dodgers

For the last month, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Lakers have filled the headlines and airwaves, but not for the reasons either would like.

The Lakers were sold by Mark Walter in mid-August, just over a year after he bought the team.

The sale came about two weeks after the Wall Street Journal reported in late July that the U.S. attorney’s office and securities regulators were investigating Walter’s business and insurance empire regarding $16 billion to $21 billion in possibly fraudulent loans.

In June of last year, 66-year-old Walter and one of his holding companies, TWG Global, purchased a controlling interest in the Lakers for $10 billion, only to sell the franchise to Joshua Kushner and Bob Iger for $12.5 billion this month.

Bloomberg reported that Walter’s sale of the Lakers was done to eliminate some of the billions in outstanding loans that has drawn the ire of federal regulators.

Since then, questions have swirled about whether Walter will put other assets on the market in his fundraising bid, including the Dodgers, which he purchased as chief executive of Chicago investment firm Guggenheim Partners for $2.15 billion in 2012. Sources close to Walter say he’s not likely to sell.

To better understand this tangled story, we spoke with Times sports reporter Steve Henson about why he thinks Walter won’t put the Dodgers up for sale.

What are federal investigators examining

Business reporter Laurence Darmiento wrote Aug. 5 that the heart of the federal investigation swirls around related-party transactions.

These dealings are “between entities with business or personal ties, including loans, sales and other transactions that can have legitimate reasons but pose potential conflicts of interest and typically require extra scrutiny,” Darmiento wrote.

More than $1 billion in financing to buy the Dodgers in 2012 came from insurance companies managed by Guggenheim Partners. The purchase was later vetted by state insurance regulators.

More on the related-party transactions

Investigators are checking whether billions of dollars’ worth of similar loans made by Walter’s companies were properly disclosed and that insurance companies were not over-leveraged.

Approximately $21 billion in loans not disclosed to state insurance regulators were made by two Delaware insurers Walter owns, according to ratings agency Fitch. The loans reportedly were made to companies with ties to Walter or his TWG Global holdings company.

The issue with these loans is they raise suspicions, according to Bruce Dubinsky, a forensic accountant who spoke with Darmiento. Dubinsky worked on the Enron and Madoff cases.

Dubinsky said that from an audit standpoint, these types of transactions “are always more suspect to fraud” and manipulation since repayments can be delayed indefinitely.

The insurance industry’s tight regulations for money collected from premiums exists so that money is available for future claims. Regulators believe related-party transaction are a threat to that guarantee.

TWG Global has rejected any allegations of wrongdoing.

Why is Walter fighting to keep the Dodgers

Henson teamed with Times colleagues to write about Walter’s chances of hanging on to the Dodgers amid this federal probe and whether new owners Bob Iger and Josh Kushner overpaid for the Lakers.

Henson reported that Walter owns a broad series of sports interests: English soccer Premier League team Chelsea, the Los Angeles Sparks WNBA team, the Cadillac Formula 1 racing team; a premier women’s tennis competition, the Billie Jean King Cup, and the entire Professional Women’s Hockey League.

He already sold the Lakers and Henson noted that there have been reports he’s putting his shares of Chelsea on the market.

So, why keep the Dodgers?

“No MLB team has ever been run as boldly as this team,” Henson said. “And the revenue from the Dodgers is relentless, from ticket sales, to international merchandise and including friendly [player] salary deferments that help keep money in-house.”

Since Walter and Co.’s takeover, the Dodgers have won three of the last six World Series and 12 division titles after he and partners rescued the franchise from bankruptcy.

Walter noted that a sale of the Lakers, a franchise he’d barely owned for more than a year, was easier than one he’s already helmed for nearly 15 years.

“His identity is totally wrapped up with the Dodgers and this success saga,” Henson said. “It’s dear to his heart and having them to sell them would just tear him up.”

Amid all of this speculation, the boys in blue are attempting to become the first National League team (and third overall) to win three consecutive World Series titles this year.

The week’s biggest stories

(Carolyn Cole/Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times)

Trump administration policies and pushback

Artist and concert news

A final tribute

Television, advertising entertainment news

More news

Editor’s pick

More picks

Things to do

(Melody Xu/Los Angeles Times)

Today’s recipe

The San Juan Islands off Washington state has a much-loved clam chowder served at La Conner Brewing Co. in the tiny picturesque town of La Conner, Wash. The dish is spicy enough and not so thick with cream or flour and is a standout in the clam chowder world, according to Times reader Mary Ann Mollenkamp.

Have a great day, from the Essential California team

Jack Dolan, investigative reporter
Hugo Martín, assistant editor, fast break desk
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew J. Campa, weekend writer
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters

How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com. Check our top stories, topics and the latest articles on latimes.com.

DETROIT — As Tarik Skubal crossed the field from the bullpen, he had to crane his neck to catch part of the tribute video playing on the massive screen behind him.

By the time he reached the Dodgers dugout, the crowd rose to give him an ovation. Skubal controlled his expression and wiped his face with the towel draped over his neck.

Less than four weeks ago, he said goodbye to the only organization he’d known — the Detroit Tigers drafted him in 2018 out of Seattle University. Now, he was back in the ballpark he’d called home for six years.

In the Dodgers’ 2-1 win Friday, Skubal showed why he was widely considered the best player available at the trade deadline, holding the Tigers to one run and four hits over six innings. The Dodgers’ offense continued to scuffle but did just enough to bounce back from a three-game sweep in Atlanta — the 14th time this month they played a game decided by a single run.

Skubal’s reception included some boos (and “Scuuuub”s) as he took the mound. Even though the trade was out of Skubal’s control, a faction of the Tigers fan base — including this reporter’s rideshare driver from the airport — was upset Skubal never reached an agreement for a contract extension with Detroit (62-72).

The Tigers’ last publicly discussed extension offer was four years and $75 million at the end of 2024 — which drastically pales in comparison to the contract he’s expected to garner in free agency this offseason.

The mutual affection between the player and Detroit, however, took center stage Friday, even as Skubal tamed the Tigers’ offense.

He quickly reined in his emotions. After a delay for a PitchCom malfunction, Skubal gave up a leadoff double to Detroit’s Gleyber Torres on a fastball down the middle. But then the left-hander retired the next 12 batters.

Skubal struck out the side in the third inning, getting Max Clark to swing through a changeup, Javier Báez to chase a high fastball and Torres to watch an off-speed pitch clip the bottom of the zone.

That streak ended with a double up the left-field line from Eduardo Valencia, who turned on an inside slider to lead off the fifth. Then with two outs, Clark stayed back on an outside fastball and sent it the other way for a triple that drove in the game’s first run.

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.

Skubal induced Báez to fly out to center field and punched the palm of his glove on his way off the field.

The Dodgers (81-54) missed a chance to tie with one out in the sixth, when Kyle Tucker was thrown out at home trying to score on a pinch-hit single by Kiké Hernández. But they salvaged the inning when Teoscar Hernández drew a walk and Miguel Rojas smoked a single through the infield to tie the score.

In the seventh, the Dodgers loaded the bases with two outs and failed to squeeze in a run.

Evan Phillips took over on the mound in the bottom of the inning. Skubal’s pitch count stood at only 83, but he had thrown 100 pitches in each of his previous two starts.

The Dodgers finally took the lead in the eighth, manufacturing a run with singles from Teoscar Hernández and Freddie Freeman on either side of a sacrifice bunt from Ben Rortvedt.

ATLANTA — The Dodgers’ recent offensive woes were punctuated Thursday by a shutout by Atlanta Braves left-hander Chris Sale.

“We ran into a buzz saw,” manager Dave Roberts said after the 1-0 loss.

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.”

DETROIT — Dodgers two-way player Shohei Ohtani threw a bullpen Friday at Comerica Park before the team opened a three-game series against the Tigers, as scheduled. But it was not immediately clear if it put him in line to start Sunday.

“I really don’t know what to make of it because I didn’t put eyes on it,” manager Dave Roberts said before the game. “Obviously I’ve got to talk to Shohei, talk to [pitching coach Mark Prior] and then we’ll make a decision for Sunday. But again I have to have that conversation.”

Ohtani threw about 20 pitches in the side session, which Roberts noted was “short,” but he said he hadn’t had any expectations for pitch counts.

Ohtani’s between-start side sessions are usually closer to 30 pitches, but that alone isn’t necessarily a reason to sound the alarm, especially without a clearer picture of the initial plan for Friday’s session. The Dodgers will continue to monitor Ohtani’s recovery as well.

Ohtani had last thrown off the mound six days prior, in a live batting practice session last Saturday.

If he does start Sunday, it will likely be one inning in front of right-hander Tyler Glasnow, Roberts said.

Ohtani hasn’t pitched in a game since July 3 against the Padres, managing swelling and discomfort in his left knee.

Barring a setback, the schedule allows for Ohtani to make five starts on at least five days’ rest before the end of the season.

Glasnow, who threw five innings and 89 pitches on Tuesday in his first start back from the injured list, is scheduled to start on regular rest Sunday.

“Glas felt good going on regular,” Roberts said when asked why the Dodgers didn’t push his start to Tuesday, “and also looking at the calendar and where other guys line up.”

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell.

As we await the postseason and wonder if the Dodgers will get a first-round bye, here are some random thoughts.

—It was very disappointing to get swept by the Braves. If someone forced me right now to bet on the World Series winner, I’d bet on the Brewers. But none of that means the Dodgers aren’t going to win.

—However, there is no doubt they are playing poorly right now. Defensive miscues that don’t always show up in the box score. Poor situational hitting. A couple of bad games by Tanner Scott.

—E-mails I have received:

“You need to stop going easy on this team. They will not win the World Series this year.”

“This team is a disgrace and plays with no heart.”

“Knowledgeable fans know that this team is going nowhere.”

“They can’t beat the good teams, so what chance do they have in the postseason?”

“There won’t be any World Series dramatics this year. They are toast.”

When did I get these emails? Last season in late August/early September, when they had lost seven of eight to Arizona, Pittsburgh and Baltimore.

I got another flurry of them after each of the losses to Atlanta. Some people never learn. What happens in the regular season has no bearing on what happens in the postseason. Two of the Atlanta games were started by a blister-hampered Roki Sasaki and and a first-game-back-in-weeks Tyler Glasnow. That won’t be the case in the postseason. So, yes, be disappointed, but don’t throw in the towel.

—Clayton Kershaw did an excellent job in the broadcast booth with Joe Davis on Tuesday. It would behoove the Dodgers to bring him back as often as he wants. (Editor’s note: Behoove? Was the author of this newsletter born in the 1800s?)

—OK, I’ve said this before, but when you can’t have a conversation with the person you are sitting next to at Dodger Stadium, then the in-game entertainment is too loud.

—You know what the best in-game entertainment is? The actual game. Never has a sport had such a lack of faith in its own product that they feel the need to fill every moment with something so the actual game doesn’t bore you.

—And again, where are my Cool-A-Coos?

—One of the big problems Kyle Tucker has faced with fans this season is that he gives the appearance of not caring. He does care, but he looks like he doesn’t.

—The Dodgers have played 13 one-run games this month. They are 6-7 in those games. They are 26-21 during the season in one-run games.

—Teoscar Hernández is actually getting worse as a fielder.

—The Dodgers schedule the rest of the season:

at Detroit (3)
vs. St. Louis (3)
vs. Washington (3)
vs. Cincinnati (3)
at Miami (3)
at Cincinnati (4)
vs. San Francisco (3)
vs. San Diego (3)
at San Francisco (3)

—The Dodgers are 40-26 at home, 40-28 on the road.

—The Dodgers are 11-13 in August. Last August they were 15-13.

—Hunter Feduccia has become this season’s Ben Rortvedt. He’s hitting .282/.364/.410 since joining the Dodgers and has had a few crucial hits.

—How does ESPN manage to find the worst baseball announcers every season? The network is very good at it. It must be difficult to wade through all the candidates and pick the very worst ones.

—One of the problems with the gondola that one day might take fans to Dodger Stadium: Do you really want to be in a gondola a couple of hundred feet over the sidewalk with a bunch of drunk Dodgers and Giants fans?

—Kiké Hernández was four for four before going on the IL. He is four for 33 since coming back.

—If the season ended today, Pete Crow-Armstrong of the Cubs would win the NL MVP award, with Shohei Ohtani finishing second.

—Does anyone else still cringe a little when Ohtani slides, thinking of his injury in the 2024 World Series? Just me? OK.

—It’s still a shame the Dodgers never put a patch on their uniforms for Davey Lopes.

—With Sasaki going on the IL because of a blister, Eric Lauer goes back into the starting rotation and reliever Seth Halvorsen comes back from the minors.

—Mookie Betts has made only five errors at shortstop this season in 96 games. Hyeseong Kim made four in 24 games. Miguel Rojas has made no errors in 58 games in the infield.

—When Will Smith last played, the Dodgers were 41-23, a winning percentage of .640, on pace to win 104 games. Since then, they have gone 39-31, a winning percentage of .557, which would put them on pace to win 90 games. Coincidence? I think not. Smith stabilizes the lineup and the pitching staff.

—Key Dodgers’ batters with two out and runners in scoring position this season:

Alek Thomas, .667, 2 for 3
Hunter Feduccia, .500, 3 for 6
Kiké Hernández, .333, 1 for 3
Hyeseong Kim, .316, 6 for 19
Dalton Rushing, .304, 7 for 23
Alex Call, .304, 7 for 23
Andy Pages, .294, 15 for 51
Kyle Tucker, .283, 15 for 53
Freddie Freeman, .282, 11 for 39
Shohei Ohtani, .263, 10 for 38
Ben Rortvedt, .250, 1 for 4
Tommy Edman, .250, 6 for 24
Miguel Rojas, .200, 3 for 15
Mookie Betts, .178, 8 for 45
Teoscar Hernández, .171, 7 for 41
Max Muncy, .170, 9 for 53
Will Smith, .118, 2 for 17
Team, .242
MLB average, .230

That’s not good

How the Dodgers have fared against teams with winning and losing records:

.500 or better: 33-36
Below .500: 47-18

Forgotten Dodger: Dazzy Vance

Vance pitched for the Dodgers so long ago (1922-32) that he has been forgotten by many. The best comparison to Vance is Don Drysdale.

Consider where he ranks among starting pitchers in Dodgers history: Second in WAR, eighth in ERA+, fourth in wins, fifth in strikeouts. If you were picking the all-time Dodgers rotation, he would have to be given strong consideration for a spot.

Charles Arthur Vance was born March 4, 1891, in Orient, Iowa. His family moved to Pleasant Hill Township, Neb., when Vance was little. When he reached high school, he started pitching for a semipro team in the area and had what was described as a dazzling fastball. That’s where he got his nickname, Dazzy.

Vance started playing professionally in 1912 in the class D Nebraska State League and quickly moved up the ranks, winning 26 games for St. Joseph (Mo.) of the class A Western League in 1914. Near the end of the season, he started four games in six days and hurt his arm. There were no MRIs then to determine his injury, but, because of how he described the way his arm felt, it is believed he suffered a torn UCL. Back then, the solution for these things was to rest your arm for a couple of weeks and try again.

Before the 1915 season, the Pittsburgh Pirates purchased his contract from St. Joseph. It is not known if they knew about his arm injury. Vance started one game for the Pirates and gave up three runs in 2 2/3 innings. The Pirates then traded him to the New York Yankees and he pitched better, with a 3.54 ERA in 28 innings. But he went 0-3, and wins and losses were all that mattered back then, so the Yankees sent him back to St. Joseph.

His arm still was hurting, and he bounced around that decade’s version of the minors for a few years. He returned to the Yankees in 1918 and had a 15.43 ERA. They got rid of him quickly and he ended up pitching in New Orleans.

And that’s when fate stepped in. Vance was playing poker and after winning a hand, he banged his elbow against the edge of the table while celebrating. The result was immediate excruciating pain. He couldn’t straighten his arm and couldn’t stand the pain. The only option was exploratory surgery. What the surgeon did has been lost to the annals of time, but after he was done and Vance recovered, his arm was 100% again. No pain when he threw. “It was an odd thing,” Vance said. “My arm came back just as quickly as it went sore on me in 1915. I awoke one morning and learned I could throw without pain again.”

Vance won 21 games for New Orleans in 1921.

After the 1921 season, the Brooklyn Dodgers were interested in a New Orleans player, but it wasn’t Vance. They wanted catcher Hank DeBerry. The Dodgers sent scout Larry Sutton to attempt to get DeBerry from the Pelicans, who told Sutton they had to take Vance too in order to get DeBerry.

According to the book “The Brooklyn Dodgers: An Informal History” by Frank Graham, this is what happened: “When he found out that the pitcher in question was Vance, Dodgers owner Charles Ebbets rebelled. ‘Oh, no. I could have drafted him long ago if I wanted him. You go back and tell them if we have to take Vance, the deal is off.’ Soon Sutton called his boss back. ‘They say, no Vance, no DeBerry.’ ‘In that case,’ Ebbets replied, ‘tell them they can …’ Sutton interrupted: ‘Wait a minute, Mr. Ebbets. I just talked to DeBerry. He wants to go to Brooklyn, naturally, but he says he don’t want to go without Vance. He says to tell you that if he looks good down here, it’s because Vance makes him look good. And, really, Daz is hot. He’s knocked around a long time and he’s learned how to pitch. And he has a fastball. A real good fastball. He’s the best pitcher in the league.’”

Ebbets acquiesced and agreed to take Vance too. And with that, the Dodgers acquired one of their best pitchers ever, a pitcher who didn’t really star in the majors until he was 31. Starting in 1922, Vance led the NL in strikeouts for seven straight seasons. He led in wins twice and ERA three times. He went 28-6 with a 2.16 ERA and 30 complete games in 34 starts in 1924 and was named NL MVP. If the Cy Young had existed back then, he would have won at least three. With Brooklyn from 1922-32, he completed 213 of 328 starts, with a 190-131 record and a 3.17 ERA. He also had eight saves.

Vance also used a secret weapon: He wore the same sweatshirt for every game and had cut the sleeves into several strips lengthwise, so when he released the ball, the batter often lost sight of it briefly as the tattered sleeves flapped with the pitch. Vance, of course, denied doing this on purpose. When opponents demanded he buy a new shirt, as Graham recounts in his book, Vance responded, “Oh, no! This is my lucky shirt. I’ve had it since I was in New Orleans, and I ain’t even washed it.”

The Dodgers traded Vance to St. Louis before the 1933 season. He was 42 and his best pitching days were behind him. He went 6-2 with a 3.55 ERA but pitched only 99 innings. He was released after the season and signed with Cincinnati, which released him after he had a 7.50 ERA in six games. The Cardinals re-signed him and he finished the season with them. His final season was in 1935, when he returned to Brooklyn, going 4-2 with a 4.41 ERA in 20 games, all in relief. He was 44. He retired after the season.

Before he retired, Vance moved himself and his family (wife Edythe, son Donald and daughter Dorothy) to Homosassa Springs, Fla., where he opened a hunting and fishing camp and a hotel. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1955. He learned he was elected when a highway patrolman pulled him over while he was driving near his home. The policeman told him people were waiting at his house to tell him the news.

Vance died of a heart attack on Feb. 16, 1961 and is buried at Stage Stand Cemetery just outside Homosassa Springs.

Dodgers poll

Let’s take the temperature of the readers. How do you think the Dodgers will do in the postseason this year?

They will lose in the wild-card series
They will lose in the NLDS
They will lose in the NLCS
They will lose in the World Series
They will win the World Series
They won’t make the postseason

Click here to vote in our survey.

Up next

Friday: Dodgers (*Tarik Skubal, 8-7, 2.91 ERA [1-2, 3.38 ERA with Dodgers]) at Detroit (Drew Anderson, 4-5, 4.09 ERA), 3:40 p.m., SportsNet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

Saturday: Dodgers (*Blake Snell, 2-1, 2.57 ERA) at Detroit (Keider Montero, 9-8, 3.30 ERA), 4:15 p.m., SportsNet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

Sunday: Dodgers (Tyler Glasnow, 3-0, 3.02 ERA) at Detroit (*Framber Valdez, 8-9, 4.35 ERA), 10:40 a.m., SportsNet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

All times Pacific

*-left-handed

In case you missed it

Tarik Skubal returns to Detroit to face the Tigers. His focus is on the task at hand

Mark Walter’s company TWG Global defends Dodgers financing and Lakers sale

How two decades of friendship have shaped Freddie Freeman and Jason Heyward

And finally

Rare footage of Dazzy Vance, demonstrating his pitches. 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.

Dodgers swept by Braves

From Maddie Lee: The Dodgers’ recent offensive woes were punctuated Thursday by a complete-game shutout by Braves left-hander Chris Sale.

“We ran into a buzz saw,” manager Dave Roberts said after the 1-0 loss.

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.

Continue reading here

Tarik Skubal returns to Detroit to face the Tigers. His focus is on the task at hand

Dodgers box score

MLB standings

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.”

He should sell the Sparks anyway.

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.

With passion and pride, foresight and smarts.

Continue reading here

Sparks’ Cameron Brink blasts Enes Kanter Freedom, offers support to transgender community

Rams defeat Chargers in preseason game

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.

Quarterback Stetson Bennett did not play on Thursday night against the Chargers.

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.

Continue reading here

Rams-Chargers summary

Chargers preseason takeaways: DJ Uiagalelei makes case to be Justin Herbert’s backup

Rams reacquire Tutu Atwell

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.

Continue reading here

This day in sports history

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.

ATLANTA — Lefty Tarik Skubal hasn’t had time to fully reflect on his time in Detroit. When he learned at the beginning of the month that he was being traded to the Dodgers, he had one night of emotional goodbyes, before shifting his focus the next morning to preparing to face the Cubs in a few days.

Friday won’t be the right time either. He’s scheduled to take the mound against the Tigers, the only organization he’d played for up until three and a half weeks ago, in the series opener.

“I play baseball, and I don’t really want to let any noise or anything outside change or take away from my ability to go play baseball and put our team in a position to win,” he said in a recent conversation with The Times. “So that’s where my focus is always at. It doesn’t matter if it’s opening day of the season, it doesn’t matter if it’s spring training, it doesn’t matter if it’s the dog days of July, it doesn’t matter if it’s the postseason. For me, the game is always the same game, and that’s something that I take a ton of pride in.”

Even in his short time with the Dodgers, Skubal has thrown himself into the task at hand, from the way he’s pitched, to his commitment to connecting with his new teammates, to how he’s handled questions about his impending free agency.

Oddly enough, after the World Series favorites traded for the best pitcher available, they lost the next six games as part of a seven-game losing streak.

“Everyone around here was like, ‘Hey, we win games here,’” Skubal said. “And I go, ‘I don’t know, maybe it’s me.’”

Eventually, the Dodgers did win a game with Skubal on the roster. They even swept two series straight — before running into the Braves this week. And as Skubal has settled in, he’s enjoyed the sheer abundance of baseball conversations going on around him all the time, whether it be a pitcher chatting with the pitching coaches about sequencing, or hitters breaking down how an opposing pitcher attacked him.

“No one’s ego is too big to ask a question and try to learn from anybody,” Skubal said. “So I think that’s what makes this team so good. I think that’s why they tick, and I think that’s why they’re so good, especially in September, is they’re just not afraid to fail. They’re going to try and learn as much from each other as possible. I just love being a part of that.”

Likewise, his new teammates have loved him embracing them right away.

“You can’t tell whether he’s pitching or not because his personality never changes,” Kiké Hernández said. “And I appreciate how talkative he is, like even during his starts, like in the middle of the game, which is kind of refreshing.”

Already, Skubal’s joining in on pregame handshake lines and slapping the dugout railing in time to Roki Sasaki’s warm-up music. After Miguel Rojas nicknamed him “Scooby Doo Pa Pa,” Skubal used the song that inspired the name on an Instagram post.

“At the end of my career, if the one thing [all my ex-teammates] say about me is, ‘Yeah, he was talented on the field, but he was an even better teammate,’ that’s what I want to be remembered as,” Skubal said.

Skubal is only under club control for the rest of the season, but he’s consistently said he doesn’t want to address free agency.

“I really am probably not going to get to that until this season’s done,” he said. “Until, hopefully, I’m holding up a trophy and I’m celebrating with these guys for two weeks, and I’m going to [have a headache] for a month after.”

A video clip from Skubal’s appearance on the podcast “Pardon My Take” caused a stir on social media, when he said, “I would love to play my whole career in Detroit” and expresses hope that the Tigers are involved in negotiations in November. But Skubal points out the missing context in that clip.

His response was to a question that described the Tigers trading him as an “unfortunate part of where baseball is.” He understood the premise as, smaller markets can’t retain their stars.

Pitcher Tarik Skubal (29) hugs Jack Flaherty in the dugout after getting pulled from his last start with the Tigers on July 29.

(Paul Sancya / Associated Press)

“Which I don’t agree with,” said Skubal, who has thought a lot about the larger picture as a member of the MLB Players Assn. Executive Subcommittee. “You can retain whoever. Now, the longer you wait, the harder it is to get guys to give away the years to hit free agency. I think that’s just the business of baseball, and that’s not any different than any other sport.”

He backed his point with counterexamples on each side: the Royals signing homegrown star Bobby Witt Jr. to an 11-year extension worth $288.8 million guaranteed, and the Yankees’ Aaron Judge still hitting free agency in 2022 (before ultimately re-signing).

“There’s narratives around the sport that I don’t agree with, and that’s one of them,” Skubal said.

Though Skubal excels at focusing on the present, he also seems to sense how much weight his words carry. Wanting to avoid out-of-context reading between the lines as he praised the Dodgers, Skubal made sure to note that he wasn’t comparing his new situation with his old one.

He’s made clear over and over how special his time in Detroit was to him.

Skubal’s resolve hasn’t been tested in exactly the way it will be on Friday. But he’s performed on that same mound under unique circumstances.

When Skubal took the mound in his last start for the Tigers on July 29, he knew it could be a turning point for him and the club. The Tigers lost in extra innings, but he made a quality start and recorded his 1,000th career strikeout before leaving the game to a standing ovation at Comerica Park.

“You really appreciate that stuff,” Skubal said. “And I went down the tunnel and had some conversations with coaches that were pretty emotional too.

“You appreciate everything because without fans, this game is nothing. If no one showed up, we wouldn’t be able to play baseball for a living.”

He’s sure to have quite the reception on Friday, too. And even though Skubal excels at compartmentalizing, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts had one request for the Tigers.

“I hope they do the festivities the night after we win on Friday,” Roberts said, “so the emotion doesn’t get to him and he can just kind of enjoy the welcome back.”

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.

Dodgers lose Roki Sasaki

From Maddie Lee: The gathering on the Truist Park mound kept growing. At first, Dodgers right-hander Roki Sasaki was visited by pitching coach Mark Prior and catcher Hunter Feduccia, with the help of interpreter Will Ireton. Then, Prior summoned head athletic trainer Thomas Albert. Then, they called out manager Dave Roberts, who eventually made the pitching change.

The group had been examining the middle finger on Sasaki’s right hand. Sasaki exited the Dodgers’ 6-5 loss to the Braves in the fourth inning with a blister on that finger, which will land him on the 15-day injured list, Roberts said after the game.

“There’s just no way we can avoid it given the severity of the blister,” Roberts said. “So we’ll give him some time. But we can cover it up actually to keep his arm moving.”

Still, it’s unclear how long it will sideline him. In the meantime, Roberts said, left-hander Eric Lauer will return to the rotation, and the Dodgers will add a reliever as the corresponding move.

“It’s more disappointing with Roki because he has been so consistently good,” Roberts said. “And I don’t think he’s dealt with any blister issues. So for it to kind of come out of nowhere was a surprise to all of us. He was on a good run. So now unfortunately, it’s going to be minimum two weeks.”

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Mark Walter’s company TWG Global defends Dodgers financing and Lakers sale

Dodgers box score

MLB standings

Angels swept by Guardians

Steven Kwan hit a tying double in the ninth inning, Travis Bazzana followed with a sacrifice fly and the Cleveland Guardians rallied past the Angels 4-3 on Wednesday for their seventh straight victory.

Hunter Gaddis (2-3) retired the final two batters in the eighth to earn the win. Erik Sabrowski worked a scoreless ninth for his second major league save and first since 2024.

With a runner on second, Sabrowski struck out pinch-hitter Travis d’Arnaud and got pinch-hitter Oswald Peraza to pop up to second as Cleveland completed a three-game sweep.

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Angels box score

MLB standings

Jeanie Buss takes siblings to court again

From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: Jeanie Buss is taking her siblings to court. Again.

Attorneys representing the Lakers’ controlling governor filed a petition in Los Angeles Superior Court on Wednesday to block her five siblings from trying to sell the family’s remaining 17.82% of the NBA franchise the Buss family has owned since 1979.

Jeanie contends that her siblings should abide by a 2017 court order that mandated the family’s co-trustees to “take all actions reasonably available to ensure that Jeanie is appointed and remains as the NBA controlling owner of the Lakers.” The 2017 legal battle installed Jeanie’s younger siblings, Janie and Joey, as her fellow co-trustees, two roles that were previously held by her older brothers Jim and Johnny, who were ousted after a failed attempt to wrestle control away from Jeanie.

The 97-page petition accuses Janie, Joey and the other siblings Jim, Johnny and Jesse of “devious behavior” for not including Jeanie in discussions to sell the family’s last stakes in the team earlier this month. While the other siblings elected to sell soon after Bob Iger and Joshua Kushner agreed to a record-breaking transaction with Mark Walter and released a statement attributed to the Buss family, Jeanie “never agreed to any sale, was never consulted and was never even informed,” the petition states.

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What to watch for in Rams preseason game against Chargers

From Gary Klein: Under coach Sean McVay, the Rams’ final preseason games routinely are showcases for players vying for spots on the practice squad, not the roster.

But Thursday night’s game against the Chargers at SoFi Stadium will offer another look at perhaps one of the most important players for the Rams’ future:

Rookie quarterback Ty Simpson.

Simpson, the 13th pick in the NFL draft, has been competing with fourth-year pro Stetson Bennett to back up Matthew Stafford, though Bennett took the vast majority of second-team reps during training camp and preseason workouts.

Other things to watch Thursday:

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Jim Harbaugh wants to see improvement from Chargers

From Joaquin Ruiz: It’s decision-making time.

With a 53-man roster needing to be finalized by Sunday, the Chargers wrap up the preseason against the Rams at SoFi Stadium on Thursday night.

The Chargers looked sloppy in their 41-17 home loss to the San Francisco 49ers last week, following an inspiring 27-7 road win over the Houston Texans, and now aim for a better on-field product in their final tuneup.

“Just want it to be crisp [and] clean,” Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh said. “Want to see improvement. … Everybody doing what they’re supposed to do.”

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Angel City loses to North Carolina

Ashley Sanchez scored twice to break the single-season goals record for the North Carolina Courage in a 2-0 victory over Angel City on Wednesday night.

The former All-American at UCLA leads the National Women’s Soccer League in scoring this season with 15 goals.

Sanchez scored her 14th goal in the 41st minute, tying Lynn Biyendolo’s record for the North Carolina set in 2019. Evelyn Ijeh’s backheel flick found a charging Sanchez, who blasted it into the far corner.

Continue reading here

Angel City summary

NWSL standings

This day in sports history

1884 — Richard Sears beats Howard Taylor 6-0, 1-6, 6-0, 6-2 to win his fourth straight U.S. national tennis championship.

1903 — Britain’s Hugh Doherty is the first non-American to win the men’s singles title in the U.S. Lawn Tennis Assn. championships with a 6-0, 6-3, 10-8 victory over the William Larned.

1909 — William Larned wins his fifth U.S. singles tennis title with a five-set victory over William Clothier in Newport, R.I.

1928 — Helen Wills beats Helen Hull Jacobs to take the fifth women’s singles title in the U.S. Lawn Tennis Assn. championships. Wills needs only 33 minutes, defeating Jacobs 6-2, 6-1.

1957 — Hickory Smoke, driven by John Simpson, Jr., wins the Hambletonian Stakes after capturing the fifth and deciding heat.

1969 — Lindy’s Pride, driven by Howard Beissinger, wins the Hambletonian Stakes in straight heats.

1975 — Onny Parun of New Zealand defeats Stan Smith 6-4, 6-2 in the first night match at the U.S. Open before a crowd of 4,949 at the West Side Tennis Club.

1976 — Transsexual Renee Richards, formerly Richard Raskind, is barred from competing at the U.S. Open tennis championships after refusing to submit to a chromosome qualification test.

1978 — The Cosmos defeat the Tampa Bay Rowdies 3-1 to win the NASL Championship.

1985 — Mary Joe Fernandez, 14, becomes the youngest player to win a match at the U.S. Open. Fernandez beats Sara Gomer 6-1, 6-4.

1996 — Stefan Edberg stuns Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek at the U.S. Open, winning 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 in his record 54th straight and final Grand Slam event.

1999 — Maurice Greene and Inger Miller win at 200 meters at the world championships, giving the U.S. a sprint sweep. Greene is the first to win the 100 and 200 at a major global meet since Carl Lewis at the 1984 Olympics.

2006 — Marco Andretti, 19, becomes the youngest winner of a major open-wheel event, beating Dario Franchitti by 0.66 seconds to take the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma.

2015 — Usain Bolt wins his fourth straight 200-meter title at the world championships, finishing in 19.55 seconds in Beijing.

2018 — Simona Halep becomes the first No. 1-seeded woman to lose her opening match at the U.S. Open in the half-century of the pro era. Halep is overwhelmed by 44th-ranked Kaia Kanepi of Estonia 6-2, 6-4.

2023 — Gymnast Simone Biles (26) wins her record eighth U.S. championship.

Compiled by the Associated Press

This day in baseball history

1897 — Roger Bresnahan, later a Hall of Fame catcher, made his major-league debut as a pitcher for the Washington Senators by shutting out the St. Louis Browns 3-0.

1911 — Ed Walsh of the Chicago White Sox pitched a 5-0 no-hitter against the Boston Red Sox. Walsh struck out eight and walked one.

1937 — Brooklyn’s Fred Frankhouse pitched a rain-shortened no-hitter against the Cincinnati Reds. The game was stopped with two out in the eighth inning with the Dodgers leading 5-0.

1977 — Toby Harrah and Bump Wills of the Texas Rangers hit back-to-back inside-the-park home runs on consecutive pitches in the seventh inning in an 8-2 victory over New York at Yankee Stadium.

1978 — Joe Morgan of the Cincinnati Reds hit his 200th home run to become the first player in major league history to have 200 homers and 500 stolen bases.

1982 — Rickey Henderson of Oakland broke Lou Brock’s 1974 record of 118 stolen bases in a season and stole three more bases in the Athletics’ 5-4 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers. It gave Henderson 122 thefts in 127 games.

1999 — Vladimir Guerrero’s hitting streak was halted at 31 games by Cincinnati’s Ron Villone in the Reds’ 4-1 win over Montreal. Guerrero went 0-for-2 with an intentional walk against Villone, ending the majors’ longest hitting streak since 1987.

2005 — Jeff Kent became the first player to hit 300 home runs as a second baseman in the Dodgers’ 8-3 win over Houston. The homer was the 325th of his career.

2010 — Florida led off a game with back-to-back homers for the first time in franchise history in a 7-1 victory over Atlanta. Cameron Maybin hit the first pitch of the game into the left-field seats. Logan Morrison then connected off Tommy Hanson for his first major league home run.

2011 — Justin Verlander became the majors’ first 20-game winner, grinding through six innings in the Detroit Tigers’ 6-4 victory over the Minnesota Twins. Verlander (20-5) became the first pitcher to win 20 games before the end of August since Arizona’s Curt Schilling in 2002.

2017 — Giancarlo Stanton hit his 50th home run to break an eighth-inning tie, helping the Miami Marlins sweep the San Diego Padres with a 6-2 victory. Stanton became the first NL player to reach 50 homers since Prince Fielder hit 50 for Milwaukee in 2007.

2017 — Rookie Rhys Hoskins homered for the fifth straight game and made a diving catch to start a game-changing triple play in the fifth inning, leading Philadelphia to a 6-3 victory over the Chicago Cubs. Hoskins led off the eighth with a drive to left-center to give him 11 home runs in his first 18 games, becoming the fastest in major league history to reach 11 homers. Hoskins was called up from Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Aug. 10.

2018 — Kendrys Morales’ home run streak was ended at seven games by the Baltimore Orioles, who halted an eight-game skid by defeating the Toronto Blue Jays 7-0. Morales went 0 for 3 with a walk and did not hit the ball out of the infield.

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.

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.”

He should sell the Sparks anyway.

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.

With passion and pride, foresight and smarts.

A steel beam is raised as the final structuarl piece of the Sparks’ $150-million training facility in El Segundo on Wednesday.

(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)

And, yes, the new $150-million training facility that’s going to open in El Segundo next year is a better-late-than-never step in that direction.

It’s not too little; the 64,000-square-foot space, which will be tremendous in a prime location near the beach and shopping.

But it’s very late. Wednesday’s topping-out ceremony, when a construction crew lifted the final structural beam into place, doesn’t change that.

While so many of the Sparks’ rivals have had the upper hand in recruiting and retaining talent with state-of-the-art private practice spaces for the past few years, the Sparks have been — to use star forward Nneka Ogwumike’s word — “nomads.”

The Sparks have always offered fans a famously fun game-day experience, but their players had to continually get familiar with facilities all over Southern California, from L.A. Southwest and El Camino College to Academy USA in Glendale to Jump Beyond Sports in Torrance, from Windward School and Galen Center to JR286, the gym in Torrance where they practice now.

Starting next season, they’ll have a home.

A rendering of the Sparks’ new training facility in El Segundo.

(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)

But it’s not because the Sparks’ ownership wanted to do what Mark Davis did with the Las Vegas Aces when he was the first owner to provide fancy new digs in 2023.

Not because they were resolute about giving the Sparks a first-class experience, like Joe Tsai did when he chartered flights for New York Liberty before the league said it was legal, getting himself fined $500,000.

But because the Sparks would fall further behind if they didn’t.

Because now “it’s the bare minimum,” said forward Dearica Hamby, whose input — dedicated spaces for family and naps — was incorporated into the building’s design.

It also will include two regulation basketball courts, a performance and training environment, hydrotherapy and recovery rooms and a player sanctuary.

“It represents a belief in our players,” said Stacy Johns, the team’s president. “It represents a belief in the future of the Sparks. And it represents a belief in where women’s basketball and women’s sports are going.”

Members of the media and guests gather with the Sparks’ front-office staff for the topping-out ceremony in El Segundo on Wednesday.

(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)

Where’s that? Up.

Valuations are growing. In May, CNBC reported that the WNBA’s current teams were worth an average of $460 million — 84% more than the league’s most recent expansion fee of $250 million.

The Sparks — without taking the new facility, the largest investment to date in the history of women’s sports, into account — were valued at $415 million, seventh among the WNBA’s 15 teams.

The Golden State Valkyries, an expansion team in 2025, were valued at a record $1 billion, more than any women’s sports team in history.

That’s because the Valkyries — who are owned by the Golden State Warriors’ Joe Lacob and Peter Guber — have been innovative and imaginative, run more like the Dodgers than the Sparks, who are owned mostly by the same folks as the Dodgers.

The Dodgers instituted a private player-only plane and added Japanese-style toilets after then-recruit Roki Sasaki asked. The Valkyries established a 30-plus network of area bars for fans to gather to watch games and they helped a player with sleeping problems by offering everything from a different comforter to a sleep study.

Rendering of the inside the contrition of the Sparks’ new training facility, including a dining area.

(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)

The Dodgers gave the keys to Andrew Friedman and Dave Roberts. The Valkyries’ GM is Ohemaa Nyanin, formerly an assistant GM with the WNBA champion New York Liberty, and their coach is former UCLA Bruin Natalie Nakase, before an assistant on Aces championship teams and an NBA assistant for years with the Clippers.

The Sparks have for the past several seasons cycled through unproven coaches and GMs, or fired experienced ones. Unable to pick a lane and drive it, they keep ricocheting between preaching patience and acting impatiently. And at the moment, they don’t even have a GM after firing Raegan Pebley in July.

Johns, who was brought on to oversee the team’s business in April, said things are changing. And change takes time.

The Sparks are 13-25, behind the expansion Portland Fire in the standings and having lost twice to the expansion Toronto Tempo. But they’ve tripled their sports staff this year, adding performance and mental health therapists and additional basketball data people — who apparently aided in the construction of an old, uncompetitive roster.

“I couldn’t tell you what happened or who woke up one day and decided,” said Johns, who worked for the MLS champion LAFC and Super Bowl champion Indianapolis Colts. “But when I was recruited … I was explicitly told like, ‘This is changing,’ and like, ‘We’re hiring you because we want to signal change.’”

The biggest change that could help the Sparks? At the top, with someone who wants to push the envelope instead of compensate and play catchup.

Rendering of the inside the contrition of the Sparks’ new training facility, including a basketball court.

(Ronaldo Bolanos/Los Angeles Times)

ATLANTA — The gathering on the Truist Park mound kept growing. At first, Dodgers right-hander Roki Sasaki was visited by pitching coach Mark Prior and catcher Hunter Feduccia, with the help of interpreter Will Ireton. Then, Prior summoned head athletic trainer Thomas Albert. Then, they called out manager Dave Roberts, who eventually made the pitching change.

The group had been examining the middle finger on Sasaki’s right hand. And the team later announced Sasaki had exited with a blister on that finger.

That might explain why Sasaki, who was charged with four runs and six hits in 3 ⅓ innings, didn’t look as sharp Wednesday against the Braves as he had been in the rest of his impressive second-half stretch. Sasaki entered the day with a 2.19 ERA in six starts since the All-Star break.

His efficiency Wednesday wavered, and he exited after 66 pitches. After Sasaki gave up a solo home run to Matt Olson in the first inning, the outing began to devolve in the fourth.

Sasaki walked Ozzie Albies to open the inning. Then he surrendered a single to Mike Yastrzemski, a sacrifice fly to Austin Riley and a double to Sean Murphy. Then Prior came out to check on him.

Right-handed reliever Edgardo Henriquez replaced Sasaki, inheriting two baserunners. Both scored when Dodgers left fielder Teoscar Hernandez overran Drake Baldwin’s deep fly ball down the line, for a double.

TWG Global — the holding company of Dodgers owner Mark Walter — rejected allegations of financial impropriety in the purchase and operation of the Dodgers and reiterated the team is not for sale.

At a time insurance regulators and federal investigators are looking into allegations that insurance companies under Walter’s umbrella did not properly disclose and conduct transactions between other companies he controls, and after Walter sold his controlling interest in the Lakers at a record $12.5 billion valuation, potential bidders have monitored whether the Dodgers might be sold as well.

In a statement Tuesday, TWG Global decried “multipronged attacks against TWG … by unnamed sources with self-serving interests” and said no insurance policyholder has been hurt as a result of the company’s financial transactions.

“There is no victim here,” the statement said. “No one has been harmed, and no one has claimed they were harmed.”

In 2012, when Walter and his partners bought the Dodgers for $2 billion, The Times reported the use of $1.2 million from Guggenheim Partners insurance funds into the deal. At the time, rival bidders expressed concern over the unusual financing, but state insurance regulators cleared the deal and Major League Baseball approved it.

“The transaction was subject to a full investigation conducted by an outside law firm on behalf of insurance regulators from multiple states,” the statement said, “which identified no irregularities and resulted in no further action.”

Even with the Dodgers issuing over a billion dollars in deferred contracts and amid whatever transactions might have been conducted between TWG-related insurance companies and the Dodgers’ affiliates — including ones that hold the team’s television rights and ticket revenues — the Dodgers’ ability to fund player contracts is not at risk, according to the statement.

“The Dodgers have the highest revenue in baseball, and it significantly exceeds the team’s obligations to its players,” the statement said.

The statement reiterated that, as Dodgers president Stan Kasten has said, “the team is not being sold and no sale process has been initiated.”

The Dodgers, if sold, could likely command a price in the range of $10 million to $13 million, industry analysts have told The Times.

The Lakers sold at a record price for a North American sports franchise, although industry analysts have said a competitive bidding process likely would have resulted in an even higher sale price.

Said the statement: “Mr. Walter was approached by Josh Kushner and his team about this transaction and the agreement represents a 25% premium to the price paid by Mr. Walter less than a year ago (and an even higher premium to the $5.0 billion valuation Mr. Walter paid in 2021) — hardly a ‘fire sale.’”

The statement added: “TWG is not looking to sell its sports assets at ‘fire sale’ prices to raise capital for its insurance operations.”

TWG said it is “working cooperatively and in partnership with the Delaware Department of Insurance” to resolve the regulatory issues and “is committed to working with the U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission to resolve their inquiries.”

“TWG stands firmly behind the integrity of its business,” the statement read. “Despite what has been reported, there has been no fraud.”

Dodgers lose to Braves

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.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

Continue reading here

How two decades of friendship have shaped Freddie Freeman and Jason Heyward

Dodgers box score

MLB standings

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.

Continue reading here

Angels box score

MLB standings

Did Iger and Kushner overpay for the Lakers?

From Steve Henson: Joshua Kushner and Bob Iger, successful businessmen by any measure, paid $12.5 billion for the Lakers, easily the highest price ever for a sports franchise.

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?

Continue reading here

USC’s Jahkeem Stewart to miss season opener

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.”

Continue reading here

UCLA could still get key player

UCLA is proceeding as though it landed a massive gift this week, with 2025 Sun Belt player of the year Trent Hendrick joining the Bruins for practices Monday and Tuesday.

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.

Continue reading here

Angel City coaching carousel can be frustrating

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.”

Continue reading here

This day in sports history

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.

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:

1. Milwaukee, 81-50
2. Dodgers, 80-51
3. Atlanta, 76-55

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

On-base percentage
Dodgers, .335 (third)
League average, .318
Atlanta, .311 (23rd)

Slugging percentage
Dodgers, .426 (second)
Atlanta, .411 (fifth)
League average, .400

Doubles
Dodgers, 213 (ninth)
Atlanta, 209 (12th)
League average, 202

Triples
League average: 18
Dodgers, 14 (T18th)
Atlanta, 9 (29th)

Home runs
Atlanta, 168 (seventh)
Dodgers, 167 (eighth)
League average, 150

Stolen bases
League average, 88
Atlanta, 65 (T24th)
Dodgers, 52 (28th)

Sacrifice bunts
League average, 18
Dodgers, 12 (22nd)
Atlanta, 7 (T26th)

ERA
Atlanta, 3.60 (fourth)
Dodgers, 3.67 (sixth)
League average, 4.16

Rotation ERA
Dodgers, 3.48 (third)
Atlanta, 3.72 (seventh)
League average 4.22

Bullpen ERA
Atlanta, 3.44 (fourth)
Dodgers, 3.98 (13th)
League average, 4.11

Pitcher strikeouts
Dodgers, 1,193 (fifth)
Atlanta, 1,112 (T12th)
League average, 1,095

Pitcher walks
Dodgers, 409 (10th fewest)
League average, 442
Atlanta, 445 (17th)

Home runs allowed
Atlanta, 146 (15th fewest)
Dodgers, 148 (16th)
League average, 150

Saves
Atlanta, 40 (fourth)
Dodgers, 37 (T9th)
League average, 34

Blown saves
Dodgers, 19 (15th)
League average, 19
Atlanta, 17 (T18th)

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

All times Pacific

*-left-handed

In case you missed it

Plaschke: Beneath the Dodgers’ latest sweep, the scary rumblings of a team sale persist

Shaikin: Amid Dodgers’ uncertainty, Padres’ new owners promise to ‘win it all!’

‘I haven’t done my job.’ Edwin Díaz accepts low-leverage role with Dodgers — for now

Shohei Ohtani takes ‘really positive’ step in push to return to Dodgers’ rotation

Swanson: Struggling Dodgers outfielder Kyle Tucker simply needs to relax

Dodgers president Stan Kasten reiterates ‘Dodgers are not being sold’

If Dodgers are put up for sale, previous runner-up Patrick Soon-Shiong is interested

And finally

MLB Network honors Vin Scully. 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.

SAN DIEGO — José E. Feliciano, the new controlling owner of the San Diego Padres, lives in Los Angeles. You know, that place at the end of the Padres’ incessant “Beat L.A.” chants.

No worries, Padres fans. Feliciano is — make that was — a longtime New York Yankees fan.

“The good thing is,” he told me after an introductory news conference Monday, “rooting against the Dodgers comes naturally to me.”

It was only 18 months ago that Padres fans wondered whether the good times might come to an end, with the widow of beloved owner Peter Seidler suing his brothers for control of the team. For their part, the brothers said they had “no plans to sell the Padres.”

That sounds a lot like what Dodgers president Stan Kasten said Friday, amid a federal investigation into alleged financial improprieties among insurance companies controlled by Dodgers owner Mark Walter.

“The Dodgers are not being sold,” Kasten said. “They’re not going to be sold.”

What is true today might not be true tomorrow. What is true today, as potential bidders for the Dodgers lurk and coalesce amid L.A.’s turn at uncertainty, is that the Padres have an energetic and effervescent couple as their new principal owners.

Feliciano, a founder of Clearlake Capital in Santa Monica, took the mound at Petco Park on Monday afternoon, working out of a stretch and looking toward an invisible runner at second base before delivering a pitch. In spring training, he said, he stepped into the batting cage to try to hit simulated pitches from Padres All-Star closer Mason Miller.

His wife Kwanza Jones, an artist and entrepreneur, led her husband into the news conference amid the sounds of a song she co-wrote, she said, inspired in part by a catch made by Padres outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr.

“My only musical talent is my name,” Feliciano said. “I humbly ask you to please add my middle initial so I never get confused with the singer.”

As the couple looks for a home in San Diego, Jones appealed to fans to share what they love about their neighborhoods. Later, the couple took selfies along the first-base line.

New San Diego owners Kwanza Jones, center, and José E. Feliciano, right, speak at a news conference with Padres Chief Executive Erik Greupner at Petco Park on Monday.

(Greg Beacham / Associated Press)

Their enthusiasm bubbled forth as the news conference proceeded, as their sense of whether the Padres might finally win a World Series got more and more optimistic.

Feliciano, three minutes into the news conference: “We cannot promise we are going to win.”

Jones, two minutes later, riffing off her lyrics, her voice rising: “We gonna win! We gonna win! We gonna win — win it all!” And then a pause, to lower her voice: “We hope it’s sooner rather than later.”

Feliciano, two minutes later: “We need to win a World Series. It’s that simple. That’s what we’re going to do.”

Jones, one minute later: “Multiples.”

Feliciano, one minute later: “The impossible becomes possible when somebody does it. So let’s do it.”

This is not Feliciano’s first foray into professional sports. Clearlake Capital is the majority owner of Chelsea, the storied soccer club.

“I’m missing the first game of the Premier League right now,” Feliciano said.

He said he could not comment on reports Walter is looking to sell his stake in Chelsea. Two weeks ago, Walter announced an agreement to sell controlling interest in the Lakers at a $12.5-billion valuation, the cash from which could help repay loans under scrutiny. The Dodgers could command a similar valuation, industry sources not authorized to discuss the issue publicly told The Times, should Walter decide to sell.

As part of a search for cash, Puck reported last week, Walter had talked with Charter Communications about whether the company would be interested in paying a lump sum now to get out of its SportsNet LA contract — a money-losing deal for Charter, but the primary source of the Dodgers’ financial advantage over the other 29 teams in the major leagues.

The talks “went nowhere,” Puck reported. Kasten declined to address the matter, as did a Charter spokesman.

In 2011, with the Dodgers headed toward bankruptcy, former owner Frank McCourt found what he believed would be his financial lifeline in a television rights deal with Fox Sports.

In a withering letter to McCourt, then-commissioner Bud Selig rejected the deal, criticizing McCourt for proposing a financial structure that would have foreclosed the Dodgers from pursuing more lucrative options “because of your desperate need for immediate cash.”

That precedent could inform how Rob Manfred, the current commissioner, would evaluate any proposed restructuring of the Dodgers’ television deal. Under the owners’ current collective bargaining proposal, to which Walter agreed, the Dodgers’ annual television riches — more than $500 million per year by the end of the deal in 2038 — would be fully contributed toward revenue sharing among all 30 teams.

I asked Feliciano whether the Dodgers’ uncertainty might make this a particularly opportune time to buy the Padres.

“You’ve got to look at these things on a generational, multi-decade basis, honestly,” he told me. “It’s like trying to time a great investment in the market. You can’t.

“What I can tell you is that this is the good time — the best time — for us. I think it also coincides with Peter’s legacy: The team is in a great place, the city is in a great place.”

The Dodgers’ revenue advantage remains significant, not just because of their SportsNet LA deal but because they fill the largest stadium in the majors almost every night and employ Shohei Ohtani.

In San Diego, however, where ticket sales represent the largest source of team revenue, the Padres sell more tickets than any major league team besides the Dodgers. Petco Park already is a year-round concert venue and event center, and the Padres could rekindle plans to develop a large parking lot near the ballpark.

And, if owners emerge from collective bargaining with a salary cap or other restraint on the Dodgers’ spending, that would be a win for San Diego.

On the field, the Padres entered play Monday with 21 victories in their past 28 games. The Padres acquired Robbie Ray and Casey Mize at the trade deadline to bolster a patchwork rotation, and they retained Miller and Adrian Morejon rather than break up a mighty bullpen. Tatis leads the National League with 12 home runs since the All-Star break; outfielder Jackson Merrill has 11.

“As we have seen the last few weeks, we are very competitive. I feel we are one of those teams — us and the Phillies, probably — that nobody wants to play,” Feliciano said.

“We want to keep it that way.”

The Phillies entered play Monday on a nine-game winning streak, in position for one of the National League wild cards. The Padres also are in position for an NL wild card, keeping alive the possibility that the Dodgers and Padres could meet in the NL Championship Series.

If that happens, it won’t matter how many games the Dodgers finished ahead of the Padres during the regular season.

“We’d just need to win four,” Feliciano said.

Beat L.A., indeed.

First inning, Shohei Ohtani walks, steals second, jogs to third on a single by Freddie Freeman, scores on a grounder by Mookie Betts.

That’s great, but is Mark Walter selling the Dodgers?

Second inning, Blake Snell gives up a one-out single to Spencer Horwitz, who advances to second on a passed ball, but Snell strands him with a strikeout of Billy Cook.

Lovely, but what happens if Mark Walter sells the Dodgers?

Third inning, Bryan Reynolds draws a two-out walk, but Snell strands him with a flyout to left by Brandon Lowe.

Walter, Lakers, feds, billions, sell?

On a blistering Sunday afternoon at Dodger Stadium, the Dodgers defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-0 to complete a three-game sweep, but the rumblings beneath Chavez Ravine indicated there was much more at stake.

This is a solid franchise fighting for its footing. This is a powerful dynasty that could be undone by paper.

So, seriously, are the Dodgers getting sold?

Nobody knows, but a reasonable guess would be yes.

The Dodgers, of course, say no way, no how, no chance. Stan Kasten, the Dodgers’ president, even met with the media Friday specifically to say it’s not happening.

“The Dodgers are not being sold,” Kasten said. “They’re not going to be sold. They’re not for sale. There’s no process that has been started to sell [the franchise]. Period.”

Period? Kasten is a busy man, and there’s seemingly no way he holds even an impromptu meeting with reporters about a possible sale if that “period” wasn’t a “question mark.”

It is indeed a huge question mark, one that suddenly appeared less than two weeks ago when Walter stunningly sold the Lakers just 14 months after buying them.

A federal investigation into insurance companies Walter controls may have led to the Lakers sale, and there’s since been plenty of confusing talk about related-party transactions and holding companies and invested assets.

Translated for Dodgers fans?

The owner of your team also owns another business facing a big legal problem that requires billions to fix. And the only way he can raise those billions is to sell his assets. And the $2.5 billion he will receive from the Lakers flip is only a drop in the bucket.

Which means the Dodgers could be next.

There are reports that Walter is selling his shares in the Chelsea Football Club of the English Premier League, but that won’t cut it.

He could sell some of his smaller properties such as the WNBA’s Sparks, the Cadillac Formula 1 racing team, and the entire Professional Women’s Hockey League, but that might not cut it, either.

His richest, most lucrative, and perhaps most expensive property is the Dodgers. A source told The Times’ Bill Shaikin they could be worth between $10 billion and $13 billion, which would be a record price for a baseball team.

Though no charges have been filed against Walter or anyone associated with his businesses, one could imagine Walter pulling the trigger on the Dodgers sale simply to keep the feds at bay.

“I wanted you to hear it definitively: We are not selling the Dodgers,” Kasten repeated. “We are continuing with our plans going forward, like we always have had them. This comes from Mark. He’s gung ho about continuing to try to win, again, including next year, subject to whatever next year’s climate looks like.”

This full-speed-ahead attitude by Dodgers management is what makes it so hard to imagine the team being owned by someone other than Walter.

Without Walter, there is no dynasty. Without Walter, there is no richest team in baseball. Without Walter, there is no happiest fan base in baseball.

Dodgers owner Mark Walter helps Shohei Ohtani put on a jersey during a news conference on Dec. 14, 2023, after the two-way star signed a 10-year, $700-million deal with the team.

(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

Since Walter and his Guggenheim Baseball Management Group purchased the team in 2012, they have spared no expense in winning 12 of the last 13 National League West championships and three World Series titles.

Nobody in baseball spends like Walter, or will ever spend like Walter. From allowing the team to travel on two planes to adding baseball’s highest-paid player and relief pitcher last winter — Kyle Tucker and Edwin Díaz have been busts, but there’s time for redemption — nobody is willing to pay more for success than Walter.

Fans benefit from a Walter partnership on a daily basis. Witness Snell’s six shutout innings against the Pirates on Sunday. The Dodgers swept the three-game weekend series against the supposed contenders behind three starting pitchers who will lead off the playoffs yet who would not all be here if Walter didn’t own the joint.

Who else could pay to acquire superstars Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Snell while building up a farm system that could produce prospects who were used to acquire Tarik Skubal?

The three starters combined to allow the Pirates just five runs in 19 innings with 26 strikeouts and five walks, and how good is that going to look in October?

While Andrew Friedman supplies the talent and Kasten works the business, none of it is possible without the seemingly endless flood of money approved by Walter.

Well, the end might be near.

If Walter sells the team, they could possibly lose their two MVPs — Friedman and Ohtani. Unless the new owners give Friedman a piece of the team, he could set off to build another dynasty elsewhere. And Ohtani has a clause famously included in his contract that allows him to leave if either Friedman or Walter leaves. If Walter goes, Ohtani could demand a new contract with terms that a new cash-strapped owner cannot afford.

As of last week, there is so much at stake, so many reasons to worry, and even all the winning by baseball’s best-run team won’t offer much relief.

Now baseball’s best owner is suddenly its most embattled owner, and Dodgers fans should be afraid.

Very afraid.