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From Jack Harris: The home run music started blaring through the Dodger Stadium speakers. Mookie Betts began rounding the bases and pointing toward the bullpen.
Just like the previous night, it appeared the Dodgers had erased an early deficit on the back of one of their superstar players.
Only then, however, did the 54,119 people at Chavez Ravine realize that Jurickson Profar had made a spectacular, tone-setting play instead.
If Shohei Ohtani’s score-tying homer in Game 1 of the National League Division Series on Saturday night energized the Dodgers in a comeback victory, then Profar’s first-inning robbery of Betts in Game 2 did the exact opposite — frustrating the Dodgers, and what later became an unruly crowd, in an emotionally charged 10-2 San Diego Padres win that evened the NLDS at one game a piece.
“We knew going into this series there would be a lot of emotions,” manager Dave Roberts said. “They just played a better baseball game than we did tonight.”
Indeed, in what became a heated bout that included several jawing matches between the teams and a 10-minute delay in the seventh inning after fans threw objects toward Padres players on the field, Profar swung the early momentum with his home run robbery in the bottom of the first.
Initially, it appeared Betts had ended an 0 for 19 slump in the postseason with a deep fly ball to the short fence in left. Profar tracked the drive to the warning track, and leaned into a crowd of opposing fans and outstretched arms to try and catch it. However, it seemed at first that the left-fielder came up empty, bunny-hopping from the barrier as Betts began his home run trot.
Turned out, Profar was just taunting the Dodger fans he’d snatched the ball away from, revealing a few seconds later it was securely in his mitt.
“He caught it,” Betts said tersely. “He made a nice play.”
Plaschke: Dodgers fans lose their cool and Dodgers lose their edge in series-tying debacle
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MLB POSTSEASON SCHEDULE
Division Series
All times Pacific
National League
No. 1 Dodgers vs. No. 4 San Diego
at Dodgers 7, San Diego 5 (box score)
San Diego 10, at Dodgers 2 (box score)
Tuesday at San Diego, 6 p.m., FS1
Wed. at San Diego, 6 p.m., FS1
*Friday at Dodgers, 5 p.m., Fox
No. 2 Philadelphia vs. No. 6 NY Mets
New York 6, at Philadelphia 2
at Philadelphia 7, New York 6
Tuesday at New York, 2 p.m., FS1
Wed. at New York, 2 p.m., FS1
*Friday at Philadelphia, 1 p.m., FS1
American League
No. 2 Cleveland vs. No. 6 Detroit
at Cleveland 7, Detroit 0
Monday at Cleveland, 1 p.m., TBS
Wed. at Detroit, noon, TBS
*Thursday at Detroit, 3 p.m., TNT
*Saturday at Cleveland, 1:30 p.m., TBS
No. 1 NY Yankees vs. No. 5 Kansas City
at New York 6, Kansas City 5
Monday at New York, 4:30 p.m., TBS
Wed. at Kansas City, 4 p.m., TBS
*Thursday at Kansas City, 5 p.m., TBS
*Saturday 12 at New York, 5 p.m., TBS
*-if necessary
RAMS
From Gary Klein: It’s going to be a long week for the Rams.
And the way things continue to play out, it could be a very long season.
The Rams’ 24-19 defeat to the Green Packers on Sunday before 72,842 at SoFi Stadium — many of them Packers fans — dropped their record to 1-4 heading into their off week.
Coach Sean McVay and the still-injury-depleted Rams welcome the bye.
It will be goodbye to already dim playoff hopes, however, if they don’t pull it together during the next two weeks before they return to play the Las Vegas Raiders on Oct. 20.
“The reality is you can tend to think you’re a lot further away than you are,” said McVay, who is 1-4 for the first time since he was hired in 2017. “There’s going to be a lot of outside noise, and we have to stay inside-out more than anything.”
LAKERS
From Dan Woike: LeBron James barreled through the lane and slammed home a left-handed hammer. He sprung through the air to reject a shot. On the first night of Year 22 — albeit during the preseason — not a lot had changed and James was doing the kinds of things he’s done on the court for a generation. By halftime, he had scored 19 points for the Lakers against the Phoenix Suns.
But Sunday night at the start of the second quarter, he unveiled his latest — and maybe greatest — trick.
LeBron James and his oldest son, Bronny, shared the court together for the first time as professionals for a four-minute, nine-second shift. It was the first time a father and son played together in NBA history.
Although the duo’s debut won’t be official NBA history until they play together during the regular season, Sunday was the first look at the greatest testament to James’ longevity as not just a pro — but as one of the league’s best.
USC FOOTBALL
From Ryan Kartje: An unseasonably warm breeze blew through Huntington Bank Stadium. It was the rare sort of October night when USC, a team in unfamiliar and typically frosty Big Ten territory, could feel right at home.
But nothing about Saturday night’s 24-17 loss to Minnesota would leave USC feeling comfortable with its new place in its new conference. Not its quarterback, who struggled to find a rhythm. Not the offensive line, which struggled once again to protect him. Not the defense, which had so often clamped down after halftime. Not even the coach, who continued insisting afterward that everything was fine, despite the reality that a second straight conference road loss leaves USC with only a limited path to the College Football Playoff.
“We’ve got the makings of a really good team,” said Lincoln Riley, who has lost seven of his last 12 as the Trojans coach.
Promises of unrealized potential just weren’t enough Saturday. Not as USC squandered one chance after another, wasting four trips into plus territory, three of which resulted in turnovers.
UCLA FOOTBALL
From Ben Bolch: UCLA might have found something in a season wildly veering in the wrong direction.
Justyn time, you might say.
With their starting quarterback sidelined by injury, the Bruins turned to Justyn Martin and watched the redshirt sophomore make smart, efficient plays early in his first start to keep his team competitive in a game it was expected to lose by four touchdowns.
UCLA eventually wilted in a 27-11 loss to No. 7 Penn State on Saturday afternoon at Beaver Stadium, undone by many of the same issues that have plagued it all season, but there was no doubting the promise shown by the Bruins quarterback.
“Took command of the offense and just made plays,” UCLA coach DeShaun Foster said, “so we just have to build off this and just hopefully we can build some momentum and get going.”
Completing his first six passes, Martin immediately showed command of an offense that often looked like a foreign language to incumbent starter Ethan Garbers. Martin didn’t force throws or make bad decisions while playing in one of college football’s most unforgiving environments against one of its best teams.
WNBA PLAYOFFS
Semifinals
All times Pacific
No. 1 New York (32-8) vs. No. 4 Las Vegas (27-13)
at New York 87, Las Vegas 77
at New York 88, Las Vegas 84
at Las Vegas 95, New York 81
New York 76, at Las Vegas 62
No. 2 Minnesota (30-10) vs. No. 3 Connecticut (28-12)
Connecticut 73, at Minnesota 70
at Minnesota 77, Connecticut 70
Minnesota 90, at Connecticut 81
at Connecticut 92, Minnesota 82
Tuesday at Minnesota, 5 p.m., ESPN2
*-if necessary
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1904 — Jack Chesbro registers his 41st victory of the season as New York defeats Boston 3-2.
1916 — Georgia Tech, coached by John Heisman, beats Cumberland 222-0 in the most lopsided college football game in history.
1933 — Baseball World Series: NY Giants beat Washington Senators, 4-3 at Griffith Stadium to clinch 4 games to 1 series victory.
1935 — Baseball World Series: Detroit Tigers beat Chicago Cubs, 4-3 at Navin Field for 4 games to 2 series win; Tigers win first championship in 5 WS appearances.
1945 — The Green Bay Packers score 41 points in the first quarter in a 57-21 win against the Detroit Lions.
1950 — Baseball World Series: New York Yankees beat Philadelphia Phillies, 5-2 at Yankee Stadium to sweep series, 4-0 for 13th WS title in team history; MVP: NY 2B Jerry Coleman.
1952 — Baseball World Series: NY Yankees beat Brooklyn Dodgers, 4-2 at Ebbets Field in Game 7 to tie own record 4th straight WS; MVP: NY 1B Johnny Mize.
1962 — Judy Kimball wins the LPGA championship with a four-stroke victory over Shirley Spork.
1967 — Tulsa wide receivers Ricky Eber and Harry Wood have the best day by a receiving duo in college football history. Eber has 20 receptions for 322 yards and three touchdowns, while Wood grabs 13 passes for 318 yards and three scores in Tulsa’s 58-0 win over Idaho State.
1970 — Willie Shoemaker wins his 6,033rd race to pass Johnny Longden as the winningest jockey. His first race was won on April 20, 1949.
1984 — Walter Payton breaks Jim Brown’s career rushing mark of 12,312 yards and Brown’s career mark of 58 100-yard rushing games in a 20-7 victory over New Orleans. Payton breaks the record on Chicago’s second play from scrimmage in the second half.
1985 — Lynette Woodard, captain of the women’s basketball team that won the gold medal at the 1984 Olympics, is chosen to be the first woman to play for the Harlem Globetrotters.
1995 — Coach Eddie Robinson gets his 400th victory as Grambling beats Mississippi Valley State 42-6.
2000 — Zamir Amin of Menlo College sets an NCAA all-divisions record, passing for 731 yards in the Division III school’s 37-32 loss to Cal Lutheran. Amin, 39-of-66 with four TDs and three interceptions, breaks the mark of 716 set by David Klingler of Division I-A Houston against Arizona State on Dec. 2, 1990.
2001 — San Diego’s Rickey Henderson becomes the 25th player with 3,000 hits with a bloop double in a 14-5 loss to Colorado.
2001 — Barry Bonds wraps up his record-breaking season with his 73rd homer and shatters the slugging percentage record that Babe Ruth had owned for 81 years. He finishes with a slugging percentage of .863, easily surpassing the mark of .847 that Ruth set in 1920.
2006 — Denis Hopovac’s fifth field goal of the game, in an NCAA record-tying seventh overtime, gives North Texas a 25-22 victory over Florida International. The other two seven-overtime games involved Arkansas — against Mississippi in 2001 and Kentucky in 2003.
2011 — Minnesota Lynx beat the Atlanta Dream 73-67 to complete a three-game sweep of the WNBA championship series.
2012 — Drew Brees finishes 29 for 45 for 370 yards with four TD passes and an interception in New Orleans’ 31-24 win over San Diego. Brees breaks the NFL record by throwing a touchdown pass in his 48th straight game. His 40-yard pass to Devery Henderson eclipses the mark of 47 consecutive games set by Johnny Unitas from 1956-60.
2017 — Jarvion Franklin runs in from the 12 to give Western Michigan a 71-68 victory over Buffalo in a record-tying seven overtimes with a record-breaking 139 total points.
2017 — Backup Khalil Tate rushes for 327 yards, an FBS record for a quarterback, and accounts for five touchdowns to help Arizona hold off Colorado 45-42.
2017 — Alex Ovechkin scores four goals to become the first player in 100 years with back-to-back hat tricks to open a season, and the Washington Capitals beat the Montreal Canadiens 6-1.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
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