September 1st, 2010
Tokyo Yakult Swallows 3
Yomiuri Giants 3
Streak: Drew 1 Last 5: WLLWD
(Tomiyama)
After finishing out a very respectable August with an 18-8 record, by far the best W-L tally in the Central League, the birds began September with a draw.
Lineup:
1. Aoki CF
2. Tanaka 2B
3. Iihara RF
4. Whitesell 1B
5. Hatakeyama LF
6. Aikawa C
7. Miyamoto 3B
8. Kawabata SS
9. Ishikawa P
Ishikawa gave up three hits and one run in the first to make things interesting. 1-0 Yomiuri.
He allowed just one more runner in the three following innings, but Yomiuri got to him again in the fifth when another three hits resulted in two runs.
This was just after Tokyo had tied things up in the fourth care of a Whitesell single and an Aikawa RBI double to left. 3-1 Yomiuri.
But the Swallows slowly clawed their way back into the game. A one out Hatakeyama double in the sixth was followed by a two out Miyamoto double to cut the deficit to one. 3-2 Yomiuri.
It was then Miyamoto’s bat that tied the game for good in the eighth when his single past Sakamoto at short scored Fukuchi who was pinch-running for Hatakeyama. 3-3 Final.
The birds were far more dangerous than Yomiuri from the 9th through the 12th inning–six baserunners to the Giants’ one–but no more runs were scored.
Ishikawa put in six innings of eight hit, three run baseball. His ERA blipped slightly to 3.83 while his record held fast at 10-8.
Ogawa used a total of six relievers in this game–two of them faced only one batter each. Oshimoto (3.38 ERA) pitched the seventh, and Watanabe (3.86) threw a grand total of two pitches in his effort to get rid of Ogasawara. He was successful (fly ball to right) and was awarded with a seat on the bench.
Matsuoka (2.51) finished out the eighth and also pitched a scoreless ninth. Lim (1.43) then entered the game in the 10th and pitched not one but two perfect innings.
Lee (24.00), making his first appearance in eons, was then called into a high pressure situation with the draw on the line and responded by striking out the two batters he faced.
Not wanting to allow Lee to ruin a good thing, Ogawa opted to sit him down in favor of Matsui (3.91) to face pinch hitter, Tani, with two outs on the board. The move proved effective as Matsui struck out Yomiuri’s last man to safeguard the draw.
Offensively, both Aikawa and Miyamoto had 3-6 evenings at the plate. Aoki also chipped in with a pair of hits and a walk.
The birds now have the day off before heading to Yokohama tomorrow to begin a three-game series against the worst team in NPB.
Random thoughts:
Tanaka is second in the league with 36 Tak-bunts. Number 36 came in the first inning and was unsuccessful in eventuating a run for Tokyo. Number 37 nearly came in the ninth as he wasted the majority of his at-bat in a bunting stance before eventually grounding out to second (however, he was able to move the runner over).
Tanaka’s real Tak-bunt stance and his fake Tak-bunt stance (ie. he’s actually planning to swing) look nothing alike. The infielders didn’t move in at all on the fake version.
The second best August record in the Central went to Chunichi (14-12).
The Swallows are now five games behind third place Chunichi.
About Christopher Pellegrini
