Betts homers to break slump but apparently thought he was robbed again by Profar

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Mookie Betts broke an 0-for-22 playoff slump with a home run Tuesday night but apparently thought he had been robbed again by left fielder Jurickson Profar of the San Diego Padres in Game 3 of the NL Division Series.

Betts' homer gave the Dodgers a short-lived 1-0 lead. Fernando Tatis Jr.'s towering two-run homer highlighted a six-run second inning and the Padres held on to win 6-5 to take a 2-1 series lead. The Dodgers' Teoscar Hernández hit a grand slam in the third.

Game 4 is Wednesday night.

Betts lofted a flyball to the left-field corner at Petco Park with one out in the first inning at almost the same distance as he did in Dodger Stadium on Sunday night, when Profar leaped and reached into the crowd to make the catch. After Profar landed, he trolled the fans by staring at them and bouncing up and down several times before throwing the ball to the infield.

Profar leaped again Tuesday night but couldn't bring it back, with the ball ticking off his glove and into the crowd. Betts rounded first and turned toward the dugout before he got to second. Betts' teammates in the dugout, including Max Muncy, motioned for him to keep going.

Even Padres starter Michael King gestured with his right arm that it was fair.

Betts resumed his trot to give the Dodgers a 1-0 lead. It was his first playoff hit since Game 3 of the 2022 NLDS against San Diego, which the Padres won in four games.

Game 2 was delayed for 12 minutes after rowdy fans tossed baseballs in the direction of Profar, and then trash onto the outfield.

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Los Angeles Dodgers' Mookie Betts celebrates with third base coach Dino Ebel after Betts' solo home run during the first inning in Game 3 of a baseball NL Division Series against the San Diego Padres, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

San Diego Padres pitcher Michael King adjusts his cap after giving up a solo home run to Los Angeles Dodgers' Mookie Betts during the first inning in Game 3 of a baseball NL Division Series Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Mookie Betts (50) celebrates his solo home run with Shohei Ohtani during the first inning in Game 3 of a baseball NL Division Series against the San Diego Padres, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

San Diego Padres left fielder Jurickson Profar reaches over the wall but cannot catch a home run ball from Los Angeles Dodgers' Mookie Betts during the first inning in Game 3 of a baseball NL Division Series Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Mookie Betts watches his solo home run during the first inning in Game 3 of a baseball NL Division Series against the San Diego Padres, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Hurricane Milton churned Wednesday toward a potentially catastrophic collision along the west coast of Florida, where some residents insisted they would stay after millions were ordered to evacuate and officials warned that stragglers would face grim odds of surviving.

The Tampa Bay area, home to more than 3.3 million people, faced the possibility of widespread destruction after avoiding direct hits from major hurricanes for more than a century. The National Hurricane Center predicted Milton, a monstrous Category 5 hurricane during much of its approach, would likely weaken but remain a major hurricane when it makes landfall late Wednesday.

Milton was centered late Tuesday about 405 miles (650 kilometers) southwest of Tampa with maximum sustained winds of 160 mph (260 kmh), the National Hurricane Center reported.

Forecasters predicted the storm will retain hurricane strength as it crosses central Florida on Thursday on a path east toward the Atlantic Ocean. The hurricane's precise track remained uncertain, as forecasters Tuesday evening nudged its projected path slightly south of Tampa.

Thousands of fleeing cars clogged Florida's highways ahead of the storm, but time for evacuations was running out Wednesday. Tampa Mayor Jane Castor noted that up to 15 feet (4.5 meters) of storm surge forecast for her city would be deep enough to swallow an entire house.

“So if you’re in it, basically that’s the coffin that you’re in,” Castor said.

Milton targets communities still reeling two weeks after Hurricane Helene flooded streets and homes in western Florida along its devasting march that left at least 230 dead across the South.

In the bayside town of Punta Gorda, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) south of Tampa, streets were still filled Tuesday with 5-foot (1.5-meter) piles of soggy furniture, clothing, books, appliances and other trash dragged from damaged homes.

Many homes sat vacant, but accountant and art collector Scott Joiner remained on the second floor of the New Orleans-style home he built 17 years ago. Joiner said bull sharks swam in the flooded streets and a neighbor had to be rescued by canoe when Helene passed and flooded the first floor of his home.

“Water is a blessing to have,” Joiner said, “but it is very deadly.”

Joiner said he planned to go another round and ride out Milton, despite the risk.

Authorities have issued mandatory evacuation orders across 11 Florida counties with a combined population of about 5.9 million people, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates.

Officials have warned that anyone staying behind must fend for themselves, as first responders are not expected to risk their lives attempting rescues at the height of the storm.

In Riverview, south of Tampa, several drivers waiting in a long line for fuel Tuesday said they had no plans to evacuate.

“I think we’ll just hang, you know — tough it out,” said Martin Oakes, of nearby Apollo Beach. “We got shutters up. The house is all ready. So this is sort of the last piece of the puzzle.”

Others weren't taking any chances after Helene.

On Anna Marie Island along the southern edge of Tampa Bay, Evan Purcell packed up his father’s ashes and was trying to catch his 9-year-old cat, McKenzie, as he prepared to leave Tuesday. Helene left him with thousands of dollars in damage when his home flooded. He feared Milton might take the rest.

“I’m still in shock over the first one and here comes round two,” Purcell said. “I just have a pit in my stomach about this one.”

State and local governments scrambled ahead of the storm to remove piles of debris left in Helene's wake, fearing that the oncoming hurricane would turn loose wreckage into flying missiles. Gov. Ron DeSantis said the state deployed over 300 dump trucks that had removed 1,300 loads of debris.

In Mexico, authorities in the state of Yucatan reported minor damage from Milton as it passed just offshore. Power lines, light poles and trees were knocked down near the coast, and some small thatched-roof structures were destroyed, Yucatan Gov. Joaquín Díaz said. He did not report any deaths or injuries.

Spencer reported from Fort Myers Beach. Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Curt Anderson and Kate Payne in Tampa; Freida Frisaro in Fort Lauderdale; Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia; Seth Borenstein in Washington and Mark Stevenson in Mexico City.

Salvage crews continue to clean up household debris, damaged in Hurricane Helene, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024, in Clearwater Beach, Fla., ahead of the possible landfall from Hurricane Milton. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Arnie Bellini surveys the damages caused from Hurricane Helene on a street in Clearwater Beach, Fla., Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. Bellini fronted $500,000. of his own money to help speed up debris cleanup ahead of the possible arrival of Hurricane Milton. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

A tattered American flag flaps outside a home as furniture and household items damaged by Hurricane Helene flooding sit piled along the street awaiting pickup, ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Milton, in Holmes Beach on Anna Maria Island, Fla., Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Debris from homes flooded in Hurricane Helene sits curbside as Hurricane Milton approaches on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024, in Port Richey, Fla. (AP Photo/Mike Carlson)

Linemen gather in front of hundreds of utility trucks staged, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. at The Villages, Fla. in preparation for Hurricane Milton.(Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel via AP)

A store boards up but remains open in preparation for Hurricane Milton on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024, in New Port Richey, Fla. (AP Photo/Mike Carlson)

A sign on a closed Waffle House on Highway US 19 in anticipation of Hurricane Milton on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024, in New Port Richey, Fla. (AP Photo/Mike Carlson)

A message board at the Tampa International Airport shows all American Airlines departing flight canceled Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024, in Tampa, Fla., due to the possible arrival of Hurricane Milton. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

A passenger sleeps at the Tampa International Airport Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024, in Tampa, Fla., after most flights were canceled due to the possible arrival of Hurricane Milton. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Southwest Airlines employees cover the ticket counters with plastic wrap just before Tampa International Airport was closing due to the possible arrival of Hurricane Milton Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Highway signage announces the impending arrival of Hurricane Milton and the evacuations zones on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024, in Port Richey, Fla. (AP Photo/Mike Carlson)

Duke Energy project manager Tiger Yates, bottom center, walks among the hundreds of lineman trucks staged, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. at The Villages, Fla. in preparation for Hurricane Milton. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel via AP)

Heavy traffic flows northbound on Interstate-75 as people evacuate the Tampa Bay area ahead of Hurricane Milton's arrival late Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in Ocala, Fla. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)