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LOS ANGELES — Texas’ extra-inning comeback victory over Arizona on Friday night was the least-watched Game 1 in World Series TV history.

The Rangers’ 6-5 win over the Diamondbacks in 11 innings averaged 9.35 million viewers on Fox, Fox Deportes and Fox’s streaming service. The previous low was 9.48 for the opening game in 2020 between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Tampa Bay Rays. That game was played during the pandemic, coincidentally in Arlington, Texas.

According to Nielsen, Fox averaged 9.17 million for the game telecast. It is only the sixth World Series game that didn’t attract at least 10 million viewers. The others were the first four games in 2020 and Game 3 in 2008 between Tampa Bay and the Philadelphia Phillies.

Average viewer ratings have been calculated since at least 1969.

The viewership for Friday’s game declined 20% compared to the 11.48 million who watched last year’s first game between the Phillies and Houston Astros.

The news has to be a bit of a disappointment for baseball after it had its most-watched league championship series round since 2018. Buoyed by a pair of Game 7s for the first time in a full season since 2004, overall postseason ratings were up 7% compared to last year.

The World Series was the most-watched event on television Friday night by a significant margin. An episode of “The Price is Right” averaged 3.01 million.

The least-watched World Series game remains Game 3 in 2020, which averaged 8.34 million.

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Greene returning to Reds rotation for playoff push

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Greene returning to Reds rotation for playoff push

Hunter Greene will return to the Cincinnati Reds‘ rotation Wednesday night.

The right-hander will start against visiting Philadelphia after being out since June 4 with a strained right groin. The same injury sidelined Greene for two weeks in May.

Greene is 4-3 with a 2.72 ERA in 11 starts this season. The 26-year-old was selected to the All-Star Game last year for the first time.

In three rehab starts for Triple-A Louisville, Greene allowed 11 runs in 11 innings.

Cincinnati (61-57) entered Sunday 2½ games behind the New York Mets for the third wild-card spot in the National League.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Phillies call up Robertson, 40, for bullpen assist

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Phillies call up Robertson, 40, for bullpen assist

ARLINGTON, Texas — The Philadelphia Phillies recalled 40-year-old reliever David Robertson from Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Sunday, three weeks after he signed a free agent deal with the National League East leaders.

Robertson made six relief appearances with Lehigh Valley and had a 10.13 ERA, though he had four scoreless outings. He struck out six, walked one and allowed 11 hits and six runs in 5⅓ innings.

The Phillies made the move before their series finale at Texas, where Robertson was 3-4 with a 3.00 ERA in 68 games last season.

Right-hander Alan Rangel was optioned to Triple-A to make room on the 26-man roster.

Over his 16-year major league career, Robertson has a 2.91 ERA in 861 games, all but one of those in relief. This is his third stint with the Phillies, first as a free agent before the 2019 season and then after being acquired in a trade from the Chicago Cubs in 2022. He played nine seasons with the Yankees over two different times in New York, which drafted him in the 17th round of the 2006 amateur draft.

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Ohtani hits 40-HR mark for 4th time in career

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Ohtani hits 40-HR mark for 4th time in career

LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani hit his 40th home run of the season Saturday night in the fifth inning of the Los Angeles Dodgers‘ 9-1 win against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Ohtani hit a solo shot 417 feet to center off starter Chris Bassitt to give the Dodgers a three-run lead.

“That was one of those swings where he was behind the ball,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “He stayed into the ground. I know he and the hitting guys have been working on some things mechanically. That was as good of a swing as you’re going to see.”

Ohtani was not made available to the media.

The two-way Japanese star reached 40 homers for the fourth time in his career — and the third straight season — after winning MVP awards in each of the previous three years he did it.

He is the third player with multiple 40-HR seasons in the American League and National League, joining Jim Thome and Mark McGwire.

He did it this time in his 115th game, the fewest needed to reach the mark in a season in Dodgers history.

With 45 regular-season games left, Roberts was asked if he thought Ohtani could reach 55.

“It wouldn’t surprise me,” Roberts said. “Guys like Shohei always look for something to motivate them. He likes round numbers. I know 50 is on his radar. We’ll see how it goes.”

Information from ESPN Research and The Associated Press was used in this report.

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