Tokyo Swallows 4

Chunichi Dragons 7

Series: Chunichi 2-1 Tokyo

(Nagoya Dome)

Chunichi was definitely the better team today, but they should never forget that they had the flu and a little bit of Takada on their side. Either way, the season came to an end for the Swallows while the Dragons now inherit the unenviable task of overcoming a one game disadvantage in a best-of-seven series at Tokyo Dome versus Yomiuri.

Recognize these guys (other than Yoneno and Yoshinori)? This is what the flu can do to your roster.

That and Nakata pitched pretty damned well.

Tokyo’s lineup:

1. Fukuchi (LF)
2. Tanaka (2B)
3. Miyamoto (SS)
4. Aoki (CF)
5. D’Antona (1B)
6. Guiel (RF)
7. Hatakeyama (3B)
8. Aikawa (C)
9. Yoshinori (P)

Chunichi’s lineup:

1. Ibata (SS)
2. Araki (2B)
3. Morino (3B)
4. Blanco (1B)
5. Wada (LF)
6. Nomoto (RF)
7. Fujii (CF)
8. Tanishige (C)
9. Nakata (P)

1st inning:

Tokyo got off to a decent start despite the odds. Miyamoto’s two out double was followed by an Aoki double to put the birds ahead 1-0.

Chunichi put two runners on against Tokyo’s third-choice-starter, Yoshinori, in the bottom of the first. However, Wada grounded out to Tanaka to end the threat.

2nd inning:

Tokyo sat down in order, but Chunichi were able to work consecutive one out walks (Fujii and

Aoki plated Miyamoto in the first inning.

3^rd inning:

Yoshinori started off with a karaburi (swinging) strikeout, and Aoki grounded out to first.

With two outs, Tanaka grounded out to third to bring the Dragons to the plate.

Araki batted first for Dragons.

After finally working a full count, Araki sliced one past the pitcher into center field. Excellent at-bat to be fair.

Morino followed with a pop fly to center, and Araki was caught stealing during Blanco’s second at-bat of the game. Blanco singled to right after the runner was removed, and Wada came to the plate with two outs and a runner on first.

Wada, as he’s done several times in this short series, came through with a big hit. An opposite field home run put the home team ahead 2-1.

Nomoto continued the two out rally with a single through the gap between third and short. And Araki (Tokyo’s pitching coach) finally came out of the dugout to have a chat with his young, control-challenged starter.

Fujii then punched a double down the left field line that put Nomoto on third.

Yoshinori intentionally walked Tanishige to get to the pitcher, Nakata.

With the bases loaded and two outs, Nakata struck out swinging.

4^th inning:

Miyamoto got behind in the count really quickly while flashing the bunt twice and eventually grounded out for the first out of the inning.

Aoki also went down  2-0 in a hurry (no feigned bunts involved), and ended up grounding out to short.

D’Antona for his part, did very well to lay off the outside sliders late in the at-bat and drew a two out walk.

Guiel struck out on a forkball to strand D’Antona on first.

Ibata was the first hitter for Chunichi and he struck out looking at a pitch on the outside of the plate. Araki struck swinging, and for a moment it looked as though Yoshinori had relocated the strike zone. Morino singled and represented a brief hiccup in Yoshinori’s inning as next man up, Blanco, struck out swinging at a healthy diet of outside sliders.

5^th inning:

Hatakeyama led off with a single to right, and Aikawa immediately started flashing the bunt. The bunt was successful, and Yoshinori was pulled in favor of Yuichi (doesn’t exactly inspire sentiments of hope, does it?).

Yuichi looked at a first strike, and then wasn’t able to pull the trigger on a second called strike. Yuichi swiped needlessly at the next pitch, a forkball in the dirt to illuminate a second red lamp on the board.

Fukuchi started his at-bat by swinging at, and missing, the first pitch. He held off on the second Nakata offering which was a fair bit wide, and he got burned pretty badly trying to catch up with the third pitch. To his credit, however, Fukuchi displayed a bit of patience and worked the count full. And he reached first on a walk.

With men on first and second, and two outs, Tanaka came to the plate. The first pitch was a ball, and Nakata missed wide with the next pitch as well. A called first strike and a foul ball later, the count was 2-2. Tanaka eventually came through with a single to right, but third base coach, Dobashi, decided to send Hatakeyama home and the big man was thrown out to end the inning.

The bottom of this inning started very, very badly. With Matsui on the mound for the birds, Wada and Nomoto led off with back-to-back singles.

Hatakeyama left to ponder what might have been (if he hadn't been waved home).

One of the scarier guys in the Chunichi lineup then came to the plate. Fujii has been hitting doubles like a madman in this series, and a double at this particular juncture of the game would be curtains for the Swallows’ chances.

Fujii worked the count full, but he fouled the 2-3 pitch off in an area that Hatakeyama could get to for the first out. Tanishige’s turn.

Tanishige singled into right field to score Wada from third, and that’s when things got slightly out of control. 3-1 Chunichi.

The hook came way too late. Matsui was left in long enough to record only one out but gave up four hits and three runs in the process. Oops.

Yoshikawa inherited a man on second with one out and quickly got behind 1-3. Ibata eventually drew a walk to put Chunichi’s seventh potential run on first base. But Araki and Morino succumbed to a pitcher they haven’t seen a whole lot in the last couple of years, and both runners were stranded.

6^th inning:

Miyamoto led things off for the Swallows who were now down by four runs. He took the first three pitches for balls before Chunichi’s first reliever, Kawahara, threw two called strikes. Miyamoto ended up grounding out to second for the first out.

Aoki tried a safety bunt on the first pitch, but it went foul for strike one. After all was said and done, Aoki drew a walk.

D’Antona grounded out but moved Aoki over in the process.

Guiel struck out swining to send the Swallows into the field.

Blanco singled to start things off for Chunichi. Wada then lucked out and his lunging rip at Yoshikaw’s outside pitch ended up in left field. Yoshikawa was, however, able to get Nomoto, Fujii, and Tanishige out to end the threat.

7th inning:

Hatakeyama, Aikawa, and Onizaki went down in order to make things even more desperate for the visitors while Inoue’s leadoff double was wasted by Ibata’s sacrifice bunt and the two quick outs that followed.

8th inning:

Fukuchi finally got his first hit of the series to start things off in the eighth. This one was an infield single to short. Tanaka followed with his second hit of the evening, a single to right. Miyamoto grounded out to first for the first out, but Aoki came through with his second rbi of the game on a single to right which plated Fukuchi. 5-2 Chunichi.

And Tanaka scored on D’Antona’s single to right to make it 5-3 Dragons.

Guiel drew a one out walk, but then Takada got creative and put Shida in the game to bat for Oshimoto.

Bad idea.

Double play.

Great.

Chunichi eighth:

Blanco drew a lead-off walk with Igarashi now on the mound, and he scored on Hirata’s one out triple. 6-3 Dragons.

Hirata quickly crossed home plate on Fujii’s second double of the game. 7-3 blue koala bears.

That was the end of the scoring for the home team though as Tanishige and Hidenori weren’t able to get anything else done (not like it mattered).

9th inning:

After Aikawa and Onizaki provided the first two outs of the inning, Fukuchi, Tanaka, and Miyamoto came up with back-to-back-to-back singles. Fukuchi scored on Tanaka’s single to make it 7-4.

And with two outs Aoki came to the plate. He represented the tying run, but Iwase was on the mound at this point, and the man that carried the team during the final third of the season (and through the playoffs) went down swinging to end the game.

7-4 Final.

Observations:

• The birds were lucky to keep the difference as small as it was. Yoshinori had only one short stretch where he could put the ball where Aikawa was calling for it (the fourth inning–Yoshinori’s last).
• Yoshinori lasted four innings and gave up two earned runs off of seven hits. He struck out five and (typically) walked four.
• Yoshinori burned through 96 pitches in his four innings of work.
• Matsui was terrible in relief, and he was left in the game a wee bit too long.
• Yoshikawa was shaky but didn’t allow any runs to score in 1 1/3 innings.
• Oshimoto was fine.
• Tanaka batted .462 in this series. And he is injured.
• The front half of Tokyo’s lineup had at least two hits each in this game. Fukuchi had two singles (finally!) while Miyamoto and Aoki had a single and a double each (Aoki also added a walk). Tanaka had three singles.
• D’Antona and Hatakeyama also had one hit each.
• The birds were outhit 16-11.
• Ochiai used five relievers to get through the last four innings.
• His starter, Nakata, pitched a good game.
• Dobashi (the third base coach) is an idiot for waving Fludge home on Tanaka’s hit in the fifth. What makes you think a guy of that size can outrun a throw from shallow right when he started his run from second base? Dobashi hasn’t made a bad call like that since the first half of the season…

And so that’s it for the Swallows’ season. They put up a good fight, but there was ultimately nothing they could do without a solid starter on the mound and half of the battery decimated by the flu.

Fukuchi and Hatakeyama weren’t very good at the plate in this series (they didn’t get a hit until today), but several other guys stepped up (I’m actually very surprised that Takada favorite, Yoshimoto, didn’t get a start in this series given Hatakeyama’s ‘Fludge’-like tendencies).

Tanaka, Aoki, D’Antona, and Guiel, on the other hand, put in several quality at-bats, and the first three in that short list batted .300 or better in this series. Guiel added several walks which was basically a continuation of his season-long ability to get on base.

I’ll withhold adding to the ‘Takada Count’ again as I don’t know how well the players on the bench were feeling. Given the circumstances, the birds put up a decent fight in this series, but a lot more will be required next season to give ourselves another shot at going to the Japan Series.

Hanshin Tigers 1

Tokyo Yakult Swallows 7

Streak: Won 6    Last 5:  WWWWW

(Jingu Stadium)

Tokyo starter, Takagi, had another solid outing as Tokyo won a very important contest versus the Hanshin Tigers.

Takagi wasn’t able to clock another complete game for the birds, but he did make it through some tough moments and gave up only one run off of five hits. Despite the three walks and one HBP he issued, which were very effective at keeping things interesting, he did ultimately have a very solid start.

Tokyo’s lineup:

1. Fukuchi (LF)
2. Tanaka (2B)
3. Miyamoto (3B)
4. Aoki (CF)
5. Yuichi (1B)
6. Guiel (RF)
7. Onizaki (SS)
8. Aikawa (C)
9. Takagi (P)

The Tigers stranded at least one runner in each of the first four innings. The most disappointing inning was the fourth when Takagi was able to find his way out of a one out, bases loaded jam.

For their part, the birds were busy stranding runners left, right, and center as well. The most annoying situation was a one out, bases loaded bonanza that kicked off when Takagi singled with an out on the board. Fukuchi’s hard grounder toward second was ruled an error, and Tanaka eked out an infield single to give Miyamoto a fair shot at a post-game hero interview.

Miymoto, however, grounded into a double play and injured his hand on an unnecessary head-first slide into first base. Miyamoto was replaced in the lineup by Hatakeyama, and the inning was over for the Swallows.

The scoring in this very tight game finally got underway in the bottom of the sixth. Fukuchi grounded out to second, but Tanaka reached on a HBP. Hatakeyama then popped up to right for out number two, and Aoki then singled to left. With two outs, Yuichi came through with a huge double to center that cleared the drawn-in Hirano’s head. Both Tanaka and Aoki scored to make it 2-0 Tokyo.

Two walks later, the first intentional (Guiel) and the second probably not (Onizaki), and the Swallows were looking at another bases loaded opportunity. But fortunately for the Tigers, Aikawa was at the plate. Aikawa ended the threat with a sliced liner right at the second baseman.

The Tigers got one back in the top of the seventh after Yano’s tricky fly ball at the wall in right was not reeled in by Guiel (the people sitting near me said he should have caught it, but it wasn’t counted as an error. I was just impressed that he was able to get to the right place so quickly). Yano made it to third on the play, and he was brought home on Hiyama’s dribbler into right for the Tigers’ first and only run. Mayumi’s second sac bunt (he called for on in the top of the first as well) perhaps hastened the end of this inning as Takagi was able to get Sekimoto to fly out to center, and then Lee (3.18) came in to induce a ground ball to short from Toritani. 2-1 Swallows.

The bottom of the seventh is where the game really changed. Noguchi, pinch-hitting in place of Lee, struck out. Then Fukuchi drew a walk and stole second about three or four pitches later (Hanshin actually guessed correctly and Yano called for a pitch-0ut, but Fukuchi was easily safe).

And then on the very next pitch, Fukuchi stole third as well.

Tanaka, who had a front row row seat for all of the base-swiping, then drew a walk of his own to put runners on the corners with one out. And that would be it for Hanshin’s first reliever of the evening. Atchison then came in to deal with the mess, and he promptly gave up a single to Yoshimoto to bring Fukuchi home from third. 3-1 Swallows.

Next man up, Aoki, had to contend with a little bit of Atchison inside pitching sprinkled with a little bit of Atchison verbal condescension, but ultimately he poked a single into left that would score two and send Atchison to the showers without recording a single out. 5-1 giddy birds.

D’Antona, pinch-hitting for Yuichi, ended up drawing another walk, and so that meant that two runners were on base for Onizaki’s next at-bat. After Guiel’s pop fly to center (which moved the runners over to second and third), Onizaki hit a two out single to center that cleared the bases. He was eventually thrown out at second trying to stretch the hit into a double, but the damage had already been done. 7-1 Tokyo.

Igarashi (2.61) was already all warmed up, so he was brought in to pitch the eighth anyway. He retired all three batters he faced on a total pitch count of 14.

The Swallows got two more runners on base in the eighth, but stranded both of them.

And luckily, even though he was fully warmed up, somebody finally thought better of using Lim, and instead Oshimoto (2.68) was brought in to pitch the ninth.

And that was it. The Swallows extended their lead to 1.5 games over Hanshin in fourth, and two more critical games follow (weather pending).

Tokyo Yakult Swallows 5

Hiroshima Toyo Carp 6

Streak: Lost 4      Last : WLLLL

(Mazda Stadium)

There are nights when I seriously have to question whether or not watching and writing about baseball is actually fun, or in fact a colossal waste of time, emotion and energy. Tonight (as well as far too many of late) was one of those nights.

In typical recent Swallows fashion they snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. They fought hard in a tightly contested game with the Carp, and came within an out of getting the win. And that out should have come as Hiroshima outfielder Akamatsu hit a foul fly that catcher Aikawa should have caught, but despite seeming to take the ball in his glove it ended up dropping to the floor over the dugout fence. Of course, as we’ve seen so many times this last month, they would be punished for not sealing the deal. Severely.

Akamatsu ended up infield singling home the tying run as Yakult’s infield panicked, and then next man up Phillips poked one through the infield to right and it was sayonara time as my television was lucky not to get a chair thrown through it’s screen.

Tonight’s “randomly drawn from a hat lineup” was:

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

The Swallows took the lead in the top of the 1st, with Fukuchi hitting a lead-off single before making it to third on a wayward throw from Carp catcher Kura after a steal attempt. He was brought home on a groundout from Miyamoto for 1-0 Tokyo. Aoki then made it to second after an infield single and a wild pitch from starter Ohtake, but a Takeuchi flyout would strand him there.

The lead would be gone in the bottom of the inning. After a Higashide single, a Phillips two-run homer off Ishikawa made it 2-1 Hiroshima.

In the bottom of the 3rd the same combination would make it 3-1 Hiroshima, Phillips bringing home Higashide from 1st with a double.

Tokyo stranded three runners in the 4th, as Aikawa grounded out after consecutive two-out singles from Takeuchi and Hatakeyama followed by a Tanaka walk had loaded the bases.

But the game would change in Tokyo’s favour in the top of the 6th. Miyamoto got on base thanks to an error from the Carp shortstop before the Swallows combined for five hits which brought home four runs to make it 5-3 Tokyo. Hatakeyama singled home the first with men on first and second with one out, and then Tanaka did the same to tie the scores. A pinch-hitting D’Antona singled with the bases loaded to bring home the last two runs of the inning. After that Hiroshima turned to the bullpen with Shinoda and Yokoyama getting an out each to end it there.

Oshimoto (2.73) came in for the bottom of the 6th and gave up a two-out single to Amaya and then a RBI triple for Takuro Ishii which made it 5-4. He also worked a scoreless 7th before Igarashi (2.66) did the same in the 8th.

Aoki got to second again in the top of the 9th, but an excellent Higashide dive and throw to first ended up getting the out of Takeuchi to strand yet another man.

And so the the 9th, with Lim taking the mound to illustrate just how fine the line between success and failure is. Lim walked the first man up Ishii who was then moved along with a bunt for out number one. Kida Go then singled to put men on the corners for the red-hot Higashide who was 4 for 4 in the game to that point. Lim struck him out after which Aikawa threw to first and came within a whisker of picking off the runner at first to end the game. Then Akamatsu came to the plate and, well, you know the rest. 6-5 Hiroshima Final.

You’ve got to wonder how many more of these kind of losses the team can psychologically take. Up until the 9th it had been a battling performance from the Swallows, and had they pulled off the win they’d have been good value for it. But as it was they had to trudge off the field after somehow conspiring to lose yet another game.

Ishikawa wasn’t involved in the decision as he gave up three runs off eight hits in his five innings. His ERA edged up to 3.80.

Lim took the loss as his record moved to 5W-4L-25S/1.88.

With the bat Tokyo were out-hit 15-11 with Hatakeyama (.242) and Aoki (.290) both having two-hit games. Guiel also made a pinch-hitting appearance in the 8th and singled to move his average to .260. D’Antona’s 2RBI single in the 6th moved his to .287.

The loss edges the season-series in Hiroshima’s favour at 11 games to 10. They’ve won the last six games between the teams.

They will meet again tomorrow at 14:00.

Chunichi Dragons 2

Tokyo Yakult Swallows 4

Streak: Won 2    Last 5: WLLWW

(Jingu Stadium)

Well, Tokyo pulled off the unpredictable today by taking the series versus Chunichi with its second win in as many days.

Tokyo’s lineup:

1. Aoki (LF)
2. Tanaka (2B)
3. Fukuchi (CF)
4. D’Antona (1B)
5. Iihara (RF)
6. Hatakeyama (3B)
7. Aikawa (C)
8. Kawashima (SS)
9. Yuuki (P)

Yuuki (3-2, 4.04) was actually having a better-than-average start (one earned run off of only three hits; four strikeouts and no walks) until he plunked Tanishige in the head in the fifth inning. Oh well.

The big story of the game, for all intents and purposes, was Jamie D’Antona. He again had three hits and came through with the game-winning home run in the bottom of the eighth.

Tokyo got on the board first when Aoki reached on an error by Morino at third, and then he got moved over by yet another first inning Tanaka bunt. Fukuchi moved Aoki over to third with a single, and then D’Antona came through for the first time with a sac fly to deep right field. 1-0 Tokyo.

Another bunt in the second (this time by Yuuki) put men on second and third, but Yuuki’s out was the second of the inning, so that was the end of that.

Morino would later plate Araki in the top of the fourth to pull the Dragons even at one all.

After Yuuki got ejected with two out in the fifth, Hagiwara (3.60) was called in to mop up, and he did pretty well. He finished out the fifth, and also handled the sixth, without another run scoring.

Things got a bit dicey for Matsuoka (2.70) in the seventh, however. Partly due to an errant Matsuoka throw to first on a bunt by Fujii, the bases ended up getting loaded with only one out recorded. But the Tokyo pitcher got 22-year veteran, Tatsunami, to ground into a 6-4-3 double play. Nice nice!

But things got a bit grim after that–with Igarashi (3.05) on the mound and one out on the board, Araki roped one over the leftfield wall. Oops. 2-1 Chunichi.

But Aoki retaliated by cranking the first pitch he saw over Wada’s head in left to set the plate for the Swallows offense. With Aoki perched on second, Tanaka laid down his second bunt of the game and Aoki moved over to third. This was one of those lucky bunts though where the defense tries and fails at getting the lead runner and then is late on the throw to first. All runners safe, and things suddenly look very, very bad for the Dragons.

Aoki then scored on a Fukuchi ground ball to second to tie the game at 2-2.

And with Tanaka standing on second base, Jamie D’Antona came to the plate.

BANG! Home run number 18 sails over the fence in right, and the masses go crazy. 4-2 birds. Jamie’s batting average (not that it’s really such an important state, but anyway) reached .300 for the first time since the beginning of the season.

And that was how it ended. Lim (0.22) came in to pitch the ninth and seal his 24th save of the season. Igarashi ended up getting the win despite giving up that homer to Araki.

The Tokyo batters were better at taking a pitch in the first two games of this series. I was really frustrated with them during the Hiroshima series when they were hacking away at a lot of the first pitches that Colby Lewis and co. were throwing. To be fair, Lewis throws an awful lot of first pitch strikes (tonight’s starter, Ogasawara, did not), but there’s definitely something to be said for ballooning a hurler’s pitch count as much as possible in the early innings. The Swallows have been more patient in this series.

The series ends tomorrow night at Jingu with game three. The game starts at 6pm.

The Swallows are now just a single game behind second place Chunichi, and 3.5 games behind Central League leaders, Yomiuri.

Tokyo Yakult Swallows 2

Yokohama BayStars 3

Streak: Lost 2  Last 5: WLWLL

(Matsumoto Stadium)

Ah you’ve gotta love Tokyo. Can’t beat the best, can’t beat the worst. A day after losing the series against the Giants, Tokyo travelled to Matsumoto for a road game against the frankly terrible BayStars to try to get back on the winning road. Only they couldn’t quite manage to find that particular road as they fell to their fifth loss in their six games against Yokohama so far this season.

Tokyo lined up as follows:

1. Fukuchi (LF)
2. Tanaka (2B)
3. Aoki (CF)
4. D’Antona (1B)
5. Guiel (RF)
6. Miyamoto (3B)
7. Aikawa (C)
8. Keizo (SS)
9. Yuki (P)

Yuki started the game, and he got himself an early lead before he’d even thrown a pitch. Fukuchi led off the game with a single, before Tanaka fluffed a bunt attempt which went straight to pitcher Yoshimi, who made the first out at second. Aoki then drew a walk to put men on first and second with one out.

Next man D’Antona then hit a fierce grounder to short stop Ishikawa, but he couldn’t snag the ball as it rolled on to the outfield allowing Tanaka to score for 1-0 Tokyo and putting runners on the corners for Guiel. The Canadian hit a deep sac fly to centre which scored Aoki and Tokyo had themselves a 2-0 1st inning lead.

Yuki then held the ‘Stars to just a hit through the 2nd inning before they halved the deficit in the bottom of the 3rd. A Yoshimura double was followed up one out later with an Uchikawa timely single to make it 2-1 Tokyo.

And the lead was gone in the 4th as Shimizono hit a solo homer and it was all square at 2-2.

Yakult would strand a man at third in the top of the 5th before Yokohama took the lead in the bottom of the inning. Fujita hit a lead off single and was brought home two outs later by a Saeki timely single to make it 3-2 Yokohama.

That was all for Yuki as he was replaced by Lee Hye-Cheon who made the final out of the inning. Yuki finished his 4 and 2/3 innings having given up three runs of eight hits. He struck out five and walked one, and he would ultimately be tagged with the loss that takes his record to 2 and 2 / 4.179  for the year.

After Yoshimi had departed in the 6th inning, a sequence of four BayStars relievers culminating in closer Yamaguchi restricted Tokyo to just one further hit (they had six total in the game to Yokohama’s eight) in the game and that was that for a 3-2 Final.

Lee (3.724) didn’t allow a hit in his 1 and 1/3 innings in relief, the same as Matsuoka (1.820) and Igarashi (1.227) in their inning apiece. But with the lack of run support that excellent relief was all in vain.

Two hits for (.266) both Fukuchi and D’Antona (.250) were the bright spots in the lineup with the bat. Aoki went 0 for 2 (both strikeouts) with two walks as he continues to be seemingly taking a break from his return to form. He’s now batting .263 for the season.

The two teams now travel to Kofu for another “Home” game for the BayStars tomorrow, which will be the last of a quick two game series. Thurday is an off-day before Tokyo travvel to Koshien to take on the Tigers from Friday.

Saitama Seibu Lions 5

Tokyo Yakult Swallows 6

Streak: Won 7       Last 5: WWWWW

(Jingu Stadium)

Tokyo won their season-best seventh straight game, and their third walkoff victory in a row as they wrapped up their interleague schedule against the Lions.

Today’s pitching matchup saw Ishikawa start for the birds with Kishi taking the mound for the cats. Tokyo’s starting lineup looked like this:

1. Takeuchi (LF)
2. Tanaka (2B)
3. Aoki (CF)
4. D’Antona (1B)
5. Guiel (RF)
6. Miyamoto (3B)
7. Aikawa (C)
8. Kawashima Keizo (SS)
9. Ishikawa (P)

Just as during his start at Seibu Dome, the Saitama bats found Ishikawa easy to solve, but unlike that game, today he got a bit of run support to help him out.

Seibu took the lead in the top of the 1st, with a Kataoka leadoff double being followed up one out later by a two-run shot from shortstop Nakajima and it was 2-0 Saitama.

But Tokyo got back in it in the 3rd. Keizo led off with a single and was moved to second on a Ishikawa sacbunt. Next man up Takeuchi hit hit second homer of the year into the rightfield stands and we were all square at 2-2.

Ishikawa allowed Seibu to take the lead right back in the top of the 4th, with back to back solo homers from Nakajima (number two for the game, number ten for the season) and Nakamura (number twenty two for the year) making it 4-2 Saitama.

Guiel hit his eleventh homer of the year in the bottom of the 4th, a shot to centre to reduce the deficit to one and it was 4-3 Saitama.

And they would tie things up in the 5th. Consecutive one-out singles from Ishikawa, Takeuchi and Tanaka loaded the bases for Aoki. The centrefielder hit a grounder to second for out number two, but one run scored and it was 4-4.

Tokyo had a chance to take the lead in the bottom of the 7th. Consecutive two out singles from Takeuchi and Tanaka put men on the corners for Aoki. He could only hit a grounder off pitcher Kishi’s leg, but Seibu just about managed to the turn the play at first for the third out. Worryingly for Yakult, Aoki appeared to hurt his ankle making a lunge for the bag at first, and was replaced by Ihara on the field for the top of the 8th. Initial guesses were that he could be out from anywhere from a couple of weeks to a month but nothing has been confirmed yet. Bad news indeed.

Igarashi (1.271) relieved Ishikawa for the top of the 8th, meaning Masanori finished his 7 innings having given up four runs off eight hits (including three homers). He struck out four and walked one as his ERA rose to 3.918. He wasn’t involved in the final decision today, but his form is on a definite downward curve at the moment.

The Swallows scored what appeared to be the decisive run in the bottom of the 8th. D’Antona hit a leadoff double off Lions reliever John Wasdin and was replaced by pinch-runner Fukuchi. Guiel then flew out in foul territory for out number one before Miyamoto singled to put men on the corners for Aikawa. The catcher then singled to right, scoring Fukuchi and putting Tokyo ahead 5-4.

And so to the 9th and Lim took the mound. GG Sato got on base via a Takeuchi error at first. The other Satoh then attempted to move the runner along with a bunt, but Yakult made the play at second to leave a man a first with one out. Ohsaki then flew out to right and Tokyo were one out away from their seventh win on the spin.

But pinch-hitter Uemoto had other ideas, as he hit the ball along the first baseline deep into the corner allowing the runner to score from first to tie things up at 5-5. It was the second run Lim had given up this year, but as with the last run he gave up (also against the Lions at Seibu Dome) it was unearned due to the error.  Then Lim showed signs of fatigue as he walked Kataoka and Kuriyama to load the bases for the red-hot Nakajima. With the count full Nakajima hit a groundball at some speed to the gap between forst and second. It was brilliantly fielded by a diving Tanaka who made the out at first and Lim’s 0.00 ERA lived to fight another day.

With Tokyo ducking a bullet in the top of the 9th, and with the way things have been going for them of late, you always had the feeling they may punish Saitama for their wastefulness. Hsu took the mound for the Lions and Yuichi pinch-hitting for Lim hit a leadoff double to put a man in scoring positon with no outs. Yuichi was replaced with pinch-runner Kawamoto. Takeuchi worked a walk before Tanaka bunted the runners around for out number one. Ihara was hit by a pitch and the bases were loaded for Fukuchi. He hit the second pitch he saw to firstbaseman Nakamura, who threw home to try to make the out at the plate. Only his throw missed the catcher and Kawamoto reached home on the error and Tokyo had themselves another sayonara victory: 6-5 Final.

Lim took the victory, his second of the year as Yakult won their seventh straight game to put them just two games behind Yomiuri (who lost today).

Takeuchi was the standout performer with the bat, going 4 for 4 with two RBIs as he raised his batting average to .343.

Tanaka also did well, going 2 for 3 as his average sits at .278.

With the Interleague schedule now at an end (look for a recap post sometime this week), Tokyo get a much deserved rest before resuming Central League hostilities with a trip to the Temple of Doom to play the Giants on Friday. That should be must-see viewing as a sweep would see them replace Yomiuri at the top of the CL. And with the rest we’ll be going there with a probable Tateyama, Kawashima and Ishikawa trio of starters.

Exciting times indeed.

Tokyo Yakult Swallows 6

Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks 3

Streak: Won 1     Last 5: WLWLW

(Yahoo Dome)

In 2009 a Shohei Tateyama start is becoming shorthand for almost certain victory. And tonight it proved no different, as he got good run support to go with his decent seven innings to put a spoke in the wheel of the SoftBank Interleague winning-machine.

Tateyama gave up three runs off four hits (including two homers), striking out three and walking three to put his record at 8 and 0 with a 1.858 ERA. He is now on a run of 14 wins since he last experienced defeat. He is, as I will not tire of saying, THE M.F. MAN.

Tonight’s lineup saw Takada shuffle his lineup even more that usual:

1. Fukuchi (LF)
2. Tanaka (2B)
3. Aoki (CF)
4. Guiel (RF)
5. Hatakeyama (DH)
6. Miyamoto (3B)
7. Yuichi (1B)
8. Aikawa (C)
9. Kawashima Keizo (SS)

Ohba started on the mound for Softbank, and he had already been the losing pitcher reponsible for one of the three games they’d lost out of their seventeen games against CL opposition so far this year.

And Ohba fell behind in the top of the 2nd inning in this game, primarily of his own doing. Two two-out walks for Miyamoto and Yuichi put two men on for Aikawa. The catcher hit a single to right, and Miyamoto was waved home and beat the (wayward) throw home, while Yuichi advanced to third and Aikawa to second, 1-0 Tokyo. Next man Keizo then hit a fly ball to left which was well snagged by Ortiz leaning over the small wall in left, and the two men were stranded.

Then in the top of the 3rd, Yakult had a chance to extend that lead. After two strikeouts for Ohba, he issued three straight walks (and walks 4,5 and 6 of the evening for Ohba) to Aoki, Guiel and Hatakeyama to load the bases. Ohba was then benched as SoftBank turned to the bullpen with Satoh coming in to replace the starter. And the reliever got the job done, striking out Miyamoto after a nine-pitch battle to strand yet more runners.

And Fukuoka drew level in the bottom of the 3rd. Third baseman Matsuda getting his team’s first hit of the game, a solo shot over the fence in left and we were level at 1-1.

Tokyo would retake the lead in the top of the 4th. Yuichi led off the inning with a single to right before Aikawa flew out to centre for out number one. During next man Keizo’s at bat, a poor throw from catcher Tanoue allowed Yuichi to be safe at second after a failed hit and run/ill-advised steal (both are Takada hallmarks.) The wee shortstop then hit one deep to right that rolled to the outfield wall, the run scored easily and Keizo hustled to third base for a RBI triple. 2-1 Tokyo. And he would swiftly be brought home by a Fukuchi sac-fly for 3-1.

And another run followed in the 5th. Singles from Aoki and Guiel put men on the corners with no-outs for Hatakwyama. He hit a grounder to short as the Hawks turned the double play, allowing one run to score and make it 4-1 Tokyo. The double play would prove costly as subsequent singles from Miyamoto and Yuichi would be wasted, and the birds left both men stranded.

The Hawks however weren’t done yet. In the bottom of the 5th, Tateyama walked Matsuda and Tanoue then hit a homer to left and the lead was down to one with the score at 4-3. Tokyo’s four runs to that point had come off seven hits, while Softbank’s three runs had come off a mere three hits. Which is just one example of why they’ve been kicking all kinds of ass of late.

The Swallows added another run to the lead in the 7th. Guiel hit a leadoff single before Hatakeyama was out via an excellent diving catch from secondbaseman Honda. Miyamoto then hit a grounder to third, but he just beat the double play ball to first as Guiel was out at second for out number two. An error from shortstop Kawasaki then allowed Yuichi aboard as Yakult had men on first and second. Aikawa then hit to centre with centrefielder Hasehgawa taking the ball on the hop. Miyamoto made it home by the skin of his teeth and it was 5-3. That was Aikawa’s second timely hit of the evening and his second RBI as he raised his average to .261.

And their final run came in the 8th. Two walks from reliever Kamiuchi were punished by a timely Guiel single that brought home one runner and made it 6-3 Tokyo.

With Igarashi (1.543) and Lim (0.00/16 saves) working their usual deadly effective 8th and 9th inning shifts, Tokyo avoided a four game sweep at the hands of Fukuoka, 6-3 Final.

Guiel (.287) had a 3 for 4 game with a walk as he is starting to put in the kind of consistent performances that are rewarding both the team and fans’ faith in him. He is fast becoming one of Tokyo’s key men with the bat as well as the glove. His relentlessly positive attitude doesn’t hurt either.

Yuichi (.333) also had a good evening going 2 for 3 with a walk and he will only add to the healthy competition for starting places at the ballclub.

Tokyo’s IL record is now back at .500 with a 9-9 record. Trying to finish the IL games with at least a .500 record is key, as they will be able to restart the CL campaign still healthily over .500 overall.

They now get a day off before heading to Osaka for two games at the Osaka/Kyocera Dome against the Buffaloes from Saturday.

Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters 3

Tokyo Yakult Swallows 4

Streak: Won 1   Last 5: LWWLW

(Jingu Stadium)

A 9th inning timely Takeuchi RBI single broke a 3-3 tie as Tokyo had themselves their first sayonara victory of 2009. It was a great end to a truly absorbing game between two closely matched teams.

Today’s starting lineup’s only change was D’Antona coming in at first for Hatakeyama and batting in the no.4 slot.

Ishikawa started the game for Yakult, looking to rebound from his disastrous outing last week at Seibu. His opposite number for the Fighters was Itokazu.

For the first half of the game, both teams managed to get runners on base, but neither could get anyone past second and the scores remained deadlocked at zero.

It took until the bottom of the 6th inning for that deadlock to be broken as Yakult took a decent lead. Fukuchi got things started with a leadoff single, and made a nuisance of himself during Aoki’s at-bat, eventually stealing second before Aoki was walked. D’Antona then worked another walk to load the bases with no outs. The next man up was Guiel, and with the count at one strike and two balls he hit a line drive to centre, scoring two runs and making it 2-0 Tokyo with men on first and second.

D’Antona was replaced with pinch-runner Noguchi at second before Miyamoto came to bat. He tried to bunt the first pitch from Itokazu and missed for a strike, but Noguchi had crept too far towards third and the catcher Ohno threw to second. But Noguchi had made the dash to third with his speed beating the throw, and allowing Guiel to take second to put men in scoring positions with no outs.

That was all for Itokazu as he was replaced by Ejiri. The reliever then struck out Miyamoto to bring up Hiroyasu Tanaka. The second baseman hit a grounder to second for the second out of the inning, but Noguchi was home and it was 3-0 Tokyo. That was all the runs for the inning, as Ishikawa fouind himself with a tidy lead as he took the mound for the 7th. But he wouldn’t be able to hold onto it.

A single, walk and another single loaded the bases with no outs for Hokkaido shortstop Kaneko. He then singled to bring in a run to make it 3-1. That was all for Ishikawa as Matsuoka came in to try to preserve his lead. And he nearly did. Nearly. He got Tsuboi to fly out to second for out number one, and struck out Jimenez for out number two.

Up stepped Kensuke Tanaka who had already singled twice in the game. Matsuoka fell behind with three straight balls before working the count full. On the sixth pitch of the at-bat, Matsuoka was an inch away from getting out of the inning as Tanaka just about made contact to foul off the ball and stay alive. But he would hit the next pitch to right, two runs scored and we were all square at 3-3. All this while the Hokkaido fans sung the most godawful fight/chance song I have ever heard to the tune of Chitty-Chitty Bang-Bang. A-Grade ear abuse, take it to Disneyland folks.

Matsuoka then struck out Morimoto to prevent the go-ahead run, but Ishikawa’s hopes of a seventh win of the year had gone. He finished his 6 and 0/3 innings of work being held responsible for three runs off seven hits, with three strikeouts and one walk. His record remains at 6 and 3 with an ERA of 3.750.

Igarashi (1.692) then pitched the 8th, Lim (0.00) the 9th and it was on to the bottom of the 9th as Tateyama took the mound for Hokkaido.

And the Swallows made swift work of the reliever. Aikawa hit a leadoff double to the leftfield fence and was replaced by pinch runner Ihara as Takeuchi came to the plate pinch-hitting in the pitcher’s spot. And he hit the fourth pitch from Tateyama over the infield to left, Ihara was waved around towards home, and his speed beat the throw to spark bedlam on the field as the birds celebrated their first walk-off win of the year.

Lim took the win in relief, his first of the season.

Tokyo had been outhit 11-6, but unlike last night, they made their chances count. Conversely, Hokkaido possibly should have scored more than the three runs in the 7th given their four hits and a walk in the inning. 

So, the season-series between the teams ends at 2-2. Tokyo now have a day off before two two-game series in PL ballparks, starting in Fukuoka against the Hawks on Wednesday before taking on Orix in Osaka from Saturday.

 Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles 1

 Tokyo Yakult Swallows 5

Streak: Won 2 Last 5: WLLWW

(Jingu Stadium)

Today was a good day.

So far in the Interleague campaign, the Swallows have been humbled by the best pitching the PL has to offer. Tanaka, Darvish, Sugiuchi and Wakui have all had their way with the Tokyo batting. So it was with trepidation and no small amount of fear that Swallows fans saw who was taking the mound for Rakuten this evening – Japan’s WBC hero Hisashi Iwakuma.

But this wasn’t the Iwakuma of the WBC, coming into this game having lost his last two starts, with his last outing seeing him lasting only four innings having given up five runs. But players and teams have a habit of ending their bad streaks against Tokyo’s birds. But not today.

Taking the mound for Yakult was Yuki, who since being registered for the top team has yet to earn himself a win after his two starts, one good, and one bad. But he came through this evening.

Oh, and I am delighted to announce the return of the real Norichika Aoki after he went AWOL after the WBC. And boy how he has been missed.

Tokyo lined-up the same as yesterday, with Hatakayama keeping his place at first at the expense of D’Antona.

And it was Iwakuma who found himself behind in the bottom of the 1st inning. The ace got two quick outs before Aoki hit one just over the leftfield fence to make it 1-0 Tokyo. Iwakuma laughed to himself on the mound, but he must have known that he was going to be in for another tough game.

Yuki pitched his second hitless inning in the top of the 2nd before Tokyo almost extended their lead in the bottom of the inning. Aikawa came to bat with two outs and Miyamoto on first, and the catcher hit a linedrive along the thirdbase line deep into the corner. Miyamoto was waved around by third base coach Dobashi but he was beaten to the plate by the ball and he was out to end the inning.

But Tokyo would double the lead in the 4th. Aoki hit a chopper to first but managed to beat the throw and was safe at first. A Hatakeyama ground out and a Guiel strikeout saw Miyamoto coming to the plate with two outs and Aoki on second. He hit a single to right, and this time Dobashi made the right call, waving Aoki round with his pace allowing him to just beat the throw to the plate. 2-0 Tokyo.

Yuki took the mound for the top of the 6th, having given up just two hits to that point. But after a single and a sacbunt put a man in scoring position, Takada called for Matsuoka from the bullpen. But Rakuten infielder Watanabe hit Matsuoka’s first pitch to right, allowing a run to score and making it 2-1, with the run charged to Yuki. Matsuoka got the next two outs though and Yuki still had himself the chance of his first win as a Swallow.

Yuki had given up just three hits in seventy-seven pitches of work, striking out five and walking none. 

In the bottom of the 6th Tokyo would make things more secure. Aoki lead off the inning with a drag bunt down the first baseline, and he evaded the diving tag attempt of first baseman Yamazaki to register his third hit of the evening. Hatakeyama then flew out for out number one before Guiel was hit in the foot by a pitch to put men on first and second.

Next man Miyamoto then hit his own third hit of the evening, a double to right, that scored Aoki and put men on second and third with the score at 3-1 Tokyo. Up stepped the only man not to get a hit the previous evening, Hiroyasu Tanaka, who hit the first pitch he saw through the infield to make it 4-1.

 One more Yakult run followed in the 7th from a Fukuchi solo homer, his first of the year, and it was 5-1 Tokyo.

After that the bullpen took over to bring home the win for Yuki. And with Matsuoka (1.929) staying in for the 7th, Igarashi (1.688) working the 8th, and Lim (0.00) the 9th it was 5-1 Final.

So Yuki got his first win in two years to even his record at 1 and 1 with an ERA of 4.725. And well done to the man. He had taken on one of Japan’s premier starter and won.

Aoki also looks to be back with a 3 for 4 night, and he would have had a fourth hit if not for an excellent diving catch from the Eagles shortstop. He is now at .264 with 5 homeruns for the season.

Miyamoto (.303) also had a 3 for 4 night, and Aikawa (.264) went 2 for 4.

Keizo (.249), Hatakeyama (.326) and Guiel (.273) were all hitless for the evening.

So another good win, and Tokyo now take on Hokkaido for two games from tomorrow evening. And with Darvish pitching (and losing) tonight against the Giants, we won’t have to deal with him again until the Japan Series (in my dreams….).

Orix Buffaloes  0

Tokyo Yakult Swallows 4

Streak: Won 2   Last 5: LLLWW

(Jingu Stadium)

Seven battling innings from Shohei Tateyama combined with some timely hitting carried Tokyo to victory in rainswept conditions on Thurday evening.

It rained continuously throughout the game, with conditions becoming more and more difficult as the evening progressed. Tateyama let a lot of men on base and into scoring positions during his seven innings, but managed to strand them all as he kept his nerve in the wet.

Shohei ended his shift having given up no runs off eight hits, striking out five, walking two and hitting one man. He earned his 6th win of the season (no losses so far, and indeed for well over ten starts going back to last season) and his ERA is now down to a supreme 1.534. He is now without question the ace in the Swallows’ starting deck.

Yakult’s runs came in the 2nd and 6th innings.  D’Antona hit a leadoff single in the 2nd, then Miyamoto grounded out to the pitcher before Tanaka hit a two run homer to left to make it 2-0 Tokyo. Orix’s starter Mitsuhara would be pulled after just three innings.

In the 6th against reliever Shimizu, an Aoki single, a Guiel walk and a D’Antona single loaded the bases with no outs. Miyamoto then hit one just out of reach of the diving second baseman Moriyama and two runs scored to make it 4-0 Tokyo.

Oshimoto worked a scoreless 8th in increasingly stong rain to lower his ERA to 2.213. Birthday boy (30 today) Igarashi (1.862) then successfully worked the 9th and the players could get out of the shitty weather and into the warm to drink their hot mugs of Yakult.

Officially 7348 people attended the game but I’d say it looked as if there were barely half that in the stadium to enjoy the wind and rain (and of course, the victory.)

Today saw a rare unchanged lineup from the day before, and D’Antona had another good game going 2 for 3 and edging up his average to .243.

Miyamoto had another two-hit game and is now at .297.  Hiroyasu Tanaka has seemingly remembered how to bat again after his early season troubles, with his second homer of the year taking his average up to .273.

Tokyo now get a day off before travelling the short distance to Chiba to take on the Marines for two games from Saturday afternoon.