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From Jack Harris: When the Dodgers dug into their lineup’s postseason problems at the end of last season, they noticed a strange October-wide trend.
Teams that swung freely seemed to advance more often in the playoffs, while more disciplined clubs like the Dodgers tended to flame out.
It was an observation that stuck with some Dodgers hitters, third baseman Max Muncy among them, over another long winter last year.
“The teams that are making it to the World Series, they’re going up there and they’re getting their swings off,” Muncy told Foul Territory last October, “whereas we’re being too disciplined.”
Entering this postseason, it led to a question: Should the notoriously selective Dodgers’ lineup stick to their picky approach? Or should they turn the bats loose and get more aggressive than they are in the regular season?
The answer, as Muncy explained during the National League Division Series, was definitive.
“Go out there and play our game,” he declared.
Two weeks later, it has helped move the Dodgers to the doorstep of the World Series.
As they’ve done all October, the Dodgers grinded at-bats, took walks and hit their way to a 10-2 win over the New York Mets on Thursday night, taking a 3-1 lead in the NL Championship Series with a chance to secure the pennant in Friday’s Game 5.
Plaschke: Done deal! Dodgers are a lock to finish off Mets and advance to World Series
Dodgers bullpen shows their ‘pitch each other up’ culture at critical Game 4 moment
With Jack Flaherty starting NLCS Game 5, Dodgers aren’t overthinking things
How much for two tickets for a World Series in L.A.? Thousands, not hundreds
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MLB POSTSEASON SCHEDULE
All times Pacific
NLCS
No. 1 Dodgers vs. No. 6 NY Mets
at Dodgers 9, New York 0. (box score)
New York 7, at Dodgers 3. (box score)
Dodgers 8, at New York 0. (box score)
Dodgers 10, at New York 2. (box score)
Friday: Dodgers at New York, 2 p.m., FS1
*Sunday: New York at Dodgers, 5 p.m., FS1
*Monday: New York at Dodgers, 5 p.m., FS1/Fox
ALCS
No. 1 NY Yankees vs. No. 2 Cleveland
at New York 5, Cleveland 2 (box score)
at New York 6, Cleveland 3 (box score)
at Cleveland 7, New York 5 (10) (box score)
Friday at Cleveland, 5 p.m., TBS/truTV/MAX
Saturday at Cleveland, 5 p.m., TBS/truTV/MAX
*Monday at New York, 2 p.m., TBS/truTV/MAX
*Tuesday at New York, 4:30 p.m., TBS/truTV/MAX
*-if necessary
RAMS
From Gary Klein: Cooper Kupp was limited in practice again Thursday. If the Rams star receiver’s left ankle is fully recovered by this weekend, he could play Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders at SoFi Stadium.
Coach Sean McVay is expected to update Kupp’s status Friday.
Offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur said Thursday that it was good to have Kupp back on the practice field.
“His energy, his presence, I know the guys feel it,” LaFleur said.
Kupp, the 2021 NFL offensive player of the year, went into this season having appeared to put behind the hamstring and ankle injuries that plagued him the previous two seasons. He caught 14 passes for 110 yards and a touchdown in the opener against the Detroit Lions before he was injured in a Week 2 rout by the Arizona Cardinals.
NFL coaching stress can damage health. Ask Brian Billick, Gary Kubiak, Bruce Arians …
From Ryan Kartje: Miller Moss had delivered on more difficult throws than this one. Through six weeks, he’d made his share of poised plays in collapsing pockets and fired plenty of passes into seemingly impossible windows. But last Saturday, with USC just one completion away from completing a final, fourth-quarter drive, the Trojans quarterback dropped back into a clean pocket, spotted 6-foot-6 wideout Duce Robinson breaking inward … and sent the pass soaring over his head.
It was picked off, marking the second time in as many weeks Moss ended USC’s final, fourth-quarter drive with an interception. Penn State won in overtime, leaving the Trojans to ruminate on a third loss in four weeks.
“This one was especially excruciating,” Moss said, shell-shocked, from the postgame podium.
The sting of that final throw still lingered days later with a frustrated faction of the fan base who already were calling to replace Moss after consecutive losses. But as USC prepares to take on Maryland, one of the Big Ten’s worst pass defenses, the chance of Lincoln Riley replacing his quarterback apparently is nil. The coach said as much Tuesday, when asked about his confidence in his Moss.
From Ben Bolch: A season of monotony has played out with a numbing sameness on the interior of UCLA’s defensive line.
On almost every play, two or three offensive linemen converge on Jay Toia, massive bodies colliding in an attempt to neutralize the Bruins defensive tackle.
Taken in isolation, it might seem like a win for coaches committing nearly 1,000 pounds to counteract an otherwise unstoppable force. Halfway through the season, Toia has tallied just 12 tackles, half a tackle for loss and two quarterback hurries.
Those might seem like meager numbers for a player widely expected to be selected in the NFL draft this spring until you consider the ripple effect.
All that open space created by Toia’s block hogging has benefited teammates. Lots of them. Carson Schwesinger leads the Big Ten with 47 solo tackles. Kain Medrano has notched five tackles for loss, spending enough time in the backfield to collect loyalty points. Oluwafemi Oladejo has become a fearsome edge rusher in part because he has fewer bodies to beat on his way to the quarterback.
CLIPPERS
From Broderick Turner: Clippers coach Tyronn Lue doesn’t see any chance Kawhi Leonard will miss the upcoming season because of inflammation in his right knee, but the team has “no timetable” for when the All-Star forward will play in a game.
The Clippers open the season Wednesday night against the Phoenix Suns in their new arena, the Intuit Dome, and then have back-to-back games at Denver and Golden State the following weekend. Leonard will not play in any of those games as he strengthens his knee.
Because of his history of knee injuries, Lue was asked what the chances are that Leonard will miss the entire season.
“I don’t see those chances, but I’m not a doctor, either,” Lue said before the Clippers played their last preseason game against the Sacramento Kings at home on Thursday night. “But I don’t see those chances.”
KINGS
David Rittich made 26 saves a night after being benched in the second period in Toronto, helping the road-weary Kings snap a three-game losing streak with a 4-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night.
The Kings improved to 2-1-2 on a season-opening, seven-game trip necessitated by renovations to Crypto.com arena.
Rittich rebounded after giving up four goals on 14 shots in a 6-2 loss to the Maple Leafs. Alex Laferriere, Mikey Anderson, Andreas Englund and Adrian Kempe scored.
WNBA FINALS
All times Pacific
No. 1 New York vs. No. 2 Minnesota
Minnesota 95, at New York 93 (OT)
at New York 80, Minnesota 66
New York 80, at Minnesota 77
Friday at Minnesota, 5 p.m., ESPN
*Sunday at New York, 5 p.m., ESPN
*-if necessary
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1924 — Harold “Red” Grange accounts for six touchdowns in Illinois’ 39-14 win over Michigan. Grange returns the opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown. He follows with touchdown runs of 66, 55 and 40 yards in the first 12 minutes of the game. Grange later passes for another touchdown and returns another kick for a touchdown.
1953 — Woodley Lewis of the Rams has 120 yards in punt returns, including a 78-yard touchdown return, and 174 yards in kickoff returns in a 31-19 victory over the Detroit Lions.
1968 — Bob Beamon of the United States shatters the world record in the long jump at the Summer Olympics in Mexico City. Beamon’s leap of 29 feet and 2 1-2 inches betters the mark by one foot, 9 3-4 inches. The previous record, 27-4 3-4, was held by Soviet jumper Igor Ter-Ovanesyan and Ralph Boston.
1969 — Mike Adamle rushes for 316 yards as Northwestern beats Wisconsin 27-7.
1974 — Chicago center Nate Thurmond, in his first game with the Bulls, records the NBA’s first quadruple-double. Thurmond has 22 points, 14 rebounds, 13 assists and 12 blocks in the Bulls’ 120-115 overtime win over the Atlanta Hawks at Chicago Stadium.
1977 — Reggie Jackson hits three consecutive home runs, all on the first pitch, to lead the New York Yankees to the World Series championship over the Dodgers in six games.
1978 — Dave Gall becomes the first jockey to win eight races during a single program. He rides in 10 consecutive races for the day at Cahokia Downs in Alorton, Ill., finishing second and fifth in his two losing efforts.
1992 — Miami and Washington are tied for No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 football poll. It’s the first tie at the top in 51 years and the third since the poll started in 1936.
1997 — Willamette’s Liz Heaston, a junior, becomes the first woman to play in a college football game when she kicks two extra points in a 27-0 win over Linfield College in the NAIA.
2002 — New Zealand’s Michael Campbell wins the longest match (43 holes) in World Match Play history in the morning, then defeats Ian Woosnam later in the day to reach the semifinals. Campbell’s 10-foot birdie putt at the seventh sudden-death hole beats Nick Faldo, the longest match in the event’s 39-year history by three holes.
2005 — Boston’s Brian Leetch becomes the seventh defenseman — and 69th player — in NHL history to reach 1,000 career points with a goal and an assist in the Bruins’ 4-3 loss to Montreal.
2009 — Tom Brady, Patriots, throws six touchdown passes — five in one quarter, an NFL mark, in a 59-0 win in the snow against Tennessee.
2015 — The Green Bay Packers stop San Diego on fourth-and-goal from the 3 with 15 seconds left and overcome a career day by Philip Rivers to hold off the Chargers 27-20. Rivers sets career highs with 43 completions, 65 attempts and 503 yards passing with two touchdowns.
2016 — Chicago Blackhawks forward Marian Hossa became the 44th NHL player to reach 500 career goals. The 37-year-old Hossa slid a power-play backhander through the legs of Philadelphia goaltender Michal Neuvirth at 5:04 of the second period, giving the Blackhawks a 4-0 lead. Chicago won 7-4.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com, and follow me on Twitter at @latimeshouston. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.