An in-depth look at the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, Jingu Stadium, the Central League, and Japanese Pro Baseball
July 14th, 2010 Chunichi Dragons 1 Tokyo Yakult Swallows 2 Streak: Won 4 Last 5: LWWWW (Nagoya Dome) A quality seven innings from Kyohei Muranaka laid the foundations for what initially looked like would be a straightforward win in Nagoya. Only an almighty wobble from closer Lim in the bottom of the 9th threatened [...]
July 3rd, 2010 Chunichi Dragons 2 Tokyo Yakult Swallows 4 Streak: Won 5 Last 5: WWWWW (Akita Komachi Stadium) The Swallows looked to extend their winning streak to 5 games in game 1 of a home away from home series in Akita. Hometown boy Ishikawa (2-8) took the mound for the Birds, and the [...]
How We Got There The Swallows came into June fresh off the Takada firing, and were only 4 games into the Ogawa regime. The Birds were looking to build on the 1-2-1 record they had compiled under Ogawa, by exacting revenge on the Pacific League teams that had swept them in May. How We Did [...]
Ever since the Swallows signed Josh Whitesell to a contract, I have been contemplating the various roster adjustments the Swallows could make in order to maximize the talent available to the team. With various news sources reporting that Whitesell will make his Swallows debut on the 25th against Hanshin, I’d like to share some of [...]
June 20th, 2010 Tokyo Yakult Swallows 4 Hiroshima Toyo Carp 2 Streak: Won 1 Last 5: WWLLW (Mazda Stadium) Tokyo rallied late against the Hiroshima bullpen as they came from behind to win against the Carp. Aoki (CF) Tanaka (2B) Takeuchi (RF) D’Antona (1B) Ihara (LF) Aikawa (C) Miyamoto (3B) Fujimoto (SS) Yoshinori (P) [...]
June 13th, 2010 Tokyo Yakult Swallows 3 Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles 1 Streak: Won 4 Last 5: LWWWW (Kleenex Stadium Miyagi) Hats off to the birds for the current winning streak which ties their season-best of four games. And may I remind you that the last two wins came against Iwakuma and Tanaka, two [...]
June 12th, 2010 Tokyo Yakult Swallows 4 Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles 1 Streak: Won 3 Last 5: WLWWW (Kleenex Stadium Miyagi) The Swallows now have themselves a three-game winning streak–a feat that first took place back in March after an opening day defeat. That first three-game run was extended to four, but that fourth [...]
June 9th, 2010 Tokyo Yakult Swallows 6 Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters 1 Streak: Won 1 Last 5: WLWLW (Sapporo Dome) Tokyo won the first of their four meetings in a week with their PL 6th-placed equivalents as they continued their affinity to alternate their wins and losses. Tokyo’s starting lineup was notable for Guiel being switched to [...]
June 5th, 2010 Saitama Seibu Lions 6 Tokyo Yakult Swallows 5 Streak: Lost 1 Last 5: LWLWL (Meiji Jingu Stadium) Tokyo put up quite a fight, but in the end didn’t quite have enough to earn their first series win since the beginning of April. Aoki (CF) Tanaka (2B) Guiel (RF) D’Antona (1B) Takeuchi [...]
June 1st, 2010 Tokyo Yakult Swallows 1 Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks 6 Streak: Lost 1 Last 5: DWLWL (Yahoo Dome) With the DH rule in effect, you’d be forgiven for believing that the sacrifice bunt would be a bit scarcer than normal. But then you’d have revealed yourself as being a supporter of a baseball [...]
