Lakers forward Adou Thiero looks to pass around Golden State forward Yaxel Lendeborg during the Lakers' 124-98 preseason loss Tuesday. (Ezra Shaw / Getty Images)
This was never going to be a game for the Lakers to remember. But with nearly half of the roster sidelined because of injuries or resting, Adou Thiero at least tried to inject some life into a sleepy preseason back-to-back.
Thiero’s towering one-handed dunk over two Golden State defenders provided a highlight in the Lakers’ otherwise forgettable 124-98 preseason loss to the Warriors at Chase Center on Tuesday. The Lakers leaned on their depth to get through their second short-handed preseason game in as many nights.
Guard Quentin Grimes, the only player starting a second consecutive game for the Lakers, had 12 points and three assists. Forward Sandro Mamukelashvili started at center and had 15 points and a trio of three-pointers. Thiero, getting a rare starting moment, scored seven points and grabbed four rebounds while Bronny James had four points and five assists in a starting role.
Star guard Luka Doncic sat out after scoring 21 points in one half Monday against the Sacramento Kings. After setting the tone defensively against the Kings, forwards Ziaire Williams and Matisse Thybulle watched from the sideline Tuesday. The Lakers were also without center Walker Kessler (finger), guards Austin Reaves (ankle) and Collin Sexton (lower body) and two-way forward Arthur Kaluma (lower body), who all missed their second consecutive preseason game.
Thiero has been prepared for this type of opportunity. The second-year forward is trying to take advantage of his first true NBA preseason after knee injuries marred his rookie season. He played in his first summer league games, showing incremental progress during games in San Francisco and Las Vegas.
Thiero started the summer moving too quickly through games, crashing into the lane and flying recklessly toward the rim. He even missed time from a minor wrist injury suffered during a fall. But as the summer progressed, he settled into the pace of the game. During a Las Vegas Summer League game, Thiero flashed his potential with 20 points, four rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks with zero turnovers in 30 minutes.
“I feel like that just came with playing more, and just understanding what I was supposed to do, understanding my role,” Thiero said this week of his progress during the summer. “I feel like my role during summer league is very different compared to my role during the season. I was on-ball more. Even creating the offense in summer league. And I didn’t have much experience with that at the time, but as summer league kept going on, I got more comfortable with it and realizing when to speed up and everything.”
Thiero is fighting for minutes in a deep wing group led by Williams and Thybulle. The Lakers have stocked their team with versatile perimeter defenders to help complement their offensive-minded backcourt of Doncic and Reaves. Thiero, whom Reaves described as “a freak-of-nature” athlete, could add a unique quality to the rotation.
“Our ceiling rises if he’s able to [contribute defensively] and be an impactful offensive player with crashing, with cutting, with touching the paint, playing off two feet,” coach JJ Redick said before Monday’s preseason game. “I’ve seen a lot of growth there from him over the last six, seven weeks. That’s exciting.”
Alex Cora of the Boston Red Sox calls for a pitching change during the third inning of a game against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium, Wednesday, October 1, 2025.
The Phillies are going to have to dig a little deeper in their managerial search.
World Series-winning Red Sox manager Alex Cora informed the Phillies that he plans to sit out the 2027 season, meaning he will not be going to Philadelphia, The Post’s Jon Heyman confirmed.
Heyman reported that Cora’s decision mostly came down to family reasons, as he’s been enjoying time with them. He is also getting married in November.
Alex Cora calls for a pitching change during the third inning of the Red Sox’s loss to the Yankees on Oct. 1, 2025 in Game 1 of their AL wild card series in The Bronx. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
It’s not the first time Cora has turned down the Phillies and president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski this year. After the Phillies fired Rob Thomson after a sluggish start, the team reached out to Cora — who had recently been canned by the Red Sox. Dombrowski and Cora had worked together in Boston for the team’s last World Series championship in 2018.
The Phillies instead made Don Mattingly the interim manager. The Yankees great went 79-55 as the Phillies squeaked into the postseason as the final National League wild-card entrant. They fell in three games to the rival Braves in the first round.
Though it was previously reported that Mattingly was expected to be dismissed, Heyman reported Wednesday that it is possible he does return to the Philadelphia dugout.
Alex Cora reacts in the dugout during the fourth inning of the Red Sox’s season-ending loss to the Yankees on Oct. 3, 2025 in Game 3 of their AL wild card series in The Bronx. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
Cora finished with a 620-541 record with the Red Sox and made the playoffs three times.
ATLANTA –– Seemingly every October, the same question arises.
Over the years, Kiké Hernández has supplied a wide range of answers.
Sometimes, it’s a simple joke: “I like Halloween,” he quipped two years ago.
Kiké Hernández is already back in his October form. AP Photo/Brynn Anderson
Others, it’s a more introspective –– albeit, self-deprecating –– response: “My brain’s all over the place, man,” he said before Game 7 of last year’s World Series. “I got really bad ADHD.”
Usually, however, the explanation boils down to one simple factor, having to do with focus and fearlessness in the highest-pressure of situations.
Why is he, as a relatively mediocre regular-season hitter over his 13-year career, such a consistent force in the playoffs?
“It’s almost like when you’re in school and you have a project for two months, and then you leave it for the last day,” he said this time a year ago. “That’s kind of a similar way [it works in the playoffs]. I’m able to stay in the moment and, like, stay really, really focused.”
Enrique Hernandez circles the bases after hitting a two-run home run. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
As usual, the Dodgers deployed Hernández like an ace up their sleeve, inserting him into the starting lineup to face star Braves pitcher Chris Sale with the best-of-five series knotted at one game apiece.
And, as usual, Hernández delivered, producing the decisive swing on a two-run homer in the fourth inning of the Dodgers’ 3-1 win at Truist Park.
“It’s something I take a lot of pride in, but don’t really think about it too much,” Hernández said. “It’s something that, once I’m done playing, I’m going to look back on and be really proud of, because the way my career has gone, in terms of finding myself each and every year in October.”
Indeed, Hernández has a way of looking –– and getting –– lost in the regular season, especially in recent years while being relegated to a part-time spot on the Dodgers’ bench.
This season, the 35-year-old appeared in just 41 regular season games, getting less than 100 total plate appearances because of elbow and oblique injuries, but also a loaded Dodgers roster that leaves at-bats at a premium for fringe players like him.
It didn’t help that he hit only .222, lowering his career regular-season average to .235 to go along with a .706 OPS (a shade under league-average production when measured by OPS+).
Entering this October, he had no clear pathway to regular playing time, either, with the Dodgers boasting entrenched regulars at all nine positions.
No matter.
Since rejoining the Dodgers as a trade deadline acquisition in 2023, the utilityman has come to accept that “my role is not to necessarily be in there all year or every day.” He knew that, at some point, he would be summoned to provide a boost for the two-time defending champions.
“It would have been nice to get a little bit of a warm-up before [having to face] Chris Sale,” he joked. “But I’m just glad I’m here talking about something positive and not something negative.”
Hernández celebrates his homer with his teammates. AP Photo/Mike Stewart
Rare is it, of course, that Hernández doesn’t make a positive impact when called upon.
At this point, he has turned majestic playoff performances into an almost annual tradition.
There was his three-homer outburst in the Dodgers’ pennant-clinching victory in Game 5 of the 2017 NL Championship Series. His game-tying, pinch-hit blast in Game 7 of the 2020 NLCS. His go-ahead shot early in a winner-take-all Game 5 triumph over the Padres in the 2024 NLDS. His season-saving double-play in left field in Game 6 of last year’s Fall Classic.
And that doesn’t even include what he did for the Boston Red Sox during their run to the ALCS in 2021, when he batted .408 with five home runs during his one postseason campaign away from Los Angeles.
“He’s a big-time player,” manager Dave Roberts said. “He’s always prepared. He loves moments like this. He has a way to lock in.”
Thus, in the run-up to a pivotal Game 3 on Tuesday night, and in the face of a daunting task against the Braves’ left-handed ace in Sale, Roberts turned to Hernández to give the offense some “added intensity, urgency,” starting him at third base in place of the left-handed-hitting Max Muncy.
“We needed a little bit of that Kiké dust,” Roberts said.
And, surprise, surprise — he came through once again.
Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Enrique Hernandez hits a two-run home run during the fourth inning. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
After the Dodgers squandered several early chances against Sale, Hernández stepped up with one on and one out in the fourth inning, hoping to simply “grind out the at-bat” and keep stressing Sale’s climbing pitch count.
But when the former Cy Young Award winner tried to sneak back-to-back changeups by him, Hernández was ready for it.
“He doubled up on the changeup,” Hernández said. “My eyes recognized it.”
With a vicious swing that sent the ball screaming off his bat at 106.8 mph, Hernández launched a 406-foot drive deep into the left-field seats, breaking open what had been a scoreless pitchers’ duel previously.
The scene that followed was triumphantly familiar, with Hernández pounding his chest and screaming his lungs out as his Dodgers teammates erupted in the dugout down the third-base line.
The 2-0 lead would last, as well, thanks to seven dominant innings from Yoshinobu Yamamoto –– who, while facing a jam in the fifth, also got a quick pep talk from Hernández instilling him with confidence and featuring a “dirty word,” the pitcher joked –– that propelled the Dodgers to a two-games-to-one series lead.
“He converts himself into this kind of monster when it comes to the playoffs, and when it matters the most,” said teammate Miguel Rojas, another veteran role player who has drawn so much inspiration from Hernández’s repeated heroics that he texted him last week to tell him “how much I appreciate what he taught me without even telling me how to do it.”
“He wants the situation. He wants the moment. He wants to be the guy,” Rojas added. “His value is way higher than what people think that he can be. He’s a great asset for us.”
Enrique Hernández of the Los Angeles Dodgers runs the bases after hitting a two-run home run. Getty Images
The home run marked the 17th of Hernández’s postseason career, tied for 18th-most all-time along with the likes of Aaron Judge, David Ortiz and Jim Thome. In the playoffs, he now has a .272 average and .831 OPS in 105 career games (93 of which have come with the Dodgers, most in the franchise’s illustrious history).
“I wish there was a recipe for that so we can all take it from him,” first baseman Freddie Freeman, who went deep himself later in Tuesday’s fourth inning, joked afterward. “It’s incredible … He’s ready to go at all times.”
Hernández himself, yet again, still lacked a definitive answer for why his play in the postseason seems to inevitably elevate, outside of ample October experience and a slow heartbeat in such moments.
The only thing he did know for sure: “I was going to be ready,” he said, “whenever Doc put my name in the lineup.”
Once again, it might have swung the direction of the Dodgers’ season.
“Having him in a lineup in the postseason,” Roberts said, “just adds that extra sort of urgency, that kind of grit that you need.”
The story from the 2018 Test in South Africa will stay alive for years more, unless it is finally put to sleep with the truth of what happened
Add it to the immeasurable list of things that you can blame Covid for. Without the pandemic, Australia’s Test team would have headed to South Africa in February 2021, less than three years after the 2018 sandpaper scandal saw them come home from Johannesburg in disarray. With memories fresh, the attention would have been intense on the returning players: headlined by sacked captain Steve Smith, his replacement Tim Paine, and principal antagonist David Warner, with a support act of bowlers Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc.
At least, though, that prompt rematch would have lanced the boil of Australian cricket’s great modern humiliation, after Cameron Bancroft was caught sandpapering the match ball in the third Test at Cape Town. Instead, a lack of appetite for pandemic-era touring saw Cricket Australia cancel the 2021 tour before kicking a replacement years down the road, and while there have been white-ball trips in the interim, it has now taken eight years for an Australian Test return to supersede their ill-starred previous visit.
Drew Doughty has only known one thing in his career.
The Los Angeles Kings.
Doughty, 36, is in his first season serving as the captain of the Kings and shared a heartfelt, two-page letter he wrote to the team’s former captain and the greatest hockey player of all time, Wayne Gretzky.
Drew Doughty reveals a heartfelt letter he wrote to Wayne Gretzky as a child. ZUMAPRESS.com
“Dear Mr. Gretzky, my name is Drew. I am 5 years old. I played hockey this year for the London Red Circle Raiders in the mite division,” Doughty wrote. “It was my 2nd year of hockey. Last year I scored 6 goals all year. This year I got 93 goals.”
As Doughty’s five-year-old self was writing to his hockey hero, he revealed that his coaches didn’t keep score, but the parents attending the games did.
Doughty went on to tell Gretzky that he is his favorite hockey player, and that the Kings were his “favourite team,” in true Canadian spelling.
“My mommy says I used to cry to stay up late and watch hockey when I was two years old.”
Drew Doughty shares a heartfelt letter he wrote to Wayne Gretzky as a child. NHLI via Getty Images
In the letter, Doughty asked Gretzky if he could do him a favor and say hi to then-Kings goalie Kelly Hrudley.
At the end of the letter, he went on to congratulate Gretzky on reaching his 2,500th NHL point and gave him a fun fact.
“Also my grandma was at Parkwood Hospital in London [Ontario]. She said one of her nurses went to your wedding,” Doughty wrote.
Drew Doughty has played for the Kings for the entirety of his NHL career. NHLI via Getty Images
For Doughty, life has come full circle as he’s had a 19-year career in the NHL with the Kings, and will likely play the rest of his career with the franchise.
He also helped the franchise he grew up admiring win two Stanley Cup titles in 2012 and 2014. During their 2012 title run, Doughty had four goals in the playoffs and collected 16 points with 12 assists.
On Tuesday night, the Chicago Blackhawks made their highly anticipated return to the United Center for their first home game of the 2026-27 season. That meant that Patrick Kane made his return in a Blackhawks sweater after a handful of seasons away.
With some of his former mates in the building, specifically Jonathan Toews and Nicklas Hjalmarsson, there was an extra sense of excitement in the crowd. The 0-3-0 start on the road didn't keep anyone from bringing the energy.
The opponent, the St. Louis Blues, entered Chicago with a 1-1-0 record to start the season, and they had the plan of matching the intensity that the Blackhawks were naturally going to bring.
Before the games began, player intros were a bit more special than in other years. Patrick Kane was given a warm welcome with an intro video, special effects on the ice, and a standing ovation from the crowd that was blistering.
After the game started, for a while, it was more of the same for the Blackhawks. There were problems connecting on passes in all three zones, sloppy play defensively, and no finish to their game offensively.
Eventually, the Blues took the lead with a goal scored by Mason McTavish. This came at 15:38 in the first period, and the Blues held that lead through the first intermission.
Early in the second, the Blues scored again, but the goal was waved off for offside. That seemed to give the Blackhawks some juice. From there, they started to play their game. At 5:40 of the middle frame, Sam Rinzel scored by cleaning up Frank Nazar's rebound garbage.
Exactly two minutes of game clock later, at 7:40, Anton Frondell scored his first goal of the season. This goal was Frondell taking advantage of a brilliant play by Artyom Levshunov, who split the defense and made a brilliant pass.
The 2-1 lead held for Chicago through the second intermission. Holding onto leads that they built for themselves in the third period was a major issue in 2025-26, and this was their chance to put a stop to that early in the year.
The Blackhawks, who held the Blues off the board for the first 18 minutes of the final frame, had to face a penalty kill late. With 2:23 left, Roman Kantserov took a tripping penalty. The Blackhawks had to make a final push to kill the penalty if they wanted to win in regulation.
With the net empty, Cole Smith scored his first goal with the Blackhawks to make it 3-1. That felt like a secured victory for Chicago, but the Blues kept their goaltender out of the net and got it back to make it 3-2.
Instead of letting the lead slip away, however, Frank Nazar added another empty-net goal, and the Blackhawks secured a 4-2 victory on Patrick Kane night.
Now, the Blackhawks have a win to build on. From the time they scored their first goal of the game, they played much better than they had in the first three games. They overcame the tough start to the game and found a way. The Hawks would like to clean up that goal that was scored by St. Louis with under a minute left, but it was a work in progress that they can build on.
Injury Update
Teuvo Teravainen left the game and did not return. Jeff Blashill confirmed after the game that he will not travel for thier next game. Beyond that, it is unknown at this time.
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive, and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
Cronenworth sent the ball 368 feet to right field during the bottom of the fifth inning.
The run cuts into the momentum the Milwaukee Brewers started building in the top of the inning.
Milwaukee had just evened the score with a run scored in the top of the fifth inning, but the Padres managed to prevent the game from getting out of hand as the Brewers were in position add more runs with the bases loaded.
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 29: Pedro Ramirez #75 of the Chicago Cubs bats in the National League Wild Card game against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park on September 29, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Matt Dirksen/Chicago Cubs/Getty Images) | Getty Images
It’s Tuesday evening here at BCB After Dark: the coolest club for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. Come on in and sit with us for a while. We leave the light on for a reason. There’s no cover charge. We still have a few tables available. The hostess will seat you now. Bring your own beverage.
BCB After Dark is the place for you to talk baseball, music, movies, or anything else you need to get off your chest, as long as it is within the rules of the site. The late-nighters are encouraged to get the party started, but everyone else is invited to join in as you wake up the next morning and into the afternoon.
The last time we met, I asked you about whether you’d give outfielder Ian Happ a qualifying offer. The vote was very close, reflecting the divided opinion of Happ that seems to be a fixture of Cubs fandom these days. In any case, 51 percent of you said no, you wouldn’t give Happ a qualifying offer and 49 percent of you said you would. So yeah, really close.
On Tuesdays, I don’t normally do any movie stuff. But I did want to take a moment to remember Eva Marie Saint, who passed away today at the age of 102. Saint won a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award for On the Waterfront, which was her on-screen debut. Of course, she also co-starred with Cary Grant in Alfred Hitchcock’s North By Northwest, which won our Hitchcock tournament a few years ago. But she was more than just her two most famous films and she had a long career that continued into her nineties.
So rest in peace, Eva, and thank you for all your performances that made so many people happy.
Tonight we have one of those NPR Tiny Desk concerts featuring Chilean saxophonist Melissa Aldana and Cuban pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba. The two are joined by Pablo Menares on bass and Kush Abadey on drums. This is from just last week as part of Latin Music Month.
Welcome back to everyone who skips all that jazz.
The Cubs have a very good infield of Alex Bregman, Dansby Swanson, Nico Hoerner and Michael Busch. They also have two solid reserve infielders in Pedro Ramírez and Matt Shaw, both of whom would start for many other teams. Shaw, of course, started for the Cubs in 2025.
Six good infielders is nice to have, but it’s a bit of a luxury. While Matt Shaw played more outfield than infield in 2026 and the Cubs have experimented with Ramírez in the outfield, both Shaw and Ramírez’s best positions are second and third base. And while both of them have the potential to be pretty good hitters for a second or third baseman, they aren’t projected to have the kind of power that contending teams want out of their corner outfielders.
This is just a roundabout way of saying that Shaw and Ramírez might be more valuable to another team than they are to the Cubs. And in that case, it might be a good idea to see if a team would be willing to send the Cubs a pitcher or an outfielder for one or both of them.
The other point is that Shaw and Ramírez are pretty similar players and it’s not always great to have two similar players on the roster. Sure, it’s nice to have a backup if one or the other gets hurt, like Shaw did for a chunk of this year, but if they’re both healthy, they’ll be fighting each other for playing time. (Not literally. No punches will be thrown.) Both Shaw and Ramírez had a similar OBP last year (.327 to .321) and a similar slugging percentage. (.410 to .402). We can argue about which one is the better fielder. Ramírez had much better defensive metrics last year, but Shaw was also forced to play a majority of his games out of position as a corner outfielder. Shaw was much better defensively in 2025 as an everyday third baseman.
Ramírez is also two years younger than Shaw and has one more year of control. That might mean Ramírez would bring back more in trade, despite the two being so similar in many other ways.
So which one of these two players would you try to trade this winter? Shaw or Ramírez? Or would you trade neither? Both?
Obviously there’s an answer of “Whichever one brings back the most.” I’m going to ask you to take into consideration which one you think will bring back more in trade. So if you are willing to deal the one you think is better for a better return, vote for that player. I’m not going to tell you which one that is. Like I said, I think the two are pretty similar except that Ramírez is younger.
So what would you do with Matt Shaw and Pedro Ramírez?
Thank you for stopping by tonight. We were so glad to see you. Tell your friends about us. Get home safely. Recycle any cans and bottled. Tip your waitstaff. And join us again tomorrow night for more BCB After Dark.
Although Tuesday night's game against the Toronto Maple Leafs is one that the Nashville Predators will likely want to forget as soon as possible, one player will certainly remember it. Ryan O'Reilly recorded his 900th career point in the second period when he assisted on Steven Stamkos's second goal of the evening.
O'Reilly, a player often known for his two-way style of play, may not be known as a prolific scorer. With that being said, he has played 1,236 career games in the NHL and during that time he's recorded an impressive 900 points (328 goals and 572 assists).
Currently in his fourth season in Nashville, O'Reilly registered 198 of his points in Predators Gold. He scored the most points as a member of the St. Louis Blues, picking up 269 across five seasons. He also had stints with the Colorado Avalanche (the team that drafted him back in 2009), the Buffalo Sabres, and the Toronto Maple Leafs.
O'Reilly's future in Nashville is currently up in the air, as he's in the final year of his current contract and at 35 years of age, he's running out of time to win a second Stanley Cup.
Not even the Orioles mascot escaped the layoffs that have swept through the MLB organization.
More than two dozen employees were let go by the Orioles in layoffs that touched everything from ticket sales to graphic design and included the individuals who played The Oriole Bird and Mr. Splash, The Athletic reported Tuesday.
The team is planning to continue to operate its Bird Bath section in left field despite the news on Tuesday impacting Mr. Splash, whom the Orioles debuted in May 2023. He was in charge of spraying fans with water in the special section when the team connected on extra-base hits.
The Baltimore Orioles mascot performs during a game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on Sept. 18, 2026, in Baltimore. Getty Images
Multiple outlets reported on the layoffs on Tuesday, and a spokesperson told The Athletic that the cuts had impacted the Orioles’ business department.
The Orioles spokesperson also said the team does not comment on employee matters.
The Baltimore Banner reported that the number of employees who were let go was at least in the teens, and one source described it as a “bloodbath.”
President of business operations Catie Griggs wrote in an internal memo that the cuts were “not about reducing headcount” and that the ballclub would “continue to recruit for critical roles and will add talent in areas where we have clear needs.”
“Today we made difficult changes to our business, reshaping some roles and reporting lines and saying goodbye to colleagues,” Griggs wrote in the memo, obtained by multiple outlets. “Some of the people leaving have been here for more than a decade, others for a much shorter time, and every one of them was part of our team. To many of you, they are friends as well as coworkers.
Mr. Splash waves to the crowd before throwing out the ceremonial first pitch before the start of a game between the Baltimore Orioles and the Boston Red Sox at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Sunday, Oct. 1, 2023. Getty Images
“For those of you who have been here a long time, today may also feel like losing part of what this place has been. That history matters, and it remains part of who we are. We’re grateful for what each of them gave this organization.”
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Owen Power scored 4:22 into overtime and the Buffalo Sabres rallied from a two-goal deficit to beat the Minnesota Wild 3-2 on Tuesday night.
Tage Thompson and Noah Ostlund tied the game by scoring six minutes apart in the third period. Colten Ellis stopped 18 shots, including three in overtime, and Buffalo (2-1) won its second straight game when trailing entering the third.
The Sabres overcame a 3-2 deficit in a 4-3 home-opening win over Chicago on Saturday night.
Danila Yurov and Maxim Shabanov scored 1:45 apart to stake Minnesota to a 2-0 lead with 4:22 left in the second period. Jesper Wallstedt stopped 25 shots, including his glove save of Thompson’s shot from the slot with 3:28 left in regulation.
Power’s goal came after Thompson shot wide on a drive to the net. Jiri Kulich, who scored the decisive goal against Chicago, collected the puck and fed Power, who snapped in the puck inside the left post.
Minnesota blew an opportunity to open a season 3-0 for the first time since 2021-22 and sixth time in franchise history.
Thompson’s goal was also his 400th career point with Buffalo. He became one of nine Sabres and the first since Thomas Vanek to reach the 400-point plateau in 491 or fewer games.
Ellis, Buffalo’s third-string goalie, made his season debut, with co-starter Alex Lyon still recovering from a shoulder injury.
Larkin was initially booed by the home crowd when he touched the puck on his first shift. The boos turned to cheers when he scored in the 13th minute, giving Detroit a lead it never relinquished.
Alex DeBrincat scored twice and Justin Faulk and Viktor Arvidsson added goals for Detroit. John Gibson made 22 saves.
Drake Batherson, Tim Stutzle and William Eklund scored for the Senators, who had won their first two games. Samuel Ersson had 31 saves.
DeBrincat opened his scoring in the first with a wrist shot 3:16 into the period, assisted by Nate Danielson and Carter Mazur. He added a power-play empty-netter with 50 seconds remaining in the third. DeBrincat also had an assist.
Larkin remains in limbo several months after his trade request became public. He was stripped of the captaincy, reported to training camp despite being injured, missed the start of the season because of injury and received a frosty reaction from home fans during introductions prior to their first game last week.
MAMMOTH 5, DEVILS 3
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Nick Schmaltz scored his NHL-best fifth goal of the season, and Utah relied on its proficient power play to beat New Jersey.
Clayton Keller, MacKenzie Weegar, Lawson Crouse and Vincent Trocheck also scored for the Mammoth, and Mikhail Sergachev had three assists to surpass 300 for his career before leaving the game when he took a puck to the back of the helmet late in the second period.
Utah went 2 for 4 on the power play and has scored on 8 of 13 opportunities this season with the man advantage, including Keller’s goal in the first period and Schmaltz’s go-ahead tally midway through the second that made it 3-2.
Luke Evangelista scored twice for New Jersey and Jesper Boqvist had the other goal.
The Mammoth beat the Devils for the first time, having gone 0-4 in the franchise’s previous two seasons.
Karel Vejmelka stopped 30 shots for Utah, and New Jersey’s Jake Allen made 26 saves.
MAPLE LEAFS 5, PREDATORS 4, OT
TORONTO (AP) — Auston Matthews scored with 14 seconds left in overtime and had three assists in regulation and Toronto erased a three-goal deficit in a win over Nashville.
William Nylander, No. 1 overall pick Gavin McKenna — with his first as a professional — John Tavares and Jack Roslovic had the other goals for Toronto, which got 21 saves from Anthony Stolarz.
McKenna also picked up an assist on Tavares’ goal for his first NHL point. Nylander chipped in two assists and Roslovic added one.
Steven Stamkos scored twice for Nashville to move into 17th place on the NHL’s career goals list, while Nils Hoglander also scored twice. Filip Forsberg had two assists and Juuse Saros made 33 stops.
Stamkos opened the scoring at 7:13 of the first period on a power play. Nashville doubled its lead at 9:08 when Hoglander collected a rebound off the end boards and slotted it home before making it 3-0 at 3:03 of the second on another tap-in.
Tavares got Toronto going off the rush at 4:56 of the middle period and Nylander connected on a man advantage at 6:58 to make it 3-2. Stamkos scored his second to restore a two-goal lead at 13:30, but McKenna scored his first NHL goal 61 seconds later.
Roslovic tied things at 8:54 of the third.
Stamkos broke a tie with Joe Sakic and Jarome Iginla on the league’s career scoring list with his first-period goal — the 626th of his career — before adding another in the second. Dave Andreychuk is 16th in NHL history with 640 career goals.
RANGERS 5, ISLANDERS 2
NEW YORK (AP) — Alexis Lafrenière recorded a hat trick, with two goals into an empty net, and had an assist as the New York Rangers extended their winning streak to four by defeating the crosstown rival Islanders.
The Rangers are unbeaten since getting shut out in their opener a week ago at Boston. They’re 3-0 at home, a year since losing their first seven games at Madison Square Garden last season.
Oliver Bjorkstrand scored twice, and Mika Zibanejad finished with three assists. Igor Shesterkin made 17 saves for the victory but had his point streak from an assist Sunday and his goalie goal Thursday end at two.
The Rangers didn’t get a shot until 6:40 in, but Bjorkstrand scored on it for his first goal with his new team. He and Lafrenière took advantage of the Islanders’ Semyon Varlamov showing some rust in his first game in 676 days.
Varlamov was playing in the NHL for the first time since Nov. 29, 2024, completing his comeback from undergoing double partial knee replacement surgeries. He allowed three goals on 22 shots.
Captain Bo Horvat and young forward Calum Ritchie scored for the Islanders, while reigning rookie-of-the-year defenseman Matthew Schaefer hit the post twice among his 12 shot attempts.
HURRICANES 6, CANADIENS 4
MONTREAL (AP) — Taylor Hall scored twice as Carolina beat Montreal in its home opener.
Sebastian Aho added a goal and two assists, while Eric Robinson and Mark Jankowski had a goal and an assist each.
Andrei Svechnikov added an empty-net goal and Brandon Bussi stopped 16 shots in the rematch of last season’s Eastern Conference final.
Zachary Bolduc scored twice, Nick Suzuki had a goal and an assist, and Juraj Slafkovsky also scored for Montreal. Alexandre Texier and Chris Krieder had two assists apiece, while Jakub Dobes made 28 saves.
The Canadiens returned to the Bell Centre for their first regular-season home game since falling to the Hurricanes in the third round. Carolina eliminated Montreal in five games before going on to win the Stanley Cup over the Vegas Golden Knights.
The teams combined for five goals in the opening 13 minutes. Hall opened the scoring 2:25 into the first period, deflecting Jackson Blake’s shot after Slafkovsky turned the puck over in front of his own net.
SAN DIEGO — Milwaukee Brewers catcher William Contreras cut into the San Diego Padres' lead Tuesday with a solo home run during the fourth inning of Game 3 of the NLDS.
Contreras slowly trotted around the bases, even stopping briefly to celebrate, before crossing home plate at Petco Park.
The home run served as a quick response to the Padres, who scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the third inning.
The Padres led the game 2-1 as action headed to the bottom of the fourth.
It was the second home run of the series for Contreras, who hit a go-ahead solo home run to center field in the bottom of the seventh inning to break a 2-2 tie in Game 1 on Oct. 3.
Shohei Ohtani has not hit a home run since Aug. 18. The Los Angeles Dodgers are 0-for-13 with runners in scoring position in the National Division Series.
And they are now one win away from the NL Championship Series anyway.
That’s what all the money really buys.
On Tuesday night, it bought the insurance of having Enrique Hernandez.
Dave Roberts dropped Ohtani to fifth in the lineup Tuesday night, the first time he’d hit there this postseason. Ohtani struck out with two runners on in the first inning. The Dodgers still won 3-1 and now lead the National League Division Series 2-1.
Hernandez won it.
He’s making just $4.5 million on a one-year deal. He played 41 games in the regular season after elbow surgery and a torn oblique. He was only in the lineup Tuesday night because Roberts benched a slumping Tommy Edman. In the fourth inning, he hit a Chris Sale changeup for a two-run homer, the 17th postseason home run of his career. Freddie Freeman added a solo shot two batters later.
Every contender pays for stars. The Dodgers pay for the guy who wins the game when the star is slumping.
Their 2026 payroll is projected at $322.4 million. Add a projected $163.7 million luxury tax bill and they're spending close to $500 million all in this season, more than any team in baseball. Last year, they spent a record $515 million and won a second straight World Series.
The Atlanta Braves aren't exactly cheap with a payroll is $252.1 million, among the highest in the game. Atlanta, however, lost four starters in spring training and they’ve been trying to patch the holes ever since. The Braves opened their wild-card clincher and Game 2 of this series with Ray Kerr, a 32-year-old left-hander with barely 70 career innings coming into October. Rowdy Tellez, Tuesday's pinch-hitter, signed on the last day of spring training and spent most of the season in Triple-A.
That $70 million gap in salary alone, before the Dodgers' tax bill, shows up in the details that a team needs in October.
Tuesday night Max Muncy, Edman and 21-year-old Josue De Paula all started on the bench. Roberts called that "ultimate flexibility." For plenty of teams, it would be a lineup.
The Braves lost four starters in spring training. They opened their wild-card clincher and Game 2 of this series with Ray Kerr, a 32-year-old left-hander with barely 70 career innings coming into October. Rowdy Tellez, Tuesday's pinch-hitter, signed on the last day of spring training and spent most of the season in Triple-A.
And Wednesday, Roberts plans to move Ohtani back toward the top of the lineup against Tyler Mahle. Last October, he hit eight postseason homers. The Dodgers are now 0-for-13 with runners in scoring position.
Dave Roberts doesn’t have to worry about the drought.
“It’s good to know that we can still win games without him doing a whole bunch,” Roberts said.
For the Dodgers, that’s the peace of mind that $322.4 million buys them.
It proved to be the only start the 43-year-old made this season before the final one of his career on Sept. 26, after he suffered a left hamstring strain during a bullpen session in June.
Justin Verlander talks about his decision to retire. FOX Sports/X
It was then that Verlander knew his career was over before fighting his way back for his swan song.
“It was pretty easy,” the three-time Cy Young winner told the MLB on Fox crew before the Dodgers’ 3-1 win over the Dodgers in Game 3 of the NLDS. “I make the first start of the season and my leg starts hurting. I said, my entire career, man, I love this game. I love giving everything I got. I’m gonna play until the wheels fall off. The wheel falls off in the first game.
“Then a couple [of] months later, the wheel’s still falling off.”
One last thing sealed it, as Verlander got to spend more time with wife Kate Upton, 7-year-old daughter Genevieve and young son Bellamy.
“My daughter comes up. My family comes up. I mean, this is pretty sweet here, hanging out with them,” he said. “It just made it pretty clear. The arm held up great. It always has. But the leg man gave out on me.”
“I’m gonna play until the wheels fall off. The wheel falls off in the first game”
The former MVP and two-time World Series champion admitted before his final start that he was “skipping a lot of steps, risking some serious injury potentially” to get back on the mound.
It proved to be all worth it as he got emotional during an on-field ceremony and caught his daughter’s first ceremonial pitch. A day later, he turned in a performance to be proud of.
Genevieve Verlander hugs her dad, Detroit starting pitcher Justin Verlander, during the sixth inning of the Tigers’ win over the Pirates on Sept. 26, 2026, in Detroit. AP Photo/Jose Juarez
Verlander allowed two runs on five hits and walks with six strikeouts over 5 ⅓ innings against the Pirates.
Verlander finished his career with a 266-159 record, 3,560 strikeouts (eighth all time) and a 3.33 ERA to go along with a pitching Triple Crown in 2011.
The Yankees’ struggles at Tropicana Field run deeper than poor play on the field, according to a former MVP who once donned the pinstripes.
Andrew McCutchen, who spent the final months of the 2018 season in The Bronx, revealed how struck he was by the roster’s visceral response to facing the Rays on their home turf.
Access the Yankees beat like never before
Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Greg Joyce about the inside buzz on the Yankees.
“When I came over, we went to [Tropicana Field] and I remember them all talking about how they just can’t beat the Rays in Tampa,” the 2013 NL MVP and five-time All-Star revealed Tuesday during an appearance on MLB Network, a day after the Yankees’ loss to the Rays in Game 2 of the ALDS put them on the brink of elimination. “That was always the thing that they talked about.
“I remember being like, ‘Dude, we’re a good team, let’s go, let’s win.'”
While the Yankees finished 2018 with the second-best record in the American League (100-62), they did not fare well against their AL East rivals.
“That's the cloud that's over their head…”
Andrew McCutchen says when he played for the Yankees in 2018, the players would always talk about how hard it was to beat the Rays at Tropicana Field. pic.twitter.com/5I4Azbzi5Y
New York Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. reacts after making an error and allowing a run to score in the first inning during Game 2 of the ALDS against the Tampa Bay Rays, Monday, October 5, 2026, at Tropicana Field. Charles Wenzelberg for New York Post
Before McCutchen’s acquisition in August, the Yankees went just 1-5 at Tropicana Field before winning three of four in Tampa Bay in their second-to-last regular-season series of 2018.
Despite that strong finish, McCutchen said the club’s negative attitude toward the Tampa turf never wavered.
New York Yankees catcher Austin Wells (28) is tagged out by Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Junior Caminero (13) at third base on Saturday, October 3, 2026, at Tropicana Field. Wells was tagged out trying to stretch a double into a triple to end the eighth inning. Charles Wenzelberg for New York Post
“We ended up winning…but that’s not the thing they think about, I know that,” McCutchen, 39, said. “That’s the cloud over their head.”
After failing to catch the Rays in the AL East, the Yankees promptly disposed of the Red Sox in two games during the wild-card series — but the ALDS has been a different story.
Andrew McCutchen of the New York Yankees prepares to shake a teammate’s hand after scoring his second run in the seventh inning of a game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, Monday, September 24, 2018. Getty Images
The Yankees’ performance across the first two games of the ALDS has been defined by an anemic offense and a barrage of sloppy play.
The Bombers managed just a single hit in Game 1, an eighth-inning double by Austin Wells, which was negated by the catcher’s ill-advised attempt to stretch the knock into a triple.
Despite having Cam Schlittler on the mound and two homers from Ben Rice in Game 2, a comedy of errors sunk the Yankees in a 5-1 loss.
As the series shifts to Yankee Stadium for Game 3, New York will hope to kick off the difficult task of winning three straight games to advance — and McCutchen thinks his former club can pull it off.
Even with Aaron Judge still sidelined and the offense scuffling, McCutchen said the Yankees’ home field advantage gives them the edge.
“Going back to New York, they’re going to have a lot of fun. They know being at home, in their home stadium, they’re going to bring it, those fans are gonna be loud,” McCutchen said.
“I see them going and doing really well for those next two games.”
