Go beyond the scoreboard
Get the latest on L.A.’s teams in the daily Sports Report newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
From Mike DiGiovanna: Clayton Kershaw is nowhere near as dominant as he was from 2011-2017, when he went 118-41 with a 2.10 ERA in 207 starts and won three National League Cy Young Awards and a most valuable player award.
But even at 35, with a sometimes balky back and nearly 2,700 innings on his odometer, the Dodgers left-hander has been the clear-cut ace of an injury ravaged rotation that lost Walker Buehler to Tommy John surgery, Dustin May to a major forearm injury and has been without Julio Urías (left-hamstring strain) for a month.
“I don’t know where we’d be [without him] given the injuries we have,” manager Dave Roberts said. “He’s a stalwart, the glue, our horse.”
The Dodgers rode Kershaw for six uneven innings Wednesday night, and Kershaw kept them in the race against the Chicago White Sox, giving up two runs and six hits, striking out five, walking two and escaping three difficult jams over the course of 97 pitches.
Kershaw was in line for a win when the Dodgers rallied for four runs in the sixth inning to take a two-run lead, but a bullpen that has dispensed more gasoline than flame retardant this season was torched for six runs in the final two innings of an 8-4 loss before a crowd of 44,442 in Chavez Ravine.
Dodgers right-hander Yency Almonte breezed through a one-two-three seventh, giving Roberts the confidence he could coax another inning out of the reliever. But Eloy Jimenez doubled to lead off the eighth, and Jake Burger drove a two-run homer high off the left-field foul pole to tie the score 4-4.
Left-hander Alex Vesia replaced Almonte and hit Andrew Benintendi with a pitch. Benintendi took second on a wild pitch and scored on Clint Frazier’s single to center for a 5-4 lead. Jimenez added an RBI single off Tayler Scott, and Benintendi hit a two-run single off Victor González in the top of the ninth.
Enjoying this newsletter? Consider subscribing to the Los Angeles Times
Your support helps us deliver the news that matters most. Become a subscriber.
ANGELS
Marcus Semien and Corey Seager hit back-to-back homers with two outs in the seventh inning to lift the Texas Rangers to a 6-3 win over the Angels on Wednesday night.
Semien’s two-run homer struck high up the left-field foul pole to break a 1-1 tie. Seager followed with a shot to right field on the next pitch.
Shohei Ohtani hit a two-run homer in the ninth, his AL-leading 21st. It extended his hitting streak to a season-high 11 games. The homer was an opposite-field blast into the second deck traveling 453 feet.
A’s TO VEGAS
From Bill Shaikin: The Oakland Athletics appear to be two small steps from extinction.
The Nevada legislature on Wednesday approved $380 million in taxpayer funds toward a new ballpark in Las Vegas, leaving two hurdles for the A’s in their proposed move: Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo to sign the ballpark bill into law, and major league owners to approve the move.
Major League Baseball expects both steps to be cleared, with the A’s projecting the grand opening of their new ballpark in 2028. The A’s would pay the balance of the projected $1.5-billion construction cost, plus any cost overruns.
LAFC
Micael scored in the 23rd minute for his first MLS goal and the Houston Dynamo beat LAFC 1-0 on Wednesday night for back-to-back shutout victories in the series.
Micael was left unmarked at the far post for an easy tap-in off a set piece.
Houston (7-7-4) won on the road for the first time this season, leaving three MLS teams without a win away from home. The Dynamo entered with just two points in eight road games — the fewest in the MLS this season. LAFC (7-3-6) lost its first home game this season.
SOCCER
From Kevin Baxter: The offer came with no strings attached, Folarin Balogun said. With the U.S. national team training in Orlando, Fla., and Balogun’s French club idled by an international break, American coach Anthony Hudson reached out with a quiet invitation for Balogun to come over for dinner.
The visit didn’t stay quiet for long. When Balogun took to Instagram to post what he thought were generic photos of him posed inside a car and sitting on the grass, toweling off after a workout, U.S. Soccer fans went to work. A partially obscured wall behind the car was quickly linked to an Orlando pub. Another person studied the grass Balogun was sitting on and found it to be the same type the U.S. team was training on.
Balogun was in Florida.
That may prove to be the most consequential piece of internet botany in U.S. Soccer history because a few weeks after Balogun had his cover blown, he asked FIFA for a one-time change of affiliation to play for the U.S., not England. He could make his debut Thursday against Mexico in a Nations League semifinal at Allegiant Stadium.
GOLF
From Steve Henson: Tiger Woods’ plan was sparse yet clear. He said at the Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club in February that he’d play in the four majors this year. Nothing more was guaranteed.
Turns out, the majors weren’t a guarantee, either … much to the chagrin of his fellow golfers.
“A lot of us here today in the field owe a lot to Tiger, he’s why we got involved in the game,” Collin Morikawa said. “Maybe not the sole reason, but for me growing up that’s all I cared about.”
Woods, 47, declined to play in the U.S. Open this week at the L.A. Country Club because of ongoing issues with his surgically repaired ankle, a lingering consequence of his car crash in early 2021.
Stanford golf team foursome barking up same tree in U.S. Open at L.A. Country Club
SPARKS
Dearica Hamby had 23 points and eight rebounds, Nneka Ogwumike contributed 20 points and 10 rebounds, and the Sparks beat the Dallas Wings 79-61 on Wednesday.
Hamby scored 14 of her points in the third quarter to extend Los Angeles’ lead to 61-51 entering the fourth. The Sparks held Dallas to 10 fourth-quarter points.
Ogwumike reached 20-plus points for the fifth time in her last six games. Ogwumike also had two steals to pass Lindsay Whalen for 16th on the WNBA’s career list with 501.
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1901 — Willie Anderson edges Alex Smith by one stroke in a playoff to take the U.S. Open.
1938 — Johnny Vander Meer of the Cincinnati Reds pitches his second straight no-hit game, defeating the Brooklyn Dodgers 6-0 in the first night game played at Ebbets Field.
1947 — Lew Worsham beats Sam Snead by one stroke on the final hole of a playoff to win the U.S. Open.
1951 — Joe Louis scored his last knockout victory.
1957 — Dick Mayer beats defending champion Cary Middlecoff by seven strokes in a playoff to win the U.S. Open.
1969 — Orville Moody shoots a 281 to beat Deane Beman, Al Geiberger and Bob Rosburg by one stroke and capture the U.S. Open.
1970 — Shirley Englehorn wins the LPGA championship with a four-stroke victory over Kathy Whitworth in the playoff round.
1980 — Jack Nicklaus wins his fourth U.S. Open with a record 272 for 72 holes.
1984 — American boxer Thomas Hearns retains WBC light middleweight title with second-round KO of Roberto Durán of Panama at Caesar’s Palace, Las Vegas; marks first time in his illustrious career Durán knocked out.
1986 — Ray Floyd, 43, beats Chip Beck and Lanny Wadkins by two strokes to become the oldest golfer to win the U.S. Open. It is Floyd’s fourth and final major victory.
1987 — Michael Spinks TKOs Gerry Cooney in 5 for The Ring heavyweight boxing title at Convention Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey.
1991 — Carl Lewis, one jump away from losing his 64-meet winning streak in the long jump, comes through with a dramatic victory when he soars 28 feet, 4¼ inches to pass leader Mike Powell by a half-inch in the U.S. Championships in New York.
1996 — Roy Jones Jr. completes a unique doubleheader, successfully defending his IBF super middleweight title after playing in a pro basketball game. Jones stops Eric Lucas in the 11th round after scoring five points in a United States Basketball League game in the afternoon, helping the Jacksonville Barracudas beat Treasure Coast 107-94.
1997 — Ernie Els wins his second U.S. Open championship in four years, finishing one stroke ahead of Colin Montgomerie. Els has the shot of the day on the 480-yard 17th hole when he hits a 5-iron from 212 yards to just 12 feet on the peninsula green.
2001 — The Lakers beat Philadelphia 108-96 in Game 5 of the NBA Finals to complete the best playoff run in NBA history. The Lakers, who finish the playoffs with a record of 15-1, are the first to go through the playoffs undefeated on the road.
2003 — NBA Finals: San Antonio Spurs beat New Jersey Nets, 88-77 in Game 6 for franchise’s second title; MVP: Tim Duncan.
2003 — Jim Furyk wins his first major championship and put his name in the record books, matching the lowest 72-hole score in the 103 years of the U.S. Open. Furyk closes with a 2-over 72 to win by three shots over Stephen Leaney of Australia.
2004 — Detroit beats the Lakers 100-87 in Game 5 of the NBA Finals for the Pistons’ first championship in 14 years.
2008 — Down to his last stroke at Torrey Pines, Tiger Woods sinks a 12-foot birdie putt to force an 18-hole playoff against Rocco Mediate for the U.S. Open. They finish at 1-under 283, the first time since 2004 that someone breaks par in a U.S. Open.
2011 — The Boston Bruins win the Stanley Cup for the first time since 1972, beating the Vancouver Canucks 4-0 in Game 7 of the finals.
2014 — Martin Kaymer of Germany wins the U.S. Open after four days of dominance at Pinehurst No. 2. Kaymer finishes with an eight-shot victory over Rickie Fowler and Erik Compton and becomes the seventh player in the 114 years of the U.S. Open to go wire-to-wire.
2014 — The San Antonio Spurs win their fifth NBA championship, beating the Miami Heat 104-87 to win the series in five games.
2015 — Chicago’s Duncan Keith scores in the second period and directs a dominant defense that shuts down Tampa Bay’s high-scoring attack, and the Blackhawks beat the Lightning 2-0 in Game 6 for their third NHL title in the past six seasons.
2018— Christiano Renaldo, Portugal, scores a hat-trick in Portugal’s 3-3 tie with Spain in the World Cup. Renaldo becomes the fourth player to score in four different World Cups and the first to score in eight consecutive major tournaments.
2019 — In a blockbuster NBA trade, the New Orleans Pelicans send forward Anthony Davis to the Lakers for Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart and three future first-round draft picks.
—Compiled by the Associated Press
And finally…
The Lakers win the 2000-01 NBA title. Watch and listen here.
Until next time…
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at [email protected], and follow me on Twitter at @latimeshouston. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.