loss

Dave Roberts downplayed the easy narrative on Sunday afternoon.

“No,” he said when asked if his Dodgers had the New York Yankees’ proverbial number, having followed up their defeat of the Bronx Bombers in last year’s World Series with two impressive wins to start this weekend’s rematch at Dodger Stadium.

“I think we’ve had their number the last two nights,” Roberts said, “but today’s a different day.”

Was it ever.

Twenty-four hours after a total annihilation of the Yankees in a 16-run rout on Saturday, the Dodgers suffered the kind of setback that has so often plagued them this season, squandering the chance to build further momentum in a 7-3 loss that prevented a series sweep.

For as complete a performance as the Dodgers (36-23) put together Saturday, they looked equally out of sorts in a “Sunday Night Baseball” finale, getting a rare bad start from Yoshinobu Yamamoto, mistakes on defense and basepaths that cost them early runs, and virtually nothing from a lineup that looked largely discombobulated against funky left-hander (and former Dodgers swingman) Ryan Yarbrough.

They might have come out of the weekend with a marquee series win, continuing to nurse a narrow lead in the National League West standings.

But, they invited more scrutiny over their inconsistent start to the season with a finale flop, dropping to 13-13 over their last 26 games.

“You got to focus on the positives,” third baseman Max Muncy said. “We just took two of three from a really, really good team. We’re obviously upset that we didn’t get this one. But we played two really good games. … Just [today] the result wasn’t there.”

Yamamoto had been the one constant in the Dodgers’ injury-plagued rotation. His 1.97 earned-run average was second in the NL. His 64 innings not only led the team, but were almost twice as many as anyone else besides Dustin May.

Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto shouts in frustration after giving up a home run to New York’s Ben Rice in the third inning.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Yamamoto also had an impressive personal track record against the Yankees (36-22), shutting them out over seven innings in New York last June before delivering 6 ⅓ innings of one-run ball in Game 2 of the World Series.

On Sunday, however, he couldn’t consistently find the strike zone or execute his trademark splitter. And after scoring just two runs in their previous 15 innings in this series, the Yankees finally came to life at the plate.

“I was not being able to control my pitches,” Yamamoto said through interpreter Yoshihiro Sonoda. “During the game, I was trying to make an adjustment, but … I could not get it back, my stuff.”

In the first, Trent Grisham singled and Ben Rice walked before Jasson Domínguez dumped a line drive into left, driving in a run when Andy Pages airmailed his throw to home plate.

In the third, a leadoff walk to Judge was followed by a two-run homer to Rice — Yamamoto missing badly with two splitters in the first at-bat before leaving one hanging in the next.

Later in the inning, the Yankees scored again after Yamamoto gave up two singles and spiked a splitter for a run-scoring wild pitch.

Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani strikes out against the Yankees in the first inning Sunday.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

And with two outs in the fourth, Roberts pulled Yamamoto, his pitch count having ballooned to 96 on a day he gave up a season-high in hits (seven) and walked three others. It was the first time this year that Yamamoto, whose ERA rose to 2.39, had failed to complete the fifth.

“He wasn’t great today, wasn’t sharp with any of his pitches,” Roberts said. “Really uncharacteristic.”

The Dodgers faltered in other ways, as well.

After his first-inning throwing error, Pages made a mistake on the bases in the second. Following a one-out double, he was thrown out on an over-aggressive steal of third. That meant that when Tommy Edman homered moments later — his first long ball in 17 games, breaking him out of a recent funk at the plate — it was only a solo blast, temporarily tying the score before the Yankees answered in the next half-inning.

There would be no counterpunch from Dodgers’ offense, which was missing Mookie Betts for a third-straight game because of a toe fracture (Betts said before the game his toe was starting to feel better, and went through pregame activities in hopes of avoiding a stint on the injured list).

Instead, Yarbrough cruised against the team that dealt him away at last year’s trade deadline.

Even though he never hit 90 mph with his fastball, he induced a string of soft contact while striking out five in a six-inning start. Yarbrough was especially effective against the top of the Dodgers’ order, which went a combined 0 for 16.

“It’s funky,” catcher Will Smith, who was batting cleanup, said of Yarbrough’s unorthodox delivery. “We gave them a little momentum. They jumped on us early [with] some long innings. So he did a good job attacking us and keeping us off balance.”

The Dodgers did show some life after Yarbrough’s exit, with Pages and Muncy each taking reliever Jonathan Loáisiga deep within the space of three at-bats.

But by then, it was much too little, much too late — resulting in the Dodgers’ second straight series in which they failed to complete a sweep, and yet another momentum-halting loss in a season plagued by a few too many of them.

“I think for us, the takeaway is we won a series and that was the goal coming in,” Roberts said. “I think at the end of the day, you keep winning series and things will take care of themselves.”

DOES it feel like you’ve tried everything in your quest to lose those final pounds?

While the world is obsessed with Ozempic-like fat jabs, not everyone wants to resort to injecting drugs to shed weight. But what’s the answer when all the fad diets have failed?

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As a nutritionist with over a decade of experience, I’ve seen it all from quick fixes to restrictive plans that rarely deliver long-lasting results. I’m not alone – most professionals in this space would agree that rigid diets don’t work long-term.

But here’s what does…. Rethinking your approach to weight loss and health by focusing on sustainable habits known as diet ‘anchors’.

Anchors are a common concept that many wellness experts (myself included) use with our clients. Think of them as an antidote to fad diets that don’t hold up over time. 

Like the name suggests, these fundamental vows help keep you grounded and consistent. They are easy to weave into your daily routine, making them sustainable, unlike rigid rules that come with most diets. They become so ingrained that they become natural, which is the key to success.

Many of my clients come in thinking they need to overhaul their diet overnight, but when it comes to health, it’s actually the small, steady shifts that have the biggest impact. 

So if you’re fed up of complicated calorie counting, are struggling with flagging energy levels or can’t seem to stick to the new gym routine, try implementing these tried and tested non-negotiable rules to flip the weight loss switch… 

1. BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS

It may be the first thing you eat, but breakfast sets the tone for the whole day. The food choices you make have an impact on your blood sugar levels.

Slurping a bowl of milky cereal or a chowing a syrupy stack of pancakes might hit your sweet spot, but sugary breakfasts send your blood sugar levels on a rollercoaster.

What this means, is that after they spike your blood sugar, you soon experience a crash. It results in a mid-morning energy dip and cravings for the biscuit tin come 10am.

Make sure your breakfast choices lean more towards savoury, protein-rich meals to feel fuller for longer with no nasty blood glucose crashes. 

Protein takes more energy to digest than fat or carbohydrates, which means it slightly increases calorie burn, whilst keeping you feeling fuller for longer.

Panfried mushrooms with melted cheese on toast, anchovy and tomato bruschetta or eggs cooked shakshuka style are a protein-fuelled start to the day.

But if you’re limited on time, or on-the-go, try:

• Boil a couple of eggs the night before and serve with salad leaves or wholemeal toast. Make a veggie frittata which can be eaten cold.
• Whizz together a bowl of fruity overnight oats. Pop some oats in a mason jar and cover with milk. In the morning, add a sprinkling of seeds (which are high in plant-based protein), your favourite fruit and a drizzle of honey. 
• Combine plain Greek yoghurt with berries and top with mixed nuts or chia seeds. 
• Nibble a protein bar with a piece of low-sugar fruit such as an apple or pear.

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2. COLOUR, NOT QUANTITY 

Variety is the spice of life, so if you’re eating the same foods day after day you’ll hit a boredom wall and risk nutritional deficiencies. 

To avoid this food rut, rotate the colours on your plate, aiming for a total of nine different shades every day. 

This is easier than it sounds, and the simplest way is to aim for three different vegetables at each meal. 

For example, sneak diced courgette and colourful peppers into bolognese sauces, make use of frozen bagged vegetables into casseroles and soups and add a side salad to your lunch. 

When you lose inspiration, find new recipes on social media; it’s saturated with accounts showing how to make meals that hit all the spots; healthy, delicious, cheap and quick.

Try doubling up on everything you make for a week or two, so that you can freeze portions. That way you always have a healthy meal when you’re in a hurry.

3. UP AND OUT

Kicking back on the sofa and flicking on Netflix might be your current go-to after dinner, but gentle exercise after eating is a science-backed no-brainer weight loss hack that us nutritionists swear by. 

A short walk within a 60-minute window of finishing your meal can help with weight loss as well as ward off disease. It makes all the difference in how your body absorbs carbohydrates. 

A 2023 study published in the Journal of Sports Medicine showed that 20 minutes of walking straight after eating helped muscle cells use glucose more efficiently from the bloodstream which reduces insulin demand and boosts weight loss. 

No time to walk, or stuck at the house? Pace up and down the stairs – set a goal and see if you can increase how many flights you can do over time – or get some chores done around the house.

4. SPICE AND NICE

Lots of us have to make a conscious effort to cook things from scratch. It’s easier to grab ready-to-eat meals for the family, but this is certainly not the best way to lose weight.

If there’s one thing you can do to liven up meals that you’re cooking from scratch – and keep your diet on track – it’s adding flavour. So, include at least one herb or spice at each meal. 

From adding blood-sugar balancing cinnamon to porridge, topping green smoothies with anti-inflammatory golden turmeric and being extra liberal with herbs like sage, basil and parsley in pasta sauces, getting in the habit of seasoning will help to elevate your meals both in taste and nutrition. 

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You can use dried herbs and spices or buy fresh. To keep costs down and wastage low, you can now buy pre-chopped herbs, as well as onions and garlic, in the frozen section.

Want to take it one step further? Create your own little herb garden on a sunny windowsill. Basil, thyme and mint are all super-easy varieties to grow at home. 

5. SELF-WORTH REIGNS

Sustaining motivation to workout and eat well can be difficult at the best of times, but anchoring your thoughts to your goals is the best way to keep your get-up-and-go firing. Keep in mind that success is about consistency, and it’s those small wins that add up over time.

Mantras can help to reinforce your diet choices, so put pen to paper and make up a few that resonate with your goals. 

Some of my personal favourites include “your choices today build results tomorrow”, and “nothing changes unless you change it”.

Self-worth can often shatter on fad diets, but with diet anchors you feel shaped by your positive health choices, so when you do smash one of your micro goals, be kind to yourself.

Even something simple like getting your nails done, or pampering yourself with a candlelit bath, can help to keep motivation high. And if you do fall off the wagon? Don’t beat yourself up for it, every day is a new day with new possibilities to better your health. 

6. PLATE ART

Learning to become meticulous about how you organise your plate is a simple yet powerful anchor that can help to speed up weight loss, and keep those stubborn pounds off.

To build the perfect plate, it’s important to re-think the way you serve your food; Fill half your plate with non-starchy vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower and peppers as these are high in fibre and contain a hefty dose of nutrients.

Next, dedicate one quarter to protein – this includes foods like eggs, poultry, red meat or tofu to help support muscle health and promote fullness.

Finally, split the remaining quarter between healthy fats, (including avocado, nuts, and seeds), along with complex carbohydrates such as brown rice, wholemeal pasta or sweet potato as these help to sustain energy whilst providing essential nutrients.

The order in which you eat your food can also make a difference to weight loss – it’s a concept called ‘food sequencing’ and can help to improve your body’s insulin response to food.

To practice food sequencing, eat your non-starchy veg first, followed by your protein and healthy fat sources. Save your carbs until last to help minimise blood sugar spikes and aid fullness. 

Louise Pyne is a registered nutritionist. Find her at www.louisepynenutrition.com and on Instagram @loulou_nutrition.

What a balanced plate looks like

How can you make sure you are eating a balanced, filling and nutritious plate at every meal?

Think of your plate divided into different food groups – protein, carbs, fat and fruit and veg.

Protein: David Wiener, training and nutrition specialist at AI-based lifestyle and coaching app Freeletics, told The Sun: “Aim for one to two palm-size portions of lean protein in each meal.”

Protein includes meat (chicken, turkey, pork, beef), beans, peas, lentils and fish.

The NHS Eatwell Guide says to choose lean cuts of meat and mince, and eat less red and processed meat like bacon, ham and sausages.

Aim for at least two portions (two x 140g) of fish every week, one of which should be oily, such as salmon, sardines or mackerel.

Carbs: Carbohydrates should make up about a third of your plate, or a fist-sized portion.

The Eatwell Guide says: “Choose higher fibre or wholegrain varieties, such as wholewheat pasta and brown rice, or simply leave the skins on potatoes.

“There are also higher fibre versions of white bread and pasta.

“Starchy foods are a good source of energy and the main source of a range of nutrients in our diet.”

Fat: Generally the advice is to think of fat like a thumb-sized amount on your plate.

The Eatwell Guide says: “Remember all types of fat are high in energy and should be eaten in small amounts.

“These foods include chocolate, cakes, biscuits, sugary soft drinks, butter, ghee and ice cream.

“They’re not needed in our diet, so should be eaten less often and in smaller amounts.”

But a small amount is still essential for the diet. Try and eat more unsaturated fats (avocado, nuts, olive oil), which are healthier than saturated fats (butter, hard cheese, sour cream).

Fruit and veg: David says: “Make sure you also get lots of colourful fruit and vegetable carbohydrates too.

“Aim for at least five of these portions a day.

“One to two fist-sized portions of fruits and vegetables with every meal is generally recommended.”

Fruit and veg can be fresh, frozen, tinned or dried. You can roast, boil, steam or grill veggies.

The hope was that the Angels could use Tuesday’s ninth-inning rally to muster up something worth talking about at the plate.

On Tuesday, Yoán Moncada homered. Taylor Ward singled. Luis Rengifo brought home a run with a line drive up the middle. Despite falling a run short, stringing a few hits together showed that the Angels could build off each other to produce runs.

However, instead of breaking through as an offense, the Angels were shut out by the Yankees 1-0 on Wednesday night, securing a sweep and turning the Angels’ eight-game win streak of weeks past into more of a blip on the radar than a sign of life.

Catcher Logan O’Hoppe struck out looking to end the game on a breaking ball well off the strike zone. After the game, O’Hoppe was adamant that it was a ball, as was manager Ron Washington, but said it’s just part of the game and “out of our control.”

Regardless, the Angels were scoreless entering their final three outs again — Angel Stadium playing home to an offense in need of a pulse check.

“I don’t know,” O’Hoppe said when asked about the skidding offense. “I don’t know, but we’re not gonna panic. We gotta have, what, 100 games left, so we’re not gonna panic.”

Entering the game, the Angels (25-30) walked the least and struck out the second-most in MLB. Wednesday was mostly more of the same. The Angels drew two walks, one of them with two out in the ninth, but were able to snap their three-game streak of double-digit strikeouts — punching out just eight times.

Washington managed the game as if his team needed the victory. He tried anything to salvage a homestand in which the Halos ultimately dropped five of six and scored just three runs. When Aaron Judge walked to the plate in the first and second innings, Washington greeted the Yankees slugger — owner of the top batting average (.391) in MLB — with a free base.

The strategy that made Judge the first Yankees player to intentionally walk twice in the first two innings of a game since Gene Woodling on Aug. 30, 1953, worked once, but led to the only run of the game in its other appearance.

“He’s dangerous — a lot of respect, lot of respect,” Washington said, referencing a moment in which Judge flashed four fingers to him in the seventh on the on-deck circle. “I don’t know what could have happened in that game if I wouldn’t have walked him those first two times. You don’t mess with that. I don’t care how he’s swinging the bat, you don’t mess with that if you don’t have to.”

After Judge was walked with a man on in the first, Cody Bellinger walked — one of Angels starting pitcher Yusei Kikuchi’s five walks — to load the bases. The next batter, Anthony Volpe, hit a sacrifice fly to center field and brought home a run.

Kikuchi (93 pitches, 51 for strikes) struggled with command once again, with his league-high walk rate rearing its ugly head. The Japanese southpaw loaded the bases in each of the first two innings, but settled down to make it through five innings, giving up five hits and striking out four. Despite Kikuchi battling through the fifth — and the Angels bullpen tossing four scoreless innings — with how the Angels have been at the plate over their last five games, one run was all the Yankees needed Wednesday.

“It was tough navigating through the first couple innings there, but I think the fourth and fifth inning went really well,” Kikuchi said through an interpreter. “I think I ended off on a good note.”

In perhaps the biggest cheer of the night at the Big A, right-hander Ryan Zeferjahn struck Judge out looking with a 99.1-mph fastball in the seventh inning.

Those cheers, however, turned to boos as O’Hoppe trotted back to the dugout as the final out. Now, the offense will look to recover away from Anaheim and see if it can rediscover what made it click against the Dodgers and Athletics.

Cleveland and Boston await the Angels next as they’ll first face the Guardians at Progressive Field on Friday to begin their six-game trip.

Angels reshuffle roster

The Angels made a flurry of roster moves before Wednesday’s game, designating veteran infielder Tim Anderson and catcher Chuckie Robinson for assignment, while optioning left-hander Jake Eder to triple-A Salt Lake City.

In corresponding moves, right-handed relief pitcher Robert Stephenson — who’d been out after undergoing Tommy John surgery in April 2024 — was activated off the 60-day injured list, and infielder Scott Kingery was recalled from triple-A Salt Lake City.

Washington said his hope for Stephenson, who signed a three-year, $33-million deal with the Angels before the 2024 season, is to be eased back into a high-leverage role. Stephenson said he is looking forward to the role he can play on the major league roster.

“To me, it’s like, probably just like, up there with making my debut,” said Stephenson, who made his season and Angels debut Wednesday, tossing a scoreless sixth inning. “I feel like it’s gonna be pretty special for me.”

Kingery, on the other hand, hasn’t appeared in the major leagues since 2022. Bursting on the scene as a top prospect with the Philadelphia Phillies, he featured heavily in the 2018 and 2019 campaigns after signing a six-year, $24-million contract extension before making his MLB debut.

The 31-year-old, who Washington said will play center field, second base and third base, put up 2.7 wins-above-replacement in 2019 before struggling to find any resemblance to his previous success — playing in just 16 combined games in 2021 and 2022 — and was eventually traded to the Angels in November 2024 after spending most of the last four seasons in the minor leagues.

“It’s hard, it’s a hard game,” Kingery said. “Stuff happens throughout your career, and you got to find ways to battle that and just keep on going. Just keep the foot on the pedal and find ways to make things work.”

Trout nears return

Mike Trout (left knee) continues to check the boxes as he nears a return from the injured list. The longest-tenured Angel and three-time MVP faced live pitching from a minor league pitcher on Wednesday, and performed baserunning drills with more intensity than earlier this week, Washington said.

Washington added that Trout began to cut and stop while running, but he still wasn’t going at 100%.

“Came out of it very well,” Washington said. “He looks good.”

Trout was hitting .179 with nine home runs and 18 RBIs before suffering a bone bruise in his left knee on April 30.

Substitute Ousseni Bouda scored in the 74th minute, and the San José Earthquakes extended the Galaxy‘s MLS-record season-opening winless streak with a 1-0 victory Wednesday night.

Bouda slipped between two defenders and got his third goal of the season on a precise pass from fellow substitute Preston Judd for the Quakes, who ended a four-game losing streak in the California Clasico rivalry.

The defending MLS Cup champion Galaxy (0-12-4) are edging toward historic ignominy after dropping yet another game at the stadium where they went unbeaten in 2024 and won their league-record sixth title in December.

The MLS record is 19 consecutive winless matches in league play by the MetroStars in 1999. Real Salt Lake played 18 in a row without a win from 2005-06.

Earl Edwards Jr. made six saves to keep his third clean sheet of the season for San José, which is unbeaten in eight games across all competitions in May. Quakes coach Bruce Arena had a successful return to the stadium where he led the Galaxy for nine seasons and won three MLS Cup championships.

The Galaxy nearly salvaged a draw in the final minute of second-half injury time, but Edwards saved captain Maya Yoshida’s header deep in the San José box. Supporters chanted “We want better!” after the final whistle.

The Galaxy’s woes have only compounded throughout the new season despite the return to health of stars Joseph Paintsil, Gabriel Pec and Marco Reus. All three international veterans played major roles on last year’s championship team,but were limited by injury in the new year.

Reus left in the 59th minute against San José after sitting down on the grass without contact and eventually walking off the field. Reus struggled with a knee injury earlier in the season but had been playing well in recent games.

Disorganized in attack and lacking any crispness in their passing, the Galaxy still look lost without Catalan midfielder Riqui Puig, who orchestrated their excellence throughout the 2024 season before tearing a knee ligament in the conference final. Puig could return this summer, but the Galaxy also had to part with a handful of key contributors to last season’s team due to the salary cap constraints created annually for the MLS champion by title bonuses in their players’ contracts.

The Galaxy’s leadership has declined to panic during this mammoth skid, even extending the contract of coach Greg Vanney two weeks ago when the winless streak was at a mere 13 games.

The Galaxy’s Novak Micovic had to make two diving saves in the first two minutes of play, and he finished with four saves in the scoreless first half. San José’s Ian Harkes hit the crossbar from long range in the 22nd minute.

The Galaxy host Salt Lake on Saturday night. If they don’t beat Salt Lake or win at St. Louis on June 14, they could tie the MetroStars’ record June 25 at Colorado.

CLEVELAND — The Dodgers got five good innings out of Clayton Kershaw on Wednesday. Then they let it go to waste in a five-run eighth inning.

Despite leading most of the day at Progressive Field, seeking to end their East Coast road trip with a three-game sweep against the Cleveland Guardians, the Dodgers instead lost 7-4 after an eighth-inning meltdown.

It was three ground ball singles, one walk to load the bases and one mighty Angel Martínez swing that changed the game.

Leading 4-2 entering the eighth, Dodgers left-hander Tanner Scott took the mound for his second inning of work, manager Dave Roberts asking for an up-and-down outing out of his recently up-and-down closer.

Scott’s appearance had started well, striking out Gavirel Arias to escape a jam in the seventh inning.

But, in what was charged as already his fifth blown save of the season, he failed to limit damage as a threat began to brew.

Jhonkensy Noel led off the frame with a ground ball up the middle, after second baseman Kiké Hernández got to it in the hole but had no chance to make a throw. Will Wilson followed that with a spinning ball up the third base line, its awkward hop off the edge of the infield grass tripping up Max Muncy for another infield single.

Scott only hurt his own cause from there, walking Daniel Schneemann in a left-on-left matchup to load the bases.

And though he fanned Austin Hedges for the first out of the inning, Nolan Jones hit a one-out bouncer that found a hole through the left side of a shifted infield. Two runs came around to score. A lead the Dodgers had held since the fourth inning had suddenly evaporated.

The final blow came in the next at-bat, when left-hander Alex Vesia entered the game and quickly fell behind 2-and-0 to Martínez. Vesia tried to get back in the count with a fastball up in the zone. Martínez instead delivered a knockout blow, belting a three-run homer to left to complete the Guardians’ five-run rally.

The ending meant that Kershaw, who gave up just one run in five innings despite generating only three strikeouts, was left with a no-decision — and that the Dodgers had to settle for only a 3-3 record on this New York-Cleveland road trip, stumbling to another frustrating loss during a stretch of the season that has recently been full of them.

When the Sparks traded for Kelsey Plum, the buzz around her reunion with former championship teammate Dearica Hamby centered on one thing: their pedigree elevating the franchise.

On Tuesday night, fans got a glimpse of the potential that the duo could attain. The chemistry. The comfort. The way they fed off each other’s energy — stepping up when the Sparks needed it most, looking to build momentum off a previous hard-fought victory.

By the fourth quarter of an 88-82 loss to the Atlanta Dream (4-2) on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena, the Sparks (2-4) were on the verge of a comeback. A steal by Hamby near midcourt turned into an outlet on the fastbreak to Plum, who quickly dished it back for the finish, trimming the deficit to 66–63.

The second half belonged to them. Plum and Hamby combined for 39 points to rally the Sparks from a 40–31 halftime hole. Like clockwork, Plum buried a clutch three-pointer to cut the lead to 71–70 — the closest L.A. would get. Hamby’s late free throws pulled them to within two in the final minutes.

They led by example — attacking the basket, applying pressure on defense, diving for loose balls — doing everything necessary to win the close games the Sparks have so often found themselves in this season.

But in the end, like so often before, their effort fell just short.

Although the duo played with a sense of urgency, it’s still something the team as a whole struggles to sustain over a full 40 minutes, according to head coach Lynne Roberts. It seemed they might have turned a corner Sunday, but that performance now feels like the exception, not the start of a trend.

“My message to the group was we’ve got to be able to put 40 minutes together and not get down and then play with that urgency,” Roberts said. “We have the ability to play like that more, and that’s what I’d like to see when we go in those spurts or the droughts.”

As a team, the drought came in the second quarter. Coming off their highest-scoring game of the season, the Sparks looked out of sorts against a staunch Atlanta defense that refused to give up easy baskets.

The Dream disrupted the Sparks’ rhythm from the start, denying space for them to initiate sets, locate open shooters or generate meaningful possessions — the blueprint of Roberts’ offense. That inefficiency became more pronounced as the quarter progressed, when opportunities came sparingly and turnovers, whether from steals or denied attempts at the rim, became a recurring theme.

“I could do a better job,” Plum said, shouldering the brunt of the offensive inefficiency in the period. “Getting the people the ball, good shot. And I think we had a lot of good looks around the rim early… Just missed them, and credit to them.”

Plum finished with 27 points, five assists, three rebounds and four steals, and Hamby had 28 points, eight assists, six rebounds and four steals of her own, with Roberts adding that “those are stupid numbers. And her defense there in the second half got us back in it.”

With inconsistency still prevalent and struggles to close out games lingering, Plum and Hamby agree the team is close to improving, but the process is ongoing.

“If you watch these game, we’re right freaking there,” Plum said.

Hamby says success won’t come this early in the season, reflecting on her and Plum’s championship experience in Las Vegas.

“We enjoy the process — been part of the process,” Hamby said. “We know that it’s not like it happens overnight. It’s not going to happen in the first six games of the season.

“Obviously, we want to compete and we want to keep building. But perspective: this is a new group. We’re learning a whole new system. It’s predicated on chemistry, movement, space, team.”

But the road to success remains a marathon.

The Sparks will have only a few days to continue their team-building efforts before hitting the road for a matchup in Las Vegas against the Aces — the former home of both All-Stars. For Plum, it signifies her first return since the offseason trade.

The quick turnaround also gives Rickea Jackson, fresh off a concussion, more time to ease back into the lineup.

With starters logging heavy minutes and rookies thrust into high-pressure roles early in the season, the Sparks simply needed more bodies to ease the burden. The return of Rickea Jackson was a welcome boost.

Still, the Sparks took a cautious approach to her reintroduction. Jackson came off the bench and played limited minutes (12) mostly in the second half, as she worked to reacclimate to the pace of live play.

At times, she looked like a player still finding her rhythm, missing shots she typically makes and picking up uncharacteristic fouls. She finished with more fouls than any other stat: three fouls and just one rebound.

Jack Kochanowicz mowed through his first three innings against the Yankees on Monday night.

The 6-foot-7 sinkerballer was doing all of what manager Ron Washington asked of him before the game: pitch to contact and let his defense do the work.

“Just be Jack,” Washington said. ‘Throw his sinker, change, eye-level, put the ball in play early — which is when he’s at his best. That’s what he does. So that’s all. I’m not looking for him to be nothing more than that, and if he’s that, it’ll be good enough.”

Nine up, and nine down on 28 pitches — Kochanowicz looked “good enough.” He was hurling just as efficiently as he did against the Dodgers on May 16 when he limited the Angels’ crosstown foes to just one run across 6 ⅔ innings. As he jaunted to the mound for the fourth, the crowd woke up, rising in volume; but not for Kochanowicz.

“Let’s go, Yankees,” the fans in the right-field seats of Angel Stadium bellowed, much like the “Bleacher Creatures” would back in the Bronx. First baseman Ben Rice singled, and then center fielder Trent Grisham did too. Following a rousing ovation, designated hitter Aaron Judge — who upped his batting average to a league-high .398 — loaded the bases on an infield single.

As Yankees fans roared louder, Kochanowicz hiccuped. The sophomore starting pitcher walked Cody Bellinger on four pitches to bring in a run, and two batters later, Anthony Volpe hit a bases-clearing double off the center-field wall to power the Yankees (33-20) to a three-run lead. It was more than enough to take down the Angels (25-28), who struggled to string together hits for the third consecutive game in a 5-1 loss to open the series.

“Always just comes down to pitch calling,” Kochanowicz said. “It’s very easy to ask yourself a million questions about every pitch you throw, but I think I just — I came at them hard that inning. I didn’t start anyone off with the breaking ball. So that was probably it.”

Shortstop Zach Neto led off the bottom of the first with a 440-foot solo home run to center field — the longest of his career — but it was all the Angels had to offer at the plate. Before the game, Washington called his offense young and inconsistent.

The Angels offered more of those characteristics against the Yankees and left-hander Ryan Yarbrough.

Outside of a fluke infield single from Jo Adell, Neto’s home run was all the Angels mustered against the funky, sidearm delivery of the New York southpaw through six innings.

“The way we were swinging the bat, I did think that we would have at least three or four guys in that line of constantly clicking,” Washington said after the Angels were limited to five hits. “Miami come up in here and put us away, and then now we fight to try to find it back again.”

Yarbrough easily dispatched Chris Taylor — who started in center field and went 0 for 3 with two strikeouts in his Angels debut — for a flyout and second baseman Kevin Newman for a strikeout to end the fifth.

“Yarbrough did a good job,” Taylor said. “Shut us down for the most part.”

The sixth inning was no better as the top of the Angels’ lineup went down 1-2-3 and Yarbrough exited with his longest and arguably best start of the season, striking out seven. The Angels struck out 11 times in the game.

“Sustaining that offense that we had,” Washington said when asked before the game about matching the offensive rhythm of the Angels’ eight-game winning streak, “it’s impossible.”

Outside of his four-run, fourth inning, Kochanowicz was in the “midseason form” he described himself in on Sunday. The right-hander pumped his fastball as high as 97.3 mph and averaged 95 on his sinker, both a tick below his season averages. Four of his 6 ⅔ innings concluded in 1-2-3 fashion.

“I thought he was good, really,” Washington said. “Those first three innings, he was dominating. … If we could just take [the fourth inning] back it’d be a different ballgame.”

Kochanowicz struck out five and walked two, giving up just five hits. But the Angels’ offense didn’t back up their pitchers, sending them to a three-game losing streak.

Note: Angels catcher Logan O’Hoppe was removed from the game in the eighth inning after being hit in the head on a backswing from Yankees second baseman Jorbit Vivas. O’Hoppe was removed as a precaution, Washington said, and was unavailable for comment after the game. “[O’Hoppe is] telling me he can play [tomorrow], but we’re going to wait and see,” Washington said.

NEW YORK — Shohei Ohtani provided the Dodgers some temporary reprieve on Sunday.

Before the game, he faced hitters for the first time since undergoing Tommy John revision surgery in 2023, drawing a large crowd in the visitor’s dugout at Citi Field as he touched 97 mph with his fastball and struck out two batters in five at-bats.

Four and a half hours later, the two-way star dazzled with his bat, as well, belting a second-deck leadoff blast in the first inning against Mets ace and fellow Japanese star Kodai Senga to tie the major league lead with 18 home runs on the season.

“I thought that infused some life into us,” manager Dave Roberts said.

Alas, it wouldn’t last, the Dodgers instead going quiet the rest of the night in a 3-1 rubber-match loss to the New York Mets.

They were doomed by bad defense early, the Mets scoring three early runs with the help of two Dodgers errors. They were frustrated by wasted opportunities at the plate later, hitting into three double plays for a second consecutive game.

It sent the team to a series defeat in the weekend’s rematch of last year’s National League Championship Series. It also dropped them to 3-6 in their last nine games and 9-11 in their last 20.

Really, outside of their 8-0 start to the season, they’ve been little better than a .500 team, going just 24-21 since then (even with another seven-game winning streak mixed in to that stretch).

And while they’re still in first place in the NL West, and trailing only the Philadelphia Phillies, Detroit Tigers and New York Yankees for the best record in baseball, they aren’t playing like a team anywhere near that distinction.

“Tonight was one of those nights that we just gave them extra outs, and they took advantage,” Roberts said.

“It’s been pretty frustrating,” echoed third baseman Max Muncy. “Just keep shooting ourselves in the foot.”

There was no bigger self-inflicted wound than the one Muncy suffered in the bottom of the first.

After two strikeouts from Landon Knack to start the inning, Juan Soto hit a sharp grounder to third that Muncy bobbled on a high hop, recovering too late to throw Soto out at first.

It was Muncy’s eighth error of the season, second-most among MLB third basemen, and first not to come on a throw.

“It’s one of those things where I’m just really not good defensively right now,” Muncy said. “Not going to shy away from it, but all I can do is keep showing up every day, working on it, trying to figure things out, trying to get better. That’s what I’ve been doing.”

On Sunday, however, there was nothing Muncy could do.

One pitch later, Pete Alonso whacked a hanging curveball from Knack for a two-run homer. The Mets (32-21) wouldn’t squander the lead the rest of the way.

“We were trying to get it down a little bit, and obviously left it up,” Knack said. “I would say he’s a little more aggressive with runners on, so was able to take advantage of it.”

As Alonso rounded the bases, Muncy stared stoicly into the distance.

“It makes you feel like the game is on your shoulders. That’s how I feel, at least,” Muncy said. “It’s a play that needs to be made, and I should have made it. It’s just a frustrating one.”

There were plenty of other moments, however, that left the Dodgers (32-21) shaking their head.

After Ohtani’s leadoff homer, their offense had the chance to add on more. Mookie Betts reached on an error. Freddie Freeman moved him to third with a double. When Will Smith followed with a fly ball to center field, it was deep enough for Betts to break for home. At least, that’s how it seemed.

Instead, Mets center fielder Tyrone Taylor delivered a strike to the plate. And after Betts was initially ruled safe on a feet-first slide, a Mets challenge got the call overturned. A chance to build some early breathing room for Knack had disappeared. And despite repeated opportunities to claw back later, the Dodgers failed to scratch anything else across the plate.

In the fourth inning, Freeman hit a leadoff single … only for Smith to promptly ground into a double-play.

Later in the inning, Teoscar Hernández doubled and Muncy walked to put two aboard … only for Andy Pages to hit a deep fly ball that died at the warning track in left.

In the fifth, the Dodgers generated their best chance against Senga … only for the right-hander to induce a two-out grounder from Smith that ended the threat.

In the sixth, Muncy drew a one-out walk … only for Pages to roll into another double play, the 42nd for the Dodgers this season (fifth-most in the majors).

“I think that the tale is we’ve just got to play clean baseball, have a good offensive approach, because we’re going to see some good pitching,” Roberts said, with the Dodgers in the midst of a 29-game stretch against nothing but playoff-contending teams.

“Case in point is Shohei didn’t get a fifth at-bat [tonight], because they made plays and they got a couple double plays and things like that. All that stuff matters. So that stuff that’s really highlighted when you’re playing against good ballclubs.”

The Mets scored their only other run against Knack — who delivered just the 14th six-inning start of the season for the club — in the third. With one on and one out, Mark Vientos hit a hard grounder up the middle that Betts impressively got to from shortstop. But then Betts misfired on a flip to second base, sailing the ball over teammate Tommy Edman’s head to put runners on the corner. A fielder’s choice from Soto in the next at-bat led to a run.

The 3-1 deficit proved too much for the Dodgers to surmount — ending a day that had begun with so much optimism around Ohtani’s two-way talents with a dud of a performance and frustrating series loss in Queens.

MONTREAL — Olivier Giroud and Mark Delgado each scored for LAFC on Saturday night in a 2-2 tie with CF Montreal.

Montreal scored multiple goals for the first time since a 3-2 loss to Atlanta in its season opener on Feb. 22.

Hugo Lloris stopped five shots for LAFC (6-4-5).

Giroud scored on a one-touch finish from point-blank range to make it 2-2 in the 77th minute.

In the fifth minute, Montreal’s Prince Owusu had his shot blocked but the loose ball rolled directly to Giacomo Vrioni, who held a defender on his hip before spinning and rolling a shot inside the right post for a goal. Owusu converted from the penalty spot in the 22nd to give Montreal a 2-0 lead.

Delgado put away a cross played in by Nathan Ordaz, blasting a one-touch shot from near the penalty spot that deflected off goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois into the net in the 38th minute.

Sirois finished with seven saves for Montreal (1-9-5).

Montreal rebounded from a 6-1 loss to Toronto last week.

Although not an official rivalry steeped in tradition just yet, the competitiveness between California’s two WNBA teams suggests the start of one.

With the Sparks and Golden State Valkyries trying to jump start new eras for their respective franchises, the meeting marked the third clash between the teams in as many weeks — and it left the Sparks emotionally and physically bruised.

On their first road trip to Southern California on Friday, the expansion Valkyries exacted revenge on one of the WNBA’s charter members, holding off a late Sparks comeback in an 82-73 win.

The Sparks’ frustration was evident after the game. Coach Lynne Roberts looked displeased. Beside her, rookie Sarah Ashlee Barker sat stone-faced, a fresh shiner darkening the area beneath her right eye. Dearica Hamby rested her head in her hands, her responses to questions from the media brief and subdued.

“They beat us tonight,” Roberts said. “They were more connected. They played harder. They played with more intensity.”

What began as a back-and-forth battle quickly underscored how evenly matched the two teams are despite being at different stages. The final score suggested a close game, but for much of the night, it looked like it would be a Valkyries rout.

The Sparks surged to an early 20-9 lead behind strong play from Odyssey Sims, Kelsey Plum and Dearica Hamby. Sims hit three early three-pointers and Plum added six points fueled by defensive pressure and steals. Hamby anchored the interior with physical play.

But much like their previous two matchups, inconsistency quickly crept in for the Sparks (1-3). The Sparks’ struggles emerged after halftime in their last two games. This time, the unraveling came earlier.

“We stopped following the game plan,” Roberts said. “It’s bad — we’ve got to fix it. We need to put together a full 40 minutes. We haven’t done that yet.”

A second-quarter collapse — marked by defensive breakdowns and offensive stagnation — put L.A. in a hole too big to overcome. Entering the period with a two-point lead, Golden State went on an 18-0 run to take a 45-26 lead.

Golden State (2-1) shot 10 for 18 (55.6%) from the field in the second quarter, looking every bit like a team determined to avenge its two earlier losses — one in the preseason and the other in their season opener.

Meanwhile, the Sparks appeared far removed from the cohesion and toughness they showed in a loss to the Phoenix Mercury on Wednesday — the kind of progress coach Lynne Roberts pointed to as a sign of early-season growth. The Sparks didn’t register a field goal in the second quarter until the 2:36 mark.

L.A. trailed 49-35 at halftime after shooting just 2 for 16 from the field and scoring nine points in the second quarter.

From the start, the Valkyries’ game plan centered on containing Kelsey Plum, who erupted for 37 points against them on May 16. Golden State’s defense swarmed Plum with traps and forced the ball out of her hands, limiting her to 16 points on six-of-18 shooting, including two for 10 from beyond the arc. She also had four steals.

Golden State’s lead hovered around 15 points for much of the third quarter. The Sparks only began to chip away at the deficit in the fourth quarter.

A three-pointer from Plum cut the Valkyries’ lead to 73-63 with just under six minutes remaining. Moments later, Hamby powered to the rim through heavy contact, converting a tough layup and drawing the foul. Her successful free throw made it an eight-point game.

Hamby continued to take charge, shooting a three-pointer with 2:32 left to make it a five-point game.

“We definitely picked up the defensive energy,” Hamby said of the fourth-quarter effort. “We got some good hustle plays and tried to build momentum — but I want to win, so I’m willing to do whatever it takes.”

But that was as close as the Sparks would get after Hamby fouled Kayla Thornton on a three-point attempt. Thornton made all three of her free-throw attempts.

Robert liked what she saw from the Sparks in the fourth quarter, but she wants to see that urgency deployed earlier and throughout the game.

“We can’t wait,” Roberts said. “We did show toughness — we didn’t fold. They kept competing, and we made it a game. … But why does it take us 30 minutes to play like that?”

Hamby scored 10 of her 25 points in the fourth quarter. She also had six rebounds and three blocks. Sims finished with 13 points as the Sparks suffered their third consecutive loss. Carla Leite led Golden State with 19 points.

Golden State’s win marked a special homecoming for Anaheim native and Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase, who said she felt a wave of emotion as the team flew into L.A. Seeing familiar landmarks from the window of the plane — including her childhood homes — stirred memories of her father and the path that led her to becoming a WNBA coach. Nasake served as an assistant coach under Clippers coach Doc Rivers.

“It’s like seeing the ushers — a lot of them I’ve known for a long time, and they’re just saying congratulations and what an accomplishment,” said Nakase of the surreal feeling of winning at Crypto.com Arena. “It’s nice to see a lot of familiar faces.”

Last week, when Amorim said “we have to be brave”, he meant the whole club.

But what are the specifics?

Rasmus Hojlund has been described as “a Championship player” by someone who was part of the dressing room during Sir Alex Ferguson’s latter days. It is a brutal takedown. But that doesn’t necessarily mean it is wrong.

Mason Mount spoke eloquently in the build-up to the game but was anonymous in northern Spain. Amad Diallo threatened but his end product was lacking. There was a huge slice of fortune for Tottenham’s winner. But, once they had the lead, they never truly looked like losing it.

“I am always honest with you guys,” said Amorim. “Tonight, we need to deal with pain of losing this match.”

His first task is Sunday’s meeting with Champions League-chasing Aston Villa and then, after that, two matches in Asia – to generate around £10m in income – which United’s players couldn’t be looking forward to any less.

Leading fan groups threatened to protest around the Villa game well before this latest body blow to club morale.

Amorim must get his players to put on a united front, visually and emotionally.

It was noticeable that as Tottenham celebrated their victory, United’s players, almost to a man, were alone with their thoughts.

Andre Onana sat in his penalty area, Harry Maguire was further upfield, Alejandro Garnacho was inconsolable close to the halfway line.

Amorim was pacing up and down, as he does, looking at the ground.

From this disparate bunch, Amorim must somehow construct a team capable of doing justice to name of the storied club they represent.

National Party and Liberal Party part ways after more than 60-year alliance following election defeat.

Australia’s National Party has split from its conservative coalition partner of more than 60 years, the Liberal Party, citing policy differences over renewable energy and following a resounding loss in the national elections this month.

“It’s time to have a break,” the National leader, David Littleproud, told reporters on Tuesday.

The split shows the pressure on Australia’s conservative parties after Anthony Albanese’s centre-left Labor Party won a historic second term in the May 3 election, powered by a voter backlash against United States President Donald Trump’s policies.

Under the longstanding partnership in state and federal politics, the Liberal and National coalition had shared power in governments, with the Nationals broadly representing the interests of rural communities and the Liberals contesting city seats.

“We will not be re-entering a coalition agreement with the Liberal Party after this election,” Littleproud said, citing policy differences.

Liberal Party leader Sussan Ley, who was installed in the role last week, had pledged to revisit all policies in the wake of the election loss. She said on Tuesday she was disappointed with the Nationals’ decision, which came after they had sought specific commitments.

“As the largest nongovernment political party, the Liberals will form the official opposition,” she added.

The Liberals were reduced to 28 out of 150 seats in the House of Representatives, their worst result, as Labor increased its tally to 94 from 77, registering its largest-ever majority in an election. The National Party retained its 15 seats.

The Liberal Party lost key city seats to independents supporting gender equality and action on climate change.

Ley, a former outback pilot with three finance degrees, was elected as the party’s first female leader after opposition leader Peter Dutton lost his seat in the election.

“She is a leader that needs to rebuild the Liberal Party; they are going on a journey of rediscovery, and this will provide them the opportunity to do that,” said Littleproud.

The Nationals remain committed to “having the door open” for more coalition talks before the next election, but would uphold the interests of rural Australians, he said.

The Nationals had failed to gain a commitment from Ley that her party would continue a policy taken to the election supporting the introduction of nuclear power, and also wanted a crackdown on the market power of Australia’s large supermarkets, and better telecommunications in the Outback.

Australia has the world’s largest uranium reserves but bans nuclear energy.

Littleproud said nuclear power was needed because Australia’s move away from coal to “renewables only” under the Labor government was not reliable.

Wind farm turbines “are tearing up our landscape, they are tearing up your food security”, he said.

Michael Guerin, chief executive of AgForce, representing farmers in Queensland state, said the urban-rural divide was worsening.

“Perhaps we’re seeing that in the political forum,” he said, adding the Liberals and Nationals both needed to rebuild.

Labor Party treasurer Jim Chalmers said the split in the opposition was a “nuclear meltdown”, and the Liberals would have a presence “barely bigger” than the cross-bench of 12 independents and minor parties when Parliament sits.

Dodger Stadium was eerily quiet for much of Monday night. And not just because whole sections of the upper deck sat largely empty.

In a 9-5 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Dodgers didn’t just drop their fourth straight game, but turned in a performance that elicited as many boos as anything else at Chavez Ravine, stumbling to a season-worst losing streak on a night they did little right in any facet of the game.

There was bad defense early. In the first inning, center fielder Hyeseong Kim lost a fly ball in the twilight sky, leading to two runs that would have been unearned had it not been ruled a double. In the second, third baseman Max Muncy spiked a throw to first on a slow-rolling grounder that led to another preventable score, even though his miscue was also ruled a base hit.

The pitching wasn’t great either. Left-handed opener Jack Dreyer followed Muncy’s bad throw with an even wilder pitch to the backstop in the next at-bat, advancing the runner to set up an eventual sacrifice fly. Landon Knack took over in the third and promptly gave up a pair of two-run home runs, one to Lourdes Gurriel Jr. on a down-and-in slider and another to Gabriel Moreno on an inside fastball.

Even the few bright spots offensively weren’t close to being enough.

Mookie Betts hit two home runs in his continued search to break out of a slow start. Shohei Ohtani retook sole possession of the major league lead in long balls by whacking his 17th of the season. But all three blasts came with no one on base. And they represented the Dodgers’ only hits of the night against Arizona right-hander Brandon Pfaadt, who was otherwise unbothered in a six-inning effort that included no strikeouts (or even a single swing-and-miss from a Dodgers hitter) but plenty of fine plays from an athletic defense behind him.

“It’s hard to start games behind before you take an at-bat,” manager Dave Roberts said. “We’ve given up runs in the first inning. We got to put up that zero and kind of get a chance to get the game going.”

While shaky defense and inconsistent production at the plate have been bugaboos for the Dodgers (29-19), it is the team’s increasingly pitching struggles that have stood out most during this four-game skid — the club’s longest since losing five in a row in late May last season.

With the loss to the Diamondbacks (26-22), the Dodgers own a team earned-run average of 4.28, which ranks 22nd in the majors and is their highest at this point in a campaign since 2010.

The main root of the problem is easy to identify. Starters Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki remain on the injured list, forcing the club into plans such as Monday with a rookie in Dreyer opening for a depth arm in Knack. The bullpen has been shorthanded, too, with Blake Treinen, Evan Phillips and Kirby Yates all injured, as well.

“You go through certain situations like this, it’s just tough to find a way to get back healthy and get our guys back out there,” Betts said. “But we’re battling with what we got.”

Arizona’s Gabriel Moreno, right, celebrates with teammate Josh Naylor after hitting a two-run home run in the third inning Monday.

(Kyusung Gong / Associated Press)

The good news is that several of those sidelined options are on the mend. Glasnow and Snell are both progressing in their throwing programs, with Glasnow “a tick ahead of Blake,” according to Roberts. Sasaki is expected to begin his throwing program during the team’s upcoming road trip. And Ohtani, who has been throwing regular bullpen sessions all season, is beginning to build up his pitch count as the club targets his return to the mound sometime around the All-Star break.

But in the meantime, the Dodgers have still expected more from their currently healthy group.

“It’s not the staff we thought we’d have this season, but I feel that what we still do [have], and have done in the past with injuries, we’re not doing,” Roberts said. “In the sense of getting ahead of hitters, and keeping them in the ballpark.”

And to do that, Roberts cited one place to start.

“On first glance, we need to be better at getting ahead in counts,” he said. “It doesn’t take a deep dive to see we start 1-and-0 quite often. When you do that, it makes pitching tough.”

Indeed, the Dodgers entered the night 24th in the majors with a 59.8% first-strike rate, a problem Roberts believes has led to too many long innings, and too large a workload for the staff.

“The 30-pitch innings just don’t play. It’s not sustainable,” he said. “And that starts with getting strike one. That ultimately goes to our entire pitching staff.”

The Dodgers were better in that area Monday, starting 27 of 49 at-bats with a strike. But it didn’t help. Dreyer needed 38 pitches to get through his two innings. Knack threw 106 to get through the next five (including 16 in one at-bat to Moreno in the fifth).

And when long reliever Matt Sauer took over in the eighth and gave up a two-run home run to Geraldo Perdomo, much of a season-low (and atypically quiet) crowd of 41,372 began streaming for the exits, not sticking around for one of the Dodgers’ flattest showings this year.

New York Knicks take a 3-1 series lead after winning Game 4 against the reigning NBA champions Boston Celtics, who lost Jayson Tatum to injury.

Jalen Brunson scored 26 of his 39 points in the second half, and the New York Knicks became the first home team to win in the series by defeating the Boston Celtics 121-113 to take a 3-1 series lead in their Eastern Conference second-round matchup.

Karl-Anthony Towns added 23 points and 11 rebounds, and Mikal Bridges also scored 23 for the Knicks, who recovered from a 14-point third-quarter deficit on Monday night. OG Anunoby made some key plays late while contributing 20 points.

“They hit us early, and obviously we got into a hole,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. “I love the way we fought back, and we showed a lot of toughness and more discipline in the second half and timely plays. Everybody worked together on both ends of the floor.”

Boston star Jayson Tatum sustained a possible serious right ankle injury late in the contest. Tatum had 42 points, eight rebounds, four assists and four steals. He knocked down seven 3-pointers for the second-seeded Celtics, who squandered 20-point leads while dropping the first two games in the series.

Tatum was helped off the floor with his right foot kept in the air and was later seen being pushed to the locker room while sitting in a rolling chair.

“I got back there, talked to the medical staff, and they told me it’s a lower-body injury for Jayson Tatum and we’ll get an MRI in the morning,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said.

Derrick White made six 3-pointers and scored 23 points, and Jaylen Brown added 20 points and seven rebounds for Boston. Payton Pritchard added 12 points off the bench.

The Knicks can clinch the best-of-seven series with a win in Game 5 at Boston on Wednesday night.

“It’s not like we planned to be in this situation,” White said. “But we are where we are. We have to find a way to win Game 5.”

Third-quarter explosion lifts Wolves over Warriors

In the other playoff game on Monday, Anthony Edwards poured 11 of his 30 points into a 17-0 third-quarter flurry as the Minnesota Timberwolves moved within one win of a second consecutive berth in the Western Conference finals with a 117-110 road win over the Golden State Warriors in Game 4 in San Francisco.

Julius Randle led the way with 31 points and Jaden McDaniels contributed 10 points and 13 rebounds for the sixth-seeded Timberwolves, who have rallied from a series-opening loss to win three straight from the Stephen Curry-less Warriors.

Minnesota could clinch the best-of-seven series in Game 5 on Wednesday in Minneapolis.

Jonathan Kuminga had a team-high 23 points for seventh-seeded Golden State, which lost Curry to a hamstring injury during its Game 1 win.

The Warriors previously announced that their standout point guard would be re-evaluated before Game 5, with the possibility of Curry returning at that point.

Golden State held a 60-58 halftime lead, and the game was tied 68-all in the fourth minute of the third period before Edwards turned a floater into a three-point play to ignite the decisive run.

Edwards also buried a pair of 3-pointers and a short jumper among his 11 points, while Mike Conley and Donte DiVincenzo drilled shots from deep as part of a burst that lasted more than four minutes.

Edwards finished 6-for-11 on 3-point attempts and Randle 4-for-8, helping the Timberwolves outscore the Warriors 48-24 from beyond the arc. Minnesota shot 16-for-34 (47.1 percent) from beyond the arc, while the Warriors were 8-for-27 (29.6 percent).

“The big third quarter was huge,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. “I thought we came out at halftime with the type of focus and intensity and purpose on offence and attention to detail on defence is what we needed from the start. But for the most part, I thought we were lucky to be just down a bucket at halftime.

“[Edwards] was one of the guys that was most vocal at half time and realised what was going on out there and we needed to be better. It started with him, really, and setting the tone.”

Jimmy Butler III took just nine shots and totalled 14 points with a team-high-tying three assists for the Warriors. Draymond Green also had 14 points to go with seven rebounds, while Buddy Hield scored 13 and Brandin Podziemski had 11 to complement four steals.

“[The Timberwolves] played a great game and obviously took it to us, and we’ve got to bounce back,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “We’ve got a flight to Minneapolis tomorrow and a chance to extend the series, and that’s the plan.”

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Private tirzepatide sales ‘well ahead of semaglutide’

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.

Tomoyuki Sugano gave up one run and three hits in 7 ⅓ innings, Gunnar Henderson hit a solo homer and drove in an insurance run in the ninth with a triple, and the Baltimore Orioles broke a five-game losing streak with a 4-1 victory over the Angels on Friday night.

Sugano (4-2) used a six-pitch mix to strike out five and walk none during a 93-pitch effort in which he threw 65 strikes.

Yennier Cano replaced Sugano with one out in the eighth and gave up a single to Jo Adell and a walk to pinch hitter Jorge Soler. But the right-hander won a 13-pitch duel with Zach Neto, who fouled off six two-strike pitches before whiffing on a 95-mph sinker.

Felix Bautista struck out two of three batters in the ninth for his seventh save.

Henderson’s first-inning homer came off Angels right-hander Kyle Hendricks (1-4), who gave up three earned runs and six hits in five innings, striking out five and walking three.

Ryan O’Hearn and Tyler O’Neill walked to open the second, and Jackson Holliday’s RBI single pushed the lead to 2-0. Emmanuel Rivera’s RBI single to left made it 3-0.

The Angels cut the deficit to 3-1 in the seventh when Yoán Moncada tripled and scored on Taylor Ward’s groundout.

The Angels’ Reid Detmers, who was rocked for 12 runs and 11 hits while retiring one batter in his previous three appearances, relieved Hendricks with two on and no outs in the sixth. The left-hander struck out Holliday, got Ramon Laureano to fly to center and Rivera to line out to second to keep the Angels close.

Henderson’s fourth homer of the season ended a streak of 16 straight games in which the Orioles had not scored in the first inning.

Up next: RHP Kyle Gibson (0-1, 14.09 ERA) will start Saturday night’s game for the Orioles against Angels RHP Jack Kochanowicz (1-5, 5.79).

PHOENIX — It’s much too early to call it 2021 yet.

But, just like the last time the Dodgers tried to defend a World Series title, the National League West isn’t presenting the easiest of paths.

Entering Thursday night, the division was home to the best team in baseball, the 25-win Dodgers. But, based on overall league records, it also included the clubs ranked third (San Diego at 23-13), fifth (San Francisco at 24-14) and 13th (Arizona at 19-18) in the majors, too.

“I think we’re the best division in baseball,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “I don’t think anyone is gonna run away with it.”

In 2021, of course, the Dodgers faced a similar test in the NL West. That year, the division wasn’t as deep, the bottom three teams all finishing below .500. But at the top, the Dodgers and Giants duked it out to the end. The Dodgers finished with 106 wins. The Giants topped them with 107. It forced the Dodgers to settle for a wild-card berth in the playoffs, and down an elongated October path that saw them run out of steam in the NL Championship Series.

While this season isn’t even at its quarter-point yet, a similar threat is starting to brew.

In a 5-3 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday night, the Dodgers got their first taste of the challenge that might lie ahead. Over the next several weeks, plenty more intradivision tests loom.

After playing just one division foe over the first six weeks of the season — a three-game sweep of the utterly helpless Colorado Rockies last month — the Dodgers are finally getting into the meat of their division schedule. Starting with this weekend’s four-game set at Chase Field, five of their next 12 series will be against the Diamondbacks, Padres and Giants.

The Diamondbacks were supposed to be the weakest link of that group, starting the season slowly amid a couple of key injuries and repeated late-game collapses from their bullpen.

But on Thursday, they thrilled a lively crowd of 40,319, besting the Dodgers in every phase for a thorough series-opening victory.

While Arizona starter Brandon Pfaadt cruised through 6 ⅓ scoreless innings, Dodgers ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto was knocked around for five runs in five innings; the first four scoring on Gabriel Moreno’s grand slam in the fourth.

Struggling with his command all night, Yamamoto’s fourth-inning jam was largely of his own creation. He walked leadoff batter Pavin Smith. He hit Eugenio Suárez with a 0-and-2 slider to load the bases following an infield single. Then, after falling behind Moreno in a 2-and-0 count, he threw an elevated cutter that the Arizona catcher smashed to right field.

The following inning, Ketel Marte hit a solo home run to an almost identical spot.

Hyeseong Kim, left, reacts to striking out as Arizona Diamondbacks catcher Gabriel Moreno pauses at home plate during the seventh inning Thursday.

(Ross D. Franklin / Associated Press)

The five runs were tied for the most Yamamoto has allowed in an MLB game, and it doubled his ERA from an MLB-best 0.90 to 1.80 — on a night he was pitching on five days’ rest (as opposed to six) for the first time this season.

“Those are great hitters, so tip my hat to them. However, I allowed the walks and the hit by pitch,” Yamamoto said through interpreter Yoshihiro Sonoda. “Overall, my stuff wasn’t too bad. But the grand slam, that cost the game.”

While Shohei Ohtani hit a solo home run with two outs in the ninth, the Dodgers’ best chance to come back was in the eighth.

Max Muncy smoked a ground-rule double for their first run. Andy Pages hit an RBI single that brought the tying run to the plate. But, with one out, Michael Conforto hit a rocket ground ball for an inning-ending double play, finishing his night 0 for three despite hitting the ball hard all three times. Over his last 12 games, he is one for 40.

“I’m definitely frustrated,” Conforto said. “Happy with a couple hard-hit balls today. Frustrated to be in position to keep a rally going and not being able to beat that ball out. It’s frustrating. It makes me sick.”

Thursday, of course, was just one game. There’s a long way to go before any real 2021 deja vu begins setting in.

Ahead of this week’s series, Roberts downplayed concerns that the division race could exhaust his team like it did four years ago, when the Dodgers and Giants went down to the last day.

“You don’t win the World Series, or the division, in May,” Roberts said. “I think it’s still just kind of making sure we stay the course and protect guys and play good baseball. So that’s what is more front of mind for me.”

Still, the longer the Dodgers’ division rivals hang around, the more pressure it will put on their regular-season performance. The last thing they want, in a year they’ve already dealt with an early wave of pitching injuries, is to be grinding through a division race during the stretch run of the season, or be in any danger of falling to a wild-card place. The way the division has played to this point, however, keeps those outcomes as real possibilities.

“I think the records show there’s a lot of great teams in this division,” Conforto said. “It’s going to be competitive right down to the end.”

Anthony Santander hit a go-ahead, two-run single during Toronto’s four-run sixth inning, and the Blue Jays snapped their four-game losing streak with an 8-5 victory over the Angels on Thursday night.

Daulton Varsho homered and drove in three runs on three hits for the Jays, who rallied from an early four-run deficit with 14 hits to avoid a series sweep. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. also had three hits as Toronto won for just the fifth time in 17 games.

Taylor Ward and Jo Adell hit early homers for the Angels, who failed to earn their first series sweep.

Chris Bassitt (3-2) persevered through six bumpy innings for Toronto, allowing eight hits and striking out six. Chad Green earned his first save of the season one night after Jeff Hoffman, who replaced Green as Toronto’s closer this year, blew a two-run lead in the ninth.

José Soriano struggled through five innings for the Angels, yielding three runs on eight hits and four walks.

Ward hit a two-run homer in the first, and Adell followed with a solo shot in the second before Zach Neto scored on Bo Bichette’s error to put the Halos up 4-0.

Varsho had an RBI double and Addison Barger added an RBI single before the decisive rally in the sixth.

Varsho connected for his third homer in six games in the eighth.

Key moment: The Jays loaded the bases against Ryan Johnson (1-1) in the sixth before Santander delivered on Brock Burke’s first pitch.

Key stat: The Jays batted around for the first time this season in the sixth, although they left the bases loaded and stranded 11 total runners in the first six innings.

Up next: Kyle Hendricks (1-3, 5.28 ERA) takes the Angel Stadium mound Friday against Baltimore. Kevin Gausman (2-3, 3.83 ERA) pitches for the Jays in Seattle.