Results on October, 1996
Central League
G W L T PCT GB streak last10 GL
Giants 130 77 53 0 .592 W4 8-2 0
Dragons 130 72 58 0 .554 5.0 L3 6-4 0
Carp 130 71 59 0 .546 6.0 W1 2-8 0
Swallows 130 61 69 0 .469 16.0 L6 4-6 0
BayStars 130 55 75 0 .423 22.0 W1 5-5 0
Tigers 130 54 76 0 .415 23.0 W1 5-5 0
Team vs. Team Win - Loss (Tie)
Giants Dragons Carp Swallows BayStars Tigers
Giants ---- 15-11( 0) 14-12( 0) 19- 7( 0) 14-12( 0) 15-11( 0)
Dragons 11-15( 0) ---- 12-14( 0) 19- 7( 0) 16-10( 0) 14-12( 0)
Carp 12-14( 0) 14-12( 0) ---- 15-11( 0) 14-12( 0) 16-10( 0)
Swallows 7-19( 0) 7-19( 0) 11-15( 0) ---- 17- 9( 0) 19- 7( 0)
BayStars 12-14( 0) 10-16( 0) 12-14( 0) 9-17( 0) ---- 12-14( 0)
Tigers 11-15( 0) 12-14( 0) 10-16( 0) 7-19( 0) 14-12( 0) ----
Pacific League
G W L T PCT GB streak last10 GL
BlueWave 130 74 50 6 .597 W1 5-4(1) 0
Fighters 130 68 58 4 .540 7.0 L2 3-6(1) 0
Lions 130 62 64 4 .492 13.0 W2 7-3 0
Buffaloes 130 62 67 1 .481 14.5 L3 4-6 0
Marines 130 60 67 3 .472 15.5 W2 6-4 0
Hawks 130 54 74 2 .422 22.0 L3 2-7(1) 0
Team vs. Team Win - Loss (Tie)
BlueWave Fighters Lions Buffaloes Marines Hawks
BlueWave ---- 16- 8( 2) 12-11( 3) 17- 8( 1) 15-11( 0) 14-12( 0)
Fighters 8-16( 2) ---- 13-13( 0) 13-13( 0) 17- 7( 2) 17- 9( 0)
Lions 11-12( 3) 13-13( 0) ---- 12-14( 0) 12-14( 0) 14-11( 1)
Buffaloes 8-17( 1) 13-13( 0) 14-12( 0) ---- 13-13( 0) 14-12( 0)
Marines 11-15( 0) 7-17( 2) 14-12( 0) 13-13( 0) ---- 15-10( 1)
Hawks 12-14( 0) 9-17( 0) 11-14( 1) 12-14( 0) 10-15( 1) ----
BayStars | 0 0 2 1 2 0 1 0 0 | 6
-----------+-----------------------+--
Tigers | 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 | 1
WP: Sekiguchi (4W 6L)
LP: Yufune (5W 14L 2S)
HR: YB Braggs 12, 13
[The Tigers went bad in early innings, and
the Bay Stars tunred the game over in middle
innings. In the 5th and the 7th, Braggs got
back-to-back homers. Now the Tigers again
went down to the bottom]
Giants | 0 1 0 2 0 2 0 0 0 | 5
-----------+-----------------------+--
Swallows | 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 | 0
WP: Saitoh,M. (16W 4L)
LP: Ishii,K. (1W 5L)
HR: G Murata, S. 5, Motoki 9, Mack 20
[Saitoh shut the Swallows out. Now the "magic number"
for the Giants is now two, and the Giants clinch the
pennant if they win and the Dragons loss tonight]
Dragons | 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 | 3
-----------+-----------------------+--
Carp | 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 | 2
WP: Kadokura (7W 2L)
LP: Yamasaki (9W 5L)
HR: D Yamasaki 37, Torigoe 3, Tatsunami 10
[The Dragons become the challenger agianst the Giants.
Kadokura pitched a complete game, helped with three
homers. The only chance for the Carp to clinch the
pennant is that the Giants lost all three games left
and the Carp won all four games left *and* the Carp
have to win the playoff (the best-of-three games)]
Buffaloes | 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 | 1
-----------+-----------------------+--
Marines | 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 X | 2
WP: Irabu (10W 6L)
Sv: Narimoto (7W 6L 22S)
LP: Sakai (8W 15L)
HR: M Hori 16
[Irabu got his 10th win. Narimoto got another
save-point and goes ahead]
Buffaloes | 2 0 4 0 0 0 1 2 0 | 9
-----------+-----------------------+--
Marines | 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 | 3
WP: Yamasaki (8W 13L)
Sv: Akahori (9W 4L 20S)
LP: Sonokawa (7L)
HR: Bu Fujitate 9
[In the second game, Akahori got a save-point and
tied Narimoto in the most save-points. Sonokawa,
who was a opeing pitcher, couldn't win at all
in this season]
Both leagues has agreed that next season every team
has 135 games (instead of 130 games). So for each card,
there are 27 games played. Every one year, one team
has 14 home games and the other team 13 home games.
Seibu Lions stadium will became a dome stadium
before the 1999 season. It will be the fifth dome
ballpark in Japan (Tokyo, Fukuoka, Osaka(1997), Nagoya(1998?)).
Giants | 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 | 2
-----------+-----------------------+--
Swallows | 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 | 0
WP: Makihara (6W 6L)
LP: Yamamoto (4W 8L 1S)
HR: G Nishi 7, Mack 21
[Makihara pitched a shutout game. Now the Giants
have the right to enter the play-off at least.
Their magic number is now only one, against the
Dragons. The schedule of the both teams is as
follows:
Giants Dragons
Oct. 3 at Hiroshima
Oct. 4 at Koshien (Tigers)
Oct. 5 Carp
Oct. 6 at Nagoya Giants
Oct. 7
Oct. 8 Dragons at Tokyo Dome
October 8th is the day when the Giants and the Dragons
had the game to clinch the pennant in 1994]
Dragons | 0 2 0 4 1 0 1 1 9 |18
-----------+-----------------------+--
Carp | 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 | 5
WP: Endoh (7W 4L 1S)
LP: Ohno (5W 4L)
HR: D Yamasaki 38
C Kanemoto 27, Lopez 25
[In the 7th inning, it is reported that the Giants
had won, which means that the Carp couldn't clinch
the pennant by no means. In the 9th inning, Dragon
batters hit and hit off Carp relievers and scored 9
runs. If the Dragons win all five games remaining,
then they can play the play-off against the Giants.
Yamasaki got his 38th homer to tie Matsui in
the most homeruns. FYI, Lopez gets 107 RBI and
Powell hits .345 and they will be the leaders]
BlueWave | 3 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 | 6
-----------+-----------------------+--
Lions | 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 | 2
WP: Hasegawa (4W 6L 1S)
Sv: Watanabe,N. (3W 1L 1S)
LP: Shintani (11W 5L 2S)
HR: BW Taguchi 7, Fujii 19
L Kakiuchi 27
[Hasagewa didn't allow any runners until Kakiuchi,
the fifth batter, homered in the 8th inning.
The final PCT of the Lions is less than .500, which
is the first time (as Seibu Lions) since the Pacific
League has adopted one-season system]
Dragons | 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 | 3
-----------+-----------------------+--
Carp | 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 | 2
WP: Endoh (8W 4L 1S)
LP: Yamasaki (9W 6L)
HR: C Machida 9
[The Dragons won and still have hope to win.
The Carp tied the game in the 7th inning, and
it seemed that the Carp has momentum. But
in the top of the 8th, Tatsunami doubled over
the center fielder, just after Torigoe singled]
The Carp have announced that they won't sign with
Kobayakawa Takehiko next season. Kobayakawa likes
to play in next year so he won't retire, and he is
now looking for a team for which he can play.
Kido Katsuhiko of the Hanshin Tigers has announced
that he retires at the end of this season. The Tigers
is going to fire Nakanishi so the main Tiger players
who won the 1985 pennant will disappear from the Tigers.
FYI, Wada of the Tigers and Nakada of the Marines, who
played for 1985 Tigers, are still active.
BlueWave | 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 | 1
-----------+-----------------------+--
Marines | 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 | 2
WP: Komiyama (8W 13L)
Sv: Narimoto (7W 6L 23S)
LP: Itoh (2L)
HR: BW Neel 32
[Neel got his 32nd homer. He now leads Kiyohara
by two homers so it is more and more possible
for him to win the homerun king. Narimoto got
a save, and the number of his save points has reached
to 30. But Akahori of the Buffaloes also got a save
today, so they are still the co-leaders in the most
save-point pitcher]
Buffaloes | 1 2 1 0 1 1 0 2 0 | 8
-----------+-----------------------+--
Fighters | 1 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 | 4
WP: Kubo (1W)
Sv: Akahori (9W 4L 21S)
LP: Hiramatsu (1L)
HR: Bu Yamamoto 14, Rhodes 27, Takumi 5
F Kataoka 15
[Akahori got a save, too. The best closer award race
(the most save-point pitcher) is very heating now]
Fighter manager Ueda has announced that he will
again manage the Fighters next season. I don't hear
what happened to the problem of his family.
Buffaloes | 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 | 1
-----------+-----------------------+--
Lions | 0 0 1 2 1 0 0 0 X | 4
WP: Yokota (4W 7L)
Sv: Ishii, Taka. (3W 6L 3S)
LP: Koike (3W 5L)
HR: Bu Furukubo 4
L Kiyohara 31
[Kiyohara got his 31st homer, so one more homer
make him tie to Neel. The Lions leave only
one more game against the Buffaloes tonight
(The Blue Wave also leave one game). It is
the winner of the game which stands in the third
place, which means that the 1997 opening game
can be held at home of the winner]
The game at Koshien (Tigers vs. Dragons) was rained
out, and it is scheduled on Oct. 9. As a result,
we can't expect another "Oct. 8, 1994".
The Central League has announced the schedule of
the play-off in case that the Giants and the Dragons
tie in the end of the regular season.
Game 1: Oct. 12 at Nagoya
Game 2: Oct. 14 at Tokyo Dome
Game 3: Oct. 15 at Tokyo Dome (best-of-three games)
Carp | 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 | 4
-----------+---------------------------+--
Dragons | 3 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 | 5
WP: Imanaka (14W 8L)
LP: Sasaoka (5W 7L 22S)
HR: D Yamasaki 39
[Imanaka, who relieved on the pitch of bases loaded
with no outs in the top of the 7th, pitched so well
that he didn't allow any hits until the end of the
10th. In the bottom of the 10th, Torigoe singled
and Tatsunami followed him up to double to left-center
field. Torigoe tried to the plate but he was thrown
out while Tatsunami advance to third. Powel got
a game-ending hit to left-center field, so finally
the Dragons are going to play two games against the
Giants, hoping to have the play-off]
Tigers | 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 | 4
-----------+-----------------------+--
BayStars | 0 3 1 0 1 1 0 0 X | 6
WP: Sekiguchi (5W 6L)
Sv: Sasaki (4W 3L 24S)
LP: Yabu (11W 14L)
HR: T Hoshino 2
YB Ishii 1
[The Bay Stars defeated the Tigers to stand in
the 5th place. The Tigers can stand only in
the 5th (tied with the Bay Stars) or the bottom]
Marines | 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 | 2
-----------+-----------------------+--
BlueWave | 0 3 0 0 3 0 2 0 X | 8
WP: Kaneda (6W 8L)
LP: Nakada (1L)
HR: BW Fujii 20, Nakajima 1, Baba 6, Ohshima 4
[The Blue Wave won their final game. Ichiro
got 193 hits in the end, which is the second
record in the most hits: Of course, the Japanese
record is 210 hits by himself. His record also
goes over that of Fujimura, who got 191 hits
in 140 games]
Buffaloes | 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 | 2
-----------+-----------------------+--
Lions | 1 1 0 3 0 0 0 0 X | 5
WP: Nishiguchi (16W 10L 1S)
Sv: Ishii, Taka. (3W 6L 4S)
LP: Aquino (11W 9L)
Hd: L Shiozaki
HR: Bu Mizuguchi 8
L Ohtomo 3, Kakiuchi 28, Suzuki,K. 21
[The Lions won to stay in the A-class (incide the third
place). Kiyohara couldn't get any homer so he can't
again lead the league with any title]
Giants | 0 1 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 | 5
-----------+-----------------------+--
Dragons | 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 | 2
WP: Kida (7W 9L 2S)
Sv: Kawaguchi (1W 4L 3S)
LP: Kadokura (7W 3L)
HR: G Ohmori 2, Mack 22, Shimizu 11
D Yano 7
***** The Giants have clinched the pennant ****
[Dragon starter Kadokura allowed Ohmori to homer
in the second, and gave up a 3-run homer for Mack
in the third. Dragon batters made many chances but
they couldn't got any clutch hit after the 3rd inning:
In the 4th, they had chance of bases loaded with two outs,
in the 7th, bases loaded with one out and Powell appeared.
But Powell grounded to shortstop to be turned a double
play. In the 8th, there were chance of runners on first
and second with one out, but Nakamura and Oto couldn't get
a clutch hit. The Dragons have again lost, the same as two
years ago]
Nagoya Dome is opened in next season, so it was the last
game at Nagoya stadium.
Carp | 1 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 | 5
-----------+-----------------------+--
BayStars | 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 | 3
WP: Takahashi, K. (2W 1L 1S)
Sv: Sasaoka (5W 7L 23S)
LP: Nomura (10W 8L)
HR: C Takayama 1
YB Haru 2
[The Carp won their final game. Sasaoka has tied with
Sasaki in the most save-points though Yokohama leaves
one more game. Bay Star pitcher Araki Daisuke, whom
the Bay Stars won't sign with next season, has announced
his retirement. He pitched for one inning in this game.
The final game against the Swallows at Jingu on Oct. 8,
will be his last game]
Marines | 1 1 0 0 0 3 0 1 2 | 8
-----------+-----------------------+--
Buffaloes | 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 | 0
WP: Irabu (11W 6L)
LP: Teramae (1L)
HR: M Ohmura 8, Hatsushiba 17
[Irabu, who went to the 7th, pitched very well. Marine
pitchers, Irabu and Kuroki, pitched an one-hitter: Rhodes
singled in the 6th, which was the only hit of the Buffaloes.
The Marines have one more game and if Irabu wouldn't allow
no earned run for more seven innings, then he will lead the
league with ERA 2.402, 0.002 better than that of Hillman who
has already gone back to the US]
The Buffaloes is going to move Osaka Dome in next season,
so it was the final game at Fujiidera.
Dragons | 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 | 1
-----------+-----------------------+--
Giants | 0 1 0 0 0 1 2 0 X | 4
WP: Galvez (16W 6L)
Sv: Mario (3W 2L 19S)
LP: Noguchi (5W 5L)
HR: G Kishikawa 5
[It was a kind of Japanese typical shame game.
Matsui of the Giants, Yamasaki and Taihoh of the
Dragons were in hot race of the homerun king:
Matsui gets 38 homers, Yamasaki 39 and Taiho 37.
Tonight, Dragon pitcher Noguchi, who has pitched even
a no-hitter against the Giants, pitched *no* strikes
against Matsui. Matsui wasn't credited with no intentional
walks, but the Dragon batteries appaerently gave up
four intentional walks for Matsui. After the fourth walk,
fans in Tokyo Dome put prastic megaphones into the field.
FYI, the megaphones are used for rooting favarite players
or team.
Galvez, who relieved starter Nishiyama at the beginning of
the 5th inning, got his 16th win to tie Saitoh in the most
winning pitcher. Since Imanaka, who is the only pitchers
that gets 14 or more wins except them, leaves only one game,
They lead the league with the most winning pitchers]
The Hanshin Tigers have announced that Yoshida Yoshio, who
were the manager in 1985, has agreed to be the next Tiger
manager.
Dragons | 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 | 1
-----------+-----------------------+--
Tigers | 8 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 X |11
WP: Kawajiri (13W 9L 1S)
LP: Kanamori (1L)
HR: D Taihoh 38
T Shinjyo 18, Shiotani 1, Shinjyo 19
[The Tigers has become the first team which
gets two grand slams in an inning in Japan.
It was the final game for Nakanishi and Kido,
who were main players in 1985 season, when
they got their first Japan championship.
Taihoh got his 38th homer, but couldn't catch
up with Yamasaki who leads the league with 39
homers]
BayStars | 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 | 3
-----------+-----------------------+--
Swallows | 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 | 1
WP: Tokano (1W 5L)
Sv: Sasaki (4W 3L 25S)
LP: Tabata (12W 12L 1S)
HR: YB Rose 16
[It was the final game for Araki Daisuke. He hoped
to pitch against Furuta, who appeared in the second
inning. Furuta bowed to Araki before he acted bat.
Araki struck Furuta out with a high fastball of
139 km/h speed (the ball was too high but Furuta
swang and missed). Sasaki of the Bay Stars got a save
so that he has won the most reliver award, leading
Sasaoka by one save-point]
The Chiba Lotte Marines has fired the Marine General
Manager Hirooka.
Hawks | 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 | 0
-----------+-----------------------+--
Marines | 0 0 0 0 2 2 2 0 X | 6
WP: Irabu (12W 6L)
LP: Hamagiwa (1W 1L 1S)
[Marine starter Irabu went to seventh, allowing
no runs, so that he has become the best ERA
pitcher. He said that he was happy but Eric
(Hillman) might hit him beyond the Pacific Ocean :-)
Irabu leads Hillman by 0.002 in the end.
The Marines has announced that Ejiri has resigned
the manager]
Japan Series Game 1
ORIX Blue Wave| 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 1 | 4
--------------+---------------------------+--
YOMIURI Giants| 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 | 3
WP: Suzuki (1W)
Sv: Hirai (1S)
LP: Kohno (1L)
[What an exiting game it was. Giant starter Saitoh pitched
very well. He got 9 strike outs and allowed only two hits
until the end of the 7th. OTOH, the Giant clean-up Ochiai,
who has just come back from the injury, went 3 for 4. In
paticular, he singled with runner on second and two outs
in the top of the first inning and drove one run in.
Ichiro was not good. The only chance for the Blue Wave
before the 8th inning, appeared on the top of the sixth.
After two men out, Taguchi singled to right field and
stole second base. Ohshima walked so Ichiro appeared
with runners on first and second. But Saitoh pitched
so good that Ichiro grounded out to pitcher.
In the top of the 8th, Saitoh suddenly became bad.
Maybe he was too tired, and someone pointed out that
the reason was probably that he was a runner in the
previous inning, and base running made him more and
more tired. Anyway, he walked the lead-off of this
inning Ogawa. After Takada's sacrifice bunt, PH
Doug Jennings walked: he had really good eyes. Following
him, Taguchi again singled to left field and the bases
were loaded. Saitoh was the ace of the Giants, so
the Giants couldn't switch him because they still went
ahead. Ohshima shot a line drive right to the first
baseman Ochiai and the batted ball hit his glove and
turned to right field to tie the game. The Giant
manager Nagashima finally changed the pitcher into
lefty Kawaguchi because the following batters were
Ichiro and Neel. He made Ichiro grounded out, but
he allowed Neel to single to left field on the count
3-2. It was too bad that Giant catcher Murata was
injured and removed from the game when the batted
ball by Neel hit his right hand.
Suzuki, a Blue Wave closer, had pitched since the
8th inning. In the bottom of the 9th inning, PH
Ohmori hit the first pitch, which was a fastball
to the low-outside corner. The batted ball had
gone to center stands!
In the top of the 10th, Kohno, who had won the
best reliever award in Central League, was on
the mound. But with two outs and bases empty,
Ichiro hit high fastball on the count 3-1, and
his shot had disappeared in right-center stand.
In the bottom of the 10th, Hirai appeared on the mound.
He was too bad in the 1995 Japan series. Ochiai,
the lead-off of this inning, singled to left-center
field. Mack walked after PR Gotoh stole second base.
It was the very point of this game: Shimizu acted bat.
the next batters were Fukuoh and Yoshihara, but
Yoshihara was the third catcher of the Giants, so
it is impossible for the Giants to send a PH for him
although they left a good PH Yoshimura. Shimizu
hit the first pitch to fly out to third. Fukuoh was
struck out, and Yoshihara grouned out. Hirai
finally got his first save point in Japan series
and the Blue Wave had won]
Batting(BW)
PaAb r hBi 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Taguchi lf 5 5 1 2 0 K K S9 S7(*a) 5f
Ohshima 2b 5 4 0 1 1 33 63 (SB;1-2)W S9(*b) 8
Ichiro cf,rf 5 5 1 1 1 43 43 13 (*c)62 H9
Neel 1b 4 4 0 1 2 7 K 43 S7(*d)
Suguro ss 1 0 0 0 0 W
Fujii rf 3 3 0 0 0 5f 43 9
Takahashi,S.ph 1 1 0 0 0 (*e)3f
Suzuki p 0 0 0 0 0
Nakajima ph 1 1 0 0 0 (*g)4(H&R)
Hirai p 0 0 0 0 0
Baba 3b 2 2 0 0 0 K K
Fukura ph,3b 2 2 0 1 0 K S7
Ogawa ss 3 2 0 1 0 S7 K W
Motonishi cf 1 1 0 0 0 K
Takada c 4 1 1 0 0 sh14(1-2) 31 sh14(1-2) (*f)sh14(1-2)
Hoshino p 1 1 0 0 0 K
Kobayashi p 0 0 0 0 0
Yojoh ph 1 1 0 0 0 K
Itoh p 0 0 0 0 0
Nomura p 0 0 0 0 0
D.J ph,1b 2 1 1 0 0 W K
*a 2-3,1-2
*b 3-H,2-3,1-2
*c P Kawaguchi
*d 3-H,2-H,1-2
*e P Ishige, C Sugiyama
*f P Kohno
*g P Mizuno
Pitching BW
IP BF Ptcs R ER
Hoshino 4.2 21 75 1 1
Kobayashi 0.1 2 7 0 0
Itoh 1.2 6 17 0 0
Nomura 0.1 1 6 0 0
W Suzuki 2 9 27 2 2
S Hirai 1 5 14 0 0
Misc. BW
LOB: 7
DP: 1
Batting(Giants)
PaAb r hBi 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Nishi 3b 5 2 1 0 0 W K W sh14(1-2) 8
Kawai ss 5 3 0 1 0sh14(1-2) W 9 53 S4
Matsui rf 5 5 0 1 0 K K D9(1-3) (*c)(WP;2-3)K 63
Ochiai 1b 5 4 0 3 1 S8(2-H) 54 (*a)W (*d)S9 S8
Gotoh pr 0 0 0 0 0
Mack cf 5 4 0 1 0 S8(1-3) 7 43 K (SB;1-2)W
Kida lf 0 0 0 0 0
Kishikawa lf 2 1 0 0 0 HP 63 (*b)
Shimizu ph,lf 3 3 0 0 0 31 463dp 5f
Motoki 2b 3 3 0 0 0 64 43 43
Fukuoh ph,2b 2 1 1 0 0 W K
Murata, S. c 3 3 0 0 0 53 K K
Sugiyama c 0 0 0 0 0
Ohmori ph 1 1 1 1 2 H8
Yoshihara c 1 1 0 0 0 63
Saitoh,M. p 3 3 0 1 0 7 13 S8
Kawaguchi p 0 0 0 0 0
Ishige p 0 0 0 0 0
Kohno p 1 1 0 0 0 13
Mizuno p 0 0 0 0 0
*a P Kobayashi
*b P Itoh
*c P Nomura
*d P Suzuki, SS Suguro, CF Motonishi
Pitching (Giants)
IP BF Ptcs R ER
Saitoh,M. 7.1 29 114 3 3
Kawaguchi 0.1 2 12 0 0
Ishige 0.2 3 12 0 0
L Kohno 1.1 6 25 1 1
Mizuno 0.1 1 3 0 0
Misc. G
LOB:11
DP: 0
Japan Series Game 2
ORIX Blue Wave| 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 | 2
--------------+-----------------------+--
YOMIURI Giants| 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 | 0
WP: Fraser (1W)
Sv: Suzuki (1W 1S)
LP: Makihara (1L)
[The Blue Wave again beated the Giants. Tonight,
the Blue Wave pitchers shut the Giants out, allowing
only two hits. Makihara was also good, but speed
of Blue Wave players brought a win for the Blue Wave:
In the top of the 4th, Ohshima singled with one out.
Ichiro followed him up to single to center field,
slightly left side, and the first runner Ohshima
got third base, so runners were on first and third
with one out. First runner Ichiro stole second base
when Neel acted bat, and Neel singled to center field
on the count 3-1. The Blue Wave scored 2 runs with
only three base hits.
There was one big chance for the Giants in the bottom of
the 7th inning. The lead-off of this inning Matsui doubled
to right-center field off Fraser. The Blue Wave switched
the pitcher into Kobayashi, but he walked Ochiai. So runners
were on first and second with no outs. Nagashima sent PH
Gotoh, a lefty, for Mack so Ohgi changed the pitcher to lefty
Nomura. I don't know if Nagashima intened Gotoh to bunt at
the beginning, but it is said that Gotoh is not good at bunt.
Anyway Gotoh tried to bunt, but the bunted ball became a fly
to pitcher. Nomura got it when second runner Matsui was just
in front of the third base, so Nomura threw to second to get
Matsui out. The double play stopped the momentum of the Giants.
In the bottom of the 9th, Ohgi switched Nomura into Suzuki after
two outs when Ochiai appeared with runner on first. Nomura was
not credited with no win nor save, but it was Nomura who led the
team to win]
Batting BW
PaAb r hBi 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Taguchi lf,cf,lf 4 4 0 0 0 63 K 63 33
Ohshima 2b 4 4 1 2 0 K S6 T9 K (*d)
Ichiro cf,rf 4 4 1 2 0 K S8(1-3) (*b)33 S1
Neel 1b 4 3 0 1 2 W (SB;1-2)S8(*a) K 443dp
Yojoh 1b 0 0 0 0 0
Fujii rf 2 2 0 0 0 9 43(R&H;1-2)
Takahashi,S.ph,lf 1 1 0 0 0 (*c)53
Motonishi cf 1 0 0 0 0 W
Fukura 3b 3 3 0 0 0 9(93dp) 53 9
Baba 3b 1 0 0 0 0 W
Ogawa ss 3 3 0 1 0 K S8 K
Suguro ss 1 1 0 0 0 (*e)K
Nakajima c 3 3 0 0 0 53 2f K
Kobayashi p 0 0 0 0 0
Nomura p 0 0 0 0 0
Fraser p 2 1 0 0 0 K sh34(1-2)
Takada c 1 1 0 0 0 8
*a 3-H,2-H
*b P Awano
*c P Kida, 2B Motoki
*d P Kawaguchi
*e P Mizuno
Pitching BW
IP BF Ptcs R ER
W Fraser 6.0 21 70 0 0
Kobayashi 0.0 1 5 0 0
H Nomura 2.2 8 31 0 0
S Suzuki 0.1 1 6 0 0
Misc. BW
LOB: 5
DP: 3
Batting G
PaAb r hBi 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Nishi 3b 4 4 0 1 0 S6 33 9 (*e)63
Kawai ss 4 2 0 0 0sh14(1-2) 3f 63 W
Matsui rf 4 4 0 1 0 9 K (*a)D8 1L
Ochiai 1b 4 2 0 0 0 W 7 (*b)(*c)W (*f)(WP;1-2)53
Mack cf 2 2 0 0 0 43 9
Gotoh ph,cf 1 1 0 0 0 (*d)B1(16dp)
Shimizu lf 2 2 0 0 0 5ge 33
Inoue ph,lf 1 1 0 0 0 K
Fukuoh 2b 2 2 0 0 0 4g(1-2x4TO) K
Kida p 0 0 0 0 0
Kishikawa ph 1 0 0 0 0 W
Kawaguchi p 0 0 0 0 0
Sugiyama c 3 3 0 0 0 463dp 8 K
Makihara p 1 1 0 0 0 K
Motoki 2b 2 2 0 0 0 9f 643dp
*a 3B Baba, SS Suguro
*b P Kobayashi, C Takada
*c CF Motonishi (on count 1-1)
*d P Nomura
*e 1B Yojoh
*f P Suzuki
Pitching G
IP BF Ptcs R ER
L Makihara 5.0 20 76 2 2
Awano 0.2 2 8 0 0
Kida 2.1 7 27 0 0
Kawaguchi 0.2 4 17 0 0
Mizuno 0.1 1 5 0 0
Misc. G
LOB: 4
DP: 2
Japan Series Game 3
YOMIURI Giants| 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 | 2
--------------+-----------------------+--
ORIX Blue Wave| 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 X | 5
WP: Noda (1W)
Sv: Suzuki (1W 2S)
LP: Galvez (1L)
[The "Ohgi Magic" led the team to win. Now the Blue Wave
has "checked" (in chess, Ou-te, in Japanese).
In the bottom of the first inning, the Blue Wave went
ahead with a clutch hit by Doug Jennings, but the Giants
soon tied the game with a solo homer of Mack in the second.
In the bottom of the second inning, Fukura singled to center
field and Takada walked after one out. Ogawa, who hit nineth
in the batting order, doubled to left-center field just after
he jammed and hit a blooper just out of the left foul line.
Mack picked up the ball and threw it to Sugiyama relaied by Kawai,
but they couldn't get the first runner Takada out. I hear that
Takada is the slowest runner in the Blue Wave. Galvez was changed
to Mizuno then. But Mizuno was not good. He allowed Taguchi to
double to center field. He also gave up another RBI hit for
Ohshima so that the Blue Wave led by 4 runs.
The management of Ohgi was quite tricky: he changed pitchers
very quickly, I mean, he changes before chance of the Giants.
Noda was changed just after he got Ohmori out, and Hirai was
changed into Nomura when Matsui appeared. His tricks were
also used in batting: he ordered Ogawa, who hit a RBI double
in the second, to make sacrifice bunt with a runner on first
and one out in the 6th. Takada tried suicide squeeze play
in vein because Mario's pitch, a forkball, hopped before the
plate. He also changed players of batting into players of
fielding rather early innings (see scorebook below).
Score Book
Batting G
PaAb r hBi 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Nishi 3b 4 4 1 2 1 53 64 (*b)H7 S8
Kawai ss 4 4 0 1 0 S8 (CS;24) 9 K K
Matsui rf 4 3 0 0 0 3L(dp) W 8 (*f)13 (*g)
Ochiai 1b 4 4 0 0 0 8 6 K (*c) K
Ohmori dh 4 4 0 0 0 K K 43 43
Mack cf 4 4 1 2 1 H8 3f (*d)S7 K
Shimizu lf 3 3 0 1 0 6 S9 36
Motoki 2b 2 2 0 0 0 9 6
Fukuoh ph,2b 1 1 0 0 0 (WP;1-2)7
Sugiyama c 2 2 0 1 0 S8 1
Gotoh ph 1 1 0 0 0 (*e)K
Yoshihara c 0 0 0 0 0
*a CF Motonishi, RF Ichiro
*b 1B Yojoh
*c SS Suguro, 3B Baba
*d P Itoh
*e P Hirai
*f P Nomura
*g P Suzuki
Pitching G
IP BF Ptcs R ER
L Galvez 1.1 9 42 4 4
Mizuno 0.0 2 4 1 1
Awano 2.2 9 35 0 0
Nishiyama 3.0 12 43 0 0
Mario 1.0 3 13 0 0
Misc. G
LOB: 4
DP: 0
Batting BW
PaAb r hBi 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Taguchi lf 4 4 0 1 1 43 (*c)D8(2-H) 43 63
Ohshima 2b 4 4 1 2 0 S7 S7(2-H) 7f (*e) 63
Ichiro cf,rf 4 4 0 1 0 8 (*d)4g(1-2x4T) 63 S5
Neel dh 4 3 0 0 0 W(1-2) 43 K K(SB;1-2)
D.J 1b 3 2 0 1 1 S8(*a) 7 W
Yojoh 1b 1 1 0 0 0 63
Fujii rf 2 2 0 0 0 8 4L (*f)
Motonishi cf 2 2 0 1 0 64 D9
Fukura 3b 3 2 1 1 0 S8 W K
Baba 3b 1 0 0 0 0 sh24(2-3)
Takada c 4 3 1 1 0 W K S8 (2T;*g)43
Ogawa ss 3 2 1 1 2 D8(*b) 8 sh14(1-2)
Suguro ss 0 0 0 0 0
*a 2-H,1-3x(8)65TO (SS Kawai cut the ball to get Neel out)
*b 2-H,1-H
*c P Mizuno
*d P Awano
*e P Nishiyama
*f P Mario, C Yoshihara
*g Failed suicide squeeze (the pitch hopped before the plate)
Pitching BW
IP BF Ptcs R ER
W Noda 6.1 23 93 2 2
Itoh 0.2 3 6 0 0
Hirai 0.2 3 11 0 0
H Nomura 0.1 1 4 0 0
S Suzuki 1.0 3 14 0 0
Misc. BW
LOB: 6
DP: 1
YOMIURI Giants| 0 2 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 | 5
--------------+-----------------------+--
ORIX Blue Wave| 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 | 1
WP: Kida (1W)
Sv: Ishige (1S)
LP: Toyoda (1L)
[Nagashima managed as if he were Ohgi, and vice versa.
Kida, who relieved starter Miyamoto from the third inning
through the end of the 8th, pitched so well that he didn't
allow any runners. OTOH, Blue Wave relievers Kaneda and
Kobayashi was bad and it seemed to me that Ohgi should switch
them earlier: Kaneda invited pinches in almost every inning
and Kobayashi walked two continuous batters in in the 7th
(see scorebook below).
Giant batters become better, but still the number of LOB
was 13. I don't know whether Blue Wave pitchers were good
or Giant batters were poor :-) Anyway, the Giants won for
the first time in this series, and it seems nice that Kida
and Ohmori are hot now. Tonight, Saitoh will start for the
Giants, so if the Giants would win again tonight, another
"make-drama" ((C)Nagashima :-) might happen. But if the
Blue Wave would lead in the next game, then they might win
the Japanese championship at Kobe, as the 1995 Swallows did]
Score Book
Batting G
PaAb r hBi 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Nishi 3b 5 5 0 0 0 43 2f 43 64 (*h)8
Fukuoh 2b 2 2 0 0 0 33 (*b)33
Motoki ph,2b 3 3 0 1 0 43 K S7
Matsui rf 5 4 0 1 0 W S9 43 8 6
Ochiai 1b 5 2 1 0 0 44 (*c)W W HP 5ge(1-2)
Deguchi pr,lf 0 0 0 0 0
Mack cf 5 5 2 2 0 S9 K 9 S7(1-2) K
Shimizu lf 1 1 0 0 0 7
Kishikawa ph,lf 1 1 0 0 0 7
Gotoh lf,1b 3 3 0 0 0 K (*g)33 K
Ohmori dh 5 3 2 2 1 D9(1-3) W H9 IW K
Murata, S. c 2 1 0 1 1 S9(*a) sh1fc(*d)
Sugiyama c 3 2 0 0 1 (*f)13 W 33
Kawai ss 5 2 0 1 2 sf7(3-H) sh54(*e) S8 W 63
*a 3-H,2-3 Murata was jammed but the batted ball rolled beside the
first baseman, who fielded shallow, through right field.
*b P Kaneda
*c 2e(6)(1-2) Matsui jumped to second on the count 3-1. The pitch was a
called strike, and he stopped between the bases. C Takada
threw to second, but the ball hopped before the base and
went to centr field, so Matsui advanced to second. Matsui
was credited with a CS, Takada an error.
*d 1-2,B-1;1FC6 The thrown ball was wide to first so SS couldn't keep
touching the base, at least the umpire said so :-)
*e 2-3,1-2
*f P Kobayashi
*g WP;2-3,1-2
*h P Hasegawa
Pitching G
IP BF Ptcs R ER
Miyamoto 3 13 57 1 1
W Kida 5 15 62 0 0
Awano 0.2 4 16 0 0
S Ishige 0.1 1 3 0 0
Misc. G
LOB:13
DP: 0
Batting BW
PaAb r hBi 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Taguchi cf 4 4 0 0 0 63 8 53 43
Ohshima 2b 4 4 0 2 1 33 S7(*a) 33 (*e)S7
Ichiro rf 4 3 0 1 0 S8 (*b)W 9 7
Neel dh 4 4 0 0 0 K K 31 7
Ogawa ss 4 4 0 1 0 43 (*c)8 53 S7
D.J 1b 3 3 0 0 0 K K 53
Fukura ph 1 1 0 0 0 (*f)4
Takahashi,S. lf 3 3 0 0 0 K 43 63
Baba 3b 2 2 1 1 0 D7 (*d)5
Shibahara ph 1 1 0 0 0 6L
Suguro 3b 0 0 0 0 0
Takada c 2 2 0 0 0 K K
Miwa ph,c 1 1 0 0 0 8
*a 2-H,B-2 There was a close play at the plate, but Murata couldn't
catch the thrown ball, which hopped before the plate.
*b LF Gotoh
*c P Kida
*d C Sugiyama (Murata was again injured with the second pitch,
which hopped and hit his right hand)
*e P Awano
*f P Ishige
Pitching BW
IP BF Ptcs R ER
L Toyoda 2 10 34 2 2
Kaneda 3.0 15 66 1 1
Kobayashi 1.2 11 36 2 2
Hasegawa 2.1 9 45 0 0
Misc. BW
LOB: 5
DP: 0
Japan Series Game 5
YOMIURI Giants| 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 | 2
--------------+-----------------------+--
ORIX Blue Wave| 0 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 X | 5
**** The Blue Wave has won the 1996 Japan championship ****
WP: Itoh (1W)
Sv: Suzuki (1W 3S)
LP: Saitoh,M. (1L)
MVP: Troy Neel
VP: Ohshima Koichi, Suzuki Taira, Suzuki Ichiro (BW) (Yuushuu senshu shou)
Nishi Toshihisa (G) (kantou shou)
[The Blue Wave has become the 1996 Japan champion team at Kobe,
where all Blue Wave fans have been waiting since the Hanshin-
Awaji earthquake on Jan. 17, 1995.
Blue Wave relievers are excellent. It was too bad that Kohno
of the Giants, who was the most reliable reliever in Central League,
couldn't go good. Tonight, he walked batter on bases loaded in
the 3rd inning.
Neel went only 3 for 17, but all of his hits were clutch hits.
He drove 6 runs in, 2 runs for each hit. I'm not sure, but
his AVG might be the least in the MVPs of hitters.
Ohshima went 7 for 19, Suzuki got 4 save-points in a row,
and three continuous saves in this series. Ichiro got the
game-winning homer at the 10th in Game 1 just after the Giants
tied the game.
Nishi has become the third rookie who hit two or more homers
in Japan series. The first two men are Nagashima and Hara,
both were Giant players. FYI, There are 12 rookies who hit a
homer in Japan series, including Nagashima, Hara and Nishi.
There are no rookies who hit three or more homers in Japan series.
In the final game, the Giants went ahead with a homer of Nishi
on bases empty with two outs in the top of the third after both
teams missed chances in previous innings.
In the bottom of the same inning, the Blue Wave made chance of
runners on second and third with two outs when Ichiro acted bat.
Saitoh walked him with four far outside pitches, and tried to
get Neel out. Neel hit the ball of outside on the count 1-2,
and the batted ball grounded to left side of the third baseman
Nishi. The ball hit the glove of him and went near the left
foul line, so all runners, including Neel, advanced two bases.
Saitoh was removed when he walked the next batter Fujii.
Reliever Kohno was so bad that he walked PH Takahashi, and
the Blue Wave led by two runs. Kohno was changed into Nishiyama
but Ogawa hit the first pitch of Nishiyama, and his shot went
over right field to hit the wall directly, so the Blue Wave
scored more two runs.
In the top of the 4th, the Giants soon made comeback.
Ochiai doubled and Kishikawa singled so runners on first
and third with one out. Inoue hit a line drive to center
field, and CF Motonishi dushed and made shoe-string catch,
what a nice play it is....oh, the umpire called it safe,
so Ochiai scored. Motonishi and Ohgi, Blue Wave manager,
got angry and protested very hard. Actually, Ohgi made
the players come back to the dagout after he watched replay
of this play on TV. Anyway, after ten-minutes suspension,
the game was re-started.
Ohgi changed pitcher Hoshino into Itoh, because of this
silly suspension, and Itoh pitched very well.
The Giants had another chance in the 8th. Kawai singled
off Itoh, and Matsui finally doubled off Nomura so they
had chance of runners on second and third with no outs.
Ohgi switched pitcher to Suzuki, and Ochiai flied out
to first baseman. PH Ohmori was struck out, and PH Shimizu
grounded to first baseban. There weren't another miracle :-)]
Score Book
Batting G
PaAb r hBi 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Nishi 3b 5 5 1 2 1 D7 H7 63 K 7
Kawai ss 4 2 0 1 0 sh54 W 33 S7
Matsui rf 4 3 0 1 0 K (*a)13 (*b) W (*f)D8(1-3)
Ochiai 1b 4 4 1 1 0 8 D9 64 (*g)3f
Mack cf 3 3 0 0 0 K K 13
Ohmori ph 1 1 0 0 0 K
Deguchi cf 0 0 0 0 0
Kishikawa dh 3 2 0 1 0 IF S7(2-3) 63
Shimizu ph,dh 1 1 0 0 0 (*h)31
Mizuno lf 0 0 0 0 0
Inoue lf 3 3 0 1 1 543dp S8(*c) K
Gotoh ph 1 0 0 0 0 W
Sugiyama c 1 1 0 0 0 7 (*d)
Yoshimura ph 1 1 0 0 0 31 (*A)
Yoshihara c 1 1 0 0 0 K
Fukuoh ph 1 1 0 0 0 K
Motoki 2b 4 4 0 0 0 8 4L 53 36
*a SB;1-2 (136) Kawai was picked off, but got second base
*b CF Motonishi, RF Ichiro, 1B Fujii
*c 3-H,1-2 Motonishi made shoe-string catch, but called safe.
The game was suspended from 7:41 to 7:51
*d P Itoh
*A SS Suguro, 3B Baba
*f P Nomura
*g P Suzuki
*h 1B Yojoh
Pitching G
IP BF Ptcs R ER
L Saitoh,M. 2.2 14 76 5 5
Kohno 0.0 1 5 0 0
Nishiyama 1.2 6 15 0 0
Kawaguchi 3.2 13 41 0 0
Misc. G
LOB: 8
DP: 1
Batting BW
PaAb r hBi 1 2 3 3 4 5 6 7 8
Taguchi lf 4 4 1 2 0 S8 S6(*a) 63 8
Ohshima 2b 4 3 0 0 0 sh14 43(*b) 13 4
Ichiro cf,rf 4 3 1 0 0 6L(66dp) W 31 8
Neel dh 4 3 1 1 2 K D7(*c) (*h)W 9
Fujii rf,1b 3 2 1 2 0 T9 W D9(1-3)
Yojoh 1b 1 1 0 0 0 43
D.J 1b 1 1 0 0 0 K (*d)
Takahashi, S. ph 1 0 0 0 1 W(*e)
Motonishi cf 2 2 0 0 0 52(*i) 43
Ogawa 3b 3 3 0 1 2 7 (*f)D9(*g) 13
Baba 3b 1 1 0 0 0 63
Fukura ss 3 3 0 0 0 8 K 63
Suguro ss 0 0 0 0 0
Takada c 3 3 1 1 0 S9 8 K
*a H&R;1-2
*b R&H;2-3,1-2 Hit on the count 3-2, so the runners jumped
*c 3-H,2-H,1-3
*d P Kohno
*e 3-H,2-3,1-2
*f P Nishiyama
*g 3-H,2-H,1-3
*h P Kawaguchi Nishiyama injured when he covered the first base
in order to get Ichiro out.
*i 3-Hx52,2-3,B-1
Pitching BW
IP BF Ptcs R ER
Hoshino 3.1 16 50 2 2
W Itoh 3.2 12 51 0 0
Nomura 0.0 1 1 0 0
S Suzuki 2.0 7 30 0 0
Misc. BW
LOB: 5
DP: 1