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05/04/2003 Archived Entry: "Japan Baseball News: Marines Beat Hawks in 11th; Lee 7th Gaijin Manager"
Japan Baseball News: Marines Beat Hawks in 11th; Lee 7th Gaijin Manager
by Robert Kiyoshi Shadlow
Source: Japan Times (May 4 & 5, 2003)
Chiba Lotte Marines 5 - Fukuoka Daiei Hawks 3 (11):
Tomoya Satozaki tripled in the Marines' winning run in the 11th inning at Fukuoka Dome.
Lotte's Rick Short hit 4-for-5.
Nippon Ham Fighters 11 - Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes 3:
Michihiro Ogasawara had five RBIs off of a single, double, and a three-run home run to help crush
the Buffaloes at Osaka Dome.
Tomochika Tsuboi also collected three hits and three RBIs as Nippon accumulated 16 total hits.
Masaru Yoshizaki (4-1) won the game on two runs and five hits in 5 1/3 innings.
Seibu Lions 5 - Orix BlueWave 3:
The Lions beat the BlueWave on a four-run eighth inning including Scott McClain's two-run home run at Seibu Dome.
Yoshitomo Tani is on a 17 game hitting streak.
Takashi Ishii (1-2) pitched eight innings giving up three runs and eight hits to pick up the win.
Kiyoshi Toyoda got the sixth save with a scoreless ninth inning.
Yakult Swallows 5 - Hanshin Tigers 2:
The Tigers' winning streak ended at four games thanks to Mitsuru Manaka's double in the sixth inning at Koshien Stadium.
Masato Hanada (3-0) won the game by allowing only two runs and six hits in five innings.
Shingo Takatsu picked up his seventh save of 2003 with a perfect ninth inning.
Yomiuri Giants 7 - Hiroshima Carp 3:
Koji Uehara (3-1) went eight innings to earn the victory at Tokyo Dome.
Takahiro Suzuki hit his first home run of his career off Chris Brock (2-3) to put the Giants ahead in the third inning.
Akira Eto launched an eigth inning three-run home run.
Chunichi Dragons 8 - Yokohama BayStars 1:
Starting pitcher Martin Vargas yielded one run and seven hits in four innings.
Eiji Ochiai (3-0) pitched two scoreless innings to notch the victory.
Leon Lee and Trey Hillman:
When the Orix BlueWave meet the Nippon Ham Fighters, it will be the first game in 28 years that will pit two American managers against each other. Leon Lee will face Trey Hillman on May 17th at Tokyo Dome.
Lee is the first African-American manager Japanese pro baseball history.
American Managers in NPB History:
Yoshio "Kaiser" Tanaka (Hanshin Tigers: 1958-59)
Wally Yonamine (Chunichi Dragons: 1972-77)
Joe Lutz (Hiroshima Carp: 1975)
Don Blasingame (Hanshin Tigers: 1979-80, Nankai Hawks: 1981-82)
Bobby Valentine (Chiba Lotte Marines: 1995)
Trey Hillman (Nippon Ham Fighters: 2003)
Leon Lee (Orix BlueWave: 2003)
Nippon Professional Baseball
May 5, 2003
Central League
W L T Pct GB
19 11 1 .633 Hanshin Tigers
15 12 1 .556 2.5 Yomiuri Giants
16 14 0 .533 3.0 Yakult Swallows
16 15 0 .516 3.5 Chunichi Dragons
13 13 0 .500 4.0 Hiroshima Carp
7 21 0 .250 11.0 Yokohama BayStars
Pacific League
W L T Pct GB
18 12 0 .600 Fukuoka Daiei Hawks
16 14 0 .533 2.0 Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes
16 14 1 .533 2.0 Seibu Lions
13 15 0 .464 4.0 Chiba Lotte Marines
13 15 1 .464 4.0 Nippon Ham Fighters
10 16 2 .385 6.0 Orix Blue Wave
