Hanshin third baseman Andy Sheets is on the bubble right now and will need a strong finish in the final weeks of the pennant race to have a chance at being asked back for 2008. Saturday, he drove in three runs with a double and a sacrifice fly to spearhead a 5-3 victory over Yakult at Koshien Stadium that brought the Tigers within 2.5 games of league leading Yomiuri. Tsuyoshi Shimoyanagi, who went winless in August (0-4), went five innings of two run, five hit ball to improve to 0-8. 

Opening for the Swallows was Kenichi Matsuoka, who went three innings of three run, six hit pitching to lose for the first time in four decisions. 

Hanshin had two on and two out in the second, but a groundout spoiled it. 

They then got behind, as Yakult catcher Masakazu Fukukawa singled to center and went to second on a sacrifice. Third baseman Yasushi Iihara singled to center. A groundout to Matsuoka got Iihara over to second, but Fukukawa held. Leftfielder Alex Ramirez singled to left to tally up both runners for a 2-0 lead. However, they would only produce three scattered singles from there on in and never more than one in any inning. 

The Tigers immediately retaliated, as shortstop Takashi Toritani singled to center with one out in the bottom stanza and centerfielder Norihiro Akahoshi walked. They advanced on a wild pitch. Sheets crashed a shot off the leftfield wall to chase both Toritani and Akahoshi in. Leftfielder Tomoaki Kanemoto doubled into the rightfield corner for a 3-2 advantage. Kanemoto went to third on a groundout, but he froze there when first baseman Ikuro Katsuragi lined out to second. 

They tacked on another in the fourth against reliever Masahiro Yoshikawa with a single to center from second baseman Kentaro Sekimoto, who was sacrificed to second. Toritani walked. Akahoshi beat out a ground ball toward third to load the bases. Sheets flew out to center and Sekimoto tagged up and scurried in to make it 4-2. Kanemoto flied out to left for the third out. 

They had men on second and third with one out in the fifth, but two flyouts torpedoed the opportunity. 

In the sixth, though, Swallows reliever Yuya Kamada threw a two out grounder from Sheets away and he landed at second. Kanemoto was intentionally walked to get to Sakurai, who doubled to center to register Sheets at the pay station and raise it to 5-2. Katsuragi flied out, but Darwin Cubillan followed Shimoyanagi with two strong innings on a hit and Jeff Wiliams and Kyuji Fujikawa buzzsawed through the Yakult lineup in the eighth and ninth respectively to wrap it up for the third consecutive Hanshin triumph. 

Kanemoto is still feeling the effects of a ball he fouled off of his right shin the other night. He needs 36 more hits for 2000. 

The Tigers have gone a combined 33-9 the previous two Septembers, so that makes one anticipate that this pennant race could be pretty amazing to the end. 

For Yakult, Ramirez was 1-4 with two strikeouts and is at .347. Rightfielder Aaron Guiel was 0-4 and is at .251. 

For Hanshin, Sheets was 1-4 with a sac fly and is at .247. This was his fifth three or more RBI game of the campaign. 

The numbers 4-5-6 hitters in the Hiroshima Carp batting order allied for eight RBIs between them to obliterate the Chunichi Dragons 14-7. Takashi Ogasawara started for the Nagoya crew hoping to exploit a Yomiuri defeat, but he was pulled after just four innings upon permitting three runs on three hits and four walks and the bullpen just made things worse. 

Ken Takahashi started for the fish and realized nothing out of this affair after five innings of five run, nine hit pitching. Instead, Hayato Aoki claimed his first win since coming over from Seibu by getting a man in the eighth. 

Chunichi shortstop Hirokazu Ibata singled to center in the first and second baseman Masahiro Araki grounded into a 1-6 force. Leftfielder Kazuki Inoue walked. First baseman Tyrone Woods grounded into a 6-4 force. Rightfielder Masahiko Morino singled to left to redeem Araki for a 1-0 lead. 

But in the bottom portion, shortstop Eishin Soyogi said hello to Ogasawara by taking him on a tour of the leftfield seats. Second baseman Akihiro Higashide singled to center. One out later, third baseman Takahiro Arai blasted an Ogasawara selection into the rightfield bleachers to go up 3-1. 

However, in the second, Dragons third baseman Norihiro Nakamura conked one into the rightfield stands to make it 3-2. 

They would then surge ahead in the fifth, as Ibata walked and Araki singled to right. Ibata went for third, but he was gunned down while Araki advanced to second on the relay. Inoue singled to center to spring Araki in. Woods smoked a shot into the centerfield seats and it was 5-3 visitors. 

Chunichi bolstered that in the sixth against Jared Fernandez when Nakamura singled to left and, one out later, Kazuyoshi Tatsunami pinch hit for the pitcher's spot and creamed the first pitch he saw over the rightfield wall to attain 3500 total bases (22nd most in history) and build it to 7-3. They would be restrained to a single for the duration. 

But Hiroshima first baseman Kenta Kurihara got a cookie from Masafumi Hirai in the home edition and crunched it over the hills and far away to center to make it 7-4. 

Soyogi singled to center in the seventh and Higashide doubled to left. Ochoa singled to right and Soyogi crossed and Higashide also somehow arrived home safely (error in the outfield?) to tighten it up to 7-6. A groundout and a double play ball forbade further scoring. 

The Dragons wasted a two on and two out chance in the eighth due to a groundout. Then then roof fell in for them. Akifumi Takahashi walked Kurihara to initiate the bottom segment and he went to second on a sacrifice. Shigeru Morikasa, pinch hitting for catcher Yoshiyuki Ishihara, singled to left. Shinya Okamoto was substituted for Takahashi. Shigenobu Shima pinch hit for Aoki and pounded one into the leftfield stands for a three run homer. Soyogi walked. Higashide singled to left. One out later, Arai walked to pack the sacks. Leftfielder Tomonori Maeda singled to right to drive in a pair and also give him 2000 hits for his career. Following a brief ceremony to celebrate the achievement, play resumed and Kurihara clubbed one into the rightfield bleachers for the second three run bomb of the inning and a 14-7 edge. 

Ryuji Yokoyama was flawless in the ninth and it was in the books. 

Maeda is the 36th man to 2000 knocks and the fourth who began and spent his his career with Hiroshima. Two of the three others are either hall of famers or will be. He accomplished it in 1895 games. He has also punched his ticket into the Meikyukai. Maeda photo retrospective

Tatsunami now has 24 pinch hit RBIs this season, tying him for second most ever in Central League history. The CL standard is 30 by Hanshin infielder (and probable hall of famer) Akinobu Mayumi in 1994.

For Chunichi, Woods was 1-5 and is at .279. Centerfielder Byung-kyu Lee was 0-4 and is at .279. 

For Hiroshima, Ochoa was 2-4 with a walk and is at .344. 

A one out ninth inning homer by Yokohama first baseman Yuki Yoshimura dissolved a 7-7 deadlock for an 8-7 walkoff victory against Yomiuri at Yokohama Stadium. It was Yoshimura's first ever game ending roundtripper and dealt the Giants their first series loss in their most recent five. 

Jeremy Powell started for Yomiuri and declared himself embarrassed after 5.1 innings of seven run, 11 hit ball, though he didn't figure in the decision. 

Yuji Hata started for the Bay Stars and went two innings of two run, six hit ball, so it would be Joselo Diaz who would snag the W with two scoreless innings on two hits and two walks. 

Giants rightfielder Yoshinobu Takahashi outran a ground ball toward first for a two out infield single in the first and third baseman Michihiro Ogasawara and first baseman Seung-yeop Lee walked to load the bases. But catcher Shinnosuke Abe, who is hitting better than .330 with runners in scoring position, grounded out and the disturbance was quelled. 

They would rampage in the second, however, as shortstop Tomohiro Nioka walked and centerfielder Damon Hollins singled to left. Powell moved them over with a sac bunt. Leftfielder Yoshitomo Tani singled to center to send Nioka in. Second baseman Ryota Wakiya singled to left for an RBI. Takahashi got a fastball and launched it just over the centerfield wall for a 5-0 lead. Ogasawara walked and went to second on a groundout. Abe doubled down the rightfield line and Ogasawara was reflected on the big board, which read 6-0. 

But Powell would give most of that away when Yokohama took its licks. Third baseman Shuichi Murata kabonged one into the leftcenterfield seats. One out later, leftfielder Takahiro Saeki singled to left. Rightfielder Seiichi Uchikawa rammed one into the leftfield stands. Catcher Ryoji Aikawa singled to left. One out later, second baseman Toshihisa Nishi singled to center. Shortstop Takuro Ishii singled to center to turn Aikawa in and make it 6-4. Centerfielder Tatsuhiko Kinjo struckout and Powell was still allowed part of his previous advantage. 

The Stars would put two more on with nobody out in the third, but a couple of groundouts and a flyout bogged that down. 

Yomiuri put two on with two outs in the fifth. Powell batted and struckout. 

Takahashi pasted a hanging forkball into the rightcenterfield bleachers in the sixth to up it to 7-4. 

Unfortunately, Powell would fold in the bottom half. Uchikawa singled to left and Aikawa singled to center. Kazuya Fujita pinch hit for the pitcher's spot and attempted to sacrifice them along, but he tapped it to Powell, who fired to third for the force. Nishi singled to right to slingshot Aikawa in. Following another out, Kinjo doubled down the leftfield line and Fujita and Nishi both sprinted home to level it at seven apiece. Murata grounded out. 

The Giants filled the bags with two outs in the seventh, but that went awry on a bang bang groundout by Tani. Tani, in fact, thought he was safe and, while arguing with the umpire, bumped him and got himself ejected. It was the first time he had ever been run. 

Yokohama had two on and two out in the bottom of the inning, but Fujita grounded out. 

Yomiuri loaded them up with nobody out in the top of the eighth, but two shallow flyouts put that on life support. Nioka had to be taken out of the game earlier due to being hit on the leg by a Hata pickoff throw. Shigeyuki Furuki, a career utility guy, had to stand in for him and he grounded out here to squander a golden opportunity. 

Diaz walked the leadoff hitter in the ninth, who was sacrificed to second. But a groundout and a strikeout neutralized it. 

Kiyoshi Toyoda came on for the ninth for the Giants and, with one out, he threw a first pitch forkball that was down and maybe out of the zone and lifted it beyond the leftfield fence to wind it up in Yokohama's favor. It was Yoshimura's first dinger in 19 games. 

Takahashi now has six multihomer games this season. 

This would be the first time in six years that the Giants had gone up by six and lost. They have endured six sayonara losses. The team record is ten and that has been done twice.

For Yokohama, Matt White went two-thirds of an inning and didn't allow a run despite a hit and two walks. 

For Yomiuri, Lee was 1-4 with a walk and is at .273. Hollins was 1-2 with three walks and is at .263. Powell was 0-2 with a sacrifice and two strikeouts and is at .091. 

Miscellaneous The Mariners continue to drop in the wild card standings, as they lost their eighth in a row with a 2-1 defeat to Toronto. Centerfielder Ichiro Suzuki was 2-4 with an RBI and a stolen base. He needs two more hits for 200. 

I'm not sure if this is a sign of respect or what, but Yankees manager Joe Torre asked the umpires Saturday to confiscate the bat of Tampa Bay third baseman Akinori Iwamura. Rays manager Joe Maddon, in turn, retaliated by demanding that Alex Rodriguez' stickbe seized for examination. Iwamura was 0-4 with a walk and three strikeouts in a 9-6 loss. 

Yankees leftfielder Hideki Matsui, who has some water on the knee, was 0-4 with a walk. 

Colorado second baseman Kazuo Matsui was 0-4 in a 13-7 defeat to Arizona. 

Kazuhito Tadano was hammered down on the farm for Oakland, surrendering seven runs on eight hits in 4.1 innings against Tucson. Amazingly, he got a no decision. 

Cardinals outfielder So Taguchi was 0-1 after coming on as a defensive replacement in am 11-3 triumph over Cincinnati. 

The Baltimore Orioles were toasted for 30 runs in a game last month. That humiliation was further compounded Saturday when Red Sox rookie Clay Bucholz, in only his second major league start, threw a 115 pitch no hitter against them, the no no being saved by a circus grab by second baseman Dustin Pedroia of a grounder up the middle. He recovered and threw the runner out at first by a step. The final was 10-0. It's too bad that there isn't a way to contract Peter Angelos. 

And what in God's name happened to Michigan? Appalachian State? Are you kidding me? That is the biggest college upset I have ever heard of since I have been alive. I thought Boise State's win over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl was stunning, but this was just bizarre. 

An all star team of Japanese high schoolers whipped an American squad 9-3 Saturday in L.A.