(Story by Marco Stoovelaar)
 Fukuoka Hawks also wins second game Japan Series
Nederlands
 FUKUOKA (Japan) -
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks also won the second game of the 68th Nippon Series on Sunday-evening (October 29).
Playing at home, the Hawks won 4-3 against Yokohama DeNA BayStars.
Fukuoka, the team of Dutch pitcher Rick van den Hurk, had opened the best-of-seven on Saturday with a convincing 10-1 score.
The Series now moves to Yokohama and will continue on Tuesday with Game 3.
Van den Hurk is the possible starter for Game 5 (if needed).
At Fukuoka Yahuoku! Dome, 36,082 spectators saw how Fukuoka opened the score with one run in the bottom of the first inning off of starter Shota Imanaga, who struckout ten hitters in six innings.
Yuki Yanagita led off with a single, moved on a sacrifice bunt by Kenta Imamiya and scored on a single by Alfredo Despaigne.
Yokohama was held scoreless in the first five innings and got into scoring position only twice off of starter Nao Higashihama.
Both times, it was Yoshitomo Tsutsugo, who reached second base.
In the second inning, he led off with a single and advanced with one out when Tatsuhiro Shibata walked.
In the fourth, he doubled with one out, but both times, he stranded on scond base.
Yokohama then rallied for three runs in the top of the sixth to take a 3-1 lead.
With one out, a homerun by Takayuki Kajitani tied the score.
Hereafter, José Lopez singled, then scored with two outs when Toshiro Miyazaki hit a 2-run homerun.
The 3-1 lead was shortlived, as Fukuoka reacted with three runs of its own in the bottom of the seventh inning.
After scoring the opening run in the first inning, Hawks left a runner behind on second base in each of the next three innings.
In the third inning, Nobuhiro Matsuda appeared to hit a homerun, but it was ruled a foul-ball.
A challenge followed, but the call was upheld.
The team was then retired in order in the fifth and sixth at bat.
In the bottom of the seventh, Tomoya Mikami became the new pitcher for Yokohama.
He was greeted with a lead-off double from pinch-hitter Kenji Akashi, who then moved to third base on a sacrifice bunt by pinch-hitter Ryuma Kidokoro.
Herafter, Mikami was relieved by Yoshiki Sunada, who gave up a runscoring single to Yuki Yanagita, which made it a 3-2 score.
Another pitching change followed, as Spencer Patton took over.
The American righthander briefly played in the Major League for Texas Rangers (2014-2015) and Chicago Cubs (2016).
He saw Kenta Imamiya reach on a force play-grounder that ended in an error and might have been an inning-ending double play.
Hereafter, Patton got the bases loaded with when he walked Seiichi Uchikawa after having struckout Alfredo Despaigne.
Next batter Akira Nakamura followed with a 2-run single that made it 4-3 in favor of Fukuoka.
Yanagita scored the tying run, but Imamiya, who scored the fourth run, initially was called out in a very close play at the plate.
Fukuoka's Manager Kimiyasu Kudoh challenged the call.
An out would end the inning with a 3-3 tie, a safe-call would give Fukuoka a 4-3 lead.
A lengthy review of the replays followed.
In Japan, this is done by the umpiring crew itself inside the stadium.
After the umpires returned to the field after several minutes, the call was overturned and with that, Imamiya scored.
Relievers Liván Moinelo Pita and Dennis Sarfate then completed the game for Fukuoka by pitching the eighth and ninth inning, respectively.
21-year old righthanded Cuban Moinelo retired the side.
Earlier this year, he played for Cuba in the World Baseball Classic.
Sarfate walked lead-off hitter Toshiro Miyazaki, whose pinch-runner Taiki Sekine moved on a sacrifice bunt.
But hereafter, Sarfate closed with two strikeouts.
36-year old righthanded American Sarfate pitched briefly in the Major League for Milwaukee Brewers (2006), Houston Astros (2007) and Baltimore Orioles (2008-2009).
He plays in Japan since 2011 and is in his fourth season with Fukuoka, with whom he won the title in 2014 and 2015.
(October 29)
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