OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Brent Rooker hit his 27th homer of the season and the Oakland Athletics added two more long balls to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-5 on Friday night.
After leading the majors with 45 homers in July, the A's showed no signs of slowing down in their first game of August in front of a season-high 21,060 fans at the Oakland Coliseum.
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Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani tosses his bat after hitting a three-run home run against the Oakland Athletics during the ninth inning of a baseball game Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
Los Angeles Dodgers' Will Smith, right, talks to home plate umpire Phil Cuzzi, center, after being called out on strikes during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Oakland Athletics, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
Oakland Athletics' Brent Rooker hits a two-run home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the fifth inning of a baseball game Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
Oakland Athletics' Lawrence Butler, right, scores against the Los Angeles Dodgers off Miguel Andujar's triple during the fifth inning of a baseball game Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani walks to the dugout after hitting a popup to Oakland Athletics third baseman Abraham Toro during the sixth inning of a baseball game Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
Oakland Athletics' Brent Rooker watches his two-run home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the fifth inning of a baseball game Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
Oakland Athletics’ Brent Rooker, right, celebrates with JJ Bleday (33) after hitting a two-run home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the fifth inning of a baseball game Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
Shea Langeliers and Seth Brown went deep against Gavin Stone (9-5) as the A's won for the 10th time in 14 games, starting with an 18-3 win at Philadelphia in the final game before the All-Star break.
“Really in Philadelphia, we really dove into approaching individually what we’re trying to do each game," Langeliers said. "We just kept growing with that approach. It’s just building confidence with the guys. We’re stringing good at bats together and obviously putting across crooked numbers. When the offense is doing that you tend tp keep momentum on your side.”
Teoscar Hernandez hit a two-run homer in the first against Joey Estes (5-4) but the Dodgers managed little else until Shohei Ohtani broke an 0-for-15 slump with a three-run homer with two outs in the ninth.
But it wasn't enough for the Dodgers, who lost for the fifth time in six games. Los Angeles' NL West lead over Arizona dropped to four games.
“It’s just not Shohei’s job alone to carry this offense," manager Dave Roberts said. "That’s impossible. He’s a guy that is the top of the order, the most dangerous, most talented player we have. I think the game plan has to be to try to limit him, and if you can limit him, you take your chance with the eight other guys.”
Estes allowed two runs and two hits in six innings, retiring 15 straight following Hernandez's homer, capped by a running grab by third baseman Abraham Toro to rob Ohtani of a hit in the sixth.
Will Smith and Gavin Lux then drew back-to-back two walks but Estes struck out Hernandez to get out of the jam and end his night.
“For Joey, that last inning, the emotion kind of got to him," manager Mark Kotsay said. "I think he was kind of trying to get through that sixth inning after the play Toro made, which was an unbelievable play. He showed a lot of emotion after that and thus resulted in two walks to the next two guys. But he made a big pitch there against Teoscar to strike him out and get out of that jam.”
Austin Adams got Ohtani to ground out with the bases loaded and two outs in the seventh.
“The balls that I’m supposed to be hitting well, I’m not — fly balls that should have been going out haven’t been going out, line drives right at the guy," Ohtani said through an interpreter. "So it's more about me rather than the (other) team or how the team is attacking.”
Stone's rough recent stretch continued as he started to run into trouble in the fourth when Langeliers and Brown hit solo homers to tie the game at 2.
Stone was replaced after allowing an RBI triple to Miguel Andujar and a run-scoring double to JJ Bleday in the fifth. Rooker greeted Joe Kelly with a two-run shot to make it 6-2. Stone is 0-3 with a 7.15 ERA in his last five starts.
Oakland is now fourth in the majors this season with 145 homers despite ranking in the bottom 10 in runs scored, with more than half of the A’s runs coming on long balls.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Dodgers: 1B Freddie Freeman isn't expected to join the team this weekend as he tends to his 3-year-old son Maximus. Freeman went on the family emergency list last week after Maximus was hospitalized because of Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare neurological disorder. ... RHP Walker Buehler (hip) will make one more rehab start at Triple-A Oklahoma City before rejoining the Dodgers.
Athletics: INF Darell Hernaiz (ankle) was reinstated from the 60-day IL and INF Brett Harris was optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas. RHP Luis Medina was transferred to the 60-day IL to create a roster spot for Hernaiz.
UP NEXT
RHP Jack Flaherty will make his Dodgers debut after being acquired from Detroit before the trade deadline. Flaherty was 7-5 with a 2.95 ERA for the Tigers this season. RHP Mitch Spence (7-6, 4.47 ERA) will start for the A's.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani tosses his bat after hitting a three-run home run against the Oakland Athletics during the ninth inning of a baseball game Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
Los Angeles Dodgers' Will Smith, right, talks to home plate umpire Phil Cuzzi, center, after being called out on strikes during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Oakland Athletics, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
Oakland Athletics' Brent Rooker hits a two-run home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the fifth inning of a baseball game Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
Oakland Athletics' Lawrence Butler, right, scores against the Los Angeles Dodgers off Miguel Andujar's triple during the fifth inning of a baseball game Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani walks to the dugout after hitting a popup to Oakland Athletics third baseman Abraham Toro during the sixth inning of a baseball game Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
Oakland Athletics' Brent Rooker watches his two-run home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the fifth inning of a baseball game Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
Oakland Athletics’ Brent Rooker, right, celebrates with JJ Bleday (33) after hitting a two-run home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the fifth inning of a baseball game Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Up by double figures in the second half at the Final Four, closing in on the chance to play for yet another national championship, Duke was right where it had worked all season to be.
What happened next was unforgettable, history of the most painful kind.
Up 14 with 8 1/2 minutes left, the Blue Devils improbably faded down the stretch, done in by Houston's relentless fight to stay in a game that had frequently seemed on the verge of getting away. There were missed shots and miscues. An inability to get stops. And even their reliable star — Associated Press national player of the year Cooper Flagg — couldn't save the Blue Devils on a contested late shot when they suddenly faced a late deficit.
By the final horn, the Cougars had scored the game's last nine points in the last 33 seconds for a 70-67 victory Saturday night in the second semifinal.
“It’s heartbreaking, it’s incredibly disappointing," third-year coach Jon Scheyer said. "There’s a lot of pain that comes with this. That’s what the tournament is all about.”
It was as abrupt as it was shocking, the final horn triggering a sound that can only be described as jubilation crashing into disbelief running throughout the Alamodome. The push for the Blue Devils' sixth NCAA title was over, along with the first Final Four trip of Scheyer's brief tenure in what was beginning to feel like a coronating moment after taking over for retired Hall of Famer Mike Krzyzewski.
“It was an incredible season,” Flagg said, fighting back tears after a 27-point showing. “Incredible people, incredible relationships that I'm going to have for the rest of my life. Didn't end the way we wanted it to, but still an incredible year.”
Duke (35-4) went from being in firm control all night to having a desperate final possession after LJ Cryer’s last two free throws with 3.7 seconds left, leaving the Blue Devils only Sion James’ full-court heave for a try at a tying 3 with no timeouts left. But after a deflection-forced scramble, the ball ended up in Tyrese Proctor’s hands with time only for Proctor to turn and flail it toward the basket.
The ball missed everything as the horn sounded.
That sent James crumpling to midcourt in anguish, only to look around and realize he had to quickly spring up because the Cougars’ bench was sprinting his way to celebrate a stunning victory. J’Wan Roberts, Houston’s burly 23-year-old forward playing in his fifth season, went running over to Cougars fans near the edge of the court to scream in triumphant joy while popping the front of his jersey.
As Houston’s players celebrated, the 18-year-old Flagg walked with his head down toward the edge of the elevated court for the stairs to down to the tunnel and to the locker room. His teammates followed with stunned expressions, along with freshman big man Khaman Maluach having tears streaming down his face.
Worse, the path for the Blue Devils to their locker-room sanctuary was through the heaviest concentration of Houston fans in the arena. So Duke made its way off amid a sea of red-clad fans tauntingly waving goodbye and capturing the moment with their phones.
It didn't seem likely that the only team to rank inside KenPom's top five for adjusted offensive and defensive efficiency would find itself in that position. But there were hiccups, small mistakes that seemingly compounded against a tough team that absolutely refused to back down.
The sequence that stood out was Proctor missing the front end of a 1-and-1 free throw with Duke up just one, then Flagg fouling Roberts while trying to reach over his box out. Roberts, who came into the game shooting 62.5%, calmly made both with 19.6 seconds left for a 68-67 lead.
Then, after a timeout, Flagg got the ball with a chance to attack Roberts. The versatile 6-foot-9 forward widely projected to become the No. 1 overall NBA pick drove the left side, then turned for a fading shot in the lane over Roberts' outstretched hand.
The shot was short, the ball bouncing off the front of the rim and landing with the Cougars to set up Cryer's last free throws to cap his own huge night (26 points).
“Trust Cooper 100 times out of 100 times,” James said. “I had a chance to get the offensive rebound and didn't get there in time.”
But it was far more than just a shot, something Flagg alluded to in the postgame news conference. It was a not-precise handling of a defensive switch between Flagg and James that gave Emanuel Sharp enough space to bury a 3-pointer that brought Houston within 67-64 with 32.4 seconds left.
Or the ensuing inbounds pass, when James tried to lob it to Flagg against a 6-2 defender Mylik Wilson against the Cougars' fullcourt pressure. But Wilson deflected the ball to create the turnover, and Joseph Tugler's flying-in dunk off a miss quickly closed the gap to 67-66.
And the seeds were planted even earlier than that, notably with Duke leading 59-45 with 8:17 left and a chance to strengthen its grasp on the game. But Houston instead ran off 10 straight points, fittingly starting with a 3-pointer from Cryer, that changed the trajectory of the final minutes.
That's why Scheyer seemed more bothered by his team's defensive play — the Cougars had 42 second-half points and 13 of their 19 second-chance points after the break — than Duke's offense sputtering to nine points and one basket in the final 10 minutes.
And just like that, what looked like a title march had become a time of painful reflection — with months more of it to come.
“Obviously as a coach, I'm reflecting right now what else I could've said or done to help our guys at the end there," Scheyer said. "That's the thing that kills me the most.”
AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness. Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here.
Duke's Cooper Flagg (2) leaves the court after Duke lost to Houston in the national semifinals at the Final Four of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Saturday, April 5, 2025, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Duke forward Cooper Flagg leaves the court after their loss against the Houston in the national semifinals at the Final Four of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Saturday, April 5, 2025, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Houston forward J'Wan Roberts, left, celebrates after their Winn against the Duke in the national semifinals at the Final Four of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Saturday, April 5, 2025, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Duke reacts during their loss against the Houston in the national semifinals at the Final Four of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Saturday, April 5, 2025, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Houston players celebrate after beating Duke in the national semifinals at the Final Four of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Saturday, April 5, 2025, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Duke's Khaman Maluach (9) and a teammate leave the court after Houston beat Duke in the national semifinals at the Final Four of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Saturday, April 5, 2025, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Houston forward J'Wan Roberts celebrates after making a free throw against the Duke late in the second half in the national semifinals at the Final Four of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Saturday, April 5, 2025, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Duke's Cooper Flagg (2) walks off the court after Duke lost to Houston in the national semifinals at the Final Four of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Saturday, April 5, 2025, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Duke's Cooper Flagg (2) walks off the court after Duke lost to Houston in the national semifinals at the Final Four of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Saturday, April 5, 2025, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
