LOS ANGELES (AP) — Freddie Freeman homered leading off the bottom of the ninth inning, lifting the Los Angeles Dodgers over the Angels 1-0 on Friday night in the Freeway Series opener.
Freeman sent a 3-2 pitch from former Dodger reliever Kirby Yates (0-2) over the wall in deep center and was greeted by his teammates at home plate. Fans chanted “Freddie! Freddie!”
The Dodgers were on the losing end of a walkoff homer in Arizona on Thursday night. Freeman finished with two hits and a walk Friday.
Blake Treinen (3-1) got the win in relief with a scoreless ninth.
The Dodgers outscored the Angels 31-3 in winning the teams’ first three meetings this season. Friday’s series opener at Dodger Stadium was taut, with each team notching three hits.
Dodgers starter Roki Sasaki struck out a career-high 10 over seven scoreless innings. He didn't allow a hit until the fifth when Nick Madrigal doubled with one out. The Japanese right-hander lowered his ERA to 4.03.
Angels starter Reid Detmers matched Sasaki through three hitless innings of his own before Freeman singled in the fourth. The left-hander gave up two hits over six innings, struck out six and walked two.
Angels slugger Mike Trout was hitless in four at-bats, and struck out three times. His former teammate, Shohei Ohtani, didn't fare any better. The two-way superstar was 0 for 4 with two strikeouts.
Angels RHP Jack Kochanowitz (2-4, 5.23 ERA) was set to start Saturday against Dodgers RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto (5-4, 2.86).
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Roki Sasaki, left, greets Shohei Ohtani I. The dugout prior to a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Friday, June 5, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Reid Detmers throws to the plate during the first inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Friday, June 5, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Roki Sasaki throws to the plate during the first inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Friday, June 5, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
CHICAGO (AP) — Germany's 18-year-old midfielder Lennart Karl has been ruled out of the World Cup after injuring his thigh in training on Friday ahead of Germany's final pre-World Cup tuneup against the United States.
Karl was considered one of the top young players in any World Cup squad after a breakout season with Bayern Munich, for which he became the club's youngest ever goal-scorer in the Champions League.
Karl was sent to the hospital for scans and Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann said it “didn't look so good.”
Hours later, and barely a week before Germany's first game of the tournament, Karl was replaced in the squad by midfielder Assan Ouédraogo under World Cup rules allowing extra players in cases of serious injury.
“I have no idea where to start but it's just indescribably painful being forced to miss the biggest tournament of all,” Karl wrote on Instagram.
“I've done everything to be fit for the World Cup. Unfortunately injuries often come at the unluckiest time.”
German soccer association president Bernd Neuendorf said there were tears at a team meeting as an Nagelsmann broke the news to the squad, German agency dpa reported. Germany plays the U.S. in Chicago on Saturday and then starts its tournament against Curacao on June 14.
Karl made his debut for Germany in March to continue a rapid rise to prominence and has played three games for the national team, including a key role as a starter in last week's 4-0 win over Finland.
Leipzig's 20-year-old midfielder Ouédraogo has played just once for Germany, scoring in a 13-minute appearance off the bench at the end of a 6-0 win over Slovakia in November.
Nagelsmann also said on Friday he would not risk 40-year-old goalkeeper Manuel Neuer against the U.S. because of continuing concerns over a calf injury he picked up at Bayern last month.
That means Neuer will go into the World Cup having not played for Germany in almost two years. He retired from the national team after the 2024 European Championship but agreed to a recall last month.
Oliver Baumann has been Germany's first choice for much of the time Neuer was away and also started against Finland last week.
AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup
Germany's Lennart Karl, left, and David Raum attend a training session in Herzogenaurach, Germany, Thursday May 28, 2026, ahead of the World Cup tournament. (Federico Gambarini/dpa via AP)
