Japanese Sports Briefs

Oct 3, 2008 - 3:31 PM (Courtesy of Kyodo News Service)

TOKYO, Oct. 3 Kyodo ----------

Baseball: Chunichi closes in on playoff spot with 6th straight win

YOKOHAMA - Tyrone Woods homered for the second straight night and Kazuki Yoshimi pitched his third complete game of the season Friday as the Chunichi Dragons beat the Yokohama BayStars 7-2 for their sixth straight win and closed in on a playoff spot in the Central League.

The Yakult Swallows dropped the Hanshin Tigers back into a tie for the league lead with a 7-5 win. In the only Pacific League game scheduled for Friday, the Lotte Marines won their final game of the season with a 7-3 victory over the Rakuten Eagles. ----------

Golf: Esther Lee 2 shots clear at Japan Women's Open

SHIBATA, Japan - South Korea's Esther Lee extended her overnight lead to two shots despite carding a 1-over par 73 at the midway point of the Japan Women's Open on Friday.

Lee mixed three birdies with two bogeys on the front nine at Shiun Golf Club in Niigata Prefecture and although the 22-year-old struggled with a pair of bogeys on her inward nine, she still closed out two shots ahead of Maiko Wakabayashi on 3-under 141. ----------

Tennis: Del Potro ousts Ferrer in q'finals at Japan Open

TOKYO - Fifth-seeded Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina outclassed defending champion David Ferrer of Spain 6-1, 7-5 in the men's singles quarterfinals at the Japan Open on Friday.

Del Potro, who had lost his two previous meetings against world No. 5 Ferrer, troubled the Spanish top-seed from the first game of the first set, rebounding from a 40-0 deficit to get his first break point and go ahead 1-0 at Ariake Tennis Forest Park. ----------

Golf: Sadakata grabs share of lead at Coca-Cola Tokai Classic

MIYOSHI, Japan - Unheralded Akio Sadakata embarked on a birdie blitz on the back nine Friday, shooting a 67 to grab a share of the lead after the second round of the Coca-Cola Tokai Classic.

The day's low score of 5-under at Miyoshi Country Club in Aichi Prefecture saw Sadakata join overnight leader Keiichiro Fukabori, Shinichi Yokota, Yuta Ikeda and Fiji's Dinesh Chand in a five-way tie for first place on 6-under 138. ----------

Baseball: Iwamura 2-for-4 as Tampa beat White Sox in playoff opener

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida - Akinori Iwamura had a pair of hits and drove in a run as the Tampa Bay Rays marked their first-ever playoff appearance with a 6-4 win over the Chicago White Sox in Game 1 of their American League division series on Thursday.

Iwamura hit an RBI triple to center field in the bottom of the third inning and scored himself on Willy Aybar's sacrifice fly as the Rays took a 4-3 lead at Tropicana Field. Iwamura hit a single in the fifth and struck out in the sixth before drawing a walk in the eighth. ----------

Asashoryu denies allegations of role in match-fixing

TOKYO - A nonfiction writer who alleged match-fixing in sumo in a weekly magazine testified in court Friday that yokozuna Asashoryu played a central role in such practices.

But the Mongolian-born grand champion categorically denied the allegation, simply saying ''no'' when asked if he had ever fixed a match.