In an offseason of outside-the-box managerial hires, the Nationals have reportedly hired the biggest wild card of all.
Washington is naming 33-year-old Blake Butera its next manager, according to a Thursday morning report from Jeff Passan of ESPN. Butera, 33, will be the youngest MLB manager since the Twins hired 33-year-old Frank Quilici in 1972.
Butera, a longtime minor league manager in the Rays' system, currently holds the title of senior director of player development for that team.
Born in Louisiana, Butera played collegiately for Boston College before Tampa Bay drafted him in the 35th round in 2015. After two professional years in the Appalachian and New York-Penn Leagues, Butera entered management.
In both 2021 and 2022, he won Manager of the Year awards at the minor league level with the Charleston RiverDogs of the Carolina League.
The Nationals fired manager Dave Martinez, the manager of their 2019 World Series team, on July 6 after eight years.
تعادل منتخب مصر أمام نظيره الكويت، في المباراة المقامة بينهما الآن، ضمن منافسات بطولة كأس العرب 2025، على ملعب استاد لوسيل، لتصبح النتيجة 1-1.
ويلتقي منتخب مصر مع الكويت، في إطار منافسات الجولة الأولي من عمر مواجهات دور المجموعات لبطولة كأس العرب 2025، بقطر.
وسجل هدف منتخب مصر الأول، والتعادل، محمد مجدي أفشة من ركلة جزاء نجح في تنفيذها في الدقيقة 86 من عمر اللقاء. هدف مصر الأول أمام الكويت في كأس العرب 2025.. أفشة
طالع.. فيديو | عمرو السولية يهدر ركلة جزاء في مباراة مصر والكويت
وتحصل منتخب مصر على ركلة الجزاء، عن طريق مروان حمدي بعد عرقلته من حارس مرمى الكويت سعود الحوشان، في الدقيقة 83، تحصل على إثرها على بطاقة صفراء ثانية ليطرد من اللقاء، ويكمل منتخب الكويت المباراة بـ 10 لاعبين. ركلة جزاء منتخب مصر وبطاقة حمراء لحارس مرمى الكويت سعود الحوشان
وكان منتخب الكويت تقدم عن طريق اللاعب فهد الهاجري، في الدقيقة 65، برأسية من داخل منطقة الجزاء بعد عرضية مرسلة من ركنية من الجانب الأيسر.
ويتواجد منتخب مصر في المجموعة الثالثة من بطولة كأس العرب، مع منتخبات الكويت والأردن والإمارات.
Técnico do Santos, Fábio Carille afirmou que o time é “candidato fortíssimo” ao título da Série B. Após a vitória do Peixe por 2 a 0 sobre o Avaí, nesta sexta-feira (26), o treinador concedeu entrevista coletiva e colocou o clube como favorito a ser campeão da Segundona e a buscar o acesso à Elite do Campeonato Brasileiro.
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➡️ Tudo sobre o Peixe agora no WhatsApp. Siga o nosso novo canal Lance! Santos
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– Somos um candidato fortíssimo ao acesso e ao título. Temos que manter a humildade aqui dentro. Faltam 36 rodadas, mas se continuarmos com esse nível de concentração até o fim, certamente vamos conseguir igualar o nível – afirmou Fábio Carille.
Além disso, o técnico elogiou o desempenho de JP Chermont, autor do primeiro gol do Santos na vitória por 2 a 0 sobre o Avaí. O lateral-direito de 18 anos foi titular pela primeira vez e de destacou na partida na Ressacada, válida pela segunda rodada da Série B.
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– Acompanho o Chermont desde a Copinha, assisti alguns jogos do estádio e outros da tv. Esses jogadores mais jovens têm que escutar os mais experientes porque eles têm caráter. Temos Gil, Pituca, Giuliano, Guilherme. Temos muita gente para ajudar – comentou o treinador.
Questionado sobre o atraso do time no início da partida, Fábio Carille responsabilizou a Polícia Militar de Santa Catarina. O Santos teve de entrar em campo durante a execução do Hino Nacional Brasileiro, sem seguir o protocolo da CBF. Segundo o técnico, a escolta do ônibus da equipe até o estádio não foi bem feita.
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– Muito chato entrar no campo com o hino tocando. Chegamos tarde aqui, a Polícia não fez um trabalho legal, a escolta não foi bem. Coisa chata, tínhamos programado. Falamos com eles, mas não respeitaram o que pedimos. Foi muito chato, acho que a CBF tem que intervir nisso. Foi muito chato, temos que estar atentos. A CBF é quem cuida disso. Tem que ter sabedoria e saber que não é mais assim – explicou Carille.
Confira outras respostas de Fábio Carille após vitória do Santos sobre o Avaí, pela Série B:
– A minha satisfação é enorme. A oportunidade de voltar, contratar bons profissionais e jogadores. Se faz muito pela qulalidade, com jogadores experientes que querem algo na carreira. Início bom, mas temos que melhorar em todos os jogos.
– Vitória consistente, time concentrado o tempo todo. Sabemos a ideia do Avaí de atacar no primeiro tempo a favor do vento, nos portamos bem. Voltamos concentrados, rodamos a bola. No primeiro gol do Chermont ficamos muito com a bola. Estou muito feliz.
– O Morelos está dando uma resposta melhor, é visível que emagreceu. O Furch sentiu uma leve dor no púbis, chega uma hora que não aguenta. Temso a preocupação, tanto pela saúde dele, como por queimar uma substituição no segundo tempo. Tudo muito bem programado.
– Elogiei muito o time no intervalo, gostei do que vi. Não é fácil jogar contra o vento, o João não trabalhou, elogiei bastante no intervalo. A nossa preparação foi toda em cima deles. No segundo tempo, jogando a favor do tempo tivemos mais oportundiades. Conseguimos dois gols e uma vitória importante.
– Para minimizar os erros, saíamos atrás de tudo. Com dois ou três dias, tivemos as melhores informações possíveis (sobre Escobar). Desde o primeiro dia mostrou que é um lateral aceso, vivo. Também joga com a perna direita. Muito contente, ótimo profissional e certamente nos ajudará a correr atrás dos objetivos.
حسم التعادل الإيجابي بهدف لكل فريق، مباراة الأهلي والجيش الملكي التي جمعتهما ضمن منافسات بطولة دوري أبطال إفريقيا 2025-2026.
وحل الأهلي ضيفًا على الجيش الملكي في المغرب، ضمن مواجهات الجولة الثانية من دور المجموعات لبطولة دوري أبطال إفريقيا، اليوم، الجمعة.
طالع.. فيديو وصور | مشادة بين لاعبي الأهلي والجيش الملكي في دوري أبطال إفريقيا
وسجل محسن بوريجة لاعب الجيش الملكي الهدف الأول في الدقيقة 37 بعدما ارتدت الكرة له عقب ركلة جزاء سددها محمد حريمات وتصدى لها مصطفى شوبير.
وشهدت ركلة الجزاء اعتراضات قوية من جانب لاعبي الأهلي حيث ارتطمت الكرة في يد أليو ديانج والتي كانت في وضعها الطبيعي.
واستطاع الأهلي تسجيل هدف التعادل في مرمى الجيش الملكي، في الدقيقة 67، بعد عرضية رائعة من محمد علي بن رمضان ليضعها تريزيجيه برأسه في الشباك.
ورفع الأهلي رصيده إلى 4 نقاط في صدارة المجموعة بالتساوي مع يانج أفريكانز، بينما الجيش الملكي لديه نقطة وحيدة في المركز الثالث بالتساوي مع شبيبة القبائل. أهداف مباراة الأهلي والجيش الملكي اليوم
يشهد اليوم الخميس الموافق 11 ديسمبر 2025 إقامة عدة مباريات قوية في بطولة الدوري الأوروبي إلى جانب مواجهات بارزة في كأس العرب وكأس الرابطة المصرية.
تقام اليوم مباراة مهمة في بطولة كأس العرب، حيث يواجه منتخب السعودية نظيره الفلسطيني في دور ربع النهائي، وكذلك يلتقي المغرب مع سوريا.
ويدخل منتخب السعودية مباراته أمام فلسطين بمعنويات مرتفعة بعد تصدره المجموعة الثانية برصيد 7 نقاط وحصوله على فوزين وتعادل واحد.
طالع | طاقم مصري يدير مباراة فلسطين والسعودية في ربع نهائي كأس العرب 2025
بينما يخوض منتخب فلسطين اللقاء بعد حصوله على المركز الثاني في مجموعته برصيد 5 نقاط، ويسعى للمفاجأة والعبور إلى نصف النهائي.
كما يشهد اليوم إقامة العديد من مباريات الدوري الأوروبي في الجولة السادسة من دور المجموعات، بمشاركة أندية أوروبية كبيرة، وكذلك منافسات الجولة الخامسة لـ بطولة دوري المؤتمر. مواعيد مباريات اليوم الخميس 11-12-2025 والقنوات الناقلةمواعيد مباريات كأس العرب 2025 اليوم
سوريا أمام المغرب، في تمام الساعة 04:30 مساءً بتوقيت مصر وفلسطين، 05:30 مساءً بتوقيت السعودية، عبر قنوات الكأس 1، beIN Sports المفتوحة، أبو ظبي الرياضية، دبي الرياضية، الشارقة الرياضية 1، منصة شاشا.
السعودية ضد فلسطين، في تمام الساعة 7:30 مساءً بتوقيت مصر وفلسطين، 8:30 مساءً بتوقيت السعودية، عبر قنوات الكأس 1، beIN Sports المفتوحة، أبو ظبي الرياضية، دبي الرياضية، الشارقة الرياضية 1، منصة شاشا. مواعيد مباريات كأس الرابطة المصرية اليوم
المصري ضد الاتحاد السكندري، في تمام الساعة 4:00 مساءً بتوقيت مصر، 5:00 مساءً بتوقيت السعودية، عبر قناة ON SPORT 1.
وادي دجلة أمام بتروجيت، في تمام الساعة 7:00 مساءً بتوقيت مصر، 8:00 مساءً بتوقيت السعودية، عبر قناة ON SPORT 1. مواعيد مباريات الدوري الأوروبي اليوم
أوتريخت أمام نوتنغهام فورست، في تمام الساعة 7:45 مساءً بتوقيت مصر، 8:45 مساءً بتوقيت السعودية، عبر قناة beIN SPORTS 1.
ليل أمام يونغ بويز، في تمام الساعة 7:45 مساءً بتوقيت مصر، 8:45 مساءً بتوقيت السعودية، عبر قناة beIN SPORTS 2.
نيس أمام سبورتينج براجا، في تمام الساعة 7:45 مساءً بتوقيت مصر، 8:45 مساءً بتوقيت السعودية، عبر قناة beIN SPORTS 3.
دينامو زغرب أمام ريال بيتيس، في تمام الساعة 7:45 مساءً بتوقيت مصر، 8:45 مساءً بتوقيت السعودية، عبر قناة beIN SPORTS 4.
رينجرز أمام فيرينتسفاروش، في تمام الساعة 7:45 مساءً بتوقيت مصر، 8:45 مساءً بتوقيت السعودية، عبر قناة beIN SPORTS 5.
شتورم جراتس أمام سرفينا زفيزدا، في تمام الساعة 7:45 مساءً بتوقيت مصر، 8:45 مساءً بتوقيت السعودية، عبر قناة beIN SPORTS 7.
آستون فيلا أمام بازل، في تمام الساعة 10:00 مساءً بتوقيت مصر، 11:00 مساءً بتوقيت السعودية، عبر قناة beIN SPORTS 1.
روما أمام سيلتيك، في تمام الساعة 10:00 مساءً بتوقيت مصر، 11:00 مساءً بتوقيت السعودية، عبر قناة beIN SPORTS 3.
ليون أمام غو أهيد إيغلز، في تمام الساعة 10:00 مساءً بتوقيت مصر، 11:00 مساءً بتوقيت السعودية، عبر قناة beIN SPORTS 4.
بولونيا ضد سيلتا فيغو، في تمام الساعة 10:00 مساءً بتوقيت مصر، 11:00 مساءً بتوقيت السعودية، عبر قناة beIN SPORTS 5.
سالزبورغ أمام فرايبورغ، في تمام الساعة 10:00 مساءً بتوقيت مصر، 11:00 مساءً بتوقيت السعودية، عبر قناة beIN SPORTS 6.
فنربخشة ضد بران، في تمام الساعة 10:00 مساءً بتوقيت مصر، 11:00 مساءً بتوقيت السعودية، عبر قناة beIN SPORTS 7.
بورتو ضد مالمو، في تمام الساعة 10:00 مساءً بتوقيت مصر، 11:00 مساءً بتوقيت السعودية، عبر قناة beIN SPORTS 8.
فينورد أمام فيسبي، في تمام الساعة 10:00 مساءً بتوقيت مصر، 11:00 مساءً بتوقيت السعودية، عبر قناة beIN SPORTS 9.
باثانايكوس أمام فيكتوريا بلزن، في تمام الساعة 10:00 مساءً بتوقيت مصر، 11:00 مساءً بتوقيت السعودية، عبر قناة beIN SPORTS XTRA 3. مواعيد مباريات دوري المؤتمر الأوروبي اليوم
فيورنتينا أمام دينامو كييف، في تمام الساعة 7:45 مساءً بتوقيت مصر، 8:45 مساءً بتوقيت السعودية، عبر قناة beIN SPORTS 6.
دريتا ضد الكمار، في تمام الساعة 7:45 مساءً بتوقيت مصر، 8:45 مساءً بتوقيت السعودية، عبر قناة beIN SPORTS 8.
باجيلونيا بياليستوك أمام رابيد فيينا، في تمام الساعة 7:45 مساءً بتوقيت مصر، 8:45 مساءً بتوقيت السعودية، عبر قناة beIN SPORTS 9.
شكنديا ضد سلوان براتيسلافا، في تمام الساعة 7:45 مساءً بتوقيت مصر، 8:45 مساءً بتوقيت السعودية، عبر قناة beIN SPORTS XTRA 2.
شيلبورن أمام كريستال بالاس، في تمام الساعة 10:00 مساءً بتوقيت مصر، 11:00 مساءً بتوقيت السعودية، عبر قناة beIN SPORTS 2.
إيرلندي ضد ستراسبورغ، في تمام الساعة 10:00 مساءً بتوقيت مصر، 11:00 مساءً بتوقيت السعودية، عبر قناة beIN SPORTS XTRA 1.
ليغ بوزنان أمام ماينز 05، في تمام الساعة 10:00 مساءً بتوقيت مصر، 11:00 مساءً بتوقيت السعودية، عبر قناة beIN SPORTS XTRA 2.
راپيد ضد أومونيا نيقوسيا، في تمام الساعة 10:00 مساءً بتوقيت مصر، 11:00 مساءً بتوقيت السعودية، عبر قناة beIN SPORTS 1 EN.
ويمكنكم مطالعة مواعيد ونتائج جميع المباريات لحظة بلحظة عبر مركز المباريات من هنا.
O Fluminense anunciou nesta terça-feira (7) o retorno de Thiago Silva. Formado nas categorias de base do clube, o zagueiro de 39 anos assinou contrato até julho de 2026 e chega como principal reforço da equipe comandada por Fernando Diniz para a temporada.
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➡ A boa do Lance! Betting: vamos dobrar seu primeiro depósito, até R$200! Basta abrir sua conta e tá na mão!
O jogador desembarca no Rio de Janeiro para se juntar ao restante do elenco ao fim da temporada europeia, após o término de seu vínculo com o Chelsea, da Inglaterra.
A janela internacional de transferências abre no dia 10 de julho. Portanto, Thiago Silva estará à disposição da comissão técnica para as oitavas de final da Libertadores e Copa do Brasil – caso o Tricolor consiga a classificação.
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O Fluminense venceu a concorrência de equipes da Inglaterra e da Arábia Saudita para garantir o retorno de Thiago Silva ao clube após 16 temporadas.
Faça as suas apostas na Libertadores 2024: quem será o campeão? Vem pro Lance! Betting!
Depois de deixar Xerém, o zagueiro se transferiu para o futebol europeu, onde se tornou ídolo dos gigantes Milan, da Itália, PSG, da França, e Chelsea, da Inglaterra. Com 4 Copas do mundo no currículo, Thiago Silva disputou 113 jogos oficiais pela Seleção Brasileira e contribuiu com sete gols.
يفتتح منتخب قطر مشواره في بطولة كأس العرب 2025 بمواجهة قوية أمام نظيره فلسطين، بالمباراة التي تجمع بينهما ضمن لقاءات البطولة الدولية.
وتقام المباراة بين قطر وفلسطين على أرضية ملعب البيت، في الجولة الأولى من مرحلة المجموعات لـ كأس العرب.
ويتواجد منتخبا قطر وفلسطين في المجموعة الأولى مع منتخبي تونس وسوريا، وتقام بطولة كأس العرب، في قطر، إذ تنطلق في الأول من ديسمبر وتستمر حتى 18 من الشهر نفسه بمشاركة 16 منتخبًا.
موعد والقنوات الناقلة لمباراة تونس وسوريا اليوم في كأس العرب
ويسعى منتخب قطر صاحب الأرض والجمهور لبداية قوية أمام منتخب فلسطين الطموح والذي يبحث عن انطلاقة إيجابية في البطولة.
وتحظى مواجهة قطر وفلسطين باهتمام جماهيري وإعلامي كبير، في ظل قوة المجموعة الأولى، واستعدادات المنتخبين للظهور بشكل مميز في النسخة الثانية من البطولة تحت مظلة الاتحاد الدولي لكرة القدم “فيفا”. موعد مباراة قطر وفلسطين اليوم في كأس العرب
تقام مباراة قطر وفلسطين، اليوم الإثنين 1 ديسمبر 2025، على أرضية ملعب البيت، في تمام الساعة 5:45 مساءً بتوقيت القاهرة وفلسطين، 6:45 مساءً بتوقيت مكة المكرمة والدوحة. القنوات الناقلة لمباراة قطر وفلسطين اليوم في كأس العرب
من المنتظر أن تُنقل مباراة قطر وفلسطين في كأس العرب 2025 عبر قناة المفتوحة beIN Sports، وقناتي الكأس 1و2، إلى جانب أبو ظبي الرياضية ودبي الرياضية. معلقو مباراة قطر وفلسطين اليوم في كأس العرب
ومن المقرر أن يتولى مهمة التعليق على أحداث المباراة، كل من “علي سعيد الكعبي وخليل البلوشي وسمير اليعقوبي”.
ويُمكنكم متابعة أحداث مباريات اليوم لحظة بلحظة من مركز المباريات من هنـــا
The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has made clear that bilateral contests are off but matches in multi-nation tournaments can go ahead
ESPNcricinfo staff21-Aug-2025
India’s last meeting with Pakistan was during the 2025 Champions Trophy•Associated Press
India will not host or visit Pakistan for bilateral contests, but their athletes and teams can take part in multi-nation events that also involve Pakistan, clearing the path for their upcoming fixtures in the men’s Asia Cup in September and the women’s ODI World Cup in October.Pakistan sportspersons can also participate in multilateral events hosted by India.The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports set down these guidelines in a statement, clarifying the Indian government’s position on sporting relations with Pakistan at a time of strained political relations between the two South Asian countries. The statement left one question unanswered: whether Indian athletes can take part in multilateral events hosted by Pakistan.Related
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No Babar, Rizwan in Pakistan squad for Asia Cup
The statement comes less than three weeks from the scheduled start of the Asia Cup in the UAE, where India and Pakistan, drawn in the same group, are set to meet at least once (on September 14 in Dubai), and potentially up to three times. It will be India’s first cricket match against Pakistan since the two countries exchanged cross-border hostilities following the Pahalgam terror attack in April.There have been calls, in this climate, for India to boycott all sporting contact with Pakistan. During July’s World Championship of Legends, a tournament featuring retired players, both matches between the teams from the two countries had been abandoned, with the India Champions forfeiting their semi-final against the Pakistan Champions.With the Indian government making its stand clear, India now have official sanction to play Pakistan in the Asia Cup, which was originally to be hosted by India before being moved to the UAE in July.”In so far as bilateral sports events in each other’s country are concerned, Indian teams will not be participating in competitions in Pakistan. Nor will we permit Pakistani teams to play in India,” the ministry’s statement said.In a time of heightened geopolitical tensions, calls for India to boycott all sporting contact with Pakistan have grown louder•Associated Press
“With regard to international and multilateral events, in India or abroad, we are guided by the practices of international sports bodies and the interest of our own sportspersons. It is also relevant to take into account India’s emergence as a credible venue to host international sports events.”Accordingly, Indian teams and individual players will take part in international events that also have teams or players from Pakistan. Similarly, Pakistani players and teams will be able to participate in such multilateral events hosted by India.”To position India as a preferred destination for hosting international sporting events, the visa process for sportspersons, team officials, technical personnel, and office-bearers of International Sports Governing Bodies shall be simplified. In respect of office-bearers of International Sports Governing Bodies, a multi-entry visa shall be granted on priority basis for the duration of their official tenure, subject to a maximum period of five years. This shall facilitate their smooth movement into and within the country, in accordance with international norms. Due protocol and courtesies, as per established practice, shall be extended to the Heads of International Sports Governing Bodies during their visits to India.”The statement lays down in unambiguous terms what have been the Indian government’s unwritten guidelines for cricketing engagements with Pakistan for more than a decade. The two countries have not met in a bilateral series in any format since 2012, but they have faced off multiple times at the ODI and T20 World Cups, the Champions Trophy and the Asia Cup.Pakistan have visited India for the T20 World Cup in 2016 and the ODI World Cup in 2023, but India did not visit Pakistan for the 2025 Champions Trophy. Their matches, including their semi-final and final, were played in Dubai. The BCCI and the PCB have agreed on this hybrid model for all remaining ICC events in the 2024-27 cycle.
TORONTO — He was one of the first ones dressed and out of the clubhouse. Outfitted in a loose-fitting pinstriped grey suit with a cream-colored silk T-shirt, Shohei Ohtani flung a soft black bag over his shoulder and wore a black baseball cap backward to complete the Paris runway look that fairly screamed . His jacket billowed behind him appropriately like a cape. He was out the door of the Dodgers’ clubhouse on Halloween night to prepare for yet another date with history, of which he has more already than David McCullough.
How much more effort can the Dodgers ask of him? How much more greatness can we demand from him? How much more history can one man write?
If there are boundaries to the wonder of Ohtani, we have not discovered them. But the greatest test of those limits likely will come in Game 7 of the 121st World Series Sunday night against the Blue Jays.
Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts wasn’t ready to announce specifics about his Game 7 pitching plan, but Ohtani, he said, “is certainly going to be a part” of it. Because the only way to assure Ohtani’s bat remains in the lineup is to use him as a starting pitcher, not a reliever, he could very well be Roberts’s Game 7 starting pitcher.
On three days of rest. After throwing 93 pitches in Game 4 just 17 hours after reaching base nine times and fighting through body cramps in an 18-inning marathon. After 65 innings pitched coming off a second elbow surgery while throwing more 100 mph pitches than every pitcher with at least 15 starts except Hunter Greene and Tarik Skubal. After taking 801 plate appearances, fifth most ever. After hitting 63 home runs and stealing 20 bases, the first 60-20 player in an extended season. After scoring 158 runs. Against 41-year-old Max Scherzer, who will be the oldest of the 90 pitchers to ever start a World Series Game 7 and who will have started more double-elimination games (six) than any pitcher in history.
If that doesn’t get your blood pumping, get thee to a cardiologist
“I mean, it doesn’t make sense,” said Dodgers lefthander Justin Wrobleski, who provided one of three scoreless but scary innings of relief by the Los Angeles bullpen to save a 3–1 win for Yoshinobu Yamamoto and set the stage for the greatest Game 7 matchup since Roger Clemens and Curt Schilling went at it in 2001. (Yes, even better than Scherzer vs. Zack Greinke in 2019).
Wrobleski is a guy who survived Tommy John surgery, a broken nose, getting cut from the first of three college teams, a season wiped out by COVID-19 and 28 days without pitching entering the World Series only to get meaningful outs with his team facing elimination. What doesn’t make sense even to a pitching survivor like himself, he said, is that a pitcher could be taking the ball for Game 7 after playing for 6 ½ hours Monday, throwing into the seventh inning Tuesday, going 0-for-4 Wednesday and scoring the winning run Friday after the Blue Jays didn’t have their ace, Kevin Gausman, dare pitch to him.
“Nothing makes sense with that guy,” Wrobleski said. “He's a … I'm not sure if he’s a robot or an alien or, or which one he is, but we will find out eventually. But no, it's crazy! He’s a special, special player. Special, special dude. So, I wouldn’t be surprised if he takes the ball tomorrow.
“I wouldn’t be surprised about whatever he does any time, whatever it is.”
After six innings of that Game 4 start, on a hot night after the most exhausting night of baserunning the World Series has ever seen, Ohtani, who almost never gets lengthy breaks the way most pitchers do because he must prepare for his next at-bat, was approached by pitching coach Mark Prior.
“Got one more inning?” Prior asked.
“I’ve got three,” Ohtani said with dead seriousness.
Says Roberts, when asked about his concerns handing the ball to Ohtani, “Zero. I mean, not zero, but it’s just watching him. He’s like, ‘Whenever I pitch, if I just pitch and I’m feeling good, I can keep going.’” I run a hypothetical past Roberts.“You know Shohei better than anyone,” I say to him.
“I do. I do.”
“If he’s got the ball in his hands, Game 7, to start …”
“He’s going to go.”
“…the confidence level is 100 percent?”
“One hundred percent. I’m going to watch the game and I’m not going to … there's no pitch counts. Just watching how it looks.”
The Dodgers planned for this eventuality. The rest of the world just assumed Tyler Glasnow was starting Game 7. But Roberts texted Glasnow after Game 4.
“You’re not going to pitch tomorrow [Game 5] but be ready for Game 6.”
The Game 7 starter normally would be in the dugout for Game 6. Glasnow watched Game 6 with his spikes on from the bullpen, where he would be needed to play a huge part in one of the wilder endings to a World Series game.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts is on the verge of winning back-to-back championships. / Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated
The Dodgers made three third-inning runs stand up, barely. With two outs and a runner on second base in the third, Toronto manager John Schneider ordered Gausman to intentionally walk Ohtani, even though Ohtani was 0-for-8 with four strikeouts since his exhausting Game 3. Will Smith followed with an RBI double.
Gausman pitched too carefully to Freddie Freeman and walked him, perhaps knowing the ice-cold Mookie Betts (3-for-24) was up next. The Blue Jays throughout the series had blown away Betts with fastballs in the zone, a pitch diet he normally devours. He hit .339 on the season against in-zone heaters with an average launch angle of 17°. But in the World Series, Betts kept dipping underneath those pitches, getting his head and torso too far in front of his feet and falling across the plate on his follow-through after a boatload of pop-ups and routine flyballs. He was hitting .100 against Toronto’s in-zone fastballs with an absurdly high 41° launch angle.
With the count 1-and-1, Gausman threw a high fastball. Betts swung under it.
The next pitch was another high fastball. Betts swung under that one, too, fouling it back.
Now, Gausman had an almost unhittable splitter in Game 6. It is his favorite pitch to put hitters away. But the Blue Jays saw no reason not to keep pumping fastballs in the zone at Betts.
Gausman threw a third straight heater. Betts this time kept his swing plane flatter and drove the ball on a line through the left side for a two-strike, two-out, two-run dagger of a single. Launch angle: 6°.
“They were just reading the game,” said Dodgers hitting coach Robert Van Scoyoc. “In that spot they probably felt like they had done enough damage throughout the game with the split, and they thought they could get one by him.
“It was just a really good swing. He’s incredibly talented and he is in a good spot. He can do just about anything up there.”
The Dodgers in the ninth would need Glasnow and two high IQ baseball plays from Kiké Hernández to make the runs stand. With one on against Roki Sasaki, Addison Barger smashed a long fly ball to center. Improbably, the ball lodged between the ground and the padding of the wall. As center fielder Justin Dean raced after it, he turned and looked over his left shoulder. He saw and heard Hernández, the hustling left fielder, throwing his arms up and declaring “Dead ball!” Dean took his cue and immediately did likewise, thus rendering the play immediately dead, stopping the runners at second and third.
Roberts summoned Glasnow. Incredibly, the game was over three pitches later. Ernie Clement popped out on the first pitch. With Andrés Giménez batting, coach Dino Ebel, who positions the Dodgers outfielders, got the attention of Hernández and rubbed his hands up and down his chest, the signal to play shallow. The Dodgers all series have played Giménez shallow to the opposite field.
Two pitches later, Giménez drove a pitch to left field that initially looked like a run-scoring single. But Hernández’s shallow positioning made it easy for him to get there on the catch. An overeager Barger drifted too far, thinking the ball would not be caught and was doubled up on a quick throw from Hernández.
It was a historically bad mistake. Barger needed to check the outfielders’ depth before the pitch and understand that even if that ball should have bounced in front of Hernández, he would not have scored. Eagerness and youth cost him. George Springer, one of the greatest sluggers in World Series history, would have been the next batter.
Having thrown only three pitches—though very high-leverage at that—Glasnow could well come back to start Game 7. But this is where the Ohtani Rules, which MLB designed specifically to accommodate his two-way uniqueness, hamstring Roberts and his pitching plans.
If Ohtani starts on the mound and DHs, per usual, he can remain in the game as the DH once removed from pitching. But if he starts as DH and enters the game as a relief pitcher, the Dodgers would lose the DH once Ohtani is removed as a pitcher.
There’s one more complication to using Ohtani in relief. According to Michael Hill, vice president of on-field operations for MLB: Upon the first mound visit to Ohtani as a reliever he must be moved to another position, such as outfield, to keep him in the game, in which case the new pitcher would take the batting spot of the fielder Ohtani replaced.
The Dodgers do not want to be without Ohtani’s bat in any circumstance. The only way to assure that is the case and to use him as a pitcher is to start him on the mound.
It’s been nine years since anyone started World Series Game 7 on three days of rest. That start did not go well for Corey Kluber of Cleveland against the Cubs (six innings, four runs, no strikeouts). The last pitcher to start and win on short rest was Chris Carpenter of St. Louis back in 2011, light years ago when it comes to how the workload for pitchers has changed.
Starting pitchers on three days of rest in the postseason since 2020 are 4–12. Ohtani has started once on three days of rest in MLB: April 21, 2023. But that was coming off a rain-shortened start of just two innings and 30 pitches. He last made a relief appearance in 2023 in the World Baseball Classic final, famously striking out then Angels teammate Mike Trout.
Ohtani is the single greatest engine to the growth of the game over the past few years. He, along with Yamamoto and Sasaki, and the Blue Jays, who are Canada’s team, have made this the most truly series ever.
Why not have the series and the season come down to one game: Ohtani, on short rest, against Scherzer, the 41-year-old legend. The best player in history in his prime against the most prolific ultimate game pitcher in his twilight.
Before Roberts huddled with his staff, the front office and eventually Ohtani himself, to nail down when Ohtani will pitch in Game 7, he said, “Right now, there’s no wrong answer.”
He is right about that assumption. It’s amazing when you stop and think about it. After taking 801 at-bats and playing in 174 games, 17 of them as a two-way player with a twice-repaired elbow, Ohtani is likely to be pitching the final game of the season on short rest after a start, something no Dodger has done this year. There is no wrong answer—not when the answer is Ohtani.
Mariners outfielder Victor Robles is working his way back to MLB after suffering a shoulder injury while making a phenomenal catch in the outfield earlier this season.
Currently rehabbing at Triple-A Tacoma, Robles was ejected from Sunday's game after a truly wild outburst stemming from him getting hit by a pitch. The first pitch of Robles' at-bat in the third inning ran up and inside, prompting Robles to chop at it in order to avoid getting hit.
Irate, Robles retaliated by launching his bat in the direction of the pitcher's mound, immediately resulting in the home plate umpire signaling for his ejection. Robles had some words for the opposing pitcher before attempting to charge the mound, though he was ultimately held back by the umpire and some of his teammates.
The meltdown didn't end there, however. After exiting the field, Robles continued his tirade into the dugout where he proceeded to litter the field with some snacks before eventually retreating into the locker room.
A truly shocking meltdown from the veteran outfielder.