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.
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The Atlanta Hawks have parted ways with four-time NBA All-Star point guard Trae Young, trading him to the Washington Wizards in a blockbuster move, according to ESPN.
The Hawks will reportedly be receiving veteran shooting guard CJ McCollum and forward Corey Kispert in the deal.
Washington was Young’s preferred destination, and the two sides were working on a deal to get the 27-year-old point guard to the nation’s capital.
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Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks looks on during the game against the Boston Celtics during Round 1 Game 6 of the 2023 NBA Playoffs on April 27, 2023 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. ( Adam Hagy/NBAE via Getty Images)
Young’s agents were having conversations with the Hawks, who sit at 17-21 so far this season, about trading their client out of Atlanta.
There is a mutual connection in Washington, too, as executive Travis Schlenk drafted Young fifth overall in 2018 out of Oklahoma.
It marks the end of an era for the Hawks. Young has been the focal point of their offense since he was taken in that draft. He is the team’s career leader in three-pointers and assists, having led the team to the postseason in three of his eight seasons. The Hawks went the furthest in 2021, where they made the Eastern Conference Finals.
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However, the new era was brewing already in Atlanta, with forward Jalen Johnson taking the next step in his career, averaging 23.7 points per game this season. The pickup of Nickeil Alexander-Walker also helps, as he’s averaged 20.5 points per game in 36 appearances.
Meanwhile, Young has played just 10 games this season, as he’s been dealing with leg injuries, most notably a right MCL sprain.
Trae Young #11 of the Atlanta Hawks looks on after the game against the Boston Celtics during Round One Game Five of the 2023 NBA Playoffs on April 25, 2023 at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. (Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images)
The Hawks also get some flexibility on their books, as they could make some more moves. Anthony Davis is reportedly available from the Dallas Mavericks, making him a good target for Atlanta.
Young has $95 million remaining on his deal that runs through the 2026-27 season, which includes a player option this offseason.
Atlanta will be taking on McCollum’s contract, though the veteran guard has a $30.6 million expiring deal.
Through his 10 games this season, Young is averaging 19.2 points, 8.9 assists and 1.5 rebounds per game, while shooting 41.5% from the field.
Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks drives down the court during the first half against the Philadelphia 76ers at State Farm Arena on April 7, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
Over his career, Young has dropped 25.2 points and 9.8 assists per game, while leading the league in the latter category last season with 11.6 per contest.
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On the opening night of Mission League basketball action Wednesday, there was a huge upset, one close call and two easy victories.
Loyola, down 16 points going into the fourth quarter, started making threes and stunned Sherman Oaks Notre Dame on the road 72-68. Deuce Newt scored 23 points for the Cubs (10-9). First-year coach Cam Joyce saw his team take a leap in ability when Newt became eligible on Dec. 26 after transferring from Campbell Hall. Randall Sanders added 15 points.
No. 1-ranked Sierra Canyon (14-1) held on for a 50-47 win over St. Francis. The Golden Knights gave the Trailblazers a real scare with a chance to tie at the end of regulation. Maxi Adams made two clutch free throws in the final seconds for Sierra Canyon. Brandon McCoy had 19 points and 12 rebounds. Cherif Millogo scored 14 points for the Golden Knights.
Harvard-Westlake improved to 18-2 with an 84-51 win over Chaminade (18-2). Amir Jones made six threes and had 26 points. Joe Sterling added 21 points and Dominique Bentho had 11 points and 13 rebounds.
Crespi (14-6) defeated Bishop Alemany 87-59. Jasiah Williams and Christian Tshina-Nzambi each scored 20 points.
On Friday night, it will be Notre Dame at Sierra Canyon, Harvard-Westlake at Crespi and Chaminade at Loyola.
Arcadia 87, Burroughs 51: Owen Eteuati Edwards scored 23 points and had eight rebounds for Arcadia.
Fairfax 77, Carson 40: Dominick Bowie had 14 points for the Lions.
San Pedro 67, Hamilton 37: Chris Morgan had 14 points and eight rebounds for the Pirates (13-4).
California 105, Saddleback 77: Jair Linares had 26 points for 11-7 California.
Tesoro 78, Capistrano Valley 39: Dean Mika finished with 23 points for 18-3 Tesoro.
St. Monica 67, St. Bernard 58: St. Monica won in overtime. Jordan Ballard scored 20 points for St. Bernard.
Los Alamitos 57, Huntington Beach 47: Sophomore Isaiah Williamson contributed 11 points and 12 rebounds in the Sunset League win.
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A chaotic scene unfolded at Auburn University on Tuesday night as a wild buzzer-beater was waved off well after the Tigers had celebrated on their own court.
With 0.6 seconds remaining and Auburn trailing 90-88, KeShawn Murphy, somehow left wide open, caught an inbounds pass and nailed a long 3-pointer for what was thought to be the game-winner.
However, officials went to the scorer’s table to review the play, which was awfully close.
Auburn Tigers players watch the replay of a possible game-winning shot that was called back as Auburn Tigers take on Texas A&M Aggies at Neville Arena in Auburn, Alabama on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. (Jake Crandall/USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
Ultimately, officials ruled that the shot had not gone off in time, ending the Tigers’ celebration and prompting one from Texas A&M.
The officials quickly made themselves public enemy number one and were showered with debris from fans on their way off the court. At least one referee needed his head to be covered.
One fan sitting courtside even turned his back and threw his drink over his shoulder aimed at an official.
“They didn’t say a word. They just said it was no good and ran off the floor. I probably wouldn’t want to talk to me in that moment, anyway,” Auburn head coach Steven Pearl, who took over for his dad, Bruce this season, said after the game. “So, I get why they’d run away from me. Just from the angles that I saw, it looked like it was off his fingers. But that was just, I don’t have all the same angles they have.”
Texas A&M Aggies players celebrate victory as Auburn Tigers take on Texas A&M Aggies at Neville Arena in Auburn, Alabama, on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. (Jake Crandall/USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
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It is now six losses in their last 10 games for the Tigers after starting 5-1. They lost in the Final Four last year to Florida, who won the national championship over Houston.
Auburn (9-6, 0-2) led 47-37 at halftime and extended the margin to 61-45 with 12:29 remaining.
KeShawn Murphy of the Auburn Tigers reacts after officials ruled that his last-second shot did not beat the shot clock to win the game against the Texas A&M Aggies at Neville Arena on Jan. 6, 2026 in Auburn, Alabama. (Stew Milne/Getty Images)
Texas A&M answered with a steady run fueled by outside shooting, taking its first lead at 8:42 when Pop Isaacs buried a 3-pointer. The Aggies followed with back-to-back triples from Isaacs to open a five-point cushion that they would not relinquish, by the skin of their teeth.
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