BASEBALL Daisuke Matsuzaka and fellow Japanese rookie pitcher Hideki Okajima ended their rookie campaigns in the major leagues on a high note Sunday as the Boston Red Sox won the World Series with a four-game sweep of the Colorado Rockies. [KYODO]

BASEBALL Starter Kenichi Nakata gave up one run over eight innings Sunday as the Chunichi Dragons downed the Nippon Ham Fighters 8-1 to even the best-of-seven Japan Series one game apiece. [MAINICHI]

BASEBALL Fernando Seguignol got off with a blast Saturday, hammering a three- run homer and Yu Darvish was virtually untouchable in a complete-game performance as the Nippon Ham Fighters downed the Chunichi Dragons 3-1 to take Game 1 of the Japan Series. [KYODO]

BASEBALL It was not a result that thrilled anyone. Although attendance and interest in second-half games perked up this year, the new postseason format has been awkward and in several ways unsatisfying. [YOMIURI]

BASEBALL The Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters are bound for their second straight Japan Series after winning an unusually high-scoring series at Sapporo Dome this past week in the second stage of the Pacific League Climax Series. [YOMIURI]

BASEBALL Like a devilish Las Vegas card dealer, Chunichi skipper Hiromitsu Ochiai had control of the deck, and the Yomiuri Giants played right into his hand. [YOMIURI]

BASEBALL Yu Darvish was as good as his word, pitching the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters into their second straight Japan Series on Thursday. [YOMIURI]

BASEBALL On a day when the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters came up with all the big hits, the Chiba Lotte Marines still couldn’t find an answer for Yu Darvish. [THE JAPAN TIMES]

BASEBALL Kentaro Namiki’s 10-yard touchdown pass to Yu Nakajima early in the fourth quarter lifted the Asahi Beer Silver Star (3-0) to a 21-15 victory over the Fujitsu Frontiers on Thursday night in a key X-League East Division clash. [YOMIURI]

BASEBALL The Marines fly to Sapporo today propelled by Saburo Omura’s game-breaking three-run triple that clinched their best-of-three playoff series with the Hawks on Wednesday. [YOMIURI]

BASEBALL Former Seibu Lions pitcher Hisanobu Watanabe is set to manage the Pacific League club next season following Tsutomu Ito’s resignation last week, club officials said Tuesday. [KYODO]

BASEBALL Through rain and wind sat the Marines faithful, and leadoff hitter Tsuyoshi Nishioka wanted to make sure they were rewarded for their loyalty. [ASAHI]

BASEBALL Nippon Television Network (NTV) has been flooded with about 1,000 complaints about its decision not to air a professional baseball game on Tuesday night in which the Yomiuri Giants won the Central League pennant, company officials said. [MSN MAINICHI]

BASEBALL The Yomiuri Giants ended a five-year postseason drought on Tuesday, clinching their 31st Central League pennant with a come-from-behind ninth-inning victory at sold-out Tokyo Dome. [YOMIURI]

BASEBALL Takashi Toritani delivered a tiebreaking RBI triple in the 10th inning and Toru Fujiwara added a run-scoring single for insurance Sunday as the Central League leading Hanshin Tigers prevailed 9-8 over the Yomiuri Giants to win their 10th straight game. [KYODO]

BASEBALL Ichiro Suzuki reached 200 hits for the seventh straight season with a homer off Roger Clemens in a 3-for-5 outing Monday, helping the Seattle Mariners end their losing streak at nine games. [KYODO]

BASEBALL Southpaw Kenji Otonari got back on track Saturday with his first win since June 9 and put his team into second place in the process. [YOMIURI]

BASEBALL [KYODO]

BASEBALL Lotte got scoreless work from two relievers and chopped away at an early deficit before Saburo Omura knocked in the go-ahead run in the seventh inning of a 5-4 win before 27,515 at Chiba Marine Stadium. [YOMIURI]

BASEBALL Pitcher Masumi Kuwata, who was recently designated for assignment by the Pittsburgh Pirates, said he will decide his future after returning to Japan. [MSN MAINICHI]