Michelle Kantor helps bring female voices to the big screen.

“It’s important to dress for real life, even during fashion week.”

LOS ANGELES — He said he swings against left-handed pitchers in the batting cage nearly every day. Most of the time, it seems like wasted wind.

Joc Pederson does not face lefties in games because he does not hit lefties in games because he does not face lefties in games. It’s like opening a box to find another box.

There is no exit sign on this ramp, so Pederson created his own opportunity Monday night. Because he kicked off the Dodgers’ 8-2 win over Colorado with a leadoff home run, and because the Dodgers knocked Jon Gray out of the game with nobody out in the third, Pederson was allowed to bat against Harrison Musgrove.

He promptly launched his second home run of the game. He also scalded a double down the right-field line to begin the four-run rally in the third, which made it 6-0. He let Charlie Blackmon’s double sail over his head, but then he ran down a line drive by Drew Butera. If there were concerns about what remained in the Dodgers’ tank after a 10-game trip and a 2 a.m. arrival from St. Louis on Monday morning, Pederson swatted them into the seats, too.

“I think that meant a lot to him, getting that home run off the lefty,” Roberts said.

It was Pederson’s 23rd home run. The first 22 came off right-handers. Until this game, Pederson was 8 for 51 against southpaws this year. For his career, he is a 179 hitter with nine home runs, but he has nearly five times more plate appearances against right-handers.

This is basic Dodger philosophy. Get players into prosperous situations and avoid the downside. While some would look at Pederson’s numbers and wonder how they would glimmer if he played all the time, the Dodgers implicitly maintain that he’s taking advantage of good matchups.

Geysers of runs can follow this approach. In the past six games, the Dodgers have scored 8, 9, 3, 17, zero and 8. Hard-throwing right-handers like Gray, if they’re not hitting corners and getting ahead, are easy prey.

Gray retired six of the 14 Dodgers he faced. One of the outs came at third, with some exuberant baserunning by Yasiel Puig, and another was a seed by Enrique Hernandez that was caught by shortstop Trevor Story.

The loss might not have been the worst thing that happened to Bud Black’s squad. Story, who has 33 home runs and 102 RBIs, took a hard swing in the fourth inning and looked plaintively at the bench. He had done something to his elbow and was removed immediately. The Rockies said he would be evaluated Tuesday.

For most of this season, Pederson has been the one Dodger hitter who is markedly better than in 2017. He has 12 more homers than last year, and nearly as many walks, and only seven more strikeouts in 35 more games. In fact, Pederson has now played the same number of games as in 2016 and has 56 fewer strikeouts.

Yet he won’t come close to the 585 plate appearances he had in his rookie year of 2015, when his 26 home runs were counterbalanced by 170 strikeouts and a .210 batting average.

“Last year I was hurt for a little bit and never really got into a rhythm, so it was definitely a frustrating year,” Pederson said. “This year I’ve made an adjustment and have kept making adjustments.”

Last week the Dodgers were facing the palm-in-forehead prospect of getting swept in a three-game series by the Reds. Pederson got them on the board with a home run and they won 8-1. That won’t necessarily be judged a “high-leverage” home run, but it was a mood-lifter, and Pederson is capable of doing that at any time. Left off the NL Division Series roster last season, he went 6 for 20 with three home runs in the World Series.

He also has become Roberts’ usual leadoff man, when he plays.

“I don’t really care where I hit in the lineup as long as I’m getting the opportunity to play,” Pederson said. “I’m just happy to be in there. There are times when I’m not.

“But I keep working against lefties in the cage, so if I do get that chance, I’ll be locked in.”

Or, at some point, unlocked.

.@yungjoc650 talks with @alannarizzo about his approach at the plate and @HyunJinRyu99’s outing in tonight’s 8-2 #Dodgers win over Colorado. pic.twitter.com/ojwdVcJHPb

— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) September 18, 2018

Another #JocPop and the @Dodgers offense is ROLLING. #SeptemberBaseball pic.twitter.com/419fGBovnZ

— MLB (@MLB) September 18, 2018

#JocPop

The @Dodgers are off to a flying start. #SeptemberBaseball pic.twitter.com/66MuZ1r399

— MLB (@MLB) September 18, 2018

LOS ANGELES — Dave Roberts lined up his starting rotation so that Hyun-Jin Ryu could pitch the first game of the Dodgers’ most important series of the year Monday. The manager liked Ryu’s ability to match up against the Colorado Rockies, but more than that he liked Ryu’s poise under pressure.

Ryu did not take Roberts’ gesture for granted. In six seasons since leaving South Korea, he has started 97 games for the Dodgers, including three in the postseason. At 31, he’s missed nearly two years recovering from major shoulder surgery and more recently lost three months to a torn groin muscle.

With the same preternatural calm that he arrived with at age 25, Ryu pitched seven shutout innings in a crucial 8-2 win. The Dodgers regained sole possession of first place in the National League West for the second time in three days.

“My job will be to put the team in a position to where we could win,” Ryu said through an interpreter. “Compared to my first two years, when I actually got a chance to pitch in the postseason, I feel like it’s going to be a totally different feeling.”

For a day, the gap between first and second place looked much wider than a half-game. The Dodgers began their onslaught when Joc Pederson led off the first inning with a home run and did not let up. Pederson homered again in the fourth inning, this time with a runner on base.

Max Muncy also hit a home run, his 33rd of the season, with two runners on in the third inning. Rockies starter Jon Gray (11-8) was removed one batter later. By the fifth inning, Ryu (5-3) was pitching with an eight-run lead – his largest margin for error all year.

With that, the Dodgers struck the first blow with the division lead at stake. For the next two days, each win or loss can twist the playoff probabilities like a trophy fish caught on a hook.

At 83-68, the Dodgers lead Colorado by half a game with 11 games to play. The Rockies (82-68) have 12 games remaining in the regular season and trail the St. Louis Cardinals by a half-game for the NL’s second wild-card spot.

By winning five of their last six games, including four against the Cardinals and Rockies, the Dodgers have erased their deficit against the two teams trying to deny them a playoff berth.

“It’s a competitive division and it’s not going to let up at all,” Muncy said. “There’s not one series we play where it’s going to be easy. It makes for fun baseball.”

Ryu had not won a game since Aug. 26 and had not tossed seven shutout innings since April 21. He lowered his earned-run average in eight home games to 1.27, a stark contrast to his 4.15 ERA on the road. He did not walk a batter and struck out five.

As Roberts considers his pitching options for a possible postseason run, Ryu’s dominance at Dodger Stadium has merit. In seven starts since returning from his groin injury, Ryu has cemented his place in the rotation with a 2.21 ERA.

“He’s always been a big-game pitcher,” Roberts said of Ryu. “I’ve seen it from the other side. For him to be healthy and set the tone for the series – in complete command, his stuff was really good – we fed off him and it was good to see.”

Ryu scattered four hits over seven shutout innings. One hit, scored a double, was a fly ball that Pederson misjudged in left field. Ryu did not walk a batter and struck out five.

Roberts and the announced crowd of 45,970 might have seen a preview of Ryu’s poise in a possible postseason game at Dodger Stadium.

“If I started on Sunday, it would have been on four days’ rest,” Ryu said. “Doc did a good job of letting me know that I was going to pitch this game early, rather than the other game. That definitely helped me in terms of preparing for this game.”

Why would pitching a playoff game this year be different than 2013 or 2014?

“The first two years I was given a chance to pitch in a postseason game, I almost took it for granted,” Ryu said. “The last year, I had to sit on the sideline. Although I did want my team to win, it was a different feeling. As a player, you want to compete and help the team win. I try to do my best as a teammate. At the same time, this year it seems like I might have a chance to pitch in an actual (playoff) game.”

Alex Wood gave Roberts something to consider too. In his first relief appearance since last year’s World Series, the left-hander faced five batters in the eighth inning and recorded two outs. The others reached on a walk, a single, and a hit batter. Two came around to score.

Wood started a team-leading 27 games, going 8-7 with a 3.65 ERA, before losing his place in the rotation last week.

“It’s a transition,” Roberts said. “He hasn’t done anything in quite some time. Today is something that we wanted to get Alex in there, get him some live action. Going forward, he’ll be fine.”

Roberts acknowledged prior to the game that the team’s middle-relief roles remain malleable. Wood’s return to the bullpen was one to forget. John Axford, who missed 30 games with a fractured fibula, replaced Wood and allowed an RBI single to the only batter he faced. Yimi Garcia got the first two outs in the ninth inning. Tony Cingrani, out since June with shoulder problems, recorded the final out.

Pederson hit a double in addition to his two home runs, scored three runs and drove in three more. Justin Turner went 2 for 3 with a walk and is batting .524 (11 for 21) over his last six games. Yasiel Puig went 2 for 3 after garnering NL Player of the Week honors earlier in the day.

Pederson also made a snow-cone catch to track down a Drew Butera fly ball in the fifth inning, then pounded fists with a fan sitting an arm’s length away in the front row. It was that kind of night for the Dodgers.

Trevor Story exited the game with elbow soreness in the middle of an at-bat after swinging and missing at a Ryu changeup in the fourth inning. It was that kind of night for the Rockies.

.@yungjoc650 talks with @alannarizzo about his approach at the plate and @HyunJinRyu99’s outing in tonight’s 8-2 #Dodgers win over Colorado. pic.twitter.com/ojwdVcJHPb

— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) September 18, 2018

Another #JocPop and the @Dodgers offense is ROLLING. #SeptemberBaseball pic.twitter.com/419fGBovnZ

— MLB (@MLB) September 18, 2018

Max is a boss. #SeptemberBaseball pic.twitter.com/0yv7bonChg

— MLB (@MLB) September 18, 2018

Dave Roberts on @HyunJinRyu99 7 innings of work and @yungjoc650’s big night at the plate. pic.twitter.com/A5jFoMq9DT

— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) September 18, 2018

#JocPop

The @Dodgers are off to a flying start. #SeptemberBaseball pic.twitter.com/66MuZ1r399

— MLB (@MLB) September 18, 2018

Pound it. pic.twitter.com/nkT1pqAupL

— MLB (@MLB) September 18, 2018

Did you see Monday’s 70th Primetime Emmys hosted by SNL’s Michael Che and Colin Jost?

Well, don’t worry if you missed it, because we watched it.

These are the 10 biggest moments everyone will be talking about.

1. The proposal: Director Glenn Weiss proposed marriage to his girlfriend while accepting the Emmy for directing the Oscars, and she said “Yes!” The shocked bride-to-be Jan Svendsen met Weiss on stage where he slid on the “the ring that my dad put on my mom’s finger in 1967,” he said. Weiss’ mom died two weeks ago.

2. The speech: Thandie Newton began her speech by saying she doesn’t believe in God. But she thanked “Her” anyway while accepting the supporting actress Emmy for “Westworld.”

3. The mystery: Was that … Teddy Perkins? Before the Emmy for best directing in a comedy series went to Amy Sherman-Palladino for “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” Donald Glover’s character from “Atlanta” was spotted in the front rows at the Emmys. Fans took to Twitter with theories that it was Glover or co-star Lakeith Stanfield in the makeup.

4. The honor: Beloved actress Betty White received a standing ovation for her television career, and charmed the crowd with her speech. Later, James Cordon joked that White broke up a fight between Tom Arnold and Mark Burnett. (But don’t worry, the 96-year-old television legend wasn’t involved.)

5. The horsing around: During his acceptance speech, “Godless” supporting actor winner Jeff Daniels thanked the horse that broke his wrist. He explained it was the same horse Jeff Bridges rode in the film “True Grit,” adding, “I felt like he was making unfair comparisons.”

6. The ‘Marvelous’ moments: “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” became the first streaming series to win the outstanding comedy series category, and it was just one of five awards claimed that night. It also took trophies for lead actress, supporting actress, writing and directing.

7. The support: Alex Borstein pulled off her satiny wrap and jiggled as she headed to the stage to accept the Emmy for “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” supporting actress trophy, noting that she went braless. On the gold carpet, Borstein said she wore the dress on her wedding day 20 years ago and it outlasted the union.

8. The diversity gap: Though it focused on the issue of diversity in Hollywood, the Emmys still struggled with it. It didn’t award any person of color for a full hour.

9. The Fonz: Henry Winkler won his first Emmy. Before launching into his acceptance speech for supporting actor in a comedy series for “Barry,” the actor joked, “I wrote this 43 years ago.”

10. The missing person: Who wasn’t a punchline at the awards? The president. While it’s almost to be expected that the commander in chief would be joked about at an awards show, Donald Trump was not a factor in the night’s festivities.

Southern California house sales slipped below year-ago levels in August for a fourth straight month, even though prices continued to climb, the California Association of Realtors reported Monday, Sept. 17.

Regionwide, sales fell 7.5 percent year over year, Realtor figures show. It was the biggest sales drop among California metro areas.

Sales were down in all four counties covered by the Southern California News Group, dropping 8.9 percent in Los Angeles County, 9.7 percent in Orange County, 6.6 percent in Riverside County and 4.3 percent in San Bernardino County.

The trend matches what’s been happening statewide, as the cost of buying outstrips the capacity of more and more home shoppers.

California house sales dropped 6.6 percent in the 12 months ending in August, Realtor figures show.

If homebuying were to continue at August’s pace for a year, statewide sales of existing single-family homes would be below 400,000 for the first time in more than two years.

“Uncertainty about the housing market continues to mount,” said CAR President Steve White.

Homebuyers, White said, are reluctant to commit, fearing prices may have peaked.

CAR Chief Economist Leslie Appleton-Young said a market shift appears to be underway.

“We are seeing active listings increasing and more price reductions,” Appleton-Young said.

The number of homes for sale have increased steadily for 8 ½ months in Southern California, figures from Steve Thomas’ Reports On House show, rising to the highest level in at least two years.

Statewide, house price gains decelerated, but not so in Los Angeles and Orange counties, where median house prices hit all-time highs.

The median price of a Los Angeles County house – or price at the midpoint of all sales – hit a record $607,490 in August, up 6.4 percent year over year. In Orange County, the median soared to a record $838,500, up 6.3 percent.

The median price of a Riverside County house was $400,750, down from the previous month but up 3.2 percent year over year. In San Bernardino County, the median was $290,000, also down from July but up 7.4 percent from August 2017 levels.

LOS ANGELES — When USC’s practice ended Monday evening, Clay Helton gathered players and coaches at midfield at Howard Jones Field and delivered a particularly lively minutes-long address.

“Keep your jaw set,” Helton urged them. “Keep it set all week.”

Before they parted ways and in order to break their huddle, Helton shouted, “Beat the Cougars,” with an expletive added in between for emphasis.

The Trojans host undefeated Washington State on Friday night, a critical point early in the season amid only their second 1-2 start since 2001. They were handed a humbling loss at Texas last Saturday, outscored 34-0 over the final three quarters, and dropped out of the national polls in the aftermath of the blowout.

The return to practice, two days after a second consecutive defeat, included a more animated and audible Helton.

During a series of field-goal attempts midway through the practice, Helton yelled, “There are no reps off!”

When a scuffle broke out between left tackle Austin Jackson and a scout-team linebacker during 11-on-11 drills, with Jackson throwing a punch, Helton opted to encourage the players.

“I like it,” Helton hollered. “Let’s go!”

Seconds before the final play of practice went off, Helton shouted some more.

“Last drill of the day,” Helton said. “Get to that (expletive) quarterback.”

In front of a scrum of reporters after practice, Helton said of his elevated intensity, “I wanted to coach my butt off.”

“Not that it was super different,” tight end Tyler Petite said, “but we needed to come out with a little bit different mentality this week.”

The Trojans need to make a quick turnaround, facing Washington State on a shortened week that includes condensed practices and team meetings. Over the past two seasons, they have lost twice when on six days’ rest, including a 30-27 road loss to the Cougars last season and a 31-27 loss at Utah in 2016. Their last win on six days’ rest came in 2015, winning at Colorado when Helton was the interim coach.

Helton thought the Trojans needed the jolt Monday and sought to keep them upbeat.

“The biggest challenge is two back-to-back road games, two physical games, emotional games, I was really looking forward to seeing how they were today, and I thought their emotions were excellent,” said Helton, who shadowed the offense for most of the practice. “I thought they came out and competed their butts off.”

Running backs coach Tim Drevno was seen almost mimicking Helton, spurring on the scout team during several moments.

Senior running back Aca’Cedric Ware, who remarked after the loss to Texas that recent practices had been lazy, said he was encouraged by the approach.

“Today was a lot better,” Ware said. “It seemed like everybody came with a chip on their shoulder.”

POLA-MAO SLATED FOR SURGERY

Redshirt freshman safety Isaiah Pola-Mao will undergo surgery to repair a dislocated shoulder on Thursday, sidelining him for the rest of the season, Helton said.

Pola-Mao suffered the injury in the Trojans’ 17-3 loss at Stanford earlier this month. He had taken over as the starter in the aftermath of the absences of Ykili Ross and Bubba Bolden.

Helton said the rehab for Pola-Mao is estimated to last six months.

In the loss to Texas, redshirt sophomore C.J. Pollard started in place of Pola-Mao.

While Ross left the team in order to pursue a grad transfer, Bolden has been sidelined due to an undisclosed matter. Helton said Monday there was no update to Bolden’s status.

ANOTHER LATE ONE

USC’s game at Arizona on Sept. 29 will kick off at 7:30 p.m. and be televised on ESPN2, marking a second straight late game.

The Trojans host Washington State on Friday at 7:30 p.m.

QUICK HITS

Right guard Andrew Vorhees, who suffered a knee sprain against Texas, went through all of practice Monday. “He looked good,” Helton said. “Obviously a little stiff. It’s two days away from the game, so everybody is a little sore today.” … Kicker Chase McGrath, who will miss the rest of the season due to a torn ACL, will undergo surgery in a couple weeks.

Creative Director Zac Posen delivered a garden party brimming with a youthful take on corporate attire inspired in part by images of Jacqueline de Ribes in the garden.
He introduced a cheeky cherry print, which was cut into a playful pleated skirt and embroidered onto a little T, and undercut the collection with a fresh vintage ease. Pink tweed suiting was enlivened with fluorescent orange specks, while a prim-cut blazer came in a sweet pastel orange. A floral jacquard jacket-and-skirt set harked to the fashion sensibility that could be seen in his namesake secondary line.
The storied brand has been able to draw in younger customers with updates to wardrobe staples that have a modern, easy approach to sophistication. Shirt dressing has been key, and was cut this season with a navy porcelain print and an orange style with a playful wrap belt. No item balanced modish feminine flair with a transitional day-to-evening quality more than a flirty color-blocked dress in blush, ivory and lime.
Posen made sure to offer loyal customers approachable elegance with classic seersucker in driftwood brown, suiting styled with casual striped Ts and stretchy graphic jacquards. For the new professional woman, look no further for a blend of leisure,

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Levi Palmer and Matthew Harding wanted to tell the story of a dangerous-yet-attractive woman for spring.
“She’s twisted. There’s something a bit dark and sinister about her, but with gloss,” said Harding, pointing to Meryl Streep’s character in the Eighties American psychological thriller “Still of the Night,” as their main source of inspiration. “We were intrigued by this idea of a beautiful woman who might have been guilty of murder or she might have just been the victim’s mistress.”
The design duo used dichotomies throughout the collection to reflect this type of twisted personality.
There were oversize, androgynous shirts with lingerie-inspired slip tops peaking under; tailored jackets softened with ruffles and peplums, and harnesses layered over languid printed dresses.
“There’s some dangerous elements like harnesses but also ruffles to camouflage [her darker side],” added Harding.
Other highlights included ultra high-waisted trousers and structured jackets with large cargo pockets, that evoked a powerful, military-inspired image.
There was plenty to choose from in this collection, that was filled with easy-to-wear, everyday separates — but their brand’s strength continues to lie in their signature shirting and the skilfull ways they pull them apart and piece them back together.

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It’s a new dawn at Burberry, and Riccardo Tisci let everyone know it when a vast expanse of black fabric was whisked off the roof of the show venue in south London, letting in the sun at the start of the designer’s debut show early Monday evening.
This debut was hyped over Tisci’s Instagram all summer long with news of product drops, an upcoming collection with Vivienne Westwood, new branding and a TB monogram. There were countdown clocks in store windows and a retail transformation at the Regent Street flagship, with themed rooms and “Sisyphus Reclined,” a three-floor scaffold immersive and interactive art installation by British artist Graham Hudson.
Yet this show was unexpectedly discreet.
There were no VIPs, just members of Tisci’s big Pugliese family — little kids were running around the venue afterward — and some of the designer’s friends including Ben Gorham, Marina Abramovic, Peter Saville, Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott.
With its plush carpets and cocooning feel, the venue was quiet — a haven in the storm of London Fashion Week. Guests found their seats — handsome rosewood armchairs for some, cushioned benches for others — in the dimly lit room, which was filled with partitions made of rich woods,

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