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NPB wrap 6-2-21

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Interleague Day 8

The CL had one of its best days so far, going 3-1-2, and actually leading the PL in runs scored. The CL is now22-18-6, while scoring 180 and allowing 190.

Giants 4, Lions 3

At Tokyo Dome, Yomiuri won a six-pitcher bullpen game after Kai Yokogawa allowed two runs over three innings. Seibu’s Matt Dermody (0-2) gave up four runs over 4-2/3 innings to take the loss. Giants reserve catcher Ginjiro Sumitani scored twice against his former team, while Zelous Wheeler singled twice, scored once and drove in two. Kazuma Okamoto doubled and hit a two-run single that brought the Giants from behind in their three-run fifth.

Hotaka Yamakawa hit his sixth homer for Seibu, a two-run shot in the third, and Tomoya Mori had three hits but struck out on a pitch out of the zone in the ninth with the tying run on third against Thyago Vieira, who saved his second game.

Giants-Lions highlights

Eagles 3, Swallows 1

At Tokyo‘s Jingu Stadium, Rakuten’s Takahiro Norimoto (5-2) was striking out guys like old times, fanning 10 in six innings while allowing one run. Yakult’s Kazuto Taguchi (2-4) gave up two runs over 4-1/3 innings. Hiroaki Shimauchi’s RBI double put the Eagles ahead 1-0 in the fifth, while Takero Okajima, who contributed a single to Rakuten’s first run, completed the scoring in the eighth with his fifth home run.

Sung Chia-hao retired the heart of the Swallows order in the eighth and Yuki Matsui worked a 1-2-3 ninth to earn his 15th save.

BayStars 1, Hawks 1

At Yokohama Stadium, DeNA rookie Koo Nakagawa allowed a run over six innings, while SoftBank veteran Nao Higashihama did the same and as each team had six hits, three walks and struck out five times. Nakagawa retired Takuya Kai in the sixth with the bases loaded, and three relievers, Edwin Escobar, Yasuaki Yamasaki and Kazuki Mishima did the job from there.

Dragons 2, Marines 2

At Nagoya’s Vantelin Dome, Katsuya Kakunaka ended Lotte’s scoreless stay in Nagoya at 17 innings with a two-out two-run ninth-inning single off Katsuki Matayoshi as the Marines avoided being shut out for the second straight night. Leonys Martin got things started in the ninth with a one-out single.

Lefty Shinnosuke Ogasawara allowed two walks and two singles over seven innings while striking out seven. Marines right-hander Daiki Iwashita pitched out of one jam after another to allow just two runs over six innings. Dayan Viciedo tripled and scored a run in the sixth on a Kosuke Fukudome single.

Tigers 2, Buffaloes 1

At Koshien Stadium, Hanshin’s Fumiya Hojo, making his first start of the season, teamed up with rookie shortstop Takumu Nakano to save the Tigers’ bacon and earn a win for right-hander Takumi Akiyama (5-2). Both players made big defensive stops that allowed Akiyama to scatter eight hits and two walks while allowing just one run over 5-2/3 innings.

Rookie lefty Hiroya Miyagi (5-1) only gave Hanshin two decent scoring chances and they cashed both in with Hojo twice singling in Nakano. The bullpen was solid with Robert Suarez earning his 17th save.

Carp 3, Fighters 0

At Hiroshima’s Mazda Stadium, Hiroshima sparkplug Ryosuke Kikuchi returned from his coronavirus infection with a single and double and two runs, Yusuke Nomura scattered seven hits and two walks over 5-1/3 innings and Ryoma Nishikawa drove in all three Carp runs.

Fighters starter Takayuki Kato (3-3) allowed two runs on seven hits and a walk while striking out five. He improved to 2-for-2 at the plate in interleague and drew a walk to maintain his 1.000 on-base percentage.

Hiroshima rookie Ryoji Kuribayashi saved his 11th game, recording his 20th consecutive scoreless inning.

Starting pitchers

Interleague

Fun is in store for Thursday, when former Yomiuri Giants ace Tetsuya Utsumi starts for the Seibu Lions against his old team. In Yokohama, Colin Rea will make his Japan debut for the SoftBank Hawks.

Giants vs Lions: Tokyo Dome 5:45 pm, 4:45 am EDT

Angel Sanchez (4-3, 4.98) vs Tetsuya Utsumi (-)

Swallows vs Eagles: Jingu Stadium 5:30 pm, 4:30 am EDT

Cy Sneed (1-0, 5.79) vs Ryota Takinaka (3-2, 4.15)

BayStars vs Hawks: Yokohama Stadium 5:45 pm, 4:45 am EDT

Yuya Sakamoto (1-1, 4.60) vs Colin Rea (-)

Dragons vs Marines: Vantelin Dome (Nagoya) 5:45 pm, 4:45 am EDT

Akiyoshi Katsuno (3-3, 3.83) vs Fumiya Motomae (1-1, 8.10)

Tigers vs Buffaloes: Koshien Stadium 6 pm, 5 am EDT

Raul Alcantara (1-1, 6.94) vs Sachiya Yamasaki (1-5, 4.02)

Carp vs Fighters: Mazda Stadium 6 pm, 5 am EDT

Hiroki Tokoda (1-2, 3.98) vs Chihiro Kaneko (0-2, 4.50)

Active roster moves 6/2/2021

Deactivated players can be re-activated from 6/12

Central League

Activated

GiantsC22Seiji Kobayashi
TigersIF26Fumiya Hojo
BayStarsOF00Shumei Miyamoto
CarpP19Yusuke Nomura
CarpIF33Ryosuke Kikuchi

Dectivated

GiantsP12Rubby De La Rosa
TigersOF24Mel Rojas Jr.
BayStarsOF8Kazuki Kamizato
SwallowsP48Yuto Kanakubo

Pacific League

Activated

MarinesC99Tomoya Kakinuma

Dectivated

MarinesC45Yuito Munetsugu
EaglesP17Takahiro Shiomi
BuffaloesOF69Stefen Romero
Baseball, Free, News

NPB Wrap 5-5-21

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Fit to be tied

Hawks 5, Eagles 5

At Fukuoka’s PayPay Dome, Rakuten closer Yuki Matsui blew a one-run save opportunity, but struck out Yuki Yanagita to end the game with the winning run on third, forcing the game to end in a tie and causing both teams to celebrate not losing at the same time, which is something I’d never seen before.

Softbank southpaw Tsuyoshi Wada deserved to lose this one after allowing five runs over five innings, but Seiji Uebayashi homered and doubled to drive in the Hawks’ first three runs and singled in the tying run in the ninth on a 1-2, two-out pitch from Matsui.

Taichi Suzuki delivered the big blow for the Eagles with a two-out three-run second-inning double in support of Takahiro Norimoto, who allowed four runs over six innings.

Lions 6, Buffaloes 2

At MetLife Dome, Seibu lit up Orix ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto (3-3), who allowed five runs, four earned, in 6-1/3 innings on a career-worst 10 hits. Lions right-hander Tatsuya Imai (2-2), whose biggest issue is walks, issued four, but non until there were two outs in the sixth and he was leading 3-0.

Sosuke Genda powered the Lions offense with a single, double and triple, three runs and an RBI. Imai allowed two runs, but left with two on and two outs in the eighth. Without closer Tatsushi Masuda on the farm due to poor results and Reed Garrett sidelined by a drive off his knee on Tuesday, 2020 PL rookie of the year Kaima Taira struck out Steven Moya to end the eighth and retired the side in order in the ninth to earn his first save.

Swallows 2, Tigers 2

At Tokyo’s Jingu Stadium, Yakult’s Norichika Aoki ended what had been a futile 0-for-3 day at the plate by sliding under Hanshin first baseman Jefry Marte’s tag to drive in the tying run with an eighth-inning RBI infield single. After that, Swallows closer Taichi Ishiyama and Tigers closer Robert Suarez ensured the game ended in a tie, the first for the Central League-leading Tigers.

Marte drove in both Tigers’ runs, with a two-out, third-inning bases-loaded single off rookie Yasunobu Okugawa, and made a big blay in the field, throwing out the lead runner on a good bunt by the Swallows pitcher with runners on first and second and no outs in the fifth. The play prevented Kotaro Yamasaki’s two-outs single from scoring two and tying the game.

Tigers side-armer Koyo Aoyagi allowed a run over six innings. Yakult center fielder Yasutaka Shiomi was sidelined with an “injured tooth” from a medicine ball striking him in the face during pregame practice, Nikkan Sports reported.

Dragons 4, BayStars 0

At Nagoya’s Vantelin Dome, DeNA Opening Day starter Haruhiro Hamaguchi (2-3) allowed three singles and a walk over six innings while striking out eight.

Keita Sano and rookie Shugo Maki reached to set the table in the seventh, and Masayuki Kuwahara delivered two-run pinch-hit single to chase Akiyoshi Katsuno (3-2). Koki Yamashita followed with another two-run pinch-hit single off Keisuke Tanimoto.

Edwin Escobar, Yasuaki Yamasaki and Kazuki Mishima followed Hamaguchi out of the DeNA bullpen for an inning each with Yamasaki providing all the drama and having to strike out Mike Gerber with the bases-loaded to preserve the shutout.

Giants 4, Carp 0

At Hiroshima’s Mazda Stadium, Yomiuri’s Angel Sanchez (2-2) scattered six hits over seven innings, and four relievers completed the seven-hit, no-walk shutout. Rookie Hiroshima lefty Koya Takahashi (1-1) allowed a run over six innings on four hits and a walk, while striking out six in the tough loss.

A Hayato Sakamoto single and a Zelous Wheeler double to open the fourth set up the first run, with Sakamoto coming home on a Hiroyuki Nakajima sac fly. Pinch-hitter Yoshiyuki Kamei doubled in two runs in the ninth to ice it.

Lions’ Neal tunes up on farm

Active roster moves 5/5/2021

Deactivated players can be re-activated from 5/15

Central League

Activated

GiantsP15Angel Sanchez
SwallowsP11Yasunobu Okugawa

Dectivated

CarpIF35Takumi Miyoshi

Pacific League

Activated

LionsP47Koki Matsuoka

Dectivated

LionsP64Towa Uema