Kikuchi 2 other Carp test positive
Hiroshima Carp second baseman Ryosuke Kikuchi has a reputation for catching everything, but on Monday, the Central League club announced he had caught the coronavirus as well.
Kikuchi, the CL Batter of the Month for March and April, and two teammates have tested positive, the club announced Monday, Kyodo News (Japanese) reported.
The 31-year-old Kikuchi, an eight-time Golden Glove Award winner at second base, 20-year-old Kaito Kozono and 25-year-old reserve outfielder Yuya Shozui, have all tested Sunday. Contract tracing within the team in coordination with local health authorities revealed that no one else on the club was considered a close contact.
According to the team, Kikuchi tested positive after developing a fever. Two more positive tests were returned after 74 first-team players and staff were tested. The Carp will swap out players using the coronavirus activation rule that allows fit players to be activated at any time following infections. The team is scheduled to start a two-game series at Tokyo Dome against the Yomiuri Giants from Tuesday.
Starting pitchers
Pacific League
Eagles vs Fighters: Rakuten Seimei Park Miyagi 6 pm, 5 am EDT
Takayuki Kishi (2-3, 4.24) vs Chihiro Kaneko (0-2, 4.58)
Lions vs Hawks: MetLife Dome 5:45 pm, 4:45 am EDT
Matt Dermody (0-0, 2.70) vs Shota Takeda (2-2, 2.93)
Buffaloes vs Marines: Kyocera Dome (Osaka) 6 pm, 5 am EDT
Hiroya Miyagi (4-0, 1.45) vs Kota Futaki (2-2, 2.68)
Central League
Giants vs Carp: Tokyo Dome 5:45 pm, 4:45 am EDT
Shosei Togo (2-2, 3.63) vs Daichi Osera (2-0, 0.89)
BayStars vs Dragons: Yokohama Stadium 5:45 pm, 4:45 am EDT
Shinichi Onuki (1-3, 6.44) vs Shinnosuke Ogasawara (2-2, 3.12)
Tigers vs Swallows: Koshien Stadium 6 pm, 5 am EDT
Yuki Nishi (3-2, 2.93) vs Cy Sneed (0-0, 6.75)
Active roster moves 5/17/2021
Deactivated players can be re-activated from 5/27
Central League
Activated
None
Dectivated
| Giants | P | 11 | Ryuta Heinai |
| Giants | IF | 0 | Daiki Masuda |
| Dragons | OF | 99 | Mike Gerber |
| BayStars | C | 10 | Yasutaka Tobashira |
| Swallows | P | 11 | Yasunobu Okugawa |
Pacific League
Activated
None
Dectivated
| Hawks | P | 13 | Akira Niho |
| Hawks | OF | 30 | Naoki Sato |
| Marines | P | 17 | Roki Sasaki |
| Marines | P | 47 | Yasuhiro Tanaka |
| Marines | OF | 38 | Akito Takabe |
| Eagles | OF | 51 | Yuya Ogo |
| Fighters | IF | 6 | Sho Nakata |
| Buffaloes | IF | 31 | Ryo Ota |
