The first strike in the history of Japanese baseball looked increasingly likely Thursday after representatives of the country's professional baseball teams ruled out a key player demand.
Yakult starter Masanori Ishikawa unleashes a pitch against the Yokoyama BayStars en route to winning his 10th decision of the season Thursday at Jingu Stadium. The Swallows won 8-3.
Japan's professional players had threatened to strike this weekend unless a one-year freeze was placed on the merger of the Pacific League's Kintetsu Buffaloes and the Orix BlueWave.