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BALTIMORE — Shohei Ohtani turned a shaky start on the mound into another night of historic excellence.

Ohtani became the first starting pitcher since 1964 to reach base five times in a game as the Los Angeles Angels beat the Baltimore Orioles 9-5 on Monday night. Ohtani had four hits and a walk, making up for his pitching struggles with a stellar performance at the plate. He hit a titanic three-run homer and finished a double shy of the cycle on a night the Orioles hit three home runs off him.

“I’m sure all those records come because the sample size is so small, so I don’t really look too deeply into it,” Ohtani said through a translator.

The sample size of players who can hit and pitch like this is indeed small. That is, of course, what makes Ohtani such a marvel. The last person to reach base five times in a game he started on the mound was Mel Stottlemyre of the New York Yankees, on Sept. 26, 1964, against Washington.

Ohtani (5-1) allowed five runs on four hits in seven innings, but he did plenty of damage with a bat in his hands. In addition to his 456-foot drive in the fourth that gave the Angels a 7-4 lead, he had a walk, two singles and a triple.

“He’s a once-in-a-generation player. Once in a lifetime, really,” Orioles infielder Adam Frazier said. “Special guy, and I’m glad to say I can compete against him, because it’s fun. He brings out the best in everyone.”

Needing a two-base hit for the cycle, Ohtani grounded into a forceout in the seventh. In the ninth, there was an audible cheer from the Baltimore crowd when Mike Trout drew a two-out walk to give Ohtani another plate appearance. He singled directly to the left fielder, and there was no real chance of it turning into a double.

No starting pitcher has ever hit for the cycle, according to Sportradar.

“I was definitely happy to see that walk give me a shot for the cycle,” Ohtani said. “But I failed.”

Orioles rookie Grayson Rodriguez (2-1) allowed eight runs and nine hits in 3 1/3 innings. With the score tied at 4 in the fourth, Ohtani connected for his ninth home run of the season. The ball appeared to bounce off the gate behind the seating area in right-center field at Camden Yards.

“I was actually pretty relaxed at the plate today,” Ohtani said. “Hung the curveball in a good spot. I didn’t even really take a hard swing, but the ball went where it went.”

Matt Thaiss added an RBI double that inning. Then in the fifth, Ohtani tripled and scored his third run of the game on Hunter Renfroe‘s double.

The Orioles had more success against Ohtani while he was pitching. Frazier hit a two-run homer in the second to give Baltimore a 2-1 lead, and after Gio Urshela of the Angels hit a two-run double in the third, Anthony Santander answered with a two-run homer in the bottom of the inning to put the Orioles up 4-3.

Chad Wallach led off the fourth with a home run for the Angels, and they went on to score four more runs in the inning.

Cedric Mullins hit a solo shot for Baltimore in the fifth. After allowing only two runs in 28 innings through his first five starts, Ohtani has allowed 17 runs in 25 innings over his past four. In those four starts, he’s yielded eight home runs.

“Sometimes he does get tired,” manager Phil Nevin said. “Impressive night. I know he gave up the five runs, but … the damage was minimal because the hits were down. Not a lot of guys on base.”

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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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