The team confirmed Monday afternoon that Paul had signed. He led the Clippers to the playoffs in each of his six seasons in Los Angeles.

“Chris is one of the most impactful players ever to wear a Clippers uniform and it’s appropriate that he returns to the team for this chapter of his career,” Lawrence Frank, president of basketball operations, said in a statement.

Paul, a 12-time All-Star, was a free agent after playing all 82 games for the San Antonio Spurs last season, becoming the first NBA player to do so in his 20th season or later. He averaged 8.8 points and 7.4 assists while shooting 43% from the floor.

Paul had stated that he wanted to play the upcoming season close to his family, which lives in Los Angeles.

He joins a veteran roster that includes new additions guard Bradley Beal, forward John Collins and center Brook Lopez, as well as Kawhi Leonard, James Harden and Bogdan Bogdanovic.

“Chris will help fortify our backcourt with his exceptional ballhandling, playmaking and shooting,” Frank said Monday.

Paul played six seasons for the Clippers during their “Lob City” era with Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan. He made five All-Star teams from 2012 to 2017 and his 4,023 assists are still the most in franchise history. He averaged 18.8 points, 9.8 assists, 4.2 rebounds and 2.2 steals in 409 games.

Paul left the Clippers for the Houston Rockets in 2017 because he felt it was time for a change and he wanted to compete for a championship with Harden. Paul spent two seasons in Houston before going to Oklahoma City for one season. He then spent three years with Phoenix and one with Golden State before joining the Spurs last season, who finished 13th in the Western Conference at 34-48.

The Clippers finished fifth at 50-32 and lost to Denver in seven games in the first round.

Frank had said Saturday that the team was “strongly considering” signing Paul to join a crowded guard rotation of Harden, Beal, Bogdanovic and Kris Dunn.

Paul will come off the bench.

“He is joining us as a reserve point guard and is excited to fill whatever role (coach) Tyronn Lue asks him to play,” Frank said. “He wants to be part of the group and we’re fortunate to have him back.”

The Clippers want to preserve Harden, who played nearly 2,800 minutes last season at age 35 in his 16th NBA season. They view Paul as insurance against injuries that typically impact a roster during an 82-game season, plus the playoffs.

“Role awareness, especially in this next roster spot, will be critical,” Frank said.

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He died Aug. 21 of natural causes in Los Angeles. Amos’ publicist, Belinda Foster, confirmed the news of his death on Tuesday.

Amos — who played football for Colorado State University and, in the later years of his life, lived in the mountain town of Westcliffe — played James Evans Sr. on “Good Times,” which featured one of television’s first Black two-parent families.

Produced by Norman Lear and co-created by actor Mike Evans, who co-starred on “All in the Family” and “The Jeffersons,” “Good Times” ran from 1974 to 1979 on CBS.

“That show was the closest depiction in reality to life as an African American family living in those circumstances as it could be,” Amos told Time magazine in 2021.

His character, along with wife Florida, played by Esther Rolle, originated on another Lear show, “Maude.” James Evans often worked two manual labor jobs to support his family that included three children, with Jimmie Walker becoming a breakout star as oldest son J.J.

Such was the show’s impact that Alicia Keys, Rick Ross, the Wu-Tang Clan are among the musicians who name-checked Amos or his character in their lyrics.

Amos and Rolle were eager to portray a positive image of a Black family, struggling against the odds in a public housing project in Chicago. But they grew frustrated at seeing Walker’s character being made foolish and his role expanded.

“The fact is that Esther’s criticism, and also that of John and others — some of it very pointed and personal — seriously damaged my appeal in the Black community,” Walker wrote in his 2012 memoir “Dyn-O-Mite! Good Times, Bad Times, Our Times.”

After three seasons of critical acclaim and high ratings, Amos was fired. He had become critical of the show’s white writing staff for creating storylines that he felt were inauthentic to the Black characters.

“There were several examples where I said, ‘No, you don’t do these things. It’s anathema to Black society. I’ll be the expert on that, if you don’t mind,‘” he told Time magazine. “And it got confrontational and heated enough that ultimately my being killed off the show was the best solution for everybody concerned, myself included.”

Amos’ character was killed in a car accident. Walker lamented the situation. “If the decision had been up to me, I would have preferred that John stay and the show remain more of an ensemble,” he wrote in his memoir. “Nobody wanted me up front all the time, including me.”

Amos and Lear later reconciled and they shared a hug at a “Good Times” live TV reunion special in 2019.

Amos quickly bounced back, landing the role of an adult Kunta Kinte, the centerpiece of “Roots,” based on Alex Haley’s novel set during and after the era of slavery in the U.S. The miniseries was a critical and ratings blockbuster, and Amos earned one of its 37 Emmy nominations.

“I knew that it was a life-changing role for me, as an actor and just from a humanistic standpoint,” he told Time magazine. “It was the culmination of all of the misconceptions and stereotypical roles that I had lived and seen being offered to me. It was like a reward for having suffered those indignities.”

Born John Allen Amos Jr. on Dec. 27, 1939, in Newark, New Jersey, he was the son of an auto mechanic. He graduated from Colorado State University with a sociology degree and played on the school’s football team.

Before pursuing acting, he moved to New York and was a social worker at the Vera Institute of Justice, working with defendants at the Brooklyn House of Detention.

He had a brief professional football career, playing in various minor leagues. In 1964, Amos signed a free-agent contract with the Denver Broncos, but he was released on the second day of training camp after pulling a hamstring and failing to run the 40-yard dash.

Three years later, he signed a free-agent contract with the Kansas City Chiefs, but coach Hank Stram encouraged Amos to pursue his interest in writing instead. He had jobs as an advertising and comedy writer before moving in front of the camera.

Amos’ first major TV role was as Gordy Howard, the weatherman on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” from 1970-73. As the show’s only Black character, he played straight man to bombastic anchor Ted Baxter.

Among Amos’ film credits were “Let’s Do It Again” with Bill Cosby and Sidney Poitier, “Coming to America” with Eddie Murphy and its 2021 sequel, “Die Hard 2,” “Madea’s Witness Protection” and “Uncut Gems” with Adam Sandler. He was in Ice Cube and Dr. Dre’s 1994 video “Natural Born Killaz.”

He was a frequent guest star on “The West Wing,” and his other TV appearances included “Hunter,” “The District,” “Men in Trees,” “All About the Andersons,” “Two and a Half Men,” and “The Ranch.”

In 2018, Amos moved to the Colorado mountain town of Westcliffe where Colorado Bureau of Investigation agents investigated allegations of elder abuse after local authorities received reports that the then-83-year-old man could have been the victim of a crime.

A daughter went public with accusations that he was the victim of abuse but Amos rejected the allegations.

Amos was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame in 2020. He served in the New Jersey National Guard.

___

Associated Press writer Kaitlyn Huamani and Denver Post reporter Lauren Penington contributed to this report.

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The win reduced the NL West-leading Dodgers’ magic number to four to clinch the division. Los Angeles is already assured of a postseason berth.

Ohtani’s 52nd homer and 52nd stolen base allowed him to break the previous mark of 13 games set by Rickey Henderson in 1986 with the New York Yankees.

Teoscar Hernández hit a go-ahead homer leading off the sixth inning that gave the Dodgers a 4-3 lead.

The Dodgers tacked on two runs in the seventh. Pinch-hitter Tommy Edman scored on Mookie Betts’ sacrifice fly. Ohtani reached on an infield single to first base and then stole second. He was safe at third on a throwing error by center fielder Sam Hilliard and scored on Hernandez’s infield single.

Ohtani had a go-ahead homer with two outs in the fifth after Andy Pages led off the inning with a solo shot.

Ohtani gave the crowd of 49,073 some thrills after the home fans had to watch long distance Thursday night when he became the first player in major league history with 50 homers and 50 stolen bases in a season at Miami.

The Rockies got home runs by Charlie Blackmon and Hilliard.

Alex Vesia (4-4) got the victory with one inning of relief. Michael Kopech pitched the ninth for his 14th save.

Colorado’s Kyle Freeland (5-8) took the loss, giving up four runs and seven hits in six innings. He struck out two and walked none.

Ryan Brasier pitched the first inning to open the bullpen game for the Dodgers.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Rockies: RHP Tyler Kinley went on the 15-day IL with right elbow inflammation.

Dodgers: LHP Clayton Kershaw (toe) threw a 30-pitch bullpen session and hopes to face hitters next week. … RHP Anthony Banda (hand) will throw a bullpen this weekend.

UP NEXT

Rockies: RHP Cal Quantrill (8-10, 4.68 ERA) makes his second start Saturday since coming off the IL. He’s 1-5 in his career against LA.

Dodgers: RHP Walker Buehler (1-5, 5.54) is looking for just his second win of the season. He got hit hard by the Rockies on June 18, giving up seven hits, seven runs and two homers.

___

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Accepting the Grammy for best pop vocal album, Taylor said she’d been keeping a secret for two years.

“My brand-new album comes out April 19. It’s called ‘The Tortured Poets Department.’ I’m going to go and post the cover right now backstage,” she announced.

And so she did.

On her Instagram, Swift posted a black-and-white image of her reclining across pillows. The top half of her face and lower half of her legs are cut off in the low-contrast image.

“All’s fair in love and poetry…” her caption read. In a little over an hour, the Instagram post alone had amassed nearly 7 million likes.

“And so I enter into evidence / My tarnished coat of arms / My muses, acquired like bruises / My talismans and charms / The tick, tick, tick of love bombs / My veins of pitch black ink,” read what appeared to be handwritten lyrics posted after the album cover.

Inside Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena, Swift’s album announcement elicited screams from the upper levels.

Swift had provoked mass speculation earlier in the night when her site seemed to go down. Some theorized she was gearing up to release “Reputation (Taylor’s Version),” but cryptic clues on the “crashed” site indicated that might be a misdirect.

And so it was.

The site’s back up now, focused around the upcoming album, with preordering and merchandise options. This will be Swift’s 11th studio album, not counting her re-recordings. Her last original album was “Midnights,” released in October 2022. Since then, she’s launched the billion-dollar Eras Tour and released “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)” and “1989 (Taylor’s Version).”

Swift was accepting the Grammy for “Midnights” when she made the surprise announcement. She later picked up album of the year, the show’s final award, for the album.

“I would love to tell you this is the best moment of my life, but I feel this happy when I finish a song, or when I crack the code to a bridge that I love, or when I’m shortlisting a music video, or when I’m working with my dancers,” she said after accepting her album of the year award from Celine Dion. With it, she broke the record for the most wins in that category (her other albums of the year: “Fearless,” “1989” and “Folklore”).

As she walked the red carpet in custom Schiaparelli Couture, she paid homage to her album title, donning a Lorraine Schwartz choker with a small clock embedded. And yes, the time was set to the midnight — even if the viewer had to tilt their head to see the hands pointing to “12.”

While a nod to the album — and reminiscent of the “tick, tick, tick” in “The Tortured Poets Department” post — the watch seemed particularly apt, given the superstar’s seemingly packed schedule over the next week. Swift is set to head back out on her Eras Tour this week, performing for four nights in Tokyo. She still will be able to make it back to the U.S. later in the week to catch her boyfriend Travis Kelce playing in the Super Bowl.

Sen reported from New York.

Reggie Jackson scored 35 points, DeAndre Jordan had 21 points and 13 rebounds, and the Nuggets rallied in the fourth quarter to beat the Los Angeles Clippers 113-104 on Monday night.

Former Clippers Jackson and Jordan combined for 20 points in the fourth, when the Nuggets trailed by 11 to start.

Jackson began and ended a 22-6 spurt with 3-pointers that put the Nuggets ahead 99-94. In between, he fed Jordan for two vicious dunks. It got so desperate for the Clippers late in the frame that they resorted to intentionally fouling Jordan, a notoriously poor free-throw shooter, to get defensive stops.

It was the Nuggets’ eighth straight win over the Clippers. That they did it with starters Jokic, Murray and Gordon sitting made it all the more sweet.

Jokic sat out the second game of a back-to-back because of low back pain. Murray has yet to return from a right hamstring strain and Gordon has a right heel strain.

Kawhi Leonard led the Clippers with 31 points and Ivica Zubac had 23 points and 14 rebounds. Paul George picked up his fourth and fifth fouls early in the fourth. He finished with six points on 2-of-13 shooting.

The Clippers were limited to four field goals in the fourth, when they went 8 of 12 from the free throw line. Russell Westbrook airballed a free throw with the Clippers trailing 102-98. James Harden had two turnovers in the final minutes and George shot an airball in the closing seconds.

The defending NBA champion Nuggets improved to 4-6 on the road.

The Clippers outscored Denver 32-19 in the third. Tied 72-all, Zubac scored six in a row to spark a 17-5 run that was capped by Westbrook’s four straight points and sent the Clippers into the fourth leading 88-77.

The Clippers’ reserves gave them an 11-point lead to open the second. Then Jackson took over, scoring 14 points in the quarter, including a free throw that sent the Nuggets into halftime leading 58-56.

Jackson and Jordan teamed for several scores in the game, reminding the home crowd of days gone by. Jordan converted Jackson’s alley-oop pass into a dunk and he scored on a reverse dunk off a feed from Jackson in the first half.

The Clippers’ Norman Powell hit a free throw in the second quarter that gave him 6,000 career points.

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7️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ #Pujols700 pic.twitter.com/XyddSFPpcQ

— MLB (@MLB) September 24, 2022

LOS ANGELES — St. Louis Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols hit his 700th career home run on Friday night, connecting for his second drive of the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers and becoming the fourth player to reach the milestone in major league history.

The 42-year-old Pujols hit No. 699 in the third inning, then launched No. 700 in the fourth at Dodger Stadium.

With the drive in the final days of his last big league season, Pujols joined Barry Bonds (762 homers), Hank Aaron (755) and Babe Ruth (714) in one of baseball’s most exclusive clubs.

It’s been a remarkable run for Pujols. This was his 14th home run since the start of August for the NL Central-leading Cardinals, and his 21st of the season.

Pujols’ historic homer was a three-run shot against Dodgers reliever Phil Bickford. The ball landed in the first few rows of the left-field pavilion, the same location his two-run shot touched down the previous inning off left-hander Andrew Heaney.

Pujols received a prolonged standing ovation from the crowd — he finished out last season while playing for the Dodgers. He took a curtain call, raising his cap in acknowledgment.

The fans chanted “Pujols! Pujols!” They finally sat down after being on their feet in anticipation of seeing history.

Pujols snapped a tie with Alex Rodriguez for fourth on the list when he hit career homer No. 697 against Pittsburgh on Sept. 11.

Reaching 700 homers seemed like a long shot for Pujols when he was batting .189 on July 4. But the three-time NL MVP started to find his stroke in August, swatting seven homers in one 10-game stretch that helped St. Louis pull away in the division race.

“I know that early in the year … I obviously wanted better results,” Pujols said after he homered in a 1-0 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Aug. 22. “But I felt like I was hitting the ball hard. Sometimes this game is going to take more away from you than the game (is) giving you back.

“So I think at the end of the day you have to be positive and just stay focused and trust your work. That’s something that I’ve done all the time.”

Pujols has enjoyed a resurgent season after returning to St. Louis in March for a $2.5 million, one-year contract. It’s his highest total since he hit 23 homers for the Angels in 2019.

He plans to retire when the season ends.

Pujols also began his career in St. Louis. He was selected by the Cardinals in the 13th round of the 1999 amateur draft and won the 2001 NL Rookie of the Year award.

The Dominican Republic native hit at least .300 with at least 30 homers and 100 RBIs in each of his first 10 seasons. He helped the Cardinals to World Series titles in 2006 and 2011.

He set a career high with 49 homers in 2006 — one of seven seasons with at least 40 homers. He led the majors with 47 homers in 2009 and topped the NL with 42 in 2010.

Pujols left St. Louis in free agency in December 2011, signing a $240 million, 10-year contract with the Angels. He was waived by the Angels in May 2021, and then joined the Dodgers and hit 12 homers and drove in 38 runs in 85 games.

Scully died at his home in the Hidden Hills section of Los Angeles, according to the team, which spoke to family members.

As the longest tenured broadcaster with a single team in pro sports history, Scully saw it all and called it all. He began in the 1950s era of Pee Wee Reese and Jackie Robinson, on to the 1960s with Don Drysdale and Sandy Koufax, into the 1970s with Steve Garvey and Don Sutton, and through the 1980s with Orel Hershiser and Fernando Valenzuela. In the 1990s, it was Mike Piazza and Hideo Nomo, followed by Clayton Kershaw, Manny Ramirez and Yasiel Puig in the 21st century.

The Dodgers changed players, managers, executives, owners — and even coasts — but Scully and his soothing, insightful style remained a constant for the fans.

He opened broadcasts with the familiar greeting, “Hi, everybody, and a very pleasant good evening to you wherever you may be.”

Ever gracious both in person and on the air, Scully considered himself merely a conduit between the game and the fans.

Although he was paid by the Dodgers, Scully was unafraid to criticize a bad play or a manager’s decision, or praise an opponent while spinning stories against a backdrop of routine plays and noteworthy achievements. He always said he wanted to see things with his eyes, not his heart.

Vincent Edward Scully was born Nov. 29, 1927, in the Bronx. He was the son of a silk salesman who died of pneumonia when Scully was 7. His mother moved the family to Brooklyn, where the red-haired, blue-eyed Scully grew up playing stickball in the streets.

As a child, Scully would grab a pillow, put it under the family’s four-legged radio and lay his head directly under the speaker to hear whatever college football game was on the air. With a snack of saltine crackers and a glass of milk nearby, the boy was transfixed by the crowd’s roar that raised goosebumps. He thought he’d like to call the action himself.

Scully, who played outfield for two years on the Fordham University baseball team, began his career by working baseball, football and basketball games for the university’s radio station.

At age 22, he was hired by a CBS radio affiliate in Washington, D.C.

He soon joined Hall of Famer Red Barber and Connie Desmond in the Brooklyn Dodgers’ radio and television booths. In 1953, at age 25, Scully became the youngest person to broadcast a World Series game, a mark that still stands.

He moved west with the Dodgers in 1958. Scully called three perfect games — Don Larsen in the 1956 World Series, Sandy Koufax in 1965 and Dennis Martinez in 1991 — and 18 no-hitters.

He also was on the air when Don Drysdale set his scoreless innings streak of 58 2/3 innings in 1968 and again when Hershiser broke the record with 59 consecutive scoreless innings 20 years later.

When Hank Aaron hit his 715th home run to break Babe Ruth’s record in 1974, it was against the Dodgers and, of course, Scully called it.

“A Black man is getting a standing ovation in the Deep South for breaking a record of an all-time baseball idol,” Scully told listeners. “What a marvelous moment for baseball.”

Scully credited the birth of the transistor radio as “the greatest single break” of his career. Fans had trouble recognizing the lesser players during the Dodgers’ first four years in the vast Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

“They were 70 or so odd rows away from the action,” he said in 2016. “They brought the radio to find out about all the other players and to see what they were trying to see down on the field.”

That habit carried over when the team moved to Dodger Stadium in 1962. Fans held radios to their ears, and those not present listened from home or the car, allowing Scully to connect generations of families with his words.

He often said it was best to describe a big play quickly and then be quiet so fans could listen to the pandemonium. After Koufax’s perfect game in 1965, Scully went silent for 38 seconds before talking again. He was similarly silent for a time after Kirk Gibson’s pinch-hit home run to win Game 1 of the 1988 World Series.

He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982, received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame that year, and also had the stadium’s press box named for him in 2001. The street leading to Dodger Stadium’s main gate was named in his honor in 2016.

That same year he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama.

“God has been so good to me to allow me to do what I’m doing,” Scully, a devout Catholic who attended mass on Sundays before heading to the ballpark, said before retiring. “A childhood dream that came to pass and then giving me 67 years to enjoy every minute of it. That’s a pretty large thanksgiving day for me.”

In addition to being the voice of the Dodgers, Scully called play-by-play for NFL games and PGA Tour events as well as calling 25 World Series and 12 All-Star Games. He was NBC’s lead baseball announcer from 1983-89.

While being one of the most widely heard broadcasters in the nation, Scully was an intensely private man. Once the baseball season ended, he would disappear. He rarely did personal appearances or sports talk shows. He preferred spending time with his family.

In 1972, his first wife, Joan, died of an accidental overdose of medicine. He was left with three young children. Two years later, he met the woman who would become his second wife, Sandra, a secretary for the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams. She had two young children from a previous marriage, and they combined their families into what Scully once called “my own Brady Bunch.”

He said he realized time was the most precious thing in the world and that he wanted to use his time to spend with his loved ones. In the early 1960s, Scully quit smoking with the help of his family. In the shirt pocket where he kept a pack of cigarettes, Scully stuck a family photo. Whenever he felt like he needed a smoke, he pulled out the photo to remind him why he quit. Eight months later, Scully never smoked again.

After retiring in 2016, Scully made just a handful of appearances at Dodger Stadium and his sweet voice was heard narrating an occasional video played during games. Mostly, he was content to stay close to home.

“I just want to be remembered as a good man, an honest man, and one who lived up to his own beliefs,” he said in 2016.

In 2020, Scully auctioned off years of his personal memorabilia, which raised over $2 million. A portion of it was donated to UCLA for ALS research.

He was preceded in death by his second wife, Sandra. She died of complications of ALS at age 76 in 2021. The couple, who were married 47 years, had daughter Catherine together.

Scully’s other children are Kelly, Erin, Todd and Kevin. A son, Michael, died in a helicopter crash in 1994.

___

Former Associated Press staffer Stan Miller contributed biographical information to this report.

Fans rooting for a tie score after nine innings so they could see a first-time home run derby decide it instead of extra innings didn’t get their wish.

Instead, the back-to-back homers in the fourth inning were the difference as the AL boosted its overall edge to 47-43-2.

Nine-time All-Star Clayton Kershaw got the first start of his career for the NL in his home ballpark, with the Dodgers hosting for the first time since 1980. Los Angeles Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani pounded out the game’s first hit on Kershaw’s first pitch.

Framber Valdez of Houston got the win, tossing a scoreless third inning.

AL starter Shane McClanahan of Tampa Bay gave up two runs and four hits. The first-time All-Star, who owns a MLB-leading 1.71 ERA, had allowed four hits or fewer in his last seven starts.

McClanahan combined with 10 other pitchers on the five-hitter. Emmanuel Clase struck out the side in the ninth to earn the save. Austin Riley’s single in the eighth was the NL’s only hit after the first inning.

Facing 11-game winner Tony Gonsolin of the Dodgers, Stanton’s impressive 457-foot, two-run shot landed in the left-field pavilion, not far from where the L.A. native watched games as a youngster.

It ended his career 0 for 7 skid in the game and at 111.2 mph, it was the hardest-hit homer in an All-Star Game tracked by Statcast. Also scoring was José Ramírez, tying the game 2-all.

Four pitches later, Buxton went deep to give the AL a 3-2 lead against a clearly frustrated Gonsolin, who took the loss.

Ohtani led off for the AL as the designated hitter. Interviewed moments before the start, the Japanese superstar admitted he was going to swing. He cracked a 91-mph fastball into center field on the first pitch.

“I was definitely swinging a hundred percent,” Ohtani said through a translator. “Kershaw has really good command.”

His hit snapped an 0 for 8 streak as a hitter against Kershaw. Last year, Ohtani was the starting pitcher and led off as the DH in the AL’s 5-2 win at Denver. He didn’t pitch this year so he can start Friday in the Angels’ first game after the break at Atlanta.

“I mean, you can’t throw the first pitch of an All-Star Game as a breaking ball,” Kershaw said. “You kind of had to give him a heater there, I think just for everything. Had to do it.”

But the three-time NL Cy Young Award winner had the last word. Kershaw fired a pickoff throw to first that caught Ohtani off the bag.

“Honestly, I didn’t know quite know what to throw yet. Sometimes I throw over there for a second to be convicted with the pitch,” Kershaw said. “I wasn’t trying to pick him off. I was trying to delay the game for a bit, but it worked out.”

Then Yankees slugger Aaron Judge went down swinging. After Rafael Devers walked, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. grounded into a fielder’s choice, and Kershaw walked off to applause from the appreciative crowd.

“I tried to take a minute at the beginning to take it all in and look around, which I usually never do,” Kershaw said. “It kind of calmed everything down for me and then I had a lot of fun.”

The NL wasted no time in taking its first 2-0 lead in 10 years. Styling in yellow spikes and alternate yellow and red sleeves, Ronald Acuña Jr. led off the bottom of the first with a ground-rule double to left and scored on Mookie Betts’ single. Paul Goldschmidt hit a solo homer with two outs.

In between runs, AL second baseman Andrés Giménez made a defensive stop on Manny Machado and followed with a dazzling behind-the-back toss to shortstop Tim Anderson, who threw to first to complete the double play.

A sellout crowd of 52,518 filled Dodger Stadium two years after the third-oldest ballpark in the majors was supposed to host before the game was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

HERE’S TO YOU, MS. ROBINSON

Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts, with all of the other All-Stars bunched behind him, led the crowd in sending out 100th birthday wishes to Rachel Robinson. On his 1-2-3 count, the crowd and players shouted “Happy birthday, Rachel!” The widow of Jackie Robinson didn’t travel from her home in New York. She visited Dodger Stadium in April on Jackie Robinson Day to mark the 75th anniversary of her husband breaking baseball’s color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. Jackie Robinson’s achievement was honored with on-field comments by Oscar-winning actor Denzel Washington and a presentation on the video boards.

FIRST PITCH

Backed by a mariachi band, Dodgers great Fernando Valenzuela tossed out the ceremonial first pitch. Fittingly, first-time All-Star Alejandro Kirk of Toronto served as catcher. Kirk and Valenzuela were both born in Mexico. Fernandomania gripped the Dodgers in 1981, when the left-hander won Rookie of the Year and the Cy Young Award in helping LA win the World Series.

FASHION CRITICS

The reviews were mostly negative for the second straight year on the All-Star uniforms. The AL wore dark gray uniforms that blended into plate umpire’s black shirt and dark gray pants. The NL wore all-white uniforms. Both had gold lettering. Fans were critical on social media, with “atrocious” a frequent critique. Last year, MLB went away from wearing traditional jerseys, which met with heavy online criticism.

MIC’ED UP MANOAH

Alek Manoah, Toronto’s expressive right-hander, wore a microphone and earpiece while pitching the second inning, engaging in an entertaining conversation with Fox analyst and Hall of Famer John Smoltz. “How hard am I throwing?” Manoah asked early. He also sought scouting reports on Joc Pederson and Acuña Jr. Manoah did fine, striking out three and also plunking Jeff McNeil with a pitch. A lot of players were mic’ed up. Fans heard Yankees teammates Aaron Judge and Stanton talking back and forth while playing the outfield, and Yankees batterymates Nestor Cortes and Jose Trevino talking while working together.

THE SHIFT IS STILL ON

Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman batted in the third to the now familiar chants of “Freddie! Freddie!” Even in the exhibition game, an extreme shift was on and he was thrown out from right field. Home Run Derby champion Juan Soto got thrown out by the third baseman playing much closer to second base to end the fifth. Next season, the shift is going away.

TAKING IT EASY

Hall of Fame announcer Vin Scully, the voice of the Dodgers for 67 years before retiring in 2016, watched the game from his Los Angeles home. The Bronx-born 94-year-old began calling games when the franchise was located in Brooklyn and followed the team west ahead of the 1958 season.

UP NEXT

The regular season resumes with six games on Thursday, including Aaron Judge, Stanton and the Yankees playing a doubleheader at Houston. The Yankees own the best record in the majors at 64-28. Jose Altuve, Yordan Álvarez and the Astros have the second-best mark in the AL at 59-32. Also, it will be Freeman, Betts, Trea Turner and the Dodgers, topping the NL at 60-30, hosting the Giants.

With favorite Epicenter and Zandon engaged in a duel at the front, Rich Strike stole the show with the second-biggest upset in the Derby’s 148-year history.

The chestnut colt beat 4-1 favorite Epicenter by three-quarters of a length. Zandon finished another three-quarters of a length back in third.

“I about fell down in the paddock when he hit the wire,” winning trainer Eric Reed said. “I about passed out.”

Rich Strike paid $163.60. Only Donerail in 1913 had a higher payout of $184.90.

“What a crazy Derby,” said trainer Kenny McPeek, whose horses finished eighth and ninth.

Rich Strike wasn’t even in the Derby until Friday when Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas scratched Ethereal Road, making room for the chestnut colt who had just two previous wins in his career.

“We found out about 30 seconds before the deadline on Friday,” owner Rick Dawson said. “It put us in the race and really we always felt if we just got in we’ve got a shot.”

Rich Strike ran 1 1/4 miles in 2:02.61. After taking a bite out of his much costlier competition, he playfully chomped on the pony guiding him to the winner’s circle.

“I can’t believe it after Epicenter’s effort,” said losing trainer Steve Asmussen, who fell to 0 for 24 in the Derby. “I got beat by the horse that just got in.”

Jockey Sonny Leon and Rich Strike had just two horses beat in the early going. Leon eventually guided his mount between horses and to the inside rail. Rich Strike made a deft move around Messier in the stretch and went right back to the rail intent on picking off Epicenter and Zandon.

“When I was in the last 70 yards, I said, ‘I think I got this race,’” Leon said.

Both Leon, from Venezuela, and Reed were in their first Derby. Reed endured a tragedy five years ago when he lost nearly two dozen horses in a barn fire at his training center in Lexington.

He briefly considered the fire might be a signal for him to leave the sport.

“People I hadn’t seen, people I haven’t talked to in years, my best friends were there in the morning to pick me up,” Reed recalled. “It let me know there’s so much good out there, and then I just decided I wasn’t going to let it take me out.”

Leon regularly rides on some of the country’s smallest circuits, where the horse flesh is inexpensive and the purse money modest. But he matched wits with such veteran riders as Joel Rosario, aboard Epicenter, and Mike Smith, aboard Messier.

Leon’s rail ride was reminiscent of jockey Calvin Borel’s stealth move aboard Mine That Bird in 2009. Mine That Bird sprang what was then the Derby’s third-biggest upset, paying $103.20 to win.

Reed had no argument with the bettors ignoring his colt, whose victory surely inspired little guys everywhere.

“Small trainer, small rider, small stable, he should have been 80-1,” Reed said. “And so anybody that’s in this business, lightening can strike.”

Rich Strike was purchased by Dawson, who races as RED TR-Racing LLC, for $30,000 last fall when the colt was entered in a low-level claiming race by his former owner.

Calumet Farm head Brad Kelley might be ruing that decision now. Calumet Farm has won a record eight Kentucky Derbies, but none since 1968, when Forward Pass was placed first via disqualification.

Rich Strike earned $1.86 million for his first stakes victory. The colt lost to Zandon in his most recent start last month and was beaten by Epicenter in the John Battaglia Memorial in March.

Simplification finished fourth and Mo Donegal was fifth.

Churchill Downs returned to full capacity, including former President Donald Trump, on the first Saturday in May for the first time in three years.

But the final result was the more upheaval for America’s greatest horse race.

In 2019, winner Maximum Security was disqualified for interference after 22 minutes and runner-up Country House wore the garland of red roses.

In 2020, an eerie silence enveloped the track when no fans were allowed because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the race was pushed to September.

Last year’s winner, Medina Spirit, was disqualified after nine months, having failed a post-race drug test that led to six-time Derby-winning trainer Bob Baffert being banned from Churchill Downs for two years. The 2021 Derby was back to its usual spot on the calendar with attendance limited to about 52,000.

The bourbon was flowing again Saturday, cigar smoke curled in the air on a cloudy and unusually cool day, and fans strutted in their huge hats, floral-print dresses and seersucker suits.

Then came Rich Strike thundering along the rail and all heck broke loose.

A few days ago, Reed sent Dawson a photo of the colt sprawled in his straw-covered stall with his handlers laying on him, all of them napping. Reed typed, “I think our horse is cool and ready to run.”

Dawson responded, “If we can wake him up.”

Did they ever.

“I feel like the luckiest man alive,” Dawson said, grinning.

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — One big swing by Chris Taylor sent the Los Angeles Dodgers soaring and the St. Louis Cardinals crashing.

Taylor hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Dodgers a 3-1 victory Wednesday night in a scintillating NL wild-card game.

Justin Turner homered early and the 106-win Dodgers advanced to a best-of-five Division Series against the NL West champion Giants, who won 107 games to barely hold off rival Los Angeles for the division title. Game 1 is Friday night in San Francisco.

“That’s gonna be fun. Yeah, two of the best regular-season records of all-time. We’ve been battling all year, so I expect a hard-fought series,” Taylor said.

The Dodgers celebrated on the field before heading into their clubhouse to continue the party. Champagne and beer were poured over the heads of shirtless, goggle-wearing players, thrilled to have stayed alive for a shot at their Bay Area adversary.

“One of the great rivalries in sports,” Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts said. “It’s happening.”

The sellout crowd of 53,193 at Dodger Stadium hung on every pitch as the tension of a tie game built from the fourth inning on. Fans waved blue towels, futilely urging on the few balls launched into the outfield only to see them caught in a winner-take-all matchup between two of the National League’s most storied and successful franchises.

The crowd was on its feet in the ninth, anxiously waiting to see if the defending World Series champions could pull out a must-have win. Cody Bellinger got the Dodgers started when he drew a two-out walk from T.J. McFarland. Alex Reyes entered to face Taylor, and Bellinger stole second.

“That’s huge, knowing I don’t have to do too much,” said Taylor, batting in the No. 9 slot after entering to play left field as part of a double switch in the seventh. “It kind of settled me down a little bit.”

Taylor then sent a 2-1 breaking ball into the left field pavilion, triggering an explosion of cheers and ending an October struggle that lasted 4 hours, 15 minutes.

The versatile veteran struggled in September because of a recurring neck injury, and he came off the bench in the Dodgers’ most important game of the season.

“Honestly, I was just trying to hit a single,” Taylor said after launching the fourth game-ending homer in Dodgers postseason history. “He gave me a good slider to hit and I was able to get it up in the air.”

It was the fifth walk-off home run in a winner-take-all postseason game, after Pittsburgh’s Bill Mazeroski in the 1960 World Series, the Yankees’ Chris Chambliss in the 1976 AL Championship Series and Aaron Boone in the 2003 ALCS, and Toronto’s Edwin Encarnación in the 2016 AL wild-card game.

Taylor also made a nifty defensive play in the eighth, robbing Edmundo Sosa of a hit for the second out.

Tommy Edman dropped a one-out single into right off closer Kenley Jansen in the top of the ninth and stole second. Paul Goldschmidt took a called third strike and Tyler O’Neill went down swinging to end the threat. Edman went 3 for 5 with a run scored.

The Dodgers’ bullpen stymied the St. Louis hitters, allowing just a pair of singles after the fifth inning.

“The whole bullpen stepped up. We’ve been doing it the whole year,” Jansen said. “Off we go up north now.”

Both teams had runners on in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings, but couldn’t push a run across.

“It was a grind all night,” Turner said.

St. Louis finished 0 for 11 with runners in scoring position, stranding 11 overall. The Cardinals went on a club-record 17-game winning streak in September to grab the second NL wild card, only to see their October dreams squelched.

“That’s a clubhouse full of guys that are hurting,” manager Mike Shildt said.

Dueling aces Adam Wainwright of St. Louis and the Dodgers’ Max Scherzer struggled with their control early in just the second winner-take-all game in postseason history with two starting pitchers aged 37-plus. Wainwright is 40; Scherzer is 37.

“They were relentless,” Wainwright said of the Dodgers. “We had our chances to win that game.”

Wainwright and Scherzer issued two walks apiece through the first three innings. Scherzer’s wild pitch led to a run in the first and he plunked Harrison Bader in the fourth.

Turner tied it at 1 in the fourth on a leadoff shot into the Dodgers’ bullpen in left. It was the first homer Wainwright has ever given up on a curveball in the postseason. Turner’s 13 postseason homers are the most in franchise history.

St. Louis led 1-0 when Edman scored on Scherzer’s wild pitch. Edman singled leading off, stole second base and went to third when O’Neill fouled out to right.

Scherzer left with one out in the fifth after giving up a leadoff single to Edman and a walk to Goldschmidt. He paced the dugout with his hands on his hips. Former Cardinal Joe Kelly got out of the jam after Goldschmidt reached third on a wild pitch.

Scherzer allowed one run and three hits, struck out four and walked three against his hometown team.

“We won the game. That’s all that matters,” Scherzer said.

Wainwright permitted one run and four hits in 5 1/3 innings. He struck out five and walked two.

The Dodgers had Wainwright on the ropes in the third, loading the bases with one out. He was within one ball of walking in the tying run before Trea Turner broke his bat grounding into an inning-ending double play on a 3-2 pitch.

IN THE HOUSE

Nationals outfielder Juan Soto sat behind the plate wearing a Trea Turner jersey from his time in Washington. Soto finished second to Turner, his former Nats teammate, for the NL batting title. Turner won his first batting crown with a .328 average.

Soto said he wanted to support his teammates and “see their face when I surprise them.”

It worked. Turner didn’t know Soto was coming.

“When I saw him during the game I was laughing for him to be wearing my jersey,” he said.

Nationals hitting coach Kevin Long was sitting next to Soto wearing Scherzer’s jersey.

LOSING WAGER

Roberts said he and retired Giants manager Bruce Bochy had a bet on the outcome of the NL West. The Giants took the title by a game over the Dodgers, whose eight-year reign ended on the final day of the regular season.

“I lost a dinner and a nice bottle of bordeaux because we didn’t win the division,” Roberts said, adding that Bochy will choose the vintage.

“Knowing him it’s going to be some type of first growth, so it’s not going to be cheap.”

Roberts is a partner in Red Stitch Wine Group, which produced its first vintage in 2007.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: Pitchers and catchers report for spring training in mid-February.

Dodgers: Open the best-of-five NLDS against San Francisco on Friday. They went 9-10 against the Giants this season.

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