Angels' Ohtani OKs $30M deal for 2023

Shohei Ohtani has agreed to a $30 million deal with the Los Angeles Angels for the 2023 season in the two-way superstar's final year of arbitration eligibility before free agency.

The Angels announced the deal Saturday, avoiding a potentially complicated arbitration case with the 2021 AL MVP.

Ohtani's deal is fully guaranteed, with no other provisions. The contract is the largest ever given to an arbitration-eligible player, surpassing the $27 million given to Mookie Betts by the Boston Red Sox in January 2020, a month before he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Ohtani is having another incredible season at the plate and on the mound for the Angels, regularly accomplishing feats that haven't occurred in the major leagues since Babe Ruth's heyday. Ohtani is batting .276 with 34 homers, 94 RBIs and a .888 OPS as the Halos' designated hitter. He is 15-8 with a 2.35 ERA and 213 strikeouts as their ace on the mound, and opponents are batting only .207 against him.

JUDGE RUNNING OUT OF TIME FOR 62 >> Aaron Judge went 0 for 2 with two walks and was hit by a pitch, remaining at 61 homers on the 61st anniversary of Roger Maris setting the American League record, and the New York Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles 8-0 Saturday.

Judge reached base leading off to spark a three-run first and a four-run seventh and also struckout twice. He leads the AL with 110 walks.

A 2-0 cutter from Austin Voth (5-4) glanced off Judge's left arm in the first, and he walked on five pitches in the second. Judge struck out on a full-count curveball in the fourth — at 2:43 p.m., 61 years to the minute when Maris hit his 61st off Boston's Tracy Stallard across the street at old Yankee Stadium on Oct. 1, 1961. Judge walked on five pitches from Spenser Watkins in the seventh and struck out against him on a full count in the eighth. Both times, he fouled off a 3-0 pitch.

AL East champion New York (97-60) has five games remaining: Sunday's home finale followed by a four-game series at Texas.

Judge is in contention to become the first Triple Crown winner in a decade. He leads in RBIs and at .313 is second in batting to Minnesota's Luis Arraez.

CUBS 2, REDS 1 >> Seiya Suzuki hit a tiebreaking solo homer in the seventh inning, and Chicago won its sixth in a row by topping Cincinnati.

Suzuki's two-out drive to left-center against Derek Law (2-3) was Chicago's first hit since the fourth and the last of three on the day. But the Cubs also had six walks and made the most of a strong performance by their bullpen.

Cincinnati dropped its fifth straight game

BLUE JAYS 10, RED SOX 0 >> Teoscar Hernández homered, doubled twice and singled, Danny Jansen drove in five runs and Toronto moved one step closer to wrapping up the top spot in the AL wild-card race by routing Boston.

The Blue Jays began the day with a 1 1/2game lead over Seattle atop the wild-card standings.