5/23/09 – Hokkaido (Away)

May 23rd, 2009   Tokyo Yakult Swallows  0 Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters 3  Streak: Lost 1   Last 5: WWLWL (Sapporo Dome) Two days after being shutout on two hits by Rakuten ace Tanaka, Yakult got to try their hand against another of Japan’s top-tier starters, Yu Darvish. But unlike against Tanaka, Tokyo managed to rack up eight [...]

5/22/09 – Hokkaido (Away)

Iihara brought the winning run around from second with this single in the sixth.

May 22nd, 2009   Tokyo Yakult Swallows  3 Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters  2 Streak: Won 1   Last 5: WWWLW (Sapporo Dome) In what was initially thought to be a Darvish-Tateyama faceoff, Swallows fans were a bit relieved to hear that former Tokyo southpaw, Shugo Fujii, would be taking the mound instead. Not that Fujii (3-2; 4.50) isn’t [...]

5/19/09 – Tohoku Rakuten (Away)

May 19th, 2009 Tokyo Yakult Swallows 7   Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles 3 Streak: Won 6 Last 5: WWWWW (Kleenex Miyagi Stadium) Today’s opening round of the 2009 Interleague schedule saw all six games held in Pacific League ballparks, with Tokyo making the trip to Sendai to face the Rakuten Eagles. This match-up saw the two [...]

Is Sacrifice Bunting Worth It?

Sacrifice bunting is rarely a good idea. With a man on first and the pitcher (or Shiroishi) at the plate, it could be argued that giving up an out in favor of advancing the runner is understandable. However, in most other cases it seems like a stupid waste of an out (or maybe it’s a [...]