The Sportsletter - October's Wild Start 💥

BY JEFF YODER

OCT. 2, 2024 | SUBSCRIBE | WEB VIEW

Good Morning 👋

Still locked in? It's about to get fun. We’re doubling up on playoffs in today’s edition before turning the page to Week 5 in the NFL and dropping the puck on the NHL season on Friday. Hope you can keep up. Sports-tober waits for no one.

Letter Rip!

MLB

October's Wild Start 💥

Photo: Sean M. Haffey / Getty Images

Tigers, Royals, Mets & Padres Claim Game 1 Wins in Wild Card Openers

October baseball is off and running! Four Wild Card games, one after the other, stole the show on Tuesday as Game 1 winners put pressure on their opponents in these three-game series. A full season of high hopes can be wiped out in two games for Division winners like the Astros or Brewers. Four games. Three of the four away teams (lower seeds) stole Game 1s on the road. Quick recaps. Let’s run it.

ALWC G1: Tigers def. Astros (3-1)

Tarik Skubal Silences ‘Stros

Few pitchers in baseball have held a candle to Tarik Skubal in 2024, and the Tigers let their ace deal in Game 1. He logged six Ks over six innings and gave up just four hits to a ferocious Astros offense. The Tigers rode a three-run second inning all the way to a 1-0 series lead on the road. DET Leads Series (1-0)

ALWC G1: Royals def. Orioles (1-0)

Bobby Witt Jr. & Cole Ragans Hand ‘L’ to O’s

The Royals looked ready for the moment. Cole Ragans hushed a strong Orioles lineup with six scoreless frames and eight strikeouts. Kansas City only needed one run to earn the win in Camden Yards, and it came from an RBI single in the sixth inning off the bat of the batting champ, Bobby Witt Jr. KC Leads Series (1-0)

NLWC G1: Mets def. Brewers (8-4)

Mets Stay Hot With Another Big Comeback

Another night, another dramatic Mets comeback. New York rallied from two deficits (2-0 and 4-3) to catch fire with a five-run fifth inning and steal another back-and-forth game. Luis Severino gave up four runs, but the New York bullpen sealed it down the stretch as the Mets maximized their opportunities with eight total runs on just seven hits. NYM Leads Series (1-0)

NLWC G1: Padres def. Braves (4-0)

Tatis Jr.’s HR & King’s Gem Lift Padres

The only home team to win Game 1 was the Padres thanks to a jet-lagged Braves team traveling cross-country from Atlanta to San Diego in less than 24 hours. Fernando Tatis Jr. started the game with a two-run shot in the first inning to set the tone before Michael King fanned a dozen in a Game 1 gem (7 IP, 5 Hits, 12 Ks, 0 ER). All Padres in Game 1. SD Leads Series (1-0)

Today’s Schedule (Wild Card, Game 2s)

AL, G2: Tigers at Astros (2:30 pm ET, ABC)

AL, G2: Royals at Orioles (4:30 pm ET, ESPN)

NL, G2: Mets at Brewers (7:30 pm ET, ESPN)

NL, G2: Braves at Padres (8:30 pm ET, ESPN2)

Yahoo! Sports: With Momentum & Magic, Mets Roll to Wild Card Game 1 Win

WNBA

Baller 'Rina! Ionescu to the Rescue

Photo: Elsa / Getty Images

Sabrina Ionescu’s Huge 4th-Quarter Puts Liberty Up 2-0; Lynx Get Even With Sun (1-1) Thanks to Supporting Cast

The WNBA Finals are just around the corner, and the two teams participating in those finals are almost known. The Liberty pushed the two-time defending champs to the brink last night thanks to the Baller 'Rina (Sabrina Ionescu). Get it? Baller 'Rina? I've been waiting all season to try that nickname. Ionescu had 24 points overall, but she had 11 in the 4th and accounted for more than 50 percent of the Liberty’s points in the final frame to earn a narrow four-point win (88-84). In the nightcap, it was clear the Connecticut Sun’s game plan was to limit Napheesa Collier, but the Lynx’s supporting cast stepped up. Collier had just nine points, but the four other Minnesota starters combined to shoot 50 percent from 3 (6-for-12). The Lynx got even (77-70). We'll have to wait until Friday for Game 3s.

WNBA Semifinals Highlights

G2: Liberty def. Aces (88-84)

NYL Lead Series (2-0)

G2: Lynx def. Sun (77-70)

Series Tied (1-1)

Semifinal Game 3s: Friday, Oct. 4

Yahoo! Sports: Ionescu, Liberty Have Defending Champs on the Ropes

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Matchday 2: Dortmund's Vengeance

Photo: Picture Alliance / Getty Images

Borussia Dortmund Looks Like the Hottest Champions League Team After 7-Goal Firestorm

The positive aspect of the Champions League’s new “League Play” format is more games. The down side? More games. Too many matches means we can’t cover them all in our daily recap, but we can highlight the top teams. So far, Borussia Dortmund looks like the team to beat. The Bundesliga juggernauts and last year’s UCL runner-ups steamrolled Celtic (7-1) on Tuesday thanks to a first-half hat trick from Karim Adeyemi. They also won a 3-0 shutout in Matchday 1. That’s a 10-1 scoreline through two matches, and Dortmund is 8-2-2 since last June's Champions League final loss to Real Madrid.

Manchester City, Barcelona and Arsenal also bounced back from losses or draws with big Matchday 2 victories. The Champions League slate continues with seven more matches today.

Matchday 2 Scores & Highlights

Dortmund def. Celtic (7-1)

Man. City def. Slovan Bratislava (4-0)

Barcelona def. Young Boys (5-0)

Leverkusen def. Milan (1-0)

Inter def. Crvena Zvezda (4-0)

Arsenal def. PSG (2-0)

Brest def. RB Salzburg (4-0)

Sparta Praha draw VfB Stuttgart (1-1)

PSV draw Sporting (1-1)

🗓️ Today’s UEFA Champions League Fixtures

NFL

The Week 5 Power Rankings 📊

Photo: Stephen Maturen / Getty Images

Chiefs & Vikings Vying for Last Undefeated Status, But the DMV is Buzzing (Commanders & Ravens)

The NFL’s “first quarter” of the season is in the books, and we’ve learned a lot. Two 4-0 squads. One 0-4 squad. The other 29 teams? Toss up. One month of the NFL season has proven what we’ve always known — parity is inevitable. It’s not hard to see the difference in overall firepower from one 2-2 team to another, but everything changes week-to-week. The Chiefs and Vikings are the last two teams without a tally in the loss column, but how much longer can they hold?

Records aside, two teams have become the most exciting to watch, and they’re located about 40 miles apart. The Ravens and Commanders, in Baltimore and D.C., have shaken off early struggles with explosions in Weeks 3 and 4. Jayden Daniels is setting records, and Lamar Jackson looks rejuvenated. Some media outlets have the Commanders up into the top five. We’re not there… yet.

Top 10

1. Chiefs (4-0) | ↑1

2. Vikings (4-0) | ↑2

3. Lions (3-1) | ↑3

4. Ravens (2-2) | ↑5

5. Bills (3-1) | ↓4

6. Buccaneers (3-1) | ↑7

7. Steelers (3-1) | ↓4

8. Seahawks (3-1) | ↓1

9. Commanders (3-1) | ↑10

10. Texans (3-1) | —

Teams 11-20

11. 49ers (2-2) | —

12. Eagles (2-2) | ↓7

13. Falcons (2-2) | ↑4

14. Saints (2-2) | ↓6

15. Packers (2-2) | ↓3

16. Cowboys (2-2) | —

17. Chargers (2-2) | ↓3

18. Colts (2-2) | ↑2

19. Broncos (2-2) | ↑4

20. Jets (2-2) | ↓5

Teams 21-32

21. Bengals (1-3) | ↑3

22. Raiders (2-2) | ↑6

23. Bears (2-2) | ↑4

24. Cardinals (1-3) | ↓6

25. Rams (1-3) | ↓4

26. Browns (1-3) | ↓4

27. Dolphins (1-3) | ↓2

28. Titans (1-3) | ↑4

29. Patriots (1-3) | ↓3

30. Giants (1-3) | —

31. Panthers (1-3) | ↓3

32. Jaguars (0-4) | ↓1

Read More

NBC Sports: PFT’s Week 5 NFL Power Rankings

ESPN: NFL Week 5 Power Rankings: How All 32 Teams Stack Up

Sporting News: NFL Power Rankings: Vikings, Chiefs Stay Undefeated; Steelers, Packers & Jets Slip Up

POLL 📊

The Week 4 Game Ball Goes To...

Jared Goff! The Lions looked dangerous on Monday Night Football, and Goff's perfect game (18-for-18) made NFL history. That’s two straight weeks of runner-up finishes for Ravens RB Derrick Henry.

Week 4 Game Ball Votes

1. QB Jared Goff (Lions) — 33%

2. RB Derrick Henry (Ravens) — 25%

3. QB Baker Mayfield (Bucs) — 15%

NFL PICKS

The Week 5 NFL Pick 'Em

Play The Sportsletter’s NFL Pick ‘Em (Week 5)

Picks Take Approx. 60 Seconds

NEWS 📰

🎓 Gonzaga Accepts Invivation to Join New-Look Pac-12 (SI)

🏈 Raiders ‘Growing Open’ to Trading WR Davante Adams (B/R)

⚾️ Astros Leave Justin Verlander Off Wild Card Series Roster (CBS Sports)