hit

A GROWING number of UK airports are facing delays and cancellations following another air traffic control failure.

This comes just a fortnight after a major outage left thousands of passengers stranded at airports across the UK.

London Gatwick, Glasgow Airport and Belfast International Airport are amongst airports currently seeing disruptions.

Earlier this morning, it was reported that an issue with National Air Traffic Services (NATS) was affecting airspace in the north of England and Scotland.

NATS has stressed that the issue is unrelated to the major air traffic control outage that saw over 500,000 passengers stranded.

Belfast International Airport has confirmed on its website that it is experiencing NATS-related delays, saying: “We are currently experiencing some delays to flights due to a NATS air traffic control issue.”

FLIGHT CHAOS

Thousands hit by delays at UK airports in ANOTHER air traffic control glitch

CRUISE CONTROL

Cruise experts reveal tips for boosting your holiday – and mistakes to avoid

Passengers who do not have a confirmed flight have been instructed to not travel to the airport.

Glasgow Airport has also issued a statement on its website about the delays, saying: “A technical issue affecting NATS air traffic control services at the Prestwick Centre is causing disruption to some flight departures and arrivals.

“As a result, some services operating to and from our airports are experiencing delays, primarily at Glasgow Airport, and further disruption is expected due to the knock-on impact across the network.”

London City Airport said on X: “We are experiencing some disruption due to an issue at @NATS Prestwick.

“We are monitoring the situation closely and working with NATS as they resolve the issue.“

It also told passengers to check with their airline to find out the latest flight information.

Both London Gatwick and Stansted are “operating as normal”, the airports have confirmed, but a handful of departing flights may be delayed.

After over an hour of fixing delays, NATS has now confirmed the issue at its Prestwick centre in Scotland is now fixed.

The air traffic control firm has apologised for today’s flight disruption and said it is working with airports and airlines to “minimise any further disruption”.

Transport Secretary also commented on the incident, calling the disruptions “deeply frustrating” and warning passengers of “some delays”.

Only the Pirates and Cubs have met more often than the Dodgers and Giants, who faced off for the first time in 1889. And over all that time, the Dodgers are just two games better, with 1,294 wins to the Giants’ 1,292.

The Dodgers and Giants have also won more pennants, made more World Series appearances and have more players wearing their caps in the Hall of Fame than any other National League teams, all of which fueled a rivalry that was once among the most visceral and passionate in American sports.

But that was then and this is now.

After Sunday’s 3-1 victory over the Giants, the Dodgers’ 14^th win in their last 17 games, the team could finish a season with 100 wins for the fourth time in six years. The Giants have had just one winning record in that time.

The Dodgers (96-60), who have won five straight division titles, are headed to the postseason for a record-tying 14^th consecutive year. The Giants will miss the playoffs for a fifth straight season.

So is the rivalry dead? That depends on who you ask.

“It’s always a rivalry,” Giants pitcher Logan Webb. “We’d like to make it a little closer when it comes to the standings. But I definitely feel it when I throw against them.”

But then Webb, who is from Northern California, grew up with the rivalry and, as the longest-tenured Giant, pitched against the Dodgers in games that mattered. Giants coach Ron Washington, who made his major league debut with the Dodgers when the rivalry was still a thing, said many players on San Francisco’s roster don’t know that background.

“It should be a rivalry. But I don’t think the young kids we got know anything about a rivalry. They’re not history buffs.”

Webb said it’s the responsibility of the veterans on both sides to keep that history alive by explaining the enmity to the young players.

“I think there are still guys that came up in the system that know what it’s like,” he said. “It’s my job to kind of hype these guys up to play a game like this.”

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, who played for the Dodgers and Giants during his 10-year career, agrees the rivalry now exists more in the history books than the current standings, where the Giants have been overtaken by the San Diego Padres, who will finish second to the Dodgers in the N.L. West for the fourth time in five seasons.

“It’s certainly a rivalry in the sense of the history, the fan bases,” Roberts said. “But obviously it’s about relevancy. The Padres have been successful the last handful of years, and so it’s certainly built some momentum. The geography lends itself to that too.

“But Dodgers-Giants is always fun.”

It hasn’t been so much fun for the Giants lately. San Francisco hasn’t won the season series with the Dodgers since 2021 and has lost more than 90 games this year for the first time in nine seasons.

On Sunday they went in front three batters into the game with Johan Cox working Dodger opener Jack Dreyer for a leadoff walk, then making his way around the bases on Dreyer’s throwing error, a stolen base and a one-one single by Victor Bericoto.

San Francisco would get just one more hit — a single by Jung Hoo Lee with one out in the sixth.

That allowed the Dodgers to tie the score in the bottom of the sixth on Tommy Edman’s seventh home run of the season just inside the right-field foul pole. An inning later they went ahead to stay when Max Muncy singled under a sliding Cox at second, moved to third on a single by rookie Josue De Paula and scored on Kiké Hernández’s double to center.

Josue de Paula hits a double in the fifth inning Sunday.

(Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times)

A two-out single by Muncy, his second of the game, scored Teoscar Hernández, who also had two hits, in the eighth inning with the final run.

Even the slumping Freddie Freeman contributed to the Dodgers’ 11-hit attack, ending an 0-for-11 slide with a broken-bat single in the fourth then singling again in the eighth.

Sunday’s result helped clarify the Dodgers’ once-muddy playoff picture. With six games left in the regular season, the Dodgers lead Atlanta by four games in the race for the second seed in the National League playoffs, which would give them a first-round bye and the homefield advantage in the division series.

The team’s postseason roster may be getting clearer as well. Right-hander Emmet Sheehan, who made 22 starts this season, came out of the bullpen for the first time Sunday and was brilliant in his audition for the playoffs.

“If there is a role in the postseason, it will be out of the [bull]pen,” Roberts said of Sheehan, who gave up just a hit and walk, striking out nine — one off his season high — in 5 1/3 innings.

De Paula, meanwhile, whose third multihit game extended his modest hitting streak to four games, appears to have secured a job as the team’s left-handed bat off the bench while utility player Hyeseong Kim, who has spent the last four months in the minors, will rejoin the Dodgers after the triple-A playoffs and be considered for a roster spot as a pinch-runner and late-inning defensive replacement.

“My expectation is that Hyeseong will be here during the off week and potentially be a conversation for the postseason because he has the ability to run, play defense, and steal a base,” Roberts said.

After Monday’s off day, the final break of the regular season for the Dodgers, the team is expected to activate Andy Pages, Roki Sasaki and Shohei Ohtani from the injured list during its three-game series with the Padres.

“We’ll get Andy back on Tuesday, which will be great, and then shortly thereafter we’ll get Shohei back. So yeah, things are starting to come together,” Roberts said. “We’re in a good spot.”

THE under fire boss of air traffic control has been told he “must quit” after a number of UK airports were hit with delays following another technical glitch.

Thousands of passengers saw their flights disrupted after an issue with the National Air Traffic Services [Nats] affected airspace in the north of England and in Scotland.

Holidaymakers are facing lengthy delays after the issue which began at Nats’ Prestwick centre in Scotland.

Airports in Edinburgh, Belfast and Manchester were registering delayed flights and urged passengers to check with their airlines while Luton Airport said domestic flights had been disrupted.

Nats has stressed that the issue was unrelated to a massive outage that saw hundreds of flights cancelled just two weeks ago.

In a statement on the most recent air traffic control outage, a Nats spokesperson confirmed the issue was now fixed – but disruption is still on the cards for many holidaymakers.

CRUISE CONTROL

Cruise experts reveal tips for boosting your holiday – and mistakes to avoid

PLANT IT

Very grand garden centre with country’s best afternoon tea has huge makeover plans

But calls for Nats chief Martin Rolfe to resign have intensified after the latest debacle.

The 51-year-old senior executive of National Air Traffic Services was paid £1.5 million, including £871,000 in bonuses, last year and has already faced questions over his future.

The executive has previously been accused of overseeing a “litany of failures” during his time as CEO of the UK’s air traffic control services.

At least 200 flights departing or arriving into the UK have been cancelled so far today, aviation analytics company Cirium has said.

Ryanair has said more than 25,000 of its passengers are expected to be disrupted after the latest air traffic control incident and called for Rolfe to resign.

Chief operations officer Neal McMahon said: “Just three days after Nats assured airlines and passengers that it had introduced robust ‘mitigation plans’, its flight data processing system has failed again.

“More than 25,000 Ryanair passengers have already suffered disruption, with over 140 Ryanair flights delayed, yet Nats still cannot tell passengers when this disruption will end.

He added: “Rolfe has presided over repeated system failures, repeated passenger disruption and repeated failures to deliver an effective back-up system.

“Enough is enough. Martin Rolfe should resign today.”

Easyjet said in a statement: “A NATS Air Traffic Control system failure in its Prestwick Centre is causing delays to flights with some unable to operate.

“This, once again, calls into question the resilience of NATS’ systems and demonstrates the need for firm actions to prevent these repeated failures.

“We will do all we can minimise the impact of this for our customers and advise anyone due to fly today to check our flight tracker for the latest information.”

The airline said the latest disruption “calls into question the resilience of Nats’ systems.”

The firm said earlier this morning that engineers were working to resolve the issue but that regulations had been imposed to “maintain safety.”

And, British Airways said it is “disappointing” that some customers may experience disruption after “yet another technical fault with Nats”.

A spokesperson for the airline said: “Yet another technical fault with Nats means some of our customers are likely to experience disruption to their travel plans today.

“This is disappointing and whilst it is an issue that is entirely out of our control, we’re doing everything we can to limit the impact on customers and are keeping them updated.”

A Nats statement this afternoon read: “The issue in our Prestwick centre is now fixed. We are working with airports and airlines to safely lift air traffic regulations as quickly as we can to minimise any further disruption.

“Passengers should still check the status of their flight with their airline.

“We apologise for the disruption.”

Passengers tpoday are being advised to check with their airline for information on their flights.

Holidaymakers at Glasgow airport were reportedly been left waiting on the tarmac for hours amid the delays.

Meanwhile, Luton Airport said domestic flights had been disrupted by the air traffic control issue.

And several flights at Manchester Airport have been delayed with passengers warned to expect further disruption.

However, most airports south of Manchester are broadly unaffected by the issue but flights travelling north may be subject to some delays, Nats said.

British Airways and Easyjet have issued messages to passengers hoping to travel today, warning them that some delays are expected.

Highlands and Islands Airports Limited has said flights are being disrupted across all of the airports it operates.

Meanwhile, Belfast International Airport said it is experiencing some delays amid the air traffic control issue.

Passengers and airlines “deserve better”, an aviation industry body has said after the second air traffic control issue within two weeks.

Tim Alderslade, chief executive of Airlines UK, said: “The UK’s ATC (air traffic control) system is critical national infrastructure and it must be resilient enough to keep people moving.

“Passengers and airlines deserve better and the independent CAA (Civil Aviation Authority) report, together with the forthcoming Civil Aviation Bill, must address the underlying weaknesses in the system so that these failures stop happening.”

The previous Nats failure affected thousands of passengers with many stuck abroad amid the chaos.

Nats announced that a “technical issue” with its “flight processing system” had caused the widespread travel chaos just two weeks ago.

A majority of the UK’s biggest airports were brought to a standstill by the failure, which is understood to have been caused by a software error.

It led to calls for Nats chief Martin Rolfe to resign with furious airline executives blaming him for the failure.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander previously demanded Rolfe launch a rapid review into the chaos last week and said that she did not believe the most recent air traffic control issue was “unavoidable.”

He previously faced turbulence in 2023 when he oversaw his first failure in air traffic control, which affected more than 250,000 passengers.

The August bank holiday failure was sparked when a small piece of incorrect data set off a mass system failure lasting just a few hours.

High pressure is building across the UK and this means the weather will become more settled with brighter conditions.

After a chilly start on Monday morning, with sunshine and light winds across much of England and Wales, temperatures will climb into the low 20s.

Even with more cloud in Scotland and Northern Ireland, it will turn warmer with highs also reaching 18 to 22C.

It will also start to feel more humid again.

That more humid air combined with light winds across England and Wales into Tuesday means it will start off rather misty and foggy with areas of low cloud for some.

Once the sun has broken through though, it will feel warmer still.

Temperatures could peak at around 24 or 25C in south-east England, but reach the low 20s Celsius in many other parts of England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Eastern Scotland.

The highest temperature though will be determined by how much the cloud breaks allowing the strong September sunshine through.

2026 has already been a record-breaking year for the number of days above 25C, with last week exceeding the record of 89 days set in 1959.

Alan Roden hit a three-run homer and drove in a career-high four runs, and Dean Kremer yielded one hit over six stellar innings in the Minnesota Twins’ 8-0 victory over the Angels on Sunday.

Josh Bell had three hits and two RBIs for the Twins (73-83), who have won three of five overall after splitting four games at Angel Stadium with two shutout victories. Brooks Lee added three hits and scored three runs.

Roden had three hits in his first major league game this month, punctuated by a shot to right in the seventh for his third career homer, his first since Aug. 6, 2025.

Kremer (3-1) shut down the Angels in the third consecutive strong start by Minnesota’s deadline acquisition. He walked three, but struck out eight for his most in a start since April.

Minnesota allowed just two singles by the Angels, with Bailey Ober pitching the final three innings to earn his first career save.

Ryan Johnson (5-9) yielded three runs on seven hits and couldn’t get out of the fifth inning despite striking out six for the AL-worst Angels (60-96) in the home finale of their 11th consecutive losing season and their 12th straight non-playoff campaign, both the longest active streaks in the majors.

The game also was likely their last at Angel Stadium during the 24-year tenure of owner Arte Moreno, who intends to sell the team to Rams owner Stan Kroenke before next season begins.

Bell and Roden singled in runs with two outs in the third, and Bell added another two-out RBI single in the fifth to chase Johnson.

Emmanuel Rodriguez got credit for a double in the sixth even though Jose Siri dropped his catchable fly ball to the warning track in center. Rodriguez beat Siri’s throw to score on a single by Ben Ross, who then stole second and scored when Zach Neto let the throw trickle into center.

Up next for the Angels: Yusei Kikuchi (1-6, 5.02 ERA) makes the 13th start of his injury-plagued season in West Sacramento against the Athletics on Tuesday night.

Abbotsford, British Columbia – Every second day, 28,000 litres of raw milk leave Casey Pruim’s farm in Abbotsford in western Canada, entering a distribution system built on the assumption that the milk and the products made from it will have somewhere to go.

While most is consumed in Canada, some had been sold across the border to the United States.

Those sales have largely come to a standstill since US President Donald Trump’s 50 percent tariff on $20bn in Canadian goods, including dairy products, came into effect on August 22.

Pruim, who is also chair of the British Columbia Dairy Association representing about 400 dairy farmers across the province, told Al Jazeera that Canadian farmers do not individually decide which products are exported.

Instead, producers such as Pruim –  whose farm has 330 cows milked three times a day  –  sell into the provincial milk-marketing system, which distributes milk to processors according to demand, including for products exported to the US.

If a processor loses US demand, it may require less milk, with the impact then spread across the provincial pool.

Dylan Kruger, director of public affairs at BC Dairy, told Al Jazeera “there is still considerable uncertainty around the impact of the US tariffs”.

He said it was too early to know how the industry would be impacted or whether milk no longer sold to the US could be sold elsewhere, mitigating financial losses.

But the tariffs and wider trade tensions have already introduced uncertainty and instability for businesses.

“If the processor who’s exporting some of his product to the United States can no longer sell into that market because he’s now priced out of the market with a 50 percent tariff, that’s how it would impact the dairy farm,” Pruim said.

Pruim said if processor demand is squeezed, farmers would be forced to dump the milk. In the worst-case scenario, the herd has to be cut.

“Cows aren’t like a tap; you can’t just turn them on or off,” he said.

His warning captures dairy’s particular vulnerability in a tariff war: Milk is highly perishable, collected on a tight schedule and dependent on processors whose demand can change much faster than farmers can adjust production.

“These tariffs are completely unwarranted,” David Wiens, president of the Dairy Farmers of Canada, told Canada’s CBC News, adding that they would affect “the supply chain, not only in Canada but in the US as well”.

Supply-management system

Dairy trade between Canada and the US has largely operated under a free trade agreement between the US, Mexico and Canada, known as CUSMA in Canada.

Canada manages the supply of dairy, poultry and eggs through a national agricultural policy known as supply management. The system uses production quotas and import controls, including tariffs, to provide farmers with more stable and predictable prices while maintaining domestic supply.

Critics describe the system as protectionist and as a government-backed cartel.

Washington argues that Canada’s supply-management system restricts US dairy exports. Trump posted on Truth Social that “Canada had been ripping off the United States of America for years” and accused it of imposing “ridiculously high tariffs” that made life impossible for US farmers.

Canadian producers reject that argument, saying the existing trade agreement already gives US imports substantial tariff-free access that is not fully utilised.

Canada’s dairy trade deficit with the US has grown significantly since CUSMA came into force on July 1, 2020, according to the Dairy Processors Association of Canada.

In 2020, Canada exported 241.3 million Canadian dollars ($173m) in dairy products to the US and imported 647.4 million Canadian dollars ($462.7m) worth of dairy and dairy products. In 2025, Canadian dairy exports had risen to 308.7 million Canadian dollars ($220.7m) while dairy imports from the US had more than doubled to 1.355 billion Canadian dollars ($968.5m), accounting for 13.8 percent of total value of US dairy exports, according to the association.

Bryan Yu, chief economist at Central 1 credit union, said the immediate shock of losing a major market could be difficult for Canadian producers to absorb because replacement buyers cannot be found quickly.

“There is going to be pain in the near term for a lot of our producers,” Yu told Al Jazeera.

“You really can’t quickly adjust to a 50 percent tariff, because it’s uncharted waters for a lot of industries … and ultimately it shuts [Canadian producers] out, because a lot of them don’t have the margins that they can play with,” he said.

Yu said Canadian consumers might absorb some of the additional supply while exporters search for new markets and higher-value products, but neither adjustment is instantaneous.

“There are global markets as well, especially when you talk about chilled, chilled beef, chilled products and really it’s a question of whether … other types of markets that could be available.”

Canada has also imposed retaliatory tariffs, which came into effect on September 8 and cover $20bn worth of US products.

Dairy products are among the targeted goods. The list includes a 50 percent tariff on milk, cream and whey products and a 25 percent tariff on many cheeses imported from the US.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has framed Ottawa’s response as both retaliation and an attempt to build greater economic resilience.

Announcing the collapse of the latest negotiations, he said Canada would match Washington’s new tariffs “dollar for dollar” to protect workers, farmers, families and businesses.

But retaliatory measures carry risks of their own.

“Canada’s new retaliatory tariffs will help some industries but hurt most and weaken economic growth across the country by raising costs for producers and consumers,” Oxford Economics said in a report.

For now, geography remains important for perishable goods like dairy products that once moved quickly across the US border and cannot be redirected overnight to a distant market without new buyers, logistics and regulatory approvals.

Ottawa’s Trade Commissioner Service is advising affected companies to check their CUSMA compliance, explore available relief and contact trade commissioners about potential new markets.

Yu predicted that the US and Canada could reach a tariff deal in the following months but said the interim period could bring “higher prices, weaker economic activity and deeper mistrust”.

For Pruim, the uncertainty is as destabilising as the tariff threat itself.

“I think, like [for] any Canadian, it’s disappointing to have these trade talks collapse again and just the uncertainty around it.”

Christian Moore hit an infield single with two outs and the bases loaded that bounced off reliever Taylor Rogers’ leg to score Zach Neto and give the Angels a 6-5, 11-inning victory over the Minnesota Twins on Saturday night.

Vaughn Grissom hit a solo homer in the ninth off Twins reliever A.J. Minter to tie it at 5.

In the 10th with one out, the Twins’ Royce Lewis hit a shallow flyball out to Angels right fielder Josh Lowe. Ben Ross tagged at third, but Lowe’s strong one-bounce throw got to catcher Moisés Ballesteros in time for a sweeping tag of Ross at home to end Minnesota’s threat.

In the eighth, Angels’ pinch-hitter Adam Frazier doubled down the right-field line against reliever Yoendrys Gomez to drive in two runs to narrow the Twins’ lead to 5-4.

Angels reliever Tayler Saucedo (1-1) got the win an inning of scoreless relief. Rogers (6-4) took the loss in 1⅔ innings of work.

Minnesota remains technically still in the race for the American League wild card, but has almost no chance. The Twins are at least 6½ games behind five teams for the last wild-card spot with seven games remaining.

The Angels’ Jose Siri hit a two-run homer in the fourth and the Twins’ Ryan Kreidler launched a solo shot in the fifth.

Twins starter Joe Ryan gave up two runs and seven hits while striking out five in five innings.

Angels starting pitcher Reid Detmers lasted five innings, surrendering four runs and six hits while striking out five. He has 204 strikeouts this season, the most of any Angels pitcher since Shohei Ohtani had 219 in 2022.

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell. Thirteen division titles in 14 seasons, and in the year they didn’t win, they had 106 victories. We don’t have a lot to complain about.

Division titles and Ryan Ward

—The Dodgers won the division title again, clinching it Thursday with their win over the Reds. Remember the olden days of yesteryear when winning the division was a huge deal? Now it is blasé. Dodgers fans live in a time where they have an embarrassment of riches,

Let’s look at how many NL West titles each team has won since divisional play began in 1969:

Dodgers, 24
San Francisco, 9
Cincinnati, 7
Arizona, 5
Atlanta, 5
San Diego, 5
Houston, 2

There was no official winner in 1994, which was ended by a labor dispute.

I guess I’m feeling extra nostalgic today, but I remember growing up the Dodgers’ biggest divisional rival was the Cincinnati Reds, who moved to the Central division in 1994 and have since won a grand total of zero division titles.

If we narrow NL West titles since 2000, we get:

Dodgers, 16
San Francisco, 5
Arizona, 4
San Diego, 2

Poor Colorado.

—The Dodgers made room for pitcher Kris Bubic on the 40-man roster by designating outfielder Ryan Ward for assignment. Ward has been a favorite of newsletter readers for a couple of seasons now, but he really had no place on the team anymore. He’s too old (28) to really be a prospect and his best triple-A season came in his third season at that level. His numbers declined in triple-A this season (you can see his numbers here).

He’s not great defensively, and the team already has corner outfielders who aren’t great defensively. They passed him over for Josue De Paula when they needed someone to fill in for Shohei Ohtani, and there are several outfielders in the system who are considered better than Ward.

In all likelihood, another team will pick him up and give him more playing time in the majors, something he wasn’t going to get with the Dodgers. Hopefully we see him next season in the “There names seem familiar” section of this newsletter.

Evidence of Dave Roberts’ growth

One of the knocks on Dave Roberts has always been his poor postseason managing. But his postseason managing has dramatically improved the last few seasons, and I’m not just saying that because they won the last two World Series. His decisions appear to not always be guided by analytics, like they are during the regular season. And it appears Roberts has indeed learned some things during his tenure. He recently appeared on the 6-1-1 podcast, hosted by former major leaguers Ryan Howard and Jimmy Rollins, and had this to say:

“When you’re talking about winning 11 games in October, I couldn’t believe more that it’s about people, and players you can bet on,” Roberts said. “The heartbeat that the analytics doesn’t line up with. I think that early on, my mistake was I continued to use that same method of the regular season in the postseason….

He also had high praise for two of his players.

“Mookie has said to me, ‘Doc, we wouldn’t have won the World Series if it wasn’t for Shohei and Yamamoto. And his point was, the discipline that they had every single day, how they worked with intention every single day … it raised the level even higher for our guys.”

Forgotten Dodger: Pete Reiser

Pete Reiser in 1941.

(Associated Press)

Pete Reiser never met an outfield fence he didn’t like crashing into and it may have cost him a Hall of Fame career.

Harold Patrick Reiser was born on March 17, 1919, in St. Louis. He loved westerns and as a child often walked around wearing a cowboy hat and carrying toy guns, so people started calling him Pistol Pete, which stuck with him throughout his baseball career.

After playing in 58 games with the Dodgers in 1940, Reiser came into his own in 1941 when he hit a league-leading .343 to go with 117 runs, 39 doubles, 17 triples, 14 homers and 76 RBIs. He also played great defense in center. That got him second place in NL MVP voting behind teammate Dolph Camilli (Reiser should have won). Reiser led the league in nine categories.

He followed that by hitting .310 with 33 doubles and 10 homers in 1942, leading the league with 20 steals and making his second straight All-Star team. However, on July 18 of that year, he crashed full speed into the center-field fence, which was made of concrete, while chasing a fly ball. He ended up with a separated shoulder and fractured skull. In those days though, you didn’t let little things like a fractured skull slow you down. He returned to the lineup a week later, but he wasn’t the same. He hit .244 the rest of the season.

He then enlisted in the Army and spent three years there. In 1944, after a long march in below-zero weather, Reiser was diagnosed with pneumonia. The Army decided to put him in Fort Riley, Kan., so he could play for the camp’s baseball team. With Reiser on the team, they were virtually unbeatable and Reiser was given his own room and excused from all other duties.

Reiser returned to the majors in 1946 and broke his leg while stealing second. He crashed into the fence in St. Louis and missed some time. But he still led the league with 34 steals, though his batting average dropped to .277.

In 1947, he was chasing another fly ball when he crashed into the wall face first. This caused another fractured skull. He was given the Last Rites by a priest in the hospital before making a miraculous recovery. He ended up playing 110 games that season.

He was a bench player the following season, as he had put on a little weight and had been slowed tremendously by his numerous injuries. The Dodgers traded him to the Boston Braves after the season for Nanny Fernandez and Mike McCormick.

By unofficial count, Reiser’s injuries over the years included four fracture skulls, multiple dislocated shoulders, two broken ankles, torn ligaments in both knees and and two beanings. He was carried off the field on a stretcher eleven times—five times when he was unconscious.

He retired after the 1952 season and came back to the Dodger organization as a roving minor-league hitting instructor. He joined Walter Alston’s coaching staff in L.A. in 1960 and helped tutor Maury Wills on how to steal bases. In an interview with this newsletter a few years ago, Wills made sure to give praise to Reiser as being a big part of his 104-steal season.

Reiser had a heart attack in 1965, went on to coach for other teams. He smoked a pack of cigarettes a day throughout his adult life and died of emphysema in Palm Springs in 1981. He was only 62.

The postseason race

Here are the postseason seedings as of Thursday’s games. The three division winners get the top three seeds, followed by the three teams with the best records. The top two division winners get a first-round bye. Milwaukee and the Dodgers have clinched division titles.

Division leaders
1. Milwaukee, 95-58
2. Dodgers, 93-60, 2 GB
3. Atlanta, 89-64, 6 GB

Wild cards
1. Chicago, 85-68
2. Philadelphia, 85-68
3. San Diego, 84-69
4. Arizona, 80-73, 4 GB

Remember, there are no extra games to break ties anymore. It all comes down to tiebreakers. Atlanta and Milwaukee have the tiebreaker over the Dodgers. For the wild card, the Cubs have the advantage over the Phillies, having won six of seven games against each other. The Diamondbacks and Padres have split 10 games, but their final three games this season are against each other, so that very well could determine the final wild-card spot.

These names seem familiar

How notable players who were with the Dodgers the last couple of seasons are doing with their new teams (through Wednesday). Click on the player’s name to be taken to their full stats page:

Anthony Banda, Twins: 2-0, 4.46 ERA, 2 saves, 34.1 IP, 31 hits, 15 walks, 33 K’s, 95 ERA+, out for the season

Cody Bellinger, Yankees: .276/.351/.444, 533 PA’s, 25 doubles, 3 triples, 16 homers, 71 RBIs, 121 OPS+

Walker Buehler, Padres: 8-6, 4.58 ERA, 143.1 IP, 142 hits, 54 walks, 122 K’s, 88 ERA+

Mike Busch, Cubs: .238/.347/.393, 671 PA’s, 27 doubles, 2 triples, 19 homers, 76 RBIs, 104 OPS+

Michael Conforto, Cubs: .238/.336/.471, 286 PA’s, 15 doubles, 14 homers, 43 RBIs, 120 OPS+

Justin Dean, Cubs: .375/.500/.625, 10 PA’s, 1 triple, 3 RBIs, 209 OPS+, in the minors

Caleb Ferguson, Cardinals: 1-0, 5.18 ERA, 1 save, 33 IP, 37 hits, 19 walks, 31 K’s, 81 ERA+, released by Cardinals

Jack Flaherty, Tigers: 3-8, 4.59 ERA, 86.1 IP, 80 hits, 42 walks, 102 K’s, 92 ERA+, on the IL

Kenley Jansen, Tigers: 4-6, 3.43 ERA, 20 saves, 42 IP, 24 hits, 23 walks, 48 K’s, 123 ERA+

Craig Kimbrel, Royals: 1-5, 4.50 ERA, 1 save, 46 IP, 40 hits, 22 walks, 40 K’s, 94 ERA+

Gavin Lux, Rays: on the IL

Dustin May, Brewers: 7-9, 4.49 ERA, 138.1 IP, 132 hits, 46 walks, 133 K’s, 88 ERA+

Zach McKinstry, Tigers: .204/.289/.301, 411 PA’s, 15 doubles, 4 triples, 4 homers, 26 RBIs, 66 OPS+

James Outman, Tigers: .172/.235/.318, 157 PA’s, 4 doubles, 2 triples, 5 homers, 17 RBIs, 54 OPS+, in the minors

Joc Pederson, Rangers: .235/.329/.487, 432 PA’s, 12 doubles, 2 triples, 26 homers, 53 RBIs, 134 OPS+

Luke Raley, Mariners: .225/.284/.439, 287 PA’s, 9 doubles, 1 triple, 15 homers, 39 RBIs, 105 OPS+, on the IL

Corey Seager, Rangers: .234/.326/.436, 393 PA’s, 15 doubles, 18 homers, 46 RBIs, 120 OPS+

Justin Turner, Tijuana (Mexican League): .295/.395/.469, 263 PA’s, 21 doubles, 6 homers, 28 RBIs. Tijuana won the Mexican League title on Tuesday.

Trea Turner, Phillies: .240/.292/.382, 654 PA’s, 27 doubles, 1 triple, 19 homers, 57 RBIs, 79 OPS+

Miguel Vargas, White Sox: .249/.357/.473, 662 PA’s, 30 doubles, 1 triple, 31 homers, 84 RBIs, 131 OPS+

Kirby Yates, Pirates: 2-5, 3.40 ERA, 3 saves, 39.2 IP, 31 hits, 17 walks, 47 K’s, 125 ERA+, on the IL

Up next

Friday: San Francisco (*Cesar Perdomo, 0-1, 3.68 ERA) at Dodgers (Tyler Glasnow, 4-1, 3.50 ERA), 7:15 p.m., Apple TV, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

Saturday: San Francisco (TBD) at Dodgers (*Tarik Skubal, 10-7, 2.70 ERA [3-2, 2.52 ERA with Dodgers]), 6:10 p.m., SportsNet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

Sunday: San Francisco (TBD) at Dodgers (TBD), 1:10 p.m., SportsNet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

All times Pacific

*-left-handed

In case you missed it

Dodgers clinch 13th NL West division title in 14 years: ‘Something I know we can build on’

Plaschke: No more bubbly — NL West champion Dodgers appear headed for early fall

Dodgers co-owners Mark Walter, Todd Boehly sell Chelsea shares

Dodgers might be forced to leave Edwin Díaz off postseason roster

And finally

Vin Scully is amazed by Clayton Kershaw‘s curveball. 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.

Rosalind Ashford, the soprano behind hits from Martha and the Vandellas including “Dancing in the Street” and “Heat Wave,” has died. She was 83.

The singer died of natural causes on Tuesday in the Michigan suburb of Redford Township, per the Detroit Free Press.

Ashford was an original member of the Motown girl group Martha and the Vandellas, best known for their timeless soul pop songs. She sang on more than 20 of the group’s top 40 singles on Billboard’s R&B chart, including “Heat Wave,” which hit No. 1, and “Dancing in the Street,” which peaked at No. 2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart.

“I am deeply saddened to hear about the passing of Rosalind Ashford,” Martha Reeves said in a statement. “Rosalind played an important part in the early days of Martha and the Vandellas. Her voice will forever be with us through our great recordings together, and she will be missed, but never forgotten. Our Motown Family has just gotten a little smaller. My heart is heavy.”

In 1995, Martha and the Vandellas were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, becoming the second all-female group to land the acclaim.

Born on Sept. 2, 1943, to John and Mary Ashford, the budding soprano developed her chops singing in the church choir and then in the glee club at Wilbur Wright High School in Detroit. In 1957, the musically inclined teen landed an audition at the Detroit YMCA, and it was there that she, Annette Beard and Gloria Williams linked up with local music manager Edward “Pops” Larkins, and formed the girl group the Del-Phis.

According to the Motown Museum, the Del-Phis invited Reeves — then a secretary to William “Mickey” Stevenson, Motown’s Artists and Repertoire director — to join their girl group. Together, they took on gigs as backup singers, including on Marvin Gaye’s early songs “Hitch Hike” and “Pride and Joy.”

The Del-Phis became Martha and the Vandellas when “My Guy” singer Mary Wells missed a fortuitous recording session. Reeves, with the Del-Phis singing backup, filled in for Wells, and Motown was so impressed, the label signed the group to the Gordy label in 1962, sans Williams, who left the group around this time.

The trio’s breakout hit, “Come and Get These Memories,” was released in 1963 and performed well on the Billboard charts, reaching No. 6 on the R&B singles chart. “(Love Is Like a) “Heat Wave” dropped the same year and topped the charts, followed by “Quicksand,” which also became a top-10 hit. The 1967 song “Jimmy Mack” went to No. 1 on the Billboard R&B singles chart and was the final top-10 hit in the U.S. for the group.

“Heat Wave” scored the group a Grammy nomination for best R&B recording for 1964 and made the trio the first Grammy-nominated Motown group.

Ashford left the group and the music business behind in 1969, and worked at the Michigan Bell Telephone Co., though she would occasionally reunite with former Vandellas members for reunion performances.

Classic Motown posted a tribute to the singer on Thursday, writing that her harmonies served as the soundtrack to a generation. “The Motown family mourns the passing of a true icon, Rosalind Ashford,” read the statement. “As an original founding member of Martha and the Vandellas, Rosalind’s vocal talent helped define the golden era of the Motown sound.

“Rosalind’s contribution to American music and Motown history will never be forgotten. Rest in power, Rosalind. Thank you for the music.”

Report says ‘reasonable grounds’ US was behind the deadly strike against a school in Minab in February.

THERE was an on-stage mystery last night as Nicole Scherzinger ‘went missing’ from a Pussycat Dolls song on their tour.

Her bandmates even failed to cover her lyrics when Nicole was nowhere to be seen on the stage in Poland on September 16.

The Pussycat Dolls’ reunion tour was thrown into chaos after lead singer Nicole didn’t appear on stage for their hit Buttons.

The reunion gig fast became rather awkward when the group’s leading lady failed to appear for the first half of the pop hit.

Bandmates Ashley Roberts and Kimberly Wyatt were left dancing alone, and failed to provide gig goers with the full song or lyrics in Nicole’s absence.

Instead they offered only backing vocals and ad-libs, as well as elite dance moves with their back up dancers.

TALLY OF THE DOLLS

Huge sum Pussycat Dolls fans must pay to meet Nicole Scherzinger on tour

no buttons

Pussycat Dolls kick off struggling tour after band feud and ticket nightmare

Nicole, who carries pretty much the entire vocal on the 2006 hit, was missing for nearly two minutes before joining the second half of the song.

Fans were quick to react to the rather awkward moment during the concert.

One person said on TikTok: “Could the other girls not just fill in a sing her part.”

“This feel proper awks,” penned a second.

“Why didn’t they just sing her part?” asked a third.

“That was so awkward,” added a fourth.

While a fifth said: “I would ask for a refund haha.”

And a sixth added: “She was missing for half of the song and was visibly p***ed as hell after she came out.”

The PCD Forever Tour marks 20 years since the group’s debut album was released.

The string of gigs feature just three of the group’s original members after most US dates were cancelled due to poor ticket sales.

British fans will see the group take to the stage in Birmingham later this month.

There are also further UK dates including London’s O2 weeks later in October.

Cal Raleigh had two hits and three RBIs, Josh Naylor had two hits and two RBIs and the Seattle Mariners kept their slim playoff hopes alive with a 7-2 victory over the Angels on Wednesday night.

Randy Arozarena also walked, singled and scored three runs for Seattle, which is 5 1/2 games behind Texas and Houston in the American League West and 6 1/2 games behind the Chicago White Sox for the third AL wild-card spot with nine games left.

It was 2-2 when Angels starter Yusei Kikuchi (1-6) walked Arozarena and Dominic Canzone with one out in the fifth. Raleigh roped an RBI double to left for a 3-2 lead, and Julio Rodriguez was walked intentionally to load the bases.

Angels first baseman Vaughn Grissom made a sliding, backhand stop of Naylor’s potential double-play grounder, but his throw to second sailed into left field for an error, two runs scoring on the play for a 5-2 Seattle lead.

Mariners reliever Carlos Vargas (1-0) struck out Josh Lowe and Christian Moore — each on three pitches — with the bases loaded to end the bottom of the fifth, and Seattle pushed the lead to 7-2 on RBI singles by Canzone and Raleigh in the sixth.

Kikuchi threw 37 pitches during a two-run, three-hit first in which the Mariners scored on Raleigh’s sacrifice fly and Naylor’s RBI single.

TRIPOLI: Operations were suspended at two oilfields and a pumping station after members of the security force charged with protecting Libya’s oil sector closed a valve on the main Hamada-Zawiya crude-loading pipeline, the National Oil Corporation said on Tuesday.

The NOC said it may declare force majeure if the valve remains closed or if other fields ‌are subjected ‌to similar forced shutdowns.

The company said ‌production had completely halted at the Hamada and Tahara fields and at a pumping station. Libyan oil output has been subject to repeated closures for political and technical reasons since the 2011 uprising against Muammar Qaddafi.

In a statement obtained by Reuters, the Petroleum Facilities Guard, which provides security for Libya’s oil fields, pipelines and terminals, demanded that ‌their agency be transferred “financially ‌and administratively under the National Oil Corporation”.

They called on the ‌prime ministry and the NOC to take urgent measures ‌to complete the administrative and financial arrangements for this, and set a clear implementation timeline.

The agency currently operates under the defense ministry. The Guard said it would implement a ‌partial production cut for one week as of Tuesday at several fields including Wafa, Al-Khamsa and El Feel, adding that a complete shutdown would follow if their demands were not met.

Oil production is Libya’s main economic source, representing approximately 90 percent of the economy of the entire country. “Shutting down oil fields and halting production operations at this critical juncture — as the world witnesses a rise in crude oil prices — constitutes a devastating blow to the national economy,” the NOC said in a statement.

ONE of the capital’s busiest Tube lines is used by around 400,000 passengers each day, but it is soon getting a major £3.4billion upgrade.

The Piccadilly Line in London will undergo a series of closures between this month and the end of November to carry out upgrades on the line and to prepare for new trains to be delivered.

The Tube line is one of the busiest in the capital with 210million passengers every year.

Closures on the line include the following dates:

• Night Tube September 18 between Hyde Park Corner and Northfields
• September 19 to 20 between Hyde Park Corner and Acton Town
• Night Tube September 25 between Cockfosters and Acton Town
• September 26 to 27 between Cockfosters and Uxbridge
• Night Tube October 16 to 18 between Hammersmith and Heathrow and Uxbridge
• October 28  to 30 between Cockfosters and Uxbridge
• Night Tube October 30 to November 1 with no service on the entire line
• Night Tube November 20 to November 22 between Hammersmith and Heathrow and Uxbridge

Win one of five incredible holidays to Turkey, the Norwegian fjords and Spain by voting in The Sun’s Travel Awards – enter here to win.

Read more on travel inspo

GO ON

All the little-known websites for cheap or FREE tickets to gigs, theatre & festivals

CHEAP BREAKS

UK’s best 100 cheap stays – our pick of the top hotels, holiday parks and pubs

Works being carried out during these dates will prepare the Tube line for new trains that will enter service between December 2026 and June 2027.

The trains will replace the current 1973 fleet which has operated since 1975.

In total, there will be 94 new nine-car trains and overall the modernisation of the Tube line will cost £3.4billion.

The new trains will feature an open-plan design, with 10 per cent more capacity.

And – a relief for London commuters – there will be air conditioning onboard, which is a first for a deep Tube train.

Each train will also have dedicated spaces for wheelchair users and screens with real-time train arrivals.

According to Transport for London, there will be 27 trains an hour instead of 24, which means there will be a Tube every 135 seconds.

The Bakerloo Line will follow the Piccadilly Line in getting new trains, but passengers will have to wait until around 2035 for this.

Trigger Point is “reaching a shocking conclusion” in tonight’s season four finale.

Trigger Point season four is almost over and ITV has already confirmed what will be taking its place.

Line of Duty legend Vicky McClure won Best Drama Performance at this week’s National Television Awards and now the explosive series four finale is airing tonight, Monday, September 14.

Fans were left stunned by the penultimate episode when DC Neil Brenton (played by Tom Glenister) was fatally shot as he tried to track down DS Helen Morgan (Natalie Simpson) on his own.

Now, Expo Lana Washington (Vicky McClure) “must fight against the ticking clock to save thousands – perhaps even hundreds of thousands – of lives.”

But as the explosive final airs this evening, ITV has already confirmed what will be taking its place next week.

ITV thriller The Blame will be making its debut on Sunday, September 20, at 9pm, with its second episode airing the following night, Monday, September 21.

The official synopsis for the upcoming drama reads: “While investigating a murder, detectives Emma Crane and Tom Radley find evidence of serious misconduct within Wakestead police, uncovering a web of lies, institutional cover-ups and moral compromise.”

Based on the novel of the same name by author Charlotte Langley, The Blame stars Coronation Street and Our Girl star Michelle Keegan as Detective Emma Crane.

She is joined by The Sandman’s DI Tom Radley, Shetland star Ian Hart as DCI Kenneth Walker and House of the Dragon’s Gavin Spokes as DC Joel Stevens.

The Blame will consist of six episodes with two episodes airing every week on Sundays and Mondays.

Once the series premieres, the entire boxset will be ready to binge-watch on ITV’s streaming service ITVX.

But before The Blame can begin, there is Trigger Point’s grand finale to get excited about.

Its description continues: “Entering a space filled with enemies and the potential for devastating collateral damage, Lana is pushed beyond her limits to stop the bombers’ final plan from reaching a shocking conclusion.”

Trigger Point is available to watch on ITV and ITVX.

The Blame debuts on Sunday, September 20, at 9pm, on ITV.

GUY RITCHIE is casting the net wide for the third series of The Gentlemen – in the hope of Baggin’ two huge Hollywood superstars.

Insiders have told me the hotshot director is trying to sign up Lord Of The Rings actors Elijah Wood and Orlando Bloom for the hit Netflix show.

If he pulls off the move, it would reunite Orlando, who played Legolas, and Elijah, who starred as Frodo Baggins, two decades on from Peter Jackson’s hit film trilogy.

A source said: “The Gentlemen is the hottest TV show in town and Guy has big plans for the third series.

“Elijah is being courted to appear as a villain, while Orlando is also one of their key casting targets.

“For Lord Of The Rings fans working on the production, the idea of having Frodo and Legolas back together would be amazing. No deals are signed yet, but discussions are ongoing.”

BOXING CLEVER

Stormzy wins big on gambling tables during wild Las Vegas boxing trip

LAKE PANIC

Becky Hill ‘almost drowned’ after ‘getting into difficulty’ in ‘risky’ lake vid

And those aren’t the only actors that Guy is lining up for a part.

Prince Harry’s wife Meghan’s name is being bandied about as a potential star of the third instalment.

And it seems Guy’s show needs a bit of a Hollywood rocket to give it a boost.

Streaming figures for The Gentlemen’s opening weekend of the second series were 50 per cent down on the initial run of shows, with 6.7million views in the first four days it was available to watch.

Season two saw Theo James reprising his role as aristocrat-turned-drug kingpin Eddie Horniman alongside Kaya Scodelario, who plays ice-cold crime boss Susie Glass.

Love Island host Maya Jama made her acting debut in the second series after being cast as mob wife Aisha.

And she is definitely back for the next run, admitting she loved working with Guy on set. Maya said: “He’s very personable and he would be like, ‘Yeah, you’re doing well’, and reassure me, which was really nice.

“He’s just really involved and kind of a genius to watch, because everyone’s practising their lines and then he says something that’s way better than the original.”

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell. There are only 13 games remaining in the regular season. Time flies when you are having fun.

A different opinion

Throughout the season, I like to occasionally reach out to others to see what they think of the Dodgers so the readers are not exposed to just my viewpoint. This time I reached out to two of my favorite sports people.

I have listened to sports talk radio for about 50 years. Bud Furillo, Superfan, Rick Talley, Joe McDonnell, Steve Edwards, Fred Wallin, Steve Somers and many, many others. For me, “The Mason and Ireland Show,” hosted by Steve Mason and John Ireland and currently on ESPN Radio, surpasses them all. They can talk knowledgeably about any of our local teams, and the Dodgers are no exception. They were kind enough to answer a few questions.

Q. With the postseason rapidly approaching, how would you assess the Dodgers’ season so far?

Ireland: Surprising, in this sense: the Dodgers are heavy favorites to win it all, but they rarely beat good teams. Since the All Star break, they are 6-16 against teams with winning records. That’s obviously not good, and doesn’t bode well for the postseason. But having said that, for the Dodgers, the regular season is basically a dress rehearsal for the playoffs. I’m not sure they’re motivated until October. Maybe they’ll “flip a switch” and turn it on when it counts. We’ll see.

Mason: The Dodgers seem to be in a good groove right now. Mookie is starting to look like Mookie. Teo has come around. But hard to judge this team without a healthy Andy Pages and with Ohtani on the IL. I worry that as an organization, they didn’t get Shohei off his feet sooner. He has wrestled with injury for the last couple of months, and his biggest at bats are coming in October. They still have a chance to win 100 games, and they’re in position to three-peat, but with the playoffs, it’s a crapshoot. It’s a historically good rotation, but will those bats be clicking at the right time?

Q. The Dodgers have won two World Series in a row. Winning a third would be great, but if they don’t, does winning two in a row make up for it?

Ireland: Absolutely. Let’s face it, most teams want to be the Dodgers. A seemingly unlimited payroll, best manager in baseball, best front office. It’s incredibly hard to win two World Series in a row, and almost impossible to win three straight. No National League team has ever done it. So if they pull it off, it’s icing on the cake. But the cake has been great.

Mason: When the Yankees clinched their three-peat in 2000, they only won 87 games and lost 15 of their final 18. That shows you how hard it is. Honestly, the odds are strongly stacked against anybody winning three in a row, but if they fail, it is not a waste of a season. When you go back-to-back, you’ve got to show a lot of gratitude to the organization and to those players. A lot has to go right to win it all.

Q. Do you think Shohei Ohtani should just stop pitching altogether and focus on hitting the rest of his career?

Ireland: Selfishly, I hope he does both. That’s what makes him the best baseball player I’ve ever seen in person. But it’s obviously hard, and he’s had to shut down pitching at least three times since he came over from Japan. This year, it seemed to me that he was going for the Cy Young Award, while trying to keep up his offensive numbers, and it didn’t work. So maybe they do just let him hit moving forward, but I hope not. One thing that complicates things is that at least so far, the Dodgers have let Shohei do what he wants. And my sense is that he wants to continue to pitch and hit, so that figures into this too. It may not be a Dodgers decision — it might be Shohei.

Mason: I really want Shohei to do both, but in a specific way. He’s never going to give you 25 starts, and as good as he is, I cannot imagine him winning the Cy Young. He started 14 games to start the season this year — I say, instead, put those 14 starts at the end of the season. Ramp him up after the All-Star break, and have him ready to contribute on the mound in October. I was there for the magical night in the playoffs last year, when he hit three home runs and struck out 10. As a baseball fan, I really want to see him do both.

Q. If you were put in charge of the Dodgers and could make three immediate changes to the organization, be it on field, the stadium, whatever, what would you choose?

Ireland: For starters, I would address affordability. Most Dodgers fans have been priced out. They lead the league in attendance every year, so they have a business model that works. But I would take two or three sections in the upper deck and make those $5 tickets. They can afford it, and I think the gesture alone would score major points with fans.

On the field, they need to get younger. Freddie Freeman is 36, and so is Max Muncy. Mookie Betts, Teoscar Hernández, and Blake Snell are all 33. Andrew Friedman has been great at roster building, so they have the right guy. But it isn’t easy to say goodbye to great players as they age out, and he’s facing that now.

Finally, everybody I know thinks there’s a lockout coming. To me, that would ruin all of the progress baseball has made over the last five years. The game has never been better. All of the rule changes have worked, and the pitch clock has been brilliant. Most people feel the Dodgers are the main reason for the lockout. They outspend everybody, have a sweetheart TV deal, and most small market teams can’t keep up. The Dodgers need to lead the charge to avoid this lockout. I’m against a salary cap, but everything should be on the table. I would lock both sides in a room and tell them not to come out until they have a deal. It’s a huge story that we probably don’t talk about enough.

Mason: First I would expand the number of retired jerseys. It would be great to see guys like Maury Wills, Steve Garvey, Bill Russell, Davey Lopes, Orel Hershiser and other Dodger greats receive that honor.

Andrew Friedman is a genius, but he has overspent on guys like Kyle Tucker and Edwin Díaz. I’d like to see them consider more of their minor league talent employed. Love that Rushing and Freeland have had strong moments this year, but instead of signing Tucker, why not find a way to use De Paula or Tibbs or Sirota. I know they are unproven, but once upon a time, so was Andy Pages.

Pet peeve of mind, but I don’t like the brand of Dodger Dogs being served. Farmer John hot dogs had a better taste and texture than the ones they are using now. Plus, Dodger Dogs are much better when grilled, so why are there so many boiled hot dogs at the stadium?

Q. Favorite Dodger of all time?

Ireland: Can I say Vin Scully, or is that cheating? I say all the time that I grew up going to Sportscasters School, but I just didn’t know it. For years, I listened to Vin call the Dodgers, Chick Hearn call the Lakers, Dick Enberg call the Angels and Bob Miller call the Kings. FOUR Hall of Fame announcers — I didn’t know what a bad announcer sounded like until I moved out of L.A. But I had this exchange with my Dad before he died in 2017:

Dad: “If you want to be a sports announcer, you better study more than just the sports page.”

Me: “Not necessary — I just need to call the games.”

Dad: “Listen to Vin Scully — he talks about EVERYTHING.”

Of course, my Dad was right. Listening to Vin was a history lesson every time he did a game. I learned more from him than I did from a lot of my professors at UCLA.

Mason: Back in the day, I would have said Sandy Koufax, who I had the pleasure of meeting at Dodgertown in Vero Beach, but nobody, in the history of the game has awed me the way that Shohei Ohtani has. His performance in NLCS Game 4 last year is the greatest I have ever witnessed in person. Better than any athlete in any sport. I have been a baseball fan all my life, and I could never have even imagined that was possible. I also love Ohtani’s Harada chart, basically his goals in life and career. One of his goals has been to “be someone people root for.” Hard to find anybody who is not amazed by both his talent and his humility.

Q. I have long said that the Mason and Ireland show is the best sports talk show of all time. Do you guys remember when you first met? First impressions? And remind the readers where they can listen to you now.

Ireland: Mason and I were kind of a weird shotgun wedding in the beginning. In the early ‘90s, he moved to XTRA in San Diego from Toledo, Ohio, to do mornings. After a few months, the station decided they didn’t like him. So they moved him to nights in an effort to try and get him to quit.

I was a TV guy in San Diego, who filled in on the radio station when they needed somebody. They called me and said, “We’re going to put you on at night with Steve Mason, but he’s not happy with us. Anything could happen.” On the first night, I walked in and Mason was working on a screenplay on his computer and he told me, “Just have fun and say anything you want — I won’t be here for long anyway.” So we just started goofing around, and I asked Mase on the air why he thought mornings didn’t work. He started making fun of himself, then me, and we just clicked.

After it was over, I called the program director and said, “You guys are idiots — Mason is fantastic. If you can’t build a show around him, you don’t get it.” The more Mason stopped caring, the better he got. They came back to him and said, “That’s the guy we thought we were getting from Ohio.” They told him they wanted him to stay, and told him he could pick his partner. He picked me, and we were off and running. The first week was pretty bad, but we were following a failed show, so they let us work through it, and we’ve been at it ever since.

We’re on every day from noon to 3 p.m. on ESPN LA, and we post a podcast of every show as soon as it ends. You can also listen live on the ESPN LA app from anywhere in the world, which is a free app that works great. Also, you can find Mason’s podcast, “Mason Plus,” on that app, which has some great deep dives with a lot of cool people in and out of sports.

Mason: Thank you for the kind words. John’s story of our meeting and partnership is right on. In radio, there is this idea that you can throw any two people in a studio and they will automatically do great radio. It just doesn’t work like that. John and I clicked immediately. The show has always been good because John and I are so different. He’s Corona del Mar, and I am a kid from Toledo. Even now, he’s very Manhattan Beach, and I’m very Venice. We see the world differently, which leads to healthy debate, but we have a deep respect for each other and for what we have built.

The postseason race

The Dodgers’ magic number to clinch the NL West is four. Here are the postseason seedings as of Thursday’s games. The three division winners get the top three seeds, followed by the three teams with the best records. The top two division winners get a first-round bye. The division winner with the worst record plays the wild-card team with the worst record, and the other wild-card teams play each other in the best-of-three wild-card round that begins Tuesday, Sept. 29.

Division leaders
1. Milwaukee, 93-57
2. Dodgers, 90-59
3. Atlanta, 88-62

Wild cards
1. Chicago, 83-67
2. Philadelphia, 83-67
3. San Diego, 81-68
4. Arizona, 79-71
5. Pittsburgh, 75-75

Remember, there are no extra games to break ties anymore. It all comes down to tiebreakers. Atlanta and Milwaukee have the tiebreaker over the Dodgers. For the wild card, the Cubs have the advantage over the Phillies, having won six of seven games against each other. The Diamondbacks and Padres have split 10 games, but their final three games this season are against each other, so that very well could determine the final wild-card spot.

The Dodgers won it all last season without a first-round bye, but with all the injuries, it would be nice to get that bye this season. They have only three games remaining against a team with a winning record, so they really have no one to blame but themselves if they don’t get it.

Up next

Monday: Dodgers (*Tarik Skubal, 9-7, 2.84 ERA [2-2, 2.93 ERA with Dodgers]) at Cincinnati (*Nick Lodolo, 3-4, 5.12 ERA), 3:40 p.m., SportsNet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

Tuesday: Dodgers (Yoshinobu Yamamoto, 13-8, 2.62 ERA) at Cincinnati (Rhett Lowder, 6-10, 5.81 ERA), 3:40 p.m., SportsNet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

Wednesday: Dodgers (TBD) at Cincinnati (*Andrew Abbott, 6-11, 4.84 ERA), 3:40 p.m., SportsNet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

Thursday: Dodgers (TBD) at Cincinnati (Brady Singer, 6-14, 5.38 ERA), 9:40 a.m., SportsNet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

All times Pacific

*-left-handed

In case you missed it

Josue De Paula hits three-run homer, but Dodgers suffer walk-off loss to Marlins

Dodgers Debate: Is anyone on the Dodgers not injured?

‘He’s not supernatural.’ Shohei Ohtani’s injury management raises tough questions

Shaikin: Why it’s past time for MLB players, owners to get a 2028 Olympics deal done

And finally

Vin Scully is interviewed by the Braves announcers during his final season. 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.

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said Monday that Ukraine and Russia had agreed not to target each other’s energy facilities, a day after he chastised Kyiv for hitting Russian oil refineries.

“Ukraine has agreed not to hit Russian Energy targets. Russia has agreed to do, likewise!” Trump said on his Truth Social network.

“The World’s Diesel price rise is mostly caused by the Russia/Ukraine War, not Iran.”

There was no immediate confirmation from Kyiv or Moscow of any deal.

Trump’s claim comes as oil prices continue to soar in the seventh month of the Iran war, raising American fuel costs and inflation just weeks before crunch US midterm elections.

The US leader has insisted that the Iran war will finish immediately after the midterms and gas prices will drop — but has in the meantime apparently found a new target to blame for the cost at the pump.

Trump had lashed out at Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky during a trip to Ireland on Sunday, saying he had to do “one thing” and “stop knocking out diesel fuel” refineries in Russia due to growing shortages.

“Let him go after targets, but not diesel fuel, because he’s causing a shortage of diesel,” Trump said, again insisting the Russia-Ukraine war — not the US-Israel conflict with Iran — was to blame.

Trump added he had spoken to Ukraine’s leader about the country’s stepped-up attacks on such sites over recent months.

“There are plenty of other targets. Don’t hit diesel fuel because that’s hurting. That’s hurting the world. We don’t want him to hit diesel fuel… He’s hitting diesel refineries.”

Ukraine has hit numerous Russian oil refineries far from its border with Russia, while Moscow has also intensified its long-range attacks in recent months, leading to a jump in civilian deaths.

Kyiv has been firing record numbers of drones at Russia, while Moscow has been launching all-time high missile attacks.

Trump said last week he had a “great conversation” with Russian President Vladimir Putin, insisting that Putin wanted to make a deal to end Moscow’s war on Ukraine.

Putin “is wanting to make a deal, and if Zelensky is wanting to make a deal, that’d be very nice,” Trump told reporters on Wednesday.

Zelensky said last week he would be willing to meet Putin at the G20 summit at Trump’s own Doral resort in Miami in December, but the Kremlin immediately ruled it out.

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell. I hope you all had a nice Labor Day and took the time to celebrate all the pregnant women around you. Wait, I am being told now that that is not what Labor Day is for. That explains all the strange looks at my local hospital’s maternity ward.

Teoscar is back

On Aug. 23, Teoscar Hernández went 0 for 4 in a victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates, striking out twice. That lowered his season numbers to .244/.305/.390, which, to go along with his poor defense, made him a below average player, with a WAR below zero.

The Dodgers were off the following day, and Dave Roberts gave Hernández the Aug. 25 game off for a mental reset. Which seems to have worked. Since Aug. 26, Hernández is hitting .440/.525/.660, going 22 for 50 with three doubles, one triple, two homers, 14 RBIs, seven runs, two steals and eight walks. His WAR has gone up to 0.7 and he is as responsible as anyone for the Dodgers’ seven-game winning streak.

And, strangely, his defense doesn’t seem quite as bad when he is hitting that well.

When asked about this resurgence by SportsNet LA’s Kirsten Watson after Tuesday’s win, Hernández did what he usually does, deflect the spotlight away from himself, saying:

“I feel really good at the plate. Now, it’s just being consistent with it, see good pitches and make contact. We’re going in a good direction, taking the right approach and it shows. I think everybody is doing what everybody expected us to do at the right time. Everybody is having good at-bats. The pitchers are throwing really good games. Everything is clicking right now for us.”

Hernández told reporters after the game that his injuries the last two seasons made him adjust his swing and he’s finally feeling close to 100%.

“Last year, I used [my regular swing] before I had the [adductor] injury. That’s the way I was hitting. Then when I came back, I was doing the same thing, but I was feeling it in my [injured] leg, so that’s why I stopped.”

“This year when I got my hamstring issue, I had to get rid of [the swing] because it was putting so much pressure on the hamstring. Little, little things that people barely notice or realize can change the swing and the results in games.”

And let’s point something else out. Despite the subpar season, who was the first Dodger to leap out of the dugout to celebrate a teammate’s success? Hernández. He didn’t sit around and brood and feel sorry for himself. He was there for his teammates. There are some things that aren’t measurable by OPS+, WAR or any other stats, and in some of those areas, Hernández is a superstar.

In 2024, there were two things that helped the Dodgers find a gear they never had been able to reach before: Shohei Ohtani and Hernández. They both rose to every occasion, where in the past it seemed the Dodgers would shrink in the big moments. Ohtani and Hernández had big hit after big hit during the season and postseason. The same last season, even with Hernández having a down year. This year, however, Hernández had been mainly a nonfactor. Until Aug. 26. The Dodgers can only hope it continues, because if it does, their chances to win the World Series get a lot better.

Ohtani heads to the IL

The Dodgers announced after Wednesday night’s game that they put Ohtani, who is dealing with soreness in seemingly every part of his body (left knee, right biceps, neck and left hip), on the injured list. Two-way players have to go on the 15-day IL, so he will be out until the final week of the season.

“Talking to Shohei, the doctors, the training staff, it’s the right thing to do,” Roberts told reporters after Wednesday’s game. “We tried to kick the can as much as we could. It’s more of let’s take the 15 days and get him reset, get him feeling better, and then build him back up to get the best of him for the postseason.”

With the Dodgers’ penchant to obfuscate when it comes to injuries, the fear here is he is hurt worse than they are saying. We won’t know for sure until he comes off the IL and starts playing again.

To replace Ohtani on the roster? In a bit of a surprise, the Dodgers are turning to their top prospect, Josue De Paula, who never has played above double A. The Dodgers never had promoted a player from double A to the majors since Andrew Friedman took over the front office before the 2015 season.

De Paula, 21, has spent the season with double-A Tulsa, hitting .303/.401/.547 in 588 plate appearances, with 37 doubles, 27 home runs, 104 RBIs and 31 stolen bases. That’s extra impressive considering he is about three years younger than the average double-A player.

He will start at DH tonight, so the Dodgers are throwing him right into the fire.

De Paula has walked 81 times and struck out 87 times this season, so he has a decent eye at the plate. He is considered a subpar fielder though, with one scout telling me during a game De Paula played with Rancho Cucamonga two seasons ago, “As an outfielder, he makes for a hell of a DH.”

The intriguing thing is — and I know I’m putting the cart about a mile ahead of the horse — that if De Paula plays well, he could be added to the postseason roster. Unlike the old days, you don’t have to be on the 40-man roster by Sept. 1 to be considered for the postseason, you just have to be with the organization by that date. The Dodgers would need to petition MLB to allow De Paula to be on the postseason roster, but that type of petition generally is approved.

The Dodgers will have to make room on the 40-man roster for De Paula, either by removing a player or putting someone, such as Dalton Rushing, on the 60-day IL.

Injuries R Us

The Dodgers have another injury concern as the season winds down: Freddie Freeman.

Freeman is bothered by a troublesome knee. He sat out Wednesday’s game.

“The right knee has been bothering him, and so just on the heels of an off day [Thursday], we felt it was best to just give him [the day off] and then see how he is on Friday,” Roberts said.

There are 16 games left in the season, and the Dodgers are without Ohtani, Freeman, Rushing and Andy Pages. That’s not ideal. It seems unlikely Rushing will be back, and you really need two of the other three back for the postseason.

The postseason race

The Dodgers’ magic number to clinch the NL West is six. Here are the postseason seedings as of Thursday’s games. The three division winners get the top three seeds, followed by the three teams with the best records. The top two division winners get a first-round bye.

Division leaders
1. Milwaukee, 91-56
2. Dodgers, 89-57
3. Atlanta, 86-61

Wild cards
1. Philadelphia, 82-65
2. Chicago, 81-66
3. San Diego, 78-68
4. Arizona, 78-69
5. Pittsburgh, 74-73

Remember, there are no extra games to break ties anymore. It all comes down to tiebreakers. Atlanta and Milwaukee both have the tiebreaker over the Dodgers. For the wild card, the Cubs have the advantage over the Phillies, having won six of seven games against each other. The Diamondbacks and Padres have split 10 games, but their final three games this season are against each other, so that very well could determine the final wild-card spot.

The Dodgers won it all last season without a first-round bye, but with all the injuries, it would be nice to get that bye this season. They have only three games remaining against a team with a winning record, so they really have no one to blame but themselves if they don’t get it.

These names seem familiar

How notable players who were with the Dodgers the last couple of seasons are doing with their new teams (through Wednesday). Click on the player’s name to be taken to their full stats page:

Anthony Banda, Twins: 2-0, 4.46 ERA, 2 saves, 34.1 IP, 31 hits, 15 walks, 33 K’s, 95 ERA+, out for the season

Cody Bellinger, Yankees: .264/.343/.418, 502 PA’s, 23 doubles, 3 triples, 13 homers, 63 RBIs, 111 OPS+

Walker Buehler, Padres: 8-6, 4.61 ERA, 138.2 IP, 135 hits, 53 walks, 121 K’s, 88 ERA+

Mike Busch, Cubs: .235/.345/.388, 647 PA’s, 26 doubles, 2 triples, 18 homers, 72 RBIs, 102 OPS+

Michael Conforto, Cubs: .242/.342/.489, 266 PA’s, 14 doubles, 14 homers, 40 RBIs, 126 OPS+

Justin Dean, Cubs: .375/.500/.625, 10 PA’s, 1 triple, 3 RBIs, 209 OPS+, in the minors

Caleb Ferguson, Cardinals: 1-0, 5.18 ERA, 1 save, 33 IP, 37 hits, 19 walks, 31 K’s, 81 ERA+

Jack Flaherty, Tigers: 3-8, 4.59 ERA, 86.1 IP, 80 hits, 42 walks, 102 K’s, 93 ERA+, on the IL

Kenley Jansen, Tigers: 4-6, 3.63 ERA, 18 saves, 39.2 IP, 24 hits, 22 walks, 44 K’s, 118 ERA+

Craig Kimbrel, Royals: 1-4, 4.43 ERA, 1 save, 44.2 IP, 39 hits, 20 walks, 40 K’s, 96 ERA+

Gavin Lux, Rays: on the IL

Dustin May, Brewers: 6-9, 4.69 ERA, 132.1 IP, 130 hits, 45 walks, 127 K’s, 84 ERA+

Zach McKinstry, Tigers: .211/.291/.311, 395 PA’s, 15 doubles, 4 triples, 4 homers, 26 RBIs, 69 OPS+

James Outman, Tigers: .172/.235/.318, 157 PA’s, 4 doubles, 2 triples, 5 homers, 17 RBIs, 54 OPS+, in the minors

Joc Pederson, Rangers: .234/.329/.481, 421 PA’s, 11 doubles, 2 triples, 25 homers, 50 RBIs, 133 OPS+

Luke Raley, Mariners: .225/.284/.439, 287 PA’s, 9 doubles, 1 triple, 15 homers, 39 RBIs, 105 OPS+, on the IL

Corey Seager, Rangers: .230/.325/.435, 366 PA’s, 14 doubles, 17 homers, 40 RBIs, 120 OPS+

Justin Turner, Tijuana (Mexican League): .295/.395/.469, 263 PA’s, 21 doubles, 6 homers, 28 RBIs

Trea Turner, Phillies: .243/.295/.391, 628 PA’s, 27 doubles, 1 triple, 19 homers, 56 RBIs, 82 OPS+

Miguel Vargas, White Sox: .249/.359/.479, 630 PA’s, 30 doubles, 1 triple, 30 homers, 79 RBIs, 133 OPS+

Kirby Yates, Pirates: 2-5, 3.40 ERA, 3 saves, 39.2 IP, 31 hits, 17 walks, 47 K’s, 125 ERA+, on the IL

Up next

Friday: Dodgers (TBD) at Miami (Ryan Gusto, 1-4, 4.23 ERA), 4:10 p.m., SportsNet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

Saturday: Dodgers (TBD) at Miami (Tyler Phillips, 5-6, 3.51 ERA), 1:10 p.m., SportsNet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

Sunday: Dodgers (TBD) at Miami (Eury Pérez, 7-11, 3.94 ERA), 10:40 a.m., SportsNet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

All times Pacific

*-left-handed

In case you missed it

‘He’s not supernatural.’ Shohei Ohtani’s injury management raises tough questions

What Shohei Ohtani’s latest injury scare reveals about Dodgers’ late-season plans

Will Smith and Dalton Rushing among Dodgers activated as rosters expand for September

Plaschke: No two ways about it — Shohei Ohtani should not pitch again this season

Shohei Ohtani still ‘not 100%’ and will not pitch Sunday against the Tigers

And finally

Vin Scully calls Hank Aaron’s 715th home run. 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.

Published on
11/09/2026 – 15:25 GMT+2

The last major data point before the Fed meets has arrived, and it arrived while Americans were paying record prices at the pump.

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday afternoon that the annual rate held steady, with core inflation, which strips out food and energy, easing to 2.4% from 2.5%.

Every figure matched the consensus of economists and the monthly number is where the pressure shows.

Prices rose 0.4% in August against 0.1% in July, a fourfold acceleration and the fastest pace in three months. The annual rate stayed flat only because it is measured against the strong summer of 2025.

What it means for the Fed meeting

Markets had largely made up their minds before the figures landed.

CME’s FedWatch tool put the probability of a quarter-point increase at the 16 September meeting at 67.4%, up sharply from around 40% before Chairman Warsh’s Jackson Hole address in late August.

Following the inflation data release, those odds moved to 91.6%.

Warsh’s first keynote as chair was the turning point as he argued the American economy had strengthened rather than weakened, that the labour market was consistent with full employment, and that he “would be hard pressed to describe broad financial conditions as restrictive.”

On inflation Warsh was blunt by stating that “we must be confident that underlying inflation is moving to our objective, clearly and at sufficient speed. Otherwise, we have work to do.”

By that test, Friday’s numbers are ambiguous.

Core inflation has now fallen for a second month and sits within half a point of the 2% target, which is underlying inflation moving in the right direction. The monthly acceleration points the other way.

Warsh also refused to say what would trigger a move, rejecting forward guidance as a practice that “has overstayed its welcome”. The Fed has held its benchmark rate at 3.50% to 3.75% since December, though three regional presidents dissented in July in favour of an increase, the most in one direction since 2016.

A fuel shock with no obvious end

The pressure is coming from energy, and it is intensifying.

US crude futures topped $100 a barrel this week as fighting between American and Iranian forces escalated around the Strait of Hormuz, with Washington striking five Iranian tankers after attempted missile attacks on a US Navy warship.

Diesel is where it bites hardest.

The US national average crossed $6 a gallon on Friday for the first time in the country’s history, at least in nominal terms, according to the American Automobile Association, and leaving truckers and farmers paying around 63% more than a year ago.

In California the average is close to $8. As for petrol, it is averaging $4.22 nationwide, against $2.98 before the war began.

Ukraine’s strikes on Russian refineries prompted Moscow to ban diesel exports, removing roughly 800,000 barrels a day, while disruption around Hormuz has cost another 1.2 million.

Refineries representing about 5 million barrels a day of capacity have been shut by the two wars, and close to 8% of global diesel supply is currently disrupted.

Some retailers have already added delivery surcharges, and the effect on grocery prices tends to arrive with a lag, which means the energy shock in Friday’s numbers may not yet be the whole of it.

BOSTON — Reid Detmers struck out nine and gave up one hit over six shutout innings, Zach Neto was four for five with a two-run homer, and the Angels beat the Red Sox 6-1 on Tuesday night to end Boston’s five-game winning streak.

Vaughn Grissom and Jose Siri hit RBI singles and the Angels scored twice on double-play grounders, providing ample offense for Detmers (5-8), who got his first win since a 1-0 decision over Kansas City on Aug. 15.

Detmers struck out at least one in all six innings he pitched and allowed only three runners. He retired the last 10 batters he faced after hitting Jahmai Jones with a pitch in the third, then was pulled before the seventh after throwing a career-high 112 pitches.

The Angels outhit Boston 15-4 and won for the just the third time in their last 15 games. They also avoided a potential season sweep, improving to 1-4 against the Red Sox.

Boston went without a hit from Wilyer Abreu’s single in the first until Trevor Story led off the seventh with a double off of José Fermin, who gave up Boston’s run when Nick Sogard drove in Story with a single.

Neto gave the Angels a cushion in the eighth with his 24th homer to left-center off Raymond Burgos.

Patrick Sandoval (1-5) struck out seven in six innings for Boston, but also gave up four runs, 10 hits and two walks. His two-out walk of Mike Trout in the third helped lead to two runs when Siri and Grissom followed with consecutive singles to put the Angels up 3-1.