Christian Walker, Yainer Diaz and Jose Altuve homer in Astros' 5-1 win to complete sweep of Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani watches his fly ball during the first inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros, Sunday, July 6, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh)
Houston Astros' Jose Altuve, center, reacts after hitting a single as first base coach Dave Clark, right, looks on and Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman (5) walks away during the first inning of a baseball game, Sunday, July 6, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh)
Houston Astros' Jose Altuve drops his bat after hitting a single during the first inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Sunday, July 6, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh)
Houston Astros' Jose Altuve drops his bat after hitting a single during the first inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Sunday, July 6, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh)
Houston Astros pitcher Ryan Gusto throws to a Los Angeles Dodgers batter during the first inning of a baseball game Sunday, July 6, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh)
Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani watches his fly ball during the first inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros, Sunday, July 6, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh)
Houston Astros' Jose Altuve, center, reacts after hitting a single as first base coach Dave Clark, right, looks on and Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman (5) walks away during the first inning of a baseball game, Sunday, July 6, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh)
Houston Astros' Jose Altuve drops his bat after hitting a single during the first inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Sunday, July 6, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh)
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Christian Walker, Yainer Diaz and Jose Altuve each homered, Ryan Gusto threw six strong innings, and the Houston Astros beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-1 on Sunday to complete their first three-game sweep at Dodger Stadium since May 9-11, 2008.
The Astros scored the go-ahead run in the sixth when No. 9 batter Zack Short capped an eight-pitch at-bat by drawing a two-out bases-loaded walk off reliever Will Klein (1-1) for a 2-1 lead.
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Walker and Diaz opened the eighth with homers off Dodgers closer Tanner Scott for a 4-1 lead, and Altuve added a solo shot in the ninth off Anthony Banda, as the Astros improved to a major league-best 24-8 since June 1.
Gusto (6-3) wasn't dominant, allowing one run and four hits and striking out one, but he held the top four Dodgers batters — Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Andy Pages — to two singles in 12 at-bats.
Bennett Sousa, Bryan King and Bryan Abreu each threw scoreless innings of relief for Houston.
The Dodgers took a 1-0 lead in the second, an inning that began with Michael Conforto's walk and Hyeseong Kim's single. Conforto took third on Miguel Rojas' double play grounder and scored on Dalton Rushing's RBI double.
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Houston tied the score 1-1 in the third when Short singled, took third on Isaac Paredes' double and scored on Altuve's sacrifice fly, a ball that Dodgers right fielder Esteury Ruiz caught while leaping into the screen in foul territory.
Dodgers right-hander Emmet Sheehan, recalled from Triple-A to make his second big-league start in his return from Tommy John surgery, gave up one run and five hits in five innings, striking out four and walking one.
Key moment
The Dodgers threatened off reliever King in the eighth when Rushing singled and took second on Betts' two-out single, but Astros center fielder Taylor Trammell, who entered for defensive purposes in the sixth, raced in to make a sliding catch of Freeman's 104-mph liner to preserve a 4-1 lead.
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Key stat
Walker, who entered with a major league-best 1.203 career OPS in Dodger Stadium, is batting .349 (53 for 152) with 21 homers and 38 RBIs in 45 games in Chavez Ravine.
Up next
Dodgers right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto (8-6, 2.51 ERA) will face Brewers right-hander Freddy Peralta (9-4, 2.91 ERA) Monday in Milwaukee.
Astros left-hander Colton Gordon (3-1, 4.37 ERA) will face Guardians right-hander Tanner Bibee (4-9, 4.20 ERA) Monday in Houston.
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New York Times
38 minutes ago
- New York Times
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Yahoo
an hour ago
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'It came down to me wanting to be back home': Nico Iamaleava details move to UCLA
Wearing horn-rimmed glasses, a light blue suit with a UCLA lapel pin and tan wingtips, Nico Iamaleava settled into his seat on an elevated platform in front of about 30 reporters. 'How's everybody doing?' the new Bruins quarterback asked casually inside the convention center hall late Thursday afternoon, giving no hint that this was the most pressure he had faced since an attacking Ohio State defense sacked him four times in the opening round of the College Football Playoff. These reporters were almost as relentless. For more than 25 minutes during the final Big Ten media day, they peppered Iamaleava with questions about his decision to leave Tennessee on the eve of its spring game for a program with a lesser pedigree, prompting UCLA quarterback Joey Aguilar to take Iamaleava's spot in what essentially amounted to a college football trade. Read more: A year after stumbling at Big Ten media days, UCLA's DeShaun Foster is poised and confident What was Iamaleava's motivation in making his move? Was his dissatisfaction with Tennessee's name, image and likeness package a factor? Did he have to take a pay cut to come to UCLA? What was it like dealing with the fallout from jilted Tennessee fans? While failing to offer many specifics, Iamaleava patiently engaged every question, the Southern California native saying he was driven by a desire to play for a top program closer to his family in Long Beach. 'Ultimately,' the 6-foot-6 quarterback had told a small group of Los Angeles-based reporters earlier in the afternoon, 'it came down to me wanting to be back home, you know, be back home next to my family while still competing at the highest level.' Iamaleava pinned the timing of his departure from Tennessee on 'false reports' about financial demands that 'made me not feel comfortable in the position I was in. 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The strength staff has already provided Iamaleava an indication of the high expectations he'll face on the field. 'I've never been pushed like this by a staff before,' Iamaleava said, 'so I'm excited to go to work for these guys.' Calling it 'a fun challenge,' Iamaleava said he was trying to quickly absorb a pro-style offense that he described as 'a little more condensed formations' than what he ran at Tennessee. The chance to play for offensive coordinator Tino Sunseri, who has a history of immediate success with new quarterbacks, has invigorated Iamaleava. 'He's a high-energy guy,' Iamaleava said of Sunseri, 'and I wanted to go play for him the first day I met him.' Praising his entire wide receiving corps, Iamaleava said he had already developed good chemistry with Kwazi Gilmer, Mikey Matthews, Ezavier Staples and Titus Mokiao-Atimalala. He's gotten to know the offensive linemen through a bowling outing that also included the quarterbacks. Read more: Wide receiver Kaedin Robinson suing NCAA in bid to play for UCLA this season 'He's a great person,' right tackle Garrett DiGiorgio said. 'He's got a good heart, and he really cares.' Not always. Iamaleava said he tuned out social media during his departure from Tennessee, shielding himself from the vitriol. He found solace in video games such as NBA 2K25 and UFC. 'I was playing a lot of video games with my friends and my cousins, man, and, you know, really paid no mind to it,' he said. 'Sometimes I had no idea [what was happening]; my cousins would come and tell me about stuff they would see and I was like, 'I don't care.' So, you know, I think a lot of that just comes with, you know, protecting your peace.' Later, as he rose from the platform and thanked reporters, Iamaleava appeared fully zen. After all the speculation about his future, he'll have the final say on the field. Sign up for UCLA sports for big game takeaways, recruiting buzz and more UCLA sports insights. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
