Head games ...

Iwata hits batter in head, both stay in as Chunichi wins

Chunichi Dragons starter Shinji Iwata thought he'd hurt a player's career as well as his team’s and his own chance to win on Saturday. Turns out, everyone was fine -- maybe except for the Hiroshima Carp.

The Dragons’ Iwata (1-0) hit the Carp’s Tsubasa Aizawa with a pitch to the head, but the righty was able to stay in the game and went five frames to earn his first win, while Aizawa sprung back into action in a 6-1 Chunichi victory at The Zoom.

The fourth-year hurler hit Aizawa in the head with a changeup and the batter lay motionless for minutes before being carried off on a stretcher. He was taken to the clubhouse as Iwata figured he'd get the automatic ejection for hitting a batter in the head.

But the umpires determined that it was an offspeed pitch that slipped from his hand, so he remained in the game. As Iwata was making warmup pitches before play resumed, Aizawa came bouncing back onto the field and took his base. He finished the game behind the plate.

Iwata tossed two more innings, holding the Carp to a run on three hits and two walks with three Ks for his first win since July 19, 2010.

Masahiro Araki had three hits, including an RBI double and a solo blast, and Masahiko Morino had two hits and a pair of RBIs to lead Chunichi’s 13-hit attack.

The Carp's Kenta Kurihara played in his career 1,000th game.

SWALLOWS 2, GIANTS 0

Fourth-year Katsuki Akagawa (2-1) tossed a five-hitter for his first pro shutout, and Tsuyoshi Ueda tripled home the game’s only two runs in the first inning as Yakult blanked visiting Yomiuri.

The Giants fell into the CL cellar, a half-game behind Yokohama.

BAYSTARS 4, TIGERS 3

Yokohama had two players gunned down at the plate in late-game situations, committed an error and failed to turn two on a tailor-made double-play grounder but protected their lead to give Yota Kosugi (1-0) his first win since Aug. 11, 2011.

PACIFIC LEAGUE

FIGHTERS 8, BUFFALOES 1

Terrmel Sledge went 4-for-5 with two doubles and three RBIs, and Yang Zhong-shou added two hits and two RBIs as Nippon Ham topped host Orix.

Masaru Takeda (3-0) held Orix to a run on five hits and no walks with four Ks to give Nippon Ham a chance to sweep in the finale.

HAWKS 11, EAGLES 1

Seiichi Uchkawa had the hit first five-hit game of his career and Nobuhiro Matsuda cracked his second career grand slam as SoftBank beat up on visiting Rakuten.

Matsuda also had a sac fly for five RBIs to back righty Tadashi Settsu (3-0), who yielded eight hits and a walk with five Ks over 7.1 innings.

MARINES 3, LIONS 2

Saburo Omura homered and Katsuya Kakunaka added a two-run double in a three-run second that carried Lotte past Seibu at The Q.

Yuki Karakawa (3-1) held Seibu to two runs over 6.1 innings and Yasuhiko Yabuta closed it out in the ninth for his fifth save.



[Edited by: jgibson on Apr 22, 2012 12:17 AM]