YIS 09 04 26

Hey, I'm Chris Horvidell and this is Yesterday in Sports. The show that gets you caught up on the biggest things that happened yesterday, why they mattered, and what you need to know before pretending you watched every second of it. Here we go. Welcome to Yesterday in Sports, I'm Chris Horvidell. Thursday gave us a 29-point underdog ending a 16-game losing streak, another exhausting escape from the top seed in the US Open, and a ninth-inning Dodgers comeback without their biggest star. We've also got more meaningful soccer movement, a tightening American League wildcard race, and a new all-time scoring leader in women's international cricket. We begin in New Jersey, where UMass stunned Rutgers 37-21 for its first victory since November of 2024. The Minutemen entered the game as 29-point underdogs at Lucky Rebel. After going 0-12 last season, they didn't simply hang around, they took the lead for good before halftime, forced four turnovers, and finished the game by scoring 20 unanswered points. Pop Watson III, which is just an S-tier name, had 197 yards and three touchdowns. Rutgers quarterback Dylan Longerman passed for 242 and two scores, but he threw three interceptions and lost a fumble. KJ Duff accounted for 196 receiving yards and all three Rutgers touchdowns, but the rest of the offense produced almost nothing. UMass also held Rutgers to 42 rushing yards and recorded five sacks. This is a defining win for a program coming off a winless year for Rutgers. Losing as a 29-point favorite changes the conversation around an entire season before conference play even begins. Colorado produced another upset, beating Georgia Tech 14-13 on Julian Lewis's 20-yard touchdown pass to Charlie Williams with 30 seconds remaining. The Buffaloes entered at plus 205 against a Georgia Tech team favored by 6.5 at Lucky Rebel. Their defense kept the game within reach and Lewis delivered when Colorado finally needed to open up the offense late. Wake Forest beat Akron 38-16 behind 350 passing yards and three touchdowns from Gio Lopez in his debut. Illinois defeated UAB 42-23. Keaton Houser threw three touchdown passes and ran for another in his first Illinois start and Ty Robinson caught a deflected 54-yard Hail Mary at halftime. At the U.S. Open, men's top seed Alexander Zverev survived his second consecutive five-set match. Zverev beat Compton Aulis 6-4, 4-6, 7-6, 6-7, 6-3 and now has spent more than nine hours on court through two rounds. Zverev won his first major at the French Open and reached the Wimbledon final so his plus 350 championship price at Lucky Rebel reflects his form in the opening left by Novak Djokovic's first-round loss. The concern here has to be workload. A two-week major punishes every unnecessary hour and he's already got nine on the court. Felix Jose Eliasem was defeated by Karen Achanov in four sets after dealing with dizziness and saying she was seeing spots. On the women's side, Coco Gauff beat Paolo Bedosa 6-4, 7-6. Gauff saved seven of eight break points she faced and recovered from an early break in both sets. Iga Svantek defeated Nadia Podorovska 6-3, 6-2 and Naomi Osaka pulled away from Kateryna Sinchenkova in the third set. Going into this, the Lucky Rebel market had Gauff at plus 400, Svantek at plus 550 and Osaka at plus 1,000 behind only Irina Sabalenka at plus 325. Thursday strengthened the case for all three challengers. Madison Keyes advanced in a third set tiebreaker. Amanda Anasimova won in three and Alexandra Ieala moved through in straight sets. Alex Dimonor and Lorenzo Muzzotti were the highest-profile men eliminated. In soccer, San Diego FC signed 35-year-old striker Cedric Baquembo through the end of the season with club options covering the next two years. Baquembo was a free agent after producing 15 goals and 7 assists in 74 appearances for Real Batiste across the previous two seasons. He has 191 goals and 492 senior club appearances. San Diego gets an experienced center forward for the playoff run without paying a transfer fee. Baquembo doesn't need to carry the attack but his movement in the penalty area gives the club a different option against defenses sitting deep. Inter Miami acquired 24-year-old Paraguayan midfielder Matias Galerza on loan from River Platt. The team also has an option on him for next season. He started four World Cup matches and adds ball winning and range to a midfield built around older stars. Houston also added 26-year-old South African forward Lyle Foster on loan from Burnley through June of 2027. That deal comes with an option to buy. He recorded three goals and two assists in 26 Premier League appearances last season and can compete to become Houston's starting number nine. FIFA reported that global summer transfer spending reached a record $9.89 billion this year. World Cup players generated $3.3 billion in fees while spending in women's soccer more than doubled to $28.6 million. In baseball, the Dodgers rallied past St. Louis 3-2 on Teoscar Hernandez's two-run double with two outs in the ninth. LA entered this one as a massive minus 3-0-5 favorite at Lucky Rebel but needed that comeback to avoid the sweep. Shohei Ohtani didn't play because of discomfort in his right arm and remains day-to-day. The Dodgers say a short injury list stint is possible but not expected. Ohtani is batting .279 with 30 home runs and 80 RBIs although he is 2-for-23 with 11 strikeouts across his last six games. He also hasn't pitched since July 3rd because of knee soreness after going 8-2 with a 1.79 ERA in 14 starts. All of that context matters for a team priced at plus 175 to win the World Series at Lucky Rebel. The Dodgers can survive several days without Ohtani's bat. Texas shut out Tampa Bay 6-0 behind seven scoreless innings from Cal Quantrill and moved within a half a game of the final American League wildcard spot. Toronto stayed half a game ahead by beating Cleveland 6-3. The Cubs edged Milwaukee 2-1 on Pete Crow Armstrong's two-run homer and seven strong innings from Kevin Galsman. Chicago was a slight minus 106 underdog against Milwaukee at minus 114 at Lucky Rebel and the win secured a split of the four-game series. Houston beat the White Sox 6-2, Boston held off Baltimore 6-5, and Kansas City defeated Miami 7-3. Pittsburgh beat San Francisco 5-2 with a two-hitter from six pitchers while the Athletics struck out a season-high 18 and defeated Seattle 7-4. Finally, Smriti Mandana became the leading run scorer in women's international cricket. Mandana passed Mitali Raj by scoring 124 runs from only 64 balls against Hong Kong at the Women's Asia Cup. It was her 18th international century, also the most in the women's game and helped India secure a place in the semifinals. A world record like that is something worth watching all the way through and it also means that I'm not looking to turn dinner into the next event on my schedule afterwards. That's why I love Factor so much. Factor's meals arrive fresh, they're chef prepared and dietitian approved and ready to heat and eat in about two minutes. There's high-protein, calorie-smart, keto and vegan plus veggie options so there's something for everyone. Check out factor75.com for more information. I'm Chris Horvidell and that's it for today's show about what happened yesterday. We'll see you tomorrow.