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Corey Seager provides the offense as Rangers defeat the Dodgers

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Corey Seager provides the offense as Rangers defeat the Dodgers

The first time Dodgers fans saw Corey Seager in the dugout this week, they cheered.

The first time they saw the former Dodger shortstop on the field, however, Seager gave them no choice but to boo.

In his first game as a visiting player at Dodger Stadium — three years since he left the franchise that drafted him, where he first became an All-Star and World Series champion — Seager led the Texas Rangers to a 3-2 win, providing the decisive blow in his first game back from a hamstring injury with a three-run home run off Walker Buehler in the fifth inning.

“We missed him,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said, after Seager missed the previous five games. “It’s good to have him back.”

His old club couldn’t say the same.

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The Dodgers almost salvaged the game in the ninth inning, when Jason Heyward nearly tied the score on a double with two runners aboard. But the trail runner, Andy Pages, was thrown out at home on a bang-bang play at the plate after running through a stop sign from third base coach Dino Ebel.

The Dodgers requested a challenge to see if Rangers catcher Jonah Heim was blocking the plate. But after a video review, the call was confirmed.

Game over.

Another night at Dodger Stadium, decided by the swing of Seager.

“It sucks that he’s my buddy and he clipped me,” Buehler said of Seager, his former Dodgers teammate before the Rangers signed him for $325 million two winters ago. “But at the end of the day, people don’t just give out 300 million for no reason. He’s as good as there is in this game.”

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Twenty-four hours earlier, Seager was welcomed back to Chavez Ravine with a warm reception Tuesday, getting a video tribute and extended ovation from his former fan base before the start of this week’s three-game series.

Because of a hamstring injury, however, Seager didn’t play in that game.

Only on Wednesday did Seager actually return to the lineup. And in his second at-bat, he reminded his old club of exactly what it let get away.

With the Dodgers leading by one in the fifth inning, thanks to Shohei Ohtani’s 17th home run in the first inning, Seager came to the plate with two on — one via an error by newly acquired Cavan Biggio, who started at third base — and got into a full-count battle with Buehler.

The first payoff pitch: a slider that Seager fouled off.

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The next: a dead-red, down-the-middle fastball.

Andy Pages, representing the tying run, is tagged out at the plate by Rangers catcher Jonah Heim to end the game.

(Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)

Seager didn’t miss.

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With an explosive swing and two-handed finish — the same silhouette that defined Seager’s decorated Dodgers career — the slugger belted his go-ahead, three-run blast deep into the right-field pavilion.

“I tried to go in,” said Buehler, who gave up no other runs in a five-inning, seven-hit, two-strikeout start, “and kind of left it over the plate.”

The blast was Seager’s 13th home run of the season. It marked the 60th long ball of his career at Dodger Stadium. And, in what almost certainly was a first for the 30-year-old veteran, it triggered a reaction he’d never before received at Dodger Stadium.

Boos. Lots of them.

“I guess it kind of comes with the territory,” Seager said postgame with a shy grin. “I mean, I don’t blame them. I get it.”

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The Rangers’ 3-1 lead stood until the ninth, when the Dodgers fell just short of a last-gasp comeback on Pages’ close call at the plate.

With two on and two out, Heyward lined a double into center field that easily scored Will Smith from second, and was bobbled by the Rangers’ Leody Taveras in center field.

Having started the play on first base, Pages saw the bobble, then decided to go for the tying run.

What Pages didn’t see: Ebel holding up a one-handed stop sign at third base, running right past the base coach en route to being thrown out on an impressive relay play by Rangers infielder Marcus Semien.

“As soon as I saw the center fielder misplay it a little bit, I just thought about scoring that tying run,” Pages said in Spanish. “You learn from those things. Unfortunately, those things have to happen for you to get better.”

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Manager Dave Roberts said that Dodgers coaches weren’t upset with Pages, the 22-year-old rookie outfielder who has given the club much-needed production at the bottom of the lineup.

After all, it was Pages’ two-out walk that even allowed Heyward to come to the plate.

“It’s one thing to be defiant and to run through a stop sign when you see it, and there’s another thing of trying to make a play and try to be aggressive, seeing the ball in the outfield, and that’s what he did,” Roberts said, noting the Rangers still had to perfectly execute their relay play to get him. “It’s certainly not a reprimand situation. It’s just a teaching moment.”

One that also ensured Seager’s boo-inducing blast remained the decisive blow in the game.

“He certainly deserves all the applause from Dodgers fans, he helped us win a championship,” Roberts said of his former shortstop. “But he also deserved those boos after the three-run homer.”

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Indy 500: Counting Down The 10 Best Finishes In Race History

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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).

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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.

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UCLA softball pummels South Carolina to advance to NCAA super regional

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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.”

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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.

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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.

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Pro wrestling star learns what ‘land of opportunity’ means in US as he details journey from Italy to America

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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.”

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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.”

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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.”

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Outside of the NWA, Argento has performed for the International Wrestling Cartel, Enjoy Wrestling and Exodus Pro Wrestling this year.

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