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04/05/2003 Archived Entry: "Japanese Baseball News: Arias Leads Hanshin Explosion; Fujii Has Torn Ligament"
Arias Three Run Homer, Igawa Pitching Grabs Another Hanshin Win
A three run jack to left by Hanshin Tigers third baseman George Arias capped off a five run rampage in the seventh inning against Hiroshima Carp starter Masayuki Hasegawa, as the Osaka favorite sons pulled away Thursday to take it 7-2. Kei Igawa started for the victors and went all the way, permitting two runs, neither earned, on four hits and striking out nine to even his record at 1-1.
Hanshin rightfielder Osamu Hamanaka staked his side to an early lead when he put a charge into a Hasegawa hanging curve ball and hurtled it into the leftcenterfield seats in the second inning to make it 1-0 Tigers.
Hiroshima countered for the tie in the home half when first baseman Takahiro Arai walked. Leftfielder Tomonori Maeda beat out a dribbler for an infield hit. Igawa made a bad throw attempting to get Maeda and threw it away, enabling both men to take an extra base. Third baseman Takuya Kimura lofted a fly ball to left and Arai tagged up and scored with the equalizer, the scoreboard reading 1-1. One out later, catcher Shuji Nishiyama singled to right and Maeda wheeled on home for a 2-1 advantage.
Hanshin answered in the third when second baseman Makoto Imaoka singled to left with two outs and centerfielder Norihiro Akahoshi walked. Leftfielder Tomoaki Kanemoto singled to center and Imaoka scooted in to deadlock it at 2-2.
Then in the seventh, Hasegawa reached the end of the line. Igawa singled to center and Imaoka cranked an 87mph fastball down the rightfield line for a double. The infield was brought up. Akahoshi grounded to first, the runners holding. Former Carp Kanemoto was intentionally walked to pack the sacks. Hamanaka elevated a second pitch 88mph fastball to center and Igawa tagged and hustled in with the lead run. First baseman Shinjiro Hiyama doubled down the leftfield line to recall Imaoka. Arias got a hanging curve ball and nine ironed it 390 feet into the bleachers in left and now Igawa would have some major breathing room at 7-2
The Carp got a couple of men on thanks to singles in the bottom of the seventh, but then disappeared offensively, the final two hitters striking out to call it a night.
Kind of an odd thing by American standards: Tigers manager Senichi Hoshino called up Hamanaka's mother, Emiko, and told her to stop babying her 25 year old son. He apparently feels that his rightfielder needs some toughening up in order to become the kind of hitter they want him to be. This demonstrates just how paternalistic Japanese corporations and teams can be since if a manager did this in the U.S., it would cause some controversy. Mind your own business Hoshino!
For Hanshin, Arias was 1-5 with three RBIs and is at .280.
For Hiroshima, shortstop Andy Sheets was 0-3 with a walk and is at .136..
Pitching Lines:
Hanshin:
Igawa (W, 1-1) IP 9.0 BF 33 PC 125 H 4 HR 0 K 9 BB 2 R 2 ER 0 ERA 1.80
Hiroshima:
Hasegawa (L, 0-1) IP 7.0 BF 34 PC 118 H 9 HR 2 K 4 BB 4 R 7 ER 7 ERA 9.00
Nishikawa IP 1.0 BF 5 PC 13 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 5.40
Oyamada IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 5 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 18.00
E: Igawa, K. Kimura
2B: Imaoka, Hiyama
HR: Hamanaka (1), Arias (2)
RBI: Kanemoto, Hamanaka 2, Hiyama, Arias 3, T. Kimura, Nishiyama
SF: T. Kimura, Hamanaka
IBB: Kanemoto (Hasegawa)
LOB: Hanshin 8, Hiroshima 4
Season Series: Hanshin 2, Hiroshima 1
Game Time: 2:41
Attendance: 12,000
Umpires: Mori (HP), Ino (1B), Nishimoto (2B), Yoshimoto (3B)
Hodges Burned by Top of Dragons Order 8-3
Yakult Swallows righthander Kevin Hodges struckout the side against the Chunichi Dragons Thursday at Nagoya Dome, but when the first base umpire confronted him about him stopping in the middle of his motion, it seemed to throw him out of his rhythm and he was bombed for seven second inning runs in an 8-3 defeat. The former Mariner recovered and went on to go four innings of shutout ball afterward, but the damage was done and he is now 0-2.
Kenshin Kawakami used his cutter to great effect last season, when he contended for the ERA title. However, he got the feeling that teams were starting to sit on it, so he revved his fastball up to a high of 92mph and used it more than normal. The tactic worked, as he wove eight innings of three run ball on eight hits to earn his second win.
The story in this one from an offensive standpoint was the top three of the Dragons order, as they combined for 4 hits and six RBIs and scored four runs to run roughshod over the Swallows.
It was Yakult that initially drew blood in this one, as first baseman Todd Betts whistled a double into the rightfield corner with two outs in the first inning and leftfielder Alex Ramirez singled to left to drive him in for the 1-0 lead.
Then the roof caved in on Hodges in the second. Centerfielder Alex Ochoa singled to left and, one out later, catcher Motonobu Tanishige singled to right on a hit and run, Ochoa cruising into third. Hodges hit leftfielder Kazuki Inoue on an elbow to jam the basepaths. Second baseman Masahiro Araki tapped out near short and he outran it for an RBI infield hit. Kawakami struckout, but rightfielder Kosuke Fukudome wacked a changeup for a single to right to score two. When the ball got by rightfielder Shinichi Sato as well, Araki blazed in to make it 4-1. Shortstop Hirokazu Ibata banged a single to center to hail Fukudome in. Third baseman Kazuyoshi Tatsunami was thrown a pork chop and he was on it like a man who hadn't eaten in a month, burying it in the rightfield bleachers to stretch the Chunichi advantage to 7-1.
Yakult couldn't make much of Kawakami, but the Dragons were able to get back on the board in the seventh when reliever Hirotsugu Maeda attempted to come up and in on Ibata and he creamed it into the leftfield stands to make it 8-1.
The Swallows finally got to Kawakami in the eighth, as centerfielder Mitsuru Manaka singled to center and, one out later, Betts singled to right. Ramirez bashed one into the rightfield corner and Manaka and Betts both made the trek home to bring the Swallows to within 8-3. That was it, though, Masataka Endo closing the shop down in the ninth.
For Yakult, Betts was 2-4 and is at .269. Ramirez was 3-4 with two RBIs and is at .440.
For Chunichi, Ochoa was 3-4 and is at .440. First baseman Ivan Cruz was 0-4 with two strikeouts and is at .320. Lst year's batting champ, Fukudome, is hitting .385.
Pitching Lines:
Yakult:
Hodges (L, 0-2) IP 6.0 BF 27 PC 97 H 8 HR 1 K 7 BB 2 R 7 ER 5 ERA 4.15
H. Maeda IP 2.0 BF 9 PC 42 H 3 HR 1 K 2 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 6.00
Chunichi:
Kawakami (W, 2-0) IP 8.0 BF 33 PC 103 H 8 HR 0 K 2 BB 1 R 3 ER 2 ERA 3.21
Endo IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 12 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
E: S. Miyamoto, S. Sato, M. Araki
2B: Betts, Tanishige, Ramirez
HR: Tatsunami (1), Ibata (1)
RBI: Ramirez 2, Fukudome 2, Ibata 2, Tatsunami 2, M. Araki
HBP: K. Inoue (Hodges), Ibata (Hodges)
LOB: Yakult 6, Chunichi 4
Season Series: Yakult 1, Chunichi 2
Game Time: 2:32
Attendance: 31,000
Umpires: Watada (HP), Manabe (1B), Tani (2B), Kasahara (3B)
Team Reports
Yomiuri Yomiuri-owned NTV has changed their tune and now believe that the reduced ratings they suffered they suffered for Giants games this past weekend was indeed due to the absence of Hideki Matsui. The Giants intend to bring up first baseman Kazuhiro Kiyohara, who has been making rehab appearances in the minors, on the 11th and station bigwigs hope that will help energize their audience numbers. The burly slugger when 0-3 Thursday in minor league play....Rookie righty Hiroshi Kisanuki worked on polishing his curve ball Thursday in a 51 pitch bullpen session. He will start on the sixth against Hiroshima. Coach Yoshitaka Katori says that Kisanuki has to to a better job using the strike zone vertically and hopes that the curve ball will help....Hiroki Sanada made a minor league appearance Thursday and got rocked for eight runs in four innings. He was then followed by Gary Rath, who was done up for three runs on four hits in two innings, including a dinger. He said that his shoulder feels fine, but that he was getting his pitches up in one of the two frames. It hasn't been decided when he'll throw next, but it will probably be in relief.
Yakult It looks like Shugo Fujii is going to be gone the rest of the season, as an MRI has determined that he suffered a torn elbow ligament in Wednesday's game. The southpaw lead the Central League in victories in 2001 with 14. It is expected that it will take a year for him to get back in action. He has had problems with the elbow in both high school and college and doctors had recommended that he think about Tommy John Surgery. Incredibly, Fujii wanted to try to overcome the injury through strengthening the muscles around the elbow, but the Swallows were having none of that. This is yet another huge blow to the Swallows pennant hopes. No announcement has been made yet as to who will replace him in the rotation, though Hirotsugu Maeda or Futoshi Yamabe come immediately to mind. Should they fail, number one draft choice Yuhei Takai, who is just out of high school, might given some starts.
Seibu Alex Cabrera's inflammed shoulder is still bothering him and he says thathe isn't going to even swing the bat until it is 100%....Daisuke Matsuzaka said that he is glad that Norihiro Nakamura stayed in Japan since it is exciting to see if he will homer or strikeout. Last season, Nakamura hit .286 (2-7) against Matsuzaka, with both hits being homers. He fanned three times and drove in three runs during those confrontations....Catcher Tsutomu Itoh is ecperiencing some pain in his hamstring and will skip Friday's game with Kintetsu.
Daiei Tsuyoshi Wada played his games with Waseda at cozy Meiji Jingu Stadium, so toiling in equally bandbox-like Kita-Kyushu Stadium against Seibu next week shouldn't be any big deal for him. But it will be interesting to see how Nagisa Arakaki handles it. Expect lots and lots of sliders.
Kintetsu Hisashi Iwakuma will start the second game of an upcoming series with the Lions and hopes to go at least six while holding the Seibu attack to two runs or less. "The fact that Cabrera isn't going to be in the lineup will be huge," said thatyoung righty.
Nippon Ham Trey Hillman will have his dance card full starting Monday when the Fighters travel to Sapporo for some games at the dome. On the seventh, he will make a tv appearance and do an autography session at JR Tower. Then during each of the following two days, he will visit elementary schools and then move on to Asahikawa, which is 87 miles outside of Sapporo for an appearance there. The team then heads back to Tokyo, where they will hold a "Welcome Trey Hillman" party for Japanese businesswomen. An official with Nippon Ham says that Hillman told him that it was okay if he didn't get any days off in order to promote the team.
Orix Masahiro Doi will make his first start in nearly three years Friday against Lotte. Koo Dae-sung hurt a calf muscle while doing some running Thursday and has been taken off the roster. Masahiko Kaneda is also still on the shelf with a calf pull, so a lefthander was needed badly and Doi got the nod. Koo will attempt to workout Friday and see how he is then, but he won't be able to pitch in a game at the big club level for at least ten days.
Hideki Matsui Matsui went 2-6 with a pair of doubles and an RBI against Toronto to finish 4-14 for the series, a .286 average. The first twobagger went off the top of the fence in right, just missing his first major league homer. He drove in at least one run in all three games of the series at the Skydome. In his fifth at bat, Doug Creek intentionally walked Bernie Williams to get to Godzilla. Matsui saw the man in front of him intentionally walked only once during his career in Japan, according to Sankei Sports, that coming June 13th, 1999 in a faceoff with Hanshin at Koshien Stadium. On that occasion, he struckout against Shoji Toyama. In Thursday's tilt, he grounded out to second to end the inning.
Miscellaneous Ichiro Suzuki went 3-6 with a double and an RBI Thursday, as Kazuhiro Sasaki blew a ninth inning lead in an extra inning 7-6 Mariners victory over Oakland. Shigetoshi Hasegawa also got into the game, but was removed after walking the only man he faced....So Taguchi went 0-4 against the Albuquerque Dukes as a member of the Memphis Chicks Thursday....Tsuyoshi Shinjo grounded out in a pinch hit appearance ....Kazuhisa Ishii got his clock cleaned for five runs against San Diego Thursday.
Fukuoka University Catcher Ishida Signs With Florida
Masahiro Ishida, a righthand hitting 5'8" 180 pound catcher from Fukuoka University, has signed a minor league deal with the Florida Marlins. Sankei Sports is quoting Ishida's former college coach as saying that the deal was concluded on March 4th.
Ishida is an alumnus of Oki Gakuen and has a reputation as a good hitting catcher who handles pitchers well. Despite that, he went undrafted this past November, though he reportedly had an offer from an industrial league outfit. Someone told him at a Japan-Korea friendship game that had major league potential. So he went to the states and took part in a tryout and was picked up by Florida. He has already seen some game action in A ball and is 3-5 with a homer and two RBIs.
However, he is rather small for a big league backstop and one has to think that he might eventually end up playing the infield in MLB.
Today's Pictures
Hiroshi Kisanuki During Thursday's Workout
Osamu Hamanaka Watches Sacrifice Fly Head to Outfield
Hamanaka Going Yard in the Second
Kei Igawa at the End of His Delivery
Kazuyoshi Tatsunami Gets Good Wood
Hirokazu Ibata Leaves the Yard
Replies: 3 comments
Hi Trish and Dave. Thanks for reading Baseball Guru.com. Trish, if you can read Japanese, you can get daily boxscores at Sports Nippon's website Here.
If you don't read Japanese, the only place that has anything resembling boxscores is here at Baseball Guru. I don't have time to
do daily hitting stats (though I wish I did, but what I do already takes up almost all of my free time), so that's why you don't get them here.
Dave, I think you're correct, but you might want to email the folks at TV Japan for the particulars. They have an easy to use website in both english and Japanese.
Posted by Gary Garland @ 04/05/2003 07:38 PM EST
I really enjoy the recaps of Japanese baseball games. From my e-mail address you probably have guessed that I am interested in the Yakult swallows. I live in Michigan. I am comtemplating getting Dish Network installed for TVJapan. I believe TVJapan is mostly NHK broadcasts. Will I be able to tune in many of their games?
Posted by Dave @ 04/05/2003 02:46 PM EST
Where can I find daily Japanese boxscores, or at least stats? The NPB website hasn't been updated since November 18th 2002. Please help. Thanks.
Posted by Trish @ 04/05/2003 02:30 PM EST
