The Yomiuri Giants forged a two-run rally out of a walk and a pair of doubles in the eighth inning Sunday at Koshien Stadium to snare a 3-2 win from the Hanshin Tigers and climb into first place in the Central League standings.
The win gave Yomiuri skipper Shigeo Nagashima his 900th managing victory and moved the Giants a half-game in front of the BayStars.
Nagashima (900-785-57 as a manager) is the 10th skipper in Japan Leagues history to notch 900 wins.
Carp bring back Lopez
HIROSHIMA (Kyodo) The Hiroshima Carp have re-signed infielder Luis Lopez, who played for the Central League team in 1996 and 1997, team officials said Monday.
"I'm very happy to be back here in Hiroshima and my goals are to hit over .300 and at least 20 home runs," said Lopez, who signed a one-year deal worth 33 million yen.
Lopez, 35, led the CL in RBIs in both 1996 and 1997 with 109 and 112, respectively, but was dealt to the Daiei Hawks prior to the 1998 season after contract negotiations with Hiroshima fell through.
A native of Brooklyn, N.Y., Lopez has a .309 batting average along with 72 home runs and 289 RBIs over three seasons in Japan.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.