Dodgers

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. It’s the greatest weekend for City Section athletics, because the baseball championship games in Open Division and Division I will be held Saturday at Dodger Stadium.

Tantalizingly close

Venice’s Canon King (left) gives a chest bump after his home run against Chatsworth.

(Craig Weston)

It’s the week in City Section sports where dreams come true. The City Section Open Division and Division I baseball championship games will be played Saturday at Dodger Stadium.

“It’s magical,” Venice center fielder Canon King said of what the experience would be like.

A semifinal doubleheader is set for Tuesday at Cal State Northridge in the Open Division, with Birmingham playing El Camino Real at 3 p.m. and Venice facing Sylmar at 6 p.m. In Division I, the semifinals are Wednesday at Stengel Field in Glendale. Taft will play Carson at 3 p.m., followed by Verdugo Hills against Banning at 6 p.m.

Venice, the No. 1 seed, has been led by King, who has hit six home runs. Here’s a profile of him and his teammates.

Baseball

It’s nervous time in the Southern Section baseball playoffs that resume Tuesday. Top-seeded Corona, which got a first-round bye in Division 1, makes its debut at home against Los Osos and will send out pitcher Seth Hernandez, who is 17-0 in high school baseball.

There are no upsets in Division 1 despite the seedings. It’s still about ace vs. ace. The one interesting thing to watch is how well the four teams who got first-round byes perform after being inactive for more than a week. That’s Corona, Crespi, Huntington Beach and St. John Bosco. They better be ready to perform with their ace pitchers or suffer an early exit.

Quentin Young of Oaks Christian has hit 14 home runs.

(Craig Weston)

The Trinity League has done best with Orange Lutheran, Mater Dei, Servite and Santa Margarita all winning their playoff openers. It was a big day for Oaks Christian and Quentin Young, who hit his 14th home run.

Here’s the updated schedule.

Softball

Jackie Morales is one of six freshman contributors for Sherman Oaks Notre Dame.

(Greg Fiore)

Sherman Oaks Notre Dame has become the surprise team in high school softball, eliminating last season’s Division 1 runner-up Orange Lutheran in a 9-7 stunner, then beating El Segundo 12-10. Who says you need a standout pitcher with a freshman named Jackie Morales?

All Morales did was hit four home runs on the week, including three against Orange Lutheran. Top-seeded Norco remains the favorite in Division 1, but in a season without any dominant pitcher, the Knights’ hitting could keep them going far. Notre Dame hosts El Modena in Wednesday’s quarterfinals. Here’s the complete pairings.

The City Section announced its playoff pairings, with Granada Hills seeded No. 1. Here’s the pairings.

Lacrosse

Loyola has been the No. 1 lacrosse team all season and delivered a second Southern Section title with an 11-3 win over Mater Dei in the Division 1 final. Cash Ginsberg scored three goals and Tripp King had two goals.

Foothill upset No. 1-seeded Mira Costa 12-7 to win the Division 1 girls title. Foothill lost to Marlborough in last year’s final. Brynn Perkins scored five goals.

Track

Benjamin Harris of Servite shows emotion after his win in Division 200 final. He also won the 100.

(Craig Weston)

The weather was cool and overcast, but there were some terrific individual and team performances at the Southern Section track and field championships at Moorpark.

There were two ties for team titles in Division 4 boys (Serra and Viewpoint) and girls (St. Mary’s and Rosary). And Division 3 boys came down to the 4×400 relay with Sherman Oaks Notre Dame prevailing over Servite.

Servite’s Benjamin Harris, only a sophomore, ran a 10.32 100 meters. Rodney Sermons, a junior USC commit at Rancho Cucamonga, ran a 10.36 100. Here’s a rundown on the day’s activities.

On Saturday, the Southern Section will hold its Masters Meet at Moorpark and for the first time have 18 qualifiers competing in races and field events, up from nine.

The City Section will hold its championships Thursday at Birmingham High using the school’s new Mondo track surface.

Volleyball

Connor Koski hammers a kill over Venice’s Sam Engelen in the City Section Open Division boys’ volleyball final at Birmingham High on May 17, 2025.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

El Camino Real stunned top-seeded Venice to win the City Section Open Division championship. The Royals have one of the brightest young coaches in the Southland in Alyssa Lee, who used to play girls volleyball for Tom Harp at Granada Hills. She’s now won a boys title, girls title and beach title.

Here’s the report.

Mira Costa won the Southern Section Division 1 championship. The state championships begin this week. Here are the pairings.

Pitchers to watch

Angel Cervantes of Warren, a UCLA commit, is one of the hardest throwers in the Southland.

(Nick Koza)

There are lots of pitchers scheduled to make an impact in the Southern Section baseball playoffs.

Here’s a look at pitchers to watch over the next couple of weeks.

Interactive sports exhibit

Former UCLA softball pitcher Rachel Garcia stands in the batting cage as the digital Rachel Garcia pitches to visitors at the new Game On! exhibition prepares to open on Thursday at the California Science Center.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

The California Science Center next to the Coliseum has opened a free interactive sports exhibit that will stay open through the 2028 Olympic Games. It’s phenomenal, allowing kids and adults to learn about science and participate in baseball, softball, climbing, soccer, basketball and other sports. The first day it was opened saw more than 1,300 visitors.

Here’s a look at something that should become very popular.

Golf

Here come the freshmen. At the Northern Regional for individual golf, freshman Brandon Anderson of Buena won with a 63 and second was freshman Jaden Soong of St. Francis. The individual championships will take place Thursday at Temecula Creek Country Club.

Team titles are scheduled Monday and Tuesday.

Hello Eric

Eric Sondheimer answers questions.

(Nick Koza / For the Times)

It’s time to start a weekly help guide for parents, athletes, coaches, even officials. I’m going to ask questions and answer them with help from others.

First question: “How do I get my coach to notice me more?”

Get to practices before anyone else. Stay until everyone leaves. That lets the coach know you are passionate and committed to getting better. Volunteer to do the little things that coaches notice, like helping to clean a gym floor or bring out water. Show hustle whenever you can. Be bold and talk to your coach and tell him or her that you want to reach your full potential and would appreciate any feedback.

The key is working hard when no one is watching. The coach will see the development and provide a reward known as playing time. If not, keep doing it for yourself and your future. Good grades always bring a smile to any coach. Run extra laps. And you might even tell your coach, “You’re doing a really good job.” They like compliments.

Notes . . .

Former NFL defensive back Troy Hill is the new head football coach at his alma mater, St. Bonaventure. He becomes the second ex-NFL player recently headed to high school football, joining Carson Palmer, who went to Santa Margarita. . . .

Junior receiver Devin Olmande of Newbury Park has committed to San Jose State. . . .

Irvine University and Woodbridge won the Southern Section Open Division and Division 1 tennis championships. Here’s a report on Woodbridge’s win. . . .

Mission Viejo won the Millikan seven on seven passing tournament, defeating San Diego Lincoln in the final. Charter Oak won its own passing tournament title, defeating Rancho Cucamonga, and San Juan Hills defeated Capistrano Valley in the championship of the Dana Hills passing tournament. . . .

Thatcher Fahlbusch from Mira Costa has committed to Hawaii for volleyball.

From the archives: Easton Hawk

Easton Hawk during his Granada Hills days.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

UCLA was searching for a reliable closer in baseball this season, and look who’s emerged late in the season: freshman Easton Hawk from Granada Hills High.

He entered the week with four saves in 17 appearances but has come on strong this month to give the Bruins hope he can be a stopper in the NCAA playoffs. UCLA shared the regular season Big 10 championship with Oregon.

He’s always had good velocity. Throwing strikes is important at the collegiate level.

Here’s a story from 2023.

Recommendations

From ESPN, a story on Palisades High’s baseball team rising up despite obstacles from the Palisades fire.

From Globalsportmatters.com, a story on youth sports and mental health challenges.

Tweets you might have missed

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell. Let’s hope the Dodgers don’t have to face the Angels in the postseason.

Last week, the Dodgers designated longtime backup catcher Austin Barnes for assignment to make room for Dalton Rushing. The other shoe dropped Sunday when the Dodgers released Chris Taylor to make way for a returning Tommy Edman.

Taylor is a longtime fan favorite whose last good season at the plate was 2021. After that season, he signed a four-year, $60-million contract. He also had elbow surgery that offseason, and was never the same after that. Still good-to-great defensively, but on offense, well, the numbers speak for themselves:

2022: .221/.304/.373, 89 OPS+
2023: .237/.326/.420, 102 OPS+
2024: .202/.290/.300, 72 OPS+
2025: .200/.200/.257, 29 OPS+

Taylor had only 35 at-bats spread over 28 games this season. When Hyeseong Kim came up from the minors and played so well, there was no reason to keep Taylor when Edman came off the IL. It would have been really hard to justify sending Kim down.

But, showing that it’s possible for two conflicting thoughts to be true at the same time, while it was the best thing for the Dodgers to release him, it’s still hard to see him go.

“This has been a very emotional week for all of us,” president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman told reporters before Sunday’s game. “Barnsey and CT have been in the middle of some huge moments for this organization. Both guys have left an indelible mark on our culture and where we’re at at this point. So the decisions were incredibly difficult. The conversations were tough. But with where we are, the division race, the composition of roster, everything. We felt like this was in the Dodgers’ best interest in terms of how to win as many games and put us in a position to best win the World Series this year.”

Taylor, who went to Virginia, was selected by the Seattle Mariners in the fifth round of the 2012 draft. He reached the majors in 2014 with the Mariners and was considered a disappointment at the time after hitting only .240/.296/.296 in 86 games with the Mariners. The Dodgers acquired him on June 19, 2016 for one-time top prospect Zach Lee. Not much attention was given to the deal, and the attention it was given was for the Dodgers giving up on Lee.

A few years later, Jerry DiPoto, who was GM of the Mariners for the trade, called it the worst deal he ever made.

Taylor hit .207 in limited playing time with the Dodgers over the rest of the 2016 season, before the Dodgers, or Taylor, or both, unlocked something offensively. He hit .288/.354/.496 with 34 doubles, 21 homers, 72 RBIs and 17 stolen bases in 2017 while playing five different positions and was a key player on the team that reached the World Series before losing to the Houston Astros*. Taylor hit two homers during the NLCS and one during the World Series. He was named co-MVP of the NLCS with Justin Turner. Little-known fact: He didn’t make the team out of spring training. He was brought up for the minors on April 19, 2017 when Logan Forsythe suffered a broken toe when hit by a pitch. How would Dodger, and Chris Taylor’s, fortunes have changed if Forsythe wasn’t hit by that pitch?

in 2018 he hit .254/.331/.444, with 35 doubles and 17 homers, .262/.333/.462 with 29 doubles and 12 homers in 2019 and .270/.366/.476 during the COVID-shortened 2020 season. He made his first and only All-Star team in 2021. And then the wheels started falling off.

Here’s a guy who has been with the team since 2016, and what do we know about him? Not much. He never sought the spotlight, just did his job every day to the best of his abilities.

“He is the consummate pro, the way he did a trust fall when he got here,” Friedman said. “He came in hungry and wanting to get better, and dove in with our hitting guys, with our position coaches. … He was a huge part of so much success that we’ve enjoyed. Can’t say enough about the human, the worker, the teammate, the player.”

If you dig a little deeper about Taylor, you discover he quietly helped families who were hurt by the devastating wildfires earlier this year. His CT3 Foundation raised millions of dollars for organization in L.A. and his hometown Virginia Beach, including Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Variety Boys and Girls Club, The Friendship Foundation, Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation, Children’s Hospital of the Kings Daughters, and Roc Solid Foundation.

He was just shy of reaching 10 seasons in the majors. Once a player reaches 10 years of service, they are eligible for up to $265,000 per year if they wait until age 62 to activate their pension. Seasons are counted as 172 days on the 26-man roster, so if you are bounced up and down from the minors, only your time in the majors counts. That’s how Taylor can be listed as “12 seasons” in the majors on most stat sites, but really be shy of 10 seasons. He needed to be on the Dodgers until early August to make it. If some other team signs him, then his time there will also count toward his 10 seasons. Taylor is at 9.037 seasons. He has also been paid almost $74 million in his career, so he should be fine. He just beats me out by about…. $73,500,000. Austin Barnes was at 8.098 seasons of service. He has been paid $18 million in his career.

Taylor’s first career home run was a grand slam with the Dodgers. His 100th career home run was a grand slam with the Dodgers, making him the only player in history whose first and 100th home runs were grand slams.

He appeared in 80 postseason games with L.A., hitting .247/.351/.441 with 13 doubles, nine homers and 26 RBIs. The most important homer may have been his walk-off homer in the 2021 wild-card game against St. Louis. You can watch that here.

Taylor was a part of two World Series winning teams. There aren’t a lot of players who can say that. It seems likely some other team will pick him up and see if he can recapture some of his old magic. We wish him well and thank him for some great memories.

*-The Astros cheated during that season and postseason.

First outing

Clayton Kershaw had his first outing of the season Saturday and the results were…. mixed. He gave up three runs in the first inning and looked bad. Then he settled a bit before seeming to tire. His line: Four innings pitched, five hits, five runs, three walks, two strikeouts.

We can draw no conclusions from this. We couldn’t if he had thrown five hitless innings. It’s going to take a couple more starts to figure out just how Kershaw is.

“I love getting back out there. It’s a special thing to get to go back and pitch at Dodger Stadium,” Kershaw told reporters after Saturday’s game. “Obviously, I wanted to pitch better. I need to pitch better going forward. But I think there’s some glimpses of some of my stuff being there, which is good. The problem tonight was just command.”

Dave Roberts on Kershaw to reporters after the game: “The stuff overall, I was impressed with. The velocity was more than it’s been in quite some time. At times the slider was good. At times the curveball was good. He mixed in a lot of change-ups, which was good. The command just wasn’t consistent. He got to a lot of two-strike counts and couldn’t put hitters away, where typically that’s his hallmark.”

Pete Rose poll

We asked readers of our Sports Report and Dodgers Dugout newsletters, “Should Pete Rose and Joe Jackson be in the Baseball Hall of Fame?” After 19,803 responses

Pete Rose
Yes, 46.6%
No, 53.4%

Joe Jackson
Yes, 55.4%
No, 44.6%

All-time leaders

The Dodgers’ all-time leaders in batting average with two out and runners in scoring position, minimum 150 at-bats.

Franchise
1. Howie Schultz, .345
2. Freddie Freeman, .343
3. Billy Herman, .333
4. Del Bissonette, .332
5. Jack Fournier, .332
6. Mickey Owen, .330
7. Jake Daubert, .328
8. Corey Seager, .327
9. Augie Galan, .326
10. Dixie Walker, .325

Los Angeles only
1. Freddie Freeman, .343
2. Corey Seager, .327
3. Mike Piazza, .318
4. Mookie Betts, .317
5. Lou Johnson, .313
6. Paul Lo Duca, .311
7. Jeff Kent, .304
8. Steve Garvey, .295
9. Ron Fairly, .293
10. Adrián González, .287

Is there a top 10 Dodgers list you’d like to see Email me at [email protected] and let me know.

These names seem familiar

A look at how some prominent Dodgers from the last few seasons are doing with their new team (through Sunday). Click on the player name to be taken to the baseball-reference page with all their stats.

Batters

Cody Bellinger, Yankees: .258/.331/.458, 178 plate appearances, 8 doubles, 1 triple, 7 homers, 28 RBIs, 123 OPS+

Michael Busch, Cubs: .255/.355/.463, 172 PA’s, 8 doubles, 1 triple, 7 homers, 25 RBIs, 131 OPS+

Jason Heyward, Padres, .177/.227/.278, 89 PA’s, 2 doubles, 2 homers, 12 RBIs, 42 OPS+

Gavin Lux, Reds: .291/.379/.399, 169 PA’s, 11 doubles, 1 triple, 1 homer, 19 RBIs, 113 OPS+

Zach McKinstry, Tigers: .281/.367/.418, 170 PA’s, 8 doubles, 3 triples, 2 homers, 17 RBIs, 125 OPS+

Joc Pederson, Rangers, .130/.259/.243, 136 PA’s, 5 doubles, 1 triple, 2 homers, 6 RBIs, 47 OPS+

Keibert Ruiz, Nationals, .280/.327/.363, 168 PA’s, 7 doubles, 2 homers, 17 RBIs, 97 OPS+

Corey Seager, Rangers: .300/.346/.520, 107 PA’s, 4 doubles, 6 homers, 12 RBIs, 148 OPS+, on the IL

Justin Turner, Cubs: .169/.291/.185, 79 PA’s, 1 double, 9 RBIs, 40 OPS+

Trea Turner, Phillies: .294/.352/.378, 196 PA’s, 7 doubles, 1 triple, 2 homers, 15 RBIs, 104 OPS+

Miguel Vargas, White Sox: .245/.328/.4219, 180 PA’s, 10 doubles, 6 homers, 21 RBIs, 114 OPS+

Alex Verdugo, Braves: .264/.322/.340, 115 PA’s, 8 doubles, 9 RBIs, 85 OPS+

Pitching

Walker Buehler, Red Sox: 4-1, 4.28 ERA, 33.2 IP, 32 hits, 9 walks, 29 K’s, 98 ERA+, on the IL

Jack Flaherty, Tigers: 2-5, 4.44 ERA, 46.2 IP, 42 hits, 15 walks, 56 K’s, 90 ERA+

Kenley Jansen, Angels: 0-2, 5.40 ERA, 8 saves, 13.1 IP, 15 hits, 3 walks, 12 K’s, 80 ERA+

Craig Kimbrel, Braves: in the minors

Kenta Maeda, Cubs: 0-0, 7.88 ERA, 8 IP, 9 hits, 6 walks, 8 K’s, 52 ERA+, in the minors

Ryan Pepiot, Rays: 2-5, 3.93 ERA, 50.1 IP, 48 hits, 17 walks, 45 K’s, 101 ERA+

Max Scherzer, Blue Jays: 0-0, 6.00 ERA, 3 IP, 3 hits, 0 walks, 1 K, 74 ERA+, on the IL

Ryan Yarbrough, Yankees: 1-0, 3.70 ERA, 24.1 IP, 21 hits, 10 walks, 20 K’s, 107 ERA+

Is there a player you’d like to see listed here? Email me at [email protected] and let me know.

Up next

Monday: Arizona (Brandon Pfaadt, 6-3, 3.73 ERA) at Dodgers (Landon Knack, 2-1, 5.89 ERA), 7:10 p.m., Sportsnet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

Tuesday: Arizona (Ryne Nelson, 1-1, 5.13 ERA) at Dodgers (Yoshinobu Yamamoto, 5-3, 2.12 ERA), 7:10 p.m., Sportsnet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

Wednesday: Arizona (Corbin Burnes, 3-1, 2.56 ERA) at Dodgers (Dustin May, 1-4, 4.43 ERA), 7:10 p.m., Sportsnet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

*-left-handed

In case you missed it

Dodgers release Chris Taylor, parting ways with another veteran

‘A lot of gratitude and gratefulness to get back.’ Clayton Kershaw reflects on 2025 return

And finally

Chris Taylor hits a walk-off homer to win the 2021 wild-card game. Watch and listen here. Chris Taylor makes an incredible catch to preserve a 2018 NLCS Game 7 lead over Milwaukee. Watch and listen here.

Until next time…

Have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future Dodgers newsletter? Email me at [email protected], and follow me on Twitter at @latimeshouston. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

Clayton Kershaw paused halfway up the dugout steps Saturday and bowed his head. The jog he was about to make to the mound at Dodger Stadium would be the first steps of what is likely the final chapter of his spectacular career.

A moment of silent reflection was in order.

“I don’t like the word emotional, but there’s definitely some thoughts. It’s just special,” Kershaw said of his first outing of the season, an uneven four-inning stint in the Dodgers’ 11-9 loss to the Angels. “You get a little bit older, you just learn to appreciate that more. It was different.”

Kershaw threw his last pitch in August at Phoenix’s Chase Field; Corbin Carroll hit it over the right-field wall. Kershaw then walked off the mound and was put on the injured list with a bone spur on his left big toe.

The first pitch of his latest comeback came at 6:10 p.m. Saturday, a high fastball that Zach Neto took for a ball. The rest of the inning went downhill from there, with Kershaw giving up three runs on three hits and two walks in the first inning.

He recovered nicely, though, yielding two runs and two hits over the next three innings while striking out two over four innings in a wild game the Angels won behind a career-high five RBIs from catcher Logan O’Hoppe.

“I love getting back out there. It’s a special thing to get to go back and pitch at Dodger Stadium,” Kershaw said. “Obviously, I wanted to pitch better. I need to pitch better going forward. But I think there’s some glimpses of some of my stuff being there, which is good. The problem tonight was just command.

“But, you know, first one back and just to be back out here at Dodger Stadium was special for me, regardless of the outcome.”

Kershaw’s return comes at a key time for the Dodgers (29-17), who are missing three starters — Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow and Roki Sasaki — to injury.

Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw wipes his face during the third inning of an 11-9 loss to the Angels on Saturday night.

(Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)

A three-time Cy Young Award winner, Kershaw, 37, is the Dodgers’ all-time leader in strikeouts and is 30 shy of becoming the 20th pitcher in big-league history to reach 3,000. His 212 career wins are second in franchise history behind only Don Sutton’s 233 and his 2.50 ERA ranks third. He also ranks third in starts (430).

But he’s spent almost as much time on the injured list as he has in the Dodgers’ rotation over the last five seasons and the list of injuries includes so many body parts, it reads like a page out of “Gray’s Anatomy”. There’s the toe, which kept him off the opening day roster. Last season it was knee, toe and shoulder injuries. In 2023, it was his left shoulder. The year before that, his back and pelvis and before that it was his forearm, elbow and back again.

Last season was clearly the most painful, though. Kershaw made seven starts and pitched just 30 innings, both career lows, and missed the World Series. Days after the team’s victory parade, he underwent surgery for a torn meniscus in his left knee and another on his left foot that left him on crutches and in a walking boot for two months.

“The superstar players that I have been around, there’s always something that fuels them and they need that,” Roberts said. “Him not being a part of that last year, I know that that’s fueling him.”

Logan O’Hoppe hits a three-run home run off Dodgers reliever Kirby Yates in the seventh inning Saturday.

(Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)

With Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, Kershaw’s high school teammate, looking on, Kershaw struggled through a 38-pitch first inning, giving up a bases-loaded single to O’Hoppe and an RBI double to Matthew Lugo. But the Dodgers needed just four batters to match that with Andy Pages belting a three-run homer, his ninth of the season, to dead center in the bottom of the inning.

After Kershaw retired the side in order in the second, Taylor Ward put the Angels (19-25) back in front in the third, hitting his 11th home run. A walk, a double and a sacrifice fly from Neto extended the lead in the fourth before Kiké Hernández pulled a run back for the Dodgers with a lead-off homer, his seventh, in the bottom of the fourth.

Kershaw was done by then, having thrown 83 pitches, nearly half of them in the first inning.

“The stuff overall, I was impressed with,” Roberts said. “The velocity was more than it’s been in quite some time. At times the slider was good. At times the curveball was good. He mixed in a lot of change-ups, which was good.

“The command just wasn’t consistent. He got to a lot of two-strike counts and couldn’t put hitters away, where typically that’s his hallmark.”

The Dodgers went in front for the first time in the sixth, turning three walks, two hits, a stolen base, a wild pitch and a ground-ball double play into three runs and 7-5 lead that O’Hoppe erased with his 10th homer, highlighting a five-run Angel seventh inning.

Five players — O’Hoppe, Luis Rengifo, Lugo, Nolan Schanuel and Kevin Newman — had two hits each for the Angels, who will try to sweep the three-game series Sunday afternoon.

For the Dodgers, Freddie Freeman matched a season high with four hits and is batting .407 in May, raising his league-leading average to .375. Pages, Hernández and catcher Dalton Rushing each had two hits.

Notes: Shohei Ohtani, who went hitless in six at-bats for the first time since 2019, threw 50 pitches in his most extensive bullpen session since undergoing a second surgery on his right elbow in 2023. The up-and-down session, in which Ohtani simulated a break between innings, was his second in a week. … To make room for Kershaw on the 26-man roster the Dodgers optioned right-hander Ryan Loutos to the minors. To create space on the 40-man roster, the Dodgers moved Snell to the 60-day injured list.

Andrew Friedman gave a longer answer Sunday morning when asked about the Dodgers’ recent — and, by the feel of it, familiar — pitching woes so far this year, the club’s president of baseball operations bemoaning another wave of injuries that has left the pitching staff shorthanded.

But the gist of his answer was in the two words he uttered at the start of it.

“Not fun,” he said.

In the Dodgers’ 6-4 loss to the Angels later in the day, it became even less so.

As things currently stand, Tony Gonsolin is effectively the No. 2 pitcher in the Dodgers’ rotation, thrust into such a prominent role with Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki injured. But in a four-run, four-inning start, Gonsolin was derailed by his own physical issue, battling a bloody hand in a three-run first inning that put the Dodgers behind the eight ball.

The Dodgers rallied, erasing what grew to a 4-0 deficit on Shohei Ohtani’s RBI single in the fifth and Will Smith’s tying three-run home run in the seventh. But then a banged-up bullpen gave the Angels the lead right back, with Travis d’Arnaud going deep in the eighth against Anthony Banda — himself forced into a high-leverage role lately, despite a disappointing start to the year, because of injuries to Blake Treinen, Evan Phillips and Kirby Yates (who became the latest pitcher to hit the injured list on Sunday with a hamstring strain he suffered the night before).

Angels center fielder Kyren Paris, right, narrowly avoids colliding with left fielder Taylor Ward after making a catch on a fly ball in the seventh inning Sunday.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Friedman argued the Dodgers’ injury problems this year don’t compare to the dire straits they navigated en route to last year’s World Series title. Unlike then, the team hasn’t suffered any season-ending losses. In the big picture, they remain confident they’ll have enough depth to mount a title defense.

And yet, the team hasn’t discovered the secret to better health. Their rotation problems are giving the bullpen an unsustainably grueling workload. And figuring out how to better protect the club’s expensive stable of arms is “by far the No. 1 thing that keeps me up at night,” Friedman said.

“I mean, everything from my brain is about what we can do, like, how we can solve this,” Friedman added, the self-described “deep dive” the organization took into pitching injuries this offseason having yet to yield better results. “It’s like a game of Whack-a-Mole, and things keep popping up. … The definition of enough depth, I think is a fool’s errand. I don’t know what enough depth means. I think more is always better with pitching depth.”

But, with the team now ranking 21st in the majors with a 4.22 team ERA, what they have currently certainly isn’t enough.

Dodgers pitcher Tony Gonsolin can’t field a ball hit by the Angels’ Luis Rengifo in the second inning Sunday.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

After Gonsolin gave up a leadoff home run to Zach Neto on a sunny afternoon at Dodger Stadium, trainers came to the mound to check on the right-hander. As they examined his throwing hand, the television broadcast zoomed in on streaks of blood covering the backside of his pants.

While Gonsolin’s exact problem wasn’t immediately clear, the right-hander’s struggle to command the baseball quickly became obvious. With one out, he walked Yoán Moncada, looking visibly uncomfortable as he sprayed the ball wide of the zone. In a 2-and-0 count to his next batter, Taylor Ward, Gonsolin threw a fastball over the heart of the plate. Ward crushed it for a two-run homer.

Gonsolin settled down from there, giving up just one more run the rest of the way. But his pitch count never got back under control, requiring 97 total throws to complete the fourth.

It was already the 14th time in 47 games this season that a Dodgers starter failed to work into the fifth.

All those short starts have had a cascading effect on the bullpen. And pitchers such as Banda have had to compensate as a result.

Sunday’s outing marked Banda’s 21st appearance this year, becoming the fifth Dodgers reliever to reach that mark. Entering the day, no other team had more than three.

After pitching a clean seventh inning, Banda returned for the eighth and was bitten again by a common problem. In a 3-and-1 count against d’Arnaud, he threw a center-cut sinker that d’Arnaud crushed to left. It was Banda’s fifth home run yielded this year, tying the total he gave up in 48 appearances over all of last year. And this time, the Dodgers couldn’t answer back, getting tripped up by pitching problems again en route to the Angels’ first three-game Freeway Series sweep since 2010.

Dodgers second baseman Miguel Rojas shouts in frustration after striking out against the Angels in the seventh inning Sunday.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

The Chris Taylor era in Los Angeles is over.

On Sunday, Taylor was designated for assignment by the Dodgers after a 10-year tenure with the club, according to a person with knowledge of the situation who wasn’t authorized to speak publicly.

In corresponding roster moves, the Dodgers activated Tommy Edman from the injured list and added pitcher Lou Trivino to the 40-man roster. Trivino was in Los Angeles on Sunday — occupying the same locker stall Taylor used to — after fellow reliever Kirby Yates suffered a hamstring injury Saturday night.

Taylor was in the last season of a four-year, $60-million contract with the Dodgers. The former All-Star was the longest-tenured position player on the roster, after the Dodgers designated Austin Barnes for assignment last week. But, just like with Barnes, Taylor’s declining production coupled with the emergence of rookie utilityman Hyeseong Kim left the 34-year-old expendable.

Thus, for the second time in the last week, the Dodgers parted ways with one of the most familiar faces of the team.

Last year could have been a storybook ending.

Had Clayton Kershaw been healthy, he likely would have been part of the Dodgers’ postseason rotation. He would have given them badly needed innings during their run to a World Series championship. And, in Year 17 of his future Hall of Fame career, he could have ridden off into the sunset, having little else to prove after playing an integral role on two championship teams.

“Yeah, if I was able to be a part of last year’s run and win a World Series and get to go out like that, that would have been really cool,” Kershaw said recently, contemplating what might have been if only he was available to pitch last October. “But I wasn’t. And it was still really fun to be part of. But it made it easier to want to come back, for sure.”

Back again, Kershaw is set to make his season debut for the Dodgers on Saturday after spending the first two months of the campaign recovering from offseason surgeries to address toe and knee injuries that sidelined him for the team’s title-winning trek through the playoffs last year.

Unlike previous offseasons, when the now 37-year-old Kershaw seemed to give retirement more serious thought, the three-time Cy Young Award winner made his mind up quickly last fall. Even before the Dodgers won their second championship in the last five years, he knew he wanted to pitch in 2025. After making just seven starts in 2024 with a 4.50 ERA, and missing the stretch run of the season when his long bothersome toe injury finally became too much, he didn’t want his career to end with him as a spectator, able only to cheer from the dugout as the Dodgers went on to win the World Series without him.

“For me, just getting back out on the mound is a big first step,” Kershaw said, ahead of what will be his first big-league outing since Aug. 30 of last year. “And then it’s the rest of the season, obviously. But just making it through Saturday and getting back out there is what I’ve thought about so far.”

To get to this point, the 18-year veteran had to endure a grueling offseason.

Days after the Dodgers’ World Series parade, Kershaw had two surgical operations: One on his left knee, where he had suffered a torn meniscus; and another on his left foot to address arthritis, a bone spur on his big toe and, most seriously, a ruptured plantar plate.

“If someone asked me, ‘What all did they do to your foot?’ I don’t know if I can answer all the way, but I know it’s not been fun,” Kershaw said, underscoring the complicated nature of a foot surgery, in particular, that he noted “only one or two baseball players” have had before.

“This one was painful,” he added, contrasting it to the relatively straightforward shoulder procedure he had the previous offseason. “It was like, ‘Oh, this is what people talk about when they talk about bad surgeries.’”

The worst part was the recovery, with Kershaw spending the better part of the next two months on crutches or in a walking boot.

“Trying to be on crutches and have four kids, it’s not easy,” he said. “Your offseason is supposed to be like, where you’re around and get to help more. And those first six weeks, I wasn’t much help. So it’s kind of a helpless feeling. And I don’t sit still well in general. So it was a hard process.”

Still, Kershaw’s commitment to come back never wavered. He was into a throwing program by the start of spring training. He began a minor-league rehab stint in the middle of April. And he posted a 2.57 ERA in five rehab starts, feeling he’d “turned the corner” with his foot over the last couple outings.

“Those last few rehab starts, I was more concerned about throwing well and getting guys out than I was [about] how my foot felt or anything like that,” he said. “So I think that was a good sign for me physically. And now, it’s just a process of figuring out how to get guys out consistently again and perform. That’s a much better place to be than seeing if you’re hurt.”

Exactly how Kershaw will fare back in the big leagues is an unknown. During his rehab stint, his fastball sat in the upper-80 mph range, a few ticks down from the already diminished velocity he’d had in recent seasons. He struck out only 16 batters in 21 innings, relying more on command and an ability to induce soft contact to navigate his way through starts.

On the other hand, Kershaw’s arm is as healthy as it’s been in years, now 17 months removed from his 2023 shoulder surgery. Even without eye-popping stuff last year, he proved to be competitive, owning a 3.72 ERA before leaving his Aug. 30 start early when his toe flared up. And simply having him back in the rotation will come as a boon for the Dodgers, who have been shorthanded recently with fellow starters Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow and Roki Sasaki all nursing shoulder injuries.

“It’s a big shot in the arm,” manager Dave Roberts said. “Clayton has worked really hard to get healthy, and the bar is high for him, you know. He doesn’t want to just come back to be active. He wants to come back and help us win baseball games and be good. And so I know he’s excited to contribute.”

In a break from his typically stoic facade, that excitement was evident from Kershaw all week. Except when reflecting upon the departure of teammate and close friend Austin Barnes, Kershaw was smiling almost everywhere he went around the ballpark in recent days. “Is that unusual?” he deadpanned when a reporter noted the observation Thursday. He also downplayed his pursuit of 3,000 career strikeouts — he is just 32 Ks away from becoming the 20th member of the illustrious statistical club — in favor of amplifying the gratitude he felt about simply pitching in the majors once again.

“I think when you haven’t done something for a long time, and you realize that you miss it — you miss competing, you miss being a part of the team and contributing — there’s a lot of gratitude and gratefulness to get back to that point,” Kershaw said. “I definitely feel that. Now, if I go out there and don’t pitch good, it’s gonna go away real fast. So there’s a performance aspect of it, too. But I think for now, sitting on the other side of it, just super excited and grateful to get to go back out there again.”

When asked if he ever planned on hanging it up, Kershaw then laughed.

“Somebody will tell me to retire at some point, I’m sure,” he said.

But, after finishing last season injured and grinding through a long rehab this winter, that point is not now, not yet.

Eighteen years later, Kershaw still feels he has more to give.

“At the end of the day, you just want to be a contributing factor to the Dodgers,” he said. “You don’t want to just be on the sidelines. So I’m excited to get back to that.”

His smile has brightened the locker room, his bat has energized a once-impotent segment of the lineup and his speed has transformed their offense.

Hyeseong Kim belongs in the major leagues.

Manager Dave Roberts was asked the other night about the “difficult decision” the Dodgers will have to make on Kim when utilityman Tommy Edman and outfielder Teoscar Hernández return from the injured list in the next couple of weeks, but nothing about this decision should be difficult.

Kim will still belong in the major leagues.

There won’t be enough at-bats for him?

The Dodgers have to find them.

He can gain more experience in the minors?

A 26-year-old who played seven-plus seasons in the Korean Baseball Organization before he signed with the Dodgers, Kim isn’t a typical rookie.

President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said part of the reason catcher Dalton Rushing was called up this week was because of the competition in the National League West?

The same logic should be applied to Kim’s situation.

Make liberal use of the injured list. Release Chris Taylor. Do whatever is necessary for Kim to remain in Los Angeles.

“How he’s playing,” Roberts acknowledged, “certainly helps his case.”

Shohei Ohtani homered twice in a 19-2 victory over the Athletics at Dodger Stadium on Thursday night. Both times, Kim was on base.

Ohtani, who leads off for the Dodgers, drove in only 10 runs in his first 30 games of the season. The bottom of the order wasn’t hitting or drawing walks

In the first 12 games Ohtani played since Kim was called up from triple-A Oklahoma City, Ohtani collected 18 runs batted in.

Kim batted eighth or ninth in each of the eight games he started through Thursday, and he’d already been driven home by Ohtani five times. The only player Ohtani has driven in more this season: Ohtani.

“A lot easier to pitch to Shohei when nobody’s on base,” Roberts said. “Recently, certainly with Kim and his ability to get on base, there’s always traffic.”

Kim entered the Freeway Series opener on Friday batting .429, a pleasant surprise considering he looked completely overmatched at the plate in spring training. His ability to make contact has enhanced his greatest weapon, his legs.

“He’s really talented,” third baseman Max Muncy said. “He can do a lot of really special things that you can’t see from a lot of players.”

That game-changing speed was on display in just his second major league game when he was deployed as a ninth-inning pinch runner with a one-run deficit against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park. Kim stole second base and reached third on a dropped third strike, positioning him within 90 feet of the tying run. The next two batters struck out and the Dodgers lost the game, but the cameo performance was a preview of what was to come.

In his first 12 major league games, Kim stole three bases and plated nine runs. Three of his first 12 hits were infield hits.

“I tried to figure out what my role is in this organization, and I’m just trying to control what I can control,” Kim said through an interpreter.

Dodgers coaches also believe Kim’s speed has influenced how opponents attack Ohtani. One particular example that was cited was Ohtani’s three-run, ninth-inning home run in a 14-11 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on May 9.

Kim was on second base and Michael Conforto was on first when Ohtani came to the plate with one out and the score level, 11-11. Walking Ohtani would have moved the go-ahead run to third base, and with Kim’s speed, any ball put in play by the next batter would have likely resulted in a run. Diamondbacks reliever Ryan Thompson pitched to Ohtani, who launched a 1-2 pitch into the stands in right-center.

“With the speed dynamic [of Kim], it creates stress,” Roberts said. “He can steal a base, go first to third. It certainly opens some things up for the top of the order.”

The Dodgers have scored an average of 7.3 runs per game since Kim joined the team. In the process, he’s become a beloved figure in the clubhouse, overcoming a language barrier to form bonds with a wide range of players that includes everyone from Ohtani to Mookie Betts.

“That started in spring training,” Muncy said. “He was there with a couple of us and just immediately fit right in. He likes to have fun. He’s always smiling, he’s always laughing. He’s really fun to have out there.”

With a three-year deal that could be extended by the Dodgers for an additional two seasons, Kim figures to be a part of their future. But he’s already a reason for why they’re clicking now, and the returns of Edman and Hernández shouldn’t change that.

From Jack Harris: As is typically the case when a team wins 19-2 like the Dodgers did against the Athletics on Thursday night, plenty of hitters in the team’s star-studded lineup aligned to have monster nights.

Shohei Ohtani homered twice in a six-RBI performance, tying the major league lead with 15 long balls this season. Max Muncy, Andy Pages and James Outman also went deep, helping the club set a season-high for runs. Hyeseong Kim reached base all five times. Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts also combined to get aboard five times before being removed after the third inning, the lead at that point already 11 runs.

All of those accomplishments, however, paled in personal significance to what the Dodgers’ starting catcher did.

Making his major league debut after being called up in a major roster move the day prior, top prospect Dalton Rushing walked in his first at-bat, singled in the next and went two-for-four while navigating a pre-determined bullpen game behind the plate — a strong showing for a 24-year-old slugger with so much potential, the Dodgers cut longtime backup catcher Austin Barnes to get him on the roster.

“He’s very comfortable, I think, in a good way,” manager Dave Roberts said of Rushing, a second-round draft pick in 2022 who has blossomed into one of the most highly touted prospects in baseball. “I think he thought he was ready [for the majors] when he signed.”

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Who is the next Dodger to go? | Dodgers Debate

Dodgers box score

MLB scores

MLB standings

PETE ROSE POLL

Should Pete Rose and Joe Jackson be in the Baseball Hall of Fame? Click here to vote in our survey. Results will be announced Monday.

LAKERS

From Dan Woike: In the shadows, I was asking around about the Lakers’ biggest story this offseason, at least according to the internet.

Are the Lakers going to trade Austin Reaves?

My friend and colleague Bill Plaschke argued in those hallowed Times’ pages that the Lakers must trade Austin Reaves to fulfill their needs for a big man no matter how painful the decision would be. Bill Simmons predicted on his podcast that Reaves “will get traded” this summer.

So what was the buzz at the NBA combine about all this?

Everyone is aware of the noise from the media and on the message boards (shoutout Lakers reddit), no one is acting like a trade is going to happen this summer for a couple of reasons.

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NBA PLAYOFFS RESULTS

All Times Pacific

Conference semifinals

Western Conference

No. 1 Oklahoma City vs. No. 4 Denver Nuggets
Denver 121, at Oklahoma City 119 (box score)
at Oklahoma City 149, Denver 106 (box score)
at Denver 113, Oklahoma City 104 (OT) (box score)
Oklahoma City 92, at Denver 87 (box score)
at Oklahoma City 112, Denver 105 (box score)
at Denver 119, Oklahoma City 107 (box score)
Sunday at Oklahoma City, 12:30 p.m., ABC

No. 6 Minnesota Timberwolves vs. No. 7 Golden State
Golden State 99, at Minnesota 88 (box score)
at Minnesota 117, Golden State 93 (box score)
Minnesota 102, at Golden State 97 (box score)
Minnesota 117, at Golden State 110 (box score)
at Minnesota 121, Golden State 110 (box score)

Eastern Conference

No. 1 Cleveland vs. No. 4 Indiana
Indiana 121, at Cleveland 112 (box score)
Indiana 120, at Cleveland 119 (box score)
Cleveland 126, at Indiana 104 (box score)
at Indiana 129, Cleveland 109 (box score)
Indiana 114, at Cleveland 105 (box score)

No. 2 Boston vs. No. 3 New York
New York 108, at Boston 105 (OT) (box score)
New York 91, at Boston 90 (box score)
Boston 115, at New York 93 (box score)
at New York 121, Boston 113 (box score)
at Boston 127, New York 102 (box score)
Friday at New York, 5 p.m., ESPN
Monday at Boston, 5 p.m., TNT*

*if necessary

CHARGERS

The Chargers will seek approval to sell an 8% stake in the franchise to private investment firm Arctos at next week’s NFL team owners meetings.

The approval request was sent in a memo to NFL team owners, according to a person with knowledge of the memo not authorized to speak publicly about it.

If approved, Chargers owner Dean Spanos and siblings Michael Spanos and Alexis Spanos Ruhl would still own approximately 61% of the franchise.

It is the second major change for the Chargers ownership group in the last year after Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores bought a 27% stake in the team in September. That transaction resolved a long-running dispute between Dea Spanos Berberian and her siblings as Gores and his wife bought Spanos Berberian’s share of the franchise.

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Meet the Chargers content team winning the schedule release ‘Super Bowl’

Who’s No. 1? Colts take themselves out of the running for best schedule-release videos

From Ryan Kartje: USC may have taken a step back in Lincoln Riley’s second season, but the coach remained comfortably among the top rung of college football’s highest-paid coaches in 2023.

USC paid Riley more than $11.5 million in reportable compensation in 2023, according to the school’s latest federal tax returns, obtained by The Times. His $10.2 million in base compensation ranked No. 4 nationally in 2023.

Of the $11.5 million credited by the school to Riley, $100,000 is listed under bonus and incentive compensation and $1.15 million is categorized as other reportable compensation.

Perhaps that felt like a bargain to USC compared to the previous year, when it shelled out nearly $20 million in reportable compensation to land Riley, $4.5 million of which was used to pay his buyout at the University of Oklahoma.

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From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: Super Bowl champion and Olympic gold medalist? Some NFL players could be at the center of the Venn diagram in 2028.

NFL team owners could vote next week at the league’s meetings on whether to allow NFL players to participate in Olympic flag football in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. A resolution, announced Thursday, included several possible guidelines as further negotiations continue between the NFL Players Assn., the league, national governing bodies and Olympic authorities.

The proposed resolution would permit players under an NFL contract to try out for a 2028 Olympic flag football team, but limit NFL player participation to no more than one from each NFL team for each national team. In addition, each NFL team’s designated international player can play for his home country.

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PREAKNESS

From John Cherwa: Trainer Bob Baffert loves to come to the Preakness. He loves the fact that all the top horses are in the same barn, so he can kibitz with his fellow trainers, such as an extended conversation with Mark Casse about the best crabcakes in town. He loves the casual atmosphere, in contrast to the high stakes, high pressure feeling at Churchill Downs for the Kentucky Derby.

Or maybe it’s because he’s won the second leg of the Triple Crown eight times, more than any other trainer in history.

So, he was asked why he was bringing Goal Oriented, an undefeated two-time starter who has never run in a stakes race, to the Preakness.

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PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

The strongest field of the majors gave way to a few surprises Thursday in the PGA Championship, starting with Jhonattan Vegas charging into the lead with a seven-under 64 and the top 10 players in the world nowhere to be found among the top 10 at Quail Hollow.

A long day filled with sunshine and mud balls ended with Vegas in the penultimate group playing the best golf hardly anyone saw.

A briefly energized crowd had mostly left when Vegas blazed his way to the finish with five birdies on his last six holes, ending with an 18-footer on No. 8 and a 25-footer on the rugged ninth.

It was Vegas’ best score in 45 rounds playing the majors. The Venezuelan has never finished in the top 20 in a major and hadn’t qualified for this one in three years.

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Leaderboard

KINGS

Jim Hiller will return next season as the Kings’ coach, new general manager Ken Holland says.

Holland praised Hiller and looked ahead to their new partnership Thursday during the Hall of Fame hockey executive’s introductory news conference at the Kings’ training complex. Holland is returning to the NHL after a one-year absence, taking over as the replacement for Rob Blake.

The 69-year-old former GM of the Detroit Red Wings and the Edmonton Oilers immediately made it clear he isn’t in Los Angeles to blow up a team that has made four straight playoff appearances, only to lose to the Oilers in the first round every spring. Holland won’t make an immediate change behind the Kings’ bench — or even in the front office, where he plans to retain the assistant GMs and hockey executives who worked for Blake.

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NHL PLAYOFFS SCHEDULE, RESULTS

All times Pacific

Conference semifinals

Pacific 1 Vegas vs. Pacific 3 Edmonton
Edmonton 4, at Vegas 2 (summary)
Edmonton 5, at Vegas 4 (OT) (summary)
Vegas 4, at Edmonton 3 (summary)
at Edmonton 3, Vegas 0 (summary)
Edmonton 1, at Vegas 0 (OT) (summary)

C1 Winnipeg vs. C2 Dallas
Dallas 3, at Winnipeg 2 (summary)
Winnipeg 4, at Dallas 0 (summary)
Dallas 5, at Winnipeg 2 (summary)
at Dallas 3, Winnipeg 1 (summary)
at Winnipeg 4, Dallas 0 (summary)
Saturday at Dallas, 5 p.m., ABC
Monday at Winnipeg, TBD, ESPN*

Eastern Conference

Atlantic 1 Toronto vs. Atlantic 3 Florida
at Toronto 5, Florida 4 (summary)
at Toronto 4, Florida 3 (summary)
at Florida 5, Toronto 4 (OT) (summary)
at Florida 2, Toronto 0 (summary)
Florida 6, at Toronto 1 (summary)
Friday at Florida, 5 p.m., TNT
Sunday at Toronto, 4:30 p.m., TNT*

Metro 1 Washington vs. Metro 2 Carolina
Carolina 2, at Washington 1 (OT) (summary)
at Washington 3, Carolina 1 (summary)
at Carolina 4, Washington 0 (summary)
at Carolina 5, Washington 2 (summary)
Carolina 3, at Washington 1 (summary)

* If necessary

THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY

1884 — Isaac Murphy, a Black jockey and one of the greatest American riders, wins the Kentucky Derby aboard Buchanan. He will win the showcase race two more times.

1916 — Damrosch, ridden by Linus McAtee, takes the early lead, gives it up in the stretch, and comes back to beat Greenwood by 1½ lengths in the Preakness Stakes.

1925 — Flying Ebony, ridden by Earl Sande, becomes the fourth field horse to win the Kentucky Derby, a 1½-length victory over Captain Hal. The first network radio broadcast of the Kentucky Derby airs from WHAS in Louisville.

1930 — 6th Walker Cup: US, 10-2.

1955 — Rocky Marciano beats Don Cockell by TKO in the 9th round at Kezar Stadium, San Francisco to retain his world heavyweight boxing title.

1964 — Northern Dancer, ridden by Bill Hartack, wins the Preakness Stakes by 2½ lengths over The Scoundrel.

1973 — AC Milan of Italy win 13th European Cup Winner’s Cup against Leeds of England 1-0 in Saloniki.

1975 — Muhammad Ali TKOs Ron Lyle in 11 for heavyweight boxing title.

1976 — The Montreal Canadiens win their 19th Stanley Cup with a 5-3 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers, capping a four-game sweep.

1977 — Muhammad Ali beats Alfredo Evangelist in 15 for heavyweight boxing title.

1979 — FC Barcelona of Spain wins 19th European Cup Winner’s Cup against Fortuna Düsseldorf of West Germany 4-3 in Basel.

1980 — The Lakers beat the Philadelphia 76ers 123-107 to win the NBA title in six games. Rookie guard Magic Johnson takes the opening tip for the injured Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and comes up with 42 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists and is named the Finals MVP. The 42 points are the most scored by a rookie in an NBA Finals game.

1982 — Stanley Cup Final, Pacific Coliseum, Vancouver, BC: 3-peat for NY Islanders; sweep Vancouver Canucks in 4 games with a 3-1 Game 4 win.

1984 — Juventus of Italy win 24th European Cup Winner’s Cup against Porto of Portugal 2-1 in Basel.

1985 — Michael Jordan named NBA Rookie of Year.

1992 — America’s Cup: America Team USA defeats II Moro di Venezia 4-1 in San Diego.

2009 — Rachel Alexandria, ridden by Calvin Borel wins the 134th Preakness in 1:55:08.

2014 — Paris Saint-Germain F.C. & Manchester City F.C. are each fined €60 million for breaching Fair Play Regulations.

2019 — Brooks Koepka fires tournament record equalling, and course record 63 (-7) to lead the PGA Championship by 1 stroke after the 1st round at Bethpage Black, N.Y.

THIS DAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY

1933 — Cecil Travis of the Washington Senators made his major league debut with five hits in a 12-inning, 11-10 win over the Chicago White Sox.

1939 — The Cleveland Indians beat the Philadelphia Athletics 8-3 in 10 innings in the first American League night game, held at Philadelphia’s Shibe Park.

1953 — The White Sox loaded the bases against the Yankees in the ninth inning, but Vern Stephens, who had 10 grand slams in his career, was lifted for a pinch-hitter. Pitcher Tommy Byrne, the substitute batter, then hit a homer off Ewell Blackwell for a 5-3 win.

1965 — Jim Palmer, 19, won his first major league game and hit his first homer, off Jim Bouton. The Baltimore Orioles beat the New York Yankees 7-5.

1972 — Rick Monday hit three consecutive homers to lead the Chicago Cubs to an 8-1 win at Philadelphia. Greg Luzinski’s 500-foot home run hit the Liberty Bell monument at Veterans Stadium for the Phillies’ only run.

1978 — The White Sox trade OF Bobby Bonds to the Rangers for OF Claudell Washington and OF Rusty Torres.

1981 — Craig Reynolds of Houston hit three triples to lead the Astros to a 6-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs.

1996 — Sammy Sosa becomes the first Cub ever to hit two homers in one inning, hitting them in the eight-run 7th inning at Wrigley Field.

1997 — The Montreal Expos overcame an early nine-run deficit and rallied past the San Francisco Giants 14-13 on David Segui’s RBI single in the ninth inning. The Giants took an 11-2 lead after three innings. Montreal came back with four runs in the fourth, three in the fifth and three more in the sixth for a 12-11 lead. Glenallen Hill’s RBI single capped a two-run seventh that put the Giants ahead 13-12.

2000 — The Dodgers went into the Wrigley Field crowd after a fan ran off with Chad Kreuter’s cap in the ninth inning of a 6-5 victory. The game was delayed for nine minutes while some Dodgers and fans fought.

2001 — Rickey Henderson leads off with a home run, extending his major-league record for leadoff home runs to 79. This is the same as the combined total for the #2 and #3 players on the list: Brady Anderson (44), and Bobby Bonds (35).

2006 — The New York Yankees, down 9-0 in the second inning, matched the biggest comeback in Yankees history when Jorge Posada hit a game-winning, two-run homer with two out in the ninth for a 14-13 victory over the Texas Rangers.

2008 — Jayson Werth of Philadelphia hit three home runs and tied the team record with eight RBIs in a 10-3 win over Toronto.

2009 — Gabe Gross and Akinori Iwamura pulled off a double steal in the fifth inning of a 4-2 win over Cleveland, giving Tampa Bay at least one stolen base in 18 straight games. It was the longest stretch in the AL since the New York Yankees had a 19-game run in 1914.

2012 — Is there anything the old man cannot do? 49-year-old Jamie Moyer picks up his second win of the year for Colorado by throwing 6 1/3 innings, during which he allows a single run, and helps his own cause with a two-run single in the 4th.

2015 — Miguel Cabrera hits the 400th home run of his career.

2020 — The owners release figures showing that on average, teams will lose $640,000 per game played without fans. This is done in the hope of convincing players to accept a form of revenue sharing in conjunction with their plan to play a truncated season starting around July 4th, with no spectators present – at least at the outset – due to the coronavirus pandemic. They also provide the Players Association with a detailed protocol on how such games would be played in order to minimize contact between persons present at the ballpark and maintain social distancing. All of these proposals still require the players’ approval before they can be implemented.

Compiled by the Associated Press

Until next time…

That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at [email protected]. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

As is typically the case when a team wins 19-2 like the Dodgers did against the Athletics on Thursday night, plenty of hitters in the team’s star-studded lineup aligned to have monster nights.

Shohei Ohtani homered twice in a six-RBI performance, tying the major league lead with 15 long balls this season. Max Muncy, Andy Pages and James Outman also went deep, helping the club set a new season-high for runs. Hyeseong Kim reached base all five times. Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts also combined to get aboard five times before being removed after the third inning, the lead at that point already up to 11 runs.

All of those accomplishments, however, paled in personal significance to what the Dodgers’ starting catcher did.

Making his major league debut after being called up in a major roster move the day prior, top prospect Dalton Rushing walked in his first at-bat, singled in the next and went two-for-four while navigating a pre-determined bullpen game behind the plate — a strong showing for a 24-year-old slugger with so much potential, the Dodgers cut longtime backup catcher Austin Barnes to get him on the roster.

“He’s very comfortable, I think, in a good way,” manager Dave Roberts said of Rushing, a second-round draft pick in 2022 who has blossomed into one of the most highly-touted prospects in baseball ever since. “I think he thought he was ready [for the majors] when he signed.”

Rushing’s rise wasn’t that quick, requiring the University of Louisville product to climb through the farm system over four minor-league seasons. But after batting .277 with 54 home runs, 185 RBIs and a .931 OPS as a farm hand, the Dodgers decided their minor league player of the year award-winner from last season was finally ready.

As far as first impressions go, Thursday was a good start.

In the second inning, Rushing got a three-run rally started by drawing a leadoff walk. In the third, he worked a full count before blasting a belt-high sinker through the infield at 110 mph off the bat. In the eighth, he tacked on another base hit when a ground ball to first was booted.

The Dodgers have been contemplating when to bring Rushing to the majors for a while, long ago convinced his bat was ready to handle big-league pitching.

It’s part of the reason why, during the second half of last season, they experimented with him in left field; a position where, at the time, he had a clearer pathway to regular playing time.

This offseason, however, the club decided to rededicate his focus to his duties behind the plate, “challenging him,” as president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman put it, to improve his defensive fundamentals, pitching-calling during games and ability to build rapport with members of the pitching staff.

“He’s continued to improve and get better,” Friedman said. “When we drafted him, he was new to catching. So there were a lot of areas to improve upon. But his work ethic is off the charts. And he really cares about being great. Each challenge we’ve given him, he’s met that challenge. And the success he’s had, there’s also an important element of having our finger on the pulse of that with guys, in terms of moving them up.”

And over the last couple weeks, the ways Rushing could potentially impact the club’s MLB roster became increasingly more clear.

Two weeks ago, the Dodgers sorely missed a left-handed bat like his off the bench in a May 4 loss in Atlanta, a game that ended with Barnes and fellow soft-hitting veteran Miguel Rojas recording outs in tough right-on-right matchups against Braves closer Raisel Iglesias.

In Barnes’ final Dodgers start last Saturday in Arizona, his weakened throwing arm was also exposed, the Diamondbacks stealing three bases in a game Barnes one-hopped one throw to second base and airmailed another to the outfield.

Perhaps, if the Dodgers weren’t facing the prospect of a tight division race in this year’s talented National League West, such problems would have been more tolerable. But, with the team’s MLB-best 29-15 record affording them just a one-game division lead so far this year, it’s already become clear that fine margins could matter this season.

So, once the Dodgers returned home from their 10-game trip this week, the front office decided to pull the trigger.

“Rush has obviously been on our radar for a long time in terms of when and how to introduce him to the major league team,” Friedman said. “I think with the improvements we’ve seen year over year, coupled with being in a tight division race … I think it falls in line with our consistent message of doing anything and everything we can to win.”

That didn’t mean cutting Barnes, who was in his 11th season with the Dodgers and won two World Series with the club, wasn’t difficult.

“Obviously Austin has been a huge part of this organization for a long time, he’s been in the middle of a lot of really big moments for us,” Friedman said. “His impact has been significant. So it was one of the harder decisions.”

Barnes’ departure sent ripples around the rest of the clubhouse, as well.

“I think everybody was surprised,” Clayton Kershaw said when asked of Barnes, whose 68 games behind the plate for the future Hall of Famer trails only A.J. Ellis for most in Kershaw’s career.

“It’s sad. Barnesy’s one of my best friends on or off the field. You won’t find a guy that competes better than Austin Barnes. He wants to win more than anybody, and he always found a way, and he came up with some big moments for us throughout the years. I think a lot of people forget he was starting a lot of playoff games and winning a lot of games for us, getting big knocks. It’s sad to see someone like that go who’s been here that long, and I think we all kind of feel it.”

“It’s no disrespect to Dalton,” Kershaw added. “I know he deserves it, and he’s going to be a great player. It’s just for me, personally, I think for a lot of guys on the team, it was disappointing to see [Barnes] go.”

As the door on Barnes’ Dodgers career closes, however, a new one is opening for Rushing.

And one night in, the early results were promising.

“The last mile of his development is helping lead a major league staff,” Friedman said. “We felt like now is the right time to give him that opportunity, and for us to learn some things about him that you can’t know until they’re at the major-league level, and for him to experience the speed of game here, which will be insightful for all of us in terms of the next set of things to work on.”

From Jack Harris: Dalton Rushing’s time has arrived.

And it came at the expense of the Dodgers’ longest-tenured position player.

In a major midseason roster shuffled Wednesday, the club called up Rushing, the big-hitting catcher who was ranked as the top prospect in their organization, and designated backup catcher Austin Barnes for assignment, closing the book on Barnes’ two-time title-winning tenure in Los Angeles while opening a new one on Rushing’s highly anticipated MLB career.

It’s no surprise that Rushing, a 2022 second-round pick out of the University of Louisville, is getting a crack at the majors. Over four minor-league seasons, the catcher slugged his way through the farm system by batting .277 with 54 home runs, 185 RBIs and a .931 OPS. After winning the organization’s minor league player of the year award last year, Rushing opened this season in triple-A Oklahoma City, hitting .308 in 31 games and ranking seventh in the Pacific Coast League with a .938 OPS. Even back this spring, manager Dave Roberts said Rushing’s bat was big-league ready.

“Pretty excited, obviously,” Rushing said from the Dodgers Stadium dugout on Wednesday afternoon, fresh off his first batting practice after arriving in the Southland in the afternoon. “Any person is gonna be excited in this situation. I think the biggest thing is just get around these guys and be as comfortable as possible. Understand that it’s still the same game, and I get to play with some of the best players in the world.”

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Mookie Betts and Max Muncy power Dodgers’ late surge in win over Athletics

Mookie Betts’ toddler son runs away with first-pitch baseball. It’s as adorable as it sounds

Hernández: Roki Sasaki’s shoulder issue leaves Dodgers in a familiar and problematic position

Dodgers box score

MLB scores

MLB standings

PETE ROSE POLL

Should Pete Rose and Joe Jackson be in the Baseball Hall of Fame? Click here to vote in our survey. Results will be announced Monday.

Shaikin: Pete Rose is a sure thing for the Baseball Hall of Fame now, right? Not so fast

NBA PLAYOFFS RESULTS

All Times Pacific

Conference semifinals

Western Conference

No. 1 Oklahoma City vs. No. 4 Denver Nuggets
Denver 121, at Oklahoma City 119 (box score)
at Oklahoma City 149, Denver 106 (box score)
at Denver 113, Oklahoma City 104 (OT) (box score)
Oklahoma City 92, at Denver 87 (box score)
at Oklahoma City 112, Denver 105 (box score)
Thursday at Denver, 5:30 p.m., ESPN
Sunday at Oklahoma City, 12:30 p.m., ABC*

No. 6 Minnesota Timberwolves vs. No. 7 Golden State
Golden State 99, at Minnesota 88 (box score)
at Minnesota 117, Golden State 93 (box score)
Minnesota 102, at Golden State 97 (box score)
Minnesota 117, at Golden State 110 (box score)
at Minnesota 121, Golden State 110 (box score)

Eastern Conference

No. 1 Cleveland vs. No. 4 Indiana
Indiana 121, at Cleveland 112 (box score)
Indiana 120, at Cleveland 119 (box score)
Cleveland 126, at Indiana 104 (box score)
at Indiana 129, Cleveland 109 (box score)
Indiana 114, at Cleveland 105 (box score)

No. 2 Boston vs. No. 3 New York
New York 108, at Boston 105 (OT) (box score)
New York 91, at Boston 90 (box score)
Boston 115, at New York 93 (box score)
at New York 121, Boston 113 (box score)
at Boston 127, New York 102 (box score)
Friday at New York, 5 p.m., ESPN
Monday at Boston, 5 p.m., TNT*

*if necessary

ANGELS

Xander Bogaerts hit a three-run homer in the first inning and Randy Vásquez pitched six innings of four-hit ball in the San Diego Padres’ 5-1 victory over the Angels on Wednesday night.

Manny Machado extended his hitting streak to 13 games with two hits and two walks as the Padres took two of three from the Angels.

Brandon Lockridge added a two-run single in the eighth for San Diego, which has won 10 of 14 to keep pace with the Dodgers in the NL West.

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Angels box score

MLB scores

MLB standings

RAMS

From Gary Klein: The Rams last played the Houston Texans in 2021, a season that ended with the Rams winning Super Bowl LVI.

The Rams will open their 2025 season on Sept. 7 against the Texans at SoFi Stadium, a presumably comfortable start to a 17-game schedule that will see the Rams travel the second-most air miles in the NFL.

The NFL announced the full schedule on Wednesday, and the Rams in the first seven weeks will board flights for the majority of the 34,832 miles they will travel for games against opponents in the NFC West, NFC South, NFC East and AFC South, including one in London.

The Rams, who advanced to the NFC divisional round last season, are regarded as a Super Bowl contender.

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Rams 2025 schedule

Sept. 7, HOUSTON, 1:25 p.m. (CBS)
Sept. 14, at Tennessee, 10 a.m. (CBS)
Sept. 21, at Philadelphia, 10 a.m. (Fox)
Sept. 28, INDIANAPOLIS, 1:05 p.m. (Fox)
Oct. 2, SAN FRANCISCO, 5:15 p.m. (Amazon Prime)
Oct. 12, at Baltimore, 10 a.m. (Fox)
Oct. 19, at Jacksonville in London, 6:30 a.m. (NFL Network)
Oct. 26, off week.
Nov. 2, NEW ORLEANS, 1:05 p.m. (Fox)
Nov. 9, at San Francisco, 1:25 p.m. (Fox)
Nov. 16, SEATTLE, 1:05 p.m. (Fox)
Nov. 23, TAMPA BAY, 5:20 p.m. (NBC)
Nov. 30, at Carolina, 10 a.m. (Fox)
Dec. 7, at Arizona, 1:25 p.m (Fox)
Dec. 14, DETROIT, 1:25 p.m. (Fox)
Dec. 18, at Seattle, 5:15 p.m. (Amazon Prime)
Dec. 29, at Atlanta, 5:15 p.m. (ESPN)
Week 17, ARIZONA, TBD (TBD)

CHARGERS

From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: As Jim Harbaugh said last year in preparation for an extended road trip: Bring the board games and snacks.

This will be a long ride.

The Chargers will cover the most air miles of any NFL team in 2025, traveling more than 37,000 miles, according to Bookies.com. The itinerary starts with a trip to Sao Paulo to face AFC West rival Kansas City on Sept. 5 in the NFL’s second regular-season game played in South America.

The season opener is the first of three consecutive divisional games to kick off the Chargers’ second year under Harbaugh. The AFC West added former Seahawks and USC coach Pete Carroll in Las Vegas, where the Chargers will play at 7 p.m. PDT on Sept. 15 in a “Monday Night Football” showcase. It’s one of five prime-time games for the Chargers.

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Chargers 2025 schedule

Sept. 5, KANSAS CITY in Sao Paulo, Brazil, 5 p.m. (YouTube)
Sept. 15, at Las Vegas, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
Sept. 21, DENVER, 1:05 p.m. (CBS)
Sept. 28, at New York Giants, 10 a.m. (CBS)
Oct. 5, WASHINGTON, 1:25 p.m. (Fox)
Oct. 12, at Miami, 10 a.m. (CBS)
Oct. 19, INDIANAPOLIS, 1:05 p.m. (CBS)
Oct. 23, MINNESOTA, 5:15 p.m. (Prime Video)
Nov. 2, at Tennessee, 10 a.m. (CBS)
Nov. 9, PITTSBURGH, 5:20 p.m. (NBC)
Nov. 16, at Jacksonville, 10 a.m. (CBS)
Nov. 23, off week
Nov. 30, LAS VEGAS, 1:25 p.m. (CBS)
Dec. 8, Philadelphia, 5:15 p.m. (ABC/ESPN)
Dec. 14, at Kansas City, 10 a.m. (CBS)
Dec. 21, at Dallas, 10 a.m. (Fox)
Week 17, HOUSTON, TBD

Inside the 2025 NFL schedule: 13 things to know about this season’s games

UCLA SPORTS

From Ben Bolch: In his later years, John Wooden liked to muse about one oddity of his first 12 years as UCLA’s basketball coach.

His paychecks were always signed by the student body president.

One of those presidents, Rafer Johnson, also played for Wooden, meaning that Johnson in effect could have been considered his coach’s boss.

The arrangement stemmed from an ethos that gave UCLA students a large measure of control over their own campus from the 1920s through the late 1950s. The students ran the campus bookstore, the cafeteria and intercollegiate athletics, all of it managed by an organization called Associated Students UCLA that was overseen by a student-majority board of directors.

Change came after a dispute about abandoning the Pacific Coast Conference as the result of a scandal involving payments to players. The University of California regents, irked by the lack of direct authority that the chancellors at UCLA and sister school UC Berkeley had over the intercollegiate athletic programs at each campus, decided that starting in the summer of 1960, the athletic departments at each campus would be university departments reporting directly to their respective chancellor. That move came with the mandate that each athletic program was considered an auxiliary enterprise similar to campus parking and housing, with the expectation that they would be similarly self-sustaining.

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Jordan Chiles once thought she was ‘ugly.’ Now she’s proud to be SI Swimsuit cover model

‘Omaha is what I’m really chasing’: Top MLB draft prospect Roch Cholowsky eyes CWS

GALAXY

Tai Baribo scored two second-half goals, including the winner in stoppage time, and the Philadelphia Union rallied to beat the Galaxy for the first time at home with a 3-2 victory on Wednesday night.

The Galaxy (0-9-4) continued the worst start by a defending champion in MLS history despite Diego Fagúndez becoming the eighth player in league history to reach 75 goals and 75 assists in a career.

Baribo scored in the sixth minute of stoppage time after tying the match 2-2 with a goal in the 50th for the Union (8-3-2), who are on a five-match unbeaten run. Baribo has a league-leading 10 goals this season.

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Galaxy summary

MLS standings

LAFC

From Kevin Baxter: The weather is starting to heat up and so is LAFC, which ran its unbeaten streak to a season-best six games Wednesday with a 4-0 win over the Seattle Sounders at BMO Stadium.

The four goals, which marked a season high for LAFC, came from Cengiz Under, Jeremy Ebobisse, Denis Bouanga and Yaw Yeboah, and goalkeeper Hugo Lloris made three saves to earn his second clean sheet in three games. It was his league-leading sixth shutout of the season.

LAFC went in front to stay in the 26th minute on Under’s second MLS goal, a left-footed strike from well outside the box that appeared to hit a Seattle defender before one-hopping past keeper Andrew Thomas, who was making his second start of the season.

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LAFC summary

MLS standings

KINGS

From Kevin Baxter: If you can’t beat them, hire them.

That’s apparently the conclusion the Kings came to in their search for a general manager because they chose Ken Holland, the architect of an Edmonton Oilers team that knocked the Kings out of the Stanley Cup playoffs in the first round in each of the last four seasons.

Holland, 69, will replace Rob Blake, who stepped down last week. The Kings made the playoffs five times in eight seasons under Blake, a former Hall of Fame defenseman, but lost in the first round each time. The team hasn’t won a playoff series since the 2014 Stanley Cup Final, a record 11-year drought for the franchise.

“As we did our due diligence, we identified Ken as the absolute best option and acted decisively to make him our general manager,” Kings president Luc Robitaille said in a statement Wednesday. “His track record of success is undeniable and after our conversations with him, we were clearly convinced he was the right person for us at this time.

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NHL PLAYOFFS SCHEDULE, RESULTS

All times Pacific

Conference semifinals

Pacific 1 Vegas vs. Pacific 3 Edmonton
Edmonton 4, at Vegas 2 (summary)
Edmonton 5, at Vegas 4 (OT) (summary)
Vegas 4, at Edmonton 3 (summary)
at Edmonton 3, Vegas 0 (summary)
Edmonton 1, at Vegas 0 (OT) (summary)

C1 Winnipeg vs. C2 Dallas
Dallas 3, at Winnipeg 2 (summary)
Winnipeg 4, at Dallas 0 (summary)
Dallas 5, at Winnipeg 2 (summary)
at Dallas 3, Winnipeg 1 (summary)
Thursday at Winnipeg, 6:30 p.m., TNT
Saturday at Dallas, TBD*
Monday at Winnipeg, TBD, ESPN*

Eastern Conference

Atlantic 1 Toronto vs. Atlantic 3 Florida
at Toronto 5, Florida 4 (summary)
at Toronto 4, Florida 3 (summary)
at Florida 5, Toronto 4 (OT) (summary)
at Florida 2, Toronto 0 (summary)
Florida 6, at Toronto 1 (summary)
Friday at Florida, TBD, TNT
Sunday at Toronto, TBD, TNT*

Metro 1 Washington vs. Metro 2 Carolina
Carolina 2, at Washington 1 (OT) (summary)
at Washington 3, Carolina 1 (summary)
at Carolina 4, Washington 0 (summary)
at Carolina 5, Washington 2 (summary)
Thursday at Washington, 4 p.m., TNT
Saturday at Carolina, TBD*
Monday at Washington, TBD, ESPN*

* If necessary

THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY

1937 — War Admiral, ridden by Charles Kurtsinger, battles Pompoon from the top of the stretch and wins the Preakness Stakes by a head.

1948 — Citation, ridden by Eddie Arcaro, wins the Preakness Stakes by 5½ lengths over Vulcan’s Forge.

1952 — Johnny Longden becomes 2nd jockey to ride 4,000 winners.

1953 — In his first world heavyweight title defense, Rocky Marciano KOs former champion Jersey Joe Walcott in the 1st round at Chicago Stadium.

1963 — Tottenham Hotspur of England win 3rd European Cup winner’s Cup against Atlético Madrid of Spain 5-1 at Rotterdam.

1971 — Canonero II, ridden by Gustavo Avila, captures the Preakness Stakes by 1½ lengths over Eastern Fleet.

1985 — Everton of England wins 25th European Cup Winner’s Cup against Rapid Wien of Austria 3-1 in Rotterdam.

1990 — Petr Klima scores at 15:13 of the third overtime to end the longest game in Stanley Cup Final history for the Edmonton Oilers — a 3-2 series-opening victory over the Boston Bruins in a game delayed 25 minutes because of a lighting problem.

1991 — Manchester United of England win 31th European Cup Winner’s Cup against FC Barcelona 2-1 in Rotterdam.

1994 — LPGA Championship Women’s Golf, DuPont CC: Laura Davies of England wins her second major title, 3 strokes ahead of runner-up Alice Ritzman.

1998 — Notah Begay III joins Al Geiberger and Chip Beck as the only players to shoot a 59 on a U.S. pro tour. He does it at the Nike Old Dominion Open.

1999 — Charismatic wins the Preakness and a chance to become the 12th Triple Crown champion, finishing 1½ lengths ahead of Menifee. It’s the 12th Triple Crown race victory for trainer D. Wayne Lukas.

2002 — 10th UEFA Champions League Final: Real Madrid beats Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 at Glasgow.

2003 — The three-year championship reign of the Lakers ends. Tim Duncan has 37 points and 16 rebounds, and Tony Parker adds 27 points to help the San Antonio Spurs overpower the Lakers 110-82 to win the Western Conference semifinal series 4-2.

2004 — With one breathtaking surge, Smarty Jones posts a record 11½-length victory in the Preakness. Rock Hard Ten, in his fourth start, finishes strong for second ahead of Eddington.

2005 — Annika Sorenstam cruises to a 10-stroke win in the Chick-fil-A Charity Championship, finishing with a 23-under 265 total, matching the biggest 72-hole win of her career.

2010 — English FA Cup Final, Wembley Stadium, London (88,335): Chelsea beats Portsmouth,1-0; Didier Drogba scores 59′ winner; Blues’ 6th title.

2011 — Finland scores five late goals to beat Sweden 6-1 and claim its second title at the hockey world championships. The Finns also beat rival Sweden in the 1995 final.

2011 — English FA Cup Final, Wembley Stadium, London (88,335): Chelsea beats Portsmouth,1-0; Didier Drogba scores 59′ winner; Blues’ 6th title.

2015 — Stephen Curry scores 32 points, including a 62-footer to end the third quarter, and Golden State advances to its first Western Conference finals since 1976 by beating Memphis 108-95. The Warriors the first team since 1985 to hit 14 or more 3s in three consecutive playoff games.

2016 — PGA Players Championship, TPC at Sawgrass: World #1 and reigning PGA Champion Jason Day of Australia leads wire-to-wire to win by 4 strokes ahead of Kevin Chappell.

THIS DAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY

1918 — Washington’s Walter Johnson pitched a 1-0, 18-inning victory over Lefty Williams of the Chicago White Sox, who also went the distance.

1919 — After 12 scoreless innings, Cincinnati scored 10 runs off Al Mamaux in the 13th to beat the Brooklyn Dodgers 10-0.

1933 — The major leagues advance the cut-down date a month, limiting rosters to 23 players today instead of June 15th.

1935 — Lou Gehrig steals home in a 4-0 Yankee win over the Tigers. It is his 15th and last steal of home, all of which were double steals.

1941 — Joe DiMaggio began his 56-game hitting streak against Chicago’s Eddie Smith, going 1-for-4 with one RBI.

1944 — Clyde Shoun of the Reds tossed a no-hitter against the Boston Braves for a 1-0 victory in Cincinnati. Chuck Aleno’s only home run of the year was the difference.

1951 — At Fenway Park, the Red Sox celebrate the 50th anniversary of their first American League game in Boston.

1952 — Detroit’s Virgil Trucks pitched the first of his two no-hitters for the season, beating the Washington Senators 1-0. Vic Wertz’s two-out homer in the ninth off Bob Porterfield won the game.

1960 — Don Cardwell became the first pitcher to throw a no-hitter in his first start after being traded. The Chicago Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals 4-0 at Wrigley Field.

1973 — Nolan Ryan of the Angels pitched the first of a record seven no-hitters, beating the Kansas City Royals 3-0. Ryan tossed his second gem two months later.

1978 — His 7th-inning, two-run homer moves Willie Stargell past the late Roberto Clemente into sole possession of second place on Pittsburgh’s all-time RBI list, his total of 1,307 now trailing only Honus Wagner’s 1,475.

1981 — Len Barker of Cleveland pitched the first perfect game in 13 years as the Indians beat the Toronto Blue Jays 3-0 at Municipal Stadium.

1993 — The Montreal Expos retired their first number, No. 10 for Rusty Staub.

1996 — Chicago outfielder Tony Phillips went into the stands to confront a heckling fan during the White Sox’s 20-8 victory at Milwaukee. Phillips, who already had changed into street clothes after being taken out of the game in the sixth inning, went after a 23-year-old fan in the left-field bleachers.

2005 — Morgan Ensberg hit three home runs and finished 4-for-4 with five RBIs in Houston’s 9-0 victory over San Francisco.

2005 — New York’s Tino Martinez hit two homers and drove in three runs in the Yankees’ 6-4 win over Oakland. The two homers gave Martinez eight homers in his last eight games.

2018 — Two days after being sidelined by a broken bone in his hand, 2B Robinson Cano of the Mariners is suspended for 80 days for testing positive for a banned substance in violation of Major League Baseball’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.

2019 — Pitcher Edwin Jackson makes history by playing for his 14th team when he starts today’s game for the Blue Jays against the Giants.

Compiled by the Associated Press

Until next time…

That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at [email protected]. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

Mookie Betts understands the strategy.

That doesn’t mean the implication doesn’t bother him.

Five times since Betts and Shohei Ohtani flipped spots in the Dodgers’ lineup late last season — Ohtani moving to the leadoff spot, and Betts to the two-hole — opposing teams have intentionally walked Ohtani to bring Betts to the plate.

On almost every occasion, Betts has made it a regrettable decision.

That was the case again Wednesday in the Dodgers’ 9-3 win over the Athletics; a game that was close until Betts broke it open in the eighth, coming through once more after a free pass to Ohtani.

With one out in the inning, and Kiké Hernández standing at second base after being bunted over by Miguel Rojas following his leadoff single, the Athletics made the sensible choice. Manager Mark Kotsay elected to intentionally walk Ohtani, trying to avoid disaster with his club facing a 4-3 deficit. He instead wanted reliever Tyler Ferguson in a right-on-right matchup against Betts, whose up-and-down start to the season had once again been on the decline with seven hitless at-bats to begin this week’s series.

Ever since this phenomenon began last September, Betts has repeatedly acknowledged the logic behind it.

“I mean, I get it,” he said. “I wouldn’t want to pitch to Shohei either. I understand.”

But the more it has happened, the more Betts has seemed to take it personally. And on Wednesday, he let the A’s know exactly how he felt.

In a 2-and-1 count, Betts got a fastball over the heart of the plate and drove it deep to the right-center field gap. Hernández scored easily. Ohtani raced home behind him. As Dodger Stadium erupted in celebration, however, no one screamed louder than Betts.

As the former MVP and eight-time All-Star pulled into second base, he immediately turned toward the visiting first-base dugout, clenched his fists and — with three separate, pointed shouts — bellowed, “Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!” in the Athletics’ direction. There was no smile, or sigh of relief. Just a brief display of the contempt he so obviously felt.

Shohei Ohtani, right, celebrates with Kiké Hernández after scoring on Mookie Betts’ two-run double in the eighth inning Wednesday against the Athletics.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

“Just let some emotion go,” Betts said afterward. “You’re just in the game, and you kind of get lost in it.”

In his five at-bats following an intentional walk to Ohtani, Betts is now three for four with seven RBIs, including:

• A three-run home run in extra innings at Angel Stadium last September.
• A tie-breaking ninth-inning single against the Atlanta Braves a few weeks after that.
• A bases-loaded walk last week in Miami, doubling a seventh-inning lead from one run to two.
• And Wednesday’s double, which when combined with Max Muncy’s three-run homer three batters later turned what had been a close game into a six-run laugher.

“To be quite frank, it was the right baseball decision, given how Mookie was swinging the bat [compared to] Shohei,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, with Betts batting .263 to Ohtani’s .304 average.

“But it was good,” Roberts said of the outcome. “Sometimes that kind of unlocks a player. It locks them in a little bit more when you take things personal. And for him to come through in that moment — it seems like when things like that do happen, he seems like he comes through more times than not.”

Betts offered a similar take, noting that “choosing to pitch to Shohei is probably, a lot of times, a losing battle” and that “I hadn’t hit anything all day,” having left two runners stranded on a flyout that ended the sixth inning in his previous at-bat.

Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto delivers during the first inning Wednesday against the Athletics.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

“I’m sure if you look at the percentages,” Betts continued, “it probably adds up in their favor, for sure.”

Still, as soon as Betts watched Rojas lay down his sacrifice bunt with Ohtani on deck, “I knew when he was walking to the plate they weren’t going to pitch to him.”

So, he entered a different, more revenge-minded headspace.

“I just tried to mentally prepare to do something great,” he said.

That wasn’t the only example of greatness the Dodgers (28-15) received Wednesday.

Ohtani and Andy Pages both hit leadoff homers in the first and second innings, giving the team an early 2-0 lead.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto (5-3, 2.12 ERA) grinded out a quality six-inning, three-run start even though his velocity was down a tick and his usually pristine command remained spotty for a fourth-consecutive outing — evidenced by a hanging first-pitch curveball Tyler Soderstrom hit for a two-run homer in the third, and a leadoff walk in the fourth that set up Miguel Andujar for a go-ahead double.

Hyeseong Kim also continued his hot start to his MLB career, leveling the score at 3-3 in the fifth with a wallscraping line drive for his first big-league blast. He also added an infield single, raising his batting average to .360 since being called up two weeks ago, and made a couple nice plays defensively in his first start at Dodger Stadium.

Hyeseong Kim, right, celebrates with Shohei Ohtani after hitting his first career home run in the Dodgers’ win Wednesday.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

“As a person who always dreamed to play in this stadium, I’m really happy,” Kim, a childhood Dodgers fan while growing up in South Korea, said through interpreter Joe Lee. “I’m really thrilled right now.”

Rojas, meanwhile, had perhaps the night’s biggest hit in the sixth, coming off the bench for a pinch-hit double that scored Michael Conforto all the way from first to give the Dodgers a 4-3 lead.

“I just thought that tonight we competed really well,” Roberts said. “I thought the fight with our guys was really good.”

Still, after watching the upstart Athletics (22-21) explode for 11 runs in Tuesday’s series opener, the Dodgers knew more late-game breathing room might be required. That, Betts added, was also part of the reason he was so animated after his game-sealing double.

“We just needed something to happen to ensure a win there,” he said. “It was a mix of happiness for myself and the boys.”

Plus, his reaction so clearly epitomized, a dash of disrespect being released, as well.

“I do like the way that he takes it personally,” Roberts said. “I think that you could see that frustration kind of come out, with the joy.”

Like pretty much every other time the Dodgers have found themselves in a self-made mess, the task of downplaying a major problem once again was made the responsibility of manager Dave Roberts.

So, in the aftermath of a deflating 11-1 defeat by the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday night, Roberts trudged into the interview room at Dodger Stadium and applied a good old Stan Kasten spin to Roki Sasaki’s move to the 15-day injured list.

The point relayed by Roberts was basically this: Sasaki underwhelmed in his eight major league starts because of a shoulder pain that he kept secret from the Dodgers “for the last weeks,” and not because the 23-year-old rookie right-hander wasn’t as good as they previously thought.

“He hasn’t been as productive as he would have liked because he was compromised,” said Roberts, who added that Sasaki revealed his condition to the team after his most recent start.

The explanation raised an equally alarming possibility, however.

If Roberts’ story was accurate, and Sasaki experienced a shoulder impingement to the one that slowed him down last year in Japan, wouldn’t that point to a chronic problem?

As it was, Sasaki was already viewed as a high injury risk. He never remained healthy for an entire season with the Chiba Lotte Marines.

At this point, what’s worse? That Sasaki’s lack of control and decline in fastball velocity were because of a chronic shoulder issue? Or because he just was too raw to compete in the major leagues?

Either scenario would be problematic.

So, what now?

As much as the Dodgers sold Sasaki on how they could one day guide him to a Cy Young Award, his future isn’t their only priority. They also have to consider what’s best for their team, which is positioned to become baseball’s first repeat champion in a quarter century.

Even if the Dodgers acknowledge that Sasaki is more of a long-term project than a short-term solution and want to send him to the minor leagues when he returns, they might not have the luxury of doing so. They have signed four potential frontline pitchers in the last two years, and three of them are currently on the injured list — Sasaki, Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow. The other, two-way player Shohei Ohtani, isn’t expected to pitch until after the All-Star break.

Snell was examined by a team doctor on Tuesday but the team didn’t provide any details about his condition. Glasnow played catch but Roberts didn’t provide a timeline for his return.

The rotation is in such a state of ruin that not only were the Dodgers forced to start Landon Knack on Tuesday, they were desperately awaiting the return of 37-year-old Clayton Kershaw four days later.

Roberts described Sasaki’s injury as “benign” but didn’t say when he might resume throwing. The manager insisted there were no thoughts of sending him to the minors, despite Sasaki posting a 4.72 earned-run average and completing six innings in just one start.

“I think our goal is to get him healthy, get him strong, make sure his delivery is sound for him to pitch for us,” Roberts said.

In other words, Sasaki will return to the mound in the major leagues. He will have to gain familiarity with low-quality American baseballs in the major leagues. He will have to become more comfortable with the pitch clock in the major leagues. He will have to strengthen his body to prevent future injuries in the major leagues. He will have to learn to throw something other than a fastball, forkball and slider in the major leagues.

The Dodgers knew Sasaki would require an adjustment period but they couldn’t have imagined anything this drastic.

The introductory news conference they staged for Sasaki in January was matched in scale in recent years only by Ohtani’s and Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s. That was where president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman declared Sasaki would start the season in the Dodgers’ rotation and general manager Brandon Gomes compared him to Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Back then, the Dodgers’ plan for Sasaki was simple: Insert him into the rotation and watch him develop into one of the best pitchers in baseball.

Sasaki can still become everything the Dodgers envisioned, but his path to greatness has become infinitely more complicated. Roberts remained characteristically upbeat, saying Sasaki concealed his shoulder problems from the team not because he was selfish but because he didn’t want to let down an injury-ravaged team.

“He’s a great teammate,” Roberts said.

With his rotation crumbling, Roberts didn’t have the luxury of viewing the situation any other way.

From Benjamin Royer: The Dodgers’ pitcher injury woes are continuing to pile up, this time with heralded Japanese right-hander Roki Sasaki out of action.

Sasaki did not throw at his scheduled bullpen session Tuesday and got his right shoulder examined by the team doctor.

The Dodgers soon after announced Sasaki was put on the injured list after he was diagnosed with right shoulder impingement.

After Tuesday’s 11-1 loss to the Athletics, manager Dave Roberts said that Sasaki’s been shut down for the foreseeable future as the team treats his injury.

“I think that our goal is to get him healthy, get him strong,” Roberts said, adding that there is no timeline for Sasaki’s return. “Make sure his delivery is sound for him to pitch for us. Now with the information we’ve learned, he hasn’t been as productive as he would’ve liked because he was compromised.”

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Dodgers are routed by Athletics, but will get Clayton Kershaw back Saturday

Dodgers box score

MLB scores

MLB standings

PETE ROSE REINSTATED

From Steve Henson: Pete Rose was posthumously removed from Major League Baseball’s permanently ineligible list Tuesday, making the all-time hits leader eligible for induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

“Shoeless” Joe Jackson, banned after his participation in the 1919 Black Sox Scandal, also was reinstated in a sweeping decision by commissioner Rob Manfred that included other deceased players from the list. All are eligible for election to the Hall of Fame.

An MLB statement released Tuesday referred to it as a “policy decision.”

“This issue has never been formally addressed by Major League Baseball, but an application filed by the family of Pete Rose has made it incumbent upon the Office of the Commissioner to reach a policy decision on this unprecedented issue in the modern era as Mr. Rose is the first person banned after the tenure of commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis to die while still on the ineligible list.

“Commissioner Manfred has concluded that MLB’s policy shall be that permanent ineligibility ends upon the passing of the disciplined individual.”

Rose had been exiled from the sport since 1989, after he was found by then-commissioner Bart Giamatti (yes, the father of actor Paul Giamatti) to have been betting on his team’s games while he was manager of the Cincinnati Reds. Rose died Sept. 30, 2024, at the age of 83.

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PETE ROSE POLL

Should Pete Rose and Joe Jackson be in the Baseball Hall of Fame? Click here to vote in our survey. Results will be announced Monday.

NBA PLAYOFFS RESULTS

All Times Pacific

Conference semifinals

Western Conference

No. 1 Oklahoma City vs. No. 4 Denver Nuggets
Denver 121, at Oklahoma City 119 (box score)
at Oklahoma City 149, Denver 106 (box score)
at Denver 113, Oklahoma City 104 (OT) (box score)
Oklahoma City 92, at Denver 87 (box score)
at Oklahoma City 112, Denver 105 (box score)
Thursday at Denver, 5:30 p.m., ESPN
Sunday at Oklahoma City, 12:30 p.m., ABC*

No. 6 Minnesota Timberwolves vs. No. 7 Golden State
Golden State 99, at Minnesota 88 (box score)
at Minnesota 117, Golden State 93 (box score)
Minnesota 102, at Golden State 97 (box score)
Minnesota 117, at Golden State 110 (box score)
Wednesday at Minnesota, 6:30 p.m., TNT
Sunday at Golden State, TBD*
Tuesday at Minnesota, 5:30 p.m., ESPN*

Eastern Conference

No. 1 Cleveland vs. No. 4 Indiana
Indiana 121, at Cleveland 112 (box score)
Indiana 120, at Cleveland 119 (box score)
Cleveland 126, at Indiana 104 (box score)
at Indiana 129, Cleveland 109 (box score)
Indiana 114, at Cleveland 105 (box score)

No. 2 Boston vs. No. 3 New York
New York 108, at Boston 105 (OT) (box score)
New York 91, at Boston 90 (box score)
Boston 115, at New York 93 (box score)
at New York 121, Boston 113 (box score)
Wednesday at Boston, 4 p.m., TNT
Friday at New York, 5 p.m., ESPN*
Monday at Boston, 5 p.m., TNT*

*if necessary

ANGELS

Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a two-run 430-foot walk-off homer to centerfield to give the San Diego Padres a comeback 6-4 victory over the Angels on Tuesday night.

Tatis dropped the bat emphatically and watched the ball fly after he connected on a cutter against Angels closer Kenley Jansen (0-2), who took the loss.

Padres reliever Jason Adam (4-0) earned the win with a scoreless ninth.

Matthew Lugo hit a pinch-hit two-run homer in the seventh to give the Angels a 4-2 lead. Lugo’s homer followed an RBI double in the seventh by Jo Adell, igniting a three-run rally after the Angels had two outs and no baserunners.

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Angels box score

MLB scores

MLB standings

ANGEL CITY

From Kevin Baxter: Angel City defender Savy King, who was carted off the field at BMO Stadium after collapsing in the 74^th minute of the team’s game with Utah last week, underwent successful surgery to repair a heart abnormality Tuesday, the team said.

King received emergency care at California Hospital Medical Center after leaving the field Friday and was transferred to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center on Saturday, where doctors detected the heart issue.

“Her prognosis is excellent,” the team said in a statement.

King’s family issued a statement of its own.

“Our entire family, along with Savy, have been so moved by the love and support from Angel City players, staff, fans and community, as well as soccer fans across the country,” it read. “We are blessed to share that Savy is recovering well and we are looking forward to having her home with us soon.”

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UCLA SPORTS

From Ben Bolch: After seeing a series of bullet-point slides and hearing a slew of buzzwords about UCLA’s athletic department finances, Bob Myers put the crisis facing his alma mater in much simpler terms.

“It’s like water’s coming in the boat and you’re trying to get it out, but how does this thing not sink?” Myers asked Tuesday afternoon at the UC regents meeting. “Or how can we help, I suppose?”

Myers, who sandwiched a hugely successful run as the Golden State Warriors’ general manager between his time as a reserve forward on the Bruins’ 1995 national championship basketball team and his appointment as the newest member of the UC board of regents, was inquiring about an athletic department deficit that has ballooned to $219.5 million after running in the red for six consecutive fiscal years, including a $51.8-million shortfall in the 2024 fiscal year.

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CHARGERS

From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: The Chargers’ season opener in Sao Paulo, Brazil, will be the NFL’s first game streamed exclusively on YouTube, the league announced Tuesday, further expanding the NFL’s streaming footprint to include the ubiquitous free video platform.

Despite now having a home team and TV partner for the matchup, the Chargers’ opponent was the only piece of the NFL’s seven-game international slate that was not announced Tuesday. Front Office Sports reported the Chargers will face AFC West rival Kansas City on Sept. 5 at Arena Corinthians. The Chiefs have won seven consecutive games against the Chargers while becoming one of the league’s most popular TV draws.

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RAMS

From Gary Klein: The Rams will be back on the international road this fall.

The NFL announced on Tuesday that the Rams will be the visiting team against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Oct. 19 at Wembley Stadium in London. The game will kick off at 6:30 a.m. PDT and will be broadcast by NFL Network.

The full NFL schedule will be announced Wednesday at 5 p.m. PDT.

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NHL PLAYOFFS SCHEDULE, RESULTS

All times Pacific

Conference semifinals

Pacific 1 Vegas vs. Pacific 3 Edmonton
Edmonton 4, at Vegas 2 (summary)
Edmonton 5, at Vegas 4 (OT) (summary)
Vegas 4, at Edmonton 3 (summary)
at Edmonton 3, Vegas 0 (summary)
Wednesday at Vegas, 6:30 p.m., ESPN
Friday at Edmonton, TBD, TNT*
Sunday at Vegas, TBD, TNT*

C1 Winnipeg vs. C2 Dallas
Dallas 3, at Winnipeg 2 (summary)
Winnipeg 4, at Dallas 0 (summary)
Dallas 5, at Winnipeg 2 (summary)
at Dallas 3, Winnipeg 1 (summary)
Thursday at Winnipeg, 6:30 p.m., TNT
Saturday at Dallas, TBD*
Monday at Winnipeg, TBD, ESPN*

Eastern Conference

Atlantic 1 Toronto vs. Atlantic 3 Florida
at Toronto 5, Florida 4 (summary)
at Toronto 4, Florida 3 (summary)
at Florida 5, Toronto 4 (OT) (summary)
at Florida 2, Toronto 0 (summary)
Wednesday at Toronto, 4 p.m., ESPN*
Friday at Florida, TBD, TNT
Sunday at Toronto, TBD, TNT*

Metro 1 Washington vs. Metro 2 Carolina
Carolina 2, at Washington 1 (OT) (summary)
at Washington 3, Carolina 1 (summary)
at Carolina 4, Washington 0 (summary)
at Carolina 5, Washington 2 (summary)
Thursday at Washington, 4 p.m., TNT
Saturday at Carolina, TBD*
Monday at Washington, TBD, ESPN*

* If necessary

THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY

1919 — Four days after his Kentucky Derby victory, Sir Barton, ridden by Johnny Loftus, wins the Preakness Stakes by four lengths over Eternal.

1977 — The Montreal Canadiens edge the Boston Bruins 2-1 to win the Stanley Cup in four games.

1981 — The Boston Celtics win the NBA championship with a 102-91 victory over the Houston Rockets in Game 6.

1989 — James Worthy scores 12 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter, and the Lakers rally from a 29-point first-half deficit to beat Seattle 97-95 and sweep the Western Conference semifinals.

1994 — FA Cup Final: Manchester United defeat Chelsea 4-0 at Wembley Stadium, London.

1995 — Kelly Robbins overcomes a three-shot deficit in the final seven holes to win the LPGA Championship by a stroke over defending champion Laura Davies.

1997 — FC Barcelona of Spain win 37th European Cup Winner’s Cup against Paris Saint-Germain of France 1-0 in Rotterdam.

1999 — Annika Sorenstam shoots an 11-under 61, the best score in LPGA history on a par-72 course, to take a two-shot lead over Michelle McGann after the opening round of the Sara Lee Classic.

2003 — Jean-Sebastien Giguere stops 35 shots for his third straight shutout, and the Ducks beat Minnesota 4-0 for a 3-0 lead in the Western Conference finals. He’s the first goalie in modern NHL history to record three consecutive shutouts in the next-to-last round of the playoffs.

2004 — Richard Jefferson scores 18 of his 31 points after regulation to lead New Jersey to a 127-120 triple-overtime victory over Detroit and a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals. The last playoff game to be decided in three overtimes was Phoenix’s 129-121 victory over Chicago in Game 3 of the 1993 NBA Finals.

2010 — The Philadelphia Flyers overcome a couple of 3-0 deficits to finish off the Boston Bruins. Simon Gagne scores on a power play with 7:08 left to cap a comeback from a three-goal deficit, and the Flyers win 4-3 for a berth in the Eastern Conference finals. The Bruins become the third team in NHL history to lose a series after winning the first three games.

2011 — English FA Cup Final, Wembley Stadium, London (88,643): Manchester City beats Stoke City, 1-0; Yaya Touré scores 74′ winner; Citizens’ 5th title.

2017 — Stephen Curry scores 40 points and hits a tying 3-pointer with 1:48 remaining, and the Golden State Warriors rally after Kawhi Leonard is lost to an ankle injury to beat the San Antonio Spurs 113-111 in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals. Draymond Green gives Golden State the lead for good on a three-point play after the Warriors trail by as many as 25 points in the first half.

2017 — PGA Players Championship, TPC at Sawgrass: 21 year old South Korean Kim Si-woo shoots final round 69 to win by 3 strokes ahead of Louis Oosthuizen and Ian Poulter.

2018 — The Supreme Court clears the way for states to legalize betting on sports, breaking a longtime ban and creating a potential financial boon for states and the gambling industry. Despite opposition from the major sports leagues and the Trump administration, the high court strikes down a federal law that barred betting on football, basketball, baseball and other sports in most states.

2018 — Arsenal finish EPL season in 6th place on 63 points; fail to qualify for the UEFA Champions League for the first time since 1997.

THIS DAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY

1913 — Washington’s Walter Johnson gave up a run in the fourth inning against the St. Louis Browns to end his streak of 56 scoreless innings. The Senators won 10-5.

1914 — Jim Scott of the Chicago White Sox pitched nine innings of no-hit ball against the Washington Senators, but lost 1-0 after giving up two hits in the 10th inning.

1920 — Walter Johnson of the Washington Senators recorded his 300th victory with a 9-8 win over the Detroit Tigers.

1927 — Chicago pitcher Guy Bush went the distance for the Cubs in a 7-2 18-inning win over Boston. Charlie Robertson of the Braves almost matched the feat, leaving with one out in the 18th.

1965 — Carl Yastrzemski of Boston hit for the cycle and added another home run for five RBIs in a 12-8 10-inning loss to the Detroit Tigers.

1966 — Roberto Clemente’s sixth and final career home run off Sandy Koufax is another no-doubter. It comes during Koufax’s final season, the net result being one less shutout for Sandy and one more moon shot for Clemente

1967 — Mickey Mantle’s 500th home run, off Stu Miller, lifted the New York Yankees to a 6-5 victory over the Baltimore Orioles.

1972 — In his first game with the New York Mets, Willie Mays hit a fifth inning home run off Don Carrithers for the difference in a 5-4 triumph over the San Francisco Giants.

1977 — Jim Colborn of the Kansas City Royals no-hit the Texas Rangers for a 6-0 victory.

1986 — Angels slugger Reggie Jackson hits his 537th career home run to move past Mickey Mantle on the all-time list. Jackson delivers the milestone blast against Roger Clemens of the Boston Red Sox.

1988 — Jose Oquendo became the first non-pitcher in 20 seasons to get a decision, taking the loss in the 19th inning when Ken Griffey’s two-out, two-run double led the Atlanta Braves over the St. Louis Cardinals 7-5.

1989 — Benny Distefano became the first left-handed catcher in a major league game in nine years when he caught the ninth inning of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 5-2 loss to the Atlanta Braves. Mike Squires caught two games with the Chicago White Sox in 1980 and Dale Long caught two games for the Chicago Cubs in 1958.

1993 — Jay Gainer of the Colorado Rockies hit a home run on the first major league pitch he saw. The first baseman became the fifth National Leaguer and 12th major leaguer to accomplish this feat. The Cincinnati Reds beat the Rockies 13-5.

1996 — Dwight Gooden pitched a no-hitter as the New York Yankees beat the Seattle Mariners 2-0. Gooden struck out five and walked six.

2000 — Although Sammy Sosa collects five hits, Henry Rodriguez has seven RBI and Eric Young steals five bases, the Chicago Cubs still manage to lose to Montreal, 16-15. Young’s five stolen bases are the most by a Cubs player since 1881 when George Gore stole seven.

2010 — After Twins manager Ron Gardenhire orders an intentional walk to Mark Teixeira and brings in righty Matt Guerrier to face Alex Rodriguez in the 7th, the Yankee third baseman blasts his 19th career grand slam to pass Frank Robinson for 7th on the all-time career home run list and give New York an 8-4 win.

2012 — Major League Baseball fires arbitrator Shyam Das after 13 years on the job. The Commissioner’s office was incensed at Das for overturning Ryan Braun’s suspension for PED use on a technicality on February 23rd, and the last straw comes when the same ruling is used today to justify ending Eliezer Alfonzo’s 100-game suspension early.

2016 — In his final season, David Ortiz is still a master of the clutch hit. Today, he hits a two-out 9th-inning triple off Luke Gregerson to drive in Xander Bogaerts and tie the game for the Red Sox against the Astros, then hits a two-out double in the 11th off Michael Feliz that again drives in Bogaerts and gives the Sox a 6-5 win. The double is the 600th of his career, making him only the third player after Hank Aaron and Barry Bonds to hit 500 homers and 600 doubles; he had hit homer #513 in the 3rd inning.

2017 — The Yankees officially retire uniform number 2 in honor of Derek Jeter and unveil a plaque in his name in Monument Park at New Yankee Stadium between games of a doubleheader against the Astros.

Compiled by the Associated Press

Until next time…

That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at [email protected]. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

In the Tokyo Dome in March, you could almost hear the zip of the ball.

101 mph.

The pop of the catcher’s mitt sounded like a gunshot.

100 mph.

Roki Sasaki would lift his left leg almost to his head, stretch far down the front side of the mound, and let out a grunt as a blur of white leather came screaming from his hand.

100 mph.

For a brief moment, at the very start of his Major League Baseball career, it seemed like the Japanese phenom pitching prospect had already achieved one of his most important rookie objectives.

100 mph.

During his MLB debut in Japan, Sasaki hit those 100-plus-mph velocities on each of his first four big-league pitches. In the first inning of that March 19 game against the Chicago Cubs, he eclipsed 99 mph eight times in a 1-2-3 frame.

For a developing young pitcher who came to the majors this offseason fixated on improving his fastball speeds, it was a promising early sign — an apparent indication that, after suffering a slight drop in fastball velo during his last season in Japan, the 6-foot-4 flamethrower still possessed triple-digit life.

“The velocity,” manager Dave Roberts said that day, “was good.”

Roki Sasaki’s first four pitches of his MLB debut against the Chicago Cubs at the Tokyo Dome in March were at least 100 mph. He has not reached that velocity since.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Almost two months later, however, in one of the more confounding developments of the Dodgers’ otherwise successful start to the season, Sasaki hasn’t come close to even flirting with 100 mph again.

Instead, over a choppy seven-game sample following the team’s return from Japan, Sasaki has struggled to consistently throw the ball hard, averaging just 96 mph with his four-seamer on the whole this season while sometimes dropping down to the 92-93 mph range.

“It’s not an ideal situation,” pitching coach Mark Prior said. “Clearly, the fastball is not gonna carry through the zone at 93 very effectively.”

For some pitchers, this wouldn’t be as pressing a problem. Even in an era of rising fastball velocities around the sport, sitting in the mid-90s is still safely above the major-league average.

Sasaki, however, needs premium velocity (plus consistent command) to make his heater competitive. Because, for all his other raw natural talent, there isn’t much natural deception to the pitch.

Unlike the best fastballs in the sport, Sasaki doesn’t throw his four-seamer with much spin or “vertical break” (pitch characteristics that can give fastballs a rising illusion as they barrel toward the plate). While others can miss bats at even below-average pitch speeds, Sasaki’s four-seamer has a flatter shape that’s easier to hit.

As a result, his fastball has always been predicated on eye-popping velocity — requiring elite radar-gun readings to blow opponents away.

“The velocity allows for that margin of error,” Prior said last week. “And clearly, that’s not there [right now].”

In evaluating Sasaki’s underwhelming start to the season — he has a 4.72 ERA and 1.485 WHIP in his first eight starts, logging just 34 ⅓ innings with only 24 strikeouts and a whopping 22 walks — the most glaring red flag has been the performance of his fastball.

So far, his trademark splitter has been an effective weapon, yielding just a .158 batting average to opponents while generating whiffs on 35% of swings. His lesser-used slider has been a fine secondary option, with opponents batting just three-for-12 against it while coming up empty on 33% of swings.

Sasaki’s fastball, on the other hand, has been susceptible to the improved level of hitting he has faced in the big leagues, resulting in a .253 opponent batting average, a .494 slugging percentage, almost as many home runs allowed (six, not even including two others that were robbed on leaping catches by Andy Pages) as strikeouts generated (eight), and a 10.1% whiff rate that ranks fifth-lowest for four-seamers among qualified MLB starters.

Granted, Sasaki’s lack of command has factored into such struggles, leaving him all too often in unfavorable hitter’s counts where opponents are better primed to square up mistakes.

“I think guys are on his fastball because it’s the one thing that’s probably in the zone more than anything,” Prior said. “This goes back to his ability to throw the other pitches for strikes, and be able to mix, probably balance with all three.”

Still, since that adrenaline-fueled debut in his home country, Sasaki hasn’t thrown even one fastball that has topped 99 mph. In that same span, he has chucked 27 that failed to eclipse 94 mph. Each week, his declining fastball velocity has become a bigger conversation point around his outings. But so far, few answers have materialized about how he can fix it.

“Just really still in this process of finding out what the root cause [is],” Sasaki said through interpreter Will Ireton this past weekend, after the Arizona Diamondbacks teed off on a heater that averaged 94.9 mph in a four-inning, five-run start that represented his worst outing of the year.

“[I’m] working with my coaches, talking to people about this,” Sasaki added. “I’m not quite exactly sure and can’t really state exactly the single reason.”

The Dodgers’ coaching staff has faced the same conundrum this year, struggling to identify exactly why an element so critical to Sasaki’s success — fastball velocity was such a point of emphasis during Sasaki’s free agency this winter, he gave interested clubs a “homework assignment” about how they planned to improve it — has been so far from advertised during the start of his rookie season.

Prior acknowledged that there are “clearly some delivery things” that Sasaki is “still trying to work through” right now. After struggling with wild command in his first few appearances, Sasaki and the team also discussed whether slightly dialing back on the intensity of his throws could help him more consistently locate pitches over the plate.

Mechanics alone, however, don’t explain why Sasaki’s fastball has dropped into the low 90s for some stretches of the year, Prior countered.

And though Sasaki’s command has somewhat improved while throwing with less velocity, both he and Prior insisted his velo hasn’t dropped this far on purpose.

“For us, it’s always been like, ‘If it’s 100 or if it’s 98, that’s fine, if it’s easier to control or something like that.’ We had that conversation,” Prior said. “But nothing to the degree of where it’s been.”

Given that Sasaki has shown no signs of any physical ailment, it’s possible he could be experiencing more of a pitch conviction issue in his new MLB surroundings, potentially lacking the internal confidence to let his fastball consistently rip at top speeds.

“We go back to the drawing board every week with him. We try to talk to him about some certain things, some ideas,” Prior said. “But ultimately, he’s working through his process, and we’re just trying to support him with everything we can.”

To this point, that process has not involved the addition of a different fastball variety more apt at generating soft contact, such as a two-seamer or cutter. Sasaki has said repeatedly that his primary goal is to first refine his primary fastball-splitter arsenal.

“There’s been a lot of conversations about a lot of different things,” Prior said. “Again, we go every week with him, and we’ve been trying to shed light on things where we think there’s gonna be some improvement. But ultimately, again, I think it’s just him trying to get his footing under him, and be comfortable in what he’s doing.”

Indeed, the Dodgers continue to argue that this is all part of Sasaki’s long-term development arc — inevitable growing pains for a superstar who, despite all the hoopla that surrounded his signing, arrived in the majors as an admitted work in progress.

“He’s certainly talented,” Roberts said. “But there’s finishing school. That’s something that we were prepared for. I know it’s harder for him to embrace not having complete success, but this is a tough league.”

When Sasaki’s fastball has ticked up, he’s gotten results, too. On heaters thrown at 97 mph or above, opponents are batting just .133 with a .333 slugging percentage, and swinging-and-missing almost twice as often.

“He will make adjustments given how the hitters respond,” Roberts said. “I think you learn that by doing that here.”

But until that happens, and Sasaki’s fastball starts returning to the upper 90s or 100-mph levels he flashed in Japan, more struggles could lie ahead. More growing pains might have to be endured.

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell. A belated Happy Mother’s Day to all you mothers out there.

Sometimes it appears a dark cloud is constantly following a player, sort of like Joe Btfsplk or is just hapless where nothing ever seems to go right, like Charlie Brown. or there’s just doom and gloom whenever they are around, like Eeyore.

The first time I remember it is during the 1988 season, when it seemed for a couple of months that this would happen in every at-bat by Jeff Hamilton: fastball down the middle, taken for strike one; fastball down the middle, takes for strike two; curveball in the dirt, swung on and missed, strike three.

This season, that player for the Dodgers is Michael Conforto.

We haven’t talked much about Conforto, so let’s do a little background on him.

Conforto was born March 1, 1993 in Seattle. He was a star at Oregon State and was taken by the New York Mets in the first round (10th overall pick) of the 2014 draft. He reached the majors quickly, appearing in 56 games with the Mets in 2015. The Mets lost in the World Series that season, but Conforto became only the third player to play in the Little League World Series, College World Series and Major League World Series (the other two: Ed Vosberg and Jason Varitek). His breakthrough season was 2017, when he hit .279/.384/.555 with 20 doubles and 27 homers in 444 plate appearances and made the All-Star team. His power numbers began to dip a bit, but were still solid (28 homers in 638 plate appearances in 2018, 33 in 648 plate appearances in 2019), but he was a solid major leaguer. Let’s take a look at his OPS+ each season:

2015: 130
2016: 95
2017: 148
2018: 122
2019: 127
2020: 154
2021: 100
2023: 100
2024: 116

You’ll notice 2022 is not represented. Before the 2021 season, Conforto turned down a $100-million contract extension. That turned out not to be wise. Conforto had an off year by his standards, hitting .232/.344/.384 with 14 homers in 479 plate apperances. He became a free agent after the season and signed with… no one. His agent, Scott Boras, said Conforto injured his shoulder while working out in January, 2022, had surgery and would not play at all that year.

In January 2023, Conforto signed a two-year, $36-million deal with the Giants. He hit .239/.334/.384 in 2023 with 14 doubles and 15 homers in 470 plate appearances and .237/.309/.450 last season with 27 doubles and 20 homers in 488 plate appearances. The Dodgers signed him for one-year, $17-million, and he started off well. After his first six games, he was hitting .368 with four doubles and a homer. Then, the roof caved in.

From April 4-May 9, Conforto was eight for 93, good for an .086 batting average. And he struck out 34 times. Because he also walked 15 times in that span, he scored 12 runs, which may be a record for a guy who went eight for 93.

Last week, Conforto talked to our Jack Harris and said, “This game will kick you down. It will kick you when you’re down. It can be cruel. So sometimes, you just have to lean on what you know you are as a player, and all the support you have around you … and keep going straight ahead, keep working. … I think we’re right on the edge of getting things back. There’s just been a few of them where, you hit it [well], you look up and there’s somebody there. It just seems to happen more when you’re not going right.”

Dave Roberts: “It’s still easy to bet on him because the head is still there, the work is still there. “He’s just got to keep taking good at-bats, and they’ll fall. A guy that’s been around for so long, I think he can handle this five weeks of adversity.”

The luxury of the Dodgers having such a good team is they can afford to give someone like Conforto a longer chance than most other teams could. James Outman could have taken some playing time from him, but Outman is one for 15 since returning from the minors, while Kiké Hernández and Chris Taylor haven’t exactly been candidates for the Silver Slugger this year either. Conforto has three hits in his last six at-bats. Not a sign that the slump is over, but a step in the right direction.

The Dodgers play the long game, which can be frustrating for fans. The Dodgers are very patient with players and have been for quite a while now. It should come as no surprise that they will give Conforto ample time to rediscover his offense. They have the best record in baseball and can afford to be patient.

By the way, Conforto’s mother, is Tracie Ruiz Conforto, who won gold medal in the solo and duet synchronized swimming event at the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics.

Good news…

Clayton Kershaw made what is hoped to be his final rehab start, pitching four innings while giving up two runs, two hits, two walks and striking out two for triple-A Oklahoma City. If all goes well, he will come off the IL and start against the Angels on Sunday at Dodger Stadium.

Tyler Glasnow has started playing catch again as he tries to return from shoulder inflammation.

… Bad news

Blake Snell was supposed to start throwing again Sunday, but did not because of discomfort in his pitching shoulder. Glasnow and Snell will be checked by doctors on Monday, but this isn’t a good sign for Snell.

Ouch!

Just imagine being a Rockies fan. They haven’t made the postseason since 2018 (when they were swept in the first round) and haven’t won a postseason game since 2009. They lost to the Padres on Saturday, 21-0. And Sunday they fired their manager, Bud Black, before they beat the Padres 9-3. That “improved” their record to 7-33, before they lost Monday to drop to 7-34, which means they are on pace to finish 28-134, which I’m guessing would not be a good enough record to sneak into the postseason as a wild-card team. Their GM, Bill Schmidt, blames a lot of it on injuries. But it can’t be too fun to be a fan of the Rockies lately.

Also, just as a reminder that the Dodgers aren’t the only team that struggles at times, the Padres bullpen has given up 29 runs in its last 16 innings, including six runs in the ninth inning at home against the Angels on Monday.

All-time leaders

The Dodgers’ all-time leaders in OPS+, minimum 1,000 plate appearances

Franchise
1. Dan Brouthers, 172
2. Gary Sheffield, 160
2. Mike Piazza, 160
4. Freddie Freeman, 157
4. Jack Fournier, 157
6. Reggie Smith, 152
7. Pedro Guerrero, 149
8. Lefty O’Doul, 145
9. Babe Herman, 144
9. Hanley Ramirez, 144
9. Jim Wynn, 144

Los Angeles only
1. Gary Sheffield, 160
1. Mike Piazza, 160
3. Freddie Freeman, 157
4. Reggie Smith, 152
5. Pedro Guerrero, 149
6 Hanley Ramirez, 144
6. Jim Wynn, 144
8. Mookie Betts, 143
9. Duke Snider, 136
10. Justin Turner, 133

Is there a top 10 Dodgers list you’d like to see Email me at [email protected] and let me know.

These names seem familiar

A look at how some prominent Dodgers from the last few seasons are doing with their new team (through Sunday). Click on the player name to be taken to the baseball-reference page with all their stats.

Batters

Cody Bellinger, Yankees: .221/.293/.382, 150 plate appearances, 4 doubles, 1 triple, 5 homers, 20 RBIs, 91 OPS+

Michael Busch, Cubs: .262/.360/.500, 150 PA’s, 8 doubles, 1 triple, 7 homers, 24 RBIs, 142 OPS+

Jason Heyward, Padres, .181/.225/.292, 81 PA’s, 2 doubles, 2 homers, 12 RBIs, 45 OPS+

Gavin Lux, Reds: .282/.377/.389, 151 PA’s, 9 doubles, 1 triple, 1 homer, 18 RBIs, 111 OPS+

Zach McKinstry, Tigers: .274/.370/.395, 147 PA’s, 6 doubles, 3 triples, 1 homer, 16 RBIs, 121 OPS+

Joc Pederson, Rangers, .130/.237/.230, 115 PA’s, 5 doubles, 1 triple, 1 homer, 4 RBIs, 37 OPS+

Keibert Ruiz, Nationals, .292/.343/.377, 140 PA’s. 5 doubles, 2 homers, 14 RBIs, 106 OPS+

Corey Seager, Rangers: .300/.346/.520, 107 PA’s, 4 doubles, 6 homers, 12 RBIs, 148 OPS+

Justin Turner, Cubs: .155/.271/.155, 70 PA’s, 7 RBIs, 26 OPS+

Trea Turner, Phillies: .310/.371/.394, 170 PA’s, 7 doubles, 2 homer, 14 RBIs, 118 OPS+

Miguel Vargas, White Sox: .215/.312/.319, 154 PA’s, 8 doubles, 2 homer, 12 RBIs, 83 OPS+

Alex Verdugo, Braves: .241/.300/.325, 38 PA’s, 7 doubles, 7 RBIs, 76 OPS+

Pitching

Walker Buehler, Red Sox: 4-1, 4.28 ERA, 33.2 IP, 32 hits, 9 walks, 29 K’s, 96 ERA+, on the IL

Jack Flaherty, Tigers: 1-5, 4.61 ERA, 41 IP, 37 hits, 14 walks, 35 K’s, 85 ERA+

Kenley Jansen, Angels: 0-1, 5.40 ERA, 7 saves, 10 IP, 12 hits, 2 walks, 9 K’s, 80 ERA+

Craig Kimbrel, Braves: in the minors on a rehab assignment

Kenta Maeda, Tigers: 0-0, 7.88 ERA, 8 IP, 9 hits, 6 walks, 8 K’s, 52 ERA+, released by Tigers

Ryan Pepiot, Rays: 2-4, 3.86 ERA, 44.1 IP, 42 hits, 16 walks, 38 K’s, 104 ERA+

Max Scherzer, Blue Jays: 0-0, 6.00 ERA, 3 IP, 3 hits, 0 walks, 1 K, 74 ERA+, on the IL

Ryan Yarbrough, Yankees: 0-0, 3.70 ERA, 24.1 IP, 21 hits, 10 walks, 20 K’s, 107 ERA+

Is there a player you’d like to see listed here? Email me at [email protected] and let me know.

Up next

Tuesday: Athletics (TBD) at Dodgers (Landon Knack, 2-0, 4.61 ERA), 7:10 p.m., Sportsnet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

Wednesday: Athletics (TBD) at Dodgers (Yoshinobu Yamamoto, 4-3, 1.80 ERA), 7:10 p.m., Sportsnet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

Thursday: Athletics (TBD) at Dodgers (Roki Sasaki, 1-1, 4.72 ERA), 7:10 p.m., Sportsnet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

*-left-handed

In case you missed it

How Freddie Freeman unleashed a hot streak at the plate with a single off Paul Skenes

Dodgers continue ‘to bet on’ Michael Conforto, but can he break unthinkable early slump?

Shaikin: Agent Nez Balelo ‘wouldn’t do anything different’ with Shohei Ohtani’s $700-million deal

Hernández: Shohei Ohtani pitching this season initially felt like a luxury. Now it’s a necessity

Are the Dodgers in a glass-half-full situation or glass-half-empty? | Dodgers Debate

And finally

From 1929, all-time Dodgers great Dazzy Vance talks pitching. Watch and listen here.

Until next time…

Have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future Dodgers newsletter? Email me at [email protected], and follow me on Twitter at @latimeshouston. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

From John Cherwa: The horses have barely passed the finish line at Churchill Downs when many heads turn to the east, pointing to Baltimore, and start thinking about the Preakness, the second stop on racing’s Triple Crown. And that quickness belies the problem. It’s only two weeks after the Kentucky Derby.

It used to not be a problem when horses raced more often than they do today. The only racing that goes on nowadays is to see how fast you can get your superstar-in-the-making into the breeding shed, which is where the real money is made.

The Preakness is different from the Derby in so many ways. The biggest technical reason is the race is a sixteenth of a mile shorter than the Derby. The biggest non-technical reason is the Preakness is fun, an experience trainers and owners enjoy rather than the price-gouging pressure cooker that is Louisville on Derby week.

“What the Derby thinks it is, that’s what the Preakness is,” Mickey Taylor, one of the owners of Seattle Slew, once said.

This year’s 150th anniversary of the Preakness is full of intrigue but short on stars, especially with Derby winner Sovereignty skipping the race. But it’s still an interesting race and the winner will etch his name in history. Here are five story lines to look for this week.

Continue reading here

NBA PLAYOFFS RESULTS

All Times Pacific

Conference semifinals

Western Conference

No. 1 Oklahoma City vs. No. 4 Denver Nuggets
Denver 121, at Oklahoma City 119 (box score)
at Oklahoma City 149, Denver 106 (box score)
at Denver 113, Oklahoma City 104 (OT) (box score)
Oklahoma City 92, at Denver 87 (box score)
Tuesday at Oklahoma City, 6:30 p.m., TNT
Thursday at Denver, TBD, ESPN
Sunday at Oklahoma City, TBD*

No. 6 Minnesota Timberwolves vs. No. 7 Golden State
Golden State 99, at Minnesota 88 (box score)
at Minnesota 117, Golden State 93 (box score)
Minnesota 102, at Golden State 97 (box score)
Minnesota 117, at Golden State 110 (box score)
Wednesday at Minnesota, 6:30 p.m., TNT
Sunday at Golden State, TBD*
Tuesday, May 20 at Minnesota, 5:30 p.m., ESPN*

Eastern Conference

No. 1 Cleveland vs. No. 4 Indiana
Indiana 121, at Cleveland 112 (box score)
Indiana 120, at Cleveland 119 (box score)
Cleveland 126, at Indiana 104 (box score)
at Indiana 129, Cleveland 109 (box score)
Tuesday at Cleveland, 4 p.m., TNT
Thursday at Indiana, TBD*
Sunday at Cleveland, TBD*

No. 2 Boston vs. No. 3 New York
New York 108, at Boston 105 (OT) (box score)
New York 91, at Boston 90 (box score)
Boston 115, at New York 93 (box score)
at New York 121, Boston 113 (box score)
Wednesday at Boston, 4 p.m., TNT
Friday at New York, TBD, ESPN*
Monday at Boston, 5 p.m., TNT*

*if necessary

ANGELS

Taylor Ward hit a grand slam to cap a six-run ninth inning, and the Angels beat the San Diego Padres 9-5 on Monday night.

The Angels rallied against Robert Suarez, who had converted 18 consecutive save opportunities — including 15 this season. Alek Jacob replaced Suarez and struck out Jorge Soler before Ward delivered.

Suarez (0-1) yielded a one-out single before walking four straight batters, forcing in two runs. The right-hander gave up just one run in his first 18 appearances this year.

Continue reading here

Angels box score

MLB scores

MLB standings

LONG BEACH STATE VOLLEYBALL

Freshman Moni Nikolov posted six kills, four aces and a pair of digs and Long Beach State beat UCLA 25-17, 25-23 and 25-21 to win the NCAA men’s volleyball tournament Monday night.

It was the Beach’s (30-3) fourth championship in program history and first since 2019. Long Beach State also won the title in 2018 and claimed its first title in 1991 when current coach Alan Knipe was a player.

The 6-foot-10 Nikolov, who just turned 18, started the match with an opening-serve ace and ended UCLA’s two-time reign with a thunderous kill.

“Not for one second did we think we were going to lose that game,” Nikolov said. “Before the game in the locker room we told each other we were here. We were born for this …. game.

“Even when we were down five, we trusted each other because we knew we were the better team.”

Continue reading here

NASCAR

From Kevin Baxter: When Shane van Gisbergen was offered the chance to move from Australian Supercars to NASCAR two years ago, he had one question: Can I bring my dog?

And when we say dog, we really mean horse because Ronald is much closer to a small pony than he is to a large dog.

“He’s a pretty cool dog,” van Gisbergen said of the Rhodesian Ridgeback who weighs 130 pounds, which makes him five pounds heavier than Tyler Reddick, the reigning regular-season NASCAR Cup Series champion. Van Gisbergen wasn’t going to leave Australia without him.

“You can’t get rid of a dog,” he said. “He is part of our family.”

Van Gisbergen isn’t the only animal lover on the NASCAR circuit. About a dozen drivers travel with their dogs so regularly, at least two tracks have built dog parks for the race teams.

“It kind of brings a feeling of home on the road,” said Alex Bowman, who has three dogs, an 8-year-old charcoal Labrador named Finn, a year-old Golden Retriever mix rescue named Huck and a goldendoodle named Merle that belongs to girlfriend Chloe Henderson, a self-proclaimed “dog mom.”

“My dogs are my best friends. So it’s always cool to have them at the race track,” said Bowman, who finished fifth in Sunday’s 400-mile race in Kansas City, Kan., the 12th event on the Cup Series schedule.

Continue reading here

NHL PLAYOFFS SCHEDULE, RESULTS

All times Pacific

Conference semifinals

Pacific 1 Vegas vs. Pacific 3 Edmonton
Edmonton 4, at Vegas 2 (summary)
Edmonton 5, at Vegas 4 (OT) (summary)
Vegas 4, at Edmonton 3 (summary)
at Edmonton 3, Vegas 0 (summary)
Wednesday at Vegas, 6:30 p.m., ESPN
Friday at Edmonton, TBD, TNT*
Sunday at Vegas, TBD, TNT*

C1 Winnipeg vs. C2 Dallas
Dallas 3, at Winnipeg 2 (summary)
Winnipeg 4, at Dallas 0 (summary)
Dallas 5, at Winnipeg 2 (summary)
Tuesday at Dallas, 5 p.m., ESPN
Thursday at Winnipeg, 6:30 p.m., TNT
Saturday at Dallas, TBD*
Monday at Winnipeg, TBD, ESPN*

Eastern Conference

Atlantic 1 Toronto vs. Atlantic 3 Florida
at Toronto 5, Florida 4 (summary)
at Toronto 4, Florida 3 (summary)
at Florida 5, Toronto 4 (OT) (summary)
at Florida 2, Toronto 0 (summary)
Wednesday at Toronto, 4 p.m., ESPN*
Friday at Florida, TBD, TNT
Sunday at Toronto, TBD, TNT*

Metro 1 Washington vs. Metro 2 Carolina
Carolina 2, at Washington 1 (OT) (summary)
at Washington 3, Carolina 1 (summary)
at Carolina 4, Washington 0 (summary)
at Carolina 5, Washington 2 (summary)
Thursday at Washington, 4 p.m., TNT
Saturday at Carolina, TBD*
Monday at Washington, TBD, ESPN*

* If necessary

THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY

1891 — Isaac Murphy wins his second straight Kentucky Derby aboard Kingman. In the stretch, Kingman comes from last in the four-horse field to beat Balgownan by one-half length.

1905 — World heavyweight boxing champion James J. Jeffries retires undefeated after 7 title defences; returns in 1910 to be beaten by Jack Johnson.

1950 — First ever race of the Formula 1 World Drivers Championship is run at Silverstone, England and won by Giuseppe Farina of italy in an Alfa Romeo.

1962 — LPGA Western Open Women’s Golf, Montgomery CC: Mickey Wright wins on the 4th hole of a sudden-death playoff with Mary Lena Faulk.

1976 — The New York Nets overcome a 22-point third-quarter deficit to beat the Denver Nuggets 112-106 and win the last ABA championship in six games.

1989 — Trinidad & Tobago ties US 1-1, in 3rd round of 1990 world soccer cup.

1992 — The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the New York Rangers 5-1 to eliminate the Patrick Division champions in six games and advance to the Prince of Wales Conference finals. It is the first time all four division winners are eliminated in the same round. The Norris Division champion Detroit Red Wings were swept by the Chicago Blackhawks in four straight games, and the Montreal Canadiens, who had won the Adams Division, lost in four games to the Boston Bruins. The Vancouver Canucks, the Smythe Division champions lost to the Edmonton Oilers in six games.

1995 — Team New Zealand’s Black Magic 1 completes a 5-0 sweep in the America’s Cup, beating Dennis Conner’s borrowed boat Young America by 1 minute, 50 seconds.

1998 — Chelsea of England win 38th European Cup Winner’s Cup against Stuttgart of Germany 1-0 in Stockholm.

2005 — Tiger Woods misses the cut at the Byron Nelson Championship to end his record of 142 consecutive cuts made over the last seven years on the PGA Tour. Needing a par on the 18th hole at Cottonwood Valley, Woods misses a 15-foot putt. He taps in for a bogey and a 2-over 72, leaving him at 1 over for the tournament.

2006 — English FA Cup Final, Millennium Stadium, Cardiff (71,140): Liverpool beats West Ham United, 3-1 on penalties after 3–3 (a.e.t.); Reds 7th title.

2007 — Canada wins hockey’s world championship with a 4-2 victory over Finland. Rick Nash leads the way with two goals as Canada captures its’ 24th world title and first since 2004.

2007 — Rafael Nadal becomes the first player to win the Rome Masters three consecutive times by beating Fernando Gonzalez of Chile 6-2, 6-2. The victory extends his winning streak on clay to 77 matches. By reaching the final, the Spaniard broke John McEnroe’s record for most consecutive victories (75) on one surface.

2007 — At 16 years, 65 days Matthew Briggs debuts for Fulham in a 3-1 defeat at Middlesbrough; youngest player to appear in an English Premier League match.

2007 — PGA Players Championship, TPC at Sawgrass: American Phil Mickelson wins by 2 strokes ahead of runner-up Sergio García of Spain; event played in May for the first time.

2012 — Manchester City wins the English title for the first time in 44 years, surging past Queens Park Rangers 3-2 with Sergio Aguero scoring his team’s second goal late in injury time. Aguero scores during the fourth minute of injury time, two minutes after substitute Edin Dzeko made it 2-2. The winning goal snatches the trophy from defending champion Manchester United on goal difference.

2012 — PGA Players Championship, TPC at Sawgrass: Matt Kuchar wins by 2 strokes ahead of Rickie Fowler, Zach Johnson, Martin Laird and Ben Curtis.

2014 — Henrik Lundqvist sets an NHL record with his fifth straight Game 7 victory. He made 35 saves to lift the New York Rangers to a 2-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins and earn a spot in the Eastern Conference finals. Brian Boyle and Brad Richards score for New York, who rally from a 3-1 series deficit for the first time in the franchise’s 88-year history.

2015 — Derek Stepan scores 11:24 in overtime, lifting the New York Rangers past the Washington Capitals 2-1 and into the Eastern Conference finals. Stepan’s wrist shot from the left wing caps a comeback from a 3-1 deficit in the series. The Rangers become the only team to manage that in successive years, doing the same thing to Pittsburgh in the second round in 2014.

2018 — Liverpool’s Egyptian soccer forward Mohamed Salah scores in a 4-0 win against Brighton to set the EPL goal scoring record (32) for a 38-game season.

2018 — PGA Players Championship, TPC at Sawgrass: American Webb Simpson wins by 4 strokes from Xander Schauffele, Charl Schwartzel and Jimmy Walker.

2019 — The Tradition Senior Men’s Golf, Greystone G &CC: Steve Stricker wins his first career major title by 6 strokes ahead of Billy Andrade, Paul Goydos & David Toms.

THIS DAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY

1911 — Detroit’s Ty Cobb hit his first grand slam. After six innings, the Tigers led the Red Sox, 10-1. Boston came back to win the game 13-11 in 10 innings.

1911 — The New York Giants scored a major league record 10 runs before the St. Louis Cardinals retired the first batter in the first inning. Fred Merkle drove in six of the Giants’ 13 runs in the first en route to a 19-5 rout.

1923 — Joe Sewell of the Cleveland Indians struck out twice in one game for the first time in his career. Washington Senator rookie Wally Warmoth was the pitcher. In a 14-year career, Sewell had only one other multiple strikeout game.

1942 — Boston’s Jim Tobin became the only pitcher in modern history to hit three home runs in one game. Tobin led the Braves to a 6-5 win over the Chicago Cubs. His fourth at-bat was a fly ball caught against the fence in left field.

1955 — At Yankee Stadium, Mickey Mantle hits home runs from both sides of the plate for the first time in his major league career.

1958 — Teammates Willie Mays and Darryl Spencer each had four long hits as San Francisco beat the Dodgers in Los Angeles 16-9. Mays had two homers, two triples, a single and four RBIs, and Spencer had two homers, a triple, a double and six RBIs for a combined 28 total bases.

1958 — Stan Musial got his 3,000th hit with a pinch-double off Chicago’s Moe Drabowsky at Wrigley Field. The Cardinals won 5-3.

1969 — Ernie Banks of the Chicago Cubs reaches the 1,500 runs batted in milestone with seven RBIs in a 19-0 shellacking of the expansion San Diego Padres.

1976 — For the sixth consecutive game, George Brett of the Kansas City Royals collects at least three hits.

1980 — Ray Knight of Cincinnati hit two home runs in the fifth inning — including a grand slam — to lead the Reds to a 15-4 rout of the New York Mets.

1982 — The Chicago Cubs won game No. 8,000 in their history with a 5-0 victory over Houston at the Astrodome.

1989 — Kirby Puckett of the Minnesota Twins tied a major league record with four doubles against the Blue Jays. He became the 35th player to hit four doubles in a game, the first since Toronto’s Damaso Garcia in 1986.

1993 — George Brett of the Kansas City Royals hits his 300th career home run in the 6th inning of a 7-3 victory over the Cleveland Indians. Brett is only the 6th major league player with at least 3,000 hits and 300 home runs.

1994 — Tim Salmon of the Angels went 5-for-5 against the Seattle Mariners to give him 13 hits over three consecutive games.

2000 — Todd Stottlemyre of Arizona earned his seventh victory of the season as the Diamondbacks beat the San Diego Padres 6-2. It was Todd’s 136th career win. He and father Mel Stottlemyre became the first father-son combination to record 300 wins.

2002 — Only 38 home runs shy of the exclusive 500 home run club, Jose Canseco retires at 37 age due to injuries sustained in recent years.

2007 — San Francisco rookie Fred Lewis hit for the cycle in a 15-2 win over Colorado, just four days after being called up from triple-A Fresno.

2009 — Soon after Adam LaRoche became the first player to have a home run taken away following a video replay review, Ross Gload lost one the same way when umpires reversed their call. LaRoche wound up with a double for Pittsburgh at PNC Park. Gload’s pinch-hit drive was finally called foul at Milwaukee and he eventually struck out. Both players had already rounded the bases when umps changed the original call.

2009 — Ryan Zimmerman’s 30-game hitting streak ended when he went 0 for 3 with two walks in Washington’s 6-3 victory over the San Francisco Giants.

2012 — Joey Votto hit a grand slam in the ninth inning for his third home run of the game, rallying the Cincinnati Reds to a rain-delayed 9-6 victory over the Washington Nationals.

2023 — By striking out Brice Turang and Joey Wiemer of the Brewers in the 5th inning, Zack Greinke becomes only the fifth pitcher in major league history to have struck out 1,000 different batters in his career. The veteran Royals hurler, who is in his 20th season, joins Nolan Ryan, Randy Johnson, Greg Maddux and Roger Clemens in the exclusive club.

2024 — In a first, women are the lead television announcers for both teams in today’s game between the Athletics and Astros. Jenny Cavnar was named the A’s lead broadcaster before the start of the season, and for the occasion the Astros have announcer Todd Kalas and in-game reporter Julia Morales switch roles, with Morales, a long-time friend of Cavnar’s, taking over in the broadcast booth.

Compiled by the Associated Press

Until next time…

That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at [email protected]. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. My name is Eric Sondheimer. As the prep baseball playoffs begin this week, let’s remind everyone we’re witnessing the making of the next great pitcher from Southern California.

Throwing strikes at 98 mph

Pitcher Seth Hernandez leads No. 1-ranked Corona.

(Nick Koza)

The Southern Section baseball playoff pairings will be announced on Monday, and 26-2 Corona is set to be the No. 1 seed in Division 1. It will be a last chance to take a look at standout pitcher Seth Hernandez, who enters the playoffs with a 17-0 record in two years of high school competition.

Southern California has produced Cy Young Award winners in Gerrit Cole (Orange Lutheran), Trevor Bauer (Hart), Jack McDowell (Sherman Oaks Notre Dame) and Bret Saberhagen (Cleveland), along with baseball’s current stars, Paul Skenes (El Toro), Max Fried (Harvard-Westlake) and Hunter Greene (Notre Dame)

Few exhibited in high school the pinpoint control along with being able to throw a fastball at 98 mph like Hernandez.

Here’s a look at the impact Hernandez has made.

Baseball

Venice received the No. 1 seed for the eight-team City Section Open Division playoffs that begin Wednesday. The semifinals are next Tuesday, followed by the championship game on May 24 at Dodger Stadium. Here are the complete pairings.

Sylmar came away as the Valley Mission League champions aided by a three-run home run from Rickee Luevano to beat Kennedy.

The Southern Section playoff pairings will be released Monday at 10 a.m. It’s the first time power rankings are being used to place teams into nine divisions. There’s expected to be first-round byes in Division 1.

Here’s this week’s final regular season top 25 rankings by The Times.

Softball

The Southern Section softball playoff pairings will be released at noon Monday.

In last week’s power rankings, Norco was ranked No. 1 and Orange Lutheran No. 2.

The City Section softball pairings will be announced on Friday. Granada Hills, which has lost in the final to Carson the last two seasons, is the likely No. 1 seed. San Pedro ended Carson’s reign as Marine League champion.

Track

Newbury Park’s Nicholas Durbiano (second from left) ran a 10.54 100 meters qualifying time at the Southern Section Division 2 prelims.

(Nick Koza)

The Southern Section track and field finals are set for Saturday at Moorpark High. The most interesting competition could come in Division 3, where Servite and Sherman Oaks Notre Dame will engage in an all-out duel for the boys team title.

There is so much depth to call upon from both teams. Servite qualified six runners for the 200. Notre Dame qualified four athletes for the long jump. The two schools went one-two in the 4×100 relay. Notre Dame’s JJ Harel is in the high jump, long jump and triple jump. Servite athletes are favored to win the 100, 200 and 400 and both relays. It will come down to picking up points in other events.

Here’s a look at results from the prelims.

Swimming

Granada Hills sophomore Isabella San Jose dives off the block to begin the anchor leg of the Highlanders’ victorious 400-meter freestyle relay.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

Granada Hills won the City Section boys and girls championships in swimming. Here’s the report.

Santa Margarita won the boys and girls titles at the Southern Section Division 1 championships. Here’s the report.

The state championships take place this weekend in Clovis.

Lacrosse

It will be Loyola taking on Mater Dei to decide the Southern Section Division 1 boys lacrosse championship Friday night.

For girls, Mira Costa will take on Foothill. Here’s the schedule.

Volleyball

It will be Huntington Beach taking on No. 1 Mira Costa in the Southern Section Division 1 volleyball championship match on Friday at 7 p.m. at Cerritos College.

Here’s a report on Mira Costa overpowering Corona del Mar.

The City Section Open Division semifinals will be held Tuesday night, with Venice hosting Granada Hills and Chatsworth hosting El Camino Real. The championship will take place Saturday at Birmingham.

Freshman sensation

Freshman pitcher Carlos Acuna of Birmingham is 7-0 with a 1.09 ERA.

(Craig Weston)

Freshman pitcher Carlos Acuna of Birmingham has had a sensational start of his high school career with a 7-0 record going into the start of the City Section playoffs next week.

Here’s a profile on what has made him so effective and calm under pressure.

Palisades loses field

Bulldozers have cleared the Palisades High baseball field so that bungalows can be used. The field won’t be rebuilt until 2029 at the earliest.

(Craig Weston)

The Palisades High baseball field is gone. Bulldozers cleared everything last month to make way for bungalow classrooms.

The school and Los Angeles Unified School District made the decision as the best way to get the campus re-opened after the Palisades fire.

There will be no new baseball field until 2029 at the earliest, a tough blow to the team and community.

Here’s the report.

Makena Cook of Orange Lutheran.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

New rules are coming in girls’ flag football that will be released this month. Some are controversial and will change the game.

Here’s a report on what to look for and the possible impact of the new rules.

There’s a big spring seven on seven passing tournament set for Saturday at Long Beach Millikan.

Practices have been taking place this spring across the Southland. Servite has had many visitors looking at its young offensive line. Here’s a report.

San Juan Hills has a rising line prospect. Here’s a report.

Notes . . .

Will Burr is the new girls’ basketball coach at Harvard-Westlake. He’s won Southern Section titles at Oak Park and Viewpoint. He played basketball at Bishop Alemany and is a former classmate of head of athletics Terry Barnum. . . .

Joe Goyeneche has stepped down as football coach at St. Bonaventure and will be replaced by defensive coordinator Nathan Page. Former coach Jon Mack is serving as a consultant. . . .

Former Taft and St. John Bosco basketball coach Derrick Taylor is the new head coach at Blair in Pasadena. . . .

Former Newbury Park and Utah quarterback Cam Rising (left) announced he is medically retiring from football. He’s coaching Brady Smigiel of Newbury Park.

(Craig Weston)

Former Newbury Park and Utah quarterback Cam Rising announced he is medically retiring from football and has joined Newbury Park as its new offensive coordinator, where he’ll get to tutor Michigan commit Brady Smigiel. . . .

Brandon Alexander has been hired to be the first girls flag football coach at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame. Schools in the Mission League have been reluctant to add flag football, so this could be the start of an expansion. Harvard-Westlake is expected to add a team in 2026. . . .

Huntington Beach junior receiver Troy Foster has committed to San Diego State. . . .

Standout defensive lineman Richard Wesley of Sierra Canyon has committed to Oregon. He changed to become part of the class of 2026. . . .

Linebacker Shaun Scott of Mater Dei has committed to USC, giving the Trojans 28 commitments for the class of 2026. . . .

Windward basketball standout JJ Harris has committed to Loyola Marymount. . . .

It was an emotional moment for Loyola and Harvard-Westlake tennis players honoring Loyola captain Braun Levi, who was killed by a suspected drunken driver. Here’s a report on the schools uniting.

From the archives: Augie Lopez

Former Loyola baseball player Augie Lopez has helped USC move into playoff contention.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

Former Loyola High catcher Augie Lopez has made a huge impact as a freshman for USC, helping the Trojans move into position to gain their first NCAA playoff berth since 2015.

He entered this past week hitting .338 with two home runs and 10 RBIs.

Here’s a story from 2025 discussing Lopez as a player.

And here was my prediction for 2025 back in January.

Recommendations

From NFHS.org, a story on how track and field officials can stay calm during championship events.

From the Los Angeles Times, a story on the life and legacy of Chet Lemon, a Fremont High grad and World Series hero who died at the age of 70.

From MaxPreps.com, a story on a Texas high school softball team setting a national record for most home runs.

Tweets you might have missed

From Bill Plaschke: I love him like you love him.

But it’s time.

Austin Reaves is the Lakers’ breath of fresh air, a sharpshooting respite from all the drama and dirge, a stirring journey from undrafted to indefatigable. My favorite, everybody’s favorite.

But it’s time.

If the Lakers are going to get where they need to be, they’ll have to get there without Austin Reaves. If the Lakers truly value the acquisition of a big man, they’re going to have to get rid of the little fella.

Damn, I hate writing these next three words.

Trade Austin Reaves.

Send him packing in a deal that brings the Lakers the sort of lob partner and rim protector whose absence knocked you out of the postseason. Use him as the most attractive asset that could lure the sort of behemoth that could help this group bully their way back into contention.

You say you want to build around Luka Doncic? Start with uprooting Reaves.

Continue reading here

NBA PLAYOFFS RESULTS

All Times Pacific

Conference semifinals

Western Conference

No. 1 Oklahoma City vs. No. 4 Denver Nuggets
Denver 121, at Oklahoma City 119 (box score)
at Oklahoma City 149, Denver 106 (box score)
at Denver 113, Oklahoma City 104 (OT) (box score)
Oklahoma City 92, at Denver 87 (box score)
Tuesday at Oklahoma City, 6:30 p.m., TNT
Thursday at Denver, TBD, ESPN
Sunday at Oklahoma City, TBD*

No. 6 Minnesota Timberwolves vs. No. 7 Golden State
Golden State 99, at Minnesota 88 (box score)
at Minnesota 117, Golden State 93 (box score)
Minnesota 102, at Golden State 97 (box score)
Monday at Golden State, 7 p.m., ESPN
Wednesday at Minnesota, 6:30 p.m., TNT
Sunday at Golden State, TBD*
Tuesday, May 20 at Minnesota, 5:30 p.m., ESPN*

Eastern Conference

No. 1 Cleveland vs. No. 4 Indiana
Indiana 121, at Cleveland 112 (box score)
Indiana 120, at Cleveland 119 (box score)
Cleveland 126, at Indiana 104 (box score)
at Indiana 129, Cleveland 109 (box score)
Tuesday at Cleveland, 4 p.m., TNT
Thursday at Indiana, TBD*
Sunday at Cleveland, TBD*

No. 2 Boston vs. No. 3 New York
New York 108, at Boston 105 (OT) (box score)
New York 91, at Boston 90 (box score)
Boston 115, at New York 93 (box score)
Monday at New York, 4:30 p.m., ESPN
Wednesday at Boston, 4 p.m., TNT
Friday at New York, TBD, ESPN*
Monday, May 19 at Boston, 5 p.m., TNT*

*if necessary

DODGERS

From Jack Harris: At the end of a grueling 10-game trek around the country, and in search of their first winning trip this season, the Dodgers got exactly what they needed Sunday afternoon.

A strong start from right-hander Tony Gonsolin. A huge performance from the top of their lineup. And a thorough 8-1 rout of the Arizona Diamondbacks, splitting a four-game series at Chase Field this weekend to return home from this week-and-a-half-long trip with a 6-4 record that keeps them in first place in the National League West.

“Really good team win,” manager Dave Roberts said.

In a battle of two former All-Stars on Sunday, Gonsolin outdueled Arizona right-hander Zac Gallen, tossing five scoreless innings to earn his second win in three starts since returning from Tommy John surgery — and a back injury that forced him to miss the first month of the season — this year.

“His delivery looks really good,” Roberts said of Gonsolin, who has a 2.80 ERA in his first three starts this season while looking much closer to the 2022 All-Star version of himself than he did while pitching through his elbow injury in 2023.

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Dodgers box score

MLB scores

MLB standings

ANGELS

Gunnar Henderson hit a two-run homer during Baltimore’s four-run sixth inning, and Maverick Handley got his first two career RBIs in the Orioles’ 7-3 victory over the Angels on Sunday.

Zach Eflin (3-1) pitched five innings of two-run ball in his return from a monthlong injury absence for the Orioles, who took two of three in this weekend series between last-place clubs. Baltimore finished its trip by winning for only the second time in eight games.

Matthew Lugo hit his first career homer as a pinch-hitter in the ninth for the Angels, who went 4-6 on their 10-game homestand.

Tyler Anderson (2-1) yielded one earned run over five innings for the Angels, who committed two errors and several other fielding gaffes.

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Angels box score

MLB scores

MLB standings

WNBA

From Anthony De Leon: Even on Mother’s Day — the day dedicated to relaxation and pampering for moms — the Sparks will take the hardwood in Torrance, sweating through defensive sets, refining footwork and hitting jumpers.

It’ll be a shortened practice, but practice nonetheless. There’s no time to pause. The WNBA season opener is less than a week away. The grind of pro basketball never lets up, and neither does the grind of motherhood.

Odyssey Sims’ latter role often kicks in when she steps off the court. When the final whistle sounds, her 5-year-old son, Jaiden, usually waits nearby — her best friend, “Mama’s baby.” He shares her wide grin. They move as one, even at the Sparks’ training camp.

“I’m used to bringing my son with me all the time,” Sims said. “He loves coming to the gym. … He has his moments where he’s like, ‘Mom, I’m ready to go.’ I’m like, ‘Son, it’s 10 o’clock, we haven’t even started.’”

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UCLA SOFTBALL

UCLA earned a No. 9 NCAA softball national seed and will host a regional during its first season as a Big Ten member.

The Bruins (49-10, 17-5 Big Ten) lost to Michigan 2-0 in the Big Ten tournament title game, but still earned the right to host the Los Angeles Regional. UCLA is making a record 40th appearance in the NCAA tournament.

Regional No. 2 seed Arizona State, Regional No. 3 seed San Diego State and Regional No. 4 seed UC Santa Barbara also earn bids in UCLA’s regional, with the Regional No. 1 seed Bruins playing UC Santa Barbara at 4:30 p.m. PDT Friday (ESPN+) and Arizona State playing San Diego State at 7 p.m. Friday (ESPN2).

Texas A&M earned the overall No. 1 seed in the NCAA Division I softball tournament on Sunday, edging four-time defending national champion Oklahoma for the top spot and leading seven Southeastern Conference teams seeded in the top eight.

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LAFC

Brian White scored on a header in the 70th minute and the Vancouver Whitecaps rallied to tie LAFC 2-2 on Sunday to extend their unbeaten streak to 11 games across all competitions.

The Whitecaps (8-1-3) lead all MLS teams with 27 points and hold a five-point edge over Minnesota in the Western Conference. They are 6-0-5 during the streak.

On the tying goal, second-half substitution Ali Ahmed headed the ball into the center of the box and White headed it into the net. White also scored in the 26th minute to pull Vancouver within a goal.

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LAFC summary

MLS standings

HOCKEY

From Kevin Baxter: Nareg Dekermenjian had Mother’s Day brunch with the Stanley Cup, which caused more than a little anxiety since no one was sure what hockey’s championship trophy liked to eat.

“I’m thinking all-meat diet for the Stanley Cup,” Dekermenjian said before sliding into a large corner booth at Stanley’s Restaurant (no relation to the Cup) in Sherman Oaks. “Anything less than that, I’m going to be very, very disappointed.”

As it turned out, the Cup was fasting so the plate in front of it remained empty. But then the trophy wasn’t the one being feted Sunday, Dekermenjian was. Last week he was named the winner of the NHL’s Future Goals Most Valuable Teacher Program, chosen from a field of hundreds of candidates from 31 of the league’s 32 cities.

For the fifth-grade teacher, who left a well-paying job as a financial advisor for a classroom four years ago, being honored by a visit from the Stanley Cup was a full-circle moment in several ways. For starters, it was an acknowledgment of the role hockey played in helping him adapt to his new country after his father, Edward, a jeweler in Lebanon who spoke only broken English, wagered everything when he left Beirut for the West Valley so his three children could have a chance at a better life.

Dekermenjian, the youngest, was just 5 and he immediately had trouble fitting in.

“Making friends or having some kind of link with the kids my age, coming from a different country, that was really different,” he said. So one day his mother, Zovig, pushed him out the door to join some neighborhood kids in a street-hockey game.

“I’m glad I did,” Zovig said Sunday. The game, it turned out, would change everything.

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NHL PLAYOFFS SCHEDULE, RESULTS

All times Pacific

Conference semifinals

Pacific 1 Vegas vs. Pacific 3 Edmonton
Edmonton 4, at Vegas 2 (summary)
Edmonton 5, at Vegas 4 (OT) (summary)
Vegas 4, at Edmonton 3 (summary)
Monday at Edmonton, 6:30 p.m., TNT
Wednesday at Vegas, 6:30 p.m., ESPN
Friday at Edmonton, TBD, TNT*
Sunday at Vegas, TBD, TNT*

C1 Winnipeg vs. C2 Dallas
Dallas 3, at Winnipeg 2 (summary)
Winnipeg 4, at Dallas 0 (summary)
Dallas 5, at Winnipeg 2 (summary)
Tuesday at Dallas, 5 p.m., ESPN
Thursday at Winnipeg, 6:30 p.m., TNT
Saturday at Dallas, TBD*
Monday, May 19 at Winnipeg, TBD, ESPN*

Eastern Conference

Atlantic 1 Toronto vs. Atlantic 3 Florida
at Toronto 5, Florida 4 (summary)
at Toronto 4, Florida 3 (summary)
at Florida 5, Toronto 4 (OT) (summary)
at Florida 2, Toronto 0 (summary)
Wednesday at Toronto, 4 p.m., ESPN*
Friday at Florida, TBD, TNT
Sunday at Toronto, TBD, TNT*

Metro 1 Washington vs. Metro 2 Carolina
Carolina 2, at Washington 1 (OT) (summary)
at Washington 3, Carolina 1 (summary)
at Carolina 4, Washington 0 (summary)
Monday at Carolina, 4 p.m., TNT
Thursday at Washington, 4 p.m., TNT
Saturday at Carolina, TBD*
Monday, May 19 at Washington, TBD, ESPN*

* If necessary

THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY

1909 — The Preakness Stakes is held in Maryland after 16 runnings in New York. As part of the celebration marking the return of the Preakness, the colors of the race’s winner were painted onto the ornamental weather vane at Pimlico Racecourse for the first time.

1917 — Omar Khayyam, ridden by Charles Borel, becomes the first foreign-bred (England) colt to win the Kentucky Derby with a 2-length victory over Ticket.

1924 — Walter Hagen wins the PGA championship with a 2-up victory over Jim Barnes.

1973 — 6th ABA championship: Indiana Pacers beat Ky Colonels, 4 games to 3.

1974 — The Boston Celtics beat the Milwaukee Bucks 102-87 to win the NBA championship in seven games.

1976 — 20th European Cup: Bayern Munich beats Saint-Etienne 1-0 at Glasgow.

1979 — Chris Evert’s 125-match winning streak on clay comes to an end when she loses to Tracy Austin in the semifinals of the Italian Open.

1980 — West Ham United wins the FA Cup, beating Arsenal 1-0 at Wembley Stadium; midfield playmaker Trevor Brooking scores winner with a rare header.

1982 — FC Barcelona of Spain win 22nd European Cup Winner’s Cup against Standard Liège of Belgium 2-1 in Barcelona.

1993 — Parma of Italy win 33rd European Cup Winner’s Cup against Royal Antwerp of Belgium 3-1 in London.

1995 — Martin Brodeur ties NHL record getting his 3rd playoff shutout in 4 games.

1996 — LPGA Championship Women’s Golf, DuPont CC: England’s Laura Davies wins by 1 stroke ahead of runner-up Julie Piers.

1996 — A three-way dead heat is run at Yakima (Wash.) Meadows, the 20th such finish in thoroughbred racing history there. In the day’s third race, a trio of $8,000 claimers — Fly Like A Angel, Allihaveonztheradio and Terri After Five — hit the wire together after a one-mile race.

2001 — English FA Cup Final, Millennium Stadium, Cardiff (72,500): Liverpool beats Arsenal, 2-1 with Michael Owen scoring twice for the Reds.

2006 — Laure Manaudou of France breaks Janet Evans’ 18-year-old world record in the 400-meter freestyle, finishing in 4:03.03 at the French national swimming championships. Manaudou beats the time of 4:03.85 set by Evans in winning the 400-meter freestyle at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

2006 — Justin Gatlin breaks the 100-meter world record with a time of 9.76 seconds at the Qatar Grand Prix. A week later, the International Association of Athletics Federations announces a timing error gave Gatlin a time of 9.76 seconds. His time of 9.766 seconds, should have been manually rounded up to 9.77, tying Asafa Powell’s world mark of 9.77.

2010 — Montreal follows up a monumental upset by pulling off another. The Canadiens, who eliminated the Washington Capitals, beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-2 in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. Montreal accomplishes what no team had done since the current playoffs format was adopted in 1994. And that is beat the Presidents’ Trophy winner and defending Stanley Cup champion in successive rounds as an eighth-seeded team.

2010 — Kelly Kulick, the first woman to win a PBA Tour title when she beat the men in January in the Tournament of Champions, wins the U.S. Women’s Open for her second women’s major victory in 15 days. Kulick beats Liz Johnson of 233-203 in the final.

2013 — Serena Williams beats Maria Sharapova 6-1, 6-4 in the final of the Madrid Open to retain her No. 1 ranking and collect her 50th career title.

2013 — PGA Players Championship, TPC at Sawgrass: Tiger Woods wins his second PC, 2 strokes ahead of David Lingmerth, Jeff Maggert and Kevin Streelman.

2014 — LeBron James ties his playoff career high with 49 points, Chris Bosh makes the tiebreaking 3-pointer with 57 seconds left, and the Miami Heat beat the Brooklyn Nets 102-96 for a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

2019 — Manchester City beats Brighton, 4-1 to claim back-to-back English Premier League titles with 98 points, 1 ahead of runners-up, Liverpool.

THIS DAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY

1910 — Chief Bender of the Philadelphia Athletics pitched a 4-0 no-hitter against the Cleveland Indians.

1926 — Walter Johnson of the Washington Senators records his 400th career win when he defeats the St. Louis Browns, 7-4.

1937 — St. Louis’ Joe Medwick hit two home runs and two doubles to lead the Cardinals to a 15-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.

1955 — Sam “Toothpick” Jones of the Cubs got a no-hitter the hard way. In the ninth inning against Pittsburgh, he walked the bases full and then struck out the next three batters for a 4-0 victory.

1956 — Carl Erskine of the Brooklyn Dodgers pitched a 3-0 no-hitter against the New York Giants.

1958 — Willie Mays hits the first grand slam in the history of the San Francisco Giants.

1966 — Lou Brock’s RBI single in the 12th inning gave the St. Louis Cardinals a 4-3 victory over Atlanta in the opening of Busch Memorial Stadium. Felipe Alou hit two home runs for the Braves.

1969 — Bob Gibson of the St. Louis Cardinals becomes the seventh pitcher in National League history to strike out the side on nine pitches.

1970 — Ernie Banks hit his 500th home run off Pat Jarvis in Chicago’s 4-3 victory over Atlanta at Wrigley Field.

1989 — Rick Reuschel of the San Francisco Giants records his 200th major league win, beating Montreal, 2-1.

1999 — Boston Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martinez strikes out 15 batters for the second consecutive game in a 9-2 victory over the Seattle Mariners.

2000 — Boston’s Pedro Martinez, who had 17 strikeouts in his last start May 6 against Tampa Bay, struck out 15 in a 9-0 win over Baltimore, to tie an AL record set in 1968 by Cleveland’s Luis Tiant for most strikeouts over two games.

2001 — A.J. Burnett pitched an unlikely no-hitter — overcoming a record nine walks — to lead Florida over San Diego 3-0.

2004 — In one of the most remarkable at-bats in major league history, Alex Cora of the Dodgers fouls off 14 consecutive pitches and then hits the 18th pitch over the right field fence for a two-run home run off Cubs pitcher Matt Clement.

2008 — Indians second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera turned the 14th unassisted triple play in major league history, accomplishing the feat in the second game of a doubleheader against Toronto. Cabrera made a diving catch on a line drive by Lyle Overbay, touched second base and then tagged out Marco Scutaro to quickly end the fifth inning of Cleveland’s 3-0 loss in 10 innings.

2009 — Ryan Zimmerman extended his hitting streak to 30 games, getting a first-inning single in the Washington Nationals’ 9-7 loss to San Francisco.

2010 — Homer Bailey became the latest Cincinnati Reds starter to pitch a gem against the Pittsburgh Pirates, tossing his first career complete game in a 5-0 win. The Reds became the first team in the majors in nearly 10 years to pitch back-to-back, complete-game shutouts without a walk — Oakland’s Tim Hudson and Barry Zito did it on Sept. 9-10, 2000, against Tampa Bay.

2015 — The Mariners tie a team record by hitting six homers in an 11-4 win over the Padres at Safeco Field. Nelson Cruz hits his major league-leading 15th home run, while Mike Zunino hits two, and Kyle Seager, Justin Ruggiano and Logan Morrison complete the barrage.

Compiled by the Associated Press

Until next time…

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PHOENIX — At the end of a grueling 10-game trek around the country, and in search of their first winning trip this season, the Dodgers got exactly what they needed Sunday afternoon.

A strong start from right-hander Tony Gonsolin. A huge performance from the top of their lineup. And a thorough 8-1 rout of the Arizona Diamondbacks, splitting a four-game series at Chase Field this weekend to return home from this week-and-a-half-long trip with a 6-4 record that keeps them in first place in the National League West.

In a battle of two former All-Stars on Sunday, Gonsolin outdueled Arizona right-hander Zac Gallen, tossing five scoreless innings to earn his second win in three starts since returning from Tommy John surgery — and a back injury that forced him to miss the first month of the season — this year.

Gonsolin faced little stress Sunday, scattering three hits and two walks while striking out four. Only twice did the Diamondbacks get a runner in scoring position against him, stranding two runners aboard in the first and third. After that, Gonsolin finished his 84-pitch outing — one shortened given his recent return from injury, and because he was the first Dodgers pitcher this year to make a start on four days’ rest — by retiring six of his final seven batters.

Gallen, on the other hand, had trouble with the superstars at the top of the Dodgers’ lineup.

In the first inning, Mookie Betts singled and scored all the way from first on a Freddie Freeman double in the gap. In the fifth, Shohei Ohtani and Betts led with consecutive singles, setting up Freeman for a sacrifice fly and Will Smith for an RBI single through a drawn-in infield.

The next time the top of the order came up, with a runner on third and two out in the sixth, Arizona manager Torey Lovullo went to his bullpen, summoning left-hander Joe Mantiply to face Ohtani. It didn’t work, with Ohtani roping an RBI single to right to make it 4-0. When Mantiply returned to the mound in the seventh, it was Freeman’s turn to tee off, hitting his ninth home run of the year into the Chase Field pool for a 5-0 lead.

In a three-run ninth, Betts tacked on another home run before Freeman completed a four-for-four day with a single, later scoring on Smith’s RBI double.

In all, the Dodgers’ Big 3 went nine-for-14 with six runs scored and five runs driven in. Freeman’s four hits raised his batting average to .376 and his OPS to 1.171 — both second in the majors, among hitters with 100 at-bats, behind only Aaron Judge.

Snell, Glasnow check-ins

When Blake Snell accompanied the Dodgers on this 10-game trip, the expectation was that he would begin a throwing progression after missing the last month with shoulder inflammation.

But, after having the start of his catch play pushed back once last week because he was feeling under the weather, Snell did not play catch as expected Sunday, either, because of continued discomfort in his left throwing shoulder.

“We felt that it was best to let him see our team doc before we make any other moves,” manager Dave Roberts said.

That check-in with head team physician Dr. Neal ElAttrache will come Monday, in what had been a pre-scheduled evaluation. Tyler Glasnow, who is also on the injured list with shoulder inflammation but did begin playing catch again this week back in Los Angeles, will have a check-in Monday, as well.

Since first getting hurt, Snell attempted to restart his throwing program once last month, but stopped because of continued shoulder pain. He had one pain-relieving injection after that, but has evidently not improved enough to begin working his way back to action yet.

Asked if his concern with Snell’s injury has risen amid the pitcher’s continued shoulder pain, Roberts was coy.

“I guess I’ll know more [after tomorrow],” Roberts said. “I can answer that question more once he sees our team docs.”

PHOENIX — The Dodgers were a perfect 5-0 this season when facing former Cy Young Award winners.

On Saturday night at Chase Field, however, they finally met their match.

Despite missing his last scheduled start because of shoulder inflammation, Corbin Burnes had his way with the Dodgers’ powerhouse lineup in a 3-0 win for the Arizona Diamondbacks, throwing seven shutout innings to ensure the Dodgers will do no better than split this four-game series between National League West rivals.

In a stark reversal from Friday night’s 25-run thrill ride, when the Dodgers needed a five-run rally in the third inning and a six-run come-from-behind outburst in the ninth to earn their lone win through three games this weekend, a pitcher’s duel ensued under a closed roof at Chase Field on Saturday.

Dodgers starter Dustin May was good, dotting the corners of the strike zone with his wicked sinker-sweeper combination en route to a 6 ⅔ inning, two-run, five-strikeout outing — his longest since returning from a second career elbow surgery this year.

His only two mistakes came on a couple first-pitch sinkers: One that Corbin Carroll hit for a leadoff triple in the third inning, leading to one run; and another that Eugenio Suárez clobbered for a 455-foot homer in the sixth.

Burnes, however, was better the whole way, flashing the form that made him a Cy Young winner in 2021 with the Milwaukee Brewers and $210 million free-agent signing for the Diamondbacks (21-19) this winter.

He erased a leadoff single in the first from Friday night’s hero, Shohei Ohtani, with an immediate double-play from Mookie Betts. He stranded two runners on base in both the third and fourth innings, easily extinguishing the two best threats the Dodgers (26-14) generated against him. And he finished the day giving up just five hits and two walks (one of them was intentional) while striking out five.

Entering Saturday, some of the Dodgers’ most impressive wins this season came against former Cy Young arms. During their 8-0 start to the season, they won against both of last year’s winners, Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers and Chris Sale of the Atlanta Braves. They knocked off Jacob deGrom and the Rangers in Texas last month, when their own Cy Young candidate, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, outdueled deGrom in a low-scoring affair. In the last two weeks, they had battered Miami’s Sandy Alcantara twice, beating up on the NL’s 2023 winner as he works his way back from Tommy John surgery.

Burnes, however, was on a different level Saturday, complementing his signature cutter with a mix of curveballs, changeups, sinkers and sliders to turn in his best performance in a Diamondbacks uniform.

Between Burnes and Arizona reliever Ryne Nelson, the Dodgers forced Diamondbacks pitchers to make just 107 throws in what was their third game being shut out this season.

While the loss ended the Dodgers’ perfect record against Cy Young winners, it continued a more troubling trend for the team of late.

Since that 8-0 start, the Dodgers have played 12 games against teams currently above .500. With Saturday’s loss, they are now 3-9 in those contests, and will now need a win Sunday to avoid dropping a fourth-straight such series.