Category: Baseball

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Star shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. beat out an infield single to drive in the go-ahead run and send the Kansas City Royals into an AL Division Series with a 2-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday for a two-game sweep of their Wild Card Series.

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With two outs and runners at the corners in sixth inning, Witt hit a grounder to the edge of the dirt behind second base, where Jordan Westburg made a diving stop and throw to first. Witt was already there after zooming 90 feet in 4.14 seconds, allowing Kyle Isbel to score from third.

It was the second consecutive game in which the AL batting champion provided the decisive hit in his postseason debut. Witt’s RBI single Tuesday in Game 1 plated the only run in a 1-0 victory.

Kansas City, which endured two seven-game losing streaks over the final month of the season, advances to face the AL East champion New York Yankees. Game 1 is Saturday in the Bronx.

Second baseman Michael Massey, who led off the game with a double and scored on a hit by Vinnie Pasquantino, said the front office bringing in experienced veterans with previous playoff experience like Tommy Pham, Yuli Gurriel, Michael Wacha and Will Smith made this possible.

“They’ve been there before, they’ve done it, so I think it’s helped a lot of guys,” Massey said. “It’s helped us, for sure me, to be around those guys and just watch them, more than anything, and see how they go about their business, has been — I think that’s helped us stay even keel.”

The Royals left 12 runners on base and got through another close game with a razor-thin margin for error thanks to some masterful managing by Matt Quatraro, himself a postseason rookie like Witt, Game 1 winner Cole Ragans and so many others.

Quatraro let starter Seth Lugo get an out after loading the bases in the fifth before spinning up bullpen roulette, starting with winning pitcher Angel Zerpa, who got KC out of that jam and got the first out of the sixth. John Schreiber got three more outs, Sam Long two, Kris Bubic three and Lucas Erceg the final three to close it out for his second save of the series.

The Orioles were swept in their only playoff series for a second consecutive year, going 1 for 13 with runners in scoring position this time and 5 for 32 combined. They face numerous offseason questions, from the future of manager Brandon Hyde to the possibility of losing pending free-agent starterCorbin Burnes.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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The Astros and Orioles were two of the most talented teams in baseball this year. Two games into the postseason, they’ve both been swept at home.

It’s been another unpredictable day of wild-card play Wednesday.

FOX Sports MLB writers Rowan Kavner and Deesha Thosar will be offering their top takeaways from all the action.

Astros’ rebuilt bullpen blows up in stunning fashion

At Minute Maid Park, there was a team that was poised, that was collected under pressure, that got the big hits and the big outs when they needed them most.

But it wasn’t the one seemingly equipped to handle those situations.

The Astros were playing in their eighth straight postseason. They had made the League Championship Series a record seven straight years and had played in more postseason games and racked up more playoff wins since the start of that run than any team in baseball. It began with AJ Hinch at the helm. After an unceremonious exit, the Detroit manager was now in the visitor’s dugout, leading a young and inexperienced group that defied the odds and caught fire at the right time.

The Tigers hadn’t made the playoffs in 10 years, had sold at the deadline and entered August with less than a 1% chance of making the playoffs. The average age of the Tigers lineup was a tick over 25. Only one player from that group, Matt Vierling, had any postseason experience before.

And yet, they were the group that looked composed in the highest-leverage moments. The pressure was all in the home dugout after the Tigers went into Houston and stole Game 1. And when the Astros’ offense finally made an appearance in Game 2, pushing the go-ahead run across in the seventh inning, it was the novice group that looked at ease.

Houston had won 47 straight playoff games when leading in the eighth inning or later. This year in particular featured a bullpen built to hold late leads. The Astros had awarded star closer Josh Hader a five-year, $95-million deal, giving them essentially two closers in Hader and Ryan Pressly to shut down opponents. There were cracks from the start. Hader and Pressly each had ERAs over 6.00 at the end of April. They settled in as the season went on, though neither was pristine. Pressly allowed runs in four straight appearances in August. Hader surrendered six runs in his last three appearances of the regular season. Still, the late innings figured to be a strength when the calendar turned to October. Hader didn’t allow a run in any of his five postseason appearances in San Diego last year. Pressly entered Game 2 with a streak of 20 consecutive postseason appearances without allowing an earned run.

On Wednesday, history and experience didn’t matter.

Pressly allowed the game-tying run on a wild pitch. Andy Ibañez, who had just six extra-base hits against fastballs all season, delivered the knockout blow on a sinker from Hader, one of the best fastball pitchers in the game.

So now the Tigers and their band of makeshift openers move on, the hottest team in the sport demonstrating that the last two months are no fluke. And the stunned Astros are left to wonder how many more runs are left with this group as Alex Bregman, one of the defining members of their nearly decade-long run, prepares to enter free agency. — Rowan Kavner

Royals wanted it more than Orioles

Is anyone actually surprised the Orioles went out with a whimper in the playoffs after stumbling through August and September? On the heels of a 1-for-7 showing with runners in scoring position in their Game 1 loss — all while Corbin Burnes delivered an eight-inning, one-run gem — the Orioles had to come out aggressive and energetic against Seth Lugo in an attempt to save their season. Instead, this was another feeble showing from the Baltimore offense, scoring just one run in 18 innings, unable even to capitalize with a rally when Lugo had so obviously lost his stuff in the fifth. In the end, Gunnar Henderson struck out swinging half-heartedly at two of Lucas Erceg’s changeups, his disposition like their season was already over before he even stepped up to the plate.

The lack of intensity and spirit from this still-young Baltimore team was the complete opposite of how Bobby Witt Jr.’s Royals advanced to the ALDS for the first time in almost a decade. The MVP-caliber shortstop will get plenty of love for his game-winning RBI single, but what stood out to me about Kansas City was the effort from its bullpen. Royals relievers combined to pitch 7 2/3 scoreless innings in the wild-card series, which was essential since their lineup only produced three runs in the two games. The relief corps’ excellence has played an enormous role in getting the Royals to this point.

Alas, that dominant pitching staff will face Aaron Judge, Juan Soto and the Yankees next. And, in the Bronx, there will be a lot more energy and intensity in their faces than there was this week at Camden Yards. — Deesha Thosar

Rowan Kavner is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. He previously covered the L.A. Dodgers, LA Clippers and Dallas Cowboys. An LSU grad, Rowan was born in California, grew up in Texas, then moved back to the West Coast in 2014. Follow him on Twitter at @RowanKavner.

Deesha Thosar is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.

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Jack Flaherty will start Game 1 of this weekend’s National League Division Series for the Los Angeles Dodgers, with rookie Yoshinobu Yamamoto set for Game 2.

Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes said Wednesday that the team hasn’t finalized plans for Games 3 and potentially 4, but Walker Buehler and rookie Landon Knack will be involved.

The Dodgers will play the winner of the NL Wild Card between the Atlanta Braves and San Diego Padres, who lead the best-of-three series 1-0.

The best-of-five NLDS opens Saturday at Dodger Stadium.

Yamamoto has made just four starts since coming off the injured list, having missed nearly three months with an arm injury. The right-hander allowed two runs at Colorado in his final tune-up last weekend. He pitched five innings, his longest outing since returning.

Yamamoto may be an MLB rookie, but he’s got plenty of big-game experience in his native Japan, including pitching in the 2022 Japan Series, where he led the Orix Buffaloes to victory, and in the Tokyo Olympics, when Japan won a gold medal.

“I don’t think Yama’s going to be fazed by the big moment,” Gomes said on a teleconference. “If anything, I think he’s going to thrive on it.”

Flaherty joined the Dodgers from the Detroit Tigers at the July trade deadline. The deal brought him back to his hometown. The right-hander had a 3.58 ERA in 55 1/3 innings over 10 starts for the Dodgers.

Shohei Ohtaniwill continue throwing bullpen sessions as he rehabs from his second elbow surgery a year ago, but there are no plans for him to face live hitters, Gomes said.

“We don’t anticipate him pitching in the postseason,” the GM said.

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Instead, the Dodgers will rely on his bat to help carry them, as Ohtani did in his record-setting first season with the team.

The Dodgers finished the regular season with the best record in baseball (98-64), earning the No. 1 seed in the NL and guaranteeing home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

That gave them a bye and once again the team is off for five days going into the NLDS. The layoff hasn’t been kind to them the last two years. They were swept out of the Division Series by Arizona last year and lost to the Padres 3-1 in 2022.

“Our guys are tired of it,” manager Dave Roberts said of the early exits.

Roberts has noticed a different attitude in the clubhouse this time around

“I see some more hunger, I see some more edge. I like that,” he said. “Not to say that guys weren’t prepared or trying or cared, but there’s a different level of intensity.”

The Dodgers can actually use the extra time off this year, with several players trying to heal and the heavily taxed bullpen needing some rest.

All-Star first baseman Freddie Freeman and shortstop Miguel Rojas are making progress after getting injured recently. Roberts said he’s confident Freeman will be in the starting lineup, although his right ankle injury could limit him defensively.

Freeman is taking swings in the batting cage and will likely face live pitching either Thursday or Friday.

Rojas has a tear in his left adductor muscle. He received an injection last week and will require surgery after the season, but he’s expected to play.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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Andy Ibáñez hit a tiebreaking three-run double in Detroit’s four-run eighth inning, and the Tigers swept the Houston Astros with a 5-2 victory in Game 2 of their AL Wild Card Series on Wednesday.

Parker Meadows homered as Detroit ended Houston’s run of seven consecutive appearances in the AL Championship Series. It was a sweet moment for Tigers manager A.J. Hinch, who led Houston to a championship in 2017 and was fired in the aftermath of the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal.

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Next up for the wild-card Tigers is a trip to Cleveland to take on the AL Central champions in a best-of-five AL Division Series. Game 1 is on Saturday.

Kerry Carpenter sparked Detroit’s eighth-inning rally with a one-out single off Ryan Pressly (0-1), who converted his first 14 postseason save opportunities. Carpenter advanced to third on a single by Matt Vierling and scored on a wild pitch, tying it at 2.

Pressly departed after Colt Keith reached on a two-out walk, and closer Josh Hader walked Spencer Torkelson to load the bases.

Hinch then sent Ibáñez up to hit for Zach McKinstry, and Ibáñez lined a 1-2 sinker into the corner in left for a 5-2 lead.

Hader, who signed a $95 million, five-year contract with Houston in January, allowed three hits and walked two in 1 1/3 innings.

This is a developing story.

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How would you pitch to Juan Soto knowing Aaron Judge is lurking behind him? What about Shohei Ohtani and the fearsome trio atop the Dodgers’ lineup?

As part of our weekly chat with MLB on FOX analyst John Smoltz, we asked the Hall of Fame pitcher how he’d go about attacking 11 of the best hitters in this year’s playoff field.

1. Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers

Smoltz: For Ohtani, you better have two lanes working. You got to get something fading away, and you got to get some thinking boring in because if you don’t, you’re going to have a guy with tremendous ability to go to all parts of the field with power. Yes, I’ve seen him swing at pitches up if a guy’s got a good heater. 

But I also think that if you don’t have those separators, those lanes going the other way, he’s just too good. And his ability to be quiet at the plate but powerful when he swings, it’s almost like there’s times where he pulls off the ball, and he can be vulnerable. But then when he’s not pulling off the ball, boy, if I’m facing him, I’m throwing him a bunch of splits away, and I’m trying to slider and backfoot, and then I’m elevating the fastball. But you really got to be able to do a multitude of things to get him out. 

2. Aaron Judge, Yankees

Smoltz: Aaron Judge presents some problems because he’s starting to close the windows of opportunities, but you still can get some swing and miss. You have to put pressure on the bottom part of the strike zone and hope that you get some help. But you’ve got to get pitches going away from them, sliders, curveballs, once you’ve established some fastballs, which is the key. You’ve got to be able to locate your fastball. If you don’t, he’s going to make you pay. And then, every once in a while, you got to make them honest with a fastball and to keep him off the pitches away, so he’s been able to adjust and stay off the low pitch. But that’s where you got to get him. 

He’s too tall, and he’s too strong that if you live in the strike zone and upper tier of the strike zone, he’s going to get you eventually. But the one thing that’s going to be interesting to see is I would not pitch him in the postseason like I pitched him in the regular season, meaning I would be very careful and not allow him to beat me at any point in any time of the game. So, he should have a high total of walks this postseason. 

3. Juan Soto, Yankees

Smoltz: Soto is so good, and the reason he’s so good is he just commands a strike zone. He’s not going to swing outside the strike zone too often. He’s so good down and his eye to the pitches that are borderline that you can get a lot of swing and miss out of most guys, and there’s really not a lot of places to go. The one thing you got to do against Soto is you got to mix it up. And he sometimes gives you a free strike, you know, and gets you get ahead of them. But then he’s so comfortable with two strikes that it really doesn’t matter. 

And I would say, sometimes he’s vulnerable upstairs above the strike zone with two strikes, but rarely will he swing down below the zone. But ideally, you want to get that back foot breaking ball to get him to swing over the top. So he is the reason Judge has so many RBIs, not to mention Judge’s great season he’s having, but he’s one of those guys that has single-handedly changed the lineup for the New York Yankees when they traded for him. 

4. Bryce Harper, Phillies

Smoltz: He’s very aggressive. He has an aggressive style, really attacking the baseball. So, you can play on his aggressiveness. If your stuff is good, you’ll get Bryce Harper early, but you better be getting him early because when his timing is on and he’s not really trying to do too much, he’s tough. And I think top of the zone you can get him above the barrel the bat. He loves to attack the fastball, and then every once in a while you can expand it with a curveball below the zone. 

All these guys we’re talking about, every hitter has a weakness, they just have less weaknesses than the rest of the hitters that don’t get to get to the level they’ve gotten. And I think for Bryce Harper, who’s a student of the game, you better not lay one in there because he’s going to deposit it in a seat somewhere. You’ve got to make pitches like it’s 0-2 on Bryce Harper. And there’s good and bad with that. There’s some swing and miss. But then there’s, you’re getting a new baseball, too, if you leave one over the middle of the plate.

5. Yordan Álvarez, Astros

Smoltz: He’s Big Papi reincarnated — David Ortiz. He is calm. He doesn’t really overswing. Nothing seems to bother him. Velocity doesn’t bother him. Spin doesn’t bother him. I’ll tell you what, he single-handedly for me would be the guy I would circle in a lineup and go, ‘uh, uh, I’m not facing him in that ballpark.’ So he can go both ways. He has every plate coverage that you want, and he’s patient. 

He’s going to get some swing and misses, but you’re not going to get three of them in the same way, and that’s the key. When you have a guy this good and this talented, you have to find a different way every time to get him out. You cannot, at least in my recollection, I’ve not seen anything dude outside of a left-hander be able to get him out the same way every time.

6. Fernando Tatís Jr., Padres

Smoltz: He’s a big, strong, long-levered hitter who can do damage down in the strike zone, down. He looks like he could be a pretty good golfer because I think that the way that he gets extension creates that power and leverage and makes him unique. You got to make him honest inside and up above the zone, and you gotta try to again whenever you’re facing these hitters, wherever they swing, you got to follow that same swing pattern if you’re going to your secondary stuff on the same level. So, in other words, if he swings at a high fastball, he’s not going to swing at one in the dirt. These guys are elite. But if he swings at a low fastball and follows it away, then you have to follow up with that slider on the same plane. 

You cannot have variances where you’re going to get swings and misses like some other hitters are vulnerable. They’re just having a hard time mechanically connected. If you leave one down, that’s where he loves it, to my opinion, what I’ve seen. And then, of course, he can get in that home run-happy place where his power starts getting connected to what his timing is, and everything about hitting is timing. So I think you gotta elevate, you gotta make him honest in and then hope that you can expand him away.

7, 8. Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, Dodgers

Smoltz: Two guys who are similar with opposite bats. They’re patient. Freddie will go after more pitches early than Mookie will. Mookie’s giving a lot of pitchers strike one. Because, again, he’s patient, and he understands what he’s trying to look for. You cannot beat Mookie middle-in when he’s right. He’s just going to do damage. 

Freddie is just a freak. His ability to get to pitches that no one else gets to with his funky style of hitting makes him unbelievably difficult. He will go the other way on the ground, which makes him difficult because they play him to a shift. He’ll smoke that down and in pitch that most people swing over the top, and he’ll get to a high heater. So, you have to change speeds and really kind of play mind games a little bit with Freddie. You got to do it opposite because you can’t just chuck a bunch of fastballs because he’ll spoil a bunch of them, and he’ll get to a pitch that he wants. To keep those three guys off the base consistently is why it’s difficult to face the Los Angeles Dodgers. 

9. Bobby Witt Jr., Royals

Smoltz: I can guarantee you this: The book of pitchers has yet to figure it out. So what they’re doing is they’re trying to get to a place where they can find some crack in his ability to be vulnerable. And haven’t seen it this year, so they’re going to have to take a hard look and study a lot of pitchers, and what the ones that did have success and how they expose it. But again, because of his speed and ability to put the ball in play, it makes it difficult to just say, ‘I got to live away. I got to make him reach for things.’ Because when he reaches for things, and he doesn’t hit it over 100 miles an hour, he can reach first base. 

So, that’s the talent skill that he has, the power combination. I haven’t seen too many guys elevate. Maybe that’s one area that you could expose, the zone. But anything that seems to be in the strike zone right now, and without taking a hard look at really digesting his at-bats, he’s in the category of a Trea Turner, but not the swing and miss of Trea Turner. He’s got the ability to hit for power and speed and disrupt a pitcher when he gets on the base. 

10. José Ramírez, Guardians

Smoltz: A shorter guy with a lot of power and a lot of ability to put back to the ball. You’ve got to be able to get enough fastballs by him, or at least establish your fastball to make everything else work off of it. You have to be able to get him to hit the ball the other way because if you miss middle-in, he’s going to beat you with power. 

And as the left-handed hitter facing the right-handed pitcher, I’m fine with him going the other way and trying to think that he could possibly beat me the other way. I’m going to take my chances. Same kind of style, though: If you crowd him with a fastball, then you’ve got to be able to bear in that breaking ball down and in to his back foot. That’s where he’ll swing over the top. You get that pitch, but good luck making those pitches after over time not making a mistake because if you leave it middle-in, that’s where his power shows up. For a shorter guy, he’s got a lot of power.

11. Luis Arráez, Padres

Smoltz: I love watching him hit. I wouldn’t love pitching against him because he’s not going to swing and miss. I mean, if you strike him out, you’re doing something special. And I haven’t figured him out. That’s what makes him a great hitter, right? When you can’t figure out a hitter, that means he’s got a lot of windows that are closed that you can go to. And I would just probably slower than slow, if you have it. I think he thrives on velocity. He’s got such a short swing, compact swing. You throw him away, he goes away. You throw him in, he pulls it down the line. 

He’s a Tony Gwynn-esque, and a lot of people will say Rod Carew-esque, you know, it looks like Rod Carew and his style of hitting. And I just think you’ve got to maybe slow him down to where even though it’s short and compact, he’s not using your velocity for his advantage. I’m not saying it’s going to work. I’m saying that’s what I would try, and every once in a while, believe it or not, I’d throw it right down the middle and confuse them, and maybe he hits it at somebody. But you’re not striking them out a lot. That’s one of the greatest in-season trades that nobody saw coming that changed the direction of the San Diego Padres and their lineup, and he has not disappointed. 

John Smoltz, a first-ballot Baseball Hall of Famer, eight-time All-Star and National League Cy Young Award winner, is FOX MLB’s lead game analyst. In addition to calling the network’s marquee regular-season games, Smoltz is in the booth for the All-Star Game and a full slate of postseason matchups which include Division Series, League Championship Series and World Series assignments.

Rowan Kavner is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. He previously covered the L.A. Dodgers, LA Clippers and Dallas Cowboys. An LSU grad, Rowan was born in California, grew up in Texas, then moved back to the West Coast in 2014. Follow him on Twitter at @RowanKavner.

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Fernando Valenzuela is stepping away from his broadcast duties with the Los Angeles Dodgers for the rest of the season so the former major league pitcher can focus on his health.

Valenzuela, who turns 64 on Nov. 1, is a Spanish-language broadcaster for LA. The team said Wednesday he is hoping to return for next season.

The Dodgers will host San Diego or Atlanta in Game 1 of their NL Division Series on Saturday night.

Valenzuela spent the first 11 of his 17 years in the majors with Los Angeles. He helped the Dodgers win the 1981 World Series, winning the NL Cy Young Award and Rookie of the Year after he went 13-7 with a 2.48 ERA in 25 starts.

The six-time All-Star won at least 10 games and made at least 25 starts in nine seasons with the Dodgers. He went 21-11 with a 3.14 ERA in 1986, throwing 20 complete games and finishing second to Mike Scott in balloting for the NL Cy Young Award.

Valenzuela appeared in his last big league game with St. Louis in July 1997. He finished his playing career with a 173-153 record and a 3.54 ERA in 453 games, including 424 starts.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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As Shohei Ohtani smiles his way into the postseason, baseball smiles along with him. It really does, with a fully-loaded Cheshire cat of a grin, because why on Earth not?

MLB‘s most transcendent, mesmerizing, downright likable superstar is precisely where those vested in baseball’s present and future health would like him to be. He’s heading to the business end of the calendar in impertinent form, with interest in his every move off the charts, and with a juicy story guaranteed no matter what comes next.

Ohtani makes $70 million a year, receives and gets taxed on $2 million of it with the rest stashed for later, has an overall contract that reads $700 million over a decade — and he’s underpaid. That’s right, underpaid. Hugely so, if we’re being real about it, because no player in sports means more to his league than the 30-year-old Japanese sensation does to this one.

Patrick Mahomes is a true household name, but he is one of many in the NFL, and thanks to the Swiftie audience, he has a teammate who is just as famous as he is.

LeBron James is the alpha of the NBA, with vast numbers of supporters and just as many who root against him, but pro hoops hasn’t skipped a beat during recent postseasons that commenced without him and his Lakers being a meaningful part of it.

Perhaps only Caitlin Clark in the WNBA occupies a similar status as the overwhelming face of a sport, though even then, Angel Reese might like to point out that the rivalry between the two of them is really what makes it so good.

Ohtani, when hitting and pitching to a ludicrous degree of twin proficiency — or this season hitting and stealing bases with equal excellence — is a dream come true for MLB.

Underpaid though? Yep. Forget $700 million, does Ohtani bring a billion dollars of intangible value to baseball as a whole? You bet he does, and much more.

Betting, of course, was one thing that threatened to throw a wrinkle into his tidy story of generational brilliance, the outlandishly expensive gambling habit of his former interpreter combined with his own enhanced Tommy John surgery previously flickering as shadows that seemed to hang over season one with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Yet both were handled with a shrug and a skip and a stolen bag, or actually dozens of them, to go along with endless thwacks of the bat, catapulting dinger after dinger into the stands on his way to 54 home runs and 59 feats of fleet-footed thievery.

Numbers, schnumbers, they don’t tell the full story. Just know this, as baseball tries to reinvent the demographic trends of its audience, this is the right star at the right time.

If you’re trying to make your product feel relevant to today and genuinely contemporaneous, nothing speaks to that quite as well as a larger-than-life superhero who plays like he’s from another dimension.

Baseball looks forward to seeing him in the postseason because, yes, it is the first time he’s gotten there after those years of frustration in Anaheim, and yes, he always seems to rise to the biggest of occasions, but more than anything, because baseball looks forward to everything he does.

On Saturday, Ohtani and the Dodgers will face either the San Diego Padres or the Atlanta Braves (8:03 p.m. ET on FS1), depending on how the Wild Card clash between those teams ends up.

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Ohtani’s ever-evolving saga is so watchable because it is so carefree. The effortlessness is almost absurd. If baseball is his life, then stealing bases has become his hobby, and he also came within a whisker of becoming the first NL Triple Crown winner since 1937.

Amid it all, Ohtani has remained completely chill. Even amid the move, albeit a quick one up from Orange County, and even following the weirdest scandal of modern baseball times, where his former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara purloined $16 million of the superstar’s money to meet gambling debts.

The fun part of what Ohtani’s doing is unmissable, bantering with teammates in a level of English that is really quite good, despite his refusal to speak it in interviews. He jokes around in the dugout, even on the bases sometimes, then delivers yet more explosive productivity.

“He can be goofy and playful and look like he’s really having fun playing the game,” veteran teammate Chris Taylor told the LA Times. “Then also, at the same time, be super-focused and locked in.”

“He’s almost like a little kid, trapped in a giant body,” Kiké Hernandez added. “He doesn’t necessarily always show it. But I was surprised by how much personality he has.”

The Dodgers won 98 games after reaching tallies of 100, 111 and 106 over the preceding three seasons, but along with the New York Yankees are the widely-accepted favorite to win it all.

Ohtani’s batting exploits have been backed up by Teoscar Hernández and Mookie Betts, but the pitching will need to overcome a season-long spate of injury issues to be a full source of support.

Yet there is an unquestionable lightness about the group, a fact alluded to frequently by manager Dave Roberts. The Dodgers have been here before, as winners of the NL West for 11 of the past 12 years, though with their only World Series title since 1988 being the 2020 COVID-affected championship.

For now, at least, there is plenty to smile about and potentially a lot to look ahead to. L.A. has baseball’s best player and best story, and they’re getting him cheap.

Martin Rogers is a columnist for FOX Sports. Follow him on Twitter @MRogersFOX.

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The claim to Shohei Ohtani’s potentially lucrative 50th home run ball grew more complicated this week, with a second fan filing a lawsuit asserting he had possession of the historic baseball.

According to online records, the latest suit was filed by Joseph Davidov in Florida’s 11th Judicial Circuit Court, and the defendants are Chris Belanski, Kelvin Ramirez, Max Matus and Goldin Auctions. Belanski is the man who left the stadium with the baseball. Matus — who filed the first lawsuit last week — and Ramirez have also claimed ownership of the ball.

Ohtani became the first player in baseball history to hit 50 homers and steal 50 bases, reaching the mark on Sept. 19 with his homer in Miami against the Marlins. The bidding for the baseball through Goldin Auctions is currently at $1.464 million.

Because of a ruling related to Matus’ lawsuit, the ball can’t be formally sold until a hearing that is scheduled for Oct. 10.

Davidov claims in his suit that he was able to “firmly and completely grab the ball in his left hand while it was on the ground, successfully obtaining possession of the 50/50 ball.”

The suit goes on to say that “an unknown fan wrongfully jumped over the railing, jumped onto the Plaintiff and Plaintiff’s arm and attacked the Plaintiff causing the 50/50 Ball to come loose and roll into the hands of Defendant Chris Belanski.”

Davidov is seeking more than $50,000 in damages.

The first lawsuit claims that Matus, a Florida resident who was celebrating his 18th birthday, gained possession of the Ohtani ball before Belanski took it away. Part of the presentation by Matus’ attorney on Oct. 10 will be video of the scramble for the ball in the stands.

“Max successfully grabbed the 50/50 ball in his left hand and intended to keep it,” the lawsuit stated. “Unfortunately, a few seconds later, defendant Belanski — a muscular older man — trapped plaintiff’s arm in between his legs and wrangled the 50/50 ball out of Max’s left hand.”

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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