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10/03/2003 Archived Entry: "Japanese Baseball News: Rhodes Finishes Off Seibu; Hoshino Has Hard Time with Relative"
Goto Sayonara Blast Ends Slug Fest for Orix 12-11
The Orix Blue Wave edged the Daiei Hawks for the second straight night on a sayonara homer, this time from shortstop Mitsutaka Goto, to end a wild 12-11 slugfest Saturday at Kobe Green Stadium. Daiei's magic number went down to one due to Seibu's loss to the Kintetsu Buffaloes, but manager Sadaharu Oh would no doubt prefer that his charges win the pennant themselves rather than back into it.
Shinji Kurano made a rare start for the Hawks and didn't even get out of the second before being tattooed for five runs on three hits, two walks and a wild pitch. He was lucky not to be hung with a defeat.
Daisuke Kato did better, but just barely, for Orix, as he was cuffed around for four runs on four hits and four walks in three plus innings. So this would depend on the bullpens and Hawks reliever Katsunori Okamoto would emerge with the booby prize, a shiroboshi when he was taken over the wall by Goto.
Daiei went out to a lead in the first, as rightfielder Hiroshi Shibahara doubled to leftcenter and, two outs later, completed the circuit on a single to left from first baseman Nobuhiko Matsunaka to make it 1-0.
However, that soon evaporated, as in the home half, third baseman Koichi Oshima singled to left with one away and centerfielder Yoshitomo Tani singled to right. One out later, second baseman Jose Ortiz cranked a shot into the leftcenterfield seats for his 30th roundtripper and a 3-1 Blue Wave advantage.
Kurano was sent back out for the second and he walked catcher Daisuke Maeda with one out and, following another out, walked first baseman Kazuhiko Shiotani. Akio Mizuta replaced Kurano and Oshima laced a double down the leftfield line, Shiotani journeying in from first to expand the Orix lead to 5-1.
Kato, though, couldn't stand prosperity. With one down in the third, he walked Shibahara, third baseman Munenori Kawasaki and second baseman Tadahito Iguchi to pack the sacks. Matsunaka grounded to first and Shibahara crossed. Catcher Kenji Johjima ripped a shot up the rightcenter alley to redeem the two runners on a standup double and it was 5-4 Orix. Leftfielder Pedro Valdes walked. DH Noriyoshi Omichi couldn't covert, however, and popped out to second to keep Orix in front.
Orix responded in the home portion when Ortiz thumped one off the leftfield fence for a double with one out. Following another out, rightfielder Ryutaro Tsuji walked. Maeda singled to left to cash Ortiz in and make it 6-4 Blue Wave.
They would nudge that up to a three run advantage in the fourth when Tani went yard to left and it was 7-4 Orix after four complete.
Daiei continued the chase. In the fifth, Iguchi hammered one over the centerfield wall off of Atsushi Kubota. Matsunaka piggybacked on that with a drive into the rightfield stands to make it 7-6 Orix.
The Hawks then surged to their first lead of the evening in the sixth when Shibahara got aboard on a one out infield hit and Shuichi Iwashita threw away Kawasaki's sac bunt. Iguchi was intentionally walked to set up a double play opportunity. Matsunaka seared an Iwashita delivery into the rightcenter alley and cleared the bases to put Daiei on top 9-6.
This just would not be the Hawks' night, though. Tani grounded to Yusuke Torigoe, who booted it. Leftfielder Roosevelt Brown and Ortiz each singled to right to load the bases. DH Takeshi Yamasaki, who looked washed up a year ago, shoved a Junji Hoshino offering into the leftfield bleachers for a grand slam and an 11-9 Orix advantage.
Unfortunately, Orix relievers Jun Hagiwara and Hisashi Ogura couldn't hole it. Valdes leadoff the ninth with a double into the rightfield corner. Omichi walked. Motoi Okoshi was dispatched to pinch run for Omichi. The runners were advanced on a sac bunt. Ogura spelled Hagiwara. Pinch hitter Julio Zuleta flied out to center and Valdes tagged up and crossed. Shibahara singled to right and Okoshi scurried in to level it at 11-11 and send it into extra innings.
Okamoto tossed a perfect ninth and Orix reliever Tomonori Kitagawa did likewise in the top of the tenth. Okamoto retired the first men he saw in the bottom of the frame, but then he got behind 2-0 to Goto and threw him a fastball that was up in the zone and a few seconds later, the ball was bounding around in the rightcenterfield bleachers to win it for Orix. It was Kitagawa's first pro triumph in his three years as a pro.
The last time a team was beaten by consecutive sayonara homers was May 10th and 11th, 2002, when Orix was defeated by Kazuo Matsui on both occasions. The last time it happened to Daiei was on 6/9 and 6/11, 1984, when they were still owned Nankai, at the hands of Kintetsu.
It was the first time since September 9th and 10th, 1990 against Seibu by Hiromitsu Kadota at Nishinomiya Stadium that Orix has had back to back sayonara homer wins.
Daiei is now 15-16 in one run games, and are 3-5 against Orix in that respect. They have lost five sayonara games this season while winning four.
For Orix, Brown was 1-4 with a walk and is at .307. Ortiz was 3-5 with three RBIs and is at .256.
For Daiei, Valdes was 1-3 with two walks and is at .313. Zuleta was 0-0 with an RBI and is at .257.
Pitching Lines:
Daiei:
Kurano IP 1.2 BF 10 PC 40 H 3 HR 1 K 0 BB 2 R 5 ER 5 ERA 6.59
A. Mizuta IP 2.0 BF 12 PC 36 H 4 HR 1 K 1 BB 1 R 2 ER 2 ERA 6.91
J. Hoshino IP 2.1 BF 12 PC 39 H 4 HR 1 K 1 BB 0 R 4 ER 3 ERA 11.57
S. Yoshida IP 2.0 BF 6 PC 20 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.82
K. Okamoto (L, 2-3) IP 1.1 BF 5 PC 19 H 1 HR 1 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.40
Orix:
D. Kato IP 3.1 BF 18 PC 65 H 4 HR 0 K 0 BB 4 R 4 ER 4 ERA 4.71
Kase IP 0.2 BF 2 PC 8 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 13.50
A. Kubota IP 1.1 BF 7 PC 26 H 3 HR 2 K 1 BB 0 R 2 ER 2 ERA 6.75
Iwashita IP 0.0 BF 4 PC 9 H 2 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 3 ER 2 ERA 6.30
Tokumoto IP 1.2 BF 7 PC 28 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 2 ER 2 ERA 6.72
J. Hagiwara IP 1.1 BF 6 PC 23 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 2 ER 2 ERA 7.20
H. Ogura IP 0.2 BF 3 PC 11 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.65
T. Kitagawa (W, 1-1)IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 18 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 9.00
E: Torigoe, Brown, D. Maeda
SB: Shibahara, D. Maeda
2B: Shibahara, K. Oshima, Johjima, Ortiz, Omichi, Matsunaka, P. Valdes
HR: Ortiz (30), Tani (18), Iguchi (27), Matsunaka (27), T. Yamasaki (22), M.T. Goto (9)
RBI: Shibahara, Iguchi, Matsunaka 6, Johjima 2, Zuleta, K. Oshima 2, Tani, Ortiz 3, T. Yamasaki 4, D. Maeda, M.T. Goto
SF: Zuleta
IBB: Iguchi (Iwashita)
WP: Kurano, H. Ogura
HBP: Brown (A. Mizuta)
GIDP: M. Kawasaki (4-3), Brown (6-3)
LOB: Daiei 9, Orix 5
Season Series: Daiei 16, Orix 11
Game Time: 4:13
Attendance: 33,000
Umpires: Yamamura (HP), Yoshikawa (1B), Kodera (2B), Maeda (3B)
Rhodes Two Homers Makes Lions Wait 'Til Next Year
Kintetsu Buffaloes leftfielder Tuffy Rhodes cracked a grand slam and a two run jack against the Seibu Lions Saturday at Seibu Dome in front of 50,000 fans to put the Tokorozawa outfit into a going to the Japan Series only if they buy tickets mode in a 9-3 pounding of the second place club. Rhodes became just the third man in Japanese baseball history and the first foreigner to total up two 50 homer years in a career.
Kevin Beirne had another strong start, as he went 6.1 innings of three run ball on six hits for his eighth victory while Daisuke Matsuzaka was stomped for seven runs on nine hits in five innings for his seventh defeat.
Both sides had at least one man in scoring position twice before Kintetsu came armed for bear in the fifth, as shortstop Masahiro Abe reached on an infield hit and catcher Tetsuya Matoyama singled to left. Third baseman Osamu Hoshino walked to load the bases. Second baseman Eiji Mizuguchi singled to center to plate a pair. Rightfielder Koichi Isobe walked to pack the sacks again. Rhodes got all of a 92mph fastball and flattened it into the mezzanine section in right for his third granny of the year and fourth lifetime in Japan to make it 6-0. One out later, DH Hirotoshi Kitagawa singled to right. Centerfielder Naoyuki Omura carromed one off the rightfield wall and Kitagawa lumbered in to enhance that to 7-0 Buffs.
Seibu at least weren't shutout, as second baseman Hiroyuki Takagi singled to center with two out and shortstop Kazuo Matsui jerked one into the leftcenterfield stands to make it 7-2 Kintetsu.
Kintetsu had men on second and third with one out in the sixth and couldn't drive them in. Then following a lull in the action, Seibu returned to notch another tally in the seventh on a single to right by rightfielder Hiroyuki Oshima, one out walks to pinch hitters Susumu Otomo and Hiroaki Ueda that loaded the bases. One out later, centerfielder Tatsuya Ozeki singled to left to chase Oshima across and make it 7-3 Buffs.
In the ninth, Rhodes put this one in the refrigerator, as he followed a Shinji Shimoyama single to center by insideouting a fastball down and away into the leftcenterfield seats to elevate the score to 9-3 Kintetsu. Toyohiko Yoshida struckout the side in the bottom of the inning and the home supporters went home disappointed.
This was catcher Tsutomu Itoh's retirement game, the 2379th of his 22 year career, one in which he amassed a reputation as one of the smartest handlers of pitchers the Japanese game has ever seen. As is the custom in these circumstances, Itoh was lifted on the shoulders of his teammates after the game and tossed up in the air several times.
This was Rhodes' fourth multi-homer game of the season. He leads all of Japanese baseball in homers now by one over Cabrera. Coming in, he had been homerless in his last 28 at bats. The former Cub is also only the second man to reach 150 homers in a three season period. By the way, which team does he root for if the Red Sox and Cubs both reach the World Series? He was with both organizations at one time.
Taketoshi Goto hurt his hand while swinging the bat in a pinch hit at bat in the seventh and fractured an area near his wrist. He is out for the season.
Beirne has four of his eight wins against Seibu.
For Kintetsu, Rhodes was 2-5 with six RBIs and two strikeouts and is at .277.
For Seibu, Cabrera was 0-4 with two strikeouts and is at .323. Third baseman Scott McClain was 0-4 with two strikeouts and is at .229.
Pitching Lines:
Kintetsu:
Beirne (W, 8-7) IP 6.1 BF 26 PC 105 H 6 HR 1 K 6 BB 1 R 3 ER 3 ERA 4.48
H. Koike IP 0.1 BF 3 PC 17 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.78
Misawa IP 1.1 BF 5 PC 17 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.02
T. Yoshida IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 15 H 0 HR 0 K 3 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.37
Seibu:
Matsuzaka (L, 16-7) IP 5.0 BF 26 PC 85 H 9 HR 1 K 6 BB 2 R 7 ER 7 ERA 2.80
Onodera IP 0.1 BF 3 PC 11 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 2 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Y. Doi IP 0.2 BF 2 PC 7 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.13
Hsu IP 2.0 BF 7 PC 28 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 5.16
Hoashi IP 1.0 BF 6 PC 22 H 2 HR 1 K 0 BB 1 R 2 ER 2 ERA 4.48
2B: H.Y. Oshima, O. Hoshino, Isobe, N. Omura,
HR: Rhodes 2 (50), K. Matsui (31)
RBI: Mizuguchi 2, Rhodes 6, N. Omura, K. Matsui 2, Ozeki
WP: Onodera
HBP: Nagasaka (Hoashi)
LOB: Kintetsu 8, Seibu 7
Season Series: Kintetsu 16, Seibu 12
Game Time: 3:30
Attendance: 50,000
Umpires: Akimura (HP), Nagami (1B), Tsugawa (2B), Yamamoto (3B)
Ando Blows Two Run Lead in Ninth in Hanshin Loss
One has to wonder if there will be any residual tension at the next Hoshino family reunion. Chunichi Dragons first baseman So Tsutsui, who is the son of Hanshin skipper Senichi Hoshino's older sister, pumped a three run homer to leftcenter in the top of the 11th to provide the margin of victory for the Nagoya faction, 7-5.
In point of fact, Hoshino was madder at his team and reliever Yuya Ando, as they blew a two run lead in the ninth to ultimately drop their seventh in a row to the club that Hoshino used to run. Ando ruined a strong showing by starter Tsuyoshi Shimoyanagi, who twirled 6.2 innings of two run (one earned) ball on six hits.
Meanwhile, Chunichi starter Shigeki Noguchi was getting hit around for four runs on six hits and three walks in 3.1 innings and should have been the losing pitcher, but oh well.
Noguchi exhibited big problems finding the plate in the second, as he walked second baseman Kentaro Sekimoto, catcher Akihiro Yano and shortstop Atsushi Fujimoto all with one out to load the bases. One out later, third baseman Yoshinori Okihara steamed a slider on the inner half of the plate down the leftfield line to bring in Sekimoto and Yano for a 2-0 Tiger advantage.
They splattered anoter one on the big board in the third, as leftfielder Tomoaki Kanemoto doubled off the leftfield wall and, one out later, first baseman Atsushi Kataoka singled to right and it was 3-0 Hanshin.
However, in the fourth, Dragons rightfielder Kosuke Fukudome lined a 2-1 fastball into the leftcenterfield seats to make it 3-1 Hanshin.
The Tigers, though, bounced back with another tally in the fourth when Fujimoto doubled down the rightfield line and was sacrificed to third. Okihara singled to center and Fujimoto reported for a 4-1 Hanshin lead.
Chunichi had two on with one out in the sixth, but a strikeout and a ground ball put that in the ground. Then in the seventh, second baseman Hiroyuki Watanabe grounded to Fujimoto, who kicked it. One out later, Tsutsui singled to right. Koichi Sekikawa, pinch hitting for shortstop Masahiko Morino, singled to left to drive Watanabe in. But it stopped there, as Tsutsui was picked off of second.
Hanshin loaded the bases against reliever Shinya Okamoto with two outs, but Yano grounded out. This failure would prove to be huge.
In the ninth and with Ando pitching, centerfielder Alex Ochoa singled to center and leftfielder Takayuki Onishi singled to left. They were sacrificed over. Tanishige doubled to rightcenter and it was a new ballgame at 4-4.
Takehito Kanazawa came on to open the 11th and Watanabe singled to left. One out later, Tsutsui got a hanging curve ball and slugged it into the leftcenterfield stands for a three run homer and a 7-4 Dragons advantage.
The Tigers sought to battle back in the home half against Akinori Otsuka when backup catcher Toshihiro Noguchi singled to left and Go Kida, pinch hitting for Okihara in his first pro at bat, spanked a hanging slider through the right side, Noguchi making the turn for third. Centerfielder Norihiro Akahoshi threw a spanner into the works when he grounded into a double play even if Noguchi scored. Leftfielder Tomoaki Kanemoto singled to center. Koji Hirashita, pinch hitting for Yutaka Nakamura, struckout to put it in the books as a 7-5 Dragons triumph. Hanshin has lost seven in a row against Chunichi.
Fukudome scored his 104th run, tying a 53 year old team record.
For Chunichi, Ochoa was 3-5 and is at .292.
Pitching Lines:
Chunichi:
S. Noguchi IP 3.1 BF 19 PC 73 H 6 HR 0 K 4 BB 3 R 4 ER 4 ERA 4.65
Hisamoto IP 1.1 BF 5 PC 19 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.54
M. Valdes IP 1.1 BF 4 PC 17 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.58
S. Okamoto IP 2.0 BF 10 PC 42 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 3 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.46
Iwase (W, 5-2) IP 2.0 BF 6 PC 25 H 0 HR 0 K 3 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.03
A.N. Otsuka (S, 15) IP 1.0 BF 5 PC 17 H 3 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 2.27
Hanshin:
Shimoyanagi IP 6.2 BF 27 PC 102 H 6 HR 1 K 6 BB 0 R 2 ER 1 ERA 3.71
Riggan IP 0.1 BF 1 PC 6 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.76
Williams IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 14 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.60
Ando IP 2.0 BF 9 PC 38 H 3 HR 0 K 3 BB 0 R 2 ER 2 ERA 1.65
Kanazawa (L, 0-1) IP 1.0 BF 7 PC 34 H 3 HR 1 K 2 BB 1 R 3 ER 3 ERA 2.75
E: Fujimoto
SB: Okihara
2B: Okihara, Kanemoto, Fujimoto, Tanishige
HR: Fukudome (32), Tsutsui (2)
RBI: Sekikawa, Fukudome, Tanishige 2, Tsutsui 3, Okihara 3, Kataoka
WP: S. Noguchi, S. Okamoto
GIDP: Akahoshi 2 (4-6-3, 6-4-3)
LOB: Chunichi 7, Hanshin 11
Season Series: Chunichi 15, Hanshin 13
Game Time: 4:21
Attendance: 45,000
Umpires: Suginaga (HP), Yoshimoto (1B), Kittaka (2B), Manabe (3B)
Uehara Wins 15th With Another Complete Game
Yomiuri Giants ace Koji Uehara was blessed with an early lead and barely defended it in another complete game outing for his 15th victory Saturday at Hiroshima Municipal Stadium. Rightfielder Yoshinobu Takahashi rocketed a three run homer and drove in four runs to spearhead the kyojin attack.
Takaya Kawauchi started for the Carp and stuck around for eight innings, being deemed responsible for four runs on seven hits for his first loss.
Centerfielder Takayuki Shimizu commenced things in the top of the first with an infield hit. Shortstop Tomohiro Nioka singled to right. Takahashi mashed a shot into the rightcenterfield seats, his 150th career tater, and it was 3-0.
Hiroshima collected its first hit in the second, when first baseman Takahiro Arai howitzered an Uehara delivery into the lefcenterfield bleachers. Then their second knock came in the third, when second baseman Takuya Kimura homered to center to make it 3-2 Giants.
In the sixth, Takahashi mortared another one into the rightcenterfield stands and Uehara had more breathing room at 4-2.
Hiroshima would make it a one run affair once more, as in the eighth, Masafumi Suenaga, pinch hitting for catcher Yoshiyuki Ishihara, was fooled on a forkball, but he kept his righthand going to the ball and lifted it into the rightfield seats for his first pro hit and to make it 4-3 Giants. Pinch hitter Kazuyoshi Kimura singled to right and went to second on a sacrifice, but rightfielder Itsuki Asai flied out to left and centerfielder Koichi Ogata grounded to short and the tying run was stranded.
Hiroshima would have the tying run on again, as shortstop Larry Sheets walked and, one out later, Arai singled to center. But Uehara struckout Shigeru Morikasa and Suenaga to put it in the refrigerator.
Hiroshima has lost four in a row for the fourth time this season.
Uehara set a new single season personal strikeout record with 188. He leads the league with ten complete games. Uehara is also number one in the league in homers given up with 27.
For Yomiuri, leftfielder Roberto Petagine was 2-4 and is at .329.
For Hiroshima, Sheets was 0-3 with a walk and two strikeouts and is at .313.
Pitching Lines:
Yomiuri:
Uehara (W, 15-5) IP 9.0 BF 35 PC 124 H 6 HR 3 K 10 BB 2 R 3 ER 3 ERA 3.18
Hiroshima:
Kawauchi (L, 2-1) IP 8.0 BF 32 PC 115 H 7 HR 2 K 7 BB 3 R 4 ER 4 ERA 3.41
Amano IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 17 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.35
HR: Y. Takahashi 2 (26), T. Arai (14), T. Kimura (12), Suenaga (1)
RBI: Y. Takahashi 4, T. Arai, T. Kimura, Suenaga
GIDP: Petagine (5-4-3), Uehara (1-6-3), Y. Murata (4-6-3)
LOB: Yomiuri 4, Hiroshima 5
Season Series: Yomiuri 14, Hiroshima 12
Game Time: 2:36
Attendance: 14,000
Umpires: Watada (HP), Sasaki (1B0, Ino (2B), Watamari (3B)
Hori Sixth Inning Homer Hangs Shoda, Fighters With Another Defeat
Chiba Lotte Marines DH Koichi Hori blasted a solo homer in the sixth inning Saturday at Chiba Marine Stadium to break a 3-3 deadlock and Lotte went on to maintain that margin in a 4-3 win against the Nippon Ham Fighters. Naoyuki Shimizu improved his record to 13-10 with eight good innings of three run, eight hit ball while Itsuki Shoda had another defeat pinned to him and saw his ERA inflated to 5.51.
One may have been under the impression that this one would be a hard fought pitching duel, as five of the first six men to come to the plate in the first inning between the two competitors went down on strikes. That was negatory, however, in the second, when DH Angel Echevarria doubled into the rightfield corner and first baseman Kuniyuki Kimoto blooped a double to left, Echevarria only making it to third since he wanted to make sure it would drop in. Shimizu then put the boot in and retired leftfielder Yoshinori Ueda on a popup, struckout catcher Shinji Takahashi and induced a flyout to center from shortstop Makoto Kaneko to waste the opportunity.
Lotte would then break through in the third, as catcher Tomoya Satozaki doubled to leftcenter and second baseman Masato Watanabe walked. Shortstop Makoto Kosaka shivved one up the leftcenter gap and all the way to the wall for a two run triple. First baseman Kazuya Fukuura walked. Centerfielder Jun Inoue flied out to center and Kosaka tagged up and sprinted in for a 3-0 lead.
That lasted as long as the interval between Rush Limbaugh's Oxycontin dosages, as third baseman Michihiro Ogasawara began the fourth with a double down the leftfield line and Echevarria pushed him in with a two bagger down the rightfield line. One out later, Ueda singled to center. Takahashi doubled to leftcenter to plate Echevarria. Kaneko flew out to left and Ueda tagged up and crossed and it was even at 3-3.
Not much of substance occured between then and the sixth, when Hori jumped on a pitch in the middle of the plate and burned it into the leftfield stands to tie a career best from 12 years ago with his 20th roundtripper and it was 4-3 Lotte.
Shimizu and closer Masahide Kobayashi combined to hold the Fighters to two hits the final three frames and Lotte had their fifth consecutive victory for the third time this season.
Lotte is 13-4-1 in September.
Shoda has lost his last four starts and leads all of Japanese baseball with 14 kuroboshi.
For Nippon Ham, Echevarria 2-4 with an RBI and is at .275.
For Lotte, third baseman Jose Fernandez was 1-3 and is at .291. Leftfielder Rick Short was 1-3 and is at .305.
Pitching Lines:
Nippon Ham:
Shoda (L, 5-14) IP 6.0 BF 24 PC 87 H 5 HR 1 K 3 BB 3 R 4 ER 4 ERA 5.51
Y. Sakurai IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 12 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 6.83
A. Shimizu IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 11 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.67
Lotte:
N. Shimzu (W, 13-10) IP 8.0 BF 31 PC 106 H 8 HR 0 K 5 BB 0 R 3 ER 3 ERA 3.28
M.H. Kobayashi (S, 31) IP 1.0 BF 4 PC 12 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.00
2B: Echevarria 2, Kimoto, Satozaki, M. Ogasawara, S. Takahashi
3B: Kosaka
HR: Hori (20)
RBI: Echevarria, Kaneko, S. Takahashi, Kosaka 2, J. Inoue, Hori
SF: Kaneko, J. Inoue
HBP: Satozaki (Y. Sakurai)
GIDP: Y. Tanaka (6-4-3)
LOB: Nippon Ham 5, Lotte 2
Season Series: Nippon Ham 14, Lotte 12
Game Time: 2:32
Attendance: 20,000
Umpires: Yanagita (HP), Kawaguchi (1B), Shinya (2B), Nakamura (3B)
Team Reports
Yomiuri New manager Tsuneo Horiuchi is going to have Roberto Petagine and Kazuhiro Kiyohara compete for the first base job next season as a way to strengthen the team's defense. It will also further fuel hints that Kiyohara will be traded to Seibu, where he can DH, since it is questionable if his legs will hold up playing defense for a full season. Horiuchi also told beat writers that he is going to keep them busy on the trade and personnel transaction front this offseason....Battery coach Shinichi Murata will not have his contract renewed.
Chunichi Kenshin Kawakami threw 54 pitches in batting practice Saturday, mainly fastballs. He said that he wasn't able to throw hard, but that his pitches were "alright." Team officials say they want to be careful about bringing last year's ace along after he suffered a shoulder injury in May. If he progresses enough, he will probably start a game against Yakult on October 9th....Kenta Asakura also tossed some bp, 73 pitches worth. His rehab from an elbow malady is described as going smoothly. It doesn't appear, though, that he will see any action at the top level the remainder of the schedule.
Seibu Minor league pitching coach Hirohisa Matsunuma will be let go after the season ends. He will likely follow Haruki Ihara to Orix and handle the top team's hurlers there.
Today's Pictures
Tuffy Rhodes' Hips Bailed a Bit, But Still Powered it Over the Leftcenterfield Fence for #50
