Shrinkage dot com.

• The team reported that it would likely use the US$2.5 million dollars if received from the Milwaukee Brewers to help improve the farm team facilities. It was not reported whether all or part of the posting fee would be put towards stadium improvements. There is also a rumor flying around that Hatakeyama has requested a larger supply of pudding for between-inning consumption.
• The farm team’s stadium in Toda is apparently being sized up for a number of improvements covering everything from the field to the fence to the seats to the toilets.
• Second baseman Hiroyasu Tanaka is reportedly taking ballet lessons.
• RHP Hitoshi Yamamoto spent eight minutes standing under a waterfall of near-freezing water while “meditating.” The water was so cold that he apparently started making odd 2012 proclamations such as “I plan to record double-digit victories.” If he fulfills any of those crazy pledges this year, then Tsubamegun will see to it that he spends twice as much time under the waterfall next year. At any rate, Ogawa was impressed and invited him to first team spring training in Okinawa.
• Lastings Milledge‘s tenure in Japan got off to a slow start when he missed his flight out of Tampa. He arrived in Japan on the 26th, a day later than originally planned. The Japanese press was all over it. They wasted little time in coming to the conclusion that Milledge will be nothing but trouble. The team, for its part, responded calmly and said that it wasn’t too worried at this point in time.
• Masanori Ishikawa appears to be the lone Tokyo Swallow on the Samurai Japan team that will take on the Chinese National team in an earthquake relief charity event on March 10th. Yoshinori had originally been recruited to pitch, but the Swallows wisely rejected the offer seeing as how he’s still recovering from a shoulder injury.

Tokyo Swallows 4

Yokohama BayStars 3

Streak: Won 1   Last 5: WWLLW

(Yokohama Stadium)

After watching its young pitchers get knocked about the park for the past two days, Tokyo looked to salvage a bit of pride against the recently very feisty BayStars.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	F	H	E
Tokyo	0	0	0	1	1	2	0	0	0	4	12	1
Yokohama	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	1	3	10	0
W: Hidaka (2-0) L: Takasaki (5-14) S: Lim (30)

	Tokyo		Yokohama
1	Aoki CF	1	Shimozono LF
2	Fukuchi LF	2	Watanabe SS
3	Kawabata SS	3	Tsutsugoh 1B
4	Hatakeyama 1B	4	Murata 3B
5	Balentien RF	5	Naito RF
6	Miyamoto 3B	6	Matsumoto CF
7	Tanaka 2B	7	Fujita 2B
8	Aikawa C	8	Hosoyamada C
9	Yamamoto P	9	Takasaki P

Tokyo opened the scoring on a solo Hatakeyama effort into the very top of the bleachers in left in the top of the fourth. His 23rd homer of the year made it 1-0 Tokyo.

But Yokohama answered in the bottom of the inning in the form of a Murata bomb into the visitor’s section. 1-1.

Straight pudding.

Then it was Tokyo’s turn. Aikawa’s second single in as many at-bats was followed by a Yamamoto sac bunt and an Aoki RBI double to put the Swallows back in front. 2-1 Tokyo.

But the home side replied once again. Watanabe’s two out infield single was later rewarded with an Aikawa throwing error when Watanabe was in the process of swiping second. Tsutsugoh then lofted one high off the wall in left for a double and the satisfaction of again leveling the score. 2-2.

Tokyo up again in the top of the sixth. After two outs from Hatakeyama and Balentien, Miyamoto, Tanaka and Aikawa showered left field with a double, a single and another double to plate two more runs and put the Swallows back in the lead. 4-2 Tokyo.

Yokohama didn’t answer for a while, but things got hairy in the bottom of the ninth with Lim on the mound trying to protecting the two run lead. After getting the first out on a pop fly to short, pinch-hitter, Aranami, fouled off most of what he saw and finally poked a grounder through the gap between short and third.

That was promptly followed by a soft Ide grounder to short that was a little too slow to be picked up and turned into an out. Shimozono then hit a fielder’s choice to short that very nearly became a game-ending 6-4-3 double play, but the throw to first didn’t make it in time, and the result was runners on the corners with two outs. Very unlucky for Lim, and bad news for Tokyo.

Watanabe then came to the plate representing the winning run. The 3-1 pitch is when he finally came through for the home team with a tricky one-hopper to Kawabata’s left. He got a glove on it, but couldn’t keep it in front of him, and Aranami scored from third. 3-2 Tokyo.

Runners on first and second, and Tsutsugoh at the plate. Tsutsugoh, who had already doubled twice off the wall in left, took a heavy swipe at the first high fastball he saw, and he  swung again at the next heater which was low and away. Both were fouled off behind him to temporarily put Lim in the driver’s seat.

But it wasn’t until Tsutsugoh had worked the count to 2-2 that Lim finally got a batter to swing at something in the dirt. This time it was a forkball, and the win was preserved. 3-2 Final.

Yamamoto (1-6; 3.96 ERA) didn’t figure in the final scoreline after throwing 90 pitches through four and two-thirds innings. He gave up two earned runs off of five hits and mixed in two strikeouts, four walks and a single wild pitch.

Instead, Hidaka got the win for his third of an inning and six pitches of work. It was his second win of the season, and his ERA budged slightly to 7.04.

Oshimoto (2.83 ERA) just barely held things together in the sixth before pitching a much more confident seventh, and Matsuoka (2.56) came through with a 1-2-3 inning in the eighth.

Lim recorded his 30th save of the 2011 season, and the one earned run pushed his ERA up to 2.25 through 59 appearances.

Tanaka, who was batting seventh for the first time in a long time, was selected as the hero of the game for his three hits and one RBI (the go-ahead run in the sixth). Aikawa had a similar day at the plate going 3-4 with an RBI of his own. Aoki and Kawabata also had multi-hit games with the former adding an RBI in the top of the fifth.

Tokyo have the day off tomorrow and will take on the Hanshin Tigers at Koshien from Tuesday to Thursday. They’ll be back at Jingu on Friday through Sunday for a three game series against the fifth place Hiroshima Carp.

Notes:

Thankfully the Swallows didn’t face pitching of the caliber that they saw on Friday. Yokohama’s Miura was his old self during that game. In this afternoon’s game, however, Tokyo faced friendlier pitching and outhit Yokohama 12-10.

Hatakeyama leads the league in RBIs (82) and walks (69).

Lim has reached the 30 save mark for the third time since joining Tokyo for the 2008 season.

Tanaka can be a good hitter when he doesn't have to bunt all the time.

]]> http://tokyoswallows.com/2011/10/02/10211-yokohama-away/feed/ 0 http://tokyoswallows.com/2011/09/06/9611-yokohama-away/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=9611-yokohama-away http://tokyoswallows.com/2011/09/06/9611-yokohama-away/#comments Tue, 06 Sep 2011 13:18:40 +0000 David Watkins http://tokyoswallows.com/?p=10432 September 6th, 2011

Tokyo Yakult Swallows 8

Yokohama BayStars 3

Streak: Won 1  Last 5: WWWLW

(Yokohama Stadium)

If Tokyo have any pretensions of taking the Central League title this year, then they need to win a majority of their six games with Yokohama in September. And tonight they made a pretty good start on the road to that aim. Oh, and did I mention I F@*!KING LOVE THE YOKOHAMA BAYSTARS!!!???

Us:

1. Aoki (CF)
   

   Masubuchi

2. Tanaka (2B)
3. Kawabata (3B)
4. Hatakeyama (1B)
5. Takeuchi (LF)
6. Miyamoto (3B)
7. Balentien (RF)
8. Aikawa (C)
9. Masubuchi (P)

After Masubuchi and Baystars’ starter pitched two hitless innings apiece to get the game underway, Tokyo did what would turn out to be the majority of their damage in the 3rd. Balentien got things started with a six pitch walk before Aikawa singled to right to put two men on. Masubuchi put down a superb bunt to move both runners into scoring positions and also bring up out number one.

Next up was Aoki who hit up the middle, just out of reach of the glove of the diving Ishikawa, which brought home Balentien for 1-0 and put men on the corners for Tanaka. Given a rare non-bunting outing, he chipped one up the middle to score Aikawa for 2-0. With men now on first and second, Kawabata hit a double up the third base foul line which scored Aoki from second, 3-0, and left men on second and third.

Kawabata does damage in the 3rd

Up stepped Hatakeyama, and he proceeded to hit a sharp drive to second, which was stopped by a diving Fujita, but the ball got away from him. Tanaka scored easily from third, while Kawabata just beat the throw home and was called safe after a collision with the catcher for a healthy 5-0 Tokyo lead.

That was all for starter Takasaki as Yokohama turned to their bullpen, never a bad situation to be in. And so it proved as the Swallows added two in the 5th. Aoki led off the inning getting on via an error from first baseman Tsutsugoh. Tanaka was back on bunt-monkey duty as he moved Aoki along for out number one. Kawabata then hit to centre to bring home Aoki and it was 6-0. After Hatakeyama drew a walk Takeuchi hit up the middle which brought home Kawabata for 7-0.

After a pretty decent performance through five innings, giving up just three hits (one in each of the 3rd, 4th and 5th),  Masubuchi got into a pickle in the 6th. Shimozono was issued a four-pitch walk to get things started in ominous fashion before an Ishikawa single prompted a supremely careless error in the field from Aoki to put two men in scoring positions with no outs for Yokohama. Three singles and three runs followed for the Baystars as they narrowed the scores to 7-3. 

Oshimoto was then called in with two outs and men on the corners to try to put out the fire Masubuchi had got burning. And he did that with the strikeout of pinch hitter Harper to get out of the inning without too much damage having been inflicted.

Tokyo added their final run in the 9th (Aoki reached base on an infield single, and was brought home later by a Hatakeyama sacfly) to make it 8-3.

Meanwhile the Swallows bullpen, now minus an injured Tony Barnette (fractured right wrist), did their job as Oshimoto (3.02), Matsuoka (3.20), and Lim (2.46) worked a hitless inning each (the last two innings took just 17 pitches) to close out the game for a 8-3 Tokyo Final.

Masubuchi got the win (5.2IP/7H/3K/2BB/3R/2ER) for his decent turn as he also benefited from the run support that a meeting with Yokohama often generates. His record is now at 7-7/4.78.

Balentien’s normal service against the Baystars wasn’t resumed as he was hitless with a walk in his three plate appearances, before being replaced by Ihara in the second half of the game.

Tokyo outhit the opposition 8-7 with Aoki (.285) and Kawabata (.274) slapping two hits each, while Hatakeyama was the RBI king with three to Kawabata’s two.

The two teams will return to do it again tomorrow evening. With the Giants also winning in Nagoya, the lead at the top remains at 3 games, with Hanshin a further game behind that after their win at home to Hiroshima. Let’s hope that Chunichi, and particularly Hiroshima, can do us some favours over the next two evenings.

Yokohama BayStars 10

Tokyo Yakult Swallows 10

Streak: Tied 1 Last 5: LWLWT

(Jingu Stadium)

Tokyo is certainly in the entertainment business. I was prepared to ponder Kawabata’s batting third and to make up for my discounting of Shichijo’s previous outing, which was solid. Instead, I find myself thinking more of rallies  and records.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	F	H	E
HC	8	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	10	14	0
TS	0	0	0	4	4	2	0	0	0	10	12	1

	Hiroshima		Tokyo
1	Shimazono (RF)	1	Aoki (CF)
2	Ishikawa (SS)	2	Tanaka (2B)
3	Sledge (LF)	3	Kawabata (SS)
4	Murata (3B)	4	Hatakeyama (LF)
5	Harper (1B)	5	Whitesell (1B)
6	Kinjoh (CF)	6	Miyamoto (3B)
7	Fujita (2B)	7	Balentien (RF)
8	Kurobane (C)	8	Aikawa (C)
9	Suda (P)	9	Shichijo (P)

Yuuki, we want to forget it, too.

The top of the first started out OK, Shimazono popped out. Then things got a little worse: Ishikawa got a hit but Aoki fumbled the ball to let an undeserving Ishikawa to advance and Shichijo walked Sledge. After that, Shichijo struck out Murata on a check swing, but it took him twelve pitches to do it.

The things got a lot worse. Shichijo gave up seven straight hits, the sixth of which was a three-run homer by Shimozono. At that point, Shichijo had thrown 53 pitches to 11 batters, giving up eight hits and as many runs. Watanabe took over to give up two more consecutive hits before finally ending the inning. 8-0 Yokohama.

Watanabe gave up another run in the fourth, an inning he started by hitting his namesake (in at second base), by giving up a hit to Sledge, then a grounder to Murata, which drove in Watanabe. 9-0 Yokohama.

Stop your cussing, though. These aren’t the Takada-era Birds.

After a Kawabata strike-out, Hatakeyama and Whitesell walked, Miyamoto hit an RBI single, and Balentien hit a three-run homer to right. 9-4 Yokohama.

In the top of the fifth, One took the mound for Tokyo. Fujita walked and Shimazono drove him in. 10-4 Yokohama.

Not for long, though. Tanaka singled, Kawabata doubled, Hatake walked: Bases loaded. Whitesell struck out on three pitches, but no worries: Morioka, in at third base, doubled everyone home. 10-8 Yokohama.

Matsuoka took over pitching duties in the sixth and put the BayStars down 1-2-3, bringing up Kawamoto (in at catcher), who hit; Aoki, who hit; Tanaka, who sac-bunted both runners over; and Kawabata, who hit a two-RBI double, tying the game, where it would remain. 10-10.

That makes 13 ties this season – already in the top few seasons ever.

Kyuko relieved Matsuoka and Barnette pitched the ninth, redeeming himself with a K and three straight outs.

Yokohama again tomorrow.

Tanaka 2010 vs. Tanaka 2011: One thing that has caught my eye this year has been the regression of Hiroyasu’s batting. While Tanaka’s still very much a very good hitter, he’s not drawing walks anymore. Tanaka had a breakthrough season on offense last year in which he drew a team leading 67 walks, while limiting his strikeouts to only 48. So far this season, Tanaka has already struck out 41 times while drawing only 28 walks. His OBP (.322) is about 60 points lower than last year’s number. The OBP dip is not unique to Tanaka, in fact with the offensive dip attributed to the new ball every Swallows regular save for Miyamoto has seen their OBP drop from last year’s number. The high OBP duo of Aoki and Tanaka setting the table for the power hitters in the 3-4 spots is not quite as effective as it was last year. I think the health of Tanaka’s bat will play a key role in the success of our offense, I hope Hiroyasu show’s signs of adjustments to the new ball and how pitchers have changed their approach.

How Do You Solve a Problem Like Coco? Also of concern for Swallows’ fans is Balentien’s continued slump. Is it really a slump if you’ve been struggling for over 2 months? While Coco does occasionally pop a long ball, he still hasn’t been able to show he can hit consistently. He’s certainly failing the Tsubamegun eyeball test as he looks like he’s going to the batter’s box without a plan. That being said, Balentien did get 2 homeruns during the Tigers’ series and will be facing the BayStars next. If he can’t get some momentum going after that, I’m not sure if we’ll be able to count on any improvement.

Bullpen Shuffle: After being overused to the tune of 41 appearances in 85 games Chang-yong Lim was removed from the active roster on Saturday. Lim was taken off the active roster citing lower back/hip pains which have not been observed medically, so his expected return is up in the air. Tony Barnette has been named the interim closer, but he has also been fighting fatigue/ineffectiveness issues lately. Having already appeared in 39 games, despite missing about 2 weeks due to bereavement leave, Barnette has given up runs in his last 3 appearances. With the summer heat and the Swallows’ offense keeping games close our core relievers are getting in a position where fatigue can set in easily. While our top flight starters have been effective, without run support many games have been put in the hands of the bullpen to preserve or even to just keep hope alive. Something has got to give or else we won’t have a healthy bullpen come October.

Roster Moves: With Lim being sent down, Chikara Onodera was called up in his spot. Ryo Kawashima was called up to start Sunday’s game and was send right back down today. No word on who will be called up in the spot vacated by Kawashima, but expect it to be another arm.

Quo Vadimus

Our Opponents: This week the Swallows will host the BayStars at Jingu before going to the Dome to face the Giants. The BayStars have been their usual selves, and if our offense don’t capitalize against their weak pitchers we might have reason to panic. The Giants on the other hand have started to heat up since the beginning of August going 9-3 and getting back to .500. This Dome series will be the second-to-last series against the Giants this season, so a strong showing will be key to keep the Giants at bay.

Tokyo Swallows 8

Hanshin Tigers 2

Streak: Won 1    Last 5:LWLLW

(Jingu)

After the last few dismal performance, the Swallows finally figure out the Tigers.

We pick up the action in the second inning. After two quick outs, Uemoto came up to bat for the bumblebees. He was waiting for his pitch and he got it on the the third try from Yoshinori. Uemoto smacked the 1-1 pitch into the left field bleachers giving the bumblebees supporters something to yell about. 1-0 Hanshin

Fuji ended the inning by grounding out to Tanaka.

Unfortunately for the bumblebees and their fans, their joy was short-lived. In the bottom of the second, all of the past few weeks frustration came out. Tokyo sent 12 men to the plate. That’s right 12 batters in one inning!

Here is how it went down. After a Whitesell strikeout, Miyamoto got an infield single. Balentien grounded out but Miyamoto moved to second. Aikawa knocks a double to score Miyamoto and tie the game. 1-1

Thinking things are over? Well the bumblebees did. However, things kept on rolling. Up next was the fearless pitcher, Yoshinori. What does this crazy man do? Bunts for a hit. Ha! He was standing on first talking smack to Brazell. The hefty ginger probably wanted to b##ch-slap him.

So now Tokyo has runners on the corners and the top of the order coming up. Aoki does an excellent job of working the count and eventually gets a walk. That means the bases are loaded for Mr. Tanaka. Fortunately for Swallows fans, he is given the green light and smashes a ball to center scoring Aikawa and Yoshinori. 3-1 Tokyo

Green light! I got the green light!

Kawabata followed that with another single and the bases are loaded for “Boo”. “Boo” gives the bumblebees more pain by hitting a single to right, scoring Aoki and Tanaka. 5-1 Tokyo

Finally, Mayumi had seen enough from Messenger. He brings in Kojima to face Whitesell. Kojima promptly proceeds to walk him. Like the last day of your vacation, this good time came to an end. Miyamoto flies out to center to end the inning.

Tokyo gets on the board again in the 4th inning when “Boo” hits a 2-run HR. 7-1 Tokyo

"And you will know I am the lord when I lay my vengeance upon you."

Keeping things rolling, Tokyo scores their final run in the 5th inning. With the bases loaded after a few hits and an error by the hefty ginger, Aoki came to the dish. He hits a little blooper to right scoring Miyamoto.  8-1 Tokyo

Tanaka and Kawabata both flew out to end the inning.

The bumblebees would get one run back in the 8th. Toritani hit a double that scored Hirano from first.  8-2 Tokyo

That was the final. The Birds did pretty well against Messenger. They also played good defense and did not make too many mental mistakes tonight. Loyal followers are still wondering can the Birds do enough to win the pennant. Whitesell and “Coco” are still having some problems at the plate. But hopefully they can get a few knocks out there tomorrow and get back in the groove.

Yeah, you should try standing on your feet and not your head.

The rubber match is tomorrow night. It will be Iwata for Hanshin and Kawashima for Tokyo.

Scoring Summary

			YS	HT
	2nd	Uemoto solo shot	0	1
	2nd	Aikawa doubles, scores Miyamoto.	1	1
	2nd	Tanaka singles, Aikawa and Yoshinori score	3	1
	2nd	Hatakeyama singles, scores Aoki and Tanaka	5	1
	4th	Hatakeyama hits a 2-run HR	7	1
	5th	Aoki singles, Miyamoto scores	8	1
	8th	Toritani doubles, scores Hirano	8	2

Tokyo Swallows 2

Hanshin Tigers 5

Streak: Lost 4   Last 5: DLLLL

(Kyocera Dome)

The Birds try to salvage at least one win against the 2nd place Tigers, before riding the shinkansen south to Hiroshima.

Tokyo:

1.  Kawashima  (SS)
2.  Aoki (CF)
3.  Hatakeyama (LF)
4.  Whitesell (1B)
5.  Takeuchi (RF)
6.  Kawabata (3B)
7.  Tanaka  (2B)
8.  Aikawa (C)
9.  Masubuchi (P)

Hanshin:

1.  Hirano (CF)
2.  Uemoto (2B)
3.  Toritani (SS)
4.  Arai (3B)
5.  Brazell (1B)
6.  Kanemoto (LF)
7.  Shibata (RF)
8.  Fuji (C)
9.  Tsuru (P)

Tonight was the last of three games in the “Cell” dome; Hanshin’s home away from Koshien. As the 93rd high school tournament gets in to full swing at Koshien, the Swallows need to figure out the unnatural lighting in the Kyocera dome. After losing the last 2 nights, Ogawa looked to shake things up with the order.

After a quiet first inning for both sides, the top of the second looked promising for the Birds. Takeuchi started things of with a walk. Tanaka, wait, I mean Kawabata bunted him over to second. And then Tanaka was up. He proceeded to hit a nice double to left scoring Takeuchi.  1-0 Tokyo

Aikawa then struck out for the second out of the inning. Up next was Schnoochi-boochi Masubuchi (see Kevin Smith). Looking like anything but a pitcher, Masubuchi hits a shot passed the short-stop scoring Tanaka from second.  2-0 Tokyo

The inning kept going as Kawashima singled to right and Aoki walked to load the bases. “Boo” came to the plate. “Boo” might have been the fans #1 choice for the All-star game, but I can assure you he was not hearing any support at this moment. After taking a few cuts and working the count to 2-2, “Boo” went down on strikes. The bumblebees were happy. Let’s take a moment for them to write some more sh#t on their shirts and pants. (cue elevator music) ….

Ok, were back.

The excitement picked up in the bottom of the third. Murton (skinny ginger) came in as a pitch-hitter. He promptly grounded out. Then Snoochi-boochi wished he was probably somewhere else. He gave up back-to-back singles to Hirano and Uemoto. Walked Toritani to load the bases. Sweating a little bit more, up walks Arai. Of course, Snoochi-boochi strikes him out. Now 2 outs and up walks Brazell (hefty ginger). Hefty ginger hits a timely double to center knocking in everyone. 3-2 Hanshin.

Up next was Kanemoto. He hits a shot to right. Brazell thinking he is skinny ginger, tries to score from second. Well, I think we all know what happens. He was tagged out at home and ends that threat.

Tokyo gave Hanshin a nice scare in the top half of the 5th. With one out, Aoki reached base on an error by Toritani. “Boo” hits a shot to right and Aoki, thinking he is superhuman, tries to score from first. Like the hefty ginger before him, he is eventually forced out. “Boo” moves to second on the throw. In his weekly beaning moment (no joke), Whitesell takes first. Normally this would signal my man “Coco” walking up to the plate. However, he ain’t playing tonight. So up comes Takeuchi. What happens? He’s called out on strikes. btw, that wasn’t really a scare was it?

In their half of the 5th, Hanshin decided it was time to give the bird to the Birds. After Toritani walked, Arai made the bleacher bums in left extremely happy by knocking a shot their way. 5-2 Hanshin.

In my notes, I wrote game over. Although 4 more innings of baseball would be played, the game was over. The final was 5-2 to the bumblebees of Kyocera.

Hey Kobayashi, we got a new Hot dog champion here.

Well, this ends a disappointing week for the birds. They won once, drew another and lost 4.

They travel down to Hiroshima for a 3-game set before heading back to Jingu to face these same bumblebees.

As I have nicknamed them, the Hanshin bees begin their 3-week voyage around Japan and away from Koshien looking for some honey. We will be playing them one week into this voyage. Hopefully our bats will wake-up and our pitchers will throw like its April/May again. Let’s hope a week of living out of a suitcase hinders the bees and helps the Birds.

Notes:

• Swallows and Tigers both have 41 wins. However, Tokyo has 12 ties to only 2 for Hanshin.
• Tokyo now only has a 5 game lead on the bumblebees.
• 30,163 attendees for this match
• No idea who will be pitching against Hiroshima on Tuesday

Tokyo Yakult Swallows 1

Chunichi Dragons 2

Streak: Lost 1   Last 5: DDWDL

(Nagoya Dome)

Tateyama pitched eight solid innings of two run baseball, but the Swallows bats couldn’t get anything of substance going against Chunichi starter Soto or the Dragons’ bullpen as they fell in the final game of the series.

Us:

Tateyama put in a good shift, but to no avail.

1. Aoki (CF)
2. Tanaka (2B)
3. Kawabata (SS)
4. Hatakeyama (LF)
5. Whitesell (1B)
6. Miyamoto (3B)
7. Balentien (RF)
8. Aikawa (C)
9. Tateyama (P)

After that both pitchers kept things quiet offence-wise until Chunichi took the lead in the bottom of the 4th. Guzman got his second hit of the evening,  a one out double up the rightfield foul line, to get things moving. Morino then flew out to centre for out number two before Wada worked a walk to put two men on. Chunichi podger Nakata then proceeded to hit a single to left that scored Guzman from second for 1-0 Chunichi. With men on first and second once more, Donoue grounded out on the first pitch he faced to let Tateyama out of the inning with the deficit at just the one run.

And that Chunichi lead was wiped out in the top of the 5th, Balentien getting the inning off to a good start with an infield single. Then, after showing the positive side of his game with the bat during this series, chubster Nakata then showed the negative side (ie anything that involves movement of his body via his legs) as he couldn’t control an Aikawa grounder to first and was awarded an error as the Swallows found themselves with men on first and second with no outs.

The ever reliable Tateyama then layed down a sacbunt to put two men in scoring position with one out. Aoki then hit a grounder up the third base line and Morino, possibly thinking it may roll foul, let the ball run. But it stayed fair and the Swallows had the tying run on the board, 1-1.

With men on the corners Tanaka could only fly out to shallow centre for out number two, with Aikawa remaining a third. Kawabata then struck out and what would turn out to be Tokyo’s best chance of the game was squandered.

Soto kept things well under control through to the end of his seven innings of work, despite the Venezuelan’s rather annoying habit of punching the air after what seemed like each and every out.

Tateyama meanwhile, would end up giving up the key run in the 6th. A leadoff single for Fujii was followed up by Guzman’s third hit and second double of the game to put men on second and third with no outs. A Morino groundout to second was good enough to make it 2-1 Chunichi, and Tateyama then did well to keep the Dragons’ lead at just the one as he struck out Wada and got Nakata to ground out to end the inning.

Tateyama wouldn’t allow another hit through to the end of his eight innings of work, finishing the game with a 8IP/103P/6H/5K/1BB/2ER line. He would ultimately end up with the loss to put his record at 8-2/1.69. It was his first loss in twelve starts.

After Soto’s seven innings Asao came in for the 8th, and despite letting a man reach second with two outs on the board, Whitesell could only strike out to leave the runner there.

Then it was the turn of Chunichi closer Iwase in the 9th, and he allowed a two-out single to Aikawa, but then got Ihara to ground out to short and that was that, 2-1 Chunichi Final.

Tokyo outhit Chunichi 8-6, Aoki (.310) with the only multi-hit game care of his three infield singles.

Tokyo Yakult Swallows 1

Chunichi Dragons 0

Streak: Won 1   Last 5: LWDDW

(Nagoya Dome)

Ishikawa managed to keep the Dragons off the board for 8 innings while Lim just about managed to hold it together in the 9th to give Masanori his first win since June. And unlike last week’s fiasco, this time the defence behind him was watertight.

Us:

Ishikawa

1. Aoki (CF)
2. Tanaka (2B)
3. Kawabata (SS)
4. Hatakeyama (LF)
5. Whitesell (1B)
6. Miyamoto (3B)
7. Balentien (RF)
8. Aikawa (C)
9. Ishikawa (P)

After Ishikawa kept things under control in the 4th and 5th, Chunichi crafted a chance to get back into the game in the 6th inning. Singles for Morino and the impossibly-fat-for-a-professional-sportsman Nakata put men on the corners with one out. But Ishikawa struck out Donoue and the pinch-hitting Koike to escape the jam with the lead intact.

In both the 7th and 9th innings, Tokyo got a man to second with two-outs on the board, and both times Aoki was the next man due at the plate, and each time he was issued with a free pass to first. Unfortunately for the Swallows, Dragons’ manager Ochiai’s decision was vindicated both times as next man up Tanaka couldn’t get on base either time as the runners were stranded. But to be frank, given Aoki’s current form it was probably an overly cautious move on each occasion.

And so to the 9th and to Lim, who was taking the mound for the first time since blowing a save last Saturday, which downgraded a hard fought win into a defeat-like draw. And Tokyo fans’ collective hearts sank when Tanishige hit the first pitch of the inning  straight back up the middle to occupy first. Tanishige was replaced with pinch runner Koyama, and our hearts then proceeded further southwards as Lim messed up a pick-off throw to first, allowing the runner to advance to second, still with no outs for the inning.

He then struck out pinch-hitter Nomoto after an eight pitch battle, before Hirata hit a grounder up the middle which was very well fielded by Kawabata for out number two. With the runner now at third, Ishikawa’s win was looking in quite a bit of jeopardy, but Araki helped out by hitting the first pitch he saw and Hatakeyama caught the resulting flyball in foul territory for a 1-0 Tokyo Final.

Ishikawa got his first win since 6/25 (he didn’t get any reward for three of his decent starts in July) for his 8IP/117P/6H/6K/5BB/0ER performance, and his record moves into positive territory at 6-5/2.73.

Lim made his 21st save of the year and his ERA is now at 2.39. Pitching coach Araki said prior to today that they would be looking to monitor, and if necessary limit, Lim’s workload over the summer months. Tonight was Lim’s 39th appearance of the season. He could do with a week or so rest in the opinion of we here at Tsubamegun, and to be honest, I was half expecting the seemingly bulletproof  Tony Barnette (0.77 ERA!) to take the mound for the 9th tonight.

Tokyo were outhit 7-4, with Balentien (.264) getting half of Tokyo’s total and the other two hits coming from Tanaka (.264) and Miyamoto (.299).

Tokyo return to the Nagoya Dome tomorrow evening for game two of the series.

Job done

Yomiuri Giants 6

Tokyo Swallows 6

Streak: Tied 2  Last 5: WLWDD

(Meiji Jingu Stadium)

Tokyo got off on the wrong foot to start this contest, the third and final of a crowded weekend series at home against the team’s arch rivals from across town. Actually, to be fair, it was mostly Masubuchi that got off on the wrong foot. The rest of the team was forced pick up the pieces after a disastrous first two frames that saw the Swallows lurch to a five run deficit.

Gomiuri:

1. Sakamoto (SS)

The play at home plate that caused the prolonged uproar in the stands.

2. Fujimura (2B)
3. Ramirez (LF)
4. Chono (CF)
5. Takahashi (RF)
6. Abe (C)
7. Fields (3B)
8. Ogasawara (1B)
9. Ono (P)

Tokyo:

1. Aoki (CF)
2. Tanaka (2B)
3. Kawabata (SS)
4. Hatakeyama (LF)
5. Whitesell (1B)
6. Miyamoto (3B)
7. Balentien (RF)
8. Aikawa (C)
9. Masubuchi (P)

Masubuchi (5-5; 5.09 ERA) didn’t get the loss, but that’s only because his teammates stepped up and dragged themselves back into the game. He gave up five hits and as many earned runs in two innings of work (40 pitches, one strikeout, one HBP). He was pulled in favor of a pinch hitter (Takeuchi) with two outs and two on in the bottom of the second.

Don’t be too surprised if Masubuchi does a stint on the farm team soon. Personally, I wouldn’t mind seeing him resume his position in the bullpen. His performance from the pen last season (57 appearances; 2.69 ERA) earned him a 250% raise in salary this season. Obviously, something that was working before is a little off-kilter these days.

Balentien’s sac fly in the fourth with two on was the first dent that Tokyo was able to put in Yomiuri’s five run lead, but the gap was resumed in the top of the next inning when Ramirez hit a sac fly of his own off of Tokyo’s second reliever of the night, Matsuoka. 6-1 Gomiuri.

The bottom of the fifth started promisingly for the yogurt penguins with Aoki and Tanaka hitting back-to-back singles, but things soured slightly when Kawabata flew out to center and Hatakeyama struck out. Whitesell added a little bit of hope with by drawing a walk which gave Miyamoto a shot at some heroism in a bases-loaded situation and two outs on the board.

Miyamoto singled to center which easily scored Aoki, but Tanaka was out at home plate to end the inning. While Abe deserves credit for a good block, there was some controversy surrounding the call and the right field stands did not react positively. 6-2.

With stadium DJ Patrick attempting to talk up the night’s major sponsor, energy drink Ripobitan D, and simultaneously direct the crowd’s attention to the ensuing fireworks display, the good people of Jingu let out a solid din of sustained indignation that made everything coming over the PA system indecipherable. After a brief pause in the booing brought on by the relatively much louder fireworks, the onslaught continued promptly after the echoes from the last bang subsided.

The right field stands never returned to normal after that.

And the team responded as well. In the bottom of the sixth, Balentien drew a lead-off walk which was followed by a pair of outs and then Aoki’s second hit of the game. Tanaka drew a walk to load the bases, and Kawabata poked a single into center to plate Balentien and Aoki to make things interesting. 6-4 Orange Folks.

 After going down in order in the seventh, Tokyo rallied some more in the eighth. Aikawa and Kawashima started things off with back-to-back singles, and the former trotted home on Aoki’s single to center. 6-5.

Kawabata then brought home the tying run with a grounder to short on which the Giants tried to turn two but were late with the throw to first. 6-6 Final.

It was somewhat disappointing that the birds weren’t able to pull this one out in the bottom of the ninth, but the second half of this game was filled with net positives.

Especially after last night’s draw (yes, this was the second tie ballgame in as many evenings) in which the Giants had their way with Tokyo’s faltering closer, Chang-yong Lim, this one felt very nearly like a victory. The team came back from a five run deficit, and the crowd was more raucous than usual in willing the players back to a position where they might actually be able to win.

Barnette was another bright spot for the birds by shutting down Yomiuri’s attempt to turn the tables in the top of the ninth. He capped his 14 pitch effort off by fanning former Tokyo slugger, Ramirez, to preserve the immense comeback that his teammates had put together.

Every starter (except Masubuchi) had at least one hit tonight. Tanaka, Kawabata (3 RBIs) and Aikawa all had a pair of singles, and Aoki (1 RBI) had three base knocks.

So no matter how indignant I was after the first third of this game, I returned home feeling quite satisfied with this draw. If this game had been allowed to go another inning or two, I’m confident that the team would have gotten the better of Yomiuri and their depleted bullpen.

Now it’s time for a month of high temperatures and several very difficult series. The birds will play the second place Hanshin Tigers no less than nine times in August, and the big question will be whether or not the Tokyo bats can liven up a bit and give our best relievers a bit of a break.

Lim leads the team with 38 appearances, and Barnette (35), Oshimoto (32) and Kyuko (29) are not far behind. The worrying thing is that the birds will be on a steady diet of six game weeks until mid-September. That’s 36 games over the next 42 days. Building leads greater than four runs a couple times a week will go a long way towards keeping the bullpen fresh for a late September/October push for home-field advantage during the playoffs.

Tokyo’s next series starts on Tuesday in Nagoya against the third place Chunichi Dragons. All games in August, save for August 21st at Tokyo Dome, start at 6 PM. The game on the 21st at the stain dome kicks off at 2 PM.