From Jack Harris: They’ve underperformed relative to preseason expectations, but worked around serious roster limitations.
They’ve wowed with an undefeated 8-0 start, a star-studded offense that tops the majors in scoring, and a comfortable division lead in a competitive National League West. And yet, they’ve left so much to still be desired, both on the mound from their injury-plagued pitching staff and at the plate amid uncharacteristic slumps from several veteran stars.
No, the Dodgers have not played like “The Greatest Team Ever” in the first half of the season. Their record-setting $400-million payroll is not bidding for any all-time wins mark.
But, after grinding out a 5-2 extra-innings win over the San Francisco Giants on Sunday to enter the All-Star break with a key divisional series victory, their first half has been a quiet success nonetheless, concluding with the Dodgers (58-39) holding a 5 ½-game lead in the NL West, the top record in the NL and still the best odds of being baseball’s first repeat champion in a quarter-century.
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“I think the win-loss, the standings are great,” manager Dave Roberts said. “But I think there’s just a lot of improvement that we need to do, we need to be better at.”
Indeed, Sunday epitomized the duality of the Dodgers’ first 97 games.
Their starting pitcher, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, completed his stellar start to the season with a seven-inning gem, keeping the Giants (52-45) off the scoreboard while giving up three hits, two walks and striking out seven batters.
LAKERS
Lakers star LeBron James stands on the court at Crypto.com Arena before a game against the Houston Rockets on April 11.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
From Bill Plaschke: The news seemed routine.
The ramifications could be resounding.
Late last month, LeBron James exercised his $52.6 million player option with the Lakers for next season. It was an expected transaction that, at first weary glance, appeared to be no big deal.
Of course he would take the guaranteed money, more than anyone else in the league besides Brooklyn could give him.
Of course he would stay in Los Angeles, where son Bronny sits on the bench and his home sits on a hill and his myriad businesses are sitting pretty.
Of course, of course, of course … but …
Wait a minute. There was a catch.
For the first time since James arrived here seven years ago, there was no second or third or fourth year attached to his contract.
The Lakers didn’t offer him an extension. They refused to guarantee him a spot here after next spring.
ANGELS
UC Santa Barbara starting pitcher Tyler Bremner delivers against Loyola Marymount in March 2023.
(Kyusung Gong / Associated Press)
From Bill Shaikin: The name was a surprise, but the pick should not have been.
The bromide about teams picking the best available player rather than drafting for need does not apply to the Angels, at least not in the Perry Minasian era. The Angels’ front office must try to win now, with an ownership that does not believe in rebuilding, and without huge investments in major league free agency, international scouting or player development.
The Angels needed pitching. They drafted a college pitcher Sunday, in line with their no-margin-for-error strategy of selecting top college players and pushing them into the major leagues.
Their pick: Tyler Bremner of UC Santa Barbara.
It’s been an emotional year for Bremner, who lost his mother to breast cancer in June.
ALSO: Angels can’t complete the sweep against Diamondbacks
DODGERS
Arkansas pitcher Zach Root delivers against Washington State in February.
(Michael Woods / Associated Press)
From Jack Harris: The Dodgers’ first two picks in this year’s MLB draft came consecutively at Nos. 40 and 41 overall.
Turns out, their two selections came from the same school, as well, with the team taking left-handed pitcher Zach Root and contact-hitting outfielder Charles Davalan out of the University of Arkansas.
Root, a junior for the Razorbacks this year, went at No. 40. A transfer from East Carolina, he had a 3.62 earned-run average this season with 126 strikeouts in 99⅓ innings. Scouting reports lauded his versatile pitch mix, which includes a slider, curveball and changeup from a funky low arm-slot delivery.
SPARKS
Sparks forward Rickea Jackson, right, controls the ball in front of Connecticut Sun forward Aneesah Morrow during the Sparks’ 92-88 win Sunday.
(Ronald Martinez / Getty Images)
From Ira Gorawara: It was the kind of offense they’d been chasing all season.
Cuts darted through closing doors, twisting Connecticut’s defense into knots as the Sparks’ monster frontcourt threw its weight around in a 57-point stampede. And with attention pulled inside, Kelsey Plum found her rhythm in the third quarter and Rae Burrell clawed her way into the lane to jolt the Sparks back to life.
With touches flowing from sideline to baseline, the Sparks kept their half of the scoreboard flashing in a wire-to-wire 92-88 victory over a flailing Sun squad — all while limiting Tina Charles, the WNBA’s second-leading scorer, to just nine points on three-for-10 shooting.
TENNIS
Jannik Sinner celebrates after winning the Wimbledon men’s singles title on Sunday.
(Kin Cheung / Associated Press)
From the Associated Press: Jannik Sinner defeated two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 on Sunday to win his first Wimbledon championship and reverse the result of their epic French Open final five weeks ago.
The No. 1-ranked Sinner earned his fourth Grand Slam title overall, moving him one away from No. 2 Alcaraz’s total as the two no-longer-rising-but-firmly-established stars of the game separate themselves from the rest of the pack in men’s tennis.
This victory also allowed Sinner, a 23-year-old Italian, to put an end to several streaks for Alcaraz, a 22-year-old Spaniard.
Alcaraz had won the past five head-to-head matches between the pair, most recently across five sets and nearly 5½ hours at Roland-Garros on June 8. Sinner took a two-set lead in that one, then held a trio of match points, but couldn’t close the deal, allowing Alcaraz to improve to 5-0 in major finals.
SOCCER
Chelsea players celebrate while standing next to President Trump after beating Paris Saint-Germain in the FIFA Club World Cup final on Sunday.
(Matt Slocum / Associated Press)
From the Associated Press: Cole Palmer scored twice and fed João Pedro for a goal as Chelsea overwhelmed Paris Saint-Germain in the first half and beat the European champions 3-0 on Sunday in the final of the first expanded FIFA Club World Cup.
Palmer had almost identical left-footed goals from just inside the penalty area in the 22nd and 30th minutes, then sent a through pass that enabled Pedro to chip goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma in the 43d for his third goal in two starts with the Blues.
A 23-year-old who joined Chelsea from Manchester City two years ago, Palmer scored 18 goals this season.
THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY
1912 — Kenneth McArthur runs Olympic record marathon (2:36:54.8).
1951 — Citation is the first horse to win $1 million in a career by taking the Hollywood Gold Cup by four lengths in Inglewood, Calif. Citation retires after the race with total earnings of $1,085,760. In 45 starts, Citation ran out of the money only once.
1964 — Jacques Anquetil wins his fifth Tour de France. It’s his fourth straight title of the cycling event.
1967 — Eddie Mathews of the Astros hits his 500th home run off San Francisco’s Juan Marichal at Candlestick Park. Houston beats the Giants 8-6.
1968 — Hank Aaron hits his 500th home run off Mike McCormick as the Atlanta Braves beat the San Francisco Giants 4-2.
1973 — Tom Weiskopf wins the British Open by three strokes over Johnny Miller and Neil Coles. Weiskopf goes wire-to-wire and his total of 12-under-par 276 matches the Open Championship record set by Arnold Palmer on the same Troon Golf Club course in 1962.
1985 — Kathy Baker beats Judy Clark by three strokes to win the U.S. Women’s Open golf title.
1985 — The Baltimore Stars defeat the Oakland Invaders 28-24 to win the United States Football League championship.
1986 — Jane Geddes beats Sally Little in an 18-hole playoff to take the U.S. Women’s Open championship.
1991 — Meg Mallon shoots a 4-under 67 for a two-stroke victory over Pat Bradley in the 46th U.S. Women’s Open. Mallon finishes with a 1-under 283.
1995 — Ramon Martinez throws a no-hitter, giving the Los Angeles Dodgers a 7-0 victory over the Florida Marlins.
2001 — John Campbell scores an unprecedented sixth victory in the $1 million Meadowlands Pace as Real Desire beats favored Bettor’s Delight in the stretch. Real Desire paces the mile in 1:49.3 in matching the record set by The Panderosa two years ago in the race that gave Campbell his fifth win. Campbell, 46, is a winner of a $1 million race 19 times.
2005 — In Oklahoma City, the United States is beaten in an international softball game for the first time since 2002, losing 2-1 to Canada in the inaugural World Cup of Softball.
2009 — The American League continues its dominance over the National League with a 4-3 win in the All-Star game. The AL is 12-0-1 since its 1996 defeat at Philadelphia — the longest unbeaten streak in All-Star history.
2011 — Kaio breaks former grand champion Chiyonofuji career sumo victory record, beating Mongolian Kyokutenho for No. 1,046. The 39-year-old Kaio forces out Kyokutenho in the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament.
2011 — Amateur Tom Lewis shoots a record 5-under 65 in the opening round of the British Open. The 20-year-old Lewis posts the lowest round ever by an amateur in golf’s oldest major to pull even with Thomas Bjorn at Royal St. George’s.
2013 — Jordan Spieth becomes the youngest winner on the PGA Tour in 82 years. The 19-year-old outlasts David Hearn and Zach Johnson on the fifth hole of a playoff to win the John Deere Classic. He’s the first teenager to win since Ralph Guldahl took the Santa Monica Open in 1931.
2015 — Mike Trout becomes the first player in 38 years to lead off the All-Star Game with a home run, and the American League beats the National League 6-3 to secure home-field advantage in the World Series for the third straight time and 10th in 13 years. Trout also becomes the first player to be selected the game’s MVP two years in row.
2018 — Angelique Kerber claims her first Wimbledon title with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over seven-time champion Serena Williams.
2019 — Novak Djokovic wins the longest ever Wimbledon title over Roger Federer 7-6, 1-6, 7-6, 4-6, 13-12 in 4 hours 57 minutes.
2019 — English Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton wins a record sixth British Formula 1 Grand Prix at Silverstone; moves him one win clear of Jim Clark and Alain Prost (5).
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
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