Newly acquired Nippon Ham Fighters right-hander Bobby Keppel threw two-run ball over seven innings and Shinji Takahashi went 3-for-5 with a solo homer in a preseason game on Tuesday.
Former Minnesota Twins reliever Keppel allowed seven hits, struck out five and walked two in a 4-3 win over the Hanshin Tigers at Kyocera Dome. Takahashi, hitting in the cleanup spot, homered in his first at-bat.
For Hanshin, former Seattle Mariners catcher Kenji Jojima doubled and had an RBI sacrifice fly. New reliever Randy Messenger, Jojima's old battery mate in Seattle, gave up one run in the eighth.
Hanshin left-hander Tsuyoshi Shimoyanagi allowed two runs in four innings. Takashi Toritani hit a solo blast, his second homer of the spring, among his three hits.
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