Guttormson Strong, Hawks Avoid Sweep

The alarm clock finally rung for SoftBank Hawks starter Rick Guttormson. After a pair of rough outings to start the season, Guttormson was solid for 7 and 1/3 innings against the Orix Buffaloes today. In that span, he gave up the only run Orix would score all day, a double from Mitsutaka Gotoh. However, some spectacular defense helped Softbank win a much-needed game, 5-1.

The Softbank offense, mired by inconsistency and a general lack of pop, got some from the middle of the order. Hitoshi Tamura drove in two runs and more importantly, Nobuhiko Matsunaka found some power, blasting his first home run of the season. Also notable was 3rd baseman Nobuhiro Matsuda, who went 3-for-4 himself and stole a base.

Orix was not without their chances, however. After a walk and a balk, LaRocca struck out and Tuffy Rhodes was intentionally walked. After a hard-luck single that caromed off 1st base that loaded the bases with 1 down, Gotoh flew out to shallow center and Hiroshi Shibahara, who has been playing phenomenal baseball so far this year, made an acrobatic catch to save at least 2 runs.

CJ Nitkowski and Yuki Kume came in to slam the door, with the duo combined giving up 3 hits. Kume was credited with the save, and Guttormson improved his record to 1-1.