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MIAMI — Shohei Ohtani remained stoic as he rounded the bases in Thursday’s ninth inning, after another prodigious home run that merely piled on to what had already been one of the most memorable performances in baseball history. But he cracked moments later, while making his way through the usual parade of dugout high-fives. He smiled sheepishly, gritted his teeth, rhythmically slumped his shoulders, as if to convey amazement — embarrassment, even — by his unrelenting dominance.

That home run, off a position player inserted into a game that was thoroughly out of hand, was his third of the night and 51st of the season. It drove in his 10th run, a Los Angeles Dodgers record. And it provided an emphatic conclusion to a game that saw Ohtani become the first 50/50 player in baseball history while clinching his first ever trip to Major League Baseball’s postseason.

Twenty-seven days ago, Ohtani reached the 40/40 club with a walk-off grand slam. He then set a new benchmark, while on his way to becoming the first full-time designated hitter to win an MVP, with a six-hit, three-homer, two-steal performance amid the Dodgers’ 20-4 rout of the Miami Marlins. A Dodgers team that has spent an entire summer praising Ohtani’s exploits is running out of ways to explain them.

“I almost cried, to be honest with you,” veteran shortstop Miguel Rojas said. “It was a lot of emotion, because of everything that happens behind the scenes that we get to witness every single day. It’s a pretty cool moment. We all know what he’s capable of doing, but for him to reach that mark — it’s pretty amazing.”

Ohtani began the Dodgers’ seven-game road trip three home runs and two stolen bases away from 50/50, then added only one homer and one steal over the next six. When the series finale from LoanDepot Park arrived on Thursday, it seemed a safe bet that Ohtani’s milestone would wait until the Dodgers returned home. But Ohtani opened with a line-drive double off the wall in right-center field, then picked up his 50th steal by sneaking his foot underneath the tag of Marlins third baseman Connor Norby.

A second-inning single was followed by stolen base No. 51. Ohtani then added a two-run double in the third — before getting thrown out trying to stretch it to a triple — and followed with a 438-foot home run into LoanDepot Park’s second deck in the sixth for his 49th home run. When he came to bat again in the seventh, the Dodgers had runners on second and third with two outs. First base was open, and Dodgers players began to look into the opposing dugout to see if the Marlins would intentionally walk Ohtani.

“F— that,” a camera caught Marlins manager Skip Shumaker saying in his dugout. “I’ve got too much respect for this guy for that s— to happen.”

Ohtani took a couple of mighty hacks, but then he locked back in. The count was 1-2 when Marlins right-hander Mike Baumann went to his knuckle-curve for the second straight time, leaving it near the middle of the strike zone. Ohtani stayed back and dumped the offering into the Recess Sports Lounge located just beyond the left-center field fence, 391 feet away, for home run No. 50, setting a new career high.

“For him knowing that he’s right there on the edge of history,” Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy said, “and to somehow stay inside a pitch and hit it on a line to left-center and not try to get too big — you know he’s thinking about hitting a home run, and he hits it 111 mph on a line the other way. It’s just incredible.”

The fan who secured the baseball left the ballpark with it in-hand, denying Ohtani a well-earned piece of memorabilia but not of the joy it brought him. Ohtani roared as he left the batter’s box, emphatically slapping hands with first-base coach Clayton McCullough as he made the turn. Afterward, while speaking through an interpreter, he said he was “happy” and “relieved” to finally get the 50/50 milestone done with.

“I think he was just feeling good, feeling sexy and just knew, like, ‘I’m about to do this today,'” fellow Dodgers superstar Mookie Betts said. “I mean, he could’ve had four homers today. I’m at a loss for words.”

A crowd of 15,548 was on hand to witness Ohtani’s historic feat and serenaded him with a standing ovation, prompting him to spill out of the dugout for a curtain call. Ohtani acknowledged the fans, the pitcher who served up the home run, and then the Marlins’ dugout — including Shumaker, who didn’t want to get in the way of history.

“I think that’s a bad move — baseball-wise, karma-wise, baseball-gods-wise,” Shumaker said of intentionally walking Ohtani. “You go after him and see if you can get him out. I think out of respect for the game we were going to go after him. He hit the home run. That’s just part of the deal. He’s hit 50 of them. He’s the most talented player I’ve ever seen. He is doing things I’ve never seen done in the game before, and if he has another couple more of these peak years he might be the best ever to play the game.”

Shortly after the game, the Dodgers boarded a flight back home to prepare for a weekend series against the Colorado Rockies. Their postgame celebration was confined to a champagne toast. Dave Roberts acknowledged that they had clinched a playoff spot but reminded them the goal was to once again take the National League West, there they hold a four-game lead on the San Diego Padres, and ultimately win the World Series.

He also praised Ohtani, both for making it to his first postseason — he has played in 866 career regular-season games without reaching the playoffs, the most among active players — and for doing what no player had ever done. Many of those in the room wore black, commemorative 50/50 T-shirts that had been printed in advance.

“If I’m being honest,” Ohtani said later, “it was something I wanted to get over [with] as soon as possible because the balls were being exchanged every time I was up to bat.”

Ohtani became the first player ever with three home runs and two stolen bases in the same game, according to ESPN Stats & Information. He’s the second player since at least 1901 with six hits in a game, including five for extra bases — joining another Dodger, Shawn Green, who homered four times in 2002. He’s also the first player since RBIs became official in 1920 with 10 RBIs and five extra-base hits in the same game and just the sixth to amass 17 total bases.

“That has to be the greatest baseball game of all time,” Dodgers second baseman Gavin Lux said. “It has to be. There’s no way. It’s ridiculous. I’ve never seen anybody do that even in little leagues, so it’s crazy that he’s doing that at the highest level.”

It was solidified in the top of the ninth, with the Dodgers already leading by 11 runs. The Marlins summoned Vidal Brujan, a 26-year-old super-utility player, and watched him lob 70-mph pitches in an effort to get them to the end of the game. As Ohtani came to bat again, one of his best friends on the team, Teoscar Hernandez, implored him to hit the ball into the right-center-field gap to secure a cycle.

“He said to hit a triple,” Ohtani, speaking in English, clarified from the neighboring locker.

“Instead he hit it upper deck,” Hernandez said of a ball that ultimately traveled 440 feet at 114 mph. “That’s why we’re not friends anymore.”

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Red Sox deal All-Star Devers to Giants in stunner

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Red Sox deal All-Star Devers to Giants in stunner

The San Francisco Giants acquired three-time All-Star Rafael Devers from the Boston Red Sox on Sunday in a stunning trade that sent a player Boston once considered a franchise cornerstone to a San Francisco team needing an offensive infusion.

Boston received left-handed starter Kyle Harrison, right-hander Jordan Hicks, outfield prospect James Tibbs III and Rookie League right-hander Jose Bello.

The Red Sox announced the deal Sunday evening.

The Giants will cover the remainder of Devers’ contract, which runs through 2033 and will pay him more than $250 million, sources told ESPN.

The trade ends the fractured relationship between Devers and the Red Sox that had degraded since spring training, when Devers balked at moving off third base — the position where he had spent his whole career — after the signing of free agent Alex Bregman. The Red Sox gave no forewarning to Devers, who expressed frustration before relenting and agreeing to be their designated hitter.

After a season-ending injury to first baseman Triston Casas in early May, the Red Sox asked Devers to move to first base. Devers declined, suggesting the front office “should do their jobs” and find another player after the organization told him during spring training he would be the DH for the remainder of the season. The day after Devers’ comments, Red Sox owner John Henry, president Sam Kennedy and chief baseball officer Craig Breslow flew to Kansas City, where Boston was playing, to talk with Devers.

In the weeks since, Devers’ refusal to play first led to internal tension and helped facilitate the deal, sources said.

San Francisco pounced — and added a force to an offense that ranks 15th in runs scored in Major League Baseball. Devers, 28, is hitting .272/.401/.504 with 15 home runs and 58 RBIs, tied for the third most in MLB. Over his nine-year career, Devers is hitting .279/.349/.509 with 215 home runs and 696 RBIs in 1,053 games.

Boston believed enough in Devers to give him a 10-year, $313.5 million contract extension in January 2023. He rewarded the Red Sox with a Silver Slugger Award that season and made his third All-Star team in 2024.

Whether he slots in at designated hitter or first base with San Francisco — the Giants signed Gold Glove third baseman Matt Chapman to a six-year, $151 million deal last year — is unknown. But San Francisco sought Devers more for his bat, one that immediately makes the Giants — who are fighting for National League West supremacy with the Los Angeles Dodgers — a better team.

To do so, the Giants gave a package of young talent and took on the contract that multiple teams’ models had as underwater.

Harrison, 23, is the prize of the deal, particularly for a Red Sox team replete with young hitting talent but starving for young pitching. Once considered one of the best pitching prospects in baseball, Harrison has shuttled between San Francisco and Triple-A Sacramento this season.

Harrison, who was scratched from a planned start against the Dodgers on Sunday night, has a 4.48 ERA over 182⅔ innings since debuting with the Giants in 2023. He has struck out 178, walked 62 and allowed 30 home runs. The Red Sox optioned Harrison to Triple-A Worcester after the trade was announced.

Hicks, 28, who has toggled between starter and reliever since signing with the Giants for four years and $44 million before the 2024 season, is on the injured list because of right toe inflammation. One of the hardest-throwing pitchers in baseball, Hicks has a 6.47 ERA over 48⅔ innings this season. He could join the Red Sox’s ailing bullpen, which Breslow has sought to upgrade.

Tibbs, 22, was selected by the Giants with the 13th pick in last year’s draft out of Florida State. A 6-foot, 200-pound corner outfielder, Tibbs has spent the season at High-A, where he has hit .245/.377/.480 with 12 home runs and 32 RBIs in 56 games. Scouts laud his command of the strike zone — he has 41 walks and 45 strikeouts in 252 plate appearances — but question whether his swing will translate at higher levels.

Bello, 20, has spent the season as a reliever for the Giants’ Rookie League affiliate. In 18 innings, he has struck out 28 and walked three while posting a 2.00 ERA.

The deal is the latest in which Boston shipped a player central to the franchise.

Boston traded Mookie Betts to the Dodgers in February 2020, just more than a year after leading Boston to a franchise-record 108 wins and a World Series title and winning the American League MVP Award.

Devers was part of that World Series-winning team in 2018 and led the Red Sox in RBIs each season from 2020 to 2024, garnering AL MVP votes across each of the past four years. Devers had been with the Red Sox since 2013, when he signed as an international amateur free agent out of the Dominican Republic. He debuted four years later at age 20.

Boston is banking on its young talent to replace Devers’ production. The Red Sox regularly play four rookies — infielders Kristian Campbell and Marcelo Mayer, outfielder Roman Anthony and catcher Carlos Narvaez — and infielder Franklin Arias and outfielder Jhostynxon Garcia are expected to contribute in the coming years.

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Ohtani to return to mound vs. Padres on Monday

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Ohtani to return to mound vs. Padres on Monday

Shohei Ohtani will make his long-awaited return to pitching on Monday night in a matchup against the division-rival San Diego Padres, the Los Angeles Dodgers announced.

Ohtani, 21 months removed from a second repair of his ulnar collateral ligament, will be used as an opener, likely throwing one inning. Because of his two-way designation, Ohtani qualifies as an extra pitcher on the roster, giving the Dodgers the flexibility to use a piggyback starter behind him.

That is essentially what will take place in his first handful of starts — a byproduct of the progress Ohtani has made in the late stages of his pitching rehab.

Ohtani, 30, initially seemed to be progressing toward a return some time around August. But he made a major step during his third simulated game from San Diego’s Petco Park on Tuesday, throwing 44 pitches over the course of three simulated innings and compiling six strikeouts against a couple of low-level minor leaguers.

Afterward, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said it was a “north of zero” chance Ohtani could return before the All-Star break. When he met with reporters prior to Sunday’s game against the San Francisco Giants — an eventual 5-4 victory — Roberts said it was a “possibility” Ohtani could pitch after just one more simulated game.

After the game, Roberts indicated the timeline might have been pushed even further, telling reporters it was a “high possibility” Ohtani would pitch in a big league game this week as an opener, likely during the upcoming four-game series against the Padres.

“He’s ready to pitch in a big league game,” Roberts told reporters. “He let us know.”

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What blockbuster trade means for Rafael Devers’ fantasy baseball potential

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What blockbuster trade means for Rafael Devers' fantasy baseball potential

If you’re just getting back home from your Father’s Day activities, you had better sit down, because Sunday evening’s Boston Red SoxSan Francisco Giants trade is a doozy.

Rafael Devers, second among third basemen and seventh among hitters in fantasy points this season, is headed to the Giants, traded minutes before their game against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Boston’s return includes pitchers Kyle Harrison, who was the Giants’ scheduled starting pitcher Sunday night (subsequently scratched), pitcher Jordan Hicks, outfield prospect James Tibbs III and pitching prospect Jose Bello.

Expect Devers to continue to serve in a designated hitter-only capacity with his new team, considering his season-long stance, which is primarily an issue for his position eligibility for 2026. He might factor as the Giants’ future first baseman if given a full offseason to prepare for the shift to a new position — or it could happen sooner if he has a change of heart in his new environment.

As for the impact on Devers’ numbers, the move from Fenway Park to Oracle Park represents one of the steepest downgrades in terms of park factors, specifically run production and extra-base hits. With its close-proximity Green Monster in left field, Fenway Park is a much better environment for doubles and runs scored, Statcast reflecting that it’s 22% and 10% better than league average in those categories, respectively, compared with 8% worse and only 2% above par for Oracle Park.

Devers is a prime-age 28, with a contract averaging a relatively reasonable $31.8 million over the next eight seasons, and he’s leaving a Red Sox team where his defensive positioning — he has played all but six of his career defensive innings at third base — was a manner of much debate, to go to a team that has one of baseball’s best defensive third basemen in Matt Chapman (once he’s healthy following a hand injury). Devers’ unwillingness to play first base probably played a big part in his ultimately being traded, and it’s worth pointing out that one of the positions where the Giants are weakest is, well, also first base.

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Perez: Devers gives Giants a ‘really good offense’

Eduardo Perez, David Cone and Karl Ravech react to the Giants acquiring star 3B Rafael Devers from the Red Sox.

Devers’ raw power is immense, as he has greater than 95th percentile barrel and hard-hit rates this season. He has been in that tier or better in the latter in each of the past three seasons as well. He’s at a 33-homer (and 34 per 162 games) pace since the beginning of 2021, so the slugger should continue to homer at a similar rate regardless of his surroundings. He should easily snap the Giants’ drought of 30-homer hitters, which dates back to Barry Bonds in 2004. Devers’ fantasy value might slip slightly, mostly due to the park’s impact on his runs scored and RBIs, but he’ll remain a top-four fantasy third baseman.

If you play in an NL-only league, Devers is an open-the-wallet free agent target. He’s worth a maximum bid, considering he brings a similar ability to stars you might invest in come the July trade deadline, except in this case you’ll get an extra month and a half’s production.

Harrison is an intriguing pickup for the Red Sox, though in a disappointing development, he was immediately optioned to Triple-A Worcester. A top-25 overall prospect as recently as two years ago, Harrison’s spike in average fastball velocity this season (95.1 mph, up from 92.5) could be a signal of better things ahead. Once recalled to Fenway Park, his fantasy prospects would take a hit, as that’s a venue that isn’t forgiving to fly ball-oriented lefties, but he’d be a matchups option nevertheless.

Expect Hicks to serve in setup relief for his new team, though he’d at best be fourth in the Red Sox’s pecking order for saves.

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