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Bowl season is in full swing, and our reporters are breaking down all of it.

Below you’ll find takeaways from every contest as well as game MVPs and the top moments from social media.

At the end of each day, we’ll crown the current MVP of bowl season. The leader is still Ohio freshman running back Rickey Hunt, who scored five touchdowns in the Myrtle Beach Bowl to open bowl season.

Full schedule | Results

Saturday, Dec. 23

Northwestern completed a remarkable season with a win over a tough Utah team, beating the Utes 14-7 to finish 8-5 under first-year head coach David Braun.

It’s one thing to win a bowl game after going 4-20 the previous two seasons, but it’s another behind the story of Braun, who came to Evanston this offseason from North Dakota State to serve as defensive coordinator and was thrust into the head coaching gig after a hazing scandal ended the 17-year tenure of Pat Fitzgerald.

The Wildcats’ hero in this game was another newcomer: Ben Bryant, a castoff from Cincinnati who transferred to Northwestern after the Bearcats’ coaching change, and went 23 of 34 for 222 yards and two touchdowns despite taking punishment from the Utes all evening.

The Wildcats’ defense allowed just 73 passing yards to the Utes, 211 total yards and had five sacks while allowing just 3.2 yards per play. They held Utah scoreless on its first 10 drives of the game, the longest streak to start a game for the Utes in the past 10 seasons, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

Utah’s Bryson Barnes, the walk-on who famously was a pig farmer growing up and became a cult hero this year, couldn’t find a rhythm, going 8 of 13 for 55 yards and two touchdowns as the Utes finished 8-5. — Dave Wilson

MVP: Quarterback Ben Bryant, Northwestern. Bryant threw for 222 yards and both Northwestern scores.

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Coastal Carolina WR makes spectacular one-handed TD grab

Coastal Carolina QB Ethan Vasko lobs the ball into the end zone, where Sam Pinckney hauls in the touchdown with one hand.

After gaining a commanding 17-0 lead in the third quarter, Coastal Carolina nearly allowed San Jose State to leave the island with a comeback victory. Led by quarterback Chevan Cordeiro with 274 all-purpose yards, the Spartans mounted a rally, scoring 14 unanswered points to make it a three-point game with 8:30 to play. But the Chanticleers responded with a 10-play, 75-yard drive that ate up nearly six minutes off the clock and was punctuated by perhaps the best play of bowl season so far. Facing a third down in the red zone, CCU quarterback Ethan Vasko dropped back and slung the ball toward the right corner of the end zone. There, a tightly covered Sam Pinckney rose up and snagged the ball out of the air with one hand. The touchdown, Vasko’s third scoring strike of the night, not only became an instant highlight, it secured the bowl win for the Chanticleers, who finished their 8-5 season on a high note. — Paolo Uggetti

MVP: Wide receiver Sam Pinckney, Coastal Carolina. Pinckney had eight catches for 123 yards and a one-handed touchdown late in the fourth quarter to seal the Chanticleers’ victory.

68 Ventures Bowl: South Alabama 59, Eastern Michigan 10

South Alabama, which began playing football in 2009, had never won a bowl game. But the Jaguars broke through in a big way, crushing Eastern Michigan 59-10, an exclamation point on coach Kane Wommack’s building project in his third year at the helm in Mobile.

South Alabama’s 7-6 season included a 33-7 win over Oklahoma State in Stillwater and ended the second winning season in program history since they became members of an FBS conference in 2012, behind last year’s historic 10-2 run. The 59 points were the most scored by the Jaguars. The 49-point margin of victory tied for seventh all time among bowl season blowouts.

The Jaguars didn’t allow a passing yard in the first quarter, allowed just one first down in the first half, and outgained Eastern Michigan, 627 yards to 150. The Jaguars passed for 307 (Gio Lopez went 14 of 19 for 192 yards with three touchdowns) and rushed for 320 (Lopez led all rushers with 88 yards and a touchdown on just seven carries).

The loss dropped Eastern Michigan to a 6-7 finish a season after going 9-4 with just the second bowl win in school history and first since 1987. — Wilson

MVP: The defense, South Alabama. The Jaguars didn’t allow a passing yard and held Eastern Michigan to one first down in the first half and 150 total yards.

After ending the regular season with a four-game slide, Air Force finished strong by beating a JMU team that ranked 24th in the AP Poll.

The Dukes came into their bowl game without head coach Curt Cignetti, who left to head the program at Indiana. A number of injured and transferring defensive starters also made this a shorthanded JMU squad. Air Force (which had transfer departures of its own) took full advantage and showed why they won eight consecutive games to start the season.

Air Force quarterback Zac Larrier, who struggled with injury issues throughout the season and hadn’t played since Nov. 11 against Hawaii, made his return for the Falcons and completed three of five passes for 45 yards and a touchdown, while adding 26 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Despite just 45 passing yards on the afternoon, Air Force outgained JMU on offense 396 to 283.

James Madison was missing a number of players, but they did have their star quarterback Jordan McCloud, who finished the game 20-of-33 for 257 yards with three touchdowns and one interception.

Troy Calhoun’s team has now won three consecutive bowl games, with seven total victories in his tenure, dating back to 2007. — Harry Lyles Jr.

MVP: Running back Emmanuel Michel, Air Force. In a game where the Falcons struggled through the air, Michel ran for 203 yards and two touchdowns.

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Georgia State coach gets french fry bath for Famous Idaho Potato Bowl win

Shawn Elliott gets a french fry bath dumped on him as Georgia State wins the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.

Georgia State knocked off Utah State to earn the fourth bowl victory in school history.

Shawn Elliott’s team came out fast in the first half, highlighted by the ground game. Freddie Brock — playing in place of Marcus Carroll who transferred to Mizzou — had 141 yards rushing in the first half alone. Quarterback Darren Grainger added 99 yards and two touchdowns on the ground (and two more in the air) in the half as well, giving the Panthers a 31-14 lead.

Georgia State wouldn’t let Utah State back into the game in the second half. Grainger added another touchdown pass to Cadarrius Thompson in the third quarter to extend the lead to 38-14. Brock added a fourth-quarter touchdown to make it 45-14 and complete his afternoon. He finished with 276 yards on 24 carries after having just six carries for 31 yards coming into the game. Grainger finished the game 19-of-22 for 257 yards and five total touchdowns.

For Utah State, quarterback Levi Williams finished 12-of-21 for 131 yards with one touchdown and one interception. McCae Hillstead also completed 7 of 11 passes for 57 yards and a touchdown. — Lyles

MVP: Running back Freddie Brock, Georgia State. Not only did Brock set the school record for most rushing yards in a game, but he ran for 276 yards after getting just six carries for 31 yards all season.

Camellia Bowl: Northern Illinois 21, Arkansas State 19

The Camellia Bowl got off to a quicker start than the Birmingham Bowl, the other game in the early Saturday window. Nearly all of the game’s scoring took place in the first half, and the game’s first punt didn’t come until there was just over a minute remaining in the second quarter. NIU led 21-13 at halftime and then maintained that lead for much of the second half — seven of the first eight drives after halftime ended in punts.

Arkansas State made a push in the last two minutes of the game, scoring a touchdown to make it 21-19 with 1 minute 14 seconds left after Jaylen Raynor connected with Corey Rucker for a 13-yard touchdown. But the Red Wolves failed to convert on the two-point attempt and were forced to line up for an onside kick, which they recovered. A flag was thrown for an offsides penalty, even though replay did not clearly show any of the Arkansas State players lined up past the 35-yard line. Arkansas State head coach Butch Jones was livid.

But that call effectively iced the game. On the re-kick, Northern Illinois recovered and subsequently ran out the clock. — Lyles

MVP: Running back Antario Brown, Northern Illinois. Brown ran for 132 yards on 25 carries.

Duke got the best of Troy in a matchup of two teams being led by interim coaches. Troy’s Jon Sumrall and Duke’s Mike Elko left for Tulane and Texas A&M, respectively, after the regular season.

Duke running back Jaylen Coleman got the game going after the two teams traded off the first five drives scoreless, punching in a 1-yard run to cap off a drive that went for seven plays and 64 yards.

After a string of punts, field goals, and turnovers on downs, Troy’s Damaje Yancey gave the game a second wind in the fourth quarter with the Trojans down 17-3, intercepting Grayson Loftis while Duke was in the red zone 13. The Troy offense then marched down the field on a 10-play, 87-yard drive –finished by a 2-yard Derrick Graham touchdown run — to make it a 17-10 game.

Troy had 14 comeback wins going back to last season, but they didn’t have one more left in them. After stopping Duke and getting the ball back with just under two minutes left, Troy quarterback Gunnar Watson threw an interception to Jeremiah Lewis to seal the win for the Blue Devils.

The win gave Duke bowl victories in consecutive years for the first time since the 2017 and 2018 seasons. They’ll enter a new era under Manny Diaz on a positive note. — Lyles

MVP: Running back Jaquez Moore, Duke. Moore ran for 73 yards on 14 carries.

Friday, Dec. 22

In the run-up to the Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl, Georgia Tech head coach Brent Key insisted this was simply an ending to the 2023 season, a way to send out his seniors on a high note and ensure the Yellow Jackets their first winning record since 2018. All of that, of course, was true. But given the number of players returning for the Jackets — just two in the portal so far, and no opt-outs for the bowl — it’s also easy to see how Georgia Tech’s 30-17 win over UCF on Friday could be a harbinger for things to come, too.

Haynes King combined for 176 yards of offense and two touchdowns. Jamal Hayes had 128 yards on 18 carries. Malik Rutherford’s 41-yard touchdown grab was one of the game’s highlights. And the Jackets’ D held UCF without a rushing touchdown, something Key’s team had done to just one other opponent all season. Add in the fact that Tech erased a 10-0 first-quarter deficit in the process, and there was much to like — and most of it back for 2024.

For UCF, the game was a bitter ending to a mixed season — the Knights’ first in a Power Five league. Wins over Boise State and Oklahoma State showed the promise of this team, but a five-game losing streak in the middle of the season — including a one-point loss to Baylor and a two-point loss to Oklahoma — scuttled any hopes of an explosive Big 12 debut. RJ Harvey (15 carries, 120 yards) and Javon Baker (nine catches, 173 yards and a touchdown) do offer a foundation for UCF’s 2024 though. — David Hale

MVP: Running back Jamal Haynes, Georgia Tech. Though he didn’t score a TD, Haynes rushed for a career-high 128 yards and went over the 1,000-yard mark in rushing this season.

Thursday, Dec. 21

USF made an emphatic statement in its first bowl appearance since 2018, dominating Syracuse from start to finish in a 45-0 win that featured several record-setting performances.

First-year coach Alex Golesh did a remarkable job turning around a program that won eight games total in the four years before his arrival. USF finishes this season with seven wins — its first winning season since 2017 — and the largest margin of victory in a bowl game in school history. Like the Bulls did all season, they did it behind quarterback Byrum Brown and receiver Sean Atkins.

Brown threw for 213 yards and three touchdown passes to reach 26 on the season, breaking Quinton Flowers’ single-season school record of 25 set in 2017. Brown also joined Flowers as the only two players in program history with 4,000 total yards in a season.

Meanwhile, Atkins had six catches for 93 yards and two scores, becoming the first player in school history to go over 1,000 receiving yards.

But the USF defense took center stage. The Bulls came into the game ranked No. 128 out of 130 FBS teams in total defense but completely shut down the Orange, who were playing without starting quarterback Garrett Shrader (shoulder surgery).

Syracuse turned once again to converted tight end Dan Villari and Braden Davis at quarterback, but nothing was working. USF forced four turnovers — including a strip-sack fumble that Tramel Logan Jr. returned for a 61-yard score. USF special teams got involved, too, when Syracuse muffed the hold on a field goal attempt, and Aamaris Brown returned the fumble 64 yards for a score. Those two scores helped USF build a 31-0 lead at halftime, and the Bulls never looked back.

It was a disappointing end for Syracuse, which fired coach Dino Babers in November and had interim coach Nunzio Campanile in charge for the bowl. Incoming coach Fran Brown was in Boca to watch, and so was Ohio State transfer quarterback Kyle McCord, whom the Orange hope will help them improve next season. — Andrea Adelson

MVP: Quarterback Byrum Brown, USF. The freshman threw for 213 yards and three scores, and his third TD pass gave him 26 for the season, breaking the school’s single-season record.

Dec. 19

The pregame news that UTSA’s record-setting quarterback Frank Harris would sit out because of a shoulder injury — ending a transcendent seven-year career that included 11,858 passing yards and 92 touchdowns — momentarily put a damper on the matchup. After Marshall intercepted UTSA backup quarterback Owen McCown on two of UTSA’s first four drives and stormed out to a 14-0 lead, a blowout seemed possible. But McCown and the Roadrunners stormed back, scoring touchdowns on three consecutive drives against a veteran Marshall defense with star power. In a matchup pitting two backup quarterbacks whose fathers played QB in the NFL — Owen is the son of Josh McCown, while Marshall’s Cole Pennington is the son of former Thundering Herd great Chad Pennington — UTSA pulled away in the second half to record the first bowl win in team history. The Roadrunners outscored Marshall 35-3 in the final 41:26 as McCown had 251 passing yards and two scores, and a ferocious defense swarmed the backfield. Marshall’s second half was both bad and bizarre, as the Herd entered UTSA territory three times without scoring, and star running back Rasheen Ali (92 first-half rushing yards) sat out because of a coach’s decision to preserve his health. — Adam Rittenberg

MVP: Quarterback Owen McCown, UTSA. In place of the best quarterback in program history, McCown passed for 251 yards and two touchdowns.

Dec. 18

Famous Toastery Bowl: Western Kentucky 38, Old Dominion 35 (OT)

The inaugural Famous Toastery Bowl was a classic, with Western Kentucky, without star quarterback Austin Reed, rebounding from a 28-0 deficit to win 38-35 in overtime for the fourth-largest comeback in FBS bowl history.

The Hilltoppers started redshirt freshman Turner Helton, WKU coach Tyson Helton’s nephew (and son of Georgia Southern coach Clay Helton) but he was benched in the first quarter after losing a fumble and throwing an interception. In came Caden Veltkamp, who had made one appearance all season, going 1 of 2 for 4 yards against FIU. Against ODU, Veltkamp went 40 of 52 for 383 yards with five touchdowns to one interception.

It marked the first win after facing a 21-point fourth-quarter deficit since 2015 when Houston beat Pitt in the Armed Forces Bowl. According to ESPN Stats & Information, each of the last 109 teams trailing by that much have lost.

This was Old Dominion’s 11th game of the season that was decided by a single score. The Monarchs finished 6-5 in such games while finishing 6-7 on the season, but they reached a bowl game for the third time in school history after becoming eligible in 2015. Western Kentucky (8-5) saw its quarterback throw for more than four TDs in the Hilltoppers’ third straight bowl game (Bailey Zappe with six in 2021, Reed with four in 2022 and Veltkamp with five this year) and won their third straight bowl game, tying the longest such streak in program history. — Dave Wilson

MVP: Quarterback Caden Veltkamp, Western Kentucky. The third-string Hilltopper threw for five touchdowns and 383 yards.

Dec. 16

Ohio secured consecutive 10-win seasons for the first time in program history and extended its bowl game winning streak to five behind a stifling first-half defensive effort against Georgia Southern. The Bobcats (10-3) intercepted quarterback Davis Brin three times (twice in the first half) from the safety position — by sixth-year senior Jeremiah Wood, sophomore Adonis Williams Jr. and sixth-year senior Walter Reynolds. The Eagles (6-7) were held to 35 total yards in the first half, turning the ball over three times as the Bobcats jumped out to a 20-0 advantage. Ohio freshman running back Rickey Hunt broke out by registering 133 total yards (115 rushing) and five total touchdowns (four on the ground). Hunt tied the NCAA bowl record for touchdowns from scrimmage as the 12th player in history with five and established a new Bobcats bowl game record. Ohio fifth-year senior quarterback Parker Navarro, taking over the reins of the offense after Kurtis Rourke entered the transfer portal, managed the game effectively, despite the team being outgained 383-352 in total yards. Navarro completed 11 of 16 passes for 120 yards and threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Hunt. — Blake Baumgartner

MVP: Running back Rickey Hunt, Ohio. The freshman scored five touchdowns and had 133 all-purpose yards.

Florida A&M senior quarterback Jeremy Moussa didn’t hang his head long after throwing a fourth-quarter pick-six that allowed Howard to reclaim the lead. Moussa recovered quickly, utilizing a flea-flicker to connect with sixth-year senior wide receiver Jah’Marae Sheread for a 38-yard game-winning score. In guiding the Rattlers (12-1) to their first HBCU/FCS national championship since 1998, Moussa completed 19 of 32 passes to nine different receivers for 289 yards and three touchdowns with two interceptions. Howard (6-6) scored touchdowns on its first two possessions, and it didn’t trail until Moussa found senior running back Kelvin Dean (three receptions for 87 yards and two scores) for a 21-yard score early in the fourth quarter. Senior defensive back Carson Hinton had a fumble recovery and a 27-yard interception return for a Bison touchdown, which took Howard’s upset bid of the heavily favored Rattlers down to the wire. The Rattlers’ defense made life difficult for Howard quarterback Quinton Williams, intercepting him three times — resulting in 14 points — and holding the Bison to 187 total yards (106 passing). Howard was up at halftime despite being outgained 107-98 and passing for only 41 yards. — Baumgartner

MVP: Wide receiver Kelvin Dean, Florida A&M. He scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns, including a 53-yarder.

All Jacksonville State wanted was an opportunity. Afforded the chance to play in a bowl game during its FCS to FBS transition because not enough teams qualified for bowls, coach Rich Rodriguez and his Gamecocks took advantage. Freshman Garrison Rippa‘s 27-yard field goal — his second career attempt — completed a win over Louisiana in overtime. Jacksonville State (9-4) ran 109 plays, the second most in a bowl game since major classification started in 1937. The Gamecocks held a 526-247 edge in total yardage but nearly lost because they couldn’t take care of the ball. Three of the team’s four turnovers were returned for touchdowns, including redshirt sophomore safety Tyree Skipper‘s 43-yard pick-six with 5:32 left in regulation, which gave Louisiana its last lead of the game at 31-24. The Ragin’ Cajuns (6-7) became the first team in the past 20 years to score three defensive touchdowns in a bowl game. With Jacksonville State quarterbacks Zion Webb (leg) and Logan Smothers (arm) both sustaining injuries during the game and rotating in and out, junior running back Ron Wiggins churned out 126 yards and a touchdown to carry the Gamecocks — Baumgartner

MVP: Cornerback Jalen Clark, Louisiana. Even in a losing effort, it’s worth recognizing Clark, who returned a fumble 46 yards for a touchdown and an interception 16 yards for another score.

Little went Appalachian State’s way during the first half of 2023. The Mountaineers lost in overtime at North Carolina, blew a 19-7 lead at Wyoming and lost to Coastal Carolina on a field goal as time expired and to Old Dominion on a touchdown with 48 seconds to play. The Mountaineers were 3-4 through seven games, and the season looked lost. Then something clicked. App State won its final five of the regular season, got a shot at the Sun Belt title game thanks to James Madison being ineligible and ended things on a high note in the bowl game. Anderson Castle carried 20 times for 119 yards, and Kaedin Robinson caught eight balls for 118 yards despite difficult rainy conditions. The Mountaineers have now hit the nine-win mark in eight of 10 seasons since moving up from the FCS level, and they’re 7-1 in bowl games as an FBS member. For Miami, it was a brutal way to cap an otherwise remarkable season. The Redhawks finish 11-3, the most wins by the program since 2003, when Ben Roethlisberger was the team’s quarterback. Their lone regular-season losses came to Miami (Florida) and Toledo, a defeat the Redhawks avenged on Dec. 2 to claim the MAC championship. — David Hale

MVP: Mother Nature. The game was played in a downpour from start to finish, causing nonstop mishaps. But if we’re picking a player, it’s Appalachian State quarterback Joey Aguilar, who somehow managed to pass for 211 yards and rushed for his team’s only touchdown.

Fresno State was without coach Jeff Tedford, but the Bulldogs didn’t miss a beat in a win over New Mexico State. Tedford stepped aside from bowl prep and coaching due to health concerns, though he is expected to return for the 2024 season. In his absence, the Bulldogs snapped a three-game skid and showcased their share of vintage Tedford offensive fireworks. Quarterback Mikey Keene completed 31 of 39 passes for 380 yards and three touchdowns, adding a fourth score on the ground, while seven different Fresno State receivers caught at least three passes each. In all, the Bulldogs racked up an impressive 491 yards of offense. For New Mexico State, it was a disappointing end to a magical season. The Aggies opened the 2023 campaign with an embarrassing home loss to UMass then turned things around and finished with 10 wins — including a road victory against Auburn — and a berth in the Conference USA title game. The 10-win season was just the second in program history, and through two years at the helm, coach Jerry Kill has just one fewer victory (17) than the Aggies had in the six seasons preceding his arrival. — Hale

MVP: Quarterback Mikey Keene, Fresno State. Completed 31 of 39 passes for 380 yards and had four overall scores.

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Gronk sings special rendition of national anthem for the LA Bowl

NFL legend Rob Gronkowski shows off his vocals as he sings the national anthem ahead of the Starco Brands LA Bowl.

After ending their regular season with a disappointing 33-7 loss to Cal that made many Bruins fans anticipate Chip Kelly’s firing, UCLA bounced back in the LA Bowl, beating Boise State not too far away from the Bruins’ home stadium. With Kelly still at the helm after UCLA announced it would retain him, the Bruins compiled 510 yards of offense and ran the ball for 280 yards thanks to quarterback Collin Schlee‘s 128 yards on the ground. After transferring from Kent State last offseason, Schlee saw limited time behind Ethan Garbers and Dante Moore, who is now in the transfer portal. But against the Broncos, Schlee showed exactly what he does best, leading the Bruins’ rushing attack while also throwing for two touchdowns. Many questions remain for Kelly’s team as it heads to the Big Ten, but Saturday night’s bowl win was a strong finishing note after an up-and-down season. — Paolo Uggetti

MVP: Quarterback Ethan Garbers, UCLA. The Bruins turned to Garbers while trailing 16-7 to start the second half, and he completed his first eight passes, resulting in three consecutive touchdown drives.

On the heels of his announcement that he would return to Cal next season, Golden Bears star running back Jaydn Ott struggled against Texas Tech’s defense. Ott, who totaled 1,260 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns this season, accounted for 45 yards on 16 carries and one touchdown in the bowl game. The Red Raiders’ offense, meanwhile, scored four touchdowns thanks to three touchdown passes from Behren Morton. The sophomore quarterback spread the ball around to seven different receivers, three of whom averaged more than 12 yards per catch. Tech defense stepped up in its own way, picking off Cal quarterback Fernando Mendoza three times and forcing him into two fumbles that proved too much to overcome. — Uggetti

MVP: Quarterback Behren Morton, Texas Tech. The sophomore tossed three first-half touchdowns.

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Rangers’ Garcia scratched with forearm soreness

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Rangers' Garcia scratched with forearm soreness

  • Associated Press

May 19, 2024, 02:22 PM ET

ARLINGTON, Texas — Rangers slugger Adolis Garcia was scratched from the starting lineup Sunday and got an MRI on his right forearm, a day after a collision in the outfield with second baseman Marcus Semien while both All-Star players went after a popup.

Manager Bruce Bochy said the plan had been for García, their primary right fielder, to be the designated hitter in the series finale against the Los Angeles Angels.

“The right forearm area took a pretty good shot there from Marcus, so he’ll get checked out,” Bochy said before the game. “We’ll have an MRI done, see where we’re at. My guess is, I’m hoping anyway, after the day off, he’ll be good to go.”

Bochy, without elaborating, said after their 4-1 loss that the MRI looked good.

The Rangers have a day off Monday before a three-game series at Philadelphia.

Semien was running out and García was coming in on Taylor Ward‘s popup to shallow right field in the sixth inning. Semien collided into García who had pulled up and gone down to a knee to get the ball after it dropped to the ground. Semien took a hard tumble, though both players stayed in and finished the Rangers’ 3-2 win in 13 innings.

García, the American League Championship Series MVP last year, hit his 11th homer of the season in the bottom of the sixth inning to tie the game at 1-1. He is hitting .251 and his 35 RBIs ranked fourth in the American League this season.

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Ohtani delivers first walk-off hit as a Dodger

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Ohtani delivers first walk-off hit as a Dodger

  • ESPN News Services

May 19, 2024, 07:49 PM ET

LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani delivered his second major league walk-off hit, a two-out single in the 10th inning that sent the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 3-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday.

Andy Pages hit an early two-run homer for the Dodgers, who have won 20 of 26 after taking three of four from Cincinnati.

Pinch-hitter Will Smith drew a one-out walk in the 10th from Alexis Diaz (1-3), who got Mookie Betts to fly out before Ohtani stroked a single to right, scoring Jason Heyward. Ohtani’s latest feat set off a loud celebration for another huge weekend crowd at Dodger Stadium.

His only other walk-off hit in Major League Baseball was an 11th-inning single for the Los Angeles Angels in a 6-5 win over Houston on Sept. 4, 2020.

It was Ohtani’s 21st multi-hit game this season, the most in MLB. He is hitting .393 this month, the third-highest batting average in MLB among hitters with at least 20 at-bats in May (Kevin Pillar .447, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. .407).

Stuart Fairchild had two hits for the Reds, who have lost 15 of 18. Cincinnati also has lost seven consecutive series.

Anthony Banda (1-0) got three straight outs in the 10th in his debut with the Dodgers, who acquired the reliever from Cleveland on Friday. Banda’s win was his first since May 28, 2022, with Pittsburgh. He has pitched for the Blue Jays, Yankees, Nationals and Dodgers — and played in Cleveland’s minor league system — since leaving the Pirates less than two years ago.

Cincinnati reliever Emilio Pagan left abruptly with two outs in the ninth and a 2-1 count on Heyward. Pagan recorded two outs before throwing three straight fastballs to Heyward and then departing with a possible shoulder injury.

Diaz struck out Heyward to force extra innings.

Hunter Greene struck out eight while pitching four-hit ball into the seventh inning for Cincinnati in his second career start in his hometown. The hard-throwing right-hander got youth coaching at Compton’s Major League Baseball Urban Youth Academy and played high school ball in Sherman Oaks before the Reds made him the second overall pick in 2017.

Landon Knack yielded one run on three hits over the first 4⅔ innings for the Dodgers in his fourth major league appearance. Knack made three starts in April, and he got recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City for this spot start apparently so the Dodgers could give a full week of rest to Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

Freddie Freeman singled in the fourth before Pages put a poor slider into the short porch down the left-field line for the fifth homer of his rookie season.

Cincinnati had been shut out for 16 consecutive innings at Chavez Ravine before it scored on back-to-back doubles to left in the fifth by Fairchild and Santiago Espinal, whose catchable drive fooled Teoscar Hernandez.

Cincinnati tied it in the seventh when pinch-hitter Spencer Steer — a Long Beach native in an 0-for-16 slump — drew a bases-loaded walk on nine pitches from Alex Vesia, who escaped the jam.

ESPN Stats & Information and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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‘This fan base is going to fall in love with him’: How Luis Arráez is following in Tony Gwynn’s footsteps

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May 19, 2024

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'This fan base is going to fall in love with him': How Luis Arráez is following in Tony Gwynn's footsteps

  • Alden Gonzalez, ESPN Staff WriterMay 17, 2024, 07:00 AM ET

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      ESPN baseball reporter. Covered the L.A. Rams for ESPN from 2016 to 2018 and the L.A. Angels for MLB.com from 2012 to 2016.

Comparisons to Tony Gwynn began to follow Luis Arráez when he first established himself in the big leagues, growing more prevalent as the hits piled up and the batting titles followed. Arráez wasn’t as prolific, but his skills and the way he utilized them — consistently spraying baseballs to unoccupied spaces all over the field, barreling pitches regardless of how or where they were thrown — made links to one of history’s most gifted hitters seem inevitable.

Tony Gwynn Jr., the late Hall of Famer’s son, often heard them and largely understood them. But it wasn’t until the night of May 4, while watching Arráez compile four hits in his debut with the same San Diego Padres team his father starred for, that he actually felt them.

“I honestly had goosebumps watching him put together at-bats,” said Gwynn Jr., a retired major league outfielder who serves as an analyst for the Padres’ radio broadcasts. “It took me back to watching film with my dad as he was basically doing the same thing.”

Gwynn was universally celebrated throughout the 1980s and ’90s, but Arráez stands as a polarizing figure in the slug-obsessed, launch-angle-consumed era in which he plays. Some, like the Miami Marlins team that traded him away earlier this month, see a one-dimensional player who doesn’t provide enough speed, power or defensive acumen to build around. Others, like the Padres, who used four prospects to acquire him at a time when trades rarely happen, see the type of offensive mastery that more than makes up for it.

What’s inarguable is that Arráez is the ultimate outlier.

Case in point: The publicly available bat-speed metrics recently unveiled by Statcast feature a graph that places hitters based on their relationship between average bat speed (X-axis) and squared-up rate (Y-axis). All alone on the top left corner, far removed from the other 217 qualified hitters, is Arráez. He has the slowest swing in the sport but also its most efficient, theoretically, because he meets pitches with the sweet spot of his bat more often than anybody else.

Arráez has only 24 home runs in 2,165 career at-bats. But his .324 batting average since his 2019 debut leads the majors, 10 points higher than that of Freddie Freeman, the runner-up. He walks at a below-average clip, but his major league-leading 7.5% strikeout rate is about a third of the MLB average during that stretch, cartoonish in the most strikeout-prone era in baseball history.

He is elite even when he chases: The major league average on pitches outside the rulebook strike zone since the start of the 2023 season is .162. Arráez’s: .297.

“Now with the analytics they focus on home runs, they focus on guys hitting the ball hard but hitting .200,” Arráez said in Spanish. “But in my mind, and with all the work that I do, I stay focused on just doing my job — not try to do too much or try to do what they’re telling me to do. Analysts say my exit velocity is [among] the lowest in the big leagues. Amen. Let them keep saying that. As long as I have my health, I keep doing things to help my team, I’m going to be fine.”

Arráez became the first player to win a batting title in the American and National leagues in consecutive seasons last year. But trade rumors surrounded him from the onset of 2024, his second-to-last season before free agency. As a 27-year-old two-time All-Star with a .324 career batting average, a sterling reputation and a stated desire to remain in South Florida, he was a player the directionless Marlins franchise could build around. But a new front office considered him expendable. A 9-24 start to the season created an opening. And on May 3, five minutes before the first pitch was thrown in Oakland, Marlins manager Skip Schumaker called Arráez into his office.

“I’m not going to lie to you,” Arráez said, “I wasn’t ready to be traded.”

Schumaker told Arráez he’d have to remove him from the lineup because a deal with the Padres was close. He gave him the option of returning to the clubhouse or going into the dugout for one final moment with his teammates. Arráez stayed until the fifth inning, retreated to his hotel room, waited on a call from Padres officials and hopped on a flight at noon the following day to meet his new team.

Arráez didn’t have enough clothes for the additional six days of the Padres’ road trip. He wore his Marlins-colored cleats through stops in Phoenix and Chicago and compiled eight hits in 20 at-bats during that stretch. After the team got back to San Diego, he used the May 9 off day to search for an apartment and spend time with his mom, wife and three daughters, who flew in for a weekend visit, then delivered a walk-off single against the rival Los Angeles Dodgers in his home debut the following night. He’s still living out of a hotel room crammed with unopened boxes, but he already feels wanted. Embraced, even.

“They’ve welcomed me here with open arms,” Arráez said. “I feel as if I’ve been here since spring training.”

Arráez was a 4-year-old in Venezuela when Gwynn played the final season of his 20-year career in 2001. When Gwynn died in 2014, Arráez was still a teenager on the Minnesota Twins‘ Dominican Summer League team. Hearing comparisons to Gwynn made him curious enough to find old clips of a player who was mostly foreign to him. He began to study his approach to hitting, marveling specifically at Gwynn’s ability to let pitches travel deep into the strike zone before driving them to the opposite field.

Conversations with one of Gwynn’s most important mentors, Twins icon and gifted batsman Rod Carew, brought Arráez more insight. Now similar conversations are taking place with Gwynn’s only son. When the Padres return from their seven-game road trip through Atlanta and Cincinnati, Arráez plans to visit the Gwynn statue that sits just outside of Petco Park. He isn’t necessarily leaning into the comparisons, but he isn’t running from them, either.

“It’s such a great experience when fans embrace you with open arms and tell you that I’m a mini Tony Gwynn, and that I have a lot of traits that remind them of him,” Arráez said. “It’s nice to hear people say things like that.”

Perhaps the quality Gwynn and Arráez share most is self-awareness. “Know thyself” is a line Gwynn Jr. heard his father say repeatedly growing up, one that translated directly to how he approached his profession: He knew his strengths, worked relentlessly to maximize them and never tried to emulate others. Arráez’s new teammates already see the same in him.

“It’s not like he goes up there and just does it,” Padres third baseman Manny Machado said. “He puts a lot of work in the cage, before games, even before BP and stuff like that. He knows his strength, and he works on it.”

Baseball’s evolution has made it harder than ever for someone like Arráez to exist. Pitchers have never thrown harder, data has never been more prevalent, batting averages have hardly ever been lower. But Padres manager Mike Shildt is adamant that Arráez shouldn’t be an anomaly.

He recalled an old San Diego Union-Tribune article that re-ran May 9, on what would have been Gwynn’s 64th birthday. It detailed the amount of time Gwynn spent working on hitting, and it validated something Shildt had long believed: That more players could hit .300, even today, if they worked on the craft of doing so as diligently and as pointedly as Gwynn did. As Arráez does.

“When you have an ability to hit a ball to all the different areas, you’re going to hit,” Shildt said. “And big picture, our industry hasn’t taught that anymore. It’s not valued anymore. It’s not monetized anymore. You can’t quantify this, but it’s a shame how many amateur and lower-level professional players have been excluded from continuing to play because they don’t meet a measurable. They don’t meet an exit velocity or bat speed or launch angle, or all of those things that this game is now basically recruiting and monetizing blindly. They’re just getting hits. And somehow that became out of vogue in our industry in general.”

But those are now someone else’s problems. The Padres will gladly take Arráez, all he his and all he isn’t, and slot him ahead of Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Xander Bogaerts in hopes of riding his singular bat to the playoffs.

Arráez is still six batting titles away from catching Gwynn. He isn’t anywhere near as good a defender or as lethal a baserunner as Gwynn was early in his career, and he needs another decade-plus of similar production — heightened production, actually, given the .345 batting average Gwynn boasted between his ages 27 and 37 seasons — to even approach him as a hitter. But Arráez’s style is the closest we’ve got.

And if there’s one place that can appreciate it, it’s his new one.

“This fan base is going to fall in love with him,” Gwynn Jr. said. “It’s how a lot of them grew up watching baseball.”

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