The Sports Report: Dodgers lose another pitcher

Howdy, I’m your host, Houston Mitchell. Let’s get right to the news.

From Mike DiGiovanna: Daniel Hudson spent a full year rehabilitating from left knee surgery, the Dodgers reliever enduring numerous setbacks before returning last week and experiencing the exhilaration of notching his first save in 392 days on Wednesday night.

Three appearances into an emotional comeback that lifted the spirits — and improved the back-end depth — of a sagging bullpen, Hudson’s season might be over.

Hudson suffered a sprain of the medial collateral ligament in his right knee while pitching out of a bases-loaded jam Wednesday, an injury that will sideline the 36-year-old right-hander for one to two months, if not more.

“My heart breaks for him,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said before Thursday night’s 5-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates in Chavez Ravine. “He was committed to coming back this year. He could have walked away last year. So for it to [possibly] end right now the way it did, it hurts.”

Hudson threw 29 pitches in the ninth inning Wednesday, the final one a nasty slider that struck out Jack Suwinski to close out a 6-4 Dodgers victory.

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Plaschke: Enough! Dodgers need to rescue lousy rotation and trade for an ace, now!

DODGERS POLL RESULTS

Will the Dodgers make the postseason this year? After 19,453 votes:

Yes, as a wild-card, 50.7%
Yes, as NL West champ, 24.9%
No, 24.3%

BASEBALL

From Bill Shaikin: Bethany Li is not much of a baseball fan. She does not pay close attention to politics. She just finished her first year as a kindergarten teacher, and keeping up with a class full of adorable kids leaves little time to keep up with news and sports.

Her kids wanted a class pet. They voted for a hamster over a lizard and, now that the school year is over, Biscuit the hamster went home with Li for the summer. Li offered Biscuit a bite of an apple the other day, and instead the hamster tried to take a bite out of her finger.

“He’s in time out right now,” Li said.

As the Oakland Athletics asked the Nevada Legislature for $380 million in taxpayer money so they could build a ballpark in Las Vegas, the teacher learned how government really works.

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TRACK AND FIELD

From Andrew Greif: For a sport working under a self-described mandate to increase its fanbase within the United States, track and field found a giant spotlight in 2022 by hosting the World Athletics Championships in the U.S. for the first time.

More mainstream exposure will return in 2024 during the Paris Olympics.

This year, by contrast, can feel quieter. Though another world championships will be held, it won’t arrive until late August as other sports claim airtime in the U.S. This week’s U.S. championships, held Thursday through Sunday at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field, will have portions broadcast live on CNBC, the first time NBC has not carried the meet live on its network in 17 years.

It doesn’t mean the performances will be dimmed. Last year, the U.S. team dominated the world championships medal count. This year’s world championship team will be formed this weekend in Oregon.

Story lines to watch as the meet unfolds:

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THIS DATE IN SPORTS

1911 — Dorothea Lambert Chambers sets the record for the shortest championship match at Wimbledon — 25 minutes — by disposing of Dora Boothby 6-0, 6-0 in the women’s finals.

1912 — American athlete Jim Thorpe wins 4 of 5 events to win the Pentathlon gold medal at the Stockholm Olympics.

1934 — Elizabeth Ryan teams with Simone Mathiau and wins her record 12th women’s doubles title at Wimbledon, defeating Dorothy Andrus and Sylvia Henrotin 6-3, 6-3.

1953 — Walter Burkemo beats Felice Torza to win the PGA Championship at Birmingham (Mich.) Country Club.

1973 — In the first all-U.S. women’s Wimbledon final, Billie Jean King beats Chris Evert, 6-0, 7-5.

1974 — In Munich, West Germany beats the Netherlands 2-1 to win soccer’s World Cup.

1978 — NBA approves franchise swap; Buffalo Braves owner John Y. Brown and Harry Mangurian acquire Boston Celtics, while the Celtics owner Irv Levin gets Braves, later moved to San Diego to become the Clippers.

1980 — Larry Holmes retains his WBC heavyweight title with a seventh-round TKO of Scott LeDoux in Bloomington, Minn.

1982 — Steve Scott sets a United States record in the mile with a time of 3:47.69 in a track meet at Oslo, Norway.

1985 — West Germany’s Boris Becker, 17, becomes the youngest champion and first unseeded player in the history of the men’s singles at Wimbledon with a 6-3, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (3), 6-4 victory over Kevin Curren.

1986 — American athlete Jackie Joyner-Kersee sets world heptathlon record of 7,148 points in the inaugural Goodwill Games at Moscow.

1990 — Martina Navratilova wins her ninth Wimbledon women’s singles championship, beating Zina Garrison 6-4, 6-1, to break the record she shared with Helen Wills Moody.

1991 — Steffi Graf beats Gabriela Sabatini 6-4, 3-6, 8-6 to capture her third Wimbledon women’s title.

2002 — Juli Inkster matches the lowest final-round score by an Open champion with a 4-under 66 for a two-stroke victory over Annika Sorenstam in the U.S. Women’s Open. It’s her seventh major.

2007 — Venus Williams claims her fourth Wimbledon title with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Marion Bartoli.

2007 — Wladimir Klitschko beats Raymond Brewster with a technical knockout after six rounds, to successfully defend his IBF and IBO heavyweight titles in Cologne, Germany.

2012 — Serena Williams dominates from start to finish, beating Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland 6-1, 5-7, 6-2 to win a fifth championship at the All England Club and 14th major title overall.

2013 — Andy Murray becomes the first British man in 77 years to win the Wimbledon title, beating Novak Djokovic 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 in the final. The last British man to win the Wimbledon title before was Fred Perry in 1936.

2019 — U.S. Women’s National Team win their record 4th FIFA Women’s World Cup title with a 2-0 win over the Netherlands.

2021 — The Tampa Bay Lightning defeat the Montreal Canadiens 1-0 in game five of the Stanley Cup Finals to win their second consecutive Stanley Cup and third overall. Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy is named Finals MVP.

—Compiled by the Associated Press

And finally...

The U.S. wins the 2019 Women’s World Cup. Watch and listen here.