The Sports Report: Will Smith breaks lengthy slump in Dodgers’ victory

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

From Mike DiGiovanna: The Dodgers welcomed back two long-lost members of the team who have been here all season. You might remember them. Veteran catcher by the name of Will Smith. Young pitcher by the name of Gavin Stone.

Both were prominent contributors in the first half, Smith making his second straight All-Star team and Stone positioning himself for National League rookie-of-the-year consideration. Then both went missing in action for extended periods of time.

But that battery got a much-needed jump start Tuesday night, Smith delivering three hits, including his first homer in more than a month, and Stone throwing five strong innings for his first win in seven weeks to lead the Dodgers to a 7-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers in American Family Field. The Dodgers remained 3½ games ahead of Arizona and San Diego in the NL West.

Smith had hit .094 (five for 53) with a .339 on-base-plus-slugging percentage, one double and five RBIs in 14 games since July 22, dropping his season average from .271 to .245 and his OPS from .828 to .757. He hadn’t hit a home run since his four-homer barrage against the Brewers in Los Angeles on July 5 and 6.

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River Ryan to have Tommy John surgery, becoming third Dodger to have procedure this year

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ANGELS

Kevin Gausman tossed seven shutout innings and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit his 10th home run since the All-Star break as the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Angels 6-1 on Tuesday night.

Will Wagner continued his strong start in the majors with two hits, including a two-run double in the first inning. Wagner, the son of former All-Star closer Billy Wagner, has five hits in eight at-bats in his first two games, including three doubles and three RBIs.

Willie Calhoun prevented the Angels from being shut out with a homer to right-center in the ninth inning.

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RAMS

From Gary Klein: The season opener against the Detroit Lions is less than a month away.

Veteran Jimmy Garoppolo is suspended for the first two games, so Stetson Bennett is presumably in line to back up starting quarterback Matthew Stafford.

Not so fast.

Bennett tossed a score-tying touchdown pass with four seconds left in a victory over the Dallas Cowboys, but four intercepted passes before that gave coach Sean McVay pause.

On Tuesday, McVay was asked if he felt comfortable with Bennett as the backup.

“We’ve still got to be able to see some more body of work,” McVay said, reiterating that while he was impressed with Bennett’s resilience, the quarterback needs to take better care of the ball. “He’s got to continue to improve — and we’re still in evaluation mode.”

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CHARGERS

From Anthony De Leon: Luis Perez, a Chula Vista native who grew up a lifelong Chargers fan, now finds himself donning the powder blue and potentially stepping into a starting role in the second week of the preseason.

“It’s awesome,” Perez said. “Wearing the Chargers’ uniform is a great feeling for myself and my family.”

The last week has been a whirlwind for the spring football veteran.

After signing with the Chargers, he attempted to absorb the playbook quickly, appeared in a preseason game just days later and now finds himself competing for the de facto starting quarterback position.

He and Easton Stick have been taking most of the practice snaps, in absence of injured starter Justin Herbert, as the Chargers prepare for a home preseason game Saturday against the Rams.

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OLYMPIC SOCCER

From Kevin Baxter: Mallory Swanson loves to talk, always has a twinkle in her eye and doesn’t so much walk as she does skip.

Alyssa Naeher has none of those traits. In fact, she and Swanson are as different as fire and ice.

Yet when the whistle sounded on the U.S. women’s soccer team’s 1-0 win over Brazil in last Saturday’s gold-medal game at the Paris Olympics, Swanson rushed to Naeher, wrapped both arms around her neck and began to bawl.

Swanson, 26, scored the game’s only goal, her team-high fourth of the tournament. Naeher, a decade older, saved the win with a spectacular save four minutes into stoppage time, becoming the first goalkeeper in history to record a shutout in both a World Cup and Olympic final.

No two players were more responsible for the team’s first Olympic title in a dozen years. But that and a hug weren’t all they shared because the climb to the top of the victory podium was longer and steeper for Swanson and Naeher than it was for their teammates. And in sharing that journey, they created a bond that has spread, uniting a tight-knit team that may be building another U.S. Soccer dynasty from the ashes of last summer’s World Cup fiasco.

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UCLA FOOTBALL

From Ben Bolch: Luke Schuermann often gets “the look” whenever he mentions his last football stop. It can be a quizzical expression or a blank stare based on the level of knowledge of the words just spoken.

Johns Hopkins? Wait, give me a second. Oh, you mean the school known for producing renowned journalists, doctors and scientists?

That’s right. That one. Among its most famous alumni are CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer, former President Woodrow Wilson and film director Wes Craven.

Something the Baltimore-based private research institution is not known for is its football program. Its first team, in 1882, had to play as the Clifton Athletic Club because of the school’s contempt for the emerging sport. For its first 13 seasons, students served as coaches.

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LAKERS

Frank Selvy, an All-America guard at Furman who scored an NCAA Division I-record 100 points in a game and later played nine NBA seasons, died Tuesday. He was 91.

Selvy’s family announced that he died at his home in Simpsonville. The Furman athletic department released the news, with the school’s vice president of intercollegiate athletics, Jason Donnelly, calling Selvy “Furman’s all-time greatest athlete.”

A cause of death was not revealed.

The 6-foot-3 Selvy was the No. 1 overall draft pick in 1954 by the Baltimore Bullets. He was a two-time All-Star during his nine-year NBA career, during which he played for five franchises. He spent his last 4½ seasons with the Lakers, moving with the franchise from Minneapolis to Los Angeles in 1960.

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THIS DATE IN SPORTS

1903 — Jim Jeffries knocks out Jim Corbett in the 10th round to retain his world heavyweight title in San Francisco.

1936 — In Berlin, the U.S. wins the first Olympic basketball gold medal with a 19-8 win over Canada. The game is played outdoors on a dirt court in a driving rain. Joe Fortenberry leads the U.S. with seven points. James Naismith, the inventor of the game, presents the medals.

1959 — The formation of the American Football League is announced in Chicago. Play will begin in 1960 with franchises in six cities with the probability of adding two more teams.

1977 — Lanny Wadkins beats Gene Littler on the third hole of sudden death to take the PGA Championship.

1977 — The Cosmos, led by Pelé, play before a Meadowlands crowd of 77,961 in East Rutherford, N.J., the most to see a soccer game in the U.S. The Cosmos beat the Fort Lauderdale Strikers 8-3 in an NASL quarterfinal playoff game.

1994 — Nick Price wins the PGA Championship, finishing at 11-under 269 for 72 holes, six strokes ahead of Corey Pavin. It is the lowest stroke total in an American major championship.

2011 — Keegan Bradley wins the PGA Championship after trailing by five shots with three holes and then defeating Jason Dufner in a three-hole playoff. Bradley becomes the third player in at least 100 years to win a major championship in his first try.

2014 — Rob Manfred is elected baseball’s 10th commissioner, winning a three-man race to succeed Bud Selig.

2016 — South Africa’s Wayde van Niekerk breaks Michael Johnson’s 17-year-old world record in the 400-meter final in Rio de Janeiro. Usain Bolt becomes the first to capture three straight 100-meter titles at the Olympics. He finishes in 9.81 — 0.08 seconds ahead of Justin Gatlin.

2019 — French woman Stephanie Frappart is the first woman to referee a major match in a European men’s tournament. UEFA Super Cup, Chelsea vs. Liverpool in Istanbul.

2021 — Arizona Diamondbacks Tyler Gilbert became the fourth pitcher and first in 68 years to throw a no-hitter in his initial big league start, leading Arizona over the San Diego Padres 7-0 with the record-tying eighth no-hitter of the season.

Compiled by the Associated Press