The Sportsletter - Back-to-Back Walk Offs 👀

BY JEFF YODER

OCT. 18, 2021  |  SUBSCRIBE  |  BROWSER VIEW

Welcome Back 👋

Not one, but two walk-off wins for the Atlanta Braves highlighted a drama-filled sports weekend. From the diamond to the gridiron and a WNBA champion, we’ll get you caught up in the next five minutes.

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MLB

Back-to-Back Braves Walk Offs 👀

Photo: Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images

Eddie Rosario’s Walk-Off RBI Sends Braves Past Dodgers (5-4); Lead 2-0 in NLCS

For the second time in as many games, the Braves beat the Dodgers on a walk-off. Sunday’s Game 2 finish was courtesy of Eddie Rosario’s punch-through RBI single that plated Dansby Swanson (5-4). Rosario’s magic moment came with two outs in the bottom of the 9th. He wasn’t just the Game 2 hero, but the only batter in the game to record more than one hit on the night (4-for-5). The Dodgers held leads at 2-0 and 4-2 before the Braves tied it in the 8th and won it in the 9th. The series now swings to L.A. for Games 3, 4 and 5.

Watch: Rosario’s Walk-Off Gives Braves 2-0 Lead in NLCS

Other MLB Weekend Games

ALCS Gm 2: Red Sox def. Astros (9-5)

(Series Tied 1-1)

NLCS Gm 1: Braves def. Dodgers (3-2)

(ATL Leads Series 1-0)

Tonight’s Schedule

ALCS Gm 3: Astros at Red Sox (8:00 pm ET)

Additional Storylines

MLB: Legend of Joctober (Joc Pederson) Grows With Longest HR of Postseason

USA Today: Braves Walk Off Dodgers Again to Take Commanding NLCS Lead

NFL

The NFL's Top Teams After Week 6

Photo: Icon Sportswire / Getty Images

The Arizona Cardinals (6-0) Are NFL’s Top Dog After Routing Cleveland Browns (37-14)

Six weeks into the 2021 NFL season and one team reigns supreme. The Arizona Cardinals, fresh off a 23-point drumming of the Cleveland Browns, are now 6-0 as the league’s only remaining unbeaten team. But the gap between top dog and the teams lurking in the shadows isn’t a wide one. Six other teams with one loss are quickly stringing together win streaks. Let’s take a look at the top tier of the NFL before recapping the top moments of Week 6.

NFL’s Top Teams (Win Streak)

Cardinals (6-0) | W6

Ravens (5-1) | W5

Packers (5-1) | W5

Cowboys (5-1) | W5

Buccaneers (5-1) | W3

Rams (5-1) | W2

Bills (4-1) | W4

Week 6 Highlights & Storylines

Rodgers Owns the Bears: Aaron Rodgers powered the Packers to their fifth straight win in Chicago (24-14), and he was caught on mic with a little trash talk.

Ravens Roll Chargers: Everything was going right for the L.A. Chargers until they strolled into Baltimore where the Ravens defense held the Bolts to a season-low six points (34-6).

Raiders Win Without Gruden: In their first game since the firing of head coach Jon Gruden, the Raiders held off the Broncos on the road (34-24).

Cowboys Win 5th Straight: It took all 60 minutes and then some, but the Cowboys prevailed over the Patriots (35-29, OT) behind another big day from QB Dak Prescott.

All Scores & Highlights

Bucs def. Eagles (28-22) | Jaguars def. Dolphins (23-20) | Chiefs def. Washington (31-13) | Rams def. Giants (38-11) | Colts def. Texans (31-3) | Bengals def. Lions (34-11) | Packers def. Bears (24-14) | Ravens def. Chargers (34-6) | Vikings def. Panthers (34-28, OT) | Cardinals def. Browns (37-14) | Raiders def. Broncos (34-24) | Cowboys def. Patriots (35-29, OT) | Steelers def. Seahawks (23-20, OT)

Additional Storylines

NFL: Week 6: What We Learned From Sunday’s Games

B/R: Lamar Jackson Sets NFL Record for Most Wins Under Age 25

SI: ‘I Still Own You’: Aaron Rodgers Taunts Bears Fans After Touchdown

WNBA

Sky Capture 1st WNBA Title

Photo: Stacy Revere / Getty Images

Chicago Sky Rally in 4th Quarter to Beat Phoenix Mercury (80-74) & Win WNBA Finals

The Chicago Sky are WNBA champions! After blowing out the Mercury in Game 3 on Friday (86-50), the Sky used a fourth-quarter rally to top Phoenix and secure their first-ever WNBA title on Sunday. They had a .500 record (16-16) during the regular season before beating the Wings, Lynx, top-seeded Sun and the Mercury in furious 8-2 postseason run.

The 4th-Quarter Rally

Chicago trailed by 11 heading into the final period where a loss would’ve spelled a winner-take-all Game 5 back in Phoenix. Instead, the Sky finished the game on an 18-4 run where Candace Parker hit the game-tying 3 inside two minutes (72-72). Courtney Vandersloot poured in the final four points to seal the deal for Chicago.

Candace Coming Home

After 13 years in Los Angeles, Chicago native Candace Parker returned home this season to deliver an epic coming home party on Sunday. The veteran 5-time all-star poured in 16 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals in the title-clinching win. Chicago’s hero brought it home.

Other Top Performers

A. Quigley (CHI): 26 points, 5 rebounds

B. Griner (PHX): 28 points, 7 rebounds

Watch: Sky Win Game 4 Over Mercury (80-74) to Capture WNBA Finals

Additional Storylines

FTW: Candace Parker’s Emotional Postgame Game With Her Daughter Was Awesome

Yahoo! Sports: Candace Parker Dedicates Sky’s WNBA Title to Kobe & Gianna Bryant

ESPN: After WNBA Finals: 10 Biggest Questions for the WNBA Offseason

CFB

College Football AP Poll

Purdue Knocks Off #2 Iowa to Shake Up Top-10

It’s another massive upset at the top of college football! Unranked Purdue throttled 2nd-ranked Iowa (24-7). That opened the door for Cincinnati to jump all the way to No. 2 in this week’s poll. Four Big Ten teams still reside in the top-10, and eleven teams remain unbeaten. Here’s how they stand following another Saturday on the gridiron.

AP Top-25

1. Georgia (7-0) | —

2. Cincinnati (6-0) | ↑1

3. Oklahoma (7-0) | ↑1

4. Alabama (6-1) | ↑1

5. Ohio State (5-1) | ↑1

6. Michigan (6-0) | ↑2

7. Penn State (5-1) | —

8. Oklahoma State (6-0) | ↑4

9. Michigan State (7-0) | ↑1

10. Oregon (5-1) | ↓1

Full AP Top-25

Notable Scores & Highlights

#1 Georgia def. #11 Kentucky (30-13)

Purdue def. #2 Iowa (24-7)

#5 Alabama def. Mississippi State (49-9)

#9 Oregon def. California (24-17)

#12 Oklahoma State def. #25 Texas (32-24)

Auburn def. #17 Arkansas (38-23)

LSU def. #20 Florida (49-42)

Additional Storylines

ESPN: Cincinnati Jumps to No. 2; Purdue Ends Rankings Drought

CBS Sports: LSU & Head Coach Ed Orgeron Agree to Part Ways After 2021 Season

🎥 THE HIGHLIGHTS

🏒  NHL: McDavid Hat Tricks as Oilers Start Hot

Another season, another point-tallying year ahead for Connor McDavid. The Oilers’ forward recorded his 10th career hat trick on Saturday as Edmonton started the year 2-0.

⚽️  EPL: Liverpool Stays Perfect With 5-0 Win

Liverpool are the Premier League last remaining undefeated team after a 5-0 win against Watford over the weekend. The dominating performance saw Mo Salah finish a must-see goal while Roberto Firmino tallied a hat trick.

⚽️  NWSL: Portland Thorns Clinch NWSL Shield

The Portland Thorns are your NWSL regular season champs after a 1-0 win against the Houston Dash on Sunday. They’ve now won three pieces of hardware this season, including the Challenge Cup and International Champions Cup.

⛳️  PGA: McIlroy Triumphs at CJ Cup

Rory McIlroy (-25) got back to his winning ways Sunday at The CJ Cup in Las Vegas. He held off a Sunday surge from Collin Morikawa (-24) to claim his 20th PGA Tour victory.

🏎️  NASCAR: Larson Win Claims Championship 4 Spot

Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race at Texas Motor Speedway came down to a two-lap shootout where Kyle Larson — who led 256 of 334 laps — held off teammate William Byron for the checkered flag.

📰 THE HEADLINES

Eagles Trade 3-Time Pro Bowl Tight End Zach Ertz to Cardinals

(ESPN)

Cam Newton Reportedly Gets COVID-19 Vaccine in Attempt to Get Back Into NFL

(Yahoo! Sports)

Former PGA Tour Golfer Casey Martin Has Right Leg Amputated

(CBS Sports)

Panthers Place RB Christian McCaffrey on Injured Reserve

(SI)

LSU & Head Coach Ed Orgeron Agree to Part Ways After 2021 Season

(Bleacher Report)

MLB Requring Teams to Provide Housing for Minor League Players in 2022

(ABC News)

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