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Shohei Ohtani makes Dodgers pitching debut. Here's how he did vs. Padres originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

When Shohei Ohtani stepped onto the mound at Dodger Stadium on Monday night, it was more than just a moment, more than just an average opener, it was history, and the return of the unicorn whose only comparison in MLB history is Babe Ruth.

The ballpark buzzed with electricity and nearly every fan was in their seat ahead of first pitch. That’s something that hadn’t been seen since Game 1 of the 2024 World Series against the New York Yankees.

Cameras clicked, hearts thumped, and 56,000 sellout fans packed the Chavez Ravine stands, holding their breath as baseball’s unicorn took the mound for the first time since August 23, 2023, a span of 663 days.

Ohtani’s debut wasn’t perfect, but it also could have gone a lot worse. After not pitching in nearly two years, the Japanese right-hander clearly showed signs of rust and lack of command in his first big league action of the season. 

Ohtani threw 28 pitches in the first inning, with 16 strikes and 12 balls. 

The first batter he faced was Fernando Tatis Jr., and after working the count full, the Padres’ leadoff man hit a bloop single to centerfield on a 99 MPH fastball from Ohtani. 

One throw later, Ohtani’s pitch went to the backstop allowing Tatis Jr. to advance to second. Luis Arraez would eventually hit a single to centerfield putting runers on the corners with no outs. 

But Ohtani worked his way out of the jam. He got Machado to hit a sac fly to center that scored Tatis Jr. on a bang-bang play at the plate. 

He got a groundout from Gavin Sheets thanks to a nice diving play at second base by Tommy Edman, and then got Xander Bogaerts to ground out to third base to end the inning. 

Ohtani’s final line was one inning pitched, with two hits allowed, one earned run, no walks and no strikeouts. His fastest pitch of the night reached triple-digits, a whopping 100 MPH, a good sign that Ohtani is fully recovered from his second Tommy John surgery.

Just one inning. But this wasn’t about numbers. This was about a man doing something no one else alive can do. A two-way superstar, surgically rebuilt, returning from his second Tommy John surgery with the weight of a city—and arguably the entire baseball world—on his shoulders.

He led off the bottom of the first inning and struck out against Padres’ ace Dylan Cease, much to the chagrin of the sold out crowd, but they already witnessed what they came to see: Ohtani back on the mound, pitching for the first time in Dodger blue.

It had been less than 24 hours since the Dodgers dropped the bombshell: Ohtani would pitch Monday. In minutes, ticket prices exploded on the secondary market. A $30 bleacher seat became a $300 golden ticket. Parking lots filled early. Batting practice was a full-house affair. Even the Padres paused to watch him warm up.

The results weren’t perfect, but if there were doubts—about his health, his command, his readiness—they were silenced like a mic drop at center stage. This wasn’t just a warm-up inning. It was a statement. The Dodgers’ $700 million man showed that even after two Tommy Johns, even after nearly two years off the mound, he still has the stuff that turns All-Stars into punchlines.

Ohtani’s return marks a new chapter—not just for him, but for the Dodgers, Major League Baseball, and fans across the globe. His presence on the mound, and at the plate, brings a different gravity to the game. A sense that you’re witnessing something that shouldn’t be possible. Like watching Da Vinci paint with both hands at once.

He’s not back to full form yet. Patience will be needed as he builds back up to full strength. One inning at a time, one start at a time. But what he gave us Monday night was a glimpse of the magic. A reminder. A promise.

Shohei Ohtani is a pitcher again.

And the world just got a little more fun.

Kurtz proclaims A's have ‘a lot of season left' after walk-off homer originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The Athletics aren’t ruling out a turnaround just yet.

After Nick Kurtz blasted a two-run, walk-off homer to defeat the first-place Houston Astros 3-1 on Monday at Sutter Health Park, the A’s rookie first baseman was ecstatic to have extended their win streak to four games.

“Oh, absolutely,” Kurtz said on “A’s Cast” after the win when Chris Townsend asked if the A’s, with their slew of young stars, have discussed their ability to right the ship this season.

“A lot of season left. A lot of baseball to go. This season is nowhere near over, so we’re just looking to win every single day.”

Kurtz returned to the A’s lineup last Monday after a stint on the 10-day injured list with a strained left hip flexor, and since has recorded five hits, two home runs, four RBI and two runs scored. His two homers came in the ninth inning of back-to-back wins, first in the A’s 3-2 win over the Kansas City Royals on Sunday and then to end Monday night’s game.

Kurtz became the fifth-youngest player in A’s franchise history to hit a walk-off homer, per MLB’s Sarah Langs, making the feat all the more extraordinary.

“I mean, that’s unbelievable,” Kurtz told Townsend and “A’s Cast” co-host Tony Kemp of his two-day offensive onslaught. “I can’t really even put it into words, but glad to get it done for the guys tonight and try to keep that winning streak going. That’s all that matters.”

The A’s top prospect is up to six home runs on the 2025 MLB season since being called up on April 21 and is beginning to find his confidence at the plate — something manager Mark Kotsay certainly is noticing.

“We knew that [Kurtz] can have an impact and be a middle-of-the-order bat,” Kotsay told reporters after the game. “… Everyone wants to put these guys that have success in Triple-A right in the middle of the order and test it out. And I think the progression for him has been slowly moving up in the order — you saw tonight, he was in the five hole. And I think he’s getting a lot more comfortable.

“The at-bats are looking better, and the results are obviously showing up, and tonight was a big, big swing. It felt great for him. You can see there’s more confidence. You can see him kind of, in some form, starting to be a leader in the clubhouse.”

Kurtz is just one of many talented young players who have stepped up this season for the A’s, and with every win, it’s clear they believe they can overcome the recent bout of losing that stifled their hot start to the year. Though they sit 12 games out of first place in the AL West and eight games back from a wild-card spot at 30-44, Kurtz is right — there is plenty of season left.

WATCH: Red Sox' top prospect Roman Anthony records first MLB homer originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Roman Anthony has officially arrived.

Anthony, the Boston Red Sox’ No. 1 prospect and the top-ranked prospect in MLB, recorded his first career home run during Monday’s game against the Seattle Mariners. He took Logan Gilbert deep to right-center field for a solo shot in the first inning:

Anthony’s first career homer came in the Red Sox’ first game without Rafael Devers, who was traded to the San Francisco Giants on Sunday. Ironically, Devers also hit his first MLB homer in Seattle.

With Devers out of the picture, Anthony will be counted on to carry a heavy load in the Red Sox’ lineup. While the 21-year-old has experienced some growing pains so far in his big-league career, all signs point toward him being a player who can help Red Sox fans get the bitter taste of the Devers deal out of their mouths.

The Red Sox entered Monday’s series opener against the Mariners riding a five-game win streak, which included a three-game sweep of the New York Yankees. Boston will look to maintain its momentum in Seattle, especially with a must-watch series against Devers and the Giants starting on Friday.

Kepler, Marsh and sizzling Phillies stay hot in Miami originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Max Kepler and Brandon Marsh are hotter than they’ve been all season for a Phillies team that has, at times, been desperate for offense from both positions.

Kepler hit a go-ahead solo home run off Sandy Alcantara in the fourth inning Monday night in Miami to extend his hitting streak to six games and the Phillies’ win streak to five. They beat the Marlins, 5-2, and picked up more ground on the idle Mets. The Phils (42-29) were 5½ games back of the Mets as recently as Thursday but now trail by just two with three meetings at Citizens Bank Park this weekend.

Marsh has hit in a seven straight. He tripled with one out in the seventh inning and scored an important third run on a Trea Turner RBI single. He also walked and scored one of the Phillies’ two insurance runs in the top of the ninth. This past week is by far the best Marsh has looked in 2025. He’s 10-for-20 with three extra-base hits and has been squaring up the ball hard, lining singles up the middle and into holes. It’s a promising sign and a reminder of what he can contribute against right-handed pitching.

This is also the sort of production the Phillies hoped they’d receive a bit more consistently from Kepler, who has three homers and two doubles in his last six games. He’s hitting .221/.310/.413 through 213 plate appearances.

“That was my first thought, the at-bats by everyone were really good turning the lineup over,” Turner said over the weekend when the Phillies swept the Blue Jays. “It makes a big difference.””

Turner set the tone again, leading the game off with a homer and piling up three more hits. He leads the National League with 88, four more than Manny Machado and five more than Shohei Ohtani.

It made a winner out of Mick Abel, who is 2-0 with a 2.21 ERA through four starts. After three homers and three walks his last time out against the Cubs, Abel bounced back with five innings of one-run ball against one of baseball’s three worst offenses.

Abel’s only difficult inning was the bottom of the second, when he walked Liam Hicks on a borderline full-count pitch with two outs and a man on third base. The next batter, Connor Norby, also ran a deep count and singled in the Marlins’ only run.

Manager Rob Thomson lifted Abel after five innings and 77 pitches, perhaps cognizant of how much the Phillies will need to rely on the rookie this summer without Aaron Nola.

Taijuan Walker, Jordan Romano, Matt Strahm and Orion Kerkering finished off the win. Kerkering is the seventh different Phillie to earn a save this season and it was the first of his big-league career. He went 1-2-3 and has been close to lights-out for a month.

The streaking Phillies look to make it six in a row on Tuesday behind Jesus Luzardo, who is coming off a 10-strikeout gem after making adjustments to his glove positioning to limit pitch-tipping.

How Craig Breslow and Sam Kennedy addressed Rafael Devers trade originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow and president/CEO Sam Kennedy addressed the media on Monday, more than 24 hours after trading veteran slugger Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants in a widely criticized move.

“Alignment” was the word of the night. Breslow and Kennedy used the word numerous times to describe Devers and the front office being on different pages since the team asked him to move from third base to designated hitter in spring training. The relationship worsened when Devers was asked to play first base in the wake of Triston Casas’ season-ending injury.

Devers was traded after the Red Sox completed a three-game sweep of the New York Yankees at Fenway Park, giving them eight wins in their last 10 games. The timing of the move was questionable, as it killed the good vibes surrounding the club and potentially resulted in Boston getting a worse return than it would have received had it waited until next month’s trade deadline.

So, how did Breslow and Kennedy explain the controversial decision to trade Devers? Here were the highlights from Monday night’s press conference:

How does the trade help the Red Sox for 2025?

Breslow made the bold claim that the Red Sox may finish with a better record as a result of trading Devers.

“I understand why the initial reaction would be that it would be tough to sit here and say, when you move a player of Raffy’s caliber, how could I sit here and say that we’re a better team? I acknowledge that on paper, we’re not gonna have the same lineup that we did, but this isn’t about the game that is played on paper. This is about the game that is played on the field and ultimately about winning the most games that we can,” Breslow said.

“I think when you consider the flexibility, the ability to give some of the young players some run … I do think there’s a real chance that at the end of the season, we’re looking back and we’ve won more games than we otherwise would have.”

Was there a mandate to offload Devers’ entire contract?

The Giants took on the remaining $254 million on Devers’ contract. Was Breslow required to dump all of Devers’ contract to facilitate a deal?

“There was no mandate,” Breslow said. “The mandate is to assemble the best team that we possibly could. In order to do that, we needed to create a more functional roster and give certain guys more playing time, be able to rotate through the DH spot, potentially match up there. … Additionally, I do think it gives us some resources as we head toward the deadline.”

What led to Devers being traded in the second season of his 10-year contract?

“In the end, I think it’s pretty clear that we couldn’t find alignment with Raffy, is the truth,” Kennedy said. “We all worked at it over the last several months, going back to the offseason. … We worked at it, we had a different vision for him going forward than he had, and we couldn’t get there. We couldn’t find alignment, and we reached that inflection point and made the decision to make a big move.”

Why was the move made now and not closer to the trade deadline or in the offseason?

The timing of the Devers deal was questionable, especially with the trade deadline just over a month away. Boston likely could have gotten a better return if it waited for a bidding war around the deadline or in the offseason, so why make the trade now?

“I think we rightfully set a really high bar to execute a trade of this magnitude,” Breslow said. We did have conversations with other clubs, we got a sense for the way they might behave, whether it was today or a few weeks from now.

“It’s not that this was the best deal that we could get, because the best deal that we could get may not necessarily be good enough to trade a player like Raffy Devers. But when you consider all of the factors here, this is the one that made sense, this is the path that we went down, and so we ended up where we did.”

What happened during Devers’ meeting with John Henry?

Breslow, Kennedy, and team owner John Henry flew to Kansas City for a face-to-face meeting with Devers last month after the three-time All-Star declined to move to first base.

“That meeting was full of candor, openness, honesty between both John and Raffy,” Kennedy said. “Bres has had many discussions with Raffy, I’ve had discussions with Raffy, AC’s (Alex Cora) had discussions with Raffy that have been candid, honest, direct. We just weren’t able to get there on a shared vision for his role going forward. It’s OK. This sometimes happens in a long-term relationship, and we hopefully did the absolute best thing in the best interest of the Boston Red Sox and in this case in Raffy Devers.”

Did Devers ask to be traded?

“There were times during the course of conversations with Raffy’s camp where they had indicated perhaps a fresh start would be best for both sides,” Breslow said.

Why do the Red Sox keep trading generational talents? (Mookie Betts and now Devers)

“Each and every player decision is its own individual decision,” Kennedy said. “I’ll put our record up against anybody else’s in Major League Baseball over the last 24 years. We’re incredibly proud of what we’ve built here. We’ve got more trophies and banners to show for it than any other organization in Major League Baseball. We are so proud of that.”

Is this an admission that extending Devers was a mistake?

The Red Sox signed Devers to a 10-year, $313.5 million contract extension before the 2023 season.

“We thought we had alignment back when we made the contract a couple years ago when we did the deal. Ultimately, we did not. We’re responsible for that. … We had certain expectations that went with that contract, and when we came to the conclusion that we did not have a full alignment, we moved on.”

You can watch the full press conference below:

Ron Taylor, a reliever on the Mets' 1969 World Series championship team, died on Monday at the age of 87 after a lengthy illness, the club announced.

Taylor, who pitched for the Mets from 1967-71, appeared in 269 regular-season games, posting a 3.04 ERA and a 1.144 WHIP with 50 saves in a New York uniform.

He led the Mets with 59 appearances and 13 saves in 1969, pitching to a 2.72 ERA. He also earned a save in Game 2 of the 1969 World Series against the Baltimore Orioles.

The right-hander pitched for five teams – Cleveland, St. Louis, Houston, New York, and San Diego – during his 11-year career in the majors, posting a career 3.93 ERA.

After his playing days ended, Taylor went on to become the team physician for the Toronto Blue Jays, a role he served for more than 30 years.