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By Bill Plaschke: Bats thrashed, balls flew into the air, runners sprinted and still…

Nobody can score against the Dodgers!

The New York Mets came to town on Sunday as the hottest team in baseball, working all their magic and unleashing all their wonders, and yet…

Nobody can score against the Dodgers!

Thirty-three innings, four games, a slew of potential turnovers in crucial moments in October and still…

Nobody can score against the Dodgers?

Believe it, because the Mets believe it, just like the San Diego Padres were forced to believe it, even if it belies history and defies description.

A Dodger pitching unit that was considered the team's greatest weakness early in the postseason has emerged as its greatest strength: Jack Flaherty and two relievers teamed up for the third consecutive game on Sunday, pitching 33 consecutive scoreless innings set a major league postseason record while shutting out the Mets 9-0 in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series at Dodger Stadium.

The streak is from Game 3 of the Division Series against the Padres, includes 10 different Dodger pitchers and looks something like this:

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Read more here

Dodgers box score

The Dodgers waste no time extending their dominance with a win in NLCS Game 1

Small-bat strategy pays off: Why Dodgers prefer sacrifice bunts against Mets

The Dodgers' shutout innings streak looks much different than the original in 1966

Jack Flaherty's immortal Game 1 has special meaning for the LA-raised pitcher

Bus rides, watch parties and a new mindset: The advantage driving the Dodgers' playoff run

MLB POST-SEASON SCHEDULE

All times Pacific

NLCS
No. 1 Dodgers vs. No. 6 NY Mets
at Dodgers 9, New York 0. (box score)
Monday: New York at Dodgers, 1 p.m., Fox
Wednesday: Dodgers at New York, 5 p.m., FS1
Thursday: Dodgers at New York, 5 p.m., FS1
*Friday: Dodgers at New York, 2 p.m., FS1
*Sunday: New York at Dodgers, 5 p.m., FS1
*Monday, October 21st: New York at Dodgers, 5 p.m., FS1/Fox

ALCS
No. 1 NY Yankees vs. No. 2 Cleveland
Monday in New York, 4:30 p.m., TBS/truTV/MAX
Tuesday in New York, 4:30 p.m., TBS/truTV/MAX
Thursday in Cleveland, 2 p.m., TBS/truTV/MAX
Friday in Cleveland, 5 p.m., TBS/truTV/MAX
*Saturday in Cleveland, 5 p.m., TBS/truTV/MAX
*Monday, October 21 in New York, 2 p.m., TBS/truTV/MAX
*Tuesday, October 22 in New York, 4:30 p.m., TBS/truTV/MAX

*-if required

CHARGERS

By Thuc Nhi Nguyen: Flanked by team medical staff, Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh shuffled into the locker room while his team was still on the field against the Denver Broncos.

Midway through the first quarter, he strode back to the sideline, unnoticed by players who didn't know their coach had an irregular heartbeat. After quarterback Justin Herbert fired a perfect third-down throw to Joshua Palmer to extend the Chargers' drive, Harbaugh pointed down the field and pumped his fist.

It was as if nothing had happened.

As his coaches and teammates walked in and out of the locker room, Herbert was the driving force in the Chargers' 23-16 victory over the Broncos on Sunday.

The quarterback, who was off to the slowest passing start of his career, led the offense with 237 yards and a touchdown on 21 of 34 passes as the Chargers (3-2) held off Denver's 16 fourth-quarter points to win the Mile High City game for the first time since 2018.

Read more here

Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh has had this heart problem before, but what are the next steps?

Chargers box score

NFL results

NFL Rankings

LAKERS

By Broderick Turner: On April 1, around 9:15 a.m., Michael Cooper's phone rang with the news that he had finally been elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

He sat next to his wife Yvonne and they both listened. But when he heard the words about one of basketball's highest honors, he began to have doubts.

His former Lakers teammate Magic Johnson had campaigned for years to get Cooper into the Hall of Fame, but that never happened. When he first heard the news, Cooper thought, why would he believe it was true this time?

“First of all, I got the call on April 1st, April 1st, and I thought it was a joke at first,” Cooper said with a laugh. “I was sitting next to my wife and had the conversation on speakerphone and thought, 'Right.' OK. This is a cruel April Fool's joke.” They said, “No, Coop, you got in.” I kind of stared at them and my wife said, “Baby, they said you got in.” So, yeah, I don't really have that Calculated, because when they called before, I couldn't get in. But they said I was in. I was thrilled. I stood up and started screaming, 'I'm in the Hall of Fame!'”

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LAFC

Mateusz Bogusz scored 35 seconds into the game, Ilie Sánchez scored in second-half stoppage time and LAFC cruised to a 2-1 victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps on Sunday night.

LAFC is within three points of the Galaxy in the race for the top spot in the Western Conference and can't do worse than second. LAFC posted a 3-0 home win over the Whitecaps in May and leads the all-time series at 10-6-4.

Bogusz capitalized on assists from David Martínez and Olivier Giroud to score his career-high 15th goal of the season for LAFC (18-8-7). Martínez recorded his fourth assist in his 16th career appearance and Giroud picked up his third in his ninth career appearance.

Read more here

LAFC summary

MLS standings

DUCKS

Brett Howden, Tomas Hertl and Pavel Dorofeyev each scored a goal and the Vegas Golden Knights defeated the Ducks 3-1 on Sunday night.

Ilya Samsonov had 22 saves for Vegas.

Troy Terry scored the Ducks' only goal and James Reimer made 29 saves.

Vegas improved to 3-0-0 in its first three games for the fifth time since joining the NHL in 2017. The Knights also improved to 24-7-1 all-time against the Ducks, including a 14-3-0 mark in Vegas.

Read more here

Ducks summary

NHL results

NHL rankings

WNBA FINAL

All times Pacific

No. 1 New York vs. No. 2 Minnesota
Minnesota 95, at New York 93 (OT)
in New York 80, Minnesota 66
Marry. in Minnesota, 5 p.m., ESPN
Friday in Minnesota, 5 p.m., ESPN
*Monday, October 21 in New York, TBD

*-if required

THIS DATE IN SPORTS

(1945 – The Chicago Cardinals end the longest losing streak in NFL history at 29 games with a 16-7 victory over the Chicago Bears

1949 – Ezzard Charles defeats Pat Valentino in the round of 16 to win the heavyweight boxing title.

1967 – The Kings, led by Brain Kilrea, beat the Philadelphia Flyers 4-2 in their NHL debut. The game will take place at the Long Beach (California) Arena. Kilrea scored two goals, including the first in Kings history.

1973 – 42-year-old future Baseball Hall of Fame center fielder Willie Mays's final MLB career win as the NY Mets defeated the A's 10-7 in Game 2 of the World Series in Oakland.

1978 – Darryl Sittler of the Toronto Maple Leafs records seven assists in a 10-7 win over the New York Islanders.

1979 – Edmonton's Wayne Gretzky scores his first NHL goal in a 4-4 tie against the Vancouver Canucks. Gretzky beat goalie Glen Hanlon for the game-winning power play goal with 1:09 left in the third period.

1990 – Joe Montana throws for career highs of 476 yards and six touchdowns and Jerry Rice sets an NFL record with five scoring receptions as the San Francisco 49ers beat the Atlanta Falcons 45-35.

1991 – New York Rangers right wing Mike Gartner scores his 500th career goal in the first period of a 5-3 loss to the Washington Capitals.

2005 – Ryan Newman sets a NASCAR record by winning his fifth consecutive Busch Series race, the Charlotte 300 at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

2006 – Mats Sundin scores his 500th career goal, completing a hat trick with an under-overtime game winner and giving Toronto a 5-4 victory over Calgary. The third goal is Sundin's 15th in overtime – the most in NHL history.

2011 – Japan's Kohei Uchimura becomes the first man to win three titles at the World Gymnastics Championships in Tokyo. Uchimura finished the men's all-around with 93.631 points, more than three points ahead of Germany's Philipp Boy.

2012 – Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers sets a career-high and sets a franchise record with six touchdown passes, three of them to Jordy Nelson, and the Packers defeat the Houston Texans 42-24. Rodgers completed 24 of 37 passes for 338 yards, tying Matt Flynn's single-game record for TD passes set last year in the regular-season finale against Detroit.

2015 – Sylvia Fowles has 20 points and 11 rebounds as the Minnesota Lynx win their third WNBA title in five years with a 69-52 victory over the Indiana Fever in Game 5.

2020 – The NFL cancels the Pro Bowl scheduled for January 31, 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Compiled by Associated Press