The death toll from a South Africa gas leak blamed on illegal gold processing has risen to 17

• July 6, 2023

By MOGOMOTSI MAGOME and GERALD IMRAY

BOKSBURG, South Africa — The death toll from a toxic gas leak that authorities blamed on an illegal gold processing operation in South Africa rose to 17, including three children, as police removed canisters from a community of closely packed shacks and sifted through evidence Thursday.

The leak of what authorities said was a toxic nitrate gas happened Wednesday night in the informal Angelo settlement in Boksburg, a city on the eastern outskirts of Johannesburg.

The three children who died were ages 1, 6 and 15, police said. At least 10 people were hospitalized, including a 2-month-old baby, two 4-year-olds and a 9-year-old, according to Panyaza Lesufi, the premier of Gauteng province, who gave an update Thursday.

A statement from South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s office said it was a “devastating and tragic loss of innocent lives.”

Bodies remained on the ground, some of them covered in sheets or blankets, for hours after the gas leak was reported around 8 p.m. Wednesday as emergency service responders waited for forensic investigators and pathologists to do their work.

South African police officers dismantle a shack used by illegal gold miners in the Angelo Informal Settlement, in Boksburg, South Africa, Thursday July 6, 2023. South African police say at least 16 people, including three children, have died from a leak of a toxic nitrate gas that was being used by illegal miners to process gold. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

“It’s not a nice scene at all. … It’s painful, emotionally draining and tragic,” Lesufi was quoted as saying in news reports as he visited the settlement on Wednesday night.

An Associated Press journalist saw a forensic investigator covering the body of a small child with a blanket. Another body, covered in a white cloth with a shoe sticking out, lay under a strip of yellow police tape cordoning off the area. The bodies eventually were removed.

Search teams combed the area deep into the night looking for other possible casualties. Authorities didn’t say if the people engaged in the illegal gold processing thought to have caused the gas leak were among the dead, but police opened a criminal case.

Investigators made their way through narrow alleys between shacks and other makeshift homes that were dark due to a lack of streetlights, a common situation in the deeply impoverished informal settlements found in and around South Africa’s cities.

Emergency services spokesman William Ntladi said the deaths were caused by the inhalation of nitrate gas that leaked from a gas cylinder being kept in a shack where illegal miners were separating gold from rock and dirt. He said the leak had emptied the canister.

People huddle around a fire for warmth in the Angelo Informal Settlement in Boksburg, South Africa, on Thursday July 6, 2023. Police said a gas leak left multiple people dead including children. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

Lesufi, the Gauteng premier, tweeted videos that showed the dusty inside of the shack and at least four gas cylinders on metal stands. The footage included what Lesufi said was the cylinder that leaked lying on the floor next to the shack’s entrance.

The search teams concentrated on an area stretching out 100 meters (yards) from the cylinder to check for more dead or injured people, Ntaldi said.

Police later began tearing down the shack, and Lesufi said all gas cylinders were removed from the site.

Illegal mining is rife in the gold-rich areas around Johannesburg, where miners go into closed off and disused mines to search for any deposits left over. They then attempt to process some of that gold in secret, often in makeshift and highly dangerous facilities.

Mining fatalities underground are also common and the South African government department responsible for mining announced recently that at least 31 illegal miners were believed to have died in a gas explosion in a disused mine in the city of Welkom in central South Africa in May. The cause was methane gas, the mining department said.

Wednesday’s tragedy was likely to stoke more anger at illegal miners, who are often migrants from neighboring countries, operate in organized gangs and are blamed for bringing crime into neighborhoods.

Violence against illegal miners erupted last year and raged for days in an area west of Johannesburg after a group of 80 men, some of whom were believed to be illegal miners, were charged with gang raping eight women who were working on a TV shoot at a disused mine.

Boksburg is the city where 41 people died after a truck carrying liquefied petroleum gas got stuck under a bridge and exploded on Christmas Eve.

Imray reported from Cape Town, South Africa.

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​ Orange County Register 

Dodgers dig out of early hole, hold on to beat Pirates

• July 6, 2023

LOS ANGELES — Make sure your lap bar is locked and in place. Keep your hands in the car at all times. Until (and if) the Dodgers solve their pitching problems, there could be a lot more games like this.

Rookie starter Bobby Miller gave up two home runs and spotted the Pittsburgh Pirates a four-run headstart. But the Dodgers came back to take the lead on back-to-back home runs by J.D. Martinez and David Peralta then twice survived bases-loaded, no-outs situations to preserve a 6-4 win on Wednesday night.

“We’re kind of in it right now,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said after the game, revealing that Brusdar Graterol has been unavailable the past two games and could land on the injured list on Thursday with an arm issue. “I wouldn’t say we’re limping to the break with the ’pen, but … they’re going to be short tomorrow. We have to find a way to piece it together. We need a big one from Julio (Urias) and find a way to win a ballgame.”

Ryan Brasier – released by the Boston Red Sox with a 7.29 ERA last month – and Daniel Hudson were the unlikely heroes of this bumpy ride for the Dodgers.

Brasier replaced Phil Bickford with the bases loaded and no outs in the seventh inning and escaped with the Dodgers’ two-run lead undiminished. Hudson created his own mess in the ninth, giving up a leadoff double and back-to-back walks before escaping to record his first save since June 8, 2022, before a torn ACL ended his season.

“I would like to have it been a little easier than that. But, hey, we got a W,” said Hudson, who choked up when talking about his latest long recovery (he has twice come back from Tommy John surgery).

“It was fun. Kind of like how I remembered it. It’s a pretty special feeling walking through those gates.”

The sight of the bullpen gates opening has stirred a lot of less uplifting emotions for the Dodgers this season.

“Guys are fighting. Guys are fighting,” Roberts said. “But I feel better than I did last night (after losing a ninth-inning lead).”

By recent standards, Miller actually gave the Dodgers a quality start against the Pirates, pitching into the sixth inning.

But he gave up a solo home run to Bryan Reynolds in the first inning and a three-run homer to Jack Suwinski in the fourth to put the Dodgers in an early 4-0 hole.

“Bad slider. Just a little bit of a misfire. Missed a spot,” Miller said of the three-run homer.

“I’m just figuring out who I am at this level, figuring out how to mix better at this level. I thought I did a better job of that today. I thought the fastball command was a little better today. I was able to move it around the whole strike zone. Just a couple bad pitches, I thought.”

Pirates rookie right-hander Osvaldo Bido gave the Dodgers a leg up on digging out of that hole. He walked Max Muncy and J.D. Martinez back-to-back to start the fourth inning then hit David Peralta with a pitch.

Jason Heyward turned one of those gifts into a run with a sacrifice fly and Miguel Rojas made it 4-2 with a two-out RBI single.

An inning later, second-year right-hander Roansy Contreras picked up where Bido left off. He walked Will Smith and Muncy back-to-back with one out then gave up a three-run home run to Martinez and a solo home run to Peralta that put the Dodgers in the lead.

Since May 1, Peralta is batting .343 (48 for 140) with five home runs and 21 RBIs. In that time, only Miami’s Luis Arraez (.363) has a higher batting average among players with at least 100 at-bats.

“I think it’s just more the confidence,” Roberts said of Peralta’s turnaround after a slow start. “Even a veteran player that has had success, when balls aren’t falling and you see a one handle on your average (an average under .200), you start to get frustrated. But then to his credit, he continued to work and persevered and found some outfield grass. Now you’re starting to see when he gets into good counts, he’s taking more chances out in front and tonight he did that hitting a homer.”

Bickford replaced Miller with two outs in the sixth but retired just one of the five batters he faced, leaving the game to Brasier with the bases loaded and no outs in the seventh. Brasier walked the tightrope, giving up two line drives – one to Rojas at shortstop (98.5 mph off the bat) and one to second baseman Mookie Betts – then getting Santana to pop out harmlessly.

“There’s just no panic,” Roberts said of Brasier. “I think Ryan pitched a good bit in Boston, so when you’re in that environment, you can pitch anywhere, and he showed that. We’ve used him a lot and for him to come in bases loaded and nobody out, that would’ve been the game. You don’t see too many times in a game where you see bases loaded and nobody out and you come away unscathed.”

You did Wednesday night.

After Caleb Ferguson handled the eighth, Hudson came in and gave up a leadoff double then walked back-to-back batters to load the bases.

“I think it was just adrenaline and trying not to make a mistake,” Hudson said. “Trying to get some weak contact or swing and miss. If I walk them, go get the next guy. Try to make a pitch on the next guy and go from there.”

Hudson struck out two of the next three batters to close it out. Afterward, bullpen coach Josh Bard brought Hudson a glass of bourbon to toast his return.

“It’s up there, for sure,” Hudson said of the emotions coming back from this injury compared to others. “The knee rehab for whatever reason was a little more frustrating than the elbow stuff. Obviously blowing out back to back – the second rehab was pretty straightforward and pretty easy. I didn’t have any setbacks.

“This was a lot more frustrating just because we were talking about six to nine, but my old ass couldn’t get back in nine. Thankfully we got there though.”

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Dinger alert. pic.twitter.com/tWJOGujFt0

— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) July 6, 2023

Peralta down the line! pic.twitter.com/ABVT92dJk3

— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) July 6, 2023

​ Orange County Register 

Sparks fall to Atlanta for 2nd time this week as losing streak reaches 4 games

• July 6, 2023

LOS ANGELES — Sparks coach Curt Miller almost got his wish at home against the Atlanta Dream on Wednesday night. His team fought hard early in the second half, trimming a 13-point halftime deficit to five midway through the third quarter.

But their sheer will was not enough, and the Sparks eventually found themselves trailing by as much as 21 points in the fourth quarter on their way to their fourth straight loss, 90-79, at Crypto.com Arena.

“Really proud and that was the message afterward, that they showed a lot of character,” Miller said. “They really showed togetherness and toughness, that there was more fight in them. It was good to see. That is something that we can really grow from and learn from. Again, it may not all come together this year with everything that we’re dealing with but these moments go a long way two or three years down the road from now.”

Nneka Ogwumike had another double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds, Azurá Stevens had a season-high 16 points, 12 rebounds and two blocked shots off the bench and Jordin Canada had 13 points and seven assists, but the Sparks could not overcome Atlanta’s pivotal 13-0 run late in the third quarter, losing to the Dream for the second time this week.

Rookie guard Zia Cooke added 11 points off the bench for the Sparks (7-11), who have dropped eight of their past 11 games. They next play at Phoenix (3-13) on Sunday.

“We fought back,” Stevens said when asked about her team’s overall effort. “I think everyone can see that we had some fight and some oomph to how we played and I don’t think we had that in the (previous) game so that’s improvement and that’s what it’s all about is continuing to get better. That’s what we’re all focusing on as a unit and an organization is continuing to get better and we saw that tonight. Yeah, we lost but we fought and that’s really important.”

Azurá Stevens on the fight the Sparks showed during Wednesday’s 90-79 loss at home to the Atlanta Dream. pic.twitter.com/sOdAmz5ZbY

— John W. Davis (@johnwdavis) July 6, 2023

“Next man up,” Canada added. “That’s the mentality that we have to have. Everybody has stepped up these last couple of games with injuries and dealing with a lot of adversity but we all have that mentality. Everybody has to stay ready because you never know when your number is going to get called. We have done a good job. You just have to stay consistent and stay together and try to figure out a way to come out a little bit more sharp in the first quarter.”

All-Star reserve guard Allisha Gray had a game-high 23 points, four rebounds and six assists to pace Atlanta (8-8).

Rhyne Howard, who was coming off a career-high 43 points in Sunday’s 112-84 win against the Sparks, added 15 points, five rebounds and six assists and was 5 for 9 from 3-point range. All-Star reserve forward Cheyenne Parker had 14 points and 11 rebounds.

The Sparks trailed 29-16 at the end of the first quarter, as Atlanta’s Howard and former Spark Nia Coffey went a combined 5 for 7 from behind the arc while the Sparks shot 6 for 19 overall (32%).

“We have to be hungry. We have to be ready right from the beginning,” Miller continued. “Again, that’s our challenge right now. Our veteran leaders have to be a big part of that.”

LA Sparks head coach Curt Miller talks about his team’s competitiveness in a 90-79 loss at home against the Atlanta Dream. @CurtMillerWBB spoke highly of his team’s fight but said the team has to be hungry and ready to go at tip-off. #WNBA #LASparks pic.twitter.com/bbAdjHPw1L

— John W. Davis (@johnwdavis) July 6, 2023

The Sparks trailed 37-20 early in the second quarter but a step-through layup by Stevens capped a 14-6 Sparks run that cut Atlanta’s lead to 43-34 with 4:41 left in the first half.

However, the Sparks trailed 53-40 at halftime as the Dream made 20 of 34 shots from the field (58.8%), including 6 of 12 from 3-point range, in the first half.

A 3-pointer by Sparks guard Jasmine Thomas cut Atlanta’s lead to 53-45 with 7:53 left in the third. A 3-pointer by Howard pushed Atlanta’s lead back to double digits, but Stevens responded with back-to-back baskets, pulling the Sparks within five 56-51 with 5:05 left in the third.

That’s when Atlanta responded with its 13-0 run over the next three minutes, extending the lead to 69-51 with 1:37 left in the third.

The Sparks trailed 71-58 heading into the fourth and found themselves down by 21 a few minutes later. The home team went on an 8-0 run to get within 81-69 with 5:38 left but could never cut the margin to single digits.

Before the game, Miller said he wanted to see his team step up and compete against Atlanta.

“It doesn’t matter if you have eight players, nine players. I’m resigned to the fact that we may never play with 11 players this year the way this season is going,” he said. “It doesn’t matter if we have eight players, we’ve got to play hard and try to create the foundation and a culture that we want to rely on years from now.”

After a 112-84 loss to the Atlanta Dream on Sunday, Los Angeles Sparks head coach Curt Miller want to see how hard his team is going to compete against Atlanta in tonight’s rematch. #WNBA #WNBATwitter pic.twitter.com/4n5kpMgEhs

— John W. Davis (@johnwdavis) July 6, 2023

The short-handed Sparks were without four opening-night starters (Jordin Canada, Lexie Brown, Layshia Clarendon, Chiney Ogwumike) during Sunday’s loss in Atlanta. Brown, Clarendon and Ogwumike remained out for the rematch but the prior game’s outcome inspired the Sparks to compete for all 40 minutes.

“It doesn’t sit right to lose to them and sit with it for a long time so it’s nice that we get to play quickly,” Sparks forward Karlie Samuelson said before the game.

Samuelson left the game in the second quarter with an apparent foot injury and will be evaluated further, according to Miller.

Karlie Samuelson and Dearica Hamby’s pregame interview before the Atlanta at Sparks game. The Sparks are looking for a better showing after Sunday’s 112-84 loss in Atlanta. #WNBATwitter #WNBA pic.twitter.com/LZ4xIVx1Zp

— John W. Davis (@johnwdavis) July 6, 2023

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Real Housewives of Orange County: Tamra and Shannon kiss and make up

• July 6, 2023

The girls’ trip to Montana continued for a second week on “The Real Housewives of Orange County” on Wednesday. It was Tamra Judge‘s idea, so the activities are all Tamra’s ideas.

That means when Heather Dubrow and Gina Kirschenheiter find themselves shoveling horse manure out of a trailer, Tamra put them there. And when Shannon Storms Beador crashes a tractor into one of those giant rolls of hay out in a field, that was Tamra, too.

“We’re gonna learn to live the life of a cowgirl,” Tamra announces, and apparently cowgirls really like to get up in each other’s business, gossiping and throwing each under this bus, er, wagon.

And Tamra’s right at the center of it all. She’s there to stir up trouble about Jenn Pedranti’s relationship with boyfriend Ryan. She’s there to shovel some more in the dullest storyline of the season, a beef between Heather and Taylor Armstrong about … Internet Movie Database credits for Heather?

Oh, please. At one point the chuckwagon chefs grilling bison tenderloins for the housewives’ campout look at all these silly arguments going on and on and on and wonder if they should get involved.

“You want to check on that (manure) show over there?” one says.

“Not really,” her pardner replies.

The sun comes up on the second day of the trip with Shannon and Tamra both suffering the after-effects of too many tequila shots the night before, too many being the eight apiece we see them throwing down in a quick and boozy montage.

But! Shannon and Tamra are BFFs again. We see Shannon hurling Haribo gummi bears at Tamra and Heather. We see Shannon and Heather kiss on the lips, and then Shannon stick her tongue in Tamra’s mouth. We see London, we see France, we see Tamra’s underpants as she and Shannon wrestle on the stairs.

“How many times have I seen emoji underwear? A lot!” Shannon shouts at Tamra as their skirts ride up amid all the writhing on the floor. (For those keeping score at home – they were a pair blowing-a-kiss emoji on this occasion.)

You know, just the usual stuff 50-something-year-old adults do.

Gina, Heather and Jenn are sent to the horse barn to shovel (stuff).

“At least give me, like, a Chanel shovel,” Heather tells the camera. “Does Chanel make a shovel?”

All three briefly ride horses around the corral. Gina, the Housewife Most Likely to Be Terrified of an Animal, yanks the reins and her horse “bucks” his front feet about six inches off the ground. “This is how I die!” Gina shouts to her camera.

The main storyline again revolves around Jenn and her boyfriend Ryan, both of whom might be regretting their participation in the show at this point. Tamra can’t stop trashing Ryan and his love life.

But this week she takes it further than before, alleging to the others that the first day he showed up at the gym owned by Tamra and her husband Eddie Judge he told a mutual friend that he intended to bed Tamra – or something. It’s a big, bold allegation, and when that stirred pot finally boils over and Jenn finds out what Tamra is saying, well, it’s not what she’d want to hear, is it?

To Jenn’s credit, she still feels more like a real person than a housewife five episodes into her first season on the show. She’s like the calf led into the branding corral – she has no idea what’s coming. You can see on her face how she’s trying to take all this in, weigh it, and then answer in a measured, reasonable way.

She doesn’t deserve to have her love life dissected for sport, but hey, buy the ticket, take the ride.

The funniest part of the episode occurs when Tamra reveals her big surprise – she’s planned for them all to sleep in safari tents on the Montana prairie … in a spot that is literally within view of one of the ranch houses. Most of the housewives are dismayed by this.

“I am not a camper-outer. I do not do a tent,” Gina declares.

“I’m not a camper – and I never will be,” Shannon vows.

“Believe it or not, growing up in Oklahoma they do not require you to go camping,” Taylor says. “Camping to me is the Ritz Carlton.”

We see Heather trying to lasso Shannon and Tamra. Her one success is when she ropes Tamra’s champagne glass holding hand, which feels right for Heather. Gina attempts some weak-armed-looking whacks at already split firewood.

And Shannon nearly has an accident when she can’t get her big rodeo-style belt buckle unfastened so she can do what a bear does in the woods. Taylor, who apparently did learn how to use a hunting knife in Oklahoma, saves the day and the dryness of Shannon’s pants by cutting one of her belt loops to free her and her bladder.

We end with Gina in tear. And that, as we say on the ranch, is all the stuff we’ve got to shovel for this week.

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​ Orange County Register 

OC man gets probation, ordered to forfeit $3 million in illegal gambling case that allegedly involved Yasiel Puig

• July 6, 2023

An Orange County man was sentenced Wednesday to six months probation and ordered to forfeit $3 million for helping run an illegal bookmaking business that allegedly ensnared ex-Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig.

Edon Kagasoff, 45, of Lake Forest, pleaded guilty last year to a federal charge of conspiring to run the gambling operation, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The business was begun about 10 years ago by Wayne Nix, 46, a former minor league pitcher who lives in Newport Coast. Nix pleaded guilty in April 2022 to conspiracy to operate an illegal sports gambling business and filing a false tax return. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for Sept. 20.

Puig, 32, who most recently played professional baseball in South Korea, faces trial in January in downtown Los Angeles on one federal count each of making false statements and obstruction of justice.

Prosecutors allege that Puig began placing bets on sporting events in May 2019 through a third party. Bets were funneled to Sand Island Sports, a Costa Rica-based online sportsbook, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Erik Hiljus, a former MLB pitcher from the San Fernando Valley who worked as an agent for Nix’s business, was sentenced in April to three months’ home detention for filing false tax returns.

Hiljus, 50, of Panorama City, was also ordered to pay $194,701 in fines and restitution. He pleaded guilty last December in Los Angeles federal court to two counts of filing false tax returns.

Hiljus made his MLB debut for the Tigers in 1999, but pitched more often for the Oakland Athletics in 2001 and 2002, ending his career for an A’s affiliate in 2003.

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Angels continue slide, getting swept by Padres

• July 6, 2023

SAN DIEGO — After the Angels, with an injury-ravaged lineup, lost to the Padres, 5-3, on Wednesday night, Manager Phil Nevin wasn’t about to refer to the injured list as an excuse for his team’s current free fall.

“I’m not going to use the injuries (as an excuse),” he said. “We’ve just got to play better.”

The Angels have now lost 11 of their past 15 games, getting swept by the Padres in a series that included injuries to Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon in the first two games. They are also without Brandon Drury, Zach Neto, Gio Urshela and Logan O’Hoppe.

They are 44-43 with two games to go before the All-Star break, at Dodger Stadium on Friday and Saturday. If they are going to give themselves a shot to be in serious contention before the Aug. 1 trade deadline, they need to start winning again, despite the current state of their roster.

“We come out with urgency every single day,” Nevin said. “Yes, we’ve had injuries, but we’ve got to right the ship with what we have right now. We’re gonna get some bodies back soon, but we have plenty of capable players and men in that room to win baseball games. Take tomorrow off, get a strong finish in L.A. and get a start to the second half.”

Their latest loss was a combination of some of the problems they’ve had even when the lineup was intact, including a 2-for-9 performance with runners in scoring position. They also gave up a key unearned run, when starter Patrick Sandoval made a throwing error on a pickoff in the first inning.

And each reliever who entered the game gave up a single run, but the one that Jacob Webb gave up when the game was tied in the seventh inning was most frustrating to Nevin, who ended up getting ejected.

With one out, Fernando Tatis Jr. doubled. The Angels intentionally walked the left-handed hitting Juan Soto to get to right-handed hitting Manny Machado. Webb ended up walking Machado, with two of the pitches that were called balls appearing to catch the strike zone, including the 3-and-2 pitch.

“It’s frustrating,” Webb said. “I’m out there grinding and trying to make pitches and get outs. It’s frustrating to watch that. I’ve got nothing else to say about that. It’s just irritating.”

The call prompted enough barking from Nevin that umpire Jerry Layne ejected him, which got Nevin out of the dugout to get in Layne’s face.

“It was a strike,” Nevin said. “The 3-2 pitch to Machado was a strike. There was a pitch earlier in the at-bat that was a strike. Blatant misses. I just don’t get that part of it, and big spots in the game.”

Shortly after that, Xander Bogaerts hit a bouncer back to Webb, who fielded it on his way to touch first base as the go-ahead run scored.

Right-hander Chris Devenski then allowed the Padres to score an insurance run in the eighth when he issued three walks, including one with the bases loaded.

Sandoval was charged with two runs (one earned) in five innings. The first run scored after his errant pickoff throw and the second on a bloop single in the third. He was pulled after just 85 pitches.

“Obviously, I don’t want to come out of the game that quick, but you know, I get it,” Sandoval said. “I haven’t been the best version of myself for this past month. I got a lot of work to earn the trust back.”

Nevin said it was the third time through the order and he had a whole bullpen of fresh relievers, with an off day upcoming.

“I wanted fresh arms toward the middle and end of the game,” Nevin said. “It just didn’t work out for us.”

The offense didn’t give the Angels enough room for any of the mistakes the pitchers made. One of the three runs scored because of an error by Tatis, the right fielder. Another came on a lucky bounce, when Jo Adell’s grounder hit third base and bounced away from Machado. Matt Thaiss generated the other run with a game-tying homer in the seventh, but it didn’t stay tied for long.

And soon the Angels were packing up for a bus ride back home with another loss.

“We’re just grinding through this tough time,” Sandoval said. “Bunch of injuries obviously. Next man up, but it’s tough.”

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Daniel Hudson adds veteran presence to Dodgers’ bullpen

• July 6, 2023

LOS ANGELES — The guys in the Dodgers’ bullpen were so anxious for Daniel Hudson to rejoin them that left-hander Caleb Ferguson said they joked about going to management and telling them Hudson could skip his rehab assignment and just do it at the big-league level with them even if it meant extra work for everyone else.

The Dodgers’ bullpen has missed Hudson’s veteran presence and voice as much as his arm, Ferguson said.

“I think that’s the biggest thing, having last year DP (David Price), Huddy,” Ferguson said. “For me, I had Huddy in ’18. He really helped me become a reliever. That’s who we bounced things off of. I’d never pitched out of the bullpen until then. I leaned on him a lot to ask him a lot of things – what a routine should look like, how do you manage this, how do you manage that?

“We’ve never had to manage everybody’s emotions the way we’ve had to now (before Hudson’s return). We’ve always had a closer or somebody in that nature of a veteran presence. There’s always been that. … I think just not being able to go to somebody and go, ‘Hey, how do we do this?’ I don’t want to say we’ve been missing it because everybody knows how to handle rough patches on their own. But as a group, we had to learn it. A veteran guy brings that already to a group.”

Evan Phillips has also noticed the absence of “veteran leadership” in this year’s bullpen group. But he said it led to a breakthrough recently when the group had some meetings

“Having those guys in the ’pen were kind of like those relaxing factors that would keep everybody’s mind at ease and reassure that everything’s going to get rolling in the right direction, even through struggles the past couple years,” Phillips said. “Not having that voice down in the ‘pen and kind of putting that pressure on our group has really forced a lot of open communication.”

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts called Hudson “another adult in the ’pen” who can preach the merits of “accountability” and going after hitters aggressively.

“He’s been battle-tested. He’s got a good heart rate. He gets lefties and righties out. He’s got the respect of everyone in the ’pen and the club,” Roberts said.

NOAH HELP

Right-hander Noah Syndergaard is expected to throw three simulated innings to hitters at Dodger Stadium on Thursday afternoon. Syndergaard has been out since June 7 ostensibly with a blister on his pitching hand. More truthfully, the right-hander was placed on the injured list as a way to wipe the slate clean and hopefully address the issues that led to his 7.16 ERA over 12 starts.

The Dodgers’ need for starting pitching has only grown more pointed in Syndergaard’s time away. The plan is for him to go out on a minor-league injury rehabilitation assignment after Thursday’s simulated game.

“Then the ball is in his court, to be honest, to go out there and perform,” Roberts said. “The sample that we’ve seen up to this point – whether it be related solely to performance or a combo of injury, finger blister, layered onto performance – it hasn’t been where we need it to be. Noah understands that. So I think for us, the challenge is to go out there and be the pitcher we know he can be.”

Roberts said Syndergaard’s finger has healed and he will be evaluated on his rehab assignment for performance even more so than health.

“I do think the stuff, what hitters are telling him, telling us is important,” Roberts said. “I’m sure he’s 100 percent healthy. Now he’s got to go out there and show that he  can be that dependable major-league starter that we expect him to be.”

ALSO

Seedings and first-round matchups for next week’s All-Star Home Run Derby were announced by MLB on Wednesday. Mookie Betts is the third seed (based on his 23 home runs this season) and will face Toronto Blue Jays slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the first round on Monday in Seattle. …

Right-hander Gavin Stone was optioned to the minor leagues on Wednesday after giving up one run in two innings in Tuesday’s loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Left-hander Bryan Hudson was recalled for the second time. …

UP NEXT

Pirates (RHP Johan Oviedo, 3-9, 4.61 ERA) at Dodgers (LHP Julio Urias, 5-5, 4.94 ERA), Thursday, 7:10 p.m., SportsNet LA, MLB Network, 570 AM

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Irvine police recover thousands of pieces of stolen mail potentially used for identity theft

• July 6, 2023

A 33-year-old Anaheim man suspected of stealing mail throughout Irvine was arrested June 28 on suspicion of burglary and identity theft, police said.

The suspect, described as a prolific mail thief by police, is believed to work in construction. Police served a search warrant at the suspect’s girlfriend’s home after tracing the man back to a vehicle seen during one of the crimes, which an officer had recognized from a prior stop, said Irvine Police Sgt. Karie Davies.

Mail that could be used to commit identity theft, such as involving credit cards, bank cards, IDs, and passports, were some of the mail targeted by the suspect, Davies said.

During the search warrant, thousands of pieces of mail were recovered from the suspect’s girlfriend’s residence.

According to police, the suspect had an elaborate locksmith setup that he used to create keys to access mailboxes and buildings, mostly from apartment communities and large mailboxes that used a master key to open, police said.

Due to the volume of evidence recovered, police do not have a list of the neighborhoods targeted yet, said Davies.

Detectives are working alongside U.S. Postal Service inspectors to identify victims and other potential crimes committed, police said in a statement.

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