Update on the latest sports

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MLB-RAYS-ATHLETICS

A’s host Rays in AL wild-card

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Oakland hosts Tampa Bay Wednesday night in the American League wild-card game.

These teams have never met before in the playoffs, and they haven't seen each other this season since June.

The Athletics have lost eight straight winner-take-all games since 2000, going 1-14 with a chance to advance to the next round.

Left-hander Sean Manaea starts for Oakland. The 27-year-old was sidelined last year when the A’s lost the wild-card game to the Yankees, and missed most of this season following shoulder surgery. He returned in September and has been sharp over five starts.

Right-hander Charlie Morton starts for the Rays.

MLB-INDIANS-KLUBER

Indians exercise $17.5M option on ace Corey Kluber

CLEVELAND (AP) — The Indians are exercising ace Corey Kluber’s (KLOO'-burz) $17.5 million option for next season.

The right-hander was limited to just seven starts after breaking his right arm on May 1, when he was hit by a line drive during a start in Miami. The two-time Cy Young Award winner was nearing a return in September before straining an oblique muscle. The team hopes the long layoff will allow Kluber to come back stronger in 2020.

Cleveland could have bought out the option year for $1 million. The Indians have an $18 million option for 2021 with a $1 million buyout.

Kluber’s injury was one of many sustained this season by Cleveland, which managed to win 93 games but missed the playoffs for the first time since 2015.

The team is declining options on second baseman Jason Kipnis and reliever Dan Otero.

NFL-NEWS

Season over for Browns’ Kirksey, Panthers’ Short

UNDATED (AP) — Cleveland Browns linebacker Christian Kirksey has undergone season-ending surgery to repair a torn pectoral muscle. Kirkesy, a team captain, was injured against the New York Jets on Sept. 16 and placed on injured reserve five days later.

The Browns expect Kirksey to make a full recovery. Rookie Mack Wilson is starting in Kirksey’s spot.

It’s the second straight season Kirksey has had shortened by injury. A third-round pick in 2014, Kirksey played in all 16 games in his first four seasons before suffering a hamstring injury and missing the final seven in 2018. The Browns signed him to a four-year, $38 million extension in 2017.

In other NFL news:

— Panthers two-time Pro Bowl defensive lineman Kawann Short will miss the remainder of the season after being placed on injured reserve with a partially torn rotator cuff. He will need surgery. Short injured the shoulder in Week 2 against Tampa Bay and has missed the past two games. The team signed defensive lineman Bryan Cox Jr. from the practice squad to fill his roster spot.

— The Patriots have placed kicker Stephen Gostkowski on injured reserve. The team announced the move Wednesday, but didn’t disclose the 35-year-old’s injury. He is the fourth Patriots player to go on IR this season, joining receiver N’Keal Harry, left tackle Isaiah Wynn and fullback James Develin. The franchise’s all-time leading scorer, Gostkowski has appeared in every game for New England since 2011. But he’s struggled thus far in 2019, missing four extra points. He hadn’t missed more than three extra points in any of his previous 13 NFL seasons.

— The Cincinnati Bengals have placed receiver John Ross III on injured reserve. Ross landed hard on his right shoulder during a 27-3 loss in Pittsburgh on Monday night that left Cincinnati 0-4 for the first time since 2008. He’s eligible to return later in the season if the shoulder heals. Ross led the Bengals with 328 yards receiving and three touchdown catches. He was Cincinnati’s only deep threat with A.J. Green recovering from an ankle injury suffered during training camp.

— Defensive back Morris Claiborne has returned to the practice field with the Kansas City Chiefs after serving his four-game suspension for violating the NFL’s substance-abuse policy. The 4-0 Chiefs also welcomed back wide receiver Tyreek Hill, who has been sidelined since Week 1 with a collarbone injury, and running back Damien Williams, who has been nursing an ankle injury. It’s unclear how much they will play when the Colts visit Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday.

— Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen remains in the NFL’s concussion protocol, opening the possibility of backup Matt Barkley starting Sunday against the Tennessee Titans. Allen was the recipient of a helmet-to-helmet hit by Jonathan Jones in the fourth quarter of Buffalo’s 16-10 loss to New England last weekend. Barkley finished 9 of 16 for 127 yards and a game-sealing interception that ended Buffalo’s final drive.

— New York Jets quarterback Sam Darnold is practicing for the first time since being diagnosed with mononucleosis three weeks ago, although his status for the team's game at Philadelphia remains uncertain. Coach Adam Gase says Wednesday that Darnold has still not been cleared for contact or lifting weights, but can throw passes and participate in individual and team drills. Gase says Darnold will have additional tests Friday.

— Disgruntled defender Jalen Ramsey is missing his fifth consecutive practice with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Ramsey was listed on the injury report Wednesday with a back injury, the same issue that caused him to miss the first game of his four-year NFL career. Ramsey missed one practice last week because of an illness, another because of his back and then two more to be home for the birth of his second child. Ramsey told a weekly podcast featuring NFL players last week that his trade request stands.

— William V. Bidwill, who owned the NFL’s Cardinals franchise in three cities, has died. He was 88. The team announced that Bidwill died Wednesday. No cause of death was given. The bowtie-wearing Bidwill headed a family operation that dated to 1932, when his father Charles purchased the Chicago Cardinals, reportedly for $50,000. Young Bidwill was a ballboy for the 1947 team that won the franchise's lone NFL championship.

NHL-COYOTES-KUEMPER EXTENSION

Coyotes sign Darcy Kuemper to 2-year contract extension

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — The Arizona Coyotes have signed goalie Darcy Kuemper to a two-year contract extension with an average annual salary of $4.5 million.

The deal announced Wednesday would keep Kuemper in the desert through the 2021-22 season. The 29-year-old Kuemper had been a career backup until Arizona’s No. 1 goalie Antti Raanta suffered a season-ending injury last year. Kuemper is expected to share time with Raanta this season.

TRACK-WORLDS

Holloway win men’s 110 hurdles; Norman’s bid for gold in 400 ends in semis

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Grant Holloway of the United States has won the men’s 110-meter hurdles after defending champ Omar McLeod of Jamaica fell.

Holloway slowed toward the end but held on to win in 13.10 seconds, 0.05 faster than 2015 champion Sergey Shubenkov, a Russian competing as a neutral athlete. Pascal Martinot-Lagarde was third for France in 13.18.

Michael Norman’s bid for gold in the 400 meters is over. The fastest man in the world over the 400 this year, the U.S. runner never got going in his semifinal and finished seventh, ahead of only an injured Kuwaiti runner.