Los Angeles Times - 27.08.2019

LATIMES.COM/SPORTS S TUESDAY, AUGUST 27, 2019D5

UCLA has its starting

quarterback now, or does it?

“As far as I’m concerned,”

Dorian Thompson-Rob-

insonsaid Monday, “it’s still

an open competition.”

Thompson-Robinson

said coach Chip Kellyhad

not informed him that he

would start over Austin

Burton or Chase Griffin

against Cincinnati on

Thursday during the Bruins’

season opener.

But the surest sign that

Thompson-Robinson will

take the first snap at Nip-

pert Stadium was his pres-

ence before reporters Mon-

day. No UCLA quarterback

spoke with the media in the

days before a game last sea-

son because of continued

uncertainty at the position.

Wilton Speightstarted

the opener last season and

went down in the second

quarter with a back injury,

and the starting job vacillat-

ed between Thompson-Rob-

inson and Speight the rest of

the season. Thompson-Rob-

inson, a sophomore, was

listed as the starter on the

depth chart that UCLA re-

leased Sunday, and it

seemed like such a foregone

conclusion that no reporters

asked Kelly about the deci-

sion a day later.

Thompson-Robinson de-

scribed himself as “ex-

tremely ready compared to

last year,” when he trotted

onto the field for his college

debut against Cincinnati be-

fore halftime after Speight’s

injury.

Thompson-Robinson

completed 15 of 25 passes for

117 yards without a touch-

down or an interception dur-

ing the Bruins’ 26-17 loss, but

the ball was stripped from

him, resulting in a safety,

and he misfired on a fourth-

down pass to Dymond Lee

that fell incomplete early in

the fourth quarter. Another

pass that would have gone

for a long gain to Christian

Pabicowas dropped.

“I was a little nervous, a

little excited, a little bit of

everything,” Thompson-

Robinson recalled, “but this

year, I’m going to be more

cool, calm and collected and

know what I’ve got to do to

get the job done.”

Thompson-Robinson

said the Bruins are seeking

more explosive plays this

season. It helps that nine

starters return on offense,

giving the team experience

and continuity it was lacking

against the Bearcats in 2018.

“It’s really comforting for

a quarterback to know that

the guy to the left of you and

the guy to the right of you

and the guys up front are

knowing what they’re doing

and they’re confident in

what they’re doing,”

Thompson Robinson said. “

... I’m ready to rock.”

Calvert out for eight

Kelly said his under-

standing was that sopho-

more linebacker Bo Calvert

would miss eight games be-

cause of his suspension for

an unspecified violation of

NCAA rules.

“I think it’s eight games,”

Kelly said. “I don’t know the

exact date” of his return.

Kelly said he could not com-

ment on the nature of the

violation but acknowledged

it was difficult to lose a play-

er for such a lengthy period.

“He’s an integral member

of this team, and he made a

mistake and he understands

it and he’ll become better

from it,” Kelly said of

Calvert, who has spent the

last few days of practice

working as a member of the

scout team.

Etc.

Cornerback Darnay

Holmesdid not participate

in the portion of practice

open to the media for a sec-

ond consecutive day, but

Kelly said he was fine and

would play against the

Bearcats. ... Kelly said wide

receiver Theo Howardand

left tackle Alec Anderson

were listed as backups be-

cause they were limited in

practice recently while re-

covering from injuries. How-

ard was behind Jaylen Er-

winand Anderson was be-

hind Sean Rhyanon the

depth chart released Sun-

day. Kelly said Anderson,

who recently had surgery on

his right leg, would be able to

play in the opener. ... Kelly

said freshman running back

Sitiveni Kaufusiwould sit

out the season as a redshirt

after undergoing surgery on

his shoulder. ... Cincinnati is

expected to be without

sophomore running back

Tavion Thomasagainst the

Bruins after Bearcats coach

Luke Fickelltold reporters

Monday that he didn’t ex-

pect Thomas to be available

“for a couple of weeks” after

he missed part of training

camp for unspecified rea-

sons. Thomas ran for 499

yards and six touchdowns

last season, though he did

not play against UCLA.

UCLA FOOTBALL REPORT

Likely starter

doesn’t think

job is secured

By Ben Bolch

just one career reception at

USC, set about teaching

himself to catch. He

bounced a tennis ball

against a wall over and over.

He worked on a Jugs mach-

ine for hours every week. He

caught passes after practice

and ran routes wherever he

could. Soon, coaches started

to notice a difference.

“I’ll tell you where he’s

progressed the most is

catching the ball out of the

backfield,” Trojans coach

Clay Helton said of Stepp,

who will maintain his status

as a freshman because he

played in only four games

last season. “He realized

coming into this system that

that was part of the deal, and

he did a really nice job.”

His work as a receiver has

with his size, but his shifti-
ness often surprised unsus-
pecting defenders. It was a
devastating combination,
one that helped him emerge
with 1,700 yards rushing as a
sophomore despite splitting
carries with a senior back.
Major college programs
took notice. Rick Streiff, his
coach at Cathedral, remem-
bers wondering that season
whether Stepp might finish
his career as the top rusher
in Indiana high school his-
tory. Then, the spring after
his stellar sophomore cam-
paign, Stepp’s hamstring
seized up during a workout.
The injury lingered into
the next season, and the
next one after that. Stepp
tried to play through it any-

way, tearing off a touchdown

run on one of his first carries

as a junior.

But his touchdown sprint

only aggravated the ham-

string. He spent the next few

months on the sideline, and

when he returned for the

postseason, Cathedral

played him only in the red

zone, so as to limit any po-

tential breakaway runs.

“When we got down close,

we put him in the game,”

said Streiff, who’s now Ca-

thedral’s athletic director.

“It was almost like a pitcher

with a pitch count.”

As a senior, Stepp ran for

nearly 1,000 yards as the lead

back in a committee at Ca-

thedral. But most of the sea-

son was spent managing his

health and limiting his

carries.

“I just couldn’t get heal-

thy,” Stepp said. “It was

really hard to catch all the

way back up.”

Which didn’t leave much

time for Stepp to learn how

to catch. He can count his

high school reception totals

with his hands. Cathedral’s

offense rarely called for him

to even run an actual route.

“If there’s a little chink in

the armor,” Streiff said, “I’d

say probably his ball skills

were not as good as they

could be. But we just never

asked him to do it.”

That won’t be the case at

USC, where new offensive

coordinator Graham Har-

rell’s version of the Air Raid

demands that running

backs be a threat out of the

backfield. Over his last two

seasons as offensive coordi-

nator at North Texas, run-

ning backs accounted for

16% of the team’s receptions.

Even before Harrell

brought the Air Raid to L.A.,

Stepp understood his hands

needed work. Last season,

he realized he could no long-

er count on just plowing

through defenders. He

wanted to be a complete

back.

But a reputation was al-

ready cemented when Jinks

arrived in the offseason, and

it was up to Stepp to prove

that wrong. In a backfield

crowded with talented

backs, his hopes of emerging

hinged on his hands improv-

ing.

So Stepp, who boasted

only just begun. When it

comes to catching passes,

Stepp is still the most raw

option in USC’s stable of

running backs.

But none of those other

backs is quite capable of

what Stepp does at his best.

During a recent scrimmage,

on fourth down at the goal

line, he offered a reminder.

Bursting forward with the

handoff, Stepp lowered a

shoulder into linebacker

Ralen Goforth, who

bounced backward off him

into the end zone.

That power was why

Stepp wound up at USC. But

with a new season ahead and

a new offense in place, the

battering ram who couldn’t

catch has the chance to be

much more.

USC’s Stepp seeks to prove he can be a complete back

[Stepp,from D1]

SEASON OPENER

UCLA at

Cincinnati

AT NIPPERT STADIUM

Thursday, 4 p.m. PDT

TV:ESPN.

DORIAN THOMPSON-ROBINSONsaid he hasn’t

been told he’ll start at quarterback versus Cincinnati.

Luis SincoLos Angeles Times

SAN DIEGO — Hyun-
Jin Ryu says he under-
stands the logic. He has
pitched more innings this
year than any since 2014, be-
fore a litany of injuries cost
him dozens of starts, and his
recent performances have
only stimulated the theory
that he is fatigued. But Mon-
day, the Dodgers left-hander
again insisted he is not tiring
with a month remaining in
the regular season.
“To be completely hon-
est, this year has been really
good in terms of condition-
ing and my health,” Ryu said
through his interpreter,
Bryan Lee. “Just by the feel
of things, I feel really good.”
Ryu spoke three days be-
fore his next scheduled start
and three days after the New
York Yankees pummeled
him over 4^1 ⁄ 3 innings. He gave
up seven runs against the
American League World Se-
ries contenders after giving
up four runs over 5^2 ⁄ 3 innings
to Atlanta. The 11 earned
runs given up in the two
starts were as many as he

surrendered in his previous

12 starts.

“I’m actually really opti-

mistic about my future just

because I wasn’t satisfied

with how I pitched,” Ryu

said. “If I’m giving up that

many runs and hits and I

think I’m performing well,

that’s one thing. But in those

two cases I definitely wasn’t

commanding my pitches

well and it’s definitely not

how I wanted to pitch. So I’m

really more focused on inter-

nally how I can improve, in

terms of commanding my

pitches, rather than looking

at something on the out-

side.”

Ryu has logged 152^2 ⁄ 3 in-

nings after recording 213^2 ⁄ 3

regular-season innings the

previous four years com-

bined. His career high for a

regular season is the 192 in-

nings he accumulated his

rookie year in 2013. There’s a

chance he won’t reach that

total this season even if he

doesn’t miss a start.

The Dodgers currently

employ a six-man rotation,

affording starters an extra

day of rest as the club plays

16 games in 16 days. Over the

weekend, manager Dave

Roberts said the team will

either skip Ryu’s turn once

or shorten one of his outings

in September to avoid weari-

ness. Ryu said he has not

spoken with Roberts about

any changes to his schedule.

In the background looms

the National League Cy

Young race. Ryu has been

the front-runner most of the

season and perhaps remains

so despite his recent hic-

cups. His 2.00 earned-run av-

erage still leads the majors.

His 3.18 FIP (Fielding Inde-

pendent Pitching) is fourth

in the league and his walk

rate is the best. Max

Scherzer is considered

Ryu’s chief competitor for

the award. The Washington

right-hander is second in the

majors with a 2.41 ERA and

first in the NL in FIP (2.19).

But Scherzer, a three-time

Cy Young Award winner, has

missed time with injuries

and thrown 138^1 ⁄ 3 innings.

“I like to take a game at a

time and I don’t think any

pitcher goes out there think-

ing that he’s going to win a

Cy Young,” Ryu said. “It’s

more of a result that you get

after finishing your season

strong, so I’m really focused

on the next start.”

The race will come down

to September and whether

Ryu, fatigued or not, can get

back on track before the

postseason.

Short hops

Dylan Floro, on the in-

jured list with an intercostal

strain, logged a 25-pitch

bullpen session Monday at

Petco Park. Roberts said the

right-handed reliever’s next

step is pitching an inning for

Class-A Rancho Cuca-

monga on Thursday. ... Rich

Hill will throw his second

bullpen session Tuesday

since going on the injured

list in June with a forearm

strain. The left-hander will

mix in curveballs after toss-

ing only fastballs in his first

session.... Catcher Russell

Martin is scheduled to rejoin

the Dodgers on Tuesday af-

ter a three-day stint on the

bereavement list. Roberts

said the plan is to option

Austin Barnes back to

triple-A Oklahoma City.

Barnes will return when ros-

ters expand Sunday.

DODGERS REPORT

Ryu insists he isn’t fatigued

By Jorge Castillo

calling borderline low

pitches strikes. The frustra-

tion peaked with the game’s

final pitch — a 94-mph fast-

ball from Padres closer

Kirby Yates. Turner thought

it was too low but Drake

called Strike 3. A con-

founded Turner burst with

anger. Dodgers manager

Dave Roberts soon followed.

“I asked him, ‘You call

that a strike?’ ” Turner said.

“He told me it was right

down the middle, which was

pretty upsetting. If he thinks

that’s down the middle .... no

matter, he was missing a lot

of pitches throughout the

night.

“And then he walks into

me and told me not to bump

him, which also upsets me.

I’m not trying to bump him

or touch him in any way, but

when you walk into me, and

then cry foul like I hit you or

something, is brutal.”

Monday began with

Dustin May’s latest audi-

tion. For five innings, the

hard-throwing prospect

looked the part, dominating

the Padres’ lineup behind a

wicked, tailing, two-seam

fastball. Then he hit a famil-

iar wall. Like in his first four

major league starts, May

stumbled into trouble in the

sixth and didn’t escape.

May’s undoing began

with a leadoff double by

pinch-hitter Austin Allen.

Greg Garcia singled and

Josh Naylor snuck a single

through the infield to score

Allen. Center fielder A.J. Pol-

lock fielded the ball and fired

to third base as Garcia

rounded second. Garcia

held up, but the ball sailed

over the cutoff man’s head

and bounced through third

baseman Turner’s legs. May

wasn’t backing Turner up,

so the ball bounced into the

Dodgers’ dugout.

“There’s no excuse,” May

said. “I can’t let the ball go

into the dugout.”

Garcia was awarded two

bases to tie the score as Nay-

lor advanced to third. Mo-

ments later, he scored on

Manny Machado’s ground-

out to put San Diego ahead.

That spelled the end of

May’s night after 5^1 ⁄ 3 innings.

Two of the four runs he gave

up were earned. He struck

out two and walked one.

“The takeaway is Dustin

threw the ball pretty well,”

Roberts said.

The Dodgers (86-46) took

the short bus ride to San Di-

ego late Sunday after losing

two of three to the New York

Yankees in a series that

carried more wattage than

just about any. It also served

as a reminder that beyond

the weak National League

are other loaded clubs capa-

ble of trouncing them.

“We still got some work to

do,” Roberts said.

Roberts said his biggest

takeaway from the weekend

was his team’s unusually

poor at-bat quality. He cred-

ited the Yankees’ pitching

staff for holding Los Angeles

to five runs in three games,

but also pointed to his bat-

ters’ approach.

“When you’re talking

about having a plan and

staying in the strike zone,

that’s on the hitter,” he said.

The Dodgers weren’t

much better Monday

against Eric Lauer, who en-

tered the game with a 1.72

ERA in six starts against

them. The left-hander sur-

rendered three runs and six

hits and struck out eight be-

fore left-hander Matt

Strahm and Yates combined

for three scoreless innings.

The Dodgers had scored

first after the hosts took a

jab. The Padres teased

Turner on the video board,

comparing him to the Phila-

delphia Flyers’ mascot

Gritty. Turner then cracked

the third pitch of the at-bat

over the left-field wall for his

24th home run and a 1-0 lead.

Turner struck again in the

fifth when he smacked a ball

down the third base line to

score Max Muncy from first.

In the sixth, Enrique Her-

nandez clubbed a solo ho-

mer for a 3-1 lead.

DUSTIN MAY,making his fourth big league start, stumbled in the sixth inning at

Petco Park and didn’t escape, losing his lead thanks in part to a costly error.

Sean M. HaffeySan Diego Union-Tribune

Padres

beat

L.A.

[Dodgers,from D1]