BASEBALL
Red Sox acquire Hanrahan
The Boston Red Sox landed closer Joel Hanrahan in a six-player trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday. The Red Sox sent outfielders Mark Melancon and Stolmy Pimentel along with infielders Ivan De Jesus and Jerry Sands to the Pirates in exchange for Brock Holt and Hanrahan, who they immediately announced as the team’s new closer. The 31-year-old has complied 76 saves over the last two seasons, and was named an All Star in each year.
SOCCER
Taarabt misses out
Morocco have left Queens Park Rangers forward Adel Taarabt out of their 24-man African Nations Cup squad for the finals which start in South Africa next month. The 23-year-old does not feature on the list of players for the tournament, which runs from Jan. 19 to Feb. 10, published on the Royal Moroccan Football Federation Web site. The mercurial Taarabt has been out of favor with the national team, but hoped to have done enough to impress Morocco coach Rachid Taoussi, who took charge in the summer.
BASEBALL
Club keep star despite arrest
Japanese club Rakuten Eagles, who recently signed former US major league star Andruw Jones, said yesterday they had no plans to cancel the deal after he was arrested on suspicion of battering his wife. The Curacao-born outfielder, 35, was held early on Tuesday morning at his home in suburban Atlanta, Georgia, after police were called following a dispute between him and his wife, according to media reports. He was released on US$2,400 bail. “There is no such possibility for now,” Rakuten Eagles public relations director Yoshiki Sato said when asked if the one-year contract, signed earlier this month and worth an estimated US$3.5 million, could be annulled. “At the moment it is our understanding” that he did not do anything wrong,” Sato said. The club said representatives had spoken to Jones, who told them he had continued drinking after a Christmas Eve party and had quarreled with his wife, who called the police. Jones told them there was no physical assault on his wife and that she did not expect police to take him away, the club said.
Shohei Ohtani and his wife arrived in South Korea with his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates yesterday ahead of their season-opening games with the San Diego Padres next week. Ohtani, wearing a black training suit and a cap backwards, was the first Dodgers player who showed up at the arrival gate of Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul. His wife, Mamiko Tanaka, walked several steps behind him. As a crowd of fans, many wearing Dodgers jerseys, shouted his name and cheered slogans, Ohtani briefly waved his hand, but did not say anything before he entered a limousine bus with his wife. Fans held placards
Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals at the All England Open, beating Kim Ga-eun of South Korea 21-17, 21-15. With the win, Tai earned a semi-final against China’s He Bingjiao, who beat Michelle Li of Canada 21-9, 21-9. Defending champion An Se-young defeated India’s P.V. Sindhu 21-19, 21-11. An on Wednesday cruised into the second round, unlike last year’s men’s winner, Li Shifeng, who suffered a shock defeat. South Korea’s An, the world No. 1, overcame Taiwan’s Hsu Wen-chi 21-17, 21-16 to set up the match against Sindhu. In other women’s singles matches, Taiwan’s Sung Shuo-yun lost 21-18, 24-22 against Carolina Marin of
EYEING TOP SPOT: A victory in today’s final against Storm Hunter and Katerina Siniakova would return 38-year-old Hsieh Su-wei to the world No. 1 ranking Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens on Thursday secured a spot in the women’s doubles finals at the BNP Paribas Open after dispatching Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) at Indian Wells. Hsieh and her Belgian partner Mertens, who won the Australian Open in late January, coasted through the first set after breaking their opponents’ serve twice, but found the going tougher in the second. Both pairs could only muster one break point over 12 games, neither of which were converted, leaving the set to be decided by a tiebreaker. Hsieh and Mertens took a 6-3 lead,
DOUBLES PAYBACK: Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Martens avenged their defeat in the quarters at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open against Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei on Wednesday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California. Hsieh and partner Elise Mertens of Belgium dispatched Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani 6-1, 6-4 to set up a clash against Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez for a spot in the final of the WTA 1000 tournament. Hsieh and Martens made a blistering start to their rematch after they lost to Schuurs and Stefani in the quarter-finals at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open last month, winning three games without reply at the start of the first set