SENDAI – Tohoku Rakuten’s Takahiro Norimoto renewed his own record by striking out 10 or more batters in eight straight games in the Eagles’ 8-2 victory over the Yokohama BayStars in interleague play on Thursday.
Norimoto (8-1) went the distance, giving up two runs on seven hits and a walk while fanning 12 of the 35 batters he faced in his 117-pitch outing at Kobo Park Miyagi. He chalked up his 10th strikeout by fanning Yokohama cleanup hitter Yoshitomo Tsutsugo in the eighth inning.
“The stands started getting a bit noisy around the sixth inning and the atmosphere became strange, but I think the record was set because (catcher Motohiro) Shima-san led me well and I was able to throw where he wanted me to,” Norimoto said.
He added: “I really wanted to get the 10th strikeout from Tsutsugo (because) he’s a wonderful batter who is the cleanup (hitter) of the Japanese national team and he had three hits so I wanted to get back at him.
A week ago, Norimoto, who led the Pacific League in strikeouts over the last three seasons, surpassed Hall of Famer Hideo Nomo’s NPB record set in 1991 by getting double-digit strikeouts in seven consecutive games.
For Rakuten, Eigoro Mogi opened with a solo homer in the first and added a two-run shot in the fourth. Teammate Carlos Peguero went deep in the third inning, helping the Eagles halt their three-game losing streak.
Yokohama managed just two runs — Tsutsugo’s RBI single in the sixth and Takayuki Kajitani’s solo shot two innings later — as it saw its winning streak stopped at three.
Carp 5, Fighters 3
At Sapporo Dome, Seiya Suzuki belted a two-run home run in the first and Yoshihiro Maru hit a two-run double in the fifth to pace Hiroshima to its fifth straight win by defeating Hokkaido Nippon Ham,
The Fighters lost their fifth consecutive game.
Tigers 3, Buffaloes 2
At Osaka’s Kyocera Dome, Masahiro Nakatani hit an RBI single in the fifth to break a 1-1 tie and Kosuke Fukudome drove in a run an inning later as Hanshin edged Orix.
The Buffaloes have lost two of their nine interleague games.
Marines 9, Dragons 5
At Chiba’s Zozo Marine Stadium, Daichi Suzuki, Matt Duffy and Ryo Miki all hit bases-loaded RBI singles in the fifth to lift Chiba Lotte over Chunichi and snap its four-game losing skid.
Hawks 15, Swallows 0
At Fukuoka’s Yafuoku Dome, Fukuoka SoftBank pounded out a season-high 20 hits, including five home runs, as it blanked Yakult.
The Swallows suffered their eighth defeat in a row for the first time in two years.
Lions 13, Giants 2
At Tokorozawa’s MetLife Dome, Takumi Kuriyama opened with an RBI hit in the first and Shuta Tonosaki hit a grand slam to cap a six-run third as Seibu won its sixth straight game while Yomiuri extended the franchise-worst losing record to 13 games in a row.
In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.
By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.