Sports
Shohei Ohtani's 455-foot home run can't save Dodgers in 10-inning loss to Angels
Shohei Ohtani was on the losing end of a Freeway Series game for the 11th consecutive time Friday night.
This one just happened to be his first defeat in the rivalry while wearing Dodger blue.
Despite a mammoth two-run home run from Ohtani that opened the scoring in the fifth inning, the Dodgers couldn’t muster anything else in Ohtani’s first regular-season game against his former team, falling to the Angels 3-2 in 10 innings.
“This is certainly the hottest I think we’ve seen him,” manager Dave Roberts said of Ohtani, who now has seven home runs and a .400 batting average in his last 11 games. “Tonight we just couldn’t support him.”
The Angels, who made a habit of wasting big games from Ohtani during his six seasons in Anaheim, are eerily familiar with the feeling.
Playing without Mookie Betts (hand fracture) and Will Smith (planned day off) Friday night, the Dodgers’ lineup was entirely Ohtani-reliant.
He reached base in all four trips to plate, with two hits, two walks and two RBIs on his fifth-inning blast. The rest of the lineup, however, managed only three more knocks, including none from fellow stars Freddie Freeman or Teoscar Hernández.
Even after a third-inning forearm injury to Patrick Sandoval forced the Angels to dip into their bullpen early, the Dodgers (47-31) barely threatened in the latter half of the game, failing to even put a runner in scoring position until an automatic runner took second in the 10th.
By then, the Angels (30-45) had erased the two-run deficit, scoring twice off reliever Ryan Yarbrough in the sixth after the left-hander hit three batters in the inning, including one with the bases loaded.
“I think this year, in particular, his surface is good as far as ERA,” Roberts said of Yarbrough, who has a 3.28 ERA in his long relief role. “But the walks are certainly up there, the hit batsmen are up there. I don’t know if it’s a mechanical thing, but it’s very uncharacteristic.”
That inning denied rookie right-hander Landon Knack, recalled earlier in the day for a spot start, a potential win in his fifth start of the year. Knack spun five scoreless innings to lower his ERA to 2.10. But whether he remains in a short-handed Dodgers rotation moving forward is unclear.
Dodgers pitcher Landon Knack delivers in the first inning against the Angels on Friday.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
With three off days on the horizon in the next two weeks, the Dodgers — who placed Walker Buehler on the injured list Wednesday — could try to get by with a four-man rotation for the time being.
“I feel comfortable now, whenever I get to come up and make a start,” Knack said. “Whenever they need me, I always try to be ready. So yeah, definitely feeling comfortable now.”
In the top of the 10th, they finally took the lead on an RBI single from Taylor Ward, who lined a two-out, two-strike slider from Evan Phillips through the left side of the infield.
The Dodgers couldn’t respond in the bottom half of the inning, stranding their automatic runner at third base to snap a 10-game winning streak against the Angels — a Freeway Series record — that dated back to 2021.
In each of those games, Ohtani was on the losing side, providing one of the lone bright spots for an Angels club that never made the postseason during his time with the team.
Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani, left, greets Angels infielders Michael Stefanic, center, and Mickey Moniak before Friday’s game.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
This season, in the first of the 10-year, $700-million contract he signed with the Dodgers last December, Ohtani has been the best player on a contending club that is not only cruising toward October, but is currently holding the best betting odds in all of MLB to win the World Series.
His 455-foot blast Friday was his National League-leading 22nd of the season, and seventh in his last 11 games (three of those have been 450 feet or more). In addition to his two walks and eighth-inning single, it also helped raise his OPS to 1.026, trailing only Aaron Judge for the major league lead.
“My stance is stabilized and I have a good read of the strike zone,” Ohtani said in Japanese of his recent streak at the plate. “I think that leads to me hitting hittable pitches.”
Friday, nonetheless, was a reminder that the Dodgers — just like the Angels for the last half a dozen years — still need more than just Ohtani on any given night.
Whatever personal revenge he exacted in his first meeting with his former team ultimately didn’t matter.
In yet another Freeway Series game, Ohtani was on the losing end again.
The Cleveland Browns, rumored to be willing to trade down from their No. 6 overall selection in the 2026 NFL draft, did just that Thursday evening when the traded the pick to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Cleveland traded the sixth overall pick in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft to the Chiefs, in exchange for the ninth overall pick, as well as pick No. 74 in the third round and No. 148 in the fifth round.
The Browns now hold the No. 9 and No. 24 picks in the first round of the draft. They have a total of 11 picks in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Quarterbacks Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson of the Cleveland Browns watch from the sidelines during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland, Ohio, on Sept. 7, 2025. (Jason Miller/Getty Images)
So the Chiefs gave up three picks in making the first trade of the first round.
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And we know what the fan bases of both clubs were thinking prior to the selection:
Chiefs fans were thinking we know something they don’t. And then the Chiefs selected cornerback Mansoor Delane from LSU — a move no doubt forced by the club’s trade of Pro Bowl cornerback Trent McDuffie to the Los Angeles Rams earlier in the offseason.
So, the Chiefs fill a major need, assuming Delane is indeed the quality corner they believe.
LSU Tigers CB Mansoor Delane celebrates a defensive stop against the Clemson Tigers at Memorial Stadium in South Carolina. (Ken Ruinard/USA TODAY Network)
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ESPN’s Mel Kiper didn’t like the pick, by the way. He had Delane as the 14th best player in the draft.
“It was a necessity,” ESPN analyst Louis Riddick, a former NFL defensive back, responded.
Browns fans weren’t thinking that way.
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They were probably thinking something akin to “We screwed up.”
This is understandable because they’re Browns fans and this could have been the Browns Browning.
Well, the Browns, moving down three slots, gave up a shot to draft linebacker Sonny Styles of Ohio State to the Washington Commanders, receiver Jordyn Tyson to the New Orleans Saints and then the Browns got their chance with the newly acquired No. 9 pick:
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Offensive tackle Spencer Fano of Utah.
Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry speaks at the NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, Ind., on Feb. 24, 2026. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)
Fano is good. And he makes the Browns offensive line instantly better because he’s going to likely start at left tackle for them.
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So what will Browns fans think of this pick?
They’ll probably wonder why the Browns didn’t pick Miami’s Francis Mauigoa, who went with the No. 10 pick to the New York Giants and promised “to die for” Jaxson Dart if necessary. They’ll wonder this because Browns fans expect the worst.
UCLA women’s basketball team has added some star power as its revamped roster begins to take shape.
Former Iowa State forward Addy Brown announced Thursday she is committing to UCLA, giving the Bruins one of the top players in the portal.
Brown averaged 11.9 points, 8.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game while shooting 43.1% from the floor and 33.8% from three-point distance with the Cyclones last season. She played just 21 games due to injury, but she is one of the better two-way players in the nation on the transfer market.
The 6-foot-2 forward co-starred with Audi Crooks for Iowa State the past few seasons and was a part of the mass exodus from the Cyclones’ program.
The Bruins reeled in former North Carolina junior guard Elina Aarnisalo and former Texas Christian senior guard Donovyn Hunter a few weeks ago, adding two more experienced players to the depleted starting lineup after a record six UCLA players were selected in the WNBA draft.
UCLA also signed Arkansas sophomore guard Bonnie Deas earlier this month. She is likely to start at point guard for the Bruins and is one of the best rebounding guards in the nation.
Along with returner Timea Gardiner, the Bruins are starting to form somewhat of a core to defend their national championship. Gardiner was a starter during UCLA’s 2024-25 Final Four run, but missed all of this past season with injury and has one season of eligibility left.
A lineup with Deas and Aarnisalo in the backcourt, Hunter at the three and Gardiner or Brown at the four and adding another big or Sienna Betts at the five would be a competitive lineup in the Big Ten.
Before going to TCU, Hunter played two seasons at Oregon State where she earned All-Pac-12 Defensive Team honorable mention and All-Pac-12 Freshman team honors. This past season with a Horned Frogs team that went to the Sweet 16, she was third in scoring with 10.2 points per game and averaged 3.2 rebounds per contest. She also shot 45.7% from the field and was 33.7% from beyond the arc.
Aarnisalo played her freshman year in Westwood after she originally committed to UCLA in 2025. Due to injuries from point guard Kiki Rice at the start of the 2024-25 season, she was forced into action early her freshman season and finished the year averaging 5.1 points per game.
The Helsinki, Finland, native averaged 10.2 points per game for the Tar Heels as a sophomore last season while shooting 47.3% from the field and 40.3% from the arc. The Bruins will desperately need to replace the three-point production lost with the departure of Rice, Gianna Kneepkens and Charlisse Leger-Walker.
UCLA coach Cori Close said she wanted to sign five players from the portal. She probably needs one more guard and a little more forward depth coming off the bench following the departures of Gabriela Jaquez and Angela Dugalic.
Lena Bilic and Amanda Muse are returners coming off the bench who got a little bit of playing time in the tournament and should have much larger roles, but they are still relatively unproven in late-game situations. They will get a chance to develop as backups with some more Power Four experienced starters now in the fold.
Trump says there’s ‘no time frame’ to secure Iran deal
Republican Minnesota Senate candidate Tom Weiler joins ‘Fox & Friends’ to discuss President Donald Trump’s blockade in the Strait of Hormuz as the U.S.-Iranian conflict continues and react to Gov. Tim Walz’s, D-Minn., criticism of the president.
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Saudi Arabia was among the countries seeing missiles fly into their airspace as a conflict broke out in the Middle East between the U.S. and Iran.
The prospect of Iran targeting its Middle Eastern neighbors like Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates put some sporting events on hold and questioned others. Formula 1 races in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain were canceled and rumors swirled around whether future WWE events could be held in the kingdom.
Roman Reigns celebrates his win during WWE’s Royal Rumble at Riyadh Season Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Jan. 31, 2026. (Georgiana Dallas/WWE)
As the Trump administration brokered a ceasefire with Iran, WWE announced on Thursday that its Night of Champions premium live event will be held in Riyadh on June 27.
“We are proud to welcome Night of Champions back to Riyadh and look forward to delivering another unforgettable night of WWE action for fans in the Kingdom and around the world,” General Entertainment Authority chairman Turki Al-Sheikh said in a news release.
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Sami Zayn makes his entrance during Night of Champions at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on June 28, 2025. (Georgiana Dallas/WWE)
The release touted that WrestleMania 43 will still be held in Riyadh in 2027. It will be the first time that WrestleMania is held outside the U.S.
WWE president Nick Khan was adamant before WrestleMania 42 that the event will still take place in Saudi Arabia despite the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
“We’re doing WrestleMania next year in Saudi,” he said at a Sports Business Journal event, via The Sporting Tribune. “First time ever, WrestleMania will be outside the United States or Canada. And we’ve had a big, fruitful partnership with them.”
John Cena wrestles CM Punk during Night of Champions at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on June 28, 2025. (Georgiana Dallas/WWE)
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He added that those complaining about WrestleMania being held in Saudi Arabia were a “vocal minority.”
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