Scott Mathieson

Jay Jackson likes being a relief pitcher. He also likes being a relief pitcher in Japan, which is convenient, since the 30-year-old is in the middle of his third season with the Hiroshima Carp. Jackson has seen a lot during his time in NPB, and ...

Yomiuri Giants reliever Scott Mathieson is no longer the pitcher he was when he turned up on these shores in 2012 as a 28-year-old, he's better. With 15 major league games to show for 10 seasons in the Philadelphia Phillies organization, Mathieson was brought to ...

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 ...

Over the past weekend in Japan, the only thing hotter than the weather, was the play of a trio of foreign NPB stars. None may have been hotter than Japhet Amador. The Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles slugger caught fire for the Pacific League leaders over ...

Jose Lopez went 5-for-5 to fuel the Yokohama BayStars' three-run comeback in a 3-3 tie with the Yomiuri Giants on Friday. Lopez drove in one run and scored the tying run after some adventurous base running, but both bullpens prevented any more runs from scoring ...

It took until June, but Shun Yamaguchi's debut as a Yomiuri Giant made the wait seem almost worth it, as the right-hander threw six no-hit innings in Wednesday's 3-0 interleague win over the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. Of the three players who signed with Yomiuri over ...

Whenever the Yomiuri Giants were scheduled to play at home, I knew my phone would ring. "Are you going to Tokyo Dome?" Wayne Graczyk would ask. He wanted to know how many seats to keep free in the press box and how many doughnuts he ...

Now that spring camps are only a few days away for NPB teams — some players are already working out "independently" together — the foreign contingent has begun trickling into the country. It was mostly the first-year foreign players the past couple of weeks, ...

The Yomiuri Giants survived a few close calls in a tense game that could've gone either way to keep their season alive. Their reward is a chance to do it all over again. Starter Kazuto Taguchi and reliever Scott Mathieson kept the Giants in the game ...

For one night, it almost felt like old times for the Yomiuri Giants. Shinnosuke Abe and Hayato Sakamoto were hitting home runs and Tetsuya Utsumi was making sure the other team didn't. Abe connected on a two-run shot, Sakamoto hit a solo blast and Utsumi ...

Mike Zagurski was rehabbing an injury several years ago, while with the Philadelphia Phillies' organization, when he decided he wanted a dog. He soon told his girlfriend (now wife) of his intention and also informed housemates Scott Mathieson and Kyle Drabek. Naturally, Zagurski came home ...