As the Dodgers entered the final portion of the regular season this year, manager Dave Roberts gathered some of his hitters to deliver a late-season reminder.
Nine months earlier, the Dodgers had openly proclaimed their ambitions to complete a World Series three-peat this year, stating the goal clearly (and repeatedly) during a parade to celebrate their second consecutive championship last November.
A few months after that, they reported to spring training and were bombarded with questions about the historical significance of such a quest, reminded time and again of a feat no National League team has ever accomplished, and no club in all of Major League Baseball has pulled off since the New York Yankees from 1998-2000.
TORONTO, ONTARIO – NOVEMBER 02: Manager Dave Roberts #30 of the Los Angeles Dodgers (C) celebrates with his team after defeating the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 to win the 2025 World Series at Rogers Center on November 02, 2025 in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
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Thus, shortly before the trade deadline, and with October only barely starting to appear on the horizon, Roberts wanted to make sure his veteran core was in the right headspace.
Yes, the chance for history was within their grasp.
But no, they couldn’t afford to become preoccupied with the magnitude of such a task.
“We had a little conversation with Doc the other day, the position player group, and he’s really into winning this year,” veteran infielder Miguel Rojas said at the time. “Obviously he cares about winning the last two [years], and it’s really important for him and for us. But he said he doesn’t really care about what happened the last two years. He wants to win this year. So it’s kind of like a pressed button for us to kind of continue to go and not let the rest of the league catch up to our standards. We just gotta keep it up there.”
Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Miguel Rojas, left, celebrates with first baseman Enrique Hernández after a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, in San Francisco. AP Photo/Jeff Chiu
Once again, the subject of a third consecutive title has been raised repeatedly this week.
And yet, the Dodgers have brushed it off at every turn, staying hyper-focused on the challenge of simply winning one World Series — and not the larger historical stakes hanging in the balance this October.
Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy, left, talks with manager Dave Roberts during practice ahead of a baseball NL Division Series, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026, in Los Angeles. AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill
“When you talk about three-peating, you’re putting that extra pressure on it that doesn’t need to be there,” third baseman Max Muncy said. “Winning a World Series is already hard enough as it is. So for us, we’re just trying to focus on what we have ahead of us and without the added noise to it.”
“I think if you think big picture in this moment, you’re going to lose sight of some things,” first baseman Freddie Freeman added. “You just got to take each day one day at a time. And we do understand the bigger picture. But if you’re looking at the bigger picture, then you won’t be able to get to that big picture, if you’re not focusing on the now.”
Los Angeles Dodgers, from left, Max Muncy, Freddie Freeman, manager Dave Roberts and Dalton Rushing meet at the mound against the Seattle Mariners in the seventh inning of a baseball game Thursday, July 30, 2026, in Los Angeles. Wally Skalij for CA Post
That’s all been music to Roberts’ ears.
Ever since the team set its three-peat aim at last year’s parade, he has been trying to narrow its aperture, emphasizing the need to “put on blinders” and ignore outside noise and be prepared for the adversity the Dodgers will inevitably face during yet another postseason march.
“It’s still a different season. There’s going to be different challenges,” Roberts said. “I understand our guys understand what’s at stake. But I think for me, it’s balancing the importance, the opportunity that we have, versus trying to add more pressure than there is already.”
Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts speaks during a news conference ahead of a baseball NL Division Series, Friday, Oct. 2, 2026, in Los Angeles. AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill
The Dodgers have plenty of practice, of course, handling such weighty expectations.
Over the last decade, they’ve gone from trying to snap a generational title drought, to trying to validate a shortened-season championship in 2020, to trying to cement a modern-day dynasty with back-to-back World Series triumphs.
Each of those boxes has now been checked.
The one that’s left — attempting to join only the Yankees and Athletics as MLB franchises to win three straight World Series — might be the toughest of all.
That much, they know. But as another October begins, they’re trying not to pay it much mind.
“You can’t get there unless you win the game that’s ahead of you,” Muncy said. “So we’re just focused on the game we got coming up.”
Maybe the Padres like facing the National League Central Division.
San Diego took care of some unfinished business against one NL Central opponent this week, now they get the division’s heavyweight.
The Padres swept the Cubs out of the NL Wild Card Series on Wednesday and head to Milwaukee for an NLDS matchup against the 103-win Brewers, the team with the best record in baseball this season.
San Diego Padres pitcher Michael King reacts after the fifth inning against the Chicago Cubs during game one of the Wildcard round for the 2026 MLB Playoffs at Petco Park in San Diego, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Despite their dominant regular season, the Brewers won’t be thrilled to see San Diego on Saturday. The Padres won four of the six meetings between the teams this season, including a three-game sweep at Petco Park in August.
San Diego is also the hottest team in baseball over the last two months and went 18-6 in September before dismantling MLB’s highest-scoring offense in two games in the wild-card matchup.
If the Braves and Dodgers NLDS is billed as a classic David vs. Goliath matchup, then the Padres and Brewers is the unstoppable force meeting an immovable object.
Milwaukee also went 18-6 in September and has had an identical number of wins as San Diego since the start of August with 38. This best-of-five collision is between the two hottest teams left standing.
Game 1 is set for Saturday night at American Family Field, where the Brewers went 55-26, tied for the best home record in baseball this season. The Padres counter with a roster loaded with postseason scars and star power. Oh, and we didn’t even mention they have the most terrifying bullpen in the playoffs.
The Post’s Michael J. Duarte takes a look at how the Padres and Brewers stack up this October:
Milwaukee also went 18-6 in September and has had an identical number of wins as San Diego since the start of August with 38. This best-of-five collision is between the two hottest teams left standing. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
At the plate
This is where Milwaukee quietly suffocates teams.
The Brewers led the majors in batting average (.258) and on-base percentage (.341), scoring 832 runs despite finishing near the bottom of baseball with 154 home runs.
The Brewers don’t need to bludgeon you. They peck, scratch, walk, run and generally turn a pitching staff’s evening into a root canal appointment.
Milwaukee also tied for the MLB lead by seeing 3.97 pitches per plate appearance. That kind of plate discipline is important in October, when knocking an elite starting pitcher out of the game can be as valuable as hitting a home run off them.
Brice Turang has become the Brewers’ engine. He finished with an .816 OPS, 21 homers and 100 RBIs and then hit .361 with a .475 OBP in September. William Contreras drove in an MLB-best 24 runs during the final month. Jackson Chourio gives Milwaukee another dynamic threat near the top.
The Padres’ full-season .319 OBP doesn’t belong in the same neighborhood, but that number is increasingly misleading. Fernando Tatis Jr., Jackson Merrill, Xander Bogaerts and Ty France all surged late, and the Padres had baseball’s hottest offense in September before scoring 12 runs in their two-game domination of Chicago.
Most importantly, San Diego doesn’t strike out excessively. The Padres ranked 10th in MLB at avoiding strikeouts, a valuable commodity when October pitching starts throwing napalm.
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Here is where the Padres can change a game before the beer vendor finishes walking down the first aisle.
San Diego hit 183 homers to Milwaukee’s 154, with Manny Machado reaching 30, Merrill 26, Tatis 25 and France 21. Tatis’ season was especially bizarre: After going homerless for nearly two months, he hit 25 beginning May 30 and carried that heater into October with a leadoff blast against Chicago. Machado followed four pitches later. Bogaerts and Gavin Sheets also went deep for the Padres in the wild-card round.
The Padres also possess a particularly intriguing weapon against Jacob Misiorowski.
Nobody in baseball handled premium velocity better than San Diego. They led the majors with a .343 wOBA against fastballs of at least 96 mph. In September, that number exploded to .441. The Padres also tied for second in baseball in average bat speed at 72.8 mph. Milwaukee ranked third against 96-plus velocity at .325, so the Brewers aren’t exactly bringing a butter knife to this gunfight, either.
Still, Misiorowski isn’t merely another hard thrower. He is the soon-to-be NL Cy Young Award winner and a pitching lab experiment that escaped containment. His fastball routinely reaches triple digits, and he finished with a 1.80 ERA, 252 strikeouts, a 0.80 WHIP and a .157 opponents’ batting average — the lowest recorded by a starter.
The most irresistible matchup of Game 1 is baseball’s best high-velocity offense against perhaps baseball’s most violent fastball.
Edge: Padres
Here is where the Padres can change a game before the beer vendor finishes walking down the first aisle. Getty Images
Projected Lineups
Padres
1. Fernando Tatis Jr., RF
2. Dustin Harris, LF
3. Manny Machado, 3B
4. Ty France, 1B
5. Jackson Merrill, CF
6. Xander Bogaerts, SS
7. Austin Hays, DH
8. Jake Cronenworth, 2B
9. Luis Campusano, C
Brewers
1. Jackson Chourio, LF
2. Brice Turang, 2B
3. William Contreras, C
4. Andrew Vaughn, 1B
5. Christian Yelich, DH
6. Sal Frelick, RF
7. Joey Ortiz, 3B
8. Garrett Mitchell, CF
9. Cooper Pratt, SS
In the field
On the diamond, Milwaukee has one of the best defensive second basemen in baseball in Turang, whose 23 defensive runs saved ranked second among all major-league position players.
Rookie Cooper Pratt has been impressive at shortstop, and Joey Ortiz was excellent after shifting to third. Milwaukee finished with 62 defensive runs saved as a team.
The Padres’ infield might be older, but they aren’t statues.
Machado remains magnificent at third and led the position with +8 Fielding Run Value. France produced +7 Outs Above Average at first, second only to Matt Olson among MLB first basemen. Bogaerts isn’t the shortstop he once was, but October isn’t foreign soil for a man with 56 career postseason games.
Jake Cronenworth versus Turang is the biggest mismatch. Cronenworth produced a career-worst .629 OPS in an injury-shortened season, while Turang became one of the sport’s most valuable second basemen.
Behind the plate, Contreras gives Milwaukee another advantage. He threw out 34.2% of attempted base stealers and supplied significantly more offensive certainty than San Diego’s three-headed catching arrangement of Campusano, Freddy Fermin and 20-year-old Ethan Salas.
Edge: Brewers
Tatis is still one of baseball’s premier defensive right fielders, with two Gold Gloves and two Platinum Gloves already on his resume. AP Photo/Gregory Bull
In the outfield
In the outfield the pendulum swings.
Tatis is still one of baseball’s premier defensive right fielders, with two Gold Gloves and two Platinum Gloves already on his resume. Put the glove together with 25 homers, 38 steals and his scorching finish, and there aren’t many players remaining in October capable of affecting a game in more ways.
Merrill gives San Diego another difference-maker in center. His .743 OPS was disappointing by his standards, but he still hit a career-high 26 homers, stole 27 bases and finished fourth among MLB center fielders with 4.2 fWAR.
Left field is San Diego’s soft spot after Ramón Laureano’s season-ending hip surgery, leaving Harris, Austin Hays, Samad Taylor and others to piece the position together.
Milwaukee is much more complete.
Chourio became the first player in MLB history with three 20-homer, 20-steal seasons before turning 23. Garrett Mitchell produced +7 OAA in center while posting a .354 OBP. Sal Frelick doesn’t bring much power, but he almost never swings through anything.
The Brewers are deeper, but the Padres have the two best outfielders in the series.
Edge: Padres
On the basepaths
Don’t look away when either team gets somebody aboard. The Padres stole 164 bases during the regular season. Milwaukee stole 162.
San Diego’s Big 3 are Tatis (38), Merrill (27) and Bogaerts (22), but Milwaukee can answer with Chourio, Turang, David Hamilton, Pratt, Mitchell and enough team speed to turn a routine single into a traffic violation.
Contreras and Campusano both have strong throwing numbers, so neither club can run recklessly.
Edge: Even
Bench
Sheets already showed what San Diego’s bench can do when he came off it and blasted a two-run homer against the Cubs. Miguel Andujar gives the Padres a dangerous right-handed bat. Hays can start against certain matchups, and San Diego can mix and match at catcher with Campusano, Fermin and Salas.
That three-catcher construction is unconventional, but October rewards specialization.
Milwaukee counters with considerably more positional flexibility. Andrew Vaughn can supply a right-handed bat at first or DH. David Hamilton brings elite speed and can handle multiple infield spots. Gary Sánchez provides instant power at catcher or DH, while Luis Lara and Brandon Lockridge offer Pat Murphy additional outfield configurations depending on matchups.
Edge: Brewers
Let’s start with the starting rotation. This is Milwaukee’s clearest advantage, but the chasm is not as wide as you think. Getty Images
On the mound
Let’s start with the starting rotation. This is Milwaukee’s clearest advantage, but the chasm is not as wide as you think.
The Padres will give the baseball to Robbie Ray in Game 1 against Jacob Misiorowski, saving Michael King for Game 2 on Sunday against Logan Henderson.
Ray has plenty of October mileage and gives the Brewers a different look from the right-handers behind him, but his arrival in San Diego has been turbulent. He posted a 5.02 ERA after the trade and now gets the unenviable assignment of matching zeroes with the most overwhelming starting pitcher in baseball.
Misiorowski just authored one of the most outrageous seasons by a young starter in recent memory: 16-5 with a 1.80 ERA, 252 strikeouts, a 0.80 WHIP and a .157 opponents’ batting average.
That’s the mountain waiting for San Diego on Saturday night.
King returns on normal rest Sunday after carrying a no-hitter into the seventh inning against the Cubs in the NL Wild Card Series. He has become San Diego’s October ace, with a 2.05 career postseason ERA, and pushing him to Game 2 creates another enormous benefit: If this series reaches a winner-take-all Game 5, King can take the baseball on normal rest again.
Milwaukee will answer Sunday with Henderson, the 24-year-old right-hander who went 11-3 with a 2.47 ERA and has never allowed more than three runs in any of his first 23 major-league starts.
Nick Pivetta should follow in Game 3 at Petco Park. After missing nearly five months with a flexor strain, Pivetta has been excellent since returning, even if his wild-card start against Chicago lasted 3.1 innings. Pivetta was easily the ace of the Padres’ staff last season.
Game 4 is where both teams may begin emptying the junk drawer.
San Diego could return to Ray on short rest, use Walker Buehler or construct a bullpen game. Milwaukee has Robert Gasser, Dustin May and a collection of potential openers and bulk arms available depending on how the first three games unfold.
Edge: Brewers
San Diego Padres pitcher Michael King delivers against the Chicago Cubs in the sixth inning of Game 1 of the National League Wild Card baseball playoff series Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026, in San Diego. AP Photo/Gregory Bull
If the Brewers’ strength is starting pitching, then the Padres is their bullpen.
San Diego’s bullpen is a monster hiding under the bed.
The Padres led MLB relievers with 8.9 fWAR and produced a major-league-best 3.33 xERA. Adrián Morejón gives manager Craig Stammen an elite left-handed setup option. Bradgley Rodriguez throws 98. Jason Adam is healthy again. Yuki Matsui provides another left-handed look. And then the bullpen doors open for Mason Miller, one of the best closers in all of baseball.
Miller struck out 129 batters in 70 innings — 16.6 per nine — while finishing in Statcast’s 100th percentile in xERA, expected batting average, fastball velocity, whiff percentage and strikeout percentage.
If San Diego leads after six, the Brewers may effectively have three outs left to save their evening.
Milwaukee’s bullpen was excellent, finishing with a 3.40 ERA. Trevor Megill saved 30 games with a career-best 0.89 WHIP. Abner Uribe has closer-quality stuff, Aaron Ashby gives Murphy a durable left-handed weapon, and DL Hall, JoJo Romero and others give the Brewers considerable matchup flexibility.
Most years, that would be enough to own this category. Not this year.
Edge: Padres
Manager
This might be the most fascinating managerial matchup of the Division Series.
Stammen is doing this in his first season as a major-league manager after replacing Mike Shildt. Instead of inheriting a cruise ship, he inherited a roster with an aging core, rotation uncertainty and enormous expectations.
Things got off to a rocky start through July, when Stammen said the team got together to have some “hard conversations.” But after that they caught fire in August and September and still managed to win 90 games.
Then he navigated the wild-card round beautifully, trusting King deep into Game 1 and aggressively deploying his bullpen to finish Chicago in Game 2.
Across the diamond is a man San Diego knows quite well.
Murphy got his first major-league managing opportunity as the Padres’ interim skipper in 2015. A decade later, he has turned Milwaukee into a winning machine.
The back-to-back NL Manager of the Year has guided the Brewers to four consecutive NL Central titles, and this year’s 103 victories established a franchise record. His club isn’t constructed around a billion-dollar payroll or a lineup of future Hall of Famers. Milwaukee wins with development, defense, depth, matchups and an almost irritating refusal to beat itself.
Edge: Brewers
Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Jacob Misiorowski (32) throws a pitch in the first inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at American Family Field in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Sunday, September 27, 2026. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Intangibles
Milwaukee earned the right to put its feet up and rest a week while San Diego had to fight Chicago.
That gave Misiorowski, Henderson and the Brewers’ bullpen extra rest and allowed injured players such as Ortiz additional recovery time.
Normally, you’d hand Milwaukee the advantage and move along.
But the Padres aren’t exactly limping into the NLDS. They have been kicking down doors since August and have the best record in baseball over that time. They didn’t get to rest and probably wanted to keep playing considering how hot they’ve been.
There is also something to be said for already having felt October’s pulse.
San Diego has played two elimination-style postseason games this week. Tatis has homered. Machado has homered. Bogaerts has delivered. King has dominated. Sheets has come off the bench cold and gone deep. Miller has already felt the ninth inning.
Meanwhile, Milwaukee hasn’t played since Sunday.
Rest is valuable, but staying in a rhythm, especially the one the Padres have been in for the last two months, is better.
New York Yankees pinch hitter Giancarlo Stanton (27) reacts as he takes batting practice before game one of the Wildcard round of the 2026 MLB Playoffs against the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — In a rare session with reporters, Giancarlo Stanton declared himself “ready to go, however they need me.”
The question the Yankees were set to ask among themselves Friday: Do they, indeed, need him for the AL Division Series?
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A remarkable comeback from three calf strains, which sidelined the slugger from late April until he was activated for the wild-card series, is in jeopardy. The Yankees, who carried just 10 pitchers with 16 position players in the best-of-three series against Boston, are considering 10-12 pitchers for the best-of-five ALDS against the Rays, manager Aaron Boone said. With more games, they may need more arms.
With rosters due Saturday morning before Game 1, Boone said Friday afternoon that the organization had not yet decided whether Stanton would remain active.
New York Yankees pinch hitter Giancarlo Stanton (27) reacts as he takes batting practice before game one of the Wildcard round of the 2026 MLB Playoffs against the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Against the Red Sox, Boone came close to pinch-hitting Stanton, he has said, but did not pull the trigger in a couple of blowouts. On Friday, Stanton was asked if he would have preferred getting an at-bat so he could see real major league pitching for the first time since he suffered the initial calf strain on April 24.
“I prefer to get two wins and be here now,” Stanton said. “Is it always good to get [at-bats] for anybody for their timing? Yes.”
Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge workout and chat in the outfield before the game when the New York Yankees played the St. Louis Cardinals Wednesday, August 5, 2026 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, NY. Robert Sabo for NY Post
Stanton spoke in a media scrum for the first time since June — after his second calf strain and before a third that occurred in August — and declined to talk about how the “process was or the comeback” but offered: “I’m ready to help the team any way I can. … That’s all really I got to say about that.”
The 36-year-old more commonly speaks with his bat, which owns a career .926 OPS with 18 home runs in 48 postseason games.
He has worked his way into being, at the least, an option for the games he looks forward to the most and the games that one day could define his legacy. Stanton, like several prominent Yankees, does not have a World Series ring.
“If there’s any time to erase a bad year, it’s in October,” Stanton said before taking batting practice at Tropicana Field. “So it’s the biggest opportunity to just show out for the city and do all we can do.”
They might not see him on Sunday in Game 2, either.
Chris Sale of the Atlanta Braves throws a pitch against the Philadelphia Phillies during the ninth inning in game three of the National League Wild Card Series at Truist Park in Atlanta, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. Getty Images
Because Braves manager Walt Weiss made the baffling decision to turn to Sale with a four-run lead to close out the deciding game of an NL Wild Card Series against the Phillies, there’s a chance the Dodgers won’t have to face the former Cy Young Award winner until the third game of the best-of-five series.
“A lot’s going to depend on how Chris feels,” Weiss said.
With one of the top bullpens in baseball, the NL East champion Braves present a real threat to the Dodgers on paper.
Reality won’t be nearly as dramatic.
Defeating the Phillies came at an extreme cost for the Braves, who enter this series looking more like cannon fodder than a realistic challenger.
“The Phillies series took a lot out of us, as far as our pitching,” Weiss said.
That series stretched to three games, with the games played on consecutive days. Closer Raisel Iglesias, fireballer Didier Fuentes and left-hander Dylan Lee pitched on Tuesday and Wednesday, with Fuentes returning to pitch again in the series finale.
In their bullpen game on Thursday, the Braves used six pitchers, including Sale, who was entrusted to take down the last four outs of a four-run game two days after he pitched 6 ⅓ innings in a Game 1 win.
The way the Braves used their relievers in the wild-card matchup will handicap a bullpen that was one of the best of baseball in the regular season.
Atlanta Braves manager Walt Weiss speaks to the media after defeating the Philadelphia Phillies in game three of the National League Wild Card Series at Truist Park in Atlanta, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. Getty Images
“The advantage for us is we have an opportunity to not let their pitching staff come up for air,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.
In fact, with Weiss saying that sidelined starters Martin Perez and Bryce Elder won’t return in this round, the Braves could have to resort to bullpen games in Games 1 and 2.
In retrospect, Sale was more than a proverbial nail in the coffin for the Phillies — he was closer to an atomic bomb. But if Sale’s eighth-inning entrance detonated the minuscule chances of a Phillies comeback, it might have also nuked the Braves’ attempt to upset the Dodgers.
If Sale doesn’t pitch until Game 3, he will be limited to one start in the NLDS. So will Tyler Mahle, the only other usable starting pitcher on the Braves’ roster.
But say Sale can pitch by Sunday. What will the 37-year-old Sale look like after pitching in relief on Thursday? In that game, Sale threw four pitches in the eighth inning, sat on the bench for a half-inning, then returned to the mound to throw 17 more pitches.
Pitching in Game 2 would make Sale available to start Game 5 on four days’ rest, but, again, how will Sale look at that point? If Sale takes the mound for a hypothetical fifth game, he would be starting opposite Tarik Skubal, who would be pitching on five days’ rest.
Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, left, greets designated hitter Shohei Ohtani before a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants in San Francisco, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. AP Photo/Jeff Chiu
Don’t begrudge the Dodgers for this advantage. They earned it by securing one of the NL’s top two seeds, which earned them a bye in the wild-card round.
In 2021, the Dodgers won a then-franchise-record 106 games but had to play in a winner-take-all wild-card game because they were edged for the NL West title by the Giants. After beating the Cardinals on a walk-off home run in the wild-card game, the Dodgers were pushed to five games by the Giants in the NLDS. Max Scherzer closed out the last game of the NLDS, which affected him in the next round against the Braves. Scherzer lasted only 4 ⅓ innings in his Game 2 start and had to be scratched from his Game 6 assignment.
The record shows the Dodgers were eliminated by the Braves that year, but the truth was the damage they sustained in the Giants series is what ended their postseason run.
This time, the Dodgers are on the other side of the equation.
ORLANDO, FL - OCTOBER 11: LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers talks with the media after winning Game Six of the NBA Finals on October 11, 2020 at AdventHealth Arena in Orlando, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2020 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
Given how divisive it is, there will never be a uniform opinion on the Lakers’ 2020 title.
What shouldn’t be up for debate, regardless of the validity of the title, though, is that it’s a shame they never got to properly celebrate it. Because of everything going on in the world in 2020, a parade was never a viable option.
And that’s something that still bothers LeBron James.
In his return to his Mind the Game podcast prior to training camp kicking off around the league, LeBron James spoke about his time in Los Angeles and brought up the fact that the Lakers never really got to celebrate their title.
“It bothers me, [on a scale of] 1-10, 20. Just to be able to celebrate with the Laker faithful. I don’t know what the route would have been. I’m thinking go down Olympic, just all the way down Olympic and then end up downtown right by Staples Center. Everybody want to call it Crypto but it’s Staples Center to me. It would have been super, duper dope. But we did that. We did that and that banner’s up there. That banner’s in that arena forever along with the other ones that’s been able to go up in the history of the Lakers franchise.”
Even if the Lakers wanted to celebrate, the league didn’t exactly give them much time to do it. Their six-week offseason didn’t exactly lend itself to much time to plan things.
Now, it’s hard to imagine a scenario where they get to ever truly celebrate the title. Perhaps in the future if/when the Lakers win another title, they can have members of the 2020 team tag along. But would it feel the same?
It would likely have to happen in the distant future as it’s hard to imagine LeBron being on a different team and celebrating a title in LA with the Lakers. Hopefully, though, it’s something the team has to contemplate in the future because that 2020 team does deserve to be celebrated and given it’s flowers.
DETROIT, MI - JULY 09: Athletics left-fielder Zack Gelof (20) grabs his leg after sliding into the railing trying to catch a foul ball during game between Athletics and Detroit Tigers on July 9, 2026 at Comerica Park in Detroit, MI (Photo by Allan Dranberg/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Zack Gelof is one of those athletes who only has one speed: full bore ahead. It’s part of what makes him an elite athlete and at times it makes it difficult for him to stay on the field. But there is also a difference between playing with “reckless abandon” and having “no regard for your body,” and hitting the ER because the other team’s stadium operations executives had no regard for your body.
In July, 2017 the A’s acquired Dustin Fowler from the New York Yankees as he was recovering from a serious knee injury, a rupture of his right patella tendon. In December, 2017, Fowler sued the Chicago White Sox, claiming negligence due to an unpadded, metal electrical box that was located in precisely the area where Fowler impacted the wall. Fowler’s lawsuit settled for an undisclosed amount of cash.
Now comes Gelof’s lawsuit filed against the Detroit Tigers after Gelof badly lacerated his leg on July 9 when his pursuit of a foul fly ball took him into the side wall — where instead of padding there was a stretch of metal wiring that sliced Gelof’s knee like a Veg-O-Matic and kept him out of action for a month.
Some injuries are preventable and many aren’t. Some mishaps are the result of foreseeable gross negligence and many are just plain bad luck. Stadium operators are obliged to notice clear safety hazards, and many hazards only reveal themselves when a fluky play exposes a formerly unknown truth.
The question in front of a judge or jury, first to be mediated by posturing attorneys, is whether Gelof’s injury was caused by a negligence that anyone could have, and should have, reasonably foreseen. The law doesn’t compensate you for bad luck like it does for bad faith.
Did the Tigers expressly have an obligation to put padding, or avoid putting a wire facing, in a part of the playing field a fielder might slide or crash into? Did Gelof have some obligation either to avoid going full tilt into a very visible wire structure or to notice the hazard during batting practice and bring it to someone’s attention?
Separately there is the question of “damages” as the two sides haggle about the “value” of the case. Certainly there was appreciable pain and suffering — that much was clear at the time of the collision as well as the fact that Gelof could not take the field in a big league game for 32 days.
But he was also paid while on the IL and rehab assignments, so there was no loss of income there. His future value, and how this injury did or did not affect it, is a pretty subjective question, but we do know that Gelof put up a 116 wRC+ before the injury and a very similar 112 wRC+ after.
One thing is for sure: Fowler’s case will be raised, by both sides, in conversations around Gelof’s chances of prevailing in his lawsuit and the value of any settlement. Fowler created precedent that informs comparable cases. And once again, here is an outfielder who was racing into foul territory when he bludgeoned himself on an exposed and unforgiving barrier to his pursuit.
What do you think are the material facts in Gelof’s case and who do they ultimately favor? In all likelihood this case, like the one before it, will settle and never go to trial and the settlement amount will not be made public. But if you were on a jury and were asked to rule on the merits, what information would most inform your verdict and what would that verdict look like? In the end, will Gelof get the 65th win of the season to bring vengeance upon the stadium where Oakland’s season was ended 20 years prior?
Major League Baseball wrapped a postseason advertisement around the front page of The Times this week. “OCTOBER STARTS TODAY,” the headline screamed.
Beneath those enormous letters, Shohei Ohtani smiled. Who else?
And so dozens of reporters crammed into a cramped room within Dodger Stadium on Friday afternoon, on the eve of the National League Division Series between the Dodgers and the Atlanta Braves, waiting for Ohtani to answer a few versions of “How are you?”
It’s not just about attracting casual fans to watch the icon whose face adorns everything from airplanes to skin care products. For the Dodgers and their fans, it’s about whether their most famous player can be a game-changer in October.
The Dodgers could have shut him down as a pitcher rather than let him continue to try to pitch through knee and biceps injuries. They didn’t, and that backfired.
The Dodgers could have shut him down as a hitter, not for the season but for a stint on the injured list. They didn’t. They gave him just a few days off, and that backfired.
Then the Dodgers did put him on the injured list, but activated him for the final five games of the regular season rather than give him extended rest for the playoffs, limiting his activity to controlled workouts.
That might backfire, or it might not, and the repercussions of the former could represent a significant hurdle in their quest for a third consecutive World Series championship. Giving Ohtani time off during the regular season would have carried no penalty; the Dodgers would have won the NL West with or without him.
If the Dodgers decide Ohtani needs a few days off now, they would face this unpleasant dilemma: play one man short, or put him on the injured list. Under MLB rules, a player put on the injured list during a postseason series must sit out the next series. So, if Ohtani starts wincing at the end of his swings during the NLDS, a stint on the injured list would mean he could not play again until the World Series — if the Dodgers get there.
Shohei Ohtani speaks during a news conference at Dodger Stadium on Friday. (Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)
Ohtani has not hit a home run since Aug. 18. Since then, he is batting .157, and he has struck out in 41% of his at-bats. In those final five games, he hit the ball hard in the first two, then hit ground balls in the final three. In the on-deck circle, he did not always take a swing.
In batting practice Friday, he hit lots of home runs.
The general sense of how Ohtani is feeling now: good enough.
Ohtani said he feels “really good” as compared to before he went on the injured list, but acknowledged he isn’t sure what he might need to do to address the injuries over the winter.
“As of now, it’s something I’m just going to have to manage,” he said through interpreter Will Ireton.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts offered this medical update: “Shohei’s not 100%, but he’s going to be in the lineup.”
Same for Freddie Freeman, who has not homered in a month. The difference, Roberts said, is how encouraged the manager was by Freeman’s workouts this week.
“With Shohei, I’m not so sure,” Roberts said. “I know that once the lights turn on, the postseason starts, the focus will be heightened. I expect good things. I really do. We just haven’t seen it enough to really — for me to forecast it.”
Ohtani plays when he says he can. After he tore up his left shoulder in Game 2 of the 2024 World Series, he had trainers tape the shoulder in place and took 11 at-bats over the final three games of the series. He had one hit, a single.
“I do pride myself on playing every day,” Ohtani said. “I do see it as an obligation as a professional to be on the field every single day.”
Andrew Friedman, the Dodgers’ president of baseball operations, acknowledged recently that communication with Ohtani has been “awesome” but “fully sharing exactly how he’s feeling, maybe not as awesome.”
Said Friedman: “He’s not always the best reporter of how he feels. Freddie’s the same way. Clayton Kershaw. I’ve been around a lot of these guys that feel like their job is to be out there to help the team however they can, and sometimes will downplay some things that are bothering them. But again, it’s because he wants to help the team win.”
The Dodgers are talented enough that Ohtani not hitting well would not damage their chances as much as, say, Sale not pitching well for the Braves. In the NLDS and the first three games of the NLCS last October, Ohtani hit .103 with no home runs and struck out in 48% of his at-bats.
In the NLCS clincher, he hit three home runs (and struck out 10 batters). The Dodgers could trade a few bad days from Ohtani for that one really good day.
In that MLB advertisement, the one that featured Ohtani, the league acknowledged that its screaming headline was not exactly accurate. The explanation also fits the Dodgers’ hopes of Ohtani starring in October.
The ad, after all, appeared on Sept. 29.
October starts today?
“Logic and reason would tell you otherwise,” the ad read. “But October isn’t about being reasonable.
The quivering voice, the nerves, the raw emotions have long been in check.
It will be just like any other postseason game, even on the road.
That, at least, is what Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman keeps telling himself.
The last time Freeman stepped on the playing field at Truist Park during the postseason, he was helping Atlanta win a World Series championship, Atlanta knocking off the Houston Astros in 2021 for its first title since 1995.
He was a homegrown hero, a crowd favorite, their biggest star. He believed he would be playing the rest of his career in Atlanta.
Instead, he was gone three months later when Atlanta stopped negotiating with him in free agency and turned to Matt Olson, acquiring Olson from the Oakland Athletics and quickly signing him to an eight-year, $168 million contract extension.
Freeman, who scrambled to find a team with only a few weeks remaining before the start of the season, wound up signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers, receiving a six-year, $162 million deal, and tearfully parting with the team he loved, and a fanbase that loved him right back.
Freeman, who broke down in tears several times when he first returned to Atlanta in 2022, no longer cries when the Dodgers play annually there, trying to treat it like any other city.
But this will be different.
These are the playoffs.
Freeman can end Atlanta’s fabulous comeback season with his bat, or Atlanta can stop the Dodgers’ bid to become the first National League team to win three consecutive World Series championships.
The Dodgers face Atlanta in Game 1 of the NL Division Series Saturday (4 p.m. ET) at Dodger Stadium, with the winner of the best-of-five playing the winner of the San Diego Padres-Milwaukee Brewers series. The loser goes home.
“I'm going to try and not treat it any differently, and nor should anybody else treat anything differently,’’ Freeman told USA TODAY Sports and MLB.com outside the Dodgers’ clubhouse. “I understand it will be a storyline. I get it, but it is five years later. But I’m not going to try and look at it any differently. It's another team that I'm trying to get through to win another championship, and I know they're thinking the same thing.
“It's not the Los Angeles Freddies, you know? But I understand. I get the storyline. And it's an easy storyline. So, I try not to think about it like that. Come game time, I don't think anybody's going to be worrying about it. We could talk about it now, but by (Saturday), I don't think anybody's going to be worrying about who played for what team.’’
Certainly, it will be impossible during the series not to draw the comparisons between Freeman and Olson, but the truth of the matter is that it’s worked wonderfully for both teams.
The Dodgers don’t win back-to-back World Series championships without Freeman, who is beloved in Los Angeles. The 37-year-old grew up in nearby Orange County.
Olson, 32 and five years younger, has been everything Atlanta envisioned, too. He has become one of the game’s finest power hitters, hitting 187 homers since joining Atlanta five years ago − averaging 37 homers and 106 RBI a season. Olson also has become the game’s premier ironman, playing in every game since he joined Atlanta with a consecutive game streak of 944 games − ninth-longest of all time.
Yet, for those who believe there’s a rivalry between the two, or that Freeman may harbor ill feelings towards Olson, there’s absolutely no truth to it.
The fact of the matter is that the two have become close friends, and have even attended Morgan Wallen concerts together in Atlanta.
“I mean, there is nothing but love there,’’ Freeman said. “I know people are going to want to pit us (against one another) and that, but our families have hung out together. Sorry to ruin those rumors or anything if there is anything, but no, we've had great times.’’
And, yes, Freeman, whose career should land him in Cooperstown one day, roots for Olson to excel ... except when the Dodgers are facing Atlanta.
“He's a great guy, an unbelievable baseball player,’’ Freeman said. “I mean, he's one of the (best) power hitters in our game right now. He goes out there and he hits 50 homers a year. So it's fun, and he's from there, it’s cool.’’
And hopefully, Freeman says, when the two teams play one another in the postseason, it will simply be two superstars facing one another, and no comparisons − or flashbacks to five years ago.
“We can go up and just play baseball, and obviously everything else on the outside, people are going to do that,’’ Freeman said. “There's nothing we can do about it. He came in after me. I left. It's just how it is, and he understands it. …
“No one’s thinking about five years ago. I’m not. I’m just trying to help win a baseball game for the Dodgers. That’s all I’m trying to do. He’s trying to help the Braves win. There’s nothing else to it.’’
It won’t be anything different whether the games are in Los Angeles, or in Atlanta. It may be his former home, and the memories there will forever be cherished, but there’s no time for sentimentality. Freeman plans to treat this just like he’s going to Philadelphia or New York, although the boos certainly won’t be as loud.
“Time heals and time moves on,’’ Freeman said. “No one's really worried about it anymore, except when this happens. I think it's just the narrative that leads up to the series. And once the series starts, that narrative is going to be gone.
PHILADELPHIA, PA - SEPTEMBER 24: Antonio Senzatela #49 of the Milwaukee Brewers celebrates after winning the game between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on Thursday, September 24, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Trevor Hayes/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
The MLB Postseason is in full swing and the Division Series are set:
American League
(2) Cleveland Guardians vs. (6) Chicago White Sox
(1) Tampa Bay Rays vs. (4) New York Yankees
National League
(1) Milwaukee Brewers vs. (4) San Diego Padres
(2) Los Angeles Dodgers vs. (3) Atlanta Braves
There are numerous former Rockies on these playoff rosters.
White Sox
Drew Romo
Brenton Doyle
Randal Grichuk
Rays
Ryan Vilade
Yankees
Ryan McMahon
Brewers
Antonio Senzatela
Dodgers
Seth Halvorsen
Braves
Brent Suter
So my question this evening is this: Which old friend(s) are you rooting for in the Division Series? Let us know in the comments!
It was a tense atmosphere from the onset at Little Caesars Arena during the Detroit Red Wings' home opener against the New York Rangers to begin the 2026-27 campaign.
Injured former captain Dylan Larkin was heavily booed when he was introduced alongside the other scratches, while multiple audible "Sell the Team" chants broke out from frustrated fans following Detroit's turbulent offseason.
It all culminated in a 2-0 shutout loss, marking the Red Wings' third consecutive home-opening defeat.
The Red Wings were playing without Larkin, who was announced as officially unavailable for Friday's game as well as Sunday against the Winnipeg Jets; whether he can play on Tuesday remains to be seen.
Detroit also didn't have defenseman Simon Edvinsson, who is in the midst of a contract stalemate and is currently in his native Sweden.
Meanwhile, the Rangers, who traveled from Manhattan to Detroit after playing Thursday evening, earned their second win in just over 24 hours.
Sean Durzi, whom the Rangers acquired from the Utah Mammoth in the Vincent Trocheck trade, connected on the power-play for the Rangers at 5:12 of the first period, whistling a one-timed shot through the pads of goaltender John Gibson for a 1-0 New York lead.
That would do it for the scoring until, with Gibson pulled for an extra attacker, Eeli Tolvanen hit the empty net with 1:16 left in the game.
The Red Wings fired 22 shots at Rangers goaltender Dylan Garand, who was appearing in only his fourth career NHL contest; he picked up his first shutout.
Meanwhile, Gibson stopped 19 of the 20 shots he faced.
Detroit had several chances to find the back of the net, most notably in the first period when a shot from rookie Anton Johansson, making his NHL debut, hit the post after being deflected by Andrew Copp.
Newcomer Viktor Arvidsson also came close, attempting to redirect a centering pass out of the air from close range, only to be denied by Rangers goaltender Dylan Garand.
However, Detroit managed only two shots on goal during the game's final frame.
Offense isn't going to be easy to come by for the Red Wings even if they had iced a full lineup, considering the combined 88 points lost due to the departures of both Patrick Kane and James van Riemsdyk.
The Red Wings have no choice but to put this loss behind them and prepare for their next game, a Sunday matinee affair against the visiting Winnipeg Jets.
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Bryce Harper and the Phillies haven't won a playoff series since 2023.
Bryce Harper is expecting change in Philadelphia after another disappointing October.
The Phillies have gone three straight seasons without winning a playoff series after pushing the Diamondbacks to a seven-game series in the NLCS back in 2023.
But Harper asserts that next season will look different in Philly after yet another flop in early fall.
A candid Bryce Harper answers questions about Don Mattingly's future and the Phillies roster going into 2027. pic.twitter.com/u6I5OzDRUs
“Each year’s so different than the year before. I don’t really put stock into years before or what happened or anything else,” Harper said after being eliminated by the Braves. “This was a brand new team. Obviously, we had the guys that are part of that core group that we are.
“I’d imagine this team is going to look a lot different next year with the guys that are leaving this clubhouse. So, we’ll see.”
Since 2023, the Phillies have suffered NLDS exits in 2024 and 2025 before losing to the Braves in the wild-card round this week.
In 2026, Philadelphia finished with an 88-74 record and needed a Game 162 victory to secure its fifth consecutive postseason berth.
The Phillies had won at least 90 games in each of the prior three regular seasons.
Harper, a two-time MVP and nine-time All-Star, is signed with the team through 2031 and turns 34 in two weeks.
Bryce Harper and the Phillies haven’t won a playoff series since 2023. Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
“You’re here to do business. You’re here to win games, and we didn’t do that,” Harper said after their 6-2 Game 3 loss in Atlanta.
Harper wasn’t fully on an island either.
Phillies starter Aaron Nola, who has been with the major-league club since 2015, also noted the team’s shortcomings, specifically honing in on everything not coming together at the right time this season.
Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Aaron Nola walks to the dugout after the first inning against the Atlanta Braves in game three of the Wildcard round for the 2026 MLB Playoffs at Truist Field in Cumberland, Georgia on Oct. 2, 2026. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
“Obviously, we’d love to win a World Series with these guys. We’ve been together quite a while, and we’ve got a good clubhouse, and you know, good characters on this team,” Nola said. “We know what type of guys are in here. We know what type of players we have, and what we’re capable of.
“(We need to) kind of play good at the right time.”
Interim manager Don Mattingly also spoke about the team’s loss and what factored into it.
“You’d love to be able to set your pitching up and them be rested and all that kind of stuff,” said Mattingly, who exited his post as Phillies skipper on Friday. “But that’s not the way it went.
“We had to fight to get ourselves in, and to do what we had to do to get in, we had to do what we had to do basically every game in the series.”
When it’s Big Blue Madness, basketball season is officially underway in the Bluegrass.
Friday night, a sold-out Rupp Arena welcomed the men’s and women’s teams in their first looks at both of them ahead of their upcoming seasons. It was a raucous crowd, with excitement building for the season.
Women’s Team shows off shooting ahead of highly anticipated season
The Women’s Basketball team tipped off the festivities as they entered the arena. Coming off a Sweet 16 berth last year, Kenny Brooks and the Cats have a lot of momentum coming into this season. The crowd at Rupp Arena clearly concurs, giving each player and Brooks a rousing ovation when they were introduced.
In the “Hot Shot” competition, Team 1 featured Asia Boone, Me’Arah O’Neal, Gabby Brooks, and Savvy Swords. They put up a solid 16 points to tip off the drill. They were followed by Team 2, featuring Clara Strack, Diana Collins, Emily McDonald, and Jemma Amoore. Behind a blistering start, they started draining shots from deep to take the lead.
On Team 3, a fan joined Ajša Sivka, Maddyn Greenway, and Dominika Paurová. They tied Team 1 with 16 points, meaning Team 2 won the drill.
Then came everybody’s favorite: The 3-point shooting contest. Asia Boone tipped it off with a solid 15 points, with Me’Arah O’Neal draining her final two shots to put up 18 points. A confident Emily McDonald made six in a row early and came up just one point shy of the lead with 17. All three advanced to the final round; Boone made all five shots on the final rack to accumulate 20 points.
McDonald responded by hitting her final shot to tie the score. It came down to O’Neal, who made all five from straightaway and then her final two shots on the last rack to tie the score at 20. That brought the tiebreaker to half-court, with a moneyball rack and the first player to make a shot winning the contest. Boone rattled one in after multiple rounds of attempts to take home the trophy.
Mark Pope welcomes back Karl-Anthony Towns
First of all, the thunderous applause started when Malachi Moreno was introduced. Then, things got real. A tall white sheet acted as a projector screen to play an intro video for Mark Pope, who appeared on a gigantic pedestal to address the crowd in Rupp Arena. Dressed in all black, including a Kentucky varsity jacket, Pope then said he had one more Cat to introduce. Pope unveiled that he was wearing a Karl-Anthony Towns No. 12 jersey, a fitting welcome home for one of the greatest Cats of all time.
Coming off winning the 2026 NBA Championship with the New York Knicks, Towns was greeted to a raucous ovation from the Rupp Arena crowd. In just one season with Kentucky, Towns averaged 10.3 points per game and 6.7 rebounds per game. Keep in mind, he played on Kentucky’s platoon squad. NBA scouts knew what Towns had, and he was drafted No. 1 overall in the 2015 NBA Draft.
In the NBA Playoffs this past Spring, Towns averaged 15.9 points per game and 10.6 rebounds per game, while shooting 55.1% from the field and 45.6% from 3-point range. Towns tipped San Antonio Spurs’ Dylan Harper’s final inbounds pass in Game 4 of the NBA Finals, enabling Josh Hart to hold serve underneath the basket against the Spurs’ Stephon Castle and cement the greatest comeback in NBA Finals history, with the Knicks coming back from down 29 points in the second half.
Mark Pope Shines Spotlight on coaching staff
I think it’s great that Pope took several minutes to highlight his assistant coaches and staff, particularly what each of their roles are. Pope introduced each of them, with all of the members in various entrances to different sections in the upper deck of Rupp Arena.
Earlier this week, Pope said there’s great synergy with this current coaching and basketball staff. That was on display Friday night at Big Blue Madness.
Lighting it up from deep
Mark Pope said earlier this week that he thinks this Wildcats’ team’s shooting will be elite and they have a depth of shooters. In the 3-point shooting competition, we saw glimpses of what that can look like. Mason Williams tipped off the competition with 24 points. Then, Alex Wilkins showed off his shooting potential with a blistering 31 points. Milan Momcilovic participated and got hot at the end to finish with 22 points.
Then, it was reigning 3-point champion Trent Noah, who went 4-5 on the final rack to finish with 18 points.
The final round came down to Wilkins and Ousmane N’Diaye. N’Diaye finished with eight points, with Wilkins following it with a raining performance at 21 points and deciding to dunk in the final ball for the win.
Milan wins fan $10,000
A fan named Jake from the crowd got two half-court shots to win $10,000. He missed both, but he was able to select one player on the team to shoot from half-court to win him the money. He chose Milan Momcilovic. Wise choice. Momcilovic calmly let it fly, banking it in and winning Jake $10,000.
McBride and N’Diaye WOW in dunk contest
Justin McBride started off the dunk contest with an explosive between-the-legs dunk. In the final round, Ousmane N’Diaye threw a pass off the backboard that he put back for an emphatic slam. McBride followed with a thunderous windmill reverse dunk that netted him a 50 score from the judges.
Baseball: NLDS Playoffs: Los Angeles Dodgers Juan Uribe (9) victorious after hitting game-winning home run vs Atlanta Braves at Dodger Stadium. Game 4. Sequence. Los Angeles, CA 10/7/2013 CREDIT: Robert Beck (Photo by Robert Beck /Sports Illustrated via Getty Images) (Set Number: X157033 TK2 R1 F295 )
LOS ANGELES — The 2026 National League Division Series is the sixth postseason matchup between the Dodgers and Braves, dating back to 1996, and the fourth playoff matchup between the two teams in the last nine years.
The Dodgers beat the Braves in the NLDS in 2013 and 2018, both in four games, then beat Atlanta in seven games in a classic 2020 NLCS, coming back from down three games to one.
Atlanta swept the Dodgers in the 1996 NLDS and beat the Dodgers in six games in the 2021 NLCS.
Let’s take a brief look back at each previous October tilt.
1996 NLDS: Braves 3, Dodgers 0
In the first few years of the Division Series, “home-field advantage” meant playing the first two games on the road before coming home for the final three. So the wild card Dodgers were home to start off against the 96-win Braves, but it didn’t affect Atlanta much.
The Braves won two one-run games at Dodger Stadium, with John Smoltz allowing a run in nine innings of Game 1 before Javy López homered off of Antonio Osuna in the 10th inning. Greg Maddux allowed two unearned runs in seven innings of Game 2, then the Braves cruised in Atlanta in Game 3 to complete the sweep.
2013 NLDS: Dodgers 3, Braves 1
Juan Uribe was terrible in the first two years of his Dodgers contract, but turned things around in 2013. Even when he failed, he came up aces that year, including bunting foul twice down a run with Yasiel Puig on second base and nobody out in the eighth inning. Forced to swing, Uribe hit a two-run home run off David Carpenter while Craig Kimbrel watched from the visiting bullpen, sending the Dodgers to the NLCS.
Hyun-jin Ryu (seven innings in Game 1) and Clayton Kershaw (eight innings in Game 2) did the heavy lifting in two shutout wins in Los Angeles, then the Dodgers closed out in four games in Atlanta. Ronald Acuña Jr. hit a grand slam off Walker Buehler to win Game 3 for the Braves, a moment Buehler has cited multiple times as helping him learn how to deal with failure and embrace pressure situations going forward.
That Game 3 win in Atlanta was the last Braves win in a game facing elimination before Thursday’s wild card win over the Phillies in Game 3.
2020 NLCS: Dodgers 4, Braves 3
The Dodgers erased a 3-1 series deficit at Globe Life Field in Texas. Will Smith homered off Will Smith to key a Game 5 win, and Cody Bellinger hit the pennant-winning home run in Game 7, and dislocated his shoulder in the celebration.
2021 NLCS: Braves 4, Dodgers 2
The Dodgers three healthy Cy Young Award-vote-getting starting pitchers broken down by the NLCS, with Max Scherzer unable to pitch in the series at all. Eddie Rosario was Superman, hitting a robust .560/.607/1.040 with three home runs to win NLCS MVP.
Detroit Red Wings center Michael Rasmussen (27) tries to deflect the puck in front of New York Rangers goalie Dylan Garand in the second period of a game at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026.
DETROIT — And on the Rangers’ third game in four nights, Dylan Garand pitched his first career shutout.
Suddenly, the so-called competition for the spot behind Igor Shesterkin during preseason is irrelevant.
Garand may not have officially won the No. 2 job out of camp, but the 24-year-old sure looked capable of changing that following a 22-save performance Friday night.
“Definitely craziest week of my life, honestly,” said Garand, who became the first Rangers goalie since Henrik Lundqvist (2005-06) to earn at least one point in each of his first NHL games. “Cut on Sunday. Waivers Monday. No claim. Go down to Hartford, get an apartment. And then, you know, two practices and back up and playing on Friday. Crazy, crazy week.”
The young goalie was particularly sharp in his season debut. He manned the net with the sort of laser focus that comes when there are people to prove wrong.
New York Rangers goalie Dylan Garand makes a save in the second period against the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
After proclaiming his desire to never go back to the AHL at the end of last season, Garand was sequestered from the main NHL group during training camp. It quickly became clear the backup job was Korpisalo’s to lose from the moment the Rangers acquired him from Boston on July 1.
“As good as I can,” Garand said of how he handled the demotion. “Proud of myself for the way I just kind of left it out there, and you know, it was out of my control. So I just focused on what I could control, I did that. Obviously, what happened, happened, and it is what it is. Just happy to be back here. It was a great win tonight.”
Concerns over the possibility of Garand getting claimed may have been overblown, but they weren’t unwarranted. On the same waiver wire last weekend, the Jets claimed Clay Stevenson and the Devils picked up Remi Poirier — two of three young goalies who were taken off waivers this preseason.
Had Garand been claimed, this Korpisalo injury could’ve been a devastating blow to the Rangers.
Detroit Red Wings center Michael Rasmussen (27) tries to deflect the puck in front of New York Rangers goalie Dylan Garand in the second period of a game at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Instead, the Rangers were fortunate to recall Garand just five days after cutting him.
“It speaks volumes for his character,” head coach Mike Sullivan said. “He’s just a good person, first and foremost. He loves hockey. You can see it. I can see it every time I see him walk through the door. The way he works on his game. He’s a fierce competitor. He wants to play in the NHL. I understand that … he’s battling. He’s controlling what he can. It’s hard. Pro sports are competitive. Things don’t always go your way and you’ve got to be able to work your way through the ebbs and flows of a career.
“The thing I love about Dylan is he controls those things that are within his power. He’s got a great attitude. His effort is always where it needs to be. I really have a lot of admiration for him for how he handles his circumstance.”
Sullivan said he and Garand have had numerous conversations throughout the entire process, with the Rangers head coach assuring that the Canadian goaltender knows the organization believes in him.
Dylan Garand (33) of the New York Rangers celebrates his shutout with teammates after a game against the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. The Rangers shut out Detroit 2-0. NHLI via Getty Images
The belief Garand already has in himself, however, has been evident since he made his NHL debut late last season.
Keon Ellis came to play for the Nets for one major reason: Jordi Fernández.
“In this game — and it is a business — having someone like Jordi being the head coach, someone you’re familiar with, [is big]. You know all the schemes, you know what he’s about, you know what they want to run,” Ellis said Friday after practice. “It’s a safe space right there. He’s familiar with my game, I’m familiar with how he rocks. That was the No. 1 thing.”
“He knows how I play, and I know how he wants his team to play. I know I can have a big impact in that way.”
Keon Ellis signed with the Nets this summer after spending last season with the Cavs, and later the Kings. Getty Images
The two were together with the Kings from 2022-24, when Fernández worked under then-Kings head coach Mike Brown — and Fernández left such an impact on Ellis in that time that he wanted a reunion.
Last season didn’t go as planned as he averaged 6.7 points split between Sacramento and Cleveland after a February trade, one season after posting 8.3 ppg for the Kings. He shot 36.3 percent from 3-point range but had been at 42.9 percent over his first three NBA seasons.
Jordi Fernandez, while an assistant with the Kings, previously coached Ellis for two seasons. Getty Images
The Nets are banking on more than just his shooting touch. The hope is the 26-year-old can be a defensive stopper. Last season, Ellis ranked in the 93rd percentile in steals (2.7), in the 95th percentile in blocks (1.5) and the 96th percentile in both turnovers forced (1.6) and deflections (6.4) per 100 possessions. His stop percentile of 4.4 ranked near the top of the league.
“I think Keon’s got the best hands in the NBA, and that’s hard to teach,” Fernández said. “At the same time, you want to be disciplined and follow the schemes, whatever the game plan is. I trust him. I know he’s very diligent with his work and everything, and I know he can perform at a high level. He’s going to help us a lot at the defensive end.”
Early on, he has impressed his new teammates.
“Strong start,” Michael Porter Jr. said. “Keon has been hooping these first two days. He plays the right way. He plays defense. He can really shoot the ball, and he’s been just overall very solid.”
The most important thing for both Ellis and Fernández is there is a comfort level already in place. Each knows what the other expects.
“You have a guy with many intangibles, is a super pro. He has probably the best hands in the NBA, can shoot the ball, can handle, is a good human,” the Nets coach said. “He’s coming here and is about business. It was a no-brainer.
“It’s not for me to say [how much of an impact he will make]. It’s for me to believe every time he guards he’s going to be good on that player, and every time he shoots the ball, I believe it’s going to go in.”
