Blue Jays leave Bichette (knee) off ALDS roster
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Jorge Castillo
TORONTO — The Blue Jays held out hope that Bo Bichette, a key cog in a potent lineup they rode to 94 wins and the American League East title, would progress enough to return from a knee sprain in time for the AL Division Series, but the shortstop was left off their roster ahead of Game 1 against the New York Yankees.
Toronto will also not carry veteran right-handed starters Chris Bassitt and Max Scherzer among their 13 pitchers.
Bichette, 27, bounced back from an injury-plagued 2024 season to return to previous form in 2025, batting .311 with 18 home runs and an .840 OPS, before spraining his knee Sept. 6 sliding into home plate at Yankee Stadium. Ernie Clement and Andres Gimenez split shortstop duties over the Blue Jays’ final 20 regular-season games.
On Friday, Blue Jays manager John Schneider said Bichette, a free agent after the season, still had to clear running tests and hit against velocity to be activated. Schneider said the team would not have Bichette on the roster in a limited role.
“I would say for him to be on, he’d have to play pretty regularly,” Schneider said. “Just with the way we deploy our guys, we don’t want to deviate too much from what we’ve been doing. So it’s not saving him for a Kirk Gibson at-bat once a game that may not come. He’d have to be pretty regular in some capacity.”
Bassitt ended the regular season on the injured list with back inflammation but was eligible to return for the ALDS. He hasn’t pitched since allowing three runs on eight hits in 4⅓ innings Sept. 18. Scherzer’s exclusion was seemingly a strategic choice after he posted a 5.19 ERA over 85 innings this season.
The Blue Jays will carry three other right-handed starters — Kevin Gausman, Shane Bieber and rookie Trey Yesavage — plus left-hander Eric Lauer, who recorded a 3.18 ERA across 15 starts and 13 relief appearances this season.
Gausman will start Game 1 on Saturday followed by Bieber in Game 2 on Sunday. Yesavage will start Game 2. Shane Bieber, the 2020 AL Cy Young winner with Cleveland, will start Game 3 at Yankee Stadium. The Blue Jays could opt for Lauer to start or a bullpen game in Game 4 if there is one.
Schneider said Saturday he preferred to start Yesavage at home and give Bieber the road start.
“With the way that we use Trey it keeps him available later in the series as well in any kind of role we need,” Schneider said.
The Yankees made just one change to their roster for the ALDS from the wild-card series: Luis Gil, who is starting Game 1, was added, while reliever Mark Leiter Jr. was excluded. Max Fried will start Game 2 for the Yankees while Carlos Rodon is expected to get the Game 3 start.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
PASASDENA, Calif. — Nico Iamaleava threw for two touchdowns and ran for three more on Saturday as UCLA notched its first win of the season in stunning fashion, knocking off No. 7 Penn State 42-37 at the Rose Bowl.
The Nittany Lions, who lost to Oregon at home last week for their first loss of the season, have suddenly dropped two straight, and could fall out of the Associated Press Top 25 after a sluggish performance that saw the Bruins (1-4) take a 27-7 lead before holding off the visitors.
Penn State (3-2) allowed more than 400 yards to a team that hadn’t held a lead all season, and is being led by interim coach Tim Skipper after DeShaun Foster was fired Sept. 14.
“It feels great. That is a valiant team and our coaches, we stuck together. Everyone counted us out, we just needed to keep going to work,” Skipper said on the CBS game broadcast. “Every single play counted today. That is a top-notch Penn State team. We kept our minds right and just continued to execute.”
The Bruins became the first 0-4 team to defeat a top-10 team since 1985, when UTEP knocked off BYU.
“Ballers always ball out,” Skipper said of Iamaleava. “He shows up every single week. I’m glad he’s on my team, I will say that.”
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David Hale
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — The stands at Kenan Stadium were nearly empty long before halftime, and the fervor that surrounded the hiring of Bill Belichick at North Carolina has, in the span of just five games, devolved into exasperation and frustration after the Tar Heels looked awful yet again in a 38-10 loss to Clemson.
UNC trailed 28-3 after the first quarter, giving up 14 points on Clemson’s first four plays. The Heels are now 0-3 against Power 4 teams, having been outscored by a combined total of 120-33.
Despite the struggles, Belichick shrugged off a need for structural changes so soon into his tenure.
“The main thing we need to do is to keep doing what we’re doing but do them better,” Belichick said. “Fundamentally we’re not doing the wrong things, we’re just not doing them well enough.”
Belichick chalked up Saturday’s defeat to self-inflicted wounds at “two or three critical times” and noted that execution and coaching are to blame.
“It’s a lack of concentration,” he said, “and part of that is coaching, too, so I’ll take my share of the responsibility.”
Saturday’s implosion comes just days after a letter from GM Mike Lombardi to donors was released publicly, in which Lombardi calls this a “rebuilding” campaign for the Tar Heels and explains in detail about a dearth of talent on this year’s team due to exits from past recruiting classes.
After the loss to Clemson, Belichick downplayed the branding of a rebuild, but when asked directly what he’s telling recruits about the status of the program, he appeared to acknowledge a long-term approach.
“We’re honest with them, honest that we’re building, and if you want to be a part of a program that’s being built, then we’re here for you,” Belichick said.
That’s not the notion UNC’s players seemed to embrace after a 2-3 start.
Quarterback Max Johnson, who got his first start Saturday in place of injured Gio Lopez, said he feels UNC has enough talent, and receiver Jordan Shipp strongly pushed back against the notion this program was in need of a rebuild.
“I’m not here to rebuild, I’m here to win football games,” Shipp said. “That’s why I’m here. Whatever they’re doing with the donors, that has nothing to do with me. I’m here to win football games and that’s what 100% of my focus is on.”
Belichick said he won’t make changes in personnel based on a long-term vision of the program, despite the poor results early on.
“The guys who deserve to play are going to play,” he said. “I’m not going to base it on how old they are or whatever. Guys that play the best deserve to play. We’ll see how that goes. My expectations are to come in and have a good week this week and get ready for Cal.”
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