Baseball

Yoshihiro Maru stood at the plate with two outs, a runner on third and Yuki Nishi staring in from the mound. The game was tied in the sixth inning and the Yomiuri Giants and their fans were hoping for a hit. Some, perhaps, may even have dared to dream of […]

LOS ANGELES – David Freese retired Saturday after an 11-year career in the majors in which he shone brightest in the postseason, winning a World Series title with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2011 when he was MVP. The 36-year-old infielder made the announcement on Twitter. He was a career […]

HOUSTON – Gleyber Torres kept up his October surge with a homer and five RBIs, Masahiro Tanaka polished his playoff résumé and the New York Yankees blanked the Houston Astros 7-0 Saturday night in the AL Championship Series opener. With so much attention focused on the Astros aces, Tanaka showed […]

ST. LOUIS – It turns out Washington’s Big Three is a Big Four. Remember Anibal Sanchez. The right-hander carried a no-hit bid into the eighth inning, Howie Kendrick had two more big swings and the Nationals beat the St. Louis Cardinals 2-0 on Friday night in the NL Championship Series […]

HOUSTON – Zack Greinke will start the AL Championship Series opener for the Houston Astros against the New York Yankees and Masahiro Tanaka on Saturday night. After the 2009 AL Cy Young winner and midseason acquisition starts Game 1 on Saturday night at Minute Maid Park, the Astros will follow […]

Kodai Senga threw eight innings and Taisei Makihara had a hand in five runs as the SoftBank Hawks beat the Seibu Lions 7-0 in Game 3 of the Pacific League Climax Series Final Stage on Friday. The win in the six-game stage leaves the Hawks one win shy of reaching […]

Yusuke Oyama hit it high and he hit it far. The question was did he hit it far enough? After a wait that seemed far longer than it was, especially for the thousands clad in yellow and black in left field, everyone got their answer. The ball was gone, the […]

SENDAI – The Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles said Friday that Hajime Miki, who managed their farm team last season, will replace Yosuke Hiraishi at the helm of the Pacific League club. This past season, the 42-year-old Miki, who ended his 12-year playing career in 2008, guided the Eagles’ minor-league affiliate […]

HOUSTON – All season long, it seemed inevitable. Yankees-Astros for the American League pennant. “It’s the matchup that we wanted,” Houston shortstop Carlos Correa said. “It’s the matchup that everybody wants to watch. It’s must-see TV right there. So everybody is going to be tuning in. It’s going to be […]

C.C. Mercedes, on more than one occasion, skipped off the mound at the end of a scoreless inning and pointed upward with his index finger. It wasn’t meant to be a “No. 1” gesture, but that certainly fits. One more win in the books. One more win to go. Mercedes […]