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Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani strikes out career-high 13 batters in 5-0 win over Kansas City Royals

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ANAHEIM, Calif. — Shohei Ohtani adheres to strict routine in nearly every aspect of his life. When his latest mound start was delayed 12 minutes by a pregame ceremony honoring the Los Angeles Angels’ 2002 World Series champions, his meticulous preparation took a hit before he even threw a pitch.

A slightly bumpy beginning still led to a second straight incredible night for the two-way superstar.

Ohtani struck out a career-high 13 over eight dominant innings of two-hit ball, and the American League MVP also reached base three times in Los Angeles’ 5-0 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday.

After giving up two singles to start that delayed first inning, Ohtani (6-4) retired 16 straight Royals and 23 of the final 24 batters he faced. While matching the longest start of his major league career, he allowed just one baserunner over his final seven innings — on a walk that was quickly erased by a double play.

“I think the biggest thing was putting up that zero in the first inning after giving up those first two hits,” Ohtani said through his translator. “I was able to do that, and it set the tone for the game. I wanted to go as long as I could, but I wasn’t really thinking about the pitch count early in the game.”

With the backdrop of a rare Southern California lightning storm illuminating the sky far beyond center field at the Big A, Ohtani also had a single and two walks at the plate in his latest electrifying two-way performance.

One night after Ohtani hit two three-run homers and drove in a career-high eight runs in an extra-inning loss, he set a personal best for strikeouts by fanning Emmanuel Rivera on his 108th and final pitch.

“He just put us on his back,” Angels interim manager Phil Nevin said. “I thought about taking him out going into the eighth, and he was adamant: ‘No. This is mine. I’m staying.’ … What a day. What a performance by him.”

David MacKinnon got his first major league hit with an RBI single in the seventh for the Angels, who avoided a series sweep with their fourth victory in six games overall. Luis Rengifo had an RBI double in the seventh before scoring on that single to right by MacKinnon, who got his first career RBI two innings earlier with a sacrifice fly.

After scoring 18 runs in the previous two games at Angel Stadium, the Royals were shut out for the second time in four days and the 10th time this season. Kansas City still has won five of seven.

“That was a display,” Royals manager Mike Matheny said. “It’s a very unique repertoire of pitches. I don’t think you’re going to find as many guys with as many weapons as what we saw today. He was throwing three different sliders, plus a cutter and a curve. When the split started going, that’s when the strikeouts really started to happen, and he’s got 100 (mph) in the tank that he hardly ever showed. … It’s going to be a tough day at the plate.”

Ohtani is unbeatable on the mound lately, allowing just one run in his past 20 innings over three starts. In his most recent home start two weeks ago, he pitched seven innings of one-run ball and also homered in a victory that snapped the Angels’ franchise-record 14-game skid.

Whit Merrifield and Andrew Benintendi singled in the Royals’ first two at-bats against Ohtani, but he subsequently set down every batter he faced until Merrifield drew a one-out walk in the sixth — and Benintendi quickly grounded into a double play.

Ohtani’s fastball topped 99 mph twice in the second half of his start while he baffled Kansas City, getting a whopping 34 combined strikes on swing-and-misses or called strikes.

Daniel Lynch (3-7) wasn’t as effective for the Royals early on, but the left-hander resourcefully shut down the Angels until they loaded the bases in the fifth on two walks and an infield single. Lynch, who left after MacKinnon’s sacrifice fly, gave up three hits and five walks on a career-high 104 pitches.

Mike Trout got a rest day for the Angels, leaving their struggling lineup decidedly lacking punch. But MacKinnon came through as the team’s improbable cleanup hitter, getting first major league hit after getting called up last weekend for his MLB debut.

MacKinnon was pleased by his breakthrough swings, but other aspects of the game also thrilled him.

“I got to play the field behind Shohei and see how good he is,” MacKinnon said. “It’s crazy being here.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: C Salvador Perez sat out after reinjuring his left thumb on a swing Tuesday night, but Matheny said the team is still determining the seriousness of the injury after an MRI exam.

Angels: RHP Jimmy Herget went on the 15-day injured list with a right shoulder impingement. Right-handers Elvis Peguero and Oliver Ortega came up from Triple-A Salt Lake, while inconsistent rookie Reid Detmers went down just six starts after throwing a no-hitter.

UP NEXT

Royals: Zack Greinke is expected to come off the injured list Friday to start when Kansas City opens a three-game weekend series at home against Oakland. Greinke (0-4, 5.05 ERA) went on the IL three weeks ago with a strained forearm.

Angels: After a day off at home, Los Angeles opens a three-game weekend series against Seattle on Friday night. Neither team had confirmed a starter.

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Julius Randle’s career-high 46 points spark Knicks’ win over Kings

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Julius Randle got fined by the NBA on Sunday and got even on Monday. 

This time it was the Knicks’ turn to rally from a big deficit and capture a desperately needed victory. 

Randle exploded for a career-high 46 points to lead a 44-point third-quarter barrage as the Knicks rallied from 19 points down in the first half to knock out the Kings, 131-115, in a Wild West shootout at Golden1 Center. 

“When he plays with that type of intensity, it lifts everyone,’’ Tom Thibodeau said. “He was attacking the basket, shooting the 3, making hustle plays. It was a great all-around game from him.’’ 

By winning their back-to-back California set against the Clippers and Kings, the Knicks posted their first two-game winning streak since mid-January when they reeled off three straight wins against San Antonio, Dallas and Atlanta. 

Julius Randle finished with a career-high 46 points.
AP

The Knicks, at 27-38, moved to 4 ½ games behind the Hawks for the 10th seed and final Eastern Conference play-in spot with 17 games to play. They’ve played well since the All-Star break and now have something to show for it. 

Suspect from the 3-point line this season, Randle fired in a career-high eight 3-pointers (on 16 attempts) and shot 18-for-31 overall. 

“I’m taking the open look and just taking it,’’ Randle said of his 3-point bust-out. “Just playing and not second-guessing and shooting the open shot.’’ 

It’s been an odd trip for Randle, who received a $50,000 fine from the NBA on Sunday for not participating in the league’s investigation into his Friday skirmish in Phoenix with Cam Johnson. 

Asked about the fine, Randle paused and said, “Next question. I’m already in too much trouble.’’ 

RJ Barrett also had a big second half and finished with 27 points, and Immanuel Quickley also fired in 27. Evan Fournier shook off an 0-for-4 start to pile up 15 points. 

The Knicks exploded for a 35-17 start to the second half to erase a 15-point halftime hole. They racked up 83 points in the second half, their most after intermission since 1969. Randle had 32 points in the second half. 

“Julius had a lot to do with that,’’ Barrett said. “All of us had a crazy rhythm. It’s fun moving the ball and everyone gets to eat.’’ 

They were dead in the water in the first half and minus their sparkplug center Mitchell Robinson, who picked up two fouls in the first two minutes, was removed and then was said to have “an illness.’’ 

Julius Randle goes up for a shot during the Knicks’ win over the Kings.
USA TODAY Sports

Randle hit a 3 in the final minute of the third to give the Knicks a 92-87 lead and they ran away with it in the fourth quarter, keeping in their chief players until the final two minutes. 

The Knicks outscored the Kings 44-24 in the third, the most points they’ve scored in any period this season. Randle scored 17 in the quarter and had 30 entering the final period. 

The bad news was Cam Reddish was injured. Going up to contest a shot early in the fourth quarter, Reddish got upended by a driving Davion Mitchell and fell badly, hitting his shoulder. Reddish stayed down, holding his head, then was helped off clutching his right shoulder with 11:11 left. Thibodeau said he was still being examined after the game. 

The Knicks also got a gutty defensive performance from rookie point guard Miles McBride. Late in the third, McBride stole the ball from Mitchell and got fouled. On the next possession, McBride forced a jump ball. 

As good as it would get, the game started badly. The Kings jumped to 7-0 and 12-2 leads. Robinson picked up two fouls in the opening 1:40, including one on a 3-point play from Sabonis, who later got himself ejected for arguing and bumping a referee. 

Immanuel Quickley finished with 27 points.
AP

Robinson was removed and rookie backup center Jericho Sims picked up three fouls. Instead of going back to Robinson, Thibodeau put in the veteran Taj Gibson for the first time since the All-Star break. 

Without Robinson, the Knicks’ defense allowed the Kings much of everything. De’Aaron Fox went to the basket with impunity, scoring on four easy layups. 

The Kings got up as many as 20 points in the second quarter and led 63-48 at intermission before it all crashed and burned. 

“We knew Sacramento was a good team but they’re known to give up leads,’’ Quickley said. 

“We knew it would be challenging coming into the game because of the back-to-back and their speed,’’ Thibodeau said. “Fox’s speed is a great test for you and we got into a hole early. But we never quit and that was the best thing. We kept fighting, fighting. And then Julius got going and it was pretty terrific what he did all-around.’’ 

“We were getting our legs and were a little tired after the back to back,’’ Barrett added. “We needed these two wins.’’

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Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic scores career-high 51 points, wishes Kristaps Porzingis well after win

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DALLAS — Hours after the Mavericks traded their other player on a maximum contract, Luka Doncic sizzled as Dallas’ lone star, scoring a career-high 51 points in a 112-105 win over the LA Clippers on Thursday.

As fans filled the American Airlines Center, where workers had to remove giveaway posters of Kristaps Porzingis from the seats after he was traded to the Washington Wizards on Thursday, the buzz was about the former All-Star that the Mavs moved before the trade deadline. It didn’t take long for Doncic to command the crowd’s attention.

Doncic swished a 26-foot step-back 3 on the Mavs’ first possession to open the floodgates. He finished the first quarter with 28 points — the most by any NBA player in a quarter this season — on 10-of-13 shooting, including 7-of-10 from 3-point range.

“When you feel like that, you just don’t want to be stopped and keep going,” Doncic said. “All the shots felt good. I missed two 3s — even those felt great. They were switching. They didn’t want me to create, so I had to go to work.”

Doncic torched the Clippers’ switching defense — repeatedly exploiting center Ivica Zubac on the perimeter, as he did during Dallas’ seven-game series loss in the first round last season — until L.A. adjusted by sending traps at him to force the ball out of his hands. Doncic finished 17-of-26 from the floor and 7-of-14 from 3-point range while also recording nine rebounds and six assists.

“Luka was aggressive from the start and the guys just went for the ride,” Dallas coach Jason Kidd said.

It was the fifth 50-point performance in Mavs history and first for the 22-year-old Doncic, who is already a two-time first-team All-NBA selection. He could have attempted to tie or break Dirk Nowitzki’s franchise record of 53 points — set in an unforgettable 2004 overtime shootout against Houston’s Tracy McGrady — but dribbled out the final possession with the win secured.

“You don’t shoot that shot,” said Doncic, who couldn’t recall having a 50-point performance at any level. “It’s disrespectful.”

Doncic described the news of the Mavs’ trade, which sent guard Spencer Dinwiddie and forward Davis Bertans to Dallas, as “shocking.”

The Mavs envisioned the Porzingis as a long-term co-star alongside Doncic when they acquired the 7-foot-3 former All-Star from the New York Knicks in a 2018 blockbuster deal, from which Dallas still owes one of the two first-round picks it gave up. There were glimpses of that potential, but the Mavs decided to move on from Porzingis midway through his five-year, $158 million contract extension, as first-year general manager Nico Harrison cited “flexibility and depth” as the primary reasons to make the trade.

Injuries were a significant factor in preventing Porzingis, who averaged 20.0 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game during his stint in Dallas, from ever establishing star-level consistency with the Mavs. He played in only 134 games during his Dallas tenure. He arrived while recovering from surgery to repair a torn ACL in his left knee and had his first season prematurely end in the playoffs due to a meniscus injury in his right knee that required another operation, which sidelined him to start last season.

Porzingis played in 34 of 55 games this season, when he was sidelined by a variety of injuries and illness, most recently a bone bruise in his right knee.

“Obviously, we’re going to miss KP,” Doncic said. “We were building something great here. It didn’t obviously work out. I wish him the best, and we’ve got two new guys who are welcome. Bertans is a great shooter. Dinwiddie can put the ball on the floor and he can score. The NBA is a business.

“He went through a lot with the injuries. I think this year, he was way better. Like I said, the NBA is a business, and I wish him the best in the future.”

With Porzingis’ departure, the Mavs are back at square one in their search for a star to pair with Doncic, who expressed faith in Harrison and governor Mark Cuban to construct a roster capable of contending consistently.

“I trust them, whatever move they make,” said Doncic, who was ecstatic that starting forward Dorian Finney-Smith agreed to a four-year, $55 million extension after Thursday’s deadline. “I think I have great teammates. A lot of people can do a lot of stuff, and I’m really good now. I think we’re playing great basketball.”

Asked if the Mavs could contend without a second star, Kidd said: “We’ll see. I’m the coach who has to put them in a position to be successful, get paid, find a way to win. As we go through this journey, we’ll see if we come across a No. 2 guy. It could be the team that we have where there is no real second star. You’ve just got guys who play roles at a very high level. And you’ve seen teams win championships that way, too.”

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Will Richardson’s career-high 28 leads Oregon men’s basketball past No. 5 USC

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Oregon went to Los Angeles in need of a jolt to its resume to stay alive for an NCAA Tournament berth and left with two of the best wins in college basketball this season in a span of three days.

Will Richardson scored a career-high 28 points and had four rebounds and four assists to lead the Ducks to a wire-to-wire, 79-69 win over USC at the Galen Center on Saturday night.

It’s the first time a Pac-12 team has swept a conference road trip against a pair of top 5 or top 10 opponents, and Oregon is the first team since 1975-76 Clemson to beat two AP top-five teams on the road in a five-day span, according to ESPN Stats & Info.

The Ducks, who entered the weekend No. 91 in NET, jumped to 78 after beating No. 3 UCLA on Thursday and should move into the bubble conversation with eight weeks until Selection Sunday.

“We needed a big week; our guys knew that,” Oregon coach Dana Altman said. “I’ve been talking about a sense of urgency since the Baylor game — before that. ‘Fellas, we can’t bury ourselves any further. We still don’t have any room for error.’ It’s Jan. 15 and you’re already talking about you don’t have any room for error. You’ve got to bring it every night. That sense of urgency is going to have to come every night.

“It’s 42 years (I’ve been coaching) and I haven’t seen anything like it and man we needed it. We needed something to jumpstart us. Three road wins this week, now we go home. I told the guys that being at home doesn’t do anything for us if we don’t take care (of business).”

Richardson, a fourth-year junior, scored 19 of his points in the first half on 6 of 9 shooting from the field with four three-pointers and was 3 of 4 at the free throw line. He finished 9 of 15 from the field, including 5 of 8 from behind the arc, and 5 of 8 from the line.

Oregon (11-6, 4-2 Pac-12) jumped out to an 18-8 lead in the first five minutes. Boogie Ellis (18 points) got USC within five, but the Ducks closed the first half on a 13-2 run to take a 45-29 into the break.

Isaiah Mobley had 18 points and nine rebounds and Drew Peterson scored all 10 of his points in the second half for No. 5 USC (14-2, 4-2 Pac-12), which had won six of the prior eight meetings of the teams, including in last year’s Sweet 16.

De’Vion Harmon had 16 points and N’Faly Dante added 12 points and seven rebounds for Oregon, which scored 22 points off 13 turnovers by the Trojans, six coming via steals.

Harmon said the Ducks, who opened the season 5-5 with an 0-2 start in conference play, have improved their attitude and energy and are much more together defensively compared to earlier this season when they suffered some blowout losses.

“We’re connected,” Harmon said. “That’s what we didn’t have in November and early part of December. Being connected, staying together through ups and downs even when teams make a run. Staying together through those runs and keep pushing, keep playing hard, keep sticking to what we know, sticking to what we know and believing in each other, and the trust that we have has really grown over the last couple of months.”

It’s a message Altman preaches regularly but has been harping on even more than usual this season with UO still 106th in defensive efficiency, according to KenPom.

He credits Richardson’s vocal leadership in practice and throughout games, as well as fellow starters Harmon, Jacob Young and N’Faly Dante and Eric Williams Jr. for all playing harder and with greater urgency since the holiday break.

“Our guys are just playing harder,” Altman said. “I wish I can act like we invented something here. We’re just playing so much harder than what we did. …

“We’ve still got a lot of room. That’s the exciting thing. I still think we’ve got so much room to grow into. I really do. I think our execution can get so much better. The connection offensively can get better. The connection defensively can get better. I’m excited because I still think we’ve still got room to grow.”

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Warriors’ Stephen Curry sets new Christmas career-high in Golden State’s impressive win over Phoenix

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NBA teams, even good ones that win 50-plus games, can go through an entire regular season and accumulate only a handful of truly “good” wins. The Golden State Warriors’ 116-107 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Christmas qualifies as a really good win. 

Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole, two starters, were out for the Warriors. The Suns, who entered the game with the league’s best record, were playing at more or less full strength. The Warriors were on the road. On Christmas. Anxious to get home, where they’ll have a couple of days off with their families. 

Stephen Curry missed 11 of his 16 3-pointers and shot just 37 percent overall. The Suns played very well. As far as regular-season victories go, Golden State can hang its hat on that kind of performance. 

With the win, the Warriors improved to 27-6 on the season with 2-1 head-to-head advantage against Phoenix thus far. The two teams have one more game remaining, on March 30. 

The best Phoenix can do is tie the season series. For the tiebreaker edge alone, which could determine home-court advantage in a potential playoff series between what has been the league’s two best teams to this point, this was a big win. 

It speaks to Curry’s impact that he can shoot that poorly and still end up a plus-24 for the game. His 33 points were his career-high on Christmas.

I love that he offset his shooting struggles by attacking off the dribble. He has struggled to finish in the paint this year; he was better on Saturday, and he got himself to the free-throw line nine times, hitting eight. Curry is taking more 3-pointers than he has at any point in his career, but it behooves him not to forget about the other two levels of scoring, if for rhythm purposes only. 

As the Suns employed the familiar defensive strategy of selling out to contain Curry, Otto Porter, who is looking like one of the league’s better low-level offseason pickups (he’s on a minimum contract), put the finishing touches on this win for the Warriors, scoring 13 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter, including 10 in the final five minutes and the game’s final seven points. 

The Warriors have the best defense in the league and Curry is a top-tier MVP candidate. They are close to getting Klay Thompson and James Wiseman back. I don’t think they can win a title unless Curry starts shooting more consistently than he has this season, but we’ve already seen plenty of evidence that this Warriors team can win and win big under varying conditions. They showed that again on Christmas. 

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Jordan Montgomery strikes out career-high 12 Orioles

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BALTIMORE — As the postseason nears, Yankees manager Aaron Boone is scoreboard watching. It’s impossible not to as the visiting team at Oriole Park, with the out-of-town scoreboard prominently displayed on the right-field wall across from the visitors’ dugout.

Though Boone admits he’s done it “as much in April or May as right now,” odds are that his eyes (and those of his players) are glancing at the scoreboard more frequently with the Yankees battling for a spot come October with just 15 games to go.

So when New York took the field Thursday evening, tied with Boston and Toronto for one of only two AL Wild Card spots — and with the chance to sweep Baltimore in its own ballpark — there was a lot on the line.

But the Yankees (82-65) suffered their eighth loss to the O’s this season, falling 3-2 in 10 innings in the series finale to move to a half-game behind the Blue Jays (82-64) and Red Sox (83-65).

Their battle against the bottom-of-the-division (and league) Orioles highlighted one hurdle the Yankees desperately need to overcome as the postseason nears: run support.

“We just weren’t able to add on today,” Boone said. “I thought we actually swung the bats well the first half of the game and didn’t have a lot to show for it — a lot of hard outs. … We’ve got to be able to add on and put teams away, and we weren’t able to do that today. We let them hang around, and they were able to get us.”

Entering Thursday, New York ranked 10th in runs scored among all American League teams, a statistic that is even more pronounced when Jordan Montgomery is on the mound.

Montgomery entered the game with the fourth-lowest run support average in the AL (3.64). The finale continued that trend, marking the 22nd of the southpaw’s 27 starts this season in which he received three or fewer runs of support.

New York had its chances to change that, including in the top of the fifth inning when Joey Gallo — who put the Yankees on the board in the second with a solo homer — took a ball for a ride but ultimately flied out to center field with the bases loaded to end the frame. That flyout came back to bite the offense in the ninth, when the O’s plated the game-tying run on a single and a pair of wild pitches to send the game to extras. An Austin Hays walk-off single in the 10th gave the Orioles the win.

“We had a lot of good at-bats and didn’t have a lot to show for it,” Boone said. “It was a really good at-bat by Gallo there that was almost a grand slam. … [A] little bit of tough luck there early, but we’ve got to find ways to add on. We’ve got to find a way to put teams away when we have a chance.”

New York stranded seven runners on the bases while Montgomery shoved on the mound. The southpaw set a career high in strikeouts, recording 12 K’s over 5 2/3 innings while allowing one run (a solo homer) on six hits and one walk.

Montgomery’s arsenal was firing on all cylinders. He relied on his cutter (28%), changeup (27%) and four-seam fastball (23.%) for the majority of his pitches. Though his go-to fastball is typically his sinker, which he used 16 times Thursday, Montgomery found a groove with his four-seamer. Boone was impressed with the southpaw’s command, which was key in his ability to effectively utilize pitches.

“I didn’t try and overthrow anything tonight,” Montgomery said. “I was pretty happy just with the smoothness, kind of found a good tempo and tunneled my pitches pretty well today. Set up my heater up and in and kept them away from looking out over at my curveball and changeup, and then used my best pitches to put them away.”

Playing his fastballs (both varieties) off his offspeed pitches is how Montgomery found strikeout success against Baltimore. His curveball had a 57% whiff rate, to go with a 59% rate on his changeup — higher than his season average (43.3% on his changeup and 38.4% on his curve).

“He was really sharp right from the get-go,” Boone said. “The stuff was coming out really well. … He kind of had everything going tonight, and I felt like he did a really good job of dictating counts and getting out ahead.

“[His] command, coupled with his overall stuff and having all his pitches working, it was pretty strong.”

But regardless of their strong starting pitching, the Yankees need to put up runs if they want to contend in the postseason. Their plus-33 run differential is the lowest among Major League teams with at least 80 wins. Though it means the team has success without huge leads, it could spell trouble in the postseason, especially with the one-and-done Wild Card game as the Yanks’ likely entry point.

“They all sting. We’ve had a lot that have stung a lot at different times over the course of this year,” Boone said. “This is one that obviously falls into that category, but we’ve got to get over it. We’ve got too important of a game tomorrow.”

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