Twins (finally) snap extended postseason drought; NFL Power Rankings shake up; Man United falling apart

This is an editorial model of the CBS Sports HQ AM Newsletter, without equal information to each day in sports activities. You can signal as much as get it for your inbox each and every weekday morning right here.

⚾ Good morning to everybody however particularly …

THE MINNESOTA TWINS, TEXAS RANGERS, ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS AND PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES

The streak is over. The Twins hope they by no means have to speak about it once more. Minnesota snapped an 18-game postseason shedding streak — the longest in any primary North American sports activities league — with a 3-1 Game 1 win over the Blue Jays, led through a participant who used to be 5 years previous the ultimate time the Twins received a playoff sport.

• Royce Lewis drove in all 3 runs with a two-run house run within the first inning and a solo shot within the 3rd. He’s simply the 3rd participant in MLB historical past to homer in every of his first two occupation postseason at-bats.
• Pablo López confirmed up in a Johan Santana jersey — the starter of Minnesota’s most up-to-date playoff win in 2004 — and did a lovely excellent affect, permitting only one run over 5 2/3 innings.
• The bullpen allowed only one hit and one stroll over the overall 3 1/3 innings.

The win serves as a massive weight off the crew’s shoulders, writes Mike Axisa.

• Axisa: “I’m not a believer in jinxes or curses or anything like that. Nothing that happened in 2004 or 2010 or last week has any bearing on what happens next. That said, the Twins got asked about the losing streak every October. It was tiresome and it’s the kind of thing that can creep into the back of your mind once you fall behind, even by one run. They don’t have to worry about that any longer. Now that the monkey is off their back, don’t be surprised if the Twins go on a run.”

Minnesota seems to make it a successful streak and win their first playoff collection since 2002 these days.

In the opposite AL wild card opener, the Rangers were given seven glorious shutout innings from Jordan Montgomery and two extra from a shaky bullpen to take down the Rays, 4-0. The Rangers’ offense took benefit of very spotty Tampa Bay protection — extra on that during a little — to offer Texas its first postseason win since 2015.

In the NL, the Diamondbacks overcame an early 3-0 deficit, scoring the overall six runs of the sport in a 6-3 win towards the Brewers‘ very best. Corbin Carroll and Ketel Marte and Gabriel Moreno every hit house runs to chase Corbin Burnes after simply 4 innings, and Christian Walker delivered a a very powerful two-out, two-run double towards Devin Williams to offer Arizona additional respiring room within the 9th.

Finally, the Phillies crowned the Marlins, 4-1, at the back of 6 2/3 sterling innings from Zack Wheeler.

Here are our takeaways from Tuesday’s motion, and listed below are six issues we discovered.

👍 Honorable mentions

😖 And now not this sort of excellent morning for …

THE TAMPA BAY RAYS

The Rays spent the primary few months of the season with the most productive checklist in baseball. They spent the previous few months fighting however in the long run shedding the AL East crown. They’ll spend these days looking to stay their season alive, and they have got no person in charge however themselves. The Rays dedicated a playoff franchise-record 4 mistakes and struggled in just about each and every side. Here had been 3 circumstances that had been specifically pivotal … and uncharacteristic.

• With runners on first and 3rd and one out within the backside of the second one, Jose Siri popped up a bunt strive, and Montgomery made an excellent diving play. René Pinto then struck out swinging.
• In the highest of the 5th, Tyler Glasnow‘s wild pitch allowed Corey Seager to attain, extending Texas’ result in 2-0.
• In the highest of the 6th, Siri, enjoying on account of his defensive prowess, misplayed a Seager unmarried to middle, permitting the ball to deflect away and Evan Carter to attain. Siri then doubled down at the mistake with an ill-advised throw to 3rd that ended up within the dugout and allowed Marcus Semien to attain.

The excellent news is the Rays flip to Zach Eflin these days, and he is been terrific this season. The dangerous news? If Tampa Bay cannot flip round its protection and hitting, it would now not topic.

👎 Not so honorable mentions

🏈 New NFL Power Rankings and faculty soccer CBS Sports 133

Last week, the Dolphins had been flying as prime as any crew within the trendy NFL has noticed and the Cowboys had simply misplaced to the Cardinals. Today, the Dolphins are licking their wounds after a blowout loss to the Bills, and the Cowboys simply passed Bill Belichick his worst loss as a head trainer. Things alternate temporarily within the NFL, and Pete Prisco’s newest Power Rankings mirror simply that. Here’s the highest 5:

1. 49ers (earlier: 1) — “There is no doubt who the best team in the league is right now.”
2. Eagles (2) — “It still doesn’t look great, but they are finding ways to win games.”
3. Chiefs (3) — “The offense still isn’t clicking yet the way we’ve come to expect.”
4. Bills (5) — “The defense has really impressed so far this season, especially in terms of the pass rush. Josh Allen is playing like an MVP again.”
5. Cowboys (6) — “That showing against the Patriots was the team we expect to see this season.”

The Dolphins, in the meantime, fell from fourth to 7th. That’s not anything in comparison to the Steelers, who went from eleventh to 18th because the week’s greatest fallers. They are instituting a brand new apply agenda in hopes of turning issues round.

You can see Pete’s complete ratings right here.

Moving to the varsity aspect of items, we additionally had adjustments within the most sensible 5 of the CBS Sports 133.

1. Georgia (earlier: 1)
2. Michigan (4)
3. Texas (6)
4. Ohio State (3)
5. Florida State (5)

Washington fell from 2nd to 6th after a slim break out at Arizona, and as Tom Fornelli main points in his weekly B1G Time column, the brand new No. 2 is dominating.

• Fornelli: “The Wolverines dominate games in a fashion we haven’t seen many teams do in recent years. … Remember when the College Football Playoff system began and the selection committee started throwing out ‘game control’ as a metric to show how well a team has played? … The Wolverines have had a lead of at least 14 points for 62.17% of their snaps this season. [Of the last seven champions], only the 2021 Georgia team that finished 14-1 with an all-time defense — and smoked Michigan 34-11 in the Orange Bowl — finished with a higher rate.”

You can see the entire 133 right here, the greatest movers right here and a refreshed Bottom 25 right here.

Oh yeah, and make certain to try Dennis Dodd’s deep dive into Deion Sanders’ robust get started at Colorado and the way lengthy it will possibly ultimate.

⚽ Champions League: Manchester United falls apart

A marvel loss to Galatasaray used to be almost about the very last thing floundering Manchester United wanted. But football does not care about wants and needs, and neither did Galatasaray. The Turkish aspect beat the Red Devils, 3-2, as United’s offense in spite of everything got here to existence however defensive problems had been out in complete drive — one thing that may proceed to carry them again, writes Chuck Booth.

It wasn’t precisely a banner day for the opposite Premier League membership in motion: Arsenal shockingly fell to RC Lens, 2-1, and noticed celebrity Bukayo Saka limp off with an harm. With a date towards Manchester City looming, James Benge says Mikel Arteta’s gamble backfired large time. 

Other headlines round Europe …

We have 8 extra suits these days:

• Atlético Madrid vs. Feyenoord
• Antwerp vs. Shakhtar Donetsk
  
• Newcastle vs. PSG (preview)
• Borussia Dortmund vs. AC Milan (preview)
• RB Leipzig vs. Manchester City (preview)
• Porto vs. Barcelona (preview)
• Crvena zvezda vs. Young Boys
  
• Celtic vs. Lazio
  

Here are our knowledgeable choices.

📺 What we are gazing Wednesday

⚽ UEFA Champions League on Paramount+
⚾ Rangers at Rays, 3 p.m. on ABC
⚾ Blue Jays at Twins, 4:30 p.m. on ESPN
⚾ Diamondbacks at Brewers, 7 p.m. on ESPN2
⚾ Marlins at Phillies, 8 p.m. on ESPN