Rookie Japanese catcher Kenji Jojima hit his first home run of the spring and went 3-for-5 with two RBIs Saturday as a Seattle Mariners split squad outslugged the Arizona Diamondbacks 12-11 in an exhibition game.
Kenji Jojima of the Seattle Mariners connects for a solo homer in the eighth inning of a preseason game against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Jojima led off a six-run eighth inning with a shot over the left-center wall, the first homer by a Japanese player this spring, after delivering an RBI single to center in the fourth. He added a double down the left-field line in the ninth.
"I made good contact with the pitch and had a good swing," Jojima said of his homer, which came off a fastball from Brandon Lyon.
But the former Softbank Hawks star was not satisfied with his performance behind the plate.
"I feel responsible for that many runs allowed. We could have avoided giving up some of the runs," he said.
At Port St. Lucie, Fla., New York Mets second baseman Kazuo Matsui went 1-for-4 with an RBI double and a walk in a 10-6 win over the Florida Marlins, while making his second throwing error in as many games.
"I was able to hit a changeup nicely. It was a good hit," Matsui said of his double to left-center in the fifth inning.
At Tampa, Fla., Hideki Matsui was 0-for-2 with two walks as the New York Yankees beat an Atlanta Braves split squad 7-3. Matsui, who batted cleanup as the designated hitter, was held hitless for the third straight game.
St. Louis Cardinals outfielder So Taguchi came on as a pinch-runner and went 0-for-2 in a 5-0 win over the Baltimore Orioles in Jupiter, Florida.