NPB news: March 27, 2022

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Roki Sasaki struck out 10 batters and equaled the second-fastest pitch recorded in Japan, but got no decision in his season debut on Sunday, while Domingo Santana continued to perform his version of the Ray Charles classic he calls, “Hit the road jacks.”

Eagles 6, Marines 5, 11 innings: At Miyagi Stadium, Sasaki struck out the first five batters he faced including a 164-kph (109 mph) first pitch to Hideto Asamura in the first inning, but allowed three runs over six innings thanks to two walks and two run-scoring hits off forkballs in the heart of the zone.

The Marines took a 1-0 lead in the third when Taiga Hirasawa walked, stole second, and scored on Shogo Nakamura’s flare down the right-field line. A leadoff walk in the home half and rookie Yuma Yasuda’s first pro hit on a 159-kph fastball high and away put two on. New Eagle Haruki Nishikawa doubled on a hanging forkball to plate two.

Nishikawa led off the sixth with a single, stole second and scored when Asamura ripped another hanging forkball for an RBI single.

Takayuki Kishi allowed a run over six innings for the Eagles despite allowing four hits and three walks. Alan Busenitz worked a scoreless seventh for Rakuten, but the Marines took the lead against Tomohiro Anraku in the eighth.

Doubles by Nakamura and Toshiya Sato made it a one-run game, Hiromi Oka drew a two-out walk and Koki Yamaguchi hit a three-run pinch-hit home run.

New Marine Tayron Guerrero allowed a run but stranded two in a 35-pitch eighth inning before last year’s Pacific League saves leader, Naoya Masuda blew his first opportunity of 2022.

Eagles closer Yuki Matsui (1-0) entered in the 10th, worked two scoreless innings, and was gifted the win when a Japanese manager did what Japanese managers do, play the outfield shallow with two outs and a crucial run on second so that a routine fly can score him instead of end the inning.

Hawks 6, Fighters 4: At Fukuoka Dome, Ryoya Kurihara’s two-run homer capped a three-run Hawks first. Renato Nunez doubled in Arismendy Alcantara in the fourth to trim the Hawks’ lead.

Chusei Mannami’s two-run homer tied it 3-3 in the fifth and four walks put the Fighters ahead only for SoftBank to take the lead in the home half. Akira Nakamura singled, Masaki Mimori tripled him home, and scored on a groundout.

Livan Moinelo worked the ninth for his first save.

Lions 7, Buffaloes 6: At Seibu Dome, Hotaka Yamakawa went 3-for-4 with a two-run homer and scored twice as the Lions overcame a six-run deficit after Rangel Ravelo’s first homer for Orix since he signed mid-season last year. Brian O’Grady doubled in a run and in Seibu’s four-run sixth and drew a leadoff walk with the Lions trailing by a run in the eighth.

Katsunori Hirai (1-0) earned the win in relief, and Tatsushi Masuda his first save.

Dragons 7, Giants 5, 10 innings: Chunichi skipper Kazuyoshi Tatsunami earned his first victory, at Tokyo Dome. After Giants rookie Taishi Ota was not called on to save the game for the third straight day, Chunichi scored two in the eighth with rookie Kosuke Ukai getting the big blow a one-out RBI double.

Rubby De La Rosa blew the save, surrendering two runs in the ninth on two walks, an error, and a one-out two-run Yohei Oshima single. Dayan Viciedo singled to leadoff the Dragons’ 10th, career reserve Hayato Misowaki singled in the go-ahead runs, and Raidel Martinez earned the save.

Giants shortstop and captain Hayato Sakamoto returned from an oblique muscle injury and went 4-for-4 with two doubles. Kazuma Okamoto homered and drove in three runs for the Giants, and Sho Nakata hit a first-inning home run.

Giants-Dragons highlights

Swallows 4, Tigers 0: At Osaka Dome, Hanshin’s makeshift season-opening rotation got another workmanlike performance, this time from rookie lefty Takuma Kirishiki (0-1), but could not match Yakult’s.

Hirotoshi Takanashi (1-0) allowed eight runners over six innings but no runs, and the bullpen allowed only man to reach on an error over the final three innings.

Domingo Santana opened the scoring with this third home run, in the second. Back-to-back no-out RBI singles by Tetsuto Yamada and Munetaka Murakami chased Kirishiki, and Yasutaka Shiomi opened the seventh with a drive to the gap in right-center between Koji Chikamoto and Teruaki Sato. Both slid but neither caught the ball, resulting in an inside-the-park home run.

Carp 7, Baystars 6: At Yokohama Stadium, Ryoma Nishikawa capped a four-run fifth inning with an RBI double as the Carp overcame a two-run deficit. Winless DeNA tied it on homers by Keita Sano in the fifth and Toshiro Miyazaki in the sixth and took a 5-4 lead on Shugo Maki’s eighth-inning leadoff homer.

Shogo Itakura, whose single sparked the fourth-inning rally opened with a leadoff single. Takashi Uemoto, who doubled and scored in the fourth, reached on a two-out infield single off BayStars closer Yasuaki Yamasaki. Hisayoshi Chono, who had a two-run pinch-hit single in the fourth, walked, and Nishikawa tripled in all three.

Carp closer Ryoji Kuribayashi, the 2021 rookie of the year, walked two and surrendered an RBI single to Maki but held on for the save.

Active roster moves 3/27/2022

Deactivated players can be re-activated from 4/6

Central League

Activated

SwallowsP14Hirotoshi Takanashi
GiantsIF6Hayato Sakamoto
CarpP66Atsushi Endo
CarpIF00Kaisei Sone
DragonsP13Yuki Hashimoto
BayStarsP20Yuya Sakamoto

Dectivated

CarpOF59Minoru Omori
DragonsP16Sho Iwasaki
DragonsP41Akiyoshi Katsuno
BayStarsP11Katsuki Azuma

Pacific League

Activated

EaglesIF66Itsuki Murabayashi
FightersP18Kosei Yoshida

Dectivated

EaglesIF5Eigoro Mogi

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