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Dodgers swept in San Diego as Clayton Kershaw struggles

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Dodgers swept in San Diego as Clayton Kershaw struggles


SAN DIEGO — The windup looks the same, his arms stretching toward the sky and one leg paused in mid-air before delivery. The stuff coming out does not.

In his second start since returning from shoulder surgery, Clayton Kershaw was roughed up by the San Diego Padres for seven runs and failed to get through four innings in an 8-1 loss for the Dodgers on Wednesday night.

“Not very good,” Kershaw said afterward. “Just not a lot went well at all. Just got to pitch better.”

The same could apply to the Dodgers as a whole.

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The surging Padres completed a sweep of the two-game series and have won nine of their past 10 games. The Dodgers finished with a losing record in July (11-13), their first losing record over a full calendar month since April 2018.

The combination has pulled the Padres to within 4½ games of the Dodgers in the National League West – the smallest the Dodgers’ lead has been since May 4.

“It’s a long year,” Dodgers catcher Will Smith said. “There’s going to be injuries. There’s going to be tough times. There’s going to be good times which have been this year. So, yeah, it’s part of it. We’ll come out of it. No doubt about it. We’re the Dodgers. We’re the best team in baseball.”

There has been precious little evidence of that recently – and even farther back than just July. Since May 20, they are 30-29, the ninth-best record in the National League.

“The defense I love. We’re playing hard. I think offensively, the guys we run out there are prepared. They’re putting good at-bats together,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “Overall, the pitching in general, we just haven’t had the effectiveness, the command. There’s a lot more homers in the last 30 days, in the month of July. The walk is up from all the pitchers. And it just puts a lot of stress on the offense.

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“Yeah, we’re going to get back to health. I still like the guys we got. I still feel good every time we start a game. But we still have to go out there and play 27 outs.”

Kershaw could only get 11 of those against the Padres.

When Kershaw made his comeback start against the San Francisco Giants last Thursday, he allowed six hits in four innings – but he also struck out six and got 14 swings-and-misses in all, eight on his slider.

There was none of that against the Padres. He didn’t strike out a batter – the first time in his career that Kershaw started a regular-season game and didn’t record a strikeout. He didn’t get a swing-and-miss until his 23rd pitch (a slider to Padres catcher Luis Campusano) and got just one more (on the 81st of his 83 pitches).

In his four innings against the Giants, Kershaw’s fastball averaged 90.6 mph – in line with his average fastball over the three seasons before shoulder surgery. Against the Padres, it dipped below 90 mph.

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“Just wasn’t executing,” Kershaw said. “Wasn’t throwing really anything that I wanted to, where I wanted to. Frustrating overall.”

Roberts said it’s not surprising that Kershaw’s return from surgery would have its bumps.

“I think it’s hard to ever bet again Clayton,” he said. “The last one (against the Giants) I thought was very good and tonight just wasn’t great. I think he’ll be the first to say that. But it’s part of the process. I just don’t think that anyone can expect him to come back and be lights out every start out, certainly after two starts.”

Kershaw acknowledged that there might be some rust after rehab.

“Physically I feel fine,” he said. “I mean honestly I felt pretty good with the last one overall. But this one obviously, this was really bad. I didn’t think there was rust, but maybe. I don’t know. Just got to pitch better.

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“There’s a lot you can overanalyze when you pitch bad, but for right now I’m just going to say it was bad and try to pitch better the next one.”

Kershaw’s troubles started in the second inning when the Padres scored four times on three singles, a walk and a wild pitch. Kershaw could have limited the damage but he fumbled Bryce Johnson’s squeeze bunt, allowing a run to score and extending the inning for Jurickson Profar’s two-out RBI single.

“I gotta make that play,” Kershaw said. “That was an easy out at home right there. The bunt was right back to me. Have to make that play, and the inning’s a lot different. That’s on me. That was super easy. That was a super frustrating mistake there.”

He retired the side in the third but gave up a one-out home run to Campusano in the fourth and then singles to Johnson and Profar wrapped around an error by second baseman Gavin Lux. After Xander Bogaerts drove in the third run of the inning with a sacrifice fly, Roberts pulled Kershaw rather than have him face Manny Machado for the third time in four innings.

Four of the Padres’ runs off Kershaw were unearned, still leaving him with a 5.87 ERA after two starts. More troubling perhaps, the two lineups he has faced have batted .333 (12 for 36) against him.

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“I just think it’s executing it, where it’s getting to,” Smith said. “It’s nothing concerning to me at all. It was just one of those days.”

Padres starter Dylan Cease was making his first start since pitching a no-hitter against the Washington Nationals and a three-start stretch in which he allowed a total of two hits in 22 innings. Cease was not as dominant. He only went 5⅔ innings and needed 101 pitches (only 59 strikes) to do that.

But the Dodgers managed just one run against him on an RBI double by Lux in the third inning. They struck out six times against Cease and four more times in 3⅓ hitless innings against the Padres’ bullpen.

While losing four of the first five games on this road trip (which continues in Oakland this weekend), the Dodgers’ depleted lineup has managed 31 hits while striking out 66 times.

“Those guys – Mookie, Muncy, Freddie, other guys – those are dudes. Those are dudes that help us win ballgames so it’s tough,” Smith said of the key parts missing from the Dodgers’ lineup. “We still have a really good ballclub here without those guys. We just need to play better and win some ballgames.”

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San Diego, CA

Anders Dreyer leads San Diego to win in 1st MLS game, 2-0 over defending champion LA Galaxy

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Anders Dreyer leads San Diego to win in 1st MLS game, 2-0 over defending champion LA Galaxy


Anders Dreyer scored two goals and San Diego FC had a successful Major League Soccer debut, beating the defending MLS Cup champion LA Galaxy 2-0 on Sunday.

Dreyer took advantage of a turnover for the first goal in the 52nd minute. Galaxy defender Emiro Garces slipped after taking a pass from goalkeeper Novak Micovic in the box. Lozano pounced on the loose ball and fired a pass to Dreyer, whose left-footed shot beat Micovic.

The forward sealed the match on a breakaway goal in the 92nd minute.

CJ dos Santos made three saves to get the shutout.

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San Diego is the 10th club to join MLS since 2017, but only the third to win its first match, joining Los Angeles FC (2018) and St. Louis City (2023).

Miguel Berry had the Galaxy’s best chance, a point-blank shot in the 79th minute that dos Santos turned away.

It was the Galaxy’s first loss at Dignity Health Park since the 2023 season finale. The six-time MLS Cup champs were missing forward Joseph Paintsil (quad) and midfielder Riqui Puig (knee). Puig is not expected back until early summer.

Micovic had four saves for the Galaxy.

San Diego plays its first home game on Saturday against St. Louis, but MLS commissioner Don Garber was happy to see a good amount of fans make the drive north. San Diego supporters filled four sections in the upper deck.

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“There are many things that have taken a long time to achieve. Getting San Diego into the league has been a long-term goal and objective,” Garber said before the game. “Our league has to constantly remind ourselves we are new, better to get it right than done fast. And ensure when it does happen that you are clicking on all cylinders.”



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San Diego, CA

San Diego City Councilmember proposing $25 minimum wage for tourism workers

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San Diego City Councilmember proposing  minimum wage for tourism workers


San Diego City Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera is calling for a substantial bump in pay for tourism workers.

Councilmember Elo-Rivera will propose a $25 minimum wage for hotel, event center and janitorial service workers at Thursday’s Select Committee on Addressing Cost of Living, according to the committee’s staff report.

The proposed ordinance will also increase that minimum wage each year based on the increase to cost of living measured by the Consumer Price Index or its successor index as established by the U.S. Department of Labor. It will also make sure it matches the federal or state minimum wage if wages of relevant occupations exceeds the city’s minimum wage.

“San Diego should work for the people who make it work. I’m committed to fighting to make sure that the people who fuel our economy can afford to live here. The hotel, event center, and janitorial workers who are the backbone of our multi-billion-dollar tourism industry are barely scraping by while out-of-town corporations’ profit off their labor,” Councilmember Elo-Rivera’s staff said in a statement to NBC 7.

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If passed and implemented, around 8,000 local hotel industry workers would be affected by the pay hike, according to Bridgette Browning, the president of Unite Local 30.

“We keep the tourism industry going and the truth is our members are really struggling to pay their bills,” Browning said.

The economic impact to the local economy remains to be seen.

“When the minimum wage is increased, there can be winners and losers. So, the workers who make the minimum wage are winners, they’re better off. As a result of that, they have more money to spend and that could give a boost then to the local economy. The losers are potentially then the businesses that employ those workers,” said Alan Smith, a professor of economics at University of San Diego.

If passed by the committee and the full San Diego City Council, the proposed ordinance would go into effect Jan. 1, 2026.

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San Diego, CA

More road repairs happening in San Diego neighborhoods

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More road repairs happening in San Diego neighborhoods


San Diego is giving its streets a much-needed facelift.

If you live in Otay Mesa, Skyline, Paradise Hills, Golden Hill, or North Park, get ready for some road improvements.

Thanks to the city’s ongoing slurry seal program, part of an overall effort to repair and resurface roads citywide, these neighborhoods will soon be smoother and safer. They include Peterlynn Drive, Palm Avenue, Beyer Boulevard, 32nd Street and others.

Slurry seal is a cost-effective way to extend the life of streets that are still in good shape. It’s a mix of asphalt emulsion, sand, and rock, applied in a thin layer to prevent cracks and potholes from forming.

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Not all streets get resurfaced at the same time. The city decides based on a Pavement Condition Index score, which rates roads based on cracks and roughness. Other factors include how much traffic a street gets, whether it connects to public transit and past maintenance history.

The latest work will be completed, weather permitting, in March.

Residents can also view a map of past, current, and future street repairs in their neighborhood by visiting the city’s interactive StreetsSD map here.



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