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From Jack Harris: Last week, Yoshinobu Yamamoto looked almost unhittable in his long-awaited return from the injured list.
In Monday night’s encore at Truist Park, the rookie Japanese right-hander had to be unbreakable instead.
In all four of Yamamoto’s innings against the Atlanta Braves, the leadoff man reached base. All four times, they eventually made it to third.
But, in a 9-0 Dodgers’ win that secured a four-game series split, Yamamoto managed to escape each jam, pitching four scoreless innings in another encouraging sign for his October prospects.
“It wasn’t as sharp command-wise as his first one back, but he made pitches when he needed to,” manager Dave Roberts said. “I just love the way he navigated.”
Yamamoto was not as crisp Monday as he was in his return from the injured list last week against the Chicago Cubs, when he struck out eight batters and gave up just a lone unearned run in his first start in three months after battling a strained rotator cuff.
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ANGELS
Mike Trout is open to discussing a position change after he has missed 370 games during the past four seasons.
The Angels slugger and three-time American League most valuable player said before Monday’s game against the Chicago White Sox that “everything’s on the table” when he meets with the team during the offseason. That includes moving to a corner outfield spot or more games as a designated hitter.
“Ultimately, my goal is to be in that batter’s box, in the field every single day,” said Trout, who spoke to reporters for the first time in nearly two months. “Whether that’s moving to a corner or DHing more, that’s something that I’ll leave it up to the front office to come up with a plan. Where I’m at and what’s happened the last few years, I’m definitely going to try to explore every option that can keep me out there.”
“I know I have a certain amount of years on my deal and I knew when I signed my contract, I’d eventually move to a corner. But is it next year? I don’t know. But we’ll have conversations,” said Trout, whose $426.5 million contract runs through 2030.
RAMS
From Gary Klein: The number of significant Rams players who will be out for extended periods continues to grow.
Receiver Cooper Kupp suffered an ankle sprain and safety John Johnson III and offensive lineman Jonah Jackson suffered shoulder injuries during the Rams’ defeat by the Arizona Cardinals and all are possible candidates to be placed on injured reserve, coach Sean McVay said Monday.
“None of these are season-ending,” McVay said during a videoconference with reporters, adding that all of them will require extended time to heal but a determination about whether they would be placed on injured reserve had not been made.
CHARGERS
From Kevin Baxter: Rain and high winds pounded North Carolina early Monday with forecasters warning the weather system could grow into a tropical storm. Those weren’t the only dark clouds hovering over the Chargers’ downtown hotel.
Justin Herbert limped out of the stadium after a 26-3 win over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday and, although X-rays were negative according to coach Jim Harbaugh, the quarterback’s status going forward isn’t clear.
The coach said in the preseason that he does not like discussing injuries in detail and he was true to his word Monday, declining to say which leg was bothering Herbert — it’s the right — and whether it was an ankle or something else.
“He said he got rolled up on,” Harbaugh repeated. “We’ll know more when the injury report comes out on Wednesday.”
From Ben Bolch: Embrace the hurt. Sit with the discomfort. Marinate in the misery.
That was the essence of UCLA coach DeShaun Foster’s message to his team after the Bruins on Saturday absorbed their worst loss in a home opener since a 35-0 beatdown by Stanford in 2010.
“I just told them to keep that feeling that you had as soon as the game was over,” Foster said Monday, referring to the Bruins’ 42-13 loss to Indiana at the Rose Bowl. “Bottle it up and have it out here every day this week and find a way to just not have that feeling.”
The Bruins might have felt a little too down Monday based on their subdued start to practice. During the roughly half hour of the session open to reporters, players ran through drills in a perfunctory manner. Normally chatty coaches were quiet.
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THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1917 — Honus Wagner retires at 43, Pirates retire his No. 33.
1920 — The forerunner of the NFL, the American Professional Football Association, is founded in an automobile showroom in Canton, Ohio. Twelve teams pay a $100 fee to obtain a franchise.
1938 — Don Budge completes the Grand Slam with a four-set victory over Gene Mako in the U.S. Lawn Tennis Assn. championships.
1947 — Jackie Robinson named Rookie of the Year by The Sporting News.
1953 — Ernie Banks becomes Chicago Cubs first Black player.
1954 — Rocky Marciano knocks out Ezzard Charles in the eighth round at Yankee Stadium in New York to retain his world heavyweight title.
1955 — In the first color telecast of a football game by NBC, No. 10 Georgia Tech defeats No. 9 Miami 14-6 in Atlanta. The winning score comes in the final minute when linebacker Jimmy Morris returns an interception 25 yards for a touchdown.
1961 — The Minnesota Vikings, the newest NFL franchise, beats the league’s oldest franchise, the Chicago Bears, 37-13 in the season opener. Minnesota’s Fran Tarkenton, playing his first NFL game, comes off the bench to become the only quarterback to throw four touchdown passes in his first game.
1977 — The U.S. wins the Ryder Cup 12½-7½ at Royal Lytham & St Annes England. It’s the last time that a Britain and Ireland team competes for the Ryder Cup. The Ryder Cup expands the GB&I to include golfers from all of continental Europe in 1979.
1984 — Reggie Jackson is the 13th player to hit 500 home runs.
2000 — Dan Marino’s No. 13 jersey is retired by the Miami Dolphins.
2002 — Suzy Whaley becomes the first woman to qualify for a PGA Tour event, earning an exemption to the 2003 Greater Hartford Open by winning a PGA Section Championship. Whaley is also is the first woman to win a Section Championship.
2004 — San Francisco’s Barry Bonds hits his 700th home run, joining Babe Ruth (714) and Hank Aaron (755) as the only players to reach the milestone.
2016 — Cam Pedersen kicks a 37-yard field as time expired and North Dakota State of the FC, rallies to beat No. 13 Iowa 23-21 for its sixth straight win over an FBS opponent.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
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