Takeda cruises as Hawks torment Lions
The youngster nicknamed the “Darvish of Kyushu” made the Seibu Lions conjure up bad memories of the former Nippon Ham ace [now with the Texas Rangers] on Saturday, fanning a season-high 10 over 6.1 innings of Saturday’s 7-0 clinic at FYJ Dome.
The teen scattered three hits, while walking just two, prompting Seibu skipper Hisanobu Watanabe to bark, “To be honest, we couldn’t do anything with him today.”
The righty, who mixed enough sliders and curves to keep the Lions from sitting on his 150-kph fastball, carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning and became the first pitcher straight out of high school to fan 10 in a game in franchise history. He allowed two runners on with one out in the sixth, but fanned the next two batters to escape damage.
Kenji Akashi led a 16-hit attack with four hits -- including a double -- and Yuya Hasegawa had two hits and two RBIs for the Hawks, who stopped a three-game slide.
Seiichi Uchikawa had three hits on his 30th birthday, while third-year pro Kenta Imamiya slugged his first pro homer, a solo shot in the seventh.
FIGHTERS 4, EAGLES 1
Haruki Nishikawa put Nippon Ham ahead in the sixth with a two-run single, and Sho Nakata slugged his 13th longball, a two-run shot in the seventh, to lead the Fighters past slumping Rakuten at Sapporo Dome.
It was the fifth straight win for the Fighters, while the Eagles have dropped eight straight to fall a season-worst five games under .500.
BUFFLOES 7, MARINES 4
Lee Dae Ho belted his PL-leading 19th homer and Naotaka Takehara had two hits, including his fourth longball, and three RBIs to lead host Orix past Lotte.
Orix won its third straight decision to move 1.5 games to within fifth-place Rakuten.
CENTRAL LEAGUE
DRAGONS 8, SWALLOWS 4
Pinch-hitter Kei Nomoto's bases-loaded single in the eighth broke a 4-4 tie and Kazuhiro Wada connected for a two-run homer in the ninth as Chunichi finally broke through for its first win over Yakult at Jingu this season.
The Dragons had lost five straight decisions there and hadn’t won at Jingu since Aug. 25 last year.
CARP 6, TIGERS 3
Brad Eldred hit his first two homers since being acquired on June 29, and drove three, while Eishin Soyogi cleared the bases with a double in the third as Hiroshima jumped out to an early lead and held off visiting Hanshin.
GIANTS 9, BAYSTARS 1
Shinnosuke Abe doubled twice and drove in five, and righty D.J. Houlton (8-6) fired seven innings of one-run ball as Yomiuri cruised past Yokohama.
The youngster nicknamed the “Darvish of Kyushu” made the Seibu Lions conjure up bad memories of the former Nippon Ham ace [now with the Texas Rangers] on Saturday, fanning a season-high 10 over 6.1 innings of Saturday’s 7-0 clinic at FYJ Dome.
The teen scattered three hits, while walking just two, prompting Seibu skipper Hisanobu Watanabe to bark, “To be honest, we couldn’t do anything with him today.”
The righty, who mixed enough sliders and curves to keep the Lions from sitting on his 150-kph fastball, carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning and became the first pitcher straight out of high school to fan 10 in a game in franchise history. He allowed two runners on with one out in the sixth, but fanned the next two batters to escape damage.
Kenji Akashi led a 16-hit attack with four hits -- including a double -- and Yuya Hasegawa had two hits and two RBIs for the Hawks, who stopped a three-game slide.
Seiichi Uchikawa had three hits on his 30th birthday, while third-year pro Kenta Imamiya slugged his first pro homer, a solo shot in the seventh.
FIGHTERS 4, EAGLES 1
Haruki Nishikawa put Nippon Ham ahead in the sixth with a two-run single, and Sho Nakata slugged his 13th longball, a two-run shot in the seventh, to lead the Fighters past slumping Rakuten at Sapporo Dome.
It was the fifth straight win for the Fighters, while the Eagles have dropped eight straight to fall a season-worst five games under .500.
BUFFLOES 7, MARINES 4
Lee Dae Ho belted his PL-leading 19th homer and Naotaka Takehara had two hits, including his fourth longball, and three RBIs to lead host Orix past Lotte.
Orix won its third straight decision to move 1.5 games to within fifth-place Rakuten.
CENTRAL LEAGUE
DRAGONS 8, SWALLOWS 4
Pinch-hitter Kei Nomoto's bases-loaded single in the eighth broke a 4-4 tie and Kazuhiro Wada connected for a two-run homer in the ninth as Chunichi finally broke through for its first win over Yakult at Jingu this season.
The Dragons had lost five straight decisions there and hadn’t won at Jingu since Aug. 25 last year.
CARP 6, TIGERS 3
Brad Eldred hit his first two homers since being acquired on June 29, and drove three, while Eishin Soyogi cleared the bases with a double in the third as Hiroshima jumped out to an early lead and held off visiting Hanshin.
GIANTS 9, BAYSTARS 1
Shinnosuke Abe doubled twice and drove in five, and righty D.J. Houlton (8-6) fired seven innings of one-run ball as Yomiuri cruised past Yokohama.