NPB Update: Nippon Ham Tops Rakuten
By admin on Thursday, 14th May 2009JAPAN – The Nippon Ham Fighters claimed their fourth straight win to grab sole possession of the top spot in the Pacific League with an 8-1 win Tuesday against the Rakuten Eagles at Kleenex Stadium.
Victorius in eight of its last nine games, the Fighters tagged Rakuten rookie starter Ryohei Isaka (1-1) with four second inning runs. A four-run third highlighted by Kensuke Tanaka’s two-run double sealed the series-opening win while sending Isaka to an early shower.
SCOREBOARD
Marines 2, Hawks 1
Lions 6, Buffaloes 5
Dragons 6, Swallows 3
Giants 5, BayStars 3
Tigers 1, Carp 0
Tomoya Yagi (3-0) scattered one run and eight hits in a complete game effort to notch his third win of the young season.
HONOR ROLL
Yoshihisa Naruse, Lotte Marines
Tied a career high with 13 strikeouts in a 2-1 win over the Softbank Hawks.
Tadahito Iguchi, Lotte Marines
Knocked home both runs with a triple and home run in a victory against Softbank.
Takayuki Kishi, Seibu Lions
Won his sixth consecutive start as Seibu edged the Orix Buffaloes.
Kenta Asakura, Chunichi Dragons
Became the fourth pitcher in Japanese baseball history to reach 200 saves.
Hisanori Takahashi, Yomiuri Giants
Struck out 10 and limited Yokohama to just two runs over six innings in 5-3 victory.
Tsuyoshi Shimoyanagi, Hanshin Tigers
Pitched his first complete-game shutout in six years in 1-0 win over Hiroshima.
PITCHING LEADERS
0.58 – Masahiro Tanaka, Rakuten
1.13 – Kan Ohtake, Hiroshima
1.22 – Weiyin Chen, Chunichi
1.26 – Yu Darvish, Nippon Ham
1.76 – Shouhei Tateyama, Yakult
1.88 – Hideaki Wakui, Seibu
1.91 – Hisashi Iwakuma, Rakuten
1.93 – Mamoru Kishida, Orix
1.98 – Shun Tono, Yomiuri
HITTING LEADERS
.398 – Makoto Kaneko, Nippon Ham
.389 – Hayato Sakamoto, Yomiuri
.379 – Eiichi Koyano, Nippon Ham
.363 – Yuya Hasegawa, Softbank
.355 – Tomoaki Kanemoto, Hanshin
.355 – Tuffy Rhodes, Orix
.351 – Tadahito Iguchi, Lotte
.351 – Teppi Tsuchiya, Rakuten
.346 – Naoyuki Omura, Orix
NPB STANDINGS
Pacific League
| Team | Won | Lost | Tied |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nippon Ham | 20 | 12 | 00 |
| Rakuten | 19 | 13 | 00 |
| Seibu | 15 | 18 | 01 |
| Softbank | 15 | 18 | 01 |
| Lotte | 14 | 18 | 00 |
| Orix | 14 | 18 | 00 |
Central League
| Team | Won | Lost | Tied |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yomiuri | 22 | 09 | 02 |
| Yakult | 16 | 13 | 00 |
| Hanshin | 14 | 16 | 01 |
| Chunichi | 15 | 18 | 00 |
| Hiroshima | 14 | 17 | 01 |
| Yokohama | 12 | 20 | 00 |
Photo courtesy of uniwatchblog.com
Visit JapanBall.com for comprehensive NPB news, standings and statistics.
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