Yokohama BayStars 3

Tokyo Yakult Swallows 4

Streak: Won 1 Last 5: WWLLW
(Jingu Stadium)

The special thing about tonight was that several of our veterans were being treated to their sayonara game. Manaka (OF), Ono (C), Kawabata (P) and Watarai (IF) are all former Tokyo players as of next year.

There was a very nice tribute to the players at the end of the game, and several people in the outfield were disappointed that Shiroishi (IF) and Takada (manager) didn’t decide to retire as well. I guess we’ll just have to wait until next year for that.

Anyway, Tokyo stepped out of character and won their last game of the season. I’m not sure that I remember seeing that happen before in all the years that I’ve been going to Jingu (due to rainouts, Tokyo’s final game is nearly always at home.) And it was a very subdued game that featured this year’s retirees towards the end of the contest. Also of note were Murata’s home-run-king clinching three run dinger in the seventh (which was his 46th and tied the game up, by the way) and Ishikawa’s one out of relief that earned him the Central League ERA title (which, for the record, is 2.677.)

Takaichi, in his first appearance of the season, started this one for Tokyo and lasted five innings. He gave up only one hit (65 pitches), struck out six and walked one. He ended up with an ND because Oshimoto (3.34), two relievers later (after Kawabata, also in his first appearance of 2008, took the mound and ended his career with a strikeout), surrendered Murata’s two-run homer. Ishikawa and Matsui (3.27) followed, and then Matsuoka (1.39) got the win in relief after working a scoreless eighth. Lim got his 33rd save of the season on twelve pitches (including two Ks) in the ninth.

On offense, Ono had the go-ahead home run in the bottom of the 8th. Of interest: the man homered in both his debut and sayonara at-bats in the league. It was his first-and-only hit and RBI of the season.

Iihara also had a home run, a solo shot, in the fifth. It was his ninth of the season.

The Swallows finished the season with a 66-74-4 record which was good enough for fifth place in the Central League. Despite having a positive run differential, the team’s winning percentage stalled at the .500 mark earlier in the season and will go down in history as being .471. For the record, that’s slightly better than last year, but not what it might (or should) have been.

Tokyo finished 19 games ahead of 6th place Yokohama, 3.5 games behind fourth place Hiroshima, 5.5 games behind third place Chunichi, 15.5 games behind second place Hanshin, and 17.5 games behind Central League champions, Yomiuri.

The following are Tokyo’s records versus their five CL rivals (win-loss-draw):
vs. Yomiuri 6-18
vs. Hanshin 10-13-1
vs. Chunichi 13-9-2
vs. Hiroshima 11-12-1
vs. Yokohama 15-9

Hiroshima Toyo Carp 3

Tokyo Yakult Swallows 13

Streak: Won 2 Last 5: LLLWW

(Jingu Stadium)

Don’t call it a comeback.

Another hiccup for Hiroshima at the hands of Tokyo as the Swallows put up another big mid-game inning and walked all over the visitors.

Hiroshima scored first off of Tokyo starter, Tateyama, when they squeaked in a run in the top of the second. Tokyo leveled it in the bottom of the third on a solo shot to right by Aoki. 1-1.

Tateyama struck out all three batters he faced to start the fourth, and then it got ugly.

Fukuchi drew a walk to start things off. Then Hatakeyama drew a walk. Then Iihara also drew a walk. And then Kajimoto also got a free trip to first base which resulted in Fukuchi, the go-ahead run, waltzing across home plate.

With the bases still loaded, Tanaka laced a single to left that scored two. Then Kawamoto ripped a double that brought one more run around. Tateyama finally provided the first out by politely giving Hiroshima’s first reliever of the inning, Ueno, his only out (he replaced Saito after those four consecutive walks that started the blood-letting…by the way, I don’t think I’ve ever seen that happen before–at least not by one pitcher). Tokyo’s Norichika Aoki kept it going with a single to left that plated two runners, and Kawashima followed that up with a single to center field. Then Fukuchi drew his second walk of the inning (another thing that I’ve never seen before), and Hatakeyama drew a bases loaded plunking from Hiroshima’s second reliever of the inning, Hayato Aoki (there are two pitchers with the surname Aoki on Hiroshima’s first team. The other Aoki from Hiroshima, second year Takahiro Aoki, pitched the sixth and seventh innings). Iihara and Kajimoto both followed with singles that scored a run each which marked the third and fourth players of the inning to reach base twice.

When Tanaka finally grounded into a double play, the birds had scored nine runs.

A few more runs scored (including two for Hiroshima), but that was largely the end of the excitement. Kawamoto had a two run blast in the bottom of the sixth (his 2nd) and was a single shy of hitting for the cycle. Also with three rbi’s on the evening was leadoff hitter Norichika Aoki who went four-for-five. Fukuchi, Hatakeyama and Iihara all reached base three times during this contest, and Kawashima (two hits) and Kajimoto (1 hit, 1 walk) reached base twice.

This was the second game in a row in which Tokyo was able to assemble a huge inning and put the game away early (bunting not included)–more evidence that Takada should have a little more faith in his players (click on that link to read my rant in the comments section) when it’s a tight game or Tokyo is trailing by a few runs.

Tateyama (3.08 ERA) took the win and his record now stands at 11-3. In five innings he gave up three runs off of five hits with five K’s, one walk, and one beanball.

Oshimoto (3.11) pitched the sixth and seventh innings. He faced seven batters and gave up only one hit.

Matsui (3.52) pitched the eighth and Matsuoka (1.51) had two strikeouts in the ninth. This was Oshimoto’s 63rd, and Matsuoka’s 60th, appearance of the season.

Hiroshima will be hosted at Jingu again tomorrow night starting at 6:20 PM. Tokyo still trails third place Chunichi by six games.