SoftBank Hawks ace Kodai Senga pitches against the Lotte Marines in an 11-3 Pacific League loss at

Kodai Senga of the SoftBank Hawks pitches during a Pacific League game against the Orix Buffaloes

The Hawks won all five Japan Series they played in under Kudo.... The club this year suffered a string of eight consecutive losing decisions, its longest skid under Kudo.... A source said the club still rated his record and ability highly and asked him to remain at the helm, but the former Seibu Lions, Hawks, Yomiuri Giants and Yokohama BayStars lefty firmly turned it down....

Japan's Tetsuto Yamada crosses the plate in the bottom of the eighth inning in the Olympic baseball final at Yokohama Stadium on Aug.... Samurai Japan's Masato Morishita pitched five scoreless innings to earn the win, and four relievers completed the six-hit shutout.... " All the pitchers did a great job." U.S. starter Nick Martinez, who plays professionally in Japan, worked six innings....

Yuhei Nakamura delivers a tie-breaking pinch-hit RBI single in the ninth inning for the Yakult Swallows in their 2-1 Central League win over the DeNA BayStars at Yokohama Stadium on Sept.... Cleanup hitter Munetaka Murakami singled to open the Swallows' ninth off lefty Edwin Escobar( 3-4), who left with two on and one out.... Yamasaki entered and retired star slugger Tetsuto Yamada but allowed the tie-breaking run to score on Nakamura's single....

The United States has initiated an effort among major WHO donors to issue a joint statement about their expectations and calling for WHO and Tedros to take swift action, several Western diplomats told Reuters, adding that consultations were under way with capitals.... " The U.S.is leading," said one. Tedros gained wide support for a second five-year term, formally nominated by 17 EU members including major donors Germany and France and backed by countries in other regions, diplomats told Reuter