Sports
Christian Walker frustrates Dodgers in series loss to Arizona: 'He's Babe Ruth against us'
The Dodgers dugout sat in quiet dejection.
Two rows behind it, a Dodgers fan rose to his feet and began bowing down.
Rounding the bases before them was the club’s new No. 1 enemy, a decent MLB slugger who, during trips to Dodger Stadium in recent years, suddenly performs like a cross between Barry Bonds and Babe Ruth.
Once again, Christian Walker had the Dodgers’ number.
For a second straight night, he hit two home runs to lead the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 9-3, rubber-match win at Chavez Ravine.
“Obviously,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts sighed after the game, “he feels really comfortable in the box against us.”
Entering this week, Walker already had a reputation as a Dodgers killer. In 87 games against them, he’d hit 22 home runs and collected 50 RBIs. His numbers against franchise icon Clayton Kershaw were especially good, with a .294 batting average against the future Hall of Famer.
“I got some thoughts,” Kershaw, who remains sidelined following offseason shoulder surgery, told reporters Thursday afternoon about how the team could neutralize Walker in the series finale. “For our guys, not for you.”
Whatever Kershaw was thinking, it didn’t stop Walker.
After hitting one home run in Tuesday’s series opener, then two more in Wednesday’s rout of the Dodgers, Walker continued his weeklong tear with another explosion, taking his place among the Dodgers’ most fearsome foes. Since 2002, Walker’s 19 home runs at Dodger Stadium are tied for most by any visiting player, matching former Diamondbacks star Paul Goldschmidt. Among visiting players with at least 100 plate appearances in that span, Walker’s .783 slugging percentage is first, while his .341 batting average is second.
Arizona’s Christian Walker rounds third base after hitting a home run in the first inning against the Dodgers on Thursday.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Both of Walker’s home runs Thursday came off rookie starter Landon Knack.
In the first inning, Walker followed a Joc Pederson home run with a solo blast, hammering a two-strike fastball at the bottom of the zone. In the third inning, Walker launched a two-run shot deep to left, opening a 4-0 lead on a hanging changeup Knack left over the plate.
“We just don’t make good pitches against him,” Roberts said. “That’s just the bottom line.”
The most telling moment of Walker’s Dodgers dominance might have come in the the fifth. With a runner on second, two outs and left-handed reliever Anthony Banda on the mound, Roberts raised four fingers from the dugout.
An intentional walk.
To a hitter who, in ballparks other than Dodger Stadium, was batting .257 with a .788 on-base-plus-slugging percentage this year.
“When we’re living it, it digs a little deeper,” Roberts said of the team’s frustrations with Walker, which were only amplified by sarcastic cheers from the crowd following the walk.
“He’s Babe Ruth against us,” the manager added.
While Walker drew one more walk the rest of the night — he finished two for three Thursday and eight for 13 in the series with five home runs and nine RBIs — his contributions were enough to key the Diamondbacks’ series-clinching win.
Dodgers starting pitcher Landon Knack sits alone in the dugout during the fourth inning Thursday.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
The Dodgers scored three runs in the fourth inning on a groundout from Kiké Hernández and a two-run single from Austin Barnes to cut it to 4-3. But after a fielding flub by Freddie Freeman in the fifth helped the Diamondbacks double their advantage, Arizona’s bullpen shut the door over the final five innings, while its lineup tacked on four insurance runs the ninth.
“We have shown how we’re gonna have to fight back,” outfielder Jason Heyward said of the team’s play over the last week, in which it dropped back-to-back series for the first time since late May. “We’re gonna have to figure out ways to do that and weather the storm.”
Of bigger concern for the Dodgers was Heyward, who exited after two innings because of left knee pain.
On Pederson’s home run in the first inning, Heyward injured his knee after leaping at the wall. Roberts said Heyward was unlikely to play Friday and was scheduled to get an MRI.
Dodgers right fielder Jason Heyward can’t reach a home-run ball hit by Arizona’s Joc Pederson in the first inning of the Dodgers’ 9-3 loss Thursday. Heyward later left the game with knee pain.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
“As soon as I landed, it felt like one of those trust falls; it happened fast,” Heyward said. “Put my feet down and I was like ‘All right, this doesn’t feel great’ … You just kind of have to wait and see.”
Heyward took only one at-bat, grounding out in the first. The veteran has been slumping, just three for 35 in his last 12 games.
Nonetheless, the veteran remains a key part of the outfield platoon, playing most days in right field given the Dodgers’ heavy dose of opposing right-handed pitchers. Any extended absence might only amplify the Dodgers’ growing need to bolster their depth before the July 30 trade deadline.
Fans watch the Fourth of July fireworks show at Dodger Stadium following Thursday’s game.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
The team’s sudden 2-4 slide — even when accounting for Walker’s dominance — has highlighted that dynamic enough on its own.
“We couldn’t do anything after that one big inning,” Roberts said, before evaluating his team’s last week bluntly: “It’s not pretty.”
Sports
Indy 500: Counting Down The 10 Best Finishes In Race History
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The best Indianapolis 500 finish could be subjective, depending on which driver a fan was rooting for to win.
It certainly is in the eye of the beholder.
So take this list for what it’s worth. One view of the 10 best finishes in Indianapolis 500 history. Of course, it skews to more recent decades when the runs have come a little faster and the finishes have had a tendency to be a little closer.
We’ll add one each day to this list of fantastic finishes ahead of the 110th running of the Indy 500 on May 24 (12:30 p.m. ET on FOX).
10. Ericsson outduels O’Ward (2022)
After a red flag, Marcus Ericsson held off Pato O’Ward in a two-lap shootout. The shootout didn’t last two laps, though, as there was a crash on the final lap behind them. Ericsson had a comfortable lead when the red flag came out for a crash with four laps to go, a situation where in past Indianapolis 500 races, they likely would have ended the race under caution with Ericsson as the winner.
9. Foyt survives chaos (1967)
How does a driver who wins by two laps end up on this list? It’s because the win nearly didn’t happen on the last lap. A big crash with cars and debris littering the frontstretch just ahead of Foyt as he came to the checkered flag forced him to navigate through the wreckage for the win.
8. Sato can’t catch Franchitti (2012)
This was one of those finishes where the leader holds on for the win, but boy did the leader have to hold on. Takuma Sato tried to pass Dario Franchitti early on the final lap but to no avail and Franchitti sped off for the victory. This was one of those Indy 500s that made you hold your breath all the way to the checkered flag.
Sports
UCLA softball pummels South Carolina to advance to NCAA super regional
No. 8 UCLA stuck with right-hander Taylor Tinsley throughout the Los Angeles Regional and that faith in the senior paid off.
During the Bruins’ NCAA tournament opener at Easton Stadium, Tinsley gave up 10 runs before her teammates rallied for a walk-off win. She returned less than 24 hours to pitch against South Carolina, giving up two earned runs in a victory. Tinsley was back in the circle Sunday afternoon, yielding one run in UCLA’s 15-1 victory over the Gamecocks to advance to the super regionals.
“I am proud of Taylor’s resiliency, the ability to do whatever she can to help this team,” UCLA coach Kelly Inouye-Perez said. “She got stronger through the weekend. I am proud of that.”
Tinsley and her teammates will host Central Florida in a super regional that begins Friday.
“I feel good,” Tinsley said after pitching three key games in three days. “I could have gone more innings if needed.”
South Carolina right-hander Jori Heard gave up only one hit through two innings, keeping UCLA’s potent bats relatively quiet. The Gamecocks had runners on first and second with two outs in the second, but Tinsley escaped the inning with a pop-up to left field.
The Bruins got on the board first with a two-run home run from left fielder Rylee Slimp in the third inning. The Bruins followed it up by loading the bases with no outs in the fifth for right fielder Megan Grant.
Grant cooked up a grand slam to make it 6-0. She has 40 home runs, extending her hold on the NCAA single-season home run record. Oklahoma freshman Kendall Wells trails Grant with 37 homers.
“Its just incredible because I am blessed to be able to say the number 40,” Grant said.
South Carolina broke through on an RBI single from left fielder Quincee Lilio to cut UCLA’s lead to 6-1 in the fifth inning after being held to just one hit since the first inning. The Gamecocks couldn’t cash in the rest of the way.
The Bruins resumed scoring in the sixth inning, with the bases loaded and Grant at bat again. Fans at Easton Stadium anticipated another grand slam, holding up their cellphones hoping to catch some magic. Grant served up a two-run RBI single to expand the lead 8-1.
Jordan Woolery added to the scoring with a two-run RBI double down the left-field line, and Kaniya Bragg hit a home run to left-center field. Soo-jin Berry put a bow on the win with one more home run.
Sports
Pro wrestling star learns what ‘land of opportunity’ means in US as he details journey from Italy to America
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Cristiano Argento has been tearing up opponents in the ring for the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) as he worked his way up the ladder to get a few shots at some gold.
But the path to get to one of the most prestigious pro wrestling companies in the U.S. was long and a path that not many wrestlers have taken.
Argento was born and raised in Osimo, Italy – a town of about 35,000 people located on the east side of the country closer to the Adriatic Sea. He told Fox News Digital he started training in a ring at a boxing gym before he got started on the independent scene in Italy. He wrestled in Germany, Sweden, France and Denmark before he came to the realization that, to become a professional wrestler, he needed to make his way to the United States.
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Cristiano Argento performs in the National Wrestling Alliance (Instagram)
He first worked his way to Canada to get trained by pro wrestling legend Lance Storm. He moved to Canada, leaving most of his friends and family behind and without a firm grasp on the English language.
“At the time, my English was horrible. I didn’t speak any English at all,” he said. “But I was with my friend, Stefano, he came with me and he translated everything for me. I probably missed 50% of the knowledge that Lance Storm was giving to us because I was unable to understand. I was only given a recap and everything I was able to see. I’m sure if I was doing it now with a proper knowledge of English, it would have been a different scenario.
“Eventually, I moved back to Italy after the training and I said, OK, now, I want to go to the U.S. So, I studied English more properly, and eventually I got my first work visa that was in Texas. I was in Houston for a short period of time. I trained with Booker T at Reality of Wrestling. I got on his show, which was my debut in the U.S. That was awesome. I eventually got a new work visa in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where I currently live since 2017. Since then, my wrestling career, thankfully, kept growing, growing, growing and growing until now wrestling for the NWA. One of the bigger promotions in the U.S.”
Argento said that his family thought he was “nuts” for chasing his pro wrestling dream.
He said they were more concerned about his well-being given that he was half-way around the world without anyone he knew by his side in case something went sideways.
“My family, friends, everybody was like why do you want to move to the opposite side of the world not knowing the language, not knowing anybody, by yourself, to try to become a professional wrestler? And I was like, well, we have one life, I love, and that’s what I’m gonna do,” he told Fox News Digital. “Eventually, my family was really supportive. But when I first said, ‘Hey, mom and dad, I want to do that.’ They looked at me like, ‘Are you nuts? Are you drunk or something? What are you talking about?’ And I said, no that’s what I want to do. And they knew I loved this sport because in Italy I was traveling around Europe, spending time in Canada training, so they started to understand slowly that’s what I want to do with my life. They were proud of me.
Cristiano Argento works out in the gym. (Instagram)
“They’re still proud of me. I think more like the fact that you’re gonna try that, that it’s hard than more like you’re gonna leave us. The fact like, oh, my son is gonna go on the opposite side of the world for a six-hour time difference and we’re gonna see him maybe, when, like, I don’t know. Not often. I think it was more that. And for me too, it was really hard. It was heartbreaking not being able to see my family every day or every month. Like once a year if I’m lucky. I think that was the biggest part for them because of concern or that I was here by myself and if I have any issue or any problem, I didn’t have nobody. So they were scared. Like, you get sick, if you have a problem, anything, and they’re not being able to be here next to me. But they were really supportive since day one.”
Argento is living out his dream in the U.S. He suggested that the moniker of the U.S. being the “land of opportunity” wasn’t far from what is preached in movies and literature – it was the real thing.
“I was inspired by people who came to the U.S. and made it big,” Argento told Fox News Digital. “The U.S. was always like the land of opportunity. That’s how they sell it to us and this is what it is. I feel like, in myself, that was true because anything I tried to do so far I was able to reach a lot more than if I wasn’t here. I’m not yet where I’d like to be but I see like there’s so many opportunities in this country. Not just in wrestling but like in any business to reach the goal. I’m really happy of the choices I did here.
National Wrestling Alliance star Cristiano Argento poses in Times Square in New York. (Instagram)
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“But my big inspirations were big-time actors who moved to the country, who didn’t know English, with no money, no support system. I had one dream, I have to go right there to make it happen and I’m gonna go and do it and I’m gonna make it happen. So those people were always the biggest inspiration even if it wasn’t in wrestling, just how they handled their passion, how they pursued their dream without being scared of anything, how far you are, how alone by yourself … You don’t know the language, you’re like, let’s go, let’s do it.”
Outside of the NWA, Argento has performed for the International Wrestling Cartel, Enjoy Wrestling and Exodus Pro Wrestling this year.
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