There was much cause for celebration in the month of June

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

Interleague Revenge Tour

After having been swept by SoftBank, Seibu, and Lotte in May, the new look Swallows looked to return the favor to start off June. While the Swallows managed to take the first game of each revenge series, they couldn’t close the deal, ending with 1-3 records againstthe latter three teams. But at this point the fact that the Birds were winning games and not losing two straight were big improvement. So after matching their May win total (3) in only 6 games, the Swallows faced the Darvish-less Nippon Ham Fighters for the first time. The Fighters did not put up too much of a fight and were swept by the Swallows. This series sweep represented the first back-to-back wins the Swallows had recorded in 2 over months. Not content to stop there, the Swallows proceeded to sweep Rakuten and take the first game of the rain-rescheduled games against Nippon Ham. That five game winning streak was the longest winning streak for the Birds this season, and helped the team achieve an overall record of 9-14-1 during Interleague play. A record that, despite a 10 game losing streak, was not too far off the “bad” scenario I laid out in our Interleague preview.

Back to Regularly Scheduled Programming

The Swallows re-started their Contral League schedule against Hiroshima in a rain-shortened two game series. Unfortunately the team ran into Kenta Maeda, the Central League’s hottest pitcher, and took a loss to re-open their Central League campaign. Things were not looking good in game 2 of the series, but the Swallows managed a late comeback to even the series. Unfortunately the dramatic win didn’t translate into momentum, as the team faced their cross town rivals at Jingu stadium and lost the opening game. The Swallows won the middle game, but couldn’t take the series, as they lost handily in Game 3. The lack of positive momentum carried into Game 1 of the team’s next series against Hanshin. After that loss, the Swallows debuted their new offensive weapon, Josh Whitesell. The new look Swallows came from behind to beat the Tigers in Game 2, and took the series with a 8-4 thrashing in Game 3. The Swallows took the show on the road with a two game series against the Yokohama BayStars in Okinawa. The people of Okinawa got to see the Swallows shutout the BayStars in Game 1, and a nail-biting win for the Birds in Game 2. Thus the Swallows ended June on a 4 game winning streak, and a 14-8 record for the month. The Swallows also managed to avoid losing to the same team twice in a row.

Trends

Offensive Resurgence

The first thing that pops out at you when you look at the Swallows’ June stats is the increased offensive production. Of the 7 players that made at least 68 plate appearances (the minimum needed for batting title considerations this month), 4 had an OPS of over .900. The four players were Aikawa (1.062!), Iihara (.978), Aoki (.930), and Tanaka (.910). All four players have pulled their season batting averages to above .300. Also making a big splash in limited plate appearances were Hatakeyama and Kawamoto, who combined for 10 hits and 1 walk in only 21 plate appearances. Josh Whitesell rounds out the players with eye-popping numbers with 5 hits (including 2 homes and a triple) and 3 walks in 15 plate appearances, more on him later.

Not on the Bandwagon:

The 3 players not to have a .900+ OPS despite 68+ plate appearances were Guiel (.680), D’Antona (.617) and Miyamoto (.612). Guiel and D’Antona had eerily similar stat lines for the month, with the big difference coming from Aaron’s 2 extra walks and 4 beanings. Miyamoto on the other hand, struggled for most of the month, but may be on the way out of his prolonged slump. 8 of Miyamoto’s 19 hits have come in the last 7 games.

I think it goes without saying that Guiel and D’Antona shared the team lead with their 18 strikeouts, Aikawa was a distant third with 11.

Coming Up Short

Also underwhelming was the shortstop platoon of Fujimoto and Onizaki. The two players got most of the starts at shortstop in June, but neither player made any lasting impact on the team. Fujimoto and Onizaki both earned sub-.250 OBPs (.232 and .115 respectively) and had pitiful slugging percentages (.275 and .231). The rookie Takahiro Araki was also given 3 starts at short, but managed only 2 strikeouts and 1 sac bunt in his 8 plate appearances. While I do not expect superstar numbers to come out of the shortstop position, I do hope someone gets into a groove and manages an OPS of above .600.

Aoki the Leadoff Man

Prior to this season, Aoki’s fight song had a line calling him a spray hitting leadoff man. But as he got moved to the three hole and was asked to use his spray hitting prowess to drive in runners, the lyrics were changed to call him a shining number 1 of the world. But Aoki struggled in the role of run producer in May, so he spent most of June in the leadoff spot once again. Using his skill of putting the bat to the ball, and his legs, Aoki managed to produce 39 hits in June. Thanks to the offensive resurgence behind him, Aoki managed to come around to score a team leading 16 times. While Aoki did not hit any homeruns, he still demonstrated drive by hitting a team leading 8 doubles. Aoki was also a perrfect 2-for-2 in his steal attempts in June. It would have been nice if Aoki threatened to steal more often rather than being Tak-bunted over to second by Tanaka, something that happened 7 times in the month. The hot-hitting Hiroyasu would probably have seen more fastballs to hit, and more importantly would not have wasted valuable outs. But all in all a successful June for Aoki!

Starter Inconsistency

June was a bumpy ride for most of the Swallows’ starting pitchers. Swallows’ starters pitched gems like Tateyama’s 8 inning 1 run performance against the Fighters, Muranaka’s 8 innings of shutout ball against the BayStars, and Barnette’s 1 run 6 K performance against the Lions. Unfortunately they also let games get away like Tateyama’s 8 runs given up in 5 inning against the Fighters, and Barnette’s 7 runs given up in 2 and 2/3 innings. Overall, the Swallows starting pitchers compiled a 11-8 record (every Swallows lost was tagged to the starters), with an ERA of 4.40, a RIP of 1.50, 6.63 Ks per 9 innings, and 3.14 BB per 9innings, all over 129 innings. Only 4 of the Swallows 22 starts managed to last 7 or more innings. While the numbers are not horrible, the ERA and RIP numbers are of some concern.

Good To Be Lucky?

The one pitcher in the starting rotation that had a stellar record in June was the young Yoshinori. Yoshinori only allowed 5 earned runs over his 4 starts to earn a 3-0 record for the month. However, Yoshinori also managed to walk 19 batters in his 25 and 2/3 innings of work. Yoshinori has single-handedly walked almost a third of the batters that the Swallows walked in June. I worry whether Yoshinori can continue to get away with giving so many batter a free pass to first.

Sweet Relief

With no starter being able to finish games, the bullpen was called into action quite often. Masubuchi (13 games), Matsuoka (12), Oshimoto (11), and Lim (10) all made over 10 appearances in June. Masubuchi was often the first one off the bench after a starter was pulled. He inherited a total of 12 runners in relief and allowed only 4 to score. Oshimoto was called into pitch late-middle innings like Masubuchi and did fine work, recording 10 strikeouts and no walks in 9 and 1/3 innings. Matsuoka played the role of ace setup man, and he had a 10 appearance shutout streak going prior to a Kanemoto 2-run homer in his 11th appearance. Despite the blip, Matsuoka still had 14 strikeouts with a 0.55 RIP and a 1.64 ERA in 11 innings of relief, and he picked up a win and a save. Finally, Lim was once again a dominating closer in June. He was 8-for-8 in save situations, giving up only 3 hits without surrendering a run or walk. He also picked up 13 strikeouts in 10 innings. This bullpen quartet combined for a 1.98 ERA, 0.73 RIP, 10.32 strikeouts per 9 innings, and 0.66 walks per 9 innings.

Major Events

The Whitesell Signing

On June 7, the Swallows announced the signing of Josh Whitesell. Whitesell made his Swallows debut on the 26th of the month, and made a splash by homering in his first game. The signing still leaves some question as to how the team plans to proceed with its foreign players.

Tateyama Injury

On June 23rd, the veteran Tateyama looked to be bouncing back his previous bad outing by holding the Giants to 3 runs and striking out a season high 8 batters. At the bottom of the 6th inning Tateyama came up to bat, and proceeded to hit a double. Unfortunately Tateyama was caught in a awkward situation trying to get back to base on a liner to second. Tateyama did not pitch the next inning, and it was announced that he had fractured his right toe and that he would be out 3-4 weeks. The loss of Tateyama leaves the starting rotation shorthanded, especially with the demotion of Tony Barnette.

Player of the Month

My Player of the Month

Hiroyasu Tanaka and Ryoji Aikawa are my two candidates for Player of the Month. Both players swung an incredibly hot bat in June. Tanaka played every inning of every game in June, lead the team with 18 RBIs, and was the only player on the team to have more walks than strikeouts. Aikawa lead the team with 5 homeruns, and had the highest slugging percentage (.620) and OPS (1.06) among qualifying batters on the team. You can compare their numbers in the table below.

As you can see both players has a great June, and one wonders what kind of damage Tanaka would have wreaked if he didn’t have to bunt those 7 times. In the end I give the nod to Aikawa for giving us another power threat in the lineup. But really it could’ve gone to either player. Honerable mentions go out to Aoki, Iihara, Matsuoka, and Lim.

Quo Vadimus

July will see the Swallows play every Central league team at least once. The cozy scheduling seen in June because Interleague play comes to an end, as the Swallows will play their first 17 games of the month in 19 days, before the All Star break will the team a break. With fewer rest days, establishing a winning rotation will be key. Unfortunately without Tateyama or Barnette, the team currently only has 4 established starters on the roster. Takaichi has been rumored as a possible starter, calling up Ryo Kawashima is another option. Another storyline to be watching for in July is how the Whitesell situation settles out. Whitesell has started strong, and hopefully he keeps it up, but one wonders what will happen if/when he slows down. Also, as the weather heats up even more and fatigue settles in, I worry about the state of our bullpen. I hope the team doesn’t overuse the relief quartet, and hopefully another player (newly acquired Kouki Watanabe perhaps?) will step up into a key role. If the team keep improving I think a 14-7 record is very possible.

Hanshin Tigers 4

Tokyo Yakult Swallows 8

Streak: Won 2   Last 5: WLLWW

(Meiji Jingu Stadium)

Tokyo won a series against a Central League team for the first time since the beginning of April (4/2-4/4 versus Yokohama).

Today’s lineup:

1. Aoki CF
2. Tanaka 2B
3. Iihara RF
4. D’Antona 1B
5. Whitesell LF
6. Aikawa C
7. Miyamoto 3B
8. Onizaki SS
9. Yoshinori P

Yoshinori had one of his normal, crappy outings on the mound and did not deserve the win today. However, there may be a method to his recurring mediocrity–walking batters is definitely preferable to extra base hits.

But honestly, his inability to locate his pitches is infuriating. How many more seasons are we going to have to deal with this?

The Swallows started the scoring in the bottom of the second with Fossum on the mound for Hanshin. D’Antona fouled off five pitches before parking the 10th pitch of his at-bat, a 3-2 slider, in the reserved seats in left. 1-0 Tokyo.

It was D’Antona’s 11th home run of 2010. And D’Antona added another RBI in the third with a sac fly to right that brought home Aoki who had earlier reached base on a Toritani fielding error. 2-0 Tokyo.

For those keeping track, Tanaka was thankfully not able to properly lay down the Tak-bunt after Aoki reached base. The reason I say this is because he was soon hit in the foot by a pitch with two strikes against him.

But then came the inevitable rough inning for Yoshinori in the fifth. A walk, a botched pickoff attempt at second on a hit and run (Hirano struck out swinging), and another walk meant that it was runners on first and third with one out. Arai then brought home a run and Brazell did the same to level the score. 2-2.

The birds shrugged it off though and put three more runs on the board in the bottom of that inning. Tanaka and Iihara hit back-to-back one out singles before Whitesell cleared the bases with a hard-spinning blooper to shallow left that spun all the way back to the corner after Lin slipped on an invisible banana peel.

Whitesell had himself a stand-up two-RBI triple and his second spot on the hero’s podium in as many days.

Aikawa would later bring Whitesell home from third with a two out single to center. 5-2 Swallows.

In the sixth, Fukuchi had a pinch-hit double and scored on Aoki’s single off the wall in right. 6-2 Tokyo.

Kanemoto’s two run dinger in the eighth made things interesting with Matsuoka on the mound, but that was the end of the scoring for Hanshin. 6-4 Swallows.

Tokyo put two extra insurance runs on the board in the bottom of the eighth. This cancelled out Lim’s chance of getting a save, but whatever. Aikawa led off with a well-hit home run to left, and Miyamoto recorded his third hit of the game to the exact same spot in shallow right to keep things going. Two outs later, Aoki and Tanaka recorded back-to-back singles, the latter resulting in an RBI and a final scoreline of 8-4 Tokyo.

Lim (0.81 ERA) faced four batters and got out of the ninth on 11 pitches.

Yoshinori was only tagged with one of the two runs that crossed home on his watch. He threw 115 pitches in only five innings of work while allowing five hits, striking out four and walking six. The win brought his record to 4-5 while his ERA now sits at 4.06.

Matsuoka struck out the first two batters he faced in the eighth, but then he got a little bit sloppy and left some pitches up. The biggest mistake was that high 2-2 fastball that resulted in a two-run homer. Matsuoka’s ERA jumped from 0.93 to 1.50 in his 32nd appearance of the year. Yes, he’s being used too much. And no, Ogawa will probably not stop using him.

Oshimoto (3.38) and Masubuchi (4.46) pitched one scoreless inning each in relief.

Four Tokyo starters had at least two hits.

D’Antona, Whitesell and Aikawa recorded two RBIs each.

Random notes:

Today was Miyamoto’s second three-hit game of the season.

Yoshinori got behind in the count (2-0) to six of the batters he faced. He threw first pitch balls to nearly half of the batters that came to the plate during his five innings of work.

The birds outhit the Tigers 13-9. It was the first time in quite a while that Hanshin wasn’t able to record double-digit hits.

D’Antona and Whitesell, former teammates in Arizona, shared the heroes podium after today’s game.

Whitesell was 1-1 with a triple and two walks.

Following Aikawa’s homer, Onizaki’s Tak-bunt in the eighth failed as Arai threw to second to force Miyamoto out. Miraculously, the birds were still able to score.

Hanshin Tigers 9

Tokyo Yakult Swallows 4

Streak: Lost 2   Last 5: WLWLL

(Meiji Jingu Stadium)

The birds ran headlong into a hot-hitting Hanshin side in Barnette’s return to the top team after a short spell on the farm with gout.

Starting lineup:

1. Aoki CF
2. Tanaka 2B
3. Takeuchi RF
4. D’Antona 1B
5. Iihara LF
6. Aikawa C
7. Hatakeyama 3B
8. Fujimoto SS
9. Barnette P

This one was over before it ever really got started. Barnette gave up four earned runs in the top of the first, one in the second, and two more in the third. 7-0 Hanshin.

The Swallows finally got on the board in the sixth when Fujimoto (HBP) and Kawamoto (double) were plated care of an Aoki double to right. 7-2 Hanshin.

But the visitors got two more of their own off of middle reliever Matsui to make it 9-2.

D’Antona, Iihara and Aikawa would team up for a couple of runs in the eighth, but that was the end of the scoring for the night. 9-4 Final.

Barnette gave up seven earned runs in two and two-thirds innings while taking his fifth loss of the season against three wins. He allowed eight hits and three walks while not striking out a single batter. His ERA climbed to 5.87.

Takaichi (0.00), Matsui (5.63), Watanabe (0.00), and Oshimoto (3.49) also made relief appearances.

On offense, both Aoki and Iihara had three hits while Aikawa reached base twice.

Game two of the series is tomorrow afternoon at Jingu (2PM start).

Possible Roster Moves

Possibility #1: Demote D’Antona

I think this is the most likely possibility, and the one that probably has the greatest upside. Whitesell would be plugged in as the everyday first baseman against all pitchers. He would be able to adjust to play in Japan without having to look over his shoulder, which would hopefully make the transition to Japanese ball easier. As a lefty, if Whitesell proves to be vulnerable to left-handed pitchers, this possibility would leave the first baseman’s slot in the order vulnerable against left-handed pitching, as Whitesell’s backup Takeuchi has had little success against left-handers. However, as left-handed pitching is relatively rare, this factor is probably not a dealbreaker. If Whitesell is able to find early success and manages to play at a consistently high level, this move would probably cruelly spell the end of D’Antona’s tenure with the Swallows. Obviously those are big ifs, and if Whitesell struggles to adjust to Japanese baseball, we could always go back to D’Antona.

Possibility #2: Demote Guiel

With Iihara no longer being a glaring liability in the outfield, it could be argued that Guiel is expendable. I am not one of those people making that argument. Guiel has an interesting combination seniority, power, arm, and locker room presence that makes him worth keeping. Despite his low average, Guiel still sports a .800+ OPS and leads the team in homeruns. Also, Guiel would probably benefit the least from farm team at bats. Losing depth in the outfield in favor of increasing depth at first base doesn’t make much sense from a pure numbers perspective.

Possibility #3: Demote De La Cruz/Barnette

This possibility would make sense if Barnette still had a few weeks before his return. The ineffective De La Cruz could be demoted and D’Antona and Whitesell could compete for the first baseman’s job. Then a determination could be made as to who to keep once Barnette was ready to return. However, with Barnette’s return seemingly imminent, this possibility does not appeal to me. While Barnette has not been the most consistent pitcher, taking him off the active roster means we have to find another  pitcher to add into our rotation. We have plenty of pitchers that can replace De La Cruz in the reliever role, but the same cannot be said about Barnette’s starting role. This possibility is probably not that likely since it goes against the Swallows’ stance of having 2 foreign pitchers.

Possibility #4: Don’t Promote Whitesell

Let D’Antona continue to work stuff out, and keep Whitesell on the farm as a motivating threat. Considering the big deal the team and the media have made over the Whitesell signing, I doubt this will happen.

The D’Antona & Whitesell Options

If the Swallows opt to go with possibilities 2 or 3, the Swallows would have both D’Antona and Whitesell on the roster. With two foreign first basemen on the roster, the Swallows could take a number of approaches in using the two players.

Option #1: Make One the Everyday Starter, Let the Other Come Off the Bench

The first option is similar to possibility #1 outlined above, in that one player would be the undisputed starter for a certain period. The difference is that the other player would be available for pinch hit appearances. While this sounds good in theory, I’m not sure how much I trust the Swallows management to be patient if the named starter doesn’t perform at a high level immediately. Also, you would have to weigh the luxury of keeping the bench player, if he is taking the roster spot of a potential starter. Finally, if D’Antona becomes the bench player, it’s hard to imagine that he’ll be able to work out the issues with his bat with irregular at bats. D’Antona did not perform particularly well coming off the bench when he was in Takada’s dog house. If this is the scenario that plays out, I imagine Whitesell would be the starter.

Option #2: Platoon

While D’Antona’s numbers do not look too good when viewed as a whole, his numbers against left-handed pitchers are very good. In 65 ABs against left-handed pitching, D’Antona has 22 hits, including 6 homeruns, 5 walks, and 18 RBIs. Against right-handers, D’Antona has 23 hits, with 4 homeruns, 19 walks and 19 RBIs in 146 ABs. This would make the righty/lefty duo of D’Antona and Whitesell seem like a natural fit for a righty/lefty platoon, with D’Antona starting against left-handers, and Whitesell starting against right-handers. The advantage of this plan is that both players would get some fairly regular and predictable at bats. Obviously Whitesell would make more starts under this plan, since there are many more right-handed pitchers in the league. (See D’Antona’s AB totals to get an approximate lefty:righty ratio.) If, however, Whitesell is capable of hitting left-handers adequately, the need for this plan goes down significantly, as D’Antona’s diminished value weighed against the other foreign players’ whose spot he would be taking would probably not be favorable.

Option #3: Start Both

When we first announced the Whitesell signing, one commenter suggested that Whitesell could start at first and D’Antona could start at third. I do not think this option is seriously being considered by the Swallows. If the team was considering using D’Antona at third, I would expect reports of D’Antona taking fielding practice at third already. Based on the range D’Antona has displayed at first, I do not expect good things from him at third. For a team that features many starters that rely on getting outs by putting balls into play, defensive weaknesses at the corners (Whitesell has not gotten a favorable review from Ogawa defensively) can lead to the team giving up more runs. Also, if the goal is to get D’Antona humming again offensively, I question whether asking him to defend a position he has not played in 2 years can help him from a mental perspective.

Parting Thoughts

Given management’s propensity for showing impatience with struggling foreigners, I fear that Whitesell and D’Antona will be juggled around in a way that will make neither player particularly effective. I think the uncertainty of his role on the team has contributed to D’Antona’s struggles, and if Whitesell does not produce right away, I can see him being lead down the same path. I have nothing against D’Antona, but if the team is serious about Whitesell I hope they give him ample chances without having to worry too much about getting the quick hook. As such, I am in favor of demoting D’Antona and naming Whitesell the starter. Keeping both on the active roster takes away playing time from players I think are more valuable to the team, and is just asking for management to dick around with the lineup if things don’t go well. The transition into Japanese baseball is never easy, especially mid-season, and having to do it while looking over your shoulder certainly can’t help. Given the roster limitations that are in play, I cannot think of a scenario that can make everyone happy. I honestly think the players we have now, could get the job done, but if we are going to bring in a player I think we ought to give him a fair shake. No matter how I play it out in my head, someone loses. I wish Josh Whitesell all the best, and I hope he can help us win games. I also wish the same to whomever ends up being demoted.

Tokyo Yakult Swallows 1

Hiroshima Toyo Carp 5

Streak: Lost 2   Last 5: WWWLL

(Mazda Stadium)

Tokyo had to wait an extra day to re-start their Central League program after yesterday’s game in Hiroshima was rained out.  And for a while their return to CL duties was a tightly contested affair, until a disastrous 6th inning derailed the Swallows efforts.

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

Ishikawa started this one and fell behind in the 1st via a leadoff Higashide double and a Shima sacfly one out later for 1-0 Hiroshima.

Facing Carp ace Maeda was never going to be easy for the Swallows, and so it proved, as he largely held the Tokyo bats at bay throughout his 7 innings, giving up just 5 hits. His only major pinch came in the 3rd, as two two-out singles for Aoki and Tanaka, followed by a HBP for Guiel loaded the bases for D’Antona. But Jamie could only strike out and Maeda’s slender lead was safe.

After Ishikawa gave up two hits in the 2nd (but escaped with the Hiroshima lead still at one) he wouldn’t give up another hit until that fateful 6th. An inning in which, with one out on the board, he gave up: A solo homer to Shima (2-0), another solo shot to Huber (3-0), a single to Hirose and then a two-run homer to Akamatsu (5-0). All in consecutive at bats. Ouch.

That was it for Ishikawa as he was replaced by Oshimoto who got the final two outs of the inning.

And indeed that was about all she wrote for this one, with the Swallows adding a run in the 8th via a pinch-hit Hatakeyama solo homer (his first of the year) making it 5-1, but that would be the sum of all the Swallows scoring for the day as it ended 5-1 Final.

Ishikawa took the loss to put his record at 2-8/4.36.

De La Cruz and Takaichi both pitched hitless innings in relief, with the former making his second and latter making his first appearance of the year.

The two teams both registered 7 hits apiece, with that nasty 6th inning being the difference between the sides.

Tokyo return to Mazda ZOOOOOOM ZOOOOOOOOM Stadium tomorrow afternoon for the last game of the rained-shortened series.

Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters 10

Tokyo Yakult Swallows 2

Streak: Lost 1   Last 5: WWWWL

(Meiji Jingu Stadium)

Tokyo’s longest winning streak of the season came to a screeching halt at the hands of the Hokkaido Fighters who refused to be swept. In fact, they were so adamant about not being swept that they used seven pitchers over nine innings to keep the home team guessing.

And it worked.

Tonite’s lineup:

1. Aoki CF
2. Tanaka 2B
3. Guiel RF
4. D’Antona 1B
5. Iihara LF
6. Aikawa C
7. Yoshimoto 3B
8. Fujimoto SS
9. Tateyama P

Unlike Muranaka the night before, Tokyo starter Tateyama didn’t fare so well in the wet conditions. He gave up a run in three of the first four innings, two of them coming off of solo home runs. 3-0 Hokkaido.

But the end of his evening was hastened and exacted in the fifth when the Fighters plate five more runs off of four hits, an HBP and some other nonsense. 8-0 Visitors.

Here’s a summary of Tateyama’s evening: eight runs (all earned) off of 11 hits (three homers) with six K’s and a single beanball mixed in. His record now stands at 3-5 and his ERA ballooned violently to 4.01 after those five innings of pure trouble.

The birds were only able to collect one hit during the first five innings as Hokkaido used three different pitchers to keep everyone guessing.

The final four innings would see four different Hokkaido hurlers, and the Swallows had to settle for a Fujimoto solo homer in the seventh (his second of the year). 8-1 Hokkaido.

And their final run came in the ninth when Takeuchi scored care of a Fukukawa single.

But that wasn’t before Katoh came in and made a total hash of the top of that inning to allow the Fighters to score two more.

10-2 Final.

Oshimoto pitched a scoreless sixth to lower his ERA to 3.86, and De La Cruz made his first top team appearance of the season while pitching two innings of slightly nerve-wracking, yet ultimately scoreless, baseball to maintain a triple-bagel ERA.

D’Antona and Fukukawa, who got a couple of at-bats in place of Aikawa, were the only players to reach base twice for the Swallows. Both of D’Antona’s appearances on first were due to walks while Fukukawa went 1-1 with an RBI single and a walk.

The Swallows now have two days off before they resume regularly scheduled Central League programming with a three-game series in Hiroshima starting this Friday.

Random thoughts:

The birds were thoroughly controlled on offense. They managed only four hits and five walks.

The Fighters came up with 17 hits, 1 BB and 1 HBP.

The Swallows won the four-game interleague series versus the Fighters 3-1. It was their best result of their otherwise lackluster interleague campaign.

Tokyo finished the interleague portion of the season with a 9-14-1 record. That was good enough for 11th place. Last place went to Yokohama.

Tonite’s foes, the Hokkaido Fighters, finished the interleague schedule with the best team ERA–2.58–very impressive!

The Fighters finished sixth. Interestingly, the five teams that bested them during interleague play were all from the Pacific League.

Yomiuri had the best interleague record for the Central at 12-12.

Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters 3

Tokyo Yakult Swallows 8

Streak: Won 5   Last 5: WWWWW

(Meiji Jingu Stadium)

When this game was originally scheduled to be played (May 23rd), Takada was still at the helm, the birds had just gotten whupped by Chiba 20-4, and the team was in the midst of an eight-game losing streak.

What a difference three weeks make.

Tonite’s lineup:

1. Aoki CF
2. Tanaka 2B
3. Guiel RF
4. D’Antona 1B
5. Iihara LF
6. Aikawa C
7. Miyamoto 3B
8. Fujimoto SS
9. Muranaka P

Tokyo got down and dirty real early in this one.

Aoki led off with a single before Tanaka Tak-bunted him over to second. Guiel then occupied the empty space at first by drawing a walk which set the table for D’Antona to hit one over the fence in right. It was his ninth homer of the season. 3-0 Tokyo.

Iihara chipped in with a walk of his own, the then Aikawa followed with the first of his four singles to put runners on first and second again. Miyamoto then came through with a single to left that plated Iihara. 4-0 Tokyo.

Too bad about that bunt because the second out of the inning didn’t even arrive until Muranaka, the ninth batter of the inning, struck out. Aoki then ended the inning by lining out to short.

Muranaka's Kroon impersonation. Very dramatic in the rain. Wrong hand though.

Ogawa wasted another out in the fourth with a Tanaka Tak-bunt after Aoki had reached base on a single. And yet again, D’Antona was there to make the decision look that much more foolish by crushing his second homer of the night over the fence in center. This two run shot was his tenth of the year and second of the game. 6-0 Tokyo.

Hokkaido finally got on the board in the top of the fifth with a little two out rally that made the score 6-1 Swallows.

But the birds answered back with another two runs in the bottom of that inning. Tokyo actually got a little help, in the form of an error, from former teammate Atsunori Inaba who was playing first base at the time. Aikawa and Miyamoto had come up with back-to-back singles just prior to the Inaba blunder, and Aikawa was able to score. 7-1 Tokyo.

Tokyo’s last run of the game came on Tanaka’s bases loaded groundout to third in which Miyamoto was able to sneak home. 8-1 Tokyo.

Things began to unravel quickly for Muranaka in the seventh. With the rain still falling, he allowed three hits, a walk, and two RBIs without recording an out, so Masubuchi had to come in to quiet things down a bit. Which he did in one, two, three fashion. 8-3 Final.

Matsuoka (1.04 ERA) and Oshimoto (4.01) pitched scoreless eighth and ninth innings, respectively, and Muranaka got the win. Muranaka (4-5; 3.56) threw 126 pitches and allowed three earned runs off of seven hits. He also notched five strikeouts and conceded two walks.

The clear standout on offense was Jamie D’Antona who went 2-5 and clubbed two round-trippers and amassed five RBIs. Aikawa also had an excellent game–he went 4-4 and scored once.

Miyamoto and Aoki both had two-hit games with the latter throwing in a walk for good measure.

The final game of this series, the only one in which the Swallows were able to take at lease three of the games, is scheduled for tomorrow night–weather permitting.

Random thoughts:

Tokyo is now riding a season high five-game winning streak.

Tanaka’s consecutive game batting streak came to an end at nine games. Of course, it’s probably fair to wonder what might have been if two of his at-bats hadn’t been wasted on Tak-bunts.

Muranaka leads the league with 9.48 K’s per nine innings.

Tokyo is now just 2.5 games behind the fourth place Hiroshima Carp.

Whitesell is being brought in to compete with Jamie D’Antona, and to a lesser extent Shinichi Takeuchi, for the starting first baseman’s job. Quickly skimming through Whitesell’s Wikipedia profile reveals some similarities between D’Antona and Whitesell. They are both tall, 28 year old first basemen that made their Major League debut in 2008 with the Arizona Diamondbacks. In 2009, D’Antona signed with the Swallows, while Whitesell bounced between AAA and the Major Leagues. Whitesell put up some impressive numbers in AAA, but failed to replicate those results in the Majors. After the 2009 season, Whitesell was not resigned by the Diamondbacks, and he signed a minor league contract with the Washington Nationals.

Whitesell is noted for his patience at the plate. In 53 games for the Syracuse Chiefs of the AAA International League this year, Whitesell lead his team in walks with 29, and he recorded an OBP of .401 . However, Whitesell also lead the team with 47 strikeouts. Whitesell slugged a respectable .443 for an OPS of .844. He has not spent any time in the Majors this year.

It seems we have gotten a left-handed version of D’Antona. We’ll have to see how Whitesell adapts to life in NPB and see how his minor league numbers translate on this side of the Pacific. Stay tuned to Tsubamegun for more coverage on the Whitesell signing!