Sports

Dodgers befuddled by Colorado pitching as winning streak ends

Published

2 years ago

June 1, 2024

Dodgers befuddled by Colorado pitching as winning streak ends

What the Dodgers hoped was a drought-busting, six-run, eighth-inning rally in New York on Wednesday looked more like a mirage Friday night, their bats going back into sleep mode for most of a 4-1 loss to the last-place Colorado Rockies in front of a crowd of 47,542 in Dodger Stadium.

An offense that showed signs of life during a three-game sweep of the Mets managed only one run and four hits in seven innings off Rockies sinker specialist Dakota Hudson, a 29-year-old right-hander who entered with a 1-7 record and 5.54 ERA in 10 starts this season and did not throw a pitch harder than 91.6 mph Friday night.

“The sinker-baller is sort of an outlier now in baseball,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of Hudson. “It’s [a pitch with depth], and it just seemed like he was putting the ball on the ground, getting us to roll over, missing the barrel. We couldn’t really muster anything against him tonight.”

The Dodgers, trailing 4-0, did stir in the eighth inning when they loaded the bases with no outs on a Gavin Lux double and a Miguel Rojas walk off Hudson, and an Andy Pages single off reliever Victor Vodnik, a hard-throwing right-hander.

That set the table for the top of a Dodgers order that features three of the best hitters in baseball — Mookie Betts, Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman.

“Bases loaded, no outs … it was setting up to be a good spot for us,” Roberts said. “I would not have wanted anybody else up at that point of time.”

There would be no dramatic comeback. Betts grounded into a 6-4-3 double play, Lux scoring to trim the deficit to 4-1, Ohtani walked and Freeman struck out on a 94-mph full-count fastball from left-hander Jalen Beeks, who later retired the side in order in the ninth for his sixth save.

Betts, Ohtani and Freeman combined to go hitless with one walk in 11 at-bats, 10 of them against Hudson.

“He has a good sinker that he throws at the bottom of the zone,” said Lux, who had an infield single and a double off Hudson. “It’s tough to get it in the air, as you can tell with all the ground balls he got. He did a good job.”

Dodgers right-hander Walker Buehler, making his fifth start in his return from a second Tommy John surgery, took the loss, giving up four runs — three earned — and six hits in six innings, striking out seven and walking four.

Dodgers starting pitcher Walker Buehler reacts after the first inning against the Colorado Rockies on Friday.

(Ashley Landis / Associated Press)

Buehler escaped a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the first by striking out Kris Bryant with a 97-mph fastball on the inside corner and Brendan Rodgers with a 96-mph fastball on the outside corner, but he needed 28 pitches to complete the inning, a heavy, out-of-the-gate workload that seemed to take a toll a few innings later.

Ezequiel Tovar singled with one out in the third, and Ryan McMahon walked. Buehler got Elias Diaz to fly to right field for the second out, but Bryant roped an RBI single to left field for a 1-0 lead.

Rodgers followed with an RBI single to center field that went under the glove of Pages and rolled to the wall for an error that allowed Bryant to score from first for a 3-0 lead and Rodgers to take third.

Buehler walked Elehuris Montero before getting Brenton Doyle to fly to right on his 26th pitch of the inning, but he hung a first-pitch slider in the fourth to Tovar, who crushed a solo homer to left-center, his eighth of the season, for a 4-0 Colorado lead.

“The first inning was a long, tough inning,” Buehler said. “You’re happy to get out of that kind of unscathed, but it’s deflating for our team when you have a first inning like that. You want to come home from a road trip and build momentum, and I did the opposite of that.”

Buehler retired the side in order in the fifth and sixth innings, striking out Jake Cave looking with a nice 89-mph cut-fastball on his 92nd and final pitch of the game, Roberts calling the pitcher’s ability to complete six innings “a win in itself.”

But Buehler, who went 23 months between big league starts, was not in the mood for moral victories. The erstwhile Dodgers ace is 1-3 with a 4.32 ERA in five choppy starts, with 24 strikeouts and seven walks in 25 innings. He has shown good velocity and stamina and has looked sharp at times, but his command has wavered, and he has given up six homers.

“Physically, I’ve probably exceeded where I thought I was gonna be, but performance-wise, I feel like [crap],” Buehler said, when asked to assess his overall performance after five starts. “I’m not anywhere close to where I want to be.

“You think with a layoff like that, you’re not gonna have the same expectations you always have, but when you start tallying these starts, it’s kind of put-up or shut-up time for me, at least mentally, and these last two obviously haven’t been good enough.”

Sports

Ole Miss staffer references Aaron Hernandez while discussing ‘chaotic’ coaching complications with LSU

Published

6 hours ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

Ole Miss staffer references Aaron Hernandez while discussing ‘chaotic’ coaching complications with LSU

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The chaos between LSU coaches who left Ole Miss alongside Lane Kiffin but are still coaching the Rebels in the College Football Playoff is certainly a whirlwind.

Joe Judge, Ole Miss’ quarterbacks coach, has found himself in the thick of the drama — while he is not headed for Baton Rouge, he’s had to wonder who he will be working with on a weekly basis.

When asked this week about what it’s like to go through all the trials and tribulations, Judge turned heads with his answer that evoked his New England Patriots days.

Aaron Hernandez sits in the courtroom of the Attleboro District Court during his hearing. Former New England Patriot Aaron Hernandez has been indicted on a first-degree murder charge in the death of Odin Lloyd in North Attleboro, Massachusetts, on Aug. 22, 2013. (Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)

“My next-door neighbor was Aaron Hernandez,” Judge said, according to CBS Sports. “I know this is still more chaotic.”

Hernandez was found guilty of the 2013 murder of Odin Lloyd, which occurred just three years into his NFL career.

“If you watch those documentaries, my house is on the TV next door,” Judge added. “The detectives knocked on my door to find out where he was. I didn’t know. We just kind of talked to the organization. But it was obviously chaotic.”

Aaron Hernandez was convicted of the 2013 murder of semipro football player Odin Lloyd. (REUTERS/Brian Snyder)

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Judge, though, was able to compare the two situations to see how players can combat wild distractions.

“Those players that year handled that extremely well. Came out of that chaos, and we had some really good direction inside with some veterans and some different guys. You have something like that happen — how do you handle something like that? How do you deal with something like that? So you keep the focus on what you can handle, what you can control, which at that time was football for us, and we went through the stretch, and we were able to have success that year,” Judge said.

Judge also compared this scenario to the 2020 NFL season when he was head coach of the New York Giants, saying he would have “no idea” who would be available due to surprise positive COVID-19 tests.

Head coach Joe Judge of the New York Giants looks on during the second quarter against the Dallas Cowboys at MetLife Stadium. The game took place in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Dec. 19, 2021. (Sarah Stier/Getty Images)

The Rebels face Miami in the Fiesta Bowl, the College Football Playoff Semifinal, on Thursday night.

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Sports

Prep talk: Calabasas basketball team is surging with 11 wins in last 12 games

Published

7 hours ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

Prep talk: Calabasas basketball team is surging with 11 wins in last 12 games

Calabasas pulled off a huge win in high school basketball on Tuesday night, handing Thousand Oaks its first defeat after 16 victories in a Marmonte League opener.

The Coyotes (13-5) have quietly turned around their season after a 2-4 start, winning 11 of their last 12 games.

One of the major contributors has been 6-foot-3 junior guard Johnny Thyfault, who’s averaging 16 points and has become a fan favorite because of his dunking skills. He also leads the team in taking charging fouls.

He transferred to Calabasas after his freshman year at Viewpoint.

As for beating Thousand Oaks, coach Jon Palarz said, “We got to play them at home and had great effort.”

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.

Sports

Hawks trade 4-time All-Star Trae Young to Wizards in blockbuster deal: reports

Published

18 hours ago

January 8, 2026

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Hawks trade 4-time All-Star Trae Young to Wizards in blockbuster deal: reports

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The Atlanta Hawks have parted ways with four-time NBA All-Star point guard Trae Young, trading him to the Washington Wizards in a blockbuster move, according to ESPN.

The Hawks will reportedly be receiving veteran shooting guard CJ McCollum and forward Corey Kispert in the deal.

Washington was Young’s preferred destination, and the two sides were working on a deal to get the 27-year-old point guard to the nation’s capital.

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Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks looks on during the game against the Boston Celtics during Round 1 Game 6 of the 2023 NBA Playoffs on April 27, 2023 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. ( Adam Hagy/NBAE via Getty Images)

Young’s agents were having conversations with the Hawks, who sit at 17-21 so far this season, about trading their client out of Atlanta.

There is a mutual connection in Washington, too, as executive Travis Schlenk drafted Young fifth overall in 2018 out of Oklahoma.

It marks the end of an era for the Hawks. Young has been the focal point of their offense since he was taken in that draft. He is the team’s career leader in three-pointers and assists, having led the team to the postseason in three of his eight seasons. The Hawks went the furthest in 2021, where they made the Eastern Conference Finals.

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However, the new era was brewing already in Atlanta, with forward Jalen Johnson taking the next step in his career, averaging 23.7 points per game this season. The pickup of Nickeil Alexander-Walker also helps, as he’s averaged 20.5 points per game in 36 appearances.

Meanwhile, Young has played just 10 games this season, as he’s been dealing with leg injuries, most notably a right MCL sprain.

Trae Young #11 of the Atlanta Hawks looks on after the game against the Boston Celtics during Round One Game Five of the 2023 NBA Playoffs on April 25, 2023 at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. (Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images)

The Hawks also get some flexibility on their books, as they could make some more moves. Anthony Davis is reportedly available from the Dallas Mavericks, making him a good target for Atlanta.

Young has $95 million remaining on his deal that runs through the 2026-27 season, which includes a player option this offseason.

Atlanta will be taking on McCollum’s contract, though the veteran guard has a $30.6 million expiring deal.

Through his 10 games this season, Young is averaging 19.2 points, 8.9 assists and 1.5 rebounds per game, while shooting 41.5% from the field.

Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks drives down the court during the first half against the Philadelphia 76ers at State Farm Arena on April 7, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)

Over his career, Young has dropped 25.2 points and 9.8 assists per game, while leading the league in the latter category last season with 11.6 per contest.

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Scott Thompson is a sports writer for Fox News Digital.