start

Matthew Stafford knows how to finish.

The Rams quarterback gave another masterclass last Sunday when he led the Rams to victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. It was Stafford’s 40th fourth-quarter comeback victory, leaving the 18th-year pro one shy of tying Ben Roethlisberger for third on the all-time list behind Tom Brady and Peyton Manning.

But through four games, this has not otherwise been a prodigious start for the reigning NFL most valuable player and future Hall of Famer.

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Gary Klein breaks down what to watch for when the Rams face the Buffalo Bills at SoFi Stadium on Monday night.

Stafford, 38, has passed for six touchdowns, with six interceptions, for a team that is 2-2 going into its game on Monday night against the Buffalo Bills at SoFi Stadium.

Stafford is tied with the Chargers’ Justin Herbert for second-most interceptions in the NFL, trailing only the New England Patriots’ Drake Maye, who has seven.

And while Stafford’s numbers are more middling than fall-off-a-cliff poor, they rank among his slowest statistical starts.

Only twice in his career has Stafford had six passes intercepted in the first four games.

As a rookie in 2009, the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft had three passes intercepted in his first game, two in the second, none in the third and one in the fourth.

The same pattern repeated in 2022 during the Rams’ infamous Super Bowl hangover that ended with a 5-12 record, and Stafford on injured reserve.

Last season, in the Rams’ first four games, Stafford passed for eight touchdowns, with two interceptions, en route to a 3-1 start and what eventually became his run to a first MVP award.

So Stafford acknowledged that he personally has “room for improvement.”

“Some really bright moments, and some stuff I’m really proud of,” Stafford said, “and stuff that I definitely wish I could take back and help us be in a better position to win games. That comes with the position.”

The Rams’ — and Stafford’s — season began poorly after the team’s misguided decision to arrive in Australia the day before they played the San Francisco 49ers in the season opener. Stafford passed for only 155 yards, with an interception, in a 27-7 defeat.

Stafford rebounded by passing for four touchdowns, with an interception, in a 28-6 victory over the New York Giants at SoFi Stadium.

In the next game at Denver, Stafford completed 30 of 55 passes for 390 yards and two touchdowns. But Broncos safety Talanoa Hufanga intercepted two passes, one he returned for a touchdown and another in the end zone in the final seconds of a 30-26 Rams defeat.

Against the Eagles, Stafford completed 32 of 51 passes for 317 yards, with two interceptions.

“He was at his best in the most important moments,” coach Sean McVay said. “That’s the competitive greatness — to find a way in spite of some different things that maybe didn’t go our way.”

Stafford was asked this week how he managed to stay calm, not feel rattled and still take shots at clutch plays after committing turnovers in a hostile environment.

His answer: Trust his preparation and live with the results.

“The world’s going to have an opinion on how I played every single play of every single day — that’s something I’m used to,” he said. “Are there areas I want to be better that [reporters] don’t even pick up and talk about? Absolutely. Are there the obvious ones? For sure.”

Last season, starting in Week 4, Stafford put together a personal-best streak of eight games without an interception. He passed for 25 touchdowns during that stretch. In 17 games, he passed for a career-best 46 touchdowns, with eight interceptions.

Stafford has endured throughout his career by never getting too high or too low. So that won’t change.

“I want to do everything I can to put our team in the best position to succeed,” he said. “I’ve done that sometimes this year and other times I have not.

“I want to make sure that I do that at a more consistent clip moving forward.”

Ulster hooker Tom Stewart admits “I don’t think I’ve come to the party well enough” and says the squad must have “honest conversations” after an underwhelming start to the season.

Successive draws with Glasgow and Munster after a loss to Edinburgh leaves Ulster winless in the United Rugby Championship before starting their Challenge Cup campaign away to Zebre next week.

Head coach Richie Murphy said he was “bitterly disappointed” after his side were forced to fight back for a 26-26 draw with Munster, while Stewart questioned his own contributions to the game in Belfast.

“From a personal point of view, I’m not happy with my performances about it. I don’t think I’ve come to the party well enough, I don’t know if it’s my preparation or the mental side to the game,” said Stewart, who captained Ulster against Glasgow and Munster in the injured Iain Henderson’s absence.

“It’s something I really need to have a look at and plan better or whatever it is, but I need to start understanding why that is the case.”

Stewart, who marked his seventh Ireland cap with a try against Japan over the summer, added: “From my own point of view, I need to properly watch back my intent in some of the collisions and my actual process around what I’m doing.

“Then I think we need to have some honest conversations this week within ourselves, with the team, players and coaches to see where we’re at.”

Ulster travel to Zebre on Saturday (15:15 BST) before travelling to South Africa for difficult URC assignments against the Bulls and Stormers.

For Stewart, Ulster “can’t shy away” from the shortcomings in their performances as they strive to kick-start their season.

“It’s hard, when you have a game like that you don’t want to watch it back,” added the 25-year-old.

“You don’t want to review yourself properly, you don’t want to look at the hard stuff, the nitty-gritty that you haven’t done well, but that’s where you find the fixes, the learnings.

“The hardest stuff you watch will be the most impactful stuff going forward.”

Riders at the Giro di Lombardia staged a protest which delayed the start of the race for five minutes as they sought to draw attention to safety concerns following a series of incidents.

Organisers completed the countdown and a starting flag was waved but the peloton remained stationary, creating confusion among spectators in Bergamo, Italy.

Belgium’s Remco Evenepoel then addressed the crowd, saying “there’s too many incidents happening with vehicles in the race” and highlighting the death of British cyclist Fin Tarling, who died in a collision with a vehicle at the Volta a Portugal in August.

“Unfortunately we lost the life of a brother and of a colleague of us, so we want to make this statement to show to the world that we cannot keep accepting the fact that guys are getting injured or literally dying in what we like the most to do,” added double Olympic champion Evenepoel.

After five minutes had elapsed, a second starting flag was waved and the riders set off for Como.

“This week alone, there were multiple incidents of vehicles on race courses,” said the CPA union, which represents professional cyclists, in a statement which was re-posted on Instagram by riders including Evenepoel and Great Britain’s Tom Pidcock, external.

“This summer, a life was tragically lost to exactly this kind of failure. We will not stand for this any longer.”

The CPA has called for cycling’s governing body, the UCI, to help ensure race organisers “take responsibility” and “act” to improve safety standards.

Earlier this week, Thomas Gloag and Marcel Camprubi were struck by a police motorcycle travelling in the opposite direction during the Tre Valli Varesine race.

“Riders race at high speed with little protection, and we depend on the UCI and race organisers to secure the roads. That responsibility is not being met,” the CPA statement added.

“We did not want to affect the race, only to show what riders can do when we stand as one.

“We love this sport. We respect the race organisers. We want to race hard and put on a show for our fans. However most importantly we want to come home safe to our loved ones.”

The Giro di Lombardia is the last of the season’s five Monuments, a set of long-standing, prestigious one-day races.

It has been won by Tadej Pogacar for the past five years but the Slovenian is not present at the race, which is also the penultimate event on this year’s UCI World Tour calendar, after sustaining a season-ending injury at the Vuelta a Espana.

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell. I’m back! Who missed me? No one? That’s sad.

Game 4 thoughts

—Sorry I missed the first three games, I was sick and had to rest. A combination of Nyquil, Theraflu, Zinc and vitamin C had me seeing three Dodgers on the mound. I guess I could have written about the one in the middle. But I’m back for the duration.

—Best wishes to Joe Davis, who lost his voice. I like the Davis-John Smoltz combo, though Smoltz tends to use 20 words to say something he could say in five.

—Some online complain that the Dodgers announcer gets to call the Dodgers’ postseason games. They must have missed the Vin Scully years. Plus, no one seems to be complaining that a Braves Hall of Famer is the commentator. I detect no bias from either of them.

—This recap is written as the game is going on. I don’t go back and change things to make me look good …. or bad. It’s just what I’m thinking at the time.

First inning

—Tyler Mahle was 4-1 with a 1.99 ERA in nine starts with the Braves. He throws a lot of strikes, so being patient will be extra difficult for the Dodgers today.

—Will we get the good Tyler Glasnow or the bad Tyler Glasnow?

—My mom could steal a base off Glasnow.

—You ever notice how great it is when Dodger fans stand up and cheer when their pitcher has two strikes, but how annoying it is when other fans do it?

—Hate seeing runs score on wild pitches. Braves 1, Dodgers 0.

—That’s OK. The Dodgers were going to have to score a run to win anyway, now they need to score two.

Second inning

—Watching Shohei Ohtani swing makes me think we are going to hear that his injuries were a lot more serious than let on. Sort of like in 2024 when he hurt his shoulder much worse than they said.

—Ohtani still hasn’t learned to slide without jamming his left arm into the ground.

—Rare back-to-back errors by the Braves. Not exactly how you’d predict the teams would score their first runs. Dodgers 1, Braves 1.

—Glasnow seems to be effectively wild so far.

Third inning

—We seem to be in the settling-in phase of the game now.

—Glasnow has made 44 pitchers. 22 balls, 22 strikes. That’s not really sustainable. Michael Harris II reaches on a walk. Will he steal on the first pitch?

—Whoever runs Atlanta’s in-game noise is stuck in the 1980s. An air horn? I half-expect a sound effect from Pac-Man.

—And Harris didn’t try to steal at all. Surprising.

Fourth inning

—The Dodgers are chasing too much.

—I like the Danny DeVito Jersey Mike’s commercials. Not a big fan of Jersey Mike’s though.

—Speaking of fast food, when is Carl’s Jr. bringing back the steak sandwich?

—Great. Now I’m hungry.

—All three Dodgers struck out.

—Do you think the Dodgers brain trust has had any conversations about giving Ohtani a game off?

—Suddenly, both pitchers are locked in.

—As soon as I write that, Glasnow walks Mike Yastrzemski (worth 29 points in Scrabble).

Fifth inning

—Nice at-bat by Kiké Hernández, even if it did end in an out. The Dodgers need to make Mahle work.

—Andy Pages is scorching the ball. He needs to get off this list though:

Worst career postseason batting average, minimum 80 plate appearances:

Dan Wilson, .091
Dal Maxvill, .114
Brandon Lowe, .115
Andy Pages, .123 (10 for 81)
Yasmani Grandal, .127
Rhys Hoskins, .141
Austin Meadows, .145
Jason Heyward, .145
Mike Bordick, .148
Mark McLemore, .152

—Glasnow walked Austin Riley. These walks are going to cost him at some point.

—Mookie Betts never swings at the first pitch. Michael Harris II swings at every first pitch.

—I’m not sure how the Tomahawk Chop chant is still a thing.

—Ronald Acuña Jr. walks. And that’s it for Glasnow. Only one hit, but five walks.

—Matt Olson creamed that ball. If any of us had been playing second, we’d have said, “What? A ball was just hit by us? Never saw it.” These guys make fielding seem so easy.

Sixth inning

—Will Smith is one for 16 this series. It’s amazing the Dodgers are up 2-1, because it feels like no one is hitting.

—The Dodgers were hitting .218 coming into this game, the Braves .160.

—Ozzie Albies could have been at third if he had run hard out of the box on his double off the wall. Will it cost the Braves?

—Edgardo Henriquez tries to get out of the inning. This feels like a pivotal moment.

—The Braves hit ball hard twice, but right at people. And at the two worst fielders. But they are out of the inning.

—That inning seemed to last a million years.

Seventh inning

—This will probably be Mahle’s last inning.

—Ohtani swings at the first pitch.

—Teoscar gets a hit, and that’s it for Mahle, who pitched very well.

—I’m not sure of the wisdom of pinch-hitting for Super Kiké. But Josue De Paula walked. Tommy Edman runs for him.

—Now it’s Kyle Tucker. Is this his moment?

—Teoscar almost has an all-time base-running blunder.

—Tucker walks. New pitcher for Atlanta, to face Pages. Time to get off that worst 10 list.

—He gets off it! Two RBIs. 2025 is a distant memory. Dodgers 3, Braves 1.

—Now, who comes out of the bullpen to hold it?

—Just want to circle back to De Paula. He’s 21 and spent most of the season in double A. But he doesn’t chase any pitches and works an important walk. Impressive.

—Henriquez stays on the mound for the bottom of the inning.

—Hard shot to Max Muncy, who is so much better as a fielder compared with two years ago.

—Henriquez shakes off Will Smith twice and then throws a meatball up to the plate. Maybe listen to Smith.

—After a booming double by Harris, Acuña swings at the first pitch and bounces out. Thanks.

Eighth inning

—The Dodgers go down quietly, and turn to Tanner Scott for the bottom of the eighth.

—Scott made Olson strike out on a pitch that was almost in the dugout.

—Scott looks dominant. Three outs away.

Ninth inning

—Braves bring in their close to maintain the two-run deficit. It’s former Angels closer Raisel Iglesias.

—He failed. Muncy crushed that ball. Dodgers 4, Braves 1.

—I see all these ads for betting sites and prediction markets and still wonder why sports allows these ads.

—Can Edwin Díaz get the final three outs and send the Dodgers to the NLCS?

—Díaz always starts the game with PitchCom problems.

—Rowdy Tellez is a large human being.

—Strike out, fly out, fly out. See you Sunday in L.A. or Milwaukee.

—By the way, how much longer is the postseason nowadays? Today (Thursday), is the 70th anniversary of Don Larsen’s perfect game in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series.

Farewell, Fred Claire

Former Dodgers general manager Fred Claire died this week. He was 91. Claire took over the Dodgers in April 1987 when Al Campanis made a fool of himself on “Nightline,” making racist remarks. The Dodgers had a poor season, but Claire was subtly changing the Dodgers, signing players such as Mickey Hatcher and acquiring Tim Belcher. Before the 1988 season, Claire signed Kirk Gibson to a three-year, $4.5-million deal (doesn’t that contract sound quaint nowadays). He acquired Alfredo Griffin, Jay Howell and Jesse Orosco, among other moves. And we all know how the 1988 season ended.

More important, Claire may have been one of the nicest people in history. He took part in the “Ask… “ series in this newsletter, and would check in with critiques and compliments throughout the history of this newsletter. If I needed to contact a retired player for an “Ask…” interview, he invariably had their number. He will be missed.

Former Dodgers owner Peter O’Malley, on Claire: “We hired Fred in 1969 as publicity director when he was the beat writer covering the Dodgers for the Long Beach Press-Telegram. He then began a distinguished 30-year career with the Dodgers. Fred was a talented team player and everyone in the organization enjoyed working with him. We were all happy when he was Executive Vice President and named major league Executive of the Year after the 1988 Dodgers won the World Series. Our thoughts are with his wife Sheryl and the entire family.”

Time for a poll

Who will win the NLCS?

Click here to vote in our survey.

Up next

Sunday at Milwaukee, TBD, FOX/FS1/FOX Deportes/FOX One

Monday at Milwaukee, TBD, FOX/FS1/FOX Deportes/FOX One

Wednesday at Dodgers, TBD, FOX/FS1/FOX Deportes/FOX One

Thursday at Dodgers, TBD, FOX/FS1/FOX Deportes/FOX One

*Friday, Oct. 16 at Dodgers, TBD, FOX/FS1/FOX Deportes/FOX One

*Sunday, Oct. 18 at Milwaukee, TBD, FOX/FS1/FOX Deportes/FOX One

*Monday, Oct. 19 at Milwaukee, TBD, FOX/FS1/FOX Deportes/FOX One

All times Pacific

*-if necessary

In case you missed it

Plaschke: He finally did it! Dodgers’ Andy Pages ends two-year postseason slump at the perfect time

‘That’s why he stayed in the lineup.’ Andy Pages’ clutch hit carries Dodgers back to NLCS

Nine concerns the Dodgers should have about facing the Brewers in the NLCS

Dodgers, Angels receive surprising report cards from the Automated Ball-Strike system’s first season

Shaikin: Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s playoff dominance impresses everyone, especially Tarik Skubal

Swanson: The Braves let Freddie Freeman go. Now he’s making them pay in the NLDS

Plaschke: Fred Claire’s quiet impact on the Dodgers should never be forgotten

Fred Claire, former Dodgers GM whose team won the ’88 World Series, dies

‘I was nowhere’: How Edwin Díaz regained the Dodgers’ trust in the postseason

And finally

Tommy Lasorda gives the ultimate pep talk. 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 houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

San Marino High first-year football coach Dujuawn “DJ” Jones got smart when he took over the program, searching for the best athletes on campus and getting their friends on the football team to lobby for them to come out.

What’s happened this season is pretty extraordinary. Aided by nearly a dozen baseball players, San Marino’s football team is off to a 6-0 start. The quarterback, Parker Wilson, is the starting catcher for the baseball team. There are also wrestlers, basketball players and track athletes on the team.

The joke is whether the majority of players are talking about the Dodgers or the Rams during practices.

“We try to do some of the teachings more like in baseball terms,” Jones said. “We want our kids to play other sports.”

There are lots of baseball players around the Southland having big seasons playing football, from Capistrano Valley quarterback Talon Spencer to Corona del Mar receiver JJ Haley to Hart running back Matix Frithsmith to La Canada quarterback Joe Bell to Palos Verdes running back Christian Weis.

The only question left to ask regarding San Marino is how many of the football players are visiting the batting cage before practice?

“Right now they’re not missing too much,” Jones said.

If only the baseball players playing the sport 365 days a year knew what fun they are missing out on.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.

NEW passport rules are being rolled out across the UK which will make travelling MUCH quicker.

The government recently announced its new scheme where passengers arriving into the UK will be able to pass through e-gates without scanning their passport.

It has now opened up to passengers returning to the UK via East Midlands airport – the first to use the system.

The government has said that in its testing, the new contactless system is up to 25 per cent faster than current e-gates.

It will work by passengers having their photo taken at the e-gate – it’s checked by the system, verified against immigration, travel and passport information.

Essentially it takes away the need to both have a picture taken and scan the passport.

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Once the checks are complete, the e-gates will open automatically.

If there is a need for further checks, then passengers will need to place their passport on the reader – or they could be asked to see a Border Force officer.

Passengers should still keep their passport with them at all times.

At the moment, the contactless system will be for British citizens only, but will eventually be able to be used by other nationalities.

It’s set to be in place at all airports across the UK by early 2027.

Phil Douglas, Director General of Border Force, said: “This is a win for travellers coming to our brilliant country.

“By using state-of-the-art technology, we are making journeys smoother and faster, all while fully maintaining the UK’s robust border security.

“Our digital transformation also builds on our work this summer to extend eGates to children aged eight and above, making life a little easier for families.”

Teoscar Hernández? Sure. Max Muncy? Certainly. Tarik Skubal? Absolutely.

But Kyle Tucker? Are you kidding me?

Of all the heroes in the Dodgers’ 5-3 victory over the Atlanta Braves in their National League Division Series opener Saturday at Dodger Stadium, none was more stunning than the shrugging, somnolent, underachieving right fielder whom Dodger fans have treated like an overpaid outcast.

Just listen to them now.

Booo…Yayyyyy!

Locked in a one-run game on a scorching 100-degree afternoon, Tucker drove an AJ Smith-Shawver fastball 408 feet over the right-field fence in the sixth inning for a two-run homer that essentially ended the Braves’ afternoon and set up the Dodgers for what appears to be a certain series sweep.

Yes, the Dodgers only lead one game to none in this best-of-five deal, but the Braves are clearly out of breath and out of pitching after enduring last week’s wild-card series against the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Braves dug deep in their bullpen for all eight innings Saturday. They may have to dig even deeper in Game 2 on Sunday or desperately start ace Chris Sale on short rest.

Their offense looks wasted, their bullpen is taxed, and they spent most of Saturday in one sweaty mess.

Of course, the Dodger bullpen almost handed the game back to them when Ozzie Albies hit a two-run homer off Tanner Scott in the ninth to close what seemed to be an insurmountable gap. But Scott was mercifully lifted for Evan Phillips, who recorded the final out of the game to save the Dodgers from disgrace.

And to etch Tucker into the rare role of hero.

“Obviously for us it’s about winning a championship,” said manager Dave Roberts when asked about Tucker afterward. “Our fans, they really remember what you do in the postseason. So this is certainly a way to change the story for a season in 2026.”

Indeed, except for the back end of the bullpen, Dodgers old and new rose to the championship occasion.

Skubal in his first Dodger postseason start after being traded here from Detroit on Aug. 2? Six innings of brilliance, 15 batters in a row retired at one point, only one three-ball count in the first five innings, two allowed hits, seven strikeouts, two walks and only nicked by a Sean Murphy homer.

Dodgers pitcher Tarik Skubal delivers during the first inning Saturday against the Braves.

(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)

Teoscar Hernández, almost benched during a rocky regular season? Same old Teo, the guy who leads the Dodgers with 27 RBIs over the last three postseasons, this time opening the scoring with a two-run homer in the fourth.

Max Muncy, the forgotten stalwart who always seems to show up huge in October? Same old Max, blasting a ball over the right-field fence in the sixth to give the Dodgers a 5-1 lead.

But Kyle Tucker? This was not the same old Tucker. Nobody saw this coming. Certainly, he finished the regular season strong with a .969 OPS in September with six homers and 13 RBIs, but he was awful for most of the previous five months after joining the team this winter with baseball’s highest annual salary of $60 million.

Tucker batted .196 at home. He seemingly jogged after fly balls, wildly swung and missed at fastballs, and who would have thought he would take control with one out in the sixth and the Dodgers leading 2-1?

There was one out. This was a big moment. Skubal was out of the game and the Dodgers had lost all their early momentum when Hernández popped a single to center, bringing up Tucker.

On Smith-Shawver’s second pitch, he connected, and after Tucker trotted across home plate, the most amazing thing happened.

He smiled.

“I think that we all know — it’s been well talked about — the struggles he had this year,” said Roberts. “I give him a lot of credit for grinding through it, not running from it, always posting and kind of getting to the other side of it.”

It was an otherwise ordinary Dodger playoff win that began with a rare bit of Dodger second-guessing.

Many questioned the Dodgers choosing to pitch Skubal in Saturday’s opener while slotting Blake Snell into Sunday’s spot and leaving last season’s playoff hero Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the bench until Game 3.

The reasoning was that Skubal could get two starts in this series on full rest while Yamamoto, who requires an extra day’s rest, was only getting one start in the series regardless. Furthermore, by holding him back in this series, the Dodgers ensured that Yamamoto would get two starts in the National League Championship Series.

Still, you have to wonder, how do you take a guy with a 7-0 postseason record with a 2.25 ERA and put him third in the rotation?

Turns out, the Dodgers knew what they were doing, and before the game, even Andrew Friedman acknowledged this was their best pitching staff of this era.

“I feel like this is the best and deepest pitching staff we’ve ever had going into October,” said the Dodgers president of baseball operations. “I think we had some tough conversations in leaving some guys off the roster. That would have never happened before.”

There were also pregame question marks surrounding the health of Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman.

Those questions remain, as the two future Hall of Famers went two-for-seven with two singles and not much power.

Ohtani, fighting arm and leg injuries, entered the game batting .157 since Aug. 18 with zero home runs during that time.

“As of now, it’s something I’m just going to have to manage,” he said through interpreter Will Ireton.

Ohtani and Freeman are going to have to manage better than this for the Dodgers to three-peat.

Maybe they should take some advice from the Dodgers’ latest candidate to be christened Mr. October.

Kyle Tucker? Yeah, him.

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell. A good Tommy Lasorda quote: “You have got to love what you’re doing. No matter what it is. Whatever you undertake in life, if you don’t love it, and you don’t enjoy it, you are making a big mistake. You have got to love what you are doing. You have to appreciate what you are getting, and you have to do it to the best of your ability.”

It’s that time of year

The Dodgers will face the Atlanta Braves in the NLDS starting Saturday, with Game 1 set to start at 1 p.m. Pacific, with the temperature forecast to be around 100 degrees. So, bring a sweater. People have complained that the 1 p.m. start is unfair because it will be too hot, but unless it is going to be 75 degrees on the Braves side of the field, it will be even. Personally, I would have put Padres-Brewers at 1 p.m. and Dodgers-Braves at 5:30 p.m., but no sense crying over spilled milk (Editor’s note: How many clichés can this guy work into one paragraph?)

The Dodgers faced the Braves six times during the season and lost five.

May 8
at Dodgers 3, Atlanta 1
Emmet Sheehan and five relievers combined to outpitch Braves ace Chris Sale. Freddie Freeman homered.

May 9
Atlanta 7, at Dodgers 2
Blake Snell gave up five runs in three innings and the Braves got 12 hits overall, 11 of them singles. Snell went back on the IL after the game, staying there for three months. Spencer Strider started for the Braves. He is currently on the IL.

May 10
Atlanta 7, at Dodgers 2
Justin Wrobleski took one for the team, giving up all seven Braves runs in 8 2/3 innings. Bryce Elder started for the Braves, going 5 2/3 innings. Drake Baldwin and Matt Olson homered for Atlanta.

Aug. 25
at Atlanta 4, Dodgers 3
Tyler Glasnow gave up three runs in five innings and Tanner Scott gave up the go-ahead run in the bottom of the eighth. Bryce Elder got the start for the Braves, giving up three runs in six innings. The teams combined for 19 hits, but only two extra-base hits.

Aug. 26
at Atlanta 6, Dodgers 5
Roki Sasaki gave up four runs in 3 1/3 innings, but Tanner Scott got the loss when he gave up a walk-off single to Ha-Seong Kim in the bottom of the ninth. AJ Smith-Shawyer started for the Braves, giving up three runs in five innings. Matt Olson and Sean Murphy homered for Atlanta, Tommy Edman for the Dodgers.

Aug. 27
at Atlanta 1, Dodgers 0
The only run came in the first inning by Drake Baldwin, Atlanta’s leadoff hitter. Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitched 6 1/3 innings, giving up the lone run and four hits while striking out eight. Chris Sale pitched a shutout, giving up five hits and striking out 11.

Dodgers against the Braves this season

Batting
Hunter Feduccia, 3 for 5, 2 RBIs
Mookie Betts, .333/.429/.417, 14 plate appearances, 1 double, 1 RBIs
Teoscar Hernández, .333/.467/.333, 15 PA’s
Ben Rortvedt, 1 for 3
Andy Pages, .300/.364/.600, 11 PA’s, 1 homer, 2 RBIs
Tommy Edman, .273/.429/.636, 14 PA’s, 1 double, 1 homer, 3 RBIs
Alex Call, .273/.429/.364, 14 PA’s, 1 double, 1 RBI
Santiago Espinal, 1 for 5
Shohei Ohtani, .192/.192/.308, 26 PA’s, 1 double, 1 triple, 1 RBI
Freddie Freeman, .174/.240/.348, 25 PA’s, 1 double, 1 homer, 1 RBI
Will Smith, 1 for 7
Kyle Tucker, .133/.278/.200, 18 PA’s, 1 double, 1 RBI
Alek Thomas, 1 for 8, 1 RBI
Miguel Rojas, 1 for 8
Max Muncy, .118/.211/.294, 19 PA’s, 1 homer, 2 RBIs
Hyeseong Kim, 0 for 6
Kiké Hernández, 0 for 3
Alex Freeland, 0 for 7
Dalton Rushing, 0 for 5
Team, .196/.281/.299, 6 doubles, 1 triple, 4 homers, 2.5 runs per game

Pitchers

Jack Dreyer, 0.00 ERA, 2.2 IP, 2 hits, 1 walk, 1 K
Brock Stewart, 0.00 ERA, 2 IP, 2 hits, 2 walks, 1 K
Alex Vesia, 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1.1 IP
Evan Phillips, 0.00 ERA, 1.1 IP, 1 hit, 1 K
Will Klein, 0.00 ERA, 1 IP, 1 hit,1 walk, 1 K
Kyle Hurt, 0.00 ERA, 1 IP, 2 hits, 1 K
Wyatt Mills, 0.00 ERA, 0.1 IP, 2 hits
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, 0-1, 1.42 ERA, 6.1 IP, 4 hits, 1 walk, 8 K’s
Emmet Sheehan, 1.93 ERA, 4.2 IP. 6 hits, 1 walk, 7 K’s
Edgardo Henriquez, 2.70 ERA, 3.1 IP, 2 hits, 1 walk, 5 K’s
Paul Gervase, 3.00 ERA, 3 IP, 4 hits, 1 walk, 5 K’s
Eric Lauer, 4.50 ERA, 2 IP, 2 hits, 2 walks, 1 K
Tyler Glasnow, 5.40 ERA, 5 IP, 6 hits, 7 K’s
Tanner Scott, 0-2, 6.75 ERA, 1 save, 2.2 IP, 4 hits, 1 walk, 2 K’s
Justin Wrobleski, 0-1, 7.27 ERA, 8.2 IP, 7 hits, 1 walk, 7 K’s
Roki Sasaki, 10.80 ERA, 3.1 IP, 6 hits, 2 walks, 3 K’s
Blake Snell, 0-1, 12.00 ERA, 3 IP, 6 hits, 2 walks, 5 K’s
Team, 1-5. 4.35 ERA, 1 save, 51.2 IP, 57 hits,16 walks, 55 K’s

Braves vs. Dodgers this season

Batting

Jorge Mateo, 4 for 7, 1 RBI
Ha-Seong Kim, 2 for 4, 1 RBI
Dominic Smith, 2 for 5, 1 double
Eli White, 2 for 5, 1 RBI
Drake Baldwin, .364/.481/.727, 27 PA’s, 2 doubles, 2 homers, 5 RBIs
Michael Harris II, .348/.375/.391, 25 PA’s, 1 double, 2 RBIs
Jim Jarvis, 1 for 3
Mauricio Dubón, .280/.308/.320, 26 PA’s, 1 double, 4 RBIs
Matt Olson, .261/.320/.565, 25 PA’s, 1 double, 2 homers, 4 RBIs
Ozzie Albies, .250/.269/.250, 26 PA’s, 4 RBIs
Austin Riley, .238/.292/.286, 24 PA’s, 1 double, 3 RBIs
Sean Murphy, .214/.267/500, 15 PA’s, 1 double, 1 homer, 1 RBI
Lane Thomas, 1 for 7, 1 double
Ronald Acuña Jr., 1 for 9
Mike Yastrzesmki, .083/.154/.083, 13 PA’s
Kyle Farmer, 0 for 1
Team, .278.330/.395, 9 doubles, 5 homers, 4.33 runs per game

Pitching

Spencer Strider, 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 6 IP, 1 hit, 2 walks, 8 K’s
Raisel Iglesias, 0.00 ERA, 1 save, 2 IP. 1 hit, 1 walk, 2 K’s
Didier Fuentes, 0.00 ERA, 2 IP, 1 hit, 3 walks, 1 K
Victor Mederos, 1-0. 0.00 ERA, 1.2 IP, 2 walks, 3 K’s
Dylan Dodd, 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1.1 IP, 1 hit
Robert Suarez, 0.00 ERA, 1.1 IP, 1 walk
Aaron Bummer, 0.00 ERA, 1 IP
Chris Sale, 1-1, 11.13 ERA, 16 IP, 10 hits, 18 K’s
Bryce Elder, 1-0, 2.31 ERA, 11.2 IP, 9 hits, 4 walks, 13 K’s
AJ Smith-Shawyer, 5.40 ERA, 5 IP, 5 hits, 3 walks, 3 K’s
Dylan Lee, 9.00 ERA, 2 IP, 5 hits, 1 walk
Reynaldo López, 9.00 ERA, 2 IP, 4 hits, 1 walk, 1 K
Tyler Kinley, 18.00 ERA, 1 IP, 1 hit, 1 walk, 1 K
Team, 2.38 ERA, 53 IP, 38 hits, 19 walks, 50 K’s

How they compare

Let’s take a look at how the Dodgers and Braves compare this season:

Runs per game
Dodgers, 4.94 (fourth in the majors)
Atlanta, 4.58 (ninth)
League average, 4.48

Batting average
Dodgers, .257 (third)
Atlanta, .246 (11th)
League average, .244

On-base percentage
Dodgers, .338 (third)
League average, .318
Atlanta, .309 (28th)

Slugging percentage
Dodgers, .424 (second)
Atlanta, .409 (sixth)
League average, .400

Doubles
Dodgers, 266 (eighth)
Milwaukee, 251 (15th)
League average, 250

Triples
League average, 22
Dodgers, 18 (T19th)
Atlanta, 13 (29th)

Home runs
Dodgers, 204 (T7th)
Atlanta, 204 (T7th)
League average, 186

Stolen bases
League average, 110
Atlanta, 83 (T23rd)
Dodgers, 72 (27th)

Sacrifice bunts
League average, 23
Dodgers, 15 (T21st)
Atlanta, 11 (T26th)

Grounded into double play
Dodgers, 128 (third)
League average, 105
Atlanta, 89 (T27th)

ERA
Dodgers, 3.55 (fifth)
Atlanta, 3.63 (sixth)
League average, 4.17

Rotation ERA
Dodgers, 3.43 (second)
Atlanta, 3.76 (sixth)
League average, 4.24

Bullpen ERA
Atlanta, 3.44 (fourth)
Dodgers, 3.74 (ninth)
League average, 4.09

Pitcher strikeouts
Dodgers, 1,521 (fourth)
League average, 1,352
Atlanta, 1,350 (15th)

Pitcher walks
Dodgers, 480 (fourth fewest)
Atlanta, 529 (12th)
League average, 545

Home runs allowed
Dodgers, 172 (12th fewest)
Atlanta, 185 (17th)
League average, 186

Saves
Atlanta, 49 (T4th)
Dodgers, 46 (T7th)
League average, 42

Blown saves
League average, 23
Dodgers, 23 (T14th)
Atlanta, 20 (T21st)

Inherited runners who scored%
Atlanta, 20.9%, 36 of 172 (1st)
League average, 71 of 226, 31.4%
Dodgers, 35.8%, 69 of 174 (23rd)

The two teams are pretty evenly matched.

So who’s going to win?

The last NL team to win the World Series before the Dodgers? The Braves in 2021. They were led by some guy named Freeman.

If the Dodgers go into one of their team-wide funks, they could get swept. But here’s guessing they won’t do that in the postseason. It will be a tough series, but I’m going with…… Prediction: Dodgers in 5.

Poll results

We asked, “Which two of these four players would you pick to be on the postseason roster?”

After 18,543 votes:

Josue DePaula, 94.3%
Alex Call, 64.6%
Hyeseong Kim, 35.1%
Dalton Rushing, 6%

Up next

Saturday: Atlanta at Dodgers, 1 p.m., Fox, AM 570, KTNQ 1020
Sunday: Atlanta at Dodgers, 5 p.m., FS1, AM 570, KTNQ 1020
Tuesday: Dodgers at Atlanta, 3 p.m., FS1, AM 570, KTNQ 1020
*Wednesday: Dodgers at Atlanta, 3 p.m., FS1, AM 570, KTNQ 1020
*Friday: Atlanta at Dodgers, 5 p.m., Fox, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

All times Pacific

*-if necessary

In case you missed it

‘We are the team to beat’: How the Dodgers are preparing for showdown with Braves

Nine concerns the Dodgers should have about facing the Braves in the NLDS

Shaikin: ‘Hired gun’ Tarik Skubal opens up on the pressure, pain and lessons of October

And finally

Freddie Freeman hits a walk-off home run in the 18th inning to win Game 3 of the 2025 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 houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

When the Dodgers acquired left-hander Tarik Skubal at the trade deadline, they expected him to be a big part of their postseason plans. But they didn’t necessarily pencil him in as their Game 1 starter.

After mulling over their options this week, the Dodgers are expected to announce Friday that Skubal will take the mound in Game 1 of the National League Division Series, confirmed a person with knowledge of the situation who was not authorized to speak publicly.

Their plans for a sweltering 1 p.m. start Saturday against the Braves were first reported by the Athletic.

The rest of the Dodgers’ rotation order was not immediately clear, but right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto — who had seemed a strong option for Game 1 after his World Series heroics last year — pitched to batters during the Dodgers’ workout Wednesday. If he takes his usual five days of rest, that would line him up to pitch Game 3 in Atlanta on Tuesday. So, left-hander Blake Snell could pitch Game 2 Sunday at Dodger Stadium.

“To be honest, we can kind of really put all four guys in a hat and run them out there,” manager Dave Roberts said Tuesday. “But I think there is going to be more thought behind it.”

Skubal, who the Dodgers acquired from the Tigers for three prospects, has posted a 2.61 ERA in 10 starts for Los Angeles. He finished his regular season with a gem against the Giants last week: seven three-hit innings on just 75 pitches.

PHOENIX — The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected Arizona’s eleventh-hour bid to block the upcoming start of a court-ordered takeover of healthcare operations in its prisons after the state was found to have provided constitutionally inadequate care to incarcerated people and dragged its feet for over a decade in making required improvements. Justice Elena Kagan denied the state’s request Thursday, leaving an outside corrections professional set to take over healthcare management for 25,000 incarcerated people on Oct. 19.

Arizona had asked the courts to delay the takeover while it appealed that decision and the appointment of former Ohio corrections director Annette Chambers-Smith to lead the effort. The state sought the delay from the Supreme Court after lower courts rejected by the request.

Over the past 14 years, Arizona has been dogged by complaints that its prison healthcare system was run shoddily and callously and that it repeatedly failed to improve a system found to have exposed prisoners to harm and preventable deaths.

Under a 2014 settlement, the state pledged to overhaul medical and healthcare services for prisoners but was soon accused of failing to make promised improvements. That led to more than $2 million in contempt-of-court fines and the eventual revocation of the agreement by U.S. District Judge Roslyn Silver, who said corrections officials had shown little interest in making required changes.

After a 2021 trial, Silver ruled against the state, issuing an injunction that required corrections authorities to address the constitutional violations. Earlier this year, she ordered the takeover after concluding the state hadn’t gotten a semblance of compliance with court-ordered changes and the U.S. Constitution after more than a decade of litigation. Silver found that prisoners remained exposed to grave threats of harm and suffering because of systematic deficiencies in their health care.

The Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Re-entry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday’s decision.

In a statement, Corene Kendrick, an American Civil Liberties Union attorney who represents prisoners in the lawsuit, applauded the court’s refusal to delay the takeover, also known as a receivership. She said Arizona fought accountability at every turn while prisoners suffered. “Today’s decision clears the way for a receiver to do what the state has failed to do for more than a decade,” Kendrick said.

In seeking a delay, Arizona’s attorneys said Silver adopted a drastic takeover remedy without first trying intermediate fixes to speed compliance. They also said the judge hadn’t given the corrections department enough time to continue making progress and argued that the official appointed to run healthcare operations wouldn’t be politically accountable. They said the agency is committed to improving health care in prisons, has made significant progress since 2023 and that the prisoners won’t suffer harm if the start of the takeover were delayed by a few months.

Lawyers for prisoners said the state was minimizing its noncompliance, disputed its claim it had not been given enough time to comply after 14 years of litigation and said Silver had already tried less-intrusive remedies. They also said the state’s proposal of a months-long delay in the takeover “grievously minimizes” the harm prisoners face from the state’s inability to provide adequate care.

Complaints about health care in Arizona’s prisons have spanned both Republican and Democratic administrations.

The lawsuit was filed in 2012 during Republican Gov. Jan Brewer’s administration and continued under Republican Gov. Doug Ducey, when both contempt fines against the state were issued. Under Ryan Thornell, the corrections director in Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs administration, the department has complained that its progress in overhauling health care operations in recent years hasn’t been acknowledged.

The lawsuit over healthcare for incarcerated people covers Arizona’s nine state-run prisons but not the nearly 10,000 Arizona inmates held in private prisons.

Billeaud writes for the Associated Press.

Fans have been discussing who they think might be named one of the three Traitors this evening.

One fan has picked out who they don’t trust, saying: “Miranda Hart is just too nice, so obviously it’s her. Michael Sheen could lie to me for ten episodes and I’d thank him for it. And Hannah Fry looks like she’s already done the maths on all of us.”

Another suggested: “The story about James Acaster having a panic attack or similar leading to the game being paused makes me think he’s probably not one.”

“I am really hoping for at least Bella and either James Acaster of Joe Lycett. Joanne, Miranda and James Blunt would also be cool and could pull it off,” a third wrote.

So who do you think will be given those coveted roles? I’d love to see Miranda Hart be named a Traitor but after last year and Alan’s success, Claudia may choose a different personality this time around…

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell. A good Tommy Lasorda quote: “There are three types of people in the world. Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen and those who wonder, ‘What happened?’ ”

Some random questions

While we await the winner of the Braves-Phillies series, it’s time to get a different viewpoint. I reached out to Times columnists Mirjam Swanson and Bill Plaschke to get their answers to a few Dodgers questions.

Q. Which team is the one the Dodgers would rather avoid playing in the NL playoffs?

Swanson: The San Diego Padres, actually. Weird stuff happens with rivalries. Weird stuff has happened against the Padres. Add a rivalry to the high-stakes NLCS? Guaranteed weirdness.

So the Padres concern me more than the Brewers, a talented group headlined by ace Jacob Misiorowski that nonetheless does itself in with its poor-little-us talk. The Padres have swagger — and substance — and they just finished the season on a heater, going 41-18 to close the season.

I still like the Dodgers in that series, and then against whomever comes out of the American League too.

It’s the NLDS that’s of most concern — less for who the opponent will be and more for the fact that it’s a best-of-five series. That squeezes the already small sample size of a playoff series and makes it so there’s less room for error and more room for baseball to happen.

Plaschke: The one team the Dodgers should avoid playing is the Philadelphia Phillies. They have all those left-handed starters who can shut down the best Dodger hitters. They only lost the NLDS to the Dodgers last year because one of their relief pitchers lost his mind. They have a veteran lineup that is long overdue. Play them at your peril.

Q. Does Josue De Paula find a space on the postseason roster, and what do they do with him next year, with the positions he plays seemingly taken?

Swanson: Yes, absolutely, JDP will be on the roster in the postseason. For his incredible energy. For his incredible bat. Both much-needed.

Next year? Are they going to play professional baseball next year?

OK, let’s hope they do play ball. And as long as they do, I can see the Dodgers giving De Paula run in the outfield — so long as he puts in the work in the offseason (however long that is) to train and study and make himself a playable outfielder.

His hitting is so elite, he needs only to be a competent fielder to justify his regular presence in the lineup. He’s a great young athlete and if he understands and tackles the assignment with the gusto that he approaches hitting, I don’t see what could hold him back.

Plaschke: De Paula has to be on the roster this October and in a position to take some high-leverage at-bats. I think he’s potentially good enough that you trade Teo and put him in left.

Q. How would you rank the bullpen in terms of trust (top three)?

Swanson: Roki Sasaki and Edgardo Henriquez are both coming back from injuries and basically jumping right into the postseason fire so … fingers crossed. But let’s assume Sasaki’s blister is a thing of the past, as it appears to be, and that Henriquez’s back isn’t aching, I’ll pick them and make a call for Evan Phillips, who looks great and looks like he’s feeling great; I just saw him hit 100 mph for the first time this season, striking out the San Diego Padres’ Jackson Merrill looking in the Dodgers’ loss Thursday.

Plaschke: In the bullpen I trust, in order, Roki Sasaki, Alex Vesia, and Evan Phillips. I don’t trust Tanner Scott. Would you?

Q. The Dodgers won last year despite not getting a first-round bye. So was it really important for them to get the bye this year?

Swanson: Yes! This team is “old.” They know it, everyone knows it — and they know they’ll benefit from getting off their feet for a few days. To them, it’s a reward for a job well done. As a thankful Freddie Freeman chuckled Thursday night: “Rest for all of us is always nice. We’ve been grinding since February, getting ready for the season. Then you go through a 162-game schedule. It’s a lot. So we played really good baseball for six straight months and we get rewarded for that. So we’ll take it in, rest up and get ourselves ready to go for Saturday.”

Plaschke: The bye is hugely important. This is the oldest team in baseball. This is the most exhausted team in baseball. They desperately need those five days off.

Q. Finally, predictions. Who wins the World Series this year?

Swanson: The club that won the past two World Series.

Plaschke: Milwaukee wins the World Series. Nobody beats the Miz.

Who makes the roster?

We will predict the postseason roster after we know who the Dodgers are playing, but, it appears the final two spots among position players could come down to Josue De Paula, Alex Call, Dalton Rushing and Hyeseong Kim. Which two would you choose to make the team?

Click here to vote.

The last two weeks

Who is hot and not heading into the postseason? Numbers over the last two weeks for the team:

Alex Freeland, .385/.556/.692, 18 plate appearances, 1 double, 1 homer, 1 RBI
Josue De Paula, .385/.529/.692, 34 PA’s, 3 doubles, 1 triple, 1 homers, 7 RBIs
Will Smith, .382/.488/.706, 41 PA’s, 2 doubles, 3 homers, 5 RBIs
Mookie Betts, .340/.431/.640, 58 PA’s, 6 doubles, 3 homers, 8 RBIs
Andy Pages, .333/.458/.722, 24 PA’s, 1 double, 2 homers, 5 RBIs
Kyle Tucker, .292/.393/.521, 56 PA’s, 2 doubles, 3 homers, 5 RBIs
Teoscar Hernández, .286/.352/.490, 54 PA’s, 1 double, 3 homers, 6 RBIs
Kike Hernández, .261/.292/.435, 24 PA’s, 1 double, 1 homer, 3 RBIs
Shohei Ohtani, .238/.273/.286, 22 PA’s. 1 double, 1 RBI
Miguel Rojas, .231/.310/.385, 29 PA’s, 1 double, 1 homers, 3 RBIs
Freddie Freeman, .220/.245/.220, 53 PA’s, 4 RBIs
Max Muncy, .205/.286/.364, 49 PA’s, 4 doubles, 1 homer, 5 RBIs
Tommy Edman, .186/.265/.349, 50 PA’s, 1 double, 2 homers, 8 RBIs
Alex Call, .091/.167/.182, 12 PA’s, 1 double, 1 RBI
Hunter Feduccia, .063/.286/.063, 16 PA’s, 1 RBI
Dalton Rushing, 0 for 3
Team, .265/.356/.455, 25 doubles, 1 triple, 21 homers, 4.57 runs per game

Pitchers

Emmet Sheehan, 0.00 ERA, 11.1 IP, 3 hits, 2 walks, 14 K’s
Alex Vesia, 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 6.2 IP, 1 hit, 1 walk, 9 K’s
Edwin Díaz, 0.00 ERA, 5 IP, 1 hit, 1 walk, 9 K’s
Kris Bubic, 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 4.2 IP, 4 hits, 5 K’s
Landon Knack, 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 4 IP. 4 hits, 2 K’s
Roki Sasaki, 0.00 ERA, 3 IP, 2 hits, 6 K’s
Kyle Hurt, 0.00 ERA, 2 IP, 1 hit, 2 K’s
Justin Wrobleski, 1-0, 1.35 ERA, 6.2 IP. 6 hits, 7 K’s
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, 1-1, 1.38 ERA, 13 IP, 6 hits, 3 walks, 11 K’s
Blake Snell, 1.80 ERA, 5 IP, 6 hits, 4 K’s
Tarik Skubal, 3-0, 1.89 ERA, 19 IP, 14 hits, 3 walks, 22 K’s
Evan Phillips, 1-0, 3.60 ERA, 5 IP, 2 hits, 8 K’s
Tyler Glasnow, 1-1, 3.65 ERA, 12.1 IP, 6 hits, 4 walks, 21 K’s
Bobby Miller, 4.15 ERA, 4.1 IP, 4 hits, 2 walks, 6 K’s
Brock Stewart, 4.50 ERA, 4 IP, 4 hits, 1 walk, 5 K’s
Blake Treinen, 4.91 ERA, 3.2 IP, 5 hits, 2 walks, 3 K’s
Tanner Scott, 0-1, 5.06 ERA, 3 saves, 5.1 IP, 5 hits, 2 walks, 10 K’s
Jack Dreyer, 5.68 ERA, 6.1 IP, 6 hits, 3 walks, 5 K’s
Seth Halvorsen, 0-1, 9.00 ERA, 3 IP, 4 hits, 3 K’s
Edgardo Henriquez, 27.00 ERA, 0.2 IP, 3 hits, 1 walk, 1 K
Team, 10-4, 2.38 ERA, 3 saves, 125 IP, 87 hits, 25 walks, 153 K’s

Bracket time

Every year around this time, this newsletter mentions Makenna Martin, who holds an online bracket (much like the NCAA bracket) where people can fill out their choices for the best-looking Dodger. She added a charitable aspect to it, raising money for a charity for women who are the victim of domestic violence.

Martin, now a college graduate, has continued the bracket, and this year is using it to raise money for “Peace Over Violence,” another charity that helps victims of domestic abuse. You do not have to donate to take part in the bracket challenge. Whether you donate or not, it’s a lot of fun to do. There’s also a raffle to raise funds, with a lot of Dodgers prizes to win. A tip of the cap to Martin and to all young people who try to make the world just a little bit better.

You can find the bracket here.

Donate and take part in the raffle here.

Up next

Saturday: Atlanta/Philadelphia at Dodgers, 1 p.m. or 6 p.m., Fox/FS1, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

Sunday: Atlanta/Philadelphia at Dodgers, 5 p.m., Fox/FS1, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

Tuesday: Dodgers at Atlanta/Philadelphia, TBD, Fox/FS1, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

*Wed., Oct. 7: Dodgers at Atlanta/Philadelphia, TBD, Fox/FS1, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

*Friday, Oct. 9: Atlanta/Philadelphia at Dodgers, TBD, Fox/FS1, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

All times Pacific

*-if necessary

In case you missed it

Who’s hot and who’s not as Dodgers prepare for the postseason

The Dodgers have an old roster. But that isn’t necessarily a drawback in October

Woeful Mets outspend the Dodgers while Rays, Guardians and White Sox win on the cheap

Dodgers Debate: Who do the Dodgers want in the NLDS?

Shaikin: How the playoffs might impact the lockout, and … unfair to the Yankees? What?

And finally

Freddie Freeman hits a walk-off grand slam to win Game 1 of the 2024 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 houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

IF you are thinking about where to go this winter, then you are in luck because Ryanair is adding 22 destinations to its flight schedule.

Routes include Europe as well as a much-loved winter sun spot in Africa.

Four of the new routes will be from London airports including from London Stansted to Glasgow in Scotland, Malmo in Sweden and Parma in Italy.

A new service to Venice, Italy will then also operate from London Luton Airport.

Five new routes will be added to both Liverpool and Birmingham airports.

From Liverpool, you’ll be able to head to Copenhagen, Gdansk, Porto, Tirana and Warsaw.

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Then from Birmingham you’ll be able to head to Copenhagen, Rome Fiumicino in Italy and Marrakech in Morocco which is perfect for winter sun – with some of these flights costing as little as £14.99 per person, per-way.

And there are other lesser-known destinations where you won’t find the crowds experienced elsewhere in Europe such as Tirana in Albania and Warsaw Modlin in Poland.

The airline has also announced that it is increasing the amount of flights departing Manchester Airport to 26 destinations including Malaga, Palma de Mallorca and Madrid in Spain.

It comes as the airline’s boss Michael O’Leary also warned of flight prices rising next year.

At a press conference last week, he said: “Fares for Ryanair passengers and every other passenger into the summer of 2027 are going to rise materially, I believe, because of significantly higher oil prices.

“I have no doubt fares are rising next year. The question is by how much.”

The airline also announced recently that it was axing even more seats that are equal to around 13,000 flights.

In 2025, France lost 25 routes and some 750,000 seats last winter and in Brussels, Ryanair axed 20 routes and cut one million seats across Brussels-Zaventem and Brussels South Charleroi airports.

She became an Olympic champion in Seoul. Janet Evans then won her fourth gold medal in Barcelona. But the star swimmer’s greatest Olympic moment came outside of a pool in Atlanta.

LA28 announced Tuesday it will begin the U.S. portion of the 2028 Olympic torch relay in Atlanta in a return to the city that hosted the United States’ last Summer Games and provided the Olympic movement with one of its most iconic torch relay moments. The city where Evans passed the Olympic flame to Muhammad Ali changed the swimming champion’s view on the Games and fueled her desire to bring the torch back as LA28 hopes to write an equally influential chapter of Olympic history.

“I realized when I carried that torch that the flame represents so much more than medals,” said Evans, now LA28’s chief athlete officer. “It certainly represents victory and all those attributes about the Olympics. But it also brings people together, and it’s a symbol of hope and what the Olympic movement really does for everyone.”

The torch relay, which begins in Olympia, Greece, will come to the United States in spring 2028, pass through all 50 states and culminate on July 14, 2028, with the lighting of the Olympic cauldron at the opening ceremony in L.A.

Three decades ago, the relay legs were reversed. Atlanta’s U.S. torch relay started in L.A., where Evans was one of the first people to run with it in 1996. She never thought she would carry it again during the opening ceremony.

Swimmers never attend opening ceremonies, Evans retorted when Billy Payne, president and chief executive of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games, asked her to run the penultimate leg of the torch relay. She would be competing the next day and needed to rest her legs ahead of her final Olympic races. She didn’t believe him when he promised that carrying the torch in the opening ceremony would surpass any Olympic medal she could win.

Running past her fellow Olympians in Centennial Olympic Stadium made Evans finally understand. At the top of a large ramp, Ali emerged out of the dark night. Evans felt a deep rumble as the boxing champion came into view. The stadium felt like it would collapse.

Ali, trembling from the effects of Parkinson’s disease but with strength still evident, held the flaming torch aloft.

Payne was “worried to death” that Ali could drop the torch, he said, 30 years later. Payne instructed Evans that if that happened, she was to grab his arm, pick up the specially engineered torch that would never extinguish and light the fuse ball together.

Janet Evans passes the Olympic flame to Muhammad Ali during the 1996 Summer Olympic Games Opening Ceremony on July 19, 1996.

(Associated Press)

When Evans faced Ali to pass the flame, she knew she wouldn’t need to resort to Plan B.

“I saw it in his eyes,” Evans said. “I still talk to people that were in the stadium, and they say it changed me. It made me realize that I can do great things just like him.”

The torch and the flame endure in an ever-changing Olympic movement. The Games are no longer just a sports competition. They’re the biggest sporting event in the world. They’re seen as a symbol of unity. For host cities, they can also be seen as a high-stakes burden that must bring economic, commercial and civic success. Anything short of perfection feels like disaster on the world stage.

Now less than two years until the Games open, LA28 chairman Casey Wasserman acknowledged there can be some “angst” around the process that is kicking into the delivery phase.

LA28 is still trying to secure millions of dollars in funding to ensure smooth transportation during the Olympics and Paralympics. The nightmare scenario of running over budget and saddling local taxpayers with debt hangs over the organizing committee.

With no permanent venues to build in advance, much of LA28’s spending will take place in the final stages. It’s almost that time to spend, Wasserman acknowledged. Getting to finalize major touchpoints such as the torch relay, the mascot and the medal designs while preparing to makeover existing venues signal excitement and confidence in the organization’s process.

“The part now [that] we are in is making sure all of our plans are clear, all of our difficult decisions are being made, so that when we go, we have as few changes and as few course corrections as possible,” Wasserman said. “Not that there won’t be any, but to limit those as much as possible, so that we operate towards the start line with as much certainty as possible, which is the only way to deliver a project of this scale.”

LA28 will announce the full torch relay route in 2027. The private organizing committee has a rough sketch of the path that will snake through all 50 states. The nationwide tour was one of Wasserman’s earliest plans for the relay. While he was intent to bring the Olympics back to L.A. for the third time, he has always wanted these to be “America’s Games.”

Payne is jealous that LA28’s torch relay will reach every corner of the United States when Atlanta only managed 42 states. LA28’s route promises to pass through iconic cities and landmarks, but Wasserman is most keen on carrying the torch through small towns, per advice he received from Payne.

“If you want to see the power and the impact of what you’re doing, that’s where you will feel it,” Wasserman said his Atlanta counterpart told him. “Because that city, that community, it will be the biggest thing in that town. That is the power of the Olympic movement.”

Payne calls it “the burden and the joy” of the torch. During his Olympic planning process, he was never more nervous than when he carried the flame through the University of Georgia’s Sanford Stadium, where he met his wife, Martha, and played for legendary football coach Vince Dooley. Hampered by a hip injury, Payne limped through only a third of his allotted distance. He still cherished every painful step.

“The sense of the entire history of the Olympic world, the hopes and dreams of all the athletes, indeed, all the people of my community, my city, my country, they were all supporting us,” Payne said. “It was an amazing emotional time, and one I think [of] every single time we do the Olympic torch relay. It impacts people very similarly.”

The flame is lit during a ceremony at Olympia, the birthplace of the ancient Olympic Games, using a mirror and light from the sun. It will run through Greece before being transferred to the United States. Since the modern torch relay tradition began in 1936, the flame has burned underwater (Sydney 2000) and in space (Atlanta 1996) and traveled by plane, train, automobile, boat, pony and even camel.

To continue the tradition, LA28 will call upon thousands of torchbearers. LA28 will announce information on the torchbearer nomination process in the coming months.

The Olympic flame is passed to a torch during a ceremony in Olympia, Greece, in November 2025 prior to the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympic Games in Italy.

(Milos Bicanski / Getty Images)

Once it gets to the final 25 to 30 torchbearers, Wasserman said, each runner has to be “fundamentally important, connected and relevant to what we’re doing.” Runners could honor the Olympic movement’s past or future while celebrating L.A. and sports before passing the flame to the final torchbearer to light the cauldron.

The ultimate honor is typically reserved for sporting heroes from the host country, often with Olympic excellence on their resume. Since 1980, only two Summer Games have featured a cauldron lit by a non-Olympic or Paralympic athlete. Ali’s iconic moment set a high bar for the LA28 Games, but with 22 months left before the opening ceremony, the question of who will light L.A.’s cauldron remains a fun parlor game, Wasserman said.

He can make only one promise, which he first told Rafer Johnson. The legendary decathlete who climbed 99 steps to light the cauldron at the Coliseum in 1984 just begged Wasserman not to repeat the punishing path.

“Who lights it and how they get there, I don’t know,” Wasserman said, “but there won’t be however many stairs he ran up to get up to the bottom of the peristyle.”

Aston Villa manager Natalia Arroyo has been sacked following a disappointing start to the Women’s Super League season.

Villa are yet to win this season, drawing two and losing two of their opening four matches and BBC Sport is told that led to the club’s decision.

They suffered a 4-0 defeat by Tottenham on Sunday in the WSL and are due to play Newcastle in the Women’s League Cup on Wednesday (19:30 BST).

Spaniard Arroyo joined Villa in January 2025 and had another two years remaining on her contract.

She becomes the first managerial departure this season, though former Manchester United boss Marc Skinner and ex-Brighton head coach Dario Vidosic both stepped down earlier this year.

The club informed Arroyo of their decision on Monday evening and players were told on Tuesday morning.

Former Everton manager Brian Sorensen, who is now Villa’s women’s technical advisor, has been placed in interim charge.

Since Arroyo’s arrival, Villa have shown flashes of potential and she initially steadied the ship as they toyed with relegation in her first six months at the club.

But despite investment in the transfer window, Villa lacked consistency and were underwhelming last season.

There was pressure on them to perform in 2026-27 and while they earned a draw on the opening weekend against Chelsea, they have looked dangerously open at the back and chaotic out of possession.

Their latest defeat by Spurs was a worrying display and appears to have been enough to lead to Arroyo’s sacking.

Chances were at a premium at Windsor Park as both defences came out on top.

Patrick Kelly hit the crossbar in the first half for Northern Ireland, and Isaac Price had an effort beaten away by Balazs Toth.

After Dan Ballard controversially conceded a penalty in Georgia, Shea Charles also had a penalty appeal waved away in the lead-up to the Kelly chance for a similar incident.

While O’Neill said he had yet to see it back, he did quip that “the referee never seems to make the walk for us to the side of the pitch. It never seems to happen for us.”

The threat of Liverpool midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai was largely nullified throughout the game as Hungary, like Northern Ireland, struggled to create any clear-cut chances.

The only save that Pierce Charles had to make in goal was when a lethargic clearance led to Alex Toth shooting towards goal in the closing stages, but the QPR stopper was otherwise untroubled.

After a 5,000-mile trip from Georgia in their opening game, Northern Ireland had to quickly reset and O’Neill admitted he saw “two tired teams” at the end of the game.

“I think our preparation, our first game in terms of being away from home and everything, was more difficult.

“I felt like Hungary got a little bit stronger towards the end.”