4/3/2004
4/3/2004
| Arias Slam Pillar of Fukuhara Three Hit Victory for Hanshin Over Yomiuri | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tokyo Hanshin first baseman George
Arias is on quite a tear right now, as he drilled his sixth homer in as
many
games if you include exhibitions and third of the regular season Saturday against the Yomiuri Giants, a grand slam, at Tokyo Dome to shaft the Tokyo ballclub 5-1. Tigers skipper Akinobu Okada decided on a whim to insert erratic righthander Shinobu Fukuhara into the starter's slot in place of the anticipated Hideki Irabu and Fukuhara, one of those million dollar talents with a ten cent head, responded with a dazzling two hit hit performance over seven for his first win of the campaign. Hisanori Takahashi started for Yomiuri and was dominant
in the early going, fanning five of the first seven men who
In the fourth, Takahashi would make a big mistake again,
as centerfielder Norihiro Akahoshi singled to left and
In the meantine, Fukuhara smothered the most expensive
lineup in Japanese history on a single through six innings
Arias loves Tokyo Dome. Lifetime, he is 68-217 there
with 21 homers and 44 RBIs. Seven of those
Yano is on his game in 2004, to, as he has thrown Yomiuri
leadoff man Toshihisa Nishi out on both of his steal
The Tigers will now try to make it a sweep Sunday.
2B: Akahoshi
Season Series: Hanshin 2, Yomiuri 0 Game Time: 2:37
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| Ochoa Three Run Roundtripper Keys Dragons' 8-4 Win Over Hiroshima | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nagoya Hiroshima
starter Tom Davey kept trying to force the issue with his fastball in the
second inning of the
Carp's faceoff with the Chunichi Dragons Saturday and was machine gunned before centerfielder Alex Ochoa then went nuclear on him to cap off a seven run explosion that sunk the fish 8-4. Shigeki Noguchi started for the Nagoya crew and told the press after the game that he stunk and that even though he won it left a bad taste in his mouth since he was tagged for all four Hiroshima tallies in six innings. He was clocked at 88mph. Noguchi was pressed rightaway,
as centerfielder Takuya Kimura singed a double intol the rightfield corner
to begin
Davey was touched for a hit and
a walk in the home portion, but wriggled out of the difficulty. No such
luck in
Inoue then socked a high fastball
into the rightfield seats commencing the third off of reliever Ryuji Yokoyama
The Carp would endeavor to chip
away at that imposing disparity. In the fourth, Shigenobu Shima singled
to center
Two innings down the road, Sheets
singled to center and leftfielder Tomonori Maeda did likewise. Third baseman
Noguchi's pitch count was where
it should have been, so manager Hiromitsu Ochiai nudged his lefty out to
the
Ochoa had a torrid spring after
a desultory 2003. The former Angel and Rockie credits the former Triple
Crown
This is the first time in 12
years that a new Dragons manager has won his initial pair of games.
SB: Araki
Season Series : Hiroshima 0, Chunichi 2 Game Time: 3:16
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| Ramirez Three Run Homer in Eighth5 Pulls it Out for Yakult 4-3400.030 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tokyo Yakult Swallows leftfielder
Alex Ramirez got his team off of the floor by crushing a three run homer
in
the eighth off of Yokohama Bay Stars reliever Eddie Gaillard to notch a victory for the birds Saturday at Meiji Jingu Stadium. The homer ruined a nice Japan debut for Yokohama starter Pete Walker, who went six innings of three hit, one run ball. Yuya Kamada started for Yakult and had a decent outing, shaken down for three runs on six hits in 6.1 innings. The late inning shift in this game besides, the Swallows also got Hirotoshi Ishii back from an oblique strain and he is already pumping it up to 94mph. It was scoreless until the fourth, when Yokohama centerfielder Hitoshi Tamura walked and first baseman Tyrone Woods singled to left. Third baseman Shuichi Murata attempted to sacrifice, but when the ball dribbled out in front of the plate, catcher Atsuya Furta was all over it, gunning the ball to Akinori Iwamura at third for the force on Tamura. Iwamura then strongarmed it over to first for a very unusual 2-5-3 double play. However, Kamada then ran a hanging forkball up there and rightfielder Tatsuhiko Kinjo rammed it into the rightfield stands to put the Stars in the lead 2-0. Swallows first baseman Ken Suzuki answered with an aerial trip to the leftfield bleachers in the home segment and it was 2-1 Stars. There was a whole lot of nothing offensively for both
sides from there through the sixth before Kinjo opened the seventh with
a single to right and was sacrificed to second. Catcher Ryoji Aikawa doubled
up the leftcenter gap
But with two gone in the eighth, Gaillard walked shortstop
Shinya Miyamoto and Iwamura singled to center. Ramirez got a 91mph fastball
and knew it was gone upon contact, the ball landing halfway up the leftfield
seats
SB: H. Tamura
Season Series: Yokohama 0, Yakult 2 Game Time: 2:37
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Team Reports
| Yomiuri | |
| Yuya Kubo made a minor league start and was hammered for four runs
in five innings, with two of his pitches leaving the yard. He will make
at least one more minor league appearance before being elevated to the
top team, where he will be sued in the bullpen.
While some quarters of the press are already panicking over the |
Giants losing their first two games, former manager Shigeo Nagashima is more optimistic. After watching Saturday's game on tv from his hospital bed, he told a reporter, "we're still in good shape." The hall of famer also watched another installment of the spring Koshien High School Baseball Tournament upon being given a scheduled day off from rehab. |
| Yakult | |
| Lefthander Masanori Ishikawa made a minro league rehab start Saturday and went seven strong innings of two hit shutout ball. | Pitching coach Akimitsu Itoh said that if Ishikawa has no elbow pain Sunday, he will be hoisted back up to the big club. |
| Miscellaneous | |
| Doshishia University senior pitcher Kensaku Someda (and here's to
hoping I transliterated that correctly) tossed the first perfect game in
Kansai Scholastic League history Saturday against Kyoto University at Nishi
Kyogoku Stadium. He went to a full count just once, permitted a mere two
outfield flies and struckout 11 to carve out a bit of history for himself
in the 99 pitch 5-0 victory. He was clocked at 88mph. Someda had been mostly
a third baseman at Koriyama High
school and also did some middle relief before coming to Doshisha, |
which is mostly known as a business school.
Aikodai Meiden High School, which gave rise to Mariners outfielder
Ichiro Suzuki and Yomiuri lefty Kimiyasu Kudoh among others, will play
in its first ever Koshien final Sunday after winning Saturday 3-2. Aikodai's
moudsman detcted a squeeze bunt coming in the ninth and pitched out, the
runner becoming a dead man, to help seal it.
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