Friday, Oct. 2, 2009

SAPPORO (Kyodo) Shinji Shimoyama hit a tiebreaking double in the seventh inning as the Orix Buffaloes rallied past the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters 6-5 to avoid a three-game sweep on Thursday.

Going ahead: Nippon Ham Fighters outfielder Hichori Morimoto hits a single to break a 4-4 tie in the fourth inning against the Orix Buffaloes on Thursday at Sapporo Dome. KYODO PHOTO

Takeshi Hidaka's RBI groundout in the sixth tied the score at 5-5 before Shimoyama's double plated Tomotaka Sakaguchi an inning later at Sapporo Dome.

Mamoru Kishida (9-4) picked up the win despite giving up five runs in six innings. Chihiro Kaneko worked two scoreless innings for his third save.

Masanori Hayashi (3-1) took the loss. The Fighters magic number to clinch the Pacific League title remained at four.

Eagles 5, Hawks 4

At Sendai's Kleenex Stadium, Todd Linden had three RBIs as Tohoku Rakuten beat Fukuoka Softbank to climb into second place and reduce its magic number to two for clinching the final playoff spot.

Daisuke Kusano's RBI single followed by Linden's two-run double, both off D.J. Houlton (11-8), turned a 4-2 deficit into a 5-4 lead in the seventh inning. Linden also had a run-scoring double in the second.

Tsuyoshi Kawagishi (4-3) won in relief. Kazuo Fukumori pitched two scoreless innings for his ninth save. The Hawks dropped to third place for the first time since May 30.

Lions 2, Marines 1

At Seibu Dome, Takahiko G.G. Sato hit a "sayonara" two-run single as Saitama Seibu edged Chiba Lotte to end its four-game skid.

With runners on second and third, G.G. Sato delivered a one-out single to right off Shunsuke Watanabe (3-13). Takayuki Kishi (13-5) pitched 2 2/3 scoreless innings to earn his career-high 13th win.

The Marines saw their winning streak end at six.

SAN JUAN (AP) Police in Puerto Rico say a Florida Marlins minor leaguer has been shot several times in a drive-by attack.

Police spokeswoman Maria Rivera says 21-year-old shortstop Osvaldo Martinez was wounded while driving Wednesday through the city of Carolina, just east of the Caribbean island's capital, San Juan.

Police officer Wanda Abdalah later said that the victim was recuperating from surgery and is stable.

Martinez was signed by the Marlins in 2006 and plays for Class A Jupiter. He played in 130 games this season, batting .254 with 45 RBIs.

ST. PETERSBURG , Fla. (AP) All-Star MVP Carl Crawford is interested in discussing a new long-term deal with the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Rays are expected to pick up a $10 million club option for the 2010 season. If Tampa Bay exercises the option, the left fielder would be eligible for free agency after next season.

We welcome your opinions. Click to send a message to the editor.