From Jack Harris: It was a pivotal moment, in a pivotal game, in what’s become a pivotal week for the Dodgers in the National League West standings.
Which, rather predictably given their recently floundering form, meant they found a new way to mess it all up.
In the top of the second inning on Wednesday night at PNC Park, the Dodgers appeared to be in optimal position.
Despite trailing by a run against a team in last place, the Dodgers had the Pittsburgh Pirates on the ropes, loading the bases with no outs for a chance to take the lead.
The task, at that point, was simple.
Get the ball in play. Manufacture some early scoring. And, at the very least, set a positive tone for a night in which the NL West lead could grow.
“That’s a situation where you get shorter with your swing, use the big part of the field and you’ve got to drive in a run,” manager Dave Roberts said.
That approach, however, never materialized.
Over the rest of an inexplicable 3-0 loss to the Pirates, what happened next would instead loom large.
‘Want to see that edge.’ How Dodgers hope Teoscar Hernández turns around difficult season
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ANGELS
Jo Adell homered and drove in every run for the Angels in their 4-3 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday night.
Adell hit a go-ahead homer in the sixth inning for the second consecutive game. His three-run shot to center field on the first pitch he saw from reliever John Schreiber gave the Angels a 3-2 lead in this one.
Yoán Moncada, aboard on a single when Adell went deep, doubled off Lucas Erceg (6-4) in the eighth before scoring on Adell’s two-out single for a 4-3 advantage. Adell’s 33 homers and 90 RBIs are career highs.
RAMS
From Bill Plaschke: The Rams are going to the Super Bowl.
There, I’ve written it, I can’t believe I’ve written it, but I’ve written it, right here, first paragraph, in fanboy-living color.
The Rams are going to the Super Bowl.
Las Vegas has them at 9½ wins. Bet the over. Bet it big. They will win 11 games and a weakened NFC West and a soft NFC and then…
The Rams are going to the Super Bowl.
Don’t succumb to the fears about Matthew Stafford’s back. Don’t listen to the worries about the fragile offensive line. Embrace the ascending young defense. Love the bolstered receiving corps. Trust the brilliant coach.
CHARGERS
From Dylan Hernández: Jim Harbaugh has already called him one of the greatest players to ever play his position.
The perception nationally of Justin Herbert isn’t as charitable. The consensus is that Herbert doesn’t belong in the top tier of NFL quarterbacks alongside the likes of Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen or Joe Burrow.
If anything, Herbert might be viewed as being closer to Jared Goff or Brock Purdy than Mahomes or Jackson.
As overwhelming as his athletic gifts are, as many jaw-dropping passes as he’s completed, Herbert still hasn’t won a playoff game for the Chargers.
From Ben Bolch: The most densely packed section inside the Rose Bowl on Saturday was filled with fans wearing the colors of the visiting team.
Swathed in red and white, they crammed into one corner of the century-old stadium for what amounted to a nightlong celebration.
By late in the third quarter, the only suspense remaining in UCLA’s 43-10 blowout loss to Utah was waiting for the announced attendance. Reporters in the press box were given a figure of 35,032, which seemed inflated given so many empty seats below them.
It was.
The scan count, a tally of people actually inside the facility, was 27,785, according to athletic officials.
In recent seasons, UCLA’s announced attendance was sometimes more than double the scan count, according to figures obtained by The Times through a public records request.
For UCLA’s home opener against Bowling Green on a sweltering September day in 2022, the announced attendance was 27,143, a record low for the team since moving to the Rose Bowl before the 1982 season.
The actual attendance was much lower. UCLA’s scan count, which represented people who entered the stadium (including the aforementioned non-ticketed and credentialed individuals) was 12,383 — 14,760 fewer than the announced attendance.
CLIPPERS
From Steve Henson: The Clippers forcefully denied allegations detailed in a podcast published on Wednesday that a discredited global tree-planting company paid Kawhi Leonard $28 million to pad the star forward’s contract and skirt the NBA salary cap. However, the NBA told The Times that it will start an investigation.
Investigative journalist Pablo Torre of the Athletic said during “Pablo Finds Out” that he reviewed numerous documents and conducted interviews with former employees of Aspiration Partners, the sustainability services firm that recently declared bankruptcy. Co-founder Joseph Sanberg agreed to plead guilty Aug. 21 to a scheme to defraud investors and lenders of more than $248 million.
During Aspiration’s bankruptcy proceedings, documents emerged citing KL2 Aspire as a creditor owed $7 million, one of four yearly payments of that amount agreed upon in a 2022 contract. KL2 is a limited liability company that names Leonard — whose jersey number is 2 — as its manager.
ANGEL CITY
From Kevin Baxter: Angel City winger Alyssa Thompson left for London on Wednesday afternoon as negotiations continued on a transfer that would send her from the NWSL to Chelsea of the Women’s Super League. But she might be running out of time since the WSL transfer window closes at 3 p.m. PDT Thursday, less than 24 hours after she boarded her flight.
“She wants to go to Chelsea and made it very clear she wants to leave,” said a person close to Thompson, who would speak only on condition of anonymity for fear of disrupting the delicate negotiations. “The rest is out of our hands.”
Thompson’s agent, Takumi Jeannin, declined to speak about the negotiations on the record while Angel City did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
SPARKS
Rhyne Howard scored 19 points, Brionna Jones had 16 points and 13 rebounds for her 12th double-double of the season, and the Atlanta Dream beat the Sparks 86-75 on Wednesday night to move into sole possession of second place in the WNBA standings.
The Sparks (19-21) trails Indiana (21-20) by a game and a half for the eighth and final playoff spot.
Atlanta (27-14), which has won five of its last six games, moved a half-game ahead of Las Vegas (26-14) and Phoenix (26-14) with three regular-season games remaining.
THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY
1920 — Man o War wins the 1 5/8-mile Lawrence Realization Stakes at Belmont Park by 100 lengths, the largest winning margin in modern racing history. His time of 2:40 4/5 shatters the world record by 6 4/5 seconds for his fifth record performance of the year.
1932 — Olin Dutra defeats Frank Walsh in the final round 4 and 3 to win the PGA Championship.
1951 — Frank Sedgman becomes the first Australian to win the men’s singles title in the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association championships, beating Victor Seixas in three sets. Sixteen-year-old Maureen Connolly wins the first of three consecutive women’s titles, beating Shirley Fry in three sets.
1966 — The Houston Oilers holds the Denver Broncos to no first downs in a 45-7 rout.
1983 — Greg LeMond wins UCI World Road Race Championship in Altenrhein, Switzerland; first American cyclist to take the title.
1983 — Lynn Dickey of Green Bay completes 27 of 31 passes, including 18 straight, for 333 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Packers in a 41-38 overtime victory over Houston.
1992 — Jimmy Connors loses to Ivan Lendl 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-0 in his record 115th and final U.S. Open singles match.
1994 — Fu Mingxia of China becomes the first woman to win consecutive highboard world diving titles, beating countrywoman Chi Bin in Rome.
1994 — Dan Marino of the Miami Dolphins becomes the second quarterback with 300 touchdown passes by throwing for five scores in a 39-35 victory over New England. Dan Marino passes for 473 yards and Patriots quarterback Drew Bledsoe passes for 421 yards and four touchdowns. It’s second time two opposing quarterbacks each pass for 400 yards and four touchdowns in the same game.
2002 — Argentina defeats the U.S. 87-80 in the world basketball championships at Indianapolis. It’s the first loss for a U.S. team in 59 games since the Americans began sending NBA players to international tournaments in 1992.
2005 — 20-year-old Kyle Busch becomes youngest driver to win a NASCAR Cup Series race when he out duels Greg Biffle in the Sony HD 500 at California Speedway.
2006 — Tiger Woods matches the lowest final round of his career (8-under 63) in the Deutsche Bank C’ship at Norton, MA to win for the 5th straight time and 7th time this PGA Tour season.
2010 — DeMarco Murray’s career-best 218 yards rushing leads Oklahoma to a 31-24 victory for the Sooners’ 800th win.
2010 — Andy Dalton becomes TCU’s winningest quarterback, running for two touchdowns and throwing for another in the No. 6 Horned Frogs’ 30-21 victory over Oregon State. His 30th win moves him past Sammy Baugh, who had held the mark since the mid-1930s.
2017 — Madison Keys eliminates Elina Svitolina in three sets to give the U.S. four women in the U.S. Open quarterfinals for the first time in 15 years. Keys joins Americans Venus Williams, CoCo Vandeweghe and Sloane Stephens.
THIS DAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY
1916 — Longtime pitching rivals Christy Mathewson and Mordecai Brown closed their careers, by special arrangement, in the same game. Mathewson won the game 10-8.
1923 — Sam Jones of the New York Yankees pitched a 2-0 no-hitter against Philadelphia Athletics without striking out a batter. New York’s Babe Ruth had the only strikeout of the game.
1927 — Lloyd and Paul Waner became the first brothers to hit home runs in the same game, leading Pittsburgh to an 8-4 win over Cincinnati. Both homers came off Dolf Luque in the fifth inning, the only time in major league history brothers did it in one inning. Lloyd led off the inning with his second home run of the season, and a batter later Paul hit his ninth of the year. Both were bounce home runs, allowed until the 1931; now ground-rule doubles.
1928 — The Boston Braves started a grueling string in which they played nine straight doubleheaders, a major league record.
1941 — The New York Yankees clinched the pennant on the earliest date in baseball history with a 6-3 victory over Boston.
1966 — The Dodgers became the first team in major league history to draw more than 2 million at home and on the road when they beat the Reds 8-6 before 18,670 fans in Cincinnati.
1974 — Don Wilson of the Houston Astros was replaced by a pinch-hitter after pitching eight no-hit innings against Cincinnati. Mike Cosgrove pitched the ninth inning and gave up a leadoff single to Tony Perez for the only hit in the Reds’ 2-1 victory.
1985 — Gary Carter hit two solo homers to tie a major league record and singled in another run to lead the New York Mets to a 9-2 victory over San Diego. Carter’s feat followed a three-homer performance the night before as he became the 11th player in major league history to hit five home runs in two games.
1993 — Jim Abbott threw the New York Yankees’ first no-hitter in 10 years, leading them to a 4-0 victory over the Cleveland Indians.
1995 — Robin Ventura became the eighth player in major league history — and the first in 25 years — to hit two grand slams in one game as the Chicago White Sox beat Texas 14-3.
1998 — The New York Yankees reached 100 wins on the earliest date in major league history — five days before the 1906 Chicago Cubs and 1954 Cleveland Indians — with an 11-6 victory over the Chicago White Sox. The ’06 Cubs set the major league record for fewest games to reach 100 victories (132).
2002 — The Oakland Athletics set an AL record by winning their 20th straight game. They somehow blew an 11-run lead before pinch-hitter Scott Hatteberg homered in the bottom of the ninth inning to beat Kansas City 12-11. Oakland broke a three-way tie for the longest winning streak in AL history with the 1906 Chicago White Sox and the 1947 New York Yankees.
2017 — J.D. Martinez tied a major league record by hitting four home runs and the Arizona Diamondbacks routed the Dodgers 13-0 for their 11th straight victory. Martinez became the 18th player in major league history to hit four homers in a game, and the 16th in the modern era.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
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