ST. LOUIS -- Catcher Yadier Molina made a throat-slashing gesture as he celebrated on the field after hitting the winning sacrifice fly in the 10th inning of the St. Louis Cardinals' 5-4 victory over the Atlanta Braves in Game 4 of the National League Division Series on Monday.

Molina's clutch swing sent the best-of-five series back to Atlanta tied 2-2, with the finale set for Wednesday.

It was not clear whether Molina made the gesture in response to what Braves star Ronald Acuna Jr. did the day before. Acuna made a similar motion across the top of his chest after hauling in Molina's fly ball for the final out of Atlanta's 3-1 victory on Sunday.

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. – Championship-winning Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series crew chief Rodney Childers has agreed to a multi-year extension with Stewart-Haas Racing.

The new deal will keep Childers with the No. 4 Ford Mustang team and driver Kevin Harvick. The duo won the Cup Series title in 2014, their first year paired together at SHR.

Adam Stern of the Sports Business Journal first reported the news.

Childers noted Monday afternoon that he tries to keep his contract news out of the limelight, but is pleased that the deal is done and he’ll continue working with Harvick.

Well, not sure how this got out. It’s been a while back and I have tried to keep that stuff private. But obviously I’m very happy to continue with the 4 team and @KevinHarvick .. I’m very fortunate to work with so many great people and have such a great group of guys. https://t.co/5Pcu8Jrsg9

— Rodney Childers (@RodneyChilders4) October 7, 2019

As a crew chief, Childers has called 494 NASCAR Cup Series races in his career, which began in 2005 with Scott Riggs at Michigan Int’l Speedway.

In addition to Harvick and Riggs, Childers has also worked with Patrick Carpentier, Elliott Sadler, David Reutimann, Brian Vickers, Mark Martin and Michael Waltrips.

Childers has 28 career Cup Series wins on his resume, 25 of those coming with Harvick.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The next generation of NASCAR stock cars will hit the race track for the first time this week at Richmond Raceway.

The car, built by Richard Childress Racing, will be driven by Austin Dillon on Tuesday and Wednesday. It will be a closed test, with the public and media members not allowed to attend.

The test was confirmed Monday by NASCAR President Steve Phelps, who appeared on NBCSN’s NASCAR America program. The car Dillon will drive will have a generic body because Ford, Chevrolet and Toyota are are still working on their respective body styles for the 2021 cars.

“We are very excited about where things are with this Next Gen car,” said Phelps. “We are on time for a 2021 rollout. It’s going to be exciting to get it on track. We were in the wind tunnel last week, and so having a test at Richmond tomorrow and Wednesday — it’s kind of the culmination of a lot of work that’s been done by our race teams, our OEM partner (and) by the folks at NASCAR, to put this on the racetrack.

“This particular car was built by Richard Childress and his folks, and it won’t have the design of the Chevy, Ford, and Toyota, but it will kind of be an opportunity to shake down the car. We’re really excited to get it on the race track.”

This week the Houston Open will move into its new fall date on the PGA Tour calendar, but it will do so without defending champ Ian Poulter.

Last spring Poulter notched an emotional victory at the Golf Club of Houston, rolling in a birdie on the final hole to force a playoff before defeating Beau Hossler on the first extra hole. It was his first official PGA Tour win since 2010, and it earned Poulter the final spot in the 2018 Masters.

But rather than defend his title this week, Poulter will instead tee it up on the European Tour at the Italian Open. The decision likely has roots in the change to the PGA Tour schedule: played annually in the spring, often the week before the Masters, the Houston Open this week will debut as a fall event as part of a new five-year agreement after struggling in recent years to find footing with a title sponsor.

But Poulter's allegiance to Europe also plays a role in his decision. The Italian Open is a lucrative Rolex Series event, bringing with it an increased purse ($7 million versus the $7.5 million up for grabs in Houston) and offering qualification points toward making the 2020 Ryder Cup team. This event was also the site of Poulter's first career Euro Tour win back in 2000, and he also won it in 2002 - the last time that Olgiata Golf Club, this year's venue, hosted the event.

Joining Poulter in Italy this week will be Open champion Shane Lowry as well as Ryder Cup veterans Justin Rose, Francesco Molinari and Paul Casey. Hossler will return to Houston in an effort to finish one spot better in a field that will feature Henrik Stenson as well as recent Tour winners Cameron Champ and Sebastian Munoz.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- The New England Patriots released veteran tight end Benjamin Watson as his roster exemption expired at 4 p.m. ET on Monday, making him a free agent.

Watson, who had returned from a four-game NFL suspension last week, reacted to the decision on Twitter.

The God of victory is also God in failure. I gave my all, but it was not enough to earn a spot on the @Patriots roster. I'm beyond disappointed but even more upset for my family who has supported me with all the love a husband and father could ask for.They are my heroes. Rom 8:28

— Benjamin Watson (@BenjaminSWatson) October 7, 2019

Watson, who said he is in the process of determining his football plans for 2019, also expressed thanks to Patriots owner Robert Kraft for his two stints with the franchise.

The move means the Patriots will go with four-year veteran Matt LaCosse and second-year player Ryan Izzo at tight end. Head coach Bill Belichick noted after Sunday's 33-7 win over the Washington Redskins that it was nice to have both tight ends active, and contributing, as LaCosse had missed time early in the season with an ankle injury.

With the Patriots' offense hitting some rough patches from the second quarter of their Week 3 win over the New York Jets until halftime of their Week 5 victory over Washington, the possibility of Watson helping boost the attack seemed promising for New England.

But there were signals from the team that Watson's spot wasn't certain, starting with him not being at practice last Wednesday. He also didn't make the trip to Washington this weekend.

"Just don't have a roster spot," Belichick told WEEI. "We only have so many roster spots. If we put somebody on, we have to take somebody off. Right now, there wasn't a roster spot. We didn't feel like there was somebody we could create a roster spot with. Everybody came out of the game healthy. We have a decent team. So I think that's where we're at."

Players had nothing but praise for Watson following his release.

"It wasn't so much football, he's just such a good person, such a strong leader," LaCosse said of the 38-year-old Watson. "I learned from him how to handle yourself off the field, to be around your teammates. He's such a great guy to learn from, so much character."

"Ben is just a great person to be around," veteran cornerback Jason McCourty added. "Football aside, a guy who is strong in his faith, mature, a father of seven, so a lot to learn from him from that standpoint."

The Patriots, who are tight to the salary cap, created about $2 million in space by not activating Watson.

Mike Tyson offered advice to Conor McGregor on Monday about how the former UFC champion can change the behavior that has led to legal issues outside of the Octagon.

"Conor has to look inside himself and [say]: 'What happened? Why am I the way I am? And how do I stop this from continuing to be?'" Tyson said on Ariel Helwani's MMA Show.

McGregor was charged last week with assault for allegedly punching a man in a Dublin bar in April. He also was arrested in March in Miami for allegedly smashing a man's cellphone outside a club. Later that month, the New York Times reported that McGregor was under investigation in Ireland for alleged sexual assault.

Tyson was convicted of rape in 1992 and served three years in prison before returning to boxing.

Speaking in general terms, Tyson, who met McGregor and described him as an "awesome guy," said the problem some athletes face is the inability to cope with sudden fame and fortune.

"We don't know how to handle this stuff," he said. "We got millions of dollars. We never had this. Our families never had this. We've never been around this life.

"All of a sudden you start fighting, doing something you love to do, and you do it easily and all of a sudden they give you a lot of money for doing it. But you have no restraint, no control, you don't know what to do. You give it away. You buy people gifts that don't deserve gifts. You just don't know what to do with it. You feel you don't deserve it."

Tyson said the people surrounding the athletes may be in the same situation and may be equally unaware on how to cope.

"They don't know how to figure it out," he said. "They never had it, either. It's almost like you don't feel deserving of it. I don't deserve this, I'm nobody. How come I deserve this? I would do this for nothing."

Tyson said it's tough to watch the younger version of himself.

"I don't like watching him, but I understand he's me," said Tyson, who joined the MMA show to promote his partnership with the Professional Fighters League, which begins its playoffs this Friday in Las Vegas. "I never close the door on him or forgive him but I never want him in my life again, or around anybody I love.

"Because that's not who I am now. I don't know him anymore. He's almost like a stranger to me. I look at him, and I'm proud of him. And I think he's spectacular. But there's a real dark side there that I don't like getting involved with anymore."

Tyson said that version of himself hasn't surfaced recently, and he called the transition a work in progress.

"It was always a work in progress," he said. "I am that guy. That guy can always show up somewhere if I'm not cautious and control the way I think and my social environments. I haven't felt that experience [of that guy emerging] yet."

DETROIT -- Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores said keeping Andre Drummond in the fold is a top priority and that the team needs to take another step forward after making the playoffs a season ago.

Gores was on hand Monday at the opening of the Pistons' new training center and corporate headquarters in midtown Detroit. The new facility completes the team's move to the city from suburban Auburn Hills. The Pistons are entering their third season playing their games at Little Caesars Arena in downtown.

The $90 million Henry Ford Detroit Pistons Performance Center includes a sports medicine, treatment and rehab facility managed by the Henry Ford Health System, as well as retail and public spaces.

Gores was asked afterward about a possible contract extension for Drummond, the team's standout center. The 26-year-old is under contract through the season and has a $28.751 million player option for 2020-21.

"We know how dedicated we are to each other," Gores said. "I've said it many times: He's very underrated in a lot of ways for what he does, and culturally he's been so good for this team, just in terms of his attitude, and just watching him really grow up. I met him when he was 18."

Detroit has made the playoffs twice in the past four seasons, but the Pistons were swept in the first round both times. Last season it was at the hands of the Milwaukee Bucks. It was Dwane Casey's first season as Detroit's coach, and the Pistons were limited when Blake Griffin -- after a terrific season -- wasn't fully healthy in the playoffs.

Keeping Griffin healthy is a big key this season, and the Pistons are also hopeful they've improved their depth after adding Derrick Rose. Gores was asked if there might come a point when the team needs to consider a different path forward after relying on the core of Griffin, Drummond and point guard Reggie Jackson.

"I think right now we feel really good about where we're at," Gores said. "Obviously, we have to succeed and win, and judge by if we're not winning. But right now we feel really good about it."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Max Scherzer has now allowed a first-inning homer in three of his last four starts. Since returning from injury in late August, he's surrendered 11 jacks in 45 innings. Facing a Dodgers team that led the NL in jacks, he's got his work cut for him.

Britain's Heather Watson went through to the second round of the Tianjin Open in China with a 6-4 7-6 win over Kateryna Bondarenko of Ukraine.

The British number two will play either second seed Wang Qiang or qualifier Arina Rodionova next.

Swede Rebecca Peterson earned a shock 6-3 4-6 6-3 victory over seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams, 39.

The 24-year-old said: "It was such a privilege to play such a champion. I was just trying to enjoy it."

On Tuesday, Britain's Harriet Dart plays Japan's Kurumi Nara.