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WACO, Texas — Fourth-ranked TCU had players shuffling on and off the field as the final seconds were ticking off the clock. Kicker Griffin Kell was the last one to get into place.

“That looked like chaos, but we practice it every Thursday exactly like that,” Frogs coach Sonny Dykes said.

And the Horned Frogs executed it perfectly to stay undefeated in what was no practice situation.

Kell kicked a 40-yard field goal on the game’s final play, and TCU beat Baylor 29-28 on Saturday, scoring nine points in the final 2:07 to avoid another potential playoff-busting loss on the banks of the Brazos River.

Emari Demercado scored on a 3-yard TD run to cap a 90-yard drive with 2:07 left to get the Frogs (11-0, 8-0 Big 12) within 28-26, but he was unable to pull in a pass on the 2-point conversion attempt.

After kicking deep, TCU used all three of its timeouts while forcing a three-and-out, and it got the ball back at its 31 with 1:34 left. Max Duggan had two completions before converting one third down with a 12-yard run on a quarterback draw.

Demercado was short of a clock-stopping first down on a run to the Baylor 23, going down in the center of the field with about 16 seconds left before the offensive and special teams units ran by each other. The ball was snapped at 3 seconds, and the kick by Kell, who earlier had an extra-point attempt clank off the upright, went through as time ran out.

“The great thing about that last drive, we were throwing all of our day one concepts,” Duggan said. “We were throwing easy stuff that we practice and we can do with our eyes closed, and stuff that you believe in. … So just going out there, being confident, believing it was going to happen and Griff makes a huge kick for us.”

TCU, which already had clinched a spot in the Big 12 Championship Game, hasn’t been undefeated this deep in a season since 2010, when it finished 13-0 with a Rose Bowl victory and No. 2 national ranking.

When the Frogs played at McLane Stadium for the first time in 2014, after it first opened, they lost 61-58. That was their only loss that season, and they went on to share the Big 12 title with Baylor. They were the first two teams left out of the inaugural four-team College Football Playoff.

Baylor (6-5, 4-4) was coming off a 31-3 home loss to Kansas State a week earlier, but last year’s Big 12 champions took a 28-20 lead after a pair of true freshmen scored TDs early in the fourth quarter: tight end Kelsey Johnson‘s 12-yard catch and Richard Reese‘s 1-yard run.

“It’s a tough locker room,” Baylor coach Dave Aranda said. “I told them that I wish that we, that I, could take the pain away.”

Duggan was 24-of-35 passing for 327 yards and a touchdown, and he also ran for a score while leading the Frogs with 50 yards rushing on eight carries. Kendre Miller had a rushing TD in his 12th consecutive game, a 2-yarder early in the second quarter that tied it at 14 before he got hurt early in the second half.

TCU didn’t lead until Duggan hit a wide-open Gunnar Henderson for a 26-yard touchdown with 5½ minutes left in the third quarter, one play after the two had connected for 20 yards. It was 20-14 after Kell’s missed PAT.

Baylor’s Blake Shapen was 21-of-30 passing for 269 yards and a score, while Craig “Sqwirl” Williams ran for 112 yards. Monaray Baldwin had six catches for 123 yards, including a 74-yard gain on third-and-11 that set up Reese’s TD with 9:47 left.

“For it to end that way really hurt,” Williams said.

THE TAKEAWAY

TCU: Another comeback for the Frogs, who last month overcame double-digit deficits in the second half against Oklahoma State and Kansas State. They never faltered after several players dealt with flu-like symptoms during the week, and they finished the game without leading receiver Quentin Johnston and Miller.

Baylor: The Bears never really had much trouble moving the ball, piling up 501 total yards, 232 on the ground. On their opening drive, they had 56 yards rushing — twice as much Texas had the whole game against TCU a week earlier. But they missed a chance to take a halftime lead when Shapen’s pass was intercepted in the end zone by Bud Clark with 4 seconds left.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

TCU will stay in the top four of the AP poll Sunday, and should still be in the all-important top four of the new CFP rankings on Tuesday.

UP NEXT

TCU ends the regular season at home against Iowa State next Saturday.

Baylor is at Texas on Friday.

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M’s Crawford to IL after tweaking oblique in BP

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M's Crawford to IL after tweaking oblique in BP

ARLINGTON, Texas — Leadoff-hitting shortstop J.P. Crawford was placed on the 10-day injured list by the Seattle Mariners on Thursday because of a right oblique strain.

The move came a day after Crawford felt his oblique tweak during batting practice, resulting in him being a late scratch from the Mariners’ 5-1 loss at Texas.

“I do not have a timeline for J.P.,” manager Scott Servais said. “We’ll evaluate it as it goes along. We hope to get him back as soon as possible.”

Dylan Moore was the starting shortstop for the series finale Thursday against the Rangers. Center fielder Julio Rodriguez moved up to leadoff hitter from his usual No. 2 spot.

Seattle brought up infielder Leo Rivas from Triple-A Tacoma. Rivas, 26, has played 665 games over nine minor league seasons and was seeking his big league debut.

To make room on the 40-man roster, the Mariners transferred right-hander Gregory Santos (right lat) from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL.

Crawford is off to a slow start, hitting .198 with two homers and nine RBIs in his first 22 games.

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Dusty Baker wins Baseball Digest lifetime award

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Dusty Baker wins Baseball Digest lifetime award

NEW YORK — Dusty Baker has won the fourth Lifetime Achievement Award presented by Baseball Digest.

The beloved Baker retired following the 2023 season after spending 56 years in the majors as a player, coach and manager. He was honored Thursday with an annual distinction that “recognizes a living individual whose career has been spent in or around Major League Baseball and who has made significant contributions to the game.”

Willie Mays won the inaugural award in 2021, followed by Vin Scully in 2022 and Joe Torre last year.

“Receiving this award is a tremendous honor,” 74-year-old Baker said in a news release. “I never thought that I’d be in the class of the people that received this award. I know that my late mom and dad would be proud of me. This is really special.”

Baker broke into the big leagues as a teenager with the Atlanta Braves in 1968 and played 19 seasons. He made two All-Star teams, won two Silver Slugger awards and earned a Gold Glove in the outfield.

He was the 1977 NL Championship Series MVP and finished fourth in 1980 NL MVP voting before helping the Los Angeles Dodgers win the 1981 World Series.

After his playing career, Baker was a coach for the San Francisco Giants 1988-92 and then became their manager in 1993. He won the first of his three NL Manager of the Year awards with the Giants that season and spent 26 years as a big league skipper, also guiding the Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Washington Nationals and Houston Astros.

Baker took all those teams to the playoffs, winning 10 division crowns, three pennants and finally a World Series championship in 2022 with the Astros. He ranks seventh on the career list with 2,183 wins and is the only manager in major league history to lead five franchises to division titles.

In January, he returned to the Giants as a special adviser to baseball operations.

“On behalf of Major League Baseball, I am honored to congratulate Dusty Baker as the 2024 recipient of Baseball Digest’s Lifetime Achievement Award. He joins an incredible club,” commissioner Rob Manfred said. “Dusty represents leadership, goodwill, and winning baseball. His ability to connect with others, across generations, is second to none. He is a championship manager and player. But, most importantly, Dusty is an extraordinary ambassador for our national pastime.”

Baker was selected in voting by an 18-member panel from a list of candidates that also included Bob Costas, Sandy Koufax, Tony La Russa, Jim Leyland, Rachel Robinson and Bud Selig, among others.

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MLB bringing back Players Weekend in August

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MLB bringing back Players Weekend in August

For the first time since 2019, MLB will dedicate three days in August to players, focusing on showcasing them beyond their stats and on-field performances, according to a release distributed Thursday.

From Aug. 16-18, a different aspect of players’ lives will be highlighted through in-stadium events, game broadcasts and social media.

Day 1 (Aug. 16) will feature their personalities, friendships and off-the-field interests. Day 2 will focus on their charitable causes, and Day 3 will celebrate the people who helped them on their path to the big leagues, including parents, coaches and other mentors.

During the weekend, players will wear special New Era caps featuring each players’ uniform number on the side panel in a “youthful design,” according to the release. Players also will be able to use customized bats during the games and can wear cleats with personalized designs as well.

MLB is calling the three days a “reimagined Players’ Weekend” as its previous incarnation, from 2017 to ’19, featured specially designed uniforms with player nicknames on the back of their jerseys.

The goal of the weekend is to reach younger audiences, which have been growing over the past several years. According to league data, the median age of ticket purchasers has dropped from 51 to 45 since 2019, while ticket buyers from ages 18-35 has increased by almost 10% during the same timeframe. MLB is hoping that trend continues.

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