What's the future of baseball in Japan as the best players leave for MLB?
TOKYO — Shohei Ohtani is widely regarded as the best player in Major League Baseball, and Ichiro Suzuki enters the Hall of Fame later this year, reminders that some of the top talent in American baseball is now Japanese.
That's a point of pride at home, but also a reason to worry.
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36 minutes ago
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Arenado's walk-off pinch-hit double sends Cardinals over Dodgers 2-1
St. Louis Cardinals' Nolan Arenado (28) is congratulated by teammates after hitting a walk-off single to defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers in a baseball game Saturday, June 7, 2025, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson) ST. LOUIS (AP) — Nolan Arenado delivered a pinch-hit RBI double in the ninth inning and the St. Louis Cardinals stifled the Los Angeles Dodgers' offense for a second straight game in a 2-1 victory on Saturday. Nolan Gorman led off the ninth with a ground-rule double before being replaced with a pinch runner. After Pedro Pages reached on an error by pitcher Ben Casparius (4-1), the Dodgers vacated left field to play with five infielders, and Arenado's lazy fly ball landed just inside the foul line and bounced into the stands for another ground-rule double. Advertisement The Dodgers, who lead the majors in scoring, home runs and batting average, were held scoreless for the first 17 innings of the series, but managed to tie it when Shohei Ohtani scored on a wild pitch by Ryan Helsley (3-0) in the top of the ninth. It was the second straight blown save for Helsley. Masyn Winn raced home on Alec Burleson's infield single to put St. Louis ahead 1-0 in the eighth inning. Erick Fedde walked four and struck out two in 5 1-3 scoreless innings, giving up four singles. He allowed the first two batters to reach in the sixth before striking out Andy Pages. Steven Matz retired the next two batters to end that threat. Advertisement Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto struck out nine in six scoreless innings, allowing four singles and two walks. CUBS 6, TIGERS 1 DETROIT (AP) — Chicago hit five home runs, including two by Seiya Suzuki, and went on to a 6-1 win over Detroit. The Cubs, playing before a sold-out crowd of 41,334 in Detroit that appeared to be at least one-third Chicago fans, also got home runs from Michael Busch, Pete Crow-Armstrong and Matt Shaw. They improved to 40-24 while the Tigers fell to 42-24. Jameson Taillon (6-3) allowed one run on three hits and a walk in seven innings. He is 4-0 with a 1.68 ERA in his past four starts. Advertisement Suzuki gave the Cubs a 1-0 lead with a first-inning homer off Tigers opener Tyler Holton (2-3). Busch increased the margin to 3-0 with a long homer to right in the fifth, but Detroit got a run back in the bottom of the inning. Zach McKinstry led off with his fifth triple of the season — third in the majors behind Corbin Carroll and Jarren Duran. Jake Rogers followed with a grounder to third, and McKinstry beat Shaw's throw to the plate. REDS 4, DIAMONDBACKS 3, 10 INNINGS, 1ST GAME REDS 13, DIAMONDBACKS 1, 2ND GAME CINCINNATI (AP) — Gavin Lux hit a grand slam, Christian Encarnacion-Strand homered for the second straight game and Cincinnati routed Arizona after completing a suspended game with a 4-3 victory in 10 innings. Advertisement TJ Friedl and Elly De La Cruz drew walks off Arizona starter Ryne Nelson, and Encarnacion-Strand hit his fourth homer for a 3-0 lead. Will Benson walked and took third on Tyler Stephenson's double before scoring on Spencer Steer's single. Jake Fraley drove in a run with a forceout for a 5-0 first-inning lead. Eugenio Suárez went 2 for 4 and led off the third against Nick Martinez (4-6) with his 17th home run for the Diamondbacks' run. Lux's grand slam came off reliever Kendall Graveman, who needed 33 pitches to end the fourth after coming in with two on and no outs. Graveman gave up a single to Matt McLain to load the bases before hitting Friedl with a pitch to force in a run. Lux hit his next pitch out to right field for a 10-1 lead. De La Cruz doubled and scored on a Stephenson single in the eight-run inning. Stephenson finished 3 for 5 and scored twice. Advertisement Martinez allowed a run on six hits in six innings with six strikeouts. Joe La Sorsa, Brent Suter and Lyon Richardson pitched a scoreless inning to close. Nelson (2-2) gave up seven runs in three innings. Graveman allowed six runs in an inning. BLUE JAYS 5, TWINS 4 MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — George Springer hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the eighth inning and Toronto beat Minnesota. Springer went deep against Twins reliever Griffin Jax (1-4), who allowed a leadoff double to Addison Barger one at-bat earlier. Springer's 10th homer of the season made it 4-3 just as a light rain started falling at Target Field. Advertisement Vladimir Guerrero Jr. tacked on an insurance run with a two-out RBI single in the ninth off Twins closer Jhoan Durán. Chad Green (2-1) pitched a scoreless seventh inning to earn the win. Jeff Hoffman allowed a solo homer in the ninth to Kody Clemens but still earned his 15th save. Minnesota took a 3-2 lead in the sixth on a solo home run by Matt Wallner. The Twins DH went deep to right against Toronto starter Kevin Gausman, his second homer in the past three days. Gausman didn't allow a hit until the fourth inning. The Twins' first hit by Ryan Jeffers sparked a two-run inning that tied the game. GIANTS 3, BRAVES 2 Advertisement SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Matt Chapman hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning and San Francisco beat Atlanta for its fourth straight win. Heliot Ramos singled with one out against Braves reliever Pierce Johnson (1-3). After Wilmer Flores popped out, Chapman homered to left for his 12th of the season. It spoiled a stellar start by Atlanta's Bryce Elder, who allowed a run and three hits while striking out 12 in eight innings. The Braves lost their sixth straight. Giants starter Logan Webb gave up two runs and six hits in six innings while striking out 10 — his fourth double-digit effort of the season. Advertisement Tyler Rogers (3-2) pitched a scoreless ninth to get the win. PIRATES 2, PHILLIES 1 PITTSBURGH (AP) — Henry Davis hit a tiebreaking solo home run in the bottom of the seventh inning to lift Pittsburgh to a victory over Philadelphia after the slumping Phillies placed star first baseman Bryce Harper on the injured list before the game with right wrist inflammation. Davis hit his fourth home run of the season and second in as many games to left-center off Ranger Suarez (4-1) on a first-pitch changeup to snap a 1-1 tie. The Pirates won for the third time in four games and can sweep the three-game series on Sunday. Advertisement The Phillies' lone run came on Kyle Schwarber's 20th homer with one out in the first inning off Andrew Heaney. Philadelphia has lost eight of its last nine games after winning 12 of 13. Heaney allowed one run in six-plus innings before leaving with left calf cramping. Alec Bohm led off the seventh with a double, and Heaney exited after throwing a wild pitch. Rookie reliever Isaac Mattson (1-0) relieved with the score tied at 1-1, retired all the batters, and earned his first major-league win. RANGERS 5, NATIONALS 0 WASHINGTON (AP) — Jacob deGrom allowed two hits in seven shutout innings and Marcus Semien drove in three runs to lead Texas to a victory over Washington that snapped a four-game skid. Advertisement DeGrom (6-2) threw 81 pitches and struck out eight while lowering his ERA to 2.12. Luke Jackson and Chris Martin each pitched a scoreless inning to close it out. Sam Haggerty and Josh Jung singled off Nationals starter Mitchell Parker in the first inning. Semien drove in Haggerty with a single and Jung scored from first when the ball got by center fielder Robert Hassell III for an error. Parker retired 14 straight after Semien's hit until Haggerty beat out a grounder to third to begin the sixth. Hassell made a catch on the warning track on Wyatt Langford's fly ball and threw to second to get Haggerty trying to advance for the double play and his second career assist. Texas added three insurance runs off reliever Eduardo Salazar in the eighth. Haggerty and Langford led off with singles and Semien hit a two-run double. Adolis García singled in the final run. Advertisement WHITE SOX 4, ROYALS 1 CHICAGO (AP) — Tim Elko hit a two-run homer, Adrian Houser pitched six strong innings and Chicago beat Kansas City. Chase Meidroth also went deep for the White Sox, who have won three straight for the second time this season. Houser (2-1) gave up a run and six hits while striking out six and walking one. It was the 32-year-old right-hander's fourth quality start since signing with the White Sox on May 20. Cam Booser and Steven Wilson each gave up a hit in a scoreless inning, and Dan Altavilla got the last three outs for his second career save — first since 2020 while pitching for Seattle. Advertisement Michael Wacha (3-5) allowed three runs and six hits in six innings. He walked one and struck out five. Royals first baseman Vinny Pasquantino had was 3 for 3, including his 10th homer in the second inning for a 1-0 lead. ASTROS 5, GUARDIANS 3, 10 INNINGS CLEVELAND (AP) — Jake Meyers scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch, Isaac Paredes drove in an insurance run and Houston defeated Cleveland in 10 innings. Yainer Diaz had a two-run homer in the sixth as the Astros won for the fifth time in six games. Cleveland's José Ramírez had two hits, including a two-run homer in the seventh inning, and extended his on-base streak to a career-best 33 games. Advertisement Steven Kwan added three hits, but the Guardians lost their third straight. Meyers was the automatic runner in the 10th. He advanced to third on Jeremy Peña's grounder to first and scored when a slider by Hunter Gaddis (0-1) on an 0-2 count was low and outside. MARLINS 11, RAYS 10, 10 INNINGS TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Jesús Sánchez had a three-run homer and a two-run double, and Heriberto Hernandez singled in the go-ahead run in the 10th inning as Miami outlasted Christopher Morel and Tampa Bay to snap a five-game losing streak. Morel went 3 for 3 with two home runs, a double and four RBIs for the Rays, who had a four-game win streak halted. Advertisement Morel hit a three-run homer off Ryan Weathers, and Danny Jansen and Taylor Walls followed with back-to-back doubles for a 4-0 lead in the second inning. Weathers was hit in the head after his final warmup pitch to start the game on catcher Nick Fortes' throw to second base and was pulled after three innings for precautionary reasons. Weathers is the son of former major league pitcher David Weathers. Dan Myers and Fortes reached with singles off Taj Bradley in the third and Xavier Edwards drove in Myers with a one-out double. Sánchez followed with his fifth homer to tie it at 4-all. Morel doubled against reliever Ronny Henriquez and Jansen homered for the fifth time three pitches later to put the Rays up 6-4 in the fourth. The Marlins answered with a seven-run fifth as they batted around. Sánchez gave Miami a 7-6 lead with a two-run double. Liam Hicks doubled in two and Myers doubled in Hicks to make it 10-6. José Caballero threw out Myers at home to end the inning. Advertisement Morel hit his fifth homer with one out in the sixth off reliever Tyler Phillips and Walls followed with a two-run shot after Jansen singled to get the Rays within 10-9. Brandon Lowe's 13th home run leading off the seventh against reliever Anthony Bender tied it at 10. Bradley allowed seven runs on six hits in four innings. Mason Montgomery gave up three runs on five hits in an inning. Garrett Cleavinger (0-2) allowed Hernandez's game-winning hit. BREWERS 4, PADRES 3 MILWAUKEE (AP) — Caleb Durbin hit a walk-off homer leading off the ninth inning as Milwaukee rebounded after squandering a late lead to beat San Diego. Advertisement After a two-run, two-out double by Luis Arraez tied it in the top of the ninth, Durbin ended it by sending the first pitch from David Morgan (0-1) over the wall in left-center field. It was the rookie third baseman's second career homer — and first since April 21. Milwaukee's Trevor Megill (1-2) picked up the victory after blowing a save opportunity in the ninth. Padres starter Stephen Kolek pitched 5 2/3 shutout innings. Milwaukee's José Quintana allowed one run in five innings.
Yahoo
an hour ago
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Shaquille O'Neal Doesn't Hold Back on Jayson Tatum's Hall of Fame Chances
Shaquille O'Neal Doesn't Hold Back on Jayson Tatum's Hall of Fame Chances originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Shaquille O'Neal has played a major role within the NBA for over 30 years, building one of the most decorated resumes of all time as a player and later becoming a well-liked TV personality during his tenure with the "NBA on TNT" cast. Advertisement In his 19-year playing career, O'Neal won four championships, an MVP Award, and sits among the top ten all-time scoring leaders. Since stepping off the court, he's begun hosting "The Big Podcast" alongside his "NBA on TNT" partner Adam Lefkoe. On Thursday's episode, Lefkoe claimed Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum's resume is enough for a Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame induction, right now, and Shaq didn't hold back. NBA analyst Shaquille O'Neal and Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum.© Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images | © John Jones-Imagn Images When talking to Lefkoe, Shaq said, "You (expletive) just throwing people in there now," clearly thinking Tatum's resume is not worthy. 'You ever see that movie 'Ocean's Thirteen?' I'm going to break into the Hall of Fame and take all of my (expletive) out,' O'Neal said. You (expletive) just throwing people in there now." Advertisement Shaq went on to say he thinks there are two types of Hall of Fames: a "bad" one and a "basketball" one. "Isiah Thomas said it the best one day, he said there's two Hall of Fames," Shaq added. "There's a bad (expletive) Hall of Fame and there's a basketball Hall of Fame." At only 27 years of age, Tatum has racked up six All-Star appearances, five All-NBA selections and an NBA championship. With high expectations joining a legendary organization like the Celtics, the 2017 third-overall pick had all the pressure in the world to perform. According to Shaq, these accolades, combined with career averages of 23.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game (via ESPN), may not be enough to make it into the Hall of Fame right now, but he didn't rule it out when it's all said and done. Advertisement Related: NBA Legend Had One Word for Son Dylan Harper's Possible Teams This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 5, 2025, where it first appeared.
2 hours ago
Ilhee Lee takes 1-shot lead over 4 players into the final round of the ShopRite LPGA Classic
GALLOWAY, N.J. -- Ilhee Lee shot a 3-under 68 on Saturday in the ShopRite LPGA Classic in a round delayed by rain in the afternoon to take a one-stroke lead over four players into the final round. Tied for the first-round lead with Elizabeth Szokol after a 63, Lee rebounded from a double bogey on the par-4 eighth with a closing birdie on the par-5 ninth. The 36-year-old South Korean player had an 11-under 131 total on Seaview's Bay Course. 'Today was totally different day, completely different day, and I knew it was going to be completely different day, so I didn't have any expectations,' Lee said. 'Just like I did yesterday, I was just playing golf. Have fun out there. Made some birdies on first nine. ' She won the 2013 Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic for her lone tour title. 'Now I know how fun this game is, so I'm just enjoying golf,' Lee said. Szokol had a 69 to drop into a tie for second in the 54-hole event with fellow American Jennifer Kupcho (64) and Japanese players Mao Saigo (65) and Ayaka Furue (66). 'Just trying to stay patient all day,' Szokol said. 'Didn't quite have things go as great as yesterday but still playing really good golf.' Kupcho birdied the final two holes in her late afternoon round. 'I think a little bit of improvement to be made tomorrow,' Kupcho said. 'Wasn't hitting the ball super great off the tee, but at least out here it's manageable out of the rough or fairway bunkers. Was just really giving myself opportunities.' Second-ranked Jeeno Thitikul shot her second 68 to get to 6 under, while No. 1 Nelly Korda was 5 under after a 66. 'Very happy with how I played today, the past two days,' Korda said. 'It's a tricky golf courses. Keeps you on your toes all the time.' Maja Stark, the U.S. Women's Open winner last week at Erin Hills, missed the cut with rounds of 70 and 75. Defending champion Linnea Strom also dropped out, shooting 72-75.
