From Kevin Baxter: The Dodgers will be without Max Muncy for approximately six weeks after the third baseman was placed on the injured list Thursday with what the team is calling a bone bruise in his left knee. Muncy was injured in the sixth inning of Wednesday’s walk-off win over the Chicago White Sox when Chicago’s Michael Taylor slid headfirst into third on an unsuccessful attempt to steal third base.
Taylor’s helmet hit Muncy’s knee, bending it sideways and flipping the infielder to the ground. The collision was so gruesome, SportsNet LA, which was broadcasting the game, did not show replays. Muncy writhed on the ground in obvious pain before being helped to the clubhouse.
Muncy, who entered the Dodger clubhouse Thursday afternoon wearing a blue elastic support bandage on his left leg, said he originally feared the worst, but an MRI found no structural damage.
“It was tough news, but it was also great news,” he said. “I still get to play baseball this year instead of coming back next year around April. So it was kind of best-case scenario.”
Muncy, who said his knee felt stiff but not painful, was scheduled to meet the Dodger doctors later Thursday but said he intended to embark on an aggressive rehabilitation process.
“Everybody’s body is different,” he said. “You know, some guys heal extremely fast, some guys heal extremely slow. Traditionally, I’ve always healed fairly fast.”
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‘Super grateful’ Clayton Kershaw, Dodger teammates bask in glow of 3,000th strikeout
‘I knew he was going to get it.’ Dodgers fans celebrate Clayton Kershaw’s big night
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Dave Roberts had some goals in mind for starting pitcher Dustin May on Thursday. And they had little to do with the final result.
“The first thing is his ability to go deeper in games,” the Dodger manager said. “The sweeper has got to be a more effective pitch. His sinker has got to be more effective.
“I know he’s working through some delivery things with the pitching coaches. I’m kind waiting to see what to expect tonight.”
May would give Roberts far more than he asked for, setting down the first 16 batters in order and pitching into the eighth inning for the first time in his career in a 6-2 win over the Chicago White Sox.
The win was the Dodgers’ fourth in a row and ninth in their last 10 games.
The start was May’s 16th of the season and the seven innings he threw gave him 89.2 for the year, both career highs. Consistency, however, has been an issue. He won just once in June, when his 5.67 ERA was highest among Dodger starters.
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ANGELS
Zach Neto had three hits, including a homer, Nolan Schanuel added a two-run blast and José Soriano gave up only three hits in seven scoreless innings to lead the Angels to a 5-1 victory over the weak-hitting Atlanta Braves on Thursday night.
The Braves avoided a shutout on Jurickson Profar’s ninth-inning homer off left-hander Brock Burke. It was Profar’s second homer in two games since returning from an 80-game PED suspension.
Soriano (6-5) had seven strikeouts and did not allow a base runner to reach second base. Neto scored three runs.
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Angels put Christian Moore on injured list, pick up contract of Chad Stevens
LAKERS
From Dylan Hernández: The Lakers found their next starting center, and they didn’t have to give up Austin Reaves to land him.
There’s a reason why.
As athletic and skilled as Deandre Ayton is for a 7-footer, he’s better known at this stage of his career for his shortcomings.
His maddening inconsistency. His uninspired defense. His lack of motivation. His inability to stay healthy.
Portland Trail Blazers center Deandre Ayton shoots under pressure from Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic on Feb. 10 in Denver. (David Zalubowski / Associated Press)
If you didn’t like Anthony Davis, you’re going to hate Ayton. Davis was always accountable or at very least not tone deaf, which Ayton apparently is.
“I got nothing to prove in this league,” Ayton once told veteran NBA reporter Mark Medina. “I’m a max player, and I’ll continue to be a max player.”
Little wonder the Portland Trail Blazers officially gave up on Ayton during the weekend by buying out his contract, opening the door for the Lakers to pick him up at a bargain price.
The Lakers are wagering they can do what the Trail Blazers, and the Phoenix Suns before them, couldn’
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Lakers agree to terms to bring back Jaxson Hayes
SPARKS
Natasha Cloud scored 11 of her 23 points in the third quarter and sparked a huge run to lead the New York Liberty to an 89-79 victory over the Sparks on Thursday night.
Breanna Stewart added 17 points and 14 rebounds and Sabrina Ionescu had 20 points for New York (12-5).
The defending champion Liberty trailed 53-42 midway through the third before Cloud and Ionescu got going. Cloud’s three-point play sparked a 13-0 run and then Ionescu scored 10 straight points for New York to give the Liberty a 63-59 advantage.
Dearica Hamby scored 25 points to lead the Sparks, who got a boost with the return of Rae Burrell. She saw her first action since injuring her knee in the opener. She checked in late in the first quarter and played 12 minutes, finishing with five points.
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THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY
1907 — Canadian world heavyweight boxing champion Tommy Burns KOs Bill Squires of Australia in round 1 in Colma, Calif., his 6th title defense.
1910 — Jack Johnson knocks out Jim Jeffries in the 15th round at Reno, Nev., to retain the world heavyweight title and spoil Jeffries’ comeback.
1914 — The Harvard eight wins the Grand Challenge Cup to become the first American crew to capture the top event at the Henley Royal Regatta.
1919 — Jack Dempsey wins the world heavyweight title at Toledo, Ohio, when Jess Willard fails to answer the bell for the fourth round.
1923 — Jack Dempsey beats Tommy Gibbon in 15 for the heavyweight title. The fight almost bankrupts the town of Shelby, Montana, which borrowed heavily to stage it.
1930 — Helen Wills Moody wins her fourth straight singles title at Wimbledon with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Elizabeth Ryan. Moody would go on to win four more Wimbledon singles titles.
1954 — FIFA World Cup Final, Wankdorf Stadium, Bern, Switzerland: Helmut Rahn scores twice as West Germany beats Hungary, 3-2.
1964 — Maria Bueno of Brazil upsets Margaret Smith of Australia 6-4, 7-9, 6-3 for the women’s title at Wimbledon.
1975 — Billie Jean King beats Evonne Goolagong, 6-0, 6-1 for her sixth and final singles title at Wimbledon.
1982 — Jimmy Connors beats John McEnroe 3-6, 6-3, 6-7, 7-6, 6-4 for the men’s singles championship at Wimbledon. The match lasts 4 hours, 16 minutes.
1987 — Martina Navratilova wins her eighth Wimbledon singles title and sixth straight, beating Steffi Graf 7-5, 6-3.
1994 — FIFA World Cup: A Bebeto strike saves Brazil from embarrassment, beat USA 1-0 at Stanford.
1999 — Pete Sampras overwhelms Andre Agassi in three sets to capture his sixth Wimbledon title and tie Roy Emerson’s record with his 12th Grand Slam championship. Sampras is the first man in the Open era with six Wimbledon titles.
2002 — Venus and Serena Williams win in straight sets to set up their third title match at a major in 10 months — and the first all-sister Wimbledon final since 1884. Top-seeded Venus, the two-time defending champion, overpowers Justine Henin 6-3, 6-2. Second-seeded Serena routs Amelie Mauresmo 6-2, 6-1 in 55 minutes.
2003 — Lakers star Kobe Bryant is arrested in Eagle, Colo., for sexual assault, charges eventually dismissed.
2004 — UEFA European Championship Final, Estádio da Luz, Lisbon, Portugal: In a huge upset Greece beats host nation Portugal, 1-0.
2004 — Meg Mallon wins the Women’s U.S. Open with a 6-under 65, the lowest final round by a champion in the 59-year history of the tournament. Mallon finishes at 10-under 274 for a two-shot victory over Annika Sorenstam.
2008 — Dara Torres completes her improbable Olympic comeback, making the U.S. team for the fifth time by winning the 100 freestyle at the U.S. Olympic trials in Omaha, Neb. The 41-year-old wins in 54.78. A nine-time medalist, she already was the first U.S. swimmer to make four Olympic teams.
2009 — Serena Williams beats her big sister Venus 7-6 (3), 6-2 for her third Wimbledon title and 11th Grand Slam championship. In the fourth all-Williams final at Wimbledon, Serena comes out on top for the third time. Later, Venus and Serena win their fourth women’s doubles title at Wimbledon and ninth Grand Slam doubles title as a pair.
2010 — Rafael Nadal beats Tomas Berdych in straight sets, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4, to win his second Wimbledon title and eighth Grand Slam championship.
2011 — Tyler Farrar becomes the first American to win a July 4 Tour de France stage, dominating a sprint finish in the third leg as teammate Thor Hushovd of Norway kept the yellow jersey.
2014 — Germany becomes the first country to reach the semifinals for a fourth straight World Cup by beating France 1-0 in a quarterfinal match settled by a first-half header from Mats Hummels.
2015 — Copa América Final, Estadio Nacional Julio Martínez Prádanos, Santiago: Chile defeats Argentina, 4-1 penalties to win their first title; 0-0 after extra time.
2015 — Super Rugby Final, Westpac Stadium, Wellington: Otago Highlanders beat Wellington Hurricanes 21-14 for their first title.
THIS DAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY
1905 — The Philadelphia Athletics scored two runs in the 20th inning, giving Rube Waddell a 4-2 victory over Cy Young of the Boston Red Sox. Both pitchers went the distance.
1908 — George Wiltse of the New York Giants pitched a 10-inning, 1-0 no-hitter against the Philadelphia Phillies.
1912 — George Mullin of the Detroit Tigers celebrated his 32nd birthday by pitching a no-hitter over the St. Louis Browns.
1925 — Two of the great left-handers of their time, Herb Pennock of the Yankees and Lefty Grove of the Athletics, hooked up in a pitcher’s duel that New York won 1-0 in 15 innings. Pennock gave up four hits and walked none.
1939 — Jim Tabor of the Boston Red Sox hit three home runs, including two grand slams, in an 18-12 triumph over the Philadelphia Athletics in the second game of a doubleheader.
1945 — Augie Bergamo drove in eight runs to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to 19-2 rout of the New York Giants in the second game of a doubleheader. Bergamo, batting leadoff, went 5 for 6 with two home runs and four runs scored.
1976 — The Phillies’ Tim McCarver lost a grand slam when he passed Garry Maddox on the base paths. The Phillies still beat the Pirates 10-5 at Pittsburgh.
1983 — Dave Righetti of the New York Yankees pitched a 4-0 no-hitter against the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium.
1984 — Phil Niekro of the New York Yankees struck out five Texas Rangers to become the ninth pitcher with 3,000 strikeouts. No. 3,000 was Larry Parrish.
1985 — The New York Mets beat the Braves 16-13 in 19 innings at Atlanta. The game went until just before 4 a.m. on July 5, and was followed by a fireworks display for the 10,000 still left in the stands. Keith Hernandez of the Mets hit for the cycle in 10 at-bats. The score was tied 8-8 after innings. Both teams scored two runs apiece in the 13th. The Mets scored a run in the 18th to take an 11-10 lead, but Braves pitcher Rick Camp tied the score with a homer. Camp then gave up five runs in the top the 19th. Ron Darling, the seventh Mets pitcher, closed the game giving up two runs.
2006 — Victor Martinez went 5-for-6 and Jhonny Peralta and Travis Hafner each hit two of Cleveland’s six home runs, powering the Indians to a 19-1 rout of New York. The win was Cleveland’s largest at home in more than 56 years, since a 21-2 victory over the Philadelphia Athletics on June 18, 1950.
2006 — Jose Contreras tossed 6 2-3 scoreless innings to win his 17th straight decision and lead the White Sox to a 13-0 victory over Baltimore.
2008 — The Cardinals drop a 2-1 decision to the Cubs but Albert Pujols socks his 300th career home run. At 28 years, 170 days old, he becomes the fifth youngest player to hit 300, one day ahead of Mel Ott. The younger players were Alex Rodriguez, Jimmie Foxx, Ken Griffey Jr. and Andruw Jones.
2008 — Colorado homered six times to rally from a nine-run deficit for the biggest comeback in franchise history and an 18-17 victory over Florida. Chris Iannetta singled home the winning run off Kevin Gregg in the ninth inning. The Rockies and Marlins combined for 35 runs and 43 hits, 21 of them for extra bases with eight home runs.
2010 — The rosters for the 2010 All-Star Game, to be played at Angel Stadium, are announced today. The top vote getters are Joe Mauer in the American League and Albert Pujols in the National League. Among the first-time All-Stars is 40-year-old reliever Arthur Rhodes of the Reds; he sports a sparkling 1.09 ERA in his 19th big league season.
2012 — Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz hit his 400th career home run, a leadoff drive to right in the fourth inning against Oakland’s A.J. Griffin.
2014 — Brian Roberts hit three doubles and a triple, leading the New York Yankees to a 6-5 win over Minnesota.
Compiled by the Associated Press
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 houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
