The Sports Report: Dodgers, Craig Kimbrel fall to Pirates

Howdy, I’m your host, Houston Mitchell. Big news over the weekend, so let’s backtrack a bit and recap it.

From Steve Henson: The Dodgers appear poised to get back the right stuff from the left side.

Left-handed starters Clayton Kershaw and Andrew Heaney took major steps toward coming off the injured list long before fans arrived at Dodger Stadium on Monday night for the series opener against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Then the game began and staff ace Walker Buehler and closer Craig Kimbrel took pronounced steps backward, enabling the Pirates to escape with a 6-5 victory.

Buehler gave up two home runs in the first three innings, including a three-run shot in the second to light-hitting Tucupita Marcano. And after the Dodgers clawed back to take a one-run lead into the ninth, Kimbrel blew the save.

The winning run scored on an uncharacteristic error by first baseman Freddie Freeman, but Kimbrel had set the table with a walk and a wild pitch ahead of a run-scoring single that tied the score. Cal Mitchell shot a ground ball that handcuffed Freeman’s backhand attempt, allowing Michael Chavis to score.

Trailing by a run in the eighth, the Dodgers scored twice when Trea Turner’s leadoff hustle double was followed with two out by Justin Turner’s RBI double and a bloop single by Chris Taylor that landed squarely between three Pirates fielders as Turner crossed the plate.

ANGELS

From Mike DiGiovanna: Andrew Velazquez was a teenager in the Bronx, N.Y., when he reached a crossroads in life, with one track leading toward a potential future in baseball and the other down a path of possible destruction.

If the kid who would grow up to be this year’s Angels shortstop, a diminutive defensive whiz who has transformed the infield with his spectacular play, didn’t see the whole situation clearly at the time, his father did.

Kenneth Velazquez grew up in South Bronx, in the Moore Houses projects on East 149th Street and Jackson Avenue. He spent 20 years in the New York Police Dept., working undercover in narcotics during the crack-cocaine epidemic and as a detective in the 42nd Precinct near Yankee Stadium.

The summer Andrew turned 14, Kenneth saw his son drifting away from baseball — skipping practices with his youth team, declining to try out for the Gothams, a New York City-based travel-ball program — and toward the temptations he saw destroy so many lives.

“He wasn’t running in the streets, but he was hanging out with people that he didn’t normally hang out with, or kids who were turning the wrong way,” Kenneth said. “I was a cop. I knew it.

“So I told him, ‘Those kids are no good. You should steer clear of them. But I’m gonna give you the leash. You go and find out what you want to do in your life.’ ”

UCLA GYMNASTICS

From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: More than 175 current and former gymnasts and parents, including Olympic medalists and UCLA stars, are expressing their support for former UCLA coach Chris Waller in a statement provided to The Times.

Among those expressing gratitude for Waller’s dedication after the coach resigned in April: Olympians Samantha Peszek, Mohini Bhardwaj Barry and Danusia Francis; UCLA star Katelyn Ohashi; and current UCLA gymnasts Emily Lee, Emma Malabuyo and Ana Padarariu. Waller’s three-year tenure as the celebrated gymnastics program’s head coach ended amid controversy about how he and his staff handled a preseason incident involving racist language used by a former UCLA gymnast.

Despite the abrupt end to his 20-year UCLA coaching career, his supporters from the club, college and international levels highlighted how he encouraged and supported them at UCLA and through his club Wallers GymJam Academy, which he and his wife sold in 2021.

“For those of us fortunate enough to have trained under Chris, he empowered us, respected us, guided us with humility and compassion,” the statement read in part. “He drew greatness from within us. For some, it was greatness we never knew we had. Chris taught us that discovering one’s potential is a lifelong pursuit. His dedication to helping each of us become the best version of ourselves is something that we have taken into our lives far beyond gymnastics. It’s a gift that inspires us to lift others up in the same way.”

Statement in support of Chris Waller

UCLA BASEBALL

UCLA has been seeded second in the NCAA baseball tournament’s Auburn Regional and will open play Friday against Florida State, it was announced Monday.

The Bruins (38-22) are among the five Pac-12 Conference teams to be selected for the Division I tournament, which begins with 16 games on Friday. They will play the Seminoles (33-23) at 9 a.m. PDT, followed by Auburn (37-19) taking on Southeastern Louisiana (30-29). UCLA last won an NCAA title in 2013.

HORSE RACING

From John Cherwa: The infield at Santa Anita had once again been transformed into a carnival atmosphere during the three-day Memorial Day weekend. Besides the normal rides and games employed to occupy the attention of the non-betting members of the family, there were Corgi races. And who doesn’t like to see something that resembles the everyday dog break from a makeshift gate with little idea of what they are supposed to do for a couple dozen yards?

But the real transformation at the legendary Arcadia track has been its attention to, and with great success, in improving equine safety. It needed to erase the memory of 2019 when Santa Anita was a national pariah in the wake of an incredible spike in the number of horse deaths.

Monday was the last big day for the track in its marathon six-month season with three Grade 1 races, including an automatic qualifier for the turf Mile in the Breeders’ Cup on Nov. 5 at Keeneland in Kentucky. Santa Anita is expected to host the Breeders’ Cup for the 11th time next year. No announcement has been made, but the Breeders’ Cup generally follows a California-Kentucky rotation.

Racing will continue at Santa Anita with nine more days of racing, finishing up on June 19. So far, in six months, Santa Anita has had eight horse fatalities. Two have been racing, five in training and one by sudden death, which is often associated with a cardiac event. Besides enhanced safety measures currently in play, there have also been fewer weekly races and a slightly smaller horse population.

By comparison, in 2019 Santa Anita reached that number by Jan. 21, finishing with 30 by the end of the meeting. The track shut down for two weeks at the height of the crisis.

If there are no more fatalities, that’s a 73% reduction.

SOCCER

A consortium fronted by Dodgers part-owner Todd Boehly completed the purchase of Chelsea on Monday for 2.5 billion pounds ($3.2 billion) — the highest ever for a sports team.

It marked the end of the trophy-filled, 19-year tenure of Roman Abramovich, the Russian oligarch who was forced to sell the club in March after being sanctioned by the British government over his links to Russian President Vladimir Putin following the invasion of Ukraine.

“We are honored to become the new custodians of Chelsea Football Club,” Boehly said. “We’re all in — 100% — every minute of every match.”

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NHL PLAYOFFS

Schedule and results
All times Pacific
Second round
Western Conference

Colorado (C1) vs. St. Louis (C3)
Colorado 3, St. Louis 2 (OT)
St. Louis 4, Colorado 1
Colorado 5, St. Louis 2
Colorado 6, St. Louis 3
St. Louis 5, Colorado 4 (OT)
Colorado 3, St. Louis 2

Calgary (P1) vs. Edmonton (P2)
Calgary 9, Edmonton 6
Edmonton 5, Calgary 3
Edmonton 4, Calgary 1
Edmonton 5, Calgary 3
Edmonton 5, Calgary 4 (OT)

Eastern Conference

Florida (A1) vs. Tampa Bay (A3)
Tampa Bay 4, Florida 1
Tampa Bay 2, Florida 1
Tampa Bay 5, Florida 1
Tampa Bay 2, Florida 0

Carolina (M1) vs. New York Rangers (M2)
Carolina 2, New York 1 (OT)
Carolina 2, New York 0
New York 3, Carolina 1
New York 4, Carolina 1
Carolina 3, New York 1
New York 5, Carolina 2
New York 6, Carolina 2

Conference finals
Western
All games on TNT
Colorado (C1) vs. Edmonton (P2)
Tonight at Colorado, 5 p.m.
Thursday at Colorado, 5 p.m.
Saturday at Edmonton, 5 p.m.
Monday at Edmonton, 5 p.m.
*Wed., June 8 at Colorado, TBD
*Friday, June 10 at Edmonton, TBD
*Sunday, June 12 at Colorado, TBD

Eastern
All games on ESPN
New York Rangers (M2) vs. Tampa Bay (A3)
Wednesday at New York, 5 p.m.
Friday at New York, 5 p.m.
Sunday at Tampa Bay, noon
Tuesday, June 7 at Tampa Bay, 5 p.m.
*Thursday, June 9 at New York, 5 p.m.
*Saturday, June 11 at Tampa Bay, 5 p.m.
*Tuesday, June 14 at New York, 5 p.m.

*-if necessary

NBA PLAYOFFS

Schedule and results
All times Pacific
NBA FINALS
All games on ABC

Boston vs. Golden State

Thursday at Golden State, 6 p.m.
Sunday at Golden State, 5 p.m.
Wed., June 8 at Boston, 6 p.m.
Friday, June 10 at Boston, 6 p.m.
*Monday, June 13 at Golden State, 6 p.m.
*Thursday, June 16 at Boston, 6 p.m.
*Sunday, June 19 at Golden State, 5 p.m.

*-if necessary

THIS DATE IN SPORTS

1927 — Detroit first baseman Johnny Neun records an unassisted triple play in the ninth inning to end the 1-0 win over the Cleveland Indians. Neun grabs a Homer Summa line drive, tags Charlie Jamieson at first and outruns Glenn Myatt to tag second.

1938 — Henry Armstrong beats Barney Ross for the world welterweight title.

1942 — Sam Snead wins the PGA Championship, beating Jim Turnesa in the final round 2 and 1.

1949 — Sam Snead wins the PGA Championship, defeating Johnny Palmer in the final round 3 and 2.

1965 — Jim Clark becomes the first non-U.S. driver in 49 years to win the Indianapolis 500.

1983 — The Philadelphia 76ers win the NBA championship with a 115-108 victory over the Lakers, completing a four-game sweep.

1987 — The Edmonton Oilers win their third Stanley Cup by beating the Philadelphia Flyers 3-1 in Game 7.

1992 — Ayrton Senna wins his fourth consecutive Monaco Grand Prix to end Nigel Mansell’s season-opening winning streak at five races.

1997 — Ila Borders becomes the first woman to pitch in a regular-season pro baseball game, in the sixth inning of the St. Paul Saints’ Northern League game against Sioux Falls. She struggles, giving up three earned runs without getting an out.

2001 — Pat Day becomes the third jockey to reach 8,000 wins by guiding Camden Park to a one-length victory on the turf in the sixth race at Churchill Downs. The 47-year-old Day trails only Laffit Pincay Jr. (9,147) and Bill Shoemaker (8,833).

2002 — Jason Kidd becomes the first player in 35 years to record three triple-doubles in an NBA playoff series, and the New Jersey Nets finish off the Boston Celtics with a 96-88 victory in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals. He joins Oscar Robertson (1963) and Wilt Chamberlain (1967) as the only players with three triple-doubles in a series.

2007 — LeBron James scores a career playoff-high 48 points to lead Cleveland to a 109-107, Game 5 win over Detroit in two overtimes. James is the first player to score 25 straight points for a team in the postseason while scoring 29 of the Cavaliers’ final 30 points.

2008 — Usain Bolt sets the world record in the 100 meters with a time of 9.72 seconds at the Reebok Grand Prix in New York. Bolt is .02 seconds faster than the old record held by fellow Jamaican, Asafa Powell.

2009 — Rafael Nadal’s unbeaten run at the French Open ends when the four-time defending champion loses to Robin Soderling of Sweden 6-2, 6-7 (2), 6-4, 7-6 (2) in the fourth round. Nadal’s record winning streak at Roland Garros ends at 31 matches.

2009 — Stephen Cardullo sets a tournament record with seven hits, including three of Florida State’s NCAA-record 15 doubles, as the Seminoles routs Ohio State 37-6 to advance to the super regionals.

2011 — Austrian player Daniel Koellerer is been banned for life by a tennis anti-corruption unit for attempting to fix matches. Koellerer, who was ranked No. 55 in 2009, is found guilty of three violations of the Uniform Tennis Anti-Corruption Program between October 2009 and July 2010.

2012 — Kevin Durant scores 22 points, Thabo Sefolosha sets playoff career-bests with 19 points and six steals, and the Oklahoma City Thunder snap San Antonio’s 20-game winning streak by beating the Spurs 102-82 in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals.

Compiled by the Associated Press

And finally

Usain Bolt sets the world record in the 100 meters. Watch and listen here.