Hawks Lose Big Again, Fall to Fighters 10-3

For the second straight day, the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks lost by a score of 10-3. This time it was the offensively-challenged Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters who did in the Hawks.

Lefty Kenji Ohtonari took the mound for the Hawks and got two quick outs, but then the floodgates opened. Six straight hits, five of them singles, led to four Fighters runs, and that set the tone for the rest of the day. Ohtonari managed to gut out 6 innings, but gave up 6 runs on 13 hits, striking out 7 and walking three.

The bullpen did not fare much better. Koji Mise was brought in to stem the tide, but ended up getting washed away in it, giving up three runs on one hit while walking two in just 1/3 of an inning. He'll find himself back down at ni-gun soon.

The Hawks only offense came in the 6th and 8th innings. A single by Kawasaki, a double by Matsunaka, and a Double by Shibahara led to two runs. In the 8th, Matsunaka mashed his 8th home run of the season.