LOS ANGELES — Manager Dave Roberts sent a clear message Friday night as he stood on the podium after the Los Angeles Dodgers won the National League Championship Series.

Roberts used the opportunity to address the ongoing conversation about the Dodgers’ high payroll and the advantage it is said to provide compared to other teams in the league.

“Before the season started, they said the Dodgers are ruining baseball,” Roberts said. “Let’s get four more wins and really ruin baseball.”

The Dodgers beat the Milwaukee Brewers 5-1 in Game 4 of the NLCS to advance to the World Series for the second consecutive year.

The manager’s message was met with a roar from the crowd that stayed after the final out for the trophy presentation.

The Dodgers had the second-highest payroll this season at $321 million, trailing only the New York Mets ($323 million).

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How much does a long-distance call to Trinidad and Tobago cost? I’ll find out come my next phone bill.

I went on a reporting scavenger hunt this week.

Admittedly, more than a bit ambitious.

Also, more than a bit peculiar.

So is college football, though, right? Especially, college football fandom.

See, down in Oxford, Mississippi, fans of the No. 5-ranked Rebels are flying Trinidad and Tobago flags by the dozens.

Why? Well, because of star quarterback Trinidad Chambliss.

While covering an Mississippi home game against LSU last month, I spotted the southernmost Caribbean island nation’s red, black and white flag displayed throughout the popular Grove tailgate gathering spot. Trinidad and Tobago flags appeared in abundance when Ole Miss hosted Washington State two weeks later. They’re all over town.

What, exactly, is going on here?

Well, Ole Miss’ rise has been fueled by Chambliss, a breakout star. A Division II transfer, Chambliss began the season as the team’s backup, but he got thrust into duty after starter Austin Simmons injured his ankle in Week 2. As Chambliss started to dazzle, Trinidad and Tobago flags began showing up as a way for fans to throw support behind this former zero-star recruit turned SEC dynamo.

Chambliss, to be clear, is not from Trinidad or Tobago. He’s from Michigan. He’s not named after Trinidad and Tobago, either.

As the Clarion Ledger reported on this week, Chambliss’ parents named him Trinidad because the Christian faith is important to the family. Trinidad is a Spanish word that translates to Trinity in English. Also, his dad liked the name after watching boxer Felix Trinidad on TV.

And, there you have it. Chambliss’ parents named their son Trinidad, and Ole Miss fans used the flag of a country whose capital is 2,400 miles away from Oxford to support their quarterback. Fads have started for more bizarre reasons than this. Ole Miss fans and even coach Lane Kiffin are including the Trinidad and Tobago flag emoji in social media posts about the team. Dick’s Sporting Goods even sells a red T-shirt featuring the Trinidad and Tobago flag with the words “Ole Miss” underneath for $35.

“We were down there (for the Washington State game),’ Chambliss’ mom, Cheryl, told the Clarion Ledger, part of the USA TODAY Network. ‘Driving to brunch through the neighborhoods in Oxford and seeing so many houses flying the flag of Trinidad and Tobago, (it’s) quite amazing.”

Chambliss credits fans’ creativity.

“I love it — all the flags at the tailgates. It’s really cool,” he said earlier this season. “My family loves it, too.”

I wanted to know, though, as Ole Miss prepares for a nationally televised clash at No. 7 Georgia, is anyone in Trinidad and Tobago aware of this surging phenomenon, of their country’s flag becoming a Mississippi football rally symbol at games and on display throughout a college town in the southern United States?

I phoned and sent messages to Trinidad and Tobago’s Ministry of Sport, as well of its Ministry of Tourism and Ministry of Culture. I spoke with a woman at a private tourism group who said I wasn’t the first reporter to call her this week. I emailed a couple of sports editors at newspapers in Trinidad, the larger of the country’s two main islands located off the coast of Venezuela.

No luck. I failed to connect with anyone in Trinidad or Tobago familiar with Chambliss or the flag fad he inspired. Hardly a surprise. Cricket and soccer are Trinidad and Tobago’s most popular sports. A scan of Trinidad’s newspapers shows no headlines about American college football.

Late in the week, though, the Trinidad and Tobago embassy in Washington D.C. returned my phone call. Although they weren’t familiar with Chambliss or their country’s flag flying at Ole Miss games before I called, they are now. And, apparently, they’re now planning to watch the Ole Miss-Georgia game, televised on ABC.

“The Mission is truly impressed by this remarkable phenomenon,” Janae Harris, a senior executive officer at the Trinidad and Tobago embassy in D.C., wrote in an email to me.

“Please be assured,” she added, “we too will be tuning in to the Trinidad Chambliss game to witness this moment on Saturday.”

And if this quarterback named Trinidad, who’s captured the heart and creative spirit of Ole Miss, helps author a victory at Georgia, you best believe Trinidad and Tobago flags will be displayed with pride and affection back in Mississippi.

Sam Hutchens’ reporting for the Clarion Ledger, part of the USA TODAY Network, contributed to this column.

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

LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani continues to prove why he’s the best player in baseball.

Ohtani propelled the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 5-1 win against the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series, pitching six innings of brilliant ball while launching three home runs.

‘That was probably the greatest postseason performance of all time,’ Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. ‘There’s been a lot of postseason games. And there’s a reason why he’s the greatest player on the planet.

‘What he did on the mound, what he did at the plate, he created a lot of memories for a lot of people. So for us to have a game-clinching — to do it in a game-clinching game at home, wins the NLCS MVP, pretty special. I’m just happy to be able to go along for the ride.’

Ohtani was the starting pitcher and provided all the run support the Dodgers needed, with solo home runs in the first, fourth and seventh innings. His performance helped complete the sweep of the Brewers as the Dodgers advanced to the World Series for the second consecutive year.

Ohtani’s pitching performance, which ended when he was lifted in the seventh, concluded another stellar night from the Dodgers’ starting pitchers, following Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow.

He walked the Brewers’ leadoff hitter, Brice Turang, before striking out Jackson Chourio, Christian Yelich and William Contreras in order. He finished the night with 10 strikeouts, becoming the first player to strike out 10 and hit three homers in a game, per Sarah Langs.

‘I really focused on, first and foremost, as a starting pitcher to make sure I’m an effective starting pitcher,’ Ohtani said. ‘On the hitting side, looking at the entire team, we will see that at times the right-handed hitters picked us up. And on the flip side, sometimes the left-handed hitters picked us up. So in a sense we’re just trying to find the right balance.’

Ohtani provided an early spark at the plate with a solo home run in the bottom of the first inning to give the Dodgers a 1-0 lead. His teammates provided further run support in the first as Mookie Betts and Will Smith scored runs to give the Dodgers a 3-0 lead.

‘I think there was a lot of talk that he was scuffling at the plate; he doesn’t swing the bat well when he’s pitching. And all those things I think were fuel to his fire,’ Roberts said. ‘Today, when he took the mound, you can see the focus, the intent. And after that shutdown first inning, just the at-bat right there, you could see that he was smelling a really good night tonight.’

Jackson Chourio managed to get the Brewers’ first hit in the top of the fourth inning, ending Ohtani’s chance at a no-hitter.

But Ohtani launched a ball 469 feet toward center field for his second home run in the bottom of the fourth against Brewers pitcher Chad Patrick. He then got his third in the bottom of the seventh.

Shohei Ohtani stats: Dodgers vs. Brewers results 

• Batting: 3-for-3, 3 HR, 3 RBI, 1 BB
• Pitching: 6 innings, 0 ER, 2 hits, 3 walks, 10 strikeouts

Shohei Ohtani highlights vs. Brewers

From unconscious to unstoppable, the Toronto Blue Jays have pulled even with the Seattle Mariners in this American League Championship Series thanks to a cast of characters both unlikely and highly anticipated.

A No. 9 hitter suddenly flexing his muscles. A 41-year-old trying to wring the last few pitches out of his skill set before jetting off to the Hall of Fame.

And a resident superstar very much acting the part.

The Blue Jays called upon all of that, most notably a command performance from starting pitcher Max Scherzer, to crush the Seattle Mariners 8-2 in Game 4 Oct. 17 at T-Mobile Park in Seattle.

Notching his first postseason victory since Game 1 of the 2019 World Series, Scherzer wobbled early, steadied himself and then unleashed a classic Mad Max tirade when manager John Schneider dared visit the mound with two outs in the fifth inning.

Schneider, just four years Scherzer’s senior, wisely backed off, Scherzer finished the fifth – and even got two more outs in the sixth.

Hey, 5 ⅔ innings, non-Dodgers edition, is a lengthy outing in this day and age and Scherzer – left off the AL Division Series roster and starting his first game since Sept. 24 – certainly gave Toronto more than anticipated.

So did Andrés Giménez.

For the second consecutive night, he hit a two-run homer in the third inning, in a sense singlehandedly pulling Toronto back from the brink after it came to the Emerald City trailing 2-0 in this best-of-seven.

In Game 3, that meant a game-tying shot. In Game 4, it was a go-ahead two-run homer, maybe a section to the right of his dinger the night before, and it ignited a five-run uprising over two innings for the Blue Jays.

He added a two-run single in the eighth, a four-RBI night.

In between all that, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. ripped a solo homer, his second in as many nights and fifth of the postseason, to push the lead to 6-2 in the seventh.

Seattle, save for the vociferous Canadians who trekked down from British Columbia to root for the Blue Jays, was shell-shocked.  This ALCS is now even.

And the Mariners will need their bats to wake up and right-handers Bryce Miller and Bryan Woo to be on point in Game 5 if they don’t want to go back to Toronto facing a 3-2 deficit.

Then again, the road team has won every game in this series. As Game 4 proved, there’s always more surprises lurking around the corner. 

Here’s how Game 4 unfolded:

Blue Jays blow it open in the eighth

The Mariners and Blue Jays traded runs in the sixth and seventh and Toronto took a 6-2 lead into the top of the eighth. With runners on second and third and one out, Andres Gimenez hit a two-RBI single to extend the advantage to 8-2, giving him four RBIs in Game 4 after his two-run homer earlier.

Max Scherzer becomes ‘Mad Max’ once more

Max Scherzer screamed at his manager. And then he turned his madness against his opponent, putting himself in line for his first postseason win since 2019. 

Scherzer, visited by Blue Jays manager John Schneider with two outs in the fifth inning, vociferously lobbied to stay in the game. Schneider agreed, and then Scherzer struck out Randy Arozarena on a curveball well outside the strike zone to preserve the Blue Jays’ 5-1 lead in ALCS Game 4. 

Scherzer, making his first start since Sept. 24, allowed just a second-inning homer to Josh Naylor and a pair of harmless singles, striking out four. Schneider even let him go out for the sixth, recording two outs before a walk prompted Schneider to lift him, for reals.

Reliever Mason Fluharty allowed that run to score on a Eugenio Suarez RBI single, trimming the lead to 5-2, but the game is on to the seventh, Toronto just nine outs from squaring the series.

At 41, Scherzer perhaps can’t go as deep in games as he used to. But he can still be Mad Max when he needs it. 

Blue Jays take 5-1 lead in fourth inning

The Toronto Blue Jays are getting contributions from all quarters – and drifting toward tying up this ALCS. 

Isiah Kiner-Falefa, given a start at second base, has two hits in his first two at-bats and scored on George Springer’s RBI double as the Blue Jays tacked on two more runs in the fourth to take a 5-1 lead. 

Toronto has sapped the energy from the Mariners and T-Mobile Park, as it chased Luis Castillo, dinged up lefty reliever Gabe Speier and then scored a fifth run when Matt Brash bounced a wild pitch off Cal Raleigh’s shin guard, scoring George Springer. 

Andrés Giménez slugs another HR for Blue Jays

The No. 9 hitter is now public enemy No. 1 in Seattle.

Andrés Giménez, who hit no home runs in his final 76 at-bats of the season, clubbed his second two-run home run in as many nights, as the Blue Jays scored three third-inning runs to take a 3-1 lead over the Mariners in Game 4 of the ALCS.

The home run circumstances were eerily similar.

Game 3, third inning, Mariners leading 2-0: Giménez rips a game-tying two-run home run.

Game 4, third inning, Mariners leading 1-0: Giménez tags a hanging slider from Luis Castillo 364 feet – perhaps a section or two over from his Game 3 shot – for a 2-1 lead.

The homer invigorated the throng of Blue Jays fans in Seattle and stunned Mariners fans worried their club may be staring at a 2-2 ALCS after Game 4.

After one-out singles by Nathan Lukes and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and a walk to Alejandro Kirk, Castillo was lifted after recording just seven outs. Reliever Gabe Speier walked Daulton Varsho to score another run, but escaped the inning without further damage.

Josh Naylor home run puts Mariners in front

An invigorated Seattle Mariners lineup against a rusty Max Scherzer has already yielded an expected result. 

Josh Naylor ripped Scherzer’s second pitch of the second inning over the center field wall to give the Mariners a 1-0 lead in Game 4 of the ALCS.

Scherzer has not started since Sept. 24 and was not on the ALDS roster. The rust showed in the first inning, when he yanked pitches all over the zone and walked a pair, escaping on Jorge Polanco’s double-play grounder. 

Yet Naylor jumped him quickly in the second, and Seattle scored first for the third consecutive game. 

Mariners lineup today: ALCS Game 4

1. Randy Arozarena (R) LF
2. Cal Raleigh (S) C
3. Julio Rodríguez (R) CF
4. Jorge Polanco (S) DH
5. Josh Naylor (L) 1B
6. Eugenio Suárez (R) 3B
7. Dominic Canzone (L) RF
8. J.P. Crawford (L) SS
9. Leo Rivas (S) 2B

Blue Jays lineup for ALCS Game 4

1. George Springer (R) DH
2. Nathan Lukes (L) LF
3. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (R) 1B
4. Alejandro Kirk (R) C
5. Daulton Varsho (L) CF
6. Ernie Clement (R) 3B
7. Addison Barger (L) RF
8. Isiah Kiner-Falefa (R) 2B
9. Andrés Giménez (L) SS

Anthony Santander replaced on Blue Jays roster

Toronto outfielder Anthony Santander’s season is over after being replaced on the ALCS roster by Joey Loperfido due to injury. MLB rules dictate that mid-series roster changes result in the player missing the next round of the playoffs.

Santander, signed to a $92.5 million free agent deal last winter, was limited to 54 regular-season games and had appeared in five of Toronto’s seven postseason games.

Joe Flacco’s most impressive feat may have come via his feet.

The 40-year-old passer took a sip from the Fountain of Youth during the Cincinnati Bengals’ 33-31 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on ‘Thursday Night Football.’ Flacco completed 31 of 47 passes for 342 yards and three touchdowns in the victory.

But it was a scamper that caught the attention of viewers and fans alike: On a read option, Flacco took a snap for 12 yards. On the ‘Thursday Night Football’ postgame show, Flacco detailed the play.

‘So there was a handful of plays today that I was like, ‘What is he saying?’ There were formations that ended in F and I was not getting it,’ Flacco said regarding his confusion with the offense.

‘That one (play), I read off my wristband, it was correct. Ja’Marr (Chase) lined up on the ball, Noah (Fant) lined up off, he (Ja’Marr) was supposed to be off the ball. He was supposed to counter motion and bluff that end. And when he was on the ball and the play clock was running down, I was like, ‘Ah, screw it.’

‘I was just gonna hand it off (to Chase Brown), but he (the defender) came off the edge so damn quick, I was like, ‘all right, I haven’t done this since my, probably, first or second year, but I’ll do it now.”

The result? A 12-yard run that left everyone stunned.

‘It felt good, it felt good, I can’t lie,’ Flacco said.

To that end, the Bengals offense must have felt good. It was a complete offensive effort that resulted in a win and a little bit of history for their passer: Flacco now sits in 15th place all-time in career passing yards, in the same game in which Aaron Rodgers moved up to fifth place.

As far as rushing yards go? Well, let’s just say Flacco has a lot more rushing attempts to go to make a dent in the record book.