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.

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.

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.

Akihiro Yano (HAN) held a meeting with the Tigers yesterday in order to inform them of his desire to retire at the end of the season.  While Yano wanted another chance to play at Ichi-gun again, it seems he felt he was also becoming a burden to the team.  I'm guessing that Yano's right elbow wasn't getting any better and he finally decided to hang them up.

The Tigers would like to hold a retirement ceremony for Yano, but will first need to see how things play out with their pennant chase.

Tetsuya Utsumi will likely be getting tonight's start against the Chunichi Dragons.  It seems the Giants have also decided to swing Shun Tono around in order to start him on Sunday -- he only last 2 innings and threw 40 pitches during his last start on the 31st and has done relatively well against the Dragons this season (a losing record of 2-3 over 5 starts, but a 2.53 ERA / 1.34 WHIP).

Not quite sure who will pitch on Saturday, but based on last month's schedule, Satoshi Fukuda could get that start (pure speculation).

Hisashi Takeda (HAM) became the 25th pitcher (accomplished 27 times) in the Pacific League to record a save on just one pitch.  He's also just the 3rd pitcher in Fighters' franchise history to accomplish the feat.  The other two: Akihito Kaneishi on 7/1/1993; and Junji Kurogi on 5/23/1999.

The Hanshin Tigers took Tsuyoshi Shimoyanagi off the active roster yesterday.  The move, it seems, is part of a larger plan to juggle the starting rotation and could also involve moving Naoto Tsuru back into the rotation for the Chunichi Dragons series, a team Shimoyanagi has struggled with a bit this year (1-2 with a 4.66 ERA in 5 starts against Chunichi).

The Tigers might go with the following 6 pitchers for their next two series:

vs Hiroshima

Yasutomo Kubo

Naoto Tsuru

Takumi Akiyama

vs Chunichi

Jason Standridge

Randy Messenger

Atsushi Nomi

Shimoyanagi's next start could come on the 14th against the Yokohama Bay Stars.