All posts by Jim Allen

sports editor for a wire service in Tokyo
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NPB news: July 6, 2023

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Right field appeared to be the sun field at Yokohama Stadium on Friday night, while Takayuki Kishi and Shumpeita Yamashita locked up in a battle of the ages.

Thursday’s games

Marines 7, Lions 6, 10 innings : At Tokyo Dome, Lotte’s Hisanori Yasuda, who tied the game 2-2 in the first with an RBI single, walked off the Lions with a two-out sayonara single.

Koki Yamaguchi‘s two-out two-run homer made it 4-3 Lotte in the third. Seibu’s Shohei Suzuki, who singled in a run and scored in the first, singled with one out in the fifth and scored the tying run on a David MacKinnon infield single.

The Lions jumped in front for the second time in the seventh when Takeya Nakamura doubled with two outs and scored on a Junichiro Kishi single. Ryusei Sato homered in the eighth to make it 6-4 Lions, only for Gregory Polanco to retie it with a two-run homer in the park that was his home last season with the Yomiuri Giants.

How bout some El Coffee? Gregory Polanco ties it up.

Shogo Nakamura singled, pinch-runner Koshiro Wada stole second and went to third on a throwing error. Lions manager Kazuo Matsui argued unsuccessfully that Polanco, who struck out on the play, interfered with the throw as he followed through with his swing.

Lions center fielder Kishi dutifully tried to catch Lotte in a Merkle’s boner by throwing to first to try for a force out, but Yasuda ran it out for the win.

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NPB news: July 5, 2023

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Roki Sasaki made a big adjustment and nearly went the distance, while his BFF, Hiroya Miyagi had a tough night in Sendai, where a high profile rookie earned his first win. Two Hanshin Tigers had big firsts in Hiroshima, while the Yakult Swallows and Yomiuri Giants both won in 12 innings on the road — the Giants win coming only after the umpires ignored the rules to deny them a ninth-inning run.

Wednesday’s games

Marines 2, Lions 1: At Chiba Marine Stadium, two fastballs into the game, Sasaki (6-2) was in trouble on a Shuta Tonosaki double and a Sosuke Genda single, but responded with three strikeouts and didn’t leave until he’d struck out 11 over eight innings.

Roki Sasaki gets out of jail in the first inning via the strikeout.

Through the first two innings he’d given up three hits, all on first-pitch fastballs, while striking out five. Then he adjusted, opening with splitters and sliders to those guys.

Lotte took the lead against Kaima Taira (5-4), on a third-inning double by rookie shortstop Atsuki Tomosugi and a sweet single from Katsuya Kakunaka. And while Sasaki cruised with hitters hunting fastballs and flailing at splitters, Shogo Nakamura homered to make it 2-0 in the sixth.

Marines closer Naoya Masuda struck out the first two batters in the ninth before surrendering an infield single and an RBI double on a difficult but catchable ball in left to speedy defensive substitute Koshiro Wada.

With the tying run on second, the right-hander secured his 20th save with another strikeout.

Asked about Sasaki’s game, Kakunaka talked about his high expectations for the 21-year-old.

“He’s not there yet,” Kakunaka said. “I keep expecting him to strike out 27. I was next to him in the dugout at the end, but was thinking he could have been out there to the end.”

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