Sports
Matt Sauer saves the Dodgers' bullpen in rout of Marlins
The Dodgers’ early season bullpen usage had become so much of a concern, even minor-league pitcher Matt Sauer was keeping tabs on it from the team’s triple-A Oklahoma City affiliate.
Which is why when he took the mound following a call-up to the majors Tuesday night, he was determined to give the Dodgers some badly needed innings.
“Even when we’re down in OKC, you still follow the big league club,” Sauer said. “And I knew the bullpen has been used a lot.”
Indeed, entering Tuesday, no other team had relied upon its relievers more heavily than the Dodgers. Thanks to injuries and ineffectiveness from the starting rotation, their bullpen’s 126 innings were far and away the most in the majors.
Despite that the Dodgers had no choice but to deploy their second bullpen game of the opening month. Only this time they were able to stay away from their most important arms.
Instead, in a 15-2 win over the Miami Marlins, Sauer came to the rescue with five innings of relief, providing the type of length that too often has eluded Dodgers starters.
“I had a goal of at least five innings,” said Sauer, a 26-year-old right-hander who earned his first major league victory. “[To] help the boys down in the ‘pen a little bit.”
Shohei Ohtani reacts toward the bullpen after homering in the first inning.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
As pitching injuries have piled up, the bullpen has been strained in order to compensate.
Entering Tuesday only 10 teams had topped 110 innings from relievers The Dodgers had six relievers with more than 13 innings pitched. No other club had more than four.
“The thing that’s probably most disconcerting is the bullpen leading Major League Baseball in bullpen innings,” manager Dave Roberts said Monday, after Tyler Glasnow became the latest member of the starting staff to land on the injured list.
“That’s where my head is at,” Roberts added, “as far as making sure we don’t red-line these guys.”
That will be no easy task over the next couple of weeks. Starting Friday the Dodgers will play 19 games in 20 days. And with Glasnow and Blake Snell on the IL, they will begin it with just four healthy starters on their active roster.
“We thought our starters would be a position of strength for us from a workload standpoint, and unfortunately we lead all of baseball in innings for relievers,” pitching coach Mark Prior said Tuesday. “Sometimes that’s a good thing. But this early in the year, it’s probably not.”
Especially not after what the relievers did last October, combining for 82 innings in a grueling World Series run.
“Guys did some really heavy lifting,” Prior said.
And a short offseason only gave them so much time to recover. Evan Phillips and Michael Kopech both started the season on the IL, nursing injuries they sustained in the playoffs. While Phillips has returned, another key reliever, Blake Treinen, has gone down because of a forearm strain.
It made Tuesday a seemingly daunting task, with the Dodgers opting for the type of bullpen-game strategy they used so often last October.
But then in an unexpected twist, Sauer was able to provide a well-timed reprieve.
After rookie left-hander Jack Dreyer took down the first two innings, giving up a lone run after Teoscar Hernández misplayed a ball in right field, Sauer found a groove in his 78-pitch outing. He gave up just one run on five hits. He recorded four strikeouts. And most importantly, he achieved his goal of five innings.
“I can’t say enough about his performance,” Roberts said. “We needed every bit of it, considering where our ‘pen is at.”
It also allowed the Dodgers (20-10) to go to work at the plate, where they set season highs in runs, hits (18) and walks (eight) en route to their most lopsided victory.
Shohei Ohtani led off with a home run, his seventh of the season and first since returning from the paternity list last week.
Hernández atoned for his defensive miscue with two run-scoring doubles, tying the New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge for the most RBIs in the majors with 29.
Mookie Betts had a two-run single as part of a two-hit performance, raising his batting average to .240 as he continues to try to snap out of his opening-month slump.
And Cy Young-winning Marlins starter Sandy Alcantara never found his footing, exiting in the third inning with the Dodgers ahead 7-1.
“Recently it just seems like team-wise we’re beating a starter, creating stressful innings, taking walks, [and] situationally we’ve been good,” Roberts said. “This is what we potentially can do. You just give yourself a fighting chance when you can kind of take those at-bats.”
The game got so out of hand, the Dodgers didn’t even need to use a real pitcher in the ninth inning. Instead, after low-leverage right-hander Luis García pitched the eighth, utility man Kiké Hernández took the mound for the final three outs, a plastic “pitching helmet” covering his cap.
“To stay away from some other leverage guys was big,” Roberts said, “and puts us in a good spot.”
Not only for Wednesday’s series finale but also the taxing stretch of schedule to follow.
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
New Dallas Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens blamed artificial intelligence for critical comments of his old team that surfaced on social media over the weekend.
A screenshot of the alleged comments from a post on Instagram spread over X on Sunday. The remarks took a shot at the Pittsburgh Steelers’ organization, calling them the “cheapest,” and pointing out the team has traded other wide receivers before they could negotiate a new deal with them.
Steelers wide receiver George Pickens on the sidelines during the Cleveland Browns game at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, Dec. 8, 2024. (Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images)
But Pickens pushed back on the remarks in a post on his own Instagram Stories, which has since been deleted.
“Literally on a plane,” his message read. “No service. Just landed and seen straight lies from Pitt fans. Stop with AI trying to make a story. I’m happy for everything the Steel City did for me. Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers out there.”
SHEDEUR SANDERS ‘THANKFUL’ AFTER GOING THROUGH BROWNS’ ROOKIE MINICAMP
Steelers wide receiver George Pickens catches an 11-yard touchdown pass in front of New York Jets cornerback Brandin Echols at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, Oct. 20, 2024. (Barry Reeger-Imagn Images)
He was a source of consternation for the Steelers toward the end of his run. He argued with fans, fought a Cleveland Browns player and was called out by Mike Tomlin for multiple infractions during a game. He also congratulated Kansas City Chiefs stars Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce in front of Netflix broadcast cameras in an odd moment following Pittsburgh’s Christmas Day loss.
He had 59 catches for 900 yards and three touchdowns in 14 games for the Steelers in 2024.
Steelers general manager Omar Khan talked about the move on Friday.
George Pickens of the Pittsburgh Steelers stands on the sidelines during the national anthem before the Buccaneers game at Raymond James Stadium on Aug. 11, 2023, in Tampa, Florida. (Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images)
“I wouldn’t use the word disappointment,” he said, via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “We had three years with George. We had some exciting times. It was just time. The fresh start for both sides was the right thing.”
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
MaxPreps.com records date to the 2004-05 school year, documenting Reseda High’s baseball team posting one losing record after another. There was 1-18 in 2006, 3-11 in 2013, 3-13 last season.
With at least 20 years of losing records, the Regents have stunned the City Section this season, winning the Valley League with an 11-1 record and going 12-7 overall to earn a No. 13 seed in the City Section Division II playoffs that begin on Tuesday.
Moving from the Valley Mission League has given the Regents relief, but credit also goes to second-year coaches Daniel Swartz and Albert Silvera, former Beverly Hills High teammates from the 1980s who took over a losing program. Silvera was a chef, Swartz a sports producer and together, they’ve helped create a success story.
Teaching a baseball class in the fall got the team better prepared for the spring season, enabling 11 seniors to be part of a special year.
Senior Don Barajas leads the team in hitting with 33 hits, including 10 doubles. He also has struck out 59 in 31 innings.
Reseda used to be part of the West Valley League in the 1990s, having to face Chatsworth and El Camino Real.
…. Southern Section baseball and softball pairings will be announced on Monday.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
NBA reporters shared their blunt reactions to Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green’s plea to the media to stop painting him to be an “angry Black man” after Game 2 of the team’s NBA playoffs series against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Green made his comments in the locker room. He picked up what was his fifth technical foul of the playoffs. He said there was an “agenda” to portray him as an “angry Black man.”
Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green warms up before Game 3 of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Saturday, May 10, 2025, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
ESPN reporter Tim McMahon made pointed comments on an episode of “The Hoop Collective” after Game 2 was finished.
“Oh, God. You know what? Go away, Draymond. Shut up, dude. Do not play victim here. Don’t play the victim here. Stop doing flagrant stuff. We’re sick of it. We’re sick of you doing stupid, flagrant crap on a regular basis. It’s not an agenda, Draymond,” McMahon said. “You get break after break after break after break, and you keep on pushing the line.
“It was not an agenda to make you look angry when you punched your teammate in the face. It was not an agenda to make you look angry when you grabbed Rudy Gobert and put him in a sleeper hold. It was not an agenda to make you look angry when you punched or smacked, or whatever you want to call it, Jusuf Nurkic upside the head.”
Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green reacts after missing a shot during the first half of Game 2 of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Thursday, May 8, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
ANTHONY EDWARDS’ 28 SECOND-HALF POINTS LEAD TIMBERWOLVES PAST WARRIORS
McMahon also pushed back on the notion that Green had leaned into counseling off the floor.
“Draymond is full of crap. He’s just so full of crap that his breath stinks. Like what are we talking about here, dude? Please,” he added.
Green was hit with the technical foul in the second quarter of Game 2.
“I’m not an angry Black man. I am a very successful, educated Black man with a great family, and I am great at basketball and great at what I do,” he said after the game. “The agenda to try to keep making me look like an angry Black man is crazy. I’m sick of it. It’s ridiculous.”
He had two points, four assists, two rebounds and two steals in the Game 3 loss. He fouled out with 4:38 in the game.
Green has a long history of flagrant and technical fouls in the NBA.
He put Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert in a chokehold during the 2023-24 season. In the same season, he swung and hit Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkic in the face.
Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert, center, and Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) reach for a rebound during the first half of Game 1 of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series, Tuesday, May 6, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
He punched Jordan Poole in a Warriors practice in 2022. He was suspended for Game 5 of the 2016 NBA Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers. LeBron James engineered a comeback to win the championship.
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
AI tool scans faces to predict biological age and cancer survival
Cowboys' George Pickens blames alleged viral remarks about Steelers on AI
Hackers can steal money and make your bank account look intact
Sam Altman's eye-scanning orbs have arrived, sparking curiosity and fear
As L.A. resident sues zoo over Billy and Tina, Cher says elephants have 'served their time'
Why Marjorie Taylor Greene was ‘kicked out’ of the Freedom Caucus according to Rep. Buck
Colorado Rockies game no. 116 thread: Zac Gallen vs José Ureña
See it: Tesla crashes into Columbus convention center at 70 mph
Fox News Politics: Georgia the whole day through
Death of missing Oregon girl found in stream ruled homicide
Von der Leyen, Costa and Metsola took private jet to Luxembourg event
Trump to sign order to cut some U.S. drug prices to match those abroad
‘Viva Papa Leo!’ At U.S. Masses, Dawn of Homegrown Pope Brings an Air of Electricity.
DHS says Massachusetts city council member 'incited chaos' as ICE arrested 'violent criminal alien'
Israel attacks Yemen’s Hodeidah, striking port areas
-
Cleveland, OH1 week agoWho is Gregory Moore? Former divorce attorney charged for murder of Aliza Sherman in downtown Cleveland
-
News1 week agoU.S. and China Dig In on Trade War, With No Plans for Formal Talks
-
Politics1 week agoTrump posts AI image of himself as Pope amid Vatican's search for new pontiff
-
Politics1 week agoRep. Mikie Sherrill suggests third Trump impeachment as she campaigns to be next New Jersey governor
-
News1 week agoFamily statement: Rodney Hinton Jr. walked out of body camera footage meeting with CPD prior to officer death
-
News1 week agoAre Politicians Too Old? California Democrats Want to Debate an Age Cap.
-
World1 week ago‘Don’t see a major war with India, but have to be ready’: Pakistan ex-NSA
-
News1 week agoFather Whose Son Was Shot by Cincinnati Police Hits Deputy With Car, Killing Him