OC Israelis, Palestinians mourn those killed following surprise Hamas attack

• October 11, 2023

Following the deadliest attack on Israel seen in decades and the launch of an intense bombing campaign in Gaza, Orange County Jewish and Palestinian leaders say they condemn the attacks and mourn the lives lost.

It is estimated at least 1,900 people have died in the escalating war. Hamas militants attacked Israel Saturday morning, launching thousands of rockets and flooding into neighborhoods near the Gaza border, slaying residents and taking hostages.  Israel has responded with airstrikes and sealing off the Gaza territory.

Analysts of the long-standing conflict between Israel and Palestine see it as a “turning point… with far-reaching repercussions.”

Several hundred people crowded the outdoor pavilion of the Merage Jewish Community Center of Orange County in Irvine on Tuesday night for a gathering to show support for Israel hosted by the Jewish Federation of Orange County.

Local rabbis led the crowd in an opening prayer for the state of Israel. “Israel is our beating heart, and right now it is bleeding,” one said.

Erik Ludwig, president and CEO of Jewish Federation of OC, said there is “no justification for acts of terrorism. They are pure evil, and all decent people have a responsibility to condemn them.

“The Jewish community here in OC will stand shoulder to shoulder with Israel as it does what it needs to do to defend its citizens and defeat Hamas,” he said. “You being here is standing up.”

Israel Bachar, the Israeli Consul General to the Pacific Southwest, called the Hamas attack the “darkest time in modern history.”

“Seeing slain Jews evokes ghosts of the past,” he said. “This is the largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. This attack is a crime against humanity.”

Rabbis also called on elected officials to publicly raise their support for Israel and to stand up against growing antisemitism abroad and at home.

U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla and Rep. Katie Porter of Irvine sent video messages, with Padilla echoing calls for more U.S. government support and Porter saying, “We cannot remain idle as Israel suffers attacks.”

Among the local leaders attending were Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris, state Sen. Josh Newman, Fifth District Supervisor Katrina Foley, Third District Supervisor Don Wagner, chair of the OC Board of Supervisors, and Irvine Police Chief Michael Kent.

The Hamas attacks in Israel happened as the Jewish community was celebrating the weeklong festival of Sukkot, also known as the Feast of the Tabernacles.

Tania Weinkle brought her children to the rally. She talked about the importance of bringing children to these community solidarity events and talking to them about things like antisemitism, war and genocide. She said it’s “important for them to understand what we face as being part of the Jewish community.”

Local Palestinians and supporters in Orange County are also mourning the attacks.

Rashad Al-Dabbagh, the founder and executive director of the Arab American Civic Council in Anaheim, condemned the Hamas attacks, while pleading for the U.S. government to “approach threats to Palestinian lives with the same concern and urgency” as Israeli lives.

“We mourn the tragic loss of life. All people deserve to live in peace and safety, which requires that we address the root of the problem,” Al-Dabbagh said. “We must support a future where everyone lives in peace, with equal rights and dignity. In doing so, we must first support justice by lifting the blockade on Gaza, ending the apartheid system and ending the occupation. There is no peace without justice.”

In a joint statement, students from the Palestinian-led SouthWest Asian North African organization at Cal State Fullerton said they were “heartbroken” at the attacks, and showed support for any Palestinian students being harassed for speaking out.

“Palestinian people have endured an immense amount of pain, suffering and violence. The power in their resilience speaks volumes,” they said.

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Rida Hamida, a first-generation Palestinian American Muslim and the executive director of Latino and Muslim Unity in Anaheim, said communities “are in mourning due to the loss of innocent lives. Every life is precious” and the conflict is raising more attention to the Palestinian experience in the occupied territories that “the world has turned a blind eye to since 1948.”

“We have to muster the courage to recognize that Palestinian lives matter,” she said. “We call for unity and to recognize every life deserves humanity and every life is sacred.”

At Tuesday’s gathering in Irvine, Hannah Rosenberg, 26, from Congregation Shir Ha-Ma’alot in Irvine, stood emotional with her sign: “I stand with Israel.”

Rosenberg, whose father is a rabbi, called Israel her “home away from home.” She recalled visiting the country and seeing Israelis and Palestinians together “side by side in peace.”

“So many people here want peace, both Israelis and Palestinians,” she said. “Hamas is not Palestine. Palestine and Israel have been together side by side for years, and that is how it should be.”

Related links

LA vigil attendees come together to mourn Israelis killed in Hamas attack
Hamas surprise attack out of Gaza stuns Israel and leaves hundreds dead in fighting, retaliation
Los Angeles and other police agencies step up patrols after deadly Hamas attack in Israel kills hundreds
Israel vows complete siege on Gaza as it strikes the Palestinian territory after incursion by Hamas
Nine Americans killed in attack on Israel, State Department says
With growing antisemitism, fewer Jews feel sense of belonging — these programs aim to change that
During Jewish High Holidays, rabbis bring message of forgiveness to those behind bars

​ Orange County Register 

Disneyland raises prices for most daily admission tickets and all annual passes

• October 11, 2023

Disneyland raised prices nearly across the board effective today, Oct. 11, for every type of ticket except the most basic day pass, which will remain $104 per day. The highest daily admission price, usually charged on the busiest days, increased 8.4%, from $179 to $194, for a one-park, one-day pass.

Prices also went up for Magic Key annual passes, parking and Genie+ cut-the-line benefits.

“We are constantly adding new, innovative attractions and entertainment to our parks and, with our broad array of pricing options, the value of a theme park visit is reflected in the unique experiences that only Disney can offer,” Disney wrote in a published statement about the increases.

The Disneyland Resort typically hikes its prices about once per year. Park-goers who are willing to pay the increases tend to hope that the higher cost will reduce overcrowding.

“Going up?” Disneyland expert Dusty Sage, who runs the popular MiceChat blog, said. “While many ticket tiers are going up as much as 16%, the lowest cost $104 one-day/one-park base ticket remains the same as it has been since 2019, and with more dates at that lower price.”

Sage added that “Disney has become very clever about taking the sting out of price increases. This year’s round of ticket inflation is tempered by a new $50 child’s ticket offer.”

The Anaheim resort officials recently unveiled a discounted child’s ticket offer for kids ages 3-9. It’s only good for visits between Jan. 8 and March 10, 2024. Starting at $50, discounted tickets can be purchased beginning Oct. 24.

Day passes

Price hikes on regular daily tickets and multiday passes vary from $5 to $65, depending on the offering. This represents increases from 3.9% to 15.7%

Single-day tickets for one park are priced according to their expected popularity, with seven different pricing levels.
The cost of a single-day ticket remains at $104 for the least-busy weekdays, but all others will cost visitors more.
With the increase, daily admission prices will be $104, $119, $134, $154, $169, $184 or $194, depending on the day.

Magic Key annual passes

There are four levels of annual pass, depending on blackout dates and perks. The new price structure increases from 3.1% for the priciest Inspire pass to 21.5% of the midlevel Enchant pass.

Inspire pass: $1,649, up $50
Believe pass: $1,249, up $150
Enchant pass: $849, up $150
Imagine pass: $499, up $50

Parking

It will now set you back $35 to park a passenger car at the theme parks, up $5 for most types of parking. Most hotel parking also went up $5.

Downtown Disney is the only parking cost that remains unchanged, at $10 for the first hour to a maximum of $66 for the day, without validation.

Other changes

Genie+ cut-the-line day passes now cost $30, up from $25, when bought in advance. Day-of passes vary in cost. Two more rides — Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway and The Little Mermaid — will be added to the plan.

The Park Hopper add-on, which allows visitors to visit both parks in the same day, increased for multi-day passes, up $5 to $15 depending on the number of days. The single-day park-hopper addition remains $65, with no price increase, so park-hopper tickets will run $169-$259 per day.

“A family of four visiting Disneyland during the busy Christmas season will pay $1,156 for tickets, park-hopping access and front-of-the-line Genie+ access,” Sage said. “Call it “Funflation.”

Related links

Disneyland offers deep discounts on kids’ tickets in early 2024
What’s the least expensive Disney theme park in the world? Some parks offer tickets as low as $40
Disneyland attendance rises and visitor spending increases thanks to higher ticket prices
Disneyland quietly raises its prices on tickets and Genie+ feature
Disneyland ticket prices have ‘not really increased that much’ in recent years, Disney CEO says

​ Orange County Register 

Trinity League Football Podcast: 5 keys to Mater Dei-St. John Bosco showdown

• October 11, 2023

Support our high school sports coverage by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribe now

The biggest game of the Trinity League football season is approaching: Mater Dei vs. St. John Bosco.

Get ready for Friday’s national showdown by listening to this week’s episode of the Trinity League Football Podcast.

OCVarsity’s Dan Albano and insider Scott Barajas discuss their five keys to watch in the game, including “six sensational” defensive players for each team. They also share their predicted final score, and review the games from last week.

You can listen to the show here, and subscribe in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts to catch every episode as they publish. Please like and subscribe to the show.

Please send feedback to Dan Albano at [email protected] and follow show at @TrinityFBPod

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​ Orange County Register 

CIF-SS boys and girls cross country rankings, Oct. 10

• October 11, 2023

Support our high school sports coverage by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribe now

The CIF-SS boys and girls cross country rankings released Tuesday, Oct. 10.

Compiled by PrepCalTrack.com

BOYS DIVISION 1

1 Great Oak

2 San Clemente

3 Mira Costa

4 Beckman

5 Trabuco Hills

6 M.L. King

7 Crescenta Valley

8 Millikan

9 Redondo Union

10 Huntington Beach

BOYS DIVISION 2

1 Ventura

2 Santa Barbara

3 Glendora

4 Newbury Park

5 Hart

6 Woodbridge

7 Tesoro

8 La Serna

9 Foothill

10 El Toro

BOYS DIVISION 3

1 Dana Hills

2 Santa Margarita

3 West Ranch

4 Redlands East Valley

5 Oak Park

6 Agoura

7 Thousand Oaks

8 Moorpark

9 Canyon/Canyon Country

10 Mission Viejo

BOYS DIVISION 4

1 St. Francis

2 JSerra

3 Palos Verdes

4 St. John Bosco

5 Foothill Technology

6 South Pasadena

7 Cathedral

8 Oaks Christian

9 Harvard-Westlake

10 Rim of the World

BOYS DIVISION 5

1 Ontario Christian

2 St. Margaret’s

3 Woodcrest Christian

4 Viewpoint

5 Brentwood

6 Windward

7 Hawthorne MSA

8 Crossroads

9 Flintridge Prep

10 Desert Christian

GIRLS DIVISION 1

1 Santiago/Corona

2 Trabuco Hills

3 Saugus

4 Vista Murrieta

5 Redondo Union

6 Santa Monica

7 Great Oak

8 M.L. King

9 San Clemente

10 Mira Costa

GIRLS DIVISION 2

1 Ventura

2 Claremont

3 Murrieta Valley

4 El Toro

5 Citrus Valley

6 Ayala

7 Newbury Park

8 Canyon/Anaheim

9 Tesoro

10 Peninsula

GIRLS DIVISION 3

1 Dana Hills

2 West Torrance

3 Yorba Linda

4 Shadow Hills

5 North Torrance

6 Oak Park

7 Thousand Oaks

8 South Torrance

9 Santa Margarita

10 Moorpark

GIRLS DIVISION 4

1 JSerra

2T South Pasadena

2T La Canada

4 Oaks Christian

5 Palos Verdes

6 Harvard-Westlake

7 Laguna Beach

8 Rim of the World

9 Fillmore

10 Orange Lutheran

GIRLS DIVISION 5

1 St. Margaret’s

2 St. Lucy’s Priory

3 Western Christian

4 Providence

5 Sage Hill

6 Viewpoint

7 Samueli Academy

8 Hawthorne MSA

9 Pasadena Poly

10 Flintridge Prep

​ Orange County Register 

Clippers even their preseason record by beating Jazz in Seattle

• October 11, 2023

SEATTLE — Kawhi Leonard scored a team-high 16 points and the Clippers evened their preseason record with a 103-98 victory over the Utah Jazz on Tuesday night in the second annual “Rain City Classic.”

Two days after the teams squared off in Honolulu, the Clippers got the better of the Jazz in the rematch at Climate Pledge Arena. Point guard Russell Westbrook and veteran forward Nicolas Batum, both healthy scratches on Sunday, made their preseason debuts but three Clippers sat out with injuries and starting center Ivica Zubac played just five minutes before taking a seat.

The team opened training camp fully healthy last week, but Zubac (back spasms), guard Norman Powell (strained left groin), forward Marcus Morris Sr. (strained left groin) and guard Brandon Boston Jr. (knee contusion) are all on the team’s injury report.

The Clippers, who have just two exhibition games remaining before their Oct. 25 season opener against Portland, do have a pair of healthy All-Star wings.

Leonard shot 5 for 12 from the field (4 for 10 from 3-point range) in his 20 minutes, while Paul George had three points, four rebounds and five assists in 20 minutes on a rough shooting night (1 for 9 overall, 1 for 6 from 3-point range).

Westbrook made his return to the city that drafted him, when the SuperSonics made the former UCLA and Leuzinger High standout the fourth overall pick in the 2008 draft. The team left for Oklahoma City before Westbrook got a chance to suit up in Seattle. The former league MVP was held scoreless in 15 minutes but had five rebounds, three assists, two steals and three turnovers while missing his only shot – a 3-point attempt.

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The Clippers pulled Leonard, George and Westbrook with a 49-39 lead at halftime, but the cushion grew to 19 points before the Jazz erased most of it before the end of the third quarter.

Robert Covington started and finished with 11 points, three rebounds, four blocked shots and two steals in 22 minutes for the Clippers. Amir Coffey scored 15 points off the bench, Moussa Diabate had nine points, six rebounds, three blocks and two steals in 23 minutes and Xavier Moon had nine points.

Former Laker Talen Horton-Tucker had 24 points on 9-for-18 shooting and seven assists to pace the Jazz (1-1). Lauri Markkanen had 16 points and eight rebounds, Jordan Clarkson had 12 points and five assists and rookie Keyonte George had 10 points and five assists.

​ Orange County Register 

ALDS: Rangers complete sweep of Orioles, remain perfect in postseason

• October 11, 2023

By STEPHEN HAWKINS AP Baseball Writer

ARLINGTON, Texas — Corey Seager and Adolis García homered early, Nathan Eovaldi struck out seven over seven innings in another series-clinching start and the Texas Rangers completed a sweep of the Baltimore Orioles in their American League Division Series with a 7-1 victory Tuesday night in Game 3.

The Rangers, whose loss at Seattle on the last day of the regular season made them a wild-card team instead of the AL West champion, have since won all five of their postseason games. They are going to the AL Championship Series for the first time since 2011.

“We’ve just been playing good ball,” Seager said. “Can’t say enough about what our pitching staff has been able to do and shut down some really good offenses and scored enough runs to win some games.”

Baltimore won an AL-high 101 games and was never swept in a series during the regular season, but the surprise AL East champions are done after a sweep at the most inopportune time. The Orioles have lost eight playoff games in a row over the past 10 seasons.

“Really proud of our group. They defied all the odds. Nobody gave us a chance,” Baltimore manager Brandon Hyde said. “These guys played their butts off for six months. We just didn’t play well for these last three, unfortunately.”

Seager pulled a 445-foot drive into the right-field seats in the first inning, and García’s three-run homer – one the All-Star slugger admired while taking a few slow steps out of the batter’s box – made it 6-0 in the second to chase Orioles right-hander Dean Kremer, the Israeli-American pitcher making his first career postseason start.

It was the first Rangers playoff game at Globe Life Field, the stadium that was brand new in 2020 when it hosted most of MLB’s neutral postseason during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Dodgers spent most of that October there, and Seager was the MVP in both the NLCS and World Series. A year later, the shortstop went to Texas on a $325 million, 10-year deal and occupies the same locker he did during that most unusual postseason with limited attendance.

With a full house for his first home playoff game with the Rangers, Seager sent the record sellout crowd of 40,861 into a frenzy when he connected in his first at-bat. He went deep seven times for the Dodgers here in 2020.

Nathaniel Lowe also homered for Texas, a solo shot in the sixth. Lowe had led off the Rangers’ five-run second inning with a lineout to left, but that came on the 15th pitch of the at-bat after fouling off nine two-strike pitches.

“I saw a team that was really motivated,” said Rangers manager Bruce Bochy, the three-time World Series champion with San Francisco now headed to his first ALCS. “The offense, everybody was doing something to contribute.”

Seager is one of five Texas hitters who started for the AL squad in this year’s All-Star Game. That is quite a lineup for Bochy, who was hired last offseason by Rangers general manager Chris Young, one of the manager’s former pitchers in San Diego.

Also an All-Star in his first season with the Rangers, Eovaldi has won both of their series-clinching games this postseason. Those are the right-hander’s longest and best two starts since returning in September after missing seven weeks because of a right forearm strain.

Eovaldi threw 76 of his 98 pitches for strikes without a walk while allowing only one run. He was serenaded with chants of his name as he walked off the mound after the seventh – and then was pushed out of the dugout by a teammate to tip his cap to the crowd. He also won the Wild Card Series clincher at Tampa Bay last Wednesday.

“Playoff pitcher,” Hyde said.

José Leclerc got the final four outs, the first one with the bases loaded in the eighth when he induced an inning-ending groundout by pinch-hitter Aaron Hicks, who in the ninth inning of Game 2 had hit a three-run homer off him.

Leclerc took over for hard-throwing Aroldis Chapman, who gave up a single and then a pair of two-out walks. Leclerc pitched a perfect ninth, setting off celebratory fireworks inside the ballpark when he struck out Jordan Westburg to end the game.

Kremer’s 1⅔ innings marked his shortest outing all season. The 27-year-old wore a Star of David necklace as usual, with thoughts of extended family members in Israel, where war has been declared following a deadly incursion by the militant group Hamas. His mother was at the game.

Kremer was 13-5 with a 4.12 ERA in 32 regular-season starts that included Baltimore’s two clinching games: Sept. 17 to secure a playoff spot, and 11 days later for the team’s 100th win to clinch the AL East.

“We have a lot of guys who have never been to the postseason before. So this hurts, and it’s OK to hurt. It’s OK to have this kind of fuel your fire in the offseason. It’s going to take a while for us to get over this a little bit. But I think our guys will come in hunting and hungry in spring training,” Hyde said.

“Now we have experience. This team going forward – heads up. It’s going to be a really good club.”

FREE PASS COSTS O’S

With runners at second and third and two outs in the second inning, the Orioles opted to intentionally walk Seager. Mitch Garver, who hit a grand slam in Game 2, then hit a two-run double before García homered to make it 6-0.

Seager also drew another walk in the fourth inning, making him the first player with nine walks in a three-game postseason stretch. That is one more than Barry Bonds in San Francisco’s four-game NLDS loss to Florida in 2003.

Seager walked five times in Game 2 against Baltimore, the first player in postseason history with five in a single game.

UP NEXT

The Rangers wait to see if they will be going to Houston or Minnesota for Game 1 of the ALCS on Sunday.

More to come on this story.

​ Orange County Register 

Lincoln Riley emphatically challenges public criticism of USC’s defense

• October 11, 2023

LOS ANGELES — The kettle has been boiling for two weeks now, small hints bubbling that these USC Trojans are not only well aware of public criticism of their polarizing defensive unit – and the man leading it – but a bit ticked off by it.

You had safety Bryson Shaw, after the Colorado game, vehemently defending defensive coordinator Alex Grinch. You had quarterback Caleb Williams, as head coach Lincoln Riley was asked Saturday about his trust in Grinch, shaking his head and smirking slightly in disdain at the question. And you had Williams, after Saturday’s 43-41 barnburner over Arizona, lean into the postgame mic to follow up a defensive question to Riley and say “we wouldn’t have won that game without defense.”

“This, this whole,” Williams said then, sighing for a moment, “defense thing.”

This whole defense thing, indeed, is peanut gallery fodder week after week, the public seeing ugly results (back-to-back 40-point games surrendered! 109th out of 130 FBS teams in yards allowed per game!) and teeing off not-so-hot-takes on this USC unit. After exiting last year on the hot seat, comments calling for Grinch’s job have reached a fervor. Some of the public’s ire has started to turn on Riley for his continued support of Grinch.

On Tuesday, when asked if he felt there were defensive improvements that people weren’t quite understanding, Riley turned the ire right back, the most impassioned he’s been in front of reporters all season.

“Oh, there’s, how long do you got?” he said, making the point that if USC hadn’t missed an end-of-regulation kick to put Arizona away, the game’s narrative would have revolved around the defense’s second-half strides.

“Here’s the deal, everybody in the media had their mind made up – I won’t generalize, a lot of people in the media had their mind made up, that the first second there was any adversity this year it was, like,” Riley said, widening his eyes and throwing his hands in the air, “‘Oh my God, they should have done this, and they should have made this change,’ and blah blah blah.”

“And it’s not true … that’s going to be continued to be written throughout the entire year, but there’s a lot of great things happening here,” Riley continued, “and we’ll own the things we need to get better, but people need to make sure they’re seeing the other side of it as well. And that’s what we’ve been trying to say for a long time, and I think both myself and Caleb and some other players were venting a little bit of frustration with that, to be completely honest.”

“Y’all didn’t think y’all were getting all that,” Riley eventually finished, to laughs.

Indeed, probably not. But Riley’s comments Tuesday – accompanied by a great deal more vocal heft and hand-waving – were a direct continuation of comments last week, when he disagreed with an assessment that defensive issues looked the same as last season. Not “to the trained eye,” he said then.

The question, rapidly, has become what is Riley seeing in this defense that the layman doesn’t. What is Grinch seeing, to keep expressing the same percentage-tilted-positive optimism of the defense’s play. And in truth, the positives are aplenty – a much-improved defensive front, fearsome sack numbers and enough timely plays made to seal victories over Arizona State, Colorado and Arizona.

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“I mean, this is a unit that, I think, when you talk about the top-end potential, has a chance to really grow and get better fast … there are a lot of good things happening on this defense, man,” said Riley, whose 10th-ranked team is 6-0 overall and 4-0 in Pac-12 play.

There are a lot of things, too, though, that simply don’t measure as results. Failing to stop Colorado’s passing game in that second half. Folding to Arizona’s offense in the first 20 minutes, as Grinch mentioned the defense’s lack of execution in clogging up yardage to start. Making only marginal improvements from last year in points allowed per game (27 to 29.2).

And that’s before the Trojans face Notre Dame, Washington, and Oregon.

“I can promise you, inside these walls, there is no expectation other than to play high-level in the second half of this year,” Riley said.

His stance Tuesday, rooted in a clear belief in Grinch and his players, was a gamble of sorts: a gamble on that improvement, that this stone-castle public defense against a pitchforked mob will hold true come December.

​ Orange County Register 

‘Simple answer’ to Dodgers’ stalled offense – get Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman going

• October 11, 2023

PHOENIX — They were the twin engines that propelled the Dodgers’ offense all season.

Two games into their National League Division Series with the Arizona Diamondbacks, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman have been grounded, a combined 1 for 13 (with three walks). Not coincidentally, the Dodgers have hit .159 (10 for 63) as a team with just four runs in the two losses.

“All of us gotta get going,” Betts said following the Game 1 loss. “For me and Freddie, that’s kind of our role and we’re not doing it. I take ownership in that. We just have to figure out a way, man. There are no excuses.”

Betts soared to the front of the NL MVP race with a torrid August – he hit .455 with a 1.355 OPS, 11 home runs and 30 RBIs in 28 games. A cooldown was inevitable and Betts hit just .244 in September with only one home run and nine RBIs in his final 25 games.

Two games into the postseason, he is still looking for his first hit.

“I’m not even thinking about me, man,” Betts said Monday night. “So the ‘Me’ questions are no bueno. No bueno. I’m just focused on the Dodgers right now. We’re down 2-0 and we have to figure out a way to come back on Wednesday.”

Freeman hit well enough down the stretch (.296 in his final 28 games), but he was not happy with his swing. That remains true after going 1 for 6 in the first two games against the Diamondbacks.

“That’s what happens when you have a terrible swing. You foul balls off yourself,” Freeman said of a foul off the inside of his right knee in the seventh inning of Game 2.

“Same way I’ve been feeling for about six weeks, cutting my swing off. So, I’ve got a couple days to figure it out.”

In the aftermath of the Game 2 loss, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he didn’t want to overemphasize the need for Betts and Freeman to get going. But he acknowledged Tuesday that “the simple answer (to waking the offense) is getting Mookie and Freddie going” but the responsibility belongs to “everybody” if the Dodgers are going to extend their lives in this best-of-five series.

“I think it’s just one of those things where it’s two games and I understand that things are more magnified, but one game, one at-bat could change things,” Roberts said. “That’s what my expectation is.

“I was joking with Freddie, I think it was in ’21 (when the Atlanta Braves beat the Dodgers in the NLCS), where he had two really bad games against us. Then he came back in that third game with a base hit to left field and another one. And then he took off. So for me, it can change with one at-bat. And I expect the same thing with Mookie.”

CHANGE UP

Roberts said he is considering some changes to the “structure” of the Dodgers’ lineup in response to the poor performances in the first two games.

“I think it’s something that I’m going to think about tonight. I’ve thought about it today,” he said Tuesday afternoon. “There is that balance of looking at it, it’s only two games, but the other part of it is that sense of urgency because this is do or die now.”

The Dodgers will face a third consecutive right-handed starting pitcher, rookie Brandon Pfaadt. But Kiké Hernandez or Chris Taylor could be in the starting lineup regardless.

“It’s something I’m certainly contemplating,” Roberts said.

EMPTY THE TANK

In the final weeks of the regular season, the Dodgers talked to veteran right-hander Lance Lynn about pitching more aggressively early in games and not saving anything for later in the game. With Ryan Pepiot lined up to share the bulk of Game 3, Lynn has taken that to heart.

“During the regular season there’s different things that are needed, different starts,” Lynn said. “In the postseason, when they give you the ball you go get as many outs for as long as you can. That’s the only thing that matters. Obviously, there’s no saving anything. So you’re just trying to make pitches, make quality pitches and not let them score. It’s that simple.”

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Dodgers pitching coach Mark Prior acknowledged that “it’s probably an adjustment” for Lynn who has been known as an ‘innings-eater’ throughout his career.

“I think the thing that we’ve been harping on, as with all our guys, just worry about the hitter that’s in front of you right now,” Prior said. “Let’s not worry about four innings, six innings, something. I think that’s … definitely from a past era. But at the end of this, we just talked about, just keep making pitches, quality pitches, one after another.

“I think he was coming from a different place where things were run a little bit different and there was a little bit more expected of him. But I think right now, we’re in a position where we just want you to chew up outs until we feel like you’re good. I think he understands that.”

UP NEXT

NLDS Game 3 – Dodgers (RHP Lance Lynn, 13-11, 5.73 ERA) at Diamondbacks (RHP Brandon Pfaadt, 3-9, 5.72 ERA), Wednesday, 6:07 p.m., TBS, 570 AM, 830 AM

​ Orange County Register