Softbank DH Brian   Buchanan has been hot out of the box in his first Japanese regular season and he hopes that he hasn't peaked too soon after Saturday, when he connected for a grand slam and added a two run bomb to spearhead a Hawks shelling of Chiba Lotte Marines starter Yasutomo Kubo at Chiba Marine Stadium for an 8-2 victory. Kazumi Saito started for the birds of prey in the sequel to his lackluster Opening Day appearance and was somewhat better even if it was hardly an ace performance, going six innings of two run, five hit ball while striking out six, but he also required 105 pitches against a mediocre lineup, so his command isn't where he would like it as yet.

Kubo lasted four innings and was undressed for seven runs on four hits and three walks.

Kubo obtained two outs in the first and then walked both leftfielder Hitoshi Tamura and first baseman Nobuhiko Matsunaka. Third baseman Hiroki Kokubo singled to left to plate Tamura. Rightfielder Hiroshi Shibahara walked to load the bases. Buchanan was next and he tattooed an 89mph fastball on the inner half into the leftfield seats for a 5-0 lead and for the former Padre's first official homer in Japan. Kubo regrouped and retired the next seven in a row. 

Saito had an issue in the third, as Lotte third baseman Takeshi Aono seared a heater off the rightfield wall for a triple and completed the circuit on an ensuing single to right by centerfielder Daisuke Hayakawa to shave it to 5-1. 

But Softbank responded in the fourth when Shibahara lined a single off the glove of first baseman Julio Zuleta. Buchanan worked the count full and was sitting on a slider. He got it and creamed it into the leftfield bleachers to stretch it to 7-1. 

The Marines pushed another run across in the fifth on a walk to Hayakawa, who stole second and moved to third on a groundout, and a run scoring grounder to second by second baseman Shunichi Nemoto to reduce the gap to 7-2.

That was a futile gesture, as Hawks second baseman Yuichi Honda commenced the seventh by crushing a fastball from Satoru Komiyama into the rightfield stands to heighten it to 8-2. 

Softbank rookie Masahiko Morifuku got into a predicament in the ninth on a walk and a double, but those were sandwiched around three strikeouts to shutter the shop for the evening. 

Buchanan said that making his first Japanese roundtripper a salami was "like a dream." His wife Jill and their son arrived in Japan shortly before Opening Day, so he is in a more comfortable frame of mind. 

Starting Kubo against the Hawks was problematic, as he was 0-5 against them last season. The odd thing about that is that Lotte has given Softbank fits over the last few years. Moreover, Kubo is a righthander and it was two righthand hitters who did him in while the lefties went a combined, at least by my count, 1-9. He had more problems against lefties last season (.288), but he was also bullied by righties as well (.276). 

Saito, on the other hand, has won eight straight decisions in starts against the Marines. 

For Softbank, Buchanan was 2-3 with a walk and is at .348. C.J. Nitkowski also got into this game and was flawless in the seventh. 

For Lotte, Zuleta was 1-4 with two strikeouts and is at .211. Leftfielder Benny Agbayani was 1-2 with an HBP and is at .333.

Seven different Seibu hitters had at least one RBI Saturday, as they battered Nippon Ham starter Ryan Glynn for five runs on seven hits in six innings to eventually claim a 9-3 victory at Sapporo Dome. Fumiya Nishiguchi started for the Lions and is now 2-0 after seven innings of three run, five hit pitching on 92 pitches. 

Glynn was outstanding in the first third of the match and had been dented for just one hit through four. But in the fifth, leftfielder Kazuhiro Wada doubled to left and DH Jeff Liefer did the same for a 1-0 lead. Liefer was sacrificed to third and tagged up and scored on a fly ball to left by catcher Toru Hosokawa to enhance it to 2-0.

Nishiguchi had a perfect game until one out in the sixth, when it was broken up by first baseman Yukio Tanaka's double to left. A groundout and a flyout made that runner superfluous. 

Seibu then deposed Glynn in the seventh, as first baseman Alex Cabrera went the other way on an offering and parked it in the rightfield seats. Wada and Liefer singled to right, Wada hightailing it for third. Kazunori Yamamoto was entrusted with the baseball and pinch hitter Tomoaki Sato flew out to center. Wada tagged up and hurried home. One out later, pinch hitter Takeya Nakamura doubled to center and Liefer put it in fourth for the plate. Centerfielder Kazuki Fukuchi doubled to center to chase Nakamura in. Takeshi Itoh supplanted Yamamoto and second baseman Yasuyuki Kataoka walked. Shortstop Hiroyuki Nakajima doubled to right and that propelled two more in to make it 8-0. 

Then it was time for Nishiguchi to hit the wall. In the home version, leftfielder Tomochika Tsuboi singled to left and DH Fernando Seguignol singled to right. One out later, catcher Shinji Takahashi doubled to right to drive Tsuboi in. Third baseman Andy Green doubled to left for two RBIs to contract the disparity to 8-3. Tanaka flew out to right and two relievers held the Fighters to a hit over the next two frames to put it in the bank. 

Seibu's last tally was in the eighth when Wada and Liefer singled to centet (Jesus, are these guys the Doublemint twins or something?). They were sacrificed over (with a five run lead?) and Hosokawa flew out to right and Wada tagged up and crossed.

Wada has a six game multihit streak and is boasting a .520 average at the moment. 

Nishiguchi has won seven straight decisions in starts against Nippon Ham dating back to 2004. 

For Nippon Ham, Seguignol was 1-4 and is at .241. Green was 1-3 with two RBIs and is at .250. 

For Seibu, Cabrera was 1-4 and is at .208. Liefer was 3-4 and is at .400. 

Orix first baseman Hirotoshi Kitagawa was a triple short of the cycle while rightfielder Shinji Shimoyama had a pair of three baggers but no doubles and was thus hindered from attaining that feat as well as they combined to drive in nine runs to drown Rakuten 11-3 at Miyagi Prefectural Stadium. Hisashi Iwakuma was supposed to start for the Eagles, but tweaked his back while warming up in the bullpen and reliever Tsuyoshi Kawagishi was thrust into the spotlight, where he was folded, spindled and mutilated for seven runs on seven hits in 2.1 innings (73 pitches!) for the loss. 

Hidetaka Kawagoe started for the Buffaloes and went six innings of one run, five hit ball on 99 pitches for his first win of 2007. 

Orix second baseman Masahiro Abe singled to center with one out in the first and so did third baseman Greg LaRocca. DH Tuffy Rhodes doubled to right to send Abe in. Kitagawa homered to left and it was 4-0 before the seats were barely warm. 

Rakuten had two on with one out in the second and frittered that away. Orix then improved its advantage in the third when LaRocca doubled to right and Rhodes walked. Kitagawa doubled to left and both LaRocca and Rhodes reported to the pay station. Shimoyama tripled up the leftcenter gap and Kitagawa crossed to make it 7-0 and knock Kawagishi out of the game. 

The Eagles got on the scoreboard in the bottom half on a double to right by catcher Akihito Fujii, who went to third on a groundout, and a single to left by second baseman Yosuke Takasu that put it at 7-1. Rightfielder Koichi Isobe singled to left, but DH Takeshi Yamasaki undermined the insurgent rally with a double play ball and they would be no hit from that point through the end of the sixth. 

And it would get worse for the home crew in the fifth, as Shimoyama torqued a liner to rightcenter off of Shingo Matsuzaki. Isobe and centerfielder Teppei Tsuchiya couldn't decide who was going to catch it and it fell in and rolled to the wall for a gift triple. Leftfielder Arihito Muramatsu flew out to left and Shimoyama tagged up and ran in to widen it to 8-1.

LaRocca singled to left in the eighth off of Toyohiko Yoshida and, one out later, Kitagawa singled to left, too. Shimoyama belted a slider into the leftfield seats and that tore it to 11-1.

Yasunari Takagi was substituted for Kawagoe in the seventh and got through that with no problem. But in the eighth, he walked Tsuchiya and Takasu and Isobe ripped a double to left that the two speedsters were able to circle the bases on and cut it to 11-3. Kazuya Motoyanagi entered from the bullpen and put six of the next seven men away to secure it for Orix.

Rakuten lost its first five games last season. This year, they are off to a 1-5 beginning. 

Reliever Lin Ying-che, who rolled up 1.2 scoreless innings on two hits here to lower his ERA to 1.80, will be sent down to the minors. One presumes that means that Lin En-yu may be ready to go, but we'll have to see. 

For Orix, LaRocca was 4-5 and is at .478. Rhodes was 1-4 and is at .368. 

For Rakuten, first baseman Kevin Witt was 1-4 with two strikeouts and is at .235. 

Rakuten Shortly after beginning to throw in the bullpen Saturday to get warmed up for his scheduled start, ace Hisashi Iwakuma suffered some back pain and so was held out and reliever Tsuyoshi Kawagishi inserted in his place. Iwakuma was given an MRI and was diagnosed with a muscular inflammation and will likely be taken off the roster in order to allow it to heal. 

Infielder Jose Fernandez did not play Saturday due to an illness. 

Seibu Jason Johnson has hurt his elbow and returned to Tokyo to have it looked at. He was supposed to start Sunday, but that is now off. 

Softbank Centerfielder Naoyuki Omura experienced some discomfort in one of his hamstrings and sat Saturday's game out. He is day to day.