From Benjamin Royer: The long-anticipated wait is over — Shohei Ohtani is ready to pitch.
The Dodgers announced after Sunday’s 5-4 win over the Giants that Ohtani will make his Dodgers pitching debut Monday against the San Diego Padres. He will start, but will begin his pitching return as an opener, likely throwing just an inning or two.
“It’s very exciting,” said manager Dave Roberts, before the team revealed his Monday start. “I think that for me, I’m still a baseball fan first. I really am. The anticipation here for the game is, man, it’s going to be bananas when it happens. There’s been a lot of anticipation. I think we’ve done it the right way as far as kind of our process.”
For Ohtani, it’s been a long road back to pitching. He signed with the Dodgers on a 10-year, $700-million contract before the 2024 season — a value representing not just his MVP-level bat, but his potential Cy Young Award-level pitching.
He underwent Tommy John surgery in September 2023, only hitting in his first season with the Dodgers. He tallied unprecedented numbers at the plate (.310 batting average, league-high 54 home runs, 130 RBI and 59 stolen bases). In recent weeks, Ohtani ramped up his throwing program, facing live hitters a handful of times.
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Fifteen minutes before first pitch on Sunday, Giants catcher Logan Porter trotted in from the visitor’s bullpen. He’d usually be accompanied by the starting pitcher, which was set to be left-hander Kyle Harrison.
Instead, Porter stood on the first-base line for the national anthem, turned to his left and whispered to his teammates. As they all received the information from Porter — reminiscent of the children’s game “Telephone” — other Giants teammates likely learned one-by-one that Harrison had been traded.
“It was crazy,” Dodgers second baseman Tommy Edman said. “You don’t expect a trade like that this time of year and just getting the pitching change at the last minute.”
The odd scene at Dodger Stadium was because of a reported blockbuster trade that involved the Boston Red Sox sending infielder Rafael Devers to the Giants in exchange for Harrison, right-hander Jordan Hicks and two prospects — a move that further bolsters the talent in the L.A.-San Francisco rivalry.
San Francisco manager Bob Melvin was forced to turn to long reliever Sean Hjelle, who rapidly warmed up for the start, against a Dodgers offense that had scored 11 runs Saturday night.
It was more of the same from the Dodgers’ offense in a 5-4 victory Sunday. The top of the order manufactured a run via an Andy Pages sacrifice fly in the first inning. Edman hit a solo home run — his 10th — in the second. Pages put a cherry on top in the fifth after Shohei Ohtani (three for three, one walk) and Mookie Betts set the table with singles.
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Nezza says she sang national anthem in Spanish at Dodger Stadium against team’s wishes
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NBA PLAYOFFS RESULTS
All Times Pacific
NBA FINALS
Oklahoma City vs. Indiana
Indiana 111, at Oklahoma City 110 (box score, story)
at Oklahoma City 123, Indiana 107 (box score, story)
at Indiana 116, Oklahoma City 107 (box score, story)
Oklahoma City 111, at Indiana 104 (box score, story)
Monday at Oklahoma City, 5:30 p.m., ABC
Thursday at Indiana, 5:30 p.m., ABC
Sunday at Oklahoma City, 5 p.m., ABC*
*if necessary
ANGELS
Gary Sánchez hit a seventh-inning grand slam, Ramón Urías and Jordan Westburg also homered, and the Baltimore Orioles completed a three-game sweep with a 11-2 victory Sunday over the Angels.
Cade Povich earned his first victory since April 24 as Baltimore secured its third sweep of the season, all in its last five series. The Orioles (30-40) are within 10 games of .500 for the first time since they were 15-25.
Nolan Schanuel homered for the Angels.
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SOCCER
The U.S. hopes a blowout win over the world’s 100th-ranked team can start to lessen the pessimism created by the Americans’ longest losing streak since 2007.
Malik Tillman scored twice and Diego Luna had a pair of assists in a 5-0 rout of Trinidad and Tobago on Sunday in the Americans’ CONCACAF Gold Cup opener.
“Really important I think to cut a little bit this — I don’t say negativity, but, yes … but it’s really important now to start the competition with a good feeling,” U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino said.
Victory in the Group D opener ended a four-game losing streak and came after days of controversy over Christian Pulisic’s desire to rest during the Gold Cup and Pochettino not including the star in a pair of pre-tournament friendlies the attacker offered to play in.
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Paris Saint-Germain hopes Champions League title will help it expand its brand
U.S. OPEN
J.J. Spaun turned a sloppy mess of a U.S. Open at wet and nasty Oakmont into a thing of beauty at the end Sunday with two stunning shots that carried him to his first major championship.
First came his driver on the 314-yard 17th hole onto the green that led to a birdie that gave him the lead. Needing two putts from 65 feet on the 18th to win, he finished his storybook Open by holing the longest putt all week at Oakmont for birdie and a two-over 72.
That made him the only player to finish under par at one-under 279. It gave him a two-shot victory over Robert MacIntyre of Scotland.
And it made the 36-year-old San Dimas native a major champion in only his second U.S. Open.
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MEN’S COLLEGE WORLD SERIES
Men’s College World Series schedule
NHL PLAYOFFS SCHEDULE, RESULTS
All times Pacific
STANLEY CUP FINAL
Edmonton vs. Florida
at Edmonton 4, Florida 3 (OT) (summary, story)
Florida 5, at Edmonton 4 (2 OT) (summary, story)
at Florida 6, Edmonton 1 (summary, story)
Edmonton 5, at Florida 4 (OT) (summary, story)
Florida 5, at Edmonton 2 (summary, story)
Tuesday at Florida, 5 p.m., TNT
Friday at Edmonton, 5 p.m., TNT*
* If necessary
THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY
1927 — Tommy Armour wins the U.S. Open with a three-stroke victory over Harry Cooper in a playoff.
1946 — Lloyd Mangrum edges Byron Nelson and Vic Ghezzi to win the U.S. Open by one stroke in a 36-hole playoff.
1951 — Ben Hogan captures the U.S. Open for the second straight year with a two-stroke comeback victory over Clayton Heafner.
1956 — Cary Middlecoff wins the U.S. Open by one stroke over Ben Hogan and Julius Boros.
1968 — Lee Trevino becomes the first golfer to play all four rounds of the U.S. Open under par as he beats Jack Nicklaus by four strokes.
1974 — Hale Irwin beats Forrest Fezler by two strokes to win the U.S. Open. In what becomes known as the “Massacre at Winged Foot,” not a single player breaks par in the first round. Irwin’s 7-over 278 is the second-highest score since World War II — Julius Boros was 9-over in 1963.
1975 — NBA Milwaukee Bucks trade Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Walt Wesley to the Lakers for 4 players.
1985 — Andy North wins the U.S. Open by one stroke over Taiwan’s Tze-chung Chen, Canada’s Dave Barr and Zimbabwe’s Denis Watson.
1985 — Willie Banks of USA sets triple jump record (58 feet 11 inches) in Indianapolis.
1993 — Michael Jordan scores 55 points to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 111-105 victory and a 3-1 lead over the Phoenix Suns in the NBA Finals.
1996 — 50th NBA Championship: Chicago Bulls beat Seattle Supersonics, 4 games to 2; the Bulls’ 4th title in 6 years.
1998 — The Detroit Red Wings become the first team to win consecutive Stanley Cups since Pittsburgh in 1992, completing a sweep of Washington with a 4-1 win behind two goals by Doug Brown. It’s the fourth straight NHL finals sweep, a first in major pro sports history.
1999 — Maurice Greene smashes the 100-meter world record at 9.79 seconds, breaking the previous mark of 9.84 set by Donovan Bailey at the 1996 Olympics.
2002 — A runaway winner again in the U.S. Open, Tiger Woods becomes the first player since Jack Nicklaus in 1972 to capture the first two major championships of the year with a three-stroke victory at Bethpage (N.Y.) Black.
2006 — Tiger Woods returns from his longest layoff by making his earliest departure at a major, missing the cut in a Grand Slam tournament for the first time as a pro. Woods, with rounds of 76-76, misses the cut at the U.S. Open by three strokes.
2008 — Tiger Woods wins the U.S. Open in a 19-hole playoff over Rocco Mediate, his 14th career major.
2013 — Justin Rose captures his first major championship and becomes the first Englishman in 43 years to win the U.S. Open. Rose shoots a closing 70 at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa. for a 1-over 281 total and two-shot victory over Phil Mickelson and Jason Day.
2013 — Greg Biffle gives Ford a milestone victory with his second straight Sprint Cup win at Michigan International Speedway. It’s the 1,000th victory for Ford Motor Company across NASCAR’s three national series — Cup, Nationwide and Truck.
2015 — The Golden State Warriors win their first NBA championship since 1975, beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 105-97 in Game 6. Stephen Curry and Finals MVP Andre Iguodala each score 25 points for the Warriors, who won the final three games after Cleveland had taken a 2-1 lead.
2016 — LeBron James scores 41 points, Kyrie Irving adds 23 and the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Golden State Warriors 115-101 to even an unpredictable series and force a decisive Game 7.
2018 — Video Assist Referee (VAR) technology used for the first time in a World Cup soccer match.
2022 — NBA Finals: Golden State Warriors beat Boston Celtics, 103-90 for a 4-2 series win; Warriors’ 4th title in 8 years; MVP: Stephen Curry.
THIS DAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY
1916 — Tom Hughes of the Boston Braves pitched a no-hitter in a 2-0 win over Pittsburgh Pirates.
1938 — Jimmie Foxx didn’t get a chance to hit as the St. Louis Browns walked him six straight times. The Boston Red Sox won anyway, 12-8.
1953 — The St. Louis Browns beat New York 3-1 to break the Yankees’ 18-game winning streak and end their 14-game losing streak.
1957 — Relief pitcher Dixie Howell hit two home runs in the 3 2-3 innings he pitched to lead the Chicago White Sox to an 8-6 victory in the second game of a doubleheader against the Washington Senators.
1971 — The Oakland Athletics hit five solo home runs in a 5-1 win over the Washington Senators. Mike Epstein and Joe Rudi had a pair homers and Dave Duncan one. Epstein’s home runs came in his first two at-bats to give him homers in four straight at-bats over two games.
1978 — After three ninth-inning near misses, Tom Seaver threw the first no-hitter of his 12-year career as the Cincinnati Reds beat the St. Louis Cardinals 4-0.
1991 — Otis Nixon of Atlanta stole six bases against Montreal to set a modern National League record and tie the major league record set by Eddie Collins of the Philadelphia A’s in 1912. Montreal won the game 7-6.
1992 — Boston’s Mark Reardon became baseball’s all-time save leader when he closed out a 1-0 win over the New York Yankees. Reardon logged his 342nd save to pass Rollie Fingers.
1993 — Ken Griffey Jr. of the Seattle Mariners hits his 100th home run in Seattle’s 6 – 1 victory over Kansas City to become the fourth-youngest to hit the century mark. Only Mel Ott, Eddie Mathews and Tony Conigliaro did it faster than the 23-year-old Griffey.
2001 — John Olerud went 4-for-5 and hit for the cycle as Seattle beat the San Diego Padres 9-2. He hit a homer in the ninth to complete the cycle.
2009 — The San Diego Padres set a major league record with their 12th straight loss in interleague play when they fell 5-0 to Seattle.
2014 — Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn, winner of eight National League batting titles, passes away from cancer of the salivary gland at 54.
2015 — Brock Holt became the first Boston player to hit for the cycle since 1996 and the Red Sox slugged their way out to a 9-4 victory over Atlanta.
2015 — Manny Machado and Chris Parmelee each hit two of an Orioles-record eight home runs, and Baltimore pounded woeful Philadelphia 19-3. The eight home runs were the most by the Orioles since their move from St. Louis in 1954.
2019 — An authentic Babe Ruth New York Yankees jersey from 1928-30 sets a record for a piece of baseball memorabilia as it sells for $5.64 million at auction.
2019 — The Padres and Rockies set a record for most combined runs in a four-game series with a total of 92, breaking the previous record of 88 set in 1929 between the Brooklyn Robins and Phillies.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
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