Blue Jays boss Mark Shapiro recognizes this is the best shot his team has had in years
Mark Shapiro is looking for his first World Series title after more than three decades in baseball.Opinion articles are based on the author's interpretations and judgments of facts, data and events. More details
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Winnipeg Free Press
a day ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Ohtani pitches into 5th inning and triples, but O'Hoppe spurs Angels past Dodgers 6-5 for sweep
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Shohei Ohtani yielded four runs on five hits while pitching a season-high 4 1/3 innings, but Logan O'Hoppe delivered a two-run single in the eighth inning and the Los Angeles Angels swept the season Freeway Series with a 6-5 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday night. Ohtani fanned Mike Trout twice among his seven strikeouts. He also tripled and scored in the first inning, but struck out in his final three at-bats. Will Smith hit a two-run homer and Mookie Betts had two RBI singles for the defending World Series champion Dodgers, who have lost four straight. They've fallen into second place in the NL West behind the San Diego Padres, who arrive at Dodger Stadium on Friday for a weekend series. The sub-.500 Angels improbably swept both three-game series against the Dodgers this season. They've won a franchise-record seven straight over their crosstown rivals. Ohtani mostly looked sharp in his first trip to the Angel Stadium mound since he left it with what turned out to be a torn elbow ligament in August 2023. He gave up a homer to Taylor Ward in the second, but settled in until the fifth. Ohtani left with a 5-4 lead, and the Dodgers' beleaguered bullpen nearly made it stand up despite having five high-leverage arms on the injured list. One inning earlier, Angels rookie Bryce Teodosio robbed Andy Pages of a homer with a leaping catch in right-center. Brock Burke (6-1) pitched the eighth, and Kenley Jansen got his 23rd save. Key moment After the Angels loaded the bases in the eighth against Justin Wrobleski (4-4) and Edgardo Henriquez, O'Hoppe put the Angels ahead with his clutch single. Key stat Ohtani has 15 strikeouts over his last 8 1/3 innings. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. Up next Clayton Kershaw (6-2, 3.14 ERA) seems likely to take the mound Friday against San Diego. Yusei Kikuchi (6-7, 3.37) will start Friday in West Sacramento for the Angels. ___ AP MLB:
Winnipeg Free Press
a day ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Marte hits 9th inning go-ahead HRs in back-to-back Dbacks games, from each side of plate at Texas
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Ketel Marte went deep for the Arizona lead with two outs in the ninth inning again against the Texas Rangers. The big swing this time came from the other side of the plate. Martel's three-run homer batting left-handed capped a two-out rally in the ninth inning for the Diamondbacks in their series finale at Texas on Wednesday, a 6-4 win that came less than 24 hours after the switch-hitter's upper-deck solo shot from the right side in the final at-bat for a 3-2 victory. 'He's one of a kind. He's just a special player. When his timing's right and his body's right, he's capable of carrying a ball club,' manager Torey Lovullo said after the All-Star second baseman's latest game-winner. 'And it was a great moment for him. The smile on his face as he was rounding the bases is something that I know we all enjoyed.' The 413-foot homer to right was Marte's fourth hit Wednesday. His first three hits were singles, one driving in their first run, off former teammate Merrill Kelly, who made his third start for the Rangers since they acquired him from Arizona at the trade deadline two weeks ago. 'What you saw today is him in a nutshell. He hits good pitches, he hits bad pitches,' said Kelly, who exited the game after six innings with a 3-2 lead. 'He can work the count, he could work the AB and punch a single into left or hurt you with a big-time homer from either side of the plate. Obviously, he proved that the last two nights. He's kind of the guy that you circle in that lineup that you don't want to beat you. … Unfortunately, we let him beat us the last two days.' Marte's solo homer with two outs in the ninth Tuesday night, on a two-strike 79.8 mph sweeper thrown by Danny Coulombe, went 445 feet. In the series finale, Phil Maton had entered with two outs in the bottom of the eighth and struck out the first three batters he faced on nine pitches. James McCann then homered with two outs in the ninth, No. 9 batter Blaze Alexander was hit by a pitch and Geraldo Perdomo walked on four pitches before Marte went deep on a 76.4 mph curveball. Marte is hitting .297 with 23 homers and 54 RBIs in 88 games, and has an NL-best .329 batting average in road games after going 6 for 9 the last two games in Texas. He missed nearly a month early in the season with a left hamstring strain. 'I'm feeling good. My body is good, I'm healthy,' Marte said. 'He can take it to a whole new level like, you know, a league above the major leagues, and that's hard to do. There's only a few players who can do that,' Lovullo said. 'Everything happened kind of in order to lead up to that moment. He didn't let us down. … This was a team moment, and Marte made it all happen.' Split duo Kelly and Zac Gallen, who started for Arizona on Wednesday, were the dynamic duo atop the Diamondbacks rotation when they made their run to the World Series two seasons ago that ended with a loss to the Rangers. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. Gallen allowed two runs over five innings in his 161st start for the Dbacks, one fewer than Kelly made during their time together. Gallen's 61 wins with Arizona are one shy of matching Kelly for the third-most in team history. Kelly, a 36-year-old right-hander who spent 7 1/2 seasons with the Diamondbacks, struck out five over six innings in his first start against them. 'It was cool. I'm glad it's over, but it was fun just seeing the guys in the box,' Kelly said. 'It's obviously a very different vantage point that I'm used to seeing them from the dugout. But kind of what I expected, a little anxiety to begin leading up to the game. But once the game starts, it's still executing baseball as usual.' ___ AP MLB:
CTV News
a day ago
- CTV News
Video shows Toronto Blue Jays president visiting 500 level at Rogers Centre. Then this happened
Mark Shapiro went to the very last row of the Rogers Centre during Tuesday night's game against the Chicago Cubs and was seen high fiving fans on the way
