EUGENE, Ore. -- Oregon star defensive end Jordan Burch's status against Ohio State on Saturday night is in flux after he suffered a lower-body injury in practice Thursday, sources told ESPN.

Burch suffered a noncontact lower-body injury while going through a practice drill. He was helped from the field and appeared to be in considerable pain, sources said.

He is considered the most talented player on Oregon's defense, a 6-foot-6, 295-pound end who has been playing the best football of his career.

Burch entered the game as one of the country's most productive defensive linemen, as he has five sacks, seven tackles for loss and four deflected passes. He is Oregon's leader in sacks and tackles for loss and has also recovered a fumble.

He was ranked as ESPN's No. 4 overall recruit in the Class of 2020 and attended South Carolina out of high school. He started 13 games for Oregon last year, his first in Eugene after transferring, and began showing flashes of talent that fully manifested this season.

Burch's spree of strong play this season put him in the conversation to be a top-50 prospect in the NFL draft. Burch is a linchpin on an Oregon unit that is No. 10 nationally in total defense and No. 21 in scoring defense.

CLEVELAND -- The Detroit Tigers are hoping slugger Kerry Carpenter can come off the bench in Saturday's decisive Game 5 of the American League Division Series against the Guardians despite dealing with a hamstring injury.

Carpenter was injured while running the bases in Game 4 on Thursday night.

The quick turnaround -- and MLB's decision to move the starting time up seven hours, citing a chance of inclement weather -- didn't give him much recovery time.

But manager A.J. Hinch said Carpenter took batting practice Friday and was feeling better. Hinch said Carpenter will go through a full pregame workout before the team makes a decision on whether he can play.

"He's sore and he's dealing with some discomfort and not feeling 100%, but he's also feeling some adrenaline for Game 5 in the ALDS," Hinch said. "So that's a good counter to not feeling at your best, and hopefully that adrenaline and that excitement will override the issues that he's dealing with.

"He was happy with how he hit. I was happy with how he hit. Our hitting guys felt like he was taking full swings. And this morning when he woke up, he was on the early bus and was in great spirits. So when I saw the big smile, I got more and more optimistic that we were going to get good news."

Carpenter came in as a pinch hitter in the eighth inning of Game 2 and in his second at-bat hit a three-run homer in the ninth inning off Cleveland All-Star closer Emmanuel Clase as the Tigers won 3-0 to even the series.

The Tigers need Carpenter's power. He had 18 homers this season despite playing in just 87 games because of a lower back stress fracture that sidelined him from May 26 to Aug. 13.

With the Guardians starting left-hander Matthew Boyd for Game 5, Carpenter, who bats from the left, probably wouldn't have started anyway. He began on the bench when Boyd started Game 2.

Because of the weather forecast in Cleveland, Game 5 of the American League Division Series is now a Saturday matinee between the Cleveland Guardians and the Detroit Tigers.

One of those teams will see their season come to an end Saturday. The other will head to the Bronx to face the New York Yankees in the championship series.

Will it be ace Tarik Skubal and the upstart "Gritty Tigs" moving on? Or will the AL Central champion Guardians hold off the underdogs?

We have you covered with pregame predictions, live updates and analysis, followed by our takeaways after the final pitch.

Detroit Tigers at Cleveland Guardians, 1:08 p.m.

Series tied 2-2

Pitching matchup: Tarik Skubal (18-4, 2.39 ERA) vs. Matthew Boyd (2-2, 2,72 ERA)

Lineups

Tigers

TBA

Guardians

TBA

What is the key to Game 5 for the Tigers?

Jesse Rogers: Just don't make mistakes and let Tarik Skubal do his thing. The Tigers are likely to get some traffic on the bases against Matthew Boyd -- perhaps playing some small ball will come in handy -- but not beating themselves will be as important as anything in a hostile environment at Progressive Field. That means not running into outs or making Skubal get four or five outs in an inning. Once Skubal comes out of the game -- if he comes out -- then it's on manager A.J. Hinch to exploit the right matchups. He has done it most of the series.

David Schoenfield: That's essentially my take as well. I feel as if the Tigers need to get a couple of early runs against Boyd before getting into the principal part of the Cleveland bullpen -- Cade Smith, Tim Herrin, Hunter Gaddis and Emmanuel Clase. Especially since you know Guardians manager Stephen Vogt's plan has to include Clase perhaps pitching two innings. (Yes, the Tigers have gotten to him in two of his appearances, but I wouldn't bet on that happening a third time.)

The only trouble here for Detroit: Where are those runs going to come from? Kerry Carpenter wouldn't have been in the starting lineup anyway against a left-hander, and now his status is unclear after injuring his hamstring in Game 4. Riley Greene? Colt Keith? Parker Meadows? All three are lefty hitters who don't do much against left-handed pitchers. That means guys such as Andy Ibanez and Justyn-Henry Malloy, not to be confused with Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder, will have to step up.

What is the key to Game 5 for the Guardians?

Rogers: They have two options: Squeeze a run or two off Skubal and hope their great bullpen can keep Detroit off the board after Boyd gives them a few innings, or do what they did in Game 2 -- outlast Skubal and then score. That's the formula. Easier said than done. Here's the bottom line: The way Skubal is pitching, Cleveland will have no chance if Boyd or someone else has a bad outing. So keeping it close is really the Guardians' only option. Jose Ramirez building off of his last game would help greatly.

Schoenfield: If possible, force Skubal to run up his pitch count and get him out as soon as possible. Unfortunately for the Guardians, one of the things that has made Skubal the best starter in the majors this season is his pitch efficiency. Even in his two playoff starts, he has thrown only 88 and 92 pitches, yet still gone six and seven innings. In the regular season, he went past 100 pitches only four times. If the Guardians can get him to that point through five innings rather than seven, they'll have a chance. Yes, the Detroit bullpen has mostly been lights out for two months, but we finally saw it bend in Game 4 when it surrendered four runs, and it feels as if Cleveland can do some damage there again. And, yes, Jose Ramirez doing Jose Ramirez stuff would help greatly indeed.

Which team will move on to face the Yankees in the ALCS?

Rogers: I'm not betting against the zone Skubal is in right now. If he had shown any cracks last outing or back when the postseason began, maybe I'd pick Clevleand. The Guardians have already bucked one franchise trend by staving off elimination -- they had lost their previous 11 attempts heading into Game 4 -- but they're not going to do it again. But it will be a close game. It would be shocking if it wasn't.

Schoenfield: I'm going with the Guardians, with a 2-1 victory. Maybe they scratch out a run against Skubal. Maybe they score a couple of runs late against the Detroit bullpen. Either way, I think the Cleveland bullpen -- the best in the majors all season -- comes up big with the season on the line, and the Guardians pull out a low-scoring win. How about a Ramirez walk-off to win it?

Live updates

Tune in at game time for live updates and analysis of Game 5.

IN THE SIXTH inning of Game 2 of the American League Division Series, Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal threw the biggest pitch of his career. It was a 97 mph fastball down in the zone, a pitch that induced Cleveland Guardians hitter David Fry to bounce into an inning-ending double play and preserve a scoreless tie.

Shortly after came the signature moment of his postseason dominance: As he walked off the mound, the game broadcast showed Skubal yelling a few choice words at the Progressive Field crowd booing him.

"I probably shouldn't say some bad words with some cameras on me with kids watching," Skubal said after the start. "But it was just emotion, raw emotion."

The show of emotion made the rounds on social media, with Skubal's own mother, Laura, scolding her son in a response to one of the most popular posts -- an irony noted by Skubal on Friday.

Tarik Daniel!!

Laura Skubal (@lskubal) October 7, 2024

"It's interesting my mom went to Twitter to say that," he said. "You should hear my mom. I've seen her get ejected from plenty of high school basketball games.

"I guess it might run in the family there."

That kind of competitive fire is why there is no pitcher on the planet to whom the Tigers would rather hand their season to in Saturday's winner-take-all Game 5 in Cleveland. The best pitcher in the AL this year is now tasked with extending Detroit's improbable postseason run.

"No moment is too big," Tigers first baseman Spencer Torkelson said. "There is so much conviction behind every pitch. So much fun to play behind. He's special and he's only just getting started."

THE TIGERS MIGHT not have had the luxury of turning to the American League Cy Young favorite in an elimination game if not for one unexpected draft-day phone call in 2018.

After Detroit took righty Casey Mize with the No.1 overall pick, Tigers executive David Chadd got a call from an agent friend during the middle of the second round.

"Your best player isn't even on your board," the voice said.

The call was from Scott Boras, who had an early idea of what Skubal could become; former client Bill Caudill had recommended to check him out.

"My god -- this guy has arm strength like you wouldn't believe," Boras told colleagues after seeing Skubal for the first time.

Skubal was not a well-known name in the scouting world; he had undergone Tommy John surgery the previous year and was playing college baseball at Seattle University. His junior year numbers were more OK than outstanding, especially given the mid-major competition he was facing: He had a 4.16 ERA, giving up 66 hits in 80 innings to go along with 106 strikeouts.

"He was coming off an injury so I don't think the industry had a lot of looks at Tarik," said Chadd, who works for the Philadelphia Phillies now. "We had minimal looks at Tarik."

Chadd and then-Tigers scouting director Scott Pleis had doubts but were convinced enough to make Skubal a ninth-round draft pick. They paid him a $350,000 signing bonus -- more than double slot value -- to keep him from returning to college for his senior year.

Those doubts were erased as soon as Detroit's brass got a look at him. They quickly realized they had something special.

"I think we knew immediately what we had when he first stepped on the mound," Chadd said. "We were taken aback by the ability at that point."

Skubal pitched well enough during his professional debut that summer to be promoted from rookie ball, first to Low-A Connecticut and then to Single-A West Michigan. From then on, he was seen in the organization in the same tier as first-round picks Mize and Matt Manning. Two years later, he joined the two more heralded pitchers on Kiley McDaniel's 2020 list of the baseball's top 100 prospects.

Even so, Skubal made his August 2020 MLB debut with little fanfare. He went 1-4 with a 5.63 ERA over eight games in the pandemic-shortened season but showed improvement the next year, making 29 starts with a 4.34 ERA in 2021. He took another big step in 2022, posting a 3.51 ERA. But another elbow injury shut him down 21 starts into his 2022 campaign. He underwent flexor tendon surgery in August, opting against a second Tommy John, which allowed him to return in July 2023. He has been one of the best pitchers in the sport ever since.

"He deserves all the credit for taking the mindset into rehab of 'I'm going to come back better than before I got hurt,'" Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris said. "He made some mechanical changes and developed his changeup while rehabbing. ... He's an intense competitor. And his stuff plays in the zone which keeps him pitch efficient."

Thanks to Detroit's unexpected October run, a national audience is now seeing what those who have watched -- and faced -- Skubal have seen for more than a year now.

Skubal is just the fifth pitcher to begin a postseason career with multiple scoreless starts of at least six innings. In his first postseason outing, he stymied the Houston Astros in Game 1 of their wild-card series, showing off stuff that had baseball buzzing. He did the same in Game 2 of this series, shutting out the Guardians over seven innings.

Watching at home, Oakland Athletics slugger Brent Rooker, who has 15 plate appearances against Skubal, second most of any pitcher in his career, took to social media to express his admiration.

Tarik does a thing where he'll pitch to you at like 94-95 and then get to 2 strikes or a big spot in the game and suddenly ramp it up to 99-100. Very fun as a hitter.

Brent Rooker (@Brent_Rooker12) October 7, 2024

"What makes it elite is how he maintains his arm speed on his changeup," Rooker told ESPN in a phone conversation after Game 2. "There is nothing in the delivery that tells you it's coming. Nothing. And it has good fade to his arm side which plays well off his fastball. Combine that with his pitchability, he's at the top of his game."

That ability to command his pitches has only gotten better since he returned last season. Previously, Skubal relied on his high-velocity four-seam fastball, but this year, he has incorporated his changeup and slider more often. And though he's throwing his heater less frequently, those off-speed pitches are coming in faster. In fact, in ALDS Game 2, his changeup averaged 87.8 mph, topping off at 90.4. League average on changeups is 85 mph.

"It's just on you," Rooker said. "He's fiery, competitive. It's always a fun battle."

The skill set and the competitive spirit saw Skubal lead the majors in wins, ERA and strikeouts -- and become the runaway favorite to collect his first Cy Young award next month.

"That's one reason I asked him to sign a ball late in the season," Rooker said. "I like doing that stuff with great players."

No one has a better seat for Skubal's dominant displays than his Tigers teammates, who have appreciated watching a rise to greatness from a fellow homegrown player. They're as amazed as anyone.

"I want to ask him, 'How does it feel to walk out on the mound knowing you're the best pitcher in the world?'" reliever Beau Brieske said recently. "I'd like to know what that feels like, to be quite honest."

And on Saturday, with a chance to lead Detroit to an American League Championship Series showdown with the New York Yankees, Skubal will walk to the Progressive Field mound hoping to amaze them again.

"He's got it all," catcher Austin Hedges said. "He's a unit on the mound. He's got crazy deception. He throws 100. He has two different fastballs. He has wipeout off-speed. He's the ultimate competitor.

"He's every team's dream to have as an ace. That guy is as good as it gets in our league."

Ulster fly-half Aidan Morgan says he is "super-excited" for the province's first Irish interprovincial game of the season against Connacht at Kingspan Stadium on Saturday night, a contest which will be broadcast live on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer.

The 23-year-old New Zealand native joined the Irish province from the Hurricanes on a two-year contract at the start of the campaign.

Ulster began their United Rugby Championship term with a narrow win over Glasgow in Belfast, followed by reverses on the road at the hands of the Lions and the Bulls.

"I know how important these interpro games are for the club and the senior boys are really leading the week in terms of what a win will mean for the team and for the fans," said Morgan.

"We ground out a really hard victory last time here [against Glasgow at Kingspan Stadium] so were looking to do the same.

"Although the results in South Africa weren't what we were looking for, it was nice to spend some time with the lads and get to know them a bit better.

"Were working really hard as a team to fix up the few areas where we probably let ourselves down in South Africa. We know its a really big challenge this weekend but the boys are ready to step up."

"A few months ago, a tumour was found on my spine, which a biopsy confirmed as Langerhans cell histiocytosis - a condition with only around 50 new cases in the UK each year.

"While it's not the outcome we were hoping for, the prognosis is better than we initially feared, and it's not as aggressive as we once thought.

"I'm currently undergoing mild treatment and will be reassessed soon to check for any improvements.

"At the moment, I'm feeling good and hopeful for some positive news in the near future.

Thank you all for the kind messages and well-wishes over the past few weeks."

Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) is a rare disorder that can damage tissue or cause lesions to form in one or more places in the body.

Histiocytes are types of white blood cells which help fight infection. In LCH, histiocytes grow excessively and can gather in bones, skin, lymph nodes, lungs, bone marrow or the pituitary gland.

This can cause a variety of problems such as pain in the bone, skin rash, swollen tummy, or breathing difficulties.

Further information and support on cancer can be found on BBC Action Line.

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Victor Hedman and his Tampa Bay Lightning teammates spent the better part of a week in North Carolina keeping watch on what was going on back home as Hurricane Milton roared ashore.

Now, with the storm past, along with their regular-season opener, they can finally get back home and figure out what's next.

The Lightning beat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-1 in Friday night's season opener for both teams to cap a long stay in the Raleigh area, their haven to get out of Florida ahead of Milton's arrival. Tampa Bay's premature departure meant spending days skating to get ready, spending time with their families in an extended stay in a new place and hoping for the best back home.

"I think most of the guys have gotten reports about their own properties," Hedman said, adding later: "It's good to have a few days to kind of get everything together."

This week's storm left at least 10 people dead as of Friday night amid flooding and tornadoes, while the number of customers in Florida without power was roughly 1.9 million, according to poweroutage.us. The Lightning's preseason game against Nashville on Monday was canceled, and the team instead headed to North Carolina to get out of the area before Milton made landfall.

Jon Cooper, who has coached the Lightning to two Stanley Cups, wasn't sure how his team might respond Friday night with disrupted routines and worry.

"Outwardly as a coach, you want to be optimistic, but sometimes you're a little nervous inside," Cooper said. "So you weren't exactly sure how things were going to go. But I do know the guys really wanted to play a hockey game."

Other than Jordan Staal's goal, Cooper liked the way Tampa Bay played in the first period. A strong third period that included three goals -- the go-ahead one-timer and two empty-netters -- from Nikita Kucherov pushed the Lightning to victory.

"I think everybody's so locked in right now," Kucherov said.

The game between perennial playoff teams offered a welcomed distraction and normalcy in an abnormal situation, at least.

Many of the players had family with them on the trip, and Cooper let the team have Wednesday off as they geared up for opening night. Cooper also grabbed the chance to venture over to Duke in nearby Durham to reconnect with Blue Devils men's lacrosse coach John Danowski, Cooper's coach at Hofstra during his own playing career (1986-89) that included scoring 74 goals and winning two conference championships.

Danowski offered a tour of Duke and its venerable Cameron Indoor Stadium basketball arena, and Cooper said he also got to meet retired Blue Devils Hall of Fame men's basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski -- the winningest coach in that sport's history with 1,202 wins in a career that included five NCAA titles and 13 Final Fours.

Next came a visit to nearby North Carolina since the Lightning were staying in Chapel Hill, home to the Tar Heels basketball program that has won six NCAA titles and is known for its notable basketball alums.

"We saw the many hundreds of pictures of Michael Jordan everywhere and found a pretty cool establishment there," Cooper told reporters earlier Friday. "It was good, we had a good time. For me, though, I didn't realize how close Duke and North Carolina were from each other, and I see why there's such a rivalry.

"It's the things you have to do when you've got a little extra time on your hands."

The Lightning and Hurricanes were originally slated to play again in Florida on Saturday, though that game was postponed due to Milton recovery efforts. That means Tampa Bay won't play again until hosting New Jersey on Tuesday.

"I don't know if anybody on the team has power," Cooper said after the win. "Everybody's probably be going back to Tampa and staying in a hotel. ... This will be the first time that anybody gets to see what damage has been done with their own eyes. Is there water in your house or not? So that's going to be trying. We're not out of the woods yet with some of the adversity we've got to face."

The team won't skate Saturday and will aim to return to work Sunday, hopefully with some certainty about what's ahead.

"We're super excited to get back home and hopefully get our lives going again," Hedman said, "and hopefully we're done with the storms this year."

Morgan Weaver and Christine Sinclair scored to give the Portland Thorns a 2-0 win over Orlando on Friday night and hand the Pride their first loss of the season.

The Pride (17-1-6) had not lost in 23 matches this season while their 24-game unbeaten streak dated to last season.

The victory snapped Portland's seven-game winless streak and kept the team in seventh place in the league standings. The top eight make the playoffs.

Portland (9-11-4) took a 1-0 lead in the 13th minute when Reyna Reyes popped a header off a corner kick that fell to Weaver, who tapped it into the goal.

Weaver was injured in the 60th minute, walking gingerly before she sat on the turf and gestured to the trainers, then going to the locker room.

Sinclair, who is retiring after 11 seasons with the team, scored in the 55th. It was her 80th career goal across all competitions, ranking her second on the NWSL's career list. The Providence Park crowd gave her a standing ovation and chanted her name when she was subbed out late.

Sinclair went down hard after a header attempt late in the first half and and appeared to injure her shoulder, but she was checked on the sidelines before returning to the match.

With the NWSL Shield for best regular-season record already secured, Pride coach Seb Hines opted not to start Barbra Banda, Adriana and Marta. Banda leads the Pride with 13 goals this season, while Marta has eight. Banda and Adriana entered in the 65th minute while Marta came in about 10 minutes later.

The Thorns, one of the league's five founding clubs playing their 250th match, were without top scorer Sophia Smith, who has an ankle injury, and Hina Sugita, who has a facial injury.

Orlando has just won once at Portland's Providence Park, in 2018.