Baseball

The three men who managed the Orix Buffaloes prior to Norifumi Nishimura — Akinobu Okada, Hiroshi Moriwaki and Junichi Fukura — had two winning seasons in a combined nine years in charge. They made just one trip to the postseason — in 2014 when Moriwaki’s team finished in second place […]

Chicago – Chicago Cubs ace Yu Darvish is rolling. Not even the slugging White Sox could take him down. Darvish struck out 10 in his career-high fifth consecutive victory, and the Cubs beat the White Sox 2-1 on Sunday to stop the South Siders’ seven-game win streak. “Seeing what he […]

San Diego – There were no flashy grand slams for the San Diego Padres, just a gritty, grind-em-out effort from the bullpen after Garrett Richards lasted only two innings. Javy Guerra took over after Richards departed and Manny Machado hit a pair of RBI singles for the Padres, who beat […]

Washington – Washington Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg was diagnosed with carpal tunnel neuritis on his throwing hand after seeing a nerve specialist, manager Dave Martinez said Friday. Martinez said surgery could be an option but he has yet to talk with the 2019 World Series MVP. Strasburg was put on […]

MIAMI – The New York Mets found two in their organization had tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday, Major League Baseball said, prompting the postponement of two games. The finale of the Mets’ four-game series at Miami was called off an hour before it was scheduled to start Thursday night. […]

OSAKA – Norifumi Nishimura announced Thursday that he will step down as manager of the Pacific League’s Orix Buffaloes and that farm manager Satoshi Nakajima will take charge as acting manager. Norifumi Nishimura | KYODO The 60-year-old Nishimura was promoted from head coach to manager last season and finished last […]

SEATTLE – Yusei Kikuchi, who was scratched from his last start due to neck spasms, lasted just 4 2/3 innings as the Seattle Mariners fell 6-1 to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday. Kikuchi (0-2) started opposite Clayton Kershaw (3-1) and gave up five runs on four hits with five […]

For a nation so famous for its baseball exports — from Hideo Nomo to Shohei Ohtani — Japan hasn’t done a very good job at promoting Nippon Professional Baseball outside its own borders. The Pacific League, the more forward-thinking of NPB’s two leagues, could spark change in that area in […]

Kansas City, Missouri – Trevor Bauer pitched seven innings of one-hit ball, and the Cincinnati Reds beat the Kansas City Royals 5-0 on Wednesday night to split a doubleheader marked by strong starting pitching. In the opener of the two seven-inning games, Brad Keller didn’t allow a hit until the […]

New York – With his move to Minnesota, Kenta Maeda welcomed the opportunity to be a full-time starter and finally be done dabbling in the bullpen. His capability and durability was on full display Tuesday night. Maeda lost a no-hitter in the ninth inning for the Twins, who blew a […]