Astros ride Alex Bregman homer, Framber Valdez gem to beat Yankees 3-2, take 2-0 ALCS lead  —  HOUSTON - After Framber Valdez picked up Oswaldo Cabrera's slow-rolling ground ball in the fifth inning, turned and lobbed uneventfully to first base, he and almost all the 41,700 fans on hand at Minute Maid Park let out a tentative exhale.

7 takeaways from the Chicago Bulls' season-opening win over the Miami Heat, including DeMar DeRozan already in mid-season form  —  ExpandAutoplay  —  1 of 12  —  Bulls guard Alex Caruso, left, congratulates guard Ayo Dosunmu after scoring during the first half against the Heat on Wednesday in Miami.

Ja Morant puts on a show, Grizzlies drop Knicks 115-112 in OT  —  MEMPHIS — Ja Morant pulled up for a floater in the fourth quarter, glared at the Knicks bench, tapped his wrist and repeated, “It's about that time.”  —  That was earlier in the fourth quarter, and Morant's “time” extended well beyond.

Here are the 2022 Gold Glove finalists  —  The 2022 Rawlings Gold Glove Award finalists were announced Thursday, with winners to be unveiled during a one-hour, special edition broadcast of “Baseball Tonight” on Nov. 1 at 5 p.m. ET, airing on ESPN prior to Game 4 of the 2022 World Series.

Who is to blame for Dodgers' October failure?  How about the players?  —  For days after the biggest disappointment in Dodgers history, fans have been furiously fanning the blame as if it were an ugly yellow towel.  —  Fire Dave Roberts!  Fire Andrew Friedman!  Sell the team!  Hire an ornithologist!

Ted Leonsis group is front-runner to buy Nationals, sources say  —  A group led by Washington Wizards, Capitals and Mystics owner Ted Leonsis is emerging as the clear front-runner to buy the Washington Nationals from the Lerner family, according to sources within the organization …

Padres' bats come alive in Game 2 comeback win to even NLCS  —  SAN DIEGO — Juan Soto and Josh Hader absorbed most of the attention, but Brandon Drury and Josh Bell were in-season acquisitions of similar importance to the San Diego Padres — a belief further emphasized by Fernando Tatis Jr.'s ensuing suspension.

Sources: Phillies 3B coach Dusty Wathan on 2 teams' radar for manager opening … SAN DIEGO — As the Phillies compete in the postseason, a key member of their coaching staff is drawing interest from a couple of teams with manager openings.  —  According to multiple sources …

488 feet!  Schwarber drops jaws with upper-deck Petco HR  —  Phillies slugger smashes 2nd-longest postseason homer tracked by Statcast  —  SAN DIEGO — For a brief moment on Tuesday night, we were all two-time National League MVP Bryce Harper: speechless.