The other shoe dropped in the Giants’ managing drama Wednesday as the Central League’s regular season ground to a halt, the Lotte Marines found themselves in Osaka trying to cement their playoff position as the Pacific League season ticks down, and it’s official, Samurai Japan has a new manager on a short leash.
Wednesday’s games
Giants 1, Deniers 0: At Tokyo Ugly Dome, Iori Yamasaki (10-5) threw a 111-pitch two-hitter to outduel Katsuki Azuma (16-3), who allowed a run on eight hits to take the complete-game loss. The victory was Tatsunori Hara’s franchise-record 1,291st, and consigned DeNA to opening its postseason in the climax series
Before the game, Hara revealed he would not continue managing the Giants next year, the final year of what was ostensibly a three-year contract, but would step down after the game, having made up his mind to get out of Dodge after he became the first manager to steer the club to back-to-back second-division finishes.
Continue reading NPB news: Oct. 4, 2023