From Jack Harris: The Dodgers might be baseball’s version of an all-powerful Death Star.
But as Friday’s raucous World Series opener in Toronto showed, they too were built with a fatally exploitable weakness.
Behind a nine-run sixth inning that left Rogers Centre rocking and the previously invincible Dodgers rattled, the Blue Jays smashed open what had been a tied score in Game 1 of the World Series and rolled to an eventual 11-4 win.
They attacked the Dodgers’ one glaring weakness in the bullpen. They executed the kind of game script to which the defending champions have long seemed susceptible. And they watched in delight as their visitors were blown to bits, suffering an implosion of galactic proportions in what was the third-highest scoring inning in Fall Classic history.
“Honestly,” Blue Jays outfielder Daulton Varsho said, “we just showed everybody what we can do as a lineup.”
Or, more to the point in this Fall Classic matchup, how they can get to the Dodgers’ rotation-reliant pitching staff.
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WORLD SERIES SCHEDULE, RESULTS
All times Pacific
Dodgers vs. Toronto
at Toronto 11, Dodgers 4 (box score)
Saturday at Toronto, 5 p.m., Fox, AM 570, KTNQ 1020, ESPN Radio
Monday at Dodgers, 5 p.m., Fox, AM 570, KTNQ 1020, ESPN Radio
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, Oct. 31 at Toronto, 5 p.m., Fox, AM 570, KTNQ 1020, ESPN Radio
*Saturday, Nov. 1 at Toronto, 5 p.m., Fox, AM 570, KTNQ 1020, ESPN Radio
*-if necessary
LAKERS
From Broderick Turner: Luka Doncic is a savant.
He proved yet again to be distinguished in his field of expertise and the Lakers are reaping the rewards of Doncic’s brilliance.
Doncic was dynamic in scoring 49 points, coming up two assists short of a triple-double with 11 rebounds and eight assists in leading the Lakers past the Minnesota Timberwolves 128-110 Friday night at Crypto.com Arena.
Doncic became the first player in Lakers history to open the season with back-to-back 40-plus point games and fourth in NBA history to accomplish that feat, joining Michael Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain and Anthony Davis.
Doncic has the most points in Lakers history in the first two games with 91 points, surpassing the 81 points Hall of Famer Jerry West scored in back-to-back games to open the 1969-70 season.
Doncic capped his show by drilling a three-pointer that gave the Lakers a 19-point lead, his showmanship including pursing of his lips while doing a shimmy to the adoring crowd. Then he bounced off the court when the reeling Timberwolves called a timeout with eight minutes and six seconds left in the game.
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CLIPPERS
James Harden scored 30 points, Kawhi Leonard added 27 and the Clippers routed the Phoenix Suns 129-102 Friday night in their home opener.
The Clippers bounced back after a season-opening, 21-point loss at Utah, where they trailed by 37 points.
Derrick Jones Jr. didn’t miss a shot in scoring 17 points, making five three-pointers and another field goal.
From Ben Bolch: Tim Skipper was just a redshirt freshman then, a speck of a middle linebacker at 5 feet 6.
His Fresno State Bulldogs went on the road and beat No. 18 Air Force on that October day in 1997, knocking off what had been the only 7-0 team in major college football.
“They were rolling,” Skipper, UCLA’s interim coach, said this week, “and we found a way to go get that thing done.”
It’s a memory that sticks with Skipper more than a quarter of a century later because it had been the only nationally ranked team he was part of taking down as a player or interim coach before his then-winless Bruins pulled off a stunner of far greater proportions this month when they upset then-No. 7 Penn State.
What Skipper’s team has a chance to do Saturday might relegate those wins to fine print in his memoir.
Here are five things to watch when the Bruins seek their first win over a team this highly ranked since beating No. 2 USC in 2006.
THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY
1947 — In front of a capacity crowd of 35,000 at Columbia’s Baker Field in New York, the Lions end Army’s 32-game unbeaten streak in a 21-20 upset. An interception in Army’s final drive seals the win, the first over an Army team that had not surrendered a point all season until the loss to Columbia.
1964 — Cotton Davidson of the Oakland Raiders passes for 427 yards and five touchdowns in a 40-7 rout of the Denver Broncos.
1980 — Mike Weaver knocks out Gerrie Coetzee in the 13th round to retain the WBA heavyweight title in Sun City, Bophuthatswana.
1990 — Evander Holyfield knocks out Buster Douglas in Las Vegas to become the undisputed heavyweight champion.
1998 — Jerry Rice sets an NFL record for receptions in consecutive games with his 12-yard catch from Steve Young on San Francisco’s first offensive play. Rice has caught passes in 184 straight games, breaking the mark set by Art Monk from 1980-95.
1998 — Denver’s Jason Elam kicks a 63-yard field goal, tying Tom Dempsey’s 28-year-old NFL record. Elam’s kick, which came at the end of the first half, matches the record Dempsey set for the New Orleans Saints against Detroit on Nov. 8, 1970.
2003 — Trainer Richard Mandella wins a record four races at the Breeders’ Cup, capping perhaps the greatest day in racing history when Pleasantly Perfect wins the $4 million Classic at Santa Anita. Mandella wins the $1 million Juvenile Fillies with Halfbridled, the $1.5 million Juvenile with long-shot Action This Day and the $2 million Turf with Johar, who dead-heats with High Chaparral.
2006 — Joe Sakic becomes the 11th player in NHL history to reach 1,500 career points with an assist during the first period of Colorado’s 5-3 loss to Washington.
2008 — Navy doesn’t attempt a pass in a 34-7 victory over Southern Methodist in a game played in a driving rain.
2008 — Raven’s Pass wins the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic in an upset, stunning defending champion Curlin on the new synthetic surface at Santa Anita. Raven’s Pass, ridden by Frankie Dettori and sent off at 13-1 odds, posts a 1 3/4-length victory in his first race on such a surface.
2014 — Trevone Boykin throws a school-record seven touchdown passes and No. 10 TCU scored the most points in its history in an 82-27 rout of Texas Tech.
2015 — Kirk Cousins throws three second-half touchdown passes, including the go-ahead score with 24 seconds left, to lead the Washington Redskins to the largest comeback in franchise history, a 31-30 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Tampa Bay was up 24-0 in the second quarter, before Cousins runs for an 8-yard TD to get Washington on the board.
Compiled by the Associated Press
THIS DAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY
2003 — Florida’s Josh Beckett throws a shutout to lead the Marlins to a 2-0 victory over the New York Yankees to win the World Series. Pitching on three days rest, Beckett allows five hits in Game 6 and captures MVP honors.
2017 — Houston’s George Springer hits a two-run drive in the 11th inning and the Astros win a thrilling home run derby at Dodger Stadium, beating Los Angeles 7-6 to tie the World Series at one game apiece. The teams combined for a Series record eight homers.
2024 — Dodgers slugger Freddie Freeman hits 1st ‘walk-off’ grand slam in World Series history in 6-3 win over New York Yankees in 10 innings at Dodger Stadium.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
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