On Tuesday in Japan, Franmil Reyes continued to rip, Hotaka Yamakawa may no longer be at “rock bottom,” and Yomiuri wins a pitchers’ duel.
Tuesday’s games:
Hawks 4, Marines 1: At Fukuoka “Your company’s name can go here” Dome, Kohei Arihara (9-4) struck out eight over seven innings, and Hotaka Yamakawa drove in two runs as the Pacific League leaders snapped a three-game losing streak. Arihara allowed five hits and a walk, and the Hawks took a 3-0 lead against lefty C.C. Mercedes (2-5) on fifth-inning RBI doubles from Yamakawa and Tomoya Masaki.
Yamakawa who leads the Hawks in RBIs, drove in two with his third hit of the game, and his first “timely hit” of July. He had two doubles and had to settle for a single on a hard-hit drive off the outfield wall.
“I was at rock bottom, so I just want to go all out to do whatever I am capable of,” said Yamakawa, who went 3-for-4.
Swallows 4, Dragons 3: At Jingu “Tokyo’s sacrifice to corporate greed and governmental malfeasance” Stadium, Yakult overcame a three-run first-inning deficit to outlast Chunichi. Hiroki Fukunaga hit a two-out two-run homer and Seiya Hosokawa followed with his 11th, off rookie lefty Daichi Yamano, who went just two innings after going seven in each of his other two starts.
Kazuya Maruyama chasing Shinnosuke Ogasawara with a two-out game-tying RBI single in the sixth, and the Swallows took the lead without a hit in the seventh. Yakult’s Reiji Kozawa worked two innings to earn the win, while Naofumi Kizawa pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his fifth save.
Giants 2, Tigers 1: At Tokyo Ugly Dome, Iori Yamasaki (7-2) allowed a run over seven innings on eight hits and two walks, and Alberto Baldonado and Taisei Ota each contributed a scoreless inning with Ota earning his 11th save after the Giants scored twice in the first off Hiroto Saiki (8-3), who allowed eight hits and four walks while striking out nine over eight innings in a complete-game loss.
Buffaloes 2, Lions 1, 10 innings: At the domed stadium formerly known as “Prince,” Ryoma Nishikawa doubled in Ryo Ota with Orix’s tying run in the sixth, and the Buffaloes won it in the 10th when Shuhei Fukuda doubled and scored on a two-out Ota single. Orix starter Daiki Tajima allowed a run in six innings, while Seibu’s Yutaro Watanabe struck out nine over seven innings in his second straight impressive start.
Fighters 5, Eagles 4: At Kitahiroshima Taxpayers Burden Field, Franmil Reyes’ three-run seventh-inning homer brought Nippon Ham from behind, and Yua Tamiya‘s 10th-inning RBI double won it. Toshiki Abe and Hideto Asamura each homered for the Eagles.
