Kershaw could start Game 4
Dodgers’ ace will take ball if his back is better
Clayton Kershaw is a likely possibility to start Game 4 of the National League Championship Series for the Los Angeles Dodgers if the left-hander’s back continues to improve, manager Dave Roberts said Wednesday.
Kershaw was scratched from the Game 2 start because of back spasms, and Roberts decided to stick with left-hander Julio Urias for Game 3 against Atlanta on Wednesday night. Game 4 of the neutral-site series in Texas is Thursday night.
“Every day it’s been better,” Roberts said of Kershaw’s back. “I can’t just sit here right now and say he’s going to start tomorrow. I think if it progresses the way it has, it’s a likely possibility. But again, this is making sure Clayton feels good tomorrow when he wakes up and the training staff gives us our blessing as well.”
Following losses by the Dodgers in the first two games, the three-time NL Cy Young Award winner threw in the outfield before Game 3.
White Sox: The Los Angeles Angels granted the Chicago White Sox permission to interview Hall of Famer Tony La Russa for their managing job, a person familiar with the situation said Wednesday. The person, confirming a USA Today report, spoke on the condition of anonymity because the Angels typically do not comment on personnel matters. A three-time World Series-winning manager, the 76-year-old La Russa joined the Angels prior to this season as senior advisor of baseball operations. The White Sox agreed to split with Rick Renteria after a disappointing finish to a breakthrough season in which Chicago
made the playoffs for the first time since 2008. La Russa, who started his managing career with the White Sox during the 1979 season, hasn’t managed since 2011, when he led St. Louis past Texas in the World Series. He also won championships with Oakland in 1989 and the Cardinals in 2006. If hired, he would be the oldest manager in the major leagues by five years. Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker is 71. La Russa is 2,7282,365 with six pennants over 33 seasons with Chicago, Oakland and St. Louis and was enshrined in Cooperstown in 2014. Only Hall of Famers Connie Mack (3,731) and John Mcgraw (2,763) have more victories.
Hank Aaron award: A breakout season and a batting title put two stars from the Big Apple in the running for one of MLB’S most prestigious awards. Dominic Smith of the Mets and DJ Lemahieu of the Yankees were named two of the 14 finalists for this year’s Hank Aaron Award, which is given to each league’s top offensive contributor. Smith built on
an encouraging 2019 season as a Mets role player shadowing by emerging as an everyday force in Queens. The 25-yearold first baseman hit .316 with 10 home runs and 42 RBI. Smith slugged .616, fourth in the National League, and edged out Pete Alonso for the majority of playing time at first base. Meanwhile, Lemahieu’s performance was in many ways superior to his stellar 2019 campaign, where he finished fourth in the American League MVP voting. The veteran infielder posted a .364 batting average, tops in baseball, making him the first to win batting titles in both leagues. Lemahieu posted career highs in OBP (.421) and slugging percentage (.590) in the final year of his two-year deal with the Yankees and is expected to be one of the most enticing names in free agency. The Hank Aaron Award, which was established in 1999, is named after the longtime baseball home run king, who hit 755 home runs, a record that stood for 31 years until Barry Bonds eclipsed it in 2007.