Howdy, I’m your host, Houston Mitchell. Let’s get right to the news.
From Mike DiGiovanna: Shohei Ohtani got an impromptu shower near the second base bag Sunday afternoon, his teammates dousing him with two buckets and several bottles of water after the slugger lined a two-out, run-scoring single to right field in the bottom of the 10th inning to lift the Dodgers to a 3-2 walk-off victory over the Cincinnati Reds.
“Overall, it was a special weekend,” Ohtani said through his interpreter, alluding to his bobblehead night on Thursday and the Los Angeles City Council proclaiming May 17 as “Shohei Ohtani Day” on Friday. “I wasn’t able to get a base hit during my bobblehead day, but I was able to end it on a very good note.”
New Dodgers left-hander Anthony Banda, acquired Friday from Cleveland for cash, set the stage for the dramatic win when he stranded automatic runner Elly De La Cruz in the top of the 10th by striking out Mike Ford with an 83-mph cut-fastball, getting Jeimer Candelario to ground out to third and Jake Fraley to ground out to first.
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“I met him for the first time this morning,” manager Dave Roberts said of Banda, a 30-year-old left-hander who has played for eight big league teams in seven years. “Coming in, it wasn’t a soft landing — Elly on second base, nobody out, extra innings … to keep him at bay, make pitches and keep them at zero was pretty impressive.”
With Jason Heyward on second to start the bottom of the 10th, Kiké Hernández popped out to the catcher on a bunt attempt. Pinch-hitter Will Smith walked, and Mookie Betts flied out to center field, but Ohtani came through with a clutch hit off Reds closer Alex Diaz to send a sold-out crowd of 52,656 at Dodger Stadium home happy.
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‘Freak of nature’: Inside Shohei Ohtani’s career-best start to his first Dodgers season
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NBA DRAFT
From Dan Woike: The wall of cameras and reporters focused on Bronny James against the blue back drop, the diamond stud in his right ear reflecting the lights as he answered different versions of the same question at the NBA scouting combine.
“To be honest,” he said with a soft smile, “It’s a lot.”
No one flat-out asked — it would’ve been too rude, too direct — “Bronny, aren’t you just here because of your dad?”
It’s the question that has followed him wherever he has gone.
Did he really deserve those minutes at Sierra Canyon? Was he really a five-star recruit? Did he earn that spot on the McDonald’s All-American team?
Why in the hell is he entering the NBA draft after averaging 4.8 points as a freshman at USC?
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LAKERS
From Bill Plaschke: JJ Redick?
Seriously?
The Los Angeles LeBrons appear to be closing in on the landmark hire of a bench boss who possesses but one legitimate qualification.
JJ Redick could be the next Lakers head coach because he has a podcast with LeBron James.
Period. End of resume.
Redick has never been a coach at any level above elementary school. He’s never been a head coach or assistant coach or college coach or even a high school coach.
He’s never overseen a practice. He’s never worked the sidelines. He’s never had that responsibility. He’s never dealt with that pressure.
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I’ve coached or assisted in as many NBA games as JJ Redick, and he’s going to run the Lakers?
Seriously?
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JJ REDICK POLL
Should JJ Redick be the next coach of the Lakers? Vote here and let us know.
NBA PLAYOFFS SCHEDULE
All times Pacific
Second round
Western Conference
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No. 1 Oklahoma City vs. No. 5 Dallas
at Oklahoma City 117, Dallas 95 (box score)
Dallas 119, at Oklahoma City 110 (box score)
at Dallas 105, Oklahoma City 101 (box score)
Oklahoma City 100, at Dallas 96 (box score)
Dallas 104, at Oklahoma City 92 (box score)
at Dallas 117, Oklahoma City 116 (box score)
No. 2 Denver vs. No. 3 Minnesota
Minnesota 106, at Denver 99 (box score)
Minnesota 106, at Denver 80 (box score)
Denver 117, at Minnesota 90 (box score)
Denver 115, at Minnesota 107 (box score)
at Denver 112, Minnesota 97 (box score)
at Minnesota 115, Denver 70 (box score)
Minnesota 98, at Denver 90 (box score)
Eastern Conference
No. 1 Boston vs. No. 4 Cleveland
at Boston 120, Cleveland 95 (box score)
Cleveland 118, at Boston 94 (box score)
Boston 106, at Cleveland 93 (box score)
Boston 109, at Cleveland 102 (box score)
at Boston 113, Cleveland 98 (box score)
No. 2 New York vs. No. 6 Indiana
at New York 121, Indiana 117 (box score)
at New York 130, Indiana 121 (box score)
at Indiana 111, New York 106 (box score)
at Indiana 121, New York 89 (box score)
at New York 121, Indiana 91 (box score)
at Indiana 116, New York 103 (box score)
Indiana 130, at New York 109 (box score)
Conference finals
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Western Conference
No. 3 Minnesota vs. No. 5 Dallas
Wednesday at Minnesota, 5:30 p.m., TBT
Friday at Minnesota, 5:30 p.m., TNT
Sunday at Dallas, 5 p.m., TNT
Tuesday, May 28 at Dallas, 5:30 p.m., TNT
*Thursday, May 30 at Minnesota, 5:30 p.m., TNT
*Saturday, June 1 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
Tuesday at Boston, 5 p.m., ESPN
Thursday at Boston, 5 p.m., ESPN
Saturday at Indiana, 5:30 p.m., ABC
Monday, May 27 at Indiana, 5 p.m., ESPN
*Wed., May 29 at Boston, 5 p.m., ESPN
*Friday, May 31 at Indiana, 5 p.m., ESPN
*Sunday, June 2 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
Angels right-hander José Soriano pitched a career-high 7 2/3 innings, pinch-hitter Kevin Pillar had a tiebreaking two-run single and the Angels got a series-clinching 4-1 victory over the Texas Rangers on Sunday.
The Angels took two of three over the reigning World Series champions in Ron Washington’s first series in Texas as a visiting manager. He is the Rangers’ winningest manager with his 664 wins and two American League pennants from 2007-14.
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Soriano (2-4), who struck out five and walked two, got the first two outs of the eighth, and then a visit from Washington after his first pitch to Corey Seager was a ball. The manager went back out to make a change after Seager walked and Nathaniel Lowe singled, but Luis García worked around a single to get out of the inning.
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COLLEGE SOFTBALL
From Andrés Soto: Maya Brady had to wait a little bit, but the Pac-12 Conference player of the year entered the top 10 on UCLA’s all-time hits list in the fifth inning on a single up the middle to give the Bruins a decisive 9-1 run-rule win over Grand Canyon University to win the NCAA softball Los Angeles Regional.
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It was UCLA’s second win against Grand Canyon this weekend, with the Bruins also run-ruling the Lopes 9-0 on Friday in the tournament’s opening game.
“We knew that the run-rule on Friday didn’t mean anything, we were just ready to play,” UCLA coach Kelly Inouye-Perez said. “If we wanted to extend our season, we had to take it today no matter who was in the other dugout. It’s about us.”
UCLA will now host Georgia in a super regional next weekend, with the Bruins’ eyes set on Oklahoma City and the Women’s College World Series.
Aly Kaneshiro doubled in two runs during a four-run third inning to lift the Stanford Cardinal to a 4-2 victory in a winner-take-all game and eliminate CS Fullerton.
Fullerton took a 2-0 lead in the second inning on a triple to right by Jessi Alcala and later an error on a ground ball that allowed Alcala to score.
Earlier Sunday, Fullerton forced a decisive game against Stanford with an 8-1 win, getting two RBIs from Peyton Toto in a 12-hit attack.
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GOLF
Xander Schauffele cashed in at just the right time Sunday by making a six-foot birdie putt on the final hole to win the PGA Championship for his first major with the lowest score in major championship history.
The Olympic gold medalist got something even more valuable in silver — that enormous Wanamaker Trophy after a wild week at Valhalla.
Schauffele closed with a six-under-par 65 to beat Bryson DeChambeau, entertaining to the very end with a 10-foot birdie of his own on the par-five 18th for a 64.
Schauffele became the first player since Phil Mickelson in 2005 at Baltusrol to win the PGA Championship with a birdie on the last hole to win by one. And this took all he had.
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BEACH VOLLEYBALL
From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: At first, Melissa Humana-Paredes couldn’t get the cork off the celebratory Champagne bottle. Now she’s learning to aim her shot.
In the aftermath of a thrilling three-set victory in the final of the AVP Huntington Beach Open on Sunday, the Canadian defender sprayed Champagne straight into partner Brandie Wilkerson’s eyes, momentarily pausing the euphoric celebration as Wilkerson called for a water bottle to flush her eyes and dabbed her face with a towel. Blinking away the sting, Wilkerson had no problem smiling with a Huntington Beach Open trophy surfboard in hand.
“Me and Champagne, we just don’t get along,” said Humana-Paredes, who previously needed help to wrestle the cork off a bottle in a viral video from 2023. “We’re getting better. I need to practice more.”
In Sunday’s final, Wilkerson and Humana-Paredes upset top-ranked Americans Taryn Kloth and Kristen Nuss 23-21, 18-21, 15-13 in a potential Olympic preview.
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NHL PLAYOFFS SCHEDULE
All times Pacific
Second round
Western Conference
C1 Dallas vs. C3 Colorado
Colorado 4, at Dallas 3 (OT) (box score)
at Dallas 5, Colorado 3 (box score)
Dallas 4, at Colorado 1 (box score)
Dallas 5, at Colorado 1 (box score)
Colorado 5, at Dallas 3 (box score)
Dallas 2, at Colorado 1 (2 OT) (box score)
P1 Vancouver vs. P2 Edmonton
at Vancouver 5, Edmonton 4 (box score)
Edmonton 4, at Vancouver 3 (OT) (box score)
Vancouver 4, at Edmonton 3 (box score)
at Edmonton 3, Vancouver 2 (box score)
at Vancouver 3, Edmonton 2 (box score)
at Edmonton 5, Vancouver 1 (box score)
Monday at Vancouver, 6 p.m., ESPN
Eastern Conference
M1 New York Rangers vs. M2 Carolina
at 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)
Carolina 4, at New York 1 (box score)
New York 5, at Carolina 3 (box score)
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A1 Florida vs. A2 Boston
Boston 5, at Florida 1 (box score)
at Florida 6, Boston 1 (box score)
Florida 6, at Boston 2 (box score)
Florida 3, at Boston 2 (box score)
Boston 2, at Florida 1 (box score)
Florida 2, at Boston 1 (box score)
Conference finals
Western Conference
C1 Dallas vs. TBD
Thursday at Dallas, 5:30 p.m., TNT
Saturday at Dallas, 5 p.m., TNT
Monday, May 27 at TBD, TBD, TNT
Wed., May 29 at TBD, TBD, TNT
*Friday, May 31 at Dallas, TBD, TNT
*Sunday, June 2 at TBD, TBD, TNT
*Tuesday, June 4 at Dallas, TBD, TNT
Eastern Conference
M1 New York Rangers vs. A1 Florida
Wednesday at New York, 5 p.m., ESPN
Friday at New York, 5 p.m., ESPN
Sunday at Florida, noon, ABC
Tuesday, May 28 at Florida, 5 p.m., ESPN
*Thursday, May 30 at New York, 5 p.m., ESPN
*Saturday, June 1 at Florida, 5 p.m., ABC
*Monday, June 3 at New York, 5 p.m., ESPN
*-if necessary
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1919 — Babe Ruth of the Boston Red Sox wins a game on the mound and at the plate as he hits his first career grand slam to beat the St. Louis Browns 6-4.
1964 — Buster Mathis beats future world heavyweight champion Joe Frazer on points at trials in Flushing, NY to qualify for US Olympic boxing team; Mathis injures thumb, replaced by Frazier who wins gold medal.
1972 — Indiana’s Roger Brown scores 32 points to lead the Pacers to 108-105 to win over the New York Nets and the ABA championship.
1978 — Affirmed, ridden by Steve Cauthen, continues the battle with Alydar and wins the Preakness Stakes by a neck.
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1983 — American heavyweight boxer Larry Holmes beats countryman Tim Witherspoon by split decision to retain his WBC title in Las Vegas.
1985 — Larry Holmes beats Carl Williams in 15 for heavyweight boxing title.
1990 — Monica Seles ends Steffi Graf’s 66-match winning streak and takes the German Open with a 6-4, 6-3 victory. Graf’s streak is the second longest in the modern era of tennis. Martina Navratilova won 74 straight matches in 1984.
1991 — Chicago Bull Michael Jordan, named NBA’s MVP.
2007 — Roger Federer ends Rafael Nadal’s 81-match winning streak on clay with a 2-6, 6-2, 6-0 win in the final of the Hamburg Masters. It’s Federer’s first clay-court title in two years.
2018 — Sweden beats Switzerland 3-2 in a shootout for the gold medal at the world ice hockey championship in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time...
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com, and follow me on Twitter at @latimeshouston. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
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