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From Jack Harris: Sometimes, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, all it takes one bad matchup, or one crafty pitcher, for a hitter to “trigger bad habits” in their swing.
In the case of Shohei Ohtani, and his struggles over the last several games of the Dodgers’ postseason, the culprit appears to have been San Diego Padres starter Yu Darvish.
In six at-bats against Darvish during last week’s National League Division Series, Ohtani went hitless, striking out three times while looking atypically mortal after his superhuman regular season.
In Game 5 of the NLDS, Ohtani seemed particularly uncomfortable against Darvish in the box. He went down on strikes chasing a slider out of the zone. He hit a lazy pop-up on a cutter down the middle. He struck out again chasing a curveball off the plate.
Before that game, Ohtani was off to a decent — though only occasionally dominant — first career postseason, collecting four hits and four RBIs over his first four games.
Starting with that 0-for-4 performance in Game 5, however, Ohtani hasn’t looked like himself.
Hernández: Shohei Ohtani is the Dodgers’ best player, and they need him to play like it
Shaikin: Don’t blame big payrolls for the success of Dodgers, Yankees and Mets
‘I can go.’ Dodger Freddie Freeman endures hours of therapy to play on sprained ankle
Charter cuts jobs, programs on Dodgers and Lakers channels
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MLB POSTSEASON SCHEDULE
All times Pacific
NLCS
No. 1 Dodgers vs. No. 6 NY Mets
at Dodgers 9, New York 0. (box score)
New York 7, at Dodgers 3. (box score)
Wednesday: Dodgers at New York, 5 p.m., FS1
Thursday: Dodgers at New York, 5 p.m., FS1
Friday: Dodgers at New York, 2 p.m., FS1
*Sunday: New York at Dodgers, 5 p.m., FS1
*Monday: New York at Dodgers, 5 p.m., FS1/Fox
ALCS
No. 1 NY Yankees vs. No. 2 Cleveland
at New York 5, Cleveland 2 (box score)
at New York 6, Cleveland 3 (box score)
Thursday at Cleveland, 2 p.m., TBS/truTV/MAX
Friday at Cleveland, 5 p.m., TBS/truTV/MAX
*Saturday at Cleveland, 5 p.m., TBS/truTV/MAX
*Monday at New York, 2 p.m., TBS/truTV/MAX
*Tuesday at New York, 4:30 p.m., TBS/truTV/MAX
*-if necessary
UCLA FOOTBALL
From Ben Bolch: Eight months after he called DeShaun Foster “the right man for this job,” UCLA athletic director Martin Jarmond continued to stand by his man amid a rocky start for the Bruins’ new football coach.
The Bruins are 1-5 for the first time since Chip Kelly’s second season in 2019. Their offense is among the worst in the nation. They haven’t won a home game in three tries and have lost five games in a row.
As one might expect when it comes to the most important hire of his nearly 4½ years on the job, Jarmond is remaining an optimist.
“I’m confident in DeShaun,” Jarmond told The Times on Monday afternoon during a wide-ranging telephone interview. “This is DeShaun’s team, these are his players and he’s working hard every day to make this program successful. Growth isn’t linear, and it’s not always reflected in the record, but the guys are playing hard and we’re getting better and they’re going to keep working hard, and so we’ve got to keep swinging and keep pushing forward.”
Bruins for Life emerges as UCLA football’s NIL arm in reboot of fundraising efforts
USC FOOTBALL
From Ryan Kartje: Anthony Lucas always looked the part. His physical tools, at 6 feet 6 and 275 pounds, once made him one of the most-coveted prospects in America, with the sort of towering potential that could transform a defense.
Yet aside from some flashes of brilliance, first at Texas A&M and then at USC, that potential largely had gone unfulfilled for two seasons. It took a new scheme, new staff and newfound focus from Lucas to finally unlock it at USC, where the first six weeks of this season offered more than a few glimpses of the junior defensive end as a force along the Trojans’ front.
That hope faded in a hurry Tuesday with word that Lucas suffered a season-ending injury in Saturday’s loss to Penn State. The injury leaves USC’s already-thin defensive line without its most-productive edge rusher the rest of the way.
CHARGERS
From Sam Farmer: Five stars here. Three over there. And two more next door.
This isn’t the Hollywood Walk of Fame but the locker room at the Chargers’ practice facility. Above every locker stall is a placard that’s adorned with a name, number and college alma mater, but also the player’s high school and rank as a recruit.
For instance, quarterback Justin Herbert was a 3-Star prospect out of Sheldon High in Eugene, Ore.
Safety Derwin James Jr. was even more decorated, a 5-Star recruit out of Haines City High in the heart of Florida.
These nameplates aren’t a Chargers tradition but a bit of motivational magic from Jim Harbaugh, in his first season as the team’s coach.
“Everybody had a different path to get here,” said Harbaugh, whose team plays at Arizona on Monday. “They took their own circumstances and turned them into a success.”
LAKERS
From Dan Woike: The Lakers will need more than seven days to figure everything out about who they want to be under new coach JJ Redick.
But in just one week, the exhibitions turn to actual competition, the season opener now in plain sight for the team.
In their fourth preseason game, this one Tuesday in Las Vegas against Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors, the Lakers looked like a team with a plan. They didn’t, though, look fully like a team close to executing it.
The Lakers, hellbent on getting up more three-point shots after finishing second to last in attempts last season, all looked eager to launch. But for the third time in four preseason games, the ball careened all over the gym as the team made only 11 of 40 (27.5%) from beyond the arc.
And against the Warriors, even with Klay Thompson now in Dallas, you’re going to need to make shots. Tuesday, in a 111-98 loss, they just rarely did.
WORLD CUP
From Kevin Baxter: The Los Angeles World Cup 2026 host committee is offering local artists and designers the chance to create the official poster for the World Cup 26 Los Angeles. The winning entry will be showcased throughout Southern California ahead of the tournament and its creator will receive a $20,000 prize.
Eight World Cup games will be played at SoFi Stadium in June and July of 2026.
The committee said it is working with the Annenberg Foundation to reach emerging designers and new artists across Southern California. The contest is open to residents of Los Angeles County who are 18 and older. In addition to the cash prize for the winning entry, three finalists will receive $2,500 and 12 others $500 apiece. Entries will be judged by a jury chosen from the L.A. arts, business and cultural communities.
WNBA FINALS
All times Pacific
No. 1 New York vs. No. 2 Minnesota
Minnesota 95, at New York 93 (OT)
at New York 80, Minnesota 66
Wed. at Minnesota, 5 p.m., ESPN
Friday at Minnesota, 5 p.m., ESPN
*Monday at New York, TBD
*-if necessary
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1897 — Michigan beats Ohio State 34-0 at Ann Arbor, the first meeting between theses storied rivals.
1909 — In his 4th title defense Jack Johnson KOs Stanley Ketchel in the 12th round at Mission St Arena, Colma, California to retain his heavyweight boxing crown.
1932 — After a 0-0 tie earlier in the season, the Green Bay Packers beat the Chicago Bears 2-0.
1946 — Detroit’s Gordie Howe scores a goal and gets into two fights in his first NHL game. The Red Wings tie the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-3.
1968 — Americans Tommie Smith and John Carlos give black power salutes during the medal ceremonies of the 200-meter race and are later banned for life from all Olympic competition by the IOC.
1971 — Norm Ullman of the Toronto Maple Leafs records his 1,000th point in a 5-3 loss to the New York Rangers. Ullman gets two assists to become the fourth NHL player to reach the milestone.
1976 — Tony Franklin of Texas A&M kicks two field goals over 60 yards for an NCAA record. The distances are 65 and 64 yards as the Aggies beat Baylor 24-0.
1977 — The Denver Broncos intercept seven passes off Ken Stabler of the Oakland Raiders in a 30-7 victory.
1987 — Mike Tyson retains his undisputed heavyweight title with a seven-round knockout of Tyrell Biggs in Atlantic City, N.J.
1999 — Fourth-ranked Virginia Tech hangs a record-setting 62-0 loss on No. 16 Syracuse. It’s the worst shutout loss by a ranked team in the history of The Associated Press poll.
1999 — Mount Union beats Otterbein 44-20 for its 48th consecutive victory, surpassing Oklahoma’s 42-year-old all-division mark of 47 in a row.
2004 — 17-year old Lionel Messi makes his league debut for FC Barcelona in a 1-0 win against cross-town rivals Espanyol.
2004 — Mount Union beats Marietta 57-0 for its 100th consecutive regular-season victory. The Purple Raiders’ last regular-season loss was on Oct. 15, 1994, at home against Baldwin-Wallace.
2011 — Danell Leyva becomes the first American male gymnast to win a gold medal at the World Championships since 2003. Leyva wins the parallel bars title to become the first gold medalist for the U.S. since Paul Hamm claimed the floor exercise and all-around titles in 2003.
2011 — Dan Wheldon, 33, dies in a fiery 15-car wreck at Las Vegas Motor Speedway when his car flew over another on Lap 13 and smashes into the wall just outside turn 2.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
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