NPB games, news of July 23, 2019

There were a bunch of exciting games and big innings on Tuesday in NPB, with the SoftBank Hawks showing what they can do with the short fences at their ballpark — even with two of their three top home run hitters out of the lineup.

Central League

Giants 6, Swallows 5

At Kyocera Dome, pinch hitter Shnnosuke Shigenobu’s deep fly got over Yakult’s shallow outfield for a sayonara single that snapped Yomiuri’s four-game losing streak.

Both sides had ample chances to win this, missing a chance to deliver a knockout punch with the bases loaded. Giants starter Shun Yamaguchi was on track to win his 11th game of the season when the Giants bludgeoned David Buchanan for four runs in the first. Yamaguchi made the last out, grounding into an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded.

Yamaguchi didn’t allow a hit until Wladimir Balentien homered to open the fifth. With a three-run lead in the eighth, Yamaguchi left with two outs and two on, but Rubby De La Rosa’s first pitch to Norichika Aoki cleared the outfield wall to tie it.

Giants reliever Scott Mathieson walked two of the four batters he faced in the ninth, and lefty Kota Nakagawa walked the bases loaded but got Tetsuto Yamada to fly out and give the Giants a chance to exhale.

With two on and no outs, the Swallows went into their throw-the-runner-out-at-the-plate-on-a-single shallow outfield defense, and Shigenobu launched a fly to the warning track that Aoki couldn’t haul in.

Game highlights are HERE.

Carp 6, Dragons 5, 10 innings

At Mazda Stadium, Xavier Batista had his second two-home run game since Saturday, his two-run shot tying it in the ninth before Geronimo Franzua pitched out of a 10th-inning jam and Tomohiro Abe won it for Hiroshima by leading off the home half of the 10th with a home run.

Batista, whose first homer was launched into the netting above the upper deck in left field and protects Hiroshima Station’s rail yard from such missiles, now has 23 home runs this season. Franzua (6-3) walked two batters in the 10th but put the lead runner out on the third-base line before he could score and then celebrated when he got a fly out to end the inning.

The talking heads blamed Dragons runner Yohei Oshima for his late start, but it was a poor bunt and also good fielding from Franzua that made the play.

Here’s a look at the Franzua celebration if you haven’t seen it.

BayStars 6, Tigers 6, 12 innings

At Koshien Stadium, Yoshitomo Tsustugo prevented DeNA from losing with a two-strike, two-out, ninth-inning RBI double off Hanshin closer Rafael Dolis that tied a wild game 6-6.

The Tigers welcomed back Kosuke Fukudome, who reached base three times, while Jefry Marte went 3-for-5 with his eighth home run, a result the Nikkan Sports attributed to the arrival of Yangervis Solarte.

The story includes Marte speaking about how happy he is to have another quality player on the team, but there is a kind of subtext to it, essentially saying Marte is playing hard because he has competition.

Pacific League

Fighters 5, Buffaloes 2

At Hotto Motto Field Kobe, former Orix ace Chihiro Kaneko looked at home in Kobe, allowing two walks over six hitless innings for Nippon Ham. Kaneko (4-5), who left Orix in a contract dispute over the winter, struck out four in a 92-pitch effort.

New Buffalo Steven Moya belted a two-run home run for the second-straight game to account for his team’s scoring. Tyler Eppler threw a scoreless inning of relief for the Buffaloes, while Stefen Romero returned to action, going 1-for-4 with a ninth-inning single in his first action since being sidelined with injury in June.

Game highlights are HERE.

Hawks 11, Marines 7

At Yafuoku Dome, Kenta Imamiya returned to action for the first time since June 20, and blasted a home run in his first at-bat. Nobuhiro Matsuda followed with his first of the night, and Alfredo Despaigne made it a hat-trick as SoftBank jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead in its win over Lotte.

The Hawks, who lead all 12 teams in home runs with 124, hit five, while Seiya Inoue hit two, two-run shots for Lotte. Katsuya Kakunaka plated Brandon Laird with a home run, and Laird chipped in with his 27th.

Game highlights are HERE.

News

Messenger to return to States for treatment

Veteran Hanshin Tigers pitcher Randy Messenger will return to the United States this summer for treatment to deal with lower-body issues. The 37-year-old right-hander was Hanshin’s Opening Day starter for the fifth-straight season in March, and has had that honor six times since joining the team in 2010.

This season he is 3-7 with a 4.69 ERA.

NPB games, news of July 21, 2019

The biggest news was not in NPB, but Japan’s marquee high school pitcher Roki Sasaki hitting close to 100 miles per hour (160 kph or 99.4 mph) in competition. The Ofunato High School senior struck out 21 batters over 12 innings in — according to the Nikkan Sports — a 194-pitch effort.

The boy of summer

Sasaki broke a 2-2, 12th-inning tie with a home run, allowing his team to advance to Monday’s quarterfinals. Ofunato manager Yohei Kokubo, has been assiduously careful of his young star’s arm, and it will be interesting to see whether he pitches Monday. Kokubo said that decision would be made after seeing how Sasaki feels.

He was working on two days rest after a six-inning called game in the third round in which his velocity maxed out at 155. Two days before that he maxed out at 147 in a five-inning game.

The semifinals are on Wednesday with the final on Thursday.

Earlier in the spring, I wrote about how Sasaki could reshape Japan’s baseball labor market and MLB’s international amateur setup. You can find that story HERE.

Pacific League

Marines 9, Fighters 4

At Sapporo Dome, Nippon Ham’s short starter program is designed to get vulnerable starters out of the game before they blow up, but Kazuki Hori’s fuse proved dangerously short on Sunday as he surrendered seven first-inning runs in a loss to Lotte.

Rookie Kazuma Mike, who has spent much of his professional career on developmental contracts with the Hiroshima Carp and in independent ball, capped the rally with a three-run homer, the first of his career.

The loss snapped Nippon Ham’s five-game winning streak.

Game highlights are HERE.

Lions 10, Buffaloes 3

At MetLife Dome, Hotaka Yamakawa’s Japan-leading 30th home run, a three-run, sixth-inning blast brought Seibu from a run down in a win over Orix.

For the second straight night, Masataka Yoshida homered to break a tie, his 17th home run putting the Buffaloes up 3-2 in the sixth against Zach Neal (5-1) who worked six innings to get the win.

Steven Moya put the visitors up in the first with a two-run homer.

Game highlights are HERE.

Hawks 4, Eagles 2

At Rakuten Seimei Park, 34-year-old SoftBank veteran Yu Hasegawa, who spent the first half of the season with the club’s rehab legion due to Achilles tendon issues, brought the Hawks back from a 2-1 deficit with his first hit of the year, a two-run home run in a win over Rakuten that snapped a six-game losing streak.

Closer Yuito Mori returned to active duty and struck out two batters in a 1-2-3 eighth, a feat rookie Hiroshi Kaino repeated in the ninth to record his eighth save since Mori was sent down to the farm in June.

Game highlights are HERE.

Central League

Tigers 5, Swallows 2

At Koshien Stadium, Yuki Nishi (4-7) struck out six and allowed two runs over seven innings to earn the win for Hanshin, and rookie Koji Chikamoto put his team in front with a three-run, fifth-inning home run off Yakult submariner Hirofumi Yamanaka (0-2).

Carp 2, Giants 1, 10 innings

At Mazda Stadium, Seiya Suzuki singled in the winning run in the 10th inning, as Hiroshima sent league-leading Yomiuri to its fourth-straight loss.

BayStars 5, Dragons 4

At Yokohama Stadium, Jose Lopez’s grand slam helped lift DeNA past Chunichi when the Dragons could only manage two runs over the final three innings despite putting nine runners on base over that span.

BayStars closer Yasuaki Yamasaki protected a one-run lead for his 20th save despite loading the bases with one out.

News

Wada deactivated

The Hawks deactivated lefty Tsuyoshi Wada on Sunday due to discomfort in his right hamstring. Wada was able to walk without assistance and said it felt better than he expected a day after he collapsed to the mound in Sendai in the fifth inning after four scoreless innings of work.

The Hawks got some good news, however, when closer Yuito Mori returned to the mound for the first time since June 15.

writing & research on Japanese baseball

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