Re: NPB Daily Results and Standings (Week of Apr. 27)

Just a small correction on that. Kevin Hodges pitched 8 innings, surrendering only 2 hits and a run. Closer Shingo Takatsu pitched a perfect ninth to earn the save.

Thank you for the correction. Any help I can get is greatly appreciated.

The April 29, 2003 Japan Times [Link] highlights Monday's Pacific League games and standings.

Orix BlueWave 6 - Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes 0:
Leon Lee got his first managerial win with the BlueWave stomping of the Buffaloes. Korean starter Koo Dae Sung and Jun Hagiwara shutout Kintetsu at Yahoo BB Stadium. Koo (1-2) struck out nine batters and yielded five hits and four walks in his first start of 2003.

Nippon Ham Fighters 8 - Chiba Lotte Marines 2:
Winning pitcher Masaru Yoshizaki (3-1) held the Marines to four hits and one walk in 8 1/3 innings at the Tokyo Dome. Michihiro Ogasawara drove in the game tying run on a single in the first inning. Shinji Takahashi's solo home run in the second inning put the Fighters ahead. Ogasawara had five RBIs and hit home runs in two consecutive at bats to slug the Fighters at Tokyo Dome. Angel Echevarria hit his eighth homer of 2003. Kazuya Fukuura had both RBIs for the Marines on a double and a home run. Losing pitcher Nathan Minchey (2-3) gave up all eight runs on 11 hits.

Seibu Lions 4 - Fukuoka Daiei Hawks 1:
Taiwan's Chang Chih-chia (1-1) struck out seven batters on 109 pitches to beat the Hawks at Seibu Dome. Chang gave up three hits and walked three in six innings. Lions' shortstop Kazuo Matsui hit a two-run home run off Hawks' losing pitcher Toshiya Sugiuchi. Sugiuchi (2-3) yielded 10 hits and four runs in 6 1/3 innings.

Pacific League
           W  L T  Pct GB 
Hawks     16  9 0 .640  
Buffaloes 14 11 0 .560 2.0 
Fighters  11 12 1 .478 4.0 
Marines   11 12 0 .478 4.0 
Lions     12 14 0 .462 4.5 
BlueWave   8 14 1 .364 6.5

The Central League standings remain the same as on April 28th due to no games played.

The April 30, 2003 Japan Times [Link reports on Tuesday's NPB action and standings.

Hanshin Tigers 8 - Yomiuri Giants 6:
Hiroshi Yagi pinch-hit the game-winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning to beat the Giants before a crowd of 53,000 at Koshien Stadium. Tomoaki Kanemoto drove in three runs and went 3-for-4 for the Tigers. Roberto Petagine's 10th home run of 2003 - a grand slam - was not enough to stave off the Tigers. Yuya Ando (1-0) got the win, Hanshin's and Jeff Williams picked up his seventh save.

Yakult Swallows 2 - Yokohama BayStars 1 (10 innings):
Denny Tomori (0-1) hit Atsuya Furuta with a pitch with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 10th inning to bring in the Swallows' game winning run home at Jingu Stadium. [westbaystars: Yokohama's only run was a lead off home run by Kinjyoh on the first pitch of the game.]

Hiroshima Carp 4 - Chunichi Dragons 3:
Koichi Ogata brough home the winning run on a single in the bottom of the ninth inning at Hiroshima Municipal Stadium.

Chiba Lotte Marines 6 - Nippon Ham Fighters 2:
Jose Fernandez hit two two-run homers to lift the Marines past the Fighters at Tokyo Dome. Brian Sikorski (1-0) struck out five batters in seven innings while allowing five hits, two walks, and two runs.

Seibu Lions 2 - Fukuoka Daiei Hawks 1:
Daisuke Matsuzaka (3-1) pitched a seven strike out, 135 pitch complete game win over the Lions at Seibu Dome. Matsuzaka initated three double plays while giving up seven hits and four walks. Taisei Takagi drove in the game-winning run with a home run in the eighth inning. Nagisa Arakaki (2-3) took the loss yielding two runs and eight hits in eight innings. Kenji Jojima had Daiei's only score with a homer. Arakaki struck out Alex Cabrera three times.

Orix BlueWave 13 - Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes 6:
The BlueWave had 17 hits and 13 runs to crush the Buffaloes at Kobe's Yahoo BB Stadium. Tatsuya Shindo launched his 100th career home run. Orix drove in eight runs on eight hits in the third inning, including a three run homer by Kazuhiko Shiotani. Hisashi Ogura (1-1) won the game in 5 1/3 innings of work, giving up three runs and eight hits.

News:

Chris Latham signed a one-year, 85 million yen contract with the Yomiuri Giants. Latham had a .202 BA, three homers, and 19 RBIs in 110 major league games with the Twins, Blue Jays, and Yankees. Latham is scheduled to be in Japan around May 20th to help fill the Giants' void with the injuries to Kazuhiro Kiyohara, Daisuke Motoki, and Takayuki Shimizu.

The April 29, 2003 Japan Today [Link] mentions Mac Suzuki's promotion to the Orix BlueWave despite an 5.28 ERA and 0-3 record for the Surpass Kobe (their farm team).

Central League
           W  L T  Pct GB 
Tigers    16 10 1 .615 - 
Giants    13 10 1 .565 1.5 
Dragons   15 12 0 .556 1.5 
Swallows  14 12 0 .538 2.0 
Carp      11 11 0 .500 3.0 
BayStars   5 19 0 .208 10.0 
 
Pacific League
           W   L T  Pct GB 
Hawks     16 10 0 .615 - 
Buffaloes 14 12 0 .538 2.0 
Marines   12 12 0 .500 3.0 
Lions     13 14 0 .481 3.5 
Fighters  11 13 1 .458 4.0 
BlueWave   9 14 1 .391 5.5

> Hanshin Tigers 8 - Yomiuri Giants 6:

A lucky escape. It's not often that a team gives up the lead to the YGs (by a grand slam to Petagine, no less) and goes on to win. Said Trey Moore (in SanSpo), "That [the pitch that Peta GS-ed on] was a mistake"; said Roberto Petagine (on TV last night) "He [Moore] threw the same pitch twice in a row so I swung at it."

Brilliant game though; no wonder they call Hanshin-Kyojin games Dento-no issen (Games of Myth/Legend). Can't wait for tonight's and tomorrow's games.

The May 1, 2003 Japan Times [Link] highlights Wednesday's NPB games and standings.

Hanshin Tigers 6 - Yomiuri Giants 2:
Kei Igawa (3-3) gave up only one run and six hits in eight innings of work to beat the Giants at Koshien Stadium. Jeff Williams mopped up with a 1-2-3 ninth inning to extend the Tigers' Central League lead to two games. Akihiro Yano hit a two-run home run and Atsushi Kataoka had three RBIs and went 2-for-3.

Yakult Swallows 4 - Yokohama BayStars 1:
Jason Beverlin (3-0) struck out six batters in five innings allowing only one run and five hits to lead the Swallows past the BayStars at Jingu Stadium. Shingo Takatsu earned his sixth save of 2003 as Yakult climbed into second place in the CL.

Hiroshima Carp 3 - Chunichi Dragons 1:
Shinji Sasaoka yielded only one run, eight hits in eight innings for the win against the Dragons at Hiroshima. Kenshin Kawakami pitched eight innings giving up only two runs and eight hits, but got the loss.

Seibu Lions 8 - Fukuoka Daiei Hawks 4:
The Lions drove in six runs in the eighth inning including Taisei Takagi and Scott McClain's solo home runs for their fourth straight win. Alex Cabrera hit his eighth home run of 2003 in the game at Seibu Dome.

Orix BlueWave 7 - Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes 3:
Roosevelt Brown and Ikuro Katsuragi had two RBIs a piece to finish the third game of a three-game sweep of the Buffaloes at Kobe. Gambatte Leon Lee!!!

Nippon Ham Fighters 17 - Chiba Lotte Marines 6:
Katsuhiro Nishiura hit a pair of two-run home runs and Shinji Takahashi had a two-run homer to trounce the Marines at Tokyo Dome.

Central League
           W  L T  Pct GB 
Tigers    17 10 1 .630  
Swallows  15 12 0 .556 2.0 
Giants    13 11 1 .542 2.5 
Dragons   15 13 0 .536 2.5 
Carp      12 11 0 .522 3.0 
BayStars   5 20 0 .200 11.0 
 
Pacific League
           W  L T  Pct GB 
Hawks     16 11 0 .593  
Buffaloes 14 13 0 .519 2.0 
Lions     14 14 0 .500 2.5 
Fighters  12 13 1 .480 3.0 
Marines   12 13 0 .480 3.0 
BlueWave  10 14 1 .417 4.5

- Akihiro Yano hit a two-run home run and Atsushi Kataoka had three RBIs and went 2-for-3.

That was a very interesting scene: I've never seen anyone so unhappy after hitting a HR as Yano last night. Kataoka had hit his 1st single; he was on 1st and there was also a runner on 3rd. Then they mixed up the signs: Kataoka was expecting a hit-and-run and took off on the next pitch... which Yano left alone! Giants' catcher Abe threw to 2nd, where Nishi or Nioka (I forget) had time to sit back and have a cup of coffee before tagging Kataoka out. To the crowd, it looked like a failed base-steal. Then Yano hit his beautiful HR, and what should have been 3 runs was only 2 - every run counts against the deadly YGs. So while the crowd was going mad with joy, Yano, Kataoka, and one of the coaches could be seen together in the dugout having a "what the h*** went wrong?" conference.

All's well that ends well, I s'pose, but against a full-strength Giants team, it could have been a costly mistake.

The May 2, 2003 Japan Times [Link] reports on Thursday's Central League games and standings.

Hanshin Tigers 3 - Yomiuri Giants 1:
The Tigers swept all three games from the Giants at the latest series at Koshien. Hanshin has won five games and tied one game with no losses this year against the Yomiuri Kyojin. Doubles by Tomoaki Kanemoto and Atsushi Kataoka drove in the go-ahead run and the winning run in the fifth inning. Keiichi Yabu (2-1) pitched 7 1/3 innings giving up one run and five hits to win the game. Australian Jeff Williams picked up his eighth save of 2003 despite having allowed a hit and hitting a batter. Matt Randel lost the game having yielded three runs and six hits in 4 1/3 innings.

Hiroshima Carp 3 - Chunichi Dragons 2 (10 innings):
Shigeru Morikasa brought in the game-winning run with a 10th inning single to slip past Chunichi at Hiroshima Shimin Stadium. The Carp's fourth "sayonara win" of 2003 lifted the team into second place in the Central League.

Yokohama BayStars 9 - Yakult Swallows 3:
Domingo Guzman (2-2) struck out 10 Swallows yielding two earned runs and eight hits in a complete game win at Jingu Stadium. The BayStars' No. 1 draft pick, Shuichi Murata, hit a pair of two-run homers, one to right, the other to left, for his eighth and ninth home runs of 2003.

Central League
           W  L T  Pct GB 
Tigers    18 10 1 .643  
Carp      13 11 0 .542 3.0 
Swallows  15 13 0 .536 3.0 
Giants    13 12 1 .520 3.5 
Dragons   15 14 0 .517 3.5 
BayStars   6 20 0 .231 11.0

The Pacific League standings remain the same as on May 1st due to no games played.

I know the YG have a lot of injury problems with Kiyohara and others injured in the OF, but why go for Chris Latham? Even within the Yankees organization (and I assume their mutual "deal" with the Yanks are why they are doing business with them) there are better options than him, I think.

Anyone else have an opinion on this?

The May 3, 2003 Japan Times [Link] highlights Friday's Pacific League action and standings.

Osaka Kintetesu Buffaloes 11 - Nippon Ham Fighters 10:
Tuffy Rhodes hit a home run to tie the game with two out and nobody on in the ninth, and a "sayonara" home run in the eleventh inning to defeat the Fighters at Osaka Dome. Naoyuki Omura blasted a grand slam in the fifth inning and Daisuke Masuda hit a three-run homer in the eighth. Kintetsu and Nippon combined for a total of nine home runs in the game.

Seibu Lions 10 - Orix BlueWave 1:
Koji Mitsui pitched an 11 strikeout, 134 pitch complete game win over the BlueWave at Seibu Dome. Mitsui (5-0) gave up one run on Takashi Miwa's home run in the ninth, but allowed only five hits for his fifth straight victory. Hiroyuki Shibata, Taisei Takagi, and Hiroyuki Takagi hit home runs to help Seibu to their fifth consecutive win. The Lions drove in seven runs in the sixth inning, including Hiroyuki Takagi's three-run homer. Satoshi Tokumoto (1-2) gave up five earned runs to get the loss.

Fukuoka Daiei Hawks 7 - Chiba Lotte Marines 6:
Yusuke Torigoe hit a single in the bottom of the ninth to slip the Hawks past the Marines at Fukuoka Dome. Tadahito Iguchi went 3-for-4 with two RBIs. Hawks' starting pitcher, Hayato Terahara, gave up five runs in 3 1/3 innings.

Pacific League
           W  L T  Pct GB 
Hawks     17 11 0 .607 
Buffaloes 15 13 0 .536 2.0 
Lions     15 14 0 .517 2.5 
Fighters  12 14 1 .462 4.0 
Marines   12 14 0 .462 4.0 
BlueWave  10 15 1 .400 5.5

The Central League standings remain the same as on May 2nd because no games were played.

The May 4, 2003 Japan Today [Link] reports on Saturday's NPB games and standings.

Fukuoka Daiei Hawks 4 - Chiba Lotte Marines 3 (11):
The Hawks slipped past the Marines on a Munenori Kawasaki "sayonara" double in the bottom of the 11th inning at Fukuoka Dome. Lotte suffered its sixth straight loss against Daiei. Matt Skrmetta closed the 11th inning to earn the victory.

Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes 6 - Nippon Ham Fighters 2:
Hiroshi Takamura (3-0) pitched seven innings yielding two runs and seven hits to beat the Fighters at Osaka Dome. Naoyuki Omura had three RBIs and hit went 3-for-5.

Seibu Lions 12, Orix BlueWave 12 (12):
Jun Hagiwara threw a wild pitch which allowed the Lions to tie the game in the ninth inning. 36 hits in the game still resulted in a tie after 12 innings. BlueWave infielder Jose Ortiz hit a triple in the first inning, a single in the third, a homer in the sixth, and a double in the 10th to hit for the cycle. For more info on Ortiz' feat, look at Westbay's write-up of the cycle.

Yokohama BayStars 8 - Chunichi Dragons 5:
Tyrone Woods had his second consecutive double home run night [westbaystars: actually, it was a day game after a night game] to lift the BayStars past the Dragons at Nagoya Dome. Woods drove in five RBIs while hitting his eighth and ninth home runs of the year. Yuji Yoshimi (2-3) struck out six batters in five innings, giving up three runs and seven hits for the win. Denny Tomori got the save. [westbaystars: After Whiteside almost blew another one! He makes me nervous when he takes the mound.]

Hanshin Tigers 6 - Yakult Swallows 3:
Hideki Irabu (4-0) pitched six innings allowing only one run and six hits with seven strike outs to lead the Tigers over the Swallows at Koshien Stadium.

Yomiuri Giants 8 - Hiroshima Carp 7:
Shinnosuke Abe lofted a bases-loaded sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth inning to beat the Carp at Tokyo Dome. Toshihisa Nishi hit 2-for-4 and belted an eighth inning two-run home run to tie the game. Yukinaga Maeda (1-0) pitched in the ninth inning to notch the win.

Central League
           W  L T  Pct   GB 
Tigers    19 10 1 .655 
Giants    14 12 1 .538  3.5 
Carp      13 12 0 .520  4.0 
Swallows  15 14 0 .517  4.0 
Dragons   15 15 0 .500  4.5 
BayStars   7 20 0 .259 11.0 
 
Pacific League
           W  L T  Pct   GB 
Hawks     18 11 0 .621  
Buffaloes 16 13 0 .552  2.0 
Lions     15 14 1 .517  3.0 
Fighters  12 15 1 .444  5.0 
Marines   12 15 0 .444  5.0 
BlueWave  10 15 2 .400  6.0