===

Jingu | Attendance: 17,752 | Time: 3h 34m | Swallows lead series, 12-8-0

The Tigers dropped the Swallows, 8-2, and picked up a game in the standings.

An RBI double by Takahiro Arai (2-for-4, BB, 2B, HR, R, 2 RBI) with runners on first and third and 2 out in the top of the 1st gave the Tigers a 1-0 lead.   They made it 2-0 on an RBI double by Tomoaki Kanemoto (2-for-5, 2 2B, 3 RBI) with a runner on first and 1 out.

The Swallows tied the game at 2 in the bottom of the third when Kazuki Fukuchi (0-for-4, HBP, R) was hit by a pitch, advanced to second on a grounder, and a strike out later, scored on Norichika Aoki's (1-for-4, HR, R, 2 RBI) 15th home run of the year.

In the top of the 4th, the Tigers retook the lead and pushed the Swallows away with a 4-run inning: with the bases loaded and 2 out, Takashi Toritani (2-for-3, 2 BB, 2B, 3 R, 2 RBI) drove in 2 runs with a double into right, runners on second and third.  Kanemoto followed with a double into left that clear the bases and gave the Tigers a 6-2 lead.

Arai's 15th home run of the year in the top of the 7th; and an RBI infield single by Keisuke Kano (2-for-5, R, RBI) with the bases loaded in the top of the 9th gave the Tigers their 8-2 lead.

I was actually at this game and will post my thoughts and images from the game a little later.

Missed Opportunities
Tigers
1st: bases loaded, 2 out > Sakurai flied out
2nd: runner on second, 1 out > Arai struck out and Brazell struck out
4th: runner on second, 2 out > Arai grounded out
5th: runner on first and second, 1 out > Kubo failed bunt, runners on first and second, Hirano grounded out
9th: bases loaded, 2 out > Fujikawa struck out

Swallows
1st: runners on first and third > Aoki GIDP
2nd: runner on first and second > Yoshinori struck out
4th: runner on third, 2 out > Noguchi grounded out
6th: bases loaded, 2 out > pinch hitter D'Antona struck out
8th: runners on first and second, 1 out > Onizaki struck out and Kawamoto grounded out

Tigers: 10 LOB, 2 DP
Swallows: 9 LOB, 1 DP

News
The Tigers outhit the Swallows, 12-6. ... The Tigers are 18-0 in games that Atchison and Fujikawa make appearances in the second half. ... The Red Bull race car made an appearance at the game after the 5th inning. ... Kanemoto becomes only the 10th player in NBP history to hit 400 doubles in his career.

Hanshin Tigers

Yakult Swallows

===

Nagoya Dome | Attendance: 35,931 | Time: 2h 39m | Giants lead series, 15-8-0

The Giants dropped two straight as the Dragons took the victory, 4-1.

Tony Blanco's (2-for-3, BB, HR, R, RBI) 38th home run of the year to lead off the 2nd gave the Dragons a 1-0 lead.  Two fly outs later, Shigeo Yanagida (1-for-3, R) and Keiji Oyama (1-for-3, R) hit back-to-back singles.  Kenta Asakura (1-for-2, 2B, 2 RBI) then followed with a bases clearing double that made it 3-0.

In the bottom of the 3rd, Kei Nomoto (1-for-3, HR, R, RBI) gave the Dragons' their 4th run of the game with his 2nd home run of the year to lead off the 3rd.

The Giants finally got on the board in the top of the 5th when Shigeyuki Furuki (2-for-4, R) led off the inning with a single; Kazunari Tsuruoka (0-for-2) reached on an error, runners on first and second; Seth Greisinger (1-for-1, 2B)  hit a bunt to advance the runners; Hayato Sakamoto(0-for-3, RBI) hit a sac fly that score the Giants first and only run of the game; and Tetsuya Matsumoto (0-for-3, BB)  grounded out to the pitcher.

Takuya Asao recorded his 5th save with a 1-2-3 9th.

Kenta Asakura and the rest of the Dragons did a good job of keeping the Giants' offense from scoring more runs.  And the one run that did score, ended up being an unearned run.

Missed Opportunities
Giants
3rd: runner on second, no out > Sakamoto flied out, Matsumoto lined out, and Ogasawara grounded out
5th: runner on second, 2 out > Sakamoto grounded out
6th: runners on first and second, no out > Abe flied out, Tani singled, runner on second caught in rundown between third and home, runners on second and third, and Furuki flied out

Dragons
2nd: runner on second, 2 out > Ibata flied out
6th: runner on second, 1 out > Morino lined out and Blanco flied out

Giants: 6 LOB, 1 DP
Dragons: 3 LOB, 1 DP

News
Both teams collected 7 hits.

Yomiuri Giants

Chunichi Dragons

===

Mazda Stadium | Attendance: 15,189 | Time: 2h 41m | Carp lead series, 11-10-0

The Carp ended the night with fewer hits than the Bay Stars but still managed to beat them, 2-1.

Hiroshima took an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first when Tetsuya Kokobu (0-for-2, HBP, IBB, R) was hit by a pitch with one out.  A ground out by Soichiro Amaya (0-for-4) allowed Kokubo to advance to third and Kenta Kurihara's (2-for-4, 2 RBI) single into right pushed Kokubo across home.

Tatsuhiko Kinjo (2-for-4, 2B, R) led off the 6th with a double into right, advanced to third on a sac bunt, and scored on Seiichi Uchikawa's (1-for-3, RBI) sac fly into right to tie the game at 1.

Kazuya Takamiya entered the game in the bottom of the 9th for the Carp and gave up a lead-off single to Jun Hirose (1-for-1).  Shogo Kimura then entered the game as a pinch runner for Hirose.  A bunt allowed Kimura to advance to second and a walk to Kokubo put runners on first and third.  After Amaya went down on strikes, Shun Yamaguchi relieved Takamiya and promptly gave up a walk-off single to Kurihara.

If not for the 1-out HBP in the botttom of the first, Kentaro Kuwahara may have been able to toss a shut-out.  Instead, he'll have to be satisfied with 19 straight batters retired between the last out of the first and the last out of the 7th.  The bullpen took over from the 8th.

Keisuke Imai also had a solid outing, giving up  just 1 run on 5 hits.

Missed Opportunities
Bay Stars
2nd: runners on first and second, no out > Ishikawa GIDP, runner on third, Takeyama struck out
8th: runner on second, 1 out > Kinjo flied out and pinch hitter Saeki struck out
9th: runner on first and second, 1 out > Yoshimura struck out and Ishikawa lined out

Carp
none

Bay Stars: 6 LOB, 1 DP
Carp: 3 LOB, 0 DP

News
The Bay Stars outhit the Carp, 7-3. ... The Bay Stars have now lost 6 in a row.

Yokohama Bay Stars

Hiroshima Carp

======

Sapporo Dome | Attendance: 19,576 | Time: 3h 10m | Fighters lead series, 15-6-0

Scoring

Fighters 1st

Kensuke Tanaka (1-for-5, R, RBI) grounds out to first
Hichori Morimoto (0-for-3, BB, R) flies out to right
Atsunori Inaba (1-for-3, HBP, BB, R) HBP
Shinji Takahashi (1-for-3, HR, 3 R, 3 RBI) hits his 8th home run of the year ... Inaba and Takahashi SCORE
Terrmel Sledge (2-for-3, HBP, BB, 2 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI) hits his 25th home run of the year ... Sledge SCORES
Eiichi Koyano (2-for-4, 2B, R, 2 RBI) grounds out to short
Runs: 3 | Hits: 2 | Score: 3-0 Fighters

Buffaloes 3rd

Takahiro Okada (0-for-4) lines out to second
Tomotaka Sakaguchi (2-for-4, BB, 2 R) hits a single
Naoyuki Ohmura (2-for-4, 2B, R, RBI) hits a single into left ... runners on first and second
Hirotoshi Kitagawa (0-for-3) flies out to center
Tuffy Rhodes (1-for-4, RBI) hits a single into right ... Sakaguchi SCORES ... runners on first and third
Shinji Shimoyama (1-for-3) flies out to center.
Runs: 1 | Hits: 3 | Score: 3-1 Fighters

Fighters 4th

Yoshio Itoi (2-for-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI) hits his 14th home run of the year ... Itoi SCORES
Shinya Tsuruoka (1-for-4, 2B, R) hits a double into right
Pitching change: Hidetaka Kawagoe relieves Masaki Ihara
Makoto Kaneko (1-for-3) hits a sac bunt ... runner on third
Tanaka hits a single into right ... Tsuruoka SCORES ... runner on first
Morimoto reaches on an error ... runners on first and second
Piching change: Akio Shimizu relieves Kawagoe
Inaba hits a single into left ... bases loaded
Takahashi grounds out to short ... Tanaka SCORES ... runners on first and third
Sledge HBP ... bases loaded
Pitching change: Daisuke Kato relieves Shimizu
Koyano hits a single into right ... Morimoto and Takahashi SCORES ... runners on first and third
Itoi strikes out looking
Runs: 5 | Hits: 5 | Score: 8-1 Fighters

Fighters 6th

Defense: Ikki takes over third
Morimoto lines out to third
Inaba flies out to left
Takahashi reaches on a fielding error ... runner on first
Sledge hits his 26th home run of the year ... Takahashi and Sledge SCORE
Koyano hits a double up against the wall
Itoi hits his 15th home run of the year ... Koyano and Itoi SCORE
Tsuruoka strikes out
Runs: 4 | Hits: 4 | Score: 12-1 Fighters

Buffaloes 7th

Tetsuya Yokoyama (1-for-4) hits a single into left
Okada hits into a 3-6-1 double play
Sakaguchi walks
Ohmura hits a double ... Sakaguchi SCORES
Ikki (1-for-1, RBI) hits a single into center ... Ohmura SCORES
Rhodes flies out to center
Runs: 2 | Hits: 3 | Score: 12-3 Fighters

Missed Opportunities
Buffaloes
1st: runner on third, 1 out > Kitagawa grounded out and Rhodes struck out
2nd: runner on first and second, 1 out > Yokoyama GIDP
3rd: runners on first and third, 2 out > Shimoyama flied out
6th: runners on first and second, 2 out > K. Yamasaki grounded out
8th: runner on third, 2 out > Yokoyama struck out

Fighters
3rd: runners on first and second, 2 out > Koyano struck out
4th: runners on first and third, 2 out > Itoi struck out

Buffaloes: 8 LOB, 2 DP
Fighters: 6 LOB, 0 DP

News
Both teams collected 11 hits. ... The Fighters clinched a spot in the CS with the win. ... The last time the Fighters hit 5 home runs at Sapporo Dome was in 2004.

Orix Buffaloes

Nippon Ham Fighters

===

Kleenex Stadium | Attendance: 15,721 | Time: 4h 31m | Eagles lead series, 11-10-0

The Eagles missed out on taking second place by dropping their game against the Hawks, 7-6.

The Hawks took a 2-o lead in the top of the 2nd on three consecutive, 2-out extra base hits: Kenji Akashi (3-for-4, 2 BB, 2 3B, R) hit a triple into left; Yuya Hasegawa (2-for-4, 2 BB, 2B, R, RBI) hit a double that scored Akashi; and Hidenori Tanoue (2-for-5, 2B, HR, R, 2 RBI) hit a double that scored Hasegawa.  The Eagles answered back with a run in the bottom of the 3rd when Takeshi Yamasaki (1-for-3, 2 BB, HR, R, 3 RBI) walked with the bases loaded and 2 out.

Munenori Kawasaki (1-for-3, 2 BB, 2B, 2 R) led off the 5th with a double to right, advanced to third on a bunt, and scored on a fielder's choice by Yusuke Kosai (1-for-2, R, RBI).  After Jose Ortiz (1-for-4, 2 BB) singled into center and Hiroki Kokubo (0-for-6) struck out, with runners on first and second, Nobuhiko Matsunaka (1-for-5, IBB, RBI) hit a single in to center to give the Hawks a 4-1 lead.  Tanoue's 24th home run of the year in the top of the 6th made is 5-1.

The Eagles put two back-to-back 2-run innings in a row to tie the game at 5:

6th: RBI single by Ryuji Miyade (1-for-3, RBI) with runners on first and second and 1 out; a walk later, with the bases loaded, Naoto Watanabe (2-for-5, 2B, R, RBI) hit a sac fly for the second run of the inning.

7th: After Teppei (1-for-5, R) led off the 7th with an infield single and advanced to second on a throwing error, T. Yamasaki blasted his 37th home run of the year to tie the game at 5.

In the top of the 10th, Shinichiro Koyama (he took the mound in the bottom of the 8th and faced 1 batter) promptly walked Kawasaki to start the inning.  And when Nobuhiro Matsuda (0-for-4, BB) popped up a bunt foul behind the plate, Jin Nakatani (C) turned around and managed to make a diving catch for the first out of the inning.  But it also allowed Kawasaki to tag up for second.  Satoru Morimoto (1-for-2, 3B, R, RBI) then followed with a triple that gave the Hawks a 6-5 lead.  A walk to Ortiz later, Koyama threw a wild pitch that gave the Hawks a very important insurance run.

Down 7-5 in the bottom of the 10th, Masato Nakamura (1-for-2, HR, R, RBI) hit his 3rd home run of the year to cut the Hawks lead to 1 run.  But that's as close as the Eagles got as pinch hitter Kenshi grounded out to second and N. Watanabe grounded out to short for the final out of the inning.

Missed Opportunities
Hawks
2nd: runner on second, 2 out > Kawasaki struck out
3rd: runner on second, 2 out > Kokubo struck out
4th: runners on first and third, 1 out > Tanoue GIDP
5th: bases loaded, 2 out > Hasegawa struck out
7th: runners on first and second, 2 out > Tanoue struck out
8th: runners on first and second, 2 out > Kokubo struck out
10th: bases loaded, 2 out > Hasegawa flied out

Eagles
1st: runner  on second, no out > Takasu bunts back to the pitch, runner on second thrown out at third, runner on first ... Teppei flied out ... T. Yamasaki struck out
3rd: bases loaded, 2 out > Kusano flied out
4th: runners on first and second, 2 out > N. Watanabe flied out
6th: runners on first and third, 2 out > Takasu grounded out
9th: bases loaded, 1 out > Seguignol GIDP

Hawks: 15 LOB, 2 DP
Eagles: 10 LOB, 1 DP

News
The Hawks outhit the Eagles, 12-11. ... Honda's left pinky was hit by a pitch in the third inning of Tuesday night's game against the Rakuten Eagles.  He was removed from the game prior to the 4th and taken to a hospital for testing. ... Tamura was penciled into the starting line-up but did not play because he wasn't feeling well.  Tests revealed he does not have the flu the virus.

Softbank Hawks

Rakuten Eagles

===

Seibu Dome | Attendance: 14,063 | Time: 3h 15m | Marines lead series, 13-9-0

Scoring

Marines 1st

Tsuyoshi Nishioka (1-for-5, BB, R) strikes out
Koichi Hori (2-for-5, BB, 2 R, 4 RBI) reached on an error ... runner on first
Kazuya Fukuura (1-for-4, BB, 2 R) hit an infield single ... runners on first and second
Shoitsu Ohmatsu (1-for-5, R) hit a single into right ... bases loaded
Tomoya Satozaki (0-for-4, BB, RBI) walks ... Hori SCORES
Toshiaki Imae (2-for-5, 2 R, 3 RBI) grounds out to second ... Fukuura SCORES ... runners on first and third
Ryusuke Minami (2-for-5, 2B, HR, R, 4 RBI)  hits a double ... Satozaki and Imae SCORE
Masahiko Tanaka (1-for-3, 2 BB, 2 R) flies out to right
Runs: 4 | Hits: 3 | Score: 4-0 Marines

Marines 2nd

Keisuke Hayasaka (2-for-5, 3B, 2 R, RBI) hit a single into right
Wild pitch ... runner on second
Nishoika grounds out to second ... runner on third
Hori hits into a fielder's choice ... Hayasaka SCORES ... runner on first
Fukuura strikes out
Ohmatsu flies out  to left
Runs: 1 | Hits: 1 | Score: 5-0 Marines

Lions 2nd

Takeya Nakamura (1-for-3, HBP, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI) HBP
Yoshihito Ishii (1-for-2, BB) walks ... runners on first and second
G.G. Sato (0-for-3) hits into a 5-4-3 double play ... runner on third
Yutaro Ohsaki (1-for-3, 2B, RBI) hits a double ... Nakamura SCORES
Ginjiro (1-for-1) hits an infield single ... Ohsaki advances to third and takes a wide turn and gets thrown out
Runs: 1 | Hits: 2 | Score: 5-1 Marines

Marines 4th

M. Tanaka walks
Hayasaka strikes out
Stolen base ... runner on second
Nishioka walks ... runners on first and second
Double steal ... runners on second and third
Hori hits a single ... M. Tanaka and Nishioka SCORE
Fukuura strikes out
Ohmatsu flies out
Runs: 2 | Hits: 1 | Score: 7-1 Marines

Marines 5th

Pitching change: Fumikazu Kimura relieves Kazuhisa Ishii
Satozaki flies out to center
Imae hits a single into right
Wild pitch ... runner on second
Minami hits his 3rd home run of the year ... Imae and Minami SCORE
M. Tanaka walks
Hayasaka hits a triple ... M. Tanaka SCORES
Nishioka grounds out
Hori hits a single ... Hayasaka SCORES
Fukuura grounds out to first
Runs: 4 | Hits: 4 | Score: 11-1 Marines

Lions 7th

Hiroyuki Nakajima (1-for-4, R) hits a single into right
Nakamura hits his 45th home run of the year ... Nakajima and Nakamura SCORE
Y. Ishii hits an infield single
G.G. Sato grounds into a 6-4-3 double play
Ohsaki strikes out
Runs: 2 | Hits: 3 | Score: 11-3 Marines

Marines 8th

Pitching change:  Hironori Matsunaga relieves Minoru Yamagishi
Hori walkes
Fukuura walks ... runners on first and second
Ohmatsu flies out ... runners on second and third
Satozaki strike outs
Imae hits a single into center ... Hori and Fukuura SCORE
Minami strikes out
Runs: 2 | Hits: 1 | Score: 13-3 Marines

Missed Opportunities
Marines
1st: runner on second, 2 out > M. Tanaka flied out
7th: runners on second, 2 out > Nishioka struck out

Lions
none

Marines: 7 LOB, 0 DO
Lions: 1 LOB, 2 DP

News
The Marines outhit the Lions, 12-5. ... This was the third straight game the Lions surrendered 10 or more runs.  The last time they did this was back in May of 2006.

Chiba Lotte Marines

Seibu Lions

===

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