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04/29/2003 Archived Entry: "Japan Baseball News: Tigers Open Lead IN CL; Latham Signs with Giants"
Japan Baseball News: Tigers Open Lead IN CL; Latham Signs with Giants
by Robert Kiyoshi Shadlow
Sources: Japan Times (April 30, 2003) and Japan Today (April 29, 2003)
Games and News from April 29th
Hanshin Tigers 8 - Yomiuri Giants 6:
Hiroshi Yagi pinch-hit the game-winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning to beat the Giants before a crowd of 53,000 at Koshien Stadium.
Tomoaki Kanemoto drove in three runs and went 3-for-4 for the Tigers.
Roberto Petagine 10th home run fo 2003- a grand slam- was not enough to stave off the Tigers.
Yuya Ando (1-0) got the win, Hanshin's and Jeff Williams picked up his seventh save.
Hiroshima Carp 4 - Chunichi Dragons 3:
Koichi Ogata brough home the winning run on a single in the bottom of the ninth inning at Hiroshima Stadium.
Yakult Swallows 2 - Yokohama BayStars 1 (10 innings):
Denny Tomori (0-1) hit Atsuya Furuta with a pitch with the bases loaded in the 10th inning to bring in the Swallows' game winning run at Jingu Stadium.
Seibu Lions 2 - Fukuoka Daiei Hawks 1:
Daisuke Matsuzaka (3-1) pitched a seven strike out, 135 pitch complete game win over the Lions at Seibu Dome.
Matsuzaka initated three double plays while giving up seven hits and four walks.
Taisei Takagi drove in the game-winning run with a home run in the eighth inning.
Nagisa Arakaki (2-3) took the loss yielding two runs and eight hits in eight innings.
Kenji Jojima had Daiei's only score with a homer.
Matsuzaka struck out Alex Cabrera three times.
Orix BlueWave 13 - Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes 6:
The BlueWave had 17 hits and 13 runs to crush the Buffaloes at Kobe's Yahoo BB Stadium.
Tatsuya Shindo launched his 100th career home run.
Orix drove in eight runs on eight hits in the third inning including a three run homer by Kazuhiko Shiotani.
Hisashi Ogura (1-1) won the game in 5 1/3 innings giving up three runs and eight hits.
Chiba Lotte Marines 6 - Nippon Ham Fighters 2:
Jose Fernandez had two-run homers twice to lift the Marines past the Fighters at Tokyo Dome.
Brian Sikorski (1-0) struck out five batters in seven innings while allowing five hits, two walks, and two runs.
News:
Chris Latham signed a one-year, 85 million yen contract with the Yomiuri Giants.
Latham had a .202 BA, three homers, and 19 RBIs in 110 major league games with the Twins, Blue Jays, and Yankees.
Latham is scheduled to be in Japan around May 20th to help fill the Giants' void with the injuries to Kazuhiro Kiyohara, Daisuke Motoki, and Takayuki Shimizu.
Mac Suzuki has been promoted to the Orix BlueWave despite an 5.28 ERA and 0-3 record for the Surpass Kobe.
Nippon Professional Baseball
April 30, 2003
Central League
W L T Pct GB
16 10 1 .615 Hanshin Tigers
13 10 1 .565 1.5 Yomiuri Giants
15 12 0 .556 1.5 Chunichi Dragons
14 12 0 .538 2.0 Yakult Swallows
11 11 0 .500 3.0 Hiroshima Carp
5 19 0 .208 10.0 Yokohama BayStars
Pacific League
W L T Pct GB
16 10 0 .615 Fukuoka Daiei Hawks
14 12 0 .538 2.0 Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes
12 12 0 .500 3.0 Chiba Lotte Marines
11 13 1 .458 4.0 Nippon Ham Fighters
13 14 0 .481 3.5 Seibu Lions
9 14 1 .391 5.5 Orix Blue Wave
I would like to welcome Joshua A. Reyer and thank him for the Japanese boxscores he will provide. Please look at his entries to Baseball Guru.
