Sports
Miguel Rojas, Chris Taylor and Freddie Freeman fuel Dodgers comeback win over Royals
The Dodgers tapped into some unlikely power sources to erase a three-run deficit Friday night, Miguel Rojas and Chris Taylor each hitting home runs in a score-tying fifth inning against the Kansas City Royals in Chavez Ravine.
Then they fired up some fossil fuel to win it, as veteran first baseman Freddie Freeman, who turns 35 in September, poked a two-out, run-scoring single to center field in the eighth inning to lift the Dodgers to a 4-3 victory in front of a crowd of 49,580.
Mookie Betts sparked the winning rally off Royals left-hander Will Smith with a one-out single to left field, and he took second on Smith’s errant pick-off throw to first.
Shohei Ohtani popped out to shortstop, but Freeman reached out for an 83-mph slider off the plate and lofted a single to center off his former Atlanta Braves teammate — the ball left his bat at 75.7 mph — to score Betts for a 4-3 lead.
Freeman felt like he underachieved for two months, with a .286 average and .842 on-base-plus-slugging percentage through the end of May, but he has lived up to his lofty standards in June, batting .357 (15 for 42) with three homers, three doubles and nine RBIs in 12 games to lift his season average to .297 and OPS to .892.
“Freddie knows how to get a hit,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “Coming through in that spot, I know it was a big weight off his shoulders.”
Taylor, the seldom-used utility man who entered Friday with a .100 average, .307 OPS and 41 strikeouts in 103 plate appearances, can relate. With his first homer of the season, he felt like a few cinder blocks were removed from his shoulders.
Freddie Freeman drives in the go-ahead run on a single in the eighth inning against the Royals on Friday.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
“Yeah, it’s been a while,” said Taylor, who hadn’t homered since last Sept. 7, a span of 165 plate appearances. “I think it was more of a relief than anything. I wasn’t sure I was ever going to get to do that again.”
Royals starter Cole Ragans, whose five-pitch mix featured a fastball that averaged 96.2 mph and topped out at 98.3 mph, was nearly untouchable for four innings, giving up one single and striking out two, and Salvador Perez staked the left-hander to a 3-0 lead with a three-run homer in the top of the fourth.
But that lead disappeared in the span of four bottom-of-the-order batters in the fifth, a rally that rookie Andy Pages sparked with a one-out infield single.
Rojas got ahead with a 3-and-1 count and turned on a 94-mph fastball from Ragans, driving his third homer of the season — and 47th of his 11-year career — 390 feet to left field to pull the Dodgers to within 3-2.
“That was a big hit for us, kind of gave us some life,” Roberts said. “Ragans was throwing the ball so well that one moment, you’re thinking you might get no-hit, and the next thing you know, you’re back in the ballgame.”
Dodgers relief pitcher Alex Vesia reacts after earning a save to close out a 4-3 win over the Royals on Friday.
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
Kiké Hernández grounded back to the mound for the second out, but Taylor jumped on a 2-1 changeup, lining his homer into the left-center field pavilion to make it 3-3. It was only Taylor’s 10th hit and second extra-base hit of the season.
“I try to just take it day by day, but I definitely have my moments of frustration,” Taylor said of his season-long struggles. “It’s kind of weird, not being in there that often. Some days you’re feeling good and you don’t play. Then sometimes you’re not feeling good. I’m just trying to be consistent with my work and ready when the opportunity comes.”
Roberts, a former big-league outfielder, said he couldn’t imagine going through what Taylor has endured this season.
“For me, there would’ve been a lot of sleepless nights,” he said. “But he comes in every day ready to help us win, and that’s just sort of who he is. … He’s pretty much the same whether he’s going really well or scuffling.”
Taylor’s wife and young son, Theo, who was born last year, help keep things in perspective.
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1. Dodgers starting pitcher Gavin Stone delivers against the Royals in the first inning Friday. 2. Dodgers center fielder Andy Pages makes a sliding catch in the seventh inning. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) 3. Chris Taylor runs the bases after hitting a solo home run off Royals pitcher Cole Ragans in the fifth inning.
“I don’t know how I would have handled this earlier in my career,” Taylor said. “I think I took things home with me a lot more. Now that I have my wife and kid at home, it’s a good escape from all of this. I’m very thankful that I have them.”
Stone, who entered with a 7-2 record and 2.93 ERA in 12 starts, blanked the Royals on one hit through three innings but ran into trouble in the fourth, Maikel Garcia leading off with a single to center, taking second on a Bobby Witt Jr. groundout and third on a wild pitch. Vinnie Pasquantino walked to put runners on first and third with one out.
Stone then hung an 88-mph first-pitch slider to Perez, who demolished the middle-of-the-plate offering for his 11th homer of the season, the ball leaving the veteran catcher’s bat at 113.3 mph and traveling 437 feet for a 3-0 lead.
“Yeah, no doubt, for sure,” Stone said, when asked if he wanted that pitch to Perez back. “But once it’s over, you can’t really do anything about it. You can only focus on the next hitter, and so just having that approach helps a lot.”
Stone escaped a first-and-third, two-out jam in the fifth by getting the dangerous Witt to fly out to center field, and he retired the side in order in the sixth and seventh innings to give the Dodgers a chance.
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1. Dodgers fans Denise, left, and Colleen Quinn-Allen enjoy Pride Night at Dodger Stadium before Friday’s game against the Kansas City Royals. 2. Dodgers fans dance to music during Pride Night at Dodger Stadium. 3. Dodgers fans enjoy Pride Night at Dodger Stadium. 4. Dodgers fans enjoy Pride Night. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
It marked the fourth time in nine starts that Stone, who gave up three runs and four hits, struck out three and walked two for a no-decision, completed seven innings.
“I’ve got all the trust in the world in him that he can make a pitch when he needs to, get back after a tough inning and keep us in the ballgame, which he did,” Roberts said of Stone. “He saved the bullpen, which was a bit in limbo. It seems like he does that every time he takes the baseball, and he’s earned that trust.”
Sports
49ers to part ways with Brandon Aiyuk after injury and contract turmoil, GM says
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San Francisco 49ers president of football operations and general manager John Lynch offered clarity about wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk’s future with the franchise.
“I think it’s safe to say that he’s played his last snap with the Niners,” Lynch said at the team’s end-of-season news conference Wednesday.
Lynch went on to acknowledge that the situation with Aiyuk had gone off course.
“It’s unfortunate. A situation that just went awry. And I will look long and hard at what could have been done differently, but sometimes it just doesn’t work out. And I think that this was a case where that happened.”
San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, left, celebrates with general manager John Lynch after a game against the Los Angeles Rams Sept. 17, 2023, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif. (Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
While including Aiyuk in a future trade package is not off the table, Lynch suggested the 49ers would be more inclined to release the 27-year-old wideout. Whichever move comes next would end one of the NFL’s most turbulent player-team standoffs.
Aiyuk’s contract dispute lasted through the 2024 training camp. The two sides eventually reached an agreement on a four-year extension in August 2024, shortly before the regular season kicked off.
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Just a few weeks later, Aiyuk and 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan engaged in what appeared to be an animated exchange over the color of the receiver’s practice shorts. Players were reportedly instructed to wear black shorts for a Sept. 27 practice, and Aiyuk arrived in red shorts.
Before tearing his ACL, MCL and meniscus in his right knee in October 2024, Aiyuk was not nearly as productive as he had been in past seasons. He finished with 374 receiving yards over seven games. Aiyuk also missed multiple rehab sessions last offseason.
San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk is introduced to the crowd before a game against the New York Jets at Levi’s Stadium Sept. 9, 2024. (Darren Yamashita/Imagn Images)
In July 2025, the 49ers decided to void an estimated $27 million in guarantees included in Aiyuk’s contract for 2026. In December, Shanahan said a considerable amount of time had passed without contact from Aiyuk.
“It’s been pretty simple for me. I haven’t seen him in a month,” the coach told reporters Dec. 15.
On Wednesday, Shanahan offered more details about the unsuccessful attempts to get in touch with Aiyuk.
San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk catches the ball during warmups before a game against the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field Oct. 10, 2024, in Seattle. (Steven Bisig/Imagn Images)
“I’d say it officially stopped for me when the last time I tried to get ahold of him and couldn’t and then tried a couple more times and still couldn’t,” he said. “And then that matched everyone else that was trying to get ahold of him to come in. And, eventually, there’s not much of an explanation because it’s really hard for us and anyone else to understand. And that’s why it’s something I’ve never seen in 22 years of coaching. It’s unfortunate, and it’s confusing because it’s confusing for all of us. But it eventually becomes ‘it is what it is.’”
Aiyuk was moved to the reserve/left team list last month. He did not appear in any 2025 regular-season or playoff games.
The Niners will likely look to address their wide receiver room this offseason, considering Aiyuk’s pending exit and Jauan Jennings’ scheduled free agency. Ricky Pearsall remains under contract through 2026, but injuries limited him to just 10 appearances last season.
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Sports
Speedo moves U.S. headquarters to Long Beach ahead of Olympics
Long Beach’s bet on the Olympics to help reshape its economy has attracted at least one sportswear company to the port city.
Speedo’s parent company, Pentland Brands, plans to move its North American headquarters from Orange County to Long Beach, which has emerged as a hub for aquatic sports for the upcoming Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
The privately held, U.K.-based company that manages a portfolio of fashion and sportswear brands — including outdoor gear brand Berghaus and cycling apparel brand Endura — plans to move to a 25,000-square-foot facility at Aero Long Beach this summer.
Pentland Brands’ North American headquarters has since 2015 been located in a 69,000-square-foot office in Cypress, a company spokesperson said in an email.
The company cited the Olympics as a driving factor in its decision to move.
“Being based in Long Beach places Speedo — a brand trusted by swimmers on the world stage — at the heart of one of the world’s most anticipated sporting events,” the company said in a statement.
Bo Martinez, the city’s economic development director, said in a statement that Pentland’s relocation to Long Beach is “a powerful vote of confidence” that strengthens the city’s efforts to “diversify the local economy, create more high-quality jobs and build an ecosystem where creative, forward-thinking companies can thrive.”
Pentland Brands’ Long Beach facility, which will accommodate more than 130 employees, is expected to include a dedicated Speedo showroom, open office space and rooms for product design, according to the statement.
Long Beach will host 11 sporting events during the 2028 Olympics, which are scheduled to run July 14 through July 30, according to an April statement from the city.
Many are water sports, including coastal rowing, open-water swimming, beach volleyball, sailing, artistic swimming and water polo. Also on the lineup are non-water sports such as sport climbing, handball and target shooting.
Events will be spread across seven venues, including temporary buildings as well as the Long Beach Arena, which hosted events during the 1984 Olympics, and Marine Stadium, built for the rowing events of the 1932 Olympics.
Long Beach will also host seven events for the 2028 Paralympics, scheduled to take place from Aug. 15 to Aug. 27, according to the city’s website.
Long Beach Councilman Daryl Supernaw said in an email to The Times he was “thrilled” for the company behind Speedo to move into his district, which encompasses neighborhoods around the Long Beach Airport.
“It is an ideal company to help diversify our economy and [reinforce] the City’s long history in aquatics,” Supernaw wrote.
Long Beach in 2023 unveiled plans to spend over $900 million on infrastructure over the next five years, with about $200 million earmarked for Olympics-focused projects.
Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson told The Times in 2024 that he considered the Olympics an opportunity for his city, which has long relied on oil revenue, to “build a new economy.”
Pentland Brands is a division of the Pentland Group, which was founded in the 1930s as the Liverpool Shoe Co.
In the 1990s, Pentland acquired Speedo International and Speedo Australia. In a move to consolidate the global swimwear brand, the company bought Speedo North America from apparel company PVH Corp. for $170 million ahead of the Tokyo Summer Olympics that were postponed to 2021.
Speedo is a major Olympic sponsor and has partnerships with the national swimming governing bodies in the U.S., Canada, China and Australia, among others.
The Australian swimwear brand traces its origins to 1928, when Scottish immigrant Alexander MacRae produced a sleeveless Racerback swimsuit.
Speedo’s tight-fitting suits sparked a brief controversy at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics, when a complaint was filed about Australian swimmer Clare Dennis’ exposed shoulders, according to the Daily Telegraph. The complaint was dismissed and the teenager went on to win gold in the 200-meter breaststroke.
Sports
Giants part with longtime executive one day after John Harbaugh introduced as head coach
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The New York Giants parted with a longtime high-ranking executive just one day after introducing John Harbaugh as head coach.
Senior Vice President of Football Operations Kevin Abrams is leaving the organization. Abrams had been with the organization since 1999, and in a front office executive position since 2002 when he was assistant general manager.
Abrams had been a constant at the top of the organization throughout its bevy of general manager and coach firings over the last decade. Abrams’ tenure in the front office spanned four general managers, including his own short stint as interim GM in 2017, and seven head coaches before Harbaugh.
New York Giants head coach John Harbaugh speaks to the media after being introduced during a news conference at the team’s NFL football training facility. The event took place in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (Adam Hunger/AP Photo)
Harbaugh’s arrival as head coach came with a different set of terms related to the organizational structure and his own power to shape it compared to previous Giants coaches.
Harbaugh is the first Giants coach who will report directly to ownership, bypassing a long-running team tradition of the coach reporting to the general manager.
Giants’ Senior Vice President of Player Personnel Chris Mara told reporters Tuesday that Harbaugh will be the “most important cog in the wheel” for the organization now and suggested Harbaugh was a unique candidate with the leverage to negotiate such power.
“He’s going to be the most important cog in the wheel. Let’s put it that way. But in terms of final say, this is going to be a collaborative effort between ownership, general manager and coach,” Mara said.
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“We’re just comfortable doing this with him. I think with anybody else, maybe it might not have happened that way. Everyone was in agreement, so we’re good.”
Harbaugh was endorsed for the Giants head coaching job by President Donald Trump several days before the hiring in a Truth Social post. Trump also said Harbaugh should “take the job,” in the endorsement. Harbaugh acknowledged Trump’s endorsement in his introductory press conference Tuesday.
“It feels really great!” Harbaugh said, when asked by Fox News Digital how it felt to have the president’s endorsement. “I also noticed in that post that he said, ‘John take the job!’ So I thought [owner] John Mara might’ve had something to do with that.”
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Trump praised Harbaugh and the Giants for the hire while speaking to Fox News Digital late on Monday night, and hinted at a personal connection with the Harbaugh family.
“I like the coach. I like his brother,” Trump said. “They came up to see me about three months ago. They came up to see me in the White House with their mother and father because the mother likes me, and the father likes me and I think they like me. And he’s a great coach and he’s gonna do well with the Giants, just like his brother does so well. They got something very special in their blood. And I’m happy for the Giants. They got a great coach.”
Fox News Digital’s Paulina Dedaj contributed to this report.
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