Japanese Baseball Sep 29, 2013

Otake improves to 10-10 in strong outing against Giants

Kan Otake threw seven shutout innings en route to notching double-digit wins for the second year in a row in the Hiroshima Carp’s 4-0 blanking of the Yomiuri Giants on Sunday. Otake (10-10) struck out five and walked one. Yuki Koyama (0-1) allowed two ...

Japanese Baseball Sep 25, 2013

Carp reach first Climax Series

The Hiroshima Carp will head to their first Climax Series after beating the Chunichi Dragons 2-0 Wednesday. Bryan Bullington (11-9) pitched seven shutout innings to lead the Carp to victory, which secured Hiroshima a top-three finish in the Central League. Brad Eldred went 3-for-3 ...

Japanese Baseball Sep 21, 2013

Carp make Giants put celebration on hold

Hiroshima Carp ace Kenta Maeda allowed a hit in six scoreless innings in a 7-4 win over the Yomiuri Giants on Saturday, denying the defending Japan Series champs a chance to clinch the Central League pennant for at least another day. Maeda (15-5) struck ...

Japanese Baseball Sep 17, 2013

Surging Carp win seventh straight on sayonara homer

Right-hander Kan Otake went the distance and Yoshiyuki Ishihara belted a sayonara home run to lift the streaking Hiroshima Carp to a 2-1 victory over the Hanshin Tigers on Tuesday evening. The Central League’s third-place Carp, who are aiming for their first postseason appearance ...

Japanese Baseball Sep 16, 2013

Carp beat Giants to boost playoff hopes

The Hiroshima Carp capitalized on a bullpen meltdown by the Yomiuri Giants on Monday in a 5-4 victory that was the sixth straight win for the Central League’s third-place club. Chasing their first postseason appearance since they lost the 1991 Japan Series, the Carp ...

Japanese Baseball Sep 12, 2013

Carp double up Swallows; Balentien remains at 55 homers

by Jason Coskrey

There were plenty of balls flying out of Jingu Stadium on Thursday night. Just not the one the fans wanted to see most Tokyo Yakult Swallows slugger Wladimir Balentien didn’t go deep, but four home runs by the Hiroshima Carp, including a three-run shot ...

Japanese Baseball Sep 11, 2013

Balentien ties single-season home run record

by Jason Coskrey

Before facing the Hiroshima Carp, Wladimir Balentien and teammate Ryoji Aikawa decided they were going to go with a high-sock look, or as Balentien put it, “old-school, Sadaharu Oh-style.” He really resembled the Yomiuri Giants legend when he stroked a history-making home run into ...

Japanese Baseball Sep 10, 2013

Balentien belts 54th home run in loss to Carp

by Jason Coskrey

Wladimir Balentien moved one step closer to history, and the Hiroshima Carp remained on track for a long-awaited trip to the postseason. In a way, everyone went home happy about something. Balentien connected on his 54th home run of the year, a two-run shot ...

Japanese Baseball Sep 4, 2013

Maeda dominant in win over Dragons

Hiroshima ace Kenta Maeda continued to have the Chunichi Dragons’ number on Wednesday, going eight innings in the Carp’s 2-0 victory over their closest Central League rivals. Maeda (12-5) allowed five hits and two walks, while striking out six. He improved to 3-0 against ...

Japanese Baseball Jul 31, 2013

Carp ace Maeda shines in victory over surging BayStars

Kenta Maeda (9-5) allowed two runs in eight innings on Wednesday to win his third straight start as the Hiroshima Carp humbled the Yokohama BayStars 11-3. The Carp ace snuffed out a BayStars rally in the fourth, when he got Central League RBI leader ...

Japanese Baseball Jul 25, 2013

Second-inning outburst propels Carp past Giants

by Jason Coskrey

The Hiroshima Carp weren’t pleased with how things went in their first game after the All-Star break. It’s safe to say Yomiuri Giants pitcher Ryosuke Miyaguni can relate. Kenta Maeda and Fred Lewis each hit two-run doubles, Kila Ka’aihue added a two-run homer, and ...