Tag Archives: Seiya Suzuki

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. 

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.

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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NPB wrap 8-27-21

This weekend’s series will again see the Central League contenders vs the pretenders as the league-leading Tigers are at the Carp, the second-place Giants are at the Dragons, and the third-place Swallows play host to the BayStars at Tokyo Dome.

By the time Sunday’s game rolls around, the BayStars, whose home park was the venue for Olympic baseball and softball, will have played nine of their last 12 games at Tokyo Dome, three as the home team, three as visitors against the Giants, and three as visitors against the Swallows, whose home park is still unusable due to its proximity to National Stadium during the Olympics and Paralympics.

The Pacific League has two series between the four contenders, the fourth-place Hawks at the first-place Buffaloes and the third-place Marines at the second-place Eagles. The other final series is between the last-place Fighters at the fifth-place Lions, who started play on Friday 4-1/2 back of the Hawks.

Live chat with former NPB star Leon Lee

Monday, Aug. 30, 11 am Japan; Sunday, Aug. 29, 7 pm Pacific Daylight Time.

Lee, who played 1,255 games over 10 years in Japan from 1978 to 1987 for the Lotte Orions, the Taiyo Whales, and Yakult Swallows. In addition to his accomplishments, Lee is a keen observer with a knack for explaining complicated things simply. 

Bring your questions and enjoy.

Exclusive for jballallen.com and newsletter subscribers.

Marines 3, Eagles 1

At Sendai’s Rakuten Seimei Park Miyagi, Masahiro Tanaka — the man who runs forgot — battled for seven innings before the Lotte Marines broke a 1-1 tie against Tomohiro Anraku (3-1) in a two-run eighth.

Anraku who was fortunate to work an inning without allowing a run in the Eagles’ 7-6 win over the Buffaloes, gave up a leadoff homer to Shogo Nakamura and walked the next two batters, allowing another run to score.

Marines starter Kota Futaki allowed a run over six innings, and new Marine Yuki Kuniyoshi (1-0) worked a scoreless seventh. Chihaya Sasaki stranded two runners in the eighth. Alan Busenitz kept the Eagles in the game with a scoreless ninth before Lotte closer Naoya Masuda shut things down for his 27th save.

The Eagles struck in the first. Leadoff man Hiroto Kobukata singled on a shot off Futaki’s foot and scoring on a Daichi Suzuki double. Although the Eagles collected base runners, runs did not result and the Marines tied it 1-1 in the fifth, when Hisanori Yasuda appeared to be looking for a first-pitch slider, and Tanaka hung one inside that he pulled into the right-field stands for his seventh home run.

Tanaka, who matched his season high with three walks, survived a couple of scrapes in the sixth and seventh, when Yasuda hit a jam-shot for his third hit of the game, before leaving after throwing 100 pitches.

By scoring one run over seven innings with Tanaka the pitcher of record, his run support this season fell to 2.42 runs per nine innings. The Eagles entered the game scoring 3.88 runs per game.

Buffaloes 2, Hawks 0

At Kyocera Dome Osaka, Yoshinobu Yamamoto (11-5, 1.64) allowed four hits while striking out nine in his second straight complete-game victory, beating Nick Martinez (7-3, 2.09) in a duel of Tokyo Olympic standouts.

The biggest threat Yamamoto faced came in the third inning after a pair of no-out singles. But it quickly evaporated as the second-half “these aren’t the Hawks we’re used to” moments continued, when a sacrifice attempt saw both existing SoftBank runners tagged out at third base. Olympic bunting hero Takuya Kai didn’t get down a good one, but did beat the return throw from third to first.

But when the dropped throw was dropped and rolled away from first baseman Kota Nakagawa, Kenta Imamiya had a “when in Rome moment” or a “when in Osaka do as the Buffaloes do – or did rather” brain fart. The ball stopped rolling and Nakagawa gunned Imamiya down at third to complete a 2-5-3-5 double play.

Ryo Nishimura’s two-run double off the wall put the Buffaloes up 2-0 after Masataka Yoshida drew a leadoff walk and Yutaro Sugimoto singled with no outs. Left fielder Ryuya Kurihara threw out Nishimura trying to score on a single, a call that withstood a review for obstruction on Kai, who made the tag as Nishimura slid into his foot blocking the plate.

Had the umpiring crew been given better monitors than the Buffaloes’ owners pay for at Kyocera Dome, they might have overturned the call, since Kai blocked the plate when he did have the ball – legal in the MLB but not in Japan — and his glove may have missed the runner’s leg anyway.

With the lead in hand, Yamamoto began stomping the breath out of the Hawks. After Kurihara doubled with two outs in the seventh, Yamamoto struck out Alfredo Despaigne despite falling behind 3-0. A two-out ninth-inning single brought PL home run leader Yuki Yanagita to the plate, and Yamamoto won that battle, striking him out on eight pitches to end it.

Fighters 7, Lions 2

At MetLife Dome, Nippon Ham’s top two hitters, Daiki Asama and Haruki Nishikawa combined to reach base seven times and score four runs, while No. 3 hitter Yuki James Nomura and Kensuke Kondo (batting cleanup?) scored three runs and drove in four.

Shuta Tonosaki opened the scoring for Seibu, leading off the bottom of the second with his second home run, but the Fighters made it 2-1 on Kondo’s two-run fourth-inning triple. Nomura’s fifth-inning RBI single made it 3-1 but Lions rookie Yoshinobu Mizukami got the final two outs and left the bases loaded.

Seibu’s Takumi Kuriyama made it 3-2 in the sixth with a leadoff homer, his fourth, in a battle of veterans between the 37-year-old left-handed hitter, and 36-year-old side-arm lefty Naoki Miyanishi. Kondo, however, walked and scored on a sac fly in the seventh off Reed Garrett, and the Lions’ fifth pitcher, Matt Dermody surrendered three more in the eighth.

BayStars 4, Swallows 0

At Tokyo Dome, Masaya Kyoyama (2-3, 5.09) allowed two hits and no walks while striking out seven over seven scoreless innings, while Yakult rookie

Yasunobu Okugawa (5-3, 3.89) gave up three seventh-inning solo home runs in his 6-2/3 innings.

Toshiro Miyazaki broke up a scoreless game with a two-out homer, his 10th. Neftali hit Okugawa’s next pitch for his 18th home run and Shugo Maki followed with his 15th home run. A pair of no-out walks in the eighth set up a DeNA insurance run.

Dragons 4, Giants 1

At Vantelin Dome Nagoya, Yudai Ono (4-8, 3.31) gave up one run on three hits and two walks over seven innings, and Dayan Viciedo drove in four runs with a pair of two-run singles off Shun Yamaguchi (2-3, 3.53), who was gone after two innings.

Viciedo singled in two runs in the first after Yamaguchi allowed the leadoff man to reach by failing to catch a throw at the bag. A one-out single and Masaru Watanabe’s second hit, a double, set the table for Viciedo’s second two-run single.

Kazuma Okamoto got the Giants on the board with a solo homer, his Japan-best 32nd, and the Giants bullpen was rock solid for seven, but the damage had been done.

Katsuki Matayoshi worked a 1-2-3 eighth, and Raidel Martinez retired Hayato Sakamoto, Zelous Wheeler and Okamoto in the ninth to record his 12th save.

Carp 6, Tigers 4

At Hiroshima’s Mazda Stadium, Daichi Osera (6-3, 3.09) allowed two runs, one earned, over six innings, and Shogo Sakakura and Ryosuke Kikuchi each drove in a fourth-inning run to put the Carp up for good.

Yuki Nishi (4-9, 3.50) gave up three runs over six innings, but Raul Alcanatara surrendered two more in the seventh as the Carp pulled away. Rookie Carp closer Ryoji Kuribayashi struck out Jerry Sands and retired Yusuke Oyama in the ninth to work around a walk and a single and record his 21st save.

Mel Rojas Jr. made it 1-0 in the second with his fifth home run. Nishi singled and scored on a throwing error to make it 2-0 Tigers in the third. An error contributed to Hiroshima’s first run, on Ryoma Nishikawa’s third-inning RBI single, before the Carp went ahead in the fourth.

A night after they combined for five runs and nine RBIs against the Giants, Seiya Suzuki doubled and scored on Sakakura’s RBI single. Kikuchi doubled Sakakura home to make it 3-2. Suzuki doubled in two runs in Hiroshima’s seventh.

Saturday’s starting pitchers

Eagles vs Marines: Rakuten Seimei Park Miyagi 6 pm, 5 am EDT

Takayuki Kishi (6-6, 3.14) vs Roki Sasaki (1-2, 3.73)

Lions vs Fighters: MetLife Dome 5 pm, 4 am EDT

Tatsuya Imai (6-4, 2.80) vs Takayuki Kato (3-6, 3.72)

Buffaloes vs Hawks: Kyocera Dome (Osaka) 6 pm, 5 am EDT

Hiroya Miyagi (11-1, 2.01) vs Shuta Ishikawa (4-8, 3.13)

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

Cy Sneed (2-1, 4.50) vs Fernando Romero (0-2, 4.91)

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

Yuya Yanagi (8-5, 2.20) vs Shosei Togo (8-5, 3.91)

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

Yusuke Nomura (0-4, 6.12) vs Shoki Murakami (0-0, 19.29)

Active roster moves 8/27/2021

Deactivated players can be re-activated from 9/6

Central League

Activated

BayStarsP43Takuya Shindo
SwallowsP11Yasunobu Okugawa

Dectivated

BayStarsP34Shingo Hirata

Pacific League

Activated

HawksP48Yuta Watanabe
MarinesOF79Leonys Martin
EaglesOF54Ren Wada
BuffaloesP35Motoki Higa

Dectivated

HawksP67Shunsuke Kasaya
MarinesOF38Akito Takabe
EaglesIF9Brandon Dixon
BuffaloesP63Soichiro Yamazaki

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