SAN ANTONIO (AP) — The Los Angeles Dodgers aren’t counting on Shohei Ohtani to pitch at the start of next season and will wait to see how his rehabilitation progresses following shoulder surgery on his non-throwing arm. Ohtani had a procedure Tuesday to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder, an injury sustained while sliding during a stolen base attempt in Game 2 of the World Series on Oct. 26. The two-way star did not pitch this year while recovering from elbow surgery on Sept. 19, 2023. “We’re going to take it piece by piece and get through this and then take it in one-, two-week chunks and make sure that we’re in a really good place on each of those benchmarks and then go from there and not try to say, ‘Hey, we need to be ready by this day,’” general manager Brandon Gomes said Wednesday. “We’re going to let the rehab process play out.”
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Taking their cues from Jarrett Allen, the Cleveland Cavaliers celebrated the first 9-0 start to a season in franchise history by pouring water bottles over coach Kenny Atkinson’s head in the locker room. There will be much bigger games, with higher stakes, than the Cavs’ 131-122 victory in New Orleans on Wednesday night. But Atkinson didn’t mind taking a moment to enjoy something no other Cavs team had done in the 55 years since Cleveland joined the NBA for the 1970-71 season. “You have to,” said Atkinson, who also became the first NBA coach to win his first nine games with a new team. “This season’s so long. It’s so hard to win in this league. So, when you do have moments like this, you have to celebrate a little.” After hitting 54.2% of their shots in the Big Easy — including 48.6% (17 of 35) from 3-point range — the Cavs are shooting an NBA-best 52.6% on the season from the field.
CLEVELAND (AP) — Austin Hedges’ contributions went well beyond being just a light-hitting backup catcher for the Guardians last season. He was a mentor, advisor, wise-cracking teammate and clubhouse leader. He’ll be one for Cleveland again. The popular catcher agreed to a $4 million, one-year contract Wednesday to return to the AL Central champions, who credited Hedges’ leadership as a major factor in the team’s unexpected success in 2024. The Guardians took over first place in April and stayed there, going 92-69 and winning the AL Central under rookie manager Stephen Vogt. Cleveland beat Detroit in a tight Division Series before losing in five games to the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series.
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Noah Hanifin scored twice and the Vegas Golden Knights rallied to beat the Edmonton Oilers 4-2 on Wednesday night, spoiling Connor McDavid’s return to the lineup. Jack Eichel had a goal and two assists and Mark Stone also scored for the Golden Knights (9-3-1), who got their first road win of the season and sixth of their last seven overall. Adin Hill stopped 27 shots. Brett Kulak and Zach Hyman scored for the Oilers, who have lost two straight. Stuart Skinner had 31 saves.
WEDNESDAY SCORES
National Basketball Association
Charlotte 108, Detroit 107
Indiana 118, Orlando 111
Golden State 118, Boston 112
Atlanta 121, NY Knicks 116
Houston 127, San Antonio 100
Memphis 131, LA Lakers 114
Dallas 119, Chicago 99
Cleveland 131, New Orleans 122
Phoenix 115, Miami 112
Denver 124, Oklahoma City 122
Sacramento 122, Toronto 107
LA Clippers 110, Philadelphia 98