Tag Archives: Seiya Suzuki

NPB wrap 9-5-21

SoftBank’s Richard Sunagawa show began in earnest on Sunday, as the 22-year-old Sunagawa, whose full name is Richard Makoto Sunagawa O’Brien, led the Western League in home runs and RBIs last year, and was leading the WL in home runs this year before being called up.

On Sunday, he drove in his first Pacific League run, with a sac fly, compounded that with a grand slam for his first home run, and hit another home run.

Sunagawa, who is the brother Mariners minor league pitcher Joey O’Brien, was cheered on by his father and mother and maternal grandfather at Fukuoka’s PayPay Dome.

When asked if he had a message for them, he said in Japanese, “Yes. Keep coming to games.”

The Buffaloes’ loss dropped them into second place behind the Lotte Marines, and just when it seemed like two Kanto teams would seize league leads from the Kansai teams that opened the day in first, the Giants suffered another late collapse in Hanshin land.

Hawks 12, Buffaloes 4

At Fukuoka’s PayPay Dome, it was a real battle of the ages. The Hawks started with a battery of 39-year-old Hiroaki Takaya catching 40-year-old lefty Tsuyoshi Wada (5-5, 4.32), which made me wonder whether the Hawks guys engaged in any trash talk with Orix starter, 27-year-old Hirotoshi Masui (3-6, 4.95), and what that might sound like. Would the gentlemanly Wada tell Masui, “Get off my mound you young punk!”?

Masui allowed seven runs over 3-1/3 innings, while Cesar Vargas, Orix’s fifth pitcher, gave up four in the eighth – including Sunagawa’s second homer and another by Taisei Makihara.

The Buffaloes took a 2-0 second-inning lead on an Adam Jones single and a home run, catcher Kenya Wakatsuki’s fourth. Wada left after throwing five innings. In a kind of prototypical Wada outing, he allowed three hits and a walk while striking out five.

He was replaced by 21-year-old Carter Stewart Jr., who dominated through 2-1/3 innings. But after striking out six straight, issued a walk and allowed three straight singles before his three innings were up.

Eagles 8, Lions 2

At Sendai’s Rakuten Seimei Park Miyagi, Hiroaki Shimauchi scored twice and drove in two runs from the No. 3 spot in Rakuten’s lineup and Eigoro Mogi, batting cleanup, drove in three runs for the third-place Eagles.

Shimauchi’s two-run third-inning double off Yutaro Watanabe (2-3, 2.74) broke the ice and he scored on a Mogi single. Shimauchi walked and scored in the Eagles’ five-run fourth, when Mogi capped the rally with a two-run double.

Marines 2, Fighters 1

At Chiba’s Zozo Marine Stadium, retreads Enny Romero (1-0, 1.56) – formerly of the Dragons — and Yuki Kuniyoshi – formerly of the BayStars, turned over a lead to Japan’s leading closer this year, and Naoya Masuda worked a 1-2-3 ninth to earn his 30th save.

Romero allowed a run on seven hits and a walk while striking out nine over seven innings. Nippon Ham starter Kazuaki Tateno (1-1, 4.12) pitched out of a first-inning bases-loaded jam but his mojo was not there in the second, when the Marines scored twice after the tail end of the order loaded the bases with one out.

Leadoff man Takashi Ogino plated Katsuya Kakunaka with an infield single, and Kyota Fujiwara, a good candidate to be the PL’s batter of the month for July and August, delivered a sacrifice fly.

Carp 6, Swallows 1

At Tokyo Dome, Hiroshima’s Seiya Suzuki hit his third home run of the series and his ninth this season in 17 games at Tokyo Dome, to open the scoring in a two-run second. Ryosuke Kikuchi went 4-for-4, doubling in Shogo Sakakura in the second, and plating him with singles in the fourth and seventh before leading off the eighth with his 13th homer and his fourth at the dome, equaling his total from 46 games at Mazda Stadium.

Hiroki Tokoda (3-2, 3.19) allowed a run on four hits and a hit batsman while striking out seven over seven innings. Yakult lefty Kazuto Taguchi (4-8, 4.11) allowed four runs on five hits over three-plus innings. Juri Hara took over in the fourth with two on and no outs but surrendered back-to-back RBI singles to Kikuchi and Kota Hayashi.

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Dragons 2, BayStars 0

At Vantelin Dome Nagoya, Kosuke Fukudome drove in the winning run for the second time Chunichi’s three-game series with DeNA, which slipped into sixth place behind Hiroshima.

Shota Imanaga shut the Dragons down on three hits and a walk over seven innings, before Fukudome delivered a two-out pinch-hit double off Edwin Escobar (3-3), who surrendered another RBI double to leadoff man Yota Kyoda.

Dragons starter Yariel Rodriguez struck out eight but walked five over five scoreless innings. Katsuki Matayoshi (1-2) survived a two-on, one-out jam in the eighth to earn the win, and Raidel Martinez picked up his 15th save with a 1-2-3 ninth.

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Tigers vs Giants 6

At Koshien Stadium, Hanshin came from behind for the third straight game. C.C. Mercedes left with a 6-0 lead after five innings, but that lead and Mercedes’ eighth win of the season evaporated as more Giants bullpen drama unfolded.

Takumu Nakano tripled to open the Tigers’ sixth off Yohei Kagiya. Nakano scored as Jerry Sands reached on error by new shortstop Akihiro Wakabayashi. Jefry Marte walked. New pitcher Ryusei Ohe got one out before walking danger man Yusuke Oyama to load the bases.

Pinch-hitter Fumihito Haraguchi singled in one run, and another scored on a groundout before Mel Rojas Jr. singled off Seishu Hatake to make it a 6-4 game.

A Sands single and an error on Taishi Hirooka, the Giants’ third shortstop of the game set the table for Hanshin to tie it in the seventh. An RBI groundout made it 6-5, before Yoshio Itoi came up with his second big pinch-hit of the series, doubling in the tying run.

A night after Oyama beat him with a two-run home run, Giants closer Thyago Vieira retired one batter before Oyama came to the plate in the ninth. He didn’t homer but he did swat a hanging slider for a double. An infield single put runners on the corners before a two-out walk loaded the bases, but Yoshihiro Maru was able to go back and haul in a line drive off the bat of Koji Chikamoto to end the game.

Hanshin starter Takumi Akiyama gave up three runs in two innings, but got an assist when Hayato Sakamoto ran into an out in the Giants’ three-run first inning, capped by Hiroyuki Nakajima’s two-run home run, his fifth.

Shintaro Fujinami worked three innings of relief and served up Kazuma Okamoto’s Japan-best 35th home run, a three-run shot that appeared to ice the game.

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Active roster moves 9/5/2021

Deactivated players can be re-activated from 9/15

Central League

Activated

SwallowsP34Kazuto Taguchi

Dectivated

None

Pacific League

Activated

EaglesP56Sora Suzuki
FightersP33Kazuaki Tateno
BuffaloesP17Hirotoshi Masui
BuffaloesOF41Kodai Sano

Dectivated

EaglesP22Kazuhisa Makita
BuffaloesP98Chang Yi
BuffaloesOF34Masataka Yoshida

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NPB wrap 9-3-21

There were Friday fireworks in Japanese pro baseball.

Olympians Nick Martinez and Yoshinobu Yamamoto tangled for the second time in eight days in a game decided by Adam Jones in the ninth, while the Yomiuri Giants appeared to be sailing smoothly to victory behind a gem from starter Shosei Togo until the sky — or rather the Hanshin Tigers — fell on them at Koshien Stadium.

Buffaloes 2, Hawks 1

At Fukuoka’s PayPay Dome, Orix managed its second ninth-inning comeback in two days. A day after securing a tie with four late runs in Sapporo, the Buffaloes broke a 1-1 tie on Adam Jones’ two-out RBI single, making a winner out of ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto (12-5, 1.61), who allowed a run over eight innings in an atypical start that saw him walk four and strikeout five while allowing three hits.

SoftBank’s Nick Martinez allowed a run over seven innings while striking out nine and walking two.

Yamamoto was on course to throw his second straight shutout and third straight complete game victory until the Hawks tagged him for a run to tie it in the eighth. A single, a bunt and an intentional walk to Yuki Yanagita put two on with two outs, and Ryoya Kurihara tied it with a single.

After a 1-2-3 eighth from Hiroshi Kaino, SoftBank’s Yugo Bando allowed one-out singles to Yuma Mune and Masataka Yoshida, who hobbled off for a pinch-runner before Jones lashed a high 0-2 fastball into center to plate the go-ahead run.

Lions 8, Eagles 4

At Rakuten Seimei Park Miyagi, Masahiro Tanaka (4-5, 2.73) got some run support for a change, but allowed four runs over eight innings, and Seibu exploited closer Yuki Matsui’s absence, scoring four runs in the ninth to beat Rakuten.

Seibu starter Wataru Matsumoto allowed two runs over six innings and did not figure in the decision after the Eagles rallied to tie it in the eighth against Seibu’s bullpen.

The Lions scored three in the fourth. Sosuke Genda barely got a piece of changeup for a flare single. After a bunt, he scored when Tomoya Mori got the end of his bat on a low fastball and found the gap for a double. Tanaka then left an 0-2 slider over the plate, and Takeya Nakamura served it into the outfield for an RBI single. Takumi Kuriyama, two hits from 2,000 in his career, golfed a low pitch to center for a sacrifice fly.

Takero Okajima doubled in Eigoro Mori in the home half to reduce the arrears. Tanaka followed with three scoreless innings before No. 9 hitter Seiji Kawagoe homered off him to open the eighth.

Okajima tied it in the bottom of the inning, singling in two off Ryosuke Moriwaki after two walks and a sacrifice.

Nakamura singled to open the ninth against Sung Chia-hao (1-3). With two outs, Kuriyama kept the rally alive with a single, Hotaka Yamakawa fell behind 1-2 before walking to load the bases and Wu Nien-ting singled off his countryman to put the Lions ahead.

Marines 7 Fighters 5

At Chiba’s Zozo Marine Stadium, Yudai Fujioka broke an eighth-inning tie, driving in his second run of the game in a three-run inning as Lotte came from behind for the second time to beat Nippon Ham.

Kazuya Ojima (6-3, 4.65) allowed the Fighters to load the bases with one out in the first, and all three runners scored, on singles by Yuto Takahama and Daiki Asama and a groundout.

Leonys Martin (hit by pitch) and Brandon Laird (single) reached to open Lotte’s second and scored on a Hisanori Yasuda double and a Fujioka sac fly. New Fighter Ryusei Sato singled in a run in the fourth, but Martin homered to open the Marines’ home half. His 23rd tied SoftBank’s Yuki Yanagita for the league lead, while Laird singled and scored on a bases-loaded walk from Fighters starter Takahide Ikeda.

Three singles put the Fighters up a run in the fifth, and three relievers held that lead until the eighth. Laird got things started against Kazutomo Iguchi (1-1) with a one-out single, his third. The tying run scored on an error and Yasuda walked before Fujioka singled.

Pinch-hitter Katsuya Kakunaka’s sac fly completed the scoring, and Naoya Masuda worked the ninth to record his Japan-best 29th save.

Tigers 7, Giants 3

At Koshien Stadium, rookie Takumu Nakano’s three-run tie-breaking triple completed a turn-around after Hanshin’s first 15 batters were retired by Yomiuri right-hander Shosei Togo (8-6), who eventually allowed five runs over 6-1/3 innings.

“I wasn’t up there to weakly take a walk,” Nakano said of his swing on a borderline 3-2 pitch that he drove for a triple into the corner.

The Giants broke the scoreless tie in the fifth against Tigers starter Yuki Nishi.

Yasuyuki Kamei had the first of two singles before Seiya Matsubara tripled in two. Kazuma Okamoto doubled with two outs in the sixth and scored on a Kamei triple.

Yusuke Oyama became Hanshin’s first base runner, when he singled to open the sixth, and scored on 40-year-old Yoshio Itoi’s pinch-hit double. Jefry Marte doubled with one out in the Tigers’ seventh, when they loaded the bases on a walk to Mel Rojas Jr. and a single before Oyama doubled to tie it and chase Togo.

Jerry Sands pinch-hit and was walked intentionally after lefty Yuhei Takanashi fell behind 2-0 to load the bases. With two out, Nakano made manager Hara pay for his generosity.

Nishi allowed a run on six hits and a walk over six innings while striking out five. 

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Swallows 3, Carp 1

At Tokyo Dome, Albert Suarez (3-3, 4.08) struck out eight while walking two and allowing six hits over 5-1/3 innings.

Yasutaka Shiomi hit the first pitch from Daichi Osera (6-3, 3.09) for his 10th home run, and reached on a one-out infield single to spark a two-run third. Osera loaded the bases on a hit batsman and a walk and Munetaka Murakami doubled.

Suarez left with two on and one out in the sixth, but Koshiro Sakamoto bailed him out. Ryutaro Konno worked a perfect seventh, before setup man Noboru Shimizu surrendered a run in the eighth.

Seiya Suzuki, who’d walked twice and singled, hit his 20th home run to put the Carp on the board in the eighth. It was his seventh over 15 games at Tokyo Dome, matching his total from 42 games at his home park, Mazda Stadium.

Scott McGough pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to record his 19th save.

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Dragons 1, BayStars 0

At Vantelin Dome Nagoya, Chunichi’s lefty ace Yudai Ono (5-8, 3.31) protected a 1-0 first-inning lead by stranding a pair of runners in three different innings as he allowed six hits and a walk over seven scoreless innings while striking out five.

Kosuke Fukudome broke the ice with a two-out, RBI single in the first.

Masaya Kyoyama (2-4, 5.09), who went six innings, allowing an unearned run on four hits, two walks and a hit batsman.

Katsuki Matayoshi struck out two in the eighth and Raidel Martinez did the same in the ninth as two perfect innings closed out the BayStars with Martinez getting his 14th save.

Saturday’s starting pitchers

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

Takayuki Kishi (6-7, 3.43) vs Tatsuya Imai (6-4, 3.25)

Marines vs Fighters: Zozo Marine Stadium 5 pm, 4 am EDT

Shota Suzuki (1-4, 4.04) vs Takayuki Kato (3-6, 3.81)

Hawks vs Buffaloes: PayPay Dome 2 pm, 1 am EDT

Shuta Ishikawa (4-8, 3.02) vs Glenn Sparkman (0-0, 4.00)

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

Cy Sneed (2-1, 4.24) vs Koya Takahashi (2-4, 6.00)

Dragons vs BayStars: Vantelin Dome (Nagoya) 2 pm, 1 am EDT

Yuya Yanagi (8-5, 2.10) vs Fernando Romero (0-2, 4.55)

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

Joe Gunkel (7-1, 2.38) vs Yuki Takahashi (10-3, 2.71)

Active roster moves 9/3/2021

Deactivated players can be re-activated from 9/13

Central League

Activated

GiantsOF39Soichiro Tateoka
DragonsIF45Ryuku Tsuchida
BayStarsC10Yasutaka Tobashira
SwallowsP43Albert Suarez

Dectivated

GiantsOF43Shinnosuke Shigenobu
DragonsIF48Hayato Mizowaki
BayStarsC36Shuto Takajo
SwallowsP19Masanori Ishikawa
SwallowsP28Daiki Yoshida

Pacific League

Activated

MarinesP60Rikuto Yokoyama
FightersP35Takahiro Nishimura
BuffaloesOF1Steven Moya

Dectivated

HawksP57Shinya Kayama
FightersP39Ryo Akiyoshi
BuffaloesP21Daichi Takeyasu

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