The starting line-up for the Fighters did not include Shinji Takahashi.  Takahashi batted a ball off his left foot last night.  He took part in pre-game batting practice today, but the team wanted to play it safe and gave him the night off.

It also seems that earlier reports of Okubo getting upset that a player snitched on his methods of punishing for tardiness were true: someone reported to the Lions' player's association that Okubo was handing out big fines to to tardy players.  The player's union then approached Okubo and ask him to stop.  Okubo assumed that it was Kikuchi that reported him and apparently became violent with him.  Exactly what he did was not released to the public.

But that might spell good news for the Hanshin Tigers -- they also have interest in Yabu, but not as a player.  It seems the Tigers might be ready to offer Yabu a position in the front office should he decide to call it quits.  The Tigers like the experience Yabu has racked up over the years, both as a player in the Majors and in the NPB, and feel he has the ability to help the club out from the front office.

Incidentally, the 100,000th visitor was a 9 year old kid from Kobe who was visiting the museum with his family and some friends.  For being the 100,000th visitor, the museum awarded the kid with tickets to a Hanshin game in September and a photo opp with Tiger mascot To-Lucky.

Added to the Active Roster

Yakult Swallows

- Sato, Yoshinori P

Hanshin Tigers

- Kubo, Yasutomo P

Hiroshima Carp

- Stults, Eric P

Removed from the Active Roster

Yakult Swallows

- Morioka, Ryosuke INF

Hiroshima Carp

- Imai, Keisuke P

Pacific League Roster Updates

Added to the Active Roster

Nippon Ham Fighters

- Darvish, Yu P

Softbank Hawks

- Otonari, Kenji P

Seibu Lions

- Onuma, Koji P
- Asamura, Hideto INF

Orix Buffaloes

- Yamamoto, Shogo P
- Nishi, Yuki P
- Akada, Shogo OF

Removed from the Active Roster

Softbank Hawks

- Akashi, Kenji INF

Seibu Lions

- Abe, Masahiro INF

Orix Buffaloes

- Seguignol, Fernando INF
- Yoshida, Shintaro OF

Red Sox 7 - Angels 3
Hideki Matsui started in left and batted fifth.  He went 0-for-2: walk, ground out to first, ground out to first.  Matsui was lifted in the 7th on defense.

White Sox 6 - Mariners 5
Ichiro Suzuki started in right and batted first.  He went 2-for-5: single to right, single to left, E5, ground out to second, foul out to third.

Blue Jays 5 - Orioles 0
Koji Uehara entered the game in the 8th, with the Orioles down 1-0, and gave up a run over 0.2 innings of work.  Final line: 0.2 IP, 3 BF, 1 H, 0 SO, 0 BB, 1 R, 1 ER.

Astros 8 - Cubs 1
Kosuke Fukudome started in right and batted sixth.  He went 0-for-2: walk, strikeout looking, fly out to left, walk.

Padres 6 - Dodgers 1
Hiroki Kuroda started a the game and gave up 3 runs over 6 innings of work for his 9th loss of the year.  Kuroda is now 8-9 on the year.  Final line: 6 IP, 25 BF, 4 H, 5 SO, 3 BB, 3 R, 3 ER.

Cardinals 8 - Mets 7
Hisanori Takahashi entered the game in the 7th and tossed a shutout inning in relief.  Final line: 1 IP, 3 BF, 0 H, 2 SO, 0 BB, 0 R, 0 ER.

Takahashi is also scheduled for a start on the 31st.

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Kei Igawa gave up 2 runs (both earned) in a 3 inning relief outing (that began in the 4th inning) against the triple-A Norfolk Tides on the 28th.  He did not factor into the final decision.  Final line: 51 (34) NP (S), 13 BF, 4 IP, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO, 0 HR.

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Kazuo Matsui went 1-for-5 with a strikeout and an RBI against the triple-A Sacramento River Cats on the 28th.  He started at short and batted second.

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Akinori Iwamura went 1-for-1 against the triple-A Syracuse Chiefs on the 28th.  Iwamura started at third and batted second.  He was replaced by a pinch-runner after he ran into one of the fielders while legging out an infield single in his first at bat.

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The Red Sox announced on the 28th that Junichi Tazawa had his right elbow examined on 26th to check on his progress.  Seems everything was good and Tazawa will likely begin a throwing program early next month (August).

Murton hits a single to center; Arai hits a single to center, runners on first and third; Arai steals second, Brazell clears the bases with a 2-run single to right; Uemoto replaces Brazell as a pinch-runner; Kanemoto hits a single to right, runners on first and third; Jojima hits an RBI single to right, runners on first and second; S. Fujikawa replaces Kanemoto as a pinch-runner; Asai hits a sac bunt, runners on second and third; Sekimoto, pinch-hitting for Nishimura, clears the bases with a 2-run single to center and advances to second on the throw; Toritani hits an RBI single to right, runner on first; Hirano hits a sac bunt, runner on second; Murton hits an infield single, runners on first and third; and Arai fouls out to right.

Matt Murton also broke a string of 17 straight plate appearances without a hit with that single to lead-off the 7th.

In other team related news:

Kentaro Sekimoto picked up another hit last night in a pinch-hit at bat and is now 9-for-16 with 2 homers and 8 RBI this season.

In other team related news:

Michihiro Ogasawara knocked out his 20th homer of the season last night.  That now gives him 6 straight seasons of 20 or more homers (11 overall).

In other team related news:

Naoto Tsuru will likely start tonight's game against the Yokohama Bay Stars.