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Baseball: Kenta Maeda picks up 50th MLB win, Tsutsugo gets 2nd homer

Aug 14, 2020 (Kyodo) - Japanese right-hander Kenta Maeda earned his 50th career win in the major leagues Wednesday when the Minnesota Twins unleashed their offense in a 12-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers.

Maeda (3-0), who opened the game by retiring 17 of the first 18 batters, allowed two runs and five hits in 6-2/3 innings at Miller Park, striking out five and walking one in an 85-pitch effort. He posted his third win in four starts.

Milwaukee shortstop Luis Urias prevented a shutout with a two-out, two-run single in the sixth but Maeda retired Orlando Arcia to end the inning.

"It wasn't anything I put much thought into," Maeda said of the milestone win.

"Hopefully I can pile up more wins. My teammates tell me what my strengths are and I discuss that with the catcher before each game, which is leading to good results," he said.

At Fenway Park, Yoshitomo Tsutsugo hit his second home run of the season and first since his major league debut on July 24, as the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Boston Red Sox 9-5.

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Large Typhoon No. 25 was moving northwest over waters south of Japan at 3 p.m. on September 19 and is forecast to strengthen as it approaches Kanto and the Izu Islands from September 20 through September 21, bringing the risk of torrential rain, violent winds and further damage in areas still recovering from last year's typhoon.

A black bear has been spotted near one of the most popular hiking trails on Mount Takao in western Tokyo, prompting authorities to urge visitors to take precautions ahead of the five-day Silver Week holiday and the approaching autumn foliage season.

Starbucks is considering selling a majority stake in its Japanese business, potentially valued at as much as $3 billion, or about 470 billion yen, as the U.S. coffee chain seeks to concentrate management resources on its struggling North American operations.

Japan's Halloween Jumbo Lottery went on sale nationwide on September 16, offering a combined top payout of 400 million yen for the first prize and its adjacent-number prizes.

A new top-tier "Supreme Class" offering fully private compartments above the level of Green Car service will debut on the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen on October 1, with passengers able to experience the new seating at a demonstration booth at Shin-Osaka Station.

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The number of people aged 100 or older in Japan has exceeded 100,000 for the first time, reaching a record 107,677 as of September 1, according to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.