Iguchi: Laird had been playing hurt
Lotte Marines third baseman Brandon Laird has been taking injections in order to be able to play, his manager, Tadahito Iguchi revealed Sunday, according to Sports Nippon Annex.
Laird was deactivated on Aug. 5 due to lower back stiffness. In 147 plate appearances over 39 games, he has six home runs with a .299 on-base percentage and a .391 slugging average.
“He had been getting shots while he played,” Iguchi said. “But recently he was getting numbness in his leg. He went back and now we’re waiting to see what the doctors over there say.”
The team announced no timetable for his return.
Utsumi slated for 1st start as Lion
Former Yomiuri Giants ace Tetsuya Utsumi is slated to make his first start for the Seibu Lions since the team acquired him as Kyodo News (Japanese side) reported Monday.
The lefty, acquired as free agent compensation after the 2018 season, has yet to appear with the first team. He has been named to start on Saturday against the Orix Buffaloes at Kyocera Dome.
“Some of the young guys have times when they are a little uneasy, so we want a veteran to go out and give it his best shot,” pitching coach Fumiya Nishiguchi said of Utsumi, who is expected to join the team in Osaka on Thursday.
“If he can draw on all his skill on the mounds, that will be enough.”
The 38-year-old was originally drafted by the Orix BlueWave, but turned them down since he desired to play for the Giants, for whom his grandfather also played.
Active roster moves 8/17/2020
Deactivated players can be re-activated from 8/27
Central League
Activated
None
Dectivated
| Tigers | P | 66 | Ippei Ogawa |
| Tigers | C | 94 | Fumihito Haraguchi |
| Carp | P | 98 | Emailin Montilla |
| Swallows | P | 68 | Hirofumi Yamanaka |
Pacific League
Activated
None
Dectivated
| Lions | P | 45 | Keisuke Honda |
| Hawks | IF | 68 | Masaki Mimori |
| Buffaloes | OF | 25 | Ryo Nishimura |
Starting pitchers for Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2020
Pacific League
Fighters vs Eagles: Sapporo Dome 6 pm, 5 am EDT
Naoyuki Uwasawa (2-2, 3.77) vs Hayato Yuge (3-1, 3.71)
Marines vs Hawks: Zozo Marine Stadium 6 pm, 5 am EDT
Manabu Mima (3-2, 5.28) vs Kodai Senga (4-1, 3.53)
Buffaloes vs Lions: Kyocera Dome 6 pm, 5 am EDT
Yoshinobu Yamamoto (3-1, 3.86) vs Kona Takahashi (2-5, 6.47)
Central League
Giants vs Tigers: Tokyo Dome 6 pm, 5 am EDT
Tomoyuki Sugano (7-0, 1.75) vs Haruto Takahashi (1-0, 0.00)
Swallows vs Dragons: Jingu Stadium 6 pm, 5 am EDT
Keiji Takahashi (1-1, 3.14) vs Shinnosuke Ogasawara (0-1, 4.50)
Carp vs BayStars: Mazda Stadium 6 pm, 5 am EDT
Allen Kuri (2-2, 4.05) vs Shoichi Ino (3-3, 2.60)
