The Dodgers (80-54), who were swept for the third time this month, are clinging to a one-game lead over the Braves (79-55) for the second-best record in the National League. They are three games behind the Milwaukee Brewers (83-51) for the best record in baseball.
“I wish we’d played better,” Roberts said. “I wish we’d have won the game. I wish we’d won the series. It didn’t happen. But right now, there’s nothing we can do but just go out there and keep trying to get better and win a baseball game [Friday].”
What was expected to be a pitchers’ duel between Dodgers rotation leader Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Sale lived up to the hype.
Yamamoto gave up a home run to Drake Baldwin on his first pitch, but he quickly settled in and gave up just three more hits while striking out eight over 6⅓ innings.
Sale was even better. He mowed down the Dodgers with 11 strikeouts, limiting them to five hits in nine innings.
The Dodgers went up against an even crisper version of Sale. His velocity was up, and the 100.1-mph fastball he threw to Shohei Ohtani the second time through the order was his hardest-thrown pitch since 2018, according to MLB.com.
“That guy, he’s doing things no one’s ever seen,” Sale told reporters after striking out Ohtani and holding him hitless in four at-bats. “Tit for tat, he’s probably the best I’ve ever seen. When you’re facing the best, you gotta bring your best. Tonight it worked out.
“You can’t hang your hat on that kind of stuff. You never anticipate or expect that because of who he is and his talent and what he brings to the table. This is a game of small battles. He’s going to win some, I’m gonna win some. When you’ve got a guy like that, you gotta step on the gas a little bit.”
The Dodgers have struggled at times since the All-Star break, but Will Smith’s return from injury and Shohei Ohtani’s return to pitching should help.
Sale got a standing ovation when he walked out for the ninth inning. And Braves fans booed when a safe call at first withstood replay review instead of ending the game on a double play. But Sale remained and had an even bigger final moment of the game: one more strikeout.
“Sale had it, and we didn’t have much of an answer,” said Mookie Betts, the only Dodger with two hits. “We’ve been able to score runs [the last couple of months]. We might not score 10 a night, but we’re scoring runs and giving ourselves a chance to win games. We just got to figure out other ways to win and be able to push a couple more runs across and whatnot.”
Thursday marked the 13th one-run game the Dodgers have played this month. And the small margins seem to be taking a toll, as the Dodgers’ bullpen and defense have wavered.
The solution would seem to be to get the offense back to scoring in bunches. But that’s not a simple button the Dodgers can press, especially against pitchers of Sale’s caliber.
The Dodgers lost all three games in Atlanta by one run.
Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto delivers against the Atlanta Braves in the first inning Thursday.
(Erik S. Lesser / Associated Press)
“It seemed like we were always chasing,” Roberts said. “It’s hard to play from behind. Your margins are much thinner, smaller. And when you don’t capitalize on opportunities, then you come up on the short end. But like I said, they’re a good ballclub. They do things the right way. And we’ll look forward to seeing them in October.”
The Dodgers entered the series riding a six-game winning streak built against the Colorado Rockies and Pittsburgh Pirates. But it’s been a long time since they’ve beaten a good team. In fact, they haven’t won a series against any team that entered Thursday in playoff position since taking two of three from the Philadelphia Phillies from July 20-22.
In the interim, the Dodgers have gone 1-12 against teams in a playoff spot.
“I was thinking about it tonight: The game tests you,” Roberts said. “August is that third leg of a mile, and it’s the hardest leg, and you know we’ve got to get through it and grind. And there’s a new series, a new team. We’ve got [Tarik] Skubal going [Friday against the Detroit Tigers]. We’ve just got to flush it.”
Tucker takes day off
Roberts sat slumping right fielder Kyle Tucker against Sale.
“I didn’t want to feel like I’m piling on against a really tough starter,” Roberts said. “Get him ready for the weekend.”
But Roberts said that wasn’t a reflection of how he’d approach the postseason. If the Dodgers face the Braves in the playoffs, Roberts would expect to start Tucker in right field against Sale.
Roster move
As expected, the Dodgers put right-hander Roki Sasaki on the 15-day injured list because of a blister on the middle finger of his right hand and recalled hard-throwing reliever Seth Halvorsen.
“He’s probably our most rested reliever, and it’s going to come in hot,” Roberts said. “So I’m going to run him out there if the situation calls for it.”
The Dodgers (80-54), who’ve been swept three times this month, are clinging to a one-game lead over the Braves (79-55) for the second-best record in the National League. They are three games behind the Brewers (83-51) for the best record in baseball.
“I wish we’d played better,” Roberts said. “I wish we’d have won the game. I wish we’d won the series. It didn’t happen. But right now, there’s nothing we can do but just go out there and keep trying to get better and win a baseball game [Friday].”
What was expected to be a pitchers’ duel between Dodgers rotation leader Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Sale lived up to the hype.
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Mark Walter should sell the Sparks
From Mirjam Swanson: Mark Walter doesn’t need to sell the Sparks. It said so in a release from his company Wednesday: “TWG is not looking to sell its sports assets at ‘fire sale’ prices to raise capital for its insurance operations.”
Not because of the investigations into allegations that insurance companies under Walter’s umbrella failed to properly disclose and conduct transactions between other companies he controls.
But for the sake of the storied WNBA franchise, which hasn’t won a championship in a decade and is about to miss the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season — something that would have been unthinkable six seasons ago.
Sell for the sake of the Sparks, who have long deserved an owner who wants seriously to run the team like Walter’s group runs, well, the Dodgers.
From Gary Klein: Rams coach Sean McVay does not play starters or players expected to be significant backups or contributors during the preseason, especially in the final game.
That would seem to indicate that Bennett, not rookie Ty Simpson, will open the season as Matthew Stafford’s backup.
Simpson led three first-half scoring drives in a 20-18 victory at SoFi Stadium.
Simpson, the 13th pick in the draft, completed 18 of 23 passes for 119 yards, including a second-quarter touchdown.
It was Simpson’s second no-turnover performance. In the preseason opener against the Kansas City Chiefs, Simpson played all but the first two series and completed 21 of 25 passes for 190 yards and two touchdowns.
From Gary Klein: The Rams never found a way to consistently deploy speedy receiver Tutu Atwell. But they apparently can’t quit him.
On Thursday, the Rams traded second-year running back Jarquez Hunter to the Miami Dolphins in exchange for Atwell, the team announced.
Atwell, who will turn 27 in October, was selected by the Rams in the second round of the 2021 NFL draft out of Louisville. He was sidelined much of his rookie season because of a shoulder injury, and was subsequently used sparingly the next three seasons. In 2024, he caught a career-best 42 passes for 562 yards.
Before the 2025 season, the Rams signed Atwell to a one-year, $10-million contract. But with Puka Nacua and Davante Adams getting the majority of targets, Atwell caught only six passes for 192 yards, 88 coming on a winning touchdown pass play against the Indianapolis Colts.
1886 — Richard Sears beats R. Livingston Beeckman 4-6, 6-1, 6-3, 6-4 to win his sixth straight U.S. national tennis championship.
1888 — Henry Slocum defeats Howard Taylor 6-4, 6-1, 6-0 to win the eighth U.S. men’s national tennis championship. Slocum, last year’s runner-up, is the first men’s champion other than Richard Sears. Sears, the U.S. champion from 1881-1887, retired last year.
1908 — Fred McLeod wins the U.S. Open golf title with a one-stroke victory over Willie Smith in a playoff.
1922 — The oldest American international team golf match, the Walker Cup, is established with the U.S. beating Britain 8-4.
1949 — The U.S. takes the Davis Cup, topping Australia 4-1.
1950 — Althea Gibson becomes the first Black player to compete in the U.S. Open. Gibson wins her first round match, defeating Barbara Knapp of Britain 6-2, 6-2 at Forest Hills in New York.
1977 — The Cosmos beat the Seattle Sounders 2-1 at Portland, Ore., to win their second NASL title. Giorgio Chinaglia’s header in the 77th minute is the winning goal.
1989 — Pete Sampras, 18, wins his first U.S. Open singles match in four sets over Agustin Moreno of Mexico.
1990 — Stefan Edberg becomes the first top-seeded player since John Newcombe in 1971 to lose in the first round of the U.S. Open. Edberg loses to Alexander Volkov of the Soviet Union, 6-3, 7-6, 6-2.
1994 — Tiger Woods, 18, becomes the youngest winner in the history of the U.S. Amateur Golf Championship, capturing the last three holes of his 36-hole title match against Trip Kuehne.
1995 — Monica Seles, plays in her first Grand Slam tournament in more than 2 1-2 years and beats Ruxandra Dragomir 6-3, 6-1 in first round of the U.S. Open.
2004 — The U.S. women’s basketball team goes through the Athens Olympics undefeated to win its fifth Olympic gold medal, beating Australia 74-63 in the final.
2004 — Led by San Antonio Spurs shooting guard Manu Ginóbili, Argentina beats Italy 84-69 for the Olympic basketball gold medal in Athens; star-studded U.S. team takes bronze.
2008 — Top-seeded Ana Ivanovic is ousted from the U.S. Open, beaten by 188th-ranked Julie Coin 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 in the second round. Never before in the Open era that began in 1968 had the No. 1 woman lost this early in the tournament.
2014 — Acknowledging he “didn’t get it right” with a two-game suspension for Ravens running back Ray Rice, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announces tougher penalties for players accused of domestic violence, including six weeks for a first offense and at least a year for a second.
2022 — Tour Championship, Men’s Golf, East Lake GC: Irishman Rory McIlroy wins $18 million with one stroke win over Scottie Scheffler and Im Sung-jae; becomes first 3-time winner of the FedEx Cup.
Compiled by the Associated Press
This day in baseball history
1918 — Tris Speaker was suspended for the rest of the season because of his assault on umpire Tom Connolly after a dispute at home plate in Philadelphia.
1926 — Emil Levsen of the Cleveland Indians pitched two complete-game victories over the Boston Red Sox, 6-1 and 5-1. He did not strike out a batter in either game. The Indians used the identical lineup in both games.
1951 — The Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the New York Giants 2-0, ending the Giants’ 16-game winning streak. The streak enabled the Giants to cut the Dodgers 13½-game lead to six.
1971 — In the nightcap of a doubleheader, Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Rick Wise hit two home runs to help himself to a 7-3 victory over the San Francisco Giants.
1977 — Steve Garvey of the Dodgers hit three doubles and two home runs in five at-bats, leading the Los Angeles Dodgers to an 11-0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. One of Garvey’s homers was a grand slam.
1977 — In a 6-1 loss to the Baltimore Orioles, Nolan Ryan of the Angels struck out 11 batters to pass the 300-strikeout plateau for the fifth time in his career.
1987 — Mike Schmidt passes Ted Williams and Willie McCovey with 522 home runs
1990 — Ryne Sandberg became the first second baseman in history to have consecutive 30-homer seasons, leading the Cubs to a 5-2 victory over the Houston Astros.
1992 — The Milwaukee Brewers set an American League record with 31 hits and 26 singles in a 22-2 rout of the Toronto Blue Jays.
1993 — Pinch-hitter Jeremy Hess’ bases-loaded single with two out in the sixth inning gives Long Beach a 3-2 victory over Panama in the championship game of the Little League World Series.
2003 — Eric Gagne set a major league record with his 44th straight save this season as the Dodgers beat Houston 6-3. Gagne eclipsed Tom Gordon’s 1998 record of 43 in a row to begin a season.
2005 — Michael Memea’s home run in the bottom of the seventh gives West Oahu of Ewa Beach, Hawaii, the Little League World Series title.
2008 — Cristian Guzman of the Nationals became the second player to hit for the cycle since the franchise moved to Washington, driving in three in an 11-2 rout of the Dodgers.
2014 — San Francisco’s Yusmeiro Petit set a major league record when he retired his 46th batter in a row, and the Giants beat Colorado 3-1. Petit got the first eight Colorado hitters, establishing the mark by striking out Charlie Culberson. That broke Mark Buehrle’s record of 45 straight with the Chicago White Sox in 2009. Petit’s streak covered eight games, six of them in relief.
2016 — Ryan Harlost led Endwell, N.Y., to the Little League World Series title, striking out eight and limiting South Korea to five hits in six innings in a 2-1 victory. Endwell gave New York its first championship since 1964.
2021 — Angels pitcher/DH Shohei Otani becomes the first player in team history to reach 20 stolen bases and hit 40 home runs in a season.
2025 — For the third time this season, a player has a four-homer game, with Kyle Schwarber performing the feat and driving in nine runs in a 19-4 Phillies win over Atlanta. Three such games in one season breaks the previous record of two, set in 2002 and tied in 2017. In spite of its frequency this season, the feat has only been performed 21 times in major league history, and the last Phillies player to accomplish it had been Mike Schmidt in 1976.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
From Maddie Lee: Dodgers manager Dave Roberts could see the kind of inning right-hander Tyler Glasnow had to begin his start Tuesday, plagued by soft contact and bad luck, derailing a younger version of him.
“That’s an outing that a couple years ago I think might have gotten away,” Roberts said after the Dodgers’ 4-3 loss to the Braves, ending a six-game winning streak. “And I don’t think he would’ve been as efficient getting through the fifth like he did. But there’s just a lot of growth with Glas. Just can’t wait to see more. Like I told him after the start, it’s just really good to have him back.”
Glasnow’s return was a major step for the Dodgers as they assemble their postseason pitching staff. The next will be two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani’s return to pitching — which could happen as soon as this weekend.
Ohtani is scheduled to throw a bullpen session Thursday or Friday, pitching coach Mark Prior said. Then Ohtani and the Dodgers will finalize next steps. But Roberts didn’t rule out the possibility of Ohtani making a short start Sunday in Detroit.
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José Ramírez drove in five runs with three doubles, Steven Kwan had five singles and the streaking Cleveland Guardians overcame an early five-run deficit to beat the Angels 8-6 in 10 innings Tuesday night.
Kwan capped his second career five-hit game with a leadoff single in the 10th against reliever Blake Weiman (0-1), advancing automatic runner Brayan Rocchio from second base to third. Travis Bazzana popped out, but Ramírez laced a two-run double to left-center to give the Guardians an 8-6 lead.
Cleveland reliever Erik Sabrowski (5-2) struck out the side in the ninth. Cade Smith fanned Denzer Guzman and Adam Frazier with runners on second and third in the 10th for his 35th save, sealing the Guardians’ sixth straight win.
It was a rare chance to acquire an celebrated sports brand, and by all accounts, timing was everything.
The enormous sale price has implications for the rest of the NBA and raises a basic question: Did Kushner and Iger get a great deal or did they overpay?
From Ryan Kartje: USC sophomore defensive lineman Jahkeem Stewart, who was spotted over the weekend sporting crutches and a boot on his injured right foot, is expected to miss the Trojans’ season opener against San Jose State, coach Lincoln Riley said.
Losing Stewart for longer than that would be a bitter pill for USC to swallow at the start of a highly anticipated season. But while reports have suggested that Stewart is likely to miss USC’s entire nonconference slate with the injury, Riley suggested Tuesday that he could debut as soon as the following Friday, when USC takes on Fresno State in its second game of the season.
“What he’s dealing with right now is minor,” Riley said. “The plan is to probably hold him and I think he’ll be able from that point forward. But it’s certainly not long term. A little precautionary right now.”
Hendrick is among 16 players who sought a Louisiana temporary restraining order allowing them to return to college after entering the NFL draft pool, arguing they would not have left had they know NCAA rules would change granting them an extra year of eligibility.
The temporary restraining order was granted last week, but the Big Ten voted on Tuesday to pass a new rule that prohibited football players who have signed a pro contract, were on a pro roster at any point or declared for the NFL draft as an underclassman without withdrawing, from maintaining eligibility for athletic competition.
From Kevin Baxter: When Mark Parsons joined Angel City as sporting director 19 months ago, the first order of business was to find a head coach. The club had fired its first two managers and was about to open training camp without one.
But for Parsons, finding the right person was more important than finding a person right now.
“Time in getting it done is not the priority,” he said then. “Getting the right person is.”
So Parsons conducted an extensive global search before settling on Alexander Straus, who had won three straight Bundesliga titles with Bayern Munich. Straus lasted just a year in the NWSL, losing more than twice as many games as he won.
Now, 2½ months after firing Straus, Parsons is deep into another coaching search. And once again, he won’t be rushed.
“I don’t want to put a date on this,” he said. “Finding that person’s the priority. But getting to the right answer is the most important.”
1933 — Helen Hull Jacobs captures the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association singles title when Helen Wills Moody defaults in the third set because of back and hip pain.
1950 — Australia wins its third straight Davis Cup by beating the U.S. 4-1.
1961 — The International Hockey Hall of Fame opens in Toronto.
1972 — The New York Cosmos win the NASL championship by defeating the St. Louis Stars 2-1.
1995 — Greg Norman sinks a 66-foot chip on the first playoff hole, to capture the World Series of Golf and become the leading money winner in PGA Tour history. Norman wins $360,000 in his third tour victory this year to raise lifetime earnings to $9.49 million and overtake Tom Kite.
1997 — Carl Lewis finishes his track-and-field career anchoring star-studded team to victory in the 400-meter relay to cap the ISTAF Grand Prix meet in Berlin. The team of Olympic 100-meter champion Donovan Bailey, former world record-holder Leroy Burrell and Namibian sprint champion Frankie Fredericks, win in 38.24 seconds.
1999 — Michael Johnson shatters another world record at the world championships — this time, breaking the 400-meter mark with a time of 43.18. He cuts 0.11 seconds off the record of 43.29 set by Butch Reynolds in 1988 and ties Carl Lewis for the most gold medals at the championships with eight.
2004 — Lindsay Tarpley and Abby Wambach score as the U.S. beats Brazil 2-1, maintaining an undefeated record to win the women’s football gold medal at the Athens Olympics.
2011 — The Tulsa Shock snap the longest losing streak in WNBA history with a 77-75 win over the Sparks. The Shock (2-25) had 20 straight losses before Sheryl Swoopes hit a jumper with 2.9 seconds left.
2011 — Kyle Busch records his record-breaking 50th NASCAR Busch Series victory, edging teammate Joey Logano in the Food City 250 at the Bristol Motor Speedway. Busch breaks a tie with Mark Martin for the record in NASCAR’s second-tier series.
2012 — Lydia Ko wins the Canadian Women’s Open to become the youngest winner in LPGA Tour history and only the fifth amateur champion. The 15-year-old South Korean-born New Zealander closes with a 5-under 67 for a three-stroke victory over Inbee Park.
2016 — San Francisco 49ers Colin Kaepernick kneels in protest during the U.S. national anthem at San Diego’s Qualcomm Stadium while playing against the San Diego Chargers, objecting to racial injustice and police brutality in the U.S.
2016 — Dan Raudabaugh throws six touchdown passes and the Philadelphia Soul win their second ArenaBowl title, beating the Arizona Rattlers 56-42.
2017 — Kyle Snyder scores a late takedown of Olympic gold medalist Abdusalim Sadulaev in the deciding match, and the U.S. wins the world freestyle wrestling title for the first time in 22 years.
2017 — Floyd Mayweather Jr. stops UFC champion Conor McGregor on his feet in the 10th round in Las Vegas. The much-hyped 154-pound fight is more competitive than many expected when an unbeaten, five-division world champion boxer takes on a mixed martial artist making his pro boxing debut.
2020 — Milwaukee Bucks forfeit their NBA playoff game after the shooting of Jacob Blake, leading to the NBA postponing more games.
Compiled by the Associated Press
This day in baseball history
1916 — Philadelphia’s Joe Bush pitched a no-hitter, to beat Cleveland 5-0.
1939 — The first major league baseball game was televised as WXBS brought their cameras to Brooklyn’s Ebbets Field for a doubleheader between the Cincinnati Reds and the Dodgers.
1947 — Brooklyn’s Dan Bankhead became the first Black pitcher in the majors. He homered in his first major-league plate appearance, but didn’t fare well on the mound. In 3 1-3 innings of relief, he gave up 10 hits and six earned runs to the Pirates. Pittsburgh won 16-3.
1962 — Minnesota’s Jack Kralick pitched a 1-0 no-hitter against the Kansas City Athletics at Metropolitan Stadium. Lenny Green drove in the Twins’ run with a sacrifice fly off Bill Fischer in the seventh inning.
1987 — Milwaukee’s Paul Molitor went 0-for-4, ending his 39-game hitting streak, and the Brewers beat the Cleveland Indians 1-0 in 10 innings on pinch-hitter Rick Manning’s RBI single. With Molitor waiting in the on-deck circle for a possible fifth at-bat, Manning singled in the game-winner.
1989 — Chris Drury pitches a five-hitter and Trumbull, Conn., becomes the first American team since 1983 to capture the Little League World Series, defeating Kaohsiung, Taiwan, 5-2.
1991 — Kansas City’s Bret Saberhagen pitched a no-hitter to lead the Royals to a 7-0 win over the Chicago White Sox.
1993 — Sean Burroughs, the son of former major leaguer Jeff Burroughs, pitches his second no-hitter of the Little League World Series and hits two home runs, sending defending champion Long Beach past Bedford, N.H., 11-0 in the final of the U.S. bracket.
1999 — Randy Johnson reached 300 strikeouts in record time, notching nine in seven innings to help the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Florida Marlins 12-2. Johnson achieved the milestone in his 29th start.
2004 — Ichiro Suzuki homered in the ninth inning for his 200th hit of the season, but Seattle fell to Kansas City 7-3. Suzuki became the first player to reach 200 hits in each of his first four major league seasons.
2007 — Dalton Carriker’s home run in the bottom of the eighth gave Warner Robins, Georgia, a thrilling 3-2 victory over Tokyo to win the Little League World Series title.
2007 — Boston defeated the Chicago White Sox 11-1 to complete a four-game sweep. For the series, the Red Sox outscored Chicago 46-7. Boston scored at least 10 runs in every game of the series, which is only the fourth time that has happened in a four-game series since 1900 and the first time in the American League in 85 years.
2008 — Major League Baseball announced umpires will be allowed to check video on home run calls starting Aug. 27. Video will be used only on so-called “boundary calls,” such as determining whether fly balls went over the fence, whether potential home runs were fair or foul and whether there was fan interference on potential home runs.
2010 — Albert Pujols of St. Louis hits the 400th homer of his career, off Jordan Zimmermann of the Nationals in the fourth inning. Pujols becomes the 47th major leaguer to hit that many and is the third-youngest to do so after Alex Rodriguez and Ken Griffey Jr.
2018 — Mana Lau Kong homered to center field on the first pitch his team saw and Ka’olu Holt pitched a complete game to lead Hawaii to a 3-0 victory over South Korea in the Little League World Series championship.
2018 — Toronto’s Kendrys Morales became the seventh player in major league history to homer in at least seven consecutive games, going deep in the third inning of the Blue Jays’ 8-3 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies.
2018 — Matt Carpenter tied a St. Louis record with four doubles, pitcher Austin Gomber had a two-run infield single in a six-run first inning, and the Cardinals routed Colorado 12-3.
2024 — Danny Jansen becomes the first player to appear for both teams in the same game. He had started the June 26th game between the Blue Jays and Red Sox at Fenway Park as Toronto’s catcher and was at bat with an 0-1 count when the game was suspended by rain in the 2nd inning. When the game resumes today, he has since been traded to Boston, and takes over behind the plate for Reese McGuire, who has been released.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
ATLANTA — Dodgers manager Dave Roberts could see the kind of inning right-hander Tyler Glasnow had to begin his start Tuesday, plagued by soft contact and bad luck, derailing a younger version of him.
“That’s an outing that a couple years ago I think might have gotten away,” Roberts said after the Dodgers’ 4-3 loss to the Braves, ending a six-game winning streak. “And I don’t think he would’ve been as efficient getting through the fifth like he did. But there’s just a lot of growth with Glas. Just can’t wait to see more. Like I told him after the start, it’s just really good to have him back.”
Glasnow’s return was a major step for the Dodgers as they assemble their postseason pitching staff. The next will be two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani’s return to pitching — which could happen as soon as this weekend.
Ohtani is scheduled to throw a bullpen session Thursday or Friday, pitching coach Mark Prior said. Then Ohtani and the Dodgers will finalize next steps. But Roberts didn’t rule out the possibility of Ohtani making a short start Sunday in Detroit.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
Tuesday marked Glasnow’s first start since May 6 in Houston, when back spasms cut his outing short after one inning. He’d been pitching so well to start the year (2.72 ERA in seven starts) that the Dodgers hoped he could avoid the IL, even for precautionary reasons.
Instead, he did have to go on the IL and had to halt his throwing progression multiple times for flare-ups, prolonging his time on it.
Even so, in Glasnow’s last two weeks on the IL, he seemed “at peace” to Roberts. So, the manager was confident that the growth in mindset that the Dodgers had witnessed over the last year would carry through the down time.
“I felt that he just got to a place — and I don’t know if it was last year’s postseason or what — but the game slowed down,” Roberts said. “Nothing spiked him. I think there was just a maturity in how he went about things. Coming out of the [bullpen], something he’s never done … in the postseason, and performing the way he did. And then coming into this spring training, he just seemed like another level of confident, that I just felt it was palpable.
“So that translated into the season. And I was so bummed, like we all were, to see him go down.”
The Dodgers’ rotation weathered the loss of Glasnow and Blake Snell (arthroscopic elbow surgery) admirably. And both are back in time for the stretch run.
“It felt like a long time,” Glasnow said. “I think any time you’re out that long, just doing rehab the whole time, it definitely sucks. So it’s exciting to be able to get back. But I’m glad, too, my body’s in a spot where I felt like I was before.”
His stuff followed suit.
“Even with all the talent that we have on our roster, [Glasnow] might surpass it with his raw stuff, and the ability to shut down any team at any time,” Prior said before the game. “Do we expect that to be Day 1, today, who knows? We’re facing, obviously, one of the best teams in baseball. But it’s really good to have him back because he changes a lot of things with our personnel.”
Though Glasnow gave up four hits and three runs in the first inning, only one of those hits, Drake Baldwin’s leadoff single, was hit hard. The rest were simply hit where the Dodgers’ defense couldn’t field them.
He finally escaped by striking out Braves No. 7 hitter Mike Yastrzemski, with the help of a successful ABS challenge.
In that 35-pitch first inning, Glasnow threw the kitchen sink at the Braves. But that included a lot of first-pitch four-seam fastballs — and six straight fastballs to Baldwin.
“Coming out in the second, I just felt more in rhythm,” Glasnow said, “and slider was working a lot better, and just felt a lot better.”
Shohei Ohtani slides into third for a triple to lead off the ninth inning Tuesday.
(Erik S. Lesser / AP)
Glasnow leaned on that slider, making sure to throw it at different points in the count — “just trying to not be so predictable,” he said — pairing it with his four-seamer and sinker.
It took him just 13 pitches to strike out the side. He retired three straight batters in the third with roughly the same plan of attack.
In the fourth, he started mixing in his knuckle curve again, even ending the inning on that pitch and Austin Riley failed to check his swing on a curve that broke into the dirt, for strike three.
After that first inning, Glasnow gave up only two more hits. And in five innings, he recorded seven strikeouts.
“I thought all night long, he threw the ball fantastic,” Roberts said. “The stuff, the strikeouts, swing and miss, how he navigated that first inning to not let it spiral, reset. He did everything he could to prevent runs tonight.”
Glasnow left with the score tied. The bottom of the Dodgers’ lineup evened the score, with RBI singles from Alek Thomas, Hunter Feduccia and Alex Call.
The score remained knotted until the eighth inning, when Dodgers left-hander Tanner Scott gave up a leadoff double to Matt Olson — the first extra-base hit of the game — and a two-out RBI single to Ozzie Albies to give the Braves the lead.
“We’ve had to lean on our ‘pen, man, the last two months really,” Roberts said. “The last two months we’ve played a lot of one-, two-run ballgames. There’s no margin. I thought we pitched well enough to win tonight. Unfortunately it just didn’t happen.”
To open the ninth inning, Ohtani struck back with a triple off the left-field wall. But the Dodgers stranded him there against Braves closer Raisel Iglesias.
Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell. How hot is it? It’s no longer microwave popcorn, it’s just popcorn.
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Series with Braves is important
Just like the recent series with the Brewers was important as far as postseason positioning goes, so is this series with the Atlanta Braves. Remember, the three division winners automatically qualify for the postseason, but the division winner with the worst record will have to play in the first round, while the other two skip the first round. And, if teams are tied, the first tiebreaker is head-to-head record. The Brewers hold the tiebreaker over the Dodgers after beating them in four of the seven games this season.
Let’s look at those three teams as of Monday night:
The Braves are struggling right now, having lost seven of 10, but this time last week the Dodgers were struggling before they reeled off six straight wins. Baseball.
The Dodgers are 1-2 against Atlanta. So, they will need to win at least two of three games to go to the second tiebreaker, which is intradivision record (yes, even for teams in different divisions.) As of Monday night, the Dodgers are 26-17 against the NL West and the Braves are 27-13 against the NL East. The Braves have a 2 1/2-game lead there, but there are plenty of intradivision games left to play. It would be great if the Dodgers swept the Braves and didn’t have to worry about that.
Let’s take a look at how the Dodgers and Braves compare this season, through Sunday.
Runs per game Dodgers, 4.98 (third in the majors) Atlanta, 4.69 (eighth) League average, 4.47
Batting average Dodgers, .258 (second) Atlanta, .246 (11th) League average, .244
Inherited runners who scored% Atlanta, 22.5%, 32 of 142 (third) League average, 31.8%, 57 of 179 Dodgers, 35.3%, 53 of 150 (21st)
Keep in mind, it is not imperative to finish in the top two. The Dodgers had to play in the first round last season and that worked out OK. In fact, this season is looking amazingly like last season, with the shaky bullpen and strong starting pitching.
Meet the new Dodger
Alek Thomas gestures toward the dugout after reaching second base on Saturday.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
With Andy Pages sidelined by a broken hand, the Dodgers turned to their minor-league system for his replacement: former Arizona Diamondback Alek Thomas.
You may be asking, “Why not James Tibbs III, who is hitting .303/.422/.566 with triple-A Oklahoma City?” Well, Tibbs has not played center in the minors or in college, so that would be a big ask to play center for the first time in the majors in the middle of a postseason run.
Also, teams are not in a rush to get the major league service time running for players. That way they can keep them under team control longer.
Thomas was drafted by Arizona out of Mount Carmel High in Chicago in the second round in 2018. He made the majors in 2022 and hit .231/.275/.344 in 113 games. He hit about the same in 2023 (.230/.273/.374) but hit a key pinch-hit home run in Game 4 of the NL Championship Series against Philadelphia. He missed most of 2024 because of a torn hamstring and hit .249/.289/.370 in 2025, when Arizona began to sour on him.
He doesn’t draw many walks, but plays a good center field. This season, he hit .181 for the Diamondbacks when they designated him for assignment, and the Dodgers sent Arizona minor league outfielder Jose Requena for Thomas. He has been with Oklahoma City since then, where he hit .296/.362/.493 in 55 games.
Thomas played for Mexico in this year’s World Baseball Classic. After his first game as a Dodger, he said, “It’s funny, because they always hated me whenever I came out there in center field. I was, like, ‘Come on, guys, I’m Mexican too. You don’t have to yell at me; like, we’re on the same side here.’
“But, obviously … it doesn’t matter where you’re from. ‘If you’re not a Dodgers guy, you’re not my guy.’”
Thomas is wearing No. 9 with the Dodgers, last worn last season by Eddie Rosario. Gavin Lux wore it before that. It has also been worn by, among others, Yasmani Grandal, Mickey Hatcher, Greg Brock, Wally Moon, Gino Cimoli and Babe Phelps.
Injury update
Edwin Díaz, P, neck: An MRI exam of his neck showed no damage, so he could come off the IL as soon as he is eligible in the first week of September. When he comes back, he won’t be closing and will be used in low-leverage situations until he shows he is 100%.
Tyler Glasnow, P, back: He is ready to go and should start tonight against Atlanta.
Will Klein, P, elbow: He has resumed playing catch, but there’s not much time left in the season for him to come back.
Bobby Miller, P, shoulder: He is on rehab assignment with Oklahoma City.
Shohei Ohtani, P, knee: He pitched a live batting practice session Saturday. He will probably have to throw another session before returning to the rotation.
Andy Pages, CF, broken hand: Had a screw inserted into the bottom bone in the pinkie of his left hand. The Dodgers expect him back for the postseason, but we’ve heard that before. It all depends on how quickly he heals.
Dalton Rushing, C, UCL tear: Could begin a rehab assignment next week, but it’s still unlikely he catches again this season, making his postseason chances very small.
Will Smith, C, neck: He is set to go on a rehab assignment with Oklahoma City on Tuesday. He could be back next week.
Gavin Stone, P, shoulder: Pitched three perfect innings in his most recent rehab start.
Blake Treinen, P, elbow: He is currently on rehab assignment with Oklahoma City and pitched a scoreless inning Sunday for the Comets.
Justin Wrobleski, P, forearm: He could be back in early September, but when he does return, it will be to the bullpen because there is no room in the rotation anymore.
The problem for guys such as Stone and Miller is that there’s not much time left this season, and it seems they have little possibility to have meaningful contributions because they haven’t pitched in so long. Same goes for Ben Casparius, who is injured, and Brusdar Graterol, who hasn’t pitched at all this season.
Up next
Tuesday: Dodgers (Tyler Glasnow, 3-0, 2.72 ERA) at Atlanta (Bryce Elder, 8-7, 3.92 ERA), 4:15 p.m., SportsNet LA, TBS, AM 570, KTNQ 1020
Wednesday: Dodgers (Roki Sasaki, 5-5, 4.42 ERA) at Atlanta (AJ Smith-Shawver, 0-0, 6.23 ERA), 4:15 p.m., SportsNet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020
Thursday: Dodgers (Yoshinobu Yamamoto, 12-7, 2.61 ERA) at Atlanta (*Chris Sale, 12-9, 2.20 ERA), 4:15 p.m., FS1, AM 570, KTNQ 1020
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.
Jason Heyward didn’t give Freddie Freeman the heads up that he’d secured a job in the Dodgers’ front office. He hadn’t told any of his former Dodger teammates. But Freeman, who’s known Heyward for two decades, now says he’d heard rumblings. He was just going to let his longtime friend break the news himself.
On May 13, midway through a home series against the Giants, Freeman walked into the food room at Dodger Stadium, and, to his surprise and confusion, there was Heyward.
“What are you doing here?” a slack-jawed Freeman asked.
“Well, I’m working,” Heyward said.
No text. No call.
“He waited to tell me in person,” Freeman said.
Heyward technically started his job as a special assistant at the beginning of May, but he was on site for the first time a couple of weeks later. That game against the Giants, with Heyward looking on as a Dodgers special assistant for the first time, Freeman stole a base — a rarity in recent years.
“I wanted to ask him, what was my grade?” Freeman said. “What do you give me, a 70 on the 20-80 (scouting) scale?”
Freeman chuckled. Though he has long been an adept baserunner, it’s never been because of his speed — not even in high school, when teams were scouting him for the 2007 MLB draft.
Jason Heyward, who joined the Dodgers as a special assistant earlier this season, stands on the field before a game against the Seattle Mariners at Dodger Stadium last month.
(Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Getty Images)
That’s when Freeman and Heyward first met, the summer before their senior year. They had no way of knowing that they’d go on to experience baseball and life milestones together for the next two decades and counting.
They were both drafted by the Braves, Heyward in the first round (No. 14 overall), and Freeman in the second (No.78). They became roommates and teammates, debuting in the same year.
Over the course of two long and decorated MLB careers — which includes Heyward’s five Gold Gloves, Freeman’s 10 All-Star selections, and five World Series rings between the two of them — their paths diverged and reconnected multiple times.
In this most recent chapter, Heyward has ventured into the front office, Freeman is adding to his Hall of Fame candidacy, and they’re once again on the same team.
“To see us now, it’s crazy,” Freeman said. “It really is.”
Strangers
It’s rare for friends of 20 years to be able to pick out the details of their first encounter. Over the decades, fond memories start to jumble and fade.
But not for Freeman and Heyward.
Without hesitation they’ll bring up August 2006, when they were both 16 and played on opposing teams in the Aflac All-American Classic, held that year in San Diego. They really got to know each other during the down time that week, hanging out in the communal game room in the hotel.
When they met, Freeman was playing Pop-A-Shot.
“That’s where he was most of the time,” Heyward said.
The group could gravitate to another part of the room to “trade cards, sign autographs, talk a little shop,” and Freeman would somehow end up back at the Pop-A-Shot.
That, however, didn’t stop Freeman and Heyward from hitting it off.
On the surface, they were an opposites-attract kind of duo, in pretty much every category but height — listed as 6-foot-4 and 6-5 during that showcase. Heyward grew up in the Atlanta metropolitan area, playing on the East team, and Freeman was an Orange County native, representing the West.
Their priorities and aspirations pulled them together.
“You kind of look around and see all the other guys there and see what they’re doing, how they talk, how they act,” Freeman said. “And then you run into Jason, and then, I’m like, ‘That’s who I want to hang out with.’ He had everything figured out at such a young age.”
Heyward was the more hyped prospect, and the star of the East in that game, with four stolen bases, a pair of hits and two RBIs.
The second time Heyward reached first base, Freeman said to him, “You’re not going to steal again.” Heyward’s response: “I’m going again.”
“I looked down, he was kicking dirt on my shoes, all that,” Heyward said. “So, same guy who he is today on first base, that’s who he’s always been.”
Even in practice, Freeman’s competitiveness stood out to his new friend.
“One hundred percent competitive, but it was fun for him to be competitive,” Heyward said. “Not competitive in like, ‘Get off me,’ [stuff] like that. He welcomed me.”
Though they became fast friends, and ran into each other on the showcase circuit throughout their senior year, who knows what would have happened if the 2007 draft had played out differently?
Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman takes his shoes off after batting practice during spring training at Camelback Ranch in Phoenix in February.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
Draftees
Freeman was scheduled to take a final exam the day he was drafted.
That year, the draft made its television debut. The first round — including the Braves selecting hometown kid Jason Heyward — was broadcast on ESPN2. Heyward’s selection wasn’t a surprise — “We know the Braves have a history of drafting young players from the area,” he said.
But Freeman would have to be in front of a computer to track the subsequent rounds. He finagled permission to go home until he was selected, and then return to school.
“We were going along, and I had some other teams calling for me as a pitcher,” Freeman said. “And I was like, ‘I don’t want to pitch, let me hit first.’”
Eventually the Braves called, with their second pick of the second round approaching. Freeman, wasting no time, kicked off the conversation with: “I don’t want to pitch.”
“And they’re like, ‘Good, because we don’t want you to,’” Freeman recalled.
Finally. The excitement began to set in.
Even after the Braves drafted Freeman, it wasn’t a done deal on his end.
He’d committed to Cal State Fullerton, the alma mater of his father, Fred Freeman. And Freddie had his sights set on becoming a CPA and taking over his dad’s business.
A couple days after the draft, at 2 or 3 a.m., Freddie knocked on Fred’s bedroom door with a decision.
“Dad, I don’t want to go to college,” he said. “I want to play baseball.”
They talked for a while. And though Fred had wanted his son to pursue an education, he softened his stance, supporting Freddie’s dream. They agreed, Freddie remembers, that if he didn’t make it to the big leagues in four years, he’d quit to follow the original plan.
“Back then, I was like, ‘Oh, yeah, that’s fine,” Freeman said. “And now you think about it — that was crazy to think, right? Four or five years in the minor leagues, that’s what the norm is. … We didn’t know any better.”
That set Freeman and Heyward on course to reunite, this time as teammates.
Heyward, poised to sign for above slot value, had to wait until mid-August to sign his contract ($1.7-million bonus). So, when he finally joined the Gulf Coast League, for all of eight games before finishing the season with rookie-ball Danville, he remembers Freeman greeting him with a disgruntled, “Hey, man, I’ve been waiting on you. I’ve been here, it’s been hot.”
“My bad,” Heyward said. “I couldn’t control it.”
Freeman broke into laughter.
After the instructional league that fall, Freeman and Heyward decided to room together in spring training. And though the accommodations changed throughout the years, they’d remain roommates through 2010, their debut season in the majors.
Roommates
Outfielder Jason Heyward, left, and infielder Freddie Freeman celebrate before the start of a spring training game against the Toronto Blue Jays in March 2010.
(Al Messerschmidt / Getty Images)
There’s no better way to quickly learn a person’s idiosyncrasies than living with them.
In terms of morning routines, Heyward and Freeman were on far ends of the spectrum. If Heyward was going to start getting ready at 12:30, Freeman was waiting until 12:48 — and it was always something that specific too. Extremely structured to this day, if something throws off Freeman’s schedule, his “robot mind,” as he puts it, malfunctions.
While Heyward would marvel at how close Freeman was willing to cut it, Freeman would give Heyward grief for how long he’d take to get ready.
“In the minor leagues, we had to shave, had to keep it low,” Heyward said. “And I’ve been, at that time, shaving since I was 15. So sometimes I had to shave twice a day, otherwise it was just freaking uncomfortable.
“So, yeah, if I may take a long time to get ready, ‘You’re rocking with what you’re rocking with; you can just get out of bed, literally wet your hair, and then go.’”
On the road, Freeman still jokes, Heyward’s BlackBerry phone came into play. The team would put the players up in hotel rooms with two beds, subjecting Freeman to the incessant clicking of Heyward texting.
“Anybody can nitpick something, but if I complain about a BlackBerry texting, that’s not really anything,” Freeman said. “‘Sorry, I had friends,’ he would say.”
Freeman and Heyward were inseparable. They’d hit back-to-back in the lineup, and then get on the bus for a 13-hour ride and sit right next to each other.
They rose quickly through the farm system, one after another, sharing the highs and lows.
“There was some irony in the fact of how he was treated in the South, versus how I’m treated in the South, even though I’m from there,” said Heyward, who is Black. “And that goes back to even in the minor leagues.”
A road trip to Savannah, Ga., in 2008 immediately came to mind for Freeman, who is white. From first base Freeman could hear everything the crowd said to Heyward in right field — including the racial slur a fan yelled in the middle of a game.
“It was the first time I ever heard the N-word,” Freeman said. “It was crazy to me. And I was almost in tears. I wanted to run into the stands.”
In fact, he started walking over there, before Heyward stopped him.
“For me, obviously, that’s been my whole life, especially growing up where I grew up,” Heyward said. “But it’s just a good perspective on him not hearing it before. And I think that’s it.
“But, yeah, if anybody would have tried him on anything, I’m fighting them too. … What’s understood didn’t have to be explained there.”
The fact that Heyward could remain so calm was eye-opening for Freeman. The pair came away from that incident, and more subtle slights (like having to wait 20 minutes to be seated in a mostly empty restaurant), with a better understanding of each other.
“For an 18-year-old to have that be a normal thing is even more saddening,” Freeman said. “To this day, it’s hard to even talk about. That those kids, or young adults [in the stands] grew up thinking that was an OK thing to say, it’s just baffling to me.”
Teammates
Heyward’s highly anticipated MLB debut came on April 5, 2010, opening day at Turner Field. And in his first major league at-bat, he smoked a three-run home run to right field.
Freeman, on the other hand, started the season in triple A. But that didn’t split up the roommates. Freeman made the 35-minute drive northeast to Gwinnett, and Heyward headed south for 15 minutes.
By late August, it was obvious Freeman would be among the Braves’ call-ups when rosters expanded on Sept. 1.
Sure enough, Heyward and Freeman both headed south that day — still driving separately because of their differing morning routines.
Freddie Freeman, left, Jason Heyward, center, and Brian McCann chat during a workout at spring training in Kissimmee, Fla., in 2011.
(Phelan M. Ebenhack / Associated Press)
“I walked into Turner Field, and saw my name in the lineup, hitting sixth, and I almost threw up,” Freeman said.
Seeing familiar faces helped. Freeman knew many of the coaches and his new teammates from major league spring training the past two years. And, of course, there was Heyward.
“Just a special day,” Freeman said. “I didn’t get any hits, but I didn’t care.
“Jason got all the hits for us, he went four for four. He was so happy I was there. He took all my hits.”
As Freeman went through his big-league firsts, he appreciated having Heyward, who’d already checked them off for himself, by his side.
Freeman looks back fondly on their plane rides. He and Heyward would sit together, eating Chick-fil-A.
Raising the level of decadence, the next year, Freeman had his first “show dinner” with Heyward and veterans such as Eric Hinske and Chipper Jones at a steakhouse in Seattle called El Gaucho.
“I was like, this is the coolest thing ever,” Freeman said.
“Those were both of our ‘college years,’” Heyward said. “So seeing the real world a little bit, spending time on flights, clubhouse, dinners, enjoying teammates, becoming young adults.”
Jason Heyward, right, high-fives teammate Freddie Freeman after scoring off a single by Justin Upton in the first inning of a June 2013 game against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
(David Goldman / Associated Press)
They were also playing well. Heyward and Freeman finished No. 2 in NL rookie of the year voting in consecutive years. And they started filling up their own individual trophy cases, while the Braves made it to the postseason three times in five years.
“Everyone has fun playing baseball,” Freeman said, “but to experience the big leagues with your best friend, I don’t know if you can get much better than that.”
Rivals
As soon as the Braves were eliminated from the 2014 postseason chase, the team fired general manager Frank Wren. Plunging into a rebuild, new president of baseball operations John Hart’s first big move was to trade Heyward to the Cardinals for pitching.
“That was the first time I saw the business side of baseball,” Freeman said. “Sad day. But it opened my eyes to, this isn’t just fun all the time. The fun has to end at some point.”
Freeman and Heyward kept in touch and celebrated each other’s successes. But it wasn’t the same.
“That was like, ‘Alright, this is becoming more of a job,” Heyward said.
Heyward leveraged that platform season in St. Louis into an eight-year free agent contract with the Cubs worth $184 million, setting a franchise record.
The Braves extended Freeman. Then when he finally hit free agency after the 2021 season, he became the first infielder to sign a $100-plus million deal with the Dodgers, signing a contract for six years and $162 million.
For eight years, Heyward and Freeman played for opposing NL teams. Then, an unexpected turn of events set the ball rolling for a reunion.
In early August 2022, when Heyward had already been on the injured list for over a month with what the Cubs called right knee inflammation, president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer announced that the team intended to release the veteran right fielder from the final year of his contract after the season.
Freeman saw an opportunity. And for the rest of the year, he didn’t let Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman or general manager Brandon Gomes walk by without hearing his pitch for Heyward.
“I’ll shoot you straight,” Freeman told them. “I don’t know what you’re going to get from the baseball player Jason Heyward, but I know what you’re going to get from the person Jason Heyward, and what he would mean inside of a clubhouse, and what he can do to young guys and help them. There’s no one better to be in this clubhouse than how you are envisioning clubhouse culture and chemistry than to bring this guy in.”
Friedman doesn’t have an exact count on the number of times Freeman mentioned Heyward to him in those months, “but it was definitely a lot.”
Friedman and Gomes were intrigued enough to have their group dig into the evolution of Heyward’s swing. But they still had questions, like how open was he going to be to diving into adjustments with their staff?
Soon after he was officially released, the Dodgers set up a Zoom.
“He was all-in,” Friedman said, “in terms of open-mindedness, desire to change some of the recent narrative, and he was excited about the prospect of working with our guys and doing what he could to help us win games, both on and off the field.”
Heyward said he heard from the Dodgers three times before he heard from any other team in free agency.
“That was how persistent they were,” he said.
Jason Heyward, left, celebrates a run with Freddie Freeman against the Texas Rangers in June 2024.
(Ronald Martinez / Getty Images)
Heyward signed a minor-league deal with the Dodgers in early December. He spent time in Southern California over the offseason to get a head start on overhauling his swing. And he met Freeman in Newport Beach, to hang out, hit and work out together.
Heyward’s efforts paid off. He made the team out of spring training. And he and Freeman were officially teammates again.
“It was so fun,” Heyward said.
Their reunion on the field was brief — the Dodgers re-signed Heyward for the 2024 season and then, his first half derailed by injuries, released him in August — but it was still sweet.
“You go from sitting together on a bus coming from Rome, Ga., going to Wilmington, Delaware — and like now you’re on a first class flight with the L.A. Dodgers, and traveling from West Coast to East Coast, wearing the jumpsuits, all that stuff,” Heyward said. “That was a very cool experience coming from being 16-years-old, Aflac All-Americans, to now sharing a World Series ring.”
Co-workers
Heyward finished 2024 with the Astros and spent the next season with the Padres. He trained this past offseason to be ready for spring training if a team gave him an offer. But in the final weeks, he also started laying groundwork for a post-playing career in case the phone never rang.
“This year I said, ‘If we get a Super Bowl weekend, that’s it, and I’m content,’” Heyward said. “Not complacent; I’m content. I let it run its course, and now I have clarity to go do whatever else it is.”
He said he reached out to the Cubs first about a non-playing role, and had cursory conversations with the White Sox. He exchanged texts with Friedman, reviving conversations they’d had in his stint with the Dodgers. In many ways, it came down to timing.
Heyward had already been planning on meeting up in spring training with Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, a former player, to pick his brain about the transition.
They went to dinner, with both their wives, and stayed for six hours.
“I basically was just honest with him, in telling him that, No. 1, I think it’s great that he wants to stay in the game,” Roberts said. “But No. 2 is that when you’re a player, you look at certain things in a certain lens, but for him to be good at this job in the front office, he’s got to be really open-minded to learn.”
Roberts came away from the conversation excited by how earnestly Heyward embraced that message. And he mentioned to Gomes: “Someone with his character that has his desire to work could be a huge asset for us.”
Two and a half weeks later, Heyward stopped by Dodgers camp at Camelback Ranch to catch up with old friends and teammates.
“I was here for two years, and it felt like I was here for 10,” Heyward said. “And that’s family included — my family, my kids, my wife … So, what I thought was going to be natural, this was even more organic.”
Friends
Dodgers outfielder Jason Heyward, right, congratulates Freddie Freeman after bringing him home on an eighth-inning sacrifice fly against the Colorado Rockies at Dodger Stadium in a June 2024 game.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Life changes dramatically between the ages of 16 and 36.
“Single guys trying to make it, to married with many kids,” said Freeman, who turns 37 next month. “And we’re still as close as ever, which is really, really special for me.”
Then, he added: “This is going to be friends forever.”
Their wives, Chelsea Freeman and Vedrana Heyward, are close too. The Freeman’s middle children are just a little over a year older than the Heywards’ eldest. And the families’ newest additions were both born months apart.
Freeman and Heyward are already coordinating family schedules and travel — the Heywards are based in Chicago — to all get together in California this offseason.
They’re no longer those high schoolers bonding between rounds of Pop-A-Shot. In June, Freeman surpassed 2,500 career MLB hits.
“The way Free’s done it, winning is all over it,” Heyward said. “I think that’s one of those unique abilities, to this guy is playing the game first, winning first, and then he’s getting a result, then he’s having the big at-bat, doing it obviously in the postseason. So I’m just happy to see him get the recognition that he’s earned the time he put into it. I’m happy to see his stubbornness pay off.
“It’s not easy to do. It’s much easier said than done.”
Heyward, moving on from a 16-year major-league playing career, would love to be a general manager one day. But he’s keeping an open mind. He took Roberts’ advice to heart and is using his first year as a special assistant to learn and explore the possibilities.
Heyward has been around the major-league team for a handful of series in Los Angeles and Chicago (even giving Freeman advance notice before the White Sox series to make up for his May drop-in).
Trying his hand at player evaluation, he sat in the stands during the Southeastern Conference tournament. And as he pops in on affiliates, the Dodgers also see the time he spends with their outfield prospects — the biggest strength of their farm system — as invaluable.
“Whatever he wants to be in the front office, he’s going to be it, because that’s just who he is,” Freeman said. “Because he is a special man, he works hard, he cares, he wants to be the best.”
Freeman has already seen Heyward manifest his dreams once — and vice versa.
Being drafted, making it to the majors, winning championships, those were just dreams 20 years ago this month, when they both wandered into the communal activities room between All-American Classic obligations.
“That week in San Diego,” Freeman said, “obviously we’ll never forget it.”
LAS VEGAS — Call it St. John Bosco’s Nightmare on South Hualapai Way on Friday night.
Why St. John Bosco traveled on three buses to the desert to play in 104 degree temperature against Bishop Gorman was on everyone’s mind, because the Braves were either unprepared or uninterested at the outset for a high school football team ranked No. 1 in the nation by several national publications. A sold-out crowd of 5,000 was surprised when the Braves were down by 21 points at halftime and the offense looked deader than Elvis.
“It was almost like the moment was too big,” Braves coach Jason Negro said.
Then the real St. John Bosco team came out of the locker room after halftime and almost pulled off a Hollywood ending, rallying to tie the score before losing 38-28.
“We showed a lot of resolve, a lot of fight,” Negro said.
The Braves didn’t get a first down until 7:35 left in the second quarter. Their first offensive play from scrimmage was a botched snap landing quarterback Koa Malau’ulu on the three-yard line. The third play resulted in Malau’ulu getting sacked and losing the ball on a fumble in the end zone for a Bishop Gorman touchdown.
The Gaels (2-0) cruised to a 21-0 halftime lead. They’re ranked No. 2 nationally and repeatedly hurt the Braves with the mobility and decision-making of quarterback Ace Amina, who finished with 212 yards passing and four touchdowns. He guided the offense on an 80-yard drive to start the game. St. John Bosco struggled to adjust covering Bishop Gorman running backs going out for passes.
On fourth and 10, sophomore Kuika Moaalii ends St. John Bosco frustration with TD catch to start third quarter. Signs of life. Down 21-7 to Bishop Gorman pic.twitter.com/D2GfILXv5m
In the third quarter, everything changed. A 10-yard touchdown catch by fiery sophomore Kuika Moaalii on fourth down was the moment St. John Bosco got its mojo back. Then DJ Tubbs followed with a touchdown catch to make it 21-14. Bishop Gorman went back up 28-14 on a 53-yard touchdown reception by Zyren Menor. But the quarter ended with the Braves’ Maliq Allen scoring on a 29-yard run. The noise in the stadium was rising on both sides.
The Braves finally tied it 28-28 on Tubbs’ punt return for a touchdown with 9:52 left after Dillon Davis’ third-down sack.
Corey Hinton, who played at St. John Bosco last season, goes 54 yards for TD with 6:49 left. Bishop Gorman 35, St. John Bosco 28 pic.twitter.com/gKOTXzDjUp
As if the fourth quarter weren’t wild enough, the Gaels regained the lead with 6:49 left on a 54-yard touchdown reception by Corey Hinton. And what a game-changer it turned out to be. Hinton played for St. John Bosco the last two seasons until returning to Las Vegas, the city he grew up in.
Asked if he wanted to leave, Hinton said, “I didn’t but it looks like God did this.”
On the winning touchdown, Hinton said, “It was surreal. It was something I prayed for and it meant everything.”
Afterward, he was hugging former teammates. “No hate. Those are my boys,” he said.
Bishop Gorman’s Maximiliano Fuentes clinched the win with a 49-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter.
Negro said all the mistakes made by his team are fixable, so he believes the Braves can get back on the winning track. “We just have to execute better,” he said.
Malau’ulu was under duress much of the night. He had two passes intercepted, was sacked three times and did not look comfortable throwing on the run. He did rally the Braves and ended up with 210 yards passing.
There was an “extreme heat warning” on Friday, with the daytime temperature reaching 109 degrees. St. John Bosco began its preparation to be hydrated and avoid cramps on Monday with constant reminders on taking fluids all week by athletic trainer Daisy Martinez.
“It’s 108 out there. It’s good for us,” a Bishop Gorman coach told players 3 1/2 hours before kickoff during their pregame meal in a room on the second floor of their gymnasium complex. Players began to eat in total silence focused on their task at hand.
Bishop Gorman (2-0) looks talented and executed well, but the Braves, like their final game of 2025 when they were upset as the No. 1 seed in the first round of Division 1 playoffs by Orange Lutheran, have plenty to work on.
St. John Bosco is starting the season without its two prized transfer students, offensive tackle Elisha Mueller and defensive back Kingston Fatu, who will will be eligible on Sept. 28. It still hasn’t been determined if Mueller will be a sit-out period player.
