Sports Report: Shohei Ohtani hits his first home run with the Dodgers

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From Bill Shakin: Officials in yellow windbreakers scrambled to the right-field pavilion. The ball arced high and deep into the pavilion. Shohei Ohtani hit his first home run as a Dodger, and Team Yellow Windbreaker was tasked with securing the ball for the milestone.

After eight games without a home run on two continents, the $700 million man who led the American League in home runs last year hit his first home run Wednesday in the seventh inning in his 37th at-bat of the season. . Not that Los Angeles was worried, but Miguel Rojas hit his second home run of the season early in the game.

A 430-foot home run from the designated slugger and a home run from the light-hitting shortstop highlighted the Dodgers' 5-4 victory over the San Francisco Giants.

Team Yellow Windbreakers handed the fan that caught Ohtani's home run to Ohtani himself, and Ohtani happily exchanged a bat, ball, and two caps, and had a few minutes of conversation with the fan, saying he was “very They exchanged what they called a special ball.

The adjective everyone in the Dodgers clubhouse used to describe Ohtani was “relieved.” Rojas used it. Used by director Dave Roberts. Otani himself also used it.

“Honestly, I was very relieved to hit my first home run,” he said through translator Will Ireton. “Long time, no see.”

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lakers

From Dan Wojke: The challenge was more mental than anything else, the Lakers said. Six games were played in nine days, including against the league's worst team, ending with Wednesday's game against the Wizards.

“With all due respect, those are the teams we should beat,” D'Angelo Russell said the night before.

Exhausted from the journey from Milwaukee to Memphis to Indiana to Brooklyn to Toronto to Washington, D.C., the Lakers needed to find some last-minute fuel to make it all the way.

After watching a 17-point lead shrink to just two points in the fourth quarter, LeBron James made sure his offense didn't fall flat any further. He attacked the Wizards zone. He soared with a two-handed dunk, sparking a run that gave the Lakers a 125-120 victory and a 5-1 win on their season-ending road trip.

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angels

On Wednesday, the Angels defeated Miami 10-2, winning their fourth straight game as Taylor Ward hit a home run and Nolan Chanuel extended his career on-base streak to 35 games.

Angels starter Patrick Sandoval had seven strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings, overcoming an opener in which he allowed five runs in 1 2/3 innings. Sandoval (1-1) held Miami to two runs and four hits. The left-hander took a 161.9 mph reverse hit by Miami's Vidal Bourjan into his left leg in the third inning, but remained in the game.

“I felt a lot better about that. When we kept the ball in the zone, good things happened,” Sandoval said. “We just have to build on that. We've got to keep doing this.”

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horse racing

From John Cherwa: Is there a chance that Bob Baffert will enter at least one horse in this year's Kentucky Derby? Perhaps it will all come down to a judge in the Circuit Court of Jefferson County, Kentucky.

On Wednesday, Amr Zedan, one of Baffert's biggest clients, asked for a temporary restraining order that would allow Zedan and other horses trained by Baffert to run in the May 4 Kentucky Derby. The lawsuit was filed in Louisville. Mr. Baffert is not a party to the lawsuit. In a largely procedural move, the motion is expected to be filed Monday afternoon.

All previous lawsuits against Baffert and his horse owners are on the merits of the case against Medina Spirit, who won the 2021 Kentucky Derby until he tested positive for a legal drug that wasn't legal on race day. It was getting worse. Churchill Downs has suspended Baffert from all Churchill tracks for an estimated two years. But Churchill Downs added at least another year to Baffert's suspension, even though he had no violations during those two years. CDI said the Hall of Fame trainer did not show sufficient contrition.

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kings

Trevor Moore scored three goals for his second career hat trick and the Kings defeated the Kraken 5-2 on Wednesday night, ending a three-game losing streak while eliminating Seattle from the Stanley Cup Playoff race. hit.

Adrian Kempe and Kevin Fiala also scored, and Cam Talbot made 21 saves for the Kings, who ended their longest losing streak since going 1-6-4 midway through the season and moved on to Nashville for the Wild Card spot in the Western Conference. The difference was close to 1 point. Coach Todd McClellan lost his job because of it.

The Kings took control with Moore's two goals just over four minutes into the second period, and with 3:03 left, he completed a spectacular escape to complete his first hat trick since November 2022.

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UCLA Basketball

From Ben Borch: Mick Cronin's first acquisition of the offseason could find a spot alongside Dylan Andrews in UCLA's starting backcourt.

The Bruins picked up Louisville's leading scorer on Wednesday thanks to sophomore combo guard Skye Clark. Announced on social platforms X said he was planning to return to his hometown.

“Home is where the heart is!!” Clark, a Los Angeles native, wrote the words “I'm going home” over a photo illustration of him dribbling a basketball under the Hollywood sign outside Pauley Pavilion. Ta.

Clark, a gifted shooter who can also help with Andrews' ball-handling duties, averaged 13.2 points, 3.1 rebounds and 3.0 assists on 35.3 percent 3-point shooting last season.

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Men's NCAA Tournament

From Ryan Kartje: The 2025 postseason college basketball calendar features a new 16-team tournament, replacing the NCAA Tournament and NIT with major conference partnerships and support from Fox Sports and AEG. We aim to be a top tournament.

The College Basketball Crown will be held over a week in Las Vegas next April and will feature two automatic qualifiers each from the Big Ten, Big 12 and Big East who did not earn an NCAA Tournament bid, as well as an additional player selected by the NCAA. 10 at-large teams will participate. Committee. All games will be broadcast on Fox or FS1.

Big East Commissioner Val Ackerman called the tournament “an exciting and innovative addition to the college basketball calendar.”

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always pacific

final 4
Saturday
No. 11 North Carolina State vs. No. 1 Purdue, 3:09 p.m., TBS
No. 4 Alabama vs. No. 1 UW, 5:49 p.m., TBS

Monday
Championship (Glendale, Arizona), TBS

Women's NCAA Tournament

From Ryan Kartje: Caitlin Clark grew up in West Des Moines, Iowa, but was a fan of Connecticut women's basketball.

Her dream was to play for legendary coach Geno Auriemma, who led the Huskies to a record 11 national titles.

As a standout player at Downing Catholic High School, Clark was recruited by nearly every major college program in the country with one notable exception: UConn.

“They called my AAU coach several times, but they never told my family or me,” Clark told ESPN.

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brackets for women

women's schedule
always pacific

final 4
Friday
No. 3 North Carolina State vs. No. 1 South Carolina, 4 p.m., ESPN
No. 3 Connecticut vs. No. 1 Iowa, 6 p.m., ESPN

Championship: Sunday, Noon (Cleveland), ABC

This date in sports

1921 — The NHL champion Ottawa Senators defeat the Pacific Coast Hockey Association champion Vancouver Millionaires 2-1 to win the Stanley Cup, 3-2.

1937 — Byron Nelson shoots a 283 to win the Masters by two strokes over Ralph Gurdahl.

1938 — Henry Pickard wins the Masters, defeating Ralph Gurdahl and Harry Cooper by two strokes.

1974 — Hank Aaron hits his 714th home run, tying Babe Ruth's home run record.

1983 — Lorenzo Charles dunks after Derek Wittenberg's desperation 35-foot shot falls short and North Carolina State wins 54-52 over Houston in the NCAA Championship.

1986 — Edmonton's Wayne Gretzky breaks his own NHL single-season scoring record with three assists, increasing his total to 214 points. In 1981-1982 he scored 212 points.

1987 — New York's Denis Potvin, the highest-scoring defenseman in NHL history, scores his 1,000th point.

1988 — Danny Manning scores 31 points and grabs 18 rebounds as Kansas wins its second NCAA championship with an 83-79 victory over Oklahoma.

1993 — Sheryl Swoopes scores 47 points to break the women's championship game record and lead Texas Tech to an 84-82 victory over Ohio State.

1993 — 53-year-old Mario Andretti wins the Valvoline 200 in Phoenix, becoming the oldest driver to win an IndyCar race and the first driver to win the race in 40 years.

1994 — Arkansas wins its first men's national championship with a 76-72 victory over Duke, taking its third title from the Blue Devils in four years.

1997 — Ducks The Ducks qualify for the playoffs for the first time in their history.

2001 — Hideo Nomo becomes the fourth pitcher in major league history to pitch a no-hitter in both leagues in Boston's 3-0 victory over Baltimore.

2003 – Sammy Sosa of the Chicago Cubs becomes the 18th player to hit 500 home runs with a solo shot in a 10-9 loss to Cincinnati.

2004 — Carolina's Brad Fast beats Florida State goalie Roberto Luongo with a wrist shot to tie the score at 6-6 late in the third period. This will be the last tied game in NHL history.

2005 — North Carolina State defeats Illinois State to win the NCAA Division I men's basketball championship. Sean May scored 26 points and the Tar Heels didn't allow a basket in the final 2 1/2 minutes to beat Illinois 75-70.

2006 — 25th NCAA Women's Basketball Championship: Maryland defeats Duke University, 78-75 OT.

2011 — Kemba Walker had 16 points, Alex Oriaki had 11 points, 11 rebounds and four blocked shots, leading the University of Connecticut to a 53-41 victory over Butler in the men's NCAA championship game.

2015 — The United States defends the Women's Hockey World Championship with a 7-5 victory over Canada.

2016 — Kris Jenkins hits a 3-pointer at the buzzer to lead Villanova to a 77-74 win over North Carolina and propel Villanova to the national title. It was one of the wildest finishes in NCAA Tournament history. Jenkins' shot came moments after Marcus Page hit a double-clutch 3 from beyond the arc to tie the score at 74 with 4.7 seconds left.

2021 — 39th NCAA Women's Basketball Championship: Stanford Cardinal defeated Arizona Wildcats 54-53.

Edited by Associated Press