September 9th, 2012
Tokyo Swallows 4
Streak: Drew 1 Last 5: WWLLD
(Hard Off Eco Stadium, Niigata)
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | R | H | E |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yomiuri | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 0 |
| Tokyo | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 0 |
The Birds jumped out to an early lead only to squander it two innings later.
Yomiuri | Tokyo |
||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chono (RF) | 1 | Takai (CF) |
| 2 | Yano (LF) | 2 | Tanaka (2B) |
| 3 | Sakamoto (SS) | 3 | Balentien (RF) |
| 4 | Abe (1B) | 4 | Milledge (LF) |
| 5 | Murata (3B) | 5 | Kawabata (SS) |
| 6 | Ohta (CF) | 6 | Miyamoto (3B) |
| 7 | Nakai (2B) | 7 | Takeuchi (1B9 |
| 8 | Kato (C) | 8 | Nakamura (C) |
| 9 | Miyaguni (P) | 9 | Ishikawa (P) |
The first third of this game was a bit of a bore as not much was happening.
The top of the 4th saw Murata hit a towering shot down the 3rd base line that was ruled foul. Murata and all the giants’ supporters were celebrating it like it was a HR but the men in blue would have none of it. After a lenghty discussion (and a bit of a hint at the time-wasting measures later on), Hara eventually was told to sit down and he did. Murata would later ground-out.
Sorry son. That was a foul ball.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Birds cracked the scoreless drought when the young and multi-talented Mr. Kawabata hit a line-drive HR that barely cleared the right-field fence. This was a 3-run shot as Tanaka and Milledge were already on base. 3 – 0 Tokyo
The Talented Mr. Kawabata hits a 3-run jack to take an early lead.
As great as this lead was, it would be short-lived. The giants would tie the game two innings later. The giants would load the bases with 2 singles and a walk. Waste of an uniform Takahashi would then double to clear the bases and tie the game. 3 – 3
The giants would take the lead one inning later when Chono would hit the third single of the inning scoring Nakai. 4 – 3 Yomiuri
The Birds didn’t fly away quietly, though. They rebounded and tied the game in the bottom of the eigth. Kawamoto lead off the inning with a single. Hiyane came in to pitch-run. He stole second and advanced to third when Tanaka bunted down the first base line. The bespectacled Hara then brought in his infield with Coco at the plate. He promptly hit a single right up the middle to tie the game. 4 – 4
Coco ties the game at 4-4.
After a scoreless ninth, Hara decided to implement some lovely time wasting measures in the 10th, particularly when the Birds were batting. This lead to the game finishing past the 3 hour and 30 minutes deadline and the game concluded in a draw.
Yes! I am awesome. I waste time and we tie. Thank you. Thank you.
Notes:
- Ishikawa’s line: 5 2/3 IP, 88 pitches, 4 H, 2 SO, 2 BB, 3 ER
- Miyaguni’s line: 5 IP, 71 pitches, 4 H, 1 HR, 4 SO, 2 BB, 3 ER
- Ogawa has just agreed to a one-year extension
- Monday is an off-day for the Birds
- Starting on Tuesday, the Birds will be facing off against Hanshin for three days
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