Four Free Press sports writers chime in on whether Michigan State football can rebound for an upset of No. 3 Indiana on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025.
Shaikin: Andrew Friedman and the Dodgers prove all the trade deadline doomsayers wrong
You. And you. And you too.
You all ripped the Dodgers for standing fairly pat at the trade deadline, despite glaring holes in left field and in the bullpen. Heck, this was the headline in this very newspaper: “Andrew Friedman struck out on the Dodgers’ urgent need for a closer.”
How ever would the Dodgers return to the World Series?
The San Diego Padres had crept within three games of the Dodgers, and they had given up one of their two elite prospects for Mason Miller. The Philadelphia Phillies, a team that would finish with more wins than the Dodgers in the regular season, had swapped prospects for Jhoan Duran.
Read more:Shohei Ohtani’s historic performances send Dodgers back to World Series
The Dodgers, the team that had spent $85 million on veteran relievers Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates over the winter, had gotten their last three saves from Alex Vesia, Jack Dreyer and Ben Casparius. Their trade deadline pickups: Brock Stewart, a setup man who soon would be lost to injury for the season, and Alex Call, a fourth outfielder.
The Padres will not represent the National League in the World Series. Neither will the Phillies.
The Dodgers will, so that was Friedman late Friday night, drenched in celebratory alcohol after a championship series sweep, sloshing through pools of liquid forming on plastic sheeting.
You love him now. Three months ago, you crushed him.
“Yeah,” he said with a shrug. “It comes with it.”
Friedman, the Dodgers’ president of baseball operations, appreciates your passion, if not your advice.
“The thing I can’t do is make moves based on what people think we should do,” he said. “We’re going to make mistakes. We’re going to be aggressive taking shots.
“Our goal is to be essentially the casino: be right more than we’re wrong, and have it yield a really good product that has a chance to win the World Series.”
To be the casino means to have options, and to hit on one of them, rather than depending on only one option.
“Our thing on not acquiring some pitching was, we thought we were going to be leaving talented pitchers off our playoff roster as is,” Friedman said. “It wasn’t as front of mind as it was for others.”
Let’s rewind here.
In left field, the Dodgers had to decide whether to acquire a productive bat for a corner outfield spot and release Michael Conforto, pick up a platoon partner for him, or let him ride. They picked up Alex Call, with an unannounced postseason contingency.
"I will say Kiké (Hernández) — trading for him last year, re-signing him this year — that was part of the calculus, given his postseason pedigree,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “So that’s not something that was lost on us.”
It ain’t bragging if you back it up. The Dodgers include October on their schedule every year, so they could afford to carry Hernández and his .255 on-base percentage and 0.1 WAR for six months because he conveniently transforms into a star for one month. Hernandez can play anywhere in the infield or outfield.
The Dodgers did not include Conforto on their playoff roster. Hernández has started every game this postseason, with a .375 OBP.
That took care of left field.
The closer?
Friedman believed the Dodgers had enough good arms that one would emerge, even with so many quality arms available in trade. He readily admits he had no idea Roki Sasaki would be the one, as Sasaki was on the injured list at the trade deadline and did not emerge as a reliever until mid-September.
“We said internally that things are lining up that we are going to be at the peak of our health in October,” Dodgers president Stan Kasten said. “And, if that’s the case, we love our rotation, we love our lineup, and we love our bullpen.”
Still, while the starters were headed toward health, the Dodgers made an audacious bet in not adding a late-inning relief arm. Scott, Yates, Brusdar Graterol, Michael Kopech and Evan Phillips all were injured, ineffective, or both.
In the postseason, Sasaki has given up one run and three hits in eight innings. He has three saves, as many as Yates had in the regular season.
“Those trades in July for relievers? That’s why we tried to do what we did in the offseason: be aggressive,” Friedman said.
“Not only are the prices out of whack, the same reliever volatility that we were suffering from in that moment can still happen after you make a trade.”
Miller and Duran — and, for that matter, David Bednar — performed well for their new teams. Camilo Doval and Ryan Helsley did not. So the Dodgers kept their prospects and determined some kind of solution would come from within.
“What we weren’t going to do was do something that we felt was foolish just to placate in that moment,” Friedman said, “and that’s how we have to try to operate and explain it as clearly as we can.
“That said, we’re going to make mistakes. We’re going to make mistakes quite often, and our goal is to learn from them and try to be right more than we’re wrong.”
Read more:Plaschke: 'Ohhhhhtani!' Immortal Shohei Ohtani blasts Dodgers to the World Series
What appeared in the moment to be two big mistakes turned out not to be. Friedman has built two World Series champions within five years, with a third seemingly on deck, so he does not appear to be a moron, no matter what you might see on social media or in the comments section.
Perhaps the Dodgers’ World Series berth might silence his skeptics among the fan base.
“They’re enjoying the success,” Friedman said. “And I’m glad they are.”
Winning the trade deadline is not the goal. Winning a championship trophy is, and the sometimes confounding but always contending Dodgers are four victories away.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Sloppy Warriors vow to make fixes before 2025-26 NBA season opener vs. Lakers
Sloppy Warriors vow to make fixes before 2025-26 NBA season opener vs. Lakers originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SAN FRANCISCO – Stephen Curry concluded his 2025 NBA preseason Friday night as the best player on the floor, while the rest of the Warriors too often looked like the squad that fumbled and bumbled its way through the heart of last season.
You may recall the days and nights of “mid,” before Jimmy Butler III arrived to fill the role of stabilizing sidekick, helping Curry lift the team to heights it never would have achieved.
After the Warriors’ performance in the preseason, they might welcome back Butler with a kiss.
Their most significant minutes in a 106-103 loss to the diminished Los Angeles Clippers were a festival of turnovers and errant shooting. In what often is considered a dress rehearsal for the regular season, there was more disorder than order.
The first quarter was an utter disaster for the Warriors, with 11 turnovers turning into 16 of LA’s 31 points. Golden State committed 23 turnovers in all, gifting the Clippers 29 points.
“Nine [turnovers] in the first six minutes,” coach Steve Kerr said. “That bothers me.”
Brandin Podziemski committed three giveaways in the first quarter and finished with six. Draymond Green committed two in his first seven minutes and finished with five.
“A lot of turnovers, a lot of careless turnovers,” said Al Horford, who committed one turnover in 20 minutes. “I started with one, I’m going to the post and threw it out of bounds. And I feel like after that, we just kind of snowballed.”
Some chaos is natural, as injuries to Moses Moody and Butler – starters late last season – have Kerr shuffling through a variety of lineups, some of which might never again be seen.
Curry, who committed one turnover in 30 minutes, made no excuses for those who were on the court, no matter the lineups.
“I would say it was more sloppy play in general,” Curry said.
“But preseason is interesting because you’re trying stuff out, but there’s not as much game-plan preparation in the sense of, ‘What do the Clippers do?’ We have a mentality to that kind of approach, and you save a lot of that for the regular season.”
In short, the Warriors were keeping their regular-season plans under wraps. Didn’t matter that the Clippers were without Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, Brook Lopez and Chris Paul.
Golden State’s biggest concealment, though, was the absence of Butler. He is among the best in the game at assessing disarray and restoring order. On a night when the Warriors sorely needed that skill, he was missing his third consecutive game after tweaking his left ankle last weekend. He appeared in only two of the five preseason games.
He is, for this roster, a key ballhandler and, also, the cleanup man.
“Some of it [was odd rotations], but some of it is just careless play and lack of fundamentals,” Kerr said. “One-hand passes off the dribble when two hands are available. And if you have two hands on the ball, and the guy cuts as you’re passing, you can pull it back. But one hand, you throw it out of balance. And we had several of those. So, the fundamental stuff has to improve.
“But, you know, I think Jimmy solves a lot of that.”
Said Horford: “I do think that once Jimmy gets back out there and all our guys, I feel like there will be more of an awareness, an urgency and understanding that we have to take care of the ball.”
The Warriors committed 110 turnovers in their five preseason games, averaging 22 per game. That’s about six or seven more than Kerr’s comfort zone.
“We definitely had a turnover problem throughout the preseason,” Kerr said. “But I’m confident that when the lights go on Tuesday, our guys will be locked in.
“We had a lot of mix-and-match lineups, but that’s not an excuse for the careless ones. So, we’ve got to improve. We need a couple of good days of practice before we head out to LA but I’m confident we can. We should be fine.”
Taking care of the ball has been an issue with the Warriors for 11 seasons. It remains one of the points of emphasis for every game. Butler is the antidote. At least they hope he is.
‘We’re coming for them’: George Williams and Jack Welsby preview England v Australia
Hosting the world champions is as tough as it gets, but the players say this is the ‘best England team in a long time’
With the club season over, England players George Williams and Jack Welsby are focusing on their next challenge: an Ashes series against the world champions. The pair will take centre stage at Wembley against Australia on 25 October. We met up in London to discuss the first Ashes series since 2003.
George, as captain, what will you say to players like Jack who have waited so long to face Australia?
Williams: “The last time we played them over here was 2016, which is a long time ago. I was young and came off the bench. It was a good experience. But Jack knows – he’s been around the block long enough now, won Super League titles and played against the NRL’s best, so I don’t have to tell him too much. The younger ones? Probably just enjoy it. They don’t come around often. You want to test yourself against the best in the world. We want to knock them off their perch.”
Ohtani rewrites history to send Dodgers to World Series
Shohei Ohtani delivered one of the greatest performances in baseball history as defending champions the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Milwaukee Brewers to reach the World Series.
Japan's Ohtani smashed three huge home runs and struck out 10 Brewers batters in a comprehensive 5-1 victory as the Dodgers swept the series 4-0.
The 31-year-old's trifecta of home runs and 10 strikeouts in the same game is a Major League Baseball post-season record, highlighting a rare talent of excelling with bat and ball.
Ohtani also became the first pitcher since the Boston Braves' Jim Tobin in 1942 to hit three home runs in the same game.
"It was really fun on both sides of the ball today," said Ohtani, who was awarded the Most Valuable Player award for his heroics.
"I'm taking this trophy and let's get four more wins. We won it as a team and this is really a team effort. I hope everybody in LA and Japan and all over the world could enjoy a really good sake [Japanese rice wine]."
Ohtani's entered the game at the Dodger Stadium on the back of an eight-game home run drought, but led from the front as he struck out three batters in the opening frame.
He then starred with the bat in a performance which included a crushing 446 foot home run and a monster 469 foot hit which bounced out of the stadium.
It marked another historic showing from Ohtani, who last year became the first player ever to record 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in the same season.
"That was probably the greatest post-season performance of all time," said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts.
"There's a reason why he's the greatest player on the planet. It's kind of whatever you don't expect, expect him to do it.
"This is just a performance that I've just never seen. No-one's ever seen something like this. I'm still in awe right now of Shohei."
The Dodgers' comfortable victory sets up a World Series showdown against the Toronto Blue Jays or Seattle Mariners, with the latter 3-2 up in the best-of-seven series.
Another champagne celebration for the Dodgers, who still want one more
Max Muncy stood in the middle of what is normally an underground batting cage. But on Friday, moments after the Dodgerscompleted a four-game sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Championship Series, it had been transformed into the most exclusive drinking spot in the city, the place where the players came to toast their return to the World Series.
Cheap champagne and even cheaper beer flowed freely — mostly over people’s heads — before forming deep puddles on some plastic sheeting that had hastily been laid along the floor.
“You never get tired of this. You can't ever take this for granted,” Muncy, the Dodger third baseman said, as he clutched a lit cigar in one hand and two red Budweiser bottles in the other. “This is the whole reason that you play baseball. You want to be in this moment.
“You want to play postseason baseball. And to be able to do it for as many times as I've done it, it's just truly a blessing.”
The moment Muncy referred to is the alcohol-infused postseason series victory celebration, a tradition that dates to the 1960 World Series when members of the Pittsburgh Pirates chose not to drink the champagne that had been wheeled into their victorious clubhouse, but began spraying it on one another instead.
As baseball’s postseason format expanded, so did the number of champagne celebrations; Friday’s was the Dodgers’ fifth in 29 days and 10th in less than two years. And it may not be the last since they’ll open the World Series next weekend with a chance to become the first repeat champion this century.
“It’s a grown man acting like a little kid. You look forward it,” reliever Blake Treinen, who has played for seven playoff teams in his career, said as he leaned on a giant red cooler stuffed with mostly empty bottles of champagne.
When the Dodgers qualified for the playoffs last month, they toasted that achievement at home, then toasted themselves again six days later in Arizona when they clinched the division title. This month they’ve beaten the Cincinnati Reds in the wild-card series, the Philadelphia Phillies in the Division Series and now the Brewers in the LCS.
Read more:Plaschke: 'Ohhhhhtani!' Immortal Shohei Ohtani blasts Dodgers to the World Series
And with each victory, the celebrations have grown in fervor and joy.
“It gets better and better each round,” pitcher Tyler Glasnow agreed.
As soon as Caleb Durbin’s fly ball settled in Andy Pages’ glove near the right-field bullpen gate Friday night, extending the Dodgers’ season while ending the Brewers’, fireworks filled the air and Randy Newman’s “I Love L.A.” blared from the stadium’s sound system. As a small army of workers rushed to set up a temporary wooden stage behind second base, the players pulled on gray t-shirts with words National League Champions and the script Dodgers set against a baseball diamond outlined in yellow.
On their heads they wore black caps that read World Series 2025. But the public ceremony on the stage, in which chairman Mark Walter was presented with the league championship trophy and Shohei Ohtani was handed the series MVP trophy, was short and tame compared to raucous fiesta that started in the batting cage a few minutes later.
“These kinds of celebrations, you can never have too many,” infielder Miguel Rojas shouted in Spanish over a loud soundtrack of percussive music that played in a loop. “A moment like this is really important, really beautiful.
“Five times this year. We’ve got one to go.”
A few feet away outfielder Teoscar Hernández surrounded himself with a handful of journalists in an unsuccessful attempt to hide from the champagne sprays directed at him by teammates.
“I don't think there's anybody that gets tired of this. I'm not tired,” he said. “I want to get one more, and then five more next year.
“This is the only time that you can get to celebrate something, to be free, not thinking about your job, not thinking about what you got to do tomorrow.”
Read more:Shohei Ohtani’s historic performances send Dodgers back to World Series
As the party began to wane and players left the batting cage to join their families in a quieter gathering on the field, Muncy looked down at the thick victory cigar between his fingers and turned reflective. The celebration wasn’t about champagne or beer or victory cigars. It wasn’t even about winning.
It was more about surviving the crucible of the longest schedule in pro sports and celebrating that with the people who were with you every step of the way.
“It's amazing, is what it is,” he said. “This is one of the best parts about being in the postseason. You grind with your teammates and your brothers for seven, eight months, all the way back to spring training.
“This is just like a culmination of all your collective efforts.”
Who wouldn’t want drink to that?
Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Luka Doncic sharp again, but Kings rally to beat Lakers
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 DeRozan 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. Redick lauded the Lakers' 28 assists to 10 turnovers, but lamented that they should have had 35 assists had some lob plays not gone awry.
The result won’t count, but the energy from the sideline in the final seconds still indicated the tight game mattered to those on the court. When Lakers guard Dalton Knecht hit a game-tying three-pointer with 9.4 seconds remaining, the entire Lakers bench, full of the starters and rotation players who had earned a rest to finish the preseason, jumped in the air to celebrate.
But Kings forward Isaac Jones made a winning free throw with 0.8 seconds left after he was fouled by Nick Smith Jr. Doncic’s initial thought when asked what the team could take from its final preseason game was that it didn’t win.
“We have two more practices,” Doncic said, “so we need to clean up some things.”
While Doncic and Austin Reaves (eight points, four rebounds and eight assists) played together in a preseason game for the first time, the Lakers were still without superstar LeBron James, who remains sidelined because of a sciatica issue in his right side. His absence, which is expected to last at least until November, forced the Lakes to re-evaluate their starting lineup.
Redick unveiled his first choice to fill the role, adding guard Gabe Vincent into the starting lineup along with Reaves, Doncic, forward Rui Hachimura and center Deandre Ayton. Vincent, who averaged 17 points in his first three preseason games while shooting 50% from three-point range, continued his incredible preseason with 14 points on five-of-six shooting with four made threes.
The 29-year-old who has struggled with injuries the last two seasons played the majority of the preseason without Doncic or Reaves, but fit into the starting lineup seamlessly Friday as a potential solution to James’ absence.
“His ability to shoot the ball in such tight windows; he takes shots that I would never even think about taking in situations,” Reaves said before the game Friday. “... And it can't happen to a better guy. He's one of our leaders of this team. Lead-by-example kind of guy. Shows up at work every single day, smile on his face.”
Marcus Smart, whose preseason got off to a slow start because of Achilles tendinopathy, came off the bench for 14 points with three rebounds.
It was a classic “Marcus Smart game,” Redick said proudly. The former NBA defensive player of the year dove on the floor for balls. He knocked down shots after a slow first half to score 11 points in the second half and attacked aggressively off the dribble.
“This is probably the best I felt tonight since I got here,” said Smart, who has played in just 54 regular-season games over the last two seasons because of injuries. “As I continue to get better and get to 100%, you’ll see more nights like tonight where I’m more aggressive and I’m moving really well and just energy on both ends of the floor.”
Smart was seen as a potential starting option after he signed with the Lakers. The team was desperate for his defense, leadership and toughness, and needs it even more with James sidelined. The team’s initial timeline that he would be re-evaluated in three to four weeks covers the first nine regular-season games. It will be the first time in James’ 23-season NBA career that he misses the season opener.
The 40-year-old superstar sat at the end of the bench Friday on an elevated seat cushion.
The Lakers were also without Bronny James (ankle) and rookie Adou Thiero (knee). Center Jaxson Hayes, who slammed three monstrous dunks in the first half, didn’t play the second half because of a right wrist contusion sustained on a lob dunk. Redick said X-rays were negative.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
NHL Hockey News, Scores, Standings, Rumors, Fantasy Games 2025-10-19 06:00:39
Shohei Ohtani hits 3 homers, dominates on mound in Dodgers’ clinching 5-1 NLCS win over Brewers
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shohei Ohtani has propelled the Los Angeles Dodgers back to the World Series with a two-way performance for the ages.
Ohtani hit three mammoth homers and struck out 10 while pitching into the seventh inning, and the Dodgers swept the Milwaukee Brewers out of the NL Championship Series with a 5-1 victory in Game 4 on Friday night.
The Dodgers will have a chance to be baseball’s first repeat World Series champions in a quarter-century after this mind-blowing night for the three-time MVP Ohtani, who emphatically ended a quiet postseason by his lofty standards. Ohtani was named the NLCS MVP essentially on the strength of this one unforgettable game.
“It was really fun on both sides of the ball today,” Ohtani said through his interpreter. “As a representative (of the team), I’m taking this trophy, and let’s get four more wins.”
After striking out three in the top of the first inning of Game 4, Ohtani hit the first leadoff homer by a pitcher in major league history off Brewers starter José Quintana.
Ohtani followed with a 469-foot blast in the fourth, clearing a pavilion roof in right-center.
Ohtani added a third solo shot in the seventh, becoming the 12th player in major league history to hit three homers in a playoff game. His three homers traveled a combined 1,342 feet.
Ohtani (2-0) also thoroughly dominated the Brewers in his second career postseason mound start, allowing two hits in his first double-digit strikeout game in a Dodgers uniform.
“Sometimes you’ve got to check yourself and touch him to make sure he’s not just made of steel,” said Freddie Freeman, last season’s World Series MVP. “Absolutely incredible. Biggest stage, and he goes out and does something like that. It’ll probably be remembered as the Shohei Ohtani game.”
After the Brewers’ first two batters reached in the seventh, he left the mound to a stadium-shaking ovation — and after Alex Vesia escaped the jam, Ohtani celebrated by hitting his third homer in the bottom half.
The powerhouse Dodgers are the first team to win back-to-back pennants since Philadelphia in 2009. Los Angeles is back in the World Series for the fifth time in nine seasons, and it will attempt to become baseball’s first repeat champs since the New York Yankees won three straight World Series from 1998 to 2000.
“That was special,” Freeman said. “We’ve just been playing really good baseball for a while now, and the inevitable kind of happened today — Shohei. Oh my God. I’m still speechless.”
After capping a 9-1 rampage through the NL playoffs with this singular performance by Ohtani, the Dodgers are headed to the World Series for the 23rd time in franchise history, including 14 pennants since moving from Brooklyn to Los Angeles. Only the Yankees, last year’s opponent, have made more appearances in the Fall Classic (41).
Los Angeles will have a week off before the World Series begins next Friday, either in Toronto or at Dodger Stadium against Seattle. The Mariners beat the Blue Jays 6-2 earlier Friday to take a 3-2 lead in the ALCS, which continues Sunday at Rogers Centre.
The Dodgers had never swept an NLCS in 16 previous appearances, but they became only the fifth team to sweep this series while thoroughly dominating a 97-win Milwaukee club. Los Angeles is the first team to sweep a best-of-seven postseason series since 2022, and the first to sweep an NLCS since Washington in 2019.
“I’ll tell you, before this season started, they said the Dodgers are ruining baseball,” Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts shouted to the crowd during the on-field celebration. “Let’s get four more wins and really ruin baseball!”
The NL Central champion Brewers were eliminated by the Dodgers for the third time during their current stretch of seven playoff appearances in eight years. Even after setting a franchise record for wins this season, Milwaukee is still waiting for its first World Series appearance since 1982.
“We were part of tonight an iconic, maybe the best individual performance ever in a postseason game,” Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy said. “I don’t think anybody can argue with that. A guy punches out 10 and hits three homers.”
The Brewers had never been swept in a playoff series longer than a best-of-three, but their bats fell silent in the NLCS against the Dodgers’ brilliant starting rotation. Los Angeles’ four starters combined to pitch 28 2/3 innings with two earned runs allowed and 35 strikeouts.
The Dodgers added two more runs in the first after Ohtani’s tone-setting homer, with Mookie Betts and Will Smith both singling and scoring.
Jackson Chourio doubled leading off the fourth for Milwaukee’s first hit, but Ohtani stranded him with a groundout and two strikeouts.
Struggling Dodgers reliever Blake Treinen allowed two more baserunners in the eighth, and Caleb Durbin scored when Brice Turang beat out his potential double-play grounder before Anthony Banda ended the inning.
Roki Sasaki pitched the ninth in the latest successful relief outing for the Dodgers’ unlikely closer.
Penguins' Notebook: Small Lineup Changes May Happen Saturday In San Jose
The Pittsburgh Penguins have started off their California road swing even at 1-1 so far, and they will look to come out with a winning record when they face the San Jose Sharks on Saturday.
And, as has been customary up to this point in the season, it appears more lineup tweaks may be on the horizon.
With teenage rookies Harrison Brunicke and Ben Kindel getting the occasional lineup scratches for developmental purposes, both the defense corps and the forward unit is seeing changes game-in and game-out. Both rookies appear slated to be in the lineup Saturday.
During Friday's team practice in Los Angeles, these are the lines and pairings that the Penguins rolled with:
Forwards
Rickard Rakell - Sidney Crosby - Bryan Rust
Anthony Mantha - Evgeni Malkin - Justin Brazeau
Tommy Novak - Ben Kindel - Filip Hallander
Connor Dewar - Blake Lizotte - Noel Acciari
Extra: Philip Tomasino
Despite Healthy Scratches, 'Development Plan' Could Be Good Sign For Two Top Penguins' ProspectsEven if the Penguins sideline top prospects Brunicke and Kindel for "development," this strategic move signals a long-term commitment - possibly defying expectations of a return to juniors for both players.Defensemen
Parker Wotherspoon - Erik Karlsson
Ryan Shea - Kris Letang
Caleb Jones - Harrison Brunicke
Extras: Connor Clifton, Matt Dumba
Goaltenders
Arturs Silovs
Tristan Jarry
It's unclear who will get the starting nod in goal against the Sharks. But, with Kindel in, Tomasino appears to be out, and with Brunicke in for a second consecutive game, Clifton and Dumba appear to be the odd men out on the blue line again.
Both Clifton and Dumba have appeared in only one of the five games for the Penguins this season, which was a 4-3 loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday.
Should Silovs Be The Penguins' Starting Goaltender?Heading into the 2025-26 season, <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/">Pittsburgh Penguins</a>' head coach said Dan Muse that he didn't have a concrete plan for the goaltending split between Tristan Jarry and Arturs Silovs.
Other notes:
- Assuming both Brunicke, 19, and Kindel, 18, play Saturday in San Jose, they will both be suiting up for their fifth game with the Penguins. Since both of them are juniors-eligible, they can play in up to nine NHL games before the first year of their respective three-year entry-level contracts kick in.
It's unclear what the long-term plan is for either player this season, but if they're in the lineup Saturday, they will only have four games left before some tough decisions need to be made by management.
- Kevin Hayes - who has been out since training camp with an upper-body injury - did make the Western trip with the Penguins but has yet to take line rushes with the team at practice.
In order to activate Hayes from injured reserve and place him on the NHL roster, the Penguins would have to clear a roster spot, as they are already at full 23-man capacity.
How 3 Former Penguins Are Performing With Their New Teams In 2025-26A couple of former Pittsburgh Penguins players from last season are off to solid starts this year, while another is looking to shrug off a slow start. - Pittsburgh could face former Penguins' netminder Alex Nedeljkovic for the first time since his trade to San Jose over the summer. In 76 games with the Penguins, Nedeljkovic went 32-22-12 with two shutouts, an .898 save percentage, and three points - including a goal.
In two games with San Jose this season, Nedeljkovic is 0-1-1 with an .878 save percentage and 4.45 goals-against average.
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Should Silovs Be The Penguins' Starting Goaltender?
Heading into the 2025-26 season, Pittsburgh Penguins' head coach said Dan Muse that he didn't have a concrete plan for the goaltending split between Tristan Jarry and Arturs Silovs.
Of course, it's early in the season, and both goaltenders have had some strong moments and some not-so-great ones. But one of the netminders is beginning to separate himself a bit, even if only in the slightest.
The 24-year-old Silovs was traded to Pittsburgh this summer from the Vancouver Canucks, and he was coming off a 2024-25 AHL season that ended with an astounding Calder Cup run and a playoff MVP award - a run that included a 16-7 record and .931 save percentage with five shutouts.
He also represented Team Latvia for two straight World Championships in 2022 and 2023, posting save percentages of .952 and .921, respectively. The 6-foot-4, 208-pound goaltender had struggled at the NHL level during the regular season prior to his Penguins' stint, but he did help the Canucks during their playoff run in 2023-24, playing in 10 games despite what little NHL experience he had at that point - nine games, to be exact.
Now, he finds himself in a pretty decent spot for the Penguins so far. Silovs did suffer a pedestrian 6-1 loss to the New York Rangers on Oct. 11, but his other two starts have been impressive.
He earned the nod on opening night for the Penguins against the Rangers, and with 25 saves, he earned his first career NHL regular season shutout in a 3-0 win. Then, on Thursday against the Los Angeles Kings, he rebounded from a bit of a rocky start and stopped 30 of 32 Kings' shots to help earn the Penguins a 4-2 win, even as there were stretches of play when he had to make a lot of tough saves in a short amount of time.
Canucks Artūrs Šilovs Named AHL Playoffs MVPAbbotsford Canucks goaltender Artūrs Šilovs has been named MVP of the 2025 Calder Cup Playoffs. The 24-year-old became the first goaltender in over a decade to capture the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy, and now joins an exclusive list which includes Robin Lehner, Michal Neuvirth and Carey Price. Šilovs picked up 16 wins during the post-season, while five shutouts were one short of the all-time record for a single playoff run.
On the season so far, Silovs owns a .908 save percentage and a 2.67 goals-against average - and he only seems to be getting more comfortable between the pipes for Pittsburgh. The poise and confidence that Silovs has despite only 22 games of regular-season NHL experience isn't something that comes so easily for young netminders.
And Muse believes his high-stakes experience - NHL or not - has a lot to do with that.
"He's gained some really good experiences in his career so far, and he's obviously still a relatively young guy," Muse said. "I think those things, they seem to all kind of stack up. To have that run that he had last year, and then to have the playoffs before, and then you also look at some of the different experiences that he's had in international play... you look at it and see he's not that old. He's got all these things already, and you own those now. You own those experiences, and you carry them with you."
Artūrs Šilovs Shuts Out J.T. Miller And Carson Soucy In Battle Of Former Canucks To Start 2025–26 NHL SeasonWhile the current <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/vancouver-canucks">Vancouver Canucks</a> prepare for their season-opener on October 9, some former Canucks started their 2025–26 season off with a matchup against former teammates. In the second game of the NHL’s opening night, former Canuck Artūrs Šilovs and the <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/">Pittsburgh Penguins</a> shut out J.T. Miller, Carson Soucy, and the <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-rangers/">New York Rangers</a> by a score of 3–0. All three players started the 2024–25 season on Vancouver’s opening night roster and all ended up on different teams via trade.
Silovs has a track record of showing up in big games, but he has yet to find consistency on a regular basis. Should he be given the runway in Pittsburgh this season to prove he can?
Given the Penguins' situation, there's no reason he shouldn't be given that runway.
Jarry, 30, has had some good moments so far in the young season as well. But - with 295 NHL games under his belt already - it's safe to say that the Penguins already know what they're getting in Jarry. He has a career .909 save percentage and is a two-time All-Star, but, unfortunately, he simply hasn't been able to find enough consistency throughout his career.
Six years younger, Silovs never really got the runway to prove he could be a long-term solution for the Canucks, either. With Thatcher Demko and Kevin Lankinen in the picture, he was never going to have a long leash to be able to prove himself at the NHL level.
Now, he has a chance to do that in Pittsburgh. With the goaltending picture pretty much wide-open - and, potentially, a large piece of the Penguins' future at the position in Sergei Murashov already putting up numbers this season in the AHL - Silovs has a head start on everyone else, including Murashov and Joel Blomqvist, who is on the shelf with a lowe-body injury.
The Penguins have already shown that they're not afraid to take the necessary steps to make way for deserving youth on the roster - even if that means making difficult decisions with veterans. Therefore, Muse and the Penguins should give Silovs the reigns - at least for now - and afford him the opportunity to be a starting solution for the Penguins in Pittsburgh.
Only time will tell if he can continue to build on his success at the AHL and international levels. But the only way to find out is by giving him the games, and that's exactly what the Penguins need to do.
Rookie Comes Through Shorthanded, Propels Penguins Past Kings, 3-2<a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins">Pittsburgh Penguins</a>' rookies have certainly been making their mark in the earlygoing of the 2025-26 season.
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How 3 Former Penguins Are Performing With Their New Teams In 2025-26
Change is inevitable each NHL trade deadline and offseason, even for the Pittsburgh Penguins, who are going through a rebuild.
They didn't make any significant trades at the deadline or signings during free agency, but that was their intention. They moved out some of their pending free agents for more draft picks and signed a few players to short-term contracts. They want to get back to contention as urgently as possible, but are making sure they do it right and don't take any shortcuts.
With all of that in mind, let's look at a few former Penguins players who were on last year's team and see how they're doing on their new teams to start the 2025-26 season.
Alex Nedeljkovic
Penguins president and general manager Kyle Dubas felt it was time to shake up the crease a little bit when the season ended. He traded Nedeljkovic to the San Jose Sharks on July 1 for a third-round pick in the 2028 NHL Draft. Nedeljkovic spent two seasons with the Penguins, playing in 38 games each.
As expected, his results were mixed. There were times when he'd give them quality starts, and others when he'd look out to lunch. One of his quality starts came on January 17 of this year against the Buffalo Sabres when he became the second goaltender in the Penguins' franchise history to score a goal. He also had a .952 save percentage and made 40 saves on 42 shots. It was one of the highlights of the 2024-25 Penguins' season before they ultimately missed the playoffs for a third-straight season.
Fast forward to the 2025-26 season, and Nedeljkovic has struggled in his two starts with the Sharks. He has a 0-1-1 record with a 4.45 goals-against average and an .878 save percentage. His goals saved above expected is also -2.6.
He started in the Sharks' first game of the season, and it looked like he was going to help them win against the Vegas Golden Knights until he made two huge blunders. The first one came late in the third period after it looked like Sharks forward William Eklund was going to put the game away with an empty net goal. He had multiple chances to score, but couldn't find the back of the net.
Those missed chances led to Golden Knights forward Jack Eichel scoring from the red line off a very innocent shot. It took a weird bounce, and Nedeljkovic completely misplayed it.
Just confirming this actually happened 😵💫 pic.twitter.com/4Sy0tIe2za
— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) October 10, 2025
Things went from bad to worse for Nedeljkovic in overtime when he came all the way out of his crease to the blue line. He was trying to play the puck when he messed it up, leading to the game-winner by Reilly Smith.
unbelievable. Alex Nedeljkovic has had a nightmare finish. pic.twitter.com/RqACtJFNsA
— NHL News (@PuckReportNHL) October 10, 2025
The Sharks are still looking for their first win of this season, and they'll have a chance to get it on Saturday against the Penguins. Nedeljkovic will likely start in that game since fellow goaltender Yaroslav Askarov played on Friday.
Anthony Beauvillier
The Penguins traded Beauvillier to the Washington Capitals for a 2025 second-round pick at last season's trade deadline. It came after Beauvillier compiled 13 goals and 20 points in 63 games as a Penguin.
Beauvillier was a solid depth piece for the Capitals down the stretch and into the playoffs. They liked his play enough that they opted to re-sign him to a two-year $5.5 million contract in early July. They let him test free agency before bringing him back.
His solid play with Washington has carried over into this season. He already has one goal and two points in the Capitals' first five games. That goal came against the New York Rangers in the Capitals' third game of the season on October 12. It was a really nice redirect off a nice feed from Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin.
Anthony Beauvillier gets the icebreaker! 🙌 #NHLFaceOffpic.twitter.com/u6HQYrDDjw
— NHL (@NHL) October 13, 2025
The Capitals are off to a 4-1-0 start to the season after beating the Minnesota Wild on Friday night.
Rookie Comes Through Shorthanded, Propels Penguins Past Kings, 3-2<a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins">Pittsburgh Penguins</a>' rookies have certainly been making their mark in the earlygoing of the 2025-26 season.
Michael Bunting
Bunting is in his first full season with the Nashville Predators after they acquired him from the Penguins for forward Tommy Novak and defenseman Luke Schenn before last season's trade deadline. The Penguins later traded Schenn to the Winnipeg Jets since he wanted to play in the playoffs.
Bunting played in 18 games for the Predators last season, compiling five goals and nine points. He has played in all five of their games this season and has one goal and two points. He scored the first Predators goal of the 2025-26 season against the Columbus Blue Jackets on October 9.
The Predators won that game 2-1 to start the season with a 1-0 record, but are now 2-1-2 after losing to the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night.
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Canucks Complete The Comeback, Win 3-2 In A Shootout Against the Chicago Blackhawks
It was a gutsy performance for the Vancouver Canucks tonight, as they have officially won their second game in as many days with a 3–2 shootout victory against the Chicago Blackhawks. Jake DeBrusk and Max Sasson scored in regulation, while Brock Boeser was the lone scorer in the shootout. Kevin Lankinen made 31 saves on 33 shots faced, stopping all four of Chicago’s shootout attempts.
The biggest talking point heading into tonight’s game was who would step up to challenge Jason Dickinson after his dirty hit knocked Filip Chytil out for the rest of the 2024–25 season. While no players actually ended up going after Dickinson, as many thought would happen, Vancouver took three penalties in the first period. There was also a goaltender interference call that went missed, which ultimately led to a goal for Chicago after Tyler Bertuzzi fired the puck home from in front of the net.
The night before, Vancouver shifted some pieces of their power play, putting Conor Garland on their first unit. The Canucks scored in two of their three man-advantages during that game and extended the goal-scoring streak tonight. Vancouver converted on their first full two-minute power play of the game after throwing the puck on net and jamming away at it, giving DeBrusk his third career birthday goal. While the power play looked lethal throughout the rest of the game, it was unable to capitalize on two opportune chances with five minutes left in the third period.
One line that generated lots of chatter last night was the unit of Arshdeep Bains, Sasson, and Linus Karlsson — otherwise known as the “Calder Cup” line. The forwards continued their solid presence on the ice from the night before, putting in the extra work to win battles along the board and help Vancouver regain possession at various points in time. Their biggest shift of the game set up the team’s tying goal, netting Sasson his fourth goal in his fourth straight game at both the NHL and AHL level.
“It’s something that we’ve talked about probably for two and a half years now, down there [in Abbotsford], to one day be in the NHL and helping out this team,” Sasson said postgame of him and his linemates. “I feel really comfortable with them. They feel comfortable with me. We’re all super close off the ice. We’ve played probably 100-150 games together. We find each other. We know where each other are. We’re dependable, and it’s working.”
This was Vancouver’s first back-to-back of the 2025–26 season, which allowed fans their first look at how the Lankinen and Thatcher Demko tandem will operate in these scenarios. Off the heels of a stellar performance by Demko, Lankinen pitched in his own impressive effort in the team’s shootout win. He stopped nine straight shots during the first half of the first period including a break for Chicago. In overtime, he had a miraculous stretch save to stop a 2-on-1 for the Blackhawks.
It was all Vancouver during overtime, as the Canucks controlled play for the majority of the extra frame. Elias Pettersson had a beautiful chance close in on Spencer Knight, though the Blackhawks goalie sprawled out on the puck to prevent the Canucks forward from tucking it behind him. It was ultimately Boeser who gave Vancouver the win tonight, scoring in round four of the shootout to help the Canucks win their first set of back-to-back games since January 2024.
Stats and Facts:
- Jake DeBrusk scores a goal on his 29th birthday, the fifth NHL point he has tallied on October 17
- Canucks win both back-to-back games for the first time since January 2024 (vs. the New York Rangers and New York Islanders)
- Canucks extend win streak against the Blackhawks to 11 straight games
Scoring Summary:
1st Period:
12:41 - CHI: Ryan Donato (2) from Andre Burakovsky and Artyom Levshunov (PPG)
19:14 - CHI: Tyler Bertuzzi (2) from Sam Rinzel
2nd Period:
6:48 - VAN: Jake DeBrusk (1) from Conor Garland and Quinn Hughes (PPG)
13:42 - VAN: Max Sasson (2) from Filip Hronek and Linus Karlsson
3rd Period:
No scoring.
Overtime:
No scoring.
Shootout Winner:
Brock Boeser
Up Next:
Vancouver will play in their third game in four straight days on Sunday in an early-morning tilt with the Washington Capitals. The Canucks won their last matchup against the Capitals by a score of 2–1, during which defenceman Elias Pettersson made his NHL debut. Puck drop is scheduled for 9:30 am PT and will be available on Sportsnet.
Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, don't forget to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum. This article originally appeared on The Hockey News.
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Shohei Ohtani's unprecedented performance lifts Dodgers back into the World Series
Two days ago, Shohei Ohtani rolled into Dodger Stadium as a man on a mission.
After struggling for the previous couple weeks — mired in a postseason slump that had raised questions about everything from his out-of-sync swing mechanics to the physical toll of his two-way duties — the soon-to-be four-time MVP decided it was time to change something up.
Over the previous seven games, going back to the start of the National League Division Series, the $700-million man had looked nothing like himself. Ohtani had two hits in 25 at-bats. He’d recorded 12 strikeouts and plenty more puzzling swing decisions. And he seemed, in the estimation of some around the team, unusually perturbed as public criticisms of his play started to mount.
So, during the team’s off-day workout Wednesday at Dodger Stadium, ahead of Game 3 of the NL Championship Series, Ohtani informed the club’s hitting coaches he wanted to take batting practice on the field.
Read more:Plaschke: 'Ohhhhhtani!' Immortal Shohei Ohtani blasts Dodgers to the World Series
It was a change from his normal routine — and signaled his growing urgency to get back on track.
“If this was a regular-season situation and you're looking at an expanse of small sample — eight, nine games, whatever it might be — he probably wouldn't be out on the field,” manager Dave Roberts said later.
But “with the urgency [of] the postseason,” the manager continued, Ohtani “wanted to make an adjustment on his own.”
Whatever Ohtani found that day, evidently (and resoundingly) clicked. He led off Game 3 with a triple. He entered Game 4 looking more comfortable with his swing. And then, in one of the incredible individual displays ever witnessed in playoff history, he lifted the Dodgers straight into the World Series.
In a 5-1 defeat of the Milwaukee Brewers that completed an NLCS sweep and gave the Dodgers their 26th pennant in franchise history, Ohtani hit three home runs as a hitter, and struck out 10 batters over six-plus scoreless innings as a pitcher.
He made his previously disappointing playoffs a suddenly forgotten memory, earning NLCS MVP honors and to the astonished amazement of all 52,883 in attendance.
And he delivered the kind of game the baseball world dreamed about when the two-way phenom first arrived from Japan, fulfilling the prophecy that accompanied him as a near-mythical prospect eight years earlier.
Back then, Ohtani’s 100-mph fastball and wicked off-speed repertoire had tantalized evaluators. His majestic left-handed swing had tortured pitchers in his home country.
Not since Babe Ruth had the sport seen anything like him.
There were some early growing pains (and injuries) during his transition to the majors. But over the last five years, he blossomed in the game’s definitive face.
All that had been missing, in a resume chock full of MVPs and All-Star selections and unthinkable records even "The Great Bambino" never produced, was a signature performance in October. A game in which he dominated on the mound, thrilled at the plate, and single-handedly transformed a game on the sport’s biggest stage.
During that Wednesday workout this week, Ohtani got himself ready for one, stepping into the cage during his on-field batting practice — as his walk-up song played through the stadium speakers and teammates gathered near the dugout in curious anticipation — and swatting one home run after another, including one that soared to the roof of the right-field pavilion.
On Friday, in an almost unimaginable showcase of his unprecedented talents, he managed to do exactly the same thing.
After stranding a leadoff walk in the top of the first with three-straight strikeouts, Ohtani switched from pitcher to hitter and unleashed a hellacious swing. Brewers starter José Quintana left him an inside slurve. Ohtani turned it into the first leadoff home run ever by a pitcher (in the regular season or playoffs). The ball traveled 446 feet. It landed high up the right-field stands.
Three more scoreless innings of pitching work later, Ohtani came back to the plate and hit his second home run of the night even farther. In a swing almost identical to his titanic BP drive two days prior, he launched a ball that darn near clipped the pavilion roof again, a 469-foot moonshot that landed in the concourse above the seats in right.
Somehow, there was still plenty more to come.
With the Dodgers up 4-0 at that point, Ohtani then did his best work as a pitcher, following up two strikeouts that stranded a leadoff double in the fourth — and had him excitedly fist-pumping off the mound — with two more in both the fifth and the sixth.
His fastball was humming up to triple-digits. His sweeper and cutter were keeping the Brewers off balance. His splitter wasn’t touched once any of the five times they tried to swing at it.
Anything he did immediately became magic.
Ohtani’s loudest roar came in the bottom of the seventh, after his pitching start had ended on a walk and a single led off the top half of the inning.
For the third time, he flung his bat at a pitch over the plate. He sent a fly ball sailing deep in a mild autumn night. He rounded the bases as landed beyond the center field fence.
Three home runs. Six immaculate innings. A tour de force that sent the Dodgers to the World Series.
All of it, just two days removed from Ohtani being seemingly at his lowest.
All of it, when the baseball world was most closely watching.
Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Plaschke: 'Ohhhhhtani!' Immortal Shohei Ohtani blasts Dodgers to the World Series
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 underneath the roof of the same right field pavilion.
Roar! Roar! Roar!
Read more:Shohei Ohtani’s historic game carries Dodgers past Brewers and into World Series
Then in the seventh inning after he had left the mound he hammered history again, driving a ball 427 feet over the center-field fence.
Roar! Roar! Roar! Roar!
Shohei Ohtani, are you for real?
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?
Ohtani and the Dodgers are back on baseball’s grandest stage, arguably the best player in baseball history and the defending champions returning together to the World Series Friday night, Ohtani pitching and hitting his star-struck teammates into a four-game sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Championship Series.
The final score was 5-1, but, really, it was over at 1-0, Ohtani’s thunderous leadoff homer after his thundering three strikeouts igniting a dancing Dodger Stadium crowd and squelching the Brewers before the first inning was even 10 minutes old.
How far did that first home-run actually travel? Back, back, back into forever, it was the first leadoff homer by a pitcher in baseball history, regular season or postseason, even the legendary Babe Ruth never did it.
The amazing unicorn basically created the same wizardry again in the fourth inning and added a third longball in the seventh in carrying the Dodgers to their second consecutive World Series and fifth in nine years while further cementing their status as one of baseball’s historic dynasties.
They are attempting to become the first back-to-back champions in 25 years, since the 1999-2000 Yankees.
Beginning Oct. 24 against either the Seattle Mariners or Toronto Blue Jays, the Dodgers will enter this World Series with something none of those past great teams — or any teams ever — possessed.
All together now… Ohhhhhtani!
And to think, before the game he was slumping, two-for-11 in the NLCS, batting .158 for the postseason, swinging so wildly that he actually emerged from his usual indoor batting cage fortress to take batting practice on the field during Wednesday’s workout.
Facing nagging questions before the workout about whether the strain of pitching was affecting his hitting, he denied any correlation.
“I don't necessarily think that the pitching has affected my hitting performance,” he said at the time. “Just on the pitching side, as long as I control what I can control, I feel pretty good about putting up results. On the hitting side, just the stance, the mechanics, that's something that I do — it's a constant work in progress. I don't necessarily think so. It's hard to say.”
Everyone should have known something was up during that special batting practice when Ohtani drove a ball off the right-field roof. He was clearly embarrassed by his performance and vowed to silence the critics.
His pitching was never in question — he was the winning pitcher with six strong innings in the division series opener against the Philadelphia Phillies — but he came out firing anyway Friday in the top of the first when he struck out two Brewers on 100-mph fastballs and another on an 88-mph breaking ball.
In the bottom of the first, he finally shut everybody up when he connected on a full-count slurve from the Brewers’ lefty starter Jose Quintana and drove it into oblivion.
Nearly the same scene repeated itself in the fourth inning, two strikeouts followed by a deafening home run against Chad Patrick.
By then, he was so overpowering in so many ways, in the sixth inning fans started a cheer with a timing likely never before heard at a baseball game.
They chanted, “MVP…MVP…MVP”...while Ohtani was on the mound.
When Ohtani finally left the game in the seventh after giving up a walk and a single, organist Dieter Ruehle played, “Jesus Christ Superstar” while the stadium shook with a prolonged standing ovation.
But he wasn’t done yet.
After finishing with six scoreless, two-hit, 10-strikeout innings on the mound, he came out of the dugout again in the seventh. For most great pitchers, they’d only emerge for a curtain call. But this being Ohtani, he was still in the game, and for pitcher Trevor MeGill, it was curtains.
The fastball disappeared into the crowd and what eventually emerged was surely the greatest postseason stat line in baseball history.
Read more:Shaikin: Shohei Ohtani could pull off a playoff feat even Babe Ruth never achieved
Three home runs at the plate, six shutout innings with 10 strikeouts on the mound, in an NLCS game that sent his team to the World Series.
Before the game, Manager Dave Roberts basically called it, saying, “I think this is his opportunity to make his mark on this series. And, so, we're going to see his best effort. So, I feel good that he's pitching for us.”
Pitching and hitting and winning, all at heights never before reached in the long history of this grand old game.
Unbelievable.
Ohhhhhtani.
Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.