From Jack Harris: This year, October started a day early for the Dodgers.
Thanks to their underwhelming regular season, their march toward postseason history began before the month even started.
This season’s team, coaches and players acknowledged repeatedly in recent weeks, had played their way into this spot: Having to begin the playoffs on the last day of September, in a daunting best-of-three wild-card series against the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday; facing the slimmest of margins in their pursuit of back-to-back World Series championships, having won the National League West but failed to secure a top-two playoff spot.
That meant, unlike the last three years, the Dodgers did not have a bye to the division series.
It meant, this fall, they had to hit the ground running.
“The pitfalls are just [avoiding] kind of easing your way into a series,” manager Dave Roberts said Tuesday afternoon.
But, he added declaratively, “I don’t see that as a problem.”
In a 10-5 Game 1 defeat of the Reds at Dodger Stadium, it indeed was not.
Shohei Ohtani led off with a home run. Blake Snell was superb in a seven-inning, two-run start. And in a rollocking two-batter sequence in the bottom of the third inning, the Dodgers broke the score wide open, with Teoscar Hernández hitting a three-run bomb moments before Tommy Edman went back-to-back with a solo shot.
Plaschke: Dodgers flatten overmatched Reds in unwanted first round. But about that bullpen…
‘It’s awesome.’ Blake Snell gives the Dodgers just what they paid for
A ‘really grateful’ catcher Ben Rortvedt is thrust into Dodgers’ postseason plans
Will Smith makes the roster but not Michael Conforto for Dodgers’ wild-card series
Dodgers Dugout: How the Dodgers and Reds match up
MLB POSTSEASON SCHEDULE, RESULTS
National League
Cincinnati at Dodgers
Dodgers 10, Cincinnati 5 (box score)
Wednesday, 6 p.m., ESPN
*Thursday, 6 p.m., ESPN
San Diego at Chicago
Chicago 3, San Diego 1 (box score)
Wednesday, noon, ABC
*Thursday, noon, ABC
American League
Detroit at Cleveland
Detroit 2, Cleveland 1 (box score)
Wednesday, 10 a.m., ESPN
*Thursday, 10 a.m., ESPN
Boston at New York
Boston 3, New York 1 (box score)
Wednesday, 3 p.m., ESPN
*Thursday, 3 p.m., ESPN
*-if necessary
ANGELS
Ron Washington will not return for a third season as the Angels manager, the team announced Tuesday.
Washington missed roughly half of the current season after undergoing quadruple bypass heart surgery. Interim manager Ray Montgomery also won’t be the Angels’ next manager, according to the Athletic.
The 73-year-old Washington was the oldest manager in the majors during his two seasons with the Angels, who hired him in November 2023. The Angels had the worst season in franchise history in 2024, going 63-99 after the free-agency departure of two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani.
LAKERS
From Broderick Turner: LeBron James did not participate in the Lakers’ first day of training camp Tuesday because of “nerve irritation in the glute.”
James’ teammates Marcus Smart, Gabe Vincent and Adou Thiero were “under either return to play protocols or modified protocols” during the team’s first sessions.
James is entering his NBA-record 23rd season and the goal is to ramp him up to be ready for the regular-season opener Oct. 21 against the Golden State Warriors at Crypto.com Arena.
“Yeah, I think it’s probably a little bit longer of a ramp-up leading into opening night for him just obviously in Year 23, it’s uncharted territory here,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “So, I felt, and in talking with performance and in talking with Mike (Mancias, James’ personal trainer) and LeBron, like probably did too much last year in camp, which was great for me as a first-year head coach to get buy-in from him.
From Ben Bolch: After a disappointing start to the season in which UCLA’s offense ranked among the worst in the nation, the Bruins and offensive coordinator Tino Sunseri mutually parted ways Tuesday evening, a university official told The Times.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the move has not been publicly announced.
Sunseri becomes the second coordinator to depart in the wake of coach DeShaun Foster’s dismissal, after defensive coordinator Ikaika Malloe left earlier this month in another mutual parting of ways.
Tight ends coach Jerry Neuheisel will be the offensive playcaller when the Bruins (0-4 overall, 0-1 Big Ten) face No. 7 Penn State (3-1, 0-1) on Saturday at the Rose Bowl. Plans are underway to finalize additional staff and it is anticipated that former UCLA offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone will assume analyst responsibilities, pending completion of the appropriate university processes.
ANGEL CITY
From Kevin Baxter: The soccer world is about to become a colder, darker and meaner place.
On Tuesday, Angel City’s Ali Riley will announce she is retiring at the end of this season. And when she leaves, all the joy, fun and beauty she brought to the field will leave with her.
Set aside, for a moment, her accomplishments, which are considerable: She played in five World Cups, made five Olympic teams, played in four of the biggest leagues in the world and captained Angel City in the club’s first game.
What she’ll be remembered for the person she is.
THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY
1945 — World heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis is discharged from U.S. army after being awarded the Legion of Merit.
1967 — Richard Petty continues phenomenal NASCAR winning streak by taking the Wilkes 400 at North Wilkesboro Speedway; unprecedented 10th consecutive victory.
1975 — In the “Thrilla in Manila,” Muhammad Ali beats Joe Frazier in 14 rounds to retain his world heavyweight title.
1977 — 75,646 fans come to the Meadowlands to see soccer great Pele play his farewell game. Pele plays the first half with the New York Cosmos and the second half with his former team, Santos of Brazil.
1988 — Flamboyant American sprinter Florence Griffith-Joyner wins her third gold medal of the Seoul Olympics anchoring the victorious US 4 x 100m relay team.
1988 — Steffi Graf beats Gabriela Sabatini 6-3, 6-3 to win the women’s singles tennis gold medal at the Seoul Olympics; clinches first and only Golden Slam in history (Grand Slam & Olympics).
1993 — In his first World Boxing Council heavyweight title defense Lennox Lewis beats fellow Londoner Frank Bruno by TKO in 7 at the National Stadium in Cardiff, Wales.
1997 — Kevin Garnett agrees to terms with the Minnesota Timberwolves on the richest long-term contract in professional sports history, a six-year deal worth more than $125 million.
1999 — In a blockbuster NBA trade, the Houston Rockets move All Star forward Scottie Pippen to Portland Trail Blazers for Kelvin Cato, Stacey Augmon, Walt Williams, Carlos Rogers, Ed Gray and Brian Shaw.
2000 — NBA stars Ray Allen and Vince Carter each score 13 points as the U.S. beats France 85-75 to win the men’s basketball gold medal at the Sydney Olympics.
2000 — United States wins the most medals (97), and the most gold medals (40) in Summer Olympics held in Sydney, Australia.
2006 — Tiger Woods matches his longest PGA Tour winning streak of six at the American Express Championship. Woods finishes with a 4-under 67 for an eight-shot victory. It’s also his eighth victory of the year, making him the first player in PGA Tour history to win at least eight times in three seasons.
2011 — Tyler Wilson throws for a school-record 510 yards and Jarius Wright catches 13 passes for a school-record 281 yards as Arkansas turns an 18-point halftime deficit into a 42-38 victory over Texas A&M.
2017 — Frankie Dettori wins an unprecedented fifth Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe as Enable caps a memorable season. Enable, the 10-11 favorite, leads for most of Europe’s richest horse race to claim her fifth consecutive victory after wins in the Epsom Oaks, the Irish Oaks, the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes and the Yorkshire Oaks. The filly wins by 2 1/2 lengths over Cloth Of Stars.
2017 — Houston’s Deshaun Watson becomes the first rookie to throw four touchdowns and run for another one, since Fran Tarkenton in 1961 and tied an NFL record for most TDs by a rookie quarterback in Houston’s 57-14 victory.
2017 — Todd Gurley scores the go-ahead touchdown on a 53-yard catch-and-run, and Greg Zuerlein kicks a career-high seven field goals to lead the Rams to a 35-30 win over Dallas.
THIS DAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY
1903 — The Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Boston Red Sox 7-3 in the first World Series game. Jimmy Sebring hit the first series home run. Deacon Phillippe was the winning pitcher and Cy Young the loser.
1932 — Babe Ruth, as legend has it, called his home run against Chicago’s Charlie Root in the fifth inning of Game 3 of the World Series, won by the New York Yankees 7-5 at Wrigley Field. Ruth and Lou Gehrig each hit two homers for the Yankees.
1946 — For the first time in major league history, a playoff series to determine a league’s championship was played between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Brooklyn Dodgers. The Cardinals won the first game 4-2, with Howie Pollet holding the Dodgers to two hits — a homer and RBI single by Howie Schultz.
1950 — The Philadelphia Phillies clinched the NL pennant with a 4-1 10-inning victory over the Brooklyn Dodgers on the season’s last day. Dick Sisler’s three-run homer off Don Newcombe in the top of the 10th inning came after outfielder Richie Ashburn saved the game in the ninth.
1961 — Roger Maris hit his 61st home run against Tracy Stallard of the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium. The homer eclipsed Babe Ruth’s 34-year-old single-season home run record. The Yankees won 1-0.
1967 — The Boston Red Sox won the American League pennant with a 5-3 win over the Twins on the final day of the season. Boston’s Carl Yastrzemski went 4-for-4 and finished with 44 home runs, 121 RBIs and a .326 average to win the Triple Crown.
1973 — The New York Mets beat the Chicago Cubs 6-1 to win the National League East. It was the first game of a scheduled make-up doubleheader at Wrigley Field, a day after the regular season ended. The Mets, 11 1/2 games behind and in last place on Aug. 5, won their 82nd game, the lowest number of victories to win a title.
1978 — The Cleveland Indians beat the New York Yankees 9-2 on the last day of the season to force a one-game playoff between the Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox won their eighth straight game with a 5-0 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays.
1988 — Tony Gwynn went 2-for-3 to raise his league-leading batting average to .313 but hurt his hand in a 6-3 victory over the Houston Astros. Gwynn is the first NL batting champion to win the title with an average below .320. The previous low was Larry Doyle’s .320 in 1915.
2000 — Detroit’s Shane Halter became the fourth major leaguer to play all nine positions in a game. He capped his adventure by scoring the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift the Tigers over Minnesota 12-11.
2004 — Ichiro Suzuki set the major league record for hits in a season. He broke George Sisler’s 84-year-old mark with two early singles, and the Seattle Mariners beat the Texas Rangers 8-3. Sisler set the hits record of 257 in 1920 with the St. Louis Browns over a 154-game schedule. Suzuki broke it in the Mariners’ 160th game.
2007 — Matt Holliday and the Colorado Rockies scored on Jamey Carroll’s shallow fly, capping a three-run rally in the 13th inning against Trevor Hoffman. He led the Rockies past the San Diego Padres 9-8 in a tiebreaker for the NL wild card.
2018 — Lorenzo Cain hit a tiebreaking RBI single in the eighth inning, Christian Yelich had three more hits, sending the Milwaukee Brewers to their first NL Central title since 2011 by downing the Chicago Cubs 3-1 in a tiebreaker game. Yelich won the NL batting title with a .326 average. He fell one home run and one RBI short of what would’ve been the NL’s first Triple Crown since Joe Medwick in 1937.
2022 — The Dodgers become only the third team in the history of the National League (and seventh in the majors) to win 110 games in a season with a 6-4 win over the Rockies. Only the 1906 Cubs and 1909 Pirates have preceded them in the senior circuit.
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.