AUGSBURG, Germany (AP) — Fabian Hürzeler is the English Premier League's new star manager after going unbeaten in his first four league games at Brighton. His old club St. Pauli is in trouble already.
The 31-year-old Texas-born coach got Hamburg-based St. Pauli promoted back to the Bundesliga last season for the first time since 2011, but left a month later to join Brighton.
Three games into the Bundesliga season and St. Pauli has yet to earn a point. Now coached by Alexander Blessin, Sunday's 3-1 loss at Augsburg left St. Pauli in the relegation zone. At least it shed the unwanted record of being the league's only team yet to score a goal.
New signing Marius Wolf gave Augsburg the lead shortly after halftime with his first Bundesliga goal since August 2022, before Phillip Tietz headed in a second. Carlo Boukhalfa's header got St. Pauli back into the game but Yusuf Kabadayi's added-time goal secured the win for Augsburg.
The only team below St. Pauli in the table is the other promoted club, Holstein Kiel, which has three losses and a goal difference of minus 8 after being routed 6-1 by Bayern Munich on Saturday.
Augsburg's win was its first of the season in the Bundesliga and came three days after coach Jess Thorup was given a contract extension through 2026.
Also Sunday, Werder Bremen held on for a 2-1 win at Mainz despite playing the last half-hour with 10 men.
Marvin Ducksch's early penalty for Bremen was canceled out by Lee Jae-sung's goal for Mainz after Bremen goalkeeper Michael Zetterer misjudged an interception.
Bremen captain Marco Friedl was red-carded in the 60th for fouling Mainz's Jonathan Burkardt when he was through on goal, but Bremen soon followed up with a goal for new signing Derrick Köhn on his Bundesliga debut.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Bremen's Derrick Köhn celebrates scoring during the German Bundesliga soccer match between FSV Mainz 05 and Werder Bremen, at the Mewa Arena in Mainz, Germany, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (Uwe Anspach/dpa via AP)
Augsburg's Samuel Essende, left, and St. Pauli's Eric Smith vie for the ball during the German Bundesliga soccer match between FC Augsburg and FC St. Pauli in Augsburg, Germany, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (Harry Langer/dpa via AP)
St. Pauli's Robert Wagner, left, and Augsburg's Ruben Vargas in action during the Bundesliga soccer match between FC Augsburg and FC St. Pauli at WWK-Arena, Augsburg, Germany, Sunday Sept. 15, 2024. (Harry Langer/dpa via AP)
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shohei Ohtani hit a game-tying, three-run homer with two outs in the second inning of his highly anticipated playoff debut for the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday night.
After flying out in the first, the Japanese superstar sent a 2-1 pitch from Dylan Cease into right field, a 372-foot shot that had the sellout crowd of 53,028 on its feet. The Dodgers went on to a 7-5 victory over the team they had battled down to the wire before winning their 11th NL West title in 12 years.
Ohtani finished 2 for 5, with three RBIs, two runs scored and two strikeouts as 88-year-old Hall of Fame pitcher Sandy Koufax looked on from behind home plate.
The Padres had taken a 3-0 lead in the first off Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Ohtani's countryman who is also making his postseason debut in the National League Division Series.
Ohtani, who hit .310 in the regular season, scored Will Smith, who walked, and Gavin Lux, who singled, to make it 3-3.
San Diego went ahead 5-3 before the Dodgers rallied with three runs in the bottom of the fourth. Ohtani had a broken-bat single and later scored, along with Mookie Betts, on Teoscar Hernández's single that gave the Dodgers their first lead, 6-5.
Ohtani is getting his first chance on the October playoff stage after spending the last six years with the Los Angeles Angels, who never had a winning record or made the postseason during his tenure.
Ohtani signed a record $700 million, 10-year deal with the Dodgers in December. He didn’t pitch this season while rehabbing from a second elbow surgery he had a year ago. That allowed him to focus on his offense, and he exploded, becoming Major League Baseball's first player with 50 homers and 50 stolen bases in a season.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB
Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani reacts as he rounds first base following his three-run home run during the second inning in Game 1 of baseball's NL Division Series against the San Diego Padres, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani watches his three-run home run during the second inning in Game 1 of baseball's NL Division Series against the San Diego Padres, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani breaks his bat as he singles during the fourth inning in Game 1 of baseball's NL Division Series against the San Diego Padres, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani (17) celebrates with manager Dave Roberts, middle right, after Ohtani scored on a single by Teoscar Hernández during the fourth inning in Game 1 of baseball's NL Division Series against the San Diego Padres, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani, middle, celebrates with teammates in the dugout after hitting a three-run home run during the second inning in Game 1 of baseball's NL Division Series against the San Diego Padres, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani reacts after hitting a three-run home run during the second inning in Game 1 of baseball's NL Division Series against the San Diego Padres, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani runs from second to third base during the fourth inning in Game 1 of baseball's NL Division Series against the San Diego Padres, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani flies out against the San Diego Padres during the first inning in Game 1 of baseball's NL Division Series Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani (17) bumps fists with teammates before Game 1 of baseball's NL Division Series against the San Diego Padres, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani, right, waits for the start of Game 1 of baseball's NL Division Series against the San Diego Padres, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani walks back to the dugout before Game 1 of baseball's NL Division Series against the San Diego Padres, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani flies out against the San Diego Padres during the first inning in Game 1 of baseball's NL Division Series Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
