Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts says Max Scherzer was his "ace in the hole" after using him in the ninth inning for his first career save in Thursday's 2-1 series-deciding win over the San Francisco Giants.
Scherzer slammed the door on the Giants to clinch a 3-2 National League Division Series victory for the Dodgers after Cody Bellinger's RBI single for Justin Turner to score the go-ahead run in the ninth inning.
The 37-year-old right-hander, who had started Game 3 for 10 strikeouts across seven innings, was handed the ball to save the game on this occasion after warming up in the bullpen. It was Scherzer's first career save in his 432nd appearance.
"It was seeing the flow and how the game was going to play out, knowing we have an ace in the hole and trying to find the ultimate leverage spot to use him," Roberts told reporters after the game. "How the game played out, it made a lot of sense."
Roberts had used five pitchers before Scherzer's introduction, starting Corey Knebel before Julio Urias took over in the third inning, tossing down five strikeouts across four innings.
The game was tied at 1-1 leading into the ninth inning when Bellinger, who has had a season to forget, drove in Turner.
Bellinger, the 2019 National League MVP, hit at .165 with 10 home runs and 36 RBIs during the regular season, but he has batted at .294 with three RBIs in the postseason.
"Even for me, it's like going into that at-bat prior where he punched, he saw close to 10 punches, he grinded and competed, that last at-bat there was fight in there," Roberts said about Bellinger.
"It wasn't about mechanics, it was about a fight. It was me versus you. Cody versus [Giants pitcher] Camilo Doval.
"He got a huge hit. Like I said, Cody has grown a lot from adversity. For him to come up with the big hit, I'm very happy for him."
The result means the Dodgers have reached the National League Championship Series, where they will face the Atlanta Braves. The Dodgers are through to this stage for the fifth time in six seasons.
LA had to overcome the Giants, who boasted the best majors regular season record at 107-55, but Roberts said they were not content with that.
"I think what great ball clubs have the ability to do, is understand the gravity of a moment and a series in this case," he said. "Give everything you have to that series, which we did.
"It was a huge series but we also understand our job is not done. Now our focus turns to the Braves."
Howe lauds Slot's impact at Liverpool but insists title race not over
Eddie Howe lauded the impact of Arne Slot with Premier League leaders Liverpool, though insists the title race is far from over ahead of Newcastle United's meeting on Wednesday.
Liverpool are nine points clear at the summit heading into the midweek action, having dispatched Manchester City with a 2-0 win at Anfield on Sunday.
That opened up an 11-point gap between the Reds and Pep Guardiola's defending champions, yet Howe believes the title battle is far from over in December.
"No, I think nothing is ever secure or done until it's done," said Howe. "The Premier League is known for twists and turns, so who knows what's going to happen.
"I think they're a team at the moment playing with full confidence, they've still got the hallmark of Liverpool under Jurgen Klopp.
"But Arne has now had his time with the team and tweaked certain things, that makes them a very difficult proposition because they've added new strengths."
Newcastle were defeated 2-0 at home by West Ham before a 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace last Saturday.
Slot believes travelling to Newcastle will pose a tougher test than facing Real Madrid, however, having defeated Los Blancos last week in the Champions League.
"We know we have a difficult week coming up again," Slot said.
"We thought Madrid and City were very difficult teams to face, which they actually were as well. I think it’s even harder going away to Newcastle.
"We're not even halfway through the season yet."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Newcastle United – Alexander Isak
Fitness permitting if Alexander Isak can shake off a knock suffered at Palace, the Sweden striker will be key to any home hopes here.
The Newcastle forward has 21 goals in 30 home Premier League appearances, although he has only scored twice from 18 attempts at St James' Park this season.
Liverpool – Mohamed Salah
Mohamed Salah stole the show once more against City, scoring from the penalty spot and assisting Cody Gakpo's opener.
The Liverpool star has also been involved in 14 Premier League goals against Newcastle (eight goals, six assists), with these coming in his last 13 appearances against them.
MATCH PREDICTION – LIVERPOOL WIN
Liverpool are firm favourites for this one considering they have won each of their last six meetings with Newcastle in the Premier League.
The Magpies are winless in the last 15 top-flight meetings overall (D4 L11), while Liverpool have won five of their last six league visits to St. James' Park.
Indeed, the Reds' three-match winning streak on the road against Newcastle is their longest such streak against Wednesday's hosts in the competition.
Expect drama, too, given Liverpool have won 11 Premier League games in which they have trailed against Newcastle, the most comeback wins one side has against another in the competition's history.
To make matters worse for the hosts, they have won just one of their last 26 Premier League meetings against sides starting the day top of the table (D7 L18), a feat which could continue here.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Newcastle United win – 26.2%
Draw – 23.6%
Liverpool win – 50.2%
'Palace can breathe a little easier after Ipswich win' - Mateta
Jean-Philippe Mateta said Crystal Palace can "breathe a little bit easier" following their 1-0 victory over Ipswich Town.
The Eagles recorded their first away win of the season at Portman Road, where Mateta's second-half strike was enough to move them three points clear of the Premier League relegation zone.
Receiving Eberechi Eze's pass in the 59th minute, the striker accelerated away from Jacob Greaves, before neatly lifting the ball over the advancing Ipswich goalkeeper Arijanet Muric.
Mateta underlined the importance of the victory, which he believes will give Palace momentum heading into their next match against struggling reigning champions Manchester City.
"The start of the season was not what we expected, but we keep working," he told Amazon Prime. "Today, we have the away win, and we are very satisfied.
"We can breathe a little bit easier because we were under pressure. The fans, everyone was on us. Before the game, it was a must win. Even when you score, you stay focused and the time goes slowly. As soon as the ref blew the whistle, we were so happy.
"Because of this win, everyone is confident. We can't wait to play against Manchester City. It is a good time to play them. We have to stay focused because they are a great team."
"Very pleased with the result," Palace head coach Oliver Glasner concurred. "It was not about performing brilliantly. We expected a big fight and it was a big fight.
"It was an amazing goal, an amazing finish by JP [Mateta]. We had two or three chances to take the game away from them and didn't take them. In the end, we had to be a bit lucky, but I think we deserved to win.
"When JP gets the ball in the box, he is such a good finisher, and it is usually a goal. We're pleased with our defensive performance, we didn't allow them a chance from open play - just one from a set-piece in the first half and one in the second half."
Ipswich remain in the bottom three and the only Premier League side still seeking their first home win of the campaign and Kieran McKenna is desperate for them to address that as soon as possible.
"A disappointing night and probably many similarities to Saturday [the 1-0 loss at Nottingham Forest]," he told Match of the Day. "It was a competitive game, an even first half, not the highest quality game, and not our best performance here.
"But we were right in the game and started the second half better, but then gave away a poor goal, and we were not able to produce the quality to open them up. We're not happy with the result and didn't make it the kind of game we wanted to give us a chance of getting a result.
"We've had some really good performances here. We've not turned one of those into a win, and until we do that, this will be held over us [no home wins] and that's something we can't remove until we win at home."
AC Milan 6-1 Sassuolo: Chukwueze brace powers Rossoneri into Coppa Italia last eight
AC Milan made light work of Serie B side Sassuolo as Samuel Chukwueze scored twice in a 6-1 thrashing to reach the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia on Tuesday.
The last-16 clash was already over as a contest by the 23rd minute after Chukwueze's brace, along with goals from Tijjani Reijnders and Rafael Leao handed Milan a 4-0 lead at San Siro.
Davide Calabria added their fifth 11 minutes after the interval, though Samuele Mulattieri managed a consolation three minutes later, before Tammy Abraham rounded off the win in the 61st minute.
Chukwueze opened the scoring in the 12th minute when a Reijnders ball over the top put him through one-on-one with Giacomo Satalino, and after his first effort hit the upright he tapped in the rebound.
Reijnders drilled home from outside the area five minutes later and Chukwueze netted his second in the 21st minute, curling beyond the reach of Satalino after an Abraham lay-off.
A no-look pass from Ruben Loftus-Cheek freed Leao to score two minutes later before Christian Pulisic's lofted cross bounced off the post and Calabria reacted quickest to convert in the second half.
Mulattieri's effort squirmed under Lorenzo Torriani to finally give Sassuolo something to cheer about, but Abraham finished off the rout, tucking his finish around Satalino just past the hour.
Data Debrief: Rampant Rossoneri
Milan's victory came by an impressive scoreline, though the underlying stats suggest the 6-1 win was somewhat flattering on the home side's performance.
Indeed, the home side accumulated just 1.89 expected goals (xG) from their 15 attempts, but the quality of finishing proved too much for Sassuolo to handle.
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