Sports
Hernández: Yoshinobu Yamamoto bounces back from struggles to deliver under pressure
The shortest player on the field at Dodger Stadium looked as if he was the tallest.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto was a giant on Friday night.
And to think the 5-foot-10 right-hander from Japan started for the Dodgers in Game 5 of their National League Division Series only because they figured their relievers couldn’t pitch the entire game.
Yamamoto turned the anticipated bullpen game for the Dodgers into something more conventional. The three innings they were counting on him to pitch became four, and eventually five. He never conceded a run.
When the game was over, the Dodgers were spraying sparkling wine and pouring beer on each other in their locker room, celebrating their passage to the NL Championship Series. In the middle of the celebration was Yamamoto, the unlikely pitcher of record in the 2-0 victory over the San Diego Padres.
Yamamoto was inconsistent for the majority his first season with the Dodgers, his adjustment to the major leagues delayed by a shoulder injury that sidelined him for three months. Not what the Dodgers were expecting from a player they signed in the winter to a 12-year, $325-million contract.
However, as Dodgers controlling owner Mark Walter pointed out, “He showed up tonight.”
Bottle in hand and smile on his face, Walter continued, “Shut them out for five innings. Takes guts to do that when you struggle a little.”
A little?
Six days earlier, Yamamoto was absolutely destroyed, by the same opponent, in the same stadium. He lasted only three innings in a Game 1 defeat and was charged with five runs.
“Of course, I wasn’t able to get away with it right away,” Yamamoto said in Japanese.
Yamamoto explained that he received words of encouragement from teammates. When the Dodgers were in San Diego for Games 3 and 4, Yamamoto was invited out by Kiké Hernández.
“We talked for about two hours,” Yamamoto said.
Yamamoto added, “I think I owe my performance today to my teammates.”
Hernández said there was a reason the Dodgers invested as much in Yamamoto as they did. He said it wasn’t because he projected to be great one day in the future.
“He is great,” Hernández said.
The Dodgers could have started Jack Flaherty. However, Yamamoto was on the same six-day cycle on which he was kept in the regular season. Plus, the Dodgers thought they could rely on a pitcher who was known in his home country for his resiliency.
Around this time last year, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman watched the Japan Series between the Orix Buffaloes and Hanshin Tigers. He saw Yamamoto give up a career-worst seven runs in a Game 1 defeat, but he also saw how Yamamoto responded to the setback. In Game 6, Yamamoto threw a 138-pitch complete game and struck out 14 batters to set a Japan Series record.
Talking to Yamamoto after his Game 1 debacle in this division series, Friedman said, “You could get the sense that he wanted the ball.”
Manager Dave Roberts called attention to Yamamoto’s international experience.
“When you pitch for the WBC, for the country of Japan, those are the highest stakes you can have,” Roberts said.
Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto delivers during the first inning against the Padres on Friday.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Roberts figured national pride would again be a motivating factor for Yamamoto. Pitching opposite him in Game 5 was Yu Darvish, making this postseason game the first to feature two Japanese starters. The contest was broadcast live in Japan on network television.
Yamamoto returned to the Dodger Stadium mound as a new pitcher.
Between starts, the Dodgers had worked with Yamamoto on the positioning of his glove, which they believed revealed to the Padres in Game 1 which pitches he was about to throw. He started Game 5 by retiring the side in order. Yamamoto gave up successive singles to Kyle Higashioka and Luis Arráez in the third inning, but forced Fernando Tatis Jr. to ground into a double play.
Yamamoto retired the next six batters to protect the 1-0 advantage gifted to him on a home run by his muse, Hernández. Before reaching the steps descending into the dugout in the middle of the fifth inning, Yamamoto was tightly embraced by Roberts. Yamamoto had thrown only 63 pitches, but Roberts was mindful that he hadn’t pitched into the sixth inning since he blanked the New York Yankees over seven innings on June 7. His night was over, at least on the mound.
Later in the clubhouse, Yamamoto was reliving his night when Shohei Ohtani approached him with a bottle of sparkling wine pointed in his direction. Ohtani emptied the bottle’s contents on Yamamoto.
“He was overwhelming,” Ohtani said in Japanese. “It was the kind of pitching that overwhelmed and didn’t let the opponent get close.”
An extremely light drinker, Yamamoto said that even the magnitude of this victory couldn’t drive him to imbibe any of the adult beverages provided to the players.
However, he joked, “The alcohol got in me through my skin.”
At that moment, the ups and downs of the previous six months were forgotten. If a disastrous performance in October can diminish a player’s regular-season achievements, the opposite also has to be true: A memorable game in the playoffs can minimize a player’s regular-season failures.
On Friday night, Yoshinobu Yamamoto was a hero.
Sports
Golf star records lowest round in LPGA major history with astounding performance at Evian Championship
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There are good days on the golf course, and then there is what Haeran Ryu just did on Saturday.
Ryu, 25, recorded the lowest round in LPGA major history on Saturday with an 11-under 60 at the Evian Championship. With the South Korean golfer’s historic round, she holds a three-stroke lead.
Ryu’s round comes just two weeks after winning her first major at the Women’s PGA Championship. On the 18th hole, Ryu left a 30-foot eagle putt a few inches short, and instead settled for a birdie.
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Haeran Ryu of South Korea reacts on the 18th green after the third round of The Amundi Evian Championship at Evian Resort Golf Club in Evian-les-Bains, France, on July 11, 2026. (Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)
She said after the round that she had no idea what she had done until she counted up her scorecard.
“But after the putt and I counted my score with my caddie,” she said. “Oh my God, it’s 11-under par today. It was so amazing. My caddie says, ‘Yep.’ I’m so happy right now.”
If Ryu had made the eagle putt on the 18th hole, she would have been just the second player to shoot a 59 in LPGA history.
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Haeran Ryu of South Korea celebrates a birdie on the 15th green during the third round of The Amundi Evian Championship at Evian Resort Golf Club on July 11, 2026, in Evian-les-Bains, France. (Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)
Her 60 broke the record for the lowest round in an LPGA major by one shot. Leona Maguire and Jeungeun Lee6 in 2021, and Hyo Joo Kim in 2014, each shot 61 at the Evian Championship, which was designated as an LPGA major in 2013.
The lowest round in a men’s major is 62, which is shared by four players — Branden Grace at Royal Birkdale in the 2017 British Open, Xander Schauffele and Rickie Fowler in the 2023 U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club, and Schauffele and Shane Lowry in the 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla.
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Haeran Ryu of South Korea and Lottie Woad of England interact after their round on the 18th green during the third round of the Amundi Evian Championship at Evian Resort Golf Club in Evian-les-Bains, France, on July 11, 2026. (Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)
Ryu hopes her historic third round can help propel her to a second major win in three weeks.
“That is amazing, amazing dream,” Ryu said. “So I just want that one to come true, but we have one more day.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Taylor Crabb is no stranger to South California beaches. The Long Beach State alum returns home this weekend to compete in AVP League matches.
It marks the first time AVP will compete in Long Beach since 2020 and allows players to compete at the 2028 Olympics beach volleyball venue.
Crabb, 34, made his AVP debut in 2013 with his brother, Trevor, and advanced from the qualifier in Manhattan Beach before finishing 25th in his first tournament.
After years of competing with various different partners, Taylor Crabb and Andy Benesh have delivered the top performances this AVP season.
The following interview with Crabb has been edited for clarity and length.
Are you excited to compete in this weekend’s event at Long Beach?
Crabb: Very excited. A lot of my college teammates and part of the school have reached out, saying that they’re gonna come. So I’m excited to get a chance to play in front of them again.
When was the last time you were in Long Beach?
Crabb: I always try to go down there for alumni events or any big games they have. I went to UCLA against Long Beach last year, when it was No. 1 versus No. 2, so I always try to get down there and support them.
You missed out on the chance to compete in the 2020 Olympics because of COVID-19 restrictions and chose not to pursue a spot at the 2024 Olympics. Are you fired up to try to compete in the 2028 Olympics, knowing that Long Beach will host the competition?
Crabb: Yeah, it’s definitely an exciting time having the Olympics in Long Beach, and we kind of get to break it in this weekend. As you said, Tokyo didn’t go the way I wanted, but I’m going full force now. I have a great partner in Andy Benesh, who obviously went to the Paris Olympics, and if it weren’t for the Olympics being in Long Beach, and me getting a partner like Andy, I’m not even sure I’d be going for it, but because of those two things, I want to make the most of it.
You mentioned that if it wasn’t for a partner like Andy, you wouldn’t be going for it. What do you mean by that?
Crabb: I didn’t feel motivated by playing in all the international events, but now, I think, sitting out kind of lit the fire under me, and I’m really motivated now.
You’ve had different partners throughout your time. What other motivation does Andy give you?
Crabb: He’s been, in my mind, the top blocker for the U.S. the last four or five years. Seeing the professionalism he brings every day to practice, on and off the court, while traveling and when showing up to tournaments, it rubs off on you and that’s really motivating to see. And I just want to make him proud.
Why do you love volleyball?
Crabb: A lot of reasons, but it’s just a feeling I have when I’m out there on the court. It feels natural. It feels like home. I was born into a volleyball family. I had a volleyball in my hands my entire life, so I’ve always just enjoyed it.
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CM Punk appeared on “Friday Night SmackDown” ready to take on any challenger that was ready to step to him after winning the Undisputed WWE Championship against Sami Zayn.
Punk entered the ring in Oklahoma City and called back to the “Monday Night Raw” after WrestleMania 42 when he told Cody Rhodes he’d be ready to deliver if a championship opportunity fell “out of the sky.”
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Cody Rhodes and CM Punk face off during SmackDown at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Okla. (Craig Ambrosio/WWE via Getty Images)
“When championship opportunities fall out of the sky, CM Punk catches them,” he said.
Punk named potential SmackDown superstars he’d think might come for the title, including Gunther, Finn Balor, Royce Keys, Damian Priest and Trick Williams. He even said that Zayn could come back around and get his rematch if he wanted. He didn’t mention Rhodes’ name, but the “American Nightmare” came out uncalled and marched his way down to the ring.
“I don’t think you and I can run away from each other anymore,” Punk told Rhodes.
Cody Rhodes looks on during SmackDown at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Okla., on July 10, 2026. (Craig Ambrosio/WWE via Getty Images)
Rhodes agreed and mentioned that Punk would want a match with him, just “say when.” It was a quick retort from Punk, who said, “when.” SmackDown general manager Nick Aldis, who was in the ring for the segment, booked the match for SummerSlam.
Punk will defend the Undisputed WWE Championship at SummerSlam, which takes place Aug. 1 and 2 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.
First, however, Punk and Rhodes will be involved in a tag team match at Saturday Night’s Main Event in New York City next week. Aldis made the match after Gunther demanded that Aldis put him in a match against Punk. Gunther was hoping it would be for the championship. Instead, Gunther will tag with Zayn.
Gunther didn’t take too kindly to that and attacked Aldis. Rhodes came back out to break up the calamity. He wanted to take on Gunther after the show went off air but Gunther walked away.
Gunther makes his entrance during SmackDown at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Okla., on July 10, 2026. (Rich Wade/WWE via Getty Images)
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Punk definitely has his hands full as he moves to SmackDown to become a fighting champion.
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