Sports
Dodgers' Tommy Edman builds on NLCS MVP performance by doing the little things
Fresh off his MVP-winning performance against the New York Mets in the National League Championship Series, Dodgers shortstop Tommy Edman opened the World Series against the New York Yankees on Friday night with a … clank!
The first ball hit to him in Game 1 in Dodger Stadium, a 93.5-mph grounder off the bat of slugger Giancarlo Stanton, went off Edman’s glove for an error, allowing the Yankees to put two on with two outs in the first inning.
The rare miscue from the sure-handed utility man did not cost the Dodgers, as the next batter, Jazz Chisholm Jr., grounded out to end the inning, and Edman’s evening got progressively better from there.
Edman turned a double play on Juan Soto’s grounder up the middle in the third inning and saved a run in the sixth with a diving stop that prevented Austin Wells’ ground-ball single with two on from reaching the outfield.
Then, in the bottom of the 10th, Edman followed Gavin Lux’s one-out walk with a single off the glove of diving second baseman Oswaldo Cabrera, and Edman was on second when Freddie Freeman sent a crowd of 52,394 into a frenzy with a walk-off grand slam that gave the Dodgers a come-from-behind, 6-3 win.
“I don’t know, I kind of blacked out,” Edman said when asked to describe his reaction to the first walk-off grand slam in World Series history. “I’m sure I screamed pretty loud and jumped up and down.
“I was trying to get a huge secondary lead to score on a single. I knew their outfielders were playing in, because they didn’t want anyone to score. I was trying to get way off the base, and fortunately I didn’t have to run very hard.”
Edman hit .407 (11 for 27) with a 1.023 on-base-plus-slugging percentage, one homer, three doubles and 11 RBIs in the NLCS, including a two-run double and a two-run homer in a series-clinching 10-5 win over the Mets last Sunday night.
But those good vibes didn’t seem to carry over to the World Series when Edman misplayed Stanton’s first-inning grounder.
“It was Stanton,” Edman said of baseball’s exit-velocity king, whose towering, two-run homer to left field in the sixth gave the Yankees a 2-1 lead. “Not many people hit the ball as hard as he does, and he just top-spinned one like crazy. But it was good to get that one out of the way and make a couple of good plays after that.”
After Gleyber Torres led off the third with an infield single, Edman fielded Soto’s grounder behind second base, scooted to the bag and touched the base as he threw firmly to first for a double play.
Dodgers shortstop Tommy Edman throws to first base to complete a double play in the third inning against the Yankees in Game 1 of the World Series on Friday.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Chisholm followed Stanton’s homer in the sixth with a single to right off reliever Anthony Banda. Anthony Rizzo struck out for the second out. Chisholm stole second, and Anthony Volpe was intentionally walked.
Wells hit a grounder that appeared headed for center field, but Edman smothered it with a diving stop on the second-base side of the bag, holding Wells to a single that loaded the bases. Banda struck out Alex Verdugo with a 98-mph fastball to end the inning.
“That’s one of those plays that are underrated, that people aren’t going to talk about,” second baseman Lux said. “But I’m glad someone else saw that and recognized it as a huge play, because it saved a run.”
Had Wells’ grounder reached the outfield, the speedy Chisholm would have scored from second for a 3-1 lead. Instead, the score remained 2-1. The Dodgers tied it on Mookie Betts’ sacrifice fly in the eighth, but without Edman’s play in the sixth, the Yankees might have won in regulation.
“In a game like this, with all the big moments, those things are definitely going to go unnoticed, except to the guys on the field,” Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy said. “Tommy making that stop was gigantic.”
Edman’s play was one of several little things that went right for the Dodgers but were overshadowed by Freeman’s big thing.
Reliever Brusdar Graterol, pitching for the first time in a month and the eighth time this season, gave up one hit and struck out one in a scoreless seventh, his sinking fastball averaging 98.9 mph and topping out at 99.6.
With two on and no outs in the bottom of the seventh and Rizzo crashing in from first base, Kiké Hernández dropped a perfect bunt toward third, a sacrifice the Dodgers were unable to cash in on.
Left-hander Alex Vesia, who missed the NLCS because of a rib-cage injury, struck out two in a 1-2-3 eighth, an indication he could play a significant role in the best-of-seven series.
Shohei Ohtani alertly took an extra base in the bottom of the eighth when, after he doubled off the right-field wall, Torres, the Yankees second baseman, couldn’t handle the short-hop on Soto’s throw from right field and the ball trickled toward the mound. Ohtani took third and scored on Betts’ sacrifice fly for a 2-2 tie.
Graterol missed most of the season because of shoulder and hamstring injuries, but if the right-hander can regain something close to his 2023 form (4-2, 1.20 ERA in 68 games), he would ease the loss of injured setup man Evan Phillips.
“We’re betting on Brusdar’s heartbeat, the stuff,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “He hasn’t pitched in forever, but we put him in a big spot, he threw up a zero and kept us in the ballgame. He was lights out tonight.”
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Napoleon Solo took home the 2026 Preakness Stakes on Saturday, the 151st running of the race.
The favorite in Taj Mahal, the 1 horse, was in the lead from the start until the final turn until Napoleon Solo made his move on the outside and took the lead at the top of the stretch. As Taj Mahal fell off, Iron Honor, the 9 horse, snuck up, but the effort ultimately was not enough.
Napoleon Solo opened at 8-1 and closed at 7-1. Iron Honor, at 8-1, finished second, with Chip Honcho fishing third after closing at 11-1. Ocelli, one of just three horses to run both the Kentucky Derby two weeks ago and Saturday’s Preakness, finished fourth at 8-1.
A Preakness branded starting gate is seen on track prior to the 151st Preakness Stakes at Laurel Park on May 16, 2026 in Laurel, Maryland. For the first and only time, Laurel Park is hosting the Preakness Stakes which is the second race of the Triple Crown jewel due to the traditional home of the race of the Pimlico Race Course undergoing complete renovations. (Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
A $1 exacta paid out $53.60, while a $1 trifecta brought in $597.10. But someone out there is very lucky, as a $1 superhighfive – picking the top-five finishers in order – paid out $12,015.70.
Even moreso, a 20-cent Pick 6 – picking the winners of the six consecutive races, with the final being the Preakness, paid out $33,842.34.
The race was run without the Kentucky Derby winner for the second year in a row. After Sovereignty did not run the Preakness last year – and wound up winning the Belmont Stakes – the training team of Golden Tempo opted to skip the Maryland race.
From 1960 to 2018, only three Derby winners did not run in the Preakness. Three Derby winners have skipped the Preakness in the last five years, and for the sixth time in eight years, for various reasons, the Triple Crown had already been impossible to accomplish by the time the Preakness even rolled around.
“I understand that fans of the sport or fans of the Triple Crown are disappointed, but the horse is not a machine,” Golden Tempo’s trainer, Cherie DeVaux, told Fox News Digital earlier this week.
Paco Lopez, right, atop Napoleon Solo, edges out Iron Honor, ridden by Flavien Prat, to win the 151st running of the Preakness Stakes horse race, Friday, May 15, 2026, at Laurel Park in Laurel, Maryland. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
CHERIE DEVAUX REFLECTS ON MAKING KENTUCKY DERBY HISTORY AS FIRST FEMALE TRAINER TO WIN THE RACE
Only three horses from two weeks ago – Ocelli, Robusta, and Incredibolt, were back at the Preakness. Corona de Oro, the 11 horse on Saturday, was scratched well ahead of the Derby, and Great White, who reared up and fell on his back after becoming startled shortly before entering the Derby gate, took the 13 post on Saturday.
The Preakness went off roughly 24 hours after a horse died following the completion of his very first race.
Hit Zero, trained by Brittany Russell, came into the race as the favorite. However, he finished last in the race, which was won by another one of Russell’s horses, Bold Fact — and upon crossing the finish line, Hit Zero reportedly began coughing, dropped to his knees, then put his head down and died.
The Preakness took place at Laurel Park as Pimlico undergoes renovations. It was the first time ever that Pimlico did not host the race, moving roughly 20 miles south.
Paco Lopez, atop Napoleon Solo, wins the 151st running of the Preakness Stakes horse race, Friday, May 15, 2026, at Laurel Park in Laurel, Maryland. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
The Belmont Stakes, the final Triple Crown race, will take place on June 6. The race will return to Saratoga for a third year in a row as Belmont Park continues to be renovated.
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HIGH SCHOOL BOYS VOLLEYBALL
CITY SECTION FINALS
FRIDAY
At Birmingham
DIVISION I
#1 Taft d. #3 Cleveland, 25-23, 25-14, 25-21
DIVISION IV
#7 Maywood CES d. #4 Math & Science College Prep, 25-17, 25-17, 25-23
At Venice
DIVISION II
#4 Marquez d. #6 Narbonne, 23-25, 25-19, 29-27, 25-16
DIVISION III
#13 Birmingham d. #2 Legacy, 25-20, 17-25, 31-33, 25-21, 15-10
SATURDAY
At Birmingham
OPEN DIVISION
#3 Chatsworth d. #1 Granada Hills, 24-26, 25-21, 25-14, 25-18
DIVISION V
314 Franklin d. #13 Rancho Dominguez, 25-18, 25-19, 25-16
SOUTHERN SECTION FINALS
THURSDAY
At Home Sites
DIVISION 9
Vasquez d. Tarbut V’ Torah, 25-19, 22-25, 25-21, 19-25, 15-10
FRIDAY
At Cerritos College
DIVISION 1
#1 Mira Costa d. #3 Loyola, 25-21, 25-22, 25-22
DIVISION 4
Sunny Hills d. Royal, 24-26, 25-22, 27-25, 25-23
At Home Sites
DIVISION 5
Bishop Diego d. St. Anthony, 25-19, 25-19, 23-25, 25-23
DIVISION 8
Temescal Canyon d. West Valley, 24-26, 25-16, 25-19, 25-23
SATURDAY
At Cerritos College
DIVISION 2
Orange Lutheran d. Edison, 3-1
DIVISION 3
Windward d. St, John Bosco, 24-26, 25–21, 25-22, 25-20
DIVISION 6
Culver City d. Garden Grove, 27-25, 25-20, 19-25, 21-25, 15-9
Sports
It’s Game 7, and we have a bet locked in as the Cavaliers and legacies are on the line against the Pistons
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The NBA takes a lot of flak for having meaningless games, and I can definitely understand it, watching on a random Wednesday in January. However, the playoffs have delivered over and over to viewers and rewarded us for putting up with garbage regular-season games.
This will be the fourth Game 7 of the playoffs. Three series have been sweeps, and the other three have been six games. That shows competitive hoops. Now, how do we bet this Game 7 in the Eastern Conference?
The Cleveland Cavaliers blew it. After not winning a road game all postseason, they took Game 5 in surprising fashion. It looked like they were going to win in six games. After all, they hadn’t lost a game at home in the postseason.
Instead, Detroit came out and blitzed the Cavs, never giving them a chance to get their footing. They lost in an ugly fashion and now have to figure out a way to win a game on the road.
Cleveland Cavaliers guard James Harden drives to the basket against the Detroit Pistons during the second half of Game 5 in the second-round NBA playoffs in Detroit on May 13, 2026. (Duane Burleson/AP)
It isn’t just the Cavs’ fate that rests in this game. It is also the legacy of James Harden and, to a lesser extent, Donovan Mitchell.
We know that Mitchell is a very good player, but he isn’t regarded as one of the best players ever. Harden is. Unfortunately, Harden has struggled in Game 7s. He’s averaged 19.1 points, 7.3 assists and 5.8 rebounds. That’s not terrible, but looking at his shooting percentages, he is at 35.3% and 22.2% in those games. He actually is 4-4 overall in the games, but in his past three, he has scored a combined 34 points over 113 minutes.
The Detroit Pistons seem to like playing with their backs against the wall. They are a gritty team, so I suppose it makes sense.
Detroit Pistons’ Jalen Duren reacts after allowing a pass to go out of bounds in the second half of Game 4 of the second-round NBA playoff series against the Cleveland Cavaliers in Cleveland on May 11, 2026. (Sue Ogrocki/AP)
Cade Cunningham continues to deliver for the team, and he finally got some help in Game 6 from Jalen Duren. This was never going to be an easy series for Duren, but it feels like he is taking more time to mature than others. He definitely improved this year, but the consistency they need from him just isn’t there yet.
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Now as the team goes home they will need Duren to be a beast on the glass. If he can keep the Pistons in the rebounding battle, they should win this game with ease. They won Game 6 by just three rebounds, but that takes away a big dimension of what Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley do for the Cavs. It isn’t everything, though, as the Pistons won the rebounding battle in both losses in Cleveland.
I don’t see this being a runaway game for the Pistons. Mitchell and Cunningham likely will cancel each other out with scoring. Harden needs to establish himself as the third-best player on the floor. I haven’t seen him do that in the postseason, yet.
Cleveland Cavaliers All-Stars Donovan Mitchell and James Harden talk during Game 2 in the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs vs. the Toronto Raptors at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Ohio. (David Dermer/Imagn Images)
This is the second Game 7 of the playoffs for both of the clubs, so it isn’t like either will be caught off guard about what this entails.
If I look at it objectively, I think the Cavs have the better players. However, the Pistons have looked significantly better this season, and definitely in the playoffs overall. Both are prone to issues and slipping. The Cavs shouldn’t be as they are a veteran team.
This game has to be won by Cleveland, though. There is too much riding on the franchise and legacies of guys for them to not prepare properly for it. Maybe that’s weak analysis, but I’m taking the Cavs with the points and I do think they win outright. I expect a monster game from Mitchell, and Harden should get 10+ assists.
Either way, whoever wins will lose to the New York Knicks.
For more sports betting information and plays, follow David on X/Twitter: @futureprez2024
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