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05/23/2003 Archived Entry: "Japan Baseball News: Giants Lose-Tigers 7.5 Game Lead; Hawks For Sale?"
Japan Baseball News: Giants Lose-Tigers 7.5 Game Lead; Hawks For Sale?
by Robert Kiyoshi Shadlow
Sources: Japan Times (May 24, 2003); Daily Yomiuri (May 23, 2003); Japan Today (May 23, 2003).
Seibu Lions 8 - Fukuoka Daiei Hawks 7:
Kazuo Matsui ripped a fourth inning three-run homer and hit 3-for-5 in the fourth to slip the Lions past the Hawks at Fukuoka Dome. Alex Cabrera also hit a fifth inning solo home run.
Winning pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka gave up six runs and 11 hits in eight innings.
Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes 7 - Orix BlueWave 1:
Daisuke Masuda blasted a sixth inning two-run homer and Koichi Isobe hit a seventh inning solo home to help the Buffaloes crush the BlueWave at Yahoo BB Stadium.
Hisashi Iwakuma allowed only one run and five hits to pick up the victory.
Nippon Ham Fighters 10 - Chiba Lotte Marines 4:
Kuniyuki Kimoto's sixth inning grand slam helped the Fighters maul the Marines at Tokyo Dome.
Chris Seelbach got the win yielded only one run and six hits in six innings.
Yokohama BayStars 14 - Yomiuri Giants 10:
Takeshi Nakamura hit a second inning two-run homer, sixth inning three-run dinger, and a seventh inning solo home run as the BayStars out-powered the Giants at Yokohama Stadium.
Shuichi Murata also hit a seventh inning three-run homer.
Domingo Guzman gave up four runs and eight hits in six innings to notch the victory.
Hiroshima Carp 6 - Chunichi Dragons 2:
Shigeru Morikasa hit a second inning two-run homer and a third inning three-run round tripper to lead the Carp over the Dragons at Hiroshima Stadium.
Ken Takahashi won the game pitching seven innings while yielding two runs and nine hits.
News:
The May 23, 2003 Daily Yomiuri
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/newse/20030523wo52.htm
describes Tuffy Rhodes' assault on Seibu Lions pitcher Hayato Aoki at the Osaka Dome as "excessively violent".
Aoki injured his neck and right ankle when Tuffy knocked him over with a tackle in Wednesday's game.
Rhodes was suspended for two games after shoving Aoki after the Lions' pitcher hit Norhiro Nakamura with a pitch.
Aoki is expected to be unable to play for one week with a sprained neck vertebrae.
Tuffy had hit his league leading 18th home run in that game.
Daiei Inc. has released a denial of a Nihon Keizai Shimbun report on a possible sale of the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks baseball team.
Nippon Professional Baseball
May 24, 2003
Central League
W L T Pct GB
30 14 1 .682 Hanshin Tigers
22 21 1 .512 7.5 Yomiuri Giants
23 23 0 .500 8.0 Chunichi Dragons
22 23 0 .489 8.5 Yakult Swallows
20 20 0 .500 8.0 Hiroshima Carp
14 30 0 .318 16.0 Yokohama BayStars
Pacific League
W L T Pct GB
27 17 1 .614 Fukuoka Daiei Hawks
26 18 0 .591 1.0 Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes
24 20 1 .545 3.0 Seibu Lions
19 24 0 .442 7.5 Chiba Lotte Marines
17 24 2 .415 8.5 Nippon Ham Fighters
14 24 2 .368 10.0 Orix BlueWave
Current NPB All-Star Voting results can be found at:
http://allstar.sanyo.co.jp/result/index_e.html
Here is the site to vote for the Japanese All-Star Team:
http://allstar.sanyo.co.jp/vote/index_e.html
