Sports
Commentary: Dodgers’ Game 1 NLCS win shows financial might can make things right
MILWAUKEE — The disparity in the payrolls was the focus of the series before the first pitch ever delivered, the handiwork of the manager of the small-market franchise that won more regular season games than any team in baseball.
“I’m sure that most Dodgers players can’t name eight guys on our roster,” joked Pat Murphy of the Milwaukee Brewers.
If the preceding six months were a testament to how a team can win without superstars, the Dodgers’ 2-1 victory in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series was a display of the firepower that can be purchased for $400 million.
The Dodgers won a game in which a confusing play at the center-field wall resulted in an inning-ending double play that cost them a run — and very likely more.
They won a game in which they stranded 11 runners.
They won a game in which the Brewers emptied their top-flight bullpen to secure as many favorable matchups as possible.
The Dodgers won because they had a $162-million first baseman in Freddie Freeman, whose sixth-inning solo home run pushed them in front. The Dodgers won because they had a $182-million starting pitcher in Blake Snell, who pitched eight scoreless innings.
Talent wins.
The Dodgers can buy as much of it as they want.
The visions of the Brewers’ small-ball offense overcoming the absence of a Freeman or a Shohei Ohtani or a Mookie Betts?
In retrospect, how cute.
The thinking of how the Brewers’ pitching depth could triumph over the Dodgers’ individual superiority?
In retrospect, how delusional.
The Dodgers absorbed the Brewers’ best collective shot, and they emerged with a victory that won them control of the best-of-seven series.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto will start for the Dodgers in Game 2 on Tuesday. Ohtani and Tyler Glasnow will start Games 3 and 4 at Dodger Stadium, in some order.
How can the Brewers match that?
Bring on the Seattle Mariners.
Bring on the World Series.
The Brewers’ futile effort to stop the Dodgers on Monday night consisted of them deploying six pitchers in a so-called bullpen game. The assembly line of arms was solid. Snell was exceptional.
Snell yielded only one baserunner over eighth innings — Caleb Durbin, who singled to lead off the third inning.
Snell picked him off.
Only when the Dodgers turned to their bullpen in the ninth inning did the game become close.
So the bullpen remains a problem. So the form of Ohtani remains a question mark, as the Brewers refused to pitch to him.
But neither problem is severe enough to sink the Dodgers, not against this opponent.
Entering this series, much of the conversation centered on Ohtani, who was one for 18 with nine strikeouts in the previous round against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Between the NLDS and NLCS, manager Dave Roberts publicly called on Ohtani to improve the quality of his at-bats, in particular to not swing at inside pitches off the plate.
“We’re not gonna win the World Series with that sort of performance,” Roberts said.
President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman offered a more charitable assessment of Ohtani’s NLDS. The rhetoric bordered on hyperbolic, with Friedman describing the performance of the Phillies’ pitchers in historic terms.
“I think it was the most impressive execution against a hitter I’ve ever seen,” Friedman said.
Friedman explained: “Look, if a pitcher who has really good stuff executes at an A-plus level, hitters aren’t going to hit. Hitting is way too difficult. It’s about hitting mistakes more than not, and they executed it on him at an elite rate.”
Perhaps not wanting to create any bulletin-board material for Ohtani, Murphy also described the mini-slump as a reflection of the excellence of Phillies pitchers Cristopher Sánchez, Jesús Luzardo and Ranger Suarez.
“Those guys are really, really good,” Murphy said. “So I don’t consider Ohtani struggling. I don’t. It’s baseball.”
However, Murphy sounded as if he had designs of replicating the Phillies’ plan as closely as possible.
“I want to throw lefties against him whenever we can,” Murphy said. “It’s always harder for a lot of those lefties to face lefties that are throwing 95 [mph] and above and sinkers into them.”
The Brewers deployed left-hander Aaron Ashby as an opener. Ohtani led off the game by drawing a walk against him. Ohtani was walked twice more, both times intentionally. He was hitless in his two other plate appearances, but the Dodgers managed that.
Ohtani wasn’t the only premium player they could afford.
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A wet and wild Monday night game between the Chicago Bears and Washington Commanders turned into a thriller between two of the NFL’s oldest franchises.
Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels fumbled a handoff late in the fourth quarter and allowed the Bears’ defense to recover. Caleb Williams and D’Andre Swift led the offense down the field to set up a Jake Moody field goal attempt. It was Moody’s first day on the roster as the team signed him to replace an injured Cairo Santos.
Chicago Bears kicker Jake Moody (16) celebrates the game-winning field goal with punter Tory Taylor (19) after an NFL football game against the Washington Commanders, Monday, Oct. 13, 2025, in Landover, Maryland. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Moody, with three seconds left and a steady mist coming down, nailed a 38-yard field goal to give the Bears the 25-24 win. Chicago improved to 3-2 with the win and the Commanders fell to 3-3.
The Bears jumped out to an early 13-0 lead in the first half. Moody was seemingly in good form. He nailed two field goals and Caleb Williams ran for a touchdown to start the second quarter.
The Commanders cut into the Bears’ lead when Daniels threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Chris Moore. Washington got more points on the board after an eight-play, 25-yard drive in the third quarter, which ended with a Matt Gay field goal.
After Moody hit his third field goal of the night, the Bears’ offense went quiet.
Daniels led back-to-back scoring drives at the end of the third quarter and to start the fourth. He found Luke McCaffrey for a 33-yard touchdown pass and then fired a 6-yard touchdown to Zach Ertz.
Williams and the Bears didn’t stay down too long. The second-year quarterback hit Swift on a short pass. Swift made a few Commanders defenders miss and scampered for a 55-yard touchdown. Chicago missed out on a 2-point conversion and was down two points.
Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) runs away from Washington Commanders nose tackle Daron Payne (94) during the second half of an NFL football game Monday, Oct. 13, 2025, in Landover, Maryland. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
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Moody was on point with his field-goal tries, despite one getting blocked.
He was cut by the San Francisco 49ers only a few weeks into the 2025 season, despite having a place in the record books during Super Bowl LVIII.
Moody turned around and etched his name into the Bears’ record books, making the most field goals in a Bears debut with four, according to ESPN.
Washington Commanders wide receiver Chris Moore (19) celebrates his touchdown during the first half of an NFL football game against the Chicago Bears, Monday, Oct. 13, 2025, in Landover, Maryland. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
“It’s always good to have a fresh start. I always believed in myself, believed in my teammates. Shoutout to (long snapper Scott Daly) and (holder Tory Taylor). They made the operation really easy on me. The same with the (offensive) line up front, protecting great on that last one. You can’t draw it up any better,” he told ESPN’s Lisa Salters.
Williams was 17-of-29 with 252 passing yards and a touchdown pass. He completed passes to eight different receivers. Swift led the team with two catches for 67 yards. Luther Burden III had four catches for 51 yards.
Swift had 14 carries for 108 yards as well.
Washington Commanders linebacker Frankie Luvu (4) tackles Chicago Bears running back D’Andre Swift (4) during the first half of an NFL football game Monday, Oct. 13, 2025, in Landover, Maryland. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels (5) throws a pass in front of Chicago Bears defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo (55) during the first half of an NFL football game Monday, Oct. 13, 2025, in Landover, Maryland. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Daniels finished 19-of-26 with 211 passing yards, three touchdown passes and an interception. The Bears’ defense had three takeaways.
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The Buffalo Bills fired off a post on social media on Monday to celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day instead of Columbus Day and the decision drew some pushback among fans.
Indigenous Peoples’ Day is seen by activists as a counter-celebration against Columbus Day. It was established to highlight the suffering Native tribes in North America under European colonization.
Buffalo Bills defensive end A.J. Epenesa (57) pressures New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 5, 2025, in Orchard Park, New York. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)
Columbus Day celebrates Italian explorer Christopher Columbus’ arrival in the Americas in 1492.
Buffalo, New York, itself celebrates both days. The Bills only sent a post about Indigenous Peoples’ Day and noted that it was Thanksgiving in Canada.
President Donald Trump signed a proclamation last week to honor Columbus.
“Today we have your Columbus Day proclamation for Monday, which we’re signing a bit early,” White House staff secretary Will Scharf told Trump Thursday ahead of the monthly Cabinet meeting.
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Buffalo Bills tight end Dawson Knox (88) is hit by New England Patriots linebacker Robert Spillane (14) after a catch during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 5, 2025, in Orchard Park, New York. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)
“Columbus, obviously, discovered the New World in 1492. He was a great Italian explorer. He sailed his three ships, the Nina, the Pinto and Santa Maria, across the Atlantic Ocean, and landed in what’s today the Caribbean. And this is a particularly important holiday for Italian Americans who celebrate the legacy of Christopher Columbus, and the innovation and explorer zeal that he represented,” he continued.
Applause was heard breaking out in the room as Trump added: “In other words, we’re calling it Columbus Day.”
Trump continued in his remarks Thursday saying, “We’re back, Italians,” as applause continued.
“That was the press that broke out in applause,” Trump quipped of the warm reception to the proclamation. “I’ve never seen that happen. The press actually broke out in applause. Good. Columbus Day. We’re back. Columbus Day. We’re back, Italians. We love the Italians.”
Buffalo Bills wide receiver Curtis Samuel (1) celebrates his touchdown catch during the second half of an NFL football game against the New England Patriots, Sunday, Sept. 5, 2025, in Orchard Park, New York. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Columbus Day was recognized as a federal holiday since 1971. In recent years, activists have attempted to get government officials to disassociate from Columbus. They say it celebrates colonialism and genocide of indigenous people — in favor of celebrating Native Americans. Activists also have worked to remove Columbus statues from cities, including toppling such statues during the riots of 2020.
Fox News’ Emma Colton contributed to this report.
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This week’s City Section top 10 high school football rankings by The Times:
1. BIRMINGHAM (4-3): The Patriots have 51 consecutive victories against City Section opponents, so any computer rankings that don’t have them at the top are ignoring history.
2. CARSON (4-3): The Colts are on collision path to face San Pedro on Oct. 30 to determine the Marine League championship.
3. PALISADES (7-0): Jack Thomas had 460 yards passing and five touchdowns in a 56-54 win over Venice.
4. SAN PEDRO (4-4): Pirates quarterback Seth Solorio has passed the 2,000-yard mark this season.
5. GARFIELD (5-2): The Eastern League championship will be decided Friday night at South Gate.
6. KENNEDY (6-1): In Diego Montes the Golden Cougars trust.
7. EAGLE ROCK (5-2): Northern League title showdown at Franklin on Friday night.
8. KING/DREW (5-1): Sophomore defensive lineman Kenneth Webb is having big season.
9. VENICE (3-4): Joshua Aaron rushed for 170 yards and four touchdowns in loss to Palisades.
10. FRANKLIN (6-1): Senior Albert Cardenas is coming through at quarterback.
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