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09/18/2003 Archived Entry: "Japanese Baseball News: Valdes Five RBIs in Daiei Victory; Furuta Homer Downs Uehara"
Daiei Wins Track Meet With Orix to Stay on Top 13-7
Despite a total of three homers and six RBIs by Orix leftfielder Roosevelt Brown and second baseman Jose Ortiz, that would be trumped by a combination of a five RBI performance by Daiei Hawks first baseman Nobuhiko Matsunaka three by second baseman Tadahito Iguchi and a pair from DH Julio Zuleta, as the birds of prey flew off with another victory Saturday at Kobe Green Stadium 13-7.
Hiroshi Kobayashi started for the Blue Wave and didn't make it out of the third inning, as he was rocked for six runs on eight hits for his eighth loss.
Rookie lefty Tsuyoshi Wada started for Daiei and managed to make it through the fourth, but still was sliced and diced for five runs on seven hits while walking three to miss out on another triumph. Wada has been pitching lately like he is seriously tired, but how can you rest him when the Seibu Lions are breathing down your neck and you are otherwise thin in starting pitching?
The Hawks flew out to an immediate lead in the first, as third baseman Munenori Kawasaki got aboard on an infield hit and Iguchi singled to right. One out later, catcher Kenji Johjima pulled a shuuto for a single to left to make it 1-0. That was his first RBI basehit with runners in scoring position in 53 at bats. Valdes pinged one off the rightfield wall for a two run double. DH Julio Zuleta then banged one off the leftfield fence for a standup double while Valdez crossed for a 4-0 advantage.
But Orix pulled up to the bumber in short order in the home segment, as third baseman Koichi Oshima singled to left with one out and centerfielder Yoshitomo Tani walked. Brown hammered a shot into the rightfield bleachers and it was 4-3 Daiei.
But in the third, Johjima doubled off the leftfield wall and Valdes picked on the first delivery he saw in the at bat from Kobayashi and throttled it into the rightfield seats to put the Hawks up 6-3.
Iguchi then added another tally in the fourth when he blasted a Masahiro Doi offering into the leftfield stands to widen the lead to 7-3.
Orix staged a brief rally in the home portion when rightfielder Ryota Aikawa walked and, one out later, shortstop Tomotaka Tamaki laced a double to rightcenter. First baseman Kazuhiko Shiotani singled to left to plate Aikawa and make it 7-4. Unfortunately, any further damage was stymied when Oshima lined out to second and Tani flied out to right.
In the fifth, though, Brown launched a bomb to straightaway center and Orix closed the deficit to 7-5.
Daiei would get that back, as Matsunaka walked, was sacrificed to second by Johjima (???) and moved to third on Valdes' single. Zuleta flied out to right and Matsunaka tagged up and set off for the dish to go in front by three once more at 8-5.
And in the seventh, they removed all doubt as to who was going to pocket the W. With one away, Yudai Deguchi walked and Kawasaki singled to left. Iguchi singled to right and Deguchi set the controls for the heart of home plate while Kawasaki went to third. Reliever Jun Hagiwara threw a wild pitch and Kawasaki scored. Matsunaka walked. Hagiwara threw another wild pitch and the runners moved up. Johjima grounded to Tamaki, who threw to the plate too late to get Iguchi. Valdes flew out to left and Matsunaka tagged up and crossed and Daiei was in control at 12-5.
In the bottom of the inning, Brown carromed a shot off the leftfield wall for a double. Ortiz propelled a Makoto Sato pitch into the leftcenterfield seats to make it 12-7.
Daiei stuck another digit on the scoreboard, though, in the eighth when Deguchi doubled down the leftfield line. One out later, Iguchi clocked a shot off of Tamaki's glove and Deguchi sprinted around the basepaths as the ball rolled away and it was 13-7 Hawks. Orix could only produce two hits the rest of the way and when catcher Takeshi Hidaka struckout, it was "game setto."
Johjima was 1-13 in his last five games and he is hitting .121 in his last ten. This was his first three hit game in his last 13. He leads the league with 105 RBIs. Iguchi, Valdes, and Matsunaka all have 95 RBIs. If they can all get past 100, it would break a record set in 1950 by the Shochiku Robins (Makoto Kozuru 161, Yoshiyuki Iwamoto 127, Torao Ooka 109) as well as the 1985 Hanshin Tigers (Randy Bass 134, Masayuki Kakefu 108, Akinobu Okada 101) with three players over the century mark the same year. Daiei had four at 95 RBIs or better in 2000 (Kokubo 123, Matsunaka 122, Iguchi 97, Johjima 95).
Iguchi is hitting better than .400 against Orix in 2003. He also leads the league with 100 runs scored and steals with 37. The Hawks team batting average is back up to .299.
Wada hasn't won since August 10th.
For Daiei, Valdes was 4-5 with five RBIs and is at .318. Zuleta was 2-5 with two RBIs and two strikeouts and is at .268.
For Orix, Brown was 3-4 with a walk and four RBIs and is at .312. Ortiz was 1-5 with two RBIs and is at .254.
Pitching Lines:
Daiei:
T. Wada IP 4.0 BF 22 PC 105 H 7 HR 2 K 3 BB 3 R 5 ER 5 ERA 3.62
M. Sato (W, 2-2) IP 3.0 BF 14 PC 46 H 5 HR 1 K 3 BB 0 R 2 ER 2 ERA 3.41
K. Okamoto IP 1.0 BF 4 PC 17 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.33
Tanoue IP 1.0 BF 4 PC 21 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Orix:
H. Kobayashi (L, 4-8) IP 2.2 BF 18 PC 63 H 8 HR 1 K 1 BB 2 R 6 ER 6 ERA 5.72
M. Doi IP 1.0 BF 6 PC 19 H 3 HR 1 K 0 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 9.87
T. Kitagawa IP 1.1 BF 6 PC 22 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 6.75
Iwashita IP 0.1 BF 3 PC 10 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 6.00
J. Hagiwara IP 1.0 BF 7 PC 31 H 2 HR 0 K 1 BB 2 R 4 ER 4 ERA 7.27
D. Kato IP 2.2 BF 12 PC 43 H 3 HR 0 K 4 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 4.07
SB: M. Kawasaki, Iguchi
2B: P. Valdes, Zuleta, Johjima, T. Tamaki, Brown, Deguchi
HR: Brown 2 (27), P. Valdes (24), Iguchi (24), Ortiz (25)
RBI: Iguchi 3, Johjima 2, P. Valdes 5, Zuleta 2, Shiotani, Brown 4, Ortiz 2
SF: Zuleta, P. Valdes
WP: H. Kobayashi, J. Hagiwara 2
LOB: Daiei 12, Orix 10
Season Series: Daiei 15, Orix 9
Game Time: 4:04
Attendance: 35,000
Umpires: Kodera (HP), Sato (1B), Hayashi (2B), Higashi (3B)
Moore Hammered in First Start Back for Hanshin
In his first start with the big club since injuring his bicep in early August, southpaw Trey Moore got his head handed to him in his shortest stint since coming to Japan, as he was mugged for three runs on five hits in less than an inning before being dispatched to the showers. The Tigers would recover to take a couple of brief leads, but a five run Chunichi Dragons rally in the fifth saddled the Osaka favorite sons with a 9-7 loss.
Makoto Kito started for Chunichi and he was history after two innings of four run ball. So then it devolved down to a battle of the bullpens and Hanshin's Keiichi Yabu proved to be the weakest link in this one and was saddled with the defeat.
Moore actually was staked to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first, as leftfielder Tomoaki Kanemoto thwacked a two out single to right, rightfielder Shinjiro Hiyama singled to left and the both galloped home on first baseman George Arias' double up the leftcenter alley.
That would disappear rather rapidly, though. In the bottom of the frame, leftfielder Takayuki Onishi singled to left with one out and rightfielder Kosuke Fukudome got an 86mph fastball and flattened it into the centerfield seats to knot it at 2-2. One out later, centerfielder Alex Ochoa and catcher Motonobu Tanishige each singled to left. Second baseman Hiroyuki Watanabe singled to center to plate Ochoa. Moore was yanked in favor of Shinji Taninaka. First baseman So Tsutsui was intentionally walked to get to Kito, who grounded out to terminate the festivities and leave it at 3-2 Dragons.
Hanshin had the bases loaded on a single and two walks with two outs in the second, but Kanemoto flied out to extinguish the fire.
They would surmount the Dragons advantage in the third, however, when Hiyama homered to right leading off the inning. Arias then parked one in the leftfield seats and it was 4-3 Tigers.
Chunichi battled back in their ups, as Watanabe walked and rode Tsutsui's triple into the rightfield corner home to make it 4-4.
Again, Hanshin would take another lead, this time in the fourth, when Kanemoto walked with two outs and Hiyama singled to right. Arias singled to left and Kanemoto strode in to put the Tigers on top 5-4.
Yabu worked a perfect bottom of the fourth, but his control went on holiday in the fifth. With one out, he walked Tanishige, Watanabe and Tsutsui to load the bases. Kazuki Inoue, pinch hitting for reliever Masataka Endo, seared a 1-0 fastball to rightcenter for two RBIs. Yabu was sent packing and Makoto Yoshino inserted in his place. Shortstop Masahiko Morino blooped one near the line in right that drove in two more. Onishi walked. One out later, third baseman Kazuyoshi Tatsunami walked. Hiroshi Ishige was substituted for Yoshino. He threw a wild pitch and Morino crossed for a 9-5 Dragons lead. Ishige walked Ochoa, but then struckout Tanishige to finally get out of the predicament.
The Tigers would shave off some of that disparity in the sixth when shortstop Atsushi Fujimoto singled to left and centerfielder Norihiro Akahoshi beat out a tapper toward third. They moved up on a groundout to first. Marc Valdes balked and Fujimoto toed the dish. Hiyama walked. Arias grounded out to short and Akahoshi skittered in to make it 9-7. Third baseman Atsushi Kataoka lined a shot down the third base line, which was intercepted by Tatsunami and that was that.
Chunichi's bullpen took it from there, limiting Hanshin to one hit in the final three innings to put it in the refrigerator. Hanshin has now lost four in a row
In all, Hanshin moundsmen walked 12. And this defeat what usually happens when you do that.
Fukudome has homered in five straight games to tie a team record (Ken Macha in 1984, Hiromitsu Ochiai in 1989, Yasuaki Taiho in 1996, Yasunori Oshima in 1979). He is looking to be the first dragon with .300-30 since Leo Gomez in 1997.
Reliever Hitoki Iwase threw his fourth consecutive day. He has allowed just a single in 12.1 innings against Hanshin this season.
For Hanshin, Arias was 3-5 with five RBIs and is at .273.
For Chunichi, Ochoa was 1-4 with a walk and is at .279.
Pitching Lines:
Hanshin:
Moore IP 0.2 BF 7 PC 27 H 5 HR 1 K 0 BB 0 R 3 ER 3 ERA 4.36
Taninaka IP 1.1 BF 7 PC 30 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 2 R 0 ER 0 ERA 5.70
Yabu (L, 8-3) IP 2.1 BF 13 PC 54 H 2 HR 0 K 2 BB 5 R 5 ER 5 ERA 3.96
Yoshino IP 0.1 BF 4 PC 21 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 2 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.96
Ishige IP 1.1 BF 6 PC 28 H 0 HR 0 K 3 BB 2 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.31
Kanazawa IP 2.0 BF 7 PC 25 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.57
Chunichi:
M. Kito IP 2.0 BF 14 PC 61 H 6 HR 2 K 0 BB 2 R 4 ER 4 ERA 4.60
Hisamoto IP 1.0 BF 4 PC 16 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.72
Endo (W, 2-2) IP 2.0 BF 9 PC 39 H 2 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 2.91
M. Valdes IP 1.0 BF 6 PC 20 H 2 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 2 ER 2 ERA 4.75
Ochiai IP 1.0 BF 4 PC 12 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.83
Iwase IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 12 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.11
A.N. Otsuka (S, 13) IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 8 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.27
E: Arias, H.Y. Watanabe
SB: Arias, Tanishige, M. Araki
2B: Arias, K. Inoue, Okihara
3B: Tsutsui
HR: Fukudome (25), Hiyama (15), Arias (34)
RBI: Hiyama, Arias 5, Morino 2, Fukudome 2, H.Y. Watanabe, Tsutsui, K. Inoue 2
IBB: Tsustui (Taninaka)
WP: Ishige 2
Balk: M. Valdes
GIDP: Hirosawa (6-4-3), Morino (1-6-3)
LOB: Hanshin 9, Chunichi 11
Season Series: Hanshin 13, Chunichi 13
Game Time: 4:07
Attendance: 40,500
Umpires: Suginaga (HP), K. Kobayashi (1B), Tomoyose (2B), Manabe (3B)
Two Run Rally in Eighth Keeps Lions Within Four of Daiei
The Seibu Lions edged the Nippon Ham Fighters Saturday at Seibu Dome 8-6 to keep their pennant quest a going concern even though ace Daisuke Matsuzaka, pitching on his birthday for the first time in his career, was lit up for six runs in seven innings, though he was doing fine for six shutout innings before having problems as he tired.
Satoru Kanemura started for Nippon Ham and was victimized for five runs, four earned, in 5.2 innings and, like Matsuzaka, was fortunate in not being blamed for the loss. That went to reliever Hiroshi Shibakusa, who permitted the winning runs to cross the plate to give the winning decision to Lions setup man Shinji Mori.
Fighters centerfielder Tatsuya Ide leadoff the game with a double off the centerfield wall and, one out later, went to third on a groundout. But DH Angel Echevarria grounded out to second and that opportunity was dust.
Seibu then notched a crooked number on the big board in the home ups when rightfielder Tatsuya Ozeki singled to center with one out and, one out later, first baseman Alex Cabrera ordered up the muy grande plate and served it in the centerfield seats to put the Lions in front 2-0.
Things slowed down offensively until the bottom of the sixth, when leftfielder Kazuhiro Wada singled to center and Cabrera ripped one down the leftfield line. Third baseman Scott McClain singled to center to double Seibu's fun to 4-0. Centerfielder Shogo Akada laid down a sac bunt, which Kanemura misplayed for an error. One out later, catcher Kosuke Noda singled to center to redeem McClain and make it 5-0 Lions.
Nippon Ham got back in it in the seventh, as first baseman Yukio Tanaka singled to center and leftfielder Kazuteru Shimada put a whippin' on a cutter and drove it out to left and it was 5-2 Lions.
Seibu retaliated with another run in their turn, as Ozeki tripled to up the rightcenter gap and Wada singled him in for a 6-2 advantage.
Why Matsuzaka was left out there when he was already up around 120 pitches late in the season is tough to say, but Ide torched him for a double to rightcenter leading off the eighth. Rightfielder Tomochika Tsuboi walked. Third baseman Michihiro Ogasawara
singled to right to see Ide in. Echevarria singled to left to laod the bases. Matsuzaka got the hook in favor of Mori. One out later, Shimada flied out to right and Tsuboi tagged up and scored. Katsuhiro Nishiura, pinch hitting for shortstop Makoto Kaneko, singled to center and two more runners checked in to tie it up at 6-6.
But Seibu were able to answer rightaway. Akada tripled off the centerfield wall and, two outs later, loped in when backup second baseman Hiroaki Ueda swung at a 90mph fastball on the inner half and landed it in centerfield for an RBI single. Shortstop Kazuo Matsui torqued a double into the rightfield corner and Ueda beat a hasty path to the plate to make it 8-6.
Nippon Ham, though, wouldn't go quietly. Catcher Shinji Takahashi doubled to leftcenter off of closer Kiyoshi Toyoda to open the ninth. Two outs later, Ogasawara walked. But Echevarria grounded to short and the Lions had the victory. Nippon Ham is now a season worst nine games under .500 and they have lost four in a row.
About his longball, Shimada told reporters he was partially fooled and hit it off the end of the bat, but it went out anyway.
For Seibu, Cabrera was 2-4 with two RBIs and is at .329. McClain was 1-3 with a walk and two RBIs and is at .237.
For Nippon Ham, Echevarria was 1-5 and is at .276.
Pitching Lines:
Nippon Ham:
Kanemura IP 5.2 BF 26 PC 102 H 6 HR 1 K 5 BB 2 R 5 ER 4 ERA 4.10
A. Shimizu IP 0.2 BF 3 PC 10 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.79
Shibakusa (L, 2-2) IP 1.1 BF 8 PC 34 H 4 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 2 ER 2 ERA 3.84
Tat. Kato IP 0.1 BF 1 PC 6 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Seibu:
Matsuzaka IP 7.0 BF 31 PC 141 H 8 HR 1 K 7 BB 3 R 6 ER 6 ERA 2.61
S. Mori (W, 7-2) IP 1.0 BF 4 PC 17 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.22
Toyoda (S, 37) IP 1.0 BF 5 PC 15 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.99
E: Narahara
2B: Cabrera, Ide, K. Matsui, S. Takahashi
3B: Ozeki, Akada
HR: Cabrera (45), K. Shimada (11)
RBI: M. Ogasawara, K. Shimada 3, Nishiura 2, K. Matsui, K. Wada, Cabrera 2,
McClain 2, Noda, H. Ueda
SF: K. Shimada
GIDP: Sanematsu (6-4-3)
LOB: Nippon Ham 7, Seibu 6
Season Series: Nippon Ham 12, Seibu 14
Game Time: 4:01
Attendance: 29,000
Umpires: Yamamoto (HP), Akimura (1B), Nakamura (2B), Yanagita (3B)
Kintetsu Blows Four Run Lead to Lose 5-4
By the fourth inning Saturday at Osaka Dome, the Kintetsu Buffaloes had a 4-0 lead and Shogo Yamamoto, making a spot start for the home side, eventually left with the score 4-2. However, The Chiba Lotte Marines would rough up reliever Toyohiko Yoshida for three tallies in the top of the ninth and that was how it ended, a 5-4 Lotte victory.
Hiroyuki Kobayashi started for Lotte and permitted four runs on nine hits in eight innings and had the win fall into his lap even with the mediocre outing.
Kintetsu looked like they would put Kobayashi away early, as centerfielder Naoyuki Omura leadoff with an infield single and second baseman Eiji Mizuguchi singled to right. DH Kenshi Kawaguchi ratcheted a shot into the rightfield corner and while he was pickin' 'em up and layin' 'em down for a triple, two runs scored to make it 2-0 Buffs. Now leftfielder Tuffy Rhodes was up, but he struckout for his 1000th lifetime whiff in Japan and Kobayashi was able to extract himself out of the inning from there with no further runners getting to the plate.
In the second, Kintetsu third baseman Osamu Hoshino singled to center and went to second on a wild pitch. Hoshino was sacrificed to third and then tagged up and crossed on a sacrifice fly to right by Omura and it was 3-0 Buffs.
Hoshino conked one into the rightfield bleachers with one out in the fourth to elevate that to 4-0.
Yamamoto worked a perfect fourth and fifth, but in the sixth, Lotte DH Koichi Hori walked with two outs and third baseman Jose Fernandez went yard to rightcenter to make it 4-2 Kintetsu.
Lotte threatened again in the eighth when pinch hitter Yukihiko Sato singled to center and Hori singled to right. Two outs later, rightfielder Saburo Omura grounded to Hoshino, who booted it to load the bases. They would ultimately spin their wheels, though, when catcher Tomoya Satozaki flew out to left.
Second baseman Masato Watanabe opened the ninth for Lotte with a bang when he drove a Yoshida delivery into the leftfield seats. Speedy shortshtop Makoto Kosaka outran a tapper toward short and was sacrificed to second. Kiyoshi Hatsushiba, pinch hitting for centerfielder Takashi Kita, doubled off the leftfield wall to knot it at 4-4. Hori then doubled off the centerfield fence to push the lead run across for a 5-4 Lotte advantage.
Masahide Kobayashi retired all three men that stepped into the box against him and Kintetsu's fade continued.
Lotte is back in fourth for the first time in three months
For Kintetsu, Rhodes, who became the 35th man in Japanese pro history to attain four figures in strikeouts, was 0-4 and is at .275.
For Lotte, Fernandez was 1-5 with two RBIs and is at .282. Leftfielder Rick Short was 1-5 and is at .305.
Pitching Lines:
Lotte:
H.Y. Kobayashi (W, 8-10) IP 8.0 BF 34 PC 113 H 9 HR 1 K 2 BB 1 R 4 ER 4 ERA 3.58
M.H.Kobayashi (S, 28) IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 9 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.00
Kintetsu:
S. Yamamoto IP 5.2 BF 24 PC 84 H 6 HR 1 K 5 BB 1 R 2 ER 2 ERA 5.04
Misawa IP 0.2 BF 3 PC 9 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.20
H. Koike IP 0.2BF 2 PC 12 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.10
Takamura IP 1.0 BF 6 PC 20 H 2 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.69
T. Yoshida (L, 3-3) IP 0.1 BF 5 PC 18 H 4 HR 1 K 0 BB 0 R 3 ER 3 ERA 2.39
Aikyo IP 0.2 BF 2 PC 8 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.08
E: O. Hoshino, S. Yamamoto
SB: Isobe
2B: Hatsushiba, Hori
3B: K. Kawaguchi
HR: O. Hoshino (12), Fernandez (26), M. Watanabe (5)
RBI: Hatsushiba, Hori, Fernandez 2, M. Watanabe, N. Omura, K. Kawaguchi 2, O.
Hoshino
SF: N. Omura
WP: H.Y. Kobayashi
LOB: Lotte 10, Kintetsu 6
Season Series: Lotte 13, Kintetsu 11
Game Time: 3:25
Attendance: 16,000
Umpires: Kakigizono (HP), Yamamura (1B), Nagami (2B), Yoshikawa (3B)
Five Run Yakult Sixth Spells Another Defeat for Uehara
It's just one of those funny tings about baseball. Yomiuri Giants starter Koji Uehara ran off seven complete game victories and now has lost his last two, as he was touched for five runs on nine hits in seven innings, the big blow being a three run sixth inning homer by catcher Atsuya Furuta, in a 5-4 defeat to the Yakult Swallows Saturday at Tokyo Dome.
Yuya Kamada, who has had problems in the middle innings this season, was benched after five innings of three run ball on four hits and exited the match behind 3-0.
Yakult thought that they had sure run in the first when rightfielder Mitsuru Manaka doubled to leftcenter and was sacrificed to third. But third baseman Akinori Iwamura popped out to short and leftfielder Alex Ramirez grounded out to third to betray that chance.
The Giants then blew a men on second and third opportunity in the bottom of the frame.
In the third, Yomiuri snaked their first three runs when shortstop Tomohiro Nioka drilled one into the centerfield bleachers. One out later, leftfielder Roberto Petagine walked. First baseman Kazuhiro Kiyohara singled to left. Third baseman Takayuki Saito bulleted a shot off the centerfield fence and wheeled around for a two run triple and a 3-0 Giants lead.
Uehara admitted has been saying the last two or three games that he is feeling fatigued and he had the roof fall in on him in the sixth, as shortstop Shinya Miyamoto got aboard on an infield hit with one out and Iwamura singled to right. Ramirez converted Miyamoto with a single to center. First baseman Ken Suzuki singled to left to bring Iwamura in. Furuta then swung at a first pitch forkball and arched it ino the leftfield seats to make it Yakult 5, Giants 3.
Petagine thundered a Hirotoshi Ishii offering into the rightcenterfield stands for his fifth straight 30 homer season and it was 5-4 Yakult. The next two men singled, but second baseman Toshihisa Nishi, who may be involved in a deal to Lotte for Masahide Kobayashi, flied out.
Shingo Takatsu was assigned his usual closer's responsibility and Koji Goto leadoff with a single to center. One out later, Shunsuke Hara, pinch hitting for Cory Bailey, singled to center. However, Nioka would ground into a 6-4-3 double play to conclude the game. The Giants have lost six in a row for the second time in 2003.
Furuta had been 1-12 this season against Uehara before his big blast. He is 179 hits away from 2000.
The last gaijin to accumulate five straight 30 homer years was Clarence Jones between 1970-1974 for Nankai and Kintetsu. Jones would hit 246 homers in seven years in Japan while batting .239.
For Yakult, Ramirez was 2-4 with an RBI and is at .327. Todd Betts was 0-1 in a pinch hit appearance and is at .287.
For Yomiuri, Latham was 0-2 and is at .236. Petagine was 2-3 with a walk and an RBI and is at .318.
Pitching Lines:
Yakult:
Kamada (W, 6-7) IP 5.0 BF 22 PC 85 H 4 HR 1 K 2 BB 2 R 3 ER 3 ERA 3.32
Tatsuki Yamamoto IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 9 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.82
Narimoto IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 15 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 5.40
H. Ishii IP 1.0 BF 6 PC 23 H 3 HR 1 K 1 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 2.67
Takatsu (S, 31) IP 1.0 BF 4 PC 14 H 2 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.63
Yomiuri:
Uehara (L, 13-5) IP 7.0 BF 30 PC 124 H 9 HR 1 K 4 BB 1 R 5 ER 5 ERA 3.24
Bailey IP 2.0 BF 8 PC 34 H 1 HR 0 K 3 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.90
2B: Manaka, Petagine, Ramirez
3B: Takayuki Saito
HR: Nioka (27), Furuta (21), Petagine (30)
RBI: Ramirez, K. Suzuki, Furuta 3, Nioka, Petagine, Takayuki Saito 2
HBP: Y. Murata (Kamada)
GIDP: Nioka (6-4-3)
LOB: Yakult 6, Yomiuri 7
Season Series: Yakult 11, Yomiuri 13 1 Tie
Game Time: 3:14
Attendance: 55,000
Umpires: Mori (HP), Yoshimoto (1B), Tani (2B), Nishimoto (3B)
Yokohama Comeback Just Misses in Loss to Carp 6-5
The Hiroshima Carp went out to a 5-0 lead after three, but spearheaded by rightfielder Hitoshi Tamura's two homers, the Yokohama Bay Stars just missed overcoming that intial advantage in a 6-5 loss Saturday at Hiroshima Municipal Stadium. Hiroki Kuroda started for the Carp and surrendered all five Stars run in six inningss, but cadged his 10th victory anyway.
Yukiya Yokoyama started for Yokohama (try saying that five times real fast) and was out of the game after three innings in which he was blistered for five runs on eight hits and regressed to 0-2.
Hiroshima went on the warpath in the first when rightfielder Shigeru Morikasa singled to left and went to second on a sacrifice. First baseman Itsuki Asai doubled to rightcenter for a 1-0 lead. One out later, leftfielder Tomonori Maeda hit a forkball off the end of the bat for an RBI single to right to make it 2-0.
And that little rip was fully torn open in the fifth, as shortstop Andy Sheets singled to right and Maeda walked. One out later, third baseman Takahiro Arai did thelong distance runaround to left and it was 5-0 Carp.
Yokohama then kicked off their comeback in the fourth, when first baseman Tyrone Woods singled to left and leftfielder Takanori Suzuki singled to right. One out later, shortstop Takuro Ishii singled to center to plate Woods to make it 5-1 Carp.
They pared another two off of the Carp lead in the sixth, as Tamura homered to left. One out later, Suzuki doubled off the rightfield wall. Kuroda plunked third baseman Shuichi Murata. Ishii singled to left to pack the sacks. Catcher Ryoji Aikawa grounded out to second and Suzuki crossed to put it at 5-3 Hiroshima.
Hiroshima tacked on what would be the winning run in the sixth when catcher Yoshiyuki Ishihara blooped a double to center and was sacrificed to third. Morikasa grounded to second and it was 6-3 Carp.
In the seventh, though, second baseman Seiichi Uchikawa singled to center to begin the seventh and Tamura hammered one beyond the centerfield wall to tense it up to 6-5 Carp and knock Kuroda out.
Shinji Sasaoka went out to close in the ninth due to rookie Katsuhiro Nagakawa's aching back and gave the Carp faithful some heartburn.One out later, Tamura doubled off the rightfield wall and Woods singled to center. Former batting champion Suzuki was up needing just a fly ball to tie it up, but he struckout. Murata grounded out to short and Sasaoka escaped by a razor thin margin.
Yokohama has already reached the same number of losses they had all last season.
Pitching Lines:
Yokohama:
Yokoyama (L, 0-2) IP 3.0 BF 18 PC 56 H 8 HR 1 K 2 BB 1 R 5 ER 5 ERA 10.00
Tomioka IP 2.0 BF 7 PC 36 H 0 HR 0 K 4 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.47
H. Yamada IP 2.0 BF 8 PC 23 H 2 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.82
T.H. Kato IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 4 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.62
Hiroshima:
Kuroda (W, 10-8) IP 6.0 BF 30 PC 103 H 9 HR 2 K 4 BB 3 R 5 ER 5 ERA 3.42
Hasegawa IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 19 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 5.90
Sawazaki IP 0.1 BF 2 PC 12 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.79
Kikuchihara IP 0.2 BF 2 PC 6 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.53
Sasaoka (S, 2) IP 1.0 BF 5 PC 25 H 2 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 5.19
SB: I. Asai
2B: I. Asai, T.N. Suzuki, Ishihara, Tamura
HR: T. Arai (12), Tamura 2 (16)
RBI: Tamura 3, T. Ishii, Ryoji Aikawa, Morikasa, I. Asai, T. Arai 3, T. Maeda
HBP: S. Murata (Kuroda)
GIDP: T.N. Suzuki (3-6-3)
LOB: Yokohama 10, Hiroshima 6
Season Series: Yokohama 7, Hiroshima 15
Game Time: 3:11
Attendance: 12,000
Umpires: Watada (HP), Kittaka (1B), Ino (2B), Nako (3B)
Team Reports
Yomiuri 38 year old infielder Masahiro Kawai, who set a new world record for sacrifice bunts this season, will retire effective immediately, he revealed. An alumnus of Okayama Minami High School, he was drafted on the fourth round in 1982 and
compiled a .266 average over 21 seasons, mostly being known for his sound defense, especially at shortstop. He is expected to join the team's coaching staff next year ....The Giants are now having to go in a new direction for the November draft (see Hanshin item), they have their eyes on Nihon Bunri University righthander Teruaki Yoshikawa, who has a fastball that tops out at 93mph. A 6'1" 209 pound Saga Prefecture native, he was used as a setup man in college for a club that won this year's national Japanese collegiate championship. Yoshikawa is also being wooed by Orix, Yakult and Lotte. They are also interested in Tetsuya Utsumi, who is with Tokyo Gas' industrial league club, and Koryo High School ace Kenta Nishimura to bolster their pitching staff.
Yakult Jason Beverlin will be re-signed for next season, according to Hochi Sports. He won eight games after joining the team in mid-season, but recently has been on the shelf with a bad elbow. He has started playing catch again and should be ready for spring training.
Hanshin Well, it appears that the Tigers will have a new shortstop next season, as Waseda University infielder Takashi Toritani, this year's darling of the draft, has decided to throw in his lot with the Tigers after also being fiercely courted by Yomiuri, Seibu and Yokohama. That ought to send Giants owner Tsuneo Watanabe up the wall. Toritani had a hit in three at bats, two walks and three steals Saturday against Tokyo University, as the Tokyo Big Six University League fall season opened. Toritani has 30 career bag thefts at Waseda.
