The New York Times - 19.09.2019

(Tuis.) #1
THE NEW YORK TIMES SPORTSTHURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2019 0 N B9

SCOREBOARD


BASEBALL

A.L. STANDINGS

East W L Pct GB
Yankees 99 54 .647 —
Tampa Bay 89 63 .586 9 {
Boston 79 72 .523 19
Toronto 61 91 .401 37{
Baltimore 49 103 .322 49{
Central W L Pct GB
Minnesota 93 59 .612 —
Cleveland 89 63 .586 4
Chicago 66 86 .434 27
Kansas City 56 97 .366 37{
Detroit 45 106 .298 47{
West W L Pct GB
z-Houston 100 53 .654 —
Oakland 92 61 .601 8
Texas 74 79 .484 26
Los Angeles 69 83 .454 30{
Seattle 64 88 .421 35{
z-Clinched playoff berth
WEDNESDAY
L.A. Angels 3, Yankees 2
Oakland 1, Kansas City 0, 11 innings
Seattle 4, Pittsburgh 1
Cleveland 2, Detroit 1, 10 innings
San Francisco 11, Boston 3
Houston 3, Texas 2
Toronto 11, Baltimore 10
Chicago White Sox 3, Minnesota 1
Tampa Bay at L.A. Dodgers
THURSDAY
L.A. Angels (Heaney 4-5) at Yankees
(Happ 12-8), 6:35
Seattle (Kikuchi 6-10) at Pittsburgh
(Brault 4-5), 12:35
San Francisco (Bumgarner 9-8) at
Boston (Rodriguez 17-6), 1:05
L.A. Angels (Heaney 4-5) at Yankees
(Happ 12-8), 6:35
Toronto (Kay 0-0) at Baltimore
(Brooks 5-8), 7:05
Detroit (Zimmermann 1-11) at
Cleveland (Clevinger 11-3), 7:10
Kansas City (Montgomery 3-9) at
Minnesota (Gibson 13-7), 7:40
N.L. STANDINGS

East W L Pct GB
z-Atlanta 93 60 .608 —
Washington 83 68 .550 9
Mets 79 73 .520 13{
Philadelphia 78 72 .520 13{
Miami 53 99 .349 39{
Central W L Pct GB
St. Louis 85 67 .559 —
Chicago 82 70 .539 3
Milwaukee 82 70 .539 3
Cincinnati 72 81 .471 13{
Pittsburgh 65 87 .428 20
West W L Pct GB
x-Los Angeles 98 54 .645 —
Arizona 78 75 .510 20{
San Francisco 74 78 .487 24
San Diego 69 83 .454 29
Colorado 66 87 .431 32{
x-Clinched division z-Clinched playoff berth
WEDNESDAY
Mets 7, Colorado 4
Arizona 5, Miami 4
St. Louis 5, Washington 1
Seattle 4, Pittsburgh 1
San Francisco 11, Boston 3
Philadelphia 4, Atlanta 1
San Diego 2, Milwaukee 1
Cincinnati 3, Chicago Cubs 2, 10 inn.
Tampa Bay at L.A. Dodgers
THURSDAY
Philadelphia (Nola 12-5) at Atlanta
(Soroka 12-4), 12:10
Seattle (Kikuchi 6-10) at Pittsburgh
(Brault 4-5), 12:35
San Francisco (Bumgarner 9-8) at
Boston (Rodriguez 17-6), 1:05
San Diego (Lucchesi 10-8) at Mil-
waukee (Lyles 11-8), 4:10
St. Louis (Flaherty 10-8) at Chicago
Cubs (Hendricks 11-9), 7:15

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE
Team GP W D L GF GA Pts
Liverpool ......5 5 0 0 15 4 15
Man City ......5 3 1 1 16 6 10
Tottenham .....5 2 2 1 11 6 8
Man United ....5 2 2 1 8 4 8
Leicester ......5 2 2 1 6 4 8
Chelsea ......5 2 2 1 11 11 8
Arsenal .......5 2 2 1 8 8 8
West Ham .....5 2 2 1 6 7 8
Bournemouth... 5 2 1 2 8 9 7
Southampton... 5 2 1 2 5 6 7
Everton .......5 2 1 2 5 7 7
Crystal Palace.. 5 2 1 2 3 6 7
Norwich ......5 2 0 3 9 12 6
Burnley .......5 1 2 2 6 7 5
Sheffield United. 5 1 2 2 5 6 5
Brighton ......5 1 2 2 5 8 5
Aston Villa .....5 1 1 3 4 6 4
Newcastle .....5 1 1 3 4 8 4
Wolverhampton. 5 0 3 2 6 10 3
Watford ......5 0 2 3 4 10 2
Sunday's Games
Bournemouth 3, Everton 1
Watford 2, Arsenal 2
Monday's Game
Aston Villa 0, West Ham 0
Friday's Game
Southampton vs. Bournemouth
Saturday, Sept. 21
Leicester vs. Tottenham
Burnley vs. Norwich
Everton vs. Sheffield United
Man City vs. Watford
Newcastle vs. Brighton
Sunday, Sept. 22
Crystal Palace vs. Wolverhampton
West Ham vs. Man United
Arsenal vs. Aston Villa
Chelsea vs. Liverpool

SOCCER

M.L.S. STANDINGS
EAST W L T Pts GF GA
N.Y.C.F.C. ....16 5 9 57 56 37
Philadelphia... 15 8 7 52 55 43
Atlanta ......16 11 3 51 50 36
Toronto FC... 12 10 9 45 53 49
D.C. United... 12 10 9 45 40 38
Red Bulls ....12 13 5 41 49 48
New England.. 10 10 10 40 45 52
Montreal .....11 16 4 37 42 57
Chicago ......9 12 10 37 48 43
Orlando City... 9 13 9 36 40 44
Columbus .....9 15 7 34 36 45
Cincinnati .....6 22 3 21 30 74
WEST W L T Pts GF GA
Los Angeles FC 19 4 7 64 77 33
Seattle ......14 9 7 49 50 47
Minnesota ....14 10 6 48 49 40
Real Salt Lake. 14 12 4 46 42 38
LA Galaxy ....14 13 3 45 49 49
San Jose ....13 12 5 44 49 46
Portland .....13 12 4 43 45 42
FC Dallas ....12 11 7 43 47 42
Kansas City... 10 13 7 37 44 54
Colorado .....10 15 6 36 51 58
Houston .....10 16 4 34 41 51
Vancouver .....7 15 9 30 32 54
NOTE: Three points for victory, one point
for tie.
Sunday's Games
Seattle 4, Red Bulls 2
D.C. United 1, Portland 0
Toronto FC 3, Colorado 2
Minnesota 3, Real Salt Lake 1
LA Galaxy 7, Kansas City 2
Wednesday's Games
Red Bulls at Portland
Atlanta 2, Cincinnati 0
FC Dallas at Seattle
Saturday, Sept. 21
San Jose at Atlanta, 3:30 p.m.
Columbus at Vancouver, 5 p.m.
Chicago at Cincinnati, 7:30 p.m.
Real Salt Lake at New England, 7:30 p.m.
Orlando City at Houston, 8:30 p.m.
Colorado at Kansas City, 8:30 p.m.
Montreal at LA Galaxy, 10:30 p.m.
Toronto FC at Los Angeles FC, 10:30 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 22
N.Y.C.F.C. at FC Dallas, 6 p.m.
Philadelphia at Red Bulls, 6:30 p.m.
Minnesota at Portland, 3:55 p.m.
Seattle at D.C. United, 8 p.m.
N.W.S.L. STANDINGS
W L T Pts GF GA
North Carolina. 13 4 4 43 47 19
Chicago .....12 8 2 38 36 26
Portland .....10 5 6 36 39 29
Utah ........9 7 4 31 21 17
Reign FC .....8 5 7 31 21 23
Washington.... 7 7 5 26 24 21
Houston ......7 10 4 25 20 33
Sky Blue FC... 4 13 4 16 16 30
Orlando ......4 15 2 14 21 47
NOTE: Three points for victory, one point
for tie.
Sunday's Game
Chicago 3, Sky Blue FC 0
Tuesday's Game
North Carolina 1, Houston 0
Saturday, Sept. 21
Washington at Chicago, 8 p.m.
North Carolina at Utah, 9 p.m.
Sky Blue FC at Reign FC, 10 p.m.
Houston at Portland, 10:30 p.m.
Wednesday, Sept. 25
Washington at Houston, 8:30 p.m.

BASKETBALL

W.N.B.A. PLAYOFFS
All Times E.D.T.
(x-if necessary)
Semifinals
(Best-of-5)
Washington 1, Las Vegas 0
Tuesday, Sept. 17: Washington 97, Las
Vegas 95
Thursday, Sept. 19: Las Vegas at
Washington, 8:30 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 22: Washington at Las
Vegas, 5 p.m.
x-Tuesday, Sept. 24: Washington at Las
Vegas, 8:30 or 9 p.m.
x-Thursday, Sept. 26: Las Vegas at
Washington, 8 or 8:30 p.m.
Connecticut 1, Los Angeles 0
Tuesday, Sept. 17: Connecticut 84, Los
Angeles 75
Thursday, Sept. 19: Los Angeles at
Connecticut, 6:30 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 22: Connecticut at Los
Angeles, 7 p.m.
x-Tuesday, Sept. 24: Connecticut at Los
Angeles, 9 or 10:30 p.m.
x-Thursday, Sept. 26: Los Angeles at
Connecticut, 6:30 or 8 p.m.

FOOTBALL

N.F.L. STANDINGS
AMERICAN CONFERENCE

East W L T Pct PF PA
N. England 2 0 0 1.000 76 3
Buffalo 2 0 0 1.000 45 30
Jets 0 2 0 .000 19 40
Miami 0 2 0 .000 10 102
South W L T Pct PF PA
Houston 1 1 0 .500 41 42
Indianapolis 1 1 0 .500 43 47
Tennessee 1 1 0 .500 60 32
Jacksonville 0 2 0 .000 38 53
North W L T Pct PF PA
Baltimore 2 0 0 1.000 82 27
Cleveland 1 1 0 .500 36 46
Cincinnati 0 2 0 .000 37 62
Pittsburgh 0 2 0 .000 29 61
West W L T Pct PF PA
Kansas City 2 0 0 1.000 68 36
Oakland 1 1 0 .500 34 44
L.A. Chargers 1 1 0 .500 40 37
Denver 0 2 0 .000 30 40
NATIONAL CONFERENCE

East W L T Pct PF PA
Dallas 2 0 0 1.000 66 38
Phila. 1 1 0 .500 52 51
Giants 0 2 0 .000 31 63
Washington 0 2 0 .000 48 63
South W L T Pct PF PA
Tampa Bay 1 1 0 .500 37 45
Atlanta 1 1 0 .500 36 48
New Orleans 1 1 0 .500 39 55
Carolina 0 2 0 .000 41 50
North W L T Pct PF PA
Green Bay 2 0 0 1.000 31 19
Detroit 1 0 1 .750 40 37
Minnesota 1 1 0 .500 44 33
Chicago 1 1 0 .500 19 24
West W L T Pct PF PA
San Fran. 2 0 0 1.000 72 34
L.A. Rams 2 0 0 1.000 57 36
Seattle 2 0 0 1.000 49 46
Arizona 0 1 1 .250 44 50
SUNDAY
Buffalo 28, Giants 14
Dallas 31, Washington 21
Detroit 13, L.A. Chargers 10
San Francisco 41, Cincinnati 17
Houston 13, Jacksonville 12
Indianapolis 19, Tennessee 17
Baltimore 23, Arizona 17
New England 43, Miami 0
Seattle 28, Pittsburgh 26
Green Bay 21, Minnesota 16
Kansas City 28, Oakland 10
Denver 16, Chicago 14
L.A. Rams 27, New Orleans 9
Atlanta 24, Philadelphia 20
MONDAY
Cleveland 23, Jets 3
THURSDAY, SEPT. 19
Tennessee at Jacksonville, 8:20
SUNDAY, SEPT. 22
Giants at Tampa Bay, 4:05
Jets at New England, 1
Miami at Dallas, 1
Oakland at Minnesota, 1
Cincinnati at Buffalo, 1
Baltimore at Kansas City, 1
Atlanta at Indianapolis, 1
Detroit at Philadelphia, 1
Denver at Green Bay, 1
Carolina at Arizona, 4:05
Houston at L.A. Chargers, 4:25
New Orleans at Seattle, 4:25
Pittsburgh at San Francisco, 4:25
L.A. Rams at Cleveland, 8:20

KOREA OPEN
Olympic Park
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA
Singles
Second Round
Magda Linette (4), Poland, d. Anastasia
Potapova, Russia, 7-5, 7-6 (4). Wang
Yafan (8), China, d. Ysaline Bonaventure,
Belgium, 4-6, 6-3, 6-0. Kristie Ahn, United
States, d. Ana Bogdan, Romania, 0-6,
6-4, 7-6 (2). Kirsten Flipkens, Belgium,
d. Margarita Gasparyan (7), Russia, 6-3,
7-5. Ekaterina Alexandrova (2), Russia,
d. Kristyna Pliskova, Czech Republic, 3-6,
6-3, 6-4.

TORAY PAN PACIFIC OPEN
ITC Tsuyoshi Tennis Center
OSAKA, JAPAN
Singles
Second Round
Angelique Kerber (4), Germany, d. Nicole
Gibbs, United States, 6-2, 6-4. Madison
Keys (5), United States, d. Zarina Diyas,
Kazakhstan, 5-7, 6-0, 6-4. Elise Mertens
(9), Belgium, d. Hsieh Su-wei, Taiwan,
6-3, 1-6, 6-2. Naomi Osaka (1), Japan, d.
Viktoriya Tomova, Bulgaria, 7-5, 6-3.

HOCKEY

N.H.L. PRESEASON SCHEDULE
Wednesday's Games
Devils 4, Rangers 3
Montreal 4, Florida 3
Carolina 2, Tampa Bay 0
Washington 3, St. Louis 2
Ottawa 4, Toronto 3
Winnipeg 4, Minnesota 1
Chicago 2, Detroit 1
Calgary 6, San Jose 4
Thursday's Games
Columbus at Pittsburgh, 7 p.m.
Florida at Montreal, 7 p.m.
Boston at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Dallas at Colorado, 9 p.m.
Vancouver at Edmonton, 9 p.m.
Vegas at Los Angeles, 10:30 p.m.

TENNIS

ST. PETERSBURG OPEN
Sibur Arena
ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA
Men's Singles
Round Of 32
Joao Sousa, Portugal, d. Jozef Kovalik,
Slovakia, 6-2, 6-3. Marton Fucsovics,
Hungary, d. Alexey Vatutin, Russia, 7-5,
6-1. Salvatore Caruso, Italy, d. Thomas
Fabbiano, Italy, 2-6, 6-3, 6-3. Casper
Ruud (8), Norway, d. Alexander Bublik,
Kazakhstan, 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-2.
Men's Singles
Round Of 16
Mikhail Kukushkin (6), Kazakhstan, d.
Damir Dzumhur, Bosnia-Herzegovina, 7- 6
(2), 6-2. Egor Gerasimov, Belarus, d.
Adrian Mannarino (7), France, 6-3, 6-1.
MOSELLE OPEN
Arenes de Metz
METZ, FRANCE
Men's Singles
Round Of 32
Gilles Simon (7), France, d. Marius
Copil, Romania, 6-3, 6-4. Yannick Maden,
Germany, d. Ugo Humbert, France, 6-4, 6-7
(8), 6-4.
Men's Singles
Round Of 16
Gregoire Barrere, France, d. Antoine
Hoang, France, 3-6, 7-6 (6), 6-2. Benoit
Paire (3), France, d. Richard Gasquet,
France, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. Filip Krajinovic,
Serbia, d. Fernando Verdasco (5), Spain,
3-6, 6-4, 6-3.

GUANGZHOU OPEN
Tianhe Sports Center
GUANGZHOU, CHINA
Women's Singles
Round Of 16
Sofia Kenin (3), United States, d. Katarina
Zavatska, Ukraine, 6-4, 6-2. Sam Stosur,
Australia, d. Bernarda Pera, United States,
6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (5). Jasmine Paolini, Italy,
d. Zheng Saisai (6), China, 7-5, 3-6, 7-5.
Viktorija Golubic, Switzerland, d. Katerina
Siniakova (5), Czech Republic, 4-6, 7-5, 6-0.
Nina Stojanovic, Serbia, d. Peng Shuai,
China, 7-6 (4), 2-6, 6-0. Zhang Shuai (4),
China, d. Andrea Petkovic, Germany, 7-5,
6-4. Marie Bouzkova, Czech Republic, d.
Elina Svitolina (1), Ukraine, 6-4, 4-3, ret.
Anna Blinkova, Russia, d. Aleksandra
Krunic, Serbia, 6-2, 7-5.

BASEBALL

M.L.B. WILD-CARD GLANCE
(Top 2 teams qualify)
AMERICAN LEAGUE
W L Pct WCGB
Oakland 92 61 .601 —
Cleveland 89 63 .586 —
Tampa Bay 89 63 .586 —
NATIONAL LEAGUE
W L Pct WCGB
Washington 83 68 .550 —
Chicago 82 67 .539 —
Milwaukee 82 70 .539 —
Mets 79 73 .520 3
Philadelphia 78 72 .520 3
Late games not included

M.L.B. TRANSACTIONS
American League
CHICAGO WHITE SOX — Placed RHP
Lucas Giolito on the 10-day IL, retroactive
to Saturday.
LOS ANGELES ANGELS — Selected the
contract of RHP Kaleb Cowart. Placed INF
Luis Rengifo on the 60-day IL.
YANKEES — Placed RHP Dellin Betances
on the 60-day IL. Reinstated OF Giancarlo
Stanton from the 60-day IL.

METS 7, COLORADO 4
New York ab r h bi bb so avg.
Nimmo cf-lf 5 1 3 1 0 1 .222
McNeil lf-3b 4 2 2 1 1 1 .318
P.Alonso 1b 3 2 2 2 1 0 .266
Cano 2b 5 0 1 0 0 0 .262
Frazier 3b 2 0 0 0 2 0 .243
Haggerty pr 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Lugo p 1 0 1 1 0 0 1.000
Conforto rf 4 0 0 1 1 0 .250
Rosario ss 4 0 0 0 0 1 .287
Rivera c 3 0 0 0 0 1 .273
Ramos ph 0 0 0 0 1 0 .293
Lagares pr-cf 0 1 0 0 0 0 .210
Syndergaard p 2 0 0 0 0 0 .097
Familia p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---
R.Davis ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .190
Brach p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---
J.Davis lf 1 1 1 0 0 0 .304
Nido c 0 0 0 0 0 0 .208
Totals 35 7 10 6 6 4
Colorado ab r h bi bb so avg.
Story ss 4 0 2 0 1 1 .297
McMahon 1b 4 0 1 0 1 3 .253
Arenado 3b 5 0 2 0 0 1 .314
Blackmon rf 3 0 0 1 0 1 .318
Desmond lf 4 0 0 0 0 1 .253
Diaz p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---
Harvey p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---
Hilliard cf-lf 4 2 2 2 0 1 .222
Hampson 2b 4 1 1 0 0 1 .242
Nunez c 3 0 0 0 0 2 .176
Y.Alonso ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .254
Wolters c 0 0 0 0 0 0 .270
Hoffman p 2 1 2 0 0 0 .250
Diehl p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---
Almonte p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Tapia ph 1 0 1 1 0 0 .277
Pazos p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---
Tinoco p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .200
Daza cf 0 0 0 0 0 0 .188
Murphy ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .281
Totals 36 4 11 4 2 11
New York 100 001 014—7 10 1
Colorado 010 111 000—4 11 0
E—Rosario (17). LOB—New York 8,
Colorado 8. 2B—Cano (25). HR—McNeil
(22), off Hoffman; P.Alonso (49), off Hoffman;
Hilliard 2 (4), off Syndergaard. RBIs—McNeil
(71), P.Alonso 2 (113), Conforto (83), Nimmo
(24), Lugo (1), Hilliard 2 (7), Blackmon (80),
Tapia (39). SB—Arenado (3), Hampson 2
(11), Tapia (7), Story (21). SF—Blackmon.
DP—New York 1; Colorado 2
New York ip h r er bb so np era
Syndergaard 5Î/ ̄ 10 4 4 2 6 108 4.22
Familia Í/ ̄ 0 0 0 0 1 6 6.05
Brach 1 0 0 0 0 1 15 4.91
Lugo W,7-4 2 1 0 0 0 3 31 2.75
Colorado ip h r er bb so np era
Hoffman 5Í/ ̄ 5 2 2 1 3 86 6.71
Diehl 0 0 0 0 1 0 5 27.00
Almonte H,1 Î/ ̄ 0 0 0 0 0 9 5.87
Pazos H,3 1 1 0 0 0 0 8 0.00
Tinoco H,2 Í/ ̄ 1 1 0 1 0 11 4.73
Diaz L,5-4 BS,4-7 Î/ ̄ 2 4 4 2 1 29 4.50
Harvey 1 1 0 0 1 0 15 3.86
T—3:43. A—30,174 (50,398).

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Wednesday's Games
Club Brugge (Belgium) 0, Galatasaray
(Turkey) 0
Paris Saint-Germain (France) 3, Madrid
(Spain) 0
Olympiacos FC (Greece) 2, Tottenham
(England) 2
Bayern (Germany) 3, Red Star Belgrade
(Serbia) 0
FC Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine) 0, Man City
(England) 3
Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia) 4, Atalanta
Bergamasca Calcio (Italy) 0
Atletico (Spain) 2, Juventus Turin (Italy) 2
Leverkusen (Germany) 1, FC Lokomotiv
Moscow (Russia) 2

ANGELS 3, YANKEES 2
Los Angeles ab r h bi bb so avg.
Fletcher 2b 5 1 3 0 0 1 .292
Simmons ss 4 1 0 0 1 1 .258
Pujols 1b 5 0 2 1 0 0 .251
Calhoun rf 4 0 1 0 1 3 .233
Smith c 5 0 2 1 0 1 .250
Goodwin cf 4 0 0 0 1 2 .268
Ward dh 3 0 0 0 1 1 .095
Bour ph-dh 1 0 0 0 0 1 .178
Hermosillo lf 3 1 1 0 0 2 .250
Thaiss 3b 3 0 1 0 1 2 .192
Cowart 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---
Totals 37 3 10 2 5 14
New York ab r h bi bb so avg.
LeMahieu 2b 3 1 1 0 1 0 .329
Judge rf 4 1 1 2 0 1 .269
Torres dh 4 0 1 0 0 1 .285
Gregorius ss 4 0 0 0 0 0 .248
Stanton lf 3 0 1 0 0 1 .290
Wade lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 .247
Ford ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 .233
Voit 1b 4 0 0 0 0 1 .278
Gardner cf 4 0 2 0 0 1 .249
Urshela 3b 3 0 0 0 1 2 .328
Higashioka c 3 0 0 0 0 1 .239
Totals 33 2 6 2 2 9
Los Angeles 002 001 000—3 10 0
New York 002 000 000—2 6 1
E—Ottavino (0). LOB—Los Angeles 13,
New York 6. 2B—Hermosillo (1), Stanton
(1), Torres (24). HR—Judge (23), off
Peters. RBIs—Pujols (90), Smith (15),
Judge 2 (50). SB—Pujols (3). DP—New
York 1
Los Angeles ip h r er bb so np era
Peters 4 5 2 2 2 2 64 4.81
BardW2-2 3 0 0 0 0 5 37 4.70
ButtreyH23 1 0 0 0 0 0 11 4.24
RoblesS22-25 1 1 0 0 0 2 19 2.33
New York ip h r er bb so np era
Sabathia 2Î/ ̄ 5 2 2 2 4 62 4.95
German 2Í/ ̄ 1 0 0 2 2 44 4.09
OttavinoL6-4 Í/ ̄ 3 1 0 0 0 19 1.85
Kahnle Î/ ̄ 0 0 0 0 2 7 3.30
Green 1 0 0 0 1 3 24 4.50
Britton 1 0 0 0 0 2 14 2.01
Cessa 1 1 0 0 0 1 16 3.71
T—3:20. A—38,106 (47,309).

PRO FOOTBALL


BASEBALL


Gamblers and football fans who pe-
ruse the betting lines for this week-
end’s games will undoubtedly see two
big numbers jump out. At most book-
makers, the Cowboys were 21½-point
favorites over the Dolphins on
Wednesday afternoon. And the Patri-
ots were 23-point favorites over the
Jets.
Yes, if you bet on New England or
Dallas, the team is not only going to
have to win, but win by more than
three touchdowns for you to get paid.
And yet, just about everyone who likes
to gamble is betting on those favorites,
bookmakers say.
At many gambling sites you can also
bet on the winner of the game without
a point spread. But for these games,
that will cost you. If you bet on New
England or Dallas simply to win, you
will get odds of about 1-40. That is, you
can bet a dollar, and if you’re right, get
back a profit of two and a half cents.
Although big lines are frequently
seen on college games, like the 39
points that Ohio State is favored over
Miami of Ohio this week, three-touch-
down lines are a rarity in the N.F.L.
There hasn’t been a 20-point favorite
in any N.F.L. game in six years. It has
happened only 11 times since 1985, and
only once have there been two 20-point
or more favorites in the same week,
the online site Sportsbetting.ag re-
ports. But that was in 1987 during a
strike, when the teams that played
were ragtag collections of castoffs.
The Cowboys are 2-0, playing at
home, and playing well. But make no
mistake, the enormous line on their
game is primarily because of the Dol-
phins. After a 7-9 year, the Dolphins
had a curious summer, dropping good
players like tackle Laremy Tunsil and
receiver Kenny Stills and entrusting


the team to quarterback Ryan Fitz-
patrick. “The Dolphins are basically
throwing the season in the tank al-
ready,” said John Sheeran, director in
trading of FanDuel, which takes sports
bets in several states where betting is
legal, including New Jersey.
Inpredictable, a site that ranks
teams based on their betting lines,
rates Miami an astonishing 10 points
worse than the second-worst team in
the league, the Giants. And that 21½-
point line doesn’t seem so huge when
you consider the margins in the first
two weeks, when the Dolphins lost by
49 and 43.
The talent gap is almost as wide in
the Patriots-Jets game. Last July,
when books began offering odds on the
Week 3 games, the Patriots were a

mere 10-point favorite over the Jets.
By early this week, after the Jets’ bad
start, the line was up to 17.
Then came the news that the Jets’
second string-turned-first-string
quarterback, Trevor Siemian, was out
for the season with an ankle injury.
(The Jets’ opening-day starter, Sam
Darnold, is out for a few more weeks
with mononucleosis.)
Luke Falk, a Titans pick in the 2018
draft whom the Jets picked up off
waivers in May, played reasonably
well subbing for Siemian, but no one is
expecting him to pull a Kurt Warner
and go from scrub to star. The line

quickly jumped up about 5 more points
on the news.
It makes no small difference that the
Patriots have 30- and 43-point wins on
their ledger and haven’t given up a
touchdown.
Yet bettors don’t seem scared of ei-
ther big line. FanDuel said 96 percent
of its bets so far have come in on the
Patriots and 92 percent on the Cow-
boys. Sportsbetting.ag said their fig-
ures were about 80 percent and 70 per-
cent.
The general public seems to love
these two big favorites. But Adam
Burns, the sports book manager for
Sportsbetting.ag, said: “Our smarter
bettors, they’re not really touching it.
When the line gets get past 14 or 17, a
lot of good players lay off. You never
know if there’s going to be a lucky
touchdown late.”
Some cagier gamblers might wait
until closer to game time to bet the un-
derdogs. “We will see some sharp
money against those teams,” Sheeran
said. “I don’t expect it to move the line,
because of the sheer weight of public
money.”
The flow of money on both favorites
has been helped by the Cowboys and
the Patriots being perhaps the two
most popular teams in the N.F.L.,
bringing in even more bets from casual
fans.
So which way should you bet this
week? It turns out that the 11 favorites
of 20 or more points since 1985 were
only 2-9 against the spread, Sportsbet-
ting.ag said. Sounds like an underdog
bet may be the smart play.
But before you start thinking about
the Dolphins or the Jets shocking the
world and actually winning outright,
consider: While most of those big fa-
vorites did not cover the spread, every
one of them won the game on the field.

Tom Brady and Dak Prescott help explain why the Patriots and the Cowboys are so heavily favored.


WILFREDO LEE/ASSOCIATED PRESS ROGER STEINMAN/ASSOCIATED PRESS

2 Big Favorites Don’t Seem Like a Gamble


By VICTOR MATHER

Few bettors are fazed by


the lines for the Patriots


and the Cowboys.


Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Fe-
lipe Vazquez admitted to police that he
had sexual contact with a 13-year-old
girl hours before a game in 2017 and
exchanged nude photographs and vid-
eos with her, according to a criminal
complaint released Wednesday by the
Pennsylvania State Police.
Vazquez was arrested Tuesday and
charged with three felonies, including
statutory sexual assault and unlawful
contact with a minor. The age of con-
sent in Pennsylvania is 16.
Vazquez was also charged with com-
puter pornography offenses in Flor-
ida, where he lives in the off-season
and where the girl’s family also lives
now. The authorities said at a news
conference Wednesday that the girl,
who is now 15, was the victim in both
the Pennsylvania and Florida cases.
Vazquez was held without bond in an
Allegheny County jail after a judge de-
nied him bail on Tuesday.
According to the Pennsylvania
criminal complaint, Vazquez told po-
lice on Tuesday morning that the girl
first contacted him on Instagram in



  1. An incident report from the Lee
    County Sheriff’s Office in Florida said
    Vazquez met the girl in person at the
    Pirates’ stadium, where the two took a
    picture together outside the bullpen.
    Vazquez told the authorities he ini-
    tially declined to communicate with
    the girl on social media because of how
    young she looked, but after she began
    sending him nude photographs, he re-
    sponded by sending her nude photo-
    graphs of himself.
    Sometime in 2017, the complaint
    said, Vazquez drove to the girl’s home
    in Scottdale, Pa., about 40 miles south-


east of Pittsburgh. The girl got into the
passenger seat of Vazquez’s Ford Mus-
tang and they had sexual contact.
Vazquez eventually left, telling the
girl he had a game that night. He con-
tinued sending her text messages until
as recently as two months ago, accord-
ing to the complaint. The girl told the
police a similar story in August when
interviewed.
The investigation began after the
girl’s mother found text messages and
photographs, which the police said
were sent by Vazquez, on the girl’s
phone in late July. The mother con-
tacted the police, according to the inci-

dent report from the Lee County Sher-
iff’s office.
Vazquez was placed on administra-
tive leave by Major League Baseball’s
commissioner’s office after being ar-
rested Tuesday, meaning he is ineligi-
ble to play but still receives pay. Ban-
ners bearing Vazquez’s image were
taken down from outside the Pirates’
stadium, PNC Park, before Tuesday’s
game against the Seattle Mariners.
“We take this matter, and these
charges in particular, extremely seri-
ously,” said Frank Coonelly, the Pi-
rates’ president, in a statement on
Tuesday.

Police Detail Sex Counts Against Reliever


By KEVIN DRAPER

The Pirates’ Felipe Vazquez has been charged with three felonies, includ-
ing statutory sexual assault and unlawful contact with a minor.

MATT FREED/PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, VIA ASSOCIATED PRESS

Thursday’s N.F.L. Matchup


By BENJAMIN HOFFMAN


TITANS AT JAGUARS, 8:20 p.m. Eastern,
NFL Network
Line: Titans -2| Total: 39


The Titans (1-1) of the Coach Mike
Vrabel era have a reputation for making
every game miserable for their oppo-
nent. They keep the score low by run-
ning the ball repeatedly with Derrick
Henry, and they play tough defense.
That style has led to some surprising
wins, but it’s never what you would call
aesthetically pleasing.
That’s what made their Week 1 blowout


how put together an impressive per-
formance in which they very nearly
beat Houston despite being a 9.5-point
underdog.
Thursday night games tend to be
sloppy, which plays into Tennessee’s
wheelhouse, and while Gardner Min-
shew has been a lot of fun to watch in
his stint as Jacksonville’s quarterback,
and this game could best be described
as a tossup, there is a good chance that
the Titans quash some of the Jaguars’
enthusiasm and come away with a win.
PICK: TITANS -2

of Cleveland such a shock. The Titans
not only beat a heavily hyped team in
the Browns, but they did so in spectacu-
lar fashion, putting up 43 points and
looking dominant on both sides of the
ball.
After the Titans reverted to their nor-
mal ways in Week 2, grinding their way
to a 19-17 loss to Indianapolis in which
both teams had more yards running
than passing, it’s hard to know what to
expect. Making matters worse, they are
going on the road against the Jaguars
(0-2), a team that should be in disarray
with Nick Foles out and Jalen Ramsey
demanding a trade but one that some-
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