Giants stave off elimination

CINCINNATI (AP) ― Hardly able to get a hit, the San Francisco Giants used a misplayed grounder to prolong their NL playoff series.Third baseman Scott Rolen’s two-out error in the 10th inning gave the Giants the go-ahead run Tuesday night in a 2-1 victory over the Cincinnati Reds, who couldn’t shake 17 years of home postseason futility.The Giants avoided a sweep in Game 3, cutting their deficit to 2-1.Rolen, an eight-time Gold Glove winner, couldn’t come up with Joaquin Arias’ short-hop grounder,

Oct. 10, 2012

Balanced attack

Bottom of the lineup carrying offense for LotteThey may not quite be the “fearsome foursome,” but the bottom three hitters in Lotte Giants’ lineup have done enough damage to instill fear into pitchers of their playoff opponent, the Doosan Bears.The Giants hold a 2-0 series lead over the Bears in their best-of-five first round playoff series in the Korea Baseball Organization. They beat the Bears 8-5 in 10 innings on Monday and squeezed past the Seoul-based club 2-1 on Tuesday. As the series move

Oct. 10, 2012

Sadowski puts history, injury behind him

U.S.-born pitcher Ryan Sadowski of the Lotte Giants, competing in the playoffs of the Korea Baseball Organization, says he is focused on the present and has put some bad history between his team and the Doosan Bears, Lotte’s current playoff opponents this fall, behind him.Competing in his third KBO postseason, the right-hander is slated to start the third game of the best-of-five first round series on Thursday. Before the series opener, Sadowski said he was looking forward to pitching in his thi

Oct. 9, 2012

All square

ST. LOUIS (AP) ― Never count out the St. Louis Cardinals in October ― especially after they lose a series opener.Carlos Beltran hit the last two of the Cardinals’ four homers and St. Louis chased an ineffective Jordan Zimmermann early in a 12-4 rout of the Washington Nationals on Monday that tied their NL division series at one game apiece“We know this offense has the potential to do this,” Cardinals rookie manager Mike Matheny said. “It was nice to see this, and hopefully it becomes contagious

Oct. 9, 2012

Police officers ask baseball stars for an autograph during playoff match

Derek Jeter, a renowned superstar and the captain of the fabled New York Yankees, is a man who earned a reputation for not being easily fazed. But even he was caught off guard when two policemen came up to him for an autograph during the crucial first game of the American League Division Series against the Baltimore Orioles. According to New York media, two unnamed Maryland police officers assigned to security in the Yankees dugout at the Sunday match asked the shortstop and a fellow Yankee Nick

Oct. 9, 2012

Verlander, Tigers silence A’s

DETROIT (AP) ― Justin Verlander allowed a home run to the first batter of the game ― and quickly shrugged it off.This hard-throwing ace doesn’t usually hit his stride until a bit later.Verlander shut down Oakland after that early slip, and Alex Avila homered in the fifth inning to lift the Detroit Tigers over the Athletics 3-1 on Saturday night in the opener of their best-of-five AL playoff.Verlander allowed three hits in seven innings and matched his career postseason high with 11 strikeouts. A

Oct. 7, 2012

Real season begins

Lotte, Doosan to clash in opening round of playoffsA pair of banged-up clubs will clash in the opening playoff round in South Korea’s top baseball competition starting next week.The Doosan Bears and the Lotte Giants will meet in the best-of-five KBO series, which begins next Monday. In the eight-team KBO, the top four teams in the regular season reach the postseason.The regular season champion earns a bye into the championship Korean Series. The No. 3 and the No. 4 teams play in the first round

Oct. 5, 2012

October intensity

OAKLAND, California (AP) ― Same chaotic, champagne dance-party scene in the clubhouse just two days later. New T-shirt: AL West champions.The Oakland Athletics won the division title with another improbable rally in a season full of them, coming back from four runs down and a 13-game division deficit to stun the two-time defending league champion Texas Rangers 12-5 on Wednesday.“We knew this is a beast of a team we would have to beat, and to be able to beat them three games in a row and win the

Oct. 4, 2012

Korean pro baseball league draws record spectators

Korea’s pro baseball league has drawn a record of more than 7 million spectators in a single season for the first time since its launch 31 years ago.The Korea Baseball Organization said that it attributes this milestone, set Oct. 2, largely to the popularity of star players who returned home from overseas such as Park Chan-ho, Kim Byung-hyun and Lee Seung-yeop. The expanded broadcasting coverage of the sport on cable is another factor, it said.Lotte Giants held a record title of drawing more tha

Oct. 3, 2012

Samsung bags spot in Series

The defending champion Samsung Lions beat the LG Twins 9-3 Monday, clinching their third consecutive berth in the championship round of South Korea’s top baseball league.The victory brought the Lions’ record to 76 wins, 50 losses and two ties, with five games left in the 133-game season, and gave them a five-game cushion over the second-place SK Wyverns. Also on Monday, the Wyverns clinched second place with a 4-1 win over the Hanwha Eagles.In the eight-team Korean Baseball Organization, the fir

Oct. 2, 2012

Rangers down A’s 9-7 for split

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) ― Ian Kinsler and the Texas Rangers moved closer to another AL West title with a split.They can now wrap up another division title at home even before having to face the chasing Athletics again next week in Oakland.Kinsler hit a leadoff homer to start a five-run first inning, Matt Harrison got his 18th victory and the two-time defending American League champions held on for a 9-7 victory Thursday. By splitting the four-game series, the Rangers maintained their four-game div

Sept. 28, 2012

Pro baseball league draws record spectators

The Korean pro baseball league has established a new single-season attendance record despite negative promotion factors such as the 2012 London Olympics, record heat waves and typhoons.According to the Korea Baseball Organization, the attendance total for all eight teams through Tuesday this season surpassed the previous annual record set in 2011, with 35 games still remaining. Given this trend, the figure is likely to hit seven million this year for the first time since the league was launched

Sept. 26, 2012

Madonna tells fans to vote for ‘black Muslim’ Obama

LOS ANGELES (AFP) ― Pop diva Madonna urged fans to vote for President Barack Obama in America’s November election, but raised eyebrows by calling him a “black Muslim,” according to a video posted online Tuesday.In the clip reportedly shot during a concert Monday night, she listed American icons Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King before turning to Obama, of whom she is a well-known supporter.“And now it is so amazing and incredible to think we have an African American in the White House,” she

Sept. 26, 2012