CENTRAL LEAGUE UPDATE
Glenn
Davies, Tokyo, Japan.
Heading into the end of May the Yokohama Bay
Stars remain atop the CL standings at 29-20, Yomiuri remain in second
(28-21),
and just one game back from the Bay Stars, with the Chunichi Dragons
holding on
to third just under .500 at 24-25. In terms of form, the Yomiuri Giants
have
come on strong as of late with 7 wins in their last 10, and 10 In their
last
15. The Bay Stars are just 5-5 in their last 10 and it seems to only be
a
matter of time until the Giants pass them to take first with Yokohama
starting
pitching struggling with a CL 5th 3.26 ERA (2.52 for the Giants), and having
given up 183 runs against 186 scored so far this season (Yomiuri
161-136). The
Hanshin Tigers sit in fourth place at 22-25, but have been no better
over May
than they were during April. Yakult have plummeted to fifth rather
spectacularly with a 9 game losing streak during May, and having gone
5-10 in
their last 15. Hiroshima remain in last place with a record of 20-26
but
welcomed back slugger Brad Eldred this past week. Eldred has already
hit 2 home
runs in his first 4 games back (.333 2 4), so things may be looking up
for the
Carp.
Noteworthy
·
Yoshitomo Tsutsugo (YOK) leads the CL in HRs with 11.
He is hitting .331 with 11HRs and 40RBIs (also 1st in the CL)
thus far. Kazuhiro Hatakeyama (YAK) trails
him in second with 10HRs, and Jose Lopez (YOM) sits in 3rd with 7.
·
Hayato Tagaki (YOM) and Tomoyuki Sugano (YOM) share
the joint lead in wins in the CL with 6 each so far. Sugano has the
better ERA
of the two with a CL leading 1.36 (Takagi’s ERA sits at 2.11).
·
The Yomiuri Giants signing of former major leaguer
Juan Francisco in late April to add power to their offense has not paid
off so
far this season. Francisco went .167 with 11 strikeouts in 18 at bats
and no
homeruns in April to earn himself a trip to the minor league affiliate.
However, he has hit well on the farm (.295
5HR 18RBI), so he may be back with the top team sooner rather
than later.
·
Tigers 2014 ace Randy Messenger has also been sent
down to the team’s minor league affiliate this past month. Messenger
has been
inconsistent thus far this season with a record of 2-5 with an ERA of
5.88 in 8
starts. He has performed well down on the farm so far with one win in
one start
with the club.
·
To try and replace the middle of the line-up power
lost to injury (Milledge and Balentien), Yakult have signed Australian
lefty
(OF)Mitch Dening from the semi-professional BC league Niigata Albirex.
Dening has played for various minor
league/winter ball affiliates of the Red Sox, and the Australian
national team
in the WBC.
·
Hirokazu Sawamura (YOM) leads the CL in saves with 17
from 24 appearances so far this season (3-2 17SV 1.32ERA).
