NEW YORK (AP) — By the time Shohei Ohtani stepped to the plate in the eighth inning Wednesday night, the Los Angeles Dodgers were already in control. Once the ball left his bat, Game 3 of the National League Championship Series was over. Ohtani launched a three-run homer and the Dodgers pulled away for an 8-0 victory against the choppy New York Mets that gave them a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. Kiké Hernández hit a two-run shot to make it 4-0 in the sixth with his 15th career postseason homer and waved to the Citi Field crowd he quieted. Los Angeles rebounded from a loss at home by pitching its fourth shutout in the past five playoff games.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Sabrina Ionescu watched Breanna Stewart carry the New York Liberty all game, until it was time to win it. Then the ball was hers. “In the timeout, (coach) Sandy (Brondello) was like, ‘You’re going to shoot the shot,’” Ionescu said. The star guard made it, a 3-pointer from 28 feet with a second remaining that gave the Liberty an 80-77 victory over the Minnesota Lynx on Wednesday night and moved them a win away from an elusive first WNBA title. New York leads the finals 2-1 — the first time it has ever been ahead in the championship round — and can win the series Friday night in Minnesota.
The NCAA football rules committee issued guidance Wednesday to close a loophole that allowed second-ranked Oregon to exploit an illegal substitution penalty late in its victory over Ohio State to take time off the clock. With Ohio State driving on its final possession of the game and just seconds left on the clock, Oregon was flagged for having too many defenders on the field, drawing a 5-yard penalty. While the Buckeyes gained 5 yards, the move took four seconds off the clock. The Ducks went on to win 32-31. “After the Two-Minute Timeout in either half, if the defense commits a substitution foul and 12 or more players are on the field and participate in a down, officials will penalize the defense for the foul and at the option of the offended team, reset the game clock back to the time displayed at the snap,” the guidance said. “The game clock will then restart on the next snap,” it continued. “If the 12th defender was attempting to exit but was still on the field at the snap and had no influence on the play, then the normal substitution penalty would be enforced with no clock adjustment.”
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — Davante Adams will be Aaron Rodgers’ house guest for a while, at least until the New York Jets’ newly acquired wide receiver gets situated. So, they drove together to the team facility Wednesday morning. And then sat next to each other during the team meeting, just like old times. “I turned to him and just said, ‘Man, how crazy is this?’” Rodgers said with a big grin. “It’s something that when we get together in the offseasons, we joke about, but it never seemed like a possibility or going to happen. “So it’s good to be with him.” The two longtime Green Bay Packers teammates will also be back together on the football field in Pittsburgh on Sunday night, when Adams expects to make his Jets debut and catch passes again from his pal.
WEDNESDAY SCORES
NJCAA Volleyball
No. 8 Colby def. No 5. Barton 19-25, 27-25, 25-22, 26-24
Major League Baseball Playoffs
LA Dodgers 8, NY Mets 0 (Dodgers lead best-of-seven series 2-1)