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Topic: Anthony Rendon on three pitches

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Anthony Rendon on three pitches

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TOKYO - Top-seeded Juan Martin del Potro moved into the second round of the Japan Open with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory over Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus on Tuesday. Charles Tillman . Playing under the roof at Ariake Colosseum because of rain, del Potro came back from a sluggish first set to secure the win in just over two hours. "The match came to me in the end," del Potro said. "I was focusing on breaking his serve and finally did it. He was hitting a lot of aces (17)." His opponent in the second round will be Argentine compatriot Carlos Berlocq. Defending champion Kei Nishikori came back from a set down to beat unseeded Jurgen Melzer of Austria 6-7 (4), 7-5, 6-2. Nishikori was just two points from defeat while trailing 5-2 in the second set, but reeled off five straight games to even the sets before cruising to victory in the final set. Del Potro, ranked seventh in the world, prevailed with solid play from the baseline and capitalized on some crucial mistakes by Baghdatis. Baghdatis, ranked 49th, broke serve in the opening game of the match and held throughout to take the first set. The Cypriot mixed it up, frequently coming to the net and using drop shots to try and keep del Potro off balance. The players exchanged breaks early in the second set, then stayed on serve until the final game, when del Potro broke with a volley to level the sets. The crucial point in the match came in the eighth game of the final set, when del Potro converted on his fourth break point chance to go up 5-3 after Baghdatis hit a return into the net. "It was important for me to win this kind of match," del Potro said. "Playing him in the first round is probably the worst person to face. He is unseeded here and dangerous. He plays well on the hard-courts." Del Potro was a late addition to the tournament after Andy Murray, the 2011 champion, pulled out due to a back injury. Del Potro is seeking his third title of the season here, following victories in Rotterdam and Washington. In other first-round action, seventh-seed Kevin Anderson of South Africa lost to Lukas Lacko of Slovakia 6-4, 7-6 (2), and unseeded Horacio Zeballos of Argentina beat qualifier Ryan Harrison of the United States 6-1, 4-6, 6-4. Third-seeded Milos Raonic of Canada, who lost to Nishikori in the final last year, will play his first-round match against Go Soeda on Wednesday. Matt Forte . "We dont have any right, yet, to overlook anyone," Casey said after the Raptors defeated the lowly Milwaukee Bucks 116-94 at Air Canada Centre on Monday night. "This is a tough league and were still building, were still getting there, so I cant allow our guys to have that in their thought process. Dan Hampton . -- The Denver Broncos took another step in the renovation of their secondary Tuesday by agreeing to a four-year deal with Pro Bowl safety T.BALTIMORE -- After the Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals expended everything they had in three consecutive spirited games, the neighbouring rivals parted ways knowing they will see each other again in August. And perhaps again after that. Steve Pearce homered and scored twice to help Wei-Yin Chen earn his ninth victory, and the Orioles beat Washington 4-3 on Thursday night for their eighth win in 10 games. Adam Jones and Nelson Cruz both drove in a run for the Orioles, who built a 4-0 lead in the third inning and held on. Baltimore took two of three from the Nationals in this rain-shortened, home-and-home interleague showdown between division leaders. "I personally enjoyed that series a lot, just cause of the proximity and the atmosphere down in D.C.," said Orioles reliever Darren ODay, who worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the eighth. "Theyre top of the NL. Hopefully we get to play them a few more times, later in the year in October. That would be nice." The Orioles won the opener in Washington, needing 11 innings to do so, before rain postponed Tuesdays game until Aug. 4. The Nationals prevailed on Wednesday before coming up short in the finale. Although the teams are based only 40 miles apart, enthusiasm for the series isnt exactly Mets-Yankees or Cubs-White Sox. But theres still hope. "It was a good series. It was very well put together," losing pitcher Gio Gonzalez said. "It showed that theres a lot of hope for a Beltway Series. They looked good and we looked good. Everyone had some fun." Jayson Werth homered for Washington and Ryan Zimmerman had two hits and an RBI. Chen (9-3) gave up three runs and eight hits in 5 2-3 innings, walking none and striking out six. The Taiwanese left-hander is 6-1 in 12 starts since May 3, and his nine wins are most on the team. After ODay survived the eighth, Zach Britton got three outs for his 15th save, capping his 22nd consecutive scoreless appearance at home by retiring Werth with a runner on first. At that point, the Orioles and many in crowd of 30,417 breathed a collective sigh of relief. "Thats a very good team," Jones said. "We love the competition, and we love the fact that you never know what could happen in October. You could have a Battle of the Beltway when its a little coolder and bring the fans back out. M.D. Jennings. " Gonzalez (6-5) allowed three earned runs and six hits in 6 2-3 innings. His streak of 22 consecutive scoreless innings ended when Pearce connected in the first. Gonzalez won his previous three starts without giving up a run and was unbeaten in four starts following a one-month stay on the disabled list with a shoulder injury. "I felt fine," he said. "Its a tough lineup, all the way down to the last guy." Pearce put the Orioles in front for good with a drive to left on a 2-0 pitch. It was his 11th home run, more than his previous three seasons combined. Baltimore added three runs in the third after Gonzalez retired the first two batters. After an RBI double by Jones put runners at second and third, Cruz grounded a run-scoring single in the hole that shortstop Ian Desmond gloved before throwing wildly to third, allowing Jones to score. That ended Washingtons 13-game errorless streak, which matched the teams longest run since the franchise moved from Montreal in 2005. Zimmermans two-out RBI single made it 4-1 in the fourth, and Washington got runners on the corners with two outs in the fifth before Chen struck out Anthony Rendon on three pitches. The Nationals closed to 4-3 in the sixth. After Werth homered on an 0-2 pitch -- his second long ball in two nights -- Zimmerman doubled and Desmond chased Chen with an RBI double off the scoreboard in right field before Tommy Hunter retired Wilson Ramos on a groundout. Ramos later flied out with the bases full in the eighth. NOTES: Desmond got hit on the thumb with a pitch but said he was OK. ... Baltimore optioned RHP Bud Norris to Double-A Bowie and recalled RHP Preston Guilmet from Triple-A Norfolk. Norris pitched Wednesday and wont be needed against until after the All-Star break. ... The Orioles host the New York Yankees in a three-game series before heading into the All-Star break. Miguel Gonzalez (4-5) faces New Yorks Hiroki Kuroda in the opener Friday night. ... Washington closes the first half with a three-game series in Philadelphia. Jordan Zimmermann will start for the Nationals on Friday night. ... Ramos extended his career-best hitting streak to 13 games, but teammate Bryce Harper went 0 for 3 and is in a 1-for-20 skid over his last six games. ' ' '



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