Angels pull away from Dodgers in Freeway Series finale

• March 29, 2023

ANAHEIM ― Angels left fielder Taylor Ward made a sliding catch in left-center field, popped up, and threw a strike to second base to complete a double play to end the second inning Tuesday against the Dodgers.

It was only one sequence in an exhibition game, but Ward wasn’t afraid to call it a good omen.

“I think it’s just a start that I want to the year, you know?” Ward said.

The Freeway Series was full of good omens for the Angels, who took two of the three games with a 13-5 victory over the Dodgers before an announced crowd of 36,067 at Angel Stadium. They are 19-3-2 in home exhibition games against the Dodgers since 2004.

The Dodgers (14-13-4) will host the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday night, Opening Day across Major League Baseball. The Angels (18-11-2) will travel to Oakland to play the A’s.

The Angels broke open a close game with four runs in the seventh inning against Dodgers pitcher Jake Pilarski, a minor leaguer pitching his third exhibition game. They added another run in the eighth to provide the final score. Carlos Estevez pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning to close it out.

With no 26-man roster decisions hanging in the balance, the Dodgers used the game as a final tuneup for some of their regulars, and a chance for several minor leaguers to absorb a major league atmosphere on the field.

Starter Ryan Pepiot, who had already clinched the fifth starter’s job to begin the season, threw 86 pitches but didn’t make it out of the fourth inning.

Pepiot walked four batters and allowed five runs across his first five spring starts, then walked another four and allowed five more runs (all earned) in 3⅔ innings Tuesday. He allowed back-to-back home runs to Hunter Renfroe and Luis Rengifo in the third inning.

“I didn’t execute a lot of pitches,” Pepiot said. “I got behind guys. Left some stuff over the inner heart of the plate and got some balls hit hard.”

Angels left-hander Reid Detmers also saw his night end early. After striking out Freddie Freeman to begin the fourth inning, he allowed three straight hits – a double by Will Smith, a single by J.D. Martinez, an RBI single by Max Muncy – then walked Trayce Thompson to end his outing.

In six spring starts, Detmers allowed eight runs across 20 innings, walking eight batters and striking out 27. Only one pitcher (Yusei Kikuchi) recorded more strikeouts this spring. Detmers’ fastball topped out at 98 mph Tuesday, which eclipsed his top regular-season speed (96.1) last year.

“Obviously it feels good,” Detmers said. “It’s good to get outs. It doesn’t matter how hard you throw if you can’t get outs.”

Left-hander Kenny Rosenberg relieved Detmers and retired Miguel Vargas to end the fourth inning. The Dodgers tied the score at 5-5 on a two-run single by Miguel Rojas in the fifth.

By then, all of the Angels’ starters were done for the night. Manager Phil Nevin emptied his bench, which touched Dodgers right-hander Tayler Scott for three runs in the fifth inning. Zach Neto, the Angels’ first-round draft pick a year ago, singled in Osmy Gregorio for the go-ahead run. Neto finished 2 for 2 with a walk.

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A ground ball by Jordyn Adams, the Angels’ 2018 first-round pick, ate up Dodgers first baseman Kyle Nevin and trickled into right field to drive in two more runs. Adams also had two hits in the game.

Phil Nevin announced after the game that pitcher Tucker Davidson would make the Angels’ 26-man Opening Day roster. Pitcher Griffin Canning, who had been competing with Davidson for the sixth starter’s job, felt “a little something” in his groin while playing catch Monday and Tuesday, Nevin said, and will be re-evaluated Wednesday.

Canning missed all of last season with a back injury, but this injury is not considered serious.

“Tuck’s going to pitch out of the ’pen first,” Nevin said, “and it’s another valuable left arm to have out there. And as we get closer to (April 12) when we get back home, we’ll kind of evaluate it and see when we’re gonna make that start.”

Doug Padilla contributed to this story.

​ Orange County Register 

Dr. Clayton Chau, who helped steer OC health care during pandemic, to leave

• March 29, 2023

Dr. Clayton Chau will leave his post as director of the OC Health Care Agency as of June 1, and he confirmed in a text message that he submitted his resignation letter Tuesday, March 28.

In the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, Chau was selected in May 2020 to head the agency and a month later also took on the role of the county’s health officer as the spread of COVID-19 through Orange County pushed its hospitals and the health system to the edge.

Reached late Tuesday evening he texted that he will be leaving after the federal COVID-19 public health emergency order is set to end and had “no plan at this time” for what’s next.

“We greatly appreciate his service and he will be missed,” county spokeswoman Molly Nichelson said in a text.

Before the arrival of the coronavirus, few people would have been able to name the county’s health officer, but Dr. Nichole Quick soon became a target for criticism among many who objected to mask requirements. After Quick’s resignation in June 2020, Chau became one of the most visible faces in the local pandemic response. When vaccinations became available he was even helping staff mobile clinics to jab as many people as possible.

“When the first person got the vaccine, I was bawling in the back,” he said in a 2020 Orange County Register article about the first day doses of the new vaccination arrived in the county.

He was also the target of complaints about the stay-at-home orders, masking requirements and concerns people would be forced to be vaccinated. In May 2021, the county’s elected leaders denounced protests at his home – Quick had left the post after protests were staged at her home and threats made.

But Chau said in that 2020 article that he was a bit of an odd-man-out among public health officers at the time because he questioned California’s “blanket” lockdown guidance and encouraged finding a balance between precautions to curb the spread and the needs of keeping people working and businesses afloat.

He also said the pandemic provided lessons for health officials about the need to better ensure health care and social services are extended to all corners of a community.

“This pandemic truly tells us the story about how important health equity is,” he said.

Last March the country finally split the public health officer role and OC Health Care Agency director again, naming Dr. Regina Chinsio-Kwong as the new health officer.

​ Orange County Register 

Carew Classic revises schedule and format due to expected rain Wednesday, Thursday

• March 29, 2023

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Lance Eddy, the tournament director for the Michelle Carew Classic, announced Tuesday that the softball tournament has canceled all of the games scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday because it is expected to rain those days.

The tournament games have been rescheduled for Friday and Saturday.

Eddy hopes all teams can play at least four games using a new format that makes it two, four-game mini-tournaments.

The majority of the games will be played at Peralta Park and Yorba Regional Park in Anaheim. Games will also be played at Canyon and El Modena high schools.

Eddy added the tournament to the app “Tourney Machine” to help keep teams, parents and the media keep track of the updates to the schedule.

Here is the tentative schedule for Friday, March 31:

PERALTA PARK 

9 a.m.: Peralta 3 SS2, Pacifica-Rancho B

9 a.m.: Peralta 2 SS1, St. Francis-Centennial

9 a.m.: Peralta 1 FF1, Canyon-Great Oak

11 a.m.: Peralta 3 SS7, Canyon V-Arbor V

11 a.m.: Peralta 2 SS8, Huntington Beach-Norco

11 a.m.: Peralta 1 FF2, Chino Hills-Great Oak

1 p.m.: Canyon HS SS4, Beaumont-Rio Mesa

1 p.m.: Peralta 3 SS9, Losers 1 & 2

1:15 p.m.: Peralta 2 SS13, Winners 1 & 2

1:15 p.m.: Peralta 1 FF3, Chino Hills-Canyon

3:15 p.m.: Peralta 3 SS16, Winners 7 & 8

3:15 p.m.: Peralta 2 SS3, Esperanza-Marina

3:15 p.m.: Peralta 1 S55, Orange Lutheran – Mater Dei

5:15 p.m.: Peralta 3 SS12, Losers 7 & 8

5:30 p.m.: Peralta 2 SS10, Losers 3 & 4

5:30 p.m.: Peralta 1 SS6, Los Alamitos -Mission Viejo

7:30 p.m.: Peralta 3 SS11, Losers 5 & 6

7:30 p.m.: Peralta 2 SS15, Winners 5 & 6

7:30 p.m.: Peralta 1 SS14, Winners 3 & 4

YORBA REGIONAL PARK

10 a.m.: Yorba 3 FF4, Rio Mesa – Cathedral Catholic

10 a.m.: Yorba 2 FF8, ValleyV-Yucaipa

10 a.m.: Yorba 1 FF9, Poway-El Modena

Noon: Yorba 3 FF12, Losers 8 & 9

Noon: Yorba 2 FF5, JSerra-Santiago

12:15 p.m.: Yorba 1 FF6, Millikan-Grande Terrace

2:15 p.m.: Yorba 3 FF10, Losers 4 & 5

2:15 p.m.: Yorba 2 FF15, Winners 8 & 9

2:30 p.m.: Yorba 1 FF7, Vista Murrieta-Gahr

4:15 p.m.: Yorba 3 FF11, Losers 6 & 7

4:30 p.m.: Yorba 2 FF13, Winners 4 & 5

4:30 p.m.: Yorba 1 FF14, Winners 6 & 7

— Staff report

CAREW CLASSIC LOADED WITH TOP TEAMS

The Carew Classic has again attracted a talented field. Eight of the teams ranked in the Orange County Top 10 are part of the tournament.

The lineup includes No. 1 Los Alamitos, No. 2 Esperanza, No. 3 Pacifica, No. 4 Orange Lutheran, No. 6 Marina, No. 7 Huntington Beach, No. 8 Mission Viejo and No. 9 JSerra.

Saint Francis of Mountain View in Northern California and Los Alamitos are seeded first and second, followed by Murrieta Mesa and Norco.

Norco is ranked No. 1 this week in CIF-SS Division 1.

The tournament also features Rancho Bernardo, Poway and Mater Dei Catholic from San Diego and Arbor View and Centennial from Nevada.

“I’m so excited,” Orange Lutheran ace Brianne Weiss said of the Carew Classic. “You get to play teams that are not really in your area. I love that about the Carew.”

Tournament host Canyon is the defending champion. The event honors the former Canyon player and daughter of Hall of Fame baseball player Rod Carew. Michelle Carew died in 1996 at age 18 after fighting acute nonlymphocytic leukemia for several months.

The tournament awards the Michelle Carew Most Inspirational Award each year.

— Dan Albano 

NOTES

Eddy is retiring as the tournament director after this year. He said JR Bennett, a father of girls who played softball at Canyon, will take over as tournament director. …

The Woodbridge-hosted Alan Dugard Classic began last weekend and is scheduled to end Saturday. Capistrano Valley, Aliso Niguel, Irvine and Edison are among the teams in the gold bracket. …

Tesoro junior leadoff hitter Kiara Cisneros went 8 for 9 with four runs scored to help lead the Titans to a pair of victories at the La Mirada tournament on Saturday. …

Esperanza junior Taylor Shumaker belted her ninth home run in a 12-2 victory against Yorba Linda on Monday.

–Dan Albano

​ Orange County Register 

USC RB MarShawn Lloyd excited to join forces with Caleb Williams at last

• March 29, 2023

LOS ANGELES — From little league through battles at rival high schools Gonzaga and DeMatha, quarterback Caleb Williams and running back MarShawn Lloyd were always on opposite sides. But when they met in the handshake line, they always talked about one day teaming up.

So when Lloyd entered the transfer portal in January, Williams was quick to text his old friend with a recruiting pitch to USC. The message: “Come here now, let’s win a national championship and then let’s go to the league.”

“I was like, ‘Let’s go,’” Lloyd said. “I’m all for it.”

Lloyd spent three years at South Carolina before transferring to USC. He missed his freshman season with a torn ACL, then was worked into action the next year.

As a redshirt sophomore, he led the Gamecocks in rushing with 573 yards and nine touchdowns on 111 carries while playing in nine games. He also averaged 9.8 yards per reception while making 18 catches.

There was no shortage of options for Lloyd’s services when he entered the transfer portal following the season. Tennessee was the first to reach out, soon followed by Michigan State and Michigan.

But as he studied USC’s offense, he found the perceptions of the Trojans running a pass-heavy scheme to be unfounded.

“If you look at the numbers, the running back is getting the ball like 20 carries a game,” Lloyd said. “I just like the way that they execute at all levels as far as passing the ball, O-line blocking. I just felt like it would be a great fit.”

Since getting to USC, that’s been Lloyd’s main goal: To fit, like many of the transfers who found their place in the locker room a year ago.

He’s learning the offense from returning backs Austin Jones and Darwin Barlow, while simultaneously looking to teach freshmen A’Marion Peterson and Quinten Joyner the ins and outs of being a college athlete. He prefers to do so by example but understands that a word of wisdom is helpful for underclassmen.

And Lloyd knows he has to keep focused on the same prize that his teammates have been working toward.

“We all want to go to the league one day, obviously, but we all want to win a national championship,” Lloyd said. “They were so close last year – we, now – we were so close last year so I just feel like with these little missing pieces, we can be a really good team.”

He joins a crowded running back room. In addition to Jones – who started in the injured Travis Dye’s place last season – and Barlow, talented sophomore Raleek Brown returns from last year’s team.

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Brown is being asked to wear many hats for the Trojans, potentially lining up at receiver and returning kickoffs or punts. The addition of someone like Lloyd allows USC to be more creative in its usage of Brown.

“Having five guys back there that we’re pretty excited about, it’s allowed us to move Raleek around,” head coach Lincoln Riley said. “That room has been a real bright spot here in camp.”

But Lloyd has versatile skills, too, which is why Williams has long dreamed of pairing with him and is already scheming what they will do next season.

“He has good vision, he catches the ball well out of the backfield. We might flex him out,” Williams said. “He’ll get the ball in his hands and he’ll do his thing. He’s been doing the same thing since eighth grade.”

​ Orange County Register 

Huntington Beach baseball will be in spotlight at National High School Invitational

• March 29, 2023

Eight of the 10 teams that have won the National High School Invitational baseball tournament in Cary, North Carolina, have been California teams.

Huntington Beach won it in 2016 and is in the NHSI again this season. Like the other three California teams in the NHSI that begins Wednesday, Huntington Beach is a targeted team.

“You’re representing more than just your school,” said Huntington Beach coach Benji Medure.”You’re representing your state. And all those teams from other states, they want to knock off the California teams that are out here.”

JSerra and Santa Margarita are also in the NHSI, as is Aquinas of San Bernardino.

Orange County teams have done well in the 16-team tournament that is played at the USA Baseball complex in Cary. Mater Dei won the first two NHSI tournaments, in 2013 and ‘14. San Clemente won it in 2015, Huntington Beach in ‘16, and Orange Lutheran won it three years in a row, 2017-19.

Huntington Beach has been on a roll lately. The Oilers were 2-6 before winning six in a row. Some of those losses were to outstanding teams like South Hills, which is the No. 1 team in the CIF Southern Section Division 2 Top 10. Other losses were to Aquinas in extra innings, to Orange County No. 8 Foothill by one run and to CIF-SS Division 1 No. 4 Corona 2-0.

Seniors Aidan Espinoza, Colby Turner and Ralphie Velazquez have propelled the offense. Medure said seniors Brad Gindlinger, Carson Lake and Wyatt Thomas and junior Nate Aceves have led the pitching corps.

“We played some tough teams and played well enough to win some of those games,” Medure said, “but it just didn’t work out. Then we got into a rut where we couldn’t do much right but I think we’ve hit our stride lately.”

NOTES

The National Classic tournament begins April 6. Orange County teams in the 16-team bracket include four teams in the Orange County Top 10: No. 4 Villa Park, No. 6 Cypress, No. 9 El Dorado and No. 10 Servite. …

Trinity League teams do not play league games this week. Santa Margarita is in first place at 8-1. Mater Dei is second at 7-2 with JSerra and Orange Lutheran tied for third at 4-5. …

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Rain is in the forecast for Wednesday and Thursday but could clear out in time to allow games to be played Friday. These games are currently on the schedule for Friday: Ayala at Cypress, 11 a.m.; two games in the tight Freeway League at 3:15 p.m. are Sunny Hills at Fullerton and Troy at La Habra; and Tesoro at Trabuco Hills, 3:45 p.m. …

The Anaheim Lions Tournament continues. Through Monday teams that were undefeated in the 60-team tournament included Kennedy, La Habra, Pacifica and Sunny Hills. The tournament started March 7 and is scheduled to conclude Saturday.

​ Orange County Register 

Dodgers’ Miguel Rojas is the healthy, vocal surprise of spring training

• March 29, 2023

ANAHEIM ― Maybe the writing was on the wall early in camp, from the time Dodgers shortstop Gavin Lux underwent season-ending knee surgery and his replacement, veteran Miguel Rojas, committed to staying in spring training rather than departing to play for Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic.

Since then, Rojas’ leadership emerged as the most pleasant surprise of spring training in the opinion of Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. The 34-year-old is regularly engaged with teammates on the field and in the clubhouse, a surprise social butterfly as well as an unlikely starting shortstop on a team with championship aspirations.

Rojas has eased fears about the loss of Lux (and validated his recent contract extension) with his performance at the plate. He entered the Dodgers’ final exhibition game with a .273 batting average and .810 on-base plus slugging percentage and added a two-run single to tie the score in the fifth inning on Tuesday. His home run Monday against Angels pitcher Tyler Anderson was his second of spring training – not too shabby considering Rojas hit just six homers in 140 games for the Miami Marlins in 2022.

Perhaps most impressively, Rojas entered Tuesday’s Freeway Series finale having struck out only twice in 44 at-bats, even as coaches are encouraging him to take a more aggressive two-strike approach. His home run Monday came on a 1-and-2 count.

“I used to be really protective,” Rojas said. “I describe it as playing defense with two strikes. Now I have a little more freedom being in this lineup. A lot of guys in this lineup are going to do damage. We’re going to score runs. I don’t have to be as protective as I used to be.”

Being healthy helps.

Rojas had separate minor surgical procedures on his right wrist and hand over the offseason. He reiterated that having a strong upper hand has made a big difference at the plate. Last year, his batting average fell to .236. Rojas said a fly ball that ordinarily would carry over the fence would be an out. His wrist would hurt after making contact.

Now?

“It’s a little stiff still and I can feel it when I dive – when I have to dive into a base and I use my hands to pop up,” he said. “With more time, playing, doing whatever I need to do to keep strengthening, I feel the range of motion is going to come back. Other than that, swinging has been fine.”

OUTFIELD PUZZLE SOLVED

The Dodgers will begin the season with five outfielders capable of playing the two positions (left field and center field) not occupied by All-Star Mookie Betts.

Tuesday, Roberts described in detail how he plans to use his two right-handed hitting outfielders (Trayce Thompson and Chris Taylor) and the three lefties (David Peralta, Jason Heyward and James Outman).

“Trayce and CT are going to take the brunt of those at-bats (against left-handed pitchers), and then vs. right(-handed pitchers), I think it’s a combo of James, Peralta and (Heyward),” Roberts said. “James is going to get the lion’s share of those right-handed at-bats in center field.”

Outman was the standout offensive performer of the group in camp. The rookie entered Tuesday hitting .294 with three home runs and 11 RBIs in 22 spring games. That somewhat eased the challenge Roberts faces in dividing playing time fairly.

“You’re trying to play both sides eventually and keep everyone more involved,” Roberts said. “But I think that if it works – which I believe it can and will work – it keeps everyone feeling like they’re contributing on a nightly basis.”

NEARLY FULL NELSON

Reliever Jimmy Nelson will start the season on the injured list despite pitching a 1-2-3 inning against the Angels – his first game action in nine days.

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Nelson walked seven batters and recorded just one out between his previous Cactus League outings, March 16 and 19. Tuesday, the right-hander needed only 12 pitches (seven strikes, five balls) to retire the side in the sixth inning.

“Trying to get back so quickly from this big process of the (elbow and flexor tendon) surgery and rehab and recovery, I think he wants it all right now,” Roberts said. “For me, it’s just slowing things down, which tonight I thought he did a good job of and didn’t let it spiral out.”

Nelson will remain with the team through at least Opening Day, Roberts said. There is no target date for Nelson, 33, to complete his rehab process.

UP NEXT

The Dodgers have an off-day on Wednesday before opening the season on Thursday night against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium.

​ Orange County Register 

Apple rolls out buy now, pay later service, with guardrails

• March 28, 2023

Apple is getting into the buy now, pay later space with a few tweaks to the existing model — including no option to pay with a credit card. The company will roll out the product to some consumers this spring, and will begin reporting the loans to credit bureaus in the fall.

Here’s what you need to know.

Since the start of the pandemic, the option to “buy now, pay later” has skyrocketed in popularity, especially among young and low-income consumers who may not have ready access to traditional credit.

If you shop online for clothes or furniture, sneakers or concert tickets, you’ve seen the option at checkout to break the cost into smaller installments over time. Companies like Afterpay, Affirm, Klarna, and Paypal already offer the service, typically with late fees for missed payments and the option to use a credit card or bank account to make installment payments.

Apple’s version, which is integrated with Apple Pay and facilitated by MasterCard, will require the consumer use a debit card and a bank account to make those payments, the company said, and will not charge flat or percentage late fees. Instead, missed payments will eventually result in the consumer losing access to these kinds of loans.

Apple said its buy now, pay later product will also offer fraud and consumer protections through MasterCard’s existing pay-by-installment model, and will charge merchants fees that “are competitive to other installment products in the market,” according to Mastercard spokesperson Raul Lopez.

How does buy now, pay later work?

Branded as “interest-free loans,” buy now, pay later services require you to download an app, link a bank account or debit or credit card, and sign up to pay in weekly or monthly installments. Some companies, such as Klarna and Afterpay, do soft credit checks, which aren’t reported to credit bureaus, before approving borrowers. This is how Apple’s product will operate as well. Most users are approved in minutes. Scheduled payments are then automatically deducted from one’s bank account or charged to one’s card.

The services generally don’t charge more than a customer would have paid up front, meaning there’s technically no interest, so long as one makes the payments on time.

But if a customer pays late, they may be subject to a flat fee or a fee calculated as a percentage of the total owed. These can run as high as $34 plus interest. If a customer misses multiple payments, they may be shut out from using the service in the future, and the delinquency could hurt their credit score.

In Apple’s case, the company said there will be no late fees, either flat or as a percentage — only the possibility of missed payments reported to credit bureaus, and a loss of access to the loans. If a user wishes to defer payments, or set up a different payment plan, Apple said they can contact support. Several services allow users to defer payments in this way.

Are my purchases protected?

In the U.S., buy now, pay later services are not currently covered by the Truth in Lending Act, which regulates credit cards and other types of loans (those paid back in more than four installments).

That means you could find it more difficult to settle disputes with merchants, return items, or get your money back in cases of fraud. Companies can offer protections, but they don’t have to. Apple’s protections are offered through Mastercard.

Lauren Saunders, associate director at the National Consumer Law Center, advises borrowers to avoid linking a credit card to buy now, pay later apps whenever possible. If you do, you lose the protections you get from using the credit card while also opening yourself up to owing interest to the card company.

“Use the credit card directly and get those protections,” she said. “Otherwise, it’s the worst of both worlds.”

Apple’s decision not to permit consumers to link a credit card to its buy now, pay later product means the consumer avoids stacking debt in this way.

​ Orange County Register 

Elvis Costello & The Imposters’ summer tour is coming to The Greek Theatre

• March 28, 2023

Elvis Costello & The Imposters will be stopping by The Greek Theatre in Los Angeles with its We’re All Going on a Summer Holiday Tour on Friday, June 16.

Costello and the band will also be joined by Nick Lowe & Los Straitjackets on the 23-date tour.

Tickets for the show will be available to the general public at 10 a.m. Friday, March 31 at ticketmaster.com. There’s also a special presale starting at 10 a.m. Wednesday, March 29. Pre-sale for Citi Card members at citientertainment.com.

In February, Costello played the highly-acclaimed “100 Songs and More,” a 10-evening engagement at the Gramercy Theater in New York where he played more than 230 original songs, repeating only three titles. Additionally, Costello released the compilation “The Songs of Bacharach & Costello” on March 2. It’s a double album celebrating his nearly 30-year songwriting collaboration with Burt Bacharach.

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​ Orange County Register