Hello, I’m your host, Houston Mitchell. Let’s go straight to the news.

According to Jack Harris, Wednesday was, as Dave Roberts put it, a day for calm, not concern.

The Dodgers manager wasn’t looking forward to his players making impassioned speeches, even after Tuesday’s painful loss that ended with a triple play.

He didn’t set the locker room alight or hold an impromptu end-of-season meeting, even as the team’s division lead shrank. Instead, in the second act of the crucial three-game series against the San Diego Padres, Roberts yearned only for a clean, complete performance from his injury-plagued but ever-resilient team.

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

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

Wednesday’s 4-3 win over the Padres didn’t give the Dodgers the National League West title. But with four games left in the regular season and their division lead down to three games, they can get the champagne and plastic wrap ready.

At another point when their position atop the standings seemed to be teetering, the Dodgers once again found a way to stabilize their season. And if they beat the Padres 91-67 again on Thursday night, or win at least twice in their final regular-season series in Colorado this weekend, they will claim their 11th division title in the last 12 years.

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

The main source of electricity came from Ohtani, who continued his storming late-season run with the final confirmation of his MVP candidacy. The slugger not only went 2-for-3 with a double, a walk, two RBIs and his 56th stolen base, but he also played a key role in each of the team’s three scoring rallies, most notably a sixth-inning single to break a 3-3 tie.

Read more here

Who else? What else? Shohei Ohtani leads Dodgers to brink of division title

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

Dodgers Scoreboard

MLB Scores

MLB Standings

ANGELS

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

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

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

Read more here

Seat thieves beware: A’s beef up security with ‘playoff-level’ staff for Oakland final

Dick Moss, the attorney who opened up the free market for MLB players nearly 50 years ago, has died

Angels Scoreboard

MLB Scores

MLB Standings

CHARGERS

From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: With Justin Herbert set for a rest week, he could get two weeks of rest from his ankle injury for the price of one game if he doesn’t play in Sunday’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs.

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

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

Read more here

LAKES

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

With the organization almost at the start of the 2024-2025 season, general manager Rob Pelinka emphasized this again.

Excellence is the standard that helped the Lakers become one of the NBA’s best franchises, and it remains the goal, Pelinka said Wednesday. But inconsistencies surrounding LeBron James since the team signed him have left the Lakers struggling to find sustained success.

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

Read more here

From Ryan Kartje: When Bear Alexander flirted with the transfer portal last spring, USC and its coaching staff did everything they could to keep the former five-star defensive tackle on the roster. At the time, Alexander seemed like the Trojans’ best hope for bringing a disruptive defensive presence to the Big Ten.

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

All questions about his future at USC were answered Wednesday when his guardian, Tony Jones, confirmed to The Times that Alexander plans to sit out this season and sit out the remainder of the campaign to retain a year of eligibility.

When asked if the reason for Alexander’s decision was a lack of playing time, Jones said, “100%.” ​​He described the relationship with USC as “broken.”

Read more here

LAFC

From Kevin Baxter: There’s something magical about the US Open Cup, the oldest national soccer competition in the country and the most egalitarian, because it’s the only one that allows all men’s teams at every level to compete.

Over the decades, amateurs have beaten pros; nobody has beaten anybody. It’s a tournament where there are no favorites or underdogs, and that form held true for most of Wednesday’s final, before LAFC beat Sporting Kansas City 3-1 on extra-time goals from Omar Campos and Kei Kamara.

The victory, in front of a sold-out BMO Stadium crowd, was LAFC’s first in five tournament finals since the 2022 MLS Cup. For Kansas City, meanwhile, the loss was its first in five US Open Cup finals in two decades. And the decisive goal came from a second-half substitute who had only twice shot on target this season.

Read more here

WNBA PLAYOFFS

First round
All times Pacific

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

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

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

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

Semi-finals

No. 1 New York (32-8) vs. No. 4 Las Vegas (27-13)
Sunday in New York, afternoon, ESPN
Tuesday in New York, TBA
Friday, October 4 in Las Vegas, 6:30 p.m., ESPN2
*Sunday October 6th in Las Vegas, TBA
*Tuesday, October 8 in New York, TBD, ESPN2

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

*-if necessary

THIS DATE IN SPORTS

1961 — New York Yankees player Roger Maris equals Babe Ruth’s 34-year-old record with his 60th home run, against Baltimore’s Jack Fisher.

1981 — Nolan Ryan of the Houston Astros becomes the first player to throw five no hitters, this time in a 5-0 victory over the Dodgers at the Astrodome.

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

1983 — Australia II wins the America’s Cup yacht race, ending the longest winning streak in sporting history. Australia II, captained by John Bertrand, takes the title in the seventh and final race. Australia II crosses the finish line with a 41-second margin over Liberty, captained by Dennis Conner. The U.S. has successfully defended the cup for 132 years, ever since the schooner America won it in a fleet race around England’s Isle of Wight in 1851.

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

1996 — SF giant Barry Bonds becomes the 2nd player to hit 40 HR’s and steal 40 bases.

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

2000 — At the Sydney Olympics, the U.S. softball team makes a stunning comeback by defeating Japan 2-1 in overtime to win its second consecutive gold medal.

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

2004 — San Francisco’s 34-0 loss to Seattle ends an NFL record-tying 420-game streak for the 49ers.

2010 — Christine Sinclair scores two goals and Marta adds a goal and two assists as FC Gold Pride defeats the Philadelphia Independence 4-0 to win the women’s professional soccer championship.

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

2015 — Sebastian Giovinco breaks the MLS points record for most goals in a single season by providing two assists in Toronto FC’s 3-2 win over Chicago Fire, bringing his total to 35.

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

2021 — The United States reclaims the Ryder Cup by defeating Team Europe 19-9 at Whistling Straits, Haven, Wisconsin.

Compiled by the Associated Press