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04/06/2003 Archived Entry: "Japanese Baseball News: Matsuzaka Comes up Lame; Ochoa and Johjima Doing Damage"
Matsuzaka Leaves Game With Hamstring Problem in Loss to Kintetsu
One supposes that the Seibu Lions would be thankful that it isn't an elbow as it was last season, but their ace righty, Daisuke Matsuzaka had to leave the game after the second inning due to a hamstring complaint. He is day to day right now, insisting that it isn't any big thing. We'll see about that. In any event, Kintetsu Buffaloes leftfielder Tuffy Rhodes drove in a pair of runs and third baseman Norihiro Nakamura belted a mammoth roundtripper to lend support to a superb outing from Jeremy Powell in the herd's 5-1 victory Friday at Seibu Dome.
Matsuzaka struckout the first two men he faced and retired the third on a popout and then threw a seventh pitch 94mph fastball to Nakamura, who turned on it and launched it into the upper deck in the left, but just to the wrong side of the foul pole for a loud foul. Matsuzaka came back with another 94mph heater and blew the slugger away. Unfortunately, in the process of getting rightfielder Koichi Isobe to come up empty for his fourth strikeout, he felt something give behind his knee. He lost his balance in his delivery as a result and walked the bases loaded while clutching the affected area at times before fanning catcher Tetsuya Matoyama to end the inning. Once he got back to the dugout, he informed manager Haruki Ihara what happened and then made his way to the clubhouse.
Ihara decided that this was a good test for his number one draft choice, Shuichiro Osada, who proceeded to toss three innings of two hit scoreless ball to keep things even with Powell before Jeremy finally relented in the bottom of the fifth. DH Hiroyuki Shibata walked and went to second on a groundout. Catcher Toru Hosokawa thumped one to deep left, where it was misjudged by Rhodes and Shibata galloped home to put the Lions in front 1-0 on what was ruled a double.
Kintetsu surmounted that in the seventh, when Matoyama and centerfielder Naoyuki Omura singled to center with one out off of Lions reliever Kazuyuki Maeda. They each moved up 90 feet on a groundout. Shinji Mori replaced Maeda and they set the controls for the heart of home plate when Rhodes torqued a double into the rightfield corner to make it 2-1 Buffs. Nakamura then got an 89mph fastball and mortared it into the second deck in left to widen it to 4-1.
Powell, who used his slow curve ball very effectively, blanked the Lions in the seventh and passed the ball to Toyohiko Yoshida, who put down three of the four men he saw in the eighth. Akira Okamoto then came on endeavoring to put it in the refrigerator. First baseman Scott McClain flew out to center, but leftfielder Kazuhiro Wada walked. Shibata singled to left. Second baseman Hiroaki Ueda lined one to second baseman Eiji Mizuguchi, who went to first to double Shibata off and that was the ballgame.
Matsuzaka's next start is scheduled for the ninth against Daiei.
For Kintetsu, Rhodes was 2-5 with two RBIs and is at .400.
For Seibu, McClain was 0-4 with two strikeouts and is at .235.
Pitching Lines:
Kintetsu:
Powell (W, 2-0) IP 7.0 BF 26 PC 112 H 5 HR 0 K 5 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 2.08
T. Yoshida IP 1.0 BF 4 PC 16 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
A. Okamoto IP 1.0 BF 4 PC 16 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Seibu:
Matsuzaka IP 2.0 BF 9 PC 58 H 0 HR 0 K 5 BB 3 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.00
Osada IP 3.0 BF 13 PC 59 H 2 HR 0 K 2 BB 2 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Y. Doi IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 13 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
K. Maeda (L, 0-1) IP 0.2 BF 4 PC 19 H 2 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 2 ER 2 ERA 10.80
S. Mori IP 0.1 BF 3 PC 12 H 2 HR 1 K 1 BB 0 R 2 ER 2 ERA 7.71
T. Hoshino IP 2.0 BF 8 PC 33 H 0 HR 0 K 3 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.86
SB: T.T. Maeda, K. Kawaguchi, K. Wada
2B: Rhodes 2, Hosokawa
HR: N. Nakamura (2)
RBI: N. Nakamura 2, Rhodes 2, Hosokawa
LOB: Kintetsu 8, Seibu 6
Season Series: Kintetsu 1, Seibu 0
Game Time: 3:29
Attendance: 16,000
Umpires: Tachibana (HP), Sakaemura (1B), Tsugawa (2B), Nakamura (3B)
Saito Outpitches Mirabal 5-1
On the heels of a two hit performance his last time out, Daiei Hawks righthander Kazumi Saito topped that by going all the way for the first complete game win of his injury hindered career, as he outdueled Nippon Ham's Carlos Mirabal Friday at Tokyo Dome for a 5-1 triumph. The birds of prey were lead by catcher Kenji Johjima, who really unloaded on Mirabal for a monster jack in racking up his third three hits or more contest already this year and extended his hitting streak to seven games.
Mirabal was shaken down for a double to left by centerfielder Arihito Muramatsu to open the game and went to third on a one out groundout. However, first baseman Nobuhiko Matsunaka grounded out and that chance went by the wayside.
The Hawks would break through in the fifth, as third baseman Mitsuru Honma walked with one out and Muramatsu doubled to rightcenter, Honma blazing all the way around to make it 1-0 Daiei. Shortstop Munenori Kawasaki laced one into the rightfield corner and jetted around to third for an RBI triple and it was 2-0.
In the sixth, Matsunaka singled to right and Johjima did similarly. Both were sacrificed along. DH Noriyoshi Omichi walked to juice the bags. Rightfielder Bryant Nelson flied to right, the ball being deep enough for the plodding Matsunaka to tagup and cross to make it 3-0 Hawks.
The Fighters raised a fist in anger for the sole time on the night when third baseman Michihiro Ogasawara smacked one into the centerfield seats with one out in the home portion and it was 3-1.
Johjima dug in again in the eighth and, in a bit of gamesmanship, kept stepping out of the box in an attempt to play headgames with reliever Tsutomu Iwamoto. It evidently worked since Johjima atomized a 3-2 fastball into the second deck in left. Iguchi and Omichi singled to left, Iguchi busting for third. Nelson flew out to right for his second sac fly of the night and the Hawks had it well in hand at 5-1.
Nippon Ham tried to rally late, as Ogasawara yanked a double down the rightfield line. First baseman D.T. Cromer struckout. Leftfielder Angel Echevarria singled to left. Ogasawara holding at third. DH Yukio Tanaka ruined the comeback, though, when he grounded into a 6-4-3 double play to put this one in the books.
Saito was clocked at 92mph.
One of the Fighters' pitching coaches grumbled after the game that what Johjima did in the eighth was a rules violation.
Former Nippon Ham manager Keiji Ozawa threw out the pre-game ceremonial first pitch
For Daiei, leftfielder Pedro Valdez was 0-5 and is at .222. Nelson was 0-2 with two RBIs and is at .182.
For Nippon Ham, Echevarria was 1-4 and is at .217. Cromer was 0-4 with three strikeouts and is at .053.
See related story at: Japan Times Article
Pitching Lines:
Daiei:
K. Saito (W, 2-0) IP 9.0 BF 33 PC 128 H 6 HR 1 K 8 BB 2 R 1 ER 1 ERA 1.08
Nippon Ham:
Mirabal (L, 1-1) IP 6.0 BF 27 PC 96 H 8 HR 0 K 2 BB 2 R 3 ER 3 ERA 1.98
Iwamoto IP 1.0 BF 7 PC 28 H 4 HR 1 K 0 BB 0 R 2 ER 2 ERA 6.75
N. Takahashi IP 2.0 BF 7 PC 15 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
E: M. Ogasawara, Tsuboi
SB: M. Kawasaki
2B: Muramatsu 2, M. Ogasawara 2, Johjima
3B: M. Kawasaki
HR: M. Ogasawara (2), Johjima (1)
RBI: M. Ogasawara, Muramatsui, M. Kawasaki, Johjima, Nelson 2
SF: Nelson 2
WP: K. Saito
GIDP: Johjima, Y. Tanaka
LOB: Daiei 9, Nippon Ham 5
Season Series: Daiei 1, Nippon Ham 0
Game Time: 2:58
Attendance: 24,000
Umpires: Yanagida (HP), Nagami (1B), Shinya (2B), Akimura (3B)
Asakura Homers and Pitches Way to Victory
Chunichi Dragons starter Kenta Asakura homered for the first time in his career and showed some tenacity in limiting the Yokohama Bay Stars to three runs despite permitting nine hits and walking four in a complete game 158 pitch opus, as the Stars were stomped 13-3 Friday at Nagoya Dome. Yuji Yoshimi was trampled underfoot for nine runs, seven earned to absorb the defeat.
Yoshimi was damaged early, as he walked rightfielder Kosuke Fukudome, who was sacrificed to second, and ran a slider up to the dish that third baseman Kazuyoshi Tatsunami rammed into rightfield for an RBI single. Centerfielder Alex Ochoa walked. One out later, catcher Motonobu Tanishige hit a little fly ball that first baseman Tyrone Woods dropped and both Tatsunami and Ochoa crossed on the error to make it 3-0 Chunichi.
In the third, Ochoa singled to center with one away and went to second on a wild pitch. First baseman Ivan Cruz flamed one right on the screws and all the way to the wall for a double to score Ochoa. Tanishige walked. One out later, second baseman Masahiro Araki zipped one up the leftcenter gap for a two run triple. Asakura got a ahold of an 86mph fastball and cleared the centerfield fence on a low line and the Dragons boasted an 8-0 advantage.
Incredibly, Yoshimi returned to the hill in the fourth and the Dragons padded their lead on a leadoff double by shortstop Hirokazu Ibata, who went to third on a groundout and tagged up and crossed on a sac fly to right by Ochoa to make it 9-0.
Yokohama feebly reacted in the fifth when catcher Satoshi Nakajima got on thanks to an error by Asakura. Nine runs down, Yoshimi was allowed to hit (if I was on the Yokohama bench, I would be insulted by that) and doubled to left. Shortstop Takuro Ishii grounded to short and Nakajima hit the plate to make it 9-1 Dragons.
Hisaki Tomioka entered the fray in the sixth and was victimized by an error from third baseman Katsuaki Furuki. Tomioka started Ochoa off with a succession of sliders. The former Angel guessed that a fastball was about to come down the pike and it did with the count 3-1, Ochoa obliterating it into the fifth level in left just a hair inside the foul pole more than 475 feet away and now the Stars were being embarrassed at 11-1.
Yokohama had men on second and third with one away in the seventh and stranded both. In the eighth, they did score, however, when rightfielder Takahiro Saeki tomahawked a shot into the rightfield bleachers and it was 11-2.
Asakmura felt good, so he asked to finish the job in the ninth, but it took him a while. With two outs, he walked Hitoshi Tamura and centerfielder Tatsuhiko Kinjo singled to center. Hitoshi Nakane, pinch hitting for the pitcher, singled to left to bring in Tamura. Leftfielder Kazunori Tanaka grounded out to short and Asakura was finally done in the 11-3 laugher.
For Chunichi, Ochoa was 2-2 with three RBIs and a walk and he is at .481. Cruz was 1-4 with an RBI and is at .310.
For Yokohama, Woods was 0-4 and is now zero for his last 19 at bats to fall to .143.
Pitching Lines:
Yokohama:
Yoshimi (L, 1-1) IP 5.0 BF 27 PC 96 H 7 HR 1 K 3 BB 3 R 9 ER 7 ERA 6.75
Tomioka IP 1.0 BF 5 PC 17 H 1 HR 1 K 0 BB 0 R 2 ER 0 ERA 6.75
Nakanowatari IP 2.0 BF 9 PC 45 H 2 HR 0 K 2 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Chunichi:
Asakura (W, 1-1) IP 9.0 BF 40 PC 158 H 9 HR 1 K 6 BB 4 R 3 ER 2 ERA 5.79
E: T. Ishii, Furuki, Woods, Asakura
2B: Cruz, Saeki, Ibata, T. Ishii, Yoshimi
3B: M. Araki
HR: Asakura (1), Ochoa (2), Saeki (2)
RBI: T. Ishii, Nakane, Saeki, Tatsunami, Ochoa 3, Cruz, Araki 2, Asakura 2
SF: Ochoa
WP: Yoshimi
GIDP: Kinjo
LOB: Yokohama 10, Chunichi 6
Season Series: Yokohama 0, Chunichi 1
Game Time: 3:11
Attendance: 29,000
Umpires: Yoshimoto (HP), Suginaga (1B), Ino (2B), Shikita (3B)
Irabu Has Best Start in Years to Beat Yakult 3-2
Hanshin Tigers righthander Hideki Irabu sought his first complete game since he was with the Yankees in 1999 Friday at Osaka Dome, as he used guile and changed speeds rather than velocity (his high on the gun was 90mph) to stifle the Yakult Swallows on six hits and a run through eight. But it would be Jeff Williams who would take the mound for the ninth and so Irabu had to content himself with his second victory rather than the complete game 3-2.
Southpaw Masanori Ishikawa started for Yakult and was decent, going seven innings of three run ball on eight hits while striking out six and walking two, but found himself with an "L" beside his name anyway when his team's offense couldn't take it to Irabu.
Hanshin got on the big board first in the second, as catcher Akihiro Yano doubled to leftcenter and shortstop Atsushi Fujimoto singled to center to drive Yano in for a 1-0 lead.
Irabu, who was perfect for 4.2 innings, got in a fix in the sixth when second baseman Katsuyuki Dobashi singled to center, went to second on a sacrifice, and then moved to third on a two out infield single by shortstop Shinya Miyamoto. But first baseman Todd Betts grounded to second and the Tigers were still on top.
Hanshin then gave Irabu some breathing room in the bottom of the inning when leftfielder Tomoaki Kanemoto doubled to left and rightfielder Osamu Hamanaka walked. They advanced on a one out groundout and Yano singled to center to pick them up to make it 3-0 Tigers.
Yakult, which had one other minor scoring opportunity, got off the deck in the eighth, as rightfielder Atsunori Inaba tripled off the rightfield fence and was plated on a groundout to short from Miyamoto and it was 3-1 Hanshin.
Williams would allow the tying run to get into scoring position in the ninth when he walked leftfielder Alex Ramirez and, one out later, catcher Atsuya Furuta spanked a double to rightcenter, Ramirez liting out for home to make it a one run affair at 3-2. But pinch hitter Shinichi Sato grounded to third and Dobashi whiffed and it was time to go home.
For Hanshin, third baseman George Arias was 0-4 and is at .241.
For Yakult, Betts was 0-4 and is at .233. Ramirez was 1-3 with a walk and is at .429.
Pitching Lines:
Yakult:
Masanori Ishikawa (L, 0-2)IP 7.0 BF 31 PC 98 H 8 HR 0 K 6 BB 2 R 3 ER 3 ERA 3.86
R. Igarashi IP 1.0 BF 5 PC 23 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Hanshin:
Irabu (W, 2-0) IP 8.0 BF 30 PC 110 H 6 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 2.57
Williams (S, 2) IP 1.0 BF 5 PC 20 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 1.50
E: Masanori Ishikawa
2B: A. Yano, Kanemoto, Furuta
3B: Inaba
RBI: S. Miyamoto, S. Sato, A. Yano 2, Fujimoto
GIDP: Akahoshi
LOB: Yakult 6, Hanshin 9
Season Series: Yakult 0, Hanshin 1
Game Time: 2:37
Attendance: 30,000
Umpires: Kasahara (HP), Sasaki (1B), Manabe (2B), Tani (3B)
Team Reports
Yomiuri According to Sankei Sports, the Giants are considering sending Akira Etoh to the minors due to his slumping bat when they are ready to call Kazuhiro Kiyohara back up. He is 0-5 this season with a walk....Kiyohara took part in sliding practice Friday without incident.
Chunichi Rookie outfielder Yoshimi Sakurai experienced shoulder pain while taking fungoes Wednesday. He had an MRI Friday, but results haven't been announced.... Akinori Otsuka will make a final minor league appearance on Sunday before being brought up to the big club Monday. He could then very well get into a game against Hanshin on Tuesday.
Hiroshima Allan Newman has played two seasons with Roberto Petagine and has given the Carp pitching staff on the Venezuelan's weaknesses. According to Sports Nippon, Petagine abused Hiroshima for a .365 average and 11 homers last season. "He's a nice guy and I wish him well, but I hope that he has a bad time in games with Hiroshima," Newman told reporters.
Lotte Backup outfielder Takenori Daita, who once stole 60 bases in a season in the minors, will now get a chance in the two hole in the lineup in hopes that he can help perk up the team's subpar offense. He can reportedly run 50 meters in a phenomenal 5.49 seconds. By contrast, Kazuo Matsui only comes in at about 5.8-5.9 seconds and he is considered a speedster.
Orix Rookie righthander Daisuke Kato has been promoted to the big club to replace the injured Koo Dae-sung. Kato will be inserted into a relief role at first and if he does well may be given a start or two later on.
Hideki Matsui This item from Tracy Ringolsby at the Rocky Mountain News: One firm is selling balls autographed by Matsui for $359....Bob Finnegan of the Seattle Times got this quote from Ichiro about Matsui: Of Hideki Matsui, "thinking about him, there are two Ichiros inside me. On one hand, I feel cheer for him and welcome him to the major leagues and want him to do well and wish him success. "But the other part of me knows we are in the same league and we want to beat the Yankees. So I have two feelings."
Miscellaneous Congratulations to Sammy Sosa, who is hugely popular in Japan, for blasting his 500th homer Friday against the Cincinnati Reds....So Taguchi made a pinch hit appearance Friday against Albuquerque and went 0-1....Tomokazu Ohka started
against the Mets Friday and surrendered three runs and ten hits in 4.2 innings and was saddled with the defeat. Tsuyoshi Shinjo did not play....Hideo Nomo seeks his 100th MLB win Saturday against San Diego.
Today's Pictures
Kazumi Saito During Friday's Game
The Finishi on Kenta Asakura's Delivery
Trey Hillman Making Friends and Influencing People
Hirokazu Ibata Gets One on the Sweet Spot for a Double
Yoshimi Sakurai Out of Uniform
Matsui Wades In
See story at: Washington Post Article
Koryo Crushes Yokohama High in Koshien Final
See story at: Japan Times Article
Our National Pastime Gets Passed Over
See story at: Buffalo News Article
Dominicans See Baseball as a Way Out
See story at: Kansas City Star Article
Off Topic: Globa-lie-zation
See story at: Tech Central Station Article
