Gary
Garland /
the
japanese insider
July 15,
2002
No games scheduled.
Reds Number One Draft Choice
to Tryout for Orix
According to Sports Nippon, Cincinnati Reds supplemental first round draft
choice Mark Schramek will be in Japan Wednesday working out for the
Orix Blue Wave. "There are player's such as Ichiro who were brought up in
Japan who are now playing ijn the major leagues, so I asked [Orix] if they
would try me out." His agent, Bobby Ballard, was apparently able to arrange
this since he was an old aquaintance of an Orix official. This is the first
time a U.S. number one choice has sought a job in NPB. Moreover, the Texas
native will have to go to Japan at his own expense.
An Orix official is quoted as saying that since Schramek was drafted twice
by the Reds, he has some ability. He also notes, though, "if we think he
has a real future, then we'll think about putting him on the roster." So
they aren't exactly jumping all over an opportunity to get this guy just
yet. It seems to be more of a "well, this is intriguing, let's see what happens"
kind of thing. Nobody affiliated with the Kobe based ballclub has ever seen
Schramek play.
The move by Schramek drew some skepticism from Sankei Sports, who ran a headline
about this that said, "are you serious?" The deadline for foreign player
aquisitions has passed, so if Schramek does indeed sign an Orix contract,
he would join them in the spring of 2003.
Could this be the opening shot of a new strategy by players and their agents?
That is, instead of going to the independent leagues ala J.D. Drew or the
increasingl.y pathetic Matt Harrington either in hope of being selected down
the line by another team or wringing more money out of an MLB organization,
they will make themselves available to a Japanese club and then hope, that
like Rafael Soriano, that with the experience they gain in Japan they can
leverage that into a fat MLB contract?
In any event, if he does get a job with Orix, he will be joining an ex-Red,
Ed Yarnell, on the staff. You can see a pic of Schramek at:
http://www.sanspo.com/baseball/top/bt200207/image/071607shumeMS164715.jpg
Bashing Selig Now the National
Pastime
I've sung this guy's praises before here, but for those of you who've never
read him, Joe Posnanski of thye Kansas City Star is, as one of his
fellow sportswriters once put it, "the best sportswriter you've never heard
of." This time out, he takes on Bud Selig's, er, relationship with the fans
and it ain't pretty:
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/sports/columnists/joe_posnanski/3652970.htm
And While We're at
It....
Here is a link to Posnanski's piece on the death of Ted Williams. This thing
is written like a symphony:
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/sports/columnists/joe_posnanski/3608680.htm
Ichiro vs. Mike
Sweeney
Another fine Posnanski product:
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/sports/columnists/joe_posnanski/3577308.htm
Irabu Hospitalized with
Blood Clots
See CBS Sportsline story at:
http://www.cbs.sportsline.com/u/ce/multi/0,1329,5521447_52,00.html
Giants Outfielder Takahashi's
Mercedes Stolen
See Japan Today story at:
http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=2&id=222993
Today in Japanese Baseball
History
This report is for July 15th and on that date in Japanese baseball history
in 1971, the first half of the schdule concluded with
Central League attendance down 570,000 and the Pacific League experienced
a 300,000 shortfall as compared with 1970, most likely due to the so-called
"black mist scandal," which involved attempts to fix baseball games. Several
players were banned for life as a result of the scandal.
July 14, 2002
No games scheduled.
Hanshin Reported to Go After
Three Big Free
Agents
According to Sankei Sports, the Hanshin Tigers may go on a free agent shopping
spree this coming winter, the focus being on Yomiuri Giants centerfielder
Godzill Matsui, Kintetsu Buffaloes third baseman Norihiro Nakamura and Yokohama
Bay Stars ace Daisuke Miura. Morever, Hanshin owner Shunji Kuman has been
said to have given the okay for what will be the biggest cash outlay for
players in Japanese history if they can pull off the trifecta.
At current exchange rates, Matsui is already receiving about $5 million a
season while Nakamura turned down a multi-year offer during the offseason
of in excess of $4 million per. Miura will be much cheaper, but will still
command something in the $1-2 million range plus the clubs the Tigers get
these players from will have to be paid 1.5 times whatever Hanshin pays them
as compensation, which means that the total bill just for next season, when
you figure both the payout to the clubs losing those stars as well as their
salaries, could be in the $30 million range, or more than what the Giants
pay for their entire roster this year.
However, if Matsui is sincere about testing the
MLB waters, Hanshin will easily be outbid. Their best chance is to land Nakamura,
who is an Osaka native, and Miura, though the Stars righthander hasn't indicated
either way what his intentions are after he became free agent eligible earlier
this season. If they do obtain Nakamura, that leaves another free agent
aquisition, the disappointing Atsushi Kataoka, out in limbo. Nakamura and
Kataoka are about analogous defensively, but the 5'11" 202 pound Buffs star
is a far bigger offensive force. Moreover, while Nakamura will be facing
better pitching in the CL, he will also be working in smaller ballparks and
the two factors could cancel each other out.
By getting Miura, that would allow Hanshin to move Trey Moore to the bullpen,
which would strengthen their weak relief staff immeasureably. Of course,
they could also stay with Moore and you would have a starting rotation of
Kei Igawa, Miura, Moore, Keiichi Yabu and either Tetsuro Kawajiri or Shinobu
Fukuhara, which would be a far more balanced starting staff than what they
have now. Something has to be done about that middle relief, though and it
isn't going to be bolstered much by putting in disappointing number one draft
choice Yuya Ando in it. So it could be that maybe some trades will be worked
out, though the Takehiro Hashimoto for Tom Evans deal has so far proven to
be a big loser for Hanshin, as the previously dependable Hashimoto has gotten
lit up like a Christmas tree and Evans has gone on to a nice season with
Seibu.
Ichiro Enjoyed Forced Cross
Dressing Experience
See Seattle Times story at:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/sports/134493275_seam14.html
Linares Makes Splash in
Nagoya
See Yomiuri Shimbun article in english at:
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/newse/20020716wo52.htm
Shim, Paul, Park Go Back
to Back to Back in Hyundai Doubleheader
Sweep
See Korea Times story at:
http://www.hankooki.com/kt_sports/200207/t2002071518100947110.htm
Seung-yeop Lee Ties for
Homer Lead in 9-4 Samsung
Victory
See Korea tumes story at:
http://www.hankooki.com/kt_sports/200207/t2002071417053447110.htm
Brother Elephants Drop Game
to Lions 6-3 in Taiwanese Pro
Action
See Taipei Times story in english at:
http://www.taipeitimes.com/news/2002/07/15/story/0000148406
How Taiwanese MLB Prospects
are Faring at Halfway
Point
See Taipei Times article at:
http://www.taipeitimes.com/news/2002/07/15/story/0000148405
Today in Japanese Baseball
History
This report is for July 14th and on that date in Japanese baseball history
in 1972, Hankyu Braves centerfielder Yutaka Fukumoto, who went on to become
Japan's all time leading base thief and a Hall of Fame inductee, had his
legs insured for 100,000,00 yen.
Also on the same date as the above, Waseda University second baseman Akira
Higashikado (and I hope that I have the name correct) was hit in the head
by a thrown ball during a game between Japanese and American college all
star teams and was rendered unconscious. Sadly, he never regained consciousness
before passing away.
Also on that date in 1978, eight of the ten positions in the Pacific League
all star team were voted to Nippon Ham players by fans, no doubt due to an
organized campaign by someone or some entity.
Hodges Pounded for Four Runs in 4-2 Pacific
League Victory
Yakult Swallows
righthander Kevin Hodges started for the Central League Saturday at Botchan
Stadium in Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture on Shikoku, the first all star game
ever played on that island, and wasn't up to form, as he was knocked around
for four runs in two innings on the hill to be tagged with a 4-2 loss to
the Pacific League. Kintetsu Buffaloes catcher Tetsuya Matoyama was named
the MVP after going 2-3 with an RBI, the first time a catcher taken the top
award in the mid-summer classic since Atsuya Furuta did it for the Central
League in 1991.
By having Jeremy
Powell start for the PL, this marked the only time in Japanese baseball history
that two foreigners have begun a game for each side in all star competition
and it was Powell who was awarded the victory with two scoreless innings
of work. The pitchers were so on in this one that it only took two hours
and 19 minutes to play.
Hodges commenced
the contest by nailing shortstop Kazuo Matsui in the left thigh and he hobbled
off to first, where he went to second on a wild pitch. First baseman Michihiro
Ogasawara singled. Leftfielder Tuffy Rhodes singled to get Matsui in and
Ogasawara sped over to third. Third baseman Norihiro Nakamura flew out to
plate Ogasawara and it was 2-0 PL.
In the second, PL
centerfielder Yoshitomo Tani singled and shortstop Makoto Kaneko, who replaced
Matsui, also cracked a knock. Matoyama, with wife Kazuko and 19 other relatives
in the stands, chased Tani in with a single and the speedy Kaneko hotfooted
it for third. Tadahito Iguchi grounded out and Kankeo crossed with the fourth
run and it was 4-0 Pacific League.
The Central League
had a quick burst of a rally in the fourth, as rightfielder Kosuke Fukudome
scorched a double and centerfielder Godzilla Matsui mashed a shot through
the teeth of the 37mph wind blowing straight in from centerfield and carromed
it off the top of the rightfield wall off of an 88mph fastball from Kenichi
Wakatabe for an RBI double to make it 4-1.
The CL forces put
up their final tally in the bottom of the seventh when first baseman Takahiro
Arai got a 92mph fastball from Hayato Nakamura and unloaded a steaming line
drive deep to left. Arai thought it was gone as soon as he hit it, so as
he started toward first, he raised his arms, but then saw the wind deadening
the ball's flight and quickly brought his hands down until it cleared the
fence.
Godzilla lost a home
run due to the wind again in the late innings, when he rammed a shot off
the top of the rightcenterfield fence for his second double. Thus, his five
all star series homer streak ended thanks to mother nature.
Koji Uehara had one
of the highlights of the day when he struck out the side in the fifth, all
on fastballs, and then fanned Hiroki Kokubo, who was, for God only knows
what reason, put in the outfield in this one despite the treacherous wind
conditions (see linked articles) on a splitter with one down in the sixth
for a total of four strikeouts in two perfect innings. The last time Uehara
struckout the side in an all star game was in 1999, when he blew down both
Kazuo Matsui and Makoto Kosaka and then got taken on a tour of the bleachers
by Ichiro Suzuki before striking out the last hitter.
Matoyama, who became
a first time father when he welcomed his daughter into the world in January,
was the first catcher to be named MVP for the PL since Masataka Nashida,
who is now his manager, did it in 1983. Moreover, he is only the second
replacement player (he was selected to replace the injured Kenji Johjima)
to be bestowed with an MVP. The other one was Roberto Petagine, who did it
two years ago.
Godzilla was tardy
to pre-game practice when the person who was supposed to drive him to the
airport was late and he missed his flight as a result. So when he was up
on the podium after being named a superior player, his Giants teammate, Kazuhiro
Kiyohara, was shouting, "fine him! Fine him!" behind him as Matsui cracked
an embarrassed smile.
Dan Latham also did
an excellent write up on the game for the Japan Times, which is at:
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getsp.pl5?sb20020714a2.htm
Jim Allen at the
Yomaiuri Shimbun also put up a fine piece on the game in english at:
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/newse/20020714wo53.htm
Pitching Lines:
Pacific League:
Powell (W, 1-0) IP 2.0 PC
18 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Wakatabe
IP 2.0 PC 30 H 3 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 4.50
Kaneda
IP 2.0 PC 25 H 2 HR 0 K 3 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
H. Nakamura IP 2.0 PC 22 H 1 HR
1 K 1 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 4.50
Toyoda (S, 1) IP 1.0 PC 9
H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Central League:
Hodges (L, 0-1) IP 2.0 PC
35 H 5 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 4 ER 4 ERA 18.00
Kawakami
IP 2.0 PC 29 H 2 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Uehara
IP 2.0 PC 27 H 0 HR 0 K 4 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Oyamada
IP 1.0 PC 8 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Okajima
IP 1.0 PC 13 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
H.
Ishii
IP 1.0 PC 7 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
E: Tani
2B: H. Matsui 2, Fukudome
HR: Arai (1)
RBI: Arai, H. Matsui, Iguchi, Rhodes, N. Nakamura, Matoyama
SF: N. Nakamura
WP: Hodges
HBP: H. Matsui (Hodges), T. Shimizu (Powell)
LOB: Pacific League 4, Central League 6
All Star Series: Pacific League 71 Central
League 60 7 Ties
Game Time: 2:19
Attendance: 27,063
Umpires: Yanagida (HP), Watamari (1B), Yamamoto (2B), Suginaga (3B)
Powell: Japan a Great Place to Play
Ball
See Japan Times story
at: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getsp.pl5?sb20020714a1.htm
Female Manager Makes Koshien
Bid
For the first time
in the history of the Chiba Prefectural High School Baseball Tournament,
a woman is managing one of the teams and her side grabbed an 8-1 victory
in their inital contest, which was shortened to seven innings due to rain.
Mariko Ohara, 51, the manager of the Tako High School baseball team, once
a world class university softball player herself, is hoping to take her charges
to the Koshien Summer High School Baseball Tournament.
Tako High took a
1-0 lead with one away in the first and a man on second, as number three
hitter and pitcher Koshikawa tripled to center to make it 1-0. Two more then
crossed on a single by Onuki on the way to racking up 14 hits and eight runs.
Koshikawa went all the way to claim the shiroboshi by limiting the opposition
to five hits and a run. "I'm so happy, I can't find words to express it,"
said Koshikawa, since it's been 11 years between prefectural tournament wins
for his school.
Ohara was born in
Tochigi city, Tochi Prefecture and started playing softball as a fifth grader
at Kokubu Southern Elementary as a pitcher before moving on to Kokubu Junior
High and eventually to Utsunomiya Junior College and Nittai University. At
Nittai, she was converted to the outfield and was selected as a senior to
play centerfield and bat leadoff for a Japanese all star university club
that played in an overseas tournament, where the Japanese contingent made
it to the semifinals.
She's been teaching
since 1973 and was hired on at Tako High in 1998. She has been the school's
baseball coach since 2000 and says that she thinks of the players on the
team as her own children. And the players say that they think of her as a
second mother. She is married to husband Kazumasa (56) and has two sons,
27 and 23 years old respectively. You can see a pic of her with Onuki at:
http://www.sponichi.co.jp/baseball/ama/2002summer/kentaikai/chiku/image/0713-chiba.jpg
Cromartie Back in Japan and Loving
It
Former Montreal Expos
outfielder Warren Cromartie won a batting title and an MVP while he played
with the Yomiuri Giants from 1984 to 1990 and has been doing game commentary
on radio and some personal appearances. Saturday, he stopped in at his old
stomping grounds in Suidobashi, Tokyo and spent 90 minutes working with Felipe
Crespo on his hitting. "It was nice to be instructed by someone who speaks
your language," the utility man offered. They went through each phase of
Crespo's stroke and Cromartie helped Crespo with what he termed "a minor
change" in his swing.
Ichiro First Two Homer Game in
MLB
Mariners outfielder
Ichiro Suzuki collected his third multi-hit game out of three post all star
tries Saturday, as he homered in his first two at bats against the Tanyon
Sturtze to put a little more distance between him and Kansas City Royals
first baseman Mark Sweeney in the AL batting race. The first dinger came
on a high fastball while the second came on one down around the knees for
his first career multi-homer game in MLB. Unfortunately, the M's dropped
it in extra innings 4-3. You can see a pic of the swing on the first inning
jack at: http://www.sanspo.com/sokuho/image/020714KT005714_b.jpg
Banks Trying to Bolster Debt Ridden Parent
Company of Daiei Hawks
See Yomiuri Shimbun
story in english at: http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/newse/20020711wo11.htm
Off Topic Article of the
Day
Some female judo
artists disqualified---for shaving their eyebrows to thin. Geez, picky picky....
http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=6&id=222839
Linares Arrives in
Japan
Cuban baseball star
Omar Linares arrived in Japan Saturday after a 20 hour trip from his homeland
to Mexico to Narita Airport and then on to Nagoya Airport, where he was greeted
by 200 fans and well wishers as well as about 80 media members and a big
police presence.
Linares, a mainstay
of the Cuban juggernaut that dominated olympic and amateur baseball for the
last decade, said in a prthat this is just the first time he will be coming
to Japan. Moreover, according to Sports Nippon, a Communist Party newspaper
in Cuba has apparently stated that it is likely that Linares will indeed
be back in Japan next season, too.
"I don't care
where I bat in the order," Linares averred. I want to play as hard as I
physically can so that the Dragons win and win a lot." As for when he'll
be ready to appear in a Chunichi uniform, where he's already been assigned
number 44, he offered, "it's been a long trip, so first, I want to get over
the jet lag. I should be back to normal in about four days."
Linares will make
some minor league starts and then be called up to the big club on the 23rd,
when a series with the Hiroshima Carp begins.He will meet his new teammates
at a Nagoya Dome workout Monday.
Today in Japanese Baseball
History
This report is for
July 13th and on that date in Japanese baseball history in 1970, Kintetsu
Buffaloes rookie pitcher Koji Ota finished first in all star fan balloting,
one of the biggest jokes in the annals of the sport there, since he finished
1-4 3.86 on the season and he was 58-85 4.08 for his career.
Ota had pitched for
Misawa High School, who got into the Koshien High School Baseball Tournament
three seasons running, and in his senior year, went all the way in an 18
inning tie game against Matsuyama Commerical High School in the tournament
final, throwing 262 pitches in the process. It was called according to
regulations and it was replayed the following day, where Matsuyama
Commerical won it 4-2 with Ota back on the mound (ouch!). His persistence
impressed baseball fans all over the country as well as pro scouts. He was
hoping that he would be picked by Hanshin, but the Kintetsu Buffaloes managed
to be high enough to selct him. Ota wasn't all that enthusiastic about the
Osaka equivalent of what the Angels are to the Dodgers, but he signed with
Kintetsu anyway.
When Ota first started
working out with the Buffaloes, he admitted that he was in over his head.
He had intended to go to college, but thinking of what a financial burden
that would be for his parents, he turned pro. The Buffaloes, rather than
send a kid who obviously wasn't ready down to the farm for some seasoning,
thought of him mainly as a fan draw and thus he began the season with the
top club. He got a win in his first start, a relief appearance against
the Lotte Orions where he gave up the tying run at Fujiidera Stadium, but
his side got a sayonara two run homer and Ota walked away with a shiroboshi.
His third year in,
upo advice of coaches, he changed his delivery to a three quarter style and
obtained more run on his slider, which helped him progress and he eventually
was slotted into the rotation in 1973, where he was mediocre, as was the
remainer of his stint in the pros. In 1979, he hurt his shoulder and that
all she wrote, as he had three more awful seasons with Kintetsu and then
was traded to the Yomiuri Giants. Minor league tours with both Yomiuri and
Hanshin failed to get him back to the bigtime and he retired after the 1984
season at the age of 32. He now works as a baseball commentator for the Mainichi
media group. You can see a pic of him in an all star game at:
http://www.toonippo.co.jp/l-rensai/gunzo/imags/107b.jpg
Source:
http://www.toonippo.co.jp/l-rensai/gunzo/gunzo107.html
Also on that day
in 1979, due to an expressway tunnel fire, the equipment for the Hankyu Braves
never arrived for a game against Nippon Ham at Korakuen Stadium and it was
cancelled.
KBO Standings and Leaders
Team
Record
GB
Kia
Tigers
47-25-3
---
Doosan
Bears
44-29-2
3.5
Samsung
Lions
42-33-1
6.5
Hyundai
Unicorns
34-34-4
11.0
LG
Twins
35-36-3
11.5
SK
Wyvers
33-37-3
13.0
Hanhwa
Eagles
31-39-3
15.0
Lotte
Giants
20-53-1
27.5
Hitting
AVG.
Lee Yeong-wu
(Hanhwa)
.370
Chang Seong-ho
(Kia)
.370
Kim Chae-hyun
(LG)
.342
Kim Dong-joo
(LG)
.340
Lee Seung-yeop
(Samsung) .329
Shim Jeong-soo
(Hyundai)
.323
Lee Soong-yong
(Hyundai) .318
Lee Jong-beom
(Kia)
.316
Ma Hae-yeong
(Samsung)
.314
Jeon Joon-ho
(Hyundai)
.306 .
Homers
HR
Lee Seung-yeop
(Samsung)
28
Song Ji-man
(Hanhwa)
28
Ma Hae-yeong
(Samsung)
27
Shim Jeong-soo
(Hyundai)
25
Lee Yeong-wu
(Hanhwa)
19
Kim Dong-joo
(Doosan)
19
Jose Fernandez
(SK)
18
Tyrone Woods
(Doosan)
17
Lee Soong-yong
(Hyundai) 15
Chang Seong-ho
(Kia)
14
Runs Batted
In
RBIs
Lee Seung-yeop
(Samsung) 78
Ma Hae-yeong
(Samsung)
73
Chang Seong-ho
(Kia)
70
Song Ji-man
(Hanhwa)
67
Jin Gap-yong
(Samsung)
54
Shim Jeong-soo
(Hyundai) 54
Jose Fernandez
(SK)
49
Tyrone Woods
(Doosan)
49
Lee Do-hyeong
(Hanhwa) 48
Kim Dong-joo
(Doosan)
46
Pitching
ERA
Song Jin-wu
(Hanhwa)
2.77
Park Myeong-hwan (Doosan) 2.90
Lee Seung-ho
(SK)
3.15
Gary Rath
(Doosan)
3.31
Victor Cole
(Doosan)
3.45
Wins
W
Gary Rath
(Hanhwa)
12
Song Jin-wu
(Hanhwa)
10
Mark Kiefer
(Kia)
10
Im Chang-yong
(Samsung)
9
Victor Cole
(Doosan)
8
Strikeouts
K
Park Myeong-hwan
(Doosan) 99
Kim Jin-wu
(Kia)
98
Gary Rath
(Doosan)
96
Lee Seung-ho
(SK)
93
Kim Soo-kyung
(Hyundai)
92
July 12,
2002
Late Homers by Arias, Kataoka Wins it for
Central League All Stars
Ex-Angel George Arias
went back to the hotel Friday night with some hardware and some extra cash,
as he rocketed a 482 foot homer to
leftcenter at Tokyo Dome in the seventh inning for the go ahead run in what
had been a 1-1 deadlock between a Pacific League all star squad and its Central
League counterparts to get the MVP in what became a 4-1 CL triumph. Arias'
Hanshin Tigers teammate, Trey Moore, who it was thought might miss playing
in this year's series due to a burst blister on his lefthand, was credited
with the win, which was a big thrill for him,
as this Japan Times story shows: http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/newse/20020713wo53.htm
The Pacific League
took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third, as second baseman Tadahito Iguchi
singled. Two outs later, shortstop Kazuo Matsui also singled and that brought
up first baseman Michihiro Ogasawara, who , with his wife Miyoko in the stands,
got an 88mph fastball down and away from CL starter Kei Igawa and laced it
for an RBI single, the first time he's plated someone in nine all star
appearances.
All star games have
been particularly frustrating for the great Nippon Ham hitting leader, as
he set a record last season when he struckout five at bats in a row. And
in his first time up in this year's classic, he fanned on a slider.
The CL contingent
responded in the top of the fourth, when rightfielder Yoshinobu Takahashi
tripled and then centerfielder Hideki Matsui flew out deep enough to allow
his Giants teammate to run in with the equalizer at 1-1.
Moore went two scoreless
innings while allowing no hits and walking two. He said that he was really
pumped for this game and it was hard settling down, but he got through his
stint unscathed.
In the top of the
seventh, Arias stepped in against his old Orix pal Kazuo Yamaguchi, who ran
a 94mph heater up to the plate and Arias sent
it into the upper deck for the 2-1 lead. Arias hadn't homered in 81 at bats
over his last 19 games for Hanshin before this battle. In workouts leading
up to it, he consulted with the other sluggers in both leagues and found
that Matsui's was the most effective. Godzilla was asked what he thinks about
when he goes up to the plate and the Ishikawa native answered, "keeping my
weight back." You can see the swing that counted at:
http://www.sanspo.com/baseball/tigers/tigers0207/image/071301ariasuOS184712_b.jpg
CL boss Tsutomu Wakamatsu
then summoned a fireballer of his own, Ryota Igarashi, who struckout the
side with a steady diet of 95mph fastballs. The first two men to dig in against
the Swallows middle reliever, Kazuo Matsui and Ogasawara, whiffed on three
pitches apiece. He had leftfielder Tuffy Rhodes 0-2, but Rhodes timed one
and pounded it off the leftfield wall, where it was expertly played by Alex
Ramirez to hold the former Cub to a long single. Third baseman Norihiro
Nakamura's turn came and Igarashi blew him away to complete his assignment.
In the eighth, CL
catcher Motonobu Tanishige doubled with one out off of Daiei Hawks closer
Rodney Pedraza and Kataoka then blasted his first homer ever in all star
action (this is his sixth series) off of an 85mph fastball for two insurance
runs and that's how it ended, as Giants closer
Junichi Kawahara worked a perfect ninth to close out a briskly played game.
Kataoka's mom Harumi was watching the game on tv and was reportedly thrilled
out of her mind at her son's heroics.
For his tremendous
shot, Arias was named MVP and pocketed two million yen (about $17,000). Moore
was named a superior player and added one million yen to his bank account
(about $8,000). He was like a little kid, the Japan Times says, in this
piece: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getsp.pl5?sb20020713a1.htm
Godzilla just missed
hitting the ball out on that sacrifice fly, as it was caught against the
centerfield wall. He had homered in his last five all star series, including
the last four games in a row. He said that he got it just off the end of
the bat.
Pics: Moore, Kataoka
and Arias accept their awards at:
http://www.sanspo.com/baseball/tigers/tigers0207/image/071301hanshinOS200712_b.jpg
Igawa, who was clocked
at a high of 91mph, delivers to the plate at:
http://www.sanspo.com/baseball/tigers/tigers0207/image/071302igawaOS136712_b.jpg
Yomiuri Shimbun's
Jim Allen's account of the game: http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/newse/20020713wo52.htm
Pitching Lines:
Central League:
Igawa
IP 3.0 PC 40 H 4 HR 0 K 3 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.00
Miura
IP 2.0 PC 27 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Moore (W, 1-0) IP 2.0 PC 30 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 2 R 0
ER 0 ERA 0.00
R.
Igarashi
IP 1.0 PC 14 H 1 HR 0 K 3 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
J. Kawahara (S, 1) IP 1.0 PC 12 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Pacific League:
Mitsui
IP 3.0 PC 37 H 2 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
H. Kobayashi IP 2.0 PC 28 H 1 HR 0 K
1 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 4.50
A. Okamoto IP 0.2 PC
10 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
S.
Yoshida
IP 0.2 PC 6 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Yamaguchi (0-1) IP 0.2 PC 15 H 1 HR 1 K 0 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 13.50
Pedraza
IP 1.0 PC 15 H 2 HR 1 K 1 BB 0 R 2 ER 2 ERA 18.00
Mori
IP 1.0 PC 14 H 2 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
2B: Ibata, Cabrera, Tanishige, Arias
3B: Y. Takahashi
HR: Arias (1), Kataoka (1)
RBI: Kataoka 2, H. Matsui, Arias
SF: H. Matsui
GIDP: Cabrera
All Star Series: Central League 60, Pacific
League 70, 7 ties
Game Time: 2:42
Attendance: 40,346
Umpires: Arisumi (HP), Maeda (1B), Suginaga (2B), Yamamoto (3B)
Corey Paul Slugs Walkoff Homer in KBO
Action
See Korea Times story
at: http://www.hankooki.com/kt_sports/200207/t2002071217472247110.htm
Today in Japanese Baseball
History
This report is for
July 12th and on that day in Japanese baseball history in 1962, Kokutetsu
Swallows righthander Genichi Murata was working on a perfect game with two
out in the ninth in the second game of a doubleheader against Hanshin. Tigers
rightfielder Kazuyoshi Nishiyama hit a hard ground ball off the end of the
bat on the first pitch he saw. First baseman Yoshinori Hoshiyama got caught
kind of in between and the ball deflected off his mit and over his head.
It was called a hit, engendering moans from the crowd in the stands as a
chance to witness history vanished before their eyes.
July 11, 2002
No games scheduled today.
Overwork Killing Japanese Pitchers
See Yomiuri Shimbun story (in english) at:
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/newse/20020711wo54.htm
Ibata Stands Out Among All Stars
See Yomiuri Shimbun story in english at:
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/newse/20020712wo53.htm
Today in Japanese Baseball History
This report would have been for July 11th and on
that date in Japanese baseball history in 1979, the Japanese diet took up
the controversy
surrounding the Yomiuri Giants aquisition of pitcher Suguru Egawa, who was
originally drafted by the Hanshin Tigers. Commissioner Shimoda, Pacific League
chairman Kudoh and Central League chairman Suzuki were in attendance, watching
the hot air flow back and forth. Nothing
came of the hearing.
July 10, 2002
Uehara Tosses Three Hitter as Giants Blast
Carp 9-2
Yomiuri Giants number one starter Koji Uehara is
setting himself up for another run at winning 20 games, as he seized his
tenth shiroboshi of 2002 with a 9-2 thrashing of the Hiroshima Carp at Hiroshima
Municipal Stadium Wednesday. He was perfect for 5.2 innings until Luis Lopez
singled on an 86mph fastball.
If history holds, and as a Swallows fan myself,
I hate to say this, Yomiuri is in a good position to win the pennant. They
now have a 4.5 game edge over Yakult and on the 24 occasions in which a club
has lead by that much or more at the break, only twice has that team not
celebrated a league title in October. The exceptions were the 1964 Taiyo
Whales and the 1996 Hiroshima Carp. Moreover, the Giants in 20 instances
have been ahead by 3.5 games or more at the midway point and have gone to
the Japan Series every time. Yikes!
Yomiuri broke out on top to stay in the top of the
second off of Carp ace Shinji Sasaoka, as centerfielder Hideki Matsui leadoff
with single to right and first baseman Kazuhiro Kiyohara singled to left.
One out later, Toshihisa Nishi singled to center to usher in Matsui. Catcher
Yoshinori Murata singled to left to pack the sacks. Uehara grounded to second
and Eddie Diaz booted it to score Kiyohara.Leftfielder Takayuki Shimizu
struckout, but shortstop Tomohiro Nioka singled to left to push in both Nishi
and Murata and it was 4-0 Giants.
In the third, Matsui singled to center and Kiyohara
legged out a bleeder toward short. They were sacrificed up 90 feet and Nishi
flew out to right to recall Matsui to make it 5-0 Giants.
Hiroshima put up their only runs in the seventh,
as shortstop Akihiro Higashide singled to center and centerfielder Koichi
Ogata forced him at second. Leftfielder Tomoaki Kanemoto then got an 84mph
cutter that was up and over the heart of the plate and he pounded it into
the rightfield seats to make it competitive at 5-2.
The Giants, however, responded in kind in the top
of the ninth. Rightfielder Yoshinobu Takahashi jerked an offering from Ken
Takahashi over the rightfield wall to kick it off. Matsui doubled down the
rightfield line. Akira Etoh, who replaced Kiyohara at first in the fifth
when the ex-Lions' hammy began to bother him, then ended an 0-18 slide by
hammering one into the leftfield stands and the Giants were in the driver's
seat at 8-2. Masato Kawano was summoned from the bullpen by Carp manager
Koji Yamamoto. Third baseman Daisuke Motoki singled to center. One out later,
pinch hitter Felipe Crespo, just back from the minors, singled to right and
Motoki motored to third. Pinch hitter Takayuki Saito grounded to Takahashi
and Motoki hustled in and it was 9-2 Yomiuri.
Closer Jinichi Kawahara was touched for a hit and
a walk, but that was as far as it went and see you later.
There's an interesting piece of news about the Carp:
they are apparently going to get a new ballpark, which will be on the site
of an old Japan Rail freight yard. It will be accompanied by a shopping and
entertainment complex and an American firm, Simon Property Group, is involved
along with city planners and club officials. At this point, it appears that
it is likely to be an open air ballpark, but a dome stadium (no! no!) isn't
out of the question. Everything is reportedly in the talking stages at present,
so what form this will ultimately take hasn't been set in concrete (groan)
yet.
Getting back to Uehara, though, pitching coach Katori
remarked that his charge is more consistent this season in keeping his body
closed when he delivers the ball so that his pitches don't drift back over
the plate as much.
For Hiroshima, Diaz was 0-4 and is at .315. Lopez
was 1-1 and is at .246.
For Yomiuri, Crespo was 1-1 and is at .122.
Pitching Lines:
Yomiuri:
Uehara (W, 10-3) IP 8.0 PC 102 H 3 HR 1 K 9 BB 0 R 2 ER 2 ERA
2.75
J. Kawahara IP
1.0 PC 20 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.93
Hiroshima:
Sasaoka (L, 4-5) IP 3.0 PC 62 H 8 HR 0 K 3 BB 0 R 5 ER
3 ERA 3.83
Hiroike
IP 1.0 PC 20 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.44
K. Kobayashi IP 2.0 PC 34 H 2 HR 0 K
1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.12
Tamaki
IP 2.0 PC 27 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.25
K. Takahashi IP 0.0 PC 10 H 3 HR
2 K 0 BB 0 R 3 ER 3 ERA 3.75
Kawano
IP 1.0 PC 18 H 2 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 18.00
E: Diaz, Higashide
2B: H. Matsui
HR: Y. Takahashi (12), Etoh (9), Kanemoto (13)
RBI: Kanemoto 2, Nioka 2, Y. Takahashi, Etoh 2, Nishi 2, Uehara, Takayuki
Saito
SF: Nishi
WP: Hiroika
PB: Nishiyama
GIDP: Y. Takahashi
LOB: Yomiuri 10, Hiroshima 3
Season Series: Yomiuri 9, Hiroshima 7
Game Time: 3:09
Attendance: 18,000
Umpires: Ino (HP), Suginaga (1B), Kamimoto (2B), Mori (3B)
Itoh Slam Paces Seibu Over Daiei 7-2
Seibu Lions catcher Tsutomu Itoh will be 40 in about
ten days and, in this last game before the all star break, he beat the daylights
out of a 2-0 fastball on the inner half of the plate from Daiei Hawks starter
Akichika Yamada with the bases loaded in the first inning and hurtled it
into the leftfield seats for his seventh career grand slam in a 7-2 victory
Wednesday at Fukuoka Dome. Reliever Hayato Aoki was credited with his fourth
win while Hawks starter Yamada dropped his sixth.
This game was pretty much over after the first
inning, as Seibu initiated a six run fusillade. Shortstop Kazuo Matsui opened
the game with a double to rightcenter and was sacrificed to third. Hiroyuki
Shibata tripled into the leftcenter alley to cash in Matsui. First baseman
Alex Cabrera fouled out, but then Kazuhiro Wada doubled down the rightfield
line to send Shibata across. Yamada walked both Susumu Otomo and third baseman
Tom Evans to juice the bags. That brought up Itoh, who ditched Yamada's heater
and it was 6-0 Lions.
Daiei leftfielder Pedro Valdez homered to right
with one out off of Seibu starter Fumiya Nishiguchi to make it 6-1.
The Hawks scored again in the third when centerfielder
Hiroshi Shibahara singled to center with two down and Valdez doubled to
leftcenter to drive Shibahara in and get within four at 6-2.
In the fifth and with the top of the Hawks order
coming up again with one out and a man on, Lions manager Haruki Ihara decided
to give Nishiguchi the hook in favor of Yoshihiro Doi for two hitters and
then Aoki from there.
In the sixth, Seibu completed the night's offensive
output when Matsui singled to right and stole second with two away and Tatusya
Ozeki singled to left to drive in Matsui and make it 7-2. Neither side mustered
much afterward and it concluded as a 7-2 Lions triumph. The Hawks are now
8.5 games behind Seibu, which is 20 games over .500 at the break for the
first time since 1993.
For Daiei, Valdez was 3-4 with two RBIs and is at
.293.
For Seibu, Cabrera was 1-4 with a walk and is at
.290. Evans was 0-3 with a walk and is at .286.
Pitching Lines:
Seibu:
Nishiguchi IP 4.1 PC
64 H 4 HR 1 K 4 BB 1 R 2 ER 2 ERA 3.39
Doi
IP 0.1 PC 11 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.66
Aoki (W, 4-1) IP 1.1 PC 14 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0
ER 0 ERA 3.13
T. Shiozaki IP 1.0
PC 14 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.51
Mori
IP 1.0 PC 12 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.54
Toyoda
IP 1.0 PC 7 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.24
Daiei:
A. Yamada (L, 5-6) IP 0.2 PC 37 H 4 HR 1 K
0 BB 2 R 6 ER 6 ERA 4.91
Nagai
IP 5.1 PC 78 H 6 HR 0 K 2 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 4.15
Sugiuchi
IP 2.0 PC 26 H 2 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 6.11
Pedraza
IP 1.0 PC 13 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.00
E: Takagi
SB: K. Matsui
2B: K. Matsui, Wada, Ozeki, Hirao, P. Valdez
3B: Shibata
HR: T. Itoh (6), P. Valdez (12)
RBI: Ozeki, Shibata, Wada, T. Itoh (4), P. Valdez 2
IBB: Cabrera, K. Matsui
GIDP: Wada
LOB: Seibu 7, Daiei 5
Season Series: Seibu 9, Daiei 6
Game Time: 3:12
Attendance: 47,000
Umpires: Shirai (HP), Hayashi (1B), Higashi (2B), Nagami (3B)
Powell Loses Second in a Row 2-1
A one out homer to straightaway centerfield in the
bottom of the ninth at Tokyo Dome by leftfielder Sherman Obando gave the
Nippon Ham Fighters a sweep of the second place Kintetsu Buffaloes 2-1 Wednesday.
Reliever Hiroshi Shibakusa was credited with his second win following in
the wake of eight strong innings from starter Itsuki Shoda. Buffs starter
Jeremy Powell lost his fifth.
Shoda got off on a bad footing when he threw a hanging
slider to Kintetsu centerfielder Naoyuki Omura to begin the game and the
all star outfielder bashed it into the rightfield seats for an immediate
1-0 Buffs lead. Shoda walked leftfielder Tuffy Rhodes with one out and first
baseman Yuji Yoshioka doubled down the leftfield line, but DH Kenshi Kawaguchi
struckout to impede anymore offensive progress by the Osaka contingent. From
that point forward, though, Shoda scattered five hits to give his side a
chance to prevail.
In the fifth, Powell left a pitch where he shouldn't
have and rightfielder Seigo Fujishima guided it out of the field of play
to right to even it at 1-1.
In the top of the ninth, a missed sign cost the
Buffs the game. Kawaguchi walked and was pinch run for by Tadatoki Maeda.
Pinch hitter Daisuke Masuda singled to left. Shortstop Masahiro Abe grounded
out to second to move Maeda over to third. With the count 2-2 on catcher
Tetsuya Matoyama, Kintetsu manager Masataka Nishida called for the squeeze.
Matoyama dutifully laid it down, but Maeda hadn't paid attention to the sign
and he stayed put while Matoyama was thrown out at first. Omura grounded
out to end the inning.
DH D.T. Cromer commenced the home half by
lining one right at Yoshioka. Obando, with his parents and other family members
in the stands, got a first pitch fastball and he pummeled it, the ball landing
with a thud in the centerfield seats for the 2-1 victory.
Sports Nippon came up with an interesting stat on
Obando. As a DH, he is hitting a wan .231. But when he has started in the
outfield, he has posted a robust .389 mark.
The Fighters will be without starter Carlos Mirabal
for a while, as he sustained a fracture in the middle finger of his pitching
hand. Mirabal hurt it about two months ago, but when the pai didn't subside,
he finally decided to have it checked and a doctor discovered the break.
For Kintetsu, Rhodes was 0-3 with a walk and is
at .253.
For Nippon Ham, Cromer was 0-4 with three strikeouts
and is at .271. Obando was 1-4 with an RBI and is at .254.
Pitching Lines:
Kintetsu:
Powell (L, 9-5) IP 8.1 PC 128 H 7 HR 2 K 9
BB 0 R 2 ER 2 ERA 3.32
Nippon Ham:
Shoda
IP 8.0 PC 130 H 7 HR 1 K 4 BB 2 R 1 ER 1 ERA 2.89
N. Takahashi IP 0.0
PC 4 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.50
Shibakusa (W, 2-1) IP 1.0 PC 14 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER
0 ERA 3.71
2B: Yoshioka, M. Abe
HR: N. Omura (10), Fujishima (5), Obando (17)
RBI: N. Omura, Fujishima, Obando
GIDP: N. Nakamura
LOB: Kintetsu 9, Nippon Ham 5
Season Series: Kintetsu 6, Nippon Ham 9
Game Time: 2:52
Attendance: 9,000
Umpires: Akimura (HP), Nakamura (1B), Sakaemura (2B), Hirabayashi (3B)
Bases Loaded Sakai Double Gets Lotte Over
Orix 5-2
For the first time in ten years, the Orix Blue Wave
will be in last place at the all star break, as a bases loaded double in
the third by second baseman Tadaharu Sakai provided the margin of victory
in a 5-2 win by the Chiba Lotte Marines. Naoyuki Shimizu, back to pitching
like he has normally been this season, went six innings of six hit, two run
ball to claim his sixth shiroboshi. Masahiko Kaneda lasted less than three
innings and was saddled with his sixth loss.
Lotte conducted a two out rally in the second to
throw a pair on the board. Centerfielder Saburo Omura singled to center,
Sakai singled to left and catcher Toshiya Tsuji singled in Omura while Sakai
went into third. Leftfielder Kenji Morozumi beat out a tapper toward first
and Sakai chugged in to make it 2-0 Lotte.
In the third, Lotte first baseman Kazuya Fukuura
legged out a roller and rightfielder Takashi Tachikawa singled to left. DH
Derrick May hit a tailor made double play ball to Makoto Shiozaki at short,
who booted it to juice the bags. Two groundouts later, Sakai walked up and
laced a shot up the rightcenter alley to alleviate the overcrowding on the
basepaths and it was 5-0 Lotte.
In the sixth, Orix nabbed their only tallies of
the battle. Leftfielder Kota Soejima walked to lead it off and then third
baseman Scott Sheldon jacked one out to center and it was 5-2 Lotte. Orix
did nothing the rest of the game and Masahide Kobayashi had a nine pitch
ninth to save it, his 15th of the season.
For Lotte, May was 1-3 with a walk and is at .234.
For Orix, Sheldon was 2-4 with two RBIs and is at
.242. Fernando Seguignol was 0-1 in a pinch hitting appearance and is at
.209.
Pitching Lines:
Lotte:
N. Shimizu (W, 6-5) IP 6.0 PC 93 H 6 HR 1 K
2 BB 2 R 2 ER 2 ERA 3.61
Sikorsky
IP 2.0 PC 22 H 2 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.26
M. Kobayashi (S, 15) IP 1.0 PC 9 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0
ER 0 ERA 1.37
Orix:
Kaneda (W, 3-6) IP 2.2 PC 68 H 7 HR 0 K 3 BB 0 R 5 ER 2
ERA 2.62
J.
Hagiwara
IP 2.1 PC 37 H 1 HR 0 K 4 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.50
Kobayashi
IP 2.0 PC 20 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Iwashita
IP 0.0 PC 6 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 6.75
Kawagoe
IP 1.0 PC 4 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.59
Okubo
IP 1.0 PC 18 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.18
E: Morozumi, K. Oshima
SB: Tani
2B: T. Sakai, Shiotani
HR: Sheldon (9)
RBI: Morozumi, T. Tsuji, T. Sakai 3, Sheldon 2
HBP: Fukuura (Kaneda)
GIDP: T. Sakai
LOB: Lotte 8, Orix 7
Season Series: Lotte 6, Orix 8
Game Time: 3:04
Attendance: 8,000
Umpires: Sato (HP), Kakigizono (1B), Yoshikawa (2B), Maeda (3B)
Tied All Star Games in Japan
Tied All Star Games in Japan
For those interested, they have had tie games in
Japanese all star games, the longest being a 21 inning tie game on July 3rd,
1952 in the first game of that year's all star series at Nishinomiya Stadium.
Amazingly, it only lasted four hours and 30 minutes before it was called
with the final score being 2-2. It was the first ever tie in an all star
series in Japan sinced the series began in 1951. Since 1992, All star exhibitions
in Japan have been restricted to nine innings only, so there haven't been
any such extra inning contests since then.
Other ties:
1965, Heiwadai Stadium 1-1 (game three)
1991, Hiroshima Municipal Stadium 3-3 (game two)
1995, Yokohama Stadium 4-4 (game one)
1998, Chiba Marine Stadium 3-3 (game two)
Yes, MVPs were named in each of those games.
Ichiro Fueling Boom in Japanese Cards,
Memorabilia
http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/sports/columns/stories/18177sportscolumntwostories.html
Samsung Lions Break Losing Streak
See Korea Times article at:
http://www.hankooki.com/kt_sports/200207/t2002071117151847110.htm
Hiroshima Carp Owner Dies
See Japan Times story at:
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getsp.pl5?sb20020712a2.htm
Today in Japanese Baseball History
This report is for July 10th and on that date in
Japanese baseball history in 1964, Taiyo Whales outfielder Yukio Osada was
hit in the head
by a beer bottle and went into the stands after the fan that threw it. The
umpire immediately ejected him. Osada didn't have much power even if his
nickname was "popeye" (5'9" 195), but he did post a career high .297 average
that season. His lifetime mark was .266 with an OPS of .721. He did
manage homers in five consecutive games in 1968, though, when he slugged
14 homers on the year.
Also on that date in 1978, Clyde Wright of the Yomiuri
Giants got hammered and was sent to an early shower. Then, it says, the ex-Angel
perpetrated some violence on a reporter in the locker room.
Known as "Crazy Wright" in Japan, Clyde played for
the Giants for three seasons from 1976-78, going 22-18 with a 3.97 ERA overall.
He
once objected so strongly to manager Shigeo Nagashima taking him out of a
game, that he took off part of his uniform in front of the dugout before
stalking off. Now you have to understand that the intense Wright, who I
personally liked when he was an Angel, was playing for one of the worst handlers
of pitchers in baseball history. Nevertheless, Wright was mercilessly hammered
in the press for daring to argue with "Mr. Giants" Nagashima. You can see
a pic of Clyde in a Giants uniform at:
http://www.nagoyanet.ne.jp/dra/gaikoku/G-right.jpg
July 9, 2002
Hodges Keeps on Rolling With 11th Win for
Yakult
See Japan Times article at:
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getsp.pl5?sb20020711a2.htm
For Yakult, first baseman Roberto Petagine was 3-3
with a walk and is at .306. Leftfielder Alex Ramirez was 1-4 with two strikeouts
and is at .331. Catcher Atsuya Furuta, who was 3-4 with three RBIs, including
a 406 foot homer, celebrated his 37th birthday. Amazing he has gotten this
far this season with gimpy knees. Hodges singled and sacrificed in his two
plate appearances and is at .158. He left after five due to the 75% humidity
and low 80's heat. You can see a pic of Hodges delivery at this game
at:http://www.sponichi.co.jp/baseball/kiji/2002/07/10/20020710010104.jpg
For Yokohama, rightfielder Boi Rodrigues was 0-3
with a walk and is at .264.
Pitching Lines:
Yakult:
Hodges (W, 11-2) IP 5.0 PC 90 H 2 HR 0 K 4 BB 4 R
1 ER 0 ERA 2.54
Newman
IP 1.0 PC 15 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.20
H.
Ishii
IP 0.2 PC 19 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.39
R.
Igarashi
IP 1.1 PC 23 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.09
Yamamoto
IP 1.0 PC 6 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.08
Yokohama
Holt (L, 3-3) IP 5.0 PC 70 H 7 HR 1 K
5 BB 0 R 4 ER 4 ERA 3.47
Sugimoto IP 1.2
PC 36 H 1 HR 0 K 3 BB 2 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.70
R. Kawahara IP 0.1 PC 4 H 0 HR 0 K 0
BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.61
Inamine
IP 0.0 PC 1 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 7.04
Azuma
IP 1.0 PC 12 H 3 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 2 ER 2 ERA 3.50
Morinaka IP 1.0 PC
11 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 5.74
E: Hodges
SB: T. Ishii, K. Tanaka 2
2B: Petagine, Furuta, S. Miyamoto, Iwamura
HR: Furuta (3)
RBI: Furuta 3, S. Miyamoto, Dobashi 2,
PB: Furuta
GIDP: Manaka, Tamura
LOB: Yakult 5, Yokohama 9
Season Series: Yakult 8, Yokohama 5
Game Time: 3:04
Attendance: 15,000
Umpires: Nishimoto (HP), T. Kobayashi (1B), Kasahara (2B), Sasaki (3B)
Morino Error, Good Yabu Outing Powers Hanshin
Over Dragons
A costly error from Chunichi Dragons second baseman
Masahiko Morino and homers from Akihiro Yano and Osamu Hamanaka paved the
way for the Hanshin Tigers to ensure that they will hit the all star break
with a better than .500 record for the first time in ten seasons, as Osaka's
favorite sons scooped up a 5-1 victory at Koshien Stadium on a humid, rainy
Tuesday night. Tigers starter Keiichi Yabu won his seventh, the most he's
taken in four years and, for the first time in five years, he fanned ten
opposition batters.
Hanshin went ahead and never looked back in the
second, as rightfielder Shinjiro Hiyama walked, went to second on a groundout
and crossed on a single to left. Yano then put a charge into a fastball that
was down in the zone from Dragons starter Kenshin Kawakami and sent it into
the leftcenterfield seats to make it 3-0.
In the top of the fourth, the Dragons loaded the
bases on two singles and a walk with two outs, but leftfielder Kazuki Inoue
struckout on a forkball to extinguish the threat.
In the home portion, Morino then gave the Tigers
a break. With one out, Hirashita doubled down the rightfield line and Yano
beat out a tapper. One out later, second baseman Makoto Imaoka grounded to
Morino,. who let it get through him and Hirashita wheeled on in to expand
the Hanshin advantage to 4-0.
Yabu had his greatest difficulty in the sixth, as
shortstop Hirokazu Ibata doubled down the rightfield line. Morino struckout,
but rightfielder Kosuke Fukudome singled to left and third baseman Kazuyoshi
Tatsunami also went safely to the lefthand side to claim the RBI. First baseman
Takeshi Yamasaki, who has the sock to tie it up, struckout. Inoue was next
and he also came up empty and that was the last time the Dragons were heard
from again.
In the eighth, Hamanaka, celebrating his 24th birthday,
matched his 2001 total with his 13th homer, a drive that got up in the wind,
which blew it toward the rightfield line and it hit the top of the wall next
to the foul pole and went over for and that's how it ended, 5-1 Hanshin.
He has circuit clouts in five of his last ten games.
Sports Nippon came up with one bit of statistical
trivia that demonstrates why Hanshin has had trouble sustaining a consistent
offensive production: in the last five games, the trio of third baseman Atsushi
Kataoka, first baseman George Arias and rightfielder Hiyama is a combined
6-54, a .111 clip, with no RBIs. In fact, Tigers boss Senichi Hoshino sent
up Katsunori Nomura, who arguably has no business being in a pro yakyu uniform,
to pinch hit for the disappointing Kataoka. Now THAT is being dissed by your
own manager!
For Hanshin, Arias was 0-4 and is at .257.
Pitching Lines:
Chunichi:
Kawakami (L, 5-1) IP 6.0 PC 106 H 5 HR 1 K 3 BB 2 R 4 ER
2 ERA 2.52
Asakura
IP 0.2 PC 15 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.93
Iwase
IP 0.1 PC 3 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.43
Kito
IP 1.0 PC 11 H 1 HR 1 K 1 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 2.89
Hanshin:
Yabu (W, 7-4) IP 7.0 PC 11 H 5 HR 0 K 10 BB
3 R 1 ER 1 ERA 2.75
Kanazawa
IP 1.0 PC 13 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.31
M.
Valdez
IP 1.0 PC 13 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.05
E: Morino, Tanishige
SB: Hiyama
2B: Ibata, Hirashita, K. Tanaka
HR: Yano (3), Hamanaka (13)
RBI: Tatsunami, Hamanaka, Hirashita, Yano 2,
WP: Yabu
GIDP: Morino, Imaoka
LOB: Chunichi 5, Hanshin 5
Season Series: Chunichi 7, Hanshin 6
Game Time: 3:02
Attendance: 32,000
Umpires: Watamari (HP), Manabe (1B), Tomyori (2B), Kittaka (3B)
Ogasawara, Obando Back Fine Nakamura Performance
for Fighters
Nippon Ham starter Hayato Nakamura has been mostly
outstanding this season and he flashed that ability again Tuesday at Sapporo
Dome, throwing eight innings of four hit, one run ball while his teammates
in the batting order slapped three Kintetsu Buffaloes hurlers around for
seven runs (six earned) on 14 hits in a 7-1 Fighters victory, one that also
returned them to .500.
The Fighters blew a bases loaded, one out opportunity
in the first against Buffs starter Hiroshi Takamura, but rallied for a run
in the third. Centerfielder Tatsuya Ide beat out a roller and went to second
on a sac bunt. One out later, leftfielder D.T. Cromer torched a low liner
that carromed off the centerfield wall for an RBI double and a 1-0 lead.
Kintetsu wasted a man on third, one out situation
in the fourth and Nippon Ham took their at bats in that frame and showed
the how to produce a run. Third baseman Yukio Tanaka legged out a bouncer
toward third and went to second on a groundout. Rightfielder Seigo Fujishima
then pulled out his first baseknock with runners in scoring position since
May 1st with a single to center and it was 2-0 Fighters.
Again, Kintetsu had a man in scoring position with
less than two outs and couldn't get him across in the fifth and once more
Nippon Ham put something on the board in their half of that inning, as first
baseman Michihiro Ogasawara went midieval on a first pitch forkball on the
outer half of the plate and parked it in the leftfield bleachers to go up
by three at 3-0.
Nippon Ham continued to chip away at Takamura in
the sixth, as Tanaka singled to center and pinch hitter Hiroshi Narahara
singled to left and Tanaka made for third. Fujishima grounded to short and
went to the plate, but Tanaka slid in safely and it was 4-0 Fighters.
DH Sherman Obando then joined in the fun by destroying
a pitch from reliever Shogo Yamamoto and depositing it in the leftfield stands
for a 5-0 advantage.
Kintetsu finally put a dent in Nakamura in the eighth,
when shortstop Masahiro Abe walked with one out and one out later galloped
home on a whizzer into the leftfield corner from centerfielder Naoyuki Omura
to draw within 5-1.
Nippon Ham responded, however, in the bottom segment
with a leadoff double from Fujishima, a sac bunt, a shot off the centerfield
fence from Ide that plated Fujishima, and a single to center from shortstop
Makoto Kaneko that redeemed Ide and it was 7-1. Closer Tomokazu Iba then
struckout the side in Kintetsu's final ups and it was "game setto."
For Kintetsu, leftfielder Tuffy Rhodes was 0-4 and
is at .256. The 2001 home run champ is two for July and hasn't homered
in 42 at bats for an .077 average. Talk about being shutdown!
For Nippon Ham, Cromer was 2-4 with an RBI and two
strikeouts and is at .276. Obando was 1-3 with a walk and an RBI and is at
.254.
Pitching Lines:
Kintetsu:
Takamura (L, 5-3) IP 6.0 PC 100 H 9 HR 1 K 4 BB 2 R 4 ER 3 ERA 3.02
S. Yamamoto IP 1.0
PC 23 H 2 HR 1 K 2 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 2.34
Johnson
IP 1.0 PC 22 H 3 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 2 ER 2 ERA 9.00
Nippon Ham:
H. Nakamura (W, 5-3) IP 8.0 PC 114 H 4 HR 0 K 3 BB 2 R 1 ER 1
ERA 2.88
Iba
IP 1.0 PC 14 H 0 HR 0 K 3 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.50
E: N. Nakamura
2B: N. Omura 2, Kawaguchi, Cromer, Y. Tanaka, Fujishima, Ide
HR: M. Ogasawara (23), Obando (16)
RBI: M. Ogasawara, Obando, Ide, Kaneko, Cromer, Fujishima 2, N. Omura
GIDP: Kawaguchi, Sanematsu
LOB: Kintetsu 4, Nippon Ham 9
Season Series: Kintetsu 6, Nippon Ham 8
Game Time: 3:02
Attendance: 11,000
Umpires: Yamazaki (HP), Yanagida (1B), Kawaguchi (2B), Yamamoto (3B)
Wakatabe Spins Sixth Straight Victory Against
Seibu 8-1
Daiei Hawks starter Kenichi Wakatabe has been around
for over a decade and right now is throwing the best ball of his career,
as he just barely missed his second straight complete game shutout to give
manager Sadaharu Oh his 500th victory at the helm of the Fukuoka nine 8-1
Tuesday at Fukuoka Dome over the Seibu Lions. This was Wakatabe's third
consecutive complete game triumph. Hsu Ming-chieh started for Seibu and absorbed
his fifth loss against two wins after being shaken down for five runs, two
earned, on six hits over 5.2 innings.
Wakatabe had men on in every inning, but was bailed
out by three double plays and mixed up his fastball, slow curve ball,
cutter and forkball to keep the first place Lions from doing any hard damage.
The Hawks snatched a lead in the fourth, as third
baseman Hiroki Kokubo doubled down the leftfield line and DH Noriyoshi Omichi
singled him in to make it 1-0 Daiei.
In the fifth, Daiei shortstop Yusuke Torigoe leadoff
with a single to left and one out later leftfielder Pedro Valdez singled
to center. Second baseman Tadahito Iguchi grounded into a 6-4 force play.
A passed ball by catcher Tsutomu Itoh allowed Iguchi to get to second. Kokubo
singled to center and both Torigoe and Iguchi toed the dish and it was 3-0
Hawks.
An error by Hiroyuki Takagi and a bad fielding decision
by Hsu in the sixth resulted in two unearned runs for Daiei. Rightfielder
Koji Akiyama leadoff with a groundball to Takagi, who booted it. First baseman
Honma laid down a sac bunt and Hsu tried to nail him at second, but it was
tardy. Catcher Masanori Taguchi grounded into a force at third, but Torigoe
then sacrificed the runners over. Centerfielder Hiroshi Shibahara singled
to center and for the two RBIs and make it 5-0 Hawks.
Daiei then tacked another three on the board in
the ninth, with backup rightfielder Arihito Muramatsu singling to center
to initiate the attack. Honma beat out a dribbler and Taguchi singled in
Muramatsu. Two strikeouts later, substitute leftfielder Yudai Deguchi zipped
one up the rightcenter gap and to the wall for a two run triple and now it
was a laugher at 8-0.
Seibu first baseman Alex Cabrera busted one over
the leftfield fence to start the bottom of the ninth and to foil the shutout,
but then the Lions couldn't even hit the ball out of the infield and it was
game over, the final 8-1.
For Daiei, Valdez was 1-4 with three strikeouts
and is at .286.
For Seibu, Cabrera was 3-4 with an RBI and is at
.290. Third baseman Tom Evans was 1-3 with a walk and is at .295. The ex-Rangers
is sporting an OBP of right around .400 as he continues to get the job done.
Pitching Lines:
Seibu:
Hsu (L, 2-5) IP 5.2 PC 98 H 6 HR 0 K 2 BB 1 R 5 ER 2 ERA
4.57
Mizuo
IP 1.1 PC 21 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.61
Uchizono IP 1.0 PC 22 H 4 HR 0 K 2 BB
0 R 3 ER 3 ERA 6.00
Daiei:
Wakatabe (W, 6-0) IP 9.0 PC 129 H 8 HR 1 K 6 BB 3 R 1 ER 1 ERA 1.94
E: Evans
SB: Shibahara, Kokubo
2B: Kokubo
3B: Deguchi
HR: Cabrera (25)
RBI: Cabrera, Shibahara 2, Deguchi 2, Kokubo 2, Omichi, Taguchi
HBP: Honma (Hsu)
PB: T. Itoh
GIDP: Miyaji, Wada, H. Takagi
LOB: Seibu 6, Daiei 7
Season Series: Seibu 8, Daiei 6
Game Time: 3:02
Attendance: 46,000
Umpires: Yamamura (HP), Higashi (1B), Nagami (2B), Shirai (3B)
Four Carp Homers Cream Kudaoh; Matsui Drills
Career 300th
Yomiuri Giants southpaw Kimiyasu Kudoh has pitched
all season like the great veteran that he is, even if he wasn't rewarded
for it by the kyojin offense. Tuesday at Hiroshima Municipal Stadium, Kudoh
had his worst outing of the season, being victimized by four Hiroshima Carp
homers in taking a 7-4 loss. Hiroki Kuroda went all the way for the fish.
Hiroshima took a 1-0 lead in the second, when second
baseman Eddie Diaz clocked a Kudoh offering over the centerfield wall.
The Giants overturned that, though, in the fourth,
when rightfielder Yoshinobu Takahashi singled to left, centerfielder Hideki
Matsui singled to center and first baseman Kazuhiro Kiyohara did the long
distance runaround to the oppositie field for a three run dinger and a 3-1
Yomiuri advantage.
Kudoh, however, saw that bit of prosperity evaporate
in the bottom of the frame when shortstop Akihiro Higashide singled to left,
centerfielder Koichi Ogata walked and leftfielder Tomoaki Kanemoto, whose
numbers have improved markedly as of late, massacred a Kudoh delivery and
buried it in the rightfield seats to make it 4-3 Carp.
In the sixth, the Carp splurged for three
more when Ogata singled to center and Diaz homered to left with one out and
the next man up, rightfielder Tomonori Maeda, went yard to right for back
to back jacks and a 7-3 edge.
Matsui was the first hitter of the ninth for the
Giants and he got an 88mph fastball just below the knees and he sliced it,
diced it and cooked it into the rightcenterfield seats, the ball leaving
in no time, to slip his club within three at 7-4 and ring up his 300th career
longball. Kuroda, though, settled back in and retired three of the next four
men to turn out the lights.
In games in which both Matsui and Kiyohara had both
homered, Yomiuri was 17-0 dating back to September of 1998. Matsui is the
second youngest to 300 at 28 years old and no months while, as Baseball Guru
readers already know, Sadaharu Oh was the youngest at 27 years and three
months.
Giants third baseman Akira Etoh is in one heck of
a slump, most recently going zip for his last 17 at bats after his 0-4 tonight
to sink his average to .217.
For Hiroshima, who have now ensured that they will
finish the first half of the season above .500 for the first time in five
years, Diaz was 4-4 with three RBIs and is at .321.
Pitching Lines:
Yomiuri:
Kudoh (L, 4-6) IP 5.1 PC 100 H 8 HR 4 K 3 BB 1 R
7 ER 7 ERA 3.01
Jobe
IP 0.2 PC 6 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.55
Kawamoto IP 1.2
PC 29 H 2 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 7.71
Almonte
IP 0.1 PC 14 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.80
Hiroshima:
Kuroda (W, 5-4) IP 9.0 PC 127 H 9 HR 2 K 9 BB 0 R 4 ER
4 ERA 3.99
2B: Kanemoto
HR: Kiyohara (9), Matsui (18), Diaz 2 (16), Kanemoto (12), T. Maeda (9)
RBI: Matsui, Kiyohara 3, Kanemoto 3, Diaz 3, T. Maeda
GIDP: Nioka, K. Kimura
LOB: Yomiuri 4, Hiroshima 3
Season Series: Yomiuri 8, Hiroshima 7
Game Time: 3:08
Attendance: 15,000
Umpires: Arisumi (HP), Kamimoto (1B), Mori (2B), Ino (3B)
Samsung Lions Drop Seventh in a Row in KBO
Action
See Korea Times article at:
http://www.hankooki.com/kt_sports/200207/t2002071018033347110.htm
MLB-KBO All Star Series in the Offing?
See Korea Times article at:
http://www.hankooki.com/kt_sports/200207/t2002071018085247110.htm
Today in Japanese Baseball History
This report is for July 9th and on that date
in Japanese baseball history in 1974, in a game between the Taiyo Whales
and the Yomiuri Giants at Kawasaki Stadium, a dispute over a hit by pitch
call with Giants shortstop Kazumasa Kono up at the plate resulted in Yomiuri
manager Tetsuharu Kawakami getting ejected for the only time in his career
after he bumped the umpire with his chest.
July 8, 2002
Cabrera Roundtripper Wins it for Seibu in
11th
Alex Cabrera's roof scraping first ever extra inning
homer in Japan was the game winner for the Seibu Lions Monday in an 11 inning
6-4 victory over the Daiei Hawks at Fukuoka Dome. Moreover, the victory also
ensured that the Lions would reach the all star break without losing three
in a row at some point, the only time in their long history they have
accomplished that. Hayato Aoki earned credit for the triumph while Nobuyasu
Matsu accepted blame for the defeat.
Hawks DH Noriyoshi Omichi homered to left with one
away off of Lions starter Chang Chih-chiah in the second to go in front 1-0,
the first of two rockets he collected on the night.
In the top of the fourth, the Lions equalized it,
as shortstop Kazuo Matsui singled to center and was sacrificed to second.
Centerfielder Kazuhiko Miyaji the singled to center and Matsui crossed to
make it 1-1.
Seibu then pulled ahead in the fifth, when leftfielder
Susumu Otomo singled to right, stole second, went to third on a single to
left by Tom Evans and hustled in on a groundout by catcher Tsutomu Itoh for
a 2-1 edge.
The added to that advantage in the sixth, as Matsui
singled to right and rightfielder Tatsuya Ozeki singled to left. Both were
then sacrificed along. One out later, DH Kazuhiro Wada singled to left to
recall Ozeki and Matsui and it was 4-1 Lions.
Things changed quickly, however, on another swing
from Omichi. Leftfielder Pedro Valdez singled to right and Chang plunked
second baseman Tadahito Iguchi. One out later, Omichi dialed Ibaraki 6-5000
on a Chang delivery and the charges were accepted in the leftcenterfield
bleachers to knot it at 4-4.
After both sides blew scoring opportunities in the
tenth, Cabrera waited on a 3-1 slow curve ball to leadoff the 11th and launched
a towering drive that appeared as if it would strike the roof. Matsu didn't
think it would make it to the seats, but it nestled in the first row and
the Lions now had the upper hand at 5-4. Wada singled to left and was sacrificed
to second. Evans walked. One out later, Hiroshi Hirao singled to right to
drive in Wada to go up by two at 6-4. Shinji Mori then came on in the home
half and struckout three of the four hitters he faced and this long faceoff
was over.
The last time in the Pacific League that a club
has gone the entire first half without dropping three consecutively was in
1971, when the Lotte Orions did it. It hasn't been done in the Central League
since Hiroshima did it in the mid-1980's.
Seibu manager Haruki Ihara announced that ace Daisuke
Matsuzaka will not be permitted to throw in the all star game, as Matsuzaka
himself had hoped.
For Daiei, Valdez was 1-4 with a walk and a steal
and is at .286.
For Seibu, Cabrera was 1-4 with a walk and an RBI
and is at .282. He has six homers in six games and Seibu is 18-3 when the
ex-Diamondback goes deep. Evans was 1-4 with two strikeouts and a walk and
is at .294.
Pitching Lines:
Seibu:
Chang
IP 6.0 PC 94 H 5 HR 2 K 8 BB 0 R 4 ER 4 ERA 2.31
T. Shiozaki IP 3.0 PC 30
H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.59
Doi
IP 0.2 PC 10 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.69
Aoki (W, 3-1) IP 0.1 PC 7 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0
R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.26
Mori (S, 1) IP 1.0 PC 16
H 1 HR 0 K 3 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.58
Daiei:
Tanoue
IP 5.0 PC 71 H 7 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 4 ER 4 ERA 4.15
Nagai
IP 2.0 PC 26 H 2 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 5.87
S.
Yoshida
IP 0.1 PC 10 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.41
A. Okamoto IP 2.2 PC
42 H 2 HR 0 K 6 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.17
Matsu (L, 0-1) IP 0.1 PC 9 H 2
HR 1 K 0 BB 0 R 2 ER 2 ERA 3.48
H.K. Watanabe IP 0.2 PC 21 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 2 R 0 ER 0 ERA
1.69
E: Cabrera
SB: Otomo, P. Valdez
2B: Ozeki
HR: Cabrera (24), Omichi 2 (5)
RBI: Omichi 4, Cabrera, Miyaji, Wada 2, T. Itoh, Hirao
IBB: Cabrera, K. Matsui
HBP: Taguchi (Chang), Iguchi (Chang)
GIDP: Cabrera
LOB: Seibu 8, Daiei 6
Season Series: Seibu 8, Daiei 5
Game Time: 4:42
Attendance: 47,000
Umpires: Hayashi (HP), Nagami (1B), Shirai (2B), Yamamura (3B)
Cromer, Obando Shell Bergman in 7-3 Fighters
Victory
Nippon Ham DH Sherman Obando amassed four RBIs and
leftfielder D.T. Cromer plated three while starter Satoru Kanemura tossed
his first complete game since April 30, 2000 to nudge the Kintetsu Buffaloes
five games off the pace with league leading Seibu in a 7-3 Fighters victory
Monday at Tokyo Dome. Sean Bergman got his block knocked off for all seven
Nippon Ham tallies in his three inning stint.
The Tokyo squad jumped all over Bergman from the
get go, as centerfielder Tetsuya Ide doubled off the rightfield wall to open
the bottom of the first and first baseman Michihiro Ogasawara was nailed
with a pitch with one out. Cromer lined a triple up the rightcenter gap and
all the way to the wall for a 2-0 lead. Obando then grounded to short to
drive in Cromer and it was 3-0.
In the third, Buffaloes centerfielder Naoyuki Omura
took the long way home via rightfield and it was 3-1 Fighters.
Nippon Ham then crushed Bergman in their half. Shortstop
Makoto Kaneko ignited it with a single to center. Ogasawara singled to right.
Cromer torched one down the rightfield line to welcome in Kaneko. Obando
the folded, spindled and mutilated a Bergman delivery and left the mess in
the rightfield stands, too for a three run homer and it was 7-1 Fighters.
Kintetsu got homers to rightcenter and leftcenter
respectively from first baseman Yuji Yoshioka in the seventh and ninth, but
it was too little too late and Nippon Ham pocketed the W 7-3.
For Kintetsu, leftfielder Tuffy Rhodes was 0-4 and
is at .260.
For Nippon Ham, Cromer was 2-4 with three RBIs and
is at .272. Obando was 2-4 with four RBIs and is at .253. Ogasawara, with
his 1-2., walk and HBP showing, is now at .367 and is boasting a bodacious
1.150 OPS.
Pitching Lines:
Kintetsu:
Bergman (L, 4-3) IP 3.0 PC 60 H 6 HR 1 K 1 BB 0 R 7 ER 7 ERA
4.18
D. Miyamoto IP 3.0 PC 35 H 1 HR
0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.26
Takagi
IP 2.0 PC 25 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.38
Nippon Ham:
Kanemura (W, 4-1) IP 9.0 PC 130 H 6 HR 3 K 10 BB 1 R 3 ER 3 ERA 2.67
E. Mizuguchi
2B: Kawaguchi, Cromer, Ide, Kaneko
3B: Cromer
HR: N. Omura (9), Yoshioka 2 (12), Obando (15)
RBI: N. Omura, Yoshioka 2, Cromer 3, Obando 4
HBP: M. Ogasawara 2 (Bergman and Takagi), Kimoto (Bergman)
PB: Sanematsu
GIDP: Shimada
LOB: Kintetsu 4, Nippon Ham 4
Season Series: Kintetsu 6, Nippon Ham 7
Game Time: 2:45
Attendance: 13,000
Umpires: Hirabayashi (HP), Kawaguchi (1B), Yamamoto (2B), Tsugawa (3B)
Four Run Fourth Enough for Orix in 4-1 Victory
Over Lotte
A couple of defensive breakdowns in the fourth inning
helped the Orix Blue Wave score four runs and that was all that starter Hisashi
Ogura needed to best Nathan Minchey and the Chiba Lotte Marines 4-1 Monday
at Kobe Green Stadium. By losing, Lotte resumes sole possession of last place
in the PL.
Ogura won ten games last season for Orix, but elbow
problems sidelined him until recently. He went six innings and allowed six
hits and a run while Minchey went eight innings and surrendered four runs,
three earned, on ten hits to become the first man this season in either league
to ten losses.
Both pitchers seemed to be firmly in control until
the fourth. Lotte first baseman Kazuya Fukuura leadoff the top of the inning
with a single to right. Takashi Tachikawa singled to left. DH Derrick May
singled to right to pack the sacks. Centerfielder Saburo Omura flied out
to right to bring in Fukuura with the game's first run and it was 1-0 Lotte.
Orix retaliated in their portion when Kota Soejima
beat out a roller toward third and Kazuhiko Shiotani did likewise. Scott
Sheldon hit a groundball right at Koichi Hori at second base, a tailor made
groundball, and he let it scoot under his glove to convert Soejima. Incredibly,
that was called a hit. Fernando Seguignol grounded out to short to cash in
Shiotani. Makoto Shiozaki beat out a tapper toward short. One out later,
Tachikawa played what was a catchable fly ball off the bat of second baseman
Koichi Oshima into a two run double and it was 4-1 Orix.
Each side a couple of minor scoring opportunities
but didn't make anything of them and the game drew to a close as a 4-1 Orix
victory.
For Lotte, May was 104 and is at .233.
For Orix, Sheldon was 3-4 with an RBI and is at
.237. Seguignol was 0-3 with a walk and an RBI and is at .210.
Pitching Lines:
Lotte:
Minchey (L, 5-10) IP 8.0 PC 127 H 10 HR 0 K 3 BB 0 R 4 ER 3 ERA
3.67
Orix:
Ogura (W, 1-1) IP 6.0
PC 82 H 6 HR 0 K 3 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 4.08
Kawagoe
IP 2.0 PC 26 H 2 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.66
K. Yamaguchi (S, 1) IP 1.0 PC 8 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER
0 ERA 1.50
2B: Fukuura, K. Oshima, Tani, Shiotani
RBI: S. Omura, Sheldon, Seguignol, K. Oshima 2
SF: S. Omura
HBP: Seguignol (Minchey)
PB: Tsuji
LOB: Lotte 6, Orix 7
Season Series: Lotte 5, Orix 8
Game Time: 2:35
Attendance: 10,000
Umpires: Kakigizono (HP), Maeda (1B), Sato (2B), Kodera (3B)
From the "Hey, is it Just Me or...."
Department
Having just watched home run derby Monday, don't
you all think that Bud Selig is looking more and more like one of the cartoon
characters out of Pink Floyd's "The Wall" music video? His manner is also
like a combination of Ed Sullivan and Richard Nixon. And when you see him,
do you feel as nauseous as I do?
July 7, 2002
Tigers Take a 10-2 Bite Out of Giants
The Hanshin Tigers managed to tread water Sunday,
as they briefly halted their sinking fortunes in the Central League pennant
race by taking rookie Hiroki Sanada, ironically an Osaka native out of Himeji
Industrial High School making his first pro start, for three runs, two earned,
on six hits in five innings to hang him with the loss. Sanada is the first
high school draftee to start for Yomiuri in his first year since Tsuneo Horiuchi
did it in 1966.
Kei Igawa started for Hanshin and dominated, going
eight innings of five hit, one run ball, striking out seven and walking one
to grab his tenth victory and reduce his ERA to 1.74, which leads all of
Japanese baseball. The southpaw had just nine wins last season due to his
team's horrendous offense despite an ERA under 3.00.
Hanshin actually blew an easy scoring chance in
the first inning, when second baseman Makoto Imaoka seared a shot down the
leftfield line for a standup double and then went to third on a sac bunt.
But third baseman Atsushi Kataoka grounded out to second and first baseman
George Arias struckout and that was that.
Igawa said after the game that, physically, he didn't
feel all that great and it showed in the bottom of the same frame, as leftfielder
Takayuki Shimizu singled to right and shortstop Tomohiro Nioka singled to
left to send Shimizu to third. But rightfielder Yoshinobu Takahashi grounded
to second, centerfielder Hideki Matsui flew to center and after Igawa plunked
first baseman Kazuhiro Kiyohara to load the bases, Kenji Fukui grounded out
to first to left Igawa off the hook.
In the second, leftfielder Koji Hirashita singled
to left with two outs and then catcher Akihiro Yano got good wood on a shuuto
(a running fastball) on the inner half of the plate and deposited it in the
rightcenterfield seats fror a 2-0 Tigers lead.
They then squandered another facile scoring chance
in the third, when Imaoka doubled to rightcenter and went to third on a
sacrifice. But Kataoka popped out to second and Arias flied to center to
keep it at 2-0.
Hanshin were handed a gift run in the fourth, as,
with two gone, Sanada nailed Hirashita and walked Yano. Igawa grounded to
second and Toshihisa Nishi made a bad throw pas Kiyohara and Hirashita sprinted
in to make it 3-0 Tigers.
Hanshin then had men on ifrst and second with one
out in each of the fifth and sixth innings, but didn't drive anyone in. Finally,
in the seventh, they opened up on three Giants relievers to put it away.
With one out, shortstop Shuta Tanaka doubled down the rightfield line. He
then lit out for third and Giants catcher Ota's throw sailed into leftfield
and it was 4-0 Hanshin. Kataoka walked. Arias doubled into the leftfield
corner. Rightfielder Shinjiro Hiyama walked to load the bases. Centerfielder
Osamu Hamanaka walked and Kataoaka and Arias crossed. Pinch hitter Hiroshi
Yagi singled to left for another and Fumikazu Takanami was dispatched to
pinch run for him. Yano lashed a pitch from Hector Almonte off the centerfield
wall for a double to convert Hamanaka. One out later, Imaoka singled to left
to recal both Yano and Takanami and it was 10-0 Tigers.
In the bottom of the eighth, the Giants obtained
their initial run when Nioka homered to left. They then combined singles
to center from Mototsugu Kawanaka, Koji Goto and Takayuki Saito off of Mark
Valdez and that's how it ended, 10-2 Tigers.
Sanada's parents, Takashi and Mayumi, were in the
stands watching their son in action. The 18 year old freshman hurler was
5-2 with a 2.49 ERA in the minors before being called up to make the start.
Yomiuri boss Tatsunori Hara was impressed enough with his effort that he
will probably be given another start soon. A Hiroshima advance scout remarked
that while Sanada, who can run it up there around 91mph, doesn't have a great
fastball, he does handle himself well on the mound and says that once he
can get better command of his slider then the Giants will really have something.
A Dragons observer concurred, saying that Sanada's
shuuto (basically a changeup with some run on it) gets in well to righthanded
hitters and that he has the talent to register double figures in wins one
day.
Kiyohara liked the tempo that Sanada maintains,
saying it is easy to play behind him since he doesn't waste anytime out there.
For a teenager, Sanada seems to be rather poised for his age.
For Hanshin, Arias was 2-5 with two strikeouts and
is at .261.
For another report on this game, go to:
http://www.asahi.com/english/sports/K2002070800253.html
Pitching Lines:
Hanshin:
Igawa (W, 10-4) IP 8.0 PC 123 H 5 HR 1 K 7 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA
1.74
M.
Valdez
IP 1.0 PC 25 H 3 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 1.09
Yomiuri:
Sanada (L, 0-1) IP 5.0 PC 88 H 6 HR 1 K 3 BB 1 R 3 ER 3 ERA 3.60
Jobe
IP 1.1 PC 27 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 2 R 1 ER 0 ERA 2.63
Kawamoto IP 0.0 PC
22 H 3 HR 0 K 0 BB 2 R 5 ER 5 ERA 10.13
Almonte
IP 0.2 PC 11 H 2 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 1.84
Y.
Maeda IP
2.0 PC 20 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.88
E: Nishi, Ota
SB: S. Tanaka
2B: Imaoka 2, S. Tanaka, Arias, Yano
HR: Yano (4), Nioka (8)
RBI: Imaoka 2, Hamanaka 2, Yagi, Yano 3, Nioka, Takayuki Saito
HBP: Hirashita (Sanada), Kiyohara (Igawa), Ota (Igawa)
GIDP: Hiyama
LOB: Hanshin 7, Yomiuri 9
Season Series: Hanshin 6, Yomiuri 9
Game Time: 3:15
Attendance: 55,000
Umpires: Tani (HP), Watada (1B), Sasaki (2B), Shikida (3B)
Pair of Two Run Carp Homers Sink Sakamoto,
Swallows 4-1
Hopefully, he isn't becoming discouraged by the
lack of victories he's had so far this season, but rookie hurler Yataro Sakamoto
made two big mistakes Sunday at Hiroshima Municipal Stadium and they both
left the field of play with a man on for all of the home team's runs in a
4-1 loss. Despite his 1-5 record, though, Sakamoto is sporting an excellent
2.91 ERA and make no mistake about it, he's a good one and he will, barring
injury or a loss of confidence, be a mainstay of this Swallows rotation for
years to come.
Masayuki Hasegawa started for Hiroshima and
was superb, going all the way and permitting eight hits, only one of those
past the fifth, while striking out nine and walking none for his team leading
seventh victory.
Hiroshima got on the board in the first, when Itsuki
Asai cracked a one out single to center and centerfielder Koichi Ogata sailed
one well beyond the leftcenterfield fence for his 12th homer and a 2-0 lead.
In the third, Ogata rammed a two out double down
the leftfield line and leftfielder Tomoaki Kanemoto mortared one over the
rightfield wall and it was 4-0 Carp.
Yakult appeared that they would do something in
the fourth, when rightfielder Atsunori Inaba legged out a tapper and first
baseman Roberto Petagine singled to right. Leftfielder Alex Ramirez struckout,
but third baseman Akinori Iwamura singled to center to deliver Inaba. Hasegawa
then battened down the hatches by fanning the next two men and for all practical
purposes, they were done, since Hasegawa did a better job of keeping his
stuff down in the zone and dominated from that point on.
For Hiroshima, second baseman Eddie Diaz was 0-4
and is at .308. Luis lopez struckout in a pinch hit role and is at .241.
With the emergence of Takahiro Arai and his ineffectuality since that tiff
with Maeda, the 37 year old Lopez could be a civilian once the schedule
concludes.
For Yakult, Petagine was 1-4 and is at .296. Ramirez
was was 1-4 and is at .332.
Pitching Lines:
Yakult:
Sakamoto (L, 1-5) IP 4.0 PC 61 H 6 HR
2 K 1 BB 0 R 4 ER 4 ERA 2.91
Masanori Ishikawa IP 2.2 PC 46 H 3 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER
0 ERA 3.72
R.
Igarashi
IP 0.1 PC 5 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.17
H.
Ishii
IP 1.0 PC 18 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.43
Hiroshima:
Hasegawa (W, 7-2) IP 9.0 PC 114 H 8 HR 0 K 9 BB 0 R 1 ER
1 ERA 2.90
E: K. Nomura
2B: Manaka, Ogata
HR: Ogata (12), Kanemoto (11)
RBI: Ogata 2, Kanemoto 2, Iwamura
WP: R. Igarashi
GIDP: Manaka
LOB: Yakult 5, Hiroshima 4
Season Series: Yakult 4, Hiroshima 8
Game Time: 2:45
Attendance: 12,000
Umpires: Suginaga (HP), Mori (1B), Nishimoto (2B), Watamari (3B)
Takashi Ishii Brilliant in 3-1 Lions Victory
Over Kintetsu
Seibu Lions starter Takashi Ishii threw seven solid
innings Sunday at Sapporo Dome, coughing up one run on six hits to improve
to 4-1, and Kazhiro Wada drove in two runs with a homer and a seventh inning
single in a 3-1 victory over the Kintetsu Buffaloes in the rubber game of
the three game series. Katsuhiko Maekawa, a Seibu nemesis, wasn't bad, but
he wasn't all that on and he suffered the defeat, his sixth, after 6.1 innings
of three run ball on eight hits. Moreover, the Lions have guarenteed themselves
to be in first place through the all star break, the tenth time the club
has done that in its long history. They have won the PL crown in eight of
those previous nine occasions.
Kintetsu drew first blood in the second, when first
baseman Yuji Yoshioka blowed one up real good over the leftfield fence to
make it 1-0.
Wada knotted it, however, in the with one out in
the fourth, as he got a pitch up in the strike zone and lofted it beyond
the leftcenterfield wall and it was 1-1.
Kintetsu had a man on third with one out, but couldn't
get him home in the fifth. The Lions then did similarly, loading the bases
with one out in the sixth before a lineout and a flyout killed that opening.
In the seventh, though, Seibu did climb on top.
Shortstop Kazuo Matsui singled to left and went to second on a sac bunt.
Maekawa attempted to jam DH Toshiaki Inubushi, but he left it out over the
plate and Inubushi turned and burned on it and cannonaded it fair down the
leftfield line to usher in Matsui. Hiroyuki Shibata came in to pinch run
for Inubushi. First baseman Alex Cabrera was intentionally walked. Wada singled
to right and Shibata chugged in and it was 3-1 Lions.
Seibu closer Kiyoshi Toyoda strode in from the pen
for the ninth after giving up a game winning homer to Norihiro Nakamura the
night before. So who was the first hitter of the inning? Nakamura, of course.
Toyoda worked him to a 1-2 count and then threw him a 90mph fastball that
the burly third baseman grounded to short on. Toyoda may have then mentally
let down, as the next batter, rightfielder Kenshi Kawaguchi, singled to right
and Toyoda hit Yoshioka. Now the tying run was on first. Toyoda, though,
induced a popup from DH Hirotoshi Kitagawa and pinch hitter Masuda whiffed
on a forkball for the final out as Toyoda pumped his fist in celebration.
For Seibu, Cabrera was 0-2 with two walks and is
at .282. Third baseman Tom Evans was 1-2 with two walks and is at .296.
For Kintetsu, leftfielder Tuffy Rhodes was 0-4 and
is at .264. Rhodes was 1-12 in the series with five strikeouts, saying that
he's not tired, he's just in a rut right now.
Pitching Lines:
Kintetsu:
Maekawa (L, 3-6) IP 6.1 PC 111 H 8 HR 1 K 2 BB 4 R 3 ER 3 ERA
4.37
A.
Okamoto
IP 0.2 PC 13 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.69
Misawa
IP 1.0 PC 10 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.74
Seibu:
Takashi Ishii (W, 4-1) IP 7.0 PC 113 H 6 HR 1 K 1 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA
2.58
Doi
IP 1.0 PC 13 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.74
Toyoda (S,
14)
IP 1.0 PC 25 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.29
E: N. Nakamura
2B: Kitagawa, Nakajima, Inubushi
HR: Yoshioka (10), Wada (10)
RBI: Yoshioka, Inubushi, Wada 2
IBB: Cabrera
HBP: Yoshioka (Toyoda)
Balk: Maekawa
GIDP: Yoshioka
LOB: Kintetsu 7, Seibu 10
Season Series: Kintetsu 7, Seibu 6
Game Time: 3:18
Attendance: 18,000
Umpires: Nakamura (HP), Sakaemura (1B), Tachibana (2B), Akimura (3B)
Raggio Back for Daiei and He Three Hits Lotte
6-1
Brady Raggio picked up his first win since April
20th Sunday at Fukuoka Dome and he overpowered the hapless Chiba Lotte Marines,
three hitting them over seven innings to basically cruise his way through
the game. He was backed by an epic day from second baseman Tadahito Iguchi,
who laced a two run first inning double and then homered in the eighth to
spearhead the 6-1 triumph.
Kosuke Kato continues to have a nightmarish season,
as he got just one out and was permitted to face only five hitters before
manager Koji Yamamoto yanked him in favor of Ken Yamasaki, who proceeded
to twirl 4.2 excellent innings. I would guess that if Kato can't get his
act together in his next start, he will be on a bus for the minors.
Daiei took Kato down when centerfielder Hiroshi
Shibahara leadoff with a single to center and leftfielder Pedro Valdez singled
to left to set the table. Iguchi had the count in his favor, 2-1, and then
squared as if to bunt. When Kato delivered the pitch, Iguchi pulled the bat
back and spanked it into the leftcenter alley and both Valdez and Shibahara
blazed around to make it 2-0 Hawks. One out later, first baseman Nobuhiko
Matsunaka singled to left and that's when Kato was pulled in favor of Yamasaki,
who lured the next two men into grounding out and striking out respectively
to limit the potential damage.
As Raggio had Lotte killing worms (yes, I know you
can't do that in an artificial turf ballpark; it's just an expression, okay?),
the Hawks tacked another one on in the fifth. Catcher Masanori Taguchi catalyzed
it by taking a pitch in the body and he was sacrificed to second and then
went to third on a groundout. Valdez singled to right and it was 3-0 home
team.
Lotte averted the shutout in the sixth when leftfielder
Kenji Morozumi scorched one into the rightfield corner for a two bagger and
he came around on two groundouts to make it 3-1 Hawks.
Daiei third baseman Hiroki Kokubo got that back,
though, in a single stroke when he leadoff the bottom of the inning with
a shot into the leftfield bleachers to attain a 4-1 advantage. Two outs later,
Motoi Okoshi singled to center and the ball got through Saburo Omura for
a three base error as Okoshi sped all the way around to widen the gap to
5-1.
In the eighth, Iguchi got a slider and went with
it to right, the ball just barely making it over the 18 foot high wall for
a solo homer, and his third longball in three games, to complete the day's
scoring at 6-1.
For Lotte, DH Derrick May was 0-3 with a walk and
is at .233.
For Daiei, Valdez was 2-4 with an RBI and is at.287.
Pitching Lines:
Lotte:
K. Kato (L, 3-9) IP 0.1 PC 23 H 4 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 2 ER
2 ERA 6.37
K. Yamasaki IP 4.2 PC 59
H 1 HR 0 K 5 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 4.18
H. Kobayashi IP 1.0 PC 18 H 2 HR 1 K
1 BB 0 R 2 ER 1 ERA 3.19
T.
Tanaka
IP 1.0 PC 10 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.45
Yoshida
IP 1.0 CP 14 H 2 HR 1 K 0 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.80
Daiei:
Raggio (W, 3-3) IP 7.0 PC 97 H 3 HR 0 K 3 BB 2 R
1 ER 1 ERA 5.18
S.
Yoshida
IP 1.0 PC 12 H 2 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.44
Nagai
IP 1.0 PC 8 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 7.94
E: S. Omura, Tsuji
SB: Morozumi, Okoshi
2B: Morozumi, Iguchi
HR: Kokubo (19), Iguchi (11)
RBI: Fukuura, P. Valdez, Iguchi 3, Kokubo
WP: Raggio
HBP: Taguchi (Yamasaki), Kokubo (Yoshida)
GIDP: Morozumi
LOB: Lotte 5, Daiei 4
Season Series: Lotte 3, Daiei 10
Game Time: 2:58
Attendance: 48,000
Umpires: Azuma (HP), Tamba (1B), Yamamura (2B), Hayashi (3B)
Seelbach, Yarnell Battle to a 2-2
Standoff
Making his first start in a month, Chris Seelbach
pitched well, fashioning eight innings of two run ball on seven hits for
Nippon Ham Sunday at Kobe Green Stadium. Unfortunately, Orix starter Ed Yarnell
flashed almost identical numbers and neither side could break through from
there, so it culminated in a 2-2 12 inning tie. One encouraging thing for
the occasionally wild Seelbach is that he only walked two while striking
out seven. Nippon Ham manager Yasunori Oshima would be pleased to see more
outings like this one.
In the third inning, Orix pulled to the head of
the line when centerfielder Yoshitomo Tani leadoff with a single and stole
the second of his four bases in the game. Two outs later, Shiotani doubled
to leftcenter to score Tani and it was 1-0 Blue Wave.
Nippon Ham, though, surged ahead in the sixth, when
second baseman Takaya Hayashi walked and first baseman Michihiro Ogasawara
doubled into the leftfield corner. After leftfielder Sherman Obando flied
out, third baseman Yukio Tanaka doubled down the rightfield line to chase
in both runners and it was 2-1 Fighters.
Orix third baseman Scott Sheldon homered to left
in the eighth, however, to gridlock it 2-2.
Neither team had much of a scoring opportunity until
the 11th when Orix loaded the bases on three walks with two outs, but Fernando
Seguignol grounded out to first and, for all practical purposes, it was over
at that juncture since neither side could get a runner on in the 12th.
For Nippon Ham, Obando was 0-4 and is at .249. DH
D.T. Cromer was 0-5 with two strikeouts and is at .268.
For Orix, Seguignol was 0-4 with an HBP and a walk
and three strikeouts and is at .213. Sheldon was 2-6 with an RBI and three
strikeouts and is at .227.
Pitching Lines:
Nippon Ham:
Seelbach
IP 8.0 PC 121 H 7 HR 1 K 7 BB 2 R 2 ER 2 ERA 3.93
N. Takahashi IP 0.1
PC 2 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.50
Shibakusa
IP 1.2 PC 22 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.86
Kato
IP 0.0 PC 7 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.20
Tateyama
IP 0.1 PC 5 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.15
Iba