rbi single

Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman often refers to the playoffs as the “theater of October.”

On the first day of the month Wednesday night, Game 2 of the National League wild-card series was only four batters old when the Dodgers had some dramatic adversity strike.

With two outs in the top of the first, Yoshinobu Yamamoto induced a routine fly ball down the right-field line. Outfielder Teoscar Hernández positioned himself under it. Ninety-nine percent of the time, the inning would have ended there.

This time, however, Hernández committed a horrifying mistake. The ball hit off the heel of his mitt. The Cincinnati Reds suddenly had runners at second and third base. And what should have been a clean opening frame instead turned into a two-run disaster, with Sal Stewart slapping a single through the infield in the next at-bat.

For the Dodgers, it was an immediate test.

Of their mental resolve after a self-inflicted miscue. Of their veteran composure in the face of an early deficit. Of the kind of resiliency that was so key in their World Series run last year, and will need to be again for them to repeat as champions.

In an eventual 8-4 comeback victory, they successfully, triumphantly and assuredly passed.

Behind 6 ⅔ clutch innings from Yamamoto, a go-ahead two-run rally in the fourth inning keyed by a Kiké Hernández double, and a back-breaking four-run explosion in the sixth after Yamamoto had escaped a bases-loaded jam, the Dodgers eliminated the Reds in this best-of-three opening round.

Despite another late tightrope act from the bullpen, which gave up two runs in the eighth before Roki Sasaki finished things off in the ninth, the team booked their place in the NL Division Series against the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Dodgers did not make it easy on themselves. They were dealt a full range of October theatrics. But they prevailed nonetheless with a hard-fought victory — the kind that could catapult them into the rest of this month.

Facing their early 2-0 deficit, the Dodgers never panicked.

Ben Rortvedt doubles during the third inning against the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday night.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

The turnaround started with Yamamoto, who finally ended the first inning by striking out Elly De La Cruz, then didn’t let another runner reach base for the next four innings.

The offense, meanwhile, chipped away at veteran Reds right-hander Zack Littell, stressing him with constant early traffic before eventually breaking through in the third, when Ben Rortvedt sliced a leadoff double down the left-field line and Mookie Betts scored him with an RBI single.

The Dodgers then went in front in the fourth, thanks to a big swing from a familiar postseason hero. After a leadoff single from Max Muncy, Kiké Hernández smacked an elevated fastball into the right-center field gap. Muncy scored all the way from first to tie the game. Hernández, whom the Dodgers have re-signed each of the past two offseasons thanks largely to his playoff reputation, had his latest moment of fall-time magic.

Hernández would come around to score in the next at-bat, when Miguel Rojas dumped a base hit inside the right-field line.

From there, the score remained 3-2 until the sixth inning — when the game climaxed in two memorable sequences.

First, Yamamoto had to wiggle out of red-alarm danger, facing a bases-loaded jam with no outs after the Reds led off with three-straight singles. At that point, the right-hander’s pitch count was climbing. Blake Treinen started to get loose in the bullpen. But manager Dave Roberts, as he promised entering the playoffs, kept his faith in his starter.

Yamamoto rewarded him for it.

After Austin Hays bounced a grounder to Betts that the shortstop threw home for a forceout, Yamamoto slammed the door with back-to-back strikeouts. Stewart fanned on one curveball. De La Cruz couldn’t check his swing on another. Yamamoto celebrated with a primal scream. A crowd of 50,465 erupted around him.

The cheers continued into the bottom half of the inning, as the Dodgers finally pulled away with an outburst from their offense. It started with a single from Kiké Hernández, marking his second-straight two-hit game to begin these playoffs. It was aided by a throwing error from Stewart at first base, allowing Rortvedt to reach safely and put runners on the corners. Shohei Ohtani then knocked in one insurance run on an RBI single. Betts added another with a one-hopper that got past third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes for an RBI double.

And fittingly, it was Teoscar Hernández who delivered the death blow, following an intentional walk to Freddie Freeman with a two-run, bases-loaded, redemption-rich double.

The Dodgers eventually stretched the lead to 8-2, when Betts drove in his third run of the game with his third double of the night in the bottom of the seventh — giving him four total hits in a contest for the third time in his career.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts speaks with pitcher Emmet Sheehan before removing him from the game in the eighth inning Wednesday.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Then came the bullpen, which once again thrust itself into danger after Emmet Sheehan gave up two runs in the eighth on two singles and two walks; his command so shaky, Roberts decided to pull him in the middle of an at-bat against Will Benson after he nearly plunked the batter in an 0-and-2 count.

However, it was mostly smooth sailing from there. Alex Vesia took over, and retired the side by striking out two of three batters (even though there was another walk in-between).

The ninth inning, meanwhile, belonged to Sasaki, who retired the side in order with 100-mph fastballs and his trademark splitter, ending a night of theatrics by sending the Dodgers to the next round.

Kyle Hendricks threw seven shutout innings, Chris Taylor and Yoán Moncada hit three-run homers, and the Angels scored all of their runs with two out in a 12-2 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday night.

Hendricks (7-9) gave up four hits, struck out six and walked one in his best start of the season, throwing 58 of 80 pitches for strikes. Right-hander Zabby Matthews (4-5) took the loss, giving up five runs and seven hits in 4 ⅔ innings.

The Angels had 17 hits and went eight for 17 with runners in scoring position. Leadoff man Mike Trout and Moncada each scored three runs. Luis Rengifo delivered two clutch hits, a two-out, two-run single in the first inning and a two-out RBI single in the fifth, as the Angels built a 5-0 lead.

The Angels blew open the game with four runs in the sixth and three in the seventh. Taylor followed Taylor Ward’s RBI single with a three-run homer to center in the sixth and Moncada followed singles by Sebastian Rivero and Bryce Teodosio with a three-run shot, his 12th of the season, to right.

Twins infielder Ryan Fitzgerald, who threw a scoreless eighth inning, broke up the shutout with a two-run homer in the ninth.

Angels right fielder Jo Adell, who is fourth in the American League with 35 homers and seventh with 94 RBIs, was scratched from the lineup because of vertigo for the second straight game.

Key moment

The Twins threatened in the sixth by putting two on with one out, but Hendricks stopped any hopes of a comeback by getting Trevor Larnach to pop out to third and Luke Keaschall to fly to left, preserving a 5-0 lead.

Key stat

Trout has gone a career-high 119 plate appearances and 27 games without a homer since hitting his 398th on Aug. 6. His previous long drought was 117 plate appearances in 2015.

Up next

Twins right-hander Taj Bradley (6-7, 4.92 ERA) will oppose Angels right-hander Jose Soriano (10-10, 4.07 ERA) in Wednesday’s series finale.

HOUSTON — Jose Altuve hit a two-run homer and an RBI single and Ramón Urías also went deep to back up a strong start from Luis Garcia and lead the Houston Astros to an 8-3 win over the Angels on Monday.

Garcia (1-0) got the win in his return after sitting out more than two years while recovering from Tommy John surgery. He allowed three hits and three runs with six strikeouts in six innings in his first start since May 1, 2023.

The game was tied with one out in the fifth when Yordan Alvarez singled before moving to second on a groundout by Altuve. Carlos Correa then singled on a grounder to center field to score Alvarez and give Houston a 4-3 lead.

Cam Smith singled with two outs in the sixth to chase Yusei Kikuchi (6-10) before stealing second base. Mauricio Dubón walked and Jeremy Peña’s second double of the day scored Smith to make it 5-3.

Alvarez added an RBI single in the eighth before Altuve’s homer made it 8-3.

Zach Neto hit a solo home run and Jo Adell added a two-run shot for the Angels, whose two-game winning streak was snapped.

Garcia retired the first nine batters before Neto homered to open the fourth inning. Mike Trout singled with one out before Adell launched his 31st homer into the seats in left field to put the Angels on top 3-2.

Kikuchi gave up eight hits and five runs in 5⅔ innings.

The Angels haven’t announced their starter for Tuesday night’s game at Kansas City.

HOUSTON — Cristian Javier didn’t give up a hit in six innings and three relievers completed the two-hitter to help the Houston Astros to a 2-0 win over the Angels (62-72) on Friday night.

Javier struck out six, walked three and threw 85 pitches in six innings. He was making his fourth start of the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in June 2024.

He was relieved by Enyel De Los Santos (5-3), who gave up a double to Yoán Moncada for the Angels’ first hit of the game, but secured the win.

Kaleb Ort secured a four-out save — his first save of the season — after relieving Craig Kimbrel in the eighth. Kimbrel walked three and threw eight strikes in 25 pitches. Ort secured a fly out from Jo Adell to end the eighth, then finished with a perfect ninth.

Carlos Correa broke the scoreless tie with an RBI single in the seventh that scored Yordan Alvarez. The Astros (75-60) were 0 for 9 with runners in scoring position before that hit off losing pitcher Luis García Jr. (2-1).

Alvarez drove in a second run in the eighth on a sacrifice fly to left, scoring Cam Smith, who walked earlier in the inning.

Key moment: Before Correa’s single, Alvarez reached first base on a fielding error by second baseman Christian Moore. He scored after advancing on a bloop single from Jose Altuve.

Key stat: Javier’s six no-hit innings are tied for second-longest no-hit outing of his career with a nine-strikeout performance in the 2022 World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies. His career best was a seven-inning performance against the New York Yankees on June 25, 2022.

Up next: The Astros will send RHP Spencer Arrighetti (1-5, 6.21 ERA) to the mound against Angels RHP Kyle Hendricks (6-9, 5.04) on Saturday.

Yusei Kikuchi threw seven strong innings, Luis Rengifo hit a tiebreaking RBI single in the eighth and the Angels beat the Cincinnati Reds 2-1 on Wednesday night.

Bryce Teodosio doubled off reliever Graham Ashcraft (7-5) to open the eighth and took third on a wild pitch. Oswald Peraza grounded out, with Teodosio holding, and Rengifo fisted an RBI single over third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes’ head for the lead.

Reid Detmers (4-3) struck out two in a scoreless eighth for the victory. With Angels closer Kenley Jansen unavailable because of a left rib-cage injury, Luis Garcia retired the side in order in the ninth for his first save.

Both starters excelled in no-decisions, Reds right-hander Nick Martinez giving up one run and two hits in six innings, and the left-handed Kikuchi giving up one run and seven hits in seven innings, escaping a first-and-third, no-out jam in the second and a two-on, no-out jam in the sixth.

The Reds took a 1-0 lead in the third when Hayes doubled and scored on Noelvi Marte’s two-out RBI single. The Angels countered in the fourth on Yoán Moncada’s homer to left-center, his ninth of the season.

Angels shortstop Zach Neto was pulled to start the sixth because of left-wrist soreness after getting hit by a Martinez changeup in the third.

Key moment

A lack of communication between Teodosio, the Angels center fielder, and right fielder Jo Adell allowed Marte’s lazy fly ball to drop in the gap in the sixth, putting two on with no outs. But Kikuchi got Elly De La Cruz to fly to left and Miguel Andujar and Austin Hays to ground out to preserve a 1-1 tie.

Key stat

Kikuchi finished the sixth inning once in his previous nine starts and averaged 101 pitches through an average of five innings in his previous four starts. But he was much more efficient Wednesday, needing 88 pitches to complete seven innings.

Up next

The Angels are off Thursday. Left-hander Tyler Anderson is slated to start Friday at home against the Chicago Cubs.

NEW YORK — Pete Alonso hit a three-run homer to power the New York Mets to a 6-3 win and series sweep of the Angels on Wednesday.

Alonso, mired in a 2-for-34 slump dating to July 10, homered two batters after Francisco Lindor broke a career-long 0-for-31 drought with an RBI single.

Brandon Nimmo hit his 14th career leadoff homer and Lindor added another RBI single in the fourth for the Mets, who swept a series for the fifth time this season.

Sean Manaea (1-1), making his third appearance and second start after battling oblique and elbow injuries, allowed one run and struck out five over five innings. Edwin Díaz got the final four outs for his 21st save.

Mike Trout homered in the third — the 396th home run and 999th RBI of his career — for the Angels, who were swept for the seventh time. Luis Rengifo (forceout) and Chris Taylor (double) collected RBIs in the seventh.

Left-hander Jake Eder (0-1), the last of three Angels pitchers on a bullpen day, gave up five runs in a career-high six innings.

Key moment

Alonso’s first homer since July 8 was the 248th of his career, pulling him within four of Darryl Strawberry for the all-time Mets franchise lead.

Key stat

Trout is aiming to become the second active player with 400 homers and the ninth with 1,000 RBIs.

Up next

Angels LHP Yusei Kikuchi (4-6, 3.13 ERA) starts Thursday, when the Angels return home for a four-game series against the Seattle Mariners and RHP Logan Evans (3-3, 3.81 ERA).

PHILADELPHIA — Taylor Ward hit a go-ahead two-run homer, Jo Adell and Jorge Soler also went deep, and the Angels beat the Philadelphia Phillies 6-5 on Friday night.

The teams combined to hit six home runs, but it was Ward’s shot, his 22nd of the season, in the seventh that completed the Angels’ comeback from a three-run deficit.

Soler hit a solo homer in the second inning and Adell launched a two-run homer in the fourth. Both came off Phillies starter Jesús Luzardo, who allowed four runs on seven hits in 4 2/3 innings. He struck out seven.

Mike Trout, playing in just his sixth game in his hometown in his 15-year career, had a double and an RBI single. Trout also did outfield drills before the game, as he continues to work back from a bruised left knee. He hasn’t played in the field since April 30 and has served solely as a designated hitter since returning a month later.

The Angels used seven pitchers to cobble together nine innings in a bullpen game. Sam Bachman (2-2) pitched two-thirds of an inning to earn the win and Kenley Jansen pitched a perfect ninth for his 17th save.

Bryce Harper homered twice — the 29th multihomer game of his career — and had four RBIs and Kyle Schwarber also homered for Philadelphia, which has lost five of its last seven games.

Tanner Banks (2-2) took the loss, giving up the homer to Ward.

Marcus Semien went four for five and Corey Seager hit a two-run single in a seven-run third inning to help the Texas Rangers rout the Angels 11-4 on Thursday night for a split of their four-game series.

Patrick Corbin (6-7) allowed two runs and seven hits with six strikeouts in five innings to win his second consecutive start. Jacob Latz allowed a run over 3 1/3 innings of relief with six strikeouts.

Semien had three hits with an RBI and two runs scored in the first three innings. Seager went two for three as seven of nine starters drove in at least one run for Texas during a 13-hit outburst.

Adolis García launched his 11th homer — a two-run shot off Carson Fulmer in the eighth for the Rangers’ final runs.

Jack Kochanowicz (3-9) lasted just 2 2/3 innings for the Angels, allowing eight runs. Fulmer gave up three runs in 5 1/3 innings of relief.

Seager, Semien, García and Jonah Heim had four straight singles for a 2-0 lead in the first.

Wyatt Langford and Evan Carter had RBI singles and Jake Burger added an RBI double in Texas’ big inning.

Zach Neto doubled off Corbin and scored on Taylor Ward’s 21st homer to cut it to 9-2 after five. Lamonte Wade Jr. had an RBI single in the sixth and Neto hit his 14th homer — a solo shot off Dane Dunning in the ninth.

Key moment: Corbin gave up three first-inning singles, but the Angels failed to score when Mike Trout hit into a double play and Ward was thrown out at home by García on Jo Adell’s single to right field.

Key stat: The Rangers’ 3.30 ERA leads the majors, while the Angels’ 4.59 ERA ranks 24th among 30 teams.

Up next: The Angels host the Diamondbacks beginning Friday. Neither team had announced a scheduled starter.

Nathan Eovaldi gave up one unearned run in six innings, Jake Burger and Wyatt Langford each homered and drove in four runs, and the Texas Rangers blew out the Angels 13-1 on Tuesday night at Angel Stadium.

Eovaldi (6-3) gave up five hits, struck out six and walked none to lower his ERA to 1.62 in 15 starts, the best among major league pitchers with at least 80 innings.

Corey Seager hit his 13th homer, Evan Carter drove in three runs, and Texas took advantage of nine walks, with six of those runners scoring.

Infielder Kevin Newman pitched the final three innings for the Angels and infielder Ezequiel Duran threw the ninth for the Rangers.

Angels starter José Soriano (6-6) did not give up a hit through three innings. With a 1-0 lead, he threw two strikes to Seager to open the fourth before throwing seven straight balls and walking Seager and Marcus Semien.

The Rangers then scored five runs in a span of six pitches for a 5-1 lead. Langford hit a two-run double to left, Carter had a ground-rule, two-run double to left and Burger hit a run-scoring single.

Texas took advantage of left-hander Sam Aldegheri’s three walks to score four runs in the fifth, making it 9-1.

Angels interim manager Ray Montgomery left Aldegheri, a top prospect who was called up from double A, in long enough to throw 42 pitches in the fifth. Seager’s sixth-inning homer against Aldegheri made it 10-1.

Seager, a former Dodger, is batting .447 (21 for 47) with five homers, two doubles, nine RBIs, 10 walks and no strikeouts in his last 13 games against the Angels dating to Sept. 26, 2023.

Up next, Angels right-hander Kyle Hendricks (5-6, 4.68 ERA) will face Rangers right-hander Kumar Rocker (3-4, 5.80) on Wednesday night.

TORONTO — Addison Barger hit a walk-off single in the 11th inning and the Toronto Blue Jays extended their season-best winning streak to seven by beating the Angels 4-3 on Saturday.

George Springer added a two-run home run, his fifth in five games, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had three hits for the Blue Jays, who won their second straight in extra innings. Toronto won 4-3 in 10 innings Friday.

Barger, who broke his bat over his thigh in frustration after striking out against Kenley Jansen to send the game to extra innings, gained a measure of redemption when he lined the winning hit to right field off Angels right-hander Ryan Zeferjahn (5-3).

Toronto’s Braydon Fisher (3-0) pitched two shutout innings for the win.

Blue Jays right-hander Max Scherzer gave up two runs and five hits in four innings, the shortest of his three starts since coming off the injured list last month.

Scherzer threw 72 pitches, 46 strikes.

Angels outfielder Jo Adell opened the scoring with a bases-loaded walk in the first, but the inning ended when Barger caught Jorge Soler’s fly ball in right field and threw out Mike Trout at home plate. The outfield assist was Barger’s sixth.

Barger’s RBI single off Jack Kochanowicz tied the score in the bottom of the first but Adell restored the lead with a sacrifice fly in the third.

Nathan Lukes walked to begin the third and Springer followed with a 413-foot homer to straightaway center, his 16th.

The Angels tied it in the seventh on Nolan Schanuel’s two-out single off rookie Lazaro Estrada.

After throwing a ball to Logan O’Hoppe on his first pitch of the second inning, Scherzer struck out the side on nine straight pitches.

Up next

RHP Kevin Gausman (6-6, 4.18 ERA) is scheduled to start Sunday’s series finale against Angels LHP Tyler Anderson (2-5, 4.12).

Mike Trout hit a tying homer that sparked a six-run seventh inning and Kevin Newman added a three-run shot as the Angels rolled to an 8-2 victory over the Washington Nationals on Saturday night.

Kyle Hendricks gave up one run in five innings and rookie Christian Moore delivered the go-ahead single with two outs in the seventh. Gustavo Campero also homered for the Angels.

CJ Abrams went deep for the Nationals, and Michael Soroka pitched six innings of two-hit ball.

Washington took a 2-1 lead in the seventh on Riley Adams’ RBI single off Ryan Zeferjahn (5-1). Trout connected against Zach Brzykcy (0-1) leading off the bottom half for his 13th home run.

The Angels then sent 11 more batters to the plate in the inning, with Taylor Ward (double), Jo Adell (single) and Moore contributing important hits. Newman, batting ninth, launched his first homer this season off Eduardo Salazar for a 6-2 lead.

Luis Rengifo’s double and Ward’s bases-loaded walk made it 7-2. Campero homered in the eighth.

The Angels took a 1-0 lead in the second when Ward was hit by a pitch and scored on Logan O’Hoppe’s double-play grounder. The Nationals tied it in the fifth on Abrams’ 12th homer.

Soroka struck out five and walked one in a no-decision. He entered with a 3.49 ERA through five innings and a 22.85 ERA in the sixth. But after giving up Newman’s leadoff single in the sixth, the right-hander started a 1-6-3 double play on Rengifo’s grounder and got Nolan Schanuel to pop out to preserve a 1-1 tie.

Yusei Kikuchi struck out a season-high 12 in seven innings, Jo Adell and Travis d’Arnaud hit solo homers and RBI singles, and the Angels beat the Boston Red Sox 5-2 Wednesday to complete a three-game sweep.

Kikuchi (3-6) gave up two hits, walked one and threw 31 pitches in a shaky first inning when the Red Sox took advantage of shortstop Scott Kingery’s fielding error and scored two unearned runs on Trevor Story’s two-out single with the bases loaded.

The 34-year-old Japanese left-hander recovered and limited Boston to one hit with no walks over the next six innings. Kikuchi struck out the side in the second and fifth innings and retired the Red Sox in order in the fourth, sixth and seventh innings.

Kikuchi induced 20 swinging strikes and threw 74 pitches over the final six innings. Ryan Zeferjahn worked a scoreless eighth and ninth for his second save as the Angels (40-40) reached .500 for the first time since May 23.

Adell and d’Arnaud homered off Red Sox starter Richard Fitts on consecutive pitches in the fourth for a 2-all tie. Adell’s 433-foot shot was his 17th homer of the season and 10th in June.

Boston reliever Luis Guerrero (0-1) issued a leadoff walk to Nolan Schanuel and a one-out walk to Mike Trout in the fifth. The right-hander struck out Taylor Ward with a 97-mph fastball before allowing consecutive two-out RBI singles to Adell and d’Arnaud, giving the Angels a 4-2 lead.

The Angels pushed the lead to 5-2 in the sixth on singles by Luis Rengifo and Kingery. Trout followed with an RBI single with two out off reliever Zack Kelly.

Key moment

Boston had a chance to extend its lead in the first, but Kikuchi got Ceddanne Rafaela to ground out to second with runners on second and third, ending the inning. Kikuchi then retired 18 of the next 19 batters he faced.

Key stat

The Angels have used five starting pitchers — Kikuchi, Jose Soriano, Tyler Anderson, Kyle Hendricks and Jack Kochaanowicz — through 80 games, matching a franchise record set in 1999 for most games to begin a season using no more than five starters.

Up next

Jose Soriano (5-5, 3.39 ERA) of the Angels will oppose Washington’s Jake Irvin (6-3, 4.18) in Anaheim on Friday.

Mauricio Dubón homered twice and Josh Hader stayed perfect in 19 save chances this season by getting Mike Trout to line out to center field with a runner on second as the Houston Astros held off the Angels 8-7 in the rubber game of their series Sunday.

Dubón’s second career multihomer game began with a leadoff shot against starter Kyle Hendricks in the fifth inning for the Astros’ first run. Dubón added a two-run drive off Hunter Strickland for a 6-5 lead in the sixth.

Jeremy Peña had an RBI double and Jake Meyers added a sacrifice fly to make it 8-5.

Nolan Schanuel hit an RBI single for the Angels in the seventh, and Zach Neto trimmed it to 8-7 with a solo homer off Hader in the ninth. Schanuel finished with three hits and four RBIs.

Peña hit his 11th home run one out after Dubón’s shot in the fifth to tie it 2-2. Meyers singled, stole second and scored on a two-out error by Luis Rengifo at third base. Christian Walker followed with an RBI double for a 4-2 lead.

Taylor Ward had a two-out double off Astros rookie Ryan Gusto, and Logan O’Hoppe hit his third two-run homer in two days to give the Angels a 2-0 lead in the second. O’Hoppe has 17 home runs and is closing in on the team record for a catcher set by Lance Parrish with 22 in 1990.

LaMonte Wade Jr. and Christian Moore singled in the bottom half, and Schanuel gave the Angels a 5-4 lead with his sixth homer.

Gusto (5-3) allowed five runs and six hits in six innings with seven strikeouts.

Hendricks permitted five runs — three earned — in five innings. Strickland (1-2) worked an inning and was tagged with his first three earned runs this season.

Key moment: The Angels had a run in with two on and two outs down 8-6 in the seventh with Trout coming to bat. Bryan Abreu replaced Bryan King and needed just three pitches to strike out Trout swinging on a pitch in the dirt.

Key stat: Trout went one for 11 after entering the series as the active leader against Houston with 30 homers, 30 doubles and 73 RBIs.

Up next: Houston returns home to play the Philadelphia Phillies beginning Tuesday.

The Angels hadn’t announced a starter for Monday’s series opener against RHP Walker Buehler (5-5, 5.95 ERA) and the visiting Boston Red Sox.

Jo Adell homered twice, Chris Taylor also went deep and the Angels rallied from four runs down and beat the Seattle Mariners 8-6 on Saturday night.

Cal Raleigh homered twice — giving him a major league-leading 26 — and drove in four runs for the Mariners, who have lost five straight and 12 of their last 17 games.

Angels closer Kenley Jansen, who gave up Raleigh’s solo homer in the ninth, finished up for his 14th save.

Angels teammates Zach Neto, left, and Jo Adell celebrate after an 8-6 win over the Mariners on Saturday.

(Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)

Taylor replaced injured right fielder Jorge Soler (groin tightness) to start the second and led off with a homer off Mariners right-hander Luis Castillo (4-4). Two outs later, Adell hit a 431-foot solo shot to left-center to trim Seattle’s lead to 4-2.

The Angels took advantage of two Mariners errors to score twice in the third to tie the score 4-4, and Adell’s 445-foot homer to center put them ahead 5-4 in the fourth.

Doubles by Nolan Schanuel and Taylor Ward pushed the lead to 6-4 in the fifth, and Zach Neto’s RBI single made it 7-5 in the sixth. Adell added an RBI single in the seventh for a three-run lead as the Angels scored in six consecutive innings for the first time since 2011.

Adell is 13 for 32 (.406) with five homers, two doubles and nine RBIs in his last 10 games, raising his season average from .184 to .224.

Seattle center fielder Julio Rodríguez, who singled in his first two at-bats, was knocked out of the game in the third after Randy Arozarena’s hard grounder hit him above the right ankle while Rodríguez was trying to steal third base.

Cole Young doubled and scored in the second and hit an RBI single in the sixth for the Mariners.

Connor Brogdon (1-0) replaced Angels starter Jack Kochanowicz with runners on first and third and one out in the fourth. He struck out J.P. Crawford, walked Jorge Polanco and got Leody Taveras to fly out with the bases loaded to preserve a 4-4 tie.

Stephenson out indefinitely

A pair of MRI tests revealed no structural damage to Robert Stephenson’s surgically repaired right elbow, but the Angels reliever was diagnosed with a stretched biceps nerve that will sideline him indefinitely.

“The good news is there’s no major injury or anything. It’s just a matter of how long it’s going to take,” Stephenson said Saturday night before a game against the Seattle Mariners. “It could be something that disappears overnight. It could be something that takes a couple weeks or longer. They’re kind of tricky.”

The 32-year-old Stephenson was expected to be one of the team’s top relievers after signing a three-year, $33-million deal in January 2024, but he missed all of last season after undergoing an ulnar collateral ligament repair with an internal brace in May 2024.

There was rain, lightning and some comedic reactions for the strange June weather Tuesday that disrupted the opening day of the Southern California regional baseball and softball playoffs.

“Is it raining in June?” asked a stunned El Camino Real baseball player as a downpour fell in Woodland Hills before a Division 2 game against Point Loma. Two fans used artificial turf to shield their heads during a drizzle.

The Division 1 baseball game between Patrick Henry and host Santa Margarita was halted in the fourth inning with Patrick Henry leading 2-0 because of lightning. It will resume Wednesday. The Division 1 softball game between Poway and Ayala was postponed because of rain.

Most games eventually were played and finished.

Point Loma 6, El Camino Real 4: Trailing 6-1 going into the bottom of the seventh inning, the City Section Open Division champions gave Point Loma a scare, scoring three runs and having the bases loaded with two out until Hunter Weller ended the game with a strikeout in a Division 2 opener. Point Loma is the Division I champion from the San Diego Section.

Druw Frost had three hits. A three-run seventh aided by an El Camino Real error helped the Pointers. Phoenix Brant struck out five in 6 1/3 innings. RJ De La Rosa, JJ Saffie and Gavin Farley had RBI singles in the seventh for El Camino Real.

St. John Bosco 2, St. Augustine 1: Jack Champlin picked up the save after strong pitching from Griffin Tagliaferri and Brayden Krakowski. Moise Razo gave the Braves the lead in the third with an RBI double. St. John Bosco will host Villa Park on Thursday in the Division I semifinals.

Villa Park 5, Granite Hills 4: It took nine innings for Villa Park to prevail on the road. Nate Lewis had four hits and three RBIs, including the tiebreaker in the top of the ninth.

Crespi 4, Mater Dei 3: Mikey Martinez hit a three-run home run and Jackson Eisenhauer threw two hits of shutout relief with four strikeouts. Crespi will play the winner of Santa Margarita-Patrick Henry on Thursday.

University City 5, Birmingham 2: The Patriots gave up four runs in the seventh to fall in a Division III opener. University City will play Dos Pueblos, a 10-2 winner over St. Anthony.

Venice 5, Trinity Classical 2: Canon King had a double and triple and Daniel Quiroz added two hits and two RBIs for Venice, which will play at Mt. Carmel on Thursday.

Banning 3, Lemoore 2: The Pilots won their Division IV opener. Angelo Duarte had a walk-off single in the seventh. AJ Herrera had two hits and two RBIs.

Softball

Westlake 5, Rancho Bernardo 3: The Warriors won in Division II and will host Eastlake in the semifinals. Olivia White had a home run.

Legacy 5, Elsinore 4: Isabella Medina had two doubles in the Division III win. Breann Lipold hit two home runs for Elsinore. Legacy will play at St. Bonaventure, a 6-5 win over Southwest EC.

Twelve years ago, John Savage was the man in Westwood.

Fresh off the Bruins’ first College World Series title in 2013, then-UCLA athletic director Dan Guerrero rewarded the coach with a lucrative 12-year contract extension.

It’s been a grueling journey since.

UCLA has tallied numerous No. 1 national rankings, seven NCAA tournament berths, four first-round draft picks and one super regional appearance since then, but not a single return to Omaha. The last two years of Bruins baseball were poor by the program’s standards — missing the postseason in back-to-back years and ending 2024 with a losing record for the first time since 2016.

UCLA pitcher Wylan Moss celebrates after an out against UC Irvine on Sunday night.

(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)

Something had to give in 2025, the final year of Savage’s contract, as UCLA tried to build upon a sophomore class that has helped transform it into one of the best offenses in the nation.

UCLA entered the NCAA tournament with reason to be optimistic. With star players such as Roch Cholowsky on the roster, perhaps a return to the College World Series wasn’t out of the question.

On Sunday, the Omaha oracle pointed UCLA’s way, the Bruins inching one step closer to advancing to the College World Series. Bullying second-seeded UC Irvine with its bats like it had against every team in the Los Angeles Regional, first-seeded UCLA won 8-5 to advance to the NCAA super regionals for the first time since 2019. UCLA will host the Los Angeles Super Regional against Texas San Antonio at Jackie Robinson Stadium this week.

“I’m very proud of our team, very proud of our guys winning 19 games last season and coming back,” Savage said. “It’s just a team — and they’re playing together. … Proud of our program, proud of my coaches.”

UTSA defeated Texas 7-4 in the Austin Regional final, taking down the national second-seed Longhorns to advance to its first-ever super regional.

If UCLA beats UTSA, it’ll advance to the College World Series in Omaha for the first time since 2013.

UCLA pitcher Easton Hawk delivers against UC Irvine on Sunday.

(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)

UCLA’s offense was just as ready to explode — like they did versus Fresno State and Arizona State — against a depleted UC Irvine pitching staff (with high-leverage bullpen arms Ricky Ojeda and David Utagawa unavailable after pitching earlier Sunday). Rallying for six hits across the first two innings, the Bruins put together three runs thanks to RBI singles from Roman Martin and Cashel Dugger, and a sacrifice fly from Roch Cholowsky.

UCLA first baseman Mulivai Levu helped place the game in blowout territory — an 8-0 lead — when he connected for a three-run home run in a five-run fourth inning. Much like UCLA had done all weekend, the lineup kept on churning.

Levu led all Bruins with three RBIs, while Cholowsky went one for three with two RBIs from sacrifice flies.

“Everyone has a great approach at the plate,” Levu said. “It’s kind of hard for the other team to get past us.”

Freshman Wylan Moss set the tone for UCLA’s combined pitching effort. Moss, who entered the contest with a 2.25 earned-run average and an All-Big-Ten Freshman Team recognition, was as good as advertised to stymie UC Irvine, which came off an 11-run offensive showing earlier in the day.

The 6-foot-3 righty struck out the top of the Anteaters lineup — Will Bermudez, Chase Call and Jacob McCombs — swinging on change ups. Moss, who had yet to pitch in the NCAA Tournament, was lying in wait for a game of magnitude.

He pitched 3 ⅓ innings, giving up two runs and two hits, while walking three and striking out four. From there, a five-pitcher bullpen effort kept Irvine at bay, pitching 5 ⅔ innings of five-run ball the rest of the way to wrap up regional action in Westwood.

UCLA players and coaches celebrate after their Los Angeles Regional victory over UC Irvine on Sunday.

(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)

Things got more complicated for UCLA in the sixth, when freshman right-hander Cal Randall gave up a solo home run to UC Irvine designated hitter Alonso Reyes to make it a three-run game, but right-hander Jack O’Connor entered to extinguish the threat — and set down UC Irvine outfielder Chase Call on a fielder’s choice to close out the inning.

It wasn’t easy sailing for the Bruins in the late innings.

Graduate student right-hander August Souza bailed UCLA out of a bases-loaded jam by freezing the potential go-ahead run, Blake Penso, on a full-count, 87-mph fastball in the seventh.

When the Bruins needed it the most, Souza struck out two in a scoreless eighth, putting metaphorical champagne on ice in Westwood.

“Just honestly blessed to play this year,” said Souza, who didn’t pitch in 2024 because of injury. “It’s my sixth year. Didn’t think I’d play in college this long, and just happy to get this win with my team and celebrate getting to a super regional.”

Freshman right-hander Easton Hawk tossed a perfect ninth, striking out James Castagnola to end it, prompting the Bruins to run onto the field in celebration. UCLA owned the Los Angeles Regional title.

“I liked everything today,” said UC Irvine coach Ben Orloff, who praised Savage as one of the best coaches in the nation. “Besides the third out.”

What makes the 2025 Bruins different from other UCLA teams? Savage said leadership and teamsmanship could make the Bruins national title contenders.

Cholowsky, with pitchers Cody Delvecchio and Michael Barnett, helped transform the team’s culture as team captains, Savage said. They accomplished this despite having to endure the legal saga that temporarily forced the Bruins out of Jackie Robinson Stadium in the fall.

Now, postseason baseball will remain in Westwood for at least one more weekend.

Highlights from UCLA’s 8-5 win over UC Irvine in the Los Angeles Regional on Sunday.

“We got knocked out of the stadium the first day of school,” Savage said. “It was unfortunate, but they came together, man, and they did a remarkable job of just building this team. I gotta tip my hat to the players. The players did a remarkable job.”

But it’s not time to celebrate just yet. If UCLA wants to go to the College World Series, Savage said, the focus needs to shift to beating UTSA.

“Like I told them, ‘there’s nothing to really celebrate,’” Savage said. “You can enjoy this, but at the same time, we got to get back to work on Tuesday.”

SACRAMENTO — Logan O’Hoppe homered and had a tiebreaking RBI single as the Angels beat the Athletics 7-5 on Tuesday night for their fifth straight win.

Kenley Jansen gave up pinch-hitter Seth Brown’s RBI single in the bottom of the ninth but struck out Tyler Soderstrom to get his 10th save and hand the Athletics their seventh straight loss.

Yoán Moncada had a tying three-run homer in the fifth to tie it 4-4 before O’Hoppe’s RBI single put the Angels ahead for good.

Zach Neto had an RBI double in the ninth and Taylor Ward added a run-scoring fielder’s choice to put the Angels up 7-4.

Angels (2-5) starter Kyle Hendricks gave up four runs and nine hits in 5 2/3 innings.

Shea Langeliers hit a solo homer and Nick Kurtz had a two-run shot in the fourth to give the Athletics a 4-1 lead.

Jacob Wilson, third in the majors with a .341 batting average, left the game in the third inning after he was hit on the wrist by a pitch from Hendricks.

Hendricks gave up a two-out RBI single to Luis Urías in the second inning as the Athletics grabbed a 1-0 lead. O’Hoppe hit his 11th home run with two out in the fourth to tie it against rookie right-hander Gunnar Hoglund.

Hoglund (1-2) gave up five runs and six hits in 4 2/3 innings.

Jansen has a save in three straight games. He is fourth on the all-time list with 457 — 21 behind Lee Smith for third place.

Trout resumes running

Mike Trout has started to do some light running as he works to return from a bone bruise in his left knee that has kept him out of the lineup for the past three weeks.

Trout told reporters that he ran at about 50% intensity on Monday and that he plans to run harder later this week. The three-time MVP was hurt trying to beat out an infield single on April 30 against the Seattle Mariners.

The 33-year-old was hitting .179 with nine homers and 18 RBIs before the injury. He’s missed substantial time in three of the past four seasons because of various injuries.

Sherman Oaks Notre Dame High was supposed to be a year or two away from softball prominence with its collection of six talented freshmen.

Well, the Knights have already arrived after a 9-7 victory over Trinity League champion Orange Lutheran on Thursday in an opening game of the Southern Section Division 1 playoffs in which freshman Jackie Morales hit three home runs.

Notre Dame, the Mission League champion, was leading most of the game until Orange Lutheran scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to take a 7-6 lead. Morales tied the score with a home run in the top of the seventh. Then the Knights scored two more runs on an RBI single from freshman Keira Luderer and an RBI single from junior Ellayne Tellez-Perez.

Orange Lutheran was the Division 1 runner-up last season. For Notre Dame to go on the road and win is quite an accomplishment for coach Justin Siegel and the Knights.

“Big players show up in big situations and Jackie Morales has been a big player for us all season,” Siegel said.

Huntington Beach 8, Charter Oak 7: The Oilers hung on for the Division 1 win. Tea Gutierrez and Maleah Humble each had three hits.