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. Cheap Nike Shoes From China . 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. China Shoes 2020 . -- Maxence Parrot of Bromont, Que. Wholesale Shoes Authentic . "I honestly dont know," he said. Try this: 20 points, nine assists and seven rebounds by Rajon Rondo, a 62-37 rebounding advantage by the Celtics and a horrible 4-for-30 shooting performance on 3-pointers by the Nets. https://www.wholesaleshoesusa.com/ . But history aside, theyre still happy to participate in the Par 3 contest, traditionally held on the day prior to the first round of the Masters.TORONTO -- Jose Bautista had a game to remember. The Toronto Blue Jays right-fielder had his 15th homer of the season, hit into a triple play, threw a runner out at home and was interfered with by a fan as he tried to catch a foul ball in the ninth that resulted in an out after a video review. To top it off, the Blue Jays defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 3-1 for their sixth win in a row on Friday. "I think its got to be the most eventful game Ive had in my career," said Bautista, who also extended his hit streak to 12 games. "Id like to see if anyone can find somebody else with that combination of plays." Right-hander Marcus Stroman pitched into the seventh inning in his second major-league start, both of them wins. He walked off to a standing ovation. "Its pretty special," Stroman said. "I tried to do my best tough guy impersonation and tried not to smile. But it was definitely pretty special walking off." Bautista lined into a triple play in the sixth inning, the seventh time a triple play had beeen turned by a Blue Jays opponent. It was the first triple play against Toronto since May 12, 2008, in the second game of a doubleheader at Cleveland. "Its the first time its happened to me," Bautista said. Stroman (3-0) held the Cardinals to one run on seven hits, two walks and a hit batter while striking out seven. He was lifted after a leadoff single in the seventh by Tony Cruz. Casey Janssen pitched the ninth inning for his 11th save of the season. Janssens second out came as a result of fan interference when Bautista tried to catch a foul ball hit by Cruz. The play was reviewed and Cruz was called out. "I just felt that somebody stuck a glove right in my face," Bautista said, "And I felt there was some contact there that prevented me from making the play. Obviously (the fan) was caught up in the emotion, just like everybody else. The ball is coming to him, he wants a ball hit by a major-leaguer at a major-league baseball game. Hes not thinking about the play the way I am so you cant blame him for it. But again it doesnt matter they reviewed it and made the right call." Right-hander Lance Lynn (6-4) took the loss, allowing six hits -- including two home runs -- and four walks while striking out six in five innings. The Cardinals (31-31) scored a run in the first. Matt Carpenter led off with a walk and took third on Matt Hollidays ground-rule double to right. Allen Craig singled to right to score Carpenter but Holliday was thrown out at home by Bautista. "I think its always a good play when you can throw anybody out and prevent a run." Bautista said. "Whether (Stroman) needed that at that moment in the game thats more for him to answer, not me. I think he still would have pitched a pretty good game. "The ball was hit to me at the right rate of speed. And I had a chance to throw him out. Dioner (Navarro) made a play terrific play, a fine play because my throw wasnt as good as it could have been and he still managed to catch the balll as it was going toward the runner and stay away from the running lane that they now have to give and still tag him out. Cheap Shoes From China. So that was a pretty good play." Second baseman Brett Lawrie followed it up with a fine play on Yadier Molinas grounder to end the inning. "That is just huge momentum and puts you back into your groove and kind of lets you know your guys are behind you." Stroman said. "Right out of the gate he struggled a little bit but then he started using all his pitches," manager John Gibbons said. "He was primarily pumping the fastballs in there and when he started using his breaking ball, his change-up a little bit, it made all the difference in the world." St. Louis manager Mike Matheny acknowledged that Stroman kept the Cardinals hitters on their heels. "He kept us off balance," said Mike Matheny. "He had good life on his fastball. We saw a lot of swings and misses, probably more swings and misses than what we saw on any kind of video we had on him, with his breaking ball. I thought his breaking ball was more of a weapon today than what wed seen in the past." The Blue Jays (38-24) left the bases loaded in the bottom of the first and stranded two in the second. But they tied it 1-1 in the third when Bautista led off with a homer, a high drive to left on a 2-1 fastball. Lawrie lined his 11th homer of the season to centre on a 2-1 fastball with two out in the fifth to give the Blue Jays a 2-1 lead. Bautista hit into a triple play in the sixth inning on a liner to second baseman Descalso. The Blue Jays loaded the bases against right-handed reliever Seth Maness with singles from Anthony Gose and Jose Reyes and Carpenters error on a grounder to third by Melky Cabrera. Bautista lined a 2-0 sinker to Descalso who threw to shortstop Jhonny Peralta who caught Reyes off second. Peralta then threw to Craig who stepped on first before Cabrera could return to the base. "I did everything I could," Bautista said. "I laid off two bad pitches, swung at the one in the zone, hit it hard and it went right at somebody." The Blue Jays scored a run in the eighth. Lawrie and Navarro singled against right-hander Jason Motte to put runners at first and third. Reyes singled to right to cash in Lawrie and send pinch-runner Kevin Pillar to third. NOTES: The 25th anniversary of the first baseball game at Rogers Centre, formerly SkyDome, was celebrated on Friday with former Toronto pitcher Jimmy Key throwing out the ceremonial first pitch to his one-time catcher Ernie Whitt. They formed the Blue Jays battery in the first at SkyDome on June 5, 1989, a 5-3 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers. a Cito Gaston, who managed the Blue Jays in that game, took the lineup card to the umpires before the game. a The interleague series continues Saturday with left-hander Mark Buehrle (10-1, 2.10 earned-run average) starting for Toronto against right-hander Shelby Miller (6-5, 4.06 ERA) going for the Cardinals. a Attendance was 33,528. ' ' '