his first homer of the season and first of two on the night. That prompted Francona to relieve Civale with Carlos Carrasco.

Civale was charged with four runs on three hits in 3 1/3 innings and failed to pitch at least five for the first time in the majors.

Tim Anderson, who entered leading the majors with a .339 average, went 1 for 4.

Palka added a second solo shot to right off James Hoyt in the sixth to make it 7-0. Collins had an RBI single off Hunter Wood in the seventh.

Eastern Illinois opens the Ohio Valley Conference season this Saturday hosting Tennessee Tech.  EIU is off to an 0-4 start on the season following a 16-6 loss at Indiana State on Saturday.  Tennessee Tech is off to its best start since the 2011 season as the Golden Eagles beat Western Illinois last week to improve to 3-1 on the year.

EIU won 52-38 last season in Cookeville after winning the previous two meetings by less than a touchdown (24-23 in 2017 & 30-24 in 2016).

Game time Saturday is 4 pm. Hear all the action on The Big 1520 AM/92.3 FM/106.5 FM WHOW and online at dewittdailynews.com.

Joe Musgrove pitched three-hit ball through six innings as the Pittsburgh Pirates beat Chicago 9-5 on Thursday night and extended the Cubs' losing streak to nine games.

Musgrove (11-12) was charged with three runs, two earned, while striking eight and walking two as the Pirates recorded a three-game sweep. Musgrove won his final three outings.

The Cubs are in the midst of their longest losing streak since dropping 12 straight in 2012. Chicago will miss the postseason for the first time since 2014 after being eliminated from the NL wild-card race Wednesday night.

Chicago, however, can still play a role in the outcome of the Central Division standings. The Cubs close out the season with a three-game series at division-leading St. Louis starting Friday night. The Cardinals hold a one-game lead over Milwaukee.

Melky Cabrera, Jose Osuna and Pablo Reyes each had three hits for the Pirates, who finished with 16 hits. Reyes also doubled and tripled. Erik Gonzalez extended his hitting streak to 10 games.

Jose Quintana (13-9) was tagged for seven runs, five earned, on 12 hits in his last start of the year. The left-hander won his other four starts against Pittsburgh this season and ended the year allowing 23 runs in 13 1/3 innings in his last four outings.

Musgrove gave up all three of his runs in the sixth when Ian Happ hit a two-run double and scored on Victor Cartini's single as the Cubs closed within 7-3.

Alec Mills (1-0, 2.90 ERA) will make his fourth start and eighth appearance of the season Friday night against Cardinals RHP Dakota Hudson (16-7, 3.45). Mills pitched 4 2/3 scoreless innings against St. Louis last Friday.

Shane Bieber got tagged early and the Indians lost ground in the wild-card chase, falling to the Chicago White Sox 8-3. Their second defeat in the last nine tries dropped them 1 1/2 games behind Tampa Bay for the second wild-card spot.

The Indians' loss clinched the AL Central title for Minnesota.

Jose Ramirez hit a solo home run for Cleveland.

Tim Anderson matched a career-high with four hits and also scored two runs for Chicago. He improved his batting average five points to an AL-best .339 with his sixth fourth-hit game of the season, most in the major leagues. Jose Abreu drove in his league-high 122nd run with the last of his three singles.

White Sox starter Ross Detwiler (3-5) allowed three runs on five hits in five innings to earn the victory, his first since Aug. 25 against Texas. The left-hander walked none and struck out one.

Leury Garcia hit the fourth leadoff homer of his career and third this season for the White Sox, and Anderson and Abreu followed with singles. With one out, Zack Collins hit a slow roller that Santana fielded close to the line and lobbed over the head of catcher Roberto Perez.

Aaron Civale (3-3, 1.82) and Chicago RHP Dylan Cease (4-7, 5.79) are the scheduled starters in the series finale Thursday night.

Pinch-hitter Paul Goldschmidt grounded into a game-ending double play with two runners on base and the NL Central-leading Cardinals fell short during a ninth-inning rally, losing to the Diamondbacks 9-7 Wednesday.

The Cardinals, who went with a lineup of reserves to give their typical starters some rest after a 19-inning game, had their division lead cut to 1 1/2 games by Milwaukee, which beat Cincinnati 9-2.

St. Louis and Arizona were back on the field about 11 hours after the Diamondbacks' 3-2 marathon win, a game that took nearly seven hours Tuesday. Cardinals starter Michael Wacha was pulled in the second inning with tightness in his right shoulder.

Errors by rookie infielder Tommy Edman and catcher Matt Wieters helped Arizona score seven times in the sixth for a 9-5 lead. Wilmer Flores homered during the burst, which also included a run-scoring wild pitch.

The Cardinals loaded the bases with one out in the ninth and Wieters hit a two-run single.

Goldschmidt was up next - he had homered in the first two games of the series, marking his return to the desert after the Diamondbacks traded their longtime star to St. Louis in the offseason.

Facing former teammate Archie Bradley, Goldschmidt hit a grounder and Arizona turned two to end it. Bradley got his 17th save.

Merrill Kelly (13-14) exited trailing 5-2 after six innings and wound up with the win.

Reliever Junior Fernandez (0-1) took the loss.

Cardinals rookie outfielder Randy Arozarena hit his first major league home run, stole home and threw out a runner at third base. Martinez added a triple, double and two RBIs.

After a day off for the team, RHP Dakota Hudson (16-7, 3.45 ERA) is scheduled to start at home Friday in the series opener with the Chicago Cubs.

The collapsing Cubs were eliminated from playoff contention shortly before losing their eighth straight game, falling 4-2 to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday night.

Back-to-back wild pitches by David Phelps in the eighth inning enabled Pittsburgh to score the winning run. Just before Phelps' bout with wildness, Milwaukee clinched the second NL wild card with a 9-2 victory at Cincinnati.

Phelps entered in relief with the score tied 2-2 and walked Pablo Reyes to put runners on first and second with one out. Jose Osuna drew a walk from Brad Wieck (1-2) before scoring on the wild pitches, and Erik Gonzalez added a sacrifice fly.

Gonzalez was 3 for 3 with two RBIs as Pittsburgh won for the second straight night over the Cubs following a nine-game losing streak.

Michael Feliz (4-4) pitched a scoreless eighth inning and Keone Kela worked the ninth for his first save of the season. Kela has taken over as closer after All-Star Felipe Vazquez was arrested and jailed last week on felony charges including sexual assault of a minor.

Ian Happ homered and drove in both Cubs runs.

Both starters, Lester and Pirates rookie Dario Agrazal, pitched six innings and allowed two runs.

Jose Quintana (13-8, 4.55 ERA) will start Thursday night. Quintana has pitched a combined 8 2/3 innings and allowed 16 runs in his last three starts, though he did not factor in the decision in any of them.

Joe Musgrove (10-12, 4.49) is 2-0 with a 2.86 ERA in his last four starts.

The Arizona Diamondbacks powered through 19 innings of baseball, used 13 pitchers and earned an unlikely 3-2 win over the St. Louis Cardinals in a game that lasted nearly seven hours.

Ildemaro Vargas had a game-tying, pinch-hit homer in the ninth inning on Tuesday and then singled with the bases loaded in the 19th at 1:34 a.m. local time on Wednesday, sending Arizona's players streaming from the dugout in celebration.

Carson Kelly and Nick Ahmed started the final rally with back-to-back singles off John Brebbia (3-4), who was the Cardinals' 11th pitcher of the night. Jarrod Dyson and Robbie Ray - a pitcher who had to pinch-hit - struck out before Christian Walker was intentionally walked to load the bases.

Then it was Vargas' turn to be the hero again, smacking a single - his fourth hit of the game - through the left side of the infield.

If Vargas hadn't come through with the game-winning hit, he was going to be on the mound in the 20th inning because the D-backs were out of available pitchers.

The game last 6 hours and 53 minutes and featured 24 pitchers and 48 strikeouts, with both teams plowing through bullpen arms thanks to September's expanded rosters. The Diamondbacks used a franchise-record 30 players. It was the longest game by innings and time in Chase Field history.

The two teams were set to play again in Phoenix 11 hours later.

It's a particularly tough turnaround for the Cardinals, who are locked in a playoff race with the Milwaukee Brewers. St. Louis had its lead in the NL Central cut to 2 1/2 games over Milwaukee. The Cardinals have four games remaining and the Brewers have five.

The Cardinals' bullpen blew two one-run leads, once in the ninth inning and again in the 13th as they wasted a stellar outing from starter Jack Flaherty.

Michael Wacha (6-7, 4.68 ERA) allowed one run over four innings and in his previous outing against the Chicago Cubs.

Merrill Kelly (12-14, 4.31) will head to the mound to begin a game that starts at 12:40 p.m. local time. He'll bring a 15-inning scoreless streak into the game.

The freefalling Cubs committed five errors, including two in a seven-run seventh inning, in a 9-2 defeat to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday night.

Chicago dropped to 82-75 and would be eliminated with one more loss or Milwaukee win. The Cubs have not missed the playoffs since 2014.

Aided by a fielding error by second baseman Ben Zobrist and errant throw by reliever Danny Hultzen, the Pirates sent 13 batters to the plate in the seventh as they chased starter Kyle Hendricks and erased a 1-0 deficit. Pittsburgh stopped a nine-game losing streak in which it had been outscored 87-26.

Hendricks didn't allow any hits until the sixth.

The first five batters had hits in the big inning and the sixth reached on Zobrist's error. Colin Moran's RBI single tied the score, Kevin Kramer hit a two-run double for a 3-1 lead and two runs scored when Zobrist couldn't handle Erik Gonzalez's hard grounder for an error.

Hultzen threw wide of second base in attempting to get a forceout, and Adam Frazier capped the outburst with a run-scoring double.

Hendricks (11-10) allowed six runs - five earned - and six hits in six-plus innings.

Kyle Schwarber hit two doubles for Chicago and rookie shortstop Nico Hoerner drove in both runs with a double in the fourth inning and a single in the eighth. Hoerner also made the first two errors of his young career.

Francisco Liriano (5-3) pitched a perfect seventh. Pittsburgh rookie Mitch Keller gave up one run and seven hits in five innings.

Chicago stranded 11 runners and went 1 for 10 with runners in scoring position.

Jon Lester (13-10, 4.51 ERA) will start Wednesday night. He is 3-1 with a 4.51 ERA in his last five outings.

Dario Agrazal (4-5, 5.08) is 0-2 with a 7.43 ERA in his previous three starts.

Jose Ramirez hit a grand slam and a three-run homer in his first two plate appearances after missing a month with a broken hand, and Cleveland pounded the Chicago White Sox 11-0 on Tuesday night.

Roberto Perez and Oscar Mercado also went deep for the Indians, who won for the sixth time in seven games to remain a half-game back of Tampa Bay for the second AL wild card. Cleveland also trails Oakland by one game for the top spot in the wild-card standings.

The switch-hitting Ramirez homered from both sides for the fourth time. He finished with a career-best seven RBIs.

Mike Clevinger (13-3) pitched seven innings of five-hit ball and struck out 10 while extending his scoreless streak to 18 innings.

White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson, who entered leading the majors with a .334 batting average, went 1 for 3. Zack Collins had two hits.

Indians right-hander Shane Bieber (15-7, 3.23 ERA) faces White Sox left-hander Ross Detwiler (2-5, 6.98 ERA) on Wednesday night. Bieber has won his last three decisions in four starts this month.

The St. Louis Blues acquired All-Star defenseman Justin Faulk from the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday in exchange for defenseman Joel Edmundson and a prospect.

The Blues also announced Faulk had signed a seven-year contract extension worth $45.5 million that goes into effect following this season with the defending Stanley Cup champions.

Faulk gives the Blues another offensively gifted right-handed shooting defenseman who could play on the second or third pair. He could also run the second power-play unit.

The 27-year-old Faulk had 85 goals and 258 points — club records in both stat categories among defensemen — and had spent his entire eight-year NHL career with Carolina, which drafted him in the first round in 2010. He was entering the final year of his six-year, $29 million contract that gave him the right to reject a trade to several teams.

Edmundson, 26, signed a one-year, $3.1 million contract with the Blues last month to avoid arbitration ad will be an unrestricted free agent after the season. He has averaged about 18 minutes of ice time for his four-year NHL career with 13 goals and 39 assists. He had a goal and six assists while playing in 22 of the Blues’ 26 postseason games during the run to their first Cup.

Carolina also picked up 19-year-old forward Dominik Bokk in the deal and the team swapped late-round draft picks in 2020 and 2021.

Paul Goldschmidt smacked a two-run homer in his Chase Field reunion, Yadier Molina also had a two-run shot, and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Diamondbacks 9-7 Monday night for their sixth straight win.

The Cardinals have a 3 1/2-game lead over the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central. St. Louis has five games remaining in the regular season while Milwaukee has six.

Adam Wainwright (14-9) won his fifth straight start, though he didn’t have his best stuff. He gave up eight hits and five runs over five innings.

Alex Young (7-5) gave up six earned runs over five innings. He struck out five and walked two.

Arizona fell behind 6-2 in the fifth inning after Molina’s two-run homer but scored three runs off Wainwright in the fifth to pull within one.

St. Louis got breathing room in the eighth inning when Harrison Bader ripped a solo homer to left field and the offense added two more runs in the ninth. Carlos Martínez earned his 24th save.

St. Louis will start RHP Jack Flaherty (10-8, 2.96 ERA). He gave up just one run over eight innings in a win over the Cubs on Friday. He threw a season-high 118 pitches.

Arizona will start RHP Mike Leake (12-11, 4.38). He’s 3-1 with a 2.48 ERA over his last five starts.

 The University of Kansas received a notice of allegations from the NCAA on Monday that alleges significant violations within its storied men’s basketball program, including a responsibility charge leveled against Hall of Fame coach Bill Self.

The notice includes three Level 1 violations tied primarily to recruiting and cites a lack of institutional control. It also includes notice of a secondary violation in football tied to then-coach David Beaty that involved the use of an extra coach during practice.

While the document does not go into detail about what the basketball program is accused of doing, Kansas was among the most prominent programs swept up in an NCAA probe into a pay-for-play scheme that began with an FBI investigation into apparel company Adidas. A former Adidas employee testified that he made payments to the family of one Kansas recruit and the guardian of a current player. Text messages presented in court revealed a close relationship between Self and the Adidas employee.

The school said in a statement that it “strongly disagrees with the assertion that it ‘lacks institutional control.’ In fact, the university believes the record will demonstrate just the opposite.”

Kansas had been in the NCAA’s crosshairs since early this summer, when Vice President Stan Wilcox said at least six schools were likely to receive notices of allegations for Level 1 infractions.

North Carolina State was the first of them, getting a notice July 10 of two violations, including a failure-to-monitor charge leveled against former coach Mark Gottfried.

Arizona, Auburn, Creighton, Louisville, LSU and USC have also been under the microscope.

Level 1 infractions are considered the most severe by the NCAA, and often include postseason bans, the forfeiture of wins and championships and the loss of scholarships. But the notice itself is only the beginning of a process that can often take more than a year — the school typically sends a response to the NCAA enforcement committee, setting off an exchange of information.

Ultimately, a hearing will be scheduled and Kansas will be allowed to present its case. The NCAA will then issue its ruling, often within several months, and the school retains the right to appeal.

Mitch Trubisky and the Bears used a no-huddle, hurry-up tempo to snap out of their offensive funk and score 28 first-half points on the way to beating the Washington Redskins 31-15 Monday night. After no passing touchdowns the first two games of the year, Trubisky connected with Taylor Gabriel on three of them in the second quarter alone.

The 2017 second overall pick looked at ease with a fast-paced approach and picked apart Washington’s porous defense on 25 of 31 passing for 231 yards. It was the offensive explosion Trubisky predicted would happen this week.

Chicago (2-1) had just a 1-yard touchdown run to show for its first two games, and Trubisky entered the night with a completion percentage of 58.3 and ranked near the bottom of the league in yards per attempt. Facing the Redskins (0-3) brought out some of the best in Trubisky.

Trubisky had 173 yards in the first half alone before throwing an interception at the goal line in the third quarter.

With scores of 1, 3 and 36 yards, Gabriel joined Mike Ditka in 1963 as the only Bears receivers with three TD catches in the first half of a game. Gabriel made six catches for 75 yards before leaving in the second half with a concussion.

The Bears took advantage of five turnovers by Redskins quarterback Case Keenum: two interceptions by Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, including a pick six, another by Kyle Fuller and fumbles forced by Khalil Mack and Danny Trevathan.

Mack had two of the Bears’ four sacks to continue a dominant start by the defense that didn’t give up a Washington TD until midway through the third quarter. Keenum’s two TD passes came long after fans chanted for rookie quarterback Dwayne Haskins and booed the Redskins off the field at halftime.

The Bears host former Redskins QB Kirk Cousins and the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.

Aaron Rodgers threw for 235 yards and a touchdown, and Aaron Jones tied a career-high by running for two scores to lead the Green Bay Packers to a 27-16 victory over the Denver Broncos on Sunday.

Preston Smith matched a career-high with three sacks as Green Bay got to Joe Flacco six times and forced three turnovers to lead the Packers (3-0) to the win despite being dominated in time of possession 35:34 to 24:26.

Flacco was 20 of 29 for 213 yards with an interception and no touchdowns.

Rodgers found Marquez Valdes-Scantling on a 40-yard strike on the opening drive and finished 17 of 29. Jones' touchdown runs came from 7 yards and 1 yard out.

Mason Crosby put the Packers ahead on a 42-yard field goal with 11:19 to go in the first half. The Broncos answered about 8 minutes later with a field goal of their own.

Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander opened the third quarter by recording his first career forced fumble and fumble recovery after stripping Noah Fant on a 4-yard completion. Green Bay took advantage as Rodgers hit fullback Danny Vitale for a 27-yard gain that put the ball on the 1 before Jones ran it in for his second touchdown to make it 24-10.

Phillip Lindsay cut it to 24-16 on a 1-yard run with about 6 minutes left in the third. Brandon McManus missed the extra point.

Crosby added a 41-yard field goal in the fourth quarter to make it a two-possession game.

The Packers host the Eagles on Thursday night.

Paul Goldschmidt hit a tiebreaking double in the ninth inning and the Cardinals clinched a playoff spot by rallying past the Chicago Cubs 3-2 on Sunday for their first four-game sweep at Wrigley Field in almost a century.

NL Central-leading St. Louis qualified for October for the first time it won the division in 2015. It also stayed three games ahead of Milwaukee.

It was the fifth consecutive win for the Cardinals, who came back for a 9-8 victory Saturday on consecutive homers by Yadier Molina and Paul DeJong against Craig Kimbrel in the ninth.

Pinch hitter Jose Martinez sparked the winning rally with a leadoff triple that glanced off the glove of leaping center fielder Albert Almora Jr.

Dexter Fowler followed with a sacrifice fly, tying it at 2. After rookie Tommy Edman singled and stole second, Goldschmidt hit a grounder down the third-base line to put the Cardinals in front for good in the Cubs' rainy home finale.

Miles Mikolas pitched 7 2/3 innings of two-run ball and Tyler Webb (2-1) got the last out of the eighth for the win. Andrew Miller worked the ninth for his sixth save.

Nicholas Castellanos hit his career-high 27th homer for Chicago (82-74), which dropped four games back of the Brewers for the second NL wild card. The Cubs finished with a 51-30 home record after losing their losing their last six games at Wrigley.

It was the first four-game series sweep for St. Louis (89-67) at Chicago's famed ballpark since May 1921.

The Cubs were without Kris Bryant for most of the day after the slugger sprained his right ankle trying to beat out a double play in the third. He is scheduled for an MRI on Monday after X-rays taken at the ballpark were negative.

Adam Wainwright (13-9, 3.83 ERA) starts the opener of a three-game series at Arizona on Monday night. Wainwright is 4-0 in September, allowing one earned run in 27 innings. LHP Alex Young (7-4, 3.27 ERA) pitches for the Diamondbacks.

Following an off day, Kyle Hendricks (11-9, 3.37 ERA) starts the opener of a three-game set at Pittsburgh. RHP Mitch Keller (1-5, 7.74 ERA) pitches for the Pirates on Tuesday night.

By beating the Chicago White Sox 6-3, the Tigers improved to 22-56 at Comerica Park, making certain they won't become the first major league team to lose 60 home games.

Detroit played one of its best games in weeks to avoid a three-game sweep by the White Sox. The Tigers hit four homers, including the first of Willi Castro's major league career.

Jeimer Candelario, Gordon Beckham and Victor Reyes also went deep for Detroit, which came into the game having allowed 100 more homers than it had hit.

The White Sox got homers from Eloy Jimenez and Wellington Castillo but lost for the 17th time in 25 games.

Matt Boyd (9-11), who missed his last start after the death of his grandfather, gave up three runs, eight hits and two walks in five innings.

Joe Jimenez pitched the ninth for his eighth save. The Tigers (46-109) are trying to avoid the second 110-loss season in club history.

White Sox starter Reynaldo Lopez (9-15) allowed five runs and nine hits, including three home runs, in four innings.

The White Sox have Monday off before heading home to start a season-ending, seven-game homestand against the Indians and Tigers. Neither team has announced a starter for Tuesday's opener.

Martin Truex, Jr. rallied Saturday night, ultimately passing Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch with 25 laps to go and winning his second consecutive NASCAR Cup Series race. That it came in the series’ playoffs, it seemed, made it all the more surreal.

The victory completed a redemptive finish for Truex, the championship leader coming into the race. The bump from Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who was running on fresher tires, seemed inadvertent, and came in Turn 4, but Truex was still running third when the caution flew.

The victory was his series-high sixth of the season and the 15th in 28 races for the Gibbs cars. The team initially finished in the top four spots, a first for JGR, with Busch hanging on for second, followed by teammates Denny Hamlin and Erik Jones. Jones, however, was later disqualified when his Toyota failed post-race inspection for a rear wheel alignment issue, dropping him to 38th place and severely damaging his chances of advancing to the second playoff stage.

Pole sitter Brad Keselowski moved up to fourth with Jones’ disqualification, and every driver that finished behind him moved up one spot on the final grid, and in the two in-race stages, where Jones had been ninth in the first stage and fourth in the second.

Kevin Harvick and Busch, meanwhile, assured themselves of spots in the second stage of the playoffs, which begins after next week.

The series moves to perhaps the trickiest race of the playoffs at the roval at Charlotte.

The way that Georgia handled Notre Dame got itself a first-place vote in the Coaches Poll, but things remained steadily split between No. 1 Clemson and No. 2 Alabama in the new AP Top 25 college football rankings released on Sunday.  Week 4 gave us several ranked-against-ranked matchups, and by the end of the carnage in UCLA's comeback win against Washington State, eight ranked teams had suffered losses -- five to unranked teams. All of this provided the room for some changes in the rankings, and one team that benefited in a big way was Wisconsin. 

Wisconsin moved from No. 13 up into the top 10 at No. 8 after its 35-14 win against Michigan on Saturday. The AP voters had been reluctant with the Badgers based on the strength of their opponents in two blowout wins, but carrying the same level of execution against a team like the Wolverines is worthy of an adjustment in the rankings. 

On the other side of the Badgers' success is a fall for Michigan from No. 11 to No. 20. The Wolverines leave this impactful Week 4 still in search of an identity on offense, holding a respectable 3-1 record but quickly getting jumped by other conference title hopefuls in the Big Ten. The fact that the Wolverines are now closer to Michigan State than Penn State in the rankings shows the change in expectations for this year's team, which has looked less and less like a College Football Playoff contender with each week. 

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With a top-10 matchup headlining the evening and two top-20 matchups setting the stage, Week 4 was one of the first great shake-up weekends for the college football rankings. The new Coaches Poll was released on Sunday, and while it has the familiar faces up near the top, there is plenty of movement following the weekend action. 

No. 3 Georgia received a first-place vote for the first time this season after its win against Notre Dame, which fell just three spots to No. 10 after the loss in Athens, Georgia. Oklahoma, LSU and Ohio State all held their positions at 4-5-6, but Auburn and Wisconsin are both moving up in the top 10 at No. 7 and No. 9, respectively. Florida held its spot between them at No. 8.

Two of the biggest drops of the week came from Michigan, which took a tumble 10 spots to No. 20 following its loss to the Badgers, and UCF, which nearly fell out of the rankings after its loss at Pitt on Saturday. The Knights fell seven spots and are hanging on in the eyes of the coaches at No. 23. 

One of the biggest moves up in the Coaches Poll was Cal, which is now up seven spots to No. 16 after its win at Ole Miss. This week also sees 4-0 Wake Forest ranked in the top 25 of the Coaches Poll for the first time since 2008. The Demon Deacons check in at No. 24, one spot ahead of USC, which is back in the top 25 after defeating Utah on Friday night. 

The Monticello Sages used a big third quarter to pull away from Rantoul in a 44-6 rout in Illini Prairie Conference high school football action Friday night in Rantoul.

The Sages opened up a 17-0 halftime lead on touchdown runs by quarterback Nic Tackels and a 30-yard field goal by Andrew Ellison.

Tackels found the end zone for a third time on a one-yard quarterback sneak in the third quarter, then hooked up with Matt Kerr for a 51-yard throw and again punched one in from a half-yard out in a 20 point third quarter that allowed Monticello to open up a 37-0 lead.

In a scary moment in the third quarter, Kerr took a pass from Tackels on a screen and raced for the end zone from 11 yards out but was upended and landed on his head and remained on the turf motionless for about ten minutes before being taken off on a stretcher. 

Coach Cully Welter says Kerr had feeling and movement but felt pain in his neck and the team will await further information before determining his status going forward.

The Sages scored again in the fourth quarter on a Hayden Graham 23-yard jet sweep.

The Eagles found the end zone on a 55-yard run by Ryan Buford late in the fourth.

Tackels finished the night 6-for-11 passing for 102 yards and a touchdown. He rushed for 89 yards on 15 carries and scored four times on the ground. 

Chris Brown did not find the end zone for the first time this season but was an efficient 22 carries for 150 yards. 

Matt Kerr caught a touchdown for the second straight game and finished with 74 yards and three receptions. Tristan Foran had a 37-yard catch in the first quarter. 

The Sages improved to 3-1 overall while Rantoul remains winless at 0-4. 

Monticello hosts Bloomington Central Catholic next week for Homecoming. Hear the action on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com.

As heard on WHOW, the Clinton Maroons defeated the Meridian Hawks by a score of 26-12 on Friday night. The Maroons were led by the Nate Ennis State Farm Player of the Game Garrett Wayne with 15 carries for 214 yards and 2 touchdowns. Wayne also was 9 of 18 passing for 112 yards and an interception. Tyrese Petty had 12 carries for 44 yards and 2 touchdowns.

The Hawks were led by sophomore quarterback Drew Hurblbrink who was 18 of 36 passing for 246 yards, 2 touchdowns, and an interception.

With the win, Clinton improves to 4-0 on the season and 2-0 in the conference. Meridian falls to 2-2 overall

.

Tune in Friday, September 27, as the Maroons travel to Tuscola. You can hear the game live on the Big 1520 AM/92.3 FM/106.5 FM WHOW, online at dewittdailynews.com, on the WHOW app, and on Amazon Alexa.

Other scores:

Central Illinois

Shelbyville at Sullivan-Okaw Valley- 56-40
Tuscola at Decatur St. Teresa- 12-28
Warrensburg-Latham at Central A & M- 59-12

Illini Prairie Conference action tonight....

Champaign St. Thomas More at Illinois Valley Central- 14-35
Prairie Central at Pontiac- 52-28
St. Joseph-Ogden at Tolono Unity- 0-20
Olympia at Bloomington Central Catholic- 14-25

Other week 4 action....

Apollo

Charleston at Lincoln- 24-21
Mahomet-Seymour at Effingham- 7-49
Mt. Zion at Mattoon- 50-7

Big Twelve

Champaign Central at Urbana- 32-6
Normal West at Bloomington- 16-31
Peoria at Peoria Manual- 58-26
Peoria Richwoods at Peoria Notre Dame- 0-28

Central State Eight

Chatham Glenwood at Decatur Eisenhower- 56-6
Decatur MacArthur at Rochester- 0-43
Jacksonville at Normal U-High- 31-19
Springfield Lanphier at Springfield- 7-31
Springfield Southeast at Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin-21-49 

Heart of Illinois (Large)

Tri-Valley at El Paso-Gridley- 35-6
Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley at Fieldcrest- 14-6
Dee-Mack at Eureka- 0-20

Heart of Illinois (Small)

Ridgeview at Heyworth- 21-26
Tremont at LeRoy- 25-6

Lincoln Prairie

Argenta-Oreana at Cerro Gordo-Bement- 41-0
Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond at Arcola- 7-36
Oakland Tri-County at Decatur LSA- 41-8
Toledo Cumberland at Blue Ridge- 49-6
Villa Grove-Heritage at Sangamon Valley- 54-16

Mid-Illini

Canton at East Peoria- 61-21
Metamora at Limestone- 21-13
Pekin at Morton- 20-6
Washington at Dunlap- 21-28

Sangamo

Athens at Riverton- 76-12
Maroa-Forsyth at Williamsville- 41-43
Petersburg PORTA at New Berlin- n/a
Pittsfield at North Mac- 10-26
Pleasant Plains at Auburn- 21-63

Non-conference high school action...

Normal Community at Lapeer, MI- 8-42

The Clinton Maroons are looking to start 4-0 for the second straight year when they welcome Meridian to Sprague Field.

The Maroons took care of Shelbyville on the road last week 48-14. Coach Chris Ridgeway says it was a good game but not a perfect game.

Coach Ridgeway says Meridian is a much-improved team and over the past few years they have grown a lot. He says they are turning into a good football program.

The Maroons enter action 3-0 while Meridian is 2-1. Decatur St. Teresa rolled the Hawks last week 52-6.

Game time tonight is 7 pm and all the action can be heard on The Big 1520 AM/92.3 FM/106.5 FM WHOW and online at dewittdailynews.com. 

Central Illinois Conference action tonight....

Central Illinois

Shelbyville at Sullivan-Okaw Valley

Tuscola at Decatur St. Teresa

Warrensburg-Latham at Central A & M

The Monticello Sages rebounded from their first regular-season loss in nearly two years with a 51-19 win over Champaign St. Thomas More and will take their 2-1 record on the road for an Illini Prairie Conference tilt with Rantoul. 

The Sages took a while to get going last Friday night before a couple of big second-half plays allowed them to create some separation. Head Coach Cully Welter continues to remind fans this is a young team that is still growing.

Moving to 2-1 overall, Coach Welter felt they got better in areas they needed to and reminded the players after the game, nothing is going to come easy.

Rantoul is 0-3 overall and is coming off a 27-7 loss to Olympia last Friday night. 

Game time is 7 pm and all the action can be heard on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com. 

Illini Prairie Conference action tonight....

Champaign St. Thomas More at Illinois Valley Central

Prairie Central at Pontiac

St. Joseph-Ogden at Tolono Unity

Olympia at Bloomington Central Catholic

Other week 4 action....

Apollo

Charleston at Lincoln

Mahomet-Seymour at Effingham

Mt. Zion at Mattoon

Big Twelve

Champaign Central at Urbana

Normal West at Bloomington 

Peoria at Peoria Manual

Peoria Richwoods at Peoria Notre Dame

Central State Eight

Chatham Glenwood at Decatur Eisenhower

Decatur MacArthur at Rochester

Jacksonville at Normal U-High

Springfield Lanphier at Springfield

Springfield Southeast at Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin

Heart of Illinois (Large)

Tri-Valley at El Paso-Gridley

Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley at Fieldcrest

Dee-Mack at Eureka

Heart of Illinois (Small)

Ridgeview at Heyworth

Tremont at LeRoy

Lincoln Prairie

Argenta-Oreana at Cerro Gordo-Bement

Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond at Arcola

Oakland Tri-County at Decatur LSA

Toledo Cumberland at Blue Ridge

Villa Grove-Heritage at Sangamon Valley

Mid-Illini

Canton at East Peoria

Metamora at Limestone

Pekin at Morton

Washington at Dunlap

Sangamo

Athens at Riverton

Maroa-Forsyth at Williamsville

Petersburg PORTA at New Berlin

Pittsfield at North Mac

Pleasant Plains at Auburn

Non-conference high school action...

Normal Community at Lapeer, MI

The Fighting Illini will play under the lights Saturday night when the Nebraska Cornhuskers come to Memorial Stadium to open Big Ten play. Kick is set for 7 p.m. CT on Big Ten Network.  

After missing the previous seven quarters due to injury, senior RB Reggie Corbin returned with a bang last Saturday, rushing for 144 yards on 18 carries and one touchdown in a 34-31 loss to EMU. 

Illinois is 2-4 against Nebraska in Champaign. In 2017, Nebraska beat Illinois 28-6 in the Huskers' last visit to Champaign, while holding the Illini to 199 yards of total offense. Despite rushing for 383 yards and five touchdowns, the Fighting Illini couldn't overcome five turnovers and fell to the Cornhuskers, 54-35, last year in Lincoln.

Illinois' 14-13 win in Champaign on October 3, 2015 was the Illini's first against the Cornhuskers since 1924.

Members of the 2019 Illinois Athletics Hall of Fame, including linebacker Simeon Rice and wide receiver David Williams, will be honored at the game. The Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place on Friday, Sept. 20, at 6 p.m. at State Farm Center and is free to attend. 

Coming off a big win in the Mid-America Classic on the road last weekend, No. 10/15 Illinois State (2-1) returns home to Hancock Stadium to wrap up non-conference action against one of the Big Sky Conference's best teams in Northern Arizona (2-1). 

All-American James Robinson bounced back from a tough outing in the season opener with three touchdowns and 178 yards rushing last week in a victory over Morehead State. He didn't want to be outdone against Eastern Illinois, as he matched his career-high with three more touchdowns to give him six in the past two games. Robinson found the end zone in each of the first three quarters to help the Redbirds come away with a 21-3 victory. 

Senior quarterback Case Cookus tossed four touchdown passes, while completing 12-of-21 passes for 357 yards, to lead NAU to a convincing 55-21 victory over Western New Mexico last Saturday afternoon at the J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome to help NAU improve to 2-1 on the season.

Eastern Illinois travels to Indiana State on Saturday as the Panthers play their final non-conference game of the season.  EIU dropped to 0-3 following a 21-3 loss to Illinois State last Saturday in the Panthers home opener.  Indiana State won its first game of the season last week with a 19-7 win over OVC member Eastern Kentucky.

Dytarious Johnson finished with three tackles for loss on Saturday against Illinois State as he now has four for the season.  Johnson enters the Indiana State game ranked 43rd in the FCS in tackles for loss.  He has increased his career total to 27 tackles for loss and needs five more this season to break into the EIU career top ten.

Jaelin Benefield was the Panthers top receiver on Saturday against Illinois State as the freshman running back caught seven passes for 44 yards.  The last time a running back led the Panthers in receptions in a game was last Nov. 10 when Isaiah Johnson caught six passes to lead the Panthers in their win over Austin Peay.

Game time Saturday is noon and all the action can be heard on The Big 1520 AM/92.3 FM/106.5 FM WHOW and online at dewittdailynews.com. 

Matt Carpenter homered in the 10th inning against Craig Kimbrel in the All-Star closer's return from the injured list, and St. Louis regrouped after blowing a late lead to beat the Cubs 5-4 Thursday night. The teams will meet six more times in the final 10 days of the regular season.

Chicago dropped a game behind Milwaukee for the second NL wild card and four games behind St. Louis for first place in the NL Central.

Giovanny Gallegos pitched a perfect 10th for his first save in two chances. Andrew Miller (5-5) recorded the final two outs in the ninth for the victory.

Cubs slugger Anthony Rizzo provided a jolt in his unexpected return from a sprained right ankle, homering in the third inning to tie the game at 1. But Flaherty was spectacular otherwise, pitching three-hit ball while allowing just the one run and striking out eight. He left after 118 pitches with a 6-2 record with a 0.93 ERA in 10 starts since Aug. 1.

The Cubs finally broke through against closer Carlos Martinez in the ninth, which Nicholas Castellanos led off with a walk then advanced to second on Kris Bryant's single. After Kyle Schwarber was called out on strikes, Ben Zobrist hit an RBI double just inside the right field line. Willson Contreras followed with a slow roller on which Martinez threw late to the plate while Bryant scored from third.

Jason Heyward tied it with a groundout against Miller that scored pinch-runner Javier Baez from third.

Tommy Edman leadoff the fifth with a triple against Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks for the first of his two hits. Harrison Bader followed with an RBI single to snap a 1-1 tie.

The Cardinals took a 4-1 lead with a pair of runs in the sixth. Schwarber bobbled Yadier Molina's single in left field off Hendricks for a run-scoring error. Bader hit an RBI double off reliever Brad Wieck one out later.

Michael Wacha (6-7, 4.76) and Chicago RHP Alec Mills (1-0, 3.42) are the scheduled starters Friday. LHP Jose Quintana set to start for Chicago, but his assignment was pushed back to Saturday, when LHP Cole Hamels (fatigued left shoulder) had been scheduled to pitch. Hamels was scratched but hopes to rejoin the rotation next week.

Five-star Class of 2020 guard DJ Steward shut down his recruitment on Wednesday afternoon by committing to the Duke Blue Devils over offers from Texas, North Carolina, Louisville and a handful of others.

Steward, a 6-foot-3 prospect from Chicago, made his decision on the heels of a weekend official visit to Duke.

Steward visited the University of Texas on an official basis earlier this month and had made plans to officially visit Louisville before his commitment. In August, he narrowed his top schools to DePaul, Duke, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa State, Louisville, North Carolina and Texas.

With Steward in the fold for 2020, Duke jumps to own the No. 2 recruiting class in the cycle behind only Kentucky. He's one of three Blue Devils pledges and the lowest-rated of the trio that also includes top-20 prospects Jeremy Roach and Jalen Johnson.

Adam Wainwright put on another sharp performance to top Max Scherzer, right fielder Dexter Fowler made a sensational catch and the NL Central-leading St. Louis Cardinals beat the Washington Nationals 5-1 on Wednesday.

Wainwright (13-9) has won all four of his starts this month, allowing just one earned run in 27 innings. The 38-year-old righty limited the Nationals to an unearned run in seven innings.

Tommy Edman and Matt Wieters homered for St. Louis, which began the day with a two-game division lead over Chicago and Milwaukee. The Cardinals play the Cubs seven times in their final 10 games, beginning with a four-game series at Wrigley Field that starts Thursday night.

Scherzer gave up five runs in 6 2/3 innings. He left after Edman hit an RBI single for a 3-1 lead and Wieters followed with a pinch-hit homer.

Scherzer struck out 11, but fell to 1-2 in five starts since coming off the injured list with a strained back.

Carlos Martinez got four outs for his 21st save in 24 chances. The Cardinals used three relievers in the eighth.

Jack Flaherty (10-8, 3.05) opposes Cubs RHP Kyle Hendricks (11-9, 3.26) to open a four-game series at Wrigley Field on Thursday night.

Held without a hit until the sixth inning, the Twins managed only three in 3-1 loss to the Chicago White Sox that shrunk their AL Central lead.

The surprising Twins still have a magic number of seven to clinch their first division title since 2010.

Zack Collins homered and Yoan Moncada doubled twice for the White Sox. A trio of Chicago pitchers combined to take a no-hitter into the sixth.

Jace Fry (3-4) pitched 1 2/3 innings to get the win for Chicago, which had lost four straight and 16 of 21. Alex Colome earned his 28th save in 30 chances with a perfect ninth.

One night after using six relievers, the White Sox turned to seven after Ivan Nova started on what would normally be his bullpen day. Dylan Covey was scratched Tuesday because of shoulder soreness and could be done for the year.

Nova issued two walks and threw a wild pitch in one inning. Fry and Carson Fulmer then combined for four hitless innings before Josh Osich gave up Minnesota's first hit to Jorge Polanco in the sixth.

Moncada's second double of the night - and career high-tying 32nd of the season - put Chicago up 2-0 in the sixth. Eloy Jimenez had an RBI single in the second, and Collins homered in the ninth.

Twins starter Jake Odorizzi (14-7) allowed two earned runs and seven hits with nine strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings but lost for the second time in nine starts.

The White Sox start a weekend series Friday in Detroit with Dylan Cease (3-7, 6.18 ERA) taking the ball. The right-hander has won two of three September starts.

Jose Iglesias had an RBI double in the 10th inning and five Cincinnati pitchers combined for a four-hitter as the Reds recorded their second straight win over playoff-contending Chicago 3-2 on Wednesday night.

The Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers trail the NL Central-leading St. Louis Cardinals by three games. Chicago and Milwaukee are tied for the second NL wild-card spot, 1 1/2 games behind the Washington Nationals, who hold the first wild card.

Chicago opens a four-game series against St. Louis on Thursday night at Wrigley Field.

With two outs and none on in the top of the 10th, Cincinnati's Aristides Aquino started the winning rally against James Norwood (0-1) with a single to left. After Aquino advanced on a wild pitch, Josh VanMeter walked, putting runners on first and second. Iglesias then doubled to right to score Aquino with the go-ahead run.

Amir Garrett (5-3) struck out Kyle Schwarber to end the ninth and Raisel Iglesias worked around a one-out double in the 10th for his 33rd save. Nico Hoerner lined out to right to end it.

Reds slugger Eugenio Suarez hit his 48th homer, one behind Pete Alonso of the New York Mets for the major league lead. The total is the most ever by a Venezuelan player, breaking the previous mark of 47 by Andres Galarraga.

Suarez also tied the NL record for homers by a third baseman. Mike Schmidt of the Phillies (1980) and Adrian Beltre of the Dodgers (2004) are the others reach the mark.

Cincinnati starter Tyler Mahle allowed just one run on one hit in six innings.

Jon Lester allowed one run on six hits in five-plus innings.

Kyle Hendricks (11-9, 3.26 ERA) starts the opener of the St. Louis series Thursday night with RHP Jack Flaherty (10-8, 3.05) going for Cardinals. Hendricks has a 1.75 ERA in 13 home starts, while Flaherty is 6-2 with a 0.90 ERA in his last nine starts.

The Dallas Cowboys missed when they selected Taco Charlton.

They're not waiting around to correct the error they made in picking the former University of Michigan with the 28th overall selection in the 2017 NFL Draft, though, and Charlton himself wasn't too fond of his lack of a role on the team. 

The team determined this offseason it would be a good idea to move on and try to land an asset in exchange for trading Charlton, and the 24-year-old was on the same page when he reportedly requested to be traded months ahead of the regular season kicking off. 

Although the team reached out to other clubs with the hopes of making this happen before September, nothing materialized, and things deteriorated to the point of Charlton demanding a release from the team.

The Cowboys have reportedly granted his request and released him, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. 

Charlton was inactive for the first two games to begin the regular season on the heels of a disappointing 2018 campaign that saw him land only one sack. He also missed several games last year and was benched once he was healthy due to attitude issues, and the latter created a rift between him and the coaching staff that was never truly repaired. 

The former Wolverine flashed ability in the preseason dress rehearsal in August, but was again injured and is coming off an offseason that saw him undergo two separate surgical procedures, one on his shoulder and the other on his ankle.

Marcell Ozuna drove in four runs and threw out a runner at home plate from left field, leading the St. Louis Cardinals over the Washington Nationals 4-2 on Monday night.

Ozuna hit a two-run homer in the first off Stephen Strasburg, who walked Dexter Fowler leading off.

Sean Doolittle (6-5) walked Fowler with one out in the seventh, Hunter Strickland walked Paul Goldschmidt with two outs and Ozuna doubled just inside the left-field line, just the second hit in 11 at-bats for the Cardinals with runners in scoring position.

Dakota Hudson (16-7) won for the sixth time in seven starts, giving up two runs and five hits in seven innings.

John Brebbia, Andrew Miller and Martinez followed with perfect relief.

One day after he was released from a hospital following respiratory problems caused by asthma and allergies, Martinez needed just two pitches to retired Ryan Zimmerman on a flyout for his 20th save in 23 chances.

Patrick Corbin (12-7, 3.20) is 1-2 with a 4.89 ERA against the Cardinals. His lone win came in 2016 when he pitched for Arizona.

Miles Mikolas (9-13, 4.28) beat the Nationals 5-1 on May 1 when matched against Max Scherzer.

Kyle Schwarber hit a three-run homer and made a diving catch in left field, and the Cubs beat the Cincinnati Reds 8-2 on Monday night for their fifth straight victory.

Nicholas Castellanos added a two-run double in the eighth inning as Chicago moved a season-high 14 games above .500. The Cubs have outscored opponents 59-18 during their streak.

The Cubs (82-68) pulled within a half-game of Washington for the top spot in the wild-card standings and stayed two games back of NL Central-leading St. Louis, which held off the Nationals for a 4-2 win.

Steve Cishek, Mills (1-0), Rowan Wick, Kyle Ryan and David Phelps combined for 5 2/3 scoreless innings in relief of an ineffective Cole Hamels.

It was Mills' first major league win in his 17th big league appearance.

Sonny Gray (10-7, 2.80 ERA) faces RHP Yu Darvish (6-6, 3.97 ERA) on Tuesday night in a matchup of two of baseball's best pitchers since the All-Star break. Gray is 4-1 with a 1.29 ERA in his last eight starts for Cincinnati. Darvish struck out 14 while pitching six scoreless innings in Chicago's 4-1 victory at San Diego on Thursday.

Jose errios pitched into the eighth inning to win his second straight start, Mitch Garver hit a go-ahead double and the Twins rallied to beat the Chicago White Sox 5-3 Monday night.

Given an extra day of rest between starts, Berrios (13-8) allowed two runs and five hits in 7 1/3 innings with eight strikeouts and two walks. He was rewarded with a standing ovation when he was removed.

Sergio Romo allowed Eloy Jimenez's homer leading off the ninth before getting an out. Taylor Rogers needed just eight pitches to finish a six-hitter for his 27th save in 33 chances.

White Sox starter Reynaldo Lopez gave up five runs and nine hits in 5 1/3 innings.

Jose Abreu's sacrifice fly in the first and James McCann's homer in the second gave Chicago a 2-0 lead, but the Twins tied the score in the bottom half on Jorge Polanco's sacrifice fly and Nelson Cruz's RBI single.

After Garver put the Twins ahead for good, Luis Arraez hit a cue shot off the end of his bat that curved past third baseman Yoan Moncada for a two-run single in the sixth. Moncada appeared to be in position to make a play before the ball spun to his left and into the outfield.

Lucas Giolito was scratched from his scheduled start Tuesday because of a mild lat strain and will miss the rest of the season. LHP Ross Detwiler (2-5) will start against LHP Martin Perez (10-7). A first-time All-Star, Giolito finished 14-9 with a 3.41 ERA.

Eddy Pineiro kicked a 53-yard field goal as time expired, giving the Bears a wild 16-14 win Sunday over the Broncos and their former defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, whose gutsy 2-point call 31 seconds earlier had given Denver the lead.

The Broncos, who are off to their first 0-2 start since 1999, thought they’d survived and that time had expired when cornerback Chris Harris Jr. tackled Allen Robinson after he hauled in a 25-yard pass on fourth-and-15 from Trubisky at the Denver 35.

The clock showed all zeroes and both teams milled around on the field not knowing whether to celebrate a win or lament a loss. Then referee Adrian Hill announced there was 1 second remaining and Chicago was using its last timeout.

Pineiro’s third field goal, a day after his 24th birthday, sent the Bears (1-1) streaming back onto the field in celebration of a victory that seemed so unlikely after they’d surrendered the lead moments earlier.

In a whipsaw of emotion, cornerback Kyle Fuller, whose goal-line interception with five minutes left seemingly sealed Chicago’s win, surrendered a 7-yard tiptoe TD to Emmanuel Sanders . Sanders barely got both feet toes down in the right corner of the end zone.

That made it 13-12, and the Broncos lined up for 2. A delay pushed them back 5 yards and Fangio sent Brandon McManus out instead for the extra point from the 20-yard line and the tie. But McManus was wide right and the Bears went wild.

But there was a flag on Chicago.

Buster Skrine was offside and the Broncos moved up to the 1. Out came their offense again, and with an empty backfield, Joe Flacco backpedaled and hit Sanders at the goal line in front of Fuller to give Denver a 14-13 lead.

For the second straight game, the Broncos failed to get a sack, but linebacker Bradley Chubb came close, hitting Trubisky just as he got off a throw to tight end Trey Burton for 10 yards. A debatable roughing call on Chubb tacked on 15 yards and the Bears were suddenly in business at the Broncos 45.

Three incompletions were followed by a 12-men-in-the-huddle infraction, however, and the Bears were facing fourth-and-15 from their 40 with 9 seconds remaining.

Trubisky stepped up and found Robinson over the middle in the nick of time. Harris’ tackle came 1 second too early for the Broncos, who saw their 13 home game September winning streak snapped.

Chicago visits Washington next Monday.

Aaron Rodgers threw two early touchdowns and Green Bay held on for a 21-16 victory over the Minnesota Vikings.

Rodgers completed nine of his first 10 passes for 134 yards and two touchdowns and had a perfect 158.3 rating through the first quarter. He finished 22 of 34 for 209 yards.

After scoring on each of its first three possessions, Green Bay's offense failed to muster another point. But the hot start was enough to win.

The Packers remained unbeaten under LaFleur after opening the NFL's 100th season with a victory at rival Chicago. They also beat the Vikings (1-1) for the fifth time in the past seven games at Lambeau Field.

Minnesota's Dalvin Cook had a career-high 154 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries. It was the third-year pro's second consecutive game with over 100 yards rushing. Cook also had 37 yards receiving in the loss.

After throwing the ball just 10 times in the opener against Atlanta, Kirk Cousins finished 14 of 32 with 230 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. Cousins was picked off by Kevin King in the end zone late in the fourth quarter.

Rodgers and Davante Adams connected on a 39-yard completion on the Packers' first offensive play. Rodgers found running back Jamaal Williams for a 15-yard touchdown to cap a four-play, 75-yard drive.

Adams finished with 106 yards on nine catches.

Minnesota had eight penalties for 100 yards.

The Packers host Denver next Sunday.

Ryan Braun hit a go-ahead grand slam off Junior Fernandez with two outs in the ninth inning, and the Brewers beat the St. Louis Cardinals 7-6 Sunday to keep up their playoff push by winning for the ninth time in 10 games.

Milwaukee remained one game behind the Chicago Cubs for the second NL wild card and closed within three games of the NL Central-leading Cardinals.

With the Cardinals ahead 4-3, Jon Gant (10-1) walked Ben Gamel and Travis Shaw starting the ninth, struck out Trent Grisham and walked Yasmani Grandal.

Tyler Webb retired Mike Moustakas on a flyout not deep enough to score a run, Fernandez relieved and Braun drove a hanging slider to left-center for his seventh career slam and a 7-4 lead.

Tommy Edman hit a two-run homer with one out in the bottom of the ninth off Josh Hader, who struck out Harrison Bader and pinch-hitter Tyler O'Neill for his 33rd save in 39 chances.

Bader hit solo homers in the third and seventh innings totaling 909 feet, giving him 10 homers this season.

Matt Albers (7-5) got two outs for the win, and Gant lost for the first time in exactly one year.

Cory Spangenberg hit a two-run homer off Ryan Helsley in the seventh, but Paul DeJong had a two-run homer against Ray Black in the bottom half for a 3-2 lead, a drive that curled just inside the left-field foul pole.

Milwaukee starter Chase Anderson allowed one run and one hit over in four innings.

Cardinals starter Michael Wacha gave up five hits in five scoreless innings and is 0-3 in eight starts and two relief appearances since beating Cincinnati on July 19.

Dakota Hudson (15-7, 3.38) faces Washington RHP Stephen Strasburg (17-6, 3.49) on Monday. Hudson had a career-best five-game winning streak ended with a 2-1 loss to Colorado on Wednesday.

The Cubs rallied without Javy Baez and Anthony Rizz, who left Sunday's game early, thumping the Pittsburgh Pirates 16-6 to finish an impressive three-game sweep.

Rizzo was injured fielding a bunt at first base in the third inning. X-rays showed no fractures, and an MRI has been scheduled for Monday.

The Cubs maintained their one-game lead over Milwaukee for the second NL wild card. The Nationals are 1 1/2 games ahead of Chicago for the first wild card.

Kris Bryant homered twice, and Ian Happ, Kyle Schwarber and Jonathan Lucroy also connected as Chicago battered Pittsburgh for a third straight day. The Cubs scored a total of 47 runs on 49 hits in completing the sweep.

Chicago starter Jose Quintana was pulled after allowing five runs in the third inning, when he fell apart following Rizzo's injury.

After Erik Gonzalez's leadoff double, Pirates starter Trevor Williams bunted toward third base. Rizzo charged aggressively from first and rolled his ankle a few steps before fielding the ball. He threw wide to first base and dropped to the ground in pain.

Brad Wieck (1-1) later replaced Quintana with two on and struck out both batters he faced to end the inning.

Cole Hamels (7-7, 3.89 ERA) starts Monday night in the opener of a three-game series against the Reds. RHP Sonny Gray (10-7, 2.80) pitches for Cincinnati.

Martin Truex Jr. has won the opening race of NASCAR’s playoffs to earn an automatic berth into the second round.

Truex’s victory Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway was his series-best fifth of the season and again cemented Joe Gibbs Racing as the team to beat in this 10-race playoff series. JGR has 14 wins this season.

Truex chased down Kevin Harvick, who was slowed by traffic, to cut into Harvick’s lead and eventually make the pass for the win on the outside with 20 laps remaining.

Las Vegas was a brutal opener for a handful of title contenders, including Kurt Busch, who crashed when his tire went flat and he finished last in the field. Erik Jones had an earlier mechanical issue and finished four spots higher in 36th.

The top 10 finishers were all playoff contenders as Truex was followed by Harvick, Brad Keselowski, Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney, Alex Bowman, William Byron, Kyle Larson, reigning series champion Joey Logano and Ryan Newman.

Pole-sitter Clint Bowyer started the race by leading all four Stewart-Haas Racing drivers to the green flag, but he never could clear the traffic and eventually dropped to a 25th-place finish.

Kurt Busch, Bowyer and Jones are now the bottom three drivers in the 16-driver field and in danger of being eliminated in two weeks.

It was 100 degrees when the race began, hours later than it did last season because NASCAR felt it was too hot for fans in attendance.

Up next is a Saturday night race at Richmond Raceway in Virginia. Kyle Busch is the defending race winner. The field will then be cut by four drivers after the Sept. 29 race at Charlotte.

Jose Ruiz walked Tom Murphy with the bases loaded in the ninth inning after Kyle Lewis sparked a five-run rally with his latest home run, and the Mariners beat the Chicago White Sox 11-10 on Sunday for their second straight walk-off win.

Lewis hit a three-run home run in the eighth inning to fuel a five-run rally that tied the game, his fourth homer in six big league games. The rookie continued the pressure in the ninth, singling to help load the bases and set up Murphy's free pass.

The Mariners batted around twice, scoring five runs in the fourth and eighth innings. The late-inning rally wiped out an eight-run fifth by Chicago that included Wellington Castillo's grand slam.

Mallex Smith tied it at 10 with a single that scored pinch-runner Keon Broxton from second base.

Ruiz (1-3) gave up a single to Austin Nola, who had four hits, to open the ninth. Lewis singled and right fielder Ryan Cordell bobbled the ball, allowing Nola to move to third. He was replaced by pinch-runner Braden Bishop. After an intentional walk to load the bases, Ruiz walked Tom Murphy on six pitches.

Austin Adams (2-2) struck out Chicago's top three batters in the ninth for the win. He got Tim Anderson and Yoan Moncada on three pitches each.

Reynaldo Lopez (9-13, 5.35 ERA) will take the mound at Minnesota on Monday.

A mostly chalky Week 3 in college football resulted in zero changes within the top 10 of the coaches poll. By and large, the latest AP Top 25 poll ended up looking the same as well. The biggest change at the top, if you want to call it that, is Michigan falling from No. 10 to No. 11. The Wolverines are replaced by Utah, who beat Idaho State 31-0 on Saturday. While Michigan had an open week, it faces a huge road test next weekend when it travels to Wisconsin. The Badgers came in the latest poll tied at No. 13 with Big Ten foe Penn State. 

Three new teams entered the AP Top 25 this week: Cal, Arizona State and TCU. 

While there were plenty of upsets and near-upsets across the college football landscape in Week 3, the end results as they pertain to the USA Today Amway Coaches Poll stayed relatively the same. In fact, the entire top 10 remained exactly as it was this time last week with Clemson and Alabama continuing to grab the only available first-place votes. 

Outside of the top 10, though, there were minor shakeups. Penn State dropped one spot as it swaped positions with Utah after holding on to beat Pitt 17-10. Washington State and Boise State also rose slightly after Michigan State lost at home to Arizona State 10-7. The Spartans dropped out of the top 25 entirely while the Sun Devils were the biggest risers to No. 24. Mississippi State, USC and Maryland also dropped out after Week 3 losses while Virginia, Cal and Kansas State entered the rankings for the first time this season. 

Matt Kerr caught passes of 76 and 60 yards in the third quarter, as Monticello pulled away in the second half to a 51-19 Illini Prairie Conference win over Champaign St. Thomas More Friday night in Monticello.

Kerr’s receptions were in the third quarter and helped Monticello extend a 21-13 halftime lead into a rout in the second half as the Sages outscored STM 30-6. 

Kerr added a strip-sack and was a terror on defense in his first game back after missing the Sages first two games of the season.

Nic Tackels completed just four passes on the night for a net of 135 yards. He also added a rushing touchdown and 43 yards. 

Chris Brown had 139 yards on 19 carries with two touchdowns. 

Hayden Graham had two pick-sixes and Tackels added two interceptions on defense.

The Sages improve to 2-1  and the Sabres dropped to 0-3 on the season. 

Monticello hits the road next week to take on Rantoul. Hear all the action on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com. Game time is 7 pm.

Illini Praire Conference Scores

Bloomington Central Catholic 7, St. Joseph-Ogden 18, F

Illinois Valley Central 27, Pontiac 8, F

Rantoul 7, Olympia 27, F

Tolono Unity 22, Prairie Central 0, F

Apollo

Charleston 7, Mt. Zion, 48, F

Lincoln 17, Taylorville 19, F

Mattoon 14, Mahomet-Seymour 35, F

Big Twelve

Bloomington 28, Peoria Manual 8, F

Danville 7, Normal West 29, F

Normal Community 40, Urbana 0, F

Peoria Notre Dame 63, Champaign Central 47, F

Central State Eight

Decatur Eisenhower 37, Springfield Southeast 78, F

Normal U-High 7, Decatur MacArthur 30, F

Rochester 71, Jacksonville 31, F

Springfield 20, Chatham Glenwood 49, F

Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin 49, Springfield Lanphier 0, F

Heart of Illinois

Ridgeview 0, El Paso-Gridley 32, F

Tri-Valley 23, Fisher 29, F

Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley 34, Heyworth 7, F

Dee-Mack 6, LeRoy 7, F

Tremont 7, Fieldcrest 42, F

Lincoln Prairie

Arcola 41, Villa Grove-Heritage 6, F

Decatur LSA 6, Cerro Gordo-Bement 13, F

Blue Ridge 12, Oakland Tri-County 48, F

Sangamon Valley 14, Argenta-Oreana 47, F

Toledo Cumberland 13, Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond 7, F

Mid-Illini

Limestone 7, Washington 34, F

Morton 33, Canton 14, F

Sangamo

Maroa-Forsyth 42, Pittsfield 8, F

Petersburg PORTA 0, Athens 52, F

Pleasant Plains 65, Riverton 54, F

Williamsville 34, Auburn 17, F

As heard on WHOW, the Clinton Maroons defeated the Shelbyville Rams by a score of  48-14 on Friday night. The Maroons were led by the Nate Ennis State Farm Player of the Game Tyrese Petty. Petty had 15 carries, 219 yards, and 2 touchdowns. Garrett Wayne had 18 carries, 116 yards, 2 rushing touchdowns, 6 of 13 passing, 84 yards, and a touchdown. Kevin Rodas had 8 carries, 51 yards, and 2 touchdowns. Clayton Welch had 2 catches and 33 yards.

The Maroons defense forced 3 turnovers, held Kentrell Beck to 10 carries and 34 yards and 1 fumble, passing 11 of 19, 137 yards, a touchdown, and 2 interceptions.

The Clinton Maroons improve to 3-0 overall and 1-0 in the conference. The Shelbyville Rams fell to 1-2 overall and 0-1 in the conference.

Tune in next week as Clinton takes on Meridian at home. You can hear the game live on the Big 1520 AM/92.3 FM/106.5 FM WHOW, online at dewittdailynews.com, on the WHOW app, and on Amazon Alexa.

CIC Scores

Decatur St. Teresa 56, Meridian 7, F

Central A&M 49, Tuscola 14, F

Sullivan-Okaw Valley 7, Warrensburg-Latham 29, F

Dexter Fowler and Kolten Wong opened the game with successive home runs and the St. Louis Cardinals connected five times in all to beat the Colorado Rockies 10-3 on Thursday.

Marcell Ozuna, Rangel Ravelo, and Harrison Bader also homered for St. Louis, which holds a four-game lead over Chicago and Milwaukee atop the NL Central.

Limited to a total of two runs in losing the first two games of the series at Coors Field, the Cardinals quickly bounced back.

Fowler drove the first pitch of the game from Tim Melville into the second deck and Wong followed with a drive that soared over the center-field wall.

Nolan Arenado homered and doubled to drive in a pair of runs for Colorado. Josh Fuentes hit his first big league home run.

Miles Mikolas (9-13) went five innings and allowed three runs on five hits. He struck out five and walked one.

Colorado scored in the first on an RBI double by Arenado, but the Cardinals turned to the long ball again as Ravelo homered leading off the second.

St. Louis moved in front 4-1 on a sacrifice fly by Wong despite a fine play by Arenado. The star third baseman made a running over-the-shoulder catch in foul territory and turned and threw a one-hop strike to home, but a charging Bader knocked the ball loose from catcher Dom Nunez in a bang-bang play at the plate.

Ozuna led off the third with a home run against Melville (2-2).

Leading 6-3 going into the ninth, the Cardinals broke through for four more runs as reliever Wade Davis walked two and hit Paul DeJong with a pitch before giving up a two-run double to Matt Carpenter. Jake McGee relieved and Andrew Knizner had an RBI single with another run coming home on a balk.

One of the oldest rivalries in all of FCS football continues when Illinois State travels to Eastern Illinois for the 108th meeting of the Mid-America Classic. The Redbirds, coming off an impressive 42-14 win over Morehead State last weekend, will look to keep their positive momentum intact against the Panthers, who dropped to 0-2 on the year with a loss last week at Indiana.

The game against the Redbirds is the only at home for the Panthers in the opening month, as they will open with three of their first four games on the road. Thanks to early-season contests against Chattanooga, Indiana and the nationally-ranked Redbirds, EIU has the sixth toughest schedule in FCS as rated by HERO Sports. 

The Illinois State offense proved it was too much for Eastern Illinois in the 107th Mid-America Classic, as the Redbirds retained the traveling trophy and defeated the Panthers by a score of 48-10 at Hancock Stadium. The 38-point margin of victory was the Redbirds' largest in the series since 1992.

After a 31-23 road victory over UConn, the Fighting Illini return to Champaign-Urbana with a 2-0 record, ready to face Eastern Michigan (1-1) at Memorial Stadium on Saturday at 11 am. Illinois is looking to begin the season 3-0 for the first time since 2011 when the team got off to a 6-0 start. 

The Illini allowed just 10 rushing yards at UConn and rank seventh in FBS for the season at 37.0 ypg allowed.

Illinois ranks third in FBS in both sacks per game (5.5) and TFLs per game (12.0). 

Junior DL Oluwole (O-loo-wall-E) Betiku Jr., a graduate transfer from USC, leads the nation in both sacks (5.0) and tackles for loss (6.5) on the season.

Game time is 11 am and will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.
 

The Monticello Sages will play their first home game since winning the 2018 Class 3A state finals last November.

Champaign St. Thomas More comes to town as Monticello is reeling from a 40-14 loss at IVC last Friday night. Head Coach Cully Welter says after playing two tough teams to start the season, they are focused on the fundamentals as they look to get back over .500.

Monticello is rarely the bigger team in any matchup and that will be the case tonight. Coach Welter says St. Thomas More balances a big line with good athleticism.

Hear tonight's action starting at 7 pm on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com. 

Illini Prairie Conference action tonight...

Bloomington Central Catholic at St. Joseph-Ogden
Illinois Valley Central at Pontiac
Rantoul at Olympia
Tolono Unity at Prairie Central

Other week 3 action....

Apollo

Charleston at Mt. Zion
Lincoln at Taylorville
Mattoon at Mahomet-Seymour

Big Twelve

Bloomington at Peoria Manual

Champaign Centennial at Peoria Richwoods
Danville at Normal West
Normal Community at Urban
Peoria Notre Dame at Champaign Central

Central State Eight

Decatur Eisenhower at Springfield Southeast
Normal U-High at Decatur MacArthur
Rochester at Jacksonville
Springfield at Chatham Glenwood
Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin at Springfield Lanphier

Non-conference Heart of Illinois

Ridgeview at El Paso-Gridley
Tri-Valley at Fisher
Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley at Heyworth
Dee-Mack at LeRoy
Tremont at Fieldcrest

Lincoln Prairie

Arcola at Villa Grove-Heritage
Decatur LSA at Cerro Gordo-Bement
Blue Ridge at Oakland Tri-County
Sangamon Valley at Argenta-Oreana
Toledo Cumberland at Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond

Mid-Illini

Limestone at Washington
Dunlap at Pekin
East Peoria at Metamora
Morton at Canton

Sangamo

Maroa-Forsyth at Pittsfield
Petersburg PORTA at Athens
Pleasant Plains at Riverton
North Mac at New Berlin
Williamsville at Auburn

Without playing a game, the Clinton Maroons moved to 2-0 in week 2 thanks to a forfeit from Pawnee and so now the Maroons turn their attention to Shelbyville in their Central Illinois Conference opener Friday night in Shelbyville.

Coach Chris Ridgeway tried to keep things as routine as possible during their unofficial bye week but wanted the kids to commit to finding a football game to watch on Friday night.

Ridgeview wanted to use the bye week to get healthy before they hit the road for Shelbyville. He says it's been a win-lose situation, some guys are healthier and some guys are still on the mend after Salt Fork.

Hear tonight's game on The Big 1520 AM/92.3 FM/106.5 FM WHOW and online at

dewittdailynews.com.

CIC action tonight...

Decatur St. Teresa at Meridian
Central A & M at Tuscola
Sullivan-Okaw Valley at Warrensburg-Latham

Chris Paddack pitched six strong innings and the San Diego Padres beat the Cubs 4-0 Wednesday night, dropping Chicago into a tie with Milwaukee for the second NL wild-card spot. Manuel Margot homered off San Diegan Cole Hamels and also made a spectacular catch in center field.

The Cubs lost for the second straight night and for the fifth time in six games. Milwaukee beat Miami 7-5 in its first game since reigning MVP Christian Yelich suffered a season-ending knee injury.

Philadelphia and the New York Mets are two games behind the Cubs and Brewers.

Hamels (7-7) didn't get out of the fifth. The left-hander, who went to Rancho Bernardo High, allowed one run on four hits, struck out six and walked four in 4 1/3 innings.

Paddack (9-7) held Chicago to three hits while striking out seven and walking one.

Wil Myers hit a two-run single in the seventh.

Yu Darvish (5-6, 4.12) is scheduled to make his team-high 29th start in the series finale Thursday. He's 2-1 with a 4.13 ERA in four career starts against the Padres.

Dinelson Lamet (2-4, 3.95) has allowed three earned runs or fewer in nine of his 11 starts, while striking out five or more in 10 starts.

Antonio Senzatela pitched six strong innings for his first win since July 14, Ian Desmond hit a go-ahead home run and the Colorado Rockies beat the St. Louis Cardinals 2-1 Wednesday night.

The Cardinals loaded the bases loaded with one out in the first when Senzatela induced Paul DeJong to ground into an inning-ending double play, producing an immediate lift for the pitcher.

Tony Wolters had two hits, including an RBI double. Paul Goldschmidt had an RBI double for the Cardinals' run.

Senzatela (9-10) allowed a run on four hits. He struck out five and walked two in his first win since July 14. It was an abrupt reversal of form for Senzatela, who entered 0-3 with a 15.83 ERA since returning Aug. 25 from a stint with Triple-A Albuquerque.

Dakota Hudson (15-7) pitched nearly as well, allowing two runs on four hits in six innings. He struck out seven and walked five, one intentionally, and saw his career-high five-game winning streak snapped.

Miles Mikolas (8-13, 4.25 ERA) makes his second career start at Coors Field. Allowed career-high 12 hits in his only previous start at Coors Field a year ago in which he also homered and did not figure in the decision.

Tim Melville (2-1, 3.66 ERA) is slated to make his fifth start of the season. Rockies have come out on top in three of his four outings.

Former Cub Jorge Soler hit a pair of two-run homers among his career high-matching four hits, leading the Royals to an 8-6 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday night.

Soler has 43 homers this season, two behind American League leader Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels.

Adalberto Mondesi homered and had three hits, and Bubba Starling and Ryan O'Hearn also connected as the Royals beat Chicago for the fifth time in six games.

Rookie Eloy Jimenez homered, his 26th, and drove in four runs, and Jose Abreu added a two-run shot for the White Sox.

Abreu has 32 homers and 114 RBIs, which is three off the major-league lead at the start of Wednesday.

The teams combined for seven homers and have hit a total of 13 in the first two games of the series.

Glenn Sparkman (4-11) allowed three runs on four hits and snapped a nine-start winless streak. He had last won on July 16, against the White Sox at Kansas City.

Scott Barlow worked two scoreless innings and Ian Kennedy pitched the ninth for his 28th save.

Chicago starter Reynaldo Lopez (9-13) was coming off a complete-game one-hitter, but was roughed up for six runs on nine hits in 4 2/3 innings. He allowed four homers and has given up 31 in 166 2/3 innings this season.

Lucas Giolito (14-8, 3.27 ERA) faces Royals RHP Jorge Lopez (3-7, 6.23) Thursday afternoon in the finale of the three-game series. Giolito is 3-1 with a 2.32 ERA against K.C. this season. Lopez had his longest career outing last Friday at Miami with six scoreless innings.

Major League Baseball hitters have punctuated a power-packed year by shattering the record for most home runs in a season.

Jonathan Villar of the Baltimore Orioles connected Wednesday night for the 6,106th homer. That topped the mark of 6,105 set in 2017.

There are plenty more to come, too — the record was broken with 18 days left in the regular season. The rise in home runs during recent seasons has been tied to changes in the baseballs that have made them fly farther.

New York Mets rookie Pete Alonso leads the majors with 47 home runs.

The Minnesota Twins top the majors with 277 after Jorge Polanco connected in the third inning against Washington ace Stephen Strasburg at Target Field. The Twins’ total is the most for a team in a single season.

In August, big league batters broke the monthly home run record for the third time this year when they hit 1,228 home runs, the Elias Sports Bureau said. That surpassed the 1,142 in June and 1,135 in May.

There were 5,585 home runs last year.

In 2017, Alex Gordon hit the record-breaking 5,694th homer of the season. That topped the mark set in 2000 at the height of the Steroids Era.

Rory McIlroy is the PGA Tour player of the year, and even he was a little surprised.

In a vote of the players, who presumably gave as much weight to the whole season as the four biggest weeks, McIlroy won the Jack Nicklaus Award over Brooks Koepka. It was the third time McIlroy won the award, and the first time without having won a major.

McIlroy won three times, including The Players Championship and the Tour Championship to capture the FedEx Cup and its $15 million prize. He also had a tour-best 14 top 10s and finished out of the top 20 only four times in the 19 tournaments he played.

Koepka, who won the PGA of America’s player of the year based on points, was seen as the favorite for the tour’s award.

He won three times, same as McIlroy, led the FedEx Cup in the regular season and won the money title by nearly $2 million over McIlroy. What stood out the most in Koepka’s season, however, were the majors. He won the PGA Championship, joining Tiger Woods as the only back-to-back winners since the PGA switched to stroke play in 1958. Koepka was runner-up at the Masters and the U.S. Open, and he tied for fourth in the British Open, nine shots behind.

Nicklaus (1973), Woods (2005) and Jordan Spieth (2015) are the only other players to have finished in the top four in every major for the year.

Sungjae Im of South Korea was voted PGA Tour rookie of the year.

Coming off a 40-14 loss at IVC last Friday night, the Monticello Sages football team has fallen out of the top 10 in the latest 3A rankings.

The Sages started the season ranked second, after defeating Olympia 42-32 in the season opener, Monticello dropped to fourth and completely fell out of the rankings this week. 

Nashville, Vandalia and Quincy Notre Dame enter the top 10 while Williamsville moves up to No 1., followed by Wilmington, Byron, Lisle and Beardstown. 

GCMS continues to hold off Maroa-Forsyth atop the Class 2A rankings. Clifton Central kept it's place at No. 3 while Sterling Newman and Decatur St. Teresa flipped places at four and five after St. T picked up a forfeit win Friday.

In 1A, the top four remained the same with Central Illinois Conference's Tuscola and Central A&M were third and fourth, respectively.

Nolan Arenado hit a 482-foot two-run homer that bounced out of the ballpark in the first inning, Chi Chi Gonzalez got his first big league win in four years and the Rockies beat St. Louis 2-1 on Tuesday night to slow the Cardinals' playoff push.

St. Louis, which had won 23 of 30 coming in, maintained a four-game lead in the NL Central over the second-place Chicago Cubs.

Given the early advantage, Gonzalez (1-6) allowed one run and four hits in six innings.

Jairo Diaz got six outs and finished a six-hitter for second save.

Michael Wacha (6-7) allowed five hits in four innings and is winless in seven starts and two relief appearances since July 19.

Dexter Fowler doubled leading off the fourth and scored on Paul Goldschmidt's groundout.

Dakota Hudson (15-6, 3.40) will face Rockies RHP Antonio Senzatela (8-10, 7.19) in the second of the three-game series on Wednesday. Hudson is 11-2 in his last 14 starts while Senzatela has a 16.15 ERA in his last six outings.

Eloy Jimenez hit his first career grand slam, Yoan Moncada launched a monster two-run homer and the White Sox beat the Kansas City Royals 7-3 on Tuesday night.

Adam Engel added a solo shot for as the White Sox won their second straight, but just their fourth in 14 games.

Adalberto Mondesi, Alex Gordon and Ryan O'Hearn went deep for the Royals on a warm night when the ball carried well and every run was scored on a homer.

Ivan Nova (10-12) allowed three runs in 5 2/3 innings to snap his three-game losing streak. The right-hander yielded six hits, including the Royals' three solo shots, while walking none and striking out five.

Jacob Junis (9-13) permitted five runs in five-plus innings in losing for the third time in four decisions.

First baseman Andrew Vaughn, drafted No. 3 overall and signed by the White Sox out of Cal-Berkeley in June, made his first trip to Guaranteed Rate Field and met with players and coaches. Rated by Baseball America as the top hitter in the 2019 draft, Vaughn played for two Class A teams this season.

Glenn Sparkman (3-11, 5.97 ERA) faces White Sox RHP Reynaldo Lopez (9-12, 5.17) on Wednesday night. Lopez threw an 11-strikeout one-hitter at Cleveland last Thursday.

Manny Margot drew a four-pitch, bases-loaded walk with one out in the 10th inning and the San Diego Padres overcame an impressive power display by Kris Bryant and Jason Heyward to beat the Cubs 9-8 Tuesday night.

The Cubs' lead for the second NL wild-card spot was cut to one game over Milwaukee and two over Philadelphia.

Bryant hit a pair of two-run homers and Heyward also homered twice and drove in three runs for the Cubs, who rallied from a 6-2 deficit in the third inning to tie it at 8 after Bryant and Heyward each hit their second home run.

But that show was wasted when Steve Cishek loaded the bases on a single and two walks in the 10th, and then issued a third straight walk, to Margot.

Rookie Michel Baez (1-1) pitched the 10th for the win.

Bryant's second homer pulled the Cubs to 8-7 after Anthony Rizzo hit a leadoff single in the eighth. Heyward tied it with his second of the night, a one-out shot to straightaway center. Both came off rookie Andres Munoz.

Cubs starter Jose Quintana went just three innings, giving up six runs - four earned - on seven hits. He struck out one and walked none.

Cole Hamels (7-6, 3.95), who attended San Diego's Rancho Bernardo High, is scheduled to start Wednesday night. He is 9-2 with a 2.45 ERA in 18 career starts against the Padres.

Chris Paddack (8-7, 3.54) will face the Cubs for the first time. On San Diego's last road trip, he threw 12 1/3 innings of one-run ball in starts against San Francisco and Arizona.

Paul Menard has decided to walk away from NASCAR’s top level after more than 460 races and Wood Brothers Racing is replacing him with Matt DiBenedetto in the iconic No. 21 Ford next season.

After spending 16 years in the Cup Series, Menard said Tuesday he wants to step back from full-time racing to spend more time with his family. The 39-year-old driver, whose only win came at the Brickyard 400 in 2011, has two young children with his wife, Jennifer.

Menard joins David Ragan in becoming the second veteran driver to retire this season.

His decision is a gift to DiBenedetto, who has been solid this season but learned last month he wasn’t being retained at Leavine Family Racing next year. And with few rides expected to be available this offseason, the 28-year-old DiBenedetto was unsure if he would land a competitive ride.

Nico Hoerner had three hits and four RBIs in his big league debut and made some nice plays at shortstop for the Cubs, who beat the San Diego Padres 10-2 Monday night to snap a three-game losing streak.

Hoerner singled to right in his first big league at-bat, in the second inning. He reached on a fielder's choice in the fourth and eventually scored his first run on a wild pitch. He collected his first two RBIs on triple that bounced past third baseman Manny Machado and rolled into the left field corner in the fifth. He hit a two-run single up the middle. 

Nicholas Castellanos hit a two-run homer in the first inning, his 25th, and Kyle Schwarber had a solo shot leading off the five-run fifth, his 35th, to back Kyle Hendricks, who pitched 5 2/3 strong innings.

Hendricks (10-9) was hit on the lower right leg by a comebacker by Manny Machado in the fifth but stayed in the game. He allowed two runs, one earned, on seven hits while striking out five and walking one.

Cal Quantrill (6-7) allowed eight runs and 10 hits in 4 1/3 innings, struck out five and walked two. He's allowed eight runs in each of his last three starts. He's lost four straight starts.

Jose Quintana (13-8, 4.00) is scheduled to start Tuesday night. He's 2-0 with a 4.50 ERA in three career starts against San Diego.

Roland Bolanos (0-1, 3.00) is scheduled to make his second career start and first at Petco Park. He threw five innings of two-run ball at Arizona in his MLB debut a week of Tuesday but took the loss.

The Big Ten Conference has announced times and television information for the weekend of Sept. 21. The Fighting Illini Big Ten opener against Nebraska is set for 7 p.m. CT  and will be televised by Big Ten Network.

Illinois has seven remaining unknown game times for the 2019 season. As is customary, those times will be announced by the conference and its television partners either 12 or six days before each game date. 

The Nebraska game is part of Illinois Athletics' Hall of Fame Weekend, which includes the induction of the Hall of Fame Class of 2019 on Friday at State Farm Center.  Sixteen Illini greats will be honored in the class of 2019, including football legends Simeon Rice, David  Williams, J.C. Caroline, and Bobby Mitchell. 

The first weekend of the NFL season is over and the Bears watched the whole thing after losing to Green Bay on Thursday. 

The Bears only scored three points in the week 1 loss and Head Coach Matt Nagy says this week’s preparations begin with a simple focus.

The Bears travel to Denver this weekend to play the Broncos on Sunday.

Danny Mendick hit his first career home run, Jose Abreu got his 31st of the season, and the Chicago White Sox beat the Los Angeles Angels 5-1 on Sunday.

Mendick, Matt Skole and James McCann had two hits apiece for the White Sox, who avoided a three-game sweep.

Yolmer Sanchez had an RBI single in the sixth and Ryan Cordell added a sacrifice fly in the seventh to extend the lead.

Josh Osich (2-0) threw 2 2/3 scoreless innings to pick up the victory. He combined with two other relievers to limit the Angels to one hit in 5 2/3 shutout innings. 

Dylan Cease allowed a run and struck out four but walked five and threw 88 pitches in 3 1/3 innings for the White Sox, who had lost nine of 11.

After a day off, RHP Ivan Nova (9-12, 4.69) is scheduled to start against visiting Kansas City and RHP Jakob Junis (9-12, 4.94) on Tuesday. Nova is 5-3 with a 2.40 ERA in his last nine starts.

Jack Flaherty overwhelmed the Pittsburgh Pirates in a 2-0 victory on Sunday, striking out 10 against five hits and a walk over eight electric innings to keep up a dazzling run that has turned him into the de facto ace for the NL Central leaders. 

Flaherty (10-7) won for the sixth time in eight starts while dropping his post All-Star break ERA to 0.76 as St. Louis pushed its lead in the division to 4 1/2 games over second-place Chicago with three weeks to go in the regular season.

Carlos Martinez worked a perfect ninth for his 19th save to finish off a season series dominated by the Cardinals. St. Louis won 14 of its 19 meetings with Pittsburgh, including 10 of 12 in the second half, one of the main reasons the Cardinals are heading to October while the Pirates are planning for next season.

Paul Goldschmidt had an RBI double , and Harrison Bader added a run-scoring single off Pittsburgh rookie James Marvel (0-1). Matt Carpenter went 2 for 3 while starting at third base and is hitting .400 (6 for 15) in September as the veteran tries to shake out of a season-long slump.

The Cardinals start a three-game set in Colorado on Tuesday with Michael Wacha (6-6, 4.98 ERA) on the hill.

Tyler Austin drove a pinch-hit, three-run homer during the Brewers' five-run fourth inning against Jon Lester, and Milwaukee beat the Chicago Cubs 8-5 Sunday to earn another series victory. The Brewers took 3 of 4 at home a week after winning 2 of 3 at Wrigley Field, and that pulled them within two games of the Cubs for the second wild card with three weeks left in the regular season.

The Cardinals are 4 1/2 games ahead of Chicago for the NL Central lead. The Arizona Diamondbacks lost to the Cincinnati Reds 4-3 and are a 1/2 game ahead of Milwaukee in the wild-card chase.

Staked to a 3-1 lead, Lester (12-10) allowed RBI hits to Ryan Braun and Hernan Perez before Austin delivered his fourth pinch homer this season. Eric Thames added a solo shot off Lester in the sixth, and pinch-hitter Tyrone Taylor added an RBI single off Duane Underwood Jr. for his first major league hit.

Milwaukee's Brent Suter (1-0) followed starter Adrian Houser and pitched scoreless ball across the fifth and sixth innings.

Jason Heyward hit a two-run homer off Milwaukee reliever Jimmy Nelson in the top of the ninth. 

Cubs shortstop Addison Russell was hit in the face by a 94 mph fastball from Houser. He fell to his knees, holding his head, but eventually was able to compose himself and walk to first base accompanied by Maddon and two trainers.

Russell keyed a three-run rally before Ian Happ replaced him in the field. Russell stole second with a head-first slide and later scored on right fielder Christian Yelich's throwing error. Lester and Ben Zobrist each had a run-scoring double.

Russell was pulled in a precautionary move. He has a nasal contusion and is under evaluation for a possible concussion. He will travel with the team to San Diego.

Lester allowed eight runs and seven hits, walked three and struck out seven in 5 1/3 innings.

Kyle Hendricks (9-9, 3.39 ERA) makes his 27th start of the season and 15th on the road Monday night against RHP Cal Quantrill (6-6, 3.45 ERA) and the San Diego Padres. Cubs are 3-0 in his last three starts.

James Robinson ran for 178 yards and three touchdowns as Illinois State built a 35-0 lead and rolled to a 42-14 win over Morehead State in the Redbirds’ home opener Saturday night.

Illinois State bounced back from a tough loss at Northern Illinois in its opener. The Redbirds have won three of their four meetings with Morehead State.

Robinson capped Illinois State’s first drive, racing the final 16 yards for the score barely three minutes into the game.

Tuvone Davis picked off a Mark Pappas pass and returned it 29 yards for a touchdown a minute later and quarterback Brady Davis ran 52 yards for a touchdown to make it 21-0 after a quarter, then passed 11 yards to Andrew Edgar for a touchdown in the second. Robinson scored his second TD of the half on a 34-yard run. He capped the scoring for Illinois State with a 2-yard run early in the fourth quarter.

Pappas was 13 of 27 for 125 yards and two touchdowns for Morehead State, throwing for two touchdowns and two interceptions.

Brandon Peters set career highs, throwing for 225 yards and four touchdowns as the Illini overcame an early 13-point deficit to beat UConn 31-23.

It was the first nonconference road win for Illinois (2-0) in a dozen years.

Jakari Norwood had 62 yards to lead a rushing attack that accounted for 130 yards.

Jack Zergiotis, making his first start in place of an injured Michael Beaudry, completed 21 of 31 passes for 275 yards for the Huskies (1-1).

UConn, a three touchdown underdog, jumped out to an early lead when defensive back Tyler Coyle stepped in front of a Peters pass in the first quarter and returned it down the left sideline 52 yards. Clayton Harris added two of his three field goals in the first half.

But Ra’Von Bonner got the Illini rolling, taking a screen pass and weaving 28 yards down the right side for a score. That was the first of three second quarter touchdown passes for Peters, the Michigan transfer. The Illini put up 24 unanswered points, closing the half with a 53-yard field goal from James McCourt that was set up by a 29-yard interception return from Michael Marchese.

Illinois fumbled its first handoff after a 68-yard second half kickoff return from Dre Brown and UConn drove 59 yards, getting back in the game when Kevin Mensah dove into the end zone from 2 yards out.

But Southern Cal transfer Josh Imatorbhebhe capped an 87-yard drive with his second touchdown catch of the game to put Illinois on top 31-20 and an interception by Dele Harding stopped a late UConn drive to preserve the win.

Defensive end Oluwole Betiku, another Southern Cal transfer, was in the UConn backfield much of the game, recording 3½ sacks. He had six tackles, three for losses and 1½ sacks in the Illini’s opening win over Akron.

The Illini return home to take on Eastern Michigan next Saturday.

An almost flawless run Sunday by Kevin Harvick ruined any chance Jimmy Johnson had of executing his win-to-get-in strategy, and when he hit the wall in the second turn with 55 laps to go at Indianapolis Motor Speedway made it official: Johnson would miss the playoff for the first time.

Harvick beat Joey Logano by 6.118 seconds to claim his second Brickyard win.

With Johnson out, Clint Bowyer, Harvick’s teammate with Stewart-Haas Racing, held onto the 15th spot in the 16-car field. And Ryan Newman, of Roush Fenway Racing, broke a tie for the final spot with Daniel Suarez and put the No. 6 Ford in the playoffs.

Suarez brushed the wall on Lap 12 and then fell four points short of becoming the first Mexican-born driver to qualify for the playoffs in the No. 41 Ford with Haas Automation.

Two-time race winner and regular-season champion Kyle Busch parked his car on pit row after blowing an engine.

In all, there were six crashes and nine yellow flags for 48 laps in the 160-lap race.

Harvick heads into the playoffs in the No. 4 spot, recording three wins and seven top-10 finishes in the last seven races. He’s also won two poles during that stretch.

The playoffs begin next Sunday in Las Vegas.

As heard on WHOW, Indiana routed 52-0 to shutout Eastern Illinois on Saturday.

Backup quarterback Peyton Ramsey was 13 of 14 for 226 yards and two touchdowns, and starter Michael Penix Jr. was 14 of 20 with 197 yards and two touchdowns before taking a seat late in the second quarter.

Indiana defensive end Alfred Bryant made tackles for a loss on both of Eastern Illinois' first two plays of the game. Then tackle Demarcus Elliot sacked quarterback John Brantley. The Panthers went 3-and-out all three drives in the first quarter.

Brantley finished 8 of 17 for 49 yards. Eastern Illinois had only 116 total yards of offense. Indiana finished with 555 total yards.

The Panthers host Illinois State in their home opener on Saturday.

A 14-game regular-season winning streak came to end for Monticello Friday night as IVC rolled to a 40-14 win in Illini Prairie Conference football action in Chillicothe. 

The Grey Ghosts outscored the Sages 21-7 in the second quarter highlighted by a diving catch in the corner of the end zone by Kam Wollard from Alex Merlo. 

Leading 28-14 at the break, Monticello went 3-and-out in their only two-third quarter possesions and could not get anything going against a stingy IVC defense.

IVC scored on their first possession of the game. After Monticello’s first possession stalled, they forced IVC to a three and out, however, a botched punt return resulted in the Sages starting their second drive at their own 8-yard line.

Chris Brown, who scored three touchdowns last week in a win over Olympia, scored the first of his two touchdowns Friday with a 92-yard run, having to outlast Wollard who’s impressive speed nearly caught one of the fastest runners in the conference before Brown was able to dive over the pylon for the tying score.

IVC answered to start the second quarter with a touchdown to go up 14-7, Brown came back on the next possession and scored from two yards out to even the score, but it was all IVC after that. 

The Grey Ghosts would score the games next 26 points and roll to their second win of the season.

Brown led the way for a Monticello offense that was largely quieted most of the night. The junior rushed for 137 yards on eight carries.

Merlo led the way in an impressive performance, finishing 16-for-27 with 201 yards and three touchdowns through the air. He also threw an interception, though it was with 8-seconds left in the first half.

Merlo also racked up 108 yards on the ground with another two scores.

Wollard hauled in seven catches for 71 yards and two scores. Alex Fulton finished with seven receptions for 114 yards and rushed for just 13 yards on five carries, but did find the end zone on the ground. Ryan Miller finished 57 yards rushing as well.

The Sages, whos last regular-season loss was September 29, 2017 at Tolono Unity, falls to 1-1 overall.

IVC is 2-0.

The Sages will play at home for the first time next Friday hosting Champaign St. Thomas More. Hear the action on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com.

Week 2 Area Football Scores

Illini Prairie

Prairie Central 28, Bloomington Central Catholic 21, F

Pontiac 0, Tolono Unity 41, F

St. Joseph-Ogden 22, Rantoul 8, F

Olympia 26, Champagin St. Thomas More 8, F

Apollo

Charleston 14, Mattoon 27, F

Lincoln 7, Effingham 46, F

Mahomet 24, Taylorville 36, F

Big Twelve

Champaign Centennial 19, Champaign Central 51, F

Normal Community 19, Normal West 14, F

Peoria Manual 22, Peoria Richwoods 23, F-OT

Peoria Notre Dame 30, Peoria 56, F

Urbana 22, Danville 53, F

Central State Eight

Decatur MacArthur 33, Jacksonville 27, F

Rochester 48, Normal U-High 17, F

Springfield Lanphier 41, Decatur Eisenhower 32, F

Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin 10, Chatham Glenwood 34, F

Springfield Southeast 28, Springfield 52, F

Heart of Illinois (Large)

El-Paso-Gridley 0, Dee-Mack 20, F

Eureka 10, G.C.M.S. 35, F

Fieldcrest 25, Tri-Valley 0, F

Heart of Illinois (Small)

Fisher 7, Tremont 14, F

LeRoy 6, Ridgeview 14, F

Lincoln Prairie

Argenta-Oreana 27, Toledo Cumberland 7, F

Decatur LSA 0, Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond 41, F

Sangamo

Athens 54, Pleasant Plains 0, F

New Berlin 13, Maroa-Forsyth 34, F

North Mac 46, Petersburg PORTA 0, F

Non-Conference

Cerro Gordo-Bement 19, Shelbyville 48, F

East Moline United 40, East Peoria 14, F

Blue Ridge 28, Oblong 14, F

Georgetown-Ridge Farm 12, Paxton-Buckley-Loda 52, F

Heyworth 34, Monmouth United 6, F

South Fork 8, Meridian 38, F

Mt. Zion 24, Dunlap 21, F

Nokomis 6, Central A&M 42, F

Pekin 21, Sterling 47, F

Sullivan-Okaw Valley 21, Newton 31, F

Tuscola 45, Arcola 42, F

Warrensburg-Latham 7, Fithian-Oakwood 35, F

Thanks to a forfeit this week, the Clinton Maroons will be the first to two wins in Illinois.

While only a formality, the Maroons starting the year 2-0 is a big step to returning to the postseason. Head Coach Chris Ridgeway after last week's win says this week will be used to get some guys some rest and prepare for the conference opener with Shelbyville in week 3.

Coach Ridgeway says there are some things to clean up. He says what he saw from his team against a new opponent was what he hoped for in week 1

After this week's forfeit win, the Maroons will travel to Shelbyville next week. 

Decatur St. Teresa also will have a forfeit win this week. 

After a season-opening 42-3 rout of Akron at Memorial Stadium, Illinois (1-0) travels to Connecticut (1-0) to face the Huskies on Saturday in East Hartford. 

It is the first leg of a home-and-home series between the two programs. The Huskies will come to Champaign on Sept. 12, 2020. 

Illinois rolled up 401 total yards with a balanced attack (207 on the ground and 194 through the air).

The Illini defense racked up 12 tackles-for-loss and six sacks while forcing the Zips into two turnovers.

UConn has only 11 seniors, tied for the fourth-fewest in the nation, while Illinois has only 13 seniors, tied for the 10th fewest in the nation.

Game time is 2:30 pm central time and the game will be broadcast on the CBS Sports Network. 

Monticello football coach Cully Welter was worried about the Olympia Spartans in week 1, so much so, he thought his team played well in a 42-32 win.

The Sages were looking to replace a lot of key pieces to a 2018 3A state champion squad and Coach Welter felt like his team had a good showing against a squad he thought would be much improved in 2019.

Tonight's opponent, IVC defeated Tolono Unity last week and returns almost their entire team. Coach Welter says there is no clear cut favorite in the conference and there is no clear cut bottom-dweller either.

Hear tonight's game at IVC on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com. 

Illini Prairie action tonight....

Prairie Central at Bloomington Central Catholic

Pontiac at Tolono Unity

St. Joseph-Ogden at Rantoul

Olympia at Champaign St. Thomas More

Apollo

Charleston at Mattoon

Lincoln at Effingham

Mahomet-Seymour at Taylorville

Big Twelve

Champaign Centennial at Champaign Central

Normal Community at Normal West

Peoria Manual at Peoria Richwoods

Peoria Notre Dame at Peoria

Urbana at Danville

Central State Eight

Decatur MacArthur at Jacksonville

Rochester at Normal U-High

Springfield Lanphier at Decatur Eisenhower

Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin at Chatham Glenwood

Springfield Southeast at Springfield

Heart of Illinois (Large)

El Paso-Gridley at Dee-Mack

Eureka at G.C.M.S

Fieldcrest at Tri-Valley

Heart of Illinois (Small)

Fisher at Tremont

LeRoy vs. Ridgeview

Lincoln Prairie

Argenta-Oreana at Toledo-Cumberland

Decatur LSA at Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond

Oakland Tri-County at Villa Grove-Heritage

Sangamo

Athens at Pleasant Plains

Auburn at Pittsfield

New Berlin at Maroa-Forsyth

Riverton at Williamsville

North Mac at Petersburg PORTA

Non-Conference football tonight....

Belleville West at Washington

Cerro Gordo-Bement at Shelbyville

East Moline United at East Peoria

Blue Ridge at Oblong

Georgetown-Ridge Farm at Paxton-Buckley-Loda

Heyworth at Monmouth United

South Fork at Meridian

Macomb at Canton

Mt. Zion at Dunlap

Lincoln-Way Central at Bloomington (Sat.)

Nokomis at Central A & M

Pekin at Sterling

Peoria Heights at Oneida

Sullivan-Okaw Valley at Newton

Tuscola at Arcola

Warrensburg-Latham at Fithian-Oakwood

Eastern Illinois opened the 2019 season last Thursday with a 24-10 loss at Chattanooga.  It marked the third straight season that EIU has opened the year on the road.  It marked the head coaching debut for Adam Cushing who was hired as the 25th head coach in Eastern Illinois history in December of 2018.

Eastern Illinois and Indiana will be meeting for the first time in program history.  This will be the ninth time that EIU has faced a member of the Big Ten Conference.  The Panthers are 0-8 in previous meetings with the last match-up coming during the 2015 season when EIU lost at Northwestern with current Panthers head coach Adam Cushing on the Wildcats staff. 

The Panthers started three true freshmen on its offensive line in the season opener at Chattanooga.  Chad Strickland, Elkhanan Tanelus and Anthony Sottosanto all began their collegiate careers as starters.  The line helped the Panthers finish with 354 yards of total offense allowing only one sack which ranks 22nd in the FCS.

The Illinois State football team will look to bounce back from a tough season-opening loss at Northern Illinois, when the No. 16 ranked Redbirds (0-1) host the Morehead State Eagles (1-0) in the 2019 home opener at Hancock Stadium. 

Morehead State rolled up 587 total yards on offense, including balancing 293 passing yards with 280 yards on the ground, to come away with a 44-7 victory over Union (Ky.) in the first meeting between the two Bluegrass State schools since 1946. 

The Redbird defense featured strong performances from several players in the team's opener at Northern Illinois. Dylan Draka's interception was the first of his career and he also set a career-high with seven tackles against the Huskies. Luther Kirk led the Redbirds defensively with nine tackles for ISU, one short of his career high of 10 set last season against UNI, while John Ridgeway (8), Christian Uphoff (6)  and Zeke Vandenburgh (5) also set career bests in tackles.

There was plenty of noise heading into Soldier Field about Chicago’s D, which was dominant in 2018 as the Bears won the NFC North. And it played quite well against Aaron Rodgers and the Pack, sacking Rodgers five times and yielding only 213 yards - but the Packers were stingier in a 10-3 win in the NFL season opener on Thursday night. 

Mitchell Trubisky was sacked five times.

Green Bay went into the end zone on an 8-yard jump ball reception by tight end Jimmy Graham — a former college basketball player who boxed out to perfection on the play. That was the difference, thanks to the stingy Packers D.

Green Bay has won 16 of the last 19 regular-season meetings, and Rodgers is 17-5.

Chicago’s defense hardly slacked, getting five sacks — tying the most it has had against Rodgers. But it could do little with the ball and Trubisky never found his stride. He even was sacked on Chicago’s final offensive play.

Mason Crosby made a 39-yard field goal in the final period for Green Bay, while Chicago got a 38-yarder from Eddy Pineiro. 

Chicago was a pitiful 3 for 15 on third downs and 0 for 2 on fourth downs. Green Bay was even worse trying to convert, going 2 for 12 on third downs.

Kyle Schwarber launched a grand slam to cap a five-run sixth inning that sent Chicago to a 10-5 victory over Milwaukee on Thursday night in the opener of a crucial four-game series.

The third-place Brewers dropped 7½ games behind first-place St. Louis in the NL Central and five back of the Cubs for the second wild card. Chicago remained 2½ behind the Cardinals, who routed San Francisco 10-0.

Jose Quintana (13-8) allowed four runs on five hits, including two homers, in five innings to improve to 9-1 in his last 12 starts.

Willson Contreras finished a triple short of the cycle, driving in two runs on four hits. On his second double, he rounded second in the eighth inning before heading back to the bag instead of trying for a triple.

Ben Zobrist reached five times with three singles and two walks, scoring three times.

Davod Bote, recalled from the minors earlier in the day, made it 10-5 in the ninth with his 11th homer.

Cole Hamels (7-5, 3.69 ERA) makes his fifth start this season against Milwaukee. In his last start, also vs. the Brewers, he took the loss despite giving up just two runs in six innings. Hamels is 1-3 with a 6.43 ERA in his last seven starts.

Zach Davies (8-7, 3.76) is 0-5 with a 7.76 ERA over his last six starts. In his most recent start Saturday against the Cubs, he did not allow a run in 4 2/3 innings but did not get a decision.

Dakota Hudson pitched six innings of one-hit ball and hit a two-run single for his first big league RBIs, helping the Cardinals rout the San Francisco Giants 10-0 on Thursday to maintain a 2 1/2-game lead over the second-place Chicago Cubs in the NL Central.

Paul DeJong hit an early two-run homer, and Paul Goldschmidt singled and scored twice for the Cardinals, who won for the sixth time in seven games.

Genesis Cabrera finished the four-hitter for his first big league save.

Logan Webb (1-1) allowed eight runs - seven earned - eight hits and two walks in 2 2/3 innings.

Yadier Molina extended his hitting streak to 12 games with an RBI single in the third. The hit was Molina's 1,947th, tying Ozzie Smith for seventh in franchise history.

Miles Mikolas (8-13, 4.32 ERA) starts Friday at Pittsburgh and RHP Joe Musgrove (9-12, 4.67 ERA). Mikolas has 10 outings with no walks.

Chicago right-hander Reynaldo Lopez pitched a one-hitter against the Indians on Thursday for his first big league complete game, a 7-1 win that gave the White Sox a split of the four-game series.

Cleveland lost for the fifth time in seven games and dropped 6 1/2 games behind the AL Central-leading Twins and one back of Oakland for the second AL wild card. Tampa Bay is a half-game ahead of the Athletics.

Lopez struck out 11, walked three, retired his final 16 batters and threw 109 pitches.

Welington Castillo hit a two-run homer in the second off Zach Plesac (7-6), who allowed six runs in five-plus innings. The rookie right-hander was removed with the bases loaded and no outs in the sixth.

Adam Engel had a two-run single in the sixth off Hunter Wood that made it 6-1. Yolmer Sanchez had two RBIs for Chicago.

Lucas Giolito (14-8, 3.30 ERA), a first-time All-Star, starts as Chicago begins a six-game homestand.

After starting the season ranked second overall in Class 3A and starting the defense of their 3A state title with a 42-32 win over Olympia, Monticello has dropped in the latest 3A state rankings.

The rankings released later Wednesday has the Sages No.4 in 3A. Eureka jumped to second and Williamsville comes in third, they jumped two spots. Wilmington came in at five while Carlinville, Princeton, Lisle, Beardstown, and Fairfield round out the top 10 in 3A.

In 2A the top five remains unchanged. GCMS keeps their hold on No. 1 and Maroa-Forsyth remains firmly at no. 2, followed by Clifton Central at three and Decatur St. Teresa fourth. Newman Central Catholic comes in fifth while Bismarck-Henning jumps a spot to six, Orion jumps to seven, Fieldcrest improved from 10 to 8, Eastland-Pearl City falls from six to nine and Rockridge joins the top 10 at ten.

In Class 1A, Forreston and Lena-Winslow come in one and two respectively, while a pair of Central Illinois Conference teams check-in at third and fourth. Tuscola checks in at third, they were tied for second in the preseason poll. Meanwhile, Central A&M comes in at four. 

Camp Point Central, Aurora Christian, Annawan-Weathersfield, Arcola, Ottawa Marquette, and Carrollton round out the top 10 in 1A. 

In Class 4A, Taylorville out of the Apollo conference checks in at seventh. IC Catholic is No. 1 while Rochester out of the Central State Eight comes in at three. 

Kevin Pillar had four hits, including a go-ahead, two-run homer in the eighth inning, and San Francisco rallied to cool off the St. Louis Cardinals 9-8 Wednesday night.

Brandon Crawford and Mike Yastrzemski also homered for San Francisco, which snapped a four-game losing streak.

Paul Goldschmidt drove in four runs and Paul DeJong homered for St. Louis, which lost for just the fourth time in 18 games. St. Louis remained 2 1/2 games ahead of the Chicago Cubs in the NL Central.

Pillar had three RBIs. He hit a two-run homer off Giovanny Gallegos in the eighth.

Will Smith recorded four outs for his 31st save in 35 chances. He struck out Goldschmidt with the tying run at third to end the eighth, then punched out Harrison Bader with two on to end the game.

Goldschmidt hit a two-run triple in the fifth to tie it at 4. He also highlighted a four-run outburst in the sixth with a two-run double to give St. Louis an 8-7 lead.

Crawford hit a three-run homer in sixth to break a 4-4 tie.

San Francisco starter Madison Bumgarner allowed six runs and nine hits over five innings. He struck out two and walked one.

The 4 hour, 5-minute contest featured 28 hits, 13 pitchers and 365 pitches.

Dakota Hudson (14-6, 3.53) will face RHP Logan Webb (1-0, 3.52) in the final game of the four-game set Thursday afternoon. Hudson has won last four starts. Webb is making his fourth major league start. He has struck out seven in two of the three starts.

Oscar Mercado made a leaping, backhanded grab of Eloy Jimenez's drive to center field with the bases loaded and one out in the ninth inning, allowing the Indians to escape with an 8-6 win over the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday night.

Cleveland had built an 8-2 advantage in the eighth before Jose Abreu and Tim Anderson each hit two-run homers, the latter off All-Star closer Brad Hand.

Nick Wittgren entered to face Jimenez, who hit a rocket toward the deepest part of the ballpark but was left speechless and smiling as he tipped his cap to Mercado after the play. Wittgren then struck out Ryan Goins to end the 3 hour, 54 minute game.

Right-hander Shane Bieber (13-7) struck out nine and allowed two runs over seven innings, winning for the first time in five starts since Aug. 9. The All-Star Game MVP exited with a six-run lead, but couldn't exhale until Wittgren locked up his fourth save.

Chicago right-hander Ivan Nova (9-12) gave up six runs and 11 hits in 4 1/3 innings, raising his opponent batting average to an MLB-high .300.

Anderson had three hits and two runs, while Abreu's homer was his 400th career extra-base hit. White Sox right fielder Daniel Palka went hitless in four at-bats, making him 1-for-53 on the season.

Reynaldo Lopez (8-12, 5.41 ERA) allowed six runs in a career-low 2/3 innings in his last start Aug. 31 at Atlanta. It was the eighth time he has given up at least six runs in 28 appearances this year.

Zach Plesac (7-5, 3.61 ERA) struck out seven over seven innings and allowed one run in a 2-0 loss at the White Sox on June 2. The rookie is 5-1 with a 3.06 ERA in nine starts at Progressive Field.

The NFL's oldest rivalry takes on a different look to open the league's 100th season.

A year after new coach Matt Nagy took quarterback Mitchell Trubisky and the Bears to Lambeau Field to kick off the season, the script flipped, with Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and new coach Matt LaFleur coming to Soldier Field.

Rodgers has been a particular problem for the Bears, beating them in 16 of 21 starts. Last year Rodgers shook off a 20-point deficit in the second-half and a knee injury to lead a 24-23 win over Khalil Mack and the Bears.

Chicago returned the favor in December and ended Green Bay's five-game series winning streak to clinch the NFC North title en route to a 12-4 record.

The Packers ran less than any team in the NFL last year, and look to get running back Aaron Jones more carries.

The Packers will start free agent safety acquisition Adrian Amos, the former Bears safety, while his Bears replacement is former Packers safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix.

Clinton-Dix was traded by the Packers to Washington last year before signing for one year with the Bears.

Amos is one of eight Packers starters on defense who are different than in last year's opener.

>>Cowboys, RB Elliot Reach Agreement

Ezekiel Elliot is back with the Cowboys thanks to a new $90 million, six-year extension that makes Elliott the highest-paid player at his position — and just in time for the regular season. Dallas hosts the New York Giants on Sunday.

Elliott will get $50 million guaranteed. The $15 million-per-year average on the extension surpasses the $14.4 million Todd Gurley got from the Los Angeles Rams last summer. Gurley’s guarantee was $45 million.

The stalemate with the two-time Pro Bowler came with the Cowboys holding high expectations coming off their first playoff win with Elliott and quarterback Dak Prescott. They have won two NFC East titles in three seasons together.

Elliott held out with two years left on his rookie contract, at $3.9 million this season and $9.1 million in 2020. The fourth overall pick in the 2016 draft wanted to be the highest-paid back after getting those two rushing titles in only three years.

Carlos Carrasco received a standing ovation in his first appearance at home since being diagnosed with leukemia, but gave up home runs to James McCann and Eloy Jimenez in the eighth inning that lifted the Chicago White Sox over the Cleveland Indians 6-5 Tuesday night.

Carrasco entered the game with a 5-2 lead, but gave up a three-run homer to McCann, which was followed by Jimenez's second homer of the game.

Carrasco (4-7) entered after Roberto Perez's three-homer in the seventh gave Cleveland a 5-2 lead. Carrasco gave up singles to Leury Garcia and Tim Anderson, but struck out Jose Abreu and Yoan Moncada.

Cleveland has lost four of five and trails Minnesota by 6 1/2 games in the AL Central

Jimenez had an RBI double in the second and a solo homer in the seventh off Mike Clevinger. The rookie left fielder recorded his fourth career two-homer game.

Evan Marshall (4-2) got the win despite allowing Perez's home run. Alex Colome survived Franmil Reyes' flyout to deep right in the ninth for his 26th save.

Francisco Lindor homered in the first.

Ivan Nova (9-11, 4.48 ERA) has been dominant in his last eight starts, going 5-2 and allowing nine earned runs in 52 innings.

Shane Bieber (12-7, 3.27 ERA) has lost his last three decisions. The All-Star Game MVP hasn't won since Aug. 9.

Jack Flaherty dazzled in another dominant performance, Marcell Ozuna homered and the Cardinals - with a fluky foul ball-turned-base hit - beat the San Francisco Giants 1-0 Tuesday night.

Flaherty (9-7) carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning and cruised with eight strikeouts and a walk. The 23-year-old right-hander threw a career-high 113 pitches, 84 for strikes, and lowered his ERA to 0.90 over his past 11 starts dating to July 7.

Mike Yastrzemski had San Francisco's only two hits, the first a soft line drive with two outs in the sixth, and the second a single off closer Carlos Martinez in the ninth.

St. Louis only had five hits, including one by Paul DeJong that looked like a trick pool shot. DeJong hit a ball that rolled about 10 feet foul of the first base line before spinning all the way back into fair territory roughly 3/4 of the way to the bag. DeJong raced to first to load the bases with two outs in the first.

San Francisco right-hander Dereck Rodriguez pitched out of the inning and was nearly as good as Flaherty. Rodriguez (5-8) struck out seven over seven innings, and St. Louis' only damage came on Ozuna's shot in the sixth.

St. Louis has won 20 of its last 25 games. The Cardinals are an NL-best 34-16 since the All-Star break and entered the game leading the NL Central by three games.

Nicholas Castellanos homered and drove in four runs, and the Cubs celebrated the return of Willson Contreras and Ben Zobrist by topping the Seattle Mariners 6-1 on Tuesday night.

Jon Lester (12-9) escaped three bases-loaded jams while working six innings in his second straight win, helping Chicago stay three games back of NL Central-leading St. Louis. The Cubs also remained 2 1/2 games ahead of Philadelphia for the second NL wild card.

Daniel Vogelbach's pinch-hit RBI single in the eighth accounted for Seattle's only run in its fourth loss in five games.

The Cubs played without All-Stars Kris Bryant and Javier Baez due to injuries. Bryant was scratched due to right knee soreness, and Baez missed his second straight game with a jammed left thumb.

Zobrist led off the fifth with a bunt single. Schwarber then singled before Castellanos drove Wade LeBlanc's pitch deep to right , giving the Cubs a 5-0 lead.

Castellanos has 12 homers and 24 RBIs in 31 games since he was acquired in a trade with Detroit on July 31. It was his 23rd homer overall this year.

Following an off day, LHP Jose Quintana (12-8, 3.90 ERA) and Brewers RHP Chase Anderson (6-4, 4.58 ERA) meet again Thursday night in the opener of a four-game series in Milwaukee. Quintana tossed 5 2/3 scoreless innings in the Cubs' 7-1 victory over Anderson and the Brewers on Friday.

The Top 25 went 23-0 against unranked teams to open the season, leaving the rankings mostly unchanged with No. 1 Clemson and No. 2 Alabama at the top of the first regular-season AP college football poll of 2019.

The Tigers received 54 first-place votes out of 62 in the media poll, up two from the preseason. The Crimson Tide received the remaining eight in the poll presented by Regions Bank.

The only Top 25 team to lose was Oregon, which slipped to 16 after dropping a thriller to Auburn. The Tigers moved up to 10th.

The top seven teams in the preseason rankings held their spots Tuesday. Clemson and Alabama were followed by No. 3 Georgia, No. 4 Oklahoma, No. 5 Ohio State, No. 6 LSU and No. 7 Michigan. Notre Dame moved up a spot to No. 8 and Texas was ninth. Florida slipped three spots to No. 11.

No. 24 Boise State was the only team to move into the rankings this week, but in an odd quirk, no team fell out. There was a tie at No. 25 between Nebraska and Iowa State. 

The Southeastern Conference has four teams in the top 10 and six in the top 12.

Illinois running back Mike Epstein has sustained a season-ending injury for the third straight year.

Coach Lovie Smith said Monday the junior hurt his knee in the third quarter of the opener against Akron.

Epstein has played 13 games over three seasons and rushed for 802 yards and scored seven touchdowns.

Epstein started three of the first five games as a freshman in 2017 and was the team’s leading rusher before he missed the last seven games with a stress fracture in his right foot. The same injury kept him out of the last five games in 2018.

>>Cardinals Stay Hot, Hold Off Giants

Ada, Wainwright tossed seven scoreless innings and Kolten Wong delivered a run-scoring triple to lead the Cardinals to a 3-1 win over the San Francisco Giants on Monday.

Paul DeJong had an RBI single for the Cardinals, who have won 10 of 12. They remain three games ahead of the Chicago Cubs in the NL Central with 25 games remaining.

Mauricio Dubon hit his first major league homer for San Francisco, which has lost six of seven.

Wainwright (10-9) allowed four hits. He struck out one and did not walk a batter in a 96-pitch stint. Wainwright lowered his home ERA to 2.43 in 13 starts this season.

Carlos Martinez recorded four outs to pick up his 17th save in 20 chances. He leads the NL with 14 saves since the All-Star break.

St. Louis is an NL-best 33-16 since the All-Star break.

Dereck Rodriguez (5-7, 5.49) will face RHP Jack Flaherty (8-8, 3.71) in the second game of the four-game series on Tuesday. The Giants are 5-8 in games Rodriguez has started this season. Flaherty had a career-best four-game winning streak stopped in a 4-1 loss to Milwaukee on Wednesday.

>>Cubs Down Mariners

Kyle Schwarber had a three-run triple to highlight a five-run seventh, and the Cubs snapped a 24-inning scoreless streak in a 5-1 victory over the Seattle Mariners.

Anthony Rizzo went 2 for 2 and drove in a run for Chicago, which remained 3 1/2 games behind the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Central. The Cubs have a 2 1/2-game lead for the second wild card in the NL.

David Phelps (2-0) pitched a scoreless seventh inning. Duane Underwood Jr. and Brad Wieck closed it out.

Kyle Hendricks allowed one run on three hits in six innings, walking one and striking out seven. He was lifted for a pinch-hitter despite only throwing 81 pitches.

Jon Lester (11-9, 4.36 ERA) faces Mariners RHP Felix Hernandez (1-4, 6.02) in the finale of the two-game series Tuesday night in a matchup of former Cy Young Award winners.

>>Indians Pound White Sox

Carlos Santana homered, Franmil Reyes had a three-run double and Cleveland overcome eight walks and two errors in an 11-3 win over the White Sox on Monday.

Rookie right-hander Aaron Civale (3-3) allowed three runs - one earned - in five innings.

The White Sox have dropped seven straight - matching their longest streak of the season - and are a season-high 17 games under .500.

Jose Abreu's groundout pushed a run across in the third for Chicago, but Oscar Mercado threw out Yoan Moncada at the plate from center field to end the inning. Moncada tried to score from second on Jimenez's single.

Yolmer Sanchez had an RBI double in the fourth and Moncada had a sacrifice fly in the fifth.

Ross Detwiler (2-5) allowed four runs, walked six and threw 81 pitches in 2 2/3 innings.

Dylan Cease (3-7, 6.92 ERA) starts against Cleveland for the first time.

Mike Clevinger (10-2, 2.72 ERA) has a nine-game winning streak, over 11 starts, since July 3.

>>Bears Extend OL Whitehair

The Chicago Bears have signed Pro Bowl offensive lineman Cody Whitehair to a five-year contract extension through the 2024 season.

The Bears announced the extension Sunday. ESPN reported that it was worth $52.5 million and includes $27.5 million guaranteed.

Whitehair was in the last season of his four-year rookie contract. The second-round draft pick out of Kansas State in 2016 has started all 48 regular-season games since entering the league. He has started primarily at center but will switch this season to left guard, where he started two games during the 2017 season.

The Bears open the regular season Thursday against the Packers.

>>Waived Packers QB Picked Up By Raiders

The Oakland Raiders have claimed quarterback DeShone Kizer off waivers from the Green Bay Packers.

The move made Sunday gives Oakland four quarterbacks for the time being with Kizer joining starter Derek Carr and backups Mike Glennon and Nathan Peterman.

Kizer was originally a second-round pick by Cleveland in 2017 and then was traded to Green Bay in 2018. Kizer has played 18 games, completing 53% of his passes with 24 interceptions and 11 TD passes for a 58.9 passer rating.

The Raiders released defensive end Josh Mauro to make room for Kizer on the roster.

Freddie Freeman homered twice off All-Star Lucas Giolito and drove in five runs, providing all the offense for the Atlanta Braves in their 5-3 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Sunday.

Atlanta took a 2-0 lead in the first as Freeman, a four-time All-Star, homered to right. Giolito (14-8) retired his next 14 consecutive batters before Johan Camargo led off the sixth with a pinch-hit double and Freeman, who began the game tied for the major league lead in RBIs, followed with a tiebreaking, 410-foot shot to center.

Freeman added an RBI single to right off Ryan Goins in the eighth, scoring a runner from second.

Julio Teheran (9-8) struck out Jose Abreu and Yoan Moncada to strand a runner at second in the first, but he floundered in the second, allowing consecutive walks and a two-run single to Giolito, the pitcher's first RBI in 13 career at-bats, to make it 2-all.

That ended a streak of 14 consecutive scoreless innings for Teheran, who gave up two runs and three hits in six innings.

The White Sox cut the lead to 4-3 in the seventh on Abreu's RBI single off Luke Jackson.

Closer Mark Melancon earned his eighth save and seventh with Atlanta by facing the minimum in the ninth.

Christian Yelich hit a three-run homer off Craig Kimbrel in the ninth inning, and Milwaukee beat Chicago 4-0 on Sunday for its second straight shutout against the Cubs.

After Gio Gonzalez walked four in three hitless innings, Jay Jackson (1-0) got six outs for his first major league win. Drew Pomeranz got two big outs in the eighth before Josh Hader finished the four-hitter.

The Brewers were clinging to a 1-0 lead before Yelich connected with two outs in the ninth, driving a full-count pitch deep to center field.

Tyler Chatwood (5-3) replaced Darvish and allowed the game's first run on Orlando Arcia's groundout in the fourth. Ben Gamel set up the play when he went from first to third on Cory Spangenberg's one-out single to left-center.

The Cubs left nine on base and went 0 for 10 with runners in scoring position. Kris Bryant led off the eighth with a single and advanced to second on a wild pitch. But Junior Guerra fanned Victor Caratini before Pomeranz struck out Anthony Rizzo and Jason Heyward to end the inning.
 

Nick Senzel and Philip Ervin hit solo home runs, Luis Castillo pitched six effective innings and the Reds beat the St. Louis Cardinals 5-3 Sunday night to end a four-game losing streak and salvage a split of the teams' second doubleheader in two days.

Castillo (14-5) lasted six innings, giving up three runs and five hits with three walks. He struck out eight as the Reds' pitchers had 11 in the game.

Raisel Iglesias pitched a perfect ninth for his 28th save, a night after he blew an opportunity.

Daniel Ponce de Leon (1-2) allowed four runs -- three earned -- and five hits with a walk, and a hit batter in four-plus innings in the night game. Called up earlier in the day when rosters expanded, he entered the fifth with a 3-2 lead but gave up Senzel's 12th homer to left-center to start the inning. Joey Votto, who doubled off the Cardinals' starter, also scored in the inning as the Reds took a 4-3 lead.

Ervin's fifth homer of the season in the sixth capped the scoring. He finished a triple shy of the cycle.

The Cardinals Andrew Knizer hit his second homer of the season, a two-run shot that was part of a three-run third for St. Louis. Kolten Wong had three hits, including a triple, and an RBI.

In the first game, Harrison Bader continued his hit parade with a game-ending single to lift the Cardinals to the win.

Bader, facing five infielders with no one out, lofted a fly ball off Michael Lorenzen (0-4) to deep right field to bring in pinch-runner Tyler O'Neill.

Eugenio Suarez homered for the Reds, who have dropped four in a row. Suarez then left the second game after being hit by a pitch in the fifth inning.

Jose Martinez began the Cardinals' winning rally with a walk. Yadier Molina followed with a ground-rule double to set the stage for Bader's hit.

Carlos Martinez (4-2) picked up the victory by striking out the side in the ninth on 13 pitches.

Cincinnati starter Tyler Mahle gave up two runs, one earned, on two hits over 6 1/3 innings. He struck out five and did not walk a batter.

Suarez broke a 1-1 tie with a two-run shot in the third.

Brandon Peters went 14 of 23 for 163 yards and three touchdowns through the air, while running for another touchdown to lead Illinois past Akron 42-3.

Peters also rushed six times for 36 yards and showed surprising mobility for a 6-foot-5, 220-pounder known more for his arm than his legs.

Peters was decisive all afternoon despite a tendency to overthrow a few balls, and appeared to show few jitters before his first Illinois start.

Both teams were 4-8 last year, although the Zips fired longtime coach Terry Bowden.

Ross Bowers threw a pair of touchdown passes to Tyrice Ritchie, including a 66-yard fourth-quarter bomb to put the Huskies on top for good, and Thomas Hammock won his coaching debut at his alma mater as Northern Illinois knocked off Illinois State, 24-10 in a season opener Saturday night.

The teams traded first-half field goals and neither team managed to get into the end zone until Bowers found Ritchie from 22-yards out with 2:11 left in the third quarter.

Illinois State answered on its next series when Brady Davis found Taylor Grimes with a 42-yard touchdown pass to start the fourth quarter. On the first play of the Huskies’ next possession, Bowers hit Ritchie on a short pass that turned into a 68-yard go-ahead score. Jalen McKee added a 32-yard interception return of a Davis pass with 2:31 left to set the final score.

Bowers was 20 of 33 for 299 passing yards with an interception. Ritchie finished with three catches for 102 yards. Tre Harbison carried 23 times for 99 yards.

Northern Illinois held the Redbirds to just 51 yards rushing. Davis was 14 of 32 for 187 yards.