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From Mike DiGiovanna: The Dodgers provided little, if any, clarity on Clayton Kershaw’s condition Wednesday, but whatever is ailing the veteran left-hander in the wake of his six-inning, one-hit effort Tuesday night against the Colorado Rockies will apparently not send him to the injured list.
Kershaw was not available before Wednesday night’s game against the Rockies, but manager Dave Roberts said the three-time National League Cy Young Award winner completed his normal post-start, Day One workout in the afternoon and is expected to make his next start.
“We haven’t figured out yet what day it is … but I think today was actually good,” Roberts said. “I’m encouraged considering what he did today.”
Kershaw faced the minimum 18 batters and threw only 79 pitches in the 5-0 win, but they were at high altitude on a 90-degree night. After Brenton Doyle broke up Kershaw’s no-hitter with two outs in the sixth inning, it was clear the ace couldn’t continue.
“I just needed to come out there,” Kershaw said after the game. “I think I’ll be all right. It’s just something where I was trying to do the right thing.”
Roberts declined to pinpoint a specific injury Wednesday but said, “It’s not his back.” Kershaw went on the disabled list twice because of lower-back injuries last season. He also missed the final two months of the 2021 regular season and the postseason because of an elbow injury.
Could Roberts say if the injury was arm-related?
“I can’t, I won’t,” Roberts said. “I’ll let him talk about it.”
Dodgers’ rally falls short in high-scoring affair against Rockies
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ANGELS
From Sarah Valenzuela: Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout have become synonymous with the term All-Star. They’re not the only Angels players deserving of a nod this year.
Closer Carlos Estévez, over 34 appearances (33 innings), has pitched to a 1.91 earned-run average, with seven earned runs, eight runs total, on 26 hits, 16 walks and 41 strikeouts. He has an opponent batting average of .215.
Entering Wednesday’s game, Estévez, who also holds a 2-1 record and two scores held, has also been perfect in saves, going 20 for 20 on his save opportunities dating back to the beginning of the 2023 season.
“I think I should be, at least, thought about, if not talked about,” Estévez said before the Angels lost to the Chicago White Sox, 11-5, at Angel Stadium on Wednesday. “Hopefully.”
Yankees pitcher Domingo Germán throws perfect game against Oakland, the 24th in MLB history
DUCKS
From Helene Elliott: The more Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek saw of Swedish center Leo Carlsson on and off the ice, the more impressed Verbeek became.
Carlsson’s skills were obvious. “We really loved his hockey IQ, loved his creativity. Obviously he’s got really good size,” Verbeek said of the 18-year-old, who gracefully handled a two-inch growth spurt the last year to stand 6-foot-3 and 190 pounds.
“Seeing him play center at the world championships, playing on the No. 1 line for his country and seeing him play a 200-foot game, I think that was a big thing for us, not only having potential to dominate in the offensive zone but also be able to dominate in the defensive zone.”
Those strengths, coupled with Carlsson’s poise during several interviews, persuaded Verbeek to choose Carlsson over University of Michigan standout Adam Fantilli on Wednesday with the No. 2 pick of the NHL draft.
It was a mild surprise. But the choice made sense for the Ducks, who have a stockpile of young talent and can allow Carlsson to remain with his Swedish team Orebro next season to continue his development.
“We’re going to do a lot of discussing and make sure that everyone is comfortable with how we proceed here,” Verbeek said via video conference from Nashville after the first round of the draft concluded. Rounds two through seven will be conducted Thursday.
CLIPPERS
From Andrew Greif: The Clippers waived veteran guard Eric Gordon on Wednesday, the last day the team had to guarantee his $20.9 million salary for next season.
Gordon, 34, will become a free agent. It was the team’s second transaction of the day after earlier making big man Moussa Diabate a restricted free agent by extending a qualifying offer. Diabate is coming off a first season in which he earned all-rookie honors in the G League.
Though the Clippers felt the brawn the 6-foot-3 Gordon added defensively and his ability to spread the floor for teammates with his long-range shooting was often a good fit, the team waived Gordon because of an intent to search for savings.
By not adding Gordon’s salary to next year’s team, the Clippers stand to save about $110 million on their luxury tax bill, according to calculations by ESPN’s Bobby Marks. The new collective bargaining agreement between the players’ union and league, which was delivered to teams Wednesday and will take effect Friday, heavily penalizes teams that blow well past the league’s salary cap.
JURISPRUDENCE
From Chuck Schilken: An arbitrator has ruled in favor of Vanessa Bryant and multiple companies associated with her and late husband Kobe Bryant after a former employee sued for millions, claiming the Lakers legend had “verbally promised” her a stake in his investment in the BodyArmor sports drink company.
A lawyer representing Vanessa Bryant and three companies — Kobe Inc., Kobe Investments, LLC and 17/21 Investments, LLC — submitted a petition to confirm the arbitration award to Orange County Superior Court on Monday.
The documents, reviewed by The Times, show JAMS arbitrator Shirish Gupta awarded Bryant and the other parties more than $1.5 million for attorney’s fees and nominal damages and that former Kobe Inc. president Molly Carter agrees that the matter has been resolved.
SPARKS
Courtney Williams scored a season-high 21 points, Kahleah Copper added 14 points and the Chicago Sky beat the Sparks 80-63 on Wednesday to snap a six-game losing streak.
Nneka Ogwumike had 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Sparks (7-8), who shot 22 for 63 (35%) from the field and committed 16 turnovers. Ogwumike moved into second place in team history for made field goals, passing Candace Parker.
Jordin Canada added 13 points for the Sparks, while teammates Chiney Ogwumike and Karlie Samuelson each scored 11.
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1906 — Alex Smith shoots a record 295 to beat brother Willie in the U.S. Open. Alex shoots a 295 at Onwentsia Club Ill.
1933 — Primo Carnera knocks out Jack Sharkey in the sixth round at the Long Island City Bowl to win the world heavyweight title.
1947 — Betty Jameson wins the U.S. Women’s Open by six strokes over amateurs Sally Sessions and Rolly Riley.
1952 — Louise Suggs beats Betty Jameson and Marlene Bauer by seven strokes to win the U.S. Women’s Open.
1956 — Charles Dumas becomes the first high jumper to clear 7 feet, jumping 7 feet, 5-8 inches in the U.S. Olympic trials at Los Angeles.
1957 — Jackie Pung loses the U.S. Women’s Open when she turns in an incorrect scorecard. Betsy Rawls is declared the winner.
1958 — Brazil, led by Pele, beats Sweden 5-2 in Stockholm to become the first team to win the World Cup outside its continent. The 17-year-old, coming off a hat-trick in Brazil’s 5-2 semifinal victory over France, scores twice in the final. Pele’s first and memorable goal comes in the 55th minute to put Brazil ahead 3-1. Pele controls the ball in the penalty area with his thigh, flips it over the head of the defender and smashes it past a helpless Kalle Svensson. Pele seals the win with a headed goal in stoppage time.
1969 — Donna Caponi beats Peggy Wilson by one stroke to win the U.S. Women’s Open.
1984 — Montreal Expos infielder Pete Rose plays in record 3,309th MLB game, surpassing Carl Yastrzemski of the Boston Red Sox.
1986 — Argentina withstands West Germany’s comeback to win the World Cup, 3-2 in Mexico City’s Aztec stadium. Argentina takes a 2-0 lead on Jorge Valdano’s goal 10 minutes into the second half. Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Rudi Voller score goals seven minutes apart to tie the game in the 81st minute. Four minutes later Jorge Burruchaga scores the game-winner after getting a superb pass from Diego Maradona.
1990 — Dave Stewart of the Oakland A’s pitches the first of two no-hitters on this day, beating the Toronto Blue Jays 5-0. Fernando Valenzuela of the Dodgers duplicates Stewart’s feat, throwing a 6-0 no-hitter against the St. Louis Cardinals. It’s the first time in major league history that two no-hitters are pitched in the two leagues on the same day.
1991 — Britain’s Nick Brown scores a big upset at Wimbledon, beating 10th-seeded Goran Ivanisevic 4-6, 6-3, 7-6, 6-3 in the second round. Brown, at 591 the lowest-ranked player in the men’s championship, posts the biggest upset, based on comparative rankings, since the ATP began compiling world rankings in 1973.
1994 — Martina Navratilova sets a Wimbledon record, playing her 266th career match. Navratilova passes Billie Jean King’s record of 265 when she and Manon Bollegraf beat Ingelisa Driehuis and Maja Muric 6-4, 6-2 in a doubles quarterfinal.
1994 — NBA Draft: Purdue small forward Glenn Robinson first pick by Milwaukee Bucks.
1995 — George Foreman loses IBF boxing title for refusing to re-fight Axel Schulz.
2001 — Russian swimmer Roman Sludnov becomes the first person to swim the 100-meter breaststroke in under a minute, breaking a world record for the second time in two days at the national championships in Moscow. Sludnov finishes in 00:59.97.
2004 — Randy Johnson of the Arizona Diamondbacks becomes the fourth pitcher to record 4,000 strikeouts when he strikes out San Diego’s Jeff Cirillo in the eighth inning of the Padres’ 3-2 win.
2007 — After 16 years in Europe, the NFL shuts down its developmental league.
2008 — Two weeks away from her 20th birthday, Inbee Park becomes the youngest winner of the U.S. Women’s Open by closing with a 2-under 71. Her four-shot victory over Helen Alfredsson, who shot 75, is the largest in the Women’s Open since Karrie Webb won by eight shots at Pine Needles in 2001.
2009 — Indoor tennis at Wimbledon. The new retractable roof over Centre Court is closed after rain halts play during a fourth-round match with Amelie Mauresmo leading top-ranked Dinara Safina, 6-4, 1-4.
2012 — The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency files formal charges against Lance Armstrong, accusing the seven-time Tour de France winner of using performance-enhancing drugs throughout the best years of his career.
2014 — Bernard Langer beats Jeff Sluman with a birdie on the 2nd playoff hole to win the Senior Players Championship at Fox Chapel GC.
—Compiled by the Associated Press
And finally…
Fernando Valenzuela pitches a no-hitter. 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.