Fonseca has long been touted as the next big thing, first garnering attention when he followed in the footsteps of Sinner and Alcaraz to win the 2024 ATP Next Gen finals – the end-of-season showpiece for players under the age of 21 – before bursting into the spotlight with his victory over Rublev in Melbourne barely a month later.
He clinched his maiden ATP title on the clay courts of Buenos Aires in February 2025 before reaching the third round on his French Open debut, where he lost to Britain’s Jack Draper. And wherever he went, a carnival of Brazilian flags followed.
Twelve months after making his bow in Paris as the world number 65, he returned as the 28th seed but, while there have been flashes of promise in that period – reaching the third round at Wimbledon, a second career title at last October’s Swiss Indoors, and a quarter-final at the Monte-Carlo Masters – there was a sense he hadn’t quite lived up to his precocious talent.
No more. At the sixth time of asking, Fonseca is through to the second week of a major.
He’s gone where no teenager has gone before in beating Djokovic at a Grand Slam, and is only the sixth to do so at any ATP Tour-level event.
He is the first player since Philipp Kohlschreiber, in 2009, to knock Djokovic out before the quarter-finals at the French Open and the first to do so at any Slam since the 2024 US Open.
“Joao Fonseca has definitely announced himself now,” Annabel Croft said on BBC Radio 5 Live. “He can proudly say he has lived up to the hype, because everyone was saying he hadn’t done much since the hype.
“When all the Brazilians and South Americans were running to the courts to watch him play a couple of years ago, now we know why.”
“It took time for him to find his feet, and the crowd was going to play such an important part if he could get them going, and it literally ended in fireworks,” added former French Open semi-finalist Jo Konta on TNT Sports.
“It was exactly the situation Joao needed to bring out that level of tennis.
“He just played one of the biggest matches we’ve seen for some time.”
Designated hitter Jacob Johnson hit a go-ahead homer in the ninth inning off Easton Hawk to lift Saint Mary’s to a stunning 3-2 win over top-seeded UCLA in the Los Angeles Regional opener Friday afternoon at Jackie Robinson Stadium.
Johnson’s second solo home run of the game initially only appeared to be a pop-up near the warning track. But as the stadium fell silent, the ball kept sailing — and it eventually cleared the wall over leaping Bruins right fielder Jarrod Hocking.
Saint Mary’s reliever Cam Staton earned the win after getting UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky, the expected No. 1 pick in the 2026 MLB draft, to pop out with a runner on first. The right-handed Hawk took the loss.
Wow.
St. Mary’s stuns UCLA, the nation’s No. 1 seed, with a 3-2 win to open the LA Regional.
Gales fans who made the trip are going nuts in Westwood. “Beat LA” chants loud at Jackie Robinson Stadium. pic.twitter.com/sGFGChYRWS
Hawk previously had given up just three homers on the season and hadn’t surrendered one since March 1 against Mississippi State. Johnson, who went deep to start the day’s scoring in the fourth, recorded his second two-homer game of the season.
UCLA’s Jarrod Hocking strikes out to end eighth inning during a 3-2 loss to Saint Mary’s in the NCAA regionals on Friday.
(Scott Strazzante / For The Times)
Saint Mary’s (35-25) will face the winner of Virginia Tech (2) vs. Cal Poly (3) — who play Friday night — in the winner’s bracket on Saturday at 6 p.m. PDT; UCLA (51-7) will face the loser in the elimination bracket Saturday at 1 p.m.
Friday’s starters, UCLA’s Wylan Moss and Saint Mary’s John Damozonio, dueled. Moss surrendered three hits and one run through five innings, and Damozonio gave up five hits and two runs through seven.
But it was Johnson and the Gaels who survived in the end.
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The Dodgers’ recent string of injuries continued Wednesday when left fielder Teoscar Hernández pulled up limping after trying to beat out a grounder to shortstop.
Once he was thrown out in the second inning of the Dodgers’ 4-1 win against the Rockies, Hernández took his time walking across the field back to the dugout.
The Dodgers announced that he sustained a left hamstring strain. Utility player Hyeseong Kim replaced Hernández in left field.
This series, as results went, was a success for the Dodgers. They swept the Rockies, outscoring Colorado 24-10 over the course of three games. But the injury losses dealt a blow.
Earlier this month, the Dodgers’ rotation bore the brunt of the injury bug. But recently, it has spread to the position players. Over the last week, three Dodgers position players have left games with injuries.
Last Friday in Milwaukee, third baseman Max Muncy was hit in the wrist by a pitch and sidelined for three games.
Utility player Kiké Hernández made his season debut Monday, after starting the season on the injured list while recovering from offseason surgery on his left elbow, and helped fill in for Muncy’s temporary absence. But Hernández logged just four at-bats before landing on the IL again, lifted from Tuesday’s game with a strained left oblique.
Even after tweaking his oblique in batting practice Monday, Kiké Hernández went four for four with two doubles and a home run as he played through the injury.
Teoscar Hernández’s hamstring strain came in the midst of a hot offensive stretch. Entering Wednesday, he had a 1.072 OPS in his last 13 games.
Manager Dave Roberts also pulled Shohei Ohtani from the Dodgers’ blowout win Tuesday, after he was hit on the right hand by a changeup. But that had more to do with the score, an opportunity to get Dalton Rushing more at-bats, and getting Ohtani ready for his start on the mound Wednesday.
For the second week in a row, Ohtani was in the batting order while also pitching. And for the second pitching start in a row, he gave himself run support with a leadoff home run.
This jumped off his bat at an exit velocity of 111.3 mph, according to Statcast, landing on the netting beyond the center field wall.
Shohei Ohtani runs the bases after leading off Wednesday’s game with a home run.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
His pitching performance was less straightforward. He held the Rockies hitless through six innings. But he still gave up a run, thanks to a total of five free passes (four walks and a hit batter).
Two of them set up the Rockies’ scoring opportunity. With runners on first and third in the fourth inning, the Rockies’ Willi Castro hit a grounder to the right side of the infield, pulling first baseman Freddie Freeman away from the base.
But second baseman Alex Freeeland, recalled Wednesday as the corresponding move as Kiké Hernández went on the IL, ranged to his left and dove to first base with the ball, beating Castro to the bag for the second out of the inning. Ohtani acknowledged Freeland with a point.
A run scored, but Freeland’s hustle set up Ohtani to get out of the inning without further damage.
The Dodgers held the Rockies hitless until the eighth inning, when Tyler Freeman hit a ground-ball single through the right side of the field off reliever Tanner Scott, in the midst of a scoreless inning.
Meanwhile, the Dodgers scored almost all their runs on homers, with Freddie Freeman and Andy Pages adding their own solo blasts after Ohtani, and Alex Call contributing an RBI single.
The Granada Hills and Carson softball programs know each other so well they might as well put on their MaxPreps schedule before the season a date for their annual game to decide the City Section Open Division championship.
It’s happening for a fourth consecutive season Friday at 6:30 p.m. at Legacy High in South Gate. Last season, Granada Hills ended a three-game losing streak to the Colts.
On Wednesday, both teams won their semifinal games. Granada Hills’ No. 1 and No. 2 batters in the lineup, Elysse Diaz and Zoe Justman, had big games in a 12-9 win over San Pedro. They combined to go five for eight with five RBIs. Justman had a home run. Gina Evangelista hit an inside-the-park grand slam.
San Pedro scored five runs in the seventh to give the Highlanders a little scare.
At Carson, the Colts came away with a 12-2 semifinal win over Birmingham. Sophomore Anaiyah Popoalii had a home run, double and three RBIs. Olivia Lomeli went three for four with three RBIs. Pitcher Isabella Campos threw a complete game.
It was only a couple of weeks after beating Manchester City in the FA Cup final at Wembley that Palace were hit with a devastating sucker-punch.
It was early July and south London was eagerly anticipating the prospect of Selhurst Park hosting Europa League football for the first time.
But after Uefa deemed Palace to have breached its multi-club ownership rules – with American businessman John Textor holding stakes in both the Eagles and French side Lyon, who had also qualified for the Europa League – Glasner’s team were demoted to the Conference League.
The shock verdict threatened to suck the life out of Palace’s success before the new season had even began, with Parish describing it as “probably one of the greatest injustices that has ever happened in European football” before an ultimately unsuccessful appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
After a 120-year wait for a first major trophy, however, it was going to take more than that to dampen Palace’s spirits.
The Eagles showed no signs of feeling sorry for themselves when starting the new season by defeating Premier League champions Liverpool in the Community Shield in the now-familiar surroundings of Wembley.
But the turbulence continued with the departure of talisman Eberechi Eze, who left for a record fee to join Arsenal after five years at Selhurst Park.
And they nearly also have had to cope with the loss of star defender and captain Marc Guehi had Glasner not intervened.
The England international was all set to rubber-stamp a move to Liverpool until Palace pulled the plug late on deadline day after a move for his intended replacement – Brighton’s Igor Julio – failed to materialise.
After Guehi’s move to fell through – which would have brought Palace a fee in excess of £35m for a player in the final 12 months of his contract – the lines between Glasner and Parish appeared to blur.
It was reported that the Austrian manager, also in the final year of his deal at Selhurst Park, had threatened to quit if Parish had sanctioned Guehi’s move to Merseyside.
Glasner was left frustrated that Palace, preparing for their debut European campaign – which would include at least six additional games in the league phase of the competition – seemed willing to sanction departures rather than retain and strengthen the squad they already had.
It was clear tensions were rising behind the scenes at Selhurst Park.
Elsewhere, three-time former champion Novak Djokovic faced Frenchman Valentin Royer on Court Philippe Chatrier, which has a roof, and was on court for three hours and 44 minutes.
The 39-year-old Serb lost a tight third set on a tie-break but regrouped to win 6-3 6-2 6-7 (7-9) 6-3.
In his post-match press conference, Djokovic suggested scheduling matches at Grand Slams later in the evening could be “something to consider” as a potential alternative if extreme conditions are expected.
French Open organisers monitor the temperature through two wet bulb sensors – one on Chatrier and another on Court 14.
If the threshold is reached, a 10-minute break may be introduced after the second set of women’s matches and the third set of men’s matches.
If temperatures continue to rise, matches can be suspended until the heat drops.
No French Open match has ever been halted because of extreme heat.
Women’s 15th seed Marta Kostyuk said the conditions so far this week are not quite as bad as those she experienced when playing at the same venue for the Olympics in 2024, but added: “It’s still hot and it’s very dry. I always felt like I need to drink, I want to drink more and more. It was tough.”
On Monday, former finalist Casper Ruud said he felt he was “walking around like a zombie” and feared he had heat stroke after struggling with cramping in 33C temperatures.
One player who escaped the worst of the conditions on Wednesday was men’s second seed Alexander Zverev, who played in the night session when temperatures had dropped to about 18C.
A runner-up at Roland Garros in 2024, Zverev continued his bid for a maiden Grand Slam with a dominant display to beat Czech player Tomas Machac 6-4 6-2 6-2 in one hour and 48 minutes.
Defeating Tabur stretched Sinner’s winning streak to 30 matches, which has already yielded clay-court titles in Monte Carlo, Madrid and Rome.
His most recent triumph in Rome meant he completed the full set of nine ATP Masters 1000 titles – known as the ‘career Golden Masters’.
Sinner dominated the opening two sets, with winners flowing from his racquet while unforced errors were kept to a minimum.
Tabur did not have a break point in the match as Sinner wrapped up victory in two hours and eight minutes.
Sinner’s path to the Coupe des Mousquetaires is already without one major obstacle because Alcaraz is absent – and seeds tumbled in his half of the draw on Tuesday.
Sixth seed Daniil Medvedev and ninth seed Alexander Bublik were defeated in the first round, while fourth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime needed a fifth-set tie-break to beat world number 57 Daniel Altmaier.
Auger-Aliassime is the next highest-ranked player in Sinner’s half of the draw, but the Canadian has lost his past five matches against the four-time major winner.
Up next for world number one Sinner is Argentina’s 56th-ranked Juan Manuel Cerundolo, who knocked out Great Britain’s Jacob Fearnley on Tuesday.
Dodgers ride Kiké Hernández’s emotional comeback, late surge to beat Rockies
Dodgers third baseman Kiké Hernández rounds third during the fifth inning of a win over the Rockies at Dodger Stadium on Monday.
(Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times)
From Liana Handler: In his first big-league game back since Game 7 of the World Series, Kiké Hernández received playoff-level cheers at Dodger Stadium on Monday night, nearly drowning out his walk-up song as he stepped into the batter’s box against the Rockies in the bottom of the third inning. Some fans tipped their hats. Others joined the rising “Kiké!” chants.
After taking a ball, Hernández sent a four-seam fastball hopping down the left-field line for an RBI double that scored Hyeseong Kim. The crowd of 48,778 exploded.
It was shaping up to be a happy return, but it wasn’t until the seventh inning that the rest of the Dodgers lineup found its footing, taking advantage of some shaky relief pitching to rally for a 5-3 victory over the Colorado Rockies.
Hernández reached on an infield single in his second at-bat before being lifted for a pinch-hitter as the Dodgers began to rally in the seventh.
Hernández’s journey back to the big leagues has been an arduous one. Throughout his two-month stint last year on the injured list, he received seven injections in his left elbow. None worked.
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No. 1 UCLA baseball to host Saint Mary’s; USC and UC Santa Barbara earn NCAA bids
UCLA players celebrate at home plate as Jack O’Connor rounds the bases during the Big Ten tournament.
(Courtesy of UCLA Athletics)
From Joaquin Ruiz: The UCLA baseball team (51-6) is hosting the Los Angeles Regional as the nation’s No. 1 overall seed, and USC (43-15) is headed to the College Station Regional hosted by 12th-seeded Texas A&M, the NCAA announced Monday.
After walking off Oregon 3-2 on Sunday in Omaha to claim their first Big Ten tournament title, the Bruins will defend Jackie Robinson Stadium and push to make their second consecutive College World Series run. UCLA faces Saint Mary’s (seeded fourth in the L.A. regional) in the Westwood opener at noon Friday on ESPNU, while No. 2 Virginia Tech and No. 3 Cal Poly will face off at 5 p.m on ESPN+ to complete the Los Angeles Regional.
If the Bruins advance, they will host a super regional against the winner of the Morgantown Regional hosted by West Virginia.
USC is making its second consecutive NCAA tournament appearance for the first time since 2002. The Trojans are seeded second at College Station and will face 36-24 Texas State at 6 p.m. PDT on Friday at Texas A&M’s Blue Bell Park on ESPN+. The Aggies will face Lamar at 1 p.m. PDT on the SEC Network to open the College Station Regional.
“When you start in August, the goal is to play in Omaha,” USC coach Andy Stankiewicz said, alluding to the home of the College World Series. “But before you get in Omaha, you got to get to a regional. And so, here we are. [We’d] certainly love to be hosting a regional, but it’s OK. We’re on our way to Texas to tee it up against some really good Texas teams. That’s the goal, to be ready to play. Our boys are up here working right now, and they’ll get ready for a great weekend.”
Inside U.S. soccer’s World Cup camp at Orange County Great Park
An aerial view of a U.S. Soccer banner hanging on the exterior of a Great Park balloon ride as crews prepare the training area for World Cup training.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
From Kevin Baxter: On a recent spring morning, Championship Soccer Stadium, which sits in a corner of the Orange County Great Park in Irvine, was quiet and empty save for the dozen sprinklers quenching a newly laid grass carpet.
Normally the well-used stadium is a buzz of activity. But its main tenant, the Orange County Soccer Club, which plays in the second-division USL Championship, has been temporarily evicted, left to train in the nearby park and play its final home game before the World Cup at Eddie West Field in Santa Ana, 12 miles away. (Not that it was necessarily a bad thing since the club drew a home-record crowd of 7,651 to its 3-2 win over Oakland on Saturday, which allowed it to hold onto second place in the Western Conference table.)
During the next month, the nine-year-old venue will have just one occupant, the U.S. national soccer team, which has chosen the stadium as its main training base for the World Cup. The temporary change in ownership is heralded by a giant orange orb the size of a hot-air balloon, adorned with the U.S. Soccer logo and tethered to a rise just outside the stadium.
Why and how the federation wound up in Irvine is unknown; U.S. Soccer declined to respond to multiple requests for comment. But it’s safe to say location was a factor since the Orange County Great Park is the closest World Cup training base to SoFi Stadium, where the U.S. will play two of its three group-stage games.
Lakers hire former Pelicans executive Rohan Ramadas amid front office expansion
From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: The Lakers hired former New Orleans Pelicans executive Rohan Ramadas to fill one of two new assistant general manager roles, The Times confirmed Monday.
Ramadas previously worked as the vice president of basketball operations and strategy for the Pelicans and will be involved in managing the salary cap, analytics and data for the Lakers, who are retooling their front office and basketball operations under new ownership this summer. Speaking at an end-of-season newsconference, GM Rob Pelinka said the Lakers will hire two new assistant general managers, with the other position focusing on pro scouting, draft scouting and player development.
Ramadas, who received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in astronautical engineering from USC, worked at El Segundo-based The Aerospace Corporation for 12 years before jumping to the NBA full-time in 2024.
Knicks return to NBA Finals for first time since 1999 after sweeping Cavaliers
Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns and teammates celebrate after winning the Eastern Conference finals Monday in Cleveland.
(Tim Phillis / Associated Press)
From the Associated Press: Karl-Anthony-Towns had 19 points and 14 rebounds, OG Anunoby scored 17 and the New York Knicks routed the Cleveland Cavaliers 130-93 Monday night to complete a four-game sweep of the Eastern Conference finals and advance to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999.
Landry Shamet scored 16 off the bench while Mikal Bridges and Jalen Brunson had 15 apiece for the Knicks, who became the fourth team to have an 11-game winning streak during their postseason run. The last to do it was Golden State, which had a 15-game run en route to its second title in three seasons in 2017.
All but one of the Knicks’ wins have been by double digits, with an average margin of victory of 23.7 points.
1925 — In Detroit’s 8-1 win over the Chicago White Sox, Ty Cobb becomes the first to collect 1,000 career extra-base hits. He finished his career with 1,139.
1959 — Harvey Haddix of the Pittsburgh Pirates pitches 12 perfect innings before losing to the Milwaukee Braves, 1-0 in the 13th on an error, a sacrifice and Joe Adcock’s double.
1963 — French Championships Men’s Tennis: Australian Roy Emerson beats home favourite Pierre Darmon 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, 6-4.
1963 — French Championships Women’s Tennis: Australian Lesley Turner wins the first of 2 French titles; beats England’s Ann Jones 2-6, 6-3, 7-5.
1972 — Joe Frazier TKOs Ron Stander in 5 for heavyweight boxing title.
1982 — 26th European Cup: Aston Villa beats Bayern Munich 1-0 at Rotterdam.
1983 — LA Lakers set NBA playoff game record of fewest free throws.
1985 — Danny Sullivan misses almost certain disaster and holds off Mario Andretti and the rest of the fastest field in auto racing to win the Indianapolis 500. On the 119th lap, Sullivan spins his racer 360 degrees, narrowly avoiding both the wall and Andretti.
1987 — Boston’s Larry Bird steals an inbounds pass from Detroit’s Isiah Thomas and feeds over his shoulder to a cutting Dennis Johnson for the winning basket as the Celtics pulls out an improbable 108-107 win over Detroit in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
1988 — The Edmonton Oilers, with MVP Wayne Gretzky leading the way, beat the Boston Bruins 6-3 to complete a four-game sweep and win their fourth Stanley Cup in five years.
1991 — Rick Mears passes Michael Andretti with 12 laps to go and wins his fourth Indianapolis 500, by 3.1 seconds. Mears joins A.J. Foyt and Al Unser as the only four-time winners.
1993 — In Major League Baseball, Carlos Martinez famously hits a ball off Jose Canseco’s head for a home run.
1993 — 1st UEFA Champions League Final: Marseille beats Milan 1-0 at Munich.
1994 — Haiti’s Ronald Agenor wins the longest match since the French Open adopted the tiebreaker. Agenor takes the 71st and final game of a second-round match with David Prinosil of Germany. His five-hour, 6-7 (4-7), 6-7 (2-7), 6-3, 6-4, 14-12 victory involves the most games in a French Open match since 1973.
1999 — 7th UEFA Champions League Final: Manchester United beats Bayern Munich 2-1 at Barcelona.
2000 — New Jersey finishes the greatest comeback in a conference final when the Devils win the last three games of the series, beating the Flyers 2-1 in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference final. Patrik Elias scores his second goal of the game with 2:32 to play for the win.
2004 — Andy Roddick loses at the French Open — to Frenchman Olivier Mutis, who is ranked 125th. With the five-set loss, Roddick joins Andre Agassi and eight other compatriots on the way home, making it the first Grand Slam tournament in more than 30 years without a U.S. man in the third round.
2005 — Americans Andy Roddick, James Blake and Vince Spadea fail to make it through the opening week at the French Open. For the second year in a row — and the second time at a Grand Slam event in more than 30 years — no American man makes it out of the second round.
2008 — Syracuse wins its 10th NCAA men’s lacrosse championship, beating defending champion Johns Hopkins 13-10 behind three goals from Dan Hardy. The crowd of 48,970 at Foxborough, Mass., is the largest to see an NCAA championship outdoors in any sport — the BCS football championship game isn’t an NCAA event.
2009 — NHL Eastern Conference Final: Pittsburgh Penguins beat Carolina Hurricanes, 4 games to 0.
2012 — Toronto FC ends its MLS record nine-game losing streak to open a season with a 1-0 win over the Philadelphia Union on a late goal by Danny Koevermans.
2013 — Tony Kanaan ends years of frustration by finally winning the Indianapolis 500. Kanaan drives past Ryan Hunter-Reay on a restart with three laps to go, then coasts across the finish line under yellow when defending race winner Dario Franchitti crashes far back in the field. The Brazilian finished second in 2004 and twice finished third.
2013 — Senior PGA Championship, Bellerive CC: Kōki Idoki of Japan wins his lone PGA event by 2 strokes from Jay Haas and Kenny Perry.
2015 — Cleveland Cavaliers win the NBA Eastern Conference.
2018 — UEFA Champions League Final, Kiev: Real Madrid beats Liverpool, 3-1 for third straight title. Zinédine Zidane first manager to win 3 consecutive titles.
2019 — Indianapolis 500: 2016 IndyCar Series champion Simon Pagenaud of France finishes just two-tenths of a second ahead of Alexander Rossi for Team Penske’s record-extending 18th victory in the event.
2019 — Senior PGA Championship, Oak Hill CC: American Ken Tanigawa wins his first career major title by 1 stroke ahead of Scott McCarron.
Compiled by the Associated Press
This day in baseball history
1916 — Benny Kauff of the Giants was picked off first base three times by Boston’s Lefty Tyler. The miscues didn’t hurt as New York won its 14th consecutive road victory beating the Braves, 12-1.
1925 — In Detroit’s 8-1 win over the Chicago White Sox, Ty Cobb became the first to collect 1,000 career extra-base hits. He finished his career with 1,139.
1929 — Pinch-hitters Pat Crawford of the Giants and Les Bell of the Boston Braves hit grand slams in New York’s 15-9 victory.
1930 — Joe Sewell of the Cleveland Indians, who fanned only three times in 353 at-bats during the season, was struck out twice in the same game by Pat Caraway of the White Sox.
1937 — Billy Sullivan and Bruce Campbell appeared for the Cleveland Indians as pinch hitters. Each hit a home run, making this the first time two American League pinch hitters hit home runs in the same game. The Indians beat the Athletics, 8-6.
1956 — Cincinnati Reds pitchers John Klippstein, Hershell Freeman and Joe Black combined for 9 2-3 hitless innings, but lost 2-1 in 11 innings to the Philadelphia Phillies.
1959 — Harvey Haddix of Pittsburgh pitched 12 perfect innings before losing to Milwaukee 1-0 in the 13th on an error, a sacrifice and Joe Adcock’s double.
1962 — Sandy Koufax struck out 16 Phillies to lead the Dodgers to a 6-3 victory.
1969 — Hank Aaron of the Atlanta Braves hits his 500th career double, becoming only the third major leaguer to reach 500 doubles and 500 home runs.
1995 — Southern California and Fresno State combined for an NCAA postseason baseball record of 39 runs in the Trojans’ 22-17 win in the West Regional. USC scored three runs in the top of the ninth to break the record of 37 set by the Trojans and Houston in 1990.
1996 — The Chicago White Sox became the 16th team in AL history to hit four homers in one inning in their 12-1 win over Milwaukee. Frank Thomas, Harold Baines and Robin Ventura hit consecutive homers and Chad Kreuter added another in Chicago’s seven-run eighth.
1997 — Chicago’s Sammy Sosa and the Pirates’ Tony Womack hit inside-the-park homers in the sixth inning of the Cubs’ 2-1 win. It was the first time two inside-the-park homers had been hit in the same inning in 20 years.
2004 — Daryle Ward hit for the cycle and tied his career best with six RBIs in Pittsburgh’s 11-8 win over St. Louis.
2006 — Derek Jeter gets his 2,000th career hit, becoming the eighth player in Yankees history to reach the milestone.
2008 — Chase Utley tied the National League lead with his 16th homer and drove in six runs as Philadelphia routed Colorado 20-5. The Phillies batted around three times and had season-highs in hits (19) and runs.
2011 — The hot-hitting Boston Red Sox routed the Detroit Tigers 14-1 in an eight-inning, rain-shortened game. The Red Sox, who beat Cleveland 14-2 the previous day, scored at least 14 runs in back-to-back games for the first time since 1998.
2016 — Major League Baseball hands out a suspension of 82 games to Braves OF Hector Olivera, following a domestic violence incident in April. It is by far the most severe penalty yet handed out under baseball’s new domestic violence policy.
2018 — Mike Trout has the first five-hit game of his career and drives in 4 runs to lead the Angels to an 11-4 win over the Yankees.
2021 — Commissioner Rob Manfred issues his ruling following the completion of the investigation of allegations of improper behavior towards a number of women against former manager and coach Mickey Callaway. Callaway is found guilty of violating Major League Baseball policies and is declared ineligible for the remainder of this season and all of 2022, after which he may apply for reinstatement. For their part, the Angels fire him from his position of pitching coach, from which he has been suspended since the allegations surfaced in February, and the Indians, who were Callaway’s employer when some of the offensive incidents took place, state that they will take steps to ensure a more respectful environment in which employees feel empowered to denounce workplace harassement in the future.
2023 — Craig Kimbrel becomes the eighth pitcher to record 400 career saves in Philadelphia’s 6 – 4 win over the Braves, barely two weeks after Kenley Jansen became the seventh.
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 29-year-old endured a difficult 2025, dropping from 24th in the world to outside the top 100, and she lost her British number one ranking amid injury issues.
Searching for a fresh start, she split from her long-time coach Biljana Veselinovic and appointed Michael Joyce – the former coach of Maria Sharapova – in early 2026.
After a first-round exit in January’s Australian Open, Boulter returned to the world’s top 100 with a WTA 250 title in Ostrava and a run to the third round in Miami.
But her form remained inconsistent and she had won just three WTA Tour-level singles matches from four clay tournaments in the build-up to the Paris major.
Unforced errors flew freely from both players’ racquets and the pair twice traded breaks in the opening set before Boulter served it out at the second time of asking.
Back-to-back double faults from Boulter put Urhobo on the front foot early in the second, and although Boulter levelled the scores mid-set, the Florida-born player restored her advantage immediately and forced the decider.
Both players raised their level in the third and the quality improved somewhat as Boulter stamped her authority on the contest with a break in the fourth game.
Once again, the Briton failed to serve out the set and she eventually grabbed the win – after two hours and 10 minutes – by breaking Urhobo’s serve for a sixth time.
Ultimately, 58 unforced errors to Boulter’s 35 proved too costly for rising star Urhobo, who broke into the top 200 for the first time earlier this year.
Speaking after the match, Boulter said she was not quite physically at 100% during her first-round contest, adding: “I think it’s just been cumulative over the last few weeks, maybe playing with a bit of an illness.
“I really expected to feel a bit better today walking on the court, but I wasn’t fully there. Whether it was just a little bit of the conditions, a little bit of the last few weeks, I haven’t quite got enough rest, I’m not entirely sure.
“In the last couple of days I’ve been pretty tired going on the practice courts. My goal was just to go out and not overthink it, just try to play, almost forget that I wasn’t feeling amazing and try to do the best I could.”
Reid Detmers had a career-high 14 strikeouts and pinch runner Donovan Walton touched home on an errant throw in the ninth to give the Angels a walk-off 2-1 win at Angel Stadium and their first three-game sweep of the season.
With one out and runners on first and second in the ninth, third baseman Oswald Peraza grounded into a fielder’s choice at second. Rangers second baseman Justin Foscue bobbled the ball and first baseman Jake Burger couldn’t cleanly field his throw, allowing Walton to advance from second to score the game-winning run.
The Angels’ dugout erupted as Walton scored.
“That was amazing,” Peraza said. “I went up there and just put the ball in play, and not trying too much. I’m happy for the sweep. And yeah, amazing.”
The win sealed the Angels’ fourth series victory and second three-game winning streak of the year.
Detmers (1-5) entered on a three-game skid and finished dominantly after yielding a second-inning home run to Burger.
The left-handed pitcher ultimately gave up one hit and one run through eight innings — his first time pitching through eight innings in 2026 and first time since his no-hitter as a rookie in 2022 — while setting a new personal best with 14 strikeouts to zero walks.
“I mean, you realize it, but you don’t really think much of it,” Detmers said when asked if he was aware of his strikeout count. “It’s more just, ‘How can I get this next guy out?’ Like I said a little bit ago, just stick with the process, don’t overthink stuff. There’s not a whole lot that goes into it, to be honest with you …”
In front of an announced crowd of 36,903 on “Little League Day” in Anaheim, the 26-year-old used 96 pitches to lower his ERA from 5.07 to 4.57 in the win.
Rangers left-handed starter MacKenzie Gore (3-4) dueled, too, giving up one hit, two walks and one run through six innings.
“Gore was really good today,” Detmers said. “His stuff was really good today. He kept us off balance and got out of a couple of big situations.”
But the Angels’ offense, finishing with four hits, found a way to make do without solely relying on the long ball.
Mike Trout started the Angels’ scoring in the third with a two-out single to score Sebastián Rivero from second and tie the score at one.
The Angels’ run support behind Detmers was far from ideal. But Angels manager Kurt Suzuki is proud of his team’s effort in what was a pitcher’s duel.
“Like we talked about, you put the ball in play, things happen,” Suzuki said. “You never know what can happen when you put the ball in play. And you know, [Peraza] showed right there with the speed and putting it in play … forcing the issue a little bit.”
After Detmers and Gore sat down, Gavin Collyer (0-1) earned the loss, and Angels right-handed reliever Sam Bachman earned his first win of the year after striking out Rangers right fielder Brandon Nimmo to get out of a two-out, bases-loaded jam in the ninth.
Glad his team won, Detmers considers Sunday’s game his second-best career performance after his no-hitter. Suzuki, who was Angels teammates with Detmers during his no-hitter from four seasons ago, also chimed in.
“Yeah, I mean, never discredit a no-hitter, right?” Suzuki said. “A no-hitter is special. But for him, I think what made [Sunday] … he was better was the strikeouts, right? It was not many balls put in play, that’s for sure … He struck out 14 guys, [and] to do it under 100 pitches, that’s even more impressive. That means you’re getting in, getting out of there really quick. So, I think … just probably the best start he’s had.”
Despite the recent uproar among fans frustrated with the Angels, whose 20-34 record is tied for worst in MLB with the Rockies, the Angels aim to stay hot.
“Well, as you know, we need more wins,” Peraza said. “[We’re] working very hard every day for that result.”
The UCLA comeback kings are Big Ten tournament champions.
A clutch hit by Aidan Espinoza and two reviews fueled the No. 1 Bruins’ rally for a dramatic 3-2 win over Oregon in 11 innings in the Big Ten tournament title game Sunday in Omaha, Neb.
UCLA rallied for wins during all three of its Big Ten tournament games and has earned 28 comeback wins this season.
“I’m just glad we won,” UCLA junior Mulivai Levu said during a postgame interview on the Big Ten Network. “It was a team effort today. Everyone did their job. Once again, we came from behind and did it.”
The Bruins trailed Oregon 2-1 with two outs in the bottom of the ninth when Espinoza tied the game with a single. The Bruins could not tack on another run, and the contest moved to extra innings.
In the bottom of the 11th, UCLA loaded the bases with no outs after an official review determined that Roman Martin was narrowly safe at third base following a bunt.
Oregon closer Devin Bell got Cashel Dugger and Espinoza to strike out swinging. Then the winning run advanced after the umpire ruled Phoenix Call was hit by Bell’s pitch. After a lengthy review, the call on the field was upheld, and UCLA celebrated the program’s first Big Ten tournament title.
“Just a lot of fight,” UCLA coach John Savage said on the Big Ten Network when asked about the Bruins’ penchant for comeback wins. “They certainly believe in one another. We’ve done it all season long. Good teams keep getting better.
”… You might see a couple of Big Ten teams back here in a couple of weeks.”
Will Gasparino was ejected in the fourth inning for malicious contact after he was caught in a rundown and ran over an Oregon player ready to tag him out at third base.
Oregon challenged the on-field ruling that Gasparino was simply out on the play. After a review, Gasparino was ejected and will miss UCLA’s NCAA regional opener.
The Bruins, the top-ranked team in the country, will learn their NCAA tournament seeding and regional matchup Monday morning.
INDIANAPOLIS — Felix Rosenqvist swung to the outside of David Malukas, then found a way past the Team Penske driver to win the closest Indianapolis 500 in history by a margin of 0.0233 seconds on Sunday.
Malukas looked as if he was in position to win when he passed race leader Marcus Armstrong off the final restart with one lap to go while Rosenqvist and Armstrong, teammates with Meyer Shank Racing, battled wheel to wheel down the back straightaway and through the fourth and final turn.
But Rosenqvist had just enough power to pull away from Armstrong and snake behind Malukas before making the decisive outside pass in the final 50 feet.
The closest previous finish came in 1992 when Al Unser Jr. beat Scott Goodyear across the yard of bricks by 0.043 seconds.
It was Rosenqvist’s second career win in 120 IndyCar races and comes after the recent birth of his first child. He is the third Swedish driver to win the race, joining Kenny Brack and Marcus Ericsson.
The wild finish began with a red flag that came out with seven laps to go because of a scary crash involving Indy 500 rookie Caio Collet, with flames billowing out of the side of his car as it skidded to a stop in the grass.
When racing resumed after a 10-minute delay, Armstrong and Malukas sped past the top two cars — Rosenqvist and Pato O’Ward. But with 3 1/2 laps left, the yellow flag came out one last time when Mick Schumacher, the son of seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher, brushed the wall in Turn 2.
On the final restart, Lap 200, Malukas sling-shotted his way past Armstrong for the lead and started pulling away from the two Meyer Shank Racing drivers. But Rosenqvist finally caught the Team Penske driver to win the biggest race of his career in the same month he became a first-time father. Malukas said he couldn’t think of what else he could have done to hang on to the lead.
As Rosneqvist celebrated by sipping milk, then dumping it over his head, Malukas was consoled by his father in pit lane.
Malukas’ teammate Scott McLaughlin, of New Zealand, was third, and Rosenqvist’s best friend in racing, O’Ward, was fourth. O’Ward had two runner-up finishes and a third place in the last four years.
Maggie Graham scored in stoppage time to lift host Houston past Angel City for the Dash’s first victory in 51 days.
Graham fired a shot from just outside the box after a series of one-touch passes up the middle of the field. Houston (4-5-2) ended a six-game winless streak.
Kat Rader put Houston on the board in the 17th minute. Angel City (4-5-1) tied it nine minutes later on Maiara Carolina Niehues’ penalty kick.
Houston was without goalkeeper Jane Campbell after she sustained a head injury Wednesday against San Diego. In her place, Caroline DeLisle made her first career NWSL start.
Mulivai Levu helped UCLA remain the comeback kings of college baseball, hitting a walk-off, three-run home run to seal a 7-5 win over rival USC on Saturday and a spot in the Big Ten tournament championship game.
It was No. 1 seed UCLA’s 27th comeback win of the season and the second consecutive game Levu’s hit sealed a victory during the Big Ten tournament played in Omaha, Neb.
On Saturday night, Levu hit a walk-off sacrifice fly to seal UCLA’s comeback 4-3 win over Purdue in the conference tournament quarterfinals.
UCLA improved to 50-6, a record that Levu said gives the team confidence it will find a way to win.
“It’s the power of friendship right there. We’re all well connected,” Levu said during an interview Saturday on the Big Ten Network. “… We just don’t give up. We’re never out of it, we’re never doubting ourselves. We know what kind of lineup we’ve got, we’ve just got to use it.”
USC’s Augie Lopez hit a double and the rest of the Trojans were active early, building a 3-0 lead in the third inning. Levu hit an RBI single in the bottom of the third to cut the deficit. Dominic Cadiz had an RBI single in the fourth before pitchers held both teams scoreless in the fifth and sixth innings.
Dean West hit a two-run home run in the seventh to give UCLA its first lead at 4-3, and both teams were scoreless in the eighth.
In the ninth, Adrian Lopez and Augie Lopez managed to score runs for USC, taking a 5-4 lead. Top Trojans reliever Adam Troy got No. 1 MLB draft prospect Roch Cholowsky to fly out.
Then Levu entered the batter’s box with two outs and hit the home run that sent USC (43-15) back to Los Angeles for a break before the NCAA tournament brackets are revealed Sunday night.
“They’re rivals on the field, but those are our boys off the field,” Levu said of the Trojans. “They’re good guys and they’re good team. We’ll probably see them again later on in the playoff run. Props to them, it was a great game, they made it very interesting. I’m just glad we won.”
The Pyramids of Giza loomed over a purpose-built open-air arena for one of boxing’s most unusual world title fights in recent memory.
A kickboxing heavyweight legend who ruled his sport for more than 4,000 days, Verhoeven sprinted to the ring at around 01:10 local time, flanked by performers dressed as Egyptian pharaohs, before Usyk emerged in a gladiator-style outfit complete with a golden helmet.
Verhoeven, who insisted his unpredictability could trouble Usyk, made a lively start with constant movement and energy, landing a solid right hand to the body.
Usyk responded with a sharp double uppercut in the second, but Verhoeven absorbed it well and fired back with two right hands of his own.
Boxing royalty including Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, Terence Crawford, Gennady Golovkin and Anthony Joshua watched on from ringside, alongside Hollywood star Jason Statham – the man credited with helping to bring the fight together.
Another right hand from Verhoeven landed flush on Usyk in the third round.
Usyk – so often the sport’s master of patience – was forced to dig deep. He briefly responded in the fourth, hurting Verhoeven with a straight right and stinging left.
“Get back to your boxing, you’re getting too greedy, trying to land and getting caught,” Verhoeven’s trainer Peter Fury warned his man.
Verhoeven entered the sixth round for the first time in his fighting career – kickboxing bouts are capped at five rounds, and his only previous professional boxing fight ended inside two.
He stuck to the trainer’s instruction and a lethargic Usyk was rocked again in the eighth by a right hand, but the champion came alive in the 10th and 11th, unleashing a flurry of punches and repeatedly finding the uppercut – the shot that had given him his most success all night.
Verhoeven spat out his gumshield while Usyk immediately protested at the added time his opponent was given to recover.
Usyk surged again and sensed the finish. Verhoeven was visibly hurt and a stoppage may have come in the 12th round had the fight continued.
Arguably, Verhoeven should have been allowed the chance to see it through.
Instead, the referee stepped in and waved off what will go down as a contentious stoppage.
New Zealand will be a team in transition at the end of this summer’s T20 World Cup, when they will be defending their title, and veteran Devine showed exactly how big a gap she will leave in their batting line-up with one of her greatest knocks.
Their disastrous start saw Izzy Gaze bowled by Lauren Bell in the first over, before left-arm spinner Smith had Plimmer caught and bowled and Kerr missed a sweep to be pinned lbw.
Brooke Halliday was caught at long-off for three and England were in complete control at the end of the six-over powerplay, having their opponents 29-4.
But Devine used all of her experience to put the pressure back on England. She clubbed Charlie Dean for back-to-back sixes to hit England’s captain out of the attack – she bowled just the one over which went for 14.
That meant all-rounders Kemp and Gibson had to bowl their full allocation, both conceding 34 from four wicketless overs, while Issy Wong bowled went for 24 from her three.
Devine masterfully shuffled around her crease throughout, often ending up in a heap on the ground, but it was effective in throwing the seamers off their lengths.
The pair rotated the strike throughout, forcing England’s fielders to fumble and misfield often, and Bouchier dropped a simple catch off Devine at long-off in the final over which saw another nine runs added afterwards.
England impressed all-round at Derby in the first game but this was a timely warning from one of the world’s best in some of the quality they will encounter on home soil next month.
The Yorba Linda native dominated in his Angels debut, hitting a first-pitch, three-run homer off Jacob deGrom in his first at-bat and making a sensational catch in foul territory, all in the first inning, to help his hometown team beat the Rangers 9-6 on Friday night at Angel Stadium.
Meckler attended Esperanza High in Anaheim and grew up an Angels fan. After he was called up from Double-A Rocket City on Friday, Meckler finished with two hits in what was the Angels’ highest-scoring game since April 26, when they scored nine in extras against the Royals.
“Yeah, it was pretty cool,” Meckler said. “Just trying to make a play on defense. But getting your first homer up, it’s pretty hard to top that.”
In sending the 97-mph four-seam fastball from deGrom (3-4), a two-time Cy Young Award winner, 403 feet to right center, Meckler became the first Angels player to homer in his first at-bat with the team since Mike Napoli did against the Tigers in 2006.
Meckler was also the first player to hit a homer in their Angels debut since Randal Grichuk did in 2023 against the Braves.
“We know he plays the game hard,” Angels manager Kurt Suzuki said. “We’ve seen him play the game the way he does in spring training. So I think [Meckler’s] just a naturalist, good baseball player.”
Meckler hit .315 over 111 at-bats with the Angels in spring training, after being claimed off waivers by the franchise in January.
The 26-year-old shared pregame that he grew up rooting for classic Angels names such as Chone Figgins, Torii Hunter and Erick Aybar during the mid-to-late 2000s.
But there was another Angels player Meckler watched growing up: his new teammate, Mike Trout.
“It’s pretty surreal,” Meckler said. “You grew up watching a guy every day on TV for 10 years, and then all of a sudden, he’s a teammate. It’s pretty cool.”
Originally the Giants’ choice with the 256th pick in the 2022 MLB Draft, Meckler has struggled to find his footing in the majors. However, his night couldn’t have gone much better.
Suzuki and the middling Angels, at least, would probably like Meckler to stay hot forever. After all, he earned a shot with the big-league club after hitting .343 with 34 hits and 13 RBI through 27 games with Rocket City.
“It feels good,” Meckler said. “It’s been a little bit. Spent a lot of the last couple years injured, grinding through injuries, and it feels good to be healthy and able to compete. I feel like I’m capable of competing. And obviously, it’s really cool to be in the big leagues for your childhood team as well.”
Despite entering on a three-game skid, the Angels came to play to open a three-game series against the Rangers.
Shortstop Zack Neto hit a pair of solo shots: one in the first and another in the eighth. The four-year MLB veteran is up to 12 career lead-off homers and has three in 2026.
“It was a lot of fun,” Neto said. “From one through nine, even the guys on the bench, coming in and doing their job … We had the big hit when we needed it.”
Right-handed starter Grayson Rodriguez also earned his first win of the year after tossing 5 2/3 innings of four-run ball.
In the seventh, Neto preserved the Angels’ 6-5 lead after throwing out Josh Jung at home. Neto caught a strong throw to the infield from Jo Adell after a Brandon Nimmo RBI double.
“I mean, defense wins games,” Neto said.
Angels catcher Logan O’Hoppe was banged up during Jung’s play at the plate. However, he shut down any concerns after the win.
“I’ll be at the doc one more time, but I’m fine, O’Hoppe said. “It’s the same feeling that all the headshots feel like. You feel out of it and a little slow, but usually a good night’s sleep takes care of it.”
After Angel Stadium stretched, second baseman Oswald Peraza hit his sixth homer of the year, a solo shot against lefty Jalen Beeks.
Neto hit his second homer of the night in the eighth against righty Chris Martin, and first baseman Nolan Schanuel capped the Angels’ scoring with an RBI single nine pitches later.
“I felt throughout, guys were getting good at-bats,” Suzuki said. “We were getting guys on; there was a couple times we didn’t get them in, but we’re constantly getting guys in position to score.”
The Angels still hold an MLB-worst 18-34 record, but beat the AL West’s second-placed team before an announced crowd of 34,288. Fans in the right-field pavilions continued to chant “sell the team.”
UCLA claimed the first of a best-of-three super regional over Central Florida with a 9-1 run-rule win Friday at Easton Stadium, putting the Bruins one win away from reaching the Women’s College World Series.
Freshman infielder Bri Alejandre squared up and smashed a home run over the center-field wall to give UCLA the lead in the second inning. She tied the Big Ten freshman home-run record with her 23rd of the season.
“You don’t want this heat,” one fan yelled from behind home plate. The Bruins, though, were just getting started.
UCF struggled to find answers to match UCLA’s offensive firepower. Three Knights pitchers tried in vain as the Bruins diced up the diamond even though UCF walked UCLA and NCAA home-run leader Megan Grant three times.
Ava Stuewe ended her night in the fourth inning after she walked one Bruin and hit another. But her replacement, sophomore Isabella Vega, couldn’t find her footing, either.
UCLA strung together a sacrifice bunt and an RBI-ground out to score one run. Ramsey Suarez sliced a double down the left-field line as the ball landed less than a foot into fair territory.
Second baseman Kaniya Bragg’s three-run home run put UCLA up by five in the fifth inning. And Rylee Slimp ended the game with a three-run homer.
Yet, UCLA wasn’t perfect. The Bruins left the bases loaded when UCF’s Sierra Humphreys made a diving catch to end the fourth.
The Knights clawed back a run when Humphrey, the first batter of the fifth inning, homered to left. The hit was a small smudge on Bruins ace Taylor Tinsley’s line, finishing with two strikeouts and three hits across the five innings.
She looked shaky earlier in the game when she worked herself into a 3-2 count during the Knights’ first at-bat of the super regionals. As she took a moment to breathe, staring out at the blue wall, center fielder Jolyna Lamar nodded her head three times.
Tinsley then pitched three hitless innings before UCF’s Aubrey Evans doubled off to right in the fourth. Evans ran to third on a wild pitch, but Tinsley worked out of the jam with a groundout that she fielded herself and a lineout to Garcia at shortstop.
UCLA and UCF will play Game 2 Saturday at 7 p.m. and the game will air on ESPN. If the Bruins win, they advance to the WCWS. If they lose, the teams play again Sunday for the WCWS bid.
The New York Knicks scored 18 unanswered points on the way to a 109-93 win against the Cleveland Cavaliers as they took a 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven Eastern Conference final.
The score was tied at 53-53 when the Knicks pulled away at their Madison Square Garden home to take a 71-53 lead on the way to a ninth straight victory.
Josh Hart scored 26 points, including five three-pointers, for the home side as he racked up a career-high tally for a play-off game, while team-mate Jalen Brunson added 19 points and 14 assists.
The Knicks, who last reached the NBA Finals match in 1999 and have not been champions since 1973, also had Mikal Bridges scoring 19 points and Karl-Anthony Towns 18.
“We don’t really care who gets the shine, the shots, the minutes, those kind of things – we’re focused on winning,” Hart said.
“I think everyone is willing to sacrifice their own personal agendas or performance for the betterment of the team. And when you have a group of guys that do that, sky’s the limit.”
Donovan Mitchell scored 26 points for the Cavaliers and James Harden contributed 18 for the visiting side, who went 2-0 down to the Detroit Pistons in the last round before emerging 4-3 series winners.
“This isn’t our first time facing adversity,” Mitchell said. “We’ve been to two game sevens, so being down 2-0, it’s not the biggest challenge.
“It’s right there. So let’s go ahead and take advantage of it.”
Games three and four will take place in Cleveland on Saturday and Monday.
The winners will play either the Oklahoma City Thunder or San Antonio Spurs, whose Western Conference final is tied at 1-1.
From Maddie Lee: The crack of the bat reverberated throughout Petco Park. The crowd let out a collective, “Oh.” And Shohei Ohtani started his trot around the bases.
Padres center fielder Jackson Merrill made a valiant effort to bring back the home run. But after leaping and stretching his torso over the top of the wall, the ball fell just out of his reach.
Ohtani, hitting while pitching for the first time in almost four weeks, had homered on the first pitch of the game. Then, helping the Dodgers to a 4-0 win and series victory against the Padres on Wednesday, Ohtani threw five shutout innings and gave up just three hits.
“The goal as a pitcher is to not give up the first run,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton. “So I was able to not do that and happy that we were able to score first.”
He lowered his ERA to 0.73, which is the best mark of any pitcher who has started a game this season. It’s also the sixth-lowest ERA through the first eight starts of a season (excluding openers) that a pitcher has recorded in the live-ball era (since 1920), according to MLB.com. Fernando Valenzuela, with an 0.50 ERA through eight starts in 1981, leads the pack.
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Angels lose to the Athletics
Jeff McNeil hit a tying homer in the ninth inning and Tyler Soderstrom had an RBI single in the 10th to rally the Athletics past the Angels 6-5 on Wednesday night.
The Angels loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the 10th but left-hander Hogan Harris got Jorge Soler to ground out, sending the Angels to their 23rd loss in 29 games.
A’s reliever Scott Barlow (1-0) threw a scoreless ninth for the win. Angels right-hander Chase Silseth (1-1) took the loss after giving up an unearned run in the 10th.
Forwards Filip Jovic of Auburn and Sergej Macura of Mississippi State as well as guards Jaylen Petty of Texas Tech and Azavier Robinson of Butler have joined UCLA through the transfer portal, coach Mick Cronin said Wednesday.
Jovic averaged 6.3 points and 4.0 rebounds in all 37 games for Auburn last season, helping the Tigers win the NIT title. Macura averaged 5.0 points and 4.8 rebounds in 28 games for Mississippi State last season.
Petty averaged 9.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 33 games as a freshman at Texas Tech. Robinson averaged 6.1 points, 1.9 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 22 games as a freshman at Butler.
1881 — A small group of tennis club members meets at the Fifth Avenue Hotel in New York City to form the world’s first national governing body for tennis: the United States National Lawn Tennis Assn. The new organization is created to standardize tennis rules and regulations and to encourage and develop the sport.
1891 — Australian boxer Peter Jackson and future world heavyweight champion Jim Corbett fight a No Contest in 61 rounds at California Athletic Club, San Francisco.
1932 — 1st Curtis Cup for Women’s team amateur golf: U.S. wins, 5½-3½ at Wentworth Club (Wentworth, England).
1966 — Muhammad Ali TKOs Henry Cooper in six for heavyweight boxing title.
1966 — Kauai King, the Kentucky Derby winner ridden by Don Brumfield, wins the Preakness Stakes by 1 3/4 lengths over Stupendous.
1971 — Chelsea win 11th European Cup Winner’s Cup against Real Madrid 2-1 in Athens (replay).
1977 — Heavily favored Seattle Slew, ridden by Jean Cruguet, wins the Preakness Stakes by 1 1/2 lengths over Iron Constitution, a 31-1 shot.
1979 — The Montreal Canadiens win their 21st Stanley Cup by beating the New York Rangers 4-1 in Game 5.
1981 — The New York Islanders win the Stanley Cup in five games with a 5-1 triumph over the Minnesota North Stars.
1988 — Risen Star, ridden by Eddie Delahoussaye, spoils Winning Colors’ bid to become the first filly to win the Triple Crown by capturing the Preakness Stakes.
1989 — LPGA Championship Women’s Golf, Jack Nicklaus GC: Nancy Lopez wins for the third time, by three strokes over Ayako Okamoto of Japan.
1995 — The Penske Racing Team is shut out of the 33-car Indianapolis 500 field when two-time winners Al Unser Jr. and Emerson Fittipaldi fail to qualify. Unser is the first Indianapolis 500 winner to fail to qualify the next year.
2005 — Afleet Alex, ridden by Jeremy Rose, regains his footing and his drive after being cut off by Scrappy T in a frightening collision and breezes home to win the Preakness Stakes. Kentucky Derby winner Giacomo finishes third.
2005 — English FA Cup Final, Millennium Stadium, Cardiff (71,876): Arsenal beats Manchester United, 5-4 on penalties after 0–0 (a.e.t.); Gunners’ 10th title.
2006 — Detroit holds Cleveland to the lowest point total in a Game 7 in NBA history and advances to its fourth straight Eastern Conference final with a 79-61 win over the Cavaliers.
2006 — The Swedish ice hockey team Tre Kronor takes gold in the World Championship, becoming the first nation to hold both the World and Olympic titles separately in the same year.
2008 — UEFA Champions League Final, Moscow: Manchester United beats Chelsea, 6-5 on penalties after scores tied at 1-1 after extra time; first all-English final in the competition’s history.
2009 — Evgeni Malkin scores three goals — two in the third period — for his first NHL playoff hat trick and leads Pittsburgh to a 7-4 win over Carolina and a 2-0 advantage in the NHL Eastern Conference finals. Teammate Sidney Crosby scores the first goal of the game for a record-tying sixth goal to start a playoff game. Bobby Hull of the Blackhawks (1962) and Edmonton’s Fernando Pisani in 2006 also had six game-opening goals in a playoff year.
2011 — Shackleford wins the Preakness, holding off a late charge from Animal Kingdom to win as a 12-1 underdog. Ridden by Jesus Lopez Castanon and trained by Dale Romans, Shackleford wins by three-quarters of a length in 1:56.21.
2011 — Bernard Hopkins, at age 46, becomes the oldest fighter to win a major world championship, taking the WBC light-heavyweight title from Jean Pascal in Montreal. He takes the WBC, IBO and The Ring magazine titles from the 28-year-old Pascal (26-2-1), the Canadian fighter who was making his fifth defense. Hopkins (52-5-2) broke the age record set by George Foreman in a heavyweight title victory over Michael Moorer in 1994.
2016 — English FA Cup Final, Wembley Stadium, London: Manchester United beats Crystal Palace, 2-1 (a.e.t.); Jesse Lingard scores 110′ winner.
2016 — On same card, American boxer Jermell Charlo KOs John Jackson in 8th to claim vacant WBC super welterweight title, and Jermall Charlo beats Austin Trout on points to retain IBF version; first twins to hold world championships in same weight division.
2017 — The Tradition Senior Men’s Golf, Greystone G&CC: Defending champion Berhard Langer wins by five strokes over Scott Parel and Scott McCarron.
Compiled by the Associated Press
This day in baseball history
1926 — Earl Sheely of the Chicago White Sox hit three doubles and a home run against the Boston Red Sox. Sheely doubled in each of his last three at-bats the previous day to give him seven consecutive extra-base hits, tying a major league record. The six doubles in the two games also tied a major league record.
1930 — Babe Ruth hits three consecutive home runs in the first game of a doubleheader against the A’s.
1943 — In the fastest nine-inning night game in American League history, the Chicago White Sox beat the Washington Senators 1-0, in 1 hour, 29 minutes.
1948 — Joe DiMaggio had two home runs, a triple, double and single to lead the New York Yankees to a 13-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox.
1952 — Duke Snider’s home run highlighted a 15-run first inning in the Dodgers’ 19-1 win over the Cincinnati Reds in Brooklyn. Snider, Pee Wee Reese and Billy Cox each made three plate appearances in the first inning.
1986 — Rafael Ramirez of Atlanta had four doubles in seven at-bats as the Braves beat the Chicago Cubs 9-8 in 13 innings.
1996 — Larry Walker drove in a career-high six runs, hitting a pair of two-run homers, a triple and a double in the Colorado Rockies’ 12-10 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. His 13 total bases set a club record.
1996 — At Fenway Park, Seattle pounds out 19 hits to beat Boston, 13-7. Ken Griffey, Jr. becomes the 7th-youngest player to collect 200 homers when he connects in the M’s six-run 4th inning. Jay Buhner hits a two-run shot in the inning, the 5th game in a row he’s connected, and Edgar Martinez adds four hits in the game.
1997 — Roger Clemens earned his 200th victory, leading the Toronto Blue Jays to a 4-1 win over the New York Yankees.
2000 — For the first time in baseball history, there were six grand slams in a single day. Garret Anderson of the Angels hit the record-breaker off Kansas City’s Chris Fussell. J.T. Snow of San Francisco, Brian Hunter of Philadelphia, Jason Giambi of Oakland, and Adrian Beltre and Shawn Green of the Dodgers connected with the bases loaded before Anderson. The old mark of five was set in 1999.
2002 — The Diamondbacks set down the Giants, 9-4, behind Randy Johnson. Johnson notches the 3,500th strikeout of his big league career in the contest.
2004 — In his return to Texas, Alex Rodriguez is roundly booed by fans at the Ballpark in Arlington. The fans continue to show their displeasure as the Yankees third baseman drives a 2-1 pitch over the fence during his 1st-inning at-bat.
2004 — Jose Cruz Jr. went 4-for-4 with a homer and three doubles, leading Tampa Bay to a 5-3 victory over Cleveland.
2005 — The Texas Rangers set two club records in an 18-3 rout of the Houston Astros. Texas got home runs from Rod Barajas, Hank Blalock, Laynce Nix and Mark Teixeira in an eight-run, four-homer second inning. Texas slugged a team-record eight homers total on the day, also receiving blasts from Kevin Mench, Richard Hidalgo and two from David Dellucci.
2009 — Albert Pujols of St. Louis hit a homer in the first inning that knocked out the “I” on the Big Mac Land sign located in Busch Stadium’s left field. The Cardinals won 3-1.
2009 — Joe Mauer hit a grand slam, two doubles and drove in a career-high six runs as Minnesota routed the Chicago White Sox 20-1.
2010 — Dan Haren doubled twice, drove in three runs and pitched eight strong innings, offsetting Edwin Encarnacion’s three home runs for Toronto, and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Blue Jays 8-6. Haren gave up four runs and nine hits and two of Encarnacion’s three homers.
2013 — Mike Trout hit for the cycle and drove in five runs to lead the Angels in a 12-0 rout of Seattle Mariners.
2015 — The Brewers’ Will Smith is ejected for having rosin and sunscreen on his forearm in the 7th inning of Milwaukee’s 10-1 loss to the Braves. Smith explains that he simply forgot to wipe off his arm before leaving the bullpen when called into the game. He will receive an eight-game suspension as well.
2018 — Baseball has a new phenom as 19-year-old Juan Soto of the Nationals, making his first start ever in the outfield after striking out as a pinch-hitter in his debut the day before, crushes the first pitch he sees from Robbie Erlin of the Padres for a three-run homer. He goes 2-for-4 in 10-2 win by Washington. He is the first teenager to homer since teammate Bryce Harper did so in his rookie year in 2012.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
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