Japanese Baseball Apr 26, 2013

Emergency meeting pays off for Marines

by Jason Coskrey

The Marines erased a four-run deficit over the final four innings, taking the lead on Josh Whitesell's tiebreaking solo home run in ninth, and got themselves back on track with a win over the Lions.

Japanese Baseball Apr 25, 2013

Nogami flirts with no-hitter as Lions maul Marines

by Dave Hueston

Ryoma Nogami flirted with a no hitter Wednesday, dominating all night with a slow curveball and a nearly untouchable slider as the Seibu Lions pounded the Chiba Lotte Marines 7-2 to win their third in a row. Nogami retired the first 13 batters he ...

Japanese Baseball Apr 24, 2013

Lions' Makita tosses eight-hit shutout

Kazuhisa Makita, the Seibu’s submarine right-hander, scattered eight hits over the distance for his first shutout of the season as the Pacific League-leading Lions beat the Chiba Lotte Marines 8-0 on Tuesday night. The Lions took the lead on a fourth-inning sacrifice fly by ...

Japanese Baseball Apr 22, 2013

Tigers rookie Fujinami shuts down Swallows

Highly-touted teenage rookie Shintaro Fujinami allowed two hits over seven innings on Sunday for his second win of the season as the Hanshin Tigers beat the Tokyo Yakult Swallows 5-0. Fujinami, who pitched Osaka Toin High School to two tournament titles last year at ...

Japanese Baseball Apr 21, 2013

Marines rally past Eagles

by Jason Coskrey

The Chiba Lotte Marines’ pitchers were off to a good start, but the team’s offense was having a little trouble getting things going against the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles. Oddly enough, it was the Eagles who eventually gave the Marines the push they needed. ...

Japanese Baseball Apr 20, 2013

Sakamoto grand slam powers Giants in rout

Hayato Sakamoto rallied his team with a grand slam and captain Shinnosuke Abe broke the game open with a three-run drive in the late going as the Yomiuri Giants pounded the Hiroshima Carp 8-1 to open a three-game series on Friday. Dennis Houlton (3-0) ...

Japanese Baseball Apr 19, 2013

Enokida, Murton carry Tigers in rout over Giants

The Hanshin Tigers pounded Yomiuri Giants pitching in the series finale, chasing Hirokazu Sawamura after three innings to avoid a sweep.

Japanese Baseball Apr 18, 2013

Buffaloes' Kaida earns first career victory

Second-year southpaw Tomoyuki Kaida (1-1) held the Seibu Lions on one run over six innings to win his first career game as the Orix Buffaloes defeated the league leaders 2-1 on Wednesday. Buffaloes cleanup hitter Lee Dae Ho had two of his team’s three ...

Japanese Baseball Apr 17, 2013

Miyaguni helps Giants tame Tigers

One week after being handed their first defeat of the season, the Central League-leading Yomiuri Giants turned the tables on the Hanshin Tigers on Tuesday with a 4-2 come-from-behind victory at Tokyo Dome. Shinnosuke Abe’s three-run homer overturned a two-run deficit in the third ...

Japanese Baseball Apr 15, 2013

Rookie Fujinami gets first career win with six shutout innings

Highly touted rookie Shintaro Fujinami posts his first career win with six shutout innings in his home debut as the Hanshin Tigers routed the DeNA BayStars 4-0.

Japanese Baseball Apr 14, 2013

Giants' Sugano fans 10 batters in eight stellar innings

Yomiuri Giants rookie Tomoyuki Sugano was in destruction mode again Saturday, yielding just one run over eight electrifying innings in a 3-1 victory against the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. The 23-year-old right-hander got 10 strikeouts and walked none, scattering just three singles at Tokyo Dome ...