ATLANTA (AP) — Yoshinobu Yamamoto felt trust from Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts when he remained in a crucial NL Division Series game after a stressful fifth inning.
“I’d like to continue living up to the highest expectation,” Yamamoto said through a translator.
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Atlanta Braves pitcher Chris Sale throws to the Los Angeles Dodgers during the second inning in Game 3 of baseball's National League Division Series, Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Atlanta Braves left fielder Mauricio Dubón (14) climbs the wall to catch a fly out by Los Angeles Dodgers' Freddie Freeman as the Dodgers bullpen look on during the third inning in Game 3 of baseball's National League Division Series, Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Los Angeles Dodgers' Enrique Hernández connects for a two-run home run during the fourth inning in Game 3 of baseball's National League Division Series against the Atlanta Braves, Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Los Angeles Dodgers' Enrique Hernández celebrates his two-run home run during the fourth inning in Game 3 of baseball's National League Division Series against the Atlanta Braves, Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Los Angeles Dodgers' Yoshinobu Yamamoto throws to the Atlanta Braves during the third inning in Game 3 of baseball's National League Division Series, Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
The right-hander from Japan continues to do more than just meet expectations in the postseason.
Yamamoto struck out 10 in seven brilliant innings, Kiké Hernández hit a two-run homer and the Dodgers beat the Atlanta Braves 3-1 on Tuesday night to take a 2-1 lead in their NL Division Series.
Yamamoto dominated his much-anticipated matchup with Atlanta ace Chris Sale, who allowed three runs and seven hits in five innings. Last year's World Series MVP permitted only four hits and one walk while improving to 8-1 with a 2.14 ERA in 11 career postseason outings, including 10 starts.
His 10 strikeouts were a postseason high for him.
“I was confident and able to control all my pitches today,” Yamamoto said.
The Dodgers can clinch the best-of-five series and take another step toward becoming the first National League team to win three consecutive World Series by beating the Braves again Wednesday night in Game 4.
Atlanta hoped giving Sale extra rest would be a winning formula in the pivotal third game. Instead, after stranding six runners in the first three innings, he gave up the two-run homer to Hernández and a solo shot to former Braves star Freddie Freeman in the fourth.
“He was still touching 100 (mph),” manager Walt Weiss said of Sale. “The stuff was fine. Like I said, maybe the command not perfect. It wasn’t bad. But they did a nice job against him.”
That was all the offensive support Yamamoto and relievers Tanner Scott and Edwin Díaz would need.
Ozzie Albies opened the Atlanta ninth with a double off the right-center wall against Díaz and moved to third on Michael Harris II's groundout. Díaz stranded the runner and earned a save when Mauricio Dubón fouled out to right field and Mike Yastrzemski grounded out to shortstop Mookie Betts.
Freeman said he didn't mind being booed by Atlanta fans in the sellout crowd of 42,420.
“I’ve got a gray uniform on,” Freeman said. “I expect boos. It’s OK. ... It’s all love. I still love everybody here and I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”
Dubón made a leaping catch over the left-field wall to rob Freeman of a home run in the third. Freeman wouldn't be denied an inning later. Hernández's homer to left drove in Andy Pages, who singled. One out later, Freeman pulled his 18th career postseason homer to right field for a 3-0 lead.
Roberts moved designated hitter Shohei Ohtani down to No. 5 in the lineup because Ohtani was 3 for 15 in his career against Sale. Ohtani went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts against Sale when the Dodgers lost 1-0 on Aug. 26 in Atlanta.
Roberts correctly predicted Ohtani would have opportunities with runners on base hitting lower in the order.
With runners on first and second in the first, Sale struck out Ohtani to end the inning. With two runners on base in the third, Ohtani reached on catcher's interference by Drake Baldwin to load the bases before Miguel Rojas ended the inning with a flyball to right field. Ohtani walked to lead off the eighth against Brent Suter, Atlanta's fourth pitcher.
Baldwin's bases-loaded grounder to first base drove in Dubón, who singled, in the fifth for Atlanta's only run.
Rojas left during an at-bat in the eighth. The second baseman appeared to injure his back on a swing and was replaced by Tommy Edman. The Dodgers announced the injury as lower back pain.
Roberts said Rojas probably won't start on Wednesday and his availability off the bench will be determined before the game.
“I give him credit for conceding that at-bat,” Roberts said.
Weiss made a late change, moving Ronald Acuña Jr. from right field to designated hitter. Weiss said Acuña jammed his knee on a slide in Game 2. Acuña remained in the game but the knee was sore on Tuesday, leading to the lineup change.
Roberts now has 71 career postseason wins, tying Tony La Russa for second-most in major league history. Joe Torre is first with 84.
Braves right-hander Tyler Mahle is expected to face Dodgers right-hander Tyler Glasnow in Game 4 on Wednesday night. Mahle said Tuesday an abdominal pull is now a “non-issue.” He felt the pull before allowing one run in seven innings of a 4-3 loss to Philadelphia in 10 innings during the NL Wild Card Series last week.
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Atlanta Braves pitcher Chris Sale throws to the Los Angeles Dodgers during the second inning in Game 3 of baseball's National League Division Series, Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Atlanta Braves left fielder Mauricio Dubón (14) climbs the wall to catch a fly out by Los Angeles Dodgers' Freddie Freeman as the Dodgers bullpen look on during the third inning in Game 3 of baseball's National League Division Series, Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Los Angeles Dodgers' Enrique Hernández connects for a two-run home run during the fourth inning in Game 3 of baseball's National League Division Series against the Atlanta Braves, Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Los Angeles Dodgers' Enrique Hernández celebrates his two-run home run during the fourth inning in Game 3 of baseball's National League Division Series against the Atlanta Braves, Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Los Angeles Dodgers' Yoshinobu Yamamoto throws to the Atlanta Braves during the third inning in Game 3 of baseball's National League Division Series, Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
SEATTLE (AP) — Federal authorities said Tuesday that they have arrested and charged a 30-year-old from Washington state with encouraging an 18-year-old to commit one of the worst school shootings in Canada's history by offering to livestream the February attack, providing money and sharing advice on how to delete online messages to keep the plot a secret.
The U.S. attorney’s office in Seattle said James Cody Bryant of Bellingham, Washington, communicated with Jesse Van Rootselaar in British Columbia for at least six months ahead of the shooting. Bryant, who identifies as female, did not report Van Rootselaar's plans to authorities, authorities allege.
W. Mike Herrington, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Seattle office, said without Bryant's “misplaced loyalty" and willingness to livestream the killings, officials didn't know if Van Rootselaar would have gone through with the attack.
“We certainly know the shooter was concerned that not enough people would see the livestream without Bryant broadcasting it and was depending on Bryant to amplify the livestream because the shooter did not have many followers on social media," Herrington added.
Authorities say Van Rootselaar first killed her mother and stepbrother at home before attacking a nearby school in the mountain community of Tumbler Ridge, killing five children ages 12 and 13 at the school as well as an educational assistant. Twenty-five others were wounded.
Van Rootselaar was later found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Investigators accessed Van Rootselaar's Twitch account and found that she had initiated a video livestream while sitting in her vehicle with a rifle and long gun in her lap. The livestream lasted about 20 seconds before it was disconnected, and was only viewed by one other account.
Bryant was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit murder in a foreign country — a “novel” charge for a case like this, said Acting U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd during a press conference.
Bryant made a first appearance in court on Tuesday afternoon and is being detained ahead of a preliminary hearing set for Oct. 20. The federal public defender's office, which represents Bryant, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Communicating over Discord with Van Rootselaar, Bryant gave tactical advice on how to carry out the killings to have the strongest impact, according to the complaint.
“Hallways also mean a lot of ways people can escape,” Bryant wrote, the complaint said. “Corners to turn. Wide open spaces means numbers.”
Bryant also sent Van Rootselaar money to purchase a lighter that would be used to construct an explosive device and advised Van Rootselaar about how to keep the plot a secret by deleting online messages and using virtual private networks, officials said.
According to the criminal complaint, Bryant and Van Rootselaar met online about three years ago on Omegle, a since-shuttered video chat site that connected users with strangers at random. Their communications were sporadic during the first year because she was “institutionalized” after being deemed a danger to herself, the complaint said. She was locked up again after setting her room on fire. But they spoke daily during the six months leading up to the attack, officials said.
“Van Rootselaar often spoke about planning to use guns to murder her family members and others because she felt she had been mistreated,” the complaint said.
Both Van Rootselaar and Bryant identified as trans, Herrington said. But authorities do not have any indication that’s why they stayed connected online, he said.
Bryant tried to talk Van Rootselaar out of committing the attack at various points, authorities said.
“I truly hope you reconsider today,” Bryant told her in January, according to the complaint. “I wish there were any other path for you, you shouldn’t have to do something like this.”
But ultimately, Bryant did not alert law enforcement and instead provided support for carrying out the shooting, authorities said.
When Van Rootselaar expressed concern that Bryant would “snitch” and alert authorities, Bryant repeatedly assured her that would not happen, officials said.
“I could,” Bryant wrote, according to the filing. “I don’t want to honestly. I know I can like, save lives I guess but idk,” using the abbreviation for “I don’t know.”
Canadian Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree said in Ottawa that the allegations were devastating.
“Nothing will bring back the eight lives that were devastated back in February, but it is important that those who are responsible are held to account," he told reporters.
Anandasangaree said it was too soon to say whether Bryant could also face charges in Canada, but added that Canadian prosecution would be possible if investigators determine Canadian laws were broken.
Bob Zimmer, the federal lawmaker who represents Tumbler Ridge, said the victims deserve answers.
“It is deeply troubling, the allegations that this individual coached the shooter all throughout the process in an effort to livestream the event,” Zimmer said.
Tumbler Ridge in the Canadian Rockies is more than 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) northeast of Vancouver, British Columbia, near the provincial border with Alberta. The provincial government website lists Tumbler Ridge Secondary School as having 175 students from Grades 7 to 12.
The families of victims are suing artificial intelligence company OpenAI in U.S. federal court, seeking to hold the ChatGPT maker responsible for failing to alert police to the shooter’s alarming interactions with the chatbot.
The story and headline have been corrected to identify Bryant as a resident of Washington. Authorities say Bryant identifies as female.
Associated Press reporter Rob Gillies contributed to this report from Toronto.
In this photo taken with a smartphone, Mike Herrington, the FBI special agent in charge, speaks to the media while Acting U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd, right, listens, Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Manuel Valdes)
In this photo taken with a smartphone, Elija Rain, the assistant commissioner of the British Columbia Royal Canadian Mounted Police, speaks to the media on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026, in Seattle. Standing next to Rain are Mike Herrington, the FBI special agent in charge, left, and Acting U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd, right. (AP Photo/Manuel Valdes)
In this photo taken with a smartphone, Mike Herrington, the FBI special agent in charge, speaks to the media on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026, in Seattle. Standing next to Herrington are Elija Rain, the assistant commissioner of the British Columbia Royal Canadian Mounted Police, left, and Acting U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd, right. (AP Photo/Manuel Valdes)
FILE - People pay their respects at a memorial on the steps of the Town Hall, following a vigil the previous day, in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, Canada, Feb. 14, 2026. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP, File)
FILE - A mother and son pay their respects at a memorial for the victims of a mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, Canada, Feb. 14, 2026. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP, File)
