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08/23/2003 Archived Entry: "Japanese Baseball News: Saito Wins 15th Straight"
Valdes Eighth Inning RBI Single Earns Daiei Come From Behind Victory
Daiei Hawks leftfielder Pedro Valdez ripped a single to center in the bottom of the eighth Wednesday at Fukuoka Dome to drive in third baseman Munenori Kawasaki with the winning run to lend the birds of prey a 4-3 come brom behind victory over the Orix Blue Wave. Kazumi Saito is now 17-2 after his 15th straight triumph in which he went eight innings of three run ball on 11 hits in one of his most tenacious performances of the year.
Koo Dae-sung started for Orix and was letdown by his bullpen, as he went seven innings and permitted just two runs on five hits in seven innings to Japan's most productive offense to receive a whole lotta nothing.
DH Takeshi Yamasaki belted an 88mph Saito heater out with one gone in the second to put Orix up 1-0.
In the fourth, Saito got into more hot water when he surrendered a single to center to third baseman Koichi Oshima and, one out later, walked both leftfielder Roosevelt Brown and Yamasaki to load the bases. He then stepped it up by striking out rightfielder Ikuro Katsuragi and got second baseman Mitsutaka Goto on a fly to center to quell the trouble.
Saito's teammates then rewarded him by knotting up the game in the bottom of the frame, as Kawasaki singled to left and stole second. Two outs later, catcher Kenji Johjima singled to right for the tying run to make it 1-1.
But Saito would crack in the fifth, as catcher Takashi Miwa singled to left and, one out later, first baseman Kazuhiko Shiotani and Oshima singled to right to juice the bags. Centerfielder Yoshitomo Tani scorched a shot into the leftfield corner and Miwa and Shiotani came around for a 3-1 Orix lead.
Two more got on against Saito in the seventh with one out and two more in the eighth, but he wriggled free on each occasion. In that seventh, Daiei utilized a double off the leftfield wall by first baseman Nobuhiko Matsunaka and a one out double down the leftfield line by Valdes to shrink the deficit to 3-2.
Daisuke Kato ascended the hill to begin the eighth and the Hawks fed on him, as centerfielder Arihito Muramatsu walked and Kawasaki singled to center and Muramatsu wheeled on in to third. Kato was removed in favor of Hisashi Ogura. Kawasaki stole second. One out later, Matsunaka was intentionally walked to set up a double play possibility. Johjima lifted a fly ball to center and Muramatsu tagged up and hustled in with the tying run. Valdes smacked asingled to center and now it was Orix who was in the disadvantageous position 4-3.
Katsunori Okamoto mosied in from the bullpen and saw pinch hitter Takashi Hidaka whistle one of his pitches into the rightcenter alley for a double. However, Okamoto buckled down and struckout Shiotani, tempted Oshima into grounding to short and then whiffed Tani to put it in the books.
Saito is the first Hawks pitcher in 20 years, when the club was owned by Nankai, to win 17 games. The 15 consecutive victories is a new Hawks record as well.
For Orix, Brown was 0-3 with a walk and two strikeouts and is at .323.
For Daiei, Valdes was 2-4 with two RBIs and is at .309. DH Julio Zuleta was 0-3 with an HBP and two strikeouts and is at .273.
Pitching Lines:
Orix:
Koo IP 7.0 BF 27 PC 124 H 5 HR 0 K 9 BB 2 R 2 ER 2 ERA 4.98
D. Kato (L, 4-2) IP 0.0 BF 2 PC 9 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 2 ER 2 ERA 3.56
H. Ogura IP 1.0 BF 5 PC 20 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.97
Daiei:
K. Saito (W, 17-2) IP 8.0 BF 35 PC 132 H 11 HR 1 K 7 BB 3 R 3 ER 3 ERA 2.54
K. Okamoto IP 0.1 BF 2 PC 8 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.20
Shinohara (S, 6) IP 0.2 BF 2 PC 8 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.41
SB: K. Oshima, M.T. Goto, M. Kawasaki 2
2B: Tani, Matsunaka, P. Valdes, Hidaka
HR: T. Yamasaki (16)
RBI: Tani 2, T. Yamasaki, Johjima 2, P. Valdes 2
IBB: Matsunaka (H. Ogura)
SF: Johjima
HBP: Zuleta (Koo), Shibahara (Koo)
GIDP: Tani (6-4-3), Shibahara (4-3-6)
LOB: Orix 9, Daiei 6
Season Series: Orix 9, Daiei 14
Game Time: 3:21
Attendance: 48,000
Umpires: Hayashi (HP), Kakigizono (1B), Nagami (2B), Yamamura (3B)
Yamamoto, Otsuka Puts Tigers to Sleep 6-2
They should just leave Masahiro Yamamoto down in the minors for the first half of the season, when he has been largely useless the last couple of seasons, and then promote him after the all star break, when he seems to settle into a good groove. And groove he did Wednesday at Osaka Dome in front of another capacity crowd, as he limited the Tigers to two runs on seven hits in eight innings to scoop up his seventh win in a 6-2 Chunichi Dragons victory. Akinori Otsuka saved his tenth as Yankees officials and scouts took notes behind the plate.
Naohisa Sugiyama made his first pro start for Hanshin and the 2002 number one draft choice didn't show much, as he was tagged for five runs on five hits to absorb the loss.
Sugiyama opened the game by walking shortstop Hirokazu Ibata, who promptly stole second. Leftfielder Koichi Sekikawa dragged a ball up the first base line. Sugiyama got to it in good shape, but second baseman Makoto Imaoka was late in covering first and all Sugiyama could do was eat the ball. One out later, third baseman Kazuyoshi Tatsunami grounded to first and Ibata crossed to make it 1-0 Dragons.
Sugiyama had a 1-2-3 second inning, but then got lit up a bit in the third. With one away,Yamamoto singled to left. Ibata grounded into a 3-6 force play. Sekikawa reached on another infield hit, this one out near short, and rightfielder Kosuke Fukudome hit one on the screws to the centerfield fence and Ibata and Sekikawa both sprinted in to widen their team's lead to 3-0.
In the fourth, Yamamoto made his only big mistake of the night when first baseman Katsumi Hirosawa took him over the leftcenterfield wall to end the shutout at 3-1.
But Chunichi would grab that tally back. Araki walked to leadoff the fifth and was sacrificed to second. Ibata hammered a shot off the centerfield wall for an RBI double to knockout Sugiyama, who was spelled by another rookie, Hiroshi Santo. pinch hitter Takayuki Onishi walked. Fukudome singled to right on a slider to redeem Ibata and make it 5-1.
Yamamoto struckout the side in the bottom of the fifth and the Dragons offense produced another run in the sixth. Centerfielder Alex Ochoa outran a dribbler. Catcher Motonobu Tanishige walked. Araki singled to center to send Ochoa in and put Chunichi firmly in control at 6-1.
Yamamoto ran into his only real threat of the evening in the sixth when pinch hitter Taichiro Kamisaka singled to left and, one out later, centerfielder Norihiro Akahoshi seared a shot down the rightfield line to recall Kamisaka. Yamamoto then retired eight of the next nine before being touched for singles to left by leftfielder Tomoaki Kanemoto and Hirosawa to commence the ninth. Otsuka was called in and a groundout, infield foul popup and strikeout later, it was over.
Hanshin is 3-8 on this long roadtrip this far and when asked about it by reporters, manager Senichi Hoshino bit their heads off about focusing too much on this bad patch and not on what the ballclub has done for the entirety of the year. In ay event, this loss ensures that Hanshin will end up with a losing record on this excursion before they play their next home match.
Imaoka, aside from the mental lapse that helped lead to the first inning run for the Dragons, is 1-21 in his last five games and 4-44 on the road trip, a big reason why Hanshin's offense has been sputtering.
For Chunichi, Ochoa was 1-4 and is at .277. First baseman Omar Linares was 0-3 and is at .248.
For Hanshin, third baseman George Arias was 0-4 and is at .246.
Pitching Lines:
Chunichi:
M. Yamamoto (W, 7-4)IP 8.0 BF 31 PC 110 H 7 HR 1 K 6 BB 0 R 2 ER 2 ERA 3.07
A.N. Otsuka (S, 10) IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 14 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.78
Hanshin:
Sugiyama (L, 0-1) IP 4.1 BF 19 PC 78 H 5 HR 0 K 2 BB 2 R 5 ER 5 ERA 10.38
Santo IP 1.2 BF 10 PC 42 H 3 HR 0 K 2 BB 2 R 1 ER 1 ERA 1.93
Ishige IP 2.0 BF 6 PC 25 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Ando IP 0.2 BF 3 PC 14 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.18
Williams IP 0.1 BF 2 PC 7 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.50
SB: Ibata, Tatsunami
2B: Fukudome, Ibata, Akahoshi
HR: Hirosawa (2)
RBI: Ibata, Fukudome 3, Tatsunami, M. Araki, Kanemoto, Hirosawa
WP: Sugiyama
LOB: Chunichi 7, Hanshin 5
Season Series: Chunichi 10, Hanshin 13
Game Time: 3:23
Attendance: 48,000
Umpires: Watamari (HP), Arisumi (1B), Suginaga (2B), Manabe (3B)
Kawai Breaks Record While Kudoh Tosses Three Hitter
Kimiyasu Kudoh hasn't made all that may appearances for Yomiuri this season due to nagging injuries, but when he does take the hill, it is usually worth waiting for and Wednesday, he made a bit of club history when he spun a three hit shutout for his sixth victory in 2003 and 190th lifetime, besting a commendable outing by Yokohama Bay Stars starter Domingo Guzman by a 3-0 score. At 40 years old, Kudoh is now the oldest Yomiuri pitcher ever to toss a complete game goose egg fest since no other 40 year olds had done it before in team annals.
However, Yomiuri infielder Masahiro Kawai broke Philadelphia A's second baseman Eddie Collins's world record for sacrifice bunts with his 512th to overshadow Kudoh's accomplishment and becmome the chief point by which this game will be remembered.
The Giants obtained the only runs they would need in the second, when Koji Goto walked with two outs and Chris Latham, making his first start this season in centerfield, crushed a Guzman offering into the rightcenterfield seats for a 2-0 lead.
In the sixth, after shortstop Tomohiro Nioka had singled with one out, Kawai bunted an 88mph fastball a bit harder than he wanted. It got out to Guzman, who decided to go to first base with it and the new record was established. Guzman fanned the next two hitters to end the inning, but that was almost beside the point.
Yokohama had only one major scoring chance against Kudoh and that was in the seventh, when Tyrone Woods walked and leftfielder Takanori Suzuki singled to center. But second baseman Hitoshi Taneda lofted a big can of corn to rigth and rookie Shuichi Murata struckout and they wouldn't be heard from again until Woods singled with two outs in the ninth.
In the meantime, Giants leftfielder Roberto Petagine jerked his 23rd homer into the rightfield stands to make it 3-0. After that, though, this one was soon a memory and puts Yomiuri a season high six games over .500.
Four other pitchers have thrown shutouts after 40, the last one being Hiroshima great Yutaka Ono, who did it in 1997.
After the game, Kawai's teammates gave him the "doage (throwing him up in the air several times)" treatment to thunderous cheering from the Giants faithful.
For Yokohama, Woods was 1-3 with a walk and two strikeouts and is at .246.
For Yomiuri, Latham was 1-3 with two RBIs and is at .221. Petagine was 1-3 with an RBI and is at .305.
Pitching Lines:
Yokohama:
Guzman (L, 4-11) IP 7.0 BF 25 PC 100 H 4 HR 2 K 6 BB 1 R 3 ER 3 ERA 5.04
T.H. Kato IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 11 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.91
Yomiuri:
Kudoh (W, 6-3) IP 9.0 BF 32 PC 127 H 3 HR 0 K 9 BB 2 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.47
HR: Latham (5), Petagine (23)
RBI: Latham 2, Petagine
LOB: Yokohama 5, Yomiuri 1
Season Series: Yokohama 8, Yomiuri 17
Game Time: 2:27
Attendance: 55,000
Umpires: Uemoto (HP), Tani (1B), Kiuchi (2B), Kittaka (3B)
Suzuki Three Run Homer Big as Swallows Lick Carp 7-5
A three run homer capped off a five run rally for the Yakult Swallows in the seventh inning Wednesday at Hiroshima Municipal Stadium to get by the Hiroshima Carp 7-5. Yuhei Takai became the first Yakult rookie right out of high school since Keishi Asano in 1967 to win five games his initial year (Asano racked up eight), as he went 6.2 innings of four run ball, three of those earned, on four hits.
Ken Takahashi started for the Carp and was pummeled for six runs, four earned, on 12 hits, in six innings to go to 8-5.
Swallows third baseman Akinori Iwamura leadoff the game with a big fly into the rightfield bleachers for an instant 1-0 lead.
However, an Iwamura miscue would hand that right back in the bottom of the inning, as second baseman Takuya Kimura walked and was sacrificed to second. One out later, shortstop Andy Sheets grounded to Iwamura, who threw it away and Kimura was able to arrive at home safely to even it at 1-1.
In the fourth, Yakult got a double from catcher Atsuya Furuta and, one out later, second baseman Katsuyuki Dobashi singled to right. But Takai struckout and, following a walk to Iwamura that loaded the bases, shortstop Shinya Miyamoto struckout for a frustrating stanza.
During the home portion, first baseman Takahiro Arai connected for a two out solo homer to right and the Carp were at the head of the line 2-1.
Yakult massed for a concerted attack in the seventh, though they had some help. Iwamura leadoff with an infield hit. Miyamoto laid down a sac bunt. Catcher Yoshiyuki Ishihara pounced on it and winged the ball to second, where Iwamura slid in ahead of the peg and everyone was safe. Rightfielder Shinichi Sato grounded to Takahashi, who believed he had a shot at Iwamura at third, but he threw it down the leftfield line, both Iwamura and Miyamoto scampering around for a 3-2 Swallows advantage. Leftfielder Alex Ramirez beat out a ground ball toward third. Suzuki used his bat for a rocket launcher and deposited it in the rightcenterfield seats to expand that lead to 6-2 and send Takahashi to the showers. Yakult proceeded to load the bases with two outs, but Miyamoto struckout to inhibit any further scoring.
Hiroshima then created a disturbance of its own in the bottom of the stanza, as Ishihara singled to left and rightfielder Jun Hirose brazed one down the leftfield line. Kimura grounded to short to drive in Ishihara. One out later, Ryota Igarashi was summoned from the bullpen and centerfielder Koichi Ogata knocked it over the leftcenterfield fence to get within 6-5.
Ramirez made Igarashi feel a little better when, with one out in the eighth, he socked one into the leftfield bleachers to make it 7-5 Yakult. Hiroshima couldn't muster anything against Futoshi Yamabe and closer Shingo Takatsu and they had to settle for the loss.
For Yakult, Ramirez was 2-5 with an RBI and is at .331. First baseman Todd Betts was 1-5 with three strikeouts and is at .290.
For Hiroshima, Sheets was 0-3 with a walk and is at .320.
Pitching Lines:
Yakult:
Takai (W, 5-3) IP 6.2 BF 29 PC 111 H 4 HR 1 K 6 BB 4 R 4 ER 3 ERA 4.09
Ryo. Igarashi IP 0.1 BF 2 PC 7 H 1 HR 1 K 1 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.59
Yamabe IP 0.1 BF 3 PC 12 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.19
H. Sato IP 0.2 BF 1 PC 4 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.00
Takatsu (S, 26) IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 12 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.84
Hiroshima:
K. Takahashi (L, 8-5) IP 6.0 BF 32 PC 106 H 12 HR 2 K 7 BB 1 R 6 ER 4 ERA 3.56
S. Tamaki IP 2.0 BF 11 PC 42 H 3 HR 1 K 3 BB 2 R 1 ER 1 ERA 4.09
Sawazaki IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 9 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.08
E: K. Suzuki, K. Takahashi
SB: Sheets
2B: S. Sato, Furuta, Dobashi, Betts, J. Hirose,
HR: Iwamura (4), Ogata (22), K. Suzuki (14), T. Arai (8), Ramirez (27)
RBI: Iwamura, Ramirez, K. Suzuki 3, T. Kimura, Ogata 2, T. Arai
IBB: Iwamura (Tamaki)
WP: Takai, Yamabe
GIDP: K. Kimura (6-4-3)
LOB: Yakult 12, Hiroshima 6
Season Series: Yakult 11, Hiroshima 8 1 Tie
Game Time: 3:32
Attendance: 12,000
Umpires: T. Kobayashi (HP), Nishimoto (1B), Watada (2B), Shimada (3B)
Nippon Ham Ends Eight Game Sapporo Losing Streak 3-1
Winless in ten games at Sapporo this season, the Nippon Ham Fighters retarded the Kintetsu Buffaloes hopes of catching the Daiei Hawks when Itsuki Shoda held them to five hits over seven hits in a 3-1 Fighters victory. They are now 1-8-2 in the great white Japanese north in 2003.
Jeremy Powell started for Kintetsu and gave the opposition too many chances, surrendering nine hits and walking two in his 6.1 innings to be charged with all three runs in losing his 11th.
Powell was staked to a quick lead, as leftfielder Tuffy Rhodes hit a Shoda delivery off the end of the bat, but it kept carrying and landed in the centerfield seats for his 40th homer and a 1-0 Buffs lead.
Nippon Ham evened it in the second when third baseman Kuniyuki Kimoto singled to left and first baseman Yukio Tanaka singled to right. Second baseman Kensuke Tanaka reached on an infield hit. Powell struckout the next two men, but he walked centerfielder Tsutomu Ishimoto to force Kimoto in and make it 1-1.
In the seventh, Nippon Ham got an infield hit by catcher Shinji Takahashi, who would be erased on a 6-4 force on a groundout by Ishimoto. DH Tomochika Tsuboi doubled up the leftcenter gap and Ishimoto crossed with the lead run. Angel Echevarria singled to right to push Tsuboi in for a 3-1 Fighters advantage.
Kintetsu managed only two walks the rest of the game, as Yoshinori Tateyama got the last three outs to finish it.
For Kintetsu, Rhodes was 1-3 with a walk, an RBI and two strikeouts and is at .275. He is now tied for second all timewith former Hankyu Braves great Boomer Wells among all foreign players in career Japanese homers with 277. He is the seventh in history with 40 homers in three consecutive seasons, but he is the first foreigner to accomplish that.
For Nippon Ham, Echevarria 2-3 with an RBI and is at .253.
Pitching Lines:
Kintetsu:
Powell (L, 10-11) IP 6.1 BF 30 PC 114 H 9 HR 0 K 9 BB 2 R 3 ER 3 ERA 4.47
H. Koike IP 0.2 BF 2 PC 13 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.89
A. Okamoto IP 1.0 BF 4 PC 19 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.15
Nippon Ham:
Shoda (W, 5-10) IP 7.0 BF 27 PC 110 H 5 HR 1 K 4 BB 3 R 1 ER 1 ERA 5.13
A. Shimizu IP 0.2 BF 3 PC 19 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.63
Tateyama (S, 14) IP 1.1 BF 5 PC 23 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.30
E: Yoshioka
SB: Isobe, Tsuboi, Morimoto
2B: Tsuboi
HR: Rhodes (40)
RBI: Rhodes, Ishimoto, Tsuboi, Echevarria
WP: A. Shimizu
GIDP: Ueda (4-6-3), Mizuguchi (6-4-3), N. Nakamura (5-4-3)
LOB: Kintetsu 7, Nippon Ham 9
Season Series: Kintetsu 15, Nippon Ham 9
Game Time: 3:25
Attendance: 16,000
Umpires: Tachibana (HP), Nakamura (1B), Tsugawa (2B), Kawaguchi (3B)
Team Reports
Yomiuri Yomiuri officials visited Waseda University shortstop Takashi Toritani Wednesday and didn't promise him that he would get the starting shortstop's job, saying that he would have to compete with Tomohiro Nioka for that slot. They did offer to ensure that he would start opening day of his rookie year, though, while also emphasizing how the team brought along Hideki Matsui, Yoshinobu Takahashi and other players and made them stars. According to Sports Nippon, he is expected to make his decision by the 25th.
Daiei Fuji TV is frantically attempting to patch things up with the Hawks and manager Sadaharu Oh, issuing a ten second on air apology. That has seemed to mollify Oh, if the quotes he is credited with in Hochi Sports are accurate.
Koshien Tournament Yu Darvish threw a 154 pitch 15 strikeout 11 inning 1-0 shutout against Heian High School, holding the Kyoto nine to two hits. The big Iranian-Japanese Osaka native was alcoked at 92mph and had a pair of knocks at the plate as well. His sinker was really working and his breaking pitches were sharp. The winning run came on a two out ground ball by third baseman Masayoshi Kato that he rifled between short and third with men on first and second. Heian lefty Daisuke Hattori blew away 17 hitters during his 158 pitch extravaganza, 16 of those in regulation. He permitted seven hits. Keep in mind that both of these guys are only juniors. And if Darvish isn't signed by some MLB team by this time next year, their chances of seeing more Koshien action are good indeed. Tohoku now moves into the quarterfinals for the first time since they werelesad by a guy named Kazuhiro Sasaki in 1985. By the way, game time was 2:15. No, that isn't a typo....Shizuoka High School bowed out of the tourney when they were blanked by Joso Gakuin High School 7-0. Southpaw Sho Nihei, their number three starter, opened on the mound for this one and was brilliant, surrendering three hits and striking out eight in 6.1 innings before he was pulled in favor of reliever Hideaki Iijima, who scattered two hits over the final 2.2 innings to secure the victory. Shizuoka ace Kenta Tsuruta had control problems that were exacerbated by Joso running wild on him, as he was ultimately charged with five runs, four earned, on seven walks, three wild pitches and just two hits to get hung with the loss. Joso head coach Yukio Kiuchi made the decision to send Nihei out the night before and there were many puzzled expressions on the faces of reporters when Nihei was announced. His team now advances to the quarterfinals....Kosei Gakuin High School crept past Kurashiki Kogyo High School 2-0. Kosei ace Yasuhiro Kuwazuru snuffed Kurashiki's offense on four hits in a complete game shutout, working the ball in and out. No runner made it to third and he struckout seven and walked one....In the only laugher of the day, Iwakuni High School whipped Fukui Shogyo HIgh School 12-4. 14 batters went to the plate in the fourth inning and produced ten runs for Iwakuni on two walks, three HBPs, an error, and five hits to put this one away early and allow them to make their first ever quarterfinal appearance. Rightfielder and one hole hitter Naohiro Otao (I hope I have that last name right) went 3-5 with five RBIs, including a two run single and a double to center during that big uprising, to spearhead the rout.
In the News
Ichiro "Mr. Baseball?"
See story at: Oregonian Article
Mets' Seo May See Post Season Action
See story at: Newark Star-Ledger Article
Today's Pictures
Trey Hillman Doffs His Cap to Fans After First Sapporo Victory
Yu Darvish Delivering the Ball
Daisuke Hattori Displays Nice Form
