The Sports Report: Dodgers waste strong game by Bobby Miller, lose series to Yankees

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

From Jack Harris: Ahead of the biggest game yet of his burgeoning major league career, Bobby Miller was a picture of poise in the Dodgers’ clubhouse on Sunday afternoon.

A few hours before taking the mound against the New York Yankees — on ESPN’s “Sunday Night Baseball” and in front of a sold-out crowd of 52,000, no less — the right-handed rookie relaxed, seemingly unfazed by the high-pressure stage he was about to take.

He cracked jokes with the teammates in front of his stall. He marveled at videos of Aaron Judge crashing through the bullpen wall the night before. And as Dave Roberts passed through the locker room, he greeted the manager with a cool, confident grin.

“It’s a pleasant surprise,” Roberts said later when asked how Miller has carried himself so far as a big leaguer. “Sometimes when you get here, the focus heightens or narrows even more. And I think so far with Bobby, that’s what we’ve seen.”

Indeed, in his third career start Sunday night, Miller offered more of the scintillating same — even if the Dodgers couldn’t capitalize upon it in a frustrating 4-1 loss at Chavez Ravine.

Brusdar Graterol fielding error proves costly for Dodgers once again

Roger Craig, coach who taught split-fingered fastball and pitched for Dodgers, dies at 93

ANGELS

Shohei Ohtani hit a tiebreaking RBI double in the eighth inning, and the Angels edged the Houston Astros 2-1 on Sunday to avoid a four-game sweep.

Ohtani was hitless before clubbing a pitch from Phil Maton (0-1) off the wall in right field, driving in Zach Neto for a 2-1 lead. The clutch swing gave Ohtani 41 RBIs this season.

“Just a really good at-bat understanding what the pitcher is trying to do,” Angels manager Phil Nevin said. “Maton is one of the toughest against a lefty in all of baseball. … It worked out for us.”

LAKERS

From Dan Woike: A summer in which he’s expected to sign a multiyear contract worth, at minimum, $51 million became more memorable for the Lakers’ Austin Reaves as the former undrafted guard committed to play with Team USA at the FIBA World Cup in Japan this summer.

Sources with knowledge of the situation not authorized to speak publicly said Reaves committed to USA Basketball President Grant Hill in the weeks following the Lakers’ elimination from the Western Conference finals.

The FIBA World Cup will be played Aug. 25 through Sept. 10 in the Philippines, Indonesia and Japan.

GOLF

From Sam Farmer: Some of the most influential people in golf have big plans for a very small place.

They are planning an extensive renovation of the Maggie Hathaway Golf Course in South Los Angeles, just down Century Boulevard from SoFi Stadium at the corner of 98th Street and Western Avenue. It’s a nine-hole, par-three course that hosts about 20,000 rounds per year and is tucked behind Jesse Owens Park.

With the U.S. Open coming to Los Angeles Country Club this month — the first time in 75 years that major championship has been held in L.A. — organizers have identified Maggie Hathaway Golf Course as a path to further growing the game.

“Golf has been ill served over the years by simply making it a country-club sport,” said Dick Shortz, co-chair of LACC’s U.S. Open Committee. “Golf as a sport needs greater diversity.”

Continue reading here

SOCCER

From Kevin Baxter: LAFC has made a habit of collecting trophies at its fortress-like stadium in Exposition Park, bringing home two Supporters’ Shields and an MLS Cup in the last four seasons. No MLS team has won more.

But LAFC let the biggest prize slip through its hands Sunday, losing to León 1-0 at BMO Stadium in the CONCACAF Champions League final, the region’s most important club competition. That result, combined with last week’s 2-1 result in Mexico, gave León a 3-1 victory in the two-leg playoff, which is decided by the aggregate score over both games.

“We got beat by a very good team,” LAFC coach Steve Cherundolo said. “If you look at the 180 minutes of play, they deserve it. We’re obviously disappointed and it hurts, as it should.

Continue reading here

Hernández: Carlos Vela’s Champions League disappearing act jeopardizes his LAFC future

CS FULLERTON BASEBALL

Temo Becerra hit a two-run home run in the top of the sixth inning to lift top-seeded Stanford past Cal State Fullerton 6-5 in an elimination game at the Stanford Regional on Sunday.

Stanford advances to a rematch with Texas A&M later Sunday. The Cardinal lost to the Aggies 8-5 in a winners bracket game Saturday night and now must beat Texas A&M twice to earn a berth in the super regionals. The Aggies are one win away from advancing.

Maddox Latta singled home a run in the first and Cole Urman belted a solo home run in the second to stake Cal State Fullerton to a 2-0 lead, but Tommy Troy put the Cardinal in front with a three-run homer in the third. The Titans grabbed the lead in the fourth when Nate Nankil doubled to deep right center field to plate Jack Haley. After Becerra put Stanford in the lead for the final time, Drew Dowd and Ryan Bruno pitched the final three scoreless innings to preserve the win.

NBA PLAYOFFS

Staring down a 2-0 deficit in the NBA Finals, as the visitors in a hostile arena where no road team had prevailed in more than two months, the Miami Heat decided to do what they’ve done throughout the postseason.

They found a way. Against all odds. Again.

The Heat tied the NBA Finals and had to overcome a monster 41-point effort from Nikola Jokic to do it. Gabe Vincent scored 23 points, Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo each had 21 and Heat beat the Denver Nuggets 111-108 in Game 2 on Sunday night.

“Our guys are competitors,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “They love these kind of moments.”

King under the court: Meet the man behind the Miami Heat’s new style of Showtime

Results, schedule
All times Pacific
NBA Finals

No. 1 Denver vs. No. 8 Miami
Game 1: at Denver 104, Miami 93
Game 2: Miami 111, at Denver 108
Wednesday at Miami, 5:30 p.m., ABC
Friday at Miami, 5:30 p.m., ABC
Mon., June 12 at Denver, 5:30 p.m., ABC
*Thurs., June 15 at Miami, 5:30 p.m., ABC
*Sun., June 18 at Denver, 5 p.m., ABC

*-if necessary

NHL PLAYOFFS

Results, schedule
All times Pacific
Stanley Cup Finals

Vegas (P1) vs. Florida (WC2)
Game 1: at Vegas 5, Florida 2
Today at Vegas, 5 p.m., TNT
Thursday at Florida, 5 p.m., TNT
Saturday at Florida, 5 p.m., TNT
*Tues., June 13 at Vegas, 5 p.m., TNT
*Fri., June 16 at Florida, 5 p.m., TNT
*Mon., June 19 at Vegas, 5 p.m., TNT

*-if necessary

THIS DATE IN SPORTS

1884 — James McLaughlin becomes the first jockey to win three straight Belmont Stakes when he rides Panique to victory. He won with George Kinney (1883) and Forester (1882). McLaughlin repeats his feat in 1886-88. McLaughlin’s triple is matched by jockey Laffit Pincay Jr. in 1984.

1925 — Willie McFarlane beats Bobby Jones by one stroke in the second round of a playoff to capture the U.S. Open. Macfarlane shoots a 291 at Worcester (Mass.) Country Club.

1927 — Johnny Weissmuller sets 100-yard & 200-yard free-style swim record.

1937 — War Admiral, ridden by Charles Kurtsinger, wins the Triple Crown with a three-length victory over Sceneshifter in the Belmont Stakes.

1943 — Count Fleet, ridden by Johnny Longden, wins the Triple Crown by 25 lengths in the Belmont Stakes. Count Fleet goes at off at 1-20 odds in a race with no place or show betting.

1952 — Jersey Joe Walcott scores a 15-round unanimous decision over Ezzard Charles in Philadelphia to retain the world heavyweight title.

1961 — The newly formed American Basketball League adopts the 3-point field goal.

1977 — The Portland Trail Blazers hold off the Philadelphia 76ers 109-107 to win the NBA championship in six games. Portland becomes the first team in the 31-year history of the league to win four straight after losing the first two games.

1985 — Steve Cauthen wins the Epsom Derby aboard Slip Anchor and became the only American jockey to win both the English Derby and Kentucky Derby. Cauthen had ridden Affirmed to victory in the 1978 Kentucky Derby.

1993 — Julie Krone guides Colonial Affair to victory in the Belmont Stakes, becoming the first female jockey to win a Triple Crown race.

1994 — Arantxa Sanchez Vicario and Sergi Bruguera produce the best day of tennis in Spanish history. Sanchez Vicario beats Mary Pierce 6-4, 6-4 in the French Open final and Bruguera retains his title by defeating another Spaniard, Alberto Berasategui, 6-3, 7-5, 2-6, 6-1.

1999 — Steffi Graf wins her sixth French Open title and her first Grand Slam championship in almost three years, beating top-ranked Martina Hingis 4-6, 7-5, 6-2.

1999 — Charismatic loses his bid to become the 12th Triple Crown winner when he fractures his left front cannon bone and sesamoid while finishing third to Lemon Drop Kid in the Belmont Stakes.

2004 — Smarty Jones loses his Triple Crown bid and his perfect record when Birdstone runs him down near the finish of a thrilling Belmont Stakes. Birdstone, a 36-1 long shot ridden by Edgar Prado, returns $74, $14 and $8.60.

2005 — Spanish teenager Rafael Nadal beats unseeded Mariano Puerta of Argentina in four sets to win the French Open men’s singles title. The No. 4-seeded Nadal becomes the youngest men’s Grand Slam champion since Pete Sampras won the U.S. Open at 19 in 1990.

2011 — Rafael Nadal wins his record-equaling sixth French Open title, beating Roger Federer 7-5, 7-6 (3), 5-7, 6-1 in the final.

2016 — Novak Djokovic becomes the first man in nearly a half-century to win four consecutive major championships and finally earned elusive French Open title to complete a career Grand Slam, beating Andy Murray 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4.

2021 — Luis Saez rides Essential Quality to wins the 153rd Belmont Stakes.

—Compiled by the Associated Press