Good Morning! Today is Thursday, October 30. Here’s what happened this week in the world of sports.

WORLD SERIES- Toronto leads 3-2

If you’re like me and that Tuesday night game is still sitting with you, there are plenty more stats and numbers to blow your mind. At least we know that there’s a good chance we go to extra innings again next time Brad Paisley sings the National Anthem.

But after losing that historic 18-inning game three, the Toronto Blue Jays have bounced back and are now just one win away from a World Series title. Here’s how they got there:

GAME FOUR

Shohei Ohtani took the mound as LA’s starting pitcher the day after reaching base an MLB record nine times. But there was no easing into this one for the Dodger superstar. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. jumped on a hanging breaking ball in the third inning, blasting a two-run homer to stake Toronto a 2-1 lead. That’s where the score remained until the Blue Jays chased Ohtani in the seventh, when they capitalized on the weak Dodger bullpen and scored four more. Final score: Blue Jays 6, Dodgers 2

GAME FIVE

Hopefully you were in your seat for the first pitch last night, because it didn’t take long for the Blue Jays to strike against Blake Snell. Davis Schneider connected on the very first pitch of the game, sending a fastball into the bleachers for a leadoff home run. The very next batter was Vladdy… it took him two pitches to do the same! The Blue Jays became the first team in World Series history to lead off a game with back-to-back home runs. And Schneider’s dad had the perfect view from his seats at Dodger Stadium:

From there, it was all about Trey Yesavage. The rookie starter made his fifth postseason start– one more than his career AAA starts– and delivered one of the all-time great postseason pitching performances. He’s the first pitcher with 12 strikeouts and no walks in the Fall Classic. Yesavage went seven innings, allowing just one run on three hits. Final Score: Blue Jays 6, Dodgers 1

And so we head back to Toronto… “I can’t wait,” said Toronto manager John Schneider, “to see what the Rogers Centre is going to look, feel, and sound like.” While the Blue Jays keep finding ways to apply pressure, the Los Angeles offense has been completely shut down. The Dodgers have now scored just four runs since the seventh inning of game three. “There’s a few of us that need to be successful,” said first baseman Freddie Freeman, “It can’t always just be Shohei.” Luckily for Freeman, LA has ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the mound Friday night as they try to extend this series to a winner-take-all Game Seven.

NBA + NHL

Everyone in the NBA is scoring 40 points and no one is quite sure who the best team in hockey is yet. Here’s one notable story from each league (more on these going forward, don’t worry. Baseball takes up a lot of time)

• Although they lost a few nights ago to the Oilers, the Utah Mammoth are 7-1 since introducing their new mascot, Tusky. They also signed forward Logan Cooley to an eight-year extension.

• Nikola Jokic has recorded a triple-double in each of his first four games this season, joining Oscar Robertson as the only players to begin their season in such a dominant fashion.

QUARTERBACKS AND COACHES

The New Orleans Saints are benching Spencer Rattler in favor of rookie Tyler Shough this weekend. The rookie out of Louisville will make his first NFL start against the Rams.

Vikings quarterback Carson Wentz will miss the rest of the season with a shoulder injury. It’s back to JJ McCarthy under center for Minnesota.

Staying in the Twin Cities, Derek Shelton will be the new manager of the Minnesota Twins. Formerly the manager of the Pirates, Shelton was the bench coach for the Twins for two seasons in 2018-2019.

And although he doesn’t have a job yet, it’s looking pretty good for Albert Pujols in San Diego. It was reported that the future hall of famer’s interview with the Padres lasted over nine hours! Maybe they were watching all 703 of his home runs? If anyone understands it would be me– not sure how but I still remember this game from 2006 every so often:

THIS WEEKEND’S BIG GAMES (all times Eastern)

THURSDAY:

• Stars @ Lightning, 7 PM on TNT/HBO Max

• Ravens @ Dolphins, 8:15 PM on Amazon Prime

FRIDAY:

• Celtics @ 76ers, 7 PM on Amazon Prime

• 🏆 Dodgers @ Blue Jays, 8 PM on Fox

  • Yoshinobu Yamamoto vs Kevin Gausman

SATURDAY:

• Penn State @ (1) Ohio State, Noon on Fox

• (9) Vanderbilt @ (20) Texas, Noon on ABC

• Tottenham vs Chelsea, 1:30 PM on Peacock

• (15) Virginia @ Cal, 3:45 PM on ESPN2

• (18) Oklahoma @ (14) Tennessee, 7:30 PM on ABC

• (17) Cincinnati @ (24) Utah, 10:15 PM on ESPN

• 🏆 Dodgers @ Blue Jays, 8 PM on Fox, *if necessary*

SUNDAY:

• Vikings @ Lions, 1 PM on Fox

• Colts @ Steelers, 1 PM on CBS

• Chiefs @ Bills, 4:25 PM on CBS

• Seahawks @ Commanders, 8:20 PM on NBC

“I don’t think I could have dreamt a dream this special,” –Dodgers game three hero Will Klein

Have a wonderful weekend! See you on Monday