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10/04/2003 Archived Entry: "Japanese Baseball News: Dead Man Walking McClain Gives Seibu New Life; In Horiuchi World, Only Japanese Can Close"
McClain Two Run Homer Sets Stage for Seibu Victory
A two run homer by third baseman Scott McClain in the ninth inning tied up Sunday's game against the Nippon Ham Fighters, which then made it possible for the Seibu Lions to wait out three walks and against relievers Akio Shimizu and Hiroshi Shibakusa to force in second baseman Hiroshi Hirao for a 4-3 victory. Sidearmer Tetsuya Shiozaki picked up his first win of the campaign while Carlos Mirabal, who had been stranding baserunners right and left until that final frame, ended up with his 11th defeat.
Mirabal had a really rocky beginning to this faceoff, as Lions shortstop Kazuo Matsui banged a single to center and was sacrificed to second. One out later, first baseman Takeya Nakamura, in his first pro at bat, pinged a first pitch 90mph fastball off the centerfield wall for an RBI double. Rightfielder Hiroyuki Oshima singled to left. DH Hiroyuki Nakajima, however, grounded out to short and Mirabal got off cheap with a 1-0 deficit.
Nippon Ham put two on with one out in the bottom of the inning, but a strikeout and a flyout put that to bed.
The Fighters then squandered a men on second and third and one out opportunity in the second and Seibu couldn't convert a two on, one out situation in the fourth. Finally, Nippon Ham was able to obtain some cohesion in their ups in the fourth. With two away, catcher Shinji Takahashi doubled to leftcenter. Shortstop Makoto Kaneko singled to right. Second baseman Hiroshi Narahara slapped a slider to left and plated Takahashi and it was even at 1-1.
Again, Seibu had two on with one out in the fifth before Nakamura bounced into a 5-4-3 twin killing.
There was a lull for an inning and a half and then the Fighters pulled ahead in the seventh when Kaneko whizzed one down the leftfield line and, two outs later, rightfielder Tomochika Tsuboi legged out an infield hit. Third baseman Michihiro Ogasawara ripped a shot up the leftcenter alley and Kaneko and Tsuboi galloped around to make it 3-1 Nippon Ham.
Mirabal, though, made a costly mistake. Pinch hitter Kazuhiko Miyaji singled to right. Mirabal left a fastball up in the zone and McClain punished it into the leftfield bleachers and it was tied at 3-3. One out later, Hiroshi Hirao singled to left. Nippon Ham skipper Trey Hillman summoned Shimizu from the bullpen. One out later, centerfielder Tatsuya Ozeki walked. Shibakusa replaced Shimizu. Leftfielder Kazuhiro Wada walked to pack the sacks. Nakamura, who had wrecked an earlier scoring chance, pushed Hirao in with a walk and it was 4-3 Lions. Tatsuhito Kato spelled Shibakusa and struckout pinch hitter Inubushi to finally end the uprising. Shinji Mori needed only 11 pitches to wrap it up in the bottom of the stanza. It was the Fighters last ever home game at Tokyo Dome as well.
Nakamura, a 5'8" 211 pounder who who has been dubbed, "the Japanese Alex Cabrera," hammered 83 homers in high school and then lead the Eastern League in homers with 22 and strikeouts with 97 this season
Nippon Ham needs to rack up just three more strikeouts at the plate to break the record of 1120 set by Yokohama last season.
For Nippon Ham, leftfielder Angel Echevarria struckout all four times up and is at .272.
For Seibu, McClain was 2-4 with two RBIs and is at .232.
Pitching Lines:
Seibu:
Mitsui IP 7.0 BF 31 PC 119 H 9 HR 0 K 7 BB 1 R 3 ER 3 ERA 5.22
T. Shiozaki (W, 1-3) IP 1.0 BF 4 PC 20 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.86
S. Mori (S, 2) IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 11 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.31
Nippon Ham:
Mirabal (L, 16-11) IP 8.1 BF 36 PC 112 H 11 HR 1 K 4 BB 2 R 4 ER 4 ERA 4.65
A. Shimizu IP 0.1 BF 2 PC 9 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.64
Shibakusa IP 0.0 BF 2 PC 9 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 2 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.02
Tat. Kato IP 0.1 BF 1 PC 4 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.88
SB: Ishimoto
2B: Nakamura, S. Takahashi, Ozeki, Kaneko, M. Ogasawara
HR: McClain (26)
RBI: Nakamura 2, McClain 2, M. Ogasawara 2, Narahara
GIDP: Hirao (4-6-3), Nakamura (5-4-3)
LOB: Seibu 10, Nippon Ham 8
Season Series: Seibu 15, Nippon Ham 13
Game Time: 3:21
Attendance: 50,000
Umpires: Tamba (HP), Yamamoto (1B), Nagami (2B), Tsugawa (3B)
Abe, Yoshioka Each Drive in Three to Beat Hawks 10-4
Light hitting shortstop Masahiro Abe drove in a trio of runs while first baseman Yuji Yoshioka thumped a three run homer Sunday at Fukuoka Dome to bloody the Daiei Hawks 10-4. Hawks first baseman Nobuhiko Matsunaka, who has been an RBI machine in September, sent in two more in a gallant losing effort.
Hayato Terahara started for Daiei and looked like a little leaguer out there, as Daiei used a two out single to left in the second from DH Kenshi Kawaguchi, a walk to centerfielder Naoyuki Omura, an RBI double down the leftfield line on an 89mph fastball by Abe and walks to catcher Tetsuya Motoyama and third baseman Osamu Hoshino, the latter forcing in Omura, to get behind 2-0. Second baseman Eiji Mizuguchi then wacked a singled to left that plated two more and Daiei field boss Sadaharu Oh resorted to the pen for Akio Mizuta, who, after walking rightfielder Koichi Isobe to reload the bases, struckout leftfielder Tuffy Rhodes, but the damage was done and Kintetsu was up 4-0.
Daiei, though, would rattle Jeremy Powell's cage in the home turn, as centerfielder Yudai Deguchi walked with two gone and shortstop Yusuke Torigoe singled to left and Deguchi was cashed in on a single to center from rightfielder Hiroshi Shibahara. Third baseman Munenori Kawasaki walked to pack the sacks. Second baseman Tadahito Iguchi lashed a double into the leftfield corner to easily see Torigoe and Shibahara in and creep to within 4-3 Buffs. Matsunaka walked to juice the bags again, but catcher Kenji Johjima grounded to third to let Powell off the hook.
Kintetsu rallied briefly in the third for another run, as Kawaguchi doubled off the centerfield wall and went to third on a groundout. Abe singled to right and it was 5-3 Buffs.
Daiei wouldn't even get a sniff at Powell, as he put down the next ten in a row before DH Julio Zuleta's double to rightcenter in the sixth. Nothing would come of that, though and Powell left with a nice lead after the seventh. That was because in that frame, Yoshioka walked with one out and Hirotoshi Kitagawa, pinch hitting for Kawaguchi, singled to left. Omura carromed a shot off the rightfield fence to drive Yoshioka in. Abe flew out to right and Kitagawa tagged up and hustled across to make it 7-3 Kintetsu.
In the eighth, backup shortstop Tadatoki Maeda and Isobe each singled to center with one out and, following another out, Yoshioka smoked one into the leftfield bleachers to make it nice and easy for the Buffs at 10-3.
The Hawks grabbed a run off of reliever Koichi Misawa in their ups when Johjima doubled into the rightfield corner and, one out later, Zuleta crashed one off the centerfield wall for an RBI double. That was Daiei's last knock, though, and Toyohiko Yoshida spun a perfect ninth to close it out.
Powell told reporters after the game that he was too pumped up during that second inning and that was what caused the difficulty.
For Kintetsu, Rhodes was 0-4 with a walk and three strikeouts and is at .275.
For Daiei, leftfielder Pedro Valdes was 0-4 and is at .310. Zuleta was 2-4 with an RBI and is at .262.
Pitching Lines:
Kintetsu:
Powell (W, 14-12) IP 7.0 BF 31 PC 131 H 7 HR 0 K 5 BB 3 R 3 ER 3 ERA 4.13
Misawa IP 1.0 BF 5 PC 26 H 2 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.16
T. Yoshida IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 15 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.33
Daiei:
Terahara (L, 7-5) IP 1.2 BF 11 PC 45 H 3 HR 0 K 1 BB 3 R 4 ER 4 ERA 5.48
A. Mizuta IP 1.1 BF 7 PC 35 H 2 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 6.91
M. Sato IP 2.2 BF 11 PC 34 H 2 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.16
S. Yoshida IP 0.2 BF 5 PC 19 H 2 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 2 ER 2 ERA 5.13
K. Okamoto IP 1.1 BF 7 PC 24 H 3 HR 1 K 2 BB 0 R 3 ER 3 ERA 3.83
A. Matsumoto IP 1.1 BF 7 PC 27 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 2 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.50
2B: M. Abe, T. Iguchi, K. Kawaguchi, Zuleta 2, N. Omura, Johjima
HR: Yoshioka (18)
RBI: O. Hoshino, Mizuguchi 2, Yoshioka 3, M. Abe 3, N. Omura, Shibahara, Matsunaka 2, Zuleta
IBB: Rhodes (M. Sato)
SF: M. Abe
LOB: Kintetsu 11, Daiei 8
Season Series: Kintetsu 13, Daiei 14 a Tie
Game Time: 4:01
Attendance: 48,000
Umpires: Hayashi (HP), Sato (1B), Iizuka (2B), Kakigizono (3B)
Saito Three Run Homer Starts Winning Yomiuri Rally
A three run jack to right by Yomiuri Giants third baseman Takayuki Saito off of homer prone Hiroshima Carp starter Masayuki Hasegawa in the top of the ninth Sunday at Hiroshima Municipal Stadium brought the kyojin all the way back from a 3-0 disparity and then they abused three more Carp relievers for another two tallies to prevail 5-3. That got Yomiuri reliever Cory Bailey his first Japanese shiroboshi while Julio Santana saved his fifth.
Hiroshima centerfielder Koichi Ogata got his side out front in the second, when he took Yomiuri starter Kimiyasu Kudoh, who was having command problems with his breaking ball in the first couple of innings, on a tour of the centerfield seats for a 1-0 lead.
Carp second baseman Takuya Kimura pumped that up to 2-0 in the third when he fileted one beyond the leftfield wall.
First baseman Takahiro Arai imitated that in the fourth and it was 3-0 Hiroshima.
Hasegawa had at least one man on in almsot every inning, but didn't have to really exert himself to elude any Giants scoring. Things changed completely in the ninth, however, when leftfielder Roberto Petagine got aboard on Kimura's error on his ground ball. Pinch hitter Daisuke Motoki singled to right. Saito then tanked a Hasegawa delivery into the rightfield stands to restore equilibrium at 3-3. Second baseman Toshihisa Nishi tapped a little ground ball toward third and beat it out. Carp shot caller Koji Yamamoto opted for the bullpen and selected Toshikazu Sawazaki. Giants headman Tatsunori Hara ordered up a hit and run and catcher Kohei Oda smacked a single to right to nudge Nishi over to third. Chris Latham walked to load the bases. Tsuyoshi Kikuchihara replaced Sawazaki. Pinch hitter Akira Etoh singled to left and Nishi toed the dish. Koichi Amano took the ball from Kikuchihara. Shortstop Tomohiro Nioka grounded into a 6-2 force. But rightfielder Yoshinobu Takahashi walked to force in Latham to make it 5-3 Yomiuri.
Santana permitted a two out single to right by third baseman Kurihara, but Kazuyoshi Kimura grounded to second and it was "game setto."
Yamamoto said that he blames himself for the loss in not getting Hasegawa out of the game sooner, but I think he was covering for his pitcher. Hiroshima has lost five in a row now for the second time this season.
It was the third game this season where Kudoh has been taken deep three times.
For Hiroshima, shortstop Andy Sheets was 1-4 and is at .313.
For Yomiuri, Petagine was 0-4 with three strikeouts and is at .325. Latham was 0-1 with a walk and is at .225.
Pitching Lines:
Yomiuri:
Kudoh IP 7.0 BF 27 PC 100 H 6 HR 3 K 6 BB 0 R 3 ER 3 ERA 4.23
Bailey (W, 1-0) IP 1.0 BF 4 PC 9 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 5.08
Santana (S, 5) IP 1.0 BF 4 PC 14 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.26
Hiroshima:
Hasegawa (L, 2-9) IP 8.0 BF 34 PC 125 H 9 HR 1 K 9 BB 2 R 4 ER 3 ERA 5.75
Sawazaki IP 0.0 BF 2 PC 9 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.86
Kikuchihara IP 0.0 BF 1 PC 6 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.93
Amano IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 12 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.28
E: T. Kimura
SB: Ogata
HR: Ogata (28), T. Kimura (13), T. Arai (15), Takayuki Saito (11)
RBI: Etoh, Y. Takahashi, Takayuki Saito 3, T. Kimura, Ogata, T. Arai
GIDP: K. Goto (6-4-3), T.H. Suzuki (3-2-3)
LOB: Yomiuri 8, Hiroshima 5
Season Series: Yomiuri 15, Hiroshima 12
Game Time: 3:15
Attendance: 10,000
Umpires: Watamari (HP), Nako (1B), Sasaki (2B), Ino (3B)
Ishido Tosses Another Good Ballgame in 8-2 Yakult Triumph
Here's to hoping that righthander Katsutoshi Ishido won't be a flash in the pan, as he went five good innings Sunday for Yakult for his third consecutive victory, as he was supported by two homers from leftfielder Alex Ramirez and a solo shot from first baseman Ken Suzuki in an 8-2 Yakult Swallows triumph over the Yokohama Bay Stars at Yokohama Stadium.
Masahiro Tazaki made his first pro start in this one and hung around for only three innings and being tagged for four runs on three homers to take his third loss.
Yakult got into Tazaki's grill in the first, as third baseman Akinori Iwamura walked with two outs and Ramirez folded, spindled and mutilated a Tazaki delivery into the leftfield bleachers for a 2-0 lead.
Yokohama first baseman Tyrone Woods kept pace, though, as he thwacked one into the leftfield seats, too, opening the second to make it 2-1. That tied Bobby Rose's 1999 club record for most dingers in a season.
However, Ramirez obliterated another Tazaki offering in the fourth, this one sailing more than 490 feet over the leftcenterfield stands and completely out of the park to draw even with Woods in the CL homer race and put his side up by two at 3-1. Suzuki was next and punched one beyond the centerfield wall to tear that into 4-1 Swallows. Catcher Atsuya Furuta and Ryuji Miyade each singled to center and, after Kazuo Fukumori replaced Tazaki, were sacrificed along. With the infield up, Ishido grounded into a 3-2 force play. Mitsuru Manaka grounded to short and Yakult wasn't able to blow it open.
Yokohama had two on and one out in the bottom of the inning, but a double play did that effort in.
Hiroshi Yamada was very lucky to have lived through the sixth. Woods then made it two circuit clouts on the night and a new team mark of 38 homers when he thunked a Ryota Igarashi pitch into the rightfield seats to make it 4-2. The Stars then put two more men on, but they were left out on the basepaths.
Yakult had men on second and third with nobody out in the seventh and came up empty again. They went down in order in the eighth, but then made it happen in the ninth. Miyade leadoff with a walk against Atsushi Kizuka and was sacrificed to second. Hirobumi Watarai walked. One out later, Miyamoto singled to right to pack the sacks. Ryuichi Kawahara was substituted for Kizuka. Iwamura then sizzled one into the rightfield corner and unburdened the basepaths for three RBIs. Ramirez was intentionally walked. Suzuki worked a freebie and the bags were juiced. Susumu Nakanowatari replaced Kawahara. In the course of pitching to Furuta, he unleashed a wild pitch and Iwamura crossed for an 8-2 Swallows edge.
Closer Shingo Takatsu was baffling to the Stars order and it was see you later.
Following the end of the game, Tazaki told reporters, "I was too pumped up and got my pitches up."
Yokohama needs one more defeat for 90. They have lost 90 two other times, 1954 and 1955. The last time any team did it in the league was Yakult in 1990.
This was Miyamoto's 1000th game, the 389th in history to that mark.
For Yokohama, Woods was 3-4 with two RBIs and is at .268. He is looking to be the first Stars homer title winner since Carlos Ponce in 1988
For Yakult, Ramirez was 2-4 with three RBIs and is at .327. Brazilian-Japanese outfielder Yuichi Matsumoto was 1-1 in pinch hit duty and is at .375.
Pitching Lines:
Yakult:
Ishido (W, 3-0) IP 5.0 BF 20 PC 79 H 4 HR 1 K 2 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.00
Ryo. Igarashi IP 1.0 BF 6 PC 30 H 2 HR 1 K 1 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.50
H. Ishii IP 2.0 BF 7 PC 33 H 1 HR 0 K 4 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.45
Takatsu IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 11 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.72
Yokohama:
Tazaki (L, 4-3) IP 3.0 BF 16 PC 50 H 6 HR 3 K 2 BB 1 R 4 ER 4 ERA 4.07
Fukumori IP 2.0 BF 6 PC 17 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.47
H. Yamada IP 1.0 BF 4 PC 20 H 3 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.55
Tomori IP 1.0 BF 4 PC 9 H 2 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.28
Kizuka IP 1.2 BF 8 PC 29 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 2 R 3 ER 3 ERA 4.15
R. Kawahara IP 0.0 BF 3 PC 13 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 2 R 1 ER 1 ERA 8.47
Nakanowatari IP 0.1 BF 1 PC 6 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 6.35
2B: Miyade, Manaka, K.A. Furuki
3B: Iwamura
HR: Ramirez 2 (37), Woods 2 (38), K. Suzuki (20)
RBI: Woods 2, Iwamura 3, Ramirez 3, K. Suzuki
IBB: Ramirez (Kawahara)
WP: Nakanowatari
HBP: S. Murata (Ishido)
GIDP: Taneda 6-4-3) Furuta (6-3)
LOB: Yakult 7, Yokohama 7
Season Series: Yakult 18, Yokohama 10
Game Time: 3:12
Attendance: 12,000
Umpires: Shikita (HP), Kiuchi (1B), Mori (2B), Uemoto (3B)
Fukuura's Two Homers, Five RBIs Leads Lotte Over Orix 12-5
Chiba Lotte Marines first baseman Kazuya Fukuura cracked a pair of longballs and drove in a total of five runs, as Lotte trounced the Orix Blue Wave Sunday at Chiba Marine Stadium 12-5. Shortstop Makoto Kosaka chipped in another three RBIs to pile on the pathetic Kobe outfit.
Homer binging Orix second baseman Jose Ortiz pulled his team in front in the first, as he saw third baseman Koichi Oshima walked with one out and, one out later, he connected to left for his 31st of the year and a 2-0 lead.
Again, that would last as long as a bottle of whiskey in front of Ted Kennedy, as Kosaka leadoff with a shot into the rightfield seats. One out later, centerfielder Jun Inoue exited to the righthand side, too and it was knotted at two all.
Orix rightfielder Ikuro Katsuragi doubled off the centerfield wall to commence the second, but he stagnated there. This wouldn't be true of Lotte, who went on the move like a herd of frightened deer. Rightfielder Saburo Omura walked. Catcher Tomoya Satozaki went to sacrifice and ended up with a bunt single instead. Second baseman Masato Watanabe also squared around and got it down, but Orix starter Fumiaki Imamura, making his first pro start, decided to go for the force at third, the peg being late, to load the bases. Toshihiro Kase replaced Imamura. With Kosaka up at the dish, Omura somehow scored, but the game log doesn't indicate how. Kosaka fouled out to third. Fukuura then jackhammered one into the rightfield stands and it was 6-2 Lotte. Inoue singled to left. Atsushi Kubota came in to be the new pitcher. One out later, leftfielder Rick Short walked. Omura drilled a shot off of first baseman Kazuhiko Shiotani's glove for a single and Inoue kept right on motoring to the plate to make it 7-2.
Orix got to Lotte starter Hiroyuki Kobayashi again in the third, when Shiotani singled to center, Oshima walked and centerfielder Yoshitomo Tani singled to right to convert Shiotani and cut it to 7-3 Lotte.
But with two gone in the bottom of the stanza, Fukuura went yard to right to make it 8-3 Lotte.
Kobayashi, though, was struggling. Katsuragi flambed one down the rightfield line in the fourth and, one out later, catcher Takeshi Hidaka pounded a ball off the centerfield wall for an RBI double. Shortstop Mitsutaka Goto singled to left and it was 8-5 Lotte.
But the home side would use some more muscle in their turn, as Short singled to right and Omura basted one into the leftfield seats to make it 10-5 Lotte.
Lotte had the bases loaded in the fifth on a double and two walks with one out, but that was stymied by Satoshi Tokumoto. Not in the sixth, however. Omura walked and Tokumoto plunked Satozaki. They were sacrificed over. Kosaka singled to right for an RBI. Fukuura legged out an infield hit and Satozaki crossed for a 12-5 Lotte advantage. Orix was stifled on one hit the final three innings and that was how it ended.
Lotte has won six in a row. They are 14-4-1 in September. they/ve won 11 consecutively at home against Orix.
Orix broke the record for most runs given up in a season, 877, by the 1950 Hiroshima Carp. They have now had 882 scored against them in 2003.
For Orix, Ortiz was 1-4 with two RBIs and two strikeouts and is at .256.
For Lotte, Fernandez was 3-5 with a walk and two strikeouts and is at .295. This was his seventh modasho (three hits or more in a game) this month, breaking the team record of six. The league record is eight. Short was 1-3 with two walks and two strikeouts and is at .306.
Pitching Lines:
Orix:
Imamura (L, 9-10) IP 1.0 BF 9 PC 39 H 4 HR 2 K 1 BB 1 R 5 ER 5 ERA 11.00
Kase IP 0.1 BF 3 PC 11 H 2 HR 2 K 1 BB 0 R 2 ER 2 ERA 15.88
A. Kubota IP 2.0 BF 14 PC 55 H 7 HR 2 K 1 BB 1 R 3 ER 3 ERA 9.00
Tokumoto IP 2.0 BF 11 PC 55 H 2 HR 0 K 2 BB 3 R 2 ER 2 ERA 6.78
Iwashita IP 0.2 BF 5 PC 32 H 2 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 5.91
T. Kitagawa IP 2.0 BF 8 PC 28 H 2 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 7.62
Lotte:
H.Y. Kobayashi (W, 9-10) IP 9.0 BF 35 PC 139 H 8 HR 1 K 4 BB 2 R 5 ER 5 ERA
3.80
SB: Kosaka
2B: Katsuragi 2, Fernandez, Hidaka, Fukuura
3B: J. Inoue
HR: Ortiz (31), Kosaka (3), J. Inoue (6), Fukuura 2 (18), S. Omura (9)
RBI: Tani, Ortiz 2, Hidaka, M.T. Goto, Kosaka 3, Fukuura 5, J. Inoue, S. Omura 3
HBP: Satozaki (Tokumoto)
GIDP: T. Yamasaki (6-4-3)
LOB: Orix 3, Lotte 14
Season Series: Orix 5, Lotte 19 1 Tie
Game Time: 3:50
Attendance: 20,000
Umpires: Tachibana (HP), Yamazaki (1B), Nakamura (2B), Kawaguchi (3B)
Team Reports
Yomiuri When Tsuneo Horiuchi grabs the reigns of the Giants, he says that his first aim will be to develop an effective closer after soon to be former helmsman Tatsunori Hara had no success with Junichi Kawahara and Rodney Pedraza. He did, though, see Julio Santana have his moments, though whether Santana will be consistent enough to save 30 games plus a season remains to be seen. Anyway, it appears that Horiuchi will give Kawahara another bite at the apple, though why is hard to discern. Moreover, it seems that he would prefer to put a Japanese in that slot. The conditions he has set out for the role, high velocity, throwing strikes, inducing strikeouts, and cajones seem to fit a foreign hurler more than Japanese, where it is rare for them to top 93mph. But Japanese writers also believe that Horiuchi wants someone he can comunicate with directly. I don't know, a mid-high 90's heater has a language all his own....Horichi is also demanding that everybody, even 40 year old Kimiyasu Kudoh and aging righthander Masumi Kuwata attend the first day of the team's fall camp, though veterans will be allowed to go home early in special cases....Hisanori Takahashi, who has been on the shlef with a shoulder problem, made a minor league rehab start Sunday and went three shutout innings. Kawahara then followed him and went two frames without allowing a run.
Hanshin 34 year old righthanded sidearmer Tetsuro Kawajiri, who has drawn interest in the past from Houston and St. Louis, is being dangled as trade bait since he doesn't fit in with the team's plans for next season. If trade talks don't produce anything, he may be released, at which point he is expected to audition for MLB teams. He was in just two games this year at the top level, going 1-1....Leftfielder Tomoaki Kanemoto needs one more homer to make it eight stright seasons with at least 20.
Chunichi The Dragons are pondering drafting Tohoku Fukushi University outfielder Koji Nakamura, a 6'1" 182 pounder who is being compared to Tomoaki Kanemoto. He has above average speed (six flat in the 50 meter dash), though he has only an average arm at best....Infielder Omar Linares has started wearing glasses since his vision has worsened with age. He will be back next season more as a way to help get other Cuban players in the future as opposed to making him a centerpiece of the team.
Seibu Manager Haruki Ihara formally resigned his managerial job, which will then be turned over to Tsutomu Itoh. Ihara is expected to be named the new skipper of the Orix Blue Wave shortly after the schedule ends....Chang Chia-chiah and Hsu Ming-chieh will be back with the Lions next season, according to Sankei Sports.
Orix The team continues to contemplate adding Tsuyoshi Shinjo to its lineup.
Today's Pictures
Jose Fernandez Cracks Another Knock
