The Sports Report: The Angels really let Shohei Ohtani down

Howdy, I’m your host, Houston Mitchell. Let’s get right to the news.

From Dylan Hernández: Six years ago, Shohei Ohtani shocked the baseball world by signing with the lowly Angels. The reason gradually became obvious over time: They would grant him every opportunity to become a two-way player in the major leagues.

Unlike the Dodgers or New York Yankees, the Angels weren’t in position to say no to him. They couldn’t tell him to abandon hitting, or, after he underwent his first reconstructive elbow surgery, pitching. Regardless of how the two-way experiment unfolded, there was never the possibility of the Angels saying to him that his individual pursuit could cost them important games. The Angels didn’t play important games.

The freedom Ohtani was afforded eventually produced the most remarkable three-season stretch in the history of the sport, as he was simultaneously a first-class pitcher and first-class hitter.

These same liberties, however, could be attributed to the lack of oversight that resulted in the unmitigated disaster that unfolded on Wednesday.

Departing from the first game of a doubleheader against the Cincinnati Reds after only 26 pitches, Ohtani underwent an examination that revealed a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. He won’t pitch for the remainder of the season. While general manager Perry Minasian said Ohtani will receive a second opinion before deciding whether to undergo another elbow operation, surgery appears likely.

Minasian said the diagnosis caught him by surprise. According to Minasian, Ohtani never mentioned anything was wrong with his elbow, so the Angels didn’t suspect anything could be wrong.

“This is the first day we’ve heard about it,” Minasian said.

Ohtani skipped his previous start and the Angels didn’t think anything could be wrong? His fastball velocity was down and they didn’t think anything could be wrong? Never this year did he resemble the pitcher he was last year and they didn’t think anything could be wrong?

“We trust him,” Minasian said. “He knows his body.”

How could they trust him?

By now, the Angels should have known Ohtani well enough to understand that his desire to play, and win, overwhelms his every other instinct.

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All MLB box scores

AL WEST STANDINGS

Texas, 72-55
Seattle, 71-56, 1 GB
Houston, 72-57, 1 GB
Angels, 61-67, 11.5 GB
Oakland, 37-91, 35.5 GB

WILD-CARD STANDINGS
top three teams qualify

Tampa Bay, 78-51
Seattle, 71-56
Houston, 72-57

Toronto, 70-58, 1.5 GB
Boston, 68-60, 3.5 GB
New York, 61-66, 10 GB
Angels, 61-67, 10.5 GB
Cleveland, 60-68, 11.5 GB

For full standings, go here

DODGERS

From Jack Harris: Mookie Betts doesn’t know exactly how he’ll feel during his long-awaited Boston homecoming this weekend.

“We’ll see what happens when we get there,” the Dodgers outfielder said Thursday morning, on the eve of his first trip back to Fenway Park since the Red Sox traded him in the 2020 offseason. “I don’t know what to expect, so there’s nothing to get too up or down for.”

The emotions his return is likely to stir up among Red Sox fans, however, seems much easier to predict:

Ample appreciation from a fan base he dazzled for six memorable seasons -- but also, more than a little wistful jealousy, particularly given the outfielder’s torrid play of late.

In three games against the Cleveland Guardians to start this week’s road trip, Betts went nine for 11 with two walks, two doubles and three RBIs, helping the Dodgers bounce-back from a Tuesday night loss to sweep a rain-delayed double-header Thursday.

In what was already shaping up as an excellent August for the 30-year-old veteran, Betts is now batting .463 since the start of the month, currently riding a 12-game hitting streak in which he’s had multiple knocks nine times.

And, five years removed from winning his lone MVP award during the Red Sox’s 2018 World Series season, Betts is in thick of an MVP race again, leading the National League with an 1.010 on-base-plus-slugging percentage while ranking top-five in the league in home runs (34), RBIs (89) and batting average (.310).

“I want to continue to play well just for me, to show myself [I can keeping being] consistent, like I’ve always been saying for the last three or four years,” said Betts, who matched a career-high with five hits in Thursday’s first game, then went two for three in the Dodgers’ 9-3 win in the series finale. “I just want to continue to do that.”

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Dodgers Game 1 box score

Dodgers Game 2 box score

All MLB box scores

NL WEST STANDINGS

Dodgers, 78-48
Arizona, 67-61, 12 GB
San Francisco, 66-61, 12.5 GB
San Diego, 61-67, 18 GB
Colorado, 48-79, 30.5 GB

WILD-CARD STANDINGS
top three teams qualify

Philadelphia, 69-58
Chicago, 67-60
Arizona, 67-61

San Francisco, 66-61, 0.5 GB
Cincinnati, 67-62, 0.5 GB
Miami, 65-63, 2 GB
San Diego, 61-67, 6 GB

For full standings, go here

LITTLE LEAGUE WORLD SERIES

From Eric Sondheimer: Brody Brooks is having an MVP-like performance at the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa.

With his bat, glove and arm, Brooks led El Segundo into the U.S. championship game with a 2-1 victory over Washington on Thursday.

El Segundo was forced into three consecutive must-win situations this week to avoid elimination and pulled it off to advance to Saturday’s game against Texas, the only team to defeat El Segundo in the tournament. The winner will play in Sunday’s championship game against either Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) or Curacao.

Brooks, usually El Segundo’s shortstop, came on to pitch in the fifth inning with two runners aboard and none out and escaped the jam. In the sixth, Washington put two runners aboard on a hit batter and walk, then loaded the bases when the ball went to the backstop on a strikeout that would have ended the game. With pressure building, Brooks got the final out with a forceout at second.

Brooks contributed a single and double, giving him a tournament-leading eight hits in 11 at-bats.

“I wanted this game pretty badly,” Brooks told ESPN. “I wanted to face the [Texas] pitcher again.”

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USC FOOTBALL

From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: He doesn’t play for moments like that, but Caleb Williams also wasn’t going to pass on a European vacation either. Sitting in Positano, Italy, along with his mother Dayna Price, the USC quarterback surveyed the scene that was straight out of a computer screensaver. Beautiful blue water dotted with boats. Steep, breathtaking cliffs. A bright, sunny day.

For once, he allowed himself to marvel at it all.

“Wow,” Williams said of his summer vacation. “It’s pretty surreal.”

After a whirlwind summer in which he traveled the world, walked a runway in a fashion show and nodded alongside a bobblehead of his likeness, USC’s star junior quarterback admits his life does feel different.

But the goal isn’t.

It’s still to win.

The No. 6 Trojans have their highest preseason ranking since 2017 after matching the best single-season turnaround in program history and producing the school’s eighth Heisman winner. The only things that can satisfy Williams now are the school’s first appearance in the College Football Playoff semifinals, a national title and the place in football lore that comes with it.

“Immortality comes from championships,” Williams said. “I haven’t reached one here in college yet.”

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LAKERS

Maybe it’ll be the jersey ripped to the side, the Lakers great showing his heart to the fans who’d do anything for him. Maybe it’ll be the perfect fading jumper, the form and footwork a testament to his meticulous attention to basketball detail. Maybe it’ll be him gnawing through the neck of his jersey or clenching his fist, an image that shows his maniacal determination.

Or maybe the image the Lakers and his family choose to immortalize him outside the team’s home arena will be him, arms outstretched, celebrating another NBA championship while confetti and adoration surround him from all angles.

It’s a tightly guarded secret. But on Feb. 8. 2024 — 2-8-24 — the Lakers and Bryant’s family will unveil a statue celebrating the late Hall of Famer and revealing the pose they chose, putting him alongside Elgin Baylor, Jerry West, Chick Hearn, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson and Shaquille O’Neal in front of Crypto.com Arena.

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CHARGERS

From Jeff Miller: The Chargers conclude their preseason against the San Francisco 49ers on Friday night in Santa Clara, where the game is set to kick off at 7 p.m. at Levi’s Stadium.

This will be the final significant evaluation of players before NFL rosters must be trimmed to 53 on Tuesday.

With this last showcase expected to feature mostly young players, here’s a look at where the Chargers’ rookies stand:

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THIS DATE IN SPORTS

1804 — Alice Meynell becomes the first woman jockey as she rides in a four-mile race in York, England.

1888 — Henry Slocum becomes the first man to win the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association singles title besides Richard Sears.

1904 — Jim Jeffries knocks out Jack Munroe in the second round in San Francisco to retain the world heavyweight title.

1946 — Ben Hogan wins the PGA championship with a 6 and 4 win over Ed Oliver.

1950 — Sugar Ray Robinson knocks out Jose Basora at 52 seconds of the first round to retain world middleweight boxing title.

1968 — Arthur Ashe becomes 1st Black man to win the US singles championship.

1974 — The Los Angeles Aztecs edge the Miami Toros 4-3 to win the NASL Championship.

1991 — Carl Lewis reclaims his title of world’s fastest human by setting a world record of 9.86 seconds in the 100-meter final in the world championships in Tokyo. Lewis clips four-hundredths of a second off the previous mark of 9.90 set by Leroy Burrell in the U.S. Championships two months earlier.

1996 — Tiger Woods wins an unprecedented third U.S. Amateur Championship, beating Steve Scott on the 38th hole after coming back from 5-down with 16 to play and 2-down with three to go.

2006 — Japan’s Yusaku Miyazato becomes the first golfer to make two holes-in-one in the same round of a PGA Tour tournament when he aces a pair of par 3s at the Reno-Tahoe Open.

2011 — The New York Yankees become the first team in major league history to hit three grand slams in a game, with Robinson Cano, Russell Martin and Curtis Granderson connecting in a 22-9 romp over the Oakland Athletics.

2013 — Teen star Lydia Ko runs away with the Canadian Women’s Open with a five-stroke victory over Karine Icher. The 16-year-old New Zealand amateur successfully defends her title, closing with a 6-under 64 for her fourth win in 14 professional events.

2020 — Chicago White Sox pitcher Lucas Giolito throws a no-hitter against the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-0 at Guaranteed Rate Field, Chicago.

—Compiled by the Associated Press

And finally...

Carl Lewis reclaims his title as world’s fastest man. Watch and listen here.