ATLANTA (AP) — Kolten Wong hit the first of four St. Louis homers, Miles Mikolas won his third straight start and the Cardinals boosted their playoff push with an 11-6 victory over the Atlanta Braves. The NL East leaders took a third consecutive loss after winning a season-best six straight. They stayed 6½ games ahead in the division following Philadelphia’s loss, which reduced Atlanta’s magic number to seven.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes has every reason to celebrate his 23rd birthday. He threw six TD passes without an interception in a win over the Steelers on Sunday, setting a slew of records in the process, and has the Kansas City Chiefs off to a 2-0 start.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Rookie Jacob Stallings hit a two-out single in the bottom of the ninth inning to rally the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 7-6 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Monday night. After Jordan Luplow grounded into a double play, Kevin Kramer walked and moved to second on Kevin Newman’s single. Stallings then singled into left field off Ben Lively, scoring Kramer. It was Stallings’ second career game-ending hit. The catcher also had one in 2016.
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Oklahoma’s dynamic receiving tandem of Marquise “Hollywood” Brown and CeeDee Lamb has been virtually unstoppable so far this season. Brown has 19 catches for 412 yards and three touchdowns through three games. Lamb has 12 catches for 225 yards and two scores. They are key reasons the fifth-ranked Sooners will take an unbeaten record into their game against Army.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas coach Tom Herman put his trust in his defense early against Southern California and it paid off with a big goal-line stand in a critical win. Now Herman hopes the confidence gained in the moment will pay off big for the Longhorns. Texas hosts No. 17 TCU this week in the Big 12 season opener for both teams. The Horned Frogs have dominated Texas the last four years. They led Ohio State into the third quarter before getting beat last Saturday.
UNDATED (AP) — Alan Bowman looks to be next in line on the list of prolific passers who have come through Texas Tech. The true freshman sits No. 2 on the national passing chart this week after throwing for 605 yards and five touchdowns in the Red Raiders’ 63-49 win over Houston. Penn State freshman Daniel George’s first catch was a 95-yard touchdown for the longest play from scrimmage in program history. TCU’s Darius Anderson broke the longest run of the season when he went 93 yards against Ohio State.
STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) — Mike Gundy wanted to see improvement on special teams. No. 15 Oklahoma State answered its coach’s call. The Cowboys blocked two punts, returning one for a touchdown, and made three field goals in a 44-21 win over then-No. 17 Boise State on Saturday. That marked a sharp turnaround after losing a fumble the week before on an attempted punt by Matt Hockett, leading to a South Alabama TD in Oklahoma State’s 55-13 win.
National Headlines
CHICAGO (AP) — Khalil Mack had one of the Chicago Bears’ six sacks of Russell Wilson, and Prince Amukamura returned an interception 49 yards for a touchdown in a 24-17 victory over the Seattle Seahawks. Mack had a strip-sack in the first half and consistently pressured Wilson in another dominant performance. Amukamura’s first career TD gave Chicago a 24-10 lead with 6:37 remaining.
CLEVELAND (AP) — The Cleveland Browns have cut ties with talented but troubled receiver Josh Gordon by dealing him to the New England Patriots for a fifth-round draft pick. The deal came together two days after the Browns reached a breaking point with Gordon, who has been suspended numerous times by the NFL for drug violations since Cleveland drafted him in 2012. The team ran out of patience when Gordon reported to the team on Saturday with a hamstring injury after practicing all week.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz has been cleared to return and is slated to start Sunday against Indianapolis. Wentz tore his left ACL and LCL last December and had surgery three days later. Backup quarterback Nick Foles led the Eagles to their first NFL title since 1960 and was Super Bowl MVP in the 41-33 victory over New England.
EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Vikings have released rookie kicker Daniel Carlson after he missed two field goal attempts in overtime of yesterday’s 29-29 tie with Green Bay. Carlson was taken in the fifth round of this year’s draft and was awarded the job when the Vikings let Kai Forbath go on Aug. 20. The Vikings didn’t immediately add a replacement for Carlson, but head coach Mike Zimmer confirmed they’ve invited free agent Dan Bailey to Minnesota for a physical exam.
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich has become the fifth player in major league history to hit for the cycle twice in the same season, and the first to do it against the same team. Yelich was 4-for-4 with a two-run homer and four RBIs in the Brewers’ 8-0 pounding of the Cincinnati Reds. Yelich also hit for the cycle versus the Reds on Aug. 29, going 6-for-6 in a comeback victory.
Monday Scores
INTERLEAGUE
Final Pittsburgh 7 Kansas City 6
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Toronto 5 Baltimore 0
Final Minnesota 6 Detroit 1
Final Tampa Bay 3 Texas 0
Final Seattle 4 Houston 1
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final N-Y Mets 9 Philadelphia 4
Final Miami 8 Washington 5
Final St. Louis 11 Atlanta 6
Final Milwaukee 8 Cincinnati 0
Final Chi Cubs 5 Arizona 1
Final L-A Dodgers 8 Colorado 2
Final San Francisco 4 San Diego 2
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
Final Chicago 24 Seattle 17