Loss

OAKLAND - Teams have made a habit of turning Angels castoffs into All-Star closers ( Fernando Rodney ) and reliable setup men ( Darren O'Day , Joel Peralta ), but in 6-foot-7 right-hander Dane De La Rosa , the Angels may have a reliever who can turn the talent tide back toward Anaheim. De La Rosa kicked around the minor leagues for 10 years, playing three seasons of independent-league ball, and Tampa Bay had little need for him when it traded De La Rosa in the final week of spring training to the Angels for Steven Geltz , a pitching prospect with a low ceiling, literally - he's 5-9. But since his April 9 recall from triple-A, De La Rosa, who mixes a 94-mph fastball with a big curve and changeup, has emerged as a key piece in an injury-ravaged bullpen, taking a 2.31 earned-run average in 11 appearances into Monday night's game.

SEATTLE - The hardest ball Angels pitcher Jason Vargas threw Sunday may have been the bullet he fired in disgust to first base on Jesus Montero's comebacker to end the eighth inning. The left-hander was venting his frustration after giving up a home run to Michael Morse with one out in the eighth, a solo shot to left field that gave the Seattle Mariners a 2-1 victory in Safeco Field and sent the Angels to their fifth loss in seven games. "I mean, who wants to give up a homer in the eighth inning with their closer getting loose and they take the lead?"

Staples Center held Pau Gasol in a warm embrace late in the fourth quarter Sunday, as fans stood to applaud when he left a game that had long been lost. Kobe Bryant then rose from his seat behind the Lakers' bench to tenderly place two hands on his teammate's shoulders. It was gracias , Gasol. It also felt very much like adios . The power forward who prompted Lamar Odom to exclaim, "The Beatles are back, baby!" on the day the Lakers acquired Gasol in February 2008 probably has played his last game as part of a not-so-Fab-Four.

The Lakers guard stepped to the foul line and the familiar chant rose from the Staples Center crowd. “M-V-P! M-V-P! M-V-P!” Three wondrous letters symbolized the sorry end of a season. The Lakers fans were chanting for their only MVP still on his feet - Development League MVP Andrew Goudelock. He was purchased from basketball's minor leagues less than two weeks ago to replace injured Kobe Bryant. He had been placed in the starting lineup two hours earlier to replace injured Steve Nash.

SEATTLE - Brandon Maurer was the No. 3 starter in a superb 2008 Orange Lutheran High rotation that was led by Gerrit Cole, who went on to star at UCLA and was the first overall selection of the 2011 draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates, and Aaron Gates, who pitched at Pepperdine. Maurer was also the least-touted of the "Big Three" pitching prospects the Seattle Mariners had at double-A Jackson (Tenn.) last season, a group that included Danny Hultzen, the second overall pick in 2011, and Taijuan Walker, a supplemental pick in 2010.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - I've put my life on the line to be here in this rathole with our Clippers. And so I expect more than what I got from them Thursday in a rather flat 12-point loss to Memphis in Game 3. The Clippers played a step slow, as if hesitant to go on the attack, even though that's just a way of life here if you want to survive. True story, and I shouldn't be trashed for reporting the facts: They just put up billboards at the Memphis city limits that read: "Danger: Enter at Your Own Risk.

The Angels got a quality start Monday from Joe Blanton, their pitcher who has struggled the most, and a potential breakout night from the weakest link in their lineup, Josh Hamilton, who had his 16th career four-hit game and scored twice. But they had nothing to show for it after the Texas Rangers stormed back from a three-run deficit with three runs in the seventh inning and rode A.J. Pierzynski's two-out, solo home run to right field against closer Ernesto Frieri in the ninth to a 7-6 victory in Angel Stadium.

SAN ANTONIO - The Lakers left the site of Monday's practice, a local high school, muttering that the court was a little too hard, forcing some unexpected bounces. In other words, it looked just like Sunday's game against San Antonio. The Lakers committed 18 turnovers in their 91-79 loss, nothing out of the ordinary for them during a season in which they almost always had more miscues than their opponents. The problem now is that their scoring is so low without Kobe Bryant, they can't afford to give the ball away when they have it. They're pledging to be more careful in Game 2 of their first-round series Wednesday.

BALTIMORE -- This is starting to look familiar. When the Titanic sank, there was a Guggenheim on board. Benjamin Guggenheim's family went on to found an investment company that now owns the Dodgers, who are watching water gush into the corridors of their star-adorned, $230-million ocean liner. The Dodgers extended their losing streak to six games on Saturday at Oriole Park, losing both games of their doubleheader against the Baltimore Orioles, 7-5 and 6-1. BOX SCORE: Orioles 7, Dodgers 5 The most expensive team in baseball history has a 7-10 record, already six games behind the first-place Colorado Rockies in the National League West.

SAN ANTONIO - Something was missing. Actually, someone was missing. It had a lot to do with scoring, as in not enough of it for the Lakers, in a grueling, often boring 91-79 loss Sunday to the San Antonio Spurs. Kobe Bryant was present only on Twitter, watching from his home as the Lakers missed shot after shot and committed 18 turnovers in their playoff opener at AT&T Center. Yawn. Stretch. Head for the locker room. Game 2 is Wednesday in San Antonio. It was worth checking futility records when the Lakers entered the fourth quarter with a meager 57 points.