Wada’s 3-run blast the difference as Dragons’ magic number at 4
Kazuhiro Wada reached down for a forkball and came up with a magic moment for the Chunichi Dragons.
Wada rocked Kenichi Matsuoka’s second pitch down the line in left for a three-run shot that gave the Dragons a four-run cushion, and the Central League leaders held off the Yakult Swallows 4-3 on Wednesday night at Nagoya Dome.
The shot capped a two-out rally that puts the Dragons closer to their first repeat CL-title run.
“The pitchers have really been doing well to keep opponents from scoring first, and one run can mean a lot to opponents -- it puts pressure on them,” Wada said in the postgame hero interview.
“So we have to score more runs -- that’s our job, and I’m going to do my part to help us score as many runs as we can.”
The blast, Wada’s 12th, padded the lead for Maximo Nelson (10-14), who started the ninth but departed after putting the leadoff batter on base. Takuya Asao, the fourth hurler of the inning, finally shut the Swallows down after allowing a pair of run-scoring hits.
The Dragons have won the first three of a four-game set against the Swallows, who fell 3.5 games back.
GIANTS 4, TIGERS 1
Pinch-hitter Yoshinobu Takahashi took rookie Daiki Enokida out to right for a walk-off homer in the 10th inning as Yomiuri outlasted Hanshin at The Big Egg.
Tetsuya Utsumi (17-5) fired 147 pitches over 10 innings, scattering five hits with two walks and nine Ks on four days’ rest, to get the win. He leads the league in wins -- the first Giants lefty to win that many since 1973 -- and ERA at 1.74.
It was Takahashi’s first career pinch-hit homer. Alex Ramirez hit his 20th longball, moving him past Tuffy Rhodes as the only import to hit at least that many over 11 consecutive years.
Hanshin’s Matt Murton failed to get a hit in his four trips to the plate, ending his hitting streak at 30 games, fourth longest in NPB history.
CARP 3, BAYSTARS 1
Yoshihiro Maru had an RBI single in a two-run first, and added a solo blast in the fourth to back rookie Yuya Fukui (8-9), who tossed his second complete game as Hiroshima topped visiting Yokohama.
PACIFIC LEAGUE
FIGHTERS 2, BUFFALOES 2
Aarom Baldiris’ bases-loaded drive to right in the ninth was right at Yang Zhong-sho, and Nippon Ham wrapped up second place in the PL with a 10-inning draw against Orix at Kyocera Dome Osaka.
Atsunori Inaba’s two-run double in the fourth got the Fighters even and neither team scored before the 3.5-hour rule ended the game.
The third-place Buffaloes are just one game in front of Seibu with four games to play.
LIONS 11, MARINES 3
Takeya Nakamura continued his assault on PL pitching, connecting on his Japan-best 47th homer and driving in three, and Hideto Asamura added a three-run shot as Seibu kept its playoff hopes strong with a win over visiting Lotte.
Jose Fernandez [friend of the JBW podcast] added three hits and three RBI to back Fumiya Nishiguchi (10-7), who scattered seven hits over six innings to reach double digits in victories for the first time since 2005.
Previous Topic
Wada’s 3-run blast the difference as Dragons’ magic number at 4
Kazuhiro Wada reached down for a forkball and came up with a magic moment for the Chunichi Dragons.
Wada rocked Kenichi Matsuoka’s second pitch down the line in left for a three-run shot that gave the Dragons a four-run cushion, and the Central League leaders held off the Yakult Swallows 4-3 on Wednesday night at Nagoya Dome.
The shot capped a two-out rally that puts the Dragons closer to their first repeat CL-title run.
“The pitchers have really been doing well to keep opponents from scoring first, and one run can mean a lot to opponents -- it puts pressure on them,” Wada said in the postgame hero interview.
“So we have to score more runs -- that’s our job, and I’m going to do my part to help us score as many runs as we can.”
The blast, Wada’s 12th, padded the lead for Maximo Nelson (10-14), who started the ninth but departed after putting the leadoff batter on base. Takuya Asao, the fourth hurler of the inning, finally shut the Swallows down after allowing a pair of run-scoring hits.
The Dragons have won the first three of a four-game set against the Swallows, who fell 3.5 games back.
GIANTS 4, TIGERS 1
Pinch-hitter Yoshinobu Takahashi took rookie Daiki Enokida out to right for a walk-off homer in the 10th inning as Yomiuri outlasted Hanshin at The Big Egg.
Tetsuya Utsumi (17-5) fired 147 pitches over 10 innings, scattering five hits with two walks and nine Ks on four days’ rest, to get the win. He leads the league in wins -- the first Giants lefty to win that many since 1973 -- and ERA at 1.74.
It was Takahashi’s first career pinch-hit homer. Alex Ramirez hit his 20th longball, moving him past Tuffy Rhodes as the only import to hit at least that many over 11 consecutive years.
Hanshin’s Matt Murton failed to get a hit in his four trips to the plate, ending his hitting streak at 30 games, fourth longest in NPB history.
CARP 3, BAYSTARS 1
Yoshihiro Maru had an RBI single in a two-run first, and added a solo blast in the fourth to back rookie Yuya Fukui (8-9), who tossed his second complete game as Hiroshima topped visiting Yokohama.
PACIFIC LEAGUE
FIGHTERS 2, BUFFALOES 2
Aarom Baldiris’ bases-loaded drive to right in the ninth was right at Yang Zhong-sho, and Nippon Ham wrapped up second place in the PL with a 10-inning draw against Orix at Kyocera Dome Osaka.
Atsunori Inaba’s two-run double in the fourth got the Fighters even and neither team scored before the 3.5-hour rule ended the game.
The third-place Buffaloes are just one game in front of Seibu with four games to play.
LIONS 11, MARINES 3
Takeya Nakamura continued his assault on PL pitching, connecting on his Japan-best 47th homer and driving in three, and Hideto Asamura added a three-run shot as Seibu kept its playoff hopes strong with a win over visiting Lotte.
Jose Fernandez [friend of the JBW podcast] added three hits and three RBI to back Fumiya Nishiguchi (10-7), who scattered seven hits over six innings to reach double digits in victories for the first time since 2005.