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DALLAS — Quinn Ewers finally got a chance to play in his first Red River Showdown, and he made the most of it, leading Texas to a historic 49-0 win over Oklahoma on Saturday.

After getting the starting nod late this week following recovery from a clavicle injury suffered in Week 2 against Alabama, Ewers threw for a career-high 289 yards, completing 21 of 31 passes for four touchdowns and one interception.

The redshirt freshman from Southlake Carroll, who played high school football about 30 miles from the Cotton Bowl, said it was a dream to play in this game.

“I know all these guys were pretty excited, but growing up a fan, I always wanted to play in this one,” Ewers said. “So it’s pretty special.”

Ewers’ demeanor in the raucous environment of the rivalry game in the middle of the State Fair of Texas impressed his teammates.

“His poise in any situation is unmatched,” said Jordan Whittington, who caught five passes for 97 yards. “He just looks calm, relaxed the whole time. If you went to war with somebody and you look at him and he’s freaking out, you’d probably freak out. You got Quinn in a war with you, you’re just chilling. So I’d be relaxed, too.”

Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said he didn’t decide on who would be the starter until late in the week after both Hudson Card and Ewers, who had been struggling with injuries, looked healthier than they had been in weeks.

“I know everyone thinks this was the plan all along or something,” Sarkisian said. “I didn’t notify Quinn or Hud of what was going to happen this week, literally, until Thursday afternoon.”

But he said both quarterbacks were ready, and he was happy about how Ewers performed.

“Quinn was spot on,” Sarkisian said. “The ball was going where it was supposed to go, on time. And the playmakers made their plays. … In the end, he was ready, and that’s why we did what we did.”

The blowout made history for both teams, marking Texas’ biggest margin of victory in the 118-game series as well as the Longhorns’ first shutout win over OU since 1965. For the Sooners, it was their biggest shutout loss in history, surpassing a 47-0 defeat by Oklahoma State in 1945, and was the third-largest margin of defeat in program history. After a 55-24 loss to TCU last week, the Sooners have now lost back-to-back games by more than 30 points for the first time in school history.

It also ended a 311-game scoring streak by Oklahoma, which was the seventh longest in the FBS, and ended an FBS-best streak of 167 straight games with an offensive touchdown.

Without Dillon Gabriel, who is in concussion protocol and was ruled out this week by Oklahoma coach Brent Venables after suffering a blow to the head in last week’s loss to TCU, the Sooners tried a patchwork approach at QB, using backup Davis Beville, who went 6-of-12 for 38 yards and an interception, along with Wildcat formation plays featuring a tight end, running back and wide receiver taking direct snaps, before true freshman Nick Evers entered the game in the fourth quarter. Venables would say after the game only that Gabriel was progressing, and the Sooners will be monitoring his availability.

Oklahoma managed just 195 yards and 11 first downs. The Sooners’ leading receiver, Brayden Willis, had two catches for 25 yards.

“We were good enough on both sides of the ball to be a lot more competitive and have a chance to win the game than what we displayed,” Venables said. “The responsibility starts with me, and I obviously did a very poor job.”

For Texas, which had lost four straight to Oklahoma, it was a chance to celebrate, particularly for seniors like linebacker DeMarvion Overshown, who is finally able to bring the Golden Hat trophy back to Austin.

“Not being able to bring the hat home four years in a row, it was heartbreaking,” Overshown said. “But leaving with it this year, you’re never going to forget that. … Now when people ask us about our senior year what happened with the OU game, we can tell them with a smile on our face, ‘Yeah, go ahead and sit down.'”

Ewers didn’t downplay the significance of what it meant for him to win the game for his home state.

“We all circled this one on the calendar,” he said. “Especially to all of us because they come into our state, you know, and we own the state. For them to come in and for us to finally get the hat back, it’s a lot of fun.”

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Sources: Red Sox deal Devers to Giants in stunner

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Sources: Red Sox deal Devers to Giants in stunner

The San Francisco Giants are acquiring All-Star slugger Rafael Devers from the Boston Red Sox, sources confirmed to ESPN’s Jeff Passan on Sunday evening.

The Giants are sending starter Jordan Hicks and 23-year-old lefty Kyle Harrison, among others, to Boston in exchange, sources said.

Devers, 28, is in just the second season of a 10-year, $313.5 million contract he signed to stay in Boston in January 2023, however his relationship with the team suffered a significant blow after the star third baseman was reportedly blindsided by a move to designated hitter in the spring.

Tensions flared again last month after Devers refused an offer from the team to move him to first base after starting first baseman Triston Casas was ruled out for the season with a knee injury.

It reached a point where Red Sox owner John Henry met with the disgruntled star, making a rare trip to meet the team on the road and smooth things over after Devers’ pointed comments about the request to switch positions again.

Hicks and Harrison give a pitching-starved Red Sox team more depth on their staff while Devers provides a huge boost to a middling Giants offense.

Devers has more than 200 career home runs to his name and has a .894 OPS for Boston this season.

The deal was first reported by Fansided.

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Ohtani’s pitching return might be coming soon

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Ohtani's pitching return might be coming soon

Shohei Ohtani‘s pitching debut for the Los Angeles Dodgers might be quickly approaching.

Manager Dave Roberts told reporters Sunday that Ohtani would throw another simulated game in the coming days that could “potentially” be his last one, and a source told ESPN’s Buster Olney that Ohtani should join the Dodgers’ rotation “sooner rather than later,” potentially within the week.

Ohtani took a big step forward during his most recent simulated game at Petco Park on Tuesday, throwing 44 pitches over the course of three innings against a couple of lower-level minor league players. Ohtani’s fastball reached the mid- to upper-90s, and he exhibited good command of his off-speed pitches in what amounted to his third time facing hitters. Afterward, Roberts said there was a “north of zero” chance Ohtani could join the rotation before the All-Star break.

Because of his two-way designation, the Dodgers can carry Ohtani as an extra pitcher, which means he can throw two to three innings and have someone pitch after him as a piggyback starter. At this point, it seems that is the Dodgers’ plan.

The Dodgers’ pitching staff has again been plagued by injury, with 14 pitchers on the injured list, including four starting pitchers the team was heavily counting on for 2025 — Blake Snell, Tony Gonsolin, Roki Sasaki and Tyler Glasnow.

If Ohtani returns in July — the likely outcome at this point — he will be 22 months removed from a second repair of his ulnar collateral ligament.

The update isn’t as optimistic for Sasaki. He paused his throwing program and is set for a lengthy layoff. Sasaki has not pitched in a game since May 9 and is not part of the team’s long-term pitching plans this season.

“I think that’s what the mindset should be,” Roberts said. “Being thrust into this environment certainly was a big undertaking for him, and now you layer in the health part and the fact he’s a starting pitcher, knowing what the build-up [required to return] entails … I think that’s the prudent way to go about it.”

Sasaki, 23, went 1-1 with a 4.72 ERA in eight starts after joining the Dodgers from the Pacific League’s Chuba Lotte Marines, averaging less than 4⅓ innings per start. He walked 22 and struck out 24 in 34⅓ innings, and his fastball averaged 95.7 mph, down 3-4 mph from his average in Japan.

Roberts said Sasaki was pain free when he resumed throwing in early June, but the pitcher was shut down after feeling discomfort this past week. Sasaki recently received a cortisone injection in the shoulder; Roberts said no further scans are planned.

“I don’t think it’s pain,” Roberts said. “I don’t know if it’s discomfort, if it’s tightness, if he’s just not feeling strong, whatever the adjective you want to use. That’s more of a question for Roki, as far as the sensation he’s feeling.

“He’s just not feeling like he can ramp it up, and we’re not going to push him to do something he doesn’t feel good about right now.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Judge 1-for-12 as NY swept: Got to swing at strikes

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Judge 1-for-12 as NY swept: Got to swing at strikes

BOSTON — Aaron Judge blamed himself for swinging at pitches outside the strike zone as the New York Yankees were swept in a three-game series against the Boston Red Sox.

“You got to swing at strikes,” Judge said after going 1-for-12 in the series, which Boston completed with a 2-0 victory on Sunday.

Judge struck out three or more times in three straight games for only the third time in his major league career.

“That usually helps any hitter when you swing at strikes,” Judge added. “Definitely some pitches off the edge or off the edge in, you know, taking some hacks just trying to make something happen.”

Judge had a tying solo homer in the opener Friday night but struck out nine times as the Yankees were swept in a series for the first time this season.

New York scored only four runs in the three games, matching its fewest in a three-game series at Fenway Park, on June 20-22, 1916 and on Sept. 28-30, 1922.

“It’s very hard,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said of facing Judge. “He’s so good at what he does. We used our fastballs in the right spots, we got some swing and misses.”

“Throughout the years we’ve been aggressive with him,” Cora added. “Sometimes he gets us, sometimes we do a good job with that. It’s always fun to compete against the best, and, to me, he’s the best in the business right now.”

Judge’s major league-leading average dipped to .378.

“I don’t think much of it,” teammate Ben Rice said. “If I could have that guy hitting every single at-bat even if he’s not at his best, I would do it. I’m sure he’ll bounce back. He’ll be all right.”

Judge faced Garrett Whitlock with two on in the eighth Sunday and bounced into an inning-ending double play.

“He’s one of the greatest hitters in the world,” Whitlock said. “It’s special to watch him play and everything. We tried to execute and had some execution this weekend.”

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