From Bill Plaschke: One minute he was burning through the top of the first inning with three flaming strikeouts.
Roar!
The next minute — literally — he was slugging through the bottom of the first by driving a ball 446 feet into the back of the right-field pavilion.
Roar! Roar!
Three innings later he was doing it again, striking out two batters in the top of the fourth inning before driving a ball 469 feet over the roof of the same right field pavilion.
Roar! Roar! Roar!
Then in the seventh inning after he had left the mound after six scoreless, 10-strikeout innings, he hammered history again, driving a ball 427 feet over the center-field fence to complete a three-homer night.
Roar! Roar! Roar! Roar!
Shohei Ohtani, do you have any idea how you sound?
Dodger fans, do you realize what you’re watching here? Los Angeles, can you understand the singular greatness that plays here? Fall Classic, are you ready for another dose of Sho-time?
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Shohei Ohtani’s unprecedented performance lifts Dodgers back into the World Series
Another champagne celebration for the Dodgers, who still want one more
Dodgers box score
MLB POSTSEASON SCHEDULE, RESULTS
All times Pacific
NLCS
Dodgers vs. Milwaukee
Dodgers 2, at Milwaukee 1 (box score)
Dodgers 5, at Milwaukee 1 (box score)
at Dodgers 3, Milwaukee 1 (box score)
at Dodgers 5, Milwaukee 1 (box score)
ALCS
Seattle vs. Toronto
Seattle 3, at Toronto 1 (box score)
Seattle 10, at Toronto 3 (box score)
Toronto 13, at Seattle 4 (box score)
Toronto 8, at Seattle 2 (box score)
at Seattle 6, Toronto 2 (box score)
Sunday at Toronto, 5 p.m., FS1
*-Monday at Toronto, 5 p.m., Fox/FS1
*-if necessary
From Ben Bolch: Historians looking back at UCLA’s 2025 football season will peg the Penn State game as the Bruins’ first victory.
In ways both large and small, they will be wrong.
When Tim Skipper first took over the team a month ago, he placed a new opponent on the schedule: the locker room. The interim coach showed players pictures of how it should look, including the lockers and the surrounding floor.
They scrubbed the place and it’s been spotless ever since. Sort of like the Bruins’ play starting with that Penn State game.
“I think a clean locker room makes you a lot happier,” Skipper explained this week. “It shows team discipline and it shows you can win off the field, so now you can go ahead and get on the field.”
“We have identified a style of play that we want to be, and it’s our job now to keep the standard the standard, you know, play with that fanatical effort, play with fundamentals, being smart, you know, all those things we just have to continue to do,” Skipper said. “But it’s not like something that’s just going to show up on Saturday. You have to practice about it. You have to work on it and not just talk about it.”
Can the Bruins keep it up after two consecutive victories? Here are five things to watch Saturday afternoon at the Rose Bowl when UCLA (2-4 overall, 2-1 Big Ten) faces Maryland (4-2, 1-2):
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From Ryan Kartje: He was on the brink of the biggest moment of his football career last November when Jayden Maiava tried firing a back-shoulder pass to the sideline and disaster struck.
His third start at USC, to that point, had been his best, by far. While Notre Dame rolled over USC’s run defense, the young quarterback kept the Trojans afloat, passing for three scores and rushing for two more in a performance reminiscent of the one that, in 2022, secured Caleb Williams his Heisman Trophy.
But then came that sideline throw in the final minutes. The pass was picked off by the Irish and returned for a touchdown. A few minutes later, having led USC back into the red zone once again, Maiava threw a second, back-breaking pick-six.
Maiava knows he can’t afford to let that trend continue if USC has hopes of knocking off its rival on the road.
Here’s what else to watch as No. 20 USC travels to South Bend, Ind. to take No. 13 Notre Dame on Saturday night.
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CHARGERS
From Sam Farmer: When the Chargers are successful — and they have won four of six games this season — you can most often trace the results back to two elite components: the arm of Justin Herbert and the leg of Cameron Dicker.
The football world celebrates the former. Herbert has pinpoint precision, even when draped in defenders. But the latter, Dicker’s record-breaking reliability, has almost become an afterthought. He’s going to make his kicks.
Nearly 80% of NFL games were decided by one possession last season, underscoring the value of a kicker who can deliver three points time after time. For instance, Dicker tied a career high by kicking five field goals in the 29-27 win at the Dolphins, including the 33-yard clincher — and in his five seasons he has never missed a field goal of 40 yards or fewer.
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Khalil Mack listed as questionable for Chargers vs. Colts; Joe Alt doubtful
RAMS
From Gary Klein: Rams star receiver Puka Nacua will not play Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars because of an ankle injury he suffered in last Sunday’s victory over the Baltimore Ravens, coach Sean McVay told reporters Friday in Baltimore.
Nacua, who ranks among NFL leaders in catches and yards receiving, did not practice this week in Baltimore, where the Rams stayed before their scheduled departure to London on Friday.
The Rams (4-2) play the Jaguars (4-2) at Wembley Stadium.
Veteran receiver Davante Adams is expected to become quarterback Matthew Stafford’s primary target. Tutu Atwell, who sat out against the Ravens because of a hamstring injury, will return Sunday. Jordan Whittington also is expected to start.
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LAKERS
From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: After slow-playing stars Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, rotating different lineups to accommodate an unreasonably busy six-game preseason schedule and giving their two-way players extended run, the Lakers buttoned up the rotation for a final preseason game Friday that coach JJ Redick called a “dress rehearsal.”
With the curtain finally lifting on Tuesday, the Lakers are not quite ready for showtime.
Doncic dazzled with 31 points, nine assists and five rebounds to lead five double-digit Lakers scorers, but the Kings came back for a 117-116 win at Crypto.com Arena. Despite playing without Keegan Murray, Domantas Sabonis, DeMar DeRozen or Malik Monk, the Kings still shot 54.7% from the field, led by 25 points on 10-of-17 shooting from former Laker Dennis Schroder.
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KINGS
Kings captain Anze Kopitar has a significant foot injury that could sideline him for the near future.
The Kings announced that Kopitar is “week to week” on Friday, a day after he missed the team’s 4-2 loss to Pittsburgh.
Kopitar was hit in the foot by a deflected puck during a shootout loss at Minnesota on Monday. After saying Kopitar’s availability would be a game-time decision for the game against Pittsburgh, the Kings acknowledged the injury could be more significant.
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THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY
1912 — Black boxer Jack Johnson arrested for violating the Mann Act for “transporting women across state lines for immoral purposes” due to his relationship with white woman Lucille Cameron. Later convicted by an all-white jury and sentenced to a year in prison.
1924 — Harold “Red” Grange accounts for six touchdowns in Illinois’ 39-14 win over Michigan. Grange returns the opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown. He follows with touchdown runs of 66, 55 and 40 yards in the first 12 minutes of the game. Grange later passes for another touchdown and returns another kick for a touchdown.
1953 — Woodley Lewis of the Los Angeles Rams has 120 yards in punt returns, including a 78-yard touchdown return, and 174 yards in kickoff returns in a 31-19 victory over the Detroit Lions.
1968 — Bob Beamon of the United States shatters the world record in the long jump at the Summer Olympics in Mexico City. Beamon’s leap of 29 feet and 2 1-2 inches betters the mark by one foot, 9 3-4 inches. The previous record, 27-4 3-4, was held by Soviet jumper Igor Ter-Ovanesyan and Ralph Boston.
1969 — Mike Adamle rushes for 316 yards as Northwestern beats Wisconsin 27-7.
1974 — Chicago center Nate Thurmond, in his first game with the Bulls, records the NBA’s first quadruple-double. Thurmon has 22 points, 14 rebounds, 13 assists and 12 blocks in the Bulls’ 120-115 overtime win over the Atlanta Hawks at Chicago Stadium.
1978 — Dave Gall becomes the first jockey to win eight races during a single program. He rides in 10 consecutive races for the day at Cahokia Downs in Alorton, Ill., finishing second and fifth in his two losing efforts.
1981 — Joe Danelo of the New York Giants kicks six field goals in a 32-0 victory over the Seattle Seahawks.
1992 — Miami and Washington are tied for No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 football poll. It’s the first tie at the top in 51 years and the third since the poll started in 1936.
1997 — Willamette’s Liz Heaston, a junior, becomes the first woman to play in a college football game when she kicks two extra points in a 27-0 win over Linfield College in the NAIA.
2002 — New Zealand’s Michael Campbell wins the longest match (43 holes) in World Match Play history in the morning, then defeats Ian Woosnam later in the day to reach the semifinals. Campbell’s 10-foot birdie putt at the seventh sudden-death hole beats Nick Faldo, the longest match in the event’s 39-year history by three holes.
2005 — Boston’s Brian Leetch becomes the seventh defenseman — and 69th player — in NHL history to reach 1,000 career points with a goal and an assist in the Bruins’ 4-3 loss to Montreal.
2009 — Tom Brady, Patriots, throws six touchdown passes — five in one quarter, an NFL mark, in a 59-0 win in the snow against Tennessee.
2013 — Grambling cancels its football game against Jackson State after Grambling’s disgruntled players refuse to travel to Jackson for the game on Oct. 19.
2015 — The Green Bay Packers stop San Diego on fourth-and-goal from the 3 with 15 seconds left and overcome a career day by Philip Rivers to hold off the Chargers 27-20. Rivers sets career highs with 43 completions, 65 attempts and 503 yards passing with two touchdowns.
2016 — Chicago Blackhawks forward Marian Hossa became the 44th NHL player to reach 500 career goals. The 37-year-old Hossa slid a power-play backhander through the legs of Philadelphia goaltender Michal Neuvirth at 5:04 of the second period, giving the Blackhawks a 4-0 lead. Chicago won 7-4.
Compiled by the Associated Press
THIS DAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY
1977 — Reggie Jackson hits three consecutive home runs, all on the first pitch, to lead the New York Yankees to the World Series championship over the Dodgers in six games.
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.
