Willi Castro will travel to Cleveland to check his knee

SANTO DOMINGO.-

The shortstop Willi Castro will travel to the city of Cleveland on Monday to have his left knee checked by a doctor from the Indian organization.

The announcement was made by the management of the Leones Escogido, a team with which Castro has had a successful debut in this professional baseball season.

Castro came out of the game in the third inning of the game against the Giants of the Cibao, on Tuesday, after a slide into second base.

He hits .448 (29-13) with one home run, six RBIs and five runs scored in eight games with the Lions. In addition, he has shown a solid defense at shortstop.

Castro, 20, played in Advanced Class A throughout the 2017 season and hit .290 with .337 OBP, 11 homers and 58 RBIs with the Lynchburgh Hillcats team.

He added 24 doubles, three triples, 19 steals and 69 scored in 123 games and 510 innings.

Willi could rank about No. 5 Tribe prospect. Here's a good reason to spend the fall and winter off the ball field.

It's hard to agree with that analysis. Injuries happen! Part of the game. Might as well cancel the Arizona Fall League as well as spring training. If you take a look back at the major league spring training period, some pretty serious injuries to a some name players and a bunch more of the not so serious variety to many others.

VENEZUELAN LEAGUE (LVBP)

Luis Lugo (Cardenales de Lara, RP) - W (1-0), 2 IP, 1 BB, 2 K - Lugo has now pitched two shutout outings in a row and has gone three games without allowing an earned run. He has allowed only one earned run this season in four appearances (seven innings pitched) for an ERA of 1.29. His first outing, in which he gave up the earned run, was his only start of the LVBP campaign. That fact, combined with his 4.35 ERA this summer with Double-A Akron, for whom he started in 25 of his 26 appearances, seem to suggest that Luis may have a future in the bullpen if the Indians so desired to try him out there.

D.J. Brown (Tigres de Aragua, RP) - H (4), 0.2 IP, 1 H, 1 BB - Brown continued his stellar offseason on Sunday, picking up his fourth hold in eight outings while allowing only his seventh hit in 11.1 innings pitched this LVBP season. This experience against veteran hitters will be helpful to him next summer as he will likely start the season with Triple-A Columbus.

DOMINICAN LEAGUE (LIDOM)

Ronny Rodriguez (Aguilas Cibaenas, 2B) - 3-5, 2 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI - Ronny-Rod continues to rake in the Dominican Republic. In twelve games this LIDOM season, Rodriguez has posted a .340/.340/.491 slash line with two doubles, two home runs and six RBI. Sunday's three-hit effort extended his current hitting streak to three games, all multi-hit efforts, and was his fifth multi-hit game in his last seven. Clearly, the extra pressure of playing in his home country, not to mention doing so in a league where winning is the primary goal instead of development, has not fazed Ronny.

Carlos Frias (Gigantes del Cibao, RP) - H (1), 0.2 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 K - Frias is yet to allow a run this LIDOM season in 4.2 innings in five games pitched. In those games, Frias has only allowed three hits and two walks. Hopefully, he can continue to pitch this well the rest of the offseason.

Michael Martinez (Estrellas Orientales, 2B) - 2-3, 1 BB, 1 K - Martinez continues to hit well in the Dominican League, posting a .368/.429/.368 slash line with three RBI and at least one hit in five of his six games played. Michael may be currently signed to a minor league contract, but expect to see him receive an invite to major league spring training.

Cole Sulser (Estrellas Orientales, RP) - 1 IP, perfect, 1 K - Sulser, who pitched well this summer for Double-Akron and Triple-A Columbus, continued his solid 2017 on Sunday with this perfect inning. This winter, Cole has only allowed one earned run on three hits with six strikeouts in as many innings in five appearances. Pitching this well in the competitive environment of Caribbean winter ball bodes well for him next summer.

The Kia Tigers players celebrate their Korean Series title over the Doosan Bears with a 7-6 victory at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul, Monday. / Yonhap

Kia claim 11th Korean Series title

By Baek Byung-yeul

The Kia Tigers became this year's champion of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) League, Monday.

The Tigers, who sit with a 3-1 Korean Series lead, beat the Doosan Bears 7-6 in Game 5 to claim their 11th Korean Series championship. This is also the Gwangju-based team's first title win since 2009.

Meanwhile, the two-time defending champions Bears aimed to complete a three-peat but their batters had been notoriously unproductive in the series.

At Jamsil Baseball Stadium, the two teams started their ace pitchers as the Tigers started their Dominican ace Hector Noesi while the desperate Bears countered with Dustin Nippert.

However, the Tigers led the game early, scoring a whopping five runs including a grand slam in the top third.

Lee Myung-ki led off the inning with an infield single and advanced to second base with a sacrifice bunt. Then, Roger Bernadina hit a RBI single for a 1-0 lead.
Lee Bum-ho of the Kia Tigers celebrates his grand slam against the Doosan Bears in the top of the third inning in Game 5 of the Korean Series at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul, Monday. / Yonhap

With bases loaded and two outs, third baseman Lee Bum-ho smashed a grand slam home run off Nippert to make it 5-0. It was the fourth grand slam in the Korean Series history.

The Tigers added two more runs in the top of the sixth inning.

Kim Sun-bin brought second base runner Kim Min-sik home with a RBI single and the hit drove Nippert from the mound. The American was replaced by Ham Deok-ju. The left-handed reliever threw a wild pitch to allow Kim to advance to second and Lee Myung-ki hit a RBI single for a 7-0 lead.

The Tigers looked set to cruise to an easy win, but the Bears refused to back down as they rallied with six runs on six hits to cut the lead to 7-6.

To close the game, the Tigers' manager Kim Ki-tae made the bold move in the bottom ninth as he turned to southpaw starter Yang Hyeon-jong for a three-out save.

Yang, who completed game shutout in Game 2, walked the leadoff Kim Jae-hwan, but got Oh Jae-il to fly out to left fielder.

When Jo Soo-haeng laid down the bunt, the Tigers' third baseman Kim Ju-hyung made an errant throw, putting runners at second and third. Yang intentionally walked next batter Hur Kyoung-min.

After loading bases, Yang got Park Sei-hyeok to fly out to shortstop for second out and Kim Jae-ho popped out to catcher to end the game. Yang, who pitched 10 scoreless innings, was voted the Korean Series MVP.

The Tigers could directly advance to the Korean Series after winning the pennant on Oct. 3, the final day of the regular season.

In a 144-game season, the Tigers had recorded 87 wins, one draw and 56 losses, two games ahead of the second-place Bears for their first pennant since 2009.

Yankees Need to Win Feeding Frenzy for Japanese Megastar Shohei Otani

Even though they fell short of their 28th World Series title, the New York Yankees still cemented themselves in 2017 as a budding powerhouse that may be only a few pieces away from a potential dynasty.

With the gathering of these missing pieces set to begin in earnest this winter, here's a name for the top of their shopping list: Shohei Otani.

Or, as he's perhaps better known: Japan's Babe Ruth.

"Best baseball player in the world," a Major League Baseball official declared to B/R's Scott Miller in March.

To be fair, Mike Trout might have something to say about that. But since Otani has a list of functions rivaling that of even R2-D2, he can at least be viewed as the most talented baseball player in the world.

Even after a 2017 season in which hamstring and ankle injuries (he recently had surgery for the latter) limited him to only five starts, he's seen primarily as a pitcher. He has a pitcher's build at about 6'4" and 215 pounds, per NPB.jp, and he has an easy, athletic delivery from which he hurls three outstanding pitches—a fastball that's climbed as high as 102 mph and an electric splitter and slider.
But while Otani wasn't much of an offensive star in his first three seasons with Nippon Ham, he turned into one over the last two seasons. Across 613 plate appearances, he tallied a .981 OPS and 30 homers. He has good speed, and his power is regarded as a legit plus tool.

When imagining Otani as an MLB player, it's perhaps easiest to picture him working as a pitcher or as a hitter but not as both. But just as there's no question about his ability, there's no question about his desire to do both.

"He's telling everyone he wants to hit, too. You'll have to let him or you're not going to get him," one international scouting director told MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo. "A plan will have to be devised to save his arm and use him as both a hitter and a pitcher."

Major league teams that haven't already made such plans had better do so. Because Otani is coming.

Reports from Jim Allen of the Japan Times and other Japanese media outlets in September claimed Otani will be made available this offseason. Later that month, Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports reported Otani was shopping for a stateside agent.

Like Yu Darvish, Masahiro Tanaka and others before him, Otani will come to MLB via the posting system. Barring any changes to the rules, any team willing to pay Nippon Ham the maximum fee of $20 million will be able to negotiate a deal with Otani himself.

Unlike Darvish and Tanaka, however, Otani isn't ticketed for a monstrous major league contract.

MLB's current collective bargaining agreement restricts international players under the age of 25 to the league's bonus pool system. Assuming Otani follows through on his plans to come to MLB this winter, he'll only be in line for a seven-figure bonus to sign a mere minor league contract. He would then be subject to service time rules that would put six cost-controlled years between him and free agency.

This is the baseball equivalent of a Lamborghini being made available to anyone and everyone for a low-low price of $5. For the Yankees, who have "only" $156.3 million projected dollars on their books for 2018, that inconveniently means they can't lure Otani with their checkbook alone.

That shouldn't stop them from pursuing him, however. Nor should it be a deal-breaker for the man himself.

With CC Sabathia heading into free agency and Tanaka potentially headed in the same direction if he uses his contract's opt-out, the Yankees will be in the market for starting pitching this winter. Otani will be the highest-upside pitcher out there, and he would fit the Yankees like a glove.

Among the many secrets to a successful 2017 season that saw the Yankees come within a win of the World Series was a pitching staff that brought the heat. According to FanGraphs, the Yankees staff's 94.5 mph average fastball is the highest ever in records that date to 2002.

Luis Severino and his MLB-best 97.6 mph fastball were a big reason for that. Add Otani and his heat, and the Yankees would have a heck of a high-octane duo. Eventually, hard-throwing prospects such as Chance Adams and Justus Sheffield could join the party and turn New York's staff into the envy of MLB.

On the other side of the ball, the Yankees have an opening at designated hitter. That's a perfect spot to give Otani regular at-bats. To boot, his offensive profile would fit perfectly next to the likes of Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez and Greg Bird.

For one thing, Otani would add even more power to an offense that led MLB with 241 homers in 2017. For another thing, his status as a lefty-hitting slugger makes him a classic match for Yankee Stadium's short right field porch.

Via Baseball Savant, see here how it gifted about as many homers in 2017 as you'd expect:
Otani would fit right in with the Yankees' youth movement, which could all but guarantee him several shots at World Series glory. The Yankees can also offer New York and everything that comes with it, from heightened endorsement opportunities to an appropriately sized stage.

"He likes the spotlight," one scout told George A. King III of the New York Post. "I would say the Yankees have the inside track."

Only Otani knows whether that's actually true. If it isn't, that's one major selling point knocked off the Yankees' list. Since money will be no object in an extremely crowded pursuit for his services, neither the Yankees nor any other pursuer can afford to lose selling points.

Nonetheless, there may not be a better fit than a team which can mix him into stables of power arms and power bats that are already young and strong. And if said fit does come to fruition, 2017 will only be the beginning of a potential new-look Yankees dynasty.

Baseball: Giants' Sugano wins Sawamura Award

TOKYO-

Tomoyuki Sugano's sparkling season with the Yomiuri Giants received some added luster on Monday when he was named the recipient of the Eiji Sawamura Award as Japan's most impressive starting pitcher.

"It's moving to receive this award," the 28-year-old Sugano said.

Five former ace pitchers selected Sugano over Seibu Lions lefty Yusei Kikuchi, whose bid received some support from a committee member willing to honor two pitchers for the first time since 2003.

"We come here looking for the best ace pitcher, the one best pitcher, but we had two candidates and there was some thought given to two," said committee chairman Tsuneo Horiuchi. "Indeed, I was one of those double awardees. But in the end we decided on the one best pitcher, and he is Sugano."

Pitchers in the Central and Pacific leagues are evaluated on seven standards: 25 games, 10 complete games, 15 wins, a .600 winning percentage, 200 innings, and a 2.50 ERA.

Sugano and Kikuchi each met the standards except for 10 complete games and 200 innings, which no pitchers in Nippon Professional Baseball managed this year. Sugano, however, led both leagues with 17 wins, a .773 winning percentage and a 1.59 ERA.

"I failed only to reach 200 innings and 10 complete games," Sugano said. "I want to work hard to achieve my goal of clearing every standard."

Masaji Hiramatsu, who this year was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame, felt Kikuchi was worthy of being named alongside Sugano.

"There was very little separating them," Hiramatsu said. "But if it is one, Sugano was a little more reliable and the most deserving winner."

Although the two leagues differ somewhat in quality with the PL now clearly stronger than the CL, only one selector mentioned a difference between the leagues.

"Because Kikuchi pitches in the Pacific League, which has a designated hitter, there is more offense. For him to compile the numbers he did in that league is worth consideration," former PL pitcher Hisashi Yamada said.

Another matter for consideration, starting next season, will be quality starts -- although modified to suit Japanese tastes.

The quality start (pitching six innings or more while allowing three earned runs or less) was mentioned as a possible Sawamura Award criteria a year ago. From next year, a modified version, that increases the number of innings needed from six to seven, will be used to evaluate pitchers.

Not surprisingly, Sugano led NPB with 76 percent of his starts qualifying as seven-inning quality starts. Kikuchi's 73.1 percent was second.

Cleveland Indians' Francisco Mejia, Argenis Angulo make Arizona Fall League All-Star team


By Paul Hoynes, cleveland.com

phoynes@cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Indians will send two players to the Arizona Fall League's All-Star game on Saturday at Salt Lake River Fields in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Third baseman Francisco Mejia and right-hander Argenis Angulo will play for the West Division All-Stars as members of the Glendale Desert Dogs. First baseman Bobby Bradley has a chance to make the roster if he gets enough fan votes.

Mejia, the Tribe's top catching prospect, is playing third for Glendale to add versatility to his game.

The switch-hitting Mejia is hitting .405 (14-for-35) with two homers and five RBI in eight games. He's committed two errors and posted a .977 OPS.

He made his big-league debut with the Indians in September after spending the season at Class AA Akron. He hit .297 (103-for-347) with 14 homers and 52 RBI. He finished the season with 37 extra base hits, 53 strikeouts and 24 walks. He was named Eastern League Rookie of the Year.

Mejia hit .154 (2-for-13) in 11 games with the Tribe.

Angulo is 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA in five games for Glendale. He struck out four, walked six and allowed two earned run in four innings. He spent last season at Class A Lynchburg where he went 5-2 with a 2.29 ERA and 15 saves. Angulo struck out 68, walked 27 and allowed 14 earned runs in 55 innings.

Fans can vote for Bradley from Monday through Wednesday at 2 p.m. on the AFL website. The ballot can be found on mlbfallball.com.

Bradley is hitting .300 (12-for-40) with two homers and six RBI for Glendale. He has an .850 OPS with 16 strikeouts and no walks in 10 games.

Last season at Akron, Bradley hit .251 (117-for-467) with 23 homers and 89 RBI in 131 games.

MLB Network will carry the AFL All-Star game at 8:08 p.m. ET on Saturday. The game will be streamed live on mlb.com.

The Hawks' Hiroaki Takaya delivers a run-scoring hit in the fourth inning against the BayStars in Game 3 of the Japan Series on Tuesday at Yokohama Stadium. Fukuoka SoftBank beat Yokohama 3-2, taking a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. | KYODO

Early scoring, lockdown bullpen carry Hawks to Game 3 triumph over BayStars

YOKOHAMA –

The Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks won the first two games of the Japan Series with a blowout and a dramatic late-inning comeback.

To get the third, they just had to hang on.

Run-scoring hits by Seiichi Uchikawa and Hiroaki Takaya gave the Hawks an early lead, and six relievers bent but didn’t break in making it stand up, as SoftBank moved to the brink of another championship with a 3-2 win over the Yokohama BayStars in Game 3 on Tuesday night at Yokohama Stadium in front of a crowd of 27,153.

SoftBank leads the series 3-0 and can claim its third Japan Series title since 2014 with another victory.

“We’ve worked hard to get to this point,” manager Kimiyasu Kudo said.

The Hawks took a 1-0 lead in the first inning for the third straight game after an RBI single by Uchikawa.

“Hanging curveball,” BayStars starter Joe Wieland said. “That’s all it was. I missed with the fastball first pitch, and I went breaking ball away, and it was up in the zone. He did exactly what he was supposed to do with it. That was the story of tonight.”

Takaya extended the lead with a two-run single in the fourth.

“I was looking for a fastball and wanted to at least get a sacrifice fly and was trying to not hit into a double play” said Takaya, who stepped to the plate with runners on the corners, before Kenji Akashi stole second during the at-bat.

Takaya also contributed defensively, with the catcher throwing out a pair of runners trying to swipe second and doing an admirable job leading the pitching staff.

“Our pitchers were working hard, so I tried to lead them as best I could,” he said.

With Hawks starter Shota Takeda lasting just 4 1/3 innings, Kudo turned to his bullpen, which was the best in Japan during the regular season. They got the job done, as Shuta Ishikawa, Shinya Kayama, Yuito Mori, Livan Moinelo, Sho Iwasaki and closer Dennis Sarfate combined to allow just one run over the final 4 2/3 innings.

“Our relievers held down opponents in games like this and built up a lot of confidence,” Kudo said. “It’s not easy to do it in the Japan Series, but we’ve really got great relievers.

“We let them do their job in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings, and if we go into extra innings, or lose games with our relievers, we’re OK with that.”

The only run Yokohama got off the SoftBank bullpen came in the fourth after loading the bases with one out against Kayama with the score 3-1 in the Hawks’ favor. Mori came on and struck out the first batter he faced before giving up an infield single that allowed a run to score. He retired the next batter.

“Kayama did a good job, and Mori, though he gave up a run, didn’t allow them to take the lead,” Kudo said. “That was huge.

Moinelo drew an especially tough assignment, coming on in the seventh with three of Yokohama’s top hitters, Takayuki Kajitani, Jose Lopez and Yoshitomo Tsutsugo due up. He retired the side on a liner to the shortstop and two strikeouts.

“I’ll go to the mound whenever the team tells me to go,” Moinelo said. “But I was happy to be given that role in such an important situation.”

Ishikawa earned the win in relief of Takeda, who pitched 4 1/3 shaky innings but held the BayStars to only one run despite walking four.

The BayStars got a home run from Lopez, and a 3-for-4 night from Toshihiko Kuramoto, who also drove in a run, but will find themselves playing to keep their season alive in Game 4 on Wednesday night at Yokohama Stadium.

The BayStars were hosting a Japan Series game for the first time since winning the title in 1998. The club gave its fans a reminder of that team with famed former closer Kazuhiro “Daimajin” Sasaki on hand to throw out the ceremonial first pitch.

They couldn’t draw upon enough of that 1998 magic against the Hawks, as the club lost a Japan Series game in Yokohama for the first time. If they lose a second, their last home game of the year will end with the Hawks celebrating.

The BayStars had their chances, they just didn’t cash in enough.

Lopez’s home run in the fourth was followed by a single from Tsutsugo, a hit batter and a walk drawn by Toshiro Miyazaki. Takeda then retired Tatsuhiro Shibata on a fly ball and struck out Wieland.

Ramirez said he felt it was too early to pinch-hit for Wieland at that juncture.

“Their pitcher, it was not his best day today,” Ramirez said. “I felt we would still get another chance later on, when I would really need the pinch hitter. It happened, we just couldn’t hit. (Tomo) Otosaka hit, he just struck out. It happened the way I thought it was going to happen, we just couldn’t hit.”

Yokohama also loaded the bases with one out in the sixth. Otosaka struck out, Kuramoto drove in a run, and Masayuki Kuwahara flew out to right to end the threat.

“We had pretty good chances today,” Ramirez said. “The fourth inning we had a chance, bases loaded. “We also had a good chance in the third inning. We couldn’t score. That happens. Sometimes you hit, sometimes you don’t hit. That’s part of the game. We just gotta come back tomorrow ready to go.”

Wieland allowed three runs on six hits over 5 1/3 innings and was charged with the loss.

“This was on me,” he said after the game. “Both times they had runners in scoring position I failed to execute a pitch and they made me pay for it.”

Dominican League: (LIDOM)

Ronny Rodriguez (2B, Aguilas Cibaenas) 2-5, 2 RBI. Rodriguez drove in a pair to drive his RBI total to 8 in 13 games. He has been scorching hot at the dish and has four straight multiple hit games, and he is now batting .345 overall. Ronny-Rod is building off a solid season in Columbus where he hit .291 with 17 bombs and 64 RBI.

Carlos Frias (RP, Gigantes del Cibao) 0.2 IP. Frias faced one batter and induced him into a double play. He has been sharp in six games and has not allowed an earned run yet over 5.1 innings. Carlos also has a perfect 2-0 record.

Venezuelan League: (LVBP)

Jorma Rodriguez (3B, Tiburones de La Guaira) 2-4, 2 R, 2B, 3 RBI, SO. Rodriguez was one of two players to drive in three runs for Tiburones on Tuesday night. He had just four at-bats entering this game, but he made his rare start count by driving in his first runs of the season. The hits were also his first knocks of the autumn.

Sharks returned to sink the ship

CARACAS.-

In the third week of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League, the Tiburones de La Guaira showed a torrid offensive to beat the Navegantes del Magallanes 12-9 . The hottest bats were Jorma Rodríguez and Nate Orf, batting in three runs each.

In the first inning the Sharks went up with a ground out to the pitcher that allowed Teodoro Martinez to score, and in the bottom of the inning, starter Tommy Collier ran into problems after surrendering a couple of base hits, Daniel Palka propelled a home run to place the Navigators on top 3-1.

In the fourth inning, the action was started by Heiker Meneses with a single, then Jorma Rodríguez doubled to give the advantage back to the Sharks 6-3.

The Navigators tried to come back in the bottom of the inning by scoring twice cutting the lead to 6-5 but the Sharks rallied for four runs in the fifth and added two more runs in the ninth.

The victory went to Carlos Misell (2-0) and the defeat to John Lamb (1-1).

BayStars pitcher Haruhiro Hamaguchi (right) and catcher Shuto Takajo react after the third inning of Game 4 of the Japan Series on Wednesday in Yokohama. The BayStars beat the Hawks 6-0. | KYODO

Rookie pitcher Haruhiro Hamaguchi comes up big to keep BayStars alive in Japan Series

YOKOHAMA –

Rookie pitcher Haruhiro Hamaguchi took the ball in what might have been the biggest game of his life and delivered the performance of his life.

Because of that, the Yokohama BayStars are still alive in the Japan Series.

Hamaguchi no-hit one of Japan’s top offenses for 7⅓ innings, Toshiro Miyazaki and Shuto Takajo homered and the BayStars got on the board in the Japan Series with a 6-0 win over the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks on Wednesday night in front of a crowd of 27,162 at Yokohama Stadium.

“I was trying not to think about it,” Hamaguchi said of the possibility of throwing a no-hitter. “I was just focused on pitching as long as I could. If I hadn’t given up a hit in the eighth, I could’ve gone even further. So I’m a little disappointed by that.”

The BayStars trail 3-1 in the series and still face an uphill climb against the Pacific League champions.

They’ll get the chance to try and rally, starting on Thursday night at home in Game 5, largely because of the performance by their 22-year-old rookie left hander.

“He was on right from the beginning,” BayStars manager Alex Ramirez said. “Even though we didn’t score until right in the middle of the game, he was on it. He was good.”

Hamaguchi featured a sterling changeup and got a couple of nice plays from his fielders in a dominant 119-pitch outing with the BayStars’ season on the line. He struck out seven, walked two and hit a batter over 7 2/3 innings in the win.

“Not only changeup, but the combination of pitches,” Ramirez said. “Breaking balls, curve, changeup, fork, that was the combination of pitches he had with the fastball, 144 (kph), consistently. He had a great combination today.”

Miyazaki hit a solo homer in the fifth and Toshihiko Kuramoto drove in another run with a sacrifice fly to provide Hamaguchi with some support. BayStars catcher Takajo homered for his pitcher in the seventh to make it 3-0. Yokohama added three runs in the eighth on an RBI single by Miyazaki and a two-run single by Takajo.

“Hamaguchi was working so hard, so we wanted to give him some runs,” Miyazaki said. “That’s the mindset I had when I stepped up to the plate,” he added referring to his home run.

Hamaguchi matched former Hiroshima Carp pitcher Shinji Sasaoka (in 1991) and former Hanshin Tigers star Minoru Murayama (1962) for the second-most no-hit innings in a Japan Series game. Daisuke Yamai holds the record with eight perfect innings for the Chunichi Dragons in 2007.

“I’ve never seen it before, even from when I was player,” Ramirez said when asked if he remembered a similar performance by such a young player on this stage. “But I’m not surprised about what he has done today. He has been pitching great. In the CS (Climax Series) and now, he did a tremendous job.

“He has great potential, great heart for the game and the stamina he has is just unbelievable. I’m very happy he was able to put it together today.”

Hamaguchi allowed his first baserunner via a walk in the first inning but didn’t give up a hit until Shinya Tsuruoka’s pinch-hit double in the eighth. The rookie left to a standing ovation when he was lifted after allowing a second hit in the eighth.

“It’s not easy to take him out of the game,” Ramirez said. “But especially to face those right-handed hitters the fourth time around, I gotta go with my best guys in the bullpen. I can’t take a chance, especially after 100 pitches. That was the perfect time for me to take him out of the game.”

Takajo had the best seat in the house for the rookie hurler’s performance.

“His fastball wasn’t that sharp early,” Takajo said. “So I told him to pitch hard and we worked around his changeup, which is his out-pitch. We decided to go with it even against lefties.”

Hamguchi’s slider also came into play.

“We were able to get strikes with his outside slider and that helped,” Takajo said. “For the most part, Pacific League batters are great at hitting fastballs, so we needed to use some off-speed pitches.

“We got behind 3-2 a few times, but we were able to be patient. We usually give up a few more walks, but not today.”

Another positive for the BayStars was a good night by leadoff man Masayuki Kuwahara, who Ramirez said would be the team’s “key man” before the series. After going hitless in the first three games, Kuwahara finished 2-for-3 and drew a walk on Wednesday.

“I always say that it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish,” Ramirez said. “I told Kuwahara today, ‘remember the first two games in Hiroshima (during the Climax Series) when you didn’t hit and after that you took over the team. That was the reason why we were able to be here. So I’m expecting you to do good. Then everybody will forget the first couple of games. So just go ahead and do your best.’

“He got on base three times today. That’s what I’m expecting from him.”

Hawks starter Tsuyoshi Wada was charged with the loss after allowing a pair of runs on five hits in five innings. Wada struck out five and walked one batter.

Yuki Yanagita had the team’s only other hit, an infield single in the eighth.

Their highlight of the night came in the fourth inning, when Jose Lopez hit a foul ball toward the excite seats, which jut out into foul territory, in left. Hawks shortstop Kenta Imamiya gave chase and made a jumping backhanded grab before flipping backward over the short wall and into the seats. He stayed in the game after being checked out by the trainers.

Despite his team’s performance, Ramirez isn’t ready to say the BayStars have figured out the Hawks just yet.

“Not at all, I would not say that,” he said. “Sometimes you hit, sometimes you don’t hit. Throwing a shutout isn’t easy to do. Those guys have the best hitting team in the whole league. It just happened today we were able to put it together.”

Dominican League

Ronny Rodriguez (RF-2B, Aguilas Cibaenas): 2-4. Rodriguez's red-hot winter ball campaign continued on Wednesday with yet another multi-hit effort. With that performance, the 25-year-old has now recorded multiple hits in five straight games while batting .458 with a double and four RBI's over that span. On the offseason as a whole, Rodriguez is now batting .355 with two homers and eight RBI's over 14 games.

Henry Martinez (RP, Leones del Escogido): 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R/ER, 1 BB, 0 K. After giving up his first run of the winter ball season his last time out, Martinez settled back in on Wednesday with two shutout innings against Aguilas as he now has an impressive 0.87 ERA over six appearances.

Joe Colon (RP, Aguilas Cibaenas): 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R/ER, 1 BB, 0 K. Since allowing two runs back on October 24th, Colon has been nearly untouchable allowing just two hits and a walk over 2.1 shutout innings while striking out two after firing another shutout inning on Wednesday. Overall this offseason, the Puerto Rican right-hander has pitched to the tune of a 3.86 ERA over five appearances.

Cole Sulser (RP, Estrellas Orientales): 1 IP, 3 H, 1 R/ER, 0 BB, 2 K. Sulser has been stingy most of the offseason allowing just two runs on six hits over seven innings of work. On Wednesday, however, the California native allowed a run on three hits marking the first time on this winter ball campaign that he has allowed multiple hits in an outing.

Venezuelan League

D.J. Brown (RP, Tigres de Aragua): 0.1, 1 H, 0 R/ER, 0 BB, 0 K, 1 HBP. Brown had to work around a couple baserunners, but he recorded an out and escaped without giving up a run, thus preserving his perfect zero ERA as he has now managed to go 11.2 innings this offseason without allowing a run while giving up just nine hits and two walks to go along with five strikeouts.

In tight game the Eagles beat Lions 2 - 1

SANTO DOMINGO.-

Francisley Bueno dominated in the first five innings and Juan Carlos Pérez homered for the Cibaeñas Eagles to help defeat 2-1 Escogido Lions in a game marked by the debut of star outfielder Starling Marte was 0-3 in thegame.

The Lions remain in third place with a record of 8-6 and the Eagles are in fourth place with 7-7.

Bueno (1-2) was sharp surrendering just two hits. He gave up a walk and struck out three. Josh Judy worked the ninth with a walk for his third save.

For the Eagles, Perez (home run) and Almonte (double) had extra-base hits and Ronny Rodríguez contributed two singles.

The Lions had six singles. Cordero connected for two, while García, Guerrero, Wilkin Castillo and Pedro López contributed one each.

The BayStars' Toshiro Miyazaki comes through in the clutch, getting a run-scoring hit during the hosts' sixth-inning rally in Game 5 of the Japan Series on Thursday night at Yokohama Stadium. Yokohama defeated the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks 5-4. | KYODO

BayStars rally in sixth, stave off elimination with Game 5 victory over Hawks

YOKOHAMA –

Anyone who thought the Yokohama BayStars were just going to roll over after going down 3-0 in the Japan Series can think again.

These BayStars are still in it, and the mighty Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks suddenly have a fight on their hands.

The BayStars rallied from two runs down after Yoshitomo Tsutsugo, Toshiro Miyazaki and Hiroki Minei drove in a run apiece in the sixth inning, and closer Yasuaki Yamasaki got the final out of a four-out save with the bases loaded, as the BayStars climbed back into the Japan Series with a 5-4 victory over the Hawks in Game 5 in front of a crowd of 27,180 on Thursday night at Yokohama Stadium.

“After losing three in a row, we did what we always do,” Tsutsugo said.

It was final game of the year at “HamaSta,” but it wasn’t the end of the line for the BayStars, who head back to Fukuoka for Game 6 trailing 3-2 in the series.

The BayStars have seized the momentum with two straight wins and are trying to become the fourth team to overcome a 3-0 deficit to win the Japan Series. The 1989 Yomiuri Giants were the last to do it. Those Giants rallied past the Kintetsu Buffaloes by winning Games 4 and 5 at home, as the BayStars have now done, before taking the final two games on the road.

Tsutsugo gave the BayStars a 2-1 lead with a two-run homer in the fourth, but they trailed 4-2 entering the sixth after the Hawks got a sacrifice fly by Alfredo Despaigne and a two-run homer from Akira Nakamura in the fifth.
Masayuki Kuwahara began the sixth with a single and a stolen base. Tatsuhiro Shibata hit a ball back toward the mound, but was unlucky when starting pitcher Rick Van den Hurk made a nifty behind-the-back grab and threw him out at first. Jose Lopez drew a walk to bring Tsutsugo up, and the star slugger came through with an RBI double off reliever Livan Moinelo.

“He did a tremendous job today,” Ramirez said of Tsutsugo. “That is a true yon-ban (No. 4) batter. Yesterday after the game, I was feeling we won without Tsutsugo, so I had a good feeling that today he was gonna hit, and he did exactly that.”

Miyazaki then tied the score at 4-4 with a single up the middle. Minei came on to pinch-hit with runners on the corners and hit a grounder to second that allowed Tsutsugo to score the tiebreaking run.

The BayStars still led by a run when Ramirez brought on Yamasaki to face Yuki Yanagita with two outs in the eighth. It was the first time all year Yamasaki was called upon for more than an inning.

“Throughout the regular season and postseason, I’d never had a chance like that this year,” Yamasaki said. “So I didn’t exactly know what to do, but my team told me, ‘We’re counting on you.’ That gave me confidence as I did my job and our team gained some momentum since we ended up winning.”

Yamasaki retired Yanagita to end the eighth, but allowed ninth-inning singles to Kenta Imamiya, Seiichi Uchikawa and Nobuhiro Matsuda, as the Hawks loaded the bases with two outs. Yamasaki regrouped and finished off SoftBank by retiring Kenji Akashi on a grounder.
“There were many times when I wanted to use Yasu in that kind of situation during the regular season,” Ramirez said. “Today was a special day. We needed to win today. There was no tomorrow for us. During the season, we have more games left, but today there was no tomorrow.”

Yamasaki said he didn’t know until the top of the eighth he’d be asked to get four outs.

“I tried to get ready mentally, so I think the time I spent in the bullpen was good,” he said.

With a 3-0 lead prior to Game 4, the Hawks were likely expecting to head back to Fukuoka with the title in tow, but are taking the BayStars back instead.

Van den Hurk got off to a strong start, but ran into trouble in the fifth. He retired the first 11 batters he faced, seven via strikeout, before giving up a double to Lopez and then yielding Tsutsugo’s home run in the fourth. He was charged with four runs in 5 1/3 innings. He struck out eight and walked one. Moinelo took the loss with one run allowed over 1 1/3 frames.
Former Yokohama star Uchikawa was 3-for-4 with an RBI double for SoftBank and Imamiya was 3-for-3. Nakamura was 1-for-5 with his two-run home run and Despaigne picked up an RBI on his sacrifice fly, but finished hitless.

Yokohama closed out its home schedule in style and is now focused on bringing the Japan Series title with them when they return.

“We believe we’re going to be the champions of the Nippon Series,” Ramirez told the crowd after the game. “It’s kind of hard not to win with all your support.”