Shohei Ohtani hits NL-leading 37th homer, Dodgers defeat Brewers 7-2 for 5th straight victory

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Shohei Ohtani hits NL-leading 37th homer, Dodgers defeat Brewers 7-2 for 5th straight victory

2024-08-14 11:55 Last Updated At：12:01

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Shohei Ohtani hit his National League-leading 37th home run and the Los Angeles Dodgers finished with four homers in a 7-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday night that extended their winning streak to five games.

Gavin Lux and Andy Pages each hit a two-run home run during a five-run fourth inning that gave the Dodgers a 7-1 lead.

Will Smith also homered as the NL West-leading Dodgers improved to 71-49 and matched the Cleveland Guardians for the best record in the majors.

“We’re just playing good baseball,” Smith said. “Offense is putting together good at-bats, good team at-bats, driving guys in, moving guys over. Pitchers are filling up the zone, attacking guys, getting ahead. Right now, we’re playing good baseball.”

The Dodgers’ Gavin Stone (10-5) allowed one run on three hits in five innings, striking out six with no walks in an 86-pitch outing.

“It makes it easier to stay on the inside, and that’s really all it was,” Stone said of pitching with the early lead. “They gave me that early run support and it was easier to just trust pitches in the zone.”

Teoscar Hernandez singled to open the fourth and Lux followed with his seventh homer. Smith singled, advanced to third on Migel Rojas’ double, and scored on Kiké Hernádez’s sacrifice fly. Pages hit the first pitch of his at-bat for his ninth homer.

Colin Rea (10-4) was tagged for seven runs and 10 hits in six innings, including all four homers. He lost for the second time in 14 outings, including 11 starts.

“He wasn’t his best, that’s for sure,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “He’s been throwing the ball so great. He had that one rough inning, but in typical Colin fashion, he sucked it up and pitched six innings for us. Other than that one inning, he threw the ball well.”

Smith staked the Dodgers to a 1-0 lead with two outs in the second, sending a 3-2 pitch 412 feet to left for his 16th homer.

Ohtani made it 2-0 in the third with a two-out solo shot to right-center.

William Contreras answered in the bottom half, capping a 10-pitch at-bat with his 15th homer, cutting Milwaukee’s deficit to 2-1.

The Brewers got a run in the seventh inning on three singles off Landon Knack, who pitched the final four innings and earned his first career save.

“We’ve gotten good starts,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “When you get good starting pitching, it does take pressure off the offense. We’ve had some timely hits. I talked about this last series, I didn’t think we were good situationally. This series, so far, we’ve been good.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Dodgers: RHP River Ryan, who left his start against San Diego on Saturday, will have Tommy John surgery on his right elbow and is done for the season. … IF Max Muncy (right oblique strain) and OF Tommy Edman (right wrist surgery, sprained ankle) were scheduled to play seven innings Tuesday with Triple-A Oklahoma City on rehab assignments, manager Dave Roberts said. … RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto (60-day IL, right triceps tightness) threw a 40-pitch bullpen session Tuesday and is expected to pitch a two-inning simulated game Friday.

UP NEXT

Right-hander Frankie Montas (5-8, 5.10) starts for Milwaukee, while right-hander Walker Buehler (1-4, 5.84) is scheduled to be activated of the IL and make his first big league start since June 18.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Alex Ovechkin breaking Wayne Gretzky's record brings joy to hockey and beyond sports

2025-04-08 01:49 Last Updated At：01:50

NEW YORK (AP) — Alex Ovechkin could not contain his happiness moments after scoring his 895th goal to break Wayne Gretzky's NHL record.

After firing the puck into the net, Ovechkin turned and did a belly-flop slide down the ice like he had just won a pee-wee hockey game. The gap-toothed grin didn't leave his face for hours.

“We did it!” he told teammates in an electric visiting arena with over 17,000 fans locked in on his every move. "It’s history! Yeah!”

Ovechkin was the epitome of joyfulness on goal No. 895, just like he's been on so many of his previous 894, replicating jumping into a fountain in Washington when he and the Capitals won the Stanley Cup in 2018.

“Almost," Ovechkin said.

That title, the franchise's first championship, was the Capitals' high-water mark, but this stuck out in a different way.

The Cup gets handed out once a year. Ovechkin broke a record that stood for more than three decades, with the chance for his reign to last even longer. At a time of the season in a team-centric sport that is usually reserved only for playoff races, Ovechkin's “GR8 Chase” captivated the hockey community and reached the rest of the world clearly eager to witness something special.

“It’s a testament to Ovi,” said center Dylan Strome, who along with Tom Wilson had the assists on Ovechkin's record-breaker Sunday in a 4-1 loss to the New York Islanders. “Everyone wants to see him succeed because he’s such a happy guy. It doesn’t matter if he scores a goal or someone else scores a goal: He’s just as happy. And I think that’s a credit to him and his character, and you could see why other people are so happy for him because of the way he treats other people.”

The charismatic Russian superstar has made a career out of scoring like no one else and commemorating the moments like few others. Whether it was jumping into the glass or mimicking that his stick was on fire, Ovechkin has become one of the faces of the game in part because of his child-like love of the game, even in his 20th NHL season. He is a little kid at heart playing a grown-up sport.

It's a love of the game that resonates far beyond the Capitals.

"You just smile every time you see it," coach Spencer Carbery said, echoing Strome about Ovechkin being just as happy to see his teammates score. “It speaks to him, but also who he is as a captain and as a leader, of the happiness and joy that he has to win and to see others have success and others to score goals, as well.”

No team or goaltender wanted to be the one to give up No. 895, but the Islanders — and netminder Ilya Sorokin, 10 years younger than Ovechkin, giving the fellow Russian his stick when asked — still had full appreciation of the moment.

“No matter what team you were cheering for tonight, everyone was a hockey fan," Islanders captain Anders Lee said. “Everyone on our side and their side can appreciate Ovi's accomplishment."

The run-up to the accomplishment was half the fun. Goal-counters from Washington to Moscow tracked the quest. Ticket prices surged and subsided based on how close Ovechkin was to catching and passing Gretzky.

If the pressure was mounting on Ovechkin at 39 in the twilight of his career, he didn't show it. And the Capitals made it their life's work to get him the record.

It finally came midway through the 77th game out of 82, bringing relief to everyone involved.

“Over the last couple of weeks, it has now turned into he’s right there,” Carbery said. “And for us, especially as coaches, we go to the hundreds and hundreds of hours that we’ve been trying to figure out ways to get him the next goal. (When) you’ve been working 80-hour weeks for the last two years to try to help get the next goal, it’s a pretty special moment for us to celebrate.”

The NHL and the Capitals put together a video montage of greats from Simone Biles and Michael Phelps to Tom Brady, LeBron James and Derek Jeter to congratulate Ovechkin. In that moment, it was clear this accomplishment transcended hockey — and even sports. Vladimir Putin added his congratulations after the sun rose in Moscow on Monday.

“It’s great for the game,” Ovechkin said. "It’s great for us to be involved for this moment. ... Right now, people celebrate, people are happy and I’m just happy to be a part of it.”

Longtime teammate John Carlson, who assisted on the tying 894th goal on Friday night, said he and the Capitals “were just along for the ride.” So was everyone else watching, and Ovechkin provided a ride of a lifetime. He made sure it has been a fun one.

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl