Corbin Carroll has 4 RBIs, Diamondbacks ruin Justin Verlander's return to Tigers in 9-6 win

PHOENIX (AP) — Corbin Carroll hit a three-run homer and had four RBIs, Michael Soroka became the fourth pitcher in Arizona history to throwan immaculate inningand the Diamondbacks roughed up three-time Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander in his return to the Detroit Tigers during a 9-6 victory Monday night.

The Diamondbacks won their home opener after getting swept at Dodger Stadium in their first series of the season.

The 28-year-old Soroka (1-0) gave up four hits over five scoreless innings — and the fifth was a gem. The right-hander struck out Javier Báez, Kerry Carpenter and Gleyber Torres on nine straight pitches, blowing a 95 mph fastball past Torres on the ninth one to tie a career high with 10 strikeouts.

The 43-year-old Verlander gave up five runs on six hits and two walks over 3 2/3 innings. The big blow came in the second when Carroll connected for his first homer of the season.

Verlander (0-1) began his 21st big league season after returning to the Tigers in Februaryon a $13 million, one-year deal. The nine-time All-Star spent the first 12 1/2 seasons of his career in Detroit before being traded to the Astros in 2017.

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The Diamondbacks built an 8-0 lead after five innings but the Tigers used a six-run seventh to make a big dent in the deficit. Joe Ross gave up six runs while getting just two outs. Ryan Thompson entered and allowed all three batters he faced to reach base — while also being called for two balks — before Juan Morillo got Parker Meadows to ground out with the bases loaded to end the inning.

Ildemaro Vargas hit a solo homer in the bottom of the seventh to push the D-backs ahead 9-6. Paul Sewald earned his first save.

Detroit's Colt Keith had two doubles, including one that scored two runs.

Up next

The Diamondbacks send RHP Brandon Pfaadt to the mound Tuesday while the Tigers counter with RHP Casey Mize. Both pitchers are making their first start of the season.

AP MLB:https://apnews.com/mlb

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Corbin Carroll has 4 RBIs, Diamondbacks ruin Justin Verlander's return to Tigers in 9-6 win

PHOENIX (AP) — Corbin Carroll hit a three-run homer and had four RBIs, Michael Soroka became the fourth pitcher in Arizon...

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Women's Elite Eight winners and losers include Notre Dame and Duke

Did you like last season's Women's Final Four?

Well, then you are going to love what the2026 Women's Final Fourhas in store. Same teams, different semifinal matchups.

All four No. 1 seeds advanced to Phoenix where the semifinals will take place April 3 and championship April 5 at the Mortgage Matchup Center.

UConn will face South Carolina (7 p.m. ET) in the first semifinal and UCLA will take on Texas (9 p.m.) in the second on Friday. The two winners will play in the championship Sunday (3:30 p.m. ET). All games will be telecast on the ESPN family on networks.

The Huskies are the defending national champions and riding a 54-game win streak heading into the tournament. But the Bruins, Longhorns and Gamecocks have seven loses between them and have all proved they have a chance at a national title.

How did the four advance? Let's take a look at the winners and losers in the Elite Eight.

The Alabama bench celebrate after a big three-point shot by Alabama Crimson Tide guard Karly Weathers (22) in the fourth quarter against Louisville during the 2026 NCAA Women's March Madness Second Round basketball at the KFC Yum Center In Louisville, Ky. Weathers finished with 13 points. March 23, 2026.

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See women's March Madness 2026, from mascots and fans to celebrities

The Alabama bench celebrate after a big three-point shot by Alabama Crimson Tide guard Karly Weathers (22) in the fourth quarter against Louisville during the2026 NCAA Women's March MadnessSecond Round basketball at the KFC Yum Center In Louisville, Ky. Weathers finished with 13 points. March 23, 2026.

Winners

Texas point guard Rori Harmon

Few players stuffed the stat sheet more in the second weekend of the Women's NCAA Tournament than theTexas Longhorns' veteran point guard. Harmon averaged nine points, 10 assists, seven rebounds and 3.5 steals in lopsided wins over Kentucky and Michigan. After suffering a season-ending knee injury as a junior, Harmon came back to Texas and guided the Longhorns to back-to-back Final Four appearances. She's also the only player in the history of Division I NCAA women's basketball to tally at least 1,500 points, 900 rebounds, 600 assists and 350 steals in a career. She'll have the chance to cement her legacy as one of the best players in program history this weekend in Phoenix.

South Carolina guard Agot Makeer

The 2026 Women's NCAA Tournament marks the first for Agot Makeer, but she's not playing like your typical freshman. Makeer averaged 6.6 points per game during the regular season, but has stepped up her offensive production in March Madness. She's averaging 14.7 points through four tournament games and has provided a punch off the bench for South Carolina. She scored a career-high 18 points in South Carolina's 78-52 Elite Eight rout of No. 3 TCU. Makeer, who shot 8-of-14 from the field including 1-of-2 from the 3-point line, received a big hug from head coach Dawn Staley following her performance.

Notre Dame

Notre Dame didn't win its Elite Eight matchup with UConn, but the Fighting Irish defied expectations. With three players on the roster from the previous season and numerous transfer players, Notre Dame was one game away from the Final Four. Head coach Niele Ivey said she was happy and grateful to reach the Elite Eight for the first time in her tenure and "get over the hump" after making the Sweet Sixteen for five straight seasons.

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"I'm so grateful and blessed that I get a chance to do what I love and in coaching this group," Ivey said. "Obviously, we wanted to win this game, but for them to cement their legacy with me getting us back to the Elite Eight is something special, and I'll never forget it. This is one of my most special groups I've ever been around ... I love them so much."

For star player Hannah Hidalgo, this year's roster changed her as a leader. The junior guard said she was a lot more intentional this season with understanding each of her teammates, and that made a huge difference.

"You know, they've helped me grow my patience and just my understanding, just the way I think," Hidalgo said. "I'm so grateful for each and every single one of them. I wouldn't want to go to war with anybody else in this world."

Michigan State's Rashunda Jones (1) walks off the court following a second-round game in the NCAA women's basketball tournament between the Oklahoma Sooners and Michigan State Spartans at Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Okla., Sunday March 22, 2026.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Kamy Peppler #1 of the Green Bay Phoenix reacts against the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the third quarter during the First Round of the Women's NCAA Tournament at Williams Arena on March 20, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Golden Gophers defeated the Phoenix 75-58.

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March Sadness hits hard in the Women's NCAA basketball tournament

Michigan State's Rashunda Jones (1) walks off the court following a second-round game in theNCAA women's basketballtournament between the Oklahoma Sooners and Michigan State Spartans at Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Okla., Sunday March 22, 2026.

Losers

Duke

The Blue Devils blew a double-digit lead and went cold in the second half against UCLA, losing in the Elite Eight for the second straight year. To make matters worse for Blue Devils' fans, their men's and women's team both lost in the Elite Eight on Sunday — the men falling to UConn in heartbreaking, buzzer-beater fashion. For the women's team, the Blue Devils simply didn't get what they needed from two of their top scorers, Ashlon Jackson and Toby Fournier. In her final game for Duke, Jackson shot 0-of-8 from the floor, going scoreless in 37 minutes of action. Fournier encountered some foul trouble and found difficulty scoring against Lauren Betts in the post, putting up 10 points in 27 minutes. UCLA hammered Duke in the paint and stifled them at the 3-point line. Before she turns her attention to coaching Team USA in the World Cup this summer, Kara Lawson has to retool the roster to replace the backcourt of Jackson and Taina Mair, who guided Duke to two straight ACC titles.

Michigan

The Wolverines made it back to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2022, but their journey ended painfully. Michigan only had 29 points through three quarters against Texas, finishing with 41 points. The Longhorns lead ballooned as high as forty points during the fourth quarter, but the damage was done during the third quarter. Michigan head coach Kim Barnes Arico sat silently as Texas players like Madison Booker, Breya Cunningham, Justice Carlton and X- factor Kyla Oldacre went to work."It was tough. We've been a team that has fought through everything this year, and we've challenged ourselves against the best teams in the country to be in a position that we were tonight, Barnes Arico said.

"We've always been able to find that second gear. Tonight we couldn't against Texas."

"And I think we were letting the emotion -- you know, (Brooke Quarles Danies) knew it was her last game. The emotion of the game was really getting to us. So it was hard to be in those moments down the stretch."

The Wolverines finished Monday's showdown with Texas shooting just 23%. Michigan also got outrebounded, 49-32, an area they usually own despite being undersized. Barnes Arico's team also struggled to move the ball effectively against Texas and never truly found a sustained offensive rhythm. The Wolverines had five assists in the contest.

TCU's duo of Olivia Miles and Marta Suarez

After scoring or assisting on all of TCU's points in the Horned Frogs' 79-69 Sweet 16 win over No. 10 Virginia, Olivia Miles and Marta Suarez struggled to replicate that performance. TCU's dynamic duo shot 10-of-37 from the field and 4-of-14 from the 3-point line in a 78-52 Elite Eight loss to South Carolina. Miles finished with a team-high 18 points and Suarez had nine points.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Women's Elite Eight winners and losers include Notre Dame and Duke

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Women's Elite Eight winners and losers include Notre Dame and Duke

Did you like last season's Women's Final Four? Well, then you are going to love what the2026 Women'...

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A nervous Roki Sasaki steadies himself in Dodgers season debut after a shaky spring

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A nervousRoki Sasakitook the mound in his season debut, knowing he needed to prove something to himself and the Los Angeles Dodgers after a shaky spring.

Guardians Dodgers Baseball

The right-hander allowed one run and four hits over four innings of a4-2 lossto the Cleveland Guardians on Monday night. Sasaki struck out four and walked two in his first major league start since May 9.

He walked 15 batters duringspring training, raising concerns about his ability to perform as a starter.

"I actually didn't have the confidence at all when this game started," Sasaki said through a translator, "but I was just focusing on doing what I can control."

José Ramírez, Cleveland's best hitter, singled in the first inning before Sasaki got him on a swinging strikeout in the third with runners on first and second and the Dodgers trailing 1-0.

"It should be a big boost to his confidence," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "He's a confident player, but when you don't have success, it's hard to have real confidence. But when you perform, you start to build true confidence, so hopefully he can build on this one."

Roberts detected Sasaki's self-doubt in the first inning, when the 24-year-old pitcher got two quick outs before Ramírez singled and stole second.

"It was a wait-and-see kind of demeanor in the sense of you know what you're supposed to do, know what you want to do, and until you actually do it, holding your breath a little bit," the manager said. "Once he got out of that inning he was like, 'OK, I can do this,' and then wanted to go out there and keep doing it."

Dalton Rushing, the 25-year-old backup to catcher Will Smith, called the game behind the plate while Smith got the night off.

Rushing used the time walking in from the bullpen with Sasaki to pump him up.

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"I told him it was just me and him, just kind of tunnel vision to an extent and trust what you do," Rushing said. "You were a really good pitcher for a long time in Japan for a reason. You've been a great pitcher for us last year down the stretch."

Sasaki was supposed to be the next big thing coming out of Nippon Professional Baseball. He signed with the Dodgers in January 2025, but by mid-May he was on the injured list with a right shoulder impingement.

After a long rehab assignment in the minors, he rejoined the Dodgers in late September as a reliever. He made eight starts and two relief appearances overall, going 1-1 with a 4.46 ERA, 28 strikeouts and 22 walks.

His best moments as a rookie came out of the bullpen. He earned his first professional save closing out the first game of the National League Division Series against Philadelphia. He pitched in three games in the series, earning two saves and then working three perfect innings in relief in the clinching fourth game.

In the World Seriesagainst Toronto, Sasaki pitched 2 2/3 innings over two games, and Los Angeles went on to win in seven games.

Sasaki remains intent on making it as a starter, and the Dodgers are giving him the chance to find himself again.

"The goal is to keep going deeper in games," Roberts said. "I know he was a little bit nervous going into this start about what to expect. He responded well."

Rushing called it "a very big step forward" for Sasaki.

"We're going to build off this," the catcher said. "We're going to sit down and talk, see what we could have done better, refine some things and look forward to having him out there next time."

AP MLB:https://apnews.com/mlb

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A nervous Roki Sasaki steadies himself in Dodgers season debut after a shaky spring

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A nervousRoki Sasakitook the mound in his season debut, knowing he needed to prove something to himsel...

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Meta, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube aren't fully complying with child account ban, Australia says

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australia'sonline safety watchdogsaid Tuesday it was considering court against Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube alleging they are not doing enough to keep Australian children younger than 16 off their platforms.

Social Media Kids Trial

Experts say the Australian courts could decide what steps the platforms can reasonably be expected to take underthe lawsthat took effect on Dec. 10 banning young children from holding accounts.

eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant on Tuesday released her first compliance report since those laws took effect demanding 10 platforms remove all Australian account-holders younger than 16.

While 5 million Australian accounts had been deactivated, a substantial number of Australian children continued to retain accounts, create new accounts and pass platforms' age assurance systems, the report said.

Inman Grant said in a statement her office had "significant concerns about the compliance" of half of those 10 platforms. Her office was gathering evidence against the five that they had not taken "reasonable steps" to prevent young children holding accounts.

Courts could order fines of up to 49.5 million Australian dollars ($33 million) for systemic failures to comply. eSafety would decide on whether to initiate court action against any platform by midyear.

Age-restricted platformsthat aren't under investigation are Reddit, X, Kick, Threads and Twitch.

Communications Minister Anika Wells said the five criticized platforms were deliberately not complying with Australian law.

"Social media platforms are choosing to do the absolute bare minimum because they want these laws to fail," Wells told reporters.

"This is the world-leading law. We're the first in the world to do it. Of course they don't want these laws to work because they want that to be a chilling effect on the dozen countries that have come out since Dec. 10 to follow Australia's step," she added.

eSafety had identified "poor practices" such as platforms allowing unlimited attempts for a user to pass their age assurance methods and prompting the user to try to pass the age assurance method even after they declared themselves underage.

Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, told The Associated Press it was committed to complying with Australia's social media ban. "We've also been clear that accurately determining age online is a challenge for the whole industry," the statement said.

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Snap Inc. said it has locked 450,000 accounts in compliance with the law and continued to lock more every day.

"Snapchat remains fully committed to implementing reasonable steps under the legislation and supporting its underlying goal of improving online safety for young Australians," a Snap statement said.

TikTok declined to comment on Tuesday and Alphabet Inc., which owns YouTube and Google, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Lisa Given, an information sciences expert at RMIT University in Melbourne, said she expected the courts will decide whether platforms have taken "reasonable steps" to exclude young children.

"If a tech company has said: look, we put in age assurance, we've done all these steps. That's reasonable. Even though the aged assurance technologies are flawed, whose fault is that? Should they be held accountable for a piece of technology that is not 100% and likely not going to be 100% foolproof any time soon?" Given said.

"That's really the crux of it: what the courts will deem reasonable," she added.

Reddithas filed one of two constitutional challenges to the social media ban in the Australian High Court. The other was filed byDigital Freedom Project, a Sydney-based rights group that did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday..

Both suits claim the law is unconstitutional because it infringes on Australia's implied freedom of political communication.

A prelimary hearing is set for May 21 when the court will set a date for oral arguments, Reddit said Tuesday.

Global online forum Reddit on Friday filed a court challenge toAustralia's world-first lawthat bans Australian children younger than 16 from holding accounts on the world's most popular social media platforms.

California-based Reddit Inc.'s suit filed in the High Court follows a case filed last month by Sydney-based rights groupDigital Freedom Project.

Both suits claim the law is unconstitutional because it infringes on Australia's implied freedom of political communication.

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Meta, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube aren't fully complying with child account ban, Australia says

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australia'sonline safety watchdogsaid Tuesday it was considering court against Facebook, ...

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Japan deploys its first long-range missiles

TOKYO (AP) — Japan's first long-rangemissilewas deployed at a southwestern army camp, officials said Tuesday, as the country pushes to bolster its offensive capabilities.

The upgraded Type-12 land-to-ship missiles, developed and produced by Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, became operational at Camp Kengun in Kumamoto prefecture.

"As Japan faces the most severe and complex security environment in the postwar era ... it is an extremely important capability to strengthen Japan's deterrence and responsiveness," Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi told reporters. "It demonstrates Japan's firm determination and capability to defend itself."

The upgraded Type-12 missile has a range of about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles), a significant extension from the 200-kilometer (125-mile) range of the original that would allow it to reach mainland China.

The deployment of the long-range missile gives Japan a "standoff" capability, meaning it can strike enemy missile bases from afar, marking a break from the self-defense-only policy the country long followed under its pacifist constitution.

Residents opposing the deployment near the residential area staged protests outside the Kengun camp, saying it would escalate tension and increases risks the area could be targeted by potential enemies.

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Japan rolls out more weapons systems to protect southwestern islands

Also Tuesday, a hypersonic glide vehicle, a new weapons system designed for island defense, was deployed to Camp Fuji in the Shizuoka prefecture, west of Tokyo. Additional deployment of the upgraded Type-12 missiles and HGVs at other locations in Japan, including Hokkaido in the north and Miyazaki in the south, are planned by March 2028.

Japan also plans to deploy U.S.-made, 1,600-kilometer (990-mile)-rangeTomahawk cruise missileson Japanese destroyer JS Chokai later this year, and eventually on seven other destroyers.

Takaichi boosts defense spending to counter China

Japan considers China its main regional security threat and has fortified the country's southwestern islands near the East China Sea in recent years.

Prime MinisterSanae Takaichi's Cabinet in December approveda record defense budget planexceeding 9 trillion yen ($58 billion) for the fiscal year beginning April and aims to fortify its strike-back capability and coastal defense with cruise missiles and unmanned arsenals.

Japan last June spottedtwo Chinese aircraft carriersalmost simultaneously operating near Japanese remote islands in the Pacific for the first time, sparking Tokyo's concern about Beijing's military activity stretching far beyond its borders.

The defense minster last week announced the establishment of a new office dedicated to studying China's Pacific activity.

Tensions have escalated further sinceTakaichi's statementin November that any Chinese military action against Taiwan could be grounds for a Japanese military response.

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Japan deploys its first long-range missiles

TOKYO (AP) — Japan's first long-rangemissilewas deployed at a southwestern army camp, officials said Tuesday, as the ...

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