The Sports Report: Patrick Sandoval leads Angels to victory

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

From Mike DiGiovanna: Patrick Sandoval did not look too pleased for a guy who had just thrown 7 1/3 dominant innings to lead the Angels to an eventual 4-1 victory over the Oakland Athletics before 40,042 at Angel Stadium on Sunday.

When manager Joe Maddon emerged from the dugout to pull the left-hander with two on and one out in the eighth, Sandoval took a long stroll toward the second-base bag, turned around and climbed back up the mound.

He did not hand the ball to his manager, as pitchers usually do. He made Maddon take the ball out of his glove. Sandoval shook his head as he walked to the dugout and slammed his glove on the bench.

“He has an attitude about him, and I mean that in the best of ways,” Maddon said of Sandoval, who gave up one run and four hits, struck out seven and walked one. “He does not want to come out. He wants to pitch nine innings. He wants to be that guy. He wants to lead the staff. I love it.”

This, Maddon believes, is part of the maturation process for a good young pitcher. Sandoval struggled to control his emotions as times during his first three years in the big leagues, when he went 4-15 with a 4.42 ERA in 36 games for the Angels from 2019 to 2021.

The 25-year-old from Mission Viejo High has shown more poise on the mound this season and has established himself as one of the game’s best young left-handers, with a 3-1 record and 1.79 ERA in his first seven starts, six of which the Angels have won.

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Angels’ Archie Bradley gets a win and an even bigger save

DODGERS

From Jack Harris: The play seemed to unfold almost in slow motion.

A bouncing grounder. A high hop. A booted ball by second baseman Max Muncy, rolling helplessly away from him on a bright, sunny — and suddenly dreadful — Philadelphia day.

A game the Dodgers should have won on Sunday against the Phillies instead came unraveled all at once, with Muncy’s fielding error leading to two runs and a walk-off 4-3 win for the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.

Clinging to a one-run lead with Phillies runners on second and third in the bottom of the 10th inning, the Dodgers were one out away from a win when Alec Bohm sent the softly-hit chopper Muncy’s way.

Muncy took a few steps in, set his feet and appeared to be well-positioned for a seemingly routine play.

But the final bounce kicked higher than he expected. He lifted his glove, but couldn’t stop the ball from trickling through his legs.

“That’s something that you know as an infielder, as the day goes on, the field is getting harder and the ball is gonna bounce more and take funny hops,” Muncy said. “I just didn’t give myself enough space.”

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Blake Treinen agrees to Dodgers contract extension, but will he pitch again in 2022?

UCLA SOFTBALL

From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: Kelly Inouye-Perez called Holly Azevedo “the most unselfish Bruin,” so it’s no surprise that the pitcher doesn’t mind sharing this moment.

Azevedo lost her no-hitter with two outs in the fifth inning but tag-teamed with junior Megan Faraimo to lift UCLA to its eighth consecutive super regional appearance with a 9-1 mercy-rule win over Mississippi on Sunday at Easton Stadium.

The Bruins (46-8) went undefeated in the regional round and will host No. 12-seeded Duke in the super regional after the Blue Devils knocked off Georgia 13-5 in a Sunday afternoon elimination game.

Azevedo started two of UCLA’s three regional games, giving up four hits, two runs and two walks on the weekend. The last hit Sunday, a hard single up the right side by Mississippi’s Paige Smith that broke up what could have been Azevedo’s third no-hitter of the season, lingered on the redshirt senior’s mind after the game, but not for long.

There was a victory to celebrate.

GALAXY

Sebastian Ferreira notched a goal and two assists and Steve Clark turned away all nine shots he faced as the Houston Dynamo cruised to a 3-0 victory over the Galaxy on Sunday.

Ferreira staked the Dynamo (5-5-3) to an early lead with a goal in the 11th minute. Ferreira notched assists in the second half on goals by Tyler Pasher in the 58th minute and Thorleifur Ulfarsson in the 62nd.

The Galaxy (6-5-2) outshot the Dynamo 16-13 and had a 9-8 edge in shots on goal.

PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

Justin Thomas is a major champion when he least expected it.

Thomas matched a PGA Championship record Sunday when he rallied from a seven-stroke deficit at Southern Hills and then saved his most exquisite shot-making for a three-hole playoff to defeat Will Zalatoris.

He closed with a three-under-par 67, matching the low score of a final round made difficult more by nerves than the wind. He seized control in the playoff with a three-wood to 35 feet on the 301-yard 17th hole for a two-putt birdie.

He tapped in for par and stood erect with a smile, a mixture of joy and disbelief.

“I was asked early in the week what lead is safe, and I said, ‘No lead,’ ” Thomas said. “I can’t believe I found myself in a playoff.”

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
Tonight at St. Louis, 6:30 p.m., TNT
Wednesday at Colorado, TBD
*Friday at St. Louis, TBD
*Sunday at Colorado, TBD

Calgary (P1) vs. Edmonton (P2)
Calgary 9, Edmonton 6
Edmonton 5, Calgary 3
Edmonton 4, Calgary 1
Tuesday at Edmonton, 6:30 p.m., ESPN
Thursday at Calgary, TBD
*Saturday at Edmonton, TBD
*Monday, May 30 at Calgary, TBD

Eastern Conference

Florida (A1) vs. Tampa Bay (A3)
Tampa Bay 4, Florida 1
Tampa Bay 2, Florida 1
Tampa Bay 5, Florida 1
Today at Tampa Bay, 4 p.m., TNT
*Wednesday at Florida, TBD
*Friday at Tampa Bay, TBD
*Sunday at Florida, TBD

Carolina (M1) vs. New York Rangers (M2)
Carolina 2, New York 1 (OT)
Carolina 2, New York 0
New York 3, Carolina 1
Tuesday at New York, 4 p.m., ESPN
Thursday at Carolina, TBD
*Saturday at New York, TBD
*Monday, May 30 at Carolina, TBD

*-if necessary

NBA PLAYOFFS

Schedule and results
All times Pacific
Conference finals
Western Conference

No. 3 Golden State vs. No. 4 Dallas

Golden State 112, Dallas 87
Golden State 126, Dallas 117
Golden State 109, Dallas 100
Tuesday at Dallas, 6 p.m., TNT
*Thursday at Golden State, 6 p.m., TNT
*Saturday at Dallas, 6 p.m., TNT
*Monday, May 30 at Golden State, 6 p.m., TNT

Eastern Conference

No. 1 Miami vs. No. 2 Boston

Miami 118, Boston 107
Boston 127, Miami 102
Miami 109, Boston 103
Today at Boston, 5:30 p.m., ABC
Wednesday at Miami, 5:30 p.m., ESPN
*Friday at Boston, 5:30 p.m., ESPN
*Sunday at Miami, 5:30 p.m., ESPN

*-if necessary

THIS DATE IN SPORTS

1876 — Joe Borden of Boston pitches the first no-hitter in NL history.

1884 — Knight of Ellersie, ridden by S. Fischer, wins the two-horse Preakness Stakes by two lengths over Welcher.

1901 — The Cleveland Indians score nine runs with two outs in the ninth inning to beat the Washington Senators 14-13.

1935 — The first major league night game, scheduled for Cincinnati, is postponed because of rain.

1936 — Rushaway, ridden by John Longden, wins his second derby in as many days, taking the 1 1/4-mile Latonia Derby at Latonia in Covington, Ky. Rushaway had won the 1 1/8-mile Illinois Derby, run at Aurora, Ill., the previous day.

1953 — Native Dancer, ridden by Eric Guerin, avenges the loss in the Kentucky Derby by edging Jamie K. by a neck to win the Preakness Stakes.

1976 — Boston center Dave Cowens dominates the opener of the NBA Finals against Phoenix with a 25-point, 21-rebound performance and the Celtics defeat the Suns, 98-87.

1991 — Paul Dougherty scores two goals and adds two assists to help the San Diego Sockers win their fourth consecutive Major Indoor Soccer League championship with an 8-6 victory over the Cleveland Crunch.

1997 — In the first all-freshman singles final in NCAA history, Stanford’s Lilia Osterloh beats Florida’s M.C. White 6-1, 6-1 to win the women’s singles tennis championship.

2002 — Dodgers slugger Shawn Green becomes the 14th man in major league history to homer four times in a game and sets a big league record with 19 total bases. He is 6-for-6, scoring six times with seven RBIs in a 16-3 win at Milwaukee.

2005 — Anastasia Myskina is the first defending champion at the French Open to be eliminated in the opening round, losing to Spain’s Maria Sanchez Lorenzo 6-4, 4-6, 6-0.

2009 — Alabama sophomore Kelsi Dunne becomes the first player to throw back-to-back no-hitters in NCAA postseason play. Dunne holds Jacksonville State hitless for the second straight day in a 9-0 softball victory. The two no-hitters tie the NCAA postseason record. It’s Dunne’s fourth of the season and a school-record six for her career.

2021 — Phil Mickelson wins the 2021 PGA Championship by two strokes to become the oldest major winner (50) in PGA history.

Compiled by the Associated Press

And finally

Shawn Green hits four home runs in one game. Watch and listen here.