MLB

Ohtani shines again in history-making display, Dodgers stay hot

By Sports Desk July 03, 2021

Another day but the same story for record-setting Shohei Ohtani, who fuelled the Los Angeles Angels' 8-7 walk-off win over the Baltimore Orioles in MLB on Friday.

Ohtani hit two homers and scored the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning as the Angels overcame the Orioles at Angel Stadium.

The two-way Angels star took his tally to an MLB-best 30 homers in 2021 thanks to home runs in the third and fourth innings.

According to Stats Perform, Ohtani became the first player in American League (AL) history to reach 30 home runs and 10 stolen bases in his team's first 81 games of the season. The only National League (NL) players to achieve the feat are Sammy Sosa (1998) and Albert Pujols (2009).

Ohtani also earned the franchise record for the most homers before the All-Star break, surpassing Mike Trout's 2018 record of 28.

 

Dodgers extend streak, Manoah masters Rays

World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers won their seventh consecutive game by downing the Washington Nationals 10-5.

Alek Manoah set a Toronto Blue Jays record in their 11-1 demolition of the Tampa Bay Rays. The rookie pitcher made history with seven consecutive strikeouts in a game, according to Stats Perform. Manoah – back from a five-game ban – struck out a career-high 10 batters over seven scoreless innings of three-hit ball. George Springer, Marcus Semien and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. all homered for the Blue Jays.

Willy Adames homered as the Milwaukee Brewers emerged 7-2 victors against the Pittsburgh Pirates for their 10th successive win.

 

Lopez ejected in Marlins loss

Miami Marlins right hander Pablo Lopez was ejected after his first pitch hit All-Star Ronald Acuna Jr. in a 1-0 loss to the Atlanta Braves. In a long-running history, Marlins manager Don Mattingly and pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre Jr. were also ejected.

The slumping Chicago Cubs tasted a seventh straight defeat after losing 2-1 at the Cincinnati Reds.

 

Phillips makes his first appearance on the mound

In a lopsided defeat, the Rays did manage to provide a highlight after outfielder Brett Phillips pitched. With Tampa Bay trailing by nine runs ahead of the bottom of the eighth inning, Phillips was sent to the mound for the first time in his professional career. In an inning, the 27-year-old allowed two hits, a run and two walks.

 

Friday's results

Philadelphia Phillies 4-3 San Diego Padres
Los Angeles Dodgers 10-5 Washington Nationals
Milwaukee Brewers 7-2 Pittsburgh Pirates
Toronto Blue Jays 11-1 Tampa Bay Rays
Chicago White Sox 8-2 Detroit Tigers
Cincinnati Reds 2-1 Chicago Cubs
Houston Astros 6-3 Cleveland Indians
Atlanta Braves 1-0 Miami Marlins
Kansas City Royals 7-4 Minnesota Twins
St Louis Cardinals 9-3 Colorado Rockies
Boston Red Sox 3-2 Oakland Athletics
Los Angeles Angels 8-7 Baltimore Orioles
San Francisco Giants 11-4 Arizona Diamondbacks
Seattle Mariners 5-4 Texas Rangers
New York Mets-New York Yankees (postponed)

 

Mets at Yankees

After the opening was rained out, the Subway Series will get underway between the Mets (41-36) and Yankees (41-39) on Saturday. Taijuan Walker is the starter for the Mets, while the Yankees send Jordan Montgomery to the mound.

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    Milan secured a top-four Serie A finish with a 1-0 win at Juventus as Olivier Giroud's header dealt a knockout blow to the Bianconeri's own hopes of Champions League qualification.

    Still reeling from their 10-point deduction and Monday's miserable 4-1 defeat at Empoli, Juve required a win at Allianz Stadium to take the top-four battle to the season's final matchday.

    However, the Bianconeri's lack of attacking thrust was on full display once again, with Giroud scoring the only goal of the game with an outstanding header as half-time approached on Sunday.

    The Rossoneri were comfortable from there as they ensured Juve's chaotic season will end on another sour note, piling more pressure on embattled head coach Massimiliano Allegri.

    Sandro Tonali headed Junior Messias' delivery over as Milan started brightly, but Juve soon improved, with Angel Di Maria failing to hook Moise Kean's cut-back home on the stretch.

    More Bianconeri chances came and went as Federico Chiesa hammered over and Kean worked Mike Maignan from distance, but Juve found themselves behind five minutes before half-time.

    Davide Calabria's hanging cross from the right was met with a textbook header from Giroud, who planted the ball beyond Wojciech Szczesny's despairing dive.

    Adrien Rabiot forced a comfortable save from Maignan as Juve toiled after the restart, failing to make any attacking headway without injured striker Dusan Vlahovic.

    Szczesny stuck out a leg to deny Alexis Saelemaekers and Rafael Leao fired over on the break, while Danilo had a close-range effort blocked in a goalmouth scramble as Juve's bid for Champions League football ended with a whimper.

    What does it mean? Milan profit from Juve woes

    When Juventus' 10-point deduction was confirmed earlier this week, Milan were the chief beneficiary after being propelled into the top four.

    Stefano Pioli's men were determined not to let that advantage slip here, the Rossoneri weathering the Juve storm midway through the first half and deserving the three points after Giroud's goal. 

    Milan thus completed just their third Serie A double over Juventus in the last 50 years, also doing so in the 1990-91 and 2009-10 campaigns.

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    Giroud has so often been the man for the big occasion for both club and country, and he gave Szczesny no chance with a firm header just as Juventus looked to be in the ascendency.

    The 36-year-old striker has now scored 12 times in Serie A this season, his best return in one of Europe's top five leagues since he hit as many Premier League goals for Arsenal in the 2016-17 campaign.

    Fatal blow for Allegri?

    Allegri has faced stern criticism for most of the campaign, and the pressure may just become intolerable now they will finish outside of Italy's top four for the first time since 2010-11 (when they finished seventh).

    Having also fallen short in the Europa League semi-finals, the Bianconeri have suffered three successive defeats for the first time since doing so in 2011 under Luigi Delneri.

    What's next? 

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    Matters soon worsened for Mallorca, when Amath Ndiaye saw his yellow card upgraded to a red by VAR for a shocking foul on Alejandro Balde.

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    Mallorca dug their heels in, but even then remained under siege, with Jules Kounde hitting the bar with a header shortly after the restart.

    Lewandowski crashed a free-kick against the woodwork too, but Barca finally found their third when Gavi lashed a low finish beyond Dominik Greif.

    There were standing ovations for Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets on their final home appearances, with the Camp Nou crowd rising to salute the club legends.

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    Victor Osimhen seized on an early Lukasz Skorupski mistake to open the scoring before doubling his – and Napoli's – tally after 54 minutes with a powerful finish across goal.

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    A terrible pass from Bologna goalkeeper Skorupski gifted Napoli their 14th-minute opener as Osimhen intercepted on the edge of the area and finished into an empty net.

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    Marko Arnautovic skimmed a rare Bologna chance across the face of an empty goal after the interval before Osimhen furthered Napoli's advantage.

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