Samurai Japan's Yuki Yanagita wields powerful bat in Game 2 victory over MLB All-Stars
There were stars from both MLB and NPB playing under the bright lights at Tokyo Dome on Saturday night. Then there was Yuki Yanagita, who was in a league of his own. Yanagita hit a two-run home run and drove in four runs overall to lead ...
Lions rally past Hawks, move closer to Pacific League pennant
Shogo Akiyama provided the late-game heroics, blasting a three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth, as the Seibu Lions came from behind to beat the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks 7-5 and move another step closer to the Pacific League pennant. The win over the second-place ...
Shogo Akiyama, Hideto Asamura ignite Lions in triumph over Fighters
Shogo Akiyama scored three runs on three hits, including a first-inning solo home run, while Hideto Asamura added a homer and three RBIs as the Seibu Lions topped the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters 7-4 on Tuesday night. Coming into the game with a .325 batting ...
Ariel Miranda loses no-hit bid in ninth, improves to 2-0 with Hawks
Former Seattle Mariners lefty Ariel Miranda did not allow a hit until the ninth inning, and Nobuhiro Matsuda homered twice to lead the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks to a 5-1 victory over the Seibu Lions on Saturday. Miranda (2-0), pitching in his second game for the ...
Shogo Akiyama leads Lions to extra-innings victory over Eagles
Shogo Akiyama hit an 11th-inning, tie-breaking home run Sunday, lifting the Seibu Lions to a 4-3 extra-inning victory over the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles. In front of 25,851 at Rakuten Seimei Park Miyagi, the Lions' leadoff man had his first hit of the game when ...
Lions ace Yusei Kikuchi outduels Giants star Tomoyuki Sugano
The pitching matchup between aces Yusei Kikuchi and Tomoyuki Sugano fizzled out early on Friday night. As for the Seibu Lions' lineup, well, they were as good as advertised. Shogo Akiyama led off the game with a home run to set the tone at the plate ...
Shogo Akiyama's three-run home run brought the Pacific League-leading Seibu Lions from behind in a 12-5 win over the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks on Thursday. Trailing 5-3 in the sixth inning, Akiyama, who went 4-for-5 with four RBIs and a walk, homered with two on and ...
Samurai Japan beats Australia again to sweep two-game series
Japan defeated Australia in an international friendly for the second straight night on Sunday, as Takahiro Norimoto and five other pitchers shut out the visitors in Samurai Japan's 6-0 victory. Norimoto, who started in the second of the two-game series, struck out five, while allowing ...
Leadoff home runs generate energy, excitement on diamond
Leadoff home runs are fun. Most can probably agree on that. A leadoff home run is a rush, an unexpected jolt of energy at the outset of a game. There have been 26 in Japan this season, the last coming off the bat of the ...
Despaigne, Akiyama, Suzuki supply big hits as PL tops CL in All-Star Series finale
For one night, it was just like old times for Alfredo Despaigne in Chiba. A monstrous home run, a celebration with Chiba Lotte Marines catcher Tatsuhiro Tamura, and a celebratory "Despa-iine" call-and-response with the fans in right field after the game. It was almost like ...
Uchikawa delivers late-game heroics for PL in triumph over CL in NPB All-Star Series opener
Pacific League elder statesman Seiichi Uchikawa scored the tying run and singled in the go-ahead run in a 6-2 NPB All-Star Series Game 1 victory over the Central League on Friday. Before 36,111 at Nagoya Dome, the 34-year-old Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks star tied the ...
Brian Wolfe worked seven efficient innings for the Seibu Lions, who beat the Chiba Lotte Marines 2-1 in the Pacific League on Sunday afternoon. Wolfe (4-0) threw just 69 pitches before leaving the mound having allowed just two singles. The 36-year-old former Toronto Blue Jays ...
