The Sports Report: Dodgers shut down the Mets

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

From Jack Harris: When he bought the New York Mets two offseasons ago, billionaire owner Steve Cohen cited the Dodgers as an organization to emulate, eager to model his own club after the heavy-spending, consistently-winning, big-market behemoth on the opposite coast.

On Thursday, Cohen and the Mets got a first-hand of all the reasons why.

In the opening game of a highly-anticipated weekend series between the National League’s two best teams so far this season, the Dodgers flexed their organizational might to earn a 2-0 win at Dodger Stadium.

A stellar staff performance on the mound was highlighted by six scoreless innings from Tony Gonsolin, a homegrown talent who was once an afterthought in the team’s rotation but now leads the NL with a 1.59 ERA.

A high-priced, big-name lineup did just enough at the plate, manufacturing one run in the fifth inning on a Mookie Betts RBI single and another in the sixth inning on a Justin Turner RBI double while outhitting the Mets 8-2.

And while the two teams finished the night tied atop the league standings, each 17 games over .500 almost two months into the season, the Dodgers made an early statement in a matchup that could very well define this season’s pennant race.

The Dodgers tried to temper the importance of this week’s series prior to first pitch.

Manager Dave Roberts brushed aside any notion of this being a measuring stick or litmus test series. First baseman Freddie Freeman said the team was simply trying to bounce back from a confounding three-game sweep at the hands of the Pittsburgh Pirates earlier this week.

“You just got to play good baseball,” Freeman said. “Yes, the Mets are on the other side. They have good players. I think it’s just gonna be a great series.”

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Clayton Kershaw nearing return, but Kevin Pillar sustains shoulder fracture

ANGELS

From Mike DiGiovanna: The Angels were six outs away from being on the wrong side of history Thursday night, as New York Yankees right-hander Jameson Taillon retired the first 18 batters in the second game of a split-doubleheader in Yankee Stadium.

A stagnant Angels offense, which was limited to two runs in the first 25 innings of the three-game series, found a pulse in the eighth inning, scratching out a run on a Jared Walsh double and a Kurt Suzuki two-out RBI single to snap a scoreless tie.

But rookie reliever Oliver Ortega wobbled in the bottom of the eighth, setting the stage for Anthony Rizzo’s pinch-hit, two-out, two-run single that gave the Yankees a 2-1 victory and a doubleheader sweep.

Ortega, a hard-throwing right-hander, had earned a high-leverage role with a 2.86 ERA in his first 16 games, but he was unable to hold a one-run lead Thursday night.

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Angels star Mike Trout’s hometown ready to celebrate the kid from the ‘Ville’

UCLA SOFTBALL

From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: UCLA picked a bad time for a bad game.

Unseeded Texas thumped the fifth-seeded Bruins in the opener of the Women’s College World Series on Thursday, sending the Bruins into the losers bracket with a 7-2 loss at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium.

UCLA (48-9) will fight for its season Friday against Northwestern at 4 p.m. PT. The game will be televised on ESPN2. Northwestern lost to Oklahoma 13-2 in five innings Thursday.

RAMS

From Gary Klein: New Rams linebacker Bobby Wagner is educating teammates with lessons the six-time All-Pro learned during 10 seasons with the Seattle Seahawks.

The Ontario native also is enjoying a return to Southern California weather after a decade in the Pacific Northwest.

“Something about playing with the sun out does hit you a little bit different,” he said, adding, “I’ve been attending a lot more graduations and family events that I probably wouldn’t have been able to attend if I was in Seattle.”

Wagner keeps one late family member especially close to his heart.

Wagner, 31, said his mother, Phenia Mae Wagner, suffered a stroke in her early 40s when he was a freshman in college at Utah State in 2008. She died on May 27, 2009.

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NHL PLAYOFFS

All times Pacific
Conference finals

Western
All games on TNT
Colorado (C1) vs. Edmonton (P2)
Colorado 8, Edmonton 6
Colorado 4, Edmonton 0
Saturday at Edmonton, 5 p.m.
Monday at Edmonton, 5 p.m.
*Wednesday at Colorado, TBD
*Friday, June 10 at Edmonton, TBD
*Sunday, June 12 at Colorado, TBD

Eastern
All games on ESPN
New York Rangers (M2) vs. Tampa Bay (A3)
New York 6, Tampa Bay 2
Today at New York, 5 p.m.
Sunday at Tampa Bay, noon
Tuesday at Tampa Bay, 5 p.m.
*Thursday at New York, 5 p.m.
*Saturday, June 11 at Tampa Bay, 5 p.m.
*Tuesday, June 14 at New York, 5 p.m.

*-if necessary

NBA PLAYOFFS

Schedule and results
All times Pacific
NBA FINALS
All games on ABC

Boston vs. Golden State

Boston 120, Golden State 108
Sunday at Golden State, 5 p.m.
Wednesday at Boston, 6 p.m.
Friday, June 10 at Boston, 6 p.m.
*Monday, June 13 at Golden State, 6 p.m.
*Thursday, June 16 at Boston, 6 p.m.
*Sunday, June 19 at Golden State, 5 p.m.

*-if necessary

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At the NBA Finals, the Lakers are viewed as winners after landing coach Darvin Ham

THIS DATE IN SPORTS

1932 — Lou Gehrig becomes the first major league player to hit four consecutive home runs in a game, giving the New York Yankees a 20-13 win over the Philadelphia A’s. Gehrig’s feat, however, is overshadowed by the resignation of John McGraw, manager of the New York Giants for 30 years.

1944 — Bounding Home, ridden by G.L. Smith, wins the Belmont Stakes by one-half length over Pensive, the winner of the Kentucky Derby and Preakness.

1961 — Sherluck, ridden by Braulio Baeza, wins the Belmont Stakes. Carry Beck, the winner of the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, finishes seventh.

1984 — Patty Sheehan wins the LPGA championship by a record 10 strokes over Beth Daniel and Pat Bradley.

1991 — Thomas Hearns becomes a world champion for the sixth time, capturing the World Boxing Assn.’s light-heavyweight title with a 12-round unanimous decision over Virgil Hill.

1992 — Chicago’s Michael Jordan scores a record 35 points, including a record six 3-pointers, in the first half as the Bulls beat Portland 122-89 in the opening game of the NBA Finals. Jordan finishes with 39 points and Chicago is only two points shy of the largest victory margin in the finals.

1995 — Pedro Martinez of Montreal pitches nine perfect innings against San Diego before giving up a leadoff double to Bip Roberts in the 10th inning of the Expos’ 1-0 win.

1999 — Four days after her first LPGA Tour victory, Kelli Kuehne ties the Women’s U.S. Open record with an 8-under 64 in the first round to take a one-stroke lead over Juli Inkster.

2001 — Karrie Webb wins the U.S. Women’s Open in a runaway for the second year in a row. Webb shoots a 1-under 69 for an eight-stroke victory, the largest margin at a Women’s Open in 21 years.

2004 — Calgary ties an NHL record with its 10th road win of the playoffs with a 3-2 overtime victory over Tampa Bay in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup finals. The New Jersey Devils also won 10 road playoff games during their championship seasons of 1995 and 2000.

2006 — Jeff Burton has the biggest come-from-behind win ever in a Busch race, overcoming a 36th-place starting position in the Dover 200 for his second victory of the season.

2006 — Russia’s Nikolai Valuev retains his WBA heavyweight title in Hanover, Germany, stopping Jamaican challenger Owen Beck with a right uppercut in the third round.

2011 — Roger Federer ends Novak Djokovic’s perfect season and 43-match winning streak, beating him 7-6 (5), 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (5) in the French Open semifinals. Federer advances to the title match against five-time champion Rafael Nadal. Nadal reaches his sixth final in seven years at Roland Garros by defeating Andy Murray 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 in the other semifinal.

2012 — Tiger Woods won his 73rd PGA tour victory with a two-stoke win over Andres Romero and Rory Sabbatini in the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Course.

2018 — Stephen Curry, Golden State, broke Ray Allen’s NBA Finals record for the most 3-pointers with nine in the Warriors 122-103 Game 2 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Compiled by the Associated Press

And finally

Pedro Martinez pitches nine perfect innings. Watch and listen here.