ANAHEIM, Calif. — Reliever Kirby Yates finalized a $5-million, one-year deal with the Angels on Tuesday.
A 38-year-old right-hander, Yates flopped last season with the Dodgers. He did not pitch after Sept. 20 after straining his right hamstring, an injury that also sidelined him between May 17 and June 8.
Yates is technically making a return the Angels, who employed him for one major league appearance in 2017 after claiming him off waivers from the Yankees. Yates subsequently joined the San Diego Padres and enjoyed the longest sustained success of his career before bouncing to Atlanta, Texas and the Dodgers over the past three seasons.
The veteran is rejoining Mike Maddux, the pitching coach who oversaw Yates’ All-Star performance in 2024 while both were with the Rangers. Yates went 7-2 with a 1.17 ERA, an 0.83 WHIP and 85 strikeouts in 61 innings for Texas.
Yates still earned a World Series ring last season after agreeing to a $13-million, one-year deal with the Dodgers, but he spent three stints on the injured list and had a 5.23 ERA before failing to get on the postseason roster as part of the Dodgers’ struggling bullpen.
Yates is 30-24 with a 3.36 ERA, a 1.13 WHIP and 98 saves in 472 relief appearances over 11 major league seasons with Tampa Bay (2014-15), the Yankees (2016), the Angels, San Diego (2017-20), Atlanta (2022-23), Texas (2024) and the Dodgers. He led the major leagues with 41 saves in 2019.
He had Tommy John surgery twice, in 2006 while in college and after getting hurt during spring training in 2021 with Toronto.
He is the latest addition to the Angels’ overhauled pitching staff, joining new relievers Jordan Romano and Drew Pomeranz. The Angels also took low-cost fliers on Grayson Rodriguez and Alek Manoah, two once-promising starters whose careers were derailed in recent years.
The Offensive Most Valuable Player of the Rose Bowl game easily could have gone to Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza. The Indiana quarterback finished the game with more touchdown passes than incompletions , threw for 192 yards and spread the ball to three teammates on scoring plays during their 38-3 rout of Alabama.
Instead, the sportswriters and broadcasters awarded center Pat Coogan and the rest of the offensive line. After it was announced, the biggest celebration came from Mendoza, who jumped with excitement, smiled from ear to ear and pumped his fist as he swarmed his center with the rest of his teammates.
Just another assist from a leader.
“We work really hard every single day because not only do we enjoy football, we also enjoy winning,” said Mendoza, who completed 14 of 16 passes. “And we know what that takes. So every single day we’re always going to put our best foot forward.”
Coogan was the first offensive lineman to win the award since Norm Verry won it for USC in 1944.
“It’s all a credit to my teammates and my coaching staff for just believing in me and the ability to make my calls and diagnose a defense and fully entrusting in me and my abilities,” Coogan said.
Against the Crimson Tide, Indiana had its love for the game fully displayed on both sides of the field. The defense held Alabama to a field goal and 23 rushing yards while forcing two fumbles and recovering one.
The crucial recovery came as the Tide approached Hoosiers territory as the second quarter was coming to a close. With Indiana ahead 10-0, Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson ran on third and seven toward Indiana’s 40-yard line. Instead of gaining a first down, Simpson fumbled on a hit by Hoosiers cornerback D’Angelo Ponds. On its next drive, Indiana scored to make it 17-0.
Ponds earned the Defensive MVP award for his pivotal hit and thanked defensive coordinator Bryant Haines for their preparation.
“He did a good job scheming [Alabama],” Ponds said. “He knew what they liked to run, their tendencies and stuff like that.”
The coaching staff set the standards for Indiana and it all started with head coach Curt Cignetti, Coogan said.
“The complacency factor, the [fear] to death of complacency, the never-ending journey of improving, taking it day-to-day, taking each day as the most important day in the history of the program,” he said. “It all starts with [Cignetti], and he makes sure all of our eyes are focused forward and we’re all thinking alike as he always says.”
Cignetti called the game a great team victory for Indiana against an opponent with great tradition and history, but there’s still football to be played.
Up next, the Hoosiers go up against Oregon at the Peach Bowl in Atlanta on Jan. 9. This will be the Big Ten teams’ second meeting this season.
“Good to have another rematch against Dante Moore and a great Oregon team next week,” Mendoza said.
It’ll be the third time Mendoza faces the Oregon quarterback. The first time they met was in 2023 at the Rose Bowl, when they played for Cal and UCLA, respectively. Mendoza came out victorious 33-7.
In October, they matched up again, this time with their current teams. Again, the Hoosiers quarterback came out on top, 30-20.
But can lightning strike twice in a season?
“It’s very hard to beat a really good football team twice,” Cignetti said. “There’s no doubt about that.”
Indiana will take its unblemished record to Atlanta to face Oregon and hope the Hoosiers’ chemistry carries them to Miami Gardens for a shot at the national championship.
“We are efficient because we have good players with high character,” Cignetti said. “They’re great team guys and really good leaders, and they listen and they buy in.”
From Gary Klein: The Rams already knew they will be on the road for the playoffs, a difficult assignment for any team.
It’s trending toward becoming one especially tough for the Rams, who only a few weeks ago appeared to be the class of the NFC, if not the NFL.
Not anymore.
On Monday night, the Rams for much of their game against the Atlanta Falcons, looked like a team on the road to nowhere. Or one more interested in limping through the end of the regular season before turning it on for the playoffs.
They overcame a 21-point deficit to tie the score, but Zane Gonzalez’s 51-yard field goal with 21 seconds left sent the Rams to a 27-24 defeat at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
It was the Rams’ second loss in a row, both coming on the road.
“Here we are again in a disappointing situation,” coach Sean McVay said.
The loss dropped the Rams to 11-5 going into Sunday’s regular-season finale against the Arizona Cardinals at SoFi Stadium.
Lincoln Riley takes aim at Notre Dame before Holiday Bowl
Before facing TCU in the Alamo Bowl, USC coach Lincoln Riley called out Notre Dame for turning down a chance to renew its series with the Trojans.
(Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times)
From Ryan Kartje: The century-old rivalry series between USC and Notre Dame is taking a few years off, and as far as Lincoln Riley is concerned, that’s the fault of the Irish.
In his first public comments since the series was officially put on hiatus, the USC coach put the blame squarely on Notre Dame for not accepting USC’s most recent offer to continue the rivalry, which would have moved the 2026 game, usually scheduled in November, to the very beginning of the season.
“It’s pretty simple,” Riley said Monday, ahead of USC’s bowl matchup with Texas Christian. “We both worked for months to try to find a solution. Notre Dame was very vocal about the fact that they would play us anytime, anywhere.
“Jen Cohen, our AD, went back to Notre Dame roughly a couple of weeks ago with a scenario and a proposal that would extend the series for the next two years. We took Notre Dame at their word that they would play us anytime, anywhere. That proposal was rejected.
“Not only was it rejected, but five minutes after we got the call, it was announced they scheduled another opponent, which I’ll give them credit, that might be the fastest scheduling act in college football history.”
USC guard Londynn Jones drives around Nebraska’s Britt Prince to score during the second half at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Monday in Lincoln, Neb.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
From the Associated Press:Londynn Jones scored all 13 of her points in a pivotal third quarter to help rally No. 17 USC to a 74-66 victory over previously unbeaten Nebraska on Monday in Big Ten play.
Jones, who took just one shot in the first half and missed it, buried three straight three-pointers after teammate Jazzy Davidson grabbed a rebound and scored to begin the third quarter. The Trojans (10-3, 2-0) used an 11-0 run to turn a two-point halftime deficit into a 47-38 lead in less than two minutes.
The Cornhuskers (12-1, 1-1) trailed 65-52 after three quarters but whittled the deficit to 69-65 on a rebound basket by Britt Prince with 2:42 left. Kara Dunn answered with a basket and then made one of two free throws with 59 seconds left to help USC prevail.
UCLA guard Kiki Rice, center, shoots between Ohio State guard Kylee Kitts, left, and UCLA forward Angela Dugalic during the first half of the Bruins’ 82-75 win.
Kiki Rice added 16 points and Angela Dugalic scored 15 as UCLA (12-1, 2-0 Big Ten) beat the Buckeyes for the fourth straight time, dating to December 2023.
Jaloni Cambridge led all scorers with 28 points, and Elsa Lemmila added 13 points and seven rebounds for Ohio State (11-2, 1-1), which had its nine-game winning streak halted in its conference home opener.
The Lakers responded to three blowout losses and a spirited team meeting by playing one of their most complete games of the season Sunday to earn a 125-101 win over the Sacramento Kings at Crypto.com Arena. For the first time this year, the Lakers (20-10) outscored their opponent in every quarter with Luka Doncic (34 points) and LeBron James (24 points) leading the way despite Austin Reaves’ absence.
“Hopefully,” forward Jake LaRavia said, “this is the first of a mini win streak.”
Colorado Avalanche goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood, left, stops a shot by Kings forward Adrian Kempe in the first period of L.A.’s 5-2 loss Monday night.
(David Zalubowski / Associated Press)
From the Associated Press:Nathan MacKinnon scored the 399th goal of his career, Brock Nelson had a goal and an assist, and the surging Colorado Avalanche won their eighth in a row 5-2 over the Kings on Monday night.
MacKinnon added an assist to go with his NHL-leading 32nd goal this season. Jack Drury, Cale Makar and Martin Necas also scored for the Avalanche, who have won 14 in a row at home.
Colorado has points in 28 of their last 29 games and are 10-0-1 in their last 11 to continue their historic start to the season. Colorado reached 65 points in 38 games, second all time to the 1929-30 Boston Bruins.
Mario Ferraro, Igor Chernyshov, William Eklund and Zach Ostapchuk also scored for the Sharks, who earned their second win since the holiday break despite getting outshot 43-13. Yaroslav Askarov made 38 saves.
Troy Terry scored two goals, Cutter Gauthier got his 19th goal and Pavel Mintyukov also scored for the Ducks, who have lost three straight and seven of nine while falling out of first place in the Pacific Division. Lukas Dostal allowed four goals on nine shots before Petr
1956 — The New York Giants win the NFL title with a 47-7 rout of the Chicago Bears.
1962 — The Green Bay Packers beat the New York Giants 16-7 to win the NFL title for the second straight year.
1973 — The Minnesota Vikings beat the Dallas Cowboys 27-10 to win the NFC championship.
1973 — The Miami Dolphins, behind 266 yards rushing, beat the Oakland Raiders 27-10 for an unprecedented third straight AFC title.
1981 — In the 39th game of the season, Edmonton’s Wayne Gretzky scores five goals, including his 50th into an empty net, to lead the Oilers to a 7-5 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers. Gretzy betters the mark of 50 goals in 50 games held by Maurice Richard and Mike Bossy.
1990 — Orlando point guard Scott Skiles dishes out an NBA-record 30 assists in a 155-116 victory against the Denver Nuggets. Skiles breaks the record of 29 assists set by the Nets’ Kevin Porter in 1978.
2000 — Nebraska ends a disappointing season by setting a bowl record for points in a 66-17 victory over Northwestern in the Alamo Bowl.
2002 — TCU sets an NCAA record for fewest points allowed when the Lady Frogs beat Texas Southern 76-16. The 16 points allowed breaks the Division I record for fewest points. Prairie View scored 19 points against Jackson State in 1983.
2007 — Drew Brees sets an NFL record with 443 completions, passing the previous mark of 418 set by Rich Gannon in 2002. Brees completes 35 of 60 passes for 320 yards with three TD passes in New Orleans’ 33-25 loss to Chicago.
2008 — NFL head coach Mike Shanahan is fired by the Denver Broncos.
2010 — Top-ranked Connecticut’s record 90-game winning streak in women’s basketball ends when No. 9 Stanford outplays the Huskies from the start in a 71-59 victory at Maples Pavilion — where the Cardinal have their own streak going. Stanford hasn’t lost in 52 games at home. The Cardinal took an early 13-point lead, never trailed and didn’t let the mighty Huskies back in it.
2016 — Isaiah Thomas scores 29 of his career-high 52 points in the fourth quarter, setting a club record for points in a period and leading Boston to a 117-114 victory over the Miami Heat.
2017 — Alex Hornibrook throws four touchdown passes, three of them to Danny Davis, and No. 6 Wisconsin caps off the winningest season in school history by topping No. 11 Miami 34-24 in the Orange Bowl. Jonathan Taylor finishes his record-setting freshman season with 130 rushing yards on 26 carries for the Badgers (13-1). Taylor finishes the year with an FBS-freshman-record 1,977 yards.
2018 — Patrick Mahomes becomes only the 2nd quarterback in NFL history to throw for 5,000 yards and 50 touchdowns during KC Chiefs’ 35-3 win over Oakland Raiders; achieves both marks with 3rd quarter 89-yard TD pass to Demarcus Robinson.
2020 — San Antonio assistant Becky Hammon becomes first female to coach an NBA team after Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich is ejected in a 121-107 loss to the Lakers
Until next time …
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