What if Antetokounmpo joined forces with Steph Curry and the Warriors?
Stephen A. Smith said the pairing would be “unfair” on ESPN’s “First Take.”
“You want to talk about unfairness in the National Basketball Association? Don’t let Giannis get to Golden State with Steph Curry,” Smith warned. “If that happens – oh my lord. It wouldn’t be fair to the basketball world.”
On paper, it would be a monstrous pairing. Curry and Antetokounmpo have a combined four NBA MVPs, five NBA Championships and two NBA Finals MVPs.
If Draymond Green still were in the mix in that hypothetical, that would give the Warriors two Defensive Player of the Year award winners. But, Smith notes the offensive opportunities with that trio.
“For those two to be wearing the same uniform on the same court — especially — if you kept Draymond Green, who’s your point forward facilitator, who’s your Energizer bunny, and who feeds Steph Curry better than anybody on the planet. If you had those two in the same uniform as Giannis Antetokounmpo, forget the betting odds and all of that stuff in Vegas,” Smith said, “Golden State would coast to the title.”
All three players have played their entire NBA careers with just one team. They have the three longest active tenures with a single team, with Curry and Green entering their 17th and 14th seasons, respectively, with Golden State, and Antetokounmpo entering his 13th season with the Milwaukee Bucks.
Oct 9, 2025; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Nashville Predators center Ryan O'Reilly (90) celebrates with his teammates after scoring a goal against the Columbus Blue Jackets during the third period at Bridgestone Arena. Steve Roberts-Imagn Images
Coming into Thursday’s season opener at Bridgestone Arena, the Nashville Predators hadn’t lost at home to the Columbus Blue Jackets since March 30, 2019, a span of nine games.
That streak was stretched to 10 following Thursday night’s 2-1 victory. It may not have been pretty, but the Predators are already off to a better start than this time last year, when they dropped their first five games in 2024-25.
“Columbus is a really good team,” Preds head coach Andrew Brunette said following the win. “They're fast, they're big. I thought we were a little nervous. We had a lot of guys, that was their first Opening Night in a Predator jersey, whether they're young kids or guys that just came in the lineup… I thought we settled down in the third. I thought it was by far our best period."
Here are three top performances from Thursday’s win.
The New Dad Lights The Lamp
Fatherhood apparently agrees with Michael Bunting.
Just two weeks ago, the 30-year-old Predators forward welcomed his son Bo into the world. Prior to Thursday’s season opener, Bo took the gold walk at Bridgestone Arena.
Michael Bunting scores the first goal of the season for the #Preds. I would imagine that puck might just go to his 2-week-old son, Bo, who also took the Gold Walk earlier today. pic.twitter.com/BJxoX7zqlH
Bunting scored the Predators’ first regular-season goal of 2025-26 later that evening, putting them in the lead 1-0 at the 6:45 mark of the opening period.
Bunting took the puck off a turnover, but his first shot was blocked by a Columbus defender, then bounced off another. Linemate Erik Haula fed the puck back to Bunting, and his second try went over the shoulder of Columbus goalie Jet Greaves. Haula was credited with the lone assist.
At 10:08 of the first, Bunting went to the penalty box for slashing, but former Predator Dante Fabbro also went off for interference at the same time, creating a 4-on-4.
Bunting’s goal put him four shy of 100 for his NHL career. He was acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins with a fourth-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft for Tommy Novak and Luke Schenn last March.
Bunting also lit the lamp in the Predators’ last meeting with Columbus, an 8-4 loss last Apr. 1. After the Blue Jackets took a 4-1 lead in the second period, Nashville scored two goals within 43 seconds of each other. Bunting cut the deficit to 4-2 at 5:43, then Justin Barron narrowed the gap to 4-3 at 6:26.
Here's to a great start of 2025-26 for the new dad, on and off the ice.
Ryan O'Reilly Gets The Game-Winner
Last season, the Predators ranked 18th in the NHL on the power play. On Thursday, they went 1-for-4, but that goal was a big one. It came from Ryan O’Reilly to put the Preds ahead 2-1 in what would eventually be the game-winner.
At 16:41 of the third period, O’Reilly took a pass from Filip Forsberg down low, showed some adept stick-handling skills before firing a high backhand past Greaves.
Forsberg picked up the assist, giving him a point in 10 consecutive season-opening games dating back to 2016-17. He’s only the fifth player in NHL history to accomplish that milestone.
“It's a good feeling,” O’Reilly said of Thursday's win. “It wasn't pretty at times out there. They had some momentum, and we got caught on our heels, but still, to find a way to win, to kind of stay with it… It's so important to establish that right away and get that first win. It's definitely a great game to build on."
O’Reilly was on a power-play unit with Forsberg, Roman Josi, Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault. They had great puck movement on that particular shift. It’s definitely something they can build on.
Juuse Saros Slams The Door
In last season’s loss to Dallas on Opening Night, Predators goalie Juuse Saros didn’t play due to an injury. The Stars scored all four of their goals in the second period off backup Justus Annunen, and Nashville fell 4-3.
Saros was in net Thursday, and made the most of his season opener. He had several key saves in the first period after the Predators had grabbed a 1-0 lead. One was on Kirill Marchenko on a wraparound attempt going left to right.
Saros was up to the task all night, stopping 38 of 39 shots. The Blue Jackets outshot Nashville 28-18 through 40 minutes before the Predators won the third period advantage 13-10.
“Obviously, he's the backbone of our team," Forsberg said of Saros. "And then for two periods, we relied on him a lot, too, a lot more than we…want to on a regular basis. But that's why he's here. That's why he's ours and not someone else's. He's one of the best, if not the best.”
The Blue Jackets almost went ahead 2-1 with 17 seconds left in the middle frame after Mathieu Olivier put one in after Saros partially saved a previous shot by Damon Severson. However, the goal was disallowed after video review for goalie interference.
Saros’s previous performance against Columbus was forgettable. He saved 19 of 26 shots over two periods in the 8-4 loss last April before giving way to Annunen.
Thursday, the Predators saw the vintage Saros. If the club has any hope of a turnaround in 2025-26, it starts with Saros being consistent throughout the grind of a season.
Dmitri Voronkov (1) provided the only offense for Columbus, and Jet Greaves was stellar, making 29 saves, but the Jackets would fall to the Nashville Predators 2-1.
Bridgestone Arena is absolutely a house of horrors for the Columbus Blue Jackets. With last night's loss, they move to 9-37-1-7 all-time in Nashville. So, it's a blessing that this game was played so early in the season.
The Jackets played really well, but just couldn't solve Preds goalie Juuse Saros. The 30-year-old Finn made 37 saves on 38 CBJ shots to stifle the young Jackets. The Jackets thought they took the lead with 18 seconds left in the second period, but upon further review, it was ruled that Mathieu Olivier made contact with Saros, so the goal was called back. That would be it for the Blue Jackets, as the Preds would of course score a power play in the third to end it.
They played well against a tough and skilled team and playing well defensively. There's really nothing to be upset about in this one.
Quotes
HC Dean Evason - "A ton of positives. Obviously, their goaltender was really good. We did so many really good things in this hockey game. It's frustrating, obviously, but the guys know how hard and how well they played."
Mathieu Olivier - “I thought our game was really good. We put a lot of pressure on them, did the right things to win. Ultimately, their goalie was really good. So was Jet. It was a very tight game, and that’s just the way it goes sometimes, but as far as the way we played, I don’t think there’s much to look at and not be satisfied with. We played well. Just not satisfied with not getting the two points, but other than that, not a bad performance by our group.”
Jet Greaves - "Excited for the opportunity to be out there with the guys tonight. So, I felt good, but obviously like there's some positives but also some things to improve on, so it's I think it's a good step, but I think there's a lot for myself and for us to learn from going forward."
Final Stats
Player Stats
Dmitri Voronkov scored his 1st goal of the season.
Damon Severson tallied an assist
Denton Mateychuk recorded an assist.
Kirill Marchenko led the CBJ with 8 shots.
Zach Werenski had 5 shots on the night.
Jet Greaves made 29 saves.
Team Stats
The Jackets' power play went 0/1 on the night.
The Columbus PK stopped 3 of 4 Predator power plays.
Columbus won 46.8% of the faceoffs.
Up Next: The Blue Jackets travel to Minnesota to play the Wild on Saturday night.
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SAN FRANCISCO — During the final homestand at Oracle Park, the lower deck was dotted with No. 78 jerseys, which will become a throwback next spring when Bryce Eldridge is given a much lower number. But those weren’t the only souvenirs from the 20-year-old’s two-week cameo in the big leagues.
Eldridge picked up his first big league hit, and his mom even managed to snag a Matt Chapman foul ball while watching a game at Dodger Stadium. There were a lot of lessons that the organization’s top prospect will take away from September, too.
“You’ve got to make adjustments at this level,” he said on the final day of the season. “I’m just excited that I got the opportunity. I love the fact that I got that out of the way going into next year. I know the things I’ve got to work on. I’m just excited and looking forward to next year and continuing to have a bigger role on this team.”
The Giants never intended to have Eldridge get his feet wet in September, but when Dominic Smith went down with the team still fighting for a Wild Card spot, Buster Posey made the move in hopes that it could provide a jolt down the stretch. Eldridge ended up getting 37 plate appearances over 10 games, showing why he’s potentially a franchise-altering hitter and also what he has to work on.
Eldridge finished with just three hits, but when he made contact, he showed his elite power. He had an average exit velocity of 95.6 mph, a tick above Aaron Judge, who led qualified big leaguers at 95.4 mph. In a small sample, Eldridge also posted what would have been the league’s best hard-hit percentage. He was at 68.8 percent, well ahead of Kyle Schwarber’s 59.6 percent. His expected slugging percentage would have been a top 20 figure in the league over a full season.
That power was there throughout his Triple-A season, too, but Eldridge also had a high strikeout rate, which is one reason the Giants were holding him back all summer. That showed in the big leagues, too. His 35.1 percent strikeout rate would be the highest in the big leagues over a full season. He did, however, counter that with a high walk rate.
Add it up and it’s about exactly what was expected given his age and lack of experience. When Eldridge makes contact, it’s special … but he certainly has work to do in terms of limiting strikeouts.
“I think it’s kind of what we anticipated we might see,” president of baseball operations Buster Posey said on Giants Talk. “You could see some swing and miss, he hit the ball hard. I was impressed at some of his takes. I thought he did a nice job against some really tough pitchers. It’s a big jump. It’s a big jump from Triple-A to the big leagues for a lot of different reasons and one is the quality of arms that you’re seeing every day and every night, starting pitching and relief pitching. There were some takes against (Yoshinobu) Yamamoto that were balls just under the zone that he did a nice job with.
“It’s exciting to have a guy that you know there’s tremendous upside. I know he knows and we all know there’s a lot of room for growth still and we’re excited to keep watching that.”
The call-up put Eldridge on the 40-man roster, eliminating one hurdle to having him on the Opening Day roster next season. But the Giants haven’t committed to anything for 2026, at least publicly.
Eldridge showed he’s more comfortable at first than he was earlier in the year, but if the front office wants him to get a bit more seasoning on that side and continue to work on his approach in Triple-A, there’s an avenue to do that. Rafael Devers likely will be the primary first baseman next year, anyway. There’s some interest in a reunion with Smith, although that’s likely far-fetched given that the roster will at some point have two left-handed first base/DH types in Devers and Eldridge.
Given how much they have to do on the pitching side, the Giants could also go into the offseason with a plan to start Eldridge in the big leagues next year no matter what. A midseason injury limited him a bit in Triple-A, but he got a taste of MLB pitching late in the year and can work on adjustments all spring. That would set him up for an early matchup with Judge, a fellow 6-foot-7 hitter, and give him another chance to get one more milestone out of the way in a big game. The Giants open 2026 on national television against the New York Yankees.
Eldridge came a few feet short of picking up his first homer at Dodger Stadium. He didn’t get that first homer at Oracle Park over the final week, but he said that’s one part of the late-season cameo that wasn’t stressing him out.
“It’ll come when it comes. I’m not worried about it,” he said. “I think there will be plenty of them in my career. I just have to wait a little bit longer, but it’s not a big deal.”
Our new daily puzzle, On the ball, involves guessing the identity of the Premier League footballers, past and present
That “dudes can just sit around and name old sports players” is a time-honoured social media meme. In football, this is especially true. Such wistful recollections can bring together all types of people.
A couple of seasons ago, on a Saturday night train back to London from reporting for the Guardian a match between Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace, I thought I had landed in the sanctuary of an abandoned carriage on the train home.
The Toronto Maple Leafs paid a steep price when they bolstered their blue line back in March, dealing Fraser Minten and a top-five protected first-round draft pick in 2026 for defenseman Brandon Carlo.
Now in his second season with the Bruins, Minten is making an immediate impact. The 21-year-old center scored the overtime winner to help the Boston Bruins defeat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-3. Minten, a late-season call-up for the Bruins in 2024-25, earned a spot in the opening-night lineup after just six games with his new club. The Bruins missed the playoffs for the first time in nine years last season, but are now 2-0-0 thanks to the player Toronto selected with their first pick (38th overall) in the 2022 NHL Draft.
Minten wasn’t the only former Leafs prospect acquired at the deadline to make it to an NHL-opening roster. Nikita Grebenkin, acquired in the deal for Scott Laughton, made the Philadelphia Flyers out of camp. However, Grebenkin was a healthy scratch for Philly’s season-opening loss to the Florida Panthers on Thursday.
Laughton has been out of action for the Leafs since blocking a shot in a pre-season game. He remains week-to-week with a lower-body injury. His lower-body injury appears to derail Leafs prospect Easton Cowan’s opening the regular season on the fourth line alongside Laughton and Steven Lorentz. Perhaps the prospect gets his chance when the Leafs head down the 401 to take on the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesar’s Arena on Saturday
Now that a contract has been settled between the Warriors and Jonathan Kuminga, the focus shifts to what happens between the lines.
The 23-year-old forward’s role has fluctuated throughout his career, especially after Golden State acquired star forward Jimmy Butler last season. That fluctuation has created some uncertainty for Kuminga and created a big contention point during the offseason’s contract negotiations.
“I don’t ask [Warriors coach Steve Kerr] about roles because I know what he is going to tell me,” Kuminga said to Andscape. “I don’t waste my energy. I choose not to ask because nobody is going to tell me. It’s whatever. You just have to find ways to do things when you get out there. Make plays, defend. I don’t have a consistent role. I just play a role where I make sure I play defense and run the floor.”
When the Warriors don’t have superstar guard Steph Curry available, Kuminga has been tasked with being more of a focal point in the offense. But most nights, as it has been for over a decade, Curry is the driver of the offense.
“I think the role is right there for him,” Kerr told Burke. “We need JK’s size, athleticism on the wing, his ability to guard the big wing guys like Luka [Dončić], LeBron [James] and Kawhi Leonard. So, the role is right there for him. I know it hasn’t always been easy for him because he’s wanted more of a role, being more of a focal point in our offense.”
Kuminga does recognize this, telling Spears that he thinks his role is “to rebound, play defense and run the floor,” while also saying that he doesn’t “stress myself about it or think about” variations in playing time from game to game.
Nevertheless, Kuminga and his camp feel that he can reach All-Star level play with a starting role. Kerr, speaking to Andscape, acknowledged that wasn’t in the mix.
“It’s been an interesting fit. He’s made it pretty clear that he wants the ball and an opportunity that a lot of his cohorts get and people that were drafted near him. And we weren’t able to offer that,” Kerr said to Andscape. “We were a championship team. We won the title his rookie year [2021-22] and have been in the mix the last few years. So, it’s been tough. I respect the fact that he is competing and fighting in a set of circumstances that maybe isn’t ideal for him. But the thing I keep telling him is he can play a role for us, absolutely, with his size, speed and athleticism.
“He can play an important role on a very good team. He just turned 23 [on Monday]. He has plenty of basketball ahead. One day, hopefully, he will look back on this as a valuable time in his career. But I know he’s frustrated. He’s made it very clear publicly. I don’t mind that, but I want him to embrace the idea that he can be a part of something special.”
In his four years of NBA service, Kuminga has averaged 12.5 points per game with a 50.7 field goal percentage in 22.0 minutes per game.
Last season, before the acquisition of Butler, Kuminga averaged 26.0 minutes per game and made 10 starts in his 32 games played. After the acquisition and return from an ankle sprain, his playing time dipped to 20.8 minutes per game.
With just six weeks to go until the first Test in Perth, the fitness of Cummins remains a major talking point following the detection of a lower back stress injury earlier this year. According to some reports, his entire series could even be in jeopardy.
Two games into the new NHL season, the Florida Panthers have to be pleased with the early results.
While they haven’t come easy, the Cats have clawed out a pair of tight wins on home ice as they adjust to life without several key players.
On Thursday, Florida welcomed a young and hungry Philadelphia Flyers squad with a new coach behind the bench and a new goaltender between the pipes.
As was the case with the youthful Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday, the Flyers, thanks in large part to a strong game from their goaltender, kept the game tight until the very end, but ultimately came up short against the veteran Panthers.
We’ll have to see if that’s a trend that continues when the Cats start playing some of the stronger teams on their upcoming schedule.
For now, let’s get to the takeaways from Florida’s win over Philly:
SHORTHANDED DEFENSE STEPS UP
Almost exactly halfway through the game, Florida lost defenseman Dmitry Kulokov to an upper-body injury.
Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice didn’t have much of an update afterward, other than that Kulikov would get looked at the following day and there would be more information after that.
Despite playing down a D-man for the remainder of the game, Florida’s blueliners did not flinch.
They allowed the Flyers only 11 shots from that point on, including just five during the entire third period.
“(They were) really good, especially in the last 20 (minutes),” said Maurice. “I thought they were real clean with what they were trying to do. All those guys can play big minutes, they have in playoff games, and they've played deep into overtime games, so going to five (defenseman) for those guys isn't a big concern.”
WINNING TIGHT GAMES
Two games, two one-goal victories for the Panthers.
A veteran team that’s earned themselves a ton of postseason experience in recent years should be extremely comfortable in situations like that, which is exactly what we’ve seen from Florida.
It’s nothing new to use of us who have been following this team for the past several years, but for the newcomers, it’s a cool thing to be a part of.
“It's the second (game), but you can feel it, and even last game I said that you have that feeling of, there's no panic in the room,” said defenseman Jeff Petry. “And knowing that, we don't need to get away from our game just because pucks aren't going in the net. In both games we had a lot of chances, and those are going to go. To not open it up, to try to create more, I think it showed we were getting plenty of chances based on the way we were playing, so just to stick to that and we were going to find a way.”
STILL GENERATING OFFENSE
The Panthers may have only scored five goals over their first two games, but it’s not for a lack of trying.
They’ve racked up 71 shots on goal off of 132 attempts while holding their opponents to 39 shots on 88 attempts.
As for scoring chances, Florida holds an impressive 62-38 edge, so despite the relatively lower goal total, the vibes are just fine regarding the Cats’ offensive output because at the end of the day, they’re not sacrificing anything on the defensive end while trying to keep things rolling in their opponents’ end of the ice.
“I think we're generating enough, and that's kind of the expectation, that we will probably score a little less right now,” said Maurice. “Hopefully, we don't have to give up less. That's the bigger ask from our blue line especially, and our goalie, because you take a Selke (winner) out of your lineup, you should give up more, but our penalty kill was really good again tonight, so that's a real positive. There was enough generated, certainly in the last game, that we would expect to score a little bit more, but we're fine with that, in that 2-1 is a game you have to learn how to win. You're not getting a lot of looks, there's not a lot of clean offense, so we don't want to open the game up to try to find it, and we didn't do that tonight.”
Photo caption: Oct 9, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Philadelphia Flyers right wing Owen Tippett (74) moves the puck against Florida Panthers defenseman Gustav Forsling (42) during the third period at Amerant Bank Arena. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)
And it was also quite the night for some Penguins' legends.
With Mario Lemieux in the house, the Penguins took down the Islanders, 4-3, on a third-period game-winning goal by Justin Brazeau, who now has three goals in two games. Rickard Rakell and Sidney Crosby also tallied goals, and Evgeni Malkin finished the evening with three points, giving him five points in two games on the season.
And, as far as "firsts," rookie defenseman Harrison Brunicke scored his first NHL goal, becoming the first South African-born player in NHL history to do so. Filip Hallander registered his first NHL point with the primary assist on the goal, and Tommy Novak recorded his first point as a Penguin with the secondary helper.
The 19-year-old blueliner admitted he doesn't remember much in the immediate aftermath of the goal.
"I don't really know, to be honest," Brunicke said. "You talk about that blacking-out feeling? That's kind of what I felt. Just a lot of excitement and happiness, for sure. It felt good."
In what was a bit of a back-and-forth game, the Penguins opened up the scoring first. Evgeni Malkin took the puck down low and fed Rakell, who missed the first opportunity. Crosby and Rakell poked away at it in a net-front scramble, and Malkin pounced on the rebound and threw it toward the empty net. The goal was originally credited to Malkin, but Rakell had tipped it on the way in.
Then, the Islanders responded. Jonathan Drouin halfway-whiffed on a shot from the high slot, and the puck softly knuckled in and dropped, fooling Penguins' goaltender Tristan Jarry and tying the game headed into first intermission. The goal also gave Isles' 2025 first overall draft pick Matthew Schaefer his first NHL point. Kyle Palmieri also scored blocker-side on a lazer from the right circle a little more than four minutes into the second period to put the Isles up, 2-1.
Then, about a minute and a half later, Brunicke pushed a puck up to Novak in the defensive zone, who dove to push it ahead to a breaking Hallander. Hallander pulled up just inside of the offensive blue line, dishing a soft backhand touch pass to Brunicke, who was coming into the slot with speed. Using Islanders' defenseman Scott Mayfield as a screen, Brunicke snapped the puck past Ilya Sorokin for his first in the NHL to put the game back into a tie.
"A big piece of the coaching staff is d-men join the rush," Brunicke said. "We talked about that [Thursday] morning, me and [defensive coach Mike Stothers] there. So, I found some ice. Lucky enough, the puck found me. And I put it in."
A few minutes later, Crosby parked at the net front on one knee, refused to budge, and redirected home a Malkin pass on the power play to put the Penguins ahead, 3-2. However, in the final minute of the period, Islanders' forward Maxim Shabanov - making his NHL debut - tied the game again for New York.
The score remained tied until late in the third, when Malkin worked some magic yet again. From his own zone, he fed Brazeau a stretch pass by banking it off the left wall and leaving Brazeau all alone. The 6-foot-6 forward deked forehand-to-backhand, putting it past Sorokin and calling game for the Penguins.
Things got a bit dicey toward the end, but Jarry stood tall to the task. He stopped 34 of 37 Islanders' shots, several of which came near the end of the game.
"He was awesome, especially early," Brazeau said. "I thought we maybe didn't have our best stuff, and I thought he did a really good job of keeping us in it and allowing us to kind of find our game and get going there. He did a great job keeping us in it tonight."
And on this night of firsts, the Penguins also opened the game with a celebration of 20 years of the Big Three - Crosby, Malkin, and Kris Letang - in Pittsburgh. With another three-point individual effort in the books, Malkin is aware that it may have been his final home opener.
But he is enjoying every moment, and he is proud of the two decades of hockey that the three have put together.
“It’s very special. Time is flying," Malkin said. "I feel like 20 years ago, it’s one day. It’s amazing. Love to play with Sid and (Letang). Same team together 20 years. It’s special. People talk a lot about that. I try to do my best.
"Who knows? Maybe last year. I do my best and try to help the team to win. Sid, a special kid. (Letang), too. Lots of (memories), lots of wins together. Keep going.”
The Dodgers defeated the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLDS despite Shohei Ohtani going one for 18 at the plate with nine strikeouts in the series. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
In those buoyant days of spring, Dodgers fans blithely predicted their star-studded and well-financed team would win, say, 125 games. No major league team had won more than 116 but, if the Dodgers were going to ruin baseball, they would have a damn good time doing it.
Then the season started, and with it the ups and downs, and the injuries and the inconsistencies. The Dodgers won the National League West, of course, but with what they would consider a very modest 93 wins.
Eventually, far later than their fans expected, they roared. They closed the regular season by winning five of their final six series. They swept the Cincinnati Reds in the wild-card round. They dismissed the Philadelphia Phillies in four games in the division series.
The Dodgers have gone 20-6 over these past five weeks. That is a .769 winning percentage, which over a full season would translate into ... 125 victories.
The Dodgers have advanced to baseball’s final four, losing just once in six postseason games. If these are the real Dodgers, the rest of the league appears to be in trouble.
But what if these are not the real Dodgers? The Dodgers are winning but, as the cliche goes, are they hitting on all cylinders?
“Not yet,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said amid the team’s second champagne celebration in nine days.
Dodgers catcher Will Smith smiled at the question of whether the Dodgers have another gear within them.
“I think there’s another gear,” Smith said. “Look at Shohei.”
Ohtani, the defending most valuable player and the presumed repeat winner, had one hit in 18 at-bats in the division series. He struck out nine times.
He scored a franchise-record and league-leading 146 runs this season, just about one every game. In the four games of the division series, he neither hit a home run or scored a run.
“He didn’t do much this series,” Smith said. “I expect next series for him to come out and hit like five homers. That’s just who he is.”
The Dodgers’ starters are healthy and effective at the right time. In six postseason games, the Dodgers have five quality starts. They have deployed another starter as a closer and yet another as a setup man, and the rest of their bullpen might charitably be described as a work in progress.
In the four-game division series, they batted .199 with more errors (three) than home runs (two).
“I think we won this series because we pitched really well,” utility player Kiké Hernández said.
As the players doused one another in celebration, the Dodgers readily gave credit to a Phillies pitching staff that might rate as the best they will face this October. In this series, the Phillies posted a 2.87 earned-run average and the Dodgers posted a 3.32 ERA.
“That’s a great team over there,” Roberts said. “We took every punch that they threw at us.
That said …
“I think that we can be better,” Hernández said. “We didn’t necessarily defend the way we can defend. We didn’t hit the way we can hit. Even though we beat a really, really good team, we can be even better.
“That just speaks volumes about this group. We have gone through so much together. We’re battle-tested, and we’re going to find a way to win a ballgame even when things are not going our way.”
On Thursday, they advanced to their seventh NLCS in 10 seasons by winning a game in which they did not get an extra-base hit, or a hit with a runner in scoring position. In the regular season, they led the NL in runs and home runs.
On Wednesday, before the Dodgers lost their only game this postseason, third baseman Max Muncy scoffed at the notion the team was hitting on all cylinders.
“I still think there's another gear in there,” Muncy said. “I don't think we fully reached where we can be at. And that’s not saying we are, and that’s not saying we aren’t. But I still think there's a whole other level in there we haven’t reached yet.”
What would tell you that you’ve reached it?
“I think you would know,” he smiled to a gathering of reporters. There was laughter in the room, and room for his already accomplished team to grow.
Dodgers pitcher Roki Sasaki delivers in the ninth inning of a 2-1 win over the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 4 of the NLDS at Dodger Stadium on Thursday night. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Hooting and hollering, the players raised the little paper cups in their hands and emptied the contents into their mouths to celebrate the three perfect innings delivered by Sasaki in an 11-inning, 2-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies that secured their place in the National League Championship Series.
The emergence of Sasaki as an October hero was as unexpected as his relief performances in the NL Division Series were electric.
How did this happen?
How could a newcomer who practically vanished when he went down with a shoulder impingement five months earlier become the team’s most dominant reliever?
How could a pitcher on whom the Dodgers had more or less given up produce what manager Dave Roberts described as “one of the great all-time appearances out of the pen”?
Sasaki can point to when he started down the road to postseason glory.
“The scene in the hotel,” Sasaki said in Japanese.
Sept. 8.
Sasaki was in a hotel room in Oklahoma City, preparing to pitch the next day for the Dodgers’ triple-A affiliate.
While eating, he watched videos of himself pitching for Ofunato High School. His signature high leg kick was the same then as it was now, but what he did in the next phase of his delivery wasn’t.
Sasaki noticed that he used to be more explosive before landing his plant foot and releasing the baseball.
“This is it,” he said to himself.
Right there, in his Oklahoma City hotel room, Sasaki started shadow pitching, wanting to recapture the feeling in his lower body from when he was viewed as the most talented pitcher his country had ever produced.
The next day, Sasaki rediscovered his fastball.
Of the 90 pitches he threw in his 4⅔-inning start, six of them were clocked faster than 100 mph. His average fastball velocity was 98.5 mph.
Dodgers pitcher Roki Sasaki delivers during the eighth inning of Game 4 of the NLDS against the Phillies at Dodger Stadium on Thursday. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
His average fastball velocity in the start before that: 94.4 mph.
A couple of days later, Sasaki met with Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and general manager Brandon Gomes. While assuring him they viewed him as a starter next year and beyond, they presented him with the idea of a temporary move to the bullpen, which could drastically improve his chances of making the playoff roster.
Sasaki has done more than make the roster.
Most valuable players aren’t chosen for division-round series, but if they were, Sasaki would have likely claimed the prize.
He saved Games 1 and 2.
Roberts called on Sasaki to pitch two innings in the clinching game. Sasaki ended up pitching three, starting with an eighth inning in which he retired Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper and Alec Bohm in order.
Sasaki made the Phillies look as overmatched at the plate as Postseason Shohei Ohtani, also pitching perfect ninth and 10th innings.
“I was relieved,” Sasaki said.
Roberts was feeling more intense emotion — “Pure elation,” he said — which was why he didn’t wait for Sasaki to return to the dugout to embrace him. Roberts jumped off the bench and hugged Sasaki on the field.
Sasaki’s effort kept the score level at 1-1, positioning the Dodgers to win the game in the 11th inning on a throwing error by Phillies reliever Orion Kerkering.
“Roki was unbelievable,” starter Tyler Glasnow said. “Since coming back, coming in from the bullpen, he’s honestly one of the best pitchers I’ve ever seen. His stuff is incredible.”
Sasaki didn’t look like this in the eight starts he made early in the regular season. Part of that was health-related, as Sasaki has said that his shoulder problems affected his arm slot. When Sasaki recovered, he regained more than his natural throwing motion and previous fastball velocity.
He also regained his confidence.
Sasaki has projected an entirely different energy than he did at his introductory news conference, at which he looked uncomfortable.
When he was asked if he was taunted by fans at Citizens Bank Park, he said he didn’t understand what they were saying. The implication: He didn’t care.
When he was asked about his first season in the major leagues, he said he felt as if his injury prevented him from gauging the level of competition. The implication: If he was healthy, he would have dominated the way he is now.
“He’s very shy, reserved,” Roberts said. “But I do think that [since] coming back, he’s opened up a lot more. I think he’s showing more of who he really is and showing some emotion.”
The change was reflected on the field in the NLDS, Sasaki attacking the Phillies in a style that conveyed a hit-me-if-you-can attitude. The demeanor has contributed to him being the ace of the bullpen this October and it could be why he will be the ace of the rotation in the future.
“We’re starting to see something really special in him,” Roberts said. “What he’s done now on the biggest stages, he’s just scratching the surface.”
