ST. LOUIS (AP) — —Albert Pujols rewarded an adoring crowd by hitting a home run in his return to Busch Stadium, sending the Los Angeles Dodgers toward a 7-2 win over the St. Louis Cardinals. Justin Turner homered twice and Will Smith also homered for the playoff-contending Dodgers, who won for the sixth time in eight games. St. Louis has lost four in a row. A star slugger who led the Cardinals to a pair of World Series championships, the 41-year-old Pujols made his second appearance at Busch Stadium after playing for St. Louis from 2001-2011. Pujols drew a 40-second standing ovation when he first came to bat. He promptly hit his 679th career home run and 17th of the season.

BOSTON (AP) — Nelson Cruz homered twice and, at 41 years old, became the oldest player in major league history to hit 30 home runs in a season, powering the Tampa Bay Rays past the Boston Red Sox 12-7. Mike Zunino also homered twice and Jordan Luplow connected for the AL East leaders. Rays rookie Wander Franco went 0 for 4 with a walk, extending his on-base streak to 37 games and passing Mickey Mantle for the longest by an AL player under 21 years old. The 20-year-old Franco now trails only Frank Robinson, who reached in 43 straight in 1956. The Red Sox again missed a chance to move ahead of the Yankees for the top AL wild-card spot.

MIAMI (AP) — Pete Alonso hit two home runs, including the 100th of his career, and the New York Mets beat the Miami Marlins 9-4 to give Carlos Carrasco his first win with the team. Alonso launched a two-run homer in the first inning for No. 100 and added a solo shot in the ninth. The 26-year-old slugger reached the milestone in his 347th game, the second-fastest in major league history. Philadelphia’s Ryan Howard did it in 325 games. Francisco Lindor’s two-run single capped a three-run sixth that snapped a 4-all tie. Carrasco threw five innings in his eighth start for the Mets. Only one of the four runs he allowed was earned.

UNDATED (AP) — Jon Rahm’s birdie on the final hole of the Tour Championship earned him a trophy. He is the winner of the points-based award as player of the year by the PGA of America. Players get 10 points for a win, 30 points if it’s a major. Rahm’s only victory was the U.S. Open. But he picked up 20 points apiece for leading the scoring average and the money list. His actual score from East Lake was 14 under, same as Kevin Na. They split the win and each received 5 points. That was enough for Rahm to beat out Bryson DeChambeau

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Sam “Bam” Cunningham, an All-American fullback at Southern California whose performance against Alabama was credited with helping to integrate football in the South, has died. Cunningham was part of USC’s all-Black backfield that helped rout a predominantly white Alabama team 42-21 in 1970. He ran for 135 yards and two touchdowns. His performance was credited with influencing the university and coach Bear Bryant to more widely recruit Black players and integrate the sport in the South. Cunningham went on to a record-setting career with the New England Patriots. He died at his home in Inglewood, California. Cunningham was 71.

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