The record-setting Los Angeles Dodgers are on the brink of elimination from the MLB postseason after going down 2-1 to the San Diego Padres in Game 3 of the NLDS on Friday.

Jake Cronenworth's first-inning RBI and Trent Grisham's fourth-inning blast, his third of the playoffs, guided the Padres to a 2-1 series lead.

Josh Hader closed it out in the first postseason game with fans at Petco Park since 2006, striking out Chris Taylor and Trayce Thompson in the ninth inning to get the win.

The Dodgers finished the regular season with a franchise-best 111 wins, which was also the fourth-most wins in MLB history and the most by a National League (NL) team since 1906.

But Dave Roberts' side will need to stave off elimination in two games to progress to the NLCS, starting on Saturday at a likely rocking Petco Park.

The Padres went ahead early with Cronenworth's center-field base hit driving in Juan Soto, before some Manny Machado brilliance at third base closed out the third inning.

Grisham, who is hitting at .389 in the playoffs, blasted a solo shot over right field at the bottom of the fourth inning from Andrew Heaney to double the lead.

Thompson halved the deficit from Mookie Betts' sacrifice fly in the fifth inning, but the Padres bullpen got the job done again, with 39 outs for the series.

Hoskins and Harper blasts lead Phillies rout

The Philadelphia Phillies moved within one win of the NLCS after crushing world champions, the Atlanta Braves 9-1, fueled by third-inning blasts from Rhys Hoskins and Bryce Harper in their first home playoff game in 11 years.

The Phillies piled on six runs in the third inning, headlined by Hoskins ending his rut with a shot over left field, before Harper added two more with a homer over right-center field.

Harper, who is six-for-11 in this series, added an RBI double in the seventh inning before Nick Castellanos stayed hot at the next at-bat, driving in two more.

In-form Aaron Nola was exceptional on the mound for the Phillies, striking out six while giving up five hits and two walks in six-plus innings.

Bloops help Guardians down Yankees

The Cleveland Guardians squared up the ALDS with a 4-2 win in the 10th inning against the New York Yankees after back-to-back bloop hits.

Giancarlo Stanton had blasted a first-inning two-run homer but the Guardians rallied back with Amed Rosario's fifth-inning solo shot tying the game.

In the 10th inning, Jose Ramirez showed hustle to get to third base on a bloop into left-field, before getting home from Oscar Gonzalez's go-ahead single bloop to right-field. Josh Naylor's RBI double padded the lead.

The Guardians blunted Aaron Judge, who went none-for-five and was booed by the ruthless Yankees crowd, with starting pitcher Shane Bieber having seven K's across five-and-two-third innings.

World number one Iga Swiatek thrashed Coco Gauff to clinch a third straight WTA Tour semi-finals berth after moving into the San Diego Open final four on Friday.

Swiatek was irrepressible against the 18-year-old American, extending her head-to-head dominance to 4-0 with a 6-0 6-3 victory in 66 minutes.

The Pole won the first eight games of the match and always appeared in control with her reliable forehand a key feature.

Swiatek laced 13 winners with only nine unforced errors, breaking Gauff five times. The American committed 26 unforced errors for the match.

The victory is Swiatek's 62nd of the season, moving her closer to Angelique Kerber's 2016 mark of 63.

Swiatek will face fourth seed Jessica Pegula in the semi-finals as the Pole aims for her eighth WTA title of the season.

Pegula secured her berth in the final four with a 6-4 7-5 victory over compatriot Madison Keys in their first-ever meeting in one hour and 34 minutes.

Third seed Aryna Sabalenka was a surprise casualty as Croatian qualifier Donna Vekic continued her excellent week with a 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 6-1 in two hours and 37 minutes.

World number 77 Vekic has beaten former world number three Maria Sakkari and two-time major finalist Karolina Pliskova this week.

Second seed Paula Badosa was also bundled out by American Danielle Collins 7-6 (7-5) 6-4. Collins will meet Vekic in the last four.

Aaron Judge says he needs to re-discover his timing after grabbing an unwanted slice of MLB history having been struck out four times in Friday's 4-2 ALDS loss to the Cleveland Guardians.

Judge may have blasted an American League record 62 regular-season home runs but he copped some boos in Game 2 at Yankee Stadium after tallying his fourth four-strikeout playoff game, which is the most by an player in MLB history.

The Yankees slugger went none-for-five as the Guardians leveled the series at 1-1, aided by back-to-back bloop hits in the 10th inning.

But the Guardians also employed a game-changing plan against Judge, targeting him with breaking balls down and away on the outer half of the plate to which he had no response. Judge is now none-for-eight with seven strikeouts in the two games played in the ALDS.

"The timing's a little off, you're going to be swinging at pitches you don't normally swing at, and the ones you can hit, you're just a tick late or tick out in front a little bit," Judge said. "Just work on that timing and I think it'll be good to go.

"There's nothing I can do. I gotta play better. That's what it comes down to. Didn't do the job tonight."

Judge's struggles came after a nine-day break between the regular season and playoffs, but also after homering only twice in his final 14 regular season games as he approached Roger Maris' AL record.

"I've had two bad games in my career multiple times," Judge said. "It's part of it. You just got to learn from it, learn from mistakes and you're ready for the next one because, guess what, there's no breaks right now."

Guardians starting pitcher Shane Bieber had seven strikeouts across five-and-two-third innings, while Trevor Stephan struck out four.

Cleveland manager Terry Francona was reluctant to divulge much about their plans for Judge, nor get carried away with their two-game success against him.

"I don't mean to be rude, but if I did, I'm not sure I'd really want to share it," Francona said. "It doesn't make a whole lot of sense. I think sometimes hitters can't hit a button, and as good as guys are, sometimes guys take none-fors.

"Until you get through a series successfully, I don't think anybody if going to stand up here and pound our chest. He's too dangerous. We know that."

Aaron Rodgers is off the Green Bay Packers injury report and expected to play on Sunday against the New York Giants although he may need to tape his right thumb.

Rodgers missed practice earlier in the week after injuring the thumb on his throwing hand on the final play of Sunday's 27-22 defeat to the New York Giants at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The four-time NFL MVP was a full participant in practice on Thursday and Friday however, and the Packers removed him from their injury report on Friday.

"He threw the ball really well yesterday, so he's confident," Packers head coach Matt LaFleur told reporters on Friday.

The 38-year-old quarterback practiced with tape wrapped on his thumb on Friday, raising concerns it may impact his ability to make throws.

When asked if Rodgers will wear tape on the thumb in Sunday's game, LeFleur replied: "No idea."

Rodgers has made 114 of 168 attempts with a 67.9 per cent completion rate for 1157 yards and eight touchdowns with three interceptions this season.

The Packers, who are 3-2 and second in the NFC North, have ruled out rookie receiver Christian Watson and linebacker Tipa Galeai due to hamstring injuries.

Linebacker Rashan Gary, who has had five sacks this season, was listed as questionable on the injury report with a toe concern.

"It's the next man up and the standard doesn't change, but let's face it, the guy is pretty impactful I'd say when he's out on the grass," LaFleur said about Gary.

"Certainly he's a guy that we definitely want in there. When he's not in there I think you can feel the effects of that."

Ivan Toney is a "perfect fit" for England, so says Thomas Frank, as the Brentford striker backed up his claim for a World Cup call.

Toney has been in superb form for Brentford this season and moved onto eight league goals for the season with a double in Friday's 2-0 defeat of Brighton and Hove Albion.

Having marked his 100th Premier League appearance for Brentford with a deft backheel to put them ahead in the first half, Toney coolly converted a spot-kick after the break to seal the points.

Toney has scored all 20 of his penalties for Brentford (excluding shoot-outs), including eight in the Premier League, putting him behind only Dimitar Berbatov (9/9) and Yaya Toure (11/11) when it comes to players with a 100 per cent record from the spot in the competition.

The 26-year-old, who also netted from 12 yards in last week's defeat to Newcastle United and last month's thrashing of Leeds United, received his maiden England call-up for the Nations League matches against Italy and Germany in September.

While he did not make his international debut, only Erling Haaland (15) has scored more goals than Toney in the Premier League this season, and Frank thinks Toney – who he reiterated is the finest penalty taker in the game – must be part of Gareth Southgate's squad.

"I know I say it every time and he’s starting to back me up a bit – the best penalty taker in the world. It’s not only because of his coolness, his technique, strategy and he practices," Frank told Sky Sports.

"We spoke about when he got the call, if he could get the first cap that would be amazing. It would be the first time in, I don't know, 80 years [that a Brentford player played for England] and we keep breaking records these days.

"But for Ivan it would be amazing and I think – I respect Gareth so much, he knows the bigger picture more than me – but I think he's a perfect fit for the squad if you want that flexibility in strikers."

Frank's sentiment was echoed by Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher, who said: "I think he has to go. We know Harry Kane is our number one but after that it feels as though a lot of the strikers are in the same sort of category in terms of quality. Ivan Toney, right now, is at the top of that list and I don't see how he doesn't go."

Fellow pundit Gary Neville says Toney – who joked he "thinks of being on the beach with a cocktail" when he takes his penalties, could prove a difference maker in a penalty shoot-out.

England have won only one of their last eight shoot-outs at major tournaments – against Colombia at the 2018 World Cup. Indeed, they lost last year's Euro 2020 final to Italy on penalties.

Neville said: "I went to eight tournaments, five of those got knocked out on penalties. The fact is it's about having confident players who do it regularly – and England have got a lot of those in the squad.

"Those big moments will be determined by penalties and free-kicks, to not have him there would be a big risk."

For his part, Toney said of his England experience: "I didn't feel out of place. I felt like I was ready for that step.

"I'm ready to take my opportunity. I always see myself as the best player on the pitch and you've always got to have that mentality, no matter who you come up against."

Andy Dalton is set to meet his former team the Cincinnati Bengals for a third successive season, and he could join a historic club.

Quarterback Dalton left the Bengals in 2020 after spending nine years with the team. He is Cincinnati's all-time passing touchdown leader (204).

The 34-year-old spent the 2020 season with the Dallas Cowboys before heading to Chicago and the Bears last year. He is now at the New Orleans Saints, and with Jameis Winston questionable due to back and ankle injuries, is expected to start in the Week 6 clash against his old team.

Having helped the Cowboys and the Bears to wins over the Bengals over the past two seasons, Dalton could become the fourth QB since 1950 to go 3-0 or better against the team he was drafted by.

Joe Burrow replaced Dalton in Cincinnati and was the key to their charge to the Super Bowl last season.

Burrow has completed at least 60 per cent of his passes in 22 successive regular-season games, which ties him level with Steve Young for the second-longest streak in NFL history behind Drew Brees, who went 31 straight between 2018 and 2020.

The Bengals are 4-2 all-time on the road against the Saints, their second-best road record against a single opponent, yet in Taysom Hill they face a player who made history last week. 

In New Orleans' 39-32 win over the Seattle Seahawks, Hill became the first player in the league to rush for 100+ yards on 10+ yards per carry, rush for three or more touchdowns and also throw a TD pass in the same game.

Cam Akers will miss the Los Angeles Rams' Week 6 clash against the Carolina Panthers for personal reasons.

Rams coach Sean McVay revealed running back Akers will play no part when the Panthers visit SoFi Stadium on Sunday.

McKay stated that the situation is "uncharted territory" for Akers and the Rams (2-3) amid reports he could be traded.

Asked about Akers' future with Los Angeles, he replied: "We're working through some different things right now, so hopefully you guys understand and respect that."

Akers missed the majority of last season due to an Achilles injury.

The 23-year-old has made only 151 yards from 51 carries in five games in 2022, scoring just one touchdown. 

McKay will be looking for a big contribution from Darrell Henderson in the absence of Akers this weekend, while Malcolm Brown is also on the active roster. 

The Dallas Cowboys have listed quarterback Dak Prescott as questionable for Sunday's meeting with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Prescott has not featured since Week 1 due to a thumb injury, and Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy told the press earlier this week that the 29-year-old was unlikely to be fit to return in Week 6.

However, Dallas have not yet ruled their QB out of contention, instead listing Prescott as questionable for the game in Philadelphia.

Cooper Rush, though, is still expected to start, with the stand-in QB having led the Cowboys to four successive wins in Prescott's absence.

Rush is the third QB in NFL history, since statistics were first tracked in 1950, to win on his first five career starts while throwing no more than one interception over that span, after Kyle Allen and Patrick Mahomes.

The Cowboys head into the game with recent history on their side, having won their past three meetings with the Eagles by 20, 20 and 25 points. The last time any NFL team had four straight 20-point wins against an opponent was the Colts against the Jaguars from 2013-14.

Philadelphia are the NFL's only unbeaten team, however, and are the first side in league history to win their opening five games of a season while averaging 400+ yards of offense and not losing a single fumble.

Jurgen Klopp acknowledges Liverpool cannot compete with Premier League rivals Manchester City and Newcastle United financially, declaring "some clubs have a ceiling".

Liverpool go into Sunday's encounter with City trailing the champions by 13 points, having made their worst start to a league campaign since 2012 – when they took nine points from their first eight games.

Pep Guardiola's side beat Liverpool to the Premier League title by just one point last season, and have gone from strength to strength since the arrival of Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund.

Meanwhile, with Newcastle enjoying a strong start to their first full season under their hugely wealthy Saudi owners, boss Eddie Howe declared there was "no ceiling" for the Magpies on Friday.

Asked how Liverpool could keep pace with City, Klopp said they were one of three clubs in world football operating without any economic restraints. 

"You will not like the answer, and you all have the answer already," Klopp said. "Nobody can compete with City. You have the best team in the world, and you put in the best striker on the market.

"No matter what it costs, they just do it. I know City will not like it, nobody will like it. Liverpool can not act like them. It's not possible. 

"It's just clear. There are three clubs in world football that can do what they want, financially. It's legal and everything, fine. But it's a fact.

"It's not a problem at all for me, it is what it is. But don't ask me that question. You all should know it, it's not possible to deal with that, and it will be like this.

"I hear now at Newcastle they said, 'there's no ceiling for this club'. He's absolutely right, there's no ceiling for Newcastle. Congratulations, some other clubs have ceilings."

Haaland has played a massive role in City's unbeaten start to the season since his big-money move, scoring 20 goals in 13 appearances for the club.

Pre-season saw comparisons drawn between Haaland and Liverpool's new frontman Darwin Nunez, who has only scored two Premier League goals, but Klopp wants the Uruguayan to focus on his own game.

"I'll say it like this: I think Darwin Nunez would have scored a couple more goals if he could play in the centre for Man City this season," Klopp said.

"He would be a good striker for them too, finishing the situations off. We have to improve our game to bring more situations.

"I don't know. I hope he's not in a process where he compares himself with Erling Haaland, but I think he's really making steps here. You could really see in his face and everything, his goal [in a 7-1 thrashing of Rangers on Wednesday] was really important to him.

"You need these moments, I hope he's not doing that or thinking about that. I don't see that. We are in our situation and want to solve our situation, that's all we are concerned about."

Andy Murray's run at the Gijon Open came to an end with a three-set loss to Sebastian Korda on Friday, dashing his hopes of a semi-final appearance in Spain.

Murray earned his fourth Tour-level quarter-final spot of 2022 by beating Pedro Cachin, but American Korda defeated the former world number one 6-4 1-6 6-1.

Korda will face Arthur Rinderknech in the last four after he upset second seed Pablo Carreno Busta, taking an epic final-set tie-break to triumph 4-6 6-3 7-6 (18-16).

The other side of the draw will play host to an enticing semi-final meeting between Dominic Thiem and top seed Andrey Rublev after they secured straight-sets wins over Francisco Cerundolo and Tommy Paul respectively.

Thiem said after his 6-4 6-3 triumph over Cerundolo: "From the first match on, I have felt great on this court.

"It is very important for me as I am trying to climb up the rankings. The semi-finals at an ATP event is helping a lot."

Meanwhile, top seed Felix Auger-Aliassime beat Brandon Nakashima 6-3 6-4 to reach the Firenze Open semi-finals, where he will face home favourite Lorenzo Musetti.

The third seed from Italy downed Mackenzie McDonald 6-3 6-2, but fellow seed Alexander Bublik went down 3-6 7-5 6-1 to J. J. Wolf.

Transylvania Open favourite Anhelina Kalinina squandered a lead as she went down 6-7 (9-7) 6-1 6-3 to Anna Blinkova in the quarter-finals.

Kalinina, the second seed, looked well placed to go on and reach the last four in Cluj when she battled into the lead against Blinkova on Friday.

But the Ukrainian could not stop the world number 138 rallying back to reach her second WTA Tour-level semi-final of the season.

Blinkova went on to reach the final on her previous last-four appearance at a WTA tournament this year – at L'Open 35 de Saint Malo – but missed out on the title when she lost to Beatriz Haddad Maia.

Kalinina's exit leaves Anastasia Potapova as the highest seed left in the tournament, and she will face fellow Russian Blinkova for a place in the final.

Potapova defeated Hungary's Anna Bondar 7-5 3-6 6-1 to reach the last four.

Jasmine Paolini beat Jule Niemeier 7-5 7-5 to tee up a meeting with Nuria Parrizas Diaz or Xiyu Wang.

The outoome of Liverpool's clash with Manchester City is likely to hinge on how Virgil van Dijk copes with "absolute phenomenon" Erling Haaland, according to Gary Neville.

City trail Premier League leaders Arsenal by a point ahead of their trip to Anfield on Sunday, while Liverpool are 13 points further back, seemingly out of title contention already.

Pep Guardiola's men are the only unbeaten side in the Premier League, thanks in no small part to the extraordinary exploits of Haaland.

Having only played nine games in the top flight, Haaland has already broken the records for most goals (15) and goal involvements (18) in a player's first 10 appearances in the competition. 

A trip to Merseyside will see Norway striker face arguably his toughest opponent yet in Van Dijk, and Neville is excited by the prospect of their duel.

"I still think, no matter what form Liverpool are in and where they are, Sunday will still feel like the toughest game they [City] are going to face," Neville told Sky Sports.

"Look, at the end of the day you know what I feel about those two clubs, but on Sunday you can't help but think of Haaland against Van Dijk.

"You just can't stop thinking about how that's going to play out. The best centre-back in the world for the last three or four years, who has struggled a little bit more this season. 

"But he's against this absolute phenomenon. That Liverpool back line, which pushes up with space in behind… I'm fascinated by that, I can't wait for it, to be honest."

Liverpool are winless in their last five Premier League meetings with the champions (D3 L2) – they have never previously gone six without a victory against City in the league.

Manchester City already have one of the best players in the world in Erling Haaland. Having tied Phil Foden to a new contract, they believe they will soon have another.

Foden's long-awaited five-year deal was announced by City on Friday ahead of a big trip to Anfield this weekend.

This fixture, away at Liverpool, has seen Foden deliver two of his most complete performances in a City shirt in the previous two seasons, scoring and assisting in a 4-1 win in the 2020-21 campaign before grabbing another goal in last term's 2-2 draw.

Now, those sorts of displays are arriving with even greater consistency, prompting an even more prominent role for arguably England's brightest prospect.

When Pep Guardiola shuffled his pack at Copenhagen in midweek to rest key men for the Liverpool match, it was Haaland and Foden who dropped to the bench.

Haaland's 20 goals in 13 matches this season have stolen the show, but Foden, who matched the Norway forward in netting a Manchester derby hat-trick at the start of the month, has seven in 13 from a wide position.

With three assists, too, Foden is contributing a goal involvement every 81 minutes – more than justifying the faith City have shown in him by agreeing new terms.

"We are all so proud of Phil and what he has achieved already," said City director of football Txiki Begiristain. "But we know there is so much more to come.  

"His natural talent and ability are obvious, but his hard work, professionalism and dedication make him really special. He loves football more than anything, and his desire to improve is really incredible.  

"We feel he can progress further and become even better than he is today.

"By signing this contract, he now has stability and can focus absolutely everything on becoming one of the best players in the world, which we feel he can be."

Foden is still only 22 but has four Premier League titles to his name. Ryan Giggs, who won a record 13, had only three by the time he turned 23.

Although Foden has already tallied over 10,000 minutes across 182 first-team appearances, he initially had to bide his time under Guardiola.

Foden started only three matches in all competitions in the 2017-18 season and 11 the following campaign. Even in the season after that, 2019-20, when he had 17 goal involvements, just 18 of his 38 appearances were starts.

Now, however, the boyhood City fan is one of the first names on the team sheets in the biggest games – this Sunday's fixture undoubtedly included.

"He's not a young talent any more," Kevin De Bruyne said late last season of a team-mate then still just 21. "He's one of the guys."

Foden had 16 goals and 10 assists in 50 matches in 2020-21, then 14 goals and 11 assists in 45 matches last time out.

He appears certain to scale new heights this season alongside Haaland, who has assisted two of his seven goals, with De Bruyne teeing up three.

In the Premier League, Foden has six goals through City's first nine matches, doubling his output at this stage of last season – then a career high.

Guardiola's patient approach has clearly paid off, as Foden himself added on Friday: "I think he has made me 10 times the player I was."

There never appeared any doubt Foden would be staying at City, but that does not make Friday's news and the prospect of five more years in this side any less daunting to their title rivals.