Sugiuchi improves to 11-2, picks up first win since late July

Hisayoshi Chono and Hayato Sakamoto both had three hits, Toshiya Sugiuchi allowed two runs over 5-2/3 innings, and the Yomiuri Giants routed the Tokyo Yakult Swallows 8-2 on Friday night.

Sugiuchi (11-2), making his first start since Aug. 16 after returning from an injured left shoulder, allowed just one earned run, scattered six hits, struck out five and walked one at Jingu Stadium.

His command not entirely back, Sugiuchi got a little help from his batterymate and captain Shinnosuke Abe, who threw out a runner trying to steal second to end the fourth.

"Everyone helped out on defense and I could stay in the game," said Sugiuchi, who won for the first time since July 27. "The most important thing was setting the pace of the game after coming back from this time off."

Swallows lefty Katsuki Akagawa (6-7) allowed four runs — three earned — to take the loss, while the Giants matched a season high with their 16 hits.

Dragons 1, Tigers 0

At Nagoya Dome, Masahiko Morino homered with two outs in the fifth inning off Hanshin's Jason Standridge (6-11), and Yudai Ono went seven scoreless innings as Chunichi managed its second straight shutout.

Ono (4-2) scattered three hits — all singles — and got the win for the first time since Aug. 7. Daisuke Yamai picked up his 10th save.

BayStars 1, Carp 0

At Hiroshima's Mazda Stadium, 21-year-old right-hander Yuki Kuniyoshi pitched a three-hitter in his first career shutout to earn his first win since Aug. 11, and Takayuki Kajitani had a two-out run-scoring triple in the fourth inning as Yokohama downed Hiroshima.

Kuniyoshi (3-10), whose complete game was his first as a pro, struck out four and walked three in an efficient 92-pitch outing. Keisuke Imai (2-6) took the loss after allowing one run and seven hits in seven innings.

PACIFIC LEAGUE

Fighters 2, Buffaloes 1

At Osaka's Kyocera Dome, August's monthly MVP Mitsuo Yoshikawa went the distance in a 13-strikeout effort, and Sho Nakata hit a two-run homer in the opening inning as Hokkaido Nippon Ham held off Orix.

Lefty Yoshikawa (12-4), who won the MVP award the same day, won his fifth consecutive start allowing only Aarom Baldiris' RBI single in the second. He walked one and threw 110 pitches. Kei Igawa (2-7) was tagged with the loss for the Buffaloes, who saw their winning streak end at four games.

Eagles 1, Lions 0

At Sendai's Kleenex Stadium, Kazuya Fujita broke a scoreless tie with an RBI single in the fifth inning, lifting Tohoku Rakuten past PL leader Seibu.

Wataru Karashima (6-5) yielded two hits, struck out three and walked three over seven effective innings. Seibu starter Ryoma Nogami (7-4), who had won his last six decisions, took the loss.

Hawks 4, Marines 1

At Fukuoka's Yahoo Dome, Softbank's Tomoaki Egawa had a banner night against Chiba Lotte, going 4-for-4 with a two-run, go-ahead home run in the fourth inning, and Nagisa Araki (6-3) limited the damage to one run on two hits in seven innings in his first start since June 30.

Egawa singled in the second, gave the Hawks a 2-1 lead with his blast in the fourth, singled in the sixth and tripled in the eighth. Yoshihisa Naruse (11-9) gave up four runs and nine hits in 6-1/3 innings.

The Marines lost six straight for the second time this season.

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Sugiuchi, Aoyama win May awards

Yomiuri Giants southpaw Toshiya Sugiuchi led Nippon Professional Baseball's May honor roll when the two leagues' monthly awards were announced Tuesday.

Sugiuchi, who threw a no-hitter on May 30, won his first Central League pitcher of the month award after going 4-0 in five starts with a 0.68 ERA. In the Pacific League, Tohoku Rakuten closer Koji Aoyama also won his first award, while the honors for position players went to a first baseman in each league, the Chunichi Dragons' Tony Blanco and the Orix Buffaloes' Lee Dae Ho.

Sugiuchi struck out 50 batters in May, when he allowed one run in 7? innings in the one start he did not win.

"It's a difficult number to reach, 50 strikeouts in a month," said Sugiuchi. "I think that speaks for the kind of groove I was in."

"I've been allowed to play ball in a good environment. My teammates made it possible for me to win this award," he said.

Aoyama saved six consecutive Golden Eagles games from May 9 to May 16, with the first five coming on consecutive days. The 28-year-old right-hander allowed just six hits and one walk in 11? scoreless innings during the month and totaled eight saves and one hold. It was his first monthly honor.

"I never even imagined (winning this award)," said Aoyama. "I go all out each and every game, and I'm just happy my results were so well thought of."

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Sugiuchi maintains stellar form

FukuokaKYODO

On a roll: Giants pitcher Toshiya Sugiuchi extended his scoreless innings streak to 24 on Tuesday, tossing seven shutout innings. Yomiuri defeated the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks 5-1. KYODO

Six days after throwing a no-hitter, Toshiya Sugiuchi of the Giants allowed just one hit in seven scoreless innings against his old team on Tuesday at Yahoo Dome.

Working in his former home park, Sugiuchi allowed just one hit and a walk in a 5-1 win over the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks that boosted Yomiuri to within half a game of first place in the Central League.

Sugiuchi (8-1) held the Hawks hitless until Tomoaki Egawa's two-out single in the fifth. The southpaw had gone 16 2/3 innings without allowing a hit and has now gone 24 innings without allowing a run. The CL's pitcher of the month for May, when he fanned 50 batters, started June by striking out eight.

"While I reminded myself to stay calm, I felt at first that last time's no-hitter was a burden to me," said Sugiuchi.

Edgar Gonzalez broke up a scoreless game with a fourth-inning sacrifice fly and made it 3-0 with a two-run home run in the sixth. Two batters later, Ryuichi Kajimae made it 4-0 with an RBI double.

Another Giants pitching streak came to an end in the ninth, when lefty Tetsuya Yamaguchi surrendered a homer to light-hitting Kenji Akashi. In his previous game, the reliever had equaled a CL record with 24 scoreless appearances to start the season.

Carp 12, Fighters 3

At Sapporo Dome, Hokkaido Nippon Ham starter and PL ERA leader Mitsuo Yoshikawa was ejected in the third inning for hitting Akihiro Higashide in the head with a pitch and things rapidly unraveled in a blowout loss to Hiroshima.

Kenji Tsuchiya (0-1), who was activated that day, gave up the lead two pitches later on a three-run homer by Masato Akamatsu. The 12 runs were the most scored by the Carp this season.

Lions 7, Dragons 4

At Seibu Dome, Takeya Nakamura belted a three-run homer, his fifth in four games, as Pacific League cellar dweller Seibu handed CL-leading Chunichi its third straight loss.

Lions right-hander Takayuki Kishi (5-5) allowed a run in seven innings for the win. The Dragons' Tony Blanco, the CL's player of the month for May, hit a consolation homer in the eighth. The two-run shot was his 100th in Japan.

Tigers 3, Eagles 1

At Sendai's Kleenex Stadium, Tohoku Rakuten's Koji Aoyama, the Pacific League's pitcher of the month for May, walked the first two batters he faced in the ninth before surrendering a tie-breaking single to Hanshin's Craig Brazell.

Tomoaki Kanemoto, without a home run since April 1, homered in Sendai, where he attended Tohoku Fukushi University. With the exception of 2009, he has hit at least one homer there every year since interleague play began in 2005.

Buffaloes 5, Swallows 0

At Osaka's Kyocera Dome, Evan MacLane (3-2) scattered five hits and a walk over six innings, and Hirotoshi Kitagawa belted a three-run homer as Orix snapped Tokyo Yakult's three-game winning streak.

The Buffaloes' Bobby Scales started the trouble in the fourth inning with a one-out double off Tatsuya Masubuchi (1-2), who issued a bases-loaded walk and run-scoring wild pitch in the inning. The Swallows have one tie and 10 losses in their last 11 games against Orix.

Marines 3, BayStars 2

At Chiba's QVC Marine Field, Chiba Lotte's Katsuya Kakunaka tied it 2-2 in the bottom of the sixth with an RBI triple and scored the go-ahead run on Toshiaki Imae's sacrifice fly.

Marines starter Shunsuke Watanabe allowed a run in 5 2/3 innings. He left with two outs in the top of the sixth and a man on, but the bullpen faltered as Yokohama took the lead in the inning on a two-run single by Alex Ramirez.

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Sugiuchi usually at his best in month of May

Toshiya Sugiuchi is a former Pacific League MVP and Sawamura award winner and has been among NPB's elite pitchers for years.

Month to remember: Toshiya Sugiuchi was 4-0 in five starts last month. KYODO

As good as he is under normal circumstances — and a 110-56 record with a 2.84 ERA and 1,677 career strikeouts say that's pretty good — for some reason he seems to ratchet it up to another level during the month of May.

Sugiuchi added another chapter to a ridiculous run of success in May on Wednesday, fanning 14 and coming within a strike of a perfect game against Masahiro Tanaka and the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, though a no-hitter is quite the consolation prize.

"I knew I hadn't won against 'Ma-kun' and I knew it was going to be a tough game for me," Sugiuchi said after the game. "So all I asked for was a win, nothing else. But I ended up throwing the no-hitter, which was completely beyond my imagination."

Nothing is out of the question with Sugiuchi on the hill in May.

Sugiuchi, in his 11th pro season, is 27-8 overall in games played in May. He's been nearly unbeatable during the month since 2007, with a 20-1 record, 218 strikeouts and 1.33 ERA.

His lone May defeat in the past six years was against the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters on May 7, 2011. Sugiuchi, then a member of the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks, allowed three runs over eight innings and struck out eight in a game the Hawks lost 3-2.

It's not surprising then that three of the seven Monthly MVP awards Sugiuchi won in the Pacific League came in May (2005, 2007 & 2008), and it's a good bet he'll add a fourth, and first in the Central League, this year.

Even with his past success, Wednesday's no-hitter probably capped one of the most dominant months of his career.

Sugiuchi took the ball five times this May, finishing 4-0 with 50 strikeouts and an 0.68 ERA over 39? innings. That run is rivaled only by the 4-0 record, 51 strikeouts and 0.86 ERA he put together over 42 innings in May of 2008.

Giants pitcher D.J. Houlton spent four seasons with the left-hander when both were with the Hawks, before the pair signed with Yomiuri as free agents over the offseason. Houlton has seen Sugiuchi up close and personal for years, but even he still has trouble putting a finger on Sugiuchi's May success.

"I don't know," Houlton said. "I remember they (the Hawks) used to call him Mr. May when I was over there. Maybe . . . it's a couple of months after spring training, so you're kind of in your peak form. You're not too burned out yet, and summer's not here yet, so the weather's not too hot.

"But he's usually lights out year-round, I think. I guess in May he's a little better than usual."

Sugiuchi took things to new heights Wednesday, taking advantage of a big strike zone with excellent command of his slider and fastball, which he used to slice through the Rakuten lineup.

"It was his day," Eagles outfielder Luis Terrero said the day after Sugiuchi's gem. "When it comes, it comes."

More like it's been his month, and, as always, it'll come around again in about a year.

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Sugiuchi sacrifices glory for team

Just think about it. A 3-2 count, two outs in the ninth inning, and with a perfect game on the line — what would you do on your next pitch?

Almost perfect: Giants pitcher Toshiya Sugiuchi celebrates with catcher Shinnosuke Abe after throwing a no-hitter against the Golden Eagles on Wednesday. KYODO

Perhaps you would throw it in the strike zone. Maybe right down the middle so you wouldn't walk the batter.

After all, a perfect game is such a rare, special feat in baseball.

Yomiuri Giants hurler Toshiya Sugiuchi is the kind of guy who doesn't readily toss a potential gopher ball over the middle of the plate, even if a perfect game is at stake.

For him, there's something more important a pitcher should look for instead of chasing an individual accomplishment.

So when he made the count 3-2 against Tohoku Rakuten pinch hitter Toshiya Nakashima with two outs in the ninth at Tokyo Dome on Wednesday, he didn't lose sight of his priority — a win.

"When I got 3-2 in the count, the first thing I thought was to not allow a hit, so I thought it was fine if it ended up a walk," Sugiuchi said after tossing a no-hitter in Yomiuri's 2-0 win over the Golden Eagles. "And it did end up (being) a walk."

There are no regrets for Sugiuchi, even though he missed the chance to become the 16th man — and the first since 1994 — to have a perfect game in the NPB.

The Giants were only up by two runs and playing in their batter-friendly stadium, where such a small lead counts for little in that situation. So he cautiously tried to deliver a win for his team.

"I thought it would be irresponsible to pitch in the middle of the strike zone," he said.

For the 10-year veteran, a win is a win no matter how it is earned. So he seemed more comfortable talking about the win than the no-hitter.

Sugiuchi is now 7-1 and leads the NPB in victories. The ex-Fukuoka Softbank Hawk, who has always performed well in May (28-8 in his career), improved to 4-0 this month. He also leads Japanese baseball in ERA (1.059) and strikeouts (80).

"I'm more thrilled about that (than the no-hitter)," Sugiuchi said with a grin, when asked how he felt about leading Japanese baseball in wins. "The team gets wins in the games I pitch. That makes me feel that I'm contributing."

Sugiuchi believes a single-game achievement like a no-hitter is a one-day thing, while chipping in for your team throughout the season is a much more valuable achievement. After helping the Hawks grab their first Japan Series title in eight years last season, Sugiuchi knows that very well.

"I'm taking this season so seriously," said Sugiuchi, who joined the Giants via free agency. "I feel overwhelmed to have had this no-hitter. But what I want to do is be in the rotation all year without any injuries and help the team win."

Of course, Sugiuchi understands how big it is to win games for the Giants, the most storied club in the NPB, who have won 21 championships with so many great players.

Sugiuchi, who was given the team's ace jersey, No. 18, said he didn't come to the Kyojin "to have a no-hitter," but joined the Tokyo club to deliver good performances throughout the season. By doing so, he hopes to truly be recognized as a Giant.

"I don't feel much pressure," he said. "But I want to be the No. 18 in all aspects."

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Sugiuchi throws no-hitter against Rakuten

All Toshiya Sugiuchi needed was a "W" for his team, and as usual, he got it.

On top of his game: Toshiya Sugiuchi pitches against the Eagles on Wednesday at Tokyo Dome. KYODO

Except this time he did it in spectacular fashion.

The Yomiuri Giants southpaw tossed a no-hitter in a 2-0 victory over the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles at Tokyo Dome on Wednesday night.

It was the second "no-no" in NPB this season. Hiroshima Carp right-hander Kenta Maeda did it against the Yokohama BayStars on April 6 at Yokohama Stadium.

"I can't believe it," Sugiuchi said in front of a crowd of 42,321 after the game. "I'm honored (to be the 75th pitcher to achieve the feat in league history)."

It was the 86th no-hitter overall.

Yoshinobu Takahashi broke a 0-0 tie in the seventh with an opposite-field two-run homer off Rakuten starter Masahiro Tanaka, giving Sugiuchi a big boost.

"The opponent (Tanaka) was great, but Sugiuchi was perhaps even better," Takahashi said. "We wanted to do something, wanted to give him some run support by any means."

Sugiuchi said, "I knew I wasn't giving up any hits from the first inning and I got better as the game wore on. And when Yoshinobu-san hit the two-run homer, I was extremely pleased, but what I thought first was to give the team a win."

The 31-year-old Sugiuchi (7-1), who moved to Yomiuri from the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks this past offseason, was tantalizingly close to completing an even greater achievement: a perfect game.

Sugiuchi was sharp from the beginning, mixing things up with his fastball and slider, and retired the first 26 batters he faced.

But he walked pinch hitter Toshiya Nakashima from a 3-2 count with two outs in the ninth.

Sugiuchi kept his cool and successfully struck out the next batter, Ryo Hijirisawa, on a called strike to complete the no-hitter.

"Of course, it would've been better had I done it," Sugiuchi responded when asked if he wanted to finish the game with 27 batters. "But winning is much more important to me. Besides, we played against 'Ma-kun' (Tanaka), so we just wanted to get a win, no matter how we would do it.

"At the end of the day, even if I had given up a hit (to Hijirisawa), it would've still been fine with me as long as we got the win. So I wasn't disappointed (when I missed a perfect game)."

What a moment: Giants pitcher Toshiya Sugiuchi exults after the final out of his no-hitter against the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles on Wednesday at Tokyo Dome. KYODO

A perfect game in the NPB hasn't taken place in nearly two decades. The last man to do it was former Yomiuri pitcher Hiromi Makihara, who achieved the feat against the Carp at Fukuoka Dome on May 18, 1994.

It was the first no-hitter for Sugiuchi as a pro, but he did it once in the first round of the 1998 National High School Championships at Koshien against Hachinohe Kodai Ichiko of Aomori Prefecture.

"You need some luck," Sugiuchi chuckled.

Giants skipper Tatsunori Hara smilingly tipped hit hat to Sugiuchi, who wears the club's ace number, 18.

"While we all were pretty nervous, it was great that we finished ahead," Hara said. "(Sugiuchi) showed a great pitching through the nine innings. His control, sharpness on his pitches, speed . . . everything was great today."

Meanwhile, Tanaka (2-2), who made his first start since April 19 due to a lower back injury, was nearly as good as Sugiuchi. But in the end, he was overshadowed by the historic performance of the Giants lefty, who had been 0-4 against Tanaka.

Tanaka allowed five hits and gave up both Yomiuri runs on Takahashi's homer while striking out 11. He also went the distance, but was saddled with the loss.

Sugiuchi, who is 28-8 in May in his career, is currently unbeaten at 4-0 in the month this year. Sugiuchi, who fanned 14, also notched his 53rd double-digit strikeout game to move into fifth place on the all-time list, passing former Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters ace Yu Darvish.

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Sugiuchi helps Giants tame Lions

TOKOROZAWA, Saitama Pref. — The interleague-leading Yomiuri Giants improved to 6-0 against the Pacific League this season, when former PL strikeout king Toshiya Sugiuchi pitched eight-plus innings in a 2-0 victory over the Seibu Lions at Seibu Dome on Wednesday.

Birds of a feather: Marines captain Toshiaki Imae (left) and pitcher Seth Greisinger celebrate after Lotte's 5-1 win over Yakult on Wednesday. KYODO

Yomiuri is 9-0 with three ties since its last loss on May 5.

Sugiuchi, who led the PL in strikeouts in 2007 and 2008 before moving to the Central League this season as a free agent, outdueled Lions right-hander Takayuki Kishi, who fell to 4-4 despite a solid eight innings.

Two-time CL home run leader Shuichi Murata hit his third homer since joining the Giants over the winter, a leadoff shot in the second that gave Sugiuchi the only run he'd need.

The Giants, who had just three hits and no walks, added a run in the eighth on a safety squeeze by former Lion Yoshihito Ishii.

Sugiuchi (6-1) allowed four hits and issued four walks, while striking out eight. The lefty left after walking the first two batters he faced in the ninth.

Tetsuya Yamaguchi came on and walked the bases loaded before striking out a batter and inducing a game-ending double play.

The Giants moved to within one game of the CL-leading Chunichi Dragons, who lost in Sendai.

Hawks 6, Carp 3

At Fukuoka's Yahoo Dome, Hiroki Kokubo's bid for his 2,000th career hit will have to wait after he went 0-for-3 in Softbank's win over Hiroshima.

Seichi Uchikawa opened the scoring in the first with an RBI single and Nagisa Arakaki (4-1) allowed three runs in 6? innings.

Marines 5, Swallows 1

At Chiba's QVC Marine Field, Seth Greisinger (5-1) allowed four hits without issuing a walk in seven scoreless innings as PL-leading Lotte handed Yakult its fourth straight loss.

Toshiaki Imae broke the ice for the hosts with an RBI single in the fifth. Katsuya Kakunaka's two-run triple made it 3-0 in the sixth and Shunichi Nemoto tripled in another run in the seventh.

Fighters 3, BayStars 1

At Sapporo Dome, PL ERA leader Mitsuo Yoshikawa (4-1) allowed a run in five-plus innings despite giving up seven hits and two walks as Hokkaido Nippon Ham downed Yokohama. Yoshikawa has a 1.13 ERA.

Kensuke Tanaka opened the scoring with a first-inning RBI triple and scored himself on an infield single by Atsunori Inaba. Daikan Yoh's sacrifice fly plated Inaba in the fourth.

Eagles 4, Dragons 0

At Sendai's Kleenex Stadium, Shintaro Masuda belted his first career home run, a two-run shot, and four Rakuten pitchers combined on an eight-hit shutout as the Eagles beat Chunichi for their third straight win.

Wataru Karashima (2-1) kept the ball down and held the Dragons to five hits and a walk over six innings. Chunichi lefty Kenichi Nakata (3-3) allowed three runs in seven innings.

Tigers 8, Orix 2

At Osaka's Kyocera Dome, lefty Minoru Iwata (3-5) gave up two runs in 5? innings and Hanshin had 11 hits in taking the second game of this year's Kansai derby over Orix.

The Buffaloes, who had won three straight since losing star center fielder Tomotaka Sakaguchi to injury on May 17, deactivated slugging outfielder Takahiro Okada before the game due to a hamstring injury that has plagued him since April.

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