Padres, Mets just one win away from NLCS; what’s next for Jets after Robert Saleh firing?

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Good morning to all, but especially to …

THE SAN DIEGO PADRES AND THE NEW YORK METS

America’s Finest City might be home to America’s Funnest Baseball Team. The Padres are one win away from the NLDS after a thrilling 6-5 win over the Dodgers, the latest exhilarating chapter in a heated, enthralling rivalry.

All six San Diego runs came in a wild second inning, highlighted by Fernando Tatis Jr. crushing a two-run home run after the Friars took advantage of shoddy fielding. Tatis leads MLB in home runs (four), extra base hits (four) and total bases (24) this postseason. Absolutely electric stuff.

It looked like his latest heroics would really open things up; instead, the Dodgers struck right back with a four-run third inning, courtesy of Teoscar Hernández‘s grand slam. Credit Michael King for calming down thereafter, though, and a lights-out bullpen for shutting the door. Los Angeles produced just one baserunner after Hernández’s slam. Robert Suarez earned the four-out save.

Earlier in the day, on the other side of the country, the Mets moved to one win away from the NLCS with a 7-2 Game 3 win over the Phillies. After Pete Alonso and Jesse Winker solo home runs staked the Mets to a 2-0 lead, New York added on five runs late with small ball.

But the biggest story was Sean Manaea, who allowed just one run over seven innings against Philadelphia’s loaded lineup. Manaea dedicated the performance to his aunt, who died shortly before the game started. Manaea starting strong, and going deep was huge for an exhausted bullpen, Matt Snyder writes.

We have a packed schedule today with all four Division Series in action.

Honorable mentions

• Micah Parsons is close to returning.
• Russell Wilson is returning to practice.
• The Magic extended Wendell Carter Jr.
• Here are the biggest takeaways from the NBA GM survey.
• JuJu Watkins signed an endorsement deal with Nike.
• Is “Project Rudy” the future of college football?
• Christian Pulisic continues to shine, and Mauricio Pochettino and the USMNT should try to build his partnership with Josh Sargent.
• The Chicago Fire hired Gregg Berhalter.
• Enjoy retirement, Andres Iniesta!
• Here’s our Big East men’s basketball preview.

And not such a good morning for …

ROBERT SALEH AND THE NEW YORK JETS

A long flight home turned into a long time off: The Jets fired Robert Saleh on Tuesday, two days after a loss to the Vikings in London dropped them to 2-3 this season. Saleh finishes his Jets coaching tenure with a 20-36 record, including a bitterly disappointing 9-13 since acquiring Aaron Rodgers last offseason. Rodgers, of course, missed basically all of last season, but things haven’t been much better this year.

What a mess. Saleh joined New York as a defensive mastermind, and he lived up to that billing, even as issues raged on the other side of the ball — issues for which Saleh deserves some (but not all) blame. Notably, Zach Wilson was a huge swing and miss, and not having a competent backup behind Rodgers last year was a disaster.

Still, it’s a brutal turn. Saleh was contemplating firing offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, reported CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones. The Jets rank 27th in yards per game and yards per play and last in yards rushing per game. There are few easy answers in Rodgers’ passing game that includes almost no play action; New York is 30th in passing success rate.

Of course, Hackett is Rodgers’ guy, his former offensive coordinator with the Packers. The Jets have acquiesced to Rodgers in a manner baffling for any football team at any level, much less the NFL. They brought in Hackett and plenty of old teammates (Allen Lazard, Randall Cobb, Tim Boyle). You connect the dots.

Rodgers has repaid that by being a headache. Entering the offseason, he said the team needed to eliminate things that have nothing to do with winning, only to flirt with a vice president run and skip mandatory minicamp to go to Egypt. An odd hug attempt by Saleh that Rodgers pushed away in Week 3 showed there was still plenty of discord.

And here’s the thing: Rodgers has been bad on the field, too! But the Jets are only 2-3, and they play for first place in the AFC East this weekend! Five games in is incredibly early for this change, especially with a quarterback coming off a huge injury. Is this firing supposed to make either side of the ball better?

Will Brinson wonders how much Rodgers’ presence impacted Saleh’s employment.

• Brinson: “This team is going to go as Rodgers goes, and [owner] Woody Johnson siding with the star quarterback over the coach with the terrible record wouldn’t be surprising at all. If the blame game was being played in the wake of the Jets loss, and the offense was starting to get fingers pointed at it, it’s easy to imagine how this power struggle would go down. The results speak for themselves.”

Defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich is now the interim coach, and Jordan Dajani has potential full-time replacements. Yes, Bill Belichick is on there. Here’s more:

• Potential ripple effects
• Where Saleh ranks among Jets’ worst coaches
• Kyle Shanahan was surprised by the move.
• Johnson also addressed Haason Reddick‘s absence, another front office failure.
• Updated hot seat rankings

Not so honorable mentions

• Load management is here to stay for George Pickens.
• Aaron Jones (hip) is week-to-week.
• Christian Wilkins (foot) is out indefinitely.
• The Eagles released Devin White.
• Jazz Chisholm Jr. says the Royals got lucky in Game 2.
• Here’s the college football Bottom 25.
• Here’s one possible explanation for Alabama‘s defensive struggles.
• Penn State can’t fly out of its usual airport to visit USC.

Lynx to face Liberty in WNBA Finals

For the first time since 2017, the Lynx are heading to the WNBA Finals. Minnesota beat Connecticut, 88-77, in the winner-take-all Game 5 of their semifinal series. The Lynx will face the Liberty for the title.

• The final score is perhaps a hair generous to the Sun considering the Lynx led by 24 and were able to finish things without too much stress.
• Napheesa Collier (27 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, four blocks) continued her historic postseason, becoming the first player with at least 25 points and 10 rebounds in three consecutive playoff games.
• Courtney Williams (24 points, five rebounds, seven assists) was excellent as well.

Minnesota went 3-1 against New York this season, and one of those wins was in the Commissioner’s Cup championship. Game 1 is tomorrow in the Big Apple.

NFL Power Rankings; Patriots to turn to Drake Maye, Derek Carr to miss time

Finally, some steadiness in the top five of Pete Prisco’s Power Rankings. Each of the top three remain the same:

1. Chiefs (previous: 1)
2. Vikings (2)
3. Texans (3)
4. Lions (5)
5. Ravens (6)

In sixth is one of the league’s most pleasant surprises: the Commanders. While Pete likes the 4-1 record, he’s also keen on how Washington fares against Baltimore this weekend. I think that’s fair.

The Falcons (15th to 10th) were the biggest risers, while the Buccaneers (fourth to 13th) were the biggest fallers.

Elsewhere, things have turned sour for the Patriots (losers of four straight) and Saints (three straight), and both are making quarterback changes. Only one is voluntary.

The Patriots are switching from Jacoby Brissett to Drake Maye, the No. 3 pick in the 2024 draft. I’m interested to watch Maye, a good athlete with a great arm, but it is really important to keep things in perspective. This was a bad offensive line even before major injuries. The weapons are underwhelming. With many young quarterbacks on the right track, keep Maye’s situation in mind when comparing him to his peers.

He might not be the only rookie getting his first career start this week. Derek Carr (oblique) will likely miss multiple games, and Spencer Rattler is a strong candidate to take over.

Luis Tiant dies at 83

Luis Tiant, the longtime MLB pitcher who won two ERA titles and made three All-Star Games, died at 83 years old.

• Tiant pitched across 19 seasons, with 229 career wins and a 3.30 career ERA. He pitched for the Indians, Twins, Red Sox, Yankees, Pirates and Angels.
• Tiant became an especially beloved figure in Beantown. He finished top-six in AL Cy Young voting on three separate occasions with the team.
• Despite all of the numbers, Tiant is best remembered for his experimental pitching: varying releases, timings and pitch arsenals. Reggie Jackson called Tiant the “Fred Astaire of baseball,” a testament to his wizardry.

What we’re watching Wednesday

 ALDS Game 3: Guardians at Tigers, 3:08 p.m. on TBS/truTV
NLDS Game 4: Phillies at Mets, 5:08 p.m. on FS1
ALDS Game 3: Yankees at Royals, 7:08 p.m. on TBS/truTV
Rangers at Penguins, 7:30 p.m. on TNT
NLDS Game 4: Dodgers at Padres, 9:08 p.m. on FS1
Avalanche at Golden Knights, 10 p.m. on TNT