Baseball: Asamura records 2,000th career hit in Rakuten's win
Hideto Asamura collected his 2,000th career hit in the Rakuten Eagles' 2-1 win over the Nippon Ham Fighters on Saturday, making him the 56th player in Japanese baseball to reach that plateau.
His 2,000th came in a two-run first inning when the 34-year-old first baseman drove in the opening run of the game with a single to right at Rakuten Mobile Park Miyagi.
Asamura added a base hit in the second inning and finished the game 2-for-4.
"When I began my professional career, I never thought I'd reach 2,000 hits," said Asamura, who joined the Eagles in 2019 as a free agent from the Seibu Lions.
"I'll continue to take it one hit at a time and do my best to win the championship."
Kosei Shoji (1-0) tossed six innings of one-run ball. Sachiya Yamasaki (2-2) took the loss.
In other action, Shinya Hasegawa hit two of Seibu's four home runs to back an eight-inning gem by Tatsuya Imai (5-1) as the Lions beat the Lotte Marines 6-1.
Related coverage:
Baseball: Orix's Wakatsuki hits walk-off double on NPB's Opening Day
Baseball: Rakuten rookies visit 2011 tsunami-hit town
Baseball: Former Yankees ace Masahiro Tanaka vows to break out of struggles
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