Baseball: Cedeno, Yamashita lift Buffaloes, Hawks lose 9th in row

Leandro Cedeno homered for the second straight game to back a strong pitching performance by Shumpeita Yamashita as the Orix Buffaloes completed a three-game sweep of the SoftBank Hawks with a 3-0 win Monday.

The once-dominant Hawks, who won six Japan Series titles over seven years through 2020, extended a losing streak to nine games for the first time since September 1996, when the team was known as the Daiei Hawks.

A day after his 10th-inning solo home run lifted the Pacific League-leading Buffaloes to a 2-1 victory, Venezuelan designated hitter Cedeno hit a three-run homer in the sixth off ...