Nakata sharp as Dragons get 1st win over Giants
Kenichi Nakata’s previous start ended with him biting his lower lip in a loss. His pitches had the bite on Wednesday.
Nakata carried a shutout into the ninth inning, helping the two-time defending Central League champions pick up their first win over the Yomiuri Giants, 5-2 at Nagoya Dome.
Nakata (2-1) just missed a shutout, going 8.2 innings and allowing a pair of runs in the ninth inning, and Kazuhiro Wada’s first homer of the season -- a three-run shot in the sixth -- helped put the game away. Nakata, who also doubled in a run in the fifth, yielded seven hits, walked one and hit a batter, while fanning seven.
The righty allowed a leadoff homer in the ninth to Hayato Sakamoto and an RBI single to Yoshinobu Takahashi before departing with two runners on base. Hitoki Iwase fanned John Bowker to end it for his sixth save.
It took until the fifth game for Chunichi to beat Yomiuri, and Nakata said he was still stewing over his last outing.
“My last time out [a 5-1 loss at Tokyo Dome on April 11], they got me so I wanted to do everything I could to avoid a similar outcome, and that’s what gave my pitches a little extra oomph tonight,” Nakata said.
“I was able to get ahead on strikes and that was also a key.”
Wada took Ochi deep with two on in the sixth to give the Dragons some breathing room.
“I’m relieved to get that first home run out of the way,” Wada said.
The Giants made their 17th error of the season, helping put the Dragons up 2-0 in the fourth.
CARP 8, BAYSTARS 1
Kenta Maeda (2-1) limited Yokohama to three hits and a walk over eight innings, and Yoshihiro Maru tripled, homered and drove in four as Hiroshima blanked the BayStars at The Zoom.
Akihiro Higashide also had three hits, including a double, as Hiroshima exploded for season highs in hits with 12 hits and runs in their seventh straight win over Yokohama, dating back to last season.
Alex Ramirez doubled to right in the second inning for Yokohama’s first hit off
SWALLOWS 3, TIGERS 2
Shohei Tateyama (1-0) worked eight innings, holding Hanshin to two runs on six hits and a walk while punching out six, and Kazuhiro Hatakeyama drove in two runs without a hit as Yakult won at Koshien Stadium.
Shingo Kawabata’s clutch RBI single in the sixth put the Swallows in the lead, and Tony Barnette pitched around a hit for his fifth save to preserve Tateyama’s first victory.
PACIFIC LEAGUE
BUFFALOES 6, HAWKS 4
Shinya Nakayama overcame early struggles to shut down SoftBank over the final three of his six innings, and Takahiro T.O. Okada’s Popfly RBI double in the third gave Orix the lead in a victory at Kyocera Dome Osaka.
Nakayama (1-1), who gave up two first-inning runs and another in the third, worked around seven hits and a walk with a career-high nine strikeouts, and Mamoru Kishida wriggled out of a two-on, two-out jam in the ninth for his fourth save.
MARINES 7, EAGLES 1
Hayden Penn (1-1) fired seven innings of one-run ball, holding Rakuten to four hits and a walk, and Toshiaki Imae capped a four-run third inning with a three-run blast as Lotte cruised at The Q.
Kazuya Fukuura’s bases-clearing double in the seventh helped put the game away.
Nakata sharp as Dragons get 1st win over Giants
Kenichi Nakata’s previous start ended with him biting his lower lip in a loss. His pitches had the bite on Wednesday.
Nakata carried a shutout into the ninth inning, helping the two-time defending Central League champions pick up their first win over the Yomiuri Giants, 5-2 at Nagoya Dome.
Nakata (2-1) just missed a shutout, going 8.2 innings and allowing a pair of runs in the ninth inning, and Kazuhiro Wada’s first homer of the season -- a three-run shot in the sixth -- helped put the game away. Nakata, who also doubled in a run in the fifth, yielded seven hits, walked one and hit a batter, while fanning seven.
The righty allowed a leadoff homer in the ninth to Hayato Sakamoto and an RBI single to Yoshinobu Takahashi before departing with two runners on base. Hitoki Iwase fanned John Bowker to end it for his sixth save.
It took until the fifth game for Chunichi to beat Yomiuri, and Nakata said he was still stewing over his last outing.
“My last time out [a 5-1 loss at Tokyo Dome on April 11], they got me so I wanted to do everything I could to avoid a similar outcome, and that’s what gave my pitches a little extra oomph tonight,” Nakata said.
“I was able to get ahead on strikes and that was also a key.”
Wada took Ochi deep with two on in the sixth to give the Dragons some breathing room.
“I’m relieved to get that first home run out of the way,” Wada said.
The Giants made their 17th error of the season, helping put the Dragons up 2-0 in the fourth.
CARP 8, BAYSTARS 1
Kenta Maeda (2-1) limited Yokohama to three hits and a walk over eight innings, and Yoshihiro Maru tripled, homered and drove in four as Hiroshima blanked the BayStars at The Zoom.
Akihiro Higashide also had three hits, including a double, as Hiroshima exploded for season highs in hits with 12 hits and runs in their seventh straight win over Yokohama, dating back to last season.
Alex Ramirez doubled to right in the second inning for Yokohama’s first hit off
SWALLOWS 3, TIGERS 2
Shohei Tateyama (1-0) worked eight innings, holding Hanshin to two runs on six hits and a walk while punching out six, and Kazuhiro Hatakeyama drove in two runs without a hit as Yakult won at Koshien Stadium.
Shingo Kawabata’s clutch RBI single in the sixth put the Swallows in the lead, and Tony Barnette pitched around a hit for his fifth save to preserve Tateyama’s first victory.
PACIFIC LEAGUE
BUFFALOES 6, HAWKS 4
Shinya Nakayama overcame early struggles to shut down SoftBank over the final three of his six innings, and Takahiro T.O. Okada’s Popfly RBI double in the third gave Orix the lead in a victory at Kyocera Dome Osaka.
Nakayama (1-1), who gave up two first-inning runs and another in the third, worked around seven hits and a walk with a career-high nine strikeouts, and Mamoru Kishida wriggled out of a two-on, two-out jam in the ninth for his fourth save.
MARINES 7, EAGLES 1
Hayden Penn (1-1) fired seven innings of one-run ball, holding Rakuten to four hits and a walk, and Toshiaki Imae capped a four-run third inning with a three-run blast as Lotte cruised at The Q.
Kazuya Fukuura’s bases-clearing double in the seventh helped put the game away.