I Dig Sports
PITTSBURGH -- Aaron Judge marked his 1,000th game by hitting his sixth homer of the season and the New York Yankees beat Pittsburgh 9-4 on Friday in the Pirates' home opener.
Judge's shot to the seats in right-center in the seventh off Tim Mayza -- who surrendered Judge's 61st home run during his record-breaking 2022 season -- boosted his career total to 321, the most by a player through his first 1,000 games. Those 321 homers also matched the number hit by Babe Ruth during his first 1,000 games with the Yankees.
Judge's blast represents the 12th instance of a player hitting six homers in his team's first seven games of a season, and he's the first since Trevor Story did so in 2016 with seven, according to ESPN Research. Story is tied with Mike Schmidt in 1976 for the most home runs through seven games all time.
The homer is Judge's 69th in interleague play since 2016, which is 12 more than the next-closest players (Kyle Schwarber and Pete Alonso), according to ESPN Research.
Coming off his second American League MVP award, Judge has 17 RBIs in seven games.
Oswaldo Cabrera went 3-for-4 with four RBIs for New York. Anthony Volpe added three hits as the Yankees gave Max Fried (1-0) more than enough run support for the left-hander to collect his first Yankees win in pinstripes. Fried allowed one run and six hits with a walk and six strikeouts in 5 innings.
New York's record is 139-38 since 2020 when Judge goes deep.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
WASHINGTON -- Arizona Diamondbacks second basemen Ketel Marte left Friday night's game against the Washington Nationals in the first inning after suffering an apparent injury while running the bases.
Marte hit a long ball to the wall in center field and as he rounded first base and headed to second he started to stutter step. He pulled in slowly for a standup double while holding his left thigh in the hamstring area.
He limped off the field under the supervision of the team's athletic training staff and was replaced by Garrett Hampson.
Marte on Wednesday signed a new contract that guarantees the All-Star $116.5 million through 2031, a six-year deal that includes a player option and $46 million in deferred money payable through 2040.
Marte is hitting .346 this season in eight games and has reached base in every one.
Marte finished third in NL MVP voting last season, hitting .292 while setting career highs with 36 homers and 95 RBI.
PHILADELPHIA -- Phillies slugger Bryce Harper loves L.A. -- well, at least the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers' freewheeling spending on their way to a nearly $320 million payroll.
A two-time NL MVP, Harper was blunt Friday ahead of a three-game series with the champs about those in baseball who whine about the Dodgers' payroll and signing of Japanese stars.
"I don't know if people will like this," Harper said, "but I feel like only losers complain about what they're doing. I think they're a great team and a great organization."
Major League Baseball's average salary broke the $5 million barrier on Opening Day for the first time, according to a study by The Associated Press.
The New York Mets, with Juan Soto's record $61.9 million pay, led MLB for the third straight Opening Day with a $322.6 million payroll, just ahead of the Dodgers at $319.5 million. Adding Blake Snell, Michael Conforto, Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates, the Dodgers boosted payroll by a big league-high $69 million from Opening Day last year.
Los Angeles' payroll figure was held down by deferred payments. Shohei Ohtani's $70 million salary was discounted to a present-day value of $28.2 million because it won't be paid in full until 2035, causing him to be listed as the 18th-highest-paid player. Other Dodgers with deferred payments include Mookie Betts, Tommy Edman, Freddie Freeman, Teoscar Hernandez, Scott, Will Smith and Snell.
The matchup between Harper and the NL East champion Phillies and Ohtani's Dodgers had the city buzzing with another packed Citizens Bank Park.
Harper is in the seventh season of a $330 million, 13-year contract, at the time the largest deal in baseball history. The Phillies have also been big spenders in recent years under owner John Middleton and reached the playoffs three straight seasons. Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler will earn $42 million as the second-highest-paid player in the game. The Phillies opened with a $283.3 million payroll, third-highest in baseball.
Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred said he received emails from fans concerned over the sport's lack of a salary cap following an offseason spending spree by the Los Angeles Dodgers that sparked increased attention over the expiration of the collective bargaining agreement in December 2027.
"We need to pay attention to it and need to determine whether there are things that can be done to allay those kinds of concerns and make sure we have a competitive and healthy game going forward," Manfred said in February.
Los Angeles had $353 million luxury tax payroll in winning last year's World Series and had to pay a $103 million tax.
"That's why guys want to go there and play. L.A.'s a great city to play in, obviously," Harper said. "They're at the mecca of kind of the world of everything -- from food to nightlife to sports to the Dodgers to the Lakers to anybody. They're going to continue to get guys, they're going to pull guys from the sport. If that's bullpen, or starting pitching, international players, anything like that, they're doing what the Dodgers do."
PHILADELPHIA -- The best start in Dodgers history stays with Brooklyn.
The World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers ran themselves out of a shot at keeping their undefeated season alive in a 3-2 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday that stuck them at 8-1 on the season.
The Brooklyn Dodgers got off to a 10-0 start in 1955.
This year's Dodgers can blame their first loss on sloppy and silly baserunning.
"When you give a good team outs and shorten the game," manager Dave Roberts said, "then it's hard to win. It's hard to beat a good team.
Shohei Ohtani always has the green light to run, but the Dodgers superstar made the puzzling decision to try and steal second base with two outs in the eighth inning and eight-time All-Star Mookie Betts at the plate.
Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto nailed him at second to end the threat.
Ohtani had a 93.7 percent stolen base success rate last season, third-best in the majors.
"With Shohei in that situation, you've got to make sure you're safe," Roberts said. "Realmuto is one of the best throwers in the game. When you're down three with Mookie at the plate, you've got to make sure you're safe if you're going to go."
The Dodgers are champs for a reason, and wouldn't go down easy.
Tommy Edman hit a two-run homer, his fifth already this season, with no outs against Phillies reliever Jordan Romano to make it 3-2, as the Dodgers avoided being shut out for the first time since July 26. Romano then escaped on a strike-him-out-throw-him out double play to end the game.
Pinch-hitter Max Muncy whiffed and pinch-runner Chris Taylor was out at second.
"Chris, right there, took a chance," Roberts said. "Unfortunately, Realmuto made another great throw."
For added baserunning embarrassment, Andy Pages was picked off to end the sixth inning.
"We hate losing but I think it does go to how we play," Roberts said. "Giving those guys three outs on the bases, it's hard to win when you play eight innings on the offensive side. That's something we have to clean up."
Realmuto has now thrown out three runners in a two-game span for the fifth time in his career and first time since 2022.
"The Ohtani one surprised me a little bit just because Mookie was hitting," Realmuto said. "When Chris ran, I had a pretty good idea he was going to try to run because he's the tying run and he's usually a pretty good stolen-base guy."
Everything had gone right for the Dodgers this season.
Ohtani hit a tiebreaking home run in the ninth inning on his bobblehead night, lifting the Dodgers over the then-winless Atlanta Braves 6-5 on Wednesday, giving them the best start ever by a defending World Series champion. They've trailed in seven games this season, but they already have two walk-off wins. Ohtani failed to score for the first time this season.
With the Phillies up 1-0 in the seventh, starter Jesus Luzardo got into his only jam of the game when he had two runners on base with two outs. Luzardo, who had his fastball humming in the high 90s, got Kiké Hernández to strike out swinging on a slider to that had another sellout crowd at Citizens Bank Park roaring in celebration. Hernández fanned three times.
Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto struck out five and allowed one unearned run in six innings. The unearned run came on his own error. Yamamoto threw the ball into foul territory trying to pick off Trea Tuner attempting to steal third in the first inning. The All-Star shortstop hustled home for a 1-0 lead.
Yamamoto tossed at least six innings without allowing an earned run for the fourth time in his career and first time since last June against the Yankees.
Information from ESPN Research and The Associated Press was used in this report.
'ROG derby' latest chapter in O'Gara's Munster 'love story'
As O'Sullivan noted, this game has arrived at a difficult point in O'Gara's tenure.
The 48-year-old acknowledged in his pre-match media briefing that "if you're to take a minute or five to reflect, it's a fantastic story", one he later called a "love story".
Yet, there is a sense that this game comes at a time when the top points scorer in Munster's history has little time for such meditations.
The 2022 and 2023 European champions have reached their first knockout fixture of this season at a low ebb, without a win since beating an understrength Toulouse side on 4 January and sat 10th in the Top 14 with six games remaining.
O'Sullivan, who had a spell coaching Biarritz in France, can relate to the pressures of a lull after success, recalling how after leading Ireland to a first Triple Crown for 19 years in 2004, a down season followed before the side rebounded to reach what was then a record high of third place in the world rankings.
Nolann Le Garrec and Davit Niniashvili, both 22-years-old, have already been recruited for next season to boost an aging La Rochelle squad.
However, despite all his successes on the French Atlantic coast, O'Gara said that given his side's recent form, "next year is too early" to contemplate.
"Pressure builds very quickly in French rugby when things aren't going well," said O'Sullivan.
"It's tough because the longer it goes on it's like you're in a hole and it's getting deeper. All you can do is trust yourself as a coach to find a way out of it and trust the players to stay with you while you're doing it.
"Every team has their crisis moments, he's in that space at the moment, but I wouldn't have any doubt that he'll work it out because he'll be relentless in that pursuit."
Toulouse: Ramos; Capuozzo, Barassi, Ahki, Kinghorn; Ntamack, Graou; Ainu'u, Marchand (capt), Aldegheri, Flament, Meafou, Cros, Willis, Roumat.
Replacements: Cramont, Neti, Merkler, Verge, Jelonch, Castro-Ferreira, Mallia, Costes.
Sale Sharks: James; Roebuck, R du Preez (co-capt), Ma'asi-White, Reed; Ford, Warr; McIntyre, Cowan-Dickie, Opoku-Fordjour, Van Rhyn, Hill, T Curry, B Curry (co-capt), JL du Preez.
Replacements: McElroy, Harrison, John, Andrews, Bamber, Dugdale, Thomas, O'Flaherty.
Referee: Sam Grove-White (Scotland)
Allgaier Carries Point Lead To Track Too Tough To Tame
DARLINGTON, S.C. If theres ever a venue poised to bring its A-game action following last weeks Martinsville (Va.) Speedway thriller, the NASCAR Xfinity Series should be in good shape with Saturdays Sports Clips Haircuts VFW Help A Hero 200 at Darlington Raceway.
The venerable 1.366-mile track has a fantastic history of high-drama and important races.
Reigning NASCAR Xfinity Series champion, driver of the No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet, Justin Allgaier shows up at Darlington with the championship lead by 41 points over Haas Factory Team driver Sam Mayer in second and 47 points over Richard Childress Racings Austin Hill in third, who collected his second win of the season last Saturday and joins Allgaier as the only multiple winners this season.
Sixth in the championship is 18-year-old Connor Zilisch, driver of the No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet, who announced Thursday he will make his second NASCAR Cup Series start for Trackhouse Racing at Charlottes Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day weekend.
The last five Darlington Xfinity Series races have been won by five different drivers. Allgaier is the defending spring race winner and his three trophies at The Track to Tough Tame is most among full-timers. He is on an eight-race streak of top-10 finishes at Darlington one away from matching NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martins record.
Joe Gibbs Racings Brandon Jones (2020) is the only other fulltime series driver with a Darlington victory. Last year, Allgaier beat Hill to the checkered by a full 3.4-seconds. And Mayer was fourth. RCR has never won an Xfinity Series race at Darlington, but has five runner-up finishes two from Hill.
Of note, the Stage 1 winner has gone on to win four of the last five races at the track.
The series is coming off an emotionally-charged short track event at Martinsville, where Hill led only the last lap to claim the win surging forward after aggressive contact between race leaders Joe Gibbs Racings Taylor Gray and JR Motorsports Sammy Smith derailed their days.
Both Gray and Smith were subsequently penalized this week for actions at Martinsville after the race (Gray) and for contact during the race (Smith).
A handful of NASCAR Cup Series drivers will be on the Xfinity Series grid this week, including Chase Elliott, Ross Chastain and Christopher Bell, who won the Fall Darlington NASCAR Xfinity Series race from the pole position.
Thanks to a steady workload this week, our Friday Morning tour around the racing world was delayed by a few hours. From hot laps to the main event, heres whats on our mind.
Hot Laps: Pass The Bar
Want to make a fortune in racing but you dont have the skill to drive a car or an active bank account to buy a team, get a law degree. It may be the most lucrative job in all of motorsports with contracts to be negotiated and seemingly another lawsuit filed every week.
Qualifying: Milestone Number
Perris (Calif.) Auto Speedway will host its 260th USAC-CRA Sprint Car Series race on Saturday night.
First Heat: 50 Years
The 50th Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach is next weekend in the streets of Long Beach, Calif.
When Formula 1 left the event after the 1983 running of the event, many felt like that would be the end of it. Instead, Indy car racing has been the anchor race for what has become one of the most popular sporting events in the Golden State and the longest-running street race in the United States.
Second Heat: Dance With The Lady
Along with all the rubbish that populates social media, we find an occasional gem. Ryan Blaney produced one with his post promoting Sundays NASCAR Cup Series race at Darlington Raceway and an accompanying graphic.
Our dance card only has one name on it, and she doesnt follow in anyones footsteps. Watch us this Sunday at 3PM ET on @fs1 as we take to the stage at Darlington Raceway.
Third Heat: Nicely Done
Winning sprint car driver Jacob Allen walked away from driving this week. Allen is the son of Hall of Fame sprint car racer and Shark Racing team owner Bobby Allen.
More people from all walks of life should have the courage to make significant changes in their daily routines that will benefit themselves and their families in the long run. We congratulate Jacob on a career that included five World of Outlaws victories and wish him well.
Fourth Heat: Weekend For Eddie
Country artist Eddie Rabbitt had a hit record in 1980 with song, I Love the Rainy Night.
Rabbitts classic should have been the theme song for this weekend of racing as tracks and racing series throughout the country canceled or postponed events because of rain or flooding that was the result of rain.
Among them were World of Outlaws sprint cars and late models, High Limit, USAC, NARC and POWRi sprint cars.
Dash: More Storms
Unfortunately, those storms also brought tragedy through the Midwest and the South and impacted not only the racers on the road but those at home. Multiple racing businesses, including John Force Racing received damage to their facilities when a Tornado swept through their Brownsburg, Ind., industrial park.
B Main: Sponsor Talk
Could there be a better sponsor for NASCAR racing than Bare Knuckle Boxing, which will support Layne Riggs Front Row Motorsports Craftsman Truck Series entry for five races this season?
While Bare Knuckle should probably be the entitlement sponsor for the Xfinity Series, image the possibilities the Bare Knuckle Move of the Race, the Bare Knuckle Post-Race Interview, Whos Mad At Who presented by Bare Knuckle. I could go on and on.
Feature: The Hot Topic
Last weekends NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway was a huge topic of discussion this past week as NASCAR Cup Series veterans, legends of the sport, media and fans weighed in on the carnage that resulted from over-aggressive driving at the .526-mile short track.
The most discussed incident was the last-lap parking that Sammy Smith provided to Taylor Gray, ramming into the back of Grays Toyota with his JR Motorsports Chevrolet. The contact ruined the race for both and triggered a multi-car accident as Austin Hill scooted past both to win the race.
While many called for NASCAR to issue suspensions in these situations, it instead docked Smith 50 points (more than could be earned in a single race) and fined him $25,000.
Many talked about the disrespect that young drivers race with today and the reasons why they race in that manner whether it be a blatant disregard for others (such as the crews and team owners who work on these cars) like Smith showed at Martinsville or the fact they are fully sponsored drivers who have yet to learn the consequences of their actions.
It may be NASCAR but the acronym NFL still applies. The majority of drivers who make the climb to the top level of the sport quickly learn respect for their equipment and competitors. If they, dont sponsors are going to stop footing the bills and theyll be NASCAR drivers Not For Long.
Despite (and maybe because of) the aggressive driving and controversy, Xfinity Series races have achieved stellar ratings on the CW Network this season.
LAS VEGAS As the 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series marches on, racers are gearing up for back-to-back four-wide competition in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenges, kicking off at the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals on April 11-13 at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and followed by the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway on April 25-27.
Since 2010 at zMAX Dragway, four-wide drag races have wowed NHRA fans with 48,000-horsepower nitro machines, providing one of the most incredible spectacles in motorsports. When The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway doubled its track to four lanes, Las Vegas fans were treated to twice the thrills.
The popular Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge adds an extra layer of competition every Saturday during the regular season, bringing competitive racing and an added dose of intensity to qualifying. Semifinalists from the previous weeks race are again pitted against each other for a rematch. However, at both four-wide races, its the quarterfinalists from the previous race who will take part in the Mission Challenge.
When the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series arrives to Las Vegas next week, quarterfinalists from the Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals in Pomona will meet up in two quads for the first round of the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge. Two cars in each quad will advance to the final round, all with bonus points and a bonus purse on the line as part of a thrilling Saturday in Las Vegas.
In the Top Fuel division, Pomona winner Clay Millican will take on a Brittany Force, Jasmine Salinas and Scott Palmer. The other quad will be led by Pomona runner-up Tony Stewart who will see Pomona and Phoenix Mission Challenge winner and points leader Shawn Langdon, former champ Doug Kalitta and Josh Hart.
The Funny Car ranks saw Jack Beckman winning over Daniel Wilkerson in Pomona. Beckman will be aiming for his second consecutive Mission Challenge win and will be up against Gainesville winner Chad Green, former champion Matt Hagan and Blake Alexander. Wilkerson will take on Phoenix race winner Paul Lee, former champion Cruz Pedregon and Funny Car newcomer Spencer Hyde, who made his first career semifinal appearance in Pomona.
Finally in Pro Stock, reigning world champion Greg Anderson secured his 108th career win in Pomona over his teammate Dallas Glenn. Anderson will face off with five-time champion Jeg Coughlin Jr., Brandon Foster and Cory Reed, while Glenn will square off with Matt Hartford, Deric Kramer and Pro Stock newcomer Matt Latino.
The 2024 NHRA 4-Wide Nationals winners in Las Vegas were Doug Kalitta (Top Fuel), Bob Tasca III (Funny Car) and Jeg Coughlin Jr. (Pro Stock), while Antron Brown (Top Fuel), Austin Prock (Funny Car) and Coughlin each claimed Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge wins a year ago.
This season, Top Fuel driver Shawn Langdon has picked up both Mission Challenge wins in Phoenix and Pomona. Former champ Ron Capps won in Phoenix and it was Jack Beckman winning in Pomona to go alongside his Winternationals win. Pro Stocks Coughlin Jr. won in Phoenix and Matt Hartford claimed the Challenge win in Pomona.
DARLINGTON, S.C. The Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway has become one of the most popular races on the NASCAR schedule for teams, competitors and fans with its Throwback Weekend theme at the venerable 1.366-mile one-of-a-kind track where cars and stars celebrate the sports previous eras.
A handful of drivers could certainly get into the spirit by reviving their current championship situation. And past Darlington race winners such as Brad Keselowski, Chase Briscoe, Joey Logano and Erik Jones would love to hoist their first trophy of the 2025 season thats the kind of throwback they want.
Keselowski is a two-time and the defending Spring race winner at Darlington earning his first (and only) victory so far as a team owner, driving the No. 6 Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford last April. Briscoes win last Fall was also significant perhaps the most clutch performance of his NASCAR Cup Series career when he took the win in the regular season finale to earn a Playoff position.
Coming into the weekend, the 2012 series champion Keselowski is ranked an uncharacteristic 30th in the championship standings without a single top-10 nor lap led. However, he holds the highest average finish (6.4) in the last five Darlington races. And it is the first of three straight venues (also Bristol, Tenn. and Talladega, Ala.) where he is a multiple race winner.
Briscoe claimed the Daytona 500 pole position in his first outing driving the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. He is ranked 12th in the driver standings with three top-10s, but looking to land his first trip to Victory Lane with the new organization. A win this weekend would mark the first time a driver has won consecutive Darlington races since the tracks Honorary Pace Car Driver Greg Biffle did it in 2005-06.
Coming into the weekend, all four Hendrick Motorsports drivers are ranked among the top-five in the championship led by Daytona 500 winner William Byron, who holds a 16-point lead on Homestead-Miami race winner Kyle Larson. Chase Elliott, the 2020 series champion, is third, 32 points behind Byron and Alex Bowman is ranked fifth, only 35 off Byrons pace.
Byron and Larson swept the 2023 races at Darlington and Larson holds the highest driver rating (108.1) at the track. The 2021 series champ Larson has seven top-five and nine top-10 finishes and will be driving a throwback No. 5 paint scheme this week honoring another former Hendrick champion, NASCAR Hall of Famer Terry Labonte.
Last weeks Martinsville (Va.) Speedway winner, JGRs Denny Hamlin is also expected to be a major player at Darlington, where his wins (four), runner-up finishes (four), top-fives (13), top-10s (18) and average finish (8.2) are all top-marks in the series among active drivers.
A victory for Hamlins JGR teammate, Christopher Bell whos earned three trophies already this season would make him the first driver since NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon in 1997 to win four of the first eight races. And Bell is coming off his career best work at Darlington third in last Falls race.
Add to the mix, reigning series champion, Joey Logano. He has led 260 laps (second this season only to Hamlins 298) but still hasnt recorded a top-five finish. The driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford won at Darlington in 2022.
The last nine Darlington races have been won by nine different drivers and the record for that mark is 11 (2006-16). Interestingly, the driver who led the most laps has finished 25th or worse in four of the last five races.
I think over-aggression is kind of over-blown at Darlington, especially with this car, you can be pretty aggressive, Byron said. Youve got to be aggressive at Darlington now to get clean air and stay up towards the front. Youve got to be good on the long run, so however you manage that, whether set-up or driver input. You cant afford to just kind of ride around in this car at Darlington anymore. Its going to be a lot like Homestead where youve got to be able to ride the fence and be good in all the lanes.
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