The Giants had a 1-0 lead over the Yakult Swallows heading into the top of the 6th inning.  With a runner on second and no out, Masanori Ishikawa attempted to advance the runner on a sac bunt.  But insteead of hitting the ball on the ground, he popped the pitch into the air.  Sugano was charging on contact and made a sliding catch for the first out of the inning.  The Giants won the game 3-1.  Georgia video - Box score

The post Second Georgia Award (2013) appeared first on Yakyu Baka.

Shinnosuke Abe hit a home run off pitcher number 184 on Saturday night and moved into sole possession of first on the franchise list.

Source: Nikkan Sports 5/19/2013

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1st round draft pick Tomoyuku Sugano struck out twelve hitters on Saturday.  He is the second pitcher -- behind Hirokazu Sawamura and his eleven strikeouts against Orix on May 23, 2011 -- to record double-digit strikeouts in an Inter-league game in his first year.  He became the sixth pitcher in franchise history -- behind Eiji Sawamura, Suguru Egawa, Koji Uehara, Hiroshi Kisanuki, and Yuya Kubo -- to record two or more double-digit strikeouts in their rookie season.  He also joined E. Sawamura (fourteen strikeouts on November 19, 1936), Egawa (twelve strikeouts on August 26, 1979), and Kisanuki (fifteen strikeouts on July 6, 2003 and twelve strikeouts on July 21, 2003) as the only pitchers in franchise history to record twelve or more strikeouts in a game during their first year.

Source: Nikkan Sports 5/19/2013, Sponichi 5/19/2013

Chunichi Dragons

The Dragons decided to hold off on making a decision on Jesus Colome after watching him toss a bullpen session at Nagoya Dome on Saturday.

"[Colome] threw the ball well, but he has not pitched in any games.  We will give him two or three more days to prepare and then make a final decision," said Morimichi Takagi.

Colome is also scheduled to take a drug exam at a Nagoya hospital on the 20th.

Source: Nikkan Sports 5/19/2013, Daily Sports 5/19/2013

Yakult Swallows

Shinya Miyamoto recorded his 2,097th hit on Saturday and is now tied with Atsuya Furuta for second most hits by a Swallows player.

Source: Sanspo 5/19/2013

Hanshin Tigers

The Tigers stole five bases (Yamato two, Takashi Toritani one, Takahiro Arai one, Shunsuke one) during a game against Softbank at Koshien on Saturday for the first time since June 14, 2006 (at Fullcast Miyagi; Norihiro Akahoshi three, Masato Akamatsu one, Makoto Imaoka one) and September 23, 2001 (at Koshien; Taichiro Kamisaka three, Akahoshi two).

Source: Nikkan Sports 5/19/2013

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1st round draft pick Shintaro Fujinami threw thirty-eight pitches in the bullpen on Saturday.  He will pitch in an Ikusei rehab game on the 21st before making a return to the active roster in time for a start against Nippon Ham on either the 25th or 26th.

Source: Nikkan Sports 5/18/2013, Sponichi 5/18/2013

Pitching coach Kiyooki Nakanishi is planning to travel to Naruohama after the Ichi-gun game at Seibu Dome on the 20th to watch Fujinami pitch on the 21st.  He will then rejoin the Ichi-gun team for the Lotte series at QVC Marine on the 22nd.

Source: Sanspo 5/18/2013

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Tsuyoshi Nishioka is using a lighter bat right now: from 920 grams to 880-890 grams.

Source: Sanspo 5/19/2013

Yokohama Bay Stars

Shun Yamaguchi was taken off the active roster today.

Source: Sponichi 5/19/2013

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Tony Blanco knocked out his twentieth homer of the season on Saturday.  The shot came in his forty-second game, which is tied for third quickest in NPB history with Shigeo Nagashima (1968) and is behind Shinnosuke Abe's thirty-three games in 2004 and Alex Cabrera's thirty-eight games in 2001.

Blanco also joined Noboru Aota (1956), Takeshi Kuwata (1959), Glenn Braggs (1994), and Shuichi Murata (2006) as the only players in franchise history to be the first in either league to hit twenty home runs in a season.

Source: Sanspo 5/19/2013, Nikkan Sports 5/19/2013

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Norihiro Nakamura was left out of the starting line-up on Saturday because of discomfort in his hip joint -- he does not have any problems swinging the bat but does have problems on defense.

Source: Sponichi 5/18/2013

The post [5/19/2013] Yomiuri, Chunichi, Yakult, Hanshin, Yokohama appeared first on Yakyu Baka.

Hideki Kuriyama told reporters on Saturday that he will most likely avoid using 1st round draft pick Shohei Otani as a position player for at least two days after he makes his debut as a starting pitcher on the 23rd vs Yakult.

"I am sure his arm will feel tight after he makes the start.  I want to give him at least two days of rest before he starts throwing [as a position player].  I do not want to risk a shoulder or elbow injury," said Kuriyama.

Source: Daily Sports 5/19/2013

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Dai-Kang Yoh has collected multiple hits in eight straight games.  The NPB record of ten consecutive games (after the start of the two league format) is held by Tsuguo Goto (1952), Charlie Lewis (1954), and Michihiro Ogasawara (2001).

Source: Sponichi 5/19/2013

Seibu Lions

Takeya Nakamura took batting practice while wearing cleats at Seibu 2 Stadium on Saturday for the first time since he had surgery on his left knee last fall.  He faced both a pitching machine and a live arm.

Source: Daily Sports 5/19/2013

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Yuji Kaneko was taken off the active roster today because of his struggles at the plate.

Source: Sponichi 5/19/2013

Orix Buffaloes

Keiichi Hirano felt some tightness his left calf during Saturday's game against Hiroshima at Mazda Stadium.  He was taken off the active roster today as a precaution -- he experienced similar tightness earlier this month on the 14th.

Source: Nikkan Sports 5/19/2013

The post [5/19/2013] Nippon Ham, Seibu, Orix appeared first on Yakyu Baka.

Orix vs Hiroshima at Mazda Stadium - two (Orix two, Hiroshima none)

Rakuten vs Chunichi at Nagoya Dome - two (Chunichi two, Rakuten none)

Softbank vs Hanshin at Koshien - seven (Softbank four, Hanshin three)

Nippon Ham vs Yokohama at Yokohama - three (Nippon Ham two, Yokohama one)

Seibu vs Yomiuri at Tokyo Dome - one (Yomiuri one, Seibu none)

Lotte vs Yakult at Jingu Stadium - seven (Lotte three, Yakult four)

Total - twenty-twenty (Pacific League eleven, Central League eleven)

This was the first time twenty or more home runs were hit in one game since June 29, 2010 (PL nine, CL seventeen) and the first time since the introduction of the new standard baseball.  The twenty-two home runs also broke the Inter-league record of twenty-one home runs in one day, set on May 21, 2005 (PL ten, CL eleven), June 1, 2005 (PL eleven, CL ten), and June 2, 2006 (PL six, CL fifteen).

Source: Sanspo 5/19/2013, Nikkan Sports 5/19/2013

The post [5/19/2013] Twenty-two home runs were hit on Saturday appeared first on Yakyu Baka.

Hitters

Pitchers

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Matt Friedman (Gary SouthShore RailCats) dropped me with two updates on Takahiro Matsuka:

From May 18: Former Japanese Major Leaguer Takahiro Matsuka struggled in his American debut with the RailCats, hitting two batters and walking one while recording one out.  [Box Score]

From May 19: The RailCats have made their first roster move of the regular season, signing right-handed pitcher Kyle Lindquist and placing former Japanese Major Leaguer Takahiro Matsuka on irrevocable waivers.

... Matsuka made his American debut on Friday night and lasted just 1/3 of an inning, giving up three runs and two earned. He hit two batters and walked one. Matsuka briefly pitched in the Japanese Major Leagues in 2009 and 2010, first with the Yokohoma Bay Stars and then the Nippon Ham Fighters.

The post [5/19/2013] Norichika Aoki, Hiroyuki Nakajima, Yoshinori Tateyama, Takahiro Matsuka appeared first on Yakyu Baka.

Added to the Active Roster

Hanshin Tigers

- Conrad, Brooks INF

Yokohama Bay Stars

- Yoshikawa, Teruaki P
- Fukuda, Takehiro P
- Miyazaki, Toshiro INF

Yomiuri Giants

- Nakai, Daisuke INF

Removed from the Active Roster

Hanshin Tigers

- Kojima, Tatsuya P

Yokohama Bay Stars

- Yamaguchi, Shun P
- Fujie, Hitoshi P
- Ide, Shotaro OF

Yomiuri Giants

- Kajimae, Ryuichi OF

Pacific League Updates

Added to the Active Roster

Seibu Lions

- Osada, Shuichiro P

Orix Buffaloes

- Fukae, Masato OF

Rakuten Eagles

- Heuser, Jim P

Removed from the Active Roster

Seibu Lions

- Kaneko, Yuji INF

Orix Buffaloes

- Hirano, Keiichi INF

* Players removed from the active roster today can be added back beginning on May 29.

The post NPB: Roster Changes for 5/19/2013 appeared first on Yakyu Baka.

Sanspo adds that the Tigers lost interest in David Aardsma after they learned he was not interested in playing in Japan.

Sponichi notes that the Tigers also have Guillermo Moscoso, Tim Wood, and Clay Hensley on their list of potential candidates, but Boyer is their top priority.

Source: Sanspo 5/19/2013, Sponichi 5/19/2013

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Career MLB Stats

Career MiLB Stats

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