Balentien approaches Japan’s home run record

Former major leaguer Wladimir Balentien has hit his 54th home run of the season to move within one of tying Japanese baseball's record. (AP/Ben Margot)

TOKYO — Former major leaguer Wladimir Balentien has hit his 54th home run of the season to move within one of tying Japanese baseball’s record.

Balentien has 22 regular-season games left to reach the mark of 55 set by Sadaharu Oh in 1964 and matched by ex-major leaguers Tuffy Rhodes in 2001 and Alex Cabrera in 2002.

Balentien hit a two-run homer on Tuesday in the first inning at Jingu Stadium, but his Yakult Swallows lost to the Hiroshima Carp 9-3.

Balentien, who is from the Dutch Caribbean island of Curacao, played for the Seattle Mariners and Cincinnati Reds before signing with the Swallows in 2011. He hit 31 homers in each of his first two seasons in Japan.

When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.