Gary Garland / the japanese insider

Monday's Games

April 15, 2002

If Chicks Love the Longball, Nippon Ham-Daiei was Ladies Night

     For those who love power displays, nirvana would have been Tokyo Dome Monday, as the Daiei Hawks and Nippon Ham Fighters combined nine homers in Daiei's 12-9 victory. Both starting pitchers, Junji Hoshino for Daiei and Hiroyuki Sekine for Nippon, left the game early as the longballs flew every which way.

     A relatively peaceful first inning went by without anyone scoring, but in the second, Hawks third baseman Hiroki Kokubo fired the opening salvo by creaming a Sekine offering into the leftfield seats for a 1-0 Daiei lead.

     In the bottom of the third, though, Nippon Ham pulled even thanks to a leadoff single from catcher Kazunari Sanematsu, a two out single to right from first baseman Michihiro Ogasawara and an RBI knock to left from DH Sherman Obando.

     In the fourth, though, the Hawks venerable 40 year old rightfielder Koji Akiyama, now in his 22nd season, dealt Sekine a crippling blow. With one gone, Sekine nailed second baseman Tadahito Iguchi. Iguchi then stole second. One out later, first baseman Nobuhiko Matsunaka spanked a single to left and Iguchi sped in with the second Daiei tally. Catcher Kenji Johjima walked. Akiyama then checked in and cranked a "shuuto" (tailing fastball) to left and in the blink of an eye Daiei was four up at 5-1. See pic at: http://www.sanspo.com/baseball/top/bt200204/image/0416akiyama_NK184415_b.jpg

     An inning later, Daiei threw another one up on the board with a double to leftcenter from centerfielder Hiroshi Shibahara and a single to left from leftfielder Pedro Valdez to make it 6-1.

     Hoshino, though, wouldn't be able to defend a big lead. In the bottom of the fifth and one away, Fighters centerfielder Tatsuya Ide walked. Makoto Kaneko carromed a shot off the rightfield wall. Ogasawara flew out to center to bring in Ide. Obando then slammed a two run homer to left and leftfielder D.T. Cromer piggybacked on that with a roundtripper to call his own and now what had been a big Hawks lead was down to a run at 6-5. Third baseman Yukio Tanaka then hit a grounder to Kokubo, who threw it away, which got Hoshino a trip to the showers in favor of Iijima. Second baseman Kuniyuki Kimoto singled to right to put the tying run on scoring position, but Ueda grounded a sinker to second and that was it for the Fighters revolt.

     So in the next half inning, Daiei brought out a six pack. With two out, Hiroshi Shibakusa hung one to DH Morgan Burkhart and he howitzered it into the rightcenterfield bleachers. Shortstop Yusuke Torigoe singled to left. Shibahara singled to center and it was adios to Shibakusa and konnichiwa to Kiyoshi Sasaki.  Valdez singled to right to plate Torigoe and then Iguchi smashed a three run homer to make it 11-5 Hawks. Kokubo then compensated for his miscue by clubbing a hanging forkball way back in the leftfield seats to make it 12-5. He is now tied with Tuffy Rhodes for the PL lead in that department with seven.
He likes hitting in Tokyo Dome, having gone yard there nine times last season.

     Nippon Ham tried to marshall its forces for a comeback starting in the seventh, but fell short at the end of the day. Obando leadoff with a single to center off of Shuji Yoshida. Cromer then dialed long distance to rightcenter to reduce the disparity with Daiei to 12-7.

     In the eighth, Toshihiro Noguchi unleashed a rocket to the leftfield wall for a double and went to third on a wild pitch from Daiei reliever Taira Suzuki. Ide lifted a deep fly ball to left and Noguchi came in. One out later, Ogasawara cleaned and jerked a Suzuki delivery into the leftfield stands to reduce its deficit to 12-9. But they passed the ninth without furthering their
objection to being behind and Daiei was back in the clubhouse with the W.

     For Nippon Ham, Obando was 4-5 with three RBIs and is now at .273. Cromer was 2-5 with three RBIs and is at .292.

     For Daiei, Valdez was 2-5 with two RBIs and is now at .306. Burkhart was 1-5 with an RBI and is at .255. Rodney Pedraza got the save and is now tied with Korean great Sun Dong-yol for career saves by a foreigner with 98. He needs two
more to be the 11th player all time in Japan to reach the century mark in saves.

     Pedraza took a line drive off his shoulder from Tanaka to leadoff the ninth, but won't finished inning and isn't expected to miss any playing time.

Pitching Lines:

Daiei:

J. Hoshino          IP 4.2 PC 67 H 10 HR 2 K 0 BB 1 R 5 ER 5 ERA 2.25
Iijima (W, 2-0)   IP 1.1 PC 22 H   2 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Yoshida             IP 1.0 PC 16 H   2 HR 1 K 0 BB 0 R 2 ER 2 ERA 5.14
Suzuki               IP 1.0 PC 16 H   2 HR 1 K 2 BB 0 R 2 ER 2 ERA 9.64
Pedraza             IP 1.0 PC 17 H   1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.80

Nippon Ham:

Sekine (L, 0-1)   IP 4.0 PC 56 H 3 HR 2 K 3 BB 1 R 5 ER 5 ERA 5.00
Kato                   IP 1.0 PC 18 H 3 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 1.00
Shibakusa            IP  .2 PC 15 H 3 HR 1 K 0 BB 1 R 3 ER 3 ERA 7.50
Sasaki                 IP 0.0 PC  6 H 2 HR 1 K 0 BB 0 R 2 ER 2 ERA 4.50
Tateyama            IP 3.1 PC 46 H 3 HR 1 K 1 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 1.35

E: Torigoe
SB: Iguchi
2B: Shibahara, Kaneko, Ide, Noguchi
HR: Kokubu 2 (7), Akiyama (1), Burkhart (4), Iguchi (4), Obando (6), Cromer 2 (4), M. Ogasawara (6)
RBI: Kokubo 2, Akiyama 3, Burkhart, Iguchi 3, Valdez 2, Matsunaka, Ide, M. Ogasawara 2, Cromer 3, Obando 3
SF: Ide
HBP: Iguchi (Sekine), Johjima (Tateyama)
WP: Suzuki
GIDP: Akiyama, Nakamura 2
LOB: Daiei 5, Nippon Ham 8

Game Time: 3:29
Attendance: 14,000
Umpires: Yanagita (HP), Hirabayashi (1B), Yamamoto (2B), Fujimoto (3b)

Orix Skunks Kintetsu 11-0

     Kintetsu Buffaloes starter Jeremy Powell was bombed bigtime Monday, getting done up for eight earned runs in four innings plus on nine hits and five walks as his team was trampled by the Orix Blue Wave 11-0 at Kobe Green Stadium before a small crowd of 7,000.

     The game was scoreless until Orix got rolling for a couple of runs in the fourth on a one out single by Scott Sheldon, a walk to DH Takeshi Hidaka, a bleeder to short that rightfielder Ikuro Katsuragi legged out to load the bases, Powell hitting first baseman Fernando Seguignol to force in a run and an infield hit to leftfielder Ryota Aikawa to make it 2-0. Catcher Takashi Miwa then rolled into a double play to stave off any further pain for Kintetsu.

     In the fifth, Orix had one of its biggest offensive splurges of the young season. The rookie shortstop Mitsutaka Goto leadoff with his first career homer to right and second baseman Koichi Oshima beat out a ground ball. Centerfielder Yoshitomo Tani singled to right and Sheldon walked to pack the sacks. Hidaka then burned a two RBI double down the leftfield line and Katsuragi singled to right to usher in Sheldon. Seguignol walked and the bases were juiced again. Kintetsu manager Masataka Nishida signaled in Koichi Misawa and he struckout Aikawa, but then Miwa sent a fly ball to center to score Hidaka. Goto then collected his second RBI of the inning with a single to left and it was now 8-0.

     No rest for the wicked and the shots the Blue Wave were indeed that, as in the sixth Sheldon doubled to left. Hidaka walked. One out later, Seguignol bopped a two run double to the rightfield wall and now the home team had a ten run lead.

     Seguignol then put an exclamation mark on this rare breakout by Orix with an artillery shot to leftcenter off of Takagi's heater and that was your ballgame, 11-0 Orix.

     Hisashi Tokano, who had not been pitching well until this start, got his first win in a starting role since 1999.

     For Kintetsu, leftfielder Tuffy Rhodes was 0-4 and is at .286. DH Nigel Wilson struckout three times in three chances and is now at .260.

     For Orix, Sheldon was 2-3 with two walks and is at .275. Seguignol was 2-3 with four RBIs and was hit by a pitch and is at .220.

Pitching Lines:

Kintetsu:

Powell (L, 0-2)    IP 4.0 PC 92 H 9 HR 1 K 2 BB 4 R 8 ER 8 ERA 7.23
Misawa               IP 2.0 PC 48 H 3 HR 0 K 2 BB 1 R 2 ER 2 ERA 12.71
Takagi                 IP 2.0 PC 29 H 2 HR 1 K 1 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 2.25

Orix:

Tokano (W, 1-2)    IP 7.0 PC 96 H 3 HR 0 K 9 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.86
Kase                      IP 2.0 PC 13 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.45

E: Yoshioka
SB: Tani, Oshima 2
2B: N. Nakamura, Omura, Hidaka, Sheldon, Seguignol,Tani
HR: Goto (1), Seguignol (5)
RBI: Goto 2, Hidaka 2, Katsuragi, Seguignol 4, Aikawa, Miwa
SF: Miwa
HBP: Seguignol (Powell)
GIDP: Miwa
LOB: Kintetsu 4, Orix 9

Game Time: 2:43
Attendance: 7,000
Umpires: Sato (HP), Maeda (1B), Kaneko (2B), Hayashi (3B)

Pent Up Frustration? Lotte Drubs Lions 13-5

     Up until they finally won their first match of the season, the Chiba Lotte Marines had to be one frustrated, angry bunch and it was perhaps just a matter of time before someone would pay. Monday, Lotte selected a victim and it was the Seibu Lions, who took a 13-5 drubbing.

     Brian Sikorsky started for Lotte and had a strong outing, going six innings and allowing three runs (two earned) on four hits while striking out nine and walking none. Sikorsky now has a 2.30 ERA on the season and was clocked at 89mph.

     The same can't be said of Takashi Ishii, who ended up leaving the game when he hurt a flexor muscle in his right leg and was taken off the roster after it was over, but not before he gave up six earned runs in three innings on eight hits.

     It was Seibu who popped up on top first, as Sikorsky delivered a breaking ball in leftfielder Kazuhiro Wada's wheelhouse and he deposited it in the no deposit no return section in left for a 1-0 Lions lead.

     Lotte quickly mounted a counteroffensve, though, in the home half, as Ishii walked DH Frank Bolick, gave up a single to right to Derrick May and saw both men moved up on a sac bunt. Third baseman Kiyoshi Hatsushiba then beat out a dribbler toward third and Bolick scored to tie it up at one all. Catcher Masaumi Shimizu smacked a single to left to plate May and one out later rightfielder Kenji Morozumi poleaxed one into the rightcenterfield seats and it was 5-1 Lotte. Centerfielder Koichi Hori singled to right and stole second and then went to third on an Ishii wild pitch. First baseman Kazuya Fukuura hit a roller toward second and beat it out for another run and it was 6-1 after two.

     Seibu got a run in the fifth thanks to an error by Lotte second baseman Tadaharu Sakai and a single from catcher Tsutomu Itoh to close the gap to within four at 6-2.

     Again, however, Lotte got that back and then some. Bolick clocked a one out single to left. May singled to right. Sakai then atoned for his error by bashing one to the rightfield wall to bring in both runners, 8-2 Lotte after five.

     Shortstop Kazuo Matsui singled to center to begin the Seibu sixth and stole second. Two outs later, DH Ken Suzuki singled to get the fleetfooted Matsui around and make it 8-3.

     So you know the routine. Lotte came back and put another whipping on Lions pitching. Morozumi nearly took Takehiro Hashimoto out of the yard and cruised into second with a two bagger. Hori sacrificed him to third, but Hashimoto, instead of trying to get the easy out at first attempted to nail Morozumi at third unsuccessfully. One out later, Bolick cashed Morozumi in with a sac fly. The ex-Phillie May waited in the batters box and got something so nice he made Hashimoto pay the price, a two run dinger and now it was 11-3. Sakai singled to right and Hatsushiba homered and the inning concluded with Lotte coasting 13-3.

     Seibu got two two eighth inning runs and that was all, the final result 13-5 Lotte.

     For Lotte, Bolick was 2-2 with a walk and an RBI and is now at .111. May was 3-3 with two RBIs and nis now at .195.

     For Seibu, first baseman Alex Cabrera took home the golden sombrero (four strikeouts in four at bats) and is now at .255.

Pitching Lines:

Seibu:

T. Ishii (L, 2-1)    IP 3.0 PC 63 H 8 HR 1 K 2 BB 1 R 6 ER 6 ERA 4.24
Toriyabe              IP 2.0 PC 43 H 3 HR 0 K 3 BB 1 R 2 ER 2 ERA 2.25
Hashimoto           IP 1.0 PC 28 H 5 HR 2 K 1 BB 0 R 5 ER 5 ERA 15.00
Aoki                    IP 2.0 PC 42 H 2 HR 0 K 1 BB 2 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00

Lotte:

Sikorski (W, 1-1)   IP 6.0 PC 105 H 4 HR 1 K 9 BB 0 R 3 ER 2 ERA 2.30
H. Kobayashi         IP 2.0 PC  35 H 3 HR 0 K 4 BB 0 R 2 ER 2 ERA 7.20
Kawai                    IP 1.0 PC  22 H 3 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.38

E: Sakai
SB: K. Matsui, Hori
2B: Sakai, Morozumi, Fukuura, Oshima
HR: Wada (5), Morozumi (1), May (2), Hatsushiba (2)
RBI: Morozumi 3, Fukuura, Bolick, May 2, Sakai, Hatsushiba 3, Shimizu, Oshima, K. Suzuki, Wada, T. Itoh
SF: Bolick
WP: H. Kobayashi, T. Ishii, Toriyabe
GIDP: Hatsushiba
LOB: Seibu 5, Lotte 9

Game Time: 3:16
Attendance: 12,000
Umpires: Tachibana (HP), Kawaguchi (1B), Nakamura (2B), Yamazaki (3B)
 
Trivia Time

     Since we just talked about Akiyama, who, at 40, is the oldest currently active player in Japan, who is the oldest batter to ever leave the yard in a regular season game in Japanese history?

Little League Violence

     Geez, c'm folks, it's supposed to be fun! What is up with these idiots?

http://www.sacbee.com/state_wire/story/2174138p-2572905c.html

By the Way, for Those Wondering....

     If you saw the Dodgers-Padres game last week on ESPN, the bit where they showed Dodgers pitching coach Jim Colborn taking to Hideo Nomo, they were talking about Nomo knowing the signs for throwing over to hold the runners. Incidentally, I've never heard the Japanese say "splitter," though it is certainly possible that the announcers in Japan may be saying it now, but the print journalists almost always use "fohku" (forkball).

Kawasaki Rehab Start Delayed

     Chunichi Dragons righthander Kenjiro Kawasaki is making progress now toward perhaps actually being on the mound at Nagoya Dome sometime this season, but he suffered a setback over the weekend. He threw 60 pitches in batting practice, but ended up suffering a foot strain, cancelling a rehab start he was supposed to undertake in the minors the following week. No word on when the former Swallows number two starter will be ready for that start on the farm.

Hot Hanshin Start Paying Off at the Register

     See article at:

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/newse/20020417wo61.htm

Ichiro the Ultimate Comapny Employee?

     A survey as to who corporate workers would like to pattern themselves after:

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/newse/20020413wo31.htm

Maeda the Bad Guy in Confrontation with Lopez?

     Some interesting thoughts on the matter from the Asahi Shimbun's english edition:

http://www.asahi.com/english/sports/K2002041400116.html

New Rookie Living up to Hype in KBO

     The english language Korea Times has a piece on a promising youngster in that country's pro league:

http://www.hankooki.com/kt_sports/200204/t2002041617150447110.htm

This Day in Japanese Baseball History

     The above report was for April 15th and on that date in Japanese baseball history in 1963, Nobuaki The Emperor" Nidegawa, retired as the head Pacific League umpires. He was known by a famous phrase he uttered, "I am the rule book," engendered by an argument he had over a safe call at second base during a Daimai Orions (now the Chiba Lotte Marines) game at Korakuen Stadium in Tokyo July 19th 1959 with Osamu Mihara, then the manager of the Nishitetsu (now Seibu) Lions. Mihara claimed that when the runner arrived the same time as the ball he was out, but Nidegawa said no, the runner is safe in that instance. Nidegawa didn't have a copy of the rule book on hand to show Mihara that the original call was correct, thus Nidegawa's assertion that he was the final rules arbiter.

Sources: http://www2.plala.or.jp/ippeifuji/w04.htm
http://ww2.tiki.ne.jp/~ohzy00/words/goroku.htm

Trivia Answer

     The record for oldest player to homer in a Japanese game Yoshiyuki Iwamoto of the Toei Flyers (now Nippon Ham) was 45 years and five months, on August 18, 1957 at Komazawa Stadium.
 

 April 14, 2002

Lotte Avoids Infamy with First Win of Season

     On the verge of historic infamy after being defeated in their first eleven games out of the gate, the Chiba Lotte Marines finally pocketed a victory with about 300 of their fans in the leftfield stands at Green Stadium in Kobe celebrating as if Lotte had just won a Japan Series, as they beat the Orix Blue Wave 4-1 Sunday.

     Naoyuki Shimizu, who had attended the funeral of his grandmother, Kiyo on the seventh,  was on the hill for the Marines, his first start since last September, and he made it a good one, going 6.1 innings and allowing just one run on eight hits while striking out seven and walking none to get credit for the win.

     Lotte got off on a good note when they took a first inning lead. With two outs, Orix starter Hidetaka Kawagoe plunked first baseman Kazuya Fukuura with a pitch. DH Frank Bolick then walked. Leftfielder Derrick May singled to center and Fukuura galloped home. Second baseman Tadaharu Sakai singled to left and that brought in Bolick and it was 2-0 Lotte after a half inning.

     The rookie Mitsutaka Goto made his first ever start in a pro game for Orix at shortstop and the jitters were obvious. He got on thanks to a miscue by Lotte third baseman Kiyoshi Hatsushiba. The third base coach then flashed the hit and run sign and Goto missed it, so when second baseman Koichi Oshima rolled a ball to second, it was turned into a twin killing.

     In the third, Goto tripled to the leftfield wall with one down, but then failed to come home on a high chopper to Kawagoe and the inning ended with him being stranded.

     In the fourth, Sakai ripped a one out double to left. Hatsushiba then came up and hit one high, he hit it far, it was gone (if I can take a page out of the book of the San Francisco Giants announcer) and Lotte was up 4-0.

     Orix made some noise in the fifth, but this would prove to be the only time it would do so. With a one away, catcher Takashi Miwa singled to right, as did Goto. One out later, centerfielder Yoshitomo Tani cracked the second of his three hits and Miwa hit the dish to cut his team's disadvantage  to 4-1. Masahide Kobayashi came on in the ninth and with the help of a double play ball earned his initial save of 2002.

     According to one of the Japanese sports dailies, Lotte fan Ichiro Hirose and his family had folded a thousand paper cranes and dropped them off at the team's dormitory in hope that they would bring the squad some luck.

     For May, who was with Lotte when it lost 18 consecutive games to set a new Japanese pro record, this had to be a big relief, since he wouldn't be associated with an iniquitous double now, being on team with the most games in a row to begin a season plus being with the all time record holder for a string of defeats.

     For Lotte, Bolick was 0-3 with a walk and is at .059. May was 1-4 with an RBI and is at .139.

     For Orix, Scott Sheldon was 0-3 with a walk and is now at .250. First baseman Fernando Seguignol was 1-4 with two strikeouts and is at .191.

Pitching Lines:

Lotte:

N. Shimizu (W, 1-0)    IP 6.1 PC 102 H 8 HR 0 K 7 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 1.00
Fujita                           IP   .2 PC    6  H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Yoshida                       IP 1.0 PC  19 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.50
M. Kobayashi (S, 1)    IP 1.0 PC  11 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00

Orix:

Kawagoe (L, 1-2)       IP 7.0 PC 114 H 5 HR 1 K 8 BB 1 R 4 ER 4 ERA 3.32
Iwashita                      IP 1.0 PC   17 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.80
Tokumoto                   IP 1.0 PC   13 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 7.20

E: Heiuchi
2B: Seguignol, Sakai
3B: Goto
HR: Hatsushiba (1)
RBI: May, Sakai, Hatsushiba 2, Tani
WP: N. Shimizu
HBP: Fukuura (Kawagoe)
GIDP: Oshima, Shiozaki
LOB: Lotte 4, Orix 9

Game Time: 2:48
Attendance: 16,000
Umpires: Kakigizono? (HP), Yamamura (1B), Tamba (2B), Higashi (3B)

Hanshin Takes ANOTHER 1-0 Game

     Man, what have they put into rookie Yuya Ando's Wheaties? He was sharp again in combining with Mark Valdez for a 1-0 shutout of the Yokohama Bay Stars Sunday at Koshien in front of another huge and partying crowd. It also marked the first time Hanshin has won its first five series since 1950. Ando was clocked as high as 90mph. Pic of his throwing form at:
http://www.sanspo.com/baseball/top/bt200204/image/0415ando_MS064414_b.jpg

     Hiroshi Yamada started for Yokohama and was outstanding, going seven innings and permitting a lone single while striking out seven and walking four only to get a no decision.

     Kazuyuki Maeda entered from the bullpen to pitch the eighth for the Stars and him and two other relievers botched the job. With one out, Maeda walked the next two hitters. Yokohama manager Masaaki Mori waved in Shintaro Takeshita and he handed out a freebie to third baseman Atsushi Kataoka. Atsushi Kizuka was then brought in and he whiffed first baseman George Arias, but rightfielder Shinjiro Hiyama laced an 85mph fastball between first and second for the ballgame's only tally. Valdez then induced two little groundballs and a strikeout in the ninth to save it. A pic of Hiyama's hit at:
http://www.sponichi.com/base/200204/15/images/base02.jpg.

     The starters for each club were so good that they allowed their opponents just a couple of rather minor scoring opportunities, though Hanshin's failure to get a big hit in either instance reflects the fact that they haven't conquered their inability to hit with runners in scoring position until Hiyama's knock.

     Ryo Yoshimoto started at catcher for the injured Akihiro Yano and went 0-3. Ando wrote Yano's number on the inside of his cap for good luck before he ascended the mound.

     For Yokohama, third baseman Mike Gulan was 0-3 with a walk and is now at .226. Rightfielder Boi Rodrigues was 0-3 and is now at .189.

     For Hanshin, Arias was 0-4 with three strikeouts and is now at .118.

Pitching Lines:

Yokohama:

H. Yamada              IP 7.0 PC 104 H 1 HR 0 K 7 BB 4 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
K. Maeda (L, 0-1)   IP  .1  PC  16 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 2 R 1 ER 1 ERA 6.75
Takeshita                 IP 0.0 PC    5 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.50
Kizuka                     IP  .2  PC  10 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00

Hanshin:

Ando (W, 1-0)       IP 8.0 PC 124 H 2 HR 0 K 4 BB 4 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.64
Valdez (S, )            IP 1.0 PC   13 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
 
RBI: Hiyama
WP: H. Yamada
LOB: Yokohama 6, Hanshin 8

Game Time: 3:10
Attendance: 48,000
Umpires: Suginaga (HP), Nishimoto (1B), Tomoyori? (2B), Kasahara (3B)

Dragons Beat Giants for 4000th Victory in Team History

     Kenta Asakura, 20, wrote his name in the Chunichi Dragons long history book Sunday, as he shutout the Yomiuri Giants on six hits, all singles, over eight innings before closer Eddie Gaillard finally ended it in the ninth after shortstop Hirokazu Ibata made a spectacular diving stop of a shot off the bat of Giants shortstop Daisuke Motoki for the 2-0 Dragons victory, the 4000th in the club's 60+ year existence.

     Asakura had changed his delivery before the season started by using a slide step rather than a leg kick and it improved his control, as shown by the fact that he has walked only six hitters in 20.1 innings thus far.

     Kimiyasu Kudoh started for Yomiuri and was superb himself, allowing two earned runs on six hits and walking two while striking out seven.

     In the top of the second, the Dragons put across the only run they would need. With one out, Jiro Fujitate drilled a Kudoh offering against the rightfield wall. Toshio Haru flew out to right and Fujitate tagged up and dashed into third. Catcher Motonobu Tanishige then flew out to right as well and Fujitate scored to make it 1-0 Dragons.

     An inning later, Kudoh hung a breaking ball to rightfielder Kosuke Fukudome and he pounded it deep into the rightfield bleachers to expand his club's lead to 2-0.

     In the ninth, Chunichi boss Hisashi Yamada summoned Gaillard and he almost blew it. With one out, centerfielder Hideki Matsui singled to center. After striking out first baseman Kazuhiro Kiyohara, third baseman Akira Etoh singled to center and Matsui was able to get to third, Suzuki pinch ran for Etoh and stole second. Motoki then spanked a shot that looked like it was headed into centerfield to tie the game, but Ibata dove to his left and snagged it and then scrambled to his feet and gunned it to first for the last out of the game. Motoki thought he had a sure knock and was slow getting out of the box, which aided Ibata in ending the contest.

     This was the 5'8" Asakura's second pro win, having gone 0-6 total in previous campaigns. He was clocked at 89mph.

     Sunday was also Kiyohara's wife Aki's 33rd birthday, but unlike last year, when he slugged a three run homer on that date, this time around he was 0-4 with a strikeout.

     For Chunichi, first baseman Leo Gomez struckout three times in four at bats and is now at .267.

Pitching Lines:

Chunichi:

Asakura (W, 2-1)     IP 8.0 PC 94 H 6 HR 0 K 5 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.10
Gaillard (S, 4)           IP 1.0 PC 21 H 2 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00

Yomiuri:

Kudoh (L, 1-2)       IP 8.0 PC 113 H 6 HR 1 K 7 BB 2 R 2 ER 2 ERA 2.49
Nishiyama               IP 1.0 PC   15 H 0 HR 0 K 3 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00

SB: Suzuki
2B: Fujitate
HR: Fukudome (3)
RBI: Fukudome, Tanishige
SF: Tanishige
GIDP: Etoh
LOB: Chunichi 6, Yomiuri 7

Game Time: 2:38
Attendance: 55,000
Umpires: T. Kobayashi (HP), Ino (1B), K. Kobayashi (2B), Sasaki (3B)

Seelbach Now 3-0 After Fighters Win to Rise to Second in PL

     With the exception of a rocky fourth, Nippon Ham Starter Chris Seelbach had a very solid six inning outing Sunday and was credited with a victory as a result, as his team went on to beat the Kintetsu Buffaloes 7-3 at Osaka Dome.

     The Fighters lineup waylaid Kintetsu starter Ken Kadokura right away, as, in the top of the first, they got one out singles to center from Hiroshi Narahara and first baseman Michihiro Ogasawara and then DH Sherman Obando killed a Kadokura offering to leftcenter for a 3-0 Fighters lead.

     In the fourth, though, Seelbach almost wasted that lead when his control headed went to a concession stand for a beer. Kintetsu third baseman Norihiro Nakamura leadoff with a screamer up the rightcenter ally for a double. Seelbach then walked DH Nigel Wilson and plunked first baseman Yuji Yoshioka to pack the sacks. Two shallow flyouts later, Seelbach walked catcher Akihito Fujii to force in a run and then nailed centerfielder Omura with a delivery to allow another Buffs run. Takasu then flew out to right to end the inning.

     Seelbach was touched for doubles in each of the following pair of innings, but then retired the succeeding batters each time and so he left the contest with a one run lead.

     Nippon Ham got some breathing room in the top of the seventh, with Yoshinori Ueda reaching on an error by Nakamura, then was sacrificed along and heading home on a ringing double down the leftfield line by centerfielder Tatsuya Ide. One out later, first baseman Michihiro Ogasawara singled to right and it was 5-2 Fighters.

     In the bottom of the inning, Kintetsu leftfielder Tuffy Rhodes was the recipient of a hanging slider from reliever Kiyoshi Sasaki and being the generous soul he is, passed it along to the folks in the rightfield bleachers to reduce the gap with the Fighters to 7-3.

     Rhodes opposite number, D.T. Cromer, wasn't going to stand for that and drilled a leadoff homer to right off of Shogo Yamamoto to get back up by three at 6-3. Fighters third baseman Yukio Tanaka was next and he singled to left and was sacrificed to second. Hichori Morimoto then unloaded a two bagger to the centerfield wall and Tanaka hurried in for a 7-3 lead and to conclude the
day's scoring.

     Ide now has a 12 game hitting streak.

     Kadokura was demoted to the minors after this game.

     With 5700 little leaguers in attendance from Shikoku and the Kansai region, Rhodes said that he wanted to do something for the future pro players and was thus glad to have gone deep in this one. He is nine games ahead of his 2001 record tying homer pace and if he can maintain this clip, he will bop 75 out of the park over a full season. He needs two more for 200 lifetime dingers in Japan.

     For Kintetsu, Rhodes was 2-5 with an RBI and is now at .308. Wilson was 1-2 with a walk and got hit by a pitch and is
now at .277.

     For Nippon Ham, Obando was 1-5 with three RBIs and is .220. Cromer was 2-4 with an RBI and is at .279.

Pitching Lines:

Seelbach (W, 3-0)  IP 6.0 PC 89 H 6 HR 0 K 4 BB 2 R 2 ER 2 ERA 2.37
Sasaki                    IP 1.0 PC 22 H 2 HR 1 K 1 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 1.50
Kanemura              IP 1.0 PC 14 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.00
Iba                         IP 1.0 PC 14 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.15

Kadokura (L, 0-1)  IP 5.0 PC 79 H 5 HR 1 K 4 BB 1 R 3 ER 3 ERA 5.40
Sekiguchi                IP   .2 PC 14 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.05
Aikyo                     IP 1.0 PC 12 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 2 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Yamamoto             IP   .1 PC 16 H 1 HR 1 K 0 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 2.25
Miyamoto              IP 1.0 PC 17 H 2 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 4.82
Takagi                   IP 1.0 PC 11 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00

E: M. Abe
2B: N. Nakamura, Rhodes, Isobe, Wilson, Sanematsu, Ide, Morimoto
HR: Obando (5), Cromer (2), Rhodes (7)
RBI: Ide, M. Ogasawara, Obando 3, Cromer, Morimoto, Omura, Rhodes, Fujii
HBP: Wilson (Seelbach), Yoshioka (Seelbach), Omura (Seelbach)
GIDP: Kimoto, Yoshioka, Kawaguchi
LOB: Nippon Ham 6, Kintetsu 9

Game Time: 3:11
Attendance: 23,000
Umpires: Iizuka (HP), Hayashi (1B), Maeda (2B), Sato (3B)
 
Seibu Wipes Out Hawks 17-7

     The Daiei Hawks got three quick runs in the top of the first inning Sunday at Seibu Dome against the Lions and actually had a 4-1 lead for a while, but then Seibu conterattacked with five in the fourth and seven in the fifth to bury the home team 17-7.

     Fumiya Nishiguchi started for Seibu and he got hammered early. Daiei centerfielder Hiroshi Shibahara leadoff the game with a single to center and stole second. Leftfielder Pedro Valdez zinged a pitch up the rightcenter ally and Shibahara coasted in with a 1-0 lead. One out later, third baseman Hiroki Kokubo singled to left. One out later, rightfielder Koji Akiyama then hammered
a two run double to rightcenter and it was 3-0 Hawks after a half inning.

     Lions shortstop Kazuo Matsui stepped in to begin the Lions half of the stanza and he walloped an offering from Daiei rookie Toshiya Sugiuchi into the rightcenterfield stands and it was 3-1 visitors.

     Daiei got that back in the second with two outs, when Shibahara singled to left and Valdez pumped a double to rightcenter to allow Shibahara to sprint home, Daiei in front 4-2 after one and a half.

     In the bottom of the third, though, the Lions crept closer. Second baseman Hiro Takagi worked a leadoff walk, but was then forced out at second. Two outs later, DH Toshiaki Inubushi seared a double down the rightfield line for an RBI and first baseman Alex Cabrera singled to left to usher in Inubushi and it was 4-3 Daiei.

     It mush have been "your hit parade" night in Tokorozawa, because that's what the Lions proceeded to do in the bottom of the fourth. With one down, rightfielder Kakiuchi singled to center, as did catcher Tsutomu Itoh. Hiro Takagi then wacked a single to right for the tie and Matsui did so for a 5-4 lead and to send Takagi to third. Matsui stole second. Centerfielder Tatsuya Ozeki singled to right and that meant two more for Seibu, and he went to second on the relay home to boot, as they were now in front 7-4. One out later, Cabrera singled to left for another run and it was 8-4 when the smoke cleared.

     Then, in the fifth, the roof fell in on Daiei. Seibu third baseman Tsuyoshi Furuya walked off of Shintaro Yoshitake to kick off the inning. One out later, Yoshitake hit Itoh. Takagi singled to right for an RBI and an error by Hawks first baseman Nobuhiko Matsunaka let Matsui get to first and load the bases. Ozeki flied to center to plate Itoh and Inubushi singled to center for the
eleventh Lions run. Cabrera walked and scored on a bullet to the centerfield wall that went for a triple to clear the bases by leftfielder Kazuhiro Wada and then came home on a single by Furuya and it was 15-4 Seibu.

     Daiei put up single runs in the sixth and seventh, but those were neutralized when pinch hitter Hiroyuki Oshima singled to leadoff the bottom of the eighth and then Cabrera got a hanging changeup from Shinji Kurano and hit a nine iron 520 feet away over the leftfield bleachers and on to a utility pathway used by Stadium employees, a mammoth shot, to make it 17-6. See pic of Cabrera's homer at: http://www.sanspo.com/baseball/top/bt200204/image/0415kabu_MT073414_b.jpg

     Daiei scored on a couple of singles and a groundout and that was their last stand, 17-7.

     Sugiuchi, who was having a pretty nice season up until now, was leaving everything up and got pounded. Daiei manager Sadaharu Oh said he thought that his rookie was nervous and that's why he was elevating in the strike zone and had trouble spotting his fastball.

     For Seibu, Cabrera was 3-4 with four RBIs and a walk, his first runs driven in since four games ago. He is now batting .275. The one time he didn't get a knock, he popped out to the pitcher on a ball that bounced in the dirt.

     For Daiei, Valdez was 2-4 with two RBIs and a walk and is now at .298. DH Morgan Burkhart was 1-4 with an RBI and two strikeouts and is now at .262.

Pitching Lines:

Daiei:

Sugiuchi (L, 1-1)     IP 3.1 PC 77 H 8 HR 1 K 2 BB 1 R 7 ER 7 ERA 7.36
H.K. Watanabe       IP  .1  PC  5 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.38
Yoshitake               IP 2.1 PC 81 H 6 HR 0 K 2 BB 3 R 7 ER 1 ERA 3.86
Kurano                   IP 2.0 PC 35 H 3 HR 1 K 3 BB 1 R 2 ER 2 ERA 4.50

Seibu:

Nishiguchi (W, 2-1)   IP 5.2 PC 100 H 9 HR 0 K 6 BB 2 R 5 ER 5 ERA 3.54
Shiozaki                    IP 1.1 PC   17 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.86
Toriyabe                   IP 1.0 PC   20 H 2 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 1 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Aoki                         IP 1.0 PC     5 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00

E: Matsunaka
SB: Shibahara, K. Matsui 2
2B: Valdez 2, Akiyama, Shibahara, Matsunaka, Kokubo, Inubushi
3B: Wada
HR: K. Matsui (2), Cabrera (5)
RBI: Shibahara, Valdez 2, Matsunaka, Akiyama 2, Burkhart, K. Matsui 2, Inubushi 2, H. Takagi 2, Ozeki 3, Wada 3,
Cabrera 4, Furuya
SF: Ozeki
HBP: T. Itoh (Yoshitake), Muramatsu (Nishiguchi)
PB: Noda
GIDP: Akiyama
LOB: Daiei 7, Seibu 7
 
Game Time: 3:26
Attendance: 31,000
Umpires: Yamazaki (HP), Akimura (1B), Yanigita (2B), Tachibana (3B)

Yakult Blows Everything it Has in the Fourth and Loses 5-4

     The Yakult Swallows amassed three homers and four runs in the top of the fourth off of Hiroshima Carp starter Yasushi Tsuruta and little else, so they lost the game 5-4 Sunday at Hiroshima Municipal Stadium.

     Satoshi Iriki started for Yakult and was mugged for a triple to right in the second by Carp rightfielder Tomonori Maeda (how's that possible? I thought he didn't want to really cut loose on those bad Achilles tendons) and a single to center from first baseman Takahiro Arai to put Hiroshima up 1-0.

     Then in that fourth inning, rightfielder Atsunori Inaba singled to center and first baseman Roberto Petagine lost a Tsuruta fastball to centerfield and it was suddenly 2-1 Swallows. Two outs later, leftfielder Alex Ramirez and second baseman Chihiro Hamana slugged back to back jacks and it was 4-1 Yakult.

     Hiroshima answered by converting a walk to Arai, a single to center from second baseman Takuya Kimura, a hit by pitch to catcher Kazu Kimura and a wild pitch by Iriki to make it 4-2 Yakult.

     In the bottom of the fifth, Hiroshima generated some fireworks of their own and basically won the game. Shortstop Akihiro Higashide beat out a roller to second to leadoff the inning. Third baseman Eddie Diaz then lofted a fly ball over the leftfield wall and it was deadlocked at 4-4. Two outs later, Arai went long to left, too and it was 5-4 Carp. Yakult couldn't do much afterward and that's how it ended, Oyamada claiming the save.

     Interesting story about the winning pitcher of this game. Koji Hiroike was working at the counter for All Nippon Airways at Haneda Airport three years ago after graduating from Rikkyo University. But he still had the bug to play pro ball and tried out for Hiroshima and then went to the club's academy in the Dominican Republic at his own expense. The Carp drafted him in the eighth round in 1998 at the age of 25.

     Btw, he met his wife, Yasuko, when she was working across the way at the counter for ANA rival Japan Airlines.

     For Yakult, Petagine was 2-3 with a walk and two RBIs and is now at .245. Ramirez was 2-4 with an RBI and is at .255.

Pitching Lines:

Yakult:

S. Iriki (L, 0-1)   IP 5.0 PC 84 H 7 HR 2 K 2 BB 2 R 5 ER 5 ERA 6.75
H. Ishii               IP 2.1 PC 33 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.23
Ryo. Igarashi       IP  .2 PC 12 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.93

Hiroshima:

Tsuruta                   IP 4.0 PC 63 H 5 HR 3 K 5 BB 1 R 4 ER 4 ERA 9.00
Hiroike (W, 1-0)    IP 1.2 PC 26 H 2 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Kobayashi              IP  .1 PC   3 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Tamaki                  IP 1.1 PC 16 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.17
Beltran                   IP  .2 PC 12 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.35
Oyamada (S, 5)    IP 1.0 PC 16 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.59

SB: Higashide, T. Kimura
3B: T. Maeda
HR: Petagine (6), Ramirez (1), Hamana (1), Diaz (3), Arai (3)
RBI: Petagine 2, Ramirez, Hamana, Diaz 2, Arai 2,
WP: S. Iriki
HBP: K. Kimura (S. Iriki)
LOB: Yakult 4, Hiroshima 6

Game Time: 2:56
Attendance: 14,000

Yankess Move Full Throttle to Aquire Godzilla Matsui

     According to Tokyo Chunichi Sports, the New York Yankees are watching Hideki Matsui's every move. The paper quotes Yankees owner Steinbrenner as telling his front office people, "get me the next great Japanese player." Consequently, a team of Yankees scouts will be in Japan when Hanshin and the Yomiuri Giants meet this coming weekend at Koshien Stadium in Osaka. Moreover, they have been tracking Matsui's games via satellite television, the it says.

     This is also having ramifications in the Japanese media, as the Yankees broadcasting arm has started negotiating with an arm of Yomiuri, NTV, for rights to broadcast Yomiuri games in New York. Part of the straegy is reportedly to sell Yankees fans on Matsui's aquisition by broadcasting Yomiuri games. They plan to start Yomuiri Giants telecasts in New York as soon as May with english voice overs.

     The report claims that "the Yankees want Matsui so bad they can taste it (nodo kara te ga deru hodo hoshii)" and have already begun preparing a preliminary contract offer. And obviously, they want to market Matsui to the east coast asian communities.

     But I think something else may be at play here: I think that the Yankees would be willing to broadcast Giants games as a way to mollify the very MLB-unfriendly Giants owner Tsuneo Watanabe by expanding the Giants presence in a new market. Plus, of course, the Yomiuri conglomerate will be paid for this, so this has the flavor of a payoff for broadcasts that will, at least initially, draw a very small audience. There may also be a deal where Yomiuri would get a cut of Matsui-related goods that the Yankees sell, though the latter is only speculation on my part. The idea here, I believe, is that if Yomiuri is getting some kind of benefit Matsui might feel better about both leaving and out of a sense of obligation (called "on" in Japanese)  would sign with NY because his Japanese club would benefit.

Keio University Hurler Strikes Out 21

     Keio University righthander Shuichiro Osada, after getting the first man he faced in the game, then fanned the next nine men in a row on the way to striking out 21 for the game, coming within one of challenging Hall of Fame inductee Noboru Akiyama's Tokyo Big Six University League record of 22 in 1954. Akiyama did that in a contest with Tokyo University while a part of Meiji University's nine.

     This also marked the first time in 32 years that someone had made nine consecutive batters come up empty since Katsutoshi Taiki of Waseda University, who now works in Yakult's front office, managed a similar feat.

     Osada, 21,  was clocked at 88mph and he has two different sliders, a changeup and a curve to accompany his fastball. He is now 10-8 for his college career. He is said to be able to crank it up to as much as 91mph when he needs to. A scout for the Seibu Lions likes Osada's potential and thought that in this particular game he showed pro-level stuff. You can see a pic of
him at: http://www.sponichi.co.jp/baseball/kiji/2002/04/15/20020415005148.jpg

This Day in Japanese Baseball History

     The above report is for April 14th. On that day in 1966, 18 year old Tsuneo Horiuchi made his debut on the mound for the Yomiuri Giants and not only won that game, but the next 12 in a row. For that season, he went 16-2 with a 1.39 ERA. He was an easy pick for Rookie of the Year and won the ERA title that season.

     He won 20 games once, going 26-9 with a 2.91 ERA in 1972, striking out 203 in 312 innings and took home an MVP and a Sawamura Award, which was his second (he also won one in 1966).

     For his 18 season career, Horiuchi was 203-139 with a 3.27 ERA and threw a no hitter on October 10, 1967.

April 13, 2002

Matsui Plays Double or Nothing in Giants Triumph Over Dragons 3-2

     Hideki Matsui had struckout his first three times up against Chunichi Dragons starter Masahiro Yamamoto, and didn't get a good swing on a fastball down and a way from reliever Hitoki Iwase, but he nevertheless made enough contact to send it into leftcenter for a double that drove in the winning run as the Yomiuri Giants topped the Dragons at Tokyo Dome Saturday 3-2.

     Yamamoto got knocked around his first two outings and had plenty of baserunners on in this contest, but only two of them crossed the plate as the Giants never amassed enough hits in any one inning to break it open. In the bottom of the second, first baseman Kazuhiro Kiyohara legged out a little tapper near third and went to third on a double down the leftfield line by third baseman Akira Etoh and scored on a sac fly to center by shortstop Daisuke Motoki to make it 1-0 Giants.

     Two innings later, Kiyohara ripped a leadoff single into center. Etoh went to the opposite field for a knock and Kiyohara managed to rumble over to third. Motoki again lofted a sac fly and the Giants were a pair up.

     Chunichi counterattacked in the sixth and leveled things. Catcher Motonobu Tanishige beat out a groundball toward short. One out later, shortstop Hirokazu Ibata leaned on a hanging forkball from Giants starter Koji Uehara and bounced it off the centerfield fence to plate Tanishige. One out later, rightfielder Kosuke Fukudome cracked a shot up the middle and the speedy Ibata came around and it was 2-2.

     Makoto Kito had replaced Yamamoto in the sixth and he came back out for the seventh and retired the leadoff man, Takayuki Shimizu, but then second baseman Toshihisa Nishi singled to left. Kito then hit rightfielder Yoshinobu Takahashi on the right hand. That set the stage for Matsui's heroics and Yomiuri's eventual victory. Here is a pic of the hit:
http://www.sanspo.com/baseball/top/bt200204/image/0414matsui_NK196413_b.jpg

     For Chunichi, first baseman Leo Gomez was 0-3 with two strikeouts and a walk and is now at .293.

Pitching Lines:

Chunichi:

M. Yamamoto        IP 5.0 PC 90 H 8 HR 0 K 5 BB 1 R 2 ER 2 ERA 4.96
Kito (L, 0-1)          IP 1.1 PC 20 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.86
Iwase                     IP  .2 PC 19 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.35
Yamakita              IP 1.0 PC 21 H 2 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00

Yomiuri:

Uehara (W, 2-1)    IP 8.0 PC 126 H 5 HR 0 K 5 BB 1 R 2 ER 2 ERA 3.24
Kawahara (S, 3)    IP 1.0 PC  15 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00

SB: T. Shimizum Tanishige
2B: H. Matsui, Y. Takahashi, Ibata, Etoh
RBI: Ibata, Fukudome, Motoki 2, H. Matsui
SF: Motoki 2
HBP: Y. Takahashi (Iwase)
GIDP: Tatsunami
LOB: Chunichi 3, Yomiuri 12

Game Time: 3:24
Attendance: 55,000
Umpires: Mori (HP), K. Kobayashi (1B), Sasaki (2B), T. Kobayashi (3B)

Questionable Pinch Hitting Decision May Have Cost Hanshin Game Against Yokohama

     Hanshin Tigers lefthander Trey Moore was throwing another dandy Saturday, allowing just one run on five hits over six innings against the Yokohama Bay Stars at Koshien Stadium. However, in the bottom of the sixth, with two out and the bases loaded and wanting a little more breathing room on the scoreboard than the 2-1 advantage his club already held, Tigers manager Senichi Hoshino sent up Derrick White to pinch hit for Moore. White grounded out to end the inning, but it wasn't this pinch hitting decision that was so disagreeable.

     Rather, it was one Hoshino didn't make that may have resulted in defeat. In place of Moore, Hoshino brought in Itoh for the top of the seventh, who promptly gave up a walk and an infield hit and then was replaced by Tatsuhiro Yuminaga.. The first batter Yuminaga faced, Yokohama shortstop Takuro Ishii, then spanked one of his offerings down the rightfield line to tie the game at 2-2.

     Yuminaga finished off the seventh and Masashi Date got through the eighth okay, but then Date's spot came up in the bottom of the inning with two on and two out. However, instead of sending someone up to hit for Date, Hoshino decided to let Date bat, and three strikes later, the inning was over. The reasoning behind this was that Hoshino wanted to save his bench if it went to extra innings, but that is hardly a satisfying answer and seems rather passive given the ex-Chunichi boss' style.

     So what happens? In the top of the ninth, Date hit Stars rightfielder Boi Rodrigues to open the frame. He was forced by Ryoji Aikawa, but then pinch hitter Hiroo Ishii smacked a single to right, allowing Aikawa, who has pretty decent wheels for a catcher, to turn and burn for third. Takuro Ishii then lifted a fly ball to Shinjiro Hiyama in right, who made a strong, accurate
throw. Aikawa lowered his shoulder and collided with Hanshin backstop Akihiro Yano as the ball arrived and he managed to score before Hiyama could apply the tag and it was 3-2 visitors. Unfortunately, Yano also had to be taken out of the game with what turned out to be a dislocated shoulder and he will miss the next 2-3 weeks while he rehabs it.

     Yokohama closer Takashi Saito then got three of the next four men he faced in the home half of the inning and that was the ballgame. So when you combine a bad managerial decision, a defeat, and losing your starting catcher, this was a day to forget in Osaka to be sure.

     Maybe this just wasn't to be Hanshin's day in any case. In the sixth, with Moore still on the mound, Takuro Ishii leadoff with a bunt single and was sacrificed to second by centerfielder Tatsuhiko Kinjo. Leftfielder Takanori Suzuki grounded out to third to keep Ishii from getting there. Moore then sawed off third baseman Mike Gulan, but as the bat shattered, the ball found a hole between first and second and Ishii motored around to score with his squad's first tally of the day,

     Hanshin got both of their scores in the bottom of the second off of Stars starter Shane Bowers, with Hiyama legging out a bunt, moving up on a single to left from leftfielder Tomochika Tsuboi and scoring on a single to center by Yano while Tsuboi chugged into third. Hoshino then called for the squeeze and shortstop Shuta Tanaka laid down a beauty to make it 2-0 Tigers, a lead that they would then lose.

     For Yokohama, Gulan was 1-4 with an RBI and is now at .240. Rodrigues was 0-1 with a walk and is now at .206.

     For Hanshin, White was 0-1 and is at .300. First baseman George Arias was 1-5 and is now at .128.

Pitching Lines:

Yokohama:

Bowers                   IP 6.0 PC 114 H 5 HR 0 K 5 BB 4 R 2 ER 2 ERA 3.38
Takeshita                IP 1.1 PC  24 H 2 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.50
Kizuka (W, 1-0)      IP  .2 PC   9 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Saito (S, 3)            IP 1.0 PC  13 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.69

Hanshin:

Moore               IP 6.0 PC 81 H 5 HR 0 K 7 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 1.29
Itoh                    IP  .1 PC 10 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 9.00
Yuminaga           IP  .2 PC  5 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Date (L, 0-1)     IP 2.0 PC 28 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 1.29

E: Imaoka
2B: T. Ishii, Kinjo
RBI: Gulan, T. Ishii 2, Yano, S. Tanaka
SF: T. Ishii
HBP: Rodrigues (Date) Hiyama (Takeshita)
LOB: Yokohama 8, Hanshin 11

Game Time: 3:32
Attendance: 50,000
Umpires: Watada (HP), Tomoyori? (1B), Kasahara (2B) Suginaga (3B)

Four Hiroshima Homers Kill Swallows 8-2

     Carp catcher Kazuyoshi Kimura picked a good time to launch his first career dinger, as he stood in against Yakult's Kevin Hodges with two men on in what was a scoreless battle in the second and got all of a Hodges fastball and cranked it over the centerfield fence for a three run homer to put his side in front to stay 3-0. One out later, centerfielder Koichi Ogata turned another Hodges pitch into a souvenir for the folks in the rightcenterfield bleachers, the first of his two longballs on the day, in what became an 8-2 cakewalk for the boys from Hiroshima. Takahiro Arai added a solo shot later in the fifth to cap off the
home team's scoring. A pic of Kimura's homer is at:  http://www.sanspo.com/baseball/top/bt200204/image/0414kimuraOS022413_b.jpg
and a snap of one of Ogata's is at: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/images/photos2002/sb20020414a1a.jpg

     Yakult got its two runs on a leadoff roundtripper to center in the top of the eighth by first baseman Roberto Petagine and a pinch hit RBI single by Hirobumi Watarai to bring in third baseman Akinori Iwamura, who had doubled to right earlier in the inning. That was about all they were able to do against Carp starter Ken Takahashi, who was touched for a total of four hits in eight innings while striking out seven and walking none.

     This may have been Hodges' worst ever performance since he came to Japan, as he was bombarded for seven runs on ten hits, three of them homers, in 3.1 innings and saw his ERA balloon to 4.96 after boasting an ERA of just under 1.40 in the wake of two excellent appearances to open the regular season.

     For Yakult, Petagine was 1-3 with an RBI and is at .220. Leftfielder Alex Ramirez was 0-4 with two strikeouts and is at .234. The Swallows have dropped their last three series in a row.

Pitching Lines:

Yakult:

Hodges (L, 1-1)      IP 3.1 PC 62 H 10 HR 3 K 2 BB 0 R 7 ER 7 ERA 4.96
Hanada                   IP 1.2 PC 16 H  1 HR 1 K 0 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.38
Sakamoto               IP 2.0 PC 15 H  0 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.29
Teramura                IP 1.0 PC 27 H  0 HR 0 K 1 BB 2 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.25

Hiroshima:

Takahashi (W, 1-1)    IP 8.0 PC 100 H 4 HR 1 K 7 BB 0 R 2 ER 2 ERA 4.05
Sakai                         IP 1.0 PC   19 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00

E: Diaz
SB: Higashide
2B: Iwamura, Kanemoto
HR: Ogata 2 (3), K. Kimura (1), Arai (2), Petagine (5)
RBI: Ogata 3, K. Kimura 3, Arai 2, Petagine, Watarai
GIDP: Inaba, T. Kimura
LOB: Yakult 3, Hiroshima 4

Game Time: 2:18
Attendance: 14,000
Umpires: Kittaka (HP), Tani (1B), Yoshimoto (2B), Kamimoto (3B)

Koo Extends Marines Misery in Combining with Imamura for a 4-0 Shutout

     Koo Dae-sung of the Orix Blue Wave extended his scoreless streak to 14.1 innings despite getting himself into a few jams, saying that even if you throw the ball down mainstreet that Chiba Lotte Marines batters aren't going to hurt you they are going that badly. Lotte left ten men on during the game, as Orix went on to a 4-0 victory at Kobe Green Stadium Saturday.

     Koo walked the bases loaded in the top of the first in the course of getting two outs, but he then induced a fly ball to right to end the threat. Then he wriggled out of a men on second and third with two gone pinch in the second thanks to rightfielder Saburo Omura fouling out to the catcher.

     Lotte starter Kosuke Kato was perfect for those initial two innings, but then bent a little in the third. With one out, third baseman Tatsuya Shindo singled to center. Catcher Takashi Miwa singled to right and Shindo made a beeline for third. Shortstop Makoto Shiozaki flied to right and Shindo tagged up and crossed the plate and it was 1-0 Orix after three complete.

     Lotte loaded the bases again in the fourth on a couple of singles and a walk with two outs, but Omura flied out to right to kill that uprising, too.

     In the bottom of that inning, first baseman Scott Sheldon doubled to center to lead it off. One out later, rightfielder Ryota Aikawa singled to right. After DH Fernando Seguignol hit a looper that was flagged down easily by shortstop Masa Watanabe, Shindo hit a bazooka shot to the centerfield wall and both Sheldon and Aikawa scored. Miwa singled to left and Shindo touched home and it was 4-0 Blue Wave.

     Lotte was never heard from again, though, as Koo settled down to suffocate its offense, as did his successor, Fumiaki Imamura, and it was over pretty quickly, the game coming in at just a hair under two and a half hours.

     The Marines have now lost their first 11 in a row and are one more defeat away from infamy. This is a club that already holds the record for most consecutive winless games with 18, which was accomplished, if you can call it that, a couple of years ago. Now to add most consecutive season opening beatings would be even more humiliating.

     For Orix, Sheldon was 2-4 and is now at .267. Seguignol was 0-4 and is at .186.

Pitching Lines:

Lotte:

K. Kato (L, 0-3)     IP 4.0 PC 60 H 6 HR 0 K 4 BB 1 R 4 ER 4 ERA 13.94
H. Kobayashi          IP 3.0 PC 34 H 3 HR 0 K 3 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 6.75
Kawai                    IP 1.0 PC 12 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA  3.86

Orix:

Koo (W, 2-0)         IP 6.0 PC 113 H 5 HR 0 K 3 BB 4 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.92
Imamura (S, )          IP 3.0 PC  35 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.50

2B: Sheldon, Shindo, Aikawa, Hori, Sakai
RBI: Shiozaki, Shindo 2, Miwa
GIDP: Tani
LOB: Lotte 10, Orix 6

Game Time: 2:27
Attendance: 14,000
Umpires: Nagami (HP), Higashi (1B), Yamamura (2B), Kakigizono? (3B)

Kintetsu Slices and Dices Nippon Ham 12-3

     The Kintetsu Buffaloes got three two run homers as they flogged the Nippon Ham Fighters Saturday 12-3 Saturday at Osaka Dome. For the first time this season, leftfielder Tuffy Rhodes, third baseman Norihiro Nakamura and DH Nigel Wilson went yard in the same game, something we should start seeing more of as the year wears on.

     Tsuyoshi Shimoyanagi began the contest on the hill for Nippon Ham and, as he has all spring, has helped fatten up his opponents' batting averages. In the bottom of the second, Kintetsu first baseman Yuji Yoshioka laced a double down the leftfield line. Rightfielder Fumitoshi Takano did likewise to the righthand side and it was 1-0 Buffs. Wilson singled to left and shortstop Masahiro Abe flied out to right for the team's second run.

     In the third, Rhodes singled to center with two out and jogged home when Shimoyanagi threw an 82mph fastball and Nakamura atomized it, leaving the shards up in the third deck in left 400 feet away to make it 4-0.

     Next time up, the Buffs knocked Shimoyanagi out of the game thanks to Nigel Wilson jumping all over a fat heater and losing it where the big boys hit them, center backscreen, 6-0 Kintetsu. Yoshinori Tateyama was handed the ball and Abe
reached on an error by Fighters third baseman Yukio Tanaka. Catcher Akihito Fujii singled and it was goodbye Tateyama, hello Kazuya Shibata. Two outs later, Shibata plunked Rhodes to load the bases. Nakamura worked a walk and Abe trotted
in, 7-0 Kintetsu.

     Nippon Ham broke through with a tally in the fifth, as Yutaka Nakamura singled with one out. Another out later,centerfielder Tatsuya Ide doubled up the rightcenterfield alley and it was 7-1.

     So in the bottom of that frame, the Buffaloes went on a stampede. Takano singled to center and Wilson beat out an infield roller. One out later, Fujii doubled into rightcenter to push Takano in. Centerfielder Naoyuki Omura struckout, but then second baseman Yosuke Takasu tripled to right to get Wilson and Fujii in for a 10-1 advantage. Rhodes then got a slider away and rammed it into the seats in rightcenter and it was 12-1. Pic of the homer at:
http://www.sanspo.com/baseball/top/bt200204/image/0414rohzuOS107413_b.jpg

     Nippon Ham put up a run in the sixth and then Toshihiro Noguchi homered to center in the seventh to conclude the day's scoring at 12-3.

     For Kintetsu, Rhodes was 2-4 with two RBIs and an HBP and is now at .298. Wilson was 3-4 with two RBIs and is at .267. Eiji Mizuguchi started at second, but in the course of the game pulled an oblique muscle and will be out a month.

     For Nippon Ham, DH Sherman Obando was 0-4 and is at .222. Leftfielder D.T. Cromer was 0-2 with a walk and  is at .256.

Pitching Lines:

Nippon Ham:

Shimoyanagi (L, 1-2)     IP 3.0 PC 58 H 7 HR 2 K 1 BB 0 R 6 ER 6 ERA 8.79
Tateyama                      IP 0.0 PC  5 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 1 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Shibata                         IP 2.0 PC 42 H 5 HR 1 K 2 BB 1 R 5 ER 5 ERA 16.88
Kato                             IP 2.2 PC 31 H 2 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Iba                                IP  .1 PC  6 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 5.40

Kintetsu:

Koike (W, 3-0)           IP 6.2 PC 103 H 8 HR 1 K 6 BB 1 R 3 ER 3 ERA 3.50
Sekiguchi                    IP 1.1 PC  18 H 0 HR 0 K 4 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.50
Takagi                        IP 1.0 PC   8 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00

E: Y. Tanaka
2B: Takasu, Yoshioka 2, Fujii, Ide
3B: Takasu
HR: Noguchi (1), N. Nakamura (4), Wilson (2), Rhodes (6)
RBI: Ide, Kaneko, Noguchi, Takasu 2, Rhodes 2, N. Nakamura 3, Takano, Wilson 2, Abe, Fujii
SF: M. Abe
HBP: Rhodes (Shibata)
LOB: Nippon Ham 6, Kintetsu 6

Game Time: 3:07
Attendance: 17,000
Umpires: Kodera (HP), Sato (1B), Fujimoto (2B), Iizuka (3B)

Daiei Blows Lead, buy Wins it in 11 Innings on Misplayed Bunt

     Daiei Hawks closer Rodney Pedraza came on in the ninth Saturday at Seibu Dome with a man on and nobody out to try to hold a 3-1 lead, but the first hitter he faced, leftfielder Kazuhiro Wada, unloaded a two run homer to rightcenter to tie the game. In the top of the 11th, though, Lions closer Shinji Mori enabled Daiei to emerge victorious when he threw away a bunt by first
baseman Takeshi Nonogaki that allowed Hawks outfielder Motoi Okoshi to come all the way around with the winning run. Mori then surrendered a single to left by catcher Kenji Johima that provided Daiei with a big insurance tally in what became a 5-3 Daiei triumph.

     Koji Mitsui started for Seibu and Braddy Raggio did the same for Daiei and both threw a good ballgame, but it was Mitsui who cracked first, as he was taken on an involuntary tour of the rightfield seats by second baseman Tadahito Iguchi to make it 1-0 visitors.

     It stayed that way until the fifth when third baseman Tsuyoshi Furuya, sitting in for the injures Scott McClain, leadoff the stanza with a shot into the rightfield stands to knot it at one apiece.

     Raggio was gone after finishing the seventh, but Mitsui stayed in and got hurt in the eighth. With one out, DH Noriyoshi Omichi scalded a Mitsui pitch into the rightfield corner for a double. Rightfielder Koji Akiyama punched a single to left and was then pinch run for by Nonogaki. Pinch hitter Morgan Burkhart then slapped a single to right to usher in Omichi and centerfielder Hiroshi Shibahara flied out to right to plate Nonogaki and open a 3-1 advantage for the Hawks.

     Pedraza couldn't maintain it, though and so let's move on to the top of the eleventh. Backup rightfielder Okoshi started it by singling to right. One out later, Kokubo walked. Nonogaki then pushed a bunt between the mound and second base that was gloved by Mori, who hurriedly threw to first and instead hurled it down the rightfield line and Okoshi scored to make it 4-3 Hawks. Johjima singled to left for the fifth Daiei run and that's how it ended, as Yoshida tossed a perfect bottom portion to conclude it.

     For Seibu, first baseman Alex Cabrera went 2-5 and is now at .234.

     For Daiei, Burkhart was 1-1 with an RBI and is now at .263. Leftfielder Pedro Valdez was 1-4 and is now at .283.

Pitching Lines:

Daiei:

Raggio                     IP 7.0 PC 88 H 8 HR 1 K 2 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 4.76
Iijima                       IP 1.0 PC 15 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Suzuki                      IP 0.0 PC  1 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 7.36
Pedraza                   IP 1.0 PC 10 H 2 HR 1 K 0 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 2.70
Yoshida (w, 1-0)     IP 2.0 PC 26 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.00

Seibu:

Mitsui                  IP 7.1 PC 103 H 7 HR 1 K 5 BB 0 R 3 ER 2 ERA 2.01
Hashimoto            IP  .1 PC  11 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Shiozaki               IP  .1 PC   7 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.70
Toriyabe             IP 2.0 PC  24 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Mori (L, 0-1)     IP 1.0 PC  14 H 3 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 3 ER 2 ERA 4.15

2B: Omichi
HR: Iguchi (3), Furuya (1), Wada (4)
RBI: Shibahara, Iguchi, Johjima, Muramatsu, Burkhart, Wada 2, Furuya
GIDP: Matsunaka
LOB: Daiei 5, Seibu 7

Game Time: 3:23
Attendance: 30,000
Umpires:

NPB Leaders and Stats
http://www.npb-bis.com/

Trivia Time

     Twice in Japanese baseball history has a team collected five knocks in a single inning without scoring. How did it happen?

Ishii Opens Website

     Dodgers lefthander Kazuhisa Ishii opened his own website recently, which is at:  http://www.kazuhisa-ishii.net After the last time Ishii started, he called ex-Yakult teammate Shingo Takatsu on the phone. "As long as he keeps his focus, they won't hit him," the great closer asserted. He will be pitching for the first time in Coors field this week, so we will see how focused he is in a big yard that plays like a bandbox. But then again, Ishii is used to toiling in a small ballpark, so here's to hoping he gets the same results he did at Meiji Jingu Stadium.

Possible 2002 Number One Draft Choice Wada Strikes Out 11 Against Rikkyo University

     Waseda University lefthander Tsuyoshi Wada was the object of fascination Saturday by scouts from at least four Japanese pro teams and observers from the Mets and Mariners, as he threw a 1-0 four hit shutout against Rikkyo University, striking out eleven.

     Wada's festival of goose eggs was the first time that a shutout had been pulled off in a Waseda season opener since Koichi Misawa, now with Orix, did it in 1996. Those who have read this part of Baseball Guru saw an earlier piece I did on him, but for the newbies, Wada, 5'10" 165 pounds, was born in Aichi Prefecture and went to Hamada High School in Shimane Prefecture. Since moving on to Waseda, he has accumulated 316 strikeouts, one of the top career marks ever in Tokyo Big Six University League history. His overall numbers to date: G 39 W 19 L 10 IP 249.1 K 316 ERA 1.66

     In this one, he was clocked at 88mph and had precise command of his entire repetoire, a fastball, slider, change, and curve, frustrating the opposition by keeping the ball away consistently. He is expected to go in the first round and could be a top five selection. Here is a picture of him: http://www.nikkansports.com/news/baseball/bb-020414-6.jpg

Derrick May: A Travelogue
http://www.asahi.com/english/sports/K2002041600451.html

Korean Pro Baseball News
http://www.hankooki.com/kt_sports/200204/t2002041417093047110.htm

Female Outfielder for Kyushu Industrial University

     There have been a few female pitchers over the years in Japanese college play, but now Kyushu Industrial University, which plays in the Fukuoka Six University League, has added Mayumi Tsukiashi to its roster, a distaff outfielder. Tsukiashi had been a student manager for the squad, but got the bug to actually want to play for the team and head baseball coach Shinya Shinozaki gave his approval. She got into a recent game against Kyushu Community College in a pinch hitting role and struckout in a 14-0 loss.

Today in Japanese Baseball History

     This report is for April 13. On that date in Japanese baseball history, nothing significant happened. However, in 1965 on this date, the first game ever in the Astrodome was played. It was the world's first domed sports stadium.

Trivia Answer

     As was stated above, twice in Japanese pro baseball history has a single team rapped out five hits in a single inning and not had anything to show for it on the scoreboard. Here is the play by play:

The Eagles on October 27, 1937 against the Nagoya Club (a pre-cursor to the Chunichi Dragons):

     Tsuji leads off and clocks a single to right, but attempts to stretch it into a double and is dead meat at second.
Awahara (I might not have that name transliterated correctly) legs out a ground ball.
Teramoto drops one in near the thirdbase line.
Nakane singled to center and Awahara is nailed at the plate.
Bucky Harris (real name: Harrison MacGaillard; not the same Bucky Harris who played with the Washington Senators) singled to left and Teramoto is out at home.

The Hanshin Tigers August 14 1963 against the Kintetsu Buffaloes:

Bourbon singled to right and is subsequently out attempting to steal.
Okajima singled to center. Toguchi singled to left and Okajima is out trying to take third. Nakata singled. Hayase singled to center and Toguchi is gunned down at the plate.
 

Igawa Throws Another Shutout 1-0

     Hanshin lefthander Kei Igawa extended his scoreless innings streak to 22 Friday by pitching a 1-0 shutout against the Yokohama Bay Stars at Koshien Stadium before an enthusiastic 30,000 strong crowd. The victory also marks the first time in 26 years that Hanshin attained ten wins before any other ballclub in a season.

     Igawa was clocked at 89mph even in the late innings and limited the Stars to six hits while striking out nine and walking one on 110 pitches.

     Kuniyuki Taniguchi started for Yokohama and he handcuffed the Hanshin lineup by allowing just five hits, but he made a mistake to first baseman George Arias in the bottom of the second, hanging a 1-2 forkball, and Arias clobbered it into the centerfield seats for the lone run of the contest.

     Yokohama had two mild chances to get to Igawa, once in the top of the second when he was mugged for a two bagger to the leftfield wall by second baseman Hitoshi Taneda with one down, but Igawa then whiffed both catcher Takeshi Nakamura and Taniguchi to extricate himself from the frame.

     Then in the sixth, Yokohama leftfielder Takanori Suzuki hammered a double up the leftcenter gap, but becamce little more than a glorified bystander thanks to Igawa inducing a grounder to first by third baseman Mike Gulan and a harmless fly to right by rightfielder Hitoshi Nakane.

     Hanshin wasted a golden opportunity to blow the game open in the bottom of the sixth when they received two walks to open the inning and then saw rightfielder Shinjiro Hiyama get nailed with a Taniguchi offering. However, Arias and catcher Akihiro Yano then fanned and shortstop Atsushi Fujimoto bounced to Taniguchi and that was that.

     There were a couple of cases, though, where there was some concern for Igawa's physical health. In the third, Suzuki whacked a ball off of Igawa's leg and it went for a hit, but fortunately there was no injury and Igawa was able to continue. Then a comebacker hit by first baseman Ogawa in the ninth tipped off of Igawa's thumb on his glove hand and he sustained a bruise. He did manage to recover the ball and throw Igawa out in a 1-2-3 final stanza.

     In assessing Igawa's performance after the contest, Hanshin manager Senichi Hoshino joked, "he pitched as if he enjoys these 1-0 games."

     For Yokohama, Gulan was 0-3 with a walk and is at .239.

     For Hanshin, leftfielder Derrick White was 0-3 with a walk and two strikeouts and is now at .310 Arias was 1-3 with an RBI and is at .119. Centerfielder Norihiro Akahoshi had two hits in four trips with a steal and is at .333.

Pitching Lines:

Taniguchi (L, 0-1)   IP 5.1 PC 97 H 5 HR 1 K 8 BB 3 R 1 ER 1 ERA 2.84
Kizuka                   IP 1.2 PC 28 H 0 HR 0 K 3 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Saito                      IP 1.0 PC 13 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.80

Hanshin:

Igawa (W, 3-0)       IP 9.0 PC 110 H 6 HR 0 K 9 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.35

SB: T. Suzuki, Akahoshi
2B: T. Suzuki, Taneda, Imaoka
HR: Arias (3)
RBI: Arias
WP: Igawa
HBP: Hiyama (Taniguchi)
LOB: Yokohama 7, Hanshin 7

Game Time: 3:02
Attendance: 30,000
Umpires: Nishimoto (HP), Kasahara (1B), Suginaga (2B), Watada (3B)

Two Seibu Homers Beat Daiei's One in 2-1 Game

     Warning up in the bullpen before the start of the game, Seibu Lions righthander Daisuke Matsuzaka didn't think he had a thing that day, but whatever he had was good enough to hold the fine Daiei Hawks batting order to four hits and a run over eight innings, that coming  on a homer to Hawks backstop Kenji Johjima off of a hanging slider, and was backed by two longballs by Seibu's veteran catcer Tsutomu Itoh and rightfielder Kazuhiro Wada to gut out a  2-1 victory at Seibu Dome Friday. In addition, he struckout nine, walked one and hit a batter.

     Matsuzaka only had one inning where he had anything that could be typed a jam, when he was taken into leftcenter by Johjima for a leadoff double in the seventh. However, rightfielder Koji Akiyama tried to bunt Johjima over to third and sent it right back at Matsuzaka, who winged the ball over to third in time for the "touch out" on the sliding Johjima.

     Seibu got on the big board first when Itoh checked in and blasted a pitch from Daiei starter Keisaburo Tanoue, who otherwise threw a fine ballgame, into the seats in left to make it 1-0.

     Then in the home half of the sixth, Wada didn't miss a running fastball that was up and drifting back over the outer half of the plate and rifled it into the leftfield bleachers for what proved to be the game winner.

     Matsuzaka