Giants' Hayato Sakamoto sets personal record with 32nd homer in triumph over Tigers
Just like the weather outside of the relatively comfortable and cool confines of Tokyo Dome, the Yomiuri Giants are starting to heat up again. Giants captain Hayato Sakamoto set a career-high with a solo home run in the first inning, rookie starter Yuki Takahashi kept ...
BayStars slugger Yoshitomo Tsutsugo's move to No. 2 in order could help spark change
Yoshitomo Tsutsugo is not your typical No. 2 batter. Or is he? The answer probably depends on the brand of baseball you prefer. The BayStars slugger isn't a speedster nor much of a bunter. He's a destructive force at the plate with 193 career home ...
Giants beginning to hit stride ahead of All-Star break
Following a spring training game against the Seattle Mariners in March, Yomiuri Giants manager Tastunori Hara mused that the MLB club's lineup looked similar to his own. Hara was specifically referencing the Mariners using one of their best hitters, Mitch Haniger, in the No. 2 ...
Giants grab early lead against Dragons, extend winning streak to five
All it took was one ball, right were Hayato Sakamoto likes it, for the suddenly surging Yomiuri Giants to get off and running toward another victory. Sakamoto connected on his first grand slam in six years, Nobutaka Imamura ended a long winless drought and the ...
Giants ace Tomoyuki Sugano opens Reiwa Era in NPB with complete-game victory over Dragons
Tomoyuki Sugano lost his bid for the first shutout of Japan's new imperial era but still managed to go the distance as the Yomiuri Giants beat the Chunichi Dragons 5-1 in the Central League on Wednesday afternoon. On the first day of action in Japan's ...
Giants seize opportunities in Game 1 triumph over Swallows
Without hesitation, the Swallows sent their Giants killer to the mound for Saturday's postseason series opener, but it did not work out the way they had hoped. Instead, the Giants who came through, scoring key late runs and relying on solid pitching in their 4-1 ...
Giants' Tomoyuki Sugano makes complete turnaround against Carp
Tomoyuki Sugano had a week to stew over his poor performance in his last game against the Hiroshima Carp. When he got another shot at them, the Yomiuri Giants ace showed the best team in the Central League why he's the best pitcher in Japan. Sugano ...
Giants sluggers provide big spark in series-opening victory over Swallows
Hisayoshi Chono and Casey McGehee put the Yomiuri Giants in position for a win over their crosstown rivals. Hayato Sakamoto made sure they got the job done. Chono drove in four runs, McGehee had an RBI-single among his four hits and Sakamoto put the game away ...
Tomoyuki Sugano clubs solo homer to help his cause, lift Giants over BayStars
Tomoyuki Sugano surrendered the lead on a slider. So it was only fitting the Yomiuri Giants ace used one to get it back. Sugano allowed a game-tying home run in the top of the fifth inning, then took matters into his own hands with a ...
Hanshin Tigers right-hander Randy Messenger won his third monthly MVP award and 12th-year Yomiuri Giants infielder Hayato Sakamoto was one of two first-time winners, Nippon Professional Baseball announced Wednesday. Messenger, the first foreign pitcher in NPB to make four straight opening-day starts, was selected as ...
Usami makes first game-winning hit of career one to remember
It was only 10 days ago that Shingo Usami recorded his first pro hit. After his last swing of the bat on Friday night, the Yomiuri Giants youngster can check his first home run and first game-winning hit off the list as well. Usami hit ...
Sakamoto has shot at historic hit total
It won't be long before the Yomiuri Giants' Shinnosuke Abe breaks through the 2,000-hit threshold. Abe has 1,994 now, so it's only a matter of time before he becomes the 49th player to reach the mark in NPB alone. Abe should be followed in short ...
