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NPB wrap 4-30-21

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Dickson on the outside

Orix Buffaloes right-hander Brandon Dickson may be unable to come to Japan this season due to difficulties obtaining visas for his family during the current state of emergency, Nikkan Sports reported Friday.

The 36-year-old in his ninth season with Orix, spent the entire 2020 season away from his family due to the coronavirus pandemic but had expected them to come with him this year. Dickson, a starter for his first six seasons before spending time as the Buffaloes – and Team USA closer – from 2019, was expected to return to Orix’s starting rotation this season.

3 Fighters KO’d by virus

Three Nippon Ham Fighters, outfielder Haruki Nishikawa, shortstop Takuya Nakashima and catcher Yushi Shimizu were all sidelined Friday by positive coronavirus tests, and they were joined by outfielder Daiki Asama, who is quarantining as a potential close contact.

The Coronavirus Kid returns

The Lotte Marines on Friday lifted the indefinite suspension on Ikuhiro Kiyota, who was held responsible for the Lotte Marines’ 2020 coronavirus outbreak that sidelined 14 players. The outbreak was discovered after the club returned from a road trip to Sapporo, although no players were known to have violated protocols. Kioyota, however, was suspended after photos of him eating out with a female companion while in Sapporo were later published.

Yanagi outduels Sugano

Dragons 3, Giants 2

At Tokyo Dome, Chunichi’s Yuya Yanagi (2-1) threw an artistic seven innings, locating his fastball and mixing it with a dynamite curve and changeup to strike out nine while allowing two runs in his seventh and final inning of work.

The right-hander gave up four hits, two in the seventh, and walked three. The walks forced him to escape a two-out bases-loaded jam in the second by retiring Sugano. Yanagi dominated for the next four innings before hard-hit balls by Justin Smoak and Zelous Wheeler set the table for the Yomiuri fightback.

Tomoyuki Sugano (2-2) lacked his customary razor-sharp command, and threw hittable strikes when he got behind in counts and allowed six hits but no walks. Sugano was burned in the second when Dayan Viciedo turned on an inside fastball and lined it into the left-field stands at the ballpark – emptied of fans due to the coronavirus state of emergency in effect that also forced the games at Koshien and Kyocera Dome to be held behind closed doors. The home run was Viciedo’s third.

With two on and one out in the inning, Akira Neo grounded to first but Smoak failed to stop it for a run-scoring error. After Yanagi hit the ball hard for the second out, Sugano hit a batter to load the bases. However, the ace passed his biggest test of the night by striking out Yota Kyoda on four pitches.

Akira Neo doubled and scored in the fourth on a single by rookie Wataru Takamatsu, who drove in the first run of his career.

Katsuki Matayoshi worked a scoreless eighth instead of regular setup man Daisuke Sobue, and Raidel Martinez carved up the heart of the Giants order in the ninth for his third save.

Giants-Dragons highlights

Swallows 4, BayStars 0

At Yokohama Stadium, Yakult rookie Yuto Kanakubo (1-1) struck out six over six innings, while DeNA lefty Yuya Sakamoto took a direct hit on his pitching shoulder from a Munekata Murakami line drive to open the second and left the game.

Tetsuto Yamada doubled in two runs in the third inning, and the visitors added two more in the sixth, when Jose Osuna doubled with two outs and scored on Domingo Santana’s second home run off fellow first-year import Kevin Shackelford.

Tigers 4, Carp 2

At Koshien Stadium, Hiroshima’s Allen Kuri (3-3) did well to only allow four runs over five innings after walking four over the first two. He walked six and allowed eight hits, while Hanshin’s Takumi Akiyama (3-2) gave up two runs over 7-1/3 innings.

Jerry Sands broke the ice in the first with a two-out RBI single, and walked and scored in the Tigers’ two-run fifth. Kevin Cron broke up the Tigers’ bid for a shutout in the eighth with a pinch-hit leadoff homer, his third. Hanshin closer Robert Suarez pitched a scoreless ninth for his seventh save.

Rookie Takumu Nakano reached base twice and scored the Tigers second run while putting on a fielding clinic at shortstop.

Eagles 8, Marines 1

At Rakuten Seimei Park, Rauten’s  Hideaki Wakui (4-0) walked four, including three straight in the second inning to give Lotte the lead, only for the Marines to return the favor with back-to-back two-out errors and two unearned runs in the home half.

Brandon Dixon and Japanese baseball culture

Marines starter Toshiya Nakamura (0-1) allowed five runs, three earned over five innings. Brandon Dixon tripled in two runs in the third as the Eagles cruised.

Lions 5, Fighters 1

At Sapporo Dome, Seibu’s Kona Takahashi (4-0) allowed a run over six innings, followed by scoreless innings from Reed Garrett and Kaima Taira before the Lions opened the game up in the ninth on Sosuke Genda’s two-run triple. Tomoya Mori doubled and tripled and scored two of Seibu’s first three runs.

Drew VerHagen (0-2) allowed three runs, two earned, over 5-1/3 innings to take the loss.

Buffaloes 5, Hawks 4

At Osaka’s Kyocera Dome, Orix victimized SoftBank’s normally reliable bullpen to overturn the visitors’ late 4-2 lead, scoring a run off setup man Livan Moinelo and two off Sho Iwasaki (1-1), who worked the ninth in place of right-handed closer Yuito Mori, who was deactivated to have inflammation in his left elbow treated.

Shuta Ishikawa allowed two runs, one earned, over seven innings but came up empty.

Masataka Yoshida opened Orix’s eighth with his sixth home run on an off night for Moinelo, who walked two batters. The lefty got a double play and escaped the inning with the tying run at the plate when pinch-runner Yuya Ota was out trying to take second on a bounced pitch.

Yuma Tongu and Kotaro Kurebayashi singled to open the ninth. After a failed two-strike bunt, Yuma Mune doubled them both home over the drawn-in outfield to win it.

Starting pitchers

Pacific League

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

Naoyuki Uwasawa (2-2, 4.31) vs Keisuke Honda (0-1, 4.91)

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

Masahiro Tanaka (1-1, 3.27) vs Kota Futaki (1-1, 2.42)

Buffaloes vs Hawks: Kyocera Dome (Osaka) 2 pm, 1 am EDT

Hirotoshi Masui (1-2, 2.82) vs Nick Martinez (-)

Central League

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

Nobutaka Imamura (2-0, 1.62) vs Shinnosuke Ogasawara (1-2, 2.45)

BayStars vs Swallows: Yokohama Stadium 2 pm, 1 am EDT

Ko Nakagawa (0-0, 0.00) vs Hirotoshi Takanashi (2-0, 3.43)

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

Masashi Ito (2-0, 1.71) vs Koya Takahashi (1-0, 1.74)

Active roster moves 4/30/2021

Deactivated players can be re-activated from 5/10

Central League

Activated

TigersOF53Kairi Shimada
BayStarsP35Tomoya Mikami

Dectivated

TigersOF97Dan Onodera
BayStarsP48Masaya Kyoyama

Pacific League

Activated

MarinesIF55Adeiny Hechavarria
LionsOF72Seiji Kawagoe
EaglesP40Takuma Uchima
FightersP49Katsuhiko Kumon
FightersC22Shinya Tsuruoka
FightersC30Shingo Usami
FightersIF2Kenshi Sugiya
FightersIF45Shota Hiranuma

Dectivated

HawksP18Shota Takeda
HawksP38Yuito Mori
MarinesIF23Ryo Miki
LionsOF51Manaya Nishikawa
FightersC10Yushi Shimizu
FightersIF9Takuya Nakashima
FightersOF7Haruki Nishikawa
FightersOF26Daiki Asama
Baseball, Free, News

Spring Wrap 3-19-21

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1 week to go

With one week till Opening Day in a league where pitchers throw once every seven days, the final Friday of the preseason saw 10 of the 11 Opening Day starters throwing in their final warm-up games. The lone exceptions were the Nippon Ham Fighters, who didn’t send Naoyuki Uwasawa out, and the DeNA BayStars, who haven’t announced an Opening Day starter.

Even though the season is a week away, it’s still just the preseason. Aside from the stories documenting the strong outings of the big-name Opening Day starters, Tomoyuki Sugano, Shintaro Fujinami, Daichi Osera, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and so on here are some of the other headlines on Friday:

  • Orix loses 3-1 as they can’t topple Fujinami even when he lacks control.
  • Hawks win 6th straight as pinch-hitter Kawashima drives in winning run
  • 2 hits push Dragons’ Neo toward 1st Opening Day start
  • Tigers come from behind to remain in tie for 1st place in preseason
  • Tigers’ Sato fails to homer, tie Nagashima’s preseason HR record

OK. Enough silliness and on to the actual news.

Saying goodbye to ‘free baseball’?

Nippon Professional Baseball is considering eliminating extra innings this season due to the coronavirus pandemic. Last year’s games were allowed to go 10 instead of 12, but with business being asked to close by 9 p.m. even after the lifting of the current state of emergency on Sunday, NPB is looking for ways to do its part.

Hawks’ Moinelo won’t be ready

The SoftBank Hawks middle relief ace, Cuban lefty Livan Moinelo, will begin the season on the farm, manager Kimiyasu Kudo said according to Hochi Shimbun.

“He’s just getting into the bullpen now,” Kudo said. “I think Opening Day would be a stretch.”

Moinelo arrived in Japan on Feb. 7, but spent two weeks in quarantine, when he was unable to throw.

Fujinami survives cut

At Osaka’s Kyocera Dome, Shintaro Fujinami cut his thumb in the first inning of the Hanshin Tigers’ 3-1 win over the Orix Buffaloes but still allowed only one run over four innings.

“I gouged my thumb pretty good with the nail of my index finger, and the bleeding didn’t stop,” said Fujinami according to Daily Sports.

Pitching coach Shinobu Fukuhara and a trainer went to the mound, and Fujinami came off for treatment after issuing a leadoff walk. He returned and surrendered a run on two singles. Steven Moya singled in the run with the first of his two hits for the Buffaloes.

Orix ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed a run on four hits and three walks while striking out four over five innings.

Jefry Marte drew four walks in four trips to the plate for the Tigers.

‘No problem’ for Yamada

At Jingu Stadium, Yakult Swallows star second baseman Tetsuto Yamada, who has been suffering from the dreaded “lack of lower body fitness” this spring, homered and started at second base in an 8-4 win over the Rakuten Eagles, Nippon Television News reported.

“I don’t have any problems heading into the season, as long as I do what I need to do in the remaining two games and practice well,” said Yamada, who has struck out in five of his 12 plate appearances with two hits and a walk.

Yasuhiro Ogawa allowed three runs over 5-1/3 innings, while the Swallows lit up Eagles starter Hideaki Wakui for eight runs on four walks and seven hits over 3-2/3.

At Nagoya’s Vantelin Dome, Akira Neo continued to raise peoples hopes as the Dragons’ top 2018 draft pick doubled and singled in a 2-1 win over the Nippon Ham Fighters.

Takahide Ikeda, the 26-year-old right-hander acquired in the recent trade with the Rakuten Eagles for infielder Taketoshi Yokoo, continued to make the Fighters look smart with five scoreless innings. He now has 10 innings without a run this spring since the trade, during which he’s allowed five hits and two walks while striking out two.

At Fukuoka’s PayPay Dome, SoftBank Hawks starter Shuta Ishikawa struck out six over four scoreless innings in a 2-1 win over the Hiroshima Carp. Hiroshima ace Daichi Osera struck out six over six innings, running his preseason scoreless-inning streak to 15.

Former Arizona Diamondback Kevin Cron, who turned heads on Thursday by turning out for optional practice, went 0-for-3 with a sacrifice fly that gave Hiroshima a 1-0 seventh-inning lead.

The Hawks pitchers continued to strike batters out, whiffing 13.

Hamaguchi sharp for ‘Stars

At MetLife Dome, lefty Haruhiro Hamaguchi allowed a run on four hits over four innings while striking out four for the DeNA BayStars in a 5-1 win over the Seibu Lions. His only run came on a home run by 2018 PL MVP Hotaka Yamakawa, his third of the spring.

Lions starter Kona Takahashi gave up two runs, one earned, on three hits and a walk. He struck out seven. The BayStars, however, took a stick to reliever Reed Garrett in the ninth, scoring three runs on four hits and a walk.

At Tokyo Dome, Yomiuri Giants ace Tomoyuki Sugano struck out three over three scoreless innings in a 34-pitch warmup, while Kota Futaki struck out three over five scoreless innings for the Lotte Marines in their 3-2 win.

Frank Herrmann threw a scoreless inning of relief for the Marines, while Thyago Vieira did the same for the Giants.