The Sports Report: Dodgers don’t expect Trevor Bauer back this week

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

Jorge Castillo on the Dodgers: Manager Dave Roberts said Monday he doesn’t expect pitcher Trevor Bauer to return to the team when his seven-day paid administrative leave ends Friday.

“I don’t see it happening,” Roberts said before the Dodgers opened a four-game series against the Miami Marlins at loanDepot Park with an ugly 5-4 loss, snapping their season-long nine-game winning streak.

Major League Baseball placed Bauer on leave last Friday after a woman accused him of sexual assault on two occasions at his Pasadena home and obtained a temporary restraining order against him last week. Bauer has denied the allegations through his agents. He declined to appeal MLB’s decision to place him on leave.

MLB would need approval from the players’ union to extend the leave another seven days. That would keep Bauer off the Dodgers’ roster through the All-Star break, giving more time for the Pasadena Police Department and Major League Baseball to conduct their investigations.

Criminal charges haven’t been filed against Bauer. Pasadena police are investigating him for felony assault. A hearing to determine the validity of the restraining order in civil court is scheduled for July 23. MLB can suspend a player under its domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse policy even if he is not charged with a crime.

Without the union’s consent to prolong the leave, Bauer is eligible to return Friday when the Dodgers host the Arizona Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium unless the organization issues disciplinary action of its own. The union could then file a grievance if the Dodgers suspend or bench Bauer.

Bauer had been scheduled to start Sunday against the Washington Nationals. The Dodgers opted for a bullpen game once he was placed on leave. Roberts said the club will go with another bullpen game Wednesday against the Marlins, pushing back Julio Urías’ start to Thursday and Clayton Kershaw’s next outing to Friday.

As a result, the Dodgers won’t insert a fifth starter in the rotation before breaking for the All-Star break Sunday.

“We are planning to move forward right now as we have been in recent days,” Roberts said.

ANGELS

Jack Harris on the Angels: It was the right player, at the right moment, the seemingly perfect situation.

With the tying run at second base and winning run at first with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, “MVP!” chants rained down from the crowd. All 38,201 at Angel Stadium -- Angels and Boston Red Sox fans alike -- rose to their feet.

With the Angels trailing by one on Monday night, Shohei Ohtani had a chance to win the game.

But this time, there was no storybook finish.

Ohtani hit the ball hard but directly into a shift on the right side of the infield, grounding out to seal the Angels’ 5-4 defeat in their series-opener against the Red Sox.

The ending was one of several missed opportunities on Monday for the Angels, who could have taken the lead in the second inning, potentially chipped away in the fifth and maybe even come all the way back from their game-long deficit in the sixth.

But each time, the Red Sox defense delivered, turning three incredible plays to repeatedly stifle the Angels despite their 11 hits and 13 total baserunners.

UCLA MEN’S BASKETBALL

Ben Bolch on the Bruins: From the moment he fell to the court inside Pauley Pavilion on the final day of 2020, his knee ligament having given way, it was widely anticipated that Chris Smith had played his final game for UCLA.

Coach Mick Cronin essentially said as much when the diagnosis was delivered two days later while also making sure that his only senior knew that he would be welcome back for one more season. The option to return was granted thanks to an NCAA eligibility extension related to the pandemic that would allow Smith to come back while not counting against the team’s scholarship limits.

Some fans held out hope they might see Smith in a Bruin uniform once more, wondering how the guard could forge ahead with his NBA ambitions given that he had not considerably enhanced his draft stock even before suffering an injury that prevented him from working out for teams or participating in the draft combine. Smith’s remaining on campus to work out as part of a recovery that could stretch into late this year only enhanced those hopes.

But Smith extinguished the possibility of a UCLA return on Monday evening, announcing via Instagram that he would commence his pro career even though he’s absent from many NBA mock draft boards. Should he go undrafted, there’s always the possibility that a team could agree to sign him as a free agent and pledge to develop him upon his recovery.

“Even though my last year did not go the way we all wanted, I feel as if it was the best,” Smith wrote on Instagram as part of a farewell note in which he also thanked his teammates, coaches and support staff. “Although I wanted to be out there fighting with my brothers every night, I loved nothing more than watching everyone grow as players, coaches, men, and together as a family.”

TENNIS

Henry Chu on Wimbledon: While many in the U.S. continued their backyard celebrations of freedom from British tyranny, American tennis players found themselves drummed out of the motherland Monday with a series of tough losses on the grassy lawns of the All England Club.

Coco Gauff, Madison Keys and Sebastian Korda were all halted in their Wimbledon campaigns despite spirited play in their fourth-round matches on a gusty summer’s day. The wait for another American singles champion will extend to six years on the women’s side next year, since Serena Williams’ 2016 winning run, and 22 years on the men’s side, since Pete Sampras’ fifth title.

High hopes were pinned on Gauff, the 17-year-old Floridian who made a splash two years ago by working her way through the qualifying rounds and making it to the final 16 before falling to the eventual champion, Simona Halep. On Monday, she aimed to go at least one stage further as the tournament’s 20th seed, going up against 2018 titlist Angelique Kerber of Germany, who was seeded 25th.

Their hard-hitting exchanges, which saw both women yanked side to side by groundstrokes that went deep toward the baseline, drew gasps from a crowd more in Gauff’s corner than Kerber’s. Together, the two players smacked 47 winners.

NBA FINALS PREVIEW

Dan Woike on the NBA Finals: Monty Williams walked into the room and took a minute to stare at the NBA Finals backdrop. Devin Booker honored the Phoenix Suns’ history by wearing a throwback shirt from their last Finals appearance in 1993. And Deandre Ayton had a wide smile affixed to his face and goosebumps on his arms.

But after a handful of wide-eyed moments, the Suns looked at home on this stage, a confidence earned from dethroning the Lakers more than a month ago.

Before they were NBA finalists , they were a snake-bitten No.2 seed on their way to being “upset” by LeBron James, Anthony Davis and the Lakers. After winning the series opener, the Suns lost homecourt in Game 2. And in the final moments of Game 3, they lost their composure.

Booker shoved Dennis Schroder on a layup, leading to a flagrant foul and ejection. Jae Crowder was ejected for jawing with Schroder moments later. And as the two Phoenix players walked off the court, it was as if all the talk of the Suns’ inexperience and immaturity was spot on.

Williams had hoped his team would bounce back. He saw its resilience during the season. But with their season close to slipping away, the stakes were totally different.

“You don’t know,” Williams said.

He does now.

The Suns won the next three against the Lakers, swept the Denver Nuggets and dispatched the Clippers, emerging from that 2-1, first-round hole to eventually become the betting favorites in the Finals. They haven’t trailed in a series since they were pushed by the reigning champions.

“I’m glad we went through that; I’m glad we had those two losses,” Booker said Monday. “… Somebody said before the playoffs started like when you win a game, you feel like you can’t lose again. When you lose, you feel like you can’t win again. And that’s the playoffs for real.”

NHL

Josh Anderson jumped back into the play, and the Montreal Canadiens ended Tampa Bay’s chance for a Stanley Cup sweep.

Anderson scored his second goal 3:57 into overtime, and the Canadiens avoided elimination by defeating the defending champion Lightning 3-2 in Game 4 on Monday night.

Carey Price stopped 32 shots for Montreal, and rookie defenseman Alexander Romanov also scored.

The series shifts to Tampa Bay for Game 5 on Wednesday night.

————

A medical examiner in Michigan says an autopsy has determined that Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Matiss Kivlenieks died of chest trauma from an errant fireworks mortar blast, and not a fall as authorities previously reported.

Police in Novi, Michigan, said the mortar-style firework tilted slightly and started to fire toward people nearby Sunday night. The 24-year-old Kivleniek was in a hot tub and tried to get clear with several other people, police Lt. Jason Meier said.

The fire department and EMTs got to the private home shortly after 10 p.m. and took him to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead, Meier said. The Oakland County Medical Examiner’s office reported preliminary autopsy results Monday afternoon.

Prior to the autopsy, police said Kivlenieks was believed to have slipped and hit his head on concrete while running from a malfunctioning firework.

NBA PLAYOFFS SCHEDULE/RESULTS

All times Pacific

NBA FINALS

Phoenix vs. Milwaukee
Tonight: at Phoenix, 6 p.m., ABC
Thursday: at Phoenix, 6 p.m., ABC
Sunday: at Milwaukee, 5 p.m., ABC
Wednesday, July 14: at Milwaukee, 6 p.m., ABC
*Saturday, July 17: at Phoenix, 6 p.m., ABC
*Tuesday, July 20: at Milwaukee, 6 p.m., ABC
*Thursday, July 22: at Phoenix, 6 p.m., ABC

*-if necessary

NHL PLAYOFFS SCHEDULE/RESULTS

STANLEY CUP FINALS
All times Pacific

No. 2 Tampa Bay vs. No. 4 Montreal

Tampa Bay 5, Montreal 1
Tampa Bay 3, Montreal 1
Tampa Bay 6, Montreal 3
Montreal 3, Tampa Bay 2 (OT)
Wednesday: at Tampa Bay, 5 p.m., NBC
*Friday: at Montreal, 5 p.m., NBC
*Sunday: at Tampa Bay, 4 p.m., NBC

*-if necessary

THIS DATE IN SPORTS

1887 — Lottie Dod of Britain, 15, becomes the youngest woman to win the women’s singles championship at Wimbledon, defeating Blanch Bingley 6-2, 6-0.

1933 — The first major league All-Star game is played at Comiskey Park, Chicago. The American League beats the National League 4-2 on Babe Ruth’s two-run homer.

1957 — Althea Gibson becomes the first black to win a title at the All England Lawn Tennis Club by beating Darlene Hard 6-3, 6-2 in the women’s singles title match.

1968 — Billie Jean King wins her third consecutive women’s singles title at Wimbledon by beating Australia’s Judy Tegart 9-7, 7-5.

1975 — Ruffian, an undefeated filly, and Kentucky Derby winner Foolish Pleasure compete in a match race. Ruffian, racing on the lead, sustains a severe leg injury and is pulled up by jockey Jacinto Vasquez. She is humanely destroyed the following day.

1994 — Leroy Burrell breaks the world record in the 100 meters in Lausanne, Switzerland. Burrell’s time of 9.85 seconds betters Carl Lewis’ 9.86 clocking set in the 1991 World Championships.

1996 — Steffi Graf beats Spain’s Arantxa Sanchez Vicario 6-3, 7-5 in the Wimbledon final for the German star’s 20th Grand Slam title and 100th tournament victory.

1997 — Pete Sampras wins the fourth Wimbledon title and 10th Grand Slam title of his career, easily defeating Frenchmen Cedric Pioline 6-4, 6-2, 6-4.

1998 — Twenty-year-old Se Ri Pak becomes the youngest U.S. Women’s Open champion after hitting an 18-foot birdie on the 20th extra hole to beat amateur Jenny Chuasiriporn in the longest Women’s Open in history.

2000 — Venus Williams beats her younger sister Serena 6-2, 7-6 (3) to reach the Wimbledon final. Their singles match is the first between sisters in a Grand Slam semifinal.

2008 — Rafael Nadal ends Roger Federer’s bid to become the first man since the 1880s to win a sixth consecutive championship at the All England Club. Two points from victory, the No. 1-ranked Federer succumbs to No. 2 Nadal 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-7 (8), 9-7 in a 4-hour, 48-minute test of wills that’s the longest men’s final in Wimbledon history — and quite possibly the greatest.

2013 — Twin brothers Mike and Bob Bryan capture their fourth straight major with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 victory over Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo at Wimbledon. The Americans become the first men’s team in Open-era tennis to hold all four Grand Slam titles at the same time.

2013 — Jimmie Johnson becomes the first driver in 31 years to sweep Daytona International Speedway. The Daytona 500 winner is the first driver since Bobby Allison in 1982, and the fifth overall, to win both races in a season at Daytona.

2014 — Novak Djokovic wins his second Wimbledon title and denies Roger Federer his record eighth by holding off the Swiss star in five sets. Djokovic wastes a 5-2 lead in the fourth set but holds on for a 6-7 (7), 6-4, 7-6 (4), 5-7, 6-4 victory.

2014 — Florida teen Kaylin Whitney breaks the world junior record by running the 200 meters in 22.49 seconds at the U.S. junior national track and field championships in Eugene, Ore. The 16-year-old Whitney broke the world 17-and-under mark of 22.58 set by Marion Jones in 1992.

2016 — Roger Federer’s bid for a record eighth Wimbledon title remains alive after he comes from two sets down and saves three match points before overcoming Marin Cilic in five sets, advancing to the semifinals at the All England Club for the 11th time. It’s the 10th time in Federer’s career he erases a two-set deficit to win in five sets. This is also his 80th match win at Wimbledon, equaling Jimmy Connors’ record.

And finally

A look back at the Ruffian-Foolish Pleasure match race. Watch it here.