The Sports Report: Dodgers clinch another division title

Howdy, I’m your host, Houston Mitchell. Let’s get right to the news.

From Jack Harris: The scene was familiar, as the Dodgers poured out of their dugout Thursday night in celebration of a National League West title, one they clinched with a 7-2 defeat of the San Diego Padres at Dodger Stadium.

However, this accomplishment — the franchise’s 22nd division championship, and 11th in the last 12 years — felt a little different.

Even though it came on the same night one of their star players got hurt.

After trailing 2-0 entering the seventh inning, the Dodgers surged to life with a familiarly explosive offensive outburst. Will Smith got the game tied, jumping all over a down-the-middle fastball from Padres starter Joe Musgrove for a two-run homer to center. Shohei Ohtani put the Dodgers in front, sneaking a go-ahead RBI single through the right side of the infield. Mookie Betts added an exclamation point, slapping a two-run single the other way en route to the Dodgers’ 41st comeback win of the season.

Moments later, however, came a moment of concern.

As he tried to avoid a tag at first base, veteran slugger Freddie Freeman badly rolled his right ankle two steps past the bag. The eight-time All-Star and former MVP immediately collapsed to the ground in seemingly serious pain. He walked off the field under his own power, but walked gingerly back to the clubhouse as a hush fell upon a sellout crowd.

Andrew Friedman, the Dodgers’ president of baseball operations, said X-rays on Freeman’s ankle were negative and that team wasn’t overly worried, but added that Freeman won’t play this weekend against Colorado. Freeman was on crutches and wearing a walking boot during the Dodgers’ postgame celebration.

“Man, I’m telling you, I couldn’t be more proud of these guys,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said during an on-field postgame interview with Spectrum SportsNet. “They fought and fought, overcame adversity. And we checked box No. 1. Long way to go, but we’re going to celebrate tonight.”

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Check out all of our Dodgers division title coverage here

Dodgers box score

MLB scores

MLB standings

ANGELS

The Chicago White Sox averted a record-breaking loss for the third straight day, beating the Angels 7-0 on Thursday behind Chris Flexen’s sharp pitching performance.

Chicago improved to 39-120 with its three-game sweep of the Angels. It has been tied with the 1962 New York Mets for the modern major league record for losses since Sunday’s 4-2 setback at San Diego.

“We’ve played really good baseball these last three games, so it’s really good to see,” first baseman Andrew Vaughn said.

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Angels box score

MLB scores

MLB standings

KINGS

Kings defenseman Drew Doughty is undergoing further testing because of a lower-body injury he sustained in a preseason game at the Vegas Golden Knights.

Doughty hurt his left leg Wednesday when he slammed into the boards while engaged with Golden Knights forward Tanner Pearson in the first period of a 3-2 win. Doughty was in a protective boot and using a knee scooter to get around the team facility on Thursday.

“You don’t want to have Drew out for an extended period of time, but that’s just a sad reality now and we’re gonna have to deal with it,” Kings center and captain Anze Kopitar said.

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DUCKS

Ducks goaltender John Gibson is likely to miss the start of the regular season after undergoing an appendectomy.

The 31-year-old Gibson had the emergency surgery Wednesday night. He will be out for three to six weeks, the Ducks announced Thursday.

Gibson has spent most of the past decade as the Ducks’ top goalie, going 193-206-61 with a 2.90 goals-against average and a .910 save percentage in an NHL career spent entirely in Anaheim. The three-time All-Star went 13-27-2 last year with a career-worst .888 save percentage as the Ducks missed the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season.

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WNBA PLAYOFFS

Semifinals
All times Pacific

No. 1 New York (32-8) vs, No. 4 Las Vegas (27-13)
Sunday at New York, noon, ESPN
Tuesday at New York, TBD
Friday, Oct. 4 at Las Vegas, 6:30 p.m., ESPN2
*Sunday, Oct. 6 at Las Vegas, TBD
*Tuesday, Oct. 8 at New York, TBD, ESPN2

No. 2 Minnesota (30-10) vs. No. 3 Connecticut (28-12)
Sunday at Minnesota, 5:30 p.m., ESPN
Tuesday at Minnesota, TBD
Friday, Oct. 4 at Connecticut, 4:30 p.m., ESPN2
*Sunday, Oct. 6 at Connecticut, TBD
*Tuesday, Oct. 8 at Minnesota, TBD, ESPN2

*-if necessary

THIS DATE IN SPORTS

1947 — Armed, then the world’s leading money-winning thoroughbred, meets 1946 Kentucky Derby winner Assault in the first $100,000 winner-take-all match race, held at Belmont Park. Armed earns an easy victory over Assault, who was not in peak racing condition.

1950 — Ezzard Charles wins a unanimous 15-round decision over Joe Louis at Yankee Stadium in New York to retain the world heavyweight title.

1973 — Nolan Ryan of the Angels strikes out 16 in 11 innings, for record 383 for the season.

1975 — Kansas quarterback Nolan Cromwell rushes for an NCAA record 294 yards in a 20-0 victory over Oregon State.

1987 — NFL players’ strike begins in the U.S.

1988 — American diver Greg Louganis wins the 10m platform gold medal at the Seoul Olympics; wraps up diving double after also taking out the 3m springboard gold.

1988 — Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson is disqualified from the Seoul Olympics 100m after his urine sample found to contain steroid stanozolol; American Carl Lewis awarded gold medal and world record 9.92.

1992 — World champion Nigel Mansell sets a single-season victory record, leading from start to finish in the Portuguese Grand Prix for his ninth win of the Formula One season.

1998 — Mark McGwire gives baseball a new magic number, hitting two homers to reach No. 70 in the St. Louis Cardinals’ season finale against Montreal. It’s McGwire’s fifth homer in the season-ending, three-game series. McGwire’s 70th and final home run of the season was a line shot over the left-field wall on a first-pitch fastball from Carl Pavano in the seventh.

2000 — The Women’s British Open is elevated to major championship status on the LPGA Tour, replacing the du Maurier Classic. The other majors are the Nabisco Championship, the LPGA Championship and the U.S. Open.

2000 — United States baseball team, managed by Tommy Lasorda, wins Olympic Gold Medal in Sydney, Australia.

2003 — B.J. Symons of Texas Tech throws for 661 yards — a school and Big 12 record — and six touchdowns, in the Red Raiders’ 49-45 win over Mississippi.

2009 — Japan’s Kimiko Date Krumm becomes the oldest winner of a WTA Tour tournament since Billie Jean King in 1983. Date Krumm, who turns 39 on Sept. 28, beats second-seeded Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-3, 6-3 for the Korea Open title. King was 39 years, 7 months, 23 days when she won at Birmingham, England.

2009 — With rookie quarterback Matthew Stafford leading the way, Detroit ends a 19-game losing streak with a 19-14 victory over the Washington Redskins. The Lions had not won since Dec. 23, 2007, and their skid matched the second longest in NFL history.

2018 — Jared Goff passes for career highs of 465 yards and five touchdowns, winning a scintillating duel with his Minnesota counterpart Kirk Cousins and leading the unbeaten Rams to a 38-31 victory over the Vikings. Cousins passes for 422 yards and three touchdowns.

Compiled by the Associated Press