Ortiz hits go-ahead home run as Lions edge Eagles

TOKOROZAWA, Saitama Pref. — Jose Ortiz spent the first part of this season playing in Mexico, where he said he wasn't really doing too well.

From where the Seibu Lions stand, Ortiz is playing just fine now.

Ortiz broke a scoreless tie with a two-run homer in the sixth inning, and Yusei Kikuchi was on top of his game for much of the night as the Lions earned a 3-2 victory over the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles on Tuesday night at Seibu Dome.

"The game tonight was tight," Ortiz said. "I've been having some problems with men on base lately, so for me, it feels really good that I was able to put a good swing on that ball, hit it really hard, and give us some momentum."

The win was an important one for the Lions, who entered the night trailing the first-place Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters by 1 1/2 games and leading the third-place Fukuoka Softbank Hawks by 2 1/2 in the Pacific League standings.

"Everyday is a battle," Ortiz said. "We try our best everyday. It's exciting, but we have to control our excitement."

Eagles starter Yoshinao Kamata entered the sixth having allowed three hits. He retired the first two batters of the inning, but Lions slugger Takeya Nakamura kept the frame going with a single to left.

Ortiz then swung at the first pitch he saw, sending it hurtling toward the seats in center to give the Lions a 2-0 lead.

"Both pitchers were doing very well," Ortiz said. "I thank God I was able to get a fastball inside and hit it out of the park.

"I was trying to hit the ball really hard. Nakamura swung 3-0 and he got a hit, and that's what you want, and I got a very good pitch to hit too."

Ortiz joined the Lions June 7, but is no stranger to Japan having previously played for the Orix BlueWave (2003-2004), the Chiba Lotte Marines (2007-2008) and the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks (2009-2011). He's hitting .290 with seven home runs and 16 RBIs in 53 games with Seibu this season.

"I don't want to take anything for granted," Ortiz said. "I want to work every day, working on my batting, and make the most of any opportunity they give me."

Pinch hitter Chris Carter tacked on an insurance run for the Lions with an RBI single in the seventh.

Kikuchi got off to a strong start, allowing just one hit through seven innings, but ran into trouble in the eighth. Kikuchi (4-2) was charged with two runs and allowed a pair of hits while striking out two in seven-plus innings.

"His form was pretty good tonight," said Lions manager Hisanobu Watanabe.

Lions closer Hideaki Wakui worked a perfect ninth for his 27th save of the season.

Kamata (7-3) allowed three runs on six hits and struck out four. He also walked two batters in 6 1/3 innings.

"He was throwing some good pitches, but some pitches he missed," Ortiz said. "I knew he was missing some pitches inside, so I was ready to be aggressive. He was very good, he just missed a couple pitches during the game. We didn't get them in the beginning, but we came out with the win."

The Eagles got a rally started in the top of the eighth, with Ginji Akiminai drawing a walk and Akihisa Makita singling to send Kikuchi to the showers. Jose Fernandez followed with an RBI double against rookie Ken Togame and Motohiro Shima drew a walk to load the bases. Pinch hitter Toshiya Nakashima flew out to left for the first out, but reliever Randy Williams hit Ryo Hijirisawa to bring in another run.

Lions shortstop Hiroyuki Nakajima fielded a grounder by Kazuya Fujita and fired home for the second out of the frame, and later threw Kazuo Matsui out at first to end the inning.

The loss dealt a blow to the Eagles' playoff chances. Rakuten entered the night trailing the Hawks by three games for the third and final Pacific League Climax Series spot.

Brandon Duckworth (2-1) will toe the rubber for the Eagles on Wednesday, with Kazuhisa Makita (12-7) getting the start for the home team as both teams continue their push to reach the postseason.

OSAKA — Fukuoka Softbank Hawks rookie Shota Takeda threw his first career complete game, shutting out the hapless Orix Buffaloes 7-0 on Tuesday night in the Pacific League.

The Buffaloes fired manager Akinobu Okada before the first pitch and lost their 12th straight, a new team worst.

Orix had initially placed Okada on leave earlier Tuesday, naming fielding and base running coach Hiroshi Moriwaki as acting manager for the remaining five games of the season.

The Buffaloes, however, changed their mind in a hurry, not waiting to see out the year as Yoshio Murayama, the team's head of baseball operations, notified Okada of his dismissal before the game at Kyocera Dome.

Okada, naturally, was stunned by the fast turn of events.

"I knew absolutely nothing about it," said Okada, who was told last week that he would not be brought back for next season but would still finish the year. "I came to the ballpark thinking I was going to be in charge of the game."

Takeda (7-1) allowed just four hits and a walk, striking out seven during a 111-pitch effort for the Hawks who were led at the plate by a 4-for-4 night from Yuki Yanagita.

Fighters 3, Marines 3 (10)

At Sapporo Dome, Chiba Lotte's Josh Whitesell made it a 3-3 game and forced extra innings with a solo home run in the eighth as the Marines managed a tie with Hokkaido Nippon Ham.

CENTRAL LEAGUE

Giants 3, Carp 2

At Hiroshima's Mazda Stadium, Shinnosuke Abe kept alive his Triple Crown hopes by hitting a tie-breaking solo shot in the eighth, his 27th home run of the season, as newly crowned CL champion Yomiuri sent Hiroshima to its eighth straight loss.

Abe comfortably leads in the batting average (.342) and RBI (100) categories, but is now two homers behind Tokyo Yakult Swallows slugger Wladimir Balentien.

Swallows 3, Tigers 0

At Tokyo's Jingu Stadium, Shohei Tateyama (12-8) scattered three hits over eight scoreless innings as Yakult sent toothless Hanshin to its third defeat in four games.

Dragons 2, BayStars 2 (11)

At Nagoya Dome, Yokohama wasted a no-out, bases-loaded opportunity in the 10th, settling for a tie with second-place Chunichi.

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Sumitani bashes go-ahead homer for Lions

TOKOROZAWA, Saitama Pref. — Ginjiro Sumitani hit a tiebreaking solo homer in the seventh inning as the Seibu Lions edged the Tokyo Yakult Swallows 3-2 on Saturday afternoon.

Pinpoint control: Seibu Lions hurler Takayuki Kishi fans seven batters in seven innings in a 3-2 victory over the Tokyo Yakult Swallows on Saturday at Seibu Dome. KYODO PHOTO

Seibu won its third straight in interleague play and returned to .500 for the season.

The Swallows took a 2-0 lead in the first inning, which featured an RBI single by Wladimir Balentien, and Masanori Ishikawa kept his shutout alive until Hiroyuki Nakajima teed off the left-hander with a game-tying two-run blast in the sixth at Seibu Dome.

After Hisashi Takayama went down on a called third strike to start off the bottom of the seventh, Sumitani lofted the first pitch — a slider — he saw from Ishikawa (3-2) into the seats in left to give the Lions the lead.

"That felt good. This is the first time I've done something like this, so I am especially happy," said Sumitani. "I struck out in my second at-bat against him (Ishikawa), so I was just trying to get on base and create a chance."

Takayuki Kishi (2-1) yielded two unearned runs in seven innings, striking out seven and walking one. Atsushi Okamoto worked the ninth for his sixth save.

"I was doing my best to be aggressive against the hitters. I was really flying out there," said Kishi, who threw 124 pitches. "I've been throwing too many pitches each week, so I need to conserve my energy as much as possible."

Fighters 1, Carp 0 (11)

At Sapporo Dome, Atsunori Inaba played hero with a walk-off single with two outs in the 11th to give Hokkaido Nippon Ham a win over Hiroshima, which lost its third in a row.

Closer Hisashi Takeda (1-0) got the win after two scoreless innings. Carp reliever Dennis Sarfate (1-1) took the loss.

Hiroshima starter Kan Otake left after just 1? innings due to an injury after being hit with a batted ball.

Giants 2, Marines 0

At QVC Marine Field, Tetsuya Utsumi threw a four-hitter in his first shutout of the season, posting his CL-leading sixth win as Yomiuri snapped a four-game skid with a win over Chiba Lotte.

Utsumi (6-1) struck out 10, walked three and stymied the Marines batters with his nasty breaking ball. Hisayoshi Chono and Kenji Yano hit sacrifice flies in the first and sixth, both off Yuki Karakawa (4-2).

Dragons 5, Buffaloes 1

At Osaka's Kyocera Dome, Hirokazu Ibata went 3-for-5 with three RBIs and Takehiro Donoue homered to put the icing on the cake in the ninth inning as Chunichi downed Orix.

Kazuki Yoshimi (4-1) pitched one-run ball over seven strong innings, painting the edge of the strike zone. He struck out four and walked none.

Yuki Nishi (4-2) took the loss.

Eagles 3, Tigers 2 (10)

At Sendai's Kleenex Stadium, Fuminori Yokogawa had a game-winning single in the 10th as Tohoku Rakuten beat Hanshin.

With one out, Yokogawa singled deep to left off Daiki Enokida (1-1) to drive home pinch runner Wataru Nishimura from second. Koji Aoyama (1-1) won in relief.

Hawks 6, BayStars 5

At Fukuoka's Yahoo Dome, pinch hitter Nobuhiko Matsunaka hit a game-tying, two-run single with two outs in the eighth and substitute catcher Hidenori Tanoue followed with a go-ahead single as Fukuoka Softbank rallied over Yokohama.

Takehito Kanazawa (1-0) pitched a scoreless eighth for the Hawks, who are undefeated in their last nine games, including two ties.

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