AUSTIN, Texas — Owen Wolff scored in a goal in the 83rd minute, Brad Stuver had two saves, and Austin FC beat LAFC 1-0 on Sunday night to snap LAFC’s six-game win streak.
LAFC (17-8-8) has 59 points, one behind second-place San Diego and one ahead of Minnesota in the Western Conference. Vancouver has 63 points.
Austin (13-12-8) has 47 points and will be the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference for the MLS Cup playoffs, which begin Oct. 22.
Wolff’s goal ended LAFC’s shutout streak at 429 minutes, dating to Sept. 21 against Salt Lake.
Zan Kolmanic played a corner kick into the area that deflected off the head of LAFC’s Eddie Segura before Wolff headed home the finish inside the back post.
Denis Bouanga and Son Heung-min did not play (international duty) for LAFC. Bouanga is second in MLS with 24 goals this season and Son has eight goals and three assists in eight starts since signing with LAFC on Aug. 6.
The match had been scheduled for July 5, but was rescheduled due to severe weather and flooding in the area.
Michelle Cooper scored in the 59th minute and the Kansas City Current extended their unbeaten run to 16 straight matches with a 1-0 victory over Angel City on Monday night at BMO Stadium.
It was a league record 19th overall win for the first-place Current, who have already clinched a playoff spot and the NWSL Shield. It was also Kansas City’s 10th win on the road.
The loss snapped a three-game unbeaten streak at home for Angel City (6-11-6).
After a scoreless first half, Jun Endo had one of Angel City’s best chances in the 48th minute, but her shot from distance hit the post.
Cooper broke through just moments after being subbed in, scoring on her first touch off a pass from Haley Hopkins from out in front of the goal.
Kansas City goalkeeper Lorena had her 13th shutout.
Temwa Chawinga, who leads the Golden Boot race with 14 goals, did not play for the Current because of a knee injury.
Both the Orlando Pride and the Washington Spirit had 18 wins last year, the previous league high. The Current are 19-2-2 with three games left in the regular season.
Pfizer’s stock has been struggling for multiple years, and even a low valuation hasn’t made it an enticing option for many investors.
Pfizer(PFE 1.03%) is one of the largest healthcare companies in the world. It was founded in 1849 and has since become an iconic name in healthcare.
It has developed many medicines over the years; most recently, it has been known for developing its highly successful COVID vaccine Comirnaty. Growth and innovation have enabled the company to become a household name and a leader in healthcare.
Investors, however, have been having doubts about the business and its ability to grow in the future. In the past three years, the stock has produced negative returns. Since 2022, It has lost more than half its value. Can the stock break its downward streak, and finish this year in positive territory?
Image source: Getty Images.
A recent deal with the White House gives investors hope
For a while, it looked like Pfizer’s stock was destined for another year in the red. The U.S. government has been targeting pharma companies with tariffs this year, and tougher vaccine policies have also been weighing on the company’s valuation.
But on Sept. 30, Pfizer reached a deal with President Donald Trump that will give it a grace period of three years before tariffs would be applied to its imported pharmaceutical products. The company is voluntarily lowering the price of drugs for Medicaid and will sell some drugs on TrumpRx, a new government-run direct-to-consumer website for pharmaceuticals. In addition, the company also pledged to invest $70 billion on research and manufacturing in the U.S. over the coming years.
This appeared to alleviate at least some concerns for investors because shares of Pfizer jumped on the recent news. On Oct. 1, it closed above $27 for the first time since January. The stock is now in positive territory for 2025, with year-to-date gains around 3%. It’s not a huge return, but it is an indication that investors are feeling a bit more bullish about the healthcare stock again and that it might be able to finish the year in the green.
Pfizer still faces a lot of questions
Although the stock has been rallying recently, it’s not out of the woods by any means. COVID sales are diminishing for Pfizer, and the company is facing patent cliffs on multiple key drugs.
CEO Albert Bourla has previously said the company could stand to lose between $16 billion and $18 billion in revenue between 2025 and 2030 as it loses patent protection on some of its drugs. However, he’s also planning to add $25 billion in new revenue by the end of the decade through acquisitions and research and development.
Its acquisition of oncology company Seagen could generate up to $10 billion in sales by 2030 alone. It was also expecting that its mRNA vaccine portfolio might bring in a similar amount, but that is questionable now that the U.S. government appears to be rethinking vaccine recommendations.
The business may end up looking a whole lot different over the next five-plus years. While its fundamentals still look good (it generated nearly $11 billion in profits over the trailing 12 months), investors are hesitant about whether or not they can trust this struggling stock, especially amid such uncertain times in the healthcare sector.
Why Pfizer may be worth taking a chance on
There’s definitely risk with investing in Pfizer as it’s taking on multiple acquisitions and facing patent cliffs, and there are plenty of question marks around its vaccine sales. However, with a beaten-down valuation, a price-to-earnings multiple of less than 13, and a price-to-earnings-growth ratio right around 1 (based on analyst projections), it’s a low-priced stock that comes with a good margin of safety.
Pfizer has been working on expanding its pipeline and giving itself more opportunities to grow in the long run. Although not all of its efforts might pay off, even if some do, there could be plenty of catalysts in the future to send the stock higher.
Whether it breaks its streak of declines this year is irrelevant because investing in a quality company at a cheap price could ensure your investment ends up in the green over the long haul, and that’s why Pfizer looks like a solid buy, regardless of what happens in the short term.
David Jagielski has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Pfizer. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Alejandro Zendejas scored in the 30th minute, Folarin Balogun added a goal in the 64th and the United States stopped a seven-game winless streak against top-25 opponents by beating a Japan team of mostly second-string players 2-0 in a friendly on Tuesday night.
The 15th-ranked U.S. was fresh off a 2-0 loss to South Korea on Saturday in the first of eight friendlies before coach Mauricio Pochettino calls in players for training ahead of the World Cup.
No. 17 Japan used essentially a B team, changing all 11 starters from Saturday’s 0-0 draw against Mexico and starting eight players who entered with 10 or fewer international appearances. There were no starters from the group that began the March match against Bahrain when Samurai Blue clinched their eighth straight World Cup berth, though some regulars entered in the 62nd minute.
The U.S. had not beaten a top-25 team since the CONCACAF Nations League final against Mexico in March 2024, including five straight defeats. The Americans dominated throughout before a sellout crowd of 20,192 at Lower.com Field, winning 2-0 for the sixth time in Columbus.
Zendejas took a long cross from left back Max Arfsten and volleyed with his left foot from near the penalty spot for his second goal in 13 international appearances.
Balogun scored his sixth international goal on Christian Pulisic’s through pass, beating goalkeeper Keisuke Osako with an angled shot inside the far post.
Central defender Chris Richards, right back Alex Freeman, midfielder Cristian Roldan, Zendejas and forward Balogun joined the starting lineup in place of Sergiño Dest, Diego Luna, Sebastian Berhalter, Tim Weah and Josh Sargent.
Richards, Tim Ream and Tristan Blackmon started as central defenders in a five-man back line, a formation coach Pochettino switched to in the second half Saturday.
Adams and Roldan had not started together since 2018, and Roldan made his first start in 26 months.
Japan’s Koki Ogawa hit the crossbar in the 70th, as did the Americans’ Jack McGlynn in the 83rd.
BALTIMORE — The day started with a couple of Shohei Ohtani home runs. It continued with a strong 5 ⅔ inning start from Clayton Kershaw. And it ended with the Dodgers in a celebratory postgame line, trading victorious high-fives near the mound.
After five straight losses, several weeks of mounting frustration, and the most painful collapse imaginable the night before, the Dodgers took a crucial first step toward righting their sinking ship on Sunday.
They beat the Baltimore Orioles 5-2, finally finding a way to hold a late-game lead.
They ended an otherwise disastrous road trip on a sorely needed high note.
It was the kind of day the Dodgers were desperately searching for amid their recent struggles, which reached a new low when their no-hitter turned walk-off nightmare on Saturday trimmed their division lead down to just one game.
That game was the kind of loss that threatened to throw the Dodgers into an all-out nose-dive; an unthinkable defeat that, on top of their previously mounting frustrations, turned Sunday into yet another gut check for the long-slumping club (which entered Sunday 10 games under .500 since July 4).
“We’ve got to keep going,” manager Dave Roberts said pregame. “It’s hard. It’s not fun going through it. These guys feel it. But I just refuse to relent and not be optimistic and positive. Just keep going. That’s all we can do.”
Ohtani helped the Dodgers (79-64) turn the page quickly Sunday. Facing a fellow Japanese native in Tomoyuki Sugano, Ohtani launched the second pitch he saw to center for a leadoff home run. It was his 12th leadoff blast of the year, tying Mookie Betts’ franchise record for a single season.
On Ohtani’s next trip to the plate, the two-way star went deep again, blasting his 48th home run of the year on a 2-and-0 fastball. And in the next at-bat, Mookie Betts made it back-to-back deep flies with a drive to left.
Just like that, the Dodgers had a 3-0 lead — which was later extended to 4-0 after Miguel Rojas scored from third on an errant pickoff throw from Baltimore catcher Alex Jackson in the fourth.
And unlike Saturday, they managed to hold onto it, finally matching a productive day at the plate with a stout (if not entirely stress-free) performance from the pitching staff.
Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw delivers in the third inning against the Orioles on Sunday.
(Terrance Williams / Associated Press)
As he has repeatedly this year, Kershaw served as a stopper to another Dodgers slider, setting a new season high with eight strikeouts while giving up just two hits through his first five innings.
Kershaw got knocked out of the game in the sixth, following a Gunnar Henderson single and RBI double from Emmanuel Rivera. Edgardo Henriquez flirted with disaster after that, giving up another RBI double to Jackson and a loud fly ball to Dylan Carlson that died at the warning track.
But from there, the Dodgers settled back down. Justin Wrobleski provided two key innings of scoreless relief, stranding the final five batters he faced after putting two aboard in the seventh. The Dodgers tacked on an insurance run in the ninth, when Betts hit an RBI single off the wall (he was held to just the one base after not hustling out of the box) following a leadoff single from Ben Rortvedt and a walk from Ohtani (his third of the day, reaching base in all five trips to the plate).
And after being walked off by the Orioles (66-77) each of the first two nights at Camden Yards this weekend, the Dodgers avoided more fireworks in the ninth, when rookie left-hander Jack Dreyer came on for his third save of the season.
Granted, one win will put only the slightest dent in the damage the past week has done.
Instead of extending their National League West lead and making a run for a top-two seed in the NL, the Dodgers let the San Diego Padres (who have also been slumping) hang around in the division and the Philadelphia Phillies (who currently hold the No. 2 seed, which comes with a first-round bye in the playoffs) pull away in the standings.
Instead of capitalizing on a weak spot in the schedule, they will return home with a 1-5 record against two last-place teams.
However, given the way Saturday ended, the season was starting to feel dangerously close to the brink. Sunday’s win, for at least one day, helped calm the waters. At a point they could have completely imploded, they managed to rebound with a long-awaited win.
The Trump administration made no attempt to hide its goals when it came to tariffs. As the current U.S. president ran for office, he made it very clear to U.S. voters and the world that they should expect higher tariffs. And that’s exactly what his administration has offered up in dramatic fashion. Some on Wall Street worry that the tariffs could turn the bull market into a bear. Here’s how a long-term investor should be thinking about this issue.
The tariffs are coming! The tariffs are coming!
To simplify what is a fairly complex issue, a tariff is a tax imposed on imported goods. The Trump administration has been using tariffs in an aggressive attempt to reshape global trade. This will have an impact on the economy and the stock market, but what that might be is hard to define today. Simply put, so many things are up in the air right now that nobody knows where the chips are going to fall.
Image source: Getty Images.
That said, one concern is that higher tariffs will eventually be passed through to consumers. That would increase inflation, crimp consumption, and lead to lower earnings for corporate America. The flip side of that argument is that companies have increased prices so much in recent years that they can’t easily push higher costs onto consumers, and, thus, companies are likely to absorb the tariff hit. That would mean lower profit margins. Even here, however, Wall Street could still end up in the dumps as companies earn less and investors react to that negative news.
It seems like nothing good can come of this whole tariff thing. Except that, so far, the market hasn’t really paid much attention. The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF(VOO+0.00%) is up more than 10% so far in 2025. Yes, there was a brief market correction early in the year, but the S&P 500 index, which is what the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF tracks, seems to have shrugged that off, as it is again trading near all-time highs.
Here’s the big takeaway from the tariff kerfuffle: It is shockingly hard to predict performance on Wall Street. Some people get market turns right once, but very few have been able to time the ups and downs with any consistency. For most investors, trying to jump in and out of the market — a practice known as market timing — is a mistake.
It is far better to buy and hold for the long term, perhaps including an exchange-traded fund (ETF) like Vanguard S&P 500 ETF in the mix. Indeed, focusing on a well-diversified portfolio is key, as it will help to soften the impact of the market’s gyrations over time. Which brings the story back to the potential for a bear market. Simply put, there will be one.
That’s not a prediction; it is just a statement of fact. Eventually, for some reason, investors will go from being bullish to being bearish. That’s just what market history tells us is the norm on Wall Street. Why it happens will be the topic of debate, and eventually, some common cause will be determined. Maybe it will be tariffs. It could also be geopolitical tensions, which are very high today. Or maybe artificial intelligence (AI) won’t turn out to be as profitable as investors expect, and that will lead the market lower, given that AI enthusiasm has helped lead the market higher.
Something will eventually give way, and there will be a bear market. Then, after some period of time, a bull market will arrive. It’s just how the market works. You should spend more of your time thinking about ways to save money and how to invest wisely. Investing wisely means taking into consideration the ever-present risk of a bear market.
Keep it simple and think long term
Far too often, investors get caught up in short-term market movements. The big picture is more important, including the sometimes erratic upward march of stocks over the long term. Sticking to an investment plan is hard, but it is likely to result in better long-term performance than trying to jump in and out of the market. Which is why a simple portfolio consisting of an S&P 500 index fund and a broadly diversified bond fund or ETF — say, in a 60% stock/40% bond breakdown — could be all you need.
Bonds help provide safety during market turmoil, and stocks provide growth over the long term. That combination will allow you to ride out bear markets without letting your emotions lead you into making investment mistakes (like selling everything you own and never investing again). Another option is just to buy a balanced mutual fund that does all the investing work for you. That leaves you to focus on saving money, which is where you will likely have the biggest impact on your long-term wealth, anyway.
If you do choose to buy individual stocks, which can be a lot of fun, don’t focus on the short term. Or to put it another way, think in decades, not days. When you do that, a bear market will probably end up looking like just a small hiccup. And it won’t really matter to you what precipitated the bear, anyway, because you will be too busy. You see, long-term investors often find their best investments during deep market declines.
Marquez continues his dominance of the 2025 season with a first Austrian GP crown as he closes in on the riders title.
Six-time MotoGP champion Marc Marquez has marked the 1,000th premier class race in history by winning the Austrian Grand Prix for the first time in his career to take a mammoth 142-point lead over his brother Alex in the championship.
Having won Saturday’s sprint from the second row, Marquez claimed the sprint-race double on Sunday for the sixth Grand Prix in a row. The Spaniard has been unbeaten since the British Grand Prix in May.
Not since 2014 had Marquez claimed six consecutive Grand Prix wins as he moves closer to a seventh MotoGP crown with nine rounds remaining in the 2025 season.
Gresini Racing rookie Fermin Aldeguer found late race pace to finish second while Aprilia’s pole sitter Marco Bezzecchi, who kept Marquez at bay for as long as he could, finished third. Alex Marquez finished 10th after serving a long-lap penalty.
“Super, super happy to finally take the first victory here in Austria,” Marc Marquez said.
“I’m happy with six victories in a row, but [I need to] keep focus. Next week, we have another race.”
Bezzecchi had claimed his first pole with Aprilia on Saturday, and despite finishing fourth in the sprint, this time he had the perfect launch to lead Francesco Bagnaia and Marc Marquez into turn one.
The two Ducatis went side by side on lap one when Marc Marquez briefly overtook his teammate, but Bagnaia did not relent and took the place back to stay in second.
However, Marc Marquez made the same move on the next lap to take second and set his sights on Bezzecchi, waiting for the right opportunity to pounce.
“In the first part he [Bezzecchi] was super strong, but then I just waited. I tried in the beginning, but it was too risky. Then I preferred to wait and attack in the end,” the winner added.
Alex Marquez had a poor start, and with a long-lap penalty to serve for causing a crash at the Czech Grand Prix, the younger Marquez sibling fell out of the top 10 when he rejoined the field.
Ducati Lenovo rider Marc Marquez, right, leads Aprilia Racing’s Marco Bezzecchi during the Austrian MotoGP [Jure Makovec/AFP]
Marquez pressure
Bezzecchi soaked up the pressure, but the Aprilia rider was unable to shake off the red Ducati hunting him down.
Bagnaia was struggling with his bike, and he eventually faded, giving way to KTM’s Pedro Acosta and Aldeguer as the two youngsters fought for third.
Bagnaia had been undefeated in Austria for three years, but he was a shadow of the ringmaster who had dominated at the Red Bull Ring since 2022 as he was bumped down to eighth.
Marquez finally attacked on lap 19 and squeezed past the Aprilia, but Bezzecchi put his head down and took first place back from the Spaniard, eager to deny him a first victory at the Red Bull Ring.
But Marquez was on the ascendancy, and he finally broke Bezzecchi’s resistance on the next lap, using the Aprilia’s slipstream to dive into turn one and take the lead.
As Bezzecchi made a futile attempt to reel Marquez in, Aldeguer made a play for second place, and the Gresini rookie made his move with five laps to go on turn one to slot in behind Marquez.
Marquez responded to the challenge and kept Aldeguer at bay to take the chequered flag, but the rookie was over the moon with his best result in MotoGP.
“I’m super happy because at the end, Austria is not one of my favourite tracks like Le Mans,” he said. “Making two podiums on bad tracks for me is incredible.”
The 14th round of the MotoGP world championship will be held at Balaton Park in Hungary next weekend.
Marc Marquez celebrates after winning the Austrian MotoGP for the first time [Gintare Karpaviciute/Reuters]
SAN FRANCISCO — Veronica Burton scored 16 points, Cecilia Zandalasini scored 14 before halftime and the Golden State Valkyries moved a game ahead of the Sparks in the Western Conference beating them 72-59 on Saturday night.
Janelle Salaun scored 11 points and grabbed eight rebounds for Golden State (15-15). Zandalasini scored 14 points in the first half on five-for-six shooting, including four for five from three-point range and missed her only shot attempt after halftime.
Golden State built a 19-14 lead after one quarter, and the Valkyries took advantage of a nine-point quarter by the Sparks for a 33-23 lead at halftime.
The Sparks started the third quarter with a 7-0 run with a pair of foul shots and a short shot by Kelsey Plum and a three-pointer by Hamby. Golden State extended its lead to 41-32 before the Sparks rallied again to get within 43-40 but never got closer.
Golden State sealed the win outscoring the Sparks 12-5 over the first six minutes of the fourth.
The Valkyries won the regular-season series 3-1 over the Sparks and currently hold the eighth and final playoff spot.
Thirteen months after tearing an anterior cruciate ligament, Sparks forward Cameron Brink made her season debut, stepping onto the court at the 2:39 mark of the first quarter.
Brink looked comfortable despite the long layoff, jumping into the midseason contest intensity with confidence. She was active and competitive throughout, playing 13 minutes and 55 seconds during her return.
“We’re thrilled to have her back, and I’m incredibly proud of her,” Sparks coach Lynne Roberts said. “She’s on a minutes restriction. … I told her that she needs to enjoy the moment. … It’s a hard injury to come back from mentally and physically, and she’s done it with a smile on her face.”
But the night marked the end of the WNBA’s longest active winning streak, as the Sparks fell 89-74 to the Las Vegas Aces on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena.
The Sparks (11‑15) trailed by double digits for most of the game and couldn’t recover against the surging Aces (14‑13), who extended their lead to as much as 21 points.
In the third matchup between the two teams this season, the Sparks came out a bit hesitant, while the Aces were the aggressors from the tip.
“That was the worst shooting we’ve had all season,” Roberts said. “We’ve got to be able to defend. It’s knowing personnel, it’s knowing tendency, it’s staying locked into the game plan even when they score the first eight points.”
The Aces leaned on strong starts from Jackie Young and A’ja Wilson, who combined for 34 points in the first half.
Wilson finished with 34 points, 10 rebounds and four assists, while Young recorded a triple-double with 18 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists.
Dearica Hamby remained a bright spot for the Sparks, contributing 15 points and six rebounds. Hamby was named WNBA Western Conference player of the week after leading the Sparks to three wins, including a road victory over the defending champion New York Liberty on Saturday.
Kelsey Plum added 22 points, five rebounds and eight assists in the loss. Brink had five points, including a three-pointer, three rebounds, one block and one steal in 14 minutes of play.
“I was really proud of her,” Plum said of Brink. “I told her after the game, ‘It’s very impressive to come in, make the impact that you did.’ … I think she’s gonna continue to just help us a ton.”
The Sparks, who had been rolling offensively, were startled by their difficulty scoring.
“We have been so used to making shots and so I think it caught us off guard a little bit,” Roberts said.
The Sparks will look to regroup before playing the Storm in Seattle Friday night.
Nathan Eovaldi limited the Angels to a run in seven innings, Adolis García hit a two-run homer in the eighth and the Texas Rangers beat the Angels 6-3 on Wednesday night.
Eovaldi (9-3) helped the Rangers avoid a series sweep and snap the Angels’ three-game winning streak. He allowed six hits and struck out four.
Marcus Semien was three for five with an RBI and two runs. He doubled and opened the scoring on Wyatt Langford’s single in the fourth, and had an RBI single in the sixth. Langford was two for five with a double.
Robert Garcia pitched the ninth for his ninth save.
José Soriano (7-8) pitched seven innings for the Angels, giving up two runs, one of which was unearned, while striking out seven.
Luis Rengifo tied it, 1-1, with an RBI single in the fourth.
García broke hit open in the eighth with his 15th home run of the season, and Texas tacked on two more runs to pull away.
Nolan Schanuel hit a two-run homer for the Angels in the eighth. Corey Seager extended his majors-best on-base streak to 29 games in the ninth with a single to right.
Key moment
García’s eighth-inning homer gave Texas breathing room.
Key stat
Eovaldi allowed just one run.
Up next
Angels left-hander Tyler Anderson (2-6, 4.41) is scheduled to start at home Friday night against the Chicago White Sox.
Los Angeles (10-14) has won four in a row, beginning with a 92-88 victory over the Sun at home July 13 that snapped a 13-game losing streak against Connecticut.
The Sparks set a season high for points and have scored 90 points or more in four consecutive games, tying the franchise record set in 2013.
Azurá Stevens had 17 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals for the Sparks. Julie Allemand scored 12 points.
Stevens made a three-pointer a little more than a minute into the second half that gave the Sparks the lead for good and ignited a 17-5 run that made it 64-54 with 4:45 left in the third quarter.
Connecticut’s Bria Hartley, who was called for a technical foul midway through the first quarter, was ejected after she picked up her second about three minutes into the third quarter. Hartley finished with 16 points in 18 minutes.
Sparks forward Azurá Stevens, driving to the basket against Sun center Olivia Nelson-Ododa, finished with 17 points, eight rebounds and four assists in the win Thursday.
(Chris Marion / NBAE via Getty Images)
Tina Charles led Connecticut (3-20) with 24 points and 10 rebounds while Olivia Nelson-Ododa had 17 points. The Sun have lost four in a row and 14 of 15.
Myrto Uzuni scored a goal in the 40th minute and added an assist, Owen Wolff scored his first goal of the season and Austin FC beat the Galaxy2-1 on Wednesday night to snap the Galaxy’s three-game home win streak.
Brad Stuver had three saves and his ninth shutout — second in MLS behind Vancouver’s Yohei Takaoka (10) — this season for Austin (8-8-6).
Diego Rubio, on the counter-attack, played a ball-ahead to Uzuni, who cut back to evade a defender at the edge of the box and then blasted a shot inside the left post to open the scoring.
Uzuni misplayed a cross that was deflected but then beat three Galaxy players, including goalkeeper Novak Micovic, to the loose ball near the right post and tapped it to Wolff for the finish from the center of the area that made it 2-0 in the 63rd.
The Galaxy (3-14-6), the defending MLS Cup champion which had won back-to-back games for the first time this season, had its three-game unbeaten streak snapped.
Joseph Paintsil converted from the penalty spot in the third minute of stoppage time for the Galaxy. Micovic stopped two shots.
The Galaxy had 57% possession and outshot Austin 15-7.
SAN FRANCISCO — Once upon a time, Shohei Ohtani wasn’t expected to start pitching this season until after the All-Star break, if not longer.
In hindsight, how much more dire things would be for the Dodgers had they ultimately stuck to that initially conservative plan.
Needing a spark, a jolt or just some shred of momentum Saturday to break a season-long seven-game losing streak, the Dodgers got it from Ohtani, who opened their skid-halting 2-1 win over the San Francisco Giants with the best performance of his return to pitching yet.
Still managing a limited workload as he builds up following a second career Tommy John surgery, Ohtani only pitched three innings — the first time he’d gone even that far in his five pitching starts this season.
And in the box score, it was bulk man Emmet Sheehan who was credited with the win, following Ohtani with 4 ⅓ innings of one-run ball to end the Dodgers’ longest losing streak since September 2017.
But on a day the Dodgers were looking for a tone-setter, and waiting for one of their superstar talents to take the reins, Ohtani delivered another scoreless outing on the mound, giving up one hit and one walk while striking out four.
The first inning was Ohtani’s most impressive. He opened with seven straight fastballs to strike out Mike Yastrzemski (on a 99 mph heater) and Heliot Ramos (on another that blazed in at 99.9 mph). Rafael Devers came up next and waved at a couple sliders, also going down swinging in what was Ohtani’s second consecutive inning (going back to a start against the Houston Astros last week) in which he struck out the side.
The two-way star wobbled ever so briefly in the second, walking Jung Hoo Lee on four pitches with two outs. But, in one of the more impressive developments of his return to pitching over the last month, Ohtani adjusted quickly, executing a perfect sweeper/fastball combination on the inside part of the plate to jam Casey Schmitt for the inning’s third out.
Having thrown only 23 pitches at that point, Ohtani got the green light to pitch into the third inning for the first time this year. The inning started with a pop-out from Dominic Smith. Patrick Bailey froze for a called third strike on a slider. And after Yastrzemski lined a single, Ohtani induced a can of corn to center from Ramos to complete his 36-pitch outing.
In nine total innings this season, Ohtani has yielded just one run, five hits and two walks while striking out 10.
There’s still a ways to go before he’s built up for full-length pitching starts. But every early indicator is that his potential as a starting pitcher remains among the league’s elite.
“Obviously, early on, we were planning on him not pitching with us until [he had] more of a higher buildup, as far as four or five innings,” manager Dave Roberts said. “But his anxiousness to get back on a big-league mound kind of prompted [an earlier return]. And then from that point on, it’s been pretty deliberate.”
“I think it’s also been helpful for Shohei to kind of dip his toe in the water, as far as logging some innings going into the break,” Roberts added, “and having somewhat of a foundation going out through the second half.”
The Dodgers, of course, will remain cautious with Ohtani’s workload (especially if he continues to scuffle at the plate, with his 0-for-4 performance Saturday dropping his batting average to .205 since he began pitching on June 16).
But there’s no denying the outsized influence of his arm, which has given the Dodgers (57-39) a tangible lift.
“It’s getting more normal, which is crazy,” Roberts said before Saturday’s game, having barely gotten over watching Ohtani splash a home run into McCovey’s Cove the night before. “I don’t see Barry Bonds pitching the day after he hit a ball into the ocean. It’s crazy. Yeah, it’s not commonplace. Pretty exciting.”
Saturday’s win wouldn’t have been possible without Sheehan, either, with the 25-year-old right-hander coming off his own Tommy John surgery following Ohtani’s scoreless start with a string of zeroes himself.
After walking two of his first three batters, Sheehan retired the next 12 he faced before the Giants (52-44) finally got to him in the eighth, loading the bases on two singles and a walk to knock him out of the game.
But by then, the Dodgers had already built a 2-0 lead — with both runs scored by Michael Conforto, who led a quiet day from the Dodgers’ lineup with three hits.
And after reliever Alex Vesia came on and limited the damage to only one run, closer Tanner Scott slammed the door in the ninth; securing a much-needed save, and a long-awaited Dodgers win.
MILWAUKEE — During the Dodgers’ season-long five-game losing streak this week, manager Dave Roberts cited a lack of “fight” from his lineup as the most troubling trend in the team’s recent skid.
On Wednesday in Milwaukee, more fight finally returned — only for the Brewers to still land the knockout punch.
In a 3-2 loss at American Family Field that extended the Dodgers’ losing streak to six games, the lineup once again scuffled in a five-hit performance while closer Tanner Scott blew a ninth-inning lead to waste Tyler Glasnow’s encouraging return from the injured list.
It was a grind of a game, with the Dodgers scoring their only runs on a bases-loaded walk following a hit-and-run play and a sacrifice fly that briefly gave them a 2-1 lead. Alas, Scott gave up a game-tying RBI single to Andrew Vaughn in the ninth, Jackson Chourio walked it off with another single against Kirby Yates in the bottom of the 10th, sending the scuffling Dodgers their longest losing skid since April 2019.
“Knowing the rough patch [we’re in], it’s really hard to take this one, because you just want to stop it,” veteran infielder Miguel Rojas said.
“We had them where we wanted them,” Roberts echoed. “We just couldn’t finish it.”
Indeed, even on a day the Dodgers struggled to score despite generating more baserunners and cutting down on their recent binge of strikeouts, Glasnow’s solid return from the injured list had the club in position to win for most of the day.
Making his first start since going on the injured list in April because of a shoulder injury, and just his 28th start in two years with the Dodgers since signing a $136.5-million contract two winters ago, the lanky right-hander pitched decently over his five innings, giving up two hits and three walks with five strikeouts.
Glasnow ran into trouble in the second inning, when Christian Yelich singled on a first-pitch fastball, Isaac Collins drew a full-count walk, and both executed a double-steal to move into scoring position. A 10-pitch walk to Caleb Durbin — ending on a curveball that never ducked into the strike zone — loaded the bases with one out.
However, Glasnow responded, jamming Jake Bauers with a sinker for a pop out before blowing Joey Ortiz away with an elevated 96 mph heater.
That sequence was Glasnow at his best: Going after hitters with his premium velocity, and showing no signs of the tentativeness — or, as Roberts described it in his pregame address, “search mode” — that has often derailed his Dodgers career.
“[I’m focusing on] going out and pitching, just toeing the mound and kind of getting into that rhythm and keeping the routine,” Glasnow said afterward. “Just going out, be athletic and trust the trainers, strength room, stay healthy and just keep pitching.”
As Glasnow settled into a rhythm, however, the Dodgers (56-38) continued to toil at the plate.
Having scored only one run in four of their previous five games, a shorthanded lineup, which got Tommy Edman back from injury but once again was without Teoscar Hernández in the starting lineup, struggled to get a beat on crafty veteran left-hander José Quintana.
With only a 90-mph fastball and a flurry of funky off-speed pitches, the 36-year-old navigated the first four innings without giving up a hit.
A breakthrough finally came in the fifth inning. After Rojas drew a leadoff walk (he also had two singles Wednesday), the Dodgers executed a well-timed hit-and-run play, drawing the second baseman out of position just as Esteury Ruiz lined a single through the hole he vacated. With two outs, James Outman then checked his swing just enough to draw a full-count walk, loading the bases for Shohei Ohtani to plate the game’s first run on a four-pitch free pass (benefitting from a couple of borderline ball calls).
And while that 1-0 lead didn’t last long — in the bottom of the fifth, Glasnow walked leadoff man Bauers, moved him to second with a balk, then watched helplessly as Bauers stole third and scored on a throw that bounced to the outfield — the Dodgers went back in front in the seventh when Mookie Betts lifted a bases-loaded sacrifice fly.
The Dodgers, though, squandered opportunities to stretch the lead from, leaving the bases loaded to end the seventh inning before stranding more baserunners in both the eighth and ninth.
“I thought the way we competed, I liked that,” Roberts said. “Took some good at-bats. I thought we fought. But couldn’t put a crooked number up.”
That left Scott with too little margin to complete a four-out save. While the left-hander stranded a runner at second base he inherited in the eighth, three ninth-inning singles from the Brewers tied the score, culminating with a broken-bat, bloop single from Vaughn that made it 2-2.
Then, after Brewers closer Trevor Megill struck out the side in the top of the 10th, Yates surrendered the game-winning single to Churio in the bottom half of the inning, dealing the Dodgers their second-straight series sweep and an ever-mounting sense of frustration entering the final days before the All-Star break.
“We can’t really feel sorry about ourselves, because there’s a lot of season left, and we know what we’re looking for,” Rojas said. “We’re looking to win another championship, and playing this kind of baseball is not gonna get us there.”
As the Dodgers prepared to face Milwaukee Brewers phenom Jacob Misiorowski, a hard-throwing and supremely talented right-hander making just his fifth MLB start, the club’s manager repeated one key multiple times during his pregame address with reporters:
“Stress him as much as we can.”
Given Misiorowski’s inexperience, the idea was to work long at-bats, drive up his pitch count and “be mindful of [making] quick outs,” Roberts said.
“If he’s got to keep repeating pitches, there might be a way for some base hits, some walks,” he added. “Again, create stress, and hopefully get a couple big hits.”
A big hit came early, with Shohei Ohtani leading off the game with his 31st home run of the season. But after that, the only stress evident at American Family Field on Tuesday came from the Dodgers’ lineup, which struck out 12 times against Misiorowski during a 3-1 loss to the Brewers. It was the Dodgers’ fifth loss in a row.
“That was super impressive,” Dodgers left-hander and future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw said of Misiorowski, a 23-year-old prospect 14 years his junior. “That was unbelievable.”
The Ks came quickly for Misiorowski following Ohtani’s early blast (his ninth leadoff home run of the season, and one that set a Dodgers record for total home runs before the All-Star break).
Get the latest on L.A.’s teams in the daily Sports Report newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
LAKERS
Deandre Ayton, who had a troubled tenure in Portland, said he looks forward to playing at a high level for the Lakers.
(David Zalubowski / Associated Press)
From Broderick Turner: Deandre Ayton stood with his hands in his pockets, his all-black attire — from the suit to tie, shirt and shoes — a measured look for the newest member of the Lakers. His eyes were mostly down as he answered questions about how he’ll fit with the team and how he’s driven to prove his naysayers wrong.
In many ways, Ayton fell to the Lakers after he was bought out of his contract from the Portland Trail Blazers, opening the door for him to agree to a two-year, $16.6-million deal.
The two seasons he spent with the Trail Blazers were not as good as the time he was in Phoenix. His production dropped. The number of games he played dropped.
That led to the narrative that Ayton hasn’t lived up to his potential. That he played consistently enough at a high level. That he doesn’t give his best effort all the time.
When Ayton was introduced to the media Tuesday, he didn’t shy away from the criticism.
He’s a 7-foot center who the Lakers need to be at his best at all times this season.
“Most definitely. It fuels me,” Ayton said about criticism. “It fuels me up completely. And it’s a different type of drive that I’ve been wanting to express for a long time. I think this is the perfect timing, here in the purple and gold. And it’s a platform that I cannot run from.
“I can show what I really am and just be around some greats to really emphasize that for me as well. It is a lot of fuel in me to prove to the whole world.”
USC quarterback Jayden Maiava (14) runs out to the field with his teammates before playing Notre Dame at the Coliseum on Nov. 30.
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
From Ryan Kartje: As college athletic departments across the country brace for a new era of sharing revenue directly with their athletes, USC is eliminating a dozen jobs in its athletic department in an effort to reduce costs in the wake of the House vs. NCAA settlement.
Six athletics employees were told late last week that their roles in the department had been eliminated, a person familiar with the decision but not authorized to discuss it publicly told The Times. The most senior among them was Paul Perrier, an executive senior associate athletic director, who spent two six-year stints at USC working under three athletic directors.
Six other vacant roles have also since been eliminated, the person said.
USC is planning to share the maximum of $20.5 million with its athletes that’s permitted by the settlement in 2025, the vast majority of which will go to the football program. That’s no small expenditure — especially for a university in the midst of serious financial issues.
The Angels’ Nolan Schanuel celebrates with teammates after a walk-off walk during the ninth inning against the Texas Rangers on Monday in Anaheim.
(Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Associated Press)
From the Associated Press: 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.
The City Section perpetual football trophy is missing — again.
The last time this happened was after Narbonne received the trophy in 2018 for winning the Open Division title. Birmingham won the trophy in 2019 but never got to display it because it went missing until discovered in 2021. It was sticking out of a dumpster in Torrance, handed over to the Southern Section office, then presented to the City Section and cleaned up.
Taylor Fritz thought the motivational note he wrote to himself after losing at Wimbledon four years ago would stay private. His girlfriend, influencer Morgan Riddle, later shared it on social media.
“That note was never supposed to be public,” a smiling Fritz said after his 6-3, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (4) win over Karen Khachanov set up a semifinal meeting with two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz.
Fritz had written to himself in the note that “nobody in the whole world is underachieving harder than you” and urged himself to get his act together.
Not only does Fritz forgive Riddle, he also credits her for having such a big impact on him rising to No. 5 in the world rankings in pursuit of his first Grand Slam title.
“There’s been a pretty constant results-and-ranking rise since we’ve been together,” Fritz said. “I think I would have to say she’s been a big help to me just kind of keeping me focused, having someone who cares and just pushes you to just do better and do the right things, be healthier.
“Almost like kind of just mother me in a way,” he added, chuckling to himself, “with like, the diet and going to sleep on time.”
A smiling Fritz later added: “Yeah, that maybe wasn’t the best choice of words.”
The 27-year-old American, who was the runner-up at last year’s U.S. Open, didn’t face a break point in the first two sets against No. 17 Khachanov, who rebounded in the third set. It was 4-all in the fourth-set tiebreaker before Fritz claimed the final three points on Court No. 1.
1922 — Johnny Weissmuller is the first to swim the 100-meter freestyle under 1 minute as he breaks Duke Kahanamoku’s world record with a time of 58.6 seconds.
1932 — The NFL awards a franchise to Boston under the ownership of George Preston Marshall, Vincent Bendix, Jay O’Brien, and Dorland Doyle. The Boston Braves will change their nickname to Redskins in 1933 and move to Washington after the 1936 season.
1940 — The National League registers the first shutout, 4-0, in the All-Star game.
1954 — Peter Thomson becomes the first Australian to win the British Open. Thomson shoots a 9-under 283 at Royal Birkdale Golf Club, edging Bobby Locke, Dai Rees and Syd Scott by one stroke.
1965 — Peter Thomson wins his fifth British Open title by two strokes over Brian Huggett and Christy O’Connor Sr. Thomson shoots a 7-under 285 at the Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England. Thomson’s previous Open victory was in 1958. It’s the last to conclude with two rounds on Friday.
1966 — Jack Nicklaus wins the British Open with a 282 at Muirfield to join Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan and Gary Player as the only men to win the four majors.
1967 — Mark Spitz and Catie Ball, both 17, swim to world records, and 14-year-old Debbie Meyer sets two records in one race in the Santa Clara International Invitational swim meet. Spitz sets a 100-meter butterfly record at 56.3 and Ball becomes the first U.S. swimmer to set a world record for the breaststroke with a 2:40.5 time for 200 meters. Meyer breaks the 800-meter freestyle record in 9 minutes, 35.8 seconds on the way to a record 18:11.1 in the 1,500.
1968 — Wilt Chamberlain becomes the first reigning NBA MVP to be traded the next season when he moves from Philadelphia 76’ers to LA Lakers.
1988 — Nolan Ryan is 7th to win 100 game on 2 teams, as Astro beat Mets 6-3.
1989 — Boris Becker and Steffi Graf claim a West German sweep of the Wimbledon singles crowns in the first double finals day in 16 years. Becker wins his third Wimbledon title in five years, rolling past defending champion Stefan Edberg 6-0, 7-6 (1), 6-4, while Graf takes her second straight championship over Martina Navratilova 6-2, 6-7 (1), 6-1.
1991 — South Africa is readmitted by the International Olympic Committee to the Olympic movement, ending decades of sports isolation and clearing the way for its participation in the 1992 Games.
1995 — Pete Sampras becomes the first American to win Wimbledon three straight years by beating Boris Becker 6-7, 6-2, 6-4, 6-2.
2000 — Pete Sampras passes Roy Emerson for the most Grand Slam championships and ties Willie Renshaw, a player in the 1880s, for the most Wimbledon titles with a four-set victory over Pat Rafter. Sampras, winner of seven Wimbledon titles, 13 Grand Slam championships, extends his mark at Wimbledon to 53-1 over the past eight years.
2001 — Goran Ivanisevic becomes one of Wimbledon’s most improbable champions, beating Patrick Rafter. Two points away from defeat, Ivanisevic rallies to beat Rafter 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 2-6, 9-7 and becomes the second player to win a Wimbledon singles title without being seeded.
2006 — Roger Federer ends a five-match losing streak to Rafael Nadal, winning 6-0, 7-6 (5), 6-7 (2), 6-3 to earn his fourth straight Wimbledon title and eighth Grand Slam championship. Nadal had beaten Federer in four finals this year.
2006 — Italy wins its fourth World Cup title winning the shootout 5-3 against France, after a 1-1 draw. Outplayed for an hour and into extra time, the Italians win it after French captain Zinedine Zidane is ejected in the 107th for a vicious butt to the chest of Marco Materazzi.
2009 — Joe Sakic retires after 21 NHL seasons with the Quebec Nordiques/Colorado Avalanche franchise, finishing with 625 goals and 1,641 points.
2011 — Derek Jeter homers for his 3,000th hit, making him the first player to reach the mark with the New York Yankees.
2016 — Serena Williams wins her record-tying 22nd Grand Slam title by beating Angelique Kerber 7-5, 6-3 in the Wimbledon final. Williams pulls even with Steffi Graf for the most major championships in the Open era, which began in 1968. This is Williams’ seventh singles trophy at the All England Club.
2021 — British road cyclist Mark Cavendish wins Nimes to Carcassonne stage 13 of the Tour de France for his 34th career state win. The win ties Eddy Merckx for most career stage wins.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email Houston Mitchell at [email protected]. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
MILWAUKEE — The game plan, manager Dave Roberts said Tuesday afternoon, was simple.
As the Dodgers prepared to face Milwaukee Brewers phenom Jacob Misiorowski, a hard-throwing and supremely talented right-hander making just his fifth career MLB start, the club’s manager repeated one key multiple times during his pregame address with reporters:
“Stress him as much as we can.”
Given Misiorowski’s inexperience, the idea was to work long at-bats, drive up his pitch count and “be mindful of [making] quick outs,” Roberts said.
The Brewers’ Jacob Misiorowski shouts during the sixth inning of a game against the Dodgers Tuesday in Milwaukee.
(Aaron Gash / Associated Press)
“If he’s got to keep repeating pitches, there might be a way for some base hits, some walks,” he added. “Again, create stress, and hopefully get a couple big hits.”
A big hit came early, with Shohei Ohtani leading off the game with his 31st home run of the season. But after that, the only stress evident at American Family Field on Tuesday came from the Dodgers’ lineup, which struck out 12 times against Misiorowski during a 3-1 loss to the Brewers. It was the Dodgers’ fifth straight loss.
The Ks came quickly following Ohtani’s early blast (his ninth leadoff home run of the season, and one that set a new Dodgers record for total home runs before the All-Star break).
Mookie Betts fanned on a slider in the next at-bat. Freddie Freeman whiffed on a curveball after him. Andy Pages froze on a 100.8 mph fastball, one of 21 triple-digit pitches Misiorowski uncorked from his wiry 6-foot-7, 197-pound frame.
Misiorowski struck out three more batters in the second to strand a two-out Dalton Rushing single. He worked around Miguel Rojas’ leadoff double in the third with two more punchouts, getting Ohtani with a curveball this time and Freeman with the same pitch after a generous strike call got the count full.
From there, the Dodgers didn’t stress Misorowski again until the sixth, when Ohtani drew a leadoff walk and Betts slapped a single through the infield. With one out, however, Ohtani was thrown at the plate trying to score from third on Pages’ chopper up the line. Then Michael Conforto grounded out to first to retire the side, sending Misorowski skipping back to the dugout with a few thumps of his chest at the end of a six-inning, one-run start that saw all 12 strikeouts come the first five frames (tying the most strikeouts by any MLB pitcher in the first five innings of a game since 2008).
Opposite Misiorowski, Dodgers veteran Clayton Kershaw produced a solid six-inning, two-run start in a vastly different way. With his fastball still topping out at 90 mph, and the 37-year-old managing only three strikeouts in his first start since joining the 3,000 club last week, Kershaw instead navigated the Brewers with a string of soft contact.
The only problem: The Brewers still found a way to build a rally in the bottom of the fourth.
After singling on a swinging bunt up the third-base line his first time up, Milwaukee catcher William Contreras did the same thing to lead off the inning. Then Jackson Chourio beat the shift on a ground ball the other way.
That set up Andrew Vaughn for a line-drive RBI single to center, tying the score. In the next at-bat, Isaac Collins also found a hole in the infield, sneaking another ground-ball single between Betts and Rojas on the left side of the infield to give Milwaukee a 2-1 lead.
Even after Misiorowski departed, a shorthanded Dodgers lineup (which was once again without injured veterans Teoscar Hernández and Tommy Edman, as well as primary catcher Will Smith on a scheduled off day) couldn’t claw its way back.
The Brewers’ bullpen retired all nine batters it faced. Sal Frelick took Kirby Yates deep for an insurance run in the eighth. And on a day the Dodgers intended to create stress, they were instead dealing with the headache of a season-long five-game losing streak.
INDIANAPOLIS — Azurá Stevens scored 21 points and had 12 rebounds, Kelsey Plum added 20 points and the Sparks won at Indianapolis for the second time in 10 days, defeating the Fever, minus Caitlin Clark, 89-87 on Saturday.
Since dominating the fourth quarter en route to an 85-75 win over Indiana on June 26, the Sparks had lost two straight. The Fever had won three, including the Commissioner’s Cup, without Clark. She missed her fifth consecutive game with a groin injury.
This game was close throughout. The Sparks’ biggest lead was three points in the first quarter, and the Fever went up by eight midway through the third.
Dearica Hamby scored 18 points for the Sparks (6-13) and Rickea Jackson added 15, including the go-ahead basket that made it 88-87 with 57.4 seconds left.
Indiana missed its last five shots, four in the final minute. Stevens rebounded a miss and was fouled, making a free throw with 3.3 seconds to go. The Fever used their reset timeout but Aliyah Boston missed a shot from the top of the key.
Boston led Indiana (9-9) with 23 points and 12 rebounds, and Natasha Howard had 21 points and nine rebounds. Kelsey Mitchell added 19 points. Howard surpassed 2,000 career rebounds and Mitchell, who reached 600 three-pointers with three, broke a tie with Fever assistant coach Briann January with her 251st game for the Fever, second behind Tamika Catchings.
Mitchell had 13 points and Plum 11 in an evenly played first half that featured nine ties and nine lead changes before Indiana went on top 45-42. Plum scored the last seven L.A. points in the third quarter for a 70-69 lead heading into the fourth.
INDIANAPOLIS — Azurá Stevens scored 23 points, Kelsey Plum had 21 points and six assists and the Sparks ended a four-game losing streak by beating the short-handed Indiana Fever 85-75 on Thursday night.
Indiana played without Caitlin Clark who was out because of a groin injury. Clark had recently returned from a quad injury that kept her sidelined for five games. She returned on June 14 and scored 32 points to help the Fever to a 102-88 victory against the Liberty.
Plum made a three-pointer with 4:13 left to give the Sparks a 67-66 lead, its first since the opening minute of the second quarter. She added two free throws on their next possession to cap a 21-8 run spanning the third-quarter break.
Los Angeles sealed it by grabbing two offensive rebounds with under a minute to play. Dearica Hamby was fouled while making a layup to give the Sparks a 79-75 lead. She missed the free throw but Stevens grabbed it and completed a three-point play to make it 81-75 with 49 seconds left.
Hamby and Rickea Jackson each scored 14 points for the Sparks (5-11).
Kelsey Mitchell led Indiana (7-8) with 20 points and Aliyah Boston had 12 points, 10 rebounds and five steals.
Indiana led 31-22 before the Sparks went on an 8-0 run, capped by Shey Peddy‘s three-pointer to get within one. Sophie Cunningham answered with a three-pointer and the Fever led 34-30 at the break after forcing 15 turnovers.
NEW YORK — Jazz Chisholm Jr. homered in the second inning to end New York’s 30-inning scoreless streak, but an error in the eighth inning gave the Angels a 3-2 win, sending the Yankees to their sixth straight loss Wednesday.
Mike Trout and Taylor Ward opened the eighth by drawing walks off Fernando Cruz (1-3), and Luis Rengifo walked on four pitches to load the bases. Jo Adell hit a 105.9-mph grounder to New York shortstop Anthony Volpe, who bobbled the ball and threw wide of second, allowing Trout to score.
The Yankees lost for the eighth time in 18 games, and their losing streak is the longest since they lost nine straight from Aug. 12-23, 2023.
Chisholm ended New York’s longest run-scoring drought since a 33-inning skid Sept. 22-25, 2016, when his drive down the right field line stayed inside the foul pole and tied the game at 1.
Cody Bellinger homered to give the Yankees a 2-1 lead in the fourth before Adell hit a tying homer on the first pitch of the fifth off Ryan Yarbrough. Bellinger made the final out of the eighth by fouling out with two on.
Aaron Judge went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts as his average dipped to .366.
Nolan Schanuel homered three pitches into the game for the Angels, who won a fifth straight game at Yankee Stadium — the old or new version — for the first time in team history.
Jack Kochanowicz gave up two runs and two hits in 5⅔ innings. The right-hander finished with a career-high eight strikeouts and walked three.
Kenley Jansen struck out Volpe to secure his 15th save.
Key moments: Giancarlo Stanton batted for Ben Rice in the seventh and flew out to left field against Hector Neris (3-1). In the sixth, Bellinger hit an infield single, but Trent Grisham was called out at second when his leg touched the ball. Paul Goldschmidt lined out on the next pitch.
Key stat: Stanton is five for 47 in his career as a pinch-hitter.
Up next: Yankees LHP Carlos Rodón (8-5, 3.01 ERA) opposes Angels LHP Tyler Anderson (2-4, 3.44) on Thursday.
