Los Angeles Times - 27.08.2019

SPORTS

TUESDAY, AUGUST 27, 2019:: LATIMES.COM/SPORTS

D

SAN DIEGO — After a

three-game simulation of

October baseball opposite a

fellow World Series contend-

er at Dodger Stadium over

the weekend, the Dodgers

returned to late August’s

doldrums Monday at Petco

Park to face an inferior divi-

sional opponent playing out

the string. They were back to

punching down, not that it

was their choice, and hold-

ing another round of audi-

tions for when October actu-

ally arrives and the games

matter.

The setting was different,

the vibe was too. The result

was not. The Dodgers, stuck

in their deepest offensive

slump this season, could not

overcome a forgettable sixth

inning en route to a 4-3 loss

to the San Diego Padres.

They have scored 13 runs

over their last six games and

have gone 3-3 during the

span. All three wins have

come by one run — two via

walk-off hits.

“This is baseball,” Dod-

gers third baseman Justin

Turner said. “I mean, if you

guys expect us to score 10, 12

runs every single night, you

guys are out of your minds.

So just got to keep working.

Keep trying to put together

ABs, and stuff like this hap-

pens throughout the course

of a season to every single

team, no matter how good or

bad they are.”

Monday’s troubles were

stoked by the Dodgers’ dis-

agreements with home-

plate umpire Rob Drake’s

strike zone. Batters were

irked by Drake consistently

Dodgers

stoop

and still

don’t

conquer

Drop in their level of

competition doesn’t

help team stuck in its

worst slump of season.

SAN DIEGO 4

DODGERS 3

By Jorge Castillo

[SeeDodgers,D5]

NEW YORK — The
sour memories
Serena Williams
carried from her
previous match at
Arthur Ashe Sta-
dium — the U.S.
Open final loss to
Naomi Osaka in
September that devolved into a
controversial and confusing spec-
tacle — weren’t reflected in her
strong performance Monday. But
she made it clear she can’t be
counted out here, and that she
hasn’t forgotten the infamous
occasion that polarized the tennis
world.
Back on the showcase court at
the Billie Jean King Tennis Center
for her first match at this year’s
U.S. Open, Williams was intense
and businesslike in a 6-1, 6-1
thrashing of Maria Sharapova.
Williams took 59 minutes to defeat
Sharapova for the 19th time in a
row, a streak that excludes a walk-
over in Sharapova’s favor in the
fourth round of the 2018 French
Open.
“I just feel like her game really
matches up well against mine,”
Williams said after improving her
record against Sharapova to 20-2.
“I always said her ball somehow

lands in my strike zone. I don’t

know. It’s just perfect for me.”

Williams, seeded eighth, wisely

controlled her emotions as well as

she controlled the play against the

unseeded Sharapova. Trying

again for a record-tying 24th

Grand Slam event singles champi-

onship, she was efficient and calm,

a distinct contrast to her unbri-

dled anger in unleashing a tirade

at chair umpire Carlos Ramos in

last year’s final because of what

she considered unfair and sexist

calls against her. Asked Monday

for her reaction to U.S. Tennis

Assn. officials deciding Ramos

won’t officiate her matches this

year she replied, “I don’t know who

that is.”

OK then.

No. 3 men’s seed Roger Federer

didn’t match Williams’ efficiency

in winning his first-round match at

Ashe. The 20-time Grand Slam

event champion stumbled early

against 190th-ranked Sumit Nagal

of India and committed 19 un-

forced errors in the first set but

recovered his timing and serving

ability in time to pull out a 4-6, 6-1,

6-2, 6-4 victory.

“Credit to him for really playing

a solid first set,” said Federer, who

acknowledged he was surprised by

Nagal’s early poise. “It’s never easy

SERENA WILLIAMSreturns a shot on the way to a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Maria Sharapova in a first-round women’s match of the
U.S. Open, where the American is seeking a seventh title and a record-tying 24th Grand Slam event singles championship.

John G. MabangloEPA/Shutterstock

Court of public dominion

Williams cruises and Federer prevails after slow start at U.S. Open

ROGER FEDERERacknowledges the Arthur Ashe Stadium

crowd after rallying for a four-set victory over Sumit Nagal.

Kena BetancurAFP/Getty Images

HELENE ELLIOTT

[SeeElliott,D6]

Markese Stepp can’t
catch. That’s what Mike
Jinks was told.
As a disciple of the Air
Raid offense, Jinks took
close note of that intel upon
his arrival at USC as the run-
ning backs coach.
Stepp had otherwise im-
pressed in limited work a
year ago during a redshirt
season, routinely flashing
the sort of dynamic, one-cut,
power running style long fa-
vored by the Trojans.
But in a new system that
demanded its running backs
be all-purpose, three-down
weapons, there were legiti-
mate concerns about how a
230-pound battering ram ru-
mored to have stone hands
might fit.
Months later, thinking
back on it, Jinks can’t help
but laugh.
“We got lucky,” he said
with a smile. “Nobody really
knew that [Stepp] could
catch like he can.”
As Jinks would later

come to understand, nobody

had ever asked. All of his life,

Stepp had been a bruising,

physical runner, so adept at

barreling through contact

that he did not need to mas-

ter much else.

“In high school, I was big-

ger than some of the line-

men,” Stepp recalled. “I

guess I was always that type

of running back.”

It was a perfect fit for Ca-

thedral High in Indianapo-

lis, where the pounding, pro-

style rushing attack was a

way of life. Not only could

Stepp overwhelm defenses

The standout scenes

from the Rams’ game Sat-

urday were easy to overlook.

After all, Los Angeles’

starters were on the side-

lines again during the team’s

10-6 preseason win over the

Denver Broncos. Their sur-

rogates offered the most

compelling moments in-

stead.

There was KhaDarel

Hodge pumping his arm for-

ward, pantomiming a first

down after one of his three

catches; Darious Williams’

primal yell, preceded by his

athletic pass breakup; USC

alumnus Jalen Greene’s

touchdown catch, which was

punctuated with the Tro-

jans’ two-finger “V” celebra-

tion and which compen-

sated for his dropped pass

and false start in the plays

prior; defensive back Dont’e

Deayon’s postgame stroll

along the side of the stands,

soaking up every second of

an NFL stage on which he’s

desperate to remain.

Each player is a cut can-

didate this preseason,

mostly journeymen jockey-

ing for the team’s final few

Jockeying for the

final Rams spots

[SeeRams,D3]

Preseason finale

against Houston key

for players battling to

make 53-man roster.

By Jack Harris

Fewer playing

prep football

Southern California in

line with national

trends that show drop

in participation, a

survey finds. D2

Venezuela winter

ball not an option

Trump’s executive

order results in MLB

ban on playing in the

country, affecting

Angels players. D3

SEASON OPENER

USC vs.

Fresno State

AT THE COLISEUM

Saturday, 7:30 p.m.

TV:ESPN

USC’s Stepp is catching on

Powerful back works to show that he can be a receiving threat

By Ryan Kartje

MARKESE STEPPknows that the Trojans’ new

Air Raid offense requires versatile running backs.

Wally SkalijLos Angeles Times

[SeeStepp,D5]

Magic number

Combination of Dodgers

wins or losses by the divi-

sion’s second-place team

that will clinch the Na-

tional League West title.

11