Big Brother makes historic decision …

Kanemoto ends ironman streak

The Hanshin Tigers’ Tomoaki Kanemoto, the man they call Big Brother, took responsibility in a big way on Sunday by ending his ironman streak of playing every inning of every game since July 21, 1999.
Kanemoto, hampered since camp by a sore right shoulder, removed himself from the lineup before visiting Hanshin took on the Yokohama BayStars, halting the outfielder’s streak at 1,492 consecutive full games played.
The Tigers won 8-4 as Craig Brazell went 3-for-4 with a homer and four RBIs, and Kanemoto made an appearance as a pinch-hitter in the eighth inning, grounding out to second.
That at-bat stretched his consecutive games played streak to 1,638.
“I told [the skipper] one way for us to win is for me to be taken out of the lineup,” the 42-year-old Kanemoto told reporters after the game. “If I keep playing I’m just going to drag the team down, especially the pitchers.
“The kind of throws I’ve been making….”
Kanemoto is batting .164 with three homers and 12 RBIs in 19 Central League games. He had been trying to get past the shoulder pain, but will rest for the time being.
“I’ve been trying to do all I could by taping it up and going out there, but [even with the support of the tape] it was useless. The manager and head coach asked me to give it a go, and I appreciated that gesture.”

SWALLOWS 3, GIANTS 1
Kyohei Muranaka (2-2) beat Yomiuri for the second time this season, fanning a career-best 12 and carrying a no-hitter into the seventh while holding the CL leaders to three hits over eight innings at Matsuyama.

CARP 4, DRAGONS 2
Masato Akamatsu’s RBI double in the seventh broke a 2-2 tie and helped Hiroshima come from behind a third straight game in a sweep over Chunichi at the Zoom.

PACIFIC LEAGUE

HAWKS 1, EAGLES 0
Nobuhiro Matsuda’s two-out RBI single was the only run off Masahiro Tanaka (2-2) and gave SoftBank a walk-off win over Rakuten at Fukuoka Yahoo! Japan Dome.

BUFFALOES 3, MARINES 2
Hiroshi Kisanuki (2-2) shut down first-place Lotte, allowing a pair of runs on six hits and five walks with 10 punchouts over eight innings, and Greg LaRocca homered and drove in two runs as Orix won at Chiba Marine Stadium.

LIONS 3, FIGHERS 0
Kazuyuki Hoashi (2-2) blanked Nippon Ham on five hits over eight innings as Seibu took the rubber game of their three-game set at Seibu Dome.