A day after being lustily booed by his former team's fans, Hotaka Yamakawa had the last word Saturday, with a pair of grand slams in the Pacific League-leading SoftBank Hawks' 11-2 win over the Seibu Lions.
In his first games as a visitor at Belluna Dome outside Tokyo, Yamakawa was hitless Friday, when his first plate appearance was met with thunderous boos, and every out he made was met with wild applause.
Yamakawa, a three-time PL home run leader, barely played last season after a sexual assault allegation surfaced in May. The slugger was not charged with a crime but was indefinitely suspended by Seibu before filing for free agency and joining the Hawks over the winter.
With SoftBank leading 3-0 in the sixth behind Cuban lefty Livan Moinelo, Yamakawa blasted a slow, fat 2-0 pitch just over the fence in left for his second homer as a Hawk.
He made it 11-0 in the eighth with a rocket launched deep to left center at his former home park.
Moinelo (1-1) worked eight innings in his third impressive start since moving from the Hawks bullpen this spring.
"The Lions have some amazing hitters, and the best thing about today was that I continued to pitch aggressively," Moinelo said.
Among other games Saturday, the three-time defending champion Orix Buffaloes beat the Nippon Ham Fighters 5-1 behind eight innings from lefty Hiroya Miyagi and three RBIs from 2023 batting champion Yuma Tongu.
The Central League-leading Chunichi Dragons stretched their unbeaten run to seven games, including one tie, with a 5-2 win over the Hanshin Tigers.
