Baseball fans packed the stands of Globe Life Field on Monday after the Texas Rangers opened their doors to 100% capacity, making the game the first North American sporting event without attendance restrictions since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The team said it was a sellout, with 38,238 in […]
BayStars’ Daisuke Miura learns wins do not come easily in NPB
When Daisuke Miura was a pitcher for the BayStars, which he was for 25 seasons, the game was often in his hands. Of all the complexities that can go into winning and losing a baseball game, sometimes it was as simple as the way the ball flew out of Miura’s […]
Shohei Ohtani pitches, homers in Angels’ victory over White Sox
Anaheim, California – Los Angeles Angels two-way player Shohei Ohtani made his season debut as a pitcher Sunday night in a 7-4 victory over the Chicago White Sox, pitching two-hit ball into the fifth inning in a no-decision and homering in his first at-bat. Ohtani both hit and pitched in […]
Kohei Arihara makes big-league debut in Rangers’ loss to Royals
Kansas City, Missouri – Right-hander Kohei Arihara made a promising start to his big-league career for the Texas Rangers on Saturday, exiting with his team holding a one-run lead that soon vanished as the Kansas City Royals ran out with an 11-4 win. The 28-year-old former Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters […]
MLB takes All-Star Game out of Atlanta in response to Georgia voting law
Major League Baseball announced Friday that it is moving the 2021 All-Star Game out of Atlanta in response to a new Georgia law that affects voting rights. The announcement comes one day after U.S. President Joe Biden called for the game to be moved out of Atlanta. The All-Star Game […]
MLB returns with COVID-19 still big part of picture
Toronto – Not even the excitement of MLB opening day on Thursday could provide a break from COVID-19 as ballparks across the United States were left mostly empty while the game in Washington, D.C. between the Nationals and New York Mets was postponed after positive tests. Fans, many wearing masks, […]
No decision for Kenta Maeda or Yu Darvish on opening day in MLB
Milwaukee – Pitchers Kenta Maeda and Yu Darvish were not involved in the decision in their opening day starts as Major League Baseball’s return to a full 162-game schedule started Thursday. Every team was scheduled to begin play on the first day of the 2021 MLB season, but the Boston […]
Fumiya Motomae notches first win as Marines blow out Eagles
Chiba – Fumiya Motomae worked five innings in his pro debut to earn the win as the Pacific League’s Chiba Lotte Marines clobbered the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles 16-5 on Thursday. Motomae (1-0), a 23-year-old lefty who turned pro on a non-roster developmental contract, allowed four runs on five hits […]
Tokaidai Sagami wins spring Koshien title amid pandemic
Nishinomiya, Hyogo Pref. – Tokaidai Sagami of Kanagawa Prefecture pulled off a 3-2 walk-off victory over Meiho of Oita Prefecture in the final of the spring invitational high school baseball tournament before a limited audience on Thursday. Both the smaller-scale spring version, known as Senbatsu, and the more popular summer […]
Swallows overcome coronavirus hit to beat BayStars
Yokohama – Yasutaka Shiomi and Munetaka Murakami combined to drive in five runs as the Tokyo Yakult Swallows beat the DeNA BayStars 5-3 on Wednesday after the Central League club deactivated six players due to coronavirus issues. Star second baseman Tetsuto Yamada, two-time batting champion Seiichi Uchikawa and former major […]