Sports
Pitching and defensive struggles prove costly as Dodgers drop series to Phillies
PHILADELPHIA — On a windy, wet and dreary afternoon at Citizens Bank Park on Sunday, the Dodgers twice watched a lead slip frustratingly from their grasp.
It first happened in the third inning, when a steady drizzle, slippery ball and muddy mound caused Tyler Glasnow to come unglued in a six-run implosion.
It happened again in the seventh, when the Dodgers stormed back in front with five unanswered runs only to let a sloppy inning of defense cost them their first series defeat of the season.
Such were the lapses that decided the Philadelphia Phillies’ 8-7 win in Sunday’s series rubber match; reminding a Dodgers team that won eight straight games to start the season that they’re also capable of beating themselves.
“Two evenly matched teams, good series,” manager Dave Roberts said. “We just didn’t do some fundamental things well today.”
The Dodgers’ problems began almost as soon as the rain did, derailing what had been a promising start from Glasnow.
Over his first two innings, the veteran right-hander was cruising through his second start of his second Dodgers season, seemingly picking up where he left off after his scoreless five-inning season debut the week before.
He stranded a walk in the first. He worked around a single in the second. And when he took the mound for the third, he was working with a two-run cushion, thanks to an opposite-field first-inning blast from Teoscar Hernández — the first of two home runs he hit in a five-RBI performance.
At the start of the third, however, a steady drizzle had begun to descend from low overcast clouds.
And within moments, the impact it had on Glasnow became abundantly clear.
First, Glasnow began kicking mud from his cleats between almost every pitch. Then, he repeatedly dried his hand by wiping it on his pants and tried to get a grip with repeated grabs of the rosin bag.
At one point, pitching coach Mark Prior came out for a visit alongside a trainer, ensuring that Glasnow wasn’t battling any physical limitations beyond the rain-soaked mound.
None of the remedies, however, could get the pitcher back into a rhythm. Glasnow walked the first three batters he faced in the inning. And as the pressure mounted, he failed to find a way to settle himself back down.
“Once I had a couple poorly gripped balls, I think I lost my aggression and rhythm,” Glasnow said, wishing he “could have just eliminated the thought a little bit more about the mound and the conditions, and just tried to get out of my head.”
“I think I just lost some feel and then that kind of compounded into a bad inning,” he added. “I was just thinking about other stuff.”
Granted, pitching in such conditions has been a rarity in Glasnow’s career. Over the last eight years, sunny Dodger Stadium and Tampa Bay’s domed Tropicana Field have been his home stadiums.
But, Glasnow noted, “there’s not really any excuses. I just kind of have to go out and find a way to execute next time.”
In agreement, Roberts added: “He just couldn’t reset and regroup to kind of slow the game down, and it just went sideways on us.”
Indeed, after an RBI bloop single and run-scoring wild pitch tied the score, Roberts replaced Glasnow with left-handed reliever Alex Vesia — who promptly surrendered a grand slam on his first pitch to Nick Castellanos.
In all, Dodgers pitchers issued 11 walks in what was easily their worst performance of the young season. The Phillies, who got a 5⅔ innings of four-run ball from left-handed starter Cristopher Sánchez, yielded only two.
“The weather, it’s a factor, but every pitcher that took the mound today had to deal with it,” Roberts said. “You’ve still got to find a way to reset and try to minimize some damage and put the ball in play. But we just couldn’t do that today.”
Despite being down 6-2 at that point, the Dodgers didn’t go away quietly.
Hernández almost single-handedly dragged them back within striking distance, launching another opposite-field home run off the right-field foul pole in the fourth inning before lining an RBI double inside the third-base bag in the fifth.
“I was trying to get a little bit more space between home plate and the batter’s box, just so I can get more space to get the sinker,” Hernández said, noting his three-hit game was aided by an adjustment he made to his stance in preparation for facing Sánchez.
“I got some [pitches] out over the plate,” Hernández added, “and I was just ready for it.”
It helped set the stage for the Dodgers’ three-run go-ahead rally in the seventh.
Mookie Betts had the key hit that inning, belting an RBI double to center. Hernández hit a sacrifice fly that tied the score, giving him his fifth RBI on the day (one shy of his career high) and 13th of the season (second-most in the National League).
Then, Will Smith narrowly missed a two-run home run by only a few feet off the top of the right-field wall, settling instead for an RBI double that pushed the Dodgers in front 7-6.
However, the Phillies (7-2) responded in the next half-inning. And once again, the Dodgers did themselves no favors.
The inning began when Andy Pages misread a 107-mph missile from Bryce Harper in the outfield, taking a few steps into the left-center field gap before retreating too late and letting the ball get over his head.
Blake Treinen then gave up a walk and score-tying RBI single, before Edmundo Sosa outraced a bouncing throw to first base from Tommy Edman that negated a potential inning-ending double-play and allowed the go-ahead run to score with two outs.
“We kept competing and gave ourselves a chance to win,” Roberts said. “But yeah, we put ourselves behind the eight ball today.”
As a result, the Dodgers dropped a winnable series against a rival World Series contender — failing to overcome their own self-inflicted mistakes, as well as their host’s typically sloppy early-April weather.
Sports
Michigan football staffer who had alleged affair with Sherrone Moore still employed by university
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The football staffer who allegedly had a romantic relationship with fired head coach Sherrone Moore is still employed by the University of Michigan.
The woman has served as Moore’s executive assistant.
“There is no change in her employment status,” a Michigan spokesperson told Fox News.
The woman received a massive pay bump between 2024 and 2025.
Former Michigan football coach Sherrone Moore appears via video in court in Ann Arbor, Mich., Dec. 12, 2025. (Ryan Sun/AP Photo)
The individual allegedly linked to Moore, whose LinkedIn profile lists her as an executive assistant to the head football coach at the University of Michigan, made just over $58,000 in 2023 and 2024, according to public payroll information. In the 2025 fiscal year, though, her salary jumped to $99,000, according to a salary disclosure report from the University of Michigan.
During Moore’s arraignment Friday, prosecutors alleged he and the staffer had been in an “intimate relationship for a number of years,” which they say the woman ended on Monday. Prosecutors further claim Moore sent multiple text messages and made phone calls that prompted the woman to report the situation to the university and cooperate with its investigation.
Moore was released from jail Friday on $25,000 bond, according to police records obtained by Fox News Digital.
However, it’s unclear whether Moore will be returning home to his family.
Moore’s attorney, Joseph Simon, declined to say whether the coach will be going home to his wife and three children while speaking to reporters at an Ann Arbor courthouse Friday.
FIRED MICHIGAN COACH SHERRONE MOORE ACCUSED OF STALKING VICTIM ‘FOR MONTHS’ IN POLICE DISPATCH AUDIO
“I’m just going to not answer that question,” Simon said when asked if Moore was “going to be able to go home.”
Moore has been married to wife Kelli since 2015, and they have three daughters together — Shiloh, Solei and Sadie. Simon also declined to comment on the “mood” of his client after Moore was charged.
The conditions of Moore’s release require him to wear a GPS tether and continue mental health treatment and forbid him from communicating with the victim.
Moore was fired Wednesday, and the University of Michigan quickly announced it found credible evidence he had an “inappropriate relationship” with a staffer. Moore was then detained by police Wednesday after news of his dismissal broke.
Moore was arraigned in court Friday on stalking and home invasion charges. According to prosecutors, he faces a felony charge of home invasion in the third degree and two misdemeanor charges of stalking and breaking and entering without the owner’s permission.
Both misdemeanor charges are related to a “domestic relationship.”
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Michigan Wolverines head football coach Sherrone Moore during warmups before a game against the Northwestern Wildcats at Wrigley Field in Chicago Nov. 15, 2025. (Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images)
When Moore was fired from his position as head coach, prosecutors said, it prompted him to visit the woman’s home.
Moore then allegedly “barged” his way into the residence, grabbed a butter knife and a pair of kitchen scissors and began threatening his own life. According to prosecutors, Moore allegedly told the staffer, “My blood is on your hands” and “You ruined my life.”
Prosecutors claimed Moore “terrorized” the staffer and that they believed him to be a “risk to public safety.”
Fox News’ Patrick McGovern contributed to this report.
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As if Simi Valley coach Jim Benkert doesn’t have enough things to do, he’s taken on the task of putting on the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame high school all-star games Dec. 20 at Simi Valley High.
At 4 p.m. there will be a flag football game featuring players from the San Gabriel Chapter against the Coastal Valley Chapter. At 7, players from Ventura County will take on Los Angeles County in an 11-man game.
Agoura’s Dustin Croick is coaching the West team that includes his outstanding quarterback, Gavin Gray. Taft’s Thomas Randolph is coaching the East team that has a strong group of quarterbacks, including Michael Wynn Jr. of St. Genevieve.
Simi Valley High will be the site for all-star football games on Dec. 20.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
Tickets are $10 and will help pay for the growing costs of all-star games, from uniforms to insurance.
Benkert, one of the winningest coaches in state history with more than 300 victories, said he’s determined to make it work.
“We’re trying to keep all-star games alive,” he said. “If we don’t do it, there’s nothing.”
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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The Utah Utes will be ending an era when they play against Nebraska in the Las Vegas Bowl Dec. 31.
It will be head coach Kyle Whittingham’s last game as head coach after the 66-year-old announced Friday he is stepping down. Whittingham is the winningest coach in program history, going 117-88 over 22 seasons.
“The time is right to step down from my position as the head football coach at the University of Utah,” Whittingham said in a statement Friday.
Utah Utes head coach Kyle Whittingham on the sideline during the first half against the Baylor Bears at McLane Stadium in Waco, Texas, Nov. 15, 2025. (Chris Jones/Imagn Images)
“It’s been an honor and a privilege to lead the program for the past 21 years, and I’m very grateful for the relationships forged with all the players and assistant coaches that have worked so hard and proudly worn the drum and feather during our time here.”
Whittingham co-coached the Fiesta Bowl with Utah in 2004 and then took over as the permanent head coach the following season. Whittingham led Utah to a winning record in 18 of his 21 seasons.
This season, Utah is 10-2 and at one point ranked No. 13 in the AP poll, just missing out on the College Football Playoff (CFB).
BILL BELICHICK BREAKS UP WITH MEMBERS OF UNC COACHING STAFF AFTER TUMULTUOUS SEASON
Utah Utes head coach Kyle Whittingham reacts during the second half against the Kansas Jayhawks at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium in Lawrence, Kan., Nov. 28, 2025. (Jay Biggerstaff/Imagn Images)
Whittingham was named the Western Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year in 1981 in his senior year.
Before becoming a coach, Whittingham played in the USFL and the CFL from 1982 to 1984. He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at BYU.
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Whittingham joined the Utah staff in 1994 and rose through the ranks. He began as the defensive line coach and eventually became the defensive coordinator before becoming the team’s head coach.
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His final game on the sideline will be the team’s bowl game against Nebraska. Whittingham, who is 11-6 in bowl games as a head coach, will look to end his tenure with a win on Dec. 31.
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