ST. LOUIS (AP) – The Cardinals’ wild 5-4 win in Game 3 of the World Series received a 7.4 rating on Fox, up 21 percent from the record low set last year for San Francisco’s 2-0 victory over Detroit.  Saturday night’s game ended on an obstruction call against Boston third baseman Will Middlebrooks. Nielsen Media Research said Sunday the game received a 14 share and was watched by 12.5 million viewers. Game 3 last year received a 6.1/11, matching the record low for any Series game – Philadelphia’s rain-delayed 5-4 win over Tampa Bay in the third game in 2008.

The three-game average of 8.1/14 is up 13 percent over the first three games last year. The rating is the percentage of U.S. television households tuned to a program. The share is the percentage watching a broadcast among those homes with TVs on at the time.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Alex Smith threw for 225 yards and two touchdowns, and the Kansas City Chiefs held off the scrappy Cleveland Browns late in the fourth quarter to preserve a 23-17 victory Sunday and remain the NFL’s lone undefeated team. The Chiefs (8-0), off to their best start since 2003, built a 20-7 lead late in the first half before the Browns (3-4) made it a game.

Jason Campbell, starting in place of the ineffective Brandon Weeden, threw for 293 yards and two touchdowns for the Browns.The second scoring pass, a 17-yarder to Fozzy Whittaker out of the backfield, got Cleveland within a field goal early in the third quarter. The Chiefs kept stopping the Browns down the stretch, though. They forced a turnover on downs with just over 2 minutes left, and Ryan Succop kicked his third field goal in the closing seconds to help seal the victory.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Game 3 of the World Series ended on a bizarre play that allowed to St. Louis Cardinals to take a two-games-to-one lead over the Boston Red Sox. Third baseman Will Middlebrooks was called for obstruction in the bottom of the ninth, allowing Allen Craig to score the winning run in the Cardinals’ 5-4 victory against the Red Sox. Yadier Molina started the winning rally with a single and moved to third on Craig’s double off Koji Uehara before craziness ensued.

Jon Jay hit a grounder right at second baseman Dustin Pedroia with the Red Sox playing the infield in. Pedroia threw a strike to the plate to get Molina, and catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia fired to third in an attempt to nail Craig and end the inning. Saltalamacchia’s throw sailed over the head of Middlebrooks and down the left-field line, prompting Craig to make a dash for home. But Middlebrooks got tangled up with Craig, who tripped before he was tagged out by Saltalamacchia. Third base umpire Jim Joyce made the obstruction call and allowed the run to count.

The Cardinals blew a pair of two-run leads before winning. Matt Holliday hit an RBI single in a two-run first and doubled home a pair to make it 4-2 in the seventh. The Red Sox tied it in the eighth as Daniel Nava hit an RBI grounder and Xander Bogaerts singled home the tying run. Trevor Rosenthal blew the save in the eighth but picked up the victory. Uehara was tagged with the loss.

Game 4 is this (Sunday) evening in St. Louis, where Lance Lynn will start for St. Louis against Clay Buchholz. Pre-game coverage begins at 6-p.m. on KJAN.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Cardinals outfielder Carlos Beltran has received the Roberto Clemente Award, given to the player whose contributions on and off the field best represent the game. Beltran has contributed more than $4 million to his Carlos Beltran Academy in Puerto Rico and has hosted fundraising efforts throughout the year.