The Sports Report: Dodgers beat Padres, move a step away from division title

Howdy, I’m your host, Houston Mitchell. Let’s get right to the news.

From Jack Harris: The way Dave Roberts framed it, Wednesday was a day for composure, not concern.

The Dodgers manager wasn’t looking for his players to give impassioned speeches, even in the wake of Tuesday’s gut-punch of a loss that ended on a triple play.

He didn’t fire up the clubhouse or hold some impromptu late-season meeting, even with the team’s division lead dwindling. Instead, in the second act of this week’s pivotal three-game series against the San Diego Padres, all Roberts desired was a clean, complete performance from his injury-plagued but ever-resilient squad.

“We play 162 games, and there are a lot of heartbreaking games,” Roberts said before first pitch. “And the thing about baseball players, you have to come back and win the next day.”

With a big helping hand from Shohei Ohtani and a lights-out bullpen, that’s exactly what the Dodgers did.

Wednesday’s 4-3 win over the Padres didn’t clinch the National League West crown for the Dodgers. But with four games to go in the regular season, and their division lead back up to three games, they can get the champagne bottles and plastic wrap ready.

At yet another juncture where their place atop the standings seemed to be teetering, the Dodgers once again found a way to steady their season. And if they beat the Padres (91-67) again Thursday night, or win at least twice in their final regular-season series in Colorado this weekend, they’ll claim their 11th division title in the last 12 years.

“It was big to bounce back after last night,” third baseman Max Muncy said. “I thought we played with a little bit more energy.”

The main source of electricity came from Ohtani, who continued his torrid late-season run with the latest confirmation of his MVP candidacy. The slugger not only went two for three with a double, a walk, two RBIs and his 56th stolen base, but he played a key role in each of the team’s three scoring rallies as well, most notably a single in the sixth inning to break a 3-3 tie.

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Who else? What else? Shohei Ohtani slugs Dodgers to the verge of a division title

Gavin Lux rewards Dave Roberts’ patience with some key hits in Wednesday’s win

Dodgers box score

MLB scores

MLB standings

ANGELS

The Chicago White Sox avoided a record-breaking 121st loss for the second straight game, beating the Angels 4-3 on Wednesday night on Andrew Benintendi’s 10th-inning single.

Chicago is tied with the 1962 New York Mets for the modern major league record for losses in a season. It plays the Angels again on Thursday before finishing its schedule with three games at Detroit.

Benintendi delivered the go-ahead hit for the second time in as many games when he lined a one-out single to left-center against José Quijada (2-1), helping the White Sox (38-120) put off infamy for the second night in a row. Designated runner Miguel Vargas scored from second.

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Seat-stealers, beware: A’s beef up security with ‘playoff-level’ staffing for Oakland finale

Dick Moss, the lawyer who helped bring free agency to MLB players nearly 50 years ago, dies

Angels box score

MLB scores

MLB standings

CHARGERS

From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: With an off week approaching, Justin Herbert could get two weeks of rest for the price of one game for his ailing ankle if he sat out Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs.

But even that one-game sacrifice is too high for the hyper-competitive quarterback hoping to end the Chargers’ five-game losing streak to their AFC West rivals.

Herbert is “going to do everything I can to play,” against the Chiefs, he said Wednesday, fighting through a high ankle sprain he suffered on Sept. 15. After aggravating the injury in a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, Herbert said his right ankle felt better Wednesday than it did at this point last week, when he still started against the Steelers.

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LAKERS

From Dan Woike: The banners above the practice court, the names of legends on the wall and, most important, the trophies in Jeanie Buss’ window in the Lakers’ practice facility tell the story of the team’s past.

As the organization nears the start of the 2024-25 season, general manager Rob Pelinka reiterated it.

Excellence is the standard that helped build the Lakers into one of the NBA’s best franchises, and it remains the goal, Pelinka said Wednesday. But inconsistencies around LeBron James since the team signed him have left the Lakers chasing sustainable success.

“Everyone in this building is cognizant of the fact that he’s almost 40,” first-year Lakers coach JJ Redick said of James, who has been back with the team training for the last two weeks after spending the summer leading the U.S. to an Olympic gold medal.

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From Ryan Kartje: When Bear Alexander flirted with the transfer portal last spring, USC and its staff did whatever it could to keep the former five-star defensive tackle in the fold. At the time, Alexander looked like the Trojans’ best hope to bring a disruptive defensive presence to the Big Ten.

But as USC’s new defense came together, Alexander’s role had diminished. Then, he played just 21 snaps, a season low, against Michigan last Saturday, prompting him and his family to vent their frustrations on social media.

Any questions about his future at USC were answered by Wednesday, when his guardian, Tony Jones, confirmed to The Times that Alexander intends to redshirt this season, sitting out the rest of the season to preserve a year of eligibility.

Asked if the reason for Alexander’s decision was a lack of playing time, Jones said, “100%.” He characterized the relationship with USC as “severed.”

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LAFC

From Kevin Baxter: There’s a magic to the U.S. Open Cup, the oldest national soccer competition in the country and the most egalitarian since it’s the only one open to every men’s team at every level.

Over the decades, amateurs have beaten pros, nobodies have beaten somebodies. It’s a tournament where there are no favorites and no underdogs, and that form held again for most of Wednesday’s final before LAFC turned back Sporting Kansas City 3-1 on extra-time goals from Omar Campos and Kei Kamara.

The victory, before a sold-out BMO Stadium crowd, was LAFC’s first in five tournament finals dating to the 2022 MLS Cup. For Kansas City, meanwhile, the loss was its first in five U.S. Open Cup finals dating back two decades. And the deciding goal came from a second-half substitute who had taken just two shots on goal this season.

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WNBA PLAYOFFS

First round
All times Pacific

No. 1 New York (32-8) vs. No. 8 Atlanta (15-25)
at New York 83, Atlanta 69
at New York 91, Atlanta 82

No. 2 Minnesota (30-10) vs. No. 7 Phoenix (19-21)
at Minnesota 102, Phoenix 95
at Minnesota 101, Phoenix 88

No. 3 Connecticut (28-12) vs. No. 6 Indiana (20-20)
at Connecticut 93, Indiana 69
at Connecticut 87, Indiana 81

No. 4 Las Vegas (27-13) vs. No. 5 Seattle (25-15)
at Las Vegas 78, Seattle 67
at Las Vegas 83, Seattle 76

Semifinals

No. 1 New York (32-8) vs, No. 4 Las Vegas (27-13)
Sunday at New York, noon, ESPN
Tuesday at New York, TBD
Friday, Oct. 4 at Las Vegas, 6:30 p.m., ESPN2
*Sunday, Oct. 6 at Las Vegas, TBD
*Tuesday, Oct. 8 at New York, TBD, ESPN2

No. 2 Minnesota (30-10) vs. No. 3 Connecticut (28-12)
Sunday at Minnesota, 5:30 p.m., ESPN
Tuesday at Minnesota, TBD
Friday, Oct. 4 at Connecticut, 4:30 p.m., ESPN2
*Sunday, Oct. 6 at Connecticut, TBD
*Tuesday, Oct. 8 at Minnesota, TBD, ESPN2

*-if necessary

THIS DATE IN SPORTS

1961 — New York Yankee Roger Maris ties Babe Ruth’s 34-year-old record with his 60th homer, off Jack Fisher of Baltimore.

1981 — Nolan Ryan of the Houston Astros becomes the first player to pitch five no hitters. This one is a 5-0 victory over the Dodgers at the Astrodome.

1981 — Kelvin Bryant of North Carolina rushes for 173 yards and scores four touchdowns in a 56-14 victory over Boston College, giving him 15 touchdowns over the last three games, an NCAA record.

1983 — Australia II wins America’s Cup yacht race to end the longest winning streak in sporting history. Australia II, skippered by John Bertrand, wins the title in the seventh and final race. Australia II crosses the finish line with a winning margin of 41 seconds over Liberty, which is skippered by Dennis Conner. The U.S. had successfully defended the cup over a period of 132 years, since the schooner America won it in a fleet race around England’s Isle of Wight in 1851.

1992 — Rocky Mountain’s Steve Thompson rushes for 405 yards and six touchdowns in a 42-36 overtime victory over Carroll College. The rushing total is the second highest in NAIA history.

1996 — SF Giant Barry Bonds is 2nd player to hit 40 HRs & steal 40 bases.

1998 — Prairie View A&M ends its NCAA-record 80-game losing streak by stopping a 2-point conversion in the final minute for a 14-12 victory over Langston. The victory is the Panthers’ first since Oct. 28, 1989, when they defeated Mississippi Valley 21-12.

2000 — At the Sydney Olympics, the U.S. softball team completes a stunning comeback by edging Japan 2-1 in extra innings to win its second straight gold medal.

2004 — Peyton Manning of Indianapolis passes for 393 yards and five first-half touchdowns in a 45-31 win over Green Bay. Manning has the most TD throws in one half since Tommy Kramer in 1986, and the most yards in a quarter, 247, since Boomer Esiason in 1996.

2004 — San Francisco’s 34-0 loss at Seattle ends a 420-game streak of not being blanked for the 49ers, an NFL record.

2010 — Christine Sinclair has two goals and Marta adds a goal and two assists as the FC Gold Pride beat the Philadelphia Independence 4-0 to win the Women’s Professional Soccer championship.

2010 — Seattle’s Leon Washington returns two kickoffs — 101 and 99 yards — for touchdowns in the Seahawks’ 27-20 win over San Diego.

2015 — Sebastian Giovinco breaks the MLS single-season points record, assisting on two goals in Toronto FC’s 3-2 victory over the Chicago Fire to push his total to 35.

2017 — Sylvia Fowles grabs a WNBA Finals-record 17 rebounds and scores 13 points to lead the Minnesota Lynx to a 70-68 victory over the Sparks in Game 2, evening the series at one game apiece.

2021 — United States regains the Ryder Cup beating Team Europe 19-9 at Whistling Straits, Haven, Wisconsin.

Compiled by the Associated Press