Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto dominated the New York Yankees on his World Series debut as his Los Angeles Dodgers team closed out a 4-2 win to lead the best-of-seven series 2-0.
The hosts also thrilled the raucous Dodger Stadium crowd with three home runs, and survived a last-gasp Yankees rally as the National League champions took charge of the ‘Fall Classic’.
In contrast to the scoreless first half of game one, both teams were on the board early as the Dodgers’ Tommy Edman and the Yankees’ Juan Soto traded solo home runs.
But the hosts then staged a home run derby of their own in the third inning, with Teoscar Hernandez and Friday’s walk-off hero Freddie Freeman both going deep to give the Dodgers a 4-1 lead.
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Yamamoto, who penned a 12-year contract worth $325m (£251m) – a Major League Baseball record for a pitcher – when he joined the Dodgers from the Japanese league last December, pitched into the seventh inning, with Soto’s homer the only hit he allowed.
The Yankees offence, with star batter Aaron Judge hitless and striking out three times, fared no better against the bullpen until they rallied in the ninth inning.
The visitors were in the last chance saloon when Soto led off with a base hit, advanced to second on a wild pitch and was driven in by Giancarlo Stanton to make it 4-2.
Jazz Chisholm Jr singled and Anthony Rizzo was hit by a pitch to load the bases, but Anthony Volpe struck out and, with the Yankees down to their last out, pinch-hitter Jose Trevino flew out to centre field.
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A bigger concern for the Dodgers was when designated hitter Shohei Ohtani left the field in some pain after injuring his left shoulder during a failed stolen base attempt in the seventh inning.
The series now moves to New York, with game three at Yankee Stadium on Monday evening.
Max Holloway was the “BMF” champion. Ilia Topuria knocked him out. So Topuria is the BMF champion now, right?
Apparently it’s not that simple, as Topuria’s incredible knockout of Holloway in the UFC 308 main event only secured Topuria’s featherweight championship. Holloway won the BMF title with a fifth-round KO of Justin Gaethje this past April, but UFC CEO Dana White never stated that Holloway’s title was on the line Saturday. White later told reporters Holloway is still the BMF even after the loss.
None of that stopped Topuria from parading around with two titles after beating Holloway, which “Blessed” was asked about at the evening’s post-fight press conference.
“Could you imagine [lightweight champion] Islam [Makhachev] walking around with two belts after knocking out [featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski]?” Holloway said. “Let that sink in. The belt was in a different weight class for a different reason. I think the fans make it happen, if the UFC really wanted to make it happen they would have put it up, but Dana said what he said, so he’s the boss man.”
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Topuria was also asked why he was waltzing around with the BMF title in addition to his UFC title and he wondered why it wasn’t up for grabs in the first place.
“I never understand why they didn’t put the BMF belt on the line,” Topuria said. “It has to be on the line since the first day, but they don’t want to make it official, I’m going to make it official by myself.”
“It’s going to be a little bit weird for them to promote him as a BMF, but is what it is, no problem,” he added. “I’m going to keep it in my house. … Now, I’m the new baddest motherf*cker world champion.”
Prior to fighting Holloway, Topuria suggested he could challenge for titles in multiple divisions, targeting bouts with welterweight champion Belal Muhammad and lightweight champion Islam Makhachev.
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Holloway was asked if he thought Topuria could get Islam next, but he still sees options at 145 pounds for Topuria.
“I don’t know,” Holloway said. “I saw Dana White talk about it, Dana White said that Ilia got a lot of contenders here, so we see what happens. Certain situations come up for certain fighters because of certain workload that they do, so at the end of the day if he gets it that’s cool, but probably not. He has Volk and Diego [Lopes] ramming down the door right now, so I think they might keep him down there.”
“It’s hard to go against Islam,” Holloway said when asked to evaluate the potential matchup. “His fighting style is a tough one. He likes wrestling, he likes striking now, he’s falling in love with his striking, so it’s hard to win against Islam.”
“Shaq is not the only Bristol Rovers player to receive racial abuse, with an incident under investigation only last week.
“Even more sickening is that some of these messages come from individuals claiming to be Bristol Rovers supporters. Each time, the club has sought to act in the appropriate manner.”
The incident occurred just days after Luton Town striker Elijah Adebayo was the victim of racist abuse sent to him by an Instagram user after the Hatters lost 2-1 to Sunderland in the Championship.
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Bristol Rovers said the “old methods of ‘combating’ racism”, the “carefully-crafted press releases and saturated social media posts” are “not working”.
The club statement added: “Our supporters – our real supporters – are sick and tired of being in any way associated with those ‘fans’ who comfortably send such abhorrent messages.
“To the person who sent Shaq this racist message, and to any person who claims to be a Gashead and engages in similarly deplorable behaviour, we simply say this: You are not a Bristol Rovers fan. You are not welcome at The Memorial Stadium. We do not want your support.”
Opponents Reading also expressed support for Forde and say they “strongly condemn” the abuse sent to him.
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“We will work alongside Saturday’s visitors to ensure the perpetrator is identified and evidence is provided to the relevant authorities,” a Royals statement, external said.
“No individual, whether on or off the pitch, should be subjected to such abuse. We stand by you, Shaq.”
“I’m really proud of the playing group because I think this week has been really difficult in terms of getting professional courtesy,” she told BBC Sport NI.
“I’m glad we’re going back on equal footing in the second leg, I’m really looking forward to playing at Windsor Park where we can exert ourselves on the game.”
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Sources within the squad described it as a ‘logistically challenging’ few days and said the pitches provided for training were inadequate.
BBC Sport was also told lighting was not switched on in time for the start of the team’s training session on Thursday, the evening before the first leg.
ARGENTINIAN journalist Enrique Wolff has LOST his right to vote in the Ballon d’Or after his picks showed “he’d lost all credibility.”
Wolff, 75, was removed after voting for FOUR of his compatriots in the top five of the 2023 Ballon d’Or, which was won by Lionel Messi.
France Football will hand the Ballon d’Or to the world’s best player in a glittering awards ceremony in Paris on Monday.
The coveted award is decided by 100 journalists, one from each of Fifa’s 100 top-ranked member nations (top 50 for the women’s award).
Each journalist makes their top 10 pick from the 30-player shortlist and there are different point values for each.
The Ballon d’Or is for the previous season and should go to the best player during that specific period, not the journalists’ favourite.
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But guidance carries only so much weight.
Ballon d’Or commander-in-chief, Garcia told The Times: “I am not a dictator. They vote with their heart.
“Some prefer attackers or midfielders, this team or that team. The important thing is to be credible. Not everyone passes that test either.
“Last year the voter for Argentina was removed after he selected four players from Argentina — Messi, Lautaro Martinez, Julian Alvarez and Emiliano Martinez — in his top five spots.
Chimaev (14-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) made a frightening statement that he should be next to challenge for the middleweight title held by Du Plessis (22-2 MMA, 8-0 UFC) on Saturday when he destroyed Robert Whittaker by first-round submission in the co-main event matchup at Etihad Arena on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi.
After the fight, Chimaev made it clear he wants to challenge for gold in his next fight, whether that means immediately or waiting for a rematch between Du Plessis and Sean Strickland to play out. The UFC has yet to book Du Plessis vs. Strickland 2, though, and UFC CEO Dana White said post-fight that he is going to mull all potential options for what’s next in Tuesday’s matchmaker meeting.
It appears Du Plessis is trying to help make that decision easier, however, because in his first reaction to Chimaev’s win, he said he is eager for the chance to put the first blemish on what is currently a flawless record in MMA competition (via X):
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Feel really sorry for Rob he looked super ready but this is the fight game well done on a good performance Khamzat That being said I can’t wait to take your 0
Feel really sorry for Rob he looked super ready but this is the fight game well done on a good performance Khamzat That being said I can’t wait to take your 0
The confidence on Chimaev’s end going into a potential championship showdown with Du Plessis was evident in the aftermath of UFC 308, and he predicted it would be a rough night for him – and his last moment sitting at the top of the mountain.
“How I did with this guy, Rob, and how he done?” Chimaev said. “Rob took him down, so if Rob took him down, there is salam alaikum (against me).”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 308.
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