An in-depth look at the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, Jingu Stadium, the Central League, and Japanese Pro Baseball
June 1st, 2011 Tokyo Yakult Swallows 3 Chiba Lotte Marines 2 Streak: Won 2 Last 5: WLLWW (QVC Marine Field) Looking to pull themselves out of the Interleague cellar, the Birds took the field in the Great Cylinder (a.k.a. QVC Marine Field). Can the return of Aikawa do the trick? For Tokyo: P Yamamoto 1. [...]
Welcome to the Monday Review, in which we’ll look back at the week that was and look ahead to the week that will be. We hope a recurring weekly review column will help readers identify some trends that can’t be covered in a single game report. We’re still trying to work out the format, so [...]
Welcome to the Monday Review, in which we’ll look back at the week that was and look ahead to the week that will be. We hope a recurring weekly review column will help readers identify some trends that can’t be covered in a single game report. We’re still trying to work out the format, so [...]
April 29th, 2011 Tokyo Yakult Swallows 1 Hanshin Tigers 4 Streak: Lost 1 Last 5: WWWWL (Koshien Stadium) Tokyo’s magnificent run of good form finally came to an end as they ran into a very effective starter in Kubo. This game saw some interesting switches within the lineup as Miyamoto and Aikawa both had [...]
April 22nd, 2011 Tokyo Yakult Swallows 5 Hiroshima Toyo Carp 0 Streak: Won 5 Last 5: WWWWW (Mazda Zoom Zooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooom Stadium) Whisper it. Things are going well. Very well indeed. Aoki (CF) Tanaka (2B) Yuichi (LF) Hatakeyama (1B) Balentien (RF) Miyamato (3B) Kawabata (SS) Kawamoto (C) Yamamoto (P) Most of this one this [...]
August 28th, 2010 Hanshin Tigers 12 Tokyo Yakult Swallows 5 Streak: Lost 2 Last 5: LLWLL (Meiji Jingu Stadium) The Swallows’ insistence on going with a 6-man rotation costs the team dearly… The Birds’ lineup was the usual, except the starting pitcher. Aoki CF Tanaka 2B Iihara RF Whitesell 1B Hatakeyama LF Aikawa C Miyamoto [...]
October 11th, 2009 Chunichi Dragons 3 Tokyo Yakult Swallows 4 Streak: Won 5 Last 5: WWWWW (Jingu Stadium) With the Swallows clinching 3rd and a Climax Series place on Friday, this preview matchup between the two teams that will be contesting the first round of the post-season was meant to be a nice quiet game, [...]
