Copyright Los Angeles Times
From Jack Harris: In the twilight hours of the early evening, before one of baseball’s most remarkable nights transformed from relatively normal to absurd, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts thought he knew where Game 3 of the World Series was heading. “Ultimately,” he said during an in-game interview with the Fox television broadcast, “it’s gonna be a battle of the bullpens tonight.” Turned out, it would escalate into an 18-inning war. In a game that tested mental mettle, physical stamina, emotional composure and the most extreme limits of both teams’ bullpens, the Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays tied a record for the longest World Series game ever played on Monday night. Eighteen innings, in six hours and 39 minutes, featuring a never-ending marathon of unfathomable plot twists and narrative-shaping turns. “One of the greatest World Series games of all time,” Roberts said. “I think we’re all emotionally and mentally drained,” first baseman Freddie Freeman added. In the end, it was Freeman who walked it off, hitting a home run in the bottom of the 18th inning — 11 innings removed from the game’s last previously scored run — to finally break the deadlock and lift the Dodgers to a 6-5 victory and a 2-1 lead in the series. Continue reading here Dodgers box score Shaikin: Blue Jays waited too long to walk Shohei Ohtani. Will it cost them a title? Plaschke: Freddie Freeman’s walk-off encore might’ve propelled Dodgers to another World Series title Shaikin: What are the motives behind Frank McCourt’s Dodger Stadium gondola plan? Hernández: Don Mattingly reveals why his Dodgers managerial career ended a decade ago What are your superstitions and lucky items to help the Dodgers win the World Series? WORLD SERIES SCHEDULE, RESULTS All times Pacific Dodgers vs. Toronto at Toronto 11, Dodgers 4 (box score) Dodgers 5, at Toronto 1 (box score) at Dodgers 6, Toronto 5 (18) (box score) Tuesday at Dodgers, 5 p.m., Fox, AM 570, KTNQ 1020, ESPN Radio Wednesday at Dodgers, 5 p.m., Fox, AM 570, KTNQ 1020, ESPN Radio *Friday at Toronto, 5 p.m., Fox, AM 570, KTNQ 1020, ESPN Radio *Saturday at Toronto, 5 p.m., Fox, AM 570, KTNQ 1020, ESPN Radio *-if necessary LAKERS From Broderick Turner: Injuries nearly swallowed the Lakers whole Monday night, leaving them short on ballhandlers, key role players and star power. They were down seven players and they were playing on back-to-back nights to top it off, leaving the task daunting for the Lakers. Still, the Lakers had to press on against the odds, which they were unable to overcome in falling 122-108 to the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. Austin Reaves did his best to keep the Lakers in the game, scoring 41 points one night after scoring a career-high 51 at Sacramento. Reaves now has scored 143 points in the first four games this season, tying him with Hall of Famer Elgin Baylor (1962) for the most points in Lakers’ history over that span to start the season. “I am tired, but this is why we play the game,” Reaves said after playing 39 minutes and nine seconds and going 13-for-22 from the field and three for eight from three-point range. “It’s fun. Obviously, we didn’t play as good as we wanted to tonight, but like [Lakers coach] JJ [Redick] said after the game, it’s tough with short rotations. We got seven guys, I think, that were out. So we played hard. We played hard enough to win. We just didn’t execute as good as we needed to.” Continue reading here Lakers box score NBA standings RAMS From Gary Klein: The Rams traded for cornerback Roger McCreary, star receiver Puka Nacua is expected to return for Sunday’s game against the New Orleans Saints and receiver Tutu Atwell will spend at least four games on injured reserve. All of those moves were announced by the Rams or discussed by coach Sean McVay on Monday as the Rams returned from an off week. With the NFL trade deadline approaching next week, the Rams acquired McCreary, 25, and a conditional 2026 sixth-round pick from the Tennessee Titans in exchange for a conditional 2026 fifth-round pick. Continue reading here HORSE RACING From John Cherwa: Former major league baseball player Jayson Werth clearly was thinking about his current place in the sports landscape last week when he called a reporter to talk about the sport he loves. The conversation opened with Shohei Ohtani’s mind-bending Game 4 in the National League Championship Series. “There are good games and great games and then there is what he did, absolutely incredible. We’ll never see something like that again,” Werth said. Given that the Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays, both teams he played for, were about ready to start the World Series, you would have thought that it was in the front, center and back of his mind. But, no, he has a new favorite sport. His love of baseball has been supplanted by the Sport of Kings. “Wait, I’ve got to go bid on a horse, I’ll be back in two minutes,” Werth said from a yearling sale at Keeneland, Ky. Continue reading here THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY 1939 — Kansas State’s homecoming contest against Nebraska is the second college football game ever televised, following the Fordham-Waynesburg contest in New York earlier this fall. The Cornhuskers spoil homecoming with a 25-9 triumph in Manhattan, Kan., before a limited Nebraska ETV audience in the surrounding area. 1950 — Nevada punter Pat Brady boots an NCAA record 99-yard punt in a 34-7 loss to Loyola Marymount. 1962 — New York Giants quarterback Y.A. Title passes for 505 yards and seven touchdowns, and Del Schofner catches 11 passes for 269 yards and a touchdown in a 49-34 victory over the Washington Redskins. 1973 — Gail Goodrich scores 49 points and seven-foot center Elmore Smith sets an NBA record with 17 blocked shots as the Lakers beat Portland 111-98. 1973 — With jockey Eddie Maple substituting for suspended Ron Turcotte, Secretariat concludes his racing career with a victory in the Canadian International Championship Stakes at Woodbine in Toronto. 1989 — Tony Alford of Colorado State rushes for 310 yards in 28 carries to break a Western Athletic Conference record and scores three touchdowns in a 50-10 win over Utah. 1989 — Central State crushes Lane 101-0. Lane concedes with 11:26 to play in the fourth quarter. Quarterback Henderson Mosley runs for three touchdowns and passes for six. 1990 — Jennifer Capriati, 14, beats Zina Garrison in three sets to capture the Puerto Rico Open and become the youngest player to qualify for the Virginia Slims Championship. 1993 — Ron Francis becomes the 38th NHL player to score 1,000 points with a goal in the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 7-3 loss to the Quebec Nordiques. 1995 — Cigar completes an undefeated season of 10 straight wins with a rousing 2½-length victory under Jerry Bailey in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Cigar, the 3-to-5 favorite, covers the 1 1/4 miles in a time of 1:59 2/5 to beat L’Carriere and give Bailey his third consecutive Classic win. 1997 — Dee Kantner and Violet Palmer are hired as full-time NBA referees, marking the first time in major pro sports in the United States that females will officiate regular-season games in an all-male league. 2010 — Caroline Wozniacki wraps up the year-end No. 1 ranking after rallying to beat Francesca Schiavone 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 at the WTA Championships. The 20-year-old from Denmark is the 10th woman to end the season on top and the youngest since Martina Hingis in 1997. 2016 — Russell Westbrook has 51 points and a triple-double and scores the winning points in the Oklahoma City Thunder’s 113-110 overtime victory over the Phoenix Suns. It’s the first 50-point triple-double since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had one in 1975. Westbrook finishes with 13 rebounds and 10 assists. 2017 — J.T. Barrett caps the greatest game of his career with a 16-yard touchdown pass to Marcus Baugh with 1:48 left in the fourth quarter and No. 6 Ohio State rallies from 11 down in the final five minutes to hand No. 2 Penn State its first loss, 39-38. Compiled by the Associated Press Until next time...
