Good morning. Wednesday was a good night in Los Angeles and a hard one in San Diego. The Dodgers finished Atlanta in four games and are going to their eighth NLCS in 11 years. Later that night, the Brewers beat the Padres 3-1 at Petco Park and ended San Diego’s season. The NLCS will be Dodgers vs. Brewers. Also: the Aces are down 0-2 to the Valkyries, the Ducks gave up five goals in a period to Edmonton, and the Kings are still looking for their first win. Tonight, the Golden Knights host Toronto and the Lakers host Sacramento. Let’s get into it.
🚨 HEADLINES
⚾ Third straight NLCS. Andy Pages’ two-out, bases-loaded single and Max Muncy’s homer finished Atlanta, 4-1 — Fredo Cervantes at Truist Park.
⚾ “It is a tough one to swallow.” Tatis homered, but the Brewers beat the Padres 3-1 to end San Diego’s season — Fernando Ramirez at Petco Park.
🏀 On the ropes. A late Veronica Burton three put the Aces down 0-2 to Golden State — Arion Armeniakos at Chase Center.
🏒 Five in the second. Draisaitl had four assists as the Oilers beat the Ducks 5-2 — Zach Cavanagh at Honda Center.
🏈 “Every week’s the Super Bowl.” The Raiders turn to New England after their first loss — Derek Hegna in Las Vegas.
🏈 Homecoming. Ta’Mere Robinson, a Pittsburgh native and former Nittany Lion, leads USC into the White Out — Holdenn Graff at USC.
See what else is trending at The Sporting Tribune.
📋 SCOREBOARD — TUESDAY & WEDNESDAY
⚾ NLDS Game 4 (Wed.): Dodgers 4, Braves 1 (Dodgers win series 3-1) · Brewers 3, Padres 1 (Brewers win series 3-1)
🏀 WNBA semifinals: Valkyries 83, Aces 81 (Valkyries lead 2-0)
🏒 NHL: Panthers 2, Kings 1 (Tue.) · Oilers 5, Ducks 2 (Wed.) · Golden Knights at Kraken (Tue.) [VERIFY]
🏀 NBA (preseason): Lakers at Warriors (Tue.) [VERIFY]
⚽ Friendly: Chile 2, Mexico 0 (Coliseum)
⚾ NEXT: MILWAUKEE
It started badly. Tyler Glasnow’s wild pitch in the first inning let Michael Harris II score, and Glasnow walked five while recording 14 outs. But he allowed only one hit, and the Dodgers’ bullpen took it from there.
Shohei Ohtani tied the game in the second without a hit. He walked, stole second, went to third on a wild pitch and scored on a Braves error. The Dodgers have been hitting home runs all series; this run came on speed.
It stayed 1-1 until the seventh. With two outs and the bases loaded, Andy Pages singled off Robert Suarez to drive in two runs — exactly the kind of non-homer hit Freddie Freeman said the Dodgers needed after Game 2. Alex Vesia retired Matt Olson on one pitch, and the relievers threw 4⅓ scoreless innings. In the ninth, Max Muncy hit his 19th postseason home run, tied for seventh-most in major league history.
Dodgers 4, Braves 1. Series, 3-1. It’s their third straight NLCS and their eighth in 11 years.
Next is Milwaukee, the team Manny Machado called the “best team in baseball right now” and the one that just knocked out the Padres.
It’s also the first week since Fred Claire died on his 91st birthday. He built the 1988 team, and this group is trying to win the franchise’s third straight World Series.
GO DEEPER
› Fredo Cervantes: Dodgers beat Braves, advance to third straight NLCS and 8th in 11 years (The Sporting Tribune)
› Arash Markazi: Fred Claire, Dodgers general manager who helped build 1988 champions, dies at 91 (The Sporting Tribune)
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⚾ “JUST UNFORTUNATE, MAN”
After falling behind 0-2, the Padres won Game 3. They couldn’t win another.
Fernando Ramirez was at Petco Park for the end. Milwaukee scored in the third on an infield hit, a stolen base and a single. Fernando Tatis Jr. tied it with a 429-foot homer in the fourth, his second of the postseason. The Brewers scored single runs in the fifth and sixth, and San Diego never got even again.
As in the first two games, the Padres had their chances. Xander Bogaerts popped out with runners on in the first. In the eighth, Manny Machado hit a deep fly ball that Garrett Mitchell caught at the wall, taking away a possible game-tying homer. Brewers 3, Padres 1. Milwaukee won the series 3-1.
All three losses came down to a few feet or one at-bat: Ty France’s drive caught after hitting the roof in Game 1, Jackson Chourio’s two-run single off Mason Miller in Game 2, and Machado’s fly ball at the wall in Game 4. Joe Musgrove threw two scoreless innings Wednesday, which raised questions about why he pitched so little in the series. Craig Stammen said the bullpen was thin.
“Just unfortunate, man,” Machado said. “We played to our standard,” Stammen said. “It is a tough one to swallow,” Tatis said.
Ramirez also looks at the offseason: a new ownership group, uncertain futures for several players, and Machado and Bogaerts both turning 35 next season.
GO DEEPER
› Fernando Ramirez: Padres’ season ends in heartbreak as missed opportunities haunt NLDS exit (The Sporting Tribune)
› Brady Charette: Ty France’s potential go-ahead blast becomes controversial out in Game 1 loss to Brewers (The Sporting Tribune)
› Eric Evelhoch: San Diego sunk by another Brewers rally, Miller can’t nail down two-inning save (The Sporting Tribune)
🏀 THE ACES NEED HISTORY
No WNBA team has ever come back from 0-2 in a postseason series. Arion Armeniakos writes that this is the Aces’ task now.
Golden State won Game 1 71-60 and Game 2 83-81. In Game 2, the Aces trailed by 17 and were “abysmal” in the first half, Becky Hammon said. They won the fourth quarter 26-17, but Veronica Burton’s late three decided it. Kalani Brown said the fix starts with rebounding: “We all have to box out.”
Games 3 and 4 are at Michelob ULTRA Arena, and a Game 5 would be back in San Francisco.
GO DEEPER
› Arion Armeniakos: The Aces are on the ropes; need a historic turnaround to keep title defense alive (The Sporting Tribune)
🍔 THE DEALS BOARD
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🚗 Uber Eats — $15 off a $20+ order. Road win with a Dodgers save. Code SAVEAWAY, delivery only in the L.A. area, one use per account.
🍔 Jack in the Box — free Jumbo Jack with a large Coca-Cola. Dodgers pitchers struck out eight Braves; the trigger was seven. Code GODODGERS26 in the app.
🌮 El Portal, Pasadena — $12 combination plates and $7 house margaritas. Order online for pickup.
☕ Con Azúcar Café, Sylmar — free size upgrade and Dodgers latte art. Say “Dodgers win!” at the register.
🥤 Mountain Dew — free 20-oz Baja Blast. Tatis’ 429-foot homer qualified.
🏟️ TWO GAMES, ONE THURSDAY
Maple Leafs at Golden Knights at 7 at T-Mobile Arena on ESPN+.
Kings at Lakers at 7 on Spectrum SportsNet, a preseason game. The Lakers forced 27 turnovers and beat Sacramento 127-103 on Monday.
Coming up: The Ducks are at Winnipeg on Friday and Calgary on Saturday. USC plays at Penn State on Saturday. The Raiders are at New England on Sunday.C
📌 AROUND THE MARKETS
A five-goal second. Zach Cavanagh has Beckett Sennecke scoring twice on the power play in the first period for the Ducks. Then Edmonton scored five in the second: Evan Bouchard twice, Kasperi Kapanen, Vasily Podkolzin and Connor McDavid, with Leon Draisaitl assisting on four. Lukáš Dostál was pulled after giving up five goals on 17 shots. Oilers 5, Ducks 2.
Still winless. The Kings lost their home opener 2-1 to Florida on Tuesday. Alex Laferriere scored, and they are 0-2-1.
Process. Derek Hegna has the Raiders getting Jackson Powers-Johnson back at practice and Dont’e Thornton Jr.’s practice window opened before their trip to New England. “Every week’s the Super Bowl in our eyes,” Maxx Crosby said.
A familiar White Out. Ta’Mere Robinson, a Pittsburgh native who spent two years at Penn State, called USC’s trip to Beaver Stadium “more of a homecoming.” Penn State’s defensive coordinator, D’Anton Lynn, used to coach at USC.
Hoops season in Vegas. Steve Carp has Pastner’s UNLV men focused on chemistry, and the Lady Rebels picked to win the Mountain West.
Also: Chile beat Mexico 2-0 in a friendly at the Coliseum on Tuesday, and the Chargers lost 30-23 in Seattle on Sunday.
GO DEEPER
› Zach Cavanagh: Oilers blitz past Ducks with 5-goal second period (The Sporting Tribune)
› TST Images: Florida Panthers defeat Los Angeles Kings, 2-1, at Crypto.com Arena (The Sporting Tribune)
› Derek Hegna: Raiders working to rebound after first loss of the season (The Sporting Tribune)
› Holdenn Graff: Ta’Mere Robinson leads USC into a White Out he knows well (The Sporting Tribune)
› Steve Carp: For Pastner, Rebels, it’s about a chemistry test (The Sporting Tribune)
› Steve Carp: Lady Rebels picked to win Mountain West (The Sporting Tribune)
› TST Images: Chile defeats Mexico, 2-0, in Los Angeles (The Sporting Tribune)
📺 WATCHLIST — THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8
🏀 NBA (preseason): Kings at Lakers — Crypto.com Arena — 7:00 p.m. — Spectrum SportsNet
🏒 NHL: Maple Leafs at Golden Knights — T-Mobile Arena — 7:00 p.m. — ESPN+
🎟️ GOING TO A GAME?
Get-in prices across Southern California, Las Vegas, Hawaii — brought to you by TickPick, the no-hidden-fee ticket marketplace.
⚾ NLCS Game 3, Brewers vs. Dodgers — Dodger Stadium — $147
🏒 Maple Leafs at Golden Knights — T-Mobile Arena — $54
🏀 Aces, WNBA semifinal Game 3 — Michelob ULTRA Arena — $40
🌴 TST TRIVIA
Max Muncy’s ninth-inning homer in Atlanta was his 19th in the postseason. Where does that rank in major league history?
Answer at the bottom.
🎧 THE SPORTING TRIBUNE TODAY
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Trivia answer: Tied for seventh.
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