baseball

Don’t look now but Cleveland High in Reseda is surging in high school baseball with a nine-game winning streak, going from 1-8 to 10-8 on the season. The Cavaliers are surprisingly tied for first place in the West Valley League with 4-1 El Camino Real going into a series next week.

“We’re playing a lot better and it has has to do with things we weren’t sharp at, pitching, playing defense and productive offense,” coach Peter Gunny said.

All-City player Joshua Pearlstein has been contributing with his hitting and pitching. Sophomore pitcher Xander Guiley owns a win over Birmingham and the Patriots’ ace pitcher Carlos Acuna. Sierra Canyon transfer Shiloh Wickliffe has played in only four games but has already shown potential as a hitter. Ezra Preis has come through with some big hits. Freshman Elliot Schoenwald is the starting center fielder and also a relief pitcher.

Can Cleveland keep it up?

“The kids are playing well,” Gunny said. “They deserve it.”

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.

For seven innings on Friday night, the much anticipated college baseball showdown between No. 1 UCLA and rival No. 12 USC, lived up to expectations before an overflow crowd at Jackie Robinson Stadium. There were three home runs, diving catches, two elite starting pitchers competing at a high level and both teams refusing to let the other separate itself.

Then came the bottom of the eighth inning.

“It was one of those weird innings,” UCLA coach John Savage said.

UCLA sent up 12 batters and scored seven runs to turn a tight game into a rout and come away with a 12-4 victory in the first game of a three-game series.

“It’s a cruddy way to end it,” USC coach Andy Stankiewicz said. “We were right there and it went sideways fast.”

UCLA (27-2) took a 5-4 lead in the seventh on an RBI single from Will Gasparino. In the eighth, the Bruins loaded the bases with none out on a walk, hit batter and infield single. Then came a two-run single from Mulvai Levu, an infield single from Roman Martin and a two-run single by Payton Brennan. The inning kept going and going. There was a dropped pop fly in foul territory, a misplayed ball in center that went for a triple by Phoenix Call, wild pitches and walks.

“At the end of the day, it was a very tight game that doesn’t look like a tight game,” Savage said.

USC celebrates a second-inning home run by Andrew Lamb (29).

(Craig Weston)

Two of the top pitchers in the nation, Logan Reddemann of UCLA and Mason Edwards of USC, each gave up home runs and faced challenges from top hitters. Reddemann gave up a two-run home run to Andrew Lamb and a solo home run to Augie Lopez. UCLA scored three earned runs off Edwards, doubling the run total he has given up all season. Martin had a home run.

“I thought you had two premier pitchers against two really good offenses,” Savage said. “They had to fight for every out. Mason is clearly the best pitcher in college baseball the first half of the season. We did a good job making him work.”

UCLA pulled off a rare pick off play when USC stole second with a man on third. Catcher Cashel Dugger did an acting job worthy of an Academy Award throwing the ball hard to Reddemman on the mound, who then got the runner on third leaving the bag.

“I thought it was executed perfectly,” said Miller, the third baseman on the play.

It doesn’t happen often, but UCLA had to find a sign gathering cobwebs in the ticket office to post at the entrance of Jackie Robinson Stadium on Friday night: “Game sold out.”

The same sign will be posted again on Sunday. Some 2,000 people were allowed in.

“I wish the ballpark was bigger,” Savage said.

Tickets were going for more than $100 on the secondary market. The auxiliary bleachers were filled. The UCLA versus USC baseball series hasn’t received this much attention and interest since the days of Rod Dedeaux winning 11 College World Series titles at USC, the last in 1978. Savage won an NCAA title in 2013 and was drawing big crowds in 2010 when future first-round picks Gerrit Cole and Trevor Bauer pitched UCLA to Omaha.

“We’re a competitive team,” Savage said. “They like challenges. This was a big challenge. USC has played as well as any team in the country. It was two really good teams playing in the first game of a series. The city of Los Angeles was excited. It’s good for Southern California, it’s good for recruiting, it’s good for people to come in and see the talent USC and UCLA have.”

UCLA’s relief pitching continues to be a major strength. Freshman Zach Strickland and sophomore Easton Hawk combined for three hitless innings to finish out the victory. And UCLA didn’t have to use its best reliever this season, Wylan Moss, giving Savage options for the rest of the series.

Gasparino and Brennan each finished with three hits. USC dropped to 27-4.

It was Brady Murrietta’s silence rounding the bases, then his Darth Vader-like stare directed at St. John Bosco pitcher Jack Champlin after touching third base on Thursday and slowly jogging toward home plate that sent a clear message: Don’t poke the bear.

His two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning broke a 3-3 tie and keyed a 5-4 win to prevent the No. 1-ranked Lancers from suffering a three-game Trinity League baseball sweep by No. 2 St. John Bosco.

One day earlier, the intensity level between the two teams reached such a crescendo that after the fiery Champlin got the final out in a 4-1 win at Hart Park, he decided to offer a taunt.

“I was hearing them all game at third base,” Champlin said. “I pointed to the ground and was saying, ‘This is my field.’ A bunch ran out of the dugout toward me and it got bigger than it needed to be.”

There was pushing and shoving as St. John Bosco went nuclear on security for Thursday’s home game, so much so that a security person refused to let a 5-foot-4 sportswriter walk into the Orange Lutheran bullpen after the game until calmer heads prevailed.

Jack Champlin of St. John Bosco is fired up after a two-run triple on Thursday against Orange Lutheran.

(Nick Koza)

The two teams declined to shake hands in a precautionary measure. It was almost comedic, since Orange Lutheran pitcher Gary Morse has played with St. John Bosco pitcher Julian Garcia since they were 8 and texted him Thursday morning to congratulate him on his Wednesday pitching performance. And Murrietta intended to text his friends on the Braves, too.

“It was more to get my boys hyped up,” Murrietta said of staring at Champlin.

Wednesday’s game was particularly important with each team’s ace on the mound. The 6-foot-8 Morse had a 95 mph fastball and gave up two hits and one run with eight strikeouts over six innings. Garcia, who missed his junior season after arm surgery, touched 97 mph while striking out 10 and giving up three hits in six innings. The Braves broke the 1-1 tie with three runs in the seventh inning, keyed by a two-run single from James Clark.

On Tuesday, in St. John Bosco’s 7-4 win, Clark had another big game with two hits and three RBIs.

“Two best teams in the country,” Morse said.

Orange Lutheran (8-3, 1-2) was coming off a championship at the National High School Invitational in North Carolina. It showed off a top pitcher to join Morse in Cooper Sides, a senior transfer from Red Buff who struck out eight in five innings on Thursday in front of dozens of pro scouts.

Asked what he learned about his 11-3 defending Division 1 championship team this week, St. John Bosco coach Andy Rojo said, “I think it continues what we already know that it’s a tough team, a resilient team. We’ve had a lot of high-pressure, high-level games. A ton of one-run games.”

Said Garcia: “It pushed us to show we’re a great team.”

Orange Lutheran coach RJ Farrell saw his team fight back from adversity, and in the Texas-bound Murrietta, he has an MVP candidate capable of igniting the Lancers with his bat, glove and leadership skills.

The two teams could meet again next week during the Boras Classic in Orange County. Otherwise, it would come during a new-look Southern Section Division 1 playoff format that will have 16 teams and start with a best two-out-of-three series to advance. Both teams have shown they have the pitching to advance.

Determined to avoid a three-game sweep at the hands of rival St. John Bosco on Thursday, No. 1-ranked Orange Lutheran turned to Texas-bound catcher Brady Murrietta, who came through with a memorable individual performance in a 5-4 road victory.

Let’s count the ways Murrietta made an impact.

In the top of the first inning, he had a double. In the bottom of the first, he threw out the speedy James Clark trying to steal second. In the fifth, he drove in a run with a sacrifice pop fly. In the top of the sixth, he broke a 3-3 tie by sending a hanging slider from closer Jack Champlin over the fence in left field for a two-run home run. In the bottom of the sixth, he tagged out the potential tying run at the plate.

Pro scouts were out en masse to see Orange Lutheran pitcher Cooper Sides, whose fastball touched 95 mph. He struck out eight in five innings.

Champlin had a two-run triple in the first inning against Sides. Champlin had given up only one earned run all season until Orange Lutheran scored three runs (one earned) in 2⅔ innings of relief. The Lancers were particularly excited because Champlin taunted them after saving Wednesday’s 4-1 win, leading to shoving and pushing after the game. As a precautionary measure, the teams did not shake hands after Thursday’s game.

Orange Lutheran improved to 8-3 and 1-2 in the Trinity League. No. 2 St. John Bosco is 11-3 and 5-1. The teams could meet again next week at the Boras Classic.

Cypress 6, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 2: Tate Belfanti allowed one hit in four innings and struck out four for Cypress, which finished third at the National Classic.

Concord De La Salle 6, Corona Centennial 3: The Spartans won the National Classic. Devin Bishop and Michael Nonis hit home runs for Centennial, which became the first team in four days to score against De La Salle.

Bell 1, Las Vegas Southeast Career Tech 0: The Eagles improved to 16-1 and went 4-0 in San Diego. Manuel Pasillas threw five scoreless innings and AJ Esquivel threw two scoreless innings for the save.

West Ranch 6, Saugus 5: A four-run rally in the bottom of the seventh lifted West Ranch to the Foothill League win. Ty Diaz had two RBIs.

Hart 7, Golden Valley 4: Hayden Rhodes delivered two hits and three RBIs for Hart.

Valencia 9, Castaic 7: Justin Gaisford had a two-run home run for Valencia.

Corona Santiago 3, Aquinas 0: Troy Randall struck out 10 in five innings and Max Eldridge hit a home run to lead Santiago.

Maranatha 4, Granada Hills 0: Bradley Loiacono threw 6⅓ scoreless innings.

Foothill 2, La Habra 1: Caden Lauridsen struck out four with no walks while giving up two hits in a complete-game performance.

Agoura 6, Oak Park 0: Tyler Sterling had three RBIs for the Chargers.

Newbury Park 3, Thousand Oaks 0: Ben Miller and Chase Renzo combined on the shutout and Carson Richter had a three-run home run to lead the Panthers.

Oaks Christian 2, Westlake 1: Luke Puls had a solo home run and Gave Geyer threw three innings of scoreless relief.

Long Beach Millikan 4, Lakewood 0: Daunte Bell struck out eight with no walks in throwing the shutout.

Villa Park 4, Temecula Valley 2: Ezra Ornelas had two hits for Villa Park.

Softball

Norco 9, Corona del Sol 0: Leighton Gray and Isabella Ray hit home runs and Peyton May allowed three hits in a five-inning win at the Michelle Carew Classic.

BASEBALL

CITY SECTION

Cleveland 6, South Gate 1

Collins Family 13, Alliance Ouchi 6

Gardena 11, King/Drew 5

Palisades 2, San Fernando 1

SOUTHERN SECTION

Arcadia 5, El Dorado 4

Bethel Christian 1, Norton Science 0

Calabasas 9, Stockton Lincoln 2

Canyon Country Canyon 18, de Toledo 0

Cathedral 1, St. Monica 0

Cerritos Valley Christian 6, Schurr 2

Chadwick 25, Army-Navy 1

Citrus Hill 8, Indio 2

Cornerstone Christian 10, California Lutheran 0

Corona Centennial 6, Aquinas 3

Cypress 7, Damien 2

Desert Mirage 13, Packinghouse Christian 2

Downey Calvary Chapel 11, Southlands Christian 4

Duarte 4, Sierra Vista 3

Foothill Tech 8, Channel Islands 1

Ganesha 4, Garden Grove Pacifica 1

Glendora 13, Portola 4

Jurupa Valley 16, Adelanto 5

Kaiser 5, Temescal Canyon 4

Linfield Christian 8, Anaheim Canyon 6

Littlerock 4, Vasquez 4

Magnolia 7, Los Amigos 1

Montclair 8, Baldwin Park 5

Newbury Park 10, Thousand Oaks 9

Norco 10, Riverside King 0

Northwood 2, Chico 1

Paraclete 3, Castaic 2

Rancho Christian 11, Hemet 0

Rancho Mirage 11, Xavier Prep 1

San Jacinto Valley Academy 5, Temecula Prep 4

San Marino 5, Montebello 0

Santa Ana Foothill 7, Charter Oak 3

Santa Barbara 5, Eastvale Roosevelt 4

Santa Fe 7, Orange 1

Santa Margarita 1, Mayer Dei 0

Savanna 13, Garden Grove Santiago 0

Servite 5, JSerra 4

Shadow Hills 6, Palm Springs 3

Shalhevet 12, Valley Torah 0

Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 7, Corona Santiago 4

St. Paul 10, Irvine 1

Temecula Valley 3, Yorba Linda 0

Tustin 5, Woodbridge 1

West Covina 10, Edgewood 3

Westlake 11, Oaks Christian 5

Westminster 11, Godinez 2

Whitney 4, St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy 3

INTERSECTIONAL

Alhambra 2, Berkeley St. Mary’s 0

Bell 9, Escondido 1

Brentwood 16, Crawford 1

Calabasas 9, Stockton Lincoln 2

Campbell Hall 9, Arleta 1

Castle Park 6, Verdugo Hills 5

Chatsworth 11, Golden Valley 8

Chula Vista Mater Dei 15, LA Roosevelt 4

Concord De La Salle 6, Bishop Amat 0

Corona 12, Chicago Mt. Carmel 2

Fallbrook 13, South Pasadena 3

La Palma Kennedy 15, El Cajon Valley 2

Las Vegas Southeast Career Tech 3, Sun Valley Poly 1

Legacy 13, San Francisco Washington 1

Loyalton 13, Portola 2

Moorpark 5, Oceanside 0

Mountain Ridge 1, Villa Park 0

Palo Verde Valley 4, North Hollywood 3

Phoenix Brophy College Prep 14, Arrowhead Christian 13

Ramona 3, Calexico 2

Santa Maria 10, San Luis Obispo Classical Academy 0

South Hills 4, Poway 1

Tucson Salpointe Catholic 10, St. Bernard 0

Whitney 4, St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy 3

Wilmington Banning 6, Durango 1

Windward 10, Kearny 0

SOFTBALL

SOUTHERN SECTION

Baldwin Park 21, Gabrielino 9

Calabasas 13, Channel Islands 8

Cornerstone Christian 12, California Lutheran 8

Long Beach Poly 21, Long Beach Cabrillo 1

Los Amigos 10, Santa Ana Valley 0

Mayfair 7, Norwalk 3

Millikan 17, Long Beach Jordan 0

Newbury Park 12, Oxnard Pacifica 7

Rancho Cucamonga 10, Temescal Canyon 4

Redondo Union 4, El Segundo 3

Shadow Hills 12, Palm Springs 0

Sierra Vista 2, Duarte 0

St. Paul 8, La Serna 4

Temecula Prep 13, San Jacinto Valley Academy 0

Western Christian 12, Claremont 11

Wiseburn-Da Vinci 10, Bishop Montgomery 7

Yorba Linda 16, Placentia Valencia 0

INTERSECTIONAL

Alhambra 15, Rancho Cotate

Atascadero 8, Corcoran 7

Chico 8, Durham 5

Lompoc 5, Mission College Prep 4

Santa Maria St. Joseph 11, Arroyo Grande 1

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell. The Dodgers are on pace to finish 162-0! That might be a record.

Some random thoughts after an opening three-game sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

—It is apparent that the Dodgers will never be out of almost any game. They’re 3-0, and they trailed in all three games.

—Opening day is always fun, filled with pomp and circumstance.

—However, having the starting lineup on opening day come in from center field, walk up a stage and back down it, was a bit much. Even the players seemed somewhat embarrassed, and I was just waiting for someone to turn an ankle on the stairs.

—Shohei Ohtani is hitting only .125. He is so overpaid.

—Clayton Kershaw did really well as an analyst. He seemed to know a lot about the Dodgers. I wonder how?

—Bob Costas told Kershaw he had permission to leave in a few minutes for the ring ceremony. Way to do your homework there, Bob. The ring ceremony was the next day.

—Kershaw sat in the stands next to the dugout during the game. Sitting across the aisle from him was Magic Johnson. Two of the greatest sports legends in L.A. history. We have an embarrassment of riches here.

—Alex Freeland certainly showed why he belongs on the roster. Meanwhile, in Oklahoma City, Hyeseong Kim went five for five on Saturday.

—It took all the way until the second inning of the second game of the season to get an email from a reader concerned about the team. “They don’t look ready!”

—Will Smith comes through on Will Smith bobblehead night. You can’t write it any better than that.

—OK, the Timmy Trumpet entrance by Edwin Díaz is really cool. If you haven’t seen it, you can here.

—That brings me a to quick poll. Which Dodgers closer had the best entrance?

—Eric Gagne, “Welcome to the Jungle” by Guns N’ Roses
—Kenley Jansen, “California Love” by Tupac Shakur
—Edwin Díaz, “Narco” by Blasterjaxx and Timmy Trumpet

Click here to vote in our poll.

—Remember in the last newsletter when we talked about Will Klein perhaps reaching a new level after his Game 3 performance last season? Well, he has pitched two scoreless innings and has a win.

—The first three batters in the lineup are hitting below .200, but the Dodgers are 3-0. A good sign.

—If you believe social media, there were apparently a lot of fights in the stands in the opening homestand. I can’t speak as to this season yet, but in the past it has always been ridiculously easy to get around their beer limitation policies. And alcohol has been a prime factor in every fight I’ve ever seen there.

—What a bizarre schedule. Games on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, but no game on Sunday.

—Take a look at the very, very early NL West standings. Maybe the experts were right about everyone except the Dodgers finishing with a losing record.

Dodgers, 3-0
San Diego, 1-2
Arizona, 0-3
Colorado, 0-3
San Francisco, 0-3

—The Dodgers’ magic number is 158. Too soon?

—There are only 159 games left to go in the season.

Meet Maddie Lee

Jack Harris, our former Dodgers beat writer, has left us to become a Tibetan monk (at least, that’s what I’ve heard). We have a new Dodgers beat writer this season: Maddie Lee, who spent the last few years covering the Chicago Cubs. Here’s a Q&A with her:

Q. Welcome to The Times. What was the road that led you here?

Lee: Thank you. It was a pretty winding road, to be honest. I grew up in Seattle, played Division III softball in Portland, and have covered everything from high school football, to MLS, to the NBA. But the last six years I’ve been a Cubs beat writer, first for NBC Sports Chicago and then for the Chicago Sun-Times.

Q. We will just jump right into the fire: Roki Sasaki. He looks lost at times. Is he really the best pick for the rotation?

Lee: Sasaki’s spring performance rightfully made him a controversial pick. And if his first regular-season start goes the same way, we could very well see Justin Wrobleski coming in to pitch multiple innings behind him. But with Sasaki’s record in Japan, and even last year, the Dodgers are hoping that pitching in games that matter will help him snap into compete mode and pull out a better version than we’ve seen so far. And if that doesn’t happen, they may have to reevaluate.

Q. You covered the Cubs for a bit. Have you detected any big differences in the way the teams do things? Which team has the best press box?

Lee: I haven’t been around the Dodgers enough yet to give a fair comparison between the organizations. But I’ve spent plenty of time in both press boxes. The Wrigley Field press box is roomier, but this time of year it’s also usually freezing.

Q. Why Alex Freeland and not Hyeseong Kim?

Lee: This was another decision that wasn’t rooted in spring performance. The Dodgers thought Kim could get value going to triple A, where he could get his swing and plate discipline back on track with regular at-bats, while also playing multiple positions. On the other hand, they saw a greater development opportunity for Freeland in the majors, where he’d be tested against a higher caliber of pitching. And it’s not a long-term decision. Kim is expected to make an impact on the major-league roster this year. And when Tommy Edman is ready to return from the IL, the Dodgers will have to clear a spot on the active roster for him.

Q. For many of our readers, covering the Dodgers sounds like a dream job. But there’s travel, little free time, not to mention the fact you have to try and find somewhere to live and move all your belongings. What do you do in your little free time to stay sane?

Lee: Let me be clear, it’s definitely a dream job. That will never be lost on me.

Also, what’s this free time you speak of?

Just kidding, most of my time away from the ballpark is spent with my dog, who loves beach walks and hikes.

Q. I understand you once had Tommy John surgery! What was that recovery like, and can you still touch 100 on the radar?

Lee: I had TJ between my freshman and sophomore year in college. I also got nerve damage from the operation, which added a bit of a wrinkle to the recovery, but I played all four years. I was a catcher and luckily my biggest strength was my softball IQ, not any physical gifts. What a shock that I would end up in the press box rather than on the field.

Q. Lastly, some Dodger fans aren’t satisfied unless the Dodgers build a 20-game lead in April and then slowly pull away. Do you have a prediction for how many games they will win this season?

Lee: I like using PECOTA projections as a jumping off point. They have the Dodgers at 103 wins, which would be a big improvement from their 93-win season last year. But the Dodgers obviously dealt with the injury bug last year and underperformed in the regular season. And, of course, Kyle Tucker and Edwin Díaz were big offseason additions. So, 103 wins feels attainable. I’ll go with 100.

The new rings are here

A detailed look at the inside of the Dodgers’ 2025 World Series championship ring.

(The Champions Collective)

The Dodgers gave out World Series rings on Friday. The diamond- and sapphire-encrusted rings include engravings of the 2024 and 2025 trophies on both the outside and inside of the ring.

The L.A. logo is made up of 17 custom-cut blue sapphires, one for every postseason game the Dodgers played last year.

On the underside side of the ring, the four playoff series are listed, along with “11.01.25,” the date of Game 7 of the World Series.

A detailed look at the inside of the Dodgers’ 2025 World Series championship ring.

(The Champions Collective)

The ring top holds dirt collected from home plate during Game 7, visible through a glass window when the ring is opened. Inside the ring sits a band that’s also set with sapphires and a diamond.

The total attendance figure for the 2025 season (4,012,470) gleams in blue on the bottom of the ring. Each player’s ring is also personalized with his signature, last name and number.

Up next

Monday: Cleveland (*-Parker Messick) at Dodgers (Roki Sasaki), 7:10 p.m., Sportsnet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

Tuesday: Cleveland (TBA) at Dodgers (Shohei Ohtani), 7:10 p.m., Sportsnet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

Wednesday: Cleveland (Gavin Williams) at Dodgers (Yoshinobu Yamamoto), 5:20 p.m., Sportsnet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

*-left-handed

In case you missed it

Will Smith’s big birthday blast powers Dodgers to season-opening sweep of Arizona

Alex Freeland shows why he made Dodgers’ roster in victory over Diamondbacks

The Dodgers received their 2025 World Series rings. What do they look like?

Swanson: Dodgers’ Andy Pages proves he’s primed for a potential breakout season

Plaschke: Seeing double: Dodgers celebrate titles on a sparkling opening day

Miguel Rojas cherishes final opening day as ‘Uncle Miggy’ in Dodgers’ win over Arizona

Shaikin: Dodgers owner Mark Walter: ‘We’ve got to have some parity’

The Sights and Sounds of 2026 Dodgers Opening Day

The Dodgers are boring. And that is good.

Dodgers Debate: The road to a three-peat

Dodgers’ opening week will celebrate 2025 World Series, but also set the tone for 2026

Shaikin: The signs say Uniqlo Field. You will continue to say Dodger Stadium

And finally

Edwin Díaz comes in from the bullpen for a save. Watch and listen here.

Until next time….

Have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future Dodgers newsletter? Email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

A look at The Times’ top 25 high school baseball rankings for the Southland after the sixth week of the season:

Rk. School (Rec.); Comment; ranking last week

1. ORANGE LUTHERAN (7-1): Gary Morse had 16-strikeout performance; 4

2. ST. JOHN BOSCO (9-2): Three-game series with Orange Lutheran this week; 1

3. NORCO (10-1): Three-game series with King; 5

4. CORONA (9-1): Two home runs from Anthony Murphy; 3

5. SHERMAN OAKS NOTRE DAME (12-1): 12-game winning streak ends; 2

6. HARVARD-WESTLAKE (10-4): Two home runs in North Carolina for Jake Kim; 6

7. HUNTINGTON BEACH (8-2-1): Dane Cunningham is hitting .458; 7

8. LA MIRADA (11-3): Three-game sweep of Gahr; 17

9. SIERRA CANYON (12-3): 5-2 record in Mission League 9

10. ROYAL (11-1): Dustin Dunwoody is 5-0 with 50 strikeouts in 27 2/3 innings and 0.00 ERA; 10

11. AQUINAS (6-2): 13 hits in eight games for Johnny Tena; 11

12. BISHOP ALEMANY (9-4): Warriors finally at full strength; 13

13. AYALA (10-1): Big series with Bonita this week; 18

14. CYPRESS (9-3): 2-0 start in tough Crestview League; 16

15. OAKS CHRISTIAN (10-3): Dane Disney, Carson Sheffer eah have 18 hits; 14

16. SOUTH HILLS (12-2): Took two of three from San Dimas; 15

17. SERVITE (9-4): Took two of three games from Santa Margarita; 24

18. SANTA MARGARITA (12-4): Three-game series with Mater Dei; 12

19. THOUSAND OAKS (12-1): Jake Ange hit two grand slams vs. Calabasas; 20

20. NEWPORT HARBOR (12-2): Big Sunset League series vs. Los Alamitos; 21

21. GANESHA (8-0): Wins over Foothill, Mission Viejo; NR

22. SOUTH TORRANCE (11-1): Headed to San Diego for tournament; 22

23 CORONA SANTIAGO (10-5): Put up strong fight vs. Corona; 25

24. EL DORADO (8-6): Hosting National Classic this week 19

25. GAHR (5-7): Tough schedule taking toll; 8

BASEBALL

CITY SECTION

Palisades 2, North Hollywood 1

South Gate 5, Sun Valley Poly 4

SOUTHERN SECTION

Alta Loma 5, Schurr 3

Anaheim Canyon 6, Segerstrom 4

Beaumont 13, San Jacinto Valley Academy 3

Bethel Christian 15, United Christian Academy 1

Brea Olinda 8, Tustin 2

Buena Park 5, Savanna 3

Cajon 9, Granite Hills 5

Claremont 13, Littlerock 2

Compton 12, Compton Centennial 3

Covina 9, San Marino 6

El Segundo 13, Palos Verdes 4

Ganesha 13, Santa Ana Foothill 3

Golden Valley 9, Lancaster 8

Hesperia 8, Miller 7

Katella 6, Canyon Springs 3

La Serna 5, Alhambra 2

Linfield Christian 10, Woodbridge 0

Long Beach Cabrillo 17, Hawthorne 1

Montclair 2, Vista del Lago 0

Moorpark 16, Foothill Tech 11

Oxford Academy 7, Century 6

Rancho Mirage 1, Indian Springs 0

Rancho Verde 9, Riverside Poly 5

San Dimas 13, Irvine 2

Santa Monica Pacifica Christian 14, HMSA 11

Sonora 7, Long Beach Wilson 6

St. Paul 5, El Modena 3

Troy 5, Hacienda Heights Wilson 2

Valley View 16, Carter 10

Whittier Christian 9, Estancia 3

INTERSECTIONAL

Dominguez 13, King/Drew 2

Downers Grove 11, Santa Ana Calvary Chapel

Downtown Magnets 12, Long Beach Jordan 5

Inglewood 10, Stella 0

Layton 5, Schurr 4

Kentucky Trinity 5, St. John Bosco 0

Murrieta Valley 10, Galena 7

Orange Lutheran 7, Florida Venice 6

Santa Barbara 14, Douglas 6

Santa Monica Pacifica Christian 16, Collins Family 1

St. Bernard 7, San Diego University City 5

Tonopah 23, Lone Pine 8

SOFTBALL

CITY SECTION

San Fernando 5, LA Roosevelt 3

San Pedro 11, Legacy 1

Sun Valley Poly 8, LA Roosevelt 2

SOUTHERN SECTION

Alemany 9, Canyon Country Canyon 1

Burbank Burroughs 2, Rosary Academy 1

California 16, Whittier Christian 13

California 7, San Clemente 1

Camarillo 4, Chaminade 3

Camarillo 18, Rio Mesa 0

Capistrano Valley 9, Beckman 3

Chino Hills 15, Chino 3

Corona 10, Ridgecrest Burroughs 0

Crean Lutheran 11, Avalon 2

Crean Lutheran 13, Avalon 2

Edison 7, Crescenta Valley 5

Edison 2, Vasquez 1

Irvine 7, Long Beach Wilson 5

JSerra 2, Capistrano Valley 1

Leuzinger 11, Hawthorne 0

Marina 2, Los Alamitos 1

Mater Dei 10, Redondo Union 0

Mira Costa 9, Newport Harbor 3

Palos Verdes 2, Los Altos 1

Paraclete 11, Saugus 1

Rancho Mirage 14, Cathedral City 6

Rosary Academy 7, Fountain Valley 2

San Clemente 7, Whittier Christian 2

Simi Valley 7, West Ranch 1

Simi Valley 5, St. Bonaventure 5

St. Genevieve 7, Sacred Heart of Jesus 4

St. Paul 6, Warren 2

St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy d. Hoover, forfeit

Thousand Oaks 8, Rio Mesa 0

United Christian Academy 13, Bethel Christian 5

Vasquez 4, Woodbridge 0

Warren 5, La Serna 0

Westlake 4, St. Bonaventure 2

Westlake 0, Chaminade 0

Westlake 4, St. Bonaventure 2

West Ranch 10, Thousand Oaks 4

West Torrance 6, Hart 0

INTERSECTIONAL

Alemany 11, Arleta 1

Arleta 10, Canyon Country Canyon 8

Downey 6, Legacy 0

Downey 10, San Pedro 0

Granada Hills 8, La Serna 5

Muir 8, San Fernando 4

Muir 12, Sun Valley Poly 3

San Luis Obispo 7, Torres 6

St. Paul 8, Granada Hills 4

This week began with Orange Lutheran having played in only four baseball games while others had played in 10 or more. The Lancers were saving their best to come and it certainly showed when they won four consecutive games to capture the National High School Invitational on Saturday in Cary, N.C.

After needing consecutive walk-off hits to win in the quarterfinals and semifinals, Orange Lutheran (7-1) had more nerve-racking moments before knocking off defending champion Venice (Fla.) 7-6. In the bottom of the seventh, Venice put two runners on with two outs before Anthony Tomminelli got a strikeout to secure the win.

Orange Lutheran started fast with a two-run triple by CJ Weinstein in the first inning. Eric Zdunek finished with two hits and two RBIs while Brady Murrietta added two hits. The Lancers have about 24 hours to celebrate because next week they face St. John Bosco in a critical three-game series in the Trinity League.

Harvard-Westlake 10, Arizona Casteel 8: Jake Kim flexed his muscles for the second consecutive game, hitting a home run and double to finish with three RBIs. Ethan Price had a two-run double. Freshman Nate Englander had two hits and three RBIs.

Jacksonville (Fla.) Trinity Christian 5, St. John Bosco 0: The Braves return home from North Carolina with a 9-2 record and set to face Orange Lutheran this week in a three-game Trinity League series. Jack Champlin had two hits in the loss.

Aquinas 4, Gloucester 0: Eli Martinez threw the shutout with seven strikeouts.

Friday’s Results

BASEBALL

SOUTHERN SECTION

AAE 14, Silver Valley 0

Alhambra 4, Bell Gardens 1

Arcadia 5, Pasadena 0

Arlington 6, Heritage 2

Ayala 9, Glendora 2

Baldwin Park 6, Duarte 5

Banning 9, Desert Hot Springs 0

Bishop Amat 3, St. Bernard 0

Buena 9, Ventura 7

Buena Park 5, Segerstrom 4

Burbank Burroughs 6, Muir 2

Camarillo 4, Moorpark 2

Cantwell-Sacred Heart 10, Bosco Tech 0

Canyon Springs 17, Perris 0

Capistrano Valley 5, El Toro 4

Castaic 2, Golden Valley 1

Cerritos 5, Artesia 1

Citrus Hill 2, Lakeside 0

Compton 3, Long Beach Jordan 2

Cornerstone Christian 11, Packinghouse Christian 0

Corona 8, Corona Santiago 3

Costa Mesa 7, Laguna Hills 1

Crespi 3, Hart 1

Cypress 5, Santa Ana Foothill 3

Desert Christian Academy 8, San Jacinto Leadership 2

Diamond Bar 6, Garey 0

Downey 5, Claremont 1

Downey Calvary Chapel 15, Fairmont Prep 1

Edgewood 15, Bassett 0

El Segundo 21, South Torrance 2

Estancia 8, Westminster La Quinta 0

Firebaugh 8, Lynwood 3

Fountain Valley 1, Corona Del Mar 0

Fullerton 7, Ocean View 4

Garden Grove 11, Westminster 4

Garden Grove Santiago 15, Santa Ana Valley 12

Glenn 14, Whitney 0

Grace 12, Cate 3

Great Oak 7, Vista Murrieta 7

Hesperia 10, Serrano 3

Hillcrest 3, Orange Vista 2

La Habra 5, El Dorado 4

Lakewood 3, Long Beach Wilson 2

La Mirada 5, Gahr 3

La Salle 4, Gardena Serra 0

Los Alamitos 2, Marina 0

Los Amigos 2, Western 1

Lucerne Valley 14, Victor Valley Christian 3

Malibu 9, Nordhoff 0

Maranatha 12, Heritage Christian 0

Millikan 7, Long Beach Poly 0

Mira Costa 6, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 2

Monrovia 4, La Canada 1

Montebello 10, Mark Keppel 0

Murrieta Mesa 15, Murrieta Valley 2

Newbury Park 7, Oaks Christian 6

Newport Harbor 2, Edison 1

Nogales 17, Azusa 5

Norco 10, Bonita 0

Oak Hills 16, Apple Valley 7

Orange 13, Saddleback 1

Oxnard 5, Santa Barbara 3

Palm Springs 20, Glendale 0

Paloma Valley 7, Liberty 2

Palos Verdes 6, West Torrance 1

Paraclete 12, St, Anthony 2

Paramount 14, Dominguez 0

Pasadena Marshall 14, Mountain View 4

Placentia Valencia 14, Godinez 0

Pomona 15, La Puente 5

Rancho Christian 11, Valley View 4

Rancho Verde 12, Hemet 2

Redlands East Valley 8, Kaiser 1

Redondo Union 3, Torrance 2

Ridgecrest Burroughs 13, Sultana 8

Rim of the World 5, Excelsior Charter 3

Rio Mesa 2, Oxnard Pacifica 0

Riverside Poly 9, Moreno Valley 2

Rosemead 27, El Monte 0

Rowland 7, Montclair 2

Royal 17, Oak Park 0

San Juan Hills 3, Mission Viejo 1

San Marcos 6, Dos Pueblos 3

Santa Monica Pacifica Christian 8, Animo Leadership 0

Santa Paula 12, Channel Islands 1

Servite 5, Santa Margarita 4

Shalhevet 16, Valley Torah 3

South El Monte 3, Gabrielino 1

South Pasadena 4, West Covina 3

St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy 11, Verbum Dei 1

Sunny Hills 4, Troy 3

Temecula Valley 8, Chaparral 3

Tesoro 3, Aliso Niguel 3

Thousand Oaks 16, Calabasas 4

Trabuco Hills 11, San Clemente 4

Valencia 15, Saugus 3

Valley Christian 12, Village Christian 1

Westlake 2, Agoura 1

West Ranch 7, Canyon Country Canyon 5

Whittier 8, Pioneer 4

Yorba Linda 14, Esperanza 5

INTERSECTIONAL

Capistrano Valley Christian 14, Layton 9

Douglas 6, Citrus Valley 5

Garfield 4, La Serna 3

Grand Terrace 6, Douglas 4

Orange Lutheran 2, Casteel 1

Sierra Canyon 10, Granada Hills 2

St. John Bosco 11, Trinity Classical Academy 6

Viewpoint 10, Monroe 0

Wilsonville 2, Katella 1

SOFTBALL

SOUTHERN SECTION

Bolsa Grande 15, Westminster La Quinta 8

Cathedral City 25, Desert Mirage 7

Colony 1, Ontario 0

Dos Pueblos 8, San Marcos 0

Edgewood 16, Bassett 0

El Monte 10, Rosemead 0

Estancia 2, Saddleback 0

Garden Grove Santiago 10, Los Amigos 9

Mira Costa 10, Peninsula 6

Nogales 19, Baldwin Park 7

Orange Lutheran 11, Mater Dei 1

Paloma Valley 22, Moreno Valley 2

Rancho Alamitos 6, Orange 1

San Marino 19, Immaculate Heart 0

Santa Ana 8, Godinez 0

Santa Margarita 1, JSerra 0

Segerstrom 6, Placentia Valencia 0

South Torrance 15, Bishop Montgomery 1

Ventura 8, Buena 7

Villa Park 12, Don Lugo 2

Vista del Lago 25, Perris 6

One month into the high school baseball season, it’s clear that junior third baseman and relief pitcher Troy Randall of Corona Santiago is headed to standout status.

So far, he’s batting .444 with 20 hits and only two strikeouts in 45 at-bats. As a pitcher, he’s given up no earned runs in eight innings with 13 strikeouts.

“He’s just been maturing,” coach Ty De Trinidad said.

Randall showed up as a 6-foot freshman and played junior varsity. Now he’s 6-2 and healthy after a broken foot last year interrupted his first season on varsity.

He made two terrific defensive plays on Wednesday in a loss to Corona and also had two hits.

His development has been important for Santiago, which is 10-3.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.

Thursday’s Results

BASEBALL

CITY SECTION

Central City Value 14, Rise Kohyang 3

Chatsworth 6, Taft 3

Downtown Magnets 14, Collins Family 4

Granada Hills 4, El Camino Real 3

Harbor Teacher 2, Fremont 1

LA University 10, Palisades 2

Maywood CES 23, Elizabeth 0

Port of LA 7, King/Drew 0

South East 6, Legacy 4

South Gate 6, LA Roosevelt 0

Sun Valley Magnet 16, Valley Oaks CES 0

Sun Valley Poly 4, San Fernando 2

Sylmar 13, North Hollywood 3

Torres 13, Maywood Academy 0

Verdugo Hills 15, Granada Hills Kennedy 1

Westchester 8, LA Hamilton 7

SOUTHERN SECTION

Adelanto 5, Victor Valley 4

Alta Loma 10, Colony 5

Anza Hamilton 6, Bethel Christian 2

Barstow 3, Silverado 2

Beverly Hills 12, Lawndale 2

Burbank Providence 10, de Toledo 0

Chino 7, Ontario 6

Chino Hills 6, Bonita 4

Classical Academy 3, Fallbrook 2

Diamond Ranch 4, Montclair 1

Don Lugo 10, Chaffey 6

Fontana 10, Colton 0

Great Oak 10, Vista Murrieta 9

Hawthorne 14, Comtpon Centennial 3

Heritage Christian 5, Maranatha 4

Irvine University3, Sage Hill 2

Laguna Beach 19, St. Margaret’s 2

Loara 10, Anaheim 1

Murrieta Mesa 17, Murrieta Valley 5

Norte Vista 3, West Valley 1

Nuview Bridge 16, California Military 0

Oaks Christian 11, Newbury Park 2

Oakwood 6, Milken 2

Orange Lutheran 3, Trinity Classical Academy 2

Portola 7, Northwood 4

Redlands 14, Carter 3

Rio Hondo Prep 10, Webb 1

Rio Mesa 9, Foothill Tech 0

Riverside Prep 3, Rialto 2

Rosamond 12, Frazier Mountain 2

San Dimas 4, South Hills 1

San Jacinto Valley Christian 22, SJDLCS 0

Santa Ana Calvary Chapel 2, Tustin 0

Shalhevet 6, Environmental Charter 1

Southlands Christian 11, Legacy College Prep 1

St. Bonaventure 21, Thacher 4

St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy 8, Glendale 1

Temecula Valley 5, Chaparral 0

Thousand Oaks 7, Calabasas 5

United Christian Academy 20, California Lutheran 4

Valley Christian 9, Village Christian 4

Vasquez 6, Desert Christian 2

Westlake 9, Agoura 4

Whittier Christian 18, Whittier 1

INTERSECTIONAL

Animo Leadership 12, Compton Early College 7

Casteel 3, St. John Bosco 2

Central Catholic 6, Highland 1

Ida B. Wells 6, Grand Terrace 5

Jesuit 4, Aquinas 3

Layton 6, Northview 5

Quartz Hill 12, Brighton 7

Sacramento Grant 7, La Palma Kennedy 6

Sacramento Grant 7, Eastvale Roosevelt 5

Venice 12, Harvard-Westlake 0

SOFTBALL

CITY SECTION

Arleta 3, LA Marshall 0

Carson 10, San Pedro 0

El Camino Real 16, LA University 3

Garfield 14, Huntington Park 1

Jefferson 16, Diego Rivera 15

LACES 26, Fairfax 2

LA Hamilton 13, Palisades 9

Legacy 9, South East 2

Mendez 22, Belmont 15

Northridge Academy 19, East Valley 2

Panorama 22, Grant 21

Port of LA 19, Locke 2

Rancho Dominguez 16, Gardena 3

SOCES 25, Vaughn 6

Venice 21, Westchester 0

Wilmington Banning 22, Narbonne 0

SOUTHERN SECTION

Arcadia 16, Burbank 0

Alhambra 12, Montebello 2

Aliso Niguel 7, Mission Viejo 1

Anza Hamilton 6, Bethel Christian 2

Bonita 14, Rancho Cucamonga 2

Burbank Burroughs 18, Pasadena 0

California Military 13, Nuview Bridge 3

Camarillo 8, Moorpark 4

Canyon Country Canyon 18, Golden Valley 4

Capistrano Valley 10, Tesoro 7

Chaminade 15, Louisville 2

Chino 12, Ontario 1

Claremont 6, Ontario Christian 4

Colton 12, Citrus Hill 1

Costa Mesa 16, Downey Calvary Chapel 5

Crean Lutheran 30, Troy 7

Diamond Ranch 12, Montclair 8

Don Lugo 12, Chaffey 2

Downey 7, Gahr 6

Etiwanda 11, Corona Centennial 4

Fillmore 14, Hueneme 2

Garden Grove Pacifica 2, Cypress 1

Great Oak 11, Murrieta Valley 7

Hacienda Heights Wilson 7, Southlands Christian 4

Huntington Beach 6, El Modena 2

Irvine 4, Woodbridge 3

La Habra 11, Anaheim Canyon 9

Lakewood 12, Compton 0

Lakewood St. Joseph 6, Bishop Amat 3

La Salle 10, Cantwell-Sacred Heart 0

Lawndale 15, Beverly Hills 11

Lennox Academy 26, Glenn 24

Los Alamitos 10, Edison 3

Los Altos 8, San Dimas 1

Maranatha 12, Mayfield 1

Marina 12, Corona del Mar 0

Mark Keppel 13, San Gabriel 1

Millikan 9, Long Beach Wilson 9

Murrieta Mesa 15, Chaparral 0

Newbury Park 14, Calabasas 0

Newport Harbor 10, Fountain Valley 6

Northwood 10, Irvine University 1

Norwalk 11, Bellflower 1

Paraclete 5, Tehachapi 5

Paramount 18, Lynwood 0

Ramona Convent 25, St. Anthony 0

Rio Hondo Prep 2, Flintridge Sacred Heart 1

Riverside Prep 11, Oak Hills 6

Rosamond 23, Frazier Mountain 13

Rosary Academy 19, Portola 0

San Juan Hills 2, El Toro 1

Santa Ana Foothill 10, Sunny Hills 5

Santa Monica 20, Leuzinger 3

Santa Paula 16, Channel Islands 1

Saugus 5, Hart 1

Schurr 10, Bell Gardens 0

Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 10, Sierra Canyon 0

Silverado 9, Barstow 2

Sonora 5, El Dorado 3

South Hills 12, Colony 1

St. Bernard 28, St. Mary’s Academy 27

St. Bonaventure 11, Santa Clara 3

St. Paul 12, Bishop Montgomery 1

Temescal Canyon 8, San Jacinto 0

Trabuco Hills 12, Beckman 6

Valley Christian 11, Village Christian 0

Valley View 8, Citrus Valley 1

Victor Valley 7, Adelanto 4

Westlake 4, Thousand Oaks 3

West Ranch 16, Valencia 6

West Valley 15, Tahquitz 5

Yorba Linda 7, Brea Olinda 6

INTERSECTIONAL

Castaic 13, Cleveland 5

Environmental Charter 39, HMSA 20

San Dieguito Academy 14, Fallbrook 0

San Marino 19, Dymally 0

In a quiet moment before the pomp and circumstance of opening day, Dodgers second baseman Miguel Rojas learned he’d be starting in the final season opener of his long career.

He was on the bench for the Freeway Series finale at Dodger Stadium earlier this week, when manager Dave Roberts came over to check in and give Rojas the news.

“I didn’t know if, ‘Thank you’ was the right thing to say because it’s something I earned,” Rojas recounted before the Dodgers’ 8-2 win Thursday against the Diamondbacks. “It’s not something that I asked for as a favor. So I was just kind of speechless.”

Rojas embraced Roberts.

“It was a gift to myself because of all the hard work and the preparation I put in throughout my whole career,” Rojas said. “This way is the best way possible because I got up to the big leagues as a utility defensive replacement who can play shortstop but couldn’t really hit much.”

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Rojas, who intends to retire after this year, wrapped up his final opening day as a starter.

Opening day is a celebration across baseball. But the Dodgers made it a full production. The pregame program Thursday included roster-introduction pyrotechnics, along with a stage and blue carpet set up in center field.

It was also a time to commemorate the 2025 World Series, raising the banner and revealing the new sign marking the organization’s ninth title.

Rojas rode onto the field perched atop a metallic blue convertible, hoisting the 2025 World Series trophy over his head. To his left sat Freddie Freeman, holding the 2024 trophy. Will Ferrell sat in the driver’s seat.

“It’s here,” Rojas said Thursday afternoon. “This is my last chance to play baseball with an amazing group of guys.”

A spot in the starting lineup hadn’t been guaranteed for the 2025 World Series hero. The Diamondbacks started right-hander Zac Gallen. And throughout the year, Rojas will generally play second base against left-handers, platooning with Alex Freeland to begin the year and eventually Tommy Edman when he returns from the 10-day injured list.

“This means a lot to him, his family and to the Dodger fans,” Roberts said. “And also, most importantly, I think he’s a great option for today. All in, it was the right decision.”

Rojas’ final opening day — he’s lined up to transition into a player development role with the Dodgers next year — was a well-rounded game for the Dodgers.

A marquee pitching matchup between Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Gallen produced a scoreless first three innings. The Diamondbacks broke through first, with Geraldo Perdomo roping a two-run homer off Yamamoto in the fourth inning.

The Dodgers hadn’t recorded a hit since Shohei Ohtani’s leadoff single. But in the fifth, they finally got to Gallen, and batted through the order.

Max Muncy and Teoscar Hernández kicked off the rally with back-to-back groundball singles. Then Andy Pages launched a go-ahead home run into the left-field seats.

Rojas, dropping a single into shallow center field, and Ohtani, drawing a walk, held on the pressure. And the Diamondbacks pulled Gallen for right-hander Juan Morillo.

How the Dodgers celebrated their World Series title ahead of season opener.

The Dodgers tacked on one more run, as Rojas raced home on Will Smith’s single up the first-base line, before Morillo finally escaped a bases-loaded jam.

The next inning, Yamamoto slammed the door shut against the top of the order with a pair of groundouts to Rojas and a strikeout, Yamamoto’s sixth. He retired nine straight batters after Perdomo’s homer.

That would end Yamamoto’s night at six innings.

The Dodgers continued piling on against the Diamondbacks’ bullpen. A four-run rally in the seventh inning featured Kyle Tucker’s first hit as a Dodger, an RBI double and a two-run shot from Smith. The Dodgers’ bullpen held the D-backs scoreless the rest of the way.

After reliever Tanner Scott forced a fly out to shortstop Mookie Betts to end the game, Rojas pointed two fingers to the sky and then joined his teammates in the handshake line.

Rojas held his emotions at bay through spring training, immersing himself in the daily work. But opening day made it more real.

“Baseball is what I remember me doing my whole life,” Rojas said. “I don’t remember myself doing anything else. I know I was a good son, a good brother, a good student. I know that. But I don’t remember myself doing that. I remember myself playing baseball, preparing for a baseball game, working out to be a professional baseball player. Then when I was in the minors I remember myself working really hard to get to the big leagues and then working really hard to be an every-day player. It goes on and on.”

Until it doesn’t.

Future Hall of famer Clayton Kershaw knows what that’s like. Venturing into retirement a year ahead of Rojas, Kershaw was on NBC’s broadcast Thursday, sporting a suit on the field before the game.

He commented on Rojas’ tan, and Rojas told Kershaw he’d stolen his look and had been going sleeveless.

“My wife and my kids call him Uncle Kersh because of the joy he had throughout the year,” Rojas said. “He was really happy all year. He wasn’t really caught up in numbers or stats. He was just enjoying his time. I really wish I can do a little bit of what he did last year. I hope I can enjoy it as much as he did last year.

“So I’m going to be Uncle Miggy this year.”

On their way into the clubhouse Thursday, Dodgers players were greeted by the World Series championship trophies they won in 2024 and 2025. In center field, Dodgers fans were greeted by oversize replicas of those trophies, the better for taking a selfie.

On social media, the Dodgers unveiled their Opening Day hype video. These were the first words: “What’s wrong with being the bad guy?” At Dodger Stadium, the threepeat hype video was a movie trailer with this tag line: “Great sequels build legendary trilogies.”

To the rest of that country, all that winning and all that spending makes the Dodgers the bad guys. For more than a year, the owners of other major league teams have telegraphed their desire to restrain all that spending, preferably through a salary cap.

How does the owner of the Dodgers feel?

Does baseball truly have a problem?

Sit down, Dodgers fans. You might expect the owner of the Colorado Rockies to say that revenue disparity among teams is so great that competitive balance has been destroyed, and he did.

You might not expect Dodgers owner Mark Walter to say this:

”Here’s what the problem is: Money helps us win. We can’t win all the time. We’ve got to have some parity,” Walter told me.

“So we’ve got to come up with something that will give us some parity.”

Don’t take this the wrong way: Walter will always want to win. But the owners, Walter included, are increasingly united in the belief that revenue disparity is the primary explanation why a small-market team has not won the World Series in 11 years.

The Dodgers are making more money from Uniqlo in naming rights this season than some teams are making from local television rights and the Dodgers also are making 10 times as much on their SportsNet LA deal.

The Dodgers generated an estimated $850 million in revenue last season, according to Forbes. Their opening day opponent, the Arizona Diamondbacks, generated an estimated $324 million.

If Walter were to support the pursuit of a salary cap, the owners’ vote could be unanimous. For now, negotiations with the players’ union have not started. There is no formal owners’ proposal on the table, so there is nothing for Walter to approve or reject.

“We’ll have to see what it is,” Walter said.

The players’ union does not dispute the revenue disparity. The union believes the owners should solve that issue among themselves, by sharing more revenue and adding incentives for lower-revenue teams that win. The union also believes “competitive balance” is a fig leaf for “cost control that increases owner profits.”

In the NFL, which has a salary cap, either the Kansas City Chiefs or the New England Patriots has played in the AFC championship in each of the last 15 years.

And, even if the Dodgers are the bad guys, they are not bad for business. The Dodgers hold five of the top 12 spots on baseball’s list of best-selling jerseys: Shohei Ohtani at No. 1, Yoshinobu Yamamoto at No. 2, Mookie Betts at No. 5, Freddie Freeman at No. 7 and Kiké Hernandez at No. 12.

The last two World Series, in which the Dodgers beat the New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays, juiced television ratings across the country and around the world. The World Baseball Classic dominated headlines and social media content at what is usually a sleepy time for baseball.

All of that momentum would be at risk if owners shut down the sport in “salary cap or bust” collective bargaining, crossing their fingers that players would surrender as soon as they started missing paychecks next spring.

It is against that backdrop that Dodgers manager Dave Roberts encouraged fans to appreciate this season opener. With potential armageddon looming in negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement, who knows when the next season might actually open?

“I understand that,” Roberts said Thursday, “in the sense of, this is where the CBA is at, as far as the expiration. And I do agree: Enjoy it, because nothing is guaranteed. It’s going to be a great year and I hope everyone pours their spirits and their joy into this season, because it’s going to be a great one. We’ll just figure out where it goes after that.”

And, if it goes haywire after that, the Dodgers inevitably will be blamed.

“That,” Roberts said with a laugh, “seems like it’s always been the case recently.”

What would Walter tell Dodgers fans concerned that what might be in the best interest of baseball might not be in the best interest of the Dodgers?

“I don’t want to hurt us,” Walter said. “We’ll be fine.”

With whatever happens?

“Yeah,” he said. “We’ll be good.”

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell. The long journey to the postseason begins today.

As we embark on the 12th season of this newsletter, there are certain things, like death and taxes, that are guaranteed. Here they are.

—The Dodgers will charge way too much to park in their poorly designed, poorly lit parking lot.

—Shohei Ohtani will have a game where he strikes out 10 and hits multiple home runs. No one will be able to explain how he does this until we learn he was actually sent here by the aliens from “Project Hail Mary.”

—Ohtani will go hitless for three-to-four games in a row and have a bad pitching outing during the same time, leading to some to say he is overpaid.

—Will Smith will catch at least 130 games and be in the conversation for NL MVP.

—The Padres will be better than most are saying and their fans will approach the games with the Dodgers as if it is their World Series.

—The Rockies will be terrible again.

—Teoscar Hernández will continue to struggle as a fielder, but people won’t care as much as his bat will be rejuvenated.

—A pitcher no one has heard of will be signed by the Dodgers off the waiver wire. He will appear in a game and pitch great, maybe even getting the win. The following week, he will be designated for assignment.

—Mookie Betts will win the Gold Glove at short, and while he won’t reach his previous heights at the plate, he will hit better than last season.

—Andy Pages will slump at some point and fans will demand that Ryan Ward, who is hitting .350 with about a million homers in the minors, get a chance. He won’t get a chance and Pages will recover.

—Fans will complain that Joe Davis takes too many games off and isn’t a true Dodger like Vin Scully was, even though Vin took just as many games off for national duties.

—The music at Dodger Stadium will continue to be so loud that even the aliens from “A Quiet Place” will complain. (Editor’s note: Two outer space aliens references in one newsletter. What is wrong with this guy?)

—The most worn former Dodger jersey worn by fans at the stadium will continue to be… Fernando Valenzuela‘s. And it will be for many years to come.

—Max Muncy will look like the worst hitter in baseball for an extended period, then he will hit like Babe Ruth.

—Dalton Rushing will be a decent backup for Smith and will hit well enough that he can spell Freddie Freeman at first base on occasion.

—Freeman will hit .300 again in what will be his last great season at the plate.

—The Dodgers will continue to “give away” games during the season in order to be ready for the postseason. For example, they will allow a reliever to take a beating in a game at the start of long road trip in order to preserve the rest of the bullpen. Some fans will be irate at this, thinking the Dodgers should try to win every game at all costs.

—The Cool-A-Coo will not return to Dodger Stadium and will continue to be missed.

—The Dodgers will continue to call the hot dog they sell a Dodger Dog, even though it tastes nothing like a Farmer John Dodger Dog.

—Only three pitchers will pitch more than 100 innings, but the quality of the staff from top to bottom will be more consistent throughout the season, allowing them to use fewer than 40 pitchers this season.

—Either Blake Treinen or Tanner Scott will continue to pitch poorly, but the Dodgers, again with their eye on the postseason and on how much money they are paying these guys, will continue to trot them out there in hopes they will rebound.

—Some fans will complain about the abhorrent price of going to a Dodger game. They will still go though, and the Dodgers will draw four million, giving them no reason to lower prices.

—Justin Turner will sign a one-day contract with the team and then retire.

—Edwin Díaz will save 30 games and give the bullpen some much-needed stability.

—Kyle Tucker won’t hit as well as hoped, but will be a significant upgrade over Michael Conforto.

—Hyeseong Kim will come up at some point, wow fans with his blazing speed, hit close to .300, and then be sent back down.

—Dave Roberts will have a bad game or two where he makes a decision that seems nonsensical. Some will demand he be fired because “Anyone could manage this team.” Those people will be wrong.

—You will continue to need to subscribe to about a dozen streaming channels to watch all the Dodger games on TV. No one will.

—Yoshinobu Yamamoto will lead the team in victories.

—Organist Dieter Ruehle will continue to find the perfect song for any situation.

—Tyler Glasnow will look unbeatable one start, then get thrown off his next start by a hangnail and pitch like Dave Goltz.

—There will be thrilling victories, agonizing defeats and some boring games. But it will all be worth it as we look around and see all the different types of Dodger fans out there, reminding us that baseball unites us.

—The Dodgers will finish the season 98-64 and cruise to the NL West title. They will not have to play in the wild-card game.

—And that means they will be in the postseason where … anything can happen.

—So, don’t get so worried about the destination that you forget to enjoy the ride.

How many games will the Dodgers win?

We asked, How many games will the Dodgers win this season? After 10,566 responses:

They will win 96-100 games, 46.3%
They will win 101-110 games, 35.5%
They will win 91-95 games, 13.2%
They will set the record by winning more than 116 games, 2.3%
They will win 111-115 games, 1.6%
They will win 86-90 games, 0.9%
They will finish under .500, 0.2%
They will win 81-85 games, one vote

We asked, Will the Dodgers win the World Series this season? After 10,538 responses:

Yes, 79.1%
No, 20.9%

A walking path to Dodger Stadium?

Did you know there is a walking path to Dodger Stadium? There is a one-mile walking path from the Chinatown Metro station to Dodger Stadium. There’s one problem though, to quote Bill Shaikin‘s column on the path: “To go a very short distance safely with a feeling that you’re not going to die is very difficult.”

Read more about this here.

Up next

Thursday: Arizona (Zac Gallen) at Dodgers (Yoshinobu Yamamoto), 5:30 p.m., NBC, Peacock, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

Friday: Arizona (Ryne Nelson) at Dodgers (Emmet Sheehan), 7:10 p.m., Sportsnet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

Saturday: Arizona (*-Eduardo Rodriguez) at Dodgers (Tyler Glasnow), 6:10 p.m., Sportsnet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

*-left-handed

In case you missed it

Dodgers sign right-hander Jake Cousins to one-year deal on eve of opening day

Shaikin: Dodger Walk: A great city needs a walking path to blue heaven. Do it, Frank McCourt

How Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani can put himself in the 2026 NL Cy Young conversation

And finally

Our opening day tradition: Danny Kaye sings the Dodgers song. Watch and listen here.

Until next time….

Have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future Dodgers newsletter? Email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

This is the golden age of baseball in Southern California. The Angels heralded its dawn.

In 2002, the Angels won the World Series, the first of six postseason appearances within eight years. The Dodgers had played pretty good ball for more than a century, but they never had done that.

Angel Stadium was the place to be. The rally monkey was all the rage. The team nurtured a wave of young talent to surround Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero. In 2009, the final year of that run, the Angels drafted future Hall of Famer Mike Trout. In 2011, for the first and only time, the Angels sold more tickets than the Dodgers.

Neither the Angels nor the Dodgers made the playoffs in 2010, 2011, or 2012. Since then, the Dodgers have made 13 consecutive postseason appearances, with three World Series championships to show for it. The Angels have made one, and they did not win a game.

Never — and this includes the Dodgers’ time in bankruptcy court — have the fates of the two Los Angeles franchises been so disparate. In 2026, the Dodgers could win their third consecutive World Series championship, and the Angels could finish in last place for the third consecutive year.

In a story on the Major League Baseball website, two writers ranked the 30 teams on the basis of how likely each team would be to win this year’s World Series. The Dodgers ranked as most likely. The Angels ranked as least likely.

At a time major league owners would like you to believe market size equals destiny, the team with baseball’s longest postseason drought plays in the second-largest market in North America.

Today, however, we come not to bemoan the bad times but celebrate the good times, for the Angels and Dodgers.

The century is a quarter old. So here are our quarter-century teams for both the Angels and Dodgers, based solely on performances for those teams. In a few places, we included a deserving player at a secondary position, if his primary position was fully stocked. Let us know where we got it right, and where we didn’t.

And, while you’re there, you’ll see the story of our golden age in a nutshell. Of the 22 players on the Dodgers’ first and second teams, 11 were on at least one of the World Series championship teams this decade. Of the 22 players on the Angels’ first and second teams, only four played for the Angels this decade.

One was Shohei Ohtani, the first-team designated hitter for both teams.

*We considered how long someone played for the Dodgers or Angels during this century, as well as how well someone played, but we’re making an exception here for two reasons: one, left field has not been a position of strength and depth for the Dodgers; and, two: Manny Ramirez’s two-month “Mannywood” run after the Dodgers traded for him in 2008 was simply astonishing: He played 53 games and drove in 53 runs, batting .396 with 17 home runs and a 1.232 OPS. In the playoffs, he batted .520 in eight games, hitting four home runs and driving in 10 runs, with a 1.747 OPS. The two-month “Mannywood” run was good for 3.5 WAR — the same WAR Freddie Freeman delivered over the entire 2025 season. (And, yes, in May of the following year, Ramirez was suspended for violating baseball’s drug policy.)

Two future high major-league draft picks, Anthony Murphy of Corona and Striker Pence of Corona Santiago, showed off their talents Tuesday. Corona rallied for a 9-7 victory.

Pence, who touched 99 mph, struck out Murphy for one of his six strikeouts in 3 2/3 innings. He left the game with a 3-2 lead. Then Murphy hit a home run off Pence’s replacement, Thomas Padilla, to tie the score. Murphy was on the mound in the seventh to strike out Pence and get the save. Pence finished with two RBI singles.

“Those are two amazing baseball players and what a treat for them to get after it,” Corona coach Andy Wise said.

Striker Pence of Corona Santiago gets excited against Corona.

(Craig Weston)

The two went to middle school together. Murphy, a senior center fielder, is shaping up as a potential first-round pick. Pence, a sophomore, might reclassify to be eligible for the 2027 draft.

Errors played a big part in the game. Corona committed three errors, making it 20 errors in its last three games. An error by Santiago opened the door for a six-run sixth by the Panthers. Danny De La Torre had the big hit, a two-run double.

Corona’s defense is expected to get a lot better come Friday when infielders Joseph Flores and Kobee Finnikin become eligible after the sit-out transfer period ends.

Southern California teams got their first chance to show how good Southern California baseball is during Wednesday’s opening games of the National High School Invitational in Cary, N.C. Three came away with dominant wins.

Orange Lutheran received 16 strikeouts from Gary Morse, tying a tournament record, in a 3-0 win over Colorado Regis.

Unbeaten St. John Bosco (8-0) got two hits and two RBIs from Jack Champlin in a 14-1 win over Tennessee Nolensville.

Harvard-Westlake took care of North Carolina Wakefield 16-0 in five innings. Justin Kirchner struck out 10 and Ethan Price had three hits.

In the quarterfinals on Thursday, Harvard-Westlake will play Florida Venice, Orange Lutheran will face Florida Trinity Christian Academy and St. John Bosco will take on Arizona Casteel.

Servite 11, Santa Margarita 2: Eli Rubel had a triple, double and three RBIs for the Friars.

Tesoro 2, Aliso Niguel 1: Corwin Allard threw a complete game with six strikeouts and one walk for Tesoro.

Newport Harbor 8, Edison 2: Keaton Anderson struck out four in six innings. Grant Horsley had two hits.

Huntington Beach 8, Edison 4: Dane Cunningham, Ely Mason and Jaxon Greer hit home runs for Huntington Beach. Cunningham had three hits.

Villa Park 13, Foothill 0: Aiden Young went four for four with five RBIs and Logan Hoppie threw the shutout.

Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 11, Crespi 1: AJ LaSota struck out five, walked none and gave up two hits in five scoreless innings. Troy Trejo and Benett Pace each had two hits and two RBIs. Freshman Anthony Daniel had three hits.

Bishop Alemany 5, St. Francis 1: Matthew Serrano gave up two hits in six innings and Alex Noble contributed three hits for the Warriors.

Sierra Canyon 11, Chaminade 2: Brayden Goldstein went three for three with three RBIs.

Hart 3, Ventura 2: Jaiden Chan had the walk-off hit for Hart. Malachi Wobrock threw a complete game.

West Ranch 11, Canyon 1: Blake Johnson hit a three-run home run for West Ranch. Josh Price had two hits and four RBIs.

Saugus 11, Valencia 2: Joey Nuttall finished with three hits for Saugus. Logan Feldman added four RBIs.

Simi Valley 11, Camarillo 1: Ryan Whitson and Kai Stones each had three RBIs for Simi Valley.

Rancho Christian 3, Valley View 2: Jake Brande struck out 10 in a complete game.

At the dawn of the 2025 season, we published a column with the headline, “What’s the future for aging Angel Stadium? It feels like an increasingly uncertain one.”

With opening day 2026 upon us, we’d like to update that: “What’s the future for the Angels? It feels like an increasingly uncertain one.”

I don’t mean to be an alarmist. Nothing is happening today, or tomorrow, or in the very near future.

However, the Angels’ stadium lease expires in six years, so what might happen beyond then is starting to come into focus. Angels owner Arte Moreno turns 80 this summer. Moreno — or a new owner, if Moreno eventually sells the team — could simply exercise options to extend the lease for another six years.

But that would not resolve the larger issue of replacing or renovating Angel Stadium. In the coming months, the city expects to release an assessment of what it would take to keep the stadium up and running for years to come, and that could trigger a debate between the city and the Angels about who should pay for what.

The Angels are frustrated by all of this, and in particular by what they consider the curiously timed skirmishes over their 21-year-old Los Angeles name. They are annoyed that, for the second consecutive season, city issues have detracted from the hope and faith and joy that surrounds opening day. It is the city, after all, that walked away from two deals that would have secured the Angels’ long-term future in Anaheim.

During negotiations for the last deal, city officials made clear that keeping the Angels was the top priority, even if Anaheim could make more money selling the stadium property to a developer that would not need to retain the stadium.

Now, with six years left on the lease and no commitment beyond then, the mayor of Anaheim says it is time to prepare for a future with or without the Angels.

“We need to plan for what we see as a vision for that property when the lease has expired,” Mayor Ashleigh Aitken told me. “That’s going to take time. No matter how that deal goes, we’re not breaking ground on any project next year.

“But what we need to do, whether it includes the Angels — which I hope it does — or not, is come up with a vision that includes everything residents want to see happen on that land. And only then can we truly advocate for a project that makes sense for us.”

On the day of the home opener last season, Aitken issued an open letter inviting Moreno to meet with her for “an open and honest conversation about the future of baseball in Anaheim” and listing eight starting points for negotiations on a new deal, including the Angels’ restoration of the Anaheim name.

“They have not reached out to us about reopening negotiations for potential development around the property,” Aitken said.

Moreno previously explored other potential ballpark sites, including Tustin in 2014 and Long Beach in 2019.

In Tustin, the targeted land is no longer available. In Long Beach, the proposed waterfront lot remains vacant, but the challenge remains too: Over 81 games each season, how would tens of thousands of fans drive into and out of a ballpark primarily accessible by a single freeway?

For the Los Angeles Angels, perhaps the solution could be found in Los Angeles County.

The Dodgers could bar every other major league team from moving into L.A., but not the Angels. Under MLB rules, neither team could stop the other team from moving anywhere within Los Angeles County or Orange County.

The logical landing spot would be Inglewood, where the Rams, Chargers and Clippers have moved since 2020. Inglewood Mayor James Butts said Sofi Stadium and Intuit Dome have helped to revitalize the city, with unemployment down, home prices up, and municipal revenue up.

“Before, we were known for gangs and crimes and poverty,” Butts told me.

“Now, we are known as the sports and entertainment capital of the western United States.”

How about a baseball stadium in place of the Forum?

“The Forum parcel is absolutely not large enough for a baseball stadium,” Butts said.

Butts said he believes a baseball stadium there would require about 170 acres for the stadium and surrounding parking. Angel Stadium and its surrounding parking lots cover about 150 acres.

On the other hand, the Athletics are building a ballpark on a nine-acre site in Las Vegas, where nearby parking, entertainment and dining options already exist, with more on the way, and with the A’s not responsible for any of that. The same could be true for the Angels in Inglewood, with Rams owner Stan Kroenke and Clippers owner Steve Ballmer developing the land around the sports facilities.

However, Butts said he did not envision baseball coming to Inglewood, at least so long as he remains the mayor. Not enough room in town, he said.

“We’re maxed out when it comes to sports,” Butts said. “We are not going to reduce the housing stock and move residents out to have a baseball team.”

Anaheim has one, plus a 150-acre site perfect for a new stadium surrounded by restaurants and shops and homes. There will be days to be anxious and worried about the Angels’ future in the city they have called home for 60 years. Today is not one of them.

Take it from the mayor of Anaheim, who told me that even after telling me why she wants the city attorney to look into whether the Angels are violating their stadium lease.

“Opening day, to me, is nothing about clauses in a contract,” Aitken said. “It’s about family traditions. It’s about kicking off summer. And it’s about getting so many factions and neighborhoods of Anaheim together for a singular purpose, which is cheering on our hometown boys. That’s the beauty of baseball.”

And, as a lifelong Angels fan, she had one more thing to say.

“Right now,” Aitken said, “we’re tied for first place.”

The Major League Baseball Players Assn. is arguably the strongest union in the United States whose members include some of the most conservative athletes in professional sports. The owners of Major League Baseball’s 30 teams, who made their wealth through the workings of free enterprise capitalism, want to limit what players can be paid. This apparent political and philosophical irony will most likely lead to a shutdown of baseball at the end of this season.

Wednesday is opening day for the 162-game major league season. The 2025 season ended Nov. 1 with an 11-inning Dodgers victory over the Toronto Blue Jays in what was one of the most mesmerizing World Series ever. Last season, the Dodgers attracted more than 4 million fans for the first time. The Dodgers weren’t alone. More than 71 million fans attended major league games — the third straight season of growth. Over the last decade, league revenue has increased 33%.

And yet, despite all this good news about the health of baseball’s finances, team owners have threatened to lock the players out — essentially an ownership strike — at the end of this season over terms of a new collective bargaining agreement soon to be negotiated with the players union.

Major League Baseball, unlike the NFL, the NBA and the NHL, does not have a hard salary cap that limits what teams can spend on players. This is the key issue for the 30 team owners and Commissioner Rob Manfred, who argues that the system is “broken.” Small-market teams can’t effectively compete, Manfred insists, with economic behemoths like the Dodgers and Yankees. But over the past 10 seasons, 14 teams have made it to the World Series, so the league is not dominated by only a few big spenders.

Major leaguers and fans have weathered five player strikes and four owner lockouts since 1972. The 1994-95 strike lasted 232 days, canceling more than 900 games, including the World Series. Unlike in the NFL, where top players like San Francisco 49ers quarterback Joe Montana crossed a picket line during the 1987 NFL Players Assn. strike, unionized baseball players have remained united. So far, no star players have been strikebreakers in baseball. Both Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates and Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers — the 2025 Cy Young Award winners for their respective leagues — also serve in players union leadership roles.

A recent report analyzing major league ballplayers’ political affiliation found that among those who live in states that allow public access to voter registration records, nearly 54% of the players were Republicans compared with 8% Democrats. Why does a rightward-leaning membership retain such strong union loyalties?

For Miami Marlins pitcher Pete Fairbanks, who is also a member of the players union leadership, it comes down to recognizing that they stand on the shoulders of players who challenged the baseball establishment.

“If you look at the history of the union, we’ve had a foundation set for us,” Fairbanks said. “They fought for players’ rights and for the general betterment of the whole and it’s the job of the veteran players to pass that history on to the younger players.”

Marvin Miller, a former Steelworkers Union leader, revolutionized the players’ union and baseball when he led the association from 1966 to 1982. He told the New York Times in 1999 that he was “irked” that many players did not know that it was the union that made their enormous salaries and benefits, arbitration and free agency possible. “When you don’t know your history, you tend to relive it,” Miller said.

Miller, who died in 2012, was a labor history buff who realized that highly skilled workers often developed elaborate ethical codes that promoted solidarity with other employees.

Bruce Meyer, the current executive director of the players association, puts the union’s fractious history with the owners at the center of his communications with players. He spent weeks talking with union members during spring training in Florida and Arizona, emphasizing the importance of unity in the ranks. “The bottom line is that our players have always been of the view that they are fighting not just for themselves but for their teammates and for the players that come after them,” Meyer said.

Manfred’s strategy as commissioner of Major League Baseball has been to talk directly with the players himself, especially the lower-earning younger players who he claims are being shortchanged. He argues that “10% of our players make 72% of the money,” numbers that Meyer disputes.

The commissioner is essentially telling players that their union has engaged in malpractice, losing touch with its own members while the economics of baseball changed around them. Meyer regards Manfred’s attempt to divide players as “standard management-labor tactics.”

Top agent Scott Boras said that, unlike in the NFL, baseball’s open salary system works for players because “your talent allows you to earn what you can earn without taking money from anybody else’s pocket.”

Paradoxically, the union has embraced the principles of Adam Smith: Let the free market work. No one forced the Dodgers to pay Shohei Ohtani $700 million. Good for Ohtani, great for Dodger fans. And this year, the Japanese clothing retailer Uniqlo will be a field sponsor at Dodger Stadium. The owners, who embrace team revenue sharing and luxury taxes and demand restrictions on salary competition, sound like socialists.

When labor-management disputes interrupt baseball, many fans undoubtedly feel like they are victims of a squabble between “millionaires and billionaires.” Ryan Long, a 26-year-old minor league pitcher in the Baltimore Orioles system and a union leader, thinks the players association should try to understand how regular working people feel about a potential lockout. “Whether it’s people selling hot dogs at stadiums or cleaning rooms at local hotels, the union should help in whatever way it can for other workers who may be hurt if baseball shuts down,” he said.

In late February at the Yankees spring training field in Tampa, I spoke with season ticket holder Richard Barnitt, who wore a shirt designed like a baseball, looking like he could be scuffed up and pitched. “There has to be some kind of cap because the Dodgers and the New York Mets had unlimited money,” he said. Another fan, Carlos Rodriquez, an airplane mechanic living in Tampa, disagreed. “I don’t think a salary cap would be fair to the players,” he said. “The players association does magical work for those guys.”

If locked out, the players are going to want support from fans, to whom a salary cap might sound reasonable. Owners will do what owners do: maximize profits and franchise values. The players union should find ways to show the fans they are not forgotten.

During a previous owners lockout, the association created a million-dollar fund to help pay the bills of stadium concession workers who were thrown out of work. They can do the same again, letting fans know that they understand that most Americans struggle paycheck to paycheck. And maybe Ohtani can chip in a couple hundred bucks — like former Dodger Mike Piazza did decades ago — for each home run.

Kelly Candaele produced the documentary “A League of Their Own,” about his mother’s years playing in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.

HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL, SOFTBALL SCORES
Tuesday’s Results

BASEBALL

CITY SECTION
El Camino Real 8, Birmingham 3

SOUTHERN SECTION
AAE 19, Victor Valley Christian 5
Adelanto 11, Silverado 3
Alhambra 8, Bell Gardens 0
Aliso Niguel 7, Tesoro 4
Arcadia 10, Pasadena 0
Alta Loma 6, Colony 5
Beverly Hills 5, Lawndale 4
Buena 4, Ventura 0
Burbank Burroughs 6, Muir 0
Cajon 7, Riverside Prep 3
Calabasas 10, Thousand Oaks 9
Capistrano Valley 14, El Toro 8
Capistrano Valley Christian 6, Western Christian 4
Cathedral 1, Bishop Montgomery 0
Cerritos 7, Artesia 0
Charter Oak 13, Walnut 5
Chino 5, Montclair 4
Chino Hills 12, La Serna 3
CIMSA 12, Silver Valley 5
Claremont 12, Rowland 0
Colton 5, Fontana 2
Culver City 11, Inglewood 3
Damien 8, La Habra 3
Desert Christian 6, Vasquez 1
Desert Hot Springs 5, Banning 4
Diamond Bar 7, Knight 0
Don Lugo 11, Diamond Ranch 1
Downey Calvary Chapel 7, Fairmont Prep 6
El Modena 3, Villa Park 0
Elsinore 9, Temescal Canyon 1
Environmental Charter 17, Compton Early College 7
Fallbrook 8, Rancho Buena Vista 5
Firebaugh 6, Lynwood 5
Fountain Valley 1, Corona del Mar 0
Fullerton 7, Ocean View 5
Glenn 4, Whitney 3
Grace 14, Cate 2
Granite Hills 6, Victor Valley 1
Hawthorne 3, Compton Centennial 2
Irvine 3, Woodbridge 2
Laguna Beach 17, St. Margaret’s 2
Laguna Hills 3, Costa Mesa 1
La Mirada 5, Gahr 1
La Salle 15, Gardena Serra 0
La Sierra 11, West Valley 2
Los Alamitos 4, Marina 0
Los Altos 13, West Covina 2
Los Amigos 15, Santa Ana Valley 9
Magnolia 8, Graden Grove Santiago 4
Maranatha 14, Heritage Christian 2
Mary Star of the Sea 23, St. Genevieve 11
Montebello 13, Mark Keppel 0
Murrieta Valley 6, Murrieta Mesa 5
Newport Harbor 9, Edison 0
Norte Vista 22, Bethel Christian 1
Norwalk 7, Mayfair 4
Nuview Bridge 20, California Military Institute 0
Oaks Christian 5, Newbury Park 2
Oakwood 15, Milken 10
Ontario 5, Chaffey 0
Orange 7, Anaheim 5
Oxnard 3, Santa Barbara 1
Oxnard Pacifica 9, Rio Mesa 2
PACS 14, Faith Baptist 3
Paraclete 13, St. Anthony 1
Paramount 9, Dominguez 6
Riverside North 5, Vista del Lago 1
Rosamond 2, California City 1
Royal 8, Foothill Tech 1
Sage Hill 1, Irvine University 0
San Juan Hills 3, Mission Viejo 2
San Marino 4, Monrovia 1
Santa Monica 10, Leuzinger 1
Savanna 7, Loara 5
Schurr 10, San Gabriel 0
Segerstrom 8, Buena Park 6
Shalhevet 7, Animo leadership 0
Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 10, Crespi 0
Sierra Canyon 8, Chaminade 2
South Hills 4, San Dimas 0
St. Bernard 5, Bishop Amat 4
St. Bonaventure 8, Thacher 3
St. Francis 6, Alemany 4
St. Monica 21, Pasadena Marshall 3
St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy 19, Verbum Dei 0
Tahquitz 3, San Jacinto 1
Temecula Prep 16, United Christian Academy 4
Temecula Valley 13, Chaparral 0
Trabuco Hills 8, San Clemente 1
Tustin 11, Santa Ana Calvary Chapel 6
Village Christian 13, Valley Christian 11
Vista Murrieta 4, Great Oak 2
Warren 2, Bellflower 0
Westlake 2, Agoura 1
Westminster La Quinta 7, Century 2
Whittier Christian 11, St. Paul 3
YULA 8, Santa Monica Pacifica Christian 7

INTERSECTIONAL
Anza Hamilton 17, Bonsall 7
Bishop Union 11, Frazier Mountain 0
Boron 17, Desert 1
Carson 4, Ramona 3
Eastvale Roosevelt 3, Nevada McQueen 1
Esperanza 14, Arkansas Prairie Grove 4
Grand Terrace 6, Nevada McQueen 0
Immanuel Christian 21, Trona 9
Missouri Lincoln 13, Grand Terrace 1
Northview 10, Spanish Springs 4
Oregon Lakeridge 5, La Palma Kennedy 4
Oregon West Linn 3, Citrus Valley 2

Quartz Hill 15, Oregon Bend 2

SOFTBALL

CITY SECTION
CALS Early College 0, East College Prep 0
Central City Value 40, Discovery 11

SOUTHERN SECTION
Alemany 4, Vasquez 0
Aliso Niguel 11, Redondo Union 4
Anaheim Canyon 7, Segerstrom 1
Ayala 5, Bonita 0
Banning 8, Desert Hot Springs 3
Barstow 14, Ridgecrest Burroughs 7
Beaumont 6, Rancho Cucamonga 2
Bell Gardens 14, San Gabriel 3
Bethel Christian 26, Norte Vista 4
California City 15, Rosamond 3
California Military 21, Nuview Bridge 2
Cantwell-Sacred Heart 9, St. Monica 4
Cerritos 11, El Rancho 4
Channel Islands 15, Carpinteria 4
Chino 11, Montclair 0
Chino Hills 12, Temescal Canyon 5
CIMSA 19, Silver Valley 4
Claremont 6, Northview 4
Cornerstone Christian 14, Packinghouse Christian 8
Corona Santiago 8, Colony 5
Covina 4, Buena Park 3
Cypress 8, El Modena 2
Don Lugo 3, Diamond Ranch 2
Downey 10, Corona 2
Edison 9, Corona del Mar 0
El Dorado 3, Yorba Linda 0
El Toro 2, Tesoro 1
Esperanza 21, Troy 2
Fillmore 5, Santa Paula 4
Hart 11, Golden Valley 1
Hawthorne 15, Compton Centennial 0
Hueneme 11, Nordhoff 5
Huntington Beach 17, Fountain Valley 0
La Habra 9, Garden Grove Pacifica 4
Lakewood 15, Long Beach Cabrillo 1
La Palma Kennedy 2, Gahr 0
La Salle 11, Flintridge Sacred Heart 3
Lawndale 30, Beverly Hills 20
Lennox Academy 14, HMSA 3
Long Beach Poly 15, Long Beach Wilson 5
Los Alamitos 10, Newport Harbor 0
Los Altos 12, Alta Loma 0
Maranatha 15, Duarte 5
Mary Star of the Sea 21, St. Anthony 5
Mira Costa 7, South Torrance 2
Mission Viejo 5, Sunny Hills 3
Montebello 10, Mark Keppel 9
Monrovia 4, San Marino 3
Murrieta Mesa 7, Great Oak 0
Murrieta Valley 13, Temecula Valley 2
Oak Park 16, Royal 12
Oaks Christian 9, Newbury Park 3
Ontario 11, Chaffey 1
Placentia Valencia 8, Tustin 4
Ramona Convent 10, Bishop Conaty-Loreto 0
Rio Hondo Prep 12, Mayfield 8
Rio Mesa 14, Oxnard Pacifica 0
Rosary Academy 7, Irvine University 6
Sacred Heart of Jesus 12, St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy 1
Santa Ana Foothill 6, Crean Lutheran 1
Santa Clara 4, Foothill Tech 2
Santa Monica 8, Leuzinger 4
Saugus 11, West Ranch 8
Schurr 11, Alhambra 1
Serrano 14, Riverside Notre Dame 4
Sierra Canyon 4, Chaminade 3
Silverado 22, Adelanto 3
Simi Valley 8, Camarillo 2
St. Genevieve 18, St. Bernard 3
St. Paul 14, Bishop Montgomery 2
Temecula Prep 16, Santa Rosa Academy 7
Thousand Oaks 30, Calabasas 0
Valencia 8, Castaic 6
Ventura 12, Buena 7
Victor Valley 8, Granite Hills 4
Westlake 1, Agoura 0
Westminster 15 Long Beach Jordan 5
Whittier Christian 16, Village Christian 5
Wiseburn-Da Vinci 22, Downey Calvary Chapel 1

INTERSECTIONAL
Boron 16, Desert 1
Canyon Country Canyon 15, Arleta 5
Compton Early College 23, Environmental Charter 19
Immanuel Christian 12, Trona 10
Jesuit 5, Trabuco Hills 4
Santa Margarita 1, Jesuit 0

Since he became head coach at Birmingham in 2007, Matt Mowry is 0 for 18 when it comes to winning a West Valley League baseball title. He’s won five City titles but the Patriots haven’t been able to figure out how to win a league title.

A showdown against defending City champion El Camino Real on Tuesday didn’t start or end well for the Patriots. The Royals (10-3, 4-0) scored five runs in the first inning on six hits and coasted to an 8-3 win over Birmingham (10-2, 3-1).

The big hits in the first inning were an RBI double by JJ Saffie, a two-run double by Blake Dubin and an RBI single by Ryan Hauptman. For the second consecutive game, Birmingham pitcher Nathan Soto couldn’t make it out of the first inning. ECR starter Jackson Sellz, celebrating his 17th birthday, threw six innings before Hauptman came in to get the save. Ryan Glassman, Macai Friedman and Shane Bogacz each had two hits.

Birmingham is getting help starting Friday when transfers Masen Ruiz (Chatsworth), Toni Mendoza (Chatsworth) and Larkin Fleming (Sherman Oaks Notre Dame) become eligible. All could become starters. The two teams play again twice next month.

Fullerton 7, Ocean View 5: Luke Gonzalez had two doubles to help Fullerton come back from a 5-3 deficit.

Los Alamitos 4, Marina 0: Ryan Deck struck out seven, walked none and gave up two hits in the shutout. Cruz Derrico finished with three hits.

St. Bernard 5, Bishop Amat 4: Juan Sandoval struck out five in a complete game for St. Bernard.

Newport Beach 9, Edison 0: Gavin Guy struck out six in 5 1/3 innings and also hit a three-run home run.

Santa Margarita 2, Servite 0: Sophomore Tyler George struck out four, walked none and threw a two-hit shutout. He also hit a home run.

Santa Monica 10, Leuzinger 1: Ryan Breslo had three hits for Santa Monica.

Oaks Christian 5, Newbury Park 2: Luke Puls, Ryan Sheffer and Oliver Dauskurdas each had two hits for Oaks Christian (9-2).

Calabasas 10, Thousand Oaks 9: The Coyotes handed Thousand Oaks its first defeat after 10 consecutive victories in a wild Marmonte League opener. The Lancers wiped out an 8-1 deficit with seven runs in the fifth inning to tie the score. Conner Kingston ended the game with a scoreless seventh for the save. Landon Carson had four RBIs for the Lancers. Michael Morales had three hits for the Coyotes.

Westlake 2, Agoura 1: Jaxson Neckien had two hits for the Warriors.

Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 10, Crespi 0: Malakye Matsumoto hit a grand slam and threw two scoreless innings of relief for 11-0 Notre Dame. Beckett Berg threw five scoreless innings with four strikeouts.

Sierra Canyon 8, Chaminade 2: Isaias Tirado and Aiden Jahng each hit home runs and Armando Solorio threw four shutout innings.

St. Francis 6, Bishop Alemany 4: Daniel Izaguirre had three hits for St. Francis in the Mission League win. Brody Thompson, Chase Stevenson and Alex Noble hit home runs for Alemany.

La Mirada 5, Gahr 1: Jacob Oropeza threw 3 2/3 innings of scoreless relief.

El Modena 3, Villa Park 0: Three pitchers combined on a no-hitter.

Softball

Huntington Beach 17, Fountain Valley 0: Bree Carlson hit three home runs for the Oilers.

Murrieta Mesa 7, Great Oak 0: Lilly Hauser struck out 13 and also had a two-run double to lead unbeaten Murrieta Mesa.

Oaks Christian 9, Newbury Park 3: Giabella Otani had two hits and three RBIs.

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell. If you told me five years ago that right now we would ‘ be discussing whether the Dodgers could win their third consecutive World Series, I would have laughed. How fortunate we are.

Opening day is Thursday, with the flag ceremony that day and the ring ceremony Friday. So, let’s take a look at the opening day roster, barring an injury or implosion by someone.

Catchers

Will Smith — Some Mariners fans took umbrage that I said Smith was the best catcher in the game with Cal Raleigh second. Consistency lifts Smith to No. 1. If Raleigh has another season like last season, he could move up. And did you notice who started the key games for the U.S. in the WBC? Smith, not Raleigh.

Dalton Rushing — An important season for Rushing, who failed to impress last season. Far too early to throw in the towel on him. Can he become a consistent hitter while playing twice a week? Would Ben Rortvedt have made the team instead of Rushing?

Infielders

Mookie Betts — Remember, last season he was very sick around opening day and lost 20 pounds in two weeks. And he’s not exactly a physical giant to begin with. He then had to come back and learn a new position on the fly. It’s possible he never reaches the MVP heights of the past, but it’s also possible he hits much better than last season.

Santiago Espinal — Hitting .372 this spring and played steady defense, more than earning his way onto the team. Hasn’t had a good season on offense since 2021, but is a career .291 hitter against left-handers, so expect to see him against lefties.

Alex Freeland — He won the utility job over Hyeseong Kim despite having a terrible spring in which he went five for 45, though with 13 walks. There must be something about Kim the Dodgers do not like, though they say they sent him down so he can get consistent daily at-bats. Freeland will get a big opportunity here. Can he deliver?

Freddie Freeman — Here’s betting he becomes a .300 hitter again this season and that his mobility improves at first now that his ankle has had more time to heal.

Max Muncy — Everyone knows what Muncy will provide each season between stints on the IL, and there’s no reason to believe he won’t provide it again.

Miguel Rojas — Shohei Ohtani asked him not to retire. He will be the defensive glue for the infield, will get some key hits, and will help everyone on the infield become better defensively.

Outfielders

Alex Call — Exactly what you want in a fourth outfielder: Good defense with the ability to get on base and spell someone in the lineup without a huge dropoff in quality.

Teoscar Hernández — Says he never felt quite right after his injury early last season. Judging by his spring numbers (.468 with five homers), I’d say he was correct.

Andy Pages — Dave Roberts says Pages is his “pick to click” this season. Considering he hit 27 homers last season, you have to wonder what his numbers will be if he does click.

Kyle Tucker — Will the pressure of a big contract cause him to start slow as it has so many others?

Two-way player

Shohei Ohtani — Just think, Ohtani could hit 40 homers this season and be accused of having a disappointing season.

Tommy Edman will be back at some point, and Kiké Hernández will be back around the midpoint of the season, perhaps sooner.

Rotation

Yoshinobu Yamamoto — There are certain guys who should never be booed later in their playing career after what they have done in the past for the team. Fernando. Orel Hershiser. With his 2025 postseason, Yamamoto has claimed a spot on that list.

Tyler Glasnow — Fans still like to call him Glass-now. Pitched only 90 1/3 innings last season. Has pitched in 100 or more innings in only three of his 10 major league seasons. It would be a miracle if he makes 25 starts this season, but when he does pitch, he’s usually very good and the Dodgers will protect his arm as much as they can to make sure he can pitch in the postseason.

Shohei Ohtani — Will Ohtani win the MVP and Cy Young Award? The only time he came close was in 2022 with the Angels, when he was second in MVP voting and fourth in Cy Young voting. Last season he made 14 starts and pitched 47 innings. My prediction is he receives votes for both, but doesn’t win both as some pitcher will put up better or similar numbers in more innings.

Roki Sasaki — One of the big mysteries of the season. Can Sasaki harness his ability? His emotions seem to overwhelm his ability at times. But he’s only 24. When I was 24, I had just started working at The Times and my emotions overwhelmed my ability at times. It’s easy to forget these are men, not machines. However, after a disastrous start Monday against the Angels, giving up four runs in the first inning, you have to wonder if he will indeed start the season in the majors.

Emmet Sheehan — Went 6-3 with a 2.82 ERA last season before he was moved to the bullpen for the postseason and pitched terribly (8.59 ERA). When Blake Snell is ready to come back, hopefully in May, either Sasaki or Sheehan will either move to the bullpen or get sent down. They are in effect using April to battle for a permanent spot in the rotation.

Bullpen

Ben Casparius — He can be a starter, a short guy, a long man, an opener. He’s a jack-of-all-trades, or, a Ben of all trades. Has walked nine in 7.2 spring innings, so that’s something that can’t continue.

Edwin Díaz — The closer job is his. Mets fans say Dodgers fans should get used to Díaz walking a tightrope when he pitches. We’ll have to wait and see, but as of right now, this is a terrific signing.

Jack Dreyer — Had a solid rookie season and pitched four scoreless innings in the postseason.

Edgardo Henriquez — An electric arm that hasn’t always translated to electric results. He bounced back and forth between the minors and the Dodgers last season and could again this season.

Will Klein — Sometimes one outing transforms a player from being an average player to being a good-to-great one. Was Game 3 the pivot point for Klein, who has a career 5.16 ERA? He has been great this spring. And apparently Klein jerseys have become a top seller, so there will be a lot of people pulling for him.

Tanner Scott — He is in the second year of a four-year, $72-million deal, and he was terrible in Year 1 of the deal. The comment for Treinen below applies to Scott as well. Will the Dodgers use Scott and Treinen as their first non-closer option in high leverage roles at the start of the season?

Blake Treinen — Will the Treinen of 2024 return, or will it be the Treinen of 2025? And if it is the Treinen of 2025, how much leash will the Dodgers give him before giving up? Those will be two key things to watch early in the season.

Alex Vesia — After what he and his wife went through, is anyone rooting against this guy? He will wear his emotions on his sleeve as always and will neutralize left-handers.

Justin Wrobleski — Can give them some length out of the bullpen, plus can step into the rotation if Sasaki or Sheehan prove too unreliable before Snell returns.

Some teams say the Dodgers have an unfair advantage, because Ohtani being a two-way player means the Dodgers can carry nine relievers while most teams can carry only eight. Funny how those teams never complained about this when Ohtani was with the Angels.

At some point, Snell, Brusdar Graterol, Evan Phillips and Brock Stewart will be back.

Also keep in mind that last season the Dodgers used 40 pitchers, so there will be a lot of churn among that part of the roster. They will start April with these 14 pitchers, but it’s unlikely the same 14 reach the end of April, or maybe even mid-April.

They used 25 position players last season, but it seems like the opening 13 will stay together for a little bit, at least until the first injury.

How many games will the Dodgers win?

It’s that time of year where I ask you how many games the Dodgers will win, and this year I will also ask if the Dodgers will win the World Series again?

So, how many games will the Dodgers win this season?

They will finish under .500 (this will tell me how many Padres/Giants fans subscribe to the newsletter)

They will win 81-90 games

They will win 91-95 games

They will win 96-100 games

They will win 101-110 games

They will win 111-116 games

They will set the record with more than 116 wins

Click here to vote in this survey and the World Series survey. Results will be announced Thursday.

The experts say

Most experts point to the fact the the Dodgers are favorites to win it all among oddsmakers. If you look around at the various oddsmakers, the Dodgers are given about a 28% chance to win the World Series, far ahead of any other team (Seattle usually is second).

But, look at it another way. You could also say there is a 72% chance the Dodgers won’t win the World Series. We have been spoiled the last two seasons. Really, compared to most teams, we have been spoiled ever since Guggenheim bought the team. Winning a World Series is really difficult, even if you have the best team during the season.

I’ll give my predictions on Thursday. In the meantime, Bill Plaschke gave his prediction, which you can read here.

Andrew Friedman speaks….

President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman sat down with our new Dodgers reporter, Maddie Lee (we’ll meet her officially soon) and answered some questions. You can read the whole thing here. A couple of highlights:

Q: It’s such a cliche to say you can never have too much pitching, but with this group, are you close?

Friedman: I’ve learned my lesson to never say that we have enough pitching. But I do feel like we are breaking camp with the most talented one through 20 arms — which gets at, obviously, who we’ll break with, and then depth behind it — that we’ve ever had.

Q: The Dodgers are very much caught in the middle of CBA posturing with the current agreement expiring this year. You hear a lot of players saying the Dodgers are doing it the right way and other teams could be doing something similar. On the other hand, the league appears to be floating a salary cap, and plenty of fans are accusing the Dodgers of “ruining baseball.” What’s it been like to see those conflicting narratives?

Friedman: Obviously see it, come across it, hear it quite a bit. But we’re just not that focused on it. We’re a really healthy organization, and the partnership we have with our fans is our guiding light. And we’re doing everything we can to put a team out there that our fans really connect with, and that they feel that partnership with all that they pour into us, and don’t really think about it in any other terms.

And so obviously, there’s a lot of narratives that get extrapolated from that. But our sole focus is on ourselves and the partnership we have with our fans and the rest of it to us, it’s kind of just noise.

The Q&A, which covers several topics, can be found here.

In case you missed it

Swanson: The Dodgers are chasing a three-peat. They can take some cues from the 2002 Lakers

Why the Dodgers are preaching patience as Roki Sasaki continues development

NL West preview: The Dodgers should be heavy favorites, but the Padres could surprise

Ohtani. Yamamoto. Sasaki. A 12-story ‘cultural bridge’ between L.A. and Japan to debut in Torrance

Alex Freeland edges Hyeseong Kim for a Dodgers opening day roster spot

For two-time defending champion Dodgers, the goal is simple: ‘They want to keep winning’

Plaschke: The Dodgers and their fans are geared up for a three-peat. Why the quest will fall short

Yoshinobu Yamamoto smooth in his final spring start before Dodgers opening day

Q&A: Andrew Friedman on team culture, the upcoming season and ‘noise’ around the Dodgers

And finally

Shohei Ohtani hits three homers and strikes out 10 in Game 4 of the 2025 NLCS. Watch and listen here.

Until next time….

Have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future Dodgers newsletter? Email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.