TOKYO -- Former major leaguer Wladimir Balentien hit his 56th and 57th home runs on Sunday, breaking the Japanese single-season record set by legendary slugger Sadaharu Oh 49 years ago. Balentien hit the record-breaking three-run homer in the first inning of Sundays game, sending the ball over the left-field wall at Tokyos Jingu Stadium to give his Yakult Swallows an early lead over the Hanshin Tigers. He then added a solo shot in the third for No. 57 to help the Swallows to a 9-0 win. Oh set the mark of 55 in 1964. While it was equaled by ex-major leaguers Tuffy Rhodes in 2001 and Alex Cabrera in 2002, many felt Oh used his position as a manager to prevent both players from breaking it. "I want to thank the fans for all their support," Balentien said. "It was a great feeling. I dont think I will ever feel anything like that again in my life." The 29-year-old Balentien missed the first 12 games of this season because of a leg injury sustained while playing for the Netherlands in the World Baseball Classic. Balentiens challenge of Ohs record comes in a season in which there is controversy over attempts to reform the game to make it more exciting. In June, Japanese baseball officials admitted they introduced a new official ball this season without notifying players. The new ball has resulted in a dramatic increase in home runs. Rhodes and Cabrera tied Ohs record with several games left in the season but were then walked repeatedly by teams managed by Oh, who later denied instructing his pitchers to not challenge either player. Randy Bass hit 54 homers in 1985 but fell short in the last game of the season when the pitcher from the Yomiuri Giants, then managed by Oh, walked him in his last at-bat, preventing Bass from tying the record. Oh is a legend in Japan. His 868 career home runs, which surpassed Hank Aarons then major league record of 755, made him a national hero. "Oh is the home run king and I have a lot of respect for him," Balentien said. "To be able to tie him and then pass him is something very special for me." The single-season home run record is also highly regarded, and former New York Yankees outfielder Hideki Matsui wore No. 55 in recognition of it. The closest Matsui came to breaking Ohs record was 50 homers in 2002, when he played for the Giants. The 73-year-old Oh is no longer actively involved in Japanese baseball and serves as an honorary chairman of the Softbank Hawks, the team he managed when Rhodes and Cabrera were attempting to break his record. Oh has often said he has no problem with his record being broken as long as its done by a wide margin and not just one or two homers. Balentien has 17 games left to add to his tally. Balentien, a native of Curacao, played for the Seattle Mariners and Cincinnati Reds before signing with the Swallows in 2011. He hit a Central League-leading 31 homers in each of his first two seasons in Japan. B.J. Upton Jersey . Toronto ended an 0-4-0 skid with Sundays shootout win over visiting New Jersey, but the club could have a difficult time making it two victories in a row tonight. The Maple Leafs have dropped three straight and 11 of the last 12 regular- season meetings against Boston overall and the Bruins have claimed six straight in Beantown. Derek Norris Padres Jersey . The visitors missed a host of good chances to win the game, and were left to rue substitute Ivo Ilicevics strike against the crossbar in the 86th minute, when he only had the goalkeeper to beat. http://www.baseballpadresofficial.com/a ... rsey-c-20/. Edwin Encarnacion carried the torch for two days at Fenway Park this week; Melky Cabrera and Jose Bautista have had their moments; lately Anthony Gose has contributed. Andrew Cashner Padres Jersey . Louis second-period goal increased the New York Rangers lead but Dustin Brown has countered for the Los Angeles Kings who now trail the New York Rangers 2-1 in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final at Madison Square Garden. Ozzie Smith Padres Jersey . - Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson sat on the scorers table at Oracle Arena on Wednesday morning.BROSSARD, Que. -- It was up to veterans Brian Gionta and Tomas Plekanec to convince the world, and perhaps themselves, that the Montreal Canadiens still have hope. The team that looked so solid in coming back to eliminate the first-place overall Boston Bruins is down 3-1 to the New York Rangers in the NHL Eastern Conference final, but Gionta insisted Monday that morale is good and the Canadiens are far from finished. They will be facing elimination in Game 5 of the best-of-seven series at the Bell Centre on Tuesday night, however. "Its no secret: you start doing the right things, you start getting rewarded for it and momentum builds," Gionta said. "You keep carrying that. "A couple of teams have been able to do that this year, the Kings and the Rangers. So its not something that cant be done and with the group we have in here, we believe we can do it. And we believe weve got better as the series goes on." Gionta and Plekanec were part of a Canadiens team that came back from a 3-1 deficit to upset the high-powered Washington Capitals en route to their last trip to the conference final in 2010. They did it that time with desperate shot-blocking, spectacular goaltending from Jaroslav Halak and a quiet belief that they could pull it off. This time, they are looking to third-stringer Dustin Tokarski to imitate Halak. The 24-year-old has been solid in goal since replacing the injured Carey Price in Game 2, allowing eight goals in 11 periods over three games. He helped them claim an overtime win in New York in Game 3 but was beaten on Martin St. Louis overtime snipe in Game 4 on Sunday night. The Canadiens have played the Rangers close to evenly since a 7-2 loss in the series opener, but there were worrying signs in their latest loss. Defenceman Alexei Emein missed most of the first period after blocking a shot and then was mostly immobile after he returned. And top forwards Thomas Vanek, who has struggled all series, and Max Pacioretty were all-but invisible. And they remain without Price, the Canadian gold medallist from the Sochi Olympics in February who suffered a suspected right knee injury when New Yorks Chris Kreider crashed the net in the second period of the series opener. Price skated for about 20 minutes without equipment before the teams optional practice, but coach Michel Therrien said he will not be back in this series. For Gionta, hope comes from a feeling that his team is getting better and still has time to turn things around, as they did when they fell behind 3-2 to the Bruins in the conference semifinal. The Canadiens rebounded with their best game of the playoffs in Game 6 and closed it ouut in Boston two days later.dddddddddddd "We were able to wear (Bostons) defence down with our speed and our forechecking," he said. "We need to get better at that and I think thats what weve got better at as (the New York series) went on. "Try to take advantage of their defencemen down low, try to spend some time in the offensive zone, and start to make breakdowns and make things happen that way. Our backs are against the wall. Its win or go home. I would expect the same kind of effort as we had against Boston for sure." They could also improve on special teams, although they had a breakthrough when P.K. Subban finally got a power play goal to tie the game in the third period on the sixth of Montreals eight man-advantages. "We sat down after the second period and made a little adjustment and it worked and hopefully we can carry it over to the next game," said Plekanec. "Special teams was one of the things that we probably werent good enough at in the series so far, so it would be a good time to turn that around. "Its not over. I didnt see one guy that was down after the game." Plekanec was among five players in the Game 4 lineup who joined the reserve players in the optional skate, along with Tokarski, Rene Bourque, Michael Bournival and defenceman Francis Bouillon, who scored in his first appearance in the series in place of rookie Nathan Beaulieu. Another potential boost for the Canadiens would be to score the first goal, which they did consistently in the first two rounds but have yet to do against the Rangers. It would perhaps give them another missing element -- confidence. "We have to start playing more with confidence, making the right plays at the right time," said Plekanec. "When theres a play, weve got to make it. "When theres no play, weve got to go for the puck. Sometimes we didnt make the right decisions, so thats an aspect that definitely can be better. Confidence is a thing that, when you dont make the right plays, you start chipping it in instead of making plays, and sometimes its a situation where you should have made a play." Therrien feels his team has shown it can bounce back against the Bruins and can do it again. Gionta, a Stanley Cup winner with New Jersey in 2003, agrees. "Part of the playoffs part of being a professional, of being part of a winning team is being able to regroup and forget about it and deal with the circumstances that are ahead of you and not with whats behind you," he said. "Guys were disappointed. It was a huge blow. But the series isnt over. We still believe in this group so no one is panicking." Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '