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PHOENIX — The Dodgers had managed to cling to their lead over the Diamondbacks despite the comeback attempt the home team had mounted in the late innings.

Now it was up to left-hander Tanner Scott, coming off his first blown save of the season, to finish the job.

With the would-be tying run standing on first base and one out, Scott crashed hard on Geraldo Perdomo’s sacrifice bunt and zipped a throw across the diamond just in time for the out.

Then to tie a bow on the outing, Scott got Pavin Smith to lunge after an outside slider and ground into the final out of the game.

“It was good to see,” manager Dave Roberts said after the Dodgers’ 6-5 win Tuesday. I thought from pitch one he was pitching with a purpose. Obviously there was no margin with a one-run lead. I just liked the way he was going after those guys.”

Though the Dodgers led for the game from Freddie Freeman’s first-inning homer on, it was a nail-biter. The Diamondbacks rallied against a Dodgers bullpen that had been practically flawless for weeks. Roberts made five pitching changes. But with an offensive bounce-back and strong pitching performances on the front and back end, the Dodgers evened the series at Chase Field.

Mookie Betts, from left, Max Muncy, Freddie Freeman and Alex Freeland await the pitcher.

(Rick Scuteri / Associated Press)

“It’s nice after only scoring one [Monday] to get out and get some runs early on the board,” said Freeman, who led the team with three hits. “Four runs in the first couple innings, you would hope you keep going. But two in the middle innings there was good enough. Pitching was good again. Got a little hairy at the end, but luckily pulled it off.”

Freeman and Ohtani teamed up to give the Dodgers that four-run lead against Diamondbacks starter Michael Soroka in the first two innings.

A double from Ohtani preceded Freeman’s first-inning blast. Then the next inning, Dalton Rushing and Alex Freeland’s back-to-back singles set up Ohtani to score them both when he lined a triple into the right-field corner.

Dodgers starter Eric Lauer, making his second start since the trade that brought him over from the Blue Jays, tossed two scoreless frames to maintain that lead.

In the third, however, Diamondbacks star Corbin Carroll sent a cutter the other way, and it bounced off the top of the left-field wall into the home bullpen for Arizona’s first run of the night.

Lauer relied on soft contact to throw a scoreless fourth inning, but he ran into some trouble in the fifth, with back-to-back singles, a sacrifice fly, a disengagement violation and PitchCom issues.

In a two-run game, Roberts pulled the plug before Lauer could face right-handed No. 3 hitter Gabriel Moreno for a third time, even though Lauer had set him down twice. Lauer’s pitch count was only up to 70, after giving up five hits in 4 ⅔ innings.

“I thought I could have tried to convince him on the mound [to let me stay in], but he kind of stuck his hand out right away, so I didn’t have a huge chance there,” Lauer said. “But afterwards, we talked, and he explained his thought process to me and just reiterated his thoughts, and I agreed. And I think that’s huge, just to be able to have that conversation.”

Lauer did have an inkling, however, that he wasn’t going to be in the game too much longer with Nolan Arenado on deck. Arenado entered Tuesday with eight hits off Lauer in 27 at-bats (.296 batting average). Half of them were homers.

“We’re still learning each other, so it’s just making sure that [he knows] I do believe in him,” Roberts said of their conversation. “If I’m not going to let him go through Arenado right there, I felt it would give Blake the best chance to get us out of that inning in a tight ball game.

“I don’t want him looking over his shoulder. I pushed him in his first start, didn’t push him this start, because he was really good for us. And I just don’t want anything lost in translation or the assumption game. So I just wanted to kind of be forthright.”

Shohei Ohtani reacts after scoring on a single by Mookie Betts in the seventh inning,

(Rick Scuteri / AP)

Roberts turned to right-handed reliever Blake Treinen, who walked Moreno but got out of the inning by inducing Arenado to fly out to left field. Rookie Ryan Ward, in his fourth major league game, made the sliding catch.

The Dodgers (39-22) added insurance in the seventh, manufacturing the first with a double from Dalton Rushing, sacrifice bunt from Alex Freeland, an intentional walk to Ohtani, and sacrifice fly from Andy Pages. Back-to-back singles from Freedman and Betts pushed across a second run.

The Diamondbacks countered. And for the first time, the Dodgers’ lead looked like it was in danger.

Dodgers reliever Kyle Hurt’s command was shaky from the start. And his two walks with less than two out in the seventh came back to haunt him, as both baserunners scored on Arenado’s double off the wall. Ward bobbled the ball as he picked it up for the relay home and a close play at the plate for the second run.

Hurt issued a third walk, a season high, before fellow right-hander Will Klein replaced him.

Pinch-hitter Geraldo Perdomo shot a line-drive single off Klein into shallow left field, loading the bases. Klein walked in a run, which trimmed the Dodgers’ lead to 6-5.

A broken-bat grounder to the right side of the infield, hunted down by Freeman ranging to his backhand side from first base, ended the inning.

Infield defense again got Klein out of a jam in the eighth, turning a double play after back-to-back singles to maintain the lead.

“They’re not going to be clean every time out there,” Roberts said of Hurt and Klein, two relievers he’s trusted in high-leverage situations this year. “They’ve both been very good for us. You’ve got to give those guys credit today, the Diamondbacks. They spoiled some pitches. They hit to the opposite field. They battled tonight.”

Scott (2.10 ERA) took over in the ninth, in his first appearance since Saturday, when he broke a streak of 12 appearances without giving up a run. His wife Maddie posted screenshots of the death threats their family received via social media in the aftermath.

On Tuesday, Scott retired three of the four batters he faced, with only a well-placed single through the right side of the field — a “soft-serve hit, as Roberts put it” — marring the outing.

Said Roberts: “Outside of that, he was really sharp tonight.”

T.J. Rumfield got a gift when his long flyball bounced off Jo Adell’s head for a most unusual home run, and the Colorado Rockies defeated the Angels 8-2 on Tuesday night.

Willi Castro hit a three-run homer in the fourth inning and Hunter Goodman had a solo shot in the second. Tomoyuki Sugano (5-4) gave up two runs in five innings for the win.

Castro and Rumfield hit back-to-back homers in the fourth off starter Grayson Rodriguez (2-2), who gave up eight runs, eight hits and three walks in 3 2/3 innings.

With the Rockies holding a 7-0 lead, Rumfield sent a flyball to deep right-center, where the ball grazed the outside of Adell’s glove before hitting his head and bounding over the wall.

There was brief confusion on the field when the ball caromed back into the outfield. Rumfield stopped at second base, initially unsure of the ruling, before proceeding around the bases.

Alice Capsey hits 82 whilst Heather Knight finishes unbeaten on 70 as England chase down 181, the highest run-chase in women’s T20 history in England, to secure a six-wicket win against India, sealing an impressive 2-1 series win in Taunton.

READ MORE: Capsey & Knight star as England seal series win

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Weeks after Trump administration officials announced that management of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory would open to competitive bidding for the first time, questions remain as to why Caltech could lose control of the lab its researchers founded in 1936.

On one hand, observers note, high-profile delays and cost overruns on significant recent JPL projects earned sharp criticism from NASA even before the 2024 presidential election.

On the other, the second Trump administration’s record of squeezing scientific funding and attacking institutions in Democratic-led states make it difficult to consider any action as separate from the charged political atmosphere, analysts say.

“My first instinct is that this [competition] isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It’s not written in stone that Caltech must run JPL, and it wouldn’t be the worst thing to have some competition for running the place,” said Casey Dreier, chief of space policy at the nonprofit Planetary Society.

“That said, that requires this contract evaluation to be fair and unbiased, and this administration has no credibility in such things,” he added. “The responsibility is on NASA to earn the trust and ensure such an evaluation is open and free from political meddling. That’s almost impossible.”

JPL became part of NASA when the space agency was formed in 1958, and Caltech has been awarded the contract to run the institution outright ever since.

Its current 10-year contract with NASA, which is valued at up to $30 billion, runs through Sept. 30, 2028.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman announced the competition on May 22 as part of a slate of sweeping organizational changes at the space agency.

“When you step back, it is worth considering how many additional missions we could have undertaken with the resources lost to program cancellations and cost overruns over the years,” Isaacman wrote in a memo to staff. “That is the problem we must fix, so the American taxpayer and space-loving community can receive the highest scientific return on every dollar we spend at NASA.”

Allowing competition on the contract for JPL, the lone Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) in NASA’s portfolio, was an effort to address cost-efficiency concerns, Isaacman wrote.

“This process will take several years, and I do not anticipate it having any impact on the projects underway or the location of the facilities,” he wrote. “It does, however, provide an opportunity to evaluate management costs, overhead burdens, and ideally find ways to get after the science faster and more affordably.”

In a joint statement, Caltech President Thomas F. Rosenbaum and JPL Director Dave Gallagher said that the competition was “no surprise” and that a team was already in place “to ensure we are positioned for success.”

In July, NASA’s Office of Procurement held an informational event for companies and institutions interested in the upcoming FFRDC contract.

The dozens of registered attendees included universities such as USC, Texas A&M and Georgia Tech; aerospace companies such as Boeing and Lockheed Martin; and nonprofit corporations like MITRE, which manages several FFRDCs, and Universities Space Research Assn., a university consortium founded by the National Academy of Sciences in 1969. (SpaceX, which has been awarded more than $13 billion in NASA contracts in the last decade, was not on the list.)

“Lockheed Martin has more than 50 years of deep space exploration success with JPL, supporting landmark missions to Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, Pluto, including nearly a dozen missions to Mars,” said Bob Behnken, vice president of exploration and technology strategy. “We look forward to building on that unmatched partnership in the years ahead. We are closely following NASA’s review and will continue to assess how we can best contribute to the agency’s mission.”

Other attendees contacted by The Times declined to discuss their involvement.

Isaacman indicated that JPL could come under scrutiny even before he took over NASA. The billionaire entrepreneur referenced high costs at the La Cañada Flintridge institution in a memo prepared in advance of his confirmation hearings on his priorities for the space agency.

“Contract structure: Very expensive,” Isaacman wrote of JPL in a table outlining organizational issues at each of NASA’s centers. “Must increase the output and ‘time-to-science’ KPI,” or key performance indicator.

The institution has recently suffered a number of high-profile management stumbles.

After the JPL-managed Psyche mission to a metal-rich asteroid failed to meet its 2022 launch date, NASA commissioned an independent review that said internal reorganizations and personnel changes created distracted and uninformed managers and burned-out, stretched-thin staffers.

After a 2023 independent review found there was “near zero probability” of the JPL-managed Mars Sample Return mission making its proposed 2028 launch date, and “no credible” way to bring rocks back from the Red Planet within the stated budget, Isaacman’s predecessor, Bill Nelson, put out a call for proposals to industry and all other NASA centers, forcing JPL to compete for its own project.

After Trump’s election, Nelson announced that the final decision would be in the next administration’s hands.

The White House pushed for massive cuts to NASA’s 2026 budget that Congress overturned, and has lobbied for similarly steep cuts again this year. JPL has instituted painful cost-cutting measures of its own, reducing staffing from roughly 6,500 employees in 2023 to 4,500 last year through layoffs and attrition.

Its struggles come at a point when NASA is enthusiastically embracing private industry. Last month the agency awarded several key contracts for its upcoming lunar missions to Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin and other private companies.

Trump has also made no secret of his willingness to punish states that haven’t voted for him through job losses. In announcing his decision to move U.S. Space Command from Colorado to Alabama, Trump acknowledged that his loss in Colorado in three presidential elections played a part in the move.

It’s impossible to consider any decision on JPL’s future as separate from the administration’s track record of politically motivated decisions, Dreier said.

“At the heart of this is why? Why now? If this is not just some rank political attack on California, what do they hope to gain from this?” he said. “That deserves explanation, because the administration otherwise has no credibility here.”

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Two days after failing to capitalize off numerous scoring opportunities against Texas State, USC battered the Bobcats early and often to remain alive in the College Station Regional.

Third baseman Kevin Takeuchi set the tone with a grand slam in the first inning as USC beat Texas State 15-4 Sunday afternoon before a crowd of 6,885 at Blue Bell Park

With the victory, the Trojans (45-16) advance to the regional final against Texas A&M on Sunday night. The Trojans must beat the Aggies to force a winner-take-all game Monday at a time to be determined.

The Trojans avenged the 5-4 loss they suffered against Texas State on Friday night in the regional opener. In that loss, USC stranded 13 runners, struck out 12 times and left men in scoring position in each of the first seven innings.

The Trojans have been on a tear ever since. They crushed Lamar 19-6 on Saturday and then battered Texas State. The Trojans wasted no time jumping on the Bobcats in the rematch.

Abbrie Covarrubias led off with a single. Texas State sophomore right-hander Cade Smith then hit Adrian Lopez with a pitch and walked Augie Lopez to load the bases. Takeuchi followed with his grand slam to center.

“It just helped me pitch with freedom,” USC freshman starter Diego Velazquez said of the grand slam. “A pitcher always feels good when you’re in the lead, especially with a grand slam. It just keeps everyone positive, so it definitely helped very much.”

Velazquez gave up two runs on three hits and three walks with three strikeouts in 3 1/3 innings. He was relieved by fellow freshman right-hander Gavin Lauridsen, who failed to retire a batter while giving up two runs on two hits and two walks. Freshman left-hander Sax Matson then pitched 3 ⅔ scoreless innings of relief to earn the victory.

Isaac Cadena made it 6-0 in the third with a two-run home run to right field. With one on and two outs in the fourth, Augie Lopez hit an RBI single in the fourth to give the Trojans a 7-0 lead. Reliever Alec Beversdorf then walked Takeuchi and hit Cadena to load the bases. Jack Basseer drew a walk to plate another run to give USC an 8-0 lead, prompting Texas State to make another call to the bullpen.

Texas State countered with four runs in the bottom of the fourth, highlighted by Coy DeFury’s two-run home run.

Lauridsen relieved Velazquez with one out in the fourth, but he couldn’t retire a batter. Brady Boles greeted Lauridsen with a single up the middle. After Jackson Cotton walked, Manny Salas cut USC’s lead to 8-3 with an RBI single through the right side.

Clayton Namken followed with a walk, prompting USC coach Andy Stankiewicz to call on Matson, who took over with the bases loaded.

“I felt good about Diego on the mound here being able to compete and give us quality innings, and he did that,” Stankiewicz said. “I think he’d probably say he wanted to give us a little bit more, but he gave us three quality innings.

“And then Sax Matson came in and did a fantastic job. He came in and made some big, big-time pitches to get us out. It could have been a little dicey there.”

Both teams were retired in order in the fifth, but USC’s offense got back on track with a run in the sixth, two in the seventh and four more in the eighth.

“I think it just shows the type of bond we have all together,” Velazquez said. “We’re all pulling the rope for each other. I think it just shows how strong we are and how we’re able to pull off miracles and stuff.”

OKLAHOMA CITY — Jordan Woolery nearly saved UCLA’s season Sunday night at the Women’s College World Series. She lined a single up the middle in the ninth inning off former teammate Kaitlyn Terry to score Rylee Slimp from second base and pull the Bruins within a run of Texas Tech.

But Red Raiders ace NiJaree Canady replaced Terry in the circle and retired the final two batters, stranding Megan Grant at second in UCLA’s 8-7 season-ending loss.

Woolery, the nation’s RBIs leader, homered twice and drove in five runs for UCLA (53-10), which got nine innings and 181 pitches from workhorse Taylor Tinsley.

The Bruins struggled to gain traction against Terry, who joined Texas Tech following last season’s exit from the WCWS. Terry replaced Canady in the third inning and retired 10 of the first 11 batters she faced.

But in the seventh, UCLA scored three runs to force extra innings. Pinch-hitter Ramsey Suarez ignited the rally with a 270-foot home run to left field off Terry. Facing Canady, pinch-hitter Jazmine Leyva singled down the right-field line. Two batters later, Woolery blasted a 267-foot homer over the center-field wall to tie the score.

Despite the late heroics, it wasn’t enough to keep UCLA’s season alive. Texas Tech (59-8) will play Alabama (56-7) Monday at 4 p.m. PT.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Shane McClanahan pitched one-run ball for five innings, Jonathan Aranda homered and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Angels 5-2 on Sunday.

McClanahan (6-2) allowed four hits, struck out three and didn’t issue a walk. Bryan Baker pitched a scoreless ninth for his career-high 16th save this season in 19 chances.

Aranda hit a solo homer in the first inning before Jose Siri singled with two out in the second, advanced to third when Logan O’Hoppe doubled and scored on a wild pitch by McClanahan to make it 1-1.

Aranda and Richie Palacios drew consecutive walks leading off the third inning and Junior Camerino followed with a single to load the bases. Victor Mesa Jr. hit an RBI single and Cedric Mullins walked to drive in a run, giving the Rays a 3-1 lead.

O’Hoppe hit a solo homer in the seventh that pulled the Angels (23-37) within a run.

Pinch-hitter Ben Williamson singled to drive in a run in the bottom of the inning and stole second base. Taylor Walls walked to load the bases and Yandy Díaz drew an eight-pitch walk that scored Chandler Simpson and made it 5-2.

Camerino and Walls had two hits apiece for the Rays (36-20).

Jack Kochanowicz (2-4) allowed three runs and five hits and walked four in 2⅓ innings.

Up next for the Angels: RHP José Soriano (6-4, 2.65 ERA) is scheduled to pitch at home Monday against Rockies LHP Kyle Freeland (1-6, 8.08) in the opener of a three-game series.

OKLAHOMA CITY — UCLA, facing elimination in the Women’s College World Series on Friday night, erupted for nine runs in the second inning against Arkansas and rolled to an 11-0 win in five innings that ended the Razorbacks’ first appearance on college softball’s biggest stage.

The Bruins (53-9) got home runs in the inning from Aleena Garcia, Soo-Jin Berry and Megan Grant — her 42nd of the season and the 91st of her career, a program record. Kaniya Bragg homered to right field in the top of the fifth to make it 11-0.

The Razorbacks (47-13) were limited to three hits in five innings by UCLA starter Taylor Tinsley.

UCLA will play another elimination game at 4 p.m. PT Sunday when the Bruins face either Texas Tech, the defending national runner-up, or Tennessee.

Arkansas starter Payton Burnham didn’t last long against UCLA’s powerful lineup.

Garcia homered to lead off the second. Burnham hit Bragg with a pitch, Alexis Ramirez singled, and Berry launched a homer to left field to make it 4-0.

Saylor Timmerman replaced Burnham and walked Jolyna Lamar and Rylee Slimp before Grant crushed a 260-foot no-doubter that hit a metal fence beyond the wall in left-center field.