Good morning! Today is October 1st, and that means playoff baseball is officially underway. The Minnesota Wild might already be strapped for their Q4 budget after Kirill Kaprizov signed an extension, making him the highest-paid player in NHL history. Meanwhile, Napheesa Collier did what most people are scared to do and called out her boss (the league commissioner), and the Warriors are reuniting the Curry brothers.There's plenty more happening, so check out below for all the action!
The Game Plan:
The Must Knows
NFL
49ers’ QB Brock Purdy and WRs Jauan Jennings and Ricky Pearsall all did not practice. The Niners play the Rams this Thursday.
Robbie Chosen is signing with the Commanders.
MLB
Tarik Skubal struck out a career-high 14 batters to help the Tigers take the series lead against the Guardians.
The Cubs got their first playoff win since 2017.
Anthony Volpe became the first shortstop in MLB history to have 15 hits and 10 walks in his first 15 playoff games.
Blake Snell pitched for 6 innings in a playoff game for the first time in his career, helping the Dodgers get the game 1 win.
NBA
Seth Curry has agreed to join his brother Steph and the Warriors on a one year deal.
Jonathan Kuminga has agreed to a two-year, $48.5M contract with the Warriors.
WNBA
The Aces are heading to the WNBA finals to play the Mercury.
Lynx star Napheesa Collier took to the podium yesterday to call out the WNBA commissioner and leadership as being “The worst leadership in the world.“
Collier also cited moments and quotes from the commissioner such as, “Caitlyn Clark should be grateful.“
NHL
Wild and forward Kirill Kaprizov agreed to an 8-year $136M deal that makes him the NHL’s richest player ever
Football
NFL
No Games
NCAAF Top 25
No Games
Basketball
NBA
20 Days Until Tipoff
WNBA Playoffs
Yesterday's WNBA Recap:
INDIANA FEVER 98 @ 107 LAS VEGAS ACES
In an overtime thriller with a Finals berth at stake, the Aces survived the Fever’s fourth-quarter rally and punched their ticket to a third Finals in four years.
A'ja Wilson (LV): 35 PTS, 8 REB, 5 AST, 4 STL, 4 BLK
Jackie Young (LV): 32 PTS, 10 AST
Odyssey Sims (IND): 27 PTS, 6 AST
Aliyah Boston (IND): 11 PTS, 16 REB
Baseball
MLB Playoffs
Yesterday's MLB Recap:
DETROIT TIGERS 2 @ 1 CLEVELAND GUARDIANS
In Game 1 of the AL Wild Card Series, Tarik Skubal's 14-strikeout performance led the Tigers to a 2-1 victory over the Guardians, with Zach McKinstry providing the decisive run in the seventh inning.
Tarik Skubal (DET): 7.2 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 14 K, 3 BB
Gavin Williams (CLE): 6.0 IP, 5 H, 8 K, 1 BB
SAN DIEGO PADRES 1 @ 3 CHICAGO CUBS
In Game 1 of the NL Wild Card Series, Seiya Suzuki and Carson Kelly had back-to-back home runs in the fifth inning, lifting the Cubs to a 3-1 victory over the Padres, backed by a strong bullpen performance for their first playoff win since 2017.
Nick Pivetta (SD): 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 9 K
Matthew Boyd (CHC): 4.1 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 2 K, 1 BB
BOSTON RED SOX 3 @ 1 NEW YORK YANKEES
Garrett Crochet's streak of retiring 17 Yankees in a row paved the way for Masataka Yoshida's two-run single, leading the Red Sox to a 3-1 victory in the AL Wild Card Series opener.
Garrett Crochet (BOS): 7.2 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 11 K
Max Fried (NYY): 6.1 IP, 4 H, 6 K, 3 BB
CINCINNATI REDS 5 @ 10 LOS ANGELES DODGERS
Shohei Ohtani and Teoscar Hernández each had two homers, leading the Dodgers to a 10-5 victory over the Reds in their NL Wild Card Series opener, as Blake Snell delivered a dominant performance on the mound with nine strikeouts over seven innings.
Hunter Greene (CIN): 3.0 IP, 5 ER, 6 H, 4 K, 2 BB
Blake Snell (LAD): 7.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 9 K, 1 BB
Teoscar Hernández (LAD): 3 H, 2 HR, 4 RBI
Shohei Ohtani (LAD): 2 H, 2 HR, 3 RBI
Today's MLB Games:
