Los Angeles Times - 09.08.2019

L ATIMES.COM/SPORTS FRIDAY, AUGUST 9, 2019D5

Rosie Ruiz, the Boston Mara-

thon course-cutter who was

stripped of her victory in the 1980

race and went on to become an en-

during symbol of cheating in

sports, died last month. She was

66.

Ruiz, who was also known as

Rosie Vivas, died in Florida of can-

cer on July 8, according to an obitu-

ary that made no mention of her

Boston Marathon infamy. Run-

ning magazine first made the con-

nection this week, a fitting end to

one of the oddest chapters in the

history of the race.

An unknown who didn’t look or

act like she had just run 26.2 miles,

Ruiz finished first in the women’s

division in Boston in 1980 in a then-

record time of 2 hours 31 minutes 56

seconds.

ETC.

Santa Anita won’t

use downhill course

Santa Anita will keep its signa-

ture 6^1 ⁄ 2 -furlong downhill turf

course closed to sprints for its six-

week fall meeting, it was an-

nounced Thursday.

The course has been closed to

sprints since March 31 when Arms

Runner was the 23rdof 30 fatalities

at Santa Anita during its winter

and spring meet.

Arms Runner suffered a fatal in-

jury while crossing over the 80-foot

portion of the course that is on the

dirt before resuming running on

the grass. Santa Anita closed the

course to sprints after that fatality.

—John Cherwa

A Tennessee man charged with

killing former NBA player Loren-

zen Wrightwas sentenced to 16

years in prison on a separate gun

charge. Judge Lee Coffee sen-

tenced Billy Turnerduring a hear-

ing Thursday in Memphis. ... A

state judge ordered Jerry San-

duskybe taken to a central Penn-

sylvania courtroom next month for

resentencing on his 45-count child

sexual abuse conviction, six

months after an appeals court

ruled mandatory minimums had

been improperly applied. ... Brazil-

ian prosecutors are recom-

mending the investigation of soc-

cer star Neymaron a rape allega-

tion be closed, saying there is a lack

of evidence. ... The federal Office for

Civil Rights has launched an inves-

tigation into Connecticut’s policy

that allows transgender high

school athletes to compete as the

gender they identify with. ... The

trial for former Michigan State

basketball star Mateen Cleaveson

sexual assault charges began in

Flint, Mich.

Defending champion Rafael

Nadaladvanced to the Rogers Cup

quarterfinals in Montreal, beating

Argentina’s Guido Pella6-3, 6-4.

Nadal will face Fabio Fogniniof

Italy. Also advancing were second-

seeded Dominic Thiem, who beat

Marin Cilic, and sixth-seeded

Karen Khachanovof Russia, who

beat Montreal teenager Felix Au-

ger-Aliassime. ... Serena Williams

beat Russia’s Ekaterina Alexan-

drova7-5, 6-4 to reach the Rogers

Cup quarterfinals in Toronto. The

eighth-seeded Williams will face

No. 2 Naomi Osakaof Japan, a

winner over Polish qualifier Iga

Swiatekin the late match. Third-

ranked Karolina Pliskova,who is

in position to reclaim the top spot

in the world ranking this week,

beat Anett Kontaveit, setting up a

match against Bianca Andreescu

of Canada. Andreescu beat fifth-

seeded Kiki Bertensof the Nether-

lands. ... Roger Federerand Nadal

are joining Novak Djokovicon the

ATP Player Council.

Troy Merritttied the Liberty

National course record with a nine-

under-par 62 to take a one-shot

lead in the Northern Trust at Jer-

sey City, N.J. Dustin Johnsonran

off four straight birdies late in his

round for a 63. Tiger Woodsshot a

four-over 75 for his second-worst

score in 89 rounds of the FedEx

Cup playoffs, leaving him 13 shots

behind Merritt and in danger of

missing the cut. ... Jane Park, Anne

van Damand Mi Hyang Leetook

advantage of calm conditions in

the opening round of the Ladies

Scottish Open in North Berwick,

each shooting eight-under 63 to

share the lead.

Sam Mikulaktook the lead at

the U.S. men’s gymnastics champi-

onships in Kansas City, Mo.,

moving closer to a sixth national ti-

tle after posting an all-around

score of 86.750, well clear of 2017 na-

tional champion Yul Moldauer.

Mikulak, 26, scored 15.35 on the

parallel bars for the highest mark

of the night on any event to help

give the two-time Olympian a big

cushion heading into the finals.

THE DAY IN SPORTS

Boston

Marathon

cheater

Ruiz dies

staff and wire reports

BOSTON — Left-handed re-
liever Adalberto Mejia is a mem-
ber of the Angelsbullpen. Again.
The Angels on Thursday
claimed Mejia off waivers from the
St. Louis Cardinals, the same team
that snatched Mejia from them a
few weeks ago.
The move may finally end the
roller coaster Mejia has been on
since being designated for assign-
ment by the Minnesota Twins on
July 13.
He had been unemployed for a
week when the Angels first ac-
quired him. He spent six days on
their roster. On the final day, he
turned in a gutsy relief appear-
ance, allowing only a walk over
three scoreless innings in the An-
gels’ 16-inning loss to the Baltimore
Orioles on July 25. The depletion of
the bullpen forced the Angels to

call in reinforcements from the mi-

nor leagues the next day. Mejia, out

of minor league options, drew the

short straw.

The cycle repeated itself this

week when the Cardinals, in the

thick of a crowded wild-card race,

needed to reboot their bullpen.

The Angels were trying to stay

afloat in the postseason race when

they designated Mejia. They are

now in the opposite situation, 9^1 ⁄ 2

games out of playoff positioning

before opening a four-game series

against the Boston Red Sox on

Thursday.

The Angels made room for

Mejia on the 40-man roster by re-

questing release waivers on

catcher Jose Briceno, who has

been on the injured list because of a

shoulder strain since late May.

Briceno, who played in 46 games

with the Angels as a rookie last

year, began a throwing regimen

last month but suffered a setback.

He is undergoing a new treatment

in effort to avoid surgery.

Buttrey struggling

through growing pains

Ty Buttrey, the Angels’ typi-

cally reliable rookie reliever, has

been in a rough stretch since the

All-Star break. He has given up

nine runs in 10^2 ⁄ 3 innings. Batters

have hit him at an alarming .318

clip.

But manager Brad Ausmusis

confident the right-hander is only

slumping. Although there might be

reason to worry about Buttrey’s

health, Ausmus said he has not

heard Buttrey complain about be-

ing hurt or feeling tired from over-

use. Buttrey entered Thursday

tied for the team lead in appear-

ances with 51 but he’d accumulated

only 52^2 ⁄ 3 innings.

“I haven’t seen anything me-

chanically that would concern me,”

Ausmus said. “He was so good for

so long, it could be a stretch where

he’s just not as good.”

Short hops

Left-hander Andrew Heaney,

on the injured list because of shoul-

der inflammation, will make his

first start since July 16 on Saturday.

... Fenway Park, with its quirky

shapes and dimensions, is the only

American League ballpark that

has denied Mike Troutof a home

run. Trout collected eight doubles

and one triple and had a .350 aver-

age in 19 games in Boston before

Thursday night. ... Shohei Ohtani

made his Fenway debut Thursday

and hit at least one batting prac-

tice home run to dead center field.

It landed well left of the triangle

there, but still cleared the intimi-

dating 17-foot wall. Ohtani was re-

covering from his elbow injury

when the Angels last played here in

June 2018.

CATCHER SANDY LEON of the Boston Red Sox tags Mike Trout of the Angels for the final out at Fenway Park. Fenway Park is
the only American League ballpark where the Angels star outfielder has yet to hit a home run during his career.

Kathryn RileyGetty Images

ANGELS REPORT

Mejia is back after St. Louis stint

By Maria Torres

sputtering Red Sox squad that had
lost nine of 11. Boston’s Chris Sale
commanded all the attention, re-
turning to vintage form with eight
masterful innings. Starter Dillon
Peters tried to keep the Angels in
the game. He mostly used his
low-90s fastball to his advantage,
striking out Rafael Devers twice
and Sandy Leon once on high heat-
ers. His curveball and changeup
drew three swings-and-misses
each. He gave up only five hits and
struck out eight in six innings be-
fore relinquishing the mound to re-
lievers Taylor Cole and JC Ramir-
ez, who threw one scoreless inning
apiece.
But the Red Sox twice did dam-
age. Sam Travis jumped on a first-
pitch, 93-mph heater down the
middle and crushed it 443 feet to
straightaway center field for a 2-0
Boston lead in the second. Sandy
Leon led off the fifth inning with a
solo shot that sailed over the Green
Monster.
The Angels never recovered,
handcuffed by an especially effec-
tive Sale. Before Mike Trout led off
the seventh inning with a single,
Sale had retired 16 in a row. Shohei
Ohtani, who reached second base
on a dribbler that third baseman
Rafael Devers let by him in the
first, had owned the Angels’ only
hit. No one else got to Boston’s
lanky left-hander.
“I know this hasn’t been a vin-
tage Chris Sale year, but when I’ve
watched him on TV he hasn’t
looked that different,” Angels man-
ager Brad Ausmus said. “He can
still reach back for the velocity
when he needs it. His last couple
years in Chicago he was doing simi-
lar. He’d coast at 91 to 93 and when

he wanted to elevate the velocity,

go to 96, especially with two strikes.

That’s what he did tonight.”

Sale had been bled dry by the

New York Yankees in two consecu-

tive starts. Their high-octane of-

fense scored a combined 14 runs

over nine innings. Sale didn’t even

make it out of the fourth inning

when he left his last game.

His performances in those

games were a microcosm of Sale’s

overall struggles. The ace has

struggled with his velocity all sea-

son. His ERA was under 3.00 in 2017

and 2018; this year, it shot up to 4.41.

On Thursday, he was the Sale of

old. He needed only 97 pitches to

get through eight innings. He

fooled hitters with the 10-mph

range of his fastball and his funky

delivery. Sale tricked Justin Upton

with sliders, striking him out three

times. He threw the breaking ball

to Trout for a strike on the outer

edge of the plate, then came back

inside with a 96-mph heater. Trout

swung over it and went back to the

dugout, striking out for the second

at-bat in a row.

Albert Pujols struck out twice,

too, including on a 98.4-mph fast-

ball in the seventh inning. It was

Sale’s hardest-thrown pitch of the

season — and he still threw a 97-

mph fastball to close the eighth in-

ning.

“He looked the same to me,”

Trout said. “Pretty nasty.”

Vintage

Sale

delivers

the goods

[A ngels,from D1]

BOSTON RED SOXpitcher Chris Sale retired 16 Angels batters in a row during one stretch. “He

can still reach back for the velocity when he needs it,” Angels manager Brad Ausmus said.

Elise AmendolaAssociated Press