Southern California events mark the 1-year anniversary of Hamas attack on Israel and war in Gaza

• October 6, 2024

Several protests and rallies marking Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel and the ongoing war in Gaza have been planned in Southern California for this weekend and the days ahead.

Thousands of people gathered at Pershing Square in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday afternoon to protest the year-long war in Gaza and call for a ceasefire. Oct. 5 also was promoted as an international day of action for those across the globe protesting an end to what they described as Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories.

The LA protesters called for an arms embargo against Israel as they marched through the downtown streets chanting for a “Free Palestine” and  “Money for jobs and education, not for wars and occupation.”

While many of those marking the anniversaries want to see peace in the region, the FBI has issued a warning of possible increased violence in upcoming days.

“As we mark one year since the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas, the ongoing conflict in the Middle East calls for vigilance by the FBI, our law enforcement partners, and members of the public,” the FBI said in a news release. “It is essential to be watchful for threats against Jewish, Muslim, and Arab communities and institutions and to immediately contact law enforcement to report any suspicious activity.”

At USC, where campus-wide protests led to the cancellation of the all-university commencement ceremony in May, the school’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine is staging a walkout at 11:30 a.m. Monday morning.

That evening, Jewish student organization Hillel is hosting a commemoration of the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel, where Hamas killed 1,200 Israelis and took 250 people hostage. More than 100 hostages remain in Gaza.

There will be speeches, music and prayers, with an expected 200 people in attendance, according to David Carlisle, chief of USC’s Department of Public Safety.

“We’re going to be fully staffed and we also worked in partnership with LAPD, who’s going to have additional staff around the university, and we’ve increased our patrols over our houses of worship in the campus community,” Carlisle said.

Israel’s retaliation against Hamas in Gaza has killed more than 41,000 Palestinians, according to the health ministry there.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, California, was planning a news conference to address the ongoing conflict.

“We hope to do something that takes us into recognizing the root cause of the issue we’re dealing with, so we’re not just mourning one event after the other,” Enjy El-Kadi of the Council’s California chapter said. “We’re tired, we’re emotionally tired, and enough is enough.”

Other protests and demonstrations were scheduled for the weekend leading up to Oct. 7.

On Sunday,  Inland Empire CODEPINK, Ontario United for Liberation, and Redlands 4 Palestine are gathering for a Day of Remembrance.

“The event marks one year since the beginning of the genocide in Gaza, highlighting the lack of action by the U.S. government,” the news release said. “As the coalition reflects on the past year, they emphasized the urgency of building a stronger, more unified community within the Inland Empire.”

The event will be held in Ontario at 1 p.m., though an exact location had not been announced as of Saturday.

And the group Jewish Voice for Peace is planning to host a ceremony on Sunday at Echo Park Lake, where attendees will participate in Tashlich, “a powerful new year’s ritual designed for individual and collective reflection, repair and recommitment to our higher selves” by symbolically casting stones into the water.

That group is also calling for a ceasefire and for the U.S. to stop selling weapons to Israel.

Israeli military officials have said they try to minimize harm to civilians in Gaza, and that Hamas is to blame for using civilians as human shields by storing weapons under homes and businesses and launching rockets from residential areas. Hamas has denied that.

​ Orange County Register 

Bob Baffert, Martin Garcia ring up another big win at Santa Anita

• October 6, 2024

ARCADIA – The skills of jockey Martin Garcia and trainer Bob Baffert have combined to produce victories in some of America’s biggest races over the past 15 years.

With the addition of a little luck, they ended up in the Santa Anita winner’s circle together again Saturday, posing for pictures with Citizen Bull after the 2-year-old’s front-running victory in the $300,000, Grade I American Pharoah Stakes.

As Baffert tells the story, Garcia, who has been riding in Kentucky, phoned just to say hello on the morning that entries were being drawn for the American Pharoah and other races on a card full of races with implications for next month’s Breeders’ Cup. As it happened, Baffert had more horses than available jockeys for the American Pharoah and the $200,000, Grade II Oak Leaf Stakes. And here was the answer to his problem.

“I go, ‘Hey, I’m glad you called. What are you doing Saturday?’ ” Baffert said. “He said, ‘Nothing! I’m there.’”

Citizen Bull (who paid $8.60) scored his second win in three starts and his first stakes win the 1 1/16-mile American Pharoah by two lengths over Getaway Car and Juan Hernandez, with McKinzie Street and Kazushi Kimura nearly six lengths farther back in third.

Citizen Bull and Getaway Car are both trained by Baffert and owned by a partnership headed by SF Racing LLC, Starlight Racing and Madaket Stables, and Baffert also had fourth-place Emerald Bay in the American Pharoah.

The winner, a son of Into Mischief, is Baffert’s and Garcia’s first Grade I winner together since 2020, but joins a long list that includes Bayern in the 2014 Breeders’ Cup Classic, Lookin At Lucky in the 2010 Preakness, and New Year’s Day in the 2010 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.

The $2 million Juvenile, on the first day of the Nov. 1-2 Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar, is the next target for Citizen Bull and presumably Getaway Car, while Baffert also has Del Mar Futurity winner Gaming, with whom the trainer opted to skip the American Pharoah.

The Del Mar race was a disappointment for Citizen Bull’s connections. He finished third as a 13-10 favorite after dropping back to sixth with Mike Smith riding. Smith was away Saturday, taking mounts at Keeneland.

“I always say things happen for a reason,” Baffert said of the chance reconnection with Garcia.

Said Garcia: “He (Baffert) just told me, ‘Let him run how he wants to run, and you will take a picture today.’ And that’s exactly how it came out.”

It was Baffert’s 13th win in the American Pharoah.

Earlier Saturday, the Hall of Fame trainer won the $200,000, Grade II Oak Leaf Stakes for 2-year-old fillies for the 13th time as Non Compliant ($4) and Hernandez led a Baffert trifecta with early leaders Nooni and Tenma finishing a game second and a weakening third.

Garcia rode Nooni, after Hernandez had chosen Non Compliant, and Baffert was especially pleased with the improved effort by the $1.8 million filly whose previous start was a green fifth-place finish behind Tenma in the Del Mar Debutante.

“At least she tried today,” Baffert said of Nooni. “She’s very skittish, for some reason. She’s getting better.”

In between Baffert’s stakes wins with 2-year-olds, it was a day of upsets amid mid-90s temperatures that prompted Santa Anita to shorten pre-race exposure to the heat by having jockeys mount up in the shade of the saddling enclosure instead of the walking ring.

Two of California’s best fillies saw winning streaks ended emphatically by Phil D’Amato-trained opponents.

Three-year-old Iscreamuscream cornered badly and finished fourth at 3-2 odds behind D’Amato’s Hang the Moon ($21.80) and Kimura in the $200,000, Grade II Rodeo Drive Stakes at 1 1/4 on turf.

Four-year-old sprinter Sweet Azteca led early but faded to fourth and last at 1-10 odds behind D’Amato’s One Magic Philly ($9.60) and Antonio Fresu in the $100,000, Grade III Chillingworth Stakes.

Both beaten favorites’ jockeys said their horses seemed OK physically after those races.

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The long-shot winner of the day was Pali Kitten ($29.80) in the $100,000 Speakeasy Stakes at 5 furlongs on turf. Rallied by Kimura from last early in a field of four 2-year-olds, Doug O’Neill-trained Pali Kitten beat slow-starting Smash It by a neck as front-running favorite Dreamaway faded to third.

Sunday, the second and last weekend of Breeders’ Cup prep races at Santa Anita concludes with D’Amato-trained 2-year-olds favored in two Grade III stakes on turf, Iron Man Cal in the $100,000 Zuma Beach and Thought Process in the $100,000 Surfer Girl.

​ Orange County Register 

Dejan Joveljic’s second-half goal helps the Galaxy hold off Austin FC

• October 6, 2024

CARSON — The key to any successful season is your play at home.

In recent years, the Galaxy have struggled at home, including last season’s 6-5-6 record.

This season, opponents haven’t been treated friendly at Dignity Health Sports Park and that continued in Saturday’s final home game of the regular season.

Dejan Joveljic’s 76th minute goal helped the Galaxy (19-7-7, 64 points) hold off a pestering Austin FC side for a 2-1 win in front of a sellout crowd of 26,574.

The win is the Galaxy’s 13th at home, giving them a regular-season home record of 13-1-3. The only loss came to LAFC at the Rose Bowl. The Galaxy earned 42 points at home this season.

“There was great energy in the stadium and it shows the amount of support this group has had,” Galaxy coach Greg Vanney said. “They rode it. The fans bring energy and the players are running, creating goal-scoring chances and it feeds into it.”

The celebration was held off due a 12-minute stoppage period that the teams had to play due to a hectic second half, that saw bodies hitting the floor as if it was a MMA fight.

Austin pushed for the equalizer during the marathon-stoppage time. In the seventh minute, Jon Gallagher got behind the Galaxy and popped in a header for the potential game-tying goal, but the linesman raised his flag for offside.

In 10th minute of stoppage time, Austin FC earned a free kick, that Alex Ring sent directly toward Galaxy goalkeeper John McCarthy, who wasted a little bit of time and eventually referee Ted Unkel blew the whistle.

Even later into stoppage, a near melee erupted as an Austin FC player took out Riqui Puig. Players from both sides had to be separated. The final card count was high: the Galaxy were assessed six yellow cards, Austin FC four and one red card.

Joveljic’s goal snapped a 1-1 tie after Austin FC has tied the game in the 55th minute on Sebastian Driussi’s goal.

Joveljic’s goal could be one of the biggest this season because it led to the Galaxy restoring their six-point lead ahead of second-place LAFC in the Western Conference.

LAFC has two games remaining, including next Sunday during the international break. The Galaxy has one game remaining and that’s on Decision Day, the final day of the regular season on the road against the Houston Dynamo.

The last thing the Galaxy has to clinch is their seeding in the Western Conference playoffs. There were possibilities that could have seen them clinch the No. 1 spot Saturday. However, LAFC defeated Sporting Kansas City to move to 58 points. The Galaxy could likely clinch the top seed after LAFC’s game against the Vancouver Whitecaps next Sunday.

Gabriel Pec opened the scoring in the 31st minute with his 15th goal of the season. Riqui Puig was credited with the assist, switching the ball to the right to Pec, who beat his defender, then went far post, alluding Austin goalkeeper Brad Stuver.

The game went into halftime with the Galaxy leading 1-0.

“Today is a moment we have to grow from,” Vanney said. The playoffs are going to be another test for us, next we have Houston and that’s an important game seeing where things are at.”

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​ Orange County Register 

Alexander: Big Game Shohei … did you expect anything different?

• October 6, 2024

LOS ANGELES – There is a very good reason why the Dodgers-Padres NL Division Series will be playing in prime time in the East from start to finish, even with both New York teams still engaged in the postseason.

He wears No. 17, he has finally reached the playoffs in his seventh major league season, and it took him just two innings of Saturday night’s 7-5 Dodgers victory in Game 1 to make his presence known.

Or did you miss that dramatic bat toss in said second inning, after Shohei Ohtani turned on a 2-1 pitch from San Diego’s Dylan Cease and sent it screaming into the right field pavilion, wiping out a 3-0 Padres lead with one swing?

This is going to be an entertaining series for many different reasons, especially if Saturday night’s Game 1 is any indication.

It’s big brother vs. little brother, a big city glamor franchise vs. the only team left in its town with a fan base with a chip on its collective shoulder as wide as Mission Valley.

Plus, if you are lucky/unlucky enough to be in the ballpark and hear the speakers cranked up to 12, it’s an unofficial competition to determine who can produce the most noise. I’d give the Dodgers the edge because of a bigger ballpark, newer and more powerful speakers, and the echo effect in Chavez Ravine, which seems more effective than the buildings surrounding the Gaslamp Quarter and Petco Park.

(Although maybe the Dodgers are off their game a little bit in the ambiance department. My watch pinged only one “loud environment” warning Saturday night.)

But Shohei is the main attraction. He has been, for the Dodgers all year long and for the entire sport through August and September as his quest to join/launch the 50-50 club turned real.

I suggested, a couple of years ago when he was in the midst of an MVP season with the Angels as pitcher and hitter, that we all should have Shohei Alerts on our phones. The idea was that when he was due to come to the plate, the phone would buzz or ding with the message: Get to your TV, quick!

If you weren’t on the Dodger Stadium premises Saturday night, you probably could have used one.

Shohei’s first at-bat against Dylan Cease, against whom he was 4 for 15 lifetime with a double and two home runs, was a routine fly ball to lead off the bottom of the first, after Manny Machado – Dodger fans’ favorite villain – had smacked a towering three-run homer to give San Diego the lead.

Ohtani’s second at-bat? That’s the one that launched a ballpark full of clips and memes on social media.

On a 2-0 pitch, he fouled a 98 mph four-seamer off his right knee. He limped, and 50,000 people winced.

The next pitch was another four-seamer, 96.9 mph coming in … and 111.8 mph going out. It landed 372 feet away, in the first few rows of the right field pavilion, but it was enough of a no-doubter that Ohtani chucked his bat in the direction of the first base dugout. The subliminal message? This bat’s work is DONE.

Ohtani’s main job Saturday night seemed to be bailing out countryman Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who gave up Machado’s homer in the first and Xander Bogaerts’ two-run double in the third.

Shohei came up in the fourth with men on first and second against reliever Adrian Morejon and hit a broken-bat looper that fell just in front of the glove of Padres center fielder Jackson Merrill to load the bases. It may not have inspired as many memes, but it kept the inning going; Morejon wild-pitched a run home, and after Mookie Betts was intentionally walked – with a 2-2 count, no less – and Freddie Freeman grounded into a force play at home, Teoscar Hernandez whacked a two-run single to give the Dodgers the lead.

Teoscar may not quite be the international superstar that Shohei is, but he’s been awfully important in this Dodgers season. Suggestion to the club: Find the money – it shouldn’t be that hard – and sign him to a new contract before he gets to free agency.

Ohtani had one more shot in the eighth against left-handed reliever Tanner Scott, against whom he was 1 for 9 coming into the evening. He struck out to make it 1 for 10 but you can’t say he got cheated, not with that big swing. Even when he doesn’t connect, it’s a thrill ride.

Ohtani probably had the highlight moment of the workout day Friday when, after being asked if he was nervous about his first postseason experience, he interrupted interpreter Will Ireton and blurted, “Nope,” in English.

“It’s always been my childhood dream to be able to be in an important situation, to play in important games,” he said then. “So I think the excitement of that is greater than anything else that I could possibly feel.”

Saturday night, he elaborated, or as much as Shohei ever elaborates.

Asked what his emotions were as he stepped to the plate the first time, he said, through Ireton: “The focus was really in my first at-bat to focus on just having my swing, the quality at-bat that I look for despite being in an excited high-intensity environment. And although I was out that at-bat, I felt pretty good and wanted to carry that on throughout the other at-bats.”

Later, asked how he flips the switch from excitement to calm, he said: “Nothing I did in particular … I was just really focused every single at-bat. If you were to ask me to look back on each at-bat, I would probably struggle to recall everything.”

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He shouldn’t be nervous. As manager Dave Roberts said last week, he’s played in important games in the World Baseball Classic – who can forget that game-ending strikeout of Mike Trout? – and he obviously is one of those who embraces the big moments, rather than running from them.

This came out in two ways Saturday: Flourishing in a playoff atmosphere, and succeeding in key situations. Ohtani was 2 for 3 with runners in scoring position Saturday, continuing a hot streak in those situations.

“It’s been insane how good he’s been with runners in scoring position,” Roberts said. “The key is to get those opportunities because, yeah, when he does get those opportunities you feel like he’s going to cash them in.

“He certainly has that switch, that focus that goes to excitement versus nerves and feeling pressure and trying too hard. You can even see it in his first at-bat, just the discipline in the strike zone, to get back into a count and then to fly out. But the big moments, I just really have never seen a guy in the biggest of moments come through as consistently as he has.

“We’ve obviously had a lot of good players,” he added. “But when you get a player like Shohei, who clearly embraces these moments and has the ability to carry a ballclub, I do think that there’s something to the alleviating the – I hate saying ‘pressure’ – but the pressure for other players.

“I think there’s something to having that superstar player that can carry a ballclub.”

Ohtani was already an incredible bargain, thanks to all of the deferred money in his $700 million deal. If he truly can carry this club where it wants to go, this might go down as the biggest steal in the history of free agency.

And if this is what we can expect from Big Game Shohei, this could be an awfully fun – and lengthy – October for Dodger fans.

jalexander@scng.com

​ Orange County Register 

Dodgers rebound after rough start from Yoshinobu Yamamoto, take NLDS Game 1

• October 6, 2024

LOS ANGELES – October history threatened to repeat itself. But the Dodgers had an answer.

Nope.

The San Diego Padres scored five times in three innings against Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto. But the Dodgers responded in ways they hadn’t when put in the same predicament in last year’s postseason. The offense punched back, the bullpen covered for Yamamoto and the Dodgers won Game 1 of their National League Division Series, 7-5, over the Padres Saturday night.

After Yamamoto’s three-inning callback to his major-league debut in Korea against the Padres, five Dodgers relievers held the Padres scoreless on two hits over the final six innings.

Game 2 of the best-of-five series is scheduled for 5 p.m. Sunday.

The win in Game 1 ended a six-game postseason losing streak for the Dodgers, stretching back to a Game 1 victory over the Padres in their 2022 NLDS.

The common theme in the back half of that six-game October losing streak was poor starting pitching. Yamamoto kept it going. The first two batters he faced reached base. A wild pitch and a passed ball set up a run-scoring ground out. Then Manny Machado sent a splitter from Yamamoto into the left-field pavilion for a two-run home run.

It brought back memories of Yamamoto’s start against the Padres in the Seoul Series when he lasted just one inning and gave up five runs.

He settled down this time – but only briefly. After Shohei Ohtani tied the game with a three-run home run in his second postseason at-bat, the Padres got to Yamamoto again in the third inning. A leadoff double by Fernando Tatis Jr. and a two-out walk of Jackson Merrill – when a 1-and-2 pitch call went against Yamamoto – set up a two-out, two-run double by Xander Bogaerts.

Over their past four postseason games, Dodgers starting pitchers have recorded a combined total of 23 outs while allowing 18 runs – 12 of those runs in the first inning of the games.

During the between-innings interview with Dodgers manager Dave Roberts on the FOX broadcast, Roberts said that would be “the end of the line” for Yamamoto in Game 1.

It wasn’t the end of the line for the Dodgers.

With one out in the bottom of the fourth inning, Tommy Edman beat out a bunt single. Miguel Rojas singled to bring Ohtani up with two on again. This time, Ohtani dropped a broken-bat single into center field to load the bases for Mookie Betts.

A wild pitch brought in Edman and moved the runners up. With the count 2-and-2, the Padres sent Betts to first base with an intentional walk. Freddie Freeman (2 for 5 playing on his injured ankle) bounced into a forceout but Teoscar Hernandez dropped a soft line drive just in front of Merrill in center field.

Two runs scored on the two-out hit – a rarity during their postseason losing streak – and the Dodgers had their first lead in a postseason game since the seventh inning of Game 4 in 2022 against the Padres. They added to it with an unearned run in the fifth inning, again building it from the bottom of their lineup.

The bottom four hitters in the Dodgers’ lineup – Will Smith, Gavin Lux, Edman and Rojas – were on base eight times on five hits, two walks and an error (turning the lineup over and forcing the Padres to pitch to Ohtani) and scored four of the Dodgers’ runs.

The Padres’ best record in baseball after the All-Star break featured frequent comebacks and late rallies – Merrill alone had six go-ahead or game-tying home runs in the eighth inning or later. But the Dodgers passed their lead from Ryan Brasier to Alex Vesia and Evan Phillips, retiring 11 consecutive hitters at one point.

But Michael Kopech couldn’t find the strike zone. He walked two of the three batters he faced. Roberts went to Blake Treinen who got Bogaerts to pop out before he walked Jake Cronenworth to load the bases — then struck out Solano to strand them all.

The Padres put the tying runs on base with two outs in the ninth, bringing up Machado who homered twice off Treinen during the regular season. He struck out to end the game.

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​ Orange County Register 

Newport Harbor’s undefeated boys water polo team sinks Harvard-Westlake to capture Elite 8

• October 6, 2024

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STUDIO CITY — Newport Harbor’s boys water polo team isn’t losing sight of the finer points as it continues to rack up goals and victories at an impressive pace.

The Sailors showed their situational execution on Saturday night in defeating host Harvard-Westlake 16-7 in the finals of the Elite 8 tournament to improve to 19-0.

In the finals seconds of first period, No. 1 Newport Harbor coolly pulled goalie Luke Harris for a 7-on-6 player advantage on an after-goal play.

With 15 seconds left, the Sailors placed a spare goalie cap on attacker Weston Hartel and had him join a possession that ended with left-hander James Mulvey scoring off an assist from left-hander Mason Netzer for a 5-3 lead with one second on the clock.

Harris quickly re-entered after the goal and closed the frame with a save.

Newport Harbor then scored eight unanswered goals to put away the Wolverines, who dethroned reigning tournament champion JSerra 11-10 in the semifinals.

The Sailors outscored Harvard-Westlake 6-0 with a sizzling second-period performance but their execution at the end of the first stood out. The rule that allows a goalie to join the attack has only existed about three years but coach Ross Sinclair’s team made it seem like a common play.

“It’s the first time we scored this season on it,” Sinclair said with a chuckle. “(It’s) ‘Hey, seven-on-six, let’s go.’ … We practice it.”

The play seemed to typify Newport Harbor’s approach to a season in which it is increasingly being viewed as a heavy favorite for the CIF-SS Open Division title. The Sailors won the South Coast Tournament last month.

“There’s always more work — that’s kind of our thing,” said Newport Harbor junior attacker Kai Kaneko, who scored two of his three goals in the second period. “The details.”

Newport Harbor also used the tournament to insert its sitout transfers — Mulvey (JSerra) and Santino Rossi (Mater Dei) — to its rotations.

Mulvey shined in the second period with a goal and assist. Rossi added a goal from center in the frame in which he emerged from below to the surface to beat three crashing players.

“I’ve felt acclimated from Day 1,” Mulvey said of his transition at Newport Harbor.

Mulvey helped cap the second period by tossing a cross pass to Lucca Van Der Woude for a power-play strike and 11-3 lead.

Harvard-Westlake notched its first victory against JSerra under third-year coach Jack Grover but dropped its fourth match to Newport Harbor this fall and eighth straight overall.

Harris played a key role in Harvard-Westlake struggling with the extra attacker. The USC committed senior made six of his nine saves against the power play.

Jack Shapiro snapped a 9-0 run by Newport Harbor with a power-play goal with 2:48 left in the third.

“It’s promising,” Grover said of the Wolverines’ runner-up finish. “This Newport team is really, really strong. What they do really well is any time you make a mistake, they capitalize.”

“You can’t deny at all that they are a very-well coached team,” he added. “It’s one thing to get transfers. … but it’s a whole another thing to actually coach them and incorporate them in your system.”

Newport Harbor beat Oaks Christian 13-5 in the semifinals.

In the third-place match:

JSerra 13, Oaks Christian 9: Taylor Bell scored five goals to lead the Lions, who led 9-5 going in the fourth period.

In roster news, strong-shooting sophomore Porter Birdsall is no longer with JSerra, coach Brett Ormsby confirmed.

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​ Orange County Register 

Dodgers ‘closing the door’ on Clayton Kershaw pitching in 2024

• October 6, 2024

LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers are “closing the door” on Clayton Kershaw pitching again in 2024, Dave Roberts said Saturday.

Kershaw has not pitched since leaving his Aug. 30 start in Arizona with pain in his left foot. The pain is being caused by bone spurs and ligament damage. But Kershaw had been continuing to throw, trying orthotics and different cleats to try to relieve the pain. He even threw an approximately 80-pitch bullpen session during the Dodgers’ series in Miami near the end of the regular season.

“It was getting pretty mentally exhausting to continue to pitch,” Kershaw said Saturday. “It just kept hurting so I got another MRI. And I made it worse. So there’s no point at this point to keep going.

“It’s unfortunate. I mean, obviously, super frustrated but, yeah, it’s not getting better so I can’t pitch.”

Kershaw said he had to give himself “a chance” at pitching in the postseason but repeated “I probably made this worse – but I had to try.”

The toe problem has plagued Kershaw for some years. This most recent stretch was “more acute, a little different” and might require surgery during the offseason if Kershaw wants to pitch in 2025.

“It’s definitely in the conversation,” he said. “I haven’t solidified anything yet. But there’s a chance that I might need to fix it, yeah.”

Kershaw had surgery last offseason to address a shoulder injury and didn’t make his 2024 debut until July 25. He made seven starts for the Dodgers, going 2-2 with a 4.50 ERA and 24 strikeouts in 30 innings. He is 32 strikeouts short of 3,000 in his career. Only 19 pitchers in baseball history have struck out 3,000 or more.

Kershaw’s incentive-laden contract paid him just $7.5 million this season and includes a player option for 2025. The 36-year-old would not talk about his plans for next season.

“I’ll talk about it after the season,” he said. “Right now, I think the focus should be trying to beat the Padres and that’s what I’m thinking. I’m gonna try and be a good cheerleader as best I can.

“But yeah, we’ll think about it. The offseason comes quick.”

Kershaw said he does feel healthy – except for the big toe on his left foot.

“Yeah, my shoulder feels great. My back feels great. All that stuff,” he said. “Look, I don’t know. Obviously I don’t want to get hurt all the time. Like, it’s not fun to do that But I also really love to pitch, too. So you just have to weigh everything. I’ll talk to Ellen (his wife) and figure it out. We’ll see how it goes.”

FREEMAN STATUS

Hours before Game 1, Roberts was asked if Freddie Freeman would be in the starting lineup.

“I’m still hopeful – maybe not as hopeful as I was yesterday,” Roberts said.

Freeman said his injured right ankle was “sore” after he went through a full workout for the first time Friday. But it improved as he received treatment during the day Saturday and he was in the lineup when it came up.

Roberts acknowledged that Freeman’s mobility will be watched carefully. Replacing him with a pinch-runner or defensive replacement in a close game will definitely be considered.

ROSTER CHOICES

The Dodgers announced their roster for the NLDS on Saturday morning. It included four rookies – pitchers Landon Knack, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and the biggest surprise, Edgardo Henriquez, as well as outfielder Andy Pages.

Henriquez made his big-league debut just 11 days ago and pitched only 3⅓ innings before making the roster. A spot became available when veteran reliever Joe Kelly came down with a sore shoulder again after pitching in a simulated game this week.

“Joe Kelly, his last pitch in a simulated game, throwing a change-up, he felt something in his shoulder. So that kind of put him out of the conversation,” Roberts said. “That was really disappointing, obviously, for Joe. He’s just not even viable being such a big piece of this and what he’s done in past postseasons.”

Kelly will not be an option again until a potential World Series roster, Roberts said. He spent time on the injured list with shoulder inflammation during the regular season as well.

GAME TWO

Right-hander Jack Flaherty will start Game 2 on Sunday. Over his last two regular-season starts, Flaherty’s fastball velocity was down – just 91.8 mph against the Miami Marlins on Sept. 19 and again Sept. 25 against the Padres, compared to a season average of 93.3 mph.

Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said the drop was due to “a little bit of delivery stuff that I know Connor (McGuinness, assistant pitching coach) and Mark (Prior, pitching coach) and BMac (Brandon McDaniel, vice president for player performance) have been attacking.

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“Jack’s great. He gets it, gets after it,” Friedman said. “He feels really confident that his delivery is in a really good place.”

Flaherty said he was less concerned with recovering velocity and more concerned with his command of all of his pitches.

“The velocity is going to be whatever it is,” he said. “It just comes down to executing. But we just put in the work over the week and try to figure some things out. Just try to be more consistent more than anything. Gotta locate the ball and spin the ball the way I want to.”

​ Orange County Register 

Red hot Mets rally in 8th to stun Phillies in NLDS Game 1

• October 6, 2024

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Mark Vientos and Brandon Nimmo keyed another late comeback in New York’s electric run through the National League playoffs, helping the Mets break through for five runs in the eighth inning against a pair of All-Star relievers as they rallied past the Philadelphia Phillies 6-2 on Saturday in Game 1 of their Division Series.

The Mets had been stymied by Phillies ace Zack Wheeler, held to just one hit while trailing 1-0 and unable to muster any real scoring chances over the first seven innings.

With Wheeler lifted after nine strikeouts and a startling 30 swings-and-misses over 111 pitches, the Mets — whose whirlwind week included a victory in a makeup doubleheader at Atlanta to clinch a postseason spot and three games in the Wild Card Series at Milwaukee — pounced against losing pitcher Jeff Hoffman and fellow reliever Matt Strahm in the eighth.

In true New York fashion this October, the Mets had to rally, not just on the scoreboard, but on a gut-check in each at-bat.

Francisco Alvarez hit a leadoff single against Hoffman before three straight batters reached base after facing 0-2 counts. Francisco Lindor worked a walk from his 0-2 count and Vientos followed with a tying single. Nimmo laced a go-ahead single off Strahm past a drawn-in infield for the 2-1 lead.

Pinch-hitter J.D. Martinez added an RBI single and Pete Alonso, who hit a go-ahead, three-run homer in the ninth inning in the Wild Card Series clincher in Milwaukee, and Starling Marte each added a sacrifice fly in the eighth for a 5-1 lead that sent the Mets into a frenzy in the dugout.

Leave it to the Mets to win this one late — they have scored 18 runs in the eighth and ninth innings in six games since Monday. New York joined the 1980 Phillies and 1999 Mets as the only teams to win consecutive playoff games after trailing in the eighth inning or later.

The Phillies were left reeling headed into Sunday’s Game 2 after they wasted their ace’s splendid outing.

Citizens Bank Park, once home to Red October, has turned into a nightmare the last two seasons. The Phillies held a 3-2 series lead last season in the NLCS but lost Games 6 and 7 to Arizona at home.

Kyle Schwarber launched Kodai Senga’s third pitch into the second deck in right field, extending his playoff record for leadoff homers to five.

At 425 feet, the homer — a Schwarbomb, as his homers are affectionately called in Philly — went about as far as the rest of the hits combined by an anemic offense.

Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, Nick Castellanos and the rest of a homer-happy offense failed to tack on against Senga and four relievers.

Senga was a surprise starter for New York after throwing just 5 1/3 major league innings all season because of shoulder and calf injuries. He lasted two innings in his second start of the year, throwing 31 pitches. The right-hander struck out three and walked one; Schwarber’s homer was the only hit he allowed.

David Peterson, who earned his first career save in the Wild Card Series clincher against Milwaukee, kept the Mets in the game with three innings of shutout relief. Reed Garrett tossed perfect innings for the win.

The Mets were thrilled just to have Friday off after a wild week that included a doubleheader Monday in Atlanta and then three games in Milwaukee.

“It was much needed,” manager Carlos Mendoza said ahead of Game 1. “Intense games, the traveling, the back-and-forth, doubleheader, celebrations, and just everything that we went through. So being able to get here and have kind of like a reset day for everyone was really good.”

The reset came from — no, not from a playoff pumpkin — but a staff that struck out eight and muted Phillies fans that had spun their red rally towels like helicopter rotor blades from the moment they snagged them at the gate.

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The Mets send RHP Luis Severino to the mound in Game 2. He won Game 1 of the Wild Card Series in Milwaukee. Severino allowed eight hits and four runs — three earned — in six innings.

The Phillies have All-Star and new dad Cristopher Sánchez on the mound for Game 2.

​ Orange County Register