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Maeda helps Carp gain 3rd place again
Brad Eldred told the JBW podcast last week that pitching was going to carry the Hiroshima Carp to the playoffs. Maybe he told Kenta Maeda the same thing.
Maeda (13-6) tormented the Yokohama BayStars on Saturday, tossing a seven-hitter in a 3-0 win at The Zoom that helped the Carp keep their share of third place in the Central League. The Swallows later lost, putting the Carp a game up in third.
The sixth-year right-hander had little trouble working through the Yokohama lineup, walking two and fanning eight in a 131-pitch gem for his second shutout of the season [the first since his no-hitter at Yokohama on April 6].
"It had been a long time since I had pitched in the ninth inning. To be honest, I was a little nervous," Maeda quipped in the on-field postgame interview.
The Carp took the lead in the fourth inning when a wild pitch by loser Wang Yi Cheng (0-3) allowed Eishin Soyogi to score. Soyogi delivered a bases-loaded double in the fifth that plated two and put the Carp in control. Maeda handled things from there, also pitching out of trouble in the ninth to close it out.
TIGERS 1, DRAGONS 0
Akihito Fujii laid down a perfect squeeze bunt, and Atsushi Nomi (8-9) locked up Chunichi on four hits over eight innings as Hansin topped the Dragons to win its first game this season at Nagoya Dome and halt a nine-game skid there.
GIANTS 5, SWALLOWS 2
Reserve Kenji Yano took advantage of a rare start with four hits, and D.J. Houlton tied his career high in Japan by winning his sixth consecutive decision [and was 2-for-3 with an RBI] as Yomiuri topped host Yakut and reduced its magic number to win the CL to 13.
PACIFIC LEAGUE
EAGLES 6, LIONS 5, 10 INNINGS
Takuro Okajima's high bouncer climbed over a drawn-in infield in the 10th inning and gave Rakuten a sayonara win over Seibu in 3 hours, 58 minutes at The Kleenex Box.
The Eagles rallied for three hits and a walk off Seibu closer Hideaki Wakui (1-4).
HAWKS 3, MARINES 1
Kenji Akashi tripled home two runs and scored on Seiichi Uchikawa’s scoring fly ball, and Yang Yao-shun (2-1) went 6.1 innings as SoftBank topped Lotte at FYJ Dome.
BUFFALOES 2, FIGHTERS 1, 10 INNINGS
Lee Dae Ho cracked a single to center to give host Orix a victory over second-place Nippon Ham.