The Sports Report: A.J. Pollock elbows his way out of Dodgers lineup

Hello everyone. My name is Houston Mitchell, and I’m announcing my candidacy for president. I figure I’ll get the same number of delegates as half these people running, and I won’t have to spend a dime! In the meantime, here are some of the things going on in the sports world.

Dodgers

When the Dodgers signed A.J. Pollock in the offseason, a lot of fans were unhappy that they would spend money on a player who spends more time injured than playing. But the Dodgers reassured everyone that those were fluke injuries involving broken bones and not a sign on an injury-prone player.

Well, one of those fluke injuries have come back to haunt Pollock and the Dodgers.

Pollock, who signed a four-year, $55-million deal last winter, developed a bacterial infection in his bursa sac after bumping his elbow last week in Chicago and was put on the 10-day injured list Tuesday. But he’ll be out a lot longer than that.

You see, the elbow with the infection is the same elbow Pollock broke in 2016. Back then, doctors inserted some metal in his elbow to hold everything together. That metal is part of what makes it difficult to treat the infection. Luckily, if you can call it luck, Pollock’s broken elbow has healed well enough that they can remove all the metal from his elbow, which they will do in a surgery today.

Pollock will be out for a few weeks.

“Absolutely,� manager Dave Roberts said, when asked if he expects Pollock to be back this season. “From what I understand, the bone structure is in a good place, and that’s encouraging. There’s no need to replace the hardware. They can just remove it, and that’s a good sign.

“It’s a blow, but I think for us, it’s more we feel for A.J. because this guy prepares so well,� Roberts said. “He was so excited to sign with the Dodgers, a place he targeted, and for something freak to happen like this, he’s disappointed.�

This will certainly open up a lot more playing time for Alex Verdugo.

Meanwhile, the Dodgers lost to the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday, 2-1.

Kentucky Derby

Omaha Beach, the 4-1 favorite for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby, was pulled from the race late Wednesday afternoon after it was discovered he had an entrapped epiglottis, a throat condition that can hinder breathing.

“After training [Wednesday] morning we noticed him cough a few times,� trainer Richard Mandella said. “It caused us to scope him and we found an entrapped epiglottis. We can’t fix it this week, so we’ll have to have a procedure done in a few days and [he’ll] probably be out of training for three weeks. We’ll have to figure out a whole new game plan.�

The condition is not considered serious or career ending.

Trainer Bob Baffert now has the top three favorites. Game Winner is 9-2, followed by stablemates Roadster and Improbable at 5-1.

“Very sorry to hear that,� Gary West, owner of Game Winner, said about Omaha Beach. “The same thing happened to me with a horse named Buddha many years ago, so I personally know how disappointing this is to all the Omaha Beach connections. I hope the horse is going to be OK. I’m genuinely disappointed for racing.�

Buddha was the second choice in the 2002 Kentucky Derby. He had to be scratched when he suffered an injury either by stepping on a stone or twisting an ankle.

Track

Our own David Wharton, on a landmark ruling involving a track participant:

“In a landmark ruling that touches upon complex issues of gender in sport, South African runner Caster Semenya has lost her appeal against track officials who may now proceed with a controversial rule that defines her and other female athletes by their body chemistry.

“The international Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled against Semenya on Wednesday, declaring that the international track federation may regulate the participation of women with naturally high testosterone levels.

“The IAAF will now present these women with a stark choice: Either take medication to alter their chemistry or race against men.

“The CAS panel stated that “such discrimination is a necessary, reasonable and proportionate means of achieving the IAAF’s aim of preserving the integrity of female athletics.�

“The majority decision represents a major, off-the-track defeat for Semenya, who has two Olympic gold medals in the 800 meters but has long endured scrutiny because of her fast times, broad shoulders and muscular build. She has 30 days to consider taking her appeal to Switzerland’s tribunal court.

“I know that the IAAF’s regulations have always targeted me specifically,� Semenya said in a statement. “For a decade the IAAF has tried to slow me down, but this has actually made me stronger. The decision of the CAS will not hold me back.�

NBA playoffs

Wednesday’s NBA score

Portland 97, at Denver 90 (Series tied, 1-1. Read game story here.)

Today’s NBA schedule

All times Pacific

Toronto at Philadelphia, 5 p.m., ESPN (Series tied, 1-1)

NHL playoffs

Wednesday’s NHL scores (Read game stories here)

at Carolina 5, New York Islanders 2 (Hurricanes lead series, 3-0)

at Dallas 4, St. Louis 2 (Series tied, 2-2)

Today’s schedule

(All times Pacific)

Boston at Columbus, 4:30 p.m., NBCSN (Blue Jackets lead series, 2-1)

San Jose at Colorado, 7 p.m., NBCSN (Sharks lead series, 2-1)

Odds and ends

Daniel Jacobs hopes judges don’t take center stage against Canelo Alvarez…. Vergil Ortiz Jr. looks to extend his knockout streak vs. Mauricio Herrera…. Arizona’s Sean Miller paid player $10,000 a month, a former assistant alleges in wiretap…. Santa Anita is buying a machine that can detect horse injuries earlier…. Angels defeat Blue Jays, 6-3.

Today’s local major sports schedule

(All times Pacific)

Toronto at Angels, 7 p.m., FSW, KLAA 830

Born on this date

1887: Baseball player Eddie Collins

1953: Former Laker Jamaal Wilkes

And finally

Jamaal Wilkes scores 37 points in Game 6 of the 1980 NBA Finals. Watch it here.

That concludes the newsletter for today. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, please email us here. If you want to subscribe, click here.