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MIAMI — The dream matchup of Shohei Ohtani pitching to Mike Trout could become reality Tuesday night.

Ohtani plans to hit and pitch in the finals of the World Baseball Classic against Team USA, he said after spearheading Japan’s rollicking 6-5 come-from-behind semifinal win against Mexico on Monday night, though his time on the mound will come in an unfamiliar role: as a relief pitcher.

The last time Ohtani pitched out of the bullpen was in 2016, when he was 22 years old and in the postseason with the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters. Ohtani threw one blemish-free inning and unleashed a pair of fastballs clocked at 165 kilometers per hour — approximately 102.5 mph, harder than any pitch he has thrown in his five seasons with the Los Angeles Angels.

Ohtani last started five days ago, throwing 71 pitches in Samurai Japan’s quarterfinal victory against Italy. Never since he arrived in Major League Baseball has Ohtani thrown on four or fewer days of rest, putting him in a position to follow Japan’s starter, left-hander Shota Imanaga, as well as San Diego Padres star Yu Darvish, who is expected to throw in the middle innings.

All of it sets up the possibility of Ohtani standing 60 feet, 6 inches from his friend and teammate Trout, the captain of the powerful U.S. team that trounced Cuba 14-2 in the semifinals.

“Not only Mike Trout, but one through nine in that order is filled with superstars, household names,” Ohtani said. “Just excited to face that lineup. It’s a great thing for Japanese baseball.”

The game between Japan and Mexico was a great thing for any fan of the game — taut, tense, crisp, with moment after heroic moment. Ohtani featured in the most imperative moment. Japan, which had come back from a 3-0 deficit with a three-run home run from Boston Red Sox outfielder Masataka Yoshida, frittered away the advantage and trailed 5-4 heading into the bottom of the ninth inning.

Ohtani, leading off against St. Louis Cardinals reliever Giovanny Gallegos, stroked a double into right-center field. As he stood on second base, Ohtani screamed toward Japan’s dugouts and raised his arms in exultation twice.

“It’s been a while since I was playing in a win-or-lose game, a playoff atmosphere game,” said Ohtani, who has not reached the postseason with the Angels. “So obviously, we couldn’t lose, and I wanted to get the guys riled up in the dugout.”

Gallegos walked Yoshida, who was lifted for pinch runner Ukyo Shuto, and proceeded to face his third straight elite hitter, Nippon Professional Baseball home run champion Munetaka Murakami. After striking out in his first three at-bats, Murakami more than atoned, smashing a 111 mph line drive off the center-field fence, scoring a rejoicing Ohtani and a sliding Shuto to set off a Japanese celebration.

Without the ninth-inning heroics, Ohtani would be headed back to Arizona to finish spring training with the Angels. Instead, he’ll try to replicate the results of that semifinal game in 2016. On that day, his pitching coach — Kazuyuki Atsuzawa, currently the bullpen coach for Samurai Japan — told Ohtani in the fifth inning that if the Fighters held a lead, he would pitch the ninth. Ohtani said he took an at-bat, went to throw in a bullpen, took another at-bat and went into the game.

This time, he said, “I will be prepared. Obviously, I’m DHing, so it’s going to be hard to find that time to get hot in the bullpen.”

Ohtani figures he’ll manage. Just being in the finals, in meaningful games, is an experience worth cherishing.

“Obviously, it’s a big accomplishment to get to the championship series, but there’s a huge difference from being in first and second,” Ohtani said, “so I’m going to do all I can to get that first place.”

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U.S. shut out by Switzerland at hockey worlds

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U.S. shut out by Switzerland at hockey worlds

HERNING, Denmark — Switzerland, last year’s runner-up, shut out the United States 3-0 and handed the Americans their first loss at the ice hockey world championship Monday.

Damien Riat, Jonas Siegenthaler and Dean Kukan scored in the Group B game in Herning. Netminder Leonardo Genoni stopped 23 shots for the shutout.

“Give credit to Switzerland,” U.S. coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “But I know our group has a lot more in them. We’ll regroup and get ready to play Norway.”

Riat put Switzerland ahead with 7:14 remaining in the first period, redirecting the puck into the goal from the air. It was the first goal the U.S. conceded at the tournament.

The second followed 3:13 later by Siegenthaler from the blue line. Kukan’s came halfway through the final period from the top of the left circle.

“After the first goal we did a better job,” Swiss forward Kevin Fiala said. “We got into it more and more, and shut them out.”

Fiala recorded an assist in his first game at the worlds. He joined the Swiss late after his Los Angeles Kings were eliminated from the NHL playoffs in the first round.

U.S. goalie Joey Daccord made 24 saves.

The U.S., which beat Denmark 5-0 and Hungary 6-0 in its first two games, will next face Norway on Wednesday.

In other games, Martin Necas had two goals and David Pastrnak had a goal and two assists as the defending champion Czech Republic used a four-goal middle period to ease past Denmark 7-2.

Nick Olesen also had a goal and an assist for Denmark.

In Stockholm, Sweden topped archrival Finland 2-1 on goals from Leo Carlsson and Jonas Brodin for a third victory in regulation from three games.

Austria defeated Slovakia 3-2 in a penalty shootout.

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Leafs’ Domi fined $5K for hit to Panthers’ Barkov

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Leafs' Domi fined K for hit to Panthers' Barkov

Toronto Maple Leafs forward Max Domi was fined $5,000 — the maximum amount allowed by the league’s collective bargaining agreement — for boarding Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov as time expired in Game 4 of their second-round Eastern Conference playoff series Sunday.

Toronto was trailing 2-0 when the final buzzer sounded, and Domi hit Barkov from behind, sending him headfirst into the boards. Domi was given a minor penalty for boarding at the time while several other scrums broke out before officials moved players off the ice.

Florida’s victory evened the best-of-seven series at 2-all. Game 5 is set for Wednesday in Toronto.

Toronto coach Craig Berube didn’t comment on the Domi hit directly Monday, but he did say he thought Dmitry Kulikov‘s hit on Mitch Marner “was way worse”

On that play, the Panthers defenseman caught Marner up high with an elbow, leaving the Leafs forward momentarily dazed. No penalty was called on Kulikov.

It wasn’t the first elbowing incident to draw attention in the series.

In Game 1, Panthers forward Sam Bennett sent an elbow to the head of Leafs netminder Anthony Stolarz shortly before Stolarz left the game. He was later hospitalized for further evaluation and hasn’t been able to resume skating since. There is currently no timeline for his return.

The physical intensity of the series might continue to rise now that it’s down to being a best-of-three. Based on how Game 4 played out, the Leafs are prepared to push back when they host Florida on Wednesday.

“We expected [the physicality], and I think we’re fine with it,” Berube said. “We’re handling it. We’re physical. I thought we were the more physical team [in Game 4].”

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Stars’ Heiskanen still on pace to return vs. Jets

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Stars' Heiskanen still on pace to return vs. Jets

DALLAS — Stars coach Pete DeBoer expects injured star defenseman Miro Heiskanen to play in their series against the Winnipeg Jets.

“I’m still sticking by what I projected: that we would see him in the second round,” DeBoer said Monday during an optional Dallas practice.

The Stars lead their series with the Jets 2-1, with Game 4 scheduled for Tuesday night.

Heiskanen remains day-to-day, with him not having played since Jan. 28, when his left knee was injured in a collision with Vegas Golden Knights forward Mark Stone. Heiskanen had knee surgery and has been working his way back to the lineup since Winnipeg’s opening-round series against the Colorado Avalanche. Heiskanen had 25 points (5 goals, 20 assists) in 50 games this season, averaging 25:10 in ice time.

Monday was a scheduled off day for Heiskanen. DeBoer said he’ll be “back at it tomorrow.” The coach said that any decision on Heiskanen’s status will be made together by the coach, the player and the team’s medical staff.

Last round, DeBoer said everything was “on the table” to ease Heiskanen back into the lineup, including playing seven defensemen. The coach said he’s not looking for the 25-year-old defenseman to log his usual minutes right away, having ranked fifth in the NHL in average ice time during the regular season.

“I don’t think there are specific restrictions, but we’re not going to put ‘im out on the ice for 30 minutes in his first game back in three months,” DeBoer said. “We’ll have to be smart about that.”

Dallas forward Jason Robertson has seen firsthand what it’s like to go from watching the playoffs to competing in them. He returned to the Stars’ lineup after being injured in an April 16 game, making his postseason debut in Game 1 at Winnipeg.

“You’re coming back from injury, so whatever you had is obviously going to bother you. So that’s the No. 1 thing. And then getting up to game speed in the playoffs is a different animal,” he said. “There’s no hiding out there. Every moment’s heightened, every missed assignment, any forecheck. Anytime you get beat up the ice, everything just gets heightened. So you just try to be super simple out there until you get your legs back and get in game shape. That could take a little bit.”

The Stars have weathered the loss of Heiskanen thanks to the depth of their defense corps. Thomas Harley has filled in on the power play, collecting four points in the postseason. Veteran Cody Ceci has handled an increase of over two minutes per game in ice time. Players such as Lian Bichsel and Alexander Petrovic have played effectively, DeBoer said.

“I think it’s been exceptional what our group’s done,” the coach said.

Winnipeg coach Scott Arniel acknowledged that Dallas, already leading in the series, will get an instant emotional boost when Heiskanen returns.

“An elite, elite player obviously,” he said. “We can’t worry about somebody that’s not here. If all of a sudden we show up and he’s out there in warmups, then yeah, we certainly have to recognize it.”

With the possibility there that Heiskanen could return as early as Game 4, Arniel would be fine if the Stars continued to take a cautious approach with their star defenseman.

“Hopefully, he takes a little bit more time to make sure he’s getting back on it,” the Jets coach said with a grin.

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