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Long Beach Poly, a 12-time Southern Section football champion, announced on Friday it will not participate in this season’s football playoffs despite finishing second in the Moore League. The school earlier this season had six transfer students declared ineligible for providing false information on paperwork to the Southern Section, a violation of CIF bylaw 202.

Here’s the statement from the Long Beach Unified School District:

“Long Beach Poly High School acknowledges the recent CIF ruling related to violations of CIF Bylaw 202 within its football program. In accordance with that ruling, and as part of an ongoing internal investigation, Poly will withdraw from postseason play.

“The school is fully cooperating with CIF and the District, as a thorough review of our processes and systems is conducted to ensure full compliance with CIF rules and District policy. While student and employee matters are confidential, our commitment remains to support our students while upholding the integrity of our athletic programs.”

San Juan Hills became the latest school to announce forfeits on Friday for using ineligible players. Two transfer students had been in the transfer portal listed as “under review.” The school will forfeit nine games and is now 1-9. Both players were held out of a game on Thursday.

Norco earlier this week forfeited six games, dropping to 1-9 after a win on Thursday.

This crackdown by the Southern Section against students providing false information started during the summer when schools began submitting transfer paperwork. The Southern Section is using new technological tools to verify information. Bishop Montgomery received the harshest punishment, with 24 players declared ineligible, forcing the school to cancel its football season.

Other schools found to have ineligible players this season include Long Beach Millikan, Compton, Bellflower, Victor Valley and Orange Lutheran.

Southern Section commissioner Mike West said last month, “We’ve had a real influx of fraudulent paperwork. It’s been significant and very disheartening.”

If you’re not on social media, good for you. If you are, you know that any good start by Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto is immediately followed by a flood of venom aimed at former major league outfielder Josh Reddick.

No sooner had Yamamoto thrown his World Series complete game last week than Reddick got 3 million views for one of his tweets from two years ago.

Many of those viewers were happy to tell him he was a moron.

In 2023, the Dodgers signed Yamamoto, the winner of Japan’s version of the Cy Young award for three years running, for $325 million.

Reddick’s tweet: “How do you give a guy $325 million without ever throwing a pitch in MLB”

On Friday, the Dodgers will turn to Yamamoto to keep their season alive and force a Game 7 against the Toronto Blue Jays. He could — and this sounds insane in modern baseball — throw his third consecutive complete game.

Two weeks ago, after Yamamoto had thrown a complete game in the National League Championship Series, Reddick appeared on the “Crush City Territory” podcast.

“If Paul Skenes did not exist, Yoshinobu Yamamoto would be winning the Cy Young, going away,” podcast host Chandler Rome said.

Then Rome asked Reddick to answer for his tweet.

“I don’t think I would say I regret it,” Reddick said. “I’d probably say that tomorrow if they gave it [that money] to somebody else. That’s just my opinion, and I’m allowed to have it because it’s social media …

“That was my opinion, and obviously it was wrong. This guy has been phenomenal, and very, very, very, very, very, very good to come over here and do what he’s done. I’ll admit I was wrong on that one.”

Reddick said he regularly hears about it from Dodgers fans.

“They enjoy it,” he said. “I just love how much I live in Dodgers fans’ heads every day, and how they just look forward to making it feel like they’re upsetting me by sending these tweets and just completely ruining my day.

“If you’re a Dodger fan: It doesn’t bother me. So you do you for your two seconds of fame, and go back to work.”

At the time of the podcast, Reddick’s tweet had 9 million views. Now it has 12 million.

“It’s like wrestling, man,” he said. “You’ve got to be the good guy or the bad guy. As long as you’re a guy who’s getting noticed, you’re doing something right.

“I’m just playing the heel for the Dodgers for the rest of my life.”

TORONTO — As soon as Blake Treinen entered for the ninth inning of Game 5 of the World Series on Wednesday night, Clayton Kershaw dropped his guard and began to look around.

For the previous three hours, the future Hall of Fame pitcher had been locked in on the game, mentally preparing for a potential relief appearance from out in the bullpen.

But when that didn’t come, the 37-year-old Kershaw then let himself relax, took in the scene of an October night at Chavez Ravine, and soaked up the final moments of what was his final game ever at Dodger Stadium.

“It’s a weird thought, of like, ‘This is your last game ever there,’” said Kershaw, who announced last month he will retire at the end of this season. “And not a sad thought. Honestly, just a grateful thought. Just like, ‘Man, we spent a lot of great times here.’”

Win or lose in Games 6 and 7 of this World Series, Kershaw’s overall career will end this weekend at Rogers Centre in Toronto. But on Wednesday night, he closed the book on the ballpark he has called home for all 18 seasons of his illustrious MLB career.

Dodger Stadium is where Kershaw first made his big-league debut back in May 2008, as a highly anticipated left-handed prospect with a big curveball and quiet demeanor. It was the stage for his rise to stardom over the nearly two decades that followed, as he went on to capture three Cy Young Awards, 2014 National League MVP honors and a career 2.53 ERA that ranks as the best among pitchers with 1,000 innings in the live ball era.

It is where he experienced some of the most defining moments of his career, including a no-hitter in 2014 and his 3,000th strikeout earlier this year. It’s also where he suffered repeated October disappointments, none bigger than the back-to-back home runs he gave up in Game 5 of the 2019 National League Division Series.

In other words, it was always home for Kershaw, the place he would return to day after day, year after year, season after season — no matter the highs or lows, aches and pains, successes or failures.

“I just started thinking about it when the game ended,” said Kershaw, who elected to traverse the field to get back to the clubhouse after Wednesday’s game instead of the connected bullpen tunnel. “I was like, ‘Man, I might as well walk across this thing one more time.’”

About an hour later, Kershaw would linger on the field a little longer, joined for an impromptu gathering by his wife, Ellen; their four children; and other family and friends in attendance for his last home game.

“Ellen just texted after and was like, ‘Hey, we got a big crew,’” Kershaw said. “So I was, ‘Well, just go to the field. I’ll try to shower fast so we can hang out.’”

Television cameras caught Kershaw laughing as his kids ran the bases, tried to throw baseballs at a hovering drone and enjoyed a diamond that had become their own personal childhood playground over the years.

At one point, Kershaw posed with the Dodger Stadium grounds crew for a picture — standing on a mound they had manicured for all of his 228 career starts in the stadium.

“Honestly, it was awesome,” Kershaw said. “It was the perfect way to do it. Just have everybody out there, running around … It was unplanned, unprompted, but a great memory.”

Kershaw, of course, is hoping to add one more Dodger Stadium memory next week. If the team can reverse its three-games-to-two deficit in the World Series this weekend in Toronto, it would return to Chavez Ravine for a championship celebration.

If not, though, he’ll have a couple parting moments to cherish, from Wednesday’s postgame scene down on the field, to his final career Dodger Stadium outing back in Game 4 in which he stranded the bases loaded in the 12th for one of the biggest outs in his entire career.

“I’m super grateful with how that went, as opposed to the last time before that,” he quipped, having given up five runs in his only other Dodger Stadium appearance this postseason. “You can’t plan any of that stuff. Who knows if it ever works out. But yeah, to get that one last out was pretty cool.”

So, too, was his one last night Wednesday.

The “expansion of European club competitions” has led to there being just one game on 26 December in the English top flight, says the Premier League.

Boxing Day fixtures have been a long-standing tradition in English football but this year the only Premier League game will be Manchester United’s home match with Newcastle United (20:00 GMT).

While confirming the schedule for this year’s festive fixtures, the league’s communications manager George Haberman said: “The Premier League would like to acknowledge the circumstances that have led to a reduced number of matches on Boxing Day this season – impacting an important tradition in English football.

“There are now several challenges to Premier League fixture scheduling rooted in the expansion of European club competitions – which led to a revision of our domestic calendar ahead of last season, including changes to the FA Cup.

“This ultimately left the Premier League as a 33-weekend competition – fewer than previous seasons, despite being a 380-match competition since 1995.”

More to follow.

With the second bye behind them and USC’s season at a crossroads, Lincoln Riley has spent the better part of two weeks focusing his team on what’s in front of them — a stretch of three winnable games — and not behind them — a demoralizing defeat at Notre Dame.

In doing so, the Trojans coach borrowed a well-worn rallying cry, one that traces back 2,000 years. Riley told his team, they had to “burn the boats.”

“We’ve put ourselves in great position, and we’ve got to be a really forward-focused team right now,” Riley said. “Things can get pretty fun from here if you really get on a run. This team is capable of that. They know it. We know it.”

Considering the stakes, it’s an apt enough metaphor. Any hope of USC staying alive in the College Football Playoff conversation hinges on leaving Lincoln, Neb., with a win. And that will, at the very least, require presenting a much better product than before the bye, when USC’s defense gave up over 300 yards on the ground to Notre Dame.

That loss has left a notably bitter taste with the Trojans — especially on defense. This week, sophomore linebacker Jadyn Walker said he felt the group “didn’t come out ready to play” and wasn’t “hungry” enough against Notre Dame. Defensive tackle Jide Abasiri said fixing USC’s issues on defense meant “having our minds right.” For the second time in three weeks, USC returned to the basics on defense during the bye in an effort to iron out those issues.

“You study for a test, you’re not gonna be nervous,” Abasiri said. “Just keep studying, I guess.”

The time for studying is over. The final exam for USC and its defense is a five-game gauntlet, starting on the road in one of the Big Ten’s more hostile environments. It’s just as much a critical test for the team as its coach, who has won just two true road games — at Purdue and at UCLA — during the last two calendar years.

“We continue to put ourselves in position to win these, and I feel like we’re doing the things on a daily basis that ultimately lead to winning,” Riley said. “We’re here and we’re pushing that notion, and I just see us getting closer and closer to that as we go on. That’s where my confidence is.”

Here’s what you should watch for when No. 23 USC (5-2 overall, 3-1 Big Ten) faces Nebraska (6-2, 3-2) on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. PDT (NBC, Peacock).

A heavy dose of Emmett Johnson

Nebraska running back Emmett Johnson carries the ball against Northwestern on Oct. 25.

(Bonnie Ryan / Associated Press)

After watching Notre Dame’s duo of Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price steamroll USC’s defensive front, Nebraska offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen surely smells blood in the water. In Emmett Johnson, he has one of the Big Ten’s best backs, a bruising tackle-breaker who has become a bigger part of the Husker offense as the season has worn on.

He’ll no doubt be a huge part of the plans for Holgorsen, who knows Riley better than most any other coach in college football, save maybe his brother, Garrett, at Clemson. Presumably, Holgorsen will hope to keep the ball out of USC’s hands, grinding out long drives with Johnson.

“We set ourselves up the rest of the season to see a lot of run game,” safety Bishop Fitzgerald said. “This week, making sure we can stop that will be huge for us.”

Johnson isn’t easy to bring down. His 44 missed tackles forced, per PFF, ranks third in the Power Four among running backs.

“He runs really hard,” Fitzgerald said. “He’s usually always going to break the first tackle. He just plays with an edge. He’s not necessarily a blazer, but once he hits that edge, he can make a guy miss and he can get a lot of yards. So I think it’s about stopping him and surrounding the ball.”

It’s just that easy. Or maybe not.

Pick up the pressure

USC defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn stands on the sideline during the third quarter of a win over Michigan State on Sept. 20.

(Luke Hales / Getty Images)

USC led the nation in sacks through the first month of the season. But in both of the Trojans’ losses, the pass rush — or lack thereof — was part of the problem. After producing 24 pressures in a win over Michigan State, USC tallied just 25 in its next three games combined.

Nebraska offers a golden opportunity to get that right. The Huskers have allowed 26 sacks, second-most in the Big Ten.

“I do think we’ve shown growth and we’ve gotten better,” defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn said of the pass rush. “But we’re not satisfied.”

Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola has been sharper this season than when he came to the Coliseum in 2024. His completion rate is up almost 6%, and he already has 17 passing touchdowns, compared to just 13 last season.

But Raiola has a tendency to hold the ball too long. At times, that has paid off with big plays. Other times, it has derailed drives.

“It puts a lot of pressure on us,” Lynn said. “When he’s holding onto the ball, he’s not looking to scramble. He’s keeping his eyes downfield.”

The key to counteracting that for USC? Putting as much pressure on him as possible.

Something has gotta give

USC has the top passing offense in the nation, averaging 10 yards per attempt and 326 yards per game. Nebraska boasts one of the nation’s best pass defenses, with just one opposing quarterback even reaching the 160-yard mark against them.

The Huskers have yet to face a quarterback quite like Jayden Maiava. Maiava’s first start at USC came last season against Nebraska, and he has improved leaps and bounds since — notably in his ability to avoid crippling mistakes.

That’ll be at a premium against a Nebraska defense that has swallowed up quarterbacks this season.

“He’s making a lot of right decisions right now,” Riley said this week of Maiava. “If he keeps doing that, we’re going to have a chance to win every game.”

TORONTO — It was a miserably cold, rainy and gray afternoon outside Rogers Centre on Thursday.

Inside the stadium, however, the Dodgers found some rays of emotional sunshine.

No, this is not where the team wanted to be, facing a 3-2 deficit in the World Series entering Game 6 on Friday night against the Toronto Blue Jays.

And no, there was not much to feel good about after a disastrous 48 hours in Games 4 and 5 of this Fall Classic, in which the Dodgers relinquished control of the series and allowed their title-defense campaign to be put on life support.

But during an off-day workout, the club tried to rebound from that disappointment and reframe the downtrodden mindset that permeated the clubhouse after Game 5.

Every player showed up to the ballpark, even though attendance was optional after a long night of travel.

“That was pretty exciting for me, and just speaks to where these guys are at,” manager Dave Roberts said. “They realize that the job’s not done.”

Roberts brought some levity to the start of the workout, too, challenging speedster Hyeseong Kim to a race around the bases — only to stumble face-first on the turn around second while trying to preserve his comically large head start.

“Cut the cameras,” Roberts yelled to media members, as he playfully grabbed at his hamstring and wiped dirt off his sweatshirt.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts reacts after falling while challenging Hyeseong Kim to a race on the basepaths during a team workout at Rogers Centre on Thursday.

(Vaughn Ridley / Getty Images)

Then, the Dodgers got to work on their primary task: Trying to sync up an offense that had looked lost the last two games, and has scuffled through much of October.

“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about this … and I could dive into my thoughts,” Roberts said of the team’s offensive struggles, which he noted could include another lineup alteration for Game 6.

“But I think at the end of the day,” Roberts continued, “they just have to compete and fight in the batter’s box. It’s one-on-one, the hitter versus the pitcher, and that’s it. Really. I mean, I think that that sort of mindset is all I’ll be looking for. And I expect good things to happen from that.”

In the losses at Chavez Ravine, the majors’ second-highest scoring offense struggled to hone that ethos. The Dodgers scored only three runs, racked up a woeful 10 hits and looked more like the version of themselves that stumbled through much of the second half of the season before entering the playoffs on a late-season surge.

Their biggest stars stopped hitting. Their teamwide approach went by the wayside. And in the aftermath of Game 5, they almost seemed to be searching for their identity as a team at the plate — trying to couple their naturally gifted slugging ability, with the need to work more competitive at-bats and earn hittable pitches first.

“We’re just not having good at-bats,” third baseman Max Muncy said.

“We’ve got to figure something out,” echoed shortstop Mookie Betts.

Take a quick glance at the numbers in this World Series, and the Dodgers’ hitting problems are relatively easy to explain.

Shohei Ohtani (who took another Ruthian round of batting practice Thursday) does not have a hit since reaching base nine times in the 18-inning Game 3 marathon. Betts (who spent as much time hitting as anyone Thursday) has bottomed out with a three-for-25 performance.

Other important bats, including Muncy and Tommy Edman, are hitting under .200. And as a team, the Dodgers have 55 strikeouts (11 more than the Blue Jays), a .201 overall average and just six hits in 30 at-bats with runners in scoring position.

“We got a lot of guys who aren’t hot right now, aren’t feeling the best,” Edman said Wednesday night. “But we got to turn the page, and hopefully we can swing it better the next couple days.”

“As a group,” Kiké Hernández added, “it’s time for us to show our character and put up a fight and see what happens. … It’s time for us, for the offense, to show up.”

Better production from Betts would be a good start.

On Wednesday night, the shortstop did not mince words about his recent offensive struggles, saying he has “just been terrible” after batting .164 in 13 games since the start of the National League Division Series.

Roberts tried to take some pressure off the former MVP in Game 5, moving him from second to third in a reshuffled batting order. But after that yielded yet another hitless performance, Roberts further simplified the task for his 33-year-old star.

“Focus on one game, and be good for one game,” Roberts said. “Go out there and compete.”

On Thursday, that was Betts’ focus, with multiple people around the team noting a quiet and renewed confidence he carried into his off-day batting practice session. He had long talks with hitting coach Robert Van Scoyoc, special assistant Ron Roenicke and Roberts around the hitting cage. He searched for answers to a swing that, of late, has generated too many shallow pop-ups and mishit balls.

Dodgers teammates Mookie Betts, left, Max Muncy, Tommy Edman and Freddie Freeman wait on the infield during a pitching change in the seventh inning of Game 5 of the World Series on Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

“He looked great,” fellow hitting coach Aaron Bates said. “Actually, his head was in a good place. Good spirits. The whole group, guys were great. Everyone came and showed up and hit and got their work in.”

For the Dodgers to save their season, it isn’t only Betts who will need to find a turnaround.

While Blue Jays starters Shane Bieber and Trey Yesavage pitched well in Games 4 and 5, the Dodgers also seemed to struggle to adapt their plan of attack — getting stuck in an “in-between” state, as both Roberts and several players noted, of both trying to attack fastballs and protect against secondary stuff.

“Sometimes we’re too aggressive,” outfielder Teoscar Hernández said. “Sometimes we’re too patient.”

“It seems like at-bats are snowballing on us right now,” Kiké Hernández added. “We’re getting pitches to hit, we’re missing them. And we’re expanding the zone with two strikes.”

Being “in-between” was a problem for the Dodgers late in the season, when they ranked just 12th in the majors in scoring after the All-Star break. That it is happening again raises a familiar question about the identity of the club.

Do they want to be an aggressive, slugging lineup that lives and dies by the home run? Or more of a contact-minded unit capable of grinding out at-bats and stressing an opposing pitcher’s pitch count. Roberts’ emphasis on better “compete” signaled the need to do more of the latter.

Freeman echoed that notion leading up to Game 5.

“If we’re going up there just trying to hit home runs, it’s just not the name of the game,” Freeman said. “We just need to check down and have, like, almost a 0-1 mindset. Just build innings, extend ‘em, work counts, be who we are.”

So, how do they actually go about doing that, ahead of a Game 6 matchup with a pitcher in Kevin Gausman who excels at mixing his fastball and splitter?

“Basically, you have to keep to your strengths,” Bates said. “And see what the next pitcher brings to the table.”

The only silver lining: The Dodgers have been in this spot before.

Last year, at the very start of their World Series run, they faced a similar situation in the NLDS against the San Diego Padres, winning back-to-back games with clutch offensive outbursts that helped catapult them to an eventual World Series title.

“We can do it again,” Freeman said.

“I think we’re a more talented team than we were last year,” Kike Hernández added.

Entering Friday, they will have two games to prove it. Now or never. Do, or watch their dreams of cementing a dynasty die.

It’s time to resume your island getaway — and possibly incur more virtual debt. (We see you, Tom Nook.)

Nintendo announced Thursday that its cozy social sim “Animal Crossing: New Horizons” is getting a Switch 2 upgrade. “Animal Crossing: New Horizons — Nintendo Switch 2 Edition,” which will offer improved visuals, mouse controls, an in-game megaphone that uses the console’s built-in microphone and multiplayer enhancements, will be released Jan. 15.

In addition to allowing players to experience the game in 4K when playing on their TV, the upgraded edition of “New Horizons” will enable them to utilize the mouse controls on the Joy-Con 2 controller when redecorating their homes, creating custom designs and writing messages on the bulletin board.

The megaphone, which will be available at Nook’s Cranny, can be used to locate fellow villagers by calling out their names. “New Horizons” players also will be able to play online with up to 12 other Switch 2 edition players and use a webcam.

A free update for all “Animal Crossings: New Horizons” players, regardless of console, will also be available Jan. 15. This will include access to a new resort opening on the pier, which will allow players to decorate guest rooms and purchase new items at a souvenir shop. The update will also see the “Animal Crossing” world’s familiar grumpy mole, Resetti, offering a “reset service” to clean up a player’s island.

Other offerings include the option for players to upgrade their home storage to hold up to 9,000 items — including trees, shrubs and flowers — and the ability for Nintendo Switch Online members to design and save up to three islands that they can collaborate on with friends online. New Nintendo-themed goods, including playable classic Nintendo console games, and Lego items also will be available within the game through the update.

Released in 2020 for the Nintendo Switch console, “Animal Crossing: New Horizon” became a balm during the COVID-19 pandemic by offering players a way to connect and be social during quarantine and uncertain times. The fifth main installment of the “Animal Crossing” franchise would go on to become one of the best-selling Switch games ever.

Jake LaRavia is not a household name.

A first-round pick out of Wake Forest in 2022, the Lakers forward has played for three NBA teams without garnering too much attention — at least not until Wednesday night’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Starting in his second straight game for injury-depleted L.A., which has been without LeBron James all season and Luka Doncic the last three games, LaRavia scored 27 points on 10-of-11 shooting, including five of six from three-point range).

Even then, LaRavia seemed to be toiling in obscurity. A number of fans at Minneapolis’ Target Center started shouting, “Who is No. 12?” — a genuine question as to the identity of the sharpshooter torching their team.

LaRavia, who was born in Pasadena and grew up in Indianapolis, took notice of the puzzled fans and more than once gave them a smile and a slight wave in acknowledgment.

When one fan yelled “Who is No. 12?” early in the fourth quarter — after LaRavia hit a three-pointer to give the Lakers a 105-89 lead — it caught the attention of injured Minnesota star Anthony Edwards on the bench. Edwards responded by spreading his arms above his head and shouting “That’s what I’m saying! I don’t know!”

FanDuel Sports Network broadcast the interaction between Edwards and the fan, and video clips of it have been circulating on social media. Again, LaRavia rolled with it all, writing “lol” in the comments of one such clip and posting the video on his Instagram Story, along with the caption “Cap” (slang for when someone is lying) and two laughing emojis.

The Lakers won the game 116-115 on a last-second floater by Austin Reaves, who had a team-high 28 points and 16 assists. Afterward, LaRavia credited Reaves for setting up most of his shots.

“Yeah, I mean, Austin has 16 assists, so I think they all came from him,” LaRavia told reporters. “But yeah, I was knocking down shots and kind of just getting my rhythm and kept shooting. So when they’re falling, they’re falling.”

LaRavia previously played his best basketball late in the 2023-24 season with Memphis, scoring a career-high 32 points against Cleveland, 28 against the Lakers and 29 against Denver in the final three games of the season. He also scored 25 against the Lakers during a late-March game that season.

Sent to the Sacramento Kings at the trade deadline last season, LaRavia became a free agent after his option was not picked up this summer. He was a career 42.9% three-point shooter, averaging 6.9 points and 3.3 rebounds per game, when he was signed by the Lakers to be a complementary player to the team’s bigger names.

Necessity has given LaRavia a greater role. His first start for the Lakers, which came Monday in a 122-108 loss to Portland, didn’t go so well (three points on one-for-six shooting, 0-for-three from three-point range). LaRavia said a conversation with coach JJ Redick and general manager Rob Pelinka helped him get in the proper mindset for Wednesday’s game.

“They have just been wanting me to be more aggressive scoring,” LaRavia said, “especially with everyone that we have out…. Our conversation with both of them [was] to just come out here and kind of play how I play. I think I did just that.”

He added: “It’s pretty much just like having a scorer’s mentality. A lot of times, I feel like when I’m in the game, I’m looking for an AR or someone else to get off the ball to, like hitting [Deandre Ayton] or whoever it is, and then to just come out tonight and be like, ‘I’m going to go score. I’m gonna be more aggressive myself so that when I am making shots, I can collapse the defense and then kick it out and stuff like that.’ Just to go out there and kind of have that scorers mentality.”

In addition to his scoring against Minnesota, LaRavia also had eight rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block, although Redick said his contributions were even greater than the numbers show.

“For Jake as a Laker, this game now is a reference point,” Redick told reporters after the game. “Not only for the offense — again, two out of the last three games, he’s been phenomenal defensively. … He had six or seven deflections tonight. He ended up with one steal and a block, but that doesn’t really capture his level of activity defensively. And then just continuing to have confidence in his shot and belief in that was big.”

Times staff writers Broderick Turner and Thuc-Nhi Nguyen contributed to this report.

NEW YORK — Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball was fined $35,000 by the NBA on Thursday for making an obscene gesture on Tuesday night.

Ball was assessed a technical foul for making the gesture with 4:02 to play in the fourth quarter of a 144-117 loss to Miami. He finished the game with 20 points, nine assists and eight rebounds.

Ball leads the Hornets in all three categories through their first four games with averages of 26.3 points, 9.5 assists and 8.3 rebounds.

Charlotte hosts the Orlando Magic on Thursday night.

Hi and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell.

Game 5 thoughts:

—Magic Johnson, part owner of the Dodgers and perhaps the greatest Lakers player of all time, sent out a very important tweet before the game: “With the Series being 2-2, Game 5 is very important. Whichever team wins takes control of the Series!”

—That’s the type of insight you can only get from someone who has been there.

—Magic also threw out the first pitch before the game. Apparently, Kurt Rambis and Norm Nixon were unavailable.

—But really, Magic throws out the first pitch? All the great Dodgers in history who are still around, and you pick the Lakers star?

First inning

—So what’s going to happen tonight? Will Blake Snell be locked in? Will the offense show up?

—Some lineup changes, Mookie Betts drops to third and Will Smith moves to second. Andy Pages hits the bench and Alex Call starts and bats ninth.

—This is not the start the Dodgers were looking for.

—We don’t know if Snell has his good stuff yet because we haven’t seen any of his pitches. Just home runs.

—That’s a great way to take the crowd out of the game.

—And, as usual, the Dodgers go down quietly.

Second inning

—Trey Yesavage looks like a much better pitcher than he did in Game 1. He strikes out the side as the Dodgers continue to just swing at everything.

—What happened to the patience? They know it works, because they talk about it.

Third inning

—A rare misplay from Mookie Betts at short. He seemed to be in too big a hurry to throw the ball. It happens.

—The problem with this Blue Jays team is there’s no one on it to dislike, other than George Springer. And he’s not playing. They have a bunch of baseball players and no giant superstar.

—This is Trey Yesavage’s season:

April 8: First career start in single A
May 20: First high-A start
June 12: First double-A start
Aug. 14: First triple-A start
Sept. 15: First start in the majors
Oct. 5: First postseason start
Oct. 13: First ALCS start
Oct. 24: First World Series start
Oct. 29: Second World Series start

—Super Kiké has finally arrived. But can the Dodgers eventually hit a home run with runners on base?

—Major league players voted Kyle Schwarber the NL player of the year. That’s a surprise.

—This game won’t end 2-1.

Fourth inning

—Another terrible defensive play by Teoscar Hernández. He has been brutal in the field this year.

—And really, despite the rules of scoring a game, he should be given an error on that play. It should be a single and two-base error.

—And the Blue Jays immediately cash it in.

—Remember last season, when some Dodgers were bragging afterward that they knew they could take advantage of a sloppy Yankees team, which was poor on fundamentals on defense? That has been the Dodgers for much of this season. Poor at the basics and defense. What goes around, comes around.

—Quick everyone! Gather around the TV! It’s the in-game manager interview!

—Tommy Edman ends the inning. Whatever happened to Tommy Tanks?

Fifth inning

—Mary Hart got a foul ball after it bounced off her husband!

—The Dodgers have turned into strikeout machines.

—Once again, Shohei Ohtani will lead off an inning. No one on base. The switch to Call has not paid off.

Sixth inning

—I believe that Liberty Mutual seagulls commercial was directed by Alfred Hitchcock.

—Snell really settled down after that first inning. The third run wasn’t his fault. The Blue Jays are making him work, but he’s not giving in.

—Moving Smith to the two spot hasn’t really paid off. Better to move Freeman to the two spot.

—Eleven strikeouts for Yesavage.

Seventh inning

—You know, the Dodgers have never won a World Series when Game 3 went 18 innings.

—Edgardo Henriquez comes in during a tough spot. This is where not having Brusdar Graterol, Evan Phillips, Michael Kopech and the real Blake Treinen hurts.

—Blue Jays score a run on a single and three wild pitches (one was initially called a passed ball, but it was really a wild pitch). What was that about the Yankees not being fundamentally sound again?

—And the wheels come off again. It’s now 5-1. And with this Dodger offense, there’s no coming back.

—Why do we blame the Dodger offense for being bad and not give credit to the Blue Jays’ pitching? After all, when Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitches a gem, we give him the credit and we don’t say the other team’s offense is weak. Human nature, I guess. Seeing everything through the lens of the team you root for.

—I’m not sure why they go to Tom Verducci and Ken Rosenthal for their comments during the game. They don’t say anything we don’t already know and … the game is still going on!

—And an inning-ending double play. Masterful game from Yesavage.

Eighth inning

—No game tomorrow. The Dodger offense will take batting practice and go 2 for 27 with 10 strikeouts.

—Another wild pitch. Will Smith caught all 18 innings in Game 3, and he looks like he’s moving slow back there. The Blue Jays’ main catcher, Alejandro Kirk, did not catch all 18 innings.

—The Dodgers have one of the oldest rosters in the league. The average age of their position players this season was 30.7 years old. That was the oldest in the majors. And they are playing like how I feel after spending a day at Disneyland.

—It’s funny, because my inbox is filling up with emails from people saying this team is an embarrassment or a disgrace. Really? The series isn’t over. The Dodgers won the World Series last year. If this team is an embarrassment or a disgrace to you, then you should move on with your life and find another sport to watch, because baseball isn’t for you.

Ninth inning

—Blake Treinen is in the game! It’s 6-1, so he’ll probably pitch a perfect inning.

—And he did.

—It looks like Mary Hart gave up on the game. She took her foul ball and went home.

—On the telecast, John Smoltz wondered what the team batting average was for teams who went into a World Series after sweeping an LCS when the other team went the full seven games. Well, if he read this newsletter, he would know! We covered that in the preview! Come on John, subscribe!

—And that’s that. The Dodgers made 27 outs, 46 of them by strikeout.

—Game 6 is Friday. Joe Davis and Smoltz seemed very confident about Yamamoto, but everyone was very confident about Snell coming into this series and the Dodgers lost both of those games.

—Last two games combined took less time than Game 3.

—My prediction remains, like I’ve said all along, Dodgers in seven.

—More important, we wish Alex Vesia and his wife the best as they go through a trying time.

World Series stats

Batting

Dodgers

Teoscar Hernández, .318/.375/.455, 7 for 22, 1 homer, 1 RBI, 2 walks, 7 K’s
Shohei Ohtani, .316/.500/.895, 6 for 19, 2 doubles, 3 homers, 5 RBIs, 7 walks, 5 K’s
Freddie Freeman, .250/.400/.450, 5 for 20, 1 double, 1 homer, 2 RBIs, 4 walks, 4 K’s
Will Smith, .238/.333/.381, 5 for 21, 1 homer, 4 RBIs, 2 walks, 6 K’s
Kiké Hernández, .211/.200/.368, 4 for 10, 1 homer, 3 RBIs, 10 K’s
Max Muncy, .150/.261/.350, 3 for 20, 1 double, 1 homer, 1 RBI, 3 walks, 8 K’s
Alex Call, .143/.250/.143, 1 for 7, 1 walk, 2 K’s
Tommy Edman, .143/.217/.190, 3 for 21, 1 double, 1 RBI, 2 walks, 6 K’s
Mookie Betts, .130/.231/.130, 3 walks, 5 K’s
Andy Pages,.067/.067/.067, 1 for 15, 2 K’s
Miguel Rojas, 0 for 2
Team, .201/.296/.354, 5 doubles, 8 homers, 24 walks, 55 K’s, 3.6 runs per game.

Justin Dean, Hyeseong Kim and Ben Rortvedt have not batted during the series.

Blue Jays

Addison Barger, .471/.500/.647, 8 for 17, 1 homer, 5 RBIs, 1 walk, 3 K’s
Vladimir Guerrero, Jr., .364/.500/.636, 8 for 22, 2 homers, 3 RBIs, 6 walks, 2 K’s
Alejandro Kirk, .333/.458/.667, 6 for 18, 2 homers, 6 RBIs, 5 walks, 4 K’s
Ernie Clement, .318/.304/.364, 7 for 22, 1 double, 2 RBIs, 2 K’s
Bo Bichette, .313/.389/.313, 5 for 16, 3 RBIs, 2 walks, 2 K’s
George Springer, .273/.333/.364, 3 for 11, 1 double, 3 K’s
Ty France, .250/.250/.250, 1 for 4, 1 RBI, 1 K
Nathan Lukes, .250/.333/.313, 4 for 16, 1 double, 1 RBI, 2 walks. 3 K’s
Daulton Varsho, .227/.346/.455, 1 triple, 1 homer, 2 RBIs, 2 walks, 4 K’s
Davis Schnedier, .222/.300/.556, 2 for 9, 1 homer, 1 RBI, 1 walk, 4 K’s
Andrés Giménez, .158/.261/.158, 3 for 19, 3 RBIs, 2 walks, 9 K’s
Isiah Kiner-Falefa, .063/.118/.063, 1 for 16, 1 RBI, 1 walk, 3 K’s
Tyler Heineman, 0 for 3, 1 K
Myles Straw, 0 for 8, 3 K’s
Team, .261/.341/.389, 3 doubles, 1 triple, 7 homers, 22 walks, 44 K’s, 5.8 runs per game

Pitching

Dodgers

Will Klein, 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 5 IP, 2 hits, 2 walks, 5 K’s
Justin Wrobleski, 0.00 ERA, 2.2 IP, 1 hit, 2 K’s
Jack Dreyer, 0.00 ERA, 2.1 IP, 3 hits, 1 walk, 3 K’s
Edgardo Henriquez, 0.00 ERA, 2 IP, i hit, 2 walks, 2 K’s
Roki Sasaki, 0.00 ERA, 1.2 IP, 1 hit, 2 walks
Clayton Kershaw, 0.00 ERA, 0.1 IP
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, 1-0. 1.00 ERA, 9 IP, 4 hits, 8 K’s
Tyler Glasnow, 3.86 ERA, 4.2 IP, 5 hits, 3 walks, 5 K’s
Blake Treinen, 5.40 ERA, 1.2 IP, 5 hits
Shohei Ohtani, 0-1, 6.00 ERA, 6 IP, 6 hits, 1 walk, 6 K’s
Blake Snell, 0-2, 7.71 ERA, 11.2 IP, 14 hits, 7 walks, 11 K’s
Emmet Sheehan, 9.00 ERA, 3 IP, 5 hits, 3 walks, 2 K’s
Anthony Banda, 18.00 ERA, 3 IP, 6 hits, 1 walk
Team, 2-3, 4.58 ERA, 53 IP, 53 hits, 22 walks, 44 K’s

Blue Jays

Eric Lauer, 0.00 ERA, 5.2 IP, 2 hits, 5 walks, 3 K’s
Chris Bassitt, 0.00 ERA, 4 IP, 1 hit, 1 walk, 5 K’s
Jeff Hoffman, 0.00 ERA, 3.2 IP, 2 hits, 2 walk, 4 K’s
Shane Bieber, 1-0, 1.69 ERA, 5.1 IP. 5 hits, 3 walks, 3 K’s
Trey Yesavange, 1-0, 2.45 ERA, 11 IP, 7 hits, 3 walks, 17 K’s
Seranthony Dominguez, 1-0, 2.70 ERA, 3.1 IP, 1 hit, 3 walks, 4 K’s
Kevin Gausman, 0-1, 4.05 ERA, 6.2 IP. 4 hits, 6 K’s
Mason Fluharty, 5.40 ERA, 1.2 IP, 3 hits, 2 K’s
Braydon Fisher, 5.40 ERA, 3.1 IP, 2 hits, 3 walks, 4 K’s
Max Scherzer, 6.23 ERA, 4.1 IP, 5 hits, 1 walk, 3 K’s
Louis Varland, 9.00 ERA, 3 IP, 5 hits, 2 walks, 3 K’s
Brendon Little, 0-1, 9.00 ERA, 1 IP, 2 hits, 1 walk, 1 K
Team, 3-2, 3.06 ERA, 53 IP, 38 hits, 24 walks, 55 K’s

In case you missed it

Plaschke: Disappearing Dodgers backed to the brink of disaster after World Series Game 5 loss

Dodgers’ offensive woes send them into a World Series tailspin with Game 5 loss

World Series Game 5: Dodgers fall, on brink of losing the World Series | Dodgers Debate

Freddie Freeman on the Dodgers’ World Series Game 5 loss

Hernández: Why Shohei Ohtani’s Game 4 failure will drive him to pitch again in this World Series

And finally

A palate cleanser from Game 5. One year ago today, the Dodgers win the World Series. Watch and listen here.

Until next time…

Have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future Dodgers newsletter? Email me at [email protected]. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

Was Edgardo Henriquez the best option to pitch to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the seventh inning with two outs and runners on the corners?

Maybe, maybe not.

And that was the problem.

The problem was that Dodgers manager Dave Roberts didn’t have a choice that was clearly better than to place the game in the hands of a hard-throwing but unreliable 23-year-old rookie.

Henriquez walked Guerrero on a 99.9-mph fastball that sailed into the opposite batter’s box, evading the grasp of catcher Will Smith and allowing Addison Barger to score.

A manageable two-run deficit was now three and about to become four.

The Dodgers were on their way to a 6-1 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday night, the Game 5 result placing them at a three-games-to-two deficit in this World Series.

For Roberts, that seventh inning didn’t represent a manager’s nightmare. That was a manager’s night terror.

What else could Roberts do?

Stick with starting pitcher Blake Snell? Snell had already pitched to Guerrero three times and his pitch count was at 116.

Use closer Roki Sasaki as a fireman? He’s their only dependable reliever and Roberts wasn’t about to use him in a non-elimination game in which his team was down.

Turn to last year’s postseason hero Blake …? Never mind, that question isn’t even worth being asked in its entirety.

“It’s hard because you can only push a starter so much,” Roberts said. “I thought Blake emptied the tank.”

The Dodgers somehow concealed their piñata of a bullpen in the three previous rounds of the postseason, but that bullpen is now catching up with them.

Reversing their series deficit will almost certainly require some of their starters to pitch in unfamiliar roles over the next two games, including Shohei Ohtani as an opener on three days’ rest in a potential Game 7.

Snell figures to be a candidate to also pitch in Game 7, perhaps as a middle reliever. Tyler Glasnow is expected to be available out of the bullpen in at least one of the two remaining games.

Besides Sasaki, the relievers can’t be trusted.

In each of the team’s three losses in this series, the games turned when the starting pitcher was removed with men on base. In all three instances, the bullpen made a mess of the game, allowing the inherited runners to score.

“You look at the three games that we lost, it spiraled on us with guys on base,” Roberts said. “Guys got to be better.”

They can’t.

This reality makes the bullpen’s heroic performance in the 18-inning victory in Game 3 all the more miraculous. The Dodgers are fortunate this series isn’t already over.

The construction of this particular bullpen has to be one of the greatest front-office blunders in franchise history, as it could cost the team a World Series in a season in which it has Ohtani, Freddie Freeman and a billion-dollar rotation.

How did this happen?

Start with Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates. The Dodgers committed a combined $85 million to the two relievers and neither of them is even on the roster.

Look at the injured list. Brusdar Graterol missed the entire season with shoulder problems. Evan Phillips underwent Tommy John surgery.

Finally, examine what the Dodgers didn’t do at the trade deadline. Everyone — and by everyone, I mean everyone except Andrew Friedman’s front office — knew they were in desperate need of bullpen help. Counting on some internal solutions working out, the only reliever they acquired was Brock Stewart. The notoriously brittle Stewart went down with a shoulder injury and didn’t pitch in the postseason.

What the Dodgers did was the baseball equivalent of building a breathtaking mansion but forgetting to install any toilets.

Now, the entire residence stinks, the Dodgers one loss away from losing a World Series that should be theirs.

A first-inning blitz and a dominant outing by rookie starting pitcher Trey Yesavage put the Toronto Blue Jays within one win of their first World Series title since 1993.

Major League Baseball’s only Canadian franchise hammered the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-1 to give them a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven ‘Fall Classic’, which now returns to Toronto for its conclusion.

Right-hander Yesavage, who was only called up to the majors in September, threw seven solid innings, with 12 strikeouts – a World Series record for a rookie – and only gave up one run.

The game started in unbelievable fashion at Dodger Stadium as Davis Schneider launched the very first pitch of the night over left field for a home run, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr repeated the feat off the second pitch he faced, leaving the Dodgers 2-0 down before some fans had taken their seats.

While Enrique Hernandez halved the deficit with a solo homer in the bottom of the third inning, Toronto restored their two-run lead straight away as Ernie Clement’s sacrifice fly scored Daulton Varsho.

It got even worse for the Dodgers in the top of the seventh as multiple wild pitches and a walk allowed Addison Barger to score, and Bo Bichette drove in Andres Gimenez to make it 5-1.

Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s base hit added another run in the eighth as the home fans headed for the exits, on a night when even the Dodgers’ Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani went hitless for the second successive game.

After a travel day, the series returns to Toronto on Friday for game six at the Rogers Centre, also the venue for a potential decider on Saturday.

From Jack Harris: Late-night parties always come with a price.

On Tuesday, the Dodgers were reminded of the next-day cost.

Just 17 hours removed from their 18-inning marathon in Game 3 of the World Series, both the Dodgers and the Toronto Blue Jays seemed to be playing at a slower, more sluggish pace early on Tuesday evening. Their offenses scuffled. Their starters pitched methodically. Their emotional batteries (and that of a capacity crowd at Dodger Stadium, for that matter) seemed to be in low-power mode.

Eventually, however, the team facing more desperation to save its season rallied and finally conjured life.

And with a 6-2 win in Game 4 at Chavez Ravine, the Blue Jays threw another wrench into this back-and-forth Fall Classic fight.

Thanks to a go-ahead two-run homer from Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the third, then a four-run rally in the seventh against the Dodgers’ fatigued and faulty bullpen, Toronto tied this World Series 2-2 and ensured a trip home for Game 6 on Friday night.

“We knew it was going to be a great series,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “This team is talented, they’re resilient … and they came back fighting.”

Continue reading here

Dodgers box score

Plaschke: Dodgers hangover leads to giant headache of a World Series Game 4 loss to Blue Jays

Dodgers-Blue Jays World Series matchup a boon for viewership in Japan and Canada

‘Who is this guy?’ Inside Will Klein’s impossible rise to Dodgers World Series hero

Dodgers struggle in World Series Game 4 loss to Blue Jays | Dodgers Debate

Mookie Betts on the Dodgers losing World Series Game 4 loss

WORLD SERIES SCHEDULE, RESULTS

All times Pacific

Dodgers vs. Toronto
at Toronto 11, Dodgers 4 (box score)
Dodgers 5, at Toronto 1 (box score)
at Dodgers 6, Toronto 5 (18) (box score)
Toronto 6, at Dodgers 2 (box score)

Wednesday at Dodgers, 5 p.m., Fox, AM 570, KTNQ 1020, ESPN Radio

Friday at Toronto, 5 p.m., Fox, AM 570, KTNQ 1020, ESPN Radio

*Saturday at Toronto, 5 p.m., Fox, AM 570, KTNQ 1020, ESPN Radio

*-if necessary

CLIPPERS

Jimmy Butler had 21 points, five rebounds and five assists, Stephen Curry added 19 points and eight assists, and the Golden State Warriors beat the Clippers 98-79 on Tuesday night.

Curry shot 7 for 15 a night after four Warriors players scored 20 or more points to beat Memphis — but it marked just the sixth time in Curry’s 17 seasons he wasn’t one of them.

Butler and Moses Moody each hit three-pointers late in the third quarter as the Warriors used a 10-2 burst over the final 2:07 to go ahead 78-63 starting the fourth.

James Harden scored all 20 of his points by halftime while Kawhi Leonard added 18 points and five rebounds in a game featuring a 13-point second quarter by Golden State followed by the Clippers’ 14-point third.

Harden’s three with 41 seconds left in the first half gave the Clippers their first lead heading into halftime ahead 49-46 after ending the second quarter on a 24-6 run.

Continue reading here

Clippers box score

NBA standings

KINGS

Brandt Clarke scored the tiebreaking goal from the right circle with 6:40 left and the Kings beat the San Jose Sharks 4-3 on Tuesday night after blowing a three-goal lead.

Corey Perry got his third goal in four games for the Kings. Jeff Malott and Drew Doughty also scored, and Darcy Kuemper made 37 saves.

It was the Kings’ second consecutive victory in regulation after going to overtime in their previous four games.

Continue reading here

Kings summary

NHL standings

DUCKS

Troy Terry and Mason McTavish scored in a shootout, and the Ducks beat the Florida Panthers 3-2 on Tuesday night.

Leo Carlsson had a goal and an assist, and Cutter Gauthier also scored to help the Ducks end a five-game trip with a victory in coach Joel Quenneville’s first game against his former team.

Quenneville, who coached the Panthers from 2019-21, returned to Sunrise for the first time since resigning as Florida’s coach after details of a sexual-assault scandal involving his 2010 Stanley Cup-winning Chicago Blackhawks squad were revealed in October 2021.

Continue reading here

Ducks summary

NHL standings

LAFC

From Kevin Baxter: Does this sound familiar?

A Los Angeles team signs a superstar to a record-setting deal. Overnight that team’s uniform becomes ubiquitous in a major Asian capital, where the player appears on billboards, magazine covers, in countless advertisements and on TV, all while dominating his new league and leading his team to the playoffs.

Shohei Ohtani, right?

Well, yes. But he’s not the only one whose story fits that description because Son Heung-min is more popular than K-pop in his native South Korea, and as a result LAFC is quickly becoming the country’s favorite soccer team.

“His face is everywhere,” said Doane Liu, who was representing Los Angeles at the World Union of Olympic Cities conference in Seoul earlier this month. “But more than anything he is endorsing soccer in a country where baseball is slightly more popular.

“LAFC games are now broadcast live here in Korea.”

That includes Wednesday’s playoff opener with Austin, which will kick off at 11:30 Thursday morning in Seoul on streaming platforms that signed multiyear deals to broadcast LAFC games just weeks after Son joined the team.

Continue reading here

THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY

1950 — Detroit’s Wally Triplett gains 294 yards in kickoff returns and ends up with 331 total yards as the Lions pound the Rams 65-24 on 41 third-quarter points.

1960 — Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali) wins his first pro fight, beating Tunney Hunsaker on points in six rounds in Louisville.

1961 — Oscar Robertson dishes out a franchise-record 22 assists during Cincinnati’s 139-132 win over visiting Syracuse. The “Big O” goes on to average a triple-double (30.8 ppg, 12.5 rpg and 11.4 apg) for the Royals during the 1961-62 season, becoming the first NBA player to average double figures in assists.

1977 — Boston’s John Havlicek becomes the second player in NBA history to connect on 10,000 career field goals, reaching the milestone in a 103-98 loss at Cleveland.

1977 — Russell Erxleben of Texas kicks a 60-yard field goal in a 26-0 rout of Texas Tech for his third field goal of the season over 60 yards, an NCAA record.

1983 — Gil Fenerty rushes for 337 yards on a 18 carries and scores six touchdowns to lead Holy Cross to a 77-28 rout of Columbia.

1984 — Orlando Pizzolato wins the New York Marathon in 2:14:53 and Grete Waitz captures the women’s title in 2:29:30.

1987 — Thomas Hearns wins unprecedented 4th different weight boxing title.

1994 — Arnold Mickens rushes for more than 200 yards for the eighth consecutive game, breaking the NCAA Division I-AA single-season rushing record as Butler beats Evansville 49-14. Mickens’ 244 yards gives him a total of 2,111, surpassing the record of 2,016 set by Towson State’s Tony Vinson.

2005 — Top-ranked USC wins its 30th straight game, routing Washington State 55-13. The Trojans tie Texas for the 11th-longest winning streak in major college football history.

2006 — With a a 34-31 victory over Denver, Indianapolis is the first team to start 7-0 in consecutive seasons since the 1929-31 Green Bay Packers did it three straight times.

2011 — Joe Paterno breaks Eddie Robinson’s record for victories by a Division I coach with No. 409 in Penn State’s sloppy 10-7 win over Illinois.

2017 — Russell Wilson hits Jimmy Graham for an 18-yard touchdown with 21 seconds left, his second TD catch of the fourth quarter, to lead Seattle over Houston 41-38. Wilson finishes 26 of 41 for a career-high 452 yards and four TDs. Deshaun Watson is nearly the equal of Wilson, throwing for 402 yards and four touchdowns and three interceptions.

2017 — Caroline Wozniacki wins the biggest title of her career when she beat Venus Williams 6-4, 6-4 in the WTA Finals.

2017 — Justin Rose mounts the third-largest final-round comeback in PGA TOUR history to win the WGC-HSBC Champions. Rose starts the final round eight shots behind Dustin Johnson, who ties a record for losing the largest lead in the final round. The historic 5-under 67 round by Rose is keyed by a back-nine 31. Rose finishes at 14-under 274 and Johnson who finishes with a 77, ties for second with Henrik Stenson and Brooks Koepka, two strokes back.

2018 — Klay Thompson, Golden State Warriors, breaks the NBA record for most three-pointers in a game with 14 in a Warrior’s 149-124 over the Chicago Bulls. The record was previously held by Thompson’s teammate Stephen Curry.

Compiled by the Associated Press

THIS DAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY

1969 — Tom Seaver of the Mets wins NL CY Young Award.

2014 — Madison Bumgarner and the San Francisco Giants succeed where no team had in 3 1/2 decades, winning Game 7 on the road for their third World Series title in five years. Bumgarner comes out of the bullpen to pitch five scoreless innings on two days’ rest as the Giants held off the Kansas City Royals 3-2.

2024 — Dodgers slugger Freddie Freeman sets record with a home run in his sixth consecutive World Series game, including two with Atlanta Braves in 2021, in 11-4 loss at Yankee Stadium in New York.

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 [email protected]. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

Hi and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell. One of the most exciting World Series games in history followed by one of the most boring.

Game 4 thoughts:

—Tinashe sang the U.S. national anthem. Deborah Cox sang the Canadian national anthem. Apparently, Bruce Hornsby and Avril Lavigne were unavailable.

—Orel Hershiser threw out the first pitch. Apparently Dave Goltz and Don Stanhouse were unavailable.

First inning

—You have to wonder which relievers will be available for either team. Let’s look at those Game 3 pitch counts:

Dodgers
Anthony Banda, 3
Justin Wrobleski, 28
Blake Treinen, 15
Jack Dreyer, 5
Roki Sasaki, 29
Emmet Sheehan, 37
Clayton Kershaw, 8
Edgardo Henriquez, 30
Will Klein, 72

It would seem Banda, Treinen, Dreyer and Kershaw would definitely be available.

Blue Jays
Fluharty, 14
Varland, 20
Dominguez, 27
Bassitt, 8
Hoffman, 33
Fisher, 19
Lauer, 68
Little, 28

You have to figure Fluharty, Varland, Bassitt and Fisher would definitely be available.

—No George Springer in the lineup for the Blue Jays. He hurt his side while swinging in Game 3. Sometimes this can be a rallying point for a team, and the player who replaces the star can lift his game, just like Mickey Hatcher did when he replaced Kirk Gibson in the 1988 World Series.

—Will pitcher Shohei Ohtani‘s legs be strong tonight after reaching base nine times yesterday? We’ll find out.

—Great defensive play by Kiké Hernández. He hasn’t quite been Super Kiké at the plate, but he still raises his game in the postseason.

—The Blue Jays made Ohtani work a little, but he got out of it. 19 pitches.

—They pitch around Ohtani, then the runner is stranded. Uneventful first inning.

Second inning

—Seven-pitch inning for Ohtani. Blue Jays should be trying to work the count more.

—Dodgers have first and third and one out. Need to score a run here.

—Kiké brings him home.

—Can Andy Pages break out of his slump?

—He cannot.

Third inning

—Well, that home run by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was well struck. It’s OK, seemed unlikely the game was going to end 1-0.

—Ohtani has made 42 pitches through three innings. This may become important later.

—The Dodgers are hitting the ball hard, but right at people.

Fourth inning

—Everyone on the field seems tired. Heck, I’m tired. Are you tired?

—Ohtani strikes out the side. He’s the only one who doesn’t look tired. I’m pretty sure he’s some sort of android.

—Ohtani has made 59 pitches through four innings.

—And poor Will Smith. Catches 18 inning last night, back in there today.

—I’m not a fan of these in-game interviews with the manager. The questions are usually lame and it detracts from the actual game going on. People tune in to see the game. They don’t call out to their family, “Honey, quick, you are missing the in-game manager interview!”

Fifth inning

—Ohtani has made 76 pitches through five innings. Perhaps two more innings for him? Maybe three? It’s his last pitching start of the season.

—Can Andy Pages break out of his slump?

—He cannot.

—The Dodgers are not working the count ever. Bieber has made 75 pitches through five.

—I’m guessing this game does not end 2-1.

Sixth inning

—Ohtani made only one bad pitch this game, and it cost him two runs. He has looked great otherwise.

—Ninety pitches through six innings, so one more inning.

—Freeman gets a single and again the next batter doesn’t work the count.

—Bieber talked manager John Schneider into leaving him in the game. Will that come back to haunt him?

—Teoscar Hernández singles, so so far it was a bad decision.

—And now Bieber comes out for left-hander Mason Fluharty.

—And Fluharty gets Max Muncy and Tommy Edman. The Dodgers waste their best chance so far.

Seventh inning

—Single. Double. This game could be out of hand in a hurry.

—That’s it of Ohtani. Anthony Banda is the next man up for the Dodgers.

—If the Dodgers can get out of this giving up only one run, it’s a rousing success.

—The Blue Jays get two runs. It’s 4-1. The Dodgers can come back from that, but they look tired.

—Oh, no! It’s Blake Treinen!

—And he Blake Treinens the place up. It’s 6-1.

—With a tired bullpen, maybe Dave Roberts had no choice but to bring Treinen in today. But let this be the last time we see him this season.

—Like usual, it doesn’t look like the Dodgers will be winning the World Series at home.

—Can Andy Pages break out of his slump here?

—We’ll never know, as Alex Call pinch-hit for Pages and struck out. Heck, Pages could have done that.

Eighth inning

—The Dodgers just look lethargic. Of course, their offense has been below par ever since the start of the NLDS.

—Their starting pitching has carried them, and when the starting pitcher gives up a couple of runs, trouble ensues.

Ninth inning

—Dreyer ate up the innings, which is just what the Dodgers needed. He probably won’t be available in Game 5, but everyone else will be.

—Now the Dodgers need Blake Snell to pitch better than he did in Game 1.

—The offense comes alive a little bit in the ninth, but too little, too late.

—Mason Fluharty is the unsung hero of the game.

—Mason and Hannah were in their assigned seats, but the Dodgers lost, so they are now released from captivity.

—It’s now a best-of-three series, and the Blue Jays have home-field advantage.

—I get the feeling there will be at least one lineup change for the Dodgers in Game 5.

—My prediction remains, like I’ve said all along, Dodgers in um, six.

—More important, we wish Alex Vesia and his wife the best as they go through a trying time.

In case you missed it

Dodgers-Blue Jays World Series matchup a boon for viewership in Japan and Canada

‘Who is this guy?’ Inside Will Klein’s impossible rise to Dodgers World Series hero

Who would have pitched had World Series Game 3 went to 19+ innings?

‘Got an out’: Inside Clayton Kershaw’s brief but clutch appearance in World Series Game 3

This is how much Dodgers fans spent to attend the World Series: ‘This is the golden ticket in L.A.’

Former Dodger Mike Davis wants to be remembered for more than a well-timed walk

The perfect L.A. bakery for this Dodgers moment

And finally

Forget Game 4, let’s look at 30 minutes of highlights from that amazing Game 3. Watch and listen here.

Until next time…

Have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future Dodgers newsletter? Email me at [email protected]. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

Shohei Ohtani wore the same mask of calm that he always wears.

He spoke with detachment, as he often does.

By the time Ohtani walked into the interview room at Dodger Stadium after his team’s 6-2 defeat in Game 4 of the World Series, however, he was already devising his redemption.

“Of course, I’d like to prepare to be available for every game in case I’m needed,” Ohtani said in Japanese.

Ohtani wants to pitch again in this World Series.

He wants to pitch again, even after he was saddled with the loss on Tuesday night by the Toronto Blue Jays.

He wants to pitch again, even after the physical demands of reaching base nine times in an 18-inning victory the previous night clearly diminished him on the mound.

If Ohtani pitches, he would almost certainly pitch in relief.

Pitching in middle relief doesn’t make sense for Ohtani, considering that when he departs the game as a pitcher, rules would require the Dodgers to play him in the outfield or lose him as a hitter for the remainder of the game.

They might as well use him as a closer, and they might as well use him in a World Series clincher, either in Game 6 or 7.

This is who Ohtani is. This is what he does.

He won’t let the disappointment of his World Series pitching debut scare him away from pursuing another dream. He isn’t afraid of failure.

Game 4 was a failure.

The six-hour 39-minute game the Dodgers played the night before offered Ohtani cover. He reached base a record nine times. He homered twice and doubled twice. His leg cramped at some point. He went to sleep at 2 a.m.

But Ohtani didn’t take any of the excuses that were offered to him.

“I have no plans of saying the game yesterday was this or that,” he said.

The truth was revealed in his play.

Ohtani looked exhausted. He sweated profusely and looked as if he might be dehydrated. He looked, well, human.

His fastball uncharacteristically never touched 100 mph, but he pitched well for the most part. His only notable mistake was an elevated sweeper he threw in the third inning to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. that was deposited over the left-field wall for a two-run home run.

Ohtani struck out the side in the fourth inning, as well as the first batter he faced in the fifth. Manager Dave Roberts said that pitching coach Mark Prior approached Ohtani in the sixth innings and asked him how much he had left.

“He said he had three more innings,” Roberts said.

Ohtani couldn’t make it out of the seventh inning. In fact, he couldn’t even record an out in the seventh, starting the inning by giving up a single to Daulton Varsho and a double to Ernie Clement. With Ohtani clearly gassed, Roberts called in Anthony Banda, who allowed the two inherited runners to score.

Ohtani’s final line: Six innings, four runs, six hits, a walk and six strikeouts.

He said his goal was to pitch seven innings.

Ohtani didn’t have the game he wanted in the batter’s box, either. It didn’t help that he didn’t have any form of lineup protection. No. 9 hitter Andy Pages, who batted in front of him, was 0 for two and is now batting .080 this postseason. Mookie Betts, who batted behind him, was hitless until the eighth inning when the game was already out of reach. Betts is batting .158 in this World Series.

Ohtani walked in the first inning but was hitless in the three at-bats that followed. Not one of the 14 pitches he saw from Blue Jays starter Shane Bieber was near the middle quadrant of the plate.

Being a starting pitcher and leadoff hitter in the same game was hard enough. Being a starting pitcher and a leadoff hitter in the same game after an 18-inning battle was revealed to be downright impossible. Because if Ohtani couldn’t do it, nobody could.

Instead of moping over the setback, Ohtani has started eyeing his next boundary-pushing maneuver: To be a leadoff hitter and high-leverage reliever in the same game.

The World Series is now tied, two games apiece. The fixation Ohtani has with finding new methods to win games could be why the Dodgers finish as champions again.

SAN JOSÉ — Brandt Clarke scored the tiebreaking goal from the right circle with 6:40 left and the Kings beat the San Jose Sharks 4-3 on Tuesday night after blowing a three-goal lead.

Corey Perry got his third goal in four games for the Kings. Jeff Malott and Drew Doughty also scored, and Darcy Kuemper made 37 saves.

It was the Kings’ second consecutive victory in regulation after going to overtime in their previous four games.

Will Smith, Philipp Kurashev and Alexander Wennberg each had a goal for the Sharks, the only NHL team without a win in regulation. During a 57-second span in the first period, San Jose missed four clean looks.

Things got dicey for the Kings near the end. The Kings played the final 76 seconds short-handed after Joel Edmundson was whistled for delay of game after flipping the puck over the glass into the crowd.

San Jose took six shots during that stretch but failed to score.

Perry scored on a putback midway through the first after Adrian Kempe’s shot deflected off Collin Graf’s stick, hit the right post and landed in front of the net.

Malott got his second goal of the season on a breakaway, assisted by Perry and Edmundson.

Three minutes later, Doughty made it 3-0 with his first goal of the season on a shot from the right circle.

The Sharks broke through late in the second with two goals in less than two minutes. Smith scored off a cross-ice pass from Macklin Celebrini, then Kurashev slapped in a wraparound pass from Wennberg.

Less than five minutes into the third, Wennberg tied it at 3.

The Toronto Blue Jays have tied the best-of-seven World Series at 2-2 after a thumping 6-2 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in game four.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr’s early two-run homer and a glut of runs in the seventh inning helped Major League Baseball’s only Canadian side come from behind at Dodger Stadium.

It also ensures the series will return to Toronto for a sixth game, and potentially a deciding seventh.

After Monday’s 18-innings epic drained the energy of both teams’ bullpens, the Dodgers and Blue Jays were banking on long outings from their starting pitchers to give their relief corps some respite.

All eyes were on the Dodgers’ Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani, as this was the game where he was scheduled to double up as starting pitcher and leadoff hitter.

Ohtani, 31, is an exceptionally rare “two-way” player, operating at the elite level as both a pitcher and a hitter.

But having reached base on all nine plate appearances in game three, he went hitless with the bat, and left the pitcher’s mound in the seventh inning trailing 2-1 and having put two men on base – both of whom would score – with no outs.

Toronto’s less heralded starter Shane Bieber, born in California, showed no favour to the hosts, striking Ohtani out twice and pitching into the sixth inning while giving up just one run.

The Dodgers had gone ahead in the bottom of the second inning when Enrique Hernandez’s sacrifice fly scored Max Muncy.

Toronto’s offence was missing George Springer, who sustained a muscle injury during game three, but Guerrero stepped up and launched Ohtani over left centre field to make it 2-1.

After Ohtani was taken out, Andres Gimenez, Ty France, Bo Bichette and Addison Barger all drove in runs to give the Blue Jays breathing space at 6-1 before the seventh-inning stretch.

The Dodgers briefly threatened a rally in the bottom of the ninth as Teoscar Hernandez walked, Muncy doubled, and Tommy Edman ground out to score Hernandez, but Toronto closed out the win with little alarm.

The series continues with game five, again at Dodger Stadium, on Wednesday evening.

What’s different in the World Series this year? The New York Yankees are not here, and the Toronto Blue Jays are.

For Major League Baseball, that represents an opportunity.

On the eve of the World Baseball Classic, as the league attempts to grow its popularity around the world and considers sending its star players to the 2028 Olympics, the World Series ratings are encouraging.

For the first two games of the World Series, the average viewership in Japan was almost as high as in the United States, despite a population one-third that of the U.S., and the average viewership in Canada was 10 times greater than it was last year.

The average in the three countries, through two games: 30.5 million, MLB said Tuesday. The average for the World Series last year: 28.6 million.

The Game 1 audience for those three countries: 32.6 million, the highest for an MLB game in the U.S., Canada and Japan combined since Game 7 of the 2016 World Series between the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Guardians.

When the Dodgers and Yankees played in last year’s World Series — a clash of the two biggest markets in the United States — the average game attracted 15.8 million viewers in the U.S. For the first two games of this year’s World Series, the average game attracted 12.5 million viewers on Fox platforms, so Canadian markets are not included.

However, even without a U.S. team to oppose the Dodgers, Fox said this year’s ratings are better than any other World Series since the pandemic, besides last year’s.

This year’s NBA Finals — a small-market matchup between Oklahoma City and Indiana — attracted a U.S. average of 10.3 million viewers.

This year’s World Series features Japan’s team — the team of Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki — against Canada’s lone major league team. The average viewership in Japan: 10.7 million, despite the games starting there at 9 a.m.

The average viewership of last year’s World Series in Canada: 720,000. That number through two games this year: 7.2 million. The U.S. population is 10 times greater than that of Canada.

You’d be forgiven for not remembering the trade.

On June 2 this year, the Dodgers were in need of pitching help. At the time, their rotation had been ravaged by injuries, and their bullpen was overworked and running low on depth. Thus, the morning after their relievers had been further taxed following a short start from Yoshinobu Yamamoto against the New York Yankees, the Dodgers went out and added a little-known pitcher in a deal with the Seattle Mariners.

Will Klein’s origin story had quietly begun.

Almost five months before becoming a World Series hero for the Dodgers, pitching four miraculously scoreless innings in their 18-inning Game 3 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday night, Klein joined the organization as a largely anonymous face, acquired in exchange for fellow reliever Joe Jacques in the kind of depth transaction the Dodgers make dozens of over the course of each season.

At that point, even Klein couldn’t have foreseen the star turn in his future.

He had a career ERA over 5.00 in the minor leagues. He had struggled in limited big-league action in 2024, battling poor command while giving up nine runs in eight outings. He had already changed organizations three times, and been designated for assignment by the Mariners the day before.

“I woke up to a 9 a.m. missed phone call and a text,” Klein recalled Tuesday. “Found out I was DFA’d. Really low then.”

Now, in the kind of serendipitous turn only October can create, Klein has etched his name into World Series lore.

“I don’t think that will set in for a long time,” he said.

As the last man standing in the Dodgers’ bullpen in Game 3, Klein pitched more than he ever has as a professional, tossing 72 pitches to save the team from putting a position player on the mound.

Afterward, he was mobbed by his teammates following Freddie Freeman’s walk-off home run, then greeted in the clubhouse with a handshake and an accomplished “good job” from Dodgers pitching icon Sandy Koufax.

He had 500 missed messages on his phone when the game ended. He got 500 more as he tried responding to everyone Tuesday morning. His middle school in Indiana, he said, had even hung a picture of him up in a hallway.

“I woke up this morning still not feeling like last night had happened,” he said in a pre-Game 4 news conference. “It was an out-of-body experience.”

A thickly bearded 25-year-old right-hander originally from Bloomington, Ind., Klein’s path to Monday’s extra-inning marathon could hardly have been more circuitous.

In high school, he was primarily a catcher, until a broken thumb prompted him to focus on pitching. When he was recruited to Eastern Illinois for college, his ACT scores (he got a 34) helped almost as much as his natural arm talent.

Dodgers pitcher Will Klein also pitched in the eighth inning of Game 1 in Toronto, allowing no runs.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

“I’m big into academics,” Eastern Illinois coach Jason Anderson said by phone Tuesday. “If you can figure out science class, you can figure out how to throw a slider.”

Anderson wasn’t wrong. Though Klein was initially raw on the mound, posting a 5.74 ERA in his first two collegiate seasons, he worked tirelessly on improving his velocity, learning how to leverage the power he generated with his long-limbed, 6-foot-5 frame.

As his fastball crept toward triple digits, he started garnering the attention of MLB scouts. Though Klein’s junior season in 2020 was cut short after four outings by the COVID-19 pandemic, he’d shown enough promise in collegiate summer leagues beforehand to get drafted in that year’s fifth and final round by the Kansas City Royals.

Klein’s rise to the major leagues from there was not linear. His poor command (he averaged nearly seven walks per nine innings in his first three minor-league years) hampered him even as he climbed the Royals’ organizational ladder.

Klein reached the big leagues last year, but made only four appearances before being included in a trade deadline deal to the Oakland Athletics. This past winter, after finishing the 2024 campaign with an 11.05 ERA, he was dealt again to the Mariners.

The return in that package? “Other considerations,” according to MLB’s transaction log.

“His whole career has been [full of] challenges,” Anderson said. “He really just needed some time and somebody to believe in him.”

With the Dodgers, that’s exactly what he found.

Long before his arrival, Klein had admirers in the organization. The club’s director of pitching, Rob Hill, was immediately struck by his high-riding heater and mid-80s mph curveball when he first saw Klein pitch in minor-league back-field games during spring training in 2021 and 2022.

“I vividly remember his outings against us in spring training,” Hill said. “I was walking around, asking people, ‘Who is this guy?’ That was my first introduction to him.”

After being traded to the Dodgers, Klein was optioned to triple-A Oklahoma City to work under the tutelage of minor-league pitching coaches Ryan Dennick and David Anderson. There, he started to refine his approach and trust his high-octane arsenal in the zone more. In 22 ⅔ innings, he struck out a whopping 44 batters.

“[He was] never short for stuff,” Anderson told OKC’s team broadcaster at the end of the season. “It was just accessing the zone and forcing action.”

During four stints on the MLB roster over the second half of the year — during which he posted a 2.35 ERA in 14 outings — Klein also worked with big-league pitching coaches Mark Prior and Connor McGuiness on developing a sweeper to give him an all-important third pitch.

“I think our coaches have done a fantastic job of cleaning up the delivery, challenging him to be in the hitting zone, working on a slider,” manager Dave Roberts said. “He’s a great young man. And it’s one of those things that you don’t really know until you throw somebody in the fire.”

The Dodgers didn’t do that initially this October, sending Klein to so-called “stay hot” camp in Arizona for the first three rounds of the playoffs.

But while Klein was there, Hill said it “was very notable how locked in he was” during bi-weekly sessions of live batting practice, with the pitcher “consistently asking for feedback and trying to continue to make sure his stuff was ready.”

During the team’s off week before the World Series, Klein was sent to Los Angeles to throw more live at-bats against their big-league hitters. He promptly impressed once again, helping thrust himself further into Fall Classic roster consideration as the team contemplated ways to shuffle the bullpen.

Still, when Klein learned he would actually be active for the World Series, he acknowledged it came as a surprise.

“I’m just going to go out there,” he told himself, “and do what I can to help all these guys that have worked their butts off.”

After holding his own in a scoreless inning of mop-duty in a Game 1 blowout loss to the Blue Jays, Klein started sensing another opportunity coming as Monday’s game stretched deep into the night.

“I realized that, when I looked around in the bullpen and my name was the only one still there, I was just going to [keep pitching] until I couldn’t,” he laughed.

Every time he returned to the dugout between innings, he told the coaching staff he was good to keep going.

“No one else is going to care that my legs are tired right now,” he said. “Just finding it in me to throw one more pitch, and then throw another one after that.”

Back in Illinois, Anderson was like everyone else from Klein’s past. Awed by how deep he managed to dig on the mound. Moved by a moment they, just like him, could have never foreseen or possibly imagined.

“Everything about him — his mentality, his work ethic, his obstacles, his path — it was like he was destined to be on that field at that time,” Anderson said. “That’s one of the greatest baseball games in history.”

And, against all odds, it was Klein who left perhaps its most heroic mark.

Dodgers fans Aiden Mashaka and his dad, Akida Mashaka.

(Juliana Yamada / Los Angeles Times)

How long have you been a Dodgers fan?

Akida: What are you talking about? Kirk Gibson! I’m Tommy Lasorda, baby!

How much did you pay for your ticket?

Akida: $900. We bought our tickets from a third party. I’ve been asking my brother-in-law how much I owe him, but he’s such an amazing human being. He’s like “Don’t worry. I got this!”

Was it worth it?

Akida: Of course it’s worth it. We’re seeing the Dodgers World Series. The flight costs more than $900. If you have it, it’s worth it. If you don’t have it, it’s not worth it — you can watch it on TV. If I was still in school, I would be watching on TV. But I am a 53-year-old man, after many years of life, so I can spend $900 to watch the Dodgers.

Aiden: This is maybe my second or third game that I’ve been to for the Dodgers. Being at the World Series, like the grand finale, I feel like it’s a great time to be here. I’m really proud of my dad, my auntie and my uncle for bringing me here. I want to thank them.

Akida: Can we get a crying emoji?