MLB

Exciting pitching matchups for deciding Game 5s

TORONTO – The Toronto Blue Jays stacked a pair of former Cy Young Award winners to prolong their stay in the AL Division Series.

For the deciding Game 5, they’ll turn to a starter who was once expected to miss the entire season.

Marcus Stroman, who tore a ligament in his left knee during a spring training fielding drill in March, will get the ball when the Blue Jays host the Texas Rangers in a winner-take-all affair Wednesday afternoon.

Stroman went 4-0 with a 1.67 earned-run average after rejoining the rotation in mid-September. He’ll face Texas lefty Cole Hamels.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Royals traded away three top prospects to acquire Johnny Cueto for the playoffs, even though his winning pedigree has been established almost entirely in the regular season.

He’ll have an opportunity to change that Wednesday night.

The right-hander with the creative cadre of deliveries will take the mound for Kansas City in Game 5 of the AL Division Series against the Astros, who forced the decider at Kauffman Stadium by rallying from a four-run deficit in the eighth inning on Monday in Houston.

The Astros will counter with Collin McHugh, who threw a gem in winning the series opener.

Skiing

Pair from the Midwest win ski jump gold medals

LAKE PLACID, N.Y. – Mike Glasder and Nita Englund won gold medals in the normal hill event at the U.S. ski jumping championships.

Glasder, of Cary, Illinois, pushed on his second jump Sunday by teammate Kevin Bickner, of Wauconda, Illinois, nailed a 100-meter jump to take the victory, his first medal at nationals.

Bickner, who won Saturday’s non-championship event, went short on his first ride and Glasder capitalized with the long jump of the round at 98 meters. Bickner put the pressure on with an impressive 95-meter ride on his second jump, but Glasder responded with a 100-meter effort to take gold.

Englund, of Florence, Wisconsin, dominated the women’s field at Lake Placid. She opened with an 86-meter jump and secured her first gold medal with a towering 95-meter, second-round jump to win with 227.0 points.

Soccer

Dreadful week for U.S. soccer continues with loss

HARRISON, N.J. – Tim Howard made his first appearance in goal for the United States in 15 months and was unable to stop the Americans’ slide.

Joel Campbell scored in the 70th minute, and Costa Rica beat the listless U.S. 1-0 in an exhibition Tuesday night.

Three days after a 3-2 loss to Mexico in a playoff for the region’s Confederations Cup berth, the U.S. generated few scoring chances in the latest of a string of dismal performances this year that have led to criticism of head coach Jurgen Klinsmann, who sent defender Fabian Johnson home for asking to be substituted late in Saturday’s defeat.

The Americans finished fourth at this year’s CONCACAF Gold Cup, their poorest performance since 2000, and are a team in transition as they head into the start of World Cup qualifying.

Young American men get it done against Canada

SANDY, Utah – Marc Pelosi and Jordan Kiesewetter scored second-half goals, and the United States beat Canada 2-0 on Tuesday to stay alive in CONCACAF qualifying for the Rio Olympics.

With the victory in the third-place game, the U.S. under-23 team advanced to a playoff match against Colombia for a spot in Rio.

Canada played with only 10 players the entire second half after midfielder Giuliano Frano received a second yellow card before halftime.

Associated Press