National Sports

A look at what's happening around the majors today: OCTOBER OCTANE Maybe it’s the Southern California air or the atmosphere indoors in Texas, but the ball is really flying this post-season .

SAN JOSE, Calif. — A pair of red cards were the undoing of the Vancouver Whitecaps Wednesday. The undermanned club dropped a 3-0 decision to the San Jose Earthquakes in California, extending Vancouver's losing streak to three games.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Bojan Krkic scored on a penalty kick in the 74th minute to help the Montreal Impact beat the Columbus Crew 2-1 on Wednesday night. Thel Impact (6-8-2) have won two straight after a four-match losing streak.

The NHL's free agency market grew a bit more crowded Wednesday as the deadline passed for teams to submit qualifying offers to restricted free agents.

Pierre Dorion vividly remembers Matt Murray entering the Pittsburgh crease inside a raucous Canadian Tire Centre with the Ottawa Senators up 4-0 midway through the first period of Game 3 of the 2017 Eastern Conference final.

NEW YORK — ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC averaged 1,836,000 viewers for 16 broadcasts in Major League Baseball’s expanded wild-card round, drawing far more viewers for 16 games but an average down vastly from the single-knockout contests in previous years.

The Hockey Diversity Alliance is separating from the NHL.

Josh Anderson and Max Domi may have had an inkling their tenure with their respective NHL teams was coming to an end. What surprised the two close friends is that they ended up being swapped for each other.

EDMONTON — The Edmonton Oilers retrieved a prized prospect in signing Jesse Puljujarvi to a two-year contract.

HOUSTON — Rookie Ian Anderson pitched like an October veteran. Old pro Nick Markakis threw the best strike of the game.