Good morning. Sunday was a bad day across our markets. The Dodgers lost a one-run NLCS opener in Milwaukee. The Raiders gave up 45 points in New England. The Chargers lost to Denver after Jim Harbaugh’s fourth-down call and are 0-5. The Galaxy gave up five goals in the first half in St. Louis. Today is a chance to recover: NLCS Game 2 at 2 on FOX with Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitching, the Golden Knights at Minnesota at 5, and Bills at Rams at 5:15 on ABC. And UCLA is No. 12 in the country. Let’s get into it.
🚨 HEADLINES
⚾ 0-1. Luis Lara’s fifth-inning single beat Skubal and the Dodgers, 2-1, in NLCS Game 1 — Fredo Cervantes at American Family Field.
🏈 “I screwed that up.” Harbaugh owned a failed fourth-and-1 sneak as the Chargers fell to Denver 23-17 and to 0-5 — Fernando Ramirez at SoFi Stadium.
🏈 Route 1 rout. Drake Maye threw four TDs as New England beat the Raiders 45-17 — Steve Carp at Gillette Stadium.
🏈 No. 12. UCLA’s win at Oregon lifted the 5-0 Bruins to their highest ranking since 2022 — Anthony Arroyo at UCLA.
⚽ Six. A Carlo Holse hat trick helped St. Louis City crush the Galaxy 6-2 — Rob Jalon at Energizer Park.
🏒 Waiting room. Cutter Gauthier and Ryan Poehling’s status will be updated Monday after both were hurt in Calgary — Zach Cavanagh in Anaheim.
See what else is trending at The Sporting Tribune.
📋 SCOREBOARD — SUNDAY
⚾ NLCS Game 1: Brewers 2, Dodgers 1 (Brewers lead 1-0)
🏈 NFL: Patriots 45, Raiders 17 · Broncos 23, Chargers 17
⚽ MLS: St. Louis City 6, Galaxy 2
⚾ YAMAMOTO’S TURN
Milwaukee has now won four postseason games. All four were decided by one or two runs.
Sunday followed the pattern. Andy Pages singled in a run in the second for a 1-0 Dodgers lead. In the fifth, Garrett Mitchell walked, Cooper Pratt bunted him into scoring position and Luis Lara singled to put Milwaukee ahead 2-1. Tarik Skubal, who struck out seven in five innings, got out of a bases-loaded jam to keep it there. The Dodgers’ bullpen threw three scoreless innings. The offense couldn’t take advantage.
The Dodgers had five hits. Pages struck out with runners on the corners in the sixth. In the ninth, pinch-hitter Josue De Paula walked and Mookie Betts flied out to center to end it. Will Smith went 0-for-3 and hasn’t looked like himself since coming off the injured list, but Dave Roberts said he isn’t replacing him with Hunter Feduccia. Dodgers pitchers struck out 13 Brewers, and it still wasn’t enough.
“It’s going to be a long series. We knew it coming in,” Roberts said.
Game 2 is at 2 p.m. on FOX: Yamamoto against Logan Henderson. Yamamoto’s last start was Game 3 in Atlanta: seven innings, one run, 10 strikeouts, a postseason career high, in a 3-1 win. “They got Henderson, we got Yamamoto,” Roberts said. “We feel good with our guy.”
A split sends the series back to Dodger Stadium for Games 3, 4 and 5 starting Wednesday. Lose today, and the Dodgers come home down 0-2 to a team that keeps winning close games.
“We got to focus on the task at hand,” Betts said, “and that’s winning the game tomorrow.”
GO DEEPER
› Fredo Cervantes: Dodgers drop Game 1 of NLCS to Brewers in Milwaukee (The Sporting Tribune)
› Fredo Cervantes: Yamamoto delivers as Dodgers take Game 3 in Atlanta (The Sporting Tribune)
› John E. Gibson: Yamamoto throws down strikingly clutch playoff performance (The Sporting Tribune)
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🏈 MONDAY NIGHT AT SOFI
A week ago, the Rams were down to a 3.2% win probability in Philadelphia, made a goal-line stand and won on Matthew Stafford’s 40th career fourth-quarter comeback. Tonight they’re home for Monday Night Football against Josh Allen and Buffalo at 5:15 on ABC.
Aaron Donald plays. He didn’t practice Saturday but has no injury designation. “He’ll be good to go for the game, no status there,” Sean McVay said. Colby Parkinson and Jaylen Watson are cleared, and safety Quentin Lake is the only player listed as questionable.
Myles Garrett is still out after knee surgery, and the Rams aren’t likely to open his practice window next week. McVay said the goal is “return to performance,” not just “return to play.” McVay also praised Allen’s timing, his ability to read coverages and the way he gets all five eligible receivers involved.
The Rams are 2-2. A win puts them over .500 for the first time this season.
GO DEEPER
› Aaron Donald cleared for Bills game as Rams remain patient with Myles Garrett (The Sporting Tribune)
› Eric Lambkins II: How the Rams finally found the sun in Philadelphia (The Sporting Tribune)
🏈 A ROUGH SUNDAY
In Inglewood, the Chargers led Denver 17-10 with 10:33 left and faced fourth-and-1 at their own 41. Jim Harbaugh called a Justin Herbert sneak. It failed, Denver tied it on the next possession, Herbert fumbled, Wil Lutz kicked the go-ahead field goal, and Brandon Jones intercepted Herbert to finish it. Broncos 23, Chargers 17. “I screwed that up,” Harbaugh told Fernando Ramirez. “I got to take 100% accountability for making that decision.” The Chargers are 0-5, with undefeated Kansas City next.
In Foxborough, it was worse. Steve Carp writes that Drake Maye threw for 374 yards and four touchdowns and ran for another, New England set a franchise record with 536 yards, and the Raiders committed eight penalties for 101 yards, three of them on rookie Hezekiah Masses. Patriots 45, Raiders 17. “It’s on me to get us ready to go and we weren’t ready to go,” Klint Kubiak said. No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza made his NFL debut in the fourth quarter, going 6-for-8 for 48 yards. The 3-2 Raiders host Buffalo next.
GO DEEPER
› Fernando Ramirez: ‘I screwed that up’: Jim Harbaugh owns costly mistake in Chargers’ loss to Broncos (The Sporting Tribune)
› Steve Carp: Route 1 rout as Raiders whipped in New England (The Sporting Tribune)
🏟️ THREE GAMES, ONE MONDAY
NLCS Game 2: Dodgers at Brewers, 2 p.m. on FOX. Yamamoto vs. Henderson.
Golden Knights at Wild, 5 p.m. on ESPN+. Vegas has won four straight, the last one on Marner’s overtime goal against the Kings.
Bills at Rams, 5:15 p.m. on ABC, Monday Night Football.
Tuesday: The Ducks host Calgary at 6:45, the Kings host Edmonton at 7:30, and the Lakers play the Warriors in Las Vegas.
📌 AROUND THE MARKETS
No. 12. Anthony Arroyo writes that the win in Eugene moved UCLA to No. 12 in the AP poll, its highest ranking since 2022. It was also UCLA’s first top-15 road win since 2014, and Bob Chesney is the first UCLA coach to start 5-0 in his first season.
A rough night in St. Louis. Rob Jalon has Carlo Holse with a first-half hat trick and Rafael Navarro with two goals and two assists as St. Louis City beat the Galaxy 6-2 and tied the MLS record with a 20-game unbeaten streak. Kyogo Furuhashi left with a hamstring injury in the 11th minute. Greg Vanney called Wednesday’s home game against Portland “the most important game of the season.”
Ducks injuries. Zach Cavanagh reports Cutter Gauthier (upper body) left after five shifts in Calgary and Ryan Poehling (lower body) was hurt on his go-ahead goal; both will be updated at Monday’s practice. On the good side, 18-year-old Nikita Klepov became the youngest player in Ducks history, and 22-year-old Noah Warren has moved to the top pair with Jackson LaCombe and has three assists in five games.
Kessler’s back. Carlos Yakimowich reports Walker Kessler practiced fully for the first time since early camp. Dončić, Austin Reaves and Kessler are set as starters, and the other two spots are open. “A lot can happen in 48 hours,” JJ Redick said.
GO DEEPER
› Anthony Arroyo: UCLA Football continues to climb up the rankings (The Sporting Tribune)
› Jack Haslett: UCLA holds on against Oregon to deliver historic win for Bob Chesney (The Sporting Tribune)
› Rob Jalon: Galaxy crushed 6-2 by St. Louis City (The Sporting Tribune)
› Zach Cavanagh: Ducks Notebook: Injury waiting room, Klepov stays humble, Warren shines (The Sporting Tribune)
› Carlos Yakimowich: Sunday Lakers Report: Kessler returns to full practice, starting lineup still unsettled (The Sporting Tribune)
📺 WATCHLIST — MONDAY, OCTOBER 12
⚾ NLCS Game 2: Dodgers at Brewers — American Family Field — 2:00 p.m. — FOX
🏒 NHL: Golden Knights at Wild — 5:00 p.m. — ESPN+
🏈 NFL: Bills at Rams — SoFi Stadium — 5:15 p.m. — ABC
🎟️ GOING TO A GAME?
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🏈 Bills at Rams — SoFi Stadium — $100
⚾ NLCS Game 3, Brewers at Dodgers — Dodger Stadium (Wednesday) — $150
🏒 Oilers at Kings — Crypto.com Arena (Tuesday) — $45
🌴 TST TRIVIA
Before Saturday at Oregon, when was the last time UCLA beat a top-15 team on the road?
Answer at the bottom.
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Trivia answer: 2014.
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