From Jack Harris: Roughly four hours before first pitch Monday night, Shohei Ohtani sat at his locker in the Dodger Stadium clubhouse and prepared for his biggest game of the season.
First, the reigning MVP unwrapped the black compression sleeve he wears when pitching, and pulled it over his prized right arm. Then, he grabbed his bat and a pair of hitting gloves and headed toward the cages.
On this day, each piece of equipment was needed.
For the first time in almost two years, the two-way star would be playing both ways again.
In the Dodgers’ 6-3 win against the San Diego Padres on Monday, Ohtani made his long-awaited return as a pitcher from a September 2023 Tommy John operation, taking the mound in a Dodgers uniform for the first time as the club’s starter while also continuing to serve as their leadoff hitter in the lineup.
Ohtani’s pitching outing was brief, lasting just one inning and 28 pitches. He yielded one run on two hits (a pair of flare singles from Fernando Tatis Jr. and Luis Arraez) and a sacrifice fly from Manny Machado. And while he touched 100 mph with his fastball, his form was far from flawless.
Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter reports to federal prison
Photos: Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani pitches for first time after Tommy John surgery
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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)
at Oklahoma City 120, Indiana 109 (box score, story)
Thursday at Indiana, 5:30 p.m., ABC
Sunday at Oklahoma City, 5 p.m., ABC*
*if necessary
ANGELS
Nolan Schanuel hit a run-scoring double in the 11th inning and the Angels beat the Yankees 1-0 on Monday night, extending New York’s losing streak to a season-high four games.
Schanuel’s one-out, opposite-field hit to left off Jonathan Loáisiga (0-1) scored automatic runner Christian Moore, a Brooklyn native who tripled in the eighth for his first major league hit.
Ryan Zeferjahn (4-1) pitched a hitless 10th. After the Yankees loaded the bases with two outs against Brock Burke in the bottom half, Hunter Strickland got Anthony Volpe to bounce into a forceout for his first save this year as the Angels improved to 5-0 in extra innings and dropped the Yankees to 1-5.
UCLA BASEBALL
UCLA will wake up Tuesday morning with a chance to rally from a two-run deficit.
The Bruins’ winner’s bracket game against Louisiana State on Monday night was suspended until Tuesday at 8 a.m. PDT following a three-hour rain delay — it will resume in the top of the fourth inning with UCLA batting and LSU leading 5-3. The remainder of the game is scheduled to air on ESPN.
Men’s College World Series schedule
CLUB WORLD CUP
LAFC’s first foray into the FIFA Club World Cup was competitive, but ultimately a defeat.
LAFC hung around against English powerhouse Chelsea at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium and had the match still in striking distance nearly the entire way, but lost 2-0 in its first of three group stage matches.
“Chelsea won, deservingly so,” LAFC coach Steve Cherundolo said. “I think we kind of clawed our way back into the game; I think we played a little better in the second half and maybe had the odd chance here or there to get the equalizer.”
The first competitive fixture between English and American clubs featured the mostly expected run of play, with Chelsea carrying most of the action and carving out nearly all of the afternoon’s clear-cut scoring opportunities. It was one-way traffic, and Chelsea broke through in the 34th minute when Pedro Neto beat LAFC goalkeeper Hugo Lloris at his near post following a quick turn inside around defender Ryan Hollingshead.
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
1954 — Rocky Marciano scores a 15-round unanimous decision over Ezzard Charles at New York to retain the world heavyweight title.
1961 — Gene Littler shoots a 68 in the final round to edge Doug Sanders and Bob Goalby in the U.S. Open.
1962 — Jack Nicklaus beats Arnold Palmer by three strokes in a playoff to win the U.S. Open.
1962 — Brazil beats Czechoslovakia 3-1 in Santiago, Chile to win its second straight FIFA World Cup title. Czechoslovakia scored first on a goal by Josef Masopust at 15 minutes. Two minutes later Amarildo tied the game. In the second half, Zito and Vavá scored goals to give Brazil the victory.
1973 — Johnny Miller shoots a 63 in the final round to win the U.S. Open by one stroke over John Schlee at Oakmont, Pa. Miller’s 8-under 63 is the first ever carded in a major championship.
1976 — The 18-team NBA absorbs four of the six remaining ABA teams: the New York Nets, Indiana Pacers, San Antonio Spurs and Denver Nuggets.
1979 — Hale Irwin wins the U.S. Open by two strokes over Gary Player and Jerry Pate.
1989 — The Quebec Nordiques select Swedish center Mats Sundin with the No. 1 pick in the NHL Draft. He’s the first European player to be taken with the first pick.
1990 — Fifty-year-old Harry Gant becomes the oldest driver to win a NASCAR race as he posts a 2.4-second victory over Rusty Wallace in the Miller 500 at Pocono International Raceway.
1991 — Payne Stewart escapes with a two-stroke victory over Scott Simpson in the highest-scoring U.S. Open playoff in 64 years.
1992 — Philadelphia 76ers trade Charles Barkley to Phoenix Suns.
1995 — Claude Lemieux snaps a tie at 3:17 of the third period as the New Jersey Devils open the Stanley Cup finals with a 2-1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings. The victory, the ninth on the road, breaks the NHL playoff record for road wins.
2007 — Angel Cabrera holds off Tiger Woods and Jim Furyk by a stroke to capture the U.S. Open. Cabrera shoots a 1-under-par 69 in the final round at brutal Oakmont (Pa.) Country Club.
2007 — Kate Ziegler breaks swimming’s oldest world record, shattering the 1,500-meter freestyle mark by 9 1/2 seconds at the TYR Meet of Champions Mission Viejo. Ziegler wins the 30-lap race in 15:42.54, easily erasing Janet Evans’ 1988 mark of 15:52.10 set in Orlando, Fla.
2008 — The Boston Celtics win their 17th NBA title with a stunning 131-92 blowout over the Lakers in Game 6. Kevin Garnett scores 26 points with 14 rebounds, Ray Allen scores 26 and Paul Pierce, the finals MVP, adds 17.
2010 — The Lakers beat Boston for the first time in a Game 7 to repeat as NBA champions. The Lakers win their 16th NBA championship, dramatically rallying from a fourth-quarter 13-point deficit to beat the Celtics 83-79.
2011 — Rory McIlroy becomes the first player in the 111-year history of the U.S. Open to reach 13-under par, and despite a double bogey into the water on the final hole, his 5-under 66 is enough set the 36-hole scoring record at 131.
2012 — Webb Simpson wins the U.S. Open outlasting former U.S. Open champions Jim Furyk and Graeme McDowell.
2018 — Brooks Koepka wins a second consecutive U.S. Open, the first player to do so since Curtis Strange in 1989.
2024 — Boston Celtics beat the Dallas Mavericks 106-88 in Game 5 to clinch the club’s record 18th NBA Championship. Boston forward Jaylen Brown voted Finals MVP.
THIS DAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY
1915 — George “Zip” Zabel of the Chicago Cubs was called into the game against the Brooklyn Dodgers with two out in the first inning. He won 4-3 in the 19th inning in the longest relief effort in the majors.
1943 — Player-manager Joe Cronin of the Boston Red Sox hit a three-run pinch homer in both games of a doubleheader against the Philadelphia A’s. The Red Sox won the opener 5-4 and lost the second game 8-7.
1960 — Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox connected for his 500th career home run off the Cleveland Indians. Williams, the fourth to accomplish the feat, hit a two-run homer off Wynn Hawkins in a 3-1 win.
1971 — Don Kessinger of the Chicago Cubs went 6-for-6, with five singles and a double, in a 7-6, 10-inning decision over the St. Louis Cardinals at Wrigley Field.
1978 — Ron Guidry of the New York Yankees struck out 18 California Angels to set an American League record for left-handers. Guidry, who struck out 15 in the first six innings, ended with a 4-0 four-hitter.
1993 — Baseball owners voted 26-2 in favor of expanding the playoffs for the first time in 25 years, doubling the teams that qualify to eight starting in 1994.
2007 — Brandon Watson extended his hitting streak to 43 games, breaking a 95-year-old International League record with a base hit in the Columbus Clippers’ 9-8 loss to the Ottawa Lynx. Jack Lelivelt set the IL record for the Rochester Hustlers in 1912.
2007 — Frank Thomas hit his record-breaking 244th homer as a designated hitter in Toronto’s 4-2 loss to Washington. The solo shot in the third inning moved Thomas past Edgar Martinez for the most homers by a DH.
2009 — Ivan Rodriguez catches the 2,227th game of his career, breaking Carlton Fisk’s record, in Houston’s 5-4, 10-inning loss to his former team, the Texas Rangers. For Texas, Omar Vizquel, the all-time leader for games played at shortstop, picks up his 2,677th hit, tying Luis Aparicio for most hits by a Venezuelan player.
2008 — Seattle’s Felix Hernandez struck out the side on nine pitches in the fourth inning of a 5-4 win over Florida, becoming the 13th pitcher in American League history to accomplish the feat.
2016 — Michaeal Saunders leads the Toronto Blue Jays to a 13-3 win over the Baltimore Orioles with three home runs and 8 RBIs.
2021 — The Arizona Diamondback set a new all-time mark with their 23rd consecutive road loss losing to the Giants 10-3.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
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