Third ODI, Stormont

Ireland 206 all out (46.3 overs): Carmichael 32 (52); Ghazanfar 3-29, Rashid 3-44

Afghanistan 207-7 (44.5 overs): Rahmanullah 71 (77); Hoey 4-34

Afghanistan win by three wickets

Scorecard

Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s 71 helped Afghanistan to victory over Ireland at Stormont to take a 2-0 lead in the five-game one-day international series.

After the first match fell victim to the weather, the visitors powered to victory in the second game of the series on Friday and while Ireland produced much better this time, Afghanistan extended their ODI winning streak between the nations to eight.

Gavin Hoey took four wickets for the hosts whose tally of 206 with the bat fell one run short of Friday’s total, but was not enough for Gary Wilson’s side as three wickets apiece from Rashid Khan and AM Ghazanfar helped set a manageable target for Afghanistan.

The visitors won the toss and put Ireland into bat.

Once again, Rashid proved a thorn in Ireland’s side with ball in hand, taking the wickets of captain Cade Carmichael, Harry Tector and Mark Adair with just 44 runs coughed up.

Ghazanfar would surpass Rashid with his three wickets coming at the cost of just 29 runs, but it was Fazalhaq Farooqi who made the first breakthrough with Andrew Balbirnie removed for just seven runs which immediately put the hosts on the back foot.

When Stirling [23] and Carmichael [32] fell to Yamin Ahmadzai and Rashid respectively, it was already looking ominous for the hosts with Ghazanfar then stepping up to take Lorcan Tucker and Curtis Campher in quick succession.

Tector and Adair were next to go thanks for Rashid, but Ireland managed to show some resistance with Ben Calitz chipping in with 20 before Gavin Hoey [36] and Jai Moondra [31] proved a fruitful partnership, finding the boundary seven times between them, but would ultimately fall before the end of the innings.

Afghanistan wasted little time in making inroads with Rahmanullah building his tally, although they would lose Ibrahim Zadran for 12 with Byron McDonagh taking the wicket.

Sediq Atal was next to go with 27 off 25, balls, while Adair struck early against visitors’ captain Rahmat Shah.

While Hashmatullah Shahidi chipped in with 22 before becoming Hoey’s second victim, Rahmanullah continued to lead the way for the visitors with five sixes and two fours before Hoey removed him and then Darwish for 13.

Ireland had a glimmer of hope when Adair removed Azmatullah Omarzai, but Rashid’s 37 helped the visitors home before the sides meet again at Stormont on Wednesday.

Forget candy and costumes; the hot Halloween plans this year could be staying home to watch Game 7 of the World Series.

Major League Baseball released its postseason schedule Monday. The World Series will start Oct. 23 on Fox, and a potential Game 7 — the league’s last game before an expected lockout this offseason — is scheduled for Oct. 31. What better way to mark the occasion than to pull on a Pete Crow-Armstrong, Shohei Ohtani or Junior Caminero jersey, post up on the couch, and leave a sign out front asking the neighbor kids to wait for a commercial break before they come knocking on the door?

The playoff slate opens with all four Wild Card Series starting Sept. 29 (Tuesday), a round televised on NBC, Peacock and NBC Sports Network. That marks NBC’s return to MLB’s postseason fray, as it has not aired a playoff game since the 2000 ALCS.

The ALDS and NLDS begin Oct. 3 (Saturday). The NLCS will start Oct. 11 (Sunday), with the ALCS following Oct. 12 (Monday). The NLDS and NLCS will be aired on Fox and FS1. The ALDS and ALCS will be simulcast across TNT’s sports platforms: TBS, truTV and HBO Max.

Here is the schedule for the 2026 World Series, which will either end with a Los Angeles Dodgers three-peat or a new champ for the first time since the 2023 Texas Rangers:

Game 1: Friday, Oct. 23
Game 2: Saturday, Oct. 24
Game 3: Monday, Oct. 26
Game 4: Tuesday, Oct. 27
Game 5*: Wednesday., Oct. 28
Game 6*: Friday., Oct. 30
Game 7*: Saturday, Oct. 31
*if necessary

All postseason games will be aired on ESPN Radio.

This is far from the first time World Series games have landed on Halloween.

Just last year, the Dodgers held off the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 6 on Halloween night, helped by a dead-ball call. Down 3-1 with no outs and a runner at first, the Blue Jays’ Addison Barger blasted a ball that landed at the base of the center-field wall and got lodged beneath the padding. The runners were stopped at second and third base. From there, Dodgers starter Tyler Glasnow entered in relief and secured a strikeout and a game-ending double play (on a sinking line drive to left field) to force Game 7.