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09/23/2003 Archived Entry: "Japanese Baseball News: Matsunaka's Eight RBIs Thumps Kintetsu; Cabrera Homers Twice"
Giants End Nine Game Losing Skid 5-3
Yomiuri Giants righthander Masumi Kuwata returned in this start and was battered for ten hits in 5.2 innings, but he somehow managed to limit the Chunichi Dragons offense to just two runs, as shortstop Tomohiro Nioka slugged a two run homer and leftfielder Roberto Petagine blasted a solo shot in a 5-3 kyojin four hour and ten minute marathon victory Wednesday at Nagoya Dome.
Masahiro Yamamoto started for the home team and was due for a rough time after a string of strong showings and he was done up for four runs, three earned, for his fifth defeat.
The Giants cracked a pair of hits to open the game, but that opportunity was subverted by a double play ball. So it wouldn't be until.the second when Yomiuri pulled in front, as third baseman Akira Etoh belted one over the leftfield fence for his first roundtripper since August 22nd and a 1-0 lead.
In the second, Kuwata helped his own cause by igniting a rally with a two out single to center. Nioka singled to right and second baseman Toshihisa Nishi singled to left to plate Kuwata and make it 2-0 Giants.
The Dragons let a two on, nobody out chance slip through their fingers in the bottom of the inning. That was exacerbated when Petagine leaned into a Yamamoto delivery and landed it in the leftfield stands to widen the Yomiuri advantage to 3-0.
Finally, Chunichi made something happen, if only for a moment. In the home portion, Yamamoto singled to left, though he was erased on a 4-6 force play off the bat of shortstop Masahiko Morino. Second baseman Masahiro Araki scorched a shot into the leftfield corner and Morino blazed around the basepaths to cut the deficit to 3-1. Araki went to third on a groundout. Third baseman Kazuyoshi Tatsunami walked. That brought up centerfielder Alex Ochoa, but Kuwata struck him out to end the uprising.
Chunichi had men on second and third with two outs in the fourth, but Morino bounced a comebacker to Kuwata to darken the frame.
The Giants then exploited a Chunichi miscue in the sixth for a more comfortable margin. Catcher Kohei Oda leadoff by grounding to Morino, who booted it. Kuwata sacrificed him along. Mark Valdes was summoned from the bullpen. Nioka, endeavoring to become the first .300-30 homer Giant since Tatsunori Hara in 1988, mortared one the opposite way and into the rightfield seats and it was 5-1 Yomiuri.
The Dragons shaved a point off that disparity in the bottom segment when Ochoa singled to left and was out on a subsequent 5-4 force on a Takayuki Onishi grounder. One out later, first baseman Hiroyuki Watanabe singled to left. Koichi Sekikawa singled to right to push Onishi in to make it 5-2.
Chunichi's offense took a nap for the next two innings before they dented closer Julio Santana in the ninth. With one out, Araki outran an infield tapper. Fukudome grounded to Nishi, who got the force at second. Tatsunami singled to left. Ochoa keeps improving his average with RISP, as he laced an RBI double down the rightfield line to make it 5-3. But Santana induced a foul popout from Onishi to put it in the books and terminate both the Gianst nine game losing streak and a five game winning skein by the Dragons. It was also Chunichi's final home game this year.
Kuwata has won 40 games against Chunichi during his career with 27 losses and three ties. That is the most shiroboshi by any Yomiuri pitcher against the Dragons since 1950 and is second to Kaoru Bessho, who had 44.
For Yomiuri, Petagine was 2-4 with a walk, an RBI and two strikeouts and is at .325. Centerfielder Chris Latham was 1-4 with a walk and two strikeouts and is at .231.
For Chunichi, Ochoa was 3-5 with an RBI and is at .292. He is reportedly a dead cert to be back in Nagoya next season thanks to his September spurt. He had seven hits and seven RBIs in the three game series with the Giants.
Pitching Lines:
Yomiuri:
Kuwata (W, 5-3) IP 5.2 BF 27 PC 109 H 10 HR 0 K 5 BB 2 R 2 ER 2 ERA 5.93
Y. Maeda IP 2.1 BF 9 PC 37 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 2 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.26
Santana (S, 4) IP 1.0 BF 6 PC 23 H 3 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 4.63
Chunichi:
M. Yamamoto (L, 9-5) IP 5.1 BF 27 PC 121 H 9 HR 2 K 8 BB 2 R 4 ER 3 ERA 3.08
M. Valdes IP 0.2 BF 5 PC 14 H 2 HR 1 K 0 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 4.77
Endo IP 3.0 BF 12 PC 48 H 3 HR 0 K 3 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.61
E: Morino, H.Y. Watanabe
SB: Latham
2B: M. Araki, Ochoa
HR: Etoh (16), Petagine (33), Nioka (28)
RBI: Nioka 2, Nishi, Petagine, Etoh, Fukudome, Ochoa, Sekikawa
IBB: Petagine (M. Valdes)
Balk: M. Valdes
LOB: Yomiuri 12, Chunichi 12
Season Series: Yomiuri 14, Chunichi 14
Game Time: 4:10
Attendance: 36,000
Umpires: Uemoto (HP), Tani (1B), Nako (2B), Mori (3B)
Matsunaka Destroys Buffaloes 12-4 For Saito's 19th Victory
Daiei Hawks DH Nobuhiko Matsunaka homered and drove in eight runs Wednesday at Osaka Dome, as he almost singlehandedly wrecked the Kintetsu Buffaloes in what became a 12-4 victory. Kazumi Saito edged closer to the magic 20 win mark with his 19th of the season, though he was tattooed for ten hits in seven innings, keeping the damage down to three runs.
Hisashi Iwakuma got a good kicking again, as he has faded badly the second half of the year, lasting a mere two innings before manager Masataka Nashida pulled the plug.
Daiei got a break to obtain an early lead, as centerfielder Yudai Deguchi leadoff the game with a single to center and shortstop Munenori Kawasaki walked. Second baseman Tadahito Iguchi grounded to Masahiro Abe at short for what should have been a double play, but he fumbled it and everybody was safe to load the bases. The next two men struckout, but leftfielder Pedro Valdes walked to force Deguchi in and it was 1-0.
They then put this game away for all intents and purposes in the second when rightfielder Kazuyuki Takahashi singled to center, but was fored at second on a groundball from third baseman Mitsuru Honma. Deguchi seared one up the rightcenter alley and Honma put it in fourth for the plate. Kawasaki reached on an infield hit. Iguchi grounded to Abe again, who booted it again and Deguchi crossed. Matsunaka massacred an Iwakuma offering and jetted it up into the third deck in rightcenter to make it 6-0 Hawks.
Kintetsu had men on second and third with two gone in the bottom of the inning, but Abe grounded to first to snuff that revolt.
Katsuhiko Maekawa mosied in from the pen and Honma singled to center with one out. Following another out, Kawasaki singled to right. Iguchi walked to pack the sacks. Matsunaka torched a changeup into the rightcenter alley and everybody went home to pile on three more and it was 9-0 Hawks.
Kintetsu posted a tally during their ups, as centerfielder Naoyuki Omura doubled to leftcenter with one out and DH Kenshi Kawaguchi pinged one off the centerfield wall for an RBI double to make it 9-1.
Daiei saw that one and raised them one in the fifth, as Honma walked, Deguchi legged out an infield hit and the two men were sacrificed along (with an eight run lead?). Instead of decking Iguchi with some chin music for that gesture by Daiei manager Sadaharu Oh, Maekawa walked him and the bags were juiced once more. Matsunaka singled to right and Honma and Deguchi toed the dish to enlarge the Hawks lead to 11-1.
Kintetsu had its best chance to topple Saito in the bottom of the sixth when Kawaguchi doubled down the rightfield line and completed the curcuit on a single to left from leftfielder Tuffy Rhodes. One out later, first baseman Yuji Yoshioka singled to center. However, second baseman Eiji Mizuguchi grounded into a 4-6-3 double play to undermine a possible scoring explosion and leave it at 11-2 Hawks.
Saito did bend some more in the seventh but didn't break, as catcher Akihito Fujii singled to right with one out and, one out later, third baseman Osamu Hoshino singled to right. Kawaguchi singled to right as well to send Fujii in and it was 11-3. Rhodes, though, flied out to center and that was the extent of the Buffs rally.
Iguchi commenced the eighth when he drilled one into the leftfield stands off of Hironori Fujisaki to make it 12-3.
Kintetsu got a homer to right from Omura with two outs in the ninth off of Katsunori Okamoto for their final run and it ended as a 12-4 Hawks triumph.
For Daiei, Valdes was 0-3 with two walks, an RBI and two strikeouts and is at .316.
For Kintetsu, Rhodes was 1-3 with a walk and an RBI and is at .274.
Daiei is now the first team ever with four 100 RBI men in a single lineup. They also set a new PL standard with 1340 hits, breaking Kintetsu's 2001 league record of 1332. The overall record is 1417 by the Shochiku Robins in 1950 . Their 253 doubles is a new PL mark.
Daiei is assured of winning its season series with all the other five clubs in the league. The last time that happened for them was in 1966, when they were the Nankai Hawks.Their magic number is now 8
Pitching Lines:
Daiei:
K. Saito (W, 19-3) IP 7.0 BF 31 PC 98 H 10 HR 0 K 2 BB 1 R 3 ER 3 ERA 2.87
Shinohara IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 7 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.77
K. Okamoto IP 1.0 BF 4 PC 13 H 1 HR 1 K 0 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.38
Kintetsu:
Iwakuma (L, 14-9) IP 2.0 BF 16 PC 62 H 5 HR 1 K 5 BB 3 R 6 ER 4 ERA 3.41
Maekawa IP 3.0 BF 16 PC 62 H 5 HR 0 K 3 BB 3 R 5 ER 5 ERA 7.38
S. Yamamoto IP 2.0 BF 6 PC 27 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.73
Fujisaki IP 2.0 BF 9 PC 47 H 4 HR 1 K 0 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 2.70
E: M. Abe 2
2B: Deguchi, Mizuguchi, Matsunaka, N. Omura, K. Kawaguchi 2, Johjima
HR: Matsunaka (23), Iguchi (26), N. Omura (15)
RBI: Deguchi, Iguchi 2, Matsunaka 8, P. Valdes, N. Omura, K. Kawaguchi 2, Rhodes
GIDP: Johjima (5-4-3), Mizuguchi (4-6-3), Deguchi (6-4-3)
LOB: Daiei 8, Kintetsu 7
Season Series: Daiei 14, Kintetsu 12 1 Tie
Game Time: 3:28
Attendance: 20,000
Umpires: Maeda (HP), Higashi (1B), Sato (2B), Kodera (3B)
Cabrera Connects for 48th, 49th Homers in Wild One with Orix
Seibu Lions first baseman Alex Cabrera hurtled two out of the park and drove in three runs, as the Tokorozawa contingent mauled Orix pitching for 14 hits in a 13-9 victory Wednesday at Kobe Green Stadium. That performance elvated the big Venezuelan into the number one slot in the league in homers by one over Tuffy Rhodes.
Orix starter Takashi Aiki found he had a high favorability rating from Seibu hitters, as they voted early and often by careening shots all over the yard against him form the outset. With one out in the first, rightfielder Tatsuya Ozeki singled to right and hotfooted it home when leftfielder Kazuhiro Wada thunked a double off the centerfield fence. Cabrera got a fourth pitch curve ball on the outer half of the plate and got optimum extension, jackhammering a missile deep into the leftfield seats to make it 3-0 Lions.
Orix would respond with centerfielder Yoshitomo Tani's long distance runaround in the leftfield stands to contract the gap to 3-1 Seibu after one complete.
Aiki fashioned a perfect second, but that was just the calm before the storm. He would not see out the third. With one away, Ozeki doubled to rightcenter and came around on a single to left by Wada. Cabrera singled to right. DH Hiroyuki Oshima singled to center to redeem Wada. Centerfielder Shogo Akada hustled to first for an infield hit to load the bases. Third baseman Hiroyuki Nakajima walked to force Cabrera in. Catcher Kosuke Noda flew out to right and Oshima tagged up and crossed. Masahiro Doi replaced Aiki. Second baseman Hiroyuki Takagi singled to center to plate Akada. Shortstop Kazuo Matsui walked to jam the basepaths. Ozeki singled to left and Noda and Takagi were in for a 10-1 advantage.
Orix scored again in their half, as shortstop Mitsutaka Goto beat out a ground ball toward short and, two outs later, Tani walked. Leftfielder Roosevelt Brown singled to left and Goto made for the plate and it was 10-2 Lions.
However, in the fourth, Akada tripled off the centerfield fence and eased on in on a bomb to centerfield from Nakajima to make it 12-2 Seibu.
Cabrera crashed a pitch from reliever Satoshi Tokumoto into the mezzanine section of the leftcenterfield bleachers in the top of the sixth and the scoreboard had it 13-2 Lions.
Lions starter Mitsutaka Goto, no relation to the Orix infielder, was guided to a seat in left with one out in the home turn by second baseman Jose Ortiz. DH Takeshi Yamasaki singled to center. One out later, catcher Daisuke Maeda applied heavy manners to a Goto delivery and deposited it in the leftcenterfield seats to make it 13-5 Seibu.
The bats cooled off considerably for the seventh and eighth, but when Kazuyuki Hoashi was inserted into the match, Orix brought some pain to him. Maeda singled to right and Daisuke Hayakawa doubled off the rightfield wall. First baseman Kazuhiko Shiotani singled to center for a pair of RBIs. Third baseman Koichi Oshima walked. Tani singled to right to load the bases. Brown grounded to second and Shiotani crossed. Ortiz grounded to Cabrera, who kicked it and Oshima was home and it was now getting too interesting for Seibu at 13-9. Manager Haruki Ihara had to resort to closer Kiyoshi Toyoda, who struckout Yamasaki and tempted Ryutaro Tsuji into grounding to second and it was "game setto."
For Seibu, Cabrera was 3-5 with three RBIs and is at .331. He has rung up nine homers in his last nine tilts.
For Orix, Brown was 1-5 with two RBIs and is at .307. Ortiz was 1-5 with an RBI and is at .255.
Pitching Lines:
Seibu:
M. Goto (W, 9-7) IP 7.0 BF 31 PC 111 H 9 HR 3 K 5 BB 1 R 5 ER 5 ERA 4.02
Shibasaki IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 5 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.24
Hoashi IP 0.1 BF 7 PC 31 H 4 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 4 ER 4 ERA 4.43
Toyoda (S, 38) IP 0.2 BF 2 PC 8 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.13
Orix:
Aiki (L, 0-3) IP 2.2 BF 17 PC 69 H 8 HR 1 K 0 BB 1 R 9 ER 8 ERA 10.99
M. Doi IP 0.0 BF 3 PC 10 H 2 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 10.13
Tokumoto IP 3.1 BF 14 PC 60 H 3 HR 2 K 1 BB 1 R 3 ER 3 ERA 6.89
Iwashita IP 0.2 BF 4 PC 16 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.66
A. Kubota IP 2.1 BF 7 PC 32 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
E: K. Wada, T.T. Goto, Ortiz
2B: K. Wada, Ozeki, D. Hayakawa
3B: Akada
HR: Cabrera 2 (49), Tani (15), H.Y. Nakajima (4), Ortiz (28), D. Maeda (1)
RBI: Ozeki 2, K. Wada, Cabrera 3, H.Y. Oshima, H.Y. Nakajima 3, Noda, H. Takagi,
Shiotani, Tani, Brown 2, Ortiz 2, D. Maeda 2
SF: Noda
HBP: Noda (Iwashita)
LOB: Seibu 5, Orix 7
Season Series: Seibu 20, Orix 5 1 Tie
Game Time: 3:36
Attendance: 22,000
Umpires: Iizuka (HP), Yoshikawa (1B), Yamamura (2B), Kakigizono (3B)
Brock Homers to Give Self a Win 3-2
Hiroshima Carp starter Chris Brock conked one into the leftcenterfield seats Wednesday in the fifth inning at Koshien Stadium to lend his side a 3-1 lead. It proved to be the big blow of the night, as Hanshin came back for a run in the bottom of the frame before Brock and two relievers no hit the Tigers the remainder of the contest to hang on for a 3-2 win.
Trey Moore started for Hanshin and was still a little rusty, as the homer to Brock exhibited, but it was much improved over his previous stint and he looks like he will be more than ready to contribute in the Japan Series.
Getting back to Brock, he was outstanding, going seven innings of two run ball on four hits while striking out six walking two and hitting a batter for his eighth victory.
Things looked pretty gloomy for Moore in the first, as rightfielder Toyo Asayama powdered one against the centerfield wall for a leadoff triple and strutted home on a double off the leftfield fence for an RBI double by second baseman Takuya Kimura. Kimura stole third and scrambled in when Hanshin backstop Ryo Asai threw the ball into leftfield to make it 2-0.
In the bottom of the frame, Hanshin first baseman George Arias got a fastball and hacked it into the leftcenterfield bleachers and it was 2-1 Hiroshima. It was the former Padre's first ever first inning leadoff dinger.
With one out in the fifth, Brock swung from the heels and lifted it into the leftcenterfield stands for a 3-1 Carp lead.
The exertion may have lead to Hanshin's mini-rally in the home portion when shortstop Atsushi Fujimoto doubled to leftcenter and Asai singled to left to tighten back up at 3-2. But the Tigers never got moving from there on in and that was your ballgame.
Katsuhiro Nagakawa, who saved his 24th in the ninth, was clocked at 94mph.
For Hiroshima, shortstop Andy Sheets was 0-4 with two strikeouts and is at .313. Brock was 1-2 with a walk and an RBI and is at .350.
For Hanshin, Arias was 1-3 with a walk and an RBI and is at .271.
Pitching Lines:
Hiroshima:
Brock (W, 8-6) IP 7.0 BF 27 PC 97 H 4 HR 1 K 6 BB 3 R 2 ER 2 ERA 3.98
Sasaoka IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 17 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 5.08
Nagakawa (S, 24)IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 16 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.12
Hanshin:
Moore (L, 10-5) IP 6.0 BF 24 PC 85 H 6 HR 1 K 3 BB 1 R 3 ER 2 ERA 4.28
Kanazawa IP 2.0 BF 7 PC 33 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.47
Yoshino IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 13 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.87
E: R. Asai
SB: T. Kimura, Fujimoto
2B: T. Kimura, Fujimoto
3B: Asayama
HR: Arias (36), Brock (2)
RBI: T. Kimura, Brock, Arias, R. Asai
HBP: R. Asai (Brock)
GIDP: Hiyama (4-6-3), T. Arai (6-4-3)
LOB: Hiroshima 4, Hanshin 4
Season Series: Hiroshima 9, Hanshin 16
Game Time: 2:40
Attendance: 47,000
Umpires: Kasahara (HP), Ino (1B), Manabe (2B), Watada (3B)
Yokohama Blows Five Run Lead, But Wins Anyway
The Yokohama Bay Stars went out to a 5-0 lead through five innings, but then the Yakult Swallows solved starter Domingo Guzman in the sixth for four runs. However, the Stars carved out one more run in the bottom of the inning and it would be decisive in a 6-5 victory Wednesday at Yokohama Stadium. Guzman was credited with the win, his third straight.
Masanori Ishikawa started for Yakult and had a tough fight on his hands during his five innings, being tagged for seven hits and five runs, two earned, to receive blame for the defeat.
Both of the runs that Ishikawa coughed up came in the first, as Yokohama centerfielder Tatsuhiko Kinjo and second baseman Seiichi Uchikawa singled to right and leftfielder Takanori Suzuki boomed one off the leftfield wall, both runners sprinting to the plate, and it was 2-0.
Yakult had two on in both the second and fourth and couldn't turn them into anything. In the fifth, Yokohama stretched their lead when Uchikawa grounded to third baseman Ken Suzuki, who misplayed it for a one out error. One out later, first baseman Tyrone Woods walked. Third baseman Shuichi Murata got every little bit of an Ishikawa pitch and knocked it completely out of the park more than 490 feet away to leftcenter to make it 5-0 Stars.
Yakult got all of that back and then some in the bottom of the inning when shortstop Shinya Miyamoto singled to right and pinch hitter Yuichi Matsumoto singled to center. Leftfielder Alex Ramirez was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Suzuki singled to center to bring Miyamoto in. Catcher Atsuya Furuta grounded to third and Matsumoto scored. Centerfielder Ryuji Miyade singled to center to plate Ramirez. Kazuo Fukumori entered from the bullpen and he walked second baseman Noriyuki Shiroishi. Akinori Iwamura, pinch hitting for Ishikawa, grounded to second to send Suzuki in and it was 5-4 Yokohama.
Toshihide Narimoto took the hill for Yakult in the home ups and he plunked pinch hitter Katsuaki Furuki with two outs. Kinjo singled to center. Uchikawa singled to left to cash Furuki in to make it 6-4 Stars.
Ramirez made it a one run ballgame again when he stormed one off a sign in straightaway center more than 455 feet away to shorten it to 6-5 Yokohama. Yakult had a couple of minor scoring threats afterward, but ran out of gas and Eddie Gaillard saved it with a 1-2-3 ninth, blowing away the final two men on strikes. Yokohama now has won three straight for the first time this year.
Murata called the three run homer "the best contact I've ever made in my life."
For Yokohama, Woods was 0-2 with two walks and is at .263.
For Yakult, Matsumoto was 1-3 and is at .333. Ramirez was 1-4 with an HBP and an RBI and is at .325. Ramirez received one million yen for hitting that sign. He also tied Tsutomu Wakamatsu's team hits record with 167. In addition, he set a new team total bases record with 309, breaking Roberto Petagine's 306 mark
Pitching Lines:
Yakult:
Masanori Ishikawa (L, 9-11) IP 5.0 BF 24 PC 94 H 7 HR 1 K 2 BB 2 R 5 ER 2 ERA 4.15
Narimoto IP 2.0 BF 9 PC 34 H 2 HR 0 K 1 BB 2 R 1 ER 1 ERA 5.20
Ryo. Igarashi IP 1.0 BF 5 PC 16 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.47
Yokohama:
Guzman (W, 7-12) IP 5.1 BF 25 PC 103 H 6 HR 0 K 1 BB 4 R 4 ER 4 ERA 4.98
Fukumori IP 0.2 BF 3 PC 11 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.72
H. Yamada IP 0.2 BF 3 PC 7 H 1 HR 1 K 0 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.79
Kawahara IP 0.0 BF 1 PC 6 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 8.27
Tomori IP 1.1 BF 5 PC 16 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.38
Gaillard (S, 22) IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 20 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.32
E: K. Suzuki, Uchikawa
2B: T.N. Suzuki, M. Koike, T. Nakamura
HR: S. Murata (23), Ramirez (35)
RBI: Ramirez, K. Suzuki, Furuta, Miyade, Iwamura, Uchikawa, T.N. Suzuki 2, S.
Murata 3
HBP: Furuta (Guzman), Ramirez (Guzman), Furuki (Narimoto)
GIDP: Miyade (4-6-3)
LOB: Yakult 8, Yokohama 8
Season Series: Yakult 17, Yokohama 10
Game Time: 3:20
Attendance: 11,000
Umpires: Fukatani (HP), Tomoyose (1B), Honda (2B), Suginaga (3B)
Four Homers Power Lotte to 12-5
When manager Trey Hillman got on his pitching staff recently for walking too many hitters, I don't think he was telling them to throw the ball over the heart of the plate. But that's what they seem to be doing and yet they are still handing out free passes, numbering five total, four of those in the fourth inning Wednesday at Tokyo Dome in a 12-5 pounding at the hands of the Chiba Lotte Marines. All four of those bases on balls eventually crossed the plate and the fifth made it home later in the game.
Yukihiro Sakurai started for the Fighters and basically got nuked for eight runs on eight hits in three plus innings for his first loss.
Naoyuki Shimizu started for Lotte and was merely okay, going six innings of three run ball, two earned, on six hits, but it was adequate enough to grab his 12th shiroboshi.
Lotte passed the first couple of innings feeling Sakurai out and then rat packed him in the third, as second baseman Masato Watanabe leadoff with a rocket into the leftfield seats. One out later, first baseman Kazuya Fukuura singled to center and centerfielder Jun Inoue singled to left. One out later, third baseman Jose Fernandez singed one off the rightfield wall to chase the runners in and make it 3-0.
In the fourth, the bombardment continued, as rightfielder Saburo Omura shredded one into the rightcenterfield bleachers. Catcher Tomoya Satozaki walked and was sacrificed to second. Shortstop Makoto Kosaka doubled down the rightfield line to plate Satozaki. Kosaka moved to third on a groundout. Sakurai then walked Inoue and DH Koichi Hori to load the bases. Hillman got on the horn to the pen and invited Junichiro Muto to ascend the hill. He walked Fernandez to force Kosaka in. Leftfielder Rick Short singled to center and two more ran home for an 8-0 advantage.
Nippon Ham got off the floor in the bottom of the inning when rightfielder Tomochika Tsuboi got aboard on an infield hit and went to second on a groundout. DH Yukio Tanaka grounded to Fernandez, who booted it. First baseman Kuniyuki Kimoto thumped one into the leftfield stands and it was 8-3 Lotte.
Nippon Ham loaded the bases on an infield single, a hit batter and a walk with two outs in the fifth, but Kimoto couldn't produce the clutch hit that time and 8-3 it still was.
But Lotte would tack another one on in the seventh, as Fernandez walked, Short singled to center and Omura doubled down the leftfield line to usher Fernandez in and it was 9-3.
Yomiuri wants to acquire Lotte reliever Soichi Fujita as part of a larger trade and he pitched in the eighth as if he was already in the Giants pen, as Kimoto singled to right and Leftfielder Yoshinori Ueda homered to leftcenter to put the score at 9-5 Lotte.
So Lotte retaliated in the ninth against Hiroyuki Sekine when Fernandez rocked one into the rightcenterfield seats. Short singled to left. Omura homered to leftcenter to make it 12-5. This was Omura's first career multi-homer game.
Takashi Kawai retired three of the four men he faced in Nippon Ham's last turn and Lotte climbed over the Fighters for fourth place.
For Lotte, Fernandez was 3-3 with two walks and four RBIs and is at .286. Short was 3-5 with two RBIs and is at .309.
Pitching Lines:
Lotte:
N. Shimizu (W, 12-10) IP 6.0 BF 27 PC 121 H 6 HR 1 K 7 BB 2 R 3 ER 2 ERA 3.28
S. Fujita IP 1.0 BF 6 PC 22 H 3 HR 1 K 0 BB 0 R 2 ER 2 ERA 5.28
Sikorsky IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 12 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.26
T. Kawai IP 1.0 BF 4 PC 14 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.32
Nippon Ham:
Y. Sakurai (L, 0-1) IP 3.2 BF 22 PC 89 H 8 HR 2 K 2 BB 3 R 8 ER 8 ERA 7.33
J. Muto IP 1.1 BF 6 PC 21 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
A. Shimizu IP 1.0 BF 6 PC 30 H 2 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 4.17
Sekine IP 3.0 BF 11 PC 35 H 3 HR 2 K 2 BB 0 R 3 ER 3 ERA 6.04
E: Fernandez
SB: Daita, Ide
2B: Fernandez 2, Kosaka, Narahara, S. Omura, Akune
HR: M. Watanabe (6), S. Omura 2 (8), Kimoto (12), Y. Ueda (4), Fernandez (27)
RBI: Kosaka, Fernandez 4, Short 2, S. Omura 4, Kimoto 3, Y. Ueda 2
HBP: M. Ogasawara (N. Shimizu)
GIDP: M. Watanabe (1-6-3), K. Shimada (5-4-3)
LOB: Lotte 6, Nippon Ham 8
Season Series: Lotte 11, Nippon Ham 14
Game Time: 3:34
Attendance: 15,000
Umpires: Shinya (HP), Akimura (1B), Yamamoto (2B), Kawaguchi (3B)
Team Reports
Yomiuri Sports Nippon insuinuated Wednesday that manager Tatsunori Hara's job is in jeopardy after a disappointing 2003 campaign that sees them presently in the second division of the Central League. Owner Tsuneo Watanabe has reportedly told Hara that the club has to finish second or else....The rumor that second baseman Toshihisa Nishi may be included in a trade for Lotte closer Masahide Kobayashi hotted up Wednesday when Sankei Sports claimed that the deal may also involve leftfielder Takayuki Shimizu plus one other player. In return, Yomiuri would get Kobayashi and middle reliever Soichi Fujita. Nishi's star has been on the decline since last season and it's hard to see why Lotte would be interested other than for pure name value. Shimizu, who had been, perhaps unfairly, been labled a "butcher" defensively in the past, just missed tying former Yokohama great Bobby Rose's CL hits record in 2002, but hasn't been able to hit a lick this time around. Really, why Lotte should give up a quality arm for either of these guys when they can get better defense and at least the same kind of bat from Rick Short is questionable. Lotte doesn't lose much by having either Masato Watanabe or Koichi Hori at second since Nishi seems to have lost his stroke. Thus, what Lotte needs is some third base and outfield sock (since Jose Fernandez really belongs in the DH role) and a frontline starter. And this proposed exchange answers none of those needs....In the same article, the writer says that the Giants are looking at Tsuyoshi Shinjo. Are you kidding me? He would be a huge defensive improvement over what they had in that slot the last several seasons, but he would also introduce a lot more strikeouts into the lineup without generating enough power or average to compensate for it. Not a good move.
Hanshin Shortstop Atsushi Fujimoto has legally tied the knot with former tv personality Yuki Nakano on Monday, according to Sports Nippon. They had promised each other that they would get married as soon as the Tigers clinched the pennant. The two reportedly met through mutual friends last season. No word as yet on when the ceremony or reception will be held....Catcher Akihiro Yano and ace Kei Igawa were at Daiei's game Wednesday scouting the Hawks hitters in anticipation of facing them in the Japan Series. Sitting alongside Yano behind the back net was chief batting instructor Koichi Tabuchi, who was checking out the pitching, and baserunning and defensive coach Akinobu Okada along with a bunch of scouts. Okada compared Daiei ace Kazumi Saito to Hiroshima's Masayuki Hasegawa, not a very flattering analogy to Saito.
Seibu Manager Haruki Ihara will step down after the season is over in favor of catcher Tsutomu Itoh. Itoh says that he wants to carry on as a player and won't say much else about the promotion to skipper. With Itoh behind the plate, the Lions have won 14 pennants and seven Japan Series championships. However, why this change is being made is still a mystery. Ihara has developed several fine young players such as Taketoshi Goto and Hiroyuki Nakajima and turned journeyman catcher/outfielder Kazuhiro Wada into a star. And do we even need to mention last year's pennant, when Ihara set a new wins record for a new field boss? Just more stupidity in the front offices of NPB. However, the Lions do intend to keep Ihara around in some capacity, either in the front office or maybe as their minor league manager.
Nippon Ham Chris Seelbach will be released effective Thursday, according to Sankei Sports. The former Braves farmhand went 2-8 with a 5.61 ERA this year for the Fighters and has spent a good deal of time in the minors.
