sport world

The Lakers appear set to retire Kobe Bryant’s jersey on Dec. 18, less than two years after he last doed it in a dazzling and dramatic 60-point sendoff. The only question will be which number hangs from the rafters: No. 8? No. 24? TMZ reported early Tuesday moing that the Lakers had informed season-ticket holders to “hold on to tickets” for the Dec. 18 game against Golden State for a “special e...

RODEZ, France >> Fabio Aru was dropped in the last 500 meters of Stage 14 of the Tour de France won by Michael Matthews and relinquished the yellow jersey to Chris Froome on Saturday. Aru lost touch with the leaders in the final short, sharp ascent of the Cote de Saint Pierre in the town of Ro...

LOS ANGELES >> The Dodgers signed Julio Urías when he was merely a boy, a 16-year-old throwing faster than some major league pitchers. They protected his golden left arm like no other, removing him from at least one no-hitter every year in order to limit the inherent harm of throwing a basebal...

SAN DIEGO >> When is an iings limit not an iings limit? As Dodgers coaches and executives contemplate how much more rookie pitcher Julio Urias can — and should — give them this year, it’s worth flashing back to April 11. Urias made his first regular season start that day for Triple-A Oklahoma City in Memphis, Teessee. Matt Herges, the Oklahoma City pitching coach, watched and waited as Urias threw one scoreless iing after another. Urias’ pitch count reached 73 after five iings when it was decided he’d met his limit. He still hadn’t allowed a run. Often, the decision to remove Urias wasn’t easy. “There were times when it was ‘hey we need to get him out of the game’ — yeah but he’s only...

DENVER >> It’s no surprise that the Dodgers will give the ball to rookie left-hander Julio Urias for Friday’s start against the San Diego Padres. The 20-year-old left-hander is 5-2 with a 3.71 eaed-run average in 14 games (12 starts) with the Dodgers. His last four outings, all victories, have seen Urias allow two eaed runs in 19 2/3 iings, good for a 0.92 ERA. “The way he’s throwing the baseball right now,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, “this is the best thing for the Dodgers and for Julio.” And yet, Friday’s start might be his last of the season. Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman stopped short of saying Urias would move to the bullpen after facing the Pad...

CINCINNATI >> While most of the Dodgers’ starting pitchers are operating on a performance-induced iings limit, Julio Urias pitched like he doesn’t need one. The freslhly-20-year-old Julio Urias tued in the best start of his barely-started big-league career Sunday afteoon, holding the Cinciati Reds scoreless through six iings and helping the Dodgers snap a three-game losing streak with a 4-0 victory. “It was huge. It was huge being able to have him out there for more than five iings,” Dodgers catcher Yasmani Grandal said. “Having the last two starters go less than three or four iings, we needed someone to go deep in a game. He did that for us, stepped up big time and threw a great game....

ST. LOUIS >> Julio Urias’ latest big-league cameo was a short one. The 19-year-old left-hander was sent back to Triple-A Oklahoma City on Friday after pitching four iings for the Dodgers in Thursday’s win over the Washington Nationals. Urias will get a few days off and then pitch out of the bullpen for OKC, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. That was the plan when the Dodgers sent Urias back to Triple-A following his July 4 start. But he made just one relief appearance before being recalled to start in Washington this week when Hyun-Jin Ryu went to the DL. Austin Baes was called up from Triple-A to replace Urias on the roster. With three off days in an eight-day span starting Monday, ...

WASHINGTON, D.C. >> Now what? For the third time this season, the Dodgers tued to 19-year-old left-hander Julio Urias to fill a short-term need in their starting rotation. Urias went four iings in Thursday’s 6-3 victory over the Washington Nationals after left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu went on the DL with elbow tendinitis. Whatever plan the Dodgers had for their precocious pitching prospect must have been written in pencil, erased and rewritten again. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he has been impressed with the way Urias has handled the uncertainty as well as being asked to make five of his nine big-league starts against first-place teams (the Cubs, Orioles, Giants and Nationals twice). ...

MONT VENTOUX, France — On Bastille Day, fans created havoc at the Tour de France like never before. Storming the road on France’s national day, the crowd prompted a crash involving race leader Chris Froome and it wasn’t until hours after the wacky 12th stage concluded that organizers decided the British rider could keep the yellow jersey. “Mont Ventoux always throws up something different and today was no exception,” Froome said. “You always have to expect the unexpected at the Tour.” In a complete embarrassment for cycling’s biggest race, Richie Porte crashed headfirst into a motorbike carrying a TV camera, and Froome, who was right behind his former teammate, also hit the pavement in the f...

SAINTE-MARIE-DU-MONT, France >> Mark Cavendish can finally wear the yellow jersey. The British cyclist won a sprint in the crash-marred Tour de France opening stage that finished on Utah Beach, where Allied troops landed on D-Day in 1944, and took the overall lead on Saturday. It was Cavendish’s 27th stage win in the French classic — third on the all-time list behind Eddy Merckx (34) and Beard Hinault (28) — but he had never won the opening leg, which is often a time trial. Cavendish has already wo the leader’s jerseys at the Giro d’Italia and the Spanish Vuelta. “It’s going be a special day tomorrow to ride a stage in yellow,” Cavendish said. “There was no better place to achieve thi...

LOS ANGELES >> Like leaving the last Oreo in the sleeve, this is not going to be easy. But the Dodgers remain committed to keeping a goveor on Julio Urias’ workload this season, a vow of abstinence that has become more difficult to stand by with each of his five big-league starts. Urias keeps getting better, a trend that led to five scoreless iings against the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday night. But Dodgers manager Dave Roberts pulled him after those five iings and 85 pitches this time, a decision that quickly became lamentable. The Brewers scored twice against Dodgers relievers in the sixth iing and it took Justin Tuer’s second home run of the game (in the eighth iing) and his game-wii...

LOS ANGELES >> Like leaving the last Oreo in the sleeve, this is not going to be easy. But the Dodgers remain committed to keeping a goveor on Julio Urias’ workload this season, a vow of abstinence that has become more difficult to stand by with each of his five big-league starts. Urias keeps getting better, a trend that led to five scoreless iings against the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday night. But Dodgers manager Dave Roberts pulled him after those five iings and 85 pitches this time, a decision that quickly became lamentable. The Brewers scored twice against Dodgers relievers in the sixth iing and it took Justin Tuer’s second home run of the game (in the eighth iing) and his game-wii...