DENVER (AP) — Charlie Blackmon had three RBIs and three runs in one of the final games of his professional career, Michael Toglia had three hits and two RBIs, and the Colorado Rockies avoided a sweep with a come-from-behind 10-8 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday.

A two-run, game-tying double from Ezequiel Tovar was the catalyst of a five-run eighth inning for the Rockies, who had lost five of their previous six games. The double was Tovar’s NL-leading 45th of the season. Ryan McMahon’s double to right field in the next at-bat brought home Tovar for the eventual winning run.

“I think you just never know what’s going to happen at Coors Field," Blackmon said. "I told the guys that was a Coors Field grinder. We’ve seen that game before, over and over. You’ve got to make sure you never quit. You never know what could happen.”

Tovar, McMahon, Jake Cave and Aaron Schunk each finished with two hits. McMahon entered the game hitting just .192 in 54 games since he was Colorado’s lone representative at the All-Star Game.

The Rockies will need to win two out of three games against the Los Angeles Dodgers this weekend to avoid the second 100-loss season in the franchise's 31-year history.

“It’s on the forefront of everybody’s mind," McMahon said. "We’ve all talked about it. That’s the goal. It’s not a great spot to be in, but it’s the spot we’re in, so might as well make the most of it.”

Blackmon’s two-run home run in the second inning was the 227th of his 14-year career, tying Carlos Gonzalez for the fifth in franchise history. The 38-year-old Blackmon announced Monday he would be retiring at the end of the season. His three RBIs were his most in a game since May 27. His father threw out the game's ceremonial first pitch, a strike.

“I think I’d like to be able to enjoy this, these last three games," Blackmon said. "I don’t have any goals except for the fact I want to remember as much as I can and enjoy it.”

Angel Chivilli (2-3) picked up the win for the Rockies while Ryan Fernandez (1-6) took the loss for St. Louis after giving up four of Colorado’s five eighth inning runs. Seth Halvorsen pitched a scoreless ninth inning for his second save of the season.

The loss snapped a four-game win streak for the Cardinals, who need one more victory to secure their 23rd winning season in the last 25 years.

“Fernandez has to get you to Hels (MLB saves leader Ryan Helsley) and unfortunately, it didn’t work out for him today," Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. "He’s been really good all year. It happens. We took our shot. It didn’t go our way.”

Lars Nootbaar had two hits and two RBIs, including his 11th home run of the season, for St. Louis. Paul Goldschmidt hit his 22nd home run of the season, a 457-foot solo shot to center field in the first inning that snapped a 19-game drought without a homer.

Pedro Pagés and Ivan Herrera also homered for the Cardinals.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: Placed LHP JoJo Romero (left forearm flex inflammation) on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to Sept. 22, and recalled RHP Chris Roycroft from Triple-A Memphis.

Rockies: RHP Ryan Feltner will start Colorado’s season finale against the Los Angeles Dodgers after leaving his start Tuesday in the seventh inning with a cramp in his right arm.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: RHP Miles Mikolas (9-11, 5.35 ERA) will take the mound against host San Francisco and RHP Landen Roupp (1-1, 2.70).

Rockies: RHP Cal Quantrill (8-10, 4.72 ERA) will face off against the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers and a yet-to-be-determined starter.

Unable to defend their NBA title, Nuggets duo Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic ready to lead new quest

DENVER (AP) — A couple of things gleaned from Thursday's media day for the Denver Nuggets: Nikola Jokic can grow a first-rate beard/goatee, Jamal Murray has aspirations to be an MMA fighter and Aaron Gordon held one impressive yard sale this summer as he cleaned out his closet.

Oh, and that not defending their crown sat well with absolutely no one. They're eager to scale that NBA mountaintop again only with a different look. Gone are Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Reggie Jackson. Brought in are Russell Westbrook and Dario Saric.

Of course, there are the mainstays in Jokic, now a three-time NBA MVP, and Murray, who's fresh off signing a 4-year, $208M max contract extension. The Nuggets are coming off a season in which they tied the franchise's NBA record for wins (57) only to be eliminated in the second-round of the playoffs to Minnesota. Denver squandered a 20-point second-half lead in Game 7 at home.

“After a season where everybody says we failed, it’s my job to make sure that we don’t believe all that (expletive),” said Nuggets coach Michael Malone, who guided the team to their first NBA championship in 2022-23. “We’re a good team. The last six years, no one in the West has come close to doing what we’ve done. Remind yourself of that, but also challenge yourself to not be satisfied. Push yourself and push your teammate to become even better."

The time is now

Nuggets general manager Calvin Booth estimated that Jokic has a 10-year prime contention window and they're about halfway through it.

“You hit one of them it's great,” Booth said. “It's going to be incredibly hard to win another one.”

On the docket for Booth, negotiating a contract extension with Gordon, which he can do starting Friday. Gordon is coming off a season in which he averaged 13.9 points and 6.5 rebounds in his do-a-little-bit-of-everything role.

“I really love this organization,” Gordon said. “I hope we get it done.”

Gordon switched his jersey to No. 32 this season to honor his brother, Drew, who died four months ago in car crash in Oregon. Aaron Gordon said his teammates helped him through it.

“These guys have been there for me every step of the way,” Gordon said. “These guys have really developed into people that I would call my brothers.”

Yard sale

Gordon has long been a fan favorite. That was evident when he opened up his wardrobe to fans this summer. His pop-up event was well received.

“Just a yard sale,” he cracked. “It just happened to get a little out of hand. It's a great community. They've accepted me and I'm just grateful for it."

On Thursday, Murray wasn't exactly in an expansive mood during his time at the podium, but he did reveal his affection for mixed martial arts. He worked out with former UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski.

“I might have a career there after this,” said Murray, who struggled for Team Canada over the summer at the Paris Games. “But I’m doing this right now.”

Dynamic duo

Murray forms quite an on-court partnership with Jokic, who showed up with a beard/goatee he's already contemplating nixing. Jokic enters training camp on the high of helping Serbia to an Olympic bronze medal in Paris. He has already picked up his first assist of the year, too, by playing a role in bringing Westbrook to town.

“Great, great player for us," said Jokic, who earned his third NBA MVP award in four seasons after a regular season averaging 26.4 points, 12.4 rebounds and nine assists. "He's going to bring us all the good stuff.”

Westbrook joined the Nuggets in an effort to capture the one thing missing from his distinguished resume — a title.

“As long as we as a team put our best foot forward, we can live with the results," Westbrook said. "If it's a championship, I'm grateful for that. If it's not, I'm also grateful for the opportunity.”

Media day fun

Westbrook was in a jovial mood Thursday, playfully mimicking Murray’s signature “Blue Arrow” pose as Murray took pictures. It brought a grin to Murray.

That's just Westbrook's personality.

“People confuse intensity with competitiveness,” Westbrook said. “When I’m on the floor, I don’t want to be walking around, shaking hands, kissing babies. I'm there to kick some (butt). Of the floor, I'm chill."

Notes: Altitude announced a deal to offer Nuggets and Avalanche games through a streaming app along with a handful of games on local broadcasts. Altitude TV has been in a long-running dispute with Comcast, the state’s largest cable provider, which has not carried Altitude since their previous deal expired in 2019. ... The contenders to join Murray, Jokic, Michael Porter Jr. and Gordon in the starting lineup appear to be Christian Braun and Julian Strawther. ... Porter, who's had back issues in the past, took advantage of a healthy offseason by getting in even more work on the court.

Rodgers has helped fuel Jets' success on third down and now they face a tough test against Broncos

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Joe Tippmann offered a simple explanation for why the New York Jets have been the NFL's best team in third down situations this season.

“Aaron Rodgers,” the center said with a laugh.

It certainly appears the veteran quarterback's presence has made all the difference as the Jets converted 21 of 37 opportunities (56.8%) in the first three games. That's a far cry from last year, when New York was the worst in the league with a 26% third down conversion rate.

“He’s a guy that’s out there communicating, getting us to kind of the right call, right play,” Tippmann said of Rodgers. "He’s breaking down the defense before they’re even showing what they have. So for him to be able to do that and get us on the same page, and then he just gets time to work and make something happen.

“And that’s what he’s phenomenal at doing.”

Rodgers and the Jets (2-1) will try to keep that third down success going Sunday at MetLife Stadium when they take on star cornerback Patrick Surtain II and the third-ranked defense of the Denver Broncos (1-2). They've held opponents to a 30.6% conversion rate on third down, eighth best in the NFL.

“The front’s really good,” Rodgers said. “The backers are athletic and sideline-to-sideline players. Pat is one of the best players in the league at any position and the back end is playing well. I mean, they’ve played three games, they’ve played solid on defense, so it’s going to be a good test for us.”

The same could be said for rookie quarterback Bo Nix and the Broncos' offense, which will face the Jets' seventh-ranked defense.

Nix, the 12th overall pick in this year’s draft, still hasn't thrown a touchdown pass. But he joined Tim Tebow (2010) and Marlon Briscoe (twice in 1968) as the only Broncos to throw for 200 yards and run for 40 in a game, doing so in Denver's 26-7 victory over Tampa Bay last week for the team's first win.

“We handled it well, just moving forward, going to the next practice, going to the next game,” Nix said. "We’ve got a new opponent, and that’s what we’re worried about.”

Hitting the road

After beating Tampa Bay, the Broncos stayed on the East Coast and spent the week preparing for the Jets at The Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia.

Coach Sean Payton said the Broncos requested the NFL schedule two of their games this season in the Eastern Time Zone in consecutive weeks so they could stay in that part of the country rather than have the players and coaches bouncing back and forth between time zones.

“We’re growing a bond here,” Surtain said. “You could tell the level of chemistry is building and building each and every day while we’re in this place.”

Within reach

Rodgers is close to another major milestone in a career filled with them.

The Jets quarterback needs 321 yards passing to become the ninth player in NFL history with 60,000. Rodgers joked earlier in the week that it would be a nice achievement, but it also means he has been around a while.

But if the 40-year-old Rodgers accomplishes the feat, it would also end a dubious drought. He hasn't passed for 300 or more yards in 25 regular-season games — 26, including the playoffs.

Lost leader

The Broncos defense took a hit when it lost defensive captain Alex Singleton for the season with a torn ACL.

The inside linebacker who directed Denver’s defense was injured in the first quarter at Tampa Bay last week, but stayed in and played all 57 defensive snaps. Singleton led the team in tackles in 2022 and ’23 and was their leading tackler this season with 31 stops through three weeks.

“We’re going to miss him,” Surtain said.

No added fuel

Payton made some headlines before last season when he said former Broncos coach Nathaniel Hackett did “one of the worst coaching jobs in the history of the NFL” during a 4-11 stint in Denver in 2022.

At that time, Rodgers came to the defense of Hackett, now New York's offensive coordinator, saying the comments were “inappropriate.” More than a year later, Rodgers isn't holding a grudge when he plays against Payton and the Broncos for the first time.

“Nah, that’s old news, you know?” Rodgers said. “We’ve all said things that we’d like to take back. Some things have been said and taken out of context, I’m sure, from time to time. But I honestly haven’t thought about it until you just brought it up.”

Same for Hackett, who coached against Denver in New York's win without the injured Rodgers last season.

“Yeah, I mean, last Thursday was a long time ago for us as coaches,” Hackett said. “And we’re just getting ready to win a football game.”

Running free

Tyler Badie, the Broncos’ third running back, figures to get more carries with Javonte Williams and Jaleel McLaughlin struggling to break out for big runs.

Badie — who recently said he wants his surname pronounced Buh-DAY instead of BAY-dee — ran for 70 yards on just nine carries last week and is averaging 8.6 yards per carry.

"He’s been real decisive, he’s had some big runs for us,” Payton said. “He’s smart, he knows the system, he’s good in the passing game. He brings a lot."

7 Mountain West schools agree to stay, steadying the conference amid realignment

Seven Mountain West schools have agreed to remain in the league amid overtures by the Pac-12 to lure away at least one more of its teams, the conference announced Thursday.

The move comes after the Pac-12, which was reduced to just two teams after last summer's realignment, announced two weeks ago that four Mountain West teams would join the league in 2026, including Boise State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Colorado State. Utah State agreed to join earlier this week.

The seven remaining Mountain West schools signed a memorandum of understanding to stay in the league. They include Air Force, Nevada, New Mexico, San Jose State, UNLV, Wyoming and Hawaii.

Because Hawaii is a partial member, the Mountain West needs to add two more schools to be recognized as a conference under NCAA rules, but the league will have until 2028 to do so.

“Our immediate priority was solidifying the membership of the Mountain West. Now our focus turns to our collective future on behalf of our student-athletes,” Mountain West Commissioner Gloria Nevarez said in a statement. “The agreements announced today mark a historic moment for the Mountain West and provide much-needed stability and clarity as the world of intercollegiate athletics continues to evolve rapidly."

The remaining Mountain West teams agreed to execute grants of media rights from the member institutions to the conference from 2026 to 2032.

“I feel very good about where we landed in these fluid times related to conference realignment,” Wyoming athletic director Tom Burman said in a statement. “The Mountain West Conference will move forward to be at the NCAA requirement of eight full members. We will work with Mountain West leadership to actively add new members, but at this time we cannot comment on the matter of specific institutions for expansion.”

The Mountain West stands to make an estimated $100 million in exit fees from the teams that are leaving. The Pac-12 is suing the Mountain West over another $55 million in “poaching penalties” that were part of a football scheduling agreement Oregon State and Washington State entered into with the conference for this season.

The Mountain West will distribute the exit fees to the remaining member schools: Air Force and UNLV will receive 24.5%, Nevada, New Mexico, San Jose State, and Wyoming, 11.5%, and Hawaii— a football-only member — 5%.

UNLV confirmed that it stands to be paid $10 million to $14 million, with $1.5 million to $1.8 million annually over a six-year period beginning in July 2026.

UNLV has been targeted by the Pac-12, which now must seek one more school to reach the eight-team threshold required by the NCAA by 2026. The American Athletic Conference had targeted Air Force.

“After a thorough evaluation of all options, at this time the best choice for UNLV is to remain a member of the Mountain West,” UNLV athletic director Erick Harper said. “We are a charter member of the conference, have had a great experience throughout its history and are excited to continue moving forward. The league is a genuine brand and an established product. Increased revenues are a vital factor. As we look ahead and continue our ascent as an athletics department, this also gives us necessary flexibility as we pursue our future goal of joining an autonomous (Power Four) conference.”