Tag Archives: Leonys Martin

NPB wrap 11-7-21

Sunday was Game 2 day in Japan with the Lotte Marines and Yomiuri Giants each taking a 1-0 lead into their games, meaning Lotte could advance to the Pacific League Climax Series’ final stage with a tie, while the Giants would need a win or ties on Sunday and Monday to advance to the Central League’s final stage.

The weird best-of-seven final stages start on Wednesday at Jingu Stadium in Tokyo and Kyocera Dome Osaka. They are weird because, like the first stage, they are played entirely at the home park of the league champs, who begin with a one-game advantage, meaning the best-of-seven series can’t go to seven games.

It took me 14 years, but I’ve finally come up with a better name for Japan’s postseason pre-Japan Series playoffs, but I’m only going to share that with the newsletter readers for new. If you want to sign up for the jballallen.com newsletter, sign up at the end of this post and I’ll hook you up every Monday.

Sunday’s games

Marines 4, Eagles 4

At Chiba’s Zozo Marine Stadium, Yuki Kuniyoshi made amends for blowing up Game 1, by preventing this one from blowing up in the seventh inning with two on and one out after Rakuten scored its fourth run off Marines starter Kazuya Ojima to take a 4-3 lead.

Marines manager Tadahito Iguchi said Kuniyoshi was supposed to start the seventh, but he hesitated, and said he had to answer for that after the game. Instead Kuniyoshi got two quick outs, Leonys Martin tied it with a seventh-inning homer and Chihaya Sasaki and closer Naoya Masuda each worked a scoreless inning to send the Marines into the final stage.

The Eagles, needing two wins to advance after a sayonara loss in Game 1, gave starter Takayuki Kishi a 2-0 second-inning lead on a one-out double by former Marines captain Daichi Suzuki, and RBI singles by veteran catcher Ginjiro Sumitani and surprising leadoff man Tsuyoshi Yamasaki.

The Marines came back in the second for one run on singles by Adeiny Hechavarria, rookie Koki Yamaguchi and Yudai Fujioka. Hechavarria walked in the fourth and tied it on a Yamaguchi double. Yamaguchi homered off Tomohiro Anraku in the sixth, before Ojima blew his 3-2 lead in the seventh.

Sumitani hit a leadoff homer, Yamasaki hit his second double and scored on a single by Hiroaki Shimauchi as the PL RBI leader drove in his fourth run of the series. With one out in the eighth, Martin homered off another former Marine, Tomohito Sakai to tie it and the Marines held on for the tie, which ended the season for Masahiro Tanaka and the Eagles.

Lotte advances as the higher seed by clinching a tie in the best-of-three series with a 1-0-1 record

Giants 4, Tigers 2

At Koshien Stadium, Hanshin banged out 11 hits and drew five walks, but only managed two score twice, while the team that allowed a Japan-worst 67 unearned runs in the regular season, allowed four more in their season finale.

Ryutaro Umeno and Teruaki Sato doubled off Giants starter Yuki Takahashi to make it 1-0 in the second, and singles by Koji Chikamoto—that chased Takahashi–and Takumu Nakano, off reliever Kyosuke Takagi, made it 2-0.

Koyo Aoyagi faced the minimum through two but a Nakano error at short allowed the Giants a leadoff run in the third. Singles by Takumi Oshiro and pinch-hitter Takumaru Yaoita loaded the bases. Leadoff man Seiya Matsubara’s second single made it 2-1, and Yoshihiro Maru smashed a two-out two-run single to put Yomiuri in front for good.

Yomiuri got another leadoff man on via an error, in the eighth, charged to third baseman Yusuke Oyama, and that run scored after Maru bunted for a hit, a sacrifice, and a sac fly by Zelous Wheeler.

Closer Thyago Vieira, the Giants’ eighth pitcher, gave up a two-out infield single to Jefry Marte and walked Oyama but struck out Mel Rojas Jr in an entertaining at-bat to end it with the right-hander erupting in his habitual celebration.

Yomiuri wins the best-of-three series 2-0.

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NPB wrap 10-25-21

Monday’s games

It was ace of aces day, although the Rakuten Eagles don’t have anyone they’re going to call an ace, Masahiro Tanaka, the pitcher everyone wants to see in a big game for them, got the start against the guy who replaced him as Japan’s No. 1, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and a superb pitching duel ensued.

In Chiba, Kodai Senga went to the mound for the SoftBank Hawks, who had nothing to lose but could make a minor statement.

On Tuesday, while the Nippon Ham Fighters and Seibu Lions fight to avoid finishing last in the Pacific League, the Yakult Swallows and Hanshin Tigers resume their struggle for dominance, against the DeNA BayStars and Chunichi Dragons, respectively, the CL’s two bottom feeders.

If Hanshin wins that final game, Yakult needs to win two. A Tigers loss or a tie, leaves Yakult needing to win one of its last three games.

Buffaloes 4, Eagles 0

At Sendai’s Rakuten Seimei Park Miyagi, Yoshinobu Yamamoto (18-5, 1.39) threw a four-hit shutout thanks to a string of superb plays from Orix’s defense, while the Buffaloes scratched out two runs over eight innings against Masahiro Tanaka (4-9, 3.01), who pitched one of his best games of the season but had nothing to show for it.

The win ended the Buffaloes’ regular season, and after the Marines got thumped for only their second loss in two weeks, Orix now has a magic number of one to clinch. Lotte has three games remaining, and need at least two wins and a tie to win the league.

Against Rakuten, the Buffaloes’ runs were more luck than quality, although a bit of artistry scored the final two against Alan Busenitz in the ninth. Orix broke through in the fifth on a one-out Takahiro Okada walk, a ground out and a broken-bat single by rookie Kotaro Kurebayashi, who also put on a fielding clinic at shortstop.

New Buffalo Rangel Ravelo singled to open Orix’s seventh went to third on a two-out error and scored on Kurebayashi’s second single.

Scratch singles by Ravelo and Yutaro Sugimoto put runners on the corners in the ninth with no outs. With the infield in as far as it would go, the runner on second, Shunta Goto got a huge lead and when the throw went to first on Ryoichi Adachi’s suicide squeeze, Goto was already rounding third and scored.

Yamamoto nearly gave up the game’s only extra-base hit in the ninth, but Goto, now in right, robbed Hideto Asamura of a double with a good catch at the wall.

Marines 15, Hawks 7

At Chiba’s Zozo Marine Stadium, Kodai Senga (10-3, 2.66) allowed three runs, starting with Leonys Martin’s solo home run in the first, his 27th, over six innings, and SoftBank stepped on Manabu Mima (6-7, 4.92) after he retired the first four batters.

A one-out second inning error opened the door for the Hawks, and back-to-back singles tied it. Richard Sunagawa’s sac fly put the visitors up for good, and Mima surrendered four more hits before leaving after facing just 12 hitters. Alfredo Despaigne, who led off the inning, singled SoftBank’s seventh run off Daiki Iwashita.

SoftBank led 10-1 before the Marines’ rear guard responded. Brandon Laird hit his 29th homer, while the Hawks’ Ryoya Kurihara hit his 21st.

Tuesday’s starting pitchers

Fighters vs Lions: Sapporo Dome 6 pm, 5 am EDT

Naoyuki Uwasawa (12-6, 2.95) vs Kaito Yoza (1-1, 3.31)

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

Shota Imanaga (5-4, 2.77) vs Hirotoshi Takanashi (4-1, 3.72)

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

Koyo Aoyagi (13-5, 2.51) vs Shinnosuke Ogasawara (7-10, 3.80)

Active roster moves 10/25/2021

Deactivated players can be re-activated from 11/4

Central League

Dectivated

Yomiuri deactivated its entire roster ahead of the postseason.

Pacific League

Activated

BuffaloesOF8Shunta Goto
BuffaloesOF25Ryo Nishimura

Dectivated

MarinesP42Frank Herrmann
FightersP33Kazuaki Tateno
BuffaloesP13Hiroya Miyagi
BuffaloesP26Atsushi Nomi

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