Gary
Garland /
the
japanese insider
April 30, 2002
Tuesday's Games
Yabu Gets First Shutout in Two Years
Hanshin Tigers hurler Keiichi Yabu moved up to second in the Central League in ERA Tuesday with his first shutout since 2000 and his only such effort against the Chunichi Dragons as the Hanshin Tigers racked up a 4-0 victory at Koshien Stadium.
Takashi Ogasawara started for the Dragons and really didn't do that badly, but Hanshin was able to get some timely hits to generate just enough offense to win. In fact, a couple of walks in the first cost Ogasawara. With two outs, both third baseman Atsushi Kataoka and first baseman George Arias were recipients of Ogasawara's wildness and then rightfielder Shinjiro Hiyama cracked a single to center for a 1-0 lead.
In the bottom of the fourth, centerfielder Osamu Hamanaka murdered a 3-0 85mph fastball and some lucky fan halfway up the leftfield bleachers had something to take homer with him and Hanshin was in the driver's seat at 2-0.
Two innings further down the road, Arias singled to center and Hiyama took a slider on the inner half of the plate and splattered it among the faithful in the rightfield seats for a 4-0 advantage. Yabu kept his pitches down and was able to spot his fastball consistently to keep the Dragons from getting anything going. He also benefited from a couple of highlight plays by shortstop Shuta Tanaka in the fourth when rightfielder Kosuke Fukudome rapped a ball off of Yabu's glove and Tanaka charged, gloved it, spun and made a jumping throw to nip Fukudome by a hair at first. He also made a diving catch of a line drive basehit bid in the fifth.
Chunichi has now dropped their last five in a row while Hanshin just set a club record with 15 wins in April. In addition, Hanshin hasn't won 15 in a month since July, 1994. The Tigers are also leading the CL in homers with 34 after slugging only 90 in 2001. The Dragons haven't gotten a hit with a man in scoring position in five games.
Hanshin starting centerfielder Norihiro Aakahoshi had his cast removed and may be back with the club in three weeks.
For Chunichi, first baseman Leo Gomez was 0-4 and is at .234. He is in the middle of a 17 game homerless drought.
For Hanshin, Arias was 1-3 with a walk and is at .207. Leftfielder Derrick White was 0-3 and is at .256.
Pitching Lines:
Chunichi:
Ogasawara (L, 3-1) IP 7.0 PC 120 H 5
HR 2 K 5 BB 2 R 4 ER 4 ERA 2.15
Hisamoto
IP 1.0 PC 9 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Hanshin:
Yabu (W, 4-0) IP 9.0 PC 120 H 4 HR 0 K 6 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.56
E: S. Tanaka
SB: Ibata
2B: Fukudome
HR: Hamanaka (3), Hiyama (6)
RBI: Hamanaka, Hiyama 3
GIDP: Fukudome
LOB: Chunichi 4, Hanshin 3
Game Time: 2:31
Attendance: 30,000
Umpires: Tomoyori (HP), T. Kobayashi (1B), Shimada (2B), Nishimoto (3B)
Crespo Homers Twice as Giants Romp Over Carp 11-4
Felipe Crespo launched his first pair of homers
in Japan Tuesday to enable the Yomiuri Giants to pull away from the Hiroshima
Carp at Tokyo Dome 11-4.
The game was marked by a first inning ejection of Giants hurler Taka Miura, who beaned Carp centerfielder Koichi Ogata with two out after being taken to the downs by second baseman Eddie Diaz to left that just managed to stay fair according to the umpiring crew, though fans in the stands contended that it had hooked foul. Hiroshima leftfielder Tomoaki Kanemoto then singled to right to bring up Ogata. There is a rule in Japanese baseball that if a pitcher hits a batter in the noggin that moundsman gets tossed. So in his first ever pro start, Miura didn't even see out the inital stanza. No word on if that is a record.
Anyway, Junya Sakai came on to spell Miura and he did an okay job, being touched for two runs, one earned, in 3.1 innings. One of those runs was due to his being taken deep by third baseman Takahiro Arai to leadoff the second to make it 2-0 Hiroshima.
In the top of the fourth and one away, third baseman Koji Goto booted a groundball from catcher Shuji Nishiyama, who was then moved along on a sac bunt from Carp starter Tetsuto Tomabechi and scored on a double to the leftfield fence from rightfielder Takuya Kimura for a 3-0 lead.
Diaz begins the fifth by scalding a two bagger down the rightfield line and Kanemoto spanked a copy cat version for a 4-0 Hiroshima advantage. But Tomabechi wasn't able to hold it.
The succeeding half inning, second baseman Daisuke Motoki leadoff with a single to center. One out later, he got to leisurely tour the bases in front of a bit of hammertime played by backup first baseman Takayuki Saito into the rightfield bleachers to halve the deficit to 4-2. One out later, shortstop Tomohiro Nioka beat out a grounder toward short and he was redeemed when rightfielder Yoshinobu Takahashi lined a double up the leftcenter alley for an RBI and now it was a one run ballgame at 4-3. Hiroshima manager Koji Yamamoto ordered Godzilla Matsui walked, but then Tomabechi exacerbated things by walking first baseman Akira Etoh, now defending third base, unintentionally to lead the bases. Crespo checked in to pinch hit against reliever Shigeo Tamaki and he walked to force in a run to tie it at 4-4. Motoki singled to right for two more and catcher Shinnosuke Abe was plunked to juice the bags again. Fortunately for Tamaki, he was then able to induce a groundoout from Saito to end the Yomiuri revolt, though the home team was now up 6-4.
In the seventh, Crespo had his next AB and throttled a Daisuke Sakai pitch into the rightfield seats and it was now 7-4 Giants.
Then in the eighth, leftfielder Takayuki Shimizu kicked it off with a single to right. One out later, Takahashi singled to center and Matsui walked to pack the sacks. Etoh flied out to plate Shimizu and Crespo turned another Sakai offering into a souvenir and it was 11-4 Giants. Tsuyoshi Jobe closed it out in order and the elite businessman that populate the stands at Giants games went home happy and, probably, drunk.
For Yomiuri, Crespo was 2-2 with five RBIs and a walk and is at .200. By the way, this is the first time a Giants player has entered the game in mid-stream and homered twice since July 4, 1990.
Pitching Lines:
Hiroshima:
Tomabechi (L, 0-2) IP 4.2 PC 80
H 6 HR 1 K 1 BB 2 R 6 ER 6 ERA 9.31
Tamaki
IP .1 PC 16 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.46
Beltran
IP 1.0 PC 15 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.50
Sakai
IP 2.0 PC 46 H 5 HR 2 K 0 BB 1 R 5 ER 5 ERA 5.02
Yomiuri:
T.
Miura
IP .1 PC 18 H 2 HR 1 K 1 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 5.40
J.
Sakai
IP 3.1 PC 50 H 4 HR 1 K 3 BB 1 R 2 ER 1 ERA 1.59
Y.
Maeda
IP 1.0 PC 19 H 2 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.60
Almonte
IP 1.0 PC 27 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Okajima (W, 2-0) IP 2.0 PC
33 H 3 HR 0 K 2 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.82
Jobe
IP 1.0 PC 15 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.57
E: Goto
SB: S. Nishiyama, S. Abe
2B: Diaz, T. Kimura, Kanemoto, T. Shimizu, Y. Takahashi
HR: Diaz (7), Arai (7), Crespo 2 (2), Takayuki Saito (1)
RBI: Arai, T. Kimura, Kanemoto, Diaz, Crespo 5, Takayuki Saito 2, Y. Takahashi,
Etoh, Motoki 2
SF: Etoh
IBB: H. Matsui
HBP: Ogata (T. Miura), Asai (Y. Maeda), H. Matsui (Tomabechi), S. Abe (Tamaki)
PB: S. Abe
GIDP: Lopez
LOB: Hiroshima 12, Yomiuri 8
Game Time: 3:52
Attendance: 55,000
Umpires: Kittaka (HP), Tani (1B), Yoshimoto (2B), Kamimoto (3B)
Rhodes Ejected, So Nakamura Takes Revenge
Seibu Lions starter Hsu Ming-chieh had problems staying away from the extra base hit in the middle innings and so he lost out to a competent and little more outing from his opposite number on the Kintetsu Buffaloes. Katsuhiko Maekawa, in a 4-3 Kintetsu triumph at Seibu Dome Tuesday.
Hsu struckout the side in the third and was pitching ahead 1-0 from the fourth, when Lions shortstop Kazuo Matsui doubled to the centerfield fence despite a bad thumb and went to third on a sac bunt by centerfielder Tatsuya Ozeki. DH Toshiaki Inubushi singled to right and Matsui trotted in with the first run off the game.
In the fifth, Buffaloes leftfielder Tuffy Rhodes had a two strike count and then took a high fastball, thinking it was up. But plate umpire Yamamoto knew the english worked Rhodes used and he was kicked out of the game, his fifth ejection in seven years, tops among active players.
In the sixth, though, Kintetsu Koichi Isobe and first baseman Yuji Yoshioka both doubled down the leftfield line to knot it up at one apiece.
Matsui started things roiling again in the home portion when he laced his second double of the contest. Ozeki sacrificed him to third and hs came in on a single to left from Inubushi. Hey, haven't we heard this somewhere before? 2-1 Seibu after six.
In the seventh, Buffaloes catcher Tetsuya Matoyama singled to lead it off and second baseman Akihito Igarashi singled to center one out later. Leftfielder Kenshi Kawaguchi singled to right and Matoyama was thrown out at the plate. Third baseman Norihiro Nakamura, livid that Rhodes had been sent to the showers, got an 87mph fastball up and out over the plate from Hsu and he lambasted it to the opposite field for a three run homer and suddenly it was 4-2 Kintetsu.
In the bottom of the seventh, Maekawa hit Lions
catcher Tsutomu Itoh to begin the inning and was sacrificed along by second
baseman Hiro Takagi. Matsui then peeled off double number three and RBI number
one to tense it up at 4-3 and
knock Maekawa out of the game. Akira Okamoto replaced him and after giving
up an infield hit, ended the predicament by inducing an infield pop and a
fly ball to center.
Okamoto then put the screws on the Lions offense the rest of the way to save it.
Seibu, which paid a $1 million signing bonus to get Chang Chieh-chiah to sign on the dotted line and then will fork out a yearly salary of $150,000, is expecting him to be in the rotation the last couple of days of the month. Chang is a quality arm and if this race is close, could be the chip that makes things fall Seibu's way this season.
For Kintetsu, Rhodes was 0-3 and is at .253. DH Nigel Wilson donned the golden sombrero (four at bats, four whiffs) and is at .225.
For Seibu, Alex Cabrera was 0-3 with a walk and is at .244.
Pitchiing Lines:
Kintetsu:
Maekawa (W, 1-2) IP
6.1 PC 110 H 6 HR 0 K 6 BB 2 R 3 ER 3 ERA 4.91
Okamoto (S,
3)
IP 2.2 PC 34 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.59
Seibu:
Hsu (L,
1-3)
IP 6.2 PC 138 H 11 HR 1 K 10 BB 1 R 4 ER 4 ERA 6.33
Tsuchigoe
IP 1.0 PC 14 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA
0.00
Aoki
IP .1 PC 1 H 0 HR 0
K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Mizuo
IP .1 PC 2 H 0 HR 0
K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.50
Mori
IP .2 PC 13 H 0 HR 0 K 1
BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.19
2B: M. Abe, Isobe 2, Yoshioka, K. Matsui 3
HR: N. Nakamura (6)
RBI: N. Nakamura 3, Yoshioka, K. Matsui, Inubushi 2
IBB: Yoshioka
HBP: T. Itoh (Maekawa)
LOB: Kintetsu 11, Seibu 7
Game Time: 3:30
Attendance: 22,000
Umpires: Yamamoto (HP), Hirabayashi (1B), Akimura (2B), Nakamura (3B)
Daiei Alters Lineup and Batters Ono 11-6
The Chiba Lotte Marines instigated a four run eighth inning after being behind 6-2, but that was only after the Daiei Hawks had put up a three spot in the top of the same frame and then they added two more to walk away with an 11-6 triumph at Chiba Marine Stadium Tuesday. Hawks starter Toshiya Sugiuchi is now 2-1 in the aftermath of throwing 5.2 innings of six hit, two run ball in bad weather conditions while Lotte starter Shingo Ono is still seeking his first victory after dropping his second decision.
Daiei got off on the good foot in the first, as second baseman Tadahito Iguchi singled to right, went to second on a bad pick off throw and moved to third on a single to left from leftfielder Pedro Valdez. Third baseman Hiroki Kokubo rolled out to second and it was 1-0 Hawks.
In the third, the Daiei bats clubbed Ono. Centerfielder Hiroshi Shibahara walked to lead it off. Iguchi grounded to Lotte shortstop Toshiaki Imae, who booted it. Valdez went back up the middle for an RBI and One out later DH Nobuhiko Matsunaka singled to make it 3-0. With two now out, first baseman Morgan Burkhart singled to center for the fourth run and to finish off Ono, who left in departed in favor of Takashi Kawai. Rightfielder Arihito Muramatsu pinged a shot into the leftcenter gap to make it 6-0 Hawks.
Lotte ruined any ideas of a shotout in the fourth when Kenji Yoshitsuru unloaded a double down the rightfield line and scored on a single to left from third baseman Kiyoshi Hatsushiba.
Lotte picked up another tally in the fifth with a leadoff single to left from Masaumi Shimizu, a one out single to left from Sabura Omura and a two out knock from first baseman Kazuya Fukuura and it was 6-2 visitors.
In the top of the eighth, both Muramatsu and shortstop Yusuke Torigoe singled to center. Shibahara singled to left for an RBI and Iguchi singled to center for two more and it was 9-2 Daiei.
Lotte then went on their biggest scoring binge
of the night. Yoshitsuru commenced it with a single to right and Hatsushiba
ripped a double into rightcenter to make it 9-3. Daiei reliever Shuji Yoshida
threw a wild pitch to get Hatsushiba to third. one out later, he came in
on a groundout to third. Kita walked. Omura singled to left. Iyoda then doubled
up the ally in leftcenter
and it was 9-6.
In the ninth, though, Matsunaka singled to center and went to third when reliever Atsushi Yoshida made a bad throw to first in trying to hold Matsunaka on (as if someone with his bad wheels is going to run anyway). He then came in when catcher Kenji Johjima lofted a sac fly to right. Burkhart checked in and went midieval on a Yoshida pitch, the ball bounding around in the rightcenterfield seats and it was 11-6.
Kazuhiko Iijima came in for the ninth and dispensed with the Lotte lineup to write "finis" on this one.
Sugiuchi is the first Hawks rookie ever to win two games in April. Due to the winds and thew wet ball from the rain, he had a difficult time getting a handle on his breaking pitches, so he went to a lot of fastballs and cut fastballs as he got further into the game. He actually has a higher strikeout rate than Daisuke Matsuzaka right now, 11.4 K/9 against 11.2 K/9.
For Daiei, Valdez was 3-5 with two RBIs and is now at .330. He leads the Pacific League in RBIs with 29. Burkhart was 2-4 with two RBIs and a walk and is at .241. He says he is becoming more used to how he is being pitched to, though he admits that he still has a lot of work to do.
For Lotte, DH Derrick May was 0-5 with two strikeouts and is at .186.
Pitching Lines:
Daiei:
Sugiuchi (W, 2-1) IP
5.2 PC 111 H 6 HR 0 K 9 BB 1 R 2 ER 2 ERA 5.33
Wakatabe
IP 1.0 PC 24 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Yoshida
IP 1.1 PC 34 H 4 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 4 ER 2 ERA 5.40
Iijima
IP 1.0 PC 17 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.86
Lotte:
S. Ono (L,
0-2) IP
2.2 PC 69 H 6 HR 0 K 4 BB 1 R 6 ER 1 ERA 3.24
Kawai
IP 4.0 PC 71 H 1 HR 0 K 6 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.55
K.
Yamasaki
IP .1 PC 5 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.45
Takagi
IP 1.0 PC 27 H 6 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 4 ER 3 ERA 5.19
Yoshida
IP 1.0 PC 10 H 1 HR 1 K 1 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.86
E: S. Ono, Yoshida, Iguchi, Imae
SB: S. Omura
2B: Muramatsu, Johjima, Kokubo, Yoshitsuru, Iyoda, Hatsushiba, Shibahara,
Iguchi 2, P. Valdez 2, Matsunaka, Johjima,
Muramatsu 2
HR: Burkhart (8)
SF: Johjima
RBI: Burkhart 2, Iyoda 2, Fukuura, Hatsushiba, M. Shimizu,
HBP: Fukuura (Sugiuchi)
LOB: Daiei 7, Lotte 10
Game Time: 3:45
Attendance: 8,000
Umpires: Tamba (HP), Kawaguchi (1B), Tsugawa (2B), Tachibana (3B)
Nakamura Sharp Again to Edge Orix 2-1
Nippon Ham's Hayato Nakamura was brilliant in this faceoff gainst the Orix Blue Wave, twirling nine innings of one run, six hit ball to get the win when his teammates in the batting order played some very fundamentally sound ball in the top of the tenth for the game winning run.
Orix starter Masahiko Kaneda perhaps should have emerged on top since he permitted half the hits Nakamura did, but a critical misplay Orix centerfielder Ryota Aikawa effectively put the kabosh on his chance to to do that in the sixth.
Orix bunched some hits together in the third to get a lead. With one gone, catcher Takashi Miwa doubled to leftcenter. Makoto Shiozaki singled to right and Miwa stopped at third. Shortstop Mitsutaka Goto followed suit for the RBI and it was 1-0 Blue Wave.
Unfortunately, Aikawa dropped Makoto Kaneko's leadoff fly ball to get all the way around to third. Kaneda pitched around first baseman Michihiro Ogasawara and ultimately walked him. One out later, rightfielder Seigo Fujishima flied out to center to plate Kaneko with the tying run.
Both starters went nine and now let's go to the top of the tenth. Nippon Ham centerfielder Tatsuya Ide lead it off with a double to rightcenter off of Kazuo Yamaguchi and went to third on a sacrifice by Kaneko. Ogasawara flied to left and Ide sped in to make it 2-1. Yutaka Nakamura doubled down the rightfield line and Fujishima legged out a roller toward short. But any further scoring was averted when leftfielder D.T. Cromer flied out to center.
Tomokazu Iba then walked in from the bullpen and two strikeouts and a grounder later had his fifth save of the season and Nippon Ham's third win in a row.
For Orix, DH Fernando Seguignol was 1-3 with two strikeouts and a walk and is at .282. First baseman Scott Sheldon was 0-3 and is at .237.
For Nippon Ham, DH Sherman Obando was 0-2 with a walk and is at .247. Cromer was 1-5 with two strikeouts and is at .266.
Pitching Lines:
Nippon Ham:
H. Nakamura (W, 2-0) IP 9.0 PC 132 H
6 HR 0 K 8 BB 4 R 1 ER 1 ERA 1.56
Iba (S,
5)
IP 1.0 PC 12 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 6.75
Orix:
Kaneda
IP 9.0 PC 124 H 3 HR 0 K 6 BB 5 R 1 ER 0 ERA 0.73
Yamaguchi (L, 1-2)
IP .2 PC 19 H 3 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 4.05
Kase
IP .1 PC 8 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0
ERA 1.23
E: Katsuragi, Aikawa
2B: Y. Tanaka, Ide, Nakamura, Miwa, Shindo
RBI: M. Ogasawara, Fujishima, Goto
SF: Fujishima, Ogasawara
IBB: Fujishima, Seguignol
HBP: Ide (Kaneda)
GIDP: Kimoto, Goto
LOB: Nippon Ham 10, Orix 7
Game Time: 3:20
Attendance: 8,000
Umpires: Sato (HP), Yamamura (1B), Higashi (2B), Hayashi (3B)
Doi Throws Third Complete Game in Four Days
I don't know if this guy is trying to kill his arm,
especially since he had surgery last year to remove floating cartiliage in
his elbow, but Hosei University hurler Ryutaro Doi (note: in a previous article,
I had written his last name as "Tsuchii," which was obviously incorrect)
tossed his third complete game Tuesday in four days, striking out ten and
walking none in a 4-1 victory
over Tsuyoshi Wada and Waseda University. Wada whiffed seven to raise his
career strikeout total to 349.
Doi, who is drawing a lot of interest from the Chiba
Lotte Marimes, is now 3-1 against Wada in their head to head confrontations.
He has thrown 435 pitches between the three games. Note that using him in
this game wasn't the original
intention of Hosei manager Yamanaka, who was a fine pitcher in his own right,
but Doi reportedly asked him to let him start in this one and he did so
successfully. For his career, Doi, 6' and 170, is 18-6 with a 1.39 ERA in
30 games.
More Bad Ideas on Speeding Up the Game
See Yomiuri Shimbun article at: http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/newse/20020502wo53.htm
Hall of Famer Nomura's Wife Sentenced to Two Years in Jail for Tax Evasion
The wife of Japanese baseball hall of famer Katsuya
Nomura was sentenced to two years in jail on tax evasion charges.However,
if she keeps her nose clean for four years and pays the stipulated fines,
she won't have to serve the time:
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/newse/20020502wo22.htm
LG Twins Edge SK Wyverns in KBO Play
http://www.hankooki.com/kt_sports/200205/t2002050117085747110.htm
April 29, 2002
Monday's Games
Yokohama Nearly Blows 9-2 Lead, But Hangs on for Win Over Yakult 10-8
The Yokohama Bay Stars, offensively challenged for the most part early in the season, finally broke loose with some significant run production, only to then almost blow it in a wild 10-8 victory against the Yakult Swallows at Yokohama Stadium Monday. Yokohama starter Masao Morinaka picked up his first win in that role with seven solid innings of three run ball on seven hits by effectively utilizing his slider and getting good movement on his fastball.
Rookie Masanori Ishikawa admitted that he let an error by first baseman Roberto Petagine in the bottom of the first bother him and he was charged with eight runs, four earned to lose it.
Yakult had staked its number one draft choice to a 2-0 lead when centerfielder Mitsuru Manaka leadoff with a single to right and went to second on a sacrifice. Morinaka then walked both Petagine and catcher Atsuya Furuta to load the bases and third baseman Akinori Iwamura scalded a double down the rightfield line for two RBIs.
In the home portion, though, shortstop Takuro Ishii leadoff with a single to center. One out later, leftfielder Takanori Suzuki walked and Ishikawa nailed first baseman Hiroo Ishii on the thigh to pack the sacks. Hirofumi Ogawa struckout, but then second baseman Hitoshi Taneda hit a ball that squirted through Petagine and two runners came around to even it. Rightfielder Boi Rodrigues singled to center for an RBI and catcher Takeshi Nakamura bashed a shot off the leftfield wall for a double and it was 4-2 Stars after one. If Petagine catches that ball, the inning would have been over and Yakult would have been in the driver's seat, but now Yokohama had the upper hand.
In the fifth, the Stars staged a two out rally that knocked Ishikawa out of the game. Ogawa singled to right and Taneda singled to left. Rodrigues singled to left to pick up Ogawa and Nakamura went way downtown to left for a three run homer and to expand their advantage to 8-2.
Masato Hanada went to the center of the diamond for Yakult in the sixth and centerfielder Tatsuhiko Kinjo spanked one back up the middle to get on. Suzuki sprayed the ball to right to move Kinjo to third. Takashi Manei tapped one toward the mound and Kinjo hustled home while Hanada got the out at first to make it 9-2.
Down by seven, even if they ultimately lost, at least the Swallows didn't quit. In the top of the seventh and with two down, backup catcher Kosei Ono singled to right, as did Manaka to allow Ono to go to third. Shortstop Shinya Miyamoto then hit a dribbler that he was safe on while Ono crossed the plate to shrink the disparity to 9-3.
In the eighth, Petagine leadoff with his ninth homer, which landed in the centerfield seats. Furuta kissed one down the leftfield line for a double. One out later, leftfielder Alex Ramirez got real gone to leftcenter and now it was close at 9-6.
In the bottom half and with Ryu Kawabata on the mound, Takuro Ishii singled with one out and Kinjo moved him along with a sacrifice. Kawabata intentionally walked Suzuki. Manei singled to left and Ishii came in to give Yokohama its first double digit scoring binge of 2002.
Yakult had one last gasp left and it made things a bit too interesting for fans of the Stars against closer Takashi Saito. Manaka leadoff with a single to center. One out later, rightfielder Atsunori Inaba singled to right. Petagine flied out, but while Saito was pitching to Furuta, Nakamura commited a passed ball and both runners moved up. Furuta singled to center for one run and Iwamura went to left for another, but Saito then whiffed Ramirez and Yokohama had a 10-8 victory. This was also the first time all season that the Stars had scored in double figures.
For Yokohama, Rodrigues was 3-4 with three RBIs and is now at .227.
For Yakult, Petagine was 1-4 with a walk and an RBI and is at .309. Ramirez was 2-5 with two RBIs and two strikeouts and is at .371.
Pitching Lines:
Yakult:
Ishikawa (L, 1-2) IP 5.0 PC 97
H 9 HR 1 K 5 BB 1 R 8 ER 4 ERA 3.64
Hanada
IP 1.0 PC 19 H 2 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 6.43
Sakamoto
IP 1.0 PC 17 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.23
Kawabata
IP 1.0 PC 18 H 2 HR 0 K 2 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 9.00
Yokohama:
Morinaka (W, 1-0) IP 7.0 PC 116
H 7 HR 0 K 4 BB 2 R 3 ER 3 ERA 3.65
Takeshita
IP .1 PC 13 H 2 HR 1 K 1 BB 0 R 2 ER 2 ERA 6.75
Kizuka
IP .2 PC 7 H 1 HR 1 K 1 BB 0 R 1 ER 1
ERA 1.42
T.
Saito
IP 1.0 PC 34 H 4 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 2 ER 1 ERA 2.08
E: Petagine, Iwamura
2B: Iwamura, Furuta
HR: Petagine (9), Ramirez (3), Nakamura (1)
RBI: S. Miyamoto, Furuta, Petagiune, Iwamura 3, Ramirez 2, Rodrigues 3, Nakamura
3, Manei 2
IBB: T. Suzuki
HBP: H. Ishii (Ishikawa)
WP: Morinaka, Ishikawa
PB: Nakamura
Balk: Ishikawa
LOB: Yakult 8, Yokohama 7
Game Time: 3:26
Attendance: 28,000
Umpires: Honada (HP), Fukatani (1B), Suginaga (2B), Ino (3B)
Kudoh Shuts Out Carp 5-0
Saying that this was the most mechanically sound he has been this season, Yomiuri Giants southpaw Kimiyasu Kudoh shutout the Hiroshima Carp on six hits Monday at Tokyo Dome to put his club four games above .500 for the first time this year with a 5-0 victory.
Most importantly, it appears that the ex-Daiei Hawk Kudoh is over the shoulder and leg ailments that dogged him last season and, if that is truly the case, will give the Giants ballclub a lift in terms of both morale and in stabilizing a rotation that is still a little unsettled.
It looked as if Hiroshima would get to Kudoh in the first, but a bonehead baserunning error kept that from happening. Second baseman Eddie Diaz drilled a two out double to rightcenter. Leftfielder Tomoaki Kanemoto then hit a little groundball to second. Diaz, thinking that Kanemoto was going to be out, started a slow jog to the plate. Giants second baseman Daisuke Motoki, realizing that he wasn't going to get Kanemoto, who runs well, picked up the ball and gunned it to the plate, where catcher Shinnosuke Abe waited to tag Diaz out.
The game remained at 0-0 until the bottom of the third, when Motoki drew a leadoff walk and went to second on a single to center from Abe. Kudoh moved both men 90 feet with a sacrifice. One out later, shortstop Tomohiro Nioka ricocheted a ball off the foot of Carp starter Masayuki Hasegawa and into centerfield for a two run single and it was 2-0 Yomiru after three complete.
In the sixth, Giants rightfielder Yoshinobu Takahashi leadoff with a free pass and centerfielder Hideki Matsui singled to center. First baseman Akira Etoh then attempted to sacrificed the runners along, but Hiroshima third baseman Takahiro Arai was out of position and Etoh had a rare bunt hit to load the bases. Goto grounded into a seldom seen 3-2-3 double play, but Motoki singled to center to plate Matsui and Etoh and it was 4-0 home team.
Then in the seventh, leftfielder Takayuki Shimizu homered to right to widen the gap with Hiroshima to 5-0. Kudoh then put the Carp away with little fuss from there on in and sent their fans away happy.
Injured first baseman Kazuhiro Kiyohara and wounded second baseman Toshihisa Nishi are now starting to hit off a batting tee while rehabbing oblique muscle strains and should be at full strength by the middle of May.
Pitching Lines:
Hiroshima:
Hasegawa (L, 1-1) IP 6.0 PC 93 H 7 HR 0 K 3 BB 4
R 4 ER 4 ERA 3.94
Satake
IP 1.0 PC 20 H 3 HR 3 K 1 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 9.00
Stanifer
IP 1.0 PC 18 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.15
Yomiuri:
Kudoh (W, 2-2) IP 9.0 PC 108 H 6 HR 0 K 6 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.70
2B: Diaz
HR: T. Shimizu (3)
RBI: T. Shimizu, Nioka 2, Motoki 2
GIDP: Lopez, Goto, Motoki
LOB: Hiroshima 7, Yomiuri 7
Game Time: 2:32
Attendance: 55,000
Umpires: Manabe (HP), Yoshimoto (1B), Kamimoto (2B), Kittaka (3B)
Two Kataoka Homers, Ando Lead Hanshin Past Dragons 5-3
Chunichi Dragons starter Melvin Bunch was picked apart for four homers, all solo shots, and Hanshin starter Yuya Ando threw seven just good enough innings in a 5-3 Tigers victory at Koshien Stadium Monday. Two of the real gone bombs were by third baseman Atsushi Kataoka, who had been slumping to this point, and he raised his average to .237.
The Dragons were able to grab a temporary lead in the first, with shortstop Hirokazu Ibata leading off by banging a single to center and moving over to third when Ando walked both rightfielder Kosuke Fukudome and first baseman Leo Gomez to load the bases. Third baseman Kazuyoshi Tatsunami flied out to right to push in Ibata for the 1-0 edge.
Hanshin cleared that hurdle, though, when Kataoka lifted a 2-0 fastball up and over the outer half of the plate into the first few rows of the leftfield bleachers for the tie and then first baseman George Arias provided the go ahead run when he got all of a similar pitch and left it rattling around in the leftfield stands, too, 2-1 Tigers after one complete. You can view a pic of one of Kataoka's blasts at: http://www.sponichi.co.jp/baseball/kiji/2002/04/30/20020430005254.jpg
In the visitor's half of the fourth, however, catcher Motonobu Tanishige brutalized a fastball on the inner half of the plate with Tantsunami on after being hit with a pitch and abandoned the carcass in the leftfield seats to put the Dragons in front 3-2.
In the sixth, Bunch hung a slider to Kataoka and he hurtled it into the rightfield seats to deadlock it at 3-3. One out later, rightfielder Shinjiro Hiyama pulled a David Copperfield with another Bunch delivery and made the ball reappear among the folks behind the leftfield fence to make it 4-3 Hanshin.
After a 1-2-3 seventh, Ando gave way to Shinobu Fukuhara, who tossed a scoreless eighth. Hanshin then tacked on an insurance run with singles form Kataoka, Arias and Hiyama and celebrated the triumph when closr Mark Valdez harvested a couple of grounders and a whiff to end it.
Hanshin is now 8-0 when Arias has homered. On the other hand, since it's seven game winning skein to open the season, the Tigers have done little more than play .500 ball.
The Dragons aren't doing much when runners have moved into scoring position the last few games, the club's hitters zero for the last 33 innings in that regard.
For Hanshin, Arias was 2-4 with an RBI and is at .202. Leftfielder Derrick White was 1-3 and is at .267.
For Chunichi, Gomez was 1-3 with a walk and is at .244.
Pitching Lines:
Chunichi:
Bunch (L,
3-2) IP 6.0 PC
105 H 6 HR 4 K 6 BB 0 R 4 ER 4 ERA 3.55
Yamai
IP 2.0 PC 32 H 4 HR 0 K 3 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.00
Hanshin:
Ando (W,
2-1) IP
7.0 PC 111 H 4 HR 1 K 4 BB 3 R 3 ER 3 ERA 2.63
Fukuhara
IP 1.0 PC 21 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
M. Valdez (S, 7) IP 1.0
PC 14 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
HR: Tanishige (7), Kataoka (3), Arias (10), Hiyama (5)
RBI: Tanishige 2, Tatsunami, Arias, Kataoka 2, Hiyama 2
SF: Tatsunami
HBP: Tatsunami (Hasegawa)
WP: Ando
Balk: Ando
LOB: Chunichi 5, Hanshin 4
Game Time: 2:56
Attendance: 45,000
Umpires: Kasahara (HP), Shimada (1B), Nishimoto (2B), Tomoyori (3B)
Matsuzaka Brilliant, Cabrera Unleashes Another Mammoth Blast to Power Seibu Over Kintetsu
Seibu Lions righthander Daisuke Matsuzaka's nickname is "the monster" and if you were a Kintetsu Buffaloes batter he was indeed terrifying, as he went seven strong innings for his fifth victory against zero defeats in a 4-1 Seibu win. That was also the 50th of his three years plus pro career.
Perhaps more monstrous, though, was what Lions first baseman Alex Cabrera did to an offering from Kintetsu reliever Koichi Misawa in the seventh, as he unleashed an artillery shot 520 feet to leftcenter for his eighth homer of the season and his third in the last five games.
Kintetsu leftfielder Tuffy Rhodes was the sole offensive highlight for the Buffaloes, as he exterminated a 92mph fastball from Matsuzaka to right in the sixth for his 12th homer already. He is on a pace to hit 70.
Seibu wrought most of its depredations on the Buffs in the fifth. Already up 1-0 on a triple down the leftfield line from centerfielder Susumu Otomo and a double to rightcenter on a fastball by catcher Tsutomu Itoh in the fourth, DH Toshiaki Inubushi found a triple in the rightcenter gap and, following walks to Cabrera and ;leftfielder Kazuhiro Wada to pack the sacks, hustled home on an infield safety by third baseman Hiroaki Ueda. A walk to pinch hitter Hisashi Takayama forced in another runner and it was 3-0 Lions.
For Kintetsu, Rhodes was 1-4 with an RBI and is at .260. DH Nigel Wilson fanned in all three of his at bats and is at .235.
For Seibu, Cabrera was 2-3 with an RBI and a walk and is at .253. Scott McClain is back in the U.S. having his injury treated. No time table has been announced for his return.
Pitching Lines:
Kintetsu:
Koike (L, 3-1) IP 4.2 PC
87 H 6 HR 0 K 3 BB 3 R 3 ER 3 ERA 4.71
Aikyo
IP 0.0 PC 3 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.13
Sekiguchi
IP 1.1 PC 25 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 5.59
Misawa
IP 1.0 PC 17 H 1 HR 1 K 1 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 7.84
Kadokura
IP 1.0 PC 13 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.50
Seibu:
Matsuzaka (W, 5-0) IP 7.0 PC 102 H 5 HR 1 K 8 BB
0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 2.20
Mori
IP 1.0 PC 14 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.31
Toyoda (S,
6)
IP 1.0 PC 15 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.90
2B: Isobe, Takasu, Cabrera, T. Itoh
3B: Inubushi, Otomo
HR: Cabrera (8), Rhodes (12)
RBI: Rhodes, Cabrera, Ueda, Takayama, T. Itoh
IBB: Cabrera
GIDP: Takasu
LOB: Kintetsu 5, Seibu 8
Game Time: 2:52
Attendance: 43,000
Umpires: Yanagida (HP), Akimura (1B), Nakamura (2B), Hirabayashi (3B)
Fifth Inning Valdez Homer the Margin of Victory Against Lotte
At the time he didn't know it, but when Daiei Hawks leftfielder Pedro Valdez yanked a Nathan Minchey offering into the rightfield seats at Chiba Marine Stadium in the fifth inning Monday to give his team a 5-3 lead, he was actually securing the win since Chiba Lotte Marines DH Frank Bolick went yard off of Shuji Yoshida in the eighth to make it 5-4, which would have tied the game if not for Valdez' heroics. It also enabled Daiei closer Rodney Pedraza to reach the century mark in lifetime saves.
The Hawks failed to convert an opportunity in the first, as centerfielder Hiroshi Shibahara leadoff with a double into the leftcenter alley and went to third on a sac bunt. But then second baseman Tadahito Iguchi struckout and third baseman Hiroki Kokubo flied out to right to fritter it away.
Lotte then turned around and hurt Daiei starter Junji Hoshino with an infield hit from shortstop Masato Watanabe and a righteous shot off a hanging breaking ball by first baseman Kazuya Fukuura, his first of the year, for a 2-0 Marines lead.
The next half inning, first baseman Morgan Burkhart shaved a run off the disparity when he put a nice swing on a Minchey pitch and toasted it into the leftfield seats to make it 2-1 Lotte. One out later, Shibahara singled to right and scampered home on a booming double down the rightfield line from Iguchi to knot it at two apiece. Kokubo then tried to exit to the opposite field, but had to settle for a wall banging double and an RBI. DH Nobuhiko Matsunaka cracked a single to right and now the Hawks were ahead 4-2.
Lotte responded with a single to center by Fukuura, a knock to right by Bolick and a two out RBI double by third baseman Kiyoshi Hatsushiba to draw within 4-3.
After the Valdes shot, Lotte never got a head of steam at all, the Bolick dinger being their only form of resistance. Pedraza had a 1-2-3 ninth and the Hawks pocketed the win and went back to the hotel. The save was the 100th of Pedraza's Japanese career.
While Lotte was one of the weaker nines in the PL in 2001, Chiba Marine Stadium was a house of horrors for the Hawks, who went 3-10 in the windy environs.
For Lotte, Bolick was 2-4 with an RBI and is now at .233. Leftfielder Derrick May was 0-4 and is at .198.
For Daiei, Valdez was 1-3 with an RBI and is at .318. Burkhart was 1-4 with an RBI and is at .228.
Pitching Lines:
Daiei:
J. Hoshino (W, 3-0) IP 6.1 PC 83 H 7
HR 1 K 3 BB 0 R 3 ER 3 ERA 2.55
Yoshida
IP 1.2 PC 28 H 1 HR 1 K 0 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 4.35
Pedraza (S,
4)
IP 1.0 PC 7 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 5.87
Lotte:
Minchey (L, 1-4) IP 9.0 PC 124 H 10 H 2 K 2 BB 0 R 5 ER 5 ERA 3.61
2B: Johjima, Kokubo, Iguchi, Shibahara, Hatsushiba
HR: Burkhart (7), P. Valdez (9), Fukuura (1), Bolick (2)
RBI: Burkhart, P. Valdez, Fukuura 2, Bolick, Iguchi, Kokubo, Matsunaka,
Hatsushiba
PB: Johjima
GIDP: Shibahara
LOB: Daiei 4 , Lotte 4
Game Time: 2:33
Attendance: 30,000
Umpires: Yamazaki (HP), Tachibana (1B), Sakaemura (2B), Tamba (3B)
Cromer Sacrifice Fly Game Winner for Nippon Ham Against Orix 5-3
A flyout to center by Nippon Ham leftfielder D.T. Cromer with second baseman Makoto Kaneko on third base in the seventh inning produced what would prove to be the winning run in a 5-3 Fighters victory over the Orix Blue Wave at Kobe Green Stadium Monday.
Hiroyuki Sekine started for Nippon Ham and went
7.1 solid innings, allowing just four hits and walking one while striking
out ten to earn the victory. He had permitted just a fifth inning solo homer
from Fernando Seguignol until he tired in the seventh and Orix exploited
that fatigue to make it a closer ballgame. See pic of Sekine at:
http://www.sponichi.co.jp/baseball/kiji/2002/04/30/20020430005524.jpg
Nobuyuki Ebisu made his first start of the season and he had a reasonable outing, going six innings, but he was hurt by two longballs and ended up surrendering three earned runs on seven hits and ultimately was saddled with the kuroboshi.
Nippon Ham broke a scoreless match in the top of the fifth, as first baseman Michihiro Ogasawara blasted an Ebisu pitch into the rightfield seats.
Seguignol, though, compensated for the mistake Ebisu ran up to the plate with a cannon shot into the rightcenterfield seats to even it at 1-1. Sekine collected himself in the aftermath of the roundtripper and struckout the side to end the inning.
In the sixth, though, Fighters rightfielder Seigo Fujishima took a shorter route and exited through the leftfield stands to make it 2-1 Fighters. Centerfielder Tatsuya Ide singled and stole second and then galloped around when shortstop Ken Tanaka singled to left to expand his club's lead to 3-1.
Nippon Ham added to that in the seventh, as Kaneko leadoff with a single to left and went to third on Ogasawara's knock to right. One out later, Cromer lifted the scoring fly ball to center and it was 4-1 Fighters.
The visitors put up another in the eighth when third baseman Kuniyuki Kimoto leadoff with a single to center and advanced on Toshihiro Noguchi's infield hit. Both men moved up on a groundout to first. One out later, Kaneko walked to load the bases. Ogasawara then tapped a ball toward short and beat it out to send in Kimoto, 5-1 Fighters after seven and a half.
Orix made a comback run in the bottom of the inning, one Sekine would not finish. With one out, leftfielder Kazuhiko Shiotani doubled to the leftfield wall. First baseman Scott Sheldon singled to left to usher in Shiotani and pinch hitter Yasuo Fujii walked. Nippon Ham manager Yasunori Oshima pulled Sekine in favor of Kiyoshi Sasaki and One out later, pinch hitter Tatsuya Shindo singled to right to plate Sheldon and it was 5-3. Sasaki then induced a ground ball from second baseman Koichi Oshima to stanch the bleeding. Tomokazu Iba then came on to save it.
Fighters starting shortstop Hiroshi Narahara hurt his heel and sat out this game.
For Nippon Ham, Cromer was 0-2 with two walks and an RBI and is at .270. DH Sherman Obando was 0-5 with four strikeouts and is at .253.
For Orix, Seguignol was 1-4 with an RBI and is at .280. Sheldon was 1-4 with an RBI and is at .244.
Pitching Lines:
Nippon Ham:
Sekine (W, 1-2) IP 7.1 PC
113 H 4 HR 1 K 10 BB 1 R 3 ER 3 ERA 4.43
Sasaki
IP .2 PC 8 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB
0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.77
Iba (S,
4)
IP 1.0 PC 22 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 7.56
Orix:
Ebisu (L, 0-1) IP 6.0
PC 104 H 7 HR 2 K 4 BB 4 R 3 ER 3 ERA 2.70
Imamura
IP .1 PC 12 H 2 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 4.35
Iwashita
IP .2 PC 13 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA
6.00
Tokumoto
IP .2 PC 18 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA
6.35
Kase
IP 1.1 PC 17 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.29
E: Shiozaki
SB: Kaneko, M. Ogasawara, Ide
2B: Kaneko, Shiotani
HR: M. Ogasawara (9) Fujishima (4), Seguignol (9)
RBI: Shindo, Seguignol, Sheldon, K. Tanaka, M. Ogasawara 2, Cromer, Fujishima
SF: Cromer
GIDP: Noguchi
LOB: Nippon Ham 11, Orix 4
Game Time: 3:29
Attendance: 22,000
Umpires: Kakigizono (HP), Nagami (1B), Maeda (2B), Iizuka (3B)
Who's Hot and Who's Not in Korean Pro Baseball
http://www.hankooki.com/kt_sports/200204/t2002043017072947110.htm
Spiteless in Seattle
An aquaintance in the Seattle sports media wrote
me, saying that he thinks "the Mariners blew it big time on this one"
regarding Safeco Field management not allowing fans to wear t-shirts with
the words "Yankees Suck!" on them. Jim Caple
over at ESPN also took the Mariners to the woodshed over this in a scathing
bit of satire:
http://espn.go.com/page2/s/caple/020430.html
Personally, I don't know who the idiot is in the Mariners front office who decided to restrict patrons of the ballpark from enjoying the same privileges that fans in the 29 other stadiums across the MLB landscape do, but he is paying for it now by making a laughingstock of what is otherwise one of the classiest organizations in all of baseball. Certainly, to your humble amateur scribe, this affair smacks of the nonsensical Canadian speech codes. Being so close to the border with our northern neighbors, maybe this bit of craziness was an infection that spread to Washington. Whatever the case may be, just let me say that Safeco bluenoses suck! Oh well, I guess I'll never be allowed into the stadium now. Not like I can afford it anyway.
Incidentally, for those of you who speak Japanese, syndicated talk show host Tom Leykis, who has the number one drive time talk program in Seattle and L.A., is offering $500 to any fan who can get a sign in Safeco Field that says, "Mariners suck!" on it in Japanese. Send the picture to tom@blowmeuptom.com if you manage to do this. Leykis is also soliciting attorneys to sue the team for violating fans' First Amendment rights since it is a publically financed stadium.
Today in Japanese Baseball History
This report is for April 29th, so on that day in Japanese baseball history in 1970, the owner of the Nishtetsu Lions was quizzed by the Tokyo Special Prosecutor's Office as to whether one of the team's pitchers, Masayuki Nagai, had taken money to throw baseball games as part of what came to be known as, "the black mist incident." For his part, Nagai wouldn't talk.
And on that day in Japanese baseball history in 1976, Nippon Ham rookie Hisataka Yukizawa slugged a grand slam homer as his first pro hit. However, the runner at first just kind of stood there watching the ball go out and was passed up by Yukizawa, who lit out thinking it was going to merely be an extra base hit. Consequently, he was out. Yukizawa went on to play for Seibu as well, hitting .230 lifetime mainly as a bench player.
Also on that day in Japanese baseball history in 1953, Hanshin outfielder Fumio Fujimura hit a grand slam in his second consecutive game.
April 28, 2002
Sunday's Games
Takatsu Earns 200th Save in Yakult Win Over Hanshin
Hanshin Tigers lefthander Trey Moore limited the Yakult Swallows to only six hits, but they organized them in the right spots to back the startlingly good work of Hirotsugu Maeda for a 3-1 victory Sunday at Koshien Stadium. Maeda was pummeled with gusto during spring training and yet, after having just been promoted back up to the big club, went 6.1 innings and gave up a run on four hits, walking one and striking out four for his first win of the season.
Yakult got out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the second, as first baseman Roberto Petagine leadoff with a single to right and two outs later went to third on a double to center from leftfielder Alex Ramirez. Second baseman Noriyuki Shiroishi then drilled a Moore pitch into the leftcenter alley for another two bagger and to push Petagine and Ramirez in. Unfortunately, Shiroishi injured himself and is going to be out for a while.
Hanshin then scored a run in the fourth by combining a leadoff single to center from second baseman Makoto Imaoka, a sac bunt from shortstop Yoshinori Okihara, a single to left from third baseman Atsushi Kataoka and a sac fly by leftfielder Derrick White to make it 2-1.
In the fifth, Shiroishi's replacement, Hajime Miki, singled to start the inning and stole second. He then came around on a couple of groundballs to get the Swallows back up by two at 3-1.
Ryota Igarashi and Hirotoshi Ishii kept Hanshin quiet until the ninth, when closer Shingo Takatsu walked in and scooped up his 200th save, 29 away from Kazuhiro Sasaki's all time record.
For Yakult, Petagine was 1-4 with two strikeouts and is at .311. Ramirez was 1-3 and is at .370.
For Hanshin, White was 0-2 with an RBI and is at .264. First baseman George Arias was 1-2 with a walk and is at .188.
Pitching Lines:
Yakult:
H. Maeda (W, 1-0) IP 6.1 PC 82 H 4 HR 0 K 4 BB 1 R 1 ER
1 ERA 1.42
Ryo.
Igrashi
IP .2 PC 13 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.23
H.
Ishii
IP 1.0 PC 16 H 0 HR 0 K 3 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.17
Takatsu (S,
6) IP 1.0
PC 18 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.16
Hanshin:
Moore (L, 3-1) IP 8.0 PC 115 H 6 HR 0
K 5 BB 1 R 3 ER 3 ERA 1.75
Kanazawa
IP 1.0 PC 20 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.25
SB: Miki
2B: Ramirez, Shiroishi
3B: Furuta
RBI: Manaka, Shiroishi 2, White
WP: Maeda, Ryo. Igarashi
GIDP: Moore
LOB: Yakult 3, Hanshin 5
Game Time: 2:50
Attendance: 53,000
Umpires: Tani (HP), Kamimoto (1B), Kittaka (2B), Nemoto (3B)
Pedraza Claims Foreign Record in Saving it for Terahara
Daiei Hawks 18 year old rookie righthander Hayato
Terahara got a win under his belt and closer Rodney Pedraza saved it to become
the all time Japanese leader in that department among foreigners Sunday at
Fukuoka Dome in a 3-1 Hawks
triumph. Terahara went six shutout innings on three hits and whiffed seven
while walking one. Pedraza's save was his 99th, breaking former Chunichi
Dragons Fireman of the Year Son Dong-yeol's foreign record of 98. You can
see a pic of the youngster at:
http://www.sanspo.com/baseball/top/bt200204/image/0429terahara_OS032428_b.jpg
Orix starter Hidetaka Kawagoe wasn't bad, but he just couldn't match Terahara's standard and took the loss, his third, against two wins.
Daiei pulled in front in the third, when leftfielder Pedro Valdez took Kawagoe over the rightfield wall to make it 1-0.
Terahara had his first jam in the fifth, when Orix leftfielder Ryota Aikawa doubled to rightcenter with one away. Rightfielder Ikuro Katsuragi singled to center and Aikawa went to third. But first baseman Scott Sheldon flied out to foul territory just behind first base and catcher Takashi Miwa grounded out to terminate the threat.
In the seventh, first baseman Morgan Burkhart singled to right and was sacrificed along to second. Centerfielder Hiroshi Shibahara legged out a roller to short. Valdez then hammered a fastball to right for his league leading 26th RBI and second baseman Tadahito Iguchi got down a squeeze bunt and it was 3-1 home team.
In the top of the eighth and two out, second baseman Orix second baseman Koichi Oshima singled to center off of Kazuhiko Iijima and stole second. From there, he came home on a double to rightcenter from centerfielder Koji Takamizawa. Iijima was then removed and replaced by Shuji Yoshida, who got the final out to limit the damage.
Pedraza got three ground balls in the ninth and that was it.
Terahara's parents watched the game at their home in Miyazaki, Miyazaki Prefecture. Their son is apparently a big fan of a dish called chicken namban, and so at the Fukuoka Dome they sell a bento box containing it and a bakery shop in a hotel adjacent to the stadium sells a "Terahara sandwich" which is basically a chicken namban surrounded by bread.
For Orix, DH Fernando Seguignol was 0-3 with a walk and two strikeouts and is at .282. Sheldon was 1-4 and is at .244.
For Daiei, Valdez was 2-4 with two RBIs and is at .317. Burkhart was 1-2 with a walk and is at .227.
Pitching Lines:
Orix:
Kawagoe (L, 2-3) IP 6.1 PC 103
H 7 HR 1 K 5 BB 3 R 3 ER 3 ERA 3.06
Yamaguchi
IP 1.2 PC 9 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.55
Daiei:
Terahara (W, 1-1) IP 6.0 PC 89 H 3 HR
0 K 7 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.27
Iijima
IP 1.2 PC 34 H 3 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 1.96
Yoshida
IP .1 PC 12 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.15
Pedraza (S,
3)
IP 1.0 PC 10 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 6.75
SB: Muramatsu, Oshima
2B: Aikawa, Takamizawa, Tani
HR: P. Valdez (8)
RBI: P. Valdez 2, Takamizawa, Iguchi
IBB: Johjima
HBP: Satake (Iijima)
LOB: Orix 8, Daiei 6
Game Time: 2:48
Attendance: 48,000
Umpires: Yoshikawa (HP), Higashi (1B), Hayashi (2B), Sato (3B)
Takahashi Throws a Surprising Shutout Against Yokohama
Hisanori Takahashi sucked during spring training and hasn't pitched that well once the bell rang, either, so I'm sure his club, the Yomiuri Giants, was hoping that he wouldn't get lit up too badly in this start. Well, miracles happen and Takahashi threw eight phenomenal innings of shutout ball, striking out 11 and walking two to beat the Yokohama Bay Stars 1-0 Sunday at Tokyo Dome.
Yokohama had two shots to score off of Takahashi, the first of those in the initial inning of the ballgame. With one out, centerfielder Tsuyoshi Kinjo singled to right. Leftfielder Takanori Suzuki then blazed a Takahashi offering up the leftcenter gap, but Kinjo was thrown out at the plate and first baseman Hiroo Ishii struckout to quell the uprising.
Then in the third with two away, Kinjo singled to left. Suzuki doubled down the rightfield line and Hiroo Ishii walked to load the bases. But third baseman Hirofumi Ogawa struckout to stop the rally in its tracks.
Yokohama starter Daisuke Miura was spinning a beauty himself and didn't allow the Giants much of a sniff of home until the seventh. With two out, leftfielder Takayuki Shimizu singled and stole second. Shortstop Tomohiro Nioka then banged a single to right to plate Shimizu to make it 1-0.
Junichi Kawahara came on in the ninth for Yomiuri to go for his sixth save. Hiroo Ishii smacked a leadoff double to right to get Kawahara in hot water. Takashi Manei came out to pinch run. However, Ogawa groundout to third to keep Manei at second, pinch hitter Boi Rodrigues struckout and second baseman Hitoshi Taneda flied out and with that Yokohama was dust, a 1-0 loser.
One has to wonder what Miura is thinking right now. He has a 2.74 ERA and is 2-4. If this continues, he may choose, as his ex-batterymate Motonobu Tanishige did, to take the free gaent route out of town.
For Yomiuri, Felipe Crespo struckout in a pinch hit appearance and is at .077.
For Yokohama, Boi Rodrigues went down to .194 with his whiff.
Pitching Lines:
Yokohama:
Miura (L, 2-4) IP 7.0
PC 127 H 6 HR 0 K 7 BB 3 R 1 ER 1 ERA 2.74
Inamine
IP 0.0 PC 5 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 7.71
Kizuka
IP 1.0 PC 16 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.75
Yomiuri:
H. Takahashi (W, 1-0) IP 8.0 PC 136 H
5 HR 0 K 11 BB 2 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.57
Kawahara (S,
6)
IP 1.0 PC 24 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
SB: Nioka, T. Shimizu, Goto
2B: T. Suzuki 2, H. Ishii
RBI: Nioka
GIDP: Etoh
LOB: Yokohama 7, Yomiuri 8
Game Time: 3:27
Attendance: 55,000
Umpires: T. Kobayashi (HP), Arisumi (1B) ? (2B), Kasahara (3B)
Rhodes, Wilson Homers Undermine Marines
A solo homer from Tuffy Rhodes in the first and a two run clout from DH Nigel Wilson in the seventh powered the Kintetsu Buffaloes to a 5-1 win over the Chiba Lotte Marines Sunday at Osaka Dome. Hisashi Iwakuma allowed just one unearned run in seven innings to outpitch Lotte starter Brian Sikorsky and get his first victory of the season.
Sikorsky threw a fine ballgame, as he went seven innings and gave up five hits, but two of those knocks really hurt him, the Rhodes longball to right in the bottom of the first and the two out Wilson roundtripper to rightcenter in the aftermath of an infield single by first baseman Yuji Yoshioka.
The lone Lotte run came in the sixth, when first baseman Kazuya Fukuura leadoff with a double to leftcenter, leftfielder Derrick May legged out a roller to third and third baseman Kiyoshi Hatsushiba singled to right for the RBI.
In the eighth with the Buffs up 3-1 and a man out, centerfielder Naoyuki Omura beat out a a slow ground ball toward third. Rhodes then looped a double near the leftfield line and third baseman Norihiro Nakamura picked up both runners with a missile to the centerfield wall for a two RBI double off of Yoshida and a 5-1 advantage.
Eight Akira Okamoto pitches into the ninth and the Buffaloes went away winners.
For Lotte, DH Frank Bolick struckout three times in four chances and is at .217. May was 2-4 and is at .208.
For Kintetsu, Rhodes was 3-4 with an RBI and is at .261. Wilson was 1-3 with two RBIs and is at .244.
Pitching Lines:
Lotte:
Sikorsky (L, 1-3) IP 7.0
PC 115 H 5 HR 2 K 11 BB 0 R 3 ER 3 ERA 3.94
K.
Yamasaki
IP .2 PC 7 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB
0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 2.57
Takagi
IP 0.0 PC 4 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R
1 ER 1 ERA 2.35
Yoshida
IP .1 PC 8 H 1 HR 0 K
0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.38
Kintetsu:
Iwakuma (W, 1-1) IP 7.0 PC 108
H 6 HR 0 K 8 BB 2 R 1 ER 0 ERA 3.48
Yamamoto
IP .2 PC 12 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.29
Miyamoto
IP .1 PC 5 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0
ERA 4.38
Okamoto
IP 1.0 PC 8 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA
2.08
E: Sikorsky
2B: Fukuura, Omura, Rhodes, N. Nakamura
HR: Rhodes (11), Wilson (6)
RBI: Rhodes, Wilson 2, Hatsushiba, N. Nakamura 2
WP: Iwakuma
HBP: Hatsushiba (Iwakuma), Fukuura (Yamamoto)
GIDP: Hori
LOB: Lotte 8, Kintetsu 3
Game Time: 3:01
Attendance: 21,000
Umpires: Kodera (HP), Iizuka (1B), Nagami (2B), Kakigizono (3B)
Mirabel Picks Up Third Win Against Seibu
See Asahi Shibun story at:
http://www.asahi.com/english/sports/K2002042900169.html
Pitching Lines:
Nippon Ham:
Mirabel (W, 3-0) IP 7.0 PC 129
H 8 HR 0 K 3 BB 3 R 3 ER 3 ERA 3.38
Sasaki (S,
1)
IP 2.0 PC 30 H 2 HR 1 K 0 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.95
Seibu:
Nishiguchi (L, 2-3) IP 7.0 PC 113 H 6 HR 1 K 5 BB
4 R 5 ER 4 ERA 4.36
Tsuchigoe
IP 1.0 PC 11 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Toriyabe
IP 0.0 PC 7 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 2 ER 1 ERA 4.50
Aoki
IP 1.0 PC 14 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 2 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
E: K. Tanaka 2, Cabrera, Wada, T. Itoh
SB: Kaneko, Noguchi
2B: K. Tanaka, Kimoto, Ozeki
HR: M. Ogasawara (8), K. Matsui (4)
RBI: M. Ogasawara, Obando, Cromer, Morimoto, Kimoto 2, K. Matsui, K. Suzuki,
Wada, Takayama
WP: Sasaki
GIDP: K. Suzuki 2, Wada
LOB: Nippon Ham 8, Seibu 9
Game Time: 3:10
Attendance: 31,000
Umpires: Kawaguchi (HP), Sakaemura (1B), Yanagita (2B), Yamamoto (3B)
Tsuruta Bests Asakura on Arai Homer
A homer to leftcenter in the top of the fifth at
Nagoya Dome by Takahiro Arai was the decisive blow Sunday in a 2-1 Carp victory
against the Chunichi Dragons. Hiroshima starter Yasushi Tsuruta went 5.1
innings and managed to limit the Dragons to only a run despite walking five
and then four relievers permitted just two hits the rest of the way to maintain
the 2-1 lead.
Kenta Asakura started for Chunichi and lasted a
mere two hitters and had to leave the game. Hiroshima leadoff man Takuya
Kimura whacked a pitch off of Asakura's knee for a hit. Asakura threw another
pitch and Kimura tried to go on him, but catcher Motonobu Tanishige nailed
him at second. Asakura was obviously hurting, though, and Dragons manager
Hisashi Yamada wasn't about to take any more chances, so he got on the horn
to Shigetoshi Yamakita, who strode in and promptly walked shortstop Akihiro
Higashide. Second baseman Eddie Diaz then tattooed a shot off the leftfield
wall to send Higashide to third and leftfielder Tomoaki Kanemoto lofted a
sac fly to left and the visitors were up 1-0.
In the second, Carp second baseman Luis Lopez leadoff with a drive down the leftfield line, but was thrown out trying to stretch it into a triple (note: that's a guess on my part, since Lopez was out somehow before the next at bat concluded, but the log doesn't say how exactly). That mistake would be costly, since Arai crushed an offering from Yamakita off the rightfield fence for two bases. He was then stranded when catcher Shuji Nishiyama flied out.
In the bottom of the third, Tanishige got all of a slider down and on the outer half of the plate from Tsuruta and deposited it into the leftcenterfield bleachers to tie the game at 1-1. Chunichi then proceded to juice the bags with two outs on a single by shortstop Hirokazu Ibata and walks to Masahiro Araki and Leo Gomez, but Kazuyoshi Tatsunami flew out to squander the opportunity.
In the fifth, Arai leadoff by jerking a Yamakita 0-2 slider into the leftcenterfield stands for the 2-1 Hiroshima lead.
The Dragons tried to even it in the ninth off of Carp closer Yasuhiro Oyamada. With one down, leftfielder Jun Inoue carromed a pitch off the leftfield wall for a double. The next two hitters grounded to short, though, and it was over.
X-rays taken at a hospital after the game showed just a bruise and Asakura should be 100% in a few days.
Pitching Lines:
Hiroshima:
Tsuruta (W, 2-0) IP 5.1 PC
97 H 2 HR 1 K 0 BB 5 R 1 ER 1 ERA 6.28
Beltran
IP .2 PC 13 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.91
Sakai
IP 1.0 PC 8 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.19
Tamaki
IP 1.0 PC 15 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.55
Oyamada (S, 8) IP 1.0
PC 11 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.79
Chunichi:
Asakura
IP 0.1 PC 4 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.40
Yamakita (L, 0-1) IP 4.2 PC 59
H 6 HR 1 K 4 BB 1 R 2 ER 2 ERA 3.68
Endo
IP 2.0 PC 31 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.38
Hisamoto
IP 2.0 PC 24 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
2B: Diaz, Lopez, Arai, Inoue
HR: Arai (6), Tanishige (6)
RBI: Arai, Tanishige, Kanemoto
SF: Kanemoto
LOB: Hiroshima 6, Chunichi 7
Game Time: 2:48
Attendance: 37,000
Umpires: Ino (HP), Suginaga (1B), Mori (2B), K. Kobayashi (3B)
Trivia Time
Who was the last non-Japanese who was born in Japan and went on to play in MLB?
Good News and Bad News for Pro Yakyu
While overall attendance is up in the Central League this season, it is indeed driven by the revival of the fortunes of the Hanshin Tigers, who may break their 1992 attendance record of 2,853,000 if they can maintain their current pace. However, there are some troubling signs, some of it having to do with the ailing Japanese economy, according to the Asahi Shimbun.
Over at the Nagyoa Dome, for example, a 10 meters by seven meters sign behind the leftfield bleachers is going unused because the team can't find an advertiser to take it, the first time since the stadium opened in 1997 that has occurred.
The same is true over at Meiji Jingu Stadium in Tokyo, the Yakult Swallows homeground, where Yakult has put up advertising for its parent company to fill in otherwise blank sign space.
And as companies trim their entertainment budgets, the season ticket sales of ballclubs are being hurt in the proces. For example, the Asahi Shinmbun tells of one unnamed team in the Tokyo area that has seen its season ticket sales decline from a high of 13,000 seats at its peak to 5,000 in 2002. Moreover, those season seat figures went down more than 1,000 just over the past year.
For the less popular Pacific League, things are even harder. The Asahi Shimbun describes how team ticket offices that used to sell in blocks of 100 to corporate and school organizations now are doing so in fours and fives. Clearly, one thing that could drive a revival of pro yakyuu fortunes would be a more robust economy, but that doesn't appear to be on the horizon, economists say.
Hanshin Tigers Resurgence a Boon for Charity
http://www.asahi.com/english/national/K2002042900148.html
Lopez, Maeda Talk Out Differences
That story and other tidbits from Wayne Graczyk
at the Japan Times:
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getsp.pl5?sb20020501wg.htm
Sports Magazine Field in Japan Gets More Crowded
For those who love pro yakyu as I do, reading the venerable Shuukan Baseball, subscribing to the webzine Baseball Monthly and having an occasional looks at Sports Number Graphic, Japan's version of Sports Illustrated, are pretty much mandatory. But that is a competetive field, as this article demonstrates: http://www.asahi.com/english/national/K2002042900146.html
Sunday KBO Action
http://www.hankooki.com/kt_sports/200204/t2002042916595047110.htm
Taiwanese Pro Baseball Makes Internet Debut
Taiwanese pro league games will now be broadcaston
the Internet thanks to Chungwa Telecom. This follows on the massive success
of Internet broadcasts of Baseball World Cup games earlier this year on the
web.
http://www.taipeitimes.com/news/2002/04/30/story/0000133995
This Day in Japanese Baseball History
This report is for April 28th, so on that date in Japanese baseball history in 1963, Daily Sports coined the phrase "ON Cannon" to describe the power in the middle of the Yomiuri Giants. The "O" was Sadaharu Oh, and the "N" was third baseman Shigeo Nagashima.
And on that date in Japanese baseball history in 1969, advertisements were put on the fences at Meiji Jingu Stadium for the first time for Swallows games. At the time, for amateur games (such as college games, for example), the signs were taken down, but that restriction was later lifted.
Trivia Answer
The last MLB player who was was born in Japan but was not a Japanese citizen was Craig House, who spent 16 games with the Colorado Rockies in 2000 (1-1 7.24 ERA). He was a product of Okinawa.
According to Baseball Reference, there have been three MLB "senshu (players)" who first saw the light of day in the Land of the Rising Sun and were not Japanese citizens. In addition to House, there was Steve Chitren (Tokyo), who spent two seasons (1990-1991) with Oakland (2-4 3.58 ERA in 64 games) and Jeff McCurry (Tokyo), who was with four MLB clubs between 1995-1999 (3-12 5.89 ERA in 111 games). Unlike in the U.S, you do not receive automatic citizenship just because you were born there unless you are of Japanese parentage.
Saturday's Games
Orix Tears Up Daiei 10-0
Ed Yarnell threw a complete game shutout Saturday for Orix while his teammates shook Daiei starter Brady Raggio down for three runs in the first seven innings and then teed off on two relievers in what became a 10-0 wipeout at Fukuoka Dome. Yarnell scattered seven hits and didn't walk anyone while striking out five for his third victory of 2002.
It was a scoreless due until the fifth, when Orix first baseman Scott Sheldon doubled down the leftfield line to lead it off and went to third on a sacrifice. Shortstop Makoto Shiozaki then flew out to right to bring in Sheldon for a 1-0 lead.
In the sixth, second baseman Koichi Oshima doubled to rightcenter and came home on a single to left by centerfielder Koji Takamizawa to double the advantage 2-0.
Then with one out in the eighth, Orix shortstop Mitsutaka Goto singled to right and Daiei manager Sadaharu Oh took the ball from Raggio and went to the bullpen for Hirokazu Watanabe. Oshima sacrificed Goto along and pinch hitter Yoshitomo Tani doubled over the head of Hawks centerfielder Hiroshi Shibahara to drive in Goto, 3-0 Orix after eight complete.
In the ninth, Orix went to town on Taira Suzuki and Shinji Kurano. Rightfielder Ikuro Katsuragi walked to start the inning. Sheldon singled to center. Catcher Takashi Miwa then got what was supposed to be a sac bunt down, but Suzuki went to third to try to force Katsuragi and the throw was wild, so Sheldon scored to make it 4-0. One out later and now with Kurano pitching for Daiei, third baseman Tatsuya Shindo singled to center for an RBI as did Oshima. Centerfielder Manabu Satake tripled into the leftfield corner and now Orix was ahead by eight. DH Fernando Seguignol homered to right to put it into double digits at 10-0 and Yarnell then turned out the lights for his initial shutout in Japan and to bring his team to .500 for the first time this season in the wake of an 0-6 start.
Tani didn't start due to a slight hamstring pull, but obviously it hasn't affected a guy who was a doubles machine in 2001.
For Daiei, leftfielder Pedro Valdez was 1-4 and is at .310. First baseman Morgan Burkhart was 0-3 with two strikeouts and is at .219.
For Orix, Seguignol was 2-4 with two RBIs and is at .294. Sheldon was 3-4 with a stolen base and is at .244.
Pitching Lines:
Orix:
Yarnell (W, 3-2) IP 9.0 PC 105 H 7 HR 0 K 5 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.34
Daiei:
Raggio (L,
2-2) IP 7.1 PC 100
H 8 HR 0 K 5 BB 1 R 3 ER 3 ERA 4.91
H.K.
Watanabe IP .1
PC 7 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.29
Suzuki
IP .2 PC 22 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 3 ER 1 ERA 5.79
Kurano
IP .2 PC 23 H 4 HR 1 K 1 BB 0 R 4 ER 4 ERA
8.10
E: Suzuki
SB: Sheldon
2B: Aikawa, Sheldon, Oshima, Tani, P. Valdez, Omichi
3B: Satake
HR: Seguignol (8)
RBI: Seguignol 2, Shindo, Oshima, Takamizawa, Tani, Satake
2, Shiozaki
SF: Shiozaki
HBP: Takamizawa (Raggio)
GIDP: Kokubo, Akiyama
LOB: Orix 5, Daiei 4
Game Time: 2:33
Attendance: 48,000
Umpires: Yamamura (HP), Hayashi (1B), Sato (2B), Yoshikawa
(3B)
Hoshino Implodes in 9-1 Hanshin Defeat
What can you say about this game other than it was just a classic story of a control pitcher leaving pitches up and not having the necessary command of the strike zone to have a viable outing, so Hanshin starter Nobuyuki Hoshino got cuffed around for five runs on 11 hits in five innings of work to get the loss in a 9-1 Yakult victory Saturday at Koshien Stadium.
Satoshi Iriki started for Yakult and was the opposite of Hoshino, permitting six hits and a run on an economical 74 pitches to pick up his first victory of the young season.
Hanshin got itself a brief lead in the first, as second baseman Makoto Imaoka kicked it off by ramming a first pitch fastball down the rightfield line for a double, went to third on a sac bunt and came home on a sacrifice fly to right by third baseman Atsushi Kataoka. That was the last time Hanshin was able to exploit its opportunities and when Yakult got it going in the third, the Osaka squad couldn't respond.
In that inning, rightfielder Atsunori Inaba raked a double off the rightfield fence with two gone. First baseman Roberto Petagine creamed a Hoshino pitch into the leftcenter alley to tie it up. Catcher Atsuya Furuta walked. Third baseman Akinori Iwamura lined a shot up the leftcenter gap to bring in Petagine. Hoshino threw leftfielder Alex Ramirez a fastball up in the strike zone and Ramirez whistled it back up the middle of the diamond to get both Furuta and Iwamura were in the dugout with a 4-1 lead.
Ramirez then started a rally in the sixth when he legged out a dribbler to third. Second baseman Chihiro Hamana sacrificed him to second. Iriki singled to right. Centerfielder Mitsuru Manaka singled to center and it was 5-1 Swallows and they bid adieu to Hoshino, in favor of Shinichi Nishikawa, who got out of the inning, but had troubles of his own in the seventh.
Petagine leadoff with a single to right. One out later, Iwamura walked. Ramirez grounde to short, but then Takahiro Ikeyama walked to load the bases. Second baseman Noriyuki Shiroishi singled to right and Petagine came home for the sixth Yakult tally.
In the eighth and with Masashi, "hit me" Date on the hill now, Manaka cracked a leadoff double down into the leftfield corner for a double and was sacrificed to third. Date then plunked Inaba. Petagine singled to center for an RBI and Furuta lashed a double to rightcenter and two more scored for a 9-1 Yakult advantage and that's how it ended.
For Hanshin, leftfielder Derrick White was 1-4 and is at .271. First baseman George Arias was 0-4 and is at .181.
For Yakult, Petagine was 3-5 with two RBIs and is at .314. Ramirez was 4-5 with two RBIs and is at .371.
Pitching Lines:
Yakult:
S. Iriki (W,
1-1) IP 6.0 PC 74 H 6 HR
0 K 2 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.60
Ryo.
Igarashi
IP 1.0 PC 23 H 0 HR 0 K 3 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.29
Newman
IP 2.0 PC 29 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA
4.50
Hanshin:
Hoshino (L,
0-1) IP 5.1 PC 80 H
11 HR 0 K 2 BB 1 R 5 ER 5 ERA 3.44
Nishikawa
IP 1.2 PC 28 H 2 HR 0 K 1 BB 2 R 1 ER 1 ERA 9.00
Date
IP 2.0 PC 33 H 4 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 3 ER 3 ERA
6.39
2B: Iwamura 2, Petagine, Inaba, Furuta, Manaka, Imaoka, Hamanaka,
Hiyama
RBI: Manaka, Petagine 2, Furuta 2, Iwamura, Ramirez 1, Shiroishi,
Kataoka
SF: Kataoka
WP: Ryo. Igarashi 2
HBP: Inaba (Date), Imaoka (Ryo, Igarashi)
LOB: Yakult 11, Hanshin 9
Game Time: 3:03
Attendance: 50,000
Umpires: Yoshimoto (HP), Kittaka (1B), Nemoto (2B), Tani
(3B)
Yamamoto Demoted to Minors After 14-0 Debacle Against Hiroshima
Hiroshima Carp starter Ken Takahashi twirled a four hit shutout while runs just seemed to cascade from the team's batting order Saturday at Nagoya Dome, as the Chunichi Dragons were massacred 14-0 in front of a nice crowd of 36,500. The fans also aren't going to see starter Masahiro Yamamoto for a while, since he was sent down after the game for the first time in his career for bad performance.
Second baseman Eddie Diaz went 4-4 and drove in three runs while his mate across the diamond, first baseman Luis Lopez, was 2-4 with a three run homer and sent in a total of four runners on the night.
The Carp scored early and scored often, as in the first, Takuya Kimura leadoff with a single to right and was sacrificed to second. Diaz clobbered one down the leftfield line for an RBI and came home on leftfielder Tomoaki Kanemoto's two bagger to right.
In the third, Kimura went to the centerfield wall for a leadoff double and went to third on a sacrifice. Diaz tattooed a single to left to usher in Kimura. Kimura went ot second on a groundout and galloped around on a single from Ogata. Lopez then played a little hammertime into the leftcenter alley for a double to make it 5-0 Hiroshima.
Shigeotshi Yamakita took the mound in the fifth for Chunichi and hit the first batter he faced, shortstop Akihiro Higashide. Diaz singled to left and both men went another 90 feet on a groundball to first. One out later, Lopez then left the yard to help the Carp enjoy an 8-0 gap between them and the home team.
The Carp added four more in the seventh on a hit batsman, a walk, two doubles and a single and then Diaz and Itsuki Asai each homered with nobody on for the last volleys in this bombardment later on.
For Chunichi, first baseman Leo Gomez was 0-4 and is at .250.
Pitching Lines:
Hiroshima:
K. Takahashi (W, 2-2) IP 9.0 PC 135 H 4 HR 0 K 6 BB 3 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.25
Chunichi:
M. Yamamoto (L, 0-4) IP 3.0 PC
56 H 7 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 5 ER 5 ERA 6.03
Yamai
IP 1.0 PC 19 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Yamakita
IP 1.0 PC 29 H 2 HR 1 K 2 BB 1 R 3 ER 3 ERA 3.60
Okamoto
IP 2.0 PC 40 H 4 HR 1 K 2 BB 2 R 5 ER 5 ERA 5.87
Endo
IP 1.0 PC 13 H 1 HR 1 K 1 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA
4.15
2B: Diaz, Kanemoto, T. Kimura, Lopez, Ogata, Arai, Haru,
Fukudome
HR: Lopez (1), Diaz (6), Asai (1)
RBI: Diaz 3, Kanemoto, Ogata 3, Lopez 4, Asai, Arai,
Nishiyama
HBP: Higashide (Yamakita), Diaz (Okamoto)
GIDP: Jinno
LOB: Hiroshima 3, Chunichi 6
Game Time: 2:44
Attendance: 36,500
Umpires: K. Kobayashi (HP), Mori (1B), Ino (2B), Suginaga
(3B)
Pair of Two Run Innings Nets Lions a Win Against Nippon Ham
A brace of two run innings by the Seibu Lions put them up 4-1 and they cruised to a 4-2 victory behind five innings of four hit, one run ball by Shiozaki in his first start in two years at Seibu Dome Saturday. With his wife and kids in attendance at the game, Tetsuya Shiozaki obviously hadn't been extended in some time and consequently Seibu manager Ihara kept his pitch count to 83 before pulling him with one out and nobody on in the sixth.
Shiozaki was locked up in a scoreless game with Nippon Ham starter Tsuyoshi Shimoyanagi until the fourth, when the Fighters got out in front 1-0 on back to back doubles from shortstop Hiroshi Narahara and first baseman Michihiro Ogasawara.
Seibu returned things to equilibrium with a leadoff walk to Kazuhiro Wada and a run scoring single from catcher Tsutomu Itoh.
In the fifth, Fighters second baseman Yukio Tanaka opened the door for the Lions by throwing away a grounder from Masaji Shimizu. One out later, first baseman Alex Cabrera belted a drive up the leftcenter alley to plate Shimizu. Wada then seared one down the leftfield line for an RBI double and it was 4-1 Seibu and Shimoyanagi was out of the ballgame.
Seigo Fujishima, Nippon Ham's rightfielder, topped off the day's offensive activity with a shot into the centerfield seats and nobody even reached base on either side from there on in to bring the 4-2 Seibu triumph to a close.
For Nippon Ham, DH Sherman Obando was 1-4 and is at .267. Leftfielder D.T. Cromer was 0-4 and is at .274.
For Seibu, Cabrera was 1-3 with an RBI and is at .234.
Pitching Lines:
Nippon Ham:
Shimoyanagi (L, 1-4) IP 4.1 PC 97 H 8 HR
0 K 4 BB 2 R 4 ER 3 ERA 7.71
Muto
IP 3.0 PC 38 H 0 HR 0 K 3 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.96
Kato
IP .2 PC 7 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA
0.75
Seibu:
Shiozaki (W, 1-0) IP 5.2
PC 83 H 4 HR 0 K 7 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 2.70
Mizuo
IP .2 PC 6 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.59
Tomori
IP 1.0 PC 15 H 1 HR 1 K 1 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.00
Mori
IP 1.0 PC 12 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.53
Toyoda (S,
5) IP 1.0 PC
10 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.00
E: Fujishima, Y. Tanaka
SB: Fujishima
2B: Narahara, M. Ogasawara, Cabrera, Wada
HR: Fujishima (3)
RBI: Fujishima, Ogasawara, K. Matsui, Cabrera, Wada, T.
Itoh
IBB: K. Suzuki
WP: Shimoyanagi
LOB: Nippon Ham 4, Seibu 7
Game Time: 2:53
Attendance: 23,000
Umpires: Akimura (HP), Nakamura (1B), Yamamoto (2B), Yamazaki
(3B)
Godzilla Roars Twice and Yokohama Falls 6-1
Yomiuri Giants centerfielder Hideki "Godzilla" Matsui homered in the third and agaijn ijn the fifth to provide all the offensive support starter Koji Uehara and reliever Hector Almonte would require in a 6-1 Giants win at Tokyo Dome Saturday against the Yokohama Bay Stars. The victory was Uehara's third of the season.
In the first inning, Giants leftfielder Takayuki Shimizu singled to right. Shortstop Tomohiro Nioka then laid down what was intended to be a sacrifice bunt, but Yokohama starter Hiroshi Yamada was slow getting off the mound and Nioka beat the throw to first. That set the stage for the lefthanded hitting Matsui, who got an 88mph heater away from Yamada and roped it just by the leftfield foul pole for a three run homer and it was 3-0 Giants after one. See pic at: http://www.sanspo.com/baseball/top/bt200204/image/0428matsuiNK189427_b.jpg
In the fourth, first baseman Akira Etoh singled to center to lead it off and went to second when Goto was plunked by a pitch. One out later, catcher Shinnosuke Abe was intentionally walked to get to Uehara, who grounded back to the mound for the force. Yamada walked Shimizu, though and it was 4-0. Nioka singled to right and the inning ended with the Giants sitting pretty at 5-0.
Matsui then lined one that carried into the seats in left again an inning later for a 6-0 cushion. The Stars put one on the board in the sixth thanks to an error by third baseman Felipe Crespo and a couple of singles, but then it was nada form there on in and Almonte threw 95mph bullets in the ninth to send Yokohama back to the hotel with the taste of defeat.
Matsui told reporters that he doesn't ever remember hitting two balls out to left in the same game ever. The shot in the first inning ended a five game homerless drought for Godzilla and was his first longball at home this year. Ex-Giants manager Shigeo Nagashima thought that Matsui was kind of dragging his bat through the strike zone, which explains why he has been racking up hits to left but nothing over the fence. So he did some work in the cage trying to keep his weight back and was able to get a little more zip on his bat and thus more carry to the opposite field.
For Yokohama, rightfielder Boi Rodrigues was 1-3 and is at .197.
For Yomiuri, Crespo was 0-1 and is at .083.
Pitching Lines:
Yokohama:
H. Yamada (L, 2-1) IP 3.2
PC 69 H 8 HR 1 K 1 BB 3 R 5 ER 5 ERA 2.10
Takeshita
IP 1.1 PC 19 H 1 HR 1 K 0 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 5.00
Turman
IP 1.0 PC 10 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 5.79
Inamine
IP 1.0 PC 12 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 7.71
Sugimoto
IP 1.0 PC 19 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 2 R 0 ER 0 ERA
0.00
Yomiuri:
Uehara (W,
3-2) IP 8.0 PC 130
H 4 HR 0 K 8 BB 0 R 1 ER 0 ERA 3.16
Almonte
IP 1.0 PC 13 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA
0.00
E: H. Yamada, Sugimoto, Crespo
SB: Etoh, S. Abe
HR: H. Matsui 2 (6)
RBI: T. Shimizu, Nioka, Matsui 4, Kinjo
IBB: S. Abe
HBP: Goto (H. Yamada), Kawai (Sugimoto)
WP: Uehara
GIDP: Rodrigues, Ogawa, Motoki, H. Matsui
LOB: Yokohama 2, Yomiuri 6
Game Time: 2:46
Attendance: 55,000
Umpires: Watada (HP), ? (1B), Kasahara (2B), T.
Kobayashi
Strong Outing by Shimizu Goes Unrewarded in Lotte Loss
Chiba Lotte Marines starter Naoyuki Shimizu had a right nice outing Saturday at Osaka Dome against the Kintetsu Buffaloes, going 6.1 innings and allowing two runs on six hits. However, Jeremy Powell had one of his best performances of what has been so far a bad season for him, as he too went six and was charged with just one run in a 3-1 Kintetsu triumph, though he wasn't around when the go ahead tallies were registered.
After Lotte wasn't able to cash in a bases loaded, two out situation in the first, the Buffaloes pulled ahead in the second with a one out double from first baseman Yuji Yoshioka and a single to right from DH Nigel Wilson for a 1-0 lead.
Lotte evened it in the fifth when centerfielder Koichi Hori leadoff the inning with single to center and was sacrificed it to second. First baseman Kazuya Fukuura walked. DH Frank Bolick singled to left and it was 1-1. Leftfielder Derrick May came up and clocked a hot shot headed into right when Yoshioka dove and snagged it for an out, a "fine play" in Japanese parlance.
With Fujita now pitching for Orix in the seventh, shortstop Masahiro Abe singled to right and was sacrificed to second. Centerfielder Naoyuki Omura just missed hitting a fastball out to right, Abe striding around the bases while Omura checked into second. Pinch hitter Yosuke Takasu ripped another heater down the rightfield line to make it 3-1.
Lotte had one hit in the last three innings, so Kintetsu had an easy time of it in the late innings finishing off the game.
For Lotte, Bolick was 2-4 with an RBI and is now at .231. May was 103 and is at .192.
For Kintetsu, leftfielder Tuffy Rhodes
was 0-4 and is at .239. Wilson was 1-4 with an RBI and two strikeouts and
is at
.241.
Pitching Lines:
Lotte:
N. Shimizu (L, 2-1) IP
6.1 PC 98 H 6 HR 0 K 7 BB 2 R 2 ER 2 ERA 1.61
Fujita
IP .1 PC 8 H 2 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.86
Yoshida
IP .1 PC 1 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.48
Takagi
IP 1.0 PC 13 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA
1.17
Kintetsu:
Powell
IP 6.0 PC 111 H 6 HR 0 K 4 BB 5 R 1 ER 1 ERA 5.40
Yamamoto
IP 1.0 PC 8 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.42
Okamoto (W, 2-0) IP 2.0
PC 34 H 1 HR 0 K 3 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA
2.35
2B: Yoshioka, A. Igarashi, Omura, Takasu
RBI: Bolick Wilson, Omura, Takasu
HBP: N. Nakamura (N. Shimizu), Fukuura (Powell)
LOB: Lotte 11, Kintetsu 8
Game Time: 3:00
Attendance: 16,000
Umpires: Maeda (HP), Kakigizono (1B), Tamba (2B), Kodera
(3B)
Shinjo-Mania Wearing Thin in San Francisco
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getsp.pl5?sb20020428a2.htm
Wada Strikes Out 17 Against Hosei University
Waseda University lefthander Tsuyoshi Wada continues to give Japanese and MLB scouts more reasons to seek his signature on the dotted line, as he went all the way in a 12 inning scoreless match with Hosei University, striking out 17 in the course of delivering 165 times to the plate. This was the first tie between the two schools since 1981.
Wada actually seemed to get stronger, as he whiffed six in a row between one out in the tenth to one out in the 12th. He now has 339 whiffs for his college career, moving past the great Taiyo Whales submariner Noboru Akiyama to fourth on the all time Tokyo Big Six University League strikeout list.
One thing that makes someone such as Wada a big favorite is that he has excellent comand of all his pitches, which includes a 90mph fastball, a curve, two different sliders and a very good changeup. In this one, he kept the ball away early in the count and then bored in under the hitters' hands with his slider.
Wada has nine more starts left before graduation to surpass Suguru Egawa's league record of 443. Right now, he is averaging 11.6 K/9 and should break the record if he stays healthy. He also has a 23.2 scoreless innings streak going.
The starter fot Hosei, Ryutaro Tsuchii, is also highly regared by Japanese pros and should go within the first two rounds of the November draft. For now, though, Wada appears to be the apple of at least seven Japanese teams' eyes.
Walk Off Homer by Seung-yeop Lee Beats Kia in KBO Action
http://www.hankooki.com/kt_sports/200204/t2002042816594847110.htm
This Day in Japanese Baseball History
This report is for April 27th and on that day in Japanese baseball history in 1975, and boy, what a barnburner I have for you here. Joe Lutz, who was coaching the Hiroshima Carp, had this feeling that umpires were always making decisions that would benefit the Yomiuri Giants, especially the way that balls and strikes were being called on Mr. Giants, Shigeo Nagashima. He even kept notes on it.
Anyway, Lutz was appointed manager of the Carp before the 1975 season and from the start was getting into it with the umpires. This exploded in a incident on April 11th, where, in a game against the Chunichi Dragons, with the bases loaded, nobody out and the Dragons leading 2-0, Hiroshima Yukinobu Miyamoto threw a 2-2 pitch down and in to the hitter that was called a ball by an umpire named Harada. This enraged Miyamoto, who charged Harada and hit him with a flying kick (btw, that not only got Miyamoto ejected, but later a 50,000 yen fine, no small amount back in those days). One of the outfield umpires then got into it with outfielder Tsuyoshi Oshita. Lutz went out to intervene and he was given the gate by the umpires, setting off a mini-riot where fans invaded the field. The head umpire rescinded Lutz' ejection to try to ease hurt feelings of the fans.
Now on this date, April 27th, in a game against Hanshin at Koshien Stadium, in the first game of a doubleheader with the score 0-0 in the eighth and two out and men on first and third, Carp pitcher Saeki threw a full count curve on the outside corner to Tigers third baseman Masayuki Kakefu and home plate umpire Matsushita called it a ball. Lutz went nuclear, charging the ump and using his stomach to bump him all the way up against the screen behind the plate. Of course, Lutz was ejected, but he refused to go and kept on venting his venom on the umpires. He wouldn't even budge when the umpires told him that if he didn't get lost they would forfeit the game to Hanshin. Someone was brought in from Hiroshima's front office to persuade Lutz to leave, which he did. But he also said that he had had it, that Hiroshima was going to have to get itself another manager.
Despite all the sturm und drang, the Carp front office told Lutz that they wanted him to stay as manager, but deciding that "it would be better if I wasn't here," Lutz went back to the states after just 15 games at the helm of the Carp (record: 6-8-1), who would go on that year to win their first Central League title in their quarter century long history. It should be noted that many pro yakyu critics credit Lutz with introducing training methods that helped the Carp go from a perennial doormat to "the Red Hell."
Also on that day in Japanese baseball in 1971, the fog got so bad at Osaka Stadium during a game between the Kintetsu Buffaloes and the Nankai Hawks that an extra umpire was stationed out near the centerfield fence.
Trivia Answer
The only other Japanese hurler to
homer three times in a game was also a Yomiuri Giant, Tsuneo Horiuchi, who
did it in consecutive at bats on October 10, 1967 against the Hiroshima Carp
while throwing an 11-0 no hitter. He went 4-4 that day. That's a Frank Merriwell
day, no?
April 26, 2002
Friday's Games
Arias Slams Swallows into Submission
A second inning grand slam to centerfield by Hanshin Tigers first baseman George Arias capped off a nine run second inning that enabled the Osaka favorite sons to walk all over the Yakult Swallows at Koshien Stadium 11-6 Friday. This was also only the second time in the last 12 years that Hanshin had scored in double figures in back to back games, according to Sports Nippon.
Kei Igawa started for Hanshin and earned his fourth win of the year against one loss despite giving up a season worst four runs in seven innings of work. But Yakult starter Futoshi Yamabe was much worse and one can foresee him losing his spot in the rotation after another less than inspring performance.
Hanshin had a golden opportunity to get on the board first in the inital frame of the contest, as Second baseman Makoto Imaoka leadoff with a double to rightcenter and was sacrificed to third. However, third baseman Atsushi Kataoka bounced out to Yamabe and, after leftfielder Derrick White walked, rightfielder Shinjiro Hiyama grounded to short to end the threat.
Yakult third baseman Akinori Iwamura then leadoff the second by taking Igawa to the biggest part of the yard for a solo homer and a 1-0 Swallows lead.
Yamabe, though, wouldn't see out the
second. Centerfielder Osamu Hamanaka hit a little looper that shortstop Shinya
Miyamoto couldn't hold on to and he reached safely. Miyamoto was charged
with an error. Arias walked. Catcher Katsuhiko Yamada singled to right to
load the bases and Igawa singled to left to plate Hamanaka and knot the score
at 1-1. Imaoka then ripped a single to left and both Arias and Yamada came
in to make it 3-1. Shortstop Yoshinori Okihara struckout, but then Kataoka
singled to right for an RBI. White struckout for the second out. Hiyama then
sizzled a Yamabe offering down the rightfield line for his team's fifth run,
knocking Yamabe out of the game in favor of Masato Hanada. Hamanaka walked
to pack the sacks. That soon changed with Arias' longball and it was 9-1
Hanshin. Tigers manager Senichi Hoshino said after the game that he had never
seen a nine run inning in his 12 years at the helm of both the Chunichi Dragons
and his new club, but it was actually the second time Hoshino had witnessed
that kind of scoring binge. You can see a pics of Arias' granny at:
http://www.sanspo.com/baseball/top/bt200204/image/0427ariasuOS129426_b.jpg
http://www.sponichi.co.jp/baseball/kiji/2002/04/27/20020427011905.jpg
Yakult would keep chipping away, though and in the top of the third, they added a tally on a two out single to center from rightfielder Atsunori Inaba and a double off the leftfield wall from first baseman Roberto Petagine to make it 9-2.
Hanshin replied with a "center backscreen" shot by Imaoka for a 10-2 Tigers advantage.
In the fourth, though, Okihara would drop a little fly ball from Iwamura. Leftfielder Alex Ramirez spanked a single to center and then Iwamura came across on a double by second baseman Noriyuki Shiroishi down the leftfield line to close within 10-3. Centerfielder Mitsuru Manaka rolled out to second and Ramirez jogged in and now it was 10-4 home team.
Masashi Date has not been effective at all for Hanshin most of the season and it's a wonder he hasn't been demoted yet. In the eighth, after Shoji Toyama allowed a single to center from Iwamura and was promptly replaced by Date, Ramirez singled to left. Okihara booted a ground ball off the bat of Shiroishi to juice the bags. Pinch hitter Kota Soejima grounded to short for an RBI and Manaka flied to left for another and now it was 10-6 Hanshin.
In the bottom of the same stanza, Hanshin got a more important than it should have been insurance run when pinch hitter Tomochika Tsuboi leadoff with an infield hit and two outs later Kataoka doubled to rightcenter to send Tsuboi in and that was the final margin of victory for Hanshin, 11-6.
Shinobu Fukuhara made his 2002 debut and rather typical of him, while hitting 93-94 on the radar gun, allowed the first two men he facted to reach on singles, the struckout the following pair of batters before pinch hitter Takenori Daita grounded out to third to conclude it.
Before the game, Hanshin batting coach Koichi Tabuchi gave the slumping Kataoka a picture of Ichiro he cut out of a newspaper to remind the ex-Nippon Ham infielder to keep his front shoulder closed, and it apparently did some good in this one.
If there was a highlight for Yakult in this game it was the four scoreless innings of two hit ball fashioned by rookie Yataro Sakamoto, who was able to consistently keep the ball in on the hands of Hanshin's batting order.
Yamabe had kind of a disconcerting thing happen while throwing in the bullpen, as he hit a sparrow with a pitch and killed it. Him and his teammates buried the fallen bird and said a little prayer for it.
This is the fastest to 15 wins for Hanshin since 1958.
For Yakult, Petagine went 1-2 with two walks and an RBI and is at .296. Ramirez was 2-4 with an RBI and is at .345.
For Hanshin, White whiffed three times in four hitless at bats and walked and is at .273. Arias was 2-3 with four RBIs and is now leading the Central League in homers with nine and RBIs with 22 while elevating his average to .190. His wife and kids were at the game, and a pic of that is at: http://www.sanspo.com/baseball/top/bt200204/image/0427familyOS186426_b.jpg
Pitching Lines:
Yakult:
Yamabe (L, 1-2) IP 1.2 PC 48
H 6 HR 0 K 2 BB 2 R 7 ER 3 ERA 8.22
Hanada
IP 1.1 PC 24 H 2 HR 2 K 1 BB 1 R 3 ER 3 ERA 6.00
Sakamoto
IP 4.0 PC 63 H 2 HR 0 K 7 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.32
Kawabata
IP 1.0 PC 14 H 2 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA
9.00
Hanshin:
Igawa (W, 4-1) IP
7.0 PC 121 H 8 HR 1 K 8 BB 2 R 4 ER 2 ERA 0.84
Toyama
IP 0.0 PC 3 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 21.60
Date
IP 1.0 PC 15 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 1 ER 0 ERA 5.06
Fukuhara
IP 1.0 PC 15 H 2 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA
0.00
E: S. Miyamoto, Okihara 2
2B: Petagine, Shiroishi, Imaoka, Hiyama, Okihara, Kataoka
HR: Iwamura (2), Arias (9), Imaoka (5)
RBI: Iwamura, Arias 4, Imaoka 3, Kataoka 2, Hiyama, Igawa,
Petagine, Manaka 2, Iwamura, Ramirez, Soejima
SF: Manaka
WP: Igawa, Date
LOB: Yakult 10, Hanshin 5
Game Time: 3:20
Attendance: 32,000
Umpires: Kamimoto (HP), Nemoto (1B), Tani (2B), Yoshimoto
(3B)
Yoshimi Outstanding for Yokohama Against Giants
Second year lefthander Yuji Yoshimi shut the Yomiuri Giants out for eight innings but couldn't finish the game when he was pulled after giving up a two out ninth inning two run jack to shortstop Tomohiro Nioka, so closer Takashi Saito got the final out to save it in a 4-2 Yokohama Bay Star victory at Tokyo Dome Friday.
Yoshimi limited the Yomiuri lineup
to six hits and the two runs in 8.2 innings mixing in changeups and sinkers
with his fastball to keep the opposition guessing. He said that he focused
on catcher Takeshi Nakamura's mit and just aired it out. He also wears number
22, the same one worn by former Stars closer Kazuhiro Sasaki, who is now
with the Seattle Mariners. "Don't stain that number," the superstitious Sasaki
urged Yoshimi. Furthermore, he is a graduate of Tohoku Fukushi University,
Sasaki's alma mater (it also produced sidearmer Ryo Kumagai, who is now in
the Red Sox organization). So even if Fushimi
starts, the shadow of the Daimajin is going to follow him wherever
he goes.
Just to shorten the time is takes
me to write this article, here is the Yomiuri Shimbun's Jim Allen's account
of the game:
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/newse/20020427wo51.htm
The only things I would add to it was that Fushimi had shoulder pain in the first half of last season and didn't tell anybody about it, which angered his coaches. And Kinjo's two run single was on a changeup that backed up over the heart of the plate. Yoshimi pic at: http://www.sanspo.com/baseball/top/bt200204/image/0427yosimi_NK231426_b.jpg
Pitching Lines:
Yokohama:
Yoshimi (W, 1-0)
IP 8.2 PC 131 H 6 HR 1 K 4 BB 2 R 2 ER 2 ERA 2.08
T. Saito (S,
4)
IP .1 PC 7 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA
1.17
Yomiuri:
Kuwata (L,
1-2) IP 6.2 PC 104 H 8 HR
2 K 8 BB 2 R 4 ER 4 ERA 2.08
Okajima
IP .1 PC 5 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA
1.00
Miura
IP 1.0 PC 6 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Sakai
IP 1.0 PC 20 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA
1.13
2B: Nioka, Kawai
HR: Ogawa (1), T. Suzuki (2), Nioka (3)
RBI: Ogawa, T. Suzuki, Nioka 2, Kinjo 2,
HBP: S. Abe (Yoshimi)
PB: S. Abe
LOB: Yokohama 7, Yomiuri 5
Game Time: 3:20
Attendance: 55,000
Umpires: Arisumi (HP), Kasahara (1B), T. Kobayashi (2B), Watada
(3B)
520 Foot Cabrera Blast Highlights Extra Inning Seibu Victory
Seibu Lions first baseman Alex Cabrera got a slider down in the strike zone from Nippon Ham reliever Shimizu and actually mortared it out of the Seibu Dome, the ball flying above a third flight of stairs and sailing out through a 35 foot gap between the wall of the original ballpark and the retrofitted dome, a shot estimated at more than 520 feet, for two runs to put his team ahead 7-5 temporarily before the Fighters rallied to tie. Seibu prevailed, though, as second baseman Hiro Takagi to a 3-1 fastball away and cracked it to left with Tetsuya Kakiuchi aboard at second for the sayonara knock in the bottom of the ninth.
Chris Seelbach started for Nippon Ham and suffered from horrendous control, walking six and hitting a batter to lead to Seibu scoring five runs, four earned, in his