Cardinals homer twice to beat Dodgers 4-2 in NLCS

The St. Louis Cardinals moved within one win of a spot in the World Series by beating the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-2 on Tuesday, taking a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven National League Championship Series.Matt Holliday and pinch-hitter Shane Robinson connected for the first home runs of the series to give the Cardinals the same 3-1 series advantage they held this time last year, only to lose the last three games to San Francisco.Game 5 is Wednesday at Dodger Stadium, with Zack Greinke to start for L

Oct. 16, 2013

Season of high hopes ends bitter for Nexen

The decisive Game 5 of the opening playoff series between the Nexen Heroes and the Doosan Bears may have ended just before 11 p.m. Monday, with the Bears prevailing 8-5 in 14 innings to move on in the Korea Baseball Organization postseason.But the clock struck midnight on the Heroes, the Cinderella team of 2013, whose first postseason began with high hopes and ended on a bitter note.The Heroes claimed the first two games of the series on walk-off hits, becoming the first KBO team to win two stra

Oct. 15, 2013

Doosan eliminates Nexen in KBO playoff with dramatic extra-inning victory

The Doosan Bears defeated the Nexen Heroes 8-5 in extra innings on the road on Monday to advance to the second round in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) postseason, holding off a frenetic late charge by their opponents in one of the most thrilling playoff games in the league's history.At Mokdong Stadium, Choi Jun-seok and Oh Jae-won each hit a home run in the Bears' five-run 13th inning, after their team blew a 3-0 lead with two outs in the bottom of the ninth.Lee Taek-geun of the Heroes hi

Oct. 15, 2013

Tigers beat A's to reach ALCS again

Detroit won through to another appearance in the American League Championship Series by beating Oakland 3-0 on Friday, sealing a 3-2 series victory, with Justin Verlander in dominant form on the mound.The Tigers became the first team to reach the ALCS in three straight years since the New York Yankees from 1998-2001.Their opponent will be Boston, which will host Game 1 on Saturday. Despite both being historic clubs, they have never before faced each other in the playoffs.Verlander held Oakland h

Oct. 11, 2013

SK Wyverns says manager Lee won’t be sacked

The SK Wyverns of South Korea’s top professional baseball league on Thursday denied rumors that it would fire manager Lee Man-soo after the team’s lackluster season.An unnamed official from the Wyverns said that the team would retain its contract with Lee, which will expire after the 2014 season. The official added that the team’s coaching staff would undergo a reshuffle.Earlier in the day, local media reported that a “high ranking official” of the Wyverns said Lee might be dismissed as his team

Oct. 10, 2013

Uncharacteristically sloppy, Doosan in deep playoff hole vs. Nexen

In the words of their own manager, the Doosan Bears have beat themselves with sloppy play to fall behind the Nexen Heroes two games to none in their Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) first-round playoff series.The Heroes walked off on the Bears twice to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series. They can eliminate the Bears with a win in Game 3 Friday at the Bears' home, Jamsil Stadium.While the finishes of the two games were surely dramatic -- the first was won on a ninth-inning sin

Oct. 10, 2013

Lee Dae-ho wraps up successful season in Japan

South Korean slugger Lee Dae-ho has wrapped up his second successful season in Japan, with his immediate future hanging in the balance.The Orix Buffaloes first baseman played his last game of the 2013 Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) season at home on Monday. The Buffaloes have three road games remaining against the Rakuten Golden Eagles, but already well out of the postseason contention, 14 games back of the Pacific League-leading Rakuten, they allowed Lee to leave the team early.Lee, 31, has

Oct. 8, 2013

A-Rod's lawsuit against MLB moved to federal court

Alex Rodriguez's lawsuit claiming Major League Baseball and Commissioner Bud Selig went on a “witch hunt” to force him from the sport has been moved from state to federal court.Major League Baseball filed a notice of removal Monday, saying claims by the New York Yankees third baseman are governed by federal law.The lawsuit, originally filed Thursday in New York Supreme Court in Manhattan, was assigned to U.S. District Judge Lorna G. Schofield, who joined the bench in December, and U.S. Magistrat

Oct. 8, 2013

Ryu Hyun-jin gets no-decision in first big league postseason start

Ryu Hyun-jin of the Los Angeles Dodgers got a no-decision in his first Major League Baseball (MLB) playoff start here on Sunday.Facing the Atlanta Braves in Game 3 of the National League Division Series (NLDS) at Dodger Stadium, Ryu was yanked out of the game with two outs in the third inning for pinch hitter Michael Young, with the Dodgers ahead 6-4.Ryu allowed four earned runs on six hits and a walk in three innings for his shortest outing of the year, including the regular season. Ryu became

Oct. 7, 2013

Pirates edge Cardinals 5-3, take 2-1 lead in NLDS

Pedro Alvarez hit a tiebreaking single in the eighth inning as the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the St. Louis Cardinals 5-3 on Sunday to take a 2-1 lead in best-of-five NL division series.Alvarez pulled a grounder into right field that scored pinch-runner Josh Harrison from second base. Russell Martin followed with a sharp RBI single against reliever Kevin Siegrist, who took over after Carlos Martinez (0-1) faltered.The go-ahead single was the latest big hit by Alvarez. He homered in the first two ga

Oct. 7, 2013

KBO's 'Subway Series' to pit Nexen against Doosan

In the domestic equivalent of the "Subway Series," two Seoul-based clubs will go toe-to-toe in the opening round of the South Korean professional baseball playoffs starting on Tuesday.The Nexen Heroes will host the Doosan Bears to start the best-of-five first round of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) playoff series at Mokdong Stadium in western Seoul at 6 p.m. on Tuesday. It will be the first-ever postseason clash between the two clubs.The Heroes, who finished third in the regular season, w

Oct. 7, 2013

Ortiz belts two homers ...as Sox win

BOSTON (AP) ― David Ortiz homered twice, the second shot chasing David Price in the eighth inning on Saturday night, and the Boston Red Sox beat the Tampa Bay Rays 7-4 to take a 2-0 lead in the AL division series.It was the first two-homer postseason game for the Red Sox designated hitter, who was a star for the 2004 Boston team that won the franchise’s first World Series title in 86 years and is the only player remaining from that club.“When he hits two home runs, things are going to revolve ar

Oct. 6, 2013