Ryoichi Adachi played a rehab game at Ni-gun on April 2. He got the start at short and batted first against Softbank and went 0-for-2 with a walk. He left the game after six innings. He could be ready to join the active roster on April 12.
Source: Nikkan Sports 4/3/2016
0 CommentsRick van den Hurk picked up another win on April 2 and extended his hitting streak to ten games since his debut last year. He is the fourth pitcher in NPB history (first foreigner) to put together a winning streak of at least ten since their debut, first since Kunikazu Ogawa (1973 – 1974).
Pitchers that started their careers with a streak of ten or more wins
| Name JPN | Name ENG | Tm | Streak | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 藤本 英雄 | Fujimoto, Hideo | YOM | 10 | 1942 |
| 堀内 恒夫 | Horiuchi, Tsuneo | YOM | 13 | 1966 |
| 小川 邦和 | Ogawa, Kunikazu | YOM | 10 | 1973-1974 |
| バンデンハーク | van den Hurk, Rick | SOF | 10 | 2015-2016 |
Source: Sponichi 4/2/2016, Nikkan Sports 4/2/2016, Nikkan Sports 4/3/2016
0 CommentsHiroki Kuroda tossed a four-hit shutout against the Yomiuri Giants at Mazda Stadium on April 2. It was his first shutout in Japan since June 3, 2007 against Rakuten.
At forty-one years and one month, Kuroda became just the eighth pitcher in NPB history to pitch a shutout after turning forty and the fourth to record a shutout victory after turning forty-one. He also became the second oldest pitcher in franchise history to toss a shutout, behind Yutaka Ono (forty-one years and eight months in 1997), and the second oldest right-handed pitcher in NPB history to record a shutout, behind Tadashi Wakayabashi (forty-two years and eight months in 1950).
Kuroda is the second oldest pitcher to record a shutout against the Yomiuri Giants, behind Masahiro Yamamoto (forty-five years and zero month in 2010), and the oldest right-handed pitcher to toss a shutout against the Yomiuri Giants.
Pitchers that recorded shutouts after turning forty-one
| Name JPN | Name ENG | Tm |
|---|---|---|
| 若林 忠志 | Wakabayashi, Tadashi | HAN, MAI |
| 大野 豊 | Ono, Yutaka | HIR |
| 山本昌 | Yamamoto, Masahiro | CHU |
| 黒田 博樹 | Kuroda, Hiroki | HIR |
Pitchers that recorded shutouts against the Giants after turning forty
| Name JPN | Name ENG | Tm | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 若林 忠志 | Wakabayashi, Tadashi | HAN | 1948 |
| 山本昌 | Yamamoto, Masahiro | CHU | 2010 |
| 黒田 博樹 | Kuroda, Hiroki | HIR | 2016 |
Source: Daily Sports 4/2/2016, Sponichi 4/2/2016, Daily Sports 4/3/2016, Sponichi 4/3/2016, Nikkan Sports 4/3/2016
0 CommentsFirst round draft pick Louis Okoye is slated to get the start in center field against Seibu at kobo Stadium on April 3. It will be his first starting assignment at Ichi-gun.
Source: Daily Sports 4/2/2016
0 CommentsDennis Sarfate surprised his teammates when he announced during a pre-game pitcher’s meeting on April 1 that he suddenly had to return to the United States for a month. Yuito Mori, a close teammate, got a little misty-eyed by the announcement. When he found out it was an April Fools prank, he shrugged off the tears and said he was tricked and that the team would have had a tough time winning without Sarfate in the bullpen for a month.
Source: Nikkan Sports 4/2/2016
0 CommentsKei Hosoya tied a Pacific League record earlier today with a triple in his third straight game. He is the twelfth player in NPB history, seventh player in PL history, and fourth player in franchise history to tie the record. The last player to tie the record before Hosoya was Daichi Suzuki in 2013. The NPB record of four was set by Shigeo Nagashima in 1960.
Pacific League
| Year | Name JPN | Name ENG |
|---|---|---|
| 1954 | 蔭山 和夫 | Kageyama, Kazuo |
| 1955 | 三宅 宅三 | Miyake, Takuzo |
| 1958 | 本屋敷 錦吾 | Motoyashiki, Kengo |
| 1993 | 浜名 千広 | Hamana, Chihiro |
| 2007 | 早川 大輔 | Hayakawa, Daisuke |
| 2013 | 鈴木 大地 | Suzuki, Daichi |
| 2016 | 細谷 圭 | Hosoya, Kei |
Source: Sponichi 4/2/2016, Sponichi 4/3/2016, Nikkan Sports 4/3/2016
0 CommentsShohei Otani was 4-0 with a 0.00 ERA in four starts and 31.0 innings at rural stadiums over his career (through March 31). The scoreless innings steak ended at thirty-six on April 1.
Rural Stadium Appearances
| Date | Opponent | Stadium | G | Desc | IP | BF | NP | H | HR | SO | BB | HBP | R | ER |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013/08/18 | Softbank | Obihiro | RP | 1.0 | 4 | 25 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2014/05/13 | Seibu | Hakodate | SP | W | 9.0 | 34 | 126 | 6 | 0 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2014/07/16 | Seibu | Asahikawa | SP | W | 5.0 | 22 | 93 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2015/04/12 | Softbank | Kumamoto | SP | W | 7.0 | 26 | 111 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2015/06/24 | Lotte | Asahikawa | SP | W | 9.0 | 31 | 127 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2016/04/01 | Softbank | Shizuoka | SP | 6.0 | 27 | 105 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Incidentally, heading into the start on April 1, Otani was 3-4 with a 4.74 ERA in thirteen games against the Hawks over his career.
Source: Daily Sports 4/1/2016, Daily Sports 4/2/2016, Nikkan Sports 4/1/2016, Sponichi 4/1/2016
0 CommentsSaitama Sakae High School blanked Komazawa Gakuen Girl’s High School 2-0 in the finals game of the 17th High School Girl’s Baseball Tournament The Invitational on April 1.
Saitama Sakae won the tournament for the sixth time, first in four years.
Source: Nikkan Sports 4/1/2016, Tournament Website
0 CommentsFirst round draft pick Masataka Yoshida extended his hitting streak to six games from the start of the season and tied the rookie record set by Tatsunori Hara in 1981 and Tomoaki Sato in 2001.
Source: Daily Sports 4/1/2016
[UPDATE 4/2 @ 4:09pm]
Hara, Sato, and Yoshida hold the record for hitting streaks by a rookie from the start of the season since the introduction of the draft system in 1966. Shuzo Aono recorded a hit in eight straight from the start of the season in 1962.
Source: Nikkan Sports 4/2/2016
[UPDATE 4/2 @ 7:05pm]
Yoshida’s streak came to an end on April 2. He went 0-for-2 with two walks against Lotte.
Source: Daily Sports 4/2/2016
0 CommentsToshiki Sakurai was taken off the active roster on March 31 with discomfort in his right elbow.
Source: Chunichi Sports 4/1/2016
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