Dodgers rally in opener
The Los Angeles Dodgers started their Shohei Ohtani era with a memorable win on a night of firsts.
Ohtani’s RBI single capped a four-run eighth-inning rally in his Dodgers debut, and Los Angeles beat the San Diego Padres, 5-2, in Wednesday night’s opener, Major League Baseball’s first game in South Korea.
“Just a good night overall for Shohei,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “The bigger picture it’s significant because you’ve got such a generational talent that is on your ballclub in a big market in Los Angeles. There’s a lot more eyeballs on the Dodgers and on Major League Baseball.”
The game turned when a routine grounder went through the webbing of the glove of first baseman Jake Cronenworth as the go-ahead run scored.
Ohtani went 2 for 5 with an RBI in his first game since leaving the Los Angeles Angels for a record $700 million, 10-year contract with the Dodgers. A crowd of 15,952 was on hand to watch at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul.
The two-way star, limited to batting following elbow surgery, also had a mental error that caused the final out of the eighth. He was called out when he passed second base and then failed to retouch the bag while retreating on Freddie Freeman’s flyout, causing an inning-ending double play.
A bomb threat did not seem to affect pregame preparations. Police found no explosives and said they acted on a tip the threat was against Ohtani.
NFL
The NFL competition committee is proposing a rule to penalize so-called “hip-drop” tackles and a radical change to kickoffs to add more returns without compromising safety.
The proposals will be presented to owners at the league meetings later this month, with 24 out of 32 votes needed for approval.
There also were several possible rule changes proposed by teams that the league released last week that included one that would allow replay challenges for penalties called on the field, a change to the onside kick rule and giving teams a third replay challenge if at least one of their first two was successful instead of both.
Titans keeping kicker Folk: The Tennessee Titans are re-signing veteran kicker Nick Folk after he made an NFL-leading, career-best 96.7% of his kicks last season.
The Titans announced Wednesday they agreed to terms with Folk and defensive lineman Sebastian Joseph.
NBA
The Phoenix Suns have signed two-time all-star guard Isaiah Thomas to a 10-day contract.
The 35-year-old hasn’t played in the NBA since 2022 but recently appeared in four games with the Salt Lake City Stars in the NBA G League, averaging 32.5 points per game.
Thomas has a career scoring averaging of 17.7 points in 550 career games with the Kings, Suns, Celtics, Cavaliers, Lakers, Nuggets, Wizards, Pelicans, Mavericks and Hornets.
OLYMPICS
The United States women’s soccer team will face Germany and Australia at the Paris Olympics when incoming coach Emma Hayes looks to get off to a flying start in the job.
The draw for the men’s and women’s soccer tournaments were held at a ceremony in Saint-Denis on Wednesday.
The U.S. men’s team will face France at the Paris Games after being drawn in the same group as the host nation for the men’s tournament.
Also in the group are New Zealand and the winner of a playoff between teams from the Asian and the African confederations.