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sports Tuesday 14 June 2022
After lengthy skid, Angels will try to defy history

By NOAH TRISTER losing streak, however. In
AP Baseball Writer fact, the 2006 St. Louis Car-
The Los Angeles Angels fi- dinals had two separate
nally ended their 14-game eight-game losing streaks
losing streak. on their way to a World Se-
If Mike Trout, Shohei Ohtani ries title.
and Co. can rebound from A total of 34 teams have
that and make the play- made the postseason de-
offs, it would be unprec- spite losing streaks of eight
edented. games or more. Of those
No team has reached the teams, 30 did it after the
postseason after a los- start of divisional play, 22
ing streak of more than 11 during the wild-card era,
games, according to Spor- and seven in the last de-
tradar. The Angels played cade after a second wild
well enough before their card was added to each
skid that they're still in the league.
thick of the playoff race As the standard for mak-
now. Los Angeles fired ing the postseason has be-
manager Joe Maddon last come more forgiving, it's
week, but with Trout and become easier for teams
Ohtani in the fold, a 3 1/2- to overcome an awful
game deficit in the wild- week or two.
card race is certainly sur- Los Angeles Angels' Mike Trout (27) runs to first while doubling during the third inning of a baseball TRIVIA TIME
mountable. game against the Boston Red Sox in Anaheim, Calif., Tuesday, June 7, 2022. Who is the most recent
Three teams lost 11 games Associated Press team to make the postsea-
in a row and made the son despite an eight-game
postseason anyway. It hap- started the season with 13 The longest losing streak by day night in a victory over losing streak?
pened first during one of straight wins. That helped an eventual World Series the New York Mets. LINE OF THE WEEK
the most famous pennant them withstand an 11- champion was nine games ALSO SLUMPING Matt Carpenter homered
races in baseball history. game skid in August and by the 1953 New York Yan- Milwaukee lost eight in a twice and drove in seven
The New York Giants lost 11 win the NL West anyway. kees. The Angels certainly row before a victory over runs Sunday to lead the
straight in April of 1951, but In 2017, the Los Angeles hope the worst is behind Washington on Sunday. Yankees to an 18-4 rout of
they eventually ran down Dodgers won 104 games. them. Ohtani pitched sev- The Brewers now trail St. the Chicago Cubs. New
the Brooklyn Dodgers and They might have chal- en innings and hit a two- Louis by a half-game atop York signed Carpenter on
advanced to the World lenged the all-time record run homer Thursday night, the NL Central. May 26, and he became
Series on Bobby Thomson's for victories if not for an when they snapped their It's not all that unusual for a the first Yankees player to
famous home run. 11-game losing streak that skid with a win over Boston. team to make the postsea- hit six homers in his first 10
In 1982, the Atlanta Braves September. Trout hit two homers Satur- son despite an eight-game games.q

None of Federer, Nadal, Djokovic in ATP top 2; 1st since '03

By HOWARD FENDRICH much shifting in the WTA has won the season's first
AP Tennis Writer rankings on Monday, with two major tournaments,
None of the so-called Iga Swiatek remaining at he missed most of the last
Big Three of men's tennis No. 1. The only change in half of 2021 and part of this
— Roger Federer, Rafael the women's top 20 was year, too, so he only has
Nadal and Novak Djokovic Aryna Sabalenka's move 10 tournaments on his 52-
— was in the No. 1 or No. 2 from No. 6 to No. 5, switch- week record.
spots in the ATP rankings on ing with Maria Sakkari. French Open runner-up
Monday, the first time that's Last year's French Open Casper Ruud went up one
been the case in nearly 20 was delayed a week from spot to a career-high No. 5.
years. its originally scheduled spot Federer had a series of
Daniil Medvedev rose one on the calendar because knee operations and hasn't
place to return to No. 1, of concerns about CO- played anywhere since
where he briefly spent time VID-19, so points earned Wimbledon last July. He
earlier this season, and Al- from that event are fall- only has points from four Spain's Rafael Nadal reacts after defeating Serbia's Novak
Djokovic in their quarterfinal match of the French Open ten-
exander Zverev moved up ing off only now, while this tournaments left on his re- nis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium Tuesday, May 31,
to a career-best No. 2. year's French Open points cord and is ranked 68th this 2022 in Paris. Nadal won 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6.
Djokovic slid from No. 1 to were added last week, be- week. Associated Press
No. 3, because his points cause the final was June 5. Federer was at No. 3, be-
for winning the French At Roland Garros this year, hind No. 1 Andy Roddick Medvedev first reached banned all players from
Open in 2021 dropped off Djokovic's title defense and No. 2 Juan Carlos Fer- No. 1 in February, replac- there and Belarus because
his record on Monday. The ended with a quarterfinal rero, the week of Nov. 10, ing Djokovic there for three of the invasion of Ukraine.
ATP rankings are based on loss to Nadal, who wound 2003, with Nadal outside weeks, and now returns fol- Zverev will sit out the grass-
a player's top 18 tourna- up earning his 14th cham- the top 40 and Djokovic lowing a runner-up finish at court Grand Slam tourna-
ment results over the pre- pionship at Roland Garros — who wouldn't make his a tournament in Holland. ment after having surgery
ceding 52 weeks (19 if he — and 22nd career Grand Grand Slam debut un- Neither he nor Zverev will for torn ligaments in his right
participated in the ATP Tour Slam trophy. til 2005 — outside the top be at Wimbledon, how- ankle; he was injured dur-
Finals). Nadal remained at No. 4 500. A week later, Federer ever. Medvedev is Russian, ing his French Open semifi-
There was not nearly as this week; even though he would rise to No. 2. and the All England Club nal against Nadal.q