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09/25/2003 Archived Entry: "Japanese Baseball News: Fujikawa Three Hits Giants; Hara's Job in Jeopardy?"
Giants Three Hit by Hanshin 6-0
Kyuji Fujikawa, in only his second start of the season, was regularly getting behind the Yomiuri Giants' hitters Friday at Tokyo Dome, but he found a way to shut them out anyway during his five innings of work and received ample run support from what amounted to the Hanshin Tigers B team to tie a 1979 club record for most victories against their Tokyo rivals with their 17th by a 6-0 margin.
Masanori Hayashi started for Yomiuri on his 20th birthday and had another mediocre outing, as he required 98 pitches to last five innings and was touched for five runs on six hits to fall to 2-3.
Hanshin drew first blood in this one, as rightfielder Shinjiro Hiyama doubled to leftcenter in the second and second baseman Kentaro Sekimoto singled to center on the first pitch he was thrown to drive him in for a 1-0 lead. Sekimoto was sacrificed along. Catcher Toshihiro Noguchi was plunked. One out later, Fujikawa slapped one between second and third that was knocked down for an infield hit to load the bases. First baseman George Arias then beat out a tapper toward third and Sekimoto busted hard for the plate to make it 2-0.
Fujikawa walked the first two men he saw in the bottom of the frame, but a strikeout and a double play ball rectified that.
In the third, Sekimoto got an 88mph fastball on the inner half of the plate and torqued it into the leftfield seats to enlarge the Tigers advantage to 3-0.
Yomiuri had the first two hitters in the fourth get on, but again, were haunted by the double play ground ball.
The Tigers loaded the bases with two outs in the fifth, but third baseman Yoshinori Okihara flied out to right to put that opportunity asunder.
In the sixth, Hanshin capitalized on a Giants error when shortstop Atsushi Fujimoto grounded to Hayashi, who kicked it. One out later, Arias walked. Centerfielder Norihiro Akahoshi singled to center to send Fujimoto in and make it 4-0.
Hanshin would pack the sacks one more time in the eighth with one down on a single and two walks off of Cory Bailey, but a groundout and flyout did that in.
However, in the ninth, Sekimoto singled to center and pinch hitter Koji Hirashita walloped a Yuya Kubo offering into the rightfield bleachers to raise the lead to 6-0. Jeff Williams dispensed with the Yomiuri lineup on two strikeouts and a groundout to put it in the books.
It is the eighth time that the Giants have suffered 17 losses to a team in a season, two each by Yakult, Hiroshima, Hanshin, and Chunichi. The last time was in 1995, when Yakult did it. The first time was by Hiroshima in 1960. Yakult holds the record for most losses inflicted by one team on Yomiuri in a campaign with 19 in 1997. The 1975 Chunichi Dragons are second with 18 in 1975.
Hirashita has only two hits this season in extremely limited duty, both pinch hit dingers.
For Yomiuri, leftfielder Roberto Petagine was 0-2 with a walk and is at .322. Chris Latham struckout in a pinch hit role and is at .229.
For Hanshin, George Arias, batting in the one hole like he did Wednesday, was 1-3 with two walks and an RBI and is at .272.
Pitching Lines:
Hanshin:
Fujikawa (W, 1-1) IP 5.0 BF 18 PC 78 H 3 HR 0 K 3 BB 2 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.38
Yoshino IP 1.1 BF 4 PC 19 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.77
Riggan IP 1.2 BF 5 PC 26 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.78
Williams IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 13 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.63
Yomiuri:
M. Hayashi (L, 2-3) IP 5.0 BF 24 PC 98 H 6 HR 1 K 4 BB 3 R 3 ER 3 ERA 3.65
Kashiwada IP 1.0 BF 6 PC 24 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 1 ER 0 ERA 4.87
Bailey IP 2.0 BF 9 PC 37 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 2 R 0 ER 0 ERA 5.23
Kubo IP 1.0 BF 5 PC 18 H 2 HR 1 K 1 BB 0 R 2 ER 2 ERA 4.31
E: Kashiwada
SB: Akahoshi
2B: Hiyama, Takayuki Saito
HR: Sekimoto (4), Hirashita (2)
RBI: Arias, Akahoshi, Sekimoto 2, Hirashita 2
HBP: T. Noguchi (M. Hayashi)
GIDP: Nishi (6-4-3), Kiyohara (6-3)
LOB: Hanshin 11, Yomiuri 3
Season Series: Hanshin 17, Yomiuri 6 1 Tie
Game Time: 3:13
Attendance: 55,000
Umpires: Watada (HP), Sasaki (1B), Tomoyose (2B), T. Kobayashi (3B)
Kuroda Wins 11th for Hiroshima 4-3; Otsukaresama Deshita Hodges-san!
It was a bittersweet final game in a Yakult Swallows uniform for righthander Kevin Hodges, as he went two innings of one run ball in a 4-3 defeat to the Hiroshima Carp Friday at Meiji Jingu Stadium. Hiroki Kuroda started for Hiroshima and was flat brilliant, tossing eight innings of two run ball on four hits for his lifetime best tying 11th shiroboshi.
The Carp surged on top in the second inning, as shortstop Andy Sheets doubled to rightcenter, went to third on a sacrifice and travelled home on a single to center from first baseman Kojiro Machida for a 1-0 lead.
In the fourth, leftfielder Tomonori Maeda smashed a Hirotsugu Maeda delivery into the rightfield seats to make it 2-0 Carp.
Yakult created its initial threat in the fourth, as rightfielder Mitsuru Manaka walked and went to second on a sacrifice. Third baseman Akinori Iwamura singled to left. Unfortunately, leftfielder Alex Ramirez popped out to catcher Yoshiyuki Ishihara and first baseman Ken Suzuki flied out to left to extinguish the fire.
Hodges came on to begin the sixth and was taken over the leftfield wall by second baseman Takuya Kimura for a 3-0 Hiroshima advantage.
They added another when pinch hitter Shigeru Morikasa singled to center with one out in the eighth and Kimura singled to right. Centerfielder Koichi Ogata singled to left to usher Morikasa in and it was 4-0 Carp. Any further scoring was stymied when Sheets grounded into a 6-4-3 double play.
The Swallows, though. halved the Carp lead in the bottom of the inning, as second baseman Noriyuki Shiroishi singled to center and rode pinch hitter Hirobumi Watarai's double up the leftcenter alley home, Watarai going to third on the relay to the plate. Manaka grounded to short to convert Watarai and it was 4-2 Hiroshima.
Iwamura leadoff the ninth with a single to right against Carp rookie closer Katsuhiro Nagakawa. Ramirez nearly tied it up with one swing of the bat on an 89mph fastball on the outer half of the plate, but the ball carromed off the rightfield wall for a double. Suzuki grounded out to first to hail Iwamura in. Catcher Atsuya Furuta pasted one right on the screws, but right at Morikasa for the second out. Centerfielder Ryuji Miyade grounded out to second and the Yakult rally just missed as Nagakawa registered his 25th save, becoming only the second rookie in history to that figure.
The record for saves by a first year hurler is 31 by the Chunichi Dragons' Tsuyoshi Yoda in 1990.
After the game was over, Hodges expressed his gratitude to his teammates and coaches and revealed that he would like to play in Japan again next season.
For Hiroshima, Sheets was 1-4 and is at .312.
For Yakult, Ramirez was 1-4 and is at .324. His two bagger was his 168th hit, a new team single season record. Pinch hitter Yuichi Matsumoto struckout in a pinch hit appearance and is at .286.
Pitching Lines:
Hiroshima:
Kuroda (W, 11-8) IP 8.0 BF 29 PC 103 H 4 HR 0 K 5 BB 1 R 2 ER 2 ERA 3.37
Nagakawa (S, 25) IP 1.0 BF 5 PC 13 H 2 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.27
Yakult:
H. Maeda (L, 0-1) IP 5.0 BF 19 PC 73 H 4 HR 1 K 4 BB 1 R 2 ER 2 ERA 4.34
Hodges IP 2.0 BF 7 PC 21 H 1 HR 1 K 0 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 5.90
Narimoto IP 1.0 BF 5 PC 12 H 3 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 5.30
H. Ishii IP 1.0 BF 5 PC 21 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.60
2B: Sheets, Miyade, Watarai, Fukuchi, Ramirez
HR: T. Maeda (19), T. Kimura (11)
RBI: T. Kimura, Ogata, Machida, T. Maeda, Manaka, K. Suzuki, Watarai
IBB: Ishihara (H. Ishii)
GIDP: Sheets (6-4-3)
LOB: Hiroshima 5, Yakult 4
Season Series: Hiroshima 9, Yakult 12 1 Tie
Game Time: 2:32
Attendance: 14,000
Umpires: Suginaga (HP), Tsuchiyama (1B), Ino (2B), Arisumi (3B)
Fukudome Blast Gets Dragons 2-2 Tie
Chunichi Dragons rightfielder Kosuke Fukudome slammed a two run homer in the sixth to even up their faceoff with the Yokohama Bay Stars Friday at Yokohama Stadium 2-2. However, both sides then failed to make anything of several opportunities and it concluded as a12 inning tie.
Shigeki Noguchi started for the Nagoya nine and fought himself so much that he was pulled after just five innings and 101 pitches after surrendering two runs on six hits.
Takeharu Kato made his first pro start for Yokohama and was solid, going six innings of two run, five hit ball while striking out eight and walking none, though he ultimately wasn't rewarded for his excellent performance.
The Stars seized an early lead, as centerfielder Tatsuhiko Kinjo leadoff the first with a single to left and went to second on an infield hit by leftfielder Takanori Suzuki. Rightfielder Hitoshi Tamura squirted a double down the leftfield line to send Kinjo in. First baseman Tyrone Woods walked to load the bases. Third baseman Shuichi Murata flied out to center and Suzuki tagged up and crossed to make it 2-0. Second baseman Hitoshi Taneda spoiled the festivities by grounding into a double play to end the inning, but Yokohama was still two up.
Taneda then couldn't deliver a clutch hit in the third, when he came up with two out and the bases loaded, flying out to right to terminate the rally.
But in the sixth, Dragons leftfielder Kazuki Inoue singled to right and, two outs later, Fukudome stepped in looking for a fastball and got a 3-2 87mph heater and crushed it into the rightcenterfield seats to knot it at 2-2. What is a little ironic is that Kato struckout the side, but the mistake he made in the meantime would loom large.
Chunichi then attempted to organize a winning rally in the seventh, as Hiroyuki Watanabe singled to left with two outs and catcher Motonobu Tanishige doubled down the leftfield line to put men on second and third. Koichi Sekikawa flied out to center, though, and it remained deadlocked.
Yokohama had men on first and second with one out in the eighth, but third baseman Kazuyoshi Tatsunami struckout and centerfielder Alex Ochoa flied out to right and it went by the boards.
It went to extra innings and the Dragons then had a man on third and two outs in the tenth, only to have Fukudome foul one right up the shoot for an easy popout to third.
In the bottom of the inning, Suzuki singled to center and Tamura singled to right to put the winning run in scoring position. Woods attempted to lay down a sac bunt, but hit a little popup to reliever Hitoki Iwase and Murata grounded into a 6-4-3 twin killing to put that fire out.
Next time the Stars were up, Taneda singled to left and went to second on a sac bunt. However, Akinori Otsuka struckout the next two and nobody got in in either half of the 12th and the game sputtered to a close.
Fukudome has seven homers in ten games. He has also driven in a run in ten consecutive battles. Former Hanshin Tiger Randy Bass holds the consecutive RBI games record with 13 in 1986. The team record is 11, by Michio Nishizawa in 1949. Too, Fukudome may break Nishizawa's 1950 record of 104 runs scored.
For Chunichi, Ochoa was 0-5 and is at .289.
For Yokohama, Woods was 1-4 with a walk and is at .263.
Pitching Lines:
Chunichi:
S. Noguchi IP 5.0 BF 22 PC 101 H 6 HR 0 K 4 BB 2 R 2 ER 2 ERA 4.50
M. Valdes IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 13 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.69
Ochiai IP 1.0 BF 5 PC 19 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.77
S. Okamoto IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 17 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.54
Iwase IP 2.0 BF 8 PC 27 H 3 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.07
A.N. Otsuka IP 2.0 BF 7 PC 30 H 1 HR 0 K 4 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.15
Yokohama:
T.H. Kato IP 6.0 BF 22 PC 90 H 5 HR 1 K 8 BB 0 R 2 ER 2 ERA 2.61
Fukumori IP 1.0 BF 5 PC 13 H 2 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.63
R. Kawahara IP 0.2 BF 4 PC 14 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 7.94
Kizuka IP 1.1 BF 4 PC 22 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.63
Tomori IP 1.0 BF 4 PC 17 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.30
Gaillard IP 1.0 BF 4 PC 16 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.19
H. Yamada IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 12 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.68
E: T.H. Kato
SB: Kuramoto, Tamura, Woods, Ryoji Aikawa
2B: Tamura, Tanishige
HR: Fukudome (31)
RBI: Fukudome 2, Tamura, S. Murata
IBB: T.N. Suzuki (Ochiai)
SF: S. Murata
GIDP: Taneda (4-6-3), Fukudome (3-6-3), Murata (6-4-3)
LOB: Chunichi 8, Yokohama 10
Game Time: 4:34
Attendance: 12,000
Umpires: Shimada (HP), Kittaka (1B), Tani (2B), Nishimoto (3B)
Four Run Lotte Eighth Downs Orix 7-4
A four run volley in the eighth inning brought the Chiba Lotte Marines from a run down into a three run lead, which they defended, and left the scene with a 7-4 victory Friday at Chiba Marine Stadium against the Orix Blue Wave. Makoto Suzuki had his best start of the second half, as he went seven innings of three run ball on five hits, though reliever Atsushi Kubota would get the loss at the end of the day.
Orix was up 1-0 in the second, when second baseman Jose Ortiz legged out an infield hit and went to second on a groundout. Rightfielder Ryutaro Tsuji then singled to left to redeem Ortiz.
But Lotte equalized it in the home half, as rightfielder Saburo Omura walked and catcher Tomoya Satozaki jerked one off the leftfied wall for a triple and it was 1-1.
Orix, though, pulled in front again in the fourth when first baseman Kazuhiko Shiotani singled to right and went to second on a sac bunt. Centerfielder Yoshitomo Tani singled to center to push Shiotani in. Leftfielder Roosevelt Brown clouted one into the rightcenterfield stands to make it 4-1 Lotte.
In the sixth, Lotte reduced that edge to one when third baseman Jose Fernandez and leftfielder Rick Short both walked. Omura doubled to leftcenter to slingshot them home and it was 4-3 Orix.
Kubota went to the center of the diamond to begin the eighth and Hori and Fernandez walked with one out. Hisashi Ogura replaced Kubota. Short singled to left to pack the sacks. Omura flied out to center and Hori tagged up and crossed to tie it up. Satozaki walked. Ogura threw a pitch that catcher Daisuke Maeda couldn't handle for a passed ball and Fernandez crossed. Pinch hitter Kiyoshi Hatsushiba singled to right and two more ran home to lend Lotte a 7-4 advantage.
Kobayashi was touched for a leadoff single to right by shortstop Mitsutaka Goto, but three groundouts to short later, this one was a memory.
Orix set a new record for most hits given up by a team in a season with 1398. The old standard was 1393 by Kintetsu in 1964 in a 150 game season. And the Blue Wave fans are none too happy, as some of them were shouting things like "time to hang it up guys," and "don't bother coming to the park tomorrow" as the team bus pulled away.
For Lotte, Fernandez was 0-2 with two walks and is at .285. Short was 1-3 with a walk and is at .309.
For Orix, Brown was 2-3 with a walk and two RBIs and is at .310. Ortiz was 1-4 and is at .255.
Pitching Lines:
Orix:
M. Suzuki IP 7.0 BF 29 PC 123 H 5 HR 0 K 6 BB 5 R 3 ER 3 ERA 7.92
A. Kubota (L, 0-1)IP 0.1 BF 3 PC 14 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 2 R 2 ER 1 ERA 3.38
H. Ogura IP 0.2 BF 5 PC 17 H 2 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 2 ER 1 ERA 4.77
Lotte:
H.Y. Kobayashi IP 5.0 BF 24 PC 86 H 9 HR 1 K 6 BB 1 R 4 ER 4 ERA 3.72
T. Kawai IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 13 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.26
Tobe (W, 2-0) IP 2.0 BF 8 PC 30 H 2 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.32
M.H. Kobayashi (S, 29)IP 1.0 BF 4 PC 5 H 1 HR 1 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.93
SB: Fernandez, Kosaka
2B: K. Oshima, S. Omura, Satozaki
3B: J. Inoue, Satozaki
HR: Brown (28)
RBI: Tani, Brown 2, R. Tsuji, S. Omura 3, Satozaki, Hatsushiba 2
SF: S. Omura
WP: H.Y. Kobayashi
PB: Maeda
GIDP: R. Tsuji (6-3), Fukuura (3-6-1)
LOB: Orix 8, Lotte 6
Season Series: Orix 5, Lotte 18 1 Tie
Game Time: 3:11
Attendance: 10,000
Umpires: Yamazaki (HP), Yamamoto (1B), Tsugawa (2B), Akimura (3B)
Team Reports
Yomiuri Can blowhard team owner Tsuneo Watanabe be serious when he said that manager Tatsunori Hara might get the boot if Hanshin sweeps the Giants this weekend? Last season, the guy was a genius when his club steamrollered the Seibu Lions for the Japan Series championship. Now, even after an almost farcical array of injuries have afflicted the club, he is going to threaten Hara with his job? Again, Watanabe is a big reason why Japanese baseball will always have a minor league tint to it unless the owners change their behavior.
Hanshin Outfielder Osamu Hamanaka took regular batting practice for the first time since his shoulder surgery and ripped 22 out of the park in 74 swings....Regular second baseman Makoto Imaoka is still rehabbing his aching shoulder and there is no definite word as to when he will be back.
Chunichi Alex Ochoa will be asked back next season, according to Chunichi Sports. His beautiful wife, Suzy, who is said to be half Cuban and half Chinese, is reported to have gotten the Japan bug bigtime and climbed Mount Fuji and took in a sumo tournament the last time she came to the country to visit her husband.
Seibu Yomiuri Giants first baseman Kazuhiro Kiyohara heading back to the Seibu Lions? The Lions are reportedly interested in putting the big righthanded slugger in their lineup next season and are going to try to workout a cash deal with Yomiuri for him. This should set up an interesting internal battle between incumbent first baseman Alex Cabrera and Kiyohara since the powerful Venezuealn doesn't want to be confined to DH duty. Considering Kiyohara's bad hamstring, he would be better suited for DH duty, though how he would view that is unknown. He has told friends, however, that he would like to retire in a Seibu uniform as "onkaeshi," or as a show of gratitude to the Lions for making him a star. Kiyohara has two more seasons left on his Yomuri contract....According to Sports Nippon, when Tsutomu Itoh takes over the reigns of the ballclub this offseason season, he is expected to ask former Yomiuri head coach Yoshitaka Katori to assume the same position under him while former Yakult hurler Daisuke Araki would be named pitching coach. According to Sankei Sports, Lions ace Daisuke Matsuzaka's parents were fans of Araki and decided to give their son the same first name. I don't know if that story is actually true, but it makes for an interesting angle for the 2004 season. In addition, former Seibu ace Hisanobu Watanabe, who lead the PL three times in victories and once in ERA, may also be brought aboard as an assistant pitching coach. He has also played in Taiwan, which will help him in dealing with Taiwan natives Hsu Ming-chieh and Chang Chia-chiah. Seibu's team ERA is 4.45, the first time it has been over 4.00 since 1984.
Kintetsu Rookie pitcher Kenta Abe, who has done extremely well in three recent starts, will be relegated to the bullpen the rest of the schedule so that he won't rack up enough innings to jeopardize his eligibility for Rookie of the Year next season. The last Buffalo to win that award was Hiroshi Takamura in 1992. The rookie limit for pitchers is 30 innings....Even though he is battling Buffaloes leftfielder Tuffy Rhodes for the homer title, manager Masataka Nashida said that he will have his pitchers pitch to Seibu slugger Alex Cabrera, even it ends up costing Sadaharu Oh his homer record. "Records are made to be broken," the former catcher averred to Sports Nippon. "Just because of that we're not going to try to avoid him."
Daiei Rookie lefty Tsuyoshi Wada threw 50 pitches in the bullpen Friday. He has been tentatively penciled in to start against Nippon Ham on the 25th....Fireballer Nagisa Arakaki will be allowed to start running again for the first time since having ankle surgery August 8th.
Lotte Outfielder Derrick May has been released and will travel back to the stats Saturday. After slamming 54 homers the previous two seasons, May slumped to .246 with five homers in 30 games and has been in the minors since early May.
Orix According to Hochi Sports, Yomiuri hall of famer Shigeo Nagashima will be a "guest of honor" at the wedding ceremony of Blue Wave centerfielder Yoshitomo Tani and judo world champion Ryoko "Yawara" Tamura. Nagashima got to know Tamura when he attended a party a few years ago celebrating one of what would become Tamura's six consecutive world titles. That should also amp up the already expected big tv ratings of the broacast of the nuptials.
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