
Baseball: Asamura records 2,000th career hit in Rakuten's win
Hideto Asamura collected his 2,000th career hit in the Rakuten Eagles' 2-1 win over the Nippon Ham Fighters on Saturday, making him the 56th player in Japanese baseball to reach that plateau.
His 2,000th came in a two-run first inning when the 34-year-old first baseman drove in the opening run of the game with a single to right at Rakuten Mobile Park Miyagi.
Asamura added a base hit in the second inning and finished the game 2-for-4.
"When I began my professional career, I never thought I'd reach 2,000 hits," said Asamura, who joined the Eagles in 2019 as a free agent from the Seibu Lions.
"I'll continue to take it one hit at a time and do my best to win the championship."
Kosei Shoji (1-0) tossed six innings of one-run ball. Sachiya Yamasaki (2-2) took the loss.
In other action, Shinya Hasegawa hit two of Seibu's four home runs to back an eight-inning gem by Tatsuya Imai (5-1) as the Lions beat the Lotte Marines 6-1.
Related coverage:
Baseball: Orix's Wakatsuki hits walk-off double on NPB's Opening Day
Baseball: Rakuten rookies visit 2011 tsunami-hit town
Baseball: Former Yankees ace Masahiro Tanaka vows to break out of struggles

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

4 hours ago
Baseball Teams Trying to Fight Off Japan's Torrid Summer Heat
News from Japan Sports Jul 23, 2025 08:30 (JST) Tokyo, July 23 (Jiji Press)--Japanese professional baseball teams are working on ways to protect their players and fans from the country's sweltering summer heat. On June 27, Tatsuya Imai, an ace pitcher for the Saitama Seibu Lions in the Pacific League of the Nippon Professional Baseball Organization, or NPB, was replaced after suffering a heatstroke while pitching at a game held at the team's Belluna Dome stadium in the city of Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture, north of Tokyo, against the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters. The stadium, which has a roof but no outer walls, lacks an air-conditioning system that covers all corners of the facility. "We are taking the heat seriously as a challenge," an official said. Starting this month, large mist sprayers have been installed near spectator seats. For players, new commercial freezers equipped with ice packs have been set up under the dugout. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press


Japan Today
6 hours ago
- Japan Today
2 Japanese footballers in Australia accused of A-league match-fixing
Two Japanese footballers, including an Australian A-League player, have attended a pretrial procedure at a Melbourne court where they faced accusations of collaborating on betting fraud related to A-league matches, according to court documents. Riku Danzaki, a 25-year-old midfielder for Melbourne-based A-League club Western United, faces several charges, including allegedly deliberately receiving yellow cards during matches between April and May to manipulate betting outcomes, his charge sheet from the proceedings at the Magistrates Court of Victoria in Melbourne on Monday showed. Yuta Hirayama, 27, a student who plays for a local soccer team in Victoria and is a friend of Danzaki, was charged with using information about Danzaki's alleged plans to bet on the matches. The two men, who were accused of together winning at least AU$17,000 ($11,070) through the bets, did not enter formal pleas. They were arrested on May 30 and later released on bail. Danzaki joined Western United in Australian football's top division in 2023 after playing for Brisbane Roar in the league. He made his professional debut in 2019 for Consadole Sapporo, playing in the J-League first division, before stints with clubs including J2 outfit JEF United Chiba and Scottish side Motherwell. Hirayama played last season with the Bayside Argonauts after several years playing for clubs in Queensland, according to the Herald Sun newspaper. © KYODO


The Mainichi
15 hours ago
- The Mainichi
2 Japanese footballers in Australia accused of A-league match-fixing
MELBOURNE (Kyodo) -- Two Japanese footballers, including an Australian A-League player, have attended a pretrial procedure at a Melbourne court where they faced accusations of collaborating on betting fraud related to A-league matches, according to court documents. Riku Danzaki, a 25-year-old midfielder for Melbourne-based A-League club Western United, faces several charges, including allegedly deliberately receiving yellow cards during matches between April and May to manipulate betting outcomes, his charge sheet from the proceedings at the Magistrates Court of Victoria in Melbourne on Monday showed. Yuta Hirayama, 27, a student who plays for a local soccer team in Victoria and is a friend of Danzaki, was charged with using information about Danzaki's alleged plans to bet on the matches. The two men, who were accused of together winning at least AU$17,000 ($11,070) through the bets, did not enter formal pleas. They were arrested on May 30 and later released on bail. Danzaki joined Western United in Australian football's top division in 2023 after playing for Brisbane Roar in the league. He made his professional debut in 2019 for Consadole Sapporo, playing in the J-League first division, before stints with clubs including J2 outfit JEF United Chiba and Scottish side Motherwell. Hirayama played last season with the Bayside Argonauts after several years playing for clubs in Queensland, according to the Herald Sun newspaper.