Connect with us

Sports

Dodgers overcome Tyler Glasnow's struggles with 11th-inning scoring spree vs. Giants

Published

on

Dodgers overcome Tyler Glasnow's struggles with 11th-inning scoring spree vs. Giants

Saturday was a planned “bullpen game” for the San Francisco Giants, whose rotation sports just two healthy established starters in Logan Webb and Jordan Hicks and has five pitchers — Blake Snell, Kyle Harrison, Keaton Winn, Robbie Ray and Alex Cobb — on the injured list.

It turned into an impromptu bullpen game for Dodgers, which was both surprising and disappointing considering they had ace Tyler Glasnow, who was 8-5 with a 2.88 ERA and a National League-leading 135 strikeouts and had thrown five innings or more in each of his first 16 starts, on the mound.

Glasnow was rocked for five runs and seven hits in an abbreviated three-inning start, leaving Dodgers relievers to cover the final six innings.

Not only was the bullpen up to the task, it worked overtime and got contributions from every arm, with eight pitchers combining to limit the Giants to one earned run over the final eight innings of a wild 14-7, 11-inning victory in front of a crowd of 39,663 at Oracle Park.

Advertisement

“It was all hands on deck, really,” veteran right-hander Daniel Hudson said after the grueling 3-hour, 45-minute game. “We had to go get that one once we tied it up and took the lead [in the fourth inning]. We were all just focused on getting to the next guy.”

The Dodgers blew the game open with a seven-run rally in the 11th, but they wouldn’t have gotten there if Hudson hadn’t escaped a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the 10th.

The Dodgers had scored in the 10th off 6-foot-11 right-hander Sean Hjelle when Jason Heyward grounded out to first base, advancing automatic runner Chris Taylor to third, and Miguel Rojas blooped an RBI single to shallow right-center for a 7-6 lead.

Hudson, who gave up a two-run homer to Matt Chapman in Friday night’s loss, got Nick Ahmed to ground out to shortstop to open the bottom of the 10th, with automatic runner Brett Wisely holding at second, but pinch-hitter David Villar ripped an RBI double off the left-field wall to tie the score 7-7.

LaMonte Wade Jr. was intentionally walked, and Heliot Ramos dribbled a grounder to third for an infield single — the Dodgers thought the ball hit Ramos’ foot and should have been ruled foul but were out of replay challenges — to load the bases with one out. The Dodgers brought Taylor in from center field for a five-man infield.

Advertisement

“I don’t,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, when asked if he could remember the last time he employed a five-man infield. “It has been that long. It’s not a strategy I love to pull out of my hat, but it just seemed like the right time given the situation.”

Will Smith hits a two-run double in the 11th inning during the Dodgers’ win over the Giants on Saturday.

(Godofredo A. Vásquez / Associated Press)

Hudson then escaped the jam by striking out Patrick Bailey with a nasty 88-mph slider and, with Taylor back in the outfield, getting Matt Chapman to pop out to catcher Will Smith, sending the game to the 11th.

Advertisement

“That guy has done everything in this game,” closer Evan Phillips said of Hudson, who was on the mound when the Washington Nationals clinched their World Series title in 2019. “There’s just nobody better to handle that, no one we trust more in those situations, and I don’t think anyone batted an eye when he got out of it.”

The Dodgers, who scored seven runs in the ninth inning for an 11-9 come-from-behind win at Colorado on June 18, then broke out the heavy lumber in the top of the 11th.

Shohei Ohtani, who hit his NL-leading 26th home run to straight-away center field in the third, giving him nine homers in 12 games, was intentionally walked to open the inning, and Smith drove a two-run double to left-center field for a 9-7 lead.

Freddie Freeman followed with a bloop double to left to score Smith for a 10-7 lead. Teoscar Hernández blooped a single to right, moving Freeman to third, and Taylor grounded an RBI single to right for an 11-7 lead. Heyward roped a two-run triple into the right-field corner to make it 13-7, and Rojas hit a sacrifice fly to left to make it 14-7.

The seven runs in the 11th were the most by the Dodgers in an extra inning since they moved to Los Angeles in 1958, and, according to MLB researcher Sarah Langs, the seven-run win was baseball’s second-largest extra-inning win since 1901, behind the Milwaukee Braves’ 12-4, 11-inning win over the Brooklyn Dodgers on Aug. 29, 1954.

Advertisement

“We needed every bit of that,” Roberts said of the seven-run outburst. “We were down to our last arm, and I was thinking about having Miggy Ro pitch that last inning. That’s kind of where we were at. Exhausting all of our arms feels a lot better when you win.”

Rojas, who also hit RBI singles in the second and fourth innings, was ready and willing to take the mound.

“I was telling Mark [Prior, Dodgers pitching coach] to give me the ball,” Rojas said. “I’ve been waiting to pitch this year, to be honest with you. We’ve been up by nine runs, but I think we need to be up by 10 to pitch in a game that we’re winning.”

Rojas might not have fared much worse than Glasnow, who limited opponents to a .179 average in his first 16 starts, the third-best mark in the league, but was tagged for seven hits in 14 at-bats on Saturday. The Giants batted around in the third, an inning in which Glasnow threw 37 pitches after throwing only 24 pitches in the first two innings.

Advertisement

The inning began with Glasnow’s walk to No. 9 hitter Ahmed and Jorge Soler’s RBI double to right field. Soler tried to advance on Wade’s grounder to shortstop but was thrown out at third by Rojas.

Dodgers pitcher Tyler Glasnow walks to the dugout after the third inning Saturday against the Giants.

Dodgers pitcher Tyler Glasnow walks to the dugout after the third inning Saturday.

(Godofredo A. Vásquez / Associated Press)

But Ramos singled to center, Bailey hit an RBI single to right, and Dodgers third baseman Cavan Biggio couldn’t get the ball out of his glove after charging Chapman’s chopper, a play that was generously ruled an RBI infield single.

Michael Conforto walked to load the bases, and Luis Matos grounded into a run-scoring fielder’s choice for a 5-2 lead before Wisely flied to left to end the four-run inning.

Advertisement

“The feel [for my pitches] was completely lost today from my warmups to the game,” Glasnow said. “It was just one of those days where I had no command of anything. … From pitch one, I’d think my release point was at one place, and it’s at another place. It was just kind of all over the place today.”

How does Glasnow cope with such an impediment?

“I didn’t today,” he said. “I think it’s more about just trying to eliminate thought and just go out there and compete. A lot of stuff got away from me, and I’m just glad the team could come back and win the game.”

The Dodgers answered San Francisco’s four-run third with four runs of their own in the top of the fourth, batting around against relievers Spencer Howard and Randy Rodriguez, a rally that Andy Pages sparked with a one-out walk.

Heyward singled to right, advancing Pages to third, and Rojas grounded an RBI infield single to the shortstop hole. Lux followed with an RBI single to right. Biggio popped out on a bunt attempt, but Ohtani walked to load the bases. Smith beat out a slow roller for an RBI single, and Freeman walked with the bases loaded for a 6-5 lead.

Advertisement

San Francisco evened the score in the bottom of the fifth when Chapman hit a one-out single off right-hander Yohan Ramírez, Conforto walked against left-hander Alex Vesia, and Wisely, who won Friday night’s game with a walk-off two-run homer in the ninth, hit an RBI single to center for a 6-6 tie.

“That was a long one, a tough one, because of everything that happened, but the team effort was remarkable,” Rojas said. “I feel like that’s the team that we have. We’re always going to fight, and we’re always going to be in games.”

Sports

MLB pitcher Merrill Kelly says California tax rate swayed decision to reject Padres’ free agency offer

Published

on

MLB pitcher Merrill Kelly says California tax rate swayed decision to reject Padres’ free agency offer

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

Merrill Kelly will once again be wearing an Arizona Diamondbacks uniform when the 2026 regular season gets underway. 

Kelly, who entered the free agent market after pitching in 10 games with the Texas Rangers in 2025, agreed to a deal to return to the Diamondbacks.

Kelly spent the first seven years of his professional career with the Diamondbacks but revealed that he received an offer from the San Diego Padres this offseason. Kelly said his decision to turn down the Padres during free agency centered on California’s higher income tax rate compared to Arizona’s.

Advertisement

Merrill Kelly (23) of the Texas Rangers pitches during a game against the Miami Marlins at Globe Life Field on Sept. 21, 2025 in Arlington, Texas. (Gunnar Word/Texas Rangers/Getty Images)

Kelly agreed to a two-year contract worth an estimated $40 million with the Diamondbacks, according to ESPN. Although the Padres offered a comparable deal at three years instead of two, California’s 13% tax rate on income above $1 million proved a key difference.

“I don’t think it’s any secret on how much money you get taken out of your pocket when you go to California,” the right-hander told “Foul Territory.”

Kelly also has deep ties to Arizona, where he attended high school and played college baseball at Arizona State. He said finding a way back to Arizona “was always the priority.”

Merrill Kelly (29) of the Arizona Diamondbacks looks on before Game Six of the Championship Series against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on Oct. 23, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  (Rich Schultz/Getty Images)

Advertisement

While Kelly said he is fond of San Diego, he was unwilling to sacrifice a significant portion of his salary to taxes. “I love San Diego,” Kelly said. “It’s just, like I said, they take too much money out of my pocket, man. The taxes over there are a different level.

“We had my numbers guy run the numbers, and it just made more sense to come home.”

Merrill Kelly (23) of the Texas Rangers looks on during a game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Globe Life Field on Aug. 8, 2025 in Arlington, Texas. (Bailey Orr/Texas Rangers/Getty Images)

Arizona’s state income tax rate is roughly 2.5%. Kelly also joked that he prefers the desert landscape to San Diego’s coastal setting.

“It worked out best for us because that was honestly our second choice,” Kelly said. “It was between here and San Diego going into the offseason. San Diego was really the only place that, if we did go somewhere, that was probably high on our list if we weren’t in Arizona. It’s like, ‘All right, let’s just hop over and take a short, six-hour drive to San Diego.’

Advertisement

“But, yeah, the desert is home. I guess we’re not ocean people.”

In a statement to The California Post, the Padres said the team does “not comment on contract negotiations.”

Acquired by the Rangers in July 2025, Kelly went 12-9 while splitting the season between Texas and Arizona.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

Advertisement

Related Article

2026 MLB Free Agent Signings, Trades: Dodgers Sign Pitcher to $6.5M Pact

Continue Reading

Sports

Prep talk: Councilmember looking into helping fix fire damage at Encino Franklin Fields

Published

on

Prep talk: Councilmember looking into helping fix fire damage at Encino Franklin Fields

The office of Los Angeles City Councilmember Imelda Padilla has begun working with agencies to find a solution to repair infrastructure damage caused by a fire last month that went through a tunnel at Encino Franklin Fields and has limited access to three softball fields used by youth organizations and the high school teams at Harvard-Westlake, Louisville and Sherman Oaks Notre Dame.

The fire on Jan. 22, believed to have been set by a homeless person, took out wooden framing below an asphalt bridge connecting access to a parking lot, making it unusable for safety reasons. Parents have since paid for a temporary scaffold bridge that allows people to traverse the condemned bridge. The parking lot remains out of commission along with handicap access. Notre Dame has not practiced or played games there since, moving to Valley College. Harvard-Westlake and Louisville have resumed practices and games.

The land is owned by the Army Corps of Engineers. The bridge spans a culvert, maintained by the city. The fields are leased.

A spokeswoman for Padilla said in a statement: “Our team has taken the lead in convening City departments and have engaged the Mayor’s Office to help accelerate coordination and solutions. While agencies work through jurisdictional and cost responsibilities, our priority is preventing unnecessary delays and advancing immediate solutions. As damage and improvement needs are evaluated, we are focused on restoring safe access, including exploring a secondary access point to improve parking safety and ADA accessibility for families and field users. Student athletes and families should not bear the burden of administrative complexity, and we are pushing for a coordinated path forward that prioritizes timely repairs and safe access.”

Advertisement

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

Continue Reading

Sports

USA Rugby to introduce ‘open’ gender category for trans athletes

Published

on

USA Rugby to introduce ‘open’ gender category for trans athletes

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

USA Rugby, the nation’s governing body for the sport of rugby, announced Friday it will be introducing a new “open” gender division to accommodate trans athletes.

The new rule comes more than a year after President Donald Trump’s “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” executive order and nearly seven months after the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee’s (USOPC) new requirement for all governing bodies to comply with it.

“USA Rugby will now have three competition categories; Men’s Division, Women’s Division and Open Division. The Open Division will permit any athlete, regardless of gender assigned at birth and gender identity, to compete in USA Rugby-sanctioned events, whether full contact or non-contact,” the organization said in a statement. 

Advertisement

Cassidy Bargell of the United States passes the ball during a women’s rugby World Cup 2025 match against Samoa at LNER Community Stadium in Monks Cross, York, Sept. 6, 2025. (Michael Driver/MI News/NurPhoto)

The organization’s policy also seemingly allows any hopeful competitors to simply select their gender when registering, with potential vetting by officials.

“Division status will be determined during the membership application and registration process, when an athlete selects the ‘gender’ option in Rugby Xplorer. When applying for membership or registering as ‘Female’ or registering for an event in the Women’s Division, an athlete represents and warrants to USA Rugby that they are Female.”

“This representation creates a rebuttable presumption that the individual’s sex identified at birth was female,” the organization’s member policy states. 

Gabriella Cantorna, Ilona Maher and Emily Henrich of the U.S. before a women’s rugby World Cup 2025 match against Samoa at York Community Stadium Sept. 6, 2025, in York, England.  (Molly Darlington/World Rugby/World Rugby via Getty Images)

Advertisement

“The determination of whether an individual is Female may be established through records from authoritative sources. Only USA Rugby shall have the right to contest the individual’s Women’s Division status or challenge the presumption of an athlete registered as ‘Female.’”

In July, the USOPC updated its athlete safety policy to indicate compliance with Trump’s “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” executive order. 

However, Trump has also pushed for mandatory genetic testing of athletes to protect the women’s category at the upcoming 2028 Los Angeles Olympics amid concerns over forged birth certificates allowing biological males to gain access to women’s sports.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

The USA Rugby goal line flag before a match between the United States and Scotland at Audi Field July 12, 2024, in Washington, D.C. (Scott Taetsch/Getty Images for Scottish Rugby)

Advertisement

USOPC Chief Medical Officer Jonathan Finnoff said at the USOPC media summit in October the SRY gene tests being used by World Athletics and World Boxing are “not common” in the U.S. but suggested the USOPC is exploring options to employ sex testing options for its own teams and that he expects other world governing bodies to “follow suit.” 

“It’s not necessarily very common to get this specific test in the United States, and, so, our goal in that was helping to identify labs and options for the athletes to be able to get that testing. And (it was) based on that experience and knowing that some other international federations likely will be following suit,” Finnoff said. 

Related Article

USOPC leaders address protection of women's sports, use of sex tests amid global resistance to trans athletes
Continue Reading

Trending