Rakuten Eagles

Darrell Rasner was taken off the active roster today with discomfort in hip hip region.  Rasner was examined at a hospital in Saitama today but the team has not released information about his injury or about how long they expect him to be out.

Nippon Ham Fighters

The Fighters took Hisashi Takeda off the active roster today because of pain in the inner portion of his right knee (inflammation).  He first started feeling pain during a game on April 19th and was examined at a hospital in Tokyo on April 23.  No ligament damage was found at the time.  The team is considering whether or not to have Takeda re-evaluated.  There is currently no timetable for his return.

Takeda injured his right knee before in 2003.  

Softbank Hawks

Takehito Kanazawa was taken off the active today because of tightness in his right shoulder-blade area.

Chunichi Dragons

As expected, Kazuki Yoshimi was taken off the active roster today with a bruise on his left biceps femoris muscle.

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The Fighters announced today that Atsushi Ugumori was diagnosed with influenza B today.

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The Fighters held a fan gathering in Nago, Okinawa after practices today (7pm).  All Ichi-gun players were present.  1,000 fans attended the event.

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There is still a chance Hirotoshi Masui becomes a starter this year, but for the time being he will likely be used out of the bullpen.

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Kenshi Sugiya turned twenty-one today.

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Yuki Saito played catch with pitching coach Masato Ishii in the bullpen.  Ishii stood out in front of home plate and Saito threw the ball twenty-four times.  Saito is scheduled to toss a bullpen session tomorrow.

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Eiichi Koyano started working out indoors today after being sidelined with the flu.  His workouts included running and soft-toss BP.  Koyano is expected to rejoin the rest of the players for practices on Sunday.

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Sho Nakata shaved his hair down using his own clippers on Thursday night.

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.