Yamamoto Pitches Dodgers to 2-1 Division Series Lead

There were two National League game threes on tonight’s schedule. Here are the

highlights:

Dodger’s ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s masterful seven inning performance, and home runs

by Freddie Freeman and Kike Hernandez led LA to a 3-1 victory in tonight’s game.

Yamamoto went seven innings allowing four hits and one run while striking out ten Braves.

The Braves started an ace of their own, Chris Sale, who lasted five innings giving up seven

hits and three runs while striking out seven Dodgers.

The game was scoreless until the top of the fourth. Andy Pages led off with a single to left

field. With one out Kike Hernandez hit a two-run homer to left field. With two out Freddie

Freeman hit a solo shot to center field. 3-0 LA

The Braves managed their only run in the bottom of the fifth. Singles by Mauricio Dubon

and Lane Thomas plus a walk to Rowdy Tellez loaded the bases with one out. Drake

Baldwins’ ground out to first scored Dubon. 3-1 LA.

Atlanta had its chances, leaving ten runners on base. They just couldn’t manage that big

hit.

The Dodgers took a 2-1 series lead and can wrap it up tomorrow in Atlanta at 6:00 ET.

Padres Hold on for the Win…Force

Game Four Tomorrow Night

With the season on the line, the San Diego Padres held on for a dramatic 4-3 win over the

Milwaukee Brewers.

Tonight’s game was scoreless until the bottom of the third. Samad Taylor led off with a

single and worked his way around the bases via a stolen base, sacrifice bunt, and ground

out. With two outs Jackson Merrill singled to center. Manny Machado’s single brought

Merril home. 2-0 Padres.

The Brewers got on the board in the top of the fourth as William Contreras led off with a

home run to left field. 2-1 SD.

Milwaukee tied it up in the top of the fifth. Cooper Pratt and Sal Frelick started the inning

with singles. Joey Ortiz laid down a sacrifice bunt, sending the runners to second and third.

Jackson Chourio’s sac fly scored Pratt. 2-2 tie.

San Diego took back the lead in the bottom of the fifth as Jake Cronenworht led off with a

home run to right field. 3-2 Padres.

The Padres added another run in the bottom of the sixth. With two outs Xander Bogaerts

singled to left field. Miguel Andujar then reached on a throwing error by Cooper Pratt that

allowed Bogaerts to score. 4-2 SD.

Milwaukee scored in the top of the seventh. With two outs William Contreras singled to

center field. Brice Turang also singled, sending Contreras to third base. Christian Yelich

brought Turang home with another single to left field. 4-3 Padres.

The Brewers put up a good fight, but it just wasn’t meant to be. They got base runners on

first and second in the top of the ninth on two base-on-balls, but Christian Yelich hit a hard

ground ball that turned into a game ending double play. 4-3 San Diego.

Game four in this exciting series is tomorrow night at 10:00 PM ET.

Dave’s Dime…It’s Hockey Season!

The only reason I like winter is the National Hockey League. I’d say NHL hockey is my third

favorite spectator sport. MLB would be first and NCAA football would take second.

My favorite team since it’s relocation to Denver in 1995 is the Colorado Avalanche. The

franchise first began in the old World Hockey Associations as the Quebec Nordiques.

Probably the coolest uniforms ever. The Nordiques joined the NHL in 1979 and stayed

there until the franchise move to Denver.

The Avalanche won the Stanley Cup their first season in Denver. Take that, Quebec! They

also won the championship in 2001 and 2022. They have some great players right now like

assistant captains Nathan McKinnon and Cale Macar, as well as team captain Gabriel

Landeskog.

Colorado won the Presidents’ Trophy last season, which is given to the team with the most

points during the regular season. They were definitely the cup favorite but lost in the

divisional final to the Vegas Golden Knights. The Knights went on to lose to the current

Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes.

The 2026-27 NHL season kicked off last Tuesday, the 29th of September. The Avs have

played two games thus far with game three tomorrow in Winnipeg. On Friday, the 30th, the

Avalanche beat the LA Kings 8 to 4. This past Saturday Colorado defeated the St. Louis

Blues 6 to 1. Once again, they’re off to a fast start. I’m hoping for another good season.

As far as Washington DC’s NHL team is concerned, the Capitals have an interesting history.

The Caps joined the league as an expansion team in 1974. The team’s name was decided

through a contest run by their first owner Abe Pollin, who also owned the NBA Washington

Bullets/Wizards. Other names taken into consideration were the Comets, Cyclones,

Streaks, and Domes. Comets and Cyclones aren’t bad, but The Washington Streaks? Not

good… The Washington Domes? Wow…

The talent pool was certainly stretched a little thin after that expansion, which brought in to

the league the Kansas City Scouts as well as the Washington Domes, I mean, Capitals.

So, it was slim pickins for many years. Their only Stanley Cup winning team was in 2017-

18. I remember cheering so loud for the Caps that season. I figured it was time Alexander

Ovechkin got his name on the Stanley Cup.

I think even the casual NHL fan has heard of Alexander the Great. The Russian-born star

has played for the Capitals since being their first-round draft pick in 2004. He was actually

the first player chosen that year.

Ovechkin has been a super-star for years. As of the end of last season, Alex has scored a

league record 929 goals. In second place is the Great One, Wayne Gretzky, with 894. Last

year, at the age of 40, Alex led his team in goals scored with 32, while playing in all 82

regular season games.

Alex also holds the league record for most 40-goal seasons with fourteen. He shares the

record for most 50-goal seasons, along with Mike Bossy and Wayne Gretzky with nine.

But, alas, all good things must come to an end. Ovechkin recently announced that this

season will be his last. Let’s all wish him an awesome final campaign.