Nomura, Carp bounce back to top Swallows
Right-hander Yusuke Nomura [JBD’s pick for the Central League’s top rookie] is helping the Fish try to hook a playoff spot.
Nomura (8-6) shut down the Swallows on two hits over eight innings on Wednesday at The Zoom as third-place Hiroshima won 5-2 and improved their lead over Yakult to 1.5 games.
It was the first win in a month for Nomura, who walked two and fanned five while lowering his ERA to 1.62.
The Carp moved back to.500, while the Swallows fell three games under, despite Lastings Milledge’s best efforts. He blasted his 17th homer in the seventh and singled and scored in the ninth to play a role in both Yakult runs.
Yoshihiro Maru, just brought back up to the first team, smacked a two-run homer in the second inning and added an RBI double in the sixth to give the Carp a 5-1 lead, and Nomura was in control from the start.
“This is a very big series for us and we lost last night, so I wanted to show by the way I pitched that it was important for us to win this game,” Nomura said during the hero interview.
“Winning two vs. losing two in this series will make a world of difference, so I hope we can come out and win [the rubber game] tomorrow.”
DRAGONS 6, GIANTS 1
Kazuki Yoshimi (9-4) tossed a six-hitter for his 16th career complete game, and Kazuhiro Wada led four players with two hits by adding a pair of RBIs as Chunichi topped Yomiuri at Nagoya Dome.
The win broke a three-game slide for the Dragons, who beat up on second-year righty Yuki Koyama (0-1), and squashed talk of Yomiuri’s magic number -- at least for a day.
TIGERS 11, BAYSTARS 5
Taketoshi Goto had three hits [including his fourth homer of the month] and Sho Aranami added two hits and three RBIs as Yokohama scored early and often to even their series with visiting Hanshin.
The last-place BayStars moved back to within 3.5 games of the fifth-place Tigers.
PACIFIC LEAGUE
LIONS 9, BUFFALOES 3
Hiroyuki Nakajima had a solo blast and a two-run single in a five-run fourth that helped carry visiting Seibu past Orix and life the Lions into second place -- a half-game ahead of Lotte; 1.5 games behind Nippon Ham -- for the first time this season.
Yusei Kikuchi (2-0) went 6.2 innings for the win, his second in as many decisions this season. Esteban German had a bases-clearing triple in the first and Tukumi Kuriyama had two hits and two RBIs for the Lions.
HAWKS 7, MARINES 0
Reserve Yuki Yanagita hit his second homer of the season, a two-run shot in the first, and Toru Hosokawa drilled his first, a solo blast in the fifth, to power a 10-hit attack that pushed SoftBank past Lotte at FYJ Dome.
Tadashi Settsu (11-5) allowed all three of Lotte’s hits and a trio of relievers combined on three perfect innings to close out the victory, which dropped the Marines into third.
FIGHTERS 2, EAGLES 0
Toshiyuki Yanuki (1-0) picked up for Tomoya Yagi [who got the boot for a dangerous pitch after getting one out], and fired 2.2 one-hit innings, and Sho Nakata and Atsunori Inaba knocked in the only runs of the game in the first inning as Nippon Ham won at The Kleenex Box.
Yanuki was the first of five relievers for Nippon Ham, which held the Eagles to four hits.
[Edited by: jgibson on Aug 16, 2012 8:05 PM]
[Edited by: jgibson on Aug 16, 2012 10:01 PM]
Previous Topic
Right-hander Yusuke Nomura [JBD’s pick for the Central League’s top rookie] is helping the Fish try to hook a playoff spot.
Nomura (8-6) shut down the Swallows on two hits over eight innings on Wednesday at The Zoom as third-place Hiroshima won 5-2 and improved their lead over Yakult to 1.5 games.
It was the first win in a month for Nomura, who walked two and fanned five while lowering his ERA to 1.62.
The Carp moved back to.500, while the Swallows fell three games under, despite Lastings Milledge’s best efforts. He blasted his 17th homer in the seventh and singled and scored in the ninth to play a role in both Yakult runs.
Yoshihiro Maru, just brought back up to the first team, smacked a two-run homer in the second inning and added an RBI double in the sixth to give the Carp a 5-1 lead, and Nomura was in control from the start.
“This is a very big series for us and we lost last night, so I wanted to show by the way I pitched that it was important for us to win this game,” Nomura said during the hero interview.
“Winning two vs. losing two in this series will make a world of difference, so I hope we can come out and win [the rubber game] tomorrow.”
DRAGONS 6, GIANTS 1
Kazuki Yoshimi (9-4) tossed a six-hitter for his 16th career complete game, and Kazuhiro Wada led four players with two hits by adding a pair of RBIs as Chunichi topped Yomiuri at Nagoya Dome.
The win broke a three-game slide for the Dragons, who beat up on second-year righty Yuki Koyama (0-1), and squashed talk of Yomiuri’s magic number -- at least for a day.
TIGERS 11, BAYSTARS 5
Taketoshi Goto had three hits [including his fourth homer of the month] and Sho Aranami added two hits and three RBIs as Yokohama scored early and often to even their series with visiting Hanshin.
The last-place BayStars moved back to within 3.5 games of the fifth-place Tigers.
PACIFIC LEAGUE
LIONS 9, BUFFALOES 3
Hiroyuki Nakajima had a solo blast and a two-run single in a five-run fourth that helped carry visiting Seibu past Orix and life the Lions into second place -- a half-game ahead of Lotte; 1.5 games behind Nippon Ham -- for the first time this season.
Yusei Kikuchi (2-0) went 6.2 innings for the win, his second in as many decisions this season. Esteban German had a bases-clearing triple in the first and Tukumi Kuriyama had two hits and two RBIs for the Lions.
HAWKS 7, MARINES 0
Reserve Yuki Yanagita hit his second homer of the season, a two-run shot in the first, and Toru Hosokawa drilled his first, a solo blast in the fifth, to power a 10-hit attack that pushed SoftBank past Lotte at FYJ Dome.
Tadashi Settsu (11-5) allowed all three of Lotte’s hits and a trio of relievers combined on three perfect innings to close out the victory, which dropped the Marines into third.
FIGHTERS 2, EAGLES 0
Toshiyuki Yanuki (1-0) picked up for Tomoya Yagi [who got the boot for a dangerous pitch after getting one out], and fired 2.2 one-hit innings, and Sho Nakata and Atsunori Inaba knocked in the only runs of the game in the first inning as Nippon Ham won at The Kleenex Box.
Yanuki was the first of five relievers for Nippon Ham, which held the Eagles to four hits.
[Edited by: jgibson on Aug 16, 2012 8:05 PM]
[Edited by: jgibson on Aug 16, 2012 10:01 PM]