(Photo Source: SI.com)

Playing a game of catch-up with all a review of all the weekend games

The Major League Baseball season concluded on Sunday and the playoffs begin Tuesday with the National League wild-card game.

The Milwaukee Brewers play the Washington Nationals in this single-elimination game. Brandon Woodruff (11-3, 3.62 ERA) pitches for the Brew Crew, Max Scherzer (11-7, 2.92) for the Nats.

The American League wild card matches the Tampa Bay Rays and Oakland A’s on Wednesday night from the West Coast.

Other MLB notes: Pete Alonso of the New York Mets set a rookie record with 53 home runs this season.

The Chicago Cubs and manager Joe Maddon parted amicably after five seasons that included four playoffs and their first World Series title since 1908. Maddon expects to manage again.

The Pittsburgh Pirates fired manager Clint Hurdle.

The St. Louis Cardinals clinched their first NL Central title since 2015 by shutting out the Cubs 9-0.

NFL:
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers set a franchise scoring record in a 55-40 road victory over the Los Angeles Rams.

The New Orleans Saints won without scoring a touchdown, topping the visiting Dallas Cowboys 12-10. The Cowboys lost for the first time.

New England moved to 4-0, struggling past the Buffalo Bills 16-10. The Bills lost for the first time.

Monday night’s game matches two 0-3 teams – the Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers.

NASCAR:
Chase Elliott won the Bank of America 400 ROVAL at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday. The field of 12 is now set as the playoffs continue. Alex Bowman finished second at Charlotte while Elliott won for the third time this season.

College football:
Clemson staved off a two-point conversion attempt to hang on for a 21-20 victory over North Carolina on Saturday but that near-upset cost the Tigers the top spot in the AP college football poll. The Tigers slipped to No. 2 and Alabama took over at No. 1.

Rutgers fired coach Chris Ash after a 1-3 start. The Scarlet Knights were 8-32 under Ash in three-plus seasons following their 52-0 loss to Michigan on Saturday.

 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman