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From Mike DiGiovanna: It took all of seven pitches for Dodgers right-hander Walker Buehler to exceed the expectations of manager Dave Roberts, who prefaced Buehler’s first major league start in 23 months Monday night by saying, “I don’t expect to see the 96-97 mph that he had before [Tommy John] surgery.”
After completing his warmup pitches with Rage Against the Machine’s “Bulls on Parade” blaring on the Dodger Stadium public-address system, Buehler went into his windup with the signature high leg-kick and fired his first pitch, a 96-mph fastball, by Miami leadoff hitter Jazz Chisholm Jr. for strike one.
Buehler hit 97 mph with his seventh pitch of the game, a fastball that Chisholm fouled off, and just for good measure, Buehler touched 97.6 mph with his eighth pitch, which was also fouled off by Chisholm.
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The rest of his return from a nearly two-year absence was a bit of a mixed bag, with Buehler getting tagged for three runs and five hits in the first two innings before blanking the Marlins in the third and fourth, but there was plenty from Buehler during a 6-3 victory over the Marlins for the Dodgers to be encouraged about.
Buehler needed 49 pitches to complete the first two innings, in which he gave up RBI singles to Bryan De La Cruz and Jesus Sanchez in the first and Nick Gordon’s solo home run — which a leaping right fielder Andy Pages got his glove on before it bounced over the wall — in the second.
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Dodgers put Joe Kelly on injured list because of shoulder strain
‘Ownership of the game’: Former Dodgers ace Walker Buehler is ready to return
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CLIPPERS
From Broderick Turner: The 2023-24 season ended in disappointment yet again for the Clippers and now they will turn their attention to next season and how they can reach their goal of winning an NBA championship with a core group that’s getting older.
It’ll start with Lawrence Frank, the Clippers’ president of basketball operations, his front-office staff and owner Steve Ballmer having to make some decisions on the best path forward.
The Clippers and Paul Gerorge were unable to reach a contract extension during the season, which means he can become a free agent if he opts out of a contract that would pay him $48.7 million next season.
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James Harden, who made $35 million this season and whom the Clippers acquired from the Philadelphia 76ers in October, will be an unrestricted free agent this summer. Russell Westbrook has a player option for next season of $4.027 million.
Along with a healthy Kawhi Leonard, Frank said the team would like to bring back the entire group, along with giving Clippers coach Tyronn Lue an extension.
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NBA PLAYOFFS SCHEDULE
All times Pacific
Second round
Western Conference
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No. 1 Oklahoma City vs. No. 5 Dallas
Tuesday at Oklahoma City, 6:30 p.m., TNT
Thursday at Oklahoma City, 6:30 p.m., ESPN
Saturday at Dallas, 12:30 p.m., ABC
Monday at Dallas, 6:30 p.m., TNT
*Wed., May 15 at Oklahoma City, TBD, TNT
*Saturday, May 18 at Dallas, 5:30 p.m., ESPN
*Monday, May 20 at Oklahoma City, 5:30 p.m., TNT
No. 2 Denver vs. No. 3 Minnesota
Minnesota 106, at Denver 99 (box score)
Minnesota 106, at Denver 80 (box score)
Friday at Minnesota, 6:30 p.m., ESPN
Sunday at Minnesota, 5 p.m., TNT
*Tuesday, May 14 at Denver, TBD, TNT
*Thursday, May 16 at Minnesota, 5:30 p.m., ESPN
*Sunday, May 19 at Denver, TBD, TBD
Eastern Conference
No. 1 Boston vs. No. 4 Cleveland
Tuesday at Boston, 4 p.m., TNT
Thursday at Boston, 4 p.m., ESPN
Saturday at Cleveland, 5:30 p.m., ABC
Monday at Cleveland, 4 p.m., TNT
*Wed., May 15 at Boston, TBD, TNT
*Friday, May 17 at Cleveland, TBD, ESPN
*Sunday, May 19 at Boston, TBD, TBD
No. 2 New York vs. No. 6 Indiana
at New York 121, Indiana 117 (box score)
Wednesday at New York, 5 p.m., TNT
Friday at Indiana, 4 p.m., ESPN
Sunday at Indiana, 12:30 p.m., ABC
*Tuesday, May 13 at New York, TBD, TNT
*Friday, May 17 at Indiana, TBD, ESPN
*Sunday, May 19 at New York, TBD, TBD
*-if necessary
ANGELS
Edward Olivares hit his first career grand slam and Mitch Keller pitched a five-hitter to lead the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 4-1 victory over the Angels on Monday night.
Olivares’ slam came off Tyler Anderson in the third inning to break a scoreless tie as the Pirates went on to their third consecutive victory following a five-game losing streak. The Angels lost for the 14th time in 17 games.
Angels manager Ron Washington felt the turning point came an inning after the slam when Nolan Schanuel was thrown out at home when he tried to score from first base on a Mickey Moniak double.
“They just scored four runs and we’ve got to be sure we score that run, if not then we have two runners in scoring position with no outs and our big hitters coming out,” Washington said. “(Anderson) deserved better than that. Our starting pitching is really starting to come around and we need to support them by not taking ourselves out of innings.”
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KINGS
From Kevin Baxter: For all those disappointed with the Kings’ third straight exit from the NHL playoffs in the first round, Rob Blake, the team’s general manager, has a message: He feels your pain.
“Just a very difficult end to the season,” Blake said Monday in his first public comments since the Kings were eliminated from the postseason by the Edmonton Oilers last Wednesday. “A lot of disappointment, a lot of frustration, a lot of anger. I don’t think we performed at nearly the level we needed to to have success in the playoffs.”
As for what he intends to do about that, check back this summer. Because while Blake’s news conference was long on frustration and disappointment, it was short on the specific steps he plans to take to fix things.
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DUCKS
From Chuck Schilken: Ducks goaltender coach Sudarshan “Sudsie” Maharaj threw a party for family and friends near his home in Toronto over the weekend.
He had plenty to celebrate.
“It’s not a tradition here in Canada as much as it is in the U.S., but some people will know what it means when I do this,” Maharaj said before picking up a hand bell and ringing it several times.
His guests erupted in cheers, as many of them knew exactly what it meant.
“For those who don’t know, I saw the oncologist yesterday,” Maharaj continued, “and I was declared cancer-free.”
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NHL PLAYOFFS SCHEDULE
All times Pacific
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Second round
Western Conference
C1 Dallas vs. C3 Colorado
Tuesday at Dallas, 6:30 p.m., ESPN
Thursday at Dallas, 6:30 p.m., TNT
Saturday at Colorado, TBD, TNT
Monday at Colorado, TBD, ESPN
*Wed., May 15 at Dallas, TBD
*Friday, May 17 at Colorado
*Sunday, May 19 at Dallas, TBD
P1 Vancouver vs. P2 Edmonton
Wednesday at Vancouver, 7 p.m., ESPN
Friday at Vancouver, 7 p.m., ESPN
Sunday at Edmonton, TBD, TBS
Tuesday, May 14 at Edmonton, TBD, ESPN
*Thursday, May 5 at Vancouver, TBD
*Saturday, May 18 at Edmonton, TBD
*Monday, May 20 at Vancouver, TBD
Eastern Conference
M1 New York Rangers vs. M2 Carolina
at New York 4, Carolina 3 (box score)
Tuesday at New York, 4 p.m., ESPN
Thursday at Carolina, 4 p.m., TNT
Saturday at Carolina, TBD, TNT
*Monday at New York, TBD
*Thursday, May 16 at Carolina, TBD
*Saturday, May 18, at New York, TBD
A1 Florida vs. A2 Boston
Boston 5, at Florida 1 (box score)
Wednesday at Florida, 4:30 p.m., ESPN
Friday at Boston, 4 p.m., TNT
Sunday at Boston, TBD, TBS
*Tuesday, May 14 at Florida, TBD
*Friday, May 17 at Boston, TBD
*Sunday, May 19 at Floria, TBD
*-if necessary
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1955 — Swaps, ridden by Willie Shoemaker, wins the Kentucky Derby by 1 1/2 lengths over Nashua.
1969 — 2nd ABA championship: Oakland Oaks beat Indiana Pacers, 4 games to 1.
1972 — The Los Angeles Lakers win their first NBA championship with a 114-100 victory over the New York Knicks in Game 5.
1977 — Heavily favored Seattle Slew, ridden by Jean Cruguet, wins the Kentucky Derby by 1 3/4 lengths over Run Dusty Run.
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1988 — Winning Colors, ridden by Gary Stevens, leads from start to finish to win the Kentucky Derby by a neck, becoming the first roan and the third filly to win the race.
1989 — Chicago’s Michael Jordan hits an 18-foot shot over the outstretched fingertips of Craig Ehlo to give the Bulls a 101-100 victory in the deciding Game 5 of their 1989 Eastern Conference first-round playoff series against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
1993 — Wayne Gretzky of the Kings scores his 100th and 101st playoff goals in a 7-4 win over the Vancouver Canucks.
1994 — The Denver Nuggets, with a 98-94 overtime win against the No. 1-seeded Seattle SuperSonics, become the first eighth-seeded playoff team to win a series. The Nuggets come back from an 0-2 deficit in the best-of-5 series.
1995 — Reggie Miller scores eight points in the last 16 seconds to lead the Indiana Pacers to a 107-105 win over the New York Knicks in the second-round opener of the NBA playoffs.
2005 — Giacomo, a 50-1 shot, wins the Kentucky Derby, running down a game Afleet Alex in the final strides and generating a huge payoff. Closing Argument, a 70-1 shot, finishes second with Afleet Alex third.
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2005 — Dallas’ 116-76 victory over Houston is the most lopsided Game 7 score in NBA history. The Mavericks are the third team in playoff history to win a seven-game series after losing the first two games at home.
2016 — Nyquist won the Kentucky Derby by 1 1/4 lengths, improving to 8-0 in his career as the fourth consecutive favorite to win the race. Ridden by Mario Gutierrez, Nyquist finished in 2:01.31. The 3-year-old colt became the eighth unbeaten winner in the race’s 142-year history.
2021 — Cincinnati Reds pitcher Wade Miley no-hits Cleveland Indians, 3-0 at Progressive Field, Cleveland.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time...
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com, and follow me on Twitter at @latimeshouston. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
