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A22 sports
Monday 9 SepteMber 2019
Connecticut Sun coach Curt Miller questions official Tiffany Bird
during the team’s WNBA basketball game against the Chicago
Sky on Friday, Sept. 6, 2019, in Uncasville, Conn.
Associated Press
Final WNBA playoff
seedings came down
to last day of season
By DOUG FEINEBRG Chicago swept the three
AP Basketball Writer games during the regular
NEW YORK (AP) — The WN- season between the two
BA’s playoff bracket is set teams.
after a busy final day of the “In a one game knock-
regular season. out situation as long as we
Washington, Connecticut can limit what they want
and Los Angeles had al- to do and make them feel
ready sealed up the top- uncomfortable anything
three playoff spots before is possible. We didn’t win
Sunday’s contests. The Mys- at Connecticut last year
tics and Sun don’t play until and we went in there and
the semifinals. The Sparks won,” Phoenix coach San-
will play Sunday against dy Brondello said.
the worst remaining seed. “We’ve been in these situ-
Las Vegas, which had ations before so we’re not
clinched the franchise’s looking at it like “Oh we
first playoff berth since haven’t won,” because
2014 and first since moving you just go and play. We’re
to Nevada last year from going to believe. We know
San Antonio, earned a first- we can do this. It’s not
round bye and a home easy, no game is easy.
game with a victory over Anyone can beat anyone
Phoenix on Sunday and a in this league so we just
loss by Chicago. have to make sure that it’s
“The season kind of went our night.”
how I expected it to. A lot Minnesota had a chance
of ups and downs, trying to get a home game, but a
to understand each other loss to Los Angeles on Sun-
and learn how to win,” day and a win by Seattle in
Aces coach Bill Laimbeer Dallas gave the Storm the
said. home matchup against
“We had our moments we the Lynx on Wednesday
looked very good, and mo- night in the opening round.
ments where we looked re- Seattle won three of the
ally bad. All in all, to take four meetings between the
the fourth seed and have teams this season, includ- "We have to try to win games," Kapler and had seven homers and 18 RBIs in 15
a bye in the first round and ing the last three.
a home game. We will take “We know how to be good,
it.” and now we need to do
While the Aces have a bye, that on the road. That’s the
Chicago will have to play hardest thing, and that’s
Wednesday against Phoe- why the home games are
nix. so coveted,” Lynx coach
The Mercury are no strang- Cheryl Reeve said.
er to the single-elimination “We are going to see if we
postseason format, going can win a hard road game.
6-0 in it since the league We need to play a lot bet- dergaard couldn't hold it and the bull- join in.q
changed to it in 2016. ter than we did today.”q
New York Mets' third baseman Jeff McNeil (6) can't get Philadelphia Phillies' Corey Dickerson's
foul ball as fans watch from behind a protective netting during the fifth inning of a baseball
game, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2019, in New York. Associated Press
Phils hit 3 HRs, outlast Mets
10-7 to tighten wild-card race
By BEN WALKER pen got battered yet again as the Mets
AP Baseball Writer missed a chance to move up in the post-
NEW YORK (AP) — Looking for every ex- season race.
tra edge in a playoff chase, the Phila- "It stings, it stings," Mets manager Mickey
delphia Phillies tried most everything Callaway said. "We're still going to be
— stealing and bunting, plus plenty of the same amount of games back. We've
pinch-hitters and pitchers. got one less game to make that up. But
On and on they went, mixing and match- we can do it."
ing against the New York Mets for so long It was the longest nine-inning game in
the teams actually began to run out of Mets' history, topping a 4:14 matchup
baseballs. with Washington last Sept. 23. The Phillies
In the end, the Phillies had just enough. tied for the longest nine-inning NL game
Maikel Franco , Scott Kingery and Adam at 4:30 on July 6, 2018, against the Pitts-
Haseley homered as Philadelphia over- burgh.
came an early deficit and outlasted the The Red Sox and Yankees set the major
Mets 10-7 Sunday to further tighten the league record of 4:45 in 2006.
NL wild-card race. By the late innings, extra balls were need-
"It wasn't the prettiest win by any stretch," ed. Usually, 16 dozen are rubbed up for
manager Gabe Kapler said. games at Citi Field — that's more than at
The game took 4 hours, 29 minutes — a most parks and usually ample by a lot.
minute short of matching the longest But the teams ran through those, and re-
nine-inning game in NL history. When it quired an extra two dozen to finish.
was over, Philadelphia had closed within Phillies starter Vince Velasquez blamed
two games of Chicago for the second himself for the slow proceedings. He al-
wild-card spot. The Mets stayed four lowed four runs, six hits and four walks in
back of the Cubs, who lost Milwaukee 4 1/3 innings.
8-5. "I take full responsibility on that end," he
With both managers maneuvering, the said.
clubs combined to use 39 players, in- Pinch-hitter Phil Gosselin blooped an RBI
cluding eight pitchers apiece. Héctor single that gave the Phillies a 5-4 lead
Neris escaped a two-on, one-out jam in in the sixth and Franco followed with a
the ninth. two-run homer. Franco later doubled
said. "We have to try to win the inning." games against the Mets this year.
Injured star Bryce Harper drew a bases- The Mets clawed back for two runs in the
loaded walk as a pinch-hitter, capping bottom of the sixth to make it 7-6 and
a three-run seventh inning to put the Phil- had the tying run in scoring position, but
lies ahead 10-6. That came shortly after Rodríguez charged hard into the tight
a sensational catch by right fielder Sean foul space, banged hard into the wall
Rodríguez preserved a slim lead. and caught a fly by J.D. Davis to end the
Wilson Ramos and Robinson Canó hit inning. Rodríguez's teammates waited
back-to-back homers in the first inning outside the dugout to greet him, and
for a 3-0 New York edge. But Noah Syn- several players came off the bench to