PARIS — Spain’s Rafa Nadal, who won 22 Grand Slam singles titles, said on Thursday he was putting an end to his career, a decision effective after the Davis Cup final after a professional journey that made him one of the greatest players in tennis.

‘It has been some difficult years, these last two especially,’ the 38-year-old, who won a record 14 French Open titles, said in a video.

‘I am very excited that my last tournament will be the Davis Cup representing my country. It’s closing the circle because one of my first joys was the final in Sevilla in 2004.’

The Davis Cup knockout phase will be played from Nov. 19-24.

Nadal’s career has been hampered by injuries and he missed the 2023 French Open and was beaten in the first round by German Alexander Zverev this year.

The ‘King of Clay’ won his last Roland Garros title in 2022 and left Paris on a jaw-dropping 112-4 win-loss record.

Nadal played only 23 matches in the last two seasons.

He will hang up his racket two years after his great rival Roger Federer, leaving 24-time major winner Novak Djokovic of Serbia as the only member of the ‘Big Three’ still active.

Earlier on Thursday, Nadal’s rival in the youngsters’ ranks, Frenchman Richard Gasquet, said he would end his career after next year’s French Open.

Nadal thanked his family and his team for his stellar career, with a special word for his uncle Toni, who was his coach for most of his time on court.

‘I believe that thanks to him, I have also been able to overcome many situations that have been difficult in my sporting career,’ he said.

To his fans, Nadal said: ‘I can’t thank you enough for what you have made me feel. Everything I have experienced has been a dream come true.’

‘I leave with the absolute peace of mind having given my best,’ he added.

After refusing any special event after his French Open first-round loss this year, Nadal said he would be back and he is now expected to receive what promises to be an emotional tribute at Roland Garros next year.

After making landfall Wednesday night, Hurricane Milton battered the Tampa Bay area with high winds and heavy rains. A storm deployed weather sensor on the public beach at Anna Maria Island, near the mouth of Tampa Bay, reported 84-mph sustained winds, with a gust to 106 mph at 10 p.m. ET, said Tyler Fleming, a meteorologist with the weather service in Tampa Bay.

The destructive winds damaged the roof of St. Petersburg’s Tropicana Field, the home stadium of MLB’s Tampa Bay Rays. Officials had transformed the baseball stadium into a base camp for emergency responders and set up rows of green cots.

Earlier this week, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that the stadium would serve as a 10,000-person base camp for debris cleanup operations and first responders. Footage from local television stations and photos shared on social media showed part of the stadium’s roof torn off amid high winds.

St. Petersburg Fire Rescue told ABC News that authorities were in contact with people inside the stadium and confirmed they were safe. WFTS-TV reported that there were no injuries.

All things Rays: Latest Tampa Bay Rays news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.

Brian Kelly cut through the clutter when discussing college football’s haves vs. its have nots. It starts with this: Do you have a quarterback?
Penn State coach stumps for airport expansion. Such is life in the new Big Ten.
‘New Vanderbilt’ can handle Alabama, just not Georgia State.

When projecting whether teams possess the goods to make the College Football Playoff, we examine factors including schedule strength, quality of a depth chart, transfer haul, program pedigree and coaching momentum.

Every element matters, but we tend to overcomplicate this.

LSU’s Brian Kelly cut through the clutter when he boiled down the difference between college football’s haves and the have nots. One factor that trumps all else:

Do you have a quarterback?

If you have a quarterback, you’ve given yourself the best shot at making the playoff.

If you don’t have a quarterback, you’re toast. See Florida State, Michigan, Auburn and others.

“If we’ve seen one thing happen this past week, the quarterback is driving this,” Kelly said while appearing on “The Paul Finebaum Show” on Monday, “whether it’s at Miami or at Vanderbilt or any of the programs that are successful right now. The quarterback is essential to drive these programs.’

The quarterbacks at No. 10 LSU and No. 8 Mississippi help ensure those programs are planted in the playoff contender aisle at the season’s midpoint.

The playoff offers room for either LSU or Ole Miss. There’s probably not room for both.

Mathematically, this outcome won’t eliminate either team. In effect, though, this feels like a playoff elimination game, and it could come down to whichever quarterback fares best.

“Make no mistake about it: Jaxson Dart is driving Ole Miss,” Kelly said of the Rebels’ veteran quarterback, who leads the SEC in passing yards.

Only one opponent, Kentucky, limited Dart to fewer than 285 passing yards. Not coincidentally, Kentucky handed Ole Miss its loss. Unfortunately for Dart, he might be without his favorite target. Tre Harris, the nation’s leading receiver, is dealing with a lower-leg injury.

MAJOR KEY: The one indicator that predicts transfer quarterback success

HARD TRUTH: Win-now world of college football makes transfer QBs king

On the opposing sideline, quarterback Garrett Nussmeier carries LSU. He threw for a career-high 409 yards in his last game, a rout of South Alabama.

Riding a quarterback to playoff contention extends beyond the SEC.

In the Big Ten, Top 25 upstarts Indiana and Illinois possess better records and superior playoff potential than either Southern California or Michigan. That’s, in part, because Indiana’s Kurtis Rourke and Illinois’ Luke Altmyer are outperforming USC’s Miller Moss and Michigan’s quarterback du jour.

Within the ACC, surprise stories Pittsburgh and Syracuse are a combined 9-1. Their quarterbacks, Eli Holstein and Kyle McCord, rank in the top eight nationally for passing yards per game.

A top-notch quarterback won’t ensure a playoff bid, but he gives a team a chance. Shy of that, Boise State tailback Ashton Jeanty would come in handy.

MESS TO CLEAN: Can Lincoln Riley get Southern California on track?

BOWL PROJECTIONS: Wild Week 6 overhauls College Football Playoff

Here’s what else caught my eye in this view of college football from the “Topp Rope”:

How to handle Big Ten life on the road? Expand the airport!

You never know what you might get from a James Franklin news conference. This week, the Penn State coach referenced “runway length” at the airport in State College, Pennsylvania, while discussing the cross-country travel rigors for No. 5 Penn State’s Big Ten game in Los Angeles against Southern California.

The Nittany Lions will depart Thursday to leave additional recovery time, in part because they can’t fly out of the State College airport. Instead, they’ll bus 100 miles to Harrisburg International Airport before making a flight that will exceed five hours to a destination three time zones away.

Franklin proposed a solution: airport expansion in State College.

“That’s one of the things we have to discuss, is increasing the size of the runway here and the size of the airport,” he said.

I would call this a classic case of football coach overreach – stick to X’s and O’s! – but I’ve experienced the grind of an eight-hour travel day. I’d wish it upon no one, certainly not anyone that must be fresh for a football game.

Emails of the week

Rodney writes: Your take on Bama’s loss at Vanderbilt is way off the mark. … This current Vandy team, with 51 new NIL players added during the offseason is absolutely NOT historic Vandy. The old Vanderbilt no longer exists. Now, due to NIL, it is Vandy on STEROIDS.

My response: Georgia State would like a word. The Panthers defeated ‘new Vandy’ just last month. Good thing for Alabama it doesn’t have to face ‘new Georgia State.’ If Alabama defenders had any clue how to defend an option play, I suspect we’d be hearing a lot less about ‘new Vandy.’

Gary writes: I squarely put the blame on Josh Heupel for Tennessee’s loss at Arkansas. Every year Heupel loses a game that we should have won. I think he didn’t prepare enough against Arkansas and took them for granted. Where do you most put the blame?

My response: I place it on the same person as you: Josh Heupel. When a fourth-year coach loses as a 14-point favorite, point the finger at the man in charge.

Heupel’s offensive guru credentials are subject to review. He cooked a tasty dish with Jeremy Pruitt’s players, but his offense doesn’t look the same without quarterback Hendon Hooker and wide receiver Jalin Hyatt, two players Pruitt fetched. Heupel’s also responsible for the inability to sustain a formidable offensive line after Pruitt’s players departed.

Three and out

1. I’m starting to believe in the Heisman Trophy potential of Boise State’s Jeanty. No quarterback is running away with the award, and Jeanty’s on pace to deliver the nation’s first 2,000-yard rushing season since 2019. If Boise State makes the playoff as the Group of Five qualifier, that will give hesitant voters permission to vote for Jeanty. What could foil Jeanty? A quarterback, say Alabama’s Jalen Milroe or Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel, sizzling in the second half of the season.

2. The Big Ten should qualify a minimum of three teams for the playoff, but we’ll learn more Saturday about which of the trio of No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Oregon and No. 5 Penn State are truly national championship contenders. The Buckeyes will play at Oregon, while Franklin’s Nittany Lions have the chance to land a playoff knockout punch on Lincoln Riley’s Trojans. Depending on how these games go, the Big Ten might have three national championship contenders by Sunday, or it could have one.

3. Consider this: If Florida upsets Tennessee on Saturday, Billy Napier would have the same 4-2 record as Heupel this season. Is it wild to think Napier can escape the hot seat? Yeah, pretty wild, but a win in Knoxville might cause the firing squad to set down their arms for a minute.

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @btoppmeyer.

The ‘Topp Rope’ is his football column published throughout the USA TODAY Network.

Subscribe to read all of his columns.

So, is the sixth time the charm? 

The 2024 WNBA Finals will mark the sixth time that the New York Liberty, one of the OG W franchises, plays for a crown. New York’s players are the first to admit they are sick of being a bridesmaid instead of a bride. 

The Liberty, led by perennial MVP candidate Breanna Stewart, have been the best team in the league all season. Stewart has been her usual spectacular self, and guard Sabrina Ionescu has significantly improved. Rookie Leonie Fiebich was a clutch pick-up, and consistent play (and defense) from Jonquel Jones and Betnijah Laney has made New York a tough match up for everyone. Smart money says they’ll be the 2024 champs. 

What do the Lynx have to do to stop Ionescu, Stewart & Co.?

Containing a player as talented as Stewart isn’t really going to happen. Ditto for Ionescu. But what Minnesota can do is make those two take tough, uncomfortable shots. Tire them out. Force them to be inefficient. 

From a player standpoint, the X-factor for New York will be the 6-foot-6 Jones. The 2021 WNBA MVP can score around the rim and drain 3s — but she’s foul prone. If Minnesota can get Jones in foul trouble and force her to the bench, the Lynx’s chances of winning increase significantly. 

USA TODAY staff predictions

Nancy Armour: New York in 4
Scooby Axson: New York in 4
Cydney Henderson: New York in 5
Jordan Mendoza: New York in 4
Lindsay Schnell: New York in 5

2024 WNBA Finals schedule

Game 1, Thursday, Oct. 10: Lynx at Liberty, 8 p.m., ESPN
Game 2, Sunday, Oct. 13: Lynx at Liberty, 3, ABC
Game 3, Wednesday, Oct. 16: Liberty at Lynx, 8, ESPN
Game 4*, Friday, Oct. 18: Liberty at Lynx, 8, ESPN
Game 5*, Sunday, Oct. 20: Lynx at Liberty, 8, ESPN

(All times Eastern; best-of-five series; * – if necessary)

SAN DIEGO — The Los Angeles Dodgers giggled, shook their head and just like every other resident of Los Angeles, can’t wait to see what Friday night brings.

The last time the Dodgers and San Diego Padres gathered in Chavez Ravine, the fans booed, jeered, threw bottles and cans onto the field, cursing Padres star Manny Machado.

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Being an NFL head coach has increasingly become a young man’s game, and one can point to the start of the 2017 NFL offseason as the beginning of that trend.

That’s when the Los Angeles Rams hired Sean McVay to be the team’s new head coach. McVay was not yet 31 years old when the Rams handed the reins to the Washington offensive coordinator, and the results were fruitful.

McVay helped turn Jared Goff into a solid quarterback and the Rams into a Super Bowl contender. He eventually won a Super Bowl after the team traded for Matthew Stafford, and that allowed McVay to etch his name into the annals of NFL history.

This success has led NFL teams to copy McVay’s success. NFL owners have increasingly gravitated towards younger, offensive-minded coaches to run the show for their teams. The results have been mixed, but the youth movement has continued on despite that.

NFL STATS CENTRAL: The latest NFL scores, schedules, odds, stats and more.

The average age of NFL head coaches entering the 2024 season was just 47.7 years old. While many of the younger head coaches are offensive-minded, the youngest leader in the NFL cut his teeth on the defensive side of the ball.

Here’s what to know about the NFL’s youngest coaches for 2024.

Who is the youngest NFL head coach?

Mike Macdonald is currently the youngest coach in the NFL. The first-year Seattle Seahawks coach is the lone 37-year-old to be coaching in the league this season.

Macdonald’s hiring took away Sean McVay’s standing as the league’s youngest coach, a position he held for his first six seasons in charge of the Rams.

Youngest NFL coaches in 2024

There are five NFL head coaches who have not yet turned 40 years old. They are as follows:

Mike Macdonald, Seattle Seahawks (37)
Jerod Mayo, New England Patriots (38)
Sean McVay, Los Angeles Rams (38)
Kevin O’Connell, Minnesota Vikings (39)
Shane Steichen, Indianapolis Colts (39)

Youngest NFL head coaches in history

Sean McVay remains the youngest NFL head coach ever hired. He wasn’t yet 31 years old when the Rams hired him to be their head coach before the 2017 season.

Below is a look at the 10 youngest coaching hires of the Modern Era, according to the Pro Football Hall of Fame:

Sean McVay, Los Angeles Rams: 30 years, 11 months (2017)
Lane Kiffin, Oakland Raiders: 31 years, 8 months (2007)
Harland Svare, Los Angeles Rams: 31 years, 11 months (1962)
John Michelosen, Pittsburgh Steelers: 32 years, 2 months (1948)
Raheem Morris, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 32 years, 4 months (2009)
David Shula, Cincinnati Bengals: 32 years, 7 months (1992)
Josh McDaniels, Denver Broncos: 32 years, 8 months (2009)
John Madden, Oakland Raiders: 32 years, 10 months (1969)
Don Shula, Baltimore Colts: 33 years, 4 days (1963)
Al David, Oakland Raiders: 33 years, 6 months (1963)

As grossly premature and unfair as it often seems to discuss NFL head coaches’ job security prior to a given season, Tuesday was the latest stark reminder that sweeping change is a constant flowing through the league’s ever-churning news cycle.

With 12 games left in the 2024 regular season, New York Jets owner Woody Johnson nevertheless decided to ground Robert Saleh after three-plus seasons and a 20-36 record, entrusting his franchise’s fast-fading Super Bowl hopes to Jeff Ulbrich – a linebacker for 10 seasons with the San Francisco 49ers who has extensive experience as an NFL defensive coordinator but none as a head coach – and maybe, to some implicit degree, QB Aaron Rodgers.

Whether Ulbrich (and Rodgers) can hotwire this team and get it airborne the way Maverick Mitchell can a rickety F-14 remains to be seen. What’s almost undoubtedly true is that Saleh is only the first of what will probably be at least a half-dozen HC firings if recent history is any indicator.

Here are seven coaches, listed alphabetically, whose derrières could be just a touch warmer now that the first hot seat of 2024 has already been vacated:

Dennis Allen, New Orleans Saints

Maybe no one can commiserate better with Saleh. Allen’s crew (krewe?) got off to a blistering 2-0 start, scoring 91 points in its first two games under new OC Klint Kubiak. But it’s come back to earth – and failed to win – since, Derek Carr’s latest oblique injury joining the list of quarterback issues Allen has had with the post-Drew Brees Saints. Now, the team’s fortunes seem at least temporarily tied to de facto rookie QB Jake Haener or actual rookie Spencer Rattler. Maybe one of them catches lightning in a bottle. Maybe Carr returns sooner than expected and recaptures the offense’s early season voodoo. And maybe none of that happens, and Allen’s (current) 26-49 career mark as a coach leads to what seems like the inevitable conclusion in The Big Easy.

NFL STATS CENTRAL: The latest NFL scores, schedules, odds, stats and more.

Dave Canales, Carolina Panthers

It seems patently unjust to turn up the heat on a rookie head coach five games into his tenure. But Canales, a fairly ugly 1-4 so far, was brought to Charlotte largely to fix second-year QB Bryce Young … yet instead wound up benching him after just two starts. Canales may be doing all he can and might even pushing the correct buttons despite being dealt a weak hand. But it may not be enough given he works for trigger-happy owner David Tepper, who’s employed seven coaches (interims included) since the start of the 2019 season.

Mike McCarthy, Dallas Cowboys

Perhaps no team in sports can experience the multiple peaks and valleys – real or imagined – in the span of five weeks the way “America’s Team” consistently manages to. Frankly, McCarthy should probably be commended for staking the Cowboys to a 3-2 record given the lengthy contract issues and heavy personnel losses his team was subject to in owner Jerry Jones’ self-termed “all in” offseason. Yet there doesn’t appear to be much doubt that the 2024 Cowboys are not working with the same level of talent as the teams that won 12 games each of the previous three years. Injuries to defensive stalwarts Micah Parsons, DeMarcus Lawrence and DaRon Bland certainly don’t help, nor will a schedule that’s about to serve up the Lions, 49ers, Falcons, Eagles, Texans and Commanders in succession. But nothing is working against McCarthy more than his heretofore inability to end Dallas’ nearly three-decade Super Bowl absence – nor even guide the Cowboys past the divisional round of the playoffs – “failures” only compounded by the fact that he’s working on an expiring contract. All this at a time when Jones can easily pivot to a legend like Bill Belichick, another established coach like Mike Vrabel or any number of highly regarded young coordinators in 2025 if McCarthy ultimately can’t manage to do more with less.

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Doug Pederson, Jacksonville Jaguars

Recently – and fairly – asked about his job footing amid the Jags’ 0-4 start, he seemed both exasperated and dismissive. ‘My status?” said Pederson. “That’s kind of a weird question, but OK.’ Maybe also kind of weird that he’s also defended the offensive play calling (not to mention his often curious game management) while shifting focus on his players’ performance – probably not a good sign given the hundreds of millions Shad Khan poured into the roster in recent months, the owner subsequently saying: “(W)inning – winning now – is an expectation.” Yet Pederson has won twice in Jacksonville’s last 11 games, going back to last season’s meltdown that cost Khan a second straight AFC South title. Now in his eighth season as a head coach, Pederson has only won as many as 10 regular-season games once – with the Eagles in 2017 during their magic carpet ride to a Super Bowl win. But magic seems to be in exceedingly short supply in Duval County.

Antonio Pierce, Las Vegas Raiders

He gave the Silver and Black a needed shot in the arm midway through last season, going 5-4 in the aftermath of the Josh McDaniels debacle. Pierce then became the fairly rare interim head coach to successfully ditch the first part of that title. He’s off to a 2-3 start in 2024, largely hindered by the unsettled quarterback situation that has persisted since the McDaniels regime unceremoniously and awkwardly kicked Carr to the curb two years ago. Yet Pierce’s background as a player also hasn’t prevented him from pointing the finger at his own guys, some of whom he recently accused of making “business decisions” on the field – and that was before he apparently got caught up in the team’s quickly dissolving marriage to All-Pro WR Davante Adams. Does Pierce probably deserve more time to find his way – and especially with a stabilized QB position? Yes. Is he the Raiders’ fourth coach in the past four seasons? Yes. The circumstances have certainly varied, but job security for Pierce’s recent predecessors has come up snake eyes as of late.

Nick Sirianni, Philadelphia Eagles

He’s 38-22 in three-plus seasons, has never missed the playoffs and had Philly this close to victory in Super Bowl 57. But the spotlight has been pretty squarely focused on Sirianni since the Eagles’ 10-1 start in 2023 devolved into a 1-6 finish that included an embarrassing loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the wild-card round. It included much of the finger pointing and backbiting you’d expect in a drama-filled Philadelphia story but has also drawn increasing scrutiny to the apparently strained relationship between Sirianni and Jalen Hurts – and, firing the quarterback with the $50+ million-per-year salary is rarely the path of least resistance. Injuries and an untimely late-game drop by RB Saquon Barkley against Atlanta have contributed to the Eagles’ uneven 2-2 start. But if they stumble out of the bye against a quartet of teams that’s currently a collective 5-15, it wouldn’t be a shocker if Sirianni quickly found himself as the guy next to Saleh on the unemployment line.

Kevin Stefanski, Cleveland Browns

How is someone who won the league’s Coach of the Year award in 2020 and ’23 on this list you ask? Two words: Deshaun and Watson. Stefanski took Cleveland on rare playoff trips each of those years – but with Baker Mayfield and, primarily, Joe Flacco as the quarterbacks most responsible for the respective success of those squads. Watson, now infamously acquired and extended prior to the 2022 campaign, has been a shell of the player who previously starred for the Houston Texans. Whether Stefanski can’t or won’t voluntarily pivot from him leaves this team in a no-win situation – almost literally given its 1-4 start. And, again, Saleh’s ouster is a reminder that it’s typically much easier to dismiss the coach than the quarterback. And while self-sabotage surely isn’t a route Stefanski would follow, it’s worth wondering if he might ultimately seek an escape hatch given the likelihood this organization remains financially tied to Watson – and his poor play, general lack of accountability and albatross of a contract – into the spring of 2027.

***

Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Nate Davis on X, formerly Twitter, @ByNateDavis.

NEW YORK — Francisco Lindor had been here before. The stakes ratcheted up but it was the same businesslike trot around the bases for the Mets’ star shortstop.

Elsewhere inside Citi Field, it was pandemonium.

For five innings in Game 4 of the National League Division Series, Mets fans hung on every pitch. The Mets loaded the bases two times against Phillies starter Ranger Suarez and came up with nothing to show for it.

Finally, the heart of the Mets’ roster rose up on the grandest stage.

Lindor stepped to the plate with the bases loaded in the sixth inning against Phillies closer Carlos Estevez and delivered one of the biggest home runs in the history of Citi Field.

Follow every MLB game: Latest MLB scores, stats, schedules and standings.

‘I was just trying to get a good pitch in the zone. I felt like I got a good one early and I missed it,’ Lindor said. ‘I was just trying to do whatever the boys did which is get on base. They did an amazing job. My at-bat doesn’t come up if it’s not for the guys in front of me.’

The Mets shortstop hammered a go-ahead grand slam into the Phillies bullpen to hoist the Mets to a 4-1 win over the Phillies in front of a sold-out crowd of 44,103 fans in Flushing. It accounted for all of the Mets’ scoring as they punched their ticket to the National League Championship Series for the first time since 2015.

‘For us to be celebrating here at home in front of our fan base, for Lindor to come through that way, what a story,’ Carlos Mendoza said. ‘I keep saying it. On to the next round, we’re going to continue to do our thing, one day at a time, one series at a time, go out and compete and see what happens.’

A night to remember

For two weeks, the Mets’ magic has been out of reach for the Mets faithful.

Lindor’s ninth-inning two-run home run clinched the Mets’ postseason berth on the final day in Atlanta. Then, Pete Alonso lifted them into the Division Series with a ninth-inning three-run home run in Wild Card Game 3 in Milwaukee.

Finally, on Wednesday night, New York had its chance to celebrate. For the first time in the 16-year history of the ballpark, the Mets were popping champagne in the home clubhouse in October.

For Brandon Nimmo, a homegrown star who has spent all of 13 years of his baseball career in the Mets organization and signed back to achieve this level of success before last season, Thursday’s win was a touchstone moment. He broke down in tears as he sprinted in from left field.

‘I was trying to not worry about it, keep playing our game. The game’s not over, you always go to the last out,’ Nimmo said. ‘And the emotion that poured over me was unbelievable. To be able to do it in front of the fan base here at Citi Field for the first time is just a dream come true for me and everything I ever wanted when I got drafted.’

As the euphoria slipped out to the diamond where the Mets’ players and staff mingled with family and friends, fans packed the lower level behind the team’s dugout. Starling Marte scrambled over to spray fans in the front row with bubbly.

It was a celebration well-earned and the fans’ first opportunity to soak in the run that has been sustained over the last two weeks firsthand.

‘The environment the last two days was just electric,’ Pete Alonso said. ‘The fans were giving it their all from pitch in to pitch out. We feed off that energy and it’s so great to come back home and be able to win it. I just can’t say enough how proud I am of every single guy in this clubhouse.’

Taking in Francisco Lindor’s grand slam

Jose Quintana needed to be careful when he watched the ball clear the fence.

The veteran was in the training room getting his blood flow restriction recovery on his left arm as Lindor’s home run gave the Mets a sudden advantage.

‘Just jumping. I have a lot of emotions,’ Quintana said. ‘It was really good when he gave us the chance to win it and Diaz closed the door. It was really cool. Can’t be better.’

This one belonged just as much to Quintana, who held the Phillies to one run (no earned) in five innings while striking out six. The only Phillies run crossed on an error by Mark Vientos.

For the second straight week in an elimination game, Quintana helped the Mets advance. This time, he had the fans behind him.

‘We’re not scared to go to Philly, but having a guy like Q who is about as steady as they come in clinching scenarios, that’s the guy,’ pitching coach Jeremy Hefner said. ‘Even if he gives up a couple runs or a couple hits, he’s not going to lose what he’s trying to do. There’s a lot of comfort in that.’

Lindor’s grand slam set off the celebration, but it was built upon other massive efforts by the Mets’ pitching staff.

David Peterson, Edwin Diaz shut the door

Six days earlier, David Peterson had one of the best vantage points in American Family Field when Alonso blasted the go-ahead home run into the suite adjacent to the Mets’ bullpen.

Then, the left-hander needed to refocus before claiming his first save.

On Thursday, Peterson had just left the mound when Lindor ripped the game open five batters. There were different emotions when he suddenly had a lead to protect.

‘It was just like, ‘OK, here we go. I have a lead,” Peterson said. ‘Let’s go out there, let’s do our job and get these guys back in here and eventually get the ball back to Sugar.’

Peterson tossed 2⅓ scoreless innings in relief, recording the final out of the sixth with two runners on base. He picked up a double play in the seventh and picked up outs against Trea Turner, Bryce Harper and Alec Bohm in the eighth.

That set the stage for Diaz, who walked J.T. Realmuto and Bryson Stott to begin the ninth inning. The Mets closer needed to trust his stuff and sent Citi Field into a frenzy by striking out Kody Clemens, picking up a fly ball from Brandon Marsh and then fanning Kyle Schwarber to end the game.

Despite a raucous reception, Diaz is hoping Thursday is just the latest checkpoint on the team’s October agenda.

‘Our expectation is to make the World Series,’ Diaz said. ‘I think we’re playing the best baseball of all the teams. We know we gotta face the Dodgers or San Diego, they are playing really good too, but I trust our team. We always stick together.’

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Aaron Rodgers has a future as a cattle farmer, so skillful is he at shoveling the, uh, manure.

Taking refuge in his usual safe space, Rodgers went on The Pat McAfee Show on Wednesday to rebut the idea that he was responsible for Robert Saleh’s firing or had advance knowledge the stunning move was coming just five games into the season. Rodgers was incredulous that anyone would believe he could wield that much power. Or would backstab Saleh after the quarterback had grown so close to the New York Jets coach and his family.

Yeah, it’s a real leap.

Rodgers seems not to realize that everyone else’s memory is just as long as his. Ever since he claimed to be “immunized” against COVID-19, everything he says is considered suspect, especially when it’s to his benefit. There are receipts galore about his loyalty, and anyone who heard his potshots at Jimmy Kimmel and Travis Kelce last season know how low he will stoop when he feels he’s been wronged.

And let’s not even start on families.

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The Jets are not a good team, and their struggles are all the more glaring because they were a trendy pick to make a deep run in the postseason, and maybe even make the Super Bowl. But defense, Saleh’s forté, is not the Jets’ problem. They rank second in the NFL in yards allowed per game and are tied for fifth in points allowed.

It’s the offense that’s a mess, and Rodgers is a big part of that. He’s completing just 61% of his passes, which would be his second-worst mark as a starter, and has thrown almost as many interceptions (four) as he has touchdowns (seven). A year after tearing his Achilles, his mobility remains an issue, a factor in his 13 sacks.

“There was going to be some things that needed to change, regardless of what happened to Robert. We just haven’t been playing consistent football on offense,” Rodgers said. “As we know, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. When you have a couple of games – and obviously I didn’t play well in either of them – (where) we just don’t play very efficiently, you’ve got to adjust some things.”

And yet, it was Saleh who took the fall rather than offensive coordinator and play caller Nathaniel Hackett – who just so happens to be Rodgers’ good buddy going back to their days together in Green Bay.

“I know there were a lot of things swirling out there. But at this point, (interim coach Jeff Ulbrich) and I have talked a couple of times, and I’m on board with whatever he decides as far as offense goes,” Rodgers said.

“I want to do what’s best for the team and we’re throwing our support behind coach Ulbrich,” he added. “Whatever he believes is best for the team is what we’re going to go with.”

Ulbrich, like Saleh, comes from a defensive background, however. The offense will only change so much, even if Hackett loses play-calling responsibilities. It’s a direct result of Johnson giving Rodgers the keys to the kingdom when he was trying to entice the future Hall of Famer to come to New York.

The Jets brought in Hackett, along with several of Rodgers’ favorite teammates in Green Bay. New York’s offense was designed with Rodgers in mind – albeit a more accurate, more mobile version. The Jets even played along with Rodgers’ insistence he could return from the torn Achilles last season, putting him on the 53-man roster despite everyone knowing he had almost zero chance of playing.

There was little room for the man in charge of the Jets and Saleh to co-exist when things were going well, and none once things went south. One was going to have to go, and Johnson knew he needed to keep his mercurial QB happy to have any chance at salvaging this season.

“I resent any of those accusations because they’re patently false,” Rodgers said. “It’s interesting the amount of power people think I have. Which I don’t.”

Sure. And Johnson just happened to call Rodgers on Monday night to check up on him and then just happened to fire Saleh the next morning. This is, was and, so long as he’s in New York, will be Rodgers’ team. Ulbrich, and even Hackett, would do well to remember that.

Rodgers is a smooth talker, and his somber tone on the tough business that is the NFL and the toll it’s taking on Saleh’s family could convince anyone who doesn’t know better. Problem is, we all do. Rodgers is all about Rodgers, and Saleh isn’t the first — and won’t be the last — to learn that the hard way.

Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.

SAN DIEGO — The Los Angeles Dodgers had no starting pitcher.

They lost their starting first baseman before the first pitch.

They were without their starting shortstop and had three reserves in the lineup.

They also were on the brink of yet another disappointing postseason exit.

The Dodgers shrugged off the adversity, sneered at their critics, and determined that this National League Division Series deserves to have an epic finish.

Follow every MLB game: Latest MLB scores, stats, schedules and standings.

They went out and slammed the San Diego Padres 8-0  on Wednesday night, silencing the sellout crowd at Petco Park, and setting up a dramatic winner-take-all Game 5 at Dodger Stadium, with the victor hosting the New York Mets in the National League Championship Series.

The Dodgers, who were bounced from the playoffs in the first round the last two years, winning just one game, showed their resolve by using eight different pitchers to shut down the Padres’ vaunted offense.

Mookie Betts and Will Smith each homered in the first three innings, with Smith’s seven postseason homers the most by a catcher in franchise history. Seven different players had reached base by the third inning.

And just like that, they staved off elimination.

‘It’s win or go home, and that kind of fight or flight mentality,’ Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said before the game. “I know they’re not scared of the moment.’

The Dodgers, facing Padres starter Dylan Cease for the third time in two weeks, never gave him a chance to settle in while pitching on short rest.

Cease faced just 10 batters, giving up four hits and three earned runs in 1 ⅔ innings, while the Dodgers’ carousel of relievers worked like a charm. Ryan Brasier started the game, pitched 1 ⅓ innings, and seven others followed, yielding just seven hits.

If Roberts didn’t have enough headaches trying to maneuver through his bullpen, All-Star first baseman Freddie Freeman was scratched an hour before the game started with his sore right ankle, and shortstop Miguel Rojas was still hobbled after leaving Game 3. It forced Roberts to completely juggle his lineup, moving Max Muncy from third base to first, Enrique Hernandez from center field to left field, and insert Chris Taylor in center.

The re-organized lineup still produced and by the time they play Friday night, should look different with Freeman back in the squad and $325 million starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the mound.

They’re ready for Game 5, but with this series so compelling, you can’t blame anyone for wishing it was a best-of-seven.

The Dodgers will have $1 billion in free agents on center stage Friday alone with Shohei Ohtani and Yamamoto, hoping they can live up to all of the hype in the biggest game of their major-league careers.

The Dodgers have confidence that Ohtani, kept in check by the Padres, can put on a show just as he did all year. Ohtani is hitting .250 and has only one extra-base hit this series. Since his three-run homer and single Game 1, Ohtani is 2-for-13 with seven strikeouts.

Certainly, Betts has broken out of his three-year postseason slump. He was in a three-for-44 slump in his last 12 postseason games through the first two games of the series, and suddenly has gone 4-for-9 with homers in back-to-back games.

The Dodgers, who haven’t won consecutive postseason games since the 2021 NLDS against the San Francisco Giants, now believe the worst is behind them.

Just one more game, one more victory, and they’ll be back in the NLCS, eight victories away from winning their first World Series title in a full season since 1988.

“We can’t look at the mountain,’ Betts said. “We have to just look at the task at hand and that’s one pitch at a time. We have to figure out a way to get it done.’’

Follow Nightengale on X: @Bnightengale

Here’s how Wednesday night’s game unfolded:

FINAL: Dodgers 8, Padres 0

The Dodgers delivered a decisive victory Wednesday to send the series back to Los Angeles for a winner-take-all Game 5 on Friday.

Mookie Betts, Will Smith and Gavin Lux homered for the Dodgers and Evan Phillips was credited with the win that featured eight Los Angeles pitchers, led off by Ryan Brasier.

Gavin Lux home run makes it 8-0

With two outs in the top of the second, Gavin Lux hit a two-run homer off Wandy Peralta to run the Dodgers lead to 8-0. It looks like we’re headed for a winner-take-all Game 5 on Friday.

Dodgers tack on in seventh, lead 6-0

Tommy Edman executed a rare safety squeeze in the top of the seventh inning to score Max Muncy and extend the Dodgers’ lead to 6-0.

Ohtani thrown out on after ball hit umpire

In the bottom of the fourth and Shohei Ohtani on second base, Teoscar Hernandez chopped what looked to be an extra-base hit – but the ball struck the third baseman umpire after getting past Manny Machado. San Diego’s third baseman recovered it and quickly turned to get the back in, as an unaware Ohtani ran through a stop sign rounding third.

Machado got Ohtani at the plate easily, preventing what would have been Los Angeles’ sixth run.

Will Smith home run gives Dodgers 5-0 lead

In the top of the third, Dodgers catcher WIll Smith hit a two-run homer off Bryan Hoeing, scoring Max Muncy who had led off the inning with a double. The Dodgers lead 5-0 and have scored in all three of their turns at bat tonight.

Dodgers add two more in second inning, lead 3-0

In the top of the second, Shohei Ohtani hit a two-out RBI single to score Gavin Lux and get Padres starter Dylan Cease replaced by Bryan Hoeing. On the reliever’s first pitch, Mookie Betts ripped an RBI single of his own to extend the Dodgers’ lead to 3-0.

Mookie Betts homers in first inning

Mookie Betts hit a first-inning home run for the second night in a row, taking Dylan Cease deep to center, giving the Dodgers an early 1-0 lead.

Dodgers lineup for Game 4

Shohei Ohtani (L) DH
Mookie Betts (R) RF
Teoscar Hernández (R) LF
Max Muncy (L) 1B
Will Smith (R) C
Tommy Edman (S) SS
Gavin Lux (L) 2B
Enrique Hernández (R) 3B
Chris Taylor (R) CF

Padres lineup

Luis Arraez (L) 1B
Fernando Tatis Jr. (R) RF
Jurickson Profar (S) LF
Manny Machado (R) 3B
Jackson Merrill (L) CF
Xander Bogaerts (R) SS
David Peralta (L) DH
Jake Cronenworth (L) 2B
Kyle Higashioka (R) C

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