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04/09/2003 Archived Entry: "Japanese Baseball News: McClain Slams Seibu to Victory; Raves for Matsui"
Sixth Inning McClain Slam Victorious for Seibu
A grand slam in the sixth inning off of Kintetsu Buffaloes reliever Koichi Misawa by Scott McClain was the signal blow in a 10-6 Seibu Lions victory Sunday at Seibu Dome. Lions starter Fumiya Nishiguchi was tattooed for six runs, but due to his team's offensive explosion, he scooped up his second win of the year. Katsuhiko Maekawa, who has been a pain in the butt to Seibu over the years, took one on the chin in this one for his initial 2003 defeat.
Seibu loaded the bases on three walks in the first, but they alternated with outs and that opportunity fizzled. From there, both starters were in good form until the fourth, when Kintetsu grabbed a lead. With one away, Nishiguchi hung a slider to leftfielder Tuffy Rhodes, who deposited it in the rightfield seats. Third baseman Norihiro Nakamura got a fastball on the inner half of the plate and torqued that into the leftfield seats for back to back jacks to make it 2-0.
The Lions got one of those runs back in the home portion when Taketoshi Goto beat out a ground ball for an infield hit and catcher Toru Hosokawa tripled to center to bring Goto in and it was 2-1 Kintetsu.
In the fifth, though, Kintetsu centerfielder Naoyuki Omura got a nice, fat changeup and wacked it into the rightfield bleachers for his first homer of the season and the Buffs were in front 3-1
Maekawa, however, soon coughed that up. Rightfielder Tatsuya Ozeki singled to center and, ojne out later, surfed on in thanks to a double up the rightcenter gap by McClain. Leftfielder Kazuhiro Wada padded his stats with a two bagger to leftcenter that tied the score at 3-3. One out later, Goto, who hasn't started in five games due to needing to work on keeping his front shoulder closed, thumped an 0-2 slider one the outer half of the plate into the rightfield corner for a double to chase Wada in and give the Lions a 4-3 edge.
Seibu then bought some insurance in the sixth when second baseman Hiroyuki Takagi singled to center and, one out later, Ozeki walked. DH Toshiaki Inubushi outran a tapper on the infield to load the bases. Misawa replaced Maekawa and McClain dug in looking for a sac fly, but got a cutter in his wheelhouse and pounded it well into the rightcenterfield seats for the grand salami and the Lions were in control at 8-3.
Now it was Nishiguchi's turn to get bigtimed. Shortstop Osamu Hoshino swung and missed for strike three, but the ball got past Hosokawa and Hoshino reached base. One out later, Omura singled to right. Daisuke Masuda was dispatched to pinch hit for second baseman Yusuke Takasu and he cleaned and jerked a Nishiguchi offering over the rightfield wall to shrink the gap with Seibu to 8-6 and knock Nishiguchi out of the ballgame.
It remained that way until the eighth, when McClain singled to center with two gone and Wada walked. Centerfielder Kazuhiko Miyaji singled to right to usher McClain in. Goto walked to juice the bags. Hosokawa also worked a free pass and Miyaji trotted in for a 10-6 Lions hegemony. Kiyoshi Toyoda then served notice that he is at 100% when he needed just ten pitches to put this baby in the books.
Kintetsu had won its last 13 games when Rhodes and Nakamura homered in the same battle dating back to last season, so that streak came to an end Sunday.
For Kintetsu, Rhodes was 1-3 with an RBI and an HBP and is at .361.
For Seibu, McClain was 3-5 with five RBIs and is at .320. Shortstop Kazuo Matsui was 0-4 to fall to .314. He was one of two Lions starters not to get at least one hit in the game.
Pitching Lines:
Kintetsu:
Maekawa (L, 1-1) IP 5.1 BF 30 PC 122 H 9 HR 0 K 7 BB 4 R 7 ER 7 ERA 6.57
Misawa IP 0.2 BF 4 PC 17 H 2 HR 1 K 0 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.86
D. Miyamoto IP 2.0 BF 11 PC 46 H 2 HR 0 K 0 BB 3 R 2 ER 2 ERA 9.00
Seibu:
Nishiguchi (W, 2-0) IP 6.1 BF 29 PC 125 H 7 HR 4 K 10 BB 1 R 6 ER 6 ERA 4.38
Y. Doi IP 0.2 BF 2 PC 10 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 7.71
S. Mori IP 1.0 BF 4 PC 12 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 5.40
Toyoda IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 10 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
SB: H. Shibata, H. Takagi
2B: McClain, K. Wada 2, T. Goto
3B: Hosokawa
HR: Rhodes (2), N. Nakamura (3), N. Omura (1), McClain (3), Masuda (1)
RBI: N. Omura, Masuda 3, N. Nakamura, Rhodes, McClain 5, K. Wada, Miyaji, T.
Goto, Hosokawa 2
WP: Maekawa
HBP: H. Tagagi (Maekawa), Rhodes (Nishiguchi)
LOB: Kintetsu 5, Seibu 11
Season Series: Kintetsu 2, Seibu 1
Game Time: 3:33
Attendance: 24,000
Umpires: Sakaemura (HP), Nakamura (1B), Tachibana (2B), Kawaguchi (3B)
Giants Get Eight Late to Disappoint Carp 9-4
The Hiroshima Carp had a 3-1 lead after six innings Sunday at Hiroshima Municipal Stadium, but the Yomiuri Giants' lineup mashed three homers on the way to registering a total of eight runs over the final third of the game to take it 9-6. Reliever Ryuji Kimura pitched to two batters and walked off with the W while rookie righthander Katsuhiro Nagakawa's forkball wasn't diving like it usually does and he was stomped into defeat.
The Carp put up a three spot in the third against Yomiuri starter Koji Uehara, as third baseman Takuya Kimura singled to center and catcher Shuji Nishiyama singled to left and Kimura motored to third. Starter Ken Takahashi grounded out to second to see Kimura in. Second baseman Akihiro Higashide grounded to Akira Etoh at first, who muffed it for an error. Shortstop Andy Sheets singled to left to exploit Nishiyama. Centerfielder Koichi Ogata doubled to left to cash in Higashide for a 3-0 lead.
Yomiuri got off the shnide in the fifth when Uehara walked with two outs and leftfielder Takayuki Shimizu singled to center. Shortstop Takahiro Nioka grounded to Kimura, who punted it to load the bases. Etoh did the same thing with the same results and Uehara went home to make it 3-1 Carp.
The Giants then caught fire in the seventh when Shimizu went yard to rightcenter. Two outs later, Takahashi walked centerfielder Yoshinobu Takahashi and rightfielder Roberto Petagine. Third baseman Daisuke Motoki singled to center and it was even at 3-3.
Hiroshima managed to seize another lead in the bottom of the inning when pinch hitter Toyo Asayama singled to left with one out and went to second on a wild pitch. Higashide singled to right and Asayama put it in cruise control for home for a 4-3 advantage.
Nagakawa came on to open the eighth and Koji Goto, pinch hitting for Ryuji Kimura, singled to right with one away. Shimizu walked. Nioka singled to right to jam the basepaths. One out later, Yoshinobu Takahashi spanked a 1-0 forkball to center for a two run single and Yomiuri was now ahead 5-4. The runners moved up when Nagakawa balked. Petagine walked to load the bases. Motoki singled on a hanging forkball to center for another pair. Allan Newman was selected from the bullpen. Catcher Shinnosuke Abe walked and, again, the bags were full. Newman then lured second baseman Toshihisa Nishi into grounding to short for the third out.
The following frame, Nioka went to the opposite field in right for a two out solo homer. Reserve first baseman Takayuki Saito jerked a slider into the rightfield seats as well for a nice five run cushion at 9-4.
Hiroshima coaches told the team's hitters to layoff of Uehara's forkball. They did that and the ace righthander struggled more than usual.
As to what lead to the three errors in one game, Takuya Kimura remarked that he was trying to hurry too much on those plays and suffered from what he termed, "panic syndrome." The guy's a veteran infielder, however, so he just wasn't mentally into this game enough to leave mistake free.
Etoh is still hitless this season in 13 at bats and he will have a ticket to the minors ready for him when Kazuhiro Kiyohara is promoted.
For Hiroshima, rightfielder Jimmy Hurst was 0-3 and is at .125. Sheets was 1-5 with an RBI and three strikeouts. and is at .167.
For Yomiuri, Petagine was 2-3 with three walks and is at .292.
Pitching Lines:
Yomiuri:
Uehara IP 5.0 BF 22 PC 95 H 6 HR 0 K 5 BB 1 R 3 ER 2 ERA 6.35
Kashiwada IP 1.1 BF 6 PC 28 H 2 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 2.70
R. Kimura (W, 1-0) IP 0.2 BF 2 PC 8 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 10.13
Okajima IP 1.0 BF 4 PC 13 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.80
J. Kawahara IP 1.0 BF 4 PC 17 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Hiroshima:
K. Takahashi IP 6.2 BF 32 PC 123 H 6 HR 1 K 5 BB 4 R 3 ER 2 ERA 2.45
S. Tamaki IP 0.1 BF 2 PC 5 H 2 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Nagakawa (L, 1-1) IP 0.2 BF 8 PC 25 H 4 HR 0 K 2 BB 2 R 4 ER 4 ERA 13.50
Newman IP 0.1 BF 2 PC 11 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 8.31
Sawazaki IP 1.0 BF 7 PC 26 H 3 HR 2 K 0 BB 1 R 2 ER 2 ERA 6.00
E: Etoh, T. Kimura 3
2B: Petagine, Ogata
HR: T. Shimizu (2), Nioka (2), Takayuki Saito (1)
RBI: T. Shimizu, Nioka, Takayuki Saito, Y. Takahashi 2, Motoki 3, Higashide, Sheets,
Ogata
IBB: T. Maeda
WP: Kashiwada
HBP: Petagine (K. Takahashi)
Balk: Nagakawa
GIDP: Petagine, T. Arai, Motoki
LOB: Yomiuri 15, Hiroshima 7
Season Series: Yomiuri 2, Hiroshima 0
Game Time: 3:46
Attendance: 15,000
Umpires: Uemoto (HP), Kittaka (1B), T. Kobayashi (2B), Tomoyose (3B)
Ramirez Ninth Inning RBI Double Wins it for Yakult
Yakult Swallows leftfielder Alex Ramirez doubled off the leftfield wall Sunday at Osaka Dome to drive in first baseman Todd Betts with the winning run in the top of the ninth in a 6-5 triumph over the Hanshin Tigers. Reliever Hirotoshi Ishii earned his first win of the year while reliever Makoto Yoshino fell to 0-1.
The Swallows threatened in the first when Tetsuya Iida doubled down the leftfield line to open the game and shortstop Shinya Miyamoto beat out a dribbler up the third base line. However, Betts popped out to second and leftfielder Alex Ramirez grounded into a double play to put the kabosh on that.
Hanshin then made Yakult pay from not converting by putting up a crooked number in the bottom of the inning. With one down, centerfielder Norihiro Akahoshi doubled to left and, one out later, rightfielder Osamu Hamanaka bashed one into the rightcenter alley to drive Akahoshi in. First baseman Shinjiro Hiyama got a first pitch slider and buried it in the rightfield bleachers and it was 3-0 Tigers.
But in the fourth, Hanshin starter Tsuyoshi Shimoyanagi began getting his pitches up and Yakult made it a whole new ballgame. With one away, catcher Atsuya Furuta connected for a solo homer to left. Third baseman Ken Suzuki singled to center, as did rightfielder Ryuji Miyade. Second baseman Katsuyuki Dobashi singled to right to cash in Suzuki while Miyade made tracks for third. Dobashi then tried a little league move, where he feinted toward first and then wheeled toward third to see if the runner was sleeping. Unfortunately, he was still on the rubber when he did that and he was rung up for a game tying balk and it was 3-3.
In the fifth, Hanshin loaded the bases with two outs on three singles, but drew nothing from that. Yakult said turnabout was fair play and put something on the board when their opponent didn't, as Miyade singled to center with one out and, one out later, he travelled home on a shot whizzed into the rightfield corner to lend the Swallows a 4-3 advantage.
That didn't have a long shelf life. Hiyama walked in the home half of the sixth with one out and third baseman George Arias got a 94mph fastball from reliever Ryota Igarashi and massacred it, sending it into the third deck more than 450 feet from the plate for a mammoth two run homer and a 5-4 Tigers lead.
Yakult eroded that in the seventh when Iida outran a bleeder toward short and then was forced out at second on a ground out by Miyamoto. Betts wacked a double down the rightfield line to put men on second and third. Ramirez flew out to left and Miyamoto tagged up and crossed to make it 5-5.
Ramirez then pulled off his heroics in the ninth. Iida doubled down the line in left and went to third on a sacrifice. Betts grounded to first hoping to score the run, but Hiyama went home to get the runner. Betts went to second on a passed ball. Ramirez stroked one off the leftfield fence and Betts, running on contact, scored easily with the lead run to make it 6-5 Swallows.
Shingo Takatsu had his sinker working finally and kept everybody on the infield to turn out the lights.
Kind of an amusing note: Ramirez' 42 year old wife, Elizabeth, is reported in the Japanese press to be wearing the pants in the household and there is a theory going around that the former Indian's slump was due to being uptight while his wife was in country.
Yano had one other passed ball in this one and already has four on the season.
Miyade is a converted pitcher and is batting .429 in the limited time he has seen so far as an outfielder since being called up.
For Hanshin, Arias, who needs one more dinger for 100 in Japan, was 1-4 with two RBIs and two strikeouts and is at .270.
For Yakult, Betts was 2-5 with a steal and is at .263. Ramirez was1-4 with two RBIs and is at .361.
Pitching Lines:
Yakult:
Kamada IP 5.0 BF 21 PC 67 H 7 HR 1 K 3 BB 1 R 3 ER 3 ERA 5.40
R. Igarashi IP 2.0 BF 8 PC 32 H 2 HR 1 K 1 BB 1 R 2 ER 2 ERA 2.57
H. Ishii (W, 1-0) IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 10 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Takatsu (S, 1) IP 1.0 BF 4 PC 22 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 9.00
Hanshin:
Shimoyanagi IP 5.0 BF 23 PC 73 H 8 HR 1 K 2 BB 1 R 3 ER 3 ERA 7.50
Kanazawa IP 1.2 BF 9 PC 31 H 4 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 2 ER 2 ERA 8.10
Yoshino (L, 0-1) IP 2.1 BF 10 PC 34 H 2 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 1 ER 0 ERA 2.45
SB: Betts
2B: Iida 2, Akahoshi 2, Hamanaka, S. Miyamoto, Manaka, Betts, Ramirez
HR: Hiyama (1), Furuta (1), Arias (3)
RBI: Ramirez 2, Furuta, Dobashi, Manaka, Hamanaka, Hiyama 2, Arias 2
IBB: Furuta (Yoshino)
SF: Ramirez
WP: Kamada
PB: A. Yano 2
Balk: Shimoyanagi
GIDP: Ramirez, A. Yano
LOB: Yakult 9, Hanshin 4
Season Series: Yakult 1, Hanshin 2
Game Time: 3:07
Attendance: 38,000
Umpires: Manabe (HP), Kasahara (1B), Watada (2B), Sasaki (3B)
Seelbach Picks Up First 2003 Victory for Nippon Ham 7-5
Big Nippon Ham righthander Chris Seelbach improved his record to 1-1 with a solid seven inning two run showing Sunday at Tokyo Dome while centerfielder Hichori Morimoto powdered a two run homer in the seventh that proved bigger than it did at the time, as the Daiei Hawks scored four in an aborted comeback in the last two innings to make it close in a 7-5 final.
Toshiya Sugiuchi had his worst start this year, as he was ballpeened for seven runs on six hits in 6.1 innings for the loss.
Daiei had a brief flurry in the third with two outs when centerfielder Arihito Muramatsui singled to left, stole second, and completed the circuit on a double by shortstop Munenori Kawasaki for a 1-0 lead.
In the fourth, The Fighters put it to Sugiuchi where it hurts when third baseman Michihiro Ogasawara walked with one away and first baseman Yukio Tanaka legged out an infield hit. DH Angel Echevarria thumped one off of the centerfield wall for an RBI double. One out later, rightfielder Katsuhiro Nishiura was intentionally walked to set up a force at every base. Catcher Katsuhiko Yamada outran a dribbler himself and Nippon Ham had a 2-1 lead. Second baseman Hiroshi Narahara unburdened the basepaths with a screamer down into the rightfield corner and it was 5-1.
Seelbach went right after the hitters and Daiei weren't doing anything with him through the seventh. Meanwhile, In that seventh, Nippon Ham obtained two big insurance runs when Yamada walked and, one out later, Morimoto exited stage left to widen it to 7-1 Fighters.
Seelbach came back out for the eighth and walked leadoff hitter Kawasaki. Manager Trey Hillman signaled to the pen for Yamaguchi, who got leftfielder Pedro Valdez to groundout to second, though it moved the runner along. First baseman Nobuhiko Matsunaka singled to right to invite Kawasaki home. Hiroyuki Sekine was assigned the task of getting nuclear hot catcher Kenji Johjima, who flied out to right. However, second baseman Tadahito Iguchi made mince meat of the second delivery from Sekine that crossed his path, thudding it off a seat in the centerfield bleachers for a two run homer to shorten the Fighters lead to 7-4. It was also the 100th longball of Iguchi's career. He is the 225th man to that figure in Japanese annals.
Masashi Date emerged from the bullpen in the ninth and quickly retired the first two men who stood in against him. Muramatsu dragged a bunt up the first base line for a single. He stole second. Kawasaki, who is hitting .294, singled to left to usher the runner in. Date hit Valdez with a pitch and now Matsunaka was up with a chance to win the game with one swing. However, he flied out to center and the home folks went home happy with a 7-5 triumph and Nippon Ham was back at .500.
Iguchi, a collegiate homer champ, socked his first pro roundtripper on May 3, 1997. He says he wants to hit for a high average this year, which is a no brainer since he will be posted. He's shortened up his swing and now we'll have to see if it helps him reduce his strikeouts. Iguchi as well as Johjima have nine game hitting streaks.
For Nippon Ham, Echevarria was 2-4 with an RBI and is at .267.
For Daiei, Valdez was 0-4 with an HBP and is at .200. Rightfielder Bryant Nelson was 0-2 and is at .179.
See related story at: Asahi Shimbun Article
Pitching Lines:
Daiei:
Sugiuchi (L, 1-1) IP 6.1 BF 28 PC 126 H 6 HR 1 K 7 BB 5 R 7 ER 7 ERA 4.11
Yoshitake IP 0.2 BF 3 PC 13 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
A. Yamada IP 1.0 BF 4 PC 12 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Nippon Ham:
Seelbach (W, 1-1) IP 7.0 BF 29 PC 112 H 6 HR 0 K 3 BB 1 R 2 ER 2 ERA 3.55
Ko. Yamaguchi IP 0.1 BF 2 PC 10 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 13.50
Sekine IP 0.2 BF 3 PC 13 H 1 HR 1 K 0 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.00
Date (S, 3) IP 1.0 BF 6 PC 15 H 2 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 4.15
E: Iguchi
SB: Muramatsu 2, M. Kawasaki, Iguchi
2B: Iguchi, M. Kawasaki, Echevarria, Narahara, Honma, K. Shimada
HR: Morimoto (2), Iguchi (2)
RBI: M. Kawasaki 2, Matsunaka, Iguchi 2, Morimoto 2, Echevarria, K. Yamada,
Narahara 3
IBB: Nishiura (Sugiuchi)
WP: Seelbach
HBP: Iguchi (Seelbach), P. Valdez (Date)
GIDP: Kaneko, K. Shimada
LOB: Daiei 8, Nippon Ham 4
Season Series: Daiei 2, Nippon Ham 1
Game Time: 2:59
Attendance: 25,000
Umpires: Nagami (HP), Akimura (1B), Yanagita (2B), Yamamoto (3B)
Holt Outstanding in 7-3 Yokohama Triumph Over Dragons
Yokohama Bay Stars leftfielder Takanori Suzuki literally took his teammates home Sunday, as he homered and doubled in a faceoff with the Chunichi Dragons in his hometown of Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture to back a solid performance from starter Chris Holt in a 7-3 victory over the Chunichi Dragons.
Takashi Ogasawara started for Chunichi and had awful command, as he was bullied for four runs on six hits, including two homers, in three innings to absorb the kuroboshi.
Yokohama climbed into the driver's seat right away, as Suzuki reached on a two out infield hit and then huffed and puffed for the plate on a double up the leftcenter gap by first baseman Takahiro Saeki in the first for a 1-0 lead.
The Dragons loaded the bases with two outs on a pair of singles and a walk, but catcher Motonobu Tanishige struckout for the third out.
The Stars added then another in the second when Ogasawara plunked third baseman Katsuaki Furuki and centerfielder Tatsuhiko Kinjo singled to center. Two outs later, shortstop Takuro Ishii singled to center and Furuki came around to make it 2-0 Yokohama.
In the third, Suzuki got a 1-2 fastball and tucked it into the rightfield seats. One out later, rookie second baseman Shuichi Murata got a hanging slider and poleaxed it into the leftfield bleachers for a 4-0 Yokohama lead.
The Dragons took advantage of some wildness by Holt in the bottom of the inning, as shortstop Hirokazu Ibata singled to center and third baseman Kazuyoshi Tatsunami took one on his body to get on. Centerfielder Alex Ochoa walked to juice the bags. First baseman Ivan Cruz grounded into a 4-6-3 double play and Ibata scored to make it 4-1 Yokohama.
Suzuki ignited another revolt in the eighth when he leadoff with a double to right and was driven in on a single to right by Saeki. The Stars eventually filled the bases, but a pair of groundouts deep sixed any further scoring.
Yokohama posted its last two tallies in the ninth when Ishii beat out a tapper and Saeki fileted a two out pitch from Dragons reliever Eiji Ochiai into the leftfield stands for a 7-1 lead.
Matt Whiteside came out for the bottom of the frame for Yokohama and Tanishige singled to center and pinch hitter Hiroyuki Watanabe singled to left. Second baseman Masahiro Araki grounded into a 4-6 force, Tanishige advancing to third. Leftfielder Koichi Sekikawa walked to load the bases. Rightfielder Kosuke Fukudome grounded to Saeki, who flipped to Whiteside, but the ex-Rockie dropped it for an error as Tanishige toed the dish. Ibata beat out a roller toward third to plate Araki. Now, incredibly, Tatsunami was at the plate as the tying run. But he grounded into a 4-6-3 double play and it was done.
For Chunichi, Ochoa was 0-3 with a walk and is at .382. Cruz was 0-3 with a walk and is at .250.
Pitching Lines:
Yokohama:
Holt (W, 1-1) IP 7.0 BF 29 PC 118 H 6 HR 0 K 7 BB 3 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.46
Kizuka IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 13 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Whiteside IP 1.0 BF 7 PC 29 H 3 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 2 ER 2 ERA 7.36
Chunichi:
T. Ogasawara (L, 0-1) IP 3.0 BF 16 PC 64 H 6 HR 2 K 2 BB 0 R 4 ER 4 ERA 5.14
Endo IP 1.0 BF 4 PC 16 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Yamakita IP 2.0 BF 6 PC 22 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.38
M. Hirai IP 2.0 BF 10 PC 56 H 3 HR 0 K 2 BB 1 R 1 ER 0 ERA 1.42
Ochiai IP 1.0 BF 5 PC 15 H 2 HR 1 K 0 BB 0 R 2 ER 2 ERA 5.40
E: Whiteside, Hirai
SB: M. Araki 2
2B: Saeki, T. Suzuki
HR: T. Suzuki (1), S. Murata (3), Saeki (3)
RBI: T. Ishii, T. Suzuki, Saeki 4, S. Murata, Fukudome, Ibata
WP: Holt
HBP: Tatsunami (Holt), Furuki (T. Ogasawara)
GIDP: Cruz, Jinno, S. Murata, Tatsunami
LOB: Yokohama 7, Chunichi 9
Season Series: Yokohama 1, Chunichi 2
Game Time: 3:28
Attendance: 12,000
Umpires: Ino (HP), Yoshimoto (1B), Mori (2B), Suginaga (3B)
Tachikawa RBI Single in Eighth Fells Orix 4-3
Rightfielder Takashi Tachikawa singled in DH Derrick May with the lead run in the top of the eighth Sunday against the Orix Blue Wave at Kobe Green Stadium, as the Chiba Lotte Marines edged the home side 4-3. Hisashi Ogura started for the losers and went seven pretty good innings of three run ball on seven hits only to get a no decision. Instead, the W went to Lotte reliever Kawai for his first victory of the campaign.
Orix initially pulled in front in the second when rightfielder Ikuro Katsuragi singled to center with one out, DH Kota Soejima singled to right and second baseman Keiichi
Hirano singled to left to push Katsuragi across and it was 1-0.
In the fourth, Lotte countered when first baseman Kazuya Fukuura singled to right and, one out later, second baseman Koichi Hori walked. After another out, third baseman Rick Short walked to load the bases. Catcher Masaumi Shimizu singled to right to plate two and make it 2-1 Lotte.
They pinned another on the big board in the sixth, as Hori commenced things with a double down the leftfield line and then went to third on a sac bunt. Short singled to left and it was 3-1 Lotte.
Orix would scramble back with some help from a defensive miscue in the home segment when catcher Takeshi Hidaka singled to center and centerfielder Yoshitomo Tani singled to left. Shortstop Makoto Shiozaki laid down the sac bunt, but starter Nate Minchey threw it away and Hidaka rumbled home while Tani checked into third. Leftfielder Roosevelt Brown singled to right and Tani crossed with the leveler at 3-3. First baseman Scott Sheldon hindered any further productivity when he hit into a double play.
However, Lotte got an eighth inning leadoff single to right from May, who advanced to second on a sacrifice. Tachikawa clocked a single to left and they were back in the lead at 4-3.
Brian Sikorsky tossed a perfect eighth for Lotte and then closer Masahide Kobayashi ascended the hill in the ninth. Following two groundouts, Backup DH Takeshi Yamasaki grounded to Short, who booted it. Pinch hitter Yuji Goshima singled to left. Kobayashi wild pitched the runners up a base. But he then struckout third baseman Jose Ortiz for yet more frustration suffered by Orix.
For Lotte, Short was 1-3 with a walk and 1-4 an RBI and is at .261. May was 2-4 and is at .185.
For Orix, Brown was 1-4 with an RBI and is at .250. Sheldon was 0-4 and is at .226. Ortiz was 0-4 and is at .103. Batting instructor Leon Lee says that Ortiz is feeling the pressure engendered with all the losses his club has taken and is mentally "scrambled eggs" right now.
Pitching Lines:
Lotte:
Minchey IP 5.2 BF 23 PC 76 H 7 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 3 ER 1 ERA 5.91
T. Kawai (W, 1-0) IP 1.1 BF 4 PC 17 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.70
Sikorsky IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 12 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
M. Kobayashi (S, 3) IP 1.0 BF 5 PC 15 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Orix:
H. Ogura IP 7.0 BF 30 PC 105 H 7 HR 0 K 4 BB 2 R 3 ER 3 ERA 4.73
Kase (L, 0-1) IP 0.0 BF 1 PC 6 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 54.00
Tokano IP 1.0 BF 4 PC 11 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
T. Yamamoto IP 0.1 BF 1 PC 7 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Makino IP 0.1 BF 2 PC 10 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.38
E: Minchey, M. Watanabe
2B: May, Hori
WP: M. Kobayashi
RBI: Tachikawa, Short, M. Shimizu 2, Brown, Hirano
GIDP: Ortiz, Sheldon
LOB: Lotte 7, Orix 5
Season Series: Lotte 2, Orix 0
Game Time: 2:42
Attendance: 20,000
Umpires: Yamamura (HP), Iizuka (1B), Yoshikawa (2B), Hayashi (3B)
Team Reports
Yomiuri Slugger Kazuhiro Kiyohara went 0-3 in another minor league rehab start Sunday and is 1-9 so far. He says that his legs are feeling good and thus plans to bring him up before a series against Hanshin on the 11th are still on.
Seibu According to the Japan Times, Lions ace Daisuke Matsuzaka will skip a start while he rehabs a painful hamstring. Rookie Shuichiro Osada will make his first pro start against Daiei in Matsuzaka's place. They are hoping that Matsuzaka will be ready by the 14th, when the Lions take on Kintetsu.
Hideki Matsui The Newark Star Ledger's Dan Graziano is definitely not among those writers booing Matsui in the press box (if that story is even true). Look at what he had to say about Godzilla in a piece about Saturday's game: "[Matsui] hit the ball all over the place, ran the bases like Jeter and continued to impress his new team." Dom Amore cheered after the same contest, "Hideki Matsui continued to put on a clinic of defensive and base-running fundamentals." Matsui then went out Sunday against the Rays and singled in five at bats to extend his hitting streak to six games, but his average declined to .286.
Miscellaneous The White Sox signed 29 year old Tetsu Yofu, formerly of the Daiei Hawks and the Taiwan league Brother Elephants, and he picked up a save for AA Birmingham the other day with 1.2 innings of relief, according to MLB.com....The men who are part of Arkansas University's baseball team have MLB ties: pitcher Sean Ruthven is the son of former MLB pitcher Dick Ruthven, DH Ned Yost is the son of the Milwaukee skipper of the same name and coach Rick Eckstein is Angel shortstop David Eckstine older brother, according to The Razorback, the school's newspaper....Ichiro went 2-5 with a walk against Chan Ho Park and the Texas Rangers. Park was pretty awful, displaying diminished life and velocity on his fastball and his command of his breaking pitches was lacking as well, as the M's went on to stomp him 11-2.... Shigetoshi Hasegawa was also in that game and he threw 2.2. wonderful one hit innings, including a strikeout of A-Rod looking....Tsuyoshi Shinjo went 0-1 for the Mets against the Expos Sunday....So Taguchi went 2-3 with a sac fly in his four trips up for Memphis Sunday against Albuquerque.
Matsui Still Adjusting
See story at: MLB.com Article
Tomo Ono Gets Freaky With the Leather for Arizona Western
See story at: Yuma Sun Article
Lee Seung-yeop Goes Yard for Samsung
See story at: Korea Times Article
Today's Pictures
Tuffy Rhodes Looks to See How Far it Went
Tadahito Iguchi Reaches the Century Mark
Replies: 1 Comment
Are there any sites that we might have access to for the stats of the Americans that are playing baseball in Japan?
Thanks,
Don & Anna Seelbach
Lufkin, Texas
Posted by Anna Seelbach @ 04/09/2003 09:58 PM EST
