Kyle Tucker walks it off for Dodgers
Kyle Tucker gets the big hit for Dodgers
From Maddie Lee: For a moment, Kyle Tucker worried he had the score wrong.
The line drive he snuck through the middle of the infield should have been enough to secure the walk-off victory, giving Dalton Rushing and Shohei Ohtani plenty of time to cross the plate. But as he rounded first, the cheers had only moderately swelled.
Tucker slowed and turned back toward the base, a subdued reaction even from him.
Then came the second surge from the crowd, as Ohtani slid across home plate and the Dodgers spilled from their dugout.
“I was like, ‘OK, sweet, this is sick,’” Tucker said after the Dodgers’ 5-4 victory.
Freddie Freeman reached Tucker first, enveloping him in a hug.
“That was a huge moment right there,” Tucker said.
Dodgers’ Edwin Díaz first learned of the ‘loose bodies’ in his elbow in 2012
Kyle Tucker’s former Cubs teammates still stunned by his Dodgers contract
Angels lose to White Sox
Munetaka Murakami hit a three-run homer in a big seventh-inning rally, and the Chicago White Sox held off the slumping Angels for an 8-7 win Monday night.
Andrew Benintendi had three RBIs as Chicago improved to 6-4 in its last 10 games. Former Dodger Miguel Vargas hit a solo drive, and Tristan Peters had two hits and scored two runs.
Jorge Soler hit a solo homer for the Angels in the rain-delayed opener of a three-game series. Mike Trout had two hits and scored twice.
Alijah Arenas returns to USC
From Ryan Kartje: Alijah Arenas will withdraw his name from the NBA draft and return to USC for his sophomore season, according to a person familiar with the decision not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.
The former five-star prospect, whose father is NBA star Gilbert Arenas, was expected to spend just a single season at USC before declaring for the draft. But nothing went as planned during Arenas’ freshman season.
Arenas was involved in a single-car accident in April 2025 and hospitalized for six days after a Tesla Cybertruck he was driving hit a tree and burst into flames. The week that he returned to practice after the accident, Arenas learned he needed knee surgery. He didn’t debut for the Trojans until late January. And when he finally made it into the lineup, Arenas was thrown into a starring role in the middle of a brutal Big Ten slate and struggled to adjust.
Still, there were glimpses of the player that Compton Magic AAU founder Etop Udo-Ema told The Times had the potential to one day “be the face of the NBA.” Over one stretch in early February, Arenas had 29 points in a win over Indiana, scored 24 and hit a winning shot at Penn State and put up 25 points at Ohio State.
Lakers could let series slip away
From Bill Plaschke: So they’re not going to sweep, so what does it matter?
Did you see the Lakers fumbling and the Houston Rockets flying?
This matters.
So the Lakers absorbed their first loss to the Rockets after three wins in this first-round playoff series, a 115-96 wipeout Sunday at Houston’s Toyota Center, but because no team has ever rebounded from a three-games-to-none deficit, it doesn’t matter.
Do you realize the Rockets’ star Kevin Durant didn’t play for a second straight game, but will almost certainly return in two days for Game 5 Wednesday at Crypto.com Arena?
This matters.
This matters because, since their historic meltdown in Game 3, the energized Rockets have rediscovered their rhythm while the weary Lakers have clearly lost a step,
Even the Rockets thought Deandre Ayton’s controversial ejection was ‘soft’
Lakers playoff schedule
First round
All times Pacific
at Lakers 107, Houston 98 (box score)
at Lakers 101, Houston 94 (box score)
Lakers 112, at Houston 108 (box score)
at Houston 115, Lakers 96 (box score)
Wednesday: Houston at Lakers, 7 p.m., ESPN
*Friday: Lakers at Houston, 6:30 p.m., Prime
*Sunday: Houston at Lakers, TBD
*-if necessary
Ducks playoffs schedule
All times Pacific
at Edmonton 4, Ducks 3 (summary)
Ducks 6, at Edmonton 4 (summary)
at Ducks 7, Edmonton 4 (summary)
at Ducks 4, Edmonton 3 (OT) (summary)
Tuesday: Ducks at Edmonton, 7 p.m., TNT. truTV, HBO Max, KCOP-13
*Thursday: Edmonton at Ducks, TBD
*Saturday: Ducks at Edmonton, TBD
*-if necessary
This day in sports history
1923 — Wembley Stadium opens — Bolton Wanderers vs West Ham United (FA Cup).
1931 — Program for woman athletes approved for 1932 Olympics track & field.
1957 — LPGA Western Open Women’s Golf, Montgomery CC: Patty Berg wins her 6th WO by 1 stroke from Wiffi Smith.
1966 — Boston edges the Lakers 95-93 in Game 7, giving the Celtics and coach Red Auerbach eight straight NBA titles. Auerbach, who announced his retirement earlier, is replaced by center Bill Russell, the first Black head coach of a major U.S. sports team.
1967 — Muhammad Ali refuses induction into the U.S. Armed Forces. He is arrested and the New York State Athletic Commission suspends his boxing license and strips him of his heavyweight title.
1972 — Courts award 1968 Kentucky Derby prize money to 2nd place winner due to the winner being given drugs before the race.
1987 — The NBA awards expansion franchises to Charlotte, N.C. and Miami for 1988, and Minneapolis and Orlando, Fla., in 1989.
1987 — NFL Draft: University of Miami quarterback Vinny Testaverde first pick by Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
1990 — Boston set single-game NBA playoff records for scoring and shooting accuracy in a 157-128 rout of the New York Knicks to take a 2-0 lead in their first-round series.
1992 — Video replay is used to decide a playoff game for the first time. In game six of the Detroit-Minnesota division semifinal, Sergei Fedorov of the Red Wings appears to hit the crossbar behind Minnesota goalie Jon Casey during overtime. The Stars ice the puck immediately, but referee Rob Shick calls for a video review. The replay shows the puck enters the goal just below the crossbar and caroms off the frame at the back of the net. Fedorov is awarded the goal to give the Red Wings a series-tying 1-0 victory.
1995 — Michael Jordan, in his first playoff game since his return from retirement, scored 48 points as the Chicago Bulls beat the Charlotte Hornets 108-100.
1995 — The Orlando Magic give the Boston Celtics their worst defeat in team history, 124-77, in a playoff opener.
2001 — Colorado’s Patrick Roy sets an NHL record with his 16th career playoff shutout, making 20 saves in a 2-0 win over the Kings.
2003 — Andre Agassi recaptures the world no. 1 ranking to become the oldest top-ranked male in the history of the ATP rankings (33 years, 13 days).
2007 — NFL Draft: LSU quarterback JaMarcus Russell first pick by Oakland Raiders.
2009 — Washington edges the New York Rangers 2-1 in Game 7 of their Eastern Conference series to cap a comeback from a 3-games-to-1 deficit. It is the franchise’s first series victory since the 1997-98 season, when Washington made it all the way to the Stanley Cup finals.
2010 — Montreal beats Washington 2-1 to complete a come-from-behind 4-3 series victory and eliminate the NHL’s best regular-season team in the first round of the playoffs. The Canadiens are the ninth No. 8-seeded team to knock off a No. 1 in 32 matchups since the NHL went to its current playoff format in 1994 — and the first to come back from a 3-1 series deficit.
2011 — Canada’s Patrick Chan wins his first world figure skating title in record fashion. Chan sets world records for the free skate and total points to claim titles at the world figure skating championships in Moscow.
2011 — NFL Draft: Auburn quarterback Cam Newton first pick by Carolina Panthers.
2016 — The Rams select California quarterback Jared Goff with the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft, and the No. 2 selection for the Philadelphia Eagles is North Dakota State quarterback Carson Wentz. It’s the second straight year that two QBs went 1-2 and the seventh time in the modern era of the draft since 1967.
2018 — Shaquem Griffin is the first one-handed person to be drafted into the NFL, for the Seattle Seahawks.
Compiled by the Associated Press
This day in baseball history
1901 — Cleveland pitcher Bock Baker gave up a record 23 singles as the Chicago White Sox beat the Indians 13-1.
1915 — The Detroit Tigers trim the St. Louis Browns, 12 – 3, with Ty Cobb stealing home in the 3rd inning. Cobb will steal home six times this season.
1930 — The first night game in organized baseball was played in Independence, Kan. In a Western Association game, Muskogee defeated Independence 13-3.
1934 — Detroit’s Goose Goslin hit into four double plays, but the Tigers still beat Cleveland 4-1.
1956 — Cincinnati rookie Frank Robinson hit the first home run of his 586 lifetime homers in a 9-1 win over Chicago. Robinson homer came off Paul Minner in Crosley Field.
1961 — Warren Spahn, at the age of 40, no-hit the San Francisco Giants 1-0 at Milwaukee.
1966 — Cleveland’s Sonny Siebert defeated the Angels 2-1 as the Indians tie the modern major league record with its 10th straight win since opening day.
1971 — Hank Aaron connected off Gaylord Perry for his 600th home run in the Atlanta Braves’ 10-inning, 6-5 loss to the San Francisco Giants.
1982 — Philadelphia’s Pete Rose went 5-for-5 to tie Max Carey for the NL record with nine career 5-hit games. The Phillies scored six runs in the top of the ninth to beat the Dodgers 9-3.
1985 — The New York Yankees hire Billy Martin as their manager for a fourth time. The fiery Martin replaces Yogi Berra, who is fired just 16 games into the season.
1988 — The winless Baltimore Orioles set an American League record by losing their 21st straight, falling to the Minnesota Twins 4-2.
1989 — Rickey Henderson of the New York Yankees set a major league record when he led off a game with a home run for the 36th time in his career, breaking a tie with Bobby Bonds.
1999 — Colorado’s Larry Walker hit three home runs and drove in eight runs to lead the Rockies to a 9-7 win over the St. Louis Cardinals.
2001 — The Seattle Mariners defeat the Chicago White Sox, 8-5, for their 20th win this month, setting a new major league record for April.
2001 — Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals ties the major league record for home runs in April by a rookie with eight.
2006 — Barry Bonds hits a bases-clearing double to tie Babe Ruth for third on the all-time career list with 1,356 extra-base hits.
2006 — St. Louis Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols hits his 13th home run in April to tie the major league record, matching the mark shared by Ken Griffey, Jr. in 1997 with Seattle and Luis Gonzalez in 2001 with Arizona.
2007 — Trevor Hoffman pitches in his 803rd game for the San Diego Padres, breaking the record for games pitched with one club.
2010 — Major League Baseball announces a number of changes to the rules that govern the All-Star Game that have been agreed with the Players’ union: the designated hitter will now be used in all games, not just those played in American League parks; a pitcher who started a game on the last Sunday before the All-Star break will not be eligible to play in the game and will be replaced on the roster, although he will still be recognized as an All-Star (this will become known as the Sunday Starter rule); rosters are expanded to 34 players, adding one position player; one of the position players will be designated as being able to re-enter the game in case of injury — catchers are already allowed to do so in those circumstances.
2011 — Ben Zobrist set a Tampa Bay record with eight RBIs, hitting a home run and two doubles as the Rays routed the Minnesota Twins 15-3 in the first game of a day-night doubleheader.
2012 — Bryce Harper makes his much-anticipated major league debut for the Nationals.
2016 — Marlins 2B Dee Gordon, the defending National League batting champion, is suspended for 80 games for testing positive for PEDs.
2019 — The Nationals do something unprecedented as three players all 21 or younger — Juan Soto, Victor Robles and Carter Kieboom — all homer against the Padres.
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.