The SoftBank Hawks finally ended their 12-game nightmare, leaving the Nippon Ham Fighters to carry Japan’s futility torch. On Monday, the Hawks scored off Roki Sasaki and took a 1-0 lead into the ninth, and on Tuesday faced the daunting task of snapping their skid against Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Meanwhile, there was some big injury news.
Tuesday’s games
Carp 6, Swallows 3: At New Hiroshima Citizens Stadium, Matt Davidson singled and scored as Hiroshima came from behind to tie it 3-3 in a two-run sixth, and broke the tie in a three-run seventh, doubling to the wall to make it 5-3.
Yakult’s Dillon Peters, who has morphed into a strikeout pitcher, fanning eight in each of his last two starts, allowed two runs in 5-1/3 innings. Munetaka Murakami walked, doubled and scored two of the Swallows’ three runs off Allen Kuri, who worked six innings.
Hawks 5, Buffaloes 0: At Osaka Dome, Kohei Arihara (4-2), 10 days after he lost a pitchers’ duel with Yoshinobu Yamamoto (9-4), returned the favor with a six-hit shutout, his first since joining SoftBank after two years in the States. Arihara struck out a season-high 11, while Tatsuru Yanagimachi gave him a one-run third-inning lead.
Yanagimachi reached on an infield single, went to second on a throwing error, took third on a sacrifice and scored on ground out. Yuki Yanagita chased Yamamoto in the eighth with a two-out two-run double, and Yanagimachi iced it in the ninth with a two-run double.
Lions 3, Marines 0: At Seibu Dome, Kona Takahashi (7-6) threw his second straight shutout, while C.C. Mercedes (3-6) surrendered three runs over six innings for the Marines, whose only runs in their last two games came on Katsuya Kakunaka‘s two-run pinch-hit ninth-inning homer on Monday off against Lotte’s former and SoftBank’s current unrepentant domestic abuser.
Eagles 3, Fighters 1: At Miyagi Stadium, Hideto Asamura pulled within one of Kazuma Okamoto for the Japan home run lead with his Pacific League-leading 19th, off Takayuki Kato (5-7) and 20th, off Bryan Rodriguez. Asamura also singled and was walked intentionally. Takahisa Hayakawa (5-5) allowed a run over six innings. Rakuten rookie Shota Watanabe earned his first career save.
Tigers 4, Giants 2: At Koshien Stadium, Okamoto his 21st homer to tie it 1-1, and Yuto Akihiro doubled in the go-ahead run in the fifth before Yusuke Oyama took Tomoyuki Sugano (2-3) deep for a two-run jack, his 11th of the season. Koji Chikamoto walked and scored his second run of the game in the seventh on an Oyama single. Suguru Iwazaki worked the ninth for Hanshin to get his 15th save.
Tigers-Giants highights
Deniers 5, Dragons 3: At Nagoya Dome, RBI doubles from Shugo Maki and Yamato Maeda highlighted a four-run DeNA first off Shinnosuke Ogasawara (6-6). DeNA leadoff man Masayuki Kuwahara doubled, singled, homered and scored twice, while Shota Imanaga (7-1) struck out 10 while allowing a run over eight innings.
Dragons-DeNA highlights
Sasaki may be done for season
The Lotte Marines’ target of having Roki Sasaki be their rotation anchor all season took a hit when the 21-year-old suffered an injury to his left oblique muscles in Monday’s game. According to Marines manager Masato Yoshii, a doctor who examined the pitcher Tuesday said he would be unable to throw at full strength for two months.
Sasaki allowed a run Monday over six innings, when he struck out nine and walked one. He reportedly felt pain in his rib cage after throwing his 90th of his 93 pitches. He is currently leading both leagues with 130 strikeouts.
