Central League champion: HANSHIN TIGERS
October
The Giants on Oct 2 lost to the Swallows, but the next day it won, with a 3 run homer by pinch hitter Akira Eto.
It was a 8 to 3 game.
The BayStars Tyron Woods blasted his 39th and 40th homers to further his lead in the home run race on Oct 5. However his team lost to the Dragons 6 to 9. The BayStars lost again on Oct 6, 5 to 6. By the way, a surprise announcement that day. The Giants Masahiro Kawai who announced his retirement earlier after achieving a world record for bunts, decided to continue playing. It's reported that he was initially asked by Giants skipper Tatsunori Hara to be his coach next season, but since Hara stepped down Kawai is quoted as saying he lost interest and instead he's gained motivation to play.
It's Tatsunori Hara's final game as the Giants' skipper on Oct 7. Kazuhiro Kiyohara slammed a 2 run home run for a tie, and the Giants in the end beat the Tigers 6 to 2. Hara was given a bouquet by Tigers' skipper Senichi Hoshino and hugged him in tears.
On Oct 9, the BayStars played the final game of the season. Tyron Woods tried to homer but failed, and his team lost 2 to 3 against the Carp. Meanwhile the Swallows's Alex Ramirez slammed his 39th homer, just one short to tie with Woods. But Ramirez has ample opportunity to beat Woods' record with still more games left this season. And indeed on Oct 16, in his last game of the season, Alex Ramirez homered to tie with Woods for the homerun title. But he won something alone. It's the RBI title.
Final standing of the season
1. Hanshin Tigers
2. Chunichi Dragons
3. Tokyo Yomiuri Giants
3. Yakult Swallows
5. Hiroshima Toyo Carp
6. Yokohama Bay Stars
September
The Tigers are in whooping shape. On Sept 2, George Arias blasted 2 homers to defeat the Carp 7 to 4.
Then the next day, he homered again, the although Kei Igawa left the mound after the first inning
due to an injury, the Tigers won 5 to 4. It's the team's 7 win in a row.
On that day the Giants' Chris Latham belted a 2 run homer to finish the game 5 to 4 over the Dragons.
The Tigers winning streak ended on Sept 4, in a 1 to 4 game.
On Sept 5, the Tigers were behind, but in the 9th inning, won dramatically 4 to 3, on Akihiro Yano's home run. It lost however the next day 4 to 7. The Giants meanshile lost that day 3 to 4 to the Carp, and Koji Uehara took the loss. George Arias blasted a grand slam on Sept 7, helping the Tigers win 8 to 3 over the BayStars. The Giants lost 2 to 4.
The unfortunate news on Sept 9, Hisashi Yamada of the Dragons announced he was fired. He took over the position of skipper from Senichi Hoshino. Ironically Hoshino is currently heading the Tigers. The Dragons managed to win over the Carp 3 to 0. The Tigers, meanwhile lost to the Swallows 3 to 10. It lost again on Sept 10 in the 11th inning 2 to 3 on Alex Ramirez's game winning hit. On Sept 11, the Tigers caught up, but finished the game on a tie in 12 innings, 7 to 7.
The Tigers' on Sept 12 had a competetive game against the Dragons but lost 1 to 2. Then again the next day it lost 7 to 9 despite George Arias's hitting 5 RBIs. The Giants by the way faced its 6th loss in a row in a 4 to 5 game against the Swallows. Koji Uehara succumbed to his 5th loss. The Giants on Sept 14 lost 6 to 7, and fell to 5th place. That day, Masahiro Kawai announced his retirement this season and started for the final time in the game. The Tigers again lost, 0 to 5 to the Dragons.
The Tigers back in Koshien faced the Carp on Sept 15. In the 8th inning, with Atsushi Kataoka's home run it tied the game. In the 9th, with the bases loaded, Norihiro Akahoshi got a runner home, ending the game a 3 to 2 win. The team had to wait to see the result of the Swallows' game that evening. The Swallows lost to the BayStars 6 to 12. The Tigers clinched its pennant victory for the first time in 18 years. The team, on hearing the result celebrated at Koshien before a sell out crowd. Skipper Sennichi Hoshino was tossed in the air. After the game it was learned that 5300 people dived into Dotonbori River which flows through central Osaka to express their joy.
The Central League games go on. On Sept 16, the Tigers again played the Carp. Pitcher Kei Igawa who decided to miss most of the victory party the day before played well. The Game ended 4 to 1. Igawa won his 17th game. The Giants succumbed to its 9th straight loss in a 2 to 19 game against the Dragons. At last on Sept 18, the Giants losing streak was ended. Masumi Kuwata pitched and Roberto Petagine and Tomohiro Nioka homered to help the team win 5 to 3. As for home run leader, Tigers' George Arias slammed his 36th, but his team lost 2 to 3.
The final series at the Tokyo Dome was held from Sept 19. The Giants lost to the Tigers in the first, but won in the 2nd, on Koji Uehara's over the distance pitching.
A surprise announcement was made on Sept 26 by the Giants management team. Skipper Tatsunori Hara has submitted his resignation a week ago and has been accepted. And taking his place from next season is the Giants former ace pitcher Tsuneo Horiuchi 10 years his senior. Hara is only 45 years old and took his team to win the Japan Series last year so the news came as a shock to baseball fans.
One day after Tatsunori Hara announced he's stepping down, Yoshinobu Takahashi slammed 2 homers. And Koji Uehara hurled over the distance to win his 15th game. The Giants won its 4th game in a row 4 to 3 over the Carp. The Giants won again the following day 5 to 3. Meanwhile the home run title race is hot. On Sept 28, the Swallows' Alex Ramirez slammed 2 homers to catch up with Tyron Woods of the BayStars. But Woods stayed ahead by hitting 2 homers too before Ramirez. The Swallows won the game 8 to 2.
Standing as of September 30
1. Hanshin Tigers
2. Chunichi Dragons
3. Yakult Swallows
4. Tokyo Yomiuri Giants
5. Hiroshima Toyo Carp
6. Yokohama Bay Stars
August
The Tigers lost 0 to 4 on Aug 1, but defeated the Dragons the following day.
The Giants succumbed to its 4th straight loss on Aug 2 in a 10 inning game.
It lost 3 to 4 to the Carp. Its losing streak ended the next day with Tomohiro Nioka's 2 run homer in a
3 to 1 game.
The Tigers won again 7 to 1.
While the Tigers game was rained out on Aug 5, the Giants won, defeating the BayStars 6 to 3 on Shinnosuke Abe and Roberto Petagine's homers. The next day, the Giants lost 3 to 6. The Tigers which played lost 3 to 7 to the Swallows. On Aug 7, the Tigers lost again 2 to 5. There was a feat achieved that day. Kimiyasu Kudo became the only Giants pitcher to hurl over a distance at age 40. The Giants won 3 to 2.
The Giants won 6 to 5 against the Swallows on Aug 8. The Giants won again the next day with Roberto Petagine's 3 run homer, and Koji Uehara's successful pitch over the distance. It was 3 to 2. The Tigers, on the other hand, on Aug 9 lost 1 to 5 to the Carp. It faced its 4th straight loss the next day in a 1 to 3 game. The Giants' Masahiro Kawai bunted successfully for the 511th time to tie with the world record. But the Giants could not win the game that day tying 11 to 11.
On Aug 12, veteran pitcher Masumi Kuwata hurled 8 innings and batted in 2 RBIs taking the Giants to a 5 to 1 win over the Dragons. The Tigers losing streak ended defeating the BayStars 3 to 2. The next day, the Giants lost the game it was leading 2 to 5. The Tigers beat the BayStars 3 to 2 again.
The Giants Koji Uehara pitched well again on Aug 15. This time he shut out the Tigers in a 3 to 0b game. But the next day, the Giants faced defeat before the Tigers' starter Kei Igawa, 1 to 5. Igawa clinched his 15th win, and improved his ERA to exceed that of Hiroshi Kisanuki who lost the game. On Aug 17, The Giants managed to win 6 to 1.
The Giants Roberto Petagine drove in 2 homers on Aug 19 to take his team to a 5 to 1 win over the BayStars. The Tigers lost to the Dragons 1 to 4. And the big day came on Aug 20. In the 6th inning, with runner on first, the Giants Masahiro Kawai was at bat, He bunted to successfully advance Tomohiro Nioka to 2nd. It's his career 512th sacrifice bunt, breaking the world record held by Eddie Collins. The Giants' through Kimiyasu Kudo's shut out pitch won the game 3 to 0. The Tigers, again faced defeat, this time 2 to 6.And on Aug 21, Hideki Irabu alone gave up 5 runs, and the Tigers lost 3 to 7. The Giants won its 4th game in a row that day, with homers by Tomohiro Nioka and Kazuhiro Kiyohara. The Giants won another game on Aug 22 thanks to Koji Uehara's hurl over the distance win of 9 to 1. The Tigers that day faces its 5th loss in a row in a 4 to 10 game. Ace pitcher Kei Igawa gave up 7 runs.
The Tigers at last won on Aug 23, 8 to 0 against the BayStars. The Giants on the other hand ended its winning streak, in a 4 to 8 game against the Swallows. The next day, it was the other way around. The Giants won on Yoshinobu Takahashi and Roberto Petagine's 2 run homer each, 6 to 1, while the Tigers lost 2 to 5.
The Tigers' back at Koshien, and faced the Giants on Aug 27. The Giants managed to attack Hideki Irabu, but in the end the Giants lost 4 to 6. Irabu earned his 12th win. The Tigers won again the next day with 2 homers by Katsumi Hirosawa and George Arias. The game finished 11 to 0.
On Aug 29, the Tigers wiped the Swallows 8 to 0 including George Arias 2 run homer. The Giants'Koji Uehara hurled over the distance for the 7th game in a row and won his 13th game. It was 5 to 2 win over the Carp. On Aug 31, the Tigers won its 5th straight game winning 4 to 0. The Giants had a bad start with Roberto Petagine and Akira Eto playing badly out in the field. The game ended 4 to 10.
Standing as of August 31
1. Hanshin Tigers
2. Tokyo Yomiuri Giants
3. Chunichi Dragons
4. Yakult Swallows
5. Hiroshima Toyo Carp
6. Yokohama Bay Stars
July
The Tigers faced the Dragons from July 2. The Dragons batted in a run first. But the Tigers easily swept the
game with Shinjiro Hiyama's 2 run home run, in fact, a cycle hit.
The Tigers won 14 to 3.
The Giants clinched the game against the Carp in the end with Takayuki Shimizu's RBI.
The Swallows beat the BayStars 9 to 1. 3 teams that day were tied for 2nd place.
The Giants' Kazuhiro Kiyohara slammed a 3 run homer, and a 2 run homer too on July 4. His team won 9 to 5 over the Dragons. The Giants returned to 2nd place. But the next day, Kiyohara helped to celebrate his former schoolmate Kazuyoshi Tatsunami's 2000th career hit by presenting him a bouquet. The Dragons won that game 4 to 2, and the 2 teams tied for 2nd place. The Tigers on July 5 won the game 13 to 7 over the Swallows. The following day it stretched its winning streak to 6 in a 7 to 2 game.
Facing the Carp, the Tigers on July 8 won again 8 to 4 on George Arias's home run. And it's "magic number" 49 shone. This means, if it wins 49 games it can clinch the league pennant. The next day, the Tigers lost but won on July 10, 5 to 3 to decrease its magic number to 48. Trey Moore clinched his 10th win. The Giants meanwhile lost 2 games in a row, and fell to 4th place on July 10.
The Tigers overwhelmed the Giants 14 to 1 on July 11. And again the next day 14 to 3, basically due to the Giants Toshihisa Nishi and Tomohiro Nioka's careless plays.It's the Giants 5th loss in a row. Meanwhile the Swallows kept 2nd place winning its 4th game in a row by defeating the BayStars 9 to 5.
The first games after the all star break took off on July 18. The Tigers continued to perform well, beating the Carp 4 to 3. While the Giants in a game it was winning with Kazuhiro Kiyohara's 2 run homer, it lost in the 12th inning to Masakuni Odajima's grand slam. It was 5 to 9 against the BayStars. But on July 19, the Giants losing streak was halted at 6, defeating the BayStars 12 to 8. The Tigers that day lost 1 to 3. On July 20, the Giants won again with Roberto Petagine and Kazuhiro Kiyohara each blasting 2 homers. Pitcher Koji Uehara had his first and also earned his 7th win hurling over the distance in a 9 to 6 game. The Tigers meanwhile clinched the game against the Carp in the 11th inning, 5 to 4.
The Tigers on July 21, won 5 to 3 over the Swallows. Kei Igawa collected his 12 win. The Giants meanwhile beat the Carp 4 to 1. Hiroshi Kisanuki not only hurled over the distance but also struck out 7. It lost in the next inning,however, in the 10th inning 1 to 3. The Tigers Hideki Irabu clinched his 10th win in a 4 to 1 game over the Swallows. And on July 23, the Tigers clinched the game in the 11th inning.
The Tigers on July 25 faced the Dragons and won 7 to 1. But it lost 3 to 15 the next day. The Giants meanwhile managed to beat the Swallows 6 to 4. The next day, the Tigers won again 8 to 1 and the "magic number" reduced to 34. The Giants is winning too defeating the Swallows 3 to 1. It's the Swallows 6th loss in a row.
For only the 2nd time this year, the BayStars beat the Tigers 6 to 3. It's on July 29. Hideki Irabu took the loss. The Giants, with Yoshinobu Takahashi and Shintaro Abe's home runs defeated the Dragons 3 to 0. Rookie Hiroshi Kisanuki hurled over the distance. It was the other way around the next day. The Tigers won 3 to 2, while the Giants lost 5 to 9. On July 31, the Tigers lost 6 to 9, and the Giants lost 2 to 5.
Standing as of July 31
1. Hanshin Tigers
2. Chunichi Dragons
3. Yakult Swallows
4. Tokyo Yomiuri Giants
5. Hiroshima Toyo Carp
6. Yokohama Bay Stars
June
The Giants Yoshinobu Takahashi ended the game dramatically on June 1, with a game winning 2 run home run in the final inning
to beat the Tigers 4 to 3.
On June 3, it was another dramatic win for the Giants. Kazuhiro Kiyohara blasted a 2 run in the 9th inning to beat the Carp 2 to 1. However the next day the Giants lost 2 to 6. The Tigers meanwhile continues to play well beating the Dragons 5 to 2.
The Tigers extended its winning streak to 4 defeating the Swallows on June 6, 7 to 4. But it lost to the next 2 games. The Giants on the other hand won both June 7 and 8 over the BayStars.
The Swallows Alex Ramirez blasted 2 homers on June 10, but the Giants beat the team anyway 9 to 6. The Tigers was back on track again winning over the Dragons 7 to 4. The Tigers won another game against the Dragons on June 11, due to Keiichi Yabu playing well on the plate and on the mound. The Giants lost 19 to 11 to the Swallows. It's the most run lost ever for the team. The next day the Giants lost again.
The top 2 teams met from June 13. The Giants beat the Tigers's Hideki Irabu with 2 homers by Tomohiro Nioka, and Akira Eto, 6 to 2. The following day the game was rained out. On June 15, the game was led by good pitching. But in the 10th inning, Atsushi Kataoka finished the game with an RBI hit, 1 to 0 for the Tigers.
The Tigers showed its strength again on June 17. Akihiro Yano cleaned the loaded bases in the 9th inning to overthrow the BayStars 5 to 4. In Sapporo, the Giants with a 3 run homer by Yoshinobu Takahashi and a 2 run by Takayuki Shimizu beat the Carp 8 to 3. The next day, Kazuhiro Kiyohara with 3 RBIs took the Giants to a 5 to 1 win. The Giants won again on June 19 catching up with the BayStars with Yoshinobu Takahashi's home run and clinching the lead with Kazuhiro Kiyohara sliding into home. It's 6 to 5. The Tigers that day beat the BayStars again 8 to 2. Trey Moore earned his 8th win.
On June 21, the Tigers overwhelmed the Giants l6 to 6, and it won again the next day 5 to 4.
From June 24, the Giants played the weakest team, the BayStars. But it lost 2 to 3 while the Tigers' game was rained out. It clinched the game in the 9th inning on June 25, 7 to 6. Roberto Petagine had a 3 run homer. It's his first game on the starting line-up since recovering from his injury. The Tigers that day easily won against the Carp 7 to 0. Kei Igawa in the shut out game won his 9th game. On June 26, the Giants lost to the BayStars 2 to 3. But the Tigers lost too 4 to 7.
The Tigers clinched the game the BayStars was initially winning 11 to 5 on June 27. George Arias slammed a 3 run homer. The Giants lost to the Dragons 3 to 8, and the Dragons rose to 2nd place. The Giants faced its 3rd straight loss on June 28 in a 0 to 1 game while the Tigers earned another win in a 5 to 3 game. The player in the spotlight that day was the Swallow's Atsushi Furuta. He homered 4 times, tying with the Japanese baseball record. On June 29, the Tigers beat the BayStars again with George Arias's 2 run home run, 6 to 2.
Standing as of June 30
1. Hanshin Tigers
2. Chunichi Dragons
3. Tokyo Yomiuri Giants
4. Yakult Swallows
5. Hiroshima Toyo Carp
6. Yokohama Bay Stars
May
On May 1, the Tigers clinched his 3rd game in a row from the Giants in a 3 to 1 game.
On May 3, the Tigers extended its winning streak and Hideki Irabu won his 4th game.
On the same day the Carp and the Giants played a see saw game.
In the final inning, the Giants clinched the game with Shinnosuke Abe's sacrifice fly.
The Giants Koji Uehara hurled 8 innings, and won the game which ended 7 to 3 on May 4.
But the Giants lost to the Carp the next day 1 to 2.
The Tigers winning streak ended on May 4, but won again the following day with
Trey Moore's shut out over the distance pitch in a 4 to 0 game against the Swallows.
The Tigers' Kei Igawa overwhelmed the Dragons Kenshin Kawakami with his pitches on May 6 in a 10 to 2 game. But the next 2 games, the Tigers lost to the Dragons.
On May 9, Hideki Irabu started an pitched well again. He was supported by 3 consecutive homeruns by his teammates. The Tigers beat the BayStars 11 to 2, and Irabu earned his 5th win. The Giants was leading with 5 run until the Dragons in the 8th inning put in some runs and took the lead in the final inning to win 7 to 5. The next day, the Giants including a 3 run homer by Kazuhiro Kiyohara won 10 to 2. The Tigers won again 5 to 3 and on May 11, 12 to 1 thanks to Trey Moore's good pitch and great performance at bat, hitting in 2 runs.
On May 13, the Tigers clinched its 4th win in a row in a 12 to 2 game against the Carp. The game the next day was rained out, and the Tigers did not have a game on May 15. The Giants Tomohiro Nioka slammed 3 homers on May 15. Yoshinobu Takahashi homered too as a pinch hitter. The Giants beat the BayStars 9 to 2.
The Giants Kazuhiro Kiyohara blasted a homer off his long time rival Hideki Irabu of the Tigers on May 16. Toshihisa Nishi's 3 run gave the Giants a 4 to 0 win. It's the first time the Giants beat the Tigers this season. But the next day the Giants faced defeat before Trey Moore's pitch and RBI. It was a 0 to 1 game. It lost again on May 18 despite 2 homers by Kazuhiro Kiyohara, 3 to 6.
The Tigers races ahead of the rest beating the Carp 4 to 3 on May 20. It won again the next day extending its winning streak to 4 in a 7 to 1 game. And again on May 22 winning 5 to 4. While it had no game, the Giants lost 10 to 14 against the BayStars. It managed to win in the 9th winning on a wild pitch and Tomohiro Nioka's RBI, 4 to 2 on May 24. The Tigers lost 3 to 5 against the Swallows. On May 25, the Tigers won 6 to 4, and the Giants won too on Akira Etoh's 3 run homer to win 11 to 5.
The Tigers beat the BayStars 4 to 3 on May 27 extending its lead. The Giants lost 5 to 10 to the Dragons trading 2nd place for 3rd. But its win the next day 5 to 4 turned the ranks around again. The Tigers meanwhile won again 10 to 9. It's winning streak stretch to 4 on May 29, in a game Hideki Irabu shut out the BayStars and struck out 13.
The top 2 teams faced eachother from May 30. The Giants clinched the first game knocking out Trey Moore, 8 to 2. But the next day, the Tigers clinched the game by hitting in 11 runs in the final inning and won 13 to 5.
Standing as of May 31
1. Hanshin Tigers
2. Tokyo Yomiuri Giants
3. Chunichi Dragons
4. Yakult Swallows
5. Hiroshima Toyo Carp
6. Yokohama Bay Stars
April
The Giants veteran starter Masumi Kuwata celebrated his birthday on Apr 1, pitching a shut out 7 innings.
Shinosuke Abe slammed a 2 run and Roberto Petagine homere too, to beat the BayStars 5 to 0.
Canadian Todd Betts homered and Venezuelan Alex Ramirez had 2, to batter the Dragons new pitcher from the Tigers,
Marc Valdes. The Swallows won 9 to 4.
All games played on Apr 2 ended with a game winning run.
For the Giants, it was Takashi Goto's homerun which ended the game 4 to 3 against the BayStars.
In the game, Roberto Petagine slammed his 4th homer, a 2 run.
The Carp's Takuya Kimura singled in the 10th inning with bases full, to give his team a 5 to 4 win over the Tiger.
The Dragons' clinched its game in the 12th inning with Kosuke Fukudome's home run.
On Apr 3, the Dragons' Kenshin Kawakami earned his 2nd win against the Swallows 8 to 3.
The Tigers's George Arias helped his team win with a 3 run homer. The game ended 7 to 2 against the Carp.
The Tigers' Hideki Irabu on Apr 4 earned his 2nd win already in a 3 to 2 game over the Swallows. The BayStars succumbed to a home run and over the distance by the Dragons pitcher Kenta Asakura and faced its 5th loss in a row in a 3 to 11 game. The Giants played the Carp for the first time on Apr 5 following a rainout game. 39-year old pitcher Kimiyasu Kudo was incredible. He had a shut out game and struck out 13. The Giants won 1 to 0. Like the Giants, the Tigers earned it's 3rd win in a row beating the Swallows 12 to 5. The Tigers, however lost 5 to 6 the next day. The Giants managed to extend its winning streak to 4, clinching the lead in the 8th inning with Yoshinobu Takahashi's RBI to win 9 to 4.
The Tigers played an exciting game against the Dragons on Apr 8. But in the 11th inning, it permitted the Dragons to hit in an RBI, and so lost 4 to 6. It won the next day. On Apr 9, the Giants faced the Swallows. With the game tied, in the 9th inning, Swallows infielder fumbled a grounded ball and the Giants scored from 3rd to clinch its 5th win in a row in the 9 to 8 game. But the Giants winning streak came to a halt losing 2 to 12 on Apr 10. Instead the Dragons won 3 to 0 including a 2 run homer by Alex Ramirez and took first place.
The most exciting game on Apr 11 was between the Giants and the Tigers. Super star Kazuhiro Kiyohara was on the roster for the first time this season. He faced his old time rival Hideki Irabu. Kiyohara managed to swing 2 base hits. The Giants was behind by 6 runs after homers by George Arias and Atsushi Kataoka. But in the bottom of the 9th, Daisuke Motoki hit 2 runners home, followed by Toshihisa Nishi's RBI, and then pinch hitter Koji Goto slugged a 3 run homer. The game went into extra innings. On the top of the 12th, the Tigers scored, but the bottom of that inning, Yoshinobu Takahashi homered. The game finished an 8 to 8 draw. On Apr 12, the Tigers managed to clinch the game 9 to 2, and climbed to 2nd place while the Giants fell. The Giants faced trouble. Kimiyasu Kudo hurt his hand by banging into a Tigers player when he tried to back up at home. Then on Apr 13, Daisuke Motobi clashed into Toshihisa Nishi both hurting themselves quite badly. The Giants lost 3 to 7.
The Giants played a see saw game against the Carp on Apr 15. Kazuhiro Kiyohara slammed his first home run of the season to give his team a lead. But the Carp scored more runs. In the end, Yoshinobu Takahashi's double gave the Giants the game 9 to 8. The Dragons replaced the Tigers for first place by defeating the BayStars 4 to 3. On Apr 16, the Swallows Shingo Takatsu clinched his career 229th save in a 5 to 3 game against the Tigers. He's tied with the Japan record held by Kazuhiro Sasaki, currently playing for the Seattle Mariners in the US.
The Tigers took back first place on Apr 18, thanks to Shinjiro Hiyama's game winning home run to defeat the BayStars 3 to 2. Hideki Irabu as a result won his 3rd game. The Dragons lost to the Giants 3 to 5. The following day the Tigers Trey Moore contributed with his bat and good base running as well as with his pitches. The Tigers won 8 to 1 over the Carp. The Giants, despite Roberto Petagine's 7th homer, lost 2 to 4 to the Dragons. On Apr 20, Koji Uehara at last was able to gain a win in a 7 to 2 game by hurling over the distance. The Tigers with a 9 to 3 win over the BayStars continue to lead.
The Tigers on Apr 22 marked its 5th win in a row defeating the Dragons 11 to 5. The Giants Akira Etoh with a grand slam broke the tie, and in the end the Giants won 9 to 3 over the Swallows. But the Giants not only lost the next day, the Swallows stopper Shingo Takatsu broke a national record. He marked his career 230th save, breaking the record held by Kazuhiro Sasaki til he left the BayStars for the Seattle Mariners. It was in a 8 to 6 game. The Tigers winning streak ended with 2 homers by the Dragons Kosuke Fukudome. It lost again the next day 0 to 6.
The Giants' Roberto Petagine blasted his 9th homer. It's a 2 run. Rookie Hiroshi Kisanuki earned his first win in a 11 to 5 game over the BayStars on Apr 25. The Dragons played an incredible game against the Swallows that day. Ivan Cruz had a 3 run homer, but the Swallows with 2 homers by Alex Ramirez caught up. In the 11th inning the Dragons Kosuke Fukudome gave his team a win with a home run. It was 5 to 4. The Tigers on Apr 26, turned the game around in the 8th inning, and beat the Carp 13 to 10. The BayStars Domingo shut out the Giants in a 4 to 0 game. But the next day, the Giants turned the game around in the 8th inning slamming in 10 runs, for a 10 to 3 win.
The Giants Roberto Petagine blasted a grand slam in the 6th inning on Apr 29, but the Tigers fought back clinching the game in the end 8 to 6. The Tigers won again the next day 6 to 2.
Standing as of April 30
1. Hanshin Tigers
2. Yakult Swallows
3. Tokyo Yomiuri Giants
4. Chunichi Dragons
5. Hiroshima Toyo Carp
6. Yokohama Bay Stars
March
The season opened on Mar 28. Last year's champion Giants faced the Dragons.
The Giants' lead off, Takayuki Shimizu homered.
The Dragons' newcomer Alex Ochoa helped the team tie with his home run.
The Dragons then clinched a lead. The Giants caught up and went beyond. But in the
end, the Dragons won 7 to 3 on Roberto Petagine's poor control of the ball to home.
The Swallows' catcher Atsuya Furuta despite a broken finger started the game. But his participation did not
help his team. His team lost to the Carp 1 to 3.
The BayStars defeated the Tigers 4 to 2.
The following day, the Tigers won. Its former MLB starting pitcher, Hideki Irabu gave up 2 runs in the first inning,
but was about to pitch til the 7th inning, and with George Arias's 2 run homer won 7 to 3.
The Giants this day, played a one sided game including catcher Shinnosuke Abe's grand slam.
Kimiyasu Kudo pitched a shut out 7 innings, and the team won 11 to 0.
The Swallows lost its 2nd game in a row 2 to 3.
On Mar 30 the Dragons went ahead knocking out Giants rookie Hiroshi Kisanuki in the 2nd inning.
The Giants with 2 run homers by Shusuke Hara, and Roberto Petagine stayed closely behind the Dragons.
In the 9th inning, with Tomohiro Nioka's single was just one run behind, but the game finished 10 to 9 for the Dragons.
LAST SEASON CHAMPION: TOKYO YOMIURI GIANTS
Final league standing
1. Tokyo Yomiuri Giants
2. Yakult Swallows
3. Chunichi Dragons
4. Hanshin Tigers
5. Hiroshima Toyo Carp
6. Yokohama Bay Stars
| 2002 CENTRAL LEAGUE TITLE | ||
|---|---|---|
| ERA | Masumi Kuwata (Giants) | 2.217 |
| Most games won | Koji Uehara (Giants) | 17 |
| Most strike outs | Kei Igawa (Tigers) | 206 |
| Most saves | Eddie Gaillard (Swallows) | 34SP |
| Highest hitting average | Kosuke Fukudome (Dragons) | .343 |
| Most base hits | Takayuki Shimizu (Giants) | 191 |
| Homerun | Hideki Matsui (Giants) | 50 |
| RBI | Hideki Matsui (Giants) | 107 |
| Most on base | Hideki Matsui (Giants) | .461 |
| Most bases stolen | Norihiro Akahoshi (Tigers) | 26 |
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