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LEAD: Japan shuts out Australia in warm-up for Olympic qualifiers
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FUKUOKA, Nov. 22 (22:37) Kyodo
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(EDS: ADDING QUOTES, DETAILS)
Kenshin Kawakami and five relievers combined on a two-hit
shutout Thursday as Japan beat Australia 6-0 in a warm-up game for
the upcoming qualifying tournament for next year's Beijing Olympic
Games.
Chunichi Dragons right-hander Kawakami retired the first 11
batters he faced until Justin Huber hit a two-out double in the
fourth, setting the pace for Japan in the opener of a two-game series
at Yahoo Dome.
''I'm relieved that I did my part. It was my first outing in a
long time (since Game 1 of the Japan Series on Oct. 27) and I felt a
different type of pressure,'' Kawakami said.
''The home plate umpire (Australian Paul Hyham) called strikes
on inside pitches. A wide strike zone like that would definitely help
pitchers in international tournaments,'' he said.
Cleanup hitter Takahiro Arai put Japan on the board in the first
inning with an RBI groundout after Saburo Omura had a one-out single
and Norichika Aoki followed with an infield hit combined with a
throwing error by third baseman Glenn Williams, leaving runners on
second and third.
Japan made it 2-0 in the fourth when Atsunori Inaba singled to
left field with one out and runners on second and third.
Senichi Hoshino's team broke the game open with a four-run
eighth, keyed by a Tomoya Satozaki RBI single and a two-run single by
Munenori Kawasaki.
On the mound, Kawakami allowed only one runner in four innings
of work before giving way to the bullpen.
Kohei Hasebe, the left-hander from Aichi Institute of Technology
who was picked by the Rakuten Eagles in Monday's amateur draft, was
impressive in working a perfect seventh. Hitoki Iwase pitched the
eighth and Koji Uehara closed out the ninth.
''We had to win this game. Out pitchers were so good that I
didn't think they would give up a single run,'' Japan manager Hoshino
said. ''But our offense struggled early in the game after (leadoff
man Tsuyoshi) Nishioka was picked off at first base in the first
inning, which caught us by surprise.''
Australian left-handed starter Travis Blackley, who started two
games for the San Francisco Giants this past season, was charged with
one run and three hits in three innings.
Both teams will square off again on Friday before Japan travels
to Taiwan for its campaign in the final round of the Asian zone
Olympic qualifiers getting under way on Dec. 1. |
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