tuesday

Ducks lose to Golden Knights

From Kevin Baxter: The carriage has turned back into a pumpkin, the ballgown is once again just tattered clothing and all the horses have gone back to being mice.

The Ducks’ Cinderella run through the NHL playoffs came to an end Thursday in a 5-1 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 6 of their second-round Stanley Cup playoff series. And the end came well before midnight, with goals by Mitch Marner and Brett Howden in the first 8½ minutes giving Vegas a commanding lead before many in the late-arriving weeknight crowd had made it to their seats at the Honda Center.

The Golden Knights will move on to the Western Conference final with the Colorado Avalanche next week while the Ducks will move on to summer. But it’s the team’s latest start on the offseason since 2017, the last time the Ducks made it to the second round of the playoffs. So even if the glass slipper didn’t fit this time, the Ducks have reason to celebrate.

“I think our team, we learned, myself included, just how to play in those games,” said winger Troy Terry, the only remaining link to the Ducks’ last playoff team. “That’s kind of the difference in some of these games, a team like Vegas, learning how to manage those close games. It stings right now, but I think I speak for everyone that we’ll be hungry going into the summer.

“It was fun to play in this. It’s been a long time.”

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Ducks summary

NHL playoffs schedule

Ducks playoffs schedule

Second round

at Vegas 3, Ducks 1 (summary)
Ducks 3, at Vegas 1 (summary)
Vegas 6, at Ducks 2 (summary)
at Ducks 4, Vegas 3 (summary)
at Vegas 3, Ducks 2 (OT) (summary)
Vegas 5, at Ducks 1 (summary)

Dodgers defeat the Giants

From Liana Handler: You better run. Those three words were the only thought racing through pinch-hitter Alex Call’s head when he laced a pitch from San Francisco Giants reliever Matt Gage into right field.

The two-run single, which gave the Dodgers the lead, sparked a three-run rally in the sixth inning that concluded when Miguel Rojas drove in Call on a single to center field.

“It felt like I hit it,” said Call, who initially hesitated to run after making contact. “But I guess I just didn’t quite see it off the bat, and I’m like looking for it, keep looking up, and then all of a sudden I hear the crowd get really loud.”

Call’s single helped the Dodgers beat the Giants 5-2 on Thursday night, reclaiming first in the National League West after San Diego lost to Milwaukee. The Dodgers also escaped a third straight series loss at home ahead of their weekend road series against the Angels.

Call wasn’t the only Dodger who thrived under pressure. Designated hitter Will Smith, whom Dodgers manager Dave Roberts described earlier in the day as “unflappable,” hit from the leadoff spot for the first time in his career and homered to right-center field in the first inning to set the tone for the series-splitting win.

“That was nice, huh?” Roberts said. “Like I said before the game, just to be able to plug him in, you feel confident that no matter what, he’s going to give you his best. And I didn’t expect a homer, but it was a good way to start.”

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Dodgers pitcher, horse racing jockeys linked to cockfighting in Puerto Rico

Dodgers box score

MLB standings

Rams schedule

From Gary Klein: The Rams will begin the season by traveling about 8,000 air miles to play against the San Francisco 49ers in Australia.

They aim to end the season playing in Super Bowl LXI on their home turf at SoFi Stadium.

The Sept. 10 opener — a Thursday night in the United States and the morning of Sept. 11 in Melbourne — is the first of 17 games on a schedule announced Thursday by the NFL.

With reigning NFL most valuable player Matthew Stafford and a roster fortified by the addition of All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie, the Rams are regarded as a Super Bowl favorite. And their marquee status is reflected in a schedule that includes the maximum six prime-time appearances, an increase of two over last season when the Rams finished 12-5 and advanced to the NFC championship game before losing to the eventual Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks.

Fans will have to wait nearly the entire season to see the Rams play the Seahawks. The first game between the NFC West rivals is Week 16 on Christmas night in Seattle. Two games later, on a date to be determined, they will play in the regular-season finale at SoFi Stadium.

Rams schedule

Sept. 10, San Francisco at Australia, 5:35 p.m. (Netflix)
Sept. 21, NY Giants, , 5:15 p.m. (ESPN)
Sept. 27, at Denver, 5:20 p.m., (NBC)
Oct. 4, at Philadelphia, 10 a.m. (Fox)
Oct. 12, Buffalo, 5:15 p.m. (ESPN)
Oct. 18, Arizona, 1:05 p.m., (Fox)
Oct. 25, at Las Vegas, 1:25 p.m. (Fox)
Nov. 1, chargers, 1:05 p.m. (Fox)
Nov. 8, at Washington, 10 a.m. (Fox)
Nov. 15, at Arizona, 1:05 p.m. (CBS)
Nov. 22, off week
Nov. 25, Green Bay, 5 p.m. (Netflix)
Dec. 3, Kansas City, 5:15 p.m. (Amazon Prime)
Dec. 13, at San Francisco, 1:25 p.m. (Fox)
Dec. 20, Dallas, 1:25 p.m. (CBS)
Dec. 25, at Seattle, 5:15 p.m. (Fox)
Week 17, at Tampa Bay, TBD
Week 18, Seattle, TBD

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Chargers schedule

From Sam Farmer: The Chargers essentially lived on an airplane last season, traveling more miles than any other NFL team.

This season, they will have a long runway followed by a dramatically sharp ascent.

They open against three first-time head coaches in succession, then face four Super Bowl-winning head coaches in a row.

Their first three games are against Arizona (Mike LaFleur), Las Vegas (Klint Kubiak) and Buffalo (Joe Brady), before squaring off against Seattle (Mike Macdonald), Denver (Sean Payton), Kansas City (Andy Reid) and — after a week off — the Rams (Sean McVay).

And it’s not as if the Chargers will be homebodies, as they have four coast-to-coast trips with road games at the Bills, Baltimore, Tampa Bay and Miami. So they will still be racking up the frequent-flier miles.

The NFL made an effort to put some space between those cross-country games for the Chargers.

“We’re always being sensitive, trying to make sure we’re not pingponging a team across the country with travel to the East Coast and back,” said Hans Schroeder, the NFL’s executive vice president of media distribution. “So we try to make sure those trips are broken up where we can, and we’re not doing too much of that back and forth.”

Chargers schedule

Sept. 13, Arizona, 1:25 p.m. (CBS)
Sept. 20, Las Vegas, 1:05 p.m. (CBS)
Sept. 27, at Buffalo, 10 a.m. (Fox)
Oct. 4, at Seattle, 1:25 p.m. (CBS)
Oct. 11, Denver, 1:05 p.m. (CBS)
Oct. 18, at Kansas City, 1:25 p.m. (CBS)
Oct. 25: Bye week
Nov. 1, at Rams, 1:05 p.m. (Fox)
Nov. 8, Houston, 1:05 p.m. (CBS)
Nov. 16, at Baltimore, 5:15 p.m. (ESPN)
Nov. 22, NY Jets, 1:05 p.m. (Fox)
Nov. 29, New England, 5:20 p.m. (NBC)
Dec. 6, at Tampa Bay, 10 a.m. (CBS)
Dec. 13, at Las Vegas, 1:05 p.m. (CBS)
Dec.17, San Francisco, 5:15 p.m. (Amazon Prime)
Dec. 27, at Miami, 10 a.m. (Fox)
Week 17, Kansas City, TBD
Week 18, at Denver, TBD

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Chargers couldn’t resist making references to Mike Vrabel, Dianna Russini in schedule video

Lisa Leslie to get a statue

From Marisa Ingemi: Hall of Famer Lisa Leslie didn’t expect to ever get a statue outside Crypto.com Arena. After all, it had been 15 years since her jersey retirement and no other Sparks player was featured among the Lakers and Kings heroes outside the area.

After years of hearing from fans that she deserve to be immortalized, Leslie learned she would join Sue Bird in Seattle as the second WNBA player to be honored with a statue at a franchise’s home arena.

“One thing I never had on my bucket list was a statue,” Leslie told The Times on Thursday. “I grew up seeing the statues of some of the amazing Lakers, so I’m just really grateful to be alive and to be one of the first, especially in the WNBA for L.A. Sparks. It means a lot to me, and I’m really hoping that our community will really rally around it.”

The Sparks announced Thursday morning that Leslie will receive a statue to be unveiled during a ceremony on Sept. 20 before a game against the Portland Fire

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This day in sports history

1937 — War Admiral, ridden by Charles Kurtsinger, battles Pompoon from the top of the stretch and wins the Preakness Stakes by a head.

1948 — Citation, ridden by Eddie Arcaro, wins the Preakness Stakes by 5½ lengths over Vulcan’s Forge.

1952 — Johnny Longden becomes second jockey to ride 4,000 winners.

1953 — In his first world heavyweight title defense, Rocky Marciano KOs former champion Jersey Joe Walcott in the 1st round at Chicago Stadium.

1963 — Tottenham Hotspur of England win 3rd European Cup winner’s Cup against Atlético Madrid of Spain 5-1 at Rotterdam.

1971 — Canonero II, ridden by Gustavo Avila, captures the Preakness Stakes by 1½ lengths over Eastern Fleet.

1985 — Everton of England wins 25th European Cup Winner’s Cup against Rapid Wien of Austria 3-1 in Rotterdam.

1990 — Petr Klima scores at 15:13 of the third overtime to end the longest game in Stanley Cup Final history for the Edmonton Oilers — a 3-2 series-opening victory over the Boston Bruins in a game delayed 25 minutes because of a lighting problem.

1991 — Manchester United of England win 31th European Cup Winner’s Cup against FC Barcelona 2-1 in Rotterdam.

1994 — LPGA Championship Women’s Golf, DuPont CC: Laura Davies of England wins her second major title, three strokes ahead of runner-up Alice Ritzman.

1998 — Notah Begay III joins Al Geiberger and Chip Beck as the only players to shoot a 59 on a U.S. pro tour. He does it at the Nike Old Dominion Open.

1999 — Charismatic wins the Preakness and a chance to become the 12th Triple Crown champion, finishing 1½ lengths ahead of Menifee. It’s the 12th Triple Crown race victory for trainer D. Wayne Lukas.

2002 — 10th UEFA Champions League Final: Real Madrid beats Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 at Glasgow.

2003 — The three-year championship reign of the Lakers ends. Tim Duncan has 37 points and 16 rebounds, and Tony Parker adds 27 points to help the San Antonio Spurs overpower the Lakers 110-82 to win the Western Conference semifinal series 4-2.

2004 — With one breathtaking surge, Smarty Jones posts a record 11½-length victory in the Preakness. Rock Hard Ten, in his fourth start, finishes strong for second ahead of Eddington.

2005 — Annika Sorenstam cruises to a 10-stroke win in the Chick-fil-A Charity Championship, finishing with a 23-under 265 total, matching the biggest 72-hole win of her career.

2010 — English FA Cup Final, Wembley Stadium, London (88,335): Chelsea beats Portsmouth,1-0; Didier Drogba scores 59′ winner; Blues’ 6th title.

2011 — Finland scores five late goals to beat Sweden 6-1 and claim its second title at the hockey world championships. The Finns also beat rival Sweden in the 1995 final.

2011 — English FA Cup Final, Wembley Stadium, London (88,335): Chelsea beats Portsmouth,1-0; Didier Drogba scores 59′ winner; Blues’ 6th title.

2015 — Stephen Curry scores 32 points, including a 62-footer to end the third quarter, and Golden State advances to its first Western Conference finals since 1976 by beating Memphis 108-95. The Warriors the first team since 1985 to hit 14 or more threes in three consecutive playoff games.

2016 — PGA Players Championship, TPC at Sawgrass: World #1 and reigning PGA Champion Jason Day of Australia leads wire-to-wire to win by four strokes ahead of Kevin Chappell.

Compiled by the Associated Press

This day in baseball history

1918 — Washington’s Walter Johnson pitched a 1-0, 18-inning victory over Lefty Williams of the Chicago White Sox, who also went the distance.

1919 — After 12 scoreless innings, Cincinnati scored 10 runs off Al Mamaux in the 13th to beat the Brooklyn Dodgers 10-0.

1933 — The major leagues advance the cut-down date a month, limiting rosters to 23 players today instead of June 15th.

1935 — Lou Gehrig steals home in a 4-0 Yankee win over the Tigers. It is his 15th and last steal of home, all of which were double steals.

1941 — Joe DiMaggio began his 56-game hitting streak against Chicago’s Eddie Smith, going 1-for-4 with one RBI.

1944 — Clyde Shoun of the Reds tossed a no-hitter against the Boston Braves for a 1-0 victory in Cincinnati. Chuck Aleno’s only home run of the year was the difference.

1951 — At Fenway Park, the Red Sox celebrate the 50th anniversary of their first American League game in Boston.

1952 — Detroit’s Virgil Trucks pitched the first of his two no-hitters for the season, beating the Washington Senators 1-0. Vic Wertz’s two-out homer in the ninth off Bob Porterfield won the game.

1960 — Don Cardwell became the first pitcher to throw a no-hitter in his first start after being traded. The Chicago Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals 4-0 at Wrigley Field.

1973 — Nolan Ryan of the Angels pitched the first of a record seven no-hitters, beating the Kansas City Royals 3-0. Ryan tossed his second gem two months later.

1978 — His 7th-inning, two-run homer moves Willie Stargell past the late Roberto Clemente into sole possession of second place on Pittsburgh’s all-time RBI list, his total of 1,307 now trailing only Honus Wagner’s 1,475.

1981 — Len Barker of Cleveland pitched the first perfect game in 13 years as the Indians beat the Toronto Blue Jays 3-0 at Municipal Stadium.

1993 — The Montreal Expos retired their first number, No. 10 for Rusty Staub.

1996 — Chicago outfielder Tony Phillips went into the stands to confront a heckling fan during the White Sox’s 20-8 victory at Milwaukee. Phillips, who already had changed into street clothes after being taken out of the game in the sixth inning, went after a 23-year-old fan in the left-field bleachers.

2005 — Morgan Ensberg hit three home runs and finished 4-for-4 with five RBIs in Houston’s 9-0 victory over San Francisco.

2005 — New York’s Tino Martinez hit two homers and drove in three runs in the Yankees’ 6-4 win over Oakland. The two homers gave Martinez eight homers in his last eight games.

2018 — Two days after being sidelined by a broken bone in his hand, 2B Robinson Cano of the Mariners is suspended for 80 days for testing positive for a banned substance in violation of Major League Baseball’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.

2019 — Pitcher Edwin Jackson makes history by playing for his 14th team when he starts today’s game for the Blue Jays against the Giants.

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 me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

From Maddie Lee: Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman thought it was the truth when he said it.

After the Dodgers won the World Series last year, riding extreme highs and lows in an all-time nail-biter of a seven-game set, he remembers telling his wife, Robin, that a second consecutive championship, after a roller coaster of a season, should at least alleviate some of his stress during games the following April and May.

“I should have already gotten it before, but now I really get it,” he told The Times on Tuesday, recounting his declaration from last fall. “So now I’m going to be able to have some perspective.”

Robin didn’t believe him.

“She was right,” Friedman said before the Dodgers’ 6-2 loss to the Giants on Tuesday.

A penchant for worrying often serves those in Friedman’s position well. Anticipating worst-case scenarios is the first step to protecting against them. The quality, however, doesn’t make for a pleasant viewing experience, especially during lulls in the season like the one the Dodgers are currently battling through.

The loss Tuesday extended their skid to four games, keeping the Dodgers (24-18) pinned behind the Padres (24-17) in the division standings.

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Dodgers-Giants box score

MLB scores

MLB standings

MORE BASEBALL:

Shaikin: Mark Walter says the Dodgers can’t win all the time. Even Magic Johnson agrees

Dodgers tout outfielder Alek Thomas’ upside after acquiring him from the Diamondbacks

Angels extend their futility on the road against Guardians | Angels-Guardians box score

Ducks fall to Golden Knights in OT, move closer to elimination

The Golden Knights’ Pavel Dorofeyev celebrates after scoring past the Ducks’ Lukas Dostal during overtime of Game 5 Tuesday.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

From Kevin Baxter: The Ducks are a loss away from summer after Pavel Dorofeyev scored 4:10 into overtime, giving the Vegas Golden Knights a 3-2 victory in Game 5 of the teams’ second-round playoff series Tuesday. Dorofeyev, who also scored on a power play in the first period, batted a Jack Eichel pass just inside the left post to end the longest game of the series.

With the win, Vegas leads the best-of-seven series three games to two heading into Game 6 on Thursday in Anaheim, where the Ducks’ season could end.

“We’ve come back a lot all year. Obviously it’s different in a series perspective but a lot of guys are just excited to play already. We just want, we want to, want to get back out there already,” winger Mason McTavish said. “I’m kind of excited to see what everybody’s going to bring. We’ve got a lot of confidence.”

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Ducks-Golden Knights box score

Lakers invest in offseason upgrades beyond players

Lakers coach JJ Redick, right, and general manager Rob Pelinka answer questions from the media.

(Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)

From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: The Lakers’ roster isn’t the only thing getting restructured this offseason.

In the first offseason under Mark Walter’s ownership, the Lakers will undergo several changes in their front office and with the organization’s infrastructure while trying to keep pace in the ever-evolving NBA.

The Lakers plan to hire two assistant general managers, Rob Pelinka, the team’s president of basketball operations and general manager, said in a season-ending news conference Tuesday after the Lakers were swept out of the Western Conference semifinals by the Oklahoma City Thunder.

One position will focus on pro scouting, draft scouting and player development while the other will specialize in analytics, data and the salary cap. The organization has already begun interviews, Pelinka said.

“It’s not that we’ve had holes in those places,” Pelinka said. “We got a great team of people that works incredibly hard. It’s just we want to add more to that.”

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Swanson: Lakers should learn their lesson, avoid Giannis Antetokounmpo

Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo walks off the court after a game against the Nets on April 10.

(Jeffrey Phelps / Associated Press)

From Mirjam Swanson: I get it, you’re still thinking about the Lakers getting swept by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second round of the playoffs.

It was a valiant fight to the end, Monday’s season-ending 115-110 loss. A thriller for naught.

But now we’ve finally reached the big, beautiful offseason the Lakers have been teasing for months. This pivotal moment that’s had them hoarding assets and fencing off their financial flexibility. All but paralyzed by possibility.

Even after jogging in place all this time, they’ve finally caught up with the can they kicked down the road: All indications are that the Milwaukee Bucks’ superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo is about to hit the trade market.

And the Lakers — loaded with trade ammunition and cap space and forever wishing on star players — are going to be expected to make a play.

But they should run a different play.

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MORE NBA:

Lakers want LeBron James and Austin Reaves to return next season

Resiliency and re-signings: What’s next for the Lakers after getting swept by OKC?

Brandon Clarke, Memphis Grizzlies forward and former first-round pick, dies at age 29

UCLA rewards coach Cori Close with contract extension

UCLA coach Cori Close lifts the WBCA national championship trophy while surrounded by her players.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

From Marisa Ingemi: UCLA women’s basketball coach Cori Close isn’t going anywhere.

UCLA announced on Tuesday that Close signed a contract extension through the 2029-30 season after she led the Bruins to their first NCAA national championship.

“I am so grateful to Chancellor [Julio] Frenk and [athletic director] Martin Jarmond for the opportunity to continue teaching and mentoring the young women who choose UCLA,” Close said in a news release. “I love being here in Westwood, and I am so excited for what the future holds. I hope we can continue to make our Bruin faithful proud.”

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Ducks playoffs schedule

Second round
All times Pacific
Game 1: at Vegas 3, Ducks 1 (summary)
Game 2: Ducks 3, at Vegas 1 (summary)
Game 3: Vegas 6, at Ducks 2 (summary)
Game 4: at Ducks 4, Vegas 3 (summary)
Game 5: at Vegas 3, Ducks 2 OT (summary)
Game 6: Thursday at Ducks, 6:30 p.m., TNT, truTV, HBO MAX
Game 7*: at Vegas, TBA, ABC or ESPN
*-if necessary

This day in sports history

1891 — Isaac Murphy wins his second straight Kentucky Derby aboard Kingman. In the stretch, Kingman comes from last in the four-horse field to beat Balgownan by one-half length.

1905 — World heavyweight boxing champion James J. Jeffries retires undefeated after 7 title defences; returns in 1910 to be beaten by Jack Johnson.

1950 — First ever race of the Formula 1 World Drivers Championship is run at Silverstone, England and won by Giuseppe Farina of italy in an Alfa Romeo.

1952 — In an Appalachian League game, Ron Necciai of the Bristol Twins strikes out 27 batters while pitching a 7-0 no-hitter against the Welch Miners.

1958 — Stan Musial gets his 3,000th hit with a pinch-double off Chicago’s Moe Drabowsky at Wrigley Field. The Cardinals win 5-3.

1962 — LPGA Western Open Women’s Golf, Montgomery CC: Mickey Wright wins on the 4th hole of a sudden-death playoff with Mary Lena Faulk.

1976 — The New York Nets overcome a 22-point third-quarter deficit to beat the Denver Nuggets 112-106 and win the last ABA championship in six games.

1989 — Trinidad & Tobago ties US 1-1, in 3rd round of 1990 world soccer cup.

1992 — The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the New York Rangers 5-1 to eliminate the Patrick Division champions in six games and advance to the Prince of Wales Conference finals. It is the first time all four division winners are eliminated in the same round. The Norris Division champion Detroit Red Wings were swept by the Chicago Blackhawks in four straight games, and the Montreal Canadiens, who had won the Adams Division, lost in four games to the Boston Bruins. The Vancouver Canucks, the Smythe Division champions lost to the Edmonton Oilers in six games.

1993 — KC Royal George Brett hits his 300th HR.

1995 — Team New Zealand’s Black Magic 1 completes a 5-0 sweep in the America’s Cup, beating Dennis Conner’s borrowed boat Young America by 1 minute, 50 seconds.

1998 — Chelsea of England win 38th European Cup Winner’s Cup against Stuttgart of Germany 1-0 in Stockholm.

2005 — Tiger Woods misses the cut at the Byron Nelson Championship to end his record of 142 consecutive cuts made over the last seven years on the PGA Tour. Needing a par on the 18th hole at Cottonwood Valley, Woods misses a 15-foot putt. He taps in for a bogey and a 2-over 72, leaving him at 1 over for the tournament.

2006 — English FA Cup Final, Millennium Stadium, Cardiff (71,140): Liverpool beats West Ham United, 3-1 on penalties after 3–3 (a.e.t.); Reds 7th title.

2007 — Canada wins hockey’s world championship with a 4-2 victory over Finland. Rick Nash leads the way with two goals as Canada captures its’ 24th world title and first since 2004.

2007 — Rafael Nadal becomes the first player to win the Rome Masters three consecutive times by beating Fernando Gonzalez of Chile 6-2, 6-2. The victory extends his winning streak on clay to 77 matches. By reaching the final, the Spaniard broke John McEnroe’s record for most consecutive victories (75) on one surface.

2007 — At 16 years, 65 days Matthew Briggs debuts for Fulham in a 3-1 defeat at Middlesbrough; youngest player to appear in an English Premier League match.

2007 — PGA Players Championship, TPC at Sawgrass: American Phil Mickelson wins by 2 strokes ahead of runner-up Sergio García of Spain; event played in May for the first time.

2012 — Manchester City wins the English title for the first time in 44 years, surging past Queens Park Rangers 3-2 with Sergio Aguero scoring his team’s second goal late in injury time. Aguero scores during the fourth minute of injury time, two minutes after substitute Edin Dzeko made it 2-2. The winning goal snatches the trophy from defending champion Manchester United on goal difference.

2012 — PGA Players Championship, TPC at Sawgrass: Matt Kuchar wins by 2 strokes ahead of Ricky Fowler, Zach Johnson, Martin Laird and Ben Curtis.

2014 — Henrik Lundqvist sets an NHL record with his fifth straight Game 7 victory. He made 35 saves to lift the New York Rangers to a 2-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins and earn a spot in the Eastern Conference finals. Brian Boyle and Brad Richards score for New York, who rally from a 3-1 series deficit for the first time in the franchise’s 88-year history.

2015 — Derek Stepan scores 11:24 in overtime, lifting the New York Rangers past the Washington Capitals 2-1 and into the Eastern Conference finals. Stepan’s wrist shot from the left wing caps a comeback from a 3-1 deficit in the series. The Rangers become the only team to manage that in successive years, doing the same thing to Pittsburgh in the second round in 2014.

2018 — Liverpool’s Egyptian soccer forward Mohamed Salah scores in a 4-0 win against Brighton to set the EPL goal scoring record (32) for a 38-game season.

2018 — PGA Players Championship, TPC at Sawgrass: American Webb Simpson wins by 4 strokes from Xander Schauffele, Charl Schwartzel and Jimmy Walker.

2019 — The Tradition Senior Men’s Golf, Greystone G &CC: Steve Stricker wins his first career major title by 6 strokes ahead of Billy Andrade, Paul Goydos & David Toms.

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 me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

The former Ross County and Sunderland striker earned the latest of his two Scotland caps in 2022, but free from injury problems he has now scored 11 goals in 33 appearances for the side who finished fourth in the Championship, five in his latest 10.

Fellow 29-year-old McBurnie did not add to his 18 goals in 41 appearances but also played his part for sixth-top Hull as he started both legs of their 2-0 aggregate win over third-placed Millwall.

The former Sheffield United and Las Palmas striker recently telephoned Clarke to make a direct plea for a first recall since earning his 16th cap in 2021.

All 48 national associations were asked to submit a provisional squad of up to 55 players to world governing body Fifa before finalising their 26-man squad for the finals.

They are not required to make those public, so it is not known whether either Stewart or McBurnie made Scotland’s extended list.

It is likely to include current members of the under-21 squad and uncapped players like Stephen Welsh, the 26-year-old centre-half who has impressed on loan to Motherwell from Celtic.

However, Clarke said last month that he was “more or less set in my mind” about the 26 players he intends to take to the finals, although he revealed that two spots might still be up for grabs.

Clarke is known for his loyalty to players he believes have served him well, but Conway’s injury could open up another space.

Scotland host Curacao, who have just reappointed former Rangers boss Dick Advocaat as head coach, in a 30 May friendly at Hampden before their final warm-up game against Bolivia on 6 June in Harrison, New Jersey.

Jason Collins, the NBA’s first openly gay player who went on to become a pioneer for inclusion and an ambassador for the league, has died after an eight-month battle with an aggressive form of a brain tumor, his family announced Tuesday.

Collins, who starred at Stanford and Harvard-Westlake High, where he helped the Wolverins win to back-to-back Division III state titles along with twin brother Jarron, spent 13 years as a player in the league for six different franchises. He revealed in 2013 that he was gay, an announcement that came toward the end of his playing career.

Collins had been diagnosed with Stage 4 glioblastoma, which has an extremely low survival rate. He was 47.

“Jason changed lives in unexpected ways and was an inspiration to all who knew him and to those who admired him from afar,” Collins’ family said in a statement released through the NBA. “We are grateful for the outpouring of love and prayers over the past eight months and for the exceptional medical care Jason received from his doctors and nurses. Our family will miss him dearly.”

Just last week, Collins received the inaugural Bill Walton Global Champion Award at the Green Sports Alliance Summit. He was too ill to attend so Jarron Collins accepted for him.

“I told my brother this before I came here: He’s the bravest, strongest man I’ve ever known,” Jarron Collins said while accepting that award.

Jason Collins averaged 3.6 points and 3.7 rebounds in his career. He helped the New Jersey Nets reach two NBA Finals and in his best season averaged 6.4 points and 6.1 rebounds for them in 2004-05.

“Jason Collins’ impact and influence extended far beyond basketball as he helped make the NBA, WNBA and larger sports community more inclusive and welcoming for future generations,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said. “He exemplified outstanding leadership and professionalism throughout his 13-year NBA career and in his dedicated work as an NBA Cares Ambassador. Jason will be remembered not only for breaking barriers, but also for the kindness and humanity that defined his life and touched so many others.

“On behalf of the NBA, I send my heartfelt condolences to Jason’s husband, Brunson, and his family, friends and colleagues across our leagues.”

Jason Collins revealed his sexuality in a first-person account for Sports Illustrated in April 2013. He was a free agent at the time, said he wanted to keep playing, and went on to play in 22 games with Brooklyn the following season.

“If I had my way, someone else would have already done this,” he wrote at that time. “Nobody has, which is why I’m raising my hand.”

His decision was widely lauded, with star players such as Kobe Bryant quickly speaking out in support of Collins. There was even support from the White House and then-former President Bill Clinton — whose daughter, Chelsea, went to Stanford with Collins. At Stanford, Collins was roommates with someone who was part of another American political dynasty, that being Joe Kennedy III, who spent eight years in Congress representing Massachusetts.

Collins, in the piece for Sports Illustrated, wrote that he realized he needed to go public about his sexuality when Kennedy walked in Boston’s gay pride parade in 2012 — but Collins couldn’t do the same.

Until then, Collins kept his feelings about gay rights close to the vest. He wore jersey No. 98 for the majority of his final three playing stints with Boston, Washington and Brooklyn — a nod to the year that Matthew Shepard, a gay college student in Wyoming, was killed. He also wore 46 in one game for the Nets, since it was the only jersey the team had available when he signed.

Collins made nearly 61% of his shots in his career at Stanford, which remains a school record. He was an honorable mention selection for the Associated Press’ All-America team in 2001, a few months before the Houston Rockets took him with the 18th pick in that year’s NBA draft.

“It’s a sad day for all of us associated with Stanford basketball when we lose one of the program’s greats,” former Stanford coach Mike Montgomery said. “We all have great memories of Jason and the kind of person he was. It’s hard to separate Jarron and Jason because they thought so alike, but even though he was an identical twin, Jason was unique in his own way. The impact he had on Stanford was immense, as he could match up against anyone in the country because he was big, smart, strong and skilled, all while being a very bright and nice person.”

BEIJING — President Trump’s first visit to China in nine years is a high-stakes trip reflecting the rivalry and mutual dependence of two superpowers hoping to avoid a collision course — even if Trump cast it more as a meeting between close friends and business partners.

Speaking to reporters before departing Washington on Tuesday, Trump downplayed tensions between the two countries, including on trade, calling Chinese President Xi Jinping a “wonderful guy” and a friend and saying the working relationship between the two countries is “very good.”

Trump acknowledged China’s might — saying that the Asian nation and the United States are clearly the world’s two superpowers — and that the focus of the meeting “more than anything else will be trade.”

“We’re gonna have a great relationship for many, many decades to come,” Trump said. “My relationship with President Xi is a fantastic one. We’ve always gotten along, and we’re doing very well with China, and working with China’s been very good — so we look forward to it.”

Trump also downplayed the importance of the meeting for the war in Iran. He said Xi might be able to help the United States reach a deal to end the war, but that he doesn’t need it, “because we have Iran very much under control.”

The state visit marks the first by an American president to China since Trump’s trip here in 2017, only months into his first term. President Biden never came, becoming the first to not do so since diplomatic ties were normalized, an absence that underscored simmering distrust and animosity between Washington and Beijing that has only worsened since.

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In the capital, security forces sealed off an area around the Temple of Heaven roughly the size of 400 football fields ahead of the U.S. president’s visit, anticipating a stop at the monument to imperial China and Confucian thought.

On his previous trip, Trump received the rare honor of a state banquet inside the Forbidden City. This time he is expected to dine at the Great Hall of the People, an imposing structure off Tiananmen Square that hosts high-level gatherings of the Chinese Communist Party.

Trump’s positive spin on Tuesday aside, his agenda for meetings beginning Thursday with Xi highlights the vast array of American interests that depend on — and often clash with — Beijing’s policies.

After launching a trade war against China at the beginning of his second term, Trump now comes hat in hand requesting an extension of a tariff truce, fearful Xi might follow through on his threats to halt the export of rare earth minerals to the United States that are vital to the manufacturing of American goods, including everyday consumer equipment and advanced defense technologies.

His visit comes as a ceasefire in the war with Iran, brokered with help from Beijing, is on “massive life support,” according to the president. Trump is expected to appeal to Xi for assistance in getting Tehran to restore free and open passage through the Strait of Hormuz.

And in a dramatic reversal, the Trump administration has begun discussions with the Chinese about establishing a channel of communication on artificial intelligence, alarmed that recent technological leaps could pose global risks.

All of these requests are expected to come at a cost.

President Trump departs the White House on May 12, 2026, for his second state visit to China.

(Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images)

In earlier remarks before the trip, Trump said he expected U.S. arms sale to Taiwan — including one already approved by Congress — to become a chip in the negotiations.

“I’m going to have that discussion with President Xi,” Trump said. “President Xi would like us not to, and I’ll have that discussion. That’s one of the many things I’ll be talking about.”

The notion that U.S. support for Taiwan is a negotiable matter is sure to rattle America’s allies throughout the region, from Japan to the Philippines, which are reliant on U.S. security guarantees amid China’s Indo-Pacific military aggression.

Despite geopolitical tensions, both sides are expected to announce business and investment agreements, underscoring how deeply intertwined the world’s two largest economies remain.

China plans on making a significant purchase of Boeing aircraft, and the president has brought 17 American corporate leaders with him on the trip to discuss additional opportunities, including Apple’s Tim Cook, BlackRock’s Larry Fink, Meta’s Dina Powell McCormick and Tesla’s Elon Musk.

The two leaders are expected to have other opportunities to talk in person throughout the coming year, including potential meetings at the Group of 20 summit in Florida, the APEC summit in Shenzhen, China, and a state visit in Washington that Trump said he will host for Xi at some point in the coming months.

Trump on Tuesday said Xi’s visit will be “toward the end of the year” and “exciting.” He also lamented that the ballroom he is building on the White House grounds — on the site of the historic East Wing he demolished — won’t be ready in time.

Jennifer Hong, senior director at the Institute for Indo-Pacific Security, said her concern is that the state visit becomes part of a “tyranny of calendaring,” where the Chinese agree to schedule more high-level meetings sought by Trump that put off vital U.S. decision-making.

“I do think this trip is necessary for the U.S. government — I think that there are things that are on hold because he doesn’t want to rock the boat,” Hong said, noting the Trump administration’s delay in arms sales to Taiwan, despite the packages already having received congressional approval.

“I’m just worried this will be a stringing along of promises, or maybe some reprieve for a year or so,” she added, “as we continue to handicap ourselves on national security matters for the sake of more meetings.”

Trump on Tuesday repeatedly dismissed China’s potential help in resolving the war in Iran, which has driven up prices domestically and around the world as oil shipments through the strategic Strait of Hormuz have been badly disrupted and U.S. efforts to fully reopen the channel have so far been unsuccessful.

“I don’t think we need any help with Iran, to be honest with you,” Trump said. “They’re defeated militarily.”

Trump also said the financial pain many Americans are feeling from the war, including at the gas pump, simply isn’t a factor — “not even a little bit,” he said — in his ongoing negotiations with Iran.

“The only thing that matters when I’m talking about Iran [is that] they can’t have a nuclear weapon,” he said. “I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation. I don’t think about anybody.”

Comedian Conan O’Brien will return to host the 99th Academy Awards set for March 14.

O’Brien, known for his self-deprecating humor, emceed the Oscars this year and in 2025.

“Conan has created remarkable energy around the Oscars,” President of Disney Television Group Craig Erwich said in a statement Tuesday announcing O’Brien’s return. “His singular comedic voice makes Hollywood’s biggest night one of the most entertaining celebrations of the year. We’re proud to welcome him back and look forward to what he and the producing team deliver next.”

Raj Kapoor and Katy Mullan are set to return as the show’s executive producers for the fourth consecutive year.

Major changes are in store for the entertainment industry’s biggest night.

Starting in 2029, the Oscars will move from Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre, its home for nearly a quarter century, to the L.A. Live in downtown Los Angeles. The ceremony will also stream on YouTube, ending a five-decade run on ABC, beginning that year.

Oscars viewership has been in flux as younger audiences prefer to view clips of the ceremony on social media, rather than on television.

ABC’s telecast of the 2026 ceremony averaged 17.9 million viewers, down 9% from the previous year, when it garnered 19.7 million viewers. Ratings for the Oscars reached an all-time low of 10.5 million viewers in 2021.

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Chief Executive Bill Kramer and President Lynette Howell Taylor announced the news at its upfront presentation Tuesday.

From Broderick Turner: All Lakers coach JJ Redick asked of his group was to “win the day.”

That day had to be Monday night, the only day that mattered for a Lakers team on the brink of elimination.

The Lakers came close, but they did not win the day, losing Game 4 115-110 to the defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena.

The Lakers’ season is over, having been swept 4-0 in the Western Conference semifinal series.

Austin Reaves led the Lakers with 27 points, Rui Hachimura had 25 points and LeBron James had 24 points and 12 rebounds.

When the game was over, James hugged several of the Thunder players.

James is in the final year of a contract that paid him $52 million this season, and at 41 and in his 23rd season, the conversations now turn to his future.

Will James retire? Will James return to the Lakers? Will James play for another team?

Those are the big questions going forward.

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Lakers-Thunder summary

NBA scores

Lakers should not re-sign LeBron James

Lakers star LeBron James is set to become a free agent this summer in the wake of playing his record-setting 23rd NBA season.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

From Bill Plaschke: Last call, LeBron.

You don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here.

It’s time for the Lakers to turn out the lights on the greatest player in NBA history and begin forging a new future without his stultifying aura and suffocating presence.

If this is no longer LeBron James’ team, then it can no longer be his franchise.

If the Lakers really want to build around Luka Doncic, they can’t do it at a job site still dominated by the NBA’s most venerable cornerstone.

When James becomes a free agent this summer after his $52.6-million deal expires, the Lakers should not offer him a similar contract, a greatly reduced contract, or any kind of contract.

If he wants to retire, show him the love. If he wants to keep playing, show him the door.

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Dodgers’ offensive funk continues in loss to Giants

Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts reacts after striking out in the third inning of a 9-3 loss to the San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium on Monday night.

(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)

From Maddie Lee: The Dodgers were building momentum one no-out single at a time, an offensive cascade threatening to break through — until it didn’t.

Until a bases-loaded opportunity resulted in just a pair of runs. And the Dodgers’ struggling offense fell quiet again.

Their 9-3 loss to the Giants on Monday was more of the same for an offense that hasn’t scored more than three runs in a game this homestand, four games in.

“We’re not taking this lightly right now,” said Max Muncy, who went two for four with a home run. “But we also understand it is 162 [games] and you know, we’ve gone through stretches like this in the past, and we’ve also gone through good stretches. So we’re having a lot of conversations, but it’s also trying not to overreact to something still early in May.”

Shortstop Mookie Betts returned from injury, but he didn’t magically fix the Dodgers’ problems.

They hadn’t expected him to, either.

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Dodgers-Giants box score

MLB scores

MLB standings

Rose Bowl embarking on $30 million makeover

The Rose Bowl in Pasadena is constructing a new field-level club seating area in the south end of the stadium that will include more than 1,000 VIP seats.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

From Sam Farmer: For years, the Rose Bowl has walked the precarious line between tradition and technology, striving to keep up with modern-day venues while maintaining the nostalgic touches that make it a national landmark.

Get ready for one of the most dramatic changes in its 103-year history.

The stadium is undergoing a major overhaul of its south end — the one facing the San Gabriel mountains — that will transform 5,000 underutilized bench seats into a field-level club featuring slightly more than 1,000 VIP seats. The transformation is expected to be finished in time for UCLA football‘s home opener against San Diego State on Sept. 12.

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René Cárdenas, broadcasting pioneer, dies

René Cárdenas waves to the crowd as he is inducted into the Houston Astros Hall of Fame on Aug. 17, 2024.

(Kevin M. Cox / Associated Press)

From Ed Guzman: René Cárdenas, the first radio announcer to broadcast major league baseball games in Spanish to a domestic audience while with the Dodgers and who helped start Spanish-language broadcasts for two other teams, died Sunday in Houston. He was 96.

The Dodgers announced his death Sunday night, noting his 21 years — over two stints — with the team starting in 1958. The broadcasting pioneer also served as the Houston Astros’ first Spanish-language announcer starting in 1962.

Cárdenas called games for 38 seasons with the Dodgers, Astros and Texas Rangers and paved the way for Jaime Jarrín, who joined the broadcast team in 1959 and served as the Dodgers’ broadcaster for 64 seasons.

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Angels can’t rally against Guardians

Angels pitcher Brent Suter delivers during a 7-2 loss to the Cleveland Guardians on Monday.

(Nick Cammett / Getty Images)

From the Associated Press: Joey Cantillo pitched six scoreless innings, rookie Travis Bazzana capped a five-run third inning with a two-run double and the Cleveland Guardians defeated the Angels 7-2 on Monday night.

Cantillo (3-1) allowed five hits, walked one and struck out four.

Brayan Rocchio put the Guardians ahead 2-0 when he greeted reliever Jose Fermin with a single in the second inning after opener Brent Suter was lifted.

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Angels-Guardians box score

History could be made at Preakness Stakes

From Jay Posner: If another female trainer makes history Saturday in the Preakness, no one can say they weren’t warned.

Unlike Golden Tempo, who pulled off a 23-1 shocker to make Cherie DeVaux the first woman to train a Kentucky Derby winner, Taj Mahal will start at a much lower price for Brittany Russell.

The undefeated and untested son of Nyquist was made the co-second choice on the morning line when post positions were drawn Monday afternoon at Laurel Park, the temporary home of the Preakness while Pimlico — about 30 miles north — is being rebuilt. Laurel Park, located halfway between Baltimore and Washington, D.C., has never hosted the Preakness, which will start just after 4 p.m. PDT on NBC.

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Chargers add tight end David Njoku

Tight end David Njoku warms up before a game between the Cleveland Browns and Tennessee Titans on Dec. 7.

(Sue Ogrocki / Associated Press)

The Chargers added a notable veteran to their tight end ranks Monday, agreeing to terms with former Cleveland Browns standout David Njoku.

The deal is for one year and worth up to $8 million, according to NFL Media.

Njoku, 29, played nine seasons in Cleveland after being drafted by the team in 2017. His best season came in 2023 when he posted career highs for catches (81), yards (882) and touchdowns (six) en route to a Pro Bowl selection. He ranks second in Browns history for most receptions (384) and touchdown catches (34) by a tight end.

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Lakers playoff series

Second round
All times Pacific
Game 1: at Oklahoma City 108, Lakers 90 (box score)
Game 2: at Oklahoma City 125, Lakers 107 (box score)
Game 3: Oklahoma City 131, at Lakers 108 (box score)
Game 4: Oklahoma City 115, at Lakers 105 (box score)

Ducks playoffs schedule

Second round
All times Pacific
Game 1: at Vegas 3, Ducks 1 (summary)
Game 2: Ducks 3, at Vegas 1 (summary)
Game 3: Vegas 6, at Ducks 2 (summary)
Game 4: at Ducks 4, Vegas 3 (summary)
Game 5: Tuesday at Vegas, 6:30 p.m., ESPN
Game 6: Thursday at Ducks, 6:30 p.m., TNT, truTV, HBO MAX
Game 7*: at Vegas, TBA, ABC or ESPN
*-if necessary

This day in sports history

1909 — The Preakness Stakes is held in Maryland after 16 runnings in New York. As part of the celebration marking the return of the Preakness, the colors of the race’s winner were painted onto the ornamental weather vane at Pimlico Racecourse for the first time.

1917 — Omar Khayyam, ridden by Charles Borel, becomes the first foreign-bred (England) colt to win the Kentucky Derby with a 2-length victory over Ticket.

1924 — Walter Hagen wins the PGA championship with a 2-up victory over Jim Barnes.

1970 — Ernie Banks hits his 500th career home run off Pat Jarvis in the Chicago Cubs’ 4-3 victory over Atlanta at Wrigley Field.

1973 — 6th ABA championship: Indiana Pacers beat Ky Colonels, 4 games to 3.

1974 — The Boston Celtics beat the Milwaukee Bucks 102-87 to win the NBA championship in seven games.

1976 — 20th European Cup: Bayern Munich beats Saint-Etienne 1-0 at Glasgow.

1979 — Chris Evert’s 125-match winning streak on clay comes to an end.

1980 — West Ham United wins the FA Cup, beating Arsenal 1-0 at Wembley Stadium; midfield playmaker Trevor Brooking scores winner with a rare header.

1982 — FC Barcelona of Spain win 22nd European Cup Winner’s Cup against Standard Liège of Belgium 2-1 in Barcelona.

1993 — Parma of Italy win 33rd European Cup Winner’s Cup against Royal Antwerp of Belgium 3-1 in London.

1995 — Martin Brodeur ties NHL record getting his 3rd playoff shutout in 4.

1996 — LPGA Championship Women’s Golf, DuPont CC: England’s Laura Davies wins by 1 stroke ahead of runner-up Julie Piers.

1996 — A three-way dead heat is run at Yakima (Wash.) Meadows, the 20th such finish in thoroughbred racing history there. In the day’s third race, a trio of $8,000 claimers — Fly Like A Angel, Allihaveonztheradio and Terri After Five — hit the wire together after a one-mile race.

2001 — English FA Cup Final, Millennium Stadium, Cardiff (72,500): Liverpool beats Arsenal, 2-1 with Michael Owen scoring twice for the Reds.

2006 — Laure Manaudou of France breaks Janet Evans’ 18-year-old world record in the 400-meter freestyle, finishing in 4:03.03 at the French national swimming championships. Manaudou beats the time of 4:03.85 set by Evans in winning the 400-meter freestyle at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

2006 — Justin Gatlin breaks the 100-meter world record with a time of 9.76 seconds at the Qatar Grand Prix. A week later, the International Association of Athletics Federations announces a timing error gave Gatlin a time of 9.76 seconds. His time of 9.766 seconds, should have been manually rounded up to 9.77, tying Asafa Powell’s world mark of 9.77.

2010 — Montreal follows up a monumental upset by pulling off another. The Canadiens, who eliminated the Washington Capitals, beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-2 in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. Montreal accomplishes what no team had done since the current playoffs format was adopted in 1994. And that is beat the Presidents’ Trophy winner and defending Stanley Cup champion in successive rounds as an eighth-seeded team.

2010 — Kelly Kulick, the first woman to win a PBA Tour title when she beat the men in January in the Tournament of Champions, wins the U.S. Women’s Open for her second women’s major victory in 15 days. Kulick beats Liz Johnson of 233-203 in the final.

2013 — Serena Williams beats Maria Sharapova 6-1, 6-4 in the final of the Madrid Open to retain her No. 1 ranking and collect her 50th career title.

2013 — PGA Players Championship, TPC at Sawgrass: Tiger Woods wins his second PC, 2 strokes ahead of David Lingmerth, Jeff Maggert and Kevin Streelman.

2014 — LeBron James ties his playoff career high with 49 points, Chris Bosh makes the tiebreaking 3-pointer with 57 seconds left, and the Miami Heat beat the Brooklyn Nets 102-96 for a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

2019 — Manchester City beats Brighton, 4-1 to claim back-to-back English Premier League titles with 98 points, 1 ahead of runners-up, Liverpool.

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 me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

From Maddie Lee: Dodgers left-hander Justin Wrobleski had a chance to slam the door shut on the Braves’ second-inning rally. He fielded Sean Murphy’s comebacker, and set his feet to start a would-be inning-ending double play at second base.

Angled up the mound, however, he sailed the throw, which second baseman Alex Freeland wrangled to at least salvage an out.

The way the Dodgers’ offense has been scuffling, however, their 7-2 loss hinged on that four-run second inning.

“It’s just,one half-inning of being pissed off about it, and then you’ve got to keep going back out there and doing your thing,” said Wrobleski, who was charged with seven runs but gutted out a career-high 8⅔ innings. “So yeah, it’s frustrating. It’s annoying because now I look back at it and, yeah, that’s what cost me from having a good outing.”

With the Dodgers’ rubber-match loss, the Braves took sole possession of the best record in the majors. The Dodgers (24-16) dropped the series to the Braves (28-13) after scoring three or fewer runs in each game.

“I thought we turned the corner in Houston,” manager Dave Roberts said. “We kind of got back down a little bit this series. … It’s hard to articulate. There’s some empty at-bats, there’s some early outs that are not just quality outs. There’s the passing the baton to the next guy — and sometimes it just doesn’t happen.”

After Wrobleski cruised through the first inning in just six pitches — first-pitch flyout, four-pitch strikeout, first-pitch groundout — he had an uncharacteristically long second inning.

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Dodgers-Braves box score

MLB scores

MLB standings

LeBron James has been missing for Lakers

Lakers star LeBron James slaps hands with coach JJ Redick on his way to the bench in a blowout loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals at Crypto.com Arena on Saturday night.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

From Bill Plaschke: They possessed a halftime lead with one of the most accomplished playoff players in NBA history.

They lost by 23.

They possessed the best scorer in NBA history at the controls of a sizzling offense in a loud arena against a team that had every reason to pack it in.

They lost by 23.

To those who witnessed the first three games of these Western Conference semifinals between the Luka Doncic-less Lakers and the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder, it is no surprise that the Thunder lead three games to none.

What is shocking is that, with a 131-108 win Saturday night at Crypto.com Arena, the Thunder steamrolled to victory over the prone body of an NBA legend.

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Lakers still see a path toward winning

Lakers forward Rui Hachimura tries to shoot a layup in front of Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jaylin Williams in Game 3 on Saturday.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

From Broderick Turner: In their darkest playoff hour, Lakers coach JJ Redick advised his players during practice Sunday to take the same mental approach for the win-or-go-home Game 4 that they’ve used since the first day of training camp.

The Lakers trail the Oklahoma City Thunder 3-0 in the best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series. The Lakers must beat the Thunder at Crypto.com Arena on Monday night or their season is over.

“Our first slide that we put up in training camp was [to] win the day,” Redick said. “Today was a quick offensive review and then just going over some stuff defensively. Got to win today and we got to win tomorrow. We know what we’re facing being down 3-0. So it’s just more of a mindset check than anything else.”

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Ducks defeat Golden Knights in Game 4

Ducks forward Alex Killorn, second left, celebrates with teammates after scoring against the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals Sunday at Honda Center.

(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

From Kevin Baxter: The Ducks’ second-round playoff showdown with the Vegas Golden Knights has become a best-of-three series.

With a 4-3 victory Sunday before a raucous sold-out crowd at the Honda Center, the Ducks evened the series 2-2 as it heads back to Las Vegas for Game 5 on Tuesday. But it wasn’t easy, with the Golden Knights twice rallying from one-goal deficits, only to see the Ducks answer each time.

And the Ducks’ power play, so lethal in the team’s first-round win over Edmonton and so ineffective in the first three games of this series, finally found a spark, scoring goals in each of the first two periods.

The Ducks’ goals came from Beckett Sennecke, Mikael Granlund, Alex Killorn and Ian Moore. Pavel Dorofeyev, Brett Howden and Tomas Hertl scored for Vegas.

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Ducks-Vegas summary

NHL scores

Sparks don’t hold back after season-opening loss

Sparks guard Kelsey Plum, left, and forward Dearica Hamby, right, battle Las Vegas center A’ja Wilson for the ball during the Sparks’ 105-78 loss at Crypto.com Arena on Sunday.

(Luiza Moraes / Getty Images)

From Marisa Ingemi: Before the Sparks opening day loss to the Las Vegas Aces, coach Lynne Roberts said that this year “felt different.”

After one game, though, it feels a lot like the same.

During their season opener, the Sparks couldn’t get momentum against the defending champion Aces and fell 105-78 behind a remarkably efficient shooting day from the visitors at Crypto.com Arena.

After posting the worst defense in the WNBA last season (88.2 points per game), the Sparks made a flurry of offseason moves prioritizing stopping opponents. It’s why they brought in Nneka Ogwumike, Ariel Atkins and Erica Wheeler.

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Sparks-Aces box score

WNBA scores

WNBA Standings

More: Sparks sign fan favorite Kate Martin to developmental pool

Washington wins NBA draft lottery

The Washington Wizards won the draft lottery on Sunday and are poised to pick first overall for the first time since 2010.

(Nam Y. Huh / Associated Press)

From the Associated Press: The league’s worst team this season is getting the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft.

The Washington Wizards won the draft lottery on Sunday and are poised to pick first overall for the first time since choosing John Wall in that spot in 2010. Wall was the Wizards’ on-stage representative for the lottery.

Washington had a 14% chance of winning No. 1, tied with Brooklyn and Indiana for the best odds. The Wizards had basically a 50-50 chance of getting either a top-four pick or the No. 5 spot.

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Angels end their winless streak

Oswald Peraza celebrates after hitting a two-run home run for the Angels in the fifth inning of a 6-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday.

(Cole Burston / Getty Images)

From the Associated Press: Jo Adell hit a pair of solo homers, José Soriano struck out seven over 7⅔ innings to stop a three-start winless steak and the Angels avoided a three-game sweep by beating the Toronto Blue Jays 6-1 on Sunday.

Oswald Peraza added a two-run homer as the Angels ended an eight-game road losing streak dating to April 16, while also ending a nine-game slump in Toronto.

Soriano (6-2) gave up two hits and a walk in the first inning, including Kazuma Okamoto’s RBI double, but didn’t allow another runner until Myles Straw reached in the eighth with an infield hit, ending a streak of 20 consecutive outs.

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Angels-Blue Jays box score

LAFC can’t keep up with Houston

Houston’s Antonio Carlos, top, heads the ball over LAFC’s Eddie Segura, left, and Ryan Porteous during LAFC’s 4-1 loss Sunday at BMO Stadium.

(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)

From the Associated Press: Jack McGlynn scored a goal in each half and the Houston Dynamo thumped LAFC 4-1 on Sunday night at BMO Stadium.

McGlynn used an assist from Lawrence Ennali in the 25th minute to score on a shot from well outside the box, giving Houston a 1-0 lead. It was McGlynn’s first goal after scoring a career-high six times last season.

Guilherme Santos scored off a free kick in the 34th minute for a two-goal lead. The first-year midfielder has six goals in 11 matches.

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Lakers playoff schedule

Second round
All times Pacific
Game 1: at Oklahoma City 108, Lakers 90 (box score)
Game 2: at Oklahoma City 125, Lakers 107 (box score)
Game 3: Oklahoma City 131, at Lakers 108 (box score)
Game 4: Monday at Lakers, 7:30 p.m., Amazon Prime
Game 5*: Wednesday at Oklahoma City, ESPN
Game 6*: Saturday at Lakers, TBD
Game 7*: Monday at Oklahoma City, TBD
*- if necessary

Ducks playoffs schedule

Second round
All times Pacific
Game 1: at Vegas 3, Ducks 1 (summary)
Game 2: Ducks 3, at Vegas 1 (summary)
Game 3: Vegas 6, at Ducks 2 (summary)
Game 4: at Ducks 4, Vegas 3 (summary)
Game 5: Tuesday at Vegas, 6:30 p.m., ESPN
Game 6: Thursday at Ducks, 6:30 p.m., TNT, truTV, HBO MAX
Game 7*: at Vegas, TBA, ABC or ESPN
*-if necessary

This day in sports history

1892 — Azra, ridden by Alonzo Cayton, wins the first three-horse field in the Kentucky Derby, nipping Huron by a nose.

1900 — James J. Jeffries KOs James J Corbett in 23 for heavyweight boxing title.

1918 — Exterminator, a 30-1 long shot ridden by Willie Knapp, loses the lead but regains it to win the Kentucky Derby by one length over Escoba.

1923 — Setting several Pacific Coast League records, Pete Schneider of Vernon hit five homers and a double to drive in 14 runs in a 35-11 romp over Salt Lake City.

1928 — British Open Men’s Golf, Royal St George’s GC: Walter Hagen wins 3rd of his 4 Open Championship titles, 2 strokes ahead of fellow American Gene Sarazen.

1959 — New York Yankees catcher Yogi Berra’s errorless streak of 148 games ends.

1963 — LA Dodgers pitcher Sandy Koufax throws his second career no-hitter.

1966 — European Cup Final, Heysel Stadium, Brussels: Fernando Serena scores the winner as Real Madrid beats Partizan Belgrade, 2-1; Madrid’s 6th title.

1968 — The Montreal Canadiens win the Stanley Cup, completing a four-game sweep over the St. Louis Blues with a 3-2 victory.

1972 — The Boston Bruins win the Stanley Cup in six games with a 3-0 victory over the New York Rangers.

1977 — Ted Turner manages an Atlanta Braves game.

1980 — Pete Rose, 39, steals second, third, & home in one inning for Phillies.

1983 — Aberdeen of Scotland win 23rd European Cup Winner’s Cup against Real Madrid of Spain 2-1 in Gothenburg.

1988 — KV Mechelen of Belgium win 28th European Cup Winner’s Cup against Ajax of Netherlands 1-0 in Strasbourg.

1992 — The Portland Trail Blazers win the highest-scoring playoff game in NBA history, 153-151 in double overtime against the Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference semifinals.

1994 — The Phoenix Suns, down 104-84 with 10 minutes left, come back to force overtime and beat Houston 124-117 for a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference semifinals. The Suns start the fourth quarter trailing by 18 and are down 20 with 10 minutes to go. Phoenix holds the Rockets to eight points in the quarter and Danny Ainge hits a three to tie the game at 1:08 and send the game into overtime.

2008 — PGA Players Championship, TPC at Sawgrass: Sergio García of Spain claims the biggest win of his career to date in a sudden-death playoff over American Paul Goydos.

2009 — Cleveland makes it an NBA-record eight straight wins by double digits with an 84-74 victory over Atlanta to advance to the Eastern Conference finals. The Cavaliers are the second team to sweep the first two rounds of the playoffs since the NBA expanded the first round to best-of-seven in 2003.

2013 — English FA Cup Final, Wembley Stadium, London (86,254): Wigan Athletic upsets Manchester City, 1-0; Ben Watson scores 90+1′ winner.

2016 — Max Scherzer strikes out 20 batters, matching the major league record for a nine-inning game as he pitches the Washington Nationals past the Detroit Tigers 3-2.

2014 — PGA Players Championship, TPC at Sawgrass: German Martin Kaymer leads after each round to win by 1 stroke ahead of Jim Furyk; first 8-figure purse in golf with winner’s share $1.8 million.

2018 — Top-ranked Rafael Nadal loses to Dominic Thiem 7-5, 6-3 in the Madrid Open quarterfinals, breaking the defending champion’s run of 21 straight wins on clay courts. Nadal hadn’t lost a single set on clay since falling to Thiem a year ago in the Italian Open quarterfinals. Nadal had come to this event fresh off winning his 11th titles at both Monte Carlo and Barcelona.

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 me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

SOUTHERN SECTION LACROSSE PLAYOFFS

SATURDAY’S RESULTS

SEMIFINALS

BOYS

DIVISION 1

Loyola 19, Mater Dei 5

Santa Margarita 14, St, Margaret’s 8

DIVISION 2

Mira Costa 10, Los Alamitos 4

St. Francis 17, Village Christian 4

DIVISION 3

Oaks Christian 11, El Dorado 6

Dana Hills 16, Riverside King 15

GIRLS

DIVISION 1

Santa Margarita 11, Marlborough 10

Mira Costa 17, Mater Dei 11

DIVISION 2

Huntington Beach 8, Corona del Mar 7

El Segundo 14, Eastvale Roosevelt 3

DIVISION 3

Westridge at Glendale, Tuesday at 5 p.m.

Great Oak at Northwood, Tuesday at 5 p.m.

Note: Boys finals in all divisions Friday, May 15 at Fred Kelly Stadium (times TBA); Girls finals in all divisions Saturday, May 16 (times TBA) at Fred Kelly Stadium.

From Broderick Turner: LeBron James sat with both feet in a bucket of ice and both knees wrapped in ice, his answers brief when the subject of the officiating came up after the Lakers lost Game 2 to the Oklahoma City Thunder, 125-107, Thursday night at Paycom Center.

James just looked straight ahead and kept his answers short even when he was told his coach, JJ Redick, voiced his displeasure with the officiating, especially when it was about the lack of calls for his 23-year veteran.

When asked about the officials, which became the main theme after the Lakers dropped a second consecutive game by 18 points in the best-of-seven semifinal series, James was diplomatic.

“We’re down 2-0,” he said.

Indeed, the Lakers are down 2-0 in the that resumes with Game 3 on Saturday night in Los Angeles.

Still, James was asked about Redick saying his superstar gets some of the worst calls and why that is the case — at least in the eyes of Redick.

“I don’t know,” James said.

Again, James was asked about his conversation with the officials and if he’s satisfied with their answers.

“Nah,” James said.

James shot only four free throws in the game, and he made all four, finishing with 23 points. Austin Reaves responded from a bad Game 1 by scoring a playoff career-high 31 points on 10-for-16 shooting, making three if six three-pointers.

Even with an impressive Lakers defense that constantly doubled teamed Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to keep him to 22 points and in foul trouble most of the game, L.A. spent a lot of time after the game complaining about the officials.

Continue reading here

Lakers-Thunder box score

Turn out the lights, Lakers are done

Lakers forward LeBron James stands on the court as some fans hold up photo cut-outs of Oklahoma City Thunder players Thursday.

(Nate Billings / Associated Press)

From Bill Plaschke: They have long since proven themselves as an endlessly efforting Laker team that never believes they’re beaten.

They’re beaten.

With the sort of resounding resilience that had earlier carried them to playoff wins without their two leading scorers, these Lakers have shown they desperately do not want this season to be over.

It’s over.

The Oklahoma City Thunder overcame another valiant Lakers charge Thursday night to win their second game in two tries in the Western Conference semifinals at Paycom Center.

The Lakers played hard, played tough, played the Thunder from baseline to baseline, played strong enough to fly home with pride.

And still lost by 18.

The 125-107 Thunder victory gives the defending champions a two-games-to-none lead in a series that is scheduled for as many as seven games.

It’s not lasting anywhere near that long.

Continue reading here

Lakers fans can blame this on the Clippers

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander drives to the basket past Lakers Deandre Ayton and LeBron James Thursday night.

(Nate Billings / Associated Press)

From Mirjam Swanson: Don’t blame the refs, blame the Clippers.

They created this monster. They sent it out into the world.

The Oklahoma City Thunder, top-seeded in the NBA playoffs for the third consecutive season, are running roughshod over opponents. Kicking everybody’s butts and driving everyone up the wall.

And, oh, Clippers what did you do?

This Oklahoma City juggernaut, built to last in an era that would otherwise be remembered for its parity?

It was spawned on July 6, 2019, when the Clippers traded Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari and a boatload of draft picks to the Thunder in exchange for Paul George, who they paired with free agent Kawhi Leonard, mortgaging their future on the failed bet that two Southern Californians would lead the franchise to its first NBA title.

Continue reading here

MORE LAKERS:

‘That’s what we need.’ Austin Reaves bounces back in Lakers’ Game 2 loss

A look at how Shohei Ohtani is working to snap his slump

Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani doubles during a win over the Astros in Houston on Wednesday.

(Ashley Landis / Associated Press)

From Maddie Lee: It was to almost the same spot as the much harder cutter Ohtani had just fouled off. But Ohtani, starting his swing on time for the fastball, recognized the sweeper early enough to stop this momentum, throw his hands to the ball, and hit a low line drive up the right-field line for a double.

That hit in the third inning of the Dodgers’ 12-2 blowout win Wednesday was his first in over a week. He’d gone 18 straight at-bats without a hit. Watching Ohtani grind through the slump, manager Dave Roberts even decided to give Ohtani the day off from hitting when he took the mound Tuesday.

Then on Wednesday — whether it was the result of that break, or on-field batting practice two days before, or a culmination of work, or some combination of the three — Ohtani logged two hits and a walk.

“Today was a good day for Shohei,” Roberts said.

So, what was going wrong, and how is Ohtani going about trying to make sure his good day becomes the start of an offensive turnaround?

Continue reading here

MLB scores

MLB standings

Why Kelsey Plum believes this is the Sparks’ year

Sparks guard Kelsey Plum left a WNBA champion in Las Vegas for a chance to build a title contender.

(Elsa Garrison / Getty Images)

From Marisa Ingemi: On a rare off day in Los Angeles, Sparks guard Kelsey Plum settles into a quieter rhythm. She brings a book to a dog park near her home, finds a spot, and reads. But even here, the stillness is partial at best. Her mind keeps working, circling the same question that has followed her through every stage of her career. What does greatness actually require?

Right now, Plum is reading “The Talent Code,” a book that digs into the tension between nature and nurture. It’s not exactly light reading for a day off, but then again, she isn’t really wired for off days.

“Talent,” she says, “takes countless hours of practice. Sure, you have some natural ability, but you have to train it. You look at like a Russian tennis player, why are they good? Is it random? The similarity with greatness is practice.”

That idea, practice as the great equalizer, shapes how Plum sees her career now, in a moment that demands more from her than ever before.

Continue reading here

Lakers playoff schedule

Second round
All times Pacific
at Oklahoma City 108, Lakers 90 (box score)
at Oklahoma City 125, Lakers 107, (box score)
Saturday at Lakers, 5:30 p.m., ABC
Monday at Lakers, 7:30 p.m., Prime Video
*Wednesday at Oklahoma City, TBD
*Saturday, May 16 at Lakers, TBD
*Monday, May 18 at Oklahoma City, TBD
*- if necessary

Ducks playoffs schedule

Second round
All times Pacific
at Vegas 3, Ducks 1 (summary)
Ducks 3, at Vegas 1 (summary)
Friday at Ducks, 6:30 p.m., TNT, truTV, HBO MAX
Sunday at Ducks, 6:30 p.m., ESPN
*Tuesday at Vegas, TBD, ESPN
*Thursday, May 14 at Ducks, TBD, TNT, truTV, HBO MAX
*Saturday, May 16 at Vegas, TBA, ABC or ESPN
*-if necessary

This day in sports history

1907 — Canadian Tommy Burns retains his world heavyweight boxing title after beating ‘Philadelphia’ Jack O’Brien on points in 20 rounds.

1915 — Regret, ridden by Joe Notter, becomes the first filly to win the Kentucky Derby, with a 2-length wire-to-wire victory over Pebbles.

1937 — War Admiral, the favorite ridden by Charles Kurtsinger, wins the Kentucky Derby by 1 3/4 lengths over Pompoon.

1943 — Count Fleet, ridden by Johnny Longden, wins the Preakness Stakes by 8 lengths over Blue Swords.

1954 — World record holder William Parry O’Brien becomes the first man to throw the shot put more than 60 feet with a 60-5¼ toss at a meet in Los Angeles.

1967 — Muhammad Ali is indicted for refusing induction in U.S. Army.

1968 — Jim “Catfish” Hunter of the Oakland A’s pitches a perfect game, beating the Minnesota Twins 4-0. It is the first perfect game in the American League regular season in 46 seasons.

1970 — Walt Frazier scores 36 points to lead the New York Knicks to a 113-99 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers and the NBA championship in seven games.

1974 — FC Magdenburg of East Germany win 14th European Cup Winner’s Cup against AC Milan of Italy 2-0 in Rotterdam.

1984 — On the day the Olympic torch relay begins, the Soviet Union announces it will not take part in the 1984 Summer Olympics. The Soviet National Olympic Committee Union said the participation of Soviet athletes would be impossible because of “the gross flouting” of Olympic ideals by U.S. authorities.

1993 — Lennox Lewis of Britain scores a unanimous 12-round decision over Tony Tucker in his first defense of the WBC heavyweight title in Las Vegas.

1995 — New Zealand’s Black Magic 1 takes a 2-0 lead, defeating Young America by the widest margin for a challenger since the 1871 America’s Cup.

1996 — Paris Saint-Germain of France win 36th European Cup Winner’s Cup against Rapid Wien of Austria 1-0 in Brussels.

2001 — Randy Johnson becomes the third pitcher to strike out 20 in nine innings. He doesn’t finish the game as the Arizona Diamondbacks go on to beat Cincinnati 4-3 in 11 innings.

2003 — Minnesota becomes the first team in NHL history to rebound from two 3-1 series deficits to win in one postseason with a 4-2 victory at Vancouver.

2011 — University of Georgia senior Russell Henley becomes the second amateur winner in PGA Nationwide Tour history, shooting a 3-under 68 for a two-stroke victory in the Stadion Classic.

2011 — The Tradition Senior Men’s Golf, Shoal Creek G&CC: Tom Lehman wins second of 3 Champions Tour majors with par on 2nd playoff hole against Australian Peter Senior.

2012 — Josh Hamilton becomes the 16th player to hit four home runs in a game, launching a quartet of two-run drives against three different pitchers to carry the Texas Rangers to a 10-3 victory over the Baltimore Orioles.

2013 — Alex Ferguson announces his retirement as Manchester United’s manager at the end of the season.

2014 — The Houston Texans takes South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney with the first pick in the NFL draft. The draft’s other big name, Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel, sits until Cleveland makes its third trade of the round and grabs the 2012 Heisman Trophy winner at No. 22.

2018 — Seattle Mariners MLB left-hander James Paxton hurls a no-hitter in a 5-0 win over the Blue Jays in Toronto.

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 me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: With the Lakers down 1-0 in the Western Conference semifinals, Luka Doncic has not yet ramped up to on-court contact drills while recovering from an injured left hamstring that had an initial eight-week timeline for his return.

Doncic, speaking to reporters for the first time since he hobbled off the court at Oklahoma City’s Paycom Center on April 2, said Wednesday he has improved enough to begin running but he has not progressed to on-court contact drills. After suffering a left hamstring injury earlier this season, Doncic said the latest Grade 2 strain to the same area is unlike any he’s experienced because of its severity.

But it has not stopped him from trying to come back as soon as possible.

“I’m just doing everything I can,” Doncic said. “Every day I’m doing stuff I’m supposed to do. Obviously recovery, now I’m working … just going day by day, and I feel better every day.”

Soon after his injury, Doncic went to Spain and received platelet-rich plasma injections with hopes of helping his recovery. He stayed for roughly two weeks because he needed to wait four days between each injection. He received four in total.

Without their leading scorer, the Lakers fought through a six-game, first-round series against the Houston Rockets, playing four of those games without Austin Reaves, who was also injured in the same game as Doncic. The fourth-seeded Lakers lost 108-90 to the defending champion Thunder in Game 1 of the conference semifinals on Tuesday.

Continue reading here

Lakers need more from Austin Reaves

Lakers star Austin Reaves shoots in front of Oklahoma City’s Alex Caruso, right, during the Lakers’ Game 1 playoff loss Tuesday.

(Kyle Phillips / Associated Press)

From Bill Plaschke: It was the best opportunity for the potential free agent to begin earning the $241-million contract the Lakers were expected to offer this summer, the best chance for the April-cursed guard to escape his playoff demons and paint the Lakers’ future with a max masterpiece.

Yet Austin Reaves decorated with bricks.

Again.

The badly outmanned and heavily underdog Lakers generally played well enough and smart enough to hang with the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder Tuesday night in the opener of their Western Conference semifinal series at Paycom Center.

All except for you-know-who.

In their 108-90 loss, Austin Reaves was arguably the difference.

Continue reading here

More on Lakers: Jarred Vanderbilt day-to-day after dislocating right pinky finger

Tyler Glasnow injury scare

Dodgers starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow delivers in the first inning against the Houston Astros on Wednesday.

(Ashley Landis / Associated Press)

From Maddie Lee: Dodgers right-hander Tyler Glasnow felt his back spasm on a warmup pitch ahead of the bottom of the second inning Wednesday. He threw another to test it. No luck. Bending at the waist was too hard to pitch through the discomfort. He motioned to the dugout.

Glasnow threw just one inning in the Dodgers’ 12-2 rout of the Astros before exiting with what the Dodgers called lower back pain.

“It kind of just gives out,” Glasnow said of the recurring injury. “I’ve gotten it since high school. Being tall, I guess. I get it a couple times a year. … Once it feels better, it feels better. It shouldn’t be too long.”

Last September, Glasnow was scratched from a start against the Orioles with back tightness, but he went on to pitch three days later. In 2024, he spent two weeks on the IL over the All-Star break with a back injury.

Continue reading here

Dodgers-Astros box score

MLB scores

MLB standings

Ducks even playoff series with Vegas

Ducks forward Leo Carlsson celebrates after scoring in the third period of a 3-1 win over the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals on Wednesday night.

(John Locher / Associated Press)

From Kevin Baxter: Before the Ducks had even checked out of their hotel Wednesday for the short bus ride to T-Mobile Arena for Game 2 of their Stanley Cup playoff series, the Las Vegas sports books had made the hometown Golden Knights heavy favorites.

That proved to be a poor bet a couple of hours later when the Ducks rolled to a 3-1 victory, evening the best-of-seven playoff series at 1-1. The second-round series resumes Friday at Honda Center.

The Ducks’ goals came from Beckett Sennecke in the second period and Leo Carlsson and Jansen Harkins in the third. Harkins’ goal, into an empty net, was the exclamation point on the win. Jack Eichel scored Vegas’ only goal on a power play in the final seconds, denying goaltender Lukas Dostal and the Ducks their first shutout of the season.

Continue reading here

Ducks-Golden Knights summary

NHL scores

Angels GM sees a ‘very competitive’ team

Angels general manager Perry Minasian.

(Elsa Garrison / Getty Images)

From Bill Shaikin: I walked around a street fair in Irvine over the weekend, checking out the crowd while waiting for my daughter’s dance team to perform. We were a few short miles from Angel Stadium, but you wouldn’t have known it: lots of people wearing Dodgers caps, someone wearing a Shohei Ohtani cap, someone else wearing an Ohtani jersey, someone else wearing a Clayton Kershaw jersey, a dog wearing a Dodgers bandana, and people repping the Padres, Giants, Athletics and Yankees.

After 25 minutes, someone walked by in an Angels cap.

If the passion wanes, apathy can set in. I wondered if that is where the Angels might find themselves now, with a slice of their fan base finding a more enjoyable way to spend its summers than watching one losing season after another, and with the shadow of baseball’s best team extending ever more securely into Orange County.

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Angels defeat White Sox

Angels starting pitcher Walbert Ureña throws against the Chicago White Sox in the first inning Wednesday at Angel Stadium.

(Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)

From the Associated Press: Travis d’Arnaud hit a three-run homer, Walbert Ureña threw six innings of two-hit ball, and the Angels defeated the Chicago White Sox 8-2 on Wednesday.

The Angels won a series for the first time since April 10-12 at Cincinnati. The Angels (15-23) are 2-7-2 in series this season.

D’Arnaud’s 396-foot shot off Noah Schultz (2-2), the backup catcher’s first homer of the season, kicked off a five-run second inning for the Halos. After Bryce Teodosio doubled on a ball that got past right fielder Jarred Kelenic, Zach Neto hit a stand-up RBI triple.

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Angels-White Sox box score

Detroit’s Framber Valdez suspended

Detroit pitcher Framber Valdez walks to the clubhouse after being ejected against the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday.

(Mike Mulholland / Getty Images)

From Chuck Schilken: Framber Valdez was having a rough night, but the Detroit Tigers pitcher insists he didn’t take his frustrations out on Boston Red Sox batter Trevor Story.

Valdez had given up 10 runs, including back-to-back solo home runs in the previous two at-bats, when Story batted in the top of the fourth inning on Tuesday at Comerica Park.

What happened next wasn’t intentional — at least that’s what Valdez said after the Tigers’ 10-3 loss.

Not everybody believes him. Valdez has received a six-game suspension and a fine for an undisclosed amount after hitting Story in the back with a 94-mph fastball with the first pitch of the at-bat, MLB announced Wednesday. The suspension will begin that night in the Red Sox-Tigers series finale, unless Valdez appeals.

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Tina Charles retires from WNBA

Tina Charles, the WNBA’s leader in career rebounds and double-doubles, has retired after 14 seasons.

(Justin Casterline / Getty Images)

From Tracy Brown: Former WNBA MVP Tina Charles has retired after 14 seasons in the league.

“Today, I officially announce my retirement from basketball,” the eight-time All Star wrote in a post shared across her social media accounts Tuesday. “This game gave me everything and I’ll miss it deeply.”

The veteran center — the No. 1 overall draft pick selected by the Connecticut Sun in 2010 — played for six WNBA franchises over the course of her career, including a lengthy stint with the New York Liberty. Named the league MVP during her 2012 campaign, Charles is the WNBA’s leader in career rebounds (4,262), double-doubles (201) and made field goals (3,364), as well as second on the list for career points (8,396) behind Diana Taurasi.

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No Triple Crown winner this year

Golden Tempo, ridden by jockey Jose Ortiz, runs during the Kentucky Derby on Saturday at Churchill Downs.

(Michael Reaves / Getty Images)

From Jay Posner: There will be no Triple Crown winner in horse racing this year. There won’t even be an attempt.

Trainer Cherie DeVaux on Wednesday announced Golden Tempo, the horse that made her the first female trainer to win the Kentucky Derby, would skip the Preakness Stakes next week at its temporary home, Laurel Park in Laurel, Md.

Just hours after Golden Tempo returned to the racetrack at Keeneland for the first time since his victory Saturday at Churchill Downs, DeVaux posted a statement on X.

Continue reading here

Lakers playoff schedule

Second round
All times Pacific
at Oklahoma City 108, Lakers 90 (box score)
Thursday at Oklahoma City, 6:30 p.m., Amazon Prime
Saturday at Lakers, 5:30 p.m., ABC
Monday at Lakers, 7:30 p.m., Prime Video
*Wednesday at Oklahoma City, TBD
*Saturday, May 16 at Lakers, TBD
*Monday, May 18 at Oklahoma City, TBD
*- if necessary

Ducks playoffs schedule

Second round
All times Pacific
at Vegas 3, Ducks 1 (summary)
Ducks 3, at Vegas 1 (summary)
Friday at Ducks, 6:30 p.m., TNT, truTV, HBO MAX
Sunday at Ducks, 6:30 p.m., ESPN
*Tuesday at Vegas, TBD, ESPN
*Thursday, May 14 at Ducks, TBD, TNT, truTV, HBO MAX
*Saturday, May 16 at Vegas, TBA, ABC or ESPN
*-if necessary

This day in sports history

1938 — Lawrin, ridden by Eddie Arcaro, wins the Kentucky Derby by one length over Dauber.

1945 — Branch Rickey announces formation of the US Negro Baseball League.

1951 — International Olympic committee allows Russia to participate in 1952 Olympics.

1955 — Swaps, ridden by Willie Shoemaker, wins the Kentucky Derby by 1 1/2 lengths over Nashua.

1969 — 2nd ABA championship: Oakland Oaks beat Indiana Pacers, 4 games to 1.

1972 — The Los Angeles Lakers win their first NBA championship with a 114-100 victory over the New York Knicks in Game 5.

1977 — Heavily favored Seattle Slew, ridden by Jean Cruguet, wins the Kentucky Derby by 1 3/4 lengths over Run Dusty Run.

1982 — A federal jury rules the NFL violated antitrust laws when it unsuccessfully attempted to prevent the Oakland Raiders from moving to Los Angeles.

1986 — 30th European Cup: Steaua Bucuresti beats Barcelona (0-0, 2-0 on penalties) at Seville.

1988 — Winning Colors, ridden by Gary Stevens, leads from start to finish to win the Kentucky Derby by a neck, becoming the first roan and the third filly to win the race.

1989 — Chicago’s Michael Jordan hits an 18-foot shot over the outstretched fingertips of Craig Ehlo to give the Bulls a 101-100 victory in the deciding Game 5 of their 1989 Eastern Conference first round playoff series against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

1993 — Wayne Gretzky of the Los Angeles Kings scores his 100th and 101st playoff goals in a 7-4 win over the Vancouver Canucks.

1994 — The Denver Nuggets, with a 98-94 overtime win against the No. 1-seeded Seattle SuperSonics, become the first eighth-seeded playoff team to win a series. The Nuggets come back from an 0-2 deficit in the best-of-5 series.

1995 — Reggie Miller scores eight points in the last 16 seconds to lead the Indiana Pacers to a 107-105 win over the New York Knicks in the second-round opener of the NBA playoffs.

2005 — Giacomo, a 50-1 shot, wins the Kentucky Derby, running down a game Afleet Alex in the final strides and generating a huge payoff. Closing Argument, a 70-1 shot, finishes second with Afleet Alex third.

2005 — Dallas’ 116-76 victory over Houston is the most lopsided Game 7 score in NBA history. The Mavericks are the third team in playoff history to win a seven-game series after losing the first two games at home.

2010 — Before a record hockey crowd of 77,803, the U.S. loses to Germany 2-1 in the opening game of the world hockey championships. Felix Schutz scores the winning goal 21 seconds into overtime at Veltins Arena, ordinarily the home of the Schalke soccer team.

2014 — Russell Westbrook has a triple-double, Kevin Durant falls one assist short and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Los Angeles Clippers 112-101 to tie their Western Conference semifinal series at one win apiece. Westbrook has 31 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Durant has 32 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists before leaving the game with 1:21 remaining.

2016 — Nyquist won the Kentucky Derby by 1 1/4 lengths, improving to 8-0 in his career as the fourth consecutive favorite to win the race. Ridden by Mario Gutierrez, Nyquist finished in 2:01.31. The 3-year-old colt became the eighth unbeaten winner in the race’s 142-year history.

2017 — Bradley Beal scores 29 points and Washington Wizards used a 26-0 third-quarter run to beat the Boston Celtics 121-102 to tie the second-round series at two games apiece. John Wall, who adds 27 points and 12 assists, has seven points, three assists and two steals during the third-quarter spree.

2021 — Cincinnati Reds pitcher Wade Miley no-hits Cleveland Indians, 3-0 at Progressive Field, Cleveland.

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 me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

Though Jarred Vanderbilt suffered a gruesome dislocated right pinky injury during the Lakers’ loss in Game 1 against the Thunder on Tuesday, coach JJ Redick said his forward has been listed as day-to-day for the second-round series.

Vanderbilt, who is left-handed, was injured in the second quarter trying to block a dunk by Oklahoma City’s Chet Holmgren, but his hand hit the backboard. Vanderbilt immediately doubled over in pain, as the bone broke through the skin and had to be put back in place.

“They were able to put his finger back together and it’s splinted and he’s day-to-day,” Redick said Wednesday.

The Lakers and Thunder play Game 2 here Thursday night at Paycom Center.

Redick said it was a “reduction” for Vanderbilt, meaning it was a procedure to restore his dislocated finger.

Vanderbilt had his finger taped and had a splint on the finger after the game.

“Yeah. I mean, he’s obviously a tough-minded player and person,” Redick said. “It just, he had a full dislocation. So they just put the stuff back together. You know, he’ll be day-to-day.”

Redick was asked if it’ll be a pain tolerance issue for his defensive-minded forward.

“Certainly the pain is involved,” Redick said. “From my understanding, it’s basically making sure basically the tissue is healed enough. We’re obviously going to splint him, but making sure the tissue is healed enough to protect his skin barrier.”

Jaxson Hayes called Vanderbilt’s finger injury “disgusting” because the “whole bone was out of his skin.”

“Obviously, you never want to see one of your teammates go down,” Hayes said. “But, I mean, that was gross. That was really gross.”

Can the Lakers beat the Thunder?

From Broderick Turner: Lakers center Deandre Ayton bounced across the court after practice Monday wearing all black, his chains swaying, his mood jovial as he approached the media to talk about his role in the Western Conference semifinals.

His spirits were high for what lies ahead for the Lakers as they prepared to face the best team in the NBA, the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder.

Lakers coach JJ Redick said the play of his center “changes our ceiling the most.”

Simply put, Ayton’s high-level of play will be paramount for the Lakers when they begin the best-of-seven series Tuesday night in Oklahoma City.

“Everything has been pretty solid, just staying in my role and just doing more in my role,” Ayton said. “This is the playoffs, so everybody can do more, everybody has another level. And this is the second round coming in, so I think we all deserve that little bit of increase of confidence from what we’ve done so far and the outcome from the adversity we’ve faced.

“I feel like that’s where we are right now and I think that’s what’s motivating me, as well, coming into these games. Just seeing, listening and being dialed in and seeing the results of it.”

Continue reading here

NBA playoffs schedule

Lakers poll

Who will win the Lakers-Thunder series? Click here to vote in our survey.

Lakers playoff schedule

Second round
All times Pacific

Tuesday at Oklahoma City, 5:30 p.m., NBC/Peacock
Thursday at Oklahoma City, 6:30 p.m., Prime Video
Saturday at Lakers, 5:30 p.m., ABC
Monday at Lakers, 7:30 p.m., Prime Video
*Wed., May 13 at Oklahoma City, TBD
*Saturday, May 16 at Lakers, TBD
*Monday, May 18 at Oklahoma City, TBD

*-if necessary

Dodgers win, but Ohtani is slumping

From Maddie Lee: It was the perfect time for Shohei Ohtani to step up to the plate. The Dodgers’ offense was rolling again, ready to make a statement with a third-inning rally against the Astros. They loaded the bases and turned over the batting order.

Then Ohtani chased a sinker off the plate and chopped a slow bouncer to Astros third baseman Isaac Paredes, giving Paredes an easy play at second. A far departure from the eye-popping exit velocities that Ohtani’s swing usually produces, the run-scoring grounder was soft enough to avoid a double play.

In the Dodgers’ 8-3 win Monday against the Astros, Ohtani’s hitless streak stretched to five games, his longest such skid since 2022, when he also went five games without a hit (May 24-28).

Manager Dave Roberts had planned to have Ohtani pitch and hit Tuesday. But during Monday’s game, he decided to change course. Ohtani will just pitch Tuesday.

Continue reading here

How a former top Dodgers prospect became an advisor to four U.S. presidents

Dodgers box score

MLB standings

Angels lose again

Munetaka Murakami hit his 14th homer and Miguel Vargas also went deep as the Chicago White Sox beat the Angels 6-0 Monday night.

Murakami’s two-run blast in the fourth inning kept the Japanese rookie tied with New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge for the major league lead in home runs. Murakami also hit his first double of the season in the sixth, singled and scored in the eighth, finishing three for four with two RBIs and three runs scored.

Davis Martin gave up five hits in seven shutout innings, with 10 strikeouts and no walks. He improved to 5-1 and lowered his ERA to 1.64. The right-hander escaped his only jam in the seventh, getting Josh Lowe to fly to deep center with runners on first and third.

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Angels box score

MLB standings

Ducks lose Game 1 to Vegas

From Kevin Baxter: T-Mobile Arena sits just off the Las Vegas Strip, not far from a faux Manhattan skyline, a pyramid and a casino made to look like a castle.

The line separating illusion from reality can be a thin one in Sin City, where the Ducks opened the second round of the playoffs Monday intent on proving their first-round victory over the Edmonton Oilers was more than a facade. It didn’t go well, with Brett Howden’s goal early in the second period and Ivan Barbashev’s tiebreaking tally late in the third period giving the Vegas Golden Knights a 3-1 victory in the best-of-seven series.

Mitch Marner added an empty-net goal with six seconds to play to end any hope of a Ducks comeback. Mikael Granlund scored for the Ducks with six minutes left in the game.

But the game turned on what the Ducks thought was a missed icing call just ahead of Barbashev’s goal, which came 65 seconds after Granlund tied the score.

“Clearly I disagreed with the call. Clearly it was icing,” Ducks coach Joel Quenneville said. “That was the play for me. We had just scored. It was a huge call. And an easy call.”

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Ducks summary

NHL playoffs schedule

Ducks playoffs schedule

Second round
All times Pacific

Monday at Vegas, 6:30 p.m, ESPN
Wednesday at Vegas, 6:30 p.m., TNT, truTV, HBO MAX
Friday at Ducks, 6:30 p.m., TNT, truTV, HBO MAX
Sunday at Ducks, 6:30 p.m., ESPN
*Tuesday, May 12 at Vegas, TBD, ESPN
*Thursday, May 14 at Ducks, TBD, TNT, truTV, HBO MAX
*Saturday, May 16 at Vegas, TBA, ABC or ESPN

*-if necessary

This day in sports history

1908 — 34th Kentucky Derby: Arthur Pickens aboard 66-1 chance Stone Street wins in muddy track conditions; 2:15.20 slowest Derby in history.

1934 — Cavalcade wins the Kentucky Derby by more than three lengths over Discovery. It’s his third victory in less than two weeks.

1951 — 77th Kentucky Derby: Conn McCreary aboard Count Turf wins in 2:02.6.

1966 — The Montreal Canadiens beat the Detroit Red Wings 3-2 to win the Stanley Cup in six games.

1969 — The Boston Celtics beat the Lakers 107-102 in the seventh game to win the NBA championship for the 10th time in 11 years. Player-coach Bill Russell and Sam Jones retire as players.

1969 — Milwaukee Bucks sign #1 NBA Draft pick, star UCLA center Lew Alcindor.

1973 — Secretariat, ridden by Ron Turcotte, wins the Kentucky Derby with a record time of 1:59.2. Secretariat beats Sham by 2½ lengths and goes on to win the Triple Crown.

1990 — 116th Kentucky Derby: Craig Perret aboard Unbridled wins in 2:02.

1993 — Canisius beats Niagara 11-1 in softball to set an NCAA Division I record with 34 straight wins.

2001 — Monarchos wins the Kentucky Derby carrying Jorge Chavez across the finish line in 1:59 4-5, only two-fifths of a second off the track record set by Secretariat en route to the Triple Crown in 1973. Monarchos finishes a dominating 4¾ lengths over Invisible Ink.

2007 — Street Sense, ridden by Calvin Borel, roars from next-to-last in a 20-horse field to win the Kentucky Derby by 2 1-2 lengths over Hard Spun.

2007 — Floyd Mayweather Jr. beats Oscar De La Hoya in one of the richest fights. Mayweather, with superb defensive skills and superior speed, wins a 12-round split decision and the WBC 154-pound title in his first fight at that weight. The sellout crowd of 16,200 at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas sets a record $19 million gate.

2012 — I’ll Have Another catches Bodemeister down the stretch and pulls away in the final furlong to win the Kentucky Derby. Jockey Mario Gutierrez, riding in his first Derby, guides the 3-year-old colt to a 1½-length victory in front of a Derby-record crowd of 165,307.

2012 — English FA Cup Final, Wembley Stadium, London (89,102): Chelsea beats Liverpool, 2–1; Didier Drogba scores winner for Blues’ 7th title.

2013 — LeBron James is the overwhelming choice as the NBA’s Most Valuable Player. The Miami star gets 120 of 121 first-place votes, giving him the award for the fourth time.

2017 — Corey Perry scores 6:57 into the second overtime after the Ducks rally from a three-goal deficit in the final minutes of regulation, completing a spectacular 4-3 comeback win over the Edmonton Oilers. Rickard Rakell scores the tying goal with 15 seconds left in regulation to cap a stunning sequence of three goals in just over three minutes, all with goalie John Gibson pulled for an extra attacker.

2018 — Justify splashes through the slop to win the Kentucky Derby by 2½ lengths, becoming the first colt in 136 years to wear the roses after not racing as a 2-year-old. The colt that began his racing career in February improves to 4-0 and gives trainer Bob Baffert his fifth Derby victory. Jockey Mike Smith earns his second Derby victory as the 5-2 favorite in the field of 20.

Compiled by the Associated Press

This day in baseball history

1904 — Cy Young of the Red Sox pitched a perfect game against the Philadelphia Athletics, beating Rube Waddell 3-0. Having pitched nine hitless innings in two previous efforts, he ran his string of hitless innings to 18.

1917 — Ernie Koob of the St. Louis Browns pitched a no-hitter against the Chicago White Sox for a 1-0 win in St. Louis.

1925 — Manager Ty Cobb of the Detroit Tigers hit three homers, a double and two singles against the St. Louis Browns.

1925 — Shortstop Everett Scott of the New York Yankees was benched, ending his streak of 1,307 consecutive games played that started while playing for the Boston Red Sox. Scott, who gave way to Pee Wee Wanninger, had the longest playing streak before Lou Gehrig.

1933 — Pepper Martin of the St. Louis Cardinals hit for the cycle and scored four runs in a 5-3 win over the Philadelphia Phillies.

1939 — Sam Chapman of the Philadelphia Athletics hit for the cycle in a 10-5 win over the St. Louis Browns. Chapman completed the cycle with a single in the ninth.

1955 — Brooklyn Dodgers rookie Tom Lasorda makes his first major league start as he he throws three wild pitches in one inning, tying a major league record. After his pitching career, Lasorda will enjoy far more success as a Hall of Fame manager.

1962 — Bo Belinsky of the Los Angeles Angels beat the Baltimore Orioles 2-0 with a no-hitter at Dodger Stadium. Belinsky struck out nine and walked four.

1975 — The Oakland Athletics release pinch-runner Herb Washington, ending his unusual major league career. Curiously, Washington played in 105 major league games without batting, pitching, or fielding. He collected 31 stolen bases and scored 33 runs.

1978 — Pete Rose became the youngest and 14th player with 3,000 hits when he singled against Montreal’s Steve Rogers at Cincinnati’s Riverfront Stadium.

1980 — National League president Chub Feeney suspended Pittsburgh’s Bill Madlock for 15 days and fined him $5,000 for shoving his glove in the face of home plate umpire Gerry Crawford.

1999 — Colorado became the first team in 35 years and the third this century to score in every inning in a 13-6 win over the Chicago Cubs. The last time a team scored in all nine innings was also at Wrigley Field, when St. Louis beat the Cubs on Sept. 13, 1964.

2000 — St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Mark McGwire hits the longest home run in the 30-year history of Cinergy Field, but the 473-foot shot is not enough as Ken Griffey, Jr.’s home run leads the Cincinnati Reds past St. Louis, 3-2.

2003 — Matt Stairs of the Pittsburgh Pirates hits a home run off Houston Astros pitcher Wade Miller which is estimated at 461 feet, making it the longest in the history of Minute Maid Park.

2004 — Mike Piazza set a major league mark for homers as a catcher, hitting No. 352 in the New York Mets’ 8-2 victory over the San Francisco Giants.

2004 — Roger Clemens of the Houston Astros moves past Steve Carlton for second place on the strikeouts list with his 4,137th in Houston’s 6-2 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

2006 — At Citizens Bank Park, Omar Vizquel of the San Francisco Giants plays his 2,302nd game at shortstop, catching Cal Ripken, Jr. for third-most all time. Vizquel is now behind Hall of Famers Luis Aparicio (2,581) and Ozzie Smith (2,511). He will eventually pass both.

2015 — Bartolo Colon became the first pitcher in at least 100 years to beat the same opponent with seven different teams, stopping Baltimore once again and leading the New York Mets to a 3-2 win over the Orioles.

2018 — In pitching a perfect 9th inning in a 6-5 win against the Rangers, Craig Kimbrel of the Red Sox becomes the 29th man to record 300 saves. He is the youngest to reach the mark at 29 (Francisco Rodriguez was 31) and has needed the fewest games, 494 (Mariano Rivera had done so in 537 games) and save opportunities (330, compared to 335 for Joe Nathan) to do so.

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 me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

Dodgers beat the Cardinals

From Maddie Lee: Enough was enough.

The Dodgers entered Sunday on a four-game losing streak, with a lack of offense undermining solid performances from the pitching staff. They were on the verge of being swept by the St. Louis Cardinals, after losing a series to the Miami Marlins in Los Angeles.

“When it gets to a certain point, we do a good job of kind of nipping it,” manager Dave Roberts said before the Dodgers’ 4-1 win. “And today is one of those days that … we’ve got to find a way to win a game. And whatever it takes, we’re all prepared to do that. And if you look at the track record, we’ve done well in moments like this.”

It took a second straight start of six scoreless innings from Dodgers left-hander Justin Wrobleski, along with the bullpen holding St. Louis to one run.

That was enough to make the Dodgers’ offensive contributions count. Though it was far from an onslaught, the four runs were the most they scored in a game since Monday.

“Offensively we just haven’t been very good the last week,” first baseman Freddie Freeman said after the game. “Just call a spade a spade sometimes. There’s no way to sugarcoat it. We just haven’t been very good, and we’ve got to be better.

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Dodgers box score

MLB standings

Angels lose to Mets

Mark Vientos hit two homers and drove in four runs and right-hander Clay Holmes gave up one run in 6⅔ innings as the New York Mets beat the Angels 5-1 on Sunday.

Holmes (4-2) gave up four hits with three walks and six strikeouts as the Mets took two of three games from the Angels and won a series for just the second time since April 7. New York also won two of three against Minnesota (April 21-23).

Jorge Soler had an RBI single for the Angels and right-hander Jack Kochanowicz (2-1) gave up two runs on five hits over 6 1/3 innings with three walks and six strikeouts. Los Angeles had ended a season-high seven-game losing streak Saturday. The Angels are 2-12 since April 18.

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Angels box score

MLB standings

Lakers respect, not fear, the Thunder

From Broderick Turner: The Lakers understand the daunting challenge they’re about to face against the defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference semifinals.

Lakers coach JJ Redick referenced the great Chicago Bulls teams that won back-to-back championships in 1996 and ’97 and the Golden State Warriors teams that won titles in 2015 and ’17 when talking about the Thunder after practice Sunday.

“The Thunder is one of the greatest teams ever in NBA history,” Redick said. “It’s just the reality. They’re that good. I think our guys recognize that and respect that, and we know what kind of task we have in front of us.”

The Thunder had the best record in the regular season at 64-18. They were ranked first in defensive field-goal percentage (43.7%), first in defensive rating (106.5), first in net rating (43.7) and second in points given up per game (107.9).

They have the league’s reigning most valuable player in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who is the leading candidate to repeat as MVP. He was second in scoring this season (31.1 points per game) and leads the postseason in scoring (33.8).

The Thunder just swept the Phoenix Suns in their first-round series. The Lakers eliminated the Houston Rockets in six games.

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An early look at how the Lakers and Thunder match up entering their playoff series

NBA playoffs schedule

Lakers playoff schedule

Second round
All times Pacific

Tuesday at Oklahoma City, 5:30 p.m., NBC/Peacock
Thursday at Oklahoma City, 6:30 p.m., Prime Video
Saturday at Lakers, 5:30 p.m., ABC
Monday, May 11 at Lakers, 7:30 p.m., Prime Video
*Wed., May 13 at Oklahoma City, TBD
*Saturday, May 16 at Lakers, TBD
*Monday, May 18 at Oklahoma City, TBD

*-if necessary

UCLA wins beach volleyball title

Sally Perez and Maggie Boyd won the clincher as UCLA swept top-seeded Stanford 3-0 on Sunday to win the Bruins’ third NCAA beach volleyball championship.

Perez and Boyd wrapped up the Bruins’ first championship since winning back-to-back titles in 2018-19, beating the Cardinal’s Kelly Belardi and Avery Jackson 21-11, 21-19.

Kaley Mathews and Ensley Alden got third-seeded UCLA (33-6) off and running with a 21-16, 21-11 victory over Brooke Rockwell and Ruby Sorra.

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Cherie DeVaux discusses her path to history

From Jay Posner: Before Cherie DeVaux won a Breeders’ Cup race, before one of her horses won an Eclipse Award, before she became the answer to a Siri question — “Who was the first female trainer to win the Kentucky Derby?” — she faced the same problem as every new trainer.

She needed horses.

Fortunately for her, this was 2018 and she had just married David Ingordo, a leading bloodstock agent. Surely he’d bring her some top horses and DeVaux would be on her way.

Except … it took DeVaux 11 months to win her first race.

Cherie DeVaux, trainer of Kentucky Derby winner Golden Tempo, celebrates with her husband, David Ingordo, on Saturday at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. (Andy Lyons / Getty Images)
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“That was 100% my fault,” Ingordo said. “We gathered up some horses of our own; we were totally self-funded. And the collection of horses I gathered up were yaks and llamas and sheep. They weren’t related to the equine species.

“I told her, ‘You should have divorced me for the effing horses I put in there.’”

Ingordo was telling this story Sunday, standing in the morning chill outside Barn 37 at Churchill Downs, where dozens of cameras and a few reporters were there to record every word his wife had to say, 12 hours after she made history.

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Ducks playoffs schedule

Second round
All times Pacific

Monday at Vegas, 6:30 p.m, ESPN
Wednesday at Vegas, 6:30 p.m., TNT, truTV, HBO MAX
Friday at Ducks, 6:30 p.m., TNT, truTV, HBO MAX
Sunday at Ducks, 6:30 p.m., ESPN
*Tuesday, May 12 at Vegas, TBD, ESPN
*Thursday, May 14 at Ducks, TBD, TNT, truTV, HBO MAX
*Saturday, May 16 at Vegas, TBA, ABC or ESPN

*-if necessary

This day in sports history

1905 — Belmont Park in New York opens for its first thoroughbred meet.

1924 — VIII Summer Olympic Games open at Olympic Stadium of Colombes, Paris, France.

1935 — Omaha, ridden by Willis Saunders, wins the Kentucky Derby by 1 1/2 lengths over Roman Soldier. Omaha goes on to win the Triple Crown.

1946 — Assault, ridden by Warren Mehrtens, wins the Kentucky Derby by eight lengths over Spy Song on his way to the Triple Crown.

1957 — Iron Liege, ridden by Bill Hartack, wins the Kentucky Derby by a nose when jockey Willie Shoemaker, aboard Gallant Man, misjudges the finish line. Shoemaker is in front but stands the saddle before the finish.

1968 — Dancer’s Image, ridden by Bob Ussery, wins the Kentucky Derby by 1 1/2 lengths over Forward Pass. Three days later, Dancer’s Image is disqualified when traces of a painkiller are found in tests. Forward Pass, ridden by Ismael Valenzuela, is declared the winner.

1968 — The Pittsburgh Pipers beat New Orleans Buccaneers 122-113 in Game 7 to win the first ABA championship.

1969 — The Montreal Canadiens win the Stanley Cup with a four-game sweep, beating the St. Louis Blues 2-1.

1974 — 100th Kentucky Derby: Puerto Rican jockey Ángel Cordero Jr. wins aboard Cannonade for first of 3 Derby victories.

1985 — 111th Kentucky Derby: Puerto Rican jockey Ángel Cordero Jr. wins aboard Spend A Buck for his third Derby triumph.

1991 — 117th Kentucky Derby: Chris Antley wins aboard Strike the Gold, the first of two Derby victories.

1994 — Charles Barkley scores 56 points, including a playoff-record 38 in the first half, to lead the Phoenix Suns to a 140-133 victory over the Golden State Warriors.

1994 — Arsenal of England win 34th European Cup Winner’s Cup against Parma of Italy 1-0 in Copenhagen.

1999 — The New Jersey Devils become the first top-seeded team to lose in the first round of the playoffs in consecutive years when they are beaten 4-2 to the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 7.

2000 — Keith Primeau ends the third-longest game in NHL history by scoring at 12:01 of the fifth overtime to give the Philadelphia Flyers a 2-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins, tying their Eastern Conference semifinal series at two games apiece.

2002 — English FA Cup Final, Millennium Stadium, Cardiff (73,963): Arsenal beats Chelsea, 2-0 for eighth title.

2003 — Detroit becomes the seventh NBA team to advance after falling behind 3-1 in a series, beating Orlando 108-93.

2008 — In the eighth-longest game in NHL history, Dallas eliminates San Jose in Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinals. In a game that lasts 5 hours, 17 minutes, the Stars beat the Sharks 2-1 after Brenden Morrow scores a power play goal 9:03 into the fourth overtime.

2009 — Cleveland’s LeBron James, unstoppable at both ends of the floor this season, is named the NBA’s MVP. James, who easily outdistanced Kobe Bryant of the Lakers in the voting, averaged 28.4 points, 7.6 rebounds and 7.2 assists.

2009 — Alex Ovechkin records his first NHL playoff hat trick and scores the winning goal in Washington’s 4-3 win over Pittsburgh in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference series. Sidney Crosby of the Penguins also scores three goals.

2013 — Floyd Mayweather comes back from a year’s absence to win a unanimous 12-round decision over Robert Guerrero in their welterweight title fight in Las Vegas. All three judges score the bout 117-111 and Mayweather remains unbeaten in 44 fights.

2015 — Golden State Warrior Stephen Curry is named MVP for the 2014-15 NBA season.

2016 — J.R. Smith makes seven three-pointers and the Cleveland Cavaliers drain an NBA-record 25 threes in a 123-98 win over the Atlanta Hawks in Game 2 of the second round. Cleveland finishes 25 of 45 behind the arc, with 10 players making at least one three. Cleveland’s 25 threes are the most in any game — regular or postseason.

2019 — Mexican boxer Canelo Alvarez unifies a trio of middleweight world titles in a close, unanimous decision over Daniel Jacobs at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

2024 — 150th Kentucky Derby: Jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. aboard 18-1 chance Mystik Dan wins in a tight three-way photo finish.

Compiled by the Associated Press

This day in baseball history

1869 — Henry Chadwick published his first annual baseball handbook. The book eventually evolved into Spalding’s Official Baseball Guide.

1869 — The Cincinnati Red Stockings, the first all-professional team, played its first regular season game and beat the Great Westerns of Cincinnati 45-9.

1871 — The Fort Wayne Kekiongas beat the Cleveland Forest Citys, 2-0, in the first game played in the National Association. In the 127 games during the 1871 season, there were a total of four shutouts.

1910 — The Browns and Cardinals played home games in St. Louis, and President Taft, not wanting to offend either club, saw parts of each game at Robinson Field and Sportsman’s Park.

1931 — In an effort to put less strain on his leg, Babe Ruth plays first base as Lou Gehrig moves to right field.

1939 — Boston rookie Ted Williams became the first player to hit a home run that cleared the right field seats at Briggs Stadium in Detroit. It was his first at-bat at Detroit. The Red Sox edged the Tigers 7-6.

1944 — Black people were allowed to buy grandstand seats for the first time in St. Louis history. St. Louis was the last of the major league clubs to integrate seating. Black people had been restricted to the bleachers.

1963 — Bob Shaw of the Milwaukee Braves sets a major league record by committing five balks.

1966 — Willie Mays broke the National League record with the 512th home run of his career in a 6-1 victory over the Dodgers at Candlestick Park. Mays passed another Giant, breaking the mark established by Mel Ott in 1946.

1969 — The Houston Astros set an NL record by turning seven double plays against the San Francisco Giants. First baseman Curt Blefary participated in all seven.

1975 — Bob Watson of the Houston Astros, sensing baseball history, raced around the bases on Milt May’s home run and crossed the plate at Candlestick Park in time to score major league baseball’s 1 millionth run, seconds ahead of Dave Concepcion of Cincinnati.

1980 — Chicago White Sox first baseman Mike Squires caught the final inning of an 11-1 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers. He was the first left-handed catcher to play in major league baseball since Dale Long in 1958.

1981 — New York Yankees relief pitcher Ron Davis strikes out eight consecutive batters in a 4-2 victory over the Angels at Anaheim Stadium, tying an American League record set by Nolan Ryan.

1987 — Candy Maldonado hit for the cycle to help the San Francisco Giants overcome a six-run deficit and beat the St. Louis Cardinals 10-7.

1991 — Chris James drove in nine runs with two homers and two singles, breaking Cleveland’s club record for RBIs and leading the Indians to a 20-6 victory over the Oakland Athletics.

1996 — The Texas Rangers became the first American League team in 79 years to pitch consecutive one-hitters as Roger Pavlik held Detroit to a fifth-inning home run in a 3-1 win. Ken Hill one-hit Detroit on May 3, retiring the last 26 batters he faced.

2001 — Raul Mondesi of the Blue Jays went 4-for-4, with two homers, two doubles and six RBIs, leading Toronto to an 8-3 victory over Seattle.

2002 — Barry Bonds hits his 400th home run with the San Francisco Giants.

2015 — Toronto Blue Jays hitting coach Brook Jacoby was suspended 14 games for his postgame conduct toward the umpire crew assigned to the April 29 game at Boston. Jacoby was accused of pinning umpire Doug Eddings against a wall in a dugout tunnel at Fenway Park, putting his forearms up near the ump’s neck following Toronto’s loss.

2018 — Dodger Rookie Walker Buehler and a trio of Dodgers relievers combined for the franchise’s 23rd no-hitter in a 4-0 victory over the San Diego Padres in the opener of a neutral-site series at Monterrey, Mexico. In just his third start in the majors, Buehler went six innings before Tony Cingrani, Yimi Garcia and Adam Liberatore closed it out.

2018 — Angels slugger Albert Pujols got his 3,000th hit, reaching the mark with a broken-bat single in a 5-0 win against Seattle. Pujols joined Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Alex Rodriguez as the only players in baseball history with 3,000 hits and 600 homers.

2021 — The minor leagues start their season, after having been on hiatus since September of 2019 due to the Coronavirus pandemic. In the interim, the governing structure, Minor League Baseball, has been thoroughly reorganized and in effect replaced by the Professional Development League.

2022 — By pitching seven innings of one-hit ball, Adam Wainwright gets credit for a 10-0 win by the Cardinals over the Royals. It is the 202nd time that the battery of Wainwright and C Yadier Molina have combined on a win, tying the all-time record set by Warren Spahn and Del Crandall of the Boston and Milwaukee Braves.

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 me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

If you’ve watched UCLA softball this year, chances are you’ve seen a little bit of history.

This Bruins squad has hit 173 home runs, the most by a UCLA team and tied with No. 1 Oklahoma for most in the nation, led by the duo of Megan Grant and Jordan Woolery. Grant recently broke the program’s single-season record with her 34th and closed the regular season with 35, while Woolery is the fifth NCAA player with 100 or more RBIs in a season, racking up 106.

UCLA is 44-7 and ranks No. 7 in the nation. It’s possible Grant could be part of two national championship teams to finish her career at UCLA.

Behind it all are Woolery and Grant, combining for a legendary final season.

“The way that Jordan and Megan go about hitting is so focused and so professional that it’s really bleeding into the other players,” coach Kelly Inouye-Perez said. “They just come through big and they train with a serious focus. And we have a very young team of Bruins, a lot of them haven’t even played college ball. So when you get to play alongside two professionals, there is a calm.”

In early April, Grant flew from her game at UCLA to Phoenix to get a moment to celebrate with the national championship basketball team after she played 14 games with them this winter. She scored six points with four rebounds in 33 minutes.

But her true stardom is on the diamond, and alongside Woolery they make up one of the best middle-of-the-order duos in the country.

“I always say Jordan makes my life a lot easier,” Grant said. “She’s such a great hitter and having her behind me kind of frees me up as well. We really just bounce off of each other in that way.”

Woolery and Grant, both finalists for USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, are the first UCLA duo to each hit 30-plus home runs in a season, and with the entire postseason to go, they’re just getting started.

Woolery is on pace to become the Division I player to have 30-plus home runs, 100-plus RBIs and a batting average over .500. She is fourth in the nation, hitting .510, and third in the country with 33 home runs.

“Just seeing better pitches makes it easier for power when you’re making better choices,” Woolery said. “But I think over the last four years, I’ve been really developing my eye and honing in on sitting at good pitches early in the count versus trying to hit a pitcher’s pitch. So I think just honing in on that more so these last two years has helped me a lot too.”

Grant’s 35 home runs, meanwhile, trail only Oklahoma freshman Kendall Wells’ 36. Grant leads the country in slugging percentage (1.315).

The duo and ace Taylor Tinsley were honored on April 18, earning three of the coveted 17 Athletes Unlimited Softball League’s golden tickets. UCLA is the only school to have three players selected by the AUSL this season.

“It made it even better to have Megan and Taylor to have that experience with me too,” Woolery said. “I think just us being here for the last four years together and then being able to continue our careers together too, just makes it even more exciting and even more to look forward to.”

The AUSL is announcing its drafted players by going across the country and hand-delivering golden tickets to players who were selected by the league’s six teams ahead of the next season in June. The UCLA players were awarded their tickets after a doubleheader sweep of California at Easton Stadium.

Grant received her ticket from Netflix sports anchor Elle Duncan, then UCLA softball legend and AUSL adviser Natasha Watley emerged through the center-field gate and presented the second ticket to Woolery. Then, UCLA softball alumna Jen Schroeder ran through the left-field gate to give a ticket to Tinsley.

UCLA dropped its final weekend series to No. 11 Oregon, but an 11-3 win Sunday capped a sweet Senior Day celebration. Grant, Woolery and Tinsley are the only seniors for the Bruins, who are the No. 3 seed in the Big Ten tournament and will open play Thursday at 4 p.m. PDT in College Park, Md.

Grant and Woolery have one final goal: bringing an NCAA softball title back to UCLA for the first time since 2019. The pair will continue to blend their varying leadership styles as they try to extend UCLA women’s teams’ recent surge in championships.

“Megan is very focused and serious, and Jordan, you know, has a smile on her face and is very loose with how she plays,” Inouye-Perez said. “They’re very different, but their maturity from their freshman year has come together, and it’s been special.”

‘We’re back, baby!’

UCLA coach Bob Chesney pats running back Anthony Woods on the helmet during the Bruins’ spring game Saturday at the Rose Bowl.

(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

New UCLA football coach Bob Chesney tried to stoke his team’s pride, competitive fire and joy while winning over fans during the Bruins’ spring game Saturday at the Rose Bowl.

You can read an extended recap of the day here, but the coach summarized the energized vibes well.

“We’re back, baby,” Chesney said to fans right before the fourth quarter. “We’re back.”

Spring games naturally remain a strong recruiting showcase. And of all the areas Chesney and his staff have worked to improve, recruiting clearly made the biggest immediate jump. The Bruins rank No. 4 in the 247Sports.com composite national recruiting rankings with 16 commitments for the class of 2027.

UCLA added a legacy pledge Sunday, with class of 2027 running back Duece Jones-Drew, son of former UCLA and NFL star Maurice Jones-Drew, telling Rivals he committed to the Bruins. Duece shared the Rivals report on his Instagram account with the message “Westwood I’m home 🐻!!!”

Make that 127 national championships

UCLA beach volleyball players celebrate after defeating Stanford to win the NCAA title Sunday in Gulf Shores, Ala.

(Courtesy of UCLA Athletics)

The UCLA beach volleyball team added No. 127 to the Bruins’ collection of national titles Sunday.

Sally Perez and Maggie Boyd won the championship-clinching match as No. 3 UCLA swept No. 1 Stanford 3-0 in Gulf Shores, Ala.

Perez and Boyd defeated the Cardinal’s Kelly Belardi and Avery Jackson 21-11, 21-19. Kaley Mathews and Ensley Alden opened the title showdown with a 21-16, 21-11 victory over Brooke Rockwell and Ruby Sorra. And Ava Williamson and Jesse Dueck edged Indigo Clarke and Clara Stowell 21-17, 25-23.

It was UCLA coach Jenny Johnson Jordan’s first national title after taking over in 2023 and the third for the program. Johnson Jordan, the daughter of UCLA legend Rafer Johnson, earned her 100th career win when the Bruins beat No. 2 Texas 3-2 in their semifinal Saturday.

The Bruins honored an NCAA beach volleyball tradition of celebrating their title by running into the ocean.

More UCLA hardware

The UCLA baseball and golf teams added to the Bruins’ haul of Big Ten titles Sunday.

The No. 1 baseball team erased an eight-run deficit — a remarkable but possibly problematic pattern for the Bruins this season — to beat Michigan State 13-11 and earn a series sweep. The victory clinched back-to-back Big Ten titles for UCLA (43-4, 24-0).

The UCLA men’s golf team won the team title at the Big Ten championships for the second consecutive season, and freshman Josh Kim won the individual Big Ten title in North Plains, Ore.

In case you missed it

UCLA sweeps Stanford to win third beach volleyball championship

‘We’re back, baby!’ UCLA coach Bob Chesney restores Bruins’ festive spring game experience

Swanson: Nico Iamaleava was labeled selfish. Now the loyal UCLA QB is poised for a Heisman run

Playmakers emerge as UCLA coach Bob Chesney dials up pressure during spring practice

Have something Bruin?

Do you have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future UCLA newsletter? Email newsletters editor Houston Mitchell at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. I’m Eric Sondheimer. One week to go in the high school baseball regular season. Birmingham made a big move in the City Section.

Birmingham rises

Sophomore catcher Jordan Lindsay is all smiles for Birmingham after RBI double in the fourth inning.

(Craig Weston)

Two sophomores, pitcher Carlos Acuna and catcher Jordan Lindsay, rose up last week to push Birmingham to within one win of clinching the West Valley League baseball championship and earning a rare No. 1 seed for the City Section Open Division playoffs.

Birmingham was able to sweep El Camino Real. In the first game, the hitters started going to right field and knocked off the Royals 10-2. In the second game, the hitters came through again in a 9-1 victory.

Acuna is set to start on the mound Monday against Cleveland, and that would wrap up the first league title for coach Matt Mowry since he took over the program in 2007. He’s won five City titles.

The big series this week in the City Section involves South Gate and Garfield. They are tied for first place in the Eastern League. Along with Bell, the league could have a record three teams chosen for the Open Division playoffs if South Gate comes through.

In the Southern Section, the final week is all about trying to lock up an automatic playoff berth so as not to have to rely on computer rankings for an at-large berth when playoff pairings are announced on Saturday at 1 p.m.

Norco (Big VIII), St. John Bosco (Trinity), Ayala (Palomares), Huntington Beach (Sunset), Cypress (Crestview) have clinched high seeds in the Division 1 playoffs. Harvard-Westlake (Mission) is closing in on the Mission League title. Orange Lutheran is No. 2 in the Trinity, but who gets No. 3? Mater Dei needs a win over Orange Lutheran in a three-game series this week to help its chances.

According to last week’s Southern Section power rankings, these are the 16 teams that would make up the Division 1 playoffs with one week to go: 1. Norco, 2. Harvard-Westlake, 3. Orange Lutheran, 4. Corona, 5. Ayala, 6. Sierra Canyon, 7. St. John Bosco, 8. Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, 9. Temecula Valley, 10. Cypress, 11. Huntington Beach, 12. Oaks Christian, 13. Etiwanda, 14. La Mirada, 15. Corona Santaigo, 16. Maranatha.

Here’s this week’s top 25 rankings by The Times.

Baseball

Norco won two of three games from Corona in a terrific three-game series to win the Big VIII League title. Both teams should be in the 16-team Division 1 field.

Here’s a story on Huntington Beach winning the Sunset League title behind Jared Grindlinger.

Servite pulled off a 1-0 win over Orange Lutheran even though the Lancers’ Gary Morse threw a no-hitter.

Brentwood 6-foot-5 junior pitcher Jack Kaplan has been having a terrific season, including a perfect game. He has 77 strikeouts in 44 innings. His pitching coach is former UCLA and MLB pitcher Tim Leary.

Blake Bowen of JSerra ended his high school career this week with nine home runs this season, including one in each victory of a three-game series with Santa Margarita. Here’s the report.

Trevor Brown won a share of the Foothill League title in his first year coach West Ranch.

Castaic shared the title with West Ranch in the final season for coach Darrell Davis. Sophomore Orion Gonzalez is hitting .390 with 30 hits.

Mattias DiMaggio of Dos Puebos is a freshman baseball player hitting above .500.

(Dos Pueblos)

Few are having a better season than Dos Pueblos freshman Mattias Di Maggio. And yes, he’s a distant relative to Joe DiMaggio. Here’s the report.

Softball

The Trinity League softball race has gotten tight, with Orange Lutheran and JSerra both entering this week tied for first place at 5-3. Pitcher Liliana Escobar of JSerra has been leading the Lions’ surge. Orange Lutheran closes league play with a game at Santa Margarita on Tuesday. JSerra is at Mater Dei, with Escobar ready to deliver.

Granada Hills and Carson are looking like the top two teams in City Section softball. Granada Hills has a two-game lead in the West Valley League with three games to play. Carson has clinched at least a share of the Marine League title.

Norco (24-2) and Murrieta Mesa (23-1) continue on a collision course for the Southern Section playoffs. Pairings will be announced next Monday.

Here’s last week’s power rankings.

Track

Loyola’s Ejam Johannes offers the “shoosh” sign after anchoring the winning 4×100 relay team. He also won the Mission League 400 and 200 titles.

(Craig Weston)

The Southern Section track and field prelims are set for Saturday. It’s all about qualifying and advancing and making sure batons are not dropped and violations don’t occur during relays.

The sites: Trabuco Hills (Division 1), Ontario (Division 2), Yorba Linda (Division 3) and Carpinteria (Division 4).

The Mission League finals last week featured two top Loyola athletes, Ejam Johannes and Zion Phelps. Here’s the report.

There’s lots of speed in the 100 meters. The Southern Section championships will take place in two weeks at Moorpark High.

The City Section will hold league finals this week.

Volleyball

Mira Costa’s Ruby Cochrane (facing) tries to block a tip attempt by JSerra’s Emma Champagne in the Southern Section Division 1 girls’ beach volleyball final. Cochrane and partner Olga Nikolaeva won, 21-19, 17-21, 15-13.

Mira Costa swept JSerra to win the Southern Section girls beach volleyball championship. Here’s the report.

Venice won the City Section team title.

Granada Hills is seeded No. 1 in the City Section boys volleyball playoffs. Here’s the pairings.

Grant Chang of Chatsworth delivers a kill against Granada Hills. He learned he was accepted to MIT.

(Craig Weston)

Grant Chang from Chatsworth has become the fourth volleyball player this year to be accepted to MIT. Here’s the story of a teenager who has gotten all A’s on his report card.

Lacrosse

Birmingham ended Palisades’ reign as City Section boys lacrosse champions. Here’s the report.

NFL star offers lessons

Indianapolis Colts safety Camryn Bynum (0) gestures toward the stands. He played at Corona Centennial.

(Kyusung Gong / Associated Press)

There are so many lessons to be learned from former Corona Centennial defensive back Camryn Bynum, who is returning this month to hold a camp at his alma mater.

He was once fifth string on Centennial’s JV team as a sophomore. He decided to work harder and look where his path has taken him.

Here’s his suggestions for young athletes dreaming of playing in the NFL.

Notes . . .

David Schuster is moving from Mission College Prep to head football coach at Ontario Christian….

JV coach Miguel Mayorga has been promoted to varsity basketball coach at Golden Valley….

Former Chatsworth star Alijah Arenas announced he is returning to USC next season….

Caleb Martin, a former assistant basketball coach at Oaks Christian, Harvard-Westlake and Vanguard, is the new head coach at St. Margaret’s….

Former Sherman Oaks Notre Dame basketball player Tyran Stokes has committed to Kansas….

Muir has received a $2-million donation from Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation to build a synthetic softball diamond. The field will be named, “Kobe and Gianna Bryant Field.” …

Matt LemMon has resigned as football coach at Garden Grove….

Former St. John Bosco and Notre Dame linebacker DJ Morgan is the new football coach at Leuzinger. He was the defensive coordinator….

Anaheim Canyon and Fullerton are changing their mascots next season because of a new state law requiring public schools to remove Native American team names that could be considered derogatory. Canyon will go from being the Comanches to the Cobras this fall. Fullerton will change from Indians to RedHawks….

Senior pitcher Alex Martinez of Sylmar has committed to the University of Redlands. His uncle was the late Glenn Martinez, a former assistant commissioner with the Southern Section and longtime baseball coach….

Alex Koers is the new girls basketball coach at Brea Olinda….

Harvard-Westlake has announced the appointment of Asha Prithviraj as its inaugural girls’ football coach. She previously worked at Mater Dei. 2026 will be the first season for flag football at Harvard-Westlake….

Pasadena Marshall Fundamental has dropped 11-man football for the 2026 season….

CJ Cooper is the new boys basketball coach at Capistrano Valley Christian….

Receiver Braylen Ross of Crean Lutheran has committed to Arizona…

Defensive back JuJu Johnson from Long Beach Poly has committed to UCLA….

Defensive lineman Alifeleti “Tolo” Tuihalamaka of Oaks Christian has committed to USC….

Uriel Villa is the new boys water polo coach at Orange Lutheran….

Palisades won its 17th consecutive City boys tennis title. Here’s the report.

From the archives: Isaiah Magdaleno

Isaiah Magdaleno from Crespi High has become one of the top pitchers for Hawaii and a pro prospect.

(Crespi)

Former Crespi pitcher Isaiah Magdaleno thrilled Hawaii baseball fans Friday night by striking out 16 and throwing a one-hitter in a win over UC Riverside.

He was primarily a relief pitcher starting out at Hawaii but has now become a pro prospect with his starting pitching. He’s 5-4 this season with a 2.75 ERA and 88 strikeouts in 72 innings.

He was the pitcher of the year in the Mission League in 2022.

He helped Crespi win the Southern Section Division 2 title in 2023. He also played catcher.

Recommendations

From West Virginia, a story on adding flexibility to transfer rule.

From The562.org, a story on a $100,000 donation for Long Beach sports teams.

From The Athletic, a story on former Sherman Oaks Notre Dame basketball player Tyran Stokes.

Tweets you might have missed

Until next time….

Have a question, comment or something you’d like to see in a future Prep Rally newsletter? Email me at eric.sondheimer@latimes.com, and follow me on Twitter at @latsondheimer.

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Lakers advance

From Broderick Turner: LeBron James knew what was at stake in this first-round playoff series and that it was on his shoulders to meet the moment and have his teammates follow his lead.

James simply elevated his play like he has so many times over his illustrious 23-year NBA career, playing with a purpose and willing the Lakers to a 98-78 win over the Houston Rockets on Friday night at Toyota Center.

His 28 points, eight assists and seven rebounds is why the Lakers won the best-of-seven series, 4-2, over the Rockets and why L.A. will meet the defending NBA champion Thunder on Tuesday night in Oklahoma City in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs.

James and the Lakers had been on the verge of collapsing in these playoffs, their commanding 3-0 lead cut to 3-2.

But the Lakers and James let the Rockets know they were going to stay the course in Game 6 by building a 25-point lead in the third quarter.

Rui Hachimura let James and the Lakers know he had come to play, scoring 21 points on eight-for-15 shooting and a sizzling five for seven on three-pointers. Hachimura also had six rebounds.

James began to assert himself in the second quarter, scoring 14 points on five-for-eight shooting and two-for-three on three-pointers. He outscored the Rockets by himself in the second (14-13) and it was his effort that put the Lakers in front for good, helping them build a 19-point lead that was never in jeopardy.

James was being a leader by example for the Lakers, something that increased on April 2 once Luka Doncic (Grade 2 left hamstring strain) and Austin Reaves (Grade 2 left oblique muscle strain) got injured in Oklahoma City.

“I mean, I’ve done it throughout my career for the majority of my career, but they still have to accept it,” James said. “I would say we were a totally different team before April 2 and for them to accept the fact to allow me to lead them and kind of command them in a way that I think I saw fit, being an extension of our coaching staff on the floor, like I said, it means a lot to me. So, I’m happy I was able to do some things out there to make them understand that I guess I know what I’m doing at times and those guys, they were great in this series.”

Continue reading here

Lakers box score

NBA playoffs schedule

Lakers playoff schedule

First round
All times Pacific

at Lakers 107, Houston 98 (box score)
at Lakers 101, Houston 94 (box score)
Lakers 112, at Houston 108 (box score)
at Houston 115, Lakers 96 (box score)
Houston 99, at Lakers 93 (box score)
Lakers 98, at Houston 78 (box score)

Dodgers lose again

From Maddie Lee: Andy Pages tapped the top of his helmet as plate umpire Chris Guccione wound up to punch him out, taking one final stab at extending the Dodgers’ scoring opportunity in the eighth inning.

The Busch Stadium scoreboard lit up with a graphic of the strike zone. The ball flew in, touching the top of the rectangle and turning it red. The call was confirmed. Strike three.

In a 7-2 loss to the Cardinals on Friday, that was one of six at-bats the Dodgers had with runners in scoring position. They didn’t record a hit in any of them.

Instead, the Dodgers (20-12) only scored on Max Muncy’s double with a runner on first in the second inning, and Kyle Tucker’s bases-loaded sacrifice fly in the sixth. It marked their third straight loss, scoring two or fewer runs in each.

Continue reading here

Dodgers box score

MLB standings

Angels lose again

Ronny Mauricio hit a go-ahead home run in the seventh inning and the New York Mets rallied for a 4-3 victory over the Angels on Friday night in the opener of a nine-game trip.

The win — just the Mets’ fourth in their last 21 games — came a few hours after president of baseball operations David Stearns gave manager Carlos Mendoza a vote of confidence. New York has the majors’ worst record at 11-21.

Marcus Semien hit a tying two-run single in the Mets’ three-run sixth inning, which also included an RBI single by Francisco Alvarez. New York retired the final 21 Angels hitters.

Continue reading here

Angels box score

MLB standings

Nico Iamaleava’s redemption tour begins now

From Mirjam Swanson: Tennessee told Nico Iamaleava to go fly a kite, so UCLA said come fly it here.

That alleviated some homesickness, but it didn’t get Iamaleava’s career up off the ground. Of course, the conditions in Westwood last season weren’t ideal for takeoff.

But now they are.

Here comes Bob Chesney’s rebuild. And Iamaleava’s redemption. An exceptional head coach and an exciting quarterback, with the wind at their backs, racing toward a relatively breezy schedule?

Sky’s the limit, man.

Watch them dip and dance and make defenders miss all the way to New York. Watch the cautionary tale about the perils of the transfer portal turn into a fairy-tale comeback.

No, that’s not me building castles in the sky.

Continue reading here

SoFi Stadium workers could strike if ICE is at World Cup

From Kevin Baxter: Isaac Martinez has been as a cook at SoFi Stadium for four years. He’s worked dozens of events including NFL games, a Super Bowl, Taylor Swift concerts, Wrestlemania and the college football national championship game.

And he’s never been afraid to come to work. Until now.

He’s not alone. With the World Cup kicking off at the Inglewood venue next month, Martinez says he and many of the people who work in food services and other jobs at the stadium won’t feel safe if federal immigration agents are present during the tournament.

“Most of the workers are afraid. They fear for their safety,” Martinez said in Spanish. “This is also about the fans. People come from everywhere, even from Iran. So we’re concerned about their safety.”

Continue reading here

D.J. Smith could have interim tag removed

Interim head coach D.J. Smith will be among the candidates for the Kings’ full-time job when general manager Ken Holland conducts his coaching search this month.

Smith took over March 1 when Holland fired Jim Hiller with the Kings at 24-21-14 and out of the playoff picture. The former Ottawa head coach rallied the Kings to an 11-6-6 finish to claim the last wild-card spot in the Western Conference, but the Kings were swept by the powerhouse Colorado Avalanche in their fifth consecutive first-round postseason exit.

“D.J. did a great job,” Holland said Friday. “The team responded to him, so he’s a candidate. … I don’t want to talk to 20 people. I’d like to talk to probably five to eight people, and then make a decision. Some with experience, some maybe assistants, and some who haven’t been a head coach.”

Continue reading here

This day in sports history

1903 — 29th Kentucky Derby: Hal Booker riding Judge Himes wins in 2:09.

1904 — Laska Durnell becomes the first woman to own a Kentucky Derby starter and winner when longshot Elwood wins the 30th Run for the Roses. Elwood is also the first Derby winner whose breeder is a woman, Mrs. J.B. Prather.

1906 — 32nd Kentucky Derby: Roscoe Troxler aboard Sir Huon wins in 2:08.8.

1953 — Dark Star, a 25-1 longshot, wins the Kentucky Derby, beating 7-10 favorite Native Dancer by a head. It’s Native Dancer’s first defeat after 11 straight wins and the only defeat in 22 career starts.

1964 — Northern Dancer, ridden by Bill Hartack, wins the Kentucky Derby by a neck over Hill Rise in a race record 2:00.

1967 — The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Montreal Canadiens 3-1 to win the Stanley Cup in six games.

1968 — 22nd NBA Championship: Boston Celtics beat Lakers, 4 games to 2.

1970 — Diane Crump becomes the first female jockey to ride in the Kentucky Derby. Her mount, Fathom, finishes 15th in a field of 17. Dust Commander, with Mike Manganello aboard, wins the race.

1978 — 1978 NFL Draft: Earl Campbell from University of Texas first pick by Houston Oilers.

1999 — John Elway announces his retirement from the NFL.

2001 — James Hylton, a construction worker from Keizer, Ore., bowls the fifth perfect 900 series in the 106-year history of the sport.

2002 — Patrick Lalime becomes the 14th goalie in NHL history to record four shutouts in one postseason with his 27-save performance in Ottawa’s 5-0 defeat of Toronto.

2009 — Mine That Bird, a 50-1 shot ridden by Calvin Borel, wins the Kentucky Derby with a dynamic stretch run through the mud. Borel finds room along the rail and pulls away in one of the biggest upsets in the 135-year history of the race.

2010 — Ryo Ishikawa shoots a 12-under 58 — the lowest score on a major tour — to win The Crowns in Togo, Japan. The 18-year-old Ishikawa has 12 birdies in his bogey-free round on the 6,545-yard Nagoya Golf Club course.

2010 — Cleveland’s LeBron James becomes the 10th player in NBA history to win consecutive MVP awards.

2012 — Barcelona football player Lionel Messi breaks the European goal-scoring record with 68 goals.

2015 — American Pharoah rallies in the stretch to beat Firing Line by a length for trainer Bob Baffert’s first Kentucky Derby victory since 2002. Sent off as the 5-2 favorite by the record crowd of 170,513, American Pharoah is ridden by Victor Espinoza.

2015 — Floyd Mayweather Jr. uses his reach and his jab to frustrate Manny Pacquiao for a unanimous decision in their welterweight title bout. Mayweather remains unbeaten in 48 fights, cementing his legacy as the best of his generation.

2016 — Leicester City win the English Premier League title after starting the season at 5,000-1 odds.

2017 — Isaiah Thomas scores 53 points — the second-highest total in Celtics playoff history — to help Boston beat the Washington Wizards 129-119 in overtime and take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinals.

Compiled by the Associated Press

This day in baseball history

1917 — Fred Toney of the Cincinnati Reds and Hippo Vaughn of the Chicago Cubs pitched a double no-hitter for nine innings, but the Reds won 1-0 on two hits in the 10th. Jim Thorpe drove in the winning run.

1923 — Walter Johnson recorded his first shutout of the season and the 100th of his major league record 113 career shutouts as the Washington Senators defeated the New York Yankees 3-0. Yankees shortstop Everett Scott received a medal from the American League for playing in his 1,000th consecutive game.

1927 — Babe Ruth becomes the highest-paid player in major league history when the Yankees announce he will earn $70,000 per season for the next three years.

1939 — Lou Gehrig of the New York Yankees did not play against the Detroit Tigers at Briggs Stadium, ending at 2,130 his streak of consecutive games. Gehrig never played again. Babe Dahlgren took his place at first base. The Yankees didn’t miss his bat, however, beating the Tigers 22-2.

1954 — Stan Musial hit five home runs in a doubleheader split with the New York Giants at St. Louis. The Cardinals won the first game 10-6 but lost the second 9-7. His fifth home run, off Hoyt Wilhelm, went over the roof in right center.

1959 — Frank Robinson of Cincinnati hit for the cycle and drove in five runs to lead the Reds to a 16-4 rout of the Dodgers.

1964 — The Minnesota Twins became the third team in major league history to hit four consecutive home runs in an inning. Tony Oliva, Bob Allison and Jimmie Hall connected off Dan Pfister and Harmon Killebrew went deep off Vern Handrahan in the top of the 11th inning for a 7-3 win at Kansas City’s Municipal Stadium.

1992 — The highest-paid player tag now belongs to Ryne Sandberg of the Chicago Cubs. The All-Star second baseman signs a four-year contract extension worth $7.1 million per season.

2000 — Atlanta became the first NL team in 49 years to win 15 straight games by defeating the Dodgers 5-3.

2002 — Mike Cameron hit four homers and came close to a record-setting fifth in leading the Seattle Mariners to a 15-4 victory over the Chicago White Sox. He became the 13th major leaguer to homer four times in a game. Cameron connected in his first four at-bats in just five innings. He joined Bret Boone as the first teammates to each hit two home runs in the same inning. They connected back-to-back twice in a 10-run first.

2005 — Thirty-two years after his death, Jackie Robinson receives the Congressional Gold Medal of Honor in the Capitol Rotunda in Washington, the highest honor Congress can bestow.

2005 — Jim Edmonds hit a three-run homer off closer Danny Graves, and John Mabry added a two-run shot that completed the greatest ninth-inning comeback in St. Louis Cardinals history. The Cardinals sent 12 batters to the plate and scored seven runs in the top of the ninth to beat Cincinnati 10-9.

2006 — Bret Boone retires at the New York Mets training camp, the culmination of a swift decline for a player who was one of baseball’s best second basemen only a few years ago.

2012 — Jered Weaver pitched the second no-hitter in the majors in less than two weeks, completely overmatching Minnesota and leading the Angels to a 9-0 win over the Twins. The Twins never came close to getting a hit against Weaver, who struck out nine and walked one.

2025 — Riley Greene becomes the first player ever to homer twice in the ninth inning when he does so for the Tigers against the Angels.

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 me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

Lakers lead series, or do they?

From Bill Plaschke: There have been 160 times an NBA team has led a series three games to none.

There have been 160 times that team has won the series.

Marvel in that statistic. Appreciate its power. Wax in its endurance. Embrace its existence.

Because the Lakers are two losses from blowing it to bits.

This is not really happening, is it? The Lakers aren’t really on the verge of messing up a three-games-to-none lead to the Houston Rockets in the first round of the playoffs, are they?

It’s happening. With a glare and a snarl and youthful athleticism, the wrong side of history beckons.

Like Reed Sheppard wrestling the ball out of LeBron James’ hands in the final minutes, the Rockets are in the process of stealing this.

Continue reading here

Swanson: Lakers need another ageless LeBron James performance after Game 5 loss

Marcus Smart says Lakers must ‘be willing to run through a wall’ in Game 6

Lakers playoff schedule

First round
All times Pacific

at Lakers 107, Houston 98 (box score)
at Lakers 101, Houston 94 (box score)
Lakers 112, at Houston 108 (box score)
at Houston 115, Lakers 96 (box score)
Houston 99, at Lakers 93 (box score)
Friday: Lakers at Houston, 6:30 p.m., Prime Video
*Sunday: Houston at Lakers, TBD

*-if necessary

Ducks advance to second round

Leo Carlsson, Troy Terry and Chris Kreider had a goal and two assists apiece, and the Ducks eliminated Connor McDavid the two-time defending Western Conference champion Edmonton Oilers with a 5-2 victory in Game 6 of their first-round playoff series Thursday night.

Cutter Gauthier had a goal and an assist, Ryan Poehling scored the opening goal and Lukas Dostal made 25 saves in a standout performance for the upstart Ducks, who stormed to their team’s first playoff series victory since 2017.

After ending a seven-year postseason absence by knocking out the powerhouse Oilers, the Ducks will face the winner of the Vegas Golden Knights’ series with the Utah Mammoth. Vegas leads 3-2 heading to Salt Lake City on Friday night.

Connor Murphy and Vasily Podkolzin scored as Edmonton followed up its worst regular season since 2021 by going out in the first round for the first time since that season.

Continue reading here

Ducks summary

NHL playoffs schedule

Ducks playoffs schedule

All times Pacific

at Edmonton 4, Ducks 3 (summary)
Ducks 6, at Edmonton 4 (summary)
at Ducks 7, Edmonton 4 (summary)
at Ducks 4, Edmonton 3 (OT) (summary)
at Edmonton 4, Ducks 1 (summary)
at Ducks 5, Edmonton 2 (summary)

Cheap transportation to World Cup in L.A.

From Kevin Baxter: Ticket prices are just the start of the soaring expenses many fans will face while trying to watch World Cup games this summer.

NJ Transit is charging $150 for round-trip tickets from Manhattan to the Meadowlands (the regular price is $12.60) for the World Cup final, while host committee shuttle buses will cost $80.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority is demanding $80 to ride one of the 14 express trains on the 30-mile trip from downtown Boston to Foxborough for games at Gillette Stadium. That’s more than three times the normal price.

In Southern California, however, it will cost $1.75 to get to SoFi Stadium on a combination of buses or trains from as far away as Claremont and Simi Valley. That’s also what it costs to get to the Inglewood venue on any other day of the year; only two of the 11 World Cup cities in the U.S. are offering less expensive public transportation.

Continue reading here

Sparks say they can make playoffs

From Marisa Ingemi: Expectations around the Sparks are higher than they’ve been in some time. During Thursday’s media day, that was evident.

The Sparks reloaded for this season, adding veterans Nneka Ogwumike, Erica Wheeler and Ariel Atkins to returners Kelsey Plum and Cameron Brink.

After falling just two games short of the playoffs last season, this year’s goal is clear.

“Transformation takes time, and it’s a process, right?” Plum said. “And I think I see that we’ve had tremendous growth. To bring in players like Nneka, Erica Wheeler and then Ariel, we have everyone in camp fully healthy.

“I think, really, our depth and our talent is immense this year, and the mission is very clear from everyone on this team and equipped with the jump and training camp, very excited about the hunger and sense of urgency that we have. We want to win now, that’s very important to us.”

Continue reading here

This day in sports history

1943 — Count Fleet, ridden by Johnny Longden, wins the Kentucky Derby by three lengths over Blue Swords.

1948 — Citation, ridden by Eddie Arcaro, wins the Kentucky Derby by 3½ lengths over Coaltown. It’s Citation’s toughest race in winning the Triple Crown.

1954 — 80th Kentucky Derby: Raymond York wins aboard Determine, his only Derby success.

1955 — American golfer Babe Didrikson-Zaharias wins the Peach Blossom LPGA Tournament in Spartanburg, South Carolina, her final victory before her death the following year.

1959 — Floyd Patterson scores 11th round KO of Englishman Brian London in Indianapolis; his 4th World Heavyweight Boxing title defence.

1965 — The Montreal Canadiens beat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-0 in Game 7 to capture the Stanley Cup.

1965 — 91st Kentucky Derby: Bill Shoemaker wins aboard Lucky Debonair, the third of his four Derby victories.

1969 — Leonard Tose buys NFL Philadelphia Eagles for a professional sports record $16.15 million.

1976 — 102nd Kentucky Derby: Puerto Rican jockey Ángel Cordero Jr. wins aboard Bold Forbes, the second of three Derby successes.

1981 — Tennis player Billie Jean King acknowledges a lesbian relationship with Marilyn Barnett, becoming first prominent sportswoman to come out.

1982 — Gato del Sol, ridden by Ed Delahoussaye, comes from last place in a field of 19 to win the Kentucky Derby. Gato del Sol, finishes 2 1/2 lengths ahead of Laser Light, who beat Reinvested by a neck for second. He finishes in 2:02 2/5 and returns $44.40 for a $2 bet. Air Forbes Won, the 5-2 favorite of the crow of 141,009, finishes seventh.

1984 — NFL Draft: Nebraska wide receiver Irving Fryar first pick by New England Patriots.

1988 — After scoring 50 points in Game 1, NBA Eastern Conference playoff series, Michael Jordan has 55 in Chicago Bulls 106-101 win vs Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 2; first to score 50+ points in consecutive playoff games.

1992 — The Pittsburgh Penguins become the 11th NHL team to rebound from a 3-1 deficit and win a playoff series after beating the Washington Capitals 3-1.

1993 — Bruce Baumgartner wins his 11th straight national wrestling title by beating Joel Greenlee 6-0 in the 286-pound freestyle division at the U.S. championships in Las Vegas.

2003 — The three-time defending champion Lakers beat Minnesota 101-85 to win the series 4-2. It’s the 13th straight playoff series won under Phil Jackson, and Jackson-coached teams have an NBA-record 25 consecutive series wins.

2004 — Smarty Jones splashes his way past Lion Heart in the stretch to win the Kentucky Derby. Smarty Jones runs his record to 7 for 7 and becomes the first unbeaten Derby winner since Seattle Slew in 1977.

2005 — 17-year old Lionel Messi scores his 1st senior league goal for FC Barcelona in 2-0 win against Albacete Balompié, at the Spotify Camp Nou in Barcelona.

2006 — Detroit, winner of the President’s Trophy by leading the league in points (124) this season, is eliminated in the first round for the third time in five postseasons after a 4-3 loss to Edmonton in Game 6.

2008 — Johan Franzen records his second hat trick in three games with three more goals and helps Detroit complete a four-game sweep of Colorado with an e is 8-2 win. He is the first player with two hat tricks in one playoff series since Jari Kurri did it for Edmonton in 1985.

2010 — Jockey Calvin Borel steers Super Saver through the mud to win his third Kentucky Derby in four years, beating Lookin At Lucky by 2 1/2 lengths. The win ends trainer Todd Pletcher’s Derby drought. Pletcher, who had four horses in the race, came into the race 0 for 24 since 2000.

2019 — Argentine forward Lionel Messi scores twice for his 600th goal for FC Barcelona in a 3-0 home win over Liverpool in a Champions League semifinal.

2021 — 147th Kentucky Derby: Medina Spirit gives jockey John Velazquez his fourth Derby win and trainer Bob Baffert a record seventh victory in the race.

Compiled by the Associated Press

This day in baseball history

1884 — Toledo’s Moses Fleetwood Walker became the first Black player in the pre-modern era of the major leagues. His Blue Stockings lost 5-1 to Louisville.

1891 — In front of almost 10,000 fans, Cy Young of the Cleveland Spiders defeats the Cincinnati Reds, 12-3, in the first game ever played in Cleveland’s League Park.

1901 — Chicago’s Herm McFarland hit the first grand slam in American League history and Dummy Hoy also homered in the Chicago White Sox’ 19-9 rout of the Detroit Tigers. The Tigers committed an AL record 12 errors, 10 by the infield, in the loss.

1906 — John Lush of the Philadelphia Phillies pitched a no-hitter at Brooklyn, beating the Dodgers 6-0.

1920 — Joe Oeschger of the Boston Braves and Leon Cadore of the Brooklyn Dodgers each pitched 26 innings in a 1-1 tie, the longest in major league history.

1920 — Babe Ruth hit his first home run as a Yankee, and 50th of his career, as New York beat Boston 6-0 at the Polo Grounds.

1925 — The Philadelphia Athletics introduce another future Hall of Famer, 17-year-old catcher Jimmie Foxx, who pinch-hits a single in the 9-4 loss to the Washington Senators.

1926 — Legendary pitcher Satchel Paige makes his debut in the Negro Southern League.

1944 — George Myatt of Washington went 6-for-6 and the Senators beat the Boston Braves 11-4.

1951 — New York’s Mickey Mantle hit his first major league home run in an 8-3 loss at Chicago. The first of Mantle’s 536 homers came in the sixth inning off Randy Gumpert.

1968 — Philadelphia Phillies pitcher John Boozer was ejected by umpire Ed Vargo at Shea Stadium for throwing spitballs during his warmup pitches. Boozer was the second major league pitcher to be ejected from a game for this.

1969 — Houston’s Don Wilson beat the Cincinnati Reds with a 4-0 no-hitter at Crosley Field, one day after the Reds’ Jim Maloney no-hit the Astros and nine days after Wilson absorbed a 14-0 pounding by Cincinnati.

1973 — The San Francisco Giants scored seven runs with two out in the ninth inning to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-7.

1975 — Hank Aaron collects four hits and two RBI in the Brewers’ 17-3 win over Detroit. This brings his career RBI total to 2,211, breaking Babe Ruth’s published record of 2,209.

1984 — Dwight Gooden became the first teenager to strike out a least ten batters in a game since Bert Blyleven did it in 1970. The Mets’ 19-year-old phenom would set a major league rookie record with 276 strikeouts.

1991 — Rickey Henderson surpassed Lou Brock as baseball’s career stolen base leader with his 939th steal as the Oakland Athletics beat the New York Yankees 7-4.

1991 — Nolan Ryan pitched his seventh no-hitter, struck out 16 and shut down the best-hitting team in the majors, as the Texas Rangers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 3-0.

1992 — The Dodgers postponed a three-game series against Montreal because of rioting in Los Angeles after the Rodney King verdict.

1992 — Rickey Henderson garners his 1,000th stolen base.

2000 — San Francisco Giants left fielder Barry Bonds becomes the first player to hit a ball into San Francisco Bay (McCovey’s Cove) as the first “splashdown” home run at Pacific Bell Park.

2012 — Orioles manager Buck Showalter wins his 1,000th game as a major league skipper when the O’s defeat the Yankees, 7-1.

2015 — Alex Rodriguez ties Willie Mays for fourth place on the all-time home run list when he hits number 660 against the Red Sox.

2020 — Even though there is no baseball being currently played, pitcher Emmanuel Clase of the Indians manages to get himself suspended, as the results of a test are positive for Boldenone, an anabolic steroid. He will be suspended for 80 games from whenever the season eventually starts.

2022 — Kelsie Whitmore becomes the first woman to start a game in the Atlantic League, which is now part of Organized Baseball as a partner league of Major League Baseball, when she starts in left field for the Staten Island FerryHawks against the Gastonia Honey Hunters.

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 me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

Lakers lose to Rockets

From Broderick Turner: An hour before tip-off of Game 5 of the first-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets, the word came down that Austin Reaves was available to play for the Lakers, his wait over, his time away with a Grade 2 left oblique strain no longer an issue for him.

Reaves missed the first four games of the series against Houston and the last five regular-season games after sustaining the injury in Oklahoma
City on April 2. He checked into the game off the bench with 5 minutes and 39 seconds left in the first quarter to a standing ovation.

Reaves proceeded to give the Lakers a lift, but the Rockets received even more elevated play , their five starters scoring in double figures and their defense on point during Houston’s 99-93 win over Los Angeles on Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena.

Even with Reaves scoring 22 points and handing out six assists and LeBron James producing 25 points and seven assists, the Lakers couldn’t close out this best-of-seven series they once had total command of just a few days ago.

The Lakers have lost the last two games and their once 3-0 lead heading to Houston with their lead down to 3-2.

“I mean, we don’t have a lot of time to dwell on it,” James said. “I mean, you can give yourself tonight, a little bit tomorrow. But … once we get on that plane and head down to Houston we got to forget about it and understand what we are going for and it’s going to be even harder.

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Lakers box score

NBA playoffs schedule

Lakers playoff schedule

First round
All times Pacific

at Lakers 107, Houston 98 (box score)
at Lakers 101, Houston 94 (box score)
Lakers 112, at Houston 108 (box score)
at Houston 115, Lakers 96 (box score)
Houston 99, at Lakers 93 (box score)
Friday: Lakers at Houston, 6:30 p.m., Prime Video
*Sunday: Houston at Lakers, TBD

*-if necessary

Dodgers lose to Marlins again

From Kevin Baxter: Wednesday was getaway day for Dodgers, the final game of a six-game homestand ahead of a weeklong trip to St. Louis and Houston. And that’s a good thing, first baseman Freddie Freeman said, because there are a number of players on the team that really could use a getaway, Freeman chief among them.

With Wednesday’s 3-2 matinee loss to the Miami Marlins, the Dodgers (20-11) have lost two in a row at home for the first time this season. In those two games the Dodgers scored just three runs, went four for 18 with men in scoring position and left 16 runners on base.

And the final outs Wednesday came when Freeman, batting with the bases loaded and one out, grounded into a bizarre, unassisted double play with Marlins second baseman Xavier Edwards fielding the ball, tagging Shohei Ohtani as he ran him back to first, then dragging his foot across the bag to retire Freeman.

“I hit it right at the second baseman. He tagged Ohtani and tagged first,” Freeman offered in an accurate, if hardly revelatory explanation.

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Dodgers box score

MLB standings

Angels lose to White Sox again

Rookie Sam Antonacci hit a tying triple with two outs in the ninth inning and Colson Montgomery had a winning single in the 10th, lifting the Chicago White Sox to a 3-2 victory Wednesday for a three-game sweep that extended the Angels’ losing streak to six.

Mike Trout hit his 10th home run of the season for the Angels, who have lost 10 of 11 and dropped to 12-20. Additionally, Angels starter Yusei Kikuchi left after two innings with left shoulder tightness.

Kikuchi gave up no runs on two hits and a walk with one strikeout before exiting. His average fastball velocity dropped from 94.9 mph in the first inning to 92.8 mph in the second.

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Angels box score

MLB standings

Who is the Kentucky Derby favorite?

From Jay Posner: This year’s Kentucky Derby field does not appear to have a true standout. But it could have a star.

If that sounds illogical, trainer Chad Brown, who will start Emerging Market in a bid to win his first Derby, can explain.

“There’s clearly a couple horses that are deserving favorites in the race, but there’s by no means an American Pharoah in here, at least up to this point going into the race,” Brown said, referencing the 2015 Triple Crown champion. “Now, you know, whoever wins the race and goes on, maybe one emerges and turns into one of the best 3-year-olds in the last few years.”

That’s what happened last year, when Sovereignty, the third betting choice in the race, progressed from a Derby win to victories in the Belmont and Travers and was voted Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year.

This year’s field is so deep, Brown said, that an argument could be made “for maybe half the horses in the field, if they ran their very, very best race and had a good trip, could win this race.”

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Sparks to retire a number

From Marisa Ingemi: The Sparks will retire former player DeLisha Milton-Jones’ No. 8 jersey on July 28 when the team hosts the New York Liberty as a part of the WNBA’s 30th anniversary celebration.

A three-time All-Star, Milton-Jones played 11 years for the Sparks, helping lead them to back-to-back titles in 2001 and 2002.

“It’s like one of those moments where it’s Christmas, and you’re anticipating getting a gift and when the day finally is here, that feeling you can’t even describe is rather euphoric and nostalgic all at the same time, and it brings a peace about you in a way that you can’t explain,” Milton-Jones said. “Because you put so much time, energy and effort into everything that you did in that moment in your life, and now to be rewarded in this manner is just pretty big.”

Milton-Jones will be the fourth Sparks player to have her number retired after Lisa Leslie (No. 9), Penny Toler (No. 11) and Candace Parker (No. 3).

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NCAA men’s tournament could expand

From Steve Henson: Ever-growing power conferences are the driving force behind an impending expansion of the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments, which ESPN reported could be formalized within weeks and begin next season.

The field would grow from 68 teams to 76 that would include eight additional at-large teams in each tournament. The current First Four — eight teams playing four games — would expand to 12 games played by 24 teams at two sites on the first Tuesday and Wednesday of the tournament. The traditional 64-team bracket would begin Thursday as usual.

Mid-majors likely are tempering any celebration. The change might not mean more invitations to the Big Dance for underdogs because the NCAA and its media partners favor large, established schools with large, established fan bases for viewership and revenue.

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Ducks playoffs schedule

All times Pacific

at Edmonton 4, Ducks 3 (summary)
Ducks 6, at Edmonton 4 (summary)
at Ducks 7, Edmonton 4 (summary)
at Ducks 4, Edmonton 3 (OT) (summary)
at Edmonton 4, Ducks 1 (summary)
Thursday: Edmonton at Ducks, 7 p.m., TNT, truTV, HBO Max, KCOP-13
*Saturday: Ducks at Edmonton, TBD

*-if necessary

This day in sports history

1961 — LPGA Titleholders Championship Women’s Golf, Augusta CC: Mickey Wright wins her 5th major title by 1 stroke from Patty Berg & Louise Suggs.

1962 — LPGA Titleholders Championship Women’s Golf, Augusta CC: Mickey Wright wins her 8th major title in a playoff with Ruth Jessen.

1971 — The Milwaukee Bucks become the second team to register a four-game sweep in the NBA championship, beating the Baltimore Bullets 118-106.

1975 — Larry O’Brien is named the NBA’s third commissioner, following J. Walter Kennedy (1963-75) and Maurice Podoloff (1946-63). O’Brien holds the position until 1984.

1976 — Muhammad Ali wins a unanimous 15-round decision over Jimmy Young in Landover, Md., to retain his world heavyweight title.

1985 — NFL Draft: Virginia Tech defensive end Bruce Smith first pick by Buffalo Bills.

1987 — NY Islander Mike Bossy plays his final game.

1992 — The Red Wings and Canucks become the ninth and 10th teams in NHL history to rebound from 3-1 deficits to win playoff series. Detroit beats the Minnesota North Stars 5-2 in the Norris Division, while Vancouver defeats the Winnipeg Jets 5-0 in the Smythe Division.

1993 — Top-ranked Monica Seles is stabbed during a changeover in Hamburg, Germany. Guenter Parche, 38, reaches over a courtside railing and knifes Seles in the back. She has an inch-deep slit between her shoulder blades and missed the remainder of the 1993 season.

2005 — James Toney outpoints John Ruiz to win the WBA heavyweight title in New York. Toney, a former champion at three other weights, wins his third heavyweight bout, becoming the third one-time middleweight champion to take boxing’s top crown.

2010 — Tiger Woods matches the worst nine-hole score of his PGA Tour career and winds up with a 7-over 79 to miss the cut at the Quail Hollow Championship. Woods finishes at 9-over 153, the highest 36-hole total of his career. It’s the sixth time in his 14-year career he misses a cut.

2012 — Manchester City defeat Manchester United 1-0 in what is claimed to be the biggest match in the English Premier League’s history.

2014 — Anze Kopitar scores the tiebreaking goal late in the second period and Jonathan Quick makes 39 saves to cap the Kings’ comeback from three games down with a 5-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks in Game 7 of the first round. This is the fourth time an NHL team won a best-of-seven series after losing the first three games.

2015 — For the first time in 51 years, the NFL draft returns to Chicago. Florida State’s Jameis Winston is selected by Tampa Bay as the first selection.

2023 — Seattle Kraken become first NHL franchise to earn its first-ever playoff series win against reigning Stanley Cup champion, eliminating the Colorado Avalanche in seven games.

Compiled by the Associated Press

This day in baseball history

1903 — The New York Highlanders won their home opener at Hilltop Park, 6-2 over Washington.

1919 — Philadelphia’s Joe Oeschger and Brooklyn’s Burleigh Grimes pitched complete games in a 9-9, 20-inning tie. Both teams scored three runs in the 19th inning. Oeschger gave up 22 hits and walked five, while Grimes allowed 15 hits and walked five.

1922 — Charlie Robertson of the Chicago White Sox pitched a 2-0 perfect game against the Detroit Tigers. Johnny Mostil, playing left field for the only time, made two outstanding catches.

1923 — The New York Yankees sign 20-year-old prospect Lou Gehrig to a contract paying him a salary of $2,000 and a bonus of $1,500.

1940 — James “Tex” Carleton of the Brooklyn Dodgers threw a 3-0 no-hitter at Cincinnati.

1944 — In the first game of a doubleheader split, New York first baseman Phil Weintraub drove in 11 runs and player-manager Mel Ott scored six runs as the Giants beat the Brooklyn Dodgers 26-8. Brooklyn won the nightcap 5-4.

1946 — Bob Feller struck out 11 New York Yankees en route to his second of three career no-hitters, a 1-0 victory at Yankee Stadium.

1952 — Ted Williams plays his final game before leaving for military duty in Korea.

1958 —Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox became the 10th major leaguer to reach 1,000 extra-base hits in a 10-4 loss to the Kansas City Athletics at Fenway Park.

1961 — Willie Mays of the San Francisco Giants hit four home runs and drove in eight runs in a 14-4 victory over the Braves in Milwaukee. Hank Aaron hit two homers for the Braves.

1967 — Steve Barber and Stu Miller of the Baltimore Orioles combined on a no-hitter in a 2-1 loss to the Detroit Tigers in the first game of a doubleheader.

1969 — Jim Maloney of the Cincinnati Reds struck out 13 en route to a 10-0 no-hitter over the Houston Astros, the third of his career.

1986 — The Seattle Mariners strike out 16 more times in a 9-4 loss to the Boston Red Sox, to set a major league record of 36 strikeouts in two consecutive games.

1988 — New York and Cincinnati hooked up in a wild game at Riverfront Stadium, with the Mets winning 6-5 on a delayed call by first base umpire Dave Pallone. The call resulted in a $10,000 fine and 30-day suspension of Reds manager Pete Rose when Pallone accidentally poked Rose in the cheek and Rose shoved Pallone twice.

1994 — Toronto’s Joe Carter finished April with 31 RBIs to set a major league record for the month. Colorado’s Andres Galarraga finished with 30 to set a National League record.

1996 — Jeff King of the Pittsburgh Pirates becomes the third major leaguer to hit two home runs in one inning twice in his career.

2000 — Randy Johnson of the Arizona Diamondbacks defeats the Chicago Cubs, 6-0, as he becomes only the third pitcher in major league history to win six games in April.

2002 — Al Leiter cruised through seven three-hit innings in the New York Mets’ 10-1 rout of Arizona to become the first pitcher to beat all 30 teams in the majors.

2005 — Major league players are asked by Commissioner Bud Selig to agree to a 50-game suspension for the first offense, a 100-game suspension for the second offense and a lifelong ban after the third offense for the use of steroids.

2008 — Julio Franco announces his retirement as a player at age 49.

2012 — Ryan Braun hit three homers and a two-run triple in Milwaukee’s 8-3 win over San Diego. No player had hit three homers and a triple in a game since Fred Lynn in 1975.

2017 — Anthony Rendon had 10 RBIs, three home runs and six hits, powering the Washington Nationals past the New York Mets 23-5. Rendon went a career-best 6 for 6 and scored five times.

2019 — CC Sabathia becomes the 17th pitcher to reach 3,000 strikeouts.

2020 — The latest event to be cancelled due to the ongoing global coronavirus pandemic is the annual Little League World Series.

2022 — Clayton Kershaw becomes the Dodgers’ all-time franchise leader for strikeouts when he fans Spencer Torkelson of the Tigers in the 4th inning. With 2,697 strikeouts, he moves past Hall of Famer Don Sutton.

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 me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

Dodgers fall to the Marlins

From Maddie Lee: Right-hander Shohei Ohtani shook his head slightly as he walked off the field, having escaped the fifth inning with just one run yielded, stranding the bases loaded.

He strode through the dugout and straight back into the tunnel, with time to reset before coming back out for the sixth.

That was a luxury he wouldn’t have had if he was also hitting in the Dodgers’ 2-1 loss to the Marlins on Tuesday. His usual leadoff spot was coming up third in the bottom half of the inning.

“More times than not, it’s been fine,” pitching coach Mark Prior said in a conversation with The Times before the game. “But there are occasions where those conversations in between with the catcher or the staff doesn’t always happen. By him not hitting, it at least allows us to make sure that we’re hopefully, on the same page, and maybe we’re seeing things the same way.

“Obviously, one of the best hitters, so you like him in there offensively. But for the long-term goal of keeping them fresh all year, I think these are smart decisions when we can do it, when it makes sense.”

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Dodgers box score

MLB standings

Angels lose to White Sox

Drew Romo hit the first two home runs of his career as the Chicago White Sox beat the Angels 5-2 on Tuesday night. It was the fifth loss in a row for the Angels.

Colson Montgomery homered in the second off Angels starter José Soriano (5-1), ending his shutout streak at 25 2/3 innings. The right-hander gave up three runs and six hits over five innings, raising his major league-leading ERA from 0.24 to 0.84.

Davis Martin (4-1) outpitched Soriano, giving up one run and seven hits in 5 2/3 innings. Martin struck out seven and walked one.

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Angels say rodent infestation at one offending stadium concession stand has been cleaned

Angels box score

MLB standings

Austin Reaves a game-time decision for Game 5

From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: Less than four weeks after suffering a Grade 2 left oblique muscle strain, Austin Reaves is closing in on a return with the Lakers in position to clinch a spot in the Western Conference semifinals.

Reaves will officially be a game-time decision before Wednesday’s potentially series-clinching Game 5 against the Houston Rockets at 7 p.m. at Crypto.com Arena. He was questionable for Games 3 and 4, warming up on the court before each game, but is “trending in the right direction,” he said Tuesday.

The Lakers have a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series despite playing without Reaves and leading scorer Luka Doncic, who is out because of a Grad 2 left hamstring strain.

“JJ [Redick] specifically was like you have to be comfortable with your body and what you can do to go out there and help us be successful,” Reaves said of his coach in his first comments to reporters since suffering the injury on April 2. “And I want to get back out there as fast as I can.”

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LeBron James needs sidekicks back to help Lakers hold off Rockets

Ex-Lakers assistant admits role in gambling schemes, could face years in prison

Lakers playoff schedule

First round
All times Pacific

at Lakers 107, Houston 98 (box score)
at Lakers 101, Houston 94 (box score)
Lakers 112, at Houston 108 (box score)
at Houston 115, Lakers 96 (box score)
Wednesday: Houston at Lakers, 7 p.m., ESPN
*Friday: Lakers at Houston, 6:30 p.m., Prime
*Sunday: Houston at Lakers, TBD

*-if necessary

Oilers beat Ducks to force a Game 6

Leon Draisaitl scored a pair of goals and Evan Bouchard chipped in with three assists as the Edmonton Oilers staved off elimination by beating the Ducks 4-1 on Tuesday night.

The Oilers now trail the best-of-seven Western Conference playoff series 3-2 with Game 6 on Thursday night at Honda Center.

Vasily Podkolzin and Zach Hyman also scored for the Oilers who had previously yielded six separate leads to slip away in the first four games of the series.

Ducks summary

NHL playoffs schedule

Ducks playoffs schedule

All times Pacific

at Edmonton 4, Ducks 3 (summary)
Ducks 6, at Edmonton 4 (summary)
at Ducks 7, Edmonton 4 (summary)
at Ducks 4, Edmonton 3 (OT) (summary)
at Edmonton 4, Ducks 1 (summary)
Thursday: Edmonton at Ducks, 7 p.m., TNT, truTV, HBO Max, KCOP-13
*Saturday: Ducks at Edmonton, TBD

*-if necessary

This day in sports history

1901 — His Eminence, ridden by Jimmy Winkfield, wins the Kentucky Derby by 1 1/2 lengths over Sannazarro in the only Derby ever raced in April.

1961 — ABC’s “Wide World of Sports,” debuts.

1963 — LPGA Titleholders Championship Women’s Golf, Augusta CC: Marilynn Smith beats Mickey Wright by 1 shot in 18-hole playoff.

1970 — Lakers guard Jerry West hits a 60-foot desperation shot at the buzzer to tie Game 3 of the NBA Finals against the New York Knicks. The Knicks outscore the Lakers 9-6 in the overtime for a 111-108 win.

1980 — NFL Draft: Oklahoma running back Billy Sims first pick by Detroit Lions.

1981 — NFL Draft: South Carolina running back George Rogers first pick by New Orleans Saints.

1985 — Tony Tubbs captures the WBA heavyweight title with a unanimous 15-round decision over Greg Page in Buffalo, N.Y.

1986 — NFL Draft: Auburn running back Bo Jackson first pick by Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

1990 — Pat Riley becomes the winningest coach in NBA playoff history as the Lakers beat the Houston Rockets 104-100. Riley’s 100th victory put him ahead of Red Auerbach.

1998 — For the first time in the 124-year history of the Kentucky Derby, a redraw is ordered during the post-position draw. Churchill Downs officials allowed ESPN to control the announcing of the draw. Commentator Chris Lincoln called the No. 15 pill twice while picking the draft order for post positions.

2000 — Lennox Lewis knocks down Michael Grant three times in the first round and knocks him out at 2:53 of the second at Madison Square Garden in New York to retain his WBC and IBF heavyweight titles. The combined weight of 497 pounds made it the heaviest title fight ever.

2003 — Indiana outscores Boston 5-0 in overtime for a 93-88 victory, cutting the Celtics’ first-round series lead to 3-2. It’s the first overtime shutout in NBA playoff history.

2006 — NFL Draft: North Carolina State defensive end Mario Williams first pick from Houston Texans.

2007 — Phoenix guard Steve Nash has 23 assists, one shy of the NBA playoff record, to help Phoenix to a 113-100 victory over the Lakers.

2010 — The NCAA’s Board of Directors approve a 68-team format for the men’s basketball tournament beginning next season. It’s the first expansion since 2001 when the tourney went from 64 to 65 teams.

2014 — Clippers owner Donald Sterling is banned for life by the NBA in response to racist comments he made in an audio recording. The Clippers’ owner is also fined $2.5 million, the maximum amount allowed under the NBA Constitution.

2018 — Spanish tennis great Rafael Nadal equals his Open-era record for most wins at the same event (11 Monte Carlo) with his 11th Barcelona ATP title.

Compiled by the Associated Press

This day in baseball history

1902 — Baltimore Orioles infielder John McGraw is hit by pitches five times, but home plate umpire Jack Sheridan refuses to allow him to take first base. In the 9th inning, McGraw is hit for the last time and sits down in the batter’s box in protest. American League president Ban Johnson will suspend McGraw for five games.

1918 — Center fielder Tris Speaker executed the fourth unassisted double play of his career in the Cleveland Indians’ 8-4 loss to the Chicago White Sox.

1922 — The New York Giants hit four inside-the-park home runs in a 15-4 win at Braves Field in Boston. George Kelly hit two and Ross Youngs and Dave Bancroft hit the others. Youngs also hit for the cycle and added a double while going 5-for-5 and driving in five runs.

1931 — Wes Ferrell of the Cleveland Indians pitched a 7-0 no-hitter over the St. Louis Browns, including his brother Rick. Wes also knocked in four runs with a homer and a double.

1933 — In a strange play at home plate, catcher Luke Sewell of the Washington Senators tagged out two Yankees runners on the same play. Lou Gehrig had held up, thinking a fly ball would be caught. Dixie Walker closed up on him, and both were tagged out trying to score.

1958 — Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox becomes the tenth major league player to get 1,000 extra-base hits.

1981 — Steve Carlton struck out Montreal’s Tim Wallach in the first inning of the Philadelphia Phillies’ 6-2 victory over the visiting Expos to become the sixth major league pitcher — and first left-hander — to strike out 3,000 batters.

1986 — Roger Clemens set a major league record by striking out 20 batters as the Boston Red Sox defeated the Seattle Mariners 3-1.

1987 — Andre Dawson had five hits and hit for the cycle to lead the Chicago Cubs to an 8-4 victory the San Francisco Giants.

1988 — The Baltimore Orioles ended their 21-game losing streak by winning their first game of the season, 9-0 over the Chicago White Sox on a combined four-hitter by Mark Williamson and Dave Schmidt.

1994 — Kirk Rueter of the Montreal Expos becomes the first major league pitcher since Fernando Valenzuela in 1981 to start his career with a 10-0 record.

1996 — New York Mets closer John Franco becomes the first left-hander in major league history to record 300 saves.

1997 — Chili Davis of the Kansas City Royals becomes the 75th major leaguer to hit 300 home runs.

2005 — In the first matchup between 300-game winners in almost 18 years, the Cubs’ Greg Maddux outdueled the Astros’ Roger Clemens in Chicago’s 3-2 win over Houston. Maddux earned his first win of season and 306th of his career, allowing two runs on seven hits over six innings.

2006 — Albert Pujols sets a major league record with his 14th home run in April.

2007 — Colorado shortstop Troy Tulowitzki had an unassisted triple play in the seventh inning of the Rockies’ 9-7 win over Atlanta.

2015 — In what was believed to be the first major league game played without fans in attendance, Chris Davis hit a three-run homer in a six-run first inning and the Baltimore Orioles beat the Chicago White Sox 8-2. After a pair of postponements caused by rioting in Baltimore, the Orioles and Chicago White Sox played at Camden Yards. The gates at Camden Yards were locked because of concern for fan safety following recent rioting in Baltimore after a 25-year-old Black man died in police custody.

2017 — Carlos Gomez hit for the cycle for the second time and Rougned Odor hit a tiebreaking two-run homer to help the Texas Rangers beat the Angels 6-3.

2017 — Yasiel Puig, Cody Bellinger and Justin Turner hit consecutive homers off Hector Neris in the ninth, helping the Dodgers rally for a 6-5 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. Los Angeles trailed 5-2 before the three straight homers.

2020 — The Hall of Fame announces the cancellation of its annual induction ceremony in Cooperstown, NY, scheduled for the last week-end of July, due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Instead, the ceremony will be combined one year later with the one for the Class of 2021.

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 me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

WASHINGTON — A former senior adviser to Dr. Anthony Fauci was indicted on federal charges alleging he conspired to hide his communications related to COVID-19 research as the pandemic raged across the country, the Justice Department said Tuesday.

Dr. David Morens, 78, is accused of using his private email account to intentionally circumvent public records laws while employed at the National Institutes of Health. The Justice Department alleges that he concealed or destroyed records of discussions related to COVID-19 research grants, including an effort to revive a controversial coronavirus grant.

“These allegations represent a profound abuse of trust at a time when the American people needed it most — during the height of a global pandemic,” acting Atty. Gen. Todd Blanche said in a statement Tuesday. “Government officials have a solemn duty to provide honest, well-grounded facts and advice in service of the public interest — not to advance their own personal or ideological agendas.”

Morens faces charges of conspiracy against the United States; destruction, alteration or falsification of records in federal investigations; concealment, removal or mutilation of records; and aiding and abetting, according to a Justice Department news release. If convicted, he could face decades in prison. An attorney for Morens declined to comment.

The indictment reflects Republicans’ long-held belief that the federal government covered up key information about COVID-19 as the pandemic unfolded. Despite numerous probes, the origins of COVID have never been proven. Scientists are unsure whether the virus jumped from an animal, as many other viruses have, or came from a laboratory accident. A U.S. intelligence analysis released in 2023 said there is insufficient evidence to prove either theory.

Blanche said Morens’ alleged conduct was part of an effort to “suppress alternative theories” about COVID-19’s origins. The Justice Department also accused Morens of having an improper relationship with a collaborator, including allegedly accepting a gift of wine and discussing COVID-19 research and potential publications in a prominent medical journal.

The indictment follows a probe by House Republicans into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic that scrutinized Morens’ email communications and accused him of intentionally concealing records. In congressional testimony, Morens denied attempting to evade federal transparency laws by using his personal email.

MINNEAPOLIS — Federal agents executed multiple searches in Minnesota on Tuesday, seizing records and other evidence in an ongoing fraud investigation by the Trump administration of publicly funded social programs for children, authorities said.

Few details were released, though armed agents were seen at child-care centers in the Minneapolis area. KSTP-TV said one crew even had a battering ram.

Democratic Gov. Tim Walz, who has been on the defensive amid Trump administration claims that he hasn’t done enough to root out fraud, welcomed the raids. The state child welfare agency said it shared key information with law enforcement to “hold bad actors accountable.”

“We catch criminals when state and federal agencies share information. Joint investigations work, and securing justice depends on it,” Walz said.

The searches were being conducted at daycares, businesses and some residences, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the investigation.

Tensions between Minnesota officials and the federal government were high during an extraordinary immigration crackdown that led to the deaths of two people before Operation Metro Surge was eased in February.

Before that crackdown, the government had brought fraud charges against dozens of people, many of them Somali Americans, who were accused of fleecing a federal program that was meant to provide food to children. The investigation began during the Biden administration. More than 60 people have been convicted.

Various state and federal agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, participated in searches Tuesday. Officers from Minnesota’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension were removing boxes at some sites.

“The American people deserve to know how their taxpayer money was abused. … No stone will be left unturned,” DHS said.

Jason Steck, an attorney who represents childcare centers, said the names of targeted businesses that were shared with him show they’re operated by Somali immigrants. They were not his clients.

“A few childcare centers, a few autism centers, a few healthcare agencies of some type,” Steck said, adding that it appeared to be a “particular sweep for fraud.”

The executive director of Child Care Aware of Minnesota, a nonprofit that serves childhood educators, said the publicity will be unflattering.

“The majority are in business to do good business. You’re going to come across individuals who try to capitalize on systems that are broken and need to be fixed,” Candace Yates said.

Right-wing influencer Nick Shirley posted a video in December that caught the attention of the Trump administration. He alleged that members of Minnesota’s Somali community were running fake child care centers so they could collect federal subsidies, fueling suspicions on top of the food aid scandal. The claims were disproven by inspectors.

President Trump, meanwhile, has used dehumanizing rhetoric, calling Somali immigrants “garbage” and “low IQ.”

In February, Vice President JD Vance said the government would temporarily halt $243 million in Medicaid funding to Minnesota over fraud concerns. Minnesota sued in response, warning it may have to cut healthcare for low-income families, but a judge on April 6 declined to grant a restraining order.

Walz told Congress in March that he wanted to work with the federal government in fraud investigations, but that the immigration surge had made it more difficult.

“The people of Minnesota have been singled out and targeted for political retribution at an unparalleled scale,” he said at the time.

Vancleave and Richer write for the Associated Press. Durkin Richer contributed from Washington. AP reporters Steve Karnowski in Minneapolis and Corey Williams and Ed White in Detroit contributed to this story.