Max

Everyone can use an editor, and Shakespeare is no exception. Fortunately, he married one.

Tired of being cooped up with the kids in Stratford-upon-Avon, Anne (Teal Wicks), wife of the great playwright, pops down to London to see the first performance of “Romeo and Juliet.” The new tragic ending that Shakespeare (Corey Mach) proudly previews to the company strikes her as completely wrongheaded.

“What if … Juliet doesn’t kill herself?” she proposes. As strong-willed as her husband, she doesn’t wish to argue the point. She merely wants to put her idea to the test.

Behold the premise of “& Juliet,” the euphoric dance party of a musical that updates Shakespeare with a dose of 21st century female empowerment. The production, which opened Friday at the Ahmanson Theatre under the fizzy direction of Luke Sheppard, reimagines a new post-Romeo life for Juliet while riding a magic carpet of chart-toppers from juggernaut Swedish producer Max Martin, who has spun gold with Katy Perry, Britney Spears and the Backstreet Boys, among other pop titans.

Teal Wicks, left, and Rachel Webb in the North American Tour of “& Juliet.”

(Matthew Murphy)

This good-time jukebox musical relies as much on its wit as on its catalog of pop hits. The show’s music and lyrics are credited to Max Martin and friends — which sounds like a low-key cool table at the Grammy Awards. The clever book by Emmy winner David West Read (“Schitt’s Creek”) creates a world that can contain the show’s musical riches without having to shoehorn in songs in the shameless fashion of “Mamma Mia!”

Take, for instance, one of the early numbers, “I Want It That Way,” a pop ballad made famous by the Backstreet Boys. Anne starts singing the song when Shakespeare initially resists her idea of giving Juliet back her life. She wants him to go along with her suggested changes not because she’s sure she’s right but because she wants him to trust her as an equal partner. The song is redeployed in a way that has little bearing on the lyrics but somehow feels coherent with the original emotion.

Obviously, this is a commercial musical and not a literary masterpiece on par with Shakespeare’s tragedy of ill-starred lovers. “& Juliet” would have trouble withstanding detailed scrutiny of its plot or probing interrogation of Juliet’s character arc. But Read smartly establishes just the right party atmosphere.

Juliet (a vibrant Rachel Webb), having survived the tragedy once scripted for her, travels from Verona to Paris with an entourage to escape her parents, who want to send her to a nunnery for having married Romeo behind their backs. Her clique includes Angélique (Kathryn Allison), her nurse and confidant; May (Nick Drake), her nonbinary bestie; and April, her newbie sidekick out for fun who Anne plays in disguise. Shakespeare casts himself as the carriage driver, allowing him to tag along and keep tabs on the cockeyed direction his play is going.

In Paris, the crew heads directly to the Renaissance Ball, which has the look and feel of a modern-day mega-club. Entry is barred to Juliet, but not because she’s ridiculously underage. Her name isn’t on the exclusive guest list. So through the back door, Juliet and her traveling companions sashay as the production erupts in “Blow,” the Kesha song that encourages everyone to get their drink on and let loose.

Rachel Webb and the North American Tour Company of “& Juliet.”

(Matthew Murphy)

The dance setting — kinetically envisioned by scenic designer Soutra Gilmour, lighting designer Howard Hudson, sound designer Gareth Owen and video and projection designer Andrzej Goulding into a Dionysian video paradise — provides the all-purpose license for Martin’s music. It’s the atmosphere and the energy that matter most. Paloma Young’s extravagant costumes raise the level of decadent hedonism.

In this welcoming new context — imagine “Moulin Rouge! The Musical” suffused with girl power — there’s never anything odd about the characters grinding and wailing like karaoke superstars. The ecstatic motion of Jennifer Weber’s choreography renders dramatic logic irrelevant.

But love is the name of the game, and both Juliet and May fall for François (Mateus Leite Cardoso), a young musician with a geeky sense of humor who’s still figuring out his identity. May doesn’t expect romance to be part of their fate. In the Spears song “I’m Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman,” they give powerful expression to an inner confusion this musical romance is determined to sort out with an appropriate partner.

Unlike for the original characters, a happy ending is no longer off-limits. Shakespeare and Anne wrestle to get the upper hand of a plot that seems to have a mind of its own. Shakespeare pulls a coup at the end of the first act that I won’t spoil except to say that what’s good for the goose proves dramaturgically viable for the gander.

Teal Wicks, left, Rachel Webb, Nick Drake and Kathryn Allison in the North American Tour of “& Juliet.”

(Matthew Murphy)

This spirited competition stays in the background, but their marital happiness matters to us. Mach’s Shakespeare has the cocky strut of a rapper-producer with a long list of colossal hits. Wicks gives Anne the heartfelt complexity of one of her husband’s bright comic heroines. There’s a quality of intelligent feeling redolent of Rosalind in “As You Like It” in Wicks’ affecting characterization and luscious singing.

But the musical belongs to Juliet, and Webb has the vocal prowess to hijack the stage whenever she’s soaring in song. If Juliet’s character is still a work in progress, Webb endows her with a maturity beyond her years. She makes us grateful that the Capulet daughter is getting another crack at life. When the big musical guns are brought out late in the second act (“Stronger,” “Roar”), she delivers them as emancipatory anthems, fueled by hard-won epiphanies.

Allison’s Angélique is just as much a standout, renewing the bawdy earthiness of Shakespeare’s nurse with contemporary sass and rousing singing. If the supporting cast of men doesn’t make as deep an impression, the festive comic universe is nonetheless boldly brought to life.

“& Juliet” bestows the alternative ending everyone wishes they could script for themselves — a second chance to get it right. This feel-good musical is just what the doctor ordered in these far less carefree times.

NOTHING screams luxury like a top-notch yacht, so it’s no wonder Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has been hosting Max Verstappen on his boat in a bid to woo the popular driver away from Red Bull.

The Formula One World Champion, 27, has been spotted sunning himself topless on the vessel just off the coast of Sardinia.

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In photos that emerged last week, he was seen enjoying the heat as he laughed with Toto, 53, who was dressed all in white.

The luxurious yacht, named Mangusta 165, is believed to have cost the racing boss £20million and spends most of the time moored in Monaco when not in use.

F1 is currently on its summer break, with the next race not until August 31 in Zandvoort.

Max’s break with the Mercedes boss has refuelled rumours that he might move to the team when his contract with Red Bull is up.

The four-time world champion told RacingNews365: “I’m in the middle. Maybe it’ll be good, maybe it’ll be bad – we’ll see.

“I’m very open-minded, honestly. I don’t even think about it too much – I’m just enjoying the moment. 

“When I sit in the car next year, we’ll figure it out. I’m not making the rules anyway.”

Toto has owned his yacht, which is 50m in length and has a top speed of 25 knots, since 2023.

It boasts five bedrooms and can host 12 guests, who can also enjoy use of the jet skis and a hot tub.

The Mercedes boss isn’t the only F1 star to own a fancy yacht. Here we look at battle of the boats.

Max Verstappen

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He might have spent the beginning of his summer break on Toto’s yacht, but the F1 driver has his own boat – which has been described as a ‘Bond villain’s weekend getaway’.

He owns 33million yacht Unleash the Lion, which is thought to be worth £11million.

It can hold up to 12 guests alongside five crew, meaning Max and partner Kelly Piquet have ample space for entertaining as well as room for their daughter, Lily, born in May.

It has an open deck to the rear which is fitted with white couches and is thought to have an area to store a speed boat.

He also has a large stateroom inside, but little else is known about the pricey vessel’s interior.

Max moored the yacht in Monaco this year when he was competing in the principality’s Grand Prix but he hasn’t posted photos since its purchase earlier this year.

George Russell

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British F1 ace George, 27, is the latest driver to join the yacht owner’s club with his Pershing 6X.

He splashed out £2.2million on the luxurious vessel following his success on the track.

The boat might be smaller than grid rival Max’s, but it’s not tiny either.

It has four bedrooms, four bathrooms, a kitchen and a spacious upper deck living area.

And he’s been showing the yacht off on his social media with girlfriend Carmen Mundt, 26, and a host of friends on board.

They also have a stash of pricey water toys and the racer has posted videos of him and others on a hydrofoil skimming across the sea.

Like rival Max, George is also spending his summer break from the circuit on the boat off the coast of Sardinia.

Fernando Alonso

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Spanish driver Fernando, 44, has owned a Sunreef Power Eco 60 since 2023 after signing an order for it back in 2021.

Each yacht from the brand is a bespoke creation for the buyer.

The 18.3m long vessel is solar-powered, giving the boat eco-friendly credentials that most yachts don’t have.

“I think [Sunreef] is the only company that takes sustainability to a very serious level,” said Alonso during an interview with BOAT International.

“To have a fully electric catamaran powered by solar panels made perfect sense to me.”

The solar panels cover 68.6m squared across the yacht, including the roof and hull sides.

It’s equipped with two 360kw electric motors and a set of 990kwh batteries which are solar powered – making the yacht essentially silent when moving.

One of the smaller yachts owned by an F1 star, it can accommodate up to six guests and four crew.

But, for Fernando, size doesn’t matter.

Alonso said: “On board, all that matters is peace of mind, fresh air, and good company. Yachting should not be about ego.

“For me, it’s about sharing good moments and being respectful towards the environment.”

Lawrence Stroll

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Billionaire Lawrence, 65, has splashed some of his enormous fortune on a 262-foot long floating mansion for a cool £184.5million.

The Aston Martin F1 team owner downsized from his original yacht, Faith, to Project 714 in March – and has now also renamed it Faith.

The upper decks, enclosed in glass, contain a swimming pool, a games deck and a helicopter landing pad with a hangar below, according to Luxury Launches.

Inside, there are seven guest cabins which can hold up to 14 people as well as space for 20 crew members.

It’s thought the large vessel, which has a top speed of 17knots, has annual running costs of up to £20million.

Lawrence’s previous boat could host up to 18 people across nine cabins and had a crew of 34.

It also boasted a private cinema, nine-meter swimming pool plus a spa and plunge pool.

He sold it to business tycoon Michael Latifi when he decided to downsize to a slightly smaller vessel.

Lewis Hamilton

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British driver Lewis, 40, is also a member of the F1 yacht club with Sunseeker 90, which he is thought to have bought in 2009 for around £2.9million.

And when he’s not feeling like being on his own boat, he charters other vessels that boast a bigger range of rooms and activities.

Sunseeker 90 is 91.9feet and can sleep up to eight guests. It boasts a top speed of 30 knots meaning it’s a speedy boat.

The yacht is normally moored in Monaco, where Lewis resides during the off season.

It features American walnut carpentry, air-conditioning, a huge kitchen and an entertainment area with a shower where guests can rinse off after a dip in the sea.

He was seen entertaining model Bella Hadid, 28, on a yacht back in 2017, but it’s not clear if he used his own boat or rented one for entertaining.

Lewis has also been spotted entertaining pals over the years, including former teammate Nico Rosberg and his own family.

Charles Leclerc

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Ferrari driver Charles, 27, appears to be a big fan of spending time on both his yachts – because who would have one when you could have two?

He owns a Riva 66 Ribelle named Sedici, which is Italian for sixteen – his race number – and a Riva Dolceriva open cruiser.

Sedici is a 20m sports yacht that can reach speeds of up to 37 knots and has three cabins inside.

He brought it to the Monaco Grand Prix this year, like many of his fellow drivers.

It seems to be his favourite of the two boats, as he often shares snaps from holidays on it, many with it in the background while he swims.

His second vessel is named Monza after the world-famous racing circuit – and is a speedy boat.

Charles paid approximately £1.5million for it back in 2020 and reportedly bought it to commemorate winning the Grand Prix at Monza the year before.

It’s 48ft long and can accommodate up to four guests across two cabins.

The lower deck has an L-shaped sofa with a coffee table in the centre. The master cabin has a huge king-sized bed as well as an ensuite.

In the standings, all is right again in the Dodgers’ world. Clayton Kershaw was, well, Clayton Kershaw. The Dodgers won.

In the box score, all was not well. As you already have guessed, the bullpen: Five relievers were needed to cover the final three innings, in which the San Diego Padres put potential tying and/or go-ahead runs on base in each of those innings.

And, on Day 1 of Life Without Muncy 2.0, the Dodgers managed four hits.

With 40 games to play, the Dodgers and Padres are tied atop the National League West. If Max Muncy can play in even a handful of those games, the Dodgers will be grateful.

The Dodgers put their third baseman on the injured list Friday afternoon because of a strained oblique muscle. When Muncy went on the injured list last month because of a knee injury, the Dodgers led the majors in runs. He missed 25 games, in which the Dodgers ranked last in runs.

Of the Dodgers’ four hits on Friday evening, three were delivered by the bottom three batters in the lineup. That means Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Will Smith, Freddie Freeman, Teoscar Hernández and Andy Pages went a combined 1 for 17.

“Max just has that balance in the lineup, as far as another left-handed (hitter),” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, “but also handles left-handed pitching and has the ability to get on base.

“He’s a threat. Now, without him, other guys have got to step up.”

The Dodgers’ left-handed bats, as of Friday: Ohtani, Freeman, outfielder Michael Conforto (.189) and backup catcher Dalton Rushing (.202).

It should go without saying that Ohtani and Freeman remain imposing. It should also go without saying that opponents might well line up right-handers against the Dodgers, including the Padres throwing Dylan Cease against them Saturday and Yu Darvish on Sunday.

Teoscar Hernández hits a solo home run in the seventh inning during the Dodgers’ 3-2 win over the San Diego Padres on Friday night at Dodger Stadium.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

“We’re going to see a slew of right-handed pitching,” Roberts said. “There are going to be right-handers coming out of the pen.

“Our right-handers have got to be better.”

On that score, the most encouraging development for the Dodgers on Friday was Hernández hitting what turned out to be the decisive home run.

“Teo came to life with a big homer,” Roberts said.

Hernández hit 33 home runs last season, when his OPS was at least .762 in each month of the season. His OPS has been below .762 in each month this season except the first one.

In the Dodgers’ first 29 games, he hit nine home runs. In the 93 games since then, he has hit 10.

“Some days, it’s good. Some days, it’s bad,” Hernández said. “Some days, it’s in between. Hitting is not easy. But I’m going to continue to keep working and try to be consistent for the month and a half, and hopefully in the playoffs.”

The pennant stretch comes first, and Roberts has faith in Hernández.

Said Roberts: “It’s an easy bet that, when the stakes get higher, Teo is going to really show up for us.”

Muncy does that, in getting on base and in circling the bases. In October, when the pitching can rise to the occasion, so can Muncy.

His OPS is higher in the playoffs than in the regular season. He walks way more often. He can elevate the Dodgers’ lineup in October, if the rest of the lineup can step up and help get him there.

From Jack Harris: It might be a cliché this time of year, how injured players who return after the trade deadline can serve as de facto deadline acquisitions themselves.

But in the case of Max Muncy and the Dodgers, the team needed it to be true. Badly.

Immediately after Muncy went down with a knee injury in early July, the club’s lineup entered a deep midseason slump. Its actual deadline acquisitions, which included only one hitter in outfielder Alex Call, had underwhelmed the fan base.

Thus, when Muncy returned to action Monday night, the Dodgers were desperately hoping the veteran slugger could provide a spark.

Twenty-four hours later, he did it with two thunderous swings.

In the Dodgers’ 12-6 win over the St. Louis Cardinals, Muncy officially christened his comeback with a four-for-five, four-RBI performance that included a pair of no-doubt home runs off Miles Mikolas — picking up almost exactly where he left off before suffering a July 2 knee injury that he feared would end his season.

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Things are finally turning around for Dodgers’ Roki Sasaki

Dodgers box score

MLB scores

MLB standings

ANGELS

Brandon Lowe hit a two-run homer and Jake Mangum had a two-run single during the Tampa Bay Rays’ seven-run fourth inning in a 7-3 victory over the Angels on Tuesday night.

Yandy Díaz scored a run and drove in another during the decisive inning in Tampa Bay’s third win in 13 games.

Ryan Pepiot (7-9) yielded five hits and two earned runs while pitching into the sixth inning for Tampa Bay, breaking his five-start winless streak.

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Angels box score

MLB scores

MLB standings

SPARKS

From Ira Gorawara: The Indiana Fever arrived in Los Angeles draped in momentum: Five straight wins, a knack for winning without Caitlin Clark and betting lines tilting their way. Their tear was proof they could keep pace even with their franchise centerpiece in street clothes.

But another storyline might’ve been tucked beneath Indiana’s.

The Sparks had ripped off six wins in their previous seven outings, probably fueled by the rare luxury of having every piece of their roster back for the first time in more than a year. And by night’s end at Crypto.com Arena, they had won seven of eight, the Sparks grinding out a 100-91 victory.

“Tonight was a great step in the right direction,” guard Kelsey Plum said. “That’s an incredible team, and they’re as hot as anyone. … They got everything it takes to make a run for a championship. So for us to come out and have that level of intensity, I was really proud.”

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Sex toy tossed onto court during Sparks win over Fever at Crypto.com Arena

Sparks box score

WNBA standings

CHARGERS

From Austin Knoblauch: The Chargers are reuniting with a former franchise star to bolster their receivers unit.

Keenan Allen, who racked up more than 10,000 receiving yards during an 11-season stint with the Chargers before being traded away in a salary-cap move, agreed to a deal with the team Tuesday.

The one-year deal is worth $8.52 million, according to NFL Media.

“Obviously, we know how good he’s been throughout his career,” Chargers general manager Joe Hortiz said, “and he’s out there on the market still, and [it was the] chance to bring someone of his caliber back we know can help us win games.”

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RAMS

From Gary Klein: Kyren Williams spent Tuesday morning meeting with his agent and the Rams to work out the final details of a contract extension.

The Rams running back finished the day dashing, darting and diving on the field during a joint practice with the Dallas Cowboys.

“Life is good,” Williams said after the workout. “Life is good.”

It’s certainly richer.

Williams, a fourth-year pro, received a three-year extension. Terms of the deal were not announced but Williams is guaranteed about $23 million, a person with knowledge of the situation said. The person requested anonymity because the contract has not been processed.

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Ex-NFL player convicted for operating dogfighting ring… again. Now he faces up to 30 years in prison

LAFC

From Kevin Baxter: LAFC’s signing of South Korean national team captain Son Heung-min appears to be one of those rare acquisitions that checks every box and helps everybody. Not only is it one of the most significant signings in MLS history, but it instantly makes LAFC better while boosting the World Cup hopes of the Korean national team and the profile of Korean soccer in the U.S.

But in few places will the influence of the signing, which is expected to be completed Tuesday, be felt more directly than in Southern California’s Korean community, the largest in the U.S.

“The Korean community has been buzzing ever since rumors of Son Heung-min’s potential move to LAFC began to spread,” said Kyeongjun Kim, a writer with the Korean Daily, the largest Korean-language media outlet in the U.S. “The fact that a player of his caliber is coming to L.A. is monumental event.

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Painting lines on soccer and football fields? That’s a job robots can do now

USC BASKETBALL

From Jad El Reda: Don’t call him a traveler. Chad Baker-Mazara said that his journey through four universities allowed him to land in the place he had been looking for since the beginning of his college basketball adventure.

Baker-Mazara, 25, arrived at USC in May. The veteran is hoping to help lead young players in the locker room and on the court after joining his fifth team since 2020.

He began his journey with at Duquesne in 2020-21, then moved on to San Diego State for the 2021-22 season in search of a better fit on the roster. He fell behind academically in San Diego and was dismissed from the team when he couldn’t catch up on classwork. Baker-Mazara then traveled to the East Coast to play for Northwest Florida State College during the 2022-23 season while getting back on track academically before landing a spot on the Auburn roster during the 2023-25 seasons.

It has been a unique journey, but he is confident that he will write the most important chapter of his basketball career with the Trojans during the upcoming season.

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THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY

1958 — Glen Davis of Columbus, Ohio, sets a world record in the 400 hurdles with a time of 49.2 in Budapest, Hungary.

1966 — Muhammad Ali knocks out Brian London in the third round to retain his world heavyweight title.

1972 — South African Gary Player wins his second PGA golf championship with a two-stroke victory over Jim Jamieson and Tommy Aaron.

1978 — John Mahaffey beats Tom Watson and Jerry Pate on the second playoff hole to win the PGA Championship.

1984 — American athlete Carl Lewis wins long jump (8.54m), his second of 4 gold medals at Los Angeles Olympics.

1991 — Debbie Doom of the U.S. pitches her second consecutive perfect game in women’s softball at the Pan American Games. Doom threw a perfect game at the Netherlands Antilles in the opener and matches that performance against Nicaragua, winning 8-0.

1992 — Carl Lewis leads a U.S. sweep in the long jump in the Olympics with a mark of 28 feet, 5 1-2 inches on his first attempt. Mike Powell takes the silver and Joe Greene the bronze. Kevin Young demolishes one of track’s oldest records with a time of 46.78 seconds in the 400 hurdles. Bruce Baumgartner becomes the first American wrestler to win medals in three straight Olympics, taking the gold in the 286-pound freestyle division.

1994 — Jeff Gordon wins the Brickyard 400, the first stock car race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

1995 — Canada’s Donovan Bailey wins the 100 meters at World Track and Field Championships in Goteborg, Sweden, marking the first time since 1976 an American fails to win a medal in the event at a major meet.

2001 — Two-time champion Marion Jones is disqualified and has her string of 42 consecutive 100m final victories snapped by Zhanna Pintusevich-Block of Ukraine at the World Athletics Championships in Edmonton, Canada.

2006 — Tiger Woods (30) becomes the youngest player with 50 PGA Tour wins after a 3 stroke victory over Jim Furyk in the Buick Open.

2006 — Floyd Landis is fired by his team and the Tour de France no longer considers him its champion after his second doping sample tested positive for higher-than-allowable levels of testosterone.

2006 — Sherri Steinhauer wins the Women’s British Open for the third time, and the first since it became a major.

2008 — Sammy Villegas, a former University of Toledo basketball player, is charged with point shaving. Villegas is accused of shaving points during the 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons.

2008 — Kim Terrell-Kearney wins the first pro championship match featuring two Black bowlers, beating Trisha Reid 216-189 in the U.S. Bowling Congress’ U.S. Women’s Open. Terrell-Kearney collects her second U.S. Women’s Open title and third career major title.

2010 — Tyson Gay upsets the defending world and Olympic champion Usain Bolt in a race between the two fastest runners in history. Gay beats the Jamaican at the DN Galan meet in 9.84 seconds at the same stadium where Bolt last lost a race two years ago. Bolt finishes second in 9.97.

2015 — Ryan Lochte becomes the first man to win the 200-meter individual medley four consecutive times at the world swimming championships. Lochte comes home strong on the freestyle lap and touches first in 1:55.81 in Kazan, Russia.

2017 — I.K. Kim won the Women’s British Open, hanging on with a 1-under 71 for a two-shot victory over Jodi Ewart Shadoff and her first major championship.

THIS DAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY

1908 — John Lush threw a six-inning, rain-shortened no-hitter for the St. Louis Cardinals, who beat the Brooklyn Dodgers 2-0. It was Lush’s second no-hitter against the Dodgers.

1933 — Pinky Higgins of the Philadelphia Athletics hit for the cycle and drove in five runs in a 12-8 win over the Washington Senators.

1952 — Satchel Paige, 46, became the oldest pitcher in major league history to pitch a complete game or a shutout when he beat Virgil Trucks and the Detroit Tigers 1-0 in 12 innings.

1972 — Hank Aaron hit his 660th and 661st career home runs to break Babe Ruth’s record for most home runs with one club. The 661st came in the 10th inning to give the Atlanta Braves a 4-3 triumph over the Cincinnati Reds.

1981 — As a result of a seven-week strike, major league baseball players approved a split-season format. The New York Yankees, Oakland A’s, Philadelphia Phillies and Dodgers were declared the first-half champions and automatically qualified for the divisional series.

1985 — The Major League Baseball Players’ Association went on strike.

1986 — The Texas Rangers beat the Baltimore Orioles 13-11 in a record-setting battle of grand slams. Texas’ Toby Harrah hit a grand slam in the second inning before Larry Sheets and Jim Dwyer connected for grand slams in Baltimore’s nine-run fourth.

1988 — Rich Gossage registered his 300th career save, and the Chicago Cubs beat the Philadelphia Phillies 7-4.

1999 — Tony Gwynn went 4-for-5, singling in his first at-bat to become the 22nd major leaguer to reach 3,000 hits, as the San Diego Padres beat the Montreal Expos 12-10.

2001 — Boston’s Scott Hatteberg performed the ultimate baseball opposite. Hatteberg hit a grand slam one at-bat after lining into a triple play as the Red Sox defeated the Texas Rangers 10-7. Hatteberg lined into a triple play in the fourth inning and in the sixth he hit his second career grand slam to move Boston ahead for good.

2002 — At 32, Robb Nen became the youngest player to record 300 saves, as San Francisco beat the Chicago Cubs 11-10. Nen became the 16th member of the 300-save club.

2007 — St. Louis tied a major league record with 10 straight hits in a 10-run fifth inning, with pitcher Braden Looper and Aaron Miles getting two apiece in a 10-5 victory over San Diego.

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.

It might be a cliché this time of year, how injured players who return after the trade deadline can serve as de facto deadline acquisitions themselves.

But in the case of Max Muncy and the Dodgers, the team needed it to be true. Badly.

Immediately after Muncy went down with a knee injury in early July, the club’s lineup entered a deep midseason slump. Its actual deadline acquisitions, which included only one hitter in outfielder Alex Call, had underwhelmed the fan base.

Thus, when Muncy returned to action Monday night, the Dodgers were desperately hoping the veteran slugger could provide a spark.

Twenty-four hours later, he did it with two thunderous swings.

In the Dodgers’ 12-6 win over the St. Louis Cardinals, Muncy officially christened his comeback with a four-for-five, four-RBI performance that included a pair of no-doubt home runs off Miles Mikolas — picking up almost exactly where he left off before suffering a July 2 knee injury that he feared would end his season.

“As I was laying there on the ground that night, I thought for sure this is it,” Muncy recalled this week, after not only recovering from what proved to be just a bone bruise, but doing it two weeks faster than the initial six-week timeline the team had expected.

“It’s hard to stay positive in a moment like that,” Muncy added, while reliving Michael A. Taylor’s slide into his left knee a month earlier. “But extremely thankful and blessed to be back on a baseball field this year.”

Muncy did have some rust to knock off, going hitless in three at-bats with a walk and strikeout in his first game back Monday night against crafty Cardinals right-hander Sonny Gray.

On Tuesday, however, Mikolas gave him the chance to do some long-awaited damage.

In the first inning, after Shohei Ohtani doubled and scored on a Freddie Freeman sacrifice fly, Muncy clobbered a center-cut, first-pitch sinker 416 feet into the right-field pavilion, giving the Dodgers a quick 2-0 lead.

In the third, after the Cardinals leveled the score on Nolan Gorman’s two-run homer off Emmet Sheehan an inning earlier, Muncy went deep again, whacking an elevated fastball 404 feet for a two-run blast.

The Dodgers (66-48) wouldn’t relinquish the lead again, going on to their first double-digit scoring effort since June 22 thanks to a five-run rally in the seventh, when Muncy also added an RBI single, and two more runs in the eighth, when Muncy tacked on his fourth hit.

There were other positive signs for the Dodgers’ recently scuffling lineup on Tuesday.

Mookie Betts, who was mired in a career-long five-game, 22 at-bat hitless streak, recorded three knocks: A double right before Muncy’s second homer in the third, a line-drive single in the fifth, and a seeing-eye grounder in the eighth.

Andy Pages, who was batting just .211 since the All-Star break, made hard contact on doubles in the sixth and the seventh.

And Teoscar Hernández, who was hitting just .213 since returning from a groin strain in May, came roaring to life with a two-homer game, going back-to-back with Muncy on a solo home run in the third before smashing a game-sealing three-run drive after Muncy’s RBI single in the seventh.

Leading up to the deadline, manager Dave Roberts cited that subset of slumping hitters as potential quasi-deadline additions in their own right. Part of the reason for the team’s relative inaction at the deadline was its trust that the healthy, but scuffling, members of its lineup would get back on track down the stretch.

Still, Muncy’s eventual return had long been seen as the Dodgers’ biggest potential boon, especially after they went from leading the majors in scoring before he got hurt to ranking last in runs over the 25 games he missed.

“We’ve certainly missed him,” Roberts said ahead of Muncy’s return Monday. “The night he came off the field, you’re starting to think of it potentially being season-ending. So to get him back in a month, we’re all excited. He’s put in a lot of work to get back with this timeline. And yeah, we’ve needed him.”

Two games in, the importance of his return is already being felt.

Max Muncy knew he had gotten lucky, after his ugly-looking knee injury earlier this month proved to be nothing more than a bone bruise.

But, when doctors explained how close he came to suffering something so much worse, from when Michael A. Taylor slid into his leg at third base on July 2, even Muncy was amazed by the infinitesimal margins.

“If the timing was just a millisecond different either way,” he was told, “you’re probably looking at surgery, and done for a long time.”

Instead, barely two weeks removed from having the outside of his knee bent inward on that play, Muncy was out doing early work at Dodger Stadium on Friday afternoon; running in the outfield, playing catch with coaches and performing agility drills in front of trainers without any obvious signs of pain or discomfort.

“We’re pleasantly, not surprised, but happy with the spot that I’m in right now,” Muncy said afterward, having also taken swings for the first time since his injury earlier on Friday afternoon. “It feels great. I’m moving well. Progressing quickly. We’re trying to be smart about it, and understand where we’re at, and what it’s gonna take to get back on the field. But we’re in a really good spot … We’re kind of right where we think we should be at.”

If not, it seems, already a few steps ahead.

While Muncy was initially expected to miss roughly six weeks with his left knee bone bruise, manager Dave Roberts struck a more optimistic tone as the Dodgers opened the second half of their season.

“He’s in great shape right now,” Roberts said Friday. “I don’t really know a timeline. But I do know … it’s going to be a lot sooner than anticipated, which is good for all of us.”

Since Muncy — who was one of the hottest hitters in baseball in May and June — got hurt, the Dodgers have not looked like the same offense. In their last 11 games entering Saturday, the club was 3-8, averaging less than three runs per game, and struggling to fill the gaping hole their slugging third baseman has left in the middle of the lineup.

Since the start of July, only the penny-pinching Pittsburgh Pirates have been worse than the Dodgers in batting average (.205) and OPS (.594).

“We’ve still got a lot of good players,” Roberts said. “But yeah, there’s a certain line of demarcation when Max is not in the lineup, what happens to our offense.”

The Dodgers’ problems, of course, go beyond Muncy’s absence. Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman have all been slumping of late (or, in Betts’ case, for much of the season). Teoscar Hernández and Tommy Edman have been nowhere near their typical standard since returning from injuries in May. And the depth options the Dodgers have called upon have provided few sparks of life.

Still, Muncy figures to be a linchpin in the Dodgers’ long-term potential at the plate — with his recovery growing ever-steadily in importance as the rest of the lineup flounders in his wake.

“We got to figure out how to get something going,” said outfielder Michael Conforto, chief among the Dodgers’ underachievers this season. “Every time we go out there, we expect to score, and that’s what we’ve been doing all year. It’s just one of those stretches [where it’s] a little bit tougher to get runs in. But, you know, obviously, we have faith in our guys, and some big names in here that made their careers on scoring runs and driving guys in. I think we’ll be OK.”

Muncy, of course, is one of those proven names.

And in another fortunate stroke with his recovery, he remains confident his injury won’t significantly impact his swing once he does come back.

“If [the injury] was on the inside of the knee, it’d probably be a different story,” Muncy said. “But just being on the outside, I think it’s a good spot, knowing that I don’t feel it at all when I’m pushing off on the backside.”

Muncy tested that theory for the first time Friday, taking some light swings in the cage that he said “felt fine.”

“It’s a lot of work, more work than actually playing in the game, which always sucks,” Muncy said of his rehab process. “But it’s that way for a reason … You don’t want to have any other injuries that are a side effect from it.”

So far, even that latter concern has been quelled, with Muncy noting that “there’s no lingering side effects with it.”

“All in all,” he reiterated, “we’re about as lucky as we could be.”

One of the most anticipated fights of the year takes place on Saturday as Max Holloway takes on Dustin Poirier at UFC 318 in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Hawaii’s Holloway defends his symbolic BMF title in the headlining bout at the Smoothie King Center, while home favourite Poirier will bring the curtain down on his magnificent career.

Former interim lightweight champion Poirier, 36, has won 21 of his 31 UFC bouts and is regarded by many as the best fighter to never win an undisputed title.

His fight with Holloway marks the third time the pair have met, with Poirier winning the previous two encounters.

“It feels surreal but it’s the right time. I don’t want the sport to chew me up, I want to walk away, I don’t want it to retire me,” said Poirier.

“We’ve fought at different times as different men and each fight has been so different. It’s exciting. Max is a legend, [a] hall of famer, and a good person so fighting him for the last one seems poetic.”

Holloway is starting the next chapter of his distinguished career by moving up to lightweight permanently after defeat by Ilia Topuria for the featherweight title in October.

“It sucks it has to be Dustin but this is his last dance and I’m here to play spoiler,” said Holloway.

Oklahoma City Thunder and centre Chet Holmgren agree to contract extension worth up to a quarter of a billion dollars.

Chet Holmgren and the NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder agreed to a five-year rookie-maximum contract extension worth up to $250m, ESPN reported on Wednesday.

The contract is fully guaranteed and comes on the heels of Oklahoma City’s landmark contract with NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who agreed to a four-year, $285.4m super maximum contract extension through 2031 to become the league’s highest-paid player at more than $71m per season.

The 7-foot-1-inch (2.16m) Holmgren, 23, has been impactful when he’s on the court. Injuries limited him to 32 regular-season games after a hip injury last season. He also missed his rookie season with a foot injury.

With career averages of 16.1 points and 7.9 rebounds per game, Holmgren proved to be a critical piece for the team’s run to a title in 2025. He had eight double-double performances in 23 postseason games in 2025.

The second overall selection in the 2022 draft, Holmgren entered the NBA alongside Jalen Williams, the number 12 pick that year. Williams is also eligible for the rookie supermax extension. He’s entering the final season of a four-year rookie deal with a $6.6m base salary in 2025-26.

He’s also just the third player in history to make 150 three-pointers and 250 blocks through the first two NBA seasons.

When Harvard-Westlake grads Max Fried of the New York Yankees and Pete Crow-Armstrong of the Chicago Cubs are introduced on July 15 at the MLB All-Star Game in Atlanta, their former high school coaches, Matt LaCour and Jared Halpert, will be in the stands celebrating the historic moment.

“We’re all proud on campus,” said LaCour, now the school’s athletic director and former coach of Fried.

“It’s kind of everyone wins if Max faces Pete,” Halpert said.

Harvard-Westlake has received attention for its success sending pitchers to the majors with Fried, Lucas Giolito and Jack Flaherty, all of whom were members of the 2012 team and first-round draft picks.

Chicago Cubs’ Pete Crow-Armstrong.

(Nam Y. Huh / Associated Press)

Crow-Armstrong, a first-round draft pick in 2020 who was selected by the fans to start in center field, is a breakthrough hitter for the Cubs.

“We’ve got a couple hitters coming through, so maybe we’ll change the pitching narrative,” LaCour said.

But who will the coaches root for if Fried is on the mound and Crow-Armstrong is at the plate?

“That definitely would be cool,” LaCour said. “I’ll root for Max and Jared will root for Pete.”

LaCour is in Atlanta this week coaching a youth team and will stay an extra two days to watch the All-Star Game. Halpert is flying out next Tuesday morning, then taking a rideshare to the ballpark.

They shouldn’t have any trouble getting tickets because they know an all-star.

Who says you can’t go Home Box Office again?

Warner Bros. Discovery renamed its streaming service HBO Max on Wednesday, formally reversing its decision from two years ago to dump the prestigious HBO brand in a bid to make the service more appealing to a mainstream, meat-and-potatoes crowd.

The gambit to chase Netflix with a service called Max didn’t work. Warner Bros. Discovery’s leaders eventually recognized the tremendous value in the HBO name, and sheepishly brought it back for an encore.

The company announced the switch in May.

“The good news is I have a drawer full of stationary from the last time around,” HBO Chairman Casey Bloys said in May, making light of Warner Bros. Discovery’s about-face during the company’s annual programming upfront presentation to advertisers at Madison Square Garden in New York.

The move marks the fifth name for the service in 15 years.

HBO’s first digital offering, introduced in 2010, was called HBO Go. Eventually the company added an HBO Now app. Then, in 2020, when the company launched its comprehensive streaming service with Warner Bros. movies and television shows, executives decided the HBO Max name would play to the company’s strengths while beckoning customers with a souped-up product and moniker to match.

That lasted until Chief Executive David Zaslav stepped in. The company truncated the name to Max because Zaslav and other executives felt the need to create some distance from HBO’s signature shows to make room for the nonscripted fare of Discovery’s channels, including HGTV and Food Network.

Now it’s back to HBO Max.

The company has said the shift was a response to audiences’ desire for quality over quantity.

“No consumer today is saying they want more content, but most consumers are saying they want better content,” the company said in May.

The change also represents a recognition that Warner Bros. Discovery, a medium-sized media company with a huge debt burden, couldn’t compete with Netflix, which tries to offer something for everyone.

And while some of the Max-branded shows, including “The Pitt,” are critically acclaimed, it was the HBO fare, including “The White Lotus,” that has been the most consistent draw for subscribers.

HBO built its legacy as a premium cable channel that required an additional fee on the monthly cable bill. Such groundbreaking series as “The Sopranos,” “Game of Thrones” and “Sex and the City” put the channel at the vanguard of prestige programming.

Most subscribers who currently have Max won’t need to download a new app, company insiders said.

An app update will eventually change the blue Max logo to a black HBO Max one.

Staff writer Stephen Battaglio contributed to this report.

“Reservoir Dogs” and “Kill Bill” star Michael Madsen and his family are “incredibly overwhelmed with grief and sadness” over the death of his son Hudson Madsen, who was also filmmaker Quentin Tarantino’s godson.

The 26-year-old Oahu resident died of a gunshot wound, according to the City and County of Honolulu Dept. of the Medical Examiner. Supervising investigator Charlotte Carter said Tuesday that Madsen’s manner of death was listed as a suicide, citing his death certificate.

The department does not release death dates, Carter said, but noted that a full autopsy report would be available to the public in about four months.

An attorney for Madsen said Wednesday that the actor is doing well and is surrounded by his children while his wife is in Hawaii making arrangements.

Michael Madsen, left, and son Hudson Madsen in Las Vegas in 2011.

(David Becker / WireImage)

“I am in shock as my son, whom I just spoke with a few days ago, said he was happy – my last text from him was ‘I love you dad,’” Madsen said in a statement to The Times.

“I didn’t see any signs of depression. It’s so tragic and sad. I’m just trying to make sense of everything and understand what happened,” he continued.

He said Hudson had just completed his first tour in the U.S. Army, where he was a sergeant stationed in Hawaii, and that his marriage “was going strong.” According to social media posts from Hudson and his wife, Carlie, he spent time in Afghanistan.

“He had typical life challenges that people have with finances, but he wanted a family,” Madsen said. “He was looking towards his future, so its [sic] mind blowing. I just can’t grasp what happened.”

The actor, 64, said that he has asked for a full investigation by the military. He believes “that officers and rank and file were shaming” his son for needing therapy and that made him stop getting help for mental health issues that he had been keeping private.

“We are heartbroken and overwhelmed with grief and pain at the loss of Hudson,” the Madsen family said Tuesday in a statement to Metro. “His memory and light will be remembered by all who knew and loved him. We ask for privacy and respect during this difficult time. Thank you.”

Hudson Madsen is survived by his wife, his father, mother DeAnna and siblings Christian, Calvin, Max and Luke.

Verstappen said he “had to commit a lot” in the high-speed corners because of the low-downforce set-up the team had chosen, which made the car on edge in the demanding corners.

The low wing levels come with pros and cons – it gives faster speed on the straight but makes the car more difficult through the corners and potentially increases tyre wear.

Verstappen said: “We looked a bit slow on the other wing plus it was understeering to the moon, and I needed to get rid of that understeer. It was light on downforce but it seemed to work.”

Piastri was quickest after the first laps of qualifying but he failed to improve on his second lap, at least partly because of a couple of slides of the rear out of the final corner, Club.

The championship leader said: “I was happy with the first lap. It was mega, to be honest. I was trying to think of how I would go faster and I didn’t.

“The second lap was a bit messy but it has been tight all weekend; a little on the table, but we’ll never know if it’s enough.”

Piastri said he was “not that surprised Max is quick here”, it’s quite similar speed and conditions to Suzuka,” where Verstappen won from pole.

Norris, who trails Piastri by 15 points going into the race, which marks the halfway point of the season, said: “Good qualifying. I am not going to be unhappy with third, would love to be pole but Max did a good job, a fun qualifying today. Not the top but still a good day.

“It’s going to be fun tomorrow, a good fight, with the three of us, and probably with Lewis and Charles and George as well.”

When Max Muncy first went down on Wednesday night, clutching his left knee and writhing in pain after a collision with Chicago White Sox baserunner Michael A. Taylor on a steal attempt at third base, Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes couldn’t help but let his mind go to a dark place.

“Obviously, [there were] a lot of emotions,” Gomes said. “From a coping mechanism in my head, it was like, ‘OK, he’s done for the year. We’re gonna have to figure out what the next path is. We have to be prepared for whatever is coming.’”

What came the next day, however, was unexpectedly good news.

Despite having his knee bent awkwardly, gruesomely inward, Muncy escaped with only a bone bruise. There were no ligament tears. No structural damage. No season-ending catastrophe.

Dodger Max Muncy grimaces as he holds his left knee after colliding with White Sox outfielder Michael A. Taylor on Wednesday at Dodger Stadium.

(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

“We’ve had a lot more [injury situations] where we’ve gone in optimistic and then come out the other side not as optimistic,” Gomes said. “So it was nice to have that turned on its head and know that, ‘Hey, he’s gonna be out there.’”

On Thursday, Muncy said he is expected to miss roughly six weeks. But even that timeline would give him a month-plus before the playoffs to try and rediscover the swing that made him one of the hottest hitters in baseball the past two months.

And because Muncy’s injury was to the lower half of his body, manager Dave Roberts noted, the hope is that “it’s not something that should affect the swing” when he does return.

“With the time we have, there’s nothing pressing as far as needing to rush him back,” Roberts said. “I think we’re in a good spot.”

That’s why, as of Friday, Gomes had shelved those contingency plans that were running through his mind 48 hours earlier. His front office wasn’t urgently scouring the trade market looking for an instant replacement.

Instead, Gomes and Roberts insisted the Dodgers’ trade deadline plans are unlikely to be altered in the wake of Muncy’s injury — with the team content to rely on internal options now, while awaiting Muncy’s return later this year.

“Knowing the certainty of Max coming back at some point,” Roberts said, “I don’t think that will really impact our thinking going into the deadline.”

“Even if [his recovery] is way slow,” Gomes added, “you have a full month of baseball before we hit the playoffs. So we’re giving him that time to get back into a good place and try to set a good foundation, like we try to do with all of our guys, to be prepared for that stretch run.”

Fans cheer after Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy hit a three-run homer against the Washington Nationals at Dodger Stadium on June 22.

(Luke Johnson/Los Angeles Times)

Trade speculation surrounding the Dodgers’ third base position is nothing new.

Earlier this year, when Muncy was struggling mightily through the opening month of the year, there were growing calls from the fanbase for the team to find a more productive replacement before the July 31 deadline.

Lately, however, Muncy had quieted such noise with one of the best stretches of his career. Before getting hurt, he was batting .308 over his past 46 games with 12 home runs, 48 RBIs and more walks (32) than strikeouts (26).

“When he’s not in the lineup,” Roberts said, “our offense tapers off.”

Whether Muncy can return to such levels of production, of course, won’t become clear until well after the deadline passes. But finding impact bats on this year’s trade market might not be an easy task, especially at third base.

Nolan Arenado has long been linked to the Dodgers in trade rumors. But he has career-lows in batting average (.247) and OPS (.701) this year, and is still due some $40 million over the next two-and-a-half seasons on his contract.

The Cardinals’ Nolan Arenado watches his double in the sixth inning of a game against the Cleveland Guardians in Cleveland on June 27.

(Sue Ogrocki / Associated Press)

Lower-profile names such as Eugenio Suárez, Ryan McMahon and Ramón Urías (who could be a better roster fit for the Dodgers as a utility weapon) could also be moved. But the Dodgers won’t be desperate to overpay for an impact bat knowing Muncy should be back well before the start of the playoffs.

“Obviously, he’s been so dialed in, one of the best hitters in the game over the last six weeks, so there’s always some [question of], ‘How are we going to get back to that spot?’” Gomes acknowledged of Muncy.

“But I don’t think that is something that Max has never done before,” he added, referencing Muncy’s ability to contribute to last year’s World Series run despite missing three months in the regular season with an oblique injury. “So there’s a comfort level. We have some time. We’ll make sure that he’s eased back in. We have enough technology that he can take at-bats and see pitches before he ever has to go out on rehab and is back in a major-league game. We should be getting some approximation of what his swing was, and then use that time to get into a rhythm.”

In the meantime, the Dodgers plan to incorporate Tommy Edman at third base, where he has 94 career big-league appearances (mostly in 2019 and 2020 with the St. Louis Cardinals, before Arenado’s arrival there).

“It’s a position I’m comfortable with,” Edman said Friday, after taking grounders at third at the start of his pregame work. “The hops [there] are weird, so you gotta play a little bit more one-handed … But it’s still the infield. You still gotta work on the footwork, just like you would at second and short. Catching the ball, getting behind your throws. It’s a lot of the same concepts.”

Kiké Hernández and Miguel Rojas will also see time at third, typically against left-handed pitching, while triple-A prospect Alex Freeland could offer depth from the minors if needed.

Hyeseong Kim, meanwhile, should also get a bump in playing time at second base on days Edman is at third.

“It’s gonna be a good opportunity for him,” Roberts said of Kim. “It’ll be good to know more and get him some more experience.”

When the deadline rolls around at the end of the month, the Dodgers will have more information to work with — not only on the state of Muncy’s rehab, but also about how their lineup fares without him.

With a top-five farm system in the sport, according to MLB Pipeline and Baseball America, they will have the ammunition to make a splash if needed.

But for now, their expectation is that Muncy’s injury won’t force them into a drastic midseason roster makeover. They are hopeful that what initially appeared to be a season-altering moment will be nothing more than a temporary speed bump in their pursuit of a second consecutive title.

“We’re playing good baseball as a team. We’re in a good position division-wise right now,” Gomes said. “So if we keep doing that, we can weather [Muncy’s absence].”

From Kevin Baxter: The Dodgers will be without Max Muncy for approximately six weeks after the third baseman was placed on the injured list Thursday with what the team is calling a bone bruise in his left knee. Muncy was injured in the sixth inning of Wednesday’s walk-off win over the Chicago White Sox when Chicago’s Michael Taylor slid headfirst into third on an unsuccessful attempt to steal third base.

Taylor’s helmet hit Muncy’s knee, bending it sideways and flipping the infielder to the ground. The collision was so gruesome, SportsNet LA, which was broadcasting the game, did not show replays. Muncy writhed on the ground in obvious pain before being helped to the clubhouse.

Muncy, who entered the Dodger clubhouse Thursday afternoon wearing a blue elastic support bandage on his left leg, said he originally feared the worst, but an MRI found no structural damage.

“It was tough news, but it was also great news,” he said. “I still get to play baseball this year instead of coming back next year around April. So it was kind of best-case scenario.”

Muncy, who said his knee felt stiff but not painful, was scheduled to meet the Dodger doctors later Thursday but said he intended to embark on an aggressive rehabilitation process.

“Everybody’s body is different,” he said. “You know, some guys heal extremely fast, some guys heal extremely slow. Traditionally, I’ve always healed fairly fast.”

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‘Super grateful’ Clayton Kershaw, Dodger teammates bask in glow of 3,000th strikeout

‘I knew he was going to get it.’ Dodgers fans celebrate Clayton Kershaw’s big night

————

Dave Roberts had some goals in mind for starting pitcher Dustin May on Thursday. And they had little to do with the final result.

“The first thing is his ability to go deeper in games,” the Dodger manager said. “The sweeper has got to be a more effective pitch. His sinker has got to be more effective.

“I know he’s working through some delivery things with the pitching coaches. I’m kind waiting to see what to expect tonight.”

May would give Roberts far more than he asked for, setting down the first 16 batters in order and pitching into the eighth inning for the first time in his career in a 6-2 win over the Chicago White Sox.

The win was the Dodgers’ fourth in a row and ninth in their last 10 games.

The start was May’s 16th of the season and the seven innings he threw gave him 89.2 for the year, both career highs. Consistency, however, has been an issue. He won just once in June, when his 5.67 ERA was highest among Dodger starters.

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Dodgers box score

MLB scores

MLB standings

ANGELS

Zach Neto had three hits, including a homer, Nolan Schanuel added a two-run blast and José Soriano gave up only three hits in seven scoreless innings to lead the Angels to a 5-1 victory over the weak-hitting Atlanta Braves on Thursday night.

The Braves avoided a shutout on Jurickson Profar’s ninth-inning homer off left-hander Brock Burke. It was Profar’s second homer in two games since returning from an 80-game PED suspension.

Soriano (6-5) had seven strikeouts and did not allow a base runner to reach second base. Neto scored three runs.

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Angels put Christian Moore on injured list, pick up contract of Chad Stevens

Angels box score

MLB scores

MLB standings

LAKERS

From Dylan Hernández: The Lakers found their next starting center, and they didn’t have to give up Austin Reaves to land him.

There’s a reason why.

As athletic and skilled as Deandre Ayton is for a 7-footer, he’s better known at this stage of his career for his shortcomings.

His maddening inconsistency. His uninspired defense. His lack of motivation. His inability to stay healthy.

Portland Trail Blazers center Deandre Ayton shoots under pressure from Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic on Feb. 10 in Denver. (David Zalubowski / Associated Press)
If you didn’t like Anthony Davis, you’re going to hate Ayton. Davis was always accountable or at very least not tone deaf, which Ayton apparently is.

“I got nothing to prove in this league,” Ayton once told veteran NBA reporter Mark Medina. “I’m a max player, and I’ll continue to be a max player.”

Little wonder the Portland Trail Blazers officially gave up on Ayton during the weekend by buying out his contract, opening the door for the Lakers to pick him up at a bargain price.

The Lakers are wagering they can do what the Trail Blazers, and the Phoenix Suns before them, couldn’

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Lakers agree to terms to bring back Jaxson Hayes

SPARKS

Natasha Cloud scored 11 of her 23 points in the third quarter and sparked a huge run to lead the New York Liberty to an 89-79 victory over the Sparks on Thursday night.

Breanna Stewart added 17 points and 14 rebounds and Sabrina Ionescu had 20 points for New York (12-5).

The defending champion Liberty trailed 53-42 midway through the third before Cloud and Ionescu got going. Cloud’s three-point play sparked a 13-0 run and then Ionescu scored 10 straight points for New York to give the Liberty a 63-59 advantage.

Dearica Hamby scored 25 points to lead the Sparks, who got a boost with the return of Rae Burrell. She saw her first action since injuring her knee in the opener. She checked in late in the first quarter and played 12 minutes, finishing with five points.

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Sparks box score

WNBA standings

THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY

1907 — Canadian world heavyweight boxing champion Tommy Burns KOs Bill Squires of Australia in round 1 in Colma, Calif., his 6th title defense.

1910 — Jack Johnson knocks out Jim Jeffries in the 15th round at Reno, Nev., to retain the world heavyweight title and spoil Jeffries’ comeback.

1914 — The Harvard eight wins the Grand Challenge Cup to become the first American crew to capture the top event at the Henley Royal Regatta.

1919 — Jack Dempsey wins the world heavyweight title at Toledo, Ohio, when Jess Willard fails to answer the bell for the fourth round.

1923 — Jack Dempsey beats Tommy Gibbon in 15 for the heavyweight title. The fight almost bankrupts the town of Shelby, Montana, which borrowed heavily to stage it.

1930 — Helen Wills Moody wins her fourth straight singles title at Wimbledon with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Elizabeth Ryan. Moody would go on to win four more Wimbledon singles titles.

1954 — FIFA World Cup Final, Wankdorf Stadium, Bern, Switzerland: Helmut Rahn scores twice as West Germany beats Hungary, 3-2.

1964 — Maria Bueno of Brazil upsets Margaret Smith of Australia 6-4, 7-9, 6-3 for the women’s title at Wimbledon.

1975 — Billie Jean King beats Evonne Goolagong, 6-0, 6-1 for her sixth and final singles title at Wimbledon.

1982 — Jimmy Connors beats John McEnroe 3-6, 6-3, 6-7, 7-6, 6-4 for the men’s singles championship at Wimbledon. The match lasts 4 hours, 16 minutes.

1987 — Martina Navratilova wins her eighth Wimbledon singles title and sixth straight, beating Steffi Graf 7-5, 6-3.

1994 — FIFA World Cup: A Bebeto strike saves Brazil from embarrassment, beat USA 1-0 at Stanford.

1999 — Pete Sampras overwhelms Andre Agassi in three sets to capture his sixth Wimbledon title and tie Roy Emerson’s record with his 12th Grand Slam championship. Sampras is the first man in the Open era with six Wimbledon titles.

2002 — Venus and Serena Williams win in straight sets to set up their third title match at a major in 10 months — and the first all-sister Wimbledon final since 1884. Top-seeded Venus, the two-time defending champion, overpowers Justine Henin 6-3, 6-2. Second-seeded Serena routs Amelie Mauresmo 6-2, 6-1 in 55 minutes.

2003 — Lakers star Kobe Bryant is arrested in Eagle, Colo., for sexual assault, charges eventually dismissed.

2004 — UEFA European Championship Final, Estádio da Luz, Lisbon, Portugal: In a huge upset Greece beats host nation Portugal, 1-0.

2004 — Meg Mallon wins the Women’s U.S. Open with a 6-under 65, the lowest final round by a champion in the 59-year history of the tournament. Mallon finishes at 10-under 274 for a two-shot victory over Annika Sorenstam.

2008 — Dara Torres completes her improbable Olympic comeback, making the U.S. team for the fifth time by winning the 100 freestyle at the U.S. Olympic trials in Omaha, Neb. The 41-year-old wins in 54.78. A nine-time medalist, she already was the first U.S. swimmer to make four Olympic teams.

2009 — Serena Williams beats her big sister Venus 7-6 (3), 6-2 for her third Wimbledon title and 11th Grand Slam championship. In the fourth all-Williams final at Wimbledon, Serena comes out on top for the third time. Later, Venus and Serena win their fourth women’s doubles title at Wimbledon and ninth Grand Slam doubles title as a pair.

2010 — Rafael Nadal beats Tomas Berdych in straight sets, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4, to win his second Wimbledon title and eighth Grand Slam championship.

2011 — Tyler Farrar becomes the first American to win a July 4 Tour de France stage, dominating a sprint finish in the third leg as teammate Thor Hushovd of Norway kept the yellow jersey.

2014 — Germany becomes the first country to reach the semifinals for a fourth straight World Cup by beating France 1-0 in a quarterfinal match settled by a first-half header from Mats Hummels.

2015 — Copa América Final, Estadio Nacional Julio Martínez Prádanos, Santiago: Chile defeats Argentina, 4-1 penalties to win their first title; 0-0 after extra time.

2015 — Super Rugby Final, Westpac Stadium, Wellington: Otago Highlanders beat Wellington Hurricanes 21-14 for their first title.

THIS DAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY

1905 — The Philadelphia Athletics scored two runs in the 20th inning, giving Rube Waddell a 4-2 victory over Cy Young of the Boston Red Sox. Both pitchers went the distance.

1908 — George Wiltse of the New York Giants pitched a 10-inning, 1-0 no-hitter against the Philadelphia Phillies.

1912 — George Mullin of the Detroit Tigers celebrated his 32nd birthday by pitching a no-hitter over the St. Louis Browns.

1925 — Two of the great left-handers of their time, Herb Pennock of the Yankees and Lefty Grove of the Athletics, hooked up in a pitcher’s duel that New York won 1-0 in 15 innings. Pennock gave up four hits and walked none.

1939 — Jim Tabor of the Boston Red Sox hit three home runs, including two grand slams, in an 18-12 triumph over the Philadelphia Athletics in the second game of a doubleheader.

1945 — Augie Bergamo drove in eight runs to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to 19-2 rout of the New York Giants in the second game of a doubleheader. Bergamo, batting leadoff, went 5 for 6 with two home runs and four runs scored.

1976 — The Phillies’ Tim McCarver lost a grand slam when he passed Garry Maddox on the base paths. The Phillies still beat the Pirates 10-5 at Pittsburgh.

1983 — Dave Righetti of the New York Yankees pitched a 4-0 no-hitter against the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium.

1984 — Phil Niekro of the New York Yankees struck out five Texas Rangers to become the ninth pitcher with 3,000 strikeouts. No. 3,000 was Larry Parrish.

1985 — The New York Mets beat the Braves 16-13 in 19 innings at Atlanta. The game went until just before 4 a.m. on July 5, and was followed by a fireworks display for the 10,000 still left in the stands. Keith Hernandez of the Mets hit for the cycle in 10 at-bats. The score was tied 8-8 after innings. Both teams scored two runs apiece in the 13th. The Mets scored a run in the 18th to take an 11-10 lead, but Braves pitcher Rick Camp tied the score with a homer. Camp then gave up five runs in the top the 19th. Ron Darling, the seventh Mets pitcher, closed the game giving up two runs.

2006 — Victor Martinez went 5-for-6 and Jhonny Peralta and Travis Hafner each hit two of Cleveland’s six home runs, powering the Indians to a 19-1 rout of New York. The win was Cleveland’s largest at home in more than 56 years, since a 21-2 victory over the Philadelphia Athletics on June 18, 1950.

2006 — Jose Contreras tossed 6 2-3 scoreless innings to win his 17th straight decision and lead the White Sox to a 13-0 victory over Baltimore.

2008 — The Cardinals drop a 2-1 decision to the Cubs but Albert Pujols socks his 300th career home run. At 28 years, 170 days old, he becomes the fifth youngest player to hit 300, one day ahead of Mel Ott. The younger players were Alex Rodriguez, Jimmie Foxx, Ken Griffey Jr. and Andruw Jones.

2008 — Colorado homered six times to rally from a nine-run deficit for the biggest comeback in franchise history and an 18-17 victory over Florida. Chris Iannetta singled home the winning run off Kevin Gregg in the ninth inning. The Rockies and Marlins combined for 35 runs and 43 hits, 21 of them for extra bases with eight home runs.

2010 — The rosters for the 2010 All-Star Game, to be played at Angel Stadium, are announced today. The top vote getters are Joe Mauer in the American League and Albert Pujols in the National League. Among the first-time All-Stars is 40-year-old reliever Arthur Rhodes of the Reds; he sports a sparkling 1.09 ERA in his 19th big league season.

2012 — Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz hit his 400th career home run, a leadoff drive to right in the fourth inning against Oakland’s A.J. Griffin.

2014 — Brian Roberts hit three doubles and a triple, leading the New York Yankees to a 6-5 win over Minnesota.

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.

The Dodgers will be without Max Muncy for approximately six weeks after the third baseman was placed on the injured list Thursday with what the team is calling a bone bruise in his left knee. Muncy was injured in the sixth inning of Wednesday’s walk-off win over the Chicago White Sox when Chicago’s Michael Taylor slid headfirst into third on an unsuccessful attempt to steal third base.

The Dodgers now have 13 players on the injured list.

Taylor’s helmet hit Muncy’s knee, bending it sideways and flipping the infielder to the ground. The collision was so gruesome, SportsNet LA, which was broadcasting the game, did not show replays. Muncy writhed on the ground in obvious pain before being helped to the clubhouse.

Muncy, who entered the Dodger clubhouse Thursday afternoon wearing a blue elastic support bandage on his left leg, said he originally feared the worst, but an MRI found no structural damage.

“It was tough news, but it was also great news,” he said. “I still get to play baseball this year instead of coming back next year around April. So it was kind of best-case scenario.”

Muncy, who said his knee felt stiff but not painful, was scheduled to meet the Dodger doctors later Thursday but said he intended to embark on an aggressive rehabilitation process.

“Everybody’s body is different,” he said. “You know, some guys heal extremely fast, some guys heal extremely slow. Traditionally, I’ve always healed fairly fast.”

Taylor also left the game with a shoulder contusion. The White Sox have listed his status as day to day.

Muncy’s place on the roster was taken by outfielder Esteury Ruiz, who was acquired on April 2 from the Athletics in exchange for minor league right-handed pitcher Carlos Duran. Ruiz appeared in 66 games for triple-A Oklahoma City, batting .292 with eight homers, 37 RBIs and 38 stolen bases.

Muncy’s absence will leave a big hole in the Dodgers’ lineup. He led the team with a .333 average and 24 RBIs in June, when he matched Shohei Ohtani for the lead in home runs with seven. He is hitting .250/.375/.457 for the season and is third on the team with 55 RBIs.

“He’s huge,” pitcher Clayton Kershaw, who was on the mound when the injury happened, said of Muncy. “I don’t really know why he stole there. It just seemed unnecessary. We’re all holding our breath that Munc is going to be OK.

“He’s obviously a huge part of our team, especially the last two months.”

Michael Taylor’s helmet collided with Max Muncy’s left knee on his unsuccessful attempt to steal third base, injuring Muncy in the process.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Miguel Rojas, who hasn’t played since injuring his left hand on an attempted steal Sunday, started at third base Thursday. Kiké Hernández, who took Muncy’s place Wednesday, is also likely to see some time at third in Muncy’s absence.

Hernández is hitting .204/2.70/.383 while Rojas, primarily a second baseman, is batting .250/.289/.380.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The glasses might’ve come first. But it was a light bulb moment with the swing that made the most profound change.

Just over a month into the season this year, veteran Dodgers slugger Max Muncy was in a desperate search for answers.

Through the team’s first 30 games, his batting average started with a one and his home run total was stuck on zero. His role as the team’s starting third baseman was being called into question, fueling early-season speculation that the team would need to replace him before the trade deadline. He was absorbing daily criticism from fans, while trying not to succumb to internal self-flagellation.

The 10-year veteran had gone through cold starts before. But nothing quite so frustrating as this.

“It’s a privilege to play under this pressure, and it’s something I’ve always thrived on, but it doesn’t mean it’s been easy,” Muncy said on the last day of April. “It’s been a rough month.”

Starting that afternoon, however, Muncy made one big change. Upon learning he had astigmatism in his right eye, he began wearing glasses at the plate to balance out his vision. In his first game using them, he hit his first home run of the year.

Then, nine days later, came the real breakthrough.

After spending the entirety of the winter tinkering with his swing, and most of the opening month trying to calibrate his mechanics, everything suddenly synced up during a May 9 at-bat in Arizona.

Muncy took a quick hack at a high fastball from Diamondbacks reliever Kevin Ginkel. He lined a ninth-inning, game-tying single through the right side of the infield in the Dodgers’ eventual win at Chase Field. And he realized that, finally, he’d found a feeling in the batter’s box he’d been chasing the last several years.

A demarcation point had just been established.

And Muncy’s season has been transformed ever since.

“The funny thing about baseball is, sometimes, it just takes one swing, one play, one pitch to lock someone in,” he said. “And ever since that day, I’ve had that feeling in the back of my head. Like, ‘That’s what it’s supposed to feel like.’”

In 36 games before then, Muncy was hitting .188 with only one home run, eight RBIs and 43 strikeouts; his early days with the glasses not even leading to an immediate turnaround.

But since May 9, he has been one of the best hitters in baseball, and on one of the most prolific stretches of his entire career. Over his last 43 games, Muncy’s batting average is .313, a personal best over any span that long in the majors. He has 12 home runs and a whopping 47 RBIs, a major-league-leading total in that stretch. According to Fangraphs’ all-encompassing wRC+ statistic, only Ronald Acuña Jr., Cal Raleigh, Aaron Judge and Ketel Marte have been more productive at the plate.

And, most important, he has re-established himself as a central cog in the Dodgers’ lineup.

“He’s one of our most trusted hitters,” manager Dave Roberts said this past weekend. “I haven’t always been able to say that.”

Being a better, more trusted hitter has been a work in progress for Muncy ever since the devastating elbow injury he suffered at the end of 2021.

In Muncy’s prime years with the Dodgers from 2018-2021, he not only blossomed as one of the best sluggers in baseball by belting 118 home runs over a four-year stretch, but did so while posting a .246 batting average and .371 on-base-percentage; solid marks for a power threat occupying a key role in the middle of the Dodgers’ order.

At the core of that all-around approach was an ability to handle pitches to all parts of the plate — none more important than elevated fastballs at the top of the strike zone.

Dodgers first baseman Max Muncy writhes in pain after colliding with the Milwaukee Brewers’ Jace Peterson during the final regular-season game in 2021.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

“When I’m going well, I’m a really good high-fastball hitter,” Muncy said earlier this year.

“When Max is covering that pitch,” added hitting coach Aaron Bates, “it allows him to do so many other things as a hitter.”

Coming off his elbow injury, however, getting to high heat became a weakness in Muncy’s game. For much of the next two years, when he still hit for power but batted only a combined .204, he felt “it was really hard to replicate” his old swing. Last year, he made some incremental progress — when he batted .232 — but was stalled by an oblique strain that cost him the middle three months of the season.

Thus, this winter, Muncy set his mind to rediscovering his old mechanics.

“It really wasn’t that big of a change,” he said. “It was just going back to what I did when I first got here from 2018 to 2021. The same philosophy I had all those years.”

The work started in January, when Bates and fellow Dodgers hitting coach Robert Van Scoyoc visited Muncy at his home in Texas and crafted a simple focus for the 34-year-old’s offseason work: Purposely practice hitting grounders and line drives on a lower trajectory, in hopes it would train his swing to stay on top of the ball even on pitches up in the zone.

“You know he’s naturally going to have loft in his swing to elevate the baseball easily,” Bates said. “So that was a focus point for him, making sure he can hit a hard line drive on a pitch up in the zone, not necessarily trying to elevate it more than he needs to.”

A sound theory, with some disastrous early results.

At the start of the year, Muncy’s new swing thought bred other unexpected bad habits. In his effort to stay on top of the ball, he was opening up his backside and letting his front shoulder drift too far forward at the start of his move. As a result, Muncy had trouble squaring the ball and keeping his bat level through the strike zone. It led to not only a lack of power, but a diminished ability to distinguish the kind of pitches being thrown — evidenced by a nearly 32% strikeout rate in April that was seventh-highest among MLB hitters.

“That’s where it’s tough playing the sport,” Muncy said. “Because you can’t chase results immediately, even though you kind of have to. You have to chase the process in the long run.”

And even as external pressure over his dwindling production mounted, Muncy said the club’s coaches and front office assured him he’d have time to keep working through it.

“It’s easier to stick with something long-term when that’s the case,” Muncy said. “And for me, that’s been my entire career. Trust the process, not the result.”

During late April, Muncy’s process included a visit to the same eye doctor who had diagnosed Kiké Hernández with eye astigmatism last year; a discovery that prompted Hernández to start wearing glasses, and keyed a sudden offensive turnaround in the second half of the season.

Turned out, Muncy had a similar problem. Though his vision was 20/12, astigmatism in his right eye had made him left-eye dominant, a subtle but limiting dynamic for a left-handed hitter.

Thus, on the last day of the month, Muncy also started wearing prescription-lensed glasses, and christened the new eyewear with a home run in his first game using them.

“It’s not necessarily something that I need,” Muncy said. “But just any chance at all it evens out both eyes for me, I’ve been taking it.”

Yet, in his first week using them, he still went just six-for-28 with nine strikeouts and only five walks. He was still grinding through his adjustments to his mechanics. He was still waiting for one swing where everything would feel synced up.

When Muncy came to the plate in that May 9 game against the Diamondbacks to face Ginkel, he surveyed the situation, put his swing mechanics out of his head, and tried to focus on only one objective.

“It was guy on second, no outs,” Muncy recalled, “so I was trying to give up the at-bat, get the ball on the ground to the right side of second base, and move the runner from second to third.”

Throughout his career, this is when Muncy is at his best. When his mind isn’t clouded by the pressure to produce, or the particulars of his swing. When he’s “going out there and just trying to play the situation,” he explained. “Like, ‘What is my at-bat calling for in this moment?’”

And on that day in Arizona, with the Dodgers trailing by one run in the ninth, that simplified mindset gave Muncy his moment of long-awaited clarity.

Ginkel threw a 95 mph fastball up near Muncy’s chest. The slugger hit it with the kind of quick, level swing he’d spent all winter attempting to craft.

As the ball rocketed through the right side of the infield for a game-tying single, Muncy felt a lightbulb go off as he pulled into first base.

Fans cheer as the Dodgers’ Max Muncy rounds the bases after hitting a grand slam on June 22 against the Washington Nationals.

(Luke Johnson/Los Angeles Times)

“I was so short and direct to it, it just triggered something in my head,” Muncy said. “It kind of took all the stuff I’d been working on, even going back to the winter, and was like, ‘OK, this is how I’m trying to get it to feel.’”

Muncy hasn’t looked back ever since.

By being able to cover the top of the strike zone, he hasn’t had to cheat on fastballs or hunt on tougher pitches to hit around his knees. When coupled with the glasses that have helped him better differentiate velocity from spin, he’s been able to be selective and wait out mistakes.

“There’s been spells in his career where it was the three [true] outcomes and that was it,” Roberts said, long a believer in Muncy’s ability to be a more potent hit collector, rather than just a high-powered, high-strikeout slugging presence. “Now, I think he’s a complete hitter. So you see the runs batted in, the homers, the quality of at-bats all tick up.”

During this torrid two-month stretch, highlights have come in bunches for Muncy. He’s had two seven-RBI games and another with six. He hit a game-tying home run in the ninth inning against the New York Mets on June 3. He had two grand slams in the span of three games last week.

He has gone from the subject of trade deadline rumors to a fan-voting finalist to make the All-Star Game.

He knows it’s still only been two months; that, in a sport as fickle as baseball, the feeling he has discovered at the plate can just as quickly disappear again.

But for the first time in years, he’s healthy, in sync and possessing total clarity — in both vision and mind — every time he steps to the dish.

“This is definitely more of what I was envisioning,” Muncy said this weekend, reflecting back on the early-season struggles and laborious swing work over the winter that preceded his two-month tear.

“Now, I have the confidence to know I can accomplish pretty much anything I want to do for that situation. Whereas, before, you don’t always have that.”

Russell added to BBC Sport: “Toto has made it clear to me that how I’m performing is as good as anybody.

“There is only one driver that you can debate in terms of performance. These are his words and not my words, and that is why I have no concern about my future.

“But there are two seats to every team and I guess he needs to think who are those two drivers.”

Russell’s comments imply that his own contract talks with team principal Toto Wolff are being delayed by Mercedes’ conversations with the four-time champion.

Wolff said at the Austrian Grand Prix on Friday: “George has always performed to the expectations we set. We haven’t given him a car to win the world championship in the last three years and that’s on us.

“The times the car is good, he has been winning races. You know he is going to extract what’s in the car.

“In a normal business the contract discussions are not being held as town halls, everything is normal, everything is going to plan.”

In direct response to Russell’s comments on Verstappen, Wolff said: “You are going into territory I don’t want to discuss out there. People discuss and explore, and in our organisation people are transparent. But it doesn’t change a millimetre of my opinion of George.”

Verstappen refused to directly comment when he was asked on Thursday whether he would be staying with Red Bull next year.

“I don’t think we need to talk about that,” he said. “It’s not really on my mind. Just driving well, trying to push the performance, and then we focus on next year.”

DENVER — The rain came out of nowhere. So too, it seemed, did Max Muncy’s infield pop-up.

In the top of the sixth inning at Coors Field on Tuesday night, Muncy was at the plate with two out and two runners aboard when a sudden rainstorm opened up from overcast skies. Within moments, sheets of rain were pouring down. But as fans scattered for cover, umpires let the at-bat roll on.

“My glasses were pretty full of water at that point,” Muncy said. “Was just kind of praying to put the ball in play.”

In a full count, Muncy did, launching a sky-high pop-up down the first base line.

In clear conditions, it would have been a routine catch to end the inning.

But this time, neither Rockies first baseman Michael Toglia nor second baseman Thairo Estrada could locate the blur of leather as it came hurtling back to earth.

“When rain is falling that thick,” Muncy said, “it’s really hard to look up and find a baseball.”

Indeed, as Muncy pulled into first base, and teammates Shohei Ohtani and Dalton Rushing came trotting across the plate, Toglia looked toward Estrada, who initially appeared to be calling for the ball. But then, Estrada looked back at Toglia in confusion, neither appearing certain exactly where the pop-up went. At the last second, both instead ducked for cover, turtling with their arms around their heads. The ball landed between them, seemingly startling Toglia after dropping a few feet to his right.

In the scorebook, the play went down as a two-run single, representing the first runs in a game the Dodgers went on to win 8-1 — with the help of a victory-sealing grand slam from Muncy in the top of the seventh.

But in reality, it was another example of the Rockies’ helplessness in this historically hapless season — and a comical stroke of luck the Dodgers were more than happy to take.

“At first, I was just happy I made contact,” Muncy said. “Then you’re upset you pop it up. Then you see them kind of scrambling around and you start getting a little excited. Then it drops and obviously you’re happy about it.”

Entering this week’s trip to Colorado, manager Dave Roberts emphasized the importance of stacking wins against a Rockies team on pace to set an MLB record for losses in a season. He noted how it was part of a softer overall stretch in the team’s schedule, with the Dodgers (50-31) in a run of 12 straight games against teams with losing records.

“You need to beat the teams you’re supposed to beat,” Roberts said. “That’s just the way it is.”

In both games in Denver this week, the Rockies (18-62) have aided in that cause. On Monday, Toglia misplayed three balls in a six-run fourth-inning rally for the Dodgers that catapulted them to a series-opening win.

Tuesday’s blunder, however, was even more of an egregious eyesore; even if Roberts and Muncy both described it as a tricky play.

“I give Max a lot of credit for just staying in the at-bat, fighting to put the ball in play, to allow for something like that to happen,” Roberts said. “It certainly changed the momentum … With no runs [right there], it might have been a different ballgame.”

The next time Muncy came to the plate, he added to his RBI total in a more traditional way.

With the bases loaded and two out in the seventh, the scorching hot slugger turned on a hanging 0-and-2 slider and launched his second grand slam in the last three games way out to right field.

It gave Muncy six RBIs on the night, and a staggering 42 runs driven in over his last 37 games.

“Not everyone is swinging the bat well,” Roberts said, a group that most notably includes Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, who went a combined 0-for-nine. “So to have that production from Max in the middle of the lineup has been paramount.”

“He’s got a lot of confidence right now,” Roberts added.

The offensive output — which continued with a towering home run from Michael Conforto in the eighth — marked one of the few times this year the Dodgers provided Yoshinobu Yamamoto with ample run support. On Wednesday alone, they matched the eight total runs they had scored in his previous four starts this month.

It proved to be plenty on a night the right-hander spun a much-needed gem, bouncing back from the 5.23 ERA he had in June entering the night with five scoreless innings that included one hit, one walk and six strikeouts.

Even at mile-high altitude, his ability to locate curveballs and splitters was particularly sharp, helping him rack up 39 strikes out of 56 pitches.

“I started feeling good last week, and going into today’s game,” Yamamoto said. “And then today I was attacking with first-pitch strikes pretty good. I think that was [the biggest difference].”

The only thing that stopped Yamamoto was the rain, forcing him to make an early exit after a one-hour, 27-minute delay that began immediately after Muncy’s pop-up. But by that point, the sudden showers had already done enough, helping the Dodgers take a lead they wouldn’t relinquish on a routine pop-up the Rockies’ infield lost sight of.

Said Muncy, with a laugh: “Hit it to the right spot, I guess.”

From Jack Harris: The rain came out of nowhere. So too, it seemed, did Max Muncy’s infield pop-up.

In the top of the sixth inning at Coors Field on Tuesday night, Muncy was at the plate with two out and two runners aboard when a sudden rainstorm opened up from overcast skies. Within moments, sheets of rain were pouring down. But as fans scattered for cover, umpires let the at-bat roll on.

“My glasses were pretty full of water at that point,” Muncy said. “Was just kind of praying to put the ball in play.”

In a full count, Muncy did, launching a sky-high pop-up down the first base line.

In clear conditions, it would have been a routine catch to end the inning.

But this time, neither Rockies first baseman Michael Toglia nor second baseman Thairo Estrada could locate the blur of leather as it came hurtling back to earth.

“When rain is falling that thick,” Muncy said, “it’s really hard to look up and find a baseball.”

In the scorebook, the play went down as a two-run single, representing the first runs in a game the Dodgers went on to win 8-1 — with the help of a victory-sealing grand slam from Muncy in the top of the seventh.

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Dodgers box score

MLB scores

MLB standings

ANGELS

Yusei Kikuchi struck out a season-high 12 in seven innings, Jo Adell and Travis d’Arnaud hit solo homers and RBI singles, and the Angels beat the Boston Red Sox 5-2 Wednesday to complete a three-game sweep.

Kikuchi (3-6) gave up two hits, walked one and threw 31 pitches in a shaky first inning when the Red Sox took advantage of shortstop Scott Kingery’s fielding error and scored two unearned runs on Trevor Story’s two-out single with the bases loaded.

The 34-year-old Japanese left-hander recovered and limited Boston to one hit with no walks over the next six innings. Kikuchi struck out the side in the second and fifth innings and retired the Red Sox in order in the fourth, sixth and seventh innings.

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Angels box score

MLB scores

MLB standings

LAKERS

Dodgers controlling owner Mark Walter and Lakers president and controlling owner Jeanie Buss broke their silence Wednesday on a blockbuster deal that shocked many in and outside of Los Angeles.

A news release issued by Walter’s team confirmed his acquisition of majority ownership stake of the Lakers, with the transaction expected to close in the third or fourth quarter of this year.

During the sale talks, the valuation of the Lakers was placed at $10 billion, a record for a professional sports team, people with knowledge of the deal not authorized to discuss it publicly told The Times. ESPN reported it is possible the value could swell to $12 billion before the transaction is complete.

“The Buss family is deeply honored to have looked after this incredible organization for almost half a century,” Jeanie Buss said in the statement. “From the day our father purchased the Lakers, we have been determined to deliver what the City of Los Angeles deserves and demands: a team that is committed to winning — relentlessly — and to doing so with passion and with style.”

I have gotten to know Mark very well over time and been delighted to learn how he shares those same values. For the last four years, Mark has been an excellent partner to us, and we are thrilled to keep working with him to continue the Lakers’ extraordinary legacy.”

CLIPPERS

From Broderick Turner: Some three hours before the Clippers used the 30th and final pick in the first round of the NBA draft to select Penn State’s Yanic Konan Niederhauser, the two top choices went as predicted and then the rest of the order was all over the place Wednesday.

In Konan Niederhauser, the Clippers got a 7-foot center and that was one of the positions they needed help to back up starter Ivica Zubac.

“We always go into the draft board looking for the best available player, and it also coincides this time with a need,” said Lawrence Frank, the Clippers president of basketball operations. “We’ve kind of looked over the years for a center that complements Zu, that does something different than Zu does. Sometimes it’s resulted with guys being undersized where we haven’t been able to maximize it. Yanic has legit positional size and I think the rim-rolling threat, combined with what Zu’s play is, I think in due time will be really, really good.”

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2025 NBA draft: Pick-by-pick coverage and analysis

LAFC

LAFC closed out the Club World Cup by tying Flamengo 1-1 at Inter & Co Stadium on Tuesday night.

Orlando has a large Brazilian community accustomed to cheering on former Orlando City star Kaká and current Orlando Pride star Marta. As a result, Brazilian club Flamengo enjoyed a strong push from the crowd against LAFC.

Flamengo’s Wallace Yan came off the bench and scored the game’s equalizer in the 86th minute. He received a pass from Jorginho, ran at full speed and scored with a right-footed shot from the penalty spot.

The 20-year-old striker’s goal gave Flamengo a draw. The team will face German giants Bayern Munich in the round of 16. That match will be played on Sunday in Miami.

“I couldn’t be prouder of the guys,” LAFC coach Steve Cherundolo said. “I’m really happy with their effort. … It’s very difficult against a quality side like Flamengo, but I think we did well with the opportunities we had.”

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GALAXY

Djordje Mihailovic and Calvin Harris scored four-minutes apart in the first half and the Colorado Rapids beat the Galaxy 2-0 on Wednesday night in a game delayed two hours due to weather.

Colorado (7-8-4) snapped a three-game losing streak.

The Galaxy (1-13-5) lost to the Rapids for the first time since May 6, 2023.

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Galaxy summary

MLS standings

THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY

1910 — For the second consecutive year, Hazel Hotchkiss wins the singles, doubles and mixed doubles titles at the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association championships. Hotchkiss beats Louise Hammond 6-4, 6-2 for the singles title.

1925 — Jim Barnes wins the British Open with a one-stroke win over Ted Ray and Archie Compston at Prestwick Golf Club in South Ayrshire, Scotland.

1959 — Ingemar Johansson knocks out Floyd Patterson in the third round at Yankee Stadium to win the world heavyweight title.

1976 — Japanese pro wrestler Antonio Inoki fights American boxer Muhammad Ali, at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, Japan.

1990 — Jennifer Capriati, 14, defeats Helen Kelesi 6-3, 6-1 in the first round to become the youngest winner of a match in Wimbledon history.

1991 — NBA Draft: UNLV power forward Larry Johnson first pick by Charlotte Hornets.

1992 — UEFA European Championship Final, Ullevi, Gothenburg, Sweden: In a huge upset Denmark beats Germany, 2-0.

1993 — NHL Draft: Victoriaville Tigres (QMJHL) center Alexandre Daigle first pick by Ottawa Senators.

1995 — The U.S. Supreme Court upholds a random drug-testing program in Vernonia, Ore. The 6-to-3 decision allows public high school officials to require student-athletes to submit to random urinalysis as a condition of being allowed to play interscholastic sports.

1996 — NBA Draft: Georgetown guard Allen Iverson first pick by Philadelphia 76ers.

1998 — Jamaica becomes the first Caribbean nation to win a World Cup soccer match since Cuba beat Romania in 1938. Theodore Whitmore scores in the 40th and 54th minutes as the Jamaicans beat Japan 2-1.

1999 — NHL Draft: Long Beach Ice Dogs (IHL) center Patrik Stefan first pick by Atlanta Thrashers.

2002 — In one of the most extraordinary days at the All England Club, seven-time champion Pete Sampras, 1992 winner Andre Agassi and No. 2-seeded Marat Safin all lose — throwing the Wimbledon tournament wide open. For the first time in the Open era, five of the top-eight seeded men’s players are eliminated before the third round.

2002 — NBA Draft: Shanghai Sharks (China) center Yao Ming first pick by Houston Rockets.

2003 — NBA Draft: St. Vincent–St. Mary HS (Akron, Ohio) small forward LeBron James first pick by Cleveland Cavaliers.

2005 — Justin Gatlin cements his status as America’s fastest human by winning the 200 meters, becoming the first man in 20 years to sweep the sprints at the U.S. track and field championships. A day after winning the 100, Gatlin wins the 200 in 20.04 seconds. The last man to win both races at the U.S. meet was Kirk Baptiste in 1985.

2008 — Two stunning second-round upsets happen at Wimbledon as former champion Maria Sharapova and two-time runner-up Andy Roddick are ousted.

2008 — NBA Draft: Memphis point guard Derrick Rose first pick by Chicago Bulls.

2011 — Top-ranked Yani Tseng wins the LPGA Championship by 10 strokes and, at 22, becomes the youngest player to win four LPGA Tour majors.

2012 — Major college football finally gets a playoff. A committee of university presidents approve the BCS commissioners’ plan for a four-team playoff to start in the 2014 season.

2013 — Seven-time champion Roger Federer is stunned by 116th-ranked Sergiy Stakhovsky in the second round of Wimbledon, his earliest loss in a Grand Slam tournament in 10 years.

2014 — The United States reaches the knockout stage of consecutive World Cups for the first time. Germany beat the U.S. 1-0 to win Group G, but the Americans held onto second place when Portugal defeats Ghana 2-1 in a game played simultaneously.

2014 — NBA Draft: Kansas small forward Andrew Wiggins first pick by Cleveland Cavaliers.

2015 — NHL Draft: Erie Otters (OHL) center Connor McDavid #1 pick by the Edmonton Oilers.

2017 — Helmsman Peter Burling and Emirates Team New Zealand wins the America’s Cup with a resounding romp against software tycoon Larry Ellison’s two-time defending champion Oracle Team USA. They win Race 9 to clinch the 35th America’s Cup match at 7-1. Burling, at 26, is the youngest helmsman to win sailing’s greatest prize in a competition that dates to 1851.

2021 — Tour de France: The largest pile up in Tour history is caused by a spectator with a sign during Stage 1. The spectator is apprehended and arrested.

2012 — Stanley Cup Final, Amalie Arena, Tampa, FL: Colorado Avalanche beats two-time defending champions Tampa Bay Lightning, 2-1 for a 4-2 series win; Avs 3rd championship in franchise history.

THIS DAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY

1916 — The Cleveland Indians wore numbers on their sleeves in a game against the Chicago White Sox. It marked the first time players were identified by numbers corresponding to the scorecard.

1924 — New York right-hander Virgil Barnes faced his older sibling, Jesse, marking the first time brothers started against one another in major league history. Jesse got the loss when the Giants beat the Boston Braves 11-7.

1938 — Lonny Frey of the Cincinnati Reds had eight hits in a doubleheader split with the Philadelphia Phillies. Frey had three hits in a 10-3 opening-game loss and collected five in the nightcap, which the Reds won 8-5.

1944 — In an effort to raise funds for war bonds, the New York Giants, Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Yankees played each other in a six-inning game at the Polo Grounds. More than 50,000 fans turned out. Each team played successive innings against the other two teams then would sit out an inning. The final score was Dodgers 5, Yankees 1, Giants 0.

1962 — Earl Wilson of the Boston Red Sox pitched a 2-0 no-hitter against the Angels at Fenway Park. Wilson, the Red Sox’s first Black pitcher, also homered in the game.

1968 — St. Louis’ Bob Gibson pitched his fifth consecutive shutout as he blanked Pittsburgh, 3-0, in the first game of a doubleheader at Busch Stadium.

1970 — Frank Robinson hit two grand slams to power the Baltimore Orioles to a 12-2 victory over the Washington Senators.

1976 — Shortstop Toby Harrah played an entire doubleheader for the Texas Rangers without handling a batted ball by the Chicago White Sox.

1983 — New York’s Rusty Staub tied a season record with his eighth consecutive pinch hit. Staub equaled the 1958 mark established by Dave Philley of the Phillies when he singled in the ninth inning off reliever Ron Reed in the Mets’ 8-4 loss to Philadelphia at Shea Stadium.

2000 — Minor league sensation Alex Cabrera hit a two-run homer in his first major league at-bat for Arizona as the Diamondbacks beat the Houston Astros 6-1.

2003 — Edgar Martinez, who already holds the Mariners’ all-time records for games played, at-bats, hits, doubles, total bases, extra-base hits, walks and runs scored, passes Ken Griffey Jr.’s mark for team career RBIs. His two-run homer in the Mariners’ 10 – 6 victory over the Angels gives the All-Star designated hitter 1,153 RBIs, one more than Junior.

2006 — Oregon State beats North Carolina 3-2 for its first College World Series title.

2015 — Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg resigns in his third season with his team in last place.

2019 — Vanderbilt University defeats Michigan 8-2 to win the College World Series.

2023 — Louisiana State University wins the 2023 College World Series with an 18-4 win over the University of Florida in the final game, one day after losing 24-4 to the Gators. Paul Skenes is named the recipient of the College World Series Most Outstanding Player award. It is the Tigers’ seventh title overall, and first since 2009.

Compiled by the Associated Press

Until next time…

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The US agency harshly criticised Boeing’s safety culture as well as ineffective oversight by the FAA.

Boeing failed to provide adequate training, guidance and oversight to prevent a midair cabin panel blowout of a new 737 MAX 9 flight in January 2024, which spun the planemaker into a major crisis, the United States National Transportation Safety Board has said.

The board on Tuesday harshly criticised Boeing’s safety culture and its failure to install four key bolts in a new Alaska Airlines MAX 9 during production, as well as the ineffective oversight by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy said at a board meeting that the incident was entirely avoidable because the planemaker should have addressed the unauthorised production that was identified in numerous Boeing internal audits, reports and other forums for at least 10 years.

“The safety deficiencies that led to this accident should have been evident to Boeing and to the FAA,” Homendy said. “It’s nothing short of a miracle that no one died or sustained serious physical injuries.”

Boeing’s on-the-job training was lacking, the NTSB said, adding that the planemaker is working on a design enhancement that will ensure the door plug cannot be closed until it is firmly secured.

The accident prompted the US Department of Justice to open a criminal investigation and declare that Boeing was not in compliance with a 2021 deferred prosecution agreement. CEO Dave Calhoun announced he would step down within a few months of the midair panel blowout.

Homendy praised new Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg, but said, “He has his work cut out for him, a lot of challenges to address, and that’s going to take time.”

Boeing said it regretted the accident and was continuing to work on strengthening safety and quality across its operations.

The FAA said on Tuesday that it has “fundamentally changed how it oversees Boeing since the Alaska Airlines door-plug accident and we will continue this aggressive oversight to ensure Boeing fixes its systemic production-quality issues”.

Damaged reputation

The incident badly damaged Boeing’s reputation and led to a grounding of the MAX 9 for two weeks as well as a production cap of 38 planes per month by the FAA, which still remains in place.

“While Boeing is making progress, we will not lift the 737 monthly production cap until we are confident the company can maintain safety and quality while making more aircraft,” the FAA added.

Boeing created no paperwork for the removal of the 737 MAX 9 door plug – a piece of metal shaped like a door covering an unused emergency exit – or its re-installation during production, and still does not know which employees were involved, the NTSB said on Tuesday.

Then-FAA administrator Michael Whitaker said in June 2024 that the agency was “too hands off” in Boeing oversight and has boosted the number of inspectors at Boeing and the MAX fuselage manufacturer’s, Spirit AeroSystems, factories.

Boeing agreed last July to plead guilty to a criminal fraud conspiracy charge after two fatal 737 MAX crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia. But it last month struck a deal with the US Justice Department to avoid a guilty plea.

The Justice Department has asked a judge to approve the deal, which will allow Boeing to avoid pleading guilty or facing oversight by an outside monitor.

Earlier this month, Boeing’s problems resurfaced when an Air India flight crashed soon after takeoff from the western Indian city of Ahmedabad, killing all but one on board. The aircraft being flown was a nearly 12-year-old Dreamliner. Investigations behind that crash are currently under way.