The Sports Report: Dodgers extend winning streak to eight games
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From Mike DiGiovanna: Julio Urías looked furious with himself in the fourth inning on Sunday after throwing a changeup right over the heart of the plate to light-hitting Colorado third baseman Alan Trejo, who crushed the pitch for a tying two-run home run to left-center field.
The Dodgers left-hander fielded Elehuris Montero’s ensuing chopper with his bare hand and, with both feet planted and his body squared to first base, threw awkwardly and angrily to Freddie Freeman for the final out before heading to the dugout in disgust.
And to think, just a few hours earlier, manager Dave Roberts was praising Urías for the serenity he had shown in three previous starts in which Urías began to regain his dominant 2022 form.
“I think the less emotion, or frustration, he’s showing, it speaks to how comfortable he is with his mechanics,” Roberts said before the game. “And if we can stay there, I think the results will be better, you’ll see less of those outbursts on the mound.”
But an angry reaction to one fat pitch on Sunday did not derail Urías, who channeled whatever rage he felt toward home plate, striking out eight of the final nine batters he faced to lead the Dodgers to an 8-3 win over the Rockies before a crowd of 45,904 in Chavez Ravine.
Urías struck out the side in the fifth and sixth innings and struck out two of three in the seventh to complete a seven-inning, three-run, four-hit effort in which he tied a career high with 12 strikeouts and walked none to improve to 10-6 with a 4.35 ERA on the season and 3-0 with a 2.25 ERA in his last four starts.
The Dodgers (71-46) broke open a one-run game with three runs in the sixth inning to complete a four-game sweep of the Rockies, push their winning streak to eight and give them 12 wins in 13 games in August.
Dodgers reliever Ryan Brasier’s lasting motto: ‘I just kind of kept going’
NL WEST STANDINGS
Dodgers, 71-46
San Francisco, 63-55, 8.5 GB
Arizona, 59-59, 12.5 GB
San Diego, 56-62, 15.5 GB
Colorado, 45-73, 26.5 GB
WILD-CARD STANDINGS
top three teams qualify
Philadelphia, 65-54
San Francisco, 63-55
Miami, 62-57
Chicago, 61-57, 0.5 GB
Cincinnati, 62-58, 0.5 GB
Arizona, 59-59, 2.5 GB
San Diego, 56-62, 5.5 GB
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ANGELS
Angels manager Phil Nevin was adamant before Sunday’s game that the arm fatigue that caused two-way star Shohei Ohtani to skip his next scheduled mound start would not affect him at the plate.
Then Ohtani went out and made that clear.
Ohtani hit his AL-leading 41st homer, and the Angels beat the Houston Astros 2-1 to avoid a three-game sweep.
Ohtani’s first home run since Aug. 3 put the Angels up 2-0 in the sixth inning. Houston cut it to 2-1 in the bottom half, but the Angels finally got some help from their pitching staff after losing each of the first two games of the series 11-3. Their bullpen pitched three scoreless innings to secure the win.
AL WEST STANDINGS
Texas, 70-48
Houston, 68-51, 2.5 GB
Seattle, 63-54, 6.5 GB
Angels, 59-60, 11.5 GB
Oakland, 33-85, 37 GB
WILD-CARD STANDINGS
top three teams qualify
Tampa Bay, 71-49
Houston, 68-51
Toronto, 66-54
Seattle, 63-54, 1.5 GB
Boston, 62-56, 3 GB
New York, 60-58, 5 GB
Angels, 59-60, 6.5 GB
Cleveland, 57-62, 8.5 GB
LAKERS
Former Lakers champion Pau Gasol, inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame along with a star-studded class that included two other international players, was effusive with praise for his family, former teammates and Europeans who paved the way before him during his acceptance speech Saturday night.
The 7-foot Spaniard became emotional when he gave thanks to his family and, especially, former teammate Kobe Bryant, with whom he won NBA titles in 2009 and 2010.
With Vanessa Bryant and Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka, a close friend and former agent for Kobe, present for the ceremony in Springfield, Mass., Gasol was direct with his praise of Bryant, who died along with daughter Gianna in a helicopter crash in 2020: “I wouldn’t be here without you, brother,” Gasol said. “I wish more than anything that you and Gigi were here today with us. I miss you and love you.”
Gasol joined the Lakers in 2008 after a trade from the Grizzlies that included L.A. sending his brother, Marc, to Memphis. Gasol, the 2002 rookie of the year, was a six-time All-Star and five-time All-NBA player. He averaged 17.0 points, 9.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists a game during his 18-year career.
He told the story of the 1 a.m. meeting with Bryant after arriving in L.A. after the trade. Gasol told Bryant they could meet in the morning, but his new Lakers teammate insisted on talking face to face sooner than later.
“He wanted to make sure, that right away, first-hand that I got the message,” Gasol said. “He said, welcome to the team, I’m happy you’re here, now let’s go win a championship together. I said, ‘All right, man, I’m in, I’m in.’”
————
From Dan Woike: Austin Reaves sat shotgun in a rental car driving along East Flamingo Road while telling his story, the one about the odds he overcame to star for the Los Angeles Lakers, when he slammed on the brakes mid-sentence.
A mobile billboard crossed through the intersection heading south on Las Vegas Boulevard. Right in the center of a space usually reserved for pop stars, comics and strippers, the Lakers’ guard saw his face in an advertisement for Team USA’s exhibition game with Puerto Rico.
“OK,” Reaves said as it passed. “That was weird.”
He better get used to it; it’s about to get weirder.
Soon after the rental car crept around the corner while the Bellagio fountains danced, the 1,100-square-foot video board for the Aria showed the same Team USA advertisement, again with Reaves’ face in the middle surrounded by teammates like former No. 1 pick and All-Star guard Anthony Edwards of Minnesota, defensive player of the year Jaren Jackson Jr. from Memphis and New Orleans All-Star forward Brandon Ingram.
The next image on that board? Lady Gaga.
Team USA guard Austin Reaves signs a fan’s Lakers jersey while leaving the court after an exhibition game against Puerto Rico in Las Vegas. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Yet as he went back to his hotel during Team USA’s training camp ahead of basketball’s World Cup, which will be played Aug. 25 to Sept. 10, Reaves somehow still felt the same — even with everything changing.
On one hand, Reaves is still the undrafted kid from Newark, Ark., a town of 1,000 people and one stop sign. He’s anonymous enough that fellow NBA player Kyle Lowry scooted his golf cart past Reaves earlier that day on a tee box without stopping — Lowry later said he did a double-take but he wasn’t sure it was a colleague.
RAMS-CHARGERS
The Rams played the Chargers in a preseason opener on Saturday night at SoFi Stadium. Here are some Rams observations from their 34-17 defeat.
The Chargers opened their 2023 preseason slate with a 34-17 victory over the Rams on Saturday at SoFi Stadium. Some Chargers takeaways from the game.
UCLA FOOTBALL
From Ben Bolch: Chip Kelly no longer has to throw passes in practice because UCLA is short-handed at quarterback.
His team is no longer one injury away from disaster at any position.
His players no longer get playing time by default.
This is, by far, Kelly’s deepest team in Westwood. So deep that Kelly noted Saturday the Bruins would have faced a dreaded cutdown day if the NCAA didn’t institute a COVID-19 exception allowing them to bring 120 players to training camp.
“If we had to bring 110,” Kelly said, “we would have had to make cuts and we didn’t have to make cuts before, we were trying to get as many guys as we could to get in here, so our numbers and depth are a lot better.”
Having so much depth is a win-win-win-win. It lessens injury concerns, heightens position battles, increases playing rotations and makes everyone better.
“The more people you have,” Kelly said, “the better opportunities you have, especially as the season goes along, because you’re gonna get worn down and there’s gonna be some attrition, but you’re not turning it over to somebody that’s never played the game before, you turn it over some kids that are experienced.”
Enhanced depth has been one of the big early storylines of 2023 for the Bruins. Here are five other takeaways as the team reached the midpoint of training camp Sunday:
GOLF
Former UCLA All-American Lilia Vu won the Women’s British Open to claim her second major title of 2023, taking any potential drama out of the final round by shooting five-under-par 67 for a six-stroke victory Sunday.
The 25-year-old from Fountain Valley also won the Chevron Championship in April, becoming the first female player to win two majors in the same year since Jin Young Ko in 2019, and the first American woman since Juli Inkster in 1999.
Three of the five women’s majors have been won by American this year — Allisen Corpuz won the Women’s U.S. Open title at Pebble Beach — and that has not happened since 2014.
Vu began the final round tied for the lead with Charley Hull, with 11 players within five shots of them. After 10 holes, Vu led by five as all of her rivals faltered and the American stayed out of trouble at Walton Heath.
————
Lucas Glover made three big putts just to stay in the game and then hit the most important shot -- on dry land in a playoff -- to beat Patrick Cantlay on the first extra hole and win the FedEx St. Jude Championship on Sunday for his second straight victory.
And so the amazing run continues for the 43-year-old Glover, who two weeks ago was No. 112 in the FedEx Cup and preparing for an early end to his season. Now he is assured the FedEx Cup finale at East Lake and perhaps consideration for the Ryder Cup.
Glover made a 20-foot par putt, a 30-foot bogey putt and a 12-foot par putt over the final six holes to close with a 1-under 69 and force a playoff with Cantlay, who surged into contention with a 64 at TPC Southwind.
The playoff effectively ended with one shot. Cantlay hit 3-wood that was about a foot from being perfect. Instead, it hopped down the bank and into the water. Glover found the fairway and two-putted for par. Cantlay took a penalty drop and his 20-foot par putt just slid by the right edge.
Glover becomes only the third player in his 40s to win back-to-back weeks on the PGA Tour over the last 25 years, joining Kenny Perry (2003) and Vijay Singh, who did it three times, most recently in the FedEx Cup playoffs in 2008.
WOMEN’S WORLD CUP
Schedule, results
All times Pacific
QUARTERFINALS
Thursday
Spain 2, Netherlands 1
Friday
Sweden 2, Japan 1
Saturday
Australia 0, France 0
Australia advances on penalty kicks, 7-6
England 2, Colombia 1
SEMIFINALS
Tuesday
Spain vs. Sweden, 1 a.m., Fox
Wednesday
Australia vs. England, 3 a.m., Fox
THIRD-PLACE GAME
Saturday
1 a.m., Fox
FINAL
Sunday
3 a.m., Fox
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1903 — Jim Jeffries knocks out Jim Corbett in the 10th round to retain his world heavyweight title in San Francisco.
1936 — In Berlin, the U.S. wins the first Olympic basketball gold medal with a 19-8 win over Canada. The game is played outdoors on a dirt court in a driving rain. Joe Fortenberry leads the U.S. with seven points. James Naismith, the inventor of the game, presents the medals.
1959 — The formation of the American Football League is announced in Chicago. Play will begin in 1960 with franchises in six cities with the probability of adding two more teams.
1977 — Lanny Wadkins beats Gene Littler on the third hole of sudden death to take the PGA Championship.
1977 — The Cosmos, led by Pele, play before a Meadowlands crowd of 77,961 in East Rutherford, N.J., the most to see a soccer game in the U.S. The Cosmos beat the Fort Lauderdale Strikers 8-3 in an NASL quarterfinal playoff game.
1994 — Nick Price wins the PGA Championship, finishing at 11-under 269 for 72 holes, six strokes ahead of Corey Pavin. It is the lowest stroke total in an American major championship.
2011 — Keegan Bradley wins the PGA Championship after trailing by five shots with three holes and then defeating Jason Dufner in a three-hole playoff. Bradley becomes the third player in at least 100 years to win a major championship in his first try.
2016 — South Africa’s Wayde van Niekerk breaks Michael Johnson’s 17-year-old world record in the 400-meter final in Rio de Janeiro. Usain Bolt becomes the first to capture three straight 100-meter titles at the Olympics. He finishes in 9.81 — 0.08 seconds ahead of Justin Gatlin.
2019 — French woman Stephanie Frappart is the first woman to referee a major match in a European men’s tournament. UEFA Super Cup, Chelsea vs. Liverpool in Istanbul.
2021 — Arizona Diamondbacks Tyler Gilbert became the fourth pitcher and first in 68 years to throw a no-hitter in his initial big league start, leading Arizona over the San Diego Padres 7-0 with the record-tying eighth no-hitter of the season.
—Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time...
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