Sports News, Sports Scores: Orange County Register

Tour de France: Arensman wins toughest stage, Pogačar bumps his lead

The Associated Press — Sat, 19 Jul 2025 16:16:50 +0000

LUCHON-SUPERBAGNERES, France — Dutch rider Thymen Arensman won the Tour de France’s toughest stage after a long solo effort over mammoth climbs and Tadej Pogačar increased his overall lead Saturday.

Arensman, who rides for the Ineos-Grenadiers team, posted the biggest victory of his career. After crossing the finish line in the deep fog enveloping the ski resort of Superbagnères, Arensman lay exhausted on the road with his head in his hands.

He went solo with 23 miles left from a breakaway, and quickly opened a comfortable lead. He started the final ascent to Superbagnères, which is more than 7.5 miles long, on his own and resisted the return of the main contenders.

It was Arensman’s second Grand Tour stage win, having previously won a stage at the 2022 Spanish Vuelta.

As Arensman posed no threat to the overall standings, Pogačar and his teammates controlled the race from the back, with the yellow jersey holder and his main challenger Jonas Vingegaard trailing by around three minutes with five miles remaining.

Vingegaard tried a move with four kilometers left and Pogačar responded with ease. The two rivals then watched each other closely and Arensman crossed first at the summit, more than one minute ahead of the duo.

Having won the previous two stages in the Pyrenees, Pogačar settled for second place. He accelerated in the final section to gain more time on Vingegaard, who completed the stage podium.

Overall, Pogačar increased his lead over Vingegaard to four minutes, 13 seconds, with Florian Lipowitz in third place, 7:53 off the pace after Remco Evenepoel abandoned.

Evenepoel, who was third overall, struggled early on as the peloton faced another day of suffering on climbs that are part of the Tour’s lore such as the Col du Tourmalet, the Col d’Aspin, Col de Peyresourde and Superbagnères.

The Olympic champion was dropped on the ascent of the Tourmalet. Evenepoel won the opening time trial but suffered in the Pyrenees. After struggling during Friday’s uphill race against the clock to Peyragudes, he managed to keep his third place in the general classification, more than seven minutes behind Pogačar.

Sunday’s stage

Riders will exit high mountains during a 105-mile ride from Muret to the medieval city of Carcassonne. Although the route could favor sprinters, the Côte de Saint-Ferréol and then the Pas du Sant, a roughly two-mile climb at 10%, could provide opportunities for bold challengers seeking a breakaway.

The race finishes next weekend in Paris.

Del Mar horse racing consensus picks for Saturday, July 19, 2025

Staff report — Sat, 19 Jul 2025 13:47:45 +0000

The consensus box of Del Mar horse racing picks comes from handicappers Bob Mieszerski, Eddie Wilson, Kevin Modesti and Mark Ratzky. Here are the picks for thoroughbred races on Saturday, July 19, 2025.

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Bronny-less Lakers fade in 4th, drop summer league finale to Nuggets

Staff and news service reports — Sat, 19 Jul 2025 05:29:15 +0000

LAS VEGAS — The Lakers and the Denver Nuggets tussled back and forth in their NBA Summer League finale on Friday night – for three quarters.

In a game that featured nine ties and 14 lead changes through the first 30 minutes, the Nuggets took control in the final 10, outscoring the Lakers 30-15 in the fourth quarter to secure a 106-84 win at UNLV’s Thomas & Mack Center.

Neither team led by more than six points until the final 12 minutes, but Denver did outscore the Lakers in all four quarters. The Nuggets shot 52% from the field while holding the Lakers to 41% and outscoring them 62-26 in the paint. The Nuggets also outscored the Lakers in fast-break points (21-6) and points off turnovers (19-7).

Cole Swider had 17 points and six rebounds and R.J. Davis had 17 points and three assists off the bench to lead the Lakers (1-4 in Las Vegas, 3-5 overall this summer), who played without second-year guards Bronny James and Dalton Knecht.

Ethan Taylor added 15 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals, while Sir’Jabari Rice had 14 points and three rebounds.

Curtis Jones paced the Nuggets (2-3) with 22 points, five rebounds, eight assists and two steals. Reyne Smith had 17 points off the bench, while Donovan Williams had 16 points and six rebounds and Terrence Hargrove Jr. contributed 12 points and six rebounds.

After going 2-1 at the four-team California Classic in San Francisco, the Lakers had a loss to Cooper Flagg and Dallas, a win against New Orleans and losses to the Clippers, Boston and Denver in Las Vegas.

Dodgers still can’t figure out Brewers’ pitchers

Bill Plunkett — Sat, 19 Jul 2025 04:39:32 +0000

Dodgers starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow throws to the plate during the first inning of a game against the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday night at Dodger Stadium. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

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Dodgers starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow throws to the plate during the first inning of a game against the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday night at Dodger Stadium. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

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LOS ANGELES — Before Friday night’s game, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts praised the Milwaukee Brewers, particularly for the strength of their pitching and defense.

“It’s just hard to score against this team,” Roberts said.

He has no reason to think otherwise.

The Dodgers returned from the All-Star break and were held to three hits in a 2-0 loss to those Brewers.

It was their fourth loss to the Brewers in the past 11 days. They have scored a total of four runs in those matchups with the National League wild card leaders while batting .151 as a team.

“I think obviously they do a good job of pitching,” Roberts said after the game of a Brewers team that went into Friday with the fifth-lowest ERA in MLB. “They throw a lot of quality pitches with their entire pitch mix. This guy was good tonight. Didn’t make many mistakes. The comeback sinker to the righty, the slider, the cutter.

“They don’t walk guys. So it just seems like, yeah, they’re pitching us well.”

That has been a theme during a barren month of July for the Dodgers’ offense. With multiple players slumping, they have hit just .205 this month with a .272 on-base percentage and .322 slugging percentage in 13 games. Only one team (the last-place Pittsburgh Pirates) has been less productive offensively this month.

“We saw it over at their place. They got some big arms,” Dodgers outfielder Michael Conforto said. “What we usually do is just have tough at-bats, and eventually somebody gets a mistake and slugs it. I think we’re working our way back to that, and will be scoring more runs shortly.

“Every time we go out there, we expect to score, and that’s what we’ve been doing all year. It’s just one of those stretches of a little bit tougher to get runs in. But, you know, obviously, we have faith in our guys, and some big names in here that made their careers on scoring runs and driving guys in. I think we’ll be okay.”

Seven of the 13 unproductive games this month have been against two of the best pitching staffs in baseball – the Houston Astros and Brewers. All seven of those have been losses, a bad portent for October when every team will have good pitching.

“I don’t know if it’s a concern,” Roberts said to that. “I think it’s one of those perfect-storm kind of plays in the sense that some guys just haven’t been swinging the bats well, and then you’re running into good pitching on top of that. It doesn’t really bode well for run production.

“But tomorrow’s a new day. We’ve got to reset and be ready because those guys aren’t going to feel sorry for us, and Freddy (Peralta) is an All-Star. For me, we’ve got to get on the fastball, try to scare him out of the zone because this is a guy again that just doesn’t walk many guys. We’ve got to find a way to be on the offensive tomorrow.”

Friday’s starter, Quinn Priester, wasn’t an All-Star but he looked like one against the Dodgers. He announced his presence with authority, striking out Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman in the first inning and going on to strike out 10 in his six innings. The Dodgers have struck out 47 times in their four games against the Brewers.

Priester’s sinking fastball averaged just 94.3 mph but the Dodgers missed on five of their 12 swings at it, taking 10 more for called strikes. They didn’t have any more luck with Priester’s cutter, missing on five of 11 swings at it.

The Dodgers managed just three hits off Priester and touched second base just twice in the game. Freeman doubled with one out in the fourth inning then was promptly doubled off when Will Smith hit a line drive right at third baseman Caleb Durbin.

Ohtani reached on a fielder’s choice in the sixth inning and stole second (his 13th steal of the season), but Betts struck out on the next pitch.

Hyeseong Kim’s leadoff single in the sixth inning was the Dodgers’ last hit of the game.

“He was filling up the (strike) zone,” Conforto said of Priester, the Pirates’ first-round pick in the 2019 MLB Draft now in his third organization. “He could command all his pitches. A lot of sinkers, a little cutter, big curveball, big slider – he was really good with all of them.

“We’ve got to figure out a way to get guys on and score runs because our pitchers did their job tonight.”

The Dodgers’ ineffectual offense against the Brewers wasted an excellent outing from Tyler Glasnow in his second start back from the injured list.

Glasnow retired 12 of the first 14 batters he faced. But he made the cardinal sin of walking the leadoff hitter in the fifth inning. Isaac Collins moved up on a ground out and scored easily when Durbin lined a double into the left field corner.

That was one of just four hits allowed by Glasnow in the loss. He has allowed just two runs (one unearned) on six hits in 11 innings since coming off the IL.

“It’s been really good. It has,” Roberts said. “He’s been able to stay in his rhythm, stay in his delivery, just be in ‘compete’ mode. It’s nice to see the 99s (mph), the slider’s playing. There’s swing and miss there. There’s efficiency to the pitching.

“So all that stuff, it’s been really good. To get him through six is just another building block for Tyler. I think he’s in a really good spot. He’s healthy, feeling confident and we’re better for it, for sure.”

Glasnow’s fastball velocity has been up in each of his starts since returning from a shoulder injury he suspected was caused by changes he made in his mechanics in hopes of avoiding another elbow injury. He averaged 97.3 mph on his 37 four-seam fastballs on Friday and got six of his 12 swings-and-misses with that pitch.

A less positive trend continued when Kirby Yates followed him in the seventh inning and gave up a solo home run to Durbin. It was the sixth home run allowed by Yates this season, double his total in twice as many innings last season.

Game Warrior is just that in opening day upset at Del Mar

Bill Center — Sat, 19 Jul 2025 02:25:42 +0000

DEL MAR — Followers of trainer Peter Miller had a profitable opening day at Del Mar Friday.

Not only did Miller’s 19-1 longshot Game Warrior survive the stretch rush of odds-on favorite Iron Man Cal to win the featured $100,000 Oceanside Stakes, the trainer scored earlier with 9-1 pick Tejon Pass on a day of big prices.

Favorites won just two of the 10 races with horses ranked 5-1 or longer scoring seven wins, with two winners checking in at odds of approximately 20-1.

“Winning is good,” Miller said in the winner’s circle.

But winning isn’t easy. And favorite Iron Man Cal might have triumphed had the son of Collected not bobbled badly leaving the starting gate of the one-mile turf test for 3-year-olds.

Iron Man Cal trailed the field much of the way until jockey Antonio Fresu found an opening along the rail and in the stretch and mounted a determined charge that came with a half-length of overtaking the winner.

“It was a good race for Game Warrior,” said jockey Hector Berrios, who also had two wins on opening day. “He was relaxed all the way. We had a little bit of trouble in the stretch … we got bumped some. But it wasn’t too bad. When I asked him he went. He was strong.”

Not that Miller had a visual of Game Warrior at a key moment. “I didn’t pick him up,” said the trainer. “It was my son who spotted him splitting horses. Hector gave him a superb ride.

“He got him to the rail by the first turn out of the seven hole. He saved all the ground. Then he split horses in a tight opening.”

Game Warrior paid $40.60 to win. But he was just the third-longest play of the afternoon.

Ribbons paid $59.40 to win the day’s finale while producing the first Del Mar win for Italian-born newcomer Mirco Demuro. And Lino’s Angel (Tyler Baze) paid $45.40 to win the seventh.

Opening day attendance was 21,209 with a handle of $21.22 million, marking a 6.5% gain in on-track handle from opening day a year ago.

Horses break from the starting gate during the sixth race of Opening Day at the Del Mar Racetrack on Friday, July 18, 2025 in Del Mar, CA. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)

Opening weekend continues Saturday with two stakes — the $200,000 Grade II San Clemente Handicap for 3-year-old fillies at a mile on the Jimmy Durante turf course and the $100,000 Wickerr, a one-mile turf test for older horses.

The San Clemente is seen as a prep for next month’s Grade I Del Mar Oaks.

D’Amato and Bob Baffert each has two fillies in the San Clemente with D’Amato fielding the morning line 8-5 favorite in Thought Process.

A daughter of Collected, Thought Process won the $100,000 Juvenile Fillies Turf at Del Mar last summer and captured the Grade III Surfer Girl at Santa Anita a month later before finishing a disappointing ninth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Del Mar last Nov. 1. She has raced only once since then, winning an allowance at Santa Anita in June.

“That was an impressive comeback race,” said D’Amato. “It was a good prep for the San Clemente. And she likes this track.”

D’Amato’s other entry in the San Clemente is fourth-favorite Jungle Peace (Fresu), which is coming off a third-place finish in the Grade III Honeymoon in May at Santa Anita, which snapped a three-race winning streak.

Baffert will have third-favorite Casalu (Kasuzhi Kimura), who is seeking a third straight win.

Fans watch during Opening Day at the Del Mar Racetrack on Friday, July 18, 2025 in Del Mar, CA. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)

The Wickerr features the return of Beyond Brilliant, a 7-year-old son of Twirling Candy who hasn’t raced since 2022 due to an injury.

Trainer John Shirreffs said Beyond Brilliant has been idled for more than 2½ years after suffering a torn tendon. Before suffering the injury, Beyond Brilliant had five wins, four seconds and two thirds in 16 career starts with earnings of more than $776,000. Three of the wins had been in graded stakes.

While Beyond Brilliant is a 7-2, morning-line favorite in the Wickerr, eight of his 10 opponents ran against graded stakes competition in their most recent outings.

There will be some split interest at Del Mar Saturday. California’s best-known horse, Journalism — the Preakness Stakes winner and runner-up in the Kentucky Derby and Belmont — will be racing at Monmouth Park in the Haskell Stakes.

Dodgers will continue slow buildup for Shohei Ohtani as pitcher

Bill Plunkett — Sat, 19 Jul 2025 02:01:05 +0000

LOS ANGELES — As the second half begins, the Dodgers are still not ready to loosen the reins on Shohei Ohtani’s pitching work. But they are giving him a new partner.

Ohtani’s next start as a pitcher will come Monday night against the Minnesota Twins. ‘Piggybacking’ with him this time will be Dustin May. Ben Casparius and Emmet Sheehan filled that role for Ohtani’s first five starts. Casparius has returned to a bullpen role. Sheehan has moved into the starting rotation.

“Dustin has done it before so it’s really not going to be that big a deal for him,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.

The move does not necessarily signal a demotion for May, who has career-highs in ERA (4.96) and WHIP (1.35) but it’s a way to lighten his workload in his comeback season. May is second on the team to Yoshinobu Yamamoto in starts (17) and innings pitched (94⅓). Both are far and away career-highs for the oft-injured May.

“Yeah, I mean, we’ve already eclipsed probably where we would have expected at this point in time,” Roberts said. “So then to curtail, save – whatever way you want to kind of frame it – a little bit here and there should be a benefit to Dustin, too.”

In his last start before the All-Star break, Ohtani went three innings and threw 36 pitches against the San Francisco Giants, both season highs. But the slow pace of his buildup will continue. Roberts said Ohtani is expected to throw three innings on Monday, maybe increasing to four innings in his next two outings after that. So Ohtani won’t be throwing “a normal game,” Roberts said, any time soon.

“I think it just allows us to get the benefits of both sides in the sense of building Shohei up, to then have somebody behind him that is not just a typical bullpen game, that we feel that this person, whoever it might be on that particular night, can take down the majority of the game,” Roberts said. “And depending on how the game plays out, they can either keep going or we can pivot to leverage guys (short relievers).”

It will also give the Dodgers somewhere to stash one of their surplus starting pitchers – a luxury that seemed so far away for most of the first half but could be coming soon.

Tyler Glasnow rejoined the rotation before the All-Star break and started again on Friday. Blake Snell made his second rehab start on Tuesday in the Arizona Complex League. He threw three innings and is expected to build on that in his next rehab start on Sunday with Triple-A Oklahoma City.

If all goes well, Snell could rejoin the Dodgers’ starting rotation for the first time since April 2 during their next road trip, which begins next weekend in Boston.

Roki Sasaki has also continued throwing bullpen sessions, working toward a potential return in “late August,” Roberts said recently.

“Roki’s doing well. He worked over the All-Star break,” Roberts said Friday. “Everything I hear has been positive. So hopefully we can keep building him up and face some hitters, and get him out there competing again.”

QUICK HEALER

Injured third baseman Max Muncy was on the field before the game Friday and his recovery from a bone bruise in his left knee is going “quick,” according to Roberts.

“I think he’s swinging the bat. He’s doing some jogging and throwing,” Roberts said. “So he’s in great shape right now. I don’t really know a timeline. But I do know from the outset it’s going to be a lot sooner than anticipated, which is good for all of us.”

Muncy was injured on a play at third base during the Dodgers’ July 2 game against the Chicago White Sox. The expectation at the time was that he would miss six to eight weeks.

CEY HONORED

Longtime Dodgers third baseman Ron Cey was inducted into the Legends of Dodger Baseball before Friday’s game. A six-time All-Star with the Dodgers, he played the first 12 seasons of his 17-year major league career with the team. He ranks fifth in franchise history in home runs (228) and walks (765), is sixth in rWAR (47.7), and 10th in RBIs.

He is the ninth inductee into the Legends. Don Newcombe, Steve Garvey, and Fernando Valenzuela were so honored in 2019, and Valenzuela later got his jersey No. 34 retired in 2023. Maury Wills and Kirk Gibson were inducted into the Legends in 2022, Manny Mota and Orel Hershiser received the honor in 2023, and Dusty Baker was inducted last season.

UP NEXT

Brewers (RHP Freddy Peralta, 11-4, 2.66 ERA) at Dodgers (RHP Emmet Sheehan, 1-0, 2.03 ERA), Saturday, 6:10 p.m., SportsNet LA, 570 AM

Taylor Ward’s late homer helps Angels to victory over Phillies

Jeff Fletcher — Sat, 19 Jul 2025 01:40:19 +0000

Angels relief pitcher Kenley Jansen, right, and catcher Logan O’Hoppe celebrate after the final out of the ninth inning of their victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday, July 18, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

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PHILADELPHIA — It’s a familiar routine for Taylor Ward.

His “inner circle” of friends and family text him when they see his name in trade rumors, and Ward does all he can to ignore it.

The best way to make them go away is to keep doing what he did on Friday night, when he hit a tie-breaking two-run homer in the seventh inning of the Angels’ 6-5 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Angels (48-49) have just 12 games left before the trade deadline. They began the day four games out of a playoff spot, needing a hot streak in the next two weeks to avoid a sell-off that could include Ward.

“I want to stay here,” Ward said. “I want to win with this group. I think it’d be the cherry on top, getting to the playoffs and winning with this group.”

Closer Kenley Jansen, another player likely to be dealt if the Angels decide to sell, echoed Ward’s comments. He also has no desire to be moved.

“I came here with one mind, that’s try to help this organization, to turn it back to a winning organization,” Jansen said after pitching a perfect ninth to record the save. “We’ve got a great group of guys around here, and I think we could do it. We could sneak into the wild card or you never know what could happen the next 65 games. So we just got to keep coming with this energy. We played a really great team today. The bullpen pitched well. Everybody played well. Just look forward to tomorrow. Can’t worry about the next two weeks.”

This one didn’t start very well, with the Angels opting for a bullpen game and winding up in 4-1 hole by the third inning.

The Angels tied it by the fifth. In the seventh, Ward got a hanging sweeper from left-hander Tanner Banks and he hit it over the left field fence, giving the Angels their first lead of the game.

Ward’s team-leading 22nd homer of the season made it 6-4.

“I was hunting a fastball and kind of just ran into that one,” Ward said. “So glad I took a swing on it. Just didn’t miss it.”

Left-hander Reid Detmers worked a perfect seventh. In the eight, right-hander José Fermin gave up Bryce Harper’s second homer of the game, cutting the lead in half.

Jansen took the mound in the ninth with a one-run lead, which could have been bigger if the Angels had driven in runners from third with one out in the eighth or ninth innings.

Jansen still converted his 17th save of the season – and 464th of his career – to finish a successful bullpen game.

It was unusual for the Angels to choose a bullpen game for the first start out of the break.

They did it to give an extra day of rest to starters Yusei Kikuchi and José Soriano and to avoid having Tyler Anderson or Kyle Hendricks pitch at hitter-friendly Citizens Bank Park. They also have an opening in their rotation since Jack Kochanowicz was sent down, and by pushing the spot for the No. 5 starter from next Tuesday to Wednesday, they have the option of using Victor Mederos for that game. Mederos would not have been in the minors for the required 15 days on Tuesday.

Still, the decision didn’t look good initially.

Right-hander Ryan Zeferjahn got the start and he gave up a home run to Kyle Schwarber in the first inning. Left-hander Jake Eder followed Zeferjahn to the mound, and he gave up a three-run homer to Harper in the third inning, putting the Angels in a 4-1 hole.

The Angels got back two of those runs on Jo Adell’s two-run homer in the fourth, his 20th of the season.

In the fifth, Mike Trout poked a two-out single into right, driving in the tying run. It was the 996th RBI of Trout’s career.

Trout is 8 for 22 (.364) with three home runs and nine RBIs in his last six games. Ever since the three-time American League MVP returned from the injured list in late May, he has been getting on base – mostly with walks – but lately he’s been coming up with more clutch hits.

“It’s just a continuation of what we’ve seen since he’s come back,” interim manager Ray Montgomery said. “The important thing is he keeps staying healthy, knock on wood. And when he starts seeing pitches and he’s in games for a lengthy amount of time, it’s Mike Trout.”

USA Water Polo’s Junior Olympics begin in Orange County on Saturday

Dan Albano — Sat, 19 Jul 2025 01:11:48 +0000

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Many of Orange County’s top boys and girls water polo players will be in action with their respective clubs at the upcoming Junior Olympics in Orange County.

Session I features the boys and begins Saturday throughout the county. The finals in the top divisions are Tuesday, July 22 at Woollett Aquatics Center in Irvine.

Two-time defending champion Newport Beach, powered by players from Newport Harbor, is seeded first in the 18-and-under boys division.

Newport Beach won’t have Newport Harbor senior Connor Ohl, a recent Stanford commit who is playing with the U.S. national team at the World Championships in Singapore.

Mission, led by JSerra players, is seeded second.

Session II spotlights the girls and runs July 24-27. The top-division finals are also at Woollett Aquatics Center.

SOCAL is seeded first with Regency (Mater Dei) and Newport Beach slotted third and fourth, respectively.

SOCAL’s roster incudes several girls who played for Foothill last season.

Junior Olympics is considered the largest water polo tournament in the world. The event hosts about 15,000 players who are ages 18-and-under. There are 942 teams entered.

LAFC coach Steve Cherundolo ready for what is likely his final El Tráfico

Josh Gross — Sat, 19 Jul 2025 01:03:15 +0000

As it stands now, Saturday night’s El Tráfico matchup at BMO Stadium will be the final encounter of 2025 between the Steve Cherundolo-led Los Angeles Football Club and its rival, the six-time Major League Soccer champion Galaxy.

Stuck at the bottom of the Western Conference, 14 points shy of a wild-card spot with 11 regular-season games left, chances are slim to none that the Galaxy (3-14-6, 15 points) will qualify for the MLS postseason.

A far more likely but not sure thing: the rivalry could renew in the Leagues Cup once that competition reaches the semifinal round of the knockout phase.

But if not, their second regular-season meeting this year, the 26th between the two in all competitions, represents the earliest and quickest conclusion to the annual derby series since it kicked off in 2018. Previously, the fastest they concluded was Aug. 24 during LAFC’s expansion campaign.

Over the past seven seasons, arguably the most compelling MLS rivalry took place three times per year and (in 2020, 2022 and 2023) as many as four.

“Judging from texts and comments from others around the league who are not emotionally attached to that game, I know a lot of people tune in,” Cherundolo said Friday. “What I take from that is the more games we can get where the intensity level is raised, the better the MLS looks. I love coaching in these games.”

Presuming they don’t cross paths again in 2025, Cherundolo shall depart for the next chapter of his managerial career after coaching 13 times against the Galaxy – the same total Bob Bradley accumulated throughout his four-year run with the Black & Gold.

Bradley pieced together a 3-5-5 record against the Galaxy, eventually nailing down an El Tráfico victory in LAFC’s sixth try during the 2019 postseason.

Cherundolo’s squads enjoyed more success after a dozen encounters, going 6-5-1 including the first draw since Bradley’s final season when LAFC (10-5-5, 35 points) headed to Dignity Health Sports Park in mid-May.

The 46-year-old coach said his most memorable El Tráfico came in his debut season, when LAFC won an MLS Cup Western Conference semifinal showdown, 3-2, at BMO Stadium.

French winger Denis Bouanga scored two goals on a night when LAFC took its initial step toward winning a first league championship.

To the delight of his head coach, his teammates and the supporters, Bouanga has reliably produced in big moments well into his fourth year with the Black & Gold.

On Saturday, Bouanga can become the first player to score in six consecutive derbies, surpassing Carlos Vela. If so, he will equal Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s El Tráfico total of nine goals, trailing only Vela’s 12.

“For every derby I want to score,” Bouanga said through an interpreter. “Since I was a kid I have dreamt about those games.”

On Wednesday in St. Paul, Minnesota, a third straight clean sheet victory in eight days materialized for Bouanga and the boys after the 30-year-old three-time MLS All-Star bagged his 11th goal of the regular season, leaving him nine shy of tying Vela for the most in franchise history at 93.

Following the season-ending injury to captain Aaron Long, goalkeeper Hugo Lloris was handed that role against Minnesota United FC.

Lloris excelled as captain over a record 121 games with the French national team, and across eight seasons with Tottenham Hotspur in the English Premier League.

Coming into El Tráfico, wearing the armband is “not something I was looking to get, but it usually comes to me naturally,” Lloris said. “It doesn’t change my mind or my spirit or my approach to the game. Also the way I am in the changing room towards my teammates. With the absence of Aaron I will do my best to make sure the team is going in the right direction.”

GALAXY AT LAFC

When: Saturday, 7:30 p.m.

Where: BMO Stadium

TV/Radio: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV/710 AM, 980 AM

Chargers OLB Tuli Tuipulotu raising his game and voice

Elliott Teaford — Fri, 18 Jul 2025 23:58:22 +0000

EL SEGUNDO — Tuli Tuipulotu arrived at his first Chargers training camp as a wide-eyed, 20-year-old second-round draft pick from USC. He approached veteran teammates and fellow outside linebackers Khalil Mack and Joey Bosa and called them “sir” and “mister” with a sense of reverence.

Tuipulotu made quite the first impression during the 2023 season, and it went far beyond being polite and respecting his elders in the locker room and on the field. He made his mark as a rookie, saying far more with his actions during practices and games than by opening his mouth.

He was quiet and shy off the field.

His play on the field was loud and attention-grabbing.

He was courteous off the field.

He was a menacing threat to opposing quarterbacks on the field.

Entering his third NFL season, Tuipulotu has embraced an enhanced role that now includes an occasional locker room or sideline speech to his teammates, something that was unthinkable when he was a rookie. Slowly but certainly, over 34 games, he has commanded additional respect from his peers.

“He’s a quiet dude, but when he speaks, everybody listens to him,” Mack said Friday of his younger and less experienced teammate. “It’s good to see him kind of coming into himself from a vocal standpoint, especially when he’s on the field. Just want to see more from him from that standpoint.”

Tuipulotu said after the second day of training camp that he hasn’t accomplished enough so far in his young career to be an outspoken leader, to be that rah-rah guy in the locker room or on the field. He insisted he must continue to let his play do the talking for him.

No question, Tuipulotu, 22, will get that opportunity this season, what with Mack now 34 and entering his 12th season and with Bosa having been released by the Chargers and signing with the Buffalo Bills. Tuipulotu is expected to start opposite Mack this season, his first as a full-time starter.

“Every year, I feel like, coming into it, it’s going to be a big year,” Tuipulotu said when asked if he believed the 2025 season could be even more of a breakout season for him than his first two. “That was my mindset going into last year and it’s going to be the same coming into this year.”

Tuipulotu said he has swapped texts with Bosa since Bosa’s departure in March.

“I hope he’s doing good, but, yeah, I miss him,” Tuipulotu said of Bosa.

Tuipulotu, Mack and Bosa formed a rotation for most of the past two seasons, but especially in 2024. Tuipulotu made 11 starts in 2023 and nine in ’24. He had 4½ sacks among his 53 combined tackles as a rookie and led the Chargers with 8½ sacks among his 42 tackles this past season.

Tuipulotu and Mack are expected to be joined by veteran Bud Dupree, who might also earn more playing time during the 2025 season with Bosa playing with Buffalo. Dupree, who is entering his 11th season in the NFL, was a valuable depth player last season, and he might be even more so this year.

“You don’t want a guy to be comfortable, but also within a defense you can get more comfortable and you can learn, and he knows exactly what we want him to do,” said Jesse Minter, entering his second season as the Chargers’ defensive coordinator. “He also has a playmaking skill-set, too.

“I think the really good players, it’s like, can they do what you want them to do? Do they also have that little magic where sometimes they go outside the realm and make a play? The really good, productive players have always been that way. I think he can be that. I think he’s done a great job of taking advantage of the opportunity.”

EXTRA POINTS

Jamaree Salyer slotted into Mekhi Becton’s spot at right guard for Friday’s practice, joining left tackle Rashawn Slater, left guard Bradley Bozeman, center Zion Johnson and right tackle Joe Alt. Becton had a good excuse for missing practice. He received his Super Bowl ring with the Philadelphia Eagles. …

Chuka Ndulue has joined the Chargers’ coaching staff under the Spanos Coaching Fellowship program. He’ll be assisting the Chargers’ defensive linemen after spending last season as the defensive line coach at Colorado State. He also has coached at New Mexico, Southern Illinois and Oklahoma.