The Sports Report: Dodgers are swept by the Padres

Howdy, I’m your host, Houston Mitchell. Let’s get right to the news.

Jorge Castillo on the Dodgers: As the National League West standings currently stand, the Dodgers would have to beat the San Diego Padres in the wild card game to keep their hopes of repeating as World Series champions alive.

That would be the consolation prize for not winning the division for the ninth consecutive season. It’s an uneasy possibility. One mistake, one bad night, one dominant start on the other side and it’s all over. The good news is there are 87 games left on the Dodgers’ regular-season schedule to avoid that scenario. The bad news is the Padres have had their way with them and aren’t going away.

The Padres completed a three-game sweep of the Dodgers with a 5-3 win at a sold-out Petco Park on Wednesday. The Dodgers (44-30) have dropped seven of eight games to the Padres (45-32) after winning the season’s first two meetings. The Padres moved within a half-game of the second-place Dodgers with the first-place San Francisco Giants are four games ahead of them. The clubs don’t meet again until late August.

“They absolutely kicked our ass from an intensity standpoint,” Dodgers starter Trevor Bauer said. “They came to play, we didn’t. That’s what happens in baseball. You try to attack the other team and win and when you don’t have that mindset, you get rolled. And we got rolled.”

The Dodgers arrived in San Diego on a four-game winning streak. Max Muncy and Cody Bellinger were about to come off the injured list. Things were looking up. But they were outclassed in every department over the three nights.

ANGELS

Mike DiGiovanna on the Angels: The Angels had Wednesday’s game against the San Francisco Giants won when Juan Lagares slid home with the decisive 12th-inning run, plate umpire Ryan Additon ruling Lagares safe on a bang-bang play. And then they didn’t.

Additon’s call was overruled by replay review, and the Giants broke out for seven runs in the 13th inning of a 9-3 victory, the game ending for the short-handed Angels with outfielder Taylor Ward making his big league debut behind the plate, pitcher Griffin Canning in left field and pitchers filling two batting-order spots.

The Angels went one for 15 with runners in scoring position, failing to score the winning run after Jared Walsh’s leadoff double in the ninth, loading the bases with one out in the 10th, putting two on with no outs in the 11th and runners on first and third with one out after scoring the tying run in the 12th.

“Just one of those games, man,” Angels manager Joe Maddon said after the grueling 4-hour, 51-minute marathon. “You can win it in so many ways, and you don’t, and that’s frustrating.”

OLYMPICS

Vlatko Andonovski greets Alex Morgan before an international friendly on June 10.

(Associated Press)

Kevin Baxter on soccer: Vlatko Andonovski’s roster for next month’s Olympic soccer tournament features few surprises, with the U.S. coach selecting 18 women who have combined for 26 Women’s World Cup medals, eight Olympic golds and nearly 2,000 games of international experience.

Topping that list in all three categories is Carli Lloyd, a two-time world and Olympic champion and just the third player in U.S. history to earn more than 300 international caps.

“Obviously my goal is to help the team win gold,” said Lloyd, a two-time world player of the year and the only person to score the game-winning goal in two Olympic finals. “I’ve never felt this fit in my career. I’ve never felt this explosive. My game has evolved over the years and I’ve become smarter tactically as well.”

United States forward Carli Lloyd moves the ball against Costa Rica during the first half of an international friendly soccer match Sunday, Nov. 10, 2019, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

The Olympic selection is the fourth for Lloyd, who will turn 39 a week before the U.S. kicks off in Tokyo, making her the oldest soccer Olympian in U.S. history. Tobin Heath will be playing in a fourth Olympic tournament as well although her selection was in doubt because of ankle and knee injuries that have kept her off the national team since November.

Andonovski also chose holding midfielder Julie Ertz, a world and Olympic champion who sustained an MCL strain in her right knee last month. Perhaps the biggest surprise was midfielder Kristie Mewis, the older sister of World Cup winner Samantha Mewis, who got the final roster spot over speedy forward Lynn Williams. Kristie Mewis is the only player on the roster who was not on the 2019 Women’s World Cup team.

The roster:

Goalkeepers: Adrianna Franch (Portland Thorns), Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars)

Defenders: Abby Dahlkemper (Manchester City), Tierna Davidson (Chicago Red Stars), Crystal Dunn (Portland Thorns), Kelley O’Hara (Washington Spirit), Becky Sauerbrunn (Portland Thorns), Emily Sonnett (Washington Spirit)

Midfielders: Julie Ertz (Chicago Red Stars), Lindsey Horan (Portland Thorns), Rose Lavelle (OL Reign), Kristie Mewis (Houston Dash), Samantha Mewis (North Carolina Courage)

Forwards: Tobin Heath (unattached), Carli Lloyd (Gotham FC), Alex Morgan (Orlando Pride), Christen Press (unattached), Megan Rapinoe (OL Reign)

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Kaleigh Gilchrist

(Associated Press)

Kevin Baxter on water polo: If the Tokyo Olympics had gone forward as scheduled last year, Kaleigh Gilchrist might have been watching the women’s water polo tournament on TV instead of playing in it.

In the summer of 2019, she sustained severe injuries when a balcony she was standing on collapsed. And though she had physically recovered in time to be considered for the U.S. roster in 2020, she wasn’t ready mentally.

“That mental aspect was a lot harder than any of the physical aspects for rehabbing and getting back,” Gilchrist said Wednesday, moments after she was named to the 13-woman team for Tokyo, where the U.S. will be going for an unprecedented third straight gold medal.

Gilchrist, 29, is one of eight players returning from the 2016 championship team. And she admits the yearlong postponement of the Tokyo Games because of COVID-19 helped her deal not only with the trauma of the balcony collapse, which killed two people, but also the loss of two important mentors in Bill Barnett, her high school water polo coach, and Lakers great Kobe Bryant, a Newport Beach neighbor who inspired her during her rehab.

The roster:

Goalkeepers: Ashleigh Johnson (Miami), Amanda Longan (Moorpark)

Attackers: Rachel Fattal (Seal Beach), Kaleigh Gilchrist (Newport Beach), Stephania Haralabidis (Athens, Greece), Paige Hauschild (Santa Barbara), Maddie Musselman (Newport Beach), Jamie Neushul (Isla Vista), Maggie Steffens (Danville)

Center: Aria Fischer (Laguna Beach)

Defenders: Makenzie Fischer (Laguna Beach), Melissa Seidemann (Walnut Creek), Alys Williams (Huntington Beach)

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Kelly Slater gets a long tube ride during the Jeep Surf Ranch Pro on June 20.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

David Wharton on surfing: The suggestion catches Kelly Slater by surprise: Could the artificial wave pool he constructed amid agricultural fields in Central California be used for surfing at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics?

“Hmm,” the greatest contest surfer in history says. “I didn’t think about that.”

The WSL Surf Ranch in Lemoore, about three hours north of Los Angeles, uses a massive hydrofoil about the size of a locomotive to push perfect six-foot waves down a pool that stretches nearly seven football fields. The World Surf League purchased it from Slater and holds pro contests there.

Artificial waves at the Olympics have become a topic of conversation since the Tokyo Games added the sport to its program for this summer. The 2024 Paris Olympics will also include surfing, but will hold the event thousands of miles away in Tahiti.

LA 28 is expected to include surfing too, though organizers will not submit their official list of sports for another couple of years.

“I think by then we’ll have other designs,” Slater said after an exhibition session during the junior national championships at Lower Trestles on San Onofre State Beach this week. “Maybe something a little shorter, maybe a 20-second ride would be optimum because you could push as hard as you want and have enough variety in the maneuvers.”

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Simone Biles competes on the vault.

(Associated Press)

Helene Elliott on gymnastics: USA Gymnastics is still reconciling its sordid past even as Simone Biles provides a shining example of the best the sport can be.

The organization that governs gymnastics in the United States is still in bankruptcy and in mediation proceedings with more than 500 women who filed lawsuits alleging they were sexually abused by former national team doctor Lawrence Nassar or others associated with gymnastics. Biles, who won gold in the team and all-around events at the 2016 Rio Olympics, is among the survivors. She’s the prohibitive favorite to win the all-around title this weekend at the U.S. Olympic trials, which will determine the men’s and women’s squads for the Tokyo Games.

Li Li Leung, chief executive officer of USA Gymnastics, said Wednesday the mediation process “has taken far too long” and that “everyone involved would have liked it to be resolved sooner,” but COVID-19 had delayed the process. USA Gymnastics filed a voluntary petition for reorganization under Chapter 11 in U.S. bankruptcy court for the southern district of Indiana in December 2018. Offering a settlement to the sexual abuse survivors was part of the organization’s plan to exit bankruptcy.

“We would love to be out of bankruptcy. That way we can be able to more freely move forward with all of the things we had been working on and not have this be part of the narrative, but what has happened is something we are learning from,” Leung said. “We are using the past to inform how we move forward.”

The biggest question at the trials, which begin Thursday at the Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis, is whether Biles’ margin of victory will be big or whether it will be gigantic, boosted by the return of a few singularly spectacular skills she left out when she won her seventh U.S. championship a few weeks ago.

GALAXY

Efraín Álvarez scored in stoppage time to give the Galaxy a 2-1 victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps on Wednesday night.

Álvarez connected in the 93rd minute, scoring his second MLS goal just a minute after the Whitecaps’ Janio Bikel found the far post to tie it with his first MLS goal.

The Galaxy (6-3-0) have won four of their last six. Vancouver (2-6-1) has lost five straight.

Chicharito opened the scoring for the Galaxy in the 47th minute. He’s tied for the league lead with eight goals.

Galaxy goalkeeper Jonathan Bond came up with a late diving save off a headed attempt by Caio Alexandre seconds before time expired.

LAFC

Kevin Baxter on LAFC: The tireless LAFC fans who fill the noisy north end of Banc of California Stadium are known collectively as the 3252, ostensibly because that’s the number of seats in the grandstand.

Consider that a rough estimate.

The real reason for the name is the numbers add up to 12, making the supporters in the north end — and throughout the stadium — the team’s 12th man. And during the COVID-19 pandemic, LAFC was playing a man down.

On Saturday, with restrictions on social distancing lifted, a crowd announced at 22,034 filled the Banc again, although most went away frustrated with José Cifuentes and Houston’s Maximiliano Urruti exchanging second-half goals in a 1-1 draw.

“It’s definitely different because we’ve gone for so long without fans,” LAFC midfielder Bryce Duke said. “It’s kind of weird to say this, [but] I miss not being to hear someone from like 10 feet away. I’m glad to have all the fans back, and I’m sure that they’re glad to be back.

NBA PLAYOFFS SCHEDULE/RESULTS

All times Pacific

WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS

No. 2 Phoenix vs. No. 4 Clippers
Phoenix 120, Clippers 114
Phoenix 104, Clippers 103
Tonight: at Clippers, 6 p.m., ESPN
Saturday: at Clippers, 6 p.m., ESPN
*Monday: at Phoenix, 6 p.m., ESPN
*Wednesday: at Clippers, 6 p.m., ESPN
*Friday, July 2: at Phoenix, 6 p.m.

EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS

No. 3 Milwaukee vs. No. 5 Atlanta
Atlanta 116, Milwaukee 113
Friday: at Milwaukee, 5:30 p.m., TNT
Sunday: at Atlanta, 5:30 p.m., TNT
Tuesday: at Atlanta, 5:30 p.m., TNT
*Thursday, July 1: at Milwaukee, 5:30 p.m., TNT
*Saturday, July 3: at Atlanta, 5:30 p.m., TNT
*Monday, July 5: at Milwaukee, 5:30 p.m., TNT

*-if necessary

NHL PLAYOFFS SCHEDULE/RESULTS

STANLEY CUP SEMIFINALS
All times Pacific

No. 1 Vegas vs. No. 4 Montreal

Vegas 4, Montreal 1
Montreal 3, Vegas 2
Montreal 3, Vegas 2, OT
Vegas 2, Montreal 1, OT
Montreal 4, Vegas 1
Today: at Montreal, 5 p.m., USA
*Saturday: at Vegas, 5 p.m., NBCSN

No. 2 Tampa Bay vs. No. 3 New York Islanders

New York 2, Tampa Bay 1
Tampa Bay 4, New York 2
Tampa Bay 2, New York 1
New York 3, Tampa Bay 2
Tampa Bay 8, New York 0
New York 3, Tampa Bay 2, OT
Friday: at Tampa Bay, 5 p.m., NBCSN

*-if necessary

THIS DATE IN SPORTS

1910 — James Braid wins his fifth British Open with a four-stroke victory over Sandy Herd.

1911 — John McDermott becomes the first American-born winner of the U.S. Open when he beats Michael Brady and George Simpson in a playoff. McDermott finishes two strokes better than Brady and five strokes better than Simpson.

1913 — John Henry Taylor wins his fifth and final British Open Championship at Royal Liverpool Golf Club at Hoylake, England.

1928 — John Farrell beats Bobby Jones by one stroke in a 36-hole playoff to win the U.S. Open.

1947 — Jim Ferrier wins the PGA championship by defeating Chick Harbert 2 and 1 in the final round.

1958 — Brazil, led by 17-year-old Pele, beats France 5-2 in a semifinal of the World Cup. With Brazil up 2-1 in the second half, Pele scores three consecutive goals.

1968 — Canada’s Sandra Post beats Kathy Whitworth by seven strokes in a playoff to become the first non-U.S. player and rookie to win the LPGA championship.

1980 — The Atlanta Flames relocate to Calgary, Alberta. The NHL team keeps the name “Flames.”

1990 — Criminal Type becomes the first horse to win consecutive $1 million races after capturing the Hollywood Gold Cup. He had previously won the $1 million Pimlico Special on May 12.

1991 — The NHL’s Board of Governors adopts instant replay.

2000 — Rick DiPietro is the first goalie drafted No. 1 when the New York Islanders select the 18-year-old star from Boston University at the NHL Draft.

2001 — Karrie Webb, 26, captures the LPGA Championship by two strokes to become the youngest woman to complete the Grand Slam.

2010 — John Isner outlasts Nicolas Mahut in the longest match in tennis history. Isner hits a backhand winner to win the last of the match’s 980 points, and takes the fifth set against Mahut 70-68. The first-round match took 11 hours, 5 minutes over three days, lasting so long it was suspended because of darkness — two nights in a row. Play resumed at 59-all and continued for more than an hour before Isner won 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (7), 7-6 (3), 70-68.

2010 — John Wall is selected as the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft by the Washington Wizards, and a record number of Kentucky teammates follow him. Four more Wildcats are among the top 30 selections, making them the first school ever to put five players in the first round.

2013 — Bryan Bickell and Dave Bolland score 17 seconds apart in the final 1:16 of the third period and the Chicago Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup with a stunning 3-2 comeback victory in Game 6 over the Boston Bruins.

2018 — Harry Kane scores a hat trick to propel England to its most emphatic World Cup victory and into the knockout stage. With John Stones heading in twice and Jesse Lingard curling in a shot, England beats Panama 6-1 and scores its most goals ever in a World Cup game.

And finally

John Isner wins the longest match in tennis history. Watch it here.