After taking his normal round of infield grounders during the Dodgers’ off-day workout Sunday, Kiké Hernández jogged to center field and spent a noticeable amount of time fielding fly balls there.
After using the same nine players in their starting lineup in six straight games since the start of the National League Championship Series, the Dodgers have been considering a change for Monday — one that could drop struggling second-year slugger Andy Pages to the bench.
While the Dodgers’ overall offense has been inconsistent this postseason, Pages has endured the most glaring slump. He has collected just four hits in 43 at-bats, registering a .093 average. He has 11 strikeouts, no walks, and only one extra-base knock, providing little pop or spark from the No. 9 spot.
Manager Dave Roberts acknowledged before Game 2 that he was mulling whether to keep Pages in the lineup. And though the 24-year-old outfielder, who had 27 home runs and 86 RBIs in the regular season, had a hit and run scored on Saturday, Roberts reiterated Sunday that making a move with Pages was “still on the table” and “front of mind.”
“Just trying to figure out where he’s at mentally, physically,” Roberts said. “The performance hasn’t been there. So thinking of other options, yeah.”
One reason the Dodgers have stuck with Pages is because of their limited defensive alternatives — including, first and foremost, utilityman Tommy Edman being restricted to only second base this October because of a lingering ankle injury.
Edman, who split time last postseason between center field and shortstop, did say this weekend that his ankle was feeling better (even though he didn’t close the door on potentially needing surgery this offseason). But Roberts noted that Edman “hasn’t taken a fly ball out there in a month,” casting continued doubt over his ability to play anywhere else.
Without Edman, Hernández is the only other true center-field option for the Dodgers to use in their starting lineup, having also played there during the team’s World Series run last year. This postseason, Hernández has been a fixture in left (while also mixing in at third base). But if he were to slide to center field for Game 3, it could open left field for someone like Alex Call.
Call, a trade deadline acquisition who was a part-time player down the stretch in the regular season, does not represent as much of a power threat as Pages, but is a better contact hitter with more on-base ability.
Of course, the Dodgers’ offensive inconsistencies have gone beyond Pages.
They have not topped five runs in a game since the wild-card round. They have hit just .216 as a team since the start of the division series. Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman are still batting under .225 in the playoffs. Mookie Betts is batting .136 since the start of the NLCS.
During their Game 2 win, Roberts felt the club missed a lot of hittable pitches against Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman, before Will Smith and Max Muncy finally broke through with home runs in the seventh.
That, Roberts felt, was a sign his lineup was “a little bit in between” in its approach, squandering opportunities to do damage against fastballs over the plate while also trying to protect against breaking stuff out of the zone.
“They have made good pitches, but we have missed pitches as well,” Roberts said. “I do think that coming home, I feel that we’re back into a little bit of a rhythm offensively.”
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform publishes thousands of page on Epstein case but two lawmakers still pushing for ‘full release’ of files.
Published On 3 Sep 20253 Sep 2025
A Republican-led US House of Representatives committee said it released 33,295 pages of files on the late high-society sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, as a pair of lawmakers continued to push for the “full release of the Epstein files” by the administration of President Donald Trump.
The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform said on Tuesday that the thousands of pages on the Epstein case were provided by the Department of Justice and that the documents had been redacted to remove “victim identities and any child sexual abuse material”.
The mass document release comes as Republican Representative Thomas Massie and Democratic Representative Ro Khanna continued to call for what Khanna described as “the full release of the Epstein files and justice for the survivors.”
Massie and Khanna’s “full release” proposal would require Attorney General Pam Bondi to make public all unclassified Epstein records in the possession of the Justice Department, including the FBI and US attorneys’ offices.
Massie and Khanna were scheduled to hold a news conference with some of Epstein’s victims on Wednesday morning to support their call for the full release of files in the high-profile case.
Republican House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters that he believed Massie’s petition was “inartfully drafted”, because it lacked language that would protect the identities of victims who were sexually abused by Epstein.
Johnson also claimed the petition for the full release of the Epstein files was “moot” due to the work of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which had released thousands of pages of files on Monday.
“It’s superfluous at this point, and I think we’re achieving the desired end here,” Johnson said.
The committee subpoenaed the Justice Department and Epstein’s estate for documents and took a deposition from convicted Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell.
In July, the Justice Department and the FBI released a memo stating that a “systematic review” of Epstein-related files “revealed no incriminating ‘client list’”, and said that no credible evidence had been found that Epstein had blackmailed prominent figures.
That announcement surprised many people, including prominent conservatives among Trump’s support base, who had been pushing for all Epstein-related documents to be released, a promise Trump had made during his re-election campaign.
A poll in July by Reuters/Ipsos found that a majority of Americans, including among Trump’s Republicans, believe his administration is hiding details on the Epstein case.
Epstein was linked to a sizeable number of high-profile politicians and businesspeople through his financial dealings and charitable contributions.
He was found dead in his New York City jail cell on August 10, 2019, where he was being held while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. His death was ruled a suicide.
The Dodgers continued their season-long celebration of last year’s World Series triumph by handing out championship rings Monday. The 49,702 people who bought tickets got replicas while Gavin Lux, who played for the Dodgers last season and is now with the Cincinnati Reds, got a real one.
If the team hopes to win more jewelry again this fall, the next five weeks will be key. Because after Monday’s 7-0 win over the Reds, the Dodgers lead San Diego by a game in the National League West with just 30 more left in the regular season for both teams.
However, if the Dodgers (75-57) continue to play as they did Monday, when Andy Pages homered twice, driving in four runs, and Emmet Sheehan threw a career-high seven scoreless innings, they’ll be tough to catch.
“The defense was just engaged, every single guy out there. The at-bats, one through nine, were great,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “It’s probably one of the better games, complete games, that we’ve played in months. I’m really, really excited about the way we played.”
Excited, too, because what started as a marathon six months ago is now a different kind of race.
“We’re in a sprint now,” said Michael Conforto, who had two hits and made two outstanding plays in left field. “We’re in a race for the division.”
And they’re a step ahead in that race with the Padres, who, like the Dodgers, have 10 series remaining, five at home and five on the road. But San Diego has the easier schedule, based on the combined winning percentage of its opponents (.474) entering the week. The Dodgers have the fourth-easiest schedule.
For Roberts, his team’s narrow margin for error is something to be embraced since it has the potential to steel his team for the postseason, as opposed to simply coasting into the playoffs.
“Competition should bring out the best in you,” he said. “So where the margins are smaller and everything matters more versus you have a big lead and you’re not playing with urgency because you don’t need to, and then have to kind of flip the switch, that’s tough.”
The Dodgers also are rapidly adding reinforcements for their playoff push. Over the weekend, relievers Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates returned from the injured list and utility player Kiké Hernández was activated Monday. Third baseman Max Muncy and infielder/outfielder Hyeseong Kim could be back by the next road trip, if not before. Utilityman Tommy Edman and pitcher Roki Sasaki likely aren’t far behind.
Then there’s Sheehan (5-2), who was brilliant Monday, pitching a career-best seven innings and matching a career high with 10 strikeouts to win his third straight decision. Sheehan gave up just two hits and walked one.
“I definitely have to build on it. Try to just keep the same progress we’ve been doing, keep that going for the next one,” Sheehan said. “It’s pretty fun. It’s a lot more fun than watching the ball go over the fence, for sure.”
For Roberts, it’s as if his team acquired a half-dozen new players.
Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts, left, celebrates with right fielder Teoscar Hernández after hitting a home run in the seventh inning against the Reds on Monday.
(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)
“Those are kind of deadline trades in themselves,” he said. “I do appreciate the guys that have been here, kind of grinding through. But it’s nice looking out on the horizon, seeing the guys that we got coming.”
Pages put the Dodgers in front to stay in the third Monday, driving a 102-mph fastball from Hunter Greene into the bullpen in left field. He hit another in the fifth inning for his 23rd homer of the season, second-most on the team behind Shohei Ohtani’s 45.
In the sixth, a double by Freddie Freeman and walks to Will Smith and Teoscar Hernández loaded the bases for Pages, whose two-out grounder to short got under Elly De La Cruz for a two-run error. A Mookie Betts’ homer, his second hit of the game, with one out in the seventh and a Pages’ sacrifice fly in the eighth closed out the scoring.
Relievers Jack Dreyer and Anthony Banda followed Sheehan, pitching an inning each to complete the shutout, the team’s fourth in the last 23 games.
The Dodgers had only three shutouts in the first 109 games.
Now come the reinforcements, although Kiké Hernández said he almost didn’t make it. After going on the injured list July 6 with left elbow inflammation, he tried three injections and non-invasive rehab procedures, but nothing seemed to work.
“I got to a point where I didn’t know if it was going to happen. We were pretty close to it not happening,” he said of his return. “There are some procedures that I went through that didn’t do anything. I went through four shots in a month, and [the] first three didn’t do anything, and luckily the fourth one was the answer.
“After the last shot, I was pain free.”
Hernández said he expected to start in left field Tuesday. He joins the Dodgers just in time for their sprint to the finish.
“It’s playoff-atmosphere games from here on out,” he said. “Hopefully it brings out the best in people and also teaches the younger guys that when the time comes and we’re in October, the moment doesn’t get too big for them.”
From Jack Harris: Dave Roberts had made it only three steps out of the dugout when he got ejected Tuesday night.
So, before he went back, the Dodgers manager made sure to get his money’s worth.
On a contentious night that saw two superstars get hit by pitches, both dugouts receive umpire warnings, and the Dodgers eventually beat the San Diego Padres 8-6 at Dodger Stadium, tensions reached their boiling point in the bottom of the third inning.
And it was the usually even-keeled Roberts whose emotions burned hottest.
After Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr. was hit by a pitch in the top of the third inning by Dodgers reliever Lou Trivino, reigning National League MVP Shohei Ohtani was hit in the leg with one out in the bottom half of the inning.
Unlike Tatis’ hit by pitch, which came with a runner in scoring position in an inning that saw the Padres score two runs, Ohtani’s plunking occurred amid more suspicious circumstances.
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NBA PLAYOFFS RESULTS
All Times Pacific
NBA FINALS
Oklahoma City vs. Indiana
Indiana 111, at Oklahoma City 110 (box score, story) at Oklahoma City 123, Indiana 107 (box score, story) at Indiana 116, Oklahoma City 107 (box score, story) Oklahoma City 111, at Indiana 104 (box score, story) at Oklahoma City 120, Indiana 109 (box score, story) Thursday at Indiana, 5:30 p.m., ABC Sunday at Oklahoma City, 5 p.m., ABC*
*if necessary
ANGELS
Kyle Hendricks and three relievers combined on a four-hitter as the Angels beat the slumping New York Yankees 4-0 on Tuesday night to hand them their third straight shutout.
New York manager Aaron Boone tinkered with his lineup — batting rookie Jasson Domínguez first and dropping Paul Goldschmidt to sixth — but it didn’t yield results for the Yankees, who were 0 for 10 with runners on and got just three to second base.
Aaron Judge went 0 for4 with three strikeouts and heard boos following whiffs in the sixth and eighth. He is two for 19 with 12 strikeouts in his past five games.
For 12 years UCLA waited to return to Omaha and the College World Series. It waited 15 total hours to play the fourth inning of its game with Louisiana State. Now, the Bruins will have to wait several months to play again.
UCLA fell behind in the first inning for the second time on Tuesday and couldn’t complete an improbable comeback. The Bruins’ season ended at Charles Schwab Field in a 7-3 loss to Arkansas.
“I’m just so proud of our guys,” UCLA coach John Savage said. “Disappointing day for sure. Tough day. Tough circumstances. But at the end of the day, you know, you’ve got to give credit to LSU and, certainly, Arkansas.”
UCLA played from behind most of the game after returning starter Cody Delvecchio gave up a two-run homer in the first inning. He responded, yielding just one more run across four innings in his first appearance since March 28.
Coach Sean McVay on Tuesday reiterated his respect for the star cornerback who helped the Rams win Super Bowl LVI, but for the first time he indicated that there might be too many “obstacles” to making a trade with the Miami Dolphins for the three-time All-Pro.
Ramsey is due to earn $24.3 million this season, and his salary-cap number will increase substantially over the next few seasons, according to Overthecap.com.
“Usually, those are scenarios and situations that you have to have plans in place prior to executing some of the decisions that have occurred,” McVay said, perhaps referencing the contract adjustment quarterback Matthew Stafford received and the signing of free-agent receiver Davante Adams. “Definitely don’t want to rule anything out… but there would be some obstacles that are real that are in the place of maybe preventing that from occurring.”
From Anthony De Leon: If one word sums up the Sparks’ season so far, it’s hardship. Injuries continue to mount, and Kelsey Plum, their primary scorer and star, has joined the growing list of sidelined players.
Plum’s absence was sorely felt as what began as a valiant effort by the Sparks — keeping pace with the visiting Storm through the first half — quickly unraveled into a 98-67 blowout loss Tuesday at Crypto.com Arena.
That’s a rhetorical question, of course. But it’s one that has a basis in fact because girl power is real.
From Joan of Arc to Cassidy Hutchinson, whenever men have proven too cautious, cowardly or complacent to act, women have had the courage to do the right thing. The latest example of this feminine fearlessness came last Saturday, after federal immigration agents launched a series of raids throughout the Southland targeting everyone from schoolchildren to elderly churchgoers.
Angel City FC players and staff wore shirts in support of immigrants before the team’s match on Saturday. The club gave away 10,000 of the shirts to fans.
Within hours of the first arrests, Angel City, a women’s soccer club, became the first local sports franchise to issue a statement, recognizing the “fear and uncertainty” the raids had provoked. A day later LAFC, Angel City’s roommate at BMO Stadium, released a statement of its own.
That was a week and a half ago. But Angel City didn’t stop there. While the collective silence from the Dodgers, the Galaxy, the Lakers, Kings and other teams has been deafening, Angel City has grown defiant, dressing its players and new coach Alexander Straus in T-shirts that renamed the team “Immigrant City Football Club.” On the back the slogan “Los Angeles Is For Everyone /Los Angeles Es Para Todos” was repeated six times.
The team parted ways with manager Simone Inzaghi, who led it to two European finals in three seasons, and replaced him with Cristian Chivu. It temporarily lost the services of forward Mehdi Taremi, who had returned to his native Iran earlier this month and became stranded there when Israeli attacks closed the airspace over much of the Mideast.
Then the rest of the second-best club in Europe traveled 6,000 miles from Milan to Los Angeles, where it opened the FIFA Club World Cup on Tuesday in a 1-1 draw with Mexican club Monterrey before an announced crowd of 40,311 at the Rose Bowl.
“We’re trying to focus. And it’s not easy every day, I’m not going to lie,” said forward Marcus Thuram, whose 18 goals in all competition was second on the team this season. “But it’s part of what we do, we love what we do and we’ll continue doing what we do.”
Stanley’s stay in South Florida is getting extended.
The Florida Panthers repeated as Stanley Cup champions by beating the Edmonton Oilers 5-1 in Game 6 of the Final on Tuesday night, becoming the NHL’s first back-to-back winners since Tampa Bay in 2020 and ’21 and the third team to do it this century.
Sam Reinhart scored four goals, becoming just the sixth player in league history and first since Maurice Richard in 1957 to get that many in a game in the Final. His third to complete the hat trick sent rats, along with hats, flying onto the ice. Matthew Tkachuk, one of the faces of the franchise, fittingly scored the Cup clincher.
More rats were part of the victory celebration when the clock hit zeroes. Panthers players mobbed in the corner, while the Oilers watched in dismay.
Edmonton vs. Florida at Edmonton 4, Florida 3 (OT) (summary, story) Florida 5, at Edmonton 4 (2 OT) (summary, story) at Florida 6, Edmonton 1 (summary, story) Edmonton 5, at Florida 4 (OT) (summary, story) Florida 5, at Edmonton 2 (summary, story) at Florida , Edmonton 1 (summary)
THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY
1910 — Alex Smith wins the U.S. Open by beating John McDermont and Macdonald Smith in an 18-hole playoff at the Philadelphia Cricket Club. Smith beats McDermont by four strokes and Macdonald Smith by six.
1921 — The University of Illinois wins the first NCAA track and field championships with 20¼ points. Notre Dame finishes second with 16¾ points.
1941 — Joe Louis knocks out Billy Conn in the 13th round at the Polo Grounds in New York to retain the world heavyweight title.
1960 — Arnold Palmer beats amateur Jack Nicklaus by two strokes to win the U.S. Open.
1967 — Jack Nicklaus shoots a record 275 to beat Arnold Palmer for the U.S. Open. Nicklaus breaks Ben Hogan’s 1948 record by one stroke.
1972 — Jack Nicklaus wins the U.S. Open by three strokes over Bruce Crampton and ties Bobby Jones’ record of 13 major titles.
1972 — UEFA European Championship Final, Heysel Stadium, Brussels, Belgium: Gerd Müller scores a brace as West Germany beats Soviet Union, 3-0.
1975 — Bobby Orr of the Boston Bruins wins the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s best defenseman for the eighth consecutive year.
1984 — Fuzzy Zoeller shoots a 3-under 67 to beat Greg Norman by eight strokes in the 18-hole playoff at Winged Foot GC for the U.S. Open title.
1990 — Hale Irwin makes an 8-foot birdie putt on the 91st hole to beat Mike Donald in the first sudden-death playoff to decide the U.S. Open. It is the third U.S. Open title for the 45-year-old Irwin, the oldest winner in the tournament’s history.
1992 — Ottawa Senators make goalie Peter Sidorkiewicz their 1st draft pick.
1995 — Michael Johnson becomes the first national champion at 200 and 400 meters since 1899 as he captures both races at the USA-Mobil Championships.
1995 — FIFA Women’s World Cup Final, Råsunda Stadium, Stockholm, Sweden: Hege Riise & Marianne Pettersen score within 3 minutes of each other to give Norway a 2-0 win over Germany.
2000 — Tiger Woods turns the 100th U.S. Open into a one-man show, winning by 15 strokes over Ernie Els and Miguel Angel Jimenez. Woods’ 15-stroke margin shatters the Open mark of 11 set by Willie Smith in 1899 and is the largest in any major championship — surpassing the 13-stroke victory by Old Tom Morris in the 1862 British Open.
2006 — Phil Mickelson’s bid for a third consecutive major ends with a shocking collapse when he bungles his way to a double bogey on the final hole, giving the U.S. Open to Geoff Ogilvy.
2017 — Brooks Koepka breaks away from a tight pack with three straight birdies on the back nine at Erin Hills and closes with a 5-under 67 to win the U.S. Open for his first major championship.
2017 — Diana Taurasi scores 19 points to break the WNBA career scoring record in the Phoenix Mercury’s 90-59 loss to the Sparks. Taurasi finishes with 7,494 points, passing Tina Thompson’s mark of 7,488.
THIS DAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY
1938 — The Brooklyn Dodgers signed Babe Ruth to coach for the remainder of the season.
1947 — Cincinnati’s Ewell Blackwell tossed a 6-0 no-hitter against the Boston Braves.
1950 — In the nightcap of a doubleheader, the Cleveland Indians scored 14 runs in the first inning for an American League record as they trounced the Philadelphia A’s 21-2.
1953 — At Fenway Park, Dick Gernert’s home run highlighted the 17-run, 14-hit seventh inning as the Boston Red Sox beat the Detroit Tigers 23-3. The Red Sox were up 5-3 after 6 1/2 innings. The Red Sox scored the 17 runs on 14 hits and six walks and left the bases loaded. Gene Stephens collected three hits and Sammy White scored three runs and Tom Umphlett also reached base three times in the inning.
1960 — The San Francisco Giants fired Bill Rigney and selected Tom Sheehan as manager. At 66 years, 2 months and 18 days, Sheehan was the oldest man to debut as a manager of a major league team.
1967 — Houston Astro Don Wilson tossed the first of his two career no-hitters by blanking the Atlanta Braves 2-0, facing 30 batters and striking out 15.
1975 — Fred Lynn batted in 10 runs with three homers, a triple and a single in a 15-1 Boston Red Sox victory over the Detroit Tigers. Lynn’s 16 total bases tied an AL record.
1976 — Commissioner Bowie Kuhn voided the sale of Oakland Athletics stars Vida Blue, Rollie Fingers and Joe Rudi. Athletics owner Charlie Finley sold Blue to the New York Yankees for $1.5 million and Rudi and Fingers to the Boston Red Sox for $1 million each. Kuhn ordered the players to return to Oakland on grounds that they would upset the sport’s competitive balance.
1977 — New York Yankees outfielder Reggie Jackson and manager Billy Martin get into a dugout confrontation at Fenway Park that’s seen on national television. Martin removed his right fielder for loafing on a ball hit to the outfield. Jackson questioned Martin in the dugout and the two are eventually separated by coach Elston Howard.
1986 — Don Sutton pitched a three-hitter for his 300th victory as the Angels beat the Texas Rangers 5-1. The 41-year-old right-hander became the 19th pitcher in baseball history to win 300 games.
2002 — Luis Castillo of the Florida Marlins ties Rogers Hornsby’s 80-year-old record for the longest hitting streak by a second baseman, beating out a dribbler to the pitcher in the 6th inning to make it 33 games in a row. Florida beats the Cleveland Indians, 2-1.
2007 — Chone Figgins went 6-for-6 and drove in the game-winning run in the ninth inning to lift the Angels over Houston 10-9.
2011 — Connor Harrell hit the first College World Series home run in the new TD Ameritrade Park to break a sixth-inning tie and first-time qualifier Vanderbilt defeated North Carolina 7-3.
2012 — R.A. Dickey became the first major league pitcher in 24 years to throw consecutive one-hitters and Ike Davis hit a grand slam in the New York Mets’ 5-0 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. The previous pitcher to throw consecutive one-hitters was Dave Stieb for Toronto in September 1988.
2012 — Aaron Hill hit a solo homer in the seventh inning to become the fifth Arizona player to hit for the cycle, lifting the Diamondbacks to a 7-1 win over the Seattle Mariners.
2014 — Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers throws the second no-hitter of the year, shutting out the Colorado Rockies, 8 – 0. It comes less than a month after his teammate Josh Beckett had pitched a no-hitter on May 26th. He strikes out 15 without giving up a walk, the only baserunner coming on a two-base error by SS Hanley Ramirez in the 8th.
2017 — Nolan Arenado completed the cycle with a three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning, and the Colorado Rockies stunned the San Francisco Giants by rallying for a 7-5 victory.
2024 — Hall of Famer Willie Mays, in the conversation for the greatest player ever, passes away at 93.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
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Dave Roberts had made it only three steps out of the dugout when he got ejected Tuesday night.
So, before he went back, the Dodgers manager made sure to get his money’s worth.
On a contentious night that saw two superstars get hit by pitches, both dugouts receive umpire warnings, and the Dodgers eventually beat the San Diego Padres 8-6 at Dodger Stadium, tensions reached their boiling point in the bottom of the third inning.
And it was the usually even-keeled Roberts who most visibly lost his cool.
After Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr. was hit by a pitch in the top of the third inning by Dodgers reliever Lou Trivino, reigning National League MVP Shohei Ohtani was hit in the leg with one out in the bottom half of the inning.
Unlike Tatis’ hit by pitch, which came with a runner in scoring position in an inning that saw the Padres score two runs, Ohtani’s plunking occurred amid more suspicious circumstances.
With one out and nobody on base, Padres starter Randy Vásquez threw an inside, knee-high heater for ball one, brushing Ohtani back off the plate. With his next pitch, Vásquez fired it even more inside, pelting Ohtani’s right thigh with a 94 mph fastball.
Immediately, the umpires gathered for a meeting.
Some context: In the opening game of this week’s series on Monday night, tempers flared when Andy Pages was hit by a Dylan Cease pitch, and immediately stared at the Padres pitcher. Pages told reporters afterward he believed the throw was on purpose, perhaps because the Padres thought he had been relaying signs from second base a few innings before. Roberts, however, downplayed any potential intentionality. Rather than fan the flames of a recently intense division rival, he advocated for calm.
Things changed after the umpires finished talking on Tuesday.
Crew chief Marvin Hudson emerged from the huddle and issued warnings to both dugouts. Roberts immediately asked for an explanation, raising his arms in confusion as he started onto the field.
Hudson motioned to Roberts to stay put. But when he didn’t, third base umpire Tripp Gibson did the honors of ejecting him from the game.
Some more context: The Dodgers and Gibson have already had one run-in this season, when the umpire assessed a rarely seen obstruction call against third baseman Max Muncy in New York last month for stepping into a baserunner’s line of sight on a sacrifice fly play.
How much that bad blood carried over wasn’t immediately clear. But Roberts’ fury with Gibson for Tuesday’s ejection certainly was, with the manager angrily pointing at him multiple times during a two-minute argument on the field while Hudson tried to keep the two physically separated.
It was Roberts’ first ejection this season, and the 13th in his career as Dodgers manager.
And, on a strange night at Chavez Ravine, plenty more peculiarities would follow.
Pages took out whatever frustrations were lingering from Monday’s game with a monster four-hit night. He belted a go-ahead home run in the bottom of the second inning. He launched a tying shot in the fourth. Then, after Will Smith put the Dodgers in front with a two-run homer at the end of a 12-pitch at-bat, Pages added an RBI single in what became a five-run sixth-inning rally, catapulting the team to an 8-3 lead.
The Dodgers (45-29) almost gave the lead back in the seventh, in another inning that featured a couple of controversial umpire decisions.
First, Dodgers reliever Matt Sauer hit Padres shortstop Jose Iglesias with a pitch, but was not ejected — despite Manny Machado taking a couple steps out of the dugout to yell at the umpires, given their earlier warnings.
It ended up not mattering, with Trenton Brooks coming off the bench for a pinch-hit home run in the next at-bat.
Then, the Padres (39-33) caught a break when Tatis was initially called out on a fielder’s choice play at second base, only for home plate umpire Ryan Blakney to intervene.
Tatis had initially slid in safely when shortstop Mookie Betts dropped a flip throw from second baseman Tommy Edman, who made an impressive diving stop in the hole. As Betts retrieved the loose ball, however, Tatis stepped off the bag, apparently thinking time had been called. Betts quickly tagged him, and Hudson, the second base umpire, called him out. But moments before the tag, Blakney had called time from behind home plate, to the chagrin of Smith.
Tatis was allowed to stay on second, and eventually came around to score when Michael Kopech entered the game and stumbled on a throw with the bases loaded, resulting in a run-scoring balk.
Kopech, however, got Xander Bogaerts to ground out and retire the side. And from there, the Dodgers held on, with Anthony Banda stranding the bases loaded in the eighth and Tanner Scott (pitching a third-straight day for the first time this season) collecting his 14th save.
Now, the Dodgers have taken the first two games of a four-game series that has already included plenty of emotional fireworks. And two more nights of emotionally charged rivalry baseball are still left.
Fifteen minutes before first pitch on Sunday, Giants catcher Logan Porter trotted in from the visitor’s bullpen. He’d usually be accompanied by the starting pitcher, which was set to be left-hander Kyle Harrison.
Instead, Porter stood on the first-base line for the national anthem, turned to his left and whispered to his teammates. As they all received the information from Porter — reminiscent of the children’s game “Telephone” — other Giants teammates likely learned one-by-one that Harrison had been traded.
“It was crazy,” Dodgers second baseman Tommy Edman said. “You don’t expect a trade like that this time of year and just getting the pitching change at the last minute.”
The odd scene at Dodger Stadium was because of a reported blockbuster trade that involved the Boston Red Sox sending infielder Rafael Devers to the Giants in exchange for Harrison, right-hander Jordan Hicks and two prospects — a move that further bolsters the talent in the L.A.-San Francisco rivalry.
“Those guys over there are doing a great job of putting a team together and obviously, they want to win,” said shortstop Mookie Betts, who was teammates with Devers in Boston from 2017 to 2019.
San Francisco manager Bob Melvin was forced to turn to long reliever Sean Hjelle, who rapidly warmed up for the start, against a Dodgers offense that had scored 11 runs Saturday night. As Betts said after the game, no matter who the Giants were going to throw at them in response, they were prepared. The Dodgers had done their “homework,” he said.
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It was more of the same from the Dodgers’ offense in a 5-4 victory Sunday. The top of the order manufactured a run via an Andy Pages sacrifice fly in the first inning. Edman hit a solo home run — his 10th — in the second. Pages put a cherry on top in the fifth after Shohei Ohtani (three for three, one walk) and Mookie Betts set the table with singles.
The Cuban slugger’s three-run home run helped the Dodgers (43-29) restore a two-game lead over the Giants (41-31) in the NL West standings.
“It’s really emotional, a special moment to hit a home run in that situation because I haven’t seen him,” Pages said through an interpreter, speaking about his father back in Cuba. “It’s hard sometimes. But it was really special to hit a home run on Father’s Day.”
On the mound, Dustin May was looking to get back on track.
May’s recent starts left more to be desired from the former top prospect who had been struggling with his command and not tallying many swinging strikes. He had struck out just six batters across his last 11 innings — striking out just one in his last outing.
Although May couldn’t find his strikeout pitch, his start Sunday was the sixth time he had pitched through the sixth inning in 2025. He walked four batters for the second time in as many starts — the only time he’s issued at least four free passes in back-to-back games in his career — and struck out three batters. He didn’t have his best stuff, but showed his mettle in the fifth inning.
Dodgers pitcher Dustin May delivers against the Giants at Dodger Stadium on Sunday.
(Luke Johnson / Los Angeles Times)
Whereas he crumbled in the fourth, giving up a two-RBI triple to Jung Hoo Lee to give the Giants a 3-2 lead, he battled out of a bases-loaded jam to keep San Francisco at bay, inducing Porter into an inning-ending groundout.
After Pages further strengthened his All-Star case with his 13th home run, the Dodgers’ bullpen took care of business. Alex Vesia tossed a shutout seventh, while Kirby Yates (one run) and Tanner Scott (zero runs and struck out the side) finished it off in the eighth and ninth, respectively.
“It was good to see us find a way to win a ballgame,” manager Dave Roberts said. “Dustin got a little traffic there in the fourth but he finds a way, as he has shown, to still manage to get through six and to use the guys we wanted to and win a ballgame.”
Sasaki’s status uncertain
Ohtani will start Monday against the San Diego Padres, but it’s still not clear when right-hander Roki Sasaki will return. Roberts said Sasaki (right shoulder impingement) recently halted his throwing program.
“There was some rubbing, is the word he used,” Roberts said. “He’s pain-free. When we start that build-up, it should be soon. He’s already moving around. We all feel encouraged where he’s at right now, as far as the pain.”
The Dodgers placed the 23-year-old rookie on the injured list May 13. Roberts did not specify what Sasaki’s condition is other than that he’s out indefinitely.
Piecing together the starting rotation for the week ahead, Emmet Sheehan is set to be activated Tuesday or Wednesday, Roberts said.
ST. LOUIS — Growing up on the western tip of Cuba, Andy Pages excelled at every sport he played.
He was good at soccer and volleyball, arguably better at basketball. But he loved baseball for reasons that weren’t necessarily limited to the game.
Pages’ father, Liban, a carpenter who had a job repairing wooden boats, helped make his son’s first bats by hand, using leftover lumber given to him by friends. Soon baseball became the boy’s favorite pastime.
“When I was starting to play baseball in Cuba, when things were really bad, there were no bats. There weren’t things like that,” Pages said in Spanish. “So he always tried to make me a bat so I could play.
“I became more motivated, and from that point on, we’ve been playing baseball.”
The sport eventually proved to be a way off the island for Pages, who has emerged as one of the Dodgers’ brightest stars in just his second season with the team.
He entered the start of a three-game series Monday in San Diego hitting .288 with 12 home runs and 39 RBIs, trailing only Shohei Ohtani in homers and matching Ohtani for third on the team in RBIs. He’s also tied for second in stolen bases with six and has yet to be thrown out.
If he can stay consistent, he has a chance to become the first Dodger center fielder to hit better than .250 with 25 homers since Matt Kemp in 2011.
Although Pages never played in Cuba’s elite Serie Nacional, the proving ground for stars such as Yuli Gurriel, Yunel Escobar and Orlando “El Duque” Hernández, he became one of the country’s top prospects after hitting .364/.484/.581 in a under-15 league.
Dodgers outfielder Andy Pages rifles the ball to second base to prevent Arizona’s Ketel Marte from advancing on a single at Dodger Stadium on May 20.
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
That convinced Pages (pronounced PAH-hays) he had a chance to be a big leaguer some day. So at 16, the Athletic reported, he arranged to be spirited off the island alongside Jairo Pomares, another young Cuban star, traveling through Guyana, Curacao and Haiti before crossing in the Dominican Republic. He then waited eight months before the Dodgers signed him as an international free agent in March 2018, giving him a $300,000 bonus, more than 1,500 times the average annual wage in Cuba, according to CiberCuba.
Pomares signed with the San Francisco Giants at about the same time, but while he remains in the minors, Pages’ climb to the majors was steady. He reached triple A by the start the 2024 season. He didn’t stay at Oklahoma City long, however, hitting .371/.452/.694 with 15 RBIs in 15 games to earn a call-up to the Dodgers.
Before his rookie season was over, Pages was a World Series champion. He paid a heavy price for that though, going seven years without seeing his family in person.
“It was emotional since I hadn’t seen them for a long time,” said Pages, 24, who returned to Cuba for the first time the winter before his big-league debut.
His sister, Elaine, a child when he left “was already a full-grown woman.”
“So those memories came back to me, and they were quite — how should I say it? — quite strong for me,” said Pages, who brought his father a few of the machine-made bats he used in the minor leagues.
But if his father provided the spark that made his son a baseball player, teammate Teoscar Hernández provided the help, guidance and mentoring that made Pages an everyday major leaguer.
“He’s played in the major leagues for a long time now,” Pages said of Hernández, a 10-year veteran who signed with the Dodgers months before Pages made his big-league debut. “He’s been through a lot of bad times. I went through that at the beginning of the season, for example, and last year too. And he’s given me advice that’s helped me a lot to get through that time.”
With Pages’ family still in Cuba, Hernández has become a big brother as well as a teammate, taking him out for dinner on off days or just getting together to play video games.
Andy Pages runs the bases after hitting a solo home run against the Athletics at Dodger Stadium on May 14.
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
“Getting through bad times is sometimes a little difficult when you’re alone, when you don’t have anyone to help you, to give you good advice, and to make you understand that sometimes things don’t happen when you want them to,” Pages said.
And that’s worked out well for Pages. Three games after Hernández returned from a rehab assignment last month, Pages started a streak that would see him hit in 13 of his next 14 starts, including 11 in a row, raising his average 24 points to .293. He’s batting .379 with a team-high 11 hits in seven games this month.
“We try to go out to my house. We go out to a restaurant with my wife, his wife. Just so we can get together, have time to enjoy and not think about baseball,” Hernández said.
Pages isn’t the first player to benefit from Hernández’s mentorship. During his six seasons in Toronto, Hernández took another talented rookie, fellow Dominican Vladimir Guerrero Jr., under his wing. Guerrero is now a four-time All-Star.
Hernández is still so respected in Toronto when the Dodgers played there last season, some Blue Jays players wore his old uniform number during batting practice. Earlier this year Guerrero offered to buy him a $300,000 Richard Mille watch; Hernández joked he’d rather have money instead.
As the quiet Pages has grown more confident and comfortable with the Dodgers, his play has improved. A speedy outfielder with a plus arm, he also can play all three positions.
And while he left Cuba, he never fully left it behind, having expressed interest in representing the country in next year’s World Baseball Classic. The decision to go to the Dominican Republic as a teenager, after all, was a business one, not a personal one.
Pages would also like to bring his family to U.S. some day, though that dream was dealt a setback last week when President Trump signed an executive order restricting access to Cubans hoping to come to the U.S.
“Hope is always there,” said Pages, who has beaten impossibly long odds once. “But you have to follow the rules, get the papers, do whatever it takes to make sure everything’s OK. And then get here and stay here.
Brits heading on holidays to the likes of France, Spain, Portugal and Greece need to check their passports including blank pages before heading to the airport
Brits are being urged to check the blank pages in their passport (Image: Getty Images)
Before heading on holidays abroad, most people will check their passports are still in date and damage-free, but travel insiders are warning UK travellers to also cast their eyes over blank pages in their documents.
That’s because one simple mistake could mean your holiday is over before it even starts, as you could be denied boarding at the airport, or turned away at border control.
The travel insurance experts at Tiger.co.uk have warned: “With Brits now getting stamped every time they travel through the EU, travel enthusiasts and those who travel for work may potentially run out of blank pages in their passports. All passport holders must have at least two blank passport pages when they travel, otherwise the document could be seen as invalid. Those travelling more frequently can opt for a jumbo passport that has 54 pages instead of a normal one with 34 pages.”
Check your passport’s blank pages (Image: Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
It’s not just how many blank pages you have left; you’ll also want to check for any damage. The experts added: “If any of your passport pages are torn or missing, your passport is considered damaged and will likely not be accepted at the border, especially if it affects the personal details page or any visa stamps.”
Meanwhile, you’ll also want to check two key dates on your document; the date of issue and the expiry date. That’s because following Brexit, passport requirements have changed for Brits heading to the EU. Your passport now needs to have been issued less than 10 years ago, and must be valid at least three months beyond the date of departure.
These easy errors could also be costly, as if you’re turned away because you don’t have a valid passport, then it’s unlikely that your travel insurance would cover the costs, leaving you out of pocket.
Ian Wilson, travel insurance expert and Managing Director, added: “With passport fees increasing and queues likely getting longer this summer due to the introduction of the EU’s new Entry/Exit System, we urge holidaymakers to carry out essential passport checks now to avoid last-minute hassle and potentially being turned away at the airport.
“Post-Brexit travel changes are still confusing for many of us, so it’s important for Brits to familiarise themselves with the validity requirements before jetting off to Europe.
“Travellers also need to ensure their passports are in good physical condition, as things like damage from water or ink, rips in pages and laminate peeling from the personal details page can mean that your passport may not be accepted as a valid travel document.
“If you’re denied access to your flight for issues such as an invalid passport, your travel insurance is unlikely to protect you. That’s why it’s so important to double-check these things well in advance of your departure date.”
WASHINGTON — House Republicans are getting closer to passing President Trump’s tax breaks, spending cuts and beefed-up border security as Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) attempts to pass the package over unified Democratic opposition by Memorial Day.
House committees have labored for months on the legislation, which exceeds 1,000 pages and is titled the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” a nod to Trump himself.
GOP divisions have narrowed but continue as fiscal conservatives worry the bill doesn’t do enough to curb Medicaid spending, while Republicans from competitive swing districts have expressed concerns about the prospect of their constituents losing access to health coverage and food assistance.
Democrats say they will fight what House party leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) calls “this extreme and toxic bill.”
Here’s a look at what’s in and out of the legislative package so far.
Tax cuts for individuals and businesses
Republicans are looking to make permanent the individual income and estate tax cuts passed in Trump’s first term, in 2017, plus enact promises he made on the 2024 campaign trail to not tax tips, overtime and interest on some auto loans.
To partially offset the lost revenue, Republicans propose repealing or phasing out more quickly the clean energy tax credits passed during Joe Biden’s presidency, helping to bring down the overall cost of the tax portion to about $3.8 trillion.
The bill includes a temporary boost in the standard deduction — a $1,000 increase for individuals, bringing it to $16,000 for individual filers, and a $2,000 boost for joint filers, bringing it to $32,000. The deduction reduces the amount of income that is actually subject to income tax.
There is also a temporary $500 increase in the child tax credit, bringing it to $2,500 for 2025 through 2028. It then returns to $2,000 and will increase to account for inflation.
The estate tax exemption rises to $15 million and is adjusted for inflation going forward.
Several of the provisions Trump promised in the campaign would be temporary, lasting roughly through his term in office. The tax breaks for tips, overtime and car loan interest expire at the end of 2028. That’s also the case for a $4,000 increase in the standard deduction for seniors.
Among the various business tax provisions, small businesses, including partnerships and S corporations, will be able to subtract 23% of their qualified business income from their taxes. The deduction has been 20%.
Businesses will temporarily be allowed to fully expense domestic research and development costs in the year they occur and the cost of machinery, equipment and other qualifying assets. This encourages businesses to invest in ways that enhances their productivity.
Parents and older Americans face work requirements for food assistance
House Republicans would reduce spending on food aid, what is known as the Supplemental Nutrition and Assistance Program, by about $267 billion over 10 years.
States would shoulder 5% of benefit costs, beginning in fiscal 2028, and 75% of the administrative costs. Currently, states pay none of the benefit and half of the administration costs.
Republicans also are expanding the work requirements to receive food aid. Under current law, able-bodied adults without dependents must fulfill work requirements until they are 54, and that would change under the bill to age 64.
Also, some parents are currently exempt from work requirements until their children are 18; that would change so only those caring for a dependent child under the age of 7 are exempt.
At the same time, the legislation would invest $60 billion in new money for agriculture programs, sending aid to farmers.
New work requirements for Medicaid
A focal point of the package is nearly $700 billion in reduced spending in the Medicaid program, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
To be eligible for Medicaid, there would be new “community engagement requirements” of at least 80 hours per month of work, education or service for able-bodied adults without dependents. The new requirement would not kick in until Jan. 1, 2029, after Trump leaves office. People would also have to verify their eligibility for the program twice a year, rather than just once.
Republicans are looking to generate savings with new work requirements. But Democrats warn that millions of Americans will lose coverage.
An estimate from the Congressional Budget Office said the proposals would reduce the number of people with healthcare by at least 7.6 million from the Medicaid changes, and possibly more with other changes to the Affordable Care Act.
Applicants could not qualify for Medicaid if they have a home that is valued at more than $1 million.
No taxes on gun silencers, no money for Planned Parenthood and more
Republicans are also using the package to reward allies and disadvantage political foes.
The package would eliminate a $200 tax on gun silencers that has existed since Congress passed the National Firearms Act in 1934. The elimination of the tax is supported by theNational Rifle Assn.
The group Giffords, which works to reduce gun violence, said silencers make it more difficult to recognize the sound of gunfire and locate the source of gunshots, impairing the ability of law enforcement to respond to active shooters.
Republicans are also looking to prohibit Medicaid funds from going to Planned Parenthood, which provides abortion care and other services. Democrats say defunding the organization would make it harder for millions of patients to get cancer screenings, pap tests and birth control.
‘MAGA’ kids $1,000 savings accounts
“MAGA” is shorthand for Trump’s signature line, “Make America Great Again.” But in this case, it means “Money Accounts for Growth and Advancement.”
For parents or guardians who open new “MAGA” accounts for their children, the federal government will contribute $1,000 for babies born between Jan. 1, 2024 and Dec. 31, 2028.
Families could add $5,000 a year, with the account holders unable to take distributions before age 18. Then, they could access up to 50% of the money to pay for higher education, training and first-time home purchases. At age 30, account holders have access to the full balance of the account for any purpose.
Funding for Trump’s mass deportation operation
The legislation would provide $46.5 billion to revive construction of Trump’s wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, and more money for the deportation agenda.
There’s $4 billion to hire an additional 3,000 new Border Patrol agents as well as 5,000 new customs officers, and $2.1 billion for signing and retention bonuses. There’s also funds for 10,000 more Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and investigators.
It includes major changes to immigration policy, imposing a $1,000 fee on migrants seeking asylum — something the nation has never done, putting it on par with a few others, including Australia and Iran.
Overall, the plan is to remove 1 million immigrants annually and house 100,000 people in detention centers.
More money for the Pentagon and Trump’s ‘Golden Dome’
There’s also nearly $150 billion in new money for the Defense Department and national security.
It would provide $25 billion for Trump’s “Golden Dome for America,” a long-envisioned missile defense shield, $21 billion to restock the nation’s ammunition arsenal, $34 billion to expand the naval fleet with more shipbuilding and some $5 billion for border security.
It also includes $9 billion for servicemember quality-of-life-related issues, including housing, healthcare and special pay.
Tax on university endowments and overhaul of student loans
The proposal would replace all existing student loan repayment plans with just two: a standard option with monthly payments spread out over 10 to 25 years and a “repayment assistance” plan that is generally less generous than those it would replace.
Among other changes, the bill would repeal Biden-era regulations that made it easier for borrowers to get loans canceled if their colleges defrauded them or closed suddenly.
There would be a tax increase, up to 21%, on some university endowments.
More drilling, mining on public lands
To generate revenue, one section would allow increased leasing of public lands for drilling, mining and logging while clearing the path for more development by speeding up government approvals.
Royalty rates paid by companies to extract oil, gas and coal would be cut, reversing Biden’s attempts to curb fossil fuels to help address climate change.
In a last-minute add, Republicans also included a provision authorizing sales of hundreds of thousands of acres of public lands in Nevada and Utah, prompting outrage from Democrats and environmentalists.
Freking and Mascaro write for the Associated Press. AP writers Collin Binkley and Mary Clare Jalonick in Washington and Matthew Brown in Billings, Mont., contributed to this report.
