LOS ANGELES -- "My name is Walker Buehler," he said, "and my average fastball last year was 97.1 mph."

That's how Buehler introduced himself to his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in spring training a couple of years ago. It's how Ross Stripling remembers it, at least. Stripling relayed that story -- an anecdote also referenced by The Athletic in recent days -- to demonstrate the uncommon, unwavering confidence of the 25-year-old right-hander who dominated the Washington Nationals in Game 1 of the National League Division Series on Thursday night.

The decision to open the postseason with Buehler instead of Clayton Kershaw or Hyun-Jin Ryu surprised many, but not those within the Dodgers' clubhouse. The baseball postseason is particularly unpredictable, especially during first-round series that stretch no more than five games. But with Buehler on the mound, the Dodgers could rely on two certainties: that his stuff would be overpowering, and that the moment would embolden him.

Buehler wound up giving up only one hit through six innings, lifting L.A. to a 6-0, tone-setting victory -- and none of his teammates seemed to bat an eye.

"If you know Walker, it's not surprising," Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner said. "He's very, very, very, very, very confident in himself."

As a rookie last fall, Buehler pitched the Dodgers to a division title in Game 163, then dropped an F-bomb during an on-field interview. He later held the Milwaukee Brewers to one run in Game 7 of the National League Championship Series and twirled seven scoreless against the Boston Red Sox in Game 3 of the Fall Classic, on a night when his Dodgers had to win.

Buehler struck out eight batters Thursday and has now collected 37 K's through his first five postseason starts, two shy of the club record set by Sandy Koufax, the Hall of Fame left-hander who watched Game 1 from the first row. Before Buehler, no Dodgers pitcher had ever thrown at least six scoreless innings while giving up no more than one hit in the playoffs.

"There's guys that want those opportunities, those big moments, and want to be the guy," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "Walker, time and time again, just knows how to temper, control his emotions and transfer that into the delivery, the execution of pitches. And today, from that first throw, he was on point."

Buehler's sixth pitch hit 99 mph and blew past the bat of Trea Turner for his first strikeout. Two batters later, against the potential NL MVP in Anthony Rendon, he fell behind 3-0, then spotted three pitches for strikes -- a four-seam fastball up and away, a two-seamer low and a slider low and outside. While Rendon argued over the call, the Dodger Stadium crowd of 53,095 erupted. Buehler roared as he walked off the mound, salivating the energy. He had already seized the moment.

"He's an animal," Dodgers rookie second baseman Gavin Lux said. "He's the most confident human being on the planet."

Buehler spent the last few weeks of the regular season tweaking with his pitches, as he often does. He gave up eight runs and walked nine hitters over his final 16 innings, but he didn't care about the results. In his last start, he threw every pitch as hard as he could to free up his mechanics.

When the postseason came, however, Roberts noticed a more decisive Buehler. He found something that worked during the pregame bullpen and stuck with it, hardly ever straying. His delivery and his tempo remained consistent. He threw his fastball with command to all four quadrants of the strike zone. The slow breaking ball made an appearance. The cutter was there when he needed it.

"His stuff's electric," Dodgers utilityman Chris Taylor said. "And I think he'd even tell you he didn't have his best stuff tonight."

Buehler's command noticeably strayed in the top of the fourth. He threw 26 pitches to five batters, loading the bases with two outs and drawing a visit from pitching coach Rick Honeycutt. Buehler followed with a couple of low-80s knuckle-curveballs to Asdrubal Cabrera, fielded a slow tapper back to the mound, lobbed the ball over to first base and ended the only threat the Nationals could muster.

From there, Buehler rolled again.

He finished retiring seven consecutive hitters on only 26 pitches, preserving what was then only a two-run lead. It put his team in an optimal position. The Dodgers beat the Nationals' most rested pitcher, Patrick Corbin, in Game 1 and will head into Friday's matchup against Stephen Strasburg -- who threw 34 pitches out of the bullpen in Tuesday's wild-card game -- with a chance to put this series on the brink.

"He loves the spotlight," Turner said of Buehler, his postseason ERA now 3.03 through 29⅔ innings. "He loves pitching big games. He loves this atmosphere. He answers the bell every time. It was good to see him go out there and be Walker."

Buehler finished the 2019 regular season with 14 wins, a 3.26 ERA and a 5.8 strikeout-to-walk ratio, the latter a significant jump from the prior year. Buehler got deeper into scouting opponents this season. Over time, he also learned how to compose himself when the pressure escalates. He reminds himself to simplify, to stick with what has worked previously, and to control his heart rate.

"Sometimes it helps to kind of embrace the atmosphere," Buehler said. "Learning to do that, I think, has been the biggest thing for me, and luckily, it's played out all right."

Every member of the Dodgers' clubhouse seems to have their own story of Buehler's astounding arrogance. His candidness has disarmed many, but Buehler has learned to balance it with self-deprecation and has warranted his assertiveness with undeniable success. Will Smith, the Dodgers' rookie catcher, grew up in Kentucky and occasionally played against Buehler in high school. He was noticeably cocky then, too.

"No one really threw 90," Smith said, "and he was throwing 95."

By the end of his run at Vanderbilt University, his fastball apparently reached 97 mph -- 97.1, to be exact.

Stripling still laughs about that story -- both at Buehler's preciseness with the velocity and his willingness to share the information. Teammates have been teasing him about it for years. His cockiness stands out, even in the ecosystem of the Dodgers' clubhouse.

"But he backs it up, and that's what's great," Stripling said. "He's not arrogant in a bad way. He's arrogant in an awesome way."

Andy Moles, who has been a key influence in the rise of Afghanistan, will now be their director of cricket. The 58-year old has also been appointed chief selector, taking over as the team navigates through a patchy 2019.

Moles has the experience of being part of the system, having coached Afghanistan from 2014 to 2015, a stint during which they made their maiden World Cup appearance. He has since been preparing the country's youngsters for the step up to international cricket, working at Under-19 and Under-23 levels. When Phil Simmons resigned from his post as head coach of the senior team soon after the 2019 World Cup, Moles filled in as interim coach and was in the dressing room as Afghanistan secured their dramatic victory over Bangladesh in Chattogram.

Last week, Afghanistan had appointed former South Africa allrounder Lance Klusener as the new national team coach for a tenure running upto 2020, with the possibility of an extension based on results.

Afghanistan, widely considered to be one of the most watchable teams on the planet, had gone into the World Cup earlier this year with much promise. However, a few weeks before the tournament was to begin, the ACB sacked captain Asghar Afghan and replaced him with Gulbadin Naib. The move came under fire from senior Afghanistan players such as Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi even before the tournament began, and contributed to their losing each of their nine games.

Midway through that World Cup, Mohammad Shahzad was sent home with a knee injury but the wicketkeeper batsman claimed he was fit and that he was unfairly left out. In August, he was suspended by the ACB for a year for a breach of contract.

There was, however, joy for Afghanistan after the World Cup as they beat Bangladesh in a riveting Test match last month. Rashid, who took over as Test captain, was the star of that game, scoring a fifty and picking up 11 crucial wickets even as rain and bad light threatened to end the five-day game in a draw.

ATLANTA -- It happened again. And this time it was in a postseason game.

Atlanta Braves center fielder Ronald Acuna Jr. failed to run out a ball he hit off the wall in right field, settling for just a single. The last time it happened, in August, he was benched. This time, he was called out by his teammates after the Braves lost 7-6 to the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 1 of their best-of-five National League Division Series on Thursday.

"Yeah, it's frustrating," Braves star first baseman Freddie Freeman said. "But I think you have that conversation once. It's kind of beating a dead horse after that if you keep having the same conversation over and over again. You have to know that was a mistake."

Acuna connected off Cardinals reliever John Brebbia in the seventh, and right-fielder Dexter Fowler played it off the wall. By the time he turned to throw the ball back in, Acuna was just getting to first base. He didn't have much of an explanation for not running.

"There's a lot of baseball players who give their best effort all the time," Acuna said through the team interpreter. "But [it] can kind of get away from them [sometimes]. We're human. We make errors."

The inning could have turned out differently if Acuna was at second base. An Ozzie Albies groundout would have gotten him to third instead of second. He was eventually doubled off the bag when Josh Donaldson lined out to shortstop. In a one-run loss, the mistake loomed large.

"He probably scores in that inning if he's on second base," Albies said. "It's a big deal. He knows he needs to do better there."

The lack of hustle overshadowed Acuna's fantastic night at the plate, which included a walk and three hits, including a ninth-inning home run. But even the home run irked some; Cardinals reliever Carlos Martinez, who surrendered it, was upset at Acuna's home run trot.

"I simply want him to respect the game and respect me as a veteran player," Martinez told reporters. "That's it. Just play the game."

But in the Braves clubhouse, the focus was on the seventh-inning play.

"He should have been on second," manager Brian Snitker said. "And we're kind of shorthanded to do anything about it right there. You hate to see that happen."

Snitker pulled Acuna from a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Aug. 18, trying to make the point to the young star that running out every ball is important, even more so in October.

"That can't happen in the playoffs," Freeman said. "Can't happen in the regular season. Unfortunately that happened tonight."

Teammates didn't say anything publicly that they didn't say to Acuna first.

"A couple guys told him, 'Yeah, just run out of the box,'" Albies relayed. "It's something you should do."

Acuna was asked if he had another chance, would he do things differently.

"Absolutely," he said. "I mean, I was trying to give my best effort and those are those things that just kind of get away from you. So, obviously, I would've loved to have a double, if I could take it back."

Stephanie Meadow is looking to make the most of her chance at the LPGA’s Volunteers of America Classic this week.

With the help of a blistering start Thursday at Old American Golf Club outside Dallas, Meadow charged to the top of the leaderboard.

Meadow’s five consecutive birdies on the front nine fueled an 8-under 63, good for a two-shot lead on Amy Olson and Dori Carter and a three-shot lead on Moriya Jutanugarn, Cheyenne Knight and Ruixin Liu.

Former world No. 1 Inbee Park and reigning U.S. Women’s Open champ Jeongeun Lee6 are among those four back

“I know I need a big week this week, so whatever I score today didn't really matter,” Meadow said. “I'm just trying to get to the end goal.”

While Meadow would love to win her first LPGA title, there’s potentially a nice consolation prize if she doesn’t. This is the LPGA’s final domestic full-field event of the year, a last chance for many players along the bubble of the top 100 on the tour’s money list. Meadow is 112^th on the money list. The top 100 at season’s end keep their tour cards.

“It's been a pretty tough year, but I've been playing well the last few months, so I just feel like if I can just have a good week, I have nothing to lose,” Meadow said. “I'm just going to go out there, make smart choices. I'm not going to be stupid aggressive, but give myself some opportunities.”

Meadow, 27, made plenty of headlines as a gifted amateur out of Northern Ireland and later as a four-time All-American at the University of Alabama. She finished third at the U.S. Women’s Open at Pinehurst in her first start as a professional in 2014, but her fight to make it as a pro was fraught with challenges. The way she has met them earned her the LPGA’s Heather Farr Perseverance Award as a tour rookie in 2015. Meadow put her career on hold for more than a month that rookie season, returning home to help care for her father, Robert, who died of pancreatic cancer in May of that year.

In 2017, Meadow faced another challenge, ongoing back pain, which led her back to the Symetra Tour, where she earned her tour card back last year.

“I believe in myself, and we’ll see what happens,” Meadow said.

LAS VEGAS – Matt Wolff, Collin Morikawa and Joaquin Niemann are a combined 64 years old.

“The three of us together are as old as my caddie,” Niemann joked.

Wait, really?

“No, but it’s close,” he answered.

For reference, Niemann is 20, Wolff is 20, and Morikawa is 22.

“It’s weird that I’m the oldest one, by two years” Morikawa said, as if only just realizing.

This trio of newly minted PGA Tour winners was in the spotlight and in front of the cameras on Thursday at TPC Summerlin, strolling around as a late-afternoon featured group at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.

Wolff and Morikawa both opened with 67, Niemann with a 69.

“Twinning,” Wolff exclaimed in Morikawa’s direction.

Niemann and Morikawa are former World Amateur Golf Ranking No. 1s, and Wolff is the reigning NCAA Division I individual champion, a title he won’t defend next spring, since he’ll be too busy prepping for another title defense on Tour.

All three players became friends through the amateur ranks, and all three have picked up their first professional victories in the last three months. Wolff took the 3M Open, Morikawa the Baracuda Championship and Niemann the Sanderson Farms Championship.

All three players earned PGA Tour status as non-members immediately after turning pro, Wolff and Morikawa via victories this summer and Niemann via points last summer.

A couple of years ago, they were playing top-ranked junior events. Now they’re cutting it up on Tour.

Standing together outside the scoring trailer, Wolff and Morikawa were informed that they’d be doing a joint television interview with Golf Channel.

“Together? Forever?” Wolff replied, longingly.

They went and stood in the shade behind the clubhouse and cracked more jokes until it was time for the cameras to roll. Then they cracked some more jokes.

All three guys are already comfortable out here, even though everything is still pretty new.

“I still consider myself a rookie,” Wolff said.

The Tour doesn’t, but Wolff and Morikawa have nonetheless been out here just a few months. They’re still seeing courses for the first time, figuring out where to check in for registration.

“We’re playing in Wednesday pro-ams now,” Morikawa pointed out.

“It definitely is a little weird,” Wolff added. “Only a year ago, six months ago I was watching all these featured groups on the PGA Tour and dreaming about being a part of it. Now that Collin’s won, I’ve won, Joaquin’s joined us in the winner’s circle, it’s pretty cool that there’s a lot of attention of us younger guys. It adds a level of, not pressure, but hype around the younger guy’s coming out. Like Akshay – he’s 17.”

Wolff is talking about Akshay Bhatia, who opted to skip college and turn pro just last month, making his first start at the Sanderson Farms. He missed the cut in his first two Tour events but posted 1-under 70 Thursday and could be around this week with a good round Friday.

“Like [Wolff] said about Akshay, we’ve put another standard, another bar for them to see they could reach,” Morikawa said. “But I’ve said this from Day 1, since we all sat down at Travelers: We just believe in ourselves. That’s what’s Joaquin’s done, what Matt’s done, what Viktor Hovland’s done.”

Wolff summed up their newfound stardom like this: “Having the cameras on us all the time, it’s definitely cool, but sometimes you gotta, you know, watch what you say.”

More laughter ensued.

LAS VEGAS – Nick Taylor had to scramble for par on his opening two holes Thursday, and then he couldn’t miss in the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.

Taylor ran off a six-hole stretch at 6-under par, including a drive on the 314-yard 14th hole at the TPC Summerlin that stopped 5 feet away for eagle. He birdied all the par 5s, kept bogeys off his card and opened with an 8-under 63 for a one-shot lead over Brian Harman.

Phil Mickelson, who missed the cut last week at the Safeway Open in his season debut, had a 65 for his lowest round since late February.

Taylor faced ideal conditions and the easier side at Summerlin to start his round, and he found himself having to get up-and-down to save par with 5-foot putts.

“The first two holes, I actually hit pretty good drives. Had a little bit of mud on it, so the ball just kind of took off oddly,” Taylor said. “Was able to make two good par saves, and from there was able to hit a bunch of greens, make some putts.”

The 15th hole was a bonus. On the three par 5s, he was either on in two shots or just off the green.

“That always makes the round pretty easy,” Taylor said.

Mickelson, Maverick McNealy, Brian Gay, Brian Stuard and Sam Ryder were at 65. Adam Scott, who spent a year at UNLV as a teenager, was among those at 66, as were defending champion Bryson DeChambeau, past champion Patrick Cantlay and Chase Koepka, the younger brother of Brooks Koepka.

Mickelson is playing Las Vegas for the first time since 2005, and he didn’t start his season well when he chopped up the par 5s at Silverado - making a 9 on one of the easier holes - to miss the cut.

Lefty wasn’t worried. Take out his play on the par 5s, and he felt his game was fine. He showed that Thursday, and finished his round with a 60-foot eagle attempt that had a chance to go in before leaving a short putt for his final birdie.

The 65 was his best score since a second-round 65 in the Mexico Championship.

With the fairways running tight and fast, Mickelson said he relied on a low cut to keep it in play and give himself chances.

“They’re not going very far, but they're in play,” he said. “My iron play right now is really good, so I just want to give myself chances with my irons.”

He said he needed only a “subtle fix” from how he played the par 5s at the Safeway Open and it was easy.

Koepka, who had stem cell treatment on his left knee on Aug. 25 after the FedEx Cup ended, began his season by needing two birdies over the last four holes just to break par. He opened with a 70.

Tony Finau was at 68 after spending the last two weeks on the European Tour and flying eight time zones away to Las Vegas.

Koepka is the first No. 1 player in Las Vegas since Greg Norman in 1988.

There’s a three-way tie for the lead after the first round of the season-ending Symetra Tour Championship in Daytona Beach, Fla., but this is a week that runs much deeper than who’s atop the leaderboard.

Come Sunday’s finish, there will be 10 players celebrating victories.

That’s how many LPGA tour cards will be won off the top of the season-long Volvik Race for the Card money list.

Daniela Iacobelli opened with a 7-under-par 65 to grab a share of the lead at LPGA International’s Jones Course. She knows what magic can happen with a strong finish. Iacobelli jumped from 22^nd on the tour’s money list to fifth when she won the Tour Championship in 2012. She starts this week 16^th on the money list.

Finishing up with a birdie Thursday, Iacobelli relished good memories.

“I felt nerves over the putt on No. 18, because you’re staring out at the LPGA sign, and I could remember the exact putt I had when I won in 2012,” Iacobelli said. “It was a little reminiscent, but still a fresh start.”

Iacobelli is tied for the lead with Kendra Dalton and Laura Wearn.

The battle for the 10 tour cards opened a bit with news that Mind Muangkhumsakul wouldn’t be teeing it up this week. She holds down the 10^th spot on the money list but missed her tee time for Wednesday’s pro-am and was withdrawn from the event, per tour rules. Muangkhumsakul has a $10,176 lead on Min Seo Kwak on the money list, and Kwak made a strong start Thursday. Kwak opened with a 66 and is tied for fourth.

LAS VEGAS – Chase Koepka doesn’t get to big time his big brother that often.

So when he gets his chance, he’s going to take it.

Playing the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open on a sponsor exemption, the younger Koepka fired a bogey-free, 5-under 66, bettering his four-time-major-winning brother by four.

“It's nice. But, you know,” he said, hesitating a bit, “he's so good. He's so good.”

Chase has made three prior PGA Tour starts, two of which were at the Zurich Classic, where he teamed with Brooks.

He spent this past summer making 12 starts on the European Challenge Tour, but played the weekend only three times.

“I was a bit homesick being over there,” he admitted. “I took some time to kind of regroup and figure some things out for myself, get a little happier. Definitely showed today on the golf course. Had some fun out there and it was nice to see that result.”

He further explained that being separated from his family proved difficult and called a nine-week stretch in Europe this summer “very tolling on me mentally.”

Koepka recently failed to advance out of the first stage of European Tour Qualifying School and will next week turn his attention to the first stage of Korn Ferry Tour Q-School in Utah.

But first, he’s got a PGA Tour event to play here in Vegas, and he needs to go harass his brother a little.

“I do have to needle him every now and then when I do get a chance to nip him on a day like today,” he said.