Sports
Jack Flaherty delivers strong debut the Dodgers desperately needed in win at Oakland
OAKLAND — There was no primal scream, no exaggerated fist pump, and very little outward emotion from the Dodgers’ newest pitcher.
Instead, in the defining moment of an auspicious team debut for Jack Flaherty on Saturday night at the Oakland Coliseum, the veteran pitcher simply tapped his glove, chewed on some gum and returned to his new team’s dugout with a confident nod of his head.
“I saw poise,” manager Dave Roberts said. “I liked that controlled emotion.”
Indeed, Flaherty provided the Dodgers with much-needed poise and control Saturday night, pitching six shutout innings in the team’s 10-0 win over the Oakland Athletics.
“I’ll take the time tonight and kind of soak it all in,” said Flaherty, whom the Dodgers acquired in a blockbuster deadline-day trade with the Detroit Tigers last Tuesday. “I’m just excited to be here and have a chance to help this team.”
The Dodgers needed it, riding Flaherty’s big start early on — before pulling away with an eight-run explosion late — to only their third win in their last nine games.
In the process, Flaherty racked up seven strikeouts and 16 swings and misses, flashing the kind of premium stuff the Dodgers hope will bolster a starting rotation battling injuries and searching for frontline pitching.
Dodgers pitcher Jack Flaherty on the mound in the first inning against Oakland on Saturday.
(Godofredo A. Vásquez / Associated Press)
Most of all, with the Dodgers only up 2-0 in a bases-loaded, no-outs jam in the bottom of the sixth, the club put its trust in its newly-acquired 28-year-old pitcher.
Then, it watched him embrace the pressure with ease.
During a nine-pitch sequence, the right-hander induced a fielder’s choice grounder, a swing-and-miss strikeout and an inning-ending two-hopper back up the middle — giving the Dodgers both a tantalizing sample of his resurgent 2024 season, in which he is now 8-5 with a 2.80 ERA, and a much-needed, high-leverage, skid-snapping sigh of relief.
“It felt really good, Doc giving me the trust there in the sixth to find a way to get out of it,” Flaherty said.
“You learn what they’re made of pretty quick,” added catcher Will Smith. “Throw him in the fire, big situation, we’re up 2-0, but they were threatening. And he was able to get out of it.”
When the Dodgers landed Flaherty as the centerpiece of their trade deadline haul on Tuesday — acquiring what many believed was the best pitcher to be dealt on this year’s trade market — they immediately saddled the veteran right-hander with weighty late-season expectations.
The Dodgers needed Flaherty to be a top-of-the-rotation pitcher and solidify a rotation unsettled by key absences (including Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Walker Buehler) and recent underperformances (epitomized by clunkers from Clayton Kershaw and Gavin Stone earlier this week).
They were counting on him to be an October weapon, the kind they’d lacked too often in recent postseason failures.
And, right from the jump, they also needed a strong team debut out of the Harvard-Westlake product, hopeful Flaherty could halt a recent 2-6 skid that had eaten into Dodgers’ once-comfortable National League West lead.
“I’m looking forward to seeing Jack take the baseball,” manager Dave Roberts said Friday night on the eve of Flaherty’s first Dodgers start, “and be a stopper for us.”
In what was arguably the Dodgers’ best starting pitching performance since last month’s All-Star break, Flaherty proved to be just that — if not a little bit more.
With a 93-mph fastball and devastating duo of sliders and curveballs, the L.A. native mostly cruised through his first game with his hometown team. He worked around a pair of softly hit singles in the first inning, retiring the side with back-to-back strikeouts. He sat down 12 of 13 hitters between the second and fifth innings, with the lone base hit coming on a line drive that ricocheted off his lower right leg (after a quick check from the trainer, Flaherty stayed in the game).
The sixth-inning jam was hardly his fault, either, with Cavan Biggio committing a throwing error and JJ Bleday dropping a bloop single into left field before a Brent Rooker walk loaded the bags with no outs.
At that point, Flaherty had thrown 90 pitches. The Dodgers’ lead was only 2-0. And left-hander Alex Vesia was warming in the bullpen.
Roberts, however, stayed put in the dugout. Three batters later, his faith in Flaherty was rewarded.
“He earned an opportunity to take down a couple more hitters,” the manager said.
Three batters later, the faith in Flaherty was rewarded.
Saturday included other changes for the Dodgers — and not just because they grew their division lead (from four to 4½ games) for the first time in almost a week.
Athletics second baseman Darell Hernaiz (2) is unable to catch a throw from catcher Shea Langeliers as Dodger Shohei Ohtani (17) steals second during the ninth inning Saturday in Oakland.
(Godofredo A. Vásquez / Associated Press)
Roberts mixed up his lineup pregame, flipping slumping Will Smith and steady Teoscar Hernández in the Nos. 2 and 4 spots of the batting order. The Dodgers’ shorthanded offense capitalized on several opportunities as well, getting a two-run, two-out single from Gavin Lux in the third inning before tacking on two insurance runs in the eighth and six more in the ninth.
“It just felt like the offense relaxed a little bit and passed the baton,” Roberts said. “I thought there were more team at-bats tonight.”
Shohei Ohtani reached another milestone in his monster season, too, stealing three bases to become the first Dodger with a 30-homer, 30-steal season since Matt Kemp in 2011, and just the third overall (Raul Mondesi did it twice in 1999 and 1997).
Amid all that, though, Flaherty’s dominance was the most encouraging storyline — providing the Dodgers exactly what they needed to end their recent slide, and an example of what they’ll want from their newest, veteran arm the rest of the season.
“For him to go six innings scoreless was a huge lift,” Roberts said. “If we’re expecting him to do what he expects into October, he’s got to be able to manage stress. And he did a fantastic job.”
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The 2026 NBA Draft finally saw the top college prospects get chosen along with some friendly fire among ESPN and basketball analysts on Tuesday night.
Jay Williams, Richard Jefferson and Kenny Smith were among those covering the draft and offering their analysis during the event. One exchange among the three former NBA players went awry and led to an awkward moment.
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Jay Williams of the Chicago Bulls and Tony Parker of the San Antonio Spurs share a laugh during the 2003 got milk? Rookie Challenge Game at Phillips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, on Feb. 8, 2003. (Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE)
ESPN recalled the moments each former player was drafted. Smith went No. 6 overall in 1987 to the Sacramento Kings, Richard Jefferson was selected at No. 13 by the Houston Rockets before being traded to the New Jersey Nets in 2001 and Williams was chosen No. 2 overall by the Chicago Bulls in 2001. Williams’ career was cut short due to a motorcycle crash.
ESPN’s Kevin Negandhi asked why Williams received a big ovation. Williams explained that most people who had gone to Duke were from the New York or New Jersey area.
“They also didn’t see the future coming, so they were cheering,” Jefferson said.
Williams responded, “Wow.”
TNT basketball analyst Kenny Smith appears on air before the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Final Four semifinal game between the Purdue Boilermakers and the North Carolina State Wolfpack at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., on April 6, 2024. (Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
Smith admitted that Williams was an “unbelievable talent” but “his career trajectory would’ve been a lot different if he didn’t like motorcycles.”
Williams tried to brush it off, saying all of what Smith was saying was “on record” and that he “wrote a book about it.”
“I guess everybody that goes to Duke isn’t that smart,” Jefferson quipped. “What? He wrote a book about it. I’m agreeing with him.”
The awkwardness filled the air after that as the Toronto Raptors were getting ready to make a selection.
Williams’ incident occurred in June 2003. He suffered a fractured pelvis, three torn ligaments in his knee and he severed a nerve in his leg. Williams violated the terms of his contract by riding the motorcycle in the first place.
Referee Richard Jefferson watches the game between the New York Knicks and Portland Trail Blazers during the 2022 Las Vegas Summer League at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nev., on July 11, 2022. (Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images)
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He tried to make his way back into the NBA through the G League but never got there. He played 75 games for the Bulls in his rookie season and averaged 9.5 points per game.
Major League Baseball says it has no concerns about Dodgers and Rams head team physician Dr. Neal ElAttrache working with players.
ElAttrache was questioned by MLB on June 12 following a detailed report by the New York Times that the renowned surgeon and sports medicine expert supported the therapeutic use of performance-enhancing drugs by UFC star Conor McGregor.
“MLB took our responsibility to conduct due diligence in this matter seriously. We interviewed Dr. Neal ElAttrache last week, covering multiple topics, and he answered our questions thoroughly,” MLB said in a statement obtained by The Times Tuesday night.
“Based on our interview, the review of relevant records, Dr. ElAttrache’s long history of support for and cooperation with the Joint Drug Program and the fact that no Therapeutic Use Exemption requests of this nature have been submitted by Dr. ElAttrache or anyone else, we do not have any concerns regarding Dr. ElAttrache’s treatment of MLB players, or his adherence to the Joint Drug Programs and related rules.
“We consider this matter closed.”
ElAttrache performed surgery on McGregor in July 2021, inserting a rod, plates and screws into his left leg after the fighter broke his tibia and fibula during a mixed martial arts bout against Dustin Poirier in Las Vegas.
McGregor’s recovery was lengthy and arduous. ElAttrache told the New York Times that while he did not prescribe steroids for McGregor, he referred him to a specialist who did. Furthermore, ElAttrache wrote a letter supporting McGregor’s request for a therapeutic use exemption from UFC drug policies.
“I felt it would be appropriate to consult other physicians with expertise in bone healing/bone metabolism,” ElAttrache told the New York Times via text. “I recommended the consultations but not the course of treatment.”
ElAttrache said he told McGregor to check with UFC drug testers about prescriptions the consultant gave him. “I purposely wasn’t involved with his evaluation by the consultant nor with prescribing medication,” ElAttrache said.
The exemption request was denied by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, the drug testing organization the UFC used at the time, triggering a split between the two organizations. McGregor withdrew from the UFC anti-doping program shortly thereafter and no longer was required to undergo testing for banned substances.
The report prompted MLB to talk with ElAttrache about his approach to treating players.
ElAttrache, operating primarily out of the Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic in Los Angeles, has performed elbow or shoulder surgeries on prominent Dodgers past and present, including Shohei Ohtani, Clayton Kershaw, Tony Gonsolin and Walker Buehler as well as former Rams stars Cooper Kupp and Cam Akers.
Among the hundreds of surgeries performed over three decades by ElAttrache, his patients include the four 2024 MLB most valuable player and Cy Young Award winners — Ohtani, Aaron Judge, Chris Sale and Tarik Skubal. ElAttrache’s patients include 18 of 29 players who won the MVP or Cy Young awards over the past 10 years.
“I have spoken with MLB and I am very comfortable with the process that the league and I will complete to assure the public that I have followed every rule and regulation in my medical treatment of athletes without exception,” ElAttrache said in a statement to the Los Angeles Times earlier this month. “My record is completely clean, including in this case.”
Times staff writers Steve Henson, Bill Shaikin, Sam Farmer and Gary Klein contributed to this report.
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As expected, the Washington Wizards have begun the 2026 NBA Draft by selecting BYU’s AJ Dybantsa with the first overall pick.
In a draft class loaded with “cant-miss prospects,” Dybantsa stood out above the rest, as the 6-foot-9, 217-pound forward put on a show with the Cougars in his one and only collegiate season.
Dybantsa averaged 25.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.1 steals per game, while shooting 51% from the field for BYU. He became the fifth Division-1 player in the last 40 seasons to average at least 25 points while shooting 50% from the field in a single season.
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