Sports
Teoscar Hernández has decisive hit as amazing seven-run ninth rallies Dodgers past Rockies
During his team’s resurgence at the plate in recent weeks, in which the Dodgers have once again looked like their high-powered selves, Dave Roberts has used one adjective in his praise of the club above all else.
On more than one occasion, the manager has highlighted his lineup’s “fight” at the plate, extolling their ability to battle off pitches, extend at-bats and keep the team in games.
“We always talk about it here in the clubhouse,” outfielder Teoscar Hernández said. “Don’t give away at-bats. Fight through the at-bats. See a lot of pitches. And try to get a good one.”
On Tuesday, in the kind of comeback the club had not experienced in almost 100 years, the Dodgers epitomized everything Roberts and his players had been talking about, exploding for seven runs in an historic ninth-inning rally to snatch an unlikely 11-9 win over the Colorado Rockies.
“Man, there’s a lot to unpack,” Roberts said afterward, still buzzing from the franchise’s biggest ninth-inning comeback since 1957, and first in which they’d erased a five-run ninth-inning hole without playing extra innings since 1929. “That fight, I couldn’t be more proud of the guys.”
On three separate occasions Tuesday, the Dodgers found themselves trailing by five.
The Rockies led 6-1 in the bottom of the second, and 7-2 at the end of the fourth, with each run coming against Walker Buehler in his worst start of an already frustrating season.
Colorado was ahead 9-4 going into the eighth, having extinguished one Dodgers rally on a diving catch from Brenton Doyle in center field in the top of the seventh, and scoring an insurance run off Dodgers reliever Michael Peterson in his MLB debut a half-inning later.
But, even with their closer, Tyler Kinley, in the game, and the bottom of the Dodgers order due up in the ninth, the Rockies couldn’t get over the finish line.
Instead, the Dodgers loaded the bases on a single and two walks. They got back within one on a pinch-hit grand slam from Jason Heyward. And then — in a moment that not only flipped the script of Tuesday night’s game, but also defined the identity the Dodgers have been striving for this season — Hernández came to the plate, stayed alive in a two-strike at-bat, then launched a towering three-run home run the other way.
A thunderous bow on a seven-run outburst.
“When Jason hit that grand slam to turn the lineup over,” Hernández said, “you knew something was going to happen.”
A few weeks ago, such confidence at the plate appeared to be in short supply for the Dodgers. During a 12-12 stretch from May 10 to June 5, their star-studded offense averaged just 3.7 runs per game. Hitting in the clutch was a particular area of repeated frustration.
Since then, though, the lineup has started to rediscover its stride.
In their last 12 games, the Dodgers are 8-4. They are averaging more than 6.25 runs per contest in that stretch. And this week, they’ve totaled 20 runs in two games at Coors Field even while missing leadoff hitter Mookie Betts, who is out six to eight weeks with a hand fracture.
In Betts’ place, other stars like Shohei Ohtani (who hit his National League-leading 20th home run of the season Tuesday a whopping 476 feet) and Hernández (who is leading the team with 54 RBIs) have stepped up. But the team’s all-around approach has made key strides, too.
“That’s our approach to every single at-bat, every single day,” Heyward said. “Sometimes it looks ugly. Sometimes it looks pretty. But when you’re able to stick with that over the course of a season, to fill out big games, big spots, big moments, I think that’s how you get better. That’s how you improve.”
It’s also how the unlikleiest of wins can still be achieved — how the Dodgers, once looking left for dead on Tuesday, found a way to keep staying alive.
Heyward’s at-bat was perhaps most impressive, a two-strike battle in which the veteran outfielder eventually prevailed.
After swinging through one slider in a 2-and-1 count, then fouling off another on the very next pitch, Heyward simplified his mindset at the plate.
“I just told myself, ‘Alright, you got a feel for the take, you got a feel for the swing. So right here, take your time,’” he said. “If it’s there, it’s there. If it’s not, tip my cap.”
When Kinley fired a third-straight slider, Heyward hammered a high line drive off the foul pole in right.
The deficit suddenly trimmed to one, Ohtani kept the inning going by slicing a single to left, then advancing to second on a wild pitch. The Rockies intentionally walked Freddie Freeman with first base open. That brought up Hernández in the type of high-leverage moment he has thrived in all year.
“He reminds me of Manny Ramirez,” Roberts said. “When guys are on base, that’s when he really starts to lock it in and focus. He hunts those RBIs. That’s how you win baseball games.”
Hernández’s at-bat wasn’t without controversy. With two outs and two strikes, he contorted his body to check what would have been a game-ending swing.
The Rockies appealed to first base umpire Lance Barksdale, but he upheld the call. Manager Bud Black came out to argue, but was immediately ejected from the game. Video replay made it seem like Hernández might have gone around. Countless batters have been called out for less.
“It was close,” Hernández said. “Now that I saw the replay, I don’t think so. But you could’ve called it either way, and I think it would’ve been fine.”
The at-bat still alive, Hernández attacked the very next pitch, clubbing a center-cut fastball the other way for the deciding three-run shot.
“I honestly feel like we just got rewarded with our process right there,” Heyward said.
A process that, lately, has been marked by the Dodgers’ ability to battle at the plate and — even down five runs in the ninth inning — find a way to fight.
Buehler IL stint “possible”
After Buehler’s four-inning, seven-run start Tuesday — the most runs the pitcher has given up in a start since 2019 — both he and Roberts hinted at the possibility of the right-hander getting some sort of break amid his poor start to the season.
With a 5.84 ERA through eight starts this year, in his first season back from a 2022 Tommy John surgery, Buehler said there has been some thought internally of giving him a midseason “blow” in order to “reset” his performance.
Buehler was also hit in the hip by a comebacker Tuesday. While it didn’t force him from the game early, Roberts said there was some “concern” about the residual soreness it would create, making an injured list stint “possible” for the struggling 29-year-old.
“Given how he’s feeling, how he’s throwing the baseball and what happened tonight with that liner off his hip, it’s certainly going to be a conversation,” Roberts said. “We have some off days coming up that could line up so a blow is possible, for sure.”
The Cleveland Browns, rumored to be willing to trade down from their No. 6 overall selection in the 2026 NFL draft, did just that Thursday evening when the traded the pick to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Cleveland traded the sixth overall pick in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft to the Chiefs, in exchange for the ninth overall pick, as well as pick No. 74 in the third round and No. 148 in the fifth round.
The Browns now hold the No. 9 and No. 24 picks in the first round of the draft. They have a total of 11 picks in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Quarterbacks Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson of the Cleveland Browns watch from the sidelines during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland, Ohio, on Sept. 7, 2025. (Jason Miller/Getty Images)
So the Chiefs gave up three picks in making the first trade of the first round.
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And we know what the fan bases of both clubs were thinking prior to the selection:
Chiefs fans were thinking we know something they don’t. And then the Chiefs selected cornerback Mansoor Delane from LSU — a move no doubt forced by the club’s trade of Pro Bowl cornerback Trent McDuffie to the Los Angeles Rams earlier in the offseason.
So, the Chiefs fill a major need, assuming Delane is indeed the quality corner they believe.
LSU Tigers CB Mansoor Delane celebrates a defensive stop against the Clemson Tigers at Memorial Stadium in South Carolina. (Ken Ruinard/USA TODAY Network)
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ESPN’s Mel Kiper didn’t like the pick, by the way. He had Delane as the 14th best player in the draft.
“It was a necessity,” ESPN analyst Louis Riddick, a former NFL defensive back, responded.
Browns fans weren’t thinking that way.
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They were probably thinking something akin to “We screwed up.”
This is understandable because they’re Browns fans and this could have been the Browns Browning.
Well, the Browns, moving down three slots, gave up a shot to draft linebacker Sonny Styles of Ohio State to the Washington Commanders, receiver Jordyn Tyson to the New Orleans Saints and then the Browns got their chance with the newly acquired No. 9 pick:
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Offensive tackle Spencer Fano of Utah.
Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry speaks at the NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, Ind., on Feb. 24, 2026. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)
Fano is good. And he makes the Browns offensive line instantly better because he’s going to likely start at left tackle for them.
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So what will Browns fans think of this pick?
They’ll probably wonder why the Browns didn’t pick Miami’s Francis Mauigoa, who went with the No. 10 pick to the New York Giants and promised “to die for” Jaxson Dart if necessary. They’ll wonder this because Browns fans expect the worst.
UCLA women’s basketball team has added some star power as its revamped roster begins to take shape.
Former Iowa State forward Addy Brown announced Thursday she is committing to UCLA, giving the Bruins one of the top players in the portal.
Brown averaged 11.9 points, 8.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game while shooting 43.1% from the floor and 33.8% from three-point distance with the Cyclones last season. She played just 21 games due to injury, but she is one of the better two-way players in the nation on the transfer market.
The 6-foot-2 forward co-starred with Audi Crooks for Iowa State the past few seasons and was a part of the mass exodus from the Cyclones’ program.
The Bruins reeled in former North Carolina junior guard Elina Aarnisalo and former Texas Christian senior guard Donovyn Hunter a few weeks ago, adding two more experienced players to the depleted starting lineup after a record six UCLA players were selected in the WNBA draft.
UCLA also signed Arkansas sophomore guard Bonnie Deas earlier this month. She is likely to start at point guard for the Bruins and is one of the best rebounding guards in the nation.
Along with returner Timea Gardiner, the Bruins are starting to form somewhat of a core to defend their national championship. Gardiner was a starter during UCLA’s 2024-25 Final Four run, but missed all of this past season with injury and has one season of eligibility left.
A lineup with Deas and Aarnisalo in the backcourt, Hunter at the three and Gardiner or Brown at the four and adding another big or Sienna Betts at the five would be a competitive lineup in the Big Ten.
Before going to TCU, Hunter played two seasons at Oregon State where she earned All-Pac-12 Defensive Team honorable mention and All-Pac-12 Freshman team honors. This past season with a Horned Frogs team that went to the Sweet 16, she was third in scoring with 10.2 points per game and averaged 3.2 rebounds per contest. She also shot 45.7% from the field and was 33.7% from beyond the arc.
Aarnisalo played her freshman year in Westwood after she originally committed to UCLA in 2025. Due to injuries from point guard Kiki Rice at the start of the 2024-25 season, she was forced into action early her freshman season and finished the year averaging 5.1 points per game.
The Helsinki, Finland, native averaged 10.2 points per game for the Tar Heels as a sophomore last season while shooting 47.3% from the field and 40.3% from the arc. The Bruins will desperately need to replace the three-point production lost with the departure of Rice, Gianna Kneepkens and Charlisse Leger-Walker.
UCLA coach Cori Close said she wanted to sign five players from the portal. She probably needs one more guard and a little more forward depth coming off the bench following the departures of Gabriela Jaquez and Angela Dugalic.
Lena Bilic and Amanda Muse are returners coming off the bench who got a little bit of playing time in the tournament and should have much larger roles, but they are still relatively unproven in late-game situations. They will get a chance to develop as backups with some more Power Four experienced starters now in the fold.
Trump says there’s ‘no time frame’ to secure Iran deal
Republican Minnesota Senate candidate Tom Weiler joins ‘Fox & Friends’ to discuss President Donald Trump’s blockade in the Strait of Hormuz as the U.S.-Iranian conflict continues and react to Gov. Tim Walz’s, D-Minn., criticism of the president.
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Saudi Arabia was among the countries seeing missiles fly into their airspace as a conflict broke out in the Middle East between the U.S. and Iran.
The prospect of Iran targeting its Middle Eastern neighbors like Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates put some sporting events on hold and questioned others. Formula 1 races in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain were canceled and rumors swirled around whether future WWE events could be held in the kingdom.
Roman Reigns celebrates his win during WWE’s Royal Rumble at Riyadh Season Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Jan. 31, 2026. (Georgiana Dallas/WWE)
As the Trump administration brokered a ceasefire with Iran, WWE announced on Thursday that its Night of Champions premium live event will be held in Riyadh on June 27.
“We are proud to welcome Night of Champions back to Riyadh and look forward to delivering another unforgettable night of WWE action for fans in the Kingdom and around the world,” General Entertainment Authority chairman Turki Al-Sheikh said in a news release.
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Sami Zayn makes his entrance during Night of Champions at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on June 28, 2025. (Georgiana Dallas/WWE)
The release touted that WrestleMania 43 will still be held in Riyadh in 2027. It will be the first time that WrestleMania is held outside the U.S.
WWE president Nick Khan was adamant before WrestleMania 42 that the event will still take place in Saudi Arabia despite the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
“We’re doing WrestleMania next year in Saudi,” he said at a Sports Business Journal event, via The Sporting Tribune. “First time ever, WrestleMania will be outside the United States or Canada. And we’ve had a big, fruitful partnership with them.”
John Cena wrestles CM Punk during Night of Champions at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on June 28, 2025. (Georgiana Dallas/WWE)
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He added that those complaining about WrestleMania being held in Saudi Arabia were a “vocal minority.”
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