Latest news with #CentralLeague-leading


The Mainichi
17-07-2025
- Sport
- The Mainichi
Baseball: Takahashi tames Tigers as Dragons win 6th straight game
NISHINOMIYA, Japan (Kyodo) -- Hiroto Takahashi threw a four-hit shutout as the Chunichi Dragons beat the Central League-leading Hanshin Tigers 6-0 on Wednesday, winning six straight games for the first time this season. Takahashi (3-8), who pitched for Japan during its 2023 World Baseball Classic final win over the United States, struck out seven without a walk to prevail in a pitching duel with Hiroto Saiki (7-5) at Koshien Stadium. The Tigers' right-hander was perfect until two outs in the fifth inning but allowed a two-run double to Seiji Uebayashi in the sixth. The Dragons added four runs off the home team's second reliever, Rito Kinoshita, in the ninth. In other action, the Hiroshima Carp edged the DeNA BayStars 4-3 to end their seven-game losing skid. The Pacific League-leading Nippon Ham Fighters routed the Seibu Lions 10-1 for their fourth straight win.


The Mainichi
16-07-2025
- Sport
- The Mainichi
Baseball: Vosler's 11th-inning double lifts Dragons over Tigers
NISHINOMIYA (Kyodo) -- Jason Vosler hit a tiebreaking double in the top of the 11th inning as the Chunichi Dragons outlasted the Hanshin Tigers 3-2 on Tuesday to extend their winning streak to five games. Vosler followed Seiya Hosokawa's one-out double with a double of his own at Koshien Stadium as the Central League-leading Tigers lost for only the second time in 15 games. In other action, Katsuki Azuma (9-4) pitched eight dominant innings as the DeNA BayStars edged the Hiroshima Carp 1-0. Keita Yamamoto hit his first career home run in the SoftBank Hawks' 10-2 rout of the Lotte Marines.


The Mainichi
12-07-2025
- Sport
- The Mainichi
Baseball: Swallows prevail to end Tigers' 11-game winning run
NISHINOMIYA (Kyodo) -- The Yakult Swallows held on to beat the Hanshin Tigers 6-3 on Friday, ending the Central League-leading club's 11-game winning streak. The Swallows, bottom of the CL, scored all their runs in the second inning at Koshien Stadium, where their six straight singles with two outs scored two runs before Soma Uchiyama slugged a grand slam to left off Shoki Murakami (8-3), who was taken off after the inning. Swallows starter Peter Lambert (2-7), who plated their first run, allowed four singles and a walk to open the fourth as the Tigers scored two runs before getting three straight outs to end the inning. He issued three straight walks to start the fifth, and Yusuke Oyama drove in his second run of the game with a sacrifice fly. But the former Colorado Rockies right-hander retired the next two batters and earned the win after giving up six hits and five walks over five innings. In other action, Ryuhei Sotani (8-3) threw eight shutout innings as the Orix Buffaloes blanked the Nippon Ham Fighters 6-0 to end the Pacific League-leading club's five-game winning run.


The Mainichi
10-07-2025
- Sport
- The Mainichi
Baseball: Kurebayashi grand slam lifts Buffaloes past Hawks
OSAKA (Kyodo) -- Kotaro Kurebayashi hit a grand slam as the Orix Buffaloes beat the SoftBank Hawks 4-0 on Thursday to avoid a three-game sweep in the Pacific League. Kurebayashi blasted a low 0-1 slider from Hawks starter Haru Matsumoto (3-3) high into the left stand at Kyocera Dome Osaka with one out in the sixth inning, going deep for the fifth time this year. Kohei Azuma blanked the Hawks over five innings on two hits, and relievers Taisuke Yamaoka (3-1), Sho Iwasaki and Luis Perdomo each threw a perfect inning for the Buffaloes. In other action, the Central League-leading Hanshin Tigers won their 11th straight game and eighth in a row against the Hiroshima Carp after coming from behind to prevail 6-3.


The Mainichi
20-06-2025
- Sport
- The Mainichi
Baseball: Fighters' Koki Kitayama misses no-hitter in 9th inning vs Giants
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Nippon Ham Fighters right-hander Koki Kitayama came within two outs of a no-hitter Thursday in their 4-1 win over the Yomiuri Giants in interleague. The 26-year-old Kitayama (5-2) took a perfect game into the seventh inning at Tokyo Dome before issuing his only walk with two outs, and Takumi Oshiro ended a no-hit bid by ripping a 1-2 forkball for a solo home run to right with one out in the ninth. "It was a precious experience. Not managing to achieve it means I'm still weak in some aspects, and I'll keep setting the bar high to eventually accomplish it one day," said Kitayama, who struck out five in a 122-pitch gem for the Pacific League-leading Fighters. Giants starter Iori Yamasaki (6-2) had allowed one run over 17 innings in his past two starts but was roughed up early as Daigo Kamikawabata doubled in a run in the second before Ariel Martinez, Yua Tamiya and Chusei Mannami plated a run each in the third. Kitayama, named the 2022 Opening Day starter despite being the Fighters' eighth-round draft pick just months earlier, said he will "keep giving my best to repay" the faith shown by skipper and former MLB player Tsuyoshi Shinjo. In other action, Jon Duplantier (3-3) had a four-hit shutout, fanning 12 as the Central League-leading Hanshin Tigers beat the Lotte Marines 2-0.