Baseball: Arihara, Downs lead high-flying Hawks past Eagles
The Pacific League-leading Hawks improved to a season-high 22 games over .500 as they recorded their third straight win.
The home side took a 2-0 lead in the second inning at Mizuho PayPay Dome as Taisei Makihara and Ukyo Shuto drove in runs back-to-back.
Downs hit a sacrifice fly to make it 3-1 in the third, and the Colombian-born import further extended the lead with his third long bomb of the season to left field with one out in the fifth. Keita Yamamoto added an insurance run with his seventh-inning solo blast.
"It felt good to get back on the board and give us the momentum again and help us just continue this nice little win streak we've got going on," Downs said.
The former Boston Red Sox and Washington Nationals infielder praised veteran right-hander Arihara (9-5) for putting the team in winning position despite scattering seven hits in an at-times difficult start.
"He battled today, he didn't have his best stuff, but that's what a good pitcher does," Downs said. "Even when they don't have their best stuff, they still give you a chance to win, and that's what he did today."
In the Central League, Hanshin Tigers slugger Teruaki Sato crushed his Nippon Professional Baseball-best 27th home run in a 5-1 victory over the Yakult Swallows.
The 26-year-old Sato went long to lead off the fourth inning at Jingu Stadium for the CL leaders, who racked up four homers for the game, including two from Ryuhei Obata.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Kyodo News
a day ago
- Kyodo News
Sumo: Wrestlers draw large crowd as regional tour visits Osaka expo
OSAKA - Some 4,000 spectators from home and abroad gathered to watch the Japan Sumo Association's regional summer tour make its first stop at the World Exposition in Osaka on Sunday. Yokozuna Onosato's ring-entering ritual and bouts between wrestlers were on display at the venue as well as a shokkiri show, which comically demonstrates prohibited moves in the ancient sport. "It's great to have many people from around the world getting to know sumo," said grand champion Onosato, who received the loudest cheer and was quickly surrounded by the crowd after stepping outside to pose for commemorative photos. Many also congratulated rank-and-file maegashira Kotoshoho after he won the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament in July. "I'm grateful people are counting on me," he said. Osaka-born stablemaster Takekuma was happy to see the event proving a big success after playing a big part behind the scenes. "It will be memorable for the wrestlers and I also hope it serves as a catalyst for people from overseas to get interested (in sumo)," the former ozeki Goeido said. The regional tour will run through the end of this month with the wrestlers visiting as far as Hokkaido.
The Mainichi
a day ago
- The Mainichi
Baseball: Fighters demolish Buffaloes as Ito, Reyes star
OSAKA (Kyodo) -- Hiromi Ito threw six shutout innings and Franmil Reyes had four RBIs as the Nippon Ham Fighters routed the Orix Buffaloes 9-0 on Sunday in the Pacific League. Ito (11-5) allowed seven hits, four walks as well as a walk and a hit batsman each but no runs in a 114-pitch effort at Kyocera Dome Osaka as he continues to lead the PL in wins. Reyes was the star at the plate with four RBIs, first singling in two runs with the bases loaded with two outs in the third to cap the Fighters' three-run inning. After Buffaloes starter Ren Mukunoki (0-2) gave up seven runs over 3-1/3 innings, the slugger from the Dominican Republic then blasted a two-run home run to center off reliever Raiku Katayama, capping their six-run fourth with his PL-leading 21 homer of the year. In other action, the SoftBank Hawks stayed a game ahead of the Fighters and top the PL after an 8-1 win over the Rakuten Eagles. The Yomiuri Giants had a 4-3 walkoff win over the DeNA BayStars in the Central League.
The Mainichi
a day ago
- The Mainichi
Baseball: Arihara, Downs lead high-flying Hawks past Eagles
FUKUOKA (Kyodo) -- Kohei Arihara threw six innings of two-run ball and Jeter Downs contributed two RBIs, including a fifth-inning solo homer, as the SoftBank Hawks beat the Rakuten Eagles 5-2 on Saturday. The Pacific League-leading Hawks improved to a season-high 22 games over .500 as they recorded their third straight win. The home side took a 2-0 lead in the second inning at Mizuho PayPay Dome as Taisei Makihara and Ukyo Shuto drove in runs back-to-back. Downs hit a sacrifice fly to make it 3-1 in the third, and the Colombian-born import further extended the lead with his third long bomb of the season to left field with one out in the fifth. Keita Yamamoto added an insurance run with his seventh-inning solo blast. "It felt good to get back on the board and give us the momentum again and help us just continue this nice little win streak we've got going on," Downs said. The former Boston Red Sox and Washington Nationals infielder praised veteran right-hander Arihara (9-5) for putting the team in winning position despite scattering seven hits in an at-times difficult start. "He battled today, he didn't have his best stuff, but that's what a good pitcher does," Downs said. "Even when they don't have their best stuff, they still give you a chance to win, and that's what he did today." In the Central League, Hanshin Tigers slugger Teruaki Sato crushed his Nippon Professional Baseball-best 27th home run in a 5-1 victory over the Yakult Swallows. The 26-year-old Sato went long to lead off the fourth inning at Jingu Stadium for the CL leaders, who racked up four homers for the game, including two from Ryuhei Obata.
