Sports
Dodgers escape 6-run hole, overpower skidding Padres
Jul 2, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Dalton Rushing (68) runs after hitting a two run home run against the San Diego Padres in the second inning at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: William Navarro-Imagn Images Dalton Rushing had a home run among his four hits and drove in four runs for the Los Angeles Dodgers, who erased a six-run deficit for a 12-7 victory over the San Diego Padres on Thursday.
The Dodgers matched their season high with 17 hits and won for the eighth time in 10 games. The Padres took their sixth loss in a row, matching their worst skid of the season.
Rushing tied his career highs in hits and RBIs. Teammate Kyle Tucker matched his career best with four hits and also drew a walk.
Andy Pages delivered a game-tying two-run double for Los Angeles in the fourth inning.
The Dodgers’ bullpen gave up one run over the final six innings after Roki Sasaki yielded six runs on seven hits in a season-low three innings. Will Klein (3-2) followed with two scoreless innings.
Manny Machado hit a first-inning homer before Jackson Merrill and Jake Cronenworth each went deep in the second as the Padres built a 6-0 lead. Randy Vasquez gave up four runs over three innings, and Wandy Peralta (1-1) was tagged for four runs on six hits in the fourth.
The Padres saw their losing skid begin with consecutive home defeats against the Dodgers last weekend before they were swept in a three-game road series against the Chicago Cubs, including a 23-3 demolition on Wednesday.
The Padres’ fast start began when Fernando Tatis Jr. hit Sasaki’s first pitch of the game for a double. Machado followed two batters later with a home run to center field.
San Diego made it 6-0 in the second on Merrill’s leadoff home run and a three-run blast from Cronenworth.
Rushing began the momentum swing for the Dodgers with a two-run homer in the bottom of the second. Los Angeles pulled within 6-4 in the third on RBI hits from Max Muncy and Tucker.
Pages tied it 6-6 in the fourth on a two-run double to left before Mookie Betts and Muncy added RBI hits for an 8-6 lead. The Dodgers’ run total reached double digits in the fifth when Tommy Edman had an RBI double before scoring on a wild pitch.
Rushing drove in runs in the sixth and eighth innings, and the Padres’ Miguel Andujar had an RBI single in the ninth.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Banged-up and skidding Padres to battle Shohei Ohtani-less Dodgers
Jun 19, 2026; Arlington, Texas, USA; San Diego Padres manager Craig Stammen walks back to the dugout during the fourth inning against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images The San Diego Padres will be in survival mode when they take a season-high seven-game losing streak into Saturday night’s road contest against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Padres not only are losing ground to the Dodgers in the standings, their roster has been taking a hit on a daily basis.
San Diego placed catcher Freddy Fermin (head contusion) and right-handed starter Randy Vasquez (ankle contusion) on the injured list Friday. Those moves came one day after right-handed reliever Jason Adam (shoulder) was placed on the IL.
Right-handers Jeremiah Estrada and David Morgan already are on the IL for the Padres, who will face a Dodgers team that will be without two-way star Shohei Ohtani (right biceps soreness) on Saturday.
San Diego is a season-high 14 games behind National League West-leading Los Angeles after leading by a half-game as recently as May 18. The Padres’ seven-game losing streak is their longest since the 2021 season.
“It’s tough on everybody, It’s tough on the team, it’s tough on the individuals that it happens to,” manager Craig Stammen said of the injuries, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. “But also, we know that we’ve got a collective unit that can band together.
“We’re making that foxhole tight, and using it as a viewpoint of, like, this is testing us. And what comes from testing? We think perseverance, determination and resilience.”
Padres right-hander Griffin Canning (1-5, 7.09 ERA) could use some resilience. He will make his first start in July after posting a 6.98 ERA in five June appearances.
In seven career starts against the Dodgers, Canning is 3-1 with a 3.89 ERA.
The Dodgers will counter with right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto (8-5, 2.67), who is still working on finding success against the Padres.
Yamamoto’s 4.60 ERA against them is the highest among the five clubs he has made at least three regular-season starts against. He did earn a win against the Padres last Saturday when he gave up two runs on five hits over six innings.
It has been the offense that has led the way for the Dodgers lately. They rallied from a six-run deficit to win the series opener 12-7 on Thursday, then overcame a 3-0 deficit in the seventh inning Friday on a grand slam from Teoscar Hernandez to win 4-3.
It was Hernandez’s first home run in four games since returning this week from a hamstring injury.
“We never feel like we’re down,” Hernandez said on the SportsNet LA broadcast. “We know what we’re capable of, and we know the team we have. It only takes a good at-bat to get on base and somebody is going to take a big swing, and in this case it was me.”
Hernandez delivered against one of the Padres’ best relievers in left-hander Adrian Morejon, who was an All-Star last season and entered Friday’s outing with a 3.32 ERA in 39 appearances.
Ohtani went 0-for-3 at the plate on Friday and pitched six innings, giving up three runs and seven hits and acknowledging afterward he was dealing with the biceps soreness that was similar to the short-lived ailment he felt earlier this season.
“I can always play, and my desire is to always play,” Ohtani said through an interpreter when asked if he would be in the lineup Saturday. “I feel good enough to be able to do so.”
The Dodgers shut down that idea after the game, however, and said he would have the night off.
The Dodgers have won nine of their past 11 games while going 4-1 against the Padres in that stretch. Los Angeles is 6-2 against San Diego this season.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani (biceps) to sit Saturday vs. Padres
Jul 3, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Shohei Ohtani (17) walks off the mound following the second inning against the San Diego Padres at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jon Endow-Imagn Images Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani will not play Saturday night against the San Diego Padres because of tightness to his right biceps.
With the best record in MLB and a 14-game lead in the National League West, the Dodgers can afford to give their designated hitter/pitcher a chance to rest and recover.
Ohtani left Los Angeles’ 4-3 win in the seventh inning after he reported that he felt the biceps tighten up after taking a swing an inning earlier.
He told reporters after the game that he was faced with a similar issue earlier in the season and that he healed “relatively quickly.”
Manager Dave Roberts agreed.
“He’s dealt with it before,” Roberts said. “He’s a quick healer and finds a way to get back. But I do think that for us to read and react and hear what his body is telling him is really important, given the toll it takes on his body to be a two-way player.”
Ohtani was the starting pitcher against the Padres on Friday and, working on nine days’ rest, threw a season-high 110 pitches. He gave up three runs on seven hits and two walks in six innings, striking out nine.
He was 0-for-3 at the plate.
On the season, Ohtani is batting .288 with 18 home runs and 50 runs driven in. As he pitcher, he has an 8-2 record and a 1.79 ERA. He has thrown 85 2/3 innings over 14 starts.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Maple Leafs sign RFA D Emil Andrae to 2-year contract
Apr 27, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Emil Andrae (36) watches a scoreboard replay as he enters the penalty box on a tripping infraction against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the third period in game five of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at PPG Paints Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images The Toronto Maple Leafs signed restricted free agent defenseman Emil Andrae to a two-year contract on Sunday morning.
Financial terms were not disclosed by the team, however TSN reported the value of the deal at $3.1 million.
The Maple Leafs acquired Andrae, goaltender Samuel Ersson and a third-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft from the Philadelphia Flyers on June 16 in exchange for defenseman Simon Benoit and netminder Joseph Woll.
Andrae, 24, recorded 13 points (two goals, 11 assists) in 61 games last season while finishing his three-year, entry-level contract.
A second-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, Andrae has tallied 20 points (three goals, 17 assists) in 107 games since making his Flyers debut in October 2023.
–Field Level Media
Banged-up and skidding Padres to battle Shohei Ohtani-less Dodgers
Aubrey Plaza's Perfect R-Rated Thriller Is An Unfairly Overlooked Masterpiece
