Central League

Dragons 7, BayStars 3

At Yokohama Stadium, the Chunichi Dragons won their eighth-straight game, something the club hadn’t accomplished since they were managed by Hiromitsu Ochiai in 2009 in a rare mid-season CL makeup game.

DeNA lefty Shota Imanaga (8-5) was not sharp and allowed a run in the first and stranded four runners over the first four innings. The roof fell in on him in the fifth. A one-out infield single, a hit batsman and a poor read by his center fielder resulted in a Zoilo Almonte RBI double.

BayStars manager Alex Ramirez issued his Japan-high 35th intentional walk, and, has been the case this week, it cost him. A grounder got one out and allowed a run, but second baseman Daisuke Nagai’s throw in a vain attempt at a double play was wild and brought in another run. A single by Yota Kyoda capped the inning.

Dragons starter Enny Romero (6-6) allowed one run through the first six innings, retiring the leadoff hitter each time. That streak ended in the seventh, when he issued a leadoff walk and BayStars No. 9 hitter, Yamato Maeda singled.

The Dragons bullpen allowed both runners to score, but Chunichi tacked on two more runs in the eighth and closed it out behind their closer of the week, journeyman lefty Toshiya Okada.

The surprise was that Ramirez went back with his pitcher at the No. 8 spot for the second straight day, a practice he’d abandoned at the start of this season. See my story HERE on the fury Ramirez’s batting orders seem to be causing.