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03/15/2004 Archived Entry: "Japanese Baseball News: Fukuura Slam Kills Lions; Hamanaka Returns With Yard Implements"
Hamanaka Returns with Two Run Homer in Hanshin Victory
The Hanshin Tigers continue to show that they are just stacked from top to bottom, as Osamu Hamanaka, who has been out of action for most of the last year, stepped up and went yard at Koshien Stadium Saturday for the first time since April 2003 to help the reigning Central League champs to an 8-6 victory over the Yakult Swallows. Yuhei Takai started for the visitors and was demoted to the minors as he has just seemed to have disintegrated, posting an unsightly ERA of 24.75 thus far this spring.
Ace Kei Igawa started for Hanshin and wasn't at his best, as his changeup floated into the upper part of the strike zone, resulting in him giving up three runs in five innings. Nonetheless, he cadged the win.
The home fans were treated to an early lead by their favorites, as first baseman George Arias commenced a rally in the third with a walk and advanced on catcher Akihiro Yano's safety to center. Third baseman "they got to put this guy somewhere" Kentaro Sekimoto then drilled a double deep to right to cash the runners in. Shortstop Takashi Toritani belted a deep drive to left. It hooked and hooked and disappeared well into the leftfield bleachers near the foul pole. Third base umpire Katsunori Tomari ruled it a home run, causing Swallows boss Tsutomu Wakamatsu to leap out of the dugout to protest the judgement. The umpires huddled and changed the call to a foul ball and ordered Toritani, who had already circled the bases, back to the batter's box. He walked. Centerfielder Norihiro Akahoshi grounded out to first to move the runners along. With second baseman Makoto Imaoka up, Takai threw a fastball to the backstop Ryne Duren stylee and Sekimoto hustled across. Imaoka torched a double to left to convert Toritani and went to third on a ground out. Takai left an 87mph 1-0 fastball right down the pipe and Hamanaka bulleted it into the leftfield stands and it was now 6-0 Tigers.
They built on that in the fourth, when Yano sent the folks in the centerfield seats a souvenir to make it 7-0.
Yakult finally responded in the top of the fifth, as catcher Atsuya Furuta singled to center and leftfielder Hirobumi Watarai singled to right. Second baseman Noriyuki Shiroishi whistled one to the centerfield wall for a two RBI double. Two outs later, shortstop Shinya Miyamoto dumped a single into left to cut it to 7-3 Hanshin.
The Tigers went back up by five, however, when Tomoaki Kanemoto massacred a fastball right in his wheelhouse over the hills and far away in left, making the score 8-3.
But Yakult would endeavor to chip away. In the sixth, rightfielder Billy Martin singled to left, as did first baseman Ken Suzuki. Backup catcher Kosei Ono pasted one to left for an RBI double to shrink the deficit to 8-4..
Next time up, DH Masayuki Dobashi leadoff with a double to right and Munehiro Shida singled to center, Dobashi moving to third. Backup shortstop Yoshiyuki Noguchi grounded out to short to redeem Dobashi and it was 8-5 Tigers.
Jeff Williams came on to close it out in the ninth, but not before being tagged for a one out triple to right by Shida and a double to center from Noguchi to make it 8-6. The big Aussie then buckled down and retired the next two men to seal it.
Hamanaka homered in an instructional league game Friday off of Chunichi's Masahiro Yamamoto. But his shoulder still isn't 100% and he could begin the season in the minors unless they decide to keep him for pinch hit duty.
Hanshin rightfielder Shinjiro Hiyama ended an 0-13 skid with a single in that third inning.
For Yakult, Martin was 1-4 with two strikeouts and is at .333.
For Hanshin, Arias was 0-2 and is at .214.
Pitching Lines:
Yakult:
Takai (L, 0-1) IP 3.0 BF 16 PC 71 H 6 HR 1 K 3 BB 2 R 6 ER 6 ERA 24.75
Sugimoto IP 2.0 BF 9 PC 41 H 2 HR 2 K 1 BB 1 R 2 ER 2 ERA 3.38
Ishido IP 3.0 BF 12 PC 50 H 2 HR 0 K 1 BB 2 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.38
Hanshin:
Igawa (W, 1-1) IP 5.0 BF 21 PC 82 H 7 HR 0 K 5 BB 0 R 3 ER 3 ERA 7.00
Ishige IP 1.0 BF 5 PC 17 H 3 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 2.25
Makino IP 2.0 BF 9 PC 32 H 3 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 2.25
Williams (S, 1) IP 1.0 BF 5 PC 21 H 2 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.00
SB: Y. Noguchi
2B: S. Miyamoto, Shiroishi, K. Ono, Dobashi, Y. Noguchi, Imaoka, Sekimoto
3B: Shida
HR: Hamanaka (1), A. Yano (1), Kanemoto (2)
RBI: S. Miyamoto, Y., Noguchi 2, K. Ono, Shiroishi 2, Imaoka, Kanemoto, Hamanaka
2, A. Yano, Sekimoto 2
WP: Takai, Makino
GIDP: Iwamura, Akahoshi, Imaoka
Game Time: 3:11
Attendance: 16,000
Umpires: Tsuchiyama (HP), Tani (1B), Suginaga (2B), Tomari (3B)
Ide Two Run Jack in Ninth Gets Daiei 6-6 Tie with Carp
Kazumi Saito couldn't throw his breaking ball where he wanted it Saturday at Onomichi, Hiroshima Prefecture, and he was duly punished for it, as he was tattooed for five runs, three earned, in seven innings and only escaped a loss due to third year outfielder Shotaro Ide's two run game tying blast in the top of the ninth in what ended as a 6-6 deadlock.
Hiroki Kuroda, in his first spring start this year for Hiroshima, was mainly working on refining his pitches, especially the cutter and changeup he is aiming to add to his repetoire, so he wasn't too bothered by the three runs he was charged with during his three innings on the hill.
The fish swam to an initial lead in the first, as third baseman Greg LaRocca singled to right with two gone and Shigenobu Shima got aboard on an infield hit. DH Tomonori Maeda singled to right and it was 1-0 Carp.
The Hawks retorted with a run in the second when leftfielder Pedro Valdez walked with two away and DH Julio Zuleta singled to center. Ide doubled to left and Valdez scurried home to knot it at one all.
In the third, Daiei seized the upper hand, as third baseman Ryo Yoshimoto beat out a ground ball for an infield hit and, one out later, first baseman Nobuhiko Matsunaka thundered a cutter into the rightfield stands to make it 3-1 Hawks.
It would become a one run ballgame, though, in the fourth, when Hiroshima leftfielder Toyo Asayama doubled to left and, two outs later, sped in from third on an infield hit by shortstop Kazunori Okagami to contract the disparity to 3-2.
Daiei notched another tally in the fifth to restore the two run advantage, as centerfielder Hiroshi Shibahara singled to center. Yoshimoto rolled into a 6-4 force, but rookie second baseman Ogata threw it away trying to turn the double play, allowing Yoshimoto to get all the way to third. Second baseman Tadahito Iguchi flew out to left to put the Hawks up 4-2.
The Hawks would then be on the outside looking in after the sixth, as rightfielder Shima doubled to right and came home on a single to right by Maeda.Following a force play, third baseman Kenta Kurihara doubled to right. Rightfielder Kazuhiko Miyaji misplayed the ball, allowing not only Asayama to complete the circuit, but Kurihara motored around on the error too and it was 5-4 Hiroshima.
The Carp tacked another one on in the eighth, as backup DH Takuya Kimura and Asayama each doubled to right with one out and they were in front 6-4.
Unfortunately, Shigeo Tamaki couldn't defend the lead. With one out in the top of the ninth, reserve leftfielder Yudai Deguchi singled to center and, one out later, Ide parked it in the leftfield seats to equalize things at 6-6. Nobuyasu Matsu put the Carp away in order in the bottom of the frame and that was that.
Daiei manager Sadaharu Oh indicated that somebody else may start on Opening Day if he doesn't see better results from Saito next time out. He has been abused for 13 runs in 15 innings over the course of three appearances so far.
For Hiroshima, LaRocca was 2-3 and is at .500.
For Daiei, Zuleta was 1-4 and is at .167. Valdez was 0-2 and is at .318.
Pitching Lines:
Daiei:
K. Saito IP 7.0 BF 30 PC 10 H 10 HR 0 K 2 BB 1 R 5 ER 3 ERA 7.80
Mise IP 0.1 BF 2 PC 4 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 4.15
M. Sato IP 1.0 BF 4 PC 23 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.86
Matsu IP 0.2 BF 2 PC 10 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 7.71
Hiroshima:
Kuroda IP 3.0 BF 15 PC 59 H 5 HR 1 K 2 BB 1 R 3 ER 3 ERA 9.00
Masaki Hayashi IP 2.0 BF 7 PC 23 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 1 ER 0 ERA 1.13
Nishikawa IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 13 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Sawazaki IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 13 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Tamaki IP 2.0 BF 8 PC 31 H 2 HR 1 K 2 BB 0 R 2 ER 2 ERA 7.20
E: Miyaji, Torigoe, Ogata
2B: S. Ide, Johjima, Asayama 2, Shima, Kurihara, T. Kimura
HR: Matsunaka (4), S. Ide (1)
RBI: Iguchi, Matsunaka 2, S. Ide 3, T. Maeda 2, Asayama, Kurihara, Okagami
SF: Iguchi
GIDP: T. Maeda
Game Time: 2:48
Attendance: 10,000
Umpires: Kobayashi (HP), Yamamura (1B), Sasaki (2B), Sugimoto (3B)
Middle Innings Surge Puts Nippon Ham Over Yokohama 6-4
The surprising Nippon Ham Fighters now have the best winning percentage of all 12 teams this spring thanks to getting two runs in the fifth, two in the sixth and another in the seventh and then holding on to walk off with a 6-4 triumph. Tsutomu Iwamoto, who manager Trey Hillman has stuck with despite rather dire results over the last year, was mugged for a couple of bombs, but otherwise performed solidly, going six innings of two run ball to scoop up the shiroboshi.
But while Iwamoto's stock, at least for now, is on the uptick, Yokohama starter Yuji Yoshimi's ill fortune is still a viable entity, as he couldn't throw his slider for strikes and was pummeled after the Fighters order began sitting on his medicore fastball in absorbing the loss.
Yoshimi was behind from the get go, as Fighters centerfielder Tsuyoshi Shinjo torqued a hanging curve into the leftcenter gap for a one out double and, following a groundout and walk, strode to the promised land on a single to left by first baseman Fernando Seguignol to make it 1-0.
It remained that way until the fourth, when Yokohama first baseman Tyrone Woods mortared one into the leftfield bleachers to tie it 1-1.
But Nippon Ham DH Tomochika Tsuboi walked with two outs to catalyze another uprising in the fifth, and rightfielder Katsuhiro Nishiura tucked a Yoshimi delivery into the leftfield stands and it was 3-1 Fighters.
In the sixth, they then put it out of reach when second baseman Kuniyuki Kimoto's ground ball to his opposite number, Seiichi Uchikawa, was fumbled and catcher Shinji Takahashi singled to right. Hichori Morimoto, who had started in right but who was now in center, lashed a double to left to hail Kimoto in. Shortstop Shigeyuki Furuki outran a ground ball toward short, Takahashi holding at third. Tsuboi grounded into a 5-4-3 double play, Takahashi scoring on the play to make it 5-1 Nippon Ham.
The Stars reacted with a trip to downtown via the righthand side on a first pitch hanging breaking ball from backup leftfielder Yuki Kono and it was 5-2 Fighters. That was Kono's fifth dinger in 11 games.
But the Fighters would reimpose their four run advantage in the seventh, as reserve first baseman Kokichi Akune beat out a grounder toward short, went to second on a groundout and scooted in on pinch hitter Nakajima's double to right and the scoreboard read Nippon Ham 6, Yokohama 2.
The Stars, though, shortened it to three once more in their turn, when rightfielder Katsuaki Furuki singled to center with one out and stole second. One out later, Uchikawa ripped a single to center and Furuki wheeled on in to pare Yokohama's lead to 6-3.
DH Takahiro Saeki homered to left to open the bottom of the ninth off of Yoshinori Tateyama, who would then retire three of the next four men for the 6-4 win.
For Yokohama, Woods went 1-3 with an RBI and is at .231.
For Nippon Ham, leftfielder Angel Echevarria was 1-2 with a walk and is at .533. Seguignol was 1-3 with an RBI and is at .250.
Pitching Lines:
Nippon Ham:
Iwamoto (W, 1-0) IP 6.0 BF 24 PC 80 H 6 HR 2 K 4 BB 1 R 2 ER 2 ERA 1.93
Yokoyama IP 1.0 BF 5 PC 24 H 2 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 2.70
Tak. Itoh IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 6 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.80
Tateyama (S, 2) IP 1.0 BF 5 PC 21 H 2 HR 1 K 0 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 6.00
Yokohama:
Yoshimi (L, 1-2)) IP 5.0 BF 23 PC 102 H 6 HR 1 K 4 BB 3 R 3 ER 3 ERA 6.00
Taniguchi IP 1.0 BF 7 PC 36 H 4 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 2 ER 0 ERA 2.35
Tomori IP 1.0 BF 5 PC 30 H 2 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 9.00
T.H. Kato IP 2.0 BF 7 PC 34 H 0 HR 0 K 4 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.86
E: K.A. Furuki, Uchikawa
SB: Tsuboi, S. Furuki, Uchikawa, K.A. Furuki
2B: Shinjo, Morimoto, Nakajima, Ryoji Aikawa
HR: Woods (1), Nishiura (1), Kono (5), Saeki (1)
RBI: Nishiura 2, Seguignol, Nakajima, Morimoto, Uchikawa, Kono, Woods, Saeki
GIDP: Echevarria, Tsuboi, Taneda
Game Time: 3:18
Attendance: 16,000
Umpires: Nishimoto (HP), Tsugawa (1B), Kiuchi (2B), Akimura (3B)
Fukuura Slams Seibu in 11-2 Lotte Victory
Chiba Lotte Marines first baseman Kazuya Fukuura conked a third inning grand slam and drove in a total of five runs to lend support to a fine one run, three hit effort over five innings by starter Naoyuki Shimizu in an 11-2 pasting of the Seibu Lions Saturday. Former Met Benny Agbayashi chipped in a pair of RBIs as well for the victors.
Koji Mitsui started for Seibu and did little right, as he was rolled for seven runs, six earned, on seven hits and five walks in claiming the defeat.
Lotte got two walks and a single to right from DH Seung-yeop Lee in the first, but the rally was sabotaged by an inning ending twin killing off the bat of Agbayani. However, Mitsui wouldn't get off so fortunately in the third, as catcher Tomoya Satozaki got aboard on an infield hit and so did shortstop Makoto Kosaka. They were sacrificed along. Second baseman Koichi Hori walked to pack the sacks. One out later, Agbayani walked to force in a run. Fukuura then did a rendition of "Long Stick Goes Boom" for the folks in the rightfield bleachers and it was 5-0.
The Lions resisted, albeit inadequately, in the fourth, when leftfielder Kazuhiro Wada and rightfielder Hiroyuki Oshima boomed back to back two out doubles to make it 5-1.
Lotte, though, saw that one and raised them one, as centerfielder Toshio Haru leadoff with a single to right and second baseman Chihiro Hamana doubled off the centerfield wall. One out later, Agbayani grounded to third baseman Jose Fernandez, who clanked it and Haru scampered across. Fukuura grounded to Fernandez, but his only play was to first and Hamana journeyed to the promised land to expand the Lotte hegemony to 7-1.
And they didn't stop there. In the sixth, leftfielder Jun Inoue walked and Hamana slithered one back through the middle to put two on with nobody out. Pinch hitter Yukihiko Sato singled to center to cash Inoue in. Backup rightfielder Takashi Tachikawa pounded one off the rightfield fence to pick Hamana up on the double to raise the Lotte advantage to 9-1.
In the seventh, second line backstop Tasuku Hashimoto made one fly away to right and Lotte was in double digits at 10-1.
Seibu utilized a walk to centerfielder Shogo Akada and an RBI double to right from sub third baseman Keisuke Mizuta, but Lotte would post a tally in the bottom half on Yugo Amano's RBI double to left with two on and two out and that was where it ended, 11-2.
Shimizu was clocked at 91mph, but allowed that he still needs to work on pinpointing his breaking pitches. Manager Bobby Valentine, though, suggested that this outing pretty much locked up the Opening Day starting duties for Shimizu.
Closer Masahide Kobyashi had his first spring exhibition appearance and was also clocked at 91mph during his one inning of scoreless one hit ball.
For Seibu, Fernandez was 0-2 and is at .182.
For Lotte, Lee was 1-3 and is at .296. Agbayani was 0-2 with a walk and two RBIs and is at .143. Third baseman Matt Franco was 0-3 with two strikeouts and is at .238.
Pitching Lines:
Seibu:
Mitsui (L, 1-1) IP 5.0 BF 25 PC 87 H 7 HR 1 K 5 BB 5 R 7 ER 6 ERA 9.00
Onuma IP 2.0 BF 11 PC 40 H 4 HR 1 K 2 BB 1 R 3 ER 3 ERA 6.75
Osada IP 1.0 BF 5 PC 15 H 3 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 4.50
Lotte:
N. Shimizu (W, 1-1) IP 5.0 BF 19 PC 68 H 3 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 1.80
M.H. Kobayashi IP 1.0 BF 5 PC 20 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Tobe IP 0.2 BF 2 PC 15 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.86
T. Kawai IP 0.2 BF 2 PC 10 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.86
Tani IP 0.2 BF 4 PC 16 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 5.40
Tak. Tanaka IP 1.0 BF 4 PC 10 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.60
E: Fernandez, Franco
SB: Akada
2B: H.Y. Oshima 2, Mizuta, Hori, Tachikawa, Y. Amano
HR: Fukuura (2), T. Hashimoto (3)
RBI: Mizuta, H.Y. Oshima, T.H. Sato, Agbayani 2, Tachikawa, Fukuura 5, Y. Amano,
T. Hashimoto
HBP: Fernandez (M.H. Kobayashi), H.Y. Nakajima (T. Tanaka)
GIDP: Takayama, Sato, Agbayani
Game Time: 2:47
Attendance: 12,000
Umpires: Yanagita (HP), Shinya (1B), Sakaemura (2B), Yamasaki (3B)
Iwakuma Struggles in 8-4 Defeat to Giants
Kintetsu Buffaloes righthander Hisashi Iwakuma was kicked and clawed for four runs by the Yomiuri Giants in five innings Saturday at Osaka Dome after he was shredded for seven runs by the kyojin in Iwakuma's exhibition start in 2003, as the Tokyo side went on to lope by the herd 8-4.
Hideki Okajima, in his first road start since August 1999, wasn't all that great results wise, but he used the chance as an opportunity to polish the changeup he learned from teammate Masumi Kuwata and got some outs with it before beginning to tire in the fourth. That Okajima, who has been starcrossed as part of a dubious Yomiuri pen the last few seasons, was given a start here is an indication that manager Tsuneo Horiuchi feels his pitching situation is still in an unsettled state.
The Yomiuri lineup indicated the degree of its comfort level with Iwakuma in the first, as second baseman Toshihisa Nishi singled to center and stole second. Centerfielder Takahiro Suzuki used his speed to outrun a ground ball toward third. One out later, leftfielder Tuffy Rhodes put it to his old squad when he singled to right to welcome Nishi home. Following another out, DH Takayuki Shimizu singled to center to send Suzuki in and it was 2-0 Giants.
Two innings down the road, they had Iwakuma in a pickle again, as third baseman Daisuke Motoki singled to center and, two outs later, Shimizu also singled that way. Rightfielder Chris Latham walked to load the bases. Catcher Shinnosuke Abe scalded one off the glove of shortstop Masahiro Abe to make it 3-0 Yomiuri.
They added another one in the fifth when Hiroki Kokubo was dispatched to the dish to pinch hit for Shimizu and jackhammered an 88mph fastball into the second deck in center more than 450 feet away for a 4-0 Yomiuri lead.
However, Kintetsu got back in it in the bottom portion, when first baseman Yuji Yoshioka and Abe each singled to right and Fumitoshi Takano connected for a pinch hit three run homer to center to tighten it up to 4-3.
Yomiuri, though, counterattacked rightaway in the sixth, as shortstop Mototsugu Kawanaka singled to center and blazed around on an RBI double to right by Nishi. Tatsuya Ide went to the plate in a pinch hit appearance and singled to left. Motoki bopped a double to left and both runners made a beeline for home to widen it to 7-3.
In the seventh, Yomiuri made that a four run gap when Latham singled to right, stole second, went to third on a groundout and tagged up and crossed on Kawanaka's sac fly to center for an 8-3 lead.
Kintetsu backup leftfielder Daisuke Masuda walked with one gone in the eighth, advanced on pinch hitter Osamu Hoshino's single to right and DH Hirotoshi Kitagawa's single to left pushed him home. That was all the Buffs could muster, however, Tsuyoshi Jobe capping it off for the Giants with a scoreless ninth despite being touched for another pair of knocks.
Iwakuma was clocked at around 90mph. He said that he wasn't able to get in a good rhythm and thus got spanked.
Kokubo was on the bench for this one due to jamming a finger in a collision with Abe Thursday. During his career, he has batted .305 with 26 homers at Osaka Dome.
Hector Carrasco was clocked at 93mph. He claims that he was used for 28 games in a row at one point in his MLB career and last year racked up 17 straight appearances. So he is up for anything, but one doesn't see how his assertions can be factual.
For Kintetsu, starting leftfielder Larry Barnes was 1-3 with two strikeouts and is at .353.
For Yomiuri, Rhodes was 2-5 with an RBI and two strikeouts and is at .357. Latham was 1-4 with a walk and a steal and is at .222.
Pitching Lines:
Okajima (W, 1-0) IP 5.0 BF 20 PC 102 H 7 HR 1 K 7 BB 0 R 3 ER 3 ERA 3.38
Y. Maeda IP 2.0 BF 8 PC 28 H 2 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.25
Jobe IP 2.0 BF 11 PC 42 H 4 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 1.40
Kintetsu:
Iwakuma (L, 0-1) IP 5.0 BF 26 PC 108 H 9 HR 1 K 4 BB 2 R 4 ER 4 ERA 4.50
H. Koike IP 0.1 BF 5 PC 20 H 4 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 3 ER 3 ERA 19.29
Yoshikawa IP 1.2 BF 6 PC 20 H 2 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 1.93
Yoshida IP 1.0 BF 4 PC 13 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Carrasco IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 14 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
SB: Nishi, Latham
2B: S. Abe, Nishi, Motoki, Onishi
HR: Kokubo (1)
RBI: Nishi, Motoki 2, Rhodes, T. Shimizu, Kokubo, S. Abe, Kawanaka, H. Kitagawa,
Takano 3
GIDP: Kokubo
Game Time: 3:38
Attendance: 33,000
Umpires: Kakigizono (HP), Yoshimoto (1B), Sato (2B), Manabe (3B)
Koo, Kawasaki Both Rocked, But Dragons Get Five to Pull Away 11-6
Kenjiro Kawasaki's velocity and control were a little off compared to his previous appearance and he was dinged for two three run Orix Blue Wave innings during his six inning, 80 pitch assignment Saturday. Fortunately for him, Orix starter Koo Dae-sung was also bothered and bewildered by the opposition, in his case six runs (four earned) on eight hits, in his five innings, so neither man figured in the decision. Instead, Shinji Taninaka is now on the verge of a minor league demotion after he was deemed the loser in the wake of permitting five runs in two innings in an 11-6 Chunichi Dragons victory.
Orix jumped out to an almost instantaneous lead in the first, as centerfielder Daisuke Hayakawa walked, second baseman Koichi Oshima singled to left, Hayakawa turning left and getting into third successfully. Rightfielder Ryutaro Tsuji brought him home by beating out a ground ball toward short and ex-Dragon Takeshi Yamasaki cleaned up the other two with a double to left off of a hanging slider to make it 3-0.
The Nagoya crew compesated for most of that in the second, when DH Eiichi Nakano popped to shortstop Makoto Shiozaki, who collided with Oshima and he dropped it. One out later, catcher Yuichi Yanagisawa walked. Shortstop Tadaatsu Nakazawa doubled over the head of Orix Hayakawa and both runners strode in to make it 3-2 Orix.
They would then get up and get down in the third, as second baseman Masahiro Araki doubled to center and first baseman Kazuki Inoue singled to right. Koo plunked leftfielder Koji Nakamura and the bags were juiced. One out later, Nakano singled to left to wave Araki in. Third baseman So Tsutsui grounded to second to drive in another. Yanagisawa doubled to left for two RBIs and it was now 6-3 Dragons.
Kawasaki told the press after the game that he was trying to be too perfect with his pitches and they proved just that for the Orix bats in the fifth. Third baseman Hiroki Fukutome singled to right and went to second on a sac bunt. Oshima doubled to left to redeem Fukutome. Tsuji walked. Yamasaki grounded to Tsutsui, who kicked it to allow Oshima to motor home. First baseman Jose Ortiz flied out to left and Oshima tagged up and hustled across to equalize it at 6-6.
However, a Chunichi five spot in the seventh would decide it. Inoue walked and Nakamura got the hit and run sign. Inoue took off and Nakamura hacked a hanging shuuto off the leftfield foul pole for a two run homer. Reserve leftfielder Kenji Makuta doubled to center. Nakano singled to right. Pinch hitter Masahiko Morino walked to jam the basepaths. Hiroyuki Watanabe clocked a pinch hit single to right and two more scored while Morino jaunted into third. Nakazawa grounded to second for his third RBI of the afternoon and it was 11-6 Dragons.
Kawasaki is now likely to begin the regular schedule in the minors, but the fact that he has reached this point after three full years on the shelf is encouraging to manager Hiromitsu Ochiai. He was clocked at 86mph. At least he experienced no pain when it was over.
Nakamura is another prime youngster the Dragons hope can develop into a middle of the order slugger. Before he got his shot at the cleanup role Saturday, the others who had been tried there went a collective 4-33.
Orix helmsman Haruki Ihara had a team meeting after the game and scolded the three pitchers responsible for this debacle. Ihara isn't usually much of a screamer, but he obviously realizes that thepitching situation has to improve or the Kobe outfit will be last again.
For Chunichi, centerfielder Alex Ochoa was 0-3 with two strikeouts and is at .333.
For Orix, Ortiz was 0-3 with an RBI and is at .242.
Pitching Lines:
Orix:
Koo IP 5.0 BF 26 PC 98 H 8 HR 0 K 4 BB 2 R 6 ER 4 ERA 5.00
Taninaka (L, 0-2) IP 2.0 BF 12 PC 49 H 4 HR 1 K 0 BB 2 R 5 ER 5 ERA 17.47
Ogawa IP 1.0 BF 5 PC 18 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Chunichi:
K. Kawasaki IP 6.0 BF 29 PC 80 H 7 HR 0 K 2 BB 2 R 6 ER 4 ERA 4.50
Kawagishi (W, 1-0) IP 2.0 BF 6 PC 20 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Hisamoto IP 1.0 BF 4 PC 16 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 6.00
E: Ortiz, Shiozaki, Tsutsui, Inoue
2B: T. Yamasaki, K. Oshima, Saito, Nakamura, Nakazawa, M. Araki, Yanagisawa,
Onishi, Makuta
HR: Nakamura (1)
RBI: K. Oshima, R. Tsuji, T. Yamasaki 2, Ortiz, Nakamura 2, Nakano, Tsutsui,
Yanagisawa 2, H.Y. Watanabe 2, Nakazawa 3
SF: Ortiz
HBP: Hayakawa (K. Kawasaki), Nakamura (Koo)
GIDP: T. Yamasaki
Game Time: 2:59
Attendance: 10,000
Umpires: Fukatani (HP), Iizuka (1B), Mori (2B), Hayashi (3B)
Team Reports
Hanshin With his 3-4 performance Friday, Atsushi Fujimoto is thought to have the starting shortstop's job just about locked up. Highly touted rookie Takashi Toritani is still attempting to figure out pro pitching and may need more time to grow into the pro game at the plate. Meanwhile, Fujimoto is batting a hefty .579 this spring. Now if he can improve his disastrous average with runners in scoring position average over last season,Fujimoto has a chance to really make some opposing moundsmen pay.
Chunichi Reliever Hitoki Iwase fractured a toe on his left foot Thursday when he fell in his bathroom at home. He is expected to be out about at least a month. Manager Hiromitsu Ochiai was hoping that Iwase could occupy the closer's spot in the pen, but he will now have to scramble to replace him.
Yomiuri Righthander Koji Uehara threw 50 pitches in the pen Saturday, the first time he's thrown since suffering a hamstring problem. He took it easy and hopes to be ready for a scheduled outing against Nippon Ham on the 20th....There will be a documentary about Hiroki Kokubo on the 19th on KBC TV beginning at 12:46 a.m. It will run for 55 minutes.
Yakult Leftfielder Alex Ramirez got some good news Saturday when a U.S. based specialist looked at Japanese x rays of his injured knee and saw nothing abnormal, meaning that surgery will likely not be necessary. Team officials hope that A-Ram will be able to see some action beginning on Tuesday.
Yokohama Closer Kazuhiro Sasaki hurt his right hamstring while running Thursday and will thus have his next scheduled appearance Sunday put off for a while, possibly even until the start of the regular season.
Daiei While I was out working on an upcoming Baseball Guru.com sister site, Julio Zuleta cracked a pair of hits against Hanshin Friday to help the Hawks to a 3-2 victory. Rookie phenom Takahiro Mahara was taken deep by Tigers leftfielder Tomoaki Kanemoto in the first for the ex-Carp's first dinger of the spring.
Seibu First baseman Alex Cabrera's back is bothering him, so he took Saturday off. He says he will be in Sunday's game, though, since the problem is just some mild discomfort due to cold weather.
Miscellaneous Seattle Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki continues to haunt Greg Maddux. Last season, the former AL MVP collected two knocks (both of the infield variety, though) in three ups against the future hall of fame righty and stole three bases. Friday, in an exhibition game against the Cubs, Ichiro went 1-2 with a steal, moving on to third when the peg to the base was wild. Unfortunately, the rest of the M's were rendered just about helpless, as Maddux fanned eight during his three inning stint. Another former Blue Wave, Shigetoshi Hasegawa, also got into this one and went two innings of scoreless three hit ball and was able to hit the corners with consistency. He will make an appearance against San Diego on the 16th....Hideo Nomo started for L.A. Friday against Boston and was thumped for four runs on three hits in three innings. Manager Jim Tracy noted that Nomo's fastball still isn't where it should be, but he is getting better and enthused that Nomo's forkball was already in regular season form....Padres reliever Akinori Otsuka missed a scheduled assignment Friday due to discomfort in his back. "It's no big deal, but I just want to be careful."
Replies: 3 comments
japanesebaseball.com is probably a good place to start. they have player pages with stats, etc., and be sure to check the forums.
Posted by Michael @ 03/19/2004 02:17 AM EST
Hi friends.
How i can get more information about panamanian players Fernando Seguignol and Julio Zuleta.
Thanks
Posted by Henry Cárdenas @ 03/17/2004 10:27 AM EST
Hi friends.
How i can get more information about panamanian players Fernando Seguignol and Julio Zuleta.
Thanks
Posted by Henry Cárdenas @ 03/17/2004 10:26 AM EST
