We need to officially change the name of this column, since it’s not Monday and I don’t want to be limited by the title. It’s something we’ll have to work on in the offseason. In the meantime, I’ll be giving you some news updates and roster analysis to mull over before the start of the Climax Series next Saturday.

Senryokugai Players: Earlier this month the Swallows announced that 8 players will be cut by the team at the end of the season. The players are LHP Masaru Sato, RHP Shun Takaichi, RHP Hiromitsu Takagi, RHP Masahiro Yoshikawa, LHP Naoya Okamoto, C Atsushi Kinugawa, INF Ryo Yoshimoto, and OF Toshihiro Nakao. Of the listed players, Kinugawa will be given a front office position with the team, and many of the other players were undecided as to what they wanted to do in the future. No major surprises here, and we wish all these players the best in their future endeavors.

Potential Roster Moves: The Swallows have been going crazy with roster moves since the last Monday Review, and we won’t be going over them all. Instead, we’ll be examining where certain players are now and how our post-season roster is shaping up. As of today the Swallows only have 23 players out of a possible 28 on their active roster. Any player removed from the active roster on or before the 19th would be eligible to return in time for Game 1 of the Climax series on the 29th. Among the players not on the active roster who may get recalled in the playoffs are Ishikawa, Kawabata, Whitesell, Kyuko, Barnette, Muranaka, Yoshinori, Shichijo, and Iihara. I’ll give a quick update on the status of each player.

• Ishikawa was removed from the active roster on the 19th, and he should be expected to return on the 29th. Many outlets are now reporting that Ishikawa will be the Swallows’ game 1 starter, and that he may throw in a Phoenix League (fall league) game as warm up. The chances of Ishikawa NOT getting recalled seems slim to none at this point.
• Kawabata was removed from active roster at the same time as Ishikawa. Apparently he had been feeling pain in his left wrist since a game against Hiroshima in September, and was taken off the active roster for that reason. The pains may have been what contributed to his 5-for-45 batting in October. He’s said he’ll be aiming to return in time for the CS, but the status of his health is concerning.
• Whitesell was taken off the roster with right flank pains on the 9th. But there have been no other reports as to his status since. Obviously having Whitesell’s bat on the bench would be a big help to a team struggling to get its offense going.
• Kyuko returned to the team on the 11th, but had a couple of rocky outings (2.1 IP, 5 ER, in 3 appearances) and was taken of the active roster on the 20th. No word as to whether Kyuko is injured and whether he can be expected back for the playoffs. Since Kyuko was taken off the active roster on the 20th, he would only be eligible to return for Game 2 of the first round.
• Barnette’s case is even more mysterious than Kyuko’s case. Barnette was recalled to the active roster at the same time as Kyuko but was taken off the roster 3 days later without ever getting into a game. Barnette has not pitched in a first team game since September 3, and hasn’t pitched in ni-gun games as far as I can see. No details have been released as to Barnette’s condition. Like Kyuko, we’d love to have a prime Barnette back for the playoffs, but it would be a concern if he takes the mound for the first time in the CS.
• Muranaka was taken off the active roster on the 15th after pitching ineffectively on the 14th. Muranaka is healthy as far as we know, so I’d expect him back on the roster for the playoffs.
• The current word on Yoshinori is that he could potentially return if the team makes it to the Nippon Series, but not any sooner.
• Shichijo was demoted from the team after a series of rough outings in late September, but would be available to the team unless he has a hidden injury. He was not on the initial Phoenix League roster so he may be rusty if he were to join the team.
• Finally Iihara would be available to the team if he is needed.

As you can see from the above list our team has been suffering through injury and our roster is somewhat in flux and other players have not been able to fill in the gap. As reported earlier by Chris, Keizo Kawashima will not be able available to the team as he underwent ligament surgery (possibly Tommy John surgery?) on his right elbow and will be out for a whole year.

Left Field: One of the first topics I ever handled on the Monday Review was our left field situation. At the time, the solution was putting Hatake in left, and that worked for a while. However, the big man’s defensive inability in left combined with some cooling off by Whitesell led to a re-opening of the hole in left. The team has tried Iihara, Ueda, and Fukuchi over the last month. While all of them are more than adequate replacements in left field they haven’t been able to make up for the offense lost by having Whitesell come off the bench. It seems the team has settled on Ueda for the stretch run.

Have we settled on a left fielder for the playoffs?

2011 Draft: The 2011 Draft will occur on the 27th. I will be posting a draft preview sometime next week. Let me know if there are any players you’d like me to cover.

Retirement Game: Our last game is on Tuesday, and as predicted in the last Monday Review, the final game will be a retirement game. Hirotoshi Ishii will be given an opportunity to pitch in one last pro game prior to his retirement. There were no comments in regards to Hamanaka and Guiel, but it seems those players will not be coming into the game.

I Want Love: As mentioned by Chris and Dave in their last podcast, I”m in need to love and feedback for this column. Let me know if you like this column and if there’s anything I can do to make it better.

May 5th, 2010

Tokyo Yakult Swallows 0

Yomiuri Giants 12

Streak: Lost 4   Last 5: WLLLL

(Tokyo Dome)

No comment.

Today’s lineup:

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

Yomiuri tallied 13 hits in this game–12 of them before the end of the fourth inning–and nearly half of those hits (five) were home runs.

Tokyo starter Tony Barnette gave up two homers in the first inning alone as Yomiuri quickly jumped out to a visiting-team-deflating 5-0 lead.

The third inning would be Barnette’s last as he gave up another four earned runs to put the deficit at 9-0 Yomiuri.

Nothing happened for the Swallows on offense, so we’ll just keep detailing the Yomiuri onslaught here.

Matsui took the mound for the fourth and he proceeded to give up three more earned runs within the first three batters that he faced. Ogasawara led off with a HUGE homer to right before Ramirez singled and Abe cleared the bases with a right field blast of his own. 12-0 Yomiuri.

Yoshikawa and Hashimoto pitched an inning of relief each and didn’t allow any further damage.

The only player to have a multi-hit game for the Swallows was Fujimoto.

Barnette’s numbers now look like this: 2-2, 4.72 ERA. He pitched three innings and gave up nine earned runs off of nine hits and two walks. His RIP for those three innings was 3.67.

Random notes:

The birds are lifeless at the moment. Absolutely lifeless. When is Takada finally going to get axed? The ever-changing lineup seems to be negatively affecting everyone at this point.

The birds were swept for the first time this season (when counting three-game series).

The birds were outscored 24-3 in this series against Yomiuri.

]]> http://tokyoswallows.com/2010/05/05/5510-yomiuri-away/feed/ 7 http://tokyoswallows.com/2010/03/30/33010-chunichi-home/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=33010-chunichi-home http://tokyoswallows.com/2010/03/30/33010-chunichi-home/#comments Tue, 30 Mar 2010 14:32:47 +0000 David Watkins http://tokyoswallows.com/?p=5829 March 30th, 2010

Chunichi Dragons 2

Tokyo Yakult Swallows 5

Streak: Won 3   Last 5: LWWW

(Meiji Jingu Stadium)

Fresh after winning a series in the Tokyo Dome for the first time since 2004 on opening weekend, there were plenty more reasons for optimism after Tokyo downed Chunichi in tonight’s home opener. Primary amongst those reasons was the debut of rookie Masato Nakazawa. Despite falling behind early to a 1st inning Blanco two-run homer, the 25 year old maintained his composure to complete 5 and 1/3 innings having given up just those two initial runs off 4 hits, striking out 6 and walking 4.

Tokyo named an unchanged lineup for the third straight game:

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

The Swallows would halve the early Chunichi lead in the bottom of the 1st against Dragons starter Yamai. Tanaka worked a one-out walk before taking second on a wild pitch. He was then brought home by an Aoki single to make it 2-1 Chunichi.

Nakazawa then had two 1-2-3 innings before the Swallows took the lead in the bottom of the 3rd. Fukuchi singled to lead off the inning, and was brought home (after the inevitable steal) one out later by an Aoki double to tie things up at 2-2. Walks for Guiel and Miyamoto then loaded the bases for Fujimoto, who endeared himself to the Jingu faithful by poking one up the middle to bring home two runs to make it 4-2 Tokyo.

The Swallows final run came in the bottom of the 4th, Fukuchi again getting on base with a single, with Tanaka bringing him home with a double for 5-2 Tokyo.

Nakazawa finally ran out of steam in the 6th, giving up a one out double followed by two walks which saw him replaced by Yoshikawa from the bullpen. The reliever managed to get Ibata to hit into a double play and the inning was over with the runners stranded and Nakazawa’s chance for a win remained intact.

Yoshikawa then pitched a scoreless 7th despite giving up two hits before Oshimoto pitched an impressive K-K-single-K 8th. Lim allowed a hit in the 9th but got the job done to earn his 2nd save of the year and the win was Nakazawa’s.

Tokyo outhit the Dragons 9 to 8, with two hits each from Fukuchi (.333), Aoki (.533) and the impressive Fujimoto (.364). D’Antona (.385) and Guiel (.417) both were hitless in their four plate appearances, though Aaron did walk twice and Jamie made base with a HBP to the back.

So yet more positives for 2010. The debut of Nakazawa, the continuation of Aoki’s hot start, the promising start in a Swallows uniform for Fujimoto plus a good outing for the bullpen in their first proper shift of work this season. Long may the good times roll.

The two teams will be back at Jingu tomorrow evening to do it all again.

Yomiuri Giants 10

Tokyo Yakult Swallows 2

Streak: Lost 1    Last 5: LLWWL

(Jingu Stadium)

After two long overdue victories on the trot, normal service was resumed tonight as the team did what they nearly always do when facing their local neighbours, they yet again rolled over and became Yomiuri’s bitches.

Tonight saw Muranaka return to start for the first time since then end of August, where he was unceremoniously yanked by Takada after 1 and 2/3 innings of two run baseball against the Carp. Things didn’t look too promising for win number three of the Swallows’ recovery, what with him coming into the game with an 8.25 ERA and not a single win in his five previous starts this season.

And tonight he was, well, Muranaka-like. He started promisingly enough (which is un-Muranaka-like actually) with two perfect innings, but the Giants bats gradually got his number, creating and wasting chances to score in both the 3rd and 4th, and then putting up two runs in each of the 5th and 6th innings. Muranaka ended his six innings having given up four runs off eight hits, with four strikeouts and three walks. He would eventually be tagged with the loss to send his record to 0 and 5. His ERA actually dropped to 7.80 which shows that it was an above-par Muranaka performance after all.

Youngster Katoh made his first appearance of his second year as a pro in the 7th, but it was one to forget as he gave up five runs off five hits (including a three-run shot from pig-man Abe) without getting a single out. He was replaced by Matsui (4.77) who got out of the inning without another run scoring.

Yoshikawa (2.70) then pitched the 8th and 9th, giving up just one hit, a Kamei solo homer in the 9th.

Tokyo lined up like this:

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

After having woken up somewhat over the last two games, Tokyo’s bats faced Giants starter Utsumi, a pitcher who had shut them out over the distance earlier this month.

And they didn’t fare a whole lot better tonight as Utsumi gave up two runs off six hits in his seven innings of work. Tokyo’s only runs of the game came in the 7th, while down by nine runs at the time. Tanaka and Kawamoto hit consecutive two-out singles, and Hatakeyama (in for Matsui) hit a double to make it 9-2 Yomiuri.

Ochi (0 hits allowed) and Toyoda (1 hit) then worked scoreless 8th and 9th and it was 10-2 Final. Tokyo were outhit 14-7 in the game.

The season series between the two teams now stands at 15-4-1  in the Giants’ favour.

Tanaka (.269) was the only standout with the bat with two hits, with Aoki (.289), Fukuchi (.275), Kawamoto (.147), Hatakeyama (.243) and Muranaka (.125) with the others.

With Hanshin also losing tonight against Hiroshima, the Swallows remain 0.5 games out of 3rd.

The two teams return tomorrow evening for game two of the humiliation series.

Tokyo Yakult Swallows 5

Yokohama BayStars 6

Streak: Lost 9  Last 5: LLLLL

(Yokohama Stadium)

The last time the Swallows played the Baystars, the Stars whupped them 13-2. Carrying an eight game losing streak, the beleaguered fourth-place Swallows headed to Yokohama to play a team that has had their number all season long.

Tokyo’s starting lineup:

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

The birds got on the board first in this game care of Kawashima’s grounder past short with one out in the first. He then stole second, and Aoki brought him home on a beautiful slice swing that ended up a single to shallow left. Nice wheels on Keizo, by the way. 1-0 Tokyo.

After Ishikawa’s perfect 11-pitch first, Noguchi led off the second with a double down the line in left. Despite a decent at-bat, next up Aikawa grounded out to third and Ishikawa struck out. Fukuchi, believe it or not, had himself a very nice at-bat against Mr. Miura with two outs and Noguchi still standing on second.

Even though he has one of the worst batting averages with runners in scoring position (.188), Fukuchi worked the count full by fouling off tons of cutters before finally bouncing one up the middle that scored Noguchi from second. 2-0 Tokyo.

A pitch-out when they knew that Fukuchi would be running didn’t work (Niinuma bounced it to second base), and it was Tokyo’s third stolen base of the game (Kawashima and Aoki stole second in the first).

Kawashima then came up with his second hit of the game, this one off of the wall in right-center, and pushed Fukuchi around from third. Kawashima ended up with a double, and the score was 3-0 Swallows.

And that was the third batter to reach second base that inning. If not for Sasaki’s (the ump) terrible called strike two, the two-out rally might have continued. Instead, Aoki broke his bat on a groundout to second for out number three.

Miura’s pitch count was 64 after only two innings.

In the bottom of the second, things got a little iffy. Ishikawa gave up a lead-off single to Johnson (Noguchi probably should have dove to his right rather than covering first, but hey), and then Saeki got hit on the arm in the middle of his swing. Ishikawa then threw a ball in the dirt that bounced before home plate and allowed both players to advance.

Ishikawa finally got out number one when Yoshimura struck out swinging. Yokohama’s Ishikawa then grounded out to short but Johnson was able to score in the process for 3-1 Tokyo. No more runs scored after that as Niinuma grounded out to short.

Guiel was the first man up for Tokyo in the top of the third, and he struck out swinging after drawing a walk in his first at-bat. Miyamoto followed that with a first-pitch double down the leftfield line. Tanaka struck out swinging, and after a near-miss on the leftfield line that would have been an rbi double, Noguchi struck out looking.

Miura’s pitch count after three innings was 83.

In his first (and only) at-bat of the game, Miura grounded out to first for out number one in the Baystars third. After striking out in his first at-bat, Kinjoh continued his season-long field-day against the Swallows (with a bit of help from the wind) by hitting one off the base of the wall in center-right for a stand-up double.

Kinjoh was able to move over to third on Yamazaki’s grounder to second, and Uchikawa came to the plate with two outs. Uchikawa’s reaching defensive swing on an Ishikawa sinker lofted the ball high enough for Aoki to be able to get to it easily at the warning track to end the inning and get Ishikawa out of the inning.

Aikawa led off the top of the fourth with a pop fly that eventually landed just behind the pitcher’s mound for out number one. Miura then came up with a superb backhanded throw to disrupt Ishikawa’s infield single for out number two. Fukuchi’s next at-bat looked like a continuation of his last one as Miura continued to pound the inside of the plate with cutters, but this time Miura came out on top as Fukuchi swung feebly at a pitch on the outside corner of the plate for strike number three.

96 pitches for Miura so far.

After leading off the second with a base hit, Johnson began the fourth with a pop fly to Tanaka at second for the first out. Saeki followed with a ground ball to Tanaka for out number two. Yoshimura popped up to Aoki in center to end the inning.

Kawashima, who was 2-2 at the time, started things off for the Swallows with a grounder to second, and the Swallows finally benefited from a bit of luck when Aoki’s pop fly was met with a wind-aided error by Yokohama second baseman, Yamazaki. That put yet another runner on second for the birds, but Guiel struck out looking for out number two.

Miyamoto would notch his second double (this time resulting in an rbi) of the game with a long fly ball to the gap in left-center which would easily score Aoki from second. 4-1 Swallows.

Next man up, Tanaka, spun a Miura offering into the hole behind second base that Yamazaki very nearly got his glove on, but the result was another run for the Swallows, and yet another double to go with it. After five doubles, the score was 5-1 birds.

Miura was replaced after the fifth inning having already thrown 116 pitches and giving up five runs (three earned). It didn’t make a difference for the Baystars as Ishikawa pitched a second perfect inning in a row.

Ishikawa’s pitch count through five innings was 73. And you had to like his chances with a four run cushion and the door to the Yokohama bullpen already kicked open.

Could this be the birds’ first win of September?

Kuwahara came in to pitch the sixth for Yokohama, and Aikawa greeted him by smacking the second pitch he saw off the wall in center for Tokyo’s sixth double of the evening. But it would all go down the drain as Ishikawa’s tak bunt ended up getting Aikawa thrown out at third to remove the threat. Oops.

With one out and Ishikawa on first, Fukuchi popped up to short. Kawashima followed with a 3-1 groundout to end the inning.

In the bottom of the sixth, with the rain falling a little harder, Kinjoh started things off for the Stars with a solo homer to left. 5-2 Tokyo. How much does that guy love hitting against Ishikawa?

Yamazaki followed with a hard liner that fortunately headed straight for Fukuchi in left field. Uchikawa then swiped at a pitch he probably shouldn’t have for the second out, and Johnson made things interesting by drawing a well-deserved walk. But Noguchi made a nice diving save at first to snag a Saeki grounder to get Ishikawa out of the inning with only the one run surrendered.

With one out in the top of the seventh, Guiel drew his second walk of the game to set things up for Miyamoto. Miyamoto proceeded to collect his third hit of the game, this time a single, to put runners on first and second with one out.  Guiel was then able to move over to third on a Tanaka fly ball to deep right. But Noguchi also hit a fly ball to right to end the threat and strand both of the runners.

Yoshimura led off the Baystars seventh with his first hit of the game to put a runner on first with no outs. In the subsequent Ishikawa-Ishikawa matchup, a liner right back at the pitcher ended up hitting him on the wrist (glove hand), and while he was able to get the runner at first, there was a bit of a scare as he had to go get his hand examined by the trainer.

He eventually returned sans tape, and he got pinch-hitter, Kuwahara (not related to the previously mentioned relief pitcher), to ground out to third. However, a sac fly made the score 5-3 Swallows with two outs.

Ishikawa-killer, Kinjoh, then notched his third hit of the game, and second rbi, with another long hit, this time off the wall in right-center, to make it a very tight 5-4 Tokyo.

Yamazaki followed with an infield single to put runners on the corners with two outs.

Maybe it wasn’t such a great idea to leave Ishikawa in the game after he got hit by that line drive after all…?

Ishikawa pitched 6 2/3 and gave up five earned runs off of seven hits (one homer) while striking out three, walking and beaning one each, and tossing a single wild pitch for good measure. He didn’t factor in the decision, but his ERA grew to 3.75.

Yoshikawa (1.93) was called in to handle the mess with two outs. Uchikawa did what they pay him for, and he tied the game with a bouncer up the middle to tie the game at five all.

And with the left-handed Johnson at the plate, Yoshikawa was pulled in favor of Mr. Lee (3.19) who is a southpaw. With runners again on the corners, Johnson walked on five pitches. With the bases loaded, and Lee still pitching, Saeki mercifully grounded out to second to stop the bleeding and make sure that Ishikawa didn’t leave with a loss.

Aikawa started the Swallows eighth with a fly ball to center for the first out. Interestingly, right about now, at 8:45 PM, all three games in the Central League were tied up. The Tigers and Giants, and the Dragons and Carp, were both tied at three runs apiece.

Anyway, Takeuchi (pinch-hitting for Lee) struck out swinging after working the count full for the second out. Fukuchi grounded out weakly to second to end the inning.

Igarashi (2.77) came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth, his first appearance since coming back from that arm twinge he experienced back in August. Igarashi pitched a perfect inning which included two strikeouts.

With Yamaguchi on the mound for the Baystars in the ninth, Kawashima started things off for the birds by striking out swinging on a forkball. Aoki did the same on a slider. And Guiel also met the same fate chasing what I believe was a high fastball.

Matsuoka (4.39) appeared for the bottom of the ninth, and he started out by facing Yokohama’s catcher, Saito. Saito reached first on a safety bunt that spun just out of Matsuoka’s reach to get the nastiness started. Kinjoh and his three hits for the evening sac bunted for the first out. Saito reached second safely on the play. It then became first and third when Noguchi couldn’t handle Shimozono’s hot potato at first. The bases were juiced after Matsuoka intentionally walked Uchikawa.

With one out and the bases loaded, Johnson came to the plate. Just needing a sac fly, Johnson went one better and singled over the drawn-in infield to end the game in walk-off fashion and send Tokyo to it’s ninth loss in a row. 6-5 Yokohama.

Matsuoka took his fourth loss of the season and third of the last couple of weeks. He should not be used again until October methinks.

The march to force Takada out continues.

Tokyo Yakult Swallows 2

Chunichi Dragons 4

Streak: Lost 7    Last 5: LLLLL

(Nagoya Dome)

And another series bites the dust.

Tokyo’s starting lineup:

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

The Swallows found themselves in a hole early in this one as Ibata’s two-out single in the third inning scored one. 1-0 Chunichi.

The Dragons collected two more runs off of Tokyo starter Oshimoto in the fourth when Wada’s homer to left brought Morino around as well. 3-0 Chunichi.

Tokyo wouldn’t find its way back into the game until the eighth inning when Aoki’s two-out single started a bit of a rally at the expense of the constantly used Asao. D’Antona helped things a long by taking a beanball and was replaced by Morioka on first base. Guiel and Miyamoto singles would plate Aoki and Morioka to make it 3-2 Chunichi.

But that’s as close as the team would get as the Dragons were able to score an insurance run in the bottom of that inning when Yoshikawa led things off by plunking Araki. Araki was able to make it to third in time to benefit from a Blanco sac fly to center. 4-2 final.

The birds loaded the bases in the top of the ninth, but with two outs Takada put Kawamoto in to pinch hit for Morioka. As you might expect, it didn’t result in any runs being scored.

Oshimoto (2.77) pitched six innings, gave up seven hits, and surrendered three earned runs. Additionally, he recorded five K’s against one walk. The loss took his record to 1-6.

Matsui (5.06) pitched a perfect seventh, and Yoshikawa (1.93) gave up that one run in the eighth.

Aoki was arguably the biggest contributor on offense for Tokyo in this game. He had two hits (both singles) but reached base four times with the help of the two walks that he drew.

Guiel also had a good night at the plate going 2-3 (double, rbi single) and adding a walk.

The loss marked Tokyo’s twelfth series loss in a row.

Game three is tomorrow afternoon at Nagoya Dome (2 PM).

Hiroshima Toyo Carp 3

Tokyo Yakult Swallows 2

Streak: Lost 5     Last : LLLLL

(Jingu Stadium)

You couldn’t make this shit up if you tried. The Swallows took a 2-0 lead into the 9th inning off the back of an excellent start from Hiromitsu Takagi. But wouldn’t you just know it, they would end up on the rough end of a 3-2 loss.

With Tokyo at their lowest ebb of the season so far, Takada had his most major re-jig of the lineup so far in ’09:

1. Takeuchi (LF)
2. Morioka (SS)
3. Aoki (CF)
4. D’Antona (1B)
5. Guiel (RF)
6. Miyamoto (3B)
7. Tanaka (2B)
8. Kawamoto (C)
9. Takagi (P)

With the regular starting rotation now consisting of only the duo of Tateyama and Ishikawa, Takagi was called on to start after making five fairly promising appearances from the bullpen this year. Plus he beaned a Giant in the head last week so he’s good in my book.

He pitched an excellent seven innings of shutout baseball tonight, giving up just five hits while striking out three and walking one. He left the game with a 2-0 lead which should have landed him with his first pro-win, but of course he didn’t end up figuring in the decision. His ERA now sits at 1.00.

Takagi’s only major jam came in the 2nd, as a walk and two hits loaded the bases for Kura. But the catcher hit a line drive that was caught by Morioka, who threw to second for a 6-4 double play. He let a man get to second in each of the 6th and 7th innings but that was as dicey as it got for him.

Tokyo faced a quality starter in the Carp’s Ohtake. Tokyo got men on first and second in the first but strikeouts for D’Antona and Guiel ended the inning. In the 3rd they got a man to second, but Aoki grounded out to first to end it there. They got Guiel to third in the 4th but a Tanaka strikeout left him stranded. In the 5th Kawamoto got to second but strikeouts from Takeuchi and Morioka left him there.

Just as it looked like it would be another one of those nights, Aoki led off the 6th with a shot that hit the left foul pole for 1-0 Tokyo. It was his 13th homer of the year. Aoki punched the air as it hit the pole, and it looked like it may give the team the jolt back to life that they needed. D’Antona then singled and was replaced by the quick-footed Fukuchi. Guiel flew out for out number one, then Miyamoto grounded out to second, allowing Fukuchi to move to second. Next man up Tanaka stabbed one straight up the middle for a single, Fukuchi absolutely motored around the turn at third, beating the throw home while Tanaka advanced to second, 2-0 Tokyo. Kawamoto struck out to end the inning, but it seemed that the tide was starting to turn in the Swallows’ favour. Little did they know it would turn out to be one of those nights in the end after all.

In the top of the 8th, Lee (3.23) took to the mound in relief of Takagai. He looked rough as he walked the leadoff man, and just about managed to strikeout Higashide with the runner stealing second in the process. In came Yoshikawa (0.00). He faced the pinch-hitting Shima, who hit one deep to centre which initially looked like it may go out of the park, but Aoki took it for out number two. Phillips was struck out looking and then Tokyo was three outs from it’s first win in a week.

Yokoyama made short work of the middle of the Swallows order in the 8th and it was on to the 9th with Matsuoka taking the mound for Tokyo. The same Matsuoka who gave up a 9th inning three-run game winning homer against the Carp on Tuesday. It was his 49th appearance of the year, and he’s clearly looked tired for a while, but with Igarashi and Lim both on the DL the threadbare bullpen didn’t have too many better options left in it (though Takada really should have left the in-form Yoshikawa on the mound).

Matsuoka gave up a single to Kurihara to open the inning, then a walk to McClain. Amaya the struck out looking before Suenaga took to the plate. The same Suenaga who had hit just one homer so far this season and just six in his career as a whole. Well, of course the Swallows can do no right at the moment and the Carp no wrong, and so he hit the ball over the rightfield wall and it was 3-2 Hiroshima.

F*ck this shit.

Nakagawa allowed a walk in the 9th and the runner would make it to second, but he got Hatakeyama to ground out for the final out of the game (for his 30th save) and it was 3-2 Final.

For the second night in a row Tokyo had only managed five hits, but with a great start from Takagi and (eventually) some timely hitting from the bats, this was another deserved victory that wasn’t. But with Hanshin losing tonight, both they and Hiroshima are now just 1.5 games out of third. The momentum/luck does seem to be with Hiroshima at the moment though.

From here Tokyo travel to Nagoya for possibly another sweep or at the very least their 12th series loss on the trot. It doesn’t make a genius to figure out that Tokyo won’t be in 3rd place come the end of play on Sunday.

Hiroshima Toyo Carp 9

Tokyo Yakult Swallows 0

Streak: Lost 4     Last : DLLLL

(Jingu Stadium)

Two-word game report: shit sandwich.

Pertinent game facts:

Hits: Hiroshima 15, Tokyo 5

Hitless Tokyo innings: 6

Winning Pitcher: Colby Lewis 113 pitch complete game shutout with 9K, 0BB.

No. of pitchers to throw a complete game shutout of Tokyo this week: 2

Losing Pitcher: Masanori Ishikawa. 6 innings, 6 runs, 12 hits (2HR), 4K, 0BB , 1HBP. Record now at 10-7/3.63.

Tokyo players that managed to hit: Aoki (2), Fukuchi, D’Antona, Miyamoto.

Number of rookie pitchers to make their pro-debuts tonight: 1. Nineteen year old Katsuki Akagawa. 4 batters faced in the 9th inning. 3 hits (1HR), 3 runs, 2 wild pitches, 0 outs.

Other Relievers involved: Kamada (5.25) worked scoreless 7th and 8th innings. Yoshikawa (0.00) mopped the mess left by Akagawa in the 9th with three straight outs.

Any stained sheets/dodgy umpires calls involved tonight?: Nope. Only ourselves to blame for this one.

Distance to chasing pack: With Hanshin winning tonight they’re just 1.5 games back with Hiroshima a further game behind.

Any hope for some kind of change in fortunes?: Erm…………anyone know a good witchdoctor?

Consecutive series lost: 11

Next game: Tomorrow. With our only two consistently decent starters (Tateyama and Ishikawa) both losing in the first two games of this series, and the bullpen in disarray who knows who will take the mound for that game.

Things are looking: Bad. Real bad.