Sugiuchi shuts down old team as Giants cruise
The Yomiuri Giants are taking aim at the top spot in the Central League and they’re well-armed to do it.
Toshiya Sugiuchi -- who won the honor as top CL pitcher in May -- went 5.2 no-hit innings, and settled for seven frames of one-hit ball, and recent reacquisition Edgar Gonzalez had a homer and three RBIs in a 5-1 win over the SoftBank Hawks at FJY Dome on Tuesday.
The Giants moved to within a half-game of the Chunichi Dragons, who lost at Seibu Dome, and Sugiuchi moved alone atop the CL in wins by beating the team he left as a free agent this past offseason.
Lefty Giants reliever Tetsuya Yamaguchi’s NPB record-tying string of consecutive scoreless outings came to a halt when he allowed a solo homer to Kenji Akashi in the ninth inning.
Ryuji Kajimae got a rare start and went 2-for-4 with an RBI double for the Giants, who are 1.5 games ahead of the Lotte Marines in the interleague standings.
Sugiuchi leads the CL with an 8-1 record.
LIONS 7, DRAGONS 4
Takeya Nakamura went 4-for-5 with his interleague-all-time-best 48th homer, a three-run shot, and a added double for four RBIs as Seibu beat Chunichi at Seibu Dome.
Shogo Akiyama also added three hits, including a double, to back Takayuki Kishi (5-5), who held the Dragons to a run on five hits and two walks with four Ks over seven innings.
HANSHIN 3, EAGLES 1
Minoru Iwata (4-5) scattered four hits and a walk with three Ks over eight innings, and Craig Brazell broke a 1-1 tie with an RBI single in the ninth as Hanshin won at The Kleenex Box.
Loser Koji Aoyama (1-1) got beat the same day he became the first reliever in six years to win PL pitcher player of the month honors.
CARP 12, FIGHTERS 3
Masato Akamatsu’s two-run blast kicked off a seven-run third -- Hiroshima’s biggest inning since Aug. 21, 2009, vs. Hanshin -- and one of Takahiro Iwamoto’s three hits was a solo blast, while Yoshiyuki Ishihara added a pair of two-run doubles in a rout of Nippon Ham at Sapporo Dome.
BUFFALOES 5, SWALLOWS 0
Evan MacLane (3-2) scattered five hits and a walk over six innings, while fanning one, and Takayoshi Kawabata had a bases-loaded walk in a two-run fourth for all the runs Orix would need to beat visiting Yakult.
It was MacLane’s first win in two months.
MARINES 4, BAYSTARS 2
Shoitsu Omatsu had three hits in a game for the first time since Aug. 8, 2010, and Toshiaki Imae’s gave Lotte the lead for good with a sac fly in a two-run sixth in a win over Yokohama at The Q.
Interleague count
PL 43, CL 39, 7 TIES
[Edited by: jgibson on Jun 6, 2012 10:24 AM]
Previous Topic
The Yomiuri Giants are taking aim at the top spot in the Central League and they’re well-armed to do it.
Toshiya Sugiuchi -- who won the honor as top CL pitcher in May -- went 5.2 no-hit innings, and settled for seven frames of one-hit ball, and recent reacquisition Edgar Gonzalez had a homer and three RBIs in a 5-1 win over the SoftBank Hawks at FJY Dome on Tuesday.
The Giants moved to within a half-game of the Chunichi Dragons, who lost at Seibu Dome, and Sugiuchi moved alone atop the CL in wins by beating the team he left as a free agent this past offseason.
Lefty Giants reliever Tetsuya Yamaguchi’s NPB record-tying string of consecutive scoreless outings came to a halt when he allowed a solo homer to Kenji Akashi in the ninth inning.
Ryuji Kajimae got a rare start and went 2-for-4 with an RBI double for the Giants, who are 1.5 games ahead of the Lotte Marines in the interleague standings.
Sugiuchi leads the CL with an 8-1 record.
LIONS 7, DRAGONS 4
Takeya Nakamura went 4-for-5 with his interleague-all-time-best 48th homer, a three-run shot, and a added double for four RBIs as Seibu beat Chunichi at Seibu Dome.
Shogo Akiyama also added three hits, including a double, to back Takayuki Kishi (5-5), who held the Dragons to a run on five hits and two walks with four Ks over seven innings.
HANSHIN 3, EAGLES 1
Minoru Iwata (4-5) scattered four hits and a walk with three Ks over eight innings, and Craig Brazell broke a 1-1 tie with an RBI single in the ninth as Hanshin won at The Kleenex Box.
Loser Koji Aoyama (1-1) got beat the same day he became the first reliever in six years to win PL pitcher player of the month honors.
CARP 12, FIGHTERS 3
Masato Akamatsu’s two-run blast kicked off a seven-run third -- Hiroshima’s biggest inning since Aug. 21, 2009, vs. Hanshin -- and one of Takahiro Iwamoto’s three hits was a solo blast, while Yoshiyuki Ishihara added a pair of two-run doubles in a rout of Nippon Ham at Sapporo Dome.
BUFFALOES 5, SWALLOWS 0
Evan MacLane (3-2) scattered five hits and a walk over six innings, while fanning one, and Takayoshi Kawabata had a bases-loaded walk in a two-run fourth for all the runs Orix would need to beat visiting Yakult.
It was MacLane’s first win in two months.
MARINES 4, BAYSTARS 2
Shoitsu Omatsu had three hits in a game for the first time since Aug. 8, 2010, and Toshiaki Imae’s gave Lotte the lead for good with a sac fly in a two-run sixth in a win over Yokohama at The Q.
Interleague count
PL 43, CL 39, 7 TIES
[Edited by: jgibson on Jun 6, 2012 10:24 AM]