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Dragons come back against Igawa
JapanBall.com/Kyodo -- Alex Ochoa hit a three-run homer to key a nine-run rally in the fifth inning as the Chunichi Dragons came back from a six-run deficit to beat the Hanshin Tigers 11-7 on Tuesday and moved within a half-game of the Central League leaders.
August 9: Full Story
PL: Matsunaka, Saito lift SoftBank over Seibu 9-3
Also: BayStars legend ends career in hometown
Pitch-by-pitch: Sasaki finishes off Kiyohara with his trademark forkball
Storied reliever Sasaki announces retirement
Japan Times -- Yokohama BayStars pitcher Kazuhiro Sasaki said Sunday he has decided to draw the curtain on his illustrious 16-year career, which includes stints in Japan and the major leagues, after this season.
August 8: Full Story
Also: NPB eyes doping tests
Yokohama bullpen implosion goes on
JapanBall.com/Kyodo -- Tyrone Woods homered three times and Chunichi rallied from a three-run deficit before breaking a tie in the ninth on Hirokazu Ibata's one-out run-scoring single off Takeo Kawamura (4-4) to win its third game in a row at Yokohama Stadium on Saturday.
August 6: Full Story
Fukudome slams Dragons past 'Stars
JapanBall.com/Kyodo -- Kosuke Fukudome hit a tie-breaking grand slam in a ninth-inning rally as the Chunichi Dragons scored five runs against Marc Kroon to beat the Yokohama BayStars 9-7 on Friday.
August 5: Full Story
Pitch-by-pitch: Fukudome goes 4-for-5 with two doubles and his 17th homer
Imaoka's slam helps Tigers end skid
Japan Times -- Makoto Imaoka hit a grand slam in the eight inning to rally the front-running Hanshin Tigers to a 6-2 victory over the Yokohama BayStars to end their four-game skid on Thursday.
August 4: Full Story
Pitch-by-pitch: Hanshin scored five runs in the 8th against Yokohama ace reliever Takeo Kawamura, who retired only one of the six batters he faced and saw his ERA rise from 1.36 to 2.31.
'Stars send Tigers to 4th straight loss
Daily Yomiuri -- The CL-leading Hanshin Tigers have started off their annual road trip of doom by already having to look for a silver lining.
Masaaki Koike hit a homer and drove in three runs as the Yokohama BayStars beat the Tigers 6-3 to win Wednesday for the second straight night.
August 3: Full Story
Injuries: Jojima sidelined with sore shoulder
Sasaki: Future hangs in balance
Also: Monthly MVP awards announced
Daily Yomiuri: CL investigates a playoff system
Lee mows down Hawks for first win
JapanBall.com/Kyodo -- Lefty Corey Lee pitched 7 1/3 shutout innings en route to his first win in Japan as the Nippon Ham Fighters blanked the SoftBank Hawks 4-0 on Monday.
Lee (1-1) dominated with an effective changeup, retiring the first 12 batters he faced.
August 1: Full Story
Also: Interleague play scheduled again for May-June next season
Pitch-by-pitch: Hawks slugger Julio Zuleta put just one ball into play in 10 swings against Lee, striking out twice and popping out to second.
Dragons extend unbeaten streak
JapanBall.com/Kyodo -- Kazuki Inoue hit a go-ahead homer and Alex Ochoa drove home four runs Saturday as the Chunichi Dragons beat the Yomiuri Giants 10-7 to stretch their unbeaten streak to 11 games.
The Giants lost their third in a row and dropped 10 games under .500 for the first time in eight years.
July 30: Full Story
PL: Sugiuchi outduels Shimizu for 14th win
Tigers maul Mullen with 9-run second
By Jim Allen, Daily Yomiuri -- The Hanshin Tigers are just three games away from their annual road trip of doom, but they head home today in fine form after a 9-1 rout of the Yomiuri Giants on Thursday evening at Tokyo Dome.
The Tigers hit three homers in a nine-run second inning against southpaw Scott Mullen (5-5) to take two out of three from the Giants.
July 28: Full Story
Related: Tigers gird for road trip of death
Sheets hits 3 HRs, Tigers rout Giants
JapanBall.com/Kyodo -- Andy Sheets hit three homers and drove in four runs and Shinjiro Hiyama had three RBIs as the front-running Hanshin Tigers routed the Yomiuri Giants 9-3 on Tuesday.
July 26: Full Story
PL: Matsunaka hits three-run homer as SoftBank improves to 11-1 against Orix
Iriki pitches Fighters over Eagles
JapanBall.com/Kyodo -- Eiichi Koyano drove in four runs and Yusaku Iriki pitched eight effective innings as the Nippon Ham Fighters overpowered the Rakuten Eagles 6-2 to kick-start the second half of the season with a victory on Monday.
July 25: Full Story
Also: Rakuten to part ways with Minor, Myette and Skrmetta
John E. Gibson: New 'Stars closer Kroon creates buzz
Daily Yomiuri: Nothing certain as first-half leaders aim for Japan Series
Uniform baseballs in; double-clutch motion out
By Jim Allen, Daily Yomiuri -- After generations of chaos, all of Nippon Professional Baseball's teams will use balls made to the same specifications next season.
Uniform balls and the banning of double-clutch deliveries by pitchers were agreed to on Saturday at a meeting of NPB managers prior to Game 2 of the All-Star series.
July 23: Full Story
All-Star games: Tigers roar at home as CL sweeps; CL finds relief in opening victory
Dave Wiggins: Here come the Halfies, sports fans
Wayne Graczyk: Kroon in tune as surprise closer for BayStars
Also: MLB's World Classic strikes out with players
Photo: Chiba Lotte Marines' rookie outfielder Shoitsu Oomatsu, last year's draft selection out of Tokai University, is greeted by third base coach Koji Akiyama after hitting a two-run homer in the 3rd inning of the 2005 Fresh All-Star Game on Sunday, July 24. The CL tied the PL 4-4 in front of 12,854 fans at Sunmarine Stadium in Miyazaki.
Tigers head into break on sour note
Daily Yomiuri -- With runs extremely hard to come by this week at Koshien Stadium, Takahiro Saeki's single in the 11th inning knocked in a big one, lifting the Yokohama BayStars to a 1-0 victory over the Hanshin Tigers on Wednesday evening.
The loss sent the Central League leaders into the All-Star break with a five-game lead over the second-place Chunichi Dragons.
July 20: Full Story
Kyodo: Marines pull off a sweep of Fighters, trail Hawks by 4.5
Kroon clocks 161 kph
JapanBall.com/Kyodo -- Marc Kroon became the first pitcher in Japanese baseball to clock 161 kilometers per hour Tuesday as he capped a 12-inning, 1-1 tie between the Yokohama BayStars and the Central League-leading Hanshin Tigers on Tuesday.
July 19: Full Story
Photo: Kroon sets NPB speed record
Japan approves temporary draft revision
By Jim Allen, Daily Yomiuri -- When pro teams go hunting for amateur talent this fall, they will do so under a new set of rules approved Tuesday.
Owners OK'd a temporary, two-year draft system on that will split high school seniors into an earlier October draft, while giving teams with poorer records better access to top amateurs.
July 19: Full Story
Related: Lame-Star gimmicks hit new low
Eagles down Hawks with 17-hit attack
JapanBall.com/Kyodo -- Yoshinori Okihara went 3-for-4 and hit a tiebreaking sacrifice fly as the last-place Rakuten Eagles pounded out 17 hits against the front-running SoftBank Hawks for a 7-5 victory on Monday.
Gary Rath (2-6) won his second straight start after losing six decisions in a row.
July 18: Full Story
Also: Nomaguchi's hard work on farm pays off
Dave Wiggins: Seguignol sparkles second time around
Orix Buffaloes break out brooms
By Kim Han Il, Asahi Shimbun -- Masahiro Abe hit a double and a triple to drive in two runs as the Orix Buffaloes defeated the Lotte Marines 3-1 Sunday to sweep the three-game series at Chiba Marine Stadium.
July 17: Full Story
Also: Lions battle back to beat Hawks
Did Kapler fall victim to old trick?
By Wayne Graczyk, Japan Times -- Now-former Yomiuri Giants outfielder Gabe Kapler has cleared waivers after being released by the Tokyo team, and he appears headed back from where he came -- Boston -- and a shot at a second consecutive World Series championship ring.
July 17: Full Story
BayStars complete sweep of Carp
JapanBall.com/Kyodo -- Tatsuhiko Kinjo homered in the bottom of the 11th inning Thursday to give the Yokohama BayStars a 6-5 victory over the Hiroshima Carp in the Central League on Thursday.
Marc Kroon (2-0) escaped an 11th-inning jam to pick up the win.
July 14: Full Story
Also: Valentine firmly against MLB's new international event
Dave Wiggins: Terrible start, but Eagles starting to look respectable
Jim Allen: Taguchi meets success in St. Louis
Cabrera fastest ever to 200 homers
By Jim Allen, Daily Yomiuri -- Alex Cabrera and the Seibu Lions continued to pick up speed on Monday.
The Lions' top slugger homered in his third straight game, belting his 200th career homer, and the Seibu Lions survived a late rally to earn their third straight victory, a 7-6 decision over the Chiba Lotte Marines.
July 11: Full Story
Related: Cabrera's goal: wins, not HRs
Pitch-by-pitch: Unlike his Venezuelan teammate, Kazuhiro Wada didn't get as many good pitches to hit, but managed a solo homer and a key two-run single in four at-bats.
Also: High schooler hurls 14-inning no-hitter
Lions hit five HRs, crush Hawks 10-4
JapanBall.com/Kyodo -- Jose Fernandez homered twice as the Seibu Lions powered past the front-running SoftBank Hawks with a five-homer, 10-4 rout on Sunday.
Fumiya Nishiguchi (11-3) limited the damage to a solo drive by Katsuhiko Miyaji in eight innings of work.
July 10: Full Story
Also: Ando, bullpen mow down Dragons 2-0, Tigers take two of three
Pitch-by-pitch: Lions greet Hawks starter Hoshino with four home runs, six hits in 2-plus innings.
Matsuzaka fans 14, halts Hawks' streak
JapanBall.com/Kyodo -- Daisuke Matsuzaka pitched his second shutout of the season Saturday, helping the Seibu Lions end the Softbank Hawks' 15-game winning streak with a 4-0 shutout.
July 9: Full Story
Also: Tatsunami sinks Tigers with homer in 9th
Pitch-by-pitch: Takahiro Arai goes 4-for-5 with two solo shots and a sayonara single, leading Hiroshima to a wild 9-8 win over Yomiuri.
Tigers stretch winning streak to five
Daily Yomiuri -- The Hanshin Tigers were held to four hits Thursday night. That they packed all four into a four-run uprising in the fourth inning showed why the team is starting to run away with the Central League race.
July 7: Full Story
Also: Jojima tops fan voting
Hawks' Jojima to declare free agency
JapanBall.com/Kyodo -- SoftBank Hawks catcher Kenji Jojima said Tuesday he is ready to test himself in the free-agent market, officially raising the curtain on the biggest off-season signing battle.
"It will come down to choosing between Fukuoka or my dream (of playing in the majors)," said Jojima.
July 5: Full Story
Related: Sugiuchi (12-2) hurls Hawks to 14th straight win
Kyodo: CL roundup
Also: MVP awards for the month of June
Fighters 8, Marines 1: Nippon Ham pummeled Lotte starter Naoyuki Shimizu for three doubles and three home runs, had nine long hits overall.
Hawks survive Eagles comeback
Daily Yomiuri -- Tony Batista's RBI single in the bottom of the ninth inning kept alive Softbank's winning streak, as the Hawks edged the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles 8-7 on Monday night for their 13th consecutive victory.
The Hawks had owned a seven-run lead after seven, but the Eagles managed to tie the score in the final two innings with a three-run eighth and four-run ninth.
July 4: Full Story
Also: Interleague play to continue with 36 games next season
Nagashima's back!
John E. Gibson, Daily Yomiuri -- Carrying much the same grace and charisma he exhibited while in uniform, Shigeo Nagashima, 69, made his long-awaited appearance at the dome to show support for the Giants.
July 3: Full Story
Related: Kyodo roundup
Wayne Graczyk: A trip to the Eagles' nest
Minors: Lotte's Kato throws perfect game
Also: M's to hold spring training in Australia
Giants throw back-to-back shutouts
JapanBall.com/Kyodo -- Hisanori Takahashi pitched his second shutout of the season in the Central League Friday to lift the Yomiuri Giants to their second shutout victory in two nights with a 3-0 triumph over the Hiroshima Carp.
July 1: Full Story
Also: Marines' Watanabe defeats Lions in return
Injuries: Akahoshi to play with cracked rib
Uehara does it all against Yakult
Daily Yomiuri -- June 30: Full Story
Also: Tamura's first-half return doubtful after car accident
Interleague finished, but fight goes on
By Jim Allen, Daily Yomiuri -- Now that the games are over, the battle for Japan's interleague future is just beginning.
June 29: Full Story
Roundup: Shikoku duo powers Swallows past Giants 11-1
Hawks take PL lead away from Marines
By Jim Allen, Daily Yomiuri -- The Fukuoka Softbank Hawks, long a league power, knocked the up-and-coming Chiba Lotte Marines into second place with a 6-2 victory.
Tony Batista broke a 2-2 tie with a sixth-inning RBI double to put the Hawks in front and headed to their ninth straight victory. The Hawks took over first place for the first time since April 23.
June 28: Full Story
Photo: Bobby Valentine and sumo great Akebono pose in front of the Marines' dugout
Kyodo: Yomiuri acquires young Taiwanese hurler
Also: Nippon Ham signs AAA pitcher Corey Lee
Pitch-by-pitch: Takahiro Arai of the Carp homered in six straight games, one dinger shy of the all-time record, shared by Sadaharu Oh and Randy Bass.
Yoshii defeats Lotte, stays unbeaten
JapanBall.com/Kyodo -- Hirotoshi Kitagawa hit a pair of homers on a 3-for-4 day and Masato Yoshii pitched six-plus strong innings Saturday as the Orix Buffaloes handed the front-running Lotte Marines their third straight loss with a 9-2 victory in the Pacific League.
June 25: Full Story
Photos: Yoshii finishes up his delivery; Kitagawa celebrates his three-run homer with Karim Garcia in the 3rd inning
Also: Carp beat Dragons 16-12 in 30-hit slugfest
BayStars win 6th straight vs Giants
Daily Yomiuri -- There was a close call at the end, but Yoshihiro Doi had no trouble finishing up the first shutout of his eight-year career.
Doi scattered eight hits and Shuichi Murata belted his first career grand slam as the Yokohama BayStars rolled to an 8-0 victory over the Yomiuri Giants on Wednesday night at Yokohama Stadium.
June 22: Full Story
Related: Kyodo roundup
Pitch-by-pitch: Hanshin Tigers shortstop Toritani hits two homers, including the game-winner
Watanabe disabled with elbow injury
JapanBall.com/Kyodo -- Chiba Lotte Marines right-hander Shunsuke Watanabe was removed from the active roster Monday after complaining of discomfort in his right elbow.
June 19: Full Story
Kyodo poll: Most Japanese happy with interleague play
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