We had a full schedule Saturday and a public apology.
Saturday’s games
Carp 7, Giants 3: At Tokyo Ugly Dome, four players drove in multiple runs. Shota Suekane led the way with three, a tie-breaking fourth-inning single, a tie-breaking seventh-inning homer and an eighth-inning solo homer for extra insurance. Shota Dobayashi and Shogo Akiyama each homered and drove in two for the Carp, while Hayato Sakamoto twice drove in tying runs for the Giants.
Masato Morishita allowed three runs over six innings for the quality start and win for the Carp, while Suekane chased Tomoyuki Sugano with his seventh-inning leadoff homer that made it 4-3. Takuya Yasaki, who had been Hiroshima’s closer for much of the season, Sotaro Shimauchi and Ryoji Kuribayashi combined to strike out four over three innings while allowing one run.
Eagles 4, Fighters 1: At Miyagi Stadium, Takayuki Kishi (8-5) outdueled Naoyuki Uwasawa (8-9), allowing one run, on Chusei Mannami‘s 24th home run, over eight innings. Kishi struck out five, and allowed three hits, two to Mannami, while walking none and hitting one over eight innings. Yuki Matsui saved his Japan-leading 37th game.
Dragons 4, Deniers 3: At Yokohama Stadium, Hiroto Takahashi (7-10) allowed a run over six innings. A career .152 hitter, Takahashi’s no-out bases-loaded single opened the scoring against Haruhiro Hamaguchi (3-7) in a four-run second. DeNA catcher Yudai Yamamoto doubled and scored in the fifth, and doubled in his team’s other two runs in the eighth.
Keita Sano, 3-for-4 with a double in his four trips to the plate, came up in the ninth with the tying run on base but was called out by inexperienced umpire Rikito Yamamoto on a pitch that appeared to miss the strike zone by a good margin.
The loss dropped DeNA two games back of the Carp, and kept them three games ahead of the Giants.
Lions 2, Marines 1: At Seibu Half Dome AKA the roofed ballpark formerly known as Prince, Kaima Taira (11-7) allowed a run over seven innings, on Katsuya Kakunaka‘s game-tying solo shot in the fourth inning, while Sosuke Genda, batting eighth, singled in the game’s first run in the second off C.C. Mercedes (4-8), and singled and scored the go-ahead run in the fifth. Brooks Kriske earned his sixth save for Seibu.
Buffaloes 6, Hawks 1: At Fukuoka Dome, Daiki Tajima (6-3) allowed a first-inning run, while striking out eight over eight innings. Orix catcher Kenya Wakatsuki went 3-for-4, put the Buffaloes ahead with a two-run third-inning single, and doubled and scored an eighth-inning insurance run.
Former Hawks closer Yuito Mori (2-3) issued four walks, allowed six hits and four runs in 3-1/3 innings.
The Hawks’ lead over the fourth-place Eagles shrank to one game, while SoftBank remains a game behind Lotte.
Tigers 9, Swallows 3: At Jingu Stadium, the world’s oldest major league ballpark that is also currently slated for demolition, Sheldon Neuse homered and drove in three runs as Hanshin beat up on Elvin Rodriguez (1-5), while Kotaro Otake (12-2) allowed three runs over eight innings and singled in a run for the Tigers. Munetaka Murakami hit his 31st home run for the Swallows.
Takatsu apologizes
Swallows manager Shingo Takatsu, who was ripped for not making any show of contrition after one of his relievers drilled Hanshin’s star leadoff man Koji Chikamoto in the ribs recently, causing Tigers skipper Akinobu Okada to call Yakult “classless,” bowed to Okada in apology as they exchanged lineup cards at Jingu Stadium Saturday.
The Tigers are without regular catcher Ryutaro Umeno after he was struck by a pitched ball against the Swallows on Aug. 13. “That’s the kind of team they are,” Okada said after the Sept. 3 game in which Chikamoto was hit.
