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DENVER — The rain came out of nowhere. So too, it seemed, did Max Muncy’s infield pop-up.

In the top of the sixth inning at Coors Field on Tuesday night, Muncy was at the plate with two out and two runners aboard when a sudden rainstorm opened up from overcast skies. Within moments, sheets of rain were pouring down. But as fans scattered for cover, umpires let the at-bat roll on.

“My glasses were pretty full of water at that point,” Muncy said. “Was just kind of praying to put the ball in play.”

In a full count, Muncy did, launching a sky-high pop-up down the first base line.

In clear conditions, it would have been a routine catch to end the inning.

But this time, neither Rockies first baseman Michael Toglia nor second baseman Thairo Estrada could locate the blur of leather as it came hurtling back to earth.

“When rain is falling that thick,” Muncy said, “it’s really hard to look up and find a baseball.”

Indeed, as Muncy pulled into first base, and teammates Shohei Ohtani and Dalton Rushing came trotting across the plate, Toglia looked toward Estrada, who initially appeared to be calling for the ball. But then, Estrada looked back at Toglia in confusion, neither appearing certain exactly where the pop-up went. At the last second, both instead ducked for cover, turtling with their arms around their heads. The ball landed between them, seemingly startling Toglia after dropping a few feet to his right.

In the scorebook, the play went down as a two-run single, representing the first runs in a game the Dodgers went on to win 8-1 — with the help of a victory-sealing grand slam from Muncy in the top of the seventh.

But in reality, it was another example of the Rockies’ helplessness in this historically hapless season — and a comical stroke of luck the Dodgers were more than happy to take.

“At first, I was just happy I made contact,” Muncy said. “Then you’re upset you pop it up. Then you see them kind of scrambling around and you start getting a little excited. Then it drops and obviously you’re happy about it.”

Entering this week’s trip to Colorado, manager Dave Roberts emphasized the importance of stacking wins against a Rockies team on pace to set an MLB record for losses in a season. He noted how it was part of a softer overall stretch in the team’s schedule, with the Dodgers (50-31) in a run of 12 straight games against teams with losing records.

“You need to beat the teams you’re supposed to beat,” Roberts said. “That’s just the way it is.”

In both games in Denver this week, the Rockies (18-62) have aided in that cause. On Monday, Toglia misplayed three balls in a six-run fourth-inning rally for the Dodgers that catapulted them to a series-opening win.

Tuesday’s blunder, however, was even more of an egregious eyesore; even if Roberts and Muncy both described it as a tricky play.

“I give Max a lot of credit for just staying in the at-bat, fighting to put the ball in play, to allow for something like that to happen,” Roberts said. “It certainly changed the momentum … With no runs [right there], it might have been a different ballgame.”

The next time Muncy came to the plate, he added to his RBI total in a more traditional way.

With the bases loaded and two out in the seventh, the scorching hot slugger turned on a hanging 0-and-2 slider and launched his second grand slam in the last three games way out to right field.

It gave Muncy six RBIs on the night, and a staggering 42 runs driven in over his last 37 games.

“Not everyone is swinging the bat well,” Roberts said, a group that most notably includes Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, who went a combined 0-for-nine. “So to have that production from Max in the middle of the lineup has been paramount.”

“He’s got a lot of confidence right now,” Roberts added.

The offensive output — which continued with a towering home run from Michael Conforto in the eighth — marked one of the few times this year the Dodgers provided Yoshinobu Yamamoto with ample run support. On Wednesday alone, they matched the eight total runs they had scored in his previous four starts this month.

It proved to be plenty on a night the right-hander spun a much-needed gem, bouncing back from the 5.23 ERA he had in June entering the night with five scoreless innings that included one hit, one walk and six strikeouts.

Even at mile-high altitude, his ability to locate curveballs and splitters was particularly sharp, helping him rack up 39 strikes out of 56 pitches.

“I started feeling good last week, and going into today’s game,” Yamamoto said. “And then today I was attacking with first-pitch strikes pretty good. I think that was [the biggest difference].”

The only thing that stopped Yamamoto was the rain, forcing him to make an early exit after a one-hour, 27-minute delay that began immediately after Muncy’s pop-up. But by that point, the sudden showers had already done enough, helping the Dodgers take a lead they wouldn’t relinquish on a routine pop-up the Rockies’ infield lost sight of.

Said Muncy, with a laugh: “Hit it to the right spot, I guess.”

Ben Howland planned it like this. Of course he did.

This was a coach so engrossed in details that he would grumble about the room temperature at news conferences and call a timeout when his team was in the middle of a big run just so that he could set up his defense.

So it should come as no surprise that before his 10-year run as UCLA’s basketball coach ended in 2013, Howland had schemed for his dream retirement.

In 2011, he bought a four-bedroom, ranch-style house in his native Santa Barbara close to so many old friends and family, knowing the full remodel job would take years. The Howlands moved in three years ago, after the coach’s final season at Mississippi State.

The home is now his departure point for frequent trips to see another old friend — the program he guided to back-to-back-to-back Final Fours from 2006-08. Howland likes to leave many hours before tipoff, arranging his schedule so that he can visit friends or fit in a doctor’s appointment.

He recently learned that he was only one day younger than former Bruins star forward David Greenwood, who died earlier this month from cancer.

“It’s sobering, you know? Sixty-eight now seems young,” Howland said between bites of a Tuscan chicken sandwich inside the Luskin Center on the campus that once served as his basketball home. “But there’s always something. You’ve got to make sure you’re on top of your colon and your prostate, and that’s one of the reasons I come to UCLA for all my doctor appointments.”

The old coach remains close to several retired doctors he’s known for many years, including Jean B. DeKernion, the former longtime chair of UCLA’s urology department, and Bennett Roth, the gastroenterologist who established the school’s endoscopy unit.

Perhaps nobody at the school can put a smile on his face like the current basketball coach. Mick Cronin and Howland have known one another since the former helped run Sonny Vaccaro’s ABCD Camp in the 1990s, going on to forge a friendship rooted in mutual respect.

UCLA coach Ben Howland celebrates after a basket by Malcolm Lee against Michigan State in the 2011 NCAA tournament.

(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

There’s so many similarities between the coaches, from their demanding practices to their relentless defenses to their wry senses of humor to their lack of hair to their admiration for things that are difficult but worthwhile.

“Coaching’s changed and I can still appreciate Mick because he comes from the old school and what he’s doing is no different than what [Bob] Huggins and [Rick] Pitino did as he’s working for them and watching these guys, who are both Hall of Famers, two of the greatest coaches ever,” Howland said.

“And because you’re demanding — I mean, I think my players always knew at the end of the day that I loved them and was trying to get the most out of them, I’m trying to push them to be their very best, but as long as they know that you really love them and care about them and you want what’s best for them most of all, then they respect that and I think he does that.”

A regular at UCLA practices and games, Howland sometimes comes alone and other times brings his wife, Kim, and some combination of children Meredith and Adam and grandsons Benjamin, Elijah, Asher and Abraham.

“I really enjoy it,” Howland said of coming to games at Pauley Pavilion. “I mean, I’m a fan too. I was yelling like crazy during that Wisconsin win. I’m telling you, I was so pumped up; that was such a great win, really, really exciting because they were good and you knew how important that game was. The same thing with the Michigan State win, that was an incredible win.”

During his first year of retirement, Howland received a standing ovation during a timeout when he stepped onto the court as an honorary captain. Fans who recognize him during games shower him with appreciation, telling him that he did a great job or they really love him or they treasured his decade-long run at UCLA that was the longest by any Bruins coach since John Wooden’s 27-year reign ended in 1975.

Legendary basketball coach John Wooden, right, sits next to then-UCLA coach Ben Howland during a news conference at Honda Center in December 2006.

(Christine Cotter / Los Angeles Times)

Howland said he agreed with those who believe the school should honor its Final Four teams with a banner inside Pauley Pavilion alongside those that recognize national championships.

“I mean, in this day and age, it’s incredibly difficult to, No. 1, get to the Final Four,” Howland said, “and we can’t be arrogant to where we don’t recognize that.”

Maybe the game that gets mentioned most in any conversation with Howland is the comeback from 17 points down against Gonzaga in the Sweet 16 of the 2006 NCAA tournament. In the final seconds, with his team trailing by only one, Howland could be seen in front of the UCLA bench mimicking the defense he wanted his players to apply, waving his arms wildly.

Cedric Bozeman and Jordan Farmar complied, trapping J.P. Batista in the backcourt before Bozeman knocked the ball loose. Farmar grabbed the ball and threw a lob to teammate Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, whose layup put UCLA ahead with 9.2 seconds left. In an even more remarkable display, Mbah a Moute tackled the ball at midcourt to force a jump ball, giving the Bruins possession on the way to an eventual 73-71 triumph.

“That’s incredible — I’ve never seen that,” Howland said of Mbah a Moute’s heroic defense. “The best thing about it was the whole idea that you never stop, you keep fighting the entire time until the clock is at 0:00.”

The clock ran out on Howland’s time at UCLA after a season in which the Bruins won the Pac-12’s regular-season title but lost in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The coach whose admiration for UCLA went back to watching Wooden’s first national championship in 1964, held a farewell news conference to convey his gratitude.

“It was a real blessing to be here,” Howland said, “and I wanted to leave taking the high road, doing it the right way.”

By that point, a narrative had emerged that Howland had changed his ways, forgoing the sort of grinders such as Mbah a Moute and Lorenzo Mata-Real who had fueled his early success in favor of more prolific scorers. Howland disagreed, pointing out that he left replacement Steve Alford with five eventual NBA players — Zach LaVine, Norman Powell, Kyle Anderson, Travis Wear and Jordan Adams — upon his departure.

UCLA coach Ben Howland prepares to talk to his players during a timeout against Washington in December 2010.

(Katie Falkenberg / For the Times)

Having been offered a job by a Big Ten school — he won’t say which one — during his second-to-last-year at UCLA, Howland remained a coveted coach. He agreed to go to Mississippi State in 2015, ringing a cowbell at his introductory news conference and getting to know quirky football coach Mike Leach. (“He loved the microphone, loved to be on camera, very funny,” Howland said of the late Leach.)

Yet the recruiting challenges in rural Starkville, Miss., made winning far more difficult than it was in Westwood.

“Kids aren’t growing up saying, ‘I always wanted to be a Mississippi State Bulldog’ like they do a Bruin,” Howland said.

The Bulldogs went to one NCAA tournament in Howland’s seven seasons, losing in the first round, though they were on the bubble during a COVID-19-shortened 2019-20 season that ended after they had secured a double bye in the Southeastern Conference tournament. The school dismissed him in March 2022.

The timing proved fortuitous in that it allowed Howland to come home and spend two years with his mother before she passed away. Other family remains nearby. Howland’s son, Adam, is a deputy district attorney based in Santa Barbara and his daughter, Meredith, is a nurse who lives in Valencia. A granddaughter is expected to arrive in October.

Howland said he misses the relationships with his players and assistants, not to mention the practices and games. But old friends abound. He recently went to a Dodgers game with Mata-Real, and several links to his time at UCLA remain on campus. Doug Erickson is the do-everything director of basketball administration, Chris Carlson an associate athletic director, Kenny Donaldson a senior associate athletic director and Alex Timiraos the director of athletic communications.

“I hired Kenny as our academic coordinator,” Howland said. “Now he’s [athletic director] Martin Jarmond’s right-hand guy, along with Chris.”

The current UCLA players might as well be Howland’s given his glowing praise. Consider his takes:

On transfer point guard Donovan Dent: “Boy, to have him coming in here as the point guard next season, it’s such a critical element.”

Donovan Dent is among the new players on coach Mick Cronin’s UCLA roster for the 2025-26 season.

(David Richard / Associated Press)

On transfer big man Xavier Booker: “I watched him in our game here [against Michigan State]; I was like, who’s that guy? I liked the way he moved, I liked his athleticism. He just needs minutes. I think Mick will get a lot out of him to help his team.”

On returning forward Eric Dailey Jr.: “He had big games in big games. He’s just got to consistently bring that, but he’s only a junior.”

Howland acknowledged being “heartbroken” that center Aday Mara transferred to Michigan on the cusp of a huge season after two years of development under Cronin.

“They had done such a great job of bringing him along,” Howland said, “and he was finally going to really have the kind of year that he’s capable of this year. I think he’ll be heartbroken that he’s not here come this next season.”

One guy who can be counted on to be there at big games for the foreseeable future is a face familiar to a generation of UCLA fans, clapping wildly, his heart full, a Bruin until the end.

A shorter ball from India’s Prasidh Krishna is nicked behind and caught to end Ollie Pope’s “wonderful” innings, leaving England on 225-4 on day three of the first Test at Headingley.

FOLLOW LIVE: England v India first Test – day three

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It’s hard not to count as the strikeouts go by.

Clayton Kershaw’s first strikeout Friday night came on his “Cooperstown curveball” — a pitch that’s dazzled since its first appearance at Dodger Stadium on May 25, 2008. Two strikeouts on sliders that dove into the dirt like paper airplanes curtailing in the wind brought his chase to single digits.

The milestone is inevitable. Kershaw will all but certainly reach the 3,000-strikeout mark, etching his name on a list that features just 19 other pitchers. But he’ll have to wait a little while longer.

“There’s a few pitches tonight where it clicked,” Kershaw said, moving his earned-run average to 2.49 in June. “It’s just not every one. So hopefully it’ll get there.”

Kershaw struck out four batters against the Nationals, tossing five innings and giving up two solo home runs as the Dodgers took the series opener 6-5.

“It’s really special knowing that he’s approaching 3,000,” said infielder Miguel Rojas, who played third base Friday like he did for Kershaw’s no-hitter in 2014. “Every pitch… every strikeout counts. But for him, I feel like it’s more important to win games, and for him to be 3-0 and with really good numbers overall, I’m happy for him — that he’s healthy, happy and able to contribute.”

Kershaw brought his career strikeout total to 2,992, just eight away from 3,000. Strikeout 3,000 could come Thursday in Colorado or Friday in Kansas City when he’s next expected to toe the mound.

“It’s hard not to appreciate how close he is to the 3,000 mark,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “My guess is that he just wants to get this thing over with as soon as possible, right? … He wants it over as quick as possible, I’m sure.”

Kershaw still doesn’t feel his sharpest in his seventh start of the season. He walked two and 33 of his 78 pitches were balls. His fastball was more than a tick down from his season average as he flailed with his command early.

And yet, Kershaw battled through five innings.

“I can still get people out,” Kershaw said. “I just want to do it a little bit better.”

Clayton Kershaw delivers in the third inning against the Washington Nationals on Friday night.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

If the Dodgers’ previous four-game series against the Padres had the energy and animosity of postseason baseball, then the Nationals coming to town felt like a true mid-June game. Coming off an 11-game losing streak — broken Thursday in Colorado — the Nationals (31-45) fell out of an early lead because of self-inflicted gaffes.

After the Dodgers knotted the score 1-1 when bench coach Danny Lehmann’s first successful challenge (stepping in at manager for the suspended Roberts) brought home a run after Mookie Betts was deemed safe at first on a fielder’s choice, Nationals shortstop CJ Abrams made what looked to be an inning-ending force play.

Abrams dove to his right on an infield single from Andy Pages, stabbed the ball and used his glove to flip to Amed Rosario at second base. The ball never reached Rosario, and Betts hustled home from second base without a throw.

Rojas extended the Dodgers’ lead to 6-2 in the bottom of the sixth when he hit his third home run of the season, a two-run shot, to score Kiké Hernández (two for three, two doubles). When the Nationals threatened in the top of the seventh — with runners on second and third, down by two — Michael Conforto came to the Dodgers’ rescue by making a diving catch to keep his team ahead.

“It’s a long season, and you’re going to receive more opportunities to contribute, and it’s nice to finally get one game like this where you feel part of it,” Rojas said, adding that he was glad to showcase his hitting against a left-hander such as Washington ace MacKenzie Gore.

Abrams homered in the ninth, but Dodgers closer Tanner Scott buckled down to secure his 15th save.

The Dodgers (47-30) will turn to right-hander Dustin May against the Nationals on Saturday as they attempt to clinch their fourth consecutive series. Neither Roberts nor Lehmann was made available to reporters after the game.

Miguel Rojas, left, is gets a hand slap from Dodgers first base coach Chris Woodward after hitting a two-run home run in the sixth inning against the Nationals on Friday night at Dodger Stadium.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Etc.

Right-hander Tyler Glasnow (shoulder inflammation) is set to throw two innings in a rehabilitation assignment with triple-A Oklahoma City on Sunday, while left-hander Blake Snell (shoulder inflammation) is set to throw a bullpen in the next few days, Roberts said.

Roki Sasaki (right shoulder impingement), who stopped throwing after a recent flare up stymied his progression, threw in the outfield Friday afternoon.

“I don’t know if it was 60, 90 feet, with the baseball,” Roberts said of Sasaki, who was moved to the 60-day injured list Friday. “That was a bonus. That was a plus. Chatted with him briefly afterward. He was excited about it.”

On how Sasaki was feeling, Roberts said: “I would say pain-free. Now it’s just getting the build-up. But most important, he’s pain-free.”

Brazilian international Lorena stopped a penalty kick and countrywoman Bia Zaneratto scored to keep the Current perfect at home on Friday night.

The 1-0 victory secured a sixth consecutive win for Kansas City, which remained atop the NWSL standings. The Current (11-2-0) have won all six of their games at CPKC Stadium. Kansas City hasn’t dropped a game at home since a July 2024 loss to Orlando.

With the score tied 0-0, Lorena leapt to her right to parry a spot kick by Angel City forward Alyssa Thompson in the 56th minute. The ball was tipped onto the crossbar before bobbling out for a corner kick.

It was Lorena’s first penalty save and Thompson’s first failed conversion in the NWSL.

Reigning NWSL MVP Temwa Chawinga broke away on a dribble and had her low shot saved by Angel City goalkeeper Angelina Anderson, only for Zaneratto to scoop up the rebound and the tuck the ball away in the 69th minute.

Zaneratto has five goals, tied for the second-most of any Current player behind Chawinga with eight.

Angel City (5-5-3) is winless in its last five games, and has secured one tie and two losses since Alex Straus took over as coach three weeks ago.

Tampa Bay Rays relief pitcher Hunter Bigge was taken to hospital after being struck by a ball travelling at 105mph while in the dugout at a Major League Baseball game.

READ MORE: ‘Really scary’ – player in dugout hit by 105mph ball

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NEW YORK — Jazz Chisholm Jr. homered in the second inning to end New York’s 30-inning scoreless streak, but an error in the eighth inning gave the Angels a 3-2 win, sending the Yankees to their sixth straight loss Wednesday.

Mike Trout and Taylor Ward opened the eighth by drawing walks off Fernando Cruz (1-3), and Luis Rengifo walked on four pitches to load the bases. Jo Adell hit a 105.9-mph grounder to New York shortstop Anthony Volpe, who bobbled the ball and threw wide of second, allowing Trout to score.

The Yankees lost for the eighth time in 18 games, and their losing streak is the longest since they lost nine straight from Aug. 12-23, 2023.

Chisholm ended New York’s longest run-scoring drought since a 33-inning skid Sept. 22-25, 2016, when his drive down the right field line stayed inside the foul pole and tied the game at 1.

Cody Bellinger homered to give the Yankees a 2-1 lead in the fourth before Adell hit a tying homer on the first pitch of the fifth off Ryan Yarbrough. Bellinger made the final out of the eighth by fouling out with two on.

Aaron Judge went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts as his average dipped to .366.

Nolan Schanuel homered three pitches into the game for the Angels, who won a fifth straight game at Yankee Stadium — the old or new version — for the first time in team history.

Jack Kochanowicz gave up two runs and two hits in 5⅔ innings. The right-hander finished with a career-high eight strikeouts and walked three.

Kenley Jansen struck out Volpe to secure his 15th save.

Key moments: Giancarlo Stanton batted for Ben Rice in the seventh and flew out to left field against Hector Neris (3-1). In the sixth, Bellinger hit an infield single, but Trent Grisham was called out at second when his leg touched the ball. Paul Goldschmidt lined out on the next pitch.

Key stat: Stanton is five for 47 in his career as a pinch-hitter.

Up next: Yankees LHP Carlos Rodón (8-5, 3.01 ERA) opposes Angels LHP Tyler Anderson (2-4, 3.44) on Thursday.