Japan Page 3 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
Kazuma Okamoto, Kona Takahashi posted for MLB teams
Slugger Kazuma Okamoto and right-hander Kona Takahashi became the latest Japanese stars posted for MLB free agency on Thursday.,Both players can negotiate with teams during a 45-day window that opens Friday at 8 a.m. ET. and closes on Jan. 4 at 5 p.m. ET. If either remains unsigned, he would return ...
World Series Game 7 most-watched MLB game globally in 34 years
Game 7 of the World Series averaged 51 million viewers combined across the United States, Canada and Japan, making it the most-watched MLB game globally in 34 years, the league announced Wednesday.,Spanning back nearly three-and-a-half decades was Game 7 of the 1991 World Series, which pitted the Mi...
Japan's Yomiuri Giants to post INF Kazuma Okamoto
Kazuma Okamoto, one of the top sluggers in Japan, announced Wednesday that he is making himself available to Major League Baseball clubs via the posting system.,"I believe MLB is the best league in the world, and I've always wanted to play there. I've worked hard with that goal in mind," Okamoto sai...
WTA roundup: Elena Rybakina rolls into Ningbo final
No. 3 seed Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan and No. 4 Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia cruised into Sunday's final of the Ningbo Open in Ningbo, China.,Rybakina knocked out No. 2 seed Jasmine Paolini of Italy 6-3, 6-2 in one hour and 29 minutes. Rybakina struck 10 aces, won 88% of the points on her first...
WTA roundup: Jasmine Paolini rallies; Naomi Osaka withdraws
No. 2 seed Jasmine Paolini of Italy rallied to reach the Ningbo Open semifinals with a marathon 5-7, 7-5, 6-3 victory Friday against sixth-seeded Swiss Belinda Bencic in Ningbo, China.,Paolini swung momentum in the three-hour, 22-minute clash with two service breaks in the 10th and final games of th...
WTA roundup: McCartney Kessler reaches Ningbo quarters
Unseeded American McCartney Kessler reached the Ningbo Open quarterfinals Thursday with a 7-6 (5), 6-1 victory over eighth-seeded Russian Liudmila Samsonova in Ningbo, China.,Kessler raced to a 5-1 lead in the opening set before dropping five straight games. She pulled it together during the tiebrea...
USMNT snaps skid with 2-0 win over Japan
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Alex Zendejas and Folarin Balogun scored, and Matt Freese made six saves, giving the U.S. men's national team a much-needed victory, 2-0 over Japan in a friendly on Tuesday.,Zendejas scored in the 30th minute and Balogun extended the lead in the 64th against the No. 17 team in the ...
Baseball-hungry Netflix to carry World Baseball Classic in Japan
Netflix will stream every game of the 2026 World Baseball Classic exclusively for viewers in Japan, Major League Baseball announced Monday.,The news comes as Netflix is reportedly on the verge of entering the MLB fray by picking up the U.S. rights for the Home Run Derby as part of the league's restr...
USMNT announces friendlies in World Cup tune-up
The U.S. men's national team scheduled two friendlies for early September to begin their warmup for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which they are co-hosting along with Canada and Mexico.,The USMNT will face South Korea on Sept. 6 at the New York Red Bulls' home stadium in Harrison, N.J. On Sept. 9, the Am...
RHP Roki Sasaki to make Dodgers debut vs. Cubs
Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Roki Sasaki follows in the footsteps of his Japanese countrymen on Wednesday when he makes his MLB debut against the Chicago Cubs in the Tokyo Series.,Shohei Ohtani collected two hits and two runs and Yoshinobu Yamamoto tossed five strong innings as the Dodgers raise...
Dodgers' Mookie Betts (illness) out of Tokyo Series vs. Cubs
Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts has been ruled out of the two-game Tokyo Series against the Chicago Cubs because of an illness, manager Dave Roberts said Monday.,Per Roberts, Betts has lost "close to 15 pounds" due to the illness. The manager added that Betts could fly back to the United ...
Japan stops USWNT's reign in SheBelieves Cup
Toko Koga scored the go-ahead goal in the 50th minute to help Japan defeat the U.S. women's national team 2-1 in San Diego on Wednesday to end the Americans' five-year reign as SheBelieves Cup champions.,Japan won its first title.,Yuka Momiki gave Japan the lead in the second minute before Ally Sent...
MLB teams making pitches to Japanese star Roki Sasaki
The world champion Los Angeles Dodgers reportedly are among the Major League Baseball teams to have met with Japanese star Roki Sasaki.,News of the meeting between the former Chiba Lotte Marines right-hander -- posted to MLB teams by the club earlier this month at baseball's winter meetings -- was r...
Report: Roki Sasaki likely to be posted at winter meetings
The bidding for star Japanese right-hander Roki Sasaki apparently is about to begin.,ESPN reported Saturday that Sasaki's availability is expected to be posted when the baseball winter meetings convene Monday in Dallas. Once he is posted by his Japanese team, the Chiba Lotte Marines, Sasaki will hav...
Billie Jean King Cup: Slovakia knocks out U.S.
The United States bowed out of the Billie Jean King Cup finals in the first round with a 2-1 loss to Slovakia on Thursday in Malaga, Spain.,After the teams split two singles matches, Viktoria Hruncakova and Tereza Mihalikova of Slovakia got past Ashlyn Krueger and Taylor Townsend 6-3, 3-6, 10-8 in d...
Report: RHP Tomoyuki Sugano leaving Japan for MLB
Japanese right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano is coming to Major League Baseball this summer as an international free agent, ESPN reported Friday.,Sugano, who turns 35 on Oct. 11, has played for the Yomiuri Giants in Nippon Professional Baseball since 2013.,The eight-time All-Star is having a resurgent seas...
LLWS roundup: Japan blasts Puerto Rico 11-0
Kanta Iwashita hit a two-run home run and Sho Tanaka had two hits and two runs as Japan earned an 11-0 victory over Puerto Rico in four innings to open their Little League World Series on Thursday in Williamsport, Pa.,Iwashita also pitched four strong innings for Japan, giving up just one hit and st...
Japan takes 2 wrestling golds; American Kennedy Blades wins silver
PARIS -- Wrestling powerhouse Japan bagged two freestyle golds through Kotaro Kiyooka and Yuka Kagami on the final day at the Paris Olympics on Sunday to boost their bumper crop of medals.,Japan finished its campaign with eight golds -- three more than in Tokyo three years ago -- with Iran, Bulgaria...
Sakura Motoki adds to Japan's wrestling gold rush in Paris
PARIS -- Sakura Motoki won Japan's sixth wrestling gold of the Paris Olympics on Saturday, underlining her country's domination of the mat at the Champ de Mars Arena.,Her victory against Ukrainian Iryna Koliadenko in the 62kg (137 pounds) final extended Japan's big lead in the wrestling medal table ...
Trinity Rodman boots USWNT past Japan, into semifinals
Trinity Rodman scored just before the midpoint of extra time to lead the U.S. women's national team to 1-0 victory over Japan on Saturday in Paris to advance to the semifinals of the Olympic tournament.,The U.S. plays either Germany or Canada on Tuesday in Lyon, France.,More than 105 minutes into th...