Mike Trout continued his prolific start to the new Major League Baseball season with a homer in a third straight game as the Los Angeles Angels won 7-5 against the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday.
With the game tied at 3-3 at the top of the fifth, Trout creamed Blue Jays right-hander Ross Stripling a projected 444 feet for a solo home run.
"That one definitely had some flight attendants working on it," Angels manager Joe Maddon joked.
In the first of their four-game series in Dunedin, Florida, Trout starred with 3-for-5 but fell a triple short of the cycle in the victory.
On Trout's form, Maddon added: "There's no surprise element to any of this. He's not doing anything new, it's actually a lot of old stuff."
Yermin Mercedes endeared himself to the Chicago White Sox fans in their home opener with a monster 485-foot home run.
The home run in their 6-0 victory over the Kansas City Royals was Mercedes' second of the season and goes down as the third-longest hit by a White Sox player in Guaranteed Rate Field history.
Mets walk-off controversy, Jose lift off for Astros
The New York Mets' 3-2 walk-off victory over the Miami Marlins ended in controversy and the winners admitted they got lucky.
After Jeff McNeil tied the game at 2-2 in the ninth with a home run, the Mets had bases loaded as Michael Conforto stepped up.
After two strikes, a pitch grazed Conforto's elbow pad and home-plate umpire Ron Kulpa initially appeared set to call a third strike before changing mid-motion to say the pitch hit the batter, earning the Mets the run they needed.
"Not the way I wanted to win the ballgame," Conforto said post-game. "I wanted to go up there and drive the ball somewhere.
"From my point of view, it was a slider. I felt it was coming back toward me and I turned. There may have been a little lift of my elbow just out of habit, out of reaction, and it barely skimmed the edge of my elbow guard."
Marlins manager Don Mattingly was left frustrated that they could not review the call.
"You'd think with all the replay we do that you could say, 'That ball's a strike'," he said.
The Houston Astros improved to a 6-1 record with a 6-2 triumph over the struggling Oakland Athletics, with Jose Altuve delivering a home run in their home opener after a long wait.
The Minnesota Twins won 10-2 against the Seattle Mariners, while the Boston Red Sox won 7-3 on the road to the Baltimore Orioles.
Fails for the A's
The A's slumped to a 1-7 record with their loss to the Astros, where it took them until the ninth inning to get on the board.
Grichuk grasps Trout hit
Trout's day may have been a little bit better for the Angels if not for Randal Grichuk's sensational diving catch in center in the ninth.
Thursday's results
New York Mets 3-2 Miami Marlins
Chicago Cubs 4-2 Pittsburgh Pirates
Boston Red Sox 7-3 Baltimore Orioles
Colorado Rockies 7-3 Arizona Diamondbacks
Chicago White Sox 6-0 Kansas City Royals
Minnesota Twins 10-2 Seattle Mariners
St Louis Cardinals 3-1 Milwaukee Brewers
Los Angeles Angels 7-5 Toronto Blue Jays
Houston Astros 6-2 Oakland Athletics
Rays against Yankees
Last year's American League champions the Tampa Bay Rays have had a slow start at 2-4 and they take on the New York Yankees (3-3).
'Unicorn' MVP Ohtani emulates Babe Ruth in World Baseball Classic final
Shohei Ohtani was described as a "unicorn to the sport" by United States manager Mark DeRosa after he led Japan to victory in the World Baseball Classic final.
Ohtani struck out Los Angeles Angels team-mate Mike Trout to seal a 3-2 victory in a thrilling conclusion in Miami on Tuesday.
Named the tournament's MVP, Ohtani ticked off a list of achievements during the game that had only ever previously been matched in an MLB or WBC game by the legendary Babe Ruth in October 1921.
The 28-year-old started in the batting lineup, drew a walk, got a hit, came on to pitch in relief, struck out a batter and was the finishing pitcher.
"What he's doing in the game is what probably 90 per cent of the guys in that clubhouse did in Little League or in youth tournaments, and he's able to pull it off on the biggest stages," DeRosa said.
"He is a unicorn to the sport. I think other guys will try it, but I don't think they're going to do it to his level.
"What blows me away on this stage is the fact that no moment is too big for him. He did not seem rattled by walking Jeff McNeil on a close pitch, not rattled that three MVPs were coming up to bat."
Ohtani himself was happy to accomplish one of his career goals by winning the tournament, and believed the victory over the USA was also proof that Japan can get the better of anyone.
"In my baseball life, [winning the World Baseball Classic was] one of the things that I wanted to achieve," Ohtani said. "Today I was able to achieve one of the goals.
"Of course, I happened to get the MVP, but this really proves that Japanese baseball can beat any team in the world."
Ohtani closes the show as Japan defeat the United States in World Baseball Classic final
Japan superstar Shohei Ohtani struck out Los Angeles Angels team-mate Mike Trout to end a 3-2 victory over the United States in a thrilling conclusion to the World Baseball Classic (WBC) on Tuesday.
The two pre-tournament favourites ended up meeting in the final, and almost like the script of a sports movie, fans were gifted the most anticipated matchup in baseball for the last out of the game.
It was the United States striking first, with Trea Turner continuing his remarkable tournament with a solo home run in the second inning. With it, he broke the US record for most home runs in a single WBC (five) and the most RBIs (11).
But their lead was short-lived, as 23-year-old Japan slugger Munetaka Murakami crushed a 432-foot bomb to tie the game with the first pitch in the bottom of the second frame.
With the final being played in Miami, the visiting team jumped ahead 2-1 later in the second through a Lars Nootbar RBI ground-out with bases loaded.
That score would hold until a solo home run from Kazuma Okamoto in the fourth inning to put Japan up 3-1, and while the United States finished with nearly double the amount of hits (nine against five), they failed to string them together and score.
The game was injected with life in the eighth inning as Kyle Schwarber put together a 10-pitch at-bat against Texas Rangers star Yu Darvish – including five foul balls in a row – before blasting a 436-foot homer to cut the lead to one.
All-Star Devin Williams pitched a clean eighth inning for the United States to reach the ninth with the scores still at 3-2, when Ohtani was sent out to close the show.
After a Jeff McNeil walk to open the inning, Ohtani got Mookie Betts to ground into a double-play, putting Japan one out away from securing their third WBC title.
The only thing standing in his way was Trout, and with the entire stadium on their feet – with a full count – Ohtani struck out the three-time AL MVP to collect the save.
Japan are the only team with more than one WBC crown, denying the United States a chance to tie them with two each, while the Dominican Republic also has one.
Ohtani excited to face Team USA 'superstars' in WBC final after 'epic' Japan win
MLB Opening Day is still over a week away but several of baseball's biggest names will be in action on Tuesday – and Shohei Ohtani cannot wait.
The final of the World Baseball Classic will pit Ohtani's Japan against the might of defending champions the United States.
With Ohtani planning to hit and pitch in relief as he ramps up his preparations for the new season, all eyes will be on his potential matchup with Los Angeles Angels team-mate Mike Trout, the Team USA captain.
"It's not only Mike Trout, but one through nine in that order is filled with superstars, household names," Ohtani said.
"I'm just excited to face that lineup. It's a great thing for Japanese baseball."
Ohtani was speaking after Japan's dramatic 6-5 comeback win over Mexico that booked their spot in the final.
In an apparent nod to the Angels' eight-year absence from the MLB playoffs – spanning his entire career – Ohtani said: "It's been a while since I've played in a win-or-lose game, in a playoff atmosphere."
Munetaka Murakami, a Japanese Triple Crown winner last year, clinched Japan's victory with a walk-off double at the bottom of the ninth.
"It was the best, epic," said Boston Red Sox outfielder Masataka Yoshida, while Mexico manager Benji Gil graciously added: "Japan advances, but the world of baseball won tonight."
That is still not enough for Ohtani, though, as the two-way superstar said: "Obviously, it's a big accomplishment to get to the championship series.
"But there's a big difference from being in first and second, so I'm going to do all I can to get that first place."
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