{"id":654285,"date":"2026-03-31T11:44:26","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T11:44:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/654285\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T11:44:26","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T11:44:26","slug":"dodgers-struggle-at-the-plate-and-suffer-first-loss-of-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/654285\/","title":{"rendered":"Dodgers struggle at the plate and suffer first loss of season"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

From Maddie Lee<\/a>: A fastball up and off the plate to Guardians left-handed hitter Steven Kwan was an inauspicious beginning to Dodgers<\/a> right-hander Roki Sasaki<\/a>\u2019s season debut.<\/p>\n

The arm-side miss fell in line with a persistent spring-training pattern for Sasaki, who struggled with command from his first Cactus League start through his Freeway Series appearance last week.<\/p>\n

Over the course of a seven-pitch strikeout, however, Sasaki adjusted \u2014 something he failed to do during game action this spring.<\/p>\n

\u201cI actually didn\u2019t have confidence at all before this game started,\u201d Sasaki said through an interpreter Monday. \u201cBut I was just focusing on doing what I can control.\u201d<\/p>\n

Go beyond the scoreboard <\/p>\n

Get the latest on L.A.’s teams in the daily Sports Report newsletter.<\/p>\n

By continuing, you agree to our Terms of Service<\/a>, 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<\/a> such as personalizing your experience and ads. <\/p>\n

In the Dodgers\u2019 4-2 loss<\/a> Monday, Sasaki\u2019s first start of the season was something of a best-case scenario. He held the Guardians to one run and four hits in four-plus innings. And the biggest difference from his spring training struggles was he issued just two walks.<\/p>\n

The Dodgers squandered the effort with a lack of offense, in their first loss of the season.<\/p>\n

Sasaki will have more to prove against stronger offenses than Cleveland\u2019s. But his performance at least suggested that the Dodgers\u2019 faith in him wasn\u2019t misplaced.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know he can do it here, and especially now that his velocity is back to closer to where it used to be,\u201d Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes<\/a> said last week. \u201cI feel like he puts us in a great position to win.\u201d<\/p>\n

Continue reading here<\/a><\/p>\n

Dodgers-Guardians box score<\/a><\/p>\n

MLB scores<\/a><\/p>\n

MLB standings<\/a><\/p>\n

LeBron James gets his 125th triple-double \"Lakers <\/p>\n

Lakers star LeBron James, left, stands next to his son and Lakers guard Bronny James before a win over the Washington Wizards on Monday at Crypto.com Arena.<\/p>\n

(Robert Gauthier \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

From Broderick Turner<\/a>: The Lakers<\/a> followed the lead of their oldest member, the triple-double producing LeBron James<\/a>, in dispatching the Wizards 120-101<\/a> at Crypto.com Arena on Monday night.<\/p>\n

Two days off between games left James looking spry, with lob dunks and dunks on the fast break contributing to his 21 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds. James was eight for 16 from the field in notching his third triple-double of the season and the 125th of his 23-year NBA career, ranking him fifth all time.<\/p>\n

At 41 years and 90 days old, James once again became the oldest player in league history to record a triple-double, passing his previous mark (41 years, 79 days).<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, I\u2019ve had moments more this year and last year that I\u2019ve enjoyed more in the moment,\u201d James said. \u201cIt\u2019s pretty cool to know that I\u2019m at this point in my career (and) I\u2019m still able to do those things, man. It\u2019s super dope. It\u2019s super humbling. And I just try to put the work in and continue to put the work in and those are the results of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Continue reading here<\/a><\/p>\n

Lakers-Wizards box score<\/a><\/p>\n

NBA scores<\/a><\/p>\n

NBA standings<\/a><\/p>\n

UCLA has some homework before Final Four \"UCLA <\/p>\n

UCLA guard Kiki Rice dribbles under pressure from Texas guard Rori Harmon on Nov. 26 in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n

(Ian Maule \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

From Marisa Ingemi<\/a>: UCLA<\/a> finally knows who it will face in the Final Four in Phoenix this week.<\/p>\n

A day after taking down No. 3-seed Duke<\/a> in the Elite Eight, the Bruins learned on Monday they will face fellow No. 1-seed Texas on Friday, the only team to beat them all season.<\/p>\n

Texas (35-3) defeated UCLA 76-65 on Nov. 26<\/a>, when Rori Harmon put up a game-high 26 points on nine-of-15 shooting from the floor.<\/p>\n

Since their Final Four debut ended with a 34-point loss to UConn last season<\/a>, the Bruins have been on a mission to prove themselves. They faced their first adversity of the tournament during Sunday\u2019s win over Duke when they trailed at the half, and now they\u2019ll get a true test against the Longhorns.<\/p>\n

Continue reading here<\/a><\/p>\n

NCAA women\u2019s basketball bracket<\/a><\/p>\n

Sean McVay hopes Puka Nacua will learn from incidents \"Rams <\/p>\n

Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua warms up before a wild-card playoff game against the Carolina Panthers in January.<\/p>\n

(Eric Thayer \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

From Gary Klein<\/a>: Rams coach Sean McVay<\/a> could not help repeating himself when asked about star receiver Puka Nacua<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI trust this kid\u2019s heart,\u201d McVay said three times Monday at the NFL owners meetings.<\/p>\n

But do the Rams trust Nacua, who has been at the center of several off-the-field situations, enough to break the bank with a massive extension?<\/p>\n

Last week, a woman filed a civil lawsuit<\/a> against Nacua, alleging that on New Year\u2019s Eve he made an antisemitic statement during a group dinner and later bit her shoulder. Nacua\u2019s attorney told The Times before the lawsuit was filed that Nacua \u201cdenies these allegations in the strongest possible terms,\u201d and that Nacua would \u201cpursue all available legal remedies in response to these false and damaging statements.\u201d<\/p>\n

Continue reading here<\/a><\/p>\n

How to buy tickets for L.A. 2028 Olympics \"Dr. <\/p>\n

Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg perform at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games handover celebration in Long Beach in August 2024.<\/p>\n

(Emma McIntyre \/ Getty Images for LA28)<\/p>\n

From Thuc Nhi Nguyen<\/a>: There\u2019s still more than two years remaining before the Olympics return to L.A.<\/a>, but fans can lock in their seats this week when tickets officially go on sale.<\/p>\n

The virtual ticket box opens April 2 for locals in Southern California and Oklahoma. LA28<\/a> is planning to make 14 million tickets available for the Games, which would break the record for total tickets sold set by Paris 2024<\/a>. The L.A. Games already attracted a record number of ticket registrations, topping 5 million fans from 197 countries and territories for the first drop.<\/p>\n

Continue reading here<\/a><\/p>\n

Angels fall to Cubs for third straight loss<\/p>\n

From The Associated Press<\/a>: Edward Cabrera<\/a> pitched six shutout innings, Ian Happ<\/a> hit a solo homer and the Chicago Cubs beat the Angels 7-2<\/a> on Monday night.<\/p>\n

Cabrera gave up one hit and walked one in his Chicago debut, delighting the crowd of 36,702 on a picturesque night at Wrigley Field. The 6-foot-5 right-hander was acquired in a January trade with Miami.<\/p>\n

Carson Kelly and Mois\u00e9s Ballesteros each drove in two runs for the Cubs (2-2) in the opener of a three-game series.<\/p>\n

Continue reading here<\/a><\/p>\n

Angels-Cubs box score<\/a><\/p>\n

Ducks lose in overtime to Toronto<\/p>\n

From the Associated Press<\/a>: John Tavares redirected a shot from Morgan Rielly into the net with five seconds left in overtime to lift the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 5-4<\/a> come-from-behind victory over the Ducks<\/a> in a fight-marred game Monday night.<\/p>\n

The Leafs overcame a 3-1 deficit with three goals in the third period, including Rielly\u2019s snap shot from the high slot that beat Ducks goalie Ville Husso<\/a> stick-side to give Toronto a 4-3 lead with three minutes left in regulation.<\/p>\n

But Leo Carlsson<\/a>, who hobbled to the locker room after taking a hard hit and falling to the ice in the first minute of the third, gathered a loose puck near the left circle and flicked a shot past Toronto goalie Anthony Stolarz to make it 4-4 with 1:39 left.<\/p>\n

Tavares added a first-period goal, and Stolarz stopped 28 of 32 shots for Toronto, which took the ice about 1\u00bd hours after general manager Brad Treliving was fired near the end of his third season, with the Maple Leafs on the verge of being eliminated from the playoffs for the first time in a decade.<\/p>\n

Continue reading here<\/a><\/p>\n

Ducks-Maple Leafs box score<\/a><\/p>\n

NHL scores<\/a><\/p>\n

NHL standings<\/a><\/p>\n

Las Vegas to host another Super Bowl<\/p>\n

From the Associated Press<\/a>: The Super Bowl will return to Las Vegas in 2029 for the second time after NFL owners voted Monday to award the nation\u2019s gambling and entertainment capital the big game.<\/p>\n

Las Vegas getting the Super Bowl back seemed only like a matter of time after Kansas City defeated San Francisco<\/a> 25-22 in overtime at Allegiant Stadium in February 2024.<\/p>\n

Commissioner Roger Goodell all but gave the return his blessing after the first Super Bowl in a city the league long shunned because of concerns about legalized sports betting.<\/p>\n

Continue reading here<\/a><\/p>\n

Former USC star Joey Browner dies \"Joey <\/p>\n

Former Minnesota Vikings safety Joey Browner talks during his induction ceremony to the team\u2019s ring of honor on Oct. 27, 2013, in Minneapolis.<\/p>\n

(Jim Mone \/ Associated Press)<\/p>\n

From Chuck Schilken<\/a>: Joey Browner<\/a>, a star defensive back at USC and a six-time NFL Pro Bowl selection, has died. He was 65.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Vikings are mourning the loss of Ring of Honor member Joey Browner,\u201d the team said Sunday in a statement. \u201cBrowner will be deeply missed by former coaches and teammates, as well as many others he impacted throughout his life.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Vikings added in a separate post<\/a>: \u201cHe helped define what it is to be an NFL safety.\u201d<\/p>\n

No cause of death was given. In August, former Minnesota quarterback Tommy Kramer organized a fundraiser<\/a> for Browner, who Kramer said was \u201cbattling through some serious health issues.\u201d<\/p>\n

Continue reading here<\/a><\/p>\n

This day in sports history<\/p>\n

1923 \u2014 The Ottawa Senators of the NHL completes a two-game sweep of the WCHL\u2019s Edmonton Eskimos with a 1-0 victory to win the Stanley Cup for the third time in four years. Harry \u201cPunch\u201d Broadbent scores the goal.<\/p>\n

1931 \u2014 Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne and seven others die in a plane crash in a wheat field near Bazaar, Kansas. During his 13 years at Notre Dame, the 43-year-old coach, led the \u201cFighting Irish\u201d to 105 victories, 12 losses, five ties and three national championships.<\/p>\n

1968 \u2014 The American League\u2019s new franchise in Seattle chooses Pilots as its nickname.<\/p>\n

1973 \u2014 The Philadelphia Flyers tie an NHL record for most goals in one period, scoring eight goals in the second period of a 10-2 win over the New York Islanders.<\/p>\n

1973 \u2014 Ken Norton scores a stunning upset by winning a 12-round split decision over Muhammad Ali to win the NABF heavyweight title. Norton, a 5-1 underdog, breaks Ali\u2019s jaw in the first round.<\/p>\n

1975 \u2014 UCLA beats Kentucky 92-85 for its 10th NCAA basketball title under head coach John Wooden. Wooden finishes with a 620-147 career record after announcing his retirement two days earlier.<\/p>\n

1976 \u2014 Cleveland Cavaliers beat Jazz to clinch club\u2019s first ever NBA playoff berth.<\/p>\n

1980 \u2014 Larry Holmes scores a TKO in the eighth round over Leroy Jones to retain his WBC heavyweight title in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n

1980 \u2014 Mike Weaver knocks out John Tate in the 15th round to win the WBA heavyweight title in Knoxville, Tenn.<\/p>\n

1982 \u2014 NBA and NBAPA reach 4-year agreement on return for minimum & maximum payrolls, the first of its kind in team sports.<\/p>\n

1984 \u2014 Mike Bossy becomes first player in NHL history to record 7 straight 50 goal seasons.<\/p>\n

1985 \u2014 Old Dominion beats Georgia in the 4th NCAAW National Championship.<\/p>\n

1986 \u2014 Freshman center Pervis Ellison hits two free throws with 27 seconds left to seal Louisville\u2019s 72-69 victory over Duke in the NCAA basketball championship.<\/p>\n

1990 \u2014 20-year old C Joe Sakic becomes the youngest player in NHL history to score 100 points in a season<\/p>\n

1991 \u2014 Tennessee edges Virginia 70-67 in overtime for its third NCAA women\u2019s basketball title. It\u2019s the first overtime in the NCAA\u2019s 10-year history.<\/p>\n

1991 \u2014 Amy Alcott wins the Dinah Shore golf tournament with a record eight-shot victory over Dottie Mochrie.<\/p>\n

1994 \u2014 Chicago White Sox assigns former NBA superstar Michael Jordan to the Birmingham Barons of Class AA Southern League.<\/p>\n

1995 \u2014 Major league baseball players end their strike.<\/p>\n

1997 \u2014 Martina Hingis becomes the youngest No. 1 player in tennis history. The 16-year-old Swiss sensation, who claimed her fifth title of 1997 at the Lipton Championships on March 29, supplants Steffi Graf in the WTA Tour rankings.<\/p>\n

1998 \u2014 Expansion clubs, Tampa Bay Devil Rays and Arizona Diamondbacks both suffer losses in their MLB debuts.<\/p>\n

2002 \u2014 UConn women\u2019s basketball team beat Oklahoma, 82-70; Huskies conclude perfect season (39-0).<\/p>\n

2002 \u2014 Andre Agassi wins his 700th career match and captures his second straight Key Biscayne Title.<\/p>\n

2005 \u2014 Tarence Kinsey hits a 3-pointer with 1.3 seconds left to lift South Carolina to a 60-57 victory over Saint Joseph\u2019s for the NIT championship.<\/p>\n

2012 \u2014 Ray Whitney passes 1,000 career points with a goal and assist in Phoenix\u2019s 4-0 victory over Anaheim.<\/p>\n

2013 \u2014 In one of the biggest upsets in the history of the NCAA women\u2019s tournament, sixth-seeded Louisville stuns defending national champion Baylor in the regional semifinals, 82-81. It\u2019s the end of a remarkable college career for Baylor\u2019s Brittney Griner, a record-setting 6-foot-8 post player who ended up as the second-highest scoring player in NCAA history.<\/p>\n

2013 \u2014 Pete Weber ties Earl Anthony by winning his 10th major Professional Bowlers Association title with a 224-179 win over Australian Jason Belmonte in the Tournament of Champions.<\/p>\n

2017 \u2014 UConn\u2019s record 111-game winning streak comes to a startling end when Mississippi State pulls off perhaps the biggest upset in women\u2019s basketball history, shocking the Huskies 66-64 on Morgan William\u2019s overtime buzzer beater in the national semifinals.<\/p>\n

2018 \u2014 Anthony Joshua beats Joseph Parker by unanimous decision to become a three-belt world heavyweight boxing champion. Joshua adds Parker\u2019s WBO belt to his WBA and IBF titles, and moves within one belt of becoming the first undisputed champion since Lennox Lewis in 2000.<\/p>\n

Compiled by the Associated Press<\/p>\n

Until next time…<\/p>\n

That concludes today\u2019s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you\u2019d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com<\/a>. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"From Maddie Lee: A fastball up and off the plate to Guardians left-handed hitter Steven Kwan was an…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":654286,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2406],"tags":[1769,5,39,13528,13529,1165,4332,4333,1562,774,57,1593,3224,4331,4,169,3480,13531,235,1200,5005,3998,13527,13530],"class_list":["post-654285","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles-dodgers","tag-associated-press","tag-baseball","tag-dodgers","tag-jason-preston","tag-kings","tag-la","tag-la-dodgers","tag-ladodgers","tag-lakers","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-dodgers","tag-los-angeles-times","tag-losangeles","tag-losangelesdodgers","tag-mlb","tag-news","tag-sandy-alcantara","tag-taylor-fritz","tag-team","tag-teams","tag-times","tag-tuesday","tag-ucla-olympic-sports","tag-wimbledon"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116323621841997545","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/654285","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=654285"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/654285\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/654286"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=654285"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=654285"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=654285"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}