Dodgers Use Late Rally to Tie Series
It was looking to be another close, classic encounter in the series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros on Saturday night, but that was before the Dodgers were able to figure out Ken Giles in the ninth. L.A. put up five runs on the Astros' bullpen, rallying for a 6-1, Game-4 win, evening the series at two-apiece. Three of the five ninth-inning runs were charged against Giles, as the closer suffered the loss after surrendering the beginning of the rally. Cody Bellinger and Austin Barnes both knocked in runs to give Los Angeles the lead, before Joc Pederson broke the game open with a three-run home run off of Joe Musgrove. Bellinger came in to the game hitless in his previous 13 at-bats, but doubled and scored the tying run in the seventh, before knocking in the game-winning run in the ninth. He was coming off a Game 3 where he struck out four times, and then struck out in his first at-bat on Saturday. Meanwhile, Alex Wood was looking sharp, taking a no-hit bid into the sixth inning before George Springer broke that up with a two-out, solo long ball. The loss for Houston was their first at home this postseason, as they were 7-0 at Minute Maid Park coming in. This sets up an intriguing Game 5 matchup, as Clayton Kershaw and Dallas Keuchel will square off on Sunday night.
Iowa State Pulls Off Second Big Upset of Season
The Iowa State Cyclones already have one big upset of the Oklahoma Sooners in their back pocket this season, but they added to their impressive year on Saturday. The Cyclones caused three big turnovers, including a game-sealing interception late in a 14-7 upset of No. 4 TCU at home. The interception was the second for Kenny Hill, who turned the ball over twice in the red zone, as the Horned Frogs out-gained the Cyclones, 307-225, but had just seven points to show for it. The one score came on a 94-yard kickoff return for a score by KaVontae Turpin in the fourth. On the other end, Kyle Kempt threw for 202 yards and found Matthew Eaton and Hakeem Butler in the end zone on the night. The loss for TCU was their first of the year, leaving the Big 12 without an undefeated team on the season. Hill finished with just 135 yards passing, as TCU fell into a tie with Oklahoma State and Iowa State atop the Big 12 at 4-1 in conference play. The Horned Frogs also shot themselves in the foot quit a bit by committing 11 penalties for 104 yards. They will host unranked Texas next week, while the 25th-ranked Iowa State Cyclones move on to visit West Virginia, who fell to Oklahoma State on Saturday.
Ohio State Rallies Past Penn State for Big Win
The Penn State Nittany Lions looked well on their way to a convincing road win at Ohio State on Saturday night, which would've kept them unbeaten on the season, but nothing is ever for sure in the Big Ten Conference. J.T, Barrett threw for 328 yards and four touchdowns for the Buckeyes, and found Marcus Baugh for a 16-yard touchdown with 1:48 left for a thrilling 39-38 win over the 2nd-ranked Nittany Lions in Columbus. Ohio State trailed by 11 with just five minutes to play, but scored 12 unanswered, which included a 10-yard touchdown pass to Johnnie Dixon. The Buckeyes out-gained the Nittany Lions by a wide margin of 529-283, while converting 10 more first downs, but their two turnovers, and an early kickoff return for a touchdown by Saquon Barkley, gave Penn State the lead for most of the night. Barkley returned the opening kickoff of the game 97 yards for an opening score, setting the tone early. Trace McSorley would then find DaSean Hamilton in the end zone for a touchdown later in the first. The Heisman-favorite quarterback had just 192 yards passing and two scores, while the other Heisman favorite, Barkley, had 49 yards rushing and a touchdown on the ground. Barrett also passed Drew Brees for the most career touchdown passes in Big Ten History with his 91st career scoring pass. With the College Football Playoff Rankings coming out on Tuesday night, this win could not come at a better time for OSU, while this loss could not come at a worse time for PSU. The Buckeyes will likely be in the top 4 of that when they visit Iowa next week, while Penn State expects a drop in the top 10 when they visit Michigan State.
It was looking to be another close, classic encounter in the series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros on Saturday night, but that was before the Dodgers were able to figure out Ken Giles in the ninth. L.A. put up five runs on the Astros' bullpen, rallying for a 6-1, Game-4 win, evening the series at two-apiece. Three of the five ninth-inning runs were charged against Giles, as the closer suffered the loss after surrendering the beginning of the rally. Cody Bellinger and Austin Barnes both knocked in runs to give Los Angeles the lead, before Joc Pederson broke the game open with a three-run home run off of Joe Musgrove. Bellinger came in to the game hitless in his previous 13 at-bats, but doubled and scored the tying run in the seventh, before knocking in the game-winning run in the ninth. He was coming off a Game 3 where he struck out four times, and then struck out in his first at-bat on Saturday. Meanwhile, Alex Wood was looking sharp, taking a no-hit bid into the sixth inning before George Springer broke that up with a two-out, solo long ball. The loss for Houston was their first at home this postseason, as they were 7-0 at Minute Maid Park coming in. This sets up an intriguing Game 5 matchup, as Clayton Kershaw and Dallas Keuchel will square off on Sunday night.
Iowa State Pulls Off Second Big Upset of Season
The Iowa State Cyclones already have one big upset of the Oklahoma Sooners in their back pocket this season, but they added to their impressive year on Saturday. The Cyclones caused three big turnovers, including a game-sealing interception late in a 14-7 upset of No. 4 TCU at home. The interception was the second for Kenny Hill, who turned the ball over twice in the red zone, as the Horned Frogs out-gained the Cyclones, 307-225, but had just seven points to show for it. The one score came on a 94-yard kickoff return for a score by KaVontae Turpin in the fourth. On the other end, Kyle Kempt threw for 202 yards and found Matthew Eaton and Hakeem Butler in the end zone on the night. The loss for TCU was their first of the year, leaving the Big 12 without an undefeated team on the season. Hill finished with just 135 yards passing, as TCU fell into a tie with Oklahoma State and Iowa State atop the Big 12 at 4-1 in conference play. The Horned Frogs also shot themselves in the foot quit a bit by committing 11 penalties for 104 yards. They will host unranked Texas next week, while the 25th-ranked Iowa State Cyclones move on to visit West Virginia, who fell to Oklahoma State on Saturday.
Ohio State Rallies Past Penn State for Big Win
The Penn State Nittany Lions looked well on their way to a convincing road win at Ohio State on Saturday night, which would've kept them unbeaten on the season, but nothing is ever for sure in the Big Ten Conference. J.T, Barrett threw for 328 yards and four touchdowns for the Buckeyes, and found Marcus Baugh for a 16-yard touchdown with 1:48 left for a thrilling 39-38 win over the 2nd-ranked Nittany Lions in Columbus. Ohio State trailed by 11 with just five minutes to play, but scored 12 unanswered, which included a 10-yard touchdown pass to Johnnie Dixon. The Buckeyes out-gained the Nittany Lions by a wide margin of 529-283, while converting 10 more first downs, but their two turnovers, and an early kickoff return for a touchdown by Saquon Barkley, gave Penn State the lead for most of the night. Barkley returned the opening kickoff of the game 97 yards for an opening score, setting the tone early. Trace McSorley would then find DaSean Hamilton in the end zone for a touchdown later in the first. The Heisman-favorite quarterback had just 192 yards passing and two scores, while the other Heisman favorite, Barkley, had 49 yards rushing and a touchdown on the ground. Barrett also passed Drew Brees for the most career touchdown passes in Big Ten History with his 91st career scoring pass. With the College Football Playoff Rankings coming out on Tuesday night, this win could not come at a better time for OSU, while this loss could not come at a worse time for PSU. The Buckeyes will likely be in the top 4 of that when they visit Iowa next week, while Penn State expects a drop in the top 10 when they visit Michigan State.
