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LEAD: Eagles books 1st Climax Series berth in rout of Lions
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SENDAI, Oct. 3 (22:28) Kyodo
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(EDS: UPDATING, CHANGING DATELINE, ADDING QUOTES)
Teppei Tsuchiya homered twice and drove in six runs and Takeshi
Yamasaki had a three-run blast as the Rakuten Eagles erupted in a
14-5 win over the Seibu Lions to clinch a spot in the Climax Series
playoffs for the first time ever Saturday.
Tsuchiya had three-run drives in the first and sixth innings off
Kazuyuki Hoashi (9-6) at Kleenex Stadium and third-place Rakuten
pounded out 16 hits to reach the postseason for the first time in the
club's five year history. Yamasaki went deep in a four-run fifth.
''I feel relieved or how should I put it, we've made the first
step. Honestly, I thought this would be impossible,'' said Rakuten
manager Katsuya Nomura. ''I have to say the best thing is that the
fans were so happy for us. We still face an uphill battle. We would
like to (aim for second or better) have the Climax Series here in
Sendai.''
Koji Aoyama (3-4) got all the run support he needed to pitch his
first complete game of the season.
Daisuke Kusano hit a solo shot and Todd Linden added a two-run
drive. Takahiko G.G. Sato, Toru Hosokawa and pinch-hitter Tatsuyuki
Uemoto homered for Seibu.
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Fighters 11, Marines 1
At Sapporo Dome, Makoto Kaneko homered twice to drive in five
runs in powering Nippon Ham in a romp over Lotte as the Pacific
League leader reduced its magic number to clinch the title to three.
Terrmel Sledge, who was 3-for-5 with four RBIs, had a three-run
home run in the first inning and added a run-scoring single in a
five-run second, which was capped by Kaneko's two-run blast to left
off Yuta Omine (5-6).
Kaneko tacked on a three-run drive in the seventh. Tomoya Yagi
(9-3) threw his third complete game of the season, striking out seven
and walking one.
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Central League
Giants 6, Carp 4
Ryota Wakiya hit a two-run single to key a four-run first inning
and Dicky Gonzalez won his ninth straight decision as Yomiuri beat
Hiroshima in its last home game of the season.
Alex Ramirez and Yoshiyuki Kamei hit consecutive RBI singles
before Wakiya's bases-loaded single off Kan Otake (9-8) gave Yomiuri
a 4-1 lead at Tokyo Dome.
Dicky Gonzalez (15-1) allowed four runs on six hits over 6-1/3
innings. Kiyoshi Toyoda worked the ninth for his fifth save.
Shinnosuke Abe hit a solo homer in the third and Michihiro
Ogasawara had an RBI single in the fourth. Hiroshima saw its winning
streak end at four games.
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Dragons 6, BayStars 3
Kazuki Yoshimi became the first 16-game winner in Japanese
baseball and Motonobu Tanishige drove in two runs as Chunichi downed
Yokohama at Yokohama Stadium.
Tanishige hit a two-run single off Miura Daisuke (11-11) with
two outs in the first inning. Kazuhiro Wada added a solo homer in the
fourth and Masahiko Morino tacked on an RBI double in the fifth.
Yoshimi (16-7) gave up two runs over four innings in relief of
starter Chen Wei-yin. Takuya Asao pitched a perfect ninth for his
sixth save.
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Swallows 6, Tigers 4
At Koshien Stadium, Koji Onizaki broke a 4-4 tie with a one-out
solo homer in the sixth inning and Yakult held off Hanshin to move
into a share of third place with the same winning percentage.
After Onizaki's shot off Masashi Sajikihara (0-1), Kazuki
Fukuchi added a run-scoring triple the same inning.
Lefty Masanori Ishikawa (12-7) matched his season total in wins
from 2008 in his third complete game of the year. |
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