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LOS ANGELES — The first pitch Randy Vasquez threw to Shohei Ohtani in Tuesday’s third inning was a fastball low and inside enough to brush him back. The second hit the two-way superstar squarely on his right quad, prompting umpires to issue warnings to both sides and triggering the first ejection of the year for Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts.

Vasquez said the pitch, which occurred a half-inning after Fernando Tatis Jr. was hit by Lou Trivino, “wasn’t intentional,” adding that the attack plan against Ohtani was to hammer the fastball inside and Vasquez “didn’t execute the pitch.”

Roberts disagreed.

“Absolutely,” Roberts, speaking after his team’s 8-6 win, said when asked if he believes Vasquez hit Ohtani on purpose. “He hasn’t come close. For me, if they feel that’s warranted on their side — part of baseball, that’s what they feel. I give him credit because they hit him in the leg. Own it, and we move on. It’s not a misfire. I do feel it was intentional. Again, that’s part of baseball, which we all understand.”

On Monday night, Dodgers center fielder Andy Pages took a fastball to the left elbow guard from Padres starter Dylan Cease and yelled in Cease’s direction. Later, Pages said he felt he was hit on purpose, perhaps because the Padres believed he was trying to relay the catcher’s signs from second base earlier in the game.

The following night, Trivino threw an 0-1 sinker with first base open and none out in the top of the third that caught Tatis in the upper back. Tatis, who was also hit by Trivino while leading off a game from Petco Park seven days earlier, was clearly upset but said nothing in Trivino’s direction. He walked slowly to first base, then watched from right field when Ohtani was hit — with none on, one out and the count 1-0 — in the bottom half.

“Just trying to make quality pitches and fight for the inner part of the plate,” Padres manager Mike Shildt said, “and a ball got away from Vasquez.”

But Roberts was irate that his side was warned, then spilled out of the dugout and yelled in the face of third-base umpire Tripp Gibson after he had tossed him.

“I didn’t feel a warning on both sides was warranted,” Roberts said, “so I just wanted to know an explanation. I wanted an explanation on their thought process. I didn’t come in hot. I just wanted to know why; why they issued [the warnings]. I realized later I got tossed, which I didn’t understand or appreciate. Even looking back, to see Mike get the opportunity to talk to umpires after I was tossed and [get] their explanation, and he was still in the game. I think what anyone wants is consistency, right?”

A fourth hit by pitch occurred at the start of the seventh inning, when Dodgers reliever Matt Sauer plunked Padres infielder Jose Iglesias in the left wrist — postgame X-rays were negative — but was not tossed. Manny Machado — who, along with Tatis, left Dodger Stadium before media was allowed in the clubhouse — yelled toward the umpires wondering why Sauer was not tossed. But Shildt said he did not believe that pitch was intentional.

It was nonetheless a flash point in yet another hotly contested matchup between the Padres and Dodgers, two bitter rivals who are near the end of a 10-day stretch in which they face each other seven times.

“I think it’s fantastic,” Shildt said of the tension in this series. “Look, the best part about a rivalry is people are going to bring their best shot. Good news is both teams are bringing it every night. We love it. We can’t do it, but I wish we played them every night.”

On this night, it was Pages who stole the show, going 4-for-4 with two home runs to increase his OPS to .845 and solidify himself as one of the sport’s breakout stars. After Pages reacted angrily to Cease’s hit by pitch on Monday night, cameras caught Shildt yelling, “Who the f— do you think you are?” from his dugout. Later, Machado, while praising Pages’ season, said, “They got way more superstars over there if we want to hit somebody.”

Pages got the last laugh, leading the Dodgers to their fourth win in five games against the Padres this season — with two more to follow over the next two nights.

“I think Andy spoke for himself today,” Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy said. “I think Andy told him who he was today.”

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Sources: BoSox send rookie Campbell to minors

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Sources: BoSox send rookie Campbell to minors

The Boston Red Sox are sending rookie Kristian Campbell to Triple-A, paving the way for the return of outfielder Wilyer Abreu off the injured list, sources told ESPN on Thursday.

Campbell, the reigning Minor League Player of the Year, signed an eight-year, $60 million contract extension before the beginning of the season and won American League Rookie of the Month in April, hitting .301/.407/.495. Since May, he has struggled offensively, hitting .159/.243/.222, and defensively as the Red Sox’s everyday second baseman.

The reset for Campbell, who turns 23 on June 28, comes in the wake of Boston trading star slugger Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants. The return of Abreu and eventual return of third baseman Alex Bregman from a right quadriceps strain are expected to fortify a lineup that ranks fifth in the major leagues with 358 runs scored.

Campbell rocketed to the big leagues after a 2024 in which he hit .330/.439/.558 with 20 home runs and 77 RBIs over three minor league levels. Boston entered spring training hopeful he would earn the second base job, and despite hitting .167/.305/.271, the Red Sox were confident enough in Campbell’s ability to succeed that they locked him up to a deal that with two club options can run through 2034.

With a unique stance, Campbell managed to produce top-end exit velocities, and the Red Sox banked on that ability to make up for his lack of minor league at-bats. A fourth-round pick out of Georgia Tech in 2023, the 6-foot-3, 210-pound Campbell responded with four multihit games among his first seven in the big leagues and finished April with four home runs and 12 RBIs.

May and June have proven far more difficult, with just four multihit games among the 38 he has played. Campbell spent the first eight days of May in the cleanup spot but has been dropped to the bottom of the order in June. In his last big league game Wednesday, he batted eighth and played center field.

Abreu, who turns 26 on Tuesday, is expected to rejoin the Red Sox 10 days after hitting the injured list with a strained oblique. He went 1 for 4 in a rehabilitation appearance with Triple-A Worcester on Tuesday and would head to San Francisco for the Red Sox’s series against the Giants that begins Friday.

In his third big league season, Abreu is hitting .245/.321/.471 with 13 home runs, just two shy of his career best in 2024. He joins a crowded outfield, with Gold Glove candidate Ceddanne Rafaela — who can also play in the middle infield — in center, All-Star Jarren Duran in left and top prospect Roman Anthony in right. Anthony is currently hitting third, the spot Abreu regularly occupied before his injury.

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Ohtani to pitch against Nationals on Sunday

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Ohtani to pitch against Nationals on Sunday

LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani will next pitch for the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday against the Washington Nationals.

The two-way superstar made his mound debut for the Dodgers on Monday against the San Diego Padres, throwing one inning and allowing one run and two hits. He also batted leadoff as the designated hitter and had two hits.

Ohtani faced Padres sluggers Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado in his 28-pitch outing.

The Dodgers conclude their four-game series with San Diego on Thursday night, looking for a sweep and their sixth straight victory.

Ohtani underwent Tommy John surgery after the 2023 season while with the Los Angeles Angels and missed all of the 2024 season after which he signed a $700 million, 10-year deal with the Dodgers.

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Jac jack: Royals’ Caglianone belts first MLB HR

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Jac jack: Royals' Caglianone belts first MLB HR

ARLINGTON, Texas — Jac Caglianone has his first career home run just shy of two weeks after his debut with the Kansas City Royals, and a day after the 22-year-old prospect sat out of a big league game for the first time.

Caglianone won a lefty-lefty matchup by pulling a 95.5 mph fastball from Jacob Latz into the Texas Rangers bullpen in right-center field to give the Royals a 3-0 lead in the second inning Thursday.

Vinnie Pasquantino hit a two-run shot off Texas starter Shawn Armstrong in the first inning of a bullpen game for the Rangers.

The sixth overall pick in last year’s amateur draft out of Florida, Caglianone went 0-for-5 in his big league debut at St. Louis on June 3. His average was at .196 after going 0-for-4 in the opener of a series at Texas and sitting out the second game.

Caglianone, who played his first six games on the road before making his home debut against the New York Yankees, swung at Latz’s 2-2 pitch above the strike zone, and pointed toward center field as he rounded second base after his 387-foot drive.

The 6-foot-5 Caglianone hit 15 homers in 50 games combined with Double-A Northwest Arkansas and Triple-A Omaha before getting called up.

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