For a decade now, the Cubs have gone with celebrity managers.First Don Baylor, who stayed 2 1/2 years and had one 88-win season. Then Dusty Baker, who stayed four years and inspired the 2003 “Dustiny” run that ended a win short of the World Series. And then Lou Piniella, who won two division titles, won 97 games in 2008 and then presided over a year and a half of more disappointment.Piniella retired in August, and when it came time to name his permanent replacement, the Cubs didn’t go high-profile this time.Instead, they’ve given the job to 53-year-old Mike Quade, who today signed a two-year deal with an option for 2013.Quade is a baseball lifer, as colleague Scott Miller detailed in a column last month. He earned plenty of respect for his work during years in the minor leagues, and as a major-league coach. He earned even more for the way he handled the job of interim manager after Piniella left, and the Cubs’ 24-13 record under his watch no doubt helped convince general manager Jim Hendry to give him the job full-time.Hendry had other options, higher-profile options. He could easily have handed the job to Cubs legend Ryne Sandberg, who deserved a chance after going to manage in the minor leagues (and by all accounts doing his job very well). He could have tried throwing money at Joe Torre. He could have waited to see if Joe Girardi would leave the Yankees.That was NEVER going to happen.Instead, he stuck with Quade, who was barely known when he took over for Piniella and not much better known now. He never played in the major leagues, spending five seasons as a player bouncing around from Class A to Double-A and back. He worked all over the minor leagues as a manager, and even won the Caribbean Series once as a manager in the winter league in the Dominican Republic, but that doesn’t exactly get you notoriety.He’ll be known now, all the more so if he can do the impossible and become the manager who finally takes the Cubs back to the World Series.It’s a huge challenge. It always is on the North Side of Chicago. If anything, it’s a bigger challenge now, because the Cubs are a flawed team stuck with a bunch of bad contracts.Is Quade the right guy? That’s hard to tell. If September is a bad time to judge whether players are ready for the big leagues, it’s just as bad for judging managers, and many teams have made mistakes holding onto interim managers who had once good September.You wonder what this says about Sandberg, and also what it says to Sandberg. So many star players have refused to go manage in the minor leagues, and many of those have been given managerial jobs (Don Mattingly, for instance). Sandberg not only went to the minors, but Cubs people said he worked hard to learn every part of the operation (asking for advice on how to write scouting reports).You wonder how this affects Girardi, who was never all that likely to leave the Yankees, but now is left without much leverage in his coming contract negotiations.But Hendry knows that this hire needs to be a good one. He has enjoyed great support so far from the Ricketts family, who just finished their first season as the Cubs owners. Hendry knows that support could easily fade if the Cubs keep losing.He knows that his fate could be tied to the next manager. Now, it’s tied to Mike Quade.You may not know Quade very well. Soon, you will.Oh, and how about Sandberg? The plot thickens!

NEW YORK—Cliff Lee stumbled as he stepped up to his seat at the postgame podium.That was about his only slip-up all night.The ace of October went through the New York Yankees like a buzzsaw again, striking out 13 and pitching the Texas Rangers to an 8-0 victory Monday for a 2-1 lead in the best-of-7 AL Championship Series.Josh Hamilton hit an early two-run homer off Andy Pettitte and started a six-run outburst in the ninth with a leadoff double. Lee allowed only two singles in eight innings and became the first pitcher to reach double digits in strikeouts three times in one postseason.Mr. Automatic improved to 7-0 with a 1.26 ERA in eight postseason starts. Three of those wins have come against the power-packed Yankees, including two in last year’s World Series for Philadelphia.New York won the other four games against the Phillies to take home its 27th championship, but now faces a tall task if it plans to repeat. The Yankees must win three straight against the resilient Rangers to advance without facing Lee in a decisive Game 7 at Texas.Game 4 is Tuesday night and the Yankees will start struggling right-hander A.J. Burnett, who hasn’t pitched since Oct. 2. Tommy Hunter goes for Texas in his first career start at Yankee Stadium.Pettitte, the ol’ pro seeking his 20th postseason win, did his best to match Lee. But the longtime New York left-hander hung a first-inning cutter that Hamilton yanked over the short porch in right for his second homer of the series.Texas broke it open in the ninth against an ineffective David Robertson, getting RBI singles from Nelson Cruz and Bengie Molina, plus a two-run single by Mitch Moreland.Rangers closer Neftali Feliz flung his 100 mph fastball in the ninth and finished the two-hitter in front of a nearly empty ballpark, adding two strikeouts to increase Texas’ total to 15 — one shy of a postseason record for Yankees batters.New York’s two hits matched a postseason low also set in Game 4 of the 1958 World Series and Game 3 of the 2001 division series.Lee nearly landed with the Yankees before Seattle traded him to Texas on July 9. Maybe they should have offered a few of their many All-Stars — Lee doesn’t seem to need much help.Michael Young had three hits for the Rangers, who are 4-0 on the road in these playoffs. Texas won all three games at Tampa Bay in the first round, including a pair of masterful performances by Lee.Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and the Yankees fared no better. Cutters, curves, sliders — they couldn’t touch Lee, who pumps in one strike after another like a robot programmed to do so.Lee was so dominant, New York hitters were left shaking their heads in the dugout or questioning calls by plate umpire Jim Reynolds.Robinson Cano showed bunt, Brett Gardner tried another headfirst dive into first base. None of it worked.Gardner singled leading off the sixth and stole second, but Lee never rattled. He struck out Jeter for the second time, then induced routine grounders from Nick Swisher and Mark Teixeira, who is 0 for 11 in the series.Lee has been spectacular in the postseason, striking out 67 and walking only seven in 64 1/3 innings. Even after throwing a season-high 122 pitches, he was going to pitch the ninth until Texas broke it open.Lee matched a career high for strikeouts, also accomplished July 27 against Oakland.He retired his first 11 batters Monday night, striking out seven, before missing high with a full-count fastball to Teixeira. It was the left-hander’s first walk in 19 2/3 innings this postseason, drawing a loud roar and a standing ovation from some in the sellout crowd of 49,840.Rodriguez drove the next pitch to deep left-center, but Cruz reached down for a running catch that ended the fourth.Jorge Posada fisted an opposite-field single into shallow right with two outs in the fifth for New York’s first hit.Young singled on the ninth pitch of his at-bat in the first inning and then Pettitte hung a 2-1 pitch to Hamilton in the middle of the plate. The slugger was a bit off balance on his front foot, but strong enough to pull the pitch about 330 feet to right field, clearing the inviting porch at Yankee Stadium.Fellow lefty CC Sabathia made a similar mistake on a slider to Hamilton in the first inning of the series opener and he lined it to right for a three-run homer. Hamilton also drew four walks in Game 2, two of them intentional.Pettitte set down 15 of 16 after the home run, with the only blemish coming on Young’s two-out infield single in the third. He threw 61 pitches through the first three innings, 17 to Young in his first two at-bats.Pettitte, who owns postseason records for wins, innings and starts (42), allowed five hits in seven innings. He struck out five and didn’t walk a batter.A top contender for AL MVP, Hamilton barely missed another two-run shot when his sixth-inning drive was caught at the right-field fence.Gardner hit a bouncer to first in the third and tried to beat the play with a headfirst dive — nearly an exact replica of his infield single that sparked New York’s late comeback in Game 1.This time, Lee was quick to cover and Gardner appeared to miss the bag with his hand, perhaps pulling it away to make sure he wasn’t spiked. First-base umpire Angel Hernandez called Gardner out on a close play, and the Yankees didn’t argue.

NOTES—The Rangers have hit home runs in all eight playoff games this year, longer than any streak they had during the regular season….Pettitte gave up only two home runs to left-handed hitters during the regular season, both to Tampa Bay’s Carlos Pena…..Hall of Famer Bob Gibson had three consecutive games with at least 10 strikeouts for St. Louis in the 1967 and ’68 World Series…..A security official tackled a fan who ran onto the field in the top of the fifth before the man even made it into fair territory. He was quickly restrained and led away.

The Bears stopped the Seahawks on their first second half series,but after Ryan punted them inside the five,Cutler was sacked,just inside his endzone for a safety and the Seahawks took a 16-13 lead.Hasselbeck on a third down was hit and lost the ball,but it was called an incomplete pass,and Ryan punted out at the Bears 36.On first down,Hester came up with a ice leaping catch for 19 yards to the Seattle 45,but two downs(and another sack) later,Maynard punted to Tate,who recovered his own fumble at his own seven.The Bears held and Ryan kicked to Hester who returned it four yards to the Seahawks 48.Cutler scrambled to the 34, then on third and six, Cutler was sacked at his 41,taking the Bears out of field goal range. Maynard punted to the Seattle 8. Williams again beat Tillman for 21 yards to the 32,then beat him again for 18 to midfield.On a third and 4, Butler caught a 15 yard pass to the Bears 29.Forcett than ran right through the defensive line for 13 yards to the Bears 11 as the third quarter ended.Forcett broke two more tackled and ran for four yards to the seven.Williams then caught a pass at the one for a first and goal. Lynch then(sounds like a broken record)broke three more tackles and scored to cap the 92 yard drive and give the Seahawks a 23-13 lead. A long TD return by Manning was called back due to a holding penalty on Rod Wilson,forcing the Bears instead to start at their 8.They picked up one first down,but then had to punt again-out of bounds at the Seattle 29 with 11:54 remaining.The Seahawks went nowhere,but Ryan punted 54 yards,out of bounds at the Bears 8.They had to punt again(this is a recording),and Tate broke a few tackles to get 5 to the Seahawks 38.Again,Ryan punted and Hester got out of the way and let it roll, and roll, and roll DEAD on the 1 yard line after a 56 yard kick.The Bears drove deep enough for Gould to try what would have been a career long 54 yard field goal,but it was wide right.The Seahawks were again stopped,but this time Hester returned Ryan’s punt 89 yards for his second return TD of the season and with 1:54 left and no timeout remaining, the Bears closed to within 23-20. The Bears on side kick try was recovered by Seattle,and with the Bears out time outs, Hasselbeck took three knee downs to run out the clock.

NOTES—Cutler was only 17-39 for 290 yards, was sacked 6 times for losses of 44 yards and had a QB rating of 69.4…..Hasselbeck was 25-40 for 242 yds, 1 TD and a QB rating of 87.7…..The Bears only ran the ball 14 times for a net 61 yds….The Bears were an awful 0-12 in third down conversions….The Seahawks won the time of possession battle 34:23 to 25:37.

LES

Patrick Sharp made the most of his few opportunities Saturday night.Sharp scored his second goal of the game with 7:08 left in the third, powering the Blackhawks to a 4-3 win over the Buffalo Sabres.Sharp rammed in a rebound off Tomas Kopecky’s point-blank attempt on the power play, sending defending the Stanley Cup champion Hawks to their first win at home this season after two losses. He converted two of his three shots to give him four goals in two nights.Red hot Marian Hossa and Dave Bolland also scored for the Blackhawks, who were outshot 41-21. Marty Turco made 38 stops to earn his first home win with the Blackhawks.And Turco, who signed as a free agent over the summer to replace playoff hero Antti Niemi, was a huge part of the equation.Drew Stafford, Paul Gaustad and Cody McCormick scored for the Sabres, whose winless streak reached five games (0-4-1). Backup goalie and former HawkPatrick Lalime made 17 saves in his first start of the season.Bolland tied it at 3 midway through the third by slipping behind the Buffalo defense, breaking in on goal and sliding a shot under Lalime.Buffalo had a couple of late power plays but remains winless since a season-opening victory over Ottawa on Oct. 8.Patrick Kane returned after missing Friday’s victory with an undisclosed illness. Defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson also was back after serving a two-game suspension for a hit on Buffalo’s Jason Pominville last Monday. The Sabres, who lost to Montreal at home on Friday night, controlled the first period and led 2-1 after 20 minutes.After Buffalo took the first seven shots, Sharp scored on the Blackhawks first shot on goal at 6:25. He finished a 2-on-1 break with Kane with his fourth goal of the season.The rush was set up when Kane pounced on a turnover by Buffalo’s Tyler Myers at the Sabres’ blue line and raced the length of the ice.The Sabres responded immediately, scoring twice in 15 seconds.Stafford beat Turco at 6:52, converting a backhander off a rebound of Steve Montador’s drive from the right circle. Gaustad’s goal at 7:07 withstood a video review and made it 2-1.Turco stopped Gaustad’s shot from the left circle, but rookie defenseman Nick Leddy knocked the puck in with his skate as he and Buffalo’s Nathan Gerbe drove to and collided with the net.Hossa tied it at 1:04 of the second when he broke in alone from just outside the Buffalo blue line after taking Brent Seabrook’s pass from deep in the Hawk zone.McCormick put Buffalo in front again with 2:45 left in the second. He was left uncovered in front of the net, and jammed Jochen Hecht’s feed under Turco.

NOTES—Pominville missed his third game with a concussion suffered in the collision with Hjalmarsson. Buffalo D Shaone Morrisonn missed the game with a groin injury…Jordan Hendry and RW Jack Skille were healthy scratches.

PHILADELPHIA—All those derisive whistles sounded like cheers to Tim Lincecum.The Freak outdueled Roy Halladay, Cody Ross hit a pair of solo home runs and the San Francisco Giants beat the Philadelphia Phillies 4-3 on Saturday night in the NL Championship Series opener.In a mega-hyped matchup between marquee pitchers, neither starter came close to matching his sensational postseason debut last week. Both gave up home runs to No. 8 hitters.Halladay’s bid for a second successive no-hitter lasted until Ross connected with one out in the third.Lincecum, who tossed a two-hit shutout in the division series opener, gave up three runs on home runs to Jayson Werth and Carlos Ruiz in seven innings.But Lincecum got the big outs when he needed them, and the Giants earned their fourth one-run victory in the playoffs. The two-time NL champion Phillies lost their first series opener since getting swept by Colorado in 2007.Game 2 will be Sunday night. Jonathan Sanchez tries to send the Giants back to San Francisco only two victories from their first World Series appearance since 2002. Roy Oswalt goes for the Phillies.Halladay threw the second no-hitter in postseason history in a 4-0 victory against Cincinnati in the first-round opener. The only runner he allowed was a fifth-inning walk to Jay Bruce.Pitching on nine days’ rest, Halladay didn’t have the same, dominant stuff. He allowed four runs and eight hits in seven innings.A day after Halladay’s gem, Lincecum had 14 strikeouts in San Francisco’s 1-0 victory against Atlanta. He gave up six hits and struck out eight against the Phillies.Lincecum, the reigning two-time NL Cy Young Award winner, had some adventures with a bat in his hands, though.The notoriously tough Philly fans came up with a unique way to mock Lincecum instead of the usual boos. They serenaded him with whistles when he batted in the fifth and seventh, presumably poking fun at his long, shaggy hair.His first time up, Lincecum struck out, spinning on one leg after swinging at a slow curve.Lincecum gave way to Javier Lopez, who got two outs in the eighth. All-Star closer Brian Wilson finished with a four-out save.The Phillies led the majors in victories (97) for the first time in franchise history, captured their fourth consecutive division title and are trying to become the first NL team in 66 years to win three consecutive pennants.The Giants are seeking their first World Series title since moving from New York before the 1958 season.Ross, a Phillies nemesis, ripped a 2-0 pitch to the seats in left to give the Giants a 2-1 lead in the fifth. He was 3 for 16 off Halladay before taking him deep his first two at-bats.San Francisco got two key hits with two outs in the sixth to increase the advantage to 4-1. Halladay thought he struck out Pat Burrell to end the inning and walked off the mound after an 0-2 pitch only to return because plate umpire Derryl Cousins called it a ball. Burrell hit an RBI double on the next pitch — left fielder Raul Ibanez made a leaping attempt in front of the wall and the ball bounced out of his glove.Juan Uribe followed with an RBI single up the middle, scoring pinch-runner Nate Schierholtz to give the Giants a three-run cushion.Philadelphia quickly answered in the bottom half. Chase Utley hustled out an infield single and Werth hit a two-run shot to right-center to cut it to 4-3.Halladay retired the first seven batters before Ross drove a fastball into the seats in left-center. Players in the Giants’ dugout jumped out of their seats and a fired-up Burrell smacked the railing as Ross rounded the bases.Ruiz led off the bottom half with an opposite-field shot to right to tie it up at 1. Halladay followed with a single, getting his second postseason hit before giving up two. After Shane Victorino bounced into a double play, Placido Polanco lined a double.Lincecum then walked Utley and drew a visit from manager Bruce Bochy after gesturing and yelling at Cousins. Bochy’s pep talk worked. Lincecum struck out Ryan Howard swinging at a slider after a passed ball put runners at second and third.The Phillies wasted a chance in the second when Howard, the only major-league player to have as many as three career home runs off Lincecum, lined a double to left-center to start the inning. But Lincecum fanned Werth. Jimmy Rollins popped out two pitches after Cousins mistakenly rung him up on strike two. Ibanez flied out to center, stranding Howard.Philadelphia eliminated the Reds in three games for its first postseason sweep in round one. The Giants beat the Braves in four games — all decided by one run.Halladay lived up to giant expectations in his first season in Philadelphia after 12 years with Toronto. The 33-year-old right-hander finished 21-10 with a 2.44 ERA. He tied CC Sabathia for most wins and led the majors in complete games (nine), shutouts (four) and innings (250 2/3).Halladay threw a perfect game in May, made his seventh All-Star Game and is the leading candidate to win his second Cy Young.He was acquired from the Blue Jays on the same day the Phillies traded Cliff Lee to Seattle. Lee is 6-0 in the postseason, including 4-0 for the Phillies last year, heading into his start for Texas against the New York Yankees in Game 3 of the ALCS on Monday night.Lincecum had an up-and-down year after dominating in his first two full seasons. The 26-year-old righty had a career-worst five-start losing streak in August, but rebounded nicely and finished 16-10 with a 3.43 ERA.

NOTES—The Phillies are 23-10 in the postseason since 2008…..The Phillies are making their ninth appearance in the NLCS. They’re 5-3…..The Giants are 2-2 in the NLCS….Former Phillies and Giants CF Garry Maddox, a member of Philadelphia’s 1980 championship team, threw out the first pitch…..Former Phillies outfielders Burrell and Aaron Rowand got loud ovations during pregame introductions. Burrell was booed each time he came up…..The teams split six games in the regular season, each going 2-1 at home…..Ross has 15 career home runs vs. Philadelphia…..Ruiz has reached safely in 24 consecutive playoff games…..Johnny Vander Meer remains the only pitcher to throw successive no-hitters, doing it in 1938 for Cincinnati….A crowd of 45,929 was the 134th consecutive sellout at Citizens Bank Park…..Halladay’s hitless streak of 11 innings is second longest in postseason history to Don Larsen who was perfect for Yankees against Brooklyn in 1956 World Series and for 2 1/3 innings of relief in 1957 series against Milwaukee.

ORLANDO—Vince Carter scored all of his 21 points in the first half and the Magic rolled past another opponent for their 19th straight preseason win, 105-67 over the listless Bulls on Saturday night.Dwight Howard had 15 points and 11 rebounds, and J.J. Redick scored 16 points to help the Magic (5-0) rout the opposition in a game that will mean little in June. They held a 28-point halftime lead, went ahead by 38 through three quarters and as many as 47 in the fourth.The Magic have won so big so far that veteran players had to remind the team after the game to stay focused.A tired Bulls team playing a back-to-back was content with resting starters once it was blown out early.C.J. Watson had 13 points, and Derrick Rose had seven points in limited minutes for the Bulls, who shot 31 percent and now have lost four of its six preseason games.Magic coach Stan Van Gundy rested most of his starters in the previous game but seemed content pushing players in this one.The Bulls lost at home in overtime against Dallas a night earlier and didn’t arrive in Orlando until the early morning. And they played like it, too.The Magic rode a wave of streaky shooting by Carter – who made his first three shots from beyond the arc – to go ahead 25-10 and quickly turn another exhibition game into a rout. The Bulls didn’t do much to counter, playing sluggish, sloppy basketball and showing little energy defensively.Coach Tom Thibodeau also relied on his reserves more than usual because starters such as Rose logged heavy minutes the night before. Not that his usuals fared any better.Howard continued to draw double-teams from Chicago’s undersized frontline, Carter let loose with hard-driving layups and potent perimeter shooting and Orlando ran away with a 51-23 halftime lead that was never seriously challenged. “Definitely embarrassing,” Bulls forward Joakim Noah said.The Magic haven’t lost a preseason game since they were defeated by Atlanta in the 2008 opener. And they’re not just winning this preseason, they’re winning big.Orlando has beaten its last three opponents by 38 (Bulls), 13 (Charlotte) and 54 (New Orleans). And 11 of the 19 victories during the preseason streak have come by double digits.

NOTES—Taj Gibson missed his second straight game because of a sore right heel. Omer Asik started in his place. … Magic SF Mickael Pietrus missed the game with a sore right wrist, and SG Quentin Richardson sat out with because of stiffness.

ROSEMONT—The Wolves scored three times in the shootout to collect their third straight win, a 3-2 defeat of the Milwaukee Admirals, before a crowd of 10,924 in their home opener at the Allstate Arena Saturday night.Trailing, 2-1, midway through the third period, the Wolves (3-1-0-0) drew even with a power-play goal from defenseman Mike Siklenka that sent the game into overtime. The blueliner wound up and fired a blast from just outside the right face-off circle that blew past Admirals goaltender Chet Pickard’s glove side.After a scoreless overtime period, the Home team got shootout goals from forwards Andrew Kozek, Akim Aliu and Spencer Machacek, while rookie goaltender Edward Pasquale thwarted three of Milwaukee’s four attempts to collect his third straight win.Milwaukee (1-1-1-1) opened scoring with 61 seconds remaining in the first period. Bret Palin took a shot from the blueline, which Pasquale stopped, but coughed the rebound out into traffic in front of the net, where Mark Santorelli eventually snapped it out of Pasquale’s reach and into the net.Center Jared Ross evened the score, 1-1, when he got the Wolves on the board at 12:41 of the second period. Defenseman Jaime Sifers took a long shot, which got caught in traffic in front of the net. Ross collected it in the scrum, broke away and was able to flick the puck past Pickard.Pickard (0-3-0) posted 30 saves for Milwaukee in regulation and overtime, and stopped two of the Wolves five shootout attempts.Milwaukee regained the lead, 2-1, just 91 seconds later when Van Guilder one-timed a blast from the right face-off circle past Pasquale’s glove side.Pasquale (3-0-0) posted 28 saves in regulation and overtime for the Wolves, who will host the Abbotsford Heat at the Allstate Arena on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

ARLINGTON—The Rangers relievers got quick redemption, and Texas finally has won a postseason game at home for the first time in its 50-season history.Elvis Andrus got the Rangers off to a running start, David Murphy led a parade of extra-base hits and the bullpen that faltered the night before held strong this time as Texas got even in the AL Championship Series with a 7-2 victory over the New York Yankees in Game 2 on Saturday.The Rangers again built an early 5-0 lead — and stayed ahead this time, unlike the series opener when the Yankees had their biggest postseason comeback in the seventh inning or later. Texas snapped a 10-game postseason losing streak against New York.The best-of-seven series now switches to Yankee Stadium for Game 3 on Monday night, when Texas will have hired ace left-hander Cliff Lee on the mound. Lee has won his last four starts in New York, including a complete game for Philadelphia in last year’s World Series.Colby Lewis limited New York to two runs over 5 2/3 innings and the bullpen rebounded the eighth-inning debacle in Game 1 that allowed the defending World Series champion Yankees to escape with a 6-5 victory even though CC Sabathia lasted only four innings.New York’s postseason winning streak over the Rangers included knocking them out of the playoffs in their only three previous postseason appearances (1996, 1998 and 1999).These Rangers don’t plan to be easily dismissed by the Bronx Bombers, who have won 27 World Series titles and 40 pennants.Andrus led off the first with an infield single on a chopper that deflected off starter Phil Hughes’ glove. Andrus went to second on a wild pitch, then stole third before Josh Hamilton drew a walk.With Nelson Cruz batting and two outs, Hamilton took off for second base, and Andrus ran home when Jorge Posada threw the ball to second. The double-steal put Texas up 1-0 before Cruz’s inning-ending strikeout. Murphy homered off the facade of the second deck of seats in the second for a 2-0 lead, then an inning later he and Bengie Molina had consecutive RBI doubles to make it 5-0.Texas had lost its first seven home playoffs games, the most by any team before finally getting a victory in front of its own fans, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Five of those losses had been to New York, plus two to Tampa Bay last weekend in the first round when the Rangers had to go back to Florida for a deciding Game 5 with Lee pitching to win a postseason series for the first time ever.Andy Pettitte pitches for the Yankees on Monday night. Manager Joe Girardi decided before this series started to swap the order for Hughes and Pettitte in the rotation.After the Rangers built a 5-0 lead through four innings in Game 1 and chased Sabathia, they didn’t tack on any more runs. New York then finally scored on Robinson Cano’s homer in the seventh and rallied for five runs off five pitchers in the eighth.Cano homered again Saturday, his 435-foot solo shot deep in the second deck of seats in right making it 7-2 in the sixth.Cano also again scored the first Yankees run, leading off the fourth with a double, moving to third on a wild pitch by Lewis and scoring on an RBI single by Lance Berkman, who then got caught off base for the final out.After a majors-best 48 come-from-behind victories in the regular season, and three more this postseason, the Yankees couldn’t pull off another one against the Rangers relievers.When Lewis was pulled with two on in the sixth and a 7-2 lead, Clay Rapada struck out pinch-hitter Marcus Thames for the final out.The previous night, Rapada gave up an RBI single to Cano on the only pitch he threw. And Thames had a broken-bat single that sent Alex Rodriguez home with the tiebreaking run.Reliever Alexi Ogando then allowed a couple of base runners in the seventh, but got out of that jam unscathed when he struck out Cano for the final out.Darren Oliver, who walked the only two batters he faced Friday night, walked the leadoff hitter in the eighth. He then got a strikeout and a grounder before Darren O’Day, who allowed a two-run single on his only pitch the night before, got Thames on a grounder.Rookie All-Star closer Neftali Feliz, who was peaking through the bullpen door waiting for his chance to pitch in the ninth, walked two before finally getting Cano out on a game-ending flyball, setting off a fireworks burst over the ballpark.Lewis struck out six while allowing two runs and six hits in his second postseason start. The rigth-hander, back with his original team after the past two seasons in Japan, threw five scoreless innings in his postseason debut a week earlier against Tampa Bay.Hughes had allowed only three hits in 15 1/3 scoreless innings his three previous games at Rangers Ballpark. In his second major league start three years ago, Hughes had 6 1/3 hitless innings before coming out of that game with a hamstring injury.The Rangers had 10 hits, seven for extra bases, off the 24-year-old right-hander when it counted most.Hughes was coming off seven scoreless innings in his only other postseason start, the clinching game of the AL Division Series over Minnesota a week earlier that the Yankees swept in three games.After Murphy’s homer in the second, rookie first baseman Mitch Moreland singled and came home on Michael Young’s double.Texas had three doubles in the third, when Cruz led off with a ball that hit on the right-field wall only inches from going over. Ian Kinsler then had a sacrifice bunt before the consecutive two-baggers by Murphy and Molina.Cruz just missed hitting a homer again in the fifth, when he led off with a ball that hit off the top of the wall in center field. Kinsler followed with a triple into the right-field corner and Hughes was done.Hughes struck out three — all in the first inning — with three walks while giving up seven runs.

NOTES—Hamilton is the only Rangers starter who didn’t have a hit. But he walked four times, two of them intentional passes. … The three stolen bases by the Rangers in the first tied a championship series record for the most in an inning. That had been done four other times, the last by the New York Mets in the 1999 NLCS. … Texas has homered in all seven postseason games. … The last player to steal home in a postseason game was Brad Fullmer on a double-steal for the Los Angeles Angels in Game 2 of the 2002 World Series.

EAST LANSING—Michigan State’s latest letdown lasted only a half — and that’s one sign these Spartans could be headed for a memorable season.Kirk Cousins threw a 48-yard touchdown pass to B.J. Cunningham in the third quarter, helping No. 13 Michigan State to its best start in more than four decades with a 26-6 win over Illinois on Saturday. The Spartans started slowly a week after beating Michigan, but they outscored the Illini 23-0 in the second half.The Spartans are 7-0 for the first time since 1966, when they won their first nine games before famously tying Notre Dame 10-10.Michigan State’s last 6-0 start was in 1999 under Nick Saban, but the Spartans lost their next two games that season by a combined 92-38. Dantonio talked this week about the need to show maturity — to prepare well for Illinois after last weekend’s emotional 34-17 win over Michigan.The Spartans had trouble running the ball the first two quarters against Illinois, but Cousins came out sharp in the third and they took control of the game. Cousins’ touchdown pass over the middle made it 13-6, and the defense kept Illinois (3-3, 1-2 Big Ten) at bay.It was an impressive response by Michigan State (7-0, 3-0) after what linebacker Greg Jones described as an intense scene at halftime.Dantonio, who had a mild heart attack last month, coached his second straight game from a box, but he went down to the sideline during the final minutes and received a big ovation from the homecoming crowd.Cousins finished 13 of 24 for 201 yards and shook off a difficult first half. On fourth-and-1 from the Illinois 35 in the second quarter, Cousins fell over after taking the snap, giving the Illini the ball.Both teams appeared disorganized at the end of the second quarter. Illinois ran on third-and-10 from near midfield and didn’t come close to a first down, but Michigan State decided not to call timeout before getting the ball back. That worked in the Spartans’ favor because Keshawn Martin muffed the punt, giving the Illini possession at the 15 with 37 seconds left. mazingly, Illinois ran only one play from scrimmage, a 1-yard loss by quarterback Nathan Scheelhaasse. Instead of calling time out, the Illini tried to set up their next play, and the clock didn’t stop until Michigan State called time out with 8 seconds left, apparently concerned about its defensive plan.At that point, the Illini sent out Derek Dimke to kick a 33-yard field goal and went into halftime ahead 6-3.MSUwasted no time tying the game in the third quarter. After an interception gave the Spartans the ball at the Illinois 16, Dan Conroy kicked his second of four field goals.Cousins put Michigan State ahead to stay with his long touchdown pass. Illinois answered with a 39-yard pass to A.J. Jenkins, but Darqueze Dennard forced a fumble at the end of the play and recovered the ball.Michigan State was playing without suspended defensive back Chris L. Rucker, who was charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated last Sunday. arry Caper’s 15-yard touchdown run made it 26-6 with 2:35 remaining in the fourth, putting the finishing touches on an emphatic victory over an Illinois team that played Ohio State tough and routed Penn State.

MILWAUKEE—Wolves defenseman Jaime Sifers scored with 51 seconds remaining in overtime to give the Wolves a 3-2 win over the Milwaukee Admirals in the first contest of the Amtrak Rivalry series at the Bradley Center Friday night.Right wing Spencer Machacek flung a pass straight across the ice to Sifers alone on the left side of the net and the blueliner cranked a shot past Admirals netminder Chet Pickard, stick side.After entering the third period trailing, 0-2, the Wolves (2-1-0-0) rallied with a pair of goals to tie the game and send it into overtime. Center Andre Deveaux got the Wolves on the board with a power-play goal 52 seconds into the third frame. Right wing Darren Haydar held the puck along the left boards and slid a pass down to center Jason Krog below the goal line. Krog fired the puck into traffic in the crease and Deveaux was there to push it past Pickard.Left wing Patrick Rissmiller evened the score, 2-2, with a slap shot from the top of the left face-off circle at 9:36 of the third period. Defenseman Paul Postma shipped the puck up the ice where left wing Michael Forney caught it at the blue line and redirected it to Rissmiller, who moved in and fired it past Pickard.Milwaukee (1-1-1-0) took a 1-0 lead when Linus Klasen converted on a penalty shot, 8:31 into the second period. The left wing deked and faked a shot to the left before slipping the puck past Wolves netminder Edward Pasquale, glove side. Klasen made Milwaukee’s lead 2-0 with his second marker of the game, 16:33 into the second frame. With the Admirals working on the power play, Jonathon Blum fed a pass from the right face-off circle across to Klasen near the left post for a quick redirect past Pasquale. Pasquale (2-0) stopped 26 of 28 shots in his second straight win in his second professional start. Pickard (0-2-0) posted 22 saves for the Admirals.The Wolves host Milwaukee in the franchise’s 17th home opener, presented by LifeSource, at the Allstate Arena Saturday at 7 p.m.