Tag Archives: Masahiro Tanaka

NPB wrap 4-24-21

Tanaka ‘comes home’, wins 100th in Japan

Eagles 2, Lions 1

At Sendai’s Rakuten Seimei Park, Masahiro Tanaka (1-1) earned his 100th victory in Japan in his first game back at Rakuten’s home park since saving Game 7 of the 2013 Japan Series. He allowed a run on a walk and three hits while striking out four over six innings.

His postgame hero interview began with the announcer welcoming him back to Sendai, to which he answered, “I’m home.”

Notes on Tanaka’s 2nd start

A day after homering in his Japan debut, Brandon Dixon drove in the first of two Eagles first-inning runs with a two-out bad-hop infield single, and looked like a Golden Glove winner at first base after a quick-thinking unassisted double play after he dropped a scorching second-inning liner.

That play and a good catch in center to open the game ensured Tanaka would only allow one run. Cory Spangenberg was hit by a pitch in the third, stole second and scored when Wu Nien-Ting did a good job singling on a low splitter. Tanaka allowed another single in the inning, but with the game in the balance, retired the last 10 batters he faced.

Sung Chia-hao, HIromoto Sakai and Yuki Matsui closed it out for the Eagles with one scoreless inning each.

Keisuke Honda (0-1) allowed two runs over 3-2/3 innings in his season debut for Seibu. Reed Garrett contributed a scoreless eighth for the Lions.

Fighters 5, Buffaloes 3

At Sapporo Dome, the Nippon Ham Fighters pounded out five runs against Orix lefty Sachiya Yamasaki (0-3), capped by Haruki Nishikawa’s second homer, a two-run shot.

Naoyuki Uwasawa (2-2) allowed two runs over seven innings.

Masataka Yoshida belted his fifth homer for the Buffaloes to lead off the fifth and came within a hair of making it a 5-4 game in the sixth. With two on and two outs, Yoshida drove one to deep to left field that Nishikawa raced back and made a leaping grab on.

The win was the Fighters’ first of the season at Sapporo Dome.

Marines 11, Hawks 9

At Chiba’s Zozo Marine Stadium, four walks derailed Carter Stewart Jr.’s second outing for the SoftBank Hawks, as he allowed two of the Lotte Marines last six runs when he retired just two of the seven batters he faced in the fifth inning.

Hawks starter Rei Takahashi allowed five runs over 3-1/3 innings, but the Hawks retook the lead in the top of the fifth and sent Stewart out to pitch with a 6-5 lead. He allowed a leadoff double and left after issuing back-to-back bases-loaded two-out walks. SoftBank re-tied it in the top of the sixth, only for Katsuya Kakunaka to put the hosts ahead for good in the home half with an RBI single.

Frank Herrman put a stop to the Hawks’ comeback in the seventh, and Leonys Martin, who singled and scored in Lotte’s three-run third, helped put the game away in the home half with his eighth home run, a two-run shot.

Yurisbel Gracial had four hits and a walk, scored a run and drove one in for SoftBank, while Marines rookie Akito Takabe hit a two-run homer in the fourth to give the Marines a 5-4 lead and pushed across the tying run in the fifth.

Marines starter Manabu Mima got shelled for six runs over 4-1/3 innings. Closer Naoya Masuda entered with the tying runners on with no outs in the ninth and worked around a walk to earn his fourth save.

Carp 6, Giants 3

At Tokyo Dome, Seiya Suzuki’s fifth homer and his second in two nights put Hiroshima in front for good against Yomiuri’s Shosei Togo (2-2), who allowed four runs in four-plus innings.

Rookie Carp lefty Koya Takahashi (1-0) gave up three runs, two earned in 4-1/3, and matched Togo’s RBI from a second-inning squeeze by singling in a run with two outs in the fourth.

Hiroshima’s bullpen, which has made great strides this year with the inclusion of two rookies, middle man Haruki Omichi and closer Ryoji Kuribayashi, looked fragile on Saturday, allowing four walks and two hits over the last 3-2/3 innings but stranded six runners. Kuribayashi worked around two ninth-inning walks to record his seventh save.

Giants-Carp highlights

Swallows 4, Dragons 3

At Tokyo’s Jingu Stadium, Yakult’s Jose Osuna followed his two-hit Japan debut on Friday with two more on Saturday, including a two-out line single into the gap in right off Chunichi closer Raidel Martinez (0-1) to clinch a walk-off win.

Tetsuto Yamada put Yakult in front with his seventh home run and third in two nights, a two-run, third-inning shot into the first row in left field off Yuya Yanagi, who worked six innings. Yakult’s Hirotoshi Takanashi surrendered Takuya Kinoshita’s second home run that made it 2-1 in the fifth, and left with the game tied in the sixth with two on and none out.

Hiroki Kondo, signed after being released last winter by the Rakuten Eagles, prevented either runner from scoring. Noboru Shimizu worked a 1-2-3 seventh before Yota Kyoda hammered Scott McGough’s fifth pitch in the eighth for his first homer of the season. The right-hander, however, retired the three toughest outs in Chunichi’s lineup.

Rookie lefty Koshiro Sakamoto (1-0) worked a 1-2-3 ninth for the Swallows and earned his first pro win. Yamada and Munetaka Murakami set the table in the ninth with no-out walks, before Osuna ended it.

Tigers 13, BayStars 1

At Koshien Stadium, Hanshin rookie lefty Masashi Ito (2-0) allowed a run on a walk and five hits over the distance, preventing the DeNA BayStars from posting their second winning streak of the season and contributed with one of the Tigers’ seven first-inning hits off Taiga Kamichatani (0-3).

Koji Chikamoto doubled to open Hanshin’s first inning and scored from third when Jefry Marte chopped one threw the drawn-in infield for al one-out single. Three straight hits followed with rookie Teruaki Sato singling in two. After a fielder’s choice, Seiya Kinami cleared the bags with a three-run double.

Sato singled in two more runs in the second, while Jerry Sands, who singled in the first and second, had an RBI double in Hanshin’s three-run fourth. Right-hander Kevin Shackelford, who joined DeNA on a non-roster developmental contract in December and was added to the 70-man roster on Friday, was called up Saturday and struck out one batter in a 1-2-3 seventh.

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Starting pitchers

Pacific League

Fighters vs Buffaloes: Sapporo Dome 2 pm, 1 am EDT

Chihiro Kaneko (0-1, 2.38) vs Daichi Takeyasu (1-0, 3.00)

Eagles vs Lions: Rakuten Seimei Park Miyagi 1 pm, 12 midnight EDT

Takahisa Hayakawa (2-2, 2.10) vs Katsunori Hirai (3-0, 1.82)

Marines vs Hawks: Zozo Marine Stadium 1 pm, 12 midnight EDT

Shota Suzuki (0-1, 2.35) vs Yuki Matsumoto (1-0, 1.80)

Central League

Giants vs Carp: Tokyo Dome 2 pm, 1 am EDT

Nobutaka Imamura (2-0, 0.92) vs Yusuke Nomura (0-2, 4.73)

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

Yasuhiro Ogawa (1-1, 4.35) vs Shinnosuke Ogasawara (1-1, 1.42)

Tigers vs BayStars: Koshien Stadium 2 pm, 1 am EDT

Joe Gunkel (4-0, 1.09) vs Kosuke Sakaguchi (1-1, 1.80)

Active roster moves 4/24/2021

Deactivated players can be re-activated from 5/4

Central League

Activated

GiantsP35Toshiki Sakurai
TigersP43Koki Moriya
TigersOF97Dan Onodera
BayStarsP49Kevin Shackelford
BayStarsIF60Naoto Chino
SwallowsP35Koki Sugiyama

Dectivated

GiantsP15Angel Sanchez
TigersP19Shintaro Fujinami
TigersIF26Fumiya Hojo
BayStarsIF31Tatsuhiro Shibata
SwallowsP11Yasunobu Okugawa

Pacific League

Activated

LionsP45Keisuke Honda
EaglesC44Yuichi Adachi

Dectivated

EaglesOF12Rusney Castillo

NPB wrap 4-23-21

Fujinami helps BayStars snap skid

BayStars 7, Tigers 1

At Koshien Stadium, DeNA’s Yuya Sakamoto (1-1) worked six solid innings, and of the three different Shintaro Fujinamis we’ve seen, protégé Fujinami (2013-2015), problem child Fujinami (2016-2019) and comeback Fujinami (2020-2021), Friday’s version definitely looked like the 2016-2019 version with four runs from six walks in four-plus innings.

The BayStars’ win snapped a 12-game winless streak of 10 losses and two ties. With a 3-1 lead in the fifth, Tigers rookie Teruaki Sato made the misplay of the game. He charged a two-out ground ball into right, overran it. Kazuki Kamizato, who scored on the play, was credited with a three-run single.

The BayStars opened the scoring in the second in a most Fujinami way, on a groundout after three no-out second inning walks. Fujinami walked in the BayStars’ third run by following Keita Sano’s third-inning RBI double with three more straight walks.

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Giants 2, Carp 1

At Tokyo Dome, Yomiuri ace Tomoyuki Sugano (2-1) threw his second straight complete game victory, outdueling Hiroshima’s Allen Kuri (3-2) with all three runs coming on home runs, a two-run fifth-inning shot by Giants catcher Takumi Oshiro and Seiya Suzuki’s fifth home run in the sixth.

Afterward, Sugano was asked about Oshiro’s contribution.

“He called a good game, and helped me attack aggressively. I feel grateful for him since I have to say he carried me,” Sugano deadpanned as the Tokyo Dome crowd, prohibited from vocal cheering nevertheless erupted in laughter.

Oshiro shared the hero interview podium and one would have thought he was Giants manager Tatsunori Hara’s nephew instead of Sugano. Hara loves to tease reporters when asked about tactics by refusing to give away secrets.

Asked about his approach to the game, Oshiro borrowed from his skipper’s playbook, and said, “I can’t say that. It’s a secret.”

Giants-Carp highlights

Swallows 6, Dragons 4

At Tokyo’s Jingu Stadium, Tetsuto Yamada homered twice, doubled, scored three runs and drove in three in the Yakult Swallows’ come-from-behind win over the Chunichi Dragons. Yamada, who hit 12 homers last year, has seven in 2021.

Rookie Yasunobu Okugawa started for the Swallows and again proved very hittable as the Dragons put swings on lots of his pitches as he surrendered four runs on10 hits over five innings without issuing a walk. Lefty Takahiro Matsuba took a 4-1 lead into the fifth inning. Yamada’s RBI double, the Swallows’ third hit of the inning, chased him. Munetaka Murakami plated Yamada for the tying run with his third hit of the day, off new reliever Hiroshi Suzuki.

The Swallows were denied a run in the third when the umpires ruled Munetaka Murakami safe at the plate as he tried to score from second on a wild pitch. The Dragons asked for a video review of Matsuba’s tag, and the umps ruled Matsuba had tagged him without reference to the pitcher’s obstruction for blocking off the plate without the ball.

We’ve had lots of obstruction calls decided after video review, but no ump in Japan to my knowledge had ever ruled obstruction on the field. This was another case of the umps forgetting the rule book.

Two new Swallows made their debuts, first baseman Jose Osuna, who went 2-for-4 with a double, and outfielder Domingo Santana, who was hitless in four at-bats.

Hawks 3, Marines 2

At Chiba’s Zozo Marine Stadium, four straight one-out hits off Lotte Marines closer Naoya Masuda (0-3) brought the SoftBank Hawks from a run down in the top of the ninth and closer Yuito Mori closed the door on the hosts with his seventh save. All three of Masuda’s losses have come against the Hawks.

Lotte starter Toshiya Nakamura was handed a two-run lead in his season debut against SoftBank’s Shuta Ishikawa, who couldn’t locate his breaking pitches and hit three batter and scared a few others.

SoftBank’s Yuki Yanagita, however, did that thing of his where he seems to flick at a pitch away and still drive it 400 feet to the opposite field. His fourth homer, in the fourth, made it 2-1 Lotte and there it stood.

Nakamura worked five innings, and three Marines relievers, Fumiya Ono, Frank Herrmann and Yuki Karakawa kept the champs at bay. Hawks manager Kimiyasu Kudo went with a pair of relievers to get Ishikawa out of a two-on two-out pickle in the seventh.

Marines manager Tadahito Iguchi said of his closer’s troubles against the Hawks, “We need to discuss that in a meeting. He’s not getting the job done.”

Buffaloes 6, Fighters 1

At Sapporo DomeTaisuke Yamaoka (1-2) struck out 10 while allowing a run over eight innings to pace the Orix Buffaloes to their fourth straight win, over last-place Nippon Ham. Drew VerHagen (0-1) worked into the fourth inning in his second start, allowing two runs in the fourth on Steven Moya’s first homer.

Lefty Ryusei Kawano followed VerHagen to the mound as he had a week earlier, but failed to replicate the three perfect innings he twirled against the Eagles. New Fighters third baseman Ronny Rodriguez fumbled a routine two-out grounder, allowing in a run and Kotaro Kurebayashi somehow pulled a low pitch away into the left-field corner for a two-run double that put the game on ice.

The Fighters remained without a win at Sapporo Dome.

Eagles 2, Lions 2

At Sendai’s Rakuten Seimei Park Miyagi, the Rakuten Eagles’ Hideaki Wakui started against the Seibu Lions’ Kona Takahashi in a pitchers’ duel that neither team deserved to lose, and this being Japan, neither did.

Cory Spangenberg made an impact in his Lions’ season debut, walking twice singling and tying it 1-1 in the sixth with an RBI double.

Rakuten’s two new imported hitters also made their first appearances this year. Rusney Castillo injured a left oblique muscle fouling off a pitch in the second in his first at-bat and left the game. Brandon Dixon, not to be confused with Seibu rookie Brandon Tyson Tysinger or Orix Buffaloes reliever Brandon Dickson, homered in his second at-bat to open the scoring.

Rakuten’s Hiroto Kobukata homered in the sixth to tie it, but a Takumi Kuriyama leadoff single in the eighth and a two-out Spangenberg walk allowed Takeya Nakamura to tie it with an RBI single past short against his former teammate Wakui.

Lions shortstop Sosuke Genda probably would have gotten to the ball, but Kobukata isn’t in that class.

Starting pitchers

Masahiro Tanaka returns to Sendai on Saturday for his first game at his old home park since he saved Game 7 of the 2013 Japan Series.

Pacific League

Fighters vs Buffaloes: Sapporo Dome 2 pm, 1 am EDT

Naoyuki Uwasawa (1-2, 4.81) vs Sachiya Yamasaki (0-2, 3.63)

Eagles vs Lions: Rakuten Seimei Park Miyagi 2 pm, 1 am EDT

Masahiro Tanaka (0-1, 5.40) vs Keisuke Honda (-)

Marines vs Hawks: Zozo Marine Stadium 2 pm, 1 am EDT

Manabu Mima (2-0, 2.49) vs Rei Takahashi (1-1, 4.37)

Central League

Giants vs Carp: Tokyo Dome 2 pm, 1 am EDT

Shosei Togo (2-1, 2.92) vs Koya Takahashi (0-0, 0.00)

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

Hirotoshi Takanashi (2-0, 3.38) vs Yuya Yanagi (1-1, 1.73)

Tigers vs BayStars: Koshien Stadium 2 pm, 1 am EDT

Masashi Ito (1-0, 2.25) vs Taiga Kamichatani (0-2, 7.80)

Active roster moves 4/23/2021

Deactivated players can be re-activated from 5/3

Central League

Activated

GiantsIF5Hiroyuki Nakajima
GiantsIF37Akihiro Wakabayashi
GiantsIF48Zelous Wheeler
GiantsOF8Yoshihiro Maru
CarpP46Mikiya Takahashi
SwallowsIF13Jose Osuna
SwallowsOF25Domingo Santana

Dectivated

GiantsP50Chiaki Tone
GiantsIF00Dai Yuasa
GiantsOF36Shingo Ishikawa
GiantsOF39Soichiro Tateoka
BayStarsP22Taisei Irie
CarpP66Atsushi Endo
SwallowsIF00Nobuyuki Okumura
SwallowsIF46Kengo Ota

Pacific League

Activated

MarinesP48Toshiya Nakamura
MarinesC32Toshiya Sato
LionsIF22Cory Spangenberg
EaglesIF9Brandon Dixon
EaglesIF36Yasuhito Uchida
EaglesOF12Rusney Castillo
BuffaloesP30Kohei Suzuki

Dectivated

MarinesP20Taiki Tojo
MarinesC39Yuta Yoshida
LionsIF31Ryusei Sato
BuffaloesP13Hiroya Miyagi