Carlos Vela continued his stellar season with two goals to lead LAFC to a 4-0 victory over the visiting San Jose Earthquakes on Wednesday night.

Vela raised his league-leading season goal total to 26, tied for fifth most in league history. The star striker needs just five over the final eight matches of the regular season to match the MLS single-season mark of 31 set last season by Atlanta United star Josef Martinez.

Forward Diego Rossi added his 14th goal of the season and also had an assist for LAFC (19-3-4, 61 points), who won their fifth straight match.

Forward Josh Perez scored his first MLS goal and goalkeeper Tyler Miller made six saves for his ninth shutout of the season for LAFC, who have outscored their opponents 71-25.

- Rooney sees red in D.C.'s loss to Red Bulls

The Earthquakes (11-10-5, 38 points) lost their third straight match and are winless over their past four contests. San Jose lost 5-0 to LAFC earlier this season.

Earthquakes coach Matias Almeyda was ejected in the 39th minute for vehemently arguing the non-call of an apparent hand ball against LAFC. The officiating crew didn't review the play.

LAFC got on the board in the sixth minute. Perez's hard left-footed shot was saved by San Jose goalkeeper Daniel Vega but the rebound caromed to Rossi, who slammed a right-footed blast past Vega.

The second goal was set by a hand ball on Earthquakes midfielder Anibal Godoy. Vela took the penalty kick and drilled a high left-footed shot that deflected off Vega's left hand en route to hitting the back of the net.

Shortly after Almeyda's ejection, Vela made it 3-0 in impressive individual fashion.

Vela dribbled past defender Florian Jungwirth, and then slowed to slip past Vega. Defender Nick Lima moved into the goal area and Vela closed in and chipped the ball past him in the 41st minute.

Perez made it a four-goal margin in the 81st minute as his close-range right-footed shot deflected off Vega on its way into the net.

San Jose forward Danny Hoesen had two solid opportunities. His right-footed shot hit the right post in the 32nd minute, and Miller got a hand on a Hoesen free kick in the 75th minute to deflect the ball off the crossbar.

Vega made six saves for the Earthquakes. San Jose had a 22-18 edge in shots but LAFC put more on target (11-7).

NOTE: These rankings will be updated throughout the offseason.

As the fantasy football regular season draws closer, here are my updated rankings, by position and a top 200.

CHICAGO -- They're calling it a signature victory. And why not? The Chicago Cubs blew two leads but came back to win 12-11 over the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday in a wild affair at Wrigley Field.

"We haven't won a game like that all year," first baseman Anthony Rizzo said. "They scored nine runs in the fifth through the seventh [innings]. Teams don't really win when that happens. It's just a good, hard-fought, never-quit win."

It was the Cubs' fourth victory in a row, which raised their home record to 43-19. The teams combined to hit seven home runs, including four by the Giants, but Kris Bryant's eighth-inning, two-run blast was the difference-maker. The Cubs trailed 11-10 before the home run.

"I mean, [Rizzo] said it best to me: That's a season-defining win right there," Bryant said. "It kind of felt like we weren't supposed to win that game, but it's always nice when you can steal a win from a good team in the Giants."

Cubs manager Joe Maddon agreed.

He has often talked about his team reaching its next level when the offense becomes a little more consistent. The only way the win might have been bigger would've been if it had come on the road, where the Cubs are 25-39.

But that would have deprived the home fans of a heavyweight fight in the batter's box. The teams exchanged blows until Bryant delivered the knockout.

"We haven't done that this year," Maddon said. "We haven't scored a lot of runs to win a game when we've given up a lot of runs. That has to happen on occasion."

Bryant added: "It's just that we can do this again. We're scoring runs, they're punching us right back. It's such a back-and-forth game, our bullpen grinding it out. But I love this team, I love the attitude that we have. We've been saying it all along, but we never quit, we never give up, and this is a perfect example of that."

For the second time in two weeks, the Houston Astros lost as historic favorites with Justin Verlander on the mound, helping sportsbooks to a profitable night Wednesday.

Despite closing as +435 underdogs at Caesars Sportsbook and managing only two hits off Verlander in their 2-1 victory, the visiting Tigers pulled off the largest upset in the majors over the past 15 years, according to sports betting database BetLabsSports.com.

Just 10 days ago, the Astros were -460 road favorites over the Baltimore Orioles (+390). Houston lost that game 8-7, in what prior to Wednesday was the largest upset since the Washington Nationals beat the Minnesota Twins as +395 underdogs in 2007.

On Wednesday night, Houston closed as a -560 favorite at Caesars and as high as -600 at MGM and FanDuel.

"We took a couple of straight bets on the Astros and a slew of parlays over $500 that had either the Astros money line or run line on them," Caesars director of trading Jeff Davis told ESPN.

Scott Shelton, the sportsbook shift manager at Mirage/MGM, said it won more than six figures on the game, taking a $55,000 bet on Houston at -550 (to win $10,000) and a $63,520 bet on Houston at -575 to win $11,000.

Westgate Superbook also said it did well, taking a bunch of -1.5 run-line bets on the Astros at over -200.

Verlander retired the first 14 batters he faced, with six strikeouts, before Ronny Rodriguez homered with two out in the fifth. The veteran right-hander set down another 10 straight before John Hicks connected to lead off the ninth, sending the MLB-worst Tigers to just their 38th victory of the season.

"That's the biggest win for us in a long, long time, especially against a premium team like that, a World Series contender and Verlander on the mound,'' Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire said.

Betting big underdogs has been a profitable strategy in Major League Baseball.

Over the past 15 seasons, 19 teams have been at least +345 underdogs. Those teams are now 10-9 in those games. The Astros have now been the biggest road favorite (Aug. 11) and the biggest favorite anywhere (Wednesday night) over the past 15 years, losing both.

For Thursday's series finale against Detroit, Houston, with Gerrit Cole taking the mound, opened as a -500 favorite at Caesars, which would be the second-highest line over the past 15 years.

Information from ESPN's David Purdum and Ben Fawkes was used in this report.

NEW YORK -- As in so many games in this season of bountiful home runs, it appeared that a home run would decide Wednesday's clash between playoff contenders at Citi Field.

Carlos Santana, the veteran first baseman who has been Cleveland's best hitter all season, slugged his 30th home run in the top of the 10th inning, drilling a Luis Avilan changeup into the left-field seats to give the Indians a 3-2 lead over the Mets.

A few minutes later, Santana was involved in the key play of the game -- one small play that gets to the heart of the ongoing, often stormy debate about the barrage of home runs and strikeouts and the declining amount of action aside from all those home runs and strikeouts.

The Mets won 4-3 on J.D. Davis' 107.7 mph rocket base hit into the left-field corner with two outs off All-Star closer Brad Hand, but the Indians had a chance to win the game two batters earlier. The situation: After Amed Rosario led off the inning with a double into the right-center gap and Joe Panik put down a perfect sacrifice bunt -- yes, small ball still exists on rare occasions in 2019 -- Indians manager Terry Francona intentionally walked Pete Alonso to set up a double play with the lefty-lefty matchup against Michael Conforto.

You can even get into the debate of putting the potential winning run on base. Hand is a strikeout pitcher, and Alonso fans 25.6% of the time. Alonso has a .248 average and 1.001 OPS against lefties, while Conforto has hit .239 with a .691 OPS and 27% strikeout rate against lefties. Hand's strikeout rate is actually slightly higher against right-handed batters (36.5% to 32.2%). You rarely see the winning run put on base, so that was a gamble on Francona's part, though if the Indians hadn't, they would have had to bring the infield in, which increases Alonso's batting average on ground balls. Still, I probably would have pitched to Alonso and taken my chances.

The big point in all this: Small ball forced the Indians to make some uncomfortable decisions.

The big play: Conforto hit a weak grounder to Santana, but the ball pulled Santana off the bag. Rosario broke for home on contact, and Santana had an easy out at home, but instead he turned and fired to second base, hoping for a game-ending double play. The problem? He was too far off first base to get back, and Hand had taken a quick step away from first base, and he couldn't get there either. Second baseman Jason Kipnis was too far away as well. Game tied.

From there, Wilson Ramos reached on a trickler down the third-base line, and Davis won it, handing Hand his third blown save in his past four appearances. The Mets go for the series sweep on Thursday.

What should Santana have done? Even the Indians had different opinions on the play.

Francona: "The game is happening fast, but with a lefty on the mound, he's not going to be able to get over there [to cover first], so unless [Santana] can get back, there's nobody else there to take the throw. [Kipnis] can't get there."

Santana: "I mean, it's a tough play. I tried to make it with the double play, but it happened, and we lose the game."

Hand: "Obviously, with a one-run game, we can't let that run score right there. I thought maybe [Santana] could have gone home. I didn't know if the runner broke right away. A tough play all-around. I kind of stopped, expecting him to throw it home. Once he wasn't throwing it home, I didn't really have a chance to get over there in time. Just a tough play."

Catcher Roberto Perez: "Brad had some time [to get over]. I'm not double-guessing the play. Santana is really good at first base, just took his chance to get a double play. Those things happen."

Kipnis: "It's not out of the realm of possibility to think [Santana] can turn that double play. It's been turned before. My guess is that Brad probably thought [Santana] was going home. I haven't looked at it. My job is to kind of hover and clean up the mess [if something happens]. I'm over a little bit, but I've never covered first for a double play in nine years. Granted, it doesn't mean it can't happen."

This is why the debate about all the home runs and strikeouts is an earnest one, not one simply rooted in old-timers -- such as Goose Gossage and Pete Rose -- saying things back in the good ol' days were better. It's a legitimate issue. Part of the beauty of baseball is the bang-bang decisions that fielders have to make at times. Like Francona said, the game happens fast. After talking to the participants, I don't even know if Santana made the right play or the wrong one. He just made the one that didn't work.

And the Mets won by doing things that still win games. A double in the gap. A bunt. Conforto put the ball in play, and even though he didn't hit it hard, he put pressure on the defense, and sometimes that's enough. Ramos got the lucky hit, and Davis had a terrific at-bat, fouling off three pitches with a 3-2 count (after falling behind 0-2) and connecting with a slider. That kind of inning is just as exciting -- and a lot more interesting -- than just another home run.

Old-school baseball? Let's just call it compelling baseball.

Chelsea right-back Davide Zappacosta has joined Italian side AS Roma on loan initially until the end of January after signing a new one-year contract, the Premier League club said on Wednesday.

The 27-year-old Italy international's new deal takes his contract at Chelsea through to June 2022.

Zappacosta joined Chelsea from Serie A side Torino in 2017 and has made 52 appearances for the club in all competitions, although he was limited to four league matches last season.

He played 10 matches in Chelsea's triumphant Europa League campaign last season.

"I'm pleased to join Roma, after an experience overseas that helped me progress as both a player and a person," Zappacosta said in a statement on Roma's website.

"Being able to play for a great club like this is a huge motivation -- I cannot wait to start training alongside my new teammates."

Roma said that they had the option of extending Zappacosta's loan until June 2020.

"I'm pleased to be able to have Davide on my team once again," Roma sporting director Gianluca Petrachi, who worked with Zappacosta at Torino, said.

"Compared with the player that I knew at Torino, now Roma are getting a player who has matured both as a player and a person after a valuable spell in another league.

"I am certain that Davide will be able to make an important contribution during the course of the season."

Wayne Rooney was sent off in D.C. United's 2-1 loss to the New York Red Bulls on Wednesday night, continuing what has been a tumultuous week for the England legend.

Just days after he was involved in a furious altercation with the fourth official in DCU's 1-0 defeat to the Vancouver Whitecaps, Derby-bound Rooney was given a red card the 24th minute following a video review that determined he had hit NYRB's Michael Murillo with his forearm.

Both teams would end up finishing the game with 10 men, with Red Bulls defender Amro Tarek also dismissed before half-time by referee Ismail Elfath, who also came under fire from the D.C. crowd for his decision to award the Red Bulls' penalty.

- Carlisle: Why Wayne Rooney swapped D.C. for Derby

Ola Kamara scored his first goal for D.C. in his first start since signing with the team before the close of the secondary transfer window earlier this month. But his new teammate Lucas Rodriguez erred on both Red Bulls goals in a game that saw the teams swap places in the MLS standings. The Red Bulls (12-10-5, 41 points) now sit fourth in the Eastern Conference, a place ahead of D.C (10-9-9, 39 points).

After trailing most of the match, Kamara put D.C. level in the 55th minute with a memorable first goal for his new team. After taking a pass from Joseph Mora near the edge of the penalty area, Kamara took a touch to his right, then curled a long-range effort that arced around Luis Robles dive and into the top corner.

The lead lasted only four minutes. Kaku played a ball from the right flank into Murillo's run into the penalty area, and Murillo went down as though clipped by the trailing Rodriguez, and Elfath pointed to the spot.

D.C.'s players protested and the Audi Field crowd roared with chants of "V-A-R" seeking a video review, but none was coming, and Daniel Royer converted the spot kick to put the visitors back in front.

Kaku gave the Red Bulls the early lead in the sixth minute when he took advantage of Rodriguez's failure to immediately clear away Marc Rzatkowski's cross and drove his finish between Bill Hamid and the near post from about 10 yards out.

The Pac-12 has decided not to move forward with any 9 a.m. PT kickoffs this season, but is open to revisiting the idea in the future, a conference spokesman confirmed Wednesday.

Andrew Walker, the Pac-12's vice president for public affairs, said schools needed more time to plan for any potential earlier kickoff slot.

"Our interested schools need more lead time for discussions with all relevant stakeholders," Walker said. "There is interest from Fox and there is interest from some of our schools, but need more time to plan properly."

At Pac-12 media day last month, commissioner Larry Scott said the conference had held preliminary discussions about the potential for playing a couple of league games in that time slot as early as this season. Scott cited fan frustration with late-night kickoffs and the exposure for the Pac-12 in new markets as reasons to consider the change.

Several coaches, including UCLA's Chip Kelly, Utah's Kyle Whittingham and Cal's Justin Wilcox, all expressed an interest in playing an early game when the idea was raised last month.

Multiple schools expressed interest in continuing to explore the concept for 2020, according to Walker.

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- Before practice each day, New York Jets running back Le'Veon Bell tells his defensive teammates, "Give me a little something."

Bell, who is being held out of the preseason games as a precaution, wants to get his body acclimated to contact before making his Jets debut in Week 1 against the Buffalo Bills. So, in a very un-running-back-like move, he's asking to be tackled.

"Go for the ball, things like that, just so I can get prepared," Bell said Wednesday.

The Jets' prized free-agent addition will sit out Saturday night against the New Orleans Saints, just as he did the first two preseason games. The starters aren't expected to play the preseason finale. Bell, 27, said he's on board with coach Adam Gase's decision to keep him out of live action, confident he can get his regular-season prep on the practice field.

Because of his contract dispute last season with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Bell hasn't played a game in 19 months.

"I know once I get to the game it's going to be a little different, but that's something I'll adjust to," he said. "I've been playing football my whole life."

Bell doesn't want his teammates to deliver punishing hits, but he said he believes some upper-body contact will do him some good. If they shy away, he said he'll try to get under their skin by initiating contact.

"I try to do that intentionally, just so I can feel it," he said. "A lot of times you'll start seeing guys get a little frustrated and they'll try to hit me back -- and that's what I need. They won't take me to the ground and they won't go for my legs. Hitting me up top, things like that, I need all that."

Gase has increased Bell's practice reps, giving him approximately 15 "touches" per day -- a lot for a running back. Gase said he felt it wasn't worth the risk to expose Bell in the preseason, so he opted to keep his No. 1 offensive weapon on the sideline.

"I don't think getting me four plays in the preseason is going to help me in Week 1," Bell said.

To stay involved, Bell dressed for the first two games and participated in the pregame warm-ups. Quarterback Sam Darnold couldn't resist the opportunity to razz his new teammate.

"He's out there in the pregame with the pads on, dancing around," Darnold said. "He's like, 'Let's go, guys, get fired up.' I'm like, 'Bro, you're not even playing. Once you start playing, you can start doing that stuff.'"

Gase, who reportedly wasn't thrilled with the decision to give a $27 million guarantee to a running back, said he's eager to see Bell in a game setting.

"I can't wait to see what he does on a Sunday," he said. "With him practicing, that's fun enough. You can tell the guy is a special, special player."