Baseball: Japan beats S. Korea to secure final berth at Asia c'ship

Chihiro Sumida threw seven scoreless innings and Chusei Mannami hit a solo home run as Japan edged South Korea 2-1 Friday to secure a place in the final of the Asia Professional Baseball Championship. Three-time World Baseball Classic champion Japan picked up its second win in as many games in the round-robin stage of the four-team tournament at Tokyo Dome, while South Korea fell to a 1-1 record. Sumida struck out seven and allowed just three hits, all singles, while walking none and hitting a batter. Yuki Okabayashi scored the game's first run when Shugo Maki grounded into a double play in th...