Buffaloes manager Okada's status up in air for 2013: team executive

Kobe — Akinobu Okada's days as manager of the Orix Buffaloes may be numbered, a team executive suggested on Friday. The skipper is in the final season of a three-year contract.

When questioned about next year's field management and coaching staff, an executive for the Pacific League's last-place club said, "That will have to wait until we have a talk with the manager."

On Tuesday, when it was learned that the team had yet to broach the subject of a new contract with the 54-year-old skipper, Okada said he would leave the decision up to the club. Okada had quit his job as Hanshin Tigers manager in 2009 after failing to advance in the playoffs for two straight seasons.

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Buffaloes ground Eagles

SENDAI — Rookie Shohei Kojima went 3-for-4 and drove in a run in the No. 2 spot, and right-hander Satoshi Komatsu allowed two runs over six innings as the Orix Buffaloes edged the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles 4-3 on Monday night.

Mitsutaka Goto had a sacrifice fly in the first and Takayoshi Kawabata added an RBI single in the second at Kleenex Stadium. Takahiro Okada and Kojima both chipped in with run-scoring singles in the third and sixth, respectively.

"I got a chance from the team, so I am trying every day to produce results," said Kojima. "I wanted to drive in a run for us no matter how I did it. I went up to my at-bat with that determination. I have a lot of good batters hitting after me, so I want to do my part to create situations to get on base."

Komatsu (3-4) scattered eight hits, struck out two and walked none. Yoshihisa Hirano got the final four outs for his fourth save. Satoshi Nagai (1-3) took the loss.

Luis Garcia went 4-for-4 for Rakuten. Teppei Tsuchiya hit a two-run triple in the fifth and an RBI single in the seventh for all of Rakuten's scoring.

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Sakaguchi injury latest blow for underperforming Buffaloes

Buff luck: Tomotaka Sakaguchi's injury against the Giants last Thursday was typical of the Orix Buffaloes' bad fortune this season. KYODO

Tomotaka Sakaguchi separated his shoulder making a catch, and the run still scored.

It's one of the cruelest ironies of a play that could impact what's already been a tough season for the Orix Buffaloes.

Had the speedy four-time Golden Glove-winning center fielder's momentum not taken him forward so forcefully after an impressive catch on the move — with a Yomiuri Giants runner on third — he wouldn't have hit the ground so awkwardly or been carried off on a stretcher after a few painful minutes of writhing on the Tokyo Dome surface. He would've simply made the out and (probably) prevented the run from scoring. Had he gotten to the ball late, the run would've scored, but Sakaguchi would presumably still be in good health.

It's partially because he's a such a good fielder that things unfolded the way they did. That's just the way the season has been for the Buffaloes. Even when something goes right, the end result is inexorably flawed.

Sakaguchi's injury on Thursday (he may miss several weeks) was just the latest blow. The Buffaloes took a pair of games from the Tokyo Yakult Swallows over the weekend, but have lost six of their last nine and are bringing up the rear in the Pacific League. To be fair, Orix wasn't doing so hot with Sakaguchi, but losing one of your top players isn't going to help get things on track.

What's frustrating for Buffaloes fans, and probably the team itself, is Orix should be better. This is a team with some talented pitchers and a few good position players that should be playing better.

Adding insult to injury, Orix (which finished fourth in 2011) is seeing last season's cellar-dwellers, the Chiba Lotte Marines, sitting pretty in first place, and the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles (fifth last year) staying afloat in third — even without ace Masahiro Tanaka.

Injuries have played a big role in Orix's slow start, as has just plain old bad luck, but the current state of affairs is hardly new.

The Buffaloes have finished outside the top three each year since their formation in 2005, the exception being 2008's partially spite-fueled run to second place under Daijiro Oishi after manager Terry Collins quit midseason.

There have been misses on draft days, in free agency, on the farm, and not a good enough performance in the manager's chair. Even when the roster was flush with talent (2009, 2011 particularly), Orix finished in the B-Class.

The franchise needs to figure out how to get out of its own way long enough to foster the type of success the Marines are currently enjoying.

It's only May and too early to start abandoning ship, but nothing in the team's recent history inspires much confidence.

There were no smiles and little small talk as the players filed out of Tokyo Dome after losing to the Giants Thursday. Frustration was evident on their faces as they quietly trudged through the hallway, the funk of another loss hanging thick in the air.

A run scoring on Sakaguchi's injury is emblematic of the Buffaloes' trouble taking a step forward without first taking two steps back.

A two-game sweep of the Swallows over the weekend was a good start, but the Buffaloes have to build upon it and figure out how to put their best foot forward during the remainder of the year.

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Giants defeat Buffaloes

Hayato Sakamoto and the Yomiuri Giants might be finally hitting their stride. Which might be bad news for the Pacific League.

Locked in: Giants left-hander Toshiya Sugiuchi struck out eight batters in six innings on Thursday at Tokyo Dome. Yomiuri defeated the Orix Buffaloes 4-2. KYODO

Sakamoto hit a game-tying homer in the sixth inning, Ryuchi Kajimae drove in the go-ahead run during the same frame, and Toshiya Sugiuchi won his first interleague start against the PL as the Giants edged the Orix Buffaloes 4-2 in front of a crowd of 45,997 on Thursday at Tokyo Dome.

"Sugiuchi-san was pitching well and we wanted to make sure he would not be the loser tonight," Sakamoto said.

Sakamoto's game-tying shot to left to lead off the sixth was his third home run of the season and first at Tokyo Dome this year.

"It always feels good to hit a home run in front of the home crowd," Sakamoto said. "I'm sorry it took so long to hit the first one here this season."

Yomiuri managed to load the bases later in the inning and Kajimae hit a sacrifice fly to center that was deep enough to bring the tiebreaking run home from third.

"I went up just thinking to put us ahead, knowing I did not need to get a hit," Kajimae said.

The Giants won for the third consecutive game and extended their current unbeaten streak to eight.

Sugiuchi came away a winner in his first interleague start for a Central League team, after spending 10 years in the PL.

The former PL MVP, who helped the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks win interleague titles in 2008, '09 and '11, allowed a pair of runs and struck out eight over six innings. He improved to a team-best 5-1 and won his fourth straight decision.

"His change-up was good, and he was throwing his fastball really well," said Orix third baseman Aarom Baldiris. "He's a good pitcher."

Tetsuya Yamaguchi worked two innings of scoreless relief and Kentaro Nishimura retired the side in the ninth for his eighth save.

"Our team really has a good bullpen now with Yamaguchi, (Scott) Mathieson, and Nishimura, and I feel confident I can count on any of them to close out games and secure a victory," said Yomiuri manager Tatsunori Hara.

The slumping Buffaloes dropped their fifth straight game. Adding insult to injury, center fielder Tomotaka Sakaguchi was hurt making a diving catch during the first inning. Sakaguchi was taken off the field on a stretcher and did not return.

Shinya Nakayama got the start for Orix and left with a decision for the first time in three outings. Unfortunately it turned out to be his first loss since April 7. Nakayama (1-2) allowed three runs on eight hits in 5 1/3 innings.

The Buffaloes got on the board in the opening frame after Hisayoshi Chono misplayed Lee Dae Ho's fly ball to center, resulting in an RBI triple.

Chono doubled to lead off the bottom half of the first and moved to third on a bunt by Takayuki Terauchi. Sakamoto then hit a fly ball to shallow center, but Sakaguchi was injured making the catch, giving Chono just enough time to tag up and score the tying run.

Baldiris put the Buffaloes ahead with an RBI double in the top of the sixth, but the Giants battled back in the bottom half on Sakamoto's homer and Kajimae's sacrifice fly.

Yomiuri tacked on an insurance run in the eighth on Yoshiyuki Kamei's RBI groundout.

Lions blank BayStars

Yokohama KYODO

Takayuki Kishi tossed his first shutout in two years as the Seibu Lions beat the Yokohama BayStars 3-0 Thursday to win their fourth straight.

Kishi limited the BayStars to four hits and struck out nine while walking two in a 109-pitch outing en route to his fourth win of the season. A throwing error by Yokohama catcher Toshiki Kurobane let in the first run. Esteban German's run-scoring single followed an RBI triple from Shogo Akiyama to complete the scoring.

Marines 3, Dragons 3 (10)

At Nagoya Dome, Chiba Lotte's Saburo Omura drove in three runs and twice evened the game as the Marines came from behind to tie Chunichi.

Omura's two-run homer tied it 2-2 in the fourth. After Kazuhiro Wada gave the Dragons a one-run lead in the fifth, Omura delivered a ninth-inning sacrifice fly off lefty closer Hitoki Iwase.

Hawks 9, Swallows 1

At Tokyo's Jingu Stadium, slugging third baseman Nobuhiro Matsuda celebrated his 29th birthday with a three-run home run as Fukuoka Softbank, interleague champion in three of the past four seasons, got off the mark with a win over Yakult.

Hitoshi Tamura and Wily Mo Pena also homered for the Hawks, who dropped their interleague opener the night before. The Swallows' Lastings Milledge homered for the second straight game.

Fighters 4, Tigers 1

At Koshien Stadium, Brian Wolfe (3-3) worked 5 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing three hits and four walks and Terrmel Sledge delivered a two-run, sixth-inning triple as Hokkaido Nippon Ham swept Hanshin.

The Fighters broke the game open in the sixth after Craig Brazell's throwing error let in a run and allowed Sledge to bat with two outs.

Carp 4, Eagles 1

At Hiroshima's Mazda Stadium, Hiroshima's offense came untracked with some help from Tohoku Rakuten starter Kelvin Jimenez (2-4), who walked five batters and was ejected in the second for hitting Shota Dobayashi in the head.

Carp starter Yuki Saito (1-1), on the other hand, allowed a run in 5 2/3 innings to get the win.

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Eagles beat Buffaloes for Hoshino's 1,000th managerial win

Milestone moment: Eagles manager Senichi Hoshino receives the winning ball from pitcher Koji Aoyama after his 1,000th managerial victory on Friday. KYODO

OSAKA — Tohoku Rakuten's Senichi Hoshino won his 1,000th career game as manager as the Eagles edged the Orix Buffaloes 3-2 for their third straight win Friday.

Hoshino, 65, is the 12th manager to accomplish the feat in Japanese baseball history and the first former pitcher to reach the milestone. In 15 years, he has 876 losses and 42 ties.

Former Nankai Hawks manager Kazuto Tsuruoka is the all-time leader with 1,773 wins.

Hoshino also managed the Chunichi Dragons over two different spells, winning the Central League twice in 1988 and 1999.

He won the pennant again in 2003 with the Hanshin Tigers and, after moving into the front office for several years due to health reasons, came back to manage Rakuten last year.

The Eagles were led at the plate at Kyocera Dome by Ryo Hijirisawa, who had four hits in five at-bats.

Rakuten scored twice in the opening frame, with ex-major leaguer Kazuo Matsui driving in the first run with a triple after Hijirisawa led off with a single. Jose Fernandez followed with a basehit to plate Matsui.

Throwing darts: Carp starter Kan Otake pitches against the Dragons on Friday in Hiroshima. The Carp won 1-0. KYODO

The Eagles added another run to make it 3-1 in the fifth. Orix pulled within one in the eighth on Lee Dae Ho's solo shot, the South Korean's fourth home run of the year, but Rakuten held on to make the evening a memorable one for its skipper.

Marines 6, Hawks 4

At QVC Marine Field, Tadahito Iguchi and Toshiaki Imae drove in two runs each as Lotte climbed into first place.

CENTRAL LEAGUE

Tigers 3, BayStars 1

At Yokohama Stadium, Atsushi Nomi (3-3) held DeNA to one run on five hits and a walk in 7? innings as Hanshin rolled to its third straight victory.

Carp 1, Dragons 0

At Hiroshima's Mazda Stadium, Kan Otake (3-2) combined with two relievers for a six-hit shutout as Hiroshima beat Chunichi for the first time this season.

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Igawa pulled after injury in Buffaloes debut

KOBE — Left-hander Kei Igawa made his first start back in Japan in six years, but the New York Yankee throwaway left early with an injury in the Orix Buffaloes' 1-0 defeat to the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks on Wednesday.

He's back: Kei Igawa's debut with the Orix Buffaloes was cut short by an injury. KYODO

Softbank starter Kenji Otonari (3-2) threw 6? scoreless innings before the game was handed over to the bullpen. He struck out eight and walked one. Brain Falkenborg fanned three in the ninth for his 13th save.

Igawa (0-1) yielded one run in 3? innings while striking out three and walking one at Hotto Motto Field Kobe.

It was Igawa's first time back pitching for a Japanese team since Oct. 16, 2006, when he pitched for the Hanshin Tigers in a game against the Yakult Swallows at Jingu Stadium

Kenji Akaishi poked a grounder off Igawa between third and shortstop with runners at the corners to score the sole run with one out in the third.

"I had a chance, and I tried to be aggressive," said Akaishi, who has hit in seven consecutive games. "The ball went in a perfect location."

In December, 2006, the Yankees signed Igawa to a five-year, $20 million contract after winning the exclusive negotiating rights with a $26 million bid under the posting system.

But he ended up winning just two games (with four losses) and spent most of his time in the minor leagues, turning out to be a major bust on the Yankee's payroll before his contract expired last year.

Marines 4, Fighters 1

At Chiba's QVC Marine Field, Shunsuke Watanabe gave up one run over five innings despite scattering seven hits, and Chiba Lotte beat Hokkaido Nippon Ham in a game that was called in the bottom of the fifth due to rain.

Tadahito Iguchi sparked a three-run first against Brain Wolfe (2-3) with a one-out, run-scoring single, and Kazuya Fukuura added an RBI single in the third. Micah Hoffpauir homered in the fifth for Nippon Ham.

Eagles 1, Lions 0

At Sendai's Kleenex Stadium, Takashi Kawai (1-0) went 6? scoreless innings, Asahisa Makida hit a sacrifice fly in the fourth, and Tohoku Rakuten edged Seibu to snap a three-game skid.

Koji Aoyama escaped a two-on jam in the ninth for his first save this season. Takayuki Kishi (3-3) limited the damage to one run in eight innings but took the loss.

CENTRAL LEAGUE

Giants 8, BayStars 5

At Tokyo Dome, D.J. Houlton tossed two-run ball over seven innings, Yoshitomo Tani hit a three-run homer, and Yoshinobu Takahashi went 3-for-4 with two RBIs as Yomiuri ended Yokohama's unbeaten streak at five games.

Shuichi Murata had a game-tying single and Takahashi gave Yomiuri the lead with a single of his own in the third. Tani went deep off Giancarlo Alvarado (1-4) to make it 6-2 in the fifth.

Dragons 8, Swallows 3

Tigers 6, Carp 2

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Buffaloes' Okada sustains pulled hamstring

Kobe — Orix Buffaloes outfielder Takahiro Okada was diagnosed with a pulled left hamstring, team sources said Friday.

Okada hurt his leg while batting in the eighth inning in a game against the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles on Thursday. He is scheduled to take part in practice on Saturday, and will play depending on his condition.

The Orix slugger is currently batting .365 for second in the Pacific League with one home run and seven RBIs.

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Buffaloes send Park down to minors

KOBE — Orix Buffaloes right-hander Park Chan Ho has been sent to the minors after a string of lackluster performances, the Pacific League club said Monday.

Park, 37, was taken off the active roster following a disastrous outing against the Chunichi Dragons on Sunday in which he yielded six runs in 3? innings, suffering a PL-worst fifth loss.

Park, who had stints in the majors with several teams, including most recently the Pittsburgh Pirates and the New York Mets in 2010, has won only one of his seven starts and has a 4.29 ERA.

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