5/16/2004
5/16/2004
| Box Scores Here; Just Click on the Numbers on the Scoreboard |
|
|
| Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes starter Hisashi Iwakuma
extended his winning streak to eight Sunday and to three against Seibu
just this season, as he suppressed the Lions attack on two hits and a run
for his fifth consecutive complete game effort of the campaign in an 8-1
victory. Chang Chia-chiah had another poor performance and absorbed blame
for the defeat.
Kintetsu pulled ahead in the second when rightfielder Koichi Isobe conked a Chang offering into the rightfield bleachers to make it 1-0. In the third, Chang couldn't spot his pitches, walking shortstop Tadatoki Maeda and second baseman Eiji Mizuguchi and then hanging a slider to DH Kenshi Kawaguchi, who raked it into the leftcenterfield seats to stretch the lead to 4-0. One out later, Isobe boomed a changeup into the rightfield bleachers and it was 5-0. Kazuyuki Hoashi came on for the fourth for Seibu and was greeted by a bomb into the centerfield stands by leftfielder Fumitoshi Takano. Catcher Akihito Fujii singled to right, as did Maeda. Centerfielder Naoyuki Omura's grounder was misplayed by first baseman Masahide Kaizuka and Fujii crossed the plate for a 7-0 Buffaloes advantage. Two innings later, Hoashi plunked Maeda and, following another out, Mizuguchi doubled to rightcenter and Maeda turned on the afterburners for home to make it 8-0. With two outs in the ninth, Seibu leftfielder Kazuhiro Wada waylaid
an Iwakuma fastball into the centerfield bleachers. But Kaizuka flew
The last time any Pacific League hurler had five straight complete
games was in 1996, when Eric Hillman did it. The last time a Kintetsu
Kawaguchi owns Chang. He hit .500 in 2003 against him and two of his three homers in 2004 are off of the Taiwanese righty. There was a downwside to this affair for Kintetsu. Third baseman Norihiro Nakamura left it after his at bat in the fifth with back pain. |
|
|
|
|
Team Reports
| Daiei | |
| Rookie Takahiro Mahara has gotten hammered lately, so he will be relegated to the bullpen while he works out the kinks. | For the series with Seibu, they will use a rotation of Tsuyoshi Wada, Nagisa Arakaki and Kazumi Saito. |
| Kintetsu | |
| Give sidearmer Tetsuro Kawajiri some credit for Hisashi Iwakuma's success. After the veteran, who gave a team of MLB all stars all they could handle in 2000, was traded to the Buffs from Hanshin, | Iwakuma picked Kawajiri's brains about setting hitters up and also
learned some mechanical tips.
|
| Lotte | |
| Since Sunday's game was rained out as a big storm front made its way across Japan, manager Bobby Valentine had his players engage in an impromptu 80 minute autograph session, with over 1000 fans being accomodated. You can see the ex-Dodger clownign around with one female fan Here. In addition, outfielder Kenji Morozumi entertained fans by sliding around on a vinyl sheet in the rain. | But did Lotte chicken out of the game? As soon as they called the
game, the rain cleared up, but the contest remained postponed. "It's their
decision," said Daiei manager Sadaharu Oh. A defensive coach then added,
"we could have played the game, but they are on a lsoing streak, so maybe
they didn't want to."
|
