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10/01/2003 Archived Entry: "Japanese Baseball News: No 20th for Saito; Cox Too Expensive to Keep; Sayonara Hara"
Saito Loses Bid for 20th Win Due to Bad Bullpen 12-6
A total collapse Wednesday at Tokyo Dome by the Daiei Hawks bullpen resulted in a nine run uprising by the Nippon Ham Fighters that prevented Daiei starter Kazumi Saito from obtaining his 20th win of the season in a 12-6 defeat. Tatsuhito Kato was the beneficiary of the opposition relievers' incompetence, as he picked up his first win of the year while the Hawks Makoto Sato declined to 2-3.
Saito pitched decently enough to win, as he limited the Fighters to three runs on seven hits in 6.1 innings, but that's the way it goes sometimes.
Shintaro Ejiri started for Nippon Ham and was mediocre, allowing four runs on eight hits in seven innings.
Daiei went out in front in the second, as first baseman Nobuhiko Matsunaka walked and catcher Kenji Johjima singled to left. Two outs later, rightfielder Hiroshi Shibahara singled to left to load the bases. Shortstop Yusuke Torigoe singled to left to plate a pair and it was 2-0.
They doubled that in the third, as Matsunaka drilled a shot into the centerfield seats with two outs. Johjima singled to left and stole second. Leftfielder Pedro Valdes singled to center and it was 4-0 Hawks.
Saito struckout the side in the bottom of the third and retired three of four men in the fourth. However, in the fifth, Nippon Ham first baseman Katsuhiro Nishiura singled to center and went to second on a wild pitch. One out later, shortstop Hiroshi Narahara doubled up the rightcenter alley to plate Nishiura. One out later, centerfielder Tatsuya Ide ripped one up the leftcenter gap for an RBI double and it was 4-2 Daiei.
In the seventh, Nishiura brought his side even closer when he creamed a hanging forkball into the leftfield bleachers to make it 4-3 Hawks.
Sato entered the game to begin the eighth and promptly walked Yoshinori Ueda. Yukio Tanaka singled to center. Shuji Yohida replaced Sato. Third baseman Kuniyuki Kimoto walked to pack the sacks. Kazuteru Shimada laced a cut fastball into center and it was 5-4 Fighters. Nishura walked to reload the bases. Shintaro Yoshitake ascended the mound. Catcher Shinji Takahashi singled to center and two more crossed. Narahara walked to jam the basepaths. Hirokazu Watanabe was waved in. Kokichi Akune was hit by a pitch and Nishiura was forced in. One out later, Ueda singled to left to see Takahashi in. Following another out, Kimoto whistled a shot up the leftcenterfield alley to clear the bases for a three run double and it was 12-4. Shimada walked. Finally, Nishiura grounded out and this farce of an inning was through.
Daiei would display only token resistance, as DH Julio Zuleta singled to left to leadoff the ninth and, one out later, Noriyoshi Omichi socked one into the leftfield seats to make it 12-6. That would be all, though, and the Hawks continue to sputter to the pennant.
The triumph by Nippon Ham meant their first winning record at home in five years.
It was the first time since April 30, 2001 that Daiei had given up nine runs in an inning. The 12 runs permitted was a season worst and the first time since July 19th of last season that so many had been rung up against them. The team record for most runs given up is 32, the Japan record, against Hankyu in the pre-war days of Japanese pro baseball.
Coming into Wednesday's contest, Daiei had been 15-0-1 when Torigoe had an RBI.
For Nippon Ham, DH Angel Echevarria was 0-1 with an HBP and is at .273.
For Daiei, Valdes was 1-4 with an RBI and is at .319. Zuleta was 1-4 and is at .259.
Pitching Lines:
Daiei:
K. Saito IP 6.1 BF 26 PC 94 H 7 HR 1 K 5 BB 1 R 3 ER 3 ERA 2.92
M. Sato (L, 2-3) IP 0.2 BF 4 PC 17 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 2 ER 2 ERA 3.40
S. Yoshida IP 0.0 BF 3 PC 14 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 2 R 3 ER 3 ERA 5.11
Yoshitake IP 0.0 BF 2 PC 9 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 2 ER 2 ERA 4.23
H.K. Watanabe IP 1.0 BF 7 PC 25 H 2 HR 0 K 1 BB 2 R 2 ER 2 ERA 5.05
Nippon Ham:
Ejiri IP 7.0 BF 30 PC 112 H 8 HR 1 K 4 BB 2 R 4 ER 4 ERA 4.50
Tat. Kato (W, 1-0) IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 10 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.93
Tateishi IP 1.0 BF 6 PC 29 H 2 HR 1 K 0 BB 1 R 2 ER 2 ERA 4.61
E: Kimoto
SB: Iguchi, Johjima
2B: Nishiura, Ide, Narahara, Kimoto
HR: Matsunaka (24), Nishiura (6), Omichi (4)
RBI: Matsunaka, P. Valdes, Torigoe 2, Omichi 2, Y. Ueda, Kimoto 3, K. Shimada 2,
Nishiura, S. Takahashi 2, Kaneko, Akune
WP: K. Saito
HBP: Echevarria (K. Saito), Akune (H.K. Watanabe)
GIDP: K. Shimada (1-6-3), Johjima (1-6-3)
LOB: Daiei 6, Nippon Ham 6
Season Series: Daiei 15, Nippon Ham 10 2 Ties
Game Time: 3:33
Attendance: 28,000
Umpires: Kawaguchi (HP), Shinya (1B), Tamba (2B), Nagami (3B)
Toyoda Blows Save and Maybe Seibu's Season 3-3
This was a nightmare for both the Seibu Lions and their closer, Kiyoshi Toyoda, Wednesday at Seibu Dome, as he threw a wild pitch in the ninth inning that helped the Chiba Lotte Marines tie it up and perhaps apply the killing blow to the team's season. He then exacerbated that by punching a cooler and slicing open a finger in the dugout after finishing the inning and had to be taken both to the hospital for three stitches and off the roster.
Submariner Shunsuke Watanabe started for Lotte and had the game of his life, as he went all 12 innings on just 150 pitches. Man, how this guy has come around.
Mitsutaka Goto started for Seibu and had a nice outing, permitting two runs on five hits in six innings. Toyoda, though, couldn't provide him with a win.
Lotte had the initial upper hand when third baseman Jose Fernandez belted a Goto pitch over the hills and far away to center for a 1-0 lead.
Seibu would surmount that in the third when shortstop Kazuo Matsui doubled down the rightfield line and went to third on a one out ground out. First baseman Alex Cabrera singled to right to redeem Matsui. Rightfielder Hiroyuki Oshima then parked one in the rightfield bleachers to lend the Lions a 3-1 advantage.
Lotte had two outs and the bases loaded in the fourth, but rightfielder Saburo Omura grounded out to third to extinguish the revolt.
However, in the fifth, Lotte catcher Tomoya Satozaki powered one into the leftfield stands and it was 3-2 Lions.
Unfortunately, though, Toyoda would get two quick outs in the ninth and then strikeout Satozaki, but the ball glanced off the glove of catcher Toru Hosokawa, who didn't get in front of it as he should have, and it rolled away while Satozaki busted for first. Pinch hitter Kiyoshi Hatsushiba seared one into the leftfield corner and Satozaki was able to hustle his way in from first with the equalizer to make it 3-3.
Lotte could have decided it in the 12th, when shortstop Makoto Kosaka singled to left with one out and first baseman Kazuya Fukuura singled to right. But reserve centerfielder Takashi Kita grounded into an inning ending twin killing while Seibu subsequently went down in order in their turn and that was all she wrote.
By tying, Lotte missed a chance at taking its tenth series in a row.
This was the first 12 inning CG by anyone since Fumiya Nishiguchi did it for Seibu against Nippon Ham, whose starter, Masaru Imazeki, went all the way, too, on August 13, 1996.
For Lotte, Fernandez was 2-4 with a walk and an RBI and is at .291. Leftfielder Rick Short was 0-4 with a walk and two strikeouts and is at .305.
For Seibu, Cabrera was 1-4 with a walk and an RBI and is at .326. Scott McClain struckout to end the game in a pinch hit appearance and is at .232.
Pitching Lines:
Lotte:
S. Watanabe IP 12.0 BF 44 PC 150 H 8 HR 1 K 6 BB 2 R 3 ER 3 ERA 4.03
Seibu:
M. Goto IP 6.0 BF 25 PC 97 H 5 HR 2 K 5 BB 3 R 2 ER 2 ERA 3.97
Hsu IP 0.1 BF 2 PC 11 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 5.32
Y. Doi IP 0.2 BF 2 PC 6 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.22
S. Mori IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 14 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.35
Toyoda IP 1.0 BF 6 PC 29 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 1.24
T. Shiozaki IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 16 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.96
Shibasaki IP 1.1 BF 4 PC 14 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.61
Mitsui IP 0.2 BF 3 PC 7 H 2 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 5.30
2B: H.Y. Oshima, K.Matsui, J. Inoue, Kosaka, Hatsushiba
HR: Fernandez (28), H.Y. Oshima (7), Satozaki (8)
RBI: Fernandez, Satozaki, Hatsushiba, Cabrera, H.Y. Oshima 2
WP: M. Goto, Toyoda
GIDP: Short (5-4-3), Kita (6-3)
LOB: Lotte 9, Seibu 5
Season Series: Lotte 8, Seibu 17 1 Tie
Game Time: 4:01
Attendance: 16,000
Umpires: Yamamoto (HP), Akimura (1B), Tachibana (2B), Yanagita (3B)
Suzuki Finally Back in Win Column 4-2
For the first time since July 9th, Makoto Suzuki, who has been helping hitters swell their batting averages to a pleasingly plump state (unless, of course, you are an Orix fan), finally put it all together Wednesday at Osaka Dome against the Kintetsu Buffaloes and went eight strong innings of five hit, two run ball despite walking five men in a 4-2 Blue Wave victory.
Shogo Yamamoto started for Kintetsu, his third as a pro, and was burned by the longball in an otherwise not too bad performance, but nonetheless remains winless upon being done up for three runs, two earned, on four hits in 5.2 innings.
Orix centerfielder Yoshitomo Tani lead his faction to a 1-0 advantage when he went yard to center with two outs in the first
Suzuki's fits of wildness, though, cost him in the third, when he walked both leftfielder Tuffy Rhodes and first baseman Yuji Yoshioka. One out later, centerfielder Naoyuki Omura singled to center and Rhodes crossed to knot it at one all.
In the fourth, Yoshioka poleaxed one into the leftfield seats to put the Buffs at the front of the line at 2-1. Suzuki then extricated himself out of a bases loaded difficulty by tempting catcher Akihito Fujii into flying out to left. After that, the ex-Royal was golden.
In the meantime, Orix asserted itself, as catcher Daisuke Maeda walked with two away and shortstop Mitsutaka Goto got real gone to right to make it 3-2 in favor of the Kobe crew.
Then in the ninth, DH Takeshi Yamasaki clobbered a Hiroshi Takamura offering into the leftcenterfield seats for a big insurance run and a 4-2 lead. Hisashi Ogura spun a perfect bottom of the ninth to secure the W and end Orix' losing streak at seven.
The front office still thinks Suzuki has potential, so he will be re-signed for next season.
For Kintetsu, Rhodes was 1-3 with a walk and is at .276.
For Orix, leftfielder Roosevelt Brown was 1-4 and is at .309. Second baseman Jose Ortiz was 0-3 with a walk and is at .254.
Pitching Lines:
Orix:
M. Suzuki (W, 3-9) IP 8.0 BF 32 PC 124 H 5 HR 1 K 2 BB 5 R 2 ER 2 ERA 7.45
H. Ogura (S, 5) IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 6 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.75
Kintetsu:
S. Yamamoto (L, 0-1) IP 5.2 BF 23 PC 80 H 4 HR 2 K 5 BB 2 R 3 ER 2 ERA 4.74
Misawa IP 0.1 BF 1 PC 3 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.12
H. Asai IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 10 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Aikyo IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 6 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.13
H. Koike IP 0.1 BF 1 PC 5 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.81
Takamura IP 0.2 BF 4 PC 16 H 1 HR 1 K 0 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 4.08
E: Ortiz, D. Maeda
SB: Rhodes
2B: Brown, Shiotani
HR: Tani (16), Yoshioka (17), M.T. Goto (8), T. Yamasaki (21)
RBI: Tani, M.T. Goto 2, T. Yamasaki, Yoshioka, N. Omura
GIDP: Mizuguchi (4-6-3), M. Abe (5-4-3), Yoshioka (4-6-3)
LOB: Orix 4, Kintetsu 6
Season Series: Orix 12, Kintetsu 15
Game Time: 2:46
Attendance: 14,000
Umpires: Iizuka (HP), Higashi (1B), Yamamura (2B), Kodera (3B)
Guzman Shuts Out Hiroshima on Three Hits 3-0
Yokohama Bay Stars starter Domingo Guzman pitched his last game this season Wednesday at Hiroshima Municipal Stadium, as he will leave in the next couple of days to go home and be with his wife, who just gave birth to his baby daughter. He made that start a memorable one, as he tossed a three hit complete game shutout against the Hiroshima Carp in a 3-0 victory.
Chris Brock started for the Carp and while he had some control problems, he nonetheless contained the Stars to three runs, two earned, on eight hits in seven innings to fall to 8-7.
Yokohama second baseman Hitoshi Taneda ignited a rally in the first, as he beat out an infield ground ball for a hit and went to second on a passed ball. Leftfielder Takanori Suzuki singled to right to plate Taneda and it was 1-0 Stars.
Brock netralized two out james in the third, fourth and fifth before fashioning a perfect sixth. However, in the seventh, Guzman got aboard on an infield hit and went to second on a sacrifice. Taneda rifled a shot off the centerfield wall for an RBI double. Suzuki singled to right to push Taneda across and it was 3-0 Yokohama.
Guzman had limited Hiroshima to one hit through seven, but with one out in the eighth, leftfielder Tomonori Maeda singled to center and centerfielder Koichi Ogata singled to right, Maeda going to third on the play, for Guzman's lone emergency of the night. He then induced third baseman Kenjiro Nomura to ground into a 6-4-3 double play and followed that with an easy ninth to bring down the curtain. Guzman dedicated the shutout to his new offspring.
For Hiroshima, shortstop Andy Sheets was 0-3 and is at .312.
For Yokohama, first baseman Tyrone Woods was 0-4 with a walk and two strikeouts and is at .261.
Pitching Lines:
Yokohama:
Guzman (W, 8-12) IP 9.0 BF 28 PC 98 H 3 HR 0 K 7 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.69
Hiroshima:
Brock (L, 8-7) IP 7.0 BF 32 PC 111 H 8 HR 0 K 6 BB 4 R 3 ER 2 ERA 3.90
Kikuchihara IP 0.1 BF 1 PC 2 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.25
Sawazaki IP 0.2 BF 2 PC 5 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.69
Yokoyama IP 1.0 BF 5 PC 20 H 0 HR 0 K 3 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 5.40
E: Brock, Yokoyama
2B: Taneda
RBI: Taneda, T.N. Suzuki 2
HBP: Taneda (Brock), K.A. Furuki (Brock)
PB: Ishihara
GIDP: Woods (4-6-3), K. Nomura (6-4-3)
LOB: Yokohama 10, Hiroshima 1
Season Series: Yokohama 8, Hiroshima 17
Game Time: 2:28
Attendance: 6,000
Umpires: K. Kobayashi (HP), Watamari (1B), Tomoyose (2B), Honda (3B)
Team Reports
Yomiuri Well, it may be goodbye for manager Tatsunori Hara now. Wednesday, Hara met with owner Tsuneo Watanabe and team official Hideaki Miyama for three ours and the discussion was termed "unsatisfactory," meaning that Hara is probably on his way out. While Watanabe wouldn't answer any questions pertaining to Hara's fate directly, he decided to use the opportunity to verbally whip the press, saying that wahat they had been writing about the whole controversy was "irresponsible." He also termed the various commentaries to be embarassing to him personally, though Watanabe has a lot to be embarrassed about, not the least of which is canning a manager who only one season ago lead the Yomiuri side to a dominating Japan Series victory. As is typical of the former newspaper foreign correspondent, he is being childish in replacing a skipper whose squad has been riddled with injuries and a horrible bullpen. Instead of blaming it all on Hara, Watanabe should look at his player personnel department, which is the responsible party for that relief staff that has stunk it up the last three or four years. Watanabe should make himself manager and then see what Hara had to deal with on a day to day basis. Keep in mind, though, that this writer has always had it in for Hara, but this situation is so unfair that one can't help but defend him.
Yakult Minor league infielder Tsugio Sato, a Brazilian-Japanese, will play on the Brazilian baseball team that will compete in Latin American qualifying tournament that will be held in Panama. In the Eastern League this season, the 22 year old is batting .263 with nine homers and 41 RBIs.
Hanshin Righthander Keiichi Yabu's elbow still isn't feeling well and he will not be on the roster for the Japan Series, according to Sankei Sports. He is also eligible for free agency and the Tigers are apparently going to let him go....Hanshin will have its Central League victory parade on November third. It will start at 10:30 a.m. with a ceremony at Osaka City Hall and go for about 1.5 miles. There is also a parade being planned for Kobe....The Tigers are 2-4 since they clinched the pennant.
Chunichi Minor league first year first baseman Norberto Semanaka, 19, has returned to Brazil to compete for a spot on the Brazilian national baseball squad. Semanaka, who has some monster pop but is still very green, hit .188 in 18 games (3-16) with no homers or RBIs on the farm....Middle reliever Eiji Ochiai left the possibility of leaving the team via free agency open Wednesday stating that it depends on who the next manager is. There are apparently rumors that he might go to Hanshin if he doesn't like the cut of the new field boss' jib. He also revealed that he may pitch only two more years before hanging it up. Ochai was in 61 games this season, posting a 7-0 record with one save and a 1.77 ERA.
Yokohama Steve Cox' rehab is proceeding slowly, not even being able to run yet. Consequently, the Stars front office is mulling buying out his contract. That means that Tyrone Woods will almost certainly return for 2004.....Manager Daisuke Yamashita will be back in the saddle next year, too, according to Hochi Sports. So let's total this up: Haruki Ihara and Tatsunori Hara are being given the elbow despite winning records while Yamashita finishes dead last and couldn't see .500 with the Hubble telescope and keeps his position. You gotta love Japanese baseball, no?
Seibu Dodgers special assistant to the GM Mark Weidemeyer delivered his report on shortstop Kazuo Matsui to GM Dan Evans, according to the Riverside Press-Enterprise. That paper is taking that as an indication of an intention to make a serious bid for the superstar infielder.
Daiei First baseman Nobuhiko Matsunaka won't be able to play on the Japanese olympic qualifying team due to a bad knee. Second baseman Tadahito Iguchi will also give it a miss since he has a bad left wrist.
Kintetsu Norihiro Nakamura has been taken off the roster due to his ailing knee. He will likely be out for the rest of the schedule. He has hit just .236 with 23 homers and 67 RBIs in 117 games. Offseason surgery is a possibility, according to Sports Nippon.
Orix Former Hanshin Tigers manager Katsuhiro Nakamura is being wooed to become the club's General Manager. "To strengthen the team, it is vital we strengthen out front office and that means bringing in somebody who knows baseball inside and out," allowed team president Ryuji Koizumi. Nakamura was at the helm of the Tigers the only time they experienced any real success in the 90's....Masato Yoshii, whose season was cut short due to ankle surgery, will likely be asked back for next season despite his 6.51 ERA and being age 38. Are they nuts?
Miscellaneous Mariners executives are in mucho hot water with the team's fans for not bringing in the necessary help at mid-season and thereby allowing the M's to swoon in August and September and cede playoff spots to Oakland and Boston. Sports radio talk lines and the media have been scorching the airwaves with diatribes over the Mariners inability to get anything done at crunch time. The Jeff Nelson fiasco was a major public relations disaster. CEO Howard Lincoln angrily denied that the organization was more concerned with the size of its profits rather than the World Series. However, if they don't at least obtain Kazuo Matsui in the offseason, they could see a revolt at the box office next season. If the Dodgers, Yankees, Mets or Angels end up with him, they will have to then scramble to find a power bat to bolster an offense that will likely be short one Edgar Martinez. That could be Rafael Palmeiro, who eats the M's alive, but Raffy also doesn't want to be relegated to DH. What they ought to do is buyout Kazuhiro Sasaki's contract and use the savings to give Ichiro the salary he is rumored to be looking for, about $10 million, and then use the money they will save by cutting Mike Cameron and Martinez loose to find some leftfield pop. Randy Winn can then move to centerfield to make room. Richie Sexson is another name, but that comes with way too many strikeouts, though one could argue that Seattle has been doing pretty okay with less muscle from Cameron with the same number of whiffs. On the other hand, Palmeiro is a far better all around hitter and first baseman plus [insurance company] Field is more friendly to lefthanded hitters. So we'll have to see if Pat Gillick, if he doesn't just bail, and the rest of the front office can produce under pressure.
Today's Pictures
Domingo Guzman Too Hot for Hiroshima to Handle
