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Would you want it any other way? After four heated National League Division Series showdowns, the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers will meet in a win-or-go-home Game 5 at Dodger Stadium on Friday night.

Which side will get the last laugh in the intense NL West rivalry? What will decide the finale? And what drama will emerge this time around in Los Angeles?

We have you covered with pregame predictions, live updates and analysis, followed by our takeaways after the final pitch.

San Diego Padres at Los Angeles Dodgers, 8:08 p.m.

Pitching matchup: Yoshinobu Yamamoto (7-2, 3.00 ERA vs. Yu Darvish (7-3, 3.31 ERA)


What is the key to Game 5 for the Padres?

Bradford Doolittle: The Padres have to guard against getting too big in their collective approach at the plate. What made San Diego’s offense so dynamic during the season was its ability to score in different ways. Against the Dodgers, 62% of the Padres’ runs have come on long balls. That’s fine when the ball is leaving the yard, and the Padres have won two games this series in that fashion. But it has been a well-balanced attack that has gotten the Padres this far, and if the game stays close and low scoring, they need to remember who they are and not swing from the heels on every cut.

Alden Gonzalez: Luis Arráez getting going offensively. He is their leadoff hitter and in many ways a tone-setter for their offense, but he has struggled through the first four games of this series, with three hits in 18 at-bats. Given how hot Fernando Tatis Jr. has been behind him, and the presence of Manny Machado two batters later, Arráez reaching base multiple times could play a major role in reigniting the lineup after it was shut out in Game 4. The Padres scoring early runs and taking the Dodger Stadium crowd out of it will be critical to capturing a Game 5 win in a hostile environment. Arráez, perhaps more so than anybody else, holds those keys.

David Schoenfield: Yu Darvish getting the game to the bullpen with the lead. He did that in Game 2 when he allowed just one run in seven innings, a performance that led manager Mike Shildt to make the questionable decision to start Dylan Cease on short rest in Game 4 — because he wanted Darvish to start Game 5. Dodgers fans undoubtedly remember Darvish’s two poor performances in the 2017 World Series — when the Astros, of course, might have been stealing signs, although his Game 7 outing came at Dodger Stadium — but Darvish has actually been pretty good in the postseason since then (2.56 ERA in six starts with three of those going seven innings). He succeeded in Game 2 despite inducing only seven swings and misses, so Shildt will want to see if Darvish is missing bats early. If not, it might be wise to go to his bullpen sooner rather than later.


What is the key to Game 5 for the Dodgers?

Gonzalez: We don’t know how much Yoshinobu Yamamoto will be used, but Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he will be “part of” Game 5, either to open or to come in later. Yamamoto made his Dodgers debut against the Padres and was charged with five runs in one inning. He then made his postseason debut against them and was charged with five runs in three innings in Game 1, during which the Dodgers believe he was tipping pitches. Simply put: The highest-paid pitcher in baseball history needs to be better.

Doolittle: With the Dodgers’ pitching plan a little murky, it’s imperative that they keep the score close early. It seems that when things have gone south for the Dodgers in decisive playoff games, often it has been because one pitcher falters early. They’ll be watching a reminder of that history in Game 5 with Darvish on the mound for San Diego. The Dodgers can’t get down early because as much as their offense is capable of coming from behind, you don’t want to be playing catch-up into the middle innings against this San Diego bullpen.

Schoenfield: I’m not going to get too cute here: Shohei Ohtani. Especially if Freddie Freeman is unable to go again, the Dodgers need Ohtani to deposit a pitch — or two — into the outfield seats.


This series has been full of drama. Predict the one thing we’ll all be talking about after the finale:

Doolittle: That testy moment in Game 5. I don’t know when it will happen and whether Machado really did anything to contribute to it, but it’s coming. It’s a great rivalry and hypnotic to watch two teams go at it with such genuine disdain. Let’s just keep the fans out of it this time.

Gonzalez: That Major League Baseball should reseed in the playoffs, making this a best-of-seven series and the winner, whether it’s the Dodgers or the Padres, suddenly the favorite to win it all. These are the two best teams remaining, even if the Padres don’t have Joe Musgrove and the Dodgers are continually uncertain about Freeman.

Schoenfield: Freeman coming off the bench to deliver a crucial pinch-hit, two-run single.


And finally, which team will move on to face the Mets in the NL Championship Series?

Doolittle: Going back to a month before the regular season ended, I was telling people that it was really hard to look at how these teams match up right now and come up with a good reason to pick the Dodgers to beat the Padres. I’m sticking with that. Darvish was excellent in his first appearance, the Padres’ bullpen is deep and dynamic, and I fully expect Machado and Tatis to feast on one or two high-leverage moments in this game.

Schoenfield: Oddly, despite the Dodgers winning the division, it now feels like all the pressure is on the Padres — especially given their, shall we say, bravado on display in Game 2. The Padres weren’t able to channel that into a series-clinching win in Game 4, however, and now they need their bats to talk. The Dodgers, meanwhile, have been expected to move on in recent years only to collapse. But this team has Ohtani. The Dodgers move on.

Live updates

Tune in at game time for live updates and analysis of Game 5.

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Becht stars as ISU outlasts KSU in CFB opener

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Becht stars as ISU outlasts KSU in CFB opener

DUBLIN — Rocco Becht passed for two touchdowns and ran for another score, helping No. 22 Iowa State beat No. 17 Kansas State 24-21 in the Aer Lingus Classic on Saturday.

Becht was 14-for-28 for 183 yards. He found Dominic Overby for a 23-yard TD in the first quarter and passed to Brett Eskildsen for a 24-yard score in the third quarter.

With 2:26 to go, Iowa State went for it on fourth-and-3 at the Kansas State 16-yard line. Becht found Carson Hansen for 15 yards and iced the game.

“He called a great play, he gave me two plays and let me decide and I knew we were going to have a chance to get it,” Becht said “We’ve worked on it in practice and it’s been working for us and we’re confident with it and I have trust in my guys.”

The Cyclones (1-0, 1-0 Big 12) opened a 24-14 lead in the fourth quarter after a turnover on downs by Kansas State at its own 30-yard line. Becht finished the short drive with a 7-yard touchdown run with 6:38 left.

Avery Johnson passed for 273 yards and two touchdowns for Kansas State (0-1, 0-1). He also had a 10-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.

“I mean that’s the thing, regardless of the outcome we have 11 games to play,” Kansas State coach Chris Klieman said. “We have our back against the wall, but now we’ve got to reset and regroup and get ready to play.”

Johnson threw a 65-yard touchdown pass to Jerand Bradley with 6:23 remaining, but the Wildcats never got the ball back.

Both teams struggled to deal with wet conditions in the first half. Kansas State had two turnovers and a turnover on downs, and Iowa State committed two turnovers in the first 30 minutes.

“We just made some great adjustments,” Campbell said. “We saw some things different in the first game and the opportunity to make some adjustments and to have the ability to do that, to have the staff that’s been together for so long that we have the confidence to make those adjustments.”

The Cyclones grabbed a 14-7 lead when Becht found Eskildsen in the corner of the end zone with 1:07 left in the third quarter.

Johnson responded with a 37-yard touchdown pass to Jayce Brown, tying it at 14 with 14:09 remaining in the game.

Hansen led Iowa State with 71 yards rushing on 16 carries. Joe Jackson had 51 yards on 12 carries for Kansas State.

“I thought that the (offensive line) did a really great job in the second half,” Campbell said. “Our tight ends and o-line did a great job of execution and man Carson is a really great player so we’re really proud of him.”

Iowa State has beat Kansas State in five of the past six seasons.

“I think those are great wins, any time you can beat quality opponents that’s awesome,” Campbell said. “We got a long way to go, it’s only game one and there’s a lot of football left and we’re going to have to see if we’re tough enough as a program and team to go home and get ready for a good South Dakota team next week.”

Kansas State running back Dylan Edwards was injured in the first quarter on a punt that he muffed. He didn’t return to the game.

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Mets place RHP Montas on IL with elbow injury

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Mets place RHP Montas on IL with elbow injury

ATLANTA — The New York Mets placed right-hander Frankie Montas on the 15-day injured list Saturday.

The Mets said Montas had a right elbow UCL injury. The move was made retroactive to Friday.

Montas is 3-2 with a 6.28 ERA in nine games, including seven starts.

Right-hander Huascar Brazobán was recalled from Triple-A Syracuse. Brazobán is 5-2 with a 3.83 ERA in 44 games, including three starts, with the Mets this season. His three starts came as an opener.

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Top prospect Chandler debuts with 4-inning save

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Top prospect Chandler debuts with 4-inning save

PITTSBURGH — Bubba Chandler wanted to drink in a moment a lifetime in the making.

The combination of adrenaline, the remnants of his traditional pregame Red Bull coursing through his system and the buzz inside PNC Park as the 22-year-old Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander made his major league debut in the top of the sixth Friday night against Colorado wouldn’t let him.

“I blacked out in the first inning,” Chandler said. “But I just kind of heard the place go crazy.”

With any luck, not for the last time.

Flashing (and sometimes fighting) the electric stuff that made him the top pitching prospect in baseball, Chandler made history while offering a hint of what might come during Pittsburgh’s 9-0 victory over the Rockies.

Anchored by a fastball that reached triple digits with ease and helped by some solid defense behind him, Chandler became the first pitcher to throw four scoreless innings and record a save in his debut since saves became an officially recognized statistic in 1969.

“Kind of everything I dreamed of,” Chandler said after allowing two hits and striking out three while needing 40 pitches to record 12 outs.

Even if running out of the bullpen in late August for a team likely on its way to a last-place finish isn’t exactly what Chandler envisioned his first moment in the big leagues might look like.

If he’s being honest, Chandler thought he would be up sooner, particularly after a spectacular first two months at Triple-A Indianapolis in which he was at times unhittable.

“I was mad, yeah,” Chandler said.

That anger, however, morphed into something else entirely by the time Chandler delivered his first big league pitch, a 99 mph fastball that Colorado’s Orlando Arcia fouled off over the backstop: gratitude.

“You can complain all you want, everything,” Chandler said. “In the end, I’m here in the big leagues. There’s not a lot of 22-year-old kids that get to do this.”

No, there’s not. And even fewer who can do it the way Chandler does it, by attacking the strike zone with what teammate Braxton Ashcraft — who set the table for Chandler by throwing five innings of one-hit ball — called “one of the best arms I’ve ever seen.”

Chandler wasn’t perfect. But he was close.

Arcia took Chandler’s third pitch in the majors and slammed it off the left-field wall for a double. It was the lone major mistake Chandler made.

He fanned Ryan Ritter on a 100 mph fastball that painted the outside corner, induced Tyler Freeman to ground out to second and then struck out Mickey Moniak swinging on another triple-digit fastball.

Chandler needed just seven pitches to retire the Rockies in order in the seventh, helped by a sliding catch by center fielder Jack Suwinski.

Colorado’s Braxton Fulford led off the eighth by getting hit by a pitch but Chandler induced Yanquiel Fernandez to hit into a double play and exacted a bit of revenge by getting Arcia to flail at a 1-2 changeup that dipped down and out of the zone, the only time during his appearance that Chandler made it a point to admire his work.

“I was like, ‘Dang, that felt good coming out of the hand, that was a great pitch,'” Chandler said with a laugh.

Pittsburgh manager Don Kelly sent Chandler back out for the ninth. He worked around a single by Ritter by getting three straight fly outs to end it. Chandler started walking toward the dugout when Suwinski tracked down Warming Bernabel‘s liner to give the Pirates their third victory in four games.

It was only then that Chandler — who had started in 83 of his 89 minor league appearances — remembered that the game was over. It was time to stay on the field for the handshake line that only comes after you close out a win.

In between the hugs, a figurative weight lifted off the slender shoulders that sit atop his 6-foot-3 frame.

“There’s a lot of times during the offseason or during the season it’s like, ‘This sucks. Where’s the light at the end of the tunnel type of thing?'” he said. “I found it.”

The Pirates plan to use Chandler in a relief role for now as a way of creating what Kelly called an “on ramp” to the majors, a strategy the club used earlier this season after calling up Ashcraft.

Chandler will have an opportunity to start at some point, though the club is keeping a careful eye on his workload. His historic night pushed his season total to 104 innings, not that far away from the 119⅔ innings he pitched a year ago.

The reality is that whatever happens over the next five weeks will help set the table for 2026, when Pittsburgh’s rotation could include Chandler, Ashcraft, reigning NL Rookie of the Year Paul Skenes and Mitch Keller, among others.

The future could be exciting if the Pirates can find a way to fix the worst offense in the majors. All that matters to Chandler is that the future is finally here.

“The past 22 years, it’s just been ‘I want to be on a major league field,’ and whether it was hitting or pitching, just wanted to be in the game and show what God gave me,” he said. “And I believe I did that.”

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