From Maddie Lee: As Shohei Ohtani strode up to the plate Monday, Michael Bublé’s voice crooned over the Dodger Stadium speakers as always. But after four games out of the lineup, the song seemed to be asking fans to believe:
“I’m feeling … good.”
Ohtani at least looked more comfortable in the batter’s box than he did Wednesday, when pain in his biceps had him shaking his right arm. But his performance at the plate still remains in a slump — he went 0 for 3 with a walk in the Dodgers’ 6-3 win over the Cincinnati Reds.
Go beyond the scoreboard
Get the latest on L.A.’s teams in the daily Sports Report newsletter.
By continuing, you agree to our Terms of Service, which include arbitration and a class action waiver. You agree that we and our third-party vendors may collect and use your information, including through cookies, pixels and similar technologies, for the purposes set forth in our Privacy Policy such as personalizing your experience and ads.
“It’s hard to really feel 100% at any time in the season,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton. “So I wouldn’t say I’m there.”
Roberts will continue to closely monitor Ohtani, saying he’ll see how the superstar designated hitter feels Tuesday before finalizing any decisions about playing time.
The Dodgers and Ohtani have all but ruled out his return to the mound this season.
“Disappointing,” Ohtani said. “But I want to make sure that when I look back at this season, that I used this as an experience, a learning experience and make sure that I use that as something to improve upon for next season.”
Roberts said he hoped Ohtani could improve his offensive production by not pitching.
“That’s one part of the thought, to sort of take the pitching off of his plate and really try to let him lock in on being a hitter and get on track,” Roberts said. “Because the last couple of weeks he just hasn’t been himself in the box.”
Inside Justin Herbert’s L.A. life 
Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert, center, with his brothers, Patrick, left, and Mitch.
(Courtesy of Mitch Herbert)
From Sam Farmer: The doctor is in. All in.
How could he not be?
His younger brother is Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert, who two years ago eclipsed Peyton Manning for the most yardage in NFL history through a player’s first five seasons.
The doctor in this case is Mitch Herbert, 30, in the second year of his orthopedic surgery residency at UCLA, giving him a front-row seat to his brother’s rise to NFL stardom.
The spotlight is trained on Justin Herbert this season, the seventh of his pro career. He has a new offensive coordinator in former Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel, and a head coach in Jim Harbaugh who sees Herbert’s potential as boundless, once referring to the passer as “the best that ever was.”
Aaron Donald won’t say if he’ll play 
It’s unclear if defensive lineman Aaron Donald will play Friday in the Rams’ season opener against the 49ers in Australia.
(Patrick McDermott / Getty Images)
From Gary Klein: The Rams will depart for Australia on Tuesday night for their season opener against the San Francisco 49ers.
Will star defensive lineman Aaron Donald be with them?
“Feeling good, feeling really good,” Donald said Monday. “Come up with a game plan and see.”
But could he say for certain he will make the trip?
“I’m feeling really good. Feeling great,” he said. “Come up with a game plan and see what’s going on but I’m telling ya, I feel great.”
Angels fall to Red Sox 
Angels outfielder Kyren Paris can’t come up with a catch on a double hit by Boston’s Jarren Duran during the fifth inning of the Angels’ 5-2 loss Monday afternoon.
(Winslow Townson / Getty Images)
From the Associated Press: Adley Rutschman hit a three-run homer off the Pesky Pole in right field, Brayan Bello pitched five scoreless innings in his first start since early June and the Boston Red Sox beat the Angels 5-2 on Monday for their fifth straight victory.
Jarren Duran hit his 20th homer, a solo shot, to spark a four-run second inning for Boston, which improved to an MLB-best 34-17 since the All-Star break and closed to two games behind the Yankees for the American League’s top-wild card spot. New York owns the tiebreaker by winning the season series.
Moisés Ballesteros hit a solo homer for the AL West’s last-place Angels, who have lost 12 of 14 games.
Sean McVay coaching tree keeps growing 
(Photo illustration by Tate Rudisill / Los Angeles Times; photos by Samantha Chow / AP Photo, Tyler Kaufman / AP Photo, David Dermer / AP Photo, Julio Cortez / AP Photo, Joshua A. Bickel / AP Photo, Ryan Sun / AP Photo)
From Gary Klein: Sean McVay never stops coaching his coaches — even after they leave his staff.
Last season, during a bye week following the Rams’ rout of the Jacksonville Jaguars in London, McVay counseled Jaguars coach Liam Coen.
“How to reset,” Coen said. “How to have a little more grace for yourself and your players.”
As McVay prepares for his 10th season, his influence and growing coaching tree will once again populate the NFL.
Five former Rams assistants are head coaches: Green Bay’s Matt LaFleur, Cincinnati’s Zac Taylor, Minnesota’s Kevin O’Connell, Arizona’s Mike LaFleur and Coen.
Iconic cricket ground ready for its Super Bowl 
Melbourne Cricket Ground will play host to the Rams’ season opener against the San Francisco 49ers on Friday morning in Australia.
(James Wiltshire / AFL Photos via Getty Images)
From Sam Farmer: The Melbourne Cricket Ground has played host to soccer friendlies for decades, exhibition matches with nothing on the line. No stakes, no standings.
What happens this week is the opposite, an NFL opener between the Rams and San Francisco 49ers. The bad blood is real. It’s an undeniable unfriendly.
No better place to stage a NFC West showdown 8,000 miles from home than a venue that’s a cricket cathedral, a centerpiece of the 1956 Olympic Games, and the site of three sold-out Eras Tour concerts that drew 96,000 Swifties per night.
This Day in Sports History
1946 — Jack Kramer wins his first U.S. men’s singles titles with a 9-7, 6-3, 6-0 win over Tom Brown.
1957 — Althea Gibson becomes the first black to win the U.S. Open, beating Louise Brough, 6-3, 6-2. Australia’s Malcolm Anderson defeats countryman Ashley Cooper in three sets to become the first unseeded player to win the U.S. Open.
1968 — Virginia Wade wins the first official U.S. Open (formerly known as U.S National Championships). Wade upsets Billie Jean King, 6-4, 6-2 and Arthur Ashe beats Tom Okker, 14-12, 5-7, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 for the men’s title.
1969 — Australia Rod Laver wins the U.S. Open and the grand slam of tennis for the second time in his career with a four-set victory over Tony Roche. Laver wins 7-9, 6-1, 6-3, 6-2.
1973 — Australia’s Margaret Court Smith wins the U.S. Open for the fifth time with a 7-6, 5-7, 6-2 victory over Evonne Goolagong.
1974 — Billie Jean King wins her fourth U.S. Open with a 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 triumph over Evonne Goolagong.
1985 — Pete Rose ties Ty Cobb with 4,191 hits.
1985 — Ivan Lendl wins his first U.S. Open title defeating John McEnroe 7-6, 6-3, 6-4.
1990 — Gabriela Sabatini prevents Steffi Graf from winning her third consecutive Grand Slam title with a 6-2, 7-6 (7-4) victory in the U.S. Open.
1991 — Stefan Edberg wins his first U.S. Open men’s singles title with a 6-2, 6-4, 6-0 win over Jim Courier.
1996 — Pete Sampras and Steffi Graf win the men’s and women’s singles titles, respectively, in the last U.S. Open championship matches played in Louis Armstrong Stadium.
1998 — Mark McGwire breaks Roger Maris’ 37-year-old home run record, lining historic No. 62 just over the wall in left field with two outs in the fourth inning. McGwire’s shot off the Chicago Cubs’ Steve Trachsel sets off a wild celebration in Busch Stadium.
2001 — Venus Williams wins her second consecutive U.S. Open title by beating her sister, Serena, 6-2, 6-4 in the first prime-time women’s Grand Slam final. The match is the 10th between sisters in a Grand Slam match during the Open era, with the older sister winning every time.
2002 — Pete Sampras beats Andre Agassi 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 to win his 14th Grand Slam title and the U.S. Open for the fifth time. At 31, Sampras is the Open’s oldest champion since 1970.
2002 — Rookie quarterback David Carr throws for 2 TDs as the Houston Texans beat Dallas Cowboys 19-10 to become only the 2nd expansion team (1961 Minnesota Vikings) to win their inaugural game.
2008 — Roger Federer salvages the 2008 season by easily beating Andy Murray 6-2, 7-5, 6-2 to win his fifth consecutive U.S. Open championship and 13th major title overall.
2013 — Riquna Williams sets a WNBA record with 51 points to help the Tulsa Shock rout the San Antonio Silver Stars 98-65. The second-year guard surpasses the previous record of 47 points set by Phoenix’s Diana Taurasi and matched by Seattle’s Lauren Jackson.
2013 — Top-seeded Serena Williams wins her fifth U.S. Open championship and 17th Grand Slam title overall by beating No. 2 Victoria Azarenka 7-5, 6-7 (6), 6-1 in a windy final.
2017 — David Benavidez becomes boxing’s youngest world champion and the youngest ever in the super middleweight division with a split decision victory over Ronald Gavril at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. At 20 years, 9 months old, Benavidez (19-0, 17 KOs) won the vacant WBC super middleweight title over the 31-year-old Gavril (18-2, 14 KOs).
2018 — Naomi Osaka becomes the first Japanese female to win a Grand Slam singles title as she defeats Serena Williams 6-2, 6-4 at the US Open.
2019 — U.S. Open Men’s Tennis: Rafael Nadal defeats Daniil Medvedev of Russia 7-5, 6-3, 5-7, 4-6, 6-4 to win his 19th Grand Slam singles title, and 4th U.S. crown.
Compiled by the Associated Press
This day in baseball history
1905 — The Pittsburgh Pirates stranded 18 runners in an 8-3 loss to the Cincinnati Reds to set a National League record for men left on base.
1939 — With his 12-1 victory over the Browns in St. Louis, 20-year-old Bob Feller became the youngest modern-era player to win 20 games.
1940 — Joe Gordon of the New York Yankees hit for the cycle in a 9-4 win over the Boston Red Sox.
1940 — Johnny Mize of St. Louis hit three homers and drove in six runs in a 16-14 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first game of a doubleheader. Mize became the first player to hit three homers in one game four times in a career.
1955 — The Brooklyn Dodgers beat the Milwaukee Braves 10-2 to clinch the National League pennant with a 17-game lead.
1958 — Roberto Clemente tied a major league record by hitting three triples in a 4-1 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.
1965 — Bert Campaneris of the Kansas City A’s played all nine positions but had to leave after a ninth-inning collision with Ed Kirkpatrick of the Angels. The Angels won 5-3 in 13 innings.
1972 — Ferguson Jenkins of the Chicago Cubs beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 4-3, for his 20th victory of the season. It marked the sixth straight year Jenkins had won 20 or more games.
1985 — Cincinnati’s Pete Rose inserted himself into the lineup when the Chicago Cubs named right-hander Reggie Patterson as the starting pitcher. Rose singled in the first inning and again in the fifth inning to tie Ty Cobb with 4,191 career hits. Rose was retired in his other at-bats and the game was called because of darkness after nine innings with the score tied 5-5.
1988 — National League president Bart Giamatti was unanimously elected to succeed Peter Ueberroth as the commissioner of baseball.
1992 — New York’s Danny Tartabull drove in nine runs as the Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles 16-4. Tartabull went 5-for-5 with two homers and a double.
1993 — Darryl Kile pitched baseball’s second no-hitter in five days, leading the Houston Astros to a 7-1 win over the New York Mets. Kile struck out nine and walked one.
1996 — Todd Hundley of the New York Mets became the ninth player to hit 40 home runs this season, breaking the major league record set in 1961.
1998 — Mark McGwire broke Roger Maris’ 37-year-old home run record, lining historic No. 62 just over the wall in left field with two outs in the fourth inning. McGwire’s shot off the Chicago Cubs’ Steve Trachsel set off a wild celebration in Busch Stadium.
2008 — Pinch hitting for Houston, Mark Saccomanno homered on the first pitch he saw in the major leagues to help the Astros beat Pittsburgh. Saccomanno hit a solo shot in the fifth inning.
2015 — Alex Rodriguez ties Hank Aaron record of 15 seasons with 30 or more home runs.
2022 — By making their 324th start as a battery, P Adam Wainwright and C Yadier Molina of the Cardinals tie the all-time mark set by Mickey Lolich and Bill Freehan of the Tigers in the 1960s and 1970s. Molina marks the occasion by going deep twice – his first long balls since May – but the Cards lose to the Nationals, 11 – 6. The pair will set the new record on the 14th.
Until next time…
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.