Baseball

It was somewhat ironic that Takayuki Kato delivered his best performance of the young season on a busy Friday night in the Pacific League. The matchup everyone was talking about that night took place at Zozo Marine Stadium in Chiba, where the Chiba Lotte Marines’ Roki Sasaki locked horns with […]

Boston – A locker room nameplate used by Japanese two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani at last month’s World Baseball Classic fetched $116,010 in an online auction that closed Sunday. The Samurai Japan clubhouse leader was named MVP of the tournament after leading the team to its third championship with standout performances […]

San Diego – Yu Darvish threw seven innings of one-run ball with 12 strikeouts but his San Diego Padres lost to the Milwaukee Brewers 1-0 on Sunday. Darvish (0-2) allowed a sacrifice fly to Brian Anderson in the second inning after Garrett Mitchell had a one-out bunt single, moved to […]

An exciting pitching matchup is on tap as the Boston Red Sox host the Los Angeles Angels in the city’s traditional Patriots’ Day game on Monday morning. Boston is expected to send 23-year-old Brayan Bello (2-8, 4.71 ERA in 2022) to the mound against Los Angeles two-way star Shohei Ohtani […]

Chiba – The Orix Buffaloes’ pitching depth was on full display Sunday as two of Japan’s World Baseball Classic pitchers and a former MLB reliever shut down the Chiba Lotte Marines in a 2-1 Pacific League win Sunday. Two days after these teams thrilled the nation’s fans with a duel […]

Toronto – Yusei Kikuchi sparked the Toronto Blue Jays to a 5-2 win over the American League East-leading Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday, striking out nine and allowing a single run over six innings of four-hit baseball. Making his first home start of 2023 at a sold-out Rogers Centre, the […]

There’s a new fixture at ballparks this year, besides the pitch clock and bigger bases. This one did not have its own marketing campaign, and it wasn’t tested with focus groups and minor leaguers. Even those responsible for it have been startled by its presence on stadium scoreboards. “When it […]

The incredulous cries from Hanshin Tigers fans rang out around Tokyo Dome the second the public address announcer said Fumihito Haraguchi’s name. It was no slight against Haraguchi, a longtime member of the team. It was because Haraguchi was heading to the plate as a pinch hitter for starting pitcher […]

Anaheim, California – Shohei Ohtani allowed one hit over seven innings, earning his second win in the Los Angeles Angels’ 2-0 victory Tuesday over the Washington Nationals. The two-way star has allowed two or fewer runs in 10 consecutive starts. According to MLB.com, this surpassed the previous team record set […]

Louis Okoye is not entirely comfortable being the center of attention. After giving the postgame hero interview in front of the Yomiuri Giants fans left in the stands on Tuesday night, Okoye allowed a sheepish grin to spread across his face. “I was nervous,” he said. “It’s been a long […]