Shohei Ohtani on Thursday presented the game ball to Phil Nevin amid cathartic clubhouse celebrations after the Los Angeles Angels snapped their 14-game losing streak.
While the Angels’ new manager greatly appreciated the gesture to mark the first victory of his career, he also knew who deserved nearly all of the credit for stopping the longest skid in franchise history.
“He carried us on his back,” Nevin said of the Halos’ matchless American League (AL) Most Valuable Player.
Photo: AFP
Ohtani pitched seven stellar innings and hit a two-run homer, as the Angels won for the first time since May 24, beating the Boston Red Sox 5-2.
Ohtani (4-4) yielded four hits and a run, while striking out six in a performance befitting an ace. He also had two hits, and he put the Angels ahead for the first time by crushing his 12th homer of the season off Nick Pivetta (5-5) in the fifth inning.
“It’s been long, but it always feel great to win,” Ohtani said through his translator. “Obviously, I definitely wanted to win this one. Especially on the days I pitch, I just want to put the team in a spot to have a chance to win, and I was able to do that today.”
Andrew Velazquez added a three-run homer in the sixth as Los Angeles won for the first time in three games under Nevin, who replaced the fired Joe Maddon after Monday’s series-opening loss.
The Halos won for only the fourth time in 22 games since May 15, when they were 24-13 and in first place in the AL West.
“I think everybody exhaled, took a deep breath,” Nevin said. “For the last 14 [games], they’ve come every day expecting to win ... and when you come in after the game, you see the pain on their faces. I know it’s hurting them, and that means a heck of a lot, because they care. These last two weeks were painful for them. Painful for everybody, but when you see that care in your players, that means a lot.”
Champagne corks often pop and loud, boisterous cheers are usually heard around Constitution Dock when the Sydney Hobart Yacht Race line honors winner finishes in the Tasmanian state capital. There were no such celebrations this year when the defending champions on board LawConnect won the race in the early hours of yesterday morning, as it came about 24 hours after two sailors died on separate boats in sail boom accidents two hours apart on a storm-ravaged first night of the race. LawConnect, a 100-foot super maxi skippered by Australian tech millionaire Christian Beck, sailed up the River Derwent at just after 2:30am.
‘BOWLINE’ AND ‘ARCTOS’: Roy Quaden was hit on the head by a boom, while Nick Smith was struck by the main sheet and thrown across the boat amid rough seas Two sailors have been killed in separate incidents in the treacherous Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, officials said yesterday, as a string of yachts retired in powerful winds and high seas. One of the crew members, 55-year-old Roy Quaden on Flying Fish Arctos, was hit on the head by a boom as the fleet raced down the New South Wales coast, race organizers said. The other man, 65-year-old Nick Smith, was struck by the main sheet aboard Bowline and thrown across the boat, said David Jacobs, vice commodore of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia. “Unfortunately, he hit his head on the winch, and
Liverpool on Thursday powered seven points clear at the top of the Premier League as the title favorites survived a scare in their 3-1 win against Leicester City, while Bruno Fernandes was sent off in Manchester United’s dismal 2-0 defeat against Wolverhampton Wanderers. Erling Haaland missed a penalty as crisis-torn Manchester City failed to end their dismal run with a 1-1 draw against Everton, but it was United’s travails and Liverpool’s remarkable run that took center-stage. Arne Slot’s side were shocked by Jordan Ayew’s early strike at Anfield, but the leaders recovered their composure to equalize just before the interval through Cody
Elena Rybakina’s Kazakhstan yesterday dumped defending champions Germany out of the United Cup with world No. 2 Alexander Zverev sidelined by an arm injury barely a week away from the Australian Open. The upset in Perth sent the Kazakhs into the semi-finals of the 18-nation tournament. In Sydney, women’s world No. 2 Iga Swiatek led Poland into the last eight by winning a rematch of her 2023 French Open final against Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic. Britain also progressed to the quarter-finals with Katie Boulter’s dominant 6-2, 6-1 victory over Australia’s Olivia Gadecki enough to guarantee they won their group. The US and
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