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
The Mainichi
13 hours ago
- The Mainichi
Baseball: Darvish roughed up by Cardinals, remains winless in 2025
ST. LOUIS, Missouri (Kyodo) -- San Diego Padres pitcher Yu Darvish remained winless through four starts this season after surrendering eight runs in 3-1/3 innings in a 9-7 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday. Darvish (0-3) gave up a pair of three-run homers, both in the second inning, among the eight hits he allowed at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. The veteran Japanese right-hander's ERA has ballooned to 9.18. The Cardinals turned a 2-1 deficit into a 7-2 lead on second-inning home runs by Brendan Donovan and Willson Contreras and never looked back. Darvish, who missed the first three-plus months of the season with right elbow inflammation, walked two and struck out three. The 38-year-old has won a total of 203 games in his professional career, 110 in Major League Baseball and 93 in Japan. In other action, Los Angeles Angels left-hander Yusei Kikuchi (4-7) gave up three runs in 4-2/3 innings in a 4-2 loss to the Seattle Mariners, the first team of his major league career.
Japan Today
20 hours ago
- Japan Today
Japan beats Turkey to reach Nations League women's semis
Japan captain Mayu Ishikawa (2nd from R) celebrates with teammates after winning a point against Turkey during their Nations League women's volleyball quarterfinal match in Lodz, Poland, on July 24, 2025. (Photo courtesy of Volleyball World)(Photo not for sale)(Kyodo) ==Kyodo volleyball Japan advanced to the Nations League women's volleyball semifinals by defeating Turkey three sets to two on Thursday in Lodz, Poland. The Japanese, who finished runner-up to Italy at last year's Nations League, won 25-21, 16-25, 25-20, 22-25, 15-9, with captain Mayu Ishikawa leading the way with a team-high 19 points. "We were able to attack aggressively as our head coach always tells us," Ishikawa said. "We often found ourselves in tough situations because of poor serve-receptions. But we helped each other with clutch spikes and good defense." Melissa Teresa Vargas scored a match-high 22 points for Turkey. Japan will next play Brazil on Saturday for a spot in the final. © KYODO
Kyodo News
a day ago
- Kyodo News
Baseball: Ichiro attends opening of Japan-linked Hall of Fame exhibit
COOPERSTOWN, New York - Ichiro Suzuki on Thursday attended the opening of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum's latest exhibit celebrating Japanese connections to the game, along with Hideo Nomo and Cal Ripken Jr. The exhibit, titled "Yakyu/Baseball: The Transpacific Exchange of the Game," features artifacts and stories about a game that became the most popular sport in Japan less than 50 years after the country established diplomatic relations with the United States, the museum said. Ichiro, the first Asian-born player elected to the hall, will be formally inducted as a Class of 2025 member this weekend in Cooperstown, New York. The former Seattle Mariners icon is scheduled to take part in Saturday's parade with fellow Class of 2025 members CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner, and will make a speech at Sunday's induction ceremony.
