BASEBALL Tomoaki Kanemoto homered in consecutive at-bats and drove in three runs in the Hanshin Tigers’ 5-3 win over the Nippon Ham Fighters in interleague play on Sunday. [KYODO]

BASEBALL Shuichi Murata played hero twice Saturday, delivering a game-tying three-run homer in the eighth inning before hitting a walkoff shot in the bottom of the 10th to lift the Yokohama BayStars to a 5-4 win over the Seibu Lions. [KYODO]

BASEBALL Two private supporters’ groups for the Chunichi Dragons sued professional baseball clubs on Thursday after an anti-gang council comprising of professional baseball clubs and police banned them from cheering for their teams. [MAINICHI]

BASEBALL Daisuke Matsuzaka, Hideki Okajima and other Boston Red Sox players arrived at Tokyo’s Haneda airport early Friday aboard a chartered plane to open the regular season with games against the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday and Wednesday at Tokyo Dome. [KYODO]

BASEBALL Japanese professional baseball players have vowed to shorten playing time per game as part of the national pastime’s contribution to the fight against global warming. [AFP]

BASEBALL Japanese right-hander Daisuke Matsuzaka will start the Boston Red Sox’s regular-season opener against the Oakland Athletics in Toyko on March 25. [AP]

BASEBALL Ichiro Suzuki snapped an 0-for-21 slump with an infield single in the Seattle Mariners’ 10-inning, 3-3 tie with the San Francisco Giants in a spring training game Thursday. [KYODO]

BASEBALL A new independent baseball league in Japan is taking shape with four clubs expected to be established ahead of its inauguration scheduled for 2009. [KYODO]

BASEBALL New York Yankees outfielder Hideki Matsui caused a car crash in Tokyo earlier this month, police said Wednesday.r [MAINICHI]

BASEBALL The Lotte Marines announced Friday they have agreed on a one-year 70 million yen deal with Yakult Swallows right-hander Brian Sikorski.

BASEBALL The Los Angeles Dodgers sent a three-man contingent that included closer Takashi Saito to meet with free-agent pitcher Hiroki Kuroda in Tokyo last week, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday. [KYODO]

BASEBALL J.R. Sakuragi broke loose for 22 points and eight boards as the Aisin Sea Horses downed Toyota 77-74 on Friday in Kariya, Aichi Prefecture, to move into a tie with the two-time defending champion Alvark atop the JBL standings. [YOMIURI]

BASEBALL The Softbank Hawks won the right to negotiate a deal with Toyo University right-hander Shota Oba in the first round of Japanese baseball’s amateur draft on Monday. [KYODO]

BASEBALL Hirokazu Ibata hit a tiebreaking single in the top of the ninth inning as the Japan Series champion Chunichi Dragons edged the Korean Series winner SK Wyverns 6-5 in the Asia Series final on Sunday. [KYODO]

BASEBALL Seattle Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki was Friday named one of the winners of the Silver Slugger awards given to the best player in each position based on votes by managers and coaches. [KYODO]

BASEBALL Korean teenager Kim Kwang Hyun made history Thursday when he became the first pitcher to beat a Japan Series champ in Konami Cup play. [YOMIURI]

BASEBALL Now that the Chunichi Dragons finally have a championship to call their own, it’s time for them to defend Japan’s Asia Series title when the third edition of the Konami Cup begins today at Tokyo Dome. [YOMIURI]

BASEBALL The viewer ratings for the live broadcast of the Japan Series Thursday night hit 44.4 percent in Nagoya, when Chunichi Dragons players threw manager Hiromichi Ochiai in the air in celebration of the club’s victory, ratings company Video Research Ltd. said. [MAINICHI]

BASEBALL Chunichi’s 53-year journey through a wilderness of frustrating finishes could end tonight. [YOMIURI]

BASEBALL The defending champion Nippon Ham Fighters’ struggle continued into Game 3 in the Japan Series, with the offense lacking timely hitting and pitchers still battling control problems. [KYODO]