The 2002 season opened with a bang for Hanshin tonight, with Hiyama and Arias both going deep to power the Tigers over the Giants 3-1 at Tokyo Dome. Starter Kei Igawa set things up by striking out nine and allowing six scattered hits over nine innings. The only Yomiuri run came from a solo homer by Kiyohara in the bottom of the 4th. But Tiger POWER was in abundance. Hiyama's solo dinger put the Tigers on the board in the 2nd, straight after George Arias came close to putting one over the wall himself. But never mind - Arias made sure in the next inning with a two-run blast into the left field bleachers that left the Giants scratching their heads. And with Igawa mowing down the opposition, three runs was all the good guys needed to draw first blood in their 2002 campaign. Go Tigers!

Hanshin starter Trey Moore got his first win of the season tonight after center fielder Noriharu Akahoshi came through in the clutch, breaking a 1-1 tie with an RBI single in the top of the 7th. Before the breakthrough, Moore had battled Yomiuri starter Kudoh virtually pitch for pitch, and the only run he had given up at that point was Kiyohara's (yes him again) solo homer in the 4th. The Tigers struck back in the 6th, however, with Imaoka and Kataoka hitting back-to-back doubles to make it even stevens. The bullpen protected the slim lead in the final third of the game, shutting down the famed Yomiuri sluggers - Marc Valdes picking up the save with 1 2/3 innings of work.

The Tigers piled on 17 hits in a 6-1 win tonight over the Yokohama BayStars, with Keiichi Yabu going the distance in a solid outing. It was another team effort, with RBIs coming from Arias, Hamanaka, Imaoka (2), Akahoshi and Yano. In the 3rd, Imaoka took a beautifully-timed swing at a high fastball and glided it over the fence for the game's only home run, and by the 7th, the Tigers were well in control with a 6-zip lead. The Tigers have now won three out of three in a strong start to the season, showing that the preseason warmup wasn't just luck.

Sock it to 'em again! The Tigers exploded again for six runs from 11 hits, including FIVE solo home runs - two by Derrick White, who hit one of them right out of the stadium over the left field bleachers. A MASSIVE shot. Hamanaka got another, and ended up 4 for 5 on the night, with a single and two doubles. Kataoka and Yano accounted for the other two Dr. Longballs. Starter Taninaka lasted well into the 8th inning, allowing 8 hits and two earned runs to continue the excellent pitching we've seen since the beginning of the season. Date closed out the game without too much difficulty. The win tonight makes it four in a row to start off the season - the last time that happened was 46 years ago! And with the Swallows losing, the Tigers are now by themselves at the TOP of the standings. The way they're playing, they might just stay there!

It took a bases-loaded walk, but the Tigers came through in the 11th inning against Yokohama to break a 1-1 tie and record their 5th straight win. The undefeated Tigers seem to be breaking records every day. They're now off to their best start since 1938 - can you believe that? The difference tonight was solid pitching, with the veteran Nobuyuki Hoshino starting for Hanshin. He lasted six innings, giving up just one run on two hits. Date and Kanazawa followed up in relief with four hitless, scoreless innings, while Valdes mopped up in the 11th, recording his second save of the season. Meanwhile, the Hanshin hitters were piling on the pressure, and it was only a matter of time before something had to give. And the weak link was Guzman, who gave up a bases-loaded walk to Derrick White in the top of the 11th, bringing home the go-ahead run. The weather was undoubtedly a factor. Blustery conditions played havoc with Guzman's control - but then, the Hanshin hurlers had to deal with the same thing.

Hanshin pulled two games clear in the standings after beating the Swallows 2-0 tonight at Jingu. It was an intense pitcher's duel, with Kei Igawa and Yakult's Fujii evenly matched for the first seven scoreless innings. Then Yakult manager Wakamatsu blinked, replacing Fujii with righty Honma. Bad move. Imaoka hit a double to start off the inning, and Arias ended up with an RBI from a sac fly - Tigers 1-0. Igawa was still in the game and had plenty of good stuff left, striking out two in a 1-2-3 8th. Top of the 9th, and last year's champs looked like chumps, as Yano hit a lead-off double, was bunted to third, and then scored - on a balk. Yep, reliever Yamamoto must've had the jitters facing the fearsome Tigers, as he also hit Akahoshi in the arm, and then tried to take Kataoka's head off with a badly directed changeup. Anyway, he escaped without any further embarrassment. But Hanshin closer Marc Valdes had no trouble in the top of the 9th, getting the three outs with a minimum of fuss - and striking out Petagine to earn his third save of the season. But it was Igawa's game. Tonight he allowed just three hits, struck out 11, and lowered his ERA to 0.53 - the guy's in awesome form at the moment.

Trey Moore went the distance to pick up his second win of the season as the Tigers beat the Swallows 3-1 today at Jingu. Moore struck out nine (including Petagine four times), allowed just five singles on 127 pitches, and was one out away from a shutout - foiled at the last minute by Ramirez, who just managed to get some wood on a sinker to bring home a run. Indeed, with runners at the corners, the Swallows could have then tied it at 3-3 but for Derrick White in left, who made a fine play to grab the final out. Just what teammates are for. Moore didn't just dominate from the mound, though, he also wielded the lumber with some measure of skill - going 3 for 4, and scoring a run from second off a Kataoka liner. The Tiger offense didn't reach any great heights, but with solo homers from Yano and White, and that RBI single by Kataoka, it was enough to counter Yakult.

So after seven games, the Tigers are still undefeated, three games clear of the rest of the field. And they're still to play their first game at home. Incredible.

Last year's MVP Roberto Petagine hit a grand slam off veteran lefty Shoji Toyama today at Jingu Stadium, helping his team to a 5-3 win over the Tigers to end Hanshin's historic winning streak at seven. The grannie, in the bottom of the 7th, wiped out the Tigers' slim one-run lead, and certainly knocked the wind out their sails. But they didn't give up - stretching Yakult's defense to the limit, with Hiyama hitting a solo homer in the 8th to make it a two-run game, and Akahoshi and White getting on board in the 9th. With two outs, Hiyama represented the go-ahead run, got the count full against Takatsu, but he flied out to right. Oh well, can't win 'em all. But the Tigers should feel proud to have started the season 7-1 on the road, sweeping both the Giants and the BayStars, and winning the Yakult series 2-1. They begin a 6-game home stand on Tuesday, and you can be sure Koshien will be rocking!

It's been a long time, but Keiichi Yabu secured his first win at Koshien in over a year, pitching nine masterful innings, and giving up just one run - a homer by Kanemoto in the 7th. He struck out five, allowed just five hits and no walks, and was in complete control tonight. The Yabu of old! White, Kataoka and Hiyama helped out, making some gold glove plays that really showed why the Tigers are dominating the Central League this year. Everything they touch turns to gold at the moment. Pitching, fielding, baserunning, and hitting. Yes the hitting. Tonight, Makoto Imaoka started things off with a three-run homer in the 3rd, George Arias finished the job with another seeya for two runs in the 8th, while White, Fujimoto, and Hiyama added the extras to complete the rout.

Makoto Imaoka hit a dramatic two-out sayonara home run in the bottom of the 9th tonight to give Hanshin starter Shinji Taninaka a 1-0 shutout victory - his second win of the season. Taninaka pitched nine no-nonsense innings, allowing just five hits, while his opposite number, Hasegawa, also had a strong outing to keep the Hanshin bats under control. Except for Imaoka, that is. The second baseman belted a single and a double off Hasegawa, and then came through against Hiroshima reliever Tamaki in the 9th, gliding a 2-2 fast ball over the left field fence to the delight of the huge mid-week crowd. With the win tonight, the Tigers improved to 9-1, and secured their fourth series win of the season. These guys are unstoppable!

Kei (that's "K") Igawa had another nine strikeout victims on his way to his third win of the season tonight - a complete-game shutout of Yokohama, with George Arias scoring the only run of the game from a homer in the 2nd inning. But that's all the run support Igawa needed, disposing of the struggling BayStars with a leisurely 110 pitches - and saving his arm for his next start. Igawa has given up just one run in 26 innings so far, and his dominance of the opposition has been a sight to watch. The Tigers have now won 10 out of 11, moving 4 clear of their nearest rival. This is fun!

From the Daily Yomiuri--Takuro Ishii broke a 2-2 tie with a ninth-inning sacrifice fly to cap a 3-for-4 day at the plate and lift the Yokohama BayStars to a 3-2 come-from-behind victory over the Hanshin Tigers at Koshien Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The loss was just the second for the Tigers, who won their first seven games of the season and are now 10-2. Trailing 2-1 in the seventh inning, Ishii doubled to right to tie the game. He earlier scored the BayStars' first run when he reached on an infield single in the sixth inning and scored on a single by Mike Gulan. The Tigers jumped out to a 2-0 lead when Akihiro Yano singled home a run and Shuta Tanaka brought in another with a suicide squeeze. The Tigers wasted a solid effort from starter Trey Moore, who allowed one run and five hits before leaving the game with a 2-1 lead after six innings. He struck out seven and walked one.

Rookie Yuya Ando surpassed even his last superb start, pitching eight innings for two hits and no runs, and ending up with a well-deserved win against Yokohama - the first of his pro career - after Shinjiro Hiyama drove in a run in the bottom of the 8th to break a 0-0 tie. He worked well with his battery mate, Ryo Yoshimoto, who replaced regular catcher Akihiro Yano, injured last night in the team's 3-2 loss to the BayStars. In the 9th, Valdes disposed of the final three hitters in order to grab his 4th save. This was Hanshin's third consecutive 1-0 win and fourth shutout overall, which indicates the team's incredible defensive strength. Their top nine pitchers have ERAs of 1.50 or lower, and they've been getting some great outings from their starters, who have a combined ERA of less than one. And they haven't lost a series yet.

The Tigers hit a speed bump on their winning road after losing two games in a row to Chunichi. On Tuesday night, the Dragons put together a bunch of runs in the bottom of the 7th to win 7-3, and Wednesday they survived a late Hanshin rally in the bottom of the 9th to secure a 5-3 victory. That means the Tigers have given up more runs in the last 2 games than in the previous 9 combined. Hope it doesn't become a habit. Tonight, Kataoka had a chance to bring the tying run to the plate in the 9th, grabbing an RBI single off Chunichi closer Galliard - but with two outs, the guy had a rush of blood to the head and tried to turn it into a double, and was tagged out easily at second. Dumb play, that's for sure.

It was a pitcher's night tonight, with an intense duel between starters Nobuyuki Hoshino and Chunichi's Kenshin Kawakami; reliever Atsunori Ito versus the Chunichi bullpen, and then the finale - Galliard for the Dragons and our own Marc Valdes closing the 12th (CL rules limit games to 12 innings). And the batters didn't get a look in. Kawakami even hit a home run off Hoshino in the 5th to put the Dragons in the lead 1-0. The Tigers got back into it with a sacrifice fly by Kataoka in the 8th. And that was it for runs. Lots of baserunners, though, and both teams had a chance to win it in the 12th. The Tigers had a full deck with one out, but Yamada hit into a 6-2-3 double play which saved Galliard's bacon. And then the Dragons loaded them up in the bottom of the inning, only to see Valdes shut the door with some real pressure pitching. So with two losses and a tie, the Tigers didn't allow the Nagoya Dome hoodoo to completely ruin their week.

Although he pitched a brilliant game, Kei Igawa suffered his first loss of the season to the Giants after Fukui hit a solo homer in the top of the 10th inning to break a scoreless tie. A matter of an inning too far apparently. But with the Tiger bullpen not performing at its best, Hoshino thought he might as well take his chances with the ace. But the opposition was tough, too. Kuwata, pitching for the Giants, went nine innings without giving up a run as the Hanshin bats failed again, managing just four hits, and without anybody coming close to putting anything over the fence.

If there were any doubts that the Tigers could hit, the team put them to rest tonight with its best offensive performance to date - an explosion of runs against the Giants. The Tigers scored a total of 10 runs from 13 hits, including home runs by Hamanaka, White and Arias, and even an RBI and a run scored by pitcher Trey Moore. Imaoka went 4 for 5, with 2 doubles, 2 singles and 2 RBIs. Starter Moore pitched a great game, with 7 Ks, 5 hits and just one earned run (a homer by Matsui) over 7 innings. Toyama and Date finished off the Giants in the final two innings to grab a much-needed win after a couple of difficult games.

The Tigers bounced back from their disappointing 7-11 loss to the Carp last night and evened up the series at Hiroshima with a solid 6-3 win on Wednesday - on the back of a two-run homer by Arias and RBIs by Hiyama (2) and Hamanaka, with another run coming from a Hiroshima error. And of course there was some nice pitching by starter Yabu, who went 7 1/3 innings before being pulled in the 8th for the closer Valdes with two on and one out. There was a scary moment when Valdes couldn't reach down low enough for a dribbler and allowed the tying run to reach first. But he got out of that jam, forcing the next guy to hit into a DP to end the inning. He then got the final three outs in order for the save.

Not satisfied with his two-run homer last night, George Arias hit another three home runs and a double for eight of Hanshin's ten runs in tonight's drubbing of the Carp at Kurashiki. Arias's effort even gives him a share of the lead in the CL's home run race - he's up there with Yakult's Petagine on eight roundtrippers! Derrick White also went deep, lining a ball into the left field bleachers, and the Tigers again showed why they should be regarded as serious contenders for the pennant - even though it's still April. White drew first blood in the 2nd, but Hiroshima took the lead with three runs off starter Taninaka in the 3rd. Then the Arias tsunami struck. He gave Hanshin the lead in the 4th with a three-run moonshot, doubled in a run in the 6th, got a solo homer in the 8th, and with the Tigers holding a slim 6-4 lead in the 9th, simply blasted the ball for another three runs, giving his team more than enough insurance to relax. And Marc Valdes even picked up another save, having been brought in the previous inning to hose things down as Hiroshima threatened. Kanazawa picked up the win after relieving Taninaka just before Arias got going.

Before tonight's game, George Arias was asked about his low batting average: "I'm not worried about my hitting," he replied. "As long as the Tigers are in first place, I'm OK with that." Well *he* may not be worried, but the opposing pitchers are beside themselves. Tonight Arias hit a grand slam to cap a 9-run 2nd inning against Yakult - and at the same time move ahead of Petagine in the home run race. He now has nine homers to his credit - five of them coming in the last three games! Makoto Imaoka added to his tally too, with his fifth Dr. Longball of the season. And all those runs came in handy, with Hanshin starter Kei Igawa not at his best, giving up 4 runs on 8 hits over 7 innings (OK, it's not that bad, but it's sub-par for Igawa this season ). Anyway, he still picked up his fourth win of the year, and the Tigers move 3.5 games ahead in the CL. They also lead the league in home runs (28), which is a sight for sore eyes. Lack of power has been one of their biggest shortcomings in years past, so it's good to see the energy department taken care of. But there's no power monopoly. Apart from Arias and Imaoka, there's White, Hiyama, Hamanaka, and even Yano getting into the act. A real team effort.

From the Daily Yomiuri--Alex Ramirez and Roberto Petagine combined for seven of Yakult's 17 hits and drove in two runs apiece as the Swallows cooled off hot Hanshin at Koshien Stadium. Ramirez went 4-for-5 and Petagine 3-for-5 as the Swallows snapped the Tigers' three-game winning streak. Yakult starter Satoshi Iriki (1-1) allowed six hits and one run over six innings. Hanshin's George Arias, who was on a tear with five home runs in three games, was held hitless in four at-bats.

From the Daily Yomiuri--Shingo Takatsu nailed down his 200th career save as Yakult won the final two games of its three-game series at Koshien Stadium against the front-running Tigers. Takatsu needs another 29 to equal the Japan record set by Seattle Mariners Kazuhiro Sasaki, when the right-hander pitched for the Yokohama BayStars.

Chunichi starter Mel Bunch allowed just six hits tonight. Problem is, four of them were home runs! Tiger hitters Kataoka (3 for 4) and Arias (2 for 4) hit back-to-back bombs in the 1st inning to put Hanshin in the lead 2-1. And after the Dragons got back into the game with a two-run homer from Tanishige in the 4th, well, no problem - just repeat the effort - with Kataoka (again) and Hiyama (2 for 4) pouncing on Bunch for two more solo homers in the 5th. And that was the end of Mel for the night. Meanwhile, Hanshin starter Ando kept up his end, going seven innings for four hits and three earned runs, with Fukuhara in relief protecting the lead with a shaky but ultimately effective 8th. Hiyama added some insurance in the bottom of the 8th with an RBI single to make it 5-3. And Valdes pitched a perfect 9th to earn his 7th save. The win puts the team two ahead of the Giants, which means the Tigers will finish the month of April in first place! The last time they did that was in 1985 - and we all know what happened that year!

Keiichi Yabu pitched a complete-game shutout tonight at Koshien as the Tigers dealt the Dragons their fifth consecutive loss. Yabu allowed just three hits and one walk while striking out six in this gem of a game, lowering his ERA to a miserly 1.56 and improving to 4-0 on the year. Shinjiro Hiyama drove in three of Hanshin's runs with an RBI single in the 1st and a two-run homer in the 6th, with Osamu Hamanaka adding a solo dinger in the 4th.

Batting and pitching stats

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