Nippon Ham Fighters

Hideki Kuriyama told reporters on Saturday that he will most likely avoid using 1st round draft pick Shohei Otani as a position player for at least two days after he makes his debut as a starting pitcher on the 23rd vs Yakult.

"I am sure his arm will feel tight after he makes the start.  I want to give him at least two days of rest before he starts throwing [as a position player].  I do not want to risk a shoulder or elbow injury," said Kuriyama.

Source: Daily Sports 5/19/2013

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Dai-Kang Yoh has collected multiple hits in eight straight games.  The NPB record of ten consecutive games (after the start of the two league format) is held by Tsuguo Goto (1952), Charlie Lewis (1954), and Michihiro Ogasawara (2001).

Source: Sponichi 5/19/2013

Seibu Lions

Takeya Nakamura took batting practice while wearing cleats at Seibu 2 Stadium on Saturday for the first time since he had surgery on his left knee last fall.  He faced both a pitching machine and a live arm.

Source: Daily Sports 5/19/2013

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Yuji Kaneko was taken off the active roster today because of his struggles at the plate.

Source: Sponichi 5/19/2013

Orix Buffaloes

Keiichi Hirano felt some tightness his left calf during Saturday's game against Hiroshima at Mazda Stadium.  He was taken off the active roster today as a precaution -- he experienced similar tightness earlier this month on the 14th.

Source: Nikkan Sports 5/19/2013

Yomiuri Giants vs Nippon Ham Fighters @ Sapporo Dome - 18:00
Starters: Utsumi, Tetsuya (YOM) 4-0, 1.46 - Takeda, Masaru (HAM) 1-2, 2.31

Attendance: 37688 | Time: 2h44m | Nippon Ham leads series, 1-0-0

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Nippon Ham Fighters

The Fighters announced a number of giveaways for 1st round draft pick Shohei Otani's debut starting pitcher game on the 23rd against the Yakult Swallows:

- An Otani clear folder to the first 30,000 fans
- Certificate of attendance to the first 35,000 fans
- Randomly selected fan club members could win ball autographed by Otani (two), or an Otani poster (390)
- Otani pin badge to fan club members

Source: official announcement

Softbank Hawks

Kenji Akashi was taken off the active roster on Saturday because of poor performance: 15 G, 3-for-29, 6 SO, .103/.161/.103

Source: Nikkan Sports 5/18/2013

Rakuten Eagles

Takashi Saito felt discomfort in his left hamstring during a bullpen session on the 17th and was removed from the active roster on Saturday. He will be examined at a hospital.

Source: Sponichi 5/18/2013

Nippon Ham Fighters

Yuki Saito threw thirty-six pitches in the bullpen on Friday.  This was his third session since he started throwing to a squatting catcher on the 12th.

Source: Nikkan Sports 5/17/2013

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Hideki Kuriyama wants 1st round draft pick Shohei Otani to focus on pitching when he makes his Ichi-gun debut as a starting pitcher on the 23rd (vs Yakult at Sapporo Dome).

Source: Sponichi 5/17/2013

Otani could make an appearance in relief during an upcoming Yomiuri series at Sapporo Dome (May 19-20) before he makes his debut as a starter on the 23rd (vs Yakult at Sapporo Dome).

Source: Sponichi 5/17/2013

Tickets to the game on the 23rd started selling quickly immediately after the team announced that Otani was going to start the game -- the team sold about 1,000 tickets in the half day after the announcement (they normally sell on average about 300 tickets a day).

Source: Sanspo 5/18/2013, Nikkan Sports 5/18/2013

Softbank Hawks

Kenji Otonari pitched in a Ni-gun rehab game against Chunichi at Nagoya Stadium on Friday and gave up two runs on four hits over three innings of work.  Otonari was taken off the active roster on the 3rd with discomfort in his lower back.

Source: Sponichi 5/17/2013

Otonari could return to the active roster in time for a start on either the 20th (vs Chunichi) or the 22nd (vs Yokohama).

Source: Nikkan Sports 5/18/2013

Chiba Lotte Marines

1st round draft pick Takahiro Matsunaga joined Tsuneo Horiuchi (August 2, 1966), Teruo Aida (May 20, 1971), Toyohiko Yoshida (June 18, 1988), and Masanobu Okubo (September 26, 2011) as the only pitchers in NPB history to give up a walk-off grand slam in their rookie season.

Source: Nikkan Sports 5/18/2013

Nippon Ham Fighters vs Yokohama Bay Stars @ Yokohama Stadium - 14:00
Starters: Tanimoto, Keisuke (HAM) 1-3, 5.54 - Fujii, Shugo (YOK) 3-0, 1.93

Attendance: 26165 | Time: 3h53m | Series tied, 1-1-0

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Nippon Ham Fighters

If 1st round draft pick Shohei Otani makes it into one Ichi-gun game as both a pitcher and a position player this season, he will be the first to do so since Yozo Nagabuchi in 1968.

Source: Nikkan Sports 5/17/2013

Otani worked out at Kamagaya today -- did some running, played some catch, weight training.  He told reporters he felt a little tightness in his right shoulder, but was otherwise ok.

Source: Nikkan Sports 5/17/2013

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Brian Wolfe did some light workouts (played some catch, did some running) at the indoor training facilities in Sapporo on Thursday.  It was his first day back after spending the last ten days resting and recovering from sinusitis.

Wolfe will get checked out again on the 21st.  If he gets the green light, he will slowly begin to ramp up his training.

Source: Nikkan Sports 5/17/2013

Seibu Lions

Thursday's Ni-gun game against Nippon Ham:

Fumikazu Kimura (former pitcher turned outfielder) started at short and batted first.  He went 2-for-3: HR8, K, HR7, BB, BB.  Both home runs came off Shohei Otani.  Source: Sanspo 5/17/2013

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Atsushi Okamoto is planning to file marriage papers with his fiance later this month on his birthday (May 20).

Source: Sponichi 5/17/2013

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Cerberus Capital Management has decided to extend their tender offer period until May 31 in the hopes of reaching their 44.7 percent target.

Source: Reuters 5/16/2013

Softbank Hawks

1st round draft pick Nao Higashihama wants to throw a harder fastball and is currently working on strengthening his trunk muscles and lower body.  He is scheduled to start a Ni-gun game against Orix on the 19th.

Source: Nikkan Sports 5/17/2013

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Koji Akiyama took thirty swings during batting practice on Thursday.

Source: Sponichi 5/17/2013

Rakuten Eagles

Masahiro Tanaka has started one game on five days of rest, four games on six days of rest, and one game on seven days of rest so far this season.  Beginning with his last start on the 14th (vs Yokohama), all his starts through to June 1 (vs Yokohama at Kleenex) will likely be on five days of rest.  Depending on his level of fatigue, his next start after June 1 could come on four days of rest on June 6 (vs Yakult at Jingu).

Over his career, Tanaka has pitched in twenty-six games on five or fewer days of rest.  Of those twenty-six, twenty-four has been as a starting pitcher.  Of the twenty-six, twenty-five have been on five days of rest.  He is 12-5 with one save in those twenty-five games.

Source: Sponichi 5/17/2013

Chiba Lotte Marines

The Marines are 10-0 when they use five or more pitchers in a game and 13-15 when using four or less.

Of the ten games they have won when using five or more pitchers, eight have been come-from-behind victories.

Source: Sponichi 5/17/2013

Nippon Ham Fighters vs Yokohama Bay Stars @ Yokohama Stadium - 18:00
Starters: Kagiya, Yohei (HAM) 1-1, 2.00 - Kosugi, Yota (YOK) 1-2, 3.90

Attendance: 17890 | Time: 4h11m | Nippon Ham leads series, 1-0-0

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1st round draft pick Shohei Otani started a Ni-gun game against Seibu at Kamagaya today.

Final line: 5 IP, 104 NP, 7 H, 2 BB, 4 SO, 5 R, 2 ER.

Hideki Kuriyama spoke to reporters after the game and said Otani's next start will take place at Ichi-gun, one week later (likely on the 23rd against Yakult at Sapporo Dome).

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1st inning

Kimura, Fumikazu - Fouled off first pitch (146km/h fastball).  Second pitch was a fastball out of the strike zone.  Third pitch was hit over the left-center field wall for a home run.

Abreu, Abner - Hit a single to center on an 1-0 fastball.

Spilborghs, Ryan - First pitch was a curve and Abreu stole second and advance to third on a throwing E2.  Struck out swinging on a 2-2 slider.

Uemoto, Tatsuyuki - Grounded out to short on a 1-2, 125km/h change, runner on third scored.

Takayama, Hisashi - Flied out to right on a 3-2, 146km/h fastball.

Fastball topped out at 146km/h.

2nd inning

Ishikawa, Mitsugu - Grounded out to third on a 0-1, 144km/h fastball.

Takeno, Tatsuya - Hit a single to center on a 1-0, 144km/h fastball.

Misawa, Masaru - Grounded out to first on a 2-0 fastball, runner to second.

Hayashizaki, Ryo - Grounded out to second on a 3-2, 143km/h fastball.

Threw thirty-four pitches through the first two innings.

3rd inning

Kimura, Fumikazu - Struck out swinging on a 2-2, 128km/h slider.

Abreu, Abner - Struck out swinging on a 1-2, 130km/h cutter.

Spilborghs, Ryan - Grounded out to short on a 2-2, 127km/h slider.

4th inning

Uemoto, Tatsuyuki - Grounded out to first on a 2-2, 125km/h change.

Takayama, Hisashi - Struck out looking on a 2-2, 127km/h slider.

Ishikawa, Mitsugu - Hit a single to left on a 0-1, 144km/h fastball.

Takeno, Tatsuya - Passed ball on first pitch, runner to second.  Walked on a 3-1 fastball that missed high, runners on first and second.

Misawa, Masaru - Grounded out to short on a 3-2, 128km/h slider.

Fastball topped out at 151km/h when facing Takayama.

5th inning

Hayashizaki, Ryo - Grounded out to third on a 2-1 fastball, reached safely on a throwing error.

Kimura, Fumikazu - Hit a home run to left on a 0-1, 117km/h slider that went down the middle of the plate.

Abreu, Abner - Flied out to center on first pitch fastball.

Spilborghs, Ryan - Grounded out to third on a 2-2 slider.

Uemoto, Tatsuyuki - Hit a single to center on a 2-2 fastball.

Takayama, Hisashi - Walked on four pitches, runners on first and second.

Ishikawa, Mitsugu - Hit a single to left on a 2-2 slider, runner on second scored, runner on first thrown out after over-running second.

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Source: Nikkan Sports 5/16/2013, Nikkan Sports 5/16/2013

Nippon Ham Fighters

Yuki Saito threw thirty pitches to a squatting catcher in the bullpen at Kamagaya on Wednesday.

Source: Sanspo 5/15/2013

Seibu Lions

Takayuki Kishi joined the Ichi-gun team for practices on Wednesday.  He is slated to start a game against Yomiuri at Tokyo Dome on the 18th.

Source: Sanspo 5/15/2013

Orix Buffaloes

Naotaka Takehara hit a foul ball during a Ni-gun game against Hanshin at Narouhama on Wednesday that took out a window in the player dormitory -- it was on the third pitch of his third at bat in the 6th inning; the ball cleared a fifty meter high net and shattered a bathroom window on the 4th floor.  No one was hurt.

Source: Nikkan Sports 5/15/2013

Nippon Ham Fighters

1st round draft pick Shohei Otani set two new Inter-league records on Tuesday: first rookie drafted out of high school to record a hit in his first Inter-league trip to the plate; first rookie drafted out of high school to record multiple hits in his first Inter-league game.

Otani will work out at the Ni-gun facilities in Kamagaya today in preparation for his outing as a starting pitcher against Ni-gun Seibu on Thursday (he will miss tonight's Inter-league game).

Source: Sanspo 5/15/2013

Otani joined Ginjiro Sumitani (2006), Taishi Ota (2009), and Shuhei Takahashi (2012) as the only rookies drafted out of high school to play in an Inter-league game.  Like Otani, Sumitani and Takahashi collected hits during Inter-league play, but neither did it in their first Inter-league at bat.

Source: Sponichi 5/15/2013

Hideki Kuriyama admitted that it made sense to use Otani as a pitcher during CL Inter-league games because of the no-DH rule.

Source: Nikkan Sports 5/15/2013

Otani threw twenty-five pitches in the bullpen at Kamagaya today.

Source: Nikkan Sports 5/15/2013

Seibu Lions

The Lions are in the black for the second straight year: profit for fiscal year ending in March 2012 was about 100 million yen and profit for fiscal year ending in March 2013 was about 650 million.

Source: Sanspo 5/15/2013

Cerberus Capital Management will most likely acquire enough stake in Seibu Holdings to push their share in the company above a third (they currently own 32.44%).  They will probably fall short of their 44.67% target.

Source: Sanspo 5/15/2013, Sponichi 5/15/2013

Softbank Hawks

The struggling Shota Oba was taken off the active roster today.  In two starts, he gave up six runs (all earned) on six hits and nine walks over 10.1 innings of work.

Source: Sponichi 5/15/2013

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Yuichi Honda was left out of the starting line-up on Tuesday because of pain in his neck.  The team is a little concerned because he suffered a similar injury in April 2012.  He is considered day-to-day.

Source: Sponichi 5/14/2013, Nikkan Sports 5/15/2013

Rakuten Eagles

With his victory at Yokohama Stadium on Tuesday, Masahiro Tanaka has recorded at least one victory in all twelve NPB home stadiums.

Source: Nikkan Sports 5/15/2013

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A Rakuten Eagles' Softball School will open in Hamamaki, Iwate in June.  The Eagles runs three other softball schools in the Tohoku region: Sendai, Miyagi; Koriyama, Fukushima; and Tendo, Yamagata.

Source: Nikkan Sports 5/14/2013