two-run home run

Travis d’Arnaud knows Jacob deGrom better than any other catcher in baseball. He caught the hard-throwing right-hander 60 times when they played together with the New York Mets, the most frequent backstop the former Cy Young Award winner has thrown to in his career.

That familiarity did d’Arnaud and the Angels well en route to their 6-5 victory over the Rangers (44-47) on Monday night, in which Nolan Schanuel walked off their American League West foes in the ninth inning by drawing a bases-loaded, RBI walk.

The veteran catcher ambushed deGrom in the second inning for a two-run home run, just hitting the ball hard enough — 97.4 mph — over the left-field wall.

D’Arnaud’s home run broke deGrom’s Rangers franchise-record streak of 14 consecutive starts with two or fewer runs given up — and provided the Angels (44-46) with an early 3-2 lead.

“Getting lucky to hit a homer against any Cy Young winner is really special,” said d’Arnaud, who went 2-for-4 with three RBI.

Later, with deGrom in line for the win, d’Arnaud tied the score during a two-out rally in the sixth against relief pitcher Shawn Armstrong, lining a double to deep left-center field to score Luis Rengifo, who reached base on a single.

The Angels’ Logan O’Hoppe douses Nolan Schanuel with a cooler of sports drink after he delivered a walk-off walk against the Texas Rangers Monday at Angel Stadium.

(Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Associated Press)

“We were in every game right till the end, in every single game in Toronto, and so it showed we were still going to fight to the last out,” d’Arnaud said, when asked about not being able to come through as a team with three, one-run losses against the Blue Jays, “and today we were able to prevail, which is a huge step for us.”

A batter later, pinch-hitter LaMonte Wade Jr. channeled the “Throwback Week” theme at Angel Stadium, reverting to the clutch hitting that earned him the nickname “Late Night LaMonte” in San Francisco. The 31-year-old, wearing the ‘70s-style Angels uniform, singled to center to give the Angels a 5-4 lead.

Interim manager Ray Montgomery, who was ejected in the seventh innings arguing balls and strikes after Mike Trout looked at an inning-ending strike three call, said Wade waited for his opportunity to make an impact — even with limited at-bats after Jorge Soler’s return from injury creating a log jam in the outfield.

“Anytime off the bench you can get some sort of feeling and get some reps, it’s good, and you hope it carries over,” said Montgomery, who watched the remainder of the game from the clubhouse. “Huge at-bat by him.”

DeGrom didn’t flex the ace-caliber stuff he often tests foes with. On Monday, he gave up three earned runs and five hits across five innings, striking out five and walking two.

Yusei Kikuchi, coming off Sunday’s announcement that he earned an All-Star berth (his second of his career), didn’t live up to the pitcher’s duel billing either. The Japanese southpaw labored through an almost-20 minute first inning — in which he gave up a two-run home run to Corey Seager — and never settled down during his five innings.

“I didn’t have my best stuff, but the team really picked me up today,” Kikuchi said in Japanese through an interpreter.

Before d’Arnaud’s tying double, Kikuchi was bound to be the losing pitcher, giving up four runs on six hits, struggling to accrue the same strikeout success he’d achieved as of late. He struck out just four, tied for the second-fewest he’d tallied in 2025 and the first time he’d done so since late May against the Yankees.

But none of that mattered when Schanuel came to the plate with the bases loaded, after Zach Neto was intentionally walked, washing away an 0-for-4 night with his walk-off walk.

“I didn’t need a hit,” Schanuel said. “I put my pride aside.”

Reliever R&R

The Angels placed veteran right-handed relief pitcher Hunter Strickland on the 15-day injured list with right-shoulder inflammation on Monday afternoon. Strickland, who had pitched 22 innings in 19 games to the tune of a 3.27 earned-run average for the Angels, said he felt his arm get stiff before pitching against the Blue Jays on Sunday.

During his outing, in which Strickland struck out one batter in a scoreless inning, the 36-year-old said the stiff sensation in his arm got worse, causing the IL stint. Cuban righty Víctor Mederos was called up from triple-A Salt Lake City in his place.

“We’re just hoping for the best and see what they say,” Strickland said, adding that he will get an MRI on Tuesday.

Robert Stephenson (stretched nerve in right bicep) said he began throwing again on Monday — soft toss — after soft-tissue recovery helped “fully heal” the nerve.

“I don’t think it’s gonna be a quick process, but at least I can start building up,” said Stephenson, who is in the second year of a three-year, $33 million contract with the Angels.

Stephenson has thrown just one inning as a member of the Angels, hurting himself in his second appearance back from Tommy John surgery on May 30.

When Angels closer Kenley Jansen induced a groundout from J.P. Crawford to end Friday night’s contest, he made sure to keep the ball.

In the Angels’ clubhouse after a 5-4 win over the Seattle Mariners, Jansen handed the ball to Kyle Hendricks. It was Hendricks’ to keep after he earned his 100th career victory.

Hendricks didn’t pitch his best game. The right-hander gave up eight hits and four earned runs along with two strikeouts and two walks over six innings. Still, his milestone capped one of the Angels’ better wins — an all-around team effort spearheaded by veteran players.

“I hate it being about me, so I appreciated keeping [the postgame celebration] short,” said Hendricks, who won 97 of his 100 games with the Chicago Cubs. [Manager Ron Washington] just said a couple words, and the guys pointed out Kenley keeping the last ball for me, handing it over. Just really cool and hugs all around.”

Clyde Wright, ninth on the Angels’ all-time wins list and Hendricks’ pitching coach during his teenage years in South Orange County, was at Angel Stadium on Friday. Wright, who ended his career with 100 wins, congratulated Hendricks in the clubhouse.

“I told him, I only took 23 years after our first lesson — 12-year-old, first lesson — and now, finally tied him,” Hendricks said.

Hendricks said he has built a solid bond with battery mate Travis d’Arnaud in recent starts.

“Really catching a groove, really learned me, and it’s just making things so much easier for me,” Hendricks said of d’Arnaud. “So I can’t thank him enough.”

Being part of Hendricks’ 100th win was “very special” for d’Arnaud, who also caught Charlie Morton’s 100th win with Atlanta in 2021.

“I’m very thankful and grateful that I was a part of it, and not only to be a part of it behind the plate, but also to help contribute at the plate,” d’Arnaud said.

Offensively, it was one of the newest Angels who helped lead them to victory.

Chris Taylor hadn’t done much at the plate since the Angels signed him nearly two weeks ago. Friday night at Angel Stadium, the former Dodgers utilityman put together his best game for the Angels so far — going two for three with a tying RBI double in his first multi-hit performance of the season (his first in the regular season since Sept. 28).

“That’s obviously the best game I’ve had in a minute,” Taylor said. “Just to hit the ball hard and drive in a run — do some things to help a team win, felt good.”

Angels second baseman Chris Taylor throws to first base after forcing out a Mariners runner at second in the first inning Friday.

(Eric Thayer / Associated Press)

Taylor also scored the decisive run in the fifth inning on a single from Nolan Schanuel. Even Taylor’s one out was loud. In the bottom of the sixth, Seattle center fielder Julio Rodríguez robbed Taylor of a two-run home run to dead center field.

In his first plate appearance in the third, Taylor scored on a single from Zach Neto to tie the score 1-1. After the Mariners retook the lead in the fourth, d’Arnaud tied the game again with a two-run home run in the bottom of the inning.

The Angels put together one of their better performances at the plate. They combined for seven hits and struck out just seven times. With their third win in four games, the Angels (29-33) are three games back of second-place Seattle (32-30) and 5½ games behind AL West-leading Houston (35-28).

Ryan Zeferjahn and Reid Detmers pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth, respectively, and Jansen tossed a scoreless ninth for his 13th save. Detmers hasn’t given up a run — across eight appearances — since May 17.

For Washington, Hendricks getting his 100th win was the cherry on top of a win over a division rival.

“I talk about two things, presence and performance,” Washington said. “[Hendricks’] presence is always around. And when he’s performing, you see him giving everything he has. Well deserved.”

St. John Bosco is one win a way from a rare Triple Crown — winning championships in the Trinity League, Southern Section Division 1 title and Southern California Division I regional.

The Braves (29-4) advanced to the regional final with a 7-4 win over Villa Park on Thursday in the semifinals. They will play host to Patrick Henry from the San Diego Section at 4 p.m. Saturday for the title.

Noah Everly had two hits and two RBIs while Jaden Jackson had two hits. Jack Champlin pitched in his sixth playoff game, getting his fourth save. He has yielded no runs in 9 1/3 playoff innings. He also had an sacrifice fly in the bottom of the sixth when the Braves scored two runs. Aidan Young had two hits for Villa Park.

Patrick Henry 5, Crespi 3: Tyson Bobo threw a complete game for Patrick Henry. The Celts played without several of their senior standouts.

Point Loma 6, San Dimas 4: The Pointers advanced to the Division II final. Michael Hall had a two-run home run.

Banning 3, Rancho Mirage 2: The Pilots have made it to the Division IV final, scoring three runs in the sixth inning. Angelo Duarte had the big hit in the inning.

Softball

El Modena 8, Poway 6: Parker Mayes hit a walk-off two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning in the Division I semifinal. El Modena will host Chula Vista Mater Dei at 4 p.m. Saturday. Mater Dei defeated Bonita Vista 5-4. It was Mayes’ second home run of the game.

Legacy 2, St. Bonaventure 1: Brianna Gonzalez hit a home run and Yesenia Villegas had an RBI single during a two-run fifth inning to lift Legacy into the Division III championship game. Savannah Medina threw a complete game.

Max Muncy’s 2025 season has been nothing if not enigmatic.

But lately, after a woeful opening month on both sides of the ball, the good (his bat) has been outweighing the bad (his glove).

In the Dodgers’ 6-5 win against the New York Mets on Tuesday, such a duality came into plain view.

In the first inning, Muncy punctuated a four-run ambush of Mets starter Tylor Megill with a two-run home run deep to right field. In the fifth, he committed a costly error at third base that fueled New York’s go-ahead two-run rally. Yet, in the ninth, the veteran slugger capitalized upon his chance for redemption, clobbering his second long ball of the night to tie the score — and set up Freddie Freeman for a walk-off double (with a lot of help from Brandon Nimmo’s poor outfield defense) in the bottom of the 10th.

After an ice-cold opening month with the bat, Muncy has caught fire over his last 22 games, batting .314 with eight home runs (including six in the last seven games), 28 RBIs, 14 walks and only 10 strikeouts.

His defense remains a glaring weak spot, exposed repeatedly in key situations during the Dodgers’ slog through May and the opening days of June.

But for now, his production at the plate is giving him a long leash to work through such issues.

Without his offense Tuesday, the Dodgers likely would’ve lost their third straight game.

When Muncy came up as the leadoff hitter in the bottom of the ninth, the Dodgers hadn’t scored since his first home run eight innings prior.

Megill had found his footing, retiring 16 of his final 17 batters over a six-inning start. The Dodgers had wasted a golden opportunity to come back in the eighth, coming up empty even after getting the go-ahead runs on second and third base with no outs.

Muncy, however, extended the game with one swing, connecting on an elevated fastball for a no-doubt missile that traveled 408 feet. He flipped his bat as he left the box. He rounded the bases with a steady, confident gait.

An inning later, after Tanner Scott broke out of his recent struggles by holding the Mets scoreless in the top of the 10th, Freeman walked it off on a fly ball that Nimmo let fall at the warning track in left, getting all turned around as the ball came barreling toward the earth to let automatic runner Tommy Edman score with ease.

With the bases loaded and her team down by one run in the seventh inning, JuJu Brower stood in the batter’s box for El Modena in a Southern Section Division 1 quarterfinal playoff game Wednesday. Her team was trying to rally against one of the hottest softball teams, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame.

Brower hadn’t been fully cleared by her doctors to play catcher because of a torn anterior cruciate ligament in August suffered while playing flag football. She had been cleared to hit, something she was doing for four weeks. Then came her most important at-bat of the season. She delivered a two-run single up the middle to help El Modena come away with a 6-4 victory and advance to Saturday’s semifinals against Temescal Canyon.

“It means a lot,” Brower said of her hit and the comeback. She had to go through months of rehab just to get back on the field, from stretching to leg exercises.

El Modena started the game with consecutive home runs by Kaitlyn Galasso and Kylie Tafua. After that, Notre Dame pitcher Aliyah Garcia threw five consecutive scoreless innings to help the Knights take a 4-2 lead going into the seventh. Charley Tapia had a home run and triple.

But the fifth inning was the key moment for the Knights. They had the bases loaded and none out against No. 2 pitcher Ashley Driskill. She got a 1-2-3 double play, then a flyout to end the threat.

Then El Modena scored four runs in the top of the seventh to take the lead and eliminate the Knights, Monica Garcia had a run-scoring single to support Brower’s hit. Notre Dame had been hitting home runs in bunches during playoff wins over Orange Lutheran and El Segundo.

El Modena coach Bobby Calderon praised Brower. for her dedication to make it back to the field this season. “For her to come through at that moment shows how much she believes in our team,” he said.

Norco 9, Chino Hills 1: Ashley Duran had three hits for the top-seeded Cougars, who will play Ayala on Saturday in the other Division 1 semifinal.

JSerra 7, Palos Verdes 1: Melia Munoz had a two-run home run and Annabel Raftery had four hits to lead JSerra in Division 2. JSerra will play Great Oak in the semifinals.

Santa Margarita 2, Ganesha 1: Sawyer Denser pitched the Eagles into the Division 2 semifinals. She struck out eight. Sofia Zavarella had a solo home run. Santa Margarita will play Los Alamitos, a 7-1 winner over La Serna.

Baseball

Carson 4, Taft 2: Xavier Allen hit a walk-off two-run home run in the bottom of the 11th inning to enable the Colts to advance to Saturday’s 10 a.m. City Section Division I championship game at Dodger Stadium.

Dodger Stadium was eerily quiet for much of Monday night. And not just because whole sections of the upper deck sat largely empty.

In a 9-5 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Dodgers didn’t just drop their fourth straight game, but turned in a performance that elicited as many boos as anything else at Chavez Ravine, stumbling to a season-worst losing streak on a night they did little right in any facet of the game.

There was bad defense early. In the first inning, center fielder Hyeseong Kim lost a fly ball in the twilight sky, leading to two runs that would have been unearned had it not been ruled a double. In the second, third baseman Max Muncy spiked a throw to first on a slow-rolling grounder that led to another preventable score, even though his miscue was also ruled a base hit.

The pitching wasn’t great either. Left-handed opener Jack Dreyer followed Muncy’s bad throw with an even wilder pitch to the backstop in the next at-bat, advancing the runner to set up an eventual sacrifice fly. Landon Knack took over in the third and promptly gave up a pair of two-run home runs, one to Lourdes Gurriel Jr. on a down-and-in slider and another to Gabriel Moreno on an inside fastball.

Even the few bright spots offensively weren’t close to being enough.

Mookie Betts hit two home runs in his continued search to break out of a slow start. Shohei Ohtani retook sole possession of the major league lead in long balls by whacking his 17th of the season. But all three blasts came with no one on base. And they represented the Dodgers’ only hits of the night against Arizona right-hander Brandon Pfaadt, who was otherwise unbothered in a six-inning effort that included no strikeouts (or even a single swing-and-miss from a Dodgers hitter) but plenty of fine plays from an athletic defense behind him.

“It’s hard to start games behind before you take an at-bat,” manager Dave Roberts said. “We’ve given up runs in the first inning. We got to put up that zero and kind of get a chance to get the game going.”

While shaky defense and inconsistent production at the plate have been bugaboos for the Dodgers (29-19), it is the team’s increasingly pitching struggles that have stood out most during this four-game skid — the club’s longest since losing five in a row in late May last season.

With the loss to the Diamondbacks (26-22), the Dodgers own a team earned-run average of 4.28, which ranks 22nd in the majors and is their highest at this point in a campaign since 2010.

The main root of the problem is easy to identify. Starters Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki remain on the injured list, forcing the club into plans such as Monday with a rookie in Dreyer opening for a depth arm in Knack. The bullpen has been shorthanded, too, with Blake Treinen, Evan Phillips and Kirby Yates all injured, as well.

“You go through certain situations like this, it’s just tough to find a way to get back healthy and get our guys back out there,” Betts said. “But we’re battling with what we got.”

Arizona’s Gabriel Moreno, right, celebrates with teammate Josh Naylor after hitting a two-run home run in the third inning Monday.

(Kyusung Gong / Associated Press)

The good news is that several of those sidelined options are on the mend. Glasnow and Snell are both progressing in their throwing programs, with Glasnow “a tick ahead of Blake,” according to Roberts. Sasaki is expected to begin his throwing program during the team’s upcoming road trip. And Ohtani, who has been throwing regular bullpen sessions all season, is beginning to build up his pitch count as the club targets his return to the mound sometime around the All-Star break.

But in the meantime, the Dodgers have still expected more from their currently healthy group.

“It’s not the staff we thought we’d have this season, but I feel that what we still do [have], and have done in the past with injuries, we’re not doing,” Roberts said. “In the sense of getting ahead of hitters, and keeping them in the ballpark.”

And to do that, Roberts cited one place to start.

“On first glance, we need to be better at getting ahead in counts,” he said. “It doesn’t take a deep dive to see we start 1-and-0 quite often. When you do that, it makes pitching tough.”

Indeed, the Dodgers entered the night 24th in the majors with a 59.8% first-strike rate, a problem Roberts believes has led to too many long innings, and too large a workload for the staff.

“The 30-pitch innings just don’t play. It’s not sustainable,” he said. “And that starts with getting strike one. That ultimately goes to our entire pitching staff.”

The Dodgers were better in that area Monday, starting 27 of 49 at-bats with a strike. But it didn’t help. Dreyer needed 38 pitches to get through his two innings. Knack threw 106 to get through the next five (including 16 in one at-bat to Moreno in the fifth).

And when long reliever Matt Sauer took over in the eighth and gave up a two-run home run to Geraldo Perdomo, much of a season-low (and atypically quiet) crowd of 41,372 began streaming for the exits, not sticking around for one of the Dodgers’ flattest showings this year.