Brown improves, might not miss start

Los Angeles — Kevin Brown’s strained left groin was much improved Wednesday to the point where the Los Angeles ace hopes to take his regular turn in the rotation Sunday against Anaheim.

“Feeling that kind of improvement from last night to today, I feel pretty good about throwing Sunday,” Brown said before the Dodgers faced San Francisco. “Hopefully we caught it before it got bad.”

Brown, 10-1 with a major league-leading 1.97 ERA, strained his groin running out a grounder to short for the last out of the sixth.

Mariners closer Sasaki has two broken ribs

Seattle — Seattle Mariners closer Kazuhiro Sasaki has two fractured ribs and a slightly torn abdominal muscle, an MRI showed Wednesday.

Team officials couldn’t say how long the injuries will keep him sidelined, though Sasaki probably won’t be examined again until the Mariners return late next week from a trip to Anaheim and San Diego.

The 35-year-old Sasaki was hurt while carrying his luggage up a flight of stairs at his home after the Mariners concluded a 12-game road trip June 8. Griffin said Sasaki was relieved to learn the results.