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LEAD: Itokazu has stellar start as Fighters down Buffaloes
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SAPPORO, Sept. 30 (22:41) Kyodo
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(EDS: UPDATING WITH CENTRAL LEAGUE GAMES)
Keisaku Itokazu carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning as
the Nippon Ham Fighters edged the Orix Buffaloes 3-2 and saw their
magic number to clinch the Pacific League crown drop to four on
Wednesday.
Itokazu (4-5) did not allow a hit until a two-out double to
Mitsutaka Goto in the seventh inning followed by Takeshi Hidaka's RBI
single that cut Orix's deficit to 2-1 at Sapporo Dome.
His final line: Two hits, two walks with four strikeouts in
seven innings. Hisashi Takeda got his 33rd save.
Atsunori Inaba added a run-scoring single in the bottom of the
seventh for insurance. Shinji Takahashi and Hichori Morimoto had RBI
singles in the third and fifth, respectively, for a 2-0 lead.
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Eagles 6, Hawks 2
Naoto Watanabe had a two-run double to key a six-run fifth
inning as Rakuten came from behind to beat Softbank at Kleenex
Stadium.
Second-place Softbank clinched a playoff berth in the Climax
Series despite the loss after fourth-place Seibu was defeated by
Lotte in another game.
Satoshi Nagai (12-7) gave up five hits and struck out five in
his fifth complete game of the season. Sho Iwasaki (0-1) took the
loss in his first start of the season.
After Rakuten tied it 1-1 on catcher Hidenori Tanoue's throwing
error, Masato Nakamura had an RBI single followed by Watanabe's
double as Rakuten sent 10 batters to the plate in the big inning.
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Marines 9, Lions 2
At Seibu Dome, Tsuyoshi Nishioka had a tiebreaking two-run
double in the second inning and Lotte piled on the damage in a rout
that sent Seibu to its fourth consecutive defeat.
Fourth-place Seibu saw its chances of making the playoffs
dwindle as it fell five games behind third-place Rakuten.
Lotte went up 4-1 in the second against Hsu Ming-chieh (1-2) and
added five runs in the last three frames. Nishioka, Kazuya Fukuura
and Daisuke Hayakawa drove in six runs combined for the Marines, who
are undefeated in their last seven games, including a tie.
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Central League
Giants 6, Dragons 2
At Nagoya Dome, Alex Ramirez homered and drove in three runs to
help back a strong outing by Wirfin Obispo, who limited the damage to
one run in eight innings in Yomiuri's win over Chunichi.
Ramirez went deep for a two-run blast -- his 31st homer -- with
two outs in the first inning and added a run-scoring double in the
second. Tetsuya Matsumoto had three hits with three runs scored.
Obispo (6-1) allowed six hits, struck out five and walked two.
Yudai Kawai (11-5) took the loss.
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Carp 2, BayStars 1
At Mazda Stadium, Colby Lewis held batters to one run in seven
innings as Hiroshima downed Yokohama to win its third in a row.
Kenta Kurihara hit a leadoff homer in the second and Yoshiyuki
Ishihara followed with a one-out RBI single to make it 2-0.
Lewis (10-9) only allowed two hits, both singles, struck out
nine but hit three batters. Katsuhiro Nagakawa had a 1-2-3 ninth for
his 34th save. Lowly Yokohama dropped its seventh in a row.
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Tigers 7, Swallows 1
At Jingu Stadium, Tomoaki Kanemoto went 3-for-4 with three RBIs,
helping power Hanshin in a romp over Yakult to move into third place
as it aims for a playoff spot in the Climax Series.
Craig Brazell hit a two-run home run off Yuki Tanaka (5-6) to
give Hanshin a 3-0 lead in the seventh inning and the Tigers put the
game away in a four-run ninth, featuring Kanemoto's two-run double.
Atsushi Nomi (12-9) pitched 5-2/3 scoreless innings. |
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