SAN ANTONIO — Go crazy, New York. Or, perhaps more accurately, crazier.
The red-hot Knicks are going home, two wins away from an NBA championship that the capital of the world has been waiting to see for generations.
Jalen Brunson hit a go-ahead free throw with 9.5 seconds left after a turnover by Victor Wembanyama moments earlier, then Wembanyama missed a jumper at the end of New York’s 105-104 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Friday night for a 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals.
“What a ballgame,” Knicks coach Mike Brown marveled.
Karl-Anthony Towns had 21 points and 13 rebounds, while Brunson and Mikal Bridges each scored 20 for the Knicks. They have won 13 straight, the second-longest streak by any team in NBA playoff history.
“New York City showed up,” Towns said. “The fans showed up. The energy showed up. And we found a way to get it done.”
The Knicks are just the third team to win the first two games of a finals on the road, joining Michael Jordan and the 1993 Chicago Bulls, and Hakeem Olajuwon and the 1995 Houston Rockets.
Both of those teams won championships, the Bulls needing six games to oust the Phoenix Suns, the Rockets going home after winning those first two games in Orlando and sweeping the Magic. The Knicks, seeking their first championship since 1973, are in position to join them.
Wembanyama, after a very quiet first half, scored 29. De’Aaron Fox had 20 for San Antonio.
“We can’t change the past,” Wembanyama said, “We’re already thinking about Game 3.”
The series shifts to New York. Game 3 is at Madison Square Garden on Monday night.
New York Knicks guard Landry Shamet, left, celebrates with guard Mikal Bridges after making a three-pointer in the second half against the San Antonio Spurs in Game 2 of the NBA Finals on Friday.
(David J. Phillip / Associated Press)
President Donald Trump — a native New Yorker — plans on attending Monday. And ticket prices on the secondary market, for the worst seats at MSG, were approaching $9,000 apiece on Friday night, with Knicks fans evidently willing to pay tippy-top dollar just to be in the building as the team nears what would be its first championship in 53 years.
The Spurs were down 14 midway through the fourth and came all the way back — scoring the next 14 points to tie the game. Wembanyama’s three-point play with 57 seconds left gave the Spurs their first lead in nearly two full quarters, putting San Antonio up 104-102.
“We showed tremendous desperation, urgency and competitive response,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “Hopefully we can try to bottle that up … and try to play to that same level.”
But the Knicks got the last three, Brunson — the hero of Game 1 for the Knicks — getting them all.
Brunson scored on the next possession, just his seventh basket in 24 shots on the night, and the game was tied. Wembanyama missed a long jumper, OG Anunoby got the rebound for New York with 30 seconds left, the Knicks called time and the stage was set.
The Spurs got a stop, but Wembanyama threw the ball away. Brunson got fouled, the Knicks had the lead back and before long Spurs fans were filing out of the arena — possibly for the final time this season.
The Spurs called time with 7.5 seconds remaining. Fox took the inbound pass, then set up Wembanyama for a jumper that would have won it. The shot bounced off the rim, and it was over.
“We had to get a stop. We hadn’t gotten a stop all quarter,” Towns said.
They got their stop. Next stop: New York, where the hottest team in basketball knows an NBA title is just two wins away.
After the 2022 Los Angeles mayoral primary, developer Rick Caruso looked to have a surprising, and sizable, lead over then-U.S. Rep. Karen Bass.
The morning after the polls closed, Caruso was ahead by 5 percentage points — 42% to Bass’ 37% — and the former Republican called the early results “a victory story.”
But that lead did not last as the vote count continued. By the time all votes were tabulated two weeks after election day, Bass had come out on top, with 43% of the vote compared with Caruso’s 36%.
Welcome to the postelection vote-count slog in California, where tight races are often impossible to call even when the initial results seem clear-cut.
The California governor’s race still has not been called even though Republican Steve Hilton has been the top voter-getter and Democrat Xavier Becerra has been in second place since election night. The same is true in the battle over who will face Bass in the mayoral election: reality TV personality Spencer Pratt, who is now in second place, or L.A. City Councilmember Nithya Raman, who is in third place.
At this point in the vote tally, “everybody has an opinion and very few facts” about what the results will be, said Mike Murphy, a Republican strategist.
“Nobody in politics wants to be patient,” Murphy said, adding that California has “adopted a system that’s slow and deliberate.”
It’s not just the L.A. mayor’s race where mail-in ballots have swung election outcomes. Other contests, including those for highly competitive Orange County congressional districts and L.A. City Council seats, have come down to extremely narrow margins that have shifted long after election day.
On election night in November 2024, just over 1,000 votes separated Democrat Dave Min and Republican Scott Baugh in their bid for the 47th Congressional District, with Baugh enjoying a slight lead.
But, ultimately, as more ballots were counted, Min pulled ahead. He ended up winning by about 10,000 votes.
Similarly, in the race between Democrat Derek Tran and then-incumbent Michelle Steel to represent Congressional District 45, it took until Nov. 27 to determine that Tran had won the contest by just over 650 votes.
In 2022, the race between then-incumbent Gil Cedillo and community activist Eunisses Hernandez for L.A. City Council was similarly unsettled. On election day, Cedillo had a comfortable lead with 56% of the vote. But two weeks later, Hernandez ended up in the lead with 54% of the vote to Cedillo’s 46%.
Experts say confirming the final spot in the mayor’s race could still take several more days, depending on how close the contest becomes and how many ballots still need to be counted. Only an estimated 62% of ballots from the city of Los Angeles had been counted as of Thursday morning.
“Of the 40% remaining, or outstanding, there could still be a chance that there would be a significant return of more left-leaning votes, which would certainly benefit Raman,” said Pete Peterson, dean of the School of Public Policy at Pepperdine University.
Late results tend to favor Democrats — as seen in the 2022 Bass-Caruso contest — as Democrats tend to be more likely to vote by mail, a system that accepts ballots up to seven days after election day as long as they are postmarked by that Tuesday. And this year, Democratic voters held on to their ballots longer amid an unsettled governor’s race, which could further boost that phenomenon.
“The major difference between ’26 and ‘22, you had two candidates versus three,” Peterson said. “Mathematically, it’s a different situation.”
Three experts The Times interviewed said Raman still had a chance to pass Pratt, but it seemed more likely at this point that Pratt would survive and challenge Bass in November.
The remaining ballots to count, even if they are overwhelmingly left-leaning, will probably be split between Raman and Bass, which means Raman needs to outperform not just Pratt but Bass to make such a comeback possible, Peterson said.
He called her chances of ousting Pratt “dastardly remote … but it’s not impossible.”
In L.A. County, the registrar of voters reported late Wednesday that officials estimate they still have about 713,000 ballots to process and count, which primarily includes vote-by-mail ballots postmarked by election day but not yet received, as well as ballots returned to drop boxes and vote centers on election day. The registrar only made countywide estimations, which includes a much larger pool than L.A. city voters who will decide the mayor’s race.
Kamy Akhavan, the managing director at the USC Dornsife Center for the Political Future, said there’s a theory circulating among pundits that ballots submitted later are going to break more progressive, meaning they’ll be more friendly to Raman.
“Whether there is enough of them to tilt the outcome in favor of Raman taking a second place position, right now, it seems unlikely,” he said.
Pratt is pulling from the same electorate in Los Angeles that voted for President Trump and could snag a few more voters who are angry about the state of the city. But his lead very well could shrink a bit as more Democrats’ ballots are counted, Murphy said.
“Nithya, she’ll probably go up because there’s going to be a fair amount of Democratic votes and she’ll get her chunk, but will she catch Pratt? You can extrapolate it either way,” Murphy said.
A similar left-leaning shift also occurred as more ballots were counted in November 2022 when Bass and Caruso faced off in the general election. Results on election night wavered between the two candidates, but by the following morning Caruso had a thin lead with 51.25% of the counted votes. Bass sat at 48.75%.
Caruso remained in the lead — though it continued to shrink — as the week dragged on, but by Saturday, Bass had pulled ahead with 50.78% of the counted vote. Caruso had fallen to 49.22%.
Her momentum continued to grow as more ballots were processed. Eight days after polls closed the following week, the Associated Press called the race for Bass. At that point, she led Caruso by six points with 53% of the vote.
The final tally would have her winning almost 55% of the vote.
California officials have worked to dispel rumors and falsehoods about slow election results — explaining that it’s part of the process to accurately count and confirm ballots, especially those mailed in — though there has been a growing push to expedite results to build voter trust.
The process has been particularly slow in L.A. County, though experts say that is mostly a result of the county’s massive voter base. Mail-in ballots are also heavily scrutinized with workers verifying signatures and giving voters a chance to remedy the situation if their signature doesn’t match, a process that takes time.
“They’re using that level of care because they’re supposed to — that’s their protocol — and also because it could make a big difference,” Akhavan said. “We’ve seen some elections in Southern California decided by single digits. And that just means this is going to take time. That can be very frustrating, even annoying, to Angelenos.”
1 of 2 | Former Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra speaks during a Senate Finance Committee hearing on former President Joe Biden’s proposed budget request for the Department of Health and Human Services for fiscal year 2025 at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on March 14, 2024. File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo
June 4 (UPI) — Republican Steve Hilton and Democrat Xavier Becerra are leading a crowded field in California’s primary for governor on Thursday with millions of ballots left to count.
The two candidates that receive the most votes will advance to the November election, regardless of party. Democrat Tom Steyer has the third most votes so far.
Sixty-one candidates qualified to appear on the primary ballot to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Polls closed on Tuesday night at 8 p.m. PDT. It is common for California to take days if not weeks to tally enough votes to declare a winner.
Despite millions of votes still being counted, President Donald Trump has alleged that Democrats have cheated in California’s primaries.
“There’s BIG cheating by the Dumocrats in California,” Trump posted on social media. “Votes are all tied up. May not be in for weeks. Under investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles. Why the vote counting DELAY?”
Trump also declared Hilton the winner of the primary, even though not enough votes have been counted to make that determination.
“Congratulations to Steve Hilton on coming in first, last night, in the California Vote for Governor,” Trump wrote.
Hilton, a former Fox News host, is the top overall vote-getter as of Thursday morning.
Becerra is the former Biden administration U.S. human services and health secretary. Steyer, a billionaire, is a philanthropist and climate activist.
Wade Meckler and Nick Madrigal each had four of the Angels’ 16 hits, Walbert Ureña pitched six solid innings and the Angels beat the Colorado Rockies 11-4 on Wednesday night.
Meckler is batting .389 (14 for 36) with two homers and 10 RBIs since he was recalled from double-A on May 22.
Vaughn Grissom added a homer and three RBIs, and Oswald Peraza had two hits and two RBIs to help the Angels — who tied their season high with the 16 hits — avoid a three-game sweep.
Ureña (3-4) gave up three hits and three runs. He struck out seven and walked three, cooling a Colorado lineup that scored 39 runs in its previous five games. The 22-year-old right-hander, who moved from the bullpen to the rotation in mid-April, has a 2.08 ERA in his last seven starts.
The Angels bunched six hits in a six-run second, the rally featuring Jose Siri’s RBI double and RBI singles by Logan O’Hoppe, Grissom and Peraza. Two runs scored on wild pitches by Michael Lorenzen (2-8), who gave up eight runs and 10 hits in 3 1/3 innings.
The Rockies cut it to 6-1 on back-to-back doubles by Hunter Goodman and Troy Johnston in the fourth, but the Angels countered with Grissom’s two-run homer in the bottom of the inning for an 8-1 lead.
Colorado pulled to 8-3 in the fifth on Tyler Freeman’s two-run homer, but the Angels answered again in the bottom half on Jo Adell’s RBI single for a 9-3 lead. Doubles by Meckler and Peraza and Madrigal’s RBI single pushed the lead to 11-3 in the sixth.
Relievers Drew Pomeranz, Ryan Zeferjahn and Kirby Yates covered the final three innings for the Angels.
As election officials continued tallying ballots Wednesday, Republican Steve Hilton and Democrat Xavier Becerra continued to lead in the unsettled race to replace termed-out Gov. Gavin Newsom, with billionaire Democrat Tom Steyer hoping for a surge in late-arriving votes to push him into one of the top-two spots to advance to the November general election.
Hilton, a British immigrant and former Fox News commentator, told reporters outside the state Capitol in Sacramento Wednesday morning that he was “very encouraged” by the latest results, though he stopped short of declaring victory.
“It does look as if change is coming to California, and that is good news for everyone, every small business, every working family, everyone who wants to see our state set back on track,” he said.
Becerra and Steyer did not hold public events as of Wednesday afternoon.
Election data analyst Paul Mitchell said it would be nearly mathematically impossible for Steyer to close the gap.
“As we start to get more data, the runway is going to get shorter and shorter,” he said.
He said Steyer, to finish in the top two in the primary, would have to get about 30% of the remaining uncounted votes while Becerra would need to be limited to 15%. The self-funded billionaire has “a very high hill to overcome, and the challenge gets steeper and steeper as we get more data from the counties,” Mitchell said.
“Here in Hollywood’s hometown, we love a good underdog story,” Becerra told cheering supporters at his election night party at La Plaza de Cultura y Artes in downtown Los Angeles.
Becerra spoke about his Mexican immigrant parents and becoming the first in his family to attend college. Though a longtime California politician, Becerra said that his campaign for governor was outspent and that he faced calls to drop out of the race.
“The underdog stayed in the fight,” he said. “Like my parents, I never gave up. … Never stopped believing in the beacon-light goodness of California and thankfully, neither did you.”
His campaign manager, Heather Hargreaves, wrote in a letter to supporters Wednesday that “we’re going to give democracy time to work. County election officials are still counting ballots and don’t expect to know how many people voted in total until” Thursday, when officials are required to report the estimated number ballots left to process.
Billionaires “do everything they can to hoard their wealth and avoid paying taxes, and we see corporations continue to rig the system for themselves — raising your prices to juice their profits. Screw that,” Steyer said at his election watch party at the Regency Ballroom in San Francisco.
Other candidates in the race included Republican Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco and Democrats including former Rep. Katie Porter, San José Mayor Matt Mahan, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and state Supt. of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond.
Villaraigosa, Mahan and Porter conceded the race Tuesday night.
California’s 2026 race for governor started slow but ended with a flourish, including the demise of a scandal-ridden Democratic favorite, the anointing of a Republican by Trump and Becerra’s unexpected rise from the depths of the candidate field.
Unlike gubernatorial elections in the last quarter of a century, this year’s race lacked a clear crowd-pleasing front-runner able to win over voters, such as movie star Arnold Schwarzenegger or Jerry Brown, a sage of the California electorate and scion of a storied political family. But it unfolded at a time when the state’s residents are overwhelmed by high housing costs, steep gas prices and overall unaffordability that threatens the “California dream” that once drew millions of people to the state.
“Normal people are not living and breathing politics on a daily basis,” said Tim Rosales, a strategist who ran Republican John Cox’s unsuccessful 2018 gubernatorial campaign. In today’s information-saturated environment, Rosales said, the race and its roster of “extremely milquetoast candidates” didn’t break through until the Swalwell scandal grabbed voters’ attention.
The 2026 gubernatorial primary has been one of the most unpredictable and expensive in decades and a race that was shaped early on by a number of heavyweight Democrats staying on the sidelines.
Though supporters urged them to run, former Vice President Kamala Harris, Sen. Alex Padilla and Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta passed on the race. It was in a state of limbo for months last year as Harris, one of the state’s most high-profile politicians, weighed whether to jump in.
“I don’t ever recall a playing field that looks like this one. Usually there’s a clear front-runner,” said veteran Democratic strategist Darry Sragow. “It’s easy to say that it reflects a lack of talent [but] that’s absolutely not true. Almost any of the candidates running could make a good governor.”
Still, candidates struggled for months to break through to voters.
In February, polls showed the crowded field of Democrats splitting liberal voters and opening a statistical possibility that the party would be boxed out of November under California’s open, top-two primary, which places all candidates on the same ballot. Only the first- and second-place finishers in the primary advance to the general election, regardless of their party affiliation.
Just when Swalwell appeared on the cusp of becoming the Democratic front-runner the San Francisco Chronicle and CNN published allegations that he sexually assaulted a former staffer and acted inappropriately with other women. Swalwell suspended his campaign.
It was Becerra who benefited the most. In less than two months, he vaulted from polling in the low single digits to the top of the field of candidates, according to surveys conducted by UC Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies that were co-sponsored by the Los Angeles Times.
“Becerra caught lightning in a bottle,” Rosales said. “It could have easily gone to any of the other candidates,” but many had baggage. Videos of Porter losing her temper hurt her image, the source of Steyer’s wealth and his unbridled campaign spending weighed on voters’ minds, and Villaraigosa and Mahan were “more centrist than what most Democrats wanted, and so Xavier Becerra was really the safe choice,” Rosales said.
Before Democratic voters began to narrow down their choices, Trump endorsed Hilton in early April. It helped the former Fox News host break away from Bianco, his main GOP rival.
In the days before the primary election, the race solidified into a three-way contest involving Becerra, Steyer and Hilton.
Steyer stepped up his fight in the remaining days, seeking to squeeze into one of the top two spots by battering Becerra in ads and at campaign rallies as a politician propped up by corporate special interests.
“We cannot afford to have a governor who’s been bought off by Big Oil. Period,” he said at a Sunday rally in Los Angeles.
Corporations, along with labor unions and interest groups including the California Assn. of Realtors, had spent more than $18.7 million to boost Becerra, according to the election spending tracker California Target Book. Many of the same groups also gave money to a committee intended to attack Steyer.
As the election neared, Becerra sharpened his attacks against Steyer, calling the billionaire a “liar” and accusing him of trying to buy the election.
“We are not going to let a billionaire or Trump’s handpicked candidate take over this state,” he said during a Sunday rally in Long Beach.
If Becerra faces off with Hilton in November he’ll have a distinct advantage. Democratic voters outnumber Republicans nearly 2 to 1 in left-leaning California.
Winning the general election would make the 68-year-old Becerra the first elected Latino governor of California. At roughly 40% of the state’s population, Latinos are California’s largest ethnic group but have not been represented in the governor’s mansion since 1875, when then-Lt. Gov. Romualdo Pacheco was elevated to fill a 10-month vacancy.
Times staff writers Iris Kwok, Susanne Rust, Andrew Khouri and Christopher Goffard contributed to this report.
Los Angeles City Atty. Hydee Feldstein Soto lagged behind her two well-funded challengers based on early returns Tuesday night. But her incumbent colleague, City Controller Kenneth Mejia, appeared to be faring better in his bid to stay in office, holding a double-digit lead over finance executive Zach Sokoloff.
Progressive Marissa Roy led the field vying to serve as Los Angeles’ top lawyer in the first batch of returns surfacing around 8:20 p.m.
L.A. County Deputy Dist. Atty. John McKinney sat in second, while Feldstein Soto was positioned third. The top two finishers will advance to November’s general election. It could be days before the outcome of the race is clear. Mail-in ballots with a Tuesday postmark will be accepted by county election officials for another week.
With only two candidates running, the controller’s race will be decided this month and will not go to a runoff in November.
The city attorney’s race transformed suddenly this spring after the Los Angeles Police Department’s largest union broke with Feldstein Soto and backed McKinney. Independent expenditure campaigns have thrown $3 million behind McKinney in recent weeks, with much of that money coming from a political action committee controlled by Airbnb.
Feldstein Soto sued the rental giant for violating price gouging laws in the wake of the Palisades fire last year and has openly questioned whether McKinney would shy from aggressive litigation against Airbnb if elected.
“Special interests have gotten really accustomed to special treatment at City Hall. They get special treatment all the time,” Feldstein Soto said in a recent interview, suggesting that both McKinney and Roy had been compromised by outside spending. Independent expenditure campaigns supporting Roy also received roughly $725,000.
McKinney told The Times that if elected, he would “absolutely” sue Airbnb if necessary.
A representative for Feldstein Soto’s campaign declined to comment on the early returns late Tuesday night.
The three leading candidates often sounded like they were campaigning for different jobs.
Roy said she would run the city attorney’s office as L.A.’s “largest public interest law firm,” focusing on tenants’ rights, wage theft and other issues affecting working-class Angelenos. A deputy attorney general in the California Department of Justice, she also vowed to sue the Trump administration, linking arms with the attorney general’s office and other city attorneys in aggressive litigation to curb what many Californians see as targeted abuses of power.
McKinney talked more like he was running for city prosecutor, leaning heavily on his experience winning high-profile felony trials in the downtown courthouse. He said he would improve the way the city attorney prosecutes gun crimes and animal abusers. Despite his lack of experience as a civil litigator, McKinney also said he could bring down the city’s litigation costs, which exploded under Feldstein Soto.
“While all votes have not yet been fully counted, we feel optimistic about qualifying for the General Election in November. People want political courage. They want leadership,” McKinney said in a statement Tuesday night. “What is already clear, is that this election has been shaped by the pressing and undeniable concerns of the people of Los Angeles.”
She said she improved public safety by repairing her office’s relationship with the LAPD and filed more misdemeanors than her predecessor. Although legal costs surged, Feldstein Soto said she did her best to mitigate damage on a number of difficult cases she inherited when taking office in 2022. The rise of so-called “nuclear verdicts” in civil claims reflects a nationwide trend rather than a fault of her leadership, she said.
Feldstein Soto was endorsed by Mayor Karen Bass and U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.). Roy had the support of the L.A. County Democratic Party, the city chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). In addition to the police union, McKinney was backed by his boss, L.A. County Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman.
The city controller’s race, normally a fairly sleepy affair, has turned into the second-highest-spending race in the city.
Mejia, 35, known for his two corgis that he often features on billboards across Los Angeles, sought to retain his seat as the city’s accountant and auditor.
His only challenger was Sokoloff, a senior vice president for asset management at Hackman Capital Partners. Sokoloff, 37, alleged Mejia did not properly utilize the controller’s office to run audits on city departments and failed to keep up the auditing pace of his predecessor.
Sokoloff’s mother, Sheryl, has spent $7.5 million on independent expenditures in the race, mostly on attack ads and mailers against Mejia. Often, the ads point to allegations that Mejia in 2023 fostered a toxic workplace and made inappropriate sexual remarks to female subordinates.
A woman who identified herself as Sheryl Sokoloff hung up on a Times reporter last week when asked about the race expenditures.
Mejia said Sokoloff’s mother — married to Jonathan Sokoloff, managing partner of private equity firm Leonard Green & Partners — was trying to bankroll the seat for her son.
Mejia has long run on accountability and transparency for the city’s budget and made public-facing databases across dozens of topics on the controller’s website in his first term.
A licensed certified public accountant, Mejia is a member of the Green Party and does not accept endorsements from political parties or politicians. He was endorsed by the Los Angeles Daily News and multiple labor unions, including the United Teachers of Los Angeles and United Auto Workers.
Sokoloff, a Democrat, was endorsed by multiple former controllers, notable Democrats — including Schiff — and the L.A. County Democratic Party, along with other business advocacy groups.
TJ Rumfield hit a go-ahead sacrifice fly in the ninth inning and the Colorado Rockies used a five-run eighth to rally past the Angels 9-8 on Monday night.
Hunter Goodman put Colorado ahead 8-6 with a three-run homer in the eighth. Jake McCarthy homered earlier for the Rockies, who have won more games this season (23) than they did before the All-Star break last year.
Jorge Soler’s two-run triple for the Angels tied it 8-8 in the bottom of the eighth.
McCarthy doubled in the ninth to move Kyle Karros to third before Rumfield drove him home with a sac fly to right field for a 9-8 lead. McCarthy finished two for four at the plate, including a solo homer in the third for a 2-0 lead.
Troy Johnston plated Colorado’s first run with an RBI single in the first, and Sterlin Thompson added an RBI single in the fifth to pull the Rockies to 5-3.
Karros’ RBI double in the eighth sparked the five-run rally. Tyler Freeman tacked on an RBI single and Goodman capped the outburst with his 14th homer — a three-run drive over the left-field wall.
Antonio Senzatela (5-0) threw 1 2/3 scoreless innings for the win. Kyle Freeland gave up six runs, five earned, and seven hits in 5 2/3 innings.
Kirby Yates (0-1) gave up the go-ahead run in the ninth.
José Soriano pitched the first 4 2/3 innings for the Angels, giving up three runs on three hits and striking out seven. He also hit two batters with pitches and walked seven — a career high. He became the first Angels pitcher to issue seven free passes in a game since Garrett Richards on Sept. 2, 2013.
Jo Adell hit an RBI single in the third before Jose Siri drilled his second career grand slam to put the Angels up 5-2 in the third. Vaughn Grissom scored on a throwing error by Goodman in the fifth for a 6-3 lead.
Manaka Matsukubo finished with a goal and an assist to lead the North Carolina Courage to a 2-1 win over Angel City at BMO Stadium on Sunday.
Matsukubo slipped a ball through to Evelyn Ijeh, who calmly finished to give the Courage a 1-0 lead in the 48th minute. With the goal, Ijeh has landed on the scoresheet in three straight matches.
Three minutes later, Evelyn Shores’ pinpoint cross into the box found the head of Maiara Niehues for the equalizer.
North Carolina retook the lead for good in the 79th with Riley Jackson’s perfectly weighted pass to Matsukubo, who scored her fifth goal of the season.
Jason Bateman could snag limited series Emmy nominations for his lead role as a deep-in-debt barman on Netflix’s “Black Rabbit” and supporting role as a sexually adventurous weatherman on HBO’s “DTF St. Louis.” Drawing more than one nomination in a year has been the norm for Bateman.
14
Bateman’s previous Emmy nominations encompass acting, directing and producing.
1
His lone Emmy win came in 2019, for directing an episode of his Netflix crime drama “Ozark.”
21
The former child actor’s first nomination, as lead of the Fox (later Netflix) comedy “Arrested Development,” came in 2005. Bateman’s adult “comeback” has lasted 21 years and counting.
4
Times he has received multiple nominations in a year, most often for acting in, directing and producing “Ozark.”
2
“Black Rabbit” and “DTF St. Louis” would mark his second time receiving acting nominations for different shows in the same year.
2020
Bateman competed for drama lead for “Ozark” and guest actor for HBO’s “The Outsider.”
0-for-7
Bateman is overdue for an acting Emmy. His brilliant straight-man work in “Arrested Development” lost out to Emmy juggernauts Tony Shalhoub (“Monk”) in 2005 and Jim Parsons (“The Big Bang Theory”) in 2013.
3-for-13
The Actor Awards have been kinder: Bateman won three lead actor statuettes for “Ozark.”
2026
The guilds already have spoken on “Black Rabbit,” with Bateman receiving Actor, DGA and PGA nominations.
5
Also a producer on “DTF St. Louis,” Bateman has a shot at five Emmy nominations this year.
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — On a night when the crowd at Blue Bell Park saw some of the most majestic home runs you’ll see in college baseball, USC’s Andrew Johnson showed why pitching is still paramount.
The sophomore right-hander delivered arguably the most important pitching performance of the season for USC on Sunday night, beating Texas A&M 14-3 to propel the Trojans to a winner-take-all College Station Regional Final on Monday.
After needing five pitchers in a rout over Texas State earlier in the day just to reach the regional final out of the losers’ bracket, USC coach Andy Stankiewicz rode Johnson.
Two nights after throwing 21 pitches over 1⅔ innings, Johnson threw 124 pitches over 7⅓ strong innings to beat the host Aggies (41-14) before a crowd of 6,934.
“I’ll say this, I’ve been here [as USC’s head coach] four years,” Stankiewicz said. “That’s the best pitching performance I’ve seen in four years, hands down.
“In a big moment when we needed somebody to step up to take the ball, there hasn’t been a guy that’s done that as well as [he] did … this evening.”
Leading 11-2, Johnson retired the first batter in the top of the eighth inning before Nico Partida singled to right. Jake Duer followed with an RBI triple to right field, prompting a call to right-hander Rohan Kasanagottu.
Johnson (8-2) held the Aggies to three runs on nine hits and two home runs with one walk and four strikeouts. Kasanagottu added 1⅔ perfect innings of relief with two strikeouts.
“It was just basically [Stankiewicz] coming up to me and looking at me, and me just nodding at him,” Johnson said. “And he’s like, ‘All right, let’s go.’
“I don’t know if I’ve thrown 120-whatever before, but I honestly feel pretty good. I’ll pitch tomorrow if it [means] we’re going to win some more.”
USC junior Kevin Takeuchi bats against Texas A&M in the NCAA regionals on Sunday.
(Chris Mora / USC Athletics)
The Trojans (46-16) have scored 48 runs over three wins since falling into the losers’ bracket. They beat Lamar 19-6 on Saturday, and then they beat Texas State 15-4 on Sunday afternoon before pummeling the Aggies (41-15).
Chris Hacopian gave the Aggies a 1-0 lead with a home run in the first. The Trojans countered with four runs in the bottom of the inning with Kevin Takeuchi’s two-run single and Andrew Lamb’s two-run double.
“Yeah, we never want to lose,” Texas A&M coach Michael Earley said. “We never want to get our [butt] kicked. That always sucks, but it is what it is. It’s baseball.
“They beat us, period, from the freaking first pitch. But we got a game tomorrow, and we’re excited to get out there.”
Lamb greeted reliever Cooper Powell with a three-run home run over the right-field bleachers in the third inning. Augie Lopez gave USC a 9-1 lead with a two-run home run in the fourth.
Gavin Grahovac tagged Johnson for a monstrous solo home run to cut USC’s lead to 9-2 in the fifth. Lamb, who singled in the fifth, added another two-run double in the ninth.
“I’m going to flush this thing here in about five minutes,” Earley said. “We’re going to move forward and we’re going to come out tomorrow and get to play in front of our home crowd.
“What more could you want, man? What more could you want?”
That’s the same mentality USC has taken since losing their opener.
“I think we’re seeing the ball really well,” Takeuchi said. “We’re sticking to the middle of the field and kinda just letting the park do its thing. Just trying to put [the] barrel on the ball.
“But when you have pitching like these guys have been, they’ve been lights out. They keep us in every ballgame, so it’s really good for us to just be able to compete for them and kinda just to rack up the hits. I think we’re just seeing the ball really well, and we’re going to continue to do that tomorrow.”
Travel experts have listed what you should wear to the airport
Many people plan a specific airport outfit(Image: Thomas M Barwick INC/Getty)
UK holidaymakers are being warned that planning and wearing a special ‘airport outfit’ is probably not the best move if they want to make sure they avoid any additional charges.
With many airlines charging extra for checked bags, being caught out at the airport can add significant costs to your trip abroad. Thankfully, experts at Good Business Travel are sharing the insider packing habits frequent flyers use to avoid unnecessary fees, travel lighter, and beat the dreaded airport bag weigh-in.
Natasha Inglis, Client Operations and Success Director at Good Business Travel, said: “Airlines are under pressure to offset rising costs, and baggage fees are one of the easiest ways for them to increase revenue. The good news is that smarter packing genuinely can save people a significant amount of money.”
One tip Natasha suggests is ditching the airport outfit – an ensemble people plan in advance to look good during the journey itself. The trend, which is now becoming more common, actually works against passengers packing efficiently, Natasha added.
She said: “Your airport outfit is one of the most underused packing tools you have. Instead of choosing lighter, aesthetic layers for photos or comfort, you should use travel days strategically, wearing the bulkiest items, heaviest trainers, and thickest layers to free up valuable suitcase space.”
As well as this, Natasha suggests a ‘bed test’. This is where you lay everything out on your bed, or the floor, before packing. You then immediately remove at least a third to expose any unnecessary extras or duplicate items that rarely get used of worn.
Natasha explained: “It’s a visual shock tactic. Once you see everything together, you realise how much of it you don’t actually need. The key rule is if it’s a ‘maybe’, then it doesn’t make it into the case.”
She also suggests using packing cubes to compress clothes, and a 3-2-1 carry-on rule. The formula includes packing three tops, two bottoms and one outer layer, all chosen so that everything works interchangeably.
As travellers continue looking for ways to reduce holiday costs, Natasha says smarter packing is becoming one of the simplest ways to avoid unnecessary spending. She added: “Packing light isn’t about sacrificing comfort. It’s about travelling smarter, avoiding stress, and refusing to pay extra for things you never actually use.”
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — USC couldn’t hold on to the lead Adrian Lopez provided with a home run in the bottom of the eighth Friday night.
Texas State’s Chase Mora greeted reliever Adam Troy with a monstrous two-run home run to left field in the top of ninth inning, propelling the Bobcats to a 5-4 upset before a crowd of 6,956 at Blue Bell Park.
The Trojans had plenty of chances, and they wasted most of them in the opening round of the NCAA tournament’s College Station Regional.
Even though the Bobcats’ shaky defense spotted USC two unearned runs, the Trojans will surely lament stranding runners in scoring position in each of the first seven innings.
The Trojans will face Lamar University, which blew a five-run lead in a 7-5 loss against host Texas A&M, on Saturday at 1 p.m. PT.
If coach Andy Stankiewicz’s Trojans return to the Men’s College World Series for the first time since 2001, the 12-time national champions must do it out of the losers bracket.
USC right-hander Grant Govel, an All-Big Ten First Team selection, settled for a no-decision after giving up three runs on four hits with two walks and six strikeouts over 5⅔ innings.
He was relieved by freshman left-hander Sax Matson with one on and two outs in the top of the sixth. Matson escaped unscathed in the sixth, but he was relieved by right-hander Andrew Johnson with one on and two outs in the seventh.
The Trojans (43-16), who reached the Big Ten Tournament semifinals, have lost four of their last five games.
Mora’s sacrifice fly to right field gave the Bobcats a 1-0 lead in the second inning. The Trojans countered to tie the score with a run in the bottom of the second.
With runners on first and second and two outs, Abbrie Covarrubias hit a grounder to first. Texas State first baseman Jaquae Stewart booted the grounder for an error, allowing Isaac Cadena to score. Stewart almost made the situation worse with a wild throw to second, but Dean Carpentier was thrown out trying to reach third on the poor throw to second.
The Trojans benefited from more poor defense in the third. With one out in the inning, Augie Lopez reached on an error by Mora at third. Kevin Takeuchi followed with a double off the center-field wall. Jack Basseer broke the tie with an RBI single through the left side.
Covarrubias hit a solo home run to left in the fourth to put USC ahead 3-1. Texas State sophomore shortstop Brady Boles, who entered the regional with only one home run this season and two in his college career, tied the score 3-3 with a two-run home run to left field in the top of the fifth.
That sound of breaking glass? It’s Hong Kong-born conductor Elim Chan, 39, shattering a particularly stubborn ceiling after being named the first woman to lead the San Francisco Symphony in its 115-year history. Her title is currently Music Director Designate, and when she officially steps into the job of music director in September 2027, she will become the first woman to lead a major American orchestra.
Chan arrives as the orchestra’s 13th music director at a precarious moment for the organization, which in 2024 was rocked by the resignation of its last music director, Esa-Pekka Salonen, who declined to renew his contract after five years and said he didn’t share the same vision as the orchestra’s board of governors. Like many arts organizations, the symphony is still struggling with a pandemic-precipitated drop in attendance and a shrinking budget.
Fans will get their first chance to see Chan in action on June 5 and 6 when she’ll take the stage in a program including Richard Wagner’s Prelude from “Tristan und Isolde,” Hector Berlioz’s “Les Nuits d’été” wih mezzo-soprano soloist Sasha Cooke, and Claude Debussy’s “La Mer.”
“In Elim Chan, we have found a musician of unusual gifts and a leader of equal substance — a rare combination, and the one behind her remarkable international rise,” said San Francisco Symphony Chief Executive Matthew Spivey in a news release. “What sets her apart on the podium is the conviction she brings to the music itself. Works orchestras have played a hundred times sound newly made under her hand, lit by a feeling for structure, color, and emotional architecture that audiences hear before they can name.”
Chan studied piano and cello in Hong Kong before moving to the U.S. to attend Smith College. She went to graduate school at University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, where she ultimately earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in 2015. The year before that she became the first woman to win the prestigious Donatella Flick LSO Conducting Competition, and was named assistant conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra.
Chan made her conducting debut with SF Symphony in January 2023 and has conducted the orchestra twice since. A rep for the the group said the feedback they’ve received from “our Orchestra, press, our audiences, and donors has been remarkable.” Chan is, indeed, a electrifying presence to behold onstage, a fact that no doubt played a major role in the search committee’s decision.
And now audiences get to delight in her fresh, invigorating approach to the conductor’s podium. Glass ceilings should be broken more often.
I’m Arts editor Jessica Gelt rooting for something new and different. This is your arts and culture news for the week.
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The week ahead: A curated calendar
FRIDAY
David E. Frank and Nicolet Anton in “Limonade Tous les Jours: A Paris Love Story” at City Garage.
(Paul Rubenstein)
Limonade Tous les Jours: A Paris Love Story Romance in the City of Lights from Obie Award-winning playwright Charles L. Mee, in which a young chanteuse and a reserved American in his 50s ponder amour amid classic French cabaret songs. 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; 4 p.m. Sundays, through June 28. City Garage, 2525 Michigan Ave., Building T1, Santa Monica. citygarage.org
Three Lives Written, directed by and starring Alex Xander Luu, this solo theater performance shares the dramatic, sometimes humorous, story of the Luu family’s escape from Saigon in 1975 through the perspectives of a father, son and grandson. 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday; 2 and 8 p.m. Sunday. Sierra Madre Playhouse, 87 W. Sierra Madre Blvd. sierramadreplayhouse.org
David Call and Lena Dunham in the movie “Tiny Furniture.”
(Joe Anderson / IFC Films)
Tiny Furniture Multi-hyphenate Lena Dunham’s breakout 2010 indie feature about a new college graduate adrift in New York City screens with “Welcome to Bushwick a.k.a The Crackcident,” an episode from Dunham’s series “Girls.” 7:30 p.m. Friday; 6 p.m. Saturday. The Eastwood (Oxford Underground), 1089 N Oxford Ave. eastwoodpac.stagey.net
SATURDAY
Daisuke Ryu in Akira Kurosawa’s 1985 film “Ran,” screening Saturday at the Academy Museum.
(Winstar Cinema)
Darkness and Humanity: The Complete Akira Kurosawa The series continues with 35 mm screenings of “Ran,” the filmmaker’s 1985 adaptation of Shakespeare’s “King Lear” transported to 16th century Japan; and “Kagemusha,” a 1980 feudal epic executive produced by George Lucas that helped revive Kurosawa’s career and cement his legacy. “Ran,” 7:30 p.m. Saturday; “Kagemusha,” 6:30 p.m. Sunday. 6067 Wilshire Blvd. academymuseum.org
“Cut Piece,” 1964, performed in “New Works of Yoko Ono,” Carnegie Recital Hall, New York, filmed by David and Albert Maysles. Part of the exhibit “Yoko Ono: Music of the Mind” at the Broad.
Yoko Ono: Music of the Mind The first solo museum exhibition in Southern California of the singular artist, musician and activist, organized in collaboration with Tate Modern, London, includes work from her seven-decade career; direct participation by visitors will be invited in many of Ono’s transformational works. Through Oct. 11. The Broad, 221 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. thebroad.org
Artist Kyungmi Shin, whose solo exhibition “My Fantasy’s Burdens” is currently showing at Perrotin Los Angeles, talks with Aleesa Pitchamarn Alexander on Sunday.
(Todd Gray)
Kyungmi Shin The L.A.-based artist will discuss her work, including the current exhibition “My Fantasy’s Burdens,” with Aleesa Pitchamarn Alexander, curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Cantor Arts Center and co-director of the Asian American Art Initiative at Stanford University. “My Fantasy’s Burden” includes both paintings and ceramics by Shin, featuring the artist’s practice of interrogating the Asian American diasporic identity, focusing on the cultural, economic and scientific consequences of colonialism. 4 p.m. Saturday; the exhibition concludes May 30. Perrotin Los Angeles, 5036 W Pico Blvd. perrotin.com
SUNDAY Bob Dylan double feature It’s the music icon’s 85th birthday and what better way to celebrate than with screenings of his 2021 concert film “Shadow Kingdom,” directed by Alma Har’el, and the 1987 musical melodrama “Hearts Of Fire” — one of Dylan’s forays into acting — directed by Richard Marquand. 7:30 p.m. Aero Theatre, 1328 Montana Ave., Santa Monica. americancinematheque.com
Stephen Schwartz performs during the Songwriters Hall of Fame induction and awards gala in 2025.
(Charles Sykes /Invision / AP)
An Evening With Stephen Schwartz Katharine McPhee, Joey McIntyre, Loren Allred and other performers join the celebrated composer-lyricist for a benefit concert to help the Altadena Music Theatre recover from the Eaton fire. Schwartz has won three Oscars, three Grammys, four Drama Desk Awards, a Golden Globe and the Richard Rodgers Award for Excellence in Musical Theater, in addition to six Tony nominations for shows including “Wicked,” “Pippin” and “Godspell.” Preceded by a VIP cocktail hour. 7:30 p.m. Manoukian Cultural Performing Arts Center, 2495 E. Mountain St., Pasadena. altadenamusictheatre.com
Arts anywhere
New and recent releases of arts-related media.
An Evening with Nicole Scherzinger
The lead singer of the Pussycat Dolls crowned her triumphant, Olivier- and Tony-winning turn as Norma Desmond in the musical revival of “Sunset Boulevard” with a series of solo concerts at prestigious venues (including Walt Disney Concert Hall). The latest edition of “Great Performances” captured Scherzinger’s performance at London’s Royal Albert Hall in October 2025, when she sang showtunes, covers and songs from her own repertoire. 9 p.m. Friday on PBS and streaming on the PBS app
“Reading Pictures: A History of Illustration,” by D.B. Dowd.
(Princeton University Press)
Reading Pictures: A History of Illustration
In this visual chronicle, D.B. Dowd, a professor of design and American culture studies at Washington University in St. Louis, follows this unique art form from relief prints and woodcuts in ancient China and Japan, through the development of the printing press in 15th century Europe, and on to modern developments such as illustrated news, recreational reading and ad-driven consumer culture. Dowd reconsiders the traditional narrative to view illustration in the context of race, gender, literacy and cultural memory. The book examines the integration of reading and looking, the increasing prevalence of images in the digital age, and what it means to be literate in the 21st century. Princeton University Press: 400 pages, $60
— Kevin Crust
Culture news and the SoCal scene
Kylie Victoria Edwards and Daniel Yearwood in “Brigadoon” at Pasadena Playhouse.
(Jeff Lorch)
Theater lovers rejoice: “Brigadoon” at the Pasadena Playhouse may be the “best local staging of a musical” Times theater critic Charles McNulty has seen in 20 years covering the scene for The Times. The revival, directed by Katie Spelman with an updated book by playwright Alexandra Silber, is “the high-water mark so far of Pasadena Playhouse producing artistic director Danny Feldman’s ongoing reexamination of the American musical canon,” McNulty writes. In the same column, McNulty notes that another classic musical revival, “Flower Drum Song” at East West Players, does not hit its mark.
The Skirball Cultural Center‘s latest exhibit takes on the genesis of Punk rock in the 1970s, and traces its rise from the UK to New York and Los Angeles. The exhibit, “Outsiders, Outcasts, Rebels + Weirdos: Punk Culture 1976-86,” pegs punk’s year zero to 1976, “when the Ramones debuted their self-titled record. That same year, the Sex Pistols cursed on live TV, John Holmstrom and Legs McNeil co-founded Punk magazine, and the Damned released the first British punk single, ‘New Rose’.”
Erin Davis, son of Miles Davis, poses for a portrait during Musichead Gallery’s photography exhibition marking a centennial celebration of the jazz musician.
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
As the world celebrates the centennial of jazz legend Miles Davis, a unique photo show is happening at Musichead Gallery on Sunset Boulevard. “The show celebrates the late jazz musician’s centennial through imagery captured over a career spanning nearly five decades,” writes staff writer Julius Miller, noting that some of those photos have not even been seen by members of the Davis family.
Times classical music critic Mark Swed sat down for an exclusive interview with Los Angeles Philharmonic Music and Artistic Director Gustavo Dudamel as he readied to play his final shows with the orchestra at Walt Disney Concert Hall before departing for the New York Philharmonic. “I’m living here and I’m not living here,” Dudamel told Swed. “The connection will always be here.”
Swed also weighed in on two performances marking composer Philip Glass’ 90th birthday (which arrives at the end of January): Paris Opera’s “shocking” new “noir” production of Glass’ “Satyagraha”; and a UC Santa Barbara Arts & Lectures-commissioned show called “Philip Glass and the Poets,” which premiered at Campbell Hall featuring readings by performance artist Taylor Mac and dancer/choreographer Lucinda Childs.
Lisa Waund’s work in the Joy Department at the Hospital of Emotions at St. Vincent Medical Center.
(Carlin Stiehl / For The Times)
The Times got an exclusive first look inside the soon-to-open Hospital of Emotions, which features 70 artists in a takeover of 80 rooms at the shuttered St. Vincent’s Medical Center on the outskirts of downtown L.A. The sprawling immersive art project is divided into various departments including joy, fear and sadness, and shines a spotlight on wellness and mental health.
Meow Wolf L.A. won’t open until later this year, but The Times got an early look at a new character that will be featured in the immersive art space. Its name is WoWoW and it’s the creation of the experimental video art collective Everything Is Terrible. Read all about the “20-foot-tall, 1,000-pound amoeba-like creature” here.
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Guests enjoy wine and friendship at the Barnsdall Art Park Foundation’s weekly wine tasting.
(Janna Ireland / Barnsdall Art Park Foundation)
Barnsdall Friday Wine Nights are returning for a 17th year. The event is set to begin May 29 and run through Sept. 11, every Friday evening from 5:30 to 9:00 p.m. Located on the West Lawn of Frank Lloyd Wright’s magnificent Hollyhock House, the gathering occupies one of the city’s most magical outdoor spots. A $55 general admission ticket gets you four glasses of wine from Silverlake Wine, along with a rotating lineup of food trucks. DJs also regularly perform throughout the series. Best of all: Proceeds support arts programming and preservation at Barnsdall Art Park. A rep for the event notes that, “this year’s fundraiser is especially critical amid proposed budget and staffing cuts to the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs.”
Break out your best picnic basket and blanket: Independent Shakespeare Co. has announced this summer’s Griffith Park Free Shakespeare Festival, which runs outdoors every year at the park’s Old Zoo. This year’s lineup includes the Bard’s “Coriolanus” and “The Comedy of Errors.” Performances are free, but registration is requested at www.IndieShakes.org.
MILWAUKEE — Teoscar Hernández backpedaled up the line as he watched the flight of his deep fly ball down the left-field line.
It clanged off the left-field foul pole to give the Dodgers the lead for the first time in a game they’d win 11-3.
“It was big,” Hernández said after going three for four with six RBIs, tying a career high. “We took the lead, and that was the best thing. We put less pressure on [starter Roki] Sasaki, so he could keep pitching the way he was pitching after the first inning. So it was a great [fourth] inning.”
The Dodgers’ offense, led by Hernández, came alive after a quiet first game of the series.
His heroics in the comeback victory — which also included a record-setting performance from the bullpen — were a high point in his offensive turnaround the last two weeks.
“I just think that he’s heightened his focus,” manager Dave Roberts said. “I think that his at-bat quality has been considerably better. I don’t think he’s wasting at-bats.
“For me personally, early on, I think that there was a couple of at-bats per night that he was just giving away. And now the last eight days, something like that, I don’t see him giving away any at-bats. And the production has reflected that.”
Hernández’ first hit of the game was made all the more dramatic by the rut the Dodgers started in.
Dodgers pitcher Roki Sasaki throws during the first inning of a win over the Brewers on Saturday in Milwaukee.
(Jeffrey Phelps / Ap Photo/jeffrey Phelps)
Sasaki, coming off his best start of his MLB career against the Angels last week, ran into trouble right away against the Brewers.
Six pitches in, he’d already given up back-to-back doubles en route to the first run. To make matters worse, his own error extended the inning. He got the Brewers’ Andrew Vaughn to chase a low splitter for a swinging bunt up the third-base line. Sasaki barehanded it cleanly but threw behind Vaughn. As the ball caromed off the retaining wall in foul territory, another run scored.
A fielder’s choice and a walk later, pitching coach Mark Prior strode out of the dugout for a mound visit. The Brewers played “Message in a Bottle” over the loudspeakers.
Sasaki answered his own SOS, with some help from his defense. He struck out Jake Bauers. And then in a 2-2 count to Sal Frelick, Sasaki threw a fastball up and out of the zone. Frelick got on top of it to line a single off the end of shortstop Mookie Betts’ glove as he leaped after it.
The single drove in a third run, but center fielder Andy Pages scooped up the ball and caught Gary Sánchez trying to go from first to third on the play, ending the inning.
Then Sasaki held the Brewers scoreless for the next four innings, retiring 10 straight as he bided time for the offense to make up the deficit.
The Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman slides safely past the Brewers’ Gary Sánchez to score a run during the eighth inning Saturday in Milwaukee.
(Patrick McDermott / Getty Images)
“It seemed a little like Groundhog Day that first inning, how it started,” Roberts said. “But for Roki to find a way to get out of it with three runs, and then settle in, settle down — his stuff got better in the third, fourth and fifth innings, and I told him that. Young pitchers, to understand that even if you get hit in the mouth early, you gotta find a way to keep going, so you don’t blow up your bullpen.”
Freddie Freeman got the Dodgers’ fourth-inning rally started with a leadoff double. Then Pages drove him in by roping his own double into the left-field corner, trimming the Brewers’ lead to two runs.
When Kyle Tucker drew a one-out walk, he gave Hernández the chance to put the Dodgers ahead with one swing. He took it.
“I’m just hitting the ball in the air, hitting it hard,” Hernández said. “That’s what you want as a hitter, and I think that’s what’s been the difference between the last two weeks [versus] the weeks before.”
He entered Saturday with a 1.001 OPS since the beginning of last homestand, compared to a .667 OPS up to that point.
Going into a three-city road trip last week, Hernández said refusing to dwell on poor results, especially in big situations, had been key.
“It was more like getting confidence and getting to trust myself again,” Hernández said. “And then just go out there and trust my swing, trust the work, and just trying to select better pitches to hit.”
In addition to coming up in the big situation, Hernández also contributed to the Dodgers’ late rallies, as they batting through the order in both the eighth and ninth innings to tack on seven runs.
The Dodgers’ bullpen shut down the Brewers for four innings. The performance from Alex Vesia, Kyle Hurt, Tanner Scott and Jonathan Hernández extended the bullpen’s scoreless streak to 36 consecutive innings, eclipsing the Dodgers’ previous record of 33 innings in 1998.
“The biggest thing is that they’re attacking in the hitters, they’re pounding in the strike zone, and when they need a pitch for a double play, they executed really well,” Teoscar Hernández said. “In ‘24 they helped us a lot, ‘25 too, and this year is not going to be different. They’re built for this, and they’re ready for it.”
Injury update
Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy’s right wrist was sore Saturday, as expected after he was hit by a 95.5-mph sinker the night before.
“We’re going to kind of give him a rest day to try to get that swelling out, and then see where he’s at [Sunday],” Roberts said. “And like I said, he’ll be down for the weekend, and then we’ll kind of see where we get to on Monday.”
Depending on how he’s recovering, the Dodgers could send Muncy to get a CT scan when they’re back in Los Angeles.
Dodgers utility player Kiké Hernández (left elbow surgery recovery) is expected to join the team Monday in Los Angeles. Roberts plans to write him into the starting lineup when Rockies left-hander Kyle Freeland starts against the Dodgers.
Taylor returns
A day after word spread former Dodger Chris Taylor had opted to retire, he reportedly changed his mind and joined the Minor League Baseball injury list with a left forearm fracture.
LAS VEGAS — Kelsey Plum scored a season-high 38 points, Erica Wheeler hit the go-ahead three-pointer late in the fourth quarter, and the Sparks defeated the Las Vegas Aces 101-95 on Saturday night.
A three-pointer by Wheeler capped an 8-0 run for the Sparks in the first minute of the fourth quarter that gave the Sparks a 80-73 lead. The Aces battled back and tied it at 90 on a jumper in the lane by Chelsea Gray and again at 94 on two free throws by A’ja Wilson.
Wheeler then took a pass from Plum and hit a 27-foot three-pointer with 1:15 remaining, giving the Sparks a 97-94 lead. The Aces missed a couple of three-pointers and a free throw on their final possessions while Dearica Hamby and Plum sealed the win with two free throws each.
Hamby and Cameron Brink each scored 16, Ariel Atkins had 11, and Rae Burrell added 10 for the Sparks (3-3). Wheeler had 10 points, seven rebounds and six assists, and Plum had nine assists.
Wilson scored 24 points and grabbed 15 rebounds for the Aces (4-2). Carter scored 23 points off the bench. NaLyssa Smith added 22 points, Gray 12 and Jewell Loyd 10.
A three-pointer by Smith gave the Aces a 57-48 lead early in the third quarter but Plum rallied the Sparks with five points and three assists as the Sparks surged ahead 60-57. Neither team led by more than three points the rest of the quarter and Las Vegas took a 73-72 lead to the final period.
Las Vegas, the reigning WNBA champions, saw a four-game winning streak end. The Aces had won 20 of their last 21 regular-season games after finishing the 2025 regular season on a 16-game winning streak.
Mulivai Levu helped UCLA remain the comeback kings of college baseball, hitting a walk-off, three-run home run to seal a 7-5 win over rival USC on Saturday and a spot in the Big Ten tournament championship game.
It was No. 1 seed UCLA’s 27th comeback win of the season and the second consecutive game Levu’s hit sealed a victory during the Big Ten tournament played in Omaha, Neb.
On Saturday night, Levu hit a walk-off sacrifice fly to seal UCLA’s comeback 4-3 win over Purdue in the conference tournament quarterfinals.
UCLA improved to 50-6, a record that Levu said gives the team confidence it will find a way to win.
“It’s the power of friendship right there. We’re all well connected,” Levu said during an interview Saturday on the Big Ten Network. “… We just don’t give up. We’re never out of it, we’re never doubting ourselves. We know what kind of lineup we’ve got, we’ve just got to use it.”
USC’s Augie Lopez hit a double and the rest of the Trojans were active early, building a 3-0 lead in the third inning. Levu hit an RBI single in the bottom of the third to cut the deficit. Dominic Cadiz had an RBI single in the fourth before pitchers held both teams scoreless in the fifth and sixth innings.
Dean West hit a two-run home run in the seventh to give UCLA its first lead at 4-3, and both teams were scoreless in the eighth.
In the ninth, Adrian Lopez and Augie Lopez managed to score runs for USC, taking a 5-4 lead. Top Trojans reliever Adam Troy got No. 1 MLB draft prospect Roch Cholowsky to fly out.
Then Levu entered the batter’s box with two outs and hit the home run that sent USC (43-15) back to Los Angeles for a break before the NCAA tournament brackets are revealed Sunday night.
“They’re rivals on the field, but those are our boys off the field,” Levu said of the Trojans. “They’re good guys and they’re good team. We’ll probably see them again later on in the playoff run. Props to them, it was a great game, they made it very interesting. I’m just glad we won.”
What do we have here? Some of my very favorite actors — Alfred Molina, Alfre Woodard, Clarke Peters and Geena Davis — starring in an eight-episode, B-grade sci-fi comedy-drama, “The Boroughs,” now streaming on Netflix.
Molina plays Sam Cooper, a retired engineer — that will be important — being brought grumbling to the Boroughs, a posh, city-sized retirement community plopped down in the middle of the Southwestern desert. Sam’s late wife, Lily (Jane Kaczmarek, in flashbacks and dreams), had planned the move, but she died suddenly, while they were dancing to Bruce Springsteen’s “Thunder Road,” which will become a kind of trigger and motif going forth. Still, fate — in the form of daughter Claire (Jena Malone) and son-in-law Neil (Rafael Casal) — has pushed him solo to the Boroughs and a house on a cul-de-sac. (Seen from above, the town is laid out in a series of concentric circles, as EPCOT was meant to be when Walt Disney was alive and it stood for Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow. That has no relation to this show; I’m just throwing it out to the fans.)
Before this happens, however, we get a preamble. Is that Dee Wallace, the mother from “E.T.: The Extraterrestrial,” as Grace, a former occupant of Sam’s new home? (Why, yes it is.) Grabbed one night by something clearly not human, she’ll leave the show before the first credit rolls; but we’ll know from the start that there’s a monster on the loose. And even before Sam has settled in, he’ll be attacked by her now-widowed husband, Edward (Ed Begley Jr.), who has escaped to his old house from the Manor — a memory care unit more reminiscent of something out of “Squid Game” than anywhere you’d want to park a beloved fading parent — muttering “The key is in the light, the owl is in the wall,” and thereby turning Sam detective.
The joint is run by young Blaine Shaw (Seth Numrich), who supposedly took it over from his father, who took it over from his father before him, with Hollywood-blond wife Anneliese (Alice Kremelberg) by his side. (It is perhaps no accident that we’re also served a background clip from “Double Indemnity,” featuring a blond Barbara Stanwyck.) They radiate a kind of vampiric smoothness, and it will take you no longer to realize that something’s up with these two than it takes to say “Something’s up with these two.”
Mired in grief, Sam is initially reluctant to interact with his new neighbors, until former weatherman Jack (Bill Pullman) breaks down his defenses. Judy Daniels (Woodard) used to be a reporter, her husband Art (Peters) is a pot-smoking old hippie who pretends to go golfing but heads off to a ghost town where he grows mushrooms, “searching for proof that there’s more to life than just knockin’ about and hangin’ out.” Wally Baker (Denis O’Hare) used to be a doctor, but now needs one. (It’s cancer, and terminal, though it doesn’t show.) They have complicated relationships, but there’s nothing better for ironing things out than creeping together through dark tunnels by flashlight, hoping that nothing jumps out at you, engaging in weightless banter as you go.
Davis plays Renee Joyce, a former music manager who came to the Boroughs to stay with her mother after Renee’s husband stole her money, and stuck around; I think she’s meant to be younger than the rest, but if you want to look up Davis’ age, I will wait here while you gasp in astonishment. She’ll hook up with friendly young security guard Paz Navarro (Carlos Miranda); he played drums in a band once, and they were both at Glastonbury in 2010 and love Barbra Streisand. (What are the odds?) He’ll have a lot to do when a Scooby Gang — that old, invaluable, incredibly satisfying trope — finally comes together.
The series was created by Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews, who were co-writers on the 2018 Henson Co. puppet epic “The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance,” from which they have imported a central plot device regarding vital essences and a magical matriarchal figure. (Called “Mother” there and here.) Their 2020 dying girlfriend film “Life in a Year,” directed by Mitja Okorn, has some thematic mirroring here, as well — death hovers over the story — and it seems probable that somewhere in the series’ gestation, they discussed Ron Howard’s 1985 science-fiction flick “Cocoon,” with its retirement home setting and senior-citizen heroes.
Sewn together from these and other scraps of previous paranormal adventure stories, “The Boroughs” is almost entirely predictable — not a criticism, in this context, since surprises in such a story are liable to bring bad news, and our affection for its heroes ought not to be sacrificed in the name of dramatic effect. That is not the kind of sacrifice the age needs, and this is not that kind of series. Nor is B-grade a pejorative, but rather an honorable tradition, especially when it comes to sci-fi and horror. (We’ll get a glimpse of Roger Corman’s original “Little Shop of Horrors” playing on a TV — cathode ray, of course.) Once you get on its wavering wavelength — sentimental, sincere, sweet, a little silly, not overly concerned with making perfect sense — and realize the show is not out to hurt you, it’s a very enjoyable watch.
Jeff McNeil hit a tying homer in the ninth inning and Tyler Soderstrom had an RBI single in the 10th to rally the Athletics past the Angels 6-5 on Wednesday night.
The Angels loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the 10th but left-hander Hogan Harris got Jorge Soler to ground out, sending the Angels to their 23rd loss in 29 games.
A’s reliever Scott Barlow (1-0) threw a scoreless ninth for the win. Angels right-hander Chase Silseth (1-1) took the loss after giving up an unearned run in the 10th.
The teams combined for eight runs in the first two innings, with the Angels taking a 5-3 lead on Soler’s two-run homer in the first and Jo Adell’s solo shot and Josh Lowe’s two-run drive off A’s starter Aaron Civale in the second.
Soderstrom hit a two-run single in the first, and Henry Bolte scored when Lowe misplayed Carlos Cortes’ single to left field in the second.
Angels starter Jack Kochanowicz walked four and hit a batter with a pitch in the first two innings, but the right-hander retired 12 straight batters — six by strikeout — from the third through the sixth before handing the ball to the bullpen.
Mike Trout rounds second during the first inning Wednesday.
(Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times)
Angels reliever Ryan Zeferjahn plunked two batters in the seventh, and Sam Bachman gave up an RBI single to Nick Kurtz, trimming the Angels’ lead to 5-4.
Bachman retired the side in order in the eighth, but Kirby Yates couldn’t convert his first save opportunity for the Angels, as McNeil led off the ninth by curling his second homer inside the right-field foul pole, tying the score at 5.
Cortes walked with two outs and Shea Langeliers was hit by a pitch, but Angels left-hander Tayler Saucedo, called up from triple-A earlier Wednesday, got Kurtz to tap back to the mound to end the inning.
Cristiano Ronaldo will embark on a sixth World Cup at the age of 41 after Portugal coach Roberto Martinez named him in a 27-man squad for the tournament, with a symbolic “plus one” in memory of the late Diogo Jota.
Speaking at Cidade do Futebol before a packed auditorium on Tuesday, Martinez confirmed that fourth-choice goalkeeper Ricardo Velho, of Genclerbirligi Ankara, will travel with the squad, but can only be added to the official 26-man list in the event of an injury to one of the three registered keepers.
Portugal, the reigning Nations League champions, open their Group K campaign at the tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada against the Democratic Republic of the Congo on 17 in Houston.
They then face Uzbekistan at the same venue on June 23 and conclude the group stage against Colombia in Miami on June 27. The tournament runs from June 11 to July 19.
Martinez said his selection comprised “27 players plus one”, a reference to Liverpool forward Jota, who died in a car accident in July last year, aged 28.
“He is our strength, our joy,” Martinez said. “Losing Diogo was an unforgettable and very difficult moment, but the very next day, it was up to all of us to fight for Diogo’s dream and for the example he always set in our national team. Diogo Jota’s spirit, strength and example are the +1 and will always be the +1.”
Portugal’s head coach Roberto Martinez announces the squad [Armando Franca/AP]
The coach defended his decision to name four goalkeepers and five fullbacks, while leaving out players including Mateus Fernandes, Ricardo Horta and Pedro Goncalves.
“The complexity of the tournament is very important – the demands of the weather, the time zone, everything we already experienced in March,” Martinez said. “There are positions where we need to have more than two players per position. And we need five fullbacks.”
He highlighted the versatility of Diogo Dalot, Joao Cancelo and Matheus Nunes, and pointed to attacking options such as Joao Felix, Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva and Francisco Trincao operating between the lines, with Rafael Leao, Pedro Neto and Francisco Conceicao providing width.
Martinez added that Velho understood his role as a training goalkeeper, noting that FIFA rules only permit replacement in the event of injury during the tournament.
Portugal warm up against Chile in Oeiras on June 6 and Nigeria in Leiria on June 10. FIFA has stipulated that the squad must be in their Palm Beach, Florida training camp at least five days before their opening match.
Portugal World Cup squad
Goalkeepers: Diogo Costa (FC Porto), Jose Sa (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Rui Silva (Sporting CP); Ricardo Velho (Genclerbirligi Ankara);
Midfielders: Ruben Neves (Al Hilal), Samuel Costa (Mallorca), Joao Neves (PSG), Vitinha (PSG), Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United), Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)
Forwards: Joao Felix (Al Nassr), Francisco Trincao (Sporting CP), Francisco Conceicao (Juventus), Pedro Neto (Chelsea), Rafael Leao (AC Milan), Goncalo Guedes (Real Sociedad), Goncalo Ramos (PSG); Cristiano Ronaldo (Al Nassr)
SAN DIEGO — The Dodgers entered the late innings Monday in an unenviable position: trailing the Padres, whose biggest strength is their bullpen.
“When they have a lead they don’t relinquish it too often,” manager Dave Roberts said after the Dodgers’ 1-0 loss Monday. “You know the numbers — when they’re ahead in the seventh inning they don’t lose. You do have to be a little more aggressive and capitalize when you do get those chances.”
Including Monday, the Padres are 20-2 when leading after six innings, 21-1 when leading after seven, and they have a perfect 22-0 record when leading after eight.
Even when Padres closer Mason Miller got off to an uncharacteristically wild start in the ninth inning Monday, the Dodgers failed to capitalize.
He walked Freddie Freeman and Kyle Tucker on nine pitches. And the next three batters — Will Smith, Max Muncy and Andy Pages — all have proven their ability to do damage in clutch moments.
But it was Miller on the mound, a rare reliever who could actually challenge for the Cy Young Award.
“In this kind of series, you know you’re going to have close games,” Freeman said after the game. “And we just couldn’t get it done.”
Miller got out of the jam with a fly out, strikeout and ground ball, and notched his league-leading 15th save.
Shohei Ohtani dives back to first base in the fourth inning.
(Tony Ding / Ap Photo/tony Ding)
“We still had really good at-bats,” Freeman said. “There’s a silver lining to it. Scoring off Mason is going to be really hard to do. It’s going to take one of those kinds of innings where you can maybe walk a couple of guys and get a bloop. Not much squaring up going on against him.
“But we had an opportunity, maybe with him throwing a lot of pitches might make him be down next game. You just try to have little wins.”
The Dodgers could also avoid him by claiming a lead. On Monday, Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto held the Padres to three hits and one run — Miguel Andujar’s first-inning homer.
But the Dodgers’ offense, which scored 31 runs in a three-game series against the Angels, only managed four hits off Padres starting pitcher Michael King, and only one in the first five innings.
“You’re trying to cover realistically 30 inches,” Freeman said. “Because you have ball-to-strike pitches — you’ve got backdoor sliders that are starting as balls coming back, you’ve got front-door sinkers for lefties. So it’s not just the whole plate you’re worried about; you’re going to worry about a whole lot of different things. … He had all of it working tonight.”
The Dodgers finally strung some hits together in the sixth. With two outs and Hyeseong Kim on first, Shohei Ohtani beat out a swinging bunt, and the throw from Padres catcher Rodolfo Duran zipped past first base.
Kim, who took off from first on contact, rounded third hard but slammed on the brakes when third base coach Dino Ebel held up the stop sign.
“It’s kind of the timing of it, where [Fernando] Tatis [Jr.] came up with the ball, and Dino’s got to make the decision,” Roberts said. “You don’t know that he’s not going to come up with it clean. At that point in time, to be quite honest, Dino had the best view of the runner coming in, Kim, and where they were at on the field. So it’s one of those things, I’m definitely not going to second guess it.”
Kim was stranded there.
Then in the eighth, he again made it to third on a single from Ohtani with two outs. And again, he got stuck 90 feet away from tying the score.
