Sports
Miguel Rojas, Chris Taylor and Freddie Freeman fuel Dodgers comeback win over Royals
The Dodgers tapped into some unlikely power sources to erase a three-run deficit Friday night, Miguel Rojas and Chris Taylor each hitting home runs in a score-tying fifth inning against the Kansas City Royals in Chavez Ravine.
Then they fired up some fossil fuel to win it, as veteran first baseman Freddie Freeman, who turns 35 in September, poked a two-out, run-scoring single to center field in the eighth inning to lift the Dodgers to a 4-3 victory in front of a crowd of 49,580.
Mookie Betts sparked the winning rally off Royals left-hander Will Smith with a one-out single to left field, and he took second on Smith’s errant pick-off throw to first.
Shohei Ohtani popped out to shortstop, but Freeman reached out for an 83-mph slider off the plate and lofted a single to center off his former Atlanta Braves teammate — the ball left his bat at 75.7 mph — to score Betts for a 4-3 lead.
Freeman felt like he underachieved for two months, with a .286 average and .842 on-base-plus-slugging percentage through the end of May, but he has lived up to his lofty standards in June, batting .357 (15 for 42) with three homers, three doubles and nine RBIs in 12 games to lift his season average to .297 and OPS to .892.
“Freddie knows how to get a hit,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “Coming through in that spot, I know it was a big weight off his shoulders.”
Taylor, the seldom-used utility man who entered Friday with a .100 average, .307 OPS and 41 strikeouts in 103 plate appearances, can relate. With his first homer of the season, he felt like a few cinder blocks were removed from his shoulders.
Freddie Freeman drives in the go-ahead run on a single in the eighth inning against the Royals on Friday.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
“Yeah, it’s been a while,” said Taylor, who hadn’t homered since last Sept. 7, a span of 165 plate appearances. “I think it was more of a relief than anything. I wasn’t sure I was ever going to get to do that again.”
Royals starter Cole Ragans, whose five-pitch mix featured a fastball that averaged 96.2 mph and topped out at 98.3 mph, was nearly untouchable for four innings, giving up one single and striking out two, and Salvador Perez staked the left-hander to a 3-0 lead with a three-run homer in the top of the fourth.
But that lead disappeared in the span of four bottom-of-the-order batters in the fifth, a rally that rookie Andy Pages sparked with a one-out infield single.
Rojas got ahead with a 3-and-1 count and turned on a 94-mph fastball from Ragans, driving his third homer of the season — and 47th of his 11-year career — 390 feet to left field to pull the Dodgers to within 3-2.
“That was a big hit for us, kind of gave us some life,” Roberts said. “Ragans was throwing the ball so well that one moment, you’re thinking you might get no-hit, and the next thing you know, you’re back in the ballgame.”
Dodgers relief pitcher Alex Vesia reacts after earning a save to close out a 4-3 win over the Royals on Friday.
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
Kiké Hernández grounded back to the mound for the second out, but Taylor jumped on a 2-1 changeup, lining his homer into the left-center field pavilion to make it 3-3. It was only Taylor’s 10th hit and second extra-base hit of the season.
“I try to just take it day by day, but I definitely have my moments of frustration,” Taylor said of his season-long struggles. “It’s kind of weird, not being in there that often. Some days you’re feeling good and you don’t play. Then sometimes you’re not feeling good. I’m just trying to be consistent with my work and ready when the opportunity comes.”
Roberts, a former big-league outfielder, said he couldn’t imagine going through what Taylor has endured this season.
“For me, there would’ve been a lot of sleepless nights,” he said. “But he comes in every day ready to help us win, and that’s just sort of who he is. … He’s pretty much the same whether he’s going really well or scuffling.”
Taylor’s wife and young son, Theo, who was born last year, help keep things in perspective.
1
2
3
1. Dodgers starting pitcher Gavin Stone delivers against the Royals in the first inning Friday. 2. Dodgers center fielder Andy Pages makes a sliding catch in the seventh inning. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) 3. Chris Taylor runs the bases after hitting a solo home run off Royals pitcher Cole Ragans in the fifth inning.
“I don’t know how I would have handled this earlier in my career,” Taylor said. “I think I took things home with me a lot more. Now that I have my wife and kid at home, it’s a good escape from all of this. I’m very thankful that I have them.”
Stone, who entered with a 7-2 record and 2.93 ERA in 12 starts, blanked the Royals on one hit through three innings but ran into trouble in the fourth, Maikel Garcia leading off with a single to center, taking second on a Bobby Witt Jr. groundout and third on a wild pitch. Vinnie Pasquantino walked to put runners on first and third with one out.
Stone then hung an 88-mph first-pitch slider to Perez, who demolished the middle-of-the-plate offering for his 11th homer of the season, the ball leaving the veteran catcher’s bat at 113.3 mph and traveling 437 feet for a 3-0 lead.
“Yeah, no doubt, for sure,” Stone said, when asked if he wanted that pitch to Perez back. “But once it’s over, you can’t really do anything about it. You can only focus on the next hitter, and so just having that approach helps a lot.”
Stone escaped a first-and-third, two-out jam in the fifth by getting the dangerous Witt to fly out to center field, and he retired the side in order in the sixth and seventh innings to give the Dodgers a chance.
1
2
3
4
1. Dodgers fans Denise, left, and Colleen Quinn-Allen enjoy Pride Night at Dodger Stadium before Friday’s game against the Kansas City Royals. 2. Dodgers fans dance to music during Pride Night at Dodger Stadium. 3. Dodgers fans enjoy Pride Night at Dodger Stadium. 4. Dodgers fans enjoy Pride Night. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
It marked the fourth time in nine starts that Stone, who gave up three runs and four hits, struck out three and walked two for a no-decision, completed seven innings.
“I’ve got all the trust in the world in him that he can make a pitch when he needs to, get back after a tough inning and keep us in the ballgame, which he did,” Roberts said of Stone. “He saved the bullpen, which was a bit in limbo. It seems like he does that every time he takes the baseball, and he’s earned that trust.”
Sports
Indy 500: Counting Down The 10 Best Finishes In Race History
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
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
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
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.
ZERO BS. JUST DAKICH. TAKE THE DON’T @ ME PODCAST ON THE ROAD. DOWNLOAD NOW!
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)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
“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.
-
Maryland5 minutes agoMost Maryland sheriffs drop arrest agreements with ICE despite vows to fight a new state law – WTOP News
-
Michigan11 minutes agoSevere storm threat targets Southeast Michigan through Tuesday — What to know
-
Massachusetts17 minutes agoTrial of accused Boston serial rapist Alvin Campbell Jr. begins today
-
Minnesota22 minutes agoGas Prices In Minnesota Rise 25.5 Cents, Now Averaging $4.42 Per Gallon
-
Montana41 minutes ago
Montana Lottery Big Sky Bonus, Millionaire for Life results for May 17, 2026
-
Nebraska46 minutes agoThe Nine Biggest Reasons Nebraska Football Has Been Mired in Mediocrity the Last 10 Years
-
Nevada53 minutes agoFatal crash on US-95 in Nye County
-
New Hampshire58 minutes agoWrong-way driver hits state trooper’s cruiser head-on in New Hampshire