ARLINGTON, Texas — Zach Neto homered on the game’s first pitch and the Angels, with manager Ron Washington present for the first time in more than two months, beat the Texas Rangers and All-Star pitcher Jacob deGrom 4-0 on Monday night.
José Soriano (9-9) struck out six over 5⅓ innings and gave up four hits in his first start since coming off the paternity list. Four relievers finished off the Angels’ sixth shutout this season.
Washington hasn’t managed the Angels since June 19, and revealed before the game that he is recovering from quadruple bypass heart surgery eight weeks ago. He won’t return to managing this season, but wants to be with the Angels, and watched from a booth upstairs after being with them pregame.
DeGrom (10-6) is 0-4 in five starts since his last win July 22, and the right-hander was pitching for the first time in 10 days after Texas skipped his last scheduled start because of shoulder fatigue. The two-time NL Cy Young Award winner struck out seven, walked two and hit a batter over five innings. He gave up two runs and three hits.
Travis d’Arnaud had an RBI single in the Angels fourth, and Luis Rengifo had an RBI double in the sixth. Logan O’Hoppe led off the ninth with his 19th homer.
Key moment: Texas was coming off consecutive shutout wins and a three-game sweep over Cleveland before Neto’s leadoff homer extended his single-season franchise record to nine. He has 22 homers overall.
Key stat: Soriano faced the minimum 12 batters through the first four innings, benefiting from double plays after surrending leadoff singles in the third and fourth innings.
Up next: A matchup of left-handers Tuesday when Yusei Kikuchi (6-8, 3.42 ERA) pitches for the Angels and Patrick Corbin (6-9, 4.61) goes for Texas.
ARLINGTON, Texas — Angels manager Ron Washington said Monday he is recovering from quadruple bypass heart surgery, the first time he has publicly addressed the health issues that have sidelined him since late June.
He made the announcement while visiting the Angels for the first time since the operation eight weeks ago in California. He is not returning to manage this season but hopes to have that opportunity next year.
Washington, at 73 the oldest manager in the majors, was last in the dugout for a 7-3 loss to the New York Yankees on June 19. The following day, the team said Washington was out indefinitely because of health issues after experiencing shortness of breath and appearing fatigued toward the end of that four-game series in New York.
“This happened fast,” Washington said. “I wasn’t feeling very good on our last trip to New York … and I finally decided to go to the trainer and let him see what was going on. My ankles were swollen. And he called the doctors in from New York and they knew right away what was going on, why my fluid was going into my ankles.”
He was cleared by Yankees doctors to fly home with the team and underwent tests after getting back to Southern California. The Angels announced on June 27 that he was going on medical leave for the rest of the season. Washington had surgery three days later.
Washington said the Angels were on a road trip when he was released from the hospital on July 7, so he got clearance to fly home to Texas where his wife could assist him with his recovery.
The well-liked Washington revealed the details of his medical issues before the Angels opened a three-game series in Texas. He plans to continue on to Houston before skipping the final stop on the road trip in Kansas City. Washington hopes to be with the team the rest of the season after the Angels return home.
Washington is the Rangers’ winningest manager with a 664-611 record from 2007 to 2014. He led them to their first two World Series appearances in 2010 and 2011.
After initially returning to Oakland’s organization for two seasons, Washington then was on the Atlanta Braves’ staff from 2017 to 2023 and part of their 2021 World Series championship.
With a young roster after Shohei Ohtani’s departure in free agency and with three-time AL MVP Mike Trout limited to 29 games because of injuries, the Angels went 63-99 last year in Washington’s first season as manager, a franchise record for losses. They were 36-38 before Washington left the dugout this year, and entered Monday night’s game 25-31 with Ray Montgomery filling in for him.
Rangers manager Bruce Bochy, who led them to their first World Series title two seasons ago, is the second-oldest manager in the majors. The four-time World Series champion turned 70 in April.
Nico Hoerner had an RBI double against former teammate Kyle Hendricks and the Chicago Cubs beat the Angels 4-3 Sunday to complete a three-game series sweep.
Hoerner and Matt Shaw each had two hits in backing right-hander Jameson Taillon (9-6), who allowed one run in five innings as the Cubs improved to 8-2 in winning their third straight series. Right-hander Daniel Palencia worked out of a ninth-inning jam for his 20th save.
Taylor Ward hit his 30th homer for the Angels, who fell to 2-7 since a three-game sweep of the Dodgers.
Hendricks (6-9) gave up four runs on five hits over 4⅓ innings with three walks and two strikeouts in his first start against his former club. He joined the Angels this season after 11 seasons with Chicago, where he played a key role in their 2016 World Series title.
Ward reached 30 homers for the first time in his career with a first-inning blast for a 1-0 lead.
Kyle Tucker had a game-tying RBI single in the third inning and Hoerner had his run-scoring double in the fourth. The Cubs chased Hendricks in the fifth when they got a sacrifice fly from Pete Crow-Armstrong and an RBI single from Carson Kelly for a 4-1 lead.
The Angels pulled within a run in the sixth on an RBI double by Ward and a run-scoring grounder by Luis Rengifo.
Key moment: After he walked the go-ahead run with one out in the ninth, Palencia struck out rookie Christian Moore on a full-count, 99.9-mph fastball, then ended it with a strikeout of Bryce Teodoso.
Key stat: Tucker went five for 12 with three home runs and seven RBIs in the series, after he was given a three-game rest against Milwaukee last week,
Up next: Angels RHP Jose Soriano (8-9, 4.00 ERA) will face Texas on Monday.
Kyle Tucker homered twice and drove in five runs as the surging Chicago Cubs routed the Angels 12-1 on Saturday night.
Reese McGuire added a grand slam and tied a career high with five RBIs to help the Cubs (75-55) win for the seventh time in nine games.
Cade Horton (8-4) gave up three hits over six scoreless innings and Ben Brown went the rest of the way for his first major league save.
Busting out of an extended slump, Tucker has three homers in two nights following a 25-game drought. The outburst has come after he was given three games off by manager Craig Counsell earlier in the week.
Jo Adell homered late for the Angels (61-68), who totaled eight hits while losing the first two games of the series.
Victor Mederos (0-2) and Carson Fulmer were charged with all 12 of the Cubs’ runs. The Angels fell to 2-6 since pulling off a three-game sweep of the Dodgers from Aug. 11-13.
McGuire’s grand slam in the fourth gave the Cubs a 6-0 lead and they made it 10-0 in the sixth when Tucker went deep for the second time. It was Tucker’s eighth multihomer game and first since May 2024 against the Angels with Houston.
Adell’s home run in the seventh, his 29th, ended Chicago’s shutout bid.
Key moment: With two outs in the third, Michael Busch tucked a double just inside the first-base line and past a diving Nolan Schanuel to get Tucker to the plate before his first homer of the game.
Key stat: Angels star Mike Trout went 0 for 3 with three strikeouts as his 22-game on-base streak came to an end.
Up next: Angels RHP Kyle Hendricks (6-8, 4.93 ERA) will face his former team Sunday in a matchup against Cubs RHP Jameson Taillon (8-6, 4.26).
When will the Dodgers’ hierarchy finally come to the same conclusion as everyone else in Dodger nation? Teoscar Hernández is a hack in right field, Michael Conforto needs a one-way ticket to the waiver wire and the Dodgers are a better team with Mookie Betts in right field.
Ron Yukelson San Luis Obispo
Everyone is blaming Teoscar Hernández for the Monday night loss to the Rockies. It’s not Teoscar’s fault. A manager’s job is to put his players in the best position to perform at their best, Teoscar is not a right fielder, he’s better in left field. Everyone thinks that these are professional players and they should be able to play any position. Yeah, they can play any position, but it may not be their best performance. Quit juggling the players around and put them where they will perform at their best.
Paul Kawaguchi Rosemead
Teoscar Hernández was singled out for criticism over his poor defense in a game the Dodgers lost to the Rockies. Yes, he didn’t do well in that game, but he has been very productive with his bat, with 74 RBIs and 20 home runs. Instead of making him the scapegoat for losing a game, why not point out the often awful bullpen performances. We are ahead in a game, then the relievers come in and blow the lead. They do this far more than Teoscar commits errors.
Deborah R. Ishida Beverly Hills
If the Dodgers crashed the Little League World Series, no one would blink. Like the kids, their leather is leaky, their arms are toast, their best hitter is their best pitcher, their silly celebrations are pure playground — shimmy shakes and sunflower seed showers. What’s missing? A team mom and the minivan for postgame DQ runs.
Steve Ross Carmel
I think the heat is getting to Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. Not only was Michael Conforto in the lineup on Thursday with his .190 batting average but he was batting cleanup with his nine home runs and 27 RBIs while Andy Pages was further down the batting order. Since Shohei Ohtani was not in the lineup, I was shocked that the Dodgers scored nine runs.
Pete Crow-Armstrong hit a tie-breaking homer in the ninth inning and Kyle Tucker went deep for the first time in more than a month as the Chicago Cubs beat the Angels 3-2 on Friday night to open a nine-game trip.
Crow-Armstrong connected for a solo shot off Kenley Jansen (5-4) with one out, his 28th home run this season and first in his last 25 games.
Tucker also ended a 25-game drought with a solo drive off Tyler Anderson in the first — his first longball since July 19.
Yoán Moncada homered twice for the Angels, including a tying shot in the seventh. It was his first multihomer game with the Angels (61-67).
Javier Assad allowed one run in six innings for the Cubs (74-55) after being recalled from triple-A Iowa before the game. He took a no-hitter into the fifth before Moncada homered.
Brad Keller (4-1) pitched a perfect eighth and Daniel Palencia struck out two in a 1-2-3 ninth for his 19th save.
Anderson permitted two runs and three hits in five innings with five strikeouts and two walks. He’s gone 21 straight starts without a win.
Key moment: Crow-Armstrong was 0 for 3 with two strikeouts when he stepped to the plate in the ninth, but he got a 92 mph cutter over the heart of the plate from Jansen and sent it 396 feet into the right-field stands.
Key stat: Tucker’s 25-game home-run drought was his longest since his rookie season in 2018.
Up next: Angels RHP Victor Mederos (0-1, 5.54 ERA) faces Cubs RHP Cade Horton (7-4, 3.08) on Saturday in a matchup of rookie starters.
Stephenson, 32, had been on the IL since May 31 because of right biceps inflammation. He has pitched one scoreless inning over two appearances with the Angels this season.
Stephenson agreed to a $33-million, three-year contract in January 2024. He missed all of last year after having Tommy John surgery.
Right-hander Chase Silseth was optioned to triple-A Salt Lake before the opener of a weekend series against the Chicago Cubs.
Bryce Teodosio doubled off reliever Graham Ashcraft (7-5) to open the eighth and took third on a wild pitch. Oswald Peraza grounded out, with Teodosio holding, and Rengifo fisted an RBI single over third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes’ head for the lead.
Reid Detmers (4-3) struck out two in a scoreless eighth for the victory. With Angels closer Kenley Jansen unavailable because of a left rib-cage injury, Luis Garcia retired the side in order in the ninth for his first save.
Both starters excelled in no-decisions, Reds right-hander Nick Martinez giving up one run and two hits in six innings, and the left-handed Kikuchi giving up one run and seven hits in seven innings, escaping a first-and-third, no-out jam in the second and a two-on, no-out jam in the sixth.
The Reds took a 1-0 lead in the third when Hayes doubled and scored on Noelvi Marte’s two-out RBI single. The Angels countered in the fourth on Yoán Moncada’s homer to left-center, his ninth of the season.
Angels shortstop Zach Neto was pulled to start the sixth because of left-wrist soreness after getting hit by a Martinez changeup in the third.
Key moment
A lack of communication between Teodosio, the Angels center fielder, and right fielder Jo Adell allowed Marte’s lazy fly ball to drop in the gap in the sixth, putting two on with no outs. But Kikuchi got Elly De La Cruz to fly to left and Miguel Andujar and Austin Hays to ground out to preserve a 1-1 tie.
Key stat
Kikuchi finished the sixth inning once in his previous nine starts and averaged 101 pitches through an average of five innings in his previous four starts. But he was much more efficient Wednesday, needing 88 pitches to complete seven innings.
Up next
The Angels are off Thursday. Left-hander Tyler Anderson is slated to start Friday at home against the Chicago Cubs.
Hunter Greene had 12 strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings, Noelvi Marte homered, doubled and drove in two runs, and the Cincinnati Reds beat the Angels6-4 on Tuesday night.
Jose Trevino scored on a sacrifice fly by TJ Friedl and Gavin Lux followed with an RBI double off Kenley Jansen (5-3) in the ninth inning to give Cincinnati a 6-4 lead.
Miguel Andujar was three for four with a double and two RBIs.
Greene gave up three runs and six hits and walked none. Luis Mey (2-0) pitched the eighth inning and gave up Jo Adell’s second solo homer of the game but got the win.
Elly De La Cruz walked with two out in the fifth and then scored from first base on a single by Andujar.
Mike Trout doubled and then scored when Taylor Ward hit the next pitch — a 100-mph fastball — to right field for a single in the first. Adell hit a solo homer in the seventh.
De La Cruz singled to lead off the fourth and scored when Andujar hit the fourth consecutive sinker thrown by Kyle Hendricks for a double. After Austin Hays walked, Marte doubled to drive in Andujar and give the Reds a 3-1 lead.
Marte extended his hitting streak to 10 games.
Key moment
After Marte struck out swinging to lead off the ninth, Trevino singled, Ke’Bryan Hayes was hit by a pitch and pinch-hitter Will Benson walked to load the bases before Friedl gave Cincinnati the lead for good.
Key stat
Greene is the first Reds pitcher to strike out at least 12 batters and walk none since Johnny Cueto on June 11, 2014.
Up next
Cincinnati’s Nick Martinez (10-9, 4.73 ERA) is set to pitch Wednesday against Yusei Kikuchi (6-8, 3.52) to wrap up a three-game series.
Gavin Lux hit an early two-run homer and the Cincinnati Reds used three leadoff triples to beat the Angels 4-1 on Monday night.
TJ Friedl had a leadoff single in the first inning off Victor Mederos, making his second career start, and Lux followed with his fifth homer for a 2-0 lead.
Elly De La Cruz led off the fifth with his fourth triple this season before scoring on a sacrifice fly by Austin Hays to make it 3-1. Hays tripled in the third but was stranded.
Ke’Bryan Hayes hit the Reds’ third leadoff triple when center fielder Luis Rengifo let the ball get over his head in the eighth. Matt McLain’s sacrifice fly pushed it to 4-1. The three triples were the most for the Reds since they hit five in a 17-9 win over the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on July 13, 2019.
Brady Singer (11-9) went six innings for Cincinnati and yielded only an RBI double by Taylor Ward in the first. Singer is 3-1 in four August starts, giving up five runs over 21⅔ innings.
Scott Barlow replaced Luis Mey with two on and two outs in the eighth and struck out Jo Adell swinging to keep it 4-1. Barlow fanned three more in the ninth for his first save this season.
Mederos (0-1) gave up three runs on nine hits and three walks in five innings.
Key moment: Singer retired nine straight batters until Nolan Schanuel and Mike Trout hit back-to-back singles with one out in the sixth. Singer retired Ward on a shallow fly to right and struck out Yoán Moncada looking to keep it 3-1.
Key stat: The Reds used their ninth straight victory over the Angels to pull within one game of the Mets for the final National League wild card.
WEST SACRAMENTO — Jo Adell hit a three-run homer in the first inning and kicked off a six-run tenth with an RBI single as the Angels beat the Athletics 11-5 on Sunday to avoid a three-game sweep.
Kenley Jansen (5-2) struck out two in a scoreless ninth to give him 1,268 for his career, the fourth-most strikeouts by a reliever in major league history.
In the 10th, automatic runner Mike Trout advanced to third on a passed ball, Taylor Ward walked and Adell lined a single to center against Michael Kelly (2-2) to make it 6-5. Christian Moore drove in his third run of the game with a grounder and Luis Rengifo followed with a two-run triple off Ben Bowden. Bryce Tedosio added a sacrifice fly and Zach Neto capped the scoring with a 436-foot homer to left-center, his 21st.
Adell’s homer in the first off Jeffrey Springs was his 26th, extending his career best.
Rookie Nick Kurtz hit his 25th homer in the third inning and the A’s went back-to-back when Shea Langeliers hit his 26th. Lawrence Butler’s 17th homer got the A’s within 5-4 in the sixth, and Luis Urías tied it with a two-out RBI single.
Jansen loaded the bases with two out in the ninth but got Butler to pop out in foul territory on a first-pitch cutter. The 37-year-old Jansen broke a tie with Craig Kimbrel for strikeouts by a reliever. Ahead of him are Hoyt Wilhelm (1,363), Rich Gossage (1,340) and Aroldis Chapman (1,312).
Angels recall José Fermin
The Angels recalled right-hander José Fermin from triple-A Salt Lake and designated righty Connor Brogdon for assignment.
The 23-year-old Fermin was 2-2 with a 6.63 ERA in 23 games, entering the series finale against the Athletics. He was previously optioned to the minors after giving up three runs without retiring a batter in a game last month.
The 30-year-old Brodgon gave up two runs on two hits and two walks after retiring just two batters in the Angels’ loss on Saturday.
Brogdon is 3-1 with a 5.30 ERA in 37 games this season. His career record is 13-9 with a 4.24 ERA in 180 games with the Angels, Dodgers and Philadelphia.
Up next
The Angels host Cincinnati for a three-game series starting Monday, with Victor Mederos (0-0, 5.63 ERA) slated to start.
WEST SACRAMENTO — Luis Morales struck out five in his second career start, Brent Rooker and Colby Thomas hit home runs, and the Athletics beat the Angels 7-2 on Saturday night.
Morales (1-0) threw five innings and gave up one run, walking two, in his third career appearance. He has surrendered two runs in 9⅔ innings since his Aug. 1 call-up.
Thomas’ two-run homer, his third of the year, put the A’s on the board in the first inning.
Darell Hernaiz drove in two on a third-inning single, and Rooker padded the A’s lead with his solo homer in the fifth.
Brett Harris and Rooker added insurance in the eighth with RBI singles. Sean Newcomb threw 1⅔ innings and struck out three to earn his first save of the year.
Nolan Schanuel had three hits, and Angels’ starter Tyler Anderson (2-8) yielded four earned runs, three hits, and issued five walks in the loss.
The A’s have won six of their last 10 games, while the Angels have lost six of their last 10.
Morales walked the bases loaded with two outs in the top of the first, but worked his way out of the jam with no runs scored. He only allowed one more runner to reach scoring position for the rest of his outing.
The Athletics (55-69) snapped an eight-game losing streak, which included seven this season, against the Angels.
Thomas and Kurtz each had three hits and drove in three runs. Thomas, a 24-year-old rookie, hit a three-run homer in the third inning and Kurtz hit a three-run shot that capped the scoring in the eighth.
Perkins (2-2) made his third career start and allowed three runs on five hits with three walks. He allowed three runs on three hits in six innings to beat Orioles 11-3 for first win as a starter his last time out.
Langeliers hit solo homer off Angels starter Yusei Kikuchi (6-8) and added an RBI single. Kikuchi gave up five hits and four runs in four innings.
Travis d’Arnaud doubled to drive in Yoán Moncada in the second for the Angels (59-63). Zach Neto homered after Bryce Teodosio walked on four pitches to lead off the fifth to trim their deficit to 4-3.
Key moment: Brent Rooker doubled to lead off the third and moved to third on a single by Kurtz before Thomas hit a first-pitch curveball over the wall in left center field to make it 4-1.
Key stat: The Athletics were six for nine with runners in scoring position while the Angels were one for seven.
Up next: Angels LHP Tyler Anderson (2-7, 4.63 ERA) starts Saturday opposite Athletics RHP Luis Morales (0-0, 1.93).
The announcement could not have been more unfortunately timed. On the morning after the Dodgers had been swept by the Angels and fallen out of first place in the National League West for the first time in 108 days, the email to media members started this way: “Ever wonder how a player like Mookie Betts gets in the zone for the MLB Postseason?”
This is not on Betts, not at all. He is simply the front man for a campaign in which Corona Beer and its advertising partners had pre-timed an otherwise harmless press release for 6 a.m. PT Thursday. The headline on the press release: “Corona Teams Up with Mookie Betts to Bring the Beach to the Ballpark Through a First-of-its-Kind Soundtrack for the MLB Postseason.”
One of the keys to Betts’ success: an even keel that sometimes frustrates fans who want every player on their team to be as visibly frustrated as they are. In the aftermath of the Angels’ sweep, this is what Betts said Wednesday night: “It is what it is. Can’t change it right now.”
The promotional photo distributed with the press release shows Betts relaxing on a beach towel, next to home plate, headphones on. The soundtrack “fuses the iconic sounds of the ballpark with the relaxing vibe of the beach.”
Betts helped to pick seven minutes and 54 seconds of “home run blasts, in-stadium crowd waves and announcer calls from his most memorable postseason moments … combined with ambient ocean breezes and crashing waves.”
The Dodgers’ Mookie Betts teamed up with Corona for a baseball-themed soundtrack campaign called “Playa Sounds.”
(Corona)
You can hear the soundtrack here. From the press release: “The entire mix is tuned at 432hz — a frequency commonly associated with enhanced clarity.”
“As a player, you need to be in the right head space to show up when the lights are brightest,” Betts said in the press release. “I worked with Corona to make sure this soundtrack accurately captures the energy of the postseason and channels that into something both the guys in the dugout and fans can use to prepare for the season’s biggest upcoming moments.”
In last year’s postseason, Betts batted .290, hitting four home runs and scoring 14 runs in 16 games. After the World Series, on an episode of his podcast, he and several teammates broke down the Dodgers’ championship run, including a discussion of the New York Yankees’ fundamental flaws in the World Series.
The result was historic. The way it happened was all too familiar.
Never before, since interleague play began in 1997, had the Dodgers been swept in a six-game season series against the Angels.
But plenty of times in recent weeks had they suffered the kind of fate that befell them Wednesday.
Entering the eighth inning, the team was leading by one run. Without many trustworthy options in a recently scuffling bullpen, however, manager Dave Roberts had few cards to play from his deck.
First, he sent left-hander Justin Wrobleski out for a third inning of work. When he walked the first two batters, Roberts turned to right-hander Edgardo Henriquez, who had pitched multiple innings the night before.
You can probably guess what happened next.
Despite perfectly defending a sacrifice bunt to get the lead runner at third, the Dodgers again failed to escape a late-game threat. With one out, Jo Adell hit what looked like a possible double-play grounder — only for Henriquez to deflect the ball on an ill-advised fielding attempt and send it rolling away for an infield single.
Two batters later, Logan O’Hoppe roped a go-ahead, two-out base hit into center.
Another lead had been squandered by the bullpen. Another loss — the Dodgers’ fourth straight, and 21st in their last 33 games — had been all but cemented.
With a 6-5 defeat, the Dodgers were swept for the second time this season by the Angels. They also fell out of first place in the National League West for the first time since April.
It was yet another day they could only shake their head.
Wednesday was supposed to be about Shohei Ohtani, who was making his first pitching start as a visitor at his old home ballpark at Angel Stadium.
It was also Ohtani’s first full-length outing since returning from a second career Tommy John surgery earlier this year. But even the two-way star could only conjure so much magic.
After building up inning by inning since his return to pitching, Ohtani’s leash was extended into the fifth for the first time this season — a target length the Dodgers don’t plan on having him surpass at least until the playoffs.
“He’s just such a valuable player to us offensively, as a pitcher,” Roberts said. “So to push for an extra inning, or call it five extra innings in totality, it’s just not worth it. There’s just way too much downside.”
And by the time Ohtani took the mound for the first time, he’d already helped the Dodgers take an early lead, beginning the game with a scorching line-drive triple before Mookie Betts singled him home and Will Smith went deep to make a three-run first inning.
The two-way star gave up two runs in the second, one on a Taylor Ward home run, then another after Yoán Moncada doubled and came around to score on a sacrifice fly, but the Dodgers restored their three-run advantage with a two-run rally in the fourth; one that featured three walks (including one from Ohtani and a run-scoring free pass from Smith) and an RBI single from Betts (who extended his hitting streak to eight games, five of which have been multi-hit efforts).
Ohtani’s first foray into the fifth inning didn’t go smoothly. O’Hoppe and Bryce Teodosio hit consecutive one-out singles. Zach Neto laced a two-run double into the left-field corner that kicked away from Alex Call. And with his pitch count up to a season-high of 80, Roberts went to get him before he could qualify for the win.
Reliever Anthony Banda escaped the inning without further damage. Ohtani’s final line was 4 1/3 innings, four runs, five hits and seven strikeouts (two of them against former Angels co-star Mike Trout). His season ERA is now 3.47. He has 32 strikeouts in 23⅔ innings.
And for a while, it appeared the score would remain that way — until yet another late-game collapse sent the Dodgers to another maddening setback.
Until the Angels rewrote it with a walk-off ending.
In the top of the ninth inning at Angel Stadium on Tuesday night, Shohei Ohtani lifted the Dodgers to the verge of a badly needed win, breaking a tie score with the kind of moment that could have jump-started the stretch run of their season.
With former Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen on the mound, and a split crowd in Anaheim rising to its feet, Ohtani blasted a go-ahead home run deep to right field. He flipped his bat. The Dodgers’ dugout went wild. After so many recent blown leads and late-game meltdowns in recent weeks, the team was three outs away from finally turning the tide.
Instead, the Dodgers found yet a new way to crumble.
Once again, they let a winnable game go meekly by the wayside.
In the bottom of the ninth, the Angels tied the score after Alex Vesia gave up a leadoff single, a walk and an eventual Nolan Schanuel sacrifice fly.
In the bottom of the 10th, they sealed their fifth-straight victory over the Dodgers this season on Jo Adell’s big-bouncing, walk-off RBI single.
Now, the Dodgers have lost three in a row and 20 of 32 since July 4. Now, what was once a nine-game lead in the National League West has been completely obliterated. The Dodgers and San Diego Padres are tied atop the standings. The Padres will come to Dodger Stadium this weekend with all the momentum, where a scuffling Dodgers club will await them.
Tuesday featured many more deflating subplots for the club.
Emmet Sheehan gave up five runs in a five-inning start. The team erased one early two-run deficit, only to go down two runs again. The lineup left the bases loaded with the score tied to end the top of the fifth inning. Ohtani lined into a soul-crushing triple-play with two aboard in the sixth.
But nothing will sting like the final two innings — when a potential turning-point moment instead resulted in more familiar heartache.
From Jack Harris: On the first day of spring training, at a Camelback Ranch facility adorned with ever-present reminders of the team’s 2024 World Series title, a Dodgers staff member took in the scene, then chuckled while reflecting on the club’s trek to a championship.
“Last year was not a fun year,” the staff member said. “At least, not until the end.”
Indeed, in the afterglow of the franchise’s first full-season title in more than three decades, the turbulent path getting there became easy to forget.
Last season’s Dodgers dealt with a wave of injuries to the pitching staff, inconsistencies in the lineup, and the club’s lowest full regular-season win total (98) in six years.
Fast-forward six months, and this year’s Dodgers find themselves in a similar place.
They are again navigating absences on the mound and in the bullpen over the last several weeks. Their offense has gone from leading the majors in scoring over the first half of the season, to suddenly sputtering over the last month and a half.
And after a 7-4 loss to the Angels on Monday, in the opener of a three-game Freeway Series at Angel Stadium, they are on pace for only 92 victories with a 68-51 record, clinging to what has dwindled to just a one-game lead in the National League West over the San Diego Padres.
Instead, the 37-year-old quarterback with a back issue was in a shiny metal Airstream-like trailer that sat next to the field and was emblazoned with the Ammortal logo. The chamber offers “absolute state of the art in restoration and rejuvenation,” according to the company’s website.
“It wasn’t anything specifically related to his back that he was doing in there,” coach Sean McVay said.
Hmm…
Stafford’s back, specifically what McVay has described as an aggravated disc, has been the overarching story for a Rams team that will be regarded as a Super Bowl contender if the 17-year pro is physically sound enough to lead them.
From Steve Henson: The pay is nonexistent, but the perk could be viewing games in the U.S., Mexico and Canada for free during the FIFA World Cup next summer.
FIFA launched the application process for the World Cup volunteers Monday. How many are needed? A staggering 65,000 across the 16 cities that will host the expanded 48-team format over 39 days beginning June 11, the largest volunteer program FIFA has ever attempted.
“Volunteers are the heart, soul and smile of FIFA tournaments,” FIFA president Gianni Infantino said. “They get to show off their local pride, gain a behind-the-scenes view of the tournament and make memories and friendships that can last a lifetime, while supporting a historic event.
“We hope interested individuals will join us as we welcome the world to North America in 2026.”
Volunteers in the past ranged from students to seniors. No experience is required but applicants must be at least 18 years old. Interested individuals can apply at fifaworldcup.com/volunteers.
1876 — Madeleine wins two straight heats over Canada’s Countess of Dufferin to defend the America’s Cup.
1936 — Rosalind, driven by Ben White, wins the Hambletonian Stakes in straight heats.
1937 — Shirley Hanover, driven by Henry Thomas, wins the Hambletonian Stakes in straight heats.
1942 — The Ambassador, driven by Ben White, wins the Hambletonian Stakes in the third heat.
1953 — Helicopter, driven by Harry Harvey, wins the Hambletonian Stakes in the third heat.
1978 — Cold Comfort, driven by 23-year-old Peter Haughton, ties the International Trot mark of 2:31 3-5 at Roosevelt Raceway which makes Haughton the youngest driver to win the International.
1990 — Wayne Grady of Australia sheds his runner-up image with a 3-stroke victory over Fred Couples in the PGA Championship.
1995 — Ernie Els sets a PGA record with the lowest three-day score in a major. Els, with a 197, holds a three-stroke lead in the PGA Championship.
2000 — Evander Holyfield scores a 12-round unanimous decision over John Ruiz in Las Vegas to win the vacant WBA heavyweight title.
2007 — Tiger Woods captures the PGA Championship to win at least one major for the third straight season and run his career total to 13. Woods closes with a 1-under 69 for a two-shot victory over Woody Austin.
2008 — American super-swimmer Michael Phelps wins his 3rd of 8 gold medals at the Beijing Olympics when he takes the 200m freestyle in world record 1:42.96.
2011 — Tiger Woods misses the cut at the PGA Championship at Atlanta Athletic Club. With one final bogey for a 3-over 73, Woods finishes out of the top 100 for the first time ever in a major. He is 15 shots behind Jason Dufner and Keegan Bradley.
2012 — The U.S. men’s basketball team defend its title by fighting off another huge challenge from Spain, pulling away in the final minutes for a 107-100 victory and its second straight Olympic championship. The victory by the men’s basketball team gives the United States its 46th gold medal in London, the most ever by Americans in a “road” Olympics.
2012 — Rory McIlroy breaks the PGA Championship record for margin of victory that Jack Nicklaus set in 1980. McIlroy sinks one last birdie from 25 feet on the 18th hole to give him a 6-under 66 for an eight-shot victory. McIlroy closes out a remarkable week by playing bogey-free over the final 23 holes of a demanding Ocean Course at Kiawah Island, S.C.
2016 — Katie Ledecky caps off one of the greatest performances in Olympic history with her fourth gold medal and second world record, shattering her own mark in the 800-meter freestyle. Ledecky is the first woman since Debbie Meyer swept the three longer freestyle events at the same Olympics. Meyer took the 200, 400 and 800 at the 1968 Mexico Games.
2017 — Usain Bolt ends his stellar career in excruciating pain. The Jamaican great crumples to the track with a left-leg injury while chasing a final gold medal for the Jamaican 4×100-meter relay team at the world championships in London. Having to make up lots of ground on the anchor leg, Bolt suddenly screams and stumbles as he comes down with the first injury he has experienced at a major competition.
2018 — Brooks Koepka wins his first PGA Championship, playing poised and mistake-free golf down the stretch amid ear-splitting roars for Tiger Woods and a late charge from revitalized Adam Scott. Koepka becomes the fifth player to win the U.S. Open and the PGA in the same year.
THIS DAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY
1948 — In the second game of a doubleheader, the Cleveland Indians beat the St. Louis Browns 26-3 with a 29-hit barrage. The Indians set a major league record as 14 players hit safely.
1964 — Mickey Mantle hit a home run both left- and right-handed in a 7-3 win over the Chicago White Sox. It was the 10th time in his career, a major league record.
1966 — Art Shamsky of the Cincinnati Reds connected for three home runs in a 14-11, 13-inning loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates at Crosley Field. Two of the homers came in the 10th and 11th innings.
1970 — Curt Flood lost his $41-million antitrust suit against baseball.
1974 — Nolan Ryan of the Angels set an American League record by striking out 19 in a 4-2 win over the Boston Red Sox. Ryan, who walked two, bettered the 18 strikeouts set by Bob Feller in 1938 and tied the major league record set by Steve Carlton in 1969 and Tom Seaver in 1970.
1984 — Perhaps one of the ugliest brawl-filled games in major league history took place in Atlanta. Atlanta’s Pascual Perez hit San Diego’s Alan Wiggins in the back with the first pitch of the game. It escalated as the Padres pitchers retaliated by throwing at Perez all four times he came to the plate. The game had two bench-clearing brawls, the second of which included several fans and 19 ejections including both managers and both replacement managers. The Braves beat the Padres 5-3. San Diego manager Dick Williams would be suspended for 10 days and fined $10,000 while Atlanta manager Joe Torre and five players each received three-game suspensions.
1986 — Don Baylor of the Boston Red Sox set an AL record when he was hit by a pitch for the 25th time for the season, breaking the record he had shared with Bill Freehan (1968) and Norm Elberfield (1911). Kansas City’s Bud Black was the pitcher as the Royals completed a doubleheader sweep with a 6-5 victory.
1988 — The Boston Red Sox set an AL record with their 23rd straight victory at home, beating the Detroit Tigers 9-4. Boston surpassed the league mark of 22 set by the 1931 Philadelphia Athletics.
1994 — Major league baseball players went on strike for the sport’s eighth work stoppage since 1972.
1998 — Alex Rodriguez becomes the fourth youngest player to 100 home runs in a 11-5 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays.
2010 — Casey McGehee set a franchise record with his ninth straight hit, going 4 for 4 and leading the Milwaukee Brewers to an 8-4 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. McGehee had a solo homer, a two-run double, an RBI single and another single.
2015 — Clayton Kershaw tied Sandy Koufax’s franchise record of six straight 200-strikeout seasons while tossing eight scoreless innings, and Los Angeles defeated Washington 3-0. Kershaw struck out the side in the second to equal the mark set by Koufax from 1961-66.
2015 — Hisashi Iwakuma of the Seattle Mariners throws a no-hitter in a 3-0 victory over the Orioles. Iwakuma becomes the second Japanese pitcher to throw a no-hitter following Hideo Nomo.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
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On the first day of spring training, at a Camelback Ranch facility adorned with ever-present reminders of the team’s 2024 World Series title, a Dodgers staff member took in the scene, then chuckled while reflecting on the club’s trek to a championship.
“Last year was not a fun year,” the staff member said. “At least, not until the end.”
Indeed, in the afterglow of the franchise’s first full-season title in more than three decades, the turbulent path getting there became easy to forget.
Last season’s Dodgers dealt with a wave of injuries to the pitching staff, inconsistencies in the lineup, and the club’s lowest full regular-season win total (98) in six years.
Fast-forward six months, and this year’s Dodgers find themselves in a similar place.
They are again navigating absences on the mound and in the bullpen over the last several weeks. Their offense has gone from leading the majors in scoring over the first half of the season, to suddenly sputtering over the last month and a half.
And after a 7-4 loss to the Angels on Monday, in the opener of a three-game Freeway Series at Angel Stadium, they are on pace for only 92 victories with a 68-51 record, clinging to what has dwindled to just a one-game lead in the National League West over the San Diego Padres.
Little fun. Lots of frustration.
Monday’s game was a lost cause from the start.
Despite getting an extra day of rest this week, after flipping places in the rotation with Tyler Glasnow for Sunday’s loss against the Toronto Blue Jays, Yoshinobu Yamamoto turned in one of his worst starts in the majors.
He gave up a home run to Zach Neto on his first pitch of the night, and another run later in the first inning after two walks (one of them on a missed third strike call from home plate umpire Dan Iassogna) and a Yoán Moncada single.
Then, in the fifth, his outing completely fell apart. Five of the first seven batters of the inning reached base (four singles and a hit by pitch). Four runs crossed the plate (including two on a Mike Trout single). And after Yamamoto walked his fifth batter with two outs, manager Dave Roberts was forced into an early hook, removing Yamamoto after 4⅔ innings and six runs (the most Yamamoto has yielded in his 41-game MLB career).
The Dodgers’ lineup didn’t do much better.
Over the first six innings, they failed to figure out Angels right-hander José Soriano and his upper-90s mph sinker, managing just two hits while striking out six times.
By the time they finally put a runner in scoring position in the seventh, the deficit had grown to 7-0 on Neto’s second home run of the night (this time off Alexis Diaz). And even then, they came up empty, with Alex Freeland grounding into an inning-ending double-play against former Dodgers reliever Luis García with the bases loaded.
Angels shortstop Zach Neto runs the bases after hitting a home run in the first inning Monday night.
(Jessie Alcheh / Associated Press)
Eighth-inning home runs from Shohei Ohtani (his 42nd of the season, and the 100th of his career at his old home stadium in Anaheim) and Max Muncy (a three-run drive inside the right-field foul pole) put the Dodgers on the board at long last.
But it was far too little, much too late — allowing the Angels (57-62) to improve to 4-0 against the Dodgers this season after sweeping a series at Chavez Ravine back in May.
When coupled with Sunday’s maddening loss to Toronto (a defeat that left Roberts outwardly perturbed in his postgame news conference), the last 48 hours have represented another backward step in a Dodgers’ campaign that is quickly growing full of them.
It has zapped whatever momentum was building after the team’s two series-opening victories against the AL East-leading Blue Jays last weekend. It has dropped the club to 12-19 since the Fourth of July, the fifth-worst record in the majors over that span. And, most consequentially, it has opened the door for the Padres (who have won three in a row and five out of six) to potentially take the division lead ahead of their visit to Dodger Stadium on Friday.
The only silver lining: The Dodgers overcame similar struggles last year, doing just enough down the stretch to win the division and march all the way to an unlikely championship.
But they were hoping to avoid such headaches this season, and mount a more enjoyable defense of their title.
With less than two months remaining in the season, that dream has come and gone.
The Dodgers can still win another World Series. But the road to this point has been anything but fun.
DETROIT — Taylor Ward homered and fell a triple short of the cycle, driving in three runs to help the Angels beat the Detroit Tigers 7-4 on Saturday night.
Ward had an RBI double in the first, singled and scored in the fourth and hit a two-run homer in the fifth. He grounded out in the seventh.
Angels starter Yusei Kikuchi (6-7) gave up four runs in five innings. Kenley Jansen pitched the ninth for his 21st save and his career-best 20th consecutive outing without conceding an earned run.
Detroit’s Charlie Morton (7-10) matched a season high with 10 strikeouts, but the 41-year-old gave up six runs on seven hits in 4⅓ innings.
The Angels (56-61) took a 1-0 lead in the first on Ward’s RBI double, and the Tigers (67-51) got two in the second on Andy Ibáñez’s RBI single and Jake Rogers’ sacrifice fly.
Morton struck out seven straight after Ward’s double, with Mike Trout breaking the streak with a leadoff groundout in the fourth. Ward singled, Morton hit Yoán Moncada, and Jo Adell hit a three-run homer to make it 4-2.
The Tigers tied it in the bottom of the inning on Matt Vierling’s sacrifice fly and Gleyber Torres’s RBI double.
Ward ended Morton’s night with a two-run homer in the fifth. Luis Rengifo made it 7-4 with a homer in the eighth.
Trailing 6-4, the Tigers had runners on first and second with no one out in the sixth, but Kikuchi struck out pinch-hitter Kerry Carpenter and got Torres to ground out.
DETROIT — Matt Vierling hit a three-run homer in the eighth inning and the Detroit Tigers beat the Angels 6-5 on Friday night.
With the Angels leading 5-3, reliever Reid Detmers (3-3) walked pinch-hitter Jahmai Jones and Gleyber Torres to start the inning. Vierling batted for Kerry Carpenter and hit his first homer of the season over the Detroit bullpen in left.
The Tigers avoided their third straight loss on a night when Tarik Skubal gave up back-to-back homers for the first time this season.
With one out in the fifth inning and the Tigers leading 3-1, Gustavo Campero hit a two-run homer to left. Two pitches later, the Angels (55-61) took the lead on Zach Neto’s second homer against Skubal this season.
Skubal struck out Nolan Schanuel, but Mike Trout ended Skubal’s shortest start of the season with an infield single.
Troy Melton (2-1) picked up the win with 2⅓ innings of relief. New Tigers closer Kyle Finnegan pitched the ninth for his 23rd save.
Logan O’Hoppe gave the Angels a 1-0 lead with an RBI double in the second, but Detroit (67-50) scored three times in the bottom of the inning.
Spencer Torkelson led off with his 25th homer, Riley Greene singled and took third on Zach McKinstry’s double. Javier Báez followed with a two-run bloop single to left.
Jo Adell’s 24th homer put the Angels ahead 5-3 in the eighth inning.
The game was delayed briefly in the third inning when Angels center fielder Bryce Teodosio stumbled catching a fly ball and hit his head on the fence. He stayed in the game but was replaced by Campero for the fourth inning.
Key moment: With one out and a runner on first in the seventh, Neto hit a 106.7-mph line drive to left, but Greene made a diving catch to help Melton escape the inning.
Key stat: Skubal hadn’t allowed back-to-back homers since Salvador Perez and Jorge Soler did it in the first inning of a 6-1 win for the Kansas City Royals on July 25, 2021.
Up next: The teams face each other again on Saturday evening, with Detroit RHP Charlie Morton (7-9, 5.20) making his second Tigers start against LHP Yusei Kikuchi (5-7, 3.22).
