Kyle Schwarber hit a go-ahead RBI double and Trea Turner had a two-run single in the 10th inning in the Philadelphia Phillies’ 4-2 victory over the Angels on Saturday night.
Phillies closer Jhoan Duran (2-4) threw a scoreless ninth and gave up an unearned run in the 10th as Philadelphia won for the 12th time in 14 games. The Angels (52-84) have lost six straight.
The top of the 10th began with automatic runner Brandon Marsh getting thrown out at third on J.T. Realmuto’s grounder to short off Angels reliever Trevor Martin (0-1). Justin Crawford singled, advancing Realmuto to third.
Schwarber blooped an RBI single to left-center for a 2-1 lead, Crawford taking third and Schwarber second on the throw. Turner squibbed a grounder through the right side of a drawn-in infield for a two-run single and a 4-1 lead.
Angels shortstop Zach Neto capped a 12-pitch at-bat in the eighth with a solo homer off Phillies reliever Jonathan Bowlan, tying the score 1-all and snapping a string of 30 consecutive innings without an extra-base hit for the Angels.
Neto’s 23rd homer spoiled a superb start by Phillies left-hander Cristopher Sánchez, who allowed two hits, struck out eight–bringing his season total to 202–and walked one in seven innings to lower his ERA to 2.52.
The Phillies (76-60) blew a chance to tack on to a 1-0 lead in the eighth, an inning that began with a Turner single and stolen base and a Harper walk. Turner was caught off the second-base bag and picked off.
Harper took second and third on a wild pitch, but Luis Arraez grounded to first, Harper holding. Harper was called safe on a daring steal of home off Martin, but the call was overturned by replay, ending the inning.
Angels starter Ryan Johnson managed to give up one run in five innings despite issuing four of his five walks and throwing 60 of his 88 pitches in the first two innings. The Phillies took a 1-0 lead in the second when Alex Bohm singled, Bryson Stott walked and Marsh hit an RBI single.
Up next: Phillies RHP Zack Wheeler (10-5, 3.40 ERA) was set to face Angels LHP Yusei Kikuchi (0-4, 6.25) on Sunday in the series finale.
Pinch-hitter Edmundo Sosa hit his first career grand slam with two outs in the ninth inning, and the Philadelphia Phillies roared back for a 5-3 victory over the Angels on Friday night.
Sosa connected just two batters after Wade Meckler reached deep into the right field stands to rob Bryson Stott of a three-run homer.
After J.T. Realmuto drew a walk that loaded the bases and chased shaky closer Ben Joyce (0-2), Sosa crushed a low changeup from Sammy Peralta 404 feet to center, far beyond Mike Trout‘s reach.
Alex McFarlane (4-1) pitched the eighth for the Phillies. Jonathan Bowlan got the ninth instead of closer Jhoan Duran, and he put two Angels on base before he struck out Adam Frazier to finish his second save.
Bryce Harper extended his on-base streak to a career-high 30 games with a bunt single in the fourth for Philadelphia, which improved to 2-2 on its nine-game West Coast trip. The Phillies also moved one game behind the Cubs for the top NL wild-card spot.
Reid Detmers yielded one run and eight hits over six resilient innings, but the AL-worst Angels lost their fifth straight with yet another bullpen implosion.
After Alec Bohm and Justin Crawford reached base without a hit off Joyce, Meckler appeared to save the game for the Angels with his spectacular running catch on Stott’s sinking fly, putting his body onto the waist-high wall of the short porch and sticking his glove in among the fans.
Instead, Sosa connected for the Phillies’ first go-ahead grand slam with two outs in the ninth inning since Shane Victorino did it in 2009.
Meckler drove in a run on the first pitch he saw in his return from the concussion injured list during a three-run first inning for the Angels, who managed just three singles — one after the first.
Andrew Painter recovered nicely from that 28-pitch first in which he threw two wild pitches that brought home Trout and Meckler, facing the minimum 15 batters during five hitless innings afterward.
Up next: Phillies All-Star Cristopher Sánchez (16-4, 2.62 ERA) takes the mound Saturday against the Angels’ Ryan Johnson (3-7, 5.75 ERA).
The words “Anaheim Angels” are now enshrined in California law.
Whether the baseball team that calls Angel Stadium home reverts to its hometown name remains to be seen. On Thursday, however, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law the “Home Run for Anaheim Act,” a step that elected officials in Orange County consider a significant step in that direction.
The new law, introduced by Assemblyman Avelino Valencia (D-Anaheim), cleared the state legislature without a single vote against it.
The law does not mandate the Angels — playing under a Los Angeles name in Anaheim’s city-owned stadium — revert to the Anaheim Angels name.
For now, in fact, the law does absolutely nothing. On Friday, the Los Angeles Angels play at Angel Stadium.
Instead, the law provides the city with an incentive to dangle before the team. If the Angels — whether under current owner Arte Moreno or a future owner — wish to develop the 150-acre Angel Stadium property, state law would prioritize affordable housing within the site.
In an era where team owners covet the profits from development around stadiums and arenas — including places for fans to eat, drink and shop 365 days a year, not just on game days — the city of Anaheim could seek an exemption from the affordable housing law. That wouldn’t rule out housing on the site, but it would give a team more flexibility to build whatever project might be considered most profitable.
If the city obtains the exemption, the new law says, “then any materials, including, but not limited to, a lease, deed of sale, and promotional or marketing materials, shall refer to that team as the Anaheim Angels.”
Moreno has twice reached deals with the city to develop the land, only to see the city walk away both times. In the last deal, he rejected the city’s request to rename the team the Anaheim Angels.
“We are proud to call Angel Stadium of Anaheim our home,” Angels spokeswoman Marie Garvey said, “and any other comment about the future would be premature.”
Moreno, 80, has shown no public interest in a third negotiation with the city. The Angels’ current stadium lease extends through 2032, and the team has options to extend the lease through 2038.
By year’s end, the city has said it anticipates the release of a long-awaited property assessment, which is expected to show Angel Stadium needs hundreds of millions of dollars in upgrades to remain viable for the long-term. The city and team may not agree on who should pay for them, and real estate development around the stadium could be part of the solution for funding a new or renovated stadium.
The city could use the exemption as leverage in discussions with Moreno or a new owner, although leverage could work both ways.
When Anaheim sued the Angels over the 2005 name change, city-commissioned experts testified in court that the Anaheim name was worth hundreds of millions of dollars to the city over the life of the lease. That could compel an owner to ask the city to contribute to the cost of building a new stadium in exchange for the return of the Anaheim name.
An almost vacant large urban site — an aging stadium surrounded by 130 acres of parking lots, sitting between three freeways and a train station — is rare in Southern California and surely would attract development interest among potential bidders for the Angels.
But any new owner would have one more bit of leverage: Once the Angel Stadium lease expires, the owner would be free to move out of Anaheim.
Steven Kwan hit a tying double in the ninth inning, Travis Bazzana followed with a sacrifice fly and the Cleveland Guardians rallied past the Angels 4-3 on Wednesday for their seventh straight victory.
Hunter Gaddis (2-3) retired the final two batters in the eighth to earn the win. Erik Sabrowski worked a scoreless ninth for his second major league save and first since 2024.
With a runner on second, Sabrowski struck out pinch-hitter Travis d’Arnaud and got pinch-hitter Oswald Peraza to pop up to second as Cleveland completed a three-game sweep.
Chase DeLauter, slowed this week by left hamstring tightness, sparked the winning rally with a one-out single off reliever Ryan Watson (1-1) in the ninth.
Petey Halpin ran for DeLauter and went to second on Brayan Rocchio’s single. Kwan roped a ground-rule double to right field for a 3-all tie, and Bazzana’s sacrifice fly sent the Angels to their 10th loss this season when leading after eight innings.
Angels starter Grayson Rodriguez gave up one run and seven hits in 5 2/3 innings, striking out four and walking one. Guardians starter Joey Cantillo gave up two hits in six innings but issued a career-high seven walks and committed a first-inning error that led to a run.
Zach Neto led off the bottom of the first with a single and scored when Cantillo fielded Vaughn Grissom’s one-out dribbler and threw the ball into right field.
The Angels extended the lead to 3-0 in the second when Cantillo walked the bases loaded with one out, hit Neto with a pitch to force in a run, and Mike Trout added a sacrifice fly.
Cleveland cut it to 3-1 in the fifth when Rocchio doubled, went to third on Kwan’s groundout and scored on Bazzana’s sacrifice fly. The Guardians pulled to 3-2 in the eighth when Bazzana bunted for a single, Jo Adell walked and Nathaniel Lowe flared an RBI single to left-center.
José Ramírez drove in five runs with three doubles, Steven Kwan had five singles and the streaking Cleveland Guardians overcame an early five-run deficit to beat the Angels 8-6 in 10 innings Tuesday night.
Kwan capped his second career five-hit game with a leadoff single in the 10th against reliever Blake Weiman (0-1), advancing automatic runner Brayan Rocchio from second base to third. Travis Bazzana popped out, but Ramírez laced a two-run double to left-center to give the Guardians an 8-6 lead.
Cleveland reliever Erik Sabrowski (5-2) struck out the side in the ninth. Cade Smith fanned Denzer Guzman and Adam Frazier with runners on second and third in the 10th for his 35th save, sealing the Guardians’ sixth straight win.
The Angels took a 6-5 lead on Vaughn Grissom’s second homer of the game, a solo shot off reliever Logan Allen leading off the fifth. The Guardians tied it 6-all in the eighth when Kwan singled and scored on Ramírez’s RBI double.
Cleveland center fielder Angel Martínez preserved the tie when he made a leaping catch at the wall to rob Mike Trout of a potential two-run homer to end the bottom of the eighth.
Angels starter Walbert Ureña gave up three runs and five hits in 3 2/3 innings, striking out three and walking five. Guardians starter Gavin Williams was rocked for five runs and six hits in 1 1/3 innings, his shortest start this season.
Grissom hit a two-run homer in the first, and the Angels pushed the lead to 5-0 in the second on Christian Moore’s solo homer, Guzman’s RBI double and Zach Neto’s RBI single.
Bazzana lined an RBI double to cut the deficit to 5-1 in the fourth, and Ramírez’s two-run double made it 5-3.
Cleveland tied it 5-all in the fifth on two-out RBI singles by Rocchio and Kwan.
Parker Messick pitched six innings of one-run ball and Austin Hedges hit a two-run homer in the Cleveland Guardians’ 4-2 victory over the Angels on Monday night.
Jo Adell hit a go-ahead single for the Guardians against his former team. Messick (10-8) gave up three hits, struck out four and walked one while extending to nine his string of consecutive starts with two or fewer runs allowed.
Through 26 starts, the rookie left-hander has a 2.50 ERA with 156 strikeouts in 155 innings.
Colin Holderman struck out three of four batters in the seventh. Hunter Gaddis tossed a scoreless eighth and Cade Smith gave up a run in the ninth before earning his 34th save.
Cleveland (66-66) won its fifth straight and pulled within 2½ games of the first-place Chicago White Sox in the AL Central.
Angels rookie George Klassen (2-2) gave up three runs — two earned — and six hits in 5⅓ innings.
Adell, acquired from the Angels on Aug. 3, snapped a 1-1 tie with a two-out single in the fifth — his 13th RBI in six games. Hedges made it 4-1 with a two-out homer off reliever Blake Weiman in the sixth.
The Angels (52-80) pulled to 4-2 on Gustavo Campero’s sacrifice fly in the ninth, but Christian Moore flied out to the left-center warning track with a runner on for the final out.
Messick retired his first nine batters before Zach Neto and Mike Trout opened the fourth with singles. Neto went to third on Trout’s hit, and Trout took second on the throw.
Trout was caught off the bag on Vaughn Grissom’s hard grounder to second but stayed in a rundown long enough for Grissom to reach second.
Moisés Ballesteros dunked an RBI single into center for a 1-1 tie, advancing Grissom to third. Messick escaped further damage by striking out Jose Siri and getting Campero to pop out.
Cleveland took a 1-0 lead in the third when Steven Kwan and José Ramírez singled, Adell walked and Nathaniel Lowe hit a sacrifice fly.
Up next: Guardians RHP Gavin Williams (12-7, 3.72 ERA) will oppose Angels RHP Walbert Ureña on Tuesday night.
ARLINGTON, Texas — Ezequiel Durán and Elias Díaz hit solo homers, Cal Quantrill worked six scoreless innings and the Texas Rangers beat the Angels 5-3 on Sunday.
With the win, the Rangers moved into a tie with the Houston Astros for first place in the AL West with records of 65-66.
Durán put Texas on the board early, launching his 14th home run of the year into the left-center seats for a 1-0 lead. Cody Freeman added an RBI triple — his first of the season — before Díaz extended the lead to 5-0 in the fifth inning with a solo homer, his sixth of the season.
Quantrill (6-4) gave up six hits, didn’t allow a walk and struck out six. He now boasts five straight starts of five or more innings allowing a run or less, and extended his scoreless innings streak to 15.
Jacob Latz worked a one-hit ninth for his 26th save of the season.
Zach Neto started an eighth-inning rally for the Angels (52-79) with a homer. Josh Lowe hit a sacrifice fly, and Gustavo Campero added an RBI single, but that was all the offense the Angels mustered.
Yusei Kikuchi (0-4) gave up five runs on seven hits. He struck out four in five innings.
Up next for the Angels: RHP George Klassen (2-1, 3.74 ERA) starts a home series against the Guardians on Monday. Cleveland has not named a starter.
HOUSTON — Zach Neto was five for six with his 21st homer and a career-high seven RBIs and the Angels scored their most runs in three years to rout the Houston Astros 18-3 on Thursday night.
The Angels (51-77) had a season-high 18 hits and scored their most runs since a 25-1 victory over Colorado on June 24, 2023.
Angels starter Grayson Rodriguez (4-5) gave up just two unearned runs across seven innings while striking out six.
Peter Lambert (8-7) entered as Houston’s most consistent starter but had his worst outing of the season, giving up eight hits and nine runs in 3⅔ innings.
Houston slipped to 64-64 and saw its two-game lead in the AL West drop to one as Texas beat Washington.
In a scary moment in the fifth, Angels left fielder Wade Meckler was hit in the head by a 90-mph sinker from reliever Bryan King. The pitch appeared to hit Meckler on the helmet over his right ear. He was on the ground near home plate for a few minutes and was attended by medical staff before walking to the dugout and exiting the game.
Angels first baseman Nolan Schanuel left in the sixth with right side soreness.
Up next: Angels LHP Reid Detmers (4-8, 3.78 ERA) was set to start against Rangers LHP MacKenzie Gore (7-9, 4.45) in Texas on Friday night. Astros RHP Hayden Wesneski (2-1, 5.16) was set to open a home series against Athletics RHP J.T. Ginn (8-7, 3.53).
HOUSTON — Ethan Pecko struck out four in his major-league debut, five Houston relievers pitched shutout ball for five-plus innings and Christian Vázquez homered as the Astros beat the Angels 3-2 on Wednesday night.
Pecko, a 2023 sixth-round selection by Houston, was ranked ninth in the Astros’ system by MLB Pipeline. The 23-year-old right-hander gave up three hits, two runs and two walks in 3 2/3 innings. He was the 17th starter used by the Astros this season, tying a franchise record set in 1965.
Vázquez’s solo homer, his seventh of the year, put the Astros ahead in the third inning.
Nick Allen pinch-hit for Jeremy Peña after Peña was hit by a 100-mph sinker on his hand in the first. The Astros said he had a bruised right hand.
In the same inning, manager Joe Espada was ejected after arguing a hit-by-pitch call.
Denzer Guzman put the Angels ahead in the fourth with what initially appeared to be a three-run homer. But, the call was changed to a two-run double due to fan interference.
Houston’s Jose Altuve tied the score with an RBI double in the bottom half of the inning, and Cam Smith put the Astros ahead with a sacrifice fly that scored Isaac Paredes.
Bennett Sousa (1-1) earned the win in relief and Josh Hader earned his 18th save.
Walbert Ureña (8-9) worked five innings for the Angels, giving up three runs and three hits with seven strikeouts.
HOUSTON — Rookie George Klassen gave up one hit in a career-high seven scoreless innings and Josh Lowe homered to lead the Angels to a 3-1 win over the Houston Astros on Tuesday night.
Klassen (2-1), who was making his fifth career start, also set a career mark by striking out seven. He gave up only a first inning single to Jose Altuve.
Cam Smith hit a solo homer off José Fermin with no outs in the eighth to cut the lead to 3-1. But Ben Joyce pitched a scoreless ninth to get his third save and send the AL West leaders to their third straight loss.
Houston starter Cristian Javier (1-4) gave up five hits and two runs in four innings.
The Angels scored all three of their runs with two out for their second win in three games.
The Angels had runners on first and second with two outs in the third when an RBI single by Nolan Schanuel made it 1-0.
Lowe extended the lead to 2-0 with his shot to the seats in left field with two out in the fourth.
The Angels got things going again with two out in the fifth when Schanuel singled to right field. Zach Neto followed with an RBI double that left them up 3-0.
Isaac Paredes walked with two out in the first before Altuve’s single, but Klassen struck out Daulton Varsho to end the inning. The Astros didn’t have another baserunner until Paredes walked to start the fourth. Klassen walked Altuve with none out in the seventh, but retired the next three batters, with two strikeouts, to end his night.
Noah Cameron pitched a one-hitter, Michael Massey and Bobby Witt Jr. hit home runs, and the Kansas City Royals beat the Angels 3-0 on Sunday.
Cameron (7-8) struck out eight and walked one, throwing 115 pitches in nine innings. He gave up his only hit in the seventh, when Angels first baseman Vaughn Grissom singled high over the head of Witt.
Cameron retired his first 15 batters before issuing a leadoff walk to Oswald Peraza in the sixth. Peraza advanced on Travis d’Arnaud’s groundout before Josh Lowe struck out swinging and Zach Neto bounced to second.
He struck out Mike Trout leading off the seventh before Grissom’s single.
Massey hit a solo home run in the fourth inning for the Royals (51-74), followed by Witt’s home run in the fifth to make it 2-0. Carter Jensen hit an RBI single in the seventh.
Ryan Johnson (2-7) pitched 5⅓ innings for the Angels (49-76), giving up five hits. He struck out four, walked two and finished with two earned runs.
Up next for the Angels: Visit the Houston Astros for a three-game series on Tuesday. RHP George Klassen (1-1, 5.52) starts for the Angels. RHP Cristian Javier (1-3, 6.68) starts for the Astros.
Reid Detmers pitched eight scoreless innings, Nolan Schanuel had an RBI single in the eighth and the Angels outlasted the Kansas City Royals 1-0 on Saturday night.
Detmers (4-8) gave up two hits, no walks and struck out 11 for his first win this season at Angel Stadium, breaking an 0-5 spell and a streak of 12 games resulting in a loss or no-decision. Ben Joyce worked a hitless ninth for his second save, as the Angels (49-75) won for the fourth time in five games.
In the eighth inning, Jose Siri came on as pinch-runner after Wade Meckler walked. Siri stole second, and Schanuel brought him home on the go-ahead RBI single. Schanuel had three of the Angels’ six hits, finishing three for three.
Nate Pearson (2-1) gave up the winning run for Kansas City (50-74). Randy Dobnak worked 5⅔ scoreless innings during his start, fanning six and giving up four hits.
Kansas City’s Jac Caglianone extended his hitting streak to 13 games.
Jac Caglianone homered and drove in five runs on a three-hit night, Michael Massey also homered and had three hits and the Kansas City Royals beat the Angels 7-6 on Friday to snap a four-game losing streak.
John Schreiber, Nate Pearson and Steven Cruz threw scoreless relief innings for the Royals, with Cruz finishing for his fourth save.
Nolan Schanuel had two hits and four RBIs for the Angels (48-75). They had won three straight.
After Josh Lowe’s solo homer off Alex Lange (2-7) gave the Angels a 6-5 lead in the sixth, Kansas City (50-73) scored twice off Tayler Saucedo (0-1) in the seventh to make it 7-6.
Caglianone is batting .438 (21 for 48) with five homers and 18 RBIs during a 12-game hitting streak. In the ninth, he took second on an error and scored on Massey’s two-out RBI single to finish the scoring.
Caglianone’s two-run homer — his 22nd of the season — off left-hander Sammy Peralta gave Kansas City a 5-4 lead in the fifth.
Royals starter Seth Lugo gave up five runs and seven hits in 4⅔ innings.
Up next: Royals RHP Randy Dobnak (2-1, 2.00 ERA) was set to oppose Angels LHP Reid Detmers (3-8, 4.00 ERA) on Saturday night.
Walbert Ureña gave up two hits in six innings, Mike Trout and Denzer Guzman led a 15-hit outburst with three singles and an RBI apiece, and the Angels beat the Texas Rangers 7-0 on Thursday night.
Josh Lowe added two hits and two RBIs, and Adam Frazier had two hits and an RBI for the Angels, who extended their win streak to three and had at least 10 hits in a game for the first time since July 8.
Ureña (8-8) struck out five and walked two while lowering his ERA to 2.67. The rookie right-hander has a 2.43 ERA in 18 games since May 1 and has given up no more than one run in 13 of those starts. José Fermin, Tayler Saucedo and Sammy Peralta each threw a scoreless inning to complete the five-hitter.
Rangers starter Jacob deGrom, who has been battling a left hip and glute injury since the All-Star break, was pulled after two innings because of right triceps fatigue.
The 38-year-old right-hander escaped a two-on, one-out jam in the first but gave up two runs and five hits during a 32-pitch second — the first time deGrom (8-8) gave up five hits in an inning since Sept. 5, 2017, with the New York Mets.
Guzman sparked the Angels’ second-inning rally with a single. He went to third on Lowe’s double and scored on Frazier’s one-out single. Lowe tried to score from second on Frazier’s hit but was thrown out by left fielder Wyatt Langford. Wade Meckler singled and Trout hit an RBI single for a 2-0 lead.
The Angels broke open the game with four runs and six hits off Texas left-hander Jordan Montgomery in the fifth.
Singles by Trout, Nolan Schanuel and Vaughn Grissom loaded the bases. Guzman drove in a run with an infield single, Lowe hit a two-run single and Jose Siri’s RBI groundout made it 6-0. Siri added an RBI single in the seventh.
In 2012, on the day after Mark Walter and his partners bought the Dodgers, I sat next to Walter in a conference room. To the sports fan, Walter was virtually anonymous: a super rich guy who had made his money running investment and insurance companies.
Walter’s purchase valued the Dodgers and its related assets at a then-record $2.15 billion. That value stunned the sports world. Mark Cuban had bowed out of the bidding, believing the Dodgers were not worth even $1 billion.
I asked Walter why he believed it made business sense to pay three times as much as any major league team had sold for.
“I think you have a few moments in life where you have the opportunity to own an asset and really be a custodian of something that should be multigenerational and iconic,” he said then. “I understand it’s a lot of money. But it’s not as if you can go buy another one tomorrow. … We hope we never, ever are going to sell it.”
That was essentially the point that someone who travels within the inner circles of pro sports made to me Wednesday morning, as news broke that Walter had sold the Lakers to Bob Iger, the former Disney chief, and Joshua Kushner.
The Steinbrenner family has owned the New York Yankees for 53 years. Jerry Jones has owned the Dallas Cowboys for 37 years. The Buss family owned the Lakers for 46 years.
These trophy assets are few and far between. Walter had agreed to sell the Lakers after less than one year of ownership — and not through a comprehensive bidding process, but to an inquiring caller during the weekend?
“This has more red flags than a May Day parade,” an industry insider said, speaking on condition of anonymity so as not to jeopardize his professional relationships.
The deal, which valued the Lakers at $12.5 billion, was motivated by the spiraling price for an NBA expansion team in Las Vegas, according to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne. After all, if Iger and Kushner might have to pay $10 billion for a startup team, why not call and see if Walter might accept a bit more for one of the marquee franchises in American sports?
Was this a blind call or was Walter looking to sell?
“It was suggested to us that maybe Mark Walter would be interested in selling his stake in the Lakers,” Iger told the California Post.
What did Dodgers president Stan Kasten have to say about that?
“I never knew that. He never said that to me,” Kasten said. “I think he was surprised by it. That’s what he has expressed to me. Mark had no plan to do this. This just came up, and he thought about it and said yes.”
Why might Walter have been interested in selling?
Mark Walter acknowledges a fan before a game against the Cubs in Chicago this month.
(Melissa Tamez / Associated Press)
Only he can say for sure, but his companies are under federal investigation for failing to disclose and properly account for billions of dollars of loans among related entities. Bloomberg reported Wednesday that Walter’s holding company is trying to raise money that could help pay off or at least pay down those loans, and the Financial Times reported that company assets could be sold or restructured.
No charges have been filed, and investigations can conclude without charges. No allegations of wrongdoing have been made against Walter.
Is there a baseball angle to this?
Among the investment firms Walter’s holding company approached about “deals to raise cash,” according to Bloomberg: the asset management firm owned by New York Mets owner Steve Cohen.
Cohen’s firm passed, according to the Financial Times.
When Walter and his partners bought the Dodgers, the runners-up: the bid team of Cohen and Los Angeles Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong.
“No, that never came up. And Mark and I discussed it,” Kasten said. “So, no, we don’t have any reason to think that. I certainly have no reason to think that.”
What does Walter’s sale of the Lakers mean for the Dodgers?
“It means nothing for the Dodgers,” someone who speaks regularly with Walter said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “He owned them long before the Lakers and will own them long after.”
If Walter should later sell the Dodgers, what might have the greatest impact on the team?
Shohei Ohtani has an out clause in his contract if Mark Walter sells the team.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
Shohei Ohtani’s 10-year, $700-million contract with the Dodgers includes an unusual escape clause: If Walter is no longer the controlling owner, or if Andrew Friedman is no longer running the Dodgers’ baseball operations department, Ohtani can opt out of the contract.
Would he?
Way too soon to tell. If major league owners get their way in collective bargaining, the proposed salary cap would mean Ohtani at $70 million could eat up just about one-third of any team’s payroll. And, in his third year with the Dodgers, he has yet to complete a full season as a pitcher, and a left knee in which manager Dave Roberts says Ohtani suffers from “wear and tear” could make him less of a two-way player as the contract winds down.
On the other hand, playing salary might be less of an issue for him than for any other player in baseball. Ohtani is making more than his annual salary from sponsorships and endorsements — an estimated $125 million this year — and he famously deferred $68 million of each year’s salary so the Dodgers could spend more freely on players that could help him and the team win. After six losing years with the Angels and two World Series championships in two years with the Dodgers, a losing team might not entice Ohtani, no matter how much room it might have under a proposed cap.
Iger used to run Disney. How did Disney’s experience owning the Angels and Mighty Ducks go?
Disney chairman Michael Eisner, left, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, NHL chairman Bruce McNall and Mighty Ducks chairman Jack Lindquist blow duck calls announcing the name of the team in 1993.
(Doug Pizac / Associated Press)
Disney dressed the Angels in uniforms derided by one player as “pinstripe pajamas,” put cheerleaders on the dugout roof and installed a loud “countdown to first pitch.” This all seemed awful at the time but, given the plagues of in-game hosts and teams sporting jerseys in colors far beyond home white and road gray, perhaps Disney was just ahead of its time. And, for the first few years of the franchise, Mighty Ducks gear was some of the hottest merchandise in American sports.
Ultimately, Disney wanted the Angels and Mighty Ducks to launch an “ESPN West” regional sports channel. When that channel collapsed, Disney no longer needed the teams and eventually sold them. The Angels were such a minimal part of Disney’s portfolio that then-chief executive Michael Eisner showed up in the clubhouse and the players had no idea who he was.
Who owned the Angels when they won their only World Series championship?
Angels players wave to fans during the World Series title parade in Anaheim in 2002.
One more try: Why did Walter really sell the Lakers?
“I think it was opportunistic and he found something that made sense to him,” Kasten said. “Mark’s a very sensible guy. But that’s really the only way I can explain it.
“You’ll have to talk to Mark about a more in-depth explanation, and good luck.”
Times staff writer Maddie Lee contributed to this report.
In a push toward returning Anaheim to the name of his hometown Angels, Assemblyman Avelino Valencia (D-Anaheim) last March introduced what he called the “Home Run for Anaheim Act.”
Five months later, the bill has cleared both houses of the state legislature without a single vote against it. Gov. Gavin Newsom has two months to sign the bill into law, barring a veto that would be surprising because of the lack of opposition.
The bill does not mandate the Angels — playing under a Los Angeles name in Anaheim’s city-owned stadium — revert to the Anaheim Angels name.
Angels owner Arte Moreno has twice reached deals with the city to develop the land, only to see the city walk away both times. In the last deal, he rejected the city’s request to rename the team the Anaheim Angels.
Moreno has shown no public interest in a third negotiation with the city, and the Angels’ current stadium lease extends through 2032, with the team having options to extend the lease through 2038.
By year’s end, the city has said it anticipates the release of a long-awaited property assessment, which is expected to show Angel Stadium needs hundreds of millions of dollars in upgrades to remain viable for the long-term. The city and team may not agree on who should pay for them, and real estate development around the stadium could be part of the solution for funding a new or renovated stadium.
Moreno turns 80 this week. Should he decide to sell the Angels, the city could use the exemption as leverage in discussions with a new owner. Any new owner could have leverage of his own: Once the Angel Stadium lease expires, the owner would be free to move out of Anaheim.
The bill required five votes between the Assembly and Senate. The final vote came on Monday on a consent calendar, the place for matters considered so routine that no legislator even wishes to discuss them.
Brandon Nimmo singled home the go-ahead run in the 10th inning and the Texas Rangers beat the Angels 4-1 on Monday night to snap a five-game road losing streak.
Texas (60-59) has won five of its last six overall and is a half-game behind AL West-leading Houston.
Nimmo and Elias Díaz each finished with two hits and an RBI.
Peyton Gray (6-0) pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to earn the win. Jacob Latz worked a scoreless 10th for his 23rd save.
Luke Murphy (0-1) came on to start the 10th for the Angels. Wyatt Langford drew a leadoff walk and Corey Seager singled to load the bases. Ezequiel Duran popped out, Blake Weiman replaced Murphy and Nimmo’s line drive to right field drove in automatic runner Nicky Lopez before Jake Burger’s two-run single capped the scoring.
Mike Trout hit a 418-foot shot for the Angels (45-74), his 20th home run this season, in the first inning. The three-time AL MVP was one for two and walked three times, one intentional.
Angels right fielder Wade Meckler robbed Seager of a home run to end the seventh and preserve a 1-1 tie.
Díaz singled to drive in Duran and make it 1-1 in the fourth.
Texas starter MacKenzie Gore struck out nine in 5⅓ innings. He allowed four hits and walked two. The 27-year-old left-hander was reinstated from paternity leave Saturday after his fiancée, Alex, gave birth to their first child.
Angels starter Reid Detmers gave up one run and had six strikeouts in six innings. He allowed three hits and walked four.
Up next: Angels RHP Ryan Johnson (2-6, 7.11 ERA) starts Tuesday opposite LHP Cody Bradford (0-0, 0.00) as the series continues.
MIAMI — Kyle Stowers tripled, singled and drove in two runs before exiting because of left hamstring discomfort in the fifth inning, and the Miami Marlins beat the Angels 12-3 on Sunday.
Griffin Conine homered twice and Javier Sanoja had two singles and three RBIs for the Marlins. Miami’s Otto López had two infield singles, giving him 46 multi-hit games.
Stowers grimaced as he rounded first after his two-run single capped a six-run fifth that put the Marlins ahead 10-2. He was immediately replaced by pinch-runner Leo Jimenez.
Sanoja hit a two-run single and Conine added a two-run drive against Angels reliever Shaun Anderson before Stowers’ single.
Conine went deep again with a shot over the wall in right against position player Tyler Heineman to lead off the eighth.
Michael Petersen (2-2) threw a scoreless fifth for the win. Marlins starter Ryan Gusto was pulled after four innings of two-run ball and 60 pitches. Gusto gave up three hits and struck out four.
The Marlins (60-59) erased a 1-0 deficit with a three-run first against Angels starter Grayson Rodriguez (3-5).
Stowers tripled and scored on a wild pitch. An errant throw to third by Angels first baseman Nolan Schanuel attempting to get Xavier Edwards out allowed him to score for a 2-1 lead. Owen Caissie capped the scoring with an RBI single.
The Angels (45-73) narrowed the gap on José Siri’s solo blast in the third. Siri hit a fastball from Gusto over the wall in center for his seventh homer.
Sanoja’s RBI single in the fourth made it 4-2.
Zach Neto put the Angels on the board with a run-scoring double in the first.
Rodriguez completed four innings. The right-hander gave up four runs and four hits. He walked four and struck out eight.
MIAMI — Sandy Alcantara struck out eight in seven innings, becoming the Miami Marlins’ career leader in innings pitched, and Xavier Edwards had three RBIs in a 7-0 victory over the Angels on Saturday.
Alcantara (13-6) broke the record in the third, working his 1,226th inning and passing Ricky Nolasco, who pitched 1,225⅔ innings for the Marlins (59-59) from 2006-13. He gave up three hits and walked one. Reliever Pete Fairbanks struck out all three batters in the ninth to end the game.
Edwards hit an RBI double as Miami took a 2-0 lead in the third, followed by Otto Lopez’s two-run single to double the Marlins’ lead. Jakob Marsee tripled to lead off the fifth, and Edwards singled to send him home.
Griffin Conine singled and Heriberto Hernández doubled in the fifth to make it 7-0.
Angels starter Walbert Ureña (7-8) pitched the first 2⅓ innings. He gave up four hits and four earned runs. He walked three and struck out two. Brett Kerry pitched the final 5⅔ innings, striking out seven and walking one. He gave up six hits.
Up next: RHP Grayson Rodriguez (3-4, 7.24 ERA) will start on the mound for the Angels (45-72) in the series finale on Sunday. RHP Ryan Gusto (0-3, 4.80) will start for the Marlins.
MIAMI — Mike Trout and Nolan Schanuel hit home runs for the Angels in a 4-3 win over the Marlins on Friday, sending Miami to its fourth consecutive loss.
Trout homered in the first inning to open the scoring. Trout, who turned 35 on Friday, hit a home run on his birthday for the sixth time in his 16 MLB seasons.
Josh Lowe scored when Trout reached on a fielder error by Josh Ekness and Schanuel hit a two-run shot to center field, his second home run in as many games, in the seventh.
Shaun Anderson (2-0) recorded the final out of the sixth and earned the win. He walked one and gave up one hit.
Owen Caissie walked to lead off the fourth, Jakub Marsee singled and Esteury Ruiz walked before Kyle Stowers drew a bases-loaded walk to drive in Caissie.
Stowers added an RBI single in the sixth.
In the ninth inning, with two outs, Leo Jiménez hit an RBI single to center field to score Agustín Ramírez and make it 4-3. Javier Sanoja hit the ball off the glove of third baseman Denzer Guzman and left fielder Jose Siri’s throw home beat Jiménez to end the game. Replay review confirmed the out.
José Fermin pitched the ninth and earned his first career save. He allowed one run and three hits.
Ekness (0-1) pitched 1⅔ innings and allowed three runs.
Up next: RHP Sandy Alcantara (12-6, 3.68 ERA) starts for the Marlins on Saturday against the Angels’ RHP Walbert Urena (7-7, 2.54).
BALTIMORE — Zach Neto hit a three-run home run to lift the Angels over the Baltimore Orioles 4-1 in the final game of the series on Thursday afternoon.
Wade Meckler singled on a ground ball in the third inning that was overthrown by Orioles starting pitcher Brandon Young at first, advancing him to second. Nolan Schanuel was then walked to set up Neto’s 411-foot homer that went over the center-field wall.
Schanuel hit a sacrifice fly in the seventh for Meckler to score the fourth run of the game.
Angels pitcher Mitch Farris (1-3) entered the game in the fifth inning in relief of starter Ryan Johnson. Farris pitched one inning, struck out two and walked one. Johnson pitched the first 4 2/3, where he walked five and struck out one. He gave up three hits and one earned run. Samy Natera Jr. earned his second save after striking out two in the final 1 1/3 innings.
Yohel Pozo hit a solo home run in the third for the only run for the Orioles. It was his first in an Oriole uniform since coming to Baltimore after getting claimed off waivers from the St. Louis Cardinals in July.
Young (8-3) pitched 4 1/3 innings in the loss, giving up six hits. He struck out four and walked two.
Up next
The Angels have not yet named a starter for Friday as they kick off a three-game series at Miami. The Marlins will start RHP Tyler Phillips (3-5, 3.53 ERA).
BALTIMORE — Tyler O’Neill and Coby Mayo hit successive homers in the fourth inning, Trevor Rogers took a two-hitter into the seventh and the Baltimore Orioles beat the Angels5-2 Wednesday night.
Despite unloading several key players before Monday’s trade deadline, the Orioles remain in the thick of the AL wild-card race after winning the first two games of this series against the last-place Angels.
Baltimore (56-58) will seek to complete a three-game sweep on Thursday. With a victory, the Orioles will move within a game of .500 for the first time since April 30.
It’s a surprising scenario for a team that traded catcher Adley Rutschman, outfielder Taylor Ward and pitchers Tyler Wells and Dean Kremer.
Angels starter Reid Detmers (3-8) issued a one-out walk to Gunnar Henderson in the fourth before O’Neill ripped a fastball far over the left-field wall — his ninth homer of the season and second in two days.
Mayo followed with a shot to the same vicinity, only slightly farther at an estimated 436 feet.
Leody Taveras tacked on a pinch-hit, two-run homer in the eighth to help seal the Orioles’ 17th win in 27 games.
Rogers (7-7) was lifted after giving up a leadoff single in the seventh. He gave up two runs, had a season-high nine strikeouts and walked none.
Alex Hoppe, obtained from Boston in the trade for Rutschman, took over and yielded a pinch-hit RBI single to Wade Meckler that got the Angels within 3-2.
Yennier Cano worked the eighth and Andrew Kittredge got three out for his fifth save.
Jose Siri homered for the Angels, who have lost 10 of 12.
