Nioka has record breaking night in Yomiuri rout

Japanese Pro Yakyu 2006

Shortstop Tomohiro Nioka (left) is congratulated by teammates after hitting his second grand slam in as many at-bats in the 5th inning on Sunday, April 30 (Photo Source: Sports Hochi)

JapanBall.com/Kyodo -- Tomohiro Nioka homered three times and became the first player in Japanese baseball to hit grand slams in consecutive at-bats as the Yomiuri Giants walloped the Chunichi Dragons 15-4 on Sunday.
April 30: Full Story
Jim Allen: Nioka sets Giants team record with 10 RBIs
Pitch-by-pitch: Nioka and Hiroki Kokubo of the Giants combine for five home runs
Mainichi Daily News: South Korean Lee right at home on Japan's team
PL: Sugiuchi shoots down Fighters

Hiroshima ace Kuroda shuts out Yomiuri
JapanBall.com/Kyodo -- Hiroki Kuroda pitched a three-hit shutout and Tomonori Maeda homered and drove in three runs as the Hiroshima Carp trounced the CL-leading Yomiuri Giants 7-0 on Thursday.
Kuroda (2-1) carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning retiring the first 20 batters he faced.
April 27: Full Story
PL: Rakuten beats SoftBank to snap three-game skid
Kyodo News: Lefty Yamakita moves to Yokohama in 1-for-2 trade
Dave Wiggins: Buffalo soldier Davey a new man on the mound

Carp claw back to salvage 4-4 tie against Giants
Japan Times -- Kimiyasu Kudo allowed the Hiroshima Carp to score two runs on four consecutive two-out hits in the bottom of the fifth as the Yomiuri Giants let a win slip away in a Central League game called after five innings due to rain Wednesday.
April 26: Full Story
Jim Allen: Hara gives Giants lean new look
PL: H. Kobayashi makes grand entrance

No shutout, but Powell still perfect at 4-0
Yomiuri Shimbun -- Jeremy Powell came within two outs of recording his third straight shutout on Tuesday, but was happy to settle with the win, his fourth in four starts for the Yomiuri Giants.
April 25: Full Story
Japan Times: Giants' Powell mows down Carp
John E. Gibson: Lee traps toothless Lions
PL: Buffaloes add pitching, sign righty Obermueller
Also: Orix Corp. to buy Osaka Dome

Tigers show heart, beat Giants 6-2
Jim Allen, Daily Yomiuri -- Makoto Imaoka hit a three-run homer in the first and southpaw Hirotaka Egusa (2-1) allowed two runs in 6 1/3 innings as the Hanshin Tigers avoided a three-game sweep at Tokyo Dome and snapped a five game losing streak.
April 23: Full Story
Japan Times: Shima homers twice as Carp rebound with 13-0 victory
Wayne Graczyk: Giants hope Glover has golden touch
PL: Kiyohara set to return to action on Tuesday

Asai, Golden Eagles blank first-place Lions
JapanBall.com/Kyodo -- Hideki Asai pitched seven shutout innings and Teppei Tsuchiya hit his first career homer Saturday, helping the Rakuten Eagles snap a three-game losing skid with a 1-0 victory over the Seibu Lions.
April 22: Full Story
CL: Utsumi sharp again as Giants send Tigers to 5th straight loss

Shinjo homers again as Fighters win 4th straight
JapanBall.com/Kyodo -- Tsuyoshi Shinjo homered for the second straight night with a three-run shot Wednesday as the Nippon Ham Fighters beat the Orix Buffaloes 6-3 for their fourth consecutive victory.
April 19: Full Story
PL: Hoashi keeps struggling Hawks hapless
Jim Allen: Spring swoon no surprise to Valentine
CL: Ishikawa has fine outing to end Giants' unbeaten streak
JapaneseBaseball.com discussion: Zuleta charges mound!
Tyrone Woods: Think twice before throwing a little chin music
MLB: H. Matsui plays in 500th straight game

Giants' Powell hurls second shutout in a row
JapanBall.com/Kyodo -- Jeremy Powell pitched his second straight shutout and Takayuki Shimizu singled home the game's only run in the second inning Tuesday as the Yomiuri Giants edged the Yakult Swallows 1-0 to extend their unbeaten streak to nine.
April 18: Full Story
PL: Arakaki pitches Hawks past Lions
Kyodo News: Zuleta to be hit with one million yen fine, community service
Also: Shinjo to retire at season's end

Carp avoid sweep with 9th-inning rally
JapanBall.com/Kyodo -- Lefty Hirotaka Egusa fell just short of his career first shutout Sunday after surrendering the go-ahead run in the ninth inning as the Hiroshima Carp pulled off a 2-1 win over the Hanshin Tigers.
Keiji Fukui singled to lead off the ninth followed by Koichi Ogata's double to right to put runners at second and third before Tomonori Maeda and Shigenobu Shima each hit sacrifice flies to right to help Hiroshima end a five-game losing streak.
April 16: Full Story
PL: Fighters extend Hawks' scoreless streak to 25 innings
Jim Allen: Marines back in line
Wayne Graczyk: Return of Hara, revamped roster have Giants off to fast start

Marines battle back to harpoon Lions
JapanBall.com/Kyodo -- Shoitsu Omatsu hit a grand slam in the seventh inning and pinch-hitter Toshiya Tsuji keyed a three-run eighth with a go-ahead two-run triple as the Lotte Marines rallied for a 14-5 win over the Seibu Lions to snap a three-game losing skid on Saturday.
April 15: Full Story
Daily Yomiuri: Reserves Omatsu, Tsuji power Marines to comeback victory
Photo: Akira Eto of the Lions congratulated on his 350th career home run.
PL: Fighters' Yagi left hanging with 10-inning no-hitter
Photo: Rookie lefthander Tomoya Yagi held SoftBank hitless for 10 innings, but got a no-decision.
Pitch-by-pitch: Yagi relied on his sinker when facing RH batters, while going with sliders and curves to supplement his fastball versus lefthanders. Six of his seven strikeouts came against righthanded batters.
CL: Kokubo, Utsumi lead Giants over Doi, BayStars
Related: Y. Takahashi put on disabled list
Also: Ozeki joins Yomiuri after passing tryout

Tigers' Igawa shuts out Carp
Japan Times -- Kei Igawa pitched a five-hitter and struck out 10 in his first complete-game shutout of the season as the Hanshin Tigers blanked the Hiroshima Carp 7-0 in the Central League on Friday.
April 14: Full Story
PL: Matsuzaka, G.G. Sato gun down punchless Marines
Giant expectations: Asahi Shimbun interview with Jeremy Powell

Yano, Kuwata lead Giants to 5th straight win
JapanBall.com/Kyodo -- Kenji Yano hit three of his team's five RBI doubles and Masumi Kuwata pitched five solid innings to get his first win since Aug. 21, 2004 as the CL-leading Yomiuri Giants trounced the Hiroshima Carp 9-1 on Thursday.
April 13: Full Story
Wait is over: Kuwata makes it back into win column
John E. Gibson: Hawks hammer retreating Marines
PL: Wada's 9th-inning single lifts Seibu over Orix
Kyodo News: Ozeki to have tryout with Yomiuri

Kanemoto best Japan has to offer
Jim Allen, Daily Yomiuri -- No matter how one looks at it, Tomoaki Kanemoto's feat of playing every inning of 904 consecutive games, is truly remarkable. The Hanshin Tigers left fielder and cleanup hitter is an example of the best the Japanese game has to offer.
April 12: Full Story
CL: Blistering-hot Giants win 4th straight
PL: Matsunaka, Arakaki stop Hawks' winless skid
Kyodo News: Ozeki sets aside minor league challenge

Powell blanks Carp as Giants win 3rd straight
JapanBall.com/Kyodo -- Jeremy Powell pitched a three-hit shutout and Yoshinobu Takahashi hit an RBI single to break a scoreless tie in a five-run seventh inning Tuesday as the Yomiuri Giants beat the Hiroshima Carp 5-0.
Meanwhile, the other five games scheduled for Tuesday were rained out.
April 11: Full Story
Jim Allen: Powell guts Carp for shutout
Gary Garland: ChiSox GM needs history lesson
Pitch-by-pitch: The Giants finally get to Carp starter Hiroki Kuroda with a nice piece of hitting in the 7th inning.

Kanemoto breaks Ripken's world record
JapanBall.com/Kyodo -- Hanshin Tigers outfielder Tomoaki Kanemoto reached a new milestone in his career Sunday when he earned the unofficial title of world record holder for playing in consecutive games without missing an inning.
Kanemoto broke what is believed to be a major league record held by Cal Ripken Jr., extending his streak of playing every inning of every game to 904 regular-season games.
April 9: Full Story
Photo: Catcher Akihiro Yano presents Kanemoto with a bat, a gift from Cal Ripken Jr., inscribed "Congratulations, keep playing."
CL: Hamanaka lifts Tigers on Kanemoto's memorable day
PL: Lions roar louder with 8th straight win

Kanemoto ties Ripken's full game record
JapanBall.com/Kyodo -- Hanshin Tigers slugger Tomoaki Kanemoto stretched his streak of playing consecutive games without missing an inning to 903 on Saturday, matching what is believed to be a major league record held by Cal Ripken Jr.
April 8: Full Story
CL: Imaoka homers twice in Tigers victory
PL: Marines pull off dramatic victory over Eagles

Matsuzaka, Lions beat Fighters for 6th straight win
JapanBall.com/Kyodo -- Daisuke Matsuzaka won his first start of the season and Takahiko G.G. Sato homered for the second straight game Friday, helping the Seibu Lions beat the Nippon Ham Fighters 7-1 to stretch their winning streak to six games.
April 7: Full Story
Asahi Shimbun: Rakuten avenges rookie beating
Related: Eagles embarrass defending champs 13-0
CL: Tatsunami grand slam gives Dragons sayonara win over Giants
Korea: No clear favorite as KBO season opens

Darvish halts Hawks with 6-hit shutout
Yomiuri Shimbun -- Yu Darvish stopped one of Japanese baseball's most powerful lineups, tossing a six-hit shutout as the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters blanked the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks 3-0 at Tokyo Dome on Thursday night.
April 6: Full Story
Asahi Shimbun: Darvish goes the distance
CL: Giants rally to sweep Swallows
Related: H. Takahashi out for at least two months

Kudo pitches Giants to 3rd straight win
JapanBall.com/Kyodo -- Lee Seung-yeop hit a two-run double to highlight a four-run first inning and veteran lefty Kimiyasu Kudo pitched seven strong innings Wednesday as the Yomiuri Giants beat the Yakult Swallows 9-2.
April 5: Full Story
Related: H. Takahashi gets cheek bone broken by foul ball
PL: Graman, G.G. Sato lift Lions to fifth victory in a row
Daily Yomiuri: Nippon Ham gives SoftBank a hard time
Jim Allen: Fighters put faith in gloves
Dave Wiggins: Japan-U.S. baseball now a revolving door

Powell gets revenge as Giants clip Swallows
Jim Allen, Daily Yomiuri -- It took more than four years, but Jeremy Powell finally got a measure of revenge on the Swallows and Kazuhisa Ishii.
The 1.96-meter righthander won his debut with the Yomiuri Giants, who climbed into first place on the back of a 5-4 win over the Tokyo Yakult Swallows on Tuesday night at Jingu Stadium.
April 4: Full Story
CL: Kyodo roundup
PL: Davey, Muramatsu help Orix stop losing streak
Kyodo News: Yomiuri Giants open full-year baseball school

Yokohama outclasses Seiho 21-0 in final
JapanBall.com/Kyodo -- Yokohama shortstop Takuya Takahama led a 14-hit attack by going 4-for-6 with five RBIs as the Kanagawa powerhouse thumped Nagasaki's Seiho 21-0 in the final of the national high school baseball invitational tournament Tuesday.
April 3-4: Full Story
MLB: Jojima homers in MLB debut, H. Matsui has big night
Japan Baseball Daily: Good debut for Jojima

Senbatsu: Yokohama, Seiho reach final
JapanBall.com/Kyodo -- Tournament favorite Yokohama batted around twice to hammer Gifu Johoku 12-4 in the national high school baseball invitational meet Monday, setting up a date with surprise finalist Seiho from Nagasaki Prefecture, a 6-0 winner over Osaka powerhouse PL Gakuen.
April 3: Full Story
MLB: Iguchi, White Sox open new season

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