World number one Iga Swiatek claimed her eighth WTA Tour title of the season, storming home to claim a three-set victory over Donna Vekic in the San Diego Open final on Sunday.
Swiatek improved her record in the United States to 24-1 this season with the victory in one hour and 47 minutes, getting past the Croatian qualifier 6-3 3-6 6-0.
The Pole previously won the US Open, along with the Indian Wells and Miami titles this season.
Top seed Swiatek secured her 64th win of the season, which is the most since Serena Williams won 78 in 2013.
Vekic ensured it was not easy for Swiatek, continuing her excellent week – knocking out Maria Sakkari, Karolina Pliskova, Aryna Sabalenka and Danielle Collins - with a strong second set.
The Croatian actually had to complete her semi-final earlier on Sunday after a rain-interrupted encounter with Collins, winning 6-4 4-6 7-6 (7-2) after resuming 4-2 down in the third set, before taking on Swiatek.
Swiatek's dominance was felt, winning 82 per cent of her second-serve points, ruthlessly converting four of six break points as well.
Vekic only generated one break point for the match but she took it, keeping the match alive in the second set where she was more aggressive.
The 2022 US Open and French Open champion responded emphatically in the final frame, capitalising on three of four break points and winning 24 of the 29 points for the set to triumph.
The Buffalo Bills claimed a statement win as John Allen threw three touchdown passes as they improved to 5-1 with a 24-20 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.
Allen, who completed 27 of 40 attempts for 329 yards with no interceptions, found Dawson Knox for the game-winning touchdown with 1:04 left in the fourth quarter at Arrowhead Stadium.
The Bills sealed the win when Von Miller broke a double team to apply pressure on Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes whose pass for Skyy Moore was picked by cornerback Taron Johnson with 0:41 remaining.
It ended a seesawing contest that had four lead changes, was tied at every change and was within one score throughout, with the AFC East-leading Bills moving ahead of the AFC West-leading Chiefs who fall to 4-2.
Mahomes made 25 of 40 attempts for 338 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions, with Bills rookie Kaiir Elam picking off a redzone pass in the first quarter. Chiefs wide receiver Travis Kelce made franchise history by reaching the record for consecutive games with a reception (132), finishing with eight receptions for 108 yards but no TDs.
JuJu Smith-Schuster, who had five receptions for 113 yards, spun past two defenders after receiving a Mahomes pass for the opening TD, before Allen found Gabe Davis to reply before half-time, with Harrison Butker's franchise-record 62-yard field goal tying it up at half-time.
Stefon Diggs, who had 10 receptions for 148 yards, added his sixth receiving touchdown this season when Allen found him for 17-yard score but the Chiefs responded again as Mahomes punched a pass to Mecole Hardman.
Butker put the Chiefs up 20-17 in the fourth quarter, but Allen found Knox in the endzone to flip the script.
Rams respond as Anderson thrown out by Panthers
The Los Angeles Rams ground their way to a 24-10 victory over the Carolina Panthers to snap their two-game skid and move to 3-3.
Scores were locked at 10-10 with 16 seconds remaining in the third quarter when wide receiver Ben Skowronek swept down the outside and into the endzone for his career-first TD.
Matthew Stafford shook off the Rams' offensive issues to complete 26 of 33 passes for 253 yards and one touchdown for Allen Robinson, while Darrell Henderson rushed a fourth-quarter TD to pad the win.
Amid the Panthers' own offensive struggles, interim coach Steve Wilks threw Robbie Anderson out of the game after a heated argument with position coach Joe Dailey.
Bill Belichick celebrated his 324th career NFL win on Sunday as Bailey Zappe led the New England Patriots to a 38-15 victory at the Cleveland Browns.
This latest success moved Belichick into a tie for second for the most all-time coaching wins across the regular season and postseason.
The Patriots legend is now level with George Halas, trailing only Don Shula's 347.
The dominant defeat of the Browns was Belichick's 293rd regular season win, which has him third behind Halas (318) and Shula (328), while he leads all coaches with 31 playoff victories.
"I've got a ton of respect for coach Halas and the McCaskey family and what he did for professional football," Belichick said.
"The way that he and, since we're here, [first Browns coach] Paul Brown and others like them paved the way for us, as coaches, and paved the way for the National Football League to grow to what it is today. They laid down a lot of the building blocks."
Meanwhile, Zappe was as impressive in his second NFL start as he had been in his first, a 29-0 rout of the Detroit Lions last week.
The rookie fourth-rounder, who against the Lions became the fifth of five Patriot quarterbacks selected by Belichick outside the first round to win his first start, threw for 309 yards and two touchdowns in Cleveland, achieving a 118.4 passer rating.
Zappe is therefore the first rookie to win his first two career starts while recording a rating of at least 100 in both games since Hall of Famer Sonny Jurgensen in 1957.
Kenny Pickett could not finish his second NFL start after going into concussion protocol, but the Pittsburgh Steelers ensured their quarterback could celebrate an unlikely first win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Pickett – the first QB off the board in the 2022 NFL Draft – started for the first time in last week's big defeat to the Buffalo Bills.
But the rookie bounced back in some style against Tom Brady, securing a narrow lead before exiting the game midway through the third quarter. The Steelers protected that advantage to win 20-18.
Pickett had thrown his first career touchdown pass to Najee Harris on Pittsburgh's first drive.
A sloppy end to the first half allowed the Bucs to close the gap, but they headed in at halftime without having scored a TD – a first for a Brady team against the Steelers.
Pittsburgh lifted their game again following the restart, trading field goals before a hit on Pickett saw him leave the game, and was then ruled out.
Mitch Trubisky picked up the baton, though, connecting with Chase Claypool for another TD before Brady and Leonard Fournette belatedly responded.
A successful two-point conversion would have tied the game with time left for the Bucs to win it, but Brady's attempt was batted away, and Trubisky saw out only a second Steelers win of the year.
Another New York defeat for Packers on return to Lambeau
The Green Bay Packers gave up a home game to play in London for the first time in franchise history last week, losing to the New York Giants. And a return to Lambeau Field did little to lift Aaron Rodgers and Co., who fell to 3-3 with a 27-10 home loss to the New York Jets.
In fact, the Packers crowd appeared to turn on their team when a blocked punt gifted the Jets – now 3-0 on the road to start a season for the first time since 2010 – a two-TD lead their opponents could not recover from.
The Giants built on their upset of the Packers by doing the same to the Baltimore Ravens. They had trailed Green Bay 20-10 at halftime in Week 5 and were this time down by the same score in the fourth quarter, recovering for a 24-20 win to move to 5-1.
The Atlanta Falcons lost in Week 5 but also had momentum to carry into a matchup with the San Francisco 49ers after a 15-point fourth quarter against the Bucs. Following five straight games decided by seven points or fewer, the Falcons coasted to a 28-14 success.
Ryan extends Jags' miserable road run in AFC South
The Jacksonville Jaguars have not won a road game against an AFC South rival since 2017, a losing sequence of 13 games heading into Sunday's trip to the Indianapolis Colts.
It appeared as though Trevor Lawrence was to lead the Jags to a long-awaited win when the Colts trailed by a point at the Jacksonville 33 with just 23 seconds to play.
But Matt Ryan, having earlier passed Dan Marino (61,361) to climb to seventh all-time for passing yards, completed a pivotal TD pass to Alec Pierce to prolong the Jags' misery.
New Zealand started their Rugby League World Cup campaign with a hard-fought 34-12 victory against Lebanon on Sunday.
The world's number one side were made to sweat on occasion at the Halliwell Jones Stadium in Warrington, and surprisingly fell behind to their Group C opponents inside the first minute when Josh Mansour raced onto a loose ball on the right to score.
The Kiwis were soon level when Kenneth Bromwich went over, before substitute Nelson Asofa-Solomona got his side ahead despite some excellent defensive work from Lebanon, with Peta Hiku adding another shortly after to give New Zealand an 18-6 lead at the break.
The Cedars would not go away, though, and scored their second try to halve the deficit shortly after the restart as Abbas Miski went over down the left side.
After a further scare, the Kiwis took charge as terrific work from Manu ended with Dylan Brown racing through to score, before Manu again showed his quality to get a try of his own before the hour.
Jordan Rapana then added another just after Lebanon's Adam Doueihi was sent off for dissent.
Barbados and St. Vincent & the Grenadines scored dominant victories to kick-off the Netball Americas World Cup Qualifiers at the National Indoor Sports Centre in Kingston, Jamaica on Sunday.
Barbados opened the competition with a commanding 67-27 victory over the Cayman Islands.
It was a relatively close affair after the first quarter as the Barbadians, currently ranked 13th in the world, led 13-4.
However, the Gems ramped up the intensity in second quarter stretching the lead to 21 to end the half ahead 34-13. They widened the lead 48-21 heading into the final quarter when they capped a fine display with 19 goals in the period to wind up 67-27 winners.
Goal shooter Faye Agard led the way for Barbados with 51 goals from 59 attempts while goal attack Brianna Holder had 16 goals from 21 attempts.
St. Vincent and the Grenadines were equally dominant in their 51-24 win over the USA.
St. Vincent got out to an early lead as the Americans struggled to put points on the board. The end of the first quarter saw the Vincentians up 15-3 and by halftime, the score was 30-9. The third quarter was no different as the USA found themselves getting their first basket at the four-minute mark, ending the quarter down 15-37 before ultimately suffering a 24-51 defeat.
Goal shooter Mary Ann Frederick led the way for S. Vincent & the Grenadines with 22 goals from 26 attempts while goal attack Kimesha Antoine also attempted 26 shots, converting 21 of them.
Coach of St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Godfrey Harry, said his team got what they expected.
“It was predictable. We were expecting to win this game and we did. One of the things that we wanted to make sure of was that we experiment and use the depth of our team. All the players stepped up to the plate, which was great for us,” he said.
Despite the loss, USA assistant coach Keithan Grayson-Superville said she expects improvement after what was her team’s first international action in years.
“They didn’t do as much as I would’ve liked to see today but it’s our first game and we haven’t played internationally for over four years. We’re going to take it game by game and, as we go, we’re going to try to improve. We’re a work in progress.”
Jamaica’s Reggae Warriors' Rugby League World Cup debut got off to an inauspicious start on Sunday when they clobbered 48-2 by Ireland at Headingley Stadium in England.
The Irish team scored 10 tries against the Reggae Warriors porous defense that will need to improve if the team is to have a better go of it when they face New Zealand on Saturday, October 22.
Ireland scored first-half tries courtesy of Louis Senior, Captain George King, Brendan O'Hagan and Ed Chamberlain. Six tries came in the second half as Innes Senior, Louis’ twin brother, scored twice while Toby King, James McDonnell, James Bentley and Frankie Halton completed the rout.
Meanwhile, Kieran Rush scored Jamaica’s first-ever points in a Rugby League World Cup when kicked a penalty.
Reggae Warrior Michael Lawrence, who plays at loose forward, expressed his disappointment afterward citing several areas in which his team needed to improve going forward.
"I was disappointed with the way we dropped off a little bit. But it's a proud day for the team and nation. This was a starting point,” he said.
"We need to work on defense. That was a big area for me. We have to improve defensively. We've got to come out again and stick together. We have a great team spirit.
"This is massive, the way we perform. It's encouraging kids to pick up a rugby ball. We want to perform well but this is just the start. We want to keep coming back to the World Cup."
This was the second meeting between the two teams and their first in the World Cup.
Adrian Otaegui claimed his fourth DP World Tour title after a six-shot victory at the Andalucia Masters on Sunday.
The Spaniard went into the final round at Real Club Valderrama with a six-stroke cushion – a lead he never looked like relinquishing as he finished on 19 under par, setting a new course record.
Joakim Lagergren posted a final-round 68 to finish second, while Australia's Lee Min Woo was three shots back in third.
A two-over 73 saw Angel Hidalgo take fourth, with Rasmus Hojgaard in fifth on a score of six under for the week.
Otaegui, who hit four birdies and a single bogey in a closing round of 68, described it as the "perfect" week on his favourite course in Spain.
"I'm very, very proud. I feel so happy to have my first win in Spain, in front of these crowds, on my favourite golf course in Spain," he told Sky Sports.
"It's just unbelievable. I'm very, very happy with everything, the week went perfect.
"I'm very happy with the way I managed today because it was my first time with such a big shot difference.
"The plan was just to start strong, forget the shot difference I had and try to beat the others today.
"I played very well until the end. I tried to follow the plan and think I did well."
J.J. Wolf was no match for Felix Auger-Aliassime in the final of the Firenze Open, as the Canadian won 6-4 6-4 in Florence.
Auger-Aliassime is targeting a place in the end-of-season ATP Finals and took a huge step towards securing such a spot on Sunday.
The top-seeded 22-year-old only dropped one set throughout the tournament and has now won his second ATP Tour-level title.
His victory over Wolf, the world number 75 who will rise to 56 on Monday, took only one hour and 41 minutes.
"It never gets old. Winning, it always feels like the first time," Auger-Aliassime, the new world number 10, said in his on-court interview.
"It's so special to win, especially here. I had a fantastic week and it's been amazing.
"Every final is tough, it's the two best players of the week. Of course you try to win more than you lose the finals, and that's why I came out here today ready to give everything.
"We had some very tough rallies in the second set, feeling tough physically. But you keep pushing, try to keep the level high.
"But there's no magic. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, but of course I'm really happy because I came here [as] the first seed.
"I was the favourite in all of my matches on paper. It's never an easy position, so to come out and win my four matches with confidence and conviction, it's really good for my confidence."
Wolf saved nine of the 12 break points he offered yet could not make any inroads against Auger-Aliassime's serve, with the champion winning without conceding on his service game.
Qualifier Anna Blinkova landed the first WTA singles title of her career by beating Jasmine Paolini in Sunday's Transylvania Open final.
The 24-year-old world number 138 had to come through qualifying in Cluj-Napoca, and she completed a stellar campaign at the Romanian event by getting her hands on the trophy.
Blinkova won 6-2 3-6 6-2 in an hour and 41 minutes, scotching Paolini's hopes of a second title in her tour career.
"I felt great the whole 10 days that I spent here since last Wednesday," the Russian said in her trophy acceptance speech. "I'm really looking forward to coming back next year."
The WTA said Blinkova's success made her the fifth qualifier to secure a tour title in 2022, following victories for Tatjana Maria in Bogota, Anastasia Potapova in Istanbul, Bernarda Pera in Budapest and Caroline Garcia in Cincinnati.
Blinkova, who was once ranked 54th in the world, will return to the world's top 100 on Monday.
Brooks Koepka edged out Peter Uihlein in a play-off to clinch the final individual prize of the inaugural LIV Golf Invitational Series on Sunday.
Two birdies on Koepka's front nine in Jeddah set him up well to push on for glory, but the American slipped up after the turn at Royal Greens Golf and Country Club.
A birdie on the 10th was followed by three successive bogeys, and though Koepka recovered to birdie on the 15th and the last to finish at 12 under par, he had provided his rivals with an opportunity to catch up.
Overnight leader Uihlein was one of those to take advantage, with a clean back nine seeing the 33-year-old bounce back from carding two double bogeys earlier on in his round, with his final score of 70 enough to force a play-off with Smash GC team-mate Koepka.
While it was good news for Smash GC, who secured a six-shot win to boost their form ahead of the Team Championship in Miami later this month, there had to be a loser, and after three holes with no give, Uihlein found a bunker.
Having rescued himself from a similar situation on the previous play-off hole, this time Uihlein could only clip a shot into the water, handing four-time major winner Koepka the chance to putt for victory.
"The last two years – they haven't been fun," an emotional Koepka said.
"So it's been a long road, I'm super excited. My whole team, we got the band back together a couple of months ago, this is for them.
"I didn't know if my career was over, for a half-second. I wasn't sure when I was going to play. It's nice to come back and win."
Joaquin Niemann went round in 65 to finish one shot behind the leading pair, tied with Sergio Garcia.
Inaugural LIV Golf champion Dustin Johnson came in at 10 under, alongside Matthew Wolff, while Bernd Wiesberger joined Niemann in recording 65.
Forty-four netball coaches participated two-day Americas Netball coaching seminar at UWI Mona Campus on Thursday and Friday (October 13 and 14) and were instructed by of three of sport’s most experienced coaches.
Former Australia and Jamaica head coach Jill McIntosh, Sue Hawkins, the national coach of New Zealand and Rob Wright of Australia tutored coaches from across the region that included 30 from Jamaica and 14 others from across the Americas.
"We have coaches who will be participating in the qualifier and other coaches as well as about 30 coaches from Jamaica. We are trying to upskill them in all the different skills of netball and finding different ways to keep their minds open,” McIntosh explained.
“We are covering shooting, the mid-court and centre-passes and some specific centre pass attacks, some specific centre-pass defence, feeding - how they feed. We are covering defending, all the principles on defending.”
McIntosh also revealed that the experience was encouraging.
"The coaches have been great. They have been interactive. They have gone out and participated. The questioning has been good and we have got lots of talk and chatter and it’s around about what they see and how they can change it and how they can progress it so the chatter is good," she said.
"My observation of the region is that they have wonderful athletes so we need to up-skill the coaches to show them many ways of doing the same thing and from a purely Jamaica perspective, I have seen the girls grow and what I saw at the Commonwealth games, I was so heartened and pleased, they did such an amazing job."
Dr. Bridget Adams of Trinidad & Tobago was elected unopposed as the new president of the Americas Federation of Netball Associations (AFNA) during the federation's Annual General Meeting at the Liguanea Club in Kingston on Saturday and has promised to hit the ground running.
Andrey Rublev defeated Sebastian Korda in straight sets in Sunday's Gijon Open final to land his 12th ATP Tour title.
The Russian had already prevailed in Belgrade, Dubai and Marseille this year and added another crown to his collection with a 6-2 6-3 victory against Korda in 75 minutes.
Top seed Rublev had dropped only one set in his three matches en route to the final and impressed against Korda with 29 winners, three breaks and just four unforced errors.
Korda, seeking a second Tour-level trophy following success in Parma last year, had his serve broken in the fourth and eighth games of the opening set.
Some heavy-hitting exchanges kept spectators gripped, though Rublev proved too strong for Korda in the second set and earned the only break in the sixth game.
Rublev got over the line with his fourth match point and remains sixth in the chase for an ATP Finals spot, with four of those ahead of him already qualified, along with Novak Djokovic.
Six-time MotoGP champion Marc Marquez said he would not wish Alex Rins well as the latter prepares to join Honda from Suzuki next season.
The pair were involved in another tight last-lap duel at the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday, with Rins - set to join LCR Honda in 2023 - emerging victorious after holding off the Repsol Honda man.
Marquez, who picked up his 100th podium in the premier class, said he would not offer any advice to his fellow Spaniard though, stating it would be "fake" to offer him his wishes as he will still be his rival.
"I will not give any advice," he said. "For me it is another opponent. It's good that joining Honda is one world champion [Joan Mir] and one rider that is winning races with another manufacturer.
"Like this we will see exactly the level. I'm working really hard for the 2023 project with Honda and they are working really, really hard too.
"I don’t say I wish [him] the best. He is another opponent, if not it would be fake."
Michael Hooper is back in the Australia squad for the upcoming tour of Europe, but James Slipper will retain the captaincy.
Hooper has not played since he withdrew from the Wallabies squad on the eve of their Rugby Championship opener against Argentina in August.
The flanker stated that he was not in the right frame of mind to play, but is set to make his comeback on the international stage after being included in a 36-man squad on Sunday.
Slipper will continue to skipper Australia, while the uncapped Jock Campbell, Ben Donaldson, Langi Gleeson, Mark Nawaqanitawase, Sam Talakai have been included.
Overseas-based duo Bernard Foley and Will Skelton were also selected for a tour that starts with a Test against Scotland at Murrayfield on October 30.
The Wallabies, who finished third in the Rugby Championship, will also face France, Italy, Ireland and Wales next month.
Australia head coach Dave Rennie said: "We've got a massive opportunity over the next five matches to test ourselves against some of the best teams in the world and string together some performances that our supporters are proud of back home in Australia.
"It's been really pleasing to continue to get game time into our players through the Australia A programme and a number of those guys have been rewarded for their form with selection in the squad.
"To have Michael back in the group is massive for our team on and off the field and we'll continue to make sure that he has the support around him he needs."
Australia squad:
Allan Alaalatoa, Tom Banks, Jock Campbell, Ben Donaldson, Folau Fainga'a, Lalakai Foketi, Bernard Foley, Matt Gibbon, Nick Frost, Langi Gleeson, Jake Gordon, Ned Hanigan, Reece Hodge, Jed Holloway, Michael Hooper, Len Ikitau, Andrew Kellaway, Noah Lolesio, Lachlan Lonergan, Tate McDermott, Fraser McReight, Mark Nawaqanitawase, Cadeyrn Neville, Hunter Paisami, Jordan Petaia, Matt Philip, David Porecki, Tom Robertson, Pete Samu, Will Skelton, James Slipper (captain), Sam Talakai, Taniela Tupou, Rob Valetini, Nic White, Tom Wright.
Fabio Quartararo said he is in for "the toughest job of his career" after his crash at the Australian Grand Prix handed the MotoGP title race lead to Francesco Bagnaia.
Quartararo conceded the lead in the championship when he crashed out on Turn 2 of the 11th lap on Sunday, while trying to make up for an early mistake that had seen him fall to the back of the race.
The Frenchman has now failed to collect points in three of his last four races, and Bagnaia's third-placed finish at the Phillip Island Circuit propelled him 14 points ahead of Quartararo in the standings.
Indeed, Quartararo was fortunate the Ducati rider gave up his lead to Alex Rins and Marc Marquez on the final lap.
Quartararo's chances of retaining his title might well be slipping away, but the 23-year-old will give it his all.
"Now we need to turn the page and we only have one job and it's trying to win," Quartararo, who held Bagnaia off last season to win his maiden MotoGP title, told reporters.
"It's going to be the toughest job of my career, but I'm ready to fight for it."
Quartararo gave up the title lead at a similarly late stage in 2020, ultimately finishing eighth, though he does not believe this season is comparable to two years ago.
"[In] 2020 [it] was mentally and technically, and now I don't feel mentally like I'm over-thinking too much or not. So mentally I don't feel it's [like] 2020," he added.
"I'm just trying to do my best and I'm overriding a little bit too much and the risk of having a mistake is really close. So that's what happened."
Rins, meanwhile, celebrated victory in what will be his final race in Australia with Suzuki, who are withdrawing from MotoGP at the end of the season.
He said: "I'm super happy to finish in the first position. First of all it will be the last time with the Suzuki here at the Island.
"I'm blessed that I got the first position for this and then for all the people that were supporting me during all the season, during all the bad moments. The team really deserves [this win] and all the staff in Hamamatsu.
"We really deserve it and in many races we know our weak point which is the qualifying.
"We struggled but in some races we had unbelievable pace and were forced to finish in fifth position, sixth position for this reason. The victory was quite nice. It's sad that Suzuki is leaving but let's leave with the victory."
Aaron Boone expects the New York Yankees to hit back after a "gut-wrenching" Game 3 defeat to the Cleveland Guardians as they battle to keep the American League Division Series alive.
The Guardians lead the best-of-five series 2-1 after a dramatic 6-5 victory at Progressive Field on Saturday.
Cleveland went into the ninth inning trailing 5-3, but Oscar Gonzalez came up with a two-out, two-strike single with the bases loaded to consign the Yankees to a walk-off loss.
Yankees manager Boone expects a response in a do-or-die Game 4 in Cleveland on Sunday.
He said: "It was a gut-wrenching ending, but we've got to get over it. Now we’re obviously up against it, but I still love our chances.
"We've got Gerrit [Cole] going tomorrow. We've got to take care of business and try and get back to New York."
Boone called for rookie pitcher Clarke Schmidt to close it out rather than Clay Holmes as the Yankees tried to cling onto their advantage in Game 3.
He defended that decision, stating Holmes would not pitch back-to-back days due to shoulder soreness.
"Part of the thing with him [Holmes] being available for this series, [he] was not really in a back-to-back situation yet," Boone explained. "He just hadn't thrown any live or anything.
"So while he was pretty good today and I fully expect him available tomorrow [Sunday], it just felt like we needed to stay away there."
Holmes felt ready to step up if called upon.
"I prepared today to do my job," Holmes said. “Sometimes those decisions aren't mine. I felt like I was available to pitch.
"Whenever my name is called, I'm ready to go out there and give it everything I've got. They asked, and I said I was good to go if needed. That’s how the conversation was. Those decisions aren't mine, but I was prepared to pitch."
Joe Musgrove was born in San Diego and has watched the Padres lose, lose and lose again against the Los Angeles Dodgers for his entire life.
When Musgrove was born in December 1992, the Dodgers had a 227-198 all-time lead in a regular season series in which they have never trailed. That gap has since increased to 509-418.
After returning to San Diego with the Padres in 2021, the pitcher has three losses and no wins in this matchup.
"Since I was a little kid, we've been getting beat up by the Dodgers," Musgrove said.
But on Saturday, that all changed, with Musgrove the starter as the Padres eliminated the best regular season Dodgers team of all from the NLDS.
San Diego had recovered from losing the first game of the series to the record-breaking 111-win Dodgers, leading 2-1 ahead of Game 4 at Petco Park.
However, through six and a half innings, it appeared LA would be recovering their hold over the Padres, ahead 3-0 in the middle of the seventh.
Then five hits and five runs in the bottom of that inning turned the tide, with Jake Cronenworth's go-ahead two-run single ultimately enough for a remarkable 5-3 win.
The Padres are going back to the NLCS for the first time since 1998 and are doing so having beaten a team who had swept their only previous postseason series in 2020 and dominated them 14-5 this year.
"These guys dominated us all year long, but we got hot at the right time," Musgrove added.
"And you see the unity in this group, this fan base.... we wanted to give it to these people so bad. It's a good feeling."
The Dodgers had been bidding to fulfil manager Dave Roberts' prediction of a World Series all year long, but they fell at the first hurdle in the playoffs.
"Shock factor, very high. Disappointment, very high. It's crushing," Roberts said afterwards.
"Each guy gave everything they had all year long, and [it was] a tremendous season. The great thing about baseball is the unpredictability, and the tough thing about it is the same thing.
"Nothing I can say is going to make it feel any better. Obviously we didn't expect to be in this position."
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