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09/13/2003 Archived Entry: "Japanese Baseball News: Yamada Gets His Walking Papers; Echevarria Takes Five"
Minchey Impedes Seibu Pennant Drive 4-2
Nate Minchey had Seibu Lions runners on all game long, having given up ten hits and hitting a batter in seven innings, but only two of those scored and lead by leftfielder Rick Short's two RBIs, Lotte cadged four tallies and handed the Tokorozawa side a big 4-2 defeat that moved it another game back in the Pacific League standings.
Chang Chia-chiah started for Seibu and continues to be a mystery. After an often sparkling second half off 2002, his ERA was inflated to almost 5.00 Monday by being cuffed around for four runs in 4.1 innings to fall to 7-6. This was the year that MLB scouts had predicted that Chang, had he signed with a big league club, would be fully ready to go into a somebody's rotation, but he's having trouble holding on to his spot with the Japanese outfit.
The Lions had a chance to really wack Minchey good in the first, as centerfielder Tatsuya Ozeki cracked a one out single to center, leftfielder Kazuhiro Wada singled to right and first baseman Alex Cabrera was plunked to load the bases. However, rightfielder Hiroyuki Oshima grounded into a rare 3-2-3 double play to squander the opportunity.
Finally, after each side had made a minor scoring threat or two, Lotte broke through in the fourth when DH Koichi Hori singled to right on an 0-1 pitch to extend his hitting streak to 15 games and third baseman Jose Fernandez walked. Short jumped on the first pitch he saw and doubled into the rightcenter alley and while Hori scored easily, Fernandez lumbered in from first to make it 2-0. Short was sacrificed to third. One out later, second baseman Masato Watanabe doubled to leftcenter for an RBI and it was 3-0.
In the fifth, first baseman Kazuya Fukuura leadoff with a double to leftcenter and went to third on a groundout. Hori singled to center to plate Fukuura to make it 4-0 Lotte.
Seibu first baseman Alex Cabrera ripped a double down the leftfield line to kick off the sixth and, one out later, DH Yoshihito Ishii doubled down the rightfield line to convert Cabrera, but Minchey then induced a foul out and a strikeout to limit the damage to the one run and Lotte still maintained a 4-1 advantage.
The Lions posted another tally in the eighth with a single to center by Wada, a one out single to center by Oshima and a double to left by Yoshihito Ishii to make it 4-2. That would be all, though, since Lotte closer Masahide Kobayashi retired three of four men he faced in the ninth to seal it.
Lotte has won five in a row and it ended an eight game losing streak against Seibu.
While Chang hasn't won in over a month, Minchey is 3-0 with a 1.29 ERA this season against the Lions and has a four game winning skein against them.
For Lotte, Fernandez was 0-3 with a walk and is at .282. Short was 1-4 with two RBIs and is at .304.
For Seibu, Cabrera was 1-3 with an HBP and is at .327. McClain was 1-4 and is at .235.
Pitching Lines:
Lotte:
Minchey (W, 12-7) IP 7.0 BF 29 PC 105 H 10 HR 0 K 3 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 4.49
Sikorsky IP 1.0 BF 6 PC 25 H 3 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.35
M.H. Kobayashi (S, 26)IP 1.0 BF 4 PC 13 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.35
Seibu:
Chang (L, 7-6) IP 4.1 BF 22 PC 83 H 7 HR 0 K 3 BB 2 R 4 ER 4 ERA 4.79
T. Shiozaki IP 1.2 BF 5 PC 25 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.84
Mitsui IP 0.2 BF 4 PC 20 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 5.52
Hoashi IP 2.1 BF 8 PC 29 H 1 HR 0 K 3 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.20
SB: Hori
2B: McClain, Kosaka, Short, M. Watanabe, H.Y. Oshima, Fukuura, Cabrera, Y. Ishii
2, Hori
RBI: Hori, Short 2, M. Watanabe, Y. Ishii 2
HBP: Cabrera (Minchey)
GIDP: H.Y. Oshima (3-2-3), McClain (6-4-3), Ozeki (6-3)
LOB: Lotte 8, Seibu 10
Season Series: Lotte 7, Seibu 16
Game Time: 3:13
Attendance: 15,000
Umpires: Yanagita (HP), Kawaguchi (1B), Akimura (2B), Sato (3B)
Valdes, Sugiuchi Combine to Give Hawks More Breathing Room
Daiei Hawks leftfielder Pedro Valdes homered and drove in three runs Monday at Fukuoka Dome to back another outstanding appearance by Toshiya Sugiuchi, who went seven innings of two hit, one run ball, striking out nine and walked one against the fading Kintetsu Buffaloes to put the birds of prey back up by 4.5 games in the PL pennant race and reduce their magic number to 14. Sugiuchi has now won six in a row.
The Buffs had a temporary lead in the first, as centerfielder Shinji Shimoyama walked to open the game and was sacrificed to second. One out later, DH Norihiro Nakamura singled to left to plate Shimoyama and make it 1-0.
But in the bottom of the second, Valdes then punished a 1-1 fastball on the inner half of the plate and left it in the rightcenterfield bleachers to knot it at 1-1.
Sugiuchi struckout the side in the third and was rewarded with some offensive production in the home half. With one out, Kintetsu starter Kevin Beirne hit third baseman Munenori Kawasaki and second baseman Tadahito Iguchi walked. First baseman Nobuhiko Matsunaka doubled to leftcenter and Kawasaki was in. Catcher Kenji Johjima flied out to right and Iguchi tagged up and crossed while Matsunaka also tagged up and hustled to third. Beirne threw a wild pitch and Matsunaka went home and it was 4-1 Hawks.
Daiei let a two on, no out, and a bases loaded two out opportunity get away in the fifth and had to wait until Hideo Koike came on in the seventh to put some more space between them and the Buffaloes. Kawasaki and Iguchi each walked and moved up on a groundout to first. Johjima was intentionally walked. Valdes then got a low fastball and seared it into the rightfield corner for a two run double. DH Julio Zuleta singled near the line in left and Valdez completed the circuit for a comfortable 7-1 Hawks lead.
In the ninth, the Buffs got a single to center by pinch hitter Naoyuki Omura and, one out later, leftfielder Tuffy Rhodes walked against reliever Hirokazu Watanabe. Makoto Sato was summoned from the bullpen and struckout Nakamura and tempted Yoshioka into grounding to third to close it out.
Matsunaka batted .405 with seven homers and 32 RBIs in August and if Daiei is going to pull away, they will be counting on him to do something similar in the rest of September.
For Daiei, Valdes was 2-2 with two walks and three RBIs and is at .316. Zuleta was 1-4 with an RBI and is at .264.
For Kintetsu, Rhodes was 0-3 with a walk and two strikeouts and is at .271.
Pitching Lines:
Kintetsu:
Beirne (L, 6-7) IP 6.0 BF 28 PC 115 H 6 HR 1 K 7 BB 5 R 4 ER 4 ERA 4.92
H. Koike IP 0.2 BF 5 PC 17 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 3 R 3 ER 3 ERA 4.21
Aikyo IP 0.1 BF 1 PC 1 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.96
S. Yamamoto IP 1.0 BF 4 PC 17 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 5.70
Daiei:
Sugiuchi (W, 9-7) IP 7.0 BF 24 PC 103 H 2 HR 0 K 9 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 2.97
K. Okamoto IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 10 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.40
H.K. Watanabe IP 0.1 BF 3 PC 10 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.76
M. Sato IP 0.2 BF 2 PC 9 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.00
E: M. Kawasaki
SB: M. Kawasaki
2B: Matsunaka, P. Valdes
HR: P. Valdes (23)
RBI: N. Nakamura, Matsunaka, Johjima, P. Valdes 3, Zuleta
SF: Johjima
IBB: P. Valdes (Beirne)
WP: Beirne 2
HBP: M. Kawasaki (Beirne)
GIDP: A. Fujii (6-4-3), Shibahara (4-6-3)
LOB: Kintetsu 4, Daiei 7
Season Series: Kintetsu 9, Daiei 12
Game Time: 3:04
Attendance: 48,000
Umpires: Higashi (HP), Nagami (1B), Hayshi (2B), Yamamura (3B)
Echevarria Ninth Inning RBI Single Ends Fighters Losing Streak
A single to center with two on in the bottom of the ninth inning Monday at Tokyo Dome by Nippon Ham Fighters leftfielder Angel Echevarria off of reliever Hisashi Ogura pinned another loss on the Orix Blue Wave for the Fighters first September victory in a 5-4 final. Echevarria drove in all of his team's runs.
Rui Makino started for the Kobe side and was ineffective once again, permitting four runs on seven hits in 4.1 innings.
Satoru Kanemura started for Nippon Ham and left with a 4-2 lead after 7.2 strong innings, but reliever Yoshinori Tateyama allowed Orix to it up in the top of the ninth and then emerged with the win upon Echevarria obtaining the game turning hit.
Orix struck for a 1-0 lead in the second when second baseman Jose Ortiz rocked one over the leftfield fence with two outs.
Nippon Ham knotted it back up in the third, though, as centerfielder Tatsuya Ide walked and, one out later, third baseman Michihiro Ogasawara doubled down the leftfield line. Echevarria singled to left for the RBI and it was 1-1.
The Fighters then tacked on three more in the fifth, as Ide doubled into the leftfield corner and was sacrificed to third. Ogasawara walked. Echevarria murdered a Makino delivery and left the remains in the centerfield stands to make it 4-1 Fighters.
Orix made it a two run ballgame in the sixth when rightfielder Ikuro Katsuragi smashed his first dinger in three months to rightcenterfield to put it at 4-2 Nippon Ham.
In the bottom of the frame, Nippon Ham squandered a men on second and third, one out chance when Ide struckout and rightfielder Tomochika Tsuboi lined out to short. This would become important later on since if they converted this opportunity, the bottom of the ninth wouldn't have been necessary.
So on to the top of the ninth and third baseman Koichi Oshima doubled down the rightfield line leading off. Centerfielder Yoshitomo Tani hit it hard, too, but right at shortstop Makoto Kaneko. Leftfielder Roosevelt Brown, though, clocked a shot into the rightcenterfield bleachers to level the score at 4-4.
Ogura would try to hold the line and failed, as Ide opened the bottom of the stanza with a double down the rightfield line. One out later, Orix manager Leon Lee thought that intentionally walking Ogasawara and his more than 1.200 OPS was a good idea even if it meant that Echevarria, who already had chased four runs across the plate on the night, would be the next man up. The former Cub got a slider and rapped it off the end of the bat into centerfield as Ide hurried to the plate to put the W in Nippon Ham's column.
For Orix, Brown was 1-4 with two RBIs and is at .311. Ortiz was 2-4 with an RBI and is at .255.
For Nippon Ham, Echevarria was 4-5 with five RBIs and is at .276.
Pitching Lines:
Orix:
Makino IP 4.1 BF 23 PC 90 H 7 HR 1 K 3 BB 3 R 4 ER 4 ERA 5.16
J. Hagiwara IP 1.1 BF 5 PC 23 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 7.17
Iwashita IP 0.2 BF 2 PC 8 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 5.40
Kitagawa IP 1.2 BF 6 PC 26 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 7.88
H. Ogura (L, 3-11) IP 0.1 BF 4 PC 14 H 2 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 4.76
Nippon Ham:
Kanemura IP 7.2 BF 27 PC 109 H 4 HR 2 K 4 BB 1 R 2 ER 2 ERA 3.99
Tateyama (W, 1-1) IP 1.1 BF 6 PC 18 H 2 HR 1 K 0 BB 0 R 2 ER 2 ERA 2.48
2B: M. Ogsawara, Ide 2, K. Oshima
HR: Ortiz (23), Echevarria (28), Katsuragi (9), Brown (25)
RBI: Brown 2, Ortiz, Katsuragi, Echevarria 5
IBB: M. Ogasawara (H. Ogura)
GIDP: Y. Tanaka (6-4-3), T. Yamasaki (6-4-3)
LOB: Orix 2, Nippon Ham 10
Season Series: Orix 9, Nippon Ham 13 2 Ties
Game Time: 3:13
Attendance: 9,000
Umpires: Nakamura (HP), Sakaemura (1B), Tsugawa (2B), Sugimoto (3B)
Team Reports
Yomiuri Takashi Miura, who was originally a pitcher with the Giants and has posted three wins with them, was recently converted into a third baseman and was just promoted to the big club from the minors, wherehe has spent the entire season. Since he was called up due to an injury to outfielder Takahiro Suzuki, he may see his first action in the outfield.
Yakult Todd Betts, who was charged with the near impossible task of replacing the departed Roberto Petagine at first base for the Swallows, will be released, according to Sports Nippon. The former Mariners farmhand hit .287 with 14 homers and 51 RBIs to date. There is reportedly still a small chance that they may retain Betts as "insurance" while they go out and try to get a bigger gun.
Hanshin Manager Senichi Hoshino met his now late wife Misako at Meiji Jingu Stadium. Now Hanshin has a chance to clinch the pennant there like he did when he was managing the Chunichi Dragons in 1988. That celebration was marred when fans climbed over the fences and Hoshino had to cancel his speech marking the occasion for security reasons. He then celebrated another pennant at Meiji Jingu in 1999 with Chunichi, which went off more peacefully. Misako died in 1997 and Hoshino had a picture of her in his pocket when he got the "doage" (being thrown up in the air several times by his players) treatment....Leftfielder Tomoaki Kanemoto says that his ankle sprain has "for the most part" healed....The Tigers ballclub established its first team run official fanclub this summer and has seen its rolls swell to 100,000, eclipsing Daiei's 70,000 to become the biggest team operated supporter society in Japanese pro baseball. Two-thirds of that number are men, according to Sports Nippon, and 77% of the enrollees are from the Kansai (Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe, etc) region. They will be taking membership requests until December 15th. For information, those interested can phone to: 0570-00-8117, extension 8455.
Chunichi Manager Hisashi Yamada's days in that post appear numbered, as Sports Nippon reports that the Dragons' front office is in the midst of looking for a successor for the former Hankyu pitching great. Former Chunichi skipper Morimichi Takagi, who also played with the team, is reportedly the leading candidate, something which contradicts the ownership's desire for "radical surgery.". Yamada still has a year on his contract. Moreover, it's not his fault that starters Kenshin Kawakami and Kenta Asakura went out for the season with injuries and that they lost Kevin Millar when Millar decided to violate the ocntract he signed with them and go to Boston.....And if that news wasn't enough for Yamada, he was reprimanded and fined 300,000 yen (about $2500) for touching an umpire and being ejected Sunday....The Dragons front office got a nasty surprise Monday when Yugakukan High School lefthander Tatsuya Kojima, who Chunichi had targeted as a possible first round draft choice, decided to go the industrial league route with Osaka Gas. Under Japanese pro rules, he will now be ineligible to be drafted for the next three years. Kojima felt that he hasn't accomplished enough on the amateur level to take a shot at pro ball, so he is going to put off going to NPB.
Yokohama The team will change batting instructors next season, as former Taiyo Whales first baseman Makoto Matsubara will be brought in to assume that job.
Daiei As the team's front office had previously indicated, Fuji Television will not be allowed to broadcast any Japan Series games as punishiment for a comedy sketch on one of their programs that depicted Manager Sadaharu Oh as a bathroom sink. "the decision was undertandable to anyone," a team spokesman offered.
In the News
Daiei to Withdraw from Running Hawks
See story at: Mainichi Shimbun Article
Hanshin Fans Warned Not to Jump into Dotonbori River
See story at: Mainichi Shimbun Article
Japan Puts New Spin on "Tiger Economy"
See story at: CNN.com Article
Matsui Still a Rookie
See story at: Stamford Advocate Article
Today's Pictures
Angel Echevarria Cracks the Game Winner
Toshiya Sugiuchi Throws a Fastball Monday
