Rising to the occasion, Shohei Ohtani hits 2-run HR in return to Japan against Yomiuri Giants

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese star Shohei Ohtani showed off some prodigious power in his return to the Tokyo Dome on Saturday night.

In an exhibition game against the Yomiuri Giants, the three-time MVP belted a two-run homer to right field in the third inning to give the Los Angeles Dodgers a 4-0 lead, setting off a roar from the roughly 42,000 fans in attendance.

“He always seems to rise to certain occasions, expectation to put on a performance,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “Once again, he delivered.”

Ohtani led off the game with a walk and came to bat for a second time in the third inning. He didn't get his best swing on the ball, but the 6-foot-4, 210-pound slugger was still able to launch a slider from Yomiuri's Shosei Togo 391 feet, which was plenty of distance to get it over the fence.

The 30-year-old is just 4 1/2 months removed from surgery on his left (non-throwing) shoulder but has recovered remarkably fast. His big swing at the Tokyo Dome is another sign that he's feeling good heading into his eighth big league season, his second with the Dodgers.

“I was a bit out front on it, but it went out at a good angle and I thought it was going to be a home run," Ohtani said, through a translation.

The Dodgers put on quite a power display in the third with Michael Conforto, Ohtani and Teoscar Hernández all going deep to give Los Angeles a 5-0 advantage. Conforto said it was great to go deep in his first at-bat, but the conversation quickly switched to Ohtani.

“It's really amazing,” Conforto said. “In every big moment, he seems to just do what the fans want him to do.”

Los Angeles beat Yomiuri 5-1.

The Dodgers are playing in Japan as part of the Tokyo Series. The team is playing two exhibition games against Japanese teams before starting the regular season with two games against the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday and Wednesday.

In 2024, Ohtani became the first player in MLB history to have at least 50 homers and 50 stolen bases in one season. He played several seasons for the Nippon Ham Fighters in Japan before coming to the U.S. in 2018 with the Los Angeles Angels.

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Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani rounds the bases after hitting a two-run home run in the third inning of a spring training baseball game against the Yomiuri Giants in Tokyo, Japan, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Yomiuri Giants' Makoto Kadowaki, left, throws to first to complete the double play after forcing Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani, right, at second in the first inning of a spring training baseball game in Tokyo, Japan, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani rounds the bases after hitting a two-run home run in the third inning of a spring training baseball game against the Yomiuri Giants in Tokyo, Japan, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani connects for a two-run home run in the third inning of a spring training baseball game against the Yomiuri Giants in Tokyo, Japan, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani, left, and first base coach Chris Woodward, right, greet each other after Ohtani earned a walk in the first inning of a spring training baseball game against the Yomiuri Giants in Tokyo, Japan, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani waves from the field as he warms up before a spring training baseball game against the Yomiuri Giants in Tokyo, Japan, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani, rear left, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, rear right, talk as they watch a spring training baseball game against the Yomiuri Giants in Tokyo, Japan, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani waits on a pitch in the first inning of a spring training baseball game against the Yomiuri Giants in Tokyo, Japan, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani, left, and Yomiuri Giants' Yoshihiro Maru, front, greet each other before the first inning of a spring training baseball game in Tokyo, Japan, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

HONG KONG (AP) — Former executives of a now-defunct, pro-democracy newspaper in Hong Kong who were convicted under a national security law pleaded for lighter sentences Tuesday in a landmark case widely seen as a barometer of media freedom in a city once hailed as a bastion of free press in Asia.

The former journalists pleaded guilty in 2022 to conspiracy to collude with foreign forces to endanger national security. They admitted to the prosecution's charge that said they conspired with their ex-boss and onetime media mogul Jimmy Lai to request foreign sanctions, blockades or engage in other hostile activities against Hong Kong or China.

Lai, the Apple Daily founder who pleaded not guilty in the case, was convicted in December. The verdict raised concerns about the city's declining press freedom and drew criticism from foreign governments.

But the government insists the case has nothing to do with media freedom, saying the defendants used news reporting as a pretext for years to commit acts that harmed China and Hong Kong.

Their sentences are expected to be handed down at a later date.

Six Apple Daily executives were convicted in Lai's case: publisher Cheung Kim-hung; associate publisher Chan Pui-man; editor-in-chief Ryan Law; executive editor-in-chief Lam Man-chung; executive editor-in-chief responsible for English news Fung Wai-kong; and editorial writer Yeung Ching-kee. Some of them served as prosecution witnesses during the 156-day trial.

A conviction on the collusion charge carries a sentence ranging from three years to life in prison. But a guilty plea can result in a sentence reduction. Under the security law, a reduced penalty may be granted to those who report on offenses committed by others.

Chan's lawyer, Marco Li, said if the judges decided to place his client in the upper sentencing band, he suggested the starting point should be 10 years, given her limited role. Citing factors including her timely plea and assistance to the prosecution, he asked for her sentence to be halved.

Li said Chan, who started working at Apple Daily in 1996, regretted not resisting even more firmly when matters arose that made her uncomfortable. But according to her mitigation letter, Chan couldn't leave her beloved job casually at that time because she was suffering serious health issues and was under financial burden.

Chung Pui-kuen, Chan's husband and a former top editor of the now-shuttered Stand News, was among those in the public gallery. He was sentenced to 21 months in jail in a separate sedition case.

Lai founded Apple Daily in 1995, two years before Hong Kong, a former British colony, returned to Chinese rule. It attracted a strong following with its sometimes sensational reports, investigative scoops and eventual short animated video reports. Being openly critical of the Hong Kong and Chinese governments, the newspaper was well-received among pro-democracy readers.

During Hong Kong's massive anti-government protests in 2019, Apple Daily ran articles sympathetic to protesters and supportive of the pro-democracy movement that saw hundreds of thousands of people take to the streets.

After Beijing imposed the security law to quell the protests, Lai was one of the first prominent figures to be arrested. Within a year, Apple Daily's former executives also were arrested. The prosecutions, asset freeze and police raids forced the newspaper's closure in June 2021. Its final edition sold a million copies.

In their December verdict, the three government-appointed judges said Lai had used Apple Daily as a platform for spreading his political ideas and implementing his political agenda before and after the introduction of the security law.

The judges on Monday heard arguments about the sentencing of Lai, Cheung and two other non-Apple Daily activists involved in the former publisher’s case.

When Lai entered the courtroom Tuesday, he smiled at people sitting in the public gallery as a supporter formed a heart shape with her hands.

FILE - In this June 23, 2021, file photo, Lam Man-chung, left, executive editor-in-Chief of Apple Daily and Chan Pui-man, center, associate publisher of Apple Daily gesture at the headquarters before the newspaper stop publishing in Hong Kong. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)

FILE - Chan Pui-man, associate publisher of Apple Daily newspaper walks out from a court in Hong Kong, June 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung), File)