Inaba, Miyamoto reach greatness despite first-round snub

Join the club: Atsunori Inaba hits an RBI single to right to record the 2,000th hit of his career on Saturday in Sendai. KYODO

When Kensuke Tanaka and Sho Nakata both apologized to Atsunori Inaba after recording outs that denied the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters veteran a shot at reaching the 2,000-hit milestone last Thursday at Tokyo Dome, Inaba knew he had to get things done quickly.

So he did, carving out a little slice of NPB history in his very next at-bat, on Saturday in Sendai against the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, with an RBI single that made him one of only 39 players to reach 2,000 hits in Japan.

Soon he'll share that distinction with Tokyo Yakult Swallows infielder Shinya Miyamoto, who with 1,996 hits is poised to soon become the 40th to 2,000.

It's fitting the pair will, barring injury, join the Meikyukai, or Golden Players club, in the same season. They may have taken differing routes to the achievement, but the decorated veterans began their journey in the same place, with the Yakult Swallows.

Unless there was a crystal ball involved, there's no way the Swallows knew what they had on their hands during the 1994 draft.

But that's the funny thing about drafting players. No matter how much you think you know, the whole thing is essentially just one big crapshoot. Quite a few players pegged for greatness flame out, while other prospects, thought of as little more than warm bodies, end up in the Hall of Fame.

The supposed can't-miss players are generally drafted early, and in 1994 pitcher Tetsuya Kitagawa was the Swallows' first choice. Yakult selected Miyamoto in the second round and grabbed Inaba in the third.

Kitagawa retired in 1999 with four career wins and a 5.18 ERA. Miyamoto, meanwhile, is in his 18th season and has a career average of .283 and eight gold gloves. Inaba has been even better, with a career average of .291 to go along with 249 home runs and 977 RBIs.

Between them, Miyamoto and Inaba have been apart of four Japan Series winning teams — three as teammates with Yakult in 1995, 1997, and 2001 and then Inaba's triumph with the Fighters in 2006. They were also members of Japan's triumphant 2006 World Baseball Classic squad.

Inaba won the WBC a second time in 2009, while Miyamoto is the owner of an Olympic bronze medal, won at the 2004 Games.

Of course, there was no way to know any of that in 1994. Back then no team would even use a first-round selection on them, and Inaba, who has had the more prolific career, had to wait until the third round.

Looking back, the only first-rounder to make a major impact over the years was Kenji Johjima, selected by the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks, though Saburo Omura chosen by the Chiba Lotte Marines, has had a productive career.

An incredible work ethic propelled Miyamoto and Inaba to new heights, and reaching 2,000 hits will help put their careers into perspective.

It's one thing to hang on for as long as they have, but to continue to be viable long enough to reach these heights is something few players do.

Inaba deserved the cheers that came his way on Saturday and Miyamoto will have paid his dues for his spot in the sun when his time comes.

They began their careers together 18 years ago and now, likely no more than a week or two apart, they'll each take a big step toward cementing a positive legacy in the game.

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Inaba falls just short of milestone in Fighters victory

Atsunori Inaba eloquently stated that he doesn't play baseball to come up with 2,000 hits. He plays the game to win for his team.

See you later: Nippon Ham's Atsunori Inaba celebrates his home run against Lotte on Thursday at Tokyo Dome. The Fighters won 2-1. KYODO

So instead of regretting coming up with just one hit on the night, the team-first veteran was pleased that one hit ended up being a significant one for his club.

Inaba, who entered the game two hits shy of 2,000 for his career, went 1-for-3 and launched a solo homer into the seats to lead the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters to a 2-1 victory over the Chiba Lotte Marines at Tokyo Dome on Thursday night.

After a couple of hitless at-bats in a game tied at 1, Inaba smacked the first pitch from Marines submarine pitcher Shunsuke Watanabe into the center-right bleachers in his third and final attempt to deliver the go-ahead run in the sixth inning. It was also a great birthday present for skipper Hideki Kuriyama.

"I didn't expect I would hit a home run," Inaba said. "But the homer gave us the win on the birthday of manager Kuriyama. That's great. I'm pleased about nothing but the win for the team."

The Marines took a 1-0 lead on a Saburo Omura RBI single off Nippon Ham starter Brian Wolfe in the first. They got on bases afterward as well, but weren't able to take advantage of their chances. Chiba Lotte's night ended with one run on 10 hits.

In the fourth, the Fighters tied the game at 1-1 on a Micah Hoffpauir solo homer.

"We could've allowed five or six more runs, but Hoffpauir changed the flow with one big shot," Kuriyama said of the American slugger, who had been limited to just two at-bats due to an injury this year. "Head coach (Junichi Fukura) told me before the game Hoffpauir is good against Shinsuke and he came up with the result.

"We got the win as a team like that, and I'm pretty pleased about it."

Wolfe (2-1) looked shaky early but managed to not allow any runs after the first. In all, he lasted six innings, giving up nine hits and fanning four on 92 pitches to earn the win.

Kuriyama sent Keisuke Tanimoto, Hirotoshi Masui and closer Hisashi Takeda to the hill in the last three frames. Takeda notched his sixth save of the season.

Watanabe (0-1) seemed better and more elusive than Wolfe, but the two solo dingers he gave up hurt him. Watanabe was charged with the loss.

Though he claimed that he doesn't play records, Inaba said that he felt an extraordinary atmosphere surrounding his at-bats and it gave him some jitters.

"Receiving the cheers, I felt unusual pressure in myself," said Inaba. "I felt the peculiar air at the first two at-bats. So for the third at-bat, I stepped up to the plate trying to think that if I don't hit, I don't hit."

While Inaba sid that jokingly, Kuriyama tipped his cap to the No. 5 batter, who leads the Pacific League in batting average (.384), home runs (four) and RBIs (22), for refocusing after his unsuccessful at-bats.

"While we didn't have the momentum earlier, Inaba revamped and came up with (the homer). That tells the whole story about this guy."

Because the Fighters, the home team, were winning, the bottom of the eighth ended up being their last offensive frame. The inning began with their leadoff man Kensuke Tanaka but the Fighters could not give Inaba another chance to achieve the 2,000-hit milestone.

With Inaba waiting in the batter's circle, cleanup hitter Sho Nakata was struck out by Marines reliever Yuhei Nakaushiro for the third out.

"Right after the game, Kensuke and Sho came to me to say sorry," Inaba said. "But I told them I'm not playing to reach 2,000 hits. But making them feel that way, I feel I'm giving a trouble to the team, so I want to hit it as soon as possible."

The night's homer put Inaba one shy of reaching 250 career home runs as well.

Nippon Ham, which has the best record in the PL (16-8), now moves to Sendai for a three-game series against the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles.

KYODO, — Tomohito Yoeno hit a pinch-hit go-ahead grand slam in the top of the ninth as the Seibu Lions defeated the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks 5-3 on Thursday at Fukuoka Yahoo Dome.

With Seibu trailing 3-1, Lions pinch hitter Tatsuyuki Uemoto led off the ninth with a single. The next two batters struck out before Hiroyuki Nakajima doubled and Takeya Nakamura walked to load the bases against Brian Falkenborg.

Yoeno then sent the second pitch he saw to the seats in left to put the Lions on top to stay.

Eagles 4, Buffaloes 2

At Sendai's Kleenex Stadium, Orix scored the tying run on a wild pitch by Shinichiro Koyama in the eighth inning, and pinch-hitter Mitsutaka Goto delivered a go-ahead single, helping his team end a five-game losing streak.

Tohoku Rakuten saw its winning streak end at three games.

CENTRAL LEAGUE

Giants 15, BayStars 3

At Kagoshima's Kamoike Stadium, Yomiuri rapped out a season-high 15 hits en route to a demolition of Yokohama, snapping a five-game skid as it clawed its way out of last place.

Hisayoshi Chono went 3-for-5, and Shinnosuke Abe hit a two-run homer in the first inning and a run-scoring double in the fifth. D.J. Houlton (1-2) gave up three runs in seven hits for his first win of the season.

Tigers 1, Carp 0, 11 innings

At Nishinomiya's Koshien Stadium, Keiichi Hirano hit a walk-off single in the 11th inning to give Hanshin a victory over Hiroshima.

Hirano's single to center off closer Dennis Sarfate (0-2) drove home a runner from second with two outs to end it. Yuya Ando struck out 10 over nine scoreless innings for Hanshin.

Swallows 4, Dragons 2

At Jingu Stadium, Lastings Milledge hit a go-ahead two-run drive in the third inning, and Kyohei Muranaka threw two-run ball over five frames as Yakult extended its unbeaten streak to six games to move into first place.

Tony Barnette got his ninth save. Kazuki Yoshimi (3-2) was tagged for the loss.

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Inaba homers as Darvish records 11th victory

CHIBA — Yu Darvish threw eight effective innings as the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters avoided a three-game sweep by the Chiba Lotte Marines with a 4-3 win on Thursday.

Fight on: Atsunori Inaba hits a home run in the eighth inning of the Fighters' game against the Marines on Thursday in Chiba. Nippon Ham won 4-3. KYODO PHOTO

Darvish (11-2) allowed three runs, two earned, and six hits in eight innings en route to his baseball-leading 11th win.

The 24-year-old ace struck out five and walked two in a 108-pitch outing at QVC Marine Field.

Lotte took a 1-0 lead in the third on Masato Watanabe's inside-the-park home run, in which left fielder Sho Nakata misfielded what would have been just a single.

The second-place Fighters came right back in the fourth with a two-run homer by Yoshio Itoi.

A run-scoring error by Lotte first baseman Jose Castillo made it 3-1 for Nippon Ham. Atsunori Inaba added a solo home run in the eighth.

"It was nice that my solo shot turned out to be a crucial one for our win," Inaba said. "I wasn't sure if my fly ball would stay fair, but it did with a little help from the wind.

"Darvish was pitching for us, so we just couldn't lose. He was visibly frustrated on the mound at times, but he didn't make things worse. He's really mature now."

Hisashi Takeda closed out the game to pick up his 22nd save.

Lotte rookie Atsushi Kobayashi (0-2) was charged with three runs in seven innings.

Eagles 4, Buffaloes 3

At Osaka's Kyocera Dome, Ryo Hijirisawa hit a tiebreaking solo homer in the fifth inning to make a winner out of Masahiro Tanaka as Tohoku Rakuten beat Orix.

Tanaka (9-2) allowed three runs on nine hits in six innings. Yuki Nishi (5-3) took the loss. Darrell Rasner earned his first career save in Japan.

CENTRAL LEAGUE

Tigers 3, Dragons 1 (11)

At Nagoya Dome, Takashi Toritani scored the opening run after doubling in the 11th, when catcher Kohei Oda muffed a relay throw at the plate and another run scored on closer Hitoki Iwase's throwing error in Hanshin's win over Chunichi.

Akihito Fujii added an RBI grounder for insurance.

Kyuji Fujikawa (2-0) got the win in relief and rookie Daiki Enokida got his first career save despite allowing an RBI triple by Tatsuro Iwasaki in the bottom of the 11th.

Swallows 3, Giants 2 (11)

At Jingu Stadium, Norichika Aoki hit a bases-loaded infield RBI single for the game-winning run with two outs in the 11th inning as Tokyo Yakult completed a three-game sweep of Yomiuri.

Saburo Omura had an RBI single to open the scoring in the fourth before Hayato Sakamoto's solo shot in the fifth gave the Giants a 2-0 lead. Yakult rallied in the eighth, which featured Josh Whitesell's game-tying RBI single.

Yomiuri fell 10 games below .500.

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Inaba, Kokubo should be among next to reach 2,000 hits

Staring down history: Yomiuri Giants star Alex Ramirez looks likely to join teammate Michihiro Ogasawara in Japan's 2,000-hit club, providing as he stays healthy. KYODO PHOTO

Michihiro Ogasawara finally ascended into the 2,000-hit club on May 5, getting the job done with a single up the middle against Hanshin Tigers pitcher Hiroyuki Kobayashi.

So as the club welcomes its newest member, the next question becomes, who's next?

Exempting the four active players to have already reached the milestone (active hits leader Takuro Ishii, Tomoaki Kanemoto, Tomonori Maeda and Ogasawara) there are seven current players with at least 1,700 hits.

The players to reach 2,000 in the near future will come from this group, though upon further inspection, it's likely not all of them will make it.

Going down the list in order, Fukuoka Softbank Hawks infielder Hiroki Kokubo (1,883 career hits) and Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters star Atsunori Inaba (1,867) should both get to 2,000.

Kokubo is aging and the injury bug is biting, but there is enough life left in his bat to make it to the finish line sometime next season at the latest.

Inaba might actually get there this year if health issues don't drag him down.

The Fighters veteran is still going strong and coming off back-to-back 150-hit years. Inaba has finished with at least 112 hits in each of the last seven years, playing an average of 132 games per season over that span.

Like the above-mentioned, Tokyo Yakult Swallows veteran Shinya Miyamoto (1,861) is worthy of virtual-lock status, having had at least 129 hits, and playing in more than 116 games each of the last four years. If not next season, Miyamoto should be celebrating in 2012.

Our next stop brings up the first real question mark in Chunichi Dragons catcher Motonobu Tanishige.

Tanishige has 1,824 hits, but hasn't had a 100-hit year since 2006. He's also trending downward, finishing with 90, 77, 62 and 75 hits from 2007-2010.

Also troubling is the beating he takes behind the plate for a team that's already sitting pretty in terms of corner infielders.

Tanishige, may ease his way to the mark, but it will be a laborious journey.

Yomiuri Giants outfielder Yoshitomo Tani is next on the active list with 1,820 hits, but is a longshot to reach 2,000.

The Kyojin are bursting at the seams in terms of talent and Tani's chances of being in the starting lineup on an everyday basis seem to be a thing of the past.

Talent-wise Tani can get it done, but unless he changes uniforms the plate appearances might not be there.

Rounding out the top 10 on the active list is another Giants player who should be a lock, Alex Ramirez.

Ramirez (1,738) is still raking at 35 years old and at his current pace should reach the goal sometime in late 2012 or 2013.

Ramirez is locked in on that goal and doesn't want to be remembered as having 2,000 hits combined between his career in MLB and NPB. Having risen to superstardom in Japan, the Kyojin slugger wants to record 2,000 hits in Japanese baseball alone.

The final player with at least 1,700 hits, and another who may not make it the rest of the way, is Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles slugger Takeshi Yamasaki.

Yamasaki currently has 1,721 hits. He's also 42 years old and rapidly declining.

Reunited with his old manager Senichi Hoshino this year, the veteran has showed vigor in the early stages of 2011.

His skills are leaving him though, and his value with his bat and his glove is something the team will have the assess in the very near future.

Possessing a decent power stroke, Yamasaki will remain a major player for the Eagles this year.

Still, at this stage in his career, it's likely Yamasaki will run out of gas on the road to 2,000.

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