The Sports Report: Shohei Ohtani has elbow surgery, won’t pitch until 2025

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

From Sarah Valenzuela: Shohei Ohtani had a successful procedure on his elbow, the Angels two-way star and his agent Nez Balelo announced on Tuesday.

“I had a procedure done on my elbow earlier this morning and everything went very well,” Ohtani wrote on his Instagram page. “Thank you very much for everyone’s prayers and kind words.”

The surgery was performed at Kerlan-Jobe Orthopedic Clinic in Los Angeles by Dr. Neal ElAttrache, who had performed Ohtani’s 2018 UCL reconstruction, also known as Tommy John surgery.

“The final decision and type of procedure was made with a heavy emphasis on the big picture,” Balelo said in a statement. “Shohei wanted to make sure the direction taken gave him every opportunity to hit and pitch for many years to come.”

The type of procedure Ohtani had on Tuesday was not disclosed, though ElAttrache said he expected Ohtani to resume designated hitter abilities next season, being able to pitch again in the 2025 season.

“The ultimate plan, after deliberation with Shohei, was to repair the issue at hand and to reinforce the healthy ligament in place while adding viable tissue for the longevity of the elbow,” ElAttrache said in a statement. “I expect full recovery and he’ll be ready to hit without any restrictions come opening day of 2024 and [hit and pitch] come 2025.”

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Osleivis Basabe hit a tiebreaking two-run double in a four-run eighth inning and the playoff-bound Tampa Bay Rays beat the Angels 6-2 on Tuesday night.

Tampa Bay loaded the bases with one out against Aaron Loup (2-3) before Basabe lined his hit to center. René Pinto followed with a single that drove in two more runs.

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Angels box score

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AL WEST STANDINGS

Houston, 84-68
Texas, 83-68, 0.5 GB
Seattle, 83-68, 0.5 GB
Angels, 68-83, 15.5 GB
Oakland, 46-105, 37.5 GB

WILD-CARD STANDINGS

top three teams qualify

y-Tampa Bay, 93-59
Toronto, 84-67
Texas, 83-68
Seattle, 83-68

New York, 76-75, 7 GB
Boston, 75-77, 8.5 GB

y-clinched wild-card berth

Note: The Angels have been eliminated from postseason contention.

For full standings, go here

DODGERS

From Mike DiGiovanna: The Dodgers used reliever Caleb Ferguson as an “opener” for rookie right-hander Ryan Pepiot on Tuesday night, a strategy the team could employ liberally this October to help compensate for an injury depleted and inexperienced rotation.

By starting Ferguson for the fifth time this season, the left-hander faced the top of the Detroit Tigers order, with Pepiot entering in the second inning to face No. 5 hitter Kerry Carpenter. Ferguson struck out three of four batters but gave up a solo homer to Spencer Torkelson.

Pepiot then continued his push for a more prominent playoff role, escaping a first-and-third, no-out jam in the seventh to complete a six-inning, one-run, five-hit, four-strikeout, one-walk effort in an eventual 3-2 walk-off victory over the Tigers before a crowd of 42,223 in Dodger Stadium.

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Dodgers box score

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NL WEST STANDINGS

x-Dodgers, 93-57
Arizona, 80-72, 14 GB
San Francisco, 76-75, 17.5 GB
San Diego, 74-78, 20 GB
Colorado, 56-95, 37.5 GB

x-clinched division

WILD-CARD STANDINGS
top three teams qualify

Philadelphia, 82-69
Arizona, 80-72
Chicago, 79-72

Miami, 79-73, 0.5 GB
Cincinnati, 79-74, 1 GB
San Francisco, 76-75, 3 GB
San Diego, 74-78, 5.5 GB

For full standings, go here

NFL

Although the Rams did not beat the NFC West rival San Francisco 49ers, they put up quite a fight in a 30-23 defeat. The Chargers, on the other hand, lost another game they easily could have won with some clutch play, losing to the Tennessee Titans on the road, 27-24, in overtime. Rams beat writer Gary Klein, Chargers beat writer Jeff Miller, NFL columnist Sam Farmer and columnist Bill Plaschke discuss what happened and upcoming prospects:

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Full NFL standings

BATTLE OF THE SEXES

Fifty years ago was the iconic “Battle of the Sexes” tennis match between Bobby Riggs and Billie Jean King. Our Helene Elliott take a look back:

Billie Jean King was carried out to the makeshift tennis court set up in the Houston Astrodome on a gilded, feather-decked chair held by muscular costumed athletes from Rice University, an over-the-top entrance for an over-the-top event.

Bobby Riggs was brought out in a rickshaw, escorted by models known as “Bobby’s Bosom Buddies.” After a successful career in which he won U.S. amateur and professional championships, a Wimbledon singles title and the No. 1 world ranking in 1939, he had slid into gray territory, becoming a bettor and brash hustler. True to form, he wore a jacket bearing the logo of Sugar Daddy candy that night. The women who surrounded him wore tight T-shirts with the same logo.

An intriguing backstory enhanced the drama. King had rebuffed his initial challenge to play him, so he instead faced Margaret Court in what became known as “The Mother’s Day Massacre.” He boasted he’d defeat King just as badly after she agreed to face him on Sept. 20, 1973. Women lacked emotional stability, he declared. Certainly no woman could beat him, even though he was 55 and King was 29 and had recently won her fifth Wimbledon singles title.

Watched by A-list celebrities and a national TV audience that would hear play-by-play calls from bombastic superstar announcer Howard Cosell, King gave Riggs a live pig, a nod to Riggs’ self-proclaimed male chauvinist pig views. Riggs gave King a giant Sugar Daddy lollipop. He kept his jacket on to start the match, sure he wouldn’t work up a sweat against a woman.

When the formalities concluded, King proceeded to change the course of sports history and bring enduring muscle to the growing women’s rights movement.

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SOCCER

From Kevin Baxter: Gregg Berhalter’s second stint as coach of the USMNT got underway this month and so far the new rollout — call it Berhalter 2.0 — looks a lot like the first version.

The team was successful if underwhelming, beating Uzbekistan and Oman by a combined 7-0. The U.S. largely stuck with its default 4-3-3 formation and built cautiously out of the back. It also appeared uninspired at times and seemed to play down to the competition — it led 85th-ranked Uzbekistan 1-0 going into stoppage time — which were also hallmarks of Berhalter’s first four years.

But there are reasons to believe this version will be better than the last one.

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THIS DATE IN SPORTS

1913 — Twenty-year-old amateur Francis Ouimet beats Britain’s Harry Vardon and Ted Ray in an 18-hole playoff to win the U.S. Open.

1924 — Grover Cleveland Alexander wins his 300th game as the Chicago Cubs defeat the New York Giants 7-3 in 12 innings.

1939 — Joe Louis knocks out Bob Pastor in the 11th round at Briggs Stadium in Detroit to retain the world heavyweight title.

1982 — The NFL Players Assn. announces a strike at the completion of the Green Bay-New York Giants Monday Night game.

1987 — Chicago’s Walter Payton breaks Jim Brown’s NFL record with his 107th rushing touchdown as the Bears beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20-3.

1988 — Greg Louganis wins Olympic gold medal in springboard diving, one day after hitting his head on the diving board in the preliminary round. Louganis, who needed five stitches, is solid throughout the 11-dive program. His 730.80 points wins the gold, beating China’s Tan Liangde. Tan, who finishes with 704.88 points, also finished second to Louganis in the 1984 Olympic Games.

1992 — Raymond Floyd makes PGA Tour history, becoming the first player to win tournaments on the regular and Senior PGA tours in the same year. Floyd birdies five of his last seven holes to win the GTE North Classic after winning the Doral-Ryder Open in March on the regular tour.

2009 — The first game at the Cowboys Stadium sets an NFL regular-season attendance record with a crowd of 105,121, and most of them go home disappointed after the Giants win 33-31.

2009 — Minnesota Vikings QB Brett Favre sets an NFL record with his 271st straight start in a 27-13 win over the Detroit Lions. Defensive end Jim Marshall had the previous mark for consecutive starts, 270 games in a row for Minnesota from 1961-1979.

2015 — The United States beats Europe with the biggest comeback in Solheim Cup history. Paula Creamer beats Germany’s Sandra Gal 4 and 3 to complete the 14 1/2-13 1/2 victory. Europe had a four-point lead entering the 12 singles matches, which the United States win 8 1/2 to 3 1/2 in those matches.

2018 — The World Anti-Doping Agency reinstates Russia, ending a nearly three-year suspension caused by state-sponsored doping.

2021 — Salvador Perez, Kansas City Royals, hits his 46th home run to break Hall of Famer Johnny Bench’s MLB record for most home runs in a season by a catcher.

—Compiled by the Associated Press

And finally...

Every touchdown of Walter Payton’s career. Watch and listen here.