Sports

Another strong outing by Yoshinobu Yamamoto in Dodgers' victory

Published

2 weeks ago

May 8, 2024

Another strong outing by Yoshinobu Yamamoto in Dodgers' victory

Yoshinobu Yamamoto is starting to give the Dodgers that feeling.

The feeling that every time he takes the ball, the team will get a quality start. That whenever he ascends the mound, a string of zeros will follow. That, most importantly, on days he pitches, the Dodgers should be positioned to win.

“You start to have that feeling like, ‘It’s Yamamoto’s day,’” manager Dave Roberts explained with a smile before first pitch. “This is win day.”

Tuesday was indeed another of those days, with Yamamoto dazzling in an eight-inning, two-run start to guide the Dodgers past the Miami Marlins 8-2 at Dodger Stadium.

The game was Yamamoto’s third straight quality start, lowering his ERA to 2.79. It was his longest outing in the majors and made him only the second starter for the Dodgers (25-13) to pitch past the seventh inning.

And when asked for his thoughts on Yamamoto’s performance postgame, Roberts annunciated his one-word answer.

“Fan-tas-tic,” the manager said. “Really great job.”

Staked to a big early lead, Yamamoto went on the attack against the Marlins (10-28), throwing his first 19 pitches for strikes and 73 of 97 overall.

Though he gave up a first-pitch home run to Jazz Chisholm Jr., he was able to “stay calm … and execute my pitches” he said through his interpreter postgame, mixing in his splitter and trademark curveball to effectively limit Miami’s paperweight lineup — the Marlins ranked 20th in the majors in scoring entering the game — to as many hits as strikeouts (five each).

Mookie Betts throws sunflower seeds at Max Muncy after Muncy hit a grand slam in the first inning.

(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

“He is starting to become that guy,” Roberts said before the game, reiterating Yamamoto’s ever-growing status as a star pitcher and, along with Tyler Glasnow, co-ace of the rotation. “But again, [we want him to] just go out there and keep doing what he’s been doing. Because it’s been really good.”

The start of Yamamoto’s rookie season was decidedly not good, particularly not after the Dodgers signed him to a record-breaking $325-million contract in the offseason.

In his MLB debut in South Korea in late March, he gave up five runs in one inning. While he got better once the team returned state-side, he still had a 4.50 ERA through his first five outings.

In his last three, however, Yamamoto has flashed a tantalizing level of dominance, with back-to-back outings of six scoreless innings preceding Tuesday’s gem.

More consistent fastball command has been key.

“Man, I feel like Will [Smith] just sets up behind the plate, and wherever he sets up, Yama throws it right there,” infielder Gavin Lux said. “He’s been really impressive so far.”

Yamamoto’s increasing comfort level with the major leagues, and his new Dodgers teammates in particular, has been equally important.

“It’s hard to succeed when you feel like, you have to prove yourself to people that don’t believe in you or don’t care about you,” Roberts said. “But when they do, you just feel like you have more latitude, more margin. I think right now, Yoshinobu is in a really comfortable spot, as he has said. And his pitching is mirroring that.”

It helped that again Tuesday, Yamamoto was pitching with a big lead.

After giving up the early home run, Yamamoto was handed a 4-1 lead on Max Muncy’s grand slam in the bottom of the first. The game was all but over by the third, when Lux’s first home run of the season punctuated another four-run rally.

“It felt good,” said Lux, whose last MLB home run came in August 2022, before he sat out last season because of a knee injury. “It was a long recovery road the last year and then you get off to a slow start. Nobody wants to do that. So it felt really good.”

The score was so out of hand against a last-place Marlins team that has already started selling key pieces — they traded last season’s National League batting champion, Luis Arráez, to San Diego last week — that Roberts pulled some key players out of the game early.

Teoscar Hernández, who has yet to have a day off, left the game after four innings. Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, who also started all 38 games so far, were out by the seventh and eighth, respectively.

All that, however, was made possible by Yamamoto’s performance on the mound — even if the pitcher himself shot down the notion that completing eight innings was any sort of “achievement.”

“The most important thing is to lead the team to the win, the victory,” Yamamoto said. “Today, I kept my rhythm and then also good tempo overall. If I could do this every game, I would like to.”

So, too, would the Dodgers.

Before the game, Roberts acknowledged he was initially “hesitant” to put too much pressure on the 25-year-old Japanese star. He didn’t want to treat Yamamoto’s start days any differently as he was getting “his feet wet” in the big leagues.

But now, Roberts said, “he’s earning that right for us to look at him as such.”

To be looked upon as the ace the Dodgers, when accounting for Yamamoto’s posting fee, spent more than $375 million to sign this winter.

To give his new team that feeling, that they can win every time he takes the mound.

Kershaw progressing

Clayton Kershaw threw his second bullpen session in his return from shoulder surgery, impressing Dodgers personnel — many of whom had gathered to watch him throw — with a 20-pitch effort of mostly fastballs.

“Ticked up with the velocity. Felt good. Free and easy,” Roberts said. “So really encouraging. He’s in a good mood. Had a lot of eyeballs on him. Really good day for us.”

Kershaw, who continues to target a return during the second half of the year, will continue to ramp up his bullpen sessions in the near term, Roberts said, including both an increased pitch count and greater mix of breaking pitches. From there, the team will decide when he can start a rehabilitation assignment.

“Right now, we’re not going on results, we’re going on how he feels and [that] getting better,” Roberts said. “When you feel good, your body feels good, then it puts you in a much better mood. So he’s in a good spot. Just the feeling of being free and easy and letting him throw the ball as hard as he can without having pain.”

Short hops

Jason Heyward (back) continued to increase his baseball activities, taking batting practice and running the bases. Heyward will take live at-bats during the team’s series in San Diego this weekend, then could go on a rehab assignment of anywhere from two to five games, Roberts said. … Bobby Miller (shoulder) is also nearing a rehab assignment but will still need to throw at least one more bullpen before then, Roberts said. … Emmet Sheehan (forearm) has yet to throw off a mound but is ramping up his long toss work.

Sports

Scottie Scheffler may see charges dropped after arrest during PGA Championship: report

Published

5 hours ago

May 19, 2024

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Scottie Scheffler may see charges dropped after arrest during PGA Championship: report

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Prosecutors in Kentucky were reportedly expected to drop the charges against Scottie Scheffler after his stunning arrest before the second round of the PGA Championship on Friday.

Jefferson County prosecutors were planning, “as of now,” to drop the charges, No Laying Up reported Sunday, citing a source “familiar with the office’s thinking.”

Scottie Scheffler plays a shot from a bunker on the 18th hole during the third round of the PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club on May 18, 2024, in Louisville, Kentucky. (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

Scheffler was charged with second-degree assault of a police officer (a felony), criminal mischief, reckless driving and disregarding signals from an officer directing traffic.

He allegedly drove past a police officer who was directing traffic and failed to stop when directed. The officer attached himself to Scheffler’s vehicle and was dragged. According to an arrest report, Louisville Detective Bryan Gillis suffered injuries in the incident.

Scheffler’s arraignment is set for Tuesday. The Jefferson County Prosecutor’s Office and the Jefferson County Attorney’s Office didn’t immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Louisville, Kentucky, Mayor Craig Greenberg said Saturday there was no body cam footage of the incident between Scheffler and Gillis.

Scottie Scheffler and his caddie, Brad Payne, on the 18th green during the third round of the PGA Championship on May 18, 2024. (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

PGA CHAMPIONSHIP 2024: XANDER SCHAUFFELE, COLLIN MORIKAWA ATOP CROWDED LEADERBOARD HEADING INTO FINAL ROUND

“The officer did not have body cam footage turned on during the incident,” Greenberg said Saturday, via the Louisville Courier-Journal. “We will release footage that we have… to my knowledge, we have not yet discovered any video of the initial contact between Officer Gillis and Mr. Scheffler.”

Greenberg did say there was a “fixed camera” across the street from where the incident took place. He was unsure if Gillis was wearing a body camera. He didn’t say whether Scheffler’s charges would be reduced.

ESPN reporter Jeff Darlington was in the vicinity of the incident and caught video of Scheffler being put into the back of a police vehicle.

Scheffler called the incident a “big misunderstanding” on Friday.

In this still image made from video provided by ESPN, Masters champion Scottie Scheffler is escorted by police after being handcuffed near Valhalla Golf Club, site of the PGA Championship golf tournament, early Friday, May 17, 2024. (ESPN via AP)

“This morning, I was proceeding as directed by police officers. It was a very chaotic situation, understandably so considering the tragic accident that had occurred earlier, and there was a big misunderstanding of what I thought I was being asked to do,” he said. “I never intended to disregard any of the instructions. I’m hopeful to put this to the side and focus on golf today.

“Of course, all of us involved in the tournament express our deepest sympathies to the family of the man who passed away in the earlier accident this morning. It truly puts everything in perspective.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Sports

Column: Fairfax's McRae siblings keep trying to one-up each other, all the way to Dartmouth

Published

6 hours ago

May 19, 2024

Press Room

Column: Fairfax's McRae siblings keep trying to one-up each other, all the way to Dartmouth

On Mother’s Day, Ebony Robinson felt like the luckiest mom in the world.

Her oldest son, Robert McRae III, a former Fairfax basketball player, is graduating next month from Dartmouth. Daughter Elyjah, a former Fairfax volleyball player, is a junior at the Ivy League university. And the baby boy, Romello, who played football and basketball at Fairfax, just chose the same school after turning down Harvard.

“It is pretty amazing,” Robinson said about having three children attend the same school in New Hampshire. “I never thought about it. I just didn’t.”

For those who worry about sibling rivalries, understand that the McRae children motivated each other in a positive way in trying to top one another.

“It was more about competing within ourselves,” Romello said. ”My brother was the star athlete for the family. When my sister went to high school, she made it a goal to have better grades than my brother. Going to Fairfax, I had a legacy to live up to.”

Romello, 6 feet 4 and 180 pounds, played basketball for the Lions, then joined the football team last season for the playoffs after his mother finally relented and let him play. He was the ball boy for 10 weeks until Robinson gave in.

“I was expecting him to just be on the sideline for one game,” she said. “They were supposed to lose in the playoffs.”

Romello McRae played basketball at Fairfax plus football during the playoffs last fall.

(Luca Evans / Los Angeles Times)

McRae caught a touchdown pass in the first playoff game and Fairfax ended up winning the City Section Division II championship. He has the best grade-point average of his siblings at 4.3 and earned a Gates scholarship that will pay for his college tuition.

“From what I’ve learned is that a healthy competition is always a good thing,” he said. “We’ve always congratulated each other on our successes but always wanted to be the best.”

Dartmouth's Robert McRae III (23) and Romeo Myrthil (20) walk onto the court during a game against Duke.

Robert was an All-City basketball player and played on the Lions’ City championship team in 2019. He played four years at Dartmouth. Romello won a City basketball title in 2022 but probably will try to make Dartmouth’s football team as a walk-on with his mother’s blessing.

“I have accepted it. Go ahead and go try out,” she said.

Robinson, who works with at-risk youths, has been a single parent with a no-excuses attitude.

“Being a single mom, especially having two boys, I didn’t have a lot of room for nonsense,” she said. “I became really strict. I need you to do what I’m asking you to do. I have no mental room for being able to handle anything else.”

She made it clear what was most important in her family.

“Even though the kids would say I am most definitely strict, I always show them unconditional love,” she said. “That love taught them to love each other the same way. With unconditional love, all you can do is admire each other for their strength and not hate on one’s success.”

To have three kids make it to the Ivy League is something few in the family ever imagined until Robert heard from a Princeton recruiter in high school, when mom’s goal was, “I just want you to have school paid for you because I can’t pay for it.”

Robert, 22, is deciding whether to pursue a master’s degree after graduating next month or head off to Wall Street to work. Elyjah, 21, is majoring in anthropology. Romello, 17, wants to be an engineer and is hoping to borrow his brother’s warm jackets to deal with the New Hampshire winter. Mom will be home with the last of her children, 8-year-old daughter Ellyott.

“I am a proud mommy,” she said.

Sports

NASCAR driver belly-flops into massive flood on pit road as rain postpones race

Published

12 hours ago

May 19, 2024

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NASCAR driver belly-flops into massive flood on pit road as rain postpones race

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A monstrous rainstorm postponed Saturday’s NASCAR truck race, but those on the track still made the most of it.

The storm moved through North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, site of Sunday’s All-Star Open and Saturday’s Craftsman Truck Series Wright Brand 250.

Pole qualifying was canceled Saturday morning, but the race started on time, as positioning was set per the rule book. However, lightning in the area brought the red flag out on Lap 81 at roughly 2:30 p.m. ET.

Signage old and new at North Wilkesboro Speedway. (Jim Dedmon/USA Today Sports)

Fans were asked to clear the grandstand and take cover as rain began to fall.

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NASCAR then announced at 5:05 p.m. ET the remainder of the race would be postponed until 11:30 a.m. ET Sunday, and heat races for the All-Star Open slated for Saturday were canceled. Positioning for the race will be set based on the rule book.

Rain flooded pit road so badly, it was roughly thigh-high for some on the track.

Air driers at work before qualifying at North Wilkesboro Speedway. (Jim Dedmon/USA Today Sports)

NASCAR STAR’S DAUGHTER BRINGS RACE-WINNING AMERICAN FLAG TO SCHOOL: I’M SO ‘PROUD’

One person in a video taken by FOX Business senior producer Justin Freiman could be seen swimming and diving in the water.

A few seconds later, a driver did a belly flop.

The weather affected racing Friday night, as well. All-Star Race qualifying and a pit crew challenge at North Wilkesboro Speedway scheduled for Friday night has been postponed due to rain.

NASCAR announced Saturday and Sunday tickets would be honored Sunday with some stipulations.

Saturday ticketholders will receiver “priority seating” for the finish of the truck race, while those who have tickets for Sunday will then get seating for the All-Star Race, in the event of same-seat purchases.

Cars covered and parked on the grid during a weather delay in qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Open at North Wilkesboro Speedway May 17, 2024, in North Wilkesboro, N.C. (Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

Twenty drivers will participate in the $1 million All-Star Race following the conclusion of the Wright Brand 250.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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