Roki Sasaki pitched and won a different kind of game than the one’s we’re used to seeing from him, while Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitched like an old-school ace and Yuki Yanagita had a big game for the Hawks in what looks like it might be an exciting weekend in the Pacific League.
A few days after looking dead and buried, again, the Hanshin Tigers got a big start when they needed it, while the DeNA BayStars look unstoppable and the Yakult Swallows vulnerable.
Let’s get to the games shall we?
Friday’s games
BayStars 8, Carp 3: At Yokohama Stadium, Hiroki Minei’s three-run fourth-inning double overturned a 2-1 deficit before DeNA showed their offensive genes in a win that pulled them within five games of the first-place Swallows.
Sorry folks, but I’m going to need to keep this super short tonight, since I have an early morning podcast recording, think you’ll enjoy that, and a hospital visit to get an appointment for hip surgery.
So here are the scores:
Tigers 10, Swallows 2 — Mel Rojas broke up a scoreless game with a three-run third-inning homer off Cy Sneed (6-5) and the Tigers, losers of eight straight, poured it on late.
BayStars 4, Giants 3 — DeNA extended its franchise-record home winning streak to 14 games after the third straight game with a tie-breaking homer, after Neftali Soto did those honors for two days, it was Keita Sano’s turn. The win pulled DeNA to within six games of the first-place Swallows.
Dragons 6, Carp 1 — The Dragons avoided being swept on the road, which is a moral victory for Japan’s worst road team. Dayan Viciedo doubled in a pair of first-inning runs and scored another.
Lions 8, Hawks 5 — Brian O’Grady broke a first-inning tie with a three-run homer as Seibu took two of three from the second-place Hawks to increase their PL lead to 2-1/2 games.
Eagles 2, Fighters 1 — Rakuten battling tooth and nail with Orix for the third playoff spot, sweep their series in Sapporo.
On Friday, Roki Sasaki, who was rained out of his start against Orix on Wednesday, will start against Rakuten. He’s 0-1 against them in three starts this year with a 4.70 ERA.