LOS ANGELES (AP) — During the Los Angeles Dodgers’ October rampage to the NL pennant, the defending World Series champions have actually been the dark eminence that many baseball people have long feared they would become. The Dodgers are 9-1 in the postseason, with near-flawless starting pitching and a deep, resilient lineup producing key hits and electrifying highlights. They swept the Milwaukee Brewers out of the NL Championship Series with a 5-1 victory featuring an iconic three-homer, 10-strikeout performance by Shohei Ohtani. Naysayers think the Dodgers' success is bad for baseball, but the players and coaches wearing the uniform simply don't care.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shohei Ohtani hit three home runs and pitched shutout ball into the seventh inning for the Los Angeles Dodgers, putting on a spectacular two-way show in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series. With 10 strikeouts on the mound and three homers that traveled a combined 1,342 feet at the plate, Ohtani made history in both of his dual roles for the defending champion Dodgers, who returned to the World Series with a 5-1 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers that completed a four-game sweep. After striking out three batters in the top of the first, Ohtani hit the first leadoff homer by a pitcher in major league history. He hit a second titanic drive in the fourth and launched a third solo homer in the seventh.
SEATTLE (AP) — Eugenio Suárez hit a go-ahead grand slam after Cal Raleigh’s tying drive in a five-run eighth inning, giving the Seattle Mariners a 6-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays and a 3-2 AL Championship Series lead. Suárez also homered in the second inning for Seattle’s first run. The Mariners became the first home team to win in the series and moved within a victory of the first World Series trip for a franchise that started play in 1977. Game 6 is at Toronto on Sunday night.
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Louisville has pulled off a stunning victory against the second-ranked Miami Hurricanes, winning 24-21 on Friday night. Miller Moss threw two touchdown passes and rushed for another score. Louisville intercepted four of Miami star Carson Beck's passes, the last with the Hurricanes in field-goal range in the final minute. The Cardinals took an early 14-0 lead and never trailed. They also snapped Miami's 10-game home winning streak. Louisville's defense held Miami to just 63 rushing yards. The Cardinals had been 0-18 against Top 10 teams in true road games before this win. This victory could propel Louisville into the AP Top 25 rankings Sunday.
BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) — Bill Belichick's tenure at North Carolina has been challenging, with the team still seeking its first victory against a power opponent. The Tar Heels suffered a heartbreaking 21-18 loss to California on Friday night. Nathan Leacock's fumble at the goal line late in the fourth quarter turned a potential go-ahead touchdown into a defining moment. Despite improvements, turnovers have been costly for the team. Belichick, in his first year with a lucrative contract, faces scrutiny both on and off the field. The team's only wins have come against lower-level opponents, adding pressure to the NFL-style approach.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Joel Embiid started for the Philadelphia 76ers in their preseason finale on Friday night, his first game action in nearly eight months. And he flirted with a triple-double. Embiid — who was limited to 19 games last season because of injuries — finished with 14 points, seven rebounds and eight assists in 19 minutes in Philadelphia’s 126-110 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves. He also had three steals, and the 76ers outscored the Wolves by 12 points when Embiid was on the floor. Philadelphia coach Nick Nurse said before the game that Embiid would have “fairly short” stints of action and held true to that plan. Embiid didn’t play in the fourth quarter. The 76ers open the regular season at Boston on Wednesday night.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Alex Ovechkin scored his first goal of the season, moving to within two of 900 for his career and helping the Washington Capitals to a 5-1 victory over the Minnesota Wild. Ovechkin went without a goal in the season’s first four games — not a crisis but a longer dry spell than he had at any time last season. He scored 44 times in 2024-25 and eventually broke Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record with No. 895. Now that number is up to 898.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Turned out the National League Championship Series was indeed a mismatch, just as Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy suggested. But not only in payroll and star power. On the baseball field, too. Where it really matters. After compiling the best record in the majors during the regular season, the scrappy Brewers appeared capable of beating anybody — until they ran into Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Dodgers in October. Milwaukee mustered only four runs and 14 hits in a four-game Dodgers sweep that left the Brewers steps short of the World Series once again. The team’s only pennant came in 1982, when Milwaukee was in the American League.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shohei Ohtani has propelled the Los Angeles Dodgers back to the World Series with a two-way performance for the ages. Ohtani hit three mammoth home runs and pitched scoreless, two-hit ball into the seventh inning, and the Dodgers swept the Milwaukee Brewers out of the National League Championship Series with a 5-1 victory in Game 4. The Dodgers will have a chance to be baseball’s first repeat World Series champions in a quarter-century after this mind-blowing night for the three-time MVP.
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Quarterback Brock Purdy has been ruled out for his third straight game for the San Francisco 49ers due to a toe injury. Mac Jones will start against the Atlanta Falcons. Coach Kyle Shanahan says tight end George Kittle will return after missing five games with a hamstring injury. Purdy initially hurt his toe in the season opener and will now miss his fifth game in six weeks. Jones, who is 3-1 as a starter, leads the NFL with 313 passing yards per game. The 49ers hope Kittle's return will boost their running game and provide Jones with another passing option.
Finals
TOP-25 COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Final Louisville 24 (2)Miami 21