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.
Showing posts with label ground. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ground. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Friday, May 18, 2012
Zaccheroni needs European contingent to hit ground running
Teenage kicks: Ryo Miyaichi is expected to be named in Japan's squad for next Wednesday's friendly against Azerbaijan after impressing on loan for Bolton Wanderers this season. APAlberto Zaccheroni may have blotted his copybook with defeats in Japan's last two competitive matches, but the national team manager will only have eyes for the here and now as he begins his preparations for the final round of World Cup qualifiers this week.
Zaccheroni on Friday names his squad for next Wednesday's warmup friendly against Azerbaijan in Shizuoka, with the Italian set to draw heavily from his Europe-based contingent ahead of next month's qualifiers against Oman, Jordan and Australia. Losses to North Korea and Uzbekistan at the end of the previous round cost Zaccheroni the unbeaten record he had held since taking over in September 2010, but with the majority of his players arriving straight from the end of the European club season, the dynamic this time will be significantly different.Where Zaccheroni stands to gain most is with the seemingly unstoppable momentum Shinji Kagawa has picked up over the second half of the German league season. The forward was instrumental in helping Borussia Dortmund to its first-ever domestic league-and-cup double, and with Manchester United now leading a host of elite clubs competing for his signature, there could never be a better time to establish himself as Japan's undisputed key player.Keisuke Honda was the man who filled that role until his career was interrupted by injury last year, but after returning to action with club side CSKA Moscow, the midfielder is now set for his first international appearance in over nine months. Honda will feel he has something to prove having been out of the spotlight for so long, and with the qualifiers providing the perfect shop window for a transfer to a bigger European league, the 25-year-old will be determined to make the most of the opportunity.Zaccheroni must also decide what to do with teenage attacker Ryo Miyaichi, who was disappointed not to make his debut after being called up for the first time against Uzbekistan in February. Miyaichi's explosive early performances on loan for Bolton Wanderers tailed off slightly as the demands of the Premier League season began to take their toll, but the 19-year-old is nevertheless a rare talent who the manager must be keen to take a look at sooner rather than later.Strikers, as always, will give the Italian more food for thought, with Tadanari Lee injured and Mike Havenaar not getting as much playing time as he would like at Vitesse Arnhem. Hisato Sato leads the J. League scoring charts with nine goals from 11 games this season, but with Zaccheroni's preferred system favoring a taller target man, a place in the squad may be the best the Sanfrecce Hiroshima player can hope for.Zaccheroni will, then, be looking for answers in Wednesday's friendly, and with his team having been in cold storage for almost three months since losing to Uzbekistan, it is impossible to predict how smoothly it will function. Intense concentration on the final stages of the European club season has consumed attention during that time, but with a strong start to the World Cup qualifiers imperative, the manager must make sure focus shifts quickly back to the international arena.There is little Zaccheroni does not already know about his players' capabilities, but where their form, fitness and ability to come together as a team currently stand are the factors that will make the difference.If everything is in working order, an early claim on a ticket to Brazil is there for the taking.Thursday, January 5, 2012
Bulls ground Hawks on Deng's late layup
CHICAGO — With Derrick Rose having a big fourth quarter for the Chicago Bulls, everyone expected the reigning NBA MVP to take the final shot with the score tied. Instead, it was Luol Deng who got the game-winner in the closing seconds.
Thunder cloud: Oklahoma City's James Harden shoots during the Trail Blazers' 103-93 win over the Thunder on Tuesday. APDeng's layup with 3.7 seconds left lifted the Bulls to a 76-74 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night.Rose scored 17 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter to rally the Bulls from a 19-point deficit. Coming out of a timeout, Deng cut along the baseline and took a feed from Joakim Noah to put Chicago ahead."At the end of practice, we always run (the play)," Deng said. "(Joakim) made a great pass. We had a feeling both of (the defenders) would go with Derrick."Turns out the play was designed for Rose after all."Obviously, we're trying to get it to Derrick," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. "They did a good job taking the first and second option away. Derrick set a great screen, (Noah) made a great pass and Luol made a great cut."The play caught the Hawks off guard as they were anticipating Rose to get the last shot."We all assumed that the ball was coming back to Rose," Atlanta's Al Horford said. "We were going to come and trap. That was a great play by their coach designed to take the pressure from Rose and hit Deng on the back. We didn't expect that at all."Joe Johnson shot an airball at the buzzer, giving the Bulls the win.Deng finished with 21 points for the Bulls and scored eight over the last four minutes after Atlanta re-established a lead."You can't say enough about Luol," Thibodeau said. "He does everything."Rose missed a runner with 21 seconds left, but Atlanta's Jeff Teague missed two free throws. Rose then drove past Teague and scored over the Hawks' Josh Smith with 9.9 seconds left to put the Bulls up 74-73.Horford, who led the Hawks with 16 points, was fouled when Deng ran into him near the top of the key. Horford split two free throws with 7.7 seconds remaining, tying the score and setting up Deng's heroics."We stopped defending with the intensity that we did in the first three quarters," Hawks coach Larry Drew said. "We didn't make our free throws going down the stretch. If you don't make your free throws on the road you can't expect to win."Marvin Williams added 14 points and Josh Smith had 13 for Atlanta, which shot just 35 percent from the floor but held Chicago to 34 percent.The Bulls have won four straight and their 5-1 start is their best since opening 12-0 in 1996-97.Jazz 85, Bucks 73In Salt Lake City, Al Jefferson scored a season-high 26 points to lead Utah past short-handed Milwaukee.Trail Blazers 103, Thunder 93In Oklahoma City, LaMarcus Aldridge had 30 points and eight rebounds to help Portland beat the Thunder.Grizzlies 113, Kings 96In Memphis, Rudy Gay scored 23 points, Sam Young added 20 and the Grizzlies beat Sacramento.Cavaliers 115, Bobcats 101In Cleveland, Kyrie Irving scored 20 points and fellow rookie Tristan Thompson added 16, leading the Cavaliers past Charlotte.Lakers 108, Rockets 99In Los Angeles, Kobe Bryant scored 37 points and Andrew Bynum had 21 points and 22 rebounds in the first 20-20 game of his young career.
Thunder cloud: Oklahoma City's James Harden shoots during the Trail Blazers' 103-93 win over the Thunder on Tuesday. APDeng's layup with 3.7 seconds left lifted the Bulls to a 76-74 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night.Rose scored 17 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter to rally the Bulls from a 19-point deficit. Coming out of a timeout, Deng cut along the baseline and took a feed from Joakim Noah to put Chicago ahead."At the end of practice, we always run (the play)," Deng said. "(Joakim) made a great pass. We had a feeling both of (the defenders) would go with Derrick."Turns out the play was designed for Rose after all."Obviously, we're trying to get it to Derrick," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. "They did a good job taking the first and second option away. Derrick set a great screen, (Noah) made a great pass and Luol made a great cut."The play caught the Hawks off guard as they were anticipating Rose to get the last shot."We all assumed that the ball was coming back to Rose," Atlanta's Al Horford said. "We were going to come and trap. That was a great play by their coach designed to take the pressure from Rose and hit Deng on the back. We didn't expect that at all."Joe Johnson shot an airball at the buzzer, giving the Bulls the win.Deng finished with 21 points for the Bulls and scored eight over the last four minutes after Atlanta re-established a lead."You can't say enough about Luol," Thibodeau said. "He does everything."Rose missed a runner with 21 seconds left, but Atlanta's Jeff Teague missed two free throws. Rose then drove past Teague and scored over the Hawks' Josh Smith with 9.9 seconds left to put the Bulls up 74-73.Horford, who led the Hawks with 16 points, was fouled when Deng ran into him near the top of the key. Horford split two free throws with 7.7 seconds remaining, tying the score and setting up Deng's heroics."We stopped defending with the intensity that we did in the first three quarters," Hawks coach Larry Drew said. "We didn't make our free throws going down the stretch. If you don't make your free throws on the road you can't expect to win."Marvin Williams added 14 points and Josh Smith had 13 for Atlanta, which shot just 35 percent from the floor but held Chicago to 34 percent.The Bulls have won four straight and their 5-1 start is their best since opening 12-0 in 1996-97.Jazz 85, Bucks 73In Salt Lake City, Al Jefferson scored a season-high 26 points to lead Utah past short-handed Milwaukee.Trail Blazers 103, Thunder 93In Oklahoma City, LaMarcus Aldridge had 30 points and eight rebounds to help Portland beat the Thunder.Grizzlies 113, Kings 96In Memphis, Rudy Gay scored 23 points, Sam Young added 20 and the Grizzlies beat Sacramento.Cavaliers 115, Bobcats 101In Cleveland, Kyrie Irving scored 20 points and fellow rookie Tristan Thompson added 16, leading the Cavaliers past Charlotte.Lakers 108, Rockets 99In Los Angeles, Kobe Bryant scored 37 points and Andrew Bynum had 21 points and 22 rebounds in the first 20-20 game of his young career.
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