Quest for 4? A Softbank Hawks Pennant Race

[franch1se]

ARIHARI DOMINATES AS WHEELS FALL OFF LATE IN HAWKS LOSS







The offensive prowess of the Hawks were completely shut down by a complete game dominating performance by starting pitcher Kohei Arihara. Kodai Senga matched Arihara with 7 1/3 innings allowing only 1 run until the bottom half of the 7th inning where he gave up a lead off single before being pulled for relief pitcher Ohtake. Ohtake pitched marvelously, however had a bit of a bad luck allowing the inherited runner to score to give the Fighters a 2-1 lead. From there, the bullpen of the Hawks could not keep it together giving up 4 runs in the bottom half of the 8th to increase the Fighters lead by 5 putting them up 6-1. The Hawks were able to scrape together a run in the top of the 9th but could not solve Arihara for more runs suffering their 5th loss of the early season and relinquishing their first place lead in the Pacific Division.

[franch1se]

MATT MOORE WAS PERFECT VS NIPPON-HAM



In a pivotal early season contest between two of the top clubs in the NPB, Matt Moore was as good as you can be...in fact...he was PERFECT. Matt Moore of the SoftBank Hawks through the second no-hitter and first perfect game in club history. Not only did he throw a perfect game, but he also struck out 15 Fighters in a completely dominate performance. The Hawks were able to score a single run in both of the first and second innings but were held off the scoreboard the remainder of the game despite rocking the Fighters for 14 hits. With the win, the Hawks move into sole possession of second place in the Pacific Division and a half game out of first behind Rakuten.



The final out and game highlights linked above.

[franch1se]

HAWKS TAKE TWO OF THREE IN NIPPON-HAM IN DOMINATE FASHION



The Hawks received another stellar outing from their pitching staff vs the Nippon-Ham Fighters to win the rubber match up and take 2 out of 3. Although not as perfect as Matt Moores outing, but starting pitcher Rei Takahashi was pretty darn close. Takahashi threw 8 scoreless innings allowing only 2 hits while striking out 17 Fighters. Although Takahashi could have very well have gone out and gotten the complete game, manager Kimiyasu Kudo wanted to get his closer Yuito Mori some work as he has been idle for the past few games to get his 4th save on the year. The game was highly contested in which the Hawks won 2-0 for the second consecutive game. The Hawks first and game winning run came in the 5th inning when newly promoted Seiji Uebayashi doubled into the right center gap scoring Seiichi Uchikawa.

[franch1se]

FUKUOKA SOFTBANK HAWKS APRIL 2020 SCHEDULE

[franch1se]

SERIES PREVIEW: April 7th and 8th vs the Chiba Lotte Marines



Game 1: Takeda (0-1, 14.2 ERA) vs Futake (1-1, 4.30 ERA)
Game 2: Higashihama (1-0, 4.05 ERA) vs Taneichi (0-2, 8.18 ERA)

Key Players For the Marines
CF - Hiromi Oka - .359, 2 HR, 8 RBI
SS - Koki Fukuda - .305, 0 HR, 12 RBI, 4 SB

Foreign Players on the Marines
INF: Brandon Laird
OF: Leonys Martin
P: Chen Kuan-Yu
P: Frank Herrmann
P: Jay Jackson

[franch1se]

BATS AWAKEN IN 5-2 WIN OVER MARINES


The Hawks winning streak extends to four in a row after traveling to Chiba Lotte and defeating the Marines by a score of 5-2. Starting pitcher Shota Takeda went 5 innings giving up 0 runs on 4 hits while striking out 7. The Hawks took a 5-0 lead heading into the bottom of the 9th and seemed to be on a path to an easy victory when the Marines put together a small rally scoring 2 runs off reliever Hiroshi Kaino. The Hawks were led by Yurisbel Gracial who went 3-4 with 3 RBIS and first baseman Seiichi Uchikawa who also went 3-4 with an RBI. Kuki Fukuda led the way for the Marines going 3-4 with a double and RBI. The 9th inning rally led to runners on 2nd and 3rd with 2 outs when closer Yuito Mori came in to pick up his 5th save of the season.

[franch1se]

HAWKS WIN STREAK ENDS VS MARINES IN 4-3 LOSS


In a close contest in Chiba Lotte, the Marines were able to muster up enough offense and pitching to shut down the first place Hawks. The Marines were led by Shogo Nakamura who went 3-4 with 2 RBIs in the victory. The Hawks starting pitcher (Higashihama) only lasted 4 1/3 innings giving up 4 runs on 7 hits while striking out 5 in defeat. The Hawks look to rebound as they travel to Seibu to take on the Lions in a three game weekend set.

[franch1se]

SERIES PREVIEW APRIL 10-12: SEIBU LIONS (4-10-1) VS FUKUOKA SOFTBANK HAWKS (10-6)



Game 1: Zach Neal (1-1, 4.86 ERA) vs Koudi Senga (1-2, 2.86 ERA)
Game 2: Tatsuya Imai (1-2, 2.11 ERA) vs Matt Moore (1-1, 2.25 ERA)
Game 3: Keisuke Honda (0-1, 7.80 ERA) vs Rei Takahashi (2-0, 3.15 ERA)

Key Lions:
Tomoya Mori: .371, 3 HR, 13 RBI
Ernesto Mejia: .308, 1 HR 2 RBI

Injured List:
INF: Corey Spangenberg (LIONS)
INF: Sosuke Genda (LIONS)
P: Nao Higashihama (HAWKS)

Foreign Players Registered:
P: Zach Neal (LA Dodgers)
P: Reed Garrett (Texas Rangers)
P: Sean Nolin (Seattle Mariners)
INF/OF: Corey Spangenberg (Milwaukee Brewers)
INF: Ernesto Mejia (Atlanta Braves)

Roster Move: Starting Pitcher Nao Higashihama is injured and will be replaced on the first team roster by Keisuke Izumi.