Back to back jacks in both the seventh and eighth innings highlighted a Hanshin Tigers swamping of the Yakult Swallows Sunday at Meiji Jingu Stadium 9-1. Swallows starter Rick Guttormsen had another bad outing after a dismal spring, as he was tagged for eight hits and four runs in six innings to absorb his first loss of the season. It also salvaged the last of a three game series that saw Yakult prevail in the first two.

Lefthander Hirotaka  Egusa started for Hanshin and, with the aid of three double play balls, bogged the opposing lineup down on four hits and no runs over eight innings and 100 pitches, the kind of ideal performance that manager Akinobu Okada is demanding out of his rotation members. 

Hanshin was in front out of the box, as centerfielder Norihiro Akahoshi leadoff the contest with a single to left, went to second on a sac bunt, and, one out later, leftfielder Tomoaki  Kanemoto cashed him in by wacking a 91mph fastball that was up and middle in to left for an RBI single and a 1-0 lead. 

Yakult had two on and one out in their turn on an infield knock and a hit batsmen, but that opportunity was disappeared by a twin killing. 

Yakult had its first real and, as it turned out, last serious chance in the third, as second baseman Hiroyasu Tanaka kicked it off with a double to left and advanced on a sacrifice. Okada brought the infield in and centerfielder Norichika Aoki grounded to first baseman Andy  Sheets, a former shortstop, who held the runner and recorded the out at the bag. Shortstop Shinya Miyamoto walked. However, first baseman Adam Riggs struckout and that was that.

Hanshin then doubled up on its lead when Kanemoto walked with one out in the fourth and, one out later, rightfielder Shinjiro Hiyama also walked. Shortstop Takashi Toritani spanked a 1-1 changeup on the outer half into center for the RBI and a 2-0 edge. 

It became 3-0 in the fifth, as Akahoshi singled to center and second baseman Kentaro Sekimoto singled to right. One out later, Kanemoto singled to center to plate Akahoshi.

Hiyama subsequently setup a Tigers run in the sixth when he doubled to left and, one out later, coimpleted the circuit after catcher Akihiro Yano lashed a 2-1 fastball up and in down the leftfield line to get Hiyama in and make it 4-0.

Masato Hanada ascended the hill for the seventh for Yakult and was roughed up hard. Sekimoto greeted him with a homer to left, his first roundtripper since he victmized the Giants on September 25, 2004. Sheets followed suit and drilled a Hanada delivery beyond the centerfield wall to widen it to 6-0.

In the seventh, Sekimoto singled to center for his third hit and Sheets went 2-2 and then fouled off four straight pitches. On a 3-2 count, Sheets got an 87mph fastball on the outer portion of the plate and crushed it into the leftfield stands for his second circuit clout and his third RBI. Kanemoto was next and he pounded a middle-out fastball into the great wide open in left and it was 9-0.

Yakult averted the shutout when Riggs took closer Tomoyuki Kubota over the leftfield fence for the 9-1 final.

Atsushi Fujimoto has returned to action after fouling a ball into his left eye a couple of days ago, entering as a defensive replacement in the bottom of the eighth. 

For Yakult, Riggs was 1-3 and is at .273. Leftfielder Alex Ramirez was 1-4 and is at .250. Third baseman Greg LaRocca was 0-4 and is at .125. Guttormsen struckout and sacrificed and is at .000. 

For Hanshin, Sheets was 2-5 and is at .357. 

Yomiuri starter Gary Glover was dominant all spring, but he was the one who was dominated Sunday against Yokohama, as he was touched for ten hits and four runs over four innings and change, but with first baseman Seung-yeop Lee and centerfielder Yoshinobu Takahashi going yard, the Giants slapped a run on the big board in the sixth and two more in the seventh to win the rubber game of the series 7-4. There was almost a brawl in this one, but more about that later.

Yuji Yoshimi, another guy who had a wonderful spring, also got his butt kicked toiling for Yokohama, as he was lit up for four runs and seven hits in five innings while walking three (2.00 WHIP), but the loss went to reliever Takeharu Kato. 

The seats were barely warm in the top of the first when rightfielder Tatsuhiko Kinjo welcomed Glover to Japanese regular season baseball by mashing one of his deliveries into the rightcenterfield stands for a 1-0 lead. First baseman Takahiro Saeki singled to right, as did centerfielder Hitoshi Tamura. Second baseman Hitoshi Taneda singled to left to load the bases. Yesterday's hero, Shuichi Murata, fanned to ruin the party.

Yomiuri then got over on Yoshimi in the home version, as leftfielder Takayuki Shimizu opened with a walk and, one ot later, shortstop Tomohiro Nioka singled to right and Lee imitated that to pack the sacks. Takahashi flew out to right and Shimizu tagged up and crossed to even it at 1-1. Third baseman Hiroki Kokubo walked to re-load the bases. Catcher Shinnosuke Abe singled to center and Nioka and Lee were back in the dugout via home and the kyojin were up 3-1.

However, Yokohama shortstop Takuro Ishii belted one into the rightfield bleachers with two gone to trim it to 3-2.

Shimizu, though, also conked one into the rightfield seats during the Giants time at bat for a 4-2 advantage. Yoshimi settled down and permitted just two more hits through the fifth.

The Stars crept closer in the fourth when one out infield hits by Murata and catcher Ryoji Aikawa preceded a two out single to center form Ishii that ushered Murata in and it was a one run affair at 4-3.

When Kinjo singled to center to begin the fifth, Glover was yanked in favor of Tetsuya Utsumi. In the course of pitching to Saeki, Utsumi buzzed  Saeki's head with a breaking ball. When Utsumi didn't immediately tip his cap, Saeki started heading for the mound. A Giants coach ran over to intervene between Saeki and the Utsumi and both benches emptied. That was as far as it went, but Utsumi was tossed under Japan's kikenkyu (dangerous pitch) regulation and it was additionally ruled that the ball had grazed Saeki, so he was awaded first base. Satoshi Fukuda was called in from the pen. Tamura grounded into a 5-4-3 double play. Taneda walked. Fukuda then unleashed a wild pitch and Kinjo crossed to level it at four apiece. Murata struckout and that would be the last time Yokohama would get anything substantial going.

Yoshimi was pinch hit for in the sixth, so Takeharu Kato was put in his stead and the Giants couldn't have been happier. Abe singled to center with one out. Rightfielder Yoshiyuki Kamei tried to bunt for a hit, but he was thrown out, so it went as a sacrifice. Mototsugu Kawanaka was dispatched to the batter's box to hit for Fukuda and steamed a sinker up the rightcenter alley and Abe galloped home on the double. Shimizu walked. Second baseman Makoto Kosaka singled to right and Kawanaka rounded third and and headed home. Kinjo, who showed a very accurate arm during the WBC, rifled it to the plate and Kawanaka was tagged out. Nevertheless, it was 5-4 Yomiuri.

In the seventh, Lee got a 2-2 pitch right down the pipe and obliterated it into the leftcenterfield seats. Takahashi then got a 1-1 heater in a similar location and also bigtimed it into the leftcenterfield stands to stretch it to 7-4. Yuya Kubo, Masanori Hayashi and Kiyoshi Toyoda held Yokohama to two hits over the last three innings and the Giants had won their first opening series since 
2001. 

Fukuda was credited with the victory, his first as a pro, and he is the first Giants rookie to have that happen during the opening series since Taka Miura, who is now an outfielder, in 2001. 

For Yomiuri, Lee was 2-4 and is at .500. Glover was 0-2 and is at .000.

Chunichi starter Domingo  Guzman was outstanding Sunday against Hiroshima at Nagoya, no hitting the Carp for four innings and overall suppressing them on a run and four hits in 5.2 frames before it was handed over to the pen, which was buffeted for a run on three hits afterward to hold on in what ultimately was a 3-2 Dragons triumph. Guzman has won his last eight decisions against the red heru. 

Sean Douglass started for Hiroshima and was pulled after four innings because he was running up big pitch counts, requiring 82 to complete his stint before manager Marty Brown opted for the relief corps, who finished the remaining four innings on four hits but no runs.

Chunichi erupted for two in the first, as second baseman Masahiro Araki singled to left and, one out later, shortstop Hirokazu Ibata singled to right. First baseman Tyrone Woods singled to right to slingshot Araki in. Rightfielder Kosuke Fukudome walked to load trhe bases. Leftfielder Alex Ochoa grounded to third and Ibata managed to navigate his way home for a 2-0 lead. 

Douglass had no problem resultswise in the second and third, but a leadoff walk to Fukudome in the fourth would kill him. One out later, third baseman Kazuyoshi Tatsunami singled to center. Catcher Motonobu Tanishige singled to left and Fukudome jetted to the plate to make it 3-0. 

Guzman would then be helped tremendously by Ibata in the fifth, as Hiroshima first baseman Kenta Kurihara singled to left and, one ot later, catcher Yoshikazu Kura singled to center, Kurihara making a left and getting into third. Shortstop Koji Yamazaki tattooed one , but Ibata made a diving stab of it to save a run. Shigeru Morikasa, pinch hitting for Douglass, grounded out and Guzman was out of the inning.

Hiroshima, though, did make a successful plateward incursion when centerfielder Koichi Ogata singled to left, went to second on a balk and, two outs later, rode rightfielder Shigenobu Shima's single to center to the promised land to contract the gap to 3-1.
Shinya Okamoto climbed the hill and obtained the third out. 

Another defensive gem would then save Dragons reliever Masafumi Hirai in the eighth. Third baseman Takahiro Arai singled to right. Shima devastated a Hirai offering and the ball was a blur headed to the leftfield wall. But Ochoa got there and skied high to make the fully extended leaping snare for the out. Kurihara singled to center and Arai rambled into third. Second baseman Eishin Soyogi flew out to Ochoa, who has an outstanding arm, but it was deep enough for Arai to tag up and score and tighten it up to 3-2. Hitoki Iwase fashioned a perfect ninth and Chunich had another tense victory.

Manager Hiromitsu Ochiai has bitl this team around defense and pitching and so far he has gotten it. That was the second web gem of he series by Ochoa and the play by centerfielder Atsushi Fujii in an earlier game and the catch by Ibata in this one encourages their pitchers to throw strikes and let the gloves do their thing. 

It was the first time Guzman had been in a regular seaosn match since last June 1st. 

For Hiroshima, Douglass was 0-1 and is at .000. 

For Chunichi, Woods was 1-4 and is at .100. Ochoa was 2-4 and is at .455. 

Hiroshima The team's mascot dog Mikki-kun is going to have his own DVD on sale this week in a first run of 1000 copies. Called Yakyuken Mikki: Egao wo Hakonda Chitcha na Kiseki (Baseball Dog Mikki: Little Miracles that Carried His Smile) is produced by a Hiroshima area tv station .

Miscellaneous The Chicago White Sox came off their World Series victory Sunday by creaming the Cleveland Indians 10-4. Second basemam Tadahito Iguchi was in on the action, as he drove in a run with s single to leftcenter in the third and later lifted a sac fly to finish with two RBIs was part of a 1-3 day where he also walked. He was denied another hit when Tribe leftfielder Jason Michaels ran down his drive with a stagy diving catch. He then watched as Jim Thome uncorked a mammoth jack to right to introduce himself to the team's faithful. Former Hanshin Tiger Eduardo Perez, now with Cleveland, also homered. 

Congratulations to Roberto Petagine, who had his minor league contract purchased Sunday the Mariners, so he has made the club out of spring training. 

In a great development, there are plans afoot for the creation of an Asian Winter League. According to Sports Nippon, the offseason circuit will be comprised of four clubs, one each comprised of minor leaguers from the Central and Pacific Leagues, one from Korea and one from Taiwan. They will likely use Taiwan as the base of operations for weather reasons and, as it stands now, each team will play 20 games. This was reportedly proposed by the CPBL. It is still only in the talking stages, though. If approved, it would begin play in mid-December.