Tag Archives: Cy Sneed

NPB news: Sept. 21, 2023

I need to apologize for being AWOL for the past few days as some big games took place. Since I came back from vacation, both league pennants were settled, and for the first time since the Nankai Hawks and Hanshin Tigers won their leagues in 1964, two Kansai teams are champions in the same year – largely because the Tigers have never had a dynasty the way the Hawks did in Osaka and the Hankyu Braves did up the hill at Nishinomiya Stadium before both franchises were sold after the 1988 season.

With the Buffaloes clinching on Wednesday, attention turned to the two tight battles for second and third in each league, while a player, who was at the forefront of a revolution in Japanese baseball, called it quits.

Thursday’s games

Hawks 4, Marines 2: At Fukuoka Dome, SoftBank’s former Fighters, Kensuke Kondo and Kohei Arihara (9-4) were the difference. Kondo’s 23rd home run made it 4-1 in the first inning after Gregory Polanco retained his share of the PL home run lead with his 25th in the top of the inning.

Atsuki Taneichi (10-6) struck out five straight after Kondo’s home run, and his seven Ks over five innings pushed him into the league lead with 153, ahead of Yoshinobu Yamamoto‘s 148.

The third-place Hawks, whose only losing records this season are against the two teams they’re tussling with for two playoff spots, the Marines and Eagles, moved to within a game of the Marines, and pulled 1-1/2 in front of the Eagles.

Continue reading NPB news: Sept. 21, 2023

NPB news: Aug. 29, 2023

Hideaki Wakui and Carter Stewart Jr. both had big games on a day when two teams that have struggled to score of late piled on the runs, while Matt Davidson and Shota Suekane powered the Carp, and Keita Sano and Shugo Maki did the same for DeNA, while Wataru Matsumoto pitched his heart out with nothing to show for it.

Off the field, the season’s biggest star was deactivated .

Hawks 7, Buffaloes 0: At Nagasaki, Orix struggled to make good contact off SoftBank’s Carter Stewart Jr. (3-4), who allowed three walks and six hits while striking out just five over seven innings, while the Hawks had no trouble putting balls in play and finding holes against Jacob Waguespack (4-7), who allowed all seven runs over three innings.

SoftBank’s Isami Nomura tagged up on a pop up to shallow right field caught by the second baseman, and slid home to score the game’s first run ahead of the tag.

Continue reading NPB news: Aug. 29, 2023