An in-depth look at the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, Jingu Stadium, the Central League, and Japanese Pro Baseball
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 [...]
July 28th, 2010 Hiroshima Toyo Carp 2 Tokyo Swallows 12 Streak: Won 3 Last 5: LLWWW (Jingu Stadium) Extra base-hits were the order of the day as Tokyo banged out nine of them in their destruction of struggling Hiroshima. Aoki (CF) Tanaka (2B) Ihara (RF) Whitesell (1B) Hatakeyama (LF) Aikawa (C) Miyamoto (3B) Kawabata [...]
June 23rd, 2010 Yomiuri Giants 3 Tokyo Yakult Swallows 4 Streak: Won 1 Last 5: LLWLW (Meiji Jingu Stadium) Tokyo fell behind early but battled back to take a slender lead, with the bullpen putting in a lights-out shift to bring home the much needed victory. Aoki (CF) Fukuchi (LF) Tanaka (2B) D’Antona (1B) [...]
June 22nd, 2010 Yomiuri Giants 5 Tokyo Yakult Swallows 1 Streak: Lost 1 Last 5: WLLWL (Meiji Jingu Stadium) Yomiuri brought their brand of thoroughly unlikeable baseball and mentally challenged fans to Jingu for the first time this season. And as they more often than not tend to do, they left with a win. Wonderful. [...]
June 20th, 2010 Tokyo Yakult Swallows 4 Hiroshima Toyo Carp 2 Streak: Won 1 Last 5: WWLLW (Mazda Stadium) Tokyo rallied late against the Hiroshima bullpen as they came from behind to win against the Carp. Aoki (CF) Tanaka (2B) Takeuchi (RF) D’Antona (1B) Ihara (LF) Aikawa (C) Miyamoto (3B) Fujimoto (SS) Yoshinori (P) [...]
The Birds kicked off Interleague play with a disastrous 0-4 homestand. Starting tomorrow, the team takes their show on the road with two games each against the Seibu Lions and the Lotte Marines. That means for the first time this season, the Swallows will be able to feature a lineup with a designated hitter. The [...]
May 9th, 2010 Tokyo Yakult Swallows 9 Chunichi Dragons 0 Streak: Won 1 Last 5: LLLLW (Nagoya Dome) Do not adjust your screens, that score above really is correct. And that is a “W” up there too. The previously comatose Tokyo bats finally exploded into life as they snapped their losing streak at 6 [...]
May 2nd, 2010 Yokohama Baystars 4 Tokyo Yakult Swallows 1 Streak: Lost 1 Last 5: LLLWL (Meiji Jingu Stadium) Quick quiz: can you actually remember the last time that the birds won a series? Neither can we. Starting for the BayStars was Tomokazu Ohka. Yikes. Tonite’s lineup: 1. Fukuchi LF 2. Miyamoto 3B 3. Aoki [...]
April 6th, 2010 Hiroshima Toyo Carp 3 Tokyo Yakult Swallows 2 Streak: Lost 2 Last 5: LWWLL (Meiji Jingu Stadium) Ugh. This game sucked. Fukuchi LF Tanaka 2B Aoki CF D’Antona 1B Guiel RF Miyamoto 3B Fujimoto SS Kawamoto C Nakazawa P This evening marked the first of a three game series against the [...]
April 1st, 2010 Chunichi Dragons 5 Tokyo Yakult Swallows 2 Streak: Lost 1 Last 5: WWWWL (Meiji Jingu Stadium) Tokyo couldn’t manage to extend their winning streak to five as they fell to their first loss since opening day. And like opening day Ishikawa was at the helm for the Swallows, and just as [...]
