Heaney (2-1) struck out nine and gave up just one hit in six innings at Angel Stadium.
Heaney struck out the first six batters he faced. He retired the side in order in the third and added two strikeouts in the fourth.
Travis d’Arnaud got the Angels’ first hit in the fifth with a one-out double down the left-field line. Their second hit came with one out in the ninth before Dennis Santana earned his third save by getting Mike Trout to pop out.
Trout, who went 0 for 3 with a walk in the series opener, struck out three times for the Angels, who have lost seven of their last nine games.
Pittsburgh won its first road series of the season after a 9-3 victory Tuesday in the opener.
Bryan Reynolds hit a fly ball to right to drive in a run for his team-leading 13th RBI of the season.
Cruz added his sixth home run of the season in the fifth — the fifth home run given up by Jack Kochanowicz this season in 25 innings. Cruz has 12 RBIs.
Kochanowicz (1-3) gave up eight hits and two earned runs in six innings.
The Angels turned three double plays and their 27 this season are the most in MLB.
Key moment
Tommy Pham singled up the middle for an insurance run in the ninth after Adam Frazier’s leadoff single and steal.
Key stat
Trout has the longest home run in the majors this season at 484 feet, followed by Aaron Judge at 468 and Christian Yelich at 465. Cruz moved past Kyle Schwarber’s 462.
Up next
The Pirates will start Carmen Mlodzinski (1-3, 7.41 ERA) in the series finale. The Angels will counter with Tyler Anderson (2-0, 2.08 ERA).
Hunter Manning lives so close to the West Ranch High baseball field that he can hear sounds of balls being hit in the batting cage at night.
He decided to attend Sherman Oaks Notre Dame as a freshman, requiring 6:30 a.m. wake-up calls and enduring traffic jams on the 5 Freeway. Now he sleeps until 7:45 a.m. without being late to walk to school and is playing with lifelong friends.
He’s headed to UC Irvine in the fall to pitch and only wishes he could take catcher Nolan Stoll with him. Manning struck out 12 on Wednesday with Stoll calling the pitches in West Ranch’s 3-1 win over Hart in a battle for first place in the Foothill League. West Ranch is 16-8 and 8-1.
It was by accident that Stoll started calling pitches for Manning earlier this season when the PitchCom communication device malfunctioned. It worked out so well that Stoll was allowed to continue to call the pitches for the rest of this season for Manning even though he still wears a wire and receives instructions from the dugout to move fielders. With Stoll in charge, Manning struck out a school-record 16 batters against Valencia and then came Wednesday’s effort.
“He called an awesome game,” Manning said.
Stoll is a Stanford commit with a grade-point average out of this world. Manning’s 3.8 GPA probably wouldn’t get him to Stanford, so he’ll need to figure a plan to take Stoll with him to Irvine.
“Sadly, I can’t,” he said.
Hart shortstop Devin Thompson takes the throw to tag out sliding Ryan Oh of West Ranch.
(Craig Weston)
Omar Gutierrez had a two-run first-inning single for West Ranch. Hart (11-9, 6-2) got two hits and an unearned run off Manning in the first inning, then saw him strike out eight consecutive batters.
The two teams meet again Friday at Hart.
St. John Bosco 2, Mater Dei 1: The Braves got a walk-off bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the eighth inning. Gavin Cervantes threw all eight innings for the Braves.
Santa Margarita 5, JSerra 1: A three-run triple by Warren Gravely IV in the top of the ninth inning keyed the Eagles’ Trinity League win. Ben Finnegan finished with a double and triple.
Newport Harbor 5, Huntington Beach 2: Lucas Perez, Adam Martin and Keoni Wun each had two hits to knock off No. 1 Huntington Beach.
El Dorado 4, Cypress 0: Logan Steenburgen threw the shutout, striking out two and walking none. Diego Gonzalez hit a two-run home run.
Foothill 4, El Modena 1: Sean Green hit a three-run walk-off home run in the 10th inning.
Edison 3, Corona del Mar 1: Gavin Johnson hit a three-run home run in the sixth inning for Edison.
Etiwanda 1, Rancho Cucamonga 0: Luke Mendoza hit a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning for the game’s only run. Michael Aleman threw eight innings with nine strikeouts for Etiwanda.
Chino Hills 1, Damien 0: Brody Buoncristiani and Matt McCliman combined on a two-hit shutout.
Los Osos 10, Upland 4: Roberto Topete finished with four hits to lead Los Osos.
Summit 5, Grand Terrace 3: Dylan Harrison and Ian Stewart each had two RBIs for Summit (20-3), which has won 17 straight games.
Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 4, La Salle 0: J. Beckett Berg threw a complete game, striking out eight with no walks.
Crespi 8, Saugus 2: Jackson Eisenhauer threw four scoreless innings with five strikeouts, making it 47 innings without giving up an earned run this season for Crespi (17-1).
Sierra Canyon 11, Kennedy 1: Freshman Kingston Monette struck out 11 in six innings. Dezi Delgado had four RBIs.
Mira Costa 5, West Torrance 1: Ace Tarango had three hits and Aiden Pinn threw four innings of scoreless relief. Mira Costa is 20-2 and 9-1 in the Bay League.
Cleveland 7, Granada Hills 3: Four Cleveland pitchers combined for a no-hitter. Joshua Pearlstein led the way with five hitless innings.
El Camino Real 10, Taft 2: Luke Howe, Troy Shaw and Adan Viner each contributed two RBIs for El Camino Real.
Birmingham 1, Chatsworth 0: The Patriots won on a walk-off from Cristian Martinez in the eighth inning. Allen Olmos threw the shutout.
Royal 9, Oak Park 0: Dustin Dunwoody threw the shutout. Brady Hewitt had three RBIs.
Warren 2, Gahr 1: Max Ruiz had the walk-off single in the seventh for Warren.
La Habra 5, Yorba Linda 0: Isaac Aguirre struck out eight, walked none and threw a four-hit shutout.
Softball
Carson 11, Banning 3: Kiarah Chukwudi had a home run and three RBIs for Carson. Giselle Pantoja struck out six.
Granada Hills 20, Taft 4: Alana Miller had four RBIs and Zoe Justman had four hits for the Highlanders.
At no point, Clippers guard Norman Powell maintained, did he waver in his belief in himself. At no point was he going to shy away from taking shots with the game hanging in the balance, despite missing many of his shots.
Powell said he has worked too hard all season to lose his confidence now, even if the stage has gotten bigger because the Clippers are in the playoffs against the Denver Nuggets.
Then he made three of his last four shots in the fourth quarter, during key moments, big-time shots that helped the Clippers pull out the tense game to tie the best-of-seven series 1-1.
Powell shot five for 14 from the field and finished with 13 points. But it was his seven points on three-for-four shooting in the final 12 minutes that showed how he impacted the game.
“Obviously for me, shots or buckets aren’t coming as they have been all year,” Powell said after practice Wednesday. “But it’s just about staying confident, riding the waves of the ups and downs of it. I’m trusting my work and just continue to take the shots that are open. Every shot that I’ve taken in this series have been shots I’ve made all year. It’s just not going in, but I have unwavering confidence in myself. My teammates [and] the coaching staff does.
“Throughout the course of the first two games, they’ve kept telling me to be aggressive and look for my spots, look for my shots, and late in the game I was able to convert on some of those shots … when we needed them, and that’s what matters most is just continuing to believe in myself and find ways to be effective.”
Powell’s floater with 6:30 left gave the Clippers a 91-90 lead. His floater with 5:16 left gave them a 96-92 lead.
It was his three-pointer with 1:35 left, off a pass from Kawhi Leonard, for a 103-100 lead that proved to be biggest of all in the Clippers’ 105-102 win. Getting the ball in that big spot showed Powell how much faith his teammates have in him.
“It just shows that they trust the work and they trusted my abilities as a player, as a teammate. Like I said, around this time you need that. You need the confidence in your two star players,” Powell said, referring to Leonard and James Harden. “You need the confidence in the supporting cast and the role players to go out there and execute and win.
“It’s a team game. Those guys are going to do what they have to do to put us in position, but it’s everybody stepping up and making plays throughout the course of the series, throughout the course of a 48-minute game that’s going to dig out wins. Not just going to be one guy, but everybody around here knows the amount I put into this game each and every day. Whether it’s a good game, bad game, I’m here the next day putting in the work, getting better, watching film and seeing how I can be the best version of myself for this team. So it means a lot.”
They will need Powell again when the Clippers play Game 3, which will be their first playoff game at their new home, the Intuit Dome, on Thursday night.
Coach Tyronn Lue doesn’t care that Powell is shooting only 38.5% from the field in the series, averaging just 12.5 points after averaging a career-best 21.8 during the regular season and shooting 48.4% from the field, including 41.8% from three-point range.
Lue had a conversation with Powell to offer encouragement.
“He’s got to trust in his work,” Lue said. “He works too hard. Sometimes I think too much. So, left him in at the end of the game. We saw what he did for us last year at the end of the games and so this wasn’t any different. So, I’m glad he was able to make those three shots in the fourth quarter and hopefully that gets him going throughout the course of this series.”
Clippers applying full-court pressure
There have been times in this series when the Clippers applied full-court pressure on the Nuggets.
Kris Dunn and Derrick Jones Jr. would defend Denver point guard Jamal Murray full court in an attempt to wear him down.
Ben Simmons would pick up Denver center Nikola Jokic full court to try to slow him down.
“It helps a lot,” Lue said. “I think it allows them to get into their triggers later in the clock, which takes away Joker’s decision making being able to pass the ball three or four times and make a play. It also wears them down when they are playing so many minutes, so many heavy minutes. I thought when Ben came in the game and picked up Joker full court and kind of denied him and got into him, I thought it wore him down.
“Then DJ picked up Jamal and then Nico [Batum] was up picking up the floor against them. I think as the series goes along and the more minutes they are playing, the more we can be physical, picking up full court and trying to wear them down, it will be good for us.”
New York — An eerie, overpowering force has taken over the Marquis Theatre, home of “Stranger Things: The First Shadow,” which had its official Broadway opening on Tuesday.
This supernatural power is from a dimension even more intimidating than the Upside Down. The occult realm of Netflix, the streaming service that ensnares viewers in a maze of maybes, has joined forces with Sonia Friedman Productions to convert a piece of prime theatrical real estate into a zone of franchise extension.
Broadway denizens, beware: A portal into a fantasy universe has been established in the heart of the Theater District, unleashing a breed of supernatural creatures that makes the “Harry Potter” lot seem mild and mainstream by comparison. Disney musicals have been accused of turning Broadway into a theme park. “Stranger Things” hurls the art form into Dungeons & Dragons territory.
Louis McCartney as Henry Creel in “Stranger Things: The First Shadow” on Broadway.
(Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman)
The good news is that a younger demographic is making the pilgrimage to the temple of their grandparents’ favorite show tunes. There were so many young faces at the Marquis, I had to remind myself that I was attending an evening press preview and not a student matinee.
The production, directed by Tony-winning veteran Stephen Daldry with co-director Justin Martin, is spectacular in the way that it combines the fluidity of the screen with the dynamism of the stage. The theater proves that it can do nearly anything the cinema can do with the right design team, directorial imagination and technological know-how.
Unfortunately, “Stranger Things: The First Shadow,” written by Kate Trefry from an original story she collaborated on with the Duffer Brothers (the series’ creators) and Jack Thorne, also shows that the theater can be just as careless as any hyperactive action movie when it comes to plot. While seemingly unlimited resources are lavished on visual effects, the drama is allowed to tie itself into impossible knots. (Thorne, who won a Tony for “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” and obloquy for the Broadway bomb “King Kong,” achieves a Hegelian synthesis with this potential blockbuster of dubious artistic purpose.)
“Stranger Things: The First Shadow” at the Marquis Theatre in New York City,
(Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman)
The problem with “Stranger Things: The First Shadow” is that it’s as if an entire new season of the series had been squeezed into a 2-hour, 45-minute stage play — roughly the length of three episodes. This is binge viewing on an expedited, don’t-worry-about-the-math timeline.
I barely made it through two seasons of the Netflix series, so I’m hardly an expert on “Stranger Things.” But I did notice that the Duffer Brothers didn’t worry all that much about leaving storytelling holes even when they had eight episodes to lay out their vision. Here, the gaps in narrative logic are so vast that it would take the most committed fans to fill in all the missing pieces from the realm of online mythology the series has accrued since its premiere in 2016.
Gabrielle Nevaeh as Patty Newby in “Stranger Things: The First Shadow.”
(Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman)
The main character of “The First Shadow” is Henry Creel, an adolescent dweeb who looks like Pee-wee Herman but has a malevolent side that could give Carrie a run for her prom night money. Devoted fans will know Henry from Season 4 of the series, but anyone with an ounce of sense will pick up on his sociopath tendencies from the way he buttons the top button of his shirt and stares numbly into the middle distance.
The play is a prequel to the series, set in the same town but taking place in 1959, a generation before the 1980s hairstyles and New Wave mix tapes that made Season 1 such a Gen X trip. We meet Joyce Maldonado (Alison Jaye) and James Hopper Jr. (Burke Swanson) when they’re in high school, having clocked in Netflix hours with them already as adults played by Winona Ryder and David Harbour.
Louis McCartney as Henry Creel in “Stranger Things: The First Shadow.”
(Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman)
Louis McCartney (who also starred in the Olivier Award-winning West End production) plays Henry, a forlorn misfit whose only real friend is the radio he clutches like a transistor security blanket. Wiry and dangerous, the character is also strangely endearing. McCartney’s shattered portrayal, blurring the line between victim and violator, elicits our sympathy without ever asking for it.
Henry’s parents are hoping for a fresh start after moving the family to Hawkins after some trouble in Nevada. Henry, who has psychokinetic powers and an unpredictable temper, apparently blinded a neighbor kid in a fit of pique, forcing the Creels to skedaddle to Indiana. They want to insulate their son, but it’s the community that really needs protection.
Henry Creel (Louis McCartney), center, with his parents, Victor (T.R. Knight) and Virginia (Rosie Benton).
(Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman)
At Hawkins High, the other students sense Henry’s oddity the way sharks scent blood in the water. One of the rich ironies of “Stranger Things” is the way the cruelty of ordinary teenagers is made to seem as depraved as anything in the Upside Down, the alternate dimension in which humans occasionally get trapped and hunted by diabolical forces.
Patty Newby (Gabrielle Nevaeh), the principal’s daughter who feels like an outsider at home and at school, strikes up a friendship with Henry. They wind up getting cast, under strained dramatic circumstances, in the school musical, and a romance of sensitive oddballs blossoms. While Henry tries to resist the dark forces running riot inside him, Patty obsesses about finding the mother who abandoned her, or so she’s been led to believe.
Through his radio, Henry can eavesdrop on people in a way that’s not bound by time or space. He agrees to help Patty find her mother, but sinister things are happening in Hawkins. A rash of brutal pet murders raises fears that a sadistic maniac is on the loose. Henry’s classmates start their own investigation, which inevitably brings them to Henry’s front door.
The Broadway cast of “Stranger Things: The First Shadow.”
(Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman)
As the Hawkins High musical gets underway and Patty’s long-lost Vegas showgirl mother zooms into paranormal view, Dr. Brenner (Alex Breaux) and his lab henchmen are vying to take control of Henry in what seems like a secret government plot but is part of an oceanic backstory that grows ever more convoluted. (The play opens with a naval ship under mysterious attack that may have something to do with the origin story of the Upside Down, but it would take a PhD in “Stranger Things” studies to unpack.)
Daldry and his crack production team move from one scenario to the other with breathtaking ease. There was a time when theater artists were encouraged to dig deeper into what made the stage unique as a form — most notably the palpable connection between actors and spectators.
“Stranger Things: The First Shadow” opens with a naval ship under mysterious attack.
(Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman)
“Stranger Things: The First Shadow” demonstrates that theater doesn’t have to hold itself back from competing with film, television and video games. A play can move not only from place to place but also from medium to medium. But just because the theater can doesn’t mean that it should. All credit to Miriam Buether’s incredibly agile scenic design, Jon Clark’s dynamic lighting and, most especially, Paul Arditti’s spine-tingling sound design and DJ Walde’s ethereally commanding music for turning the Marquis into a mind-blowing funhouse. But what the production really needs is a script doctor capable of a miracle cure.
As Henry’s bad behavior goes from subliminal to gore-fest, the shifts from the blood-splattered lab to the Hawkins boppy musical seem beyond ludicrous. One of Henry’s powers is to prey on the traumatic fears of his perceived enemies, and “Stranger Things: The First Shadow” is able to summon a theater critic’s horrific vision of a Broadway age in which sense is utterly disregarded for violent sensation.
Perhaps the Hawkins drama club is the creative team’s hope that culture will somehow survive the tech apocalypse. The talented cast and inexhaustibly inventive design team make it hard to bet against the future of theater. But the campy Netflix branding reminders, from the series’ unmistakable musical theme to the Gothic scroll of the title to the jokey “next episode” or “watch credits” option that flashes at the show’s end, suggest that there really is an unstoppable force out there ready to make zombies of us all.
Kawhi Leonard’s teammates marvel at how much the Clippers’ star forward has dedicated himself to get his body back to peak level.
They have watched how Leonard has stayed the course despite the frequent times his body betrayed him. They have supported Leonard during the trying times with his health issues because they have seen how he refuses to wallow in self-pity.
They know what Leonard has done behind the scenes during rehabilitation when the media is not around and on those days and nights when a lot of teammates are not around.
The culmination of all those days in the lab this season working to get his right knee healthy was Leonard’s dominance in Game 2 of the Western Conference playoffs against the Nuggets on Monday night in Denver.
He missed only four of 19 shots while pouring in 39 points over 39 minutes to help the Clippers even the series at 1-1 before they returned home for Game 3 on Thursday night and Game 4 on Saturday afternoon at the Intuit Dome.
James Harden was succinct in his praise for Leonard’s willingness to continually work on his body.
“Every. Single. Day. Like, it’s the preparation,” Harden said late Monday night after Game 2 in Denver. “It’s the treatment. It’s the strengthening of his body. It’s the correctives. And then it’s like going on court and putting it all together and it’s consistent. Every. Single. Day…
“Luck hasn’t been on his side or whatever the case you might call it. But he loves to hoop. And as you see, when he’s on the court, he’s a killer. Kawhi is just special.”
Leonard missed the first 34 games because of his ailing right knee. Then he played in only 37 games and just one set of back-to-back games.
He missed the last eight regular-season games last season because of right knee inflammation and played in only two of the Clippers’ six playoff games against the Dallas Mavericks because of the knee injury. When Leonard was invited to USA Basketball workouts in Las Vegas last summer, he was sent home to rest the knee and was unable to participate in the Paris Olympics.
None of that stopped Leonard from continuing his work.
Harden was asked if fans and NBA people have an appreciation for what Leonard has endured to get back here.
“Naw,” Harden answered immediately. “Naw, not even a little bit. It’s always negative. It’s always what he’s been through, what he’s not able to do because of something he can’t control. Like, we don’t appreciate how great he is when he’s actually out there and putting on performances like this tonight.
“I feel like that about everybody that’s in the league that goes through something that’s out of their hands and they can’t control. It’s like it’s always the negative, it’s always the hate that people talk about, which is something that we got to live with, I guess, in this world. But as for me being close with him, every single day and seeing the work he puts in, you appreciate him.”
In interviews this season, Leonard has talked about how his “love” for the game keeps bringing him back and how he just grinds and keeps his head down.
Before his difficult end to last season, he played in just two playoff games during the Clippers’ series against the Phoenix Suns in 2023 because of a meniscus tear. He missed the entire 2021-22 season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. Now he is healthy and wants to be there for his teammates in the playoffs.
“I”m just happy that I’m able to move and I’m coming out the game feeling well and that’s what I’m taking my pride in is just being healthy,” he said. “I sat and watched these playoff games and series the past few years. So, being able to be frontline out there, it just feels good to me no matter which way the game goes. That’s what I’m taking pride in. I just want to be out there and play and be frontline with my team.”
Over six seasons with the Clippers, he has played in 266 out of a possible 492 regular-season games. Injuries have robbed him of so many games yet he keeps coming back.
“Every time someone gives up on him, he comes back,” coach Tyronn Lue said. “He’s a hard worker. He’s dedicated to keeping his body right and sometimes some unfortunate things happen. But you can’t control that. But it’s not a lack of work. It’s not from a lack of wanting to be here and just sometimes some bad luck hits. But he’s going to keep coming back and he’s going to get to this point where he is right now and that’s why I’m so happy for him.”
Jalen Ramsey helped the Rams win a Super Bowl title in the 2021 season before he was traded to the Miami Dolphins a year later in a cost-cutting move.
Could the Rams and the three-time All-Pro cornerback reunite?
As NFL teams prepare for this week’s draft, the Dolphins have made it known that Ramsey is available to be traded. Rams general manager Les Snead said Tuesday that he had been in contact with the Dolphins as part of annual draft-week conversations.
“There’s a lot of nuances to that situation based on all the things that come with a trade, contracts and things like that,” Snead said when asked about Ramsey during a videoconference with reporters. “So not sure where they’re at in the process.”
Ramsey, 30, is scheduled to earn $24.2 million in guaranteed salary this season, according to Overthecap.com.
“He’s a great player,” coach Sean McVay said. “We know him very well — we know him intimately.
“You would certainly never rule out the possibility of that…. There’s a lot of layers that would need to be worked out with a player of his magnitude, and some of the different things that accompany that. But you would never eliminate the possibility of adding a total stud.”
Adding Ramsey would bolster a secondary that includes cornerbacks Darious Williams, Ahkello Witherspoon, Cobi Durant and Emmanuel Forbes Jr. among others.
Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell. I’m hoping to win the lottery so I can use it as a down payment for Dodgers tickets. OK, maybe it’s not quite that bad, but still…
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In this newsletter, we are going to turn our attention away from the players for a bit in order to look at something I get emails about weekly: Some fans, many of them longtime fans, can’t afford to go to a Dodger game anymore.
Colleague Bill Shaikinrecently did a story on the high cost of going to a Dodger game.
Let’s take a look at some highlights, or lowlights if you prefer.
A study was recently released that detailed how much it would cost a family of four to go to a baseball game if they got the four cheapest tickets, parking, two beers, two sodas and four hot dogs. The results:
1. Dodgers, $399.68 2. Tampa Bay, $330.27 3. Chicago Cubs, $306.38 4. Boston, $303.75 5. NY Mets, $263.21 6. Philadelphia, $255.70 7. San Diego, $250.96 8. Atlanta, $245 9. Arizona, $231.20 10. Athletics, $215.89 11. Pittsburgh, $209.03 MLB average, $208 12. Minnesota, $205.32 13. NY Yankees, $205.48 14. Texas, $204.68 15. Seattle, $193.46 16. San Francisco, $191.38 17. Detroit, $187.21 18. Houston, $178.96 19. Washington, $174.16 20. Baltimore, $172.41 21. Cleveland, $172.37 22. Milwaukee, $165.64 23. Kansas City, $165.54 24. Angels, $161.26 25. Toronto, $149.67 26. St. Louis, $149.27 27. Miami, $145.47 28. Chicago White Sox, $145.24 29. Colorado, $135.66 30. Cincinnati, $124.51
As a lark, I looked at the cheapest roundtrip airfare to Cincinnati and found seats for $149. A decent hotel near the ballpark in Cincinnati could be found for $82. So, I could fly my family to Cincinnati, buy tickets to see the Dodgers-Reds there, stay overnight at a hotel, and fly home the next day for a cheaper price than seeing the same two teams play at Dodger Stadium.
And what does baseball commissioner Rob Manfred have to say about the high price of Dodger games?
“One of the leaders in terms of thinking about affordability has been the other Los Angeles team,” Manfred told Shaikin.
Excuse me now? If I’m a Dodgers fan, I should go to an Angels game?
Let’s face it. The Dodgers aren’t hurting for attendance. Despite the high prices, they draw more fans than any other team in baseball. There’s no incentive to lower prices when they are selling so many tickets and items at the current prices. And the Dodgers do give tickets away. The Dodgers’ foundation said it distributed 64,000 tickets last year through the Commissioner’s Community Initiative. Which, considering they sold a lofty 3,941,251 tickets last season, accounts for an overwhelming 1.6% of tickets. Please stop with all the generosity.
None of this helps, as an example, the single parent with two kids who love the Dodgers, who would love to take their kids to a game, but it costs just too much on a limited budget. I mean, the Dodgers could have a family night out in the bleachers. Make tickets $30 for an adult, $10 for kids, and all adults must have kids with them. Plus every parent gets a coupon for two free Dodger Dogs and two free sodas, plus 15% off any souvenir.
Do this once a month. They could do it during a midweek game. The little kids don’t care too much about the opponent, they just want to see the Dodgers. And their parent looks like a hero. You have locked in at least three people as Dodgers fans for life. Sure, it won’t be easy. You’d have to verify a lot of info, such as “Are you a parent with small kids (say, under 12)? And yes, some people would scam the system. But don’t let that stop you from doing the right thing.
Or, we could listen to Manfred.
“You can’t have it all ways, right?” Manfred said. “The Dodgers have made a massive financial commitment in terms of players, and they have to run a business that supports that massive financial commitment.”
He also said, “If you want to sit next to Mary Hart, it’s expensive,” Manfred said. “I think it’s really important to think about that from an access perspective.”
Rob Manfred sure has his finger on the pulse of the average baseball fan. Unfortunately, it’s his middle finger.
My grandkids want to go to Dodgers game. But none of those free ticket offers seemed to make their way to San Dimas, so taking the seven people we would need to take to a Dodgers game to make it a family event is cost prohibitive.
Instead, we are going to see the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes. It’s $21 per ticket to sit five rows behind home plate and see some of the stars of the future. Hot dogs, beer, soda, you name it, is much cheaper. Games between innings. Two mascots roaming the stands. I highly recommend it. And they are a Dodger affiliate (at least for this season — next year they become an Angels affiliate), so you can see some of the future Dodger stars.
Whoops!
Because I’m stupid, while comparing the Dodgers, Giants and Padres last week, I wrote that Jung Hoo Lee of the Giants came from Japan last season. He, of course, came from South Korea. It was a case of the brain thinking one thing and the hands typing something else. My apologies to Jung Hoo Lee.
In a pinch
In the last newsletter, I listed the all-time pinch-hit leaders. This time, by request from multiple people, the list of the Dodgers with the most pinch hits:
1. Dave Hansen, 110 2. Manny Mota, 106 3. Chris Gwynn, 52 4. Olmedo Sáenz, 49 5. Duke Snider, 46 6. Mitch Webster, 44 7. Andre Ethier, 40 8. Mike Sharperson, 39 9. Mickey Hatcher, 38 9. Kiké Hernández, 38
New Dodger: Charley horse
Tyler Glasnow had to leave Sunday’s game early because of cramps in his right leg. It shouldn’t be anything to worry about, Glasnow has dealt with cramps throughout his career, and no one seems to know why they happen.
“I don’t know. I’m not quite sure,” he said. “I’ve done all the hydration stuff. I do all the supplements. I’m not sure. I think we’ll try and figure some stuff out soon. And just hopefully, it doesn’t happen again.”
Congratulations
Shohei Ohtani missed the first two games of the Rangers series because he was on paternity leave. His wife, Mamiko Tanaka, gave birth to the couple’s first child, a girl.
Dave Roberts’ reaction: “He loves his sleep. So it’ll be interesting to see how the sleep wins out, or it doesn’t win out, when you have a baby.”
Up next
Tuesday: Dodgers (Dustin May, 1-1, 1.06 ERA) at Chicago Cubs (*Shota Imanaga, 2-1, 2.22 ERA), 4:40 p.m., Sportsnet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020
Wednesday: Dodgers (TBD) at Chicago Cubs (*Matthew Boyd, 1-2, 2.01 ERA), 4 p.m., Sportsnet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020
Oklahoma’s softball program has been taking away top players from Southern California for years, from Tiare Jennings (St. Anthony) to current star Ella Parker (Sherman Oaks Notre Dame).
The next great Sooner from Southern California will be Kai Minor, who is having an MVP-like season for Orange Lutheran.
She has led the Lancers to a 20-3 record, batting .535 with 38 hits, 16 doubles and 28 RBIs.
She also makes an impact with her fielding in the outfield. She’s been a four-year starter for the Lancers. She’s committed to Oklahoma…
The Southern Section boys and girls lacrosse playoff pairings will be released on Friday.
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DENVER — There was a moment when Kawhi Leonard leaned over with one minute and 30 seconds left, his head down looking at the court, exhausted from all the work he was putting in for the Clippers.
But Leonard didn’t let fatigue stop him, his will and spirit leading the Clippers to a 105-102 win over the Denver Nuggets to even the best-of-seven playoff series at 1-1.
Leonard finished with 39 points in 39 minutes. He was 15 for 19 from the field, his jumper with 54.5 seconds left providing the final margin of victory. He also had a key steal in the final minute off a bad pass from Nikola Jokic.
“It’s difficult,” Leonard said about the energy it takes to play in an NBA game. “Like I said, playing here, playing against this great team, they got great players, know their roles. … Any NBA game is very hard to play, especially in the playoffs. It might look easy by just watching us and seeing how skilled we are. But these games are hard to play. You got to play every possession every minute.
The game wasn’t decided until Christian Braun missed a three and Jokic, who had a triple-double with 26 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists, missed a three-pointer with one second left.
Jamal Murray, who had 26 points, tied the score 100-100 on a three-pointer with 2:05 left. Michael Porter Jr. rebounded a missed shot by Leonard, but he turned it over with 1:35 left.
Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard drives to the basket during Game 2 against the Nuggets on Monday.
(Garrett Ellwood / NBAE via Getty Images)
Norman Powell then drilled a three-pointer to give the Clippers a 103-100 lead with 1:30 left, forcing the Nuggets to call timeout. Jokic, who had seven turnovers, then made two free throws to make it a one-point game.
But Leonard made sure the Nuggets wouldn’t take the lead. He scored the game’s final basket on a 21-foot jumper with 54 seconds left.
“This is what Kawhi lives for,” Lue said. “He’s trying to get to this point where he’s healthy for the playoffs. So we know if we got a healthy Kawhi, we can win any series. That just shows you tonight what he’s capable of doing.”
Ivica Zubac finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds and Powell had 13 points.
The game figured to turn testy after all the physical play between both teams, and things got heated between Powell and Jamal Murray in the third quarter. Murray felt Powell pushed him coming off a screen to get free. When Murray caught up to Powell across the court, the two were face-to-face, and Murray grabbed Powell and picked him up. That led to Kris Dunn and Braun getting into a confrontation, the two exchanging words.
After a review by the officials, Dunn, Powell and Braun were called for unsportsmanlike technical fouls. It was all settled with Murray shooting a technical free throw.
“I thought we responded well,” Lue said. “It actually got Norm going. He made three shots after that. Jamal said he was just competing. It wasn’t anything dirty. Just playing hard and competing. When you are in the playoffs, if things like this don’t happen, then I don’t know if you are playing hard enough. So, it’s going to happen.”
From the start, Leonard was playing hard, giving the Clippers his all, refusing to let anything get in his way. At the end of the first half, he calmly drilled a three-pointer just before the buzzer, giving the Clippers a 55-52 halftime lead. Leonard had 21 points in 24 minutes during the first half, missing just one of his 10 shots and one of his two three-pointers.
“It felt like he didn’t miss a shot,” said James Harden, who had 18 points, about Leonard. “His shot-making ability is elite. That’s the aggressiveness that we need from him. No matter what’s going on, no matter who is guarding him, he just got to his spot and raised up. So, big-time player. He played big-time tonight.”
Less than two months ago, Matthew Stafford arrived at the Rams’ facility in Woodland Hills to discuss his immediate future.
The veteran quarterback wanted his contract adjusted, and his agent, with the Rams’ blessing, had been exploring possible trade destinations. But Stafford said Monday that he “never really wanted to leave.”
During that Feb. 28 meeting, Stafford, his wife Kelly, Rams coach Sean McVay and team executives spoke openly and moved forward with an adjustment for the second year in a row.
On Monday, Stafford reported to the facility with teammates for the start of the voluntary offseason workout program.
“It’s great to have that done and kind of out of the way, you know, as we get this thing going,” Stafford said during a videoconference with reporters. “Just obviously happy that I’m going to be coming back and doing it again here, which is great.”
Stafford, 37, is preparing for his 17th NFL season, his fifth with the Rams, who he led to a Super Bowl title in the 2021 season.
Last year, on the first day of training camp, the Rams agreed to adjust Stafford’s contract, moving money that was due Stafford in 2025 to 2024.
Stafford is due to have a $23-million salary this season, according to Overthecap.com. Details of the latest adjustment have not been made public. But the Rams are expected to again move some salary and bonuses due next year to this year.
Stafford acknowledged that during the process, he did “due diligence” and stayed informed about possible scenarios and trade destinations.
“I’m a fan of the NFL, and know a lot of these coaches, a lot of these players, a lot of the teams and kind of some of their situations,” he said. “So you obviously poke your head around and see what’s going on. Obviously, wanting to be back with the Rams was my No. 1 priority, and glad that worked out, so I didn’t have to worry too much about it.”
The decision to remain with the Rams, he said, did not come down to that Friday meeting in February.
“There’s so many positive things about our organization, about our team,” Stafford said. “Never really wanted to leave, so just happy to be back and happy that the Rams want me back and we can move forward and, hopefully, have a great season.”
Last season, the Rams finished with a 10-7 record and advanced to the divisional round of the NFC playoffs before losing to the eventual Super Bowl-champion Philadelphia Eagles.
Stafford passed for 20 touchdowns, with eight interceptions. He will go into the upcoming season needing only 192 yards passing to eclipse 60,000 in his career.
Rams players monitored Stafford’s contract situation throughout the offseason.
“As a player, you’re like ‘please, please, please, hopefully, everything works out,’ because of the effect and influence that he’s had on this organization and on me specifically,” safety Quentin Lake said. “To have a guy that’s going to be in the Hall of Fame one day, and you’re going against him every single day, from a defensive back perspective it has only made me better. … Luckily, I saw him in the building [Monday], so that was fantastic.”
Defensive lineman Kobie Turner said Stafford’s grit and presence elevates the Rams. Turner said he was “a little worried” that the situation might not play out in favor of a Rams team with high expectations.
So he is happy that Stafford, who wears jersey No. 9, will once again be under center.
“The quarterback is the biggest piece,” Turner said. “It always is. … Man, it feels great to have [No.] 9 back.”
Stafford is under contract through 2026. But if he plays beyond this season, he and the Rams will undoubtedly meet regarding an adjustment. Stafford is comfortable with the year-to-year scenario.
“Yeah, I am,” he said. “The longer that I’m in the game, the longer that I’m playing football, I think there’s an understanding between myself and, I think, the organization as well, what we want that to look like and what we want that to be.
“And so that’s been great communication-wise with those guys.”
The UCLA football program has a coach with a losing record, losing seasons in six of the last nine years, a losing bowl record, and a losing-their-minds fan base.
This is a disappointing outfit desperately in need of a field leader, a staunch huddle general who can command loyalty and model integrity and win the battles.
So what do they do?
They hire a deserter.
They hire a kid who just quit on one of the country’s top programs, who fled during the worst possible time because his monetary demands weren’t met, and who was booted out before he changed his mind.
UCLA, meet your new quarterback, Nico Iamaleava, a 20-year-old Long Beach kid who walked out on Tennessee one day before their recent spring game reportedly in hopes of earning a $2-million raise on his reported four-year, $8-million contract.
Tennessee decided he wasn’t worth it. Then Iamaleava decided Tennessee wasn’t worth it.
Thus began a vicious journey during which Iamaleava became college football’s first big holdout, then college football’s most ill-timed walkout, then college football’s first unofficial player firing, then … hello UCLA!
Few schools wanted to touch him at this late date and at anything close to that price, but the Bruins embraced him. Few schools felt they could trust him with their most valuable possession, but the Bruins threw him the keys.
The kid signed with the Bruins this weekend for reportedly much less than the $4 million he was seeking and even less than what he was currently making, all to play in a half-empty stadium for a team bereft of SEC-style title aspirations.
Iamaleava lost. But so did UCLA.
Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava passes against Vanderbilt in November.
(George Walker IV / Associated Press)
It is a match made in modern college football hell, a renowned learning institution cast as beggars, a misguided football player portrayed as the chooser, and, yeah, the whole thing stinks to Rocky Top.
Undoubtedly there will be dialogue about how this column represents just another old man yelling at kids to get off his lawn. I’ll be deemed as hopelessly antique and asked, why am I picking on some poor kids who are just trying to get paid what they’re worth?
On the contrary, I agree that these athletes deserve the money. I agree that they have earned the money, probably even much more than they are being paid. I am completely in favor of the college sports machine sharing billions with the folks who are actually earning it.
And I’m in favor of these athletes being allowed to go anywhere they can pick up that check. The transfer portal is much-needed and has been long overdue. If coaches can skip out after a season with no retribution, why can’t the players?
On paper, the economic transformation in college athletics has been breathtaking, liberating, inspiring.
But it’s been messy. Very messy. No rules, no handrails, no police, no governing body. One day soon the courts will change that, but not yet, and until then, this leaves the ethics of each situation in the hands of the players and the school.
In the case of Iamaleava and UCLA, both badly fumbled.
Iamaleava certainly had the right to leave Tennessee during the transfer portal periods. Last season more than 3,700 FBS players transferred, and exercising their freedom of choice was a fair and healthy thing.
Iamaleava also certainly had the right to ask for more money, even reportedly making the outrageous request of doubling his money after leading Tennessee into a first-round College Football Playoff blowout at the hands of Ohio State. Here’s guessing dozens of coaches asked for giant raises after successful seasons, and many received them.
The problem with Iamaleava is that, while he could have conducted all of this business during the winter transfer portal after Tennessee was eliminated, he waited until the spring transfer portal when the 2025 game plan had already been built around him. Then, he decided to skip practice, thus unofficially becoming college football’s first holdout. And Tennessee quickly responded, unofficially becoming college football’s highest profile firing.
“I want to thank him for everything he’s done since he’s gotten here, as a recruit and who he was as a player and how he competed inside the building,” Tennessee coach Josh Heupel told reporters of Iamaleava. “Obviously, we’re moving forward as a program without him. I said it to the guys today: There’s no one that’s bigger than the Power T. That includes me.”
Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava rolls out to pass against Alabama in October.
(Wade Payne / Associated Press)
While Iamaleava showed gratitude to the people of Knoxville in his farewell Instagram post, he has yet to explain his side of his departure and, for his sake, UCLA should encourage him to do so.
Obviously, if Tennessee thought Iamaleava was worth it with his 19 touchdowns, five interceptions and a quarterback rating of 145.3, they would have paid him. Iamaleava was working without an agent, and this undoubtedly led to some tough negotiations.
But at some point, a player making $2 million a year needs to act like a professional, even if he is still only in his second year of college. At some point in this new lucrative player-empowered world, the players have to be held accountable for their costly actions.
Iamaleava quit, then he was canned, and rightfully so, and that’s certainly not the scenario envisioned by all those impoverished college athletic pioneers of years past.
Which drops this issue on the lap of UCLA, which committed its own ethical blunder in taking Iamaleava’s damaged goods.
You see, the Bruins already had a starting quarterback. He transferred here in December to play his final year of college football. His name was Joey Aguilar, he came from Appalachian State, and in the last two seasons he’s thrown for 6,760, 56 touchdowns and 24 interceptions. Plus, he can run, scoring five touchdowns with 456 rushing yards.
Aguilar spent all spring establishing himself as the one of the Bruins’ offensive leaders. He traveled cross-country and upended his entire young life for this last chance.
Now, just like that, before even taking an official snap, he’s gone, kicked out by the appearance of Iamaleava, and back into the transfer portal he goes.
He reportedly is joining Tennessee, but he’s once again starting from scratch learning a new offense and meeting new teammates.
It is understandable that coach DeShaun Foster would be thrilled to add a five-star talent Iamaleava while moving some eyeballs to a program desperate to create some buzz in his second season.
But at what price? Will future potential transfers such as Aguilar want to pay that price? Will potential donors who will have to fund questionable talents such as Iamaleava want to pay that price?
College sports is a wonderful activity that has finally ponied up to give its long-ignored participants a piece of the pie.
College sports has also become a mercenary mosh pit, and today UCLA football and Nico Iamaleava are rolling around in the filth, both making big money, both noticeably poorer.
