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08/27/2003 Archived Entry: "Japanese Baseball News: Angels Deny Tampering Charge; Sato first Career Homer Slams Daiei"
Sato Slam Trumps Two Johjima Blasts to Beat Daiei 10-8
Seibu Lions centerfielder Tomoaki Sato made his first career homer really count, as he thundered a grand slam in the fifth Monday at Seibu Dome off of Daiei Hawks starter Tsuyoshi Wada to put the Tokorozawa nine in front in a 10-8 Lions victory. Hawks catcher Kenji Johjima slugged a pair of homers and drove in four to become the first backstop to rack up 101 RBIs since Nankai hall of famer Katsuya Nomura did it in 1972, but it wasn't enough in this one.
Wada, in surrendering a career high eight runs on six hits, two of which became souvenirs, now leads the Pacific League in homers given up with 23. He had owned Seibu up to this point, winning five games in six starts against them this year until running into a buzz saw here.
Lions starter Fumiya Nishiguchi was credited with the triumph, but he knew he didn't have anything to be proud of, as he was tattooed for six runs, all earned, on nine hits, including the two Johjima blasts, in six innings on the hill.
Nishiguchi was off early, as he was touched for a single to center by second baseman Tadahito Iguchi with two outs in the first and then walked first baseman Nobuhiko Matsunaka and Johjima to load the bases. But leftfielder Pedro Valdes into flying out to left to snuff the uprising.
Wada had an auspicious beginning, striking out the side in the bottom of the frame. His teammates with the sticks then went on the chain gang in the second. DH Julio Zuleta kicked it off with a double into the leftfield corner and he scampered home on a triple up the rightcenter gap by centerfielder Kazuyuki Takahashi. One out later, rightfielder Hiroshi Shibahara flew out to center and the speedster Takahashi tagged up and busted for the plate to make it 2-0 Hawks.
Seibu made its presence felt in the home portion, as first baseman Alex Cabrera absolutely destroyed a Nishiguchi delivery, depositing it on a service hallway behind the leftfield stands for his first roundtripper in seven games and first since his son Ramon entered the country for an extended visit to shrink the deficit to 2-1.
Daiei then picked up another pair in the third when Iguchi singled to center and, one out later, Johjima creamed one into the leftfield bleachers to expand their advantage to 4-1.
Again, the Lions would keep it close, as second baseman Hiroshi Hirao, freshly promoted from the minors, walked to open the third and hustled to third on a single to right by rightfielder Tatsuya Ozeki. Leftfielder Kazuhiro Wada flew out to left and Hirao tagged up and crossed to make it 4-2 Hawks.
Johjima tacked on another one in the fifth, when he guided Nishiguchi on a tour of the leftfield seats again and it was 5-2 Daiei.
Wada, however, was devastated in the bottom of the stanza. With one down, Hirao walked. Shortstop Kazuo Matsui wacked a double into the leftfield corner. Ozeki spanked a single to center to recall Hirao. Wada singled to left to plate Matsui. One out later, DH Taketoshi Goto walked to pack the sacks. Sato got behind 1-2. Wada attempted to spot a fastball on the outside corner but left it out over the plate and Sato ripped a missile deep into the leftfield stands for the grand salami and an 8-5 Lions lead.
Daiei kept the offense coming, though, as Shibahara singled to center with two gone and third baseman Munenori Kawasaki pounded a shot off the centerfield wall and Shibahara steamed across while Kawasaki eased into second with a double to make it 8-6.
Makoto Sato and Kazuyuki Hoashi quieted things for a while, but Seibu setup man Shinji Mori experienced some difficulty in the eighth. With one out, Takahashi singled to left, the ball getting by leftfielder to allow him to move into scoring position. Noriyoshi Omichi, pinch hitting for shortstop Yusuke Torigoe, singled to center to push Takahashi in and bring it within 8-7.
Katsunori Okamoto, who has been one of Sadaharu Oh's best bullpen performers this season, struckout the first two men who stepped in against him in the bottom of the inning, but then he walked third baseman Scott McClain. Pinch hitter Hiroyuki Oshima singled to left. Hirao played wall ball with the centerfield fence and McClain scored without a play while Oshima blazed around from first base ahead of the relay for two big insurance runs and a 10-8 Lions advantage.
Daiei wouldn't go quietly, even against the most dominant closer in Japan right now, Kiyoshi Toyoda. In the top of the ninth, Kawasaki singled to right and Iguchi singled to left. One out later, Johjima singled to left to redeem Kawasaki. Valdez torqued one, but it was right at Hirao for the second out. Zuleta, with a chance to put his team ahead with one pass of the bat, grounded out harmlessly to second and now Seibu's 21 straight years of winning the season series with the Hawks is finally a thing of the past.
The last Lions player to make his first pro tater a bases loaded longball was lefthanded hitting outfielder Osamu Abe in 1987 against Nankai on June 13, 1987. Abe would have a 13 season career (1984-1996) with 35 total homers and a .255 lifetime average.
Sato says that he remembers hitting Wada pretty well while he was at Keio University and Wada was at rival Waseda University and he has taken that into the pros, as he is now 6-16 (.375) against the gifted lefthander.
The RBI record for a catcher in one season is 135 by Nomura in 1963, when he clouted 52 homers (.618 SLG, 340 TB).
For Daiei, Valdes was 0-4 with a walk and is at .300. Zuleta was 1-5 with two strikeouts and is at .278.
For Seibu, Cabrera was 1-4 with an RBI and is at .324. McClain was 0-3 with a walk and is at .237.
Pitching Lines:
Daiei:
T. Wada (L, 12-4)IP 4.2 BF 24 PC 94 H 6 HR 2 K 7 BB 4 R 8 ER 8 ERA 3.33
M. Sato IP 2.1 BF 7 PC 28 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.55
K. Okamoto IP 0.2 BF 5 PC 27 H 2 HR 0 K 2 BB 1 R 2 ER 2 ERA 3.43
H.K. Watanabe IP 0.1 BF 2 PC 6 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.35
Seibu:
Nishiguchi (W, 6-3) IP 6.0 BF 30 PC 118 H 9 HR 2 K 4 BB 3 R 6 ER 6 ERA 6.48
Hoashi IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 12 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.32
S. Mori IP 1.0 BF 4 PC 15 H 2 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 1 ER 0 ERA 2.11
Toyoda (S, 32) IP 1.0 BF 6 PC 16 H 3 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 0.96
E: K. Wada
2B: Zuleta, K. Matsui, M. Kawasaki, Hirao
3B: K.Y. Takahashi
HR: Cabrera (39), Johjima 2 (28), T. Sato (1)
RBI: Shibahara, M. Kawasaki, Johjima 4, K.Y. Takahashi, Omichi, Ozeki, K. Wada 2,
Cabrera, T. Sato 4, Hirao 2
SF: Shibahara, K. Wada
GIDP: Cabrera (5-4-3), Shibahara (6-3)
LOB: Daiei 8, Seibu 4
Season Series: Daiei 13, Seibu 10
Game Time: 3:36
Attendance: 39,000
Umpires: Yamamoto (HP), Kawaguchi (1B), Tsugawa (2B), Higashi (3B)
Kintetsu Can't Gain on Daiei Due to Defeat by Lotte
The Chiba Lotte Marines frustrated the Kintetsu Buffaloes once again in the Osaka nine's quest to get back into the pennant race with the Daiei Hawks, as they ran up a four spot in the third inning to overcome a 3-0 deficit and then white knuckled it the rest of the way for the victory. If Kintetsu ultimately finishes second or third, they can look to their .500 performance against fifth place Lotte as the reason.
Ken Kadokura started for Kintetsu and was in there for only a little over two innings, as he was deemed responsible for all four runs. To add insult to injury, literally, he complained of discomfort in his shoulder and was taken off the roster to rehab it.
Hiroyuki Kobayashi, under the windy conditions at Japan's Candlestick Park, Chiba Marine Stadium, was having command issues with his breaking pitches in the first inning and took some knocks for it. But he found a groove from the second inning on and silenced the Buffs bats until he left after the eighth, when they made closer Masahide Kobayashi (no relation) sweat before the game ended on a boneheaded baserunning decison.
I don't know if this is the case, but it seems to me that triples leading off games are rarer than homers in a similar instance, but we had one of those times Monday, as centerfielder Naoyuki Omura saw a pitch so nice that he touched the bases thrice after volleying it into the rightcenter gap. Second baseman Eiji Muzuguchi laced a double down the leftfield line for an RBI double and went to third on a groundout. DH Norihiro Nakamura grounded out to short for the second out, but first baseman Yuji Yoshioka mortared one into the leftfield bleachers to make it 3-0.
Lotte was hitless until shortstop Makoto Kosaka doubled down the rightfield line in the third. Rightfielder Saburo Omura doubled to rightcenter to drive him in. Centerfielder Jun Inoue crushed a shot off the centerfield wall to plate Omura. First baseman Kazuya Fukuura walked. One out later, second baseman Koichi Hori singled to center to even it at 3-3. Leftfielder Rick Short walked to load the bases. Kanehisa Arime replaced Kadokura. Pinch hitter Kiyoshi Hatsushiba grounded to second and Fukuura was in for a one run edge at 4-3.
Lotte had an opportunity to make themselves more comfortable in the seventh when third baseman Jose Fernandez singled to right with one gone, Hori singled to center and Short walked to juice the bags. However, catcher Masaumi Shimizu grounded into a 4-6-3 twin killing and that was that.
Masahide Kobayashi entered the game to commence the ninth and he struckout Nakamura. Yoshioka singled to right. Rightfielder Koichi Isobe flied out to center. Pinch hitter Kenshi Kawaguchi singled to right. Yoshioka thought that he could reach third. Unfortunately, he was wrong, as Saburo Omura gunned him down for the last out. What's that rule about not making the last out at third base? Yoshioka must not have heard about it.
For Kintetsu, Rhodes was 0-4 and is at .276.
For Lotte, Fernandez was 2-4 and is at .267. Short was 0-1 with three walks and is at .275.
Pitching Lines:
Kintetsu:
Kadokura (L, 6-3) IP 2.1 BF 15 PC 75 H 4 HR 0 K 2 BB 4 R 4 ER 4 ERA 3.82
Arime IP 4.0 BF 15 PC 60 H 2 HR 0 K 3 BB 2 R 0 ER 0 ERA 6.00
A. Okamoto IP 0.2 BF 4 PC 11 H 2 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3,94
Maekawa IP 1.0 BF 5 PC 22 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 2 R 0 ER 0 ERA 6.75
Lotte:
H.Y. Kobayashi (W, 5-10) IP 8.0 BF 30 PC 108 H 4 HR 1 K 5 BB 2 R 3 ER 3 ERA 3.56
M.H. Kobayashi (S, 22) IP 1.0 BF 4 PC 12 H 2 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.10
SB: Isobe, Hatsushiba, Kosaka
2B: Mizuguchi, Kosaka, S. Omura, J. Inoue,
3B: N. Omura
HR Yoshioka (14)
RBI: Mizuguchi, Yoshioka 2, S. Omura, J. Inoue, Hori, Hatsushiba
IBB: S. Omura (Arime), Satozaki (Maekawa)
WP: Kadokura, Maekawa
GIDP: M. Shimizu (4-6-3), Fukuura (6-4-3)
LOB: Kintetsu 4, Lotte 11
Season Series: Kintetsu 10, Lotte 10 1 Tie
Game Time: 3:36
Attendance: 25,000
Umpires: Yanagita (HP), Nakamura (1B), Kodera (2B), Yamazaki (3B)
Orix Hangs on for 4-3 Victory
The Orix Blue Wave got a run in the second and then three in the third and were able to barely defend that advantage, as they were victorious over the Nippon Ham Fighters Monday at Kobe Green Stadium 4-3. Centerfielder Yoshitomo Tani drove in a pair of runs for Orix to spur the team to the winner's circle.
Fighters third baseman Michihiro Ogasawara put his side ahead in the first when he mashed a 2-2 87mph fastball from Orix starter Hiroshi Kobayashi into the rightfield stands to make it 1-0.
But Orix soon rubbed that advantage out, as second baseman Jose Ortiz singled to right with one out and stole second. One out later, Ryutaro Tsuji singled to center to wave Ortiz in to make it 1-1.
Next time up, Orix buffeted Nippon Ham starter Hiroyuki Sekine with a double down the rightfield line by Mitsutaka Goto, a walk to first baseman Kazuhiko Shiotani and a single to right from third baseman Koichi Oshima that loaded the bases. Tani doubled off the leftfield wall and Goto and Shiotani crossed easily on the two run double. Leftfielder Roosevelt Brown was intentionally walked to set up a force at every base. Ortiz flied out to center and Oshima tagged up and visited the dish for a 4-1 Blue Wave lead.
In the fifth, though, Nippon Ham got in Orix' face with a one out single to left by shortstop Makoto Kaneko, a single to right from centerfielder Tsutomu Ishimoto, a ground out that advanced the runners, walk to Ogasawara that packed the sacks, and a double down the leftfield line by Angel Echevarria that plated Kaneko and Ishimoto and made it 4-3. Kimoto, however, grounded out to second to blunt what could have been a full comeback. Kazuya Motoyanagi and Hisashi Ogura then no hitted the Fighters the remainder of the contest and it was tiume to go home.
Kobayashi thus ended a four game Orix losing streak as well as a personal six game skid.
As a side note, Orix DH Takeshi Yamasaki got tossed by the plate umpire for showing him up after taking called strike three.
For Nippon Ham, Echevarria was 2-4 with two RBIs and two strikeouts and is at .263. DH D.T. Cromer was 0-4 and is at .197.
For Orix, Brown was 0-3 with a walk and is at .320. Ortiz was 1-3 with an RBI and is at .257.
Pitching Lines:
Nippon Ham:
Sekine (L, 5-5) IP 5.0 BF 25 PC 87 H 7 HR 0 K 4 BB 3 R 4 ER 4 ERA 5.92
Shibakusa IP 1.1 BF 5 PC 14 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.12
A. Shimizu IP 1.2 BF 4 PC 9 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.56
Orix:
H. Kobayashi (W, 3-6) IP 5.0 BF 23 PC 96 H 6 HR 1 K 6 BB 2 R 3 ER 3 ERA 5.37
Motoyanagi IP 2.0 BF 8 PC 36 H 0 HR 0 K 3 BB 2 R 0 ER 0 ERA 6.02
H. Ogura (S, 2) IP 2.0 BF 6 PC 29 H 0 HR 0 K 3 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.88
E: Ortiz
SB: Ortiz
2B: M.T. Goto, Tani, Echevarria
HR: M. Ogasawara (26)
RBI: M. Ogasawara, Echevarria 2, Tani 2, Ortiz, R. Tsuji
SF: Ortiz
IBB: Brown (Sekine)
GIDP: Brown (4-6-3)
LOB: Nippon Ham 7, Orix 6
Season Series: Nippon Ham 11, Orix 9 2 Ties
Game Time: 3:11
Attendance: 18,000
Umpires: Shirai (HP), Maeda (1B), Kakigizono (2B), Hayashi (3B)
Team Reports
Yomiuri The Giants front office is in a panic due to a steep decline in the club's tv ratings, sinking into the 9.5% range. Sankei Sports points out that this isn't the first time that they have sunk into single digits in recent years, but considering that Opening Day drew the lowest rating ever for that occasion, 16.2%....According to Sports Nippon, Yomiuri will put on the full court press to sign big Tohoku University righthander Yu Darvish for the 2004 November draft. Darvish is also interested in playing in MLB and has had feelers from big league scouts about that. His fastball maxes out at 92mph and he also throws a sinker, a knuckle curve and a slider. His body is projectiable and should be able to reach the high 90's by the time he matures. Any major league team can sign him right now since he is 17.
Yakult The Swallows and future Hall of Fame catcher Atsuya Furuta are reportedly close in principal on a new contract that may see him named playing manager as well as be awarded a nice fat pay raise. But just where this leaves incumbent shot caller Tsutomu Wakamatsu, who has done a great job and took his club to one Japan Series title, is in an unfair position. Sports Nippon purports that Furuta could take over as soon as 2005. Wakamatsu's current deal ends after next season. Both men are considered "Mr. Swallows," but at this point, Yakult seems to believe that the veteran backstop has more marquee value. Imagine the Yankees firing Joe Torre so that Derek Jeter could take over the team. That's what this is like.
Hanshin Second baseman Makoto Imaoka, under the weather the last few days with diarrhea, is apparently just suffering from fatigue, as he has reportedly lost 10kg (22 pounds) to 165 pounds over the course of the season. He is taking an intravenous drip to ameliorate the dehydration from the diarrhea....Centerfielder Norihiro Akahoshi normally loses quite a bit of weight when the weather heats up, but this season, he is eating two servings of donburi (a rice dish topped with egg and usually some kind of meat) at each lunchtime and has been able to keep his weight stable as a result....Atsushi Kataoka, who is rehabbing a bad oblique muscle, made an appearance in a minor league game Monday and went 0-1 with a walk. They are also hoping to have outfielder Shinjiro Hiyama back beginning September 2nd. He took batting practice today at the team's Naruohama training site. Finally, injured righthander Keiichi Yabu has started throwing in the bullpen again after going down with elbow discomfort. He threw 28 pitches and says that he is gradually able to throw harder. He hopes to be ready by mid-September.
Chunichi The Dragons front office is taking a long look at Hachinohe University righthander Satoru Ishikawa, says Chunichi Sports. Ishikawa, six foot and 200 pounds, couples a fastball that maxes out at 93mph with two different sliders, one of them that really dives like Akinori Otsuka's. They envision him as a future closer. This past spring at university, he compiled an 0.33 ERA in nine games. Kintetsu is also interested, but Ishikawa is rumored to have a more positive view of the Dragons. If Kintetsu can't lure him, they may decide to go after Ryota Kozuki, who is currently with Toshiba's industrial league club.
Hiroshima Number one starter Shinji Sasaoka has a back problem and has been taken off the roster (while I've used that term before, there is no actual disabled list in Japanese baseball).
Orix Next season may see the club with an outfield of Roosevelt Brown in left, Yoshitomo Tani in center and Todd Hollandsworth in right, according to Hochi Sports. Hollandsworth himself says that he will play in Japan next year, though there is not as yet any deal concluded with Orix. Team officials also say that they are going to release the often striking out Scott Sheldon and will retain Brown (a no brainer) and Jose Ortiz (???!). Question: Hollandsworth is an injury machine. I'm not sure that he is a very good candidate for playing in Japan from a physical standpoint, but manager Leon Lee, I'm sure, will keep a close eye on Todd's health. On the other hand, Todd is also an old school player and some of his aches and pains have been due to his hustling style. Here's to hoping this works out.
Miscellaneous This year's likely top draft choice, Waseda University shortstop Takashi Toritani, is going to put off making his decision until an unspecified future date. He had said that he would make his decision this week, but that's not going to happen now....Look for this headline in the future: Little League Kids Offered World Series Trip by Boca Raton Businessman; NCAA Declares Them All Ineligible if They Get to College.
In the News
Angels Deny Tampering Charge
You will have to scroll down toward the end of the piece for it. A kind thank you to Doug Miller at MLB.com for the head's up on it. See story at: L.A. Times Article
Kawai's 512 to be Unknown Record
See story at: Japan Times Article
Japan Heaps Praise on its Little League Champs
See story at: China Post Article
See related story at: Sydney Hills News Article
Japan Little Leaguers Meet Godzilla Matsui
See story at: Japan Times Article
Bobby Bonds: a Remembrance
Jack Gallagher has a great piece on the passing of Bobby Bonds. See story at: Japan Times Article
Australian Gold Coast Hosts Women's Baseball Championships
See story at: ABC Regional Online Article
By the way, the name of the town in Japan isn't "Zoo City," it's "Zushi," which is between Tokyo and Kamakura. A nice community judging by the couple of hours I once spent there with some coworkers at a bowling alley.
Quote of the Day
I won't cite one here since this piece is full of them. The one about Stuart Scott and "boo-yah" is a classic. See story at: Chicago Sun-Times Article
Today's Pictures
Takashi Toritani during practice at Waseda University
Satoru Ishikawa in a Recent Practice Session
Hiroyuki Kobayashi Finishing One of His Pitches
