There will be a winner-takes-all Game 5 in the National League Division Series (NLDS) after MLB World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers avoided elimination with a 7-2 win over the San Francisco Giants.
The Giants had the chance to book their spot in the NL Championship Series (NLCS) on Tuesday, but they were instead blown away by the Dodgers, who levelled the best-of-five matchup at 2-2.
Mookie Betts and Will Smith homered for the Dodgers in Los Angeles, where ace Walker Buehler gave up just one run on three hits while striking out four batters in 4.1 innings.
The deciding Game 5 will take place at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Thursday.
Astros reach fifth straight ALCS
The Houston Astros will face the Boston Red Sox in the American League Championship Series (ALCS) after crushing the Chicago White Sox 10-1. Houston became the third team ever to appear in five successive league championship series. Astros star Carlos Correa tied Albert Pujols for the most playoff RBIs among active players after reaching 54, while Jose Altuve also hit his 19th postseason homer – matching George Springer and future Hall of Famer Pujols for fourth all-time.
Houston get to Hendriks and White Sox
On a rough day for the White Sox, closer Liam Hendriks conceded a three-run homer off Altuve in the top of the ninth inning. White Sox team-mate Michael Kopech allowed three runs on three hits in 0.2 innings.
Freeman sends Braves through
Freddie Freeman was the hero in Game 4, hitting a two-out home run in the bottom of the eighth inning as the Atlanta Braves came from behind to top the Milwaukee Brewers 5-4 en route to the NLCS. Freeman's 428-foot go-ahead bomb was the furthest opposite-field homer of his career. The Braves will feature in back-to-back championship series for the first time since they advanced to eight straight from 1991 to 1999.
Tuesday's results
Houston Astros 10-1 Chicago White Sox
Atlanta Braves 5-4 Milwaukee Brewers
Los Angeles Dodgers 7-2 San Francisco Giants
Dodgers at Giants
NL West rivals the Dodgers and Giants will put it all on the line in Thursday's do-or-die showdown. Both teams have won an incredible 107 games this season as the Dodgers prepare to pit Julio Urias against Logan Webb.
Magic savour 'special' Washington triumph after record-equalling ninth straight win
Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero and coach Jamahl Mosley both lauded a "special" night for the team as they equalled the franchise's record winning run by overcoming the Washington Wizards.
Banchero finished with 28 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists, while Franz Wagner had a game-high 31 points as Orlando beat Washington for the second time in two days on Friday, clinching a 130-125 success at Amway Center.
The victory was Orlando's ninth in a row, taking them to 14-5 for the season and matching their longest ever streak, with the team having previously won nine straight in 1994, 2001 and 2010-11.
Orlando are one of just two NBA franchises – along with the Indiana Pacers – to never enjoy a double-digit winning run, but they have the chance to do so for the first time when they visit the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday.
"It's pretty special," Banchero said of the team's run, which began with the first of back-to-back road wins over the Chicago Bulls on November 15.
"Eventually I think a loss is going to come, but we just want to keep it rolling for as long as we can.
"But you're not surprised when you do something like this because we've got great chemistry and we play really well together."
Orlando are up to second in the Eastern Conference, with only the 15-4 Boston Celtics and the 14-4 Minnesota Timberwolves boasting better records across the entire league.
Head coach Mosley said: "It's a big time for this group, but more importantly, I think it's a big time for the fans and the organisation.
"There's an energy, there's a vibe, a buzz about this group, and our guys are doing a good job of embracing it, not getting too high or too low but being able to register that this is something special."
Like father, like son – Shaqueel van Persie makes Youth League debut
Robin van Persie handed a UEFA Youth League debut to his son Shaqueel for Feyenoord on Tuesday.
Van Persie, the former Arsenal and Manchester United star, is now coaching Feyenoord's Under-18s team and the Under-19s team.
And while taking charge of the latter side in the Youth League, Van Persie handed his son Shaqueel his debut in the competition as a 56th-minute substitute against Atletico Madrid.
Van Persie junior could not help his father's team avoid defeat, however, with Iker Luque scoring the only goal of the game in the 81st minute.
Shaqueel the real deal?
Shaqueel van Persie made his European debut five years and 104 days after his father last played in a European match for Feyenoord, where he finished his career.
The 17-year-old, who was born during Van Persie's stint at Arsenal, began his youth career with Manchester City before moving to Feyenoord in 2017, a year before his father joined the same club.
He has already represented the Netherlands at Under-16 and Under-17 level.
LeBron James shrugs off minutes milestone after suffering heaviest career defeat
No player in NBA history has spent more minutes on the court than LeBron James, but the latest record means nothing to the Los Angeles Lakers star.
That is because it came in what was James' heaviest career defeat – a 138-94 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday.
In his 21-year NBA career, James' previous worst loss came by 42 points in a 136-94 reverse to the Indiana Pacers in February 2019.
As Joel Embiid racked up 30 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in the Sixers' rout, James accumulated another 30 minutes on the court.
That took his career total, across both regular season and postseason games, to 66,319 minutes in his career, passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's 66,297 minutes.
But the record was of little solace to the 38-year-old, who told reporters: "That doesn't mean much to me."
Asked about what the Lakers need to do to ensure heavy defeats do not become a common occurrence, James said: "What needs to change in order for that not to happen again? Um, a lot.
"I don't know how a team [should respond]. I can only speak for myself, and I don't like it."
James' teammate Anthony Davis said: "Feel like we just weren't together. A lot of quick shots, one-pass shots, no-pass shots.
"They started making a lot of shots. And when their lead kind of opened up a little bit – 15, 20, 25 – I think we all tried to be the hero to make the team come back instead of just sticking with it.
"We've got to look at it, embrace it, own it. Guys don't take it personally for whatever's said in the film, and then move on from it."
It was a bad day for both Los Angeles teams, with the Clippers also losing.
They went down 104-113 to a Denver Nuggets team that was shorn of Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon.
Former Laker Russell Westbrook became embroiled in a debate with a fan.
"I mean, it's unfortunate," Westbrook said.
"Fans think they can say whatever they want. I'm not going to say [what was said] now because it's not appropriate, but I'm just protecting myself.
"It's just unfortunate fans think they can get away with saying anything and, personally, I won't allow it. I've [taken] a lot of people saying anything and getting away with it, but I won't stand for it."
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