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From Jack Harris: There was only one way Shohei Ohtani wasn’t going to bat in the ninth inning on Tuesday night.

Amazingly, the Dodgers walked straight into the most improbable, worst-ever disaster.

With runners on first and second base and the MVP favorite still on the field with only one out in a game tied by two runs, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts called on Miguel Rojas to attempt a bunt on his first pitch at bat.

However, when Rojas struck out and the Padres’ infield changed its defensive lineup, Roberts had a change of heart — and watched in horror at what happened next.

Rojas took off and grounded out to third baseman Manny Machado. He raced to third before throwing a pitch to second. Then teammate Jake Cronenworth completed the relay with a quick fly to first.

In a flash the match was over.

Padres, 4. Dodgers, 2. In only the 28th major league game to end in a triple play.

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Clayton Kershaw not ready to face hitters as chances of playoff return dim

Shohei Ohtani had just 16 stolen bases in June, when he made it ‘a very special season’

Shaikin: This Congresswoman Tried to Save Track and Field. Here’s Why She Says She Couldn’t

Dodgers Scoreboard

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MLB Standings

ANGELS

The Chicago White Sox tied the 1962 New York Mets for the modern MLB record of 120 single-season losses. They came back by scoring three runs in the eighth inning to beat the Angels 3-2 on Tuesday night.

Andrew Benintendi hit a tiebreaking single with two outs, helping the White Sox (37-120) stave off disgrace for at least one more night.

Fans showed their displeasure with White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf by chanting, “Sell the team!” throughout the game and booing when the Angels’ Eric Wagaman grounded out to end the game. Apparently, they were unhappy about not being able to witness history.

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Angels Scoreboard

MLB Scores

MLB Standings

SHAVERS

From Anthony De Leon: As the Clippers approach training camp, questions continue to arise about the health of star forward Kawhi Leonard. He has been battling inflammation in his right knee that sidelined him late last season and the first round of the playoffs.

Leonard has been experiencing swelling but is expected to make a full recovery, basketball operations president Lawrence Frank said Tuesday.

Leonard was healthier than ever at the start of last season, playing in 68 games. However, it was the third straight season he didn’t finish, not counting the 2021-22 season, which he missed entirely.

Leonard has struggled with a lengthy injury history during his time with the Clippers, including a partial anterior cruciate ligament tear that sidelined him in 2021-22, a torn meniscus during the 2023 playoffs and this current case of knee inflammation.

“It’s really unfortunate that he’s had to deal with this, but we’re on the right track,” Frank said. “The goal is to get him to perform 100% so he can have a great season, not just this year, but for many years to come.”

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From Ryan Kartje: The left tackle was nursing a cramp. The right guard was on the bench. The rookie right tackle was playing his first meaningful snaps, while the rookie right guard had only played a handful. Meanwhile, 110,000 hostile fans roared with every missed block or botched assignment against the nation’s most fearsome defensive front, featuring two top-15 NFL draft prospects on the inside.

“That’s the toughest thing,” USC coach Lincoln Riley said Tuesday.

It was a nightmare scenario for USC’s offensive line, which fell apart in a 27-24 loss to Michigan. It raised serious questions about the depth and development of a group that Riley and his staff had assured would be fine without off-season additions.

That confidence certainly seemed misplaced Saturday, as Michigan’s pass rush steamrolled through the Trojan front with ease, with quarterback Miller Moss drawing 22 pressures. Still, Riley didn’t seem concerned about the line’s long-term trajectory on Tuesday, instead reiterating his belief that USC’s offensive line can be “really damn good” this season.

Part of that responsibility for getting there, Riley acknowledged, falls on him and his staff. The coach admitted he could have done a better job preparing the offense for Michigan’s defensive front.

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From Ben Bolch: Earlier kick-off and higher viewing figures.

That’s precisely why UCLA stunned the college sports world by abandoning a nearly century-old tradition and moving to the Big Ten.

It wasn’t long before that story disappeared.

Four games into their debut season in a coast-to-coast conference, the Bruins will play their last game on the West Coast in more than three decades.

UCLA’s game against No. 8 Oregon on Saturday at the Rose Bowl is scheduled for 8 p.m. PDT. It will be the Bruins’ last game on the West Coast since beating Washington State in Pullman on Sept. 29, 1990.

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SPARKS

Curt Miller is stepping down as coach of the Sparks after the WNBA franchise missed the playoffs for the fourth straight season and the second season under him.

The team announced Miller’s dismissal on Tuesday, saying the parties had “mutually decided to part ways.”

The Sparks immediately begin the search for a new coach.

The team was 25-55 in Miller’s two seasons at the helm. He is 165-141 as a head coach in the WNBA, including a stint guiding the Connecticut Sun. He was the WNBA Coach of the Year in 2017 and the league’s first executive of the year while also serving as the Sun’s general manager.

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WNBA PLAYOFFS

First round
All times Pacific

No. 1 New York (32-8) vs. No. 8 Atlanta (15-25)
at New York 83, Atlanta 69
at New York 91, Atlanta 82

No. 2 Minnesota (30-10) vs. No. 7 Phoenix (19-21)
at Minnesota 102, Phoenix 95
Wed. in Minnesota, 6:30 p.m., ESPN
*Friday in Phoenix, TBD, ESPN2

No. 3 Connecticut (28-12) vs. No. 6 Indiana (20-20)
at Connecticut 93, Indiana 69
Wed. in Connecticut, 4:30 p.m., ESPN
*Friday in Indiana, TBD, ESPN2

No. 4 Las Vegas (27-13) vs. No. 5 Seattle (25-15)
at Las Vegas 78, Seattle 67
at Las Vegas 83, Seattle 76

*-if necessary

THIS DATE IN SPORTS

1926 — Walter Hagen wins his third consecutive and fourth overall PGA Championship. Hagen defeats Leo Diegel 4-3 in the championship match at Salisbury Golf Links in Westbury, N.Y.

1949 — Louise Suggs wins the U.S. Women’s Open by 14 strokes over Babe Didrikson Zaharias.

1962 — Sonny Liston knocks out Floyd Patterson at 2:06 of the first round at Comiskey Park in Chicago to win the world heavyweight title.

1982 — Ricky Edwards rushes for 177 yards and four touchdowns to help Northwestern end its 34-game losing streak in a 31-6 win over Northern Illinois.

1988 — Americans sweep all the long jump medals at the Seoul Olympics; Carl Lewis wins his second gold of the Games with a leap of 8.72 m, ahead of teammates Mike Powell and Larry Myricks.

1988 — Swimmer Matt Biondi wins his 5th gold medal at the Seoul Olympics as leader of the winning U.S. 4 x 100m medley relay team.

1994 — Oliver McCall scores a major upset by stopping Lennox Lewis 31 seconds into the second round to capture the WBC heavyweight title in London.

1995 — Jerry Rice has 181 yards receiving in San Francisco’s 27-24 loss to Detroit. It is his 51st 100-yard game, breaking Don Maynard’s NFL record.

1997 — WNBA announces it will add franchises from Detroit and Washington, D.C.

2000 — American basketball player Vince Carter jumps over the 7-foot-10-inch Frédéric Weis during the 2000 Summer Olympics, known in France as “le dunk de la mort” (the dunk of death).

2004 — Hofstra’s Bobby Seck throws eight touchdown passes to tie the Atlantic 10 record and set a school record in the Pride’s 62-43 win over Rhode Island.

2005 — Fernando Alonso becomes Formula One’s youngest champion by finishing third in the Brazilian Grand Prix. Alonso, 24, a six-time winner in his third full season in Formula One, ends Michael Schumacher’s five-year reign over the title.

2010 — Collingwood and St Kilda play to a 68-68 draw, the first in an Australian Rules football final since 1977, forcing a rematch to decide the title.

2013 — Skipper Jimmy Spithill and Oracle Team USA win the America’s Cup in one of the greatest comebacks in sporting history to retain the oldest trophy in international sport in the United States. Spithill pilots Oracle’s space-age, 72-foot catamaran to its eighth straight victory, outpacing Dean Barker and Emirates Team New Zealand in the winner-take-all Race 19 on San Francisco Bay. Nearly defeated a week ago, the 34-year-old Australian and his international crew twice came from seven points behind to win 9-8.

Compiled by the Associated Press