From Mike DiGiovanna: The Dodgers returned from a six-game trip on Monday, and pitcher Julio Urías was virtually gone without a trace.
The Dodger Stadium clubhouse locker of the 2020 World Series hero, who was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence outside of BMO Stadium last week, was removed before Monday night’s game against the San Diego Padres, the left-hander’s cubicle taken over by recently acquired infielder Kolten Wong.
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Two large murals that featured Urías prominently at the loge-level entrances in left field and right field were covered or painted over. There was no sign of Urías jerseys or merchandise in several concourse vendor booths and team shops. Urías jerseys and merchandise were removed from the top-of-park team store.
Manager Dave Roberts said the decision to remove Urías’ locker was “an organizational thing,” a move he said he was made aware of about five minutes before meeting reporters in the dugout three hours before the game.
“I didn’t know, and … it’s sad, it really is,” Roberts said. “It’s sad on every level.”
Did the decision to remove Urías’ locker from the clubhouse make it clear that the Dodgers have “moved on” from the pitcher who will be a free agent after this season?
“I think so,” Roberts said. “I think that’s kind of where we’re at right now. So there’s really not much for me to comment on, other than the fact that it’s just like I said on the first day, it’s a very unfortunate, sad situation.”
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DODGERS
Chris Taylor walks off the field after the Dodgers’ 11-8 loss to the San Diego Padres on Monday.
(Ryan Sun / Associated Press)
From Mike DiGiovanna: A brilliant rainbow poked through the clouds beyond the right-field pavilion in Chavez Ravine as Monday night’s game between the Dodgers and San Diego Padres began, and at the end of it was a pot of coal for the Dodgers.
A collision between Dodgers left fielder Chris Taylor and center fielder James Outman led to a dropped ball to begin the ninth inning, and Juan Soto and Xander Bogaerts hit two balls that no outfielder could catch, Soto crushing a three-run homer and Bogaerts a solo shot to lift the Padres to an 11-8 victory before a crowd of 40,072.
“The miscommunication in left-center field, that’s something that’s uncharacteristic and shouldn’t happen,” manager Dave Roberts said of the pivotal play. “Looking back, both guys called it at the same time, the ball is dropped, and a guy is on second base, creating stress in a tie ballgame.”
The score was tied 7-7 entering the top of the ninth, which Trent Grisham opened with a fly ball to the warning track in left-center field off Dodgers closer Evan Phillips.
Taylor and Outman converged on the catchable ball, but when they knocked each other’s glove hands, the ball dropped for a two-base error that was charged to Taylor. Outman thought the official scorer got it wrong.
“Yeah, I mean, I think I went a little out of my territory, so the blame is on me,” Outman said. “The error should have been on me.”
ANGELS
From the Associated Press: Randal Grichuk drove in the go-ahead run with an RBI single in the top of the 11th inning, and the Angels beat the Seattle Mariners 8-5 on Monday night.
Brandon Drury gave the Angels a 5-3 lead with a two-run homer in the top of the 10th before Julio Rodríguez tied it again with a two-run shot in the bottom half of the inning. It gave Rodríguez 30 homers to go with 36 stolen bases, making him the second-youngest in franchise history to join the 30/30 club behind Alex Rodriguez.
Julio Rodríguez is also just the fourth player in MLB history to join the 30/30 club at age 22 or younger. He finished the night with four hits.
RAMS
Rams linebacker Michael Hoecht celebrates after sacking Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith in the fourth quarter Sunday.
(Lindsey Wasson / Associated Press)
From Gary Klein: The Rams defeated the Seattle Seahawks, 30-13, on Sunday at Lumen Field in Seattle.
What we learned from the Rams’ season-opening victory:
Forget the oddsmakers and pundits preseason narrative…for now
It’s only one game. The first game. And that rarely tells the whole story — or an accurate one — about whether a team will contend for a playoff spot.
But the Rams, who have an over/under of 6½ wins per FanDuel sportsbook, showed they might be a team capable of making a run for something other than the right to select USC quarterback Caleb Williams with the No. 1 pick.
The operative word: Might.
Quarterback Matthew Stafford looked great, the receiving corps stepped up in Cooper Kupp’s absence, the offensive line held up and the defense shut out the Seahawks in the second half.
A tougher test comes Sunday, when the Rams play the San Francisco 49ers, a 30-7 winner Sunday over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
If the Rams knock off the 49ers, they are legit.
CHARGERS
Chargers running back Joshua Kelley (25) celebrates after scoring a second-half touchdown against the Dolphins on Sunday.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
From Jeff Miller: Buried in their stinging defeat and dreadful pass defense Sunday was a stellar effort by the Chargers’ offense, especially when running the ball.
Coach Brandon Staley on Monday called it “an exceptional performance” as his team totaled 234 yards on 40 carries, an average of 5.9 per attempt.
Since Week 6 of the 2018 season, the Chargers have run for more yards in a game only once.
Austin Ekeler finished with 117 yards on 16 carries and Joshua Kelley 91 yards on 16 carries. Both scored touchdowns in the 36-34 loss to Miami.
But there is something to monitor. Ekeler suffered an ankle injury and was not on the field for the Chargers’ final series. Staley said his status for the next practice, on Wednesday, has yet to be determined.
From Ben Bolch: A year later, “unavailable” was finally decoded.
UCLA coach Chip Kelly said he did not hold out players against an overmatched Football Championship Series opponent last September because of load management but because of injuries.
The topic came up because the No. 24 Bruins (2-0) are facing another FCS opponent Saturday when North Carolina Central (2-0) comes to the Rose Bowl. The Eagles can expect to face all of UCLA’s top players, according to Kelly, and if things go well for the Bruins, a lot of reserves as well.
“Load management, that’s an NBA term,” Kelly said Monday. “We’ve got 12 games a year — there’s no load management in college football, at least not in this program.”
Of course, Kelly could have avoided unnecessary speculation had he more directly addressed the issue a year ago. Asked immediately after UCLA’s 45-7 rout of Alabama State if running back Zach Charbonnet and quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson were injured, Kelly replied, “Unavailable.” Charbonnet did not play and Thompson-Robinson was taken out in the second quarter.
OLYMPICS
Lakers star LeBron James drives to the basket against the Dallas Mavericks on Dec. 25, 2022.
(Emil T. Lippe / Associated Press)
From Dan Woike: The medals had barely been hung on the necks of the German, Serbian and Canadian teams when word began to circulate about Team USA’s savior assembling an Avengers-style group of colleagues to fix American basketball in the upcoming Olympics.
LeBron James, sources not authorized to speak publicly told The Times, is very interested in playing next summer in Paris, bringing with him the top American players in the NBA to undo the disappointment of a fourth-place finish in the FIBA World Cup.
The other names interested in competing in the 2024 Olympics being mentioned in reports: Anthony Davis, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Jayson Tatum and Draymond Green. Even more from the gold-winning 2020 roster like Devin Booker and Bam Adebayo could help up the talent on the U.S. roster.
BASEBALL
From Steve Henson: PCA is a well-worn acronym, standing for everything from the People’s Choice Awards to the Positive Coaching Alliance to the Poodle Club of America.
In Chicago it’s about to become shorthand for Pete Crow-Armstrong, who was promoted by the Cubs when they cleared a spot on their 40-man roster Monday and the fleet center fielder known as PCA arrived at Coors Field, where the Cubs began a three-game series.
“I feel like I just got my moment to breathe,” Crow-Armstrong told reporters before Monday’s game. “Getting into the clubhouse was a little much, but everybody just was the most welcoming. Yeah, it was a nice scene when I walked in.”
He is well-known in Southern California, where he grew up in Sherman Oaks and starred at Harvard-Westlake High in Studio City.
Crow-Armstrong, 21, turned down a scholarship to Vanderbilt to sign with the New York Mets after being drafted No. 17 overall in 2020. He was dealt to the Cubs for two months for infielder Javier Báez at the trade deadline a year later, a deal that backfired spectacularly for the Mets, who lost 11 of their first 14 games with Báez in the lineup and didn’t come close to making the playoffs.
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1895 — Defender wins three straight matches from the British challenger Valkyrie II to defend the America’s Cup for the United States.
1936 — Fred Perry becomes the first foreign player to win three U.S. men’s singles titles when he defeats Don Budge, 2-6, 6-2, 8-6, 1-6, 10-8. Alice Marble ends the four-year reign of Helen Jacobs as U.S. women’s singles champion, with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory.
1955 — Tony Trabert wins the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association championships with a victory over Ken Rosewall. Doris Hart wins the women’s title.
1966 — Australia’s Fred Stolle beats countryman John Newcombe to win the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association championships. Stolle wins in four sets, 4-6, 12-10, 6-3, 6-4.
1976 — Jimmy Connors beats Bjorn Borg in four sets to win the U.S. Open.
1979 — Carl Yastrzemski reaches 3,000 hits off of NY Yankee pitcher Jim Beattie.
1981 — Tracy Austin wins her second U.S. Open singles title, edging first-time finalist Martina Navratilova, 1-6, 7-6, 7-6.
1982 — Jimmy Connors wins the U.S. Open, defeating Ivan Lendl, 6-3, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4.
1984 — N.Y. Met Dwight Gooden sets rookie strike out record at 251.
1988 — 1st NFL regular-season game played in Phoenix; Dallas beats Arizona.
1995 — The Harlem Globetrotters’ 24-year, 8,829-game winning streak is stopped. It ends in a 91-85 loss to a team led by basketball great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who scores 34 points in a competitive, unscripted game in Vienna, Austria.
1998 — Lindsay Davenport captures her first Grand Slam tournament singles title, defeating Martina Hingis, 6-3, 7-5 at the U.S. Open.
1999 — Andre Agassi comes back from two-sets-to-one down to win his second U.S. Open singles title. Agassi, who never loses his serve, defeats Todd Martin, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-7 (2), 6-3, 6-2. It’s the first five-set U.S. Open final in 11 years.
2004 — Roger Federer becomes the first man since 1988 to win three majors in a year, thoroughly outclassing Lleyton Hewitt 6-0, 7-6 (3), 6-0 to add the U.S. Open title to those he took at the Australian Open and Wimbledon.
2005 — Mark Messier announces on ESPN radio that he will retire from the NHL.
2010 — Houston running back Arian Foster rushes for a franchise-record 231 yards and three touchdowns in the Texans’ 34-24 victory over the Indianapolis Colts. Foster is the first player in NFL history to rush for at least 200 yards and three touchdowns for an opening weekend.
2011 — Tom Brady passes for a team-record 517 yards and four touchdowns, including a 99-yarder to Wes Welker, and the New England Patriots beat the Miami Dolphins 38-24.
2011 — U.S. Open Men’s Tennis: Novak Djokovic wins his first US title; beats Rafael Nadal 6-2, 6-4, 6-7, 6-1.
2014 — Diana Taurasi and Candice Dupree score 24 points each and the Phoenix Mercury, playing without star center Brittney Griner, beat the Chicago Sky 87-82 to complete a three-game sweep of the WNBA Finals for their third championship.
2015 — Kent State dominates Delaware State in the Golden Flashes’ home opener, 45-13, but it’s overshadowed by a single point-after kick in the second quarter by April Goss. Goss, a four-year member of the Kent State team and a former high school soccer player, becomes the second female to score in a Division I game in NCAA history. Katie Hnida kicked a pair of extra points for New Mexico in 2003.
2015 — David Ortiz homers twice to become the 27th player in major league history to reach 500 homers, and Boston beats Tampa Bay 10-4.
2018 — Breanna Stewart leads the Seattle Storm to their third WNBA title, scoring 30 points in a 98-82 victory over the Washington Mystics in Game 3 of the best-of-five series.
2020 — Naomi Osaka of Japan wins her second US Open title beating Victoria Azarenka of Belarus 1-6, 6-3, 6-3.
— Compiled by the Associated Press
And finally
Randal Grichuk was the Angels’ extra-innings hero Monday. Watch his RBI single in the 11th inning against the Mariners.
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 houston.mitchell@latimes.com, and follow me on Twitter at @latimeshouston. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.