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10/27/2003 Archived Entry: "Japanese Baseball News: Sugiuchi Pitches, Iguchi Homers Daiei to Series Tying Victory' Mets Tampered With Kazuo Matsui?; Zeile May be off to Japan"
Irabu Hammered Again as Daiei Ties Japan Series 3-3
Hanshin Tigers righthander Hideki Irabu will go down as the weakest link in his team's quest to take the Japan Series, as he was around for just slightly over two innings Sunday at Fukuoka Dome before being given the hook by manager Senichi Hoshino and was hung with his second series defeat by a 5-1 margin. Second year lefthander Toshiya Sugiuchi had his another brilliant outing, posting his second victory with seven innings of one run baseball before reliever Katsunori Okamoto locked it up with two sterling frames on one hit.
The Hawks vexed (when was the last time you saw THAT word used in a baseball report?) right from the get go, as third baseman Munenori Kawasaki pushed a bunt up the first base line that Irabu, in his inimitable Michelin Man-like way, couldn't field in time to nail the 22 year old at first. That brought up second baseman Tadahito Iguchi, who so far has been a non-presence. However, Irabu threw an 0-1 heater that Iguchi insideoutded and lined into the rightfield seats to put the birds of prey in front 2-0. It was Iguchi's first homer in 17 series games and 64 series at bats.
Then in the third, Irabu plunked Kawasaki, who stole second. Iguchi smacked a hard ground ball to shortstop Atsushi Fujimoto, who let it go through the wickets and Kawasaki sped home to widen his side's lead to 3-0. That was it for Irabu, who was replaced by Shinobu Fukuhara. Fukuhara would give up a hit and a walk, but otherwise managed to extricate himself from the rally and the Daiei advantage remained three.
Hanshin rightfielder Shinjiro Hiyama then mortared a 1-0 fastball on the inner half of the plate into the rightfield stands with two gone in the fourth for the first Tigers series dinger not by someone with the last name of Kanemoto and a 3-1 score.
Fukuhara and Sugiuchi then settled in and neither side had any significant offense until the sixth, when DH Julio Zuleta singled to center and then sailed to the dish on a liner up the rightcenter gap by rightfielder Hiroshi Shibahara that went for a double, the scoreboard now reading Hawks 4, Tigers 1.
Hiyama reached on a leadoff single to left in the seventh, but Sugiuchi finished his night by inducing an infield popup, a groundout and a strikeout and now waited to see what Okamoto would do.
Hawks leftfielder Pedro Valdes tacked on some insurance in the eighth, as he thundered a shot into the rightfield bleachers off of Hiroshi Ishige to widen it to 5-1. Okamoto then retired three of the four men he faced, tahnks in part to centerfielder Arihito Muramatsu making a nifty running catch of Hiyama's drive against the rightcenterfield wall, in the top of the ninth and the series was leveled at 3-3.
On the trip back from Osaka, more than 3000 fans greeted the Hawks at their train stop in Hakata and they were rewarded with a triumph. Tsuyoshi Wada will attempt to disappoint the visitors Monday. Wada would have been inserted into long relief if Sugiuchi had any early problems, but he didn't.
Fukuhara had been considered as the game five starter and showed that he may have deserved a chance, with 4.2 strong innings of one run ball. However, Fukuhara has never had the greatest mental focus and one can understand why Hoshino would resort to a more predictable choice, which paid off. Now Trey Moore will endeavor to grab the Tigers second Japan Series championship in Hoshino's last game in a pro uniform.
Okay, no let's talk history: only once has a Japan Series been clinched in Kyushu, that being in 1963, when the Giants did it at Heiwadai Stadium. Sugiuchi is the first series two game winner since Takashi Saito of Yokohama in 1998. Hanshin is hitting a mere .194 in this series (36-186). The lowest series batting average ever was .171 by Kintetsu in 2001. In Hanshin's three previous series, they batted .234 (1962), .195 (1964), and 227 (1985).
For Hanshin, first baseman George Arias was 0-4 and is at .263.
For Daiei, Valdes was 1-4 with an RBI and three strikeouts and is at .375. Zuleta was 1-3 with a walk and is at .416.
See related story at: Yomiuri Shimbun Article
See another related story at: Mainichi Shimbun Article
And one more assessment at: Japan Times Article
Pitching Lines:
Hanshin:
Irabu (L, 0-2) IP 2.0 BF 12 PC 40 H 3 HR 1 K 1 BB 2 R 3 ER 2 ERA 12.60
Fukuhara IP 4.2 BF 18 PC 78 H 5 HR 0 K 3 BB 2 R 1 ER 1 ERA 1.93
Yoshino IP 0.1 BF 1 PC 5 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Ishige IP 1.0 BF 5 PC 17 H 1 HR 1 K 0 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.00
Daiei:
Sugiuchi (W, 2-0) IP 7.0 BF 25 PC 87 H 4 HR 1 K 4 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 0.60
K. Okamoto (S, 1) IP 2.0 BF 7 PC 25 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
E: Fujimoto
SB: M. Kawasaki 2, Torigoe
2B: Shibahara, Akahoshi
HR: Iguchi (1), Hiyama (1), P. Valdes (3)
RBI: Hiyama, Iguchi, P. Valdes, Shibahara
HBP: M. Kawasaki (Irabu)
GIDP: Matsunaka (6-3)
LOB: Hanshin 4, Daiei 7
Game Status: Hanshin 3, Daiei 3
Game Time: 2:59
Attendance: 36,619
Umpires: Kasahara (HP), Kakigizono (1B), Watada (2B), Nakamura (3B)
Team Reports
Yomiuri Manager Tsuneo Horiuchi is trying to find a way to deal with facing Jeff Williams, who held the Giants to a .150 average this past season. They will be having their hitters seeing a lot of lefty sidearmers Yuji Sogawa and Hiroshi Sato during their fall camp in hopes that will help them get a better look at Williams' deliveries....Closer Junichi Kawahara was taken deep by Ryuji Miyade in an instructional league appearance Saturday. He tossed two innings of two run ball on five hits....The ballclub is in the process of trademarking its "YG" logo in the U.S....A member of Japan's biggest Yakuza family, the Yamaguchi-gumi, and two others have been charged by prosecutors in Suzuka for assaulting the male head of a Giants cheerleading group and his assistant. The suspect was kicked out of Tokyo Dome during a game in July for making trouble and then backing up a stadium employee and threatening him. Then at an August game at Nagoya Dome, he and the two other men beat the victim on the neck and head in apparent retaliation for his being ejected from Tokyo Dome earlier....Todd Zeile is said to be on Yomiuri's shortlist of possible foreign acquistions. Also on that list are Vinnie Castilla and Greg Norton. Whoever the final signee is will be playing third since either incumbent first baseman Kazuhiro Kiyohara and Roberto Petagine, who was in left in 2003, will vie for the first base job. This means that versatile Takayuki Saito, who was also a third base candidate, will likely be put in the outfield....Masanori Hayashi made an instructional league start and was outstanding, going four innings of two hit shutout ball and striking out six. Despite the fine results, though, Hayashi said he didn't feel very comfortable while on the hill.
Yakult Pitcher Tomohito Itoh is finally accepting reality and will retire at age 32 after having his career wrecked by arm problems. He appeared in an instructional league game Saturday and could only get his fastball up to about 70mph. He was once a Rookie of the Year who struckout 16 in a game, but the injuries have left him a shell of his former self and he hasn't pitched at the top club level since 2001. Lifetime, he is 37-27 with 25 saves in 558 total innings with a 2.31 ERA....Lefthander Yuhei Takai got rocked bigtime in an instructional league start Sunday, as he was burned for eight runs on three hits and seven walks in two innings. C'mon Wakamatsu-kantoku, shut him down until spring. He needs the rest.
Hanshin An electronic sign at a Japan Rail station in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture flashed the news of the Hanshin Tigers winning Friday's game, which was fine, but then added that it meant that the Osaka nine had clinched a series championship. The message lasted for about ten seconds before disappearing. A regional official with Japan Rail said that an employee was practicing posting messages on the system when it was mistakenly flashed publically. He apologized for the fuss it caused....Aichi Gakuin University southpaw Kazuya Tsutsui is likely to end up with the Tigers, according to Hochi Sports. He has won 29 games in college and his heater maxes out at around 92mph....Former all star Takenori Emoto, now a columnist for Sankei Sports, wrote that Tigers skipper Senichi Hoshino has only once choice in who to start for game seven: "he will have to commit double suicide with Igawa," he offered, using the word "shinju," a kind of lover's suicide. Igawa hasn't pitched well so far, so he should go with Moore, but if Moore does badly, Hoshino will be second guessed on that the rest of his life. That may be what Emoto has in mind.
Chunichi Closer Akinori Otsuka told Chunichi Sports that he wants to make a decision about whether he will stay in Japan or ask to be posted in the next two weeks or so. He also revealed that manager Hiromitsu Ochiai has asked him to remain with the club....After being hammered in his last instructional league outing, Kenta Asakura needed just 18 pitches to dispose of the opposition in two perfect innings. His fastball showed a lot more life this time out and he kept his pitches down....The Dragons are reportedly offering reliever Eiji Ochiai a three year deal for a total of around $3.5 million. Ochai is a free agent, but he has been quoted as hoping to remain in Nagoya....Kenshin Kawakami threw 50 pitches in the bullpen Sunday.
Yokohama Team officials say that they have no standing offer for Tsuyoshi Shinjo. The Giants have all but pulled out under the illusion that the pretty boy outfielder has received "several MLB offers." Now with the Bay Stars pulling out, that leaves Orix as Shinjo's only known avenue of return to NPB, but there hasn't been anything out of the Blue Wave camp about him recently.
Seibu Hochi Sports is reporting that new manager Tsutomu Itoh will discuss starting on Opening Day, 2004 with ace Daisuke Matsuzaka. Itoh hopes that if he tentatively pencils the righthander in right now, Matsuzaka, who has a problem with putting on weight during the offseason due to fondness for grilled red meat, will be more circumspect about his diet and work habits before spring training begins....Itoh also indicated that Hiroyuki Oshima will tentatively be the starting rightfielder next season rather than a platoon player, as he was under Haruki Ihara. Tatsuya Ozeki will be stationed permanently in center rather than commuting between center and right....Reserve infielder Hiroaki Ueda will not use his free agent rights and has elected to stay with the Lions. He said that he wants to end his career with that ballclub....Kazuo Matsui will hold a press conference on Tuesday to discuss his free agency. Sports Nippon says that Matsui is only deciding between the Dodgers and Yankees.
Kintetsu Pitcher Nobuyuki Ebisu has passed the team's tryout process and will be signed. He will get a rotation shot and, failing that, will compete for a bullpen slot.
Miscellaneous Tohoku High School phenom Yu Darvish surrendered his first homer ever Sunday to Toshikuni Tateishi of Komatsushima High School. Darvish struckout 15 in a complete game nine inning 4-2 defeat.....The Taiwanese National Baseball Team beat a CPBL all star squad 10-2 Saturday. Hsu Ming-chieh entered the contest in the fifth and fashioned three scoreless innings....Yasuhiro Ichiba had a no hitter for six innings before being touched for a knock in the seventh, as he finished with a one hitter while being clocked at 94mph in a 3-0 shutout for Meiji University over Hosei University in Tokyo Big Six University League action. Ichiba will be a top pro draft pick this November and has been clocked as high as 96mph....Tokyo Television will
broadcast a Japan Series match for the first time in 29 years Monday, when it relays game seven to 70% of the country. NHK's satellite arm will also show it, though on a tape delayed basis....The head baseball coach of Tsuda Gakuin High School , Yoshifumi Nakazawa, has been disciplined by the Mie Prefecture High School Baseball Federation for an unspecified "violent act" on one of his players. He will not be allowed to lead the team during an upcoming tournament. And, as is usual in the twisted world of Japanese secondary school ball, there is no mention of having this idiot being referred for prosecution or being fired....Video Research has released tv ratintgs figures for game six of the Japan Series and once again they are quite healthy. It drew a 26.1% share in the Kanto region (Tokyo-Yokohama, etc), a 41.8% in the Kansai area (Kyoto-Osaka-Kobe), and a whopping 44.6% in northern Kyushu. The highest momentary ratings for the tilt were 39.2% in the Kanto, 55.9% in the Kansai and a mind boggling 57.0% in northern Kyushu. However, ratings for the game five battle were about 75% of those numbers.
In the News
Mets May be in for Tampering Charge Concerning Matsui
See fascinating story and superior reporting at: Newark Star-Ledger Article
Hanshin, Daiei Prepare for Series Victory Celebration
See story at: Japan Times Article
Daiei Plans Equity Swap for Hawks
See story at: Japan Times Article
Seung Yeop-Lee Used Utah Bats to Break Asian Homer Record
See story at: Salt Lake City Tribune Article
Today's Pictures
Toshiya Sugiuchi Focuses as He Throws a Four Seamer
Shinjiro Hiyama Throttles a Sugiuchi Pitch into the Seats
