Bo Bichette was out of the lineup for a second straight game Saturday as Mets interim manager Andy Green said the third baseman was dealing with “right ankle soreness” after taking several foul balls off his leg while the Mets were in Atlanta.
Bichette was healthy enough to pinch hit for Zack Short with two on and one out in the bottom of the seventh of Saturday’s 4-0 loss to the Red Sox at Citi Field.
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He walked to load the bases before being removed for pinch runner Tyrone Taylor.
Green said Bichette was best used simply as a pinch hitter.
He could also sit Sunday as the team heads into the All-Star break.
“It’s a day-to-day thing,’’ Green said before the game. “He’s played through a lot. The guy is a warrior.”
Bichette has had an inconsistent season with the Mets after signing with the team in the offseason, but had been heating up recently.
In Atlanta, Bichette went 8-for-18 with a double over the four-game series.
But in three games since then, Bichette was just 2-for-13 before being held out of the lineup Friday and Saturday against the Red Sox.
Still, after opening the season with a .570 OPS in his first 61 games, Bichette put up an OPS of .870 in 33 games heading into Saturday.
With Bichette on the bench, the Mets used Brett Baty at third base again Saturday. Baty went 0-for-3 with a walk to snap his career-long hitting streak at 10 games.
Bo Bichette, pictured earlier in the month, was out of the lineup for a second straight game Saturday due to “right ankle soreness.” Getty Images
Marcus Semien is “nearing a rehab assignment,” Green said before Saturday’s game. Semien has progressed well after being sidelined with a left hip-flexor strain since June 25.
Complicating matters is that the upcoming All-Star break will make minor league rehab games harder to find.
Green, who was the team’s senior vice president for player development until taking over in the dugout, said he’d be hesitant to play Semien — or any other player — in a Florida Complex League game due to the inconsistent pitching they’d see there.
Green said Semien was able to “run aggressively” and was moving around well, but might be held back by the lack of high-level rehab games.
The same could be true of Luis Robert Jr. (lumbar spine disc herniation).
He had a productive night at the plate with Double-A Binghamton in a rehab game Friday and is getting closer to being activated, according to Green.
The outfielder has been out since late April.
Robert’s return, whenever it happens, could give the Mets some decisions to make.
The team is determined to keep Ewing in center field and not move him to second base outside of emergency situations, despite his ability to play there.
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Kodai Senga has pitched himself out of almost every role with the Mets, but there were some encouraging signs from his scoreless inning in relief in Friday’s loss. Green didn’t rule out using the right-hander in that capacity again.
“It’s something he’s unaccustomed to,” Green said. “We’ll see how he responds to those types of opportunities.”
Green added Senga, with his upper-90s velocity and forkball, “can be a back-end piece” in the pen, but the Mets will determine whether he’s able to handle the role physically.
“We’ll learn that in time,’’ Green said. “Kodai has a chance to be an elite starter and an elite back-end piece.”
The Mets announced right-hander Alex Carrillo was released from the major league roster while right-hander Matt Seelinger was outrighted to Triple-A Syracuse.
LAS VEGAS — For Keon Ellis, it was about wanting to be where he’s wanted.
Getting to join a Nets team in desperate need of his defense, and reunite with coach Jordi Fernández, was the perfect free agent situation.
“From what I heard, he was pulling for me really hard,” said Ellis, who played two years in Sacramento when Fernández was the Kings’ associate head coach. “And I know the way he coaches. He’s very passionate. He’s about the right things. He wants to win. So, the familiarity right there was definitely good.”
Considering the familiarity between the player and coach, and how the Nets need his 3-and-D profile, it’s hard to see the fit not working out.
“With how much they were offering, that just speaks to how much the team wants you as well. So, that. And then obviously, you’ve got some guys on the staff that you’ve been with before, so you know the ropes a little,” Ellis said. “And then the opportunity here as well. When you combine all those things, they just lined up.”
Point-of-attack defenders who can actually shoot — prototypical 3-and-D types — are pricey in the NBA, but Ellis may provide some of that archetype.
Per 100 possessions last season — split between the Kings and Cavaliers — Ellis ranked in the 93rd percentile in steals (2.7), in the 95th percentile in blocks (1.5) and the 96th percentile in both turnovers forced (1.6) and deflections (6.4).
His stop percentile of 4.4 ranked in the 98th percentile.
“It’s just about the effort. I go out there and I just try to make it tough on guys,” Ellis said. “You’re playing against the best players in the world. They’re gonna score; they’re gonna get to their spots. You’re gonna have bad defensive games [and] good defensive games. But the mindset of every night trying to do the right things, be in the right spots and just attack the game plan. That’ll help everyone accomplish the goal.
Keon Ellis, who played for the Cavaliers last season, said he feels the Nets are a good fit because they appreciate his skillset. Getty Images
“I’m not the greatest defender ever, but with team defense, everyone’s on the same page, that helps everyone a little bit better. Just me coming in, I’m more of a lead by example kind of guy. So I think just me going in and playing hard, that’s what motivates the next guy to go just as hard.”
Two seasons ago, Ellis was even better. He was the only player in the league to rank in the top 10 in both steals (1.5) and 3-point percentage (.433).
But he backslid somewhat this past campaign. After averaging 24 minutes in the regular season and notching a plus-4.5 net rating, Ellis struggled in the postseason. He averaged just seven minutes and recorded a minus-15.9 net rating in 12 appearances for Cleveland.
Still, playoff woes are a luxury for the rebuilding Nets, a long way from those sorts of worries. Considering how defensively challenged they were — and how badly Drake Powell, their only guard who plays tough point-of-attack defense, has been struggling on offense in summer league play so far — it’s hard to see Ellis not playing a huge role.
Ellis is confident he can get back to his 3-and-D form of two years ago.
“Just the consistency and an established role. A lot of things were up and down and moving parts, and you just never really knew what was going on,” Ellis said. “The consistency really helped with that, that year. You knew what was going on. There weren’t too many moving parts. So, that was just the biggest thing.”
Ellis is looking forward to getting settled in Brooklyn — even if he’s suffering from sticker shock.
“Oh, my God. Trying to find a house, it’s tough,” Ellis laughed. “I have to sacrifice something, some space, the prices, it’s a lot. But I’m definitely excited to be able to kind of just walk around the city and hit different spots and all the restaurants. I hear there’s a lot of good food and a lot of things to do. So I’m definitely excited to see about that, but I’ll definitely be losing some square footage.”
BOSTON - 1984: The 1983-84 NBA Champion Boston Celtics pose for a team portrait at the Boston Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. Front row (left to right): Quinn Buckner, Cedric Maxwell, Vice Chairman of the Board Paul Dupee, Chairman of the Board Don Gaston, President and General Manager Arnold (Red) Auerbach, Coach K.C. Jones, Vice Chairman of the Board Alan Cohen, Larry Bird, M.L. Carr. Back row: Team Physician Dr. Thomas Silva, assistant coach Jimmy Rodgers, Gerald Henderson, Stott Wedman, Greg Kite, Robert Parish, Kevin McHale, Dennis Johnson, Danny Ainge, Carlos Clark, assistant coach Chris Ford and Trainer Ray Melchiorre. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory copyright notice: Copyright NBAE 2002 (Photo by NBA Photos/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
My dad was born a few years before the Boston Celtics, in 1943, and he grew up playing basketball in the small town of Forestburg, South Dakota.
His parents had traveled with his father’s construction crew in his early years, but settled down near the farm where his mother grew up when he reached school age.
He was a point guard for the Forestburg Buccaneers, who were coached by Quentin C. Miles, a legend in South Dakota basketball circles. Born in 1921, Q.C. grew up playing the game when there was still a jump ball after every made basket. Miles, who also taught physics and chemistry, coached Forestburg into the state’s B tournament in 1958, where my dad saw limited action as a freshman.
Dad watched basketball on TV whenever he had the chance, and that’s how he became a Celtics fan. They were televised fairly often, and dad wanted to play like Bob Cousy.
Life, of course, intervened. Dad went to Augustana College in Sioux Falls, where he took a degree in mathematics and then a Master’s in the same subject from the University of North Dakota—at the same time that a very young Phil Jackson was tearing up the hardwood there under the direction of Bill Fitch and Jimmy Rodgers.
He spent a year teaching at Minot State before being drafted into the Army. He spent three and a half years in Arlington, Virginia, where he met my mom, before returning to Minot State.
Things didn’t work out in Minot, and my dad ended up looking for work back home in South Dakota. He would later joke that the typical response at job interviews to his Master’s in math was, “so you’re an accountant…?”
He eventually landed a gig with the state doing budget projections and data analysis for the Department of Social Services, and proceeded to raise a family of six kids in a white ranch style house with black trim near an elementary school on the east side of Pierre.
Mostly he was home every night a little bit after 5:00. There were occasions when he’d have to work after hours, and sometimes we’d get to go to the office and see where he worked on those weekends or evenings.
But, again, mostly his job was a 40-hour a week undertaking that left him plenty of time for the rest of us.
I only remember one or two business trips from those years, and the one that stands out came in January of 1984, when he had to go to Kansas City, Missouri.
He and some of his staff were put up at the Adam’s Mark near the Truman Sports Complex, a once luxurious hotel that’s fallen on hard times. It’s been fixed up for the World Cup, and the hope is that it will be the center of a mixed use development in the future, but in 1984, it was a top of the line facility.
And on Tuesday, January 17, of that year, dad and one of his work buddies traveled into Kansas City to watch the Kings play the Celtics.
The Kings were just about at the end of their run in Kansas City. These Kings were a vagabond team, starting off as the Rochester Royals before moving to Cincinnati, and then into a situation where they split time between Kansas City and Omaha and carried an awkward designation using both cities. The Kings dropped Omaha from their name after three years, although they did continue to play the occasional game there.
The Kings would move to Sacramento a little over a year after my dad saw them play. When they moved, I remember him saying that he wasn’t surprised because there were plenty of empty seats when he was there. In Sacramento, the Kings spent two years playing in a refurbished warehouse while waiting for a permanent home.
While in Kansas City, the Kings played at the Kemper Arena, a dimly lit venue with a bit of an old-school vibe to it, featuring a steep upper deck that provided good sightlines at the expense of leaving fans feeling like they perhaps needed sherpas to assist them in finding their seats.
The arena opened in 1974 on the former site of the Kansas City Stockyards. It was named after Rufus Crosby Kemper, Sr., a member of a wealthy banking family who donated $3.2 million to the construction of the $22 million arena.
Exterior view of the Crosby Kemper Arena (now Hy-Vee Arena) in Kansas City, Missouri, September 8th 1975. (Photo by UPI/Bettmann Archive/Getty Images) | Getty Images
From the exterior, the arena is dominated by three huge structural assemblies that carry the roof; there were no windows to speak of in 1984, and no principal entry point, just four facades covered in white steel panels. There were luxury suites on the concourse level, a relative novelty for the time, and a total capacity of 16,659 for basketball.
Its roof collapsed in 1979, and it hosted the NCAA’s Final Four championship round in 1988; the winner, Kansas, was effectively the home team, hailing from Lawrence, not even an hour down the turnpike from the arena.
What is now the Hy-Vee Arena is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, being the first major U.S. commission for noted architect Helmut Jahn. It’s currently a multipurpose facility that targets youth sports. The arena has basically been split in half, with a floor added between the upper and lower decks creating two arenas stacked on top of each other.
But for one night in 1984, it was the place where my dad got to see Larry Bird play.
It was cold out, and dark, with temps in the teens and a light snow falling as my dad and 11,477 other fans trekked into the West Bottoms neighborhood off I-670 where the Kings played, just about a stone’s throw from the Kansas state line.
The Celtics were coached by KC Jones—his first year in that role—and the Kings were coached by Cotton Fitzsimmons, a Hall-of-Famer whose best years were coming up in a second stint coaching the Phoenix Suns. Cotton was in his last year with the Kings, with whom he managed to eke out a slightly better than .500 winning percentage over a six-year run—and this was no mean feat, by the way, as just five of the Kings’ 32 coaches have winning records.
The Kings were led by Eddie Johnson, Larry Drew and Mike Woodson (now an assistant coach with Sacramento), and were on their way to a 38-44 record.
The Celtics… well, the Celtics were on their way to another championship and another banner.
Boston was wrapping up a three-game road trip. They had just suffered their worst loss of the season, a 106-87 drubbing at the hands of the Milwaukee Bucks, on Sunday. In that game, Bird hit just three shots on thirteen attempts.
Kansas City was coming off a win against the hapless San Diego Clippers, who were themselves just about to relocate to Los Angeles.
My dad had been watching the Celtics play on TV for more than half his life by this point in time, and he was finally going to get to see them in person.
They did not disappoint.
Larry Bird hit 15 of 21 shots and finished with 38 points, nine rebounds and thirteen assists, while Dennis Johnson, Robert Parish and Kevin McHale finished with 20 points apiece. As a team, the Celtics shot 59%.
They shot 67% in the first quarter and established their final nine-point margin of victory by the close of that quarter.
To their credit, Kansas City kept Boston honest despite enduring a poor shooting night from the team’s stars, Eddie Johnson and Larry Drew (a combined 11-32 from the field). On the offensive end of things, they were led by reserve center Lasalle Thompson and Mike Woodson, who finished the game with 21 and 18 points, respectively.
The Kings made things interesting early in the fourth quarter, clawing their way back from a sixteen-point deficit to draw nearly even with the Celtics, 95-94, with just under nine minutes left in the game.
The Celtics responded with a 20-9 run.
Bird, McHale and Parish accounted for fifteen of those twenty points.
Bird was at the peak of his abilities in 1984, the first of three consecutive years in which he would win the league’s MVP award, and he was the unquestioned star of a game that featured four future Hall-of-Famers.
After the game, Kings rookie Dane Suttle said, “He lets people see what they came to see.”
For a kid from Forestburg, this was certainly true.
P.S. If you want to see a great photo from that game, click here. We don’t have the rights to this photo, but I can still share it from my Newspapers.com account.
The All-Star break seems to have come early for the Dodgers.
Because, based on their performances the last few days, they look like they’re already on vacation.
The latest example came in Saturday night’s 9-2 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium.
There was more sloppy defense, continuing a trend that had already cost the Dodgers two games earlier this week. There was also an uncharacteristic collapse from All-Star pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who gave up five of his six runs in a sixth-inning meltdown that put the score out of reach.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who allowed six runs in six innings, adjusts his cap after getting out of the fifth inning in the Dodgers’ 9-2 blowout loss to the Diamondbacks on July 11, 2026 in Los Angeles. AP
This time, though, it was a listless offense that served as the most glaring example of their recent incompetence.
For five innings, the Dodgers did nothing against Arizona starter Brandon Pfaadt. And even after they knocked him out with a couple runs in the bottom of the sixth, they squandered a chance to keep building a rally and get themselves back into the game.
Instead, they rolled over meekly the rest of the evening, watching Landon Knack come out of the bullpen for his season debut and give up three more runs to add insult to injury.
What it means
The Dodgers might be cruising toward October already.
But that doesn’t mean they can just sleepwalk their way to continued success.
On Saturday, they were hurt by a couple of misplays at third base from Max Muncy, who committed a throwing error in the third inning and couldn’t stop a double down the line from Tim Tawa in the sixth.
On the latter occasion, Yamamoto couldn’t negate the mistake either. Instead, he followed up an intentional walk to Nolan Arenado by serving up a back-breaking, three-run homer to James McCann, giving him a season-high six runs allowed this season.
Max Muncy, who had a couple of defensive miscues earlier in the game, fields a ground ball in the eighth inning of the Dodgers’ blowout loss to the Diamondbacks. Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
Who’s hot
On Saturday? Not much of anyone in the Dodgers’ lineup.
The night started with nine consecutive outs against Pfaadt, who was making just his sixth start of the season after a move out of the bullpen. Then came several missed chances, including a two-on, no-out opportunity in the fourth and the short-lived rally in the sixth.
A double from Tommy Edman and RBI singles from Andy Pages and Mookie Betts got the Dodgers on the board in that latter frame, and forced Arizona to turn to the bullpen with Muncy and Kyle Tucker on deck.
The pitching change to left-hander Brandyn Garcia, however, worked perfectly, with Muncy taking a called third strike and Tucker frustratingly lacing a lineout to shortstop.
Mookie Betts rips an RBI single in the sixth inning of the Dodgers’ blowout loss to the Diamondbacks. William Liang-Imagn Images
On the whole, the Dodgers finished the night with just six hits and were 2-for-8 with runners in scoring position.
Who’s not
Knack made his long-awaited return to the majors on Saturday, getting activated off the injured list pregame following an elongated rehab stint in triple-A Oklahoma City.
Nevertheless, his season debut did not go well, with the right-hander giving up one quick run in the seventh and two solo home runs to Arenado and McCann (his second of the night) in the eighth.
Knack was only activated now because the Dodgers –– fresh off their bullpen game Friday night –– were in need of bullpen coverage.
Struggling right-hander Kyle Hurt was optioned in a corresponding move, but manager Dave Roberts said he expected Hurt to rejoin the team sometime during the second half.
Up next
The Dodgers will try to avoid getting swept as they round out the first half on Sunday, with Emmet Sheehan (4-6, 4.91 ERA) facing off against Arizona rookie Mitch Bratt (who is replacing the injured Zac Gallen).
LAS VEGAS, NV - JULY 10: Mohamed Diawara #51 of the New York Knicks looks to pass the ball during the game against the Brooklyn Nets during the 2026 NBA Las Vegas Summer League on July 10, 2026 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Candice Ward/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
To start what should be a pretty obvious point to get across, if you seriously have concerns about a player because of Summer League, you should do the following:
Use your free will to turn the game off
Do something else (read a book, watch the World Cup, go outside)
Watch a YouTube video of the Finals run
Relax
The greatest prospect of all time could go 1-for-45 in a Summer League game, and it wouldn’t matter at all. The only use of Summer League is extra reps for young guys, and so that fans can get a quick look at the shiny new toys they got in that year’s draft.
As someone who is very opposed to Shiny New Toy syndrome, I too have fallen for our latest toy, ol’ Double (K)Nickel’s
But while Nickel has looked outstanding as a spot-up shooter, pretty much everyone else sucks. Pacôme Dadiet has done some good things, and Jack Kayil looked solid in the second half on Saturday, but other than that? Yeesh. The one center they have is doing this.
Frankly, watching them is a chore. They’ve scored a pitiful 65 and 49 points in their two games. The latter total is the first time in 10 years that someone scored less than 50 in a Vegas Summer League game. The 2016 Kings, led by Skal Labissiere, are not ones to emulate.
It’s fair to have been extremely disappointed in just how feeble they’ve looked, even if we’re literally just over four weeks removed from an NBA championship and this roster has as little projectable talent as humanly possible.
Over the next three games, the four guys we’ve been looking forward to seeing will continue to be showcased, but you really have to hope we can at least get something out of Mo Diawara, who’s been… bad, to say the least.
Mohamed Diawara per game through 2 summer league games:
Hell, this isn’t even the “well, it’s only Summer League” excuse. For a player specifically like Diawara, this setting is literal hell for him.
I worried in my pre-summer storylines piece from earlier this week that Diawara would be tasked with handling the ball too much. While he’s not completely running point guard, he’s getting pretty much all of his touches 30+ feet from the basket as an initiator.
He is not an initiator.
Summer League is for testing boundaries and challenging guys with roles they aren’t comfortable with. For Diawara, the Knicks are giving him some truly unreasonable challenges.
A guy with a very limited offensive bag at the moment is being tasked with initiating an offense with negative firepower (except for Nickel). Pretty much every shot he’s taken is either a grenade, contested, or not in rhythm. I didn’t watch much of Saturday’s game with other things on TV, but Friday’s looked like the team was intentionally trying to make things harder for him.
Diawara is a sponge. His play quality reflects that of his teammates.
We saw him have some extremely impactful minutes in the regular season when he had real NBA rotation players around him. This is the same guy who fearlessly rained threes on the Western Conference champions and locked up Jaylen Brown.
Mohammed Diawara
2/8/2026
10 PTS | 3 REB | 1 AST | 1 STL | 100 FG%
The Knicks rookie gave fans reasons for excitement many times throughout the season including elite defense against Jaylen Brown and the Celtics along with perfect shooting pic.twitter.com/R9G2Vqgmr1
The ugliest minutes for Diawara have come when his teammates around him are at his level. Starting when he was permanently booted from the rotation in late March to all the garbage time minutes he received in the playoffs, he looked clunky. His shots were way off, his touches were in awkward spots, and he was asked to do too much.
Now in Summer League, he is the best player out there. When a 20-year-old who was picked No. 51 overall less than 13 months ago is the best player on the floor, that’s a problem. It’s even more of a problem when there’s no point guard to run the show.
Ultimately, that’s what makes this look so ugly. The entire offense is disjointed because there’s no floor general to stabilize it. It’s five headless chickens running around trying to put a ball in the basket. Their shot quality is disgustingly bad.
I was disappointed when I saw Tyler Kolek wasn’t doing Summer League because I feared this. I truly believe that you’d be seeing a lot more quality looks and Diawara being able to really do what made him so effective last year off the ball if he had a maestro like Kolek out there.
Does Kolek have anything to prove out here? Probably not, but for a guy who received zero seconds of meaningful playoff action, he isn’t totally above this.
Ultimately, if you decided not to watch a second of the next three games, I wouldn’t blame you. We’ve watched too much good basketball of late to see our logo associated with whatever this is. Hopefully, things get better with Kayil seemingly fully integrated into the plans now.
At the end of the day, we’re still champs until we ain’t.
Thirty years ago, the All-Star Game returned to South Philadelphia for the first time since the bicentennial.
1996 featured a much different sports world.
The Cowboys had just won a Super Bowl, their last one since. Michael Jordan, in his first full season back from baseball, had just led the Bulls to a 72-10 season and another NBA title. The Summer Olympics were headed for Atlanta.
The Eagles drafted Brian Dawkins, then the 76ers drafted Allen Iverson.
And Philadelphia was still thawing out from a winter it would not forget.
The “Blizzard of ’96” buried the city and surrounding area in nearly 31 inches of snow in January. By July, the snow was gone, but the eventual 67-95 Phillies still looked stuck in it.
They were buried in the National League East, three years removed from the 1993 World Series run and still searching for direction. The Braves had moved from the NL West into the Phillies’ division before the strike-shortened 1994 season, changing the shape of the East.
As part of that realignment, Philadelphia was given the 1996 All-Star Game.
The mighty Braves arrived as reigning World Series champions.
The lowly Phillies arrived with one All-Star.
Ricky Bottalico.
“That’s the biggest thing that everybody takes out of it,” Bottalico said. “It was a Phillies team that, let’s face it, we struggled, and to not have more than one All-Star was, it wasn’t embarrassing, but it was just one of those things where, like, we’re the home team. We got one All-Star.”
For Bottalico, now a longtime NBC Sports Philadelphia analyst and 97.5 The Fanatic host, that week was not some clean, glossy baseball memory.
It was strange. It was loud. It was hot. It was packed with Hall of Famers.
And again, he was the only one wearing Phillies red pinstripes.
Ironically, that spotlight also meant Bottalico spent the week wearing six or seven microphones while hosting one of baseball’s signature shows.
“I was actually hosting This Week in Baseball,” Bottalico said. “I was miced up like you would not believe.”
This Week in Baseball, which returned this year, had been legendary broadcaster Mel Allen’s show from its start in 1977 until Allen’s death in June 1996, less than a month before the All-Star Game. For a generation of baseball fans, it was part of the Saturday routine.
Bottalico was one of those kids.
“When I was a little kid, there were two shows on before the national game of the week,” Bottalico said. “And then, right before the game, they always had This Week in Baseball. So every Saturday, if I didn’t have a game, I was sitting down watching it.”
The TV side was not random, either. Not looking back.
Bottalico sat in front of another legend, Harry Kalas, and former pitcher Larry Andersen, still the Phillies’ radio color commentator, on team flights. Kalas saw something before Bottalico did.
“Harry used to tell me, ‘You’re gonna get into the media after you’re done,’” Bottalico said. “And I’d be like, ‘I don’t know, Harry, we’ll see.’”
Kalas had his reason.
“You got the voice for it,” Bottalico remembered him saying.
In 1996, that future had not arrived yet. Bottalico was still the Phillies’ closer, still trying to make sense of being the only player from the home team in the home All-Star Game.
That hit him inside the clubhouse, where his home-park locker had been moved.
“I walked into the clubhouse, and the first people I see in the clubhouse are all the Braves playing cards in our locker room,” Bottalico said. “I’m like, this is wild. I mean, this is nuts.”
He knew what waited after the break.
“It didn’t feel the same because you knew that in a couple days you’re going to hate these guys again,” Bottalico said.
The Home Run Derby did not make the job feel any easier.
Barry Bonds beat Mark McGwire in the final. Bottalico had a front-row view as TWIB’s wired-up host.
“It was wild,” Bottalico said. “You gotta understand, it was hot too, I remember. And it was like one of those things where these guys were just hitting monstrous home runs.”
Watching that much power up close was not exactly comforting.
“It was absolutely the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever seen,” Bottalico said. “Just to watch those guys take batting practice, it was almost like, I don’t want to watch this. I gotta pitch to these guys in a couple weeks.”
The names around him look different now than they did then.
Pedro Martinez. Future wrestling-mate Barry Bonds. Mark McGwire. Cal Ripken Jr. Ozzie Smith, playing in his final All-Star Game.
“At the time, it probably wasn’t as special because I was there,” Bottalico said. “I was already in the big leagues. But you realize how awesome that was.”
When his name was called and the roar came down, Bottalico removed his cap, as most players do, and flashed a small message tucked under the bill.
“Hi Gram.”
His family was at Veterans Stadium. His fiancée’s family was there, too. His grandmother was not in attendance.
“She was the only one that couldn’t make it down because she was older,” Bottalico said. “I just wanted her to see that.”
The introductions came with a soundtrack only Philadelphia could provide. Joe Carter was booed for his ’93 heroics over the Phillies. Ozzie Smith received a massive ovation. Bottalico knew his would be different, too.
It was deafening.
Some Phillies teammates watched it from the seats. Shortstop Kevin Stocker was there, the only game he ever attended as a player, he said.
“I know Mickey Morandini was there, too,” Bottalico said. “Quite a few guys that were actually there and that had to be strange for them. I mean, they’re watching a game that they’re normally involved in.
“It was nice to have teammates that were there.”
Once the game started, another oddity waited.
Ripken had broken his nose during team pictures after White Sox reliever Roberto Hernandez slipped and hit him with an elbow. In Iron Man fashion, Ripken still started.
Bottalico faced him in the fifth inning, fully aware of what he did not want to do.
“I definitely would have pitched him differently if it was regular season,” Bottalico said. “My whole theory was, I don’t want to be the goat that hits him here.”
The thought made sense. Ripken’s consecutive-games streak had already passed Lou Gehrig’s record.
“The guy’s playing with a broken nose, for crying out loud,” Bottalico said.
Bottalico got Ripken to pop out. He also struck out Ivan Rodriguez in a scoreless fifth.
His entrance is the part he still hears, though.
The Vet had a high wall near the bullpen that dipped lower as pitchers came toward first base. As Bottalico came in, he could see the crowd rise section by section.
“It was like a wave,” Bottalico said. “That got pretty loud.”
Someone in the bullpen, Bottalico believes it may have been Al Leiter, told him to take it in.
“I remember just kind of taking it in as I was jogging in,” Bottalico said. “It was pretty cool.”
That was Bottalico’s moment.
The night’s postcard belonged to the local kid.
Mike Piazza, the Norristown native and Dodgers catcher, turned Veterans Stadium into his stage. He caught a ceremonial first pitch from Mike Schmidt, his childhood hero, then hit a mammoth upper-deck homer and added an RBI double in the National League’s 6-0 win. The NL would not win the All-Star Game again until 2010.
Bottalico knew Piazza, another future teammate, had his own local pull that week.
“There were a lot of questions about it, because I was obviously in Philly, and he was the other one that had a connection to Philly,” Bottalico said. “It was definitely public knowledge.”
The homer stuck with him.
“That ball in the All-Star Game, he hit that, like, four rows deep, and it was more towards [left] center field in the upper deck,” Bottalico said. “This was monstrous.”
Piazza was asked afterward if he could have dreamed up that kind of homecoming.
“I don’t know about living it,” Piazza said on NBC’s postgame broadcast, “but I definitely dreamt it.”
One seat in Bottalico’s section came with its own coincidental souvenir.
“My uncle, in the seats that I got them, actually got a Mike Piazza foul ball,” Bottalico said.
Wild.
Nearly three decades later, Citizens Bank Park is finally getting its first All-Star Game. Bottalico still cannot quite believe it took this long.
“I think that’s amazing,” Bottalico said. “It is something.”
There is another difference this time.
The 1996 Phillies had one All-Star. This year’s team has six.
Bottalico’s pregame routine looks different now. The warmup comes with an IFB in an NBC Sports Philadelphia office, not a baseball in a bullpen.
But in some ways, that week foreshadowed the second act Harry Kalas once predicted for him.
The baseball part still matters most.
“For me,” Ricky Bo said, “it’s something that I was the sole representative for the Phillies.”
LAS VEGAS — Jack Kayil, the Knicks draft pick from Germany, made his desire clear Saturday: He doesn’t want to be stashed overseas.
“My goal is to play in the NBA,” the 20-year-old point guard said after his summer league debut in an ugly 70-49 loss to the Spurs. “That’s why I went into the draft.”
Kayil was picked 39th overall last month but took a while to join the Knicks amid reports of a contract dispute with his team in Berlin. On the contract problems, Kayil was mum — “there were things going on that I don’t want to get into,” he said — but it’s clear he wants to stay with the Knicks.
Jack Kayil, who scored 12 points, drives to the basket during the Knicks’ 70-49 Summer League loss to the Spurs on July 11, 2026 in Las Vegas. NBAE via Getty Images
“It’s not my decision, so I’m just trying to show myself in the best way, and it is what it is,” he said, adding later, “I’m super happy I also got drafted, and we’ll see what happens in the next days, weeks, whatever.”
If he joins the NBA next season, Kayil is a candidate for a two-way contract and perhaps development in the G-League.
He showed playmaking potential Saturday, but overall the Knicks’ offense was atrocious — similar to Friday’s loss to the Nets.
Kayil, who didn’t play Friday, finished with 12 points, five rebounds and three assists on 5-for-14 shooting in 21 minutes.
He and fellow rookie Tyler Nickel were the only offensive threats for New York, with Mohamed Diawara going scoreless in another dud.
“It’s difficult to say [what the differences are from the German league],” Kayil said. “It’s only one game. For me, it still feels like basketball, and [I] try to play the right way. And everywhere, it’s kind of same. It’s obviously different players to play against and a different kind of speed and everything. But I’m used to different systems, so it wasn’t difficult to adapt to that. So for me, it wasn’t that big of a difference.”
TJ Saint, the Knicks’ summer league coach, was complimentary.
“Really liked him. Started watching him on film after the draft,” Saint said. “Thought he could get in the paint. Thought he had a quick burst.”
LAS VEGAS — For obvious reasons, Tyler Nickel prefers to wear No. 5.
But that uniform was taken by Knicks guard Jose Alvarado. So Nickel settled for double-nickel.
“T-Nick is my nickname, but a lot of people call me T-5,” said Nickel, the No. 47 overall pick in last month’s draft. “So [No.] 5 has been me. So when [No.] 55 was available, I was like, ‘OK, I can’t get [No.] 5, so [No.] 55 is cool.’ ”
If Nickel carves out an NBA career, he’ll be defined by a different digit — 3.
Knicks second-round pick Tyler Nickel shoots a 3-pointer during the Knicks’ 70-49 Summer League loss to the Spurs on July 11, 2026 in Las Vegas. NBAE via Getty Images
As the second-round pick demonstrated in his first two summer league games, his greatest asset is his proficiency from beyond the arc.
Nickel dropped six treys on 10 attempts Friday against the Nets, the lone positive in a blowout defeat that featured ugly performances from summer league vets Mohamed Diawara, Pacôme Dadiet and Dillon Jones.
On Saturday, Nickel again was the Knicks’ leading scorer with 16 points on 6-for-14 shooting in 30 minutes in the Knicks’ 70-49 loss to the Spurs.
“I definitely feel like I have some comparisons in the league. I feel like I’m a mix of some different guys: my size, my strength, my shooting ability,” Nickel said. “I feel really comfortable shooting off the move, so like [Detroit’s] Duncan Robinson, [Cleveland’s] Max Strus, [Boston’s] Sam Hauser. But then I have my own type of way of being. So it’s kind of a mix of a lot of people but also myself.”
All those players, including Nickel, have two things in common: They’re catch-and-shoot specialists, and they’re white.
Tyler Nickel, who scored a team-high 16 points, looks to make a move during the Knicks’ Summer League loss to the Spurs. NBAE via Getty Images
“Hey, listen,” the 22-year-old Vanderbilt product laughed when told he was making just white-player comparisons. “They got roles in the league.”
Nickel, who is from Virginia and talks with a Southern twang, will struggle to stay on an NBA court if he can’t competently defend.
It’s considered his weakness, but the 6-foot-7 Nickel has the size to make it work with enough effort.
According to TJ Saint, coach of the Knicks’ summer league team, Nickel committed to defense during minicamp last week.
“He’s been shooting all right. His defense has actually been impressive in the camp,” Saint said. “When we were in the airport the other day, I went over to talk to him, and he was studying our playbook, so I already like where he’s at, getting ahead of the game.”
Despite his promise, Nickel is unlikely to command a standard contract for the defending champs.
He’s a candidate for a two-way deal, though, and that should all be sorted out during training camp in late September into October.
Nickel’s 18-point game against the Nets drew the attention of Josh Hart, who tweeted during the action, “[No.] 55 got a chop,” in reference to the forward’s shooting stroke.
As Kevin McCullar Jr. and especially Diawara demonstrated last season, there always could be unexpected opportunities for young players.
In the meantime, Nickel’s wearing two 5s in Vegas and taking 3s.
“I heard my name called [at the draft], and seeing it being the Knicks, I was super excited,” Nickel said. “Obviously, a championship organization. I thought it was perfect; a perfect situation to see what winning is all about. The standard that they hold everybody to in the program, I feel like it’s perfect for me to be on.”
Vegas intel
Everybody is awaiting The Decision 2.0 from LeBron James — including another future Hall of Famer on the market.
According to a league source, Russell Westbrook is a candidate to join the Heat but not if LeBron signs in Miami.
Westbrook, 37, is a diminished version of his former MVP self but still averaged 15.2 points over 64 games last season with the Kings.
James, meanwhile, is sifting through his options in free agency. Miami, Cleveland and Philadelphia are considered the front-runners.
Westbrook and James were teammates with the Lakers for 1 ½ seasons and struggled, winning just 33 games and falling to 11th in the West in 2021-22.
After a somewhat surprising (and surprisingly emphatic) win against the Doyers last night in their house thanks in large measure to Tim Tawa busting out, it seemed honestly pretty unlikely to me that we’d knock them off again, especially with Yoshinobu Yamamoto taking the mound for them and Brandon Pfaadt going for us. Don’t get me wrong, it has seemed like Pfaadt definitely worked some things out during his brief time in Reno, but his two very good starts since he’s been back have been against the Giants and the Padres, neither of whom are exactly poster children for “fierce and difficult competition” at this point in the season. The Dodgers, on the other hand, sport the best record in baseball, and Yamamoto has definitely earned his spot on the All-Star Game roster for the National League this year. So. My expectations were not high, is what I’m saying.
But you know what? I was completely wrong! Hooray! It didn’t look great to start, as Yamamoto made very short work of the top of our lineup in the first, sitting down Ketel Marte, Geraldo Perdomo, and Corbin Carroll, with only ten pitches thrown. But Pfaadt came out for the bottom of the first, and only needed five pitches to retire Shohei Ohtani, Andy Pages, and Freddie Freeman. Not too shabby.
And it pretty much continued that way through five innings—Brandon Pfaadt outpitching and outperforming the 2025 World Series MVP. Our hitters started hanging longer and more patient at bats on Yamamoto, the Dodgers hitters failed to do so with Pfaadt. Tim Tawa got the Diamondbacks’ first hit with two outs in the second with a fly ball single to center. Sadly, however, he was immediately picked off first base before Yamamoto had to throw another pitch, which was embarrassing. It broke the seal, though, at least, and we started driving Yamamoto’s pitch count up from there, with James McCann reaching on the Max Muncy throwing error with one out in the top of the third and Tommy Troy drawing a six-pitch walk. Nothing more came of that, sadly, as Marte popped out to third, and Perdomo flew out to left after a long at bat, but we made Yamamoto throw 25 pitches in the inning. Pfaadt, on the other hand, cruised through the second and third innings, retiring the Dodgers in order as he completed his first run through their lineup with only 27 pitched needed to record his first nine outs.
The Diamondbacks drew first blood as well in the top of the fourth, after Gabriel Moreno drew a six-pitch walk with one out and then got to third on a Max Kepler grounder that snuck through the right side of the infield and into right field for a single. Tim Tawa then hit a grounder to third that Max Muncy frankly made an amazing play on, but Moreno was running on contact and Muncy’s only play was to throw to first, where he just nabbed Tawa while Gabi crossed the plate for the first run of the game. 1-0 DBACKS
Pfaadt got himself into some trouble in the bottom half of the inning, as Ohtani lined a single to left and Andy Pages hit a ground ball that got between Perdomo and Nolan Arenado for another single. Freddie Freeman then hit a slow roller to Perdomo, and while he and Marte tried to turn two, they were only able to get the force on Pages at second, putting runners on the corners with only one out. But where early 2026 Brandon Pfaadt would have started nibbling and melted down to give up a big inning, July Pfaadt buckled down, induced Mookie Betts to pop out to second and then got Muncy to ground out to put up another zero and preserve the lead.
Both pitchers seemed to regain their composure a little bit in the fifth, with both Yamamoto and Pfaadt retiring their respective sides in order. Tommy Troy fouled a pitch off his knee in the top of the frame, and then had to leave the game (with Jorge Barrosa taking his place) in the bottom when he plowed into the wall in center field making a play on a long fly ball by Teoscar Hernandez. So that wasn’t great, but no damage was done, score-wise, at least.
And then the sixth inning happened.
Yamamoto came out to start the sixth with his pitch count sitting at 76 pitches thrown. He promptly walked Perdomo on four pitches, which was nice, and then struck out Carroll on four pitches, which was less nice. Moreno singled to right, advancing Gerry to third, and a Max Kepler sacrifice fly to deep center allowed Perdomo to score the second run of the ballgame. That brought Tawa to the plate again, and Tawa bounced a ball up the third base line for a double that, despite third base coach JR House putting up the stop sign, scored Gabi from third.
You can’t see it in the clip, but what I think I loved most about this play was that not only did Gabi run through the stop sign, he almost bowled over House himself as he was turning the corner around third and heading home. So that was kind of hilarious. Dave Roberts, meanwhile, apparently really wanted Yamamoto to get through the sixth inning, because he had him intentionally walk Nolan Arenado to get to James McCann, who one might have supposed would be the easier out. This turned out not to be the case, however, as McCann hammered the second pitch he saw in the at bat up and out and over the wall in left for a three-run dinger:
Barrosa flew out to left, at long last, for the third out of the inning, but we’d secured Brandon Pfaadt’s lead. 6-0 DBACKS
It turned out to be a good thing, too, as it turned out that Pfaadt didn’t have a whole lot left in the tank. He’d gotten through five innings of Dodgers with only 59 pitches thrown, but the wheels came off for him in the bottom of the sixth. Tommy Edman led off the inning with a line-drive double to right, and after recording a one-pitch out to Ohtani, Brandon surrendered three straight singles to Pages, Freeman, and Betts. Edman and Pages scored, and Pfaadt’s night was abruptly over, as Torey Lovullo pulled him for Brandyn Garcia, who was making his second relief appearance in as many days. Garcia did the business, though, striking out Max Muncy looking and getting Kyle Tucker to line out to Perdomo for the third out. 6-2 DBACKS
Landon Knack, activated today from the 60-day injured list to give Los Angeles some length after they used nearly their entire bullpen last night, came on for the top of the seventh, and promptly gave back one of the runs by loading the bases with one out. He hit Perdomo with a pitch, then walked Carroll and Perdomo. Max Kepler flew out to right, allowing Perdomo to tag from third and score. 7-2 DBACKS
And that accounts for our final score, as Juan Morillo put up a zero in the eighth and Philip Abner, recently recalled from Reno, put up a zero of his own in the bottom of the ninth.
This was kind of an interesting WPA sheet, and frankly an interesting game for the offense, as all of the meaningful offensive production came from the bottom six players in the lineup. Go figure. And Tawa, for the second game in a row, was the WPA leader for the offense—+13% today, and a whopping +23% yesterday. It’s certainly a small sample size, but I begin to wonder if, when he was called back up from Reno this last time, Timmy reached out to Christian Walker and arranged to sublet Dodger Stadium from the hand-downs historical owner of that ballpark. Could be.
Anyway, we had a lovely and lively Gameday Thread tonight, with 315 comments at time of writing. Comment of the Game, by popular acclaim and because they are certainly not wrong, goes to Webb Gemz for this observation regarding our new heir apparent at first base:
Of course, given the propensity of fans a Chavez Latrine to bat beach balls around in the stands, that could also be an explanation for the phenomenon. We’ll have to see if Timmy continues to see pitches that way once we’re back at Chase. Here’s hoping, though.
And I did not expect to be typing this sentence, but stop by with your brooms in hand tomorrow as we go for the sweep against the Doyers tomorrow in the last game of our last series before the All Star Break! Mitch Bratt takes the mound for us, replacing the apparently destined-for-the-IL Zac Gallen, while Emmet Sheehan goes for the Evil Floral Delivery Conglomerate. First pitch is scheduled for 1:10pm AZ time. Hope to see you, because if we don’t, that can only mean that you are simply the worst kind of Frankfurter (i dunno, blame Trappkory)!
As always, thanks for reading, and as always, go Diamondbacks!
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - JULY 06: Arthur Kaluma #47 of the Los Angeles Lakers looks on against the San Antonio Spurs at Chase Center on July 06, 2026 in San Francisco, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images) | Getty Images
LAS VEGAS — They say America is the land of opportunity, but in the NBA world, that place can be narrowed down to Las Vegas in July.
On Saturday, the Lakers were shorthanded against the Mavericks with Cameron Carr ruled out shortly before tip. Arthur Kaluma took advantage of the opportunity.
He was magnificent in LA’s 91-70 win over Dallas, scoring 34 points on 11-16 shooting from the field, including six of his 10 3-pointers.
“It’s just his confidence,” Lakers coach Ty Abbott said about Kaluma’s game after the win. “And understanding of how to play without the ball in your hand. Last night was a situation where he’s just finding windows, he’s crashing, he’s creating extra possessions, getting putbacks, tip-ins, and he’s getting fouls, and he’s taking advantage of smaller defenders. Today, he had some actions run for him and he was ready.”
A performance like this puts a spotlight on a player and left many wondering if the Lakers should make him a permanent member of the roster.
Arthur Kaluma is a very gifted offensive player – has to be one of the best in Vegas not currently on a two-way deal. https://t.co/2Gm0Ojb1hI
LA has all three two-way spots by Chris Mañon, AK Okereke and Peter Suder, so Kaluma would have to unseat one of those players. However, just because someone is signed to a two-way contract today doesn’t mean it’ll be that way tomorrow.
While Mañon has had some quality games, Okereke and Suder have struggled during Summer League. And with a performance like this, Kaluma is making a compelling case for LA to figure out how to give him a two-way contract before someone else does.
In LA’s first game in Las Vegas on Friday, he was literally perfect from the field, knocking down all five of his shots and scoring 18 points. Saturday was more of the same.
Kaluma wasted no time getting to work. He scored the team’s second basket with a nice pump fake and then a drive inside. Kaluma absorbed the contact and finished in the paint.
He repeated this process throughout the first half, and then, when the opportunity to hit a three presented itself, he took advantage with a pair of makes from beyond the arc.
During the second half, Kaluma stayed hot. Whenever the Mavericks were threatening a comeback, he seemed to hit a timely three to keep them at bay.
Kaluma has been part of the Lakers ecosystem before. He played with South Bay last year and was also on the Summer League roster. With a year of professional development under his belt, he’s been able to showcase it in Las Vegas.
“There’s a certain hunger that you have to have in order to be successful in the G [League],” Kaluma said. “And I feel like that drive that I had my first year in it pushed me into this summer to really get better and work on my game and come here and have the opportunity to perform at Summer League.”
That’s the thing about a player like Kaluma: he’s trying to carve out a role, so he’ll be hungry and ready for any chance he gets. The moments have arrived for him during Summer League and he’s delivered.
Everyone at Summer League has something to prove. The top draft picks want to prove they are worth the hype. The second-year players are trying to prove they don’t need to be here and the two-way guys want to keep their spots or earn standard deals.
Kaluma fits outside of this box. He is an Exhibit 10 player trying to keep his career going and find a role at a higher level. Thanks to his play this weekend, that moment could happen sooner rather than later.
Members of the Los Angeles Dodgers are expected to visit the White House to be honored for winning the World Series in 2025.
President Donald Trump will greet the Dodgers on July 23.
Los Angeles secured back-to-back titles after beating the Toronto Blue Jays in a thrilling Game 7. The Dodgers also won the title in 2024, knocking off the New York Yankees in five games.
The Dodgers also captured the Fall Classic in 2020, which was the franchise's first championship since 1988.
The Dodgers visited the White House in April 2025 to celebrate the 2024 World Series. Mookie Betts, Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw were among the players that attended.
The team will make the trip to Washington, D.C. on an off day between series against the Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Mets. It's in the midst of a demanding stretch of games for the Dodgers, playing nine games in 10 days.
Betts told the California Post on July 11 that he wasn't expected to appear at the White House. Betts plans on skipping the festivities and claimed the decision wasn’t political. He stated that he wanted to spend the day with his family, which includes his newborn daughter.
Kiké Hernández is also not expected to make the trip. He is currently on a minor league rehab assignment.
A Montgomery, Texas native, Shane Sdao attended Lake Creek High School in Montgomery, a school that opened in 2018 due to overcrowding at the city’s primary school, Montgomery High School. The left-hander helped turn the school’s fledgling baseball program into a winner. In their first year of existence, the Lions went 7-7 on the season. In 2021 and 2022, the two years that Sdao lettered and pitched for the varsity team, they went 20-12-1 and 23-6, respectively, advancing to the Texas Region III-5A quarterfinals both times. In both years, the left-hander was named to the First All-District Team, the Second All-Greater Houston Team, and was the Texas District 5A All-State honorable mention pitch in his senior year.
Despite the accolades, Sdao was far from a draft follow. The left-hander garnered very little attention from scouts and evaluators due to his relatively uninspiring repertoire and advanced age. The southpaw already had a commitment to Texas A&M in place, and after no MLB teams called his name in the 2022 MLB Draft, Sdao attended the College Station institution.
The left-hander appeared in 22 games in his freshman season with the Aggies, starting two games and coming out of the bullpen for the remaining 20. In total, the 19-year-old posted a 4.78 ERA in 43.1 innings, allowing 54 hits, walking 15, and striking out 46. He was used in a similar manner in his sophomore season, starting 5 games and coming out of the bullpen for the remaining 15. Sdao was better in virtually every regard, posting a 2.96 ERA in 48.2 innings, allowing 42 hits, walking 9, and striking out 55. The Aggies made it to the 2024 College World Series finals, losing to the University of Tennessee, but they did so without the left-hander, who injured his elbow starting against the University of Oregon in the Super Regionals.
Sdao’s injury turned out to be the worst-case scenario: a UCL tear that required Tommy John surgery to fix. The left-hander redshirted in 2025, missing the entire season. Despite being injured, Sdao received numerous financially lucrative bonus offers from multiple MLB teams who were looking to float a deal with him while he recovered from surgery. He ended up rejecting those offers and decided to return to Texas A&M in 2026.
The results were not exactly there for Sdao in his redshirt junior season. More important than anything else, he was able to take the mound and his stuff was more or less where it was before the Tommy John surgery, but the results were ugly. Appearing in 17 games, starting 13 of them, Sdao posted a 7.03 ERA in 71.2 innings, allowing 98 hits, walking 20, and striking out 83. In particular, the longball was a problem; he allowed 16 home runs over the course of the season.
The 22-year-old Sdao stands 6’3”, 185-pounds. He throws from a three-quarters arm slot, extending off the mound well and incorporating a high leg kick and a long arm action through the back. He is a strike thrower, and keeps hitters off-balance with a deep repertoire that includes a four-seam fastball, slider, curveball, cutter, and changeup. At present, none of his pitchers are better than average offerings, but as he continues recovering from Tommy John surgery, his fastball and slider stand to improve the most.
His fastball sits in the low-to-mid-90s, and in the past the left-hander has been able to ramp it up and hit the high-90s with the pitch. Even before the ligament surgery that kept him off the field in 2025, Sdao lacked consistency with the pitch and its velocity often fluctuated, more often settling into the lower end of that velocity band and rarely exceeding 95 MPH. The pitch lacks the power to be a true strikeout offering, generating below-average whiff rates, but Sdao still has had success with the pitch thanks to his ability to command it and its rising action; in the past, it has been measured possessing 2300 RPM, an average-to-above-average spin rate for a fastball.
The left-hander’s slider is his main secondary pitch, and he uses it against left-handed and right-handed batters alike. A sweeping slider in the low-80s, the pitch has a bit less horizontal movement than most sweeping sliders, but Sdao has become skilled at dropping his arm angle a bit when throwing it, telegraphing the pitch but at the same time giving it the illusion of having more lateral movement than it actually does.
Against right-handed batters, Sdao utilizes a mid-80s changeup, but the pitch has been supplanted in usefulness by an upper-70s curveball and an upper-80s cutter that he recently added to his repertoire.
In 2026, as mentioned, Sdao had a problem with home runs, but in general, he had some major issues keeping the ball down. As compared to his prior two seasons with the Aggies, where he averaged a 41.7% groundball rate, 20.9% line drive rate, and a 37.5% flyball rate, the left-hander had a 31.7% groundball rate, 24.3% line drive rate, and a 43.9% flyball rate in 2026.
Lakers forward Arthur Kaluma, shown here defending against Oklahoma City Thunder guard Bennett Stirtz in an NBA Summer League game on Friday, scored 34 points in a 91-70 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday night. (Ethan Miller / Getty Images)
The door opened for Arthur Kaluma to show his worth for the Lakers in the NBA Summer League on Saturday night.
He did so in a big way.
Kaluma had 34 points and five rebounds during the Lakers’ 91-70 win over the Dallas Mavericks at the Thomas & Mack Center.
He was 11 for 16 from the field and six for 10 from three-point range.
Late in the fourth quarter, Kaluma lined up a three-pointer, setting his feet and scoring from 29 feet out. He flashed three fingers and smiled. His teammates on the bench stood and cheered, as did the fans.
Kaluma played for the South Bay Lakers last season. He averaged 14.6 points per game, 4.9 rebounds and shot 55% from the field, 37% from three-point range.
Kaluma wasn’t alone in helping the Lakers improve to 2-0 in Summer League play.
Adou Thiero ran the court, took a lob pass from Chris Mañon and threw down a two-handed dunk. He had another solid outing with 15 points and four rebounds. He shot just four for 12 from the field, but was a plus-15.
Lakers rookie guard Cameron Carr was unable to get more reps because of a right thumb contusion that kept him sidelined.
Carr, the 24th pick in the NBA draft, is averaging 17 points per game.
Dodgers starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto reacts after giving up a three-run home run to Arizona's James McCann in the sixth inning of the Dodgers' 9-2 loss Saturday night at Dodger Stadium. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
The Dodgers’ 9-2 loss to the Diamondbacks on Saturday wasn’t enough to prevent them from going into the All-Star break with the best record in the majors — that much is ensured. But the uninspired all-around performance sealed a series loss on the final weekend of the season’s first half.
“It was a clunker,” manager Dave Roberts said. “The last three out of five [or] four out of five games, it just hasn’t been clean baseball. So when you give teams free bases, extra outs, it’s hard to win a game, regardless of opponent. ... We’ve got to find a way to win a game [Sunday] to feel somewhat better about going into the break.”
The Dodgers (61-35) put little pressure on the Diamondbacks pitching staff. And Dodgers starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto wrapped up his first-half campaign with his highest-scoring start of the season; he surrendered six runs in six innings.
“He still had a really, really, really good first half,” Roberts said.
Dodgers' Kyle Tucker takes off his batting gloves after lining out with two runners on base in the sixth inning against the Diamondbacks on Saturday night. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Over the All-Star break, Yamamoto (2.85 ERA) will get the week to rest. Before the game Saturday, oberts confirmed Yamamoto, an All-Star for the second consecutive year, will not pitch in the game.
The timing of his start Saturday, three days before the Midsummer Classic, suggested as much. Shohei Ohtani is scheduled to have his left knee drained coming out of the All-Star break and will not travel to Philadelphia. So Justin Wrobleski, who was added to the National League roster Saturday, is the only Dodger set to pitch in the All-Star Game.
Yamamoto held the Diamondbacks (48-47) to one run through the first five innings. But his final inning quickly unraveled. It started with a leadoff walk and peaked with a three-run home run from James McCann.
The Dodgers finally rallied for two runs in the sixth and then fell quiet again. The Diamondbacks then scored three runs against Landon Knack in his three-inning season debut coming off the injured list.
Yamamoto’s uncharacteristic sixth inning ended his streak of quality starts at five, including two that lasted eight innings or more. He leads the team with 110⅔ innings pitched.
“Overall, there’s good outings,” Yamamoto said through interpreter Yoshihiro Sonoda. “And also physically, condition-wise, it’s been good. And I hope that I can carry this into the second half.”
Yamamoto’s workload, along with Wrobleski’s emergence, has helped the Dodgers weather injuries to pitchers who were expected to be major contributors.
In a promising sign for closer Edwin Díaz’s recovery timeline, he started a rehab assignment with single-A Ontario on Saturday. Díaz made just seven appearances for the Dodgers before undergoing an operation to remove loose bodies from his right elbow in late April.
“He’s been throwing pretty effortlessly, free, maybe a week after he started throwing,” pitching coach Mark Prior said.
Dodgers relief pitcher Landon Knack reacts after giving up a solo homer to Arizona's Nolan Arenado in the eighth inning Saturday. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
He estimated that Díaz would return in about three to four weeks if his progression goes smoothly.
Blake Snell — who also had loose bodies removed from his pitching elbow, undergoing a NanoNeedle Scope procedure on May 19 — threw two simulated innings to batters Saturday.
Snell is scheduled to begin a minor-league rehab assignment next weekend, Roberts said. Prior believes Snell will need at least four to five outings, likening it to a spring training buildup.
“The goal would be to get him fully built up to 90ish pitches before he comes back,” Prior said.
Tyler Glasnow, who had been sidelined for more than two months with a lingering back injury, threw a bullpen session Friday.
“It was like 95, 96 [mph] in his ‘pen, but he does that rolling out of bed when he’s healthy,” Prior said. “But it’s a good sign.”
Glasnow has had plenty of back and forth in his rehab, however. Twice he started playing catch only to be shut down when back spasms returned.
“The schedule is starting to move with a little bit more consistency than it had been,” Prior said. “So he’s in a good spot.”
Glasnow is scheduled for another bullpen session on Monday.
LAS VEGAS, NV - JULY 11: Arthur Kaluma #47 of the Los Angeles Lakers dunks the ball during the game against the Dallas Mavericks on July 11, 2026 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Candice Ward/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
Behind a remarkable performance from Arthur Kaluma, the Lakers earned their second win in as many nights at the Las Vegas Summer League, knocking off the Mavericks, 91-70.
Kaluma poured in 34 points, helping the Lakers pull away in the fourth quarter. LA remains undefeated in Vegas and has won four straight games this summer after dropping its opener.
The Lakers had a rough start, going down by five. Tobi Lawal and Ryan Nembhard scored all of Dallas’ points. Adou Thiero scored the first points for LA, converting on a three-point play.
Jon Elmore provided a spark off the Lakers’ bench, scoring six points. Peter Suder also had productive minutes off the bench for Los Angeles with four points. Zhaire Smith converted on a fadeaway jumper to put the purple and gold up by two at the end of the first.
The Lakers lead the Mavericks 21-19 after one quarter of play. Jon Elmore has a team-high six points.
Mavs rookie Morez Johnson had a solid start to the second period for Dallas, scoring six points. Arthur Kaluma was the only Laker to score early on a layup. Both teams were shooting 47% from the field.
Dallas was up by two when Los Angeles called a timeout.
Out of the break, Thiero was fouled and converted to tie the game. Kaluma continued to shine, pushing his point total to 12, the first Laker in double figures. LA’s shooting took a slight dip to 45% while Dallas was shooting 50%.
The half ended with the teams exchanging triples. Kaluma’s impressive half got even better as he now had 18 points and was shooting 75% from the field. At halftime, the Lakers were up by three.
Both teams missed seven shots combined to start the third period. Tobi Lawal was the first player from either team to score, converting on one free throw for two points. William Hickey got the Lakers on the board with a layup. Kaluma drained his third 3-pointer of the game.
At the 5:46 mark, LA was up by four.
Chris Mañon was another spark for Los Angeles with his six points. The rest of the quarter belonged to the Lakers as they built a lead of 10 going into the fourth period. The purple and gold beat Dallas by seven in the third.
After a jumper from Johnson started the final frame, LA responded with a 7-0 scoring run. Kaluma knocked two more triples, giving him 34 points for the game.
The rest of the fourth happened.
Key Player Stats
Kaluma finished with 34 points and five rebounds. Thiero ended with 15 points, going 4-12 from the field. Mañon had 10 points with eight rebounds.
Peter Suder scored 14 points in 17 minutes. Smith logged six points with three assists and two steals. Elmore pitched in with six points, four rebounds, five assists and three steals.
The next Lakers Summer League game will be against the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday at 7:00 PM PT.
