The Sports Report: Clayton Kershaw closes in on milestone
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From Jack Harris: Clayton Kershaw got to the precipice of history on Thursday afternoon. And now, when he inevitably crosses the 3,000 career strikeout milepost, it will almost certainly happen on his home mound.
In the Dodgers’ 3-1 win against the Colorado Rockies, Kershaw struck out five batters over a six-inning, one-run start to move to 2,997 punchouts for his career.
For a moment, it seemed as if Kershaw might be able to eclipse the threshold on Thursday. At the end of the sixth inning, he had thrown only 69 pitches while mowing through a free-swinging Rockies lineup.
Alas, manager Dave Roberts gave his 37-year-old left-hander an early hook, turning a narrow late-game lead over to his bullpen — and preserving the opportunity for Kershaw’s milestone moment to happen back at Dodger Stadium during next week’s homestand.
“I would argue there might be a temptation to take him out [today] and let him go for it in front of the home fans,” Roberts said pregame, when asked if he would consider extending Kershaw’s leash to let him chase his 3,000th strikeout on Thursday. “I’m not going to force anything.”
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LAKERS
From Broderick Turner: The Lakers were busy making moves Thursday, doing all they could to move up in the second round of the NBA draft.
After moving up to No. 36 in the draft with their second trade of the day, the Lakers selected Adou Thiero out of Arkansas.
To get what many with the Lakers and around the NBA view as a “super athletic wing” in the 6-foot-8 Thiero, the Lakers first traded their 55th pick and about $2.5 million in cash to the Chicago Bulls for their 45th pick. Then the Lakers sent that No. 45 pick and cash considerations to the Minnesota Timberwolves for their 36th selection, according to a person with knowledge of the deal not authorized to speak publicly.
Thiero averaged 15.1 points on 54.5% shooting from the field and 5.8 rebounds last season for the Razorbacks.
2025 NBA draft: Pick-by-pick coverage and analysis
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Dodgers controlling owner Mark Walter, through his TWG Global company, agreed to purchase a majority ownership stake in the Lakers last week and released information about the sale on Wednesday in a statement announcing the deal would be completed later this year.
When news broke that Walter would take controlling interest of the Lakers from the Buss family at a valuation of $10 billion, we reached out to Magic Johnson about his thoughts on the matter. Speaking from a yacht off the coast of Croatia, here’s what the Lakers legend had to say about Walter, Jeanie Buss and the sale:
SPARKS
Azurá Stevens scored 23 points, Kelsey Plum had 21 points and six assists and the Sparks ended a four-game losing streak by beating the short-handed Indiana Fever 85-75 on Thursday night.
Indiana played without Caitlin Clark who was out because of a groin injury. Clark had recently returned from a quad injury that kept her sidelined for five games. She returned on June 14 and scored 32 points to help the Fever to a 102-88 victory against the Liberty.
Plum made a three-pointer with 4:13 left to give the Sparks a 67-66 lead, its first since the opening minute of the second quarter. She added two free throws on their next possession to cap a 21-8 run spanning the third-quarter break.
THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY
1890 — Canadian boxer George Dixon becomes first Black world champion when he stops English bantamweight champion Edwin “Nunc” Wallace in 18 rounds in London, England.
1903 — Willie Anderson captures the U.S. Open with a two-stroke victory over David Brown in a playoff.
1914 — Jack Johnson wins a 20-round referee’s decision over Frank Moran at the Velodrome d’Hiver in Paris.
1924 — Walter Hagen wins his second British Open. Hagen finishes with a 301 to edge Ernest Whitcombe by one stroke at Royal Liverpool Golf Club at Hoylake, England. Hagen, who won in 1922, was the Open’s first winner born in the United States.
1936 — Alf Padgham beats Jimmy Adams by one stroke to win the British Open at Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Hoylake, England.
1950 — Chandler Harper wins the PGA championship by beating Henry Williams Jr., 4 and 3 in the final round.
1959 — Mickey Wright beats Louise Suggs by two strokes for her second straight U.S. Women’s Open title.
1971 — JoAnne Carner wins the U.S. Women’s Open with a seven-stroke victory over Kathy Whitworth.
1979 — Heavyweight Muhammad Ali confirms that his 3rd retirement is final (it isn’t).
1984 — UEFA European Championship Final, Parc des Princes, Paris, France: Michel Platini & Bruno Bellone score as France beats Spain, 2-0.
1988 — Mike Tyson KOs Michael Spink in 91 seconds, in Atlantic City.
1990 — NBA Draft: Syracuse power forward Derrick Coleman first pick by New Jersey Nets.
1992 — Top-seeded Jim Courier, the Australian and French Open champion, loses 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 to qualifier Andrei Olhovskiy of Russia at Wimbledon. It’s the first time in Wimbledon history that a qualifier beat the top seed.
1998 — NHL Draft: Rimouski Oceanic (QMJHL) center Vincent Lecavalier first pick by Tampa Bay Lightning.
1999 — Juli Inkster shoots a 6-under 65 to win the LPGA Championship, becoming the second woman to win the modern career Grand Slam. Pat Bradley won her Grand Slam 13 years earlier.
2001 — NBA Draft: Glynn Academy center Kwame Brown first pick by Washington Wizards.
2006 — Roger Federer wins his record 42nd straight grass-court match, beating Richard Gasquet 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 to open his bid for a fourth consecutive Wimbledon championship. Federer breaks the record he shared with Bjorn Borg, the five-time Wimbledon champion who won 41 straight matches on grass from 1976-1981.
2008 — Zheng Jie completes the biggest victory of her career at Wimbledon, beating new No. 1 Ana Ivanovic 6-1, 6-4 in the third round. The 133rd-ranked Zheng’s victory, her first against a top-10 player, is the earliest exit by a top-ranked woman at Wimbledon since Martina Hingis lost in the first round in 2001.
2010 — Cristie Kerr cruises to a 12-stroke victory in the LPGA Championship in one of the most lopsided wins at a major. Kerr leads wire-to-wire, closing with a 6-under 66 for a 19-under 269 total. Kerr breaks the tournament record for victory margin of 11 set by Betsy King in 1992 and matches the second-biggest victory in a major.
2013 — NBA Draft: UNLV power forward Anthony Bennett first pick Cleveland Cavaliers.
2021 — Nelly Korda beats Lizette Salas by 3 strokes to win the Women’s PGA Championship. The win is Korda’s first major title.
THIS DAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY
1917 — Catcher Hank Gowdy of the Braves became the first major league player to enter military service in World War I.
1939 — The Brooklyn Dodgers and the Boston Braves played a 23-inning, 2-2 tie. Whit Wyatt pitched the first 16 innings for the Dodgers. Both clubs played a 26-inning tie in 1920 at the same Braves Field.
1958 — Billy Pierce of the Chicago White Sox retired 26 straight Washington batters before pinch-hitter Ed Fitzgerald hit a double just inside the right-field line for the only hit. Pierce then struck out Albie Pearson on three pitches and beat the Senators 3-0.
1973 — David Clyde, a $125,000, 18-year-old bonus baby with the Rangers, pitched five innings, struck out eight and gave up one hit in his first major league start. Texas beat the Minnesota Twins 4-3 before 35,698 fans — the Rangers’ first home sellout at Arlington Stadium.
1980 — The Dodgers’ Jerry Reuss pitched a no-hitter against the San Francisco Giants in an 8-0 victory at Candlestick Park. The only player to reach base was Jack Clark in the first inning on a throwing error by shortstop Bill Russell.
1986 — San Francisco rookie Robby Thompson set a major league record when he was caught stealing four times in the Giants’ 7-6, 12-inning victory over the Cincinnati Reds. Catcher Bo Diaz threw out Thompson in the fourth, sixth, ninth and 11th innings.
1993 — Anthony Young of the New York Mets set a major league record by losing his 24th straight decision, 5-3 to the St. Louis Cardinals.
1999 — Ken Griffey Jr. hit his 27th homer and robbed Juan Gonzalez of a three-run shot with a spectacular over-the-fence catch as the Seattle Mariners beat the Texas Rangers 5-2 in the final game at the Kingdome.
2003 — Boston set a major league record by scoring 10 runs before the first out. The 50-minute, 91-pitch first inning came during a 25-8 victory over Florida. The Red Sox also tied an AL record with 14 runs in the first inning. Johnny Damon matched a major league mark with three hits in an inning.
2007 — Ryan Howard hits his 100th career home run in a 9 - 6 loss to the Reds. The shot against Aaron Harang makes him the fastest player in major league history to hit 100 homers, doing so in his 325th game.
2008 — Carlos Delgado of the New York Mets homered twice, including a grand slam, and set a franchise record with nine RBIs in a 15-6 rout of the Yankees at Yankee Stadium in the opener of the teams’ two-ballpark doubleheader. The Yankees beat the Mets 9-0 at Shea Stadium in the night game.
2009 — Tim Wakefield makes his 382nd start for the Boston Red Sox, tying Roger Clemens for most in franchise history. The 42-year-old knuckleballer earns his tenth win of the year with six scoreless innings against the Atlanta Braves. Boston prevails, 1-0, with Mark Kotsay driving in the game’s only run.
2010 — Jamie Moyer surrendered his record-breaking 506th home run but was sharp otherwise, and the Philadelphia Phillies took advantage of Toronto’s troubles to beat the Blue Jays 11-2. Moyer only mistake was a two-run homer by Vernon Wells in the third inning. Moyer passed former Phillies Hall of Famer Robin Roberts for the most homers allowed in a career.
2016 — Kris Bryant became the first major leaguer to hit three homers and two doubles in a game, and Jake Arrieta added a solo shot, leading the Chicago Cubs to an 11-8 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.
2016 — The Texas Rangers wrapped up a weird win at 2:44 a.m., rallying after a rain delay of more than 3 1/2 hours in the ninth inning to beat the New York Yankees 9-6 with maybe 100 fans left in the stands. Umpire crew chief Paul Nauert signaled for the tarp at 10:40 p.m. The game resumed at 2:15 a.m. Texas trailed 6-5 when Kirby Yates replaced closer Aroldis Chapman after the delay with a runner on first and no outs. Yates (2-1) hit three batters, and Beltre and Elvis Andrus each hit a two-run singles.
2017 — The University of Florida wins the first College World Series Title in school history by defeating LSU 6-1.
2019 — The starters for the 2019 All-Star Game are named, at the conclusion of the fans’ vote. For the first time, this voting is two-tiered, with today’s winners the victors of a second round of strictly on-line voting among the three top finishers at each position, after the more traditional ballots have been counted. The results are well-balanced, with only one team managing as many as three players elected — the Astros with 3B Alex Bregman and OFs George Springer and Michael Brantley — and are generally representative of who have been the best players so far this year.
2021 — A little over a week after MLB has begun to systematically examine pitchers for foreign substances to improve grip, a first victim is caught: Hector Santiago of the Mariners is ejected after umpires discover an unknown sticky substances on his glove. The glove is impounded and sent for further analysis, while Santiago protests his innocence, claiming that he was only using rosin to prevent perspiration from dripping unto his hands. He will be issued a ten-game suspension.
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.
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.
