The Orix Buffaloes made the most of interleague play. The Kansai club limped into the interleague slate three games under .500 and in fifth place in the Pacific League standings. What followed was a 12-5-1 run against the Central League from May 25 to June 13. The Buffaloes won the […]
Yusei Kikuchi denied win as Mariners blow lead at Cleveland
Phoenix – Yusei Kikuchi allowed just three hits over seven shutout innings Saturday but was denied his fourth win of the year after the Seattle Mariners collapsed late in a 5-4 loss to the Cleveland Indians. Kikuchi gave his club another quality start at Cleveland’s Progressive Field, striking out six […]
Shohei Ohtani stars on the mound and at the plate as Angels win in 10
Shohei Ohtani allowed two runs over five innings and doubled twice to help the Los Angeles Angels earn a 6-5 win in 10 innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the opener of the three-game series on Friday night in Phoenix. Ohtani struck out eight and walked two and yielded five […]
Padres’ Yu Darvish takes loss despite seven strong innings against Cubs
San Diego – Right-hander Yu Darvish tossed seven strong innings but was tagged with the loss Wednesday after getting little offensive support in the San Diego Padres’ 3-1 defeat to the Chicago Cubs. In his 13th start this season, Darvish (6-2) struck out eight, while allowing two runs on three […]
Shun Yamaguchi set to restart career with Giants in Japan
Pitcher Shun Yamaguchi has reached an agreement to return to the Yomiuri Giants in NPB’s Central League after terminating his contract with a San Francisco Giants minor-league affiliate, a source with knowledge of the matter said Thursday. Yomiuri is expected to soon announce its signing of the 33-year-old right-hander, the […]
Shohei Ohtani hits longest homer of MLB career in Angels win
Anaheim, California – Shohei Ohtani went deep in the first inning, crushing his 17th home run of the season 470 feet (143 meters) to right field in the Los Angeles Angels’ 8-1 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday. According to MLB’s Statcast tracking system, the two-run homer at […]
Australia’s baseball team gives up on Olympic bid due to COVID-19
Melbourne – Australia has pulled out of the final baseball qualifying tournament for the Tokyo Olympics due to “insurmountable” challenges amid the global COVID-19 pandemic, the sport’s national governing body said. The decision comes less than a week after Taiwan’s withdrawal from the June 22-26 tournament in Puebla, Mexico, which […]
Tomoyuki Sugano and Seiya Suzuki return to action as Olympics draw near
A few hours after the United States national baseball team qualified for the Tokyo Olympics, two players expected to be key members of Samurai Japan’s Olympic effort returned to the field in NPB. Yomiuri Giants ace Tomoyuki Sugano and Hiroshima Carp outfielder Seiya Suzuki might have been a little rusty […]
Yusei Kikuchi gives up homer to Shohei Ohtani in injury-shortened start
Anaheim, California – Shohei Ohtani crushed his 16th home run of the season Saturday off countryman Yusei Kikuchi, who made an early exit from the Los Angeles Angels’ 12-5 win over the Seattle Mariners after being hit in the leg by a groundball. Despite falling behind 1-0 on Ohtani’s first-inning […]
U.S. baseball team clinches spot at Tokyo Olympics
The United States baseball team won a spot in the Tokyo Olympics after defeating Venezuela 4-2 on Saturday and securing the best record in the Americas qualifier tournament. Team USA will join reigning champion South Korea, host Japan and underdogs Israel and Mexico in the Olympics. A final spot will […]