The Hiroshima Carp and Orix Buffaloes happily greased the slopes for their skidding opponents on Friday, while the teams with the two best early records in the CL locked horns in a scintillating pitchers’ duel, while the weatherman gave a pitcher’s arm some extra rest.
Friday’s games
Swallows 3, Tigers 1: At Koshien Stadium, Jose Osuna and Tetsuto Yamada broke up a classic pitchers’ duel, bringing Yakult from behind after the Tigers only run scored thanks to their only hit through six innings off Yasuhiro Ogawa, a fluke first-inning triple right fielder Domingo Santana couldn’t see in a driving rain.
Sheldon Neuse kept Tigers starter Koyo Aoyagi from suffering a similar fate in the top of the first. With two outs and a runner on first, Neuse lost Munetaka Murakami’s fly in the rain down the left-field line, only to recover at the last second and make a run-saving catch.
Play was suspended for 20 minutes, after which it became more like a baseball game, but one in which both starters absolutely dominated. Ogawa, allowed one run on one hit and one walk, while another runner reached on an error.
Through six, Aoyagi allowed one hit and walked two while another reached on error. That changed on his first pitch to Osuna in the seventh, a floating breaking ball that Osuna hammered for his third home run.
Taichi Ishiyama (2-0) worked the seventh, and picked up the win when Masami Hamachi (1-1) issued a one-out walk and Yamada put a good swing on a high 1-0 fastball for his second home run. Noboru Shimizu worked the eighth, and Kazuto Taguchi recorded his fourth save after putting two runners on.
Carp 4, Giants 2: At New Hiroshima Citizens Stadium, Tyler Beede (0-1) allowed three runs, two earned, over five innings and put Yomiuri ahead 2-1 with a two-run second-inning single. He surrendered the lead in a two-run third on Matt Davidson’s sac fly.
Carp ace Daichi Osera (1-1) stranded nine runners over six innings to pick up the win, Nik Turley pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the seventh and Ryoji Kuribayashi stranded two in the ninth for his first save of the year as the Giants dropped their third straight.
Buffaloes 4, Fighters 2: At Osaka Dome, Hiroya Miyagi (1-0) struck out seven over six sparkling innings, rookie leadoff man Tokumasa Chano reached base three times and scored twice, while Yuma Tongu drove in a pair of runs and the Buffaloes handed Nippon Ham its sixth loss.
BayStars vs Dragons: At Yokohama Stadium, the game was rained out, giving scheduled Dragons starter Shinnosuke Ogasawara an unexpected extra day of rest after throwing 145 pitches on Opening Day because manager Kazuyoshi Tatsunami’s plan had been for the lefty to throw seven innings, and seven innings he threw.
