Hello, I'm your host, Houston Mitchell. Let's get straight to the news.

By Bill Plaschke: With the opening statement, two batters entered the game, Mookie Betts hit a ball to Chula Vista, the stunned stadium enveloped in the sweetest silence.

Shortly thereafter came the follow-up statement: Shohei Ohtani shot the ball down the right field line at about 1,000 miles per hour, and the silence turned to shock.

Closing arguments followed soon after as Will Smith fired another weak throw over the center field fence, one dugout danced, the other pouted – the game was over.

Three innings, a message the Dodgers powerfully delivered to the suddenly beleaguered and humiliated San Diego Padres on Wednesday:

This is not 2022. This will not happen again. This won't be easy. This is at a distance.

Do the Padres want to steal this National League Division series again? This time they have to do it in a winner-take-all game at Dodger Stadium.

Buckle up. Peel off. The fifth and final game of this brawl takes place Friday night at Chavez Ravine, with the Dodgers providing drama with a desperate 8-0 win at Petco Park on Wednesday night.

It was the largest shutout win in Dodgers playoff history. It created the possibility of one of the greatest postseason series victories in Dodgers history.

“See…you…Friday!” A resilient group of Dodgers fans chanted at Petco and it should indeed be something to see.

Read more here

The Dodgers show no panic and dominate the Padres to force a decisive NLDS Game 5

A resurgent Mookie Betts provides the spark for the Dodgers' stunning victory over the Padres

The Dodgers want their fans excited for Game 5. “Bring the energy, but be smart.”

Dodgers box score

MLB POST-SEASON SCHEDULE

Division Series
All times Pacific

Bundesliga
No. 1 Dodgers vs. No. 4 San Diego
at Dodgers 7, San Diego 5 (box score)
San Diego 10, at Dodgers 2 (box score)
at San Diego 6, Dodgers 5 (box score)
Dodgers 8, at San Diego 0 (box score)
Friday at the Dodgers, 5 p.m., Fox

#2 Philadelphia vs. #6 NY Mets
New York 6, Philadelphia 2
in Philadelphia 7, New York 6
in New York 7, Philadelphia 2
in New York 4, Philadelphia 1

American League

No. 2 Cleveland vs. No. 6 Detroit
at Cleveland 7, Detroit 0
Detroit 3, at Cleveland 0
in Detroit 3, Cleveland 0
Thursday in Detroit, 3 p.m., TNT
*Saturday in Cleveland, 1:30 p.m., TBS

No. 1 NY Yankees vs. No. 5 Kansas Citj
in New York 6, Kansas City 5
Kansas City 4, at New York 2
New York 3, Kansas City 2
Thursday in Kansas City, 5 p.m., TBS
*Saturday in New York, 5 p.m., TBS

*-if required

CHARGERS

By Thuc Nhi Nguyen: He was a record-setting quarterback at Oregon. A first-round draft pick for an AFC West team mired in mediocrity. He is in his first year coaching with the franchise.

Bo Nix knows Justin Herbert's path.

“He's one of those guys you look up to when you play at Oregon,” Nix, the Denver Broncos quarterback, told reporters Wednesday before the former Oregon Ducks stars play in Denver in a crucial AFC West clash on Sunday. Compete in the game against each other.

Before becoming the Chargers' No. 5 pick, Herbert capped his decorated career at Oregon with a Pac-12 championship and a Rose Bowl victory in 2019. That same year, Nix became the first true freshman in Auburn history to started a season opener. He faced Herbert's Ducks and threw the decisive touchdown with nine seconds left.

Nix transferred to Oregon after three years at Auburn and played with Herbert's younger brother Patrick, a tight end. In 2023, Nix was a Heisman finalist, throwing for a school record 4,508 yards in 2023 and setting the NCAA single-season record at 77.4%.

Herbert watched from a distance the whole time.

Read more here

LAKERS

By Chuck Schilken: Bronny James thinks she's “pretty nice.”

Max Christie says they are “super cool”.

D'Angelo Russell declared them his “favorites.”

The Lakers unveiled their 2024-2025 City Edition jerseys on Tuesday with a video showing several players – those mentioned above plus LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Rui Hachimura and Austin Reaves – wearing and reacting to the new jerseys.

“Definitely a representation of the Lakers and the city, that’s for sure,” LeBron James said of the new uniforms in the video.

Read more here

WNBA FINAL

All times Pacific

No. 1 New York vs. No. 2 Minnesota
Thursday in New York, 5 p.m., ESPN
Sunday in New York, noon, ABC
Marry. in Minnesota, 5 p.m., ESPN
*Friday, October 18 in Minnesota, 5 p.m., ESPN
*Monday, October 21 in New York, TBD

*-if required

THIS DATE IN SPORTS

1920 – The Chicago Cardinals play in their first American Professional Football Association game, drawing 0-0 against the Chicago Tigers. The game will take place at Cubs Park, later renamed Wrigley Field.

1920 – Bill Wambsganns of the Cleveland Indians completes an unassisted World Series triple play.

1936 – Ohio State University trumpeter John Bungart puts the “i” in “Script Ohio” for the first time during halftime of the Buckeyes' 6-0 loss to Pittsburgh at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. According to Brungart, the honor was given exclusively to sousaphonists, with the exception of well-known fans of the Ohio State program such as John Glenn, Jack Nicklaus and Bob Hope.

1981 – USC's Marcus Allen rushes for 211 yards in a 13-10 loss to Arizona, his fifth straight 200-plus rushing game.

1987 – Columbia sets an NCAA record with its 35th consecutive loss, 38-8 to Princeton.

1998 – New Hampshire's Jerry Azumah becomes the first player in NCAA Division I-AA history to rush for more than 1,000 yards in four consecutive seasons. He had 165 yards and a touchdown in a 22-13 loss to Richmond.

2004 – New England wins its 19th straight game and sets an NFL record for consecutive wins, including the playoffs, with a 24-10 victory over Miami.

2011 – NBA Commissioner David Stern cancels the first two weeks of the season after owners and players fail to reach a new labor agreement and end the lockout. Games originally scheduled to take place from November 1st to 14th will be canceled.

2011 – Anthony Calvillo spectacularly becomes pro football's all-time passing leader with a 50-yard touchdown pass to Jamel Richardson that solidifies the Montreal Alouettes' 29-19 victory over the Toronto Argonauts. Calvillo needed 258 yards to break Damon Allen's CFL record of 72,381 yards.

2017 – The United States is eliminated from World Cup competition with a shocking 2-1 loss to Trinidad and Tobago. Trinidad scores two goals in the first half and the United States will miss the World Cup for the first time since 1986. All the 28th-place Americans needed was a draw against 99th-place Trinidad, which lost its sixth straight qualifying game last week.

2020 – 19-year-old Iga Swiatek of Poland wins her country's first major singles title by defeating American Sofia Kenin 6-4, 6-1 at the French Open.

Compiled by Associated Press