Sports
Reinvigorated Mookie Betts provides the spark in Dodgers' blowout win over Padres
This time, Mookie Betts did not take a hard left-hand turn between first and second base and start jogging toward the third-base dugout in Petco Park.
One night after the Dodgers right fielder thought he was robbed of another home run by San Diego Padres left fielder Jurickson Profar, a misunderstanding that resulted in an awkward trot that included a U-turn from the back of the mound to second base, Betts took a more traditional route around the bases in the first inning Wednesday night.
That’s because there was little doubt his 401-foot shot off Padres starter Dylan Cease would clear the center-field fence, the homer setting the tone for an 8-0 National League Division Series Game 4 victory over the Padres that tied the best-of-five series at two games apiece and set up a winner-take-all Game 5 in Dodger Stadium Friday night.
“When you come on the road, you can’t just book a homer or a crooked number in the first inning — hitting is still hard,” Roberts said. “But for us to strike first, to get to Cease early, to get to their bullpen, obviously it gave us momentum. And it started with Mookie right there.”
It did not end there for Betts, who followed Shohei Ohtani’s two-out RBI single in the top of the second by slapping reliever Bryan Hoeing’s first pitch into right field for a clutch RBI single and a 3-0 Dodgers lead.
It marked the second straight game in which Betts hit a home run and a single in his first two at-bats, though his two-hit effort on Tuesday night came in a 6-5 Game 3 loss. Will Smith also hit a game-breaking two-run homer in the third inning, and Gavin Lux hit a tack-on two-run shot in the seventh.
“Mookie has been big,” Roberts said. “Obviously, we’ve got a lot of good players, but it’s not on one player, clearly, and today Mookie shined. [Tuesday] night, Mookie shined. And Will had a big hit.
“That’s the great thing about having good players. They don’t need to do anything more than they’re capable of. They just have to do what their abilities allow for. And that’s what they did tonight.”
Mookie Betts follows through on his solo home run in the first inning Wednesday against the Padres.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
That was the gist of Roberts’ message to Betts during Monday’s off-day workout, after Betts had gone hitless in four at-bats in Sunday’s 10-2 Game 2 loss to extend a playoff slump in which he hit .068 (three for 44) in 12 games dating to Game 4 of the 2021 NL Championship Series, including 0 for 11 in last season’s NLDS loss to Arizona.
There was so much noise rattling around in Betts’ head and he was feeling so much negative energy from Dodgers fans and the media that he decided to unplug from the outside world.
“I had to turn off all social media because that was all negative,” Betts said. “I had to get some positive vibes in me, and my team did it.”
Roberts stressed to Betts on Monday that he didn’t need to be a playoff superhero, that being Mookie was enough.
“When you look at [great] postseason performers, it’s not that they over-performed their career stat line from the regular season — what they’ve done [in the playoffs] is what they’ve done in the regular season,” Roberts said Monday.
“But on that stage they’re considered [great] postseason players. So in this case, all we expect is for Mookie to be the same player he is in the regular season. And that’s it.”
Those words apparently got lost amid the estimated 300-400 swings Betts took in the batting cage Monday.
“I don’t even remember Doc’s message on Monday, to be honest, it seems like it was so long ago,” Betts said. “I think I just needed to see one fall, man, and to get a little confidence. My teammates did an amazing job trying to instill confidence in me.”
One teammate who has been in Betts’ ear constantly is infielder Max Muncy, whose locker is next to Betts’ in the Dodgers home clubhouse.
“When they walk Shohei to pitch to him and he gets a big hit, I tell him, ‘Hey, you’re getting paid $400 million too, bro, you’re still one of the best players in the game,’ ” Muncy said. “Sometimes you’ve just got to give them a reminder.”
In case Betts forgot, he is an eight-time All-Star, a six-time Gold Glove Award winner and the 2018 American League most valuable player who starred on both sides of the ball while leading the Boston Red Sox to the 2018 World Series title and the Dodgers to the 2020 World Series title.
“I know he’s had his struggles in the postseason, but he’s still one of the best players in baseball,” Muncy said. “He’s been an unbelievable postseason player in the past. He had a rough stretch. I think the biggest thing for him was getting out of his head. Now that he’s had a couple of hits, he can get back to being Mookie Betts.”
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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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