Hiroya Miyagi had one of the better games of his already impressive career, while two CL pitchers quietly having outstanding seasons locked up in a pitchers’ duel that could easily have gone either way.
Thursday’s games
Buffaloes 5, Lions 0: At Seibu Half Dome, Hiroya Miyagi (9-4) threw a four-hit shutout in which he struck out 12 and walked none, Yuma Mune singled in one run, Keita Nakagawa hit a three-run homer and drove in four runs as Orix wrapped up its series sweep with back-to-back shutouts, and allowing only one run in three games.
Giants 5, Swallows 3: At Tokyo Ugly Dome, Yomiuri completed a sweep despite allowing three runs in each game. Yomiuri’s Yuji Akahoshi (1-4), pitching for the first time in three months, struck out eight over seven scoreless innings.
New Swallow Elvin Rodriguez (1-2) appeared to be cruising after allowing Lewis Brinson‘s second-inning solo homer. Rodriguez entered the fifth having retired 11 straight, but walked the bases loaded and took his leave. Hiroki Onishi took over and blew things up real good. Yuto Akahoshi hit a sac fy and Yoshihiro Maru followed with a three-run homer. Shingo Kawabata hit a two-run pinch-hit homer in the ninth, before lefty Kota Nakagawa restored order and earned his sixth save.
Deniers 3, Carp 1: At Yokohama Stadium, Taishi Ota singled in a second-inning run, and Neftali Soto knocked a two-run third-inning homer against the foul pole off tough lefty Hiroki Tokoda (10-4). Katsuki Azuma (11-2) allowed a run over seven innings, on a Matt Davidson RBI single, before J.B. Wendelken and Kohei Morihara clamped down on the Carp in back-to-back 1-2-3 innings. Morihara earned his eighth save.
Marines 5, Hawks 4: At Chiba Marine Stadium, Yuki Yanagita backed a strong effort from 42-year-old Tsuyoshi Wada with a three-run first-inning homer. Kensuke Kondo made it 4-0 in the fourth with his 20th homer, off Manabu Mima before the Marines counterattack was boosted when center fielderTaisei Makihara played a Gregory Polanco single into a leadoff double.
Polanco scored on Mike Brosseau sac fly, and Lotte got a run in the fifth from the only walk and hit batsman Wada allowed in his five innings.
With one out in the sixth, Lotte tied it on four straight hits off Shota Takeda and scored the go-ahead run against Katsuki Matayoshi (1-1) in the seventh. Naoya Masuda worked a 1-2-3 ninth against the top of the Hawks order, striking out Yanagita to end the inning and notch his 33rd save.
