Game 2: Japan vs. Netherlands
The second game of the RAXUS Samurai Japan Series in the Kyocera Dome Osaka was attended by 21,747 spectators.
But the only action they saw came from the Japanese team.
Six pitchers came very close to a Perfect Game and No-Hitter, as they allowed only one Orange-batter to reach base, which was on an infield-hit in the eighth inning.
The game remained scoreless for four innings, but the Netherlands-offense had no chance off of the strong Japanese pitching and solid defense.
In these four at bats, all Orange-batters were retired in order.
Japan got five baserunners and left three of them in scoring-position.
Samurai Japan, which was the visiting team, then broke open the game with a decisive 7-run rally in the fifth inning off of three pitchers.
Japan-starter Atsuki Taneichi and his successor Ryosuke Otsu both threw two innings and both retired all six batters they faced.
Five of them struckout.
Orange-starter Shairon Martis walked lead-off hitter Ryo Ohta, who moved into scoring-position on an one-out grounder and advanced to third base on a wild pitch.
Martis closed with a strikeout and Ohta stranded on third base.
In the second inning, Lars Huijer took the mound for the Netherlands.
He also walked the first batter he faced, Yusuke Ohyama, but he didn't get beyond first base.
Japan got its next runner in scoring-position in the third at bat off of Juan Carlos Sulbaran.
He began with a strikeout, but then gave up a single to Ryo Ohta and issued a 2-out walk to Shun Mizutani.
But they also were left behind.
Sulbaran also pitched the fourth inning.
He then walked a batter with one out, who was awarded second base on a balk, but then was left behind.
Japan then struck in the top of the fifth with a 7-run rally on only three basehits (including a homerun), four walks, an error an two wild pitches.
Koen Postelmans began the inning as fourth pitcher for the Netherlands and gave up two quick runs.
Postelmans walked lead-off hitter Keito Mori, who stole second base and advanced to third base on a grounder.
Moments later, Mori scored when a fly into rightfield by Teruaki Sato ended in an error by rightfielder Ray-Patrick Didder.
As Mori would have scored anyway, Sato, who ended up on third base, was credited with a sacrifice fly and run batted in.
Two pitches later, Sato scored on a triple by Shun Mizutani.
A pitching change followed and Aaron de Groot took over for Postelmans.
Coincidentally, he was the fourth pitcher in this game (so far) who plays for reigning Dutch champion Curaçao Neptunus.
The lone exception was Huijer, who plays for HCAW.
De Groot was greeted with a sacrifice fly to Chusei Mannami (which scored Mizutani), then gave up a homerun to Yusuke Ohyama, which made it a 4-0 score.
And the productive Japanese at bat wasn't over yet.
De Groot walked Koki Kajiwara (who stole second base) and Ryuta Hirose, then gave up a runscoring single to Yukinori Kishida.
Next, De Groot got the bases loaded when he als walked Keito Mori.
Another pitching change followed, as Franklin Van Gurp was inserted.
His first two deliveries to Ryo Ohta were wild pitches, which enabled two runners to score and increase the lead to 7-0.
Ohta flied out on the next pitch, but Japan had decided the game with this long rally.
Five of the seven runs were earned (one of the three for Postelmans, all four for De Groot), but due to the error, only one was team-earned and six runs were team-unearned!
Van Gurp also threw the sixth and seventh inning.
In the sixth, with one out, he issued a walk, but then was supported with a double play.
In the seventh, Van Gurp got two baserunners.
With two outs, Ryuta Hirose reached on a fielding error by second baseman Dayson Croes, then Yudai Yamamoto singled.
A flyout ended the at bat.
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...Dwayne Kemp (left) and Dayson Croes accounted for the...
...lone Orange-basehits in the Samurai Japan Series...
...Kemp in Game 1, Croes today in Game 2...
(© Both Photos: Org. Samurai Japan Series) |
With a 7-0 lead, Yukiya Saito took over the Japanese pitching in the bottom of the fifth inning.
He also retired the side, as did Ryusei Kawano in the sixth and Kazuki Sugiyama in the seventh.
In the top of the eighth inning, Scott Prins became the seventh Orange-pitcher in this game.
The righthander pitched for Amsterdam Pirates in the first month of last season, but then made his professonal debut for Ottawa Titans in a Canadian/American Independent League.
Prins gave up two runs with two outs.
He gave up a lead-off single to Ryo Ohta, then an one-out single to pinch-hitter Akito Takabe.
The first was forced out at third base on a grounder by Seiya Hosokawa.
But with two outs, Prins gave up runscoring singles to Takashi Umino and Koki Kajiwara, which lifted the lead to 9-0.
In the bottom of the eighth, Ryuhei Sotani became the sixth pitcher for Samurai Japan and he retired the first two batters via a grounder and strikeout.
Sotani then faced Dayson Croes, who played in his eighth official international game since making his debut during the Kingdom Series in November last year on Aruba.
Croes hit a grounder towards third base and beat out the throw to first base to reach on an infield-hit.
And so, after 24 batters had been retired in order, the Netherlands finally had a baserunner.
With his infield-hit, Croes broke up both the Perfect Game and No-Hitter.
Croes stranded on first base, as pinch-hitter Rushenten Tomsjansen grounded out.
Croes remained the lone Orange-baserunner.
In the top of the ninth, Scott Prins returned to the mound and retired the first two batters.
With two outs, he was relieved by Ryan Huntington.
The lefthander was the fifth pitcher from Neptunus to throw in this game and became the only one to appear in both games.
Huntington got an inning-ending flyout.
With that, this was the lone at bat in which Japan was unable to reach base.
Ryuhei Sotani also pitched the bottom of the ninth and retired the side.
He first saw Junior Martina hit a grounder.
Hereafter, Sotani struckout Yurdion Martie, who made his international debut.
Martie, who was the Orange-catcher today, made his Netherlands Team-debut in February 2023 in an exhibition-game during a training-camp in Arizona (USA) preceeding the World Baseball Classic, which was lone game so far.
For this trip, he returned in the team and today, he played in his first official international game.
Hereafter, the inning and the game ended when pinch-hitter Delano Selassa flied out.
Playing for the Netherlands in this game were:
Ray-Patrick Didder (RF, 0-for-3, 2 strikeouts), Delano Selassa (PH, 0-for-1), Didi Gregorius (SS, 0-for-2, strikeout), Stijn van der Meer (SS, 0-for-1), Juremi Profar (DH, 0-for-3), Eugene Helder (1B, 0-for-2, strikeout), Shervyen Newton (1B, 0-for-1), Dwayne Kemp (LF, 0-for-2), Donovan Antonia (LF, 0-for-1, strikeout), Dayson Croes (2B, 1-for-3, strikeout), Jiandido Tromp (CF, 0-for-2, strikeout), Rushenten Tomsjansen (PH/CF, 0-for-1), Junior Martina (3B, 0-for-3), Yudion Martie (C, 0-for-3, 2 strikeouts) and pitchers Shairon Martis, Lars Huijer, Juan Carlos Sulbaran, Koen Postelmans, Aaron de Groot, Franklin Van Gurp, Scott Prins and Ryan Huntington.
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Netherlands Team also scoreless and only one hit in Game 2 vs. Japan
OSAKA (Japan) -
The Netherlands Baseball Team again was shutout and again managed to record only one basehit on Thursday (March 6) in the second and last game of the RAXUS Samurai Japan Series against the Samurai Japan Team in Osaka.
In the lopsided game, Japan won 9-0.
In the first game on Wednesday, the Netherlands Kingdom Team also recorded only one basehit in a 5-0 shutout-loss.
Umpires: HP-, 1B-, 2B-, 3B-.
Game 2 - RAXUS Samurai Japan Series 2025.