Seibu Lions outfielder Takahiko "G.G." Sato hit a grand slam and drove in five runs to stand out in a 38-hit preseason slugfest against the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles on Monday.
Fukuoka Softbank Hawks hurler Nagisa Arakaki pitches against the Tokyo Yakult Swallows during a preseason game at Tokyo's Jingu Stadium.
Sato connected off Rakuten right-hander Yasuhiro Ichiba for his fourth homer of the spring and the former minor leaguer with the Philadelphia Phillies organization added an RBI single on a 3-for-5 afternoon. Rakuten outhit Seibu 21-17 and outscored 18-12 in the wild affair at Seibu Invoice Dome.
Teppei Tsuchiya, one of Rakuten's seven multi-hit players, had four hits with three RBIs and Jose Fernandez hit a solo homer. Seibu right-hander Mitsutaka Goto allowed nine runs in three innings.
Marines 6, Buffaloes 4
Matt Franco and Kazuya Fukuura hit RBI singles in a five-run third inning for Lotte and former major leaguer Satoru Komiyama limited the damage to two runs in four shaky innings, giving up nine hits. Orix right-hander Kazuo Yamaguchi was charged with five runs in 2-1/3 innings as the Buffaloes lost their sixth straight game.
Swallows 2, Hawks 2 (9)
Fukuoka Softbank right-hander Nagisa Arakaki struck out eight in five innings and held Tokyo Yakult to two runs -- on a two-run homer by rookie Shinichi Takeuchi. Softbank rookie Nobuhiro Matsuda also hit a two-run shot at Jingu Stadium.
Fighters 2, BayStars 1
Nippon Ham right-hander Shintaro Ejiri held Yokohama to one run and three hits in seven innings. Makoto Kaneko and Shinji Takahashi homered off Yokohama right-hander Ken Kadokura at Sapporo Dome.