The Sports Report: Dodgers lose their fifth in a row

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

From Jack Harris: The Dodgers had to wake up early Sunday, after their 1:40 p.m. game against the Cincinnati Reds started 90 minutes early because of thunderstorms in the area.

The team’s bats, however, still looked asleep in a weather-delayed defeat at Great American Ball Park, with the Dodgers falling 4-1 to the Reds to suffer a weekend series sweep and their fifth loss in a row overall.

“It just seems like we’re running cold,” manager Dave Roberts said, peppered with a string of lineup questions that have become common in recent weeks.

“When you’re not hitting, it certainly seems lifeless,” Roberts added. “I know it’s not from care and preparation. But the bottom line is, it’s about results. And we’re not getting them right now.”

Not even close.

Instead, the Dodgers have endured their first five-game losing streak since 2019. They suffered their first series sweep since last June.

And, in what has been a recurring theme during the team’s extended two-week slide (they are 7-9 in their last 16 games), the offense remained the club’s biggest weakness, managing just five hits in a game that was delayed for an hour before the sixth inning by rain.

Continue reading here

Dodgers box score

MLB scores

MLB standings

SPARKS

Arike Ogunbowale scored 20 points, Monique Billings had a double-double and the Dallas Wings edged the Sparks 84-83 on Sunday night.

Dallas had an 8-2 run, getting what proved to be the winning point when Ogunbowale made one of two free throws with 16.1 seconds left. Lexie Brown made a long three-pointer with one second left for the Sparks.

Cameron Brink, the second overall draft pick this year, had a season-high 21 points for the Sparks (1-4), with three three-pointers and three blocks despite playing just 24 minutes because of foul trouble. Dearica Hamby had 19 points and 13 rebounds, Brown scored 12 and Li Yueru had 10 points and nine rebounds, both career highs for the 6-foot-7 rookie from China.

Continue reading here

Sparks box score

WNBA standings

NBA PLAYOFFS SCHEDULE

All times Pacific

Conference finals

Western Conference

No. 3 Minnesota vs. No. 5 Dallas
Dallas 108, at Minnesota 105 (box score)
Dallas 109, at Minnesota 108 (box score)
at Dallas 116, Minnesota 107 (box score)
Tuesday at Dallas, 5:30 p.m., TNT
*Thursday at Minnesota, 5:30 p.m., TNT
*Saturday at Dallas, 5:30 p.m., TNT
*Monday, June 3 at Minnesota, 5:30 p.m.. TNT

Eastern Conference

No. 1 Boston vs. No. 6 Indiana
at Boston 133, Indiana 128 (OT) (box score)
at Boston 126, Indiana 110 (box score)
Boston 114, at Indiana 111 (box score)
Monday at Indiana, 5 p.m., ESPN
*Wednesday at Boston, 5 p.m., ESPN
*Friday at Indiana, 5 p.m., ESPN
*Sunday at Boston, 5 p.m., ESPN

NBA Finals

Game 1: Thursday, June 6, 5:30 p.m., ABC
Game 2: Sunday, June 9, 5 p.m., ABC
Game 3: Wed., June 12, 5:30 p.m., ABC
Game 4: Friday, June 14, 5:30 p.m., ABC
*Game 5: Monday, June 17, 5:30 p.m., ABC
*Game 6: Thursday, June 20, 5:30 p.m., ABC
*Game 7: Sunday, June 23, 5 p.m., ABC

*-if necessary

ANGELS

Ben Lively pitched seven innings of two-run ball as the Cleveland Guardians beat the Angels 5-4 on Sunday for their ninth consecutive win.

It’s the longest win streak for Cleveland since it won an AL-record 22 in a row from Aug. 24 to Sept. 14, 2017. It matched the franchise’s best 53-game start at 36-17, also accomplished in 1920, 1954 and 1995. The team reached the World Series in all three of those seasons, winning in 1920.

Matt Thaiss homered for the Angels, who lost for the fourth time in five games. Reid Detmers (3-5) struck out eight in five innings, but he was charged with three runs and four hits.

Continue reading here

Angels in position to challenge an MLB record — not a good one

Shaikin: Angels get a reminder about the perils of relying too much on core prospects

Angels box score

MLB scores

MLB standings

UCLA SOFTBALL

From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: After years of pitching certainty, few knew what to expect from UCLA’s new, unproven arms. Neither Taylor Tinsley nor Kaitlyn Terry had ever pitched in a collegiate postseason game. But catcher Sharlize Palacios never doubted.

“They are pitchers that belong in OKC,” Palacios said.

UCLA’s young pitchers have answered every question while leading the sixth-seeded Bruins back to the Women’s College World Series after a one-year absence. Terry, a freshman, and the sophomore Tinsley dismantled No. 11 Georgia by giving up only one run combined in two super regional victories. They are primed for their World Series debuts as the Bruins face No. 3 Tennessee or No. 14 Alabama in the first round on Thursday in Oklahoma City.

Uncertainty about the pitching staff that lost stars Megan Faraimo and Brooke Yanez may have contributed to lowered expectations in Westwood to begin the year. For the first time since 2020, UCLA (41-10) wasn’t picked by Pac-12 coaches to win the conference. It was the first time since 1998 that UCLA entered a year with no postseason pitching experience.

Continue reading here

INDY 500

Josef Newgarden put his cheating scandal behind him to become the first back-to-back winner of the Indianapolis 500 since Helio Castroneves 22 years ago and give Roger Penske a record-extending 20th win in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”

The Tennessean passed Pato O’Ward on the final lap of Sunday’s rain-delayed race to become the first driver to win consecutive 500s since Castroneves did it for Penske in 2001 and 2002. And just like last year, Newgarden stopped his Chevrolet-powered car on the track and climbed through a hole in the fence to celebrate with fans in the grandstands.

“I love this crowd. I’ve got to always go in the crowd if we win here, I am always doing that,” Newgarden said.

Continue reading here

NHL PLAYOFFS SCHEDULE

All times Pacific

Conference finals

Western Conference
C1 Dallas vs. P2 Edmonton
Edmonton 3, at Dallas 2 (2 OT) (box score)
at Dallas 3, Edmonton 1 (box score)
Monday at Edmonton, 5:30 p.m., TNT
Wednesday at Edmonton, 5:30 p.m., TNT
Friday at Dallas, TBD, TNT
*Sunday at Edmonton, TBD, TNT
*Tuesday, June 4 at Dallas, TBD, TNT

Eastern Conference
M1 New York Rangers vs. A1 Florida
Florida 3, at New York 0 (box score)
at New York 2, Florida 1 (OT) (box score)
New York 5, Florida 4 (OT) (box score)
Tuesday at Florida, 5 p.m., ESPN
Thursday at New York, 5 p.m., ESPN
*Saturday at Florida, 5 p.m., ABC
*Monday, June 3 at New York, 5 p.m., ESPN

Stanley Cup Final

Game 1: Saturday, June 8, TBD, ESPN
Game 2: Monday, June 10, TBD, ESPN
Game 3: Thursday, June 13, TBD, ESPN,
Game 4: Saturday, June 15, TBD, ESPN
*Game 5: Tuesday, June 18, TBD, ESPN
*Game 6: Friday, June 21, TBD, ESPN
*Game 7: Monday, June 24, TBD, ESPN

*-if necessary

THIS DATE IN SPORTS

1873 — Survivor is the winner of the first Preakness Stakes.

1968 — “Papa Bear” George Halas retires as head coach of the Chicago Bears.

1972 — Mark Donohue wins the Indianapolis 500 over two-time defending champion Al Unser with a record average speed of 162.962 mph.

1975 — The Philadelphia Flyers win their second straight Stanley Cup with a 2-0 victory over the Buffalo Sabres in Game 6.

1981 — Julius Erving of the Philadelphia 76ers is named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player, making him the only player to win MVP honors in both the NBA and the ABA.

1982 — The Lakers, despite an 11-day layoff, beat Philadelphia 124-117 in Game 1 of the NBA Finals for their ninth consecutive victory. The nine straight wins sets the NBA record for consecutive wins during one postseason.

1984 — Rick Mears wins the Indianapolis 500 by the largest margin in 17 years with a record-setting 163.612 mph. Mears beats Roberto Guerrero and Al Unser by two laps. Fifteen of the 33 drivers are eliminated during two crashes.

1985 — Scott Wedman sinks four three-point field goals without a miss and shot 11-for-11 overall from the field, both NBA Finals records, as Boston routs the Lakers 148-114 in Game 1. Boston’s 148 points and 62 field goals are NBA Finals records.

1990 — Arie Luyendyk wins the fastest Indianapolis 500 by overpowering former winner Bobby Rahal over the final 33 laps, for his first Indy car victory in 76 races. His average speed of 185.984 mph breaks Rahal’s record of 170.722 in 1986.

1998 — In one of the biggest upsets in Grand Slam history, Pete Sampras is ousted at the French Open by 21-year-old Ramon Delgado of Paraguay, ranked 97th in the world, 7-6 (8-6), 6-3, 6-4.

2001 — Hicham El Guerrouj runs the fastest outdoor mile ever in the United States, and high school sensation Alan Webb breaks four minutes outdoors. El Guerrouj wins in a sizzling 3 minutes, 49.92 seconds, shattering the U.S. all-comers’ record of 3:50.86. Webb, the 18-year-old from Reston, Va., puts on a brilliant last-lap burst and finishes fifth at 3:53.43, smashing the high school record of 3:55.3 set by Jim Ryun in 1965.

2001 — Senior PGA Championship, Ridgewood CC, NJ: 5-time British Open champion Tom Watson wins first of 6 Champions Tour major titles with a 1 stroke win over Jim Thorpe.

2007 — Dario Franchitti gambles on the rain and wins the Indy 500. Franchitti inherits the lead by staying on the track when the leaders pit for fuel and then drives slowly to the checkered flag in a downpour when the race is stopped 10 laps later after 415 of the scheduled 500 miles.

2012 — Dario Franchitti wins the Indianapolis for the third time, taking advantage when Takuma Sato crashes on the final lap.

Compiled by the Associated Press