WASHINGTON -- The surprises keep coming from first-year Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts.First, it was a National League Division Series that included three catchers. Now comes news that rookie Andrew Toles will start in left field in the opening game of the series Friday against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park.Is he starting? Clayton Kershaw asked at his regular pre-start news conference Thursday. Thats awesome.The conversation was brief between Toles and Roberts.Youre in left field tomorrow, like he normally says, Toles said of the interaction when Roberts told him the news.Starts against right-handed pitchers have become commonplace for Toles over the past six weeks, so with Max Scherzer on the mound for the Nationals on Friday, Toles was somewhat expecting the assignment.It felt pretty good [to hear it], Toles said. I just want to stay focused and go out there and do my best really.He was out of baseball last year, when he was released by the Tampa Bay Rays organization, but Toles story has been one of resilience. He was signed by the Dodgers in 2015 after the minor league season had ended and was not invited to big league camp this spring. He started the season at Single-A Rancho Cucamonga and was in Los Angeles by the start of July. He played 22 games at Rancho Cucamonga, 43 at Double-A Tulsa and 17 at Triple-A Oklahoma City before the Dodgers called him up to the major leagues.Never fazed by the situation, or so it seemed, Toles gave the Dodgers steady production. He supplied a rare dose of speed on the bases and added a plus-throwing arm into the proceedings. If a deficiency showed, it was with defense, other than throwing the ball.Toles had a pair of three-hit games this season, the first in his 10th career game. He was batting .397 in his first 58 at-bats through the end of August and then cooled a bit in September. He ended August with a pinch-hit grand slam that gave the Dodgers a victory in the second game of a doubleheader at Colorado when it seemed as if the team would be swept in the twinbill.I mean, to be honest, I didnt even know we had a guy named Andrew Toles in the minor leagues, Kershaw said. To meet him and understand where hes been and come from, and the type of guy he is, the type of player he is, its pretty special to see for sure.Toles batted .213 in 47 at-bats in September and dealt with a sore wrist as the regular season came to a close. He had just eight at-bats on the final road trip, after the team had clinched the division.Roberts did not specify any other part of the Game 1 lineup, only saying, Its going to look a lot like weve done it.Considering that the Nationals will have right-hander Scherzer on the mound, the lineup sounds like this:?Yasmani Grandal at catcher, and an infield of Adrian Gonzalez at first base, Chase Utley at second, Corey Seager at shortstop and Justin Turner at third. In addition to Toles in the outfield, Joc Pederson is expected to play center field, with Josh Reddick likely in right field. Kershaw will pitch.Seager and Toles are two of seven rookies on the Dodgers NLDS roster; a number of injuries forced the club to give others a chance this season. Many of those young players made the best of their opportunities, and Toles was one of them.We all feel like were a part of the team, Toles said. We said it in the meeting the other day. Its going to take all 25 of us to win a world championship. I feel personally, me and all the other rookies, we dont feel like rookies. Were just a part of the team. Saucony Shoes Canada From China . Lack made 20 saves for his third shutout of the season as the Canucks blanked the St. Louis Blues 1-0 in the first post-Olympic game for both teams night. Saucony Shoes Canada Outlet . Varlamov made 33 saves and Ryan OReilly had a goal and scored in the shootout as the Avalanche beat the New Jersey Devils 2-1 on Thursday night. http://www.sauconysalecanada.com/ . Isner, ranked No. 14, won his eighth career singles title and took the title in New Zealand for the second time after his victory in 2010. The match was similar to Isners quarterfinal victory over fifth-seeded Philipp Kohlschreiber which went to three sets, all tiebreaks and contained no breaks of serve. Cheap Saucony Shoes Canada Online . "Were just throwing s--- at the wall hoping something sticks," said Tortorella about the possible line combinations for Fridays game against Columbus. The Canucks have lost five straight games and six of their last seven, leaving them in a logjam in the Pacific Division, currently sitting fifth - good for ninth in the Western Conference. Wholesale Saucony Shoes Canada . -- The St. Johns IceCaps weathered a wild first period with the help of goaltender Jussi Olkinuora, before finding offensive inroads in the second. SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Quarterback DeShone Kizer says Notre Dame players are remembering the pain they felt two years when they were embarrassed in a 49-14 loss to rival Southern California as the Fighting Irish prepare to finish a scuffling season on the road against the 12th-ranked Trojans.Coach, I remember, challenged us after that game to remember that feeling and every time we play against USC to try to bring that and allow that to fuel us, Kizer said. That feeling is still there. It fueled me last year and it will fuel me this year.The game against the Trojans (8-3), who have won seven straight after a 1/3 start, could be Kizers last with Notre Dame (4-7). He is being projected by many to be a first-round draft pick in the NFL, with some saying he could be a top-five pick.The 6-foot-4, 230-pound junior, who has two years of eligibility left, wasnt in reflective mood Tuesday when talking to reporters, declining to speculate about his future. But after a 34-31 loss to Virginia Tech on Saturday that ensured Notre Dames first losing season since Brian Kelly became coach in 2010, Kizer spent time on the field after the game with his parents and outgoing seniors taking in the scene with their families. Kizer, who completed just 3 of 15 passes for 36 yards in the second half against the Hokies, said he had done the same thing last year as well.I think its awesome to soak in the moment, Kizer said. That was our last game (at home) for the 2016 team and I think that it was an awesome opportunity to take it all in with my family. The ups and downs.Kizer has said he will make his decision after talking with his family when the season ends on Saturday. He talked two weeks ago about competing with Malik Zaire, whom he beat out this year for the starters job, and sophomore Brandon Wimbush, who redshirted this season, to be the starter next season, although many expect Zaire to switch to another school for his final year of eligibility after graduating from Notre Dame.Kizer was frank when talking to reporters after the loss to Virginia Tech about this seasons disappointments, with all seven losses being by eight points or less, three of those after leading by 10 points or more.ddddddddddddI think that I did a good job of avoiding all your guys questions through all the other losses and at this point, what else am I supposed to say? he said. Its just unfortunate this is how the season has gone. I do believe that in every game we played, we had an opportunity to win. We beat ourselves, in a sense, from stupid penalties, stupid decisions on reads. I think that, once again, every opportunity that we have been out there, we have had a chance to win the game and for us to come up short by an average of something around five points on all those games, is very frustrating.Kizer said the announcement Tuesday by the NCAA that it was ordering Notre Dame to vacate 21 wins from the 2012 and 2013 seasons, which the school said it will appeal, will have no effect on the team as they prepare to play the Trojans.All we have in front of us is USC. Whatever comes from the past is not going to affect how we go about beating USC, he said.Kizer heads into the game against the Trojans with a 12-10 record as a starter after winning eight of his first nine starts. He burst on the scene when he rallied the Irish to a come-from-behind win over Virginia when he threw a 39-yard touchdown pass to Will Fuller with 12 seconds left after Zaire sustained a broken ankle.He describes this year as a learning season.Its easy to lead on top. Its difficult to lead when youre not on top, Kizer said. I think that as a quarterback who has seen both sides of this in two seasons here that personally I have tried my hardest to maintain who I am and the identity that I have as a leader, and its been tested on both sides.I think that moving forward I have to focus on maintaining that same style of leadership, being the same guy every day, and doing whatever it takes to lead an offense to a successful game and get as many wins as we can, he said.Whether that will be with the Irish or an NFL team remains to be seen.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25. ' ' '