Van den Hurk debuts with Softbank Hawks

Today, RIck van den Hurk had his much anticipated debut with the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks.With Rick on the mound, the Hakws snapped a two-game losing streak. Vs. the Hiroshima Toyo Carp, RIck lasted six full innings in which he gave up two runs (one earned). One of the runs that he allowed was a solo shot by Kosuke Tanaka.

By the time he left the game the Hawks were leading 7-2 aldready. In those six innings, Van den Hurk struck out six and allowed six hits. he didn’t walk a batter.

Despite his impressive numbers in the NPB minors, the Hawks preferred four other foreigners on their roster; among  them Edison,Barrios,Jason Standrigde and Dennis Sarfate.

To make it possible to let Van den Hurk pitch, they took Jason Standridge from the active roster. Also Ryo Hijirisawa was removed from the roster on Saturday. But since the latter is a Japanese player it won’t affect the status of Van den Hurk.

The NPB will have a four day rest now before the teams will take on playing again. The next series of the Hawks will be vs the Nippon Ham Fighers, the current leader of the standings in the Central League with a .611 winning percentage. The Hawks are in second place with a .595 winning percentage.

Here is a summary of the game.