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From Jack Harris: For most of this season, the Dodgers have looked nearly invincible.
In eight meetings with the San Diego Padres, however, they have not shown up at all.
For the second time this season, the Dodgers lost a series to their intradivision rivals, falling to the Padres 4-0 in a Sunday game at a packed Petco Park.
The reasons for this defeat were not difficult to diagnose. Shohei Ohtani sat out because of a tight back. Padres starter Yu Darvish went seven scoreless innings. And most of all, Walker Buehler struggled in his second start after Tommy John surgery, giving up three runs in just 3 ⅓ innings.
In the big picture, this weekend’s setback should just be a temporary blip.
Ohtani is expected back in the lineup on Monday, needing just a day off after his back tightened on him Saturday night. The Dodgers lineup looks to be heating up again, especially if Mookie Betts can end a recent two-week slump. Buehler’s lumps were no surprise either, especially with the 29-year-old returning from a second surgery that required nearly two years of rehabilitation.
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Hernández: Dave Roberts does his job: protecting Shohei Ohtani from himself
Inside young Clayton Kershaw’s fight to save his career and learn a unique speech
Dodgers box score
MLB scores
MLB standings
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NBA PLAYOFF SCHEDULE
All Pacific times
Second round
Western Conference
No. 1 Oklahoma City vs. No. 5 Dallas
at Oklahoma City 117, Dallas 95 (box score)
Dallas 119, at Oklahoma City 110 (box scoreboard)
at Dallas 105, Oklahoma City 101 (box score)
Monday in Dallas, 6:30 p.m., TNT
Wednesday in Oklahoma City, 6:30 p.m., TNT
*Saturday in Dallas, 5:30 p.m., ESPN
*Monday in Oklahoma City, 5:30 p.m., TNT
No. 2 Denver vs. No. 3 Minnesota
Minnesota 106, at Denver 99 (box score)
Minnesota 106, Denver 80 (box score)
Denver 117, Minnesota 90 (box score)
Denver 115, Minnesota 107 (box score)
Tuesday in Denver, 7:30 p.m., TNT
*Thursday in Minnesota, 5:30 p.m., ESPN
*Sunday in Denver, TBD, TNT
Eastern Conference
#1 Boston vs. #4 Cleveland
at Boston 120, Cleveland 95 (box score)
Cleveland 118, Boston 94 (box score)
Boston 106, Cleveland 93 (box score)
Monday in Cleveland, 4 p.m., TNT
Wednesday in Boston, 4 p.m., TNT
*Friday in Cleveland, 5:30 p.m., ESPN
*Sunday in Boston, TBD, TBD
#2 New York vs. #6 Indiana
at New York 121, Indiana 117 (box score)
at New York 130, Indiana 121 (box score)
on Indiana 111, New York 106 (box score)
at Indiana 121, New York 89 (box score)
Tuesday in New York, 5 p.m., TNT
Friday in Indiana, TBD, ESPN
*Sunday in New York, 12:30 p.m., ABC
*-if necessary
ANGELS
Seth Lugo racked up a career-high 12 strikeouts and allowed one run in eight strong innings, and Hunter Renfroe had a two-run single against his former team in the Kansas City Royals’ 4-2 victory over the Angels in the Sunday.
Freddie Fermin and Michael Massey also had RBIs during the Royals’ four-run fourth inning, giving Lugo (6-1) plenty of support as Kansas City took three of the Angels’ four.
Willie Calhoun had an RBI double in the sixth and a solo home run in the ninth for the Halos, who have lost 17 of 23 with the major league’s worst 14 players on the injured list. Los Angeles has lost all six series in Big A this season, failing to win consecutive home games at any point.
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Angels Box Score
MLB scores
MLB standings
UCLA WATER POLO
From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: UCLA won its first NCAA women’s polo title since 2009 with a 7-4 victory over California on Sunday, completing its first undefeated season since 2008 to win the program’s seventh national championship. The Bruins (26-0) are the first team since USC in 2016 to complete a perfect season and just the fifth team in NCAA women’s water polo history.
After leading the UCLA men’s program to four national titles in 15 seasons as head coach, Adam Wright won his first NCAA championship at the helm of the women’s team. He took over both programs in 2017 after the women’s team advanced to three national championship games in four seasons but had no trophies to show for it.
With the composure of a coach who has already immersed himself in the championship, Wright took off his sneakers at the final horn and placed them on the bench. He gathered several players and assistant coaches in a group hug on the pool deck, wrapped Cal coach Coralie Simmons in a consoling hug and then dove headfirst into the pool.
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USC BASEBALL
From Bill Shaikin: “Have you played Mafia before?”
I had asked Connor Clift, senior catcher for the USC baseball team, about the Trojans’ difficult season.
“We played Mafia for hours,” Clift said.
It’s a video game.
“You have a sheriff and you have townspeople, and the mob tries to kill the townspeople, and the sheriff tries to catch the mob,” he said. “No one knows who is who, and so you fight.”
The Trojans play for hours because they spend hours riding the bus. It’s a team without a home.
They practice half an hour from campus – an hour, with traffic. They play most of their home games within an hour of campus – two hours, with traffic.
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USC VOLLEYBALL
From Ryan Kartje: Before building a beach volleyball dynasty, Dain Blanton decided, in the summer of 2018, to put training on the back burner.
After four years as a volunteer assistant, it seemed like he had reached his ceiling at USC. Anna Collier, the only USC beach volleyball coach ever, didn’t seem likely to change anytime soon. And ESPN, where Blanton worked covering volleyball, was offering him the chance to commit to a career in broadcasting, not to mention financial stability. With a new baby to think about, it seemed like the right time to move on.
Blanton loved coaching. But he was ready for something new, and his broadcasting career, which included work as a Clippers sideline reporter and Olympics analyst, seemed poised to take off. Still, over the next year, Collier checked in to remind Blanton not to completely close the door on coaching — not knowing at the time that he would retire from USC the following summer.
Stunned by the news, Blanton wondered if he had a chance. “Everybody and their brother wanted the job,” he said.
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NHL PLAYOFF SCHEDULE
All Pacific times
Second round
Western Conference
C1 Dallas x C3 Colorado
Colorado 4, at Dallas 3 (OT) (box score)
at Dallas 5, Colorado 3 (box score)
Dallas 4 at Colorado 1 (box score)
Monday in Colorado, 7 p.m., ESPN
Wednesday in Dallas, 5 p.m., ESPN
*Friday in Colorado
*Sunday in Dallas, to be determined
P1 Vancouver x P2 Edmonton
at Vancouver 5, Edmonton 4 (box score)
Edmonton 4, at Vancouver 3 (OT) (box score)
Vancouver 4, at Edmonton 3 (box score)
Tuesday in Edmonton, 6:30 p.m., ESPN
*Thursday in Vancouver, TBD
*Saturday in Edmonton, TBD
*Monday in Vancouver, TBD
Eastern Conference
M1 New York Rangers x M2 Carolina
in New York 4, Carolina 3 (box score)
at New York 4, Carolina 3 (2 OT) (box score)
New York 3, at Carolina 2 (OT) (box score)
at Carolina 4, New York 3 (box score)
Monday in New York, 4 p.m., ESPN
*Thursday in Carolina, 4pm, TNT
*Saturday in New York, to be defined
A1 Florida x A2 Boston
Boston 5, Florida 1 (box score)
at Florida 6, Boston 1 (box score)
Florida 6, Boston 2 (box score)
Florida 3, Boston 2 (box score)
Tuesday in Florida, 4 p.m., ESPN
*Friday in Boston, to be determined
*Sunday in Floria, to be defined
*-if necessary
THIS DATE IN SPORT
1950 — The first race of the Formula 1 World Drivers’ Championship is held at Silverstone, England, and won by Giuseppe Farina of Italy in an Alfa Romeo.
1952 – In an Appalachian League game, Ron Necciai of the Bristol Twins struck out 27 batters in throwing a 7-0 no-hitter against the Welch Miners.
1958 – Stan Musial gets his 3,000th hit with a pinch-hit double off Chicago’s Moe Drabowsky at Wrigley Field. The Cardinals win 5-3.
1976 – The New York Nets overcame a 22-point third-quarter deficit to beat the Denver Nuggets 112-106 and win the last ABA championship in six games.
1989 — Trinidad and Tobago draws with the USA 1-1, in the 3rd round of the 1990 Football World Cup.
2005 – Tiger Woods misses the cut at the Byron Nelson Championship to end his record of 142 consecutive cuts made over the last seven years on the PGA Tour.
2007 — Canada wins the world hockey championship with a 4-2 victory over Finland. Rick Nash leads with two goals as Canada wins Canada’s 24th world title and first since 2004.
2014 – Henrik Lundqvist sets an NHL record with his fifth straight win in Game 7. He made 35 saves to lead the New York Rangers to a 2-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins and clinch a berth in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Compiled by Associated Press
Until next time…
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