Thursday’s games
PL
- Eagles 4, Fighters 1
- Hawks 4, Lions 4, 10 innings
- Marines vs Buffaloes, postponed, rain
Other news
Hawks bullpen salvages draw
A trio of SoftBank Hawks relievers pitched out of late-inning jams to preserve a 4-4 10-inning tie after the Seibu Lions’ Hotaka Yamakawa leveled the scores with a three-run seventh-inning home run at MetLife Dome.
Shuta Ishikawa worked seven innings and allowed seven hits and three walks. The Hawks battered Lions starter Tatsuya Imai for four runs on eight hits and a walk over three innings, but six Lions relievers allowed just four base runners the rest of the way.
Ernesto Mejia doubled to open Seibu’s second inning and scored the tying run on a Takumi Kuriyama single.
Ishikawa nearly got out of the seventh unscathed after a Tomoya Mori leadoff single. He struck out Mejia and survived a blast from Kuriyama that fell short of the warning track. But Corey Spangenberg singled and Ishikawa hung a curve to Yamakawa that he hit well back among the fans in left field.
Livan Moinelo worked around a leadoff single in the eighth. Closer Yuito Mori came on in the ninth and surrendered a leadoff double to Kuriyama. A sacrifice put the go-ahead run on third and the Hawks loaded the bases intentionally. Mori fell behind Fumikazu Kimura 2-0 but struck him out before ending the inning on a fly to right.
Lions closer Tatsushi Masuda worked a scoreless ninth and Reed Garrett pitched the 10th to snuff out the Hawks’ chance of victory.
Submarine right-hander Rei Takahashi walked the first two hitters in the 10th but struck out Mejia for the first out before preventing the Lions from walking off.
Kishi pitches Eagles to victory
Takayuki Kishi (3-0) worked into the seventh inning for the first time this season and Hideto Asamura had a two-run single in the Rakuten Eagles’ 4-1 win over the Nippon Ham Fighters at Sapporo Dome.
Kishi allowed four hits and two walks while striking out seven. Yuki Matsui struck out three of the four batters he faced in relief in 1-1/3 perfect innings before handing it over to Alan Busenitz, who did the same in the ninth for his 17th save.
Nick Martinez (1-6) got out of a first-inning jam but had less luck in the fourth when the Eagles scored on three straight hits to set up a four-run inning. Martinez, who allowed six hits and four walks, walked Daichi Suzuki with the bases loaded before Asamura capped the rally with a two-run single.
Giants survive late onslaught
Angel Sanchez (7-3) allowed two runs over seven innings for the Yomiuri Giants, who survived a late challenge to hold off the DeNa BayStars 9-7 at Tokyo Dome.
Kazuma Okamoto and Yoshihiro Maru each hit two-run home runs as the Giants built a 9-1 lead by the fourth inning. Okamoto’s was his league-leading 25th, while Maru’s was his 21st.
BayStars right-hander Shoichi Ino (6-6) allowed four runs over two innings to take the loss, although his teammates nearly took him off the hook in a five-run eighth inning.
Tyler Austin and Jose Lopez each hit two-run homers. Austin’s was his 15th in just his 43rd game, while Lopez’s was his third two-run shot of his old team in the series. Daisuke Nakai, another former Giant, capped the rally with an RBI single.
Spencer Patton worked the eighth to keep it close but Giants closer Rubby De La Rosa ended the game with the tying runs on to secure his 16th save.
Gerardo Parra returned to duty for the first time since July 22, but went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts for the Giants.
Tigers’ Nishi strikes out 12
Yuki Nishi (9-4) struck out 12 over eight innings for the Hanshin Tigers in a 9-1 win over the Hiroshima Carp at Hiroshima’s Mazda Stadium.
Nishi allowed a run on four hits and a walk, while his teammates took batting practice against finesse right-hander Yusuke Nomura (6-3).
Nomura allowed eight runs over five-plus innings. Fumiya Hojo put the visitors up for good with a two-run first-inning homer, while Jerry Sands and Justin Bour homered back-to-back to open the Tigers’ six-run sixth.
Active roster moves 10/8/2020
Deactivated players can be re-activated from 10/18
Central League
Activated
| Giants | OF | 88 | Gerardo Parra |
| Tigers | P | 20 | Kenichi Nakata |
| Tigers | P | 92 | Kazuo Ito |
Dectivated
| Giants | P | 28 | Kazuto Taguchi |
| BayStars | P | 19 | Yasuaki Yamasaki |
| Tigers | P | 48 | Yukiya Saito |
| Tigers | P | 93 | Masaki Ishii |
| Dragons | OF | 31 | Masaru Watanabe |
| Swallows | C | 63 | Suguru Ino |
Pacific League
Activated
| Fighters | P | 27 | Nick Martinez |
Dectivated
| Buffaloes | P | 27 | Andrew Albers |
| Buffaloes | IF | 64 | Shinya Hirosawa |
| Buffaloes | OF | 00 | Hayato Nishiura |
Starting pitchers for Oct. 7, 2020
Pacific League
Fighters vs Buffaloes: Sapporo Dome 6 pm, 5 am EDT
Toshihiro Sugiura (6-3, 2.80) vs Daiki Tajima (3-4, 3.72)
Eagles vs Lions: Rakuten Seimei Park Miyagi 6 pm, 5 am EDT
Takahiro Shiomi (4-6, 4.35) vs Zach Neal (3-6, 4.89)
Hawks vs Marines: PayPay Dome 6 pm, 5 am EDT
Matt Moore (4-2, 3.04) vs Kota Futaki (5-2, 3.55)
Central League
Tigers vs BayStars: Koshien Stadium 6 pm, 5 am EDT
Joe Gunkel (1-3, 3.62) vs Haruhiro Hamaguchi (6-5, 4.56)
Carp vs Swallows: Mazda Stadium 6 pm, 5 am EDT
Hiroki Tokoda (3-6, 5.66) vs Hiroaki Saiuchi (1-1, 4.40)
