Well, not really.
I'm not sure how many people peek at the words I
post each game day, but I wanted to take a moment and say thank you for
stopping by to check out how I highlight what goes on game-wise in
Japan Pro Baseball.
I'm on vacation and will be back to blog the games next year, at least that's the plan at the moment.
Comments are always welcome -- we'll discuss on the podcast.
Regards,
John E. Gibson
Seibu turns around one-run deficit to beat Rakuten
It was starting to get late and the natives were getting restless. A clutch two-out rally in the sixth inning restored calm to the fans and took care of the Rakuten Eagles on Thursday at Seibu Dome.
Esteban German dunked a single into right to score Hideto Asamura, who singled with two out in the sixth, and Shogo Akiyama, who walked, to put the Lions up by a run. Asamura cracked a solo homer in the eighth to pad the lead, and the bullpen made it stand up.
Hideaki Wakui saved it for Ken Togame (5-0), who worked 1.2 innings in relief of Kazuhisa Ishii [working on four days’ rest]. It was Wakui’s 28th save for the Pacific League’s second-place Lions.
The Lions had four hits -- two in the sixth and two in the eighth -- and scored runs in each inning. They remained two games behind first-place Nippon Ham [which they face in Sapporo for two on Friday and Saturday], and three games ahead of SoftBank.
The Fighters have six games left, while the Lions have nine to play.
FIGHTERS 3, MARINES 1
Yoshio Itoi slugged his eighth homer, a two-run shot in the first, and Atsunori Inaba went deep for the 10th time [his 13th consecutive season hitting double figures in longballs, 15th overall] as Nippon Ham secured a postseason berth with a win over Lotte at home.
It’s the team’s second straight trip and fifth overall appearance in the Climax Series playoffs.
CENTRAL LEAGUE
CARP 2, GIANTS 1
Soichiro Amaya’s walk-off single in the ninth scored two and pushed Hiroshima past Yomiuri at The Zoom.
Yomiuri closer Kentaro Nishimura (3-2) took the loss, putting a halt to his club-record stretch of 28 consecutive scoreless outings.
BAYSTARS 2, DRAGONS 1
Alex Ramirez homered in the fourth to move to 12 hits shy of 2,000, and Kentaro Takasaki (6-10) won his second straight decision with six innings of one-run ball as Yokohama won its series over Chunichi at Nagoya Dome.
Ramirez would be the first import player to reach 2,000 hits and qualify for the Golden Players Club.
TIGERS 12, SWALLOWS 0
Rookie Hayata Ito slugged his first pro homer, a grand slam in a five-run fifth, and Akira Iwamoto (2-0) tossed six sharp innings as Hanshin ripped Yakult at Jingu Stadium.
It was starting to get late and the natives were getting restless. A clutch two-out rally in the sixth inning restored calm to the fans and took care of the Rakuten Eagles on Thursday at Seibu Dome.
Esteban German dunked a single into right to score Hideto Asamura, who singled with two out in the sixth, and Shogo Akiyama, who walked, to put the Lions up by a run. Asamura cracked a solo homer in the eighth to pad the lead, and the bullpen made it stand up.
Hideaki Wakui saved it for Ken Togame (5-0), who worked 1.2 innings in relief of Kazuhisa Ishii [working on four days’ rest]. It was Wakui’s 28th save for the Pacific League’s second-place Lions.
The Lions had four hits -- two in the sixth and two in the eighth -- and scored runs in each inning. They remained two games behind first-place Nippon Ham [which they face in Sapporo for two on Friday and Saturday], and three games ahead of SoftBank.
The Fighters have six games left, while the Lions have nine to play.
FIGHTERS 3, MARINES 1
Yoshio Itoi slugged his eighth homer, a two-run shot in the first, and Atsunori Inaba went deep for the 10th time [his 13th consecutive season hitting double figures in longballs, 15th overall] as Nippon Ham secured a postseason berth with a win over Lotte at home.
It’s the team’s second straight trip and fifth overall appearance in the Climax Series playoffs.
CENTRAL LEAGUE
CARP 2, GIANTS 1
Soichiro Amaya’s walk-off single in the ninth scored two and pushed Hiroshima past Yomiuri at The Zoom.
Yomiuri closer Kentaro Nishimura (3-2) took the loss, putting a halt to his club-record stretch of 28 consecutive scoreless outings.
BAYSTARS 2, DRAGONS 1
Alex Ramirez homered in the fourth to move to 12 hits shy of 2,000, and Kentaro Takasaki (6-10) won his second straight decision with six innings of one-run ball as Yokohama won its series over Chunichi at Nagoya Dome.
Ramirez would be the first import player to reach 2,000 hits and qualify for the Golden Players Club.
TIGERS 12, SWALLOWS 0
Rookie Hayata Ito slugged his first pro homer, a grand slam in a five-run fifth, and Akira Iwamoto (2-0) tossed six sharp innings as Hanshin ripped Yakult at Jingu Stadium.
Eagles drop heavy loss on Lions
The Rakuten Eagles still see themselves as a playoff team. The Seibu Lions would like to see themselves atop the Pacific League standings.
The teams clashed at Seibu Dome on Wednesday night, and the Eagles saddled the Lions with a 3-2 loss.
Rakuten moved three games back of third-place SofBank for the final playoff spot after Brandon Duckworth (3-1) tossed 6.1 innings of two-run ball and Ginji Akaminai had a pair of RBI singles to help the Eagles keep their playoff hopes alive.
The loss dropped Seibu two games behind victorious Nippon Ham, and the Lions had only themselves to blame. Kazuo Matsui singled and went to third when a wild throw to second on his stolen-base attempt gave him the extra base with one out in the seventh.
He came home to score the go-ahead run when Kazuya Fujita rolled a soft single through a draw-in infield. The pen took over and Darrell Rasner worked a perfect eighth, while Koji Aoyama allowed a hit and nothing else for his single-season, club-record-tying 21st save.
Seibu’s Takeya Nakamura hit his league-leading 25th homer.
BUFFALOES 3, HAWKS 0
Third-year lefty Yuji Maeda (2-2) blanked SoftBank over five innings and Lee Dae Ho clubbed his first homer since Sept. 18 as Orix put an emphatic halt to its franchise-worst 12-game skid by shutting out SoftBank at Kyocera Dome Osaka.
Maeda, in just his fourth pro start, allowed four hits with two walks, and Yoshihisa Hirano worked two innings for his seventh save.
FIGHTERS 5, MARINES 2
Yang Zhong-shou broke a tie with a two-run single in the seventh and Yoshio Itoi followed with his second hit of the night, an RBI single, as Nippon Ham held off Lotte at Sapporo Dome.
The win helped the Fighters move two games ahead of second-place Seibu, and 4.5 in front of SoftBank after both their rivals lost.
CENTRAL LEAGUE
BAYSTARS 8, DRAGONS 2
Katsuhiko Kinjo’s three-run, pinch-hit homer highlighted a four-run eighth as Yokohama pulled away late and beat Chunichi at Nagoya Dome.
Alex Ramirez had two hits for the BayStars and is 13 shy of 2,000 with 12 games to play.
SWALLOWS 10, TIGERS 4
Yuhei Takai had four hits and scored a run, and Yuhei Nakamura had a bases-clearing double in the first as Yakult paddled Hanshin at Jingu Stadium.
Wladimir Balentien also had three hits and an RBI for the Swallows, who got a quality start from lefty Katsuki Akagawa (8-8).
CARP 4, GIANTS 0
Keisuke Imai (3-8) fired seven innings of shutout ball, holding CL-clinching Yomiuri to two hits and two walks with three Ks, and Brad Eldred homered twice as Hiroshima blanked the Giants at The Zoom.
The Rakuten Eagles still see themselves as a playoff team. The Seibu Lions would like to see themselves atop the Pacific League standings.
The teams clashed at Seibu Dome on Wednesday night, and the Eagles saddled the Lions with a 3-2 loss.
Rakuten moved three games back of third-place SofBank for the final playoff spot after Brandon Duckworth (3-1) tossed 6.1 innings of two-run ball and Ginji Akaminai had a pair of RBI singles to help the Eagles keep their playoff hopes alive.
The loss dropped Seibu two games behind victorious Nippon Ham, and the Lions had only themselves to blame. Kazuo Matsui singled and went to third when a wild throw to second on his stolen-base attempt gave him the extra base with one out in the seventh.
He came home to score the go-ahead run when Kazuya Fujita rolled a soft single through a draw-in infield. The pen took over and Darrell Rasner worked a perfect eighth, while Koji Aoyama allowed a hit and nothing else for his single-season, club-record-tying 21st save.
Seibu’s Takeya Nakamura hit his league-leading 25th homer.
BUFFALOES 3, HAWKS 0
Third-year lefty Yuji Maeda (2-2) blanked SoftBank over five innings and Lee Dae Ho clubbed his first homer since Sept. 18 as Orix put an emphatic halt to its franchise-worst 12-game skid by shutting out SoftBank at Kyocera Dome Osaka.
Maeda, in just his fourth pro start, allowed four hits with two walks, and Yoshihisa Hirano worked two innings for his seventh save.
FIGHTERS 5, MARINES 2
Yang Zhong-shou broke a tie with a two-run single in the seventh and Yoshio Itoi followed with his second hit of the night, an RBI single, as Nippon Ham held off Lotte at Sapporo Dome.
The win helped the Fighters move two games ahead of second-place Seibu, and 4.5 in front of SoftBank after both their rivals lost.
CENTRAL LEAGUE
BAYSTARS 8, DRAGONS 2
Katsuhiko Kinjo’s three-run, pinch-hit homer highlighted a four-run eighth as Yokohama pulled away late and beat Chunichi at Nagoya Dome.
Alex Ramirez had two hits for the BayStars and is 13 shy of 2,000 with 12 games to play.
SWALLOWS 10, TIGERS 4
Yuhei Takai had four hits and scored a run, and Yuhei Nakamura had a bases-clearing double in the first as Yakult paddled Hanshin at Jingu Stadium.
Wladimir Balentien also had three hits and an RBI for the Swallows, who got a quality start from lefty Katsuki Akagawa (8-8).
CARP 4, GIANTS 0
Keisuke Imai (3-8) fired seven innings of shutout ball, holding CL-clinching Yomiuri to two hits and two walks with three Ks, and Brad Eldred homered twice as Hiroshima blanked the Giants at The Zoom.
Kikuchi shuts down Eagles, Ortiz & Carter supply the punch
Yusei Kikuchi said his fastball was as good as it has been all year. Jose Ortiz and Chris Carter were as good as usual.
The combination, along with a hire-wire act by Randy Williams in the eighth inning, helped the Seibu Lions edge the Rakuten Eagles 3-2 on Tuesday night at Seibu Dome.
The Pacific League’s second-place Lions gained a half-game on the Nippon Ham Fighters, who tied the Lotte Marines, and kept pace with the third-place SoftBank Hawks, who won on the road. The Lions are one game back of the Fighters.
“My fastball was the best it has been in recent games,” Kikuchi said in the hero interview. “I hope I can go out and do it again when my turn comes up.”
The third-year lefty (4-2) handcuffed the Eagles on two hits, with a walk and two Ks, over seven-plus innings to match last year’s career-best victory total of four.
Ortiz just missed a homer in the fourth, but got all of a Yoshinao Kamata (7-3) first-pitch fastball in the sixth and sent it out to center for his seventh homer. Carter's RBI single in the seventh proved to be the difference.
Williams came on in the eighth after Kikuchi allowed a leadoff walk and a single, and Ken Togame allowed an RBI double to Jose Fernandez. The big southpaw from Texas walked Motohiro Shima to load the bases with no outs and after getting a shallow flyout, he plunked Ryo Hijirisawa as Rakuten pulled within a run.
But Williams induced a pair of harmless groundouts to halt the rally and help Seibu keep the lead, and Hideaki Wakui kept the bases clean with a 1-2-3 ninth for his 27th save.
HAWKS 7, ORIX 0
Rookie Shota Takeda (7-1) fired his first shutout, blanking hapless Orix on four hits and a walk with seven Ks as SoftBank won at Kyocera Dome.
It was the 12th consecutive loss for Orix, the longest in team history, and the 12th time it has been shut out this season. Earlier in the day, outgoing skipper Akinobu Okada decided to step aside to let the last-place team focus on getting ready for next year.
MARINES 3, FIGHTERS 3, 10 INNINGS
Only one of Atsunori Inaba’s three hits drove in a run, and Lotte’s Josh Whitesell [this week’s guest on JBW] connected for his ninth homer, a tying solo blast in the eighth, as the Marines and Nippon Ham played to a time-limit deadlock at Sapporo Dome.
CENTRAL LEAGUE
GIANTS 3, CARP 2
Shinnosuke Abe clubbed his 27th longball [two shy of the league lead] to break a 2-2 tie in the eighth and move into fourth place all-time in club history -- seventh place in NBP -- by reaching base safely for the 41st consecutive game as Yomiuri edged Hiroshima at The Zoom.
Abe also became just the second catcher to post multiple 100-RBI seasons [Katsuya Nomura did it seven times]. Meanwhile, Shota Dobayashi set a Hiroshima club record by striking out for the 140th time.
SWALLOWS 3, TIGERS 0
Shohei Tateyama (12-8) tossed eight scoreless innings, allowing three hits and two walks, and Shinya Miyamoto doubled in a run and singled as Yakult blanked Hanshin at Jingu.
BAYSTARS 2, DRAGONS 2, 11 INNINGS
The last of Yokohama slugger Alex Ramirez’s three hits drove in the tying run in the third inning as Yokohama and Chunichi played to a 11-inning tie.
Yusei Kikuchi said his fastball was as good as it has been all year. Jose Ortiz and Chris Carter were as good as usual.
The combination, along with a hire-wire act by Randy Williams in the eighth inning, helped the Seibu Lions edge the Rakuten Eagles 3-2 on Tuesday night at Seibu Dome.
The Pacific League’s second-place Lions gained a half-game on the Nippon Ham Fighters, who tied the Lotte Marines, and kept pace with the third-place SoftBank Hawks, who won on the road. The Lions are one game back of the Fighters.
“My fastball was the best it has been in recent games,” Kikuchi said in the hero interview. “I hope I can go out and do it again when my turn comes up.”
The third-year lefty (4-2) handcuffed the Eagles on two hits, with a walk and two Ks, over seven-plus innings to match last year’s career-best victory total of four.
Ortiz just missed a homer in the fourth, but got all of a Yoshinao Kamata (7-3) first-pitch fastball in the sixth and sent it out to center for his seventh homer. Carter's RBI single in the seventh proved to be the difference.
Williams came on in the eighth after Kikuchi allowed a leadoff walk and a single, and Ken Togame allowed an RBI double to Jose Fernandez. The big southpaw from Texas walked Motohiro Shima to load the bases with no outs and after getting a shallow flyout, he plunked Ryo Hijirisawa as Rakuten pulled within a run.
But Williams induced a pair of harmless groundouts to halt the rally and help Seibu keep the lead, and Hideaki Wakui kept the bases clean with a 1-2-3 ninth for his 27th save.
HAWKS 7, ORIX 0
Rookie Shota Takeda (7-1) fired his first shutout, blanking hapless Orix on four hits and a walk with seven Ks as SoftBank won at Kyocera Dome.
It was the 12th consecutive loss for Orix, the longest in team history, and the 12th time it has been shut out this season. Earlier in the day, outgoing skipper Akinobu Okada decided to step aside to let the last-place team focus on getting ready for next year.
MARINES 3, FIGHTERS 3, 10 INNINGS
Only one of Atsunori Inaba’s three hits drove in a run, and Lotte’s Josh Whitesell [this week’s guest on JBW] connected for his ninth homer, a tying solo blast in the eighth, as the Marines and Nippon Ham played to a time-limit deadlock at Sapporo Dome.
CENTRAL LEAGUE
GIANTS 3, CARP 2
Shinnosuke Abe clubbed his 27th longball [two shy of the league lead] to break a 2-2 tie in the eighth and move into fourth place all-time in club history -- seventh place in NBP -- by reaching base safely for the 41st consecutive game as Yomiuri edged Hiroshima at The Zoom.
Abe also became just the second catcher to post multiple 100-RBI seasons [Katsuya Nomura did it seven times]. Meanwhile, Shota Dobayashi set a Hiroshima club record by striking out for the 140th time.
SWALLOWS 3, TIGERS 0
Shohei Tateyama (12-8) tossed eight scoreless innings, allowing three hits and two walks, and Shinya Miyamoto doubled in a run and singled as Yakult blanked Hanshin at Jingu.
BAYSTARS 2, DRAGONS 2, 11 INNINGS
The last of Yokohama slugger Alex Ramirez’s three hits drove in the tying run in the third inning as Yokohama and Chunichi played to a 11-inning tie.
Matsui smacks walk-off HR off Okajima as Eagles win
A walk-off homer that kept his team in the Pacific League playoff picture should have made Rakuten Eagles heel-clicking happy. Instead, the grumpy version of Senichi Hoshino barked about his team’s 3-1 win in 10 innings over the SoftBank Hawks on Monday.
A pair of returnees from the big leagues were the key figures as Kazuo Matsui belted a sayonara shot off Hideki Okajima (0-2) for Rakuten’s sixth walk-off win as the fourth-place Eagles moved to within three games back of third-place SoftBank.
Eagles fans and players enjoyed the typical walk-off celebration, but Hoshino seemed in no mood to join the party.
“It was about time,” the skipper said of Matsui’s third sayonara hit this season. “I guess he felt responsible [for the game going into extra innings].”
Rakuten ace Masahiro Tanaka went pitch-for-pitch with SoftBank top pitcher Tadashi Settsu, leaving after allowing a run on seven hits with no walks and 13 strikeouts over nine innings. Settsu departed after eight innings, yielding just one run on seven hits with nine Ks.
“You can’t give up the first run when you’re pitching against Settsu, but it’s still too bad Ma-kun didn’t come of this with a win,” Hoshino snapped.
Koji Aoyama (5-4) worked a scoreless 10th to pick up the win.
MARINES 5, BUFFALOES 0
Seth Greisinger (11-8) tossed a three-hitter for his first shutout since April 21, 2009 [as a member of the Yomiuri Giants] and Yoshifumi Okada had two hits and two RBIs as Lotte kept its playoff hopes alive with a win over Orix at The Q.
Greisinger walked none, hit a batter and fanned five in his fourth career shutout in six seasons in Japan, helping to send Orix to its 11th straight loss -- its longest skid in 53 years when the franchise was the Hankyu Braves.
A walk-off homer that kept his team in the Pacific League playoff picture should have made Rakuten Eagles heel-clicking happy. Instead, the grumpy version of Senichi Hoshino barked about his team’s 3-1 win in 10 innings over the SoftBank Hawks on Monday.
A pair of returnees from the big leagues were the key figures as Kazuo Matsui belted a sayonara shot off Hideki Okajima (0-2) for Rakuten’s sixth walk-off win as the fourth-place Eagles moved to within three games back of third-place SoftBank.
Eagles fans and players enjoyed the typical walk-off celebration, but Hoshino seemed in no mood to join the party.
“It was about time,” the skipper said of Matsui’s third sayonara hit this season. “I guess he felt responsible [for the game going into extra innings].”
Rakuten ace Masahiro Tanaka went pitch-for-pitch with SoftBank top pitcher Tadashi Settsu, leaving after allowing a run on seven hits with no walks and 13 strikeouts over nine innings. Settsu departed after eight innings, yielding just one run on seven hits with nine Ks.
“You can’t give up the first run when you’re pitching against Settsu, but it’s still too bad Ma-kun didn’t come of this with a win,” Hoshino snapped.
Koji Aoyama (5-4) worked a scoreless 10th to pick up the win.
MARINES 5, BUFFALOES 0
Seth Greisinger (11-8) tossed a three-hitter for his first shutout since April 21, 2009 [as a member of the Yomiuri Giants] and Yoshifumi Okada had two hits and two RBIs as Lotte kept its playoff hopes alive with a win over Orix at The Q.
Greisinger walked none, hit a batter and fanned five in his fourth career shutout in six seasons in Japan, helping to send Orix to its 11th straight loss -- its longest skid in 53 years when the franchise was the Hankyu Braves.