Ryu Hyun-jin earns 14th win of season vs. San Francisco

Ryu Hyun-jin of the Los Angeles Dodgers earned his 14th win of the season against the San Francisco Giants on the road on Tuesday.At AT&T Park, Ryu tossed seven strong innings, giving up one earned run on four hits and a walk while striking out six. The Dodgers beat the Giants 2-1, on a pair of solo blasts by Yasiel Puig and Matt Kemp, as Ryu improved to 14-7 in his rookie Major League Baseball (MLB) season and lowered his ERA from 3.03 to 2.97. He now has 150 strikeouts in 188 innings. The win

BaseballSept. 25, 2013

Choo Shin-soo enjoys third 20-20 season in home runs, steals

Choo Shin-soo of the Cincinnati Reds picked up his 19th and 20th steals of the season at home against the New York Mets on Monday for his third career 20-20 season.With the 20th swipe, Choo joined the 20-20 club in home runs and steals for the first time in three Major League Baseball (MLB) seasons. He entered the game with 21 homers for the season but didn't add to that total against the Mets. Choo went 3-for-6 at the plate in the game and drove in two runs, including the game-winning run with

BaseballSept. 24, 2013

Park Byung-ho closing in on 2nd straight MVP

In the spirits of Chuseok, the Korean equivalent of Thanksgiving, Park Byung-ho, the slugging first baseman for the Nexen Heroes, gave his fans plenty to feel thankful for last weekend, further cementing his MVP case in the process.The reigning MVP in the Korea Baseball Organization enjoyed a productive Chuseok holiday, which lasted from Wednesday to Sunday. The Heroes played four games during the long weekend, and Park, starting all four in the cleanup spot, launched three home runs and drove i

BaseballSept. 23, 2013

Yankees honor Rivera

NEW YORK (AP) ― Humble as ever, Mariano Rivera began his special day by paying tribute to a Hall of Famer.The New York Yankees retired Rivera’s No. 42 Sunday, and the great reliever honored Jackie Robinson during a ceremony in Yankee Stadium’s Monument Park.Robinson’s No. 42 was retired throughout the major leagues in 1997 on the 50th anniversary of the day the Brooklyn Dodgers second baseman broke baseball’s color barrier. Players wearing 42 at the time were grandfathered.“It is a great pleasur

BaseballSept. 23, 2013

Football coach to stick to principle when building national team

National football head coach Hong Myung-bo reiterated on Monday he will build his roster only with players in regular action on their respective pro clubs, insisting that he won’t make any exceptions for certain players.Hong returned home following his 10-day trip to England, where he watched and met South Korean players in English leagues.Four South Koreans are with English Premier League clubs: Kim Bo-kyung of Cardiff City, Ji Dong-won and Ki Sung-yueng of Sunderland, and Park Chu-young of Ars

SoccerSept. 23, 2013

Radwanska defeats Pavlyuchenkova to win Korea Open

Top-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska rallied from a set down on Sunday to beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-7 (6), 6-3, 6-4 and win the Korea Open.Radwanska hit five aces and took advantage of 10 double-faults by the third-seeded Russian player to win her third title of the year and 13th overall.Pavlyuchenkova rallied from 3-0 down in the first set and fought off four set points in her 5-6 service game before taking a one-set lead.But the momentum shifted when Radwanska won the first three games of the

More SportsSept. 22, 2013

Kershaw strikes out 10, Dodgers defeat Padres

SAN DIEGO (AP) ― Clayton Kershaw struck out 10 in seven dominant innings, Yasiel Puig and A.J. Ellis hit two-run homers and the NL West champion Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the San Diego Padres 4-0 Saturday night.Kershaw (15-9) lowered his major league-leading ERA to 1.88. He leads the NL with 224 strikeouts.Kershaw held San Diego in check on three hits after losing to the Padres in three other starts this season.The left-hander is trying to become the first pitcher to lead the majors in ERA in

BaseballSept. 22, 2013

Chelsea halts slide; Liverpool’s unbeaten start ends

LONDON (AP) ― Chelsea finally won and Liverpool finally lost on Saturday.And, after five matches, Everton remains the only side unbeaten in the English Premier League.Chelsea had been reeling from its worst start during the decade of Roman Abramovich’s ownership, but second-half goals from Oscar and John Obi Mikel secured a 2-0 victory over Fulham.The win put Chelsea on top ahead of Sunday’s games, dislodging Liverpool, which was beaten 1-0 at Anfield by Southampton. “I understand at this moment

SoccerSept. 22, 2013

FC Seoul looks to reach semifinals for first time

FC Seoul will look to reach its first semifinals at the top annual Asian club soccer competition as it readies to host a Saudi Arabian side this week.The South Korean club will bring Al Ahli of the Saudi Professional League to Seoul World Cup Stadium for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff on Wednesday for the second leg of their quarterfinals series at the AFC Champions League.In the first leg played in Saudi Arabia last month, the teams played to a 1-1 draw. FC Seoul can reach its first AFC semifinal with a v

SoccerSept. 17, 2013

Ryu goes distance but tagged with loss

PHOENIX (Yonhap News) ― Ryu Hyun-jin of the Los Angeles Dodgers suffered his second straight loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on the road on Monday, despite a strong outing.Ryu allowed two earned runs on two hits in eight solid innings and struck out four, but the Dodgers fell to the D-backs 2-1.Last Wednesday at Dodger Stadium, Ryu gave up three earned runs on 10 hits in six innings against the same Diamondbacks, taking the loss.Ryu is now 13-7 in his rookie season. His ERA went down slightly f

BaseballSept. 17, 2013