PEDRO MARTINEZ

Philadelphia Phillies manager Rob Thomson says he isn’t concerned about Houston starter Framber Valdez’s unusual hand rubbing during Game 2 of the World Series, downplaying speculation on social media that the left-hander was up to something fishy during a dominant victory.

Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge staggered Cleveland with early homers, and the New York Yankees rocked past the Guardians 5-1 in the decisive Game 5 of their AL Division Series to set up another rematch with Houston for the pennant.

When Justin Verlander takes the mound for the Houston Astros in Game 1 of the AL Division Series on Tuesday against the Seattle Mariners, it will have been almost three years since his last playoff appearance.

Across the U.S., COVID-19 relief money is helping to subsidize growing numbers of big-city schools with small numbers of students.

David Ortiz was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first turn on the ballot, while steroid-tainted stars Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens were denied entry to Cooperstown in their final year under consideration by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

The New York Mets and Max Scherzer have finalized a $130 million, three-year deal, a contract that shattered baseball’s record for highest average salary and forms a historically impressive 1-2 atop New York’s rotation with Jacob deGrom.

Aaron Boone hit a game-ending leadoff homer in the 11th, sending New York to the World Series. 2015 WORLD SERIES GAME 5Matt Harvey and the New York Mets held a 2-0 lead, needing a win to send the Series back to Kansas City. 2016 WORLD SERIES GAME 7The Chicago Cubs led the Cleveland Indians 5-1 heading into the bottom of the fifth. 2019 WORLD SERIES GAME 7Too bad for Houston fans, the last time they saw Gerrit Cole throw, it was in the bullpen rather than on the mound. “I wasn’t going to pitch him unless we were going to win the World Series and have a lead,” Hinch said.

(AP Photo/Peter Dejong)PARIS – Sebastian Korda was 9, heart set on a hockey career, when he went with his father, Petr, to the 2009 U.S. Open. By then, Petr — 1998 Australian Open champion, 1992 French Open finalist — had retired as a competitor and turned to coaching. Went home, came back the next year, and said, ‘This is exactly what I want to do,’” Korda said. “Everybody is always asking him: ‘Are you the son of Petr Korda?’ Which I would love to change in the future,” Dad said in a telephone interview, “so that people ask me, ‘Are you Sebastian’s father? On Sunday, Korda plays 12-time champion Rafael Nadal, while Gaston meets U.S. Open champion Dominic Thiem.

(AP Photo/David Banks)A look at whats happening around the majors on Thursday:WELCOME BACK TO BUSCHThe St. Louis Cardinals are finally coming home. The Cardinals didnt play any games at all for a stretch of over two weeks due to a coronavirus outbreak within the organization that included star catcher Yadier Molina. Everyones still pretty excited about the fact were back out, Cardinals second baseman Kolten Wong said. He homered against the Seattle Mariners in his season debut Friday but went on the injured list just three days later. A BIEBER FANClevelands Shane Bieber owns a 4-0 record and 1.30 ERA, but its his strikeout numbers that have put him in select company.