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Miguel Vargas and Shohei Ohtani homer late to lift Dodgers past Brewers

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Miguel Vargas and Shohei Ohtani homer late to lift Dodgers past Brewers

The eighth-inning home runs that propelled the Dodgers to a 5-3 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers in front of a crowd of 50,086 in Chavez Ravine on Saturday were as different as the men who hit them.

The first, by Miguel Vargas, a 24-year-old reserve outfielder from Cuba who is making the major league-minimum $740,000, was a towering 368-foot drive that landed on top of the left-field wall, just out of the reach of Milwaukee outfielder Christian Yelich. The pinch-hit shot to lead off the bottom of the eighth snapped a 3-3 tie.

“He put a good swing on a [fastball] that was really inside and kept it fair,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “But I didn’t know if it had enough steam to get out.”

The second, by Shohei Ohtani, a 30-year-old slugger from Japan who signed a 10-year, $700-million deal in December, had the steam of a geyser, the one-out laser leaving Ohtani’s bat at 110 mph and traveling 430 feet to right-center to give the Dodgers a 5-3 lead and Ohtani a National League-leading 28 homers.

“I was certain of that one, yeah,” Roberts said. “That was a no-doubter for me.”

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A long ball by Vargas and an even longer ball by Ohtani took Roberts off the hook for a strategic decision that backfired in the top of the eighth.

The Dodgers held a 3-2 lead after right-handers Daniel Hudson (sixth) and Blake Treinen (seventh) threw scoreless innings in relief of starter James Paxton, and Roberts turned to closer Evan Phillips to face the heart of the Brewers order — William Contreras, Yelich and Willy Adames — in the eighth.

Roberts had used the strategy successfully this season, most recently in a June 24 game at Chicago, when Phillips threw a scoreless eighth inning against the White Sox to protect a 2-0 lead and left-hander Alex Vesia closed the ninth inning of a 3-0 win.

Phillips struck out Contreras to open the eighth on Saturday, but he hung a 2-and-2 sweeper to the left-handed-hitting Yelich, who lined a 429-foot homer to center field to tie the score 3-3. Vesia threw a one-two-three ninth for his fifth save.

Will Smith, right, celebrates with Freddie Freeman after hitting a two-run home run in the first inning Saturday.

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(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

“It was a right-left thing,” Roberts said. “I feel confident with Alex against either, but I liked getting the right-hander on Contreras and Adames. [Phillips] left a sweeper middle-middle. If I had to do it over again, I’d do the same thing.”

The score was not knotted for long thanks to Vargas, who is making a push for more playing time with his productive bat, and Ohtani, who broke out of a seven-game slump with two walks, a triple and a home run.

Vargas has started only 12 games since he was recalled from triple-A in mid-May but is batting .349 (15 for 43) with a 1.059 on-base-plus-slugging percentage, three homers, four doubles and nine RBIs in 18 games.

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“I’ve been patient, working on myself, trying to get this type of opportunity, and I’m grateful to have it and be successful,” Vargas said. “A hundred percent, it’s a hard job to do, but this is a team sport … I have to be ready when the moments come.”

Jason Heyward’s knee injury will open more playing time in left field for Vargas, who also began taking ground balls at third base, a position the Dodgers have struggled to fill since Max Muncy went down with an oblique strain on May 15.

Vargas struggled defensively at second base and hit .195 with a .672 OPS, seven homers and 32 RBIs in 81 games last season before being sent down at the All-Star break.

“He’s gaining more confidence each day and earning more opportunities,” Roberts said. “He had success at triple-A, and I think this second time around, he’s slowed down. There’s more clarity. Everyone wants to be out there, but only nine guys can play. He’s continuing to do his work and is focusing on performing when he gets the opportunity.”

Ohtani was stuck in a seven-game skid in which he hit .207 (six for 29) with a .751 OPS, two homers, three RBIs and 15 strikeouts entering Saturday. This was on the heels of a torrid 10-game stretch in which Ohtani hit .444 (16 for 36) with a 1.757 OPS, eight homers and 17 RBIs in 10 games.

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“He’s chasing down — it’s that simple,” Roberts said before the game. “He’s had stretches of two, three, four games where he does that, and then he resets and gets back in his zone.”

Ohtani walked and scored in the first inning, was hit by a pitch in the second, walked in the fourth, tripled to right-center in the sixth and homered off left-hander Bryan Hudson in the eighth.

“Hitting is very difficult, and guys are going to bring their best when they face Shohei,” Roberts said. “But I think for him, simplifying where he’s good in the strike zone, then the natural ability takes over. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Paxton was hardly dominant, giving up two runs and four hits in five innings, striking out three and walking two, relying primarily on a four-seam fastball that averaged just 92.8 mph, down from his season average of 93.3 mph.

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But Paxton, who is 7-2 with a 4.24 ERA in 16 starts, did stem the bleeding of a rotation that was rocked for 30 runs in 30 innings of the previous seven games.

“I used to get up to 98 mph, but I don’t really have that in the tank right now,” said Paxton, who had Tommy John surgery in 2021. “The cutter, which was a big strikeout pitch for me, hasn’t been there.

“I came into the season thinking the velocity would come, but it hasn’t come as much as I thought it would. So I think I’m evolving as a pitcher. My stuff isn’t what it used to be, but I’m pitching differently, pitching to weak contact, trying to give us a chance to win.”

Dodgers starting pitcher James Paxton delivers during a 5-3 win over the Milwaukee Brewers at Dodger Stadium.

Dodgers starting pitcher James Paxton delivers during a 5-3 win over the Milwaukee Brewers at Dodger Stadium on Saturday.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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The Brewers took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Contreras walked, took second on a Yelich groundout and scored on Adames’ two-out RBI single to left field.

The Dodgers countered with three in the bottom of the first off Milwaukee ace Freddy Peralta, Ohtani leading off with a walk and Will Smith hitting his fourth homer in six plate appearances, a two-run shot that traveled 369 feet to right field.

Smith, who hit three homers and walked twice Friday night, became the first Dodger to homer in four consecutive at-bats since Adrian Gonzalez on April 7-8, 2015, and the first major leaguer to do so since Houston’s Jose Altuve on Sept. 3-5, 2023.

Freddie Freeman singled to left, took third on Teoscar Hernández’s single to center and scored on Andy Pages’ fielder’s-choice grounder for a 3-1 lead. The Brewers pulled to within 3-2 in the fourth on Rhys Hoskins solo homer to left off Paxton.

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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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