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Ramirez hits walkoff homer as Yomiuri ties Japan Series
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TOKYO, Nov. 2 (22:56) Kyodo
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Alex Ramirez hit a walkoff homer in the ninth inning as the
Yomiuri Giants beat the Seibu Lions 3-2 Sunday to even the Japan
Series at one game apiece.
Ramirez sent a 1-0 slider from reliever Shinya Okamoto (0-1)
into the seats in left-center with one out at Tokyo after being
retired in his previous four at-bats, twice with runners in scoring
position.
''It's a great feeling. I praise God for that,'' Ramirez said.
''I was trying to lift the ball because I was hitting ground balls
all day long. I'm glad I put a good swing on it. I'm glad I didn't
miss it.''
Daisuke Ochi (1-0) threw two innings after Kentaro Nishimura
worked 1-2/3 in relief of starter Hisanori Takahashi, who left after
giving up a two-run homer to Hiroyuki Nakajima in the fourth, as the
Yomiuri bullpen did not allow a runner to reach base.
''That was a huge blast for both Ramirez and the team. He
struggled a little bit at the plate, but I know he is going to start
hitting again,'' Yomiuri manager Tatsunori Hara said.
''Our young pitchers came up with solid outings again. We
dropped the opener but we bounced back and it's even now. It's still
a long way to go in the series.''
Yomiuri scored first for the second straight night.
Seibu starter Kazuyuki Hoashi issued a leadoff walk to Lee Seung
Yeop and hit Yoshitomo Tani with a pitch in the second inning. Hayato
Sakamoto moved both runners up with a sacrifice bunt and Kazunari
Tsuruoka followed with a sacrifice fly to right to score Lee.
But Nakajima, whose sixth-inning tiebreaking solo shot helped
Seibu take the series opener, connected on a 3-1 changeup from
Takahashi into the left-field seats to give Seibu a 2-1 lead in the
fourth.
''We were down 1-0 and a runner was on. I'm excited about the
home run in a clutch situation,'' Nakajima said of his shot with one
out and a runner on third. ''I'm going to do some more in the
remainder of the series.
The Giants bounced back in the sixth on an RBI double to right
by Yoshiyuki Kamei after Hayato Sakamoto hit a leadoff single and
advanced to second on a Tsuruoka sacrifice bunt.
Takahashi allowed two runs and three hits in 5-1/3 innings in
his third career Japan Series start. Hoashi, who went 1-0 with a 0.63
ERA in two starts against Yomiuri in interleague play this year, held
Yomiuri to one run and five hits in five innings.
The series moves to Seibu Dome on Tuesday for the next three
games. |
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