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04/11/2003 Archived Entry: "Japanese Baseball News: Kuwata Winning Streak Remains Intact"
Takatsu Blows Another One in Loss to Giants
The Yomiuri Giants did it to Yakult Swallows closer Shingo Takatsu again, as he was victimized by two errors (though the scoring on one of those was questionable) in the top of the ninth Wednesday at Meiji Jingu Stadium to allow the tying and winning runs to score in a 9-8 victory by the kyojin. Takatsu now has two blown saves in three opportunities, one reason why Yakult is at the bottom of the Central League standings right now.
Masumi Kuwata got his doors blown off in this game, yet, a streak of 12 straight Giants wins when he started a ballgame remained intact when his side managed to rally back to ultimately take it.
Kevin Hodges is no longer the fearsome stumbling block for Yomiuri he once was, as he was rocked for six runs, three of them earned, on five hits in four innings. He didn't figure in the decision, but it is doubtful that the former Mariner will win five games against Yakult's crosstown rivals this season as he did in 2002.
This little tete a tete wasn't one you wanted to take a little leaguer to, as the play was disturbingly sloppy and the Swallows cashed in one such miscue in the bottom of the first to take an early lead. With one down, shortstop Shinya Miyamoto singled to center and, one out later, moved into scoring position when leftfielder Alex Ramirez' ground ball to shortstop Tomohiro Nioka was booted. Third baseman Ken Suzuki singled to left and Miyamoto scooted in to make it 1-0.
The home squad then improved that when rightfielder Atsunori Inaba belted one into the centerfield bleachers in the second for a 2-0 advantage.
The Giants halved the deficit in the third, as catcher Shinnosuke Abe ripped a double to leftcenter and went to third on a groundout. One out later, leftfielder Takayuki Shimizu singled to left to convert Abe and it was 2-1 Swallows.
Yakult responded when first baseman Todd Betts slammed a shot into the rightfield bleachers in the bottom of the frame to get the umbrella oendan dancing to widen it to 3-1.
However, Hodges lost his command in the fourth. With one away, both centerfielder Yoshinobu Takahashi and rightfielder Roberto Petagine walked. They moved up on a groundout. Abe singled to left to redeem them and even it at 3-3. Second baseman Toshihisa Nishi walked. Kuwata grounded to Miyamoto for what should have been an inning ending double play, but he kicked it and the sacks were packed. Shimizu clobbered one off the rightfield wall for a long two RBI single. Nioka singled to right to bring Kuwata in to put the Giants in front 6-3.
Yomiuri loaded the bases again with one out in the fifth against reliever Hirotsugu Maeda and had to have Masato Hanada bail him out to help set the stage for a Yakult comeback. During the Swallows turn in the stanza, Miyamoto and Betts each singled to center and Ramirez singled to left to drive Miyamoto across. Third baseman Ken Suzuki scorched a shot off the leftfield wall and Betts and Ramirez both sprinted in to level it at 6-6. Catcher Atsuya Furuta moved Suzuki to third with a groundout to the right side. Takashi Kashiwada was summoned from the bullpen and Inaba grounded to short to push Suzuki plateward with the lead run to make it 7-6.
It remained that way until the eighth, when Nioka transgressed the hitter friendly dimensions in right to deadlock it at 7-7.
Yakult reacted by pulling ahead in the bottom of the eighth, as centerfielder Tetsuya Iida singled to right, went to second on a sac bunt and then to third on a groundout before Ramirez torched one up the rightcenter gap for a triple and an 8-7 Swallows lead.
Takatsu mosied in looking to get closer to eclipsing Kazuhiro Sasaki's all time Japanese saves mark, but when they don't catch the ball behind you, there is nothing that can be done. Takahashi bounced a sinker to Miyamoto, considered to be one of the most fundamentally sound players at his position in all of Japanese pro ball, who fumbled it to permit Takahashi to reach. Speedster Takahiro Suzuki pinch ran for Takahashi. Takatsu pitched around Petagine and walked him. Mototsugu Kawanaka pinch ran for Petagine. Both men were moved up on a sac bunt. Abe was intentionally walked to set up a double play opportunity and to avoid the fact that the guy has been deadly in such situations. Koji Goto, pinch hitting for Toshihisa Nishi, flied out to shallow center for the second out. Backup third baseman Masahiro Kawai got a sinker off the end of the bat and dribbled it toward third. It was a do or die play for Suzuki, who failed to get a handle on it and it rolled behind him. Suzuki had already toed the dish, but Kawanaka saw an opening and turned and burned for home. He went in headfirst and stuck a hand in ahead of the throw to the plate and the Giants were up 9-8.
The erratic Junichi Kawahara worked a perfect bottom of the ninth and that was the ballgame, with Rodney Pedraza receiving the shiroboshi. The Giants used a total of 20 players attempting to win the contest.
For Yomiuri, Petagine was 1-2 with three walks and is at .308.
For Yakult, Betts was 2-5 with an RBI and two strikeouts and is at .279. Ramirez was 2-5 with two RBIs and is at .366.
Pitching Lines:
Yomiuri:
Kuwata IP 4.1 BF 24 PC 91 H 9 HR 2 K 3 BB 1 R 7 ER 6 ERA 4.76
Kashiwada IP 0.1 BF 1 PC 4 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.45
Kubo IP 1.1 BF 6 PC 28 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Y. Maeda IP 1.0 BF 5 PC 12 H 2 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.91
Pedraza (W, 1-0) IP 1.0 BF 6 PC 19 H 2 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 4.50
J. Kawahara (S, 1) IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 15 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Yakult:
Hodges IP 4.0 BF 21 PC 78 H 5 HR 0 K 1 BB 3 R 6 ER 3 ERA 4.76
H. Maeda IP 0.2 BF 4 PC 15 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 8.31
Hanada IP 0.1 BF 2 PC 9 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Kawabata IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 17 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.84
H. Ishii IP 2.0 BF 9 PC 41 H 2 HR 1 K 4 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 1.80
Takatsu (L, 2-0) IP 1.0 BF 7 PC 23 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 2 R 2 ER 0 ERA 4.50
E: Takayuki Saito, Nioka, S. Miyamoto 2, K. Suzuki
SB: S. Miyamoto
2B: S. Abe, K. Suzuki
3B: Ramirez
HR: Inaba (1), Betts (3), Nioka (3)
RBI: T. Shimizu 3, Nioka 2, S. Abe 2, M. Kawai, Betts, Ramirez 2, K. Suzuki 3, Inaba
IBB: K. Suzuki (Pedraza), Abe (Takatsu)
WP: Kubo
GIDP: Iida
LOB: Yomiuri 10, Yakult 10
Season Series: Yomiuri 1, Yakult 0
Game Time: 3:59
Attendance: 30,000
Umpires: Mori (HP), Ino (1B), Honda (2B), Watamari (3B)
Fujita, Three Others Combine to Shutout Dragons 5-0
Taiyo Fujita displayed some tenacity Wednesday night at Koshien Stadium, as he allowed at least one runner in every inning except the fourth, in a six inning scoreless stint before handing the ball over to relievers Kyuji Fujikawa, Jeff Williams, and Lou Pote to finish the job on a combined one hit and a walk over the final three innings in a 5-0 shutout of the frontrunning Chunichi Dragons.
Masahiro Yamamoto started for Chunichi and threw better than one might conclude at first glance, as he was afflicted with dunkers and bloops falling in to lose it plus a big error by rightfielder Kosuke Fukudome. That's baseball, though. Next time he might be done for some rockets and still win it thanks to his team's potent offense.
Anyway, Hanshin splattered a two spot on the big board in the fourth when centerfielder Norihiro Akahoshi singled to center and leftfielder Tomoaki Kanemoto blistered one into right. The ball got through Fukudome and the fleet footed Akahoshi made a left turn for the plate and beat the relay while Kanemoto cruised into second.
With rightfielder Osamu Hamanaka up in the batter's box, Kanemoto stole third. Hamanaka struckout. First baseman Shinjiro Hiyama looped one just over the outstretched glove of second baseman Masahiro Araki and it was 2-0 Tigers.
Hanshin tacked another one on in the fifth when shortstop Atsushi Fujimoto pushed a bunt between the mound and second base. First baseman Ivan Cruz collided with second baseman Masahiro Araki and it was ruled an infield hit. Fujimoto went to second on a sac bunt. One out later, Akahoshi plopped a curve ball into center and Fujimoto galloped in to make it 3-0.
Next time up, the Tigers attained the final margin of victory when third baseman George Arias walked with two outs, went to second on a wild pitch, and catcher Akihiro Yano pinged one off the centerfield wall for a triple to see Arias in. Fujimoto, who seems to finally be putting a choke hold on the shortstop job with a .389 average, singled to center and Yano trotted in, making it 5-0.
Pote had a man on third with two outs in the ninth, but struckout Fukudome to turn out the lights.
Akahoshi had a little bit of heaven and hell in this one, as he was picked off of first base in the first inning, but then got his revenge on Yamamoto when he made a spectacular diving catch of an extra base hit bid by the veteran hurler in the second.
Yano now has an 11 game hitting streak.
Kanemoto still has yet to fan after 51 plate appearances.
Fujita was clocked at 89mph.
For Chunichi, centerfielder Alex Ochoa was 0-1 with three walks and is at .359. Cruz was 0-4 with two strikeouts and is at .250.
For Hanshin, Arias was 0-3 with a walk and two strikeouts and is at .233.
Pitching Lines:
Chunichi:
M. Yamamoto (L, 0-1)IP 5.2 BF 26 PC 104 H 10 HR 0 K 7 BB 1 R 5 ER 5 ERA 3.00
Endo IP 1.1 BF 5 PC 13 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
M. Hirai IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 6 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.23
Hanshin:
T. Fujita (W, 1-0) IP 6.0 BF 26 PC 94 H 4 HR 0 K 4 BB 4 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.50
Fujikawa IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 17 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Williams IP 1.0 BF 4 PC 21 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.29
Pote IP 1.0 BF 4 PC 15 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.00
E: Fukudome
SB: Kanemoto
2B: Tanishige, M. Araki
3B: A. Yano
RBI: Akahoshi, Hiyama, A. Yano, Fujimoto
WP: M. Yamamoto
LOB: Chunichi 10, Hanshin 5
Season Series: Chunichi 1, Hanshin 1
Game Time: 3:17
Attendance: 37,000
Umpires: T. Kobayashi (HP), Shimada (1B), K. Kobayashi (2B), Kittaka (3B)
Two Johjima Homers Back Wada Shutout Pitching 8-0
Tsuyoshi Wada made his second pro start of the season and didn't have an easy time of it. First off all, he was pitching in bandbox Kita-Kyushi Stadium. Second, he had runners on in every inning in every inning but one, but he exhibited a good pick off move to buy himself some extra outs on the way to six shutout innings on five hits while striking out six and uncharacteristically walking four in an 8-0 triumph over the Seibu Lions. He was backed by a pair of jacks by batterymate Kenji Johjima as well as a deep ball from leftfielder Pedro Valdez.
Wada coughed up a first inning single to Lions rightfielder Tatsuya Ozeki, but picked him off before striking out DH Toshiaki Inubushi for the third out.
In the second, Scott McClain singled to left to lead it off, but Wada picked him off, too. This became important only because Lions leftfielder Kazuhiro Wada singled to left as well before Tsuyoshi buckled down and got Hisashi Takayama on a flyout and struckout Taketoshi Goto.
Shuichiro Osada made his first pro start for Seibu and had a 20 inning scoreless streak going dating back to the exhibition season until Johjima beat the daylights out of a slider and buried it in the leftfield seats to make it 1-0 Hawks in the second.
Wada then struckout supposed "lefty-killer" Inubushi again with two on and two out in the third, though "Wan-chan" managed the only hit the Lions gleaned off of the rookie southpaw before he left the game later on.
Hawks second baseman Tadahito Iguchi commenced the fourth with a single to right and, one out later, Johjima did that voodoo he did so well for the natives in the leftfield stands for a 3-0 Daiei lead.
Osada then apparently tired in the sixth, as his control went south. Shortstop Munenori Kawasaki legged out an infield hit, but was nailed attempting to steal second. Iguchi singled to center. One out later, and this was a no brainer, Johjima, who would end the night with a .550 average, was intentionally walked. However, that backfired when Valdez also walked to load the bases and SH Noriyoshi Omichi singled to left to plate Iguchi. Yusuke Torigoe walked to force in Johjima. Takeshi Tsuji singled to right and both Valdez and Omichi wheeled on in for a 7-0 Hawks advantage. Tomoki Hoshino replaced Osada and walked centerfielder Arihito Muramatsu to reload the bases, but Kawasaki, who ignited the whole conflagration, came up empty and any further
incursions homeward were blocked.
In the eighth, Valdez jackhammered the pelota beyond the rightfield fence and that is how it ended, an 8-0 whitewash and the first shutout against the Lions for Daiei since late 2001.
When Tsuyoshi Wada and Osada faced each other in Tokyo Big Six University League play, Wada emerged ahead 4-1 in five decisions. Osada was due for a rough time, so we'll have to see how he reacts in his next appearance. For now, the plan is to put him back in the bullpen. The game ball from Wednesday's tilt went home with Wada's parents. His dad, Masayuki, was a former batting champ in the Tokyo Metropolitan University League with Nittai University.
For Seibu, McClain was 1-4 and is at .273.
For Daiei, Valdez was 1-3 with a walk and an RBI and is at .214.
Pitching Lines:
Seibu:
Osada (L, 0-1) IP 5.2 BF 27 PC 103 H 8 HR 2 K 3 BB 4 R 7 ER 7 ERA 5.91
T. Hoshino IP 1.1 BF 5 PC 20 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.45
Mizuo IP 1.0 BF 4 PC 13 H 1 HR 1 K 0 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 9.00
Daiei:
T. Wada (W, 1-1) IP 6.0 BF 24 PC 126 H 5 HR 0 K 6 BB 4 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.71
K. Okamoto IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 14 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.15
S. Yoshida IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 10 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
A. Yamada IP 1.0 BF 4 PC 18 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
SB: K. Wada
HR: Johjima 2 (4), P. Valdez (3)
RBI: Johjima 3, P. Valdez, Omichi, Torigoe, T. Tsuji 2
IBB: Johjima (Osada)
PB: Johjima
GIDP: T. Tsuji
LOB: Seibu 7, Daiei 4
Season Series: Seibu 1, Daiei 1
Game Time: 3:14
Attendance: 23,000
Umpires: Sato (HP), Hayashi (1B), Kakigizono (2B), Iizuka (3B)
Five Run First Gets Yokohama Rolling Over Hiroshima 7-4
Two run homers from rightfielder Takahiro Saeki and first baseman Tyrone Woods highlighted a five run first for the Yokohama Bay Stars, who supplemented that with another two tallies in the seventh to beat the Hiroshima Carp Wednesday at Yokohama Stadium 7-4. Takashi Saito racked up his first victory as a starter since August, 2000, his first of 2003.
Masayuki Hasegawa lasted just four innings and was charged with five runs and is still seeking his first win of the year after two defeats.
But it would be Hiroshima who would fire the first shot, as Yokohama third baseman Katsuaki Furuki geeked second baseman Akihiro Higashide's leadoff groundball for his third error and shortstop Andy Sheets went yard to rightcenter for as 2-0 Carp lead.
However, Yokohama shortstop Takuro Ishii thumped a leadoff double off the leftfield fence and scampered in on a liner up the leftcenter alley by Furuki, an unconventional number two hitter to be sure, who eased into second himself. One out later, Saeki propelled a drive into the rightfield bleachers. Second baseman Shuichi Murata beat out a dribbler toward short. Woods then took a tour of the rightfield stands for his first knock in his last 24 at bats and it was 5-2 Stars.
Saito was having a dominant outing from there until the sixth, when he plunked centerfielder Koichi Ogata and, one out later, leftfielder Tomonori Maeda created a souvenir for the folks in the rightfield seats to bring his side within 5-4.
Masaki Hayashi came on for the Carp in the seventh and suffered a bit of bad luck when third baseman Takuya Kimura made a bad throw to first on centerfielder Tatsuhiko Kinjo's routine ground ball. Kinjo went to second on a sac bunt. One out later, Ishii walked. Reserve second baseman Hitoshi Taneda flamed one into the leftfield corner and both runners hustled in to make it 7-4 Stars.
Reliever Atsushi Kizuka and closer Matt Whiteside rendered the Carp hitless and Yokohama had its first back to back wins of the campaign.
Carp third baseman Takahiro Arai went 0-4 with three strikeouts and is now zip for his last 22 at bats with 11 strikeouts.
For Hiroshima, Sheets was 1-4 with two RBIs and is at .176. Rightfielder Jimmy Hurst was 1-4 with two strikeouts and is at .150.
For Yokohama, Woods was 2-3 with two RBIs and is at .185.
Pitching Lines:
Hiroshima:
Hasegawa (L, 0-2) IP 4.0 BF 18 PC 52 H 6 HR 2 K 1 BB 0 R 5 ER 5 ERA 9.82
Newman IP 2.0 BF 6 PC 18 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 5.68
M. Hayashi IP 0.2 BF 5 PC 16 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 2 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Nishikawa IP 0.1 BF 2 PC 9 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.50
Sawazaki IP 1.0 BF 5 PC 30 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 2 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.50
Yokohama:
Takashi Saito (W, 1-0) IP 7.0 BF 28 PC 105 H 5 HR 2 K 5 BB 2 R 4 ER 3 ERA 4.15
Kizuka IP 1.0 BF 4 PC 23 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Whiteside (S, 2) IP 1.0 BF 4 PC 20 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 5.79
E: T. Kimura, Furuki
2B: T. Ishii, K. Furuki, Woods, Taneda
HR: Sheets (1), Saeki (4), Woods (2), T. Maeda (1)
RBI: Sheets 2, T. Maeda 2, K. Furuki, Taneda 2, Saeki 2, Woods 2
HBP: T. Maeda (Takashi Saito), Ogata (Takashi Saito), Tamura (Sawazaki)
GIDP: Higashide
LOB: Hiroshima 5, Yokohama 5
Season Series: Hiroshima 0, Yokohama 1
Game Time: 2:49
Attendance: 15,000
Umpires: Watada (HP), Fukaya (1B), Tani (2B), Kasahara (3B)
Yamasaki RBI Double Decides it for Orix
A double to right by DH Takeshi Yamasaki in the seventhin inning proved to be the game winning hit for the Orix Blue Wave Wednesday against the Nippon Ham Fighters at Sapporo Dome, as Masato Yoshii finally gave Orix what they were looking for when they signed him with five innings of one run ball on six hits, though the victory went to Masahiro Doi, who actually allowed the tying runs in the sixth before Yamasaki's heroics.
Orix shortstop Makoto Shiozaki doubled to rightcenter with one out in the first and Orix had its first threat of the game. One out later, first baseman Scott Sheldon thwacked one down the rightfield line to bring Shiozaki in and make it 1-0. Nippon Ham starter Itsuki Shoda then walked both rightfielder Ikuro Katsuragi andYamasaki, but second baseman Keiichi Hirano bounced a comebacker to Shoda, who went to first for the third out to avert any further scoring.
Then in the third, Orix leftfielder Roosevelt Brown leadoff with a double to leftcenter and, one out later, went to third on a sac bunt. Yamasaki laced a shot down the leftfield line for two bases and the RBI and it was 2-0 Blue Wave.
Shoda struggled again in the fifth, as Shiozaki grounded to third baseman Michihiro Ogasawara, who booted it. But Brown grounded into a 6-4-3 twin killing. Shoda then had control problems, walking both Sheldon and Katsuragi and bringing up Yamasaki with a chance to break it open. However, the former Dragon struckout and Shoda escaped unscathed.
Nippon Ham began chipping away at the Orix advantage in the fifth, as second baseman Kokichi Akune singled to center with one away and went to second on a groundout. Shortstop Hiroshi Narahara singled to left and Akune crossed to make it 2-1 Orix. Centerfielder Hichori Morimoto singled to right. Rightfielder Tomochika Tsuboi beat out an infield hit to load the bases to bring up the dangerous Ogasawara. But he flew out in foul terrirtory in left and an opportunity to really do some damage went the way of the dodo.
Orix then went back up by two in the sixth when Hirano singled to left and was sacrificed to second one out later. Centerfielder Yoshitomo Tani walked. Shiozaki singled to center to send Hirano in for a 3-1 Blue Wave lead.
But reliever Masahiro Doi wouldn't be able to defend his team's advantage. With two outs, first baseman D.T. Cromer singled to center and Akune walked. Catcher Katsuhiko Yamada singled to left to usher in Cromer. Narahara singled to left to drive in Akune and it was even at 3-3.
Tsutomu "what am I doing here?" Iwamoto was called in from the bullpen by manager Trey Hillman and he walked leadoff man, Sheldon to open the seventh, who stole second. One out later, Yamasaki folded, spindled, and mutilated an 87mph fastball on the outer half of the plate into the rightfield corner and Sheldon rumbled home to give Orix a 4-3 edge.
The very next inning, Orix grabbed an insurance run when Sheldon singled to center off of Hiroyuki Sekine with two outs and stole second again. Katsuragi lashed a double to the wall in rightcenter, Sheldon once again running for he was worth to the plate to make it 5-3 Blue Wave.
Doi struckout the side in the bottom of the eighth and Jun Hagiwara, the converted infielder, struckout two and induced a groundball in a perfect ninth to save it.
Note that Orix got some good two out hitting, especially with runners in scoring position. Manager Hiromichi Ishige, whose job is very tenuous at best right now, has to be wondering why he wasn't seeing this more in the earlier going.
Ogasawara, a perennial Gold Glove man at first base, is having some pains adjusting to third, already racking up four errors, one more than even Yokohama's Katsuaki Furuki. He's started slow with the bat as well, batting a mere, for him, .282 with two homers and four RBIs, though his SLG is still a healthy .513 thanks to three doubles. But it's only been 45 plate appearances so far, so you can expect those numbers to imporve radcially over the coming months.
For Orix, Brown was 1-5 and is at .263. Sheldon was 2-3 with two RBIs, two walks and two steals and is at .275. Third baseman Jose Ortiz was 1-5 and is at .132.
For Nippon Ham, leftfielder Angel Echevarria was 0-4 with three strikeouts and is at .231. Cromer was 2-4 with two strikeouts and an error and is at .156.
Pitching Lines:
Orix:
Yoshii IP 5.0 BF 21 PC 84 H 6 HR 0 K 5 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 5.87
Doi (W, 1-1) IP 2.2 BF 13 PC 58 H 3 HR 0 K 4 BB 2 R 2 ER 2 ERA 5.91
J. Hagiwara (S, 2) IP 1.1 BF 4 PC 15 H 0 HR 0 K 3 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Nippon Ham:
Shoda IP 5.2 BF 28 PC 101 H 6 HR 0 K 2 BB 5 R 3 ER 3 ERA 2.45
Iwamoto (L, 0-1) IP 0.2 BF 5 PC 17 H 2 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 8.10
Sekine IP 1.2 BF 9 PC 45 H 2 HR 0 K 4 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.86
Ko. Yamaguchi IP 1.0 BF 4 PC 15 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 9.00
E: M. Shiozaki, M. Ogaswara, Cromer
SB: Sheldon 2, Hirano
2B: M. Shiozaki, Sheldon, Cromer, Brown, T. Yamasaki 2, Katsuragi, Ortiz
RBI: M. Shiozaki, Sheldon, Katsuragi 2, T. Yamasaki, K. Yamada, Narahara 2
GIDP: Brown
LOB: Orix 14, Nippon Ham 8
Season Series: Orix 1, Nippon Ham 0 1 Tie
Game Time: 3:30
Attendance: 12,000
Umpires: Akimura (HP), Tsugawa (1B), Nagami (2B), Yanagita (3B)
Yoshioka Slams Kintetsu Past Lotte 7-3
Kintetsu Buffaloes first baseman Yuji Yoshioka provided his team with all the runs they would need Wednesday with a first inning grand slam at Chiba Marine Stadium, as they downed the Chiba Lotte Marines 7-3. Hiroshi Takamura was outstanding, going seven innings of one run ball on three hits to get the win. Kosuke Kato started for Lotte and gave up five runs on four hits in 1.1 innings to accept responsibility for the loss.
Kintetsu centerfielder Naoyuki Omura catalyzed the Buffs offensive explosion in the first when he singled to left and went to second on a sac bunt. Leftfielder Tuffy Rhodes struckout. Third baseman Norihiro Nakamura outran a bleeder toward third for an infield hit. DH Fumitoshi Takano walked to load the bases. Yoshioka got an 85mph fastball that was up and over the middle of the plate and crushed it into the centerfield seats for his seventh career grand slam and a 4-0 Buffs lead.
In the second, the Buffs effectively put this one out of reach for the weak hitting Lotte lineup when second baseman Katsumi Yamashita bashed a Kato delivery off the leftfield wall for a double and went to third on a groundout. Koji Takagi replaced Kato. Omura walked and stole second. Shortstop Tadatoki Maeda lined a shot down the rightfield line and Yamashita and Omura each arrived at the plate without incident to make it 6-0 Kintetsu.
An inning later, Yoshioka walked with one out and rightfielder Koichi Isobe legged out an infield hit. Yamashita walked to pack the sacks. Catcher Tetsuya Matoyama flied out to right and Yoshioka tagged up and scored and it was 7-0 Kintetsu.
Lotte was seemingly helpless against the otherwise mediocre Takamura until DH Derrick May dug in to kick off the seventh and exited to right to make it 7-1 Kintetsu.
Yoshida came on to start the eighth for Kintetsu and Lotte was able to dent him, as shortstop Makoto Kosaka singled to left and Saburo Omura rode one up the leftcenter gap for an RBI triple. One out later, first baseman Kazuya Fukuura flied out to Rhodes, who dropped it, for a sac fly and an error and it was 7-3.
Kintetsu blew a bases loaded one out chance in the ninth when Nakamura grounded into a double play. Now it would be up to Akira Okamoto to put this one in the refrigerator in the bottom half.
And Lotte threatened when Takashi Tachikawa, third baseman Rick Short and catcher Tasuku Hashimoto all singled to right to load the bases with nobody out. However, Okamoto stepped it up and struckout the next two men. Leftfielder Tetsuya Kakiuchi, who has some pop, stepped in as the tying run. But he grounded out to first and it was "game setto."
When Takamura struckout Saburo Omura in the bottom of the first, that made it 1000 for his career, becoming the 110th pitcher in Japanese history to attain that figure.
For Kintetsu, Rhodes was 0-4 with a walk and three strikeouts and is at .326.
For Lotte, May was 1-4 with an RBI and is at .257. Short was 1-3 with a walk and is now at a healthy .290.
Pitching Lines:
Kintetsu:
Takamura (W, 2-0) IP 7.0 BF 26 PC 109 H 3 HR 1 K 6 BB 3 R 1 ER 1 ERA 2.08
T. Yoshida IP 1.0 BF 6 PC 25 H 2 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 2 ER 2 ERA 3.38
A. Okamoto IP 1.0 BF 6 PC 21 H 3 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Lotte:
K. Kato (L, 0-2) IP 1.1 BF 9 PC 31 H 4 HR 1 K 1 BB 1 R 5 ER 5 ERA 10.80
K. Takagi IP 4.2 BF 20 PC 74 H 3 HR 0 K 3 BB 3 R 2 ER 2 ERA 4.66
Kanda IP 3.0 BF 11 PC 45 H 1 HR 0 K 4 BB 2 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.80
E: Rhodes
SB: N. Omura
2B: K. Yamashita, T.T. Maeda, J. Inoue, Tachikawa
3B: S. Omura
HR: Yoshioka (3), May (3)
RBI: T.T. Maeda, Yoshioka 4, Matoyama, S. Omura, Fukuura, May
SF: Matoyama, Fukuura
GIDP: M. Shimizu, N. Nakamura
LOB: Kintetsu 6, Lotte 8
Season Series: Kintetsu 1, Lotte 1
Game Time: 3:07
Attendance: 10,000
Umpires: Kawaguchi (HP), Yamazaki (1B), Shinya (2B), Sakaemura (3B)
Team Reports
Yomiuri First baseman Kazuhiro Kiyohara made his final minor league appearance before he will be brought back up to the big club and he turned a 3-6-3 double play, but he also went 0-4 with three strikeouts. He has gone hitless in his last four games and is just 1-13 overall. So his timing still needs some work.
Yokohama Daisuke Miura made his first appearance since coming back from elbow surgery in a minor league game and went two shutout innings in relief, allowing one hit and walking one. This club will get a big boost if its beloved team leader can get back into action in the coming weeks.
Seibu Daisuke Matsuzaka threw 62 pitches in the bullpen and said that he is able to throw at full speed after missing a start due to experiencing hamstring pain in a game on the fourth....Chang Chiah-chia was brilliant in a minor league start and will be promoted in the next day or two to go right into the rotation. Now if they can just get Alex Cabrera back, they might begin to fire on all six.
Kintetsu The Buffaloes' front office is considering moving their minor league affiliate's home ballpark from Fujiidera Stadium, which was once the bug club's homeground, to Higashi-Osaka Municipal Stadium, which is still in the pre-construction phase, due to the former facility's aging not so gracefully. The dimensions of the newer park will be 393 to dead center and 311 down the lines. It will hold about 4000 people.
Today's Pictures
Mototsugu Kawanaka Slides in Headfirst to Score Winning Run
Taiyo Fujita in Wednesday's Game
Tsuyoshi Wada Goes to the Plate
Yomiuri Story on Matsui Slam
See story at: Yomiuri Shimbun Article
See another related story at: Yomiuri Shimbun Article
And from the U.S. press, see story at: Baltimore Sun Article
And even more: Baseball.com Article
