Sports
Dodgers' hitters give Jack Flaherty a big boost and seal a win over the Pirates
The standing ovation that Jack Flaherty received from a Dodger Stadium crowd of 48,664 when he departed in the sixth inning of Friday night’s 9-5 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates didn’t seem commensurate with his performance in his first home start for his hometown team.
Flaherty, the 28-year-old right-hander who was acquired from the Detroit Tigers with minutes to spare before the July 30 trade deadline, was tagged for four earned runs and nine hits in 5 ⅔ innings and needed just about every one of his 10 strikeouts to navigate heavy traffic on the basepaths throughout his 110-pitch effort.
But the crowd reaction was as much a welcome-home-and-we’re-glad-you’re here message to Flaherty, a Burbank native who began going to Dodgers games with his mother, Eileen, when he was an infant and pitched Harvard-Westlake High School to the Southern Section Division I championship on this very mound in 2013.
“Yeah, it wasn’t my best start, but it was my first one here, and … I don’t know if I was expecting it, but it was special,” Flaherty said of the ovation. “I enjoyed every second of it. This fan base is as dedicated and as loyal as they come. It’s a lot of fun.”
Flaherty wasn’t nearly as sharp as he was in his Dodgers debut, when he gave up five hits with seven strikeouts and one walk in six scoreless innings of a 10-0 win at Oakland on Aug. 3. He was handed a six-run lead through three innings and nearly made a game of it by giving up a solo homer in the fourth and a three-run shot in the fifth.
Dodgers pitcher Jack Flaherty delivers the ball from the mound during his Dodger Stadium debut against the Pittsburgh Pirates Friday.
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
But Flaherty kept the Pirates at arm’s length by making several big pitches with runners on base, pitching around Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s leadoff double in the first inning, Michael Taylor’s one out double in the third, and striking out Yasmani Grandal with a 95-mph fastball with two on to end the fourth.
“One thing I’ve learned so far about Jack is that a situation, a moment, isn’t going to be too big for him,” manager Dave Roberts said. “He has the ability to make pitches when he needs to, and that’s huge.”
Flaherty’s second win in as many starts with the Dodgers helped his new team retain National League West leads of 2 ½ games over San Diego and 3 ½ games over Arizona. After running away with the division title in 2022 and 2023, the Dodgers appear headed for a dogfight with the Padres and Diamondbacks.
“We’re very aware of it,” Roberts said of the tightening division race. “I’d be lying if I said that no one’s watching the scoreboard and appreciating how good the rest of the teams in our division are playing, so that just puts the onus on us to play good baseball. We have to take care of business and win baseball games.”
That task is easier when the offense smacks the ball around the yard like it did Friday night, when Freddie Freeman lined a solo homer to right in the first and Shohei Ohtani keyed a five-run third with his NL-leading 35th homer, a two-run shot that sounded like a cannon blast, leaving his bat at 113.9 mph and traveling 448 feet to center field.
“Honestly, the way the ball comes off [his bat]. I’ve never seen anything like it,” Roberts said. “I haven’t seen [Giancarlo] Stanton a lot, but I played with Barry Bonds, and the ball just didn’t come off like it does on Shohei’s bat. And Barry might be the greatest hitter of all time.”
Teoscar Hernández followed Ohtani’s homer with a walk and took third on Freeman’s double to left-center. Will Smith, mired in a three-for-44 slump (.068), dunked a check-swing, two-run single to right, took second on a wild pitch and scored on Miguel Rojas’ single to center for a 6-0 lead.
The Pirates cut the deficit to 6-1 in the fourth on Oneil Cruz’s leadoff homer to right, his 18th of the season. The Dodgers pushed the lead to 7-1 in the bottom of the fourth when Jason Heyward doubled to right-center and scored on Hernández’s two-out single to right, the 30th two-out RBI of the season for the outfielder.
Flaherty looked like he might escape another jam in the top of the fifth when, after one-out singles by Kiner-Falefa and Reynolds, he struck out Cruz with a 78-mph knuckle-curve for the second out.
But he hung an 85-mph slider over the heart of the plate to Bart, who drove a three-run homer to left-center–his 10th of the season–to pull Pittsburgh to within 7-4.
“They hit some tough pitches, but leaving that slider over the middle of the plate to Bart … he did what he was supposed to do with it,” Flaherty said. “I wanted to get through that sixth and be a little more efficient, but to do that, I have to be a little bit better in the fourth and fifth.”
The Dodgers’ Kiké Hernández waves to left field after hitting a two-run home run against the Pirates Friday at Dodger Stadium.
(John McCoy / Associated Press)
The Dodgers tacked on in the bottom of the fifth when Kiké Hernández — on his 11th pitch from right-hander Domingo German — sent a two-out laser over the head of the left fielder, Reynolds, who leaped on the warning track and got the tip of his glove on the ball, only to knock the ball over the wall for a two-run homer and a 9-4 Dodgers lead.
Anthony Banda replaced Flaherty and struck out Kiner-Falefa to end the fifth, and the left-hander struck out two in a scoreless seventh, Evan Phillips retired the side in order with two strikeouts in the eighth, and Daniel Hudson gave up a run in the ninth.
“It was Jack’s first time pitching at home, and you just want to give him some breathing room and as many runs of support as possible,” Freeman said. “He gave us 5 ⅔ strong innings, and the offense did a good job tonight of keeping it going, one through nine.”
Short hops
Third baseman Max Muncy, out since May 16 because of an oblique strain, and newly acquired utility man Tommy Edman, who is recovering from an ankle injury, will begin minor league rehabilitation assignments with triple-A Oklahoma City on Saturday. Roberts said both could be activated “in about a week,” and that Edman will get most of his playing time in center field. … Right-hander Walker Buehler, who gave up one run and one hit in 5 ⅓ innings, striking out five and walking three, for Oklahoma City on Thursday night probably will return to the rotation next Thursday in Milwaukee.
Sports
Anthony Richardson free to seek trade after injury setbacks amid Colts’ shift to Daniel Jones
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Anthony Richardson Sr.’s future in Indianapolis faces more uncertainty than ever.
The Indianapolis Colts granted Anthony Richardson, the team that used the fourth overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft on the quarterback, permission to explore a trade. His agent, Deiric Jackson, confirmed the latest development in the 23-year-old’s tumultuous career to ESPN on Thursday.
Veteran quarterback Daniel Jones beat out Richardson in a preseason competition for the starting job. Jones made the most of another opportunity as an NFL starter, helping the Colts win eight of their first 10 games of the 2025 regular season.
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson heads off the field after an NFL football game against the Denver Broncos on Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024 in Denver, Colorado. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
However, his season was ultimately derailed by an Achilles injury. The setback came two years after he tore an ACL with the New York Giants. The Colts appear ready to move forward with Jones, clouding Richardson’s future in Indianapolis.
Jones is set to become a free agent in March, meaning the Colts must either use the franchise tag or sign him to a new deal. Richardson has started just 15 games in three seasons with the Colts, his tenure largely shaped by injuries.
A shoulder surgery limited Richardson to four games during his rookie campaign, while a series of setbacks cost him four games in 2024.
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson (5) looks for an open receiver during the game against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium. (Troy Taormina/Imagn Images)
Richardson suffered what was described as a “freak pregame incident” during warmups last season, landing him on injured reserve after attempting just two passes in two games in 2025. He has thrown 11 touchdowns against 13 interceptions in his NFL career.
Colts general manager Chris Ballard said Tuesday that the vision problems stemming from Richardson’s orbital fracture last October are “trending in the right direction.” He added that Richardson has been “cleared to play.”
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson (5) celebrates his touchdown against the New York Jets during the fourth quarter at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Brad Penner/Imagn Images)
Riley Leonard, a sixth-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, is expected to return to the Colts next season.
When asked about Richardson’s standing with the Colts moving ahead, Ballard replied, “I still believe in Anthony.”
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Sports
Prep talk: Freshman golfer William Hudson of St. John Bosco wins Servite Invitational
William Hudson, a 14-year-old freshman golfer, shot 71 on Monday at Western Hills Country Club in Chino Hills to win the Servite Invitational.
“It was very important to me and my school,” Hudson said.
Some think it’s the first time a St. John Bosco student won an invitational title.
Hudson is a straight-A student who picked up his first golf club when he was 3. He has a daily routine involving practicing at 6 a.m. before heading to school. He’s also enrolled in a school entrepreneur program that involves taking classes at a junior college that will qualify for college credits.
“They are long days, but I get through it,” Hudson said.
He comes from a family that enjoys golf. His great-grandfather played until his death at 98 last year.
“I love how it can take me to interesting places and meet interesting people,” Hudson said. “I can play for the rest of my life. It’s a lifelong sport.”
It’s looking like another strong year for golfers in Southern California, with several individual champions returning, including Jaden Soong of St. Francis and Grant Leary of Crespi.
Now Hudson has thrust himself into the conversation.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
Sports
Dashcam video shows former WWE executive Vince McMahon rear-ending vehicle on Connecticut highway
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Police have released new video showing former WWE Chairman Vince McMahon speeding before crashing his 2024 Bentley Continental GT into another luxury car on a Connecticut highway last summer.
McMahon appeared to be followed by a state trooper in Westport moments ahead of the eventual collision. McMahon’s vehicle reached speeds of more than 100 mph, state police said.
A trooper’s dashcam video showed McMahon accelerating and then braking too late to avoid rear-ending a BMW. The car McMahon was driving then swerved into a guardrail and careened back across the highway. A cloud of dirt, apparently mixed with vehicle debris, was visible in the immediate area of the crash.
WWE owner Vince McMahon enters the arena during WrestleMania at AT&T Stadium on Apr 3, 2022 in Arlington, Texas. (Joe Camporeale/USA Today Sports)
“Why were you driving all over 100 mph?” a state trooper asked McMahon after catching up to the wrecked Bentley.
“I got my granddaughter’s birthday,” McMahon replied, explaining he was on his way to see her. The encounter was recorded on police bodycam video.
No serious injuries were reported in the July 24 crash, which happened the same day former professional wrestler Hulk Hogan died of a heart attack in Florida.
In an image taken from Connecticut State Police police bodycam video, Vince McMahon is questioned in his car after an accident on July 24, 2025, in Westport, Connecticut. (Connecticut State Police via The Associated Press)
Aside from the damage to the rear of the BMW, another vehicle driving on the opposite side of the parkway was struck by flying debris. The driver of that third car happened to be wearing a WWE shirt, police video suggested.
McMahon was cited for reckless driving and following too closely. In October, a state judge allowed him to enter a pretrial probation program that could erase the charges if he completes it successfully.
He was also ordered to make a $1,000 charitable contribution. His attorney, Mark Sherman, called the crash simply an “accident.”
“Not every car accident is a crime,” Sherman said. “Vince’s primary concern during this case was for the other drivers and is appreciative that the court saw this more of an accident than a crime that needed to be prosecuted.”
Vince McMahon attends a press conference to announce that WWE Wrestlemania 29 will be held at MetLife Stadium in 2013 at MetLife Stadium on Feb. 16, 2012 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Michael N. Todaro/Getty Images)
State police said a trooper was trying to catch up to McMahon on the parkway and clock his speed before pulling him over. They said the incident was not a pursuit, which happens when police chase someone trying to flee officers. They also said it did not appear McMahon was trying to escape.
“I’m trying to catch up to you, and you keep taking off,” State Police Det. Maxwell Robins said in the video.
“No, no no. I’m not trying to outrun you,” McMahon clarified.
An accident information summary provided to the media shortly after the crash did not mention that a trooper was following McMahon.
The trooper’s bodycam video also shows him asking McMahon whether he was looking at his phone when the crash happened. McMahon said he was not and added he hadn’t driven his car in a long time.
After Robins tells McMahon that his car is fast, McMahon replies, “Yeah, too (expletive) fast.”
Fox News Digital submitted a public records request to obtain the police video, which was first acquired by The Sun.
McMahon stepped down as WWE’s CEO in 2022 amid a company investigation into sexual misconduct allegations. He also resigned as executive chairman of the board of directors of TKO Group Holdings, the parent company of WWE, in 2024, a day after a former WWE employee filed a sexual abuse lawsuit against him. McMahon has denied the allegations. The lawsuit remains pending.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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