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03/20/2003 Archived Entry: "Japanese Baseball News: Irabu Terrible in Debut; Woods Proving Indispensible"
Irabu Battered by Cruz, Ochoa in 9-5 Loss to Dragons
Hideki Irabu made his exhibition debut as a member of the Hanshin Tigers first team and he didn't have much to brag about, as he was taken deep by centerfielder Alex Ochoa on the way to surrendering three runs in three innings on six hits and not only showed diminished velocity, but required a ridiculous 93 pitches to finish his stint in a 9-5 defeat to the Chunichi Dragons.
Marc Valdes was credited with the victory, but he was screwed, blued and tattooed for five runs, four earned, on six hits in four innings in easily his worst outing of the spring.
Irabu was fighting uphill from the get go, as rightfielder Kosuke Fukudome scorched a double into the leftfield corner to to open the game. Two outs later, Irabu ran a fifth pitch curve ball up to the plate and Ochoa, who was sporting a new diamond stud earring given to him by his wife Susie, waited on it then lowered the boom, burying a rocket deep into the leftfield seats near the foul pole for a quick 2-0 Dragons lead.
Valdes was victimized by some sloppy defense, though, in coughing that advantage up in the bottom of the frame, as second baseman Makoto Imoaka got aboard on a leadoff groundball error by third baseman Kazuyoshi Tatsunami. Centerfielder Norihiro Akahoshi walked. Both runners were advanced on a sac bunt. Rightfielder Osamu Hamanaka singled to left to convert them and knot it at 2-2. Tigers manager Senichi Hoshino had to be well chuffed at that, as they not only exploited their opportunity, but Hamanaka contines to develop with the bat.
Irabu, now once again dealing with a level playing field, couldn't keep it that way in the second. Second baseman Masahiro Araki flared one toward the leftfield line for a hustling double. One out later, Fukudome singled to center. Shortstop Hirokazu Ibata singled to left and Araki trotted in to put the Nagoya crew in front 3-2. But Chunichi wasn't finished and after the runners moved up on a groundout to first, Irabu pitched around Ochoa and walked him to pack the sacks. However, first baseman Ivan Cruz fanned to keep it close.
Hanshin third baseman George Arias then came up to open the bottom portion and took Valdes over the leftfield wall to even it at 3-3.
The Dragons let Irabu off the hook on a men on second and third, two out scoring chance in the third and the Tigers made them pay for it in their ups. Imaoka catalyzed it with a single to left. Akahoshi walked. Leftfielder Yutaka Nakamura bounced to Valdes, who gunned it to Tatsunami, who rifled it over to second for an unusual 1-5-4 double play. Hamanaka singled to center. First baseman Shinjiro Hiyama doubled off the rightfield wall to easily score the speedy Nakamura, but Hamanaka was meat at the plate to snuff the rally at 4-3 Hanshin.
Sidearming sinkerballer Tetsuro Kawajiri took the mound in the fourth and Chunichi surmounted their disadvantage. With two outs, Ochoa singled to center. Cruz got a sinker on the inner half of the plate and nine ironed it deep to straightaway center and out of here to pull the Dragons ahead 5-4.
Hanshin countered in their turn when Arias singled to right and catcher Akihiro Yano walked. The pair were pushed up 90 feet on a sac bunt. Pinch hitter Koji Hirashita, in some nice situational hitting, tapped a grounder to second to invite Arias home and gridlock it at 5-5.
That bit of good fortune for Kawajiri had a short shelf life, though, as leftfielder Kazuki Inoue cleaned and jerked a high fastball 380 feet into the centerfield stands to commence the fifth to put his side up to stay at 6-5. One out later, pinch hitter Junichi Jinno doubled to leftcenter. After Fukudome struckout, Ibata singled to center to usher Jinno in to expand their hegemony to 7-5.
The following inning, reserve centerfielder Koichi Sekikawa looped a double to center and substitute first baseman Mitsunobu Takahashi lined a shot into the leftfield corner to send Sekikawa in and the Dragons were in control at 8-5.
Lou Pote was inserted into the match for Hanshin in the eighth and Chunichi played little ball for the final run. Backup third baseman Hiroyuki Watanabe singled to center, but was forced at second on a grounder to short by Sekikawa. Pote then attempted to pick Sekikawa off, but the throw was wide and Sekikawa sprinted to third. One out later, sub rightfielder Takayuki Onishi bunted between the third base line and the mound and beat it out for an RBI single and a 9-5 lead. Hanshin then went down on one hit the rest of the way, Hisamoto striking out the side in the ninth to seal it.
Cruz told reporters about his apprach at the plate, "because japanese pitchers have good control, it's important that I don't take pitches in my hitting zone." The Dragons faithful is hoping that 2003 will be a replay of the 1984 season, when the team cracked 191 homers and batted .282.
Irabu had some defensive issues, as he dropped a shovel toss to first from Hiyama in the first for an error and then when Valdes bunted hard to him in the third, he hesitated going to third for the force and was left only with going to first for the out to keep that inning alive. In addition, he was clocked at a mere 88mph, so there isn't anything good Irabu could say about this performance and he was short with reporters in talking about it.
For Hanshin, Arias was 2-3 with an RBI and is at .250.
For Chunichi, Ochoa was 2-2 with a walk and two RBIs and is at .391. Cruz 1-3 with two RBIs and is at a healthy .462. Valdes struckout and walked his two times up and is at .000.
Pitching Lines:
Chunichi:
M. Valdes (W, 3-0) IP 4.0 BF 19 PC 68 H 6 HR 1 K 2 BB 3 R 5 ER 4 ERA 3.46
Yamakita IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 13 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Ochiai IP 1.2 BF 6 PC 24 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 5.79
Iwase IP 1.2 BF 4 PC 16 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Hisamoto IP 1.0 BF 5 PC 16 H 2 HR 0 K 3 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.45
Hanshin:
Irabu IP 3.0 BF 19 PC 93 H 6 HR 1 K 4 BB 3 R 3 ER 3 ERA 4.50
Kawajiri IP 1.0 BF 5 PC 23 H 2 HR 1 K 1 BB 0 R 2 ER 2 ERA 9.00
Kanazawa (L, 0-1 ) IP 2.0 BF 11 PC 41 H 5 HR 1 K 1 BB 0 R 3 ER 3 ERA 6.43
Williams IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 16 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Pote IP 2.0 BF 9 PC 43 H 3 HR 0 K 3 BB 0 R 1 ER 0 ERA 0.00
E: Irabu, Pote, Tatsunami
SB: Sekikawa
2B: Fukudome, M. Araki, Hiyama, Jinno, Sekikawa, M. Takahashi, S. Maeda
HR: Arias (1), Cruz (6), Ochoa (2), K. Inoue (2)
RBI: Ibata 2, Cruz 2, Ochoa 2, M. Takahashi, K. Inoue, Hamanaka 2, Arias, Hirashita
GIDP: Y. Nakamura
Season Series: Chunichi 1, Hanshin 0
Game Time: 3:27
Attendance: 15,000
Umpires: Tsuchiyama (HP), Suginaga (1B), Tani (2B), Kittaka (3B)
Johjima and Taguchi Catch and Pass Lions 9-5
The Daiei Hawks got five runs worth of production from their catching duo of Kenji Johjima and Masanori Taguchi Tuesday at Seibu Dome to help win it 9-5 against the Lions. However, the big news, perhaps, was the return of Alex Cabrera to the Tokorozawa nine's lineup in a DH role and shortstop Kazuo Matsui benefited from the added protection, doubling in two at bats and walking another time up to boost his average to .382.
Brandon Knight started for the Hawks and he wasn't sharp, as he went to the plate 114 times in five innings plus and was cuffed around for five runs on nine hits and walked four to get a no decision.
Toiling for Seibu was number one draft choice Shuichiro Osada racked up four more scoreless innings on three hits, walking two, hitting a batter, and striking out none. He then gave way to Chang Chia-chiah, however, and the Taiwanese righty let the Hawks
get up on him and put the last stamp on beginning the regular season in the minors.
The Hawks drew first blood in the fifth, as shortstop Munenori Kawasaki walked. Johjima then contacted air traffic control and cleared one for takeoff, landing it in the centerfield bleachers to make it 2-0 Daiei. One out later, leftfielder Pedro Valdez tripled into the rightcenter gap and to the wall, but he was stranded when Chang fanned second baseman Tadahito Iguchi and third baseman Bryant Nelson popped out to first.
Seibu surged back to restore equilibrium in the home half, as Knight, who had been cruising up to that point with only one minor scrape beforehand, issued two out walks to Matsui and rightfielder Tatsuya Ozeki and first baseman Taisei Takagi deflected a shot off the glove of Iguchi, Matsui going full throttle to the plate while Iguchi chased the ball down on the infield hit. Cabrera singled to right to drive in Ozeki and it was 2-2.
Daiei retored in the sixth with a fly ball double to left from DH Yudai Deguchi and a belt to the wall in rightcenter by rightfielder Matsuda that went for an RBI triple. Centerfielder Arihito Muramatsu singled to left to redeem Matsui and the bird of prey had a 4-2 edge. One out later, Chang plunked first baseman Nobuhiko Matsunaka and he free passed Valdez to load the bases. Iguchi, though, flew out to right and that is where the score remained.
The Lions then kicked and clawed a tiring Knight in the sixth to overcome the Hawks lead. Centerfielder Masahide Kaizuka beat out a ball toward short for an infield hit. Third baseman Yoshi Ishii singled to right. Catcher Tsutomu Itoh carromed one off the leftfield fence to send Kaizuka across. Second baseman Hiroyuki Takagi singled to right and Ishii romped in for a 4-4 tie. Matsui walked to jam the basepaths. With the infield up, Ozeki grounded sharply to second, Iguchi going home for the force. Taisei Takagi whiffed. Shintaro Yoshitake was summoned from the pen to face pinch hitter Hiroyuki Oshima, who walked to force in a run and put the Lions at the top of the heap at 5-4. Leftfielder Kazuhiro Wada flew out to center to end the inning and get himself sent down to the minors.
Veteran Lions reliever Yoshitaka Mizuo couldn't measure up in the seventh and his team's advantage would fly away. Reserve third baseman Mitsuru Honma grounded to Mizuo, who misfired on the peg to first for an error. Honma advanced on a groundout and then blazed home when pinch hitter Takeshi Tsuji pinged one off the leftfield wall to make it a new ballgame at 5-5. Muramatsui walked. Kawasaki doubled to center to see in Tsuji with the lead run. Taguchi checked in to pinch hit for Johjima and he powdered a Mizuo offering into the rightfield stands to blow it open at 9-5.
The Hawks bullpen then held the Lions to an Ozeki double to left in the eighth, Akichika Yamada putting the finishing touches on the contest in the ninth.
Itoh told Osada to use his cutter more after the first couple of innings and that proved to a successful tactic. Pitching coach Hirohisa Matsunuma said that even when Osada is leaving pitches in the zone, he still manages to survive.
For Daiei, Valdez was 1-4 with a walk and is at .167. Nelson was 0-3 and is at .233.
For Seibu, Cabrera, who said he was at 95-98% of in season shape, was 1-3 with an RBI and is at .333.
Pitching Lines:
Daiei:
Knight: IP 5.2 BF 30 PC 114 H 9 HR 0 K 3 BB 4 R 5 ER 5 ERA 5.40
Yoshitake (W, 1-0) IP 0.1 BF 2 PC 11 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 9.45
A. Yamada (S, 1) IP 3.0 BF 11 PC 39 H 1 HR 0 K 5 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 5.14
Seibu:
Osada IP 4.0 BF 19 PC 86 H 3 HR 0 K 0 BB 2 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Chang IP 2.0 BF 14 PC 53 H 5 HR 1 K 1 BB 2 R 4 ER 4 ERA 18.00
Mizuo (L, 0-1) IP 1.0 BF 9 PC 34 H 4 HR 1 K 0 BB 1 R 5 ER 4 ERA 9.00
Uchizono IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 15 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
T.Y. Maeda IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 6 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.00
E: Johjima, Mizuo, H. Takagi
SB: Muramatsu, M. Kawasaki
2B: K. Matsui, Deguchi, T. Itoh, Tsuji, M. Kawasaki, Ozeki
3B: P. Valdez, Matsuda
HR: Johjima (3), Taguchi (2)
RBI: Muramatsui, M. Kawasaki, Johjima 2, Taguchi 3, Matsuda, Tsuji, T. Takagi,
Cabrera, H. Oshima, T. Itoh, H. Takagi
HBP: Matsunaka (Osada andChang), T. Goto (A. Yamada)
GIDP: Taguchi
Season Series: Daiei 2, Seibu 0
Game Time: 3:35
Attendance: 6000
Umpires: Tsugawa (HP), Kawaguchi (1B), Sakaemura (2B), T. Yamamoto (3B)
Woods Homer, Wakatabe Pitching Beat Yakult 7-1
Yokohama came into this game with Yakult at Meiji Jingu Stadium Tuesday havng dropped its last six battles, but rightfielder Tyrone Woods continues to be old faithful at the plate and he connected for his fourth homer of the spring to add another two RBIs to the small mountain of them he has accumulated thus far this spring, as the Stars also got some nifty mound work from Kenichi Wakatabe to walk away with it 7-1. Nobuyuki Ebis started for the Swallows and gave up four runs in six innings to absorb the kuroboshi.
Wakatabe, who was clocked at 88mph wriggled out of a two on, one out dilemma in the second and the Swallows didn't touch him from that point until he departed after the seventh. A successful season by the often mediocre righthander would be just the tonic to compliment the newly re-energized Bay Stars lineup.
Ebisu was working on a shutout until the fifth, when third baseman Katsuaki Furuki singled to right and went to second on a groundout. Catcher Satoshi Nakajima walked. Centerfielder Tatsuhiko Kinjo singled to center and Furuki busted for the plate and it was 1-0 Stars.
Ebisu then fell by the wayside in the sixth due to getting his pitches up. First baseman Takahiro Saeki torched a one out double to rightcenter and Woods bigtimed one into the leftfield bleachers to stretch that lead to 3-0. DH Steve Cox singled to right and was pinch run for by Kazunori Tanaka. Furuki singled to right. Second baseman Hitoshi Taneda singled to center and Tanaka sprinted across and the Stars were shining at 4-0.
Next time up, Yokohama pushed another pair across, as shortstop Takuro Ishii singled to left and leftfielder Takanori Suzuki singled to right. Saeki zapped a shot down the leftfield line, Ishii scoring no problem on the two bagger. Woods walked to load the bases. Tanaka singled to center and Suzuki reported. One out later, rookie backup second baseman Shuichi Murata flew out to center and Saeki tagged up and loped in to make it 7-0 Stars.
Yakult picked up its sole tally in the ninth when first baseman Todd Betts went yard to centerfield to open the ninth off of Matt Whiteside. One out later, third baseman Akinori Iwamura doubled to leftcenter. But catcher Atsuya Furuta flew out to right and
centerfielder Mitsuru Manaka hit a little foul fly along the third baseline that Ishii pursued and snared to put it in the books as a 7-1 Yokohama triumph.
It seems unlikely that manager Daisuke Yamashita can leave Woods off of the opening day roster now. He is hitting .311 with his 2-3 night. That means that either Whiteside or, more likely, Chirs Holt, is on the bubble.
Shugo Fujii and Ryota Igarashi both made his exhibiton debut and walked two, but escaped unscathed. Now we'll have to see how his elbow holds up.He was clocked at 89mph.
For Yakult, Betts was 1-4 with an RBI and is at .341. Leftfielder Alex Ramirez was 0-3 with a walk and is at .196.
For Yokohama, Cox was 1-3 and is at .222.
Pitching Lines:
Yokohama:
Wakatabe (W, 1-2) IP 7.0 BF 26 PC 89 H 4 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.93
Tomori IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 11 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Whiteside IP 1.0 BF 5 PC 12 H 2 HR 1 K 0 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 1.29
Yakult:
Ebisu (L, 0-2) IP 6.0 BF 27 PC 103 H 9 HR 1 K 3 BB 1 R 4 ER 4 ERA 6.43
Takatsu IP 0.2 BF 7 PC 30 H 4 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 3 ER 3 ERA 10.13
Yoshikawa IP 0.1 BF 1 PC 5 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.15
S. Fujii IP 1.0 BF 5 PC 26 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 2 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
T. Yamamoto IP 1.0 BF 5 PC 16 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.93
E: Woods, Iwamura
SB: K. Furuki
2B: Saeki 2, Iwamura
HR: Woods (4), Betts (3)
RBI: Saeki, Woods 2, K.N. Tanaka, Taneda, S. Murata, Kinjo, Betts
SF: Nakajima
GIDP: T. Ishii
Season Series: Yokohama 2, Yakult 1
Game Time: 2:52
Attendance: 3000
Umpires: Fukaya (HP), Ino (1B), Kiuchi (2B), Kasahara (3B)
Rhodes, Yoshioka, Nakamura Each Drive in Two to Edge Fighters
Kintetsu Buffaloes centerfielder Naoyuki Omura homered to right to begin the game and it was all downhill from there, as the thundering herd were never behind and held on to prevail 8-6 over Nippon Ham. Satoru Kanemura started for Nippon Ham and was blowed up real good for eight runs, all earned, on 11 hits in 3.1 innings to accept responsibility for the loss.
Kintetsu starter Hiroki Yamamura was a mixed blessing, as he carted off the W, but only after being roughed up for five runs on seven hits and needed 113 pitches to hang around for five innings.
Following the Omura roundtripper, second baseman Eiji Mizuguchi singled to center and leftfielder Tuffy Rhodes singled to right. Two outs later, by which time the runners had each gotten into scoring position somehow, DH Yuji Yoshioka singled to left to send them scurrying across the plate and it was 3-0 Buffs.
Nippon Ham chipped two off of that disparity when they took their licks in the inning, as centerfielder Hichiro Morimoto walked and shortstop Makoto Kaneko got him over to third with a single to right. Rightfielder Koichi Isobe's throw skipped by third baseman Norihiro Nakamura and Morimoto got up and went plateward, the fleet footed Kaneko making it all the way to third. Third baseman Michihiro Ogasawara flew out to left and Kaneko tagged up and crossed to make it 3-2 Buffs. The Fighters stayed on the attack. DH Angel Echevarria walked. First baseman D.T. Cromer walked to load the bases. Rightfielder Tomochika Tsuboi flied out to shallow left. Leftfielder Kazuteru Shimada bounced a comebacker to Yamamura, who got the final out and Kintetsu still had part of its lead.
Kintetsu saw that deuce in the second, as shortstop Yusuke Takasu singled to center and was subsequently erased on a 1-4 force on a comebacker from catcher Fumitoshi Suzuki. Omura outran a little ground ball to the left side. One out later, Rhodes yanked a shot down the rightfield line and while Suzuki made it around, Omura put it into fourth from first and beat the relay to the plate for a 5-3 advantage. Nakamura, who came in 7-41 with no homers and 16 strikeouts against Kanemura lifetime, sliced and diced a 1-2 fastball on the outer half of the plate for the folks in the rightfield seats, the ball landing just over the fence 360 feet away for an opposite field two run homer and a 7-2 lead.
And the Buffs weren't done just yet. In the third, Yoshioka singled to center and then got his motor running for home when first baseman Kenshi Kawaguchi lined one to the rightcenterfield wall for an RBI double and it was 8-2 Kintetsu.
Nippon Ham didn't take that lying down and doubled their run output in the bottom of the frame. Kaneko doubled to leftcenter and Ogasawara walked. Echevarria singled to center to plate Kaneko and Ogasawara made the turn for third and slid in safely. Cromer flew out to center, enabling Ogasawara to tag and score to cut the Kintetsu lead to 8-4.
The Fighters doubled up in the fifth, as Cromer singed one down the leftfield line for a two out two bagger and Tsuboi ripped one up the leftcenter alley for two bases and an RBI to reduce the gap with Kintetsu to three at 8-5.
In the seventh, Nippon Ham tacked on another and it was 8-6. They then made a last ditch effort in the ninth against Akira Okamoto. Kaneko leadoff with a single to center, but reserve third baseman Kokichi Akune grounded into a 6-4-3 double play. Pinch hitter Yoshinori Ueda doubled to rightcenter, bringing up substitute first baseman Takaya Hayashi as the tying run. He flew to left and it was "game setto."
Tsuboi's double extended his hititng streak to seven games.
For Kintetsu, Rhodes was 3-3 with two RBIs and is at .348.
For Nippon Ham, Echevarria was 1-3 with an RBI and a walk and is at .156. Cromer was 3-3 with an RBI and is at .400.
Pitching Lines:
Kintetsu:
Yamamura (W, 1-0) IP 5.0 BF 25 PC 113 H 7 HR 0 K 3 BB 3 R 5 ER 3 ERA 3.24
Misawa IP 1.2 BF 6 PC 30 H 2 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 4.26
H. Koike IP 0.1 BF 3 PC 13 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.15
Akahori IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 8 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 1 ER 0 ERA 0.00
A. Okamoto (S, 1) IP 1.0 BF 4 PC 16 H 2 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Nippon Ham:
Kanemura (L, 0-1) IP 3.1 BF 22 PC 78 H 11 HR 2 K 2 BB 1 R 8 ER 8 ERA 21.60
Y.H. Sakurai IP 1.2 BF 4 PC 20 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Shoda IP 3.0 BF 10 PC 39 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
H. Takeda IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 9 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
E: Isobe
SB: Echevarria
2B: Rhodes, K. Kawaguchi, Kaneko, Cromer, Tsuboi, Takano, Y. Ueda
HR: N. Omura (3), N. Nakamura (4)
RBI: N. Omura, Rhodes 2, N. Nakamura 2, Yoshioka 2, K. Kawaguchi, M.
Ogasawara, Echevarria, Cromer, Tsuoboi
SF: M. Ogasawara, Cromer
GIDP: Isobe, Takasu, Echevarria, Akune
Season Series: Kintetsu 1, Nippon Ham 1
Game Time: 3:01
Attendance: 5000
Umpires: Higashi (HP), Yamazaki (1B), Sato (2B), Tachibana (3B)
Eighth Inning Omura Roundtripper Decides it for Lotte 2-1
Masato Yoshii, of Orix, in his 20th year as a pro baseball player, and Lotte's Nathan Minchey hooked up in a dandy Tuesday at Chiba Marine Stadium, as each allowed only a run over five innings of work. Unfortunately, neither received a decision, which ultimately went to Takashi Kawai after Lotte centerfielder Saburo Omura homered to left with two outs in the eighth off of Kase for what proved to be the game winner in a 2-1 Lotte victory.
Minchey, who kept the Lotte staff from completely imploding after ace Tomohiro Kuroki went down with an injury and Shingo Ono couldn't get his grandmother out during the first half of 2002 by eating up innings by the barrelful, appears poised for another 15 win season, though he had some tough luck here. He was staked to a 1-0 lead in the fourth when Derrick May smashed a two out double off the centerfield wall and Tetsuya Kakiuchi cranked one down the leftfield line to light the way home for him.
Orix returned the favor in the home half, as catcher Takeshi Hidaka doubled off of a knckleball to rightcenter with two away and shortstop Makoto Shiozaki rammed one up the leftcenter gap for an RBI triple to knot it at 1-1. Kazuhiko Shiotani flew out to maintain that standoff.
The action belied that word since the relief corps that followed Yoshii and Minchey kept a wet blanket on the other's attack until Toshihiro Kase hung a changeup in the eighth and Omura sent it sailing into the cold afternoon for a 2-1 lead. Lotte closer Masahide Kobayashi dominated in the ninth, striking out two in a perfect inning, to bring down the curtain.
For Orix, leftfielder Roosevelt Brown was 0-4 and is at .241. First baseman Scott Sheldon was 0-4 with three strikeouts and is at .250. Third baseman Jose Ortiz was 1-4 and is at .100.
For Lotte, May was 1-3 and is at .286. Third baseman Rick Short was 0-2 with an HBP and is at .214.
Pitching Lines:
Orix:
Yoshii IP 5.0 BF 18 PC 67 H 4 HR 0 K 3 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 1.80
T. Kawaguchi IP 1.0 BF 4 PC 16 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.50
Makino IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 13 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 6.00
Kase (L, 0-1) IP 1.0 BF 4 PC 18 H 1 HR 1 K 0 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.00
Lotte:
Minchey IP 5.0 BF 19 PC 76 H 3 HR 0 K 5 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 1.29
S. Fujita IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 11 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.38
S. Ono IP 1.0 BF 4 PC 8 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
T. Kawai (W, 2-0) IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 11 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.25
M. Kobayashi (S, 1)IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 9 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
2B: May, Kakiuchi, Hidaka
3B: M. Shiozaki
HR: S. Omura (1)
RBI: M. Shiozaki, S. Omura, Kakiuchi
HBP: R. Tsuji (Minchey) Short (T. Kawaguchi)
Season Series: Orix 1, Lotte 1
Game Time: 2:05
Attendance: 3000
Umpires: Akimura (HP), Yanagita (1B), Nakamura (2B), Shinya (3B)
Team Reports
Yomiuri Despite the fact that he won't be able to physically play opening day. Kazuhiro Kiyohara might still begin the season on the roster as a kind of glorified cheerleader and symbol. The Giants players look to the big slugger for leadership and manager Tatsunori Hara would apparently rather have him on the bench than not, even if he is injured....Rookie righthander Hiroshi Kisanuki says that he seldom listens to western music, but he will use Van Halen's "Jump" as his theme song during home games.
Yakult Yuhei Takai made an instructional league start and went five innings of one run ball on four hits. He was clocked at 91mph. They're going to bring him along slowly in the minors. Also in that game, Ryota Igarashi made his first appearance and he was clocked at 93mph. Fujii will make an instrucitional league start on the 24th.
Chunichi Martin Vargas started in an instructional league game Tuesday and went five innings of one run ball on one hit while striking out seven and walking none, though he did hit two batters. The lone safety was a solo homer.
Hiroshima Chris Brock made an instructional league start Tuesday and went three scoreless innings on three hits. "I was happy to get out there on the mound," the former Oriole said, "My fastball will pick up velocity as I get more work." He was clocked right around 88-89mph. His next outing will be on the 23rd....Tetsuto Tomabechi won't kneed surgery on his thumb, but he will miss opening day.
Seibu Slumping outfielder Kazuhiro Wada, one of the biggest cogs in the Lions offense in 2002, has been sent to the minors to work on sorting himself out.
Kintetsu The amount that the Buffaloes will receive for handing over Akinori Otsuka to the Chunichi Dragons is said to be around $250,000. The Nagoya side is also leaning toward posting him when the season ends. However, Otsuka isn't doing himself any favors by staying home right now.
Nippon Ham Manager Trey Hillman announced that the rotation for the opening series with Seibu will be Carlos Mirabal, Satoru Kanemura and Chris Seelbach.
Hideki Matsui Joe Torre and coach Lee Mazzilli indicated that Hideki Matsui may see a lot of DH duty this coming season. Rather than completely resting him by giving him days off, they want him to start everyday. This is a change from an earlier statement that Torre made around the time Matsui got signed about not wanting to be beholden to Matsui's consecutive games streak. More than anything else, what is probably at work here is dollars. Steinbrenner, not wanting to disappoint Japanese tourists coming to Yankee Stadium, has probably given the word that there will be no days off for Godzilla. It will be interesting to see what happens if Matsui goes into a prolonged slump.
Miscellaneous Representatives of the umpires' union and league owners will meet on the 20th. Umpires seem to actually be set on striking....Kazuhiro Sasaki is experiencing some shoulder discomfort and so he skipped a scheduled exhibition appearance Tuesday. He said he felt it after throwing a fastball against the Giants Saturday. One of the the M's trainers disclosed that Sasaki has had that happen before and that it's no big deal....The cancellation of the MLB series in Tokyo is repportedly going to cost the organizers more than $3 million in admission fees, merchandise sales and concessions. Fans who had tickets will be able to obtain refunds beginning on the 20th....Shigetoshi Hasegawa threw a scoreless inning Tuesday in one of the four games that Seattle arranged to play.
Today's Pictures
Alex Cabrera Raps Out His First Hit
Hideki Matsui Shows How You Hit One More Than 400 Feet
