Balentien smacks 3-run HR to power Swallows past Fighters
Wladimir Balentien had Swallows teammates and fans happily tweeting away on Sunday.
The slugger launched a three-run homer, his Central League-leading 15th [for a league-high 334 RBIs], off Masaru Takeda (4-3) to help power the Swallows past the Nippon Ham Fighters 3-2 at Sapporo Dome.
The homer spoiled a stellar outing by Takeda, who was one out away from a shutout. Hiroyasu Tanaka walked with one out and Shingo Kawabata followed with his second hit, a single to left. Balentien jumped all over a changeup, taking it out to center.
Yakult's Masanori Ishikawa (5-6) picked up the win with 8.1 strong innings, and Tony Barnette walked one before retiring the side in the ninth for his 16th save.
DRAGONS 3, BUFFALOES 2
Rookie Shuhei Takahashi whacked a high fastball the opposite way for a mammoth first pro homer that broke a tie, and two outs later Kazuhiro Wada cracked his fifth as Chunichi topped host Orix.
CARP 11, LIONS 4
Takuro Ishhi and Takahiro Iwamoto each had two hits and two RBIs, and Kan Otake (6-2) won his fourth straight decision as Hiroshima piled up a season-high-tying 14 hits while routing host Seibu.
EAGLES 2, GIANTS 1
Yoshinao Kamata (3-0) tossed his first complete game, handcuffing Yomiuri on five hits, and Luis Garcia’s first-inning two-run homer held up as Rakuten won at the Kleenex Box, breaking an eight-game skid to the Giants.
HAWKS 1, BAYSTARS 0
Shota Oba (2-0) went six scoreless and four relievers combined to fire one-hit relief as SoftBank blanked visiting Yokohama.
TIGERS 6, MARINES 6
Tomoya Satozaki slapped an RBI double off Kyuji Fujikawa in the ninth, forcing a time-limit stalemate at The Q.
*Interleague count
CL 65, PL 65, 11 TIES
[Edited by: jgibson on Jun 18, 2012 12:09 AM]
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Wladimir Balentien had Swallows teammates and fans happily tweeting away on Sunday.
The slugger launched a three-run homer, his Central League-leading 15th [for a league-high 334 RBIs], off Masaru Takeda (4-3) to help power the Swallows past the Nippon Ham Fighters 3-2 at Sapporo Dome.
The homer spoiled a stellar outing by Takeda, who was one out away from a shutout. Hiroyasu Tanaka walked with one out and Shingo Kawabata followed with his second hit, a single to left. Balentien jumped all over a changeup, taking it out to center.
Yakult's Masanori Ishikawa (5-6) picked up the win with 8.1 strong innings, and Tony Barnette walked one before retiring the side in the ninth for his 16th save.
DRAGONS 3, BUFFALOES 2
Rookie Shuhei Takahashi whacked a high fastball the opposite way for a mammoth first pro homer that broke a tie, and two outs later Kazuhiro Wada cracked his fifth as Chunichi topped host Orix.
CARP 11, LIONS 4
Takuro Ishhi and Takahiro Iwamoto each had two hits and two RBIs, and Kan Otake (6-2) won his fourth straight decision as Hiroshima piled up a season-high-tying 14 hits while routing host Seibu.
EAGLES 2, GIANTS 1
Yoshinao Kamata (3-0) tossed his first complete game, handcuffing Yomiuri on five hits, and Luis Garcia’s first-inning two-run homer held up as Rakuten won at the Kleenex Box, breaking an eight-game skid to the Giants.
HAWKS 1, BAYSTARS 0
Shota Oba (2-0) went six scoreless and four relievers combined to fire one-hit relief as SoftBank blanked visiting Yokohama.
TIGERS 6, MARINES 6
Tomoya Satozaki slapped an RBI double off Kyuji Fujikawa in the ninth, forcing a time-limit stalemate at The Q.
*Interleague count
CL 65, PL 65, 11 TIES
[Edited by: jgibson on Jun 18, 2012 12:09 AM]