Atsushi Nomi (HAN) started a Ni-gun game today against Orix and pitched into the 7th inning (6.1 IP).  He didn't give up any runs in his outing and allowed just 2 hits and struck out 10.  Nomi threw a total 79 pitches.

Eri Yoshida's first season in Golden Baseball League official came to a close when the Chico Outlaws played out the last game of their regular season on the 2nd.

Yoshida's final stats:

Pitching

Note: In the four games Yoshida didn't get a decision, the Outlaws went 4-0.

Batting

And her game log:

Central League Roster Updates

Added to the Active Roster

Yomiuri Giants

- Hoshino, Masumi P
- Kato, Ken C
- Lee, Seung-Yeop INF

Hanshin Tigers

- Uezono, Keiji P

Hiroshima Carp

- Imai, Keisuke P

Yokohama Bay Stars

- Terahara, Hayato P

Removed from the Active Roster

Hanshin Tigers

- Egusa, Hirotaka P

Hiroshima Carp

- Mori, Choji P

Yokohama Bay Stars

- Kobayashi, Futoshi P

Pacific League Roster Updates

Added to the Active Roster

Nippon Ham Fighters

- Wolfe, Brian P
- Ozaki, Masaya C

Softbank Hawks

- Matsunaka, Nobuhiko OF

Orix Buffaloes

- Nishi, Yuki P

Removed from the Active Roster

Nippon Ham Fighters

- Carlyle, Buddy P
- Watanabe, Ryuichi C

The HR Tracker has been updated through to 9/2.

The Japan All-High School Baseball Team played a practice game against Palm Spring High School on the 2nd.

Yosuke Shimabukuro started the game for Japan and tossed two shutout innings (0 H, 2 BB, 3 SO).  Shinta Hifumi also pitched and did not allow any hits or walks and struck out 2 in his outing (not sure how many innings).

Daiki Maehira and Tetsuto Yamada both apparently hit for the cycle with Maehira going 5-for-6 with 6 RBI and Yamada going 5-for-5 with 5 RBI.

The CPBL apparently felt that Shin Nakagomi's sentencing was too light and had filed an appeal late last month.  The next round of court dates probably won't be until October.

The irony in all of this is that Nakagomi pleaded guilty on all charges in order to expedite the trial and get back to Japan as soon as possible (his family is going through some problems right now and he wanted to be with them).  Now it seems he won't be able to get back until after the second trial.

Games from the 2nd:

Mariners - Indians
Ichiro Suzuki started in right and batted first.  He went 2-for-4: infield single, double to right-center, strikeout swinging, strikeout swinging.

Count down to 200: 28 games remaining, 27 more hits needed.

Red Sox 6 - Orioles 4
Daisuke Matsuzaka started the game and gave up 4 runs over 5.2 innings of work for the win.  Matsuzaka is now 9-4 on the year.  Final line: 5.2 IP, 24 BF, 6 H, 6 SO, 1 BB, 4 R, 4 ER.

Matsuzaka also topped out at 96mph (about 154km/h).

Hideki Okajima entered the game in the 8th with 2 outs and the Red Sox up 6-4 and retired the one batter he was brought in to face. Final line: 0.1 IP, 1 BF, 0 H, 0 SO, 0 BB, 0 R, 0 ER.

Mets 4 - Braves 2
Hisanori Takahashi entered the game in the 9th, with the Mets up 4-2, and tossed a shutout inning in relief for his 3rd save of the year.  Final line: 1 IP, 4 BF, 1 H, 1 SO, 0 BB, 0 R, 0 ER.

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Kei Igawa started a triple-A game against the Buffalo Bisons on the 2nd and tossed 6.1 innings of shutout ball for his 3rd win of the year.  Igawa is now 3-4.  Final line: 94-65 NP-S, 25 BF, 6.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 SO, 0 HR.

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Kazuo Matsui went 1-for-4 with 2 runs scored and a strikeout against the triple-A Tacoma Rainiers on the 2nd.  Matsui started at second and batted first.

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Akinori Iwamura went 2-for-3 with 2 walks, a double, 2 runs scored, and a strikeout against the triple-A Louisville Bats on the 2nd.  Iwamura started at third and batted second.

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Seems there's a chance Hisanori Takahashi might be moving on to another team in order to secure a better chance at starting. (NY Times)

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Kento Tsujimoto tossed a shutout inning in relief (9th inning) against the Orange County Flyers on the 1st.  Final line: 3 BF, 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO.

Hiroshima held an organization meeting yesterday to go over a list of possible draft picks.  The Carp are hoping to secure two pitchers (that can throw hard) in the upcoming draft that can help the team right away.  As such, the Carp expanded their list of college / amateur players from 24 to 36 players.  Tatsuya Oishi heads the list that also includes Yuki Saito, Yudai Ono, and Hirokazu Sawamura.

Tsuyoshi Nishioka (LOT) went 3-for-3 last night for his 22nd modasho of the year.  That's good for a fifth place tie with Isao Harimoto on the All-time single season list.  Ichiro Suzuki holds the top spot with 26 modasho's during the 1996 season.

Nishioka is now also just 31 hits away from 200 on the year.  With 21 games left on the schedule, if Nishioka can keep up his current pace, he could become the first hitter to record 200 hits in a season since Ichiro in 1994.

Craig Brazell (HAN) didn't hit a homer last night, but did knock in an RBI and now has 100 on year.  He becomes just the fifth player on the Tigers to hit 40 homer and drive in 100 runs in a season, first since Tomoaki Kanemoto in 2005 (40 HR, 125 RBI), and first foreigner Tiger since Randy Bass in 1986 (47 HR, 109 RBI).  Brazell's also the first foreign Tiger to drive in 100 runs since George Arias recorded 107 in 2003.

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The Tigers still have 28 games left on the schedule so anything can, but end last night with six players in the starting line-up batting .300 or better:

Matt Murton - .342 (171-for-500)
Keiichi Hirano - .352 (141-for-401)
Takashi Toritani - .302 (140-for-463)
Takahiro Arai - .310 (143-for-461), 94 RBI
Craig Brazell - .303 (138-for-455), 100 RBI
Kenji Jojima - .300 (134-for-446)

If the Tigers finish the season with six players batting over .300, they'll be the first team to do it since the 2003 Daiei Hawks (NPB record).  The 2003 Daiei team is also known for the four players they had with 100+ RBI.

For those interested:

Tadahito Iguchi - .340 (175-for-515), 109 RBI
Hiroshi Shibahara - .333 (142-for-426)
Kenji Jojima - .330 (182-for-551), 119 RBI
Nobuhiko Matsunaka - .324 (160-for-494), 123 RBI
Arihito Muramatsu - .324 (150-for-463)
Pedro Valdes - .311 (141-for-453), 104 RBI

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Shinjiro Hiyama (HAN) picked up his 115th pinch-hit hit last night, good for 6th on the All-time list.