Buffs snap Saito's winning streak

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Japanese Pro Yakyu 2005

Nagisa Arakaki notched 14 strikeouts in his first shutout of the season and backup catcher Naoki Matoba (right) hit a solo homer as SoftBank defeated Seibu 2-0 on Sunday, Sept. 4 (Photo Source: Yahoo! Sports)

Interleague standings Interleague leaders

JapanBall.com/Kyodo -- Eiji Mizuguchi highlighted a four-run 6th inning with a three-run homer as the Orix Buffaloes came from five runs down to defeat the Softbank Hawks 13-6 and snap Kazumi Saito's 15-game winning streak.
September 7: Full Story
CL: Nakamura homer gives Hanshin 11-inning victory
Also: Tigers overcome Dragons, umpire

J. Cabrera: Japan needs more games
By Jim Allen, Daily Yomiuri -- For those who think Japanese ballplayers have too much to do already, Jolbert Cabrera would like to see them work more, at least on the field.
September 7: Full Story

Tatsunami, Nakata lift Chunichi over Hanshin
By John E. Gibson, Daily Yomiuri -- Rookie right-hander Kenichi Nakata came up with another stellar outing and veteran Kazuyoshi Tatsunami homered twice to lead the defending CL champs past the front-running Hanshin Tigers 5-2.
September 6: Full Story
CL: Yomiuri contacts Hanshin over manager's job for Hoshino
PL: Pinch-hitter Kaizuka leads Lions' rally
Also: PL to hold East-West exhibition in November
Pitch-by-pitch: Tatsunami and Hirokazu Ibata had three line drives apiece, going 6-for-10 with three homers combined.

Swallows' Aoki named August MVP
Daily Yomiuri -- CL batting leader Norichika Aoki was rewarded Tuesday for his red-hot bat in August by being named the CL's player of the month. The Yakult Swallows center fielder and Orix Buffaloes outfieder Karim Garcia were both first-time winners of the award.
The pitching awards went to Daisuke Miura of Yokohama and Kazumi Saito of SoftBank.
September 6: Full Story
Report: Brown may manage Carp
Related: Marty Brown - Baseball America's 2004 Minor League Manager of the Year

CL eyeing playoff system in 2007
JapanBall.com/Kyodo -- The members of the Central League executive committee agreed Monday to consider introducing a playoff system for the first time in league history in 2007.
September 5: Full Story
Asahi Shimbun: Tateishi the Swiss Army knife of pitchers

Tigers win in 10th, open up 3-game lead
Daily Yomiuri -- Atsushi Fujimoto delivered the game-winning run with a single in the top of the 10th inning as the Hanshin Tigers defeated the Yokohama BayStars 2-1 on Sunday afternoon.
September 4: Full Story
PL: Arakaki shuts out Lions with 14 strikeouts
Photos: JFK bullpen trio turns in three perfect innings in Tigers' 2-1 win
Pitch-by-pitch: Arakaki fanned eight of the 16 righthanded Lion batters he faced, relying on a great control of his slider and trying to avoid the inner part of the plate. He threw only three inside fastballs all game.

Nishiguchi sharp again, Lions win 4-0
JapanBall.com/Kyodo -- Fumiya Nishiguchi pitched eight shutout innings in yet another strong start and Takeya Nakamura and Alex Cabrera homered, helping the Seibu Lions to a 4-0 victory over the SoftBank Hawks on Saturday.
September 3: Full Story
PL: M's Watanabe fires four-hit shutout
Also: Ichiba gets first win in rout of Orix
CL: Tigers hold off late rally to beat BayStars
Wayne Graczyk: How to beat the high price of pro yakyu tickets
Transactions: Fighters release Knight, Almonte

Yakult deals Chunichi 2nd straight loss
JapanBall.com/Kyodo -- CL batting leader Norichika Aoki sparked a six-run third inning with a two-out double as the Yakult Swallows beat the second-place Chunichi Dragons 6-3 on Friday.
September 2: Full Story
John E. Gibson: Swallows ride 6-run 3rd to victory
PL: Yamasaki drives in six runs as Rakuten hammers Orix 18-3

Imaoka powers Hanshin to big win
Japan Times -- Makoto Imaoka drove in six runs on a pair of homers and a triple Thursday as the Hanshin Tigers downed the Chunichi Dragons 8-1 to restore a 1.5-game lead in the CL standings.
September 1: Full Story
Daily Yomiuri recap: Tigers hold onto first
Photo: Yomiuri starter Kentaro Nishimura picks up first career win
PL: Mizuguchi, Brumbaugh homer as Orix ends skid
Also: Mitsubishi Fuso Kawasaki wins intercity crown (photo)
Pitch-by-pitch: Imaoka fouled off six straight fastballs before he lined another one for a 3-run homer to break the game open in the 5th.

Woods slam helps Dragons close gap
JapanBall.com/Kyodo -- Tyrone Woods turned the game around with a grand slam in a five-run third inning and the Chunichi Dragons held off the Hanshin Tigers 7-5 to stretch their winning streak to seven games and moved within a half-game of the CL leaders on Wednesday.
August 31: Full Story
CL: Yokohama intends to keep Kroon, Holtz
PL: Saito improves to 15-0, ties all-time record
Also: Orix hopes to re-sign Ogi for next season
Jim Allen: Eagles have fallen, but with grace
Pitch-by-pitch: Hanshin lefty Kei Igawa let the first six Chunichi batters reach base in the big inning, highlighted by the Woods' 130-meter slam to right (Sankei Sports photo).

Hawks overcome Marines comeback
By Jim Allen, Daily Yomiuri -- Fukuoka fans can be forgiven for thinking the playoffs arrive in August.
In a thriller marked by hard hitting, hustle and playoff intensity, the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks increased their PL lead to four games with an 8-7 sayonara victory over the second-place Chiba Lotte Marines on Tuesday night.
August 30: Full Story
CL: Giants to sever ties with Kiyohara, Rhodes
Valentine: Racism not basis of claims
Dave Wiggins: Playoffs by a whisker just fine for Hillman's Hammies

Loss seals last-place finish for Eagles
Daily Yomiuri -- The Fighters are creeping back into contention for a playoff spot, but the expansion Eagles are finished as far as this season's standings go.
Fernando Seguignol and Yukio Tanaka hit solo homers and Corey Lee threw six shutout innings on Monday as Nippon Ham consigned the Rakuten to last place with a 2-1 win.
August 29: Full Story

Dragons beat Carp, win 6th straight
Daily Yomiuri -- Rookie righthander Kenichi Nakata has brought stability to the Chunichi Dragons' rotation, hurling his second strong outing in eight days in a 3-1 victory over the Hiroshima Carp at Nagoya Dome.
The second-place Dragons travel to Koshien for a three-game set that starts on Tuesday.
August 28: Full Story
PL: Johnny be good!
Wayne Graczyk: Road trips, managers, scraped bathtubs
Kyodo: No more Monday games in Pacific League

Nishiguchi perfect through nine
Daily Yomiuri -- It would have been the 16th perfect game in Japan pro baseball history. Unfortunately, Fumiya Nishiguchi had to pitch another inning.
Seibu's Nishiguchi (16-4) threw nine perfect innings against expansion Rakuten, but had to settle for a 10-inning, one-hit shutout as the Lions won 1-0 on Saturday night.
August 27: Full Story
CL: Sheets, Kanemoto help Hanshin end skid
PL: Ogasawara, Tanaka lead Fighters over Hawks
Also: Hoshino declines comment on Yomiuri job
Kyodo: Komadai Tomakomai to keep high school crown

Tigers finish long road trip with loss
JapanBall.com/Kyodo -- The Hiroshima Carp hit five homers to beat the front-running Hanshin Tigers 7-5 on Thursday.
The other three scheduled games were postponed due to rain.
August 25: Full Story
Pitch-by-pitch: Makoto Imaoka hit a grand slam, but the Carp had five homers of their own as Hiroshima took two of three against Hanshin.

Saito outduels Watanabe to go 14-0
Daily Yomiuri -- Fukuoka SoftBank's Kazumi Saito remained unbeaten on the season with a four-hitter as the Hawks edged the second-place Chiba Lotte Marines 2-1 on Wednesday in Chiba.
August 24: Full Story
CL: Kokubo hits 3 HRs, Mullen hurls first shutout
Jack Gallagher: Marines another black eye for journalism in Japan
Jim Allen: Brutality at core of high school ball
Pitch-by-pitch: BayStars' Yoshihiro Doi gave up six runs on two singles and four homers as the Giants finally managed a victory against the Yokohama lefthander, who had been 8-0 vs. Yomiuri in 2004-05.

Tigers, Dragons keep rolling in CL
Daily Yomiuri -- The Central League pennant race showed no signs of slacking off Tuesday as both of the top two teams won to keep the gap between the leading Hanshin Tigers and the second-place Chunichi Dragons at four games.
August 23: Full Story
PL: Fighters annihilate Lions; Buffs edge Eagles
Related: Confident Marines out to win
Also: Ikeyama's golf career off to slow start
Pitch-by-pitch: Lefthander Koji Mitsui got bombed for seven runs on just six hits in less than two innings as Seibu fell 10 games below .500 for the first time in nine years.

Pennant races near final lap
Daily Yomiuri -- The CL-leading Hanshin Tigers make the last stop on their nearly four-week odyssey away from Koshien Stadium with a three-game series in Hiroshima against the last-place Carp, while the Pacific League will see the top two clubs face off.
August 22: Full Story
John E. Gibson: Sheets gets new view of infield with Tigers
Kyodo: Scandal hits national champion Komadai Tomakomai
AP-Kyodo poll: Japanese love baseball, Americans prefer football
Also: Fans are told they'll need a permit to cheer

SoftBank locks up playoff berth
Daily Yomiuri -- The Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks booked a return ticket to the playoffs this autumn with a 6-5 victory over the Seibu Lions on Sunday afternoon.
The Hawks lead the second-place Chiba Lotte Marines by 4.5 games.
August 21: Full Story
Wayne Graczyk: Giants add "Luigi" Nakajima to their front office
Pitch-by-pitch: Karim Garcia flashes some fine opposite-field batting, going 3-for-3 with a homer against Fighters' lefty Corey Lee, but Buffs lose 10-3.
More: Yakult reliever Ryota Igarashi retires five Hanshin batsmen on strikes, including Atsushi Kataoka, who failed to produce a hit in his 7th straight pinch-hit at-bat.

Sugiuchi outduels Nishiguchi 2-1
Daily Yomiuri -- Toshiya Sugiuchi won a duel of pitchers with 15-3 records as the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks defeated the Seibu Lions 2-1 on Saturday afternoon.
The southpaw struck out 14 and whiffed every member of the Lions starting order at least once.
August 20: Full Story
CL: Kanemoto's slam helps Tigers bounce back

Komadai kids still Koshien kings
Daily Yomiuri -- On a steamy Saturday, the school that has turned out more Olympic speed skaters than pro baseball players earned a place in Japanese high school baseball history.
Komadai Tomakomai of South Hokkaido became the first team in over a half-century to defend its National High School Championship title, defeating Kyoto Gaidai Nishi 5-3 in the final at Koshien Stadium.
August 20: Full Story
Photos: Komadai reliever Masahiro Tanaka reacts after striking out the side in the 9th inning in front of 50,000 fans;
Komadai Tomakomai the first repeat summer champion since Kokura of Fukuoka won back-to-back titles in 1947-48;
Komadai reaches the summit over a total of 4,137 high schools which took part in the tournament.

New masked man leads rout of Tigers
By John E. Gibson, Daily Yomiuri -- Swallows fans at soldout Jingu Stadium on Friday night likely asked: "Who was that masked man?"
Kosei Ono, who took over behind the plate for injured Atsuya Furuta, went 3-for-4 with a pair of homers, a double and five RBIs in a 12-2 laugher in front of 30,854 spectators.
August 19: Full Story
Related: Furuta deactivated with strained thigh
Kyodo: NPB to administer drug tests in regular season
Daily Yomiuri: NPB to start drug testing
Also: Injured Rhodes heading for U.S.
Koshien: Komadai overcomes Tsujiuchi fastball, nips Osaka Toin 6-5 in semifinal

Bullpen helps Giants edge Dragons
JapanBall.com/Kyodo -- Shinnosuke Abe delivered a two-run go-ahead double in the fifth inning and the patchwork Yomiuri Giants' bullpen held off the Chunichi Dragons en route to a 5-4 win.
Brian Sikorski (5-1) and three other relievers held Chunichi to one hit after Yomiuri starter Kentaro Nishimura was knocked out after 2 1/3 innings.
August 18: Full Story
PL: Kawagoe strong, Buffs defeat Hawks 8-1
Also: Golden Eagles plan major upgrade
High school championship: Hirata lifts Osaka Toin with three homers, tying Kiyohara's Koshien record
Pitch-by-pitch: Sikorski strikes out six of the nine Dragon batters he faced
More: Atsushi Kataoka of the Tigers gets a hit in his sixth straight pinch-hit plate appearance, one short of an NPB record set by Marines' Kiyoshi Hatsushiba in 2003.

Marines crush Lions, win 5th straight
JapanBall.com/Kyodo -- Hiroyuki Kobayashi pitched eight-plus strong innings and Toshiaki Imae drove in three runs as the Lotte Marines beat Daisuke Matsuzaka and the Seibu Lions 9-1 on Wednesday.
Lotte moved 30 games over .500 and secured a winning record for the season for the first time in 10 years.
August 17: Full Story
CL: Fukuhara fabulous as Tigers blank BayStars
Photo: Kazuki Inoue of the Dragons pulls an 0-2 inside fastball for a 3-run homer in the third inning
More photos: Hanshin's JFK bullpen trio (from right): Jeff [Williams], Fujikawa, Kubota;
Marines' Toshiaki Imae extends his hitting streak to a club-record 22 games
Pitch-by-pitch: Yakult put four breaking balls from Hiroshima righty starter Yasuhiro Oyamada into the stands, including back-to-back-to-back shots leading off the 2nd, before Shinya Miyamoto lined a LHP Koji Hiroike fastball for an opposite-field grand slam in the 8th (Sankei Sports photo coverage).

Hawks end Powell's winning streak
JapanBall.com/Kyodo -- Nobuhiko Matsunaka hit his PL-leading 39th homer and Kazumi Saito won his 13th straight decision Tuesday, leading the front-running SoftBank Hawks to a 7-2 victory over the Orix Buffaloes.
Jeremy Powell (11-10) gave up seven runs in six innings and had his personal 5-game winning streak snapped.
August 16: Full Story
CL: Takahashi pitches Yomiuri past Chunichi
Related: Kiyohara to have knee surgery

Tigers snap string of late losses
By Jim Allen, Daily Yomiuri -- The Tigers resumed their winning ways on Sunday as Makoto Imaoka drove in three runs and delivered some stunning stops at third base to pace the Tigers to a 7-3 victory over the pesky Yomiuri Giants at Tokyo Dome.
August 14: Full Story
PL: Zuleta smacks two homers as Hawks soar
Dave Wiggins: Ex-Buff Bryant changes his tune

Sayonara fever in Central League
By Jim Allen, Daily Yomiuri -- Shinnosuke Abe's no-out, bases-loaded single off Hanshin closer Tomoyuki Kubota on Saturday lifted the Giants to their second-straight extra-inning victory over the league leading Tigers at Tokyo Dome.
August 13: Full Story
Also: Murata doubles to lift Yokohama; Ogata's two-out homer beats Chunichi
PL: Iriki outduels Sugiuchi, Fighters blank Hawks 2-0

Sasaki's farewell unique in many ways
By Wayne Graczyk, Japan Times -- Retirement games are common in Japanese baseball, but the one that took place in Sendai on Aug. 9 was a most unusual occurrence.
August 13: Full Story

Kanemoto hits two bombs, Tigers win
JapanBall.com/Kyodo -- Tomoaki Kanemoto homered twice and drove in three runs on 3-for-4 hitting as the front-running Hanshin Tigers rallied to rout the Chunichi Dragons 8-4 on Thursday.
August 11: Full Story
Asahi Shimbun: Y. Doi wins 8th straight against Giants
Related: Hoshino top candidate to manage struggling Yomiuri
PL: Buffs stampede Eagles 13-0
Pitch-by-pitch: Karim Garcia hits three of six Orix homers vs Rakuten, becomes the first player in NPB history to have back-to-back three-homer games (Sankei Sports photos).

Kanemoto blasts Tigers past Dragons
Daily Yomiuri -- The front-running Hanshin Tigers showed no ill effects of letting a six-run lead slip away the day before, bouncing back to beat the Chunichi Dragons behind Tomoaki Kanemoto's three-run homer on Wednesday at Nagoya Dome.
August 10: Full Story
PL: Hawks defeat Matsuzaka, Lions
Jim Allen: NPB's heart of darkness
Pitch-by-pitch: Karim Garcia belts three home runs, including his first shot to left

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