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NPB news: April 7, 2024

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In Japan on Sunday, Roki Sasaki turned things around without his famous heat, Yakult’s bullpen didn’t blow up, Hiroshima completed a quiet weekend, the Giants are enjoying their newly acquired submarine and the Seibu Lions’ hitters took no prisoners in Hokkaido.

Sunday’s games

Swallows 3, Tigers 1: At Jingu “Tokyo’s Sacrifice to Corporate Greed and Governmental Malfeasance” Stadium, Yakult’s bullpen failed to lose its fifth straight game, providing scoreless relief after starter Miguel Yagure (2-0) went 5-2/3 innings

Yakult’s Jose Osuna scored Haruki Nishikawa with his first home run, in the first off Hiroto Saiki (0-1). Hanshin got a run back against new import Yagure on a Seiya Kinami leadoff single and a Koji Chikamoto one-out triple. Yagure issued five walks and left with two runners on base in the sixth, whom Taishi Ishiyama stranded before working another inning.

Setup man Noboru Shimizu, who took the loss in both of Yakult’s games in Hiroshima this week, allowed one hit to record his first save in three years.

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Baseball, Free, News

NPB news: April 6, 2024

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In Japan on Saturday, Teruaki Sato did in the Swallows again, a SoftBank rookie had a heck of a homecoming in Sendai, where Livan Moinelo once more came up empty after a solid performance and Yuki Yanagita won a Hiroshima-connection throw-down. Seiya Hosoka, who started the season 0-for-14, helped out a favorite veteran teammate with his third homer, and new Orix import Anderson Espinoza continued to deal.

On a future programming note, I was at Jingu Stadium today, where I talked with Munetaka Murakami, Domingo Santana and Sheldon Neuse, where despite the crappy situation for the media, I got a few interesting bits to share with you in the coming weeks.

Saturday’s games

Tigers 4, Swallows 3: At Jingu “Tokyo’s Sacrifice to Corporate Greed and Governmental Malfeasance” Stadium, the Tigers’ Teruaki Sato sank the Swallows for the second straight day with a tie-breaking home run.

The Swallows loaded the bases in the third against Kotaro Otake (1-1) with a one-out walk and two singles for Domingo Santa to single in Norichika Aoki and Hideki Nagaoka‘s sac fly to plate Jose Osuna. After facing the minimum over three innings, Kojiro Yoshimura (0-1) surrendered a leadoff homer to Koji Chikamoto in the fourth. Takumu Nakano then singled and scored the tying run on a Yusuke Oyama single, but Yoshimura followed with three straight outs to keep it tied.

The Tigers untied it in the seventh. Ukyo Maekawa singled and came home when Sato, whose 10th-inning homer proved decisive Friday, repeated the feat.

Takeshi Miyamoto drew a leadoff walk in the home half, went to third on an Aoki double and scored on a ground out, but that was it for the Swallowers.

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