A record, and then a ninth inning
Max Muncy passed Eric Karros for the most home runs ever hit at Dodger Stadium. Ninety minutes later, Edwin Díaz blew his third save in six games and nobody was talking about the record.
Good morning! Thursday should have belonged to Max Muncy, who came off the bench and turned a 100 mph fastball into the 131st home run of his career at Dodger Stadium — one more than Eric Karros, who was watching from the booth. Instead the night belongs to a closer problem the Dodgers can’t ignore. Down the freeway, the Angels hung 15 hits on Texas to take the series, and in Las Vegas football returned with a reality check while Jackie Young went for 32. Let’s get into it.
🚨 HEADLINES
⚾ Record, then ruin. Muncy’s pinch-hit three-run homer set a Dodger Stadium record; Díaz gave it away in the ninth — Fredo Cervantes at Dodger Stadium.
⚾ Bats wake up. Fifteen hits, seven with two strikes, in a 7-0 Angels win that clinched the series — Jack Janes at Angel Stadium.
🏈 First lessons. Arizona beat the Raiders 27-14 in Klint Kubiak’s debut as a head coach — Derek Hegna at Allegiant Stadium.
🏀 Thirty-two. Jackie Young’s season high carried the Aces past Washington, 83-76, to take the season series — Arion Armeniakos at Michelob ULTRA Arena.
🏈 Line holds up. Slaughter and Taylor stood out on a retooled Chargers offensive line in Houston — Steve Helwick at Reliant Stadium.
⚾ Padres rest. San Diego took its first day off in 16 games holding the second NL Wild Card spot — revisit Tatis and Machado’s most memorable homers.
See what else is trending at The Sporting Tribune.
📋 SCOREBOARD — THURSDAY
⚾ MLB: Brewers 5, Dodgers 4 · Angels 7, Rangers 0
🏀 WNBA: Aces 83, Mystics 76
🏈 NFL Preseason: Cardinals 27, Raiders 14 · Chargers 27, Texans 7
⚾ THE DODGERS HAVE A CLOSER PROBLEM
Max Muncy came off the bench in the sixth, turned around a 100 mph Antonio Senzatela fastball and hit a three-run homer for the lead — the 131st home run of his career at Dodger Stadium, passing Eric Karros for the most in the ballpark’s history. Karros watched it from the booth. It should have been the story.
Instead, the Dodgers took a 4-2 lead into the ninth and Edwin Díaz allowed three singles and a run before recording an out. Jackson Chourio singled in one, Garrett Mitchell tied it, and the boos came down. Alex Vesia inherited the mess and Jake Bauers singled in the go-ahead run. Final: Milwaukee 5, Los Angeles 4. That’s three blown saves in six games, and Díaz is 2-for-5 in save chances since coming off the injured list. “It’s frustrating because I know my ability,” Díaz said. “To not be able to do it sucks.” Asked whether Díaz should stay in the ninth or move to lower leverage, Dave Roberts didn’t defend him so much as state the problem: “Give me another option.” Rōki Sasaki had given six innings of two-run ball with a 2.10 ERA since the break. “When you use five relievers and lose a game, that’s costly,” Roberts said. Yoshinobu Yamamoto goes tonight.
GO DEEPER
› Fredo Cervantes: Muncy’s historic night gets lost in Díaz’s ninth-inning collapse (The Sporting Tribune)
TOGETHER WITH BETONLINE
Today’s TST Best Bets are brought to you by BetOnline.ag. Join here — new players get a 50% welcome bonus and up to $250 in free bets.
⚾ THE ANGELS FOUND THEIR SWING
For 16 games the Angels didn’t score five runs. They hit .200 with a .574 OPS and averaged 2.5 runs across that stretch. They’ve now scored five or more in back-to-back nights, and Thursday’s version was emphatic: 15 hits, seven of them with two strikes, in a 7-0 win that clinched the series over Texas.
Every Angel in the lineup had a hit. Mike Trout and Denzer Guzman each had three — Trout’s first back-to-back three-hit games since May 2018, lifting his average from .235 to .245 in two nights. The rally that mattered came against Jacob deGrom, who left after two innings with tricep fatigue and now owns a 5.20 career ERA in eight starts against Anaheim, against 2.67 across 271 starts overall. Six of the seven RBIs came from the six-through-nine hitters. “We’ve been stressing it,” Kurt Suzuki said. “Battling and focusing on not giving yourself up and striking out.” Walbert Ureña threw six shutout innings on two hits, dropping his ERA to 2.67 — second-lowest among rookies with 100-plus innings. “Every single time he’s taking the mound… it’s been lights out,” Josh Lowe said.
GO DEEPER
› Jack Janes: Bats erupt, Angels take series over Rangers (The Sporting Tribune)
🏈 FOOTBALL IS BACK, AND SO IS THE WORK
Seven months since their last game, the Raiders lost 27-14 to Arizona in Klint Kubiak’s head-coaching debut. The offense looked like camp: Kirk Cousins went 5-for-6 for 50 yards and a touchdown to Michael Mayer on the starters’ only series, and Fernando Mendoza followed with a 10-for-16, 97-yard, one-touchdown night that included both flashes and lessons. “Unfortunately, I let my teammates down today, but it’s a growing experience,” Mendoza said. Rookie Mike Washington Jr. broke a 53-yard touchdown run with a stiff-arm on Kitan Crawford. “It’s like your first day going back to school,” he said. Jack Bech caught Mendoza’s touchdown in tight coverage.
The defense was the problem. Jacoby Brissett and Gardner Minshew combined for 26 straight completions before an incompletion in the third quarter. Las Vegas allowed 220 yards and three passing touchdowns, forced no turnovers and didn’t force a punt until the fourth. “We have a lot of growth to do as a team,” Kubiak said. “So it starts tomorrow.” In Houston, meanwhile, the Chargers’ retooled offensive line was the story of a 20-point win, with Slaughter and Taylor standing out.
GO DEEPER
› Derek Hegna: Raiders get first dose of lessons after coming up short in preseason opener (The Sporting Tribune)
› Steve Helwick: Slaughter, Taylor shine on retooled Chargers’ o-line (The Sporting Tribune)
🏀 YOUNG TAKES OVER IN LAS VEGAS
Two nights after ending Washington’s league-best seven-game winning streak, the Aces did it again — 83-76, with Jackie Young pouring in a season-high 32 points to take the season series. It’s the second straight strong showing from a Las Vegas team that came home from a five-game road trip needing exactly this, and the third consecutive game in which Young has been the difference somewhere in the fourth quarter.
GO DEEPER
› Arion Armeniakos: Young’s season-high 32 points carry the Aces over the Mystics (The Sporting Tribune)
📺 WATCHLIST — FRIDAY, AUGUST 14
⚾ MLB: Padres at Guardians — Progressive Field — 4:10 p.m. — Padres TV
⚾ MLB: Royals at Angels — Angel Stadium — 6:38 p.m. — ABTV
⚽ NWSL: Denver Summit at San Diego Wave — Snapdragon Stadium — 7:00 p.m. — NWSL+
⚾ MLB: Brewers at Dodgers — Dodger Stadium — 7:10 p.m. — ESPN
Coming up: Michael King opens in Cleveland for a Padres club holding the second NL Wild Card spot, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto takes the ball for the Dodgers against Milwaukee.
🎟️ GOING TO A GAME?
Get-in prices across Southern California, Las Vegas and Hawaii — brought to you by TickPick, the no-hidden-fee ticket marketplace.
⚾ Royals at Angels — Angel Stadium — $9
⚾ Brewers at Dodgers — Dodger Stadium — $68
⚽ Denver Summit at San Diego Wave — Snapdragon Stadium — $12
🌴 TST TRIVIA
Max Muncy now has the most home runs ever hit at Dodger Stadium. Which Dodgers first baseman did he pass to claim the record?
Answer at the bottom.
🎧 THE SPORTING TRIBUNE TODAY
Today’s episode asks why the Lakers would sell now, what the Dodgers do about the ninth inning, celebrates a record night for Max Muncy that deserved better, checks in on an Angels offense that has suddenly woken up, and reviews the first football of the season in both markets. Hear it on the radio across Southern California, Las Vegas and Hawaii via Westwood One Sports, The Bet Las Vegas, Hawaii Sports Radio Network and KIRN in Los Angeles.
› Listen to the latest episode
Trivia answer: Eric Karros, who was in the broadcast booth when Muncy passed him with No. 131.
Thanks for reading! Follow us on X and Instagram, or drop us a line at tips@thesportingtribune.com.