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LOS ANGELES — A.J. Minter, a lefty reliever who has made a living taming the game’s most menacing left-handed sluggers, threw a 94 mph fastball right down the middle to Shohei Ohtani in Sunday’s eighth inning and paid a heavy price. What followed was one of the most prodigious home runs of Ohtani’s career — a 111 mph, 464-foot drive into the deepest portion of center field at Dodger Stadium.

It was Ohtani’s second homer of the afternoon, third in a stretch of two games and 10th this season, tying him with Marcell Ozuna, Gunnar Henderson and former teammate Mike Trout for the major-league lead. It was also the final blow in a 5-1 victory that gave the Dodgers a convincing three-game sweep over the Atlanta Braves this weekend.

“Slug is part of my game,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton.

Is it ever.

Ohtani’s latest homer was the third-longest at Dodger Stadium in the Statcast era, which began in 2015. Only Giancarlo Stanton (475 feet in 2015) and Fernando Tatis Jr. (467 feet in 2021) have gone further. It was also the third-longest of his career, trailing two others from Angel Stadium — a 493-foot homer in June 2023 and a 470-foot homer in June 2021.

Ohtani’s slash line — in his first year on a new team, with the expectations of a massive contract and in the wake of a betting scandal surrounding his now-former interpreter — is up to .364/.426/.685, giving him a major league-leading 1.111 OPS. Included in that is 25 extra-base hits, tied for the third-most by a player through his firsts 35 games with a team since 1900, according to research by ESPN Stats & Information.

“I just feel like we’re overall playing really well, so that’s really helping me have quality at-bats,” Ohtani said when asked what has clicked for him offensively in recent days.

The Dodgers went 7-2 in a three-city road trip against the Washington Nationals, Toronto Blue Jays and Arizona Diamondbacks, then came home to host the Braves (a team that held the best record in the major leagues) and outscored them by 14 runs in three games. The Dodgers have pitched to a 1.82 ERA and have hit to an .884 OPS during that 12-game stretch, both tops in the majors.

Ohtani, of course, has played a major role, with 17 hits, including five homers, in 48 at-bats. Twelve of those hits have been up the middle or to the opposite field, a clear sign of how good he feels offensively.

His latest home run was the exclamation point.

“People don’t hit the ball out there — whether you’re right-handed or left-handed, day game, night game,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “The wind actually was kinda pushing it from left to right, so he really got into that one.”

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NHLPA appeals Hartman’s 10-game suspension

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NHLPA appeals Hartman's 10-game suspension

NEW YORK — The NHL Players’ Association said Wednesday it has filed an appeal on Ryan Hartman‘s behalf after the Minnesota Wild forward was suspended for 10 games for roughing.

Hartman had 48 hours from the league’s ruling Monday night to decide whether to appeal the ban for slamming an opponent’s head to the ice with his right forearm, the longest for on-ice conduct in more than six years.

The initial appeal goes to NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, who has regularly sided with the Department of Player Safety and disciplinary decisions made by its vice president, George Parros. If Bettman upholds the suspension, Hartman has the right to appeal to a neutral arbitrator.

Hartman is forfeiting $487,805 in salary as part of his fifth career suspension and fourth since 2023. He would get more than $48,000 back for each game it is reduced by, if at all.

Washington‘s Tom Wilson recouped six games worth of salary when his 2018 suspension was reduced from 20 to 14 on appeal to an arbitrator jointly appointed by the league and union, even though he had already served 16.

Hartman, 30, was initially ejected with a match penalty for roughing Ottawa‘s Tim Stutzle late in the second period of the teams’ game Saturday night.

“Hartman contends that he is attempting to use his hand to regain his balance, using Stutzle for support and that their fall to the ice is accidental. We disagree,” Player Safety said in a video announcing the suspension. “With Stutzle bent low and focused on winning the draw, Hartman chooses to take advantage of a vulnerable player in an unacceptable fashion. Hartman intentionally uses his forearm and body weight to drive Stutzle’s head directly into the ice from a height, which makes this play inherently dangerous and unacceptable.”

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Crosby being evaluated for upper-body injury

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Crosby being evaluated for upper-body injury

CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby is being evaluated for an upper-body injury.

Crosby did not practice Wednesday, less than 24 hours after he got caught between a pair of New Jersey Devils in the third period of what became a 3-2 shootout loss.

The Penguins superstar missed several shifts in the third period after colliding with New Jersey’s Luke Hughes and Erik Haula. Crosby skated to the bench favoring his left arm/hand but returned after being examined in the locker room.

Crosby played the final minutes of regulation and overtime. He also participated in the shootout. Asked afterward about the injury, Crosby said he simply got “tangled up” and did not get into specifics.

Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan did not speculate on whether Crosby would miss any time, saying “let’s not get ahead of ourselves” when asked whether there’s a chance the team could be forced to play without Crosby.

The Penguins play the New York Rangers on Friday and the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday before the break for the 4 Nations Face-Off. Crosby, 37, is slated to serve as captain for Team Canada in the tournament.

The Canadians open play against Sweden on Feb. 12 in Montreal.

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Blackhawks activate forward Smith (back) off IR

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Blackhawks activate forward Smith (back) off IR

CHICAGO — The Blackhawks activated forward Craig Smith from injured reserve before Wednesday night’s game against Edmonton.

Smith had been sidelined by a nagging back injury. He was in the lineup against the Oilers, playing on a line with Lukas Reichel and Pat Maroon.

The 35-year-old Smith has six goals and five assists in 30 games in his first season with Chicago.

The Blackhawks also assigned defenseman Artyom Levshunov and forward Colton Dach to Rockford of the American Hockey League.

The 19-year-old Levshunov was brought up on Monday to give him a chance to practice with the team during the AHL’s All-Star break. The IceHogs’ next game is Friday night at Texas.

Levshunov was the No. 2 overall pick in last year’s NHL draft. He missed the start of the season because of a fractured right foot.

“We’ve had two good, spirited practices with a lot of pace and compete and that was a good learning experience for him to see,” interim Blackhawks coach Anders Sorensen said. “Talking to him, he was kind of baffled how quick it was at times but that’s good. That’s how you realize where you need to be.”

The 22-year-old Dach made his NHL debut on Jan. 3 against Montreal. The 6-foot-4 forward, a second-round pick in the 2021 draft, had one goal and three assists in 13 games with Chicago.

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