Sports
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.”
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.
(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.
“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.
“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.
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 on Saturday.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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.
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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