An in-depth look at the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, Jingu Stadium, the Central League, and Japanese Pro Baseball
May 20th, 2009 Tokyo Yakult Swallows 0 Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles 2 Streak: Lost 1 Last 5: WWWWL (Kleenex Miyagi Stadium) This was always going to be a tough one. A day after facing Darrell Rasner and getting their 6th win on the trot, today saw Yakult try their hand against a different proposition [...]
May 19th, 2009 Tokyo Yakult Swallows 7 Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles 3 Streak: Won 6 Last 5: WWWWW (Kleenex Miyagi Stadium) Today’s opening round of the 2009 Interleague schedule saw all six games held in Pacific League ballparks, with Tokyo making the trip to Sendai to face the Rakuten Eagles. This match-up saw the two [...]
May 17th, 2009 Hanshin Tigers 1 Tokyo Yakult Swallows 2 Streak: Won 5 Last 5: WWWWW (Jingu Stadium) Another long outing from a Tokyo starter, this time Ryo Kawashima, along with a 7th inning timely Hiroyasu Tanaka hit gave Yakult their first five game winning streak of the season, and put them in a [...]
May 16th, 2009 Hanshin Tigers 1 Tokyo Yakult Swallows 4 Streak: Won 4 Last 5: LWWWW (Jingu Stadium) Eight innings of four-hit one-run baseball from Shohei Tateyama combined with two 6th inning homeruns gave the Swallows an invaluable win against the Hanshin Tigers. The Swallows started the game on a three game winning streak, [...]
May 15th, 2009 Hanshin Tigers 1 Tokyo Yakult Swallows 2 Streak: Won 3 Last 5: WLWWW (Jingu Stadium) A promising first outing from newcomer Yuki on the mound combined with a lights-out performance from the bullpen gave Tokyo the platform they needed to come away with a tight victory against the Tigers.
Former Orix pitcher Yuki Tanaka, who was registered to the top team from a developmental player contract on May 11th, looks likely to see some Central League action sooner than expected. The 29 year old Tanaka, who has been registered as ???/Yuki , was a number five draft pick by the then Kintetsu Buffaloes in [...]
May 13th, 2009 Tokyo Yakult Swallows 7 Chunichi Dragons 1 Streak: Won 1 Last 5: WLWLW (Nagoya Dome) There were standout performances aplenty as Yakult eased to a comprehensive victory over the Dragons in Nagoya Dome. Ishikawa started and had another fine outing, giving up just one run, and that courtesy of a 6th [...]
May 12th, 2009 Tokyo Yakult Swallows 3 Chunichi Dragons 6 Streak: Lost 1 Last 5: WWLWL (Nagaragawa Stadium) A pretty horrible three innings from starter Ichiba gave Tokyo a mountain to climb early on, and though they did their best to fight back they came up short on a rainy evening in Gifu. Yakult [...]
Swallows’ outfielder and franchise man Norichika Aoki could be on his way to a rather dubious NPB record. He was struck on the hand by a pitch in the fifth inning of Sunday’s game against the Hiroshima Carp, a league leading 7th time he’s been hit by a pitch this year. If he continues to [...]
