Motorist hits people on bike path near World Trade Center

NEW YORK — At least eight people are dead and fifteen are injured after a motorist drove onto a busy bicycle path near the World Trade Center memorial and struck several people Tuesday, according the NYPD.

The motorist then emerged from the vehicle screaming and firing what appeared to be a gun, police and witnesses said.

At least two bodies could be seen lying motionless on the path beneath tarps near mangled bicycles.

The New York Police Department posted on its Twitter feed that one person was in custody. The department said it was unclear whether anyone was shot or whether the injured were all struck by the vehicle.

A man who was riding in an Uber along the West Side Highway near Chambers Street said he saw several bleeding people on the ground after a truck struck several people. Another witness said the truck had also collided with a small bus and one other vehicle.

Tom Gay, a school photographer, was on Warren Street and heard people saying there was an accident. He went down to West Street and a woman came around the corner shouting, “He has a gun! He has a gun!”

Gay said he stuck his head around the corner and saw a slender man in a blue track suit running southbound on West Street holding a gun. He said there was a heavyset man pursuing him.

He said he heard five or six shots and the man in the tracksuit fell to the ground, gun still raised in the air. He said a man came over and kicked the gun out of his hand.

Uber driver Chen Yi said he saw a truck plow into people on a popular bike path adjacent to the West Side Highway. He said he then heard seven to eight shots and then police pointing a gun at a man kneeling on the pavement.

“I saw a lot of blood over there. A lot of people on the ground,” Yi said.

His passenger, Dmitry Metlitsky, said he also saw police standing near a man who was on his knees with his hands up, and another man bleeding on the ground nearby. He said the truck had also collided with a small school bus and one other vehicle.

Study: NYC could see bad flooding every 5 years

By FRANK ELTMAN

Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Within the next three decades, floods that used to strike the New York City area only once every 500 years could occur every five years, according to a new scientific study released just days before the fifth anniversary of Superstorm Sandy.

The study, performed by researchers at several universities and published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, primarily blames the predicted change on sea-level rise caused by global warming.

“This is kind of a warning,” said Andra Garner, a Rutgers University scientist and study co-author. “How are we going to protect our coastal infrastructure?”

The researchers based their analysis on multiple models that factored in predictions for sea level rise and possible changes in the path of future hurricanes.

Many of the models had a dose of good news for the nation’s largest city: Climate changes may mean that storms are more violent, but are also likely to swing further off-shore, meaning storm surge heights aren’t likely to increase substantially through 2300.

However, rising sea levels could mean that floods of 7.4 feet (2.25 meters) or more that struck the New York city area roughly once every 500 years before 1800, and which occur roughly every 25 years now, could happen once every five years between 2030 and 2045.

Researchers made no recommendations on what public officials or others should do to prepare.

“The idea is this kind of study we hope will provide information that people making those kinds of decisions can use,” Garner said. “We know that when Sandy hit in 2012, of course, subways, tunnels flooded, power was knocked out, parts of the city were just really devastated so studies like this provide some warning.”

Other researchers included scientists from Penn State University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Princeton University, Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

The researchers said there is scientific consensus that global sea level will rise in the coming centuries, although it is not certain how high. They cautioned that sea-level rise at New York City could exceed 8 feet by the end of the century if, in a high-emissions future, the West Antarctic ice sheet rapidly melts.

The study expects about 5 inches to 11 inches (12.7 centimeters to 27.9 centimeters) of sea-level rise likely in New York City between 2000 and 2030.

The study examined sea level rise through the year 2300.

“I think the study is valid, but year 2300 is a long way off,” said Billy Sweet, an oceanographer for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration who was not involved in it. “What is more certain is the amount of sea level rise likely to occur in the next 50 to 100 years or so and that storm surges from nor’easters and hurricanes will continue to pose a risk for New York City.”

Hurricane Sandy merged with two other weather systems into an unusual storm that devastated the oceanfront coastline and caused catastrophic flooding in New York and cities in New Jersey on Oct. 29, 2012. It was blamed for at least 182 deaths and $65 billion in damage in the U.S.

State and city officials in New York say they are planning numerous projects to guard against future flooding, including fortifying utilities and transit facilities, and note other projects are still in the design stage.

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This story has been corrected to reflect estimated sea level rise of 5 inches to 11 inches is between 2000 and 2030, not 2000 and 2300.

McAdoo is sticking with Manning as Giants quarterback

By TOM CANAVAN

Associated Press

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Ben McAdoo is sticking with Eli Manning as the New York Giants’ quarterback in what has become a frustrating, lost season.

McAdoo made it clear Monday that the Giants’ 1-6 record is not grounds for handing the quarterback job to third-round draft pick Davis Webb so the team can evaluate him in regular-season action.

There is no question the offense has struggled as it heads into a bye week. It has scored 112 points, which is the fifth fewest in the league.

However, Miami (92), Cincinnati (98) and Denver (108) have had bye weeks and have played six games.

Cleveland (103) is the only team that has fewer points after seven games.

It would also be unfair to blame the problems on Manning, a two-time Super Bowl MVP. The 36-year-old has played behind an offensive line that has generated a running attack only once this season. The receiving group has been depleted with season-ending injuries to Odell Beckham Jr. and Brandon Marshall and an ankle injury that sidelined Sterling Shepard the past two games.

In a 24-7 loss to Seattle on Sunday, the offense was limited to 177 yards — the team’s lowest output since 2013. The only receiver who could get open on a regular basis was rookie tight end Evan Engram , who caught six passes for 60 yards.

Manning has had a total of seven completions to his wide receivers in the past two games. He also lost a fumble that led to the Seahawks’ second touchdown.

While McAdoo is in charge of the lineup, he said he would talk to both general manager Jerry Reese and the team’s ownership if he decided not to play Manning.

“It’s not to that point now, and I don’t see that point coming,” McAdoo said Monday. “Eli is our quarterback. I have 100 percent confidence in Eli. We’re going to get a week away from it and we’re going to come back with fresh minds, fresh bodies, and play better football.”

Webb showed a strong arm and a good touch in training camp. He never got any quality time in the preseason and he has been inactive for every regular-season game.

McAdoo described Webb as a gym rat who helps Manning get ready to play every week.

Shepard, who sprained his ankle against the Chargers on Oct. 8, was questionable for this past weekend. He should be ready to go when the Giants face the Rams on Nov. 5.

Others players who might be ready to return are starting center Weston Richburg (concussion), running back Paul Perkins (ribs), defensive end Olivier Vernon (ankle) and linebacker Jonathan Casillas (neck). Richburg, Perkins and Vernon missed the past three games, one more then Casillas.

During the bye week, McAdoo said the coaching staff will look at what they have been doing and decide what to keep and what to throw out.

“We’ll just take a look at the way we are using players and take a look if there are roles we can change to help us as a football team,” said the second-year coach who led the Giants to an 11-5 regular-season record last season and their first playoff berth since the 2011 season.

The problems of last season were not fixed in the offseason. The line was bad last season and didn’t improve. The offense hasn’t scored much in either season. The difference this season is the Giants are losing the close games they won last season.

“I think we need to get away from it a little bit,” McAdoo said of the bye week. “We need to get away from it, clear our minds, get our bodies back and come back with a fresh outlook as tough as that may be. We have a lot of football to play. We had a lot of fight in us yesterday and that needs to continue.”

NOTES: McAdoo had no update on injuries to middle linebacker B.J. Goodson (foot) and right tackle Justin Pugh (back). Both left the game Sunday. ... CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie saw limited action in returning from a one-game suspension. He was beaten on Russell Wilson’s go-ahead touchdown pass to Doug Baldwin.

Former Yankees catcher Jorge Posada, wife aid Puerto Rico

Associated Press

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — New York Yankees catcher Jorge Posada and his wife continue to give to hurricane-devastated Puerto Rico.

Jorge and Laura Posada headed to the island Monday in a cargo plane that they helped fill with 155,000 pounds of goods in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

The Puerto Rico-born couple say the humanitarian efforts — Americans helping Americans — are also personal for them.

Jorge Posada says “it’s very hard” to witness “the need.”

He says it’s unfortunate that the issue of government relief for Puerto Rico has become politicized.

Posada says it’s his fifth trip to the island since Hurricane Maria hit last month.

New York attorney general launches probe of Weinstein Co.

By DAVID KLEPPER

Associated Press

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced a civil rights investigation on Monday into The Weinstein Co. following sexual harassment and assault allegations against its co-founder, Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.

As part of the investigation, the prosecutor’s office issued a subpoena seeking company records on harassment complaints and legal settlements to determine whether any civil rights and anti-discrimination laws were broken.

“No New Yorker should be forced to walk into a workplace ruled by sexual intimidation, harassment or fear,” said Schneiderman, a Democrat. “If sexual harassment or discrimination is pervasive at a company, we want to know.”

The New York City-based company fired Weinstein on Oct. 8 after The New York Times and The New Yorker exposed allegations of sexual assault and harassment spanning decades.

More than three dozen women, including Gwyneth Paltrow and Angelina Jolie, have publicly accused the entertainment mogul of abuse. Weinstein has denied allegations of nonconsensual sex.

A woman who answered the phone in The Weinstein Co.’s media relations office said the company had no comment on the subpoena or news of the investigation.

Police in Los Angeles, New York City and London are also investigating Harvey Weinstein over allegations of sex abuse in those cities.

The Oscar winner was expelled from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and the Producers Guild of America has started the process of expelling him.

The allegations have prompted calls in Albany to use the power of the state to crack down on harassment. Democratic Assemblywoman Nily Rozic of Queens proposed legislation that would make designers, photographers, retailers and others liable for harassment experienced by models.

Another lawmaker, Democratic Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal of Manhattan, proposed legislation that would make companies ineligible for state tax incentives if they fail to address chronic harassment problems in the workplace.

Astros punch out Yankees, punch ticket to World Series

HOUSTON -- Leave it to Houston Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow, the architect of this incredible franchise resurgence, to add the necessary perspective to the proceedings, to rattle off the key contributors on Saturday night and outline the roles they played in the celebration taking place.

From Jose Altuve and Lance McCullers to Evan Gattis, the pieces were added one by one until the Houston Astros, once laughingstocks throughout the majors following their relocation from the National League, claimed their first American League pennant with a 4-0 win over the New York Yankees in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series at Minute Maid Park.

Houston advances to its first World Series since 2005 on the backs of Altuve, the homegrown MVP candidate whose opposite-field home run in the fifth inning keyed the decisive three-run frame, and McCullers, the first-round compensatory draft pick in 2012 who worked in tandem with Astros right-hander Charlie Morton (1-1) to deny the storied Yankees their 41st pennant.

Gattis, whose leadoff home run in the fourth provided Morton and McCullers all the run support they would need, was acquired via trade on Jan 14, 2015 in exchange for touted prospect Rio Ruiz, taken in the same draft as McCullers and Astros star shortstop Carlos Correa.

"That was the beginning of the transformation," Luhnow said of his first draft as GM. "To have those players that you bring into the organization help you get to this point where you win a pennant, it's validation and satisfaction for everybody involved: our scouts, coaches, front office, everybody."

The Astros will visit the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday night in Game 1 of the World Series.

Playing in just their second Game 7 in franchise history while serving as hosts for the first time, the Astros became the eighth team in postseason history to win a seven-game series after losing three consecutive games during that series. The home team won all four games of the ALCS, with Houston limiting the power-laden Yankees to just three runs at Minute Maid Park.

Astros right-hander Justin Verlander was named series MVP. He went 2-0 with a 0.56 ERA, allowing just one run on 10 hits and two walks over 16 innings while recording 21 strikeouts.

Gattis crushed his first home run of the postseason off Yankees left-hander CC Sabathia (1-1). After Altuve socked his fifth postseason homer off Yankees right-hander Tommy Kahnle, the Astros responded with three hits over their ensuing four at-bats, with Brian McCann delivering a two-out, two-strike, two-run double that scored Correa and Yuli Gurriel and doubled the lead.

After Morton worked the first five innings, McCullers emerged from the bullpen for just the second time in his career, both coming this postseason, and allowed two baserunners over four strong innings. McCullers recorded six strikeouts in relief while producing his first career save.

"These guys came out throwing strikes, quality strikes," Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. "Power breaking balls work against these guys. They executed a great game plan. Brian McCann handled them terrifically ... and we look up and we got our 27 outs from two guys."

Said McCullers, who dealt with injuries throughout the second half: "I wanted to prove that I'm back and they can give me the ball whenever they want and I'm going to do a good job."

Morton needed only 28 pitches to complete his first three innings. With Houston leading 1-0, Morton finally hit a trouble spot when he surrendered a leadoff double to Greg Bird in the fifth.

After fanning Starlin Castro for the first out, Morton benefited from the defensive brilliance of third baseman Alex Bregman and McCann. Bregman fielded a Todd Frazier grounder and fired home to McCann, who applied a perfect tag on Bird as he attempted to score from third base.

"I thought I got a good jump, so I went," Bird said. "I wanted to score a run, so I went."

Morton responded by inducing a ground-ball out from Chase Headley and closed his outing by allowing two hits and one walk over five scoreless innings, adding five strikeouts to his ledger. After rolling in the Bronx, the Yankees found chances fleeting on the road to their demise.

"You've got to give them credit," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "They pitched their rear ends off and, the bottom line is they beat us."

NOTES: Astros RF Josh Reddick, who entered the series finale batting 0-for-21, hit ninth in the order for the first time this postseason and the fifth time overall. Reddick recorded an opposite-field single in his second at-bat, leaving him tied with Cardinals SS Dal Maxvill (1968 World Series) for the longest hitless streak in one postseason series. ... Yankees RHP Tommy Kahnle had retired 28 of 32 batters faced over six appearances and 10 scoreless innings this postseason before surrendering three runs in the fifth. ... With his solo home run in the fifth inning, Astros 2B Jose Altuve recorded his fifth homer of the postseason and moved into second place in club history. Then-Astros CF Carlos Beltran clubbed eight postseason homers for Houston in 2004.

Tavares helps Islanders beat struggling Rangers 4-3 in SO

By VIN A. CHERWOO
Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — John Tavares came through in the shootout and helped the New York Islanders keep up their recent domination of their struggling crosstown rivals.

Tavares got the deciding goal in the shootout to lift the Islanders to a 4-3 win Thursday night, beating the Rangers for the eighth time in the last nine games. Anders Lee, Brock Nelson and Mathew Barzal scored in regulation, and Jaroslav Halak stopped 38 shots as the Islanders recovered after blowing a two-goal lead in the third to finish 2-2-0 on a four-game trip.

“They found some momentum and some energy and brought a lot (in the third period), but we did a good job for the most part to get it to overtime, get a point and find a way in the shootout,” Tavares said.

David Desharnais, Mats Zuccarello and Kevin Hayes scored, and Henrik Lundqvist finished with 35 saves for the Rangers, who earned a point for the second straight game but lost their fifth straight (0-3-2) to fall to 1-5-2. It’s their fewest points after eight games since they were 1-6-1 to start the 1959-60 season. Back then, teams got a point for a tie, and there was no overtime or shootouts.

Jordan Eberle scored for the Islanders and Zuccarello got one for the Rangers in the first round of the shootout. Halak then stopped Mika Zibanejad and, after Tavares scored, Halak denied Desharnais to secure the win.

“He’s a confident goaltender,” Islanders coach Doug Weight said of Halak. “He doesn’t get too rattled. It was a big win, and he was a big part of it.”

The Rangers trailed 3-1 after two periods and pulled within one about 3 1/2 minutes into the third. Brandan Smith rushed up the ice and tried to send a pass across in front to Hayes. Lee got his stick on the puck to block the pass, but Zuccarello swooped in and put it past Halak.

Smith appeared to tie it with about 7:53 left when the puck went off his left skate, then his right skate and in. The goal was disallowed after a video review because officials ruled he had kicked the puck in.

Hayes tied it about two minutes later on a backhander at a sharp angle as he passed the goal line.

“We battled back again tonight,” Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said. “We buckled down, our guys worked extremely hard. Maybe our execution might not be perfect, but the work ethic in that room and the commitment to try and play the right way is there.”

Barzal gave the Islanders a 3-1 lead with his first career goal early in the second. The 20-year-old skated around Rick Nash, went in on Lundqvist and chipped it over the goalie’s glove at 1:15. Teammate Josh Bailey then retrieved the puck for Barzal, who was playing in his ninth NHL game.

Lee got the Islanders on the scoreboard first with their first power-play goal of the season as he put in a diving rebound of a shot by Ryan Pulock, who was making his season debut, past Lundqvist 2:40 into the game. The Islanders came in 0 for 20 with the man advantage over their first six games.

“We made a couple of adjustments, some things we wanted to emphasize,” Tavares said of the Islanders’ power play. “It was a good job, nice to obviously get one and get that monkey off our back. Hopefully it leads to some more good opportunities and some more results.”

Desharnais tied it at 5:02 when he tipped a shot by Kevin Shattenkirk from the right point past Halak.

Nelson put the Islanders back in front just 1:04 later, shooting a wrist shot past three players into the upper left corner past a screened Lundqvist. It was Nelson’s fourth of the season and the 13th first-period goal allowed by the Rangers.

“I’ve got to be better, as a group we got to be better,” Lundqvist said. “Just really focus on the first 10 (minutes) to give ourselves a chance to feel good about ourselves. But still, being down 3-1, we stick to our system and played a really strong third.”

NOTES: Halak played in his 400th career game and improved to 214-126-42. ... Tavares was held without a point for the fifth straight game since he had two goals and an assist in a 6-3 win over Buffalo on Oct. 7. ... The teams will meet three more times: back at Madison Square Garden on Jan. 13, and at Barclays Center on Feb. 15 and April 5. ... Shattenkirk’s assist on Desharnais’ goal gave him five assists and seven points in eight games this season. ... Desharnais now has five goals and 16 points in 20 career games against the Islanders. ... The Rangers fell to 0-3-1 when giving up the first goal.

UP NEXT

Islanders: Host San Jose on Saturday night to open a two-game homestand.

Rangers: Host Nashville on Saturday in the fourth game of a season-high five-game homestand.

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Follow Vin Cherwoo on Twitter at www.twitter.com/VinCherwooAP

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More AP NHL coverage: https://www.apnews.com/tag/NHLhockey

Yanks blank Astros, seize ALCS lead

NEW YORK -- Thirty-two minutes into Game 5 of the American League Championship Series, the New York Yankees scored their first run off Dallas Keuchel in a postseason setting.

About 25 minutes later, the New York scored another run off the ace left-hander, and 49,647 fans at Yankee Stadium along with the Yankees themselves, exhaled thinking, "Finally, we got a couple of runs off this guy."

More than two hours later, fans sang "New York, New York" at the top of their lungs walking out of Yankee Stadium toward the subways and to their cars as the Yankees prepared for a return trip to Houston with a chance to clinch the pennant.

Greg Bird drove in the first run against Keuchel, Aaron Judge drove in the second run against the Houston ace, and Masahiro Tanaka pitched seven outstanding innings as New York moved to the brink of clinching a trip to the World Series with a 5-0 victory on Wednesday.

The Yankees lead the best-of-seven ALCS 3-2. They are one win from their 41st pennant and their first since beating the Los Angeles Angels in 2009.

"Any time you're able to score off a starter early, especially someone who you haven't scored off of at all, I think it does feel better," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "Yes, we can break through."

Justin Verlander awaits New York's lineup in Game 6, but thanks to Bird and Judge and others breaking through against Keuchel, the Yankees do not face elimination in their return to Houston.

On Monday, the Yankees took the field in their second straight 2-0 hole following a pair of 2-1 losses to start the series. Then they thumped the Astros 8-1 in Game, 3, produced a stirring rally in Game 4 and then finally generated their long-awaited offense off Keuchel.

Keuchel (1-1) held a 14-inning scoreless streak against the Yankees when Bird stepped in with Starlin Castro on second and two outs in the second. The left-hander pitched six innings in the 2015 AL wild-card game in New York and then shut out the Yankees in seven innings in Game 1 on Friday.

Bird lined a 2-0 pitch to right field as Castro, who had hit a long double to deep left, easily scored.

"Just getting a win and off a great starter like him is big," Bird said after the Yankees went 5-for-13 with two outs.

An inning later, Judge drove in his 10th run of the postseason with a ground-ball double down the left field line just out of third baseman Alex Bregman's reach. Brett Gardner, who was on first base, slid in head-first at the plate after third base coach Joe Espada frantically waved him once the ball reached the warning track.

"He's as tough as anybody on us," Yankees designated hitter Chase Headley, who had three hits, said of Keuchel. "And to really break through in the second inning to get a run, I thought that lifted everybody's spirits and gave us some confidence that we could get to him going forward.

New York's spirits continued getting a boost with two more runs in the fifth when Gary Sanchez singled in Headley with a hit down the left field line and Didi Gregorius placed a run-scoring single just under Jose Altuve's glove as the second baseman attempted to make a diving stop.

"That's the big thing, is getting the first run off of someone like that," Judge said. "You have to get him early when you can because if he gets in a groove, he's unhittable.

The capper was a 407-foot homer by Sanchez, a little over 24 hours after his two-run double in the eighth inning of Game 4.

"I think our offense collectively did a great job of scoring some runs, and it was really fun to watch that," Tanaka said through an interpreter.

New York's postseason breakthrough off Keuchel was more than enough for Tanaka, who allowed three hits, struck out eight, walked one and recorded nine outs on the ground.

Tanaka (1-1) escaped minor trouble in the second by stranding Yuli Gurriel and three innings later by getting strikeouts on George Springer and Carlos Correa.

Shortly after those strikeouts, Keuchel walked off the mound after allowing four runs on seven hits in 4 2/3 innings.

"It was more about them hitting good pitches," Houston manager A.J. Hinch said. "He got under duress early, they got a two-out base hit to score a run. Once you get behind in the playoffs, you have to be pretty perfect -- at least it feels that way."

While Keuchel struggled, so did Houston's lineup, which is hitting .147 in the series. Altuve and Correa were a combined 2-for-22 in the three games at New York.

"It's rare because of how much offense we put up through the first six months of the season and even in the Division Series," Hinch said. "We've swung the bats very well, and to this day, I believe we're one good game (from) coming out of it."

NOTES: The Yankees produced their 31st shutout in a postseason game, the most among any team and six ahead of the San Francisco Giants. ... Houston was shut out in the postseason for the first time since Game 4 of the 2005 World Series against the Chicago White Sox. ... Former New York and Houston LHP Andy Pettitte threw out the ceremonial first pitch.

Here come Judge, Yankees: ALCS tied

NEW YORK -- As their slumps lingered, questions about Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez persisted.

Can they handle the pressure of postseason games? Will they get out of their skids before it is too late?

The New York Yankees found out in a resounding way Tuesday that the kids are all right.

Judge hit the game-tying double with one out in the eighth inning, and Sanchez followed with a two-run double as New York stormed back to even the American League Championship Series at two games apiece with a 6-4 victory over the Houston Astros.

Game 5 of the best-of-seven series is Wednesday, with Yankees starter Masahiro Tanaka opposing Astros ace Dallas Keuchel. Game 6 is Friday in Houston, where the Astros opened the series with two 2-1 victories.

The Yankees get a return trip to Houston thanks to their two young stars, who have experienced productive moments during the team's first extended postseason run since 2012 but also struggled at times.

Judge started play Tuesday 5-for-34 (.147) with 21 strikeouts in his first postseason. After striking out and getting a walk in his first two plate appearances, Judge sparked New York's biggest postseason comeback at home since a rally from a four-run deficit in Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS against the Boston Red Sox, when Aaron Boone homered off Tim Wakefield in the 11th inning for the win.

"It's stressful, but these guys seem to have it under control," Yankees left-hander CC Sabathia said.

Judge made a comeback seem possible by driving the first pitch of the seventh inning from Lance McCullers over the center field fence for his third homer of the postseason. The blast cut Houston's lead to 4-1.

"I thought Aaron's home run lit a spark," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "We've seen that before."

Then the 25-year-old made a comeback seem even more realistic with a booming double off the left field fence against Ken Giles (0-1) to forge a 4-4 deadlock.

Sanchez, who lifted a sacrifice fly in the seventh, came into his at-bat 6-for-40 (.150) in the postseason, hitless in 13 at-bats against the Astros and hitless in his past 18 at-bats.

"It's just a matter of time," Yankees designated hitter Matt Holliday said of Judge and Sanchez producing big postseason moments.

In the eighth, after Judge tied the game, Sanchez produced his biggest hit to date by lacing Giles' 2-0 fastball to the warning track in center field to put the Yankees up 6-4.

"I just think they're very calm and they're very poised," New York's Chase Headley said of Judge and Sanchez. "They're very comfortable with who they are, and they trust who they are is enough, and it is enough."

Upon reaching second, Sanchez clapped his hands emphatically and pointed to a boisterous Yankees dugout, which was joining the crowd in expressing excitement.

"Emotions are raw," Sanchez said through an interpreter. "You're standing on second base and can't even control them."

Chad Green (1-0) pitched two innings and was credited with the win. He gave up an unearned run. Aroldis Chapman fanned two in the ninth for his third save of the postseason.

Giles threw 37 pitches in getting a five-out save in Game 1 but also gave up a home run to Greg Bird before closing it out. He also allowed a homer to Boston's Rafael Devers in Game 4 of the AL Division Series before getting the save.

The right-hander came on trying to get a six-out save but recorded only one out on Brett Gardner's RBI grounder that made it a one-run game.

"They laid off some very good pitches, and they were ready to go," Giles said.

Before Giles collapsed, the Astros seemed poised for a series-clinching game with their ace on the mound. They led by four runs, and McCullers was cruising by keeping the Yankees quiet with his curveball.

The Astros did little offensively before taking a 3-0 lead on a bases-clearing double by Yuli Gurriel off David Robertson in the sixth. They added their fourth run in the seventh when Marwin Gonzalez scored on second baseman Starlin Castro's error.

"The series wasn't over after two games," Houston manager A.J. Hinch said. "It's certainly not over after four."

McCullers allowed one run and two hits in six-plus innings. He was lifted after allowing Judge's homer.

New York's Sonny Gray gave up two runs (one earned) and one hit in five-plus innings. He was lifted after bouncing ball one in the dirt to Jose Altuve, who loaded the bases by working a walk against Robertson.

NOTES: New York manager Joe Girardi said using C Austin Romine in RHP Sonny Gray's simulated game Friday was a precursor to Romine starting Game 4. Romine committed an error that led to a Houston run. ... Asked about the reaction pregame at Yankee Stadium before Game 3, Astros LHP Dallas Keuchel said, "To have some boos last night getting introduced, that was a nice feel. You get boos against the evil empire at the home turf, it makes you feel good just because you're doing your job correctly. ... Houston's left-handed hitters were 0-for-28 in the series until switch-hitting DH Carlos Beltran doubled in the second inning.

2017-18 NBA Season Begins Tonight

The 2017-18 NBA season starts tonight with what should be quite interesting.

First, Kyrie Irving and the Boston Celtics face Irving's former team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, in an 8pm ET showdown in Cleveland.

Irving was traded to Boston by Cleveland for the injured Isaiah Thomas this past offseason.

The second game of the night starts at 10:30pm ET, with James Harden and the Houston Rockets traveling to the Bay Area for a showdown vs. the reigning NBA Champion Golden State Warriors, where Golden State will begin their quest to repeat at NBA Finals Champions, and win their third final in the past four seasons.

Wednesday night sees an 11-game slate with the Brooklyn Nets opening their season in a 7pm ET start at the Indiana Pacers.

Thursday night has a 3-game slate in store, headlined by Carmelo Anthony and the Oklahoma City Thunder facing Melo's former team, the New York Knicks, in an 8pm ET start. Melo was traded to the Thunder by the Knicks during the NBA Preseason after several years as a Knick.

Judge gets Yankees back in ALCS woth 8-1 rout

NEW YORK -- In the top of the fourth inning Monday, New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge raced back on a fly ball by Yuli Gurriel, crashed into the wall, held on and prevented the Houston Astros from doing some significant damage.

In the bottom of the inning, Judge hit a ball that nobody could catch.

Judge made an outstanding grab and highlighted a five-run inning with a three-run homer as the Yankees beat the Astros 8-1 in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series.

The Astros lead the series 2-1 heading into Game 4 on Tuesday at Yankee Stadium.

Judge ensured Houston would not be going for the sweep by producing defensively and offensively.

With the Yankees already holding a 3-0 lead after Todd Frazier's three-run homer in the second inning off Charlie Morton, Gurriel lofted a 2-0 pitch to deep right field. Judge raced back, made a slight leap, and the 6-foot-7 rookie crashed into the wall headfirst and held on while falling on the warning track.

"It was an awesome catch," New York shortstop Didi Gregorius said. "I'm surprised he jumped."

Yankees starter CC Sabathia (1-0) turned and watched the ball sail toward the fence. When Judge completed the catch, Sabathia raised both arms in the air to express his excitement at a potential home run being taken away.

"That was just a great play," Sabathia said. "Off the bat, here with the short right field (porch), I didn't know what the result was going to be, but for him to go up and go all out and make that catch was unbelievable."

Judge made four catches overall, including a diving grab on Cameron Maybin to start the fifth, but it was his leap against the wall that had his teammates gushing about his defense.

It also was his second highlight-reel catch of the postseason. In Game 3 of the AL Division Series, Judge made a leaping grab on Cleveland shortstop Francisco Lindor to take away a certain two-run homer in a game the Yankees won 1-0.

"That's what we want," Frazier said. "That's what every teammate wants to see. As a pitcher, you dream of that kind of stuff, and he's been doing that all year."

After making the catch on Gurriel, Judge hit a 2-2 fastball from reliever Will Harris into the left field seats, giving the Yankees an 8-0 lead. It was his second homer of the postseason after he hit 52 in the regular season. The hit was just Judge's fifth of the playoffs.

"I know how dangerous he is," New York manager Joe Girardi said. "He can change a game really quickly."

Before Judge connected, the Yankees extended the lead to 4-0 on an infield single by Chase Headley and made it 5-0 when Frazier scored on a wild pitch by Harris during Judge's at-bat.

"I was just trying to see a cutter up in the zone," Judge said. "I think the bases were loaded before that and then (a) wild pitch and we scored, but, yeah, just try to get a pitch up and do some damage."

Judge's eventful fourth helped Sabathia, who delivered his first career scoreless postseason start. In six innings, Sabathia allowed three hits, worked around four walks, struck out five and threw 99 pitches.

"It was his night," Houston manager A.J. Hinch said. "He played defense tonight. He did a lot of things well for them and really was a big difference in the game."

The biggest pitch Sabathia threw occurred in the third when the Astros loaded the bases on two walks and a single in the third. The left-hander escaped by getting Carlos Correa on a popup to Gregorius.

The Astros barely avoided being shut out for the fourth time in a postseason game, scoring their lone run on a bases-loaded walk by Alex Bregman in the ninth.

Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa were a combined 1-for-8 after going 8-for-15 in the first two games of the series.

"CC was really good tonight because he didn't make a lot of mistakes," Hinch said. "We swung a little bit to the margins on the outside of the strike zone."

After Houston got dominant starts from Dallas Keuchel and Justin Verlander in the first two games, Morton (0-1) struggled through 3 2/3 innings, allowing seven runs on six hits.

NOTES: New York RHP Luis Severino was not sent for tests after exiting Game 2 after four innings for precautionary reasons. The Yankees thought he might have a shoulder injury when he was taken out, but he is on track to start Game 6 if necessary. ... RHP Lance McCullers Jr. will start Game 4 for Houston against Yankees RHP Sonny Gray. ... Houston bench coach Alex Cora is reportedly interviewing for the vacant New York Mets managerial opening Tuesday. He interviewed for the Boston Red Sox's managerial opening on Monday. ... Chase Headley's single in the fourth inning was the first hit by a Yankees designated hitter in the postseason. It ended an 0-for-28 skid in this year's postseason. ... Former Yankees CF Bernie Williams threw out the ceremonial first pitch.

New Jersey man convicted in New York bombing that injured 30

By LARRY NEUMEISTER
Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — A New Jersey man was convicted Monday of planting two pressure-cooker bombs on New York City streets, including one that injured 30 people with a rain of shrapnel when it detonated in a bustling neighborhood on a weekend night last summer.

The verdict in Manhattan came after a two-week trial of 29-year-old Ahmad Khan Rahimi, an Afghanistan-born man living in Elizabeth. The charges, including using a weapon of mass destruction and bombing a public place, carry a mandatory punishment of life in prison.

Prosecutors said Rahimi considered himself “a soldier in a holy war against Americans” and was inspired by the Islamic State group and al-Qaida to carry out the late summer attacks in New York and New Jersey.

Rahimi, wearing a wrinkled blue shirt and beige pants, stared straight ahead and at the jury as he was found guilty of all eight charges against him. The defense promised to appeal. Sentencing was scheduled for Jan. 18.

“Today’s verdict is a victory for New York City, a victory for America in its fight against terror, and a victory for all who believe in the cause of justice,” said Joon H. Kim, acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.

Assistant federal defender Sabrina Shroff said her client, who smiled as he was led from the courtroom, remained calm as the verdict was delivered.

“We all handle bad news in our own way,” she said.

In the prosecution’s closing argument, Assistant U.S. Attorney Emil Bove described an unusually large amount of evidence that pointed to Rahimi. His fingerprints and DNA were found on bombs in the Sept. 17, 2016, attacks.

Dozens of videos tracked his movements as he dragged the bombs in suitcases through Manhattan streets, and they also captured the explosion at 23rd Street in the Chelsea neighborhood that injured 30 people. The second bomb didn’t detonate.

As a bomb squad investigator testified, prosecutors showed jurors a mangled, waist-high trash bin that was sent flying 120 feet (37 meters) across a busy street by the bomb. The government called it a miracle that nobody was killed by the explosive, which scattered ball bearings meant to serve as shrapnel.

If that wasn’t enough, Bove said, jurors could look at a small notebook that was on Rahimi when he was arrested two days after the attack following a shootout with police in New Jersey. The prosecutor said Rahimi’s written words provided a confession as he took responsibility for the bombings in a “claim of credit” for attacks that left him feeling proud. He still faces charges in New Jersey related to the shootout. He has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder of police officers.

Shroff did not deny evidence linking Rahimi to the 23rd Street bomb but asked jurors to question whether Rahimi really intended for the 27th Street bomb to go off. She urged jurors to acquit Rahimi of three charges that could result in a mandatory life prison sentence.

And she expressed compassion for those injured by the blast, some of whom testified during the trial.

“This is a difficult case for all of us because we are all New Yorkers,” Shroff said.

Prosecutors said Rahimi left his home before sunrise to plant a pipe bomb along the route of a Marine Corps charity race in Seaside Heights, New Jersey, an oceanside community. No one was injured in the explosion because the race had been delayed. It was then canceled.

Hours later, Rahimi went into Manhattan, where he was seen walking from Penn Station to the street locations where two bombs were placed.

The first bomb, hidden near a large trash bin, set off a blast that sent the 100-pound (45-kilogram) dumpster into the air, shattered windows, scattered bits of metal and caused people on the street to scream and flee the area.

A bomb at 27th Street was discovered and deactivated before it could explode. The following day, a homeless man and his friend alerted authorities after they found a backpack containing smaller bombs in a trash can near a train station in Elizabeth, New Jersey.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew DeFilippis said in closing arguments that Rahimi had carried out a “cold and calculating” attack with a variety of explosive devices that included a backpack filled with seven bombs, some small enough to use like hand grenades.

The prosecutor said Rahimi could be convicted even if some bombs didn’t explode because the government only needed to prove that he took “substantial steps” to set off explosives.

Alluding to the numerous street videos jurors watched of Rahimi walking through Manhattan, DeFillipis reminded jurors that they had seen him take “step after step after step,” including after the 23rd Street bomb exploded.

He said Rahimi was seen “walking away so he wouldn’t get hurt while others bled."

Yankees return home down 2-0 in ALCS

For the second straight week, the New York Yankees are returning home facing a 2-0 deficit against an opponent who won at least 100 games in the regular season.

After rallying against the 102-win Cleveland Indians, the question is can New York do it again in the American League Championship Series against the 101-win Houston Astros?

The Yankees get their first opportunity to climb out of their deficit Monday night when they host Houston in Game 3.

"We have a whole lot of baseball left to play with a seven-game series," Yankees left fielder Brett Gardner said.. "We're going back home. We've played really well at home all year, especially recently. We haven't lost a playoff game there yet. Hopefully we can keep that streak going."

CC Sabathia, who pitched 4 1/3 innings in the series clincher in Cleveland will start Game 3. He is 3-3 with a 5.85 ERA in seven career starts in the ALCS with five of those starts for the Yankees. Sabathia did not face the Astros during the regular season and is 2-1 with a 4.15 ERA in three starts against them.

Houston's Charlie Morton started Game 4 of ALDS last Monday in Boston and did not get a decision after allowing two runs on seven hits in 4 1/3 innings during an 83-pitch outing. He starts for Houston tonight.

During the regular-season, Morton was 14-7 with a 3.62 ERA with a 51.8 percent ground ball rate.

The Yankees enter Game 3 hitting .159 (10-for-63) with 27 strikeouts, four walks and 16 total bases. New York entered Game 3 against the Indians hitting .179 (14-for-78) with 26 strikeouts and 25 total bases.

Bombing trial shows NYC’s blanket coverage by video cameras

By TOM HAYS and COLLEEN LONG
Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — There’s one video of a man walking to and from the scene of a bombing in a Manhattan’s bustling Chelsea neighborhood. Another shows him minutes later planting another homemade explosive a few blocks away. A third has him in a backyard in New Jersey, apparently testing an incendiary device.

Prosecutors say the person captured on those incriminating videos and several others is Ahmad Khan Rahimi. The trove of digital evidence in Rahimi’s ongoing federal trial is meant to provide airtight proof he was behind a 2016 attack that injured 30 people, but it also dramatically demonstrates the growing omnipresence of security cameras.

The Rahimi case relies “on video from security cameras in storefronts and businesses all over New Jersey and New York,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Shawn Crowley said in opening statements. “You’ll see video of the defendant in every stage of the attack.”

Inspired by the “ring of steel” counterterrorism surveillance measures in London, the New York Police Department has led the security-video push in the last decade by blanketing the city with 13,000 of its own cameras, with access to an even higher number of private cameras.

Many of the NYPD cameras provide live feeds that can be monitored at command centers around the city. And the department has experimented with analytic software designed to alert police to unattended bags or to someone fitting the description of a suspect.

In the past, civil liberties groups have complained that the cameras are an invasion of privacy and pushed for protocols limiting how police use them. But over time, their proliferation has changed expectations about being watched.

“What we know is that there is no longer, or never was legally, any expectation of privacy on a public thoroughfare,” said John DeCarlo, founder of The Center for Advanced Policing at the University of New Haven. “Because we all know that we’re being recorded.”

Experts say the deterrence impact of the cameras is limited because criminals tend to ignore them, making them mostly a valuable investigative tool for solving crimes.

When a bomber planted a homemade bomb on a train in London in September, for example, closed circuit TV footage provided vital clues that helped police arrest him within one day.

In the Middle Eastern emirate of Abu Dhabi, where security cameras are ubiquitous, police in 2014 were able use video footage to track a woman who stabbed an American school teacher to death in an upscale mall. An arrest was made within 48 hours.

Challenges for the police, particularly in ongoing cases, include sifting through tens of thousands of images quickly enough to find suspects before they attack again. Another possible pitfall is the often poor quality of many of the videos.

“Someone could be falsely identified because the quality wasn’t good, or someone who may have done the crime but, say, lost 40 pounds and shaved before trial may not appear to be like the suspect on camera,” said Dennis Jay Kenney, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. “If they aren’t sharp, it can be a problem.”

The issue of misidentification hasn’t been raised so far in Rahimi’s case.

The 29-year-old, who has pleaded not guilty to using a weapon of mass destruction and other charges, resembles the man in the videos, and his defense hasn’t challenged assertions that they’re the same person. Instead, his lawyers have sought to cast doubt on how the evidence was collected and asked the jury to keep an open mind.

Last week, jurors heard how after the bomb went off on the night of Sept. 17, 2016, the FBI and police immediately began collecting recordings from private cameras from various locations, including a residence for disabled people, a dental office and a small hotel that had its doors blown off by the explosion.

Prosecutors introduced footage showing a man believed to be Rahimi walking on the street with a backpack and two rolling duffle bags before sitting on the steps of a church just prior to the blast.

They also showed recordings of the defendant leaving his home at 5:30 a.m. on the morning of the attack; of his car exiting a New Jersey toll plaza near where he’s accused of planting another bomb that also went off but didn’t hurt anyone; of him returning to his home in Elizabeth, New Jersey, before taking a train to Manhattan that night; of him arriving at Penn Station en route to Chelsea; and of him leaving one of the bags with a pressure-cooker bomb that failed to detonate at a second location there.

Prosecutors say yet more footage from two days before the attack puts him his backyard for an apparent test run. As a pair of kittens played in the background, he’s seen placing a black object on the lawn, lighting it and watching with a woman as flames shoot into the air.

Anthony, Jackson gone, but Knicks’ losing likely to continue

By BRIAN MAHONEY
Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Carmelo Anthony is gone. Phil Jackson is gone.

The losing appears here to stay.

The New York Knicks have entered a rebuilding mode, with new president Steve Mills and general manager Scott Perry touting the team’s youth even before they had traded Anthony on the eve of training camp.

The young players might be ready to win in a couple years, but for now, it looks like another long season inside Madison Square Garden.

“The whole talk for us is it’s a start for us to instill a culture of playing as hard as you can, trying to play together as a team,” coach Jeff Hornacek said. “We don’t necessarily have these superstars that have been in the league for many years carrying our team. We’ve got to do it collectively.”

That will fall on players such as Kristaps Porzingis, Tim Hardaway Jr., Willy Hernangomez, rookie Frank Ntilikina and center Enes Kanter, who was acquired from Oklahoma City in the trade for Anthony.

The Jackson-Anthony drama hung over the Knicks last season and into the summer, with the team president making it clear he wanted to move on from the All-Star forward. But before he could, the Knicks moved on from Jackson, who couldn’t build a playoff roster in his three seasons. Mills was promoted and he has taken aim at cleaning up the mess within the organization.

“Part of my job is to try to add some sense of calmness to what had been a little bit of a crazy environment that we’ve been going through,” Mills said. “So I think that we have a good group of people here.”

But it’s a group that looks incapable of defending, and it will be hard to outscore its ineptitude on that end without the 40 points per game the Knicks lost when they traded Anthony and let Derrick Rose leave.

So they could be even worse than last season’s 31-51 finish, but at least some of the dysfunction could be gone. Fans seemed fed up with it under Jackson, so maybe they’ll accept a team that loses quietly if they see growth on the court without the circus off it.

“They want to see effort, they want to see tenacity, they want to see hard work and they just want to see us not backing down from anybody,” Hardaway said. “The icing on the cake is winning ballgames. That’s what we want to do and that’s our goal, to win ballgames, and win as many as possible to see ourselves looking towards the end of the season where we can find ourselves in the postseason.”

Some things to watch with the Knicks:

KRISTAPS’ KNICKS: Porzingis left frustrated, blowing off his exit interview before returning to Latvia for the summer. The third-year forward came back as the face of the franchise, returning to New York the day Anthony left for Oklahoma City.

FRANK FROM FRANCE: Jackson’s last big move was drafting the 19-year-old Ntilikina with the No. 8 pick. It’s hard to tell yet what the Knicks have in the French point guard, who missed summer league with an injury and then most of preseason when he was hurt again.

HARDAWAY’S HERE: Mills’ first big move was to give Hardaway a $71-million deal to return to New York after Jackson traded the former first-round pick to Atlanta two years earlier. His game grew with the Hawks, and the Knicks believe he’s ready for a bigger role now.

SPEED IT UP: Jackson’s triangle system is mostly gone, with Hornacek saying the Knicks want to open up the offense more in hopes of getting more easy shots.

JOAKIM’S JOB: Joakim Noah’s forgettable first season of a $72-million deal ended with him serving a suspension for violating the anti-drug policy. It continues into this season and it’s unclear where he fits after that in a center rotation that also includes Kanter, Hernangomez, Kyle O’Quinn and sometimes Porzingis.

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More NBA basketball: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball

NYC to get huge immigration-themed exhibit by famed artist

Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — An enormous exhibition by the activist artist Ai Weiwei, designed to draw attention to the world’s refugee crisis, is going on view at some 300 sites around New York City.

“Good Fences Make Good Neighbors,” presented by the Public Art Fund, will be open to the public from Thursday until Feb. 11.

A global trend of “trying to separate us by color, race, religion, nationality” is a blow “against freedom, against humanity,” Ai said at a Manhattan press conference Tuesday. “That’s why I made a work related to this issue.”

Ai, now based in Berlin, is considered one of the world’s most successful artists.

He spent his childhood in a remote Chinese community after his father, a poet, was exiled by Communist authorities. He came to New York City as an art student in the 1980s, then returned to his homeland in 1993, using his art and public platform to address political issues. He was alternately encouraged, tolerated and harassed, spending time in detention and being barred for years from leaving the country.

Since his passport was reinstated in 2015, Ai and his team have traveled to 23 countries and territories and more than 40 refugee camps while making a documentary, “Human Flow.”

The New York exhibition will include three large-scale works and ancillary works throughout the city. Ai expressed a special affinity for Manhattan’s Lower East Side, his former home.

Art will be incorporated onto flagpoles, bus shelters, lampposts, newsstands and rooftops. Banners will bear portraits of immigrants from different periods, including historic pictures from Ellis Island. There also will be images from Ai’s “Human Flow” projects.

At Central Park’s Doris C. Freedman Plaza, viewers will be able to walk in and around a work titled “Gilded Cage.”

The 24-foot-tall symbol of division stands in powerful contrast to one of the most visited urban public parks in the U.S., the Public Art Fund says. “Designed as a democratic oasis and vision of utopia, Central Park has vast open areas, lush forests, and monuments of heroes and explorers,” it says.

Another cage-like structure, about 40 feet tall, is in Greenwich Village’s Washington Square Arch, built in 1892.

“When I lived in New York in the ’80s, I spent much of my time in Washington Square Park,” an area that was “a home to immigrants of all backgrounds,” Ai said in a statement.

“The triumphal arch has been a symbol of victory after war since antiquity,” he said. “The basic form of a fence or cage suggests that it might inhibit movement through the arch, but instead a passageway cuts through this barrier — a door obstructed, through which another door opens.”

The third large-scale work will be displayed at Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens, surrounded by some of the city’s most diverse neighborhoods. “Circle Fence” features a low, mesh netting around the Unisphere, a 120-foot-diameter globe commissioned for the 1964-65 World’s Fair.

The big globe “celebrated both the dawn of the space age and the fair’s broader theme of Peace Through Understanding,” according to the city’s parks department.

“Rather than impeding views of the historical site,” says the Public Art Fund, “the installation will emphasize the Unisphere’s form and symbolic meaning, engaging with the steel representation of the Earth."

2017-18 NHL Preview: Rangers look for help from new arrivals, Islanders seek to end slump

Lace up your skates and tape up your sticks, because hockey seaon is upon us.

The 2017-18 NHL seaso starts Wednesday night with a four-game slate headlined by the Pittsburgh Penguins being visited by the St. Louis Blues. The Pens will beraising their 2017 Stanley Cup Champions banner before the game.

Thursday night will see the New York Rangers open up their season at home against the Colorado Avalanche, and their cross-town rival New York Islanders start their yet in Columbus against the Blue Jackets.

Hockey fans will have their eyes on young Edmonton Oilers star center Connor McDavid, who recorded a 100-point season in 2016-17, leading him to league MVP honors at 20 years of age. Still four months away from his 21st birthday, McDavid and yhe Oilers will look to take down hockey's hottest tem, the Penguins.

On Thursday, the NHL will officially welcome their newest franchise, the Vegas Golden Knights, who visit Dallas to face the Star in their first-ever regular season game.

What a relief: Yankees rally past Twins

(TSX / STATS) -- NEW YORK -- About 20 minutes into the American League wild-card game, the Minnesota Twins stunned the Yankees with three early runs, enough to knock out New York starting pitcher Luis Severino.

Then the Yankees put on a power display on the mound and at the plate, setting up a celebration and their next order of business -- a date with the Cleveland Indians in the AL Division Series.

Severino was lifted after recording one out into the first inning, but Didi Gregorius hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the first and four relievers combined on 13 strikeouts as New York stormed back for an 8-4 victory over Minnesota on Tuesday.

Brian Dozier opened the game by hitting Severino's fifth pitch into the first row of the left field seats fence, and Eddie Rosario lined the right-hander's 17th pitch into the right field seats for a two-run shot. Two more hits sprung the bullpen into action, beginning with Chad Green.

Green struck out two with runners on second and third, and the Yankees quickly rebounded from the stunning start.

"That's a huge spot," Yankees left-hander CC Sabathia said. "We expect Green to get out of that. That's who he is, that's what he's done, and that's our bullpen."

Gregorius tied the game by hitting Ervin Santana's full-count fastball over the right field fence with one out in the first, and Brett Gardner gave the Yankees a 4-3 lead by lifting another full-count fastball into the right field seats in the second inning.

"Scoring those runs right in the first inning, just that there was -- what I've seen all year, is the fight in this club," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "I saw it in spring training. I did. But you see the resolve, and they never get down."

After the Twins tied it 4-4 in the top of the third, Greg Bird hit a go-ahead single off Jose Berrios (0-1) in the bottom of the third. An inning later, Aaron Judge slugged Berrios' 0-1 curveball into the left field stands.

"We got down early," Judge said. "With the type of bullpen we have, the lineup, we're never out of a ballgame."

By then the Yankees were continuing their historic bullpen performance, tying the major league record for strikeouts by relievers in a postseason game and matching a team record for relief innings. The Yankees tied the strikeout mark set by the Chicago Cubs, who did it in six innings during Game 4 of the 2015 National League Division Series against the St. Louis Cardinals.

New York matched the team mark for relief innings set in Game 6 of the 1958 World Series against the Milwaukee Braves, a 4-3, 10-inning Yankees victory.

"That's what it's all about," Judge said. "Big-time players, they make big-time plays in big-time games, that's what they do."

Green was the only New York reliever to get scored upon, the run coming hom on Byron Buxton's groundout against David Robertson with the bases loaded in the third. Robertson worked out of the bases-loaded jam, pitched a career-high 3 1/3 innings and was awarded the win by the official scorer.

"I feel like our entire team never gives up, and we're always going to grind and try to win a ballgame," Robertson said.

Aaron Hicks drove in the Yankees' other run with a bases-loaded walk in the seventh. Relievers Tommy Kahnle and Aroldis Chapman finished off New York's first playoff victory since Sabathia pitched a complete game in Game 5 of the 2012 ALDS against the Baltimore Orioles.

Kahnle delivered 2 1/3 scoreless frames, and Chapman finished it off by allowing a hit and striking out three in the ninth.

The Twins dropped their 13th straight playoff game after Santana was unable to protect the early lead. It is tied for the longest postseason losing streak in baseball history, matching the Boston Red Sox from Oct. 25, 1986-Oct. 6, 1995.

Minnesota's last playoff victory was a 2-0 shutout at Yankee Stadium on Oct. 5, 2004. During the current streak, 10 of the Twins' postseason defeats were against the Yankees.

"I think you just understand that you've got to find ways to persevere through a game like that because there's a lot of pitches thrown," Twins manager Paul Molitor said. "There's a lot of lead changes early, and unfortunately it got to their 'pen and all those guys did an outstanding job.

"There was a lot of -- as far as mood swings early, they were obviously just because of the way that the pendulum swung."

Santana allowed four runs and three hits in two innings. Berrios gave up three runs and five hits in three frames.

"It stings right now," Twins first baseman Joe Mauer said. "We had some chances. Unfortunately, we came up a little short."

NOTES: Twins manager Paul Molitor said the decision to keep 3B/DH Miguel Sano (shin) off the roster stemmed from Sano not being able to generate enough force and power with his front leg during batting practice Monday. Molitor also said Sano was experiencing some discomfort during the Sunday game. ... New York LHP Chasen Shreve, who is among several major-leaguers from Las Vegas, threw out the ceremonial first pitch in tribute to the victims of the mass shooting on Sunday. ... RF Aaron Judge was the first Yankees rookie to homer in a postseason game since Hideki Matsui in Game 2 of the 2003 World Series.

A capsule look at the Twins-Yankees playoff game

Associated Press

A look at the American League wild-card game between the Minnesota Twins and New York Yankees:

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Schedule: Tuesday, at New York, 8:09 p.m. EDT (ESPN).

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Season Series: Yankees won 4-2.

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Projected Lineups:

Twins: 2B Brian Dozier (.269, 34 HRs, 93 RBIs, .853 OPS), 1B Joe Mauer (.305, 7, 71, team-leading 36 doubles, .384 OBP), SS Jorge Polanco (.256, 13, 74), LF Eddie Rosario (.290, 27, 78), DH Miguel Sano (.264, 28, 77, team-high 173 Ks in 114 games) or Kennys Vargas (.253, 11, 41 in 78 games) or Robbie Grossman (.246, 9, 45, .361 OBP in 119 games), 3B Eduardo Escobar (.254, 21, 73 in 129 games), CF Byron Buxton (.253, 16, 51, 150 Ks, 29/30 steals), RF Max Kepler (.243, 19, 69), C Jason Castro (.242, 10, 47 in 110 games).

Yankees: LF Brett Gardner (.264, 21, 63, 96 runs, 23 SBs), RF Aaron Judge (.284, AL-leading 52, 114), C Gary Sanchez (.278, 33, 90 in 122 games), SS Didi Gregorius (.287, 25, 87), DH Chase Headley (.273, 12, 61) or Matt Holliday (.231, 19, 64 in 105 games), 2B Starlin Castro (.300, 16, 63 in 112 games), CF Jacoby Ellsbury (.264, 7, 39, 22 SBs in 112 games) or Aaron Hicks (.266, 15, 52 in 88 games), 3B Todd Frazier (.213, 27, 76 with White Sox and Yankees), 1B Greg Bird (.190, 9, 28 in 48 games).

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Starting Pitchers:

Twins: RH Ervin Santana (16-8, 3.28 ERA, 167 Ks in 211 1/3 IP).

Yankees: RH Luis Severino (14-8, 2.98, 230 Ks in 193 1/3 IP).

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Relievers:

Twins: RH Matt Belisle (2-2, 4.03 ERA, 9/14 saves, .218 opponent batting average), LH Taylor Rogers (7-3, 3.07, 49 Ks in 55 2/3 IP), RH Trevor Hildenberger (3-3, 3.21, 44 Ks in 42 IP), RH Alan Busenitz (1-1, 1.99, 23 Ks in 31 2/3 IP), RH Jose Berrios (14-8, 3.89, 25 starts, 139 Ks in 145 2/3 IP), RH Tyler Duffey (2-3, 4.94, 67 Ks in 71 IP), LH Ryan Pressly (2-3, 4.70, 61 Ks in 61 1/3 IP).

Yankees: LH Aroldis Chapman (4-3, 3.22, 22/27 saves in 52 games, 69 Ks in 50 1/3 IP), RH Dellin Betances (3-6, 2.87, 10/13 saves in 66 games, 100 Ks in 50 2/3 IP), RH David Robertson (9-2, 1.48, 14/16 saves in 61 games with Yankees and White Sox), RH Chad Green (5-0, 1.83, 103 Ks in 69 IP), RH Tommy Kahnle (2-4, 2.59, 96 Ks in 62 2/3 IP with Yankees and White Sox), RH Adam Warren (3-2, 2.35 in 44 games), LH Chasen Shreve (4-1, 3.77 in 44 games), RH Bryan Mitchell (1-1, 5.79 in 20 games), LH Jaime Garcia (5-10, 4.41 in 27 starts for Braves, Twins and Yankees).

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Matchups:

Minnesota has lost 12 consecutive playoff games since the 2004 ALDS opener at Yankee Stadium when Johan Santana beat Mike Mussina 2-0. ... Counting the postseason, Yankees are a whopping 89-33 against the Twins since the start of 2002, including 45-14 in the Bronx. Twins have been eliminated by New York in four of their past five trips to the playoffs, losing Division Series in 2003, 2004, 2009 and 2010 for an overall record of 2-12. ... Yankees are in the wild-card game for the second time in three seasons after losing to Dallas Keuchel and the Houston Astros 3-0 in 2015. New York hasn’t won a postseason game since Derek Jeter broke his ankle in the 2012 ALCS opener against Detroit, which went on to a sweep. ... Yankees outscored the Twins 18-6 during a three-game sweep in New York from Sept. 18-20, with Sano in the thick of his 38-game absence due to a left shin injury. Ervin Santana took a tough loss in the series opener after allowing two runs over 5 2/3 innings. He is 6-10 with a 5.66 ERA in 20 career starts against the Yankees. ... Twins won two of three games vs. the Yankees in Minnesota from July 17-19. ... Severino faced the Twins for the first time on Sept. 20, giving up three runs and five hits in three innings. He was taken out after throwing 46 pitches in the third, which included an RBI single by Mauer that capped a 13-pitch at-bat — longest of his career. Severino also gave up Polanco’s two-run single. ... New York went 51-30 at home, best in the AL, while the Twins were 44-37 on the road. ... On paper, Yankees have a huge advantage in the bullpen. ... The winner heads for Cleveland to play the AL Central champions in a best-of-five Division Series beginning Thursday. Twins went 7-12 against the defending AL champs this season; Yankees were 2-5.

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Big Picture:

Twins: After going 59-103 last season, worst record in the majors, Minnesota (85-77) quickly turned things around under Hall of Fame manager Paul Molitor and became the first team in history to lose 100-plus games and qualify for the playoffs the following year. This is the club’s first postseason appearance since 2010 and only its second winning record during that span. ... After acquiring Garcia from Atlanta to boost the rotation, the front office flipped him to the Yankees days later — and sent All-Star closer Brandon Kintzler to Washington — right before the July 31 trade deadline in response to a rough road trip and a simultaneous surge by division rivals Cleveland and Kansas City. Minnesota responded by going 20-10 in August and rising above a crowd of mediocre contenders for the second AL wild card. ... Ervin Santana had some clunkers, but his performance in his second All-Star season was an immense lift for a pitching staff that languished at the bottom of baseball the last few years. With five complete games, he had more by himself than 27 other teams. Santana tied Cleveland ace Corey Kluber for the major league lead. ... Twins finished fourth in AL in runs and OPS. ... Mauer, the three-time AL batting champ, posted his eighth .300 season but first since 2013, when a concussion cut short his season and ended his days as a catcher. ... Nine players finished with at least 10 home runs, trailing only the 2006 team that had 11 players in double digits. ... Buxton’s streak of consecutive steals is at 24. His 96.7 percent success rate led the majors and is a Twins single-season record. ... Twins haven’t won a postseason series since 2002, when they beat Oakland 3-2 in the ALDS, then lost to the Angels 4-1 in ALCS.

Yankees: One year into a youth movement, the Baby Bombers blossomed fast under 10th-year manager Joe Girardi and returned New York to the postseason perhaps ahead of schedule. Not often are the Yankees a surprise winner, but this group already has exceeded early expectations. Led by Judge, Sanchez, Severino and a cast of productive veterans, New York (91-71) improved by seven wins over last season and finished with its best record since 2012. ... Once the Yankees jumped out to a strong start and showed they were legitimate contenders, general manager Brian Cashman got aggressive and dipped into a deep farm system for July trades that netted Frazier, Robertson, Kahnle and starting pitcher Sonny Gray. The imposing bullpen is loaded with power arms that can shorten a game, and the bench is a real strength if needed. ... New York was unable to catch rival Boston for the AL East crown, but the team played some of its best baseball down the stretch and went 20-8 in September to secure the franchise’s 53rd postseason appearance. The Dodgers are second with 31. ... Yankees scored 858 runs, an increase of 178 from last year and second in the majors behind Houston (896). New York also topped the big leagues with 241 homers. Judge and Sanchez combined for 85, most by a pair of teammates 25 or younger and one more than Milwaukee’s Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun in 2007. ... Judge hit .329 with 30 home runs and 75 RBIs before winning the All-Star Home Run Derby, then slumped to a .179 batting average with seven homers, 16 RBIs and 67 strikeouts in 151 at-bats through Aug. 31. He hit .311 with 15 homers and 32 RBIs in September, putting himself right back in the MVP conversation. ... New York figures to start just four players from its lineup in the 2015 wild-card game: Gardner, Headley, Bird and Gregorius.

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Watch For:

— Bull Dozier. Perhaps the team’s most well-rounded player, Dozier joined Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett (1986-90) as the only Twins with five consecutive seasons of 30-plus doubles. Dozier also topped 100 runs for the fourth straight time.

— Extra Bases. Sanchez had 16 passed balls, tied for the big league lead with Yasmani Grandal of the Dodgers. New York threw 53 wild pitches when Sanchez was behind the plate, second-most among major league catchers behind Jonathan Lucroy (58 with Texas and Colorado).

— Closing Time. After losing his top reliever two months ago, Molitor eventually settled on a 14-year veteran to handle the ninth inning. Belisle has converted nine of 11 save opportunities since Kintzler was traded. With 8.1 strikeouts per nine innings, Belisle posted his best rate since 2010 with Colorado and the second-best of his career.

— Setup Scenario. A four-time All-Star, Betances struggled with his mechanics and control down the stretch, leading Girardi to have a quick hook in the late innings. The 6-foot-8 righty walked seven over his final 9 2/3 innings and finished with 44 walks, up from 28 last year.

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