33rd game, September 25 The Dodgers exploded this day with homeruns. Todd Zeile, contributed with 2 homers. Nomo was able earn his 14th victory this time, after 4 winless games. He pitched 7 innings, losing 3 RBIs to the Colorado Rockies. The result of the game was a 9 to 5 for the Dodgers.
32nd game, September 19 In one of the key games to determine the Dodgers berth in the play off, Nomo started. He faced the Colorado Rockies. The Dodgers were the first to score, but in the 5th and 6th innings, Nomo gave up a single homer each. The 7th was a disaster. A runner came home while Eric Carros fumbled with the ball, and the Rockies reversed the game when Nomo wild pitched. Nomo finished 7 innings. He took the loss of the game which ended 6 to 4.
31st game, September 14 In the first inning, Jeff Bagwell of the Houston Astros homered a double from Nomo. Thereafter though, Nomo got himself back together. He struck out 11 in 7 innings. Then, he was replaced by Brett Butler who pinch hit for him. The teams were tied 2 to 2 by the end of the 7th inning. Mike Piazza supported the Dodgers well this day, that also in the 10th inning, he drove in a runner home for his team's first win in 5 games. Nomo did not earn the credit for this win, but his non-tornado pitching had improved his performance.
30th game, September 8 Nomo lost 4 runs in the first inning, and was homered 3 times by the Florida Marlins in the 4 innings he's hurled. That's a loss of 5 RBIs in all. After Nomo was out of the game, the Dodgers batted in runs and were about to catch up with the Marlins, but the Marlins stretched the score in the final inning adding 3 runs. The game was a 8 to 4. The defeat is on Nomo. It's his 11th.
29th game, September 2 The Dodgers visited the Texas Rangers on this sizzling hot day. Nomo lost 5 RBIs in 5 1/2 innings, and only succeeded in striking out one. It was though not a bad performance considering the weather, according to Japanese media reports. Meanwhile, the Dodgers hit well. When Nomo left the mound they were leading 9 to 5. The tragedy was that none of pitchers were able to hurl well for the team. The worst part for the Dodgers came in the 9th inning. The Rangers came back with 6 runs to win the game. Nomo, therefore, wasn't able to add another win to his record.
28th game, August 28 At last, Nomo seemed to be back in shape. He pitched 7 1/3 innings, lost just 1 RBI. He did not only earn his 13th win of the season, he marked his 200th strike outs for 3 straight years in a row. It makes him only the 2nd pitcher, after Dwight Gooden who is now with the New York Yankees, to achieve this record.
27th game, August 23 Nomo did not hurl too well against the Philadelphia Phillies. He lost 3 RBIs all together in the 5th inning. He was gone after that inning. Thanks to Dodgers' great relief, the team kept their lead 4 to 3, and presented Nomo his 12th win.
26th game, August 17 Nomo gave up 3 RBIs which included a loss caused by a wild pitch in the 1st inning to the Cincinnati Reds. He lost 2 more runs in the next 6 inning. Meanwhile, the opposing rookie pitcher Brett Tomko pitched much better and so the Dodgers at the end lost 0 to 5, and Nomo had his 10th loss of the season.
25th game, August 12 It's for the first time since July 16 that Nomo had become the losing pitcher. The Dodgers were 1-1 to the Chicago Cubs until the 7th innung. Then in that inning, he lost a 2 run homer plus another RBI. Nomo hurled 6 1/3 innings. The game finished 2-4.
24th game, August 7
Nomo did a much better job this time against the Montreal Expos. He lost 3RBIs in 5 2/3 innings.
Mike Piazza supported him with a 2 run homer.
In the end, the Dodgers won 9 to 4, and the game gave Nomo his 11th win of the season.
It's also Nomo's 40th career win in the US.
Michiyo's Note:
I was disappointed that on US TV sportsnews, Nomo was hardly shown. They featured Piazza much more.
23rd game, August 1
It last, Nomo marked his 10th victory of the season. He won it out of luck though.
He was homered 3 times and lost a total of 7 RBIs in 6 2/3 innings to the Chicago Cubs.
But the Dodgers batted in more runs and won 13 to 9.
22nd game, July 26
In this game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Nomo had good control of his pitches.
However, an accident occurred in the 4th inning.
Scott Rolen's line drive hit Nomo on his pitching elbow.
Dodgers' manager Bill Russell came up to a Nomo and took the ball from his hand.
Nomo had no choice but to leave the game. He, fortunately, had not been seriously injured.
Too bad Nomo was not able to collect his 10th win, because the Dodgers were able to bat the game to a 4 to 1 victory.
21th game, July 21
To start with, Nomo again had a bad control of his pitches.
The Atlanta Braves batted in a run each in the 1st and 2nd innings.
Although the Dodgers reversed the game with Raul Mondesi's 3 run homer,
the Braves tied in the 4th inning. Nomo pitched 6 innings.
Unfortunately, the Dodgers lost 4 to 5.
20th game, July 16
Nomo had a bad start. The Florida Marlins drove 3 consecutive base hits in the 1st inning and a runner came home.
He lost an RBI in the 3rd and lost 3 more points in the 6th inning.
He finished his part in the game there. The Dodgers were defeated 1 to 5, and Nomo took the loss--his 8th of the season.
19th game, July 11
It's the first time Nomo's on since the all-star break.
Nomo, pitched well, but also hit the first base hit for the Dodgers in the 5th inning.
That led to something more. All bases became loaded. Mike Piazza was walked, and Nomo came home automatically.
Eric Carros singled, and Todd Zeile homered. In all, the Dodgers scored 6 points.
Nomo left after pitching 8 innings, losing only 1 RBI. The game ended a 6 to 2 for the Dodgers.
It marked the 8th straight winning game for the team, and Nomo's 9th victory of the season.
18th game, July 3
Nomo struggled with his pitches in this game against the Anaheim Angels.
He walked 6 Angels during the 6 innings he pitched. At least, he lost only 3 base hits.
and fortunately, no RBIs. With respect to the Dodgers line-up, Roger Cedeno, Greg Gagne and Mike Piazza each doubled.
The Dodgers were able to close the first half of the season with a 8 to 2 win, and
Nomo collected his 8th win.
17th game, June 28
Already in the 1st inning, Nomo lost a homer to the San Diego Padres, Steve Finley.
In the 4th inning he was doubled by Carlos Hernandez.
Then in the 5th, Nomo is caught for a balk and after that, Tony Gwynn blasted a 2 run homer.
It was one of Nomo's worst games. He gave up 6 runs in just 4 2/3 inning.
It's his 7th losing game this year. The game finished a 9 to 3 for the Padres.
16th game, June 23
The Dodgers blasted off to a wonderful start facing the Colorado Rockies.
In the 1st inning, Eric Karros and Raul Mondesi homered consecutively.
Nomo was homered the next inning too and lost 3 RBIs already. But after that, there weren't any drastic moves
for both teams. Nomo pitched a full 8 innings and picked up his 7th win of the season.
15th game, June 18
For the first time in the US Major Leagues, Nomo competed against another Japanese player,
although it was momentarily. Shigetoshi Hasegawa pitched in the 6th and a little bit in the 7th
for the Anaheim Angels. Nomo pitched until the 7th inning.
Hasegawa had a right to winning the game when he took to the mound because the Angels reversed the game
the previous inning to a 4 - 3. Hasegawa did fine. However, later on, the Dodgers added more runs to turn the game
around to a 7 to 5. Nomo was neither the winning nor the losing pitcher.
B>14th game, June 12
The Dodgers played its first regular game of the season against a team of the American League, the Oakland Athletics.
Nomo became the starting pitcher. He had a great start.
However, after striking out 2 Athletics sluggers in the 2nd inning, he was homered by Matt Stairs, who played with
the Japanese team, Chunichi Dragons in 1993. Nomo suddenly lost control in th 6th inning.
He walked 2, then hit a batter. With bases loaded, he walked Jose Canseco.
It was over for Nomo. The Dodgers lost 4 to 5.
Nomo marked his 6th loss.
13th game, June 7
It was about to become a complete shut out game for Nomo. But the St. Louis Cardinals batted in 2 runs in the 9th inning.
Nomo was at least able to hurl the entire game--the first time for him this season.
He contributed with his bat too. In the 3rd inning, Nomo doubled, and he came home on Raul Mondesi's hit.
The Dodgers batted in 3 points in all that inning. The final result was 5 to 2 for the Dodgers.
Nomo is with 6 wins now.
12th game, June 2
Nomo started the game against the Houston Astros. There was no big action in this game until the 7th inning.
That's when Nomo was doubled, he walked the next, then a double by Astros' catcher Brad Ausmus got 2 runners home.
And that was all. The Astros won 2 to 0 and Nomo lost his 5th game this season.
Nomo has worsened his career record against the Astros 1 to 5.
11th game, May 27
You couldn't believe that it was Nomo starting the game.
He was tripled by Jim Eisenreich of the Seattle Mariners, followed by Bobby Bonilla hitting the
ball to the center. Nomo lost 4 RBIs in just the 1st inning.
To that, the Mariners added 2 more RBIs in the 4th inning.
Nomo was finished there. It's his shortest game this season.
The Dodgers were defeated 8 to 5. Nomo became the losing pitcher.
10th game, May 22
Tony Gwynn of the San Diego Padres scored from Nomo twice in this game, and
got on base all 3 times he faced Nomo.
People see it as Gwynn's revenge. That is because Nomo's agent Don Nomura sued Gwynn's
wife Alicia for using Nomo's name and photo to sell jigsaw puzzles, without asking for permission.
Nomo lost 4 RBIs and the team was defeated by the Padres 1 to 4.It's his 3rd losing game.
9th game, May 17
The 2 strikeouts that Nomo took in the 1st inning got him swinging to action.
He struck out 11 Montreal Expos batters during the 8 1/3 innings he pitched.
Nomo paved the way for the Dodgers batters too. He doubled in the 3rd inning,
and came home. In all the Dodgers batted in 4 runs that inning.
In the end, the Dodgers overwhelmed the Expos to a 8 to 3 victory. It gave Nomo his 5th win of the season.
8th game, May 11
The Dodgers played badly out on the field in the 1st inning.
That's why Nomo lost 2 RBIs to the Montreal Expos in that inning.
Otherwise, Nomo safely hurled 7 innings while his teammates reversed the game to a 3 to 2.
However, relief pitcher Todd Worrell was homered and the victory went to the Expos who won
the game 6 to 3.
7th game, May 5
Nomo marked his 4th victory this season against 2 losses in Los Angeles.
In the 5th inning, the Cincinnatti Reds batted in a run from Nomo to bring the game
to a tie. Thanks to Billy Ashley's 2 run homer in the 6th inning, the Dodgers
took the lead again. The game was a 3 to 1 victory for the Dodgers.
6th game, April 30
The game started out well for the Dodgers.
In the 2nd inning, the Dodgers batted in 3 runs thanks to Raul Mondesi.
However, Nomo was homered and lost a total of 2 RBIs in the bottom of that inning
to the Philadelphia Phillies.
He lost another homerun in the 4th inning. Then, the Dodgers came back
to add a run to move ahead of the Phillies 4 to 3. Nomo pitched 6 1/3 innings.
After he left, the Dodgers batted in more runs, ending the game 7 to 5.
5th game. April 25
Nomo's first strikeout of the game against the Florida Marlins was his 500th in
the US Major Leagues. It's quite a feat, because he's the 2nd fastest pitcher after
Dwight Gooden to take 500 Ks. Nomo, however, failed to pick up a win.
The Marlins batted in 2 runs from him in the 1st inning. Nomo hurled a total of 5 innings,
with the Dodgers only batting in a run during that time. The Marlins won the game 4 to 2.
Nomo succumbed to his 2nd loss of the seaon.
4th game, April 19
On Apr. 19, Nomo pitched against the Houston Astros. He lost a RBI each in the 5th and the 7th
innings. His teammate could only bat in one run. So although Nomo was not
doing so bad, he became the losing pitcher of the game. Nomo struck out 9 batters
in the 6 2/3 innings that he pitched.
3rd game, April 13
Nomo was initially supposed to start on Apr. 12 against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
But the game was rained out. So he actually pitched the following day.
He had a bad start, already losing a score in the 1st inning.
He pitched 5 innings, losing a total of 4 runs.
However, his team mates batted so well, batting in 9 runs in just the 3rd inning,
that Nomo was given credit for the Dodgers' 14 to 5 win.
This is Nomo's 2nd victory of the season.
2nd game, April 7
The 2 run homer slugged by Tom Hundley of the New York Mets in the 6th inning
were the only points Nomo lost. As a matter of fact, the Dodgers did not lose more than
2 runs during the 15 innings they played.
Nomo wasn't able to win the game, but at least, his team batted in a run to
win the game in the 15th inning. The Dodgers achieved a 3 to 2 victory at past midnight.
1st game, April 2
Nomo pitched for the first time for the 1997 season on April 2--that's the 2nd day of
the season. The LA Dodgers were visited by the Philadephia Phillies.
Nomo lost only a base hit in the first inning. In the bottom of that inning,
Raul Mondesi assisted Nomo with a 3 run homer. In the 5th inning, Nomo lost a
single homerun to the Phillies, but that was all.
He pitched 7 innings. His team won 5 to 1. Nomo marked his 1st victory of the season.
The victory also is his 30th in the US Major Leagues.
Michiyo's Note: All games Nomo is scheduled to pitch in are again broadcast
in Japan live this season. The first game of the season was shown at a very
convenient time for the Japanese viewers. It started during lunch time.
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