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08/14/2003 Archived Entry: "Japanese Baseball News: Tigers No Longer on Vaseline; Sugiuchi in Strikeout Fest"
Rookie Kubota Ends Hanshin Losing Streak 3-2
I was amazed that fireballing rookie Tomoyuki Kubota was still available when Hanshin took him in the fourth round of last November's draft. I had estimated, despite his velocity, though, that he was going to take a couple of years to be fully ready for pro ball, but he is proving that wrong, as he fanned a career high 12, including five in a row to both end Hanshin's four game losing skid and get Tigers manager Senichi Hoshino his 900th win as a skipper in a 3-2 triumph over the Yokohama Bay Stars Tuesday at Sapporo Dome. He went 6.2 innings and limited the Yokohama Bay Stars to six hits and two runs to pick up his fourth victory.
Former Rockie Chris Holt had a solid outing for Yokohama, going seven innings and permitting three runs on eight hits in a losing effort.
The Tigers dented Holt in the second, as shortstop Atsushi Fujimoto beat out a dribbler toward short and Kubota singled to center, his first pro knock in 11 times up. Second baseman Makoto Imaoka, who is leading the Central League in average with runners in scoring position, then turned Fujimoto in for a run with a single to center, Kubota hustling to third on the play. Centerfielder Norihiro Akahoshi then flew down the line on a groundball that Ishii just couldn't quite get all of his glove on and Kubota ran in to make it 2-0.
But Kubota would encouter some trouble in the third, as catcher Takeshi Nakamura singled to center and was sacrificed to second. One out later, Ishii torched a shot into the leftfield corner and Nakamura put it in fourth for the plate to halve the Tigers lead to 2-1. Leftfielder Takanori Suzuki singled to center and Ishii sped in to even it at two all.
After that, both Holt and Kubota really settled in and neither side produced anything until the seventh, when Imaoka cracked a one out single to center and went to second on a sac bunt. Leftfielder Tomoaki Kanemoto singled to center to convert Imaoka to put
Hanshin out front 3-2.
Kubota retired the first two hitters in the bottom of the seventh on a groundout and a strikeout, but centerfielder Tatsuhiko Kinjo singled to center and Ishii walked. Hoshino dialed local for Jeff Williams, who swooped in to induce a groundout from Hirofumi Ogawa. Yuya Ando then allowed Yokohama just one hit the rest of the way and this baby was in the refrigerator.
Hanshin's magic number is now 25. Kubota, though, wasn't happy with his performance, saying that he is throwing too many pitches. His father, though, who was in the stands for this one, was much more delighted.
Hoshino now ranks 13th on the all time list in managerial shiroboshi. 134 of those are with Hanshin.
With the loss, their 70th, Yokohama now has no chance of reacing .500 even if they win all of their remaining games.
Pitching Lines:
Hanshin:
Kubota (W, 4-3) IP 6.2 BF 29 PC 130 H 6 HR 0 K 12 BB 2 R 2 ER 2 ERA 3.22
Williams IP 0.1 BF 1 PC 2 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.33
Ando (S, 4) IP 2.0 BF 7 PC 21 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.20
Yokohama:
Holt (L, 5-13)IP 7.0 BF 31 PC 114 H 8 HR 0 K 4 BB 1 R 3 ER 3 ERA 4.40
T.H. Kato IP 2.0 BF 6 PC 27 H 0 HR 0 K 4 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.80
E: K.A. Furuki
SB: Kanemoto
2B: T. Ishii
RBI: Imaoka, Akahoshi, Kanemoto, T. Ishii, T.N. Suzuki
HBP: Saeki (Kubota), Taneda (Kubota)
LOB: Hanshin 7, Yokohama 8
Season Series: Hanshin 18, Yokohama 3
Game Time: 2:59
Attendance: 37,000
Umpires: Ino (HP), Suginaga (1B), Nishimoto (2B), K. Kobayashi (3B)
Seibu, Kintetsu Neutralizing Each Other in PL Race
Daiei continues to rack up victories, but neither Kintetsu or Seibu can really seem to really get started on a significant enough winning streak to press the Hawks at the top of the Pacific League. Having said that, I will now give way to a better account of this game than I could come up with. See Jim Allen story at:
Yomiuri Shimbun Article
Note: Tuffy Rhodes' homer travelled 455 feet. Kintetsu third baseman Norihiro Nakamura suffered a bruised knee in a collision at the plate and is day to day.
Pitching Lines:
Kintetsu:
Beirne (W, 6-6) IP 6.0 BF 23 PC 96 H 4 HR 2 K 6 BB 1 R 4 ER 4 ERA 5.57
H. Koike IP 0.1 BF 1 PC 9 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.15
A. Okamoto IP 0.2 BF 2 PC 10 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.85
T. Yoshida IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 14 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.94
Takamura IP 1.0 BF 6 PC 25 H 3 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.57
Seibu:
Hoashi IP 3.0 BF 14 PC 66 H 6 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 3 ER 3 ERA 4.48
Osada IP 3.0 BF 11 PC 55 H 2 HR 1 K 3 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 5.70
T. Shiozaki (L, 0-3) IP 1.0 BF 5 PC 18 H 2 HR 1 K 2 BB 0 R 2 ER 2 ERA 5.26
Mitsui IP 0.1 BF 3 PC 14 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 2 ER 2 ERA 5.97
Onuma IP 1.2 BF 7 PC 24 H 2 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.67
SB: N. Omura, T.T. Maeda, Yoshioka, M. Abe, K. Matsui, T. Takagi, H.Y. Nakajima
2B: N. Nakamura, K. Wada
HR: McClain (22), K. Wada (23), Rhodes (37), Mizuguchi (4)
RBI: Mizuguchi 2, Rhodes 2, Yoshioka, Kitagawa, Shimoyama, K. Wada 3, T. Takagi,
McClain
SF: Kitagawa
WP: Takamura
Balk: A. Okamoto
GIDP: Kitagawa (4-6-3), K. Matsui (6-4-3)
LOB: Kintetsu 5, Seibu 3
Season Series: Kintetsu 12, Seibu 10
Game Time: 3:53
Attendance: 29,000
Umpires: Kawaguchi (HP), Yanagita (1B), Nakamura (2B), Sakaemura (3B)
Sheets Two Homers Not Enough in Carp Defeat by Yakult
Yakult Swallows third baseman Akinori Iwamura began the bottom of the first with a blast into the rightfield seats off of Hiroshima Carp starter Chris Brock and the birds went on to ultimately register nine runs on 17 hits to fly by the fish 9-6. Carp shortstop Andy Sheets, hotter than an Iraqi desert right now, mashed another pair of homers and drove in three runs in defeat.
Sheets erased Yakult's 1-0 lead when he took righthander Kevin Hodges on a tour of the centerfield stands to commence the second. Leftfielder Tomonori Maeda followed by creaming a Hodges offering into the rightfield seats to put Hiroshima at the head of the line 2-1. First baseman Takahiro Arai singled to center. Third baseman Kenjiro Nomura bunted for a basehit. After the runners moved up on a groundout to first, Brock beat out a dribbler, Arai holding at third to load the bases. Second baseman Takuya Kimura grounded out to second to usher Arai in and widen the Carp lead to 3-1.
Centerfielder Koichi Ogata made it possible for the Carp to make it to the promised land once more, as he singled to center to leadoff the third and went to second on a wild pitch. Sheets singled to right and Hiroshima was up 4-1.
Yakult got that back in the bottom segment when Iwamura, shortstop Shinya Miyamoto and centerfielder Atsunori Inaba all singled to center, Iwamura toeing the dish, to reduce the deficit to 4-2.
The Swallows chipped another run off of that disadvantage in the fourth when rightfielder Mitsuru Manaka singled to center and stole second. One out later, pinch hitter Shinichi Sato singled to right to recall Manaka and make it a one run ballgame at 4-3.
Sheets, however, turned and burned on a Yataro Sakamoto delivery and put it in the leftfield bleachers opening the fifth. Two outs later, Nomura shoved one into the rightfield seats and it was 6-3 Carp.
Brock and the Carp pen then got hurt in the fifth. First baseman Ken Suzuki walked with one away and catcher Atsuya Furuta singled to center. Both runners advanced on a passed ball. Manaka singled to center for an RBI. Brock was replaced by Koichi Amano. One out later, Todd Betts, pinch hitting for Sakamoto, doubled to left, Furuta and Manaka hotfooting it to the plate and now it was tied 6-6. Betts went to third on the relay home. Iwamura then outran an infield grounder for an RBI single and a 7-6 Swallows advantage.
Then in the sixth, Inaba singled to center off of Shigeo Tamaki and leftfielder Alex Ramirez singled to left. One out later, Furuta singled to center to score Inaba.
An inning later, the lefthand hitting Iwamura went yard the opposite way for a more comfortable three run Swallows lead 9-6. Ryota Igarashi and closer Shingo Takatsu suffocated the Carp lineup on a walk during the final three innings to lock it up.
For Hiroshima, Sheets was 3-4 with three RBIs and is at .342. Brock was 2-2 and is at .367.
For Yakult, Ramirez was 1-5 and is at .338. Betts was 1-1 with two RBIs and is at .299.
Pitching Lines:
Hiroshima:
Brock IP 4.1 BF 25 PC 99 H 10 HR 1 K 2 BB 2 R 6 ER 6 ERA 4.60
Amano (L, 1-4) IP 0.2 BF 4 PC 26 H 2 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 1 ER 0 ERA 3.32
S. Tamaki IP 2.0 BF 11 PC 33 H 5 HR 1 K 0 BB 0 R 2 ER 2 ERA 4.34
Nishikawa IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 12 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 6.05
Yakult:
Hodges IP 4.0 BF 21 PC 59 H 8 HR 2 K 1 BB 0 R 4 ER 4 ERA 5.95
Y. Sakamoto IP 1.0 BF 5 PC 25 H 2 HR 2 K 2 BB 0 R 2 ER 2 ERA 6.85
Yamabe IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 13 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.29
Ryo. Igarashi (W, 3-3) IP 2.0 BF 7 PC 32 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.15
Takatsu (S, 23) IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 12 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.60
SB: Iwamura, Manaka
2B: Betts
HR: Iwamura 2 (3), Sheets 2 (18), K. Nomura (4), T. Maeda (18)
RBI: T. Kimura, Sheets 3, T. Maeda, K. Nomura, Iwamura 2, Inaba, Furuta, Manaka,
S. Sato, Betts 2
WP: Hodges
HBP: T. Arai (Hodges)
PB: Ishihara
LOB: Hiroshima 6, Yakult 10
Season Series: Hiroshima 7, Yakult 9 1 Tie
Game Time: 3:16
Attendance: 20,000
Umpires: Kiuchi (HP), Manabe (1B), T. Kobayashi (2B), Shikita (3B)
Sugiuchi Strikes Out 14 as Daiei Moves Closer to Pennant
Daiei Hawks second year starter Toshiya Sugiuchi had his best game as a pro Tuesday at Fukuoka Dome, striking out 14, including five in a row to open the game, in a 6-2 victory over the Chiba Lotte Marines. Hawks second baseman Tadahito Iguchi clocked his 20th homer of the season and catcher Kenji Johjima his 24th to back the youngster's fine outing. Three of Sugiuchi's wins this year have come at the expense of Lotte.
Nathan Minchey started for Lotte and was charged with all six Hawks tallies, five of those earned, for his sixth loss.
Lotte went in fron in the third when Saburo Omura lined a double to leftcenter and went to third on a sac bunt by shortstop Makoto Kosaka that Sugiuchi muffed for an error. Second baseman Koichi Hori struckout. Jun Inoue grounded to short and shortstop Yusuke Torigoe attempted to nail Omura at the plate, but he was in ahead of the tag and it was 1-0 visitors.
Daiei eliminated that problem almost instantly, as centerfielder Arihito Muramatsu got aboard on a rare miscue by multi-Gold Glove recipient Kosaka and jogged home when Minchey left a cut fastball over the plate and Iguchi punished it into the rightcenterfield seats to make it 2-1 Hawks.
Lotte had men on second and third on a one out single to left by Kiyoshi Hatsushiba and a double to leftcenter from catcher Tomoya Satozaki, but Sugiuchi blew Omura away and tempted Kosaka into grounding to second to kill off the threat.
Iguchi and Muramatsu worked together again in the fifth, as Muramatsu singled to left, stole second and sprinted home on a double off the leftfield wall by Iguchi to expand the Hawks lead to 4-1.
Jose Fernandez homered to left beginning the sixth for Lotte, but Johjima then kicked off the home portion with a shot to left to maintain that three run gap at 5-2.
Omura leadoff the seventh with a double to leftcenter, but was picked off. And, until Omura doubled again with two gone in the ninth off of the centerfield wall, that was the final time that Lotte was heard from at all.
In the meantime, Daiei splashed another pair on the big board in their half of the seventh, as Torigoe singled to right and went to second on a one out groundout. Iguchi beat out a tapper near short. First baseman Nobuhiko Matsunaka brought the baseball and rightfield wall on a collision course for a long RBI single. Johjima singled to left and Iguchi strutted home and it was 6-2 Daiei. Lotte is now a season high 13 games under .500.
The 14 strikeouts is Sugiuchi's most as a pro. While playing for Kagoshima Jitsugyo High School, he threw a 16 K no hitter in the Koshien Tournament five years back for his personal high in whiffs.
Iguchi's three hits raised his average to .349. A Pirates official was at the game with the team's Japan scout, Kunikazu Ogawa, who said that he likes Iguchi a lot. Rather doubtful that Pittsburgh would break out the necessary readies to sign him, though.
This was Daiei's 100th game this season and in 50 of those they have racked up at least ten hits. They have also done that in 12 of their last 13 battles and with a team average of .304, they are threatening to set a new pro record in that department.
For Lotte, leftfielder Rick Short was 0-4 with two strikeouts and is at .274. Fernandez was 1-4 with an RBI and two strikeouts and is at .267.
For Daiei, leftfielder Pedro Valdes was1-4 and is at .304. DH Julio Zuleta was 0-4 with two strikeouts and is at .303.
Pitching Lines:
Lotte:
Minchey (L, 10-6) IP 6.2 BF 31 PC 124 H 10 HR 2 K 3 BB 1 R 6 ER 5 ERA 4.09
Sikorsky IP 0.1 BF 2 PC 7 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.44
Tobe IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 9 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.60
Daiei:
Sugiuchi (W, 5-7) IP 9.0 BF 36 PC 138 H 6 HR 1 K 14 BB 2 R 2 ER 2 ERA 3.17
E: Kosaka, Sugiuchi
SB: Muramatsu
2B: S. Omura 3, Satozaki, Iguchi
HR: Iguchi (20), Fernandez (20), Johjima (24)
RBI: J. Inoue, Fernandez, Iguchi 3, Matsunaka, Johjima 2
LOB: Lotte 7, Daiei 6
Season Series: Lotte 5, Daiei 13
Game Time: 2:46
Attendance: 48,000
Umpires: Yoshikawa (HP), Higashi (1B), Nagami (2B), Tamba (3B)
Echevarria Two Run Homer in Ninth Salvages Tie for Nippon Ham
Nippon Ham leftfielder Angel Echevarria hammered a two run homer with one out in the ninth inning off of Orix reliever Kato to knot it at 7-7. Orix then blew two scoring opportunities in the tenth and 11th innings and it ended in a 12th inning deadlock. DH Takeshi Yamasaki continued his tear, reciting his 13th version of "Long Stick Goes Boom" in 2003 for the losers.
Nippon Ham staked starter Masaru Yoshizaki to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the third when shortstop Shigeyuki Furuki singled to left and, one out later, centerfielder Tatsuya Ide parked it in the centerfield seats.
Orix liquidated that disparity, however, in the fourth, as leftfielder Roosevelt Brown walked and, one out later, Yamasaki claimed a seat in left for the 2-2 tie.
Brown would then catalyze another rally in the sixth when he legged out a roller toward short and wheeled all the way home on second baseman Jose Ortiz' double off the centerfield fence to give the Blue Wave a 3-2 advantage and knock Yoshizaki out of the game.
Nippon Ham restored equilibrium in their ups, as first baseman Kuniyuki Kimoto singled to left and, one out later, catcher Shinji Takahashi basted one into the leftfield corner to knot it at 3-3.
Orix would keep plugging away, edging in front when rightfielder Kazuhiko Shiotani smacked his sixth homer to right for a 4-3 Blue Wave lead in the seventh.
Then Nippon Ham clawed back yet again in the eighth, as Kimoto reached on an infield hit. DH Yukio Tanaka laid down a sac bunt, but Daisuke Kato, who had just entered the game, chose to go to second with the throw and was late with it. Both runners were sacrificed along. One out later, pinch hitter Kazuteru Shimada singled to right to bring them in and put the Fighters on top 5-4.
Yoshinori Tateyama came on to close it out in the top of the ninth and was eviscerated. With one away, backup shortstop Mitsutaka Goto homered to right to level it at five apiece. Following a groundout, third baseman Koichi Oshima doubled up the rightcenter gap. Centerfielder Yoshitomo Tani played jai lai with the centerfield wall and Oshima sped around on the double with the lead run to make it 6-5. Brown was intentionally walked. Ortiz then whizzed a shot down the rightfield line to plate Tani and it was 7-5 Orix. Yamasaki grounded out to end the frame and now Kato would endeavor to hold on to the lead.
Rightfielder Tomochika Tsuboi leadoff with a double off the leftfield fence. One out later, Echevarria crunched a fastball into the leftfield bleachers and it was 7-7. The Fighters put two more men on thanks to a single and a walk, but the two hitters after that flied out and so it went into bonus time.
In the tenth, Goto and Shiotani both singled with two outs, but Oshima grounded out to third to extinguish that uprising.
An inning later, Tani walked, but Brown grounded into a 4-6-3 double play and that effectively shortcircuited the inning, since rightfielder Ikuro Katsuragi got on due to an infield hit. Yamasaki struckout and that chance went by the wayside.
In Nippon Ham's final at bat, Takahashi leadoff with a walk and went to second on a sacrifice. Reserve second baseman Hiroshi Narahara flied out and Ide grounded to second and it was time to head back to the hotel.
For Orix, Brown was 2-4 and is at .331. Ortiz was 2-5 with an RBI and is at .238.
For Nippon Ham, Echevarria was 1-6 with two RBIs and is at .244.
Pitching Lines:
Orix:
Kawagoe IP 5.0 BF 22 PC 85 H 5 HR 1 K 4 BB 1 R 2 ER 2 ERA 5.87
Motoyanagi IP 0.2 BF 4 PC 15 H 2 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 6.18
H. Ogura IP 1.1 BF 5 PC 24 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 5.02
D. Kato IP 1.1 BF 11 PC 39 H 5 HR 1 K 1 BB 1 R 4 ER 4 ERA 2.87
J. Hagiwara IP 3.2 BF 13 PC 61 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 2 R 0 ER 0 ERA 6.93
Nippon Ham:
Yoshizaki IP 5.0 BF 23 PC 103 H 6 HR 1 K 5 BB 2 R 3 ER 3 ERA 4.36
Tateishi IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 11 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.69
N. Takahashi IP 1.0 BF 4 PC 12 H 1 HR 1 K 0 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 2.33
Date IP 1.0 BF 4 PC 11 H 2 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.73
Tateyama IP 1.0 BF 8 PC 28 H 4 HR 1 K 0 BB 1 R 3 ER 3 ERA 2.63
A. Shimizu IP 1.2 BF 8 PC 46 H 3 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.92
Shibakusa IP 1.1 BF 4 PC 16 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.51
E: Keiichi Hirano
SB: Shiotani, Shindo, Kimoto, S. Furuki
2B: Tsuboi 3, Ortiz 2, S. Takahashi, K. Oshima, Tani
HR: Ide (13), T. Yamasaki (13), Shiotani (6), M.T. Goto (3), Echevarria (25)
RBI: Shiotani, Tani, Ortiz, T. Yamasaki 2, Shindo, M.T. Goto, Ide 2, Echevarria 2, S.
Takahashi, K. Shimada 2
IBB: Brown (Tateyama)
WP: Motoyanagi
GIDP: Soejima (6-3), Ortiz (4-6-3), Brown (6-4-3)
LOB: Orix 11, Nippon Ham 12
Season Series: Orix 8, Nippon Ham 10 2 Ties
Game Time: 5:05
Attendance: 15,000
Umpires: Yamamoto (HP), Akimura (1B), Shinya (2B), Tsugawa (3B)
Kuwata Shows Flashes of 2002 Form to Beat Chunichi 5-1
Yomiuri Giants veteran righthander Masumi Kuwata finally looked like he did last season, when he seemed to come back from the dead to seize the ERA title, as he scattered three Chunichi Dragons hits in a 5-1 victory at Nagoya Dome. It was his first shiroboshi since April 19th.
The PL Gakuen grad spent two stints on the disabled list due to a bad ankle, which is still bothering him somewhat, as it became inflammed after the end of the game. It was his 39th career victory (against 27 losses and three saves) against the Nagoya nine, the most by any Giants hurler since the inception of the two league system with the exception of hall of famer Kaoru Bessho, who beat Chunichi a like amount since 1950. But including the one league days, Bessho is still the top Yomiuri Dragon killer with 44 overall. He was clocked at 86mph.
Masafumi Hirai started for Chunichi and he was touched for a two run single by Kuwata to left in the second and two more in the fifth on RBI knocks by centerfielder Takayuki Shimizu and leftfielder Roberto Petagine to degrade his record to 6-4. Chris Latham banged a bases loaded single to right off of Shinichiro Koyama on a 3-0 count in the eighth for his team's fifth run.
The only Dragons tally came in the seventh, when rightfielder Kosuke Fukudome tripled off the rightfield wall and scored on a groundout off the bat of third baseman Kazuyoshi Tatsunami.
For Yomiuri, leftfielder Roberto Petagine was 2-3 with a walk and an RBI and is at .289. Latham was 1-3 with a walk and an RBI and is at .182.
Pitching Lines:
Yomiuri:
Kuwata (W, 3-2) IP 8.0 BF 27 PC 117 H 3 HR 0 K 6 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 6.23
Santana IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 11 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.96
Chunichi:
M.Hirai (L, 6-4) IP 4.2 BF 23 PC 75 H 8 HR 0 K 3 BB 1 R 4 ER 4 ERA 3.59
Hisamoto IP 1.1 BF 4 PC 18 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.47
Koyama IP 1.0 BF 6 PC 32 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 3 R 1 ER 1 ERA 10.57
M. Valdes IP 1.0 BF 4 PC 15 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 5.75
K. Hiramatsu IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 11 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 5.75
SB: T. Shimizu
2B: Etoh 2, Ochoa
3B: Fukudome
RBI: Shimizu, Petagine, Latham, Kuwata 2, Tatsunami
LOB: Yomiuri 8, Chunichi 2
Season Series: Yomiuri 10, Chunichi 11
Game Time: 3:10
Attendance: 40,500
Umpires: Tani (HP), Honda (1B), Uemoto (2B), Sasaki (3B)
Team Reports
Yomiuri Bad news for the Japanese game: moronic owner Tsuneo Watanabe is going to remain owner for the time being. He was scheduled to step down after this season and cede the position to current team president Yoshinori Hosokawa, but Hosokawa's health has deteriorated. The 68 year old executive has intestinal polyps and his diabetes has worsened. Moreover, it is suspected he may have suffered a stroke and he is undergoing tests to confirm that. The irony here is that Watanabe is the biggest cancer in Japanese pro ball....Pitcher Yusaku Iriki pulled a hamstring in a workout and it could be that he will be out for the season. He suffered a hamstring injury in March and he has spent most of the season in the minors as a result. The Giants injury toll goes on and on.
Yakult 21 year old pitcher Yataro Sakamoto just got hitched, the bride being 20 year old Emi Hirao, the daughter of an executive of a small appliances firm. She is a cousin of Seibu infielder Hiroshi Hirao. The two reportedly met in high school.
Hanshin Hanshin Department Store head Teruyuki Saegusa estimates that if the Tigers go on to win the pennant, which seems like a foregone conclusion right now, it will mean an additional $2 billion in the nation's economy. Sales of team merchandise were up significantly for the first half of the year and they expect figures to be even better the rest of 2003.
Nippon Ham The Fighters had some good news on the draft front today when it was disclosed that Yoshio Itoi of Kinki University, who has been clocked at 94mph, would be willing to sign with the team if they draft him. a Kyoto Prefecture native, the 6'1" 170 pound righthander is 8-0 in 13 games with a 1.46 ERA at Kinki. Obviously, he will require some seasoning. He will also have some value as a pinch runner, since at 5.7 seconds for the 50 meters, he will be one of the fastest men in all of Japanese baseball.
Miscellaneous For the first time since May, 2000, former Orix and Yomiuri hurler Masao Kida will stride atop an MLB mound, as he just got called up by the Dodgers. At Las Vegas, Kida had a 2-3 record in 17 games. L.A.'s bullpen has gotten quite a bit of work and it is hoped that the ex-Japan leaguer can provide a fresh arm. According to Hochi Sports, though, Kida will only be in L.A. for two days and then be sent back.
Koshien TournamentSeibo Gakuen High School's 16 year old catcher Kazunori Tajima blasted a three run homer just inside the leftfield foul pole in the second inning on the way to a three hit, seven RBI Tuesday afternoon to spearhead his squad's 22 knock, 17 run attack in stomping Kagawa Nishi High School 17-4. Tajima added a two run triple to right and a two run single to right to accompany the bomb. His team's number eight hitter, the 5'9" 147 pounder told reporters after the game that he had never homered at all in high school, so he was exuberant at having gone yard on a national stage. It was also Seibo's first ever tournament victory....Twin brothers Shota Asaba, a southpaw pitcher, and his catcher, Kenta Asaba constituted the batter for Nagano Kogyo High School Tuesday, but they went down to defeat to the powerhouse Chiben Wakayama High School by a 6-1 margin. The Asaba brothers have reportedly been a
pitcher-catcher combo since fifth grade. The shiroboshi put Chiben head coach Hitoshi Takashima in the number two slot all time in summer Koshien winw with 26 and he is second in total Koshien victories with 46....Shizuoka High School surmounted a one run deficit in the bottom of the ninth inning against Nagasaki Nichidai High School by tying it on an RBI single from Tatsuya Hattori and then winning it when Hattori busted for the plate on a bases loaded wild pitch thrown by reliever Masakazu Kawase 5-4....Yazu High School prevailed over Koyama High School when Masaru Yamane cracked an RBI single to break a 2-2 deadlock in a 3-2 triumph. Koyama left 12 runners on base, including a bases loaded, no out situation in the fourth, but they came away with nothing and took a frustrating loss as a result.
In the News
Japanese Managers Not Seeing the Big Picture
Jim Allen is hanging out on the hot corner again with some riffs on a facet of Japanese baseball strategy at: Yomiuri Shimbun Article
Daiei May Sell Hawks, But There Are Strings Attached
See story at: Asahi Shimbun Article
Sports Bring American, Japanese Kids Together
See story at: Appletone Post-Crescent Article
Today's Pictures
Tomoaki Kanemoto Knocks in the Go Ahead Run
