D.T. Cromer and Tomochika Tsuboi both hit three-run homers Sunday to lead the Nippon Ham Fighters to a 19-1 drubbing of the Lotte Marines at Tokyo Dome.
Cromer, formerly of the Cincinnati Reds, got the fighters rolling in the first inning with his second homer of the season as Nippon Ham jumped out to an early 4-0 lead.
Michihiro Ogasa-wara keyed a six-run fifth inning with a two-run home run before Tsuboi put the game out of reach with his fourth homer of the year in the sixth that gave Trey Hillman's squad a 14-1 lead.
Nippon Ham starter Carlos Mirabal gave up one run on four hits over seven innings to pick up his fifth win against four losses.
Buffaloes 10, BlueWave 6
In Kobe, Hirotoshi Kitagawa drove in the tying run with a single to left and Orix pitcher Jun Hagiwara walked in the go-ahead run as the Kintetsu Buffaloes rallied for four runs in the top of the eighth for a 10-6 win over Orix BlueWave.
With the victory, Kintetsu moved into a tie with Daiei for first place in the Pacific League standings.
Tuffy Rhodes returned from a two-game suspension and connected for his league-leading 19th homer -- a solo shot in the fourth -- as the Buffaloes won their fifth straight.
Rhodes, formerly of the Boston Red Sox, was suspended for two-games after charging the mound from first base in Wednesday's 11-3 win over Seibu after pitcher Hayato Aoki hit Norihiro Nakamura.
In Fukuoka, Kazuhiro Wada went 3-for-5 with a pair of RBIs to lead the Seibu Lions to a 7-1 win over the Daiei Hawks.
Seibu starter Chang Chi-chie picked up the win after holding the Hawks to one run on eight hits over seven innings.
Tigers 6, Swallows 4
In the Central League, Tomoaki Kanemoto drove in the go-ahead run with a double in the eighth inning to lift the Central League-leading Hanshin Tigers to a 6-4 win over the Yakult Swallows in Matsuyama.
Hanshin reliever Yuya Ando picked up the win after coming on in the seventh and holding the Swallows scoreless over two innings. Jeff Williams retired the side in the ninth for his 14th save.
On Saturday, Shinichi Sato went 3-for-5 with three RBIs as the Swallows downed the Tigers 5-3.
Hanshin starter Trey Moore was tagged for four runs on six hits over 1-2/3 innings to take his first loss of the season as the Tigers saw their five-game winning streak come to an end.
Dragons 6, Carp 4
In Hiroshima, Ivan Cruz belted a solo homer as the Chunichi Dragons scored four runs in the top of the sixth on their way to a 6-4 win over the Hiroshima Carp at Hiroshima Stadium.
Veteran lefty Shigeki Noguchi picked up the win after striking out 11 and holding the Carp to four runs on six hits over 7-2/3 innings. Eddie Gaillard retired the side in the ninth for his 13th save.
On Saturday, Motonobu Tanishige drove in the winning run with a single to left in the top of the 10th inning to lift the Dragons to a 3-2 win over the Carp.
Giants 4, BayStars 2
The Yomiuri Giants took advantage of a shaky performance by reliever Denny Tomori Saturday on their way to a 4-2 victory over the last-place Yokohama Bay-Stars.
With two out and runners on first and third in the top of the ninth at Yokohama Stadium, Tomori served up a wild pitch that allowed Ichiro Horita to trot home from third with the go-ahead run.
Tomohiro Nioka then singled to right to drive in an insurance run for the Giants.
Yomiuri Giants' rookie Hiroshi Kisanuki picked up the win after giving up two runs on 10 hits over eight innings and closer Junichi Kawahara retired the side in the bottom of the ninth for his sixth save of the season.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB