Japan has a new league leader Thursday, when Masahiro Tanaka‘s progress toward There’s also an injury update on Norichika Aoki.
Fighters 9, Eagles 5: At Miyagi Stadium, Nippon Ham made a meal of Masahiro Tanaka (5-6), breaking a 2-2 fifth-inning tie in a six-run inning, that the Eagles starter did not survive. Maikel Franco doubled and scored the tying run for Rakuten in the fourth, and with the Eagles trailing 8-2 in the fifth, he belted a two-run homer, his seventh.
What a day, Carter Stewart Jr. squared off against Hiroya Miyagi, unheralded Carp Shota Suekane had himself a night as did Chunichi’s top signing from last year’s draft, while the Nippon Ham Fighters put a 13-game-losing streak on the shoulders of pitcher Kenta Uehara, and Norichika Aoki was hurt in a scene that brought back memories of his worst stretch in MLB>
In other news, three players were deactivated on coronavirus exemptions, two CL teams swapped under-employed players, and Chunichi has signed a journeyman former MLB pitcher. That news follows the recaps.
Fighters 3, Eagles 2: At Miyagi Stadium, Go Matsumoto doubled in the ninth off Sora Suzuki (1-1) and pinch-runner Taiga Egoshi scored the tie-breaking run after singles by Kotaro Kiyomiya and Chusei Mannami.
Kenta Uehara struck out six over six innings in a superb pitching duel with Rakuten’s top draft signing from last autumn, Kosei Soji, who allowed his second runner of the game when he hit Ariel Martinez to open the fifth before surrendering Alan Hansen’s fourth home run.
The Fighters took that lead into the eighth. With right-hander Takahide Ikeda on face the heart of the Eagles’ order, Takero Okajima led off with a pinch-hit double. Ikeda struck out the two most dangerous hitters, Yuya Ogo and Hideto Asamura only for Daichi Suzuki to crush a 3-1 fastball to tie it with his third homer of the year.
Continue reading NPB news: July 26, 2023
