Sports
Jason Heyward's pinch-hit, three-run homer lifts Dodgers past Mariners
Jason Heyward hammered a pinch-hit three-run home run to right field in the bottom of the eighth inning Tuesday night to break a tie score and lift the Dodgers to a 6-3 victory over the Seattle Mariners before a crowd of 48,395 in Chavez Ravine.
The third pinch-hit homer of his 15-year career may have also helped save Heyward’s job with the Dodgers, who will soon have to decide who utility man Chris Taylor replaces when he comes off the injured list, with Heyward, outfielder Kevin Kiermaier and utility man Kiké Hernández the most vulnerable players.
The score was tied 3-3 when Will Smith was hit by a pitch with one out in the eighth and Max Muncy walked. Tommy Edman struck out, but Heyward turned viciously on a 99-mph fastball at the top of the zone from Mariners reliever Anthony Munoz and sent a 108-mph laser over the short wall in right for a 6-3 lead.
The Dodgers had trimmed a 3-0 deficit to 3-2 when Gavin Lux and Muncy each hit solo homers in the fourth, Lux sending a 390-foot shot to center field to continue his torrid one-month stretch and Muncy driving a 407-foot shot to the back of the right-field bullpen for his second homer in two games since returning from an oblique strain.
Lux was batting .211 with a .556 on-base-plus-slugging percentage, three homers, eight doubles and 24 RBIs in 79 games through July 19. In 29 games since, the second baseman hit .372 (35 for 94) with seven homers, 10 doubles and 21 RBIs, raising his season average to .254 and his OPS to .713.
The Dodgers tied the score 3-3 in the seventh when Edman led off with a double to right-center and scored on Mookie Betts’ clutch two-out RBI double to left.
Freddie Freeman was walked intentionally, and Teoscar Hernández lined a single to right field, but Seattle outfielder Mitch Haniger air-mailed a throw to catcher Cal Raleigh in time to nail Betts at the plate to end the inning.
Five Dodgers relievers — Alex Vesia, Ryan Brasier, Anthony Banda, Joe Kelly and Daniel Hudson — combined to give up only one hit in five scoreless innings behind struggling starter Walker Buehler, as the Dodgers maintained their National League West lead of three games over San Diego and four games over Arizona.
Buehler needed three pitches to record two outs and 79 pitches to get 10 more, which is a pretty good indication of how Tuesday night went for the right-hander, who is struggling to find some semblance of his pre-surgery form.
Buehler labored through a four-inning, three-run, seven-hit, 82-pitch start in which he struck out one, walked three and struggled with his command, his second straight shaky outing since returning from a right hip injury last week.
Buehler returned from his second Tommy John surgery in early May and went 1-4 with a 5.84 ERA in eight starts in which he gave up 10 homers in 37 innings. He hurt his hip in mid-June and spent several weeks of his two-month absence at a private training facility in Florida in an effort to “get those feels back.”
But when he returned in Milwaukee on Aug. 14, he needed 87 pitches to record 10 outs in a 3 ⅓-inning effort in which he gave up four runs — three earned — and four hits, struck out three, walked four and threw first-pitch strikes to seven of 17 batters in a 5-4 loss.
“I think what I’m looking for tonight is strike one,” manager Dave Roberts said before the game. “It’s no secret that when a pitcher gets ahead in the count, he has a lot more success. If he can get [his first-strike rate] somewhere around 60%, it’s going to be an easier path for him.”
Buehler actually did a better job of getting ahead in counts, throwing first-pitch strikes to 14 of the 21 batters he faced, but six of those at-bats in which he threw first-pitch strikes ended with hits or walks.
After giving up a two-out double to Raleigh and walking Luke Raley and Randy Arozarena to load the bases, he jumped ahead of Jorge Polanco with an 0-and-2 count. Polanco then lined a 1-2 sinker into right field for a two-run single and a 2-0 lead.
With two on and one out in the third, Buehler got ahead of Polanco again with an 0-2 count. Polanco drove a 1-2 changeup to left-center field for an RBI double and a 3-0 lead.
Buehler did well to limit damage in the third, getting Haniger on a tapper in front of the plate and Josh Rojas to ground out to first with runners on second and third to end the inning.
Buehler gave up one hit in a scoreless fourth, an inning in which he barked at plate umpire CB Bucknor about a borderline pitch to Julio Rodriguez that was called a ball, but his pitch count was too high to start the fifth.
Short hops
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, out since June 16 because of a rotator cuff strain, is scheduled to throw to hitters in a two-inning simulated game on Wednesday. Roberts said the right-hander will need one more simulated game session of three innings before going on a minor league rehabilitation assignment. … The Dodgers pushed reliever Blake Treinen’s return from the injured list from Tuesday night to Wednesday night in order to retain long-reliever Ben Casparius for one more game.
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Basketball Hall of Famer Charles Barkley sounded off on the frenzied reactions to the U.S. men’s hockey team getting invited to the White House by President Donald Trump.
Trump talked to the Olympic gold medal-winning team immediately after they defeated Canada in overtime last weekend. He said they would be invited to his State of the Union address and added that he needed to invite the women’s team as well or he would be “impeached.”
Charles Barkley sits courtside against the Minnesota Timberwolves during an NBA Cup game at Mortgage Matchup Center on Nov. 21, 2025. (Mark J. Rebilas/Imagn Images)
Trump critics took the joke as a shot at the women’s team, which sparked questions from NHL and Professional Women’s Hockey League reporters as the players returned to their respective club teams.
“I’m proud of the United States men. I’m proud of the United States women. You should have invited both of them to the White House, but it shouldn’t have been disrespect, misogyny,” Barkley said on the “Steam Room” podcast. “Like, yo, man, why do y’all have to mess everything up? Everything isn’t Democrat, Republican, conservative, liberal. That’s why we got this divided, screwed up country. Stop it man. Because, you know, the public, they’re idiots. They’re fools. They can’t think for themselves. I know y’all say stuff to trigger them. Y’all say stuff and y’all know they’re going to be fools.”
Barkley lamented that the average person would get riled up over the supposed controversy.
The U.S. team poses for a group photo after defeating Canada in the men’s ice hockey gold medal game at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Milan, Italy, on Feb. 22, 2026. (Luca Bruno/AP Photo)
“We don’t have to fall for stupidity. But we do – that’s my point. These people out here are stupid. They need something to trigger them. Just because they want us to be stupid. We don’t have to be stupid. He should have invited both teams to the White House. Simple as that. Guys who didn’t want to go shouldn’t have to explain why they didn’t go.”
The former Philadelphia 76ers, Houston Rockets and Phoenix Suns star made clear he would go to the White House regardless of whether Trump was in office.
“I’ve said this before, I’m not a Trump guy. But if I got invited to the White House, I would go. I’m not a Trump guy – I want to make that clear. But I respect the office,” Barkley said. “He’s the president of the United States. But if guys don’t want to go, I understand that too. It doesn’t have to be a talking point. It doesn’t have to be un-American.
Megan Keller (5) celebrates with a flag alongside Cayla Barnes (3) of Team United States after scoring the game-winning goal in overtime during the women’s gold medal match against Canada on Day 13 of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at Milan Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena in Milan, Italy, on Feb. 19, 2026. (Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
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“I just wish y’all would stop falling for the stupidity.”
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Three years ago, as a 14-year-old freshman, Slava Shahbazyan made it to Bakersfield for the state wrestling championships.
“It was good to get experience that young,” he said.
Then came Saturday night when he had a breakthrough moment, winning the state 165-pound championship as a 17-year-old senior for Birmingham High.
“It means everything to me,” he said. “It took four years.”
Shahbazyan, who transferred from Chaminade after his sophomore year, is set to attend Stanford and still in the hunt to be valedictorian at Birmingham. Coach Jimmy Medeiros said he was close to winning last season before finishing fourth.
“He got a lot better,” Medeiros said.
Shahbazyan has been wrestling since he was 8. “My father loves wrestling,” he said.
Two St. John Bosco wrestlers, Jesse Grajeda at 144 pounds and Michael Romero at 150 pounds, also won state titles.
Here’s the link to complete results.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
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Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Dominiq Ponder died this weekend, the team’s head coach Deion Sanders confirmed on Sunday with a social media post.
“God please comfort the Ponder family, friends and loved ones,” Sanders wrote on social media. “Dom was one of my favorites! He was Loved, Respected & a Born Leader. Let’s pray for all that knew him & had the opportunity to be in his presence. Lord you’re receiving a good 1. Comfort us Lord Comfort us.”
Ponder was 23 years old.
Details of Ponder’s death are not yet known.
Colorado head coach Deion Sanders watches his team warm up before an NCAA college football game against TCU Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025, in Fort Worth, Texas. (Tony Gutierrez/AP Photo)
Ponder, a 6-foot-5, 200-pound signal caller, joined the Buffaloes and “Coach Prime’s” program in 2024 after spending time at Bethune-Cookman before making his way to Boulder.
Last season, Ponder played just two games for the Buffaloes while serving in his backup role. He recorded two rush attempts and one pass attempt.
The Opa Locka, Fla., native also received tribute from a fellow quarterback with the Buffaloes, Colton Allen.
Bethune-Cookman QB Dominiq Ponder takes a snap during the Wildcats’ spring game Saturday, April 22, 2023, at Daytona Stadium. (IMAGN)
“Dom, you were a blessing to so many people,” Allen wrote on Instagram. “You had a presence about you that just made everything better. You brought so much joy to me and everyone around you. I’m grateful for every lift, every practice, every rep, every conversation we got to share. I’ll carry those with me for the rest of my life.”
Ponder was going to be a part of Colorado’s spring practices, which are set to begin on Monday. It’s unknown if Sanders will postpone the start due to Ponder’s passing.
Ponder also received a tribute from the University of Central Florida.
Colorado head coach Deion Sanders watches his players warm up before an NCAA college football game against Utah, Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025, in Salt Lake City. (Tyler Tate/AP Photo)
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“Our prayers are with Dominiq and the Ponder family along with all in the Colorado football program,” the university’s football account on X wrote.
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