The Sports Report: Dodgers rout Braves and set some records in NLCS Game 3

Howdy, I’m your host, Houston Mitchell. Let’s get right to the news.

Jorge Castillo on the Dodgers: The Dodgers asserted anxiety was absent in their clubhouse before Game 3 of the National League Championship Series. They faced an 0-2 series deficit but said the mood was light. They cracked jokes. They remained calm. They were confident their superior depth would emerge. The team with the best record in the regular season was poised to pounce.

“We weren’t worried about anything,” first baseman Max Muncy said. “And tonight, we went out and showed what we can do.”

Riding the wave of a seven-run burst over the final three innings of Game 2, the Dodgers erupted for a record-setting 11 runs in the first inning Wednesday to launch a 15-3 rout.

The Dodgers tallied seven hits, three home runs and three walks in the 32-minute first-inning demolition. Every player in starting lineup scored. The 11 runs were the most ever scored in a postseason inning. They produced 10 of them with two outs. Their 18 total bases set another record. Their five extra-base hits tied for the most in playoff history.

Then they added four runs in the next two frames to become the first team to score 15 runs in the first three innings of a postseason game.

“Some of the momentum from last night, the last inning, definitely carried over,” left fielder Joc Pederson said. “And it got us feeling a little bit more comfortable at the plate. It was fun to be part of.”

Corey Seager fell a triple shy of the cycle — in the first three innings. Pederson went four for six with a three-run home run. Max Muncy delivered two hits, including a grand slam. Cody Bellinger had two hits and two walks. By the fourth inning, both teams began pulling their top players to avoid injury for the announced crowd of 10,664.

In the end, the Dodgers snapped the Braves’ seven-game winning streak to open the postseason. The series is now 2-1 in the Braves’ favor. Game 4 is Thursday at 5:08 p.m. PDT. Clayton Kershaw will start for Los Angeles.

“Tomorrow’s a different day,” Seager said, “and you got to come out and do it again.”

The Dodgers took a patient approach against the Braves’ starters in Games 1 and 2. The goal was to tire the starters – Max Friend and Ian Anderson -- to get to Atlanta’s bullpen early.

They were more aggressive in Game 3 against Kyle Wright, a rookie with a 6.22 career ERA and one career playoff start.

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Bill Plaschke: A furious first inning sets tone for Dodgers’ victory

Photos: Dodgers defeat Atlanta Braves in Game 3 of NLCS

Clayton Kershaw will start NLCS Game 4

Former Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen relegated to mop-up role in rout of Braves

Sad when the Dodgers traded him, Ross Stripling roots for his former teammates to win

Braves-Dodgers schedule
The Dodgers will be the home team for Games 1, 2, 6 and 7. All times are Pacific. All game at Arlington, Texas.

Game 1: Atlanta 5, Dodgers 1

Game 2: Atlanta 8, Dodgers 7

Game 3: Dodgers 15, Atlanta 3

Game 4: Today, 5 p.m., Dodgers (Clayton Kershaw**) vs. Atlanta (Bryse Wilson), Fox and FS1, AM 570

Game 5: Friday, 5 p.m. (if ALCS still playing) or 6 p.m. (if ALCS not playing), Dodgers (TBD) vs. Atlanta (TBD), FS1, AM 570

Game 6*: Saturday, 1:30 p.m. (if ALCS still playing) or 4 p.m. (if ALCS not playing), Atlanta (TBD) vs. Dodgers (TBD), FS1, AM 570

Game 7*: Sunday, 5:15 p.m., Atlanta (TBD) vs. Dodgers (TBD), Fox and FS1, AM 570

*-If necessary

**-left-handed

LAFC

Lucas Cavallini scored twice to help the Vancouver Whitecaps beat LAFC 2-1 on Wednesday night.

Vancouver (7-11-0) has won consecutive matches. LAFC (7-7-3) had won three of four.

Cavallini scored from close range in the 30th minute off a cross from Cristian Dajome. Cavallini scored again from short distance in the 50th with an assist from Fredy Montero.

Cavallini also had the game-winner in a 2-1 victory over Real Salt Lake on Saturday. He leads the Whitecaps with six goals.

Danny Musovski, who scored twice in LAFC’s 3-1 win over the Seattle Sounders on Sunday, had a shot blocked in the 77th minute. Eduard Atuesta scored on a penalty kick for LAFC in the 83rd.

LAFC announced before the loss that it had acquired Colombian defender Jesus David Murillo on loan from Deportivo Independiente Medellin in a bid to shore up its leaky defense.

GALAXY

Kevin Baxter on the Galaxy: This season has been a like riding a pogo stick for the Galaxy: lots of ups and downs with little forward progress. That didn’t change Wednesday, when the Galaxy continued to bounce in place with a 4-0 loss to the San Jose Earthquakes at Dignity Health Sports Park.

The place the Galaxy are bouncing in, by the way, is last in the Western Conference, and that hole got a bit deeper with the team’s sixth consecutive loss. The Galaxy, winless in their last seven, are now four points adrift from the rest of the conference and six points and four places shy of the eighth and final playoff berth.

San Jose got two goals came from Nick Lima and single scores from Andy Ríos and Tommy Thompson, spoiling an otherwise solid debut in goal by Jonathan Klinsmann, who wasn’t even with the team two months ago. Klinsmann, who faced 19 shots and saved seven of them, didn’t get much help from the midfield of his offense, though, with the Galaxy going without a shot until the 58th minute and putting just three on target all night.

The result was the fourth shutout in seven games for the Galaxy, who have led for just 38 minutes in the last 36 days.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Alabama coach Nick Saban and athletic director Greg Byrne have tested positive for COVID-19, three days before the second-ranked Crimson Tide is set to face No. 3 Georgia in a clash of Southeastern Conference and national powers.

Both said their tests Wednesday morning came back positive, but Saban said he didn’t have any symptoms by late afternoon.

“I immediately left work and isolated at home,” Saban said.

The second-ranked Crimson Tide is set to face No. 3 Georgia on Saturday, and may be without their iconic 68-year-old coach who remained scheduled to talk with the media Wednesday evening.

Saban said he informed the team via a videoconference session at 2 p.m. Wednesday and that offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian will oversee game preparations while he works from home.

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Occidental College will discontinue its football program, President Harry J. Elam Jr. announced Tuesday, ending three years of deliberations about its future that ultimately was affected by the substantial financial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Football was approximately 20% of the athletics budget at Occidental, which notified the campus via email of the decision. Part of the reason to announce the decision now was for the sake of high school seniors and transfers considering Occidental as a place to play football.

The college cancelled the last four games of the 2017 football season because of safety concerns with an injury-depleted roster and managed to play two more seasons through increased donations and funding by the school.

Occidental, which is a founding member of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, now has 20 men’s and women’s sports that compete at the NCAA Division III level.

MLB PLAYOFFS

All times Pacific
AL Championship Series
Houston Astros vs. Tampa Bay Rays
all games at San Diego
Tampa Bay is home team in Games 1, 2, 6 and 7

Game 1: Tampa Bay 2, Houston 1
Game 2: Tampa Bay 4, Houston 2
Game 3: Tampa Bay 5, Houston 2
Game 4: Houston 4, Tampa Bay 3
Game 5: Thursday, 2 p.m., TBS
Game 6*: Friday, 3 p.m. or 4 p.m., TBS
Game 7*: Saturday, 1:30 p.m. or 4 p.m., TBS

*-if necessary

TODAY’S LOCAL MAJOR SPORTS SCHEDULE

All times Pacific.

Dodgers vs. Atlanta, 5 p.m., Fox, FS1, AM 570

THIS DATE IN SPORTS

1933 — The Philadelphia Eagles play their first NFL game and suffers a 56-0 loss to the New York Giants.

1961 — Mickey Wright wins her third LPGA Championship with a rout, nine strokes ahead of Louise Suggs.

1972 — Stan Mikita of the Chicago Blackhawks becomes the sixth NHL player with 1,000 career points. Mikita assists on Cliff Koroll’s goal in a 3-1 loss to the St. Louis Blues at Chicago Stadium.

1983 — Columbia beats Yale 21-18, the Lions’ last victory before losing an NCAA record 44 straight games.

1983 — The Chicago Black Hawks and the Toronto Maple Leafs score five goals in 1 minute, 24 seconds to set an NHL record for the fastest five goals by two teams. The Maple Leafs beat the Black Hawks 10-8.

1987 — The NFLPA orders players to report to work without agreement on a new contract, ending a 24-day strike. The returning players, however, report after the 1 p.m. Wednesday deadline to be eligible for Sunday’s games and are told they won’t play or be paid.

1988 — Fourth-ranked Notre Dame beats No. 1 Miami 31-30 South Bend, Ind. Miami scores with 45 seconds remaining to pull within one point. Hurricanes coach Jimmy Johnson opts to go for the win with a two-point conversion. The two-point pass is knocked down, giving the Irish the win which snaps Miami’s 37-regular season game win streak.

1988 — Mario Lemieux of the Pittsburgh Penguins scores eight points — two goals and six assists — in a 9-2 win over the St. Louis Blues at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh.

1989 — Wayne Gretzky of the Kings passes Gordie Howe as the NHL’s all-time leading scorer in a during a 5-4 overtime win over the Edmonton Oilers. Gretzky flips a backhand shot past Oilers goaltender Bill Ranford with 53 seconds remaining to tie the game and pass Howe with 1,851st point. Gretzky wins the game in overtime.

2000 — For the first time in NFL history, a game starts with back-to-back touchdown returns on kickoffs. Atlanta’s Darrick Vaughn returns the opening kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown, and St. Louis matches the Falcons immediately as Tony Horne takes the ball 3 yards deep in the end zone and runs down the sideline for a game-tying score. St. Louis also sets an NFL record by scoring four two-point conversions in the 45-29 win.

2005 — Michigan gives up a touchdown to Penn State with 53 seconds left, then marches down the field to score on a TD pass from Chad Henne to Mario Manningham with no time remaining for a 27-25 win over the eighth-ranked Nittany Lions.

2005 — USC’s Matt Leinart pushes and spins his way into the end zone with 3 seconds left to cap a chaotic finish to the top-ranked Trojans’ 28th straight victory, a back-and-forth 34-31 win over No. 9 Notre Dame.

2008 — Fabian Brunnstrom scores three goals in his NHL debut to match the league record in Dallas’ 6-4 victory over Nashville. The Swede is the third NHL player to open his career with a hat trick, joining Alex Smart of the Montreal Canadiens (Jan. 14, 1943) and Real Cloutier of the Quebec Nordiques (Oct. 10, 1979).

2009 — Detroit’s Nicklas Lidstrom becomes the first European defenseman and eighth overall to reach 1,000 points, assisting on two goals in the Red Wings 5-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings.

2012 — The Nets bring professional sports back to Brooklyn with a preseason victory, beating the Washington Wizards 98-88 in the first basketball game at the Barclays Center. The Nets, who left New Jersey after last season, are greeted by 14,219 fans on the night they become Brooklyn’s first major pro sports team since the Dodgers left for Los Angeles in 1957.

2017 — New England quarterback Tom Brady passes for 257 yards with two touchdowns in the Patriots’ 24-17 win at the New York Jets. Brady, who has 187 regular-season victories, surpasses Hall of Famer Brett Favre (186) and Peyton Manning (186) for the most regular-season victories by a starting quarterback in NFL history.

And finally

Dodgers put up 11 runs in the first inning against Atlanta. Watch it here.