Go beyond the scoreboard
Get the latest on L.A.’s teams in the daily Sports Report newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
From Jack Harris: When it comes to their approach with Noah Syndergaard lately, the Dodgers have looked like a desperate blackjack player unable to leave the table.
Lose, bet again.
Lose, bet again.
Lose, bet yet again.
On Wednesday, that latest gamble worked out the same way as the others.
Syndergaard was rocked by the Cincinnati Reds young lineup, giving up six runs in three dismal innings. He failed to stop their running game, allowing successful steals on all four attempts.
Despite being gifted two early leads, he also couldn’t keep the Dodgers in front at Great American Ball Park, his struggles hampering the club in an 8-6 loss that was decided by Will Benson’s two-run, walk-off home run in the ninth against Evan Phillips.
“It’s just kind of hard to stop the bleeding right now,” Syndergaard said. “I’m running out of words to explain what’s going on.”
The real question now: How many more chips does the team have left to burn on their $13 million offseason signing?
The likely answer: none, at least not any time soon.
After his team’s fourth loss in a row, manager Dave Roberts hinted that a stint on the injured list was possible for Syndergaard.
Agoura High’s Jonny DeLuca is poised to complete journey from Dodgers fan to starter
Enjoying this newsletter? Consider subscribing to the Los Angeles Times
Your support helps us deliver the news that matters most. Become a subscriber.
ANGELS
From Sarah Valenzuela: Paige Matthews, a 26-year-old Southern California drag queen, was absolutely shocked when she heard the news. The Angels, as part of their Pride Night celebration on Wednesday, supported and welcomed Matthews, delivering the game ball to the mound for the game, a 6-2 victory for the Angels over the Chicago Cubs.
“In that moment, it was still a very hot topic,” Matthews, 26, said, “the Dodgers having disinvited the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence during a time when these organizations are supposed to lift us up, during Pride month, regardless of whether they do so the other 11 months of the year.
“And I kind of lost faith for a little bit. Maybe we’re actually regressing. And then I got the phone call and I was told, ‘Hey, they would love to invite you for this opportunity.’ That reignited the spark in me. Like ‘OK, there is hope in this society.’”
GALAXY/LAFC/MLS
From Kevin Baxter: What has already been a bad season for the Galaxy got markedly worse Wednesday when team captain Javier “Chicharito” Hernández was stretchered off the field because of a right knee injury midway through the first half of the team’s U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal in Sandy, Utah.
Real Salt Lake won the game 3-2, getting two first-half goals from Damir Kreilach and a Jefferson Savarino score early in the second half, then holding off a furious Galaxy rally behind goals from Gastón Brugman and Douglas Costa in the final eight minutes of regulation.
Of more concern, however, was the condition of Hernández, the team’s leading scorer the last two seasons.
“I have hopes and prayers that it’s nothing serious. But I have concerns because the guy had to come off the field,” Galaxy coach Greg Vanney said of Hernández, who was scheduled to meet with team doctors after traveling back to Los Angeles.
————
Brad Guzan made eight saves in the 50th clean sheet of his career to help Atlanta United play LAFC to a scoreless draw.
Atlanta (6-4-8) has not won an away match against a Western Conference opponent since the 2019 season against Portland. LAFC (7-1-6) has yet to lose a match at home this season. The home side had won the three previous meetings between Atlanta and Los Angeles.
LAFC goalkeeper John McCarthy earned his fifth clean sheet of the season.
————
From Kevin Baxter: Lionel Messi is coming to the U.S.
To play soccer.
I know that reads like a mistake, but it’s true: The most decorated player in the sport’s history is taking his talents to South Beach, agreeing to a multiyear deal with Inter Miami of MLS. Messi even confirmed it himself.
“I made the decision that I’m going to go to Miami,” Messi said in Spanish in a brief video released Wednesday by Diario Sport, a Spanish sports daily. “I still haven’t finalized it 100%. We’re missing some things. But we’ve decided to continue on this path.”
HORSE RACING
From John Cherwa: It’s a discussion that happens every year. Horses spend five months preparing for the Kentucky Derby, running three prep races, or maybe just two. Then when it’s Triple Crown showtime, they are asked to run three races in five weeks.
Most say, no. This year, not one horse will run in all three races. The last horse to run all the legs was War of Will in 2019.
Ideas have been floated to run the Kentucky Derby in May, the Preakness Stakes in June and the Belmont Stakes in July, or some other formula that allows more time between races. Many of those in the racing industry, when faced with the idea of change, would just as soon wrap their arms around Tevye in his horse-drawn wagon and belt out a rousing version of “Tradition.”
From Ryan Kartje: Former USC football player Joshua Jackson Jr. has been arrested and charged with raping three women, with Los Angeles police investigators saying he may have been involved in additional unreported sexual assaults.
Jackson was arrested Wednesday morning and charged with four felonies, one felony count of forcible sexual penetration and three felony counts of forcible rape. His bail was set at $1.4 million.
The Los Angeles Police Department said detectives are seeking other women who may have been sexually assaulted by Jackson. Three women he is accused of assaulting have been identified by investigators, two in the Los Angeles area and another in San Diego.
NBA PLAYOFFS
Never had two players from the same team had 30-point triple-doubles in the same game. Never in the regular season. Never in the playoffs. Certainly never in the NBA Finals.
Until now.
Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray made history Wednesday night — and have the Denver Nuggets two wins away from making some real history as well.
Jokic and Murray became the first teammates in NBA Finals history to both record triple-doubles, and the Nuggets reclaimed the lead in the series by beating the Miami Heat 109-94 in Game 3.
Results, schedule
All times Pacific
NBA Finals
No. 1 Denver vs. No. 8 Miami
Game 1: at Denver 104, Miami 93
Game 2: Miami 111, at Denver 108
Game 3: Denver 109, at Miami 94
Friday at Miami, 5:30 p.m., ABC
Monday at Denver, 5:30 p.m., ABC
*Thurs., June 15 at Miami, 5:30 p.m., ABC
*Sun., June 18 at Denver, 5 p.m., ABC
*-if necessary
NHL PLAYOFFS
Results, schedule
All times Pacific
Stanley Cup Final
Vegas (P1) vs. Florida (WC2)
Game 1: at Vegas 5, Florida 2
Game 2: at Vegas 7, Florida 2
Today at Florida, 5 p.m., TNT
Saturday at Florida, 5 p.m., TNT
*Tuesday at Vegas, 5 p.m., TNT
*Fri., June 16 at Florida, 5 p.m., TNT
*Mon., June 19 at Vegas, 5 p.m., TNT
*-if necessary
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1935 — Omaha, ridden by Willis Saunders, becomes the third horse to win the Triple Crown by capturing the Belmont Stakes with a 1½-length victory over Firethron.
1950 — Boston beats the St. Louis Browns 29-4 at Fenway Park, and the Red Sox set six major league records: most runs scored by one team; most long hits in a game with 17 (nine doubles, one triple and seven homers); most total bases with 60; most extra bases on long hits with 32; most runs for two games with 49 (20 a day earlier); and most hits in two games with 51.
1958 — Mickey Wright beats Fay Crocker by six strokes to win the LPGA Championship.
1980 — Sally Little wins the LPGA Championship by three strokes over Jane Blalock.
1982 — 36th NBA Championship: Lakers beat Philadelphia 76ers, 4 games to 2.
1985 — Creme Fraiche, ridden by Eddie Maple, becomes the first gelding to win the Belmont Stakes, beating Stephan’s Odyssey by a half-length.
1986 — Larry Bird scores 29 points to lead the Boston Celtics to a 114-97 victory over the Houston Rockets and their 16th NBA title.
1990 — The “Indomitable Lions” of Cameroon pull off one of the greatest upsets in soccer history, 1-0 over defending champion Argentina in the first game of the World Cup.
1991 — Warren Schutte, a UNLV sophomore from South Africa, shoots a 5-under 67 to become the first foreign-born player to win the NCAA Division I golf championship.
2000 — Mike Modano deflects Brett Hull’s shot at 6:21 of the third overtime, ending the longest scoreless overtime game in Stanley Cup finals history and helping the Dallas Stars beat the New Jersey Devils 1-0 in Game 5.
2002 — British-Canadian Lennox Lewis retains boxing’s WBC Heavyweight title with eighth-round knockout of American Mike Tyson.
2005 — Freshman Samantha Findlay hits a three-run homer in the 10th inning to lead Michigan to a 4-1 win over UCLA for its first NCAA softball title. Michigan is the first team from east of the Mississippi River to win the national championship.
2008 — Rafael Nadal wins his fourth consecutive French Open title in a rout, again spoiling Roger Federer’s bid to complete a career Grand Slam. Dominating the world’s No. 1 player with astounding ease, Nadal wins in three sets, 6-1, 6-3, 6-0.
2008 — Yani Tseng of Taiwan becomes the first rookie in 10 years to win a major, beating Maria Hjorth on the fourth hole of a playoff with a 5-foot birdie on the 18th hole to win the LPGA Championship.
2012 — I’ll Have Another’s bid for the first Triple Crown in 34 years ends shockingly in the barn and not on the racetrack when the colt is scratched the day before the Belmont Stakes and retires from racing with a swollen tendon.
2013 — Serena Williams wins her 16th Grand Slam title and her first French Open championship since 2002, beating Maria Sharapova 6-4, 6-4.
2014 — Rafael Nadal wins the French Open title for the ninth time, and the fifth time in a row, by beating Novak Djokovic 3-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6-4. Nadal improves his record at Roland Garros to 66-1.
2015 — The NCAA approves multiple rule changes to men’s basketball for the 2015-16 season, including a 30-second shot clock and fewer timeouts for each team. The shot clock was last reduced, from 45 to 35 seconds, in 1993-94.
2018 — Golden State romps to its second straight NBA championship, beating Cleveland 108-85 to finish a four-game sweep. Stephen Curry scores 37 points and Kevin Durant, who is named MVP for the second straight finals, has 20 for the Warriors. It’s the first sweep in the NBA Finals since 2007, when James was dismissed by a powerful San Antonio team in his first one.
2019 — Ashleigh Barty, Australia, wins the French Open by defeating Marketa Vondrousoca. The win is Barty’s first Grand Slam singles title.
—Compiled by the Associated Press
And finally…
The Lakers win the 1981-82 NBA title. Watch and listen here.
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], and follow me on Twitter at @latimeshouston. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.