Snell is back, and he looked like he never left
Three months after elbow surgery, Blake Snell struck out 10 over six innings of one-run ball. Max Muncy finished the job in the 10th. The Dodgers have won two straight and a series.
Good morning! A week ago Dave Roberts said Blake Snell would start “next week.” He did, and he was excellent — 10 strikeouts in his first outing since May 9. Max Muncy walked it off in the 10th and the Dodgers have their first series win in a while. Down the coast, the Padres hung 11 on the best team in baseball, and in Anaheim the Angels answered Monday’s extra-inning loss by beating Texas 3-2. In Las Vegas, the Aces ended the league’s hottest streak. Let’s get into it.
🚨 HEADLINES
⚾ Snell returns, Muncy delivers. Ten strikeouts in Snell’s first start since May 9, then a walk-off single in the 10th for a 5-4 win — Fredo Cervantes at Dodger Stadium.
⚾ Grand slam, and then some. Luis Rengifo’s first career grand slam keyed an 11-2 rout of MLB-best Milwaukee — Fernando Ramirez at Petco Park.
⚾ Angels answer. Anaheim bounced back from Monday’s extra-inning defeat to beat the Rangers, 3-2 — see the images from Angel Stadium.
🏀 Streak snapped. A’ja Wilson (26) and Jackie Young (25) ended Washington’s league-best seven-game run, 86-76 — Arion Armeniakos at Michelob ULTRA Arena.
🏀 Plum’s return. The Sparks fell to the Mercury, 94-87, in a game played at USC’s Galen Center — Rey Moralde at Galen Center.
🏈 Preseason arrives. The Raiders practiced at Allegiant and are ready for the opener — Derek Hegna at Allegiant Stadium.
🎤 Down under. The Jonas Brothers will headline the halftime show for the Rams-49ers game in Australia — The Sporting Tribune.
See what else is trending at The Sporting Tribune.
📋 SCOREBOARD — TUESDAY
⚾ MLB: Dodgers 5, Royals 4 (10) · Padres 11, Brewers 2 · Angels 3, Rangers 2
🏀 WNBA: Aces 86, Mystics 76 · Mercury 94, Sparks 87
⚾ THE ARM THE DODGERS HAVE BEEN WAITING ON
Blake Snell had made exactly one start this season — May 9 against Atlanta, three innings, five runs — before arthroscopic surgery on his left elbow to remove loose bodies, bone spurs and fragments. Tuesday he struck out the side in the first on 13 pitches, retired the first nine he faced with six strikeouts, and finished with 10 punchouts over six innings of one-run ball on 84 pitches. He had texted Roberts the night before asking to go at least six. “I was more calm than I thought I was gonna be,” Snell said. “I feel like I had more left. I’m excited about that.” Roberts: “Everything was free and easy.”
The rest was a fight. Mookie Betts homered in the second — his 14th, and his 100th career home run at Dodger Stadium — and finished with three hits, including the RBI that tied it 4-4 after Evan Phillips and an Andy Pages misplay in center handed Kansas City the lead in the eighth. Alex Call, making his first start since July 21, drove in a run in the seventh, and Teoscar Hernández came off the bench for his first pinch-hit of the season. In the 10th, the Royals loaded the bases by intentionally walking Kyle Tucker to face Muncy. He singled home the winner — his seventh career walk-off hit. “We just gotta keep moving forward,” Muncy said. The Dodgers go for the sweep tonight.
GO DEEPER
› Fredo Cervantes: Max Muncy walks it off as Blake Snell dazzles in Dodgers return (The Sporting Tribune)
› Arash Markazi: Dodgers expect Snell to start next week with Glasnow and Ohtani returning to the mound later this season (The Sporting Tribune)
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⚾ THE PADRES ARE PLAYING THE BEST BASEBALL IN THE NL WEST
Every Padres starter had a hit. San Diego had 14 of them before the seventh inning. The 11-2 win over Milwaukee — a club that arrived with the best record in baseball at 74-45 — gave the Padres back-to-back series wins over the Brewers and an Astros team that had taken 12 of 15 coming in.
Luis Rengifo, a former Brewer, hit the first grand slam of his career in the second inning to make it 5-0. “I had never hit a grand slam in my career and the first one comes against Milwaukee,” he said. Fernando Tatis Jr. followed in the fourth with his 12th homer, passing Nate Colbert for second on the Padres’ all-time home run list with 164 — behind only Manny Machado’s 217. “Just the beautiful thing is like we got nine or eight more years of this,” Tatis said. “But who’s counting?” Luis Campusano added a two-run shot, and Walker Buehler gave six innings of one-run ball in what Craig Stammen called “one of the best signs he’s had as a Padre.” San Diego is 64-57 and, with Philadelphia and Arizona both losing, now sits in a three-way tie for the final two Wild Card spots. “No special secret, man,” Tatis said. “We just know what time of the year it is.”
GO DEEPER
› Fernando Ramirez: Rengifo, Tatis Jr. power Padres past MLB-best Brewers (The Sporting Tribune)
🏀 THE ACES COOL OFF THE LEAGUE’S HOTTEST TEAM
Washington came to Las Vegas on a WNBA-best seven-game winning streak and left with nothing. The Aces won 86-76 to snap the Mystics’ run and their own two-game skid, and did it while missing Dana Evans, Cheyenne Parker-Tyus, Kierstan Bell and Justine Pissott.
A’ja Wilson led all scorers with 26 points and 13 rebounds — her 17th double-double — with four blocks and two steals. Jackie Young added 25 on 4-of-9 from three and 7-for-7 at the line, with eight assists and zero turnovers. “I needed a game with no turnovers,” Young said. She scored 13 straight to close the first quarter after an animated Becky Hammon timeout. NaLyssa Smith notched her third double-double of the year, and the bench that struggled in Brooklyn held up — Mai Yamamoto’s fourth-quarter three started an 8-0 run that put it away. “We just started to dictate things versus reacting to things,” Wilson said. Las Vegas is 23-11 and hosts the rubber match Thursday.
GO DEEPER
› Arion Armeniakos: Viva Las Vegas — Aces hot hand snaps Mystics league-best win streak (The Sporting Tribune)
📺 WATCHLIST — WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12
⚾ MLB: Brewers at Padres — Petco Park — 1:10 p.m. — Padres TV
⚾ MLB: Rangers at Angels — Angel Stadium — 7:00 p.m. — ESPN
⚾ MLB: Royals at Dodgers — Dodger Stadium — 7:10 p.m. — SNLA
⚽ Leagues Cup: Puebla at San Diego FC — Snapdragon Stadium — 7:15 p.m. — Apple TV
⚽ Leagues Cup: Querétaro at LAFC — BMO Stadium — 7:30 p.m. — Apple TV
Coming up: Dustin May faces Robbie Ray in the Padres’ series finale, the Dodgers go for a sweep, and the Aces and Mystics settle their season series Thursday in Las Vegas.
🎟️ 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.
⚾ Brewers at Padres — Petco Park — $6
⚾ Rangers at Angels — Angel Stadium — $10
⚾ Royals at Dodgers — Dodger Stadium — $63
⚽ Puebla at San Diego FC — Snapdragon Stadium —$15
⚽ Querétaro at LAFC — BMO Stadium — $26
🌴 TST TRIVIA
Fernando Tatis Jr. moved into second place on the Padres’ all-time home run list Tuesday. Whom did he pass — and who still holds the top spot?
Answer at the bottom.
🎧 THE SPORTING TRIBUNE TODAY
Today’s episode covers Blake Snell’s return and what a healthy Dodgers rotation finally looks like, a Padres team that just beat the two hottest clubs in baseball back-to-back, and the Aces ending Washington’s seven-game run. 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: Tatis passed Nate Colbert for second with 164. Manny Machado leads with 217.
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