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From Jack Harris: The Dodgers’ starting rotation is in major midseason flux.
A big part of the problem: Bobby Miller is looking like a pitcher lost in the middle.
As a disastrous four-inning, nine-run start in the Dodgers’ 10-1 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday showed, Miller is struggling to find any balance in his game.
He’s stuck between pitches, lacking any reliable secondary weapon to couple with a fastball that remains a tick or two down from its normal near-triple-digit velocity.
His execution has wavered, looking too intense at some points (leading to overthrows and misses of the strike zone) and too fine at others (dialing back too much in search of better command).
And, in what started as a promising second season for last year’s rookie star, his results have suffered mightily, with Miller now sporting an 8.07 earned-run average in seven starts — not to mention the two-plus months he missed because of a shoulder injury.
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From Jack Harris: Learning he’d earned his first career All-Star selection Sunday, Tyler Glasnow highlighted one accomplishment from the first half of his season above all else.
Through the season’s first three months, the Dodgers’ ace had made all 18 of his starts atop the team’s rotation.
After years of repeated injury woes, Glasnow’s team-leading 109 innings represented his longest stretch of prolonged health as a big leaguer.
“[I’ve been] just trying to post up every start and log innings,” said Glasnow, who was 8-5 with a 3.47 ERA. “I’m just glad I was able to make every start.”
Barely 48 hours later, that streak of good health came to an abrupt end.
The Dodgers put Glasnow on the injured list Tuesday afternoon because of back tightness, after the pitcher’s back flared up on him while playing catch Sunday, according to manager Dave Roberts.
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ANGELS
Adolis García broke out of a one-for-19 slump with a solo homer in the eighth inning, and the Texas Rangers extended their winning streak to a season-high five games, defeating the Angels 5-4 on Tuesday night.
The Angels lost for the eighth time in nine games despite two homers and three hits from Logan O’Hoppe.
The Angels had a chance to take the lead in the seventh inning. They had the bases loaded with two out after Anthony Rendon drew a walk off José Leclerc (4-4), but Nolan Schanuel grounded out to first baseman Nathaniel Lowe.
CLIPPERS
From Broderick Turner: Kawhi Leonard sat in chair and peered down at the media after Team USA basketball practice Tuesday, looking uninterested but at least willing to talk about Paul George leaving the Clippers, saying it was “no surprise” that his running mate for five years in Los Angeles took a four-year, $212-million deal from the 76ers.
Leonard said he and George had conversations all season about their contract extensions. Leonard agreed to a three-year, $152-million deal in January, a deal that was offered to and eventually turned down by George.
Leonard initially declined to talk about George during his interview session on Sunday, but clarified that he didn’t have a problem with George’s decision to head to Philadelphia.
Two days later, Leonard had a little more to say about George’s situation and how he wasn’t surprised by the move.
“No, I mean, we knew what it was before the season,” Leonard said. “So, we knew what it was going to come down to. So, we talked the whole way through. No surprise.”
SPARKS
From Benjamin Royer: Curt Miller urged his team to play with an all-or-nothing sentiment before the Sparks closed their four-game homestand Tuesday night.
“We have to leave it all out there,” he said before the game. “There’s nothing we should be saving in the tank tonight. We should lay it all on the line.”
But Miller’s plea for passion and intensity on the court didn’t translate to a victory.
Minnesota never trailed despite playing without potential MVP candidate Napheesa Collier for the second consecutive game. The Lynx (16-6) led by as many as 15 in the first quarter and as much as 25 overall, ultimately defeating the now-last-place Sparks 82-67 at Crypto.com Arena.
ANGEL CITY
From Kevin Baxter: Christen Press hasn’t gone two years without a soccer game since she learned to walk. So when she was laid up by a torn anterior cruciate ligament that took four surgeries and nearly 25 months to repair, she decided to make use of the free time she never thought she’d have.
As a result, the player who returned to training with Angel City this month is not the same one who was carried off the field eight games into the team’s first season.
“I definitely feel like this is the best version of me that I’ve ever known. And I hope it continues to evolve,” Press said Saturday in an interview that was heavy on smiles and optimism.
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1926 — Bobby Jones wins the U.S. Open golf tournament for the second time with a 293 total.
1934 — Carl Hubbell strikes out Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Al Simmons and Joe Cronin in succession, but the American League comes back to win the All-Star game 9-7 at the Polo Grounds.
1936 — Philadelphia’s Chuck Klein hits four home runs in a 9-6 10-inning victory over the Pirates at Pittsburgh’s Forbes Field.
1951 — Britain’s Randy Turpin defeats Sugar Ray Robinson in 15 rounds to win the world middleweight title and give Robinson his second loss in 135 bouts.
1971 — Lee Trevino rebounds from a double-bogey on the next to last hole with a birdie on the final hole to win the 100th British Open by one stroke over Lu Liang-Huan. Trevino, who won the U.S. Open a month earlier, is the fourth golfer to win both championships in the same year, joining Bobby Jones (1926, 1930), Gene Sarazen (1932), and Ben Hogan (1953).
1976 — Johnny Miller shoots a 66 in the final round to beat 19-year-old Spaniard Seve Ballesteros by six strokes to take the British Open. Ballesteros, who starts the final round two strokes ahead of Miller, shoots a 74 and ends tied for second place with Jack Nicklaus.
1992 — The Major Soccer League, the only major nationwide professional soccer competition in the United States, folds after 14 seasons.
1999 — Team USA wins the Women’s World Cup over China in sudden death. The Americans win 5-4 in penalty kicks, with defender Brandi Chastain kicking in the game winner.
2010 — Paula Creamer wins her first major tournament, never giving up the lead during a steady final round of the U.S. Women’s Open. Creamer shoots a final-round 2-under 69 for a 3-under 281 for the tournament.
2010 — Spain wins soccer’s World Cup after an exhausting 1-0 victory in extra time over the Netherlands. In the end, it’s Andres Iniesta breaking free and scoring a right-footed shot from 8 yards just past the outstretched arms of goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg.
2017 — An independent review of the scoring in Manny Pacquiao’s contentious WBO welterweight world title loss to Jeff Horn confirms the outcome in favor of the Australian. A Philippines government department asked the WBO to review the refereeing and the judging of the so-called “Battle of Brisbane” in Australia on July 2 after Horn, fighting for his first world title, won a unanimous points decision against Pacquiao, an 11-time world champion. The WBO said three of the five independent judges who reviewed the bout awarded it to Horn, one awarded it to Pacquiao and one scored a draw.
2022 — Wimbledon Men’s Tennis: Novak Đoković wins 4th straight and record equaling 7th Wimbledon singles title with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 win over Nick Kyrgios of Australia; Đoković 21 Grand Slam titles.
Compiled by the Associated Press
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.