Tokyo Yakult Swallows 0

Orix Buffaloes 7

Streak: L1 Last 5: LWWWL

(Kyocera Dome)

What? We lost, OK? Want to keep reading, make us feel bad?

Tokyo:
1. Aoki (CF)
2. Tanaka (2B)
3. Whitesell (DH)
4. Hatakeyama (1B)
5. Balentien (RF)
6. Yuichi (LF)
7. Miyamoto (3B)
8. Fujimoto (SS)
9. Aikawa (C)

Orix:
1. Sakaguchi (CF)
2. Taguchi (RF)
3. Goto (2B)
4. T-Okada (LF)
5. Kitagawa (DH)
6. Li Sun Yop (1B)
7. Baldiris (3B)
8. Ito (C)
9. Ohbiki (SS)

I feel like the luck of the Tsubamegun draw has me writing about Yamamoto a lot. He can throw a K, but there’s no doubt who runs the game when he’s on the mound and that’s not good for Tokyo. Tonight was not his fault. Part of the blame goes to Figaro, who was a bad house guest and was a bad host tonight. We did not enjoy ourselves at all, sir.

Yamamoto gave up only one hit in the first three innings, unfortunately it was a two-run home run to Baldiris in the 2nd, coming after his third walk of the game – Li. 2-0 Orix.

He pitched five, giving up four hits (1 HR), three walks, hitting one batter (Taguchi in the third), and striking out three. He went on to take the loss, but everyone else on the team helped make that a reality.

Matsuoka came in in the the sixth and gave up a hit to Li, who was replaced by the fleeter-footed Moriyama, who was moved over by a Baldiris sac-bunt. Matsuoka finally notched a K against the pinch-hitting Hessman (in for Ito), but then gave up his third hit – an RBI single to Ohbiki – before ending the inning on his second K. 3-0 Orix.

Hashimoto took over in the seventh and wasted no time in giving his hosts three straight hits for another run. A second run for the inning managed to sneak in just before the third out. 5-0 Orix.

Must I go on? This is not fun.

Onodera gave up two more in the eighth, making it 7-0 Orix.

Aoki, Whitesell, and Yuichi each got two hits on the night. Morioka came in for Fujimoto in the seventh and got himself a hit. The Birds’ first-ever free-agent signing was Aikawa, who was an idiot to think he might be headed for the majors, but was an improvement on Fukukawa as backstop. The Fujimoto signing, one cool argument with an ump aside, never made any sense – we had enough light-hitting so-so-fielding middle infielders competing for short that we didn’t need an overpaid one on top of it all.

The high points of the evening were that I found out the near-by Ma & Pa liquor store sells Tama-no-Megumi beer and that I had a whole mess of gyoza for dinner.

The low point was this game.

Figaro (5-2) got the win, again. Yamamoto (1-3), the loss.

Same set-up tomorrow, let’s hope for better results.

Orix Buffaloes 1

Tokyo Yakult Swallows 3

Streak: Won 1 Last 5: LLDLW

(Meiji Jingu Stadium)

That’s right folks! That’s not a typo. The Swallows managed to score more points than their opponent. For those of you who don’t remember what that’s called, that’s called a win. Today’s lineup featured a minor tweak, dropping Tanaka down to the 3 spot and putting Fukuchi in the 2 spot. Hatakeyama got the night off, as Whitesell was given the start at first.

	Swallows		Buffaloes
1	CF Aoki	1	CF Sakaguchi
2	LF Fukuchi	2	2B Kajimoto
3	2B Tanaka	3	RF Taguchi
4	1B Whitesell	4	1B Lee
5	RF Balentien	5	3B Hessman
6	3B Miyamoto	6	LF T-Okada
7	C Kawamoto	7	SS Obiki
8	SS Morioka	8	C Ito
9	P Ishikawa	9	P Kisanuki

Yoshinori gets the win!

Yoshinori took the mound for the Swallows and got 3 quick outs to start the game. The Swallows got on the board in the bottom of the inning, and lead in a game for the first time since the first inning of the Rakuten game on the 20th. Things got started when Fukuchi got his first hit of the season driving a one out ball into shallow left field and using his legs to stretch it into a double. Kisanuki proceeded to have major control issues as he walked Tanaka and Whitesell on 8 consecutive pitches to load the bases. The wildness continued into Balentien’s at bat, as Kisanuki quickly fell behind 2-0. Kisanuki finally threw a strike low and inside, which Balentien dutifully drove to left field allowing Fukuchi and Tanaka to score. 2-0 Swallows Miyamoto and Kawamoto were not able to strech the lead but the damage was dealt. The two runs were the first time the Swallows have scored more than a single run in an inning since their May 15th game against Yokohama.

Yoshinori ran into some trouble in the second. After getting the first out by striking out Lee in 7 pitches, Yoshinori put Hessman on base via a dead ball. T-Okada followed by hitting a sharp single to right field. Balentien mishandled the ball a little allowing Hessman to proceed to third base with challenge. With one out and men on the corners Obiki took the second pitch he saw and got a hit into left, allowing Hessman to score. 2-1 Swallows Yoshinori settled down and got Ito to strikeout for out #2. The Swallows got out of the inning with a fine play by Morioka for the last out. Yoshinori managed to jam Kisanuki on the first pitch, but the sailed over Yoshinori’s head and was headed to an awkward no man’s land in front of the second base bag. Morioka managed to grab the high ball on the run and get a throw off to first that just barely got the runner out at first.

Morioka opened the next frame with a hit to center field. Despite some difficulties, Yoshinori managed to get a bunt down to advance Morioka to second. Aoki struck out looking on a questionable ball low and inside. With 2 out and a man on second Fukuchi got his bat around on a 2-1 ball for his second double of the game and season, which allowed Morioka to score. 3-1 Swallows

From there it was all pitching. Yoshinori allowed runners to reach base in each inning from the 3rd to the 7th, mostly through walks, but got through each jam by striking out Buffaloes. Yoshinori lasted until the eighth inning, before he handed the ball over to Lim for the ninth inning. Lim pitched a perfect ninth and sealed the win with a strikeout.

Notes

• Despite starting the game hot, the Swallows offense only managed 1 hit and 2 walks after the second inning.
• Yoshinori pitched 8 innings with 128 pitches, allowing 5 hits, 2 walks, and 2 dead balls. He collected 13 strikeouts, which puts him in a tie for the CL lead with 50 on the season. Today’s win gives Yoshinori 5 for the season, which also puts him in a tie for first in the CL. Yoshinori is third in the final triple crown category with an ERA of 1.76.
• Kawamoto started his second consecutive game. Catcher Masakazu Fukukawa was called up prior to yesterday’s game, which may indicate that Aikawa is dealing with a minor injury.
• The Swallows still lead the CL. They hold a 1 game lead over the second place Dragons, and Carp are not too far behind with 1.5 games separating them from the Swallows.
• The Swallows will have an off day tomorrow before playing 2 games over the weekend at the Seibu Dome.

Finally I’d like to remind everyone that we here at Tsubamegun are running a Takada Resignation Anniversay contest. We’ll be giving away nice prizes if you can creatively answer some simple questions. For more details click here.

Morioka, Fukuchi, and Yoshinori celebrate the win with Tsubakuro and the fans.

Orix Buffaloes 4

Tokyo Yakult Swallows 1

Streak: L1 (6-game winless streak) Last 5: LLLDL

(Meiji Jingu Stadium)

After a week on the skids and their lead in the CL dropping to a precarious half game ahead of Hiroshima, the Swallows took the field against the PL’s last-place perennial doormats, Orix, hoping to regain some of the momentum that surprised and delighted High City and Low and led them to the top of the charts. 1-4-1 and 11th of 12 in the Interleague campaign is no place to be.

Last year, the Buffaloes managed to take 3 of 4 from the Birds, with Tokyo taking only Ogawa-kantoku‘s second game at the helm. At the time, emerging from the darkness of the Takada era, Interleague proved a turning point of sorts for the club and their new skipper. A year later, slipping after a cracking start, the Tsubamegun watched for Tokyo’s fortunes to rise again in May.

To do that, though, Tokyo’s offense had to give more support to Yamamoto & Co. than they have been of late in order to lift themselves over the Dominican rookie Figaro and his fellow ruffians from ’round Kobe way.

For the Homeboys:

This about sums it up.

1. Aoki
2. Tanaka
3. Guiel
4. Hatakeyama
5. Balentien
6. Miyamoto
7. Kawamoto
8. Morioka
9. Yamamoto

For the Opposition:
1. Sakaguchi
2. Kajimoto
3. Taguchi
4. Li
5. Hessman
6. Okada
7. Ohbiki
8. Ito
9. Figaro

Yamamoto started off the game by giving up a hit to Sakaguchi, but saved himself by quickly getting former Swallow Kajimoto to ground into a double-play. Lest the Tokyo faithful have high spirits for too long, though, Yamamoto promptly walked former St. Louis Cardinal Taguchi, then former Giant and once-highest-paid-player in Japan Li, then former Met Hessman, then the ridiculously-self-named “T-Okada”, not so much letting in as lobbying for and doing everything in your power to give up a run. That control Yamamoto needed to develop? Still not there. He got out of the inning by striking out the .209-hitting Ohbiki. 1-0 Orix.

Yamamoto made up for his awful start by not letting another man on until he gave up a triple to Sakaguchi with two outs in the fifth, then made it out of the inning safely.

Orix’s Figaro, for his part, struck out three while not letting a man on until he walked Guiel in the 4th with two outs as the Swallows kept up their weak offense of late.

Finally, in the bottom of the sixth, Whitesell pinch hit for Yamamoto and proved his mettle by placing a high outside fastball in the left field bleachers. 1-1.

Hashimoto took the mound in the 7th and brought hope to Mudville by striking out the bottom of the order 1-2-3.

In the top of the 8th, though, Hashimoto faced the top of Orix’s order and went hit, sac bunt, RBI triple, then was replaced by Kyuko, who gave up an RBI single. It took a baserunning error by pinch-runner Moriyama to get the Birds out of the inning. 3-1 Orix.

Matsui pitched the 9th and gave up a solo home run to Ito. 4-1 Orix, Final.

Hashimoto took the loss. While this wasn’t the Birds’ best pitching day, the offense is sporadic and not very (sob) supportive.

Orix again tomorrow night.

(Current Player Stats)

May 30th, 2010

Tokyo Yakult Swallows 1

Orix Buffaloes 3

Streak: Lost 1   Last 5: LLDWL

(Skymark Stadium)

Tokyo ended a 10-game winless skid last night when the bats finally came alive and Ishikawa got his long-awaited first win of the season. But today saw the team revert back to regularly scheduled programming.

This afternoon’s starting lineup:

1. Aoki CF
2. Fukuchi LF
3. Guiel RF
4. D’Antona DH
5. Takeuchi 1B
6. Miyamoto 3B
7. Fukukawa C
8. Fujimoto SS
9. Tanaka 2B

Yoshinori took the mound for the Swallows, his first start of May, and was his usual, inconsistent self for most of the time. At times he was locked in, but otherwise he was frustratingly inept at keeping his pitches down–or anywhere near where Fukukawa was calling for them. That said, the youngster was able to keep things largely under control through five. He gave up just one run off of six hits (100 pitches) and tallied four K’s against one walk in putting together what looks a bit better on paper than it did on TV.

In Yoshinori’s defense, however, his performance in the sixth and seventh innings were considerably better than much of what had preceded.

I’m not entirely sure why Aikawa was given a rest today as he’s been hitting quite well of late. The rest of the lineup was absolutely quiet, save for Tanaka, through the first six frames as Orix’s starter, Yamamoto, was forced to throw just 60 pitches.

Orix scored first in the second inning when Hidaka went yard. 1-0 Orix.

The Swallows didn’t get their second hit of the game until the seventh when Fukuchi led off with a single. Guiel popped up in foul territory for the second time today for the first out which brought D’Antona to the plate. Fukuchi stole second uncontested on the first pitch, and then D’Antona drew a walk after three more pitches.

Ogawa then put Hatakeyama in to pinch hit for Takeuchi, who hasn’t had the best of luck this season against lefties, but Orix manager Okada reacted by pulling Yamamoto in favor of righty, Hirano. Unfortunately, Hatakeyama struck out swinging at a surprisingly high forkball for out number two. Miyamoto sat down in similar fashion to put a stop to what was Tokyo’s best chance of the game up to that point.

It's been one of those months for Tokyo.

Things started to fall apart a little bit in the 8th inning with Oshimoto on the mound. A leadoff single, sac bunt, triple (over Aoki’s head), and sac fly (decent catch by Aoki) later it was 3-0 Orix.

With a three run deficit and things looking pretty dire for the birds, Aoki led the ninth off with a sliced double that actually bounced off of third base. Fukuchi went down swinging at an outside forkball before Guiel singled to center to bring home Tokyo’s only run of the game. D’Antona then lined out authoritatively to right and Hatakeyama hit a weak, first-pitch bobbler back to the pitcher to put the kaibosh on the rally. 3-1 Final.

Yoshinori took the loss for his 123 pitch effort. Despite having a propensity for allowing the count to continually get worked full, he had a much better day than Tokyo fans have become used to this season. His seven inning, six hit, one run effort was arguably his best of the year. Unfortunately, however, Orix’s Yamamoto had an even better day and kept the Tokyo offense almost completely at bay.

Although his record now sits at 1-5, his ERA dropped from 6.25 to a slightly more palatable 5.44 in his seventh start of the season. Furthermore, the fact that his RIP for this game was 1.00 is definitely encouraging for the Jingu faithful. Hopefully he can reward Araki and Ogawa’s faith in him by putting together quality starts on a more regular basis (and against better opponents).

Oshimoto was perhaps a bit unlucky in being tagged with those two earned runs in the eighth. If Aoki hadn’t been drawn in quite so far, he might have gotten to what ended up being an RBI triple. However, it cannot be denied that Oshimoto had two of his pitches end up on the warning track in the space of about four pitches. Anyway, Oshimoto (1-3) saw his ERA blossom considerably to 3.60 after his 20th appearance of the season.

The birds now head south to face the Fukuoka (Softbank) Hawks on Tuesday in what will hopefully the start to a much more enjoyable month for Swallows fans than May has been.

Random notes:

Tanaka and Fukuchi were the only two players to reach base twice.

Tokyo was 3-15-1 in May.

D’Antona’s slugging percentage (.420) is now two points below Aoki’s. And Aoki hasn’t been hitting very well this month.

Fukuchi now leads the team with eight stolen bases. Aoki has seven.

Tokyo dropped the interleague series to Orix three games to one.

Orix were dressed in some snazzy throwback BlueWave uniforms for this game at Skymark Stadium.

]]> http://tokyoswallows.com/2010/05/30/53010-orix-away/feed/ 2 http://tokyoswallows.com/2010/05/29/52910-orix-away/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=52910-orix-away http://tokyoswallows.com/2010/05/29/52910-orix-away/#comments Sat, 29 May 2010 14:58:25 +0000 David Watkins http://tokyoswallows.com/?p=6573 May 29th, 2010

Tokyo Yakult Swallows 11

Orix Buffaloes 4

Streak: Won 1   Last 5: LLLLW

(Kyocera Dome)

This was a very good evening for Tokyo indeed. They won their first game of the post-Takada era as their bats exploded into life to end their rotten losing streak. Plus Masanori Ishikawa finally got his long overdue first win of 2010. Smiles all around then.

Ogawa made his first real re-jig of the starting order in his second game in charge:

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

Things started well as Ishikawa got himself an early lead in the 2nd. With Kisanuki starting on the mound for Orix, a Takeuchi lead-off walk was followed up with a sac bunt from Miyamoto. The run was then brought home with a single to left from Aikawa for 1-0 Tokyo.

That lead only lasted until the bottom of the 4th however, with a Kitagawa two-run homer making it 2-1 Orix.

And thus it looked like it may be yet another of those nights for both Ishikawa and the Swallows, until things went batshit crazy from the top of the 6th onwards. A Guiel solo homer (13 for the season) tied things up at 2-2 before Takeuchi hit a double, Miyamoto singled for 3-2, Aikawa tripled for 4-2 and finally Fujimoto poked one up the middle for 5-2 Tokyo.

So Ishikawa finally had himself a healthy lead and a platform to get that long awaited win, but he did wobble a touch as he gave up a run off two hits and a wild pitch in the bottom of the 6th to make it 5-3. And it could have been worse but for an excellent throw home from Aoki combined with a great block from Aikawa (a rare thing there) which nailed Kitagawa who was trying to score from second following a Tsuji two-out single.

And Ishikawa was all but assured of his win in the 7th as four more Swallows runs crossed home plate: Fukuchi single, Guiel HBP, D’Antona single, Takeuchi single (6-3), Miyamoto sac-fly (7-3), Aikawa single (8-3) and a Fujimoto infield single off the pitcher’s glove (9-3).

But they weren’t done yet, as a Guiel walk, an Ueda double (in for D’Antona as a pinch-runner the inning prior), a Takeuchi walk loaded the bases for Miyamoto in the 8th. He could only groundout to second but it was good enough for 10-3 before Aikawa chipped in with a sacfly that brought home his 4th RBI of the game  to make it 11-3 Tokyo.

After Masubuchi (2.05) and Lee (21.60) had worked a scoreless inning apiece in relief of Ishikawa, Hashimoto (4.09) made tough work of the 9th, giving up a run off two walks, a hit batter and a single as it took him 33 pitches to get two outs. In came Matsuoka (1.35) with the bases loaded and he wrapped things up for a 11-4 Tokyo final.

So Tokyo had themselves their first win of Interleague play as their record breaking worst ever start came to an end. Ishikawa finally got his win in his 10th attempt and his record now sits at 1-6/4.07.

Every member of the starting lineup bar Tanaka had themselves a hit, with Fukuchi (.255) and Aikawa (.274) managing 3 each and Takeuchi (.256), Miyamoto (.242) and Fujimoto (.250) each with 2.

So then, has the corner been turned or is this just a false dawn under Ogawa? We’ll have a better idea after Tokyo go looking for their first series win since the first week of April against the Buffaloes at Kobe’s Skymark Stadium tomorrow afternoon.

May 13th, 2010

Orix Buffaloes 9

Tokyo Yakult Swallows 2

Streak: Lost 2   Last 5: LLWLL

(Meiji Jingu Stadium)

Given the paucity of runs generated by the Swallows offence of late, the main way for the birds to stand a chance of winning games is for their pitching to be watertight. Tonight was not one of those nights.

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. Barnette (P)

Tony Barnette started and got behind early, giving up a run off two hits, with veteran slugger Alex Cabrera batting in the first of what would be 7 RBIs, 1-0 Orix.

Tokyo’s only runs of the game then followed in the 3rd off Buffaloes starter Komatsu. Aaron Guiel reached base due to a Cabrera error at first, and he showed good hustle to reach home via a Miyamoto double for 1-1. Fujimoto then brought home the second run for 2-1 Tokyo. And that was as good as it got.

Two runs off three hits followed in the top of the 3rd, the second of which coming off a bases loaded HBP for 3-2 Orix.

Takada had evidently seen enough of Barnette for the evening and called for Ryo Kawashima from the bullpen. Ryo worked scoreless 4th and 5th innings despite letting two men on each inning. Then it was time for two innings from Masubuchi, whose two walks and two allowed hits in the 6th allowed Orix to move ahead 5-2. Amazingly, those were Masubuchi’s first earned runs of 2010 (in his 13th appearance).

And the Buffalloes added the exclamation point to proceedings in the 8th as Yoshikawa took the mound. A Fujimoto dropped flyball error, two walks, a groundout (with the out made at home) set the table for Alex Cabrera, who hit a grandslam homer that snuck over the fence in right to make it 9-2 Orix. I’d like to detail the spirited Swallows late inning fightback that followed, but if you’re reading this site then you likely know how things go, 9-2 Orix Final.

Tony Barnette took the loss and his record now stands at 2-3/5.06.

TV coverage of tonight’s game showed several shots of fans leaving Jingu after Cabrera’s homer interspersed with shots of Takada’s blinking mug . I’ve never seen them focus on that before and it’s clear the pressure on Takada is mounting. Though after the front office recently expressed their faith in their man, I wouldn’t hold your breath waiting for a change. One thing is clear though, and that’s that the team are in trouble and it’s difficult to see anything improving anytime soon. Chances are on the whole just not being created with any kind of regularity, and the pitching staff is just not so good that it can restrict the opposition to 2 or 3 runs every evening to keep Tokyo in games. Oh, and did I mention the manager is an imbecile?

TAKADA COUNT: 4. This cannot go on for much longer. Can it? Please tell me it can’t……..

The shambles will likely continue on Saturday as the Softbank Hawks visit Jingu for two games. They must be licking their lips.

Orix Buffaloes 2

Tokyo Yakult Swallows 1

Streak: Lost 1   Last 5: LLLWL

(Meiji Jingu Stadium)

Any hopes for a change in Tokyo’s fortunes with a change in opposition took a hit as they lost their first game of this year’s Interleague schedule to Orix. It was a performance pretty typical of the 2010 Swallows so far: decent pitching, impotent bats, and a lack of luck that saw an extra inning fielding blunder prove decisive. Oh, and Ishikawa failed to win again, though not for the lack of trying.

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. Ishikawa (P)

Tokyo took a 2nd inning lead off Orix starter Kondoh, with Aaron Guiel clubbing one deep into the Swallows rightfield bleachers for 1-0 Tokyo. It was Guiel’s 11th for the year, and second in as many games.

Ishikawa let the lead slip in the 4th, with two hits and a sacfly (amazingly) scoring the waddling Cabrera to make it 1-1. After that he gave up two more hits through to the end of the 8th inning, leaving the game with the scores tied having given up just the 1 run off 6 hits, with 2 strikeouts and 1 walk. He wasn’t involved in the final decision, with his record remaining at 0 and 6 with his ERA  now at 4.22. You’ve got to really feel for Ishikawa at this point, and had he had any real run support tonight he would have broke that goose egg in his W column. Tokyo managed just 4 hits (to Orix’s 9) and did not manage a solitary hit through the last 6 innings of play.

After Ishikawa’s efforts, Takada brought in Lim (0.90) who pitched a scoreless 9th. It was then the turn of Oshimoto, who took an L for his prior appearance against the Dragons last Friday. He would do the same again today, though it needn’t have been the case. In the top of the 10th with one out and a man on first, Buffaloes catcher Suzuki layed down a sac bunt attempt which went straight to Oshimoto, and instead of throwing to second to initiate the nailed-on inning ending double play, he threw to first to leave the go ahead runner on second with two outs. Why he did that, who can say. But why catcher Aikawa didn’t yell at him to make the throw to second should be the more pressing question.

Next man up Sakaguchi, who was 2 for 4 to that point, then hit the ball deep to centre and over the head of Aoki for a triple which scored what would be the winning run, 2-1 Orix Final.

Oshimoto took the loss to put his record at  1-3/1.93.

So then, new opponents, same old shit. The two teams meet again tomorrow.

]]> http://tokyoswallows.com/2010/05/12/51210-orix-home/feed/ 6 http://tokyoswallows.com/2010/05/11/2010-interleague-preview/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=2010-interleague-preview http://tokyoswallows.com/2010/05/11/2010-interleague-preview/#comments Tue, 11 May 2010 10:12:28 +0000 Kozo http://tokyoswallows.com/?p=6530
Tomorrow, weather permitting, the 6 Central League teams will play host to the 6 Pacific League teams, kicking off 5 weeks of Interleague play. This post will hopefully give you some information you will find useful.

What’s Interleague Play? How does it work?

During Interleague play each team will play every other team from the other league, twice at home and twice away. For those of you who aren’t good at math, that comes out to 144 games total, and 24 games per team. The DH rule will be in effect at all Pacific League parks, and all other Pacific League-specific rules (notably lineup reporting requirements) will not be used during Interleague play. The team with the best record after all the games have been played will be crowned Interleague Champion and will receive a cheque for 50 million yen (approx. 540,000 USD). A Pacific League team has been crowned Interleague Champion every year since the inception of Interleague play in 2005. The top player on the championship team will be named Interleague MVP and will receive a cheque for 2 million yen (approx. 21,500 USD). Two additional players, one from each league, who were not on the championship team will be recognized as valuable players. All wins and losses, as well as all individual statistics accumulated during Interleague play count in regular season totals.

How have the Swallows fared during Interleague play?

The Swallows have a total record of 79 wins and 65 losses during Interleague play since its inception in 2005. They have had a winning Interleague record in 3 out of the 5 seasons of Interleague play, coming in second in both 2006 and 2009.

Who are the Swallows playing?

What follows is a series of short summaries of all the Pacific League teams. I’ll tell you how they are doing this year, and throw out some players to watch out for during the game. They’re presented in the order we will be playing each team.

Orix Buffaloes
Last year’s Pacific League doormat, under new manager Akinobu Okada, are solidly in the race for 4th place with a record of 16-22-1. They come into Interleague play with a 2-7-1 over their last 10 games. Behind sluggers like Alex Cabrera, Greg LaRocca, and the young T-Okada, the Buffaloes lineup features some power but not much else. The Buffaloes also feature the worst pitching in the Pacific League with a team ERA of 4.55. Their best starting pitchers, Chihiro Kaneko and Mamoru Kishda, have been inconsistent both recording records of 2-3, with ERAs over 4.70. The Swallows have feasted on the Buffaloes compiling a 18-6 record against them in Interleague play, never failing to win the season series.

Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks
The always strong Hawks come into Interleague play with a record of 24-17-1, with a record of 6-3-1 over their last 10 games. The defending Interleague Champions, along with the Marines, are a half a game back of the league leading Seibu Lions, and are looking to use Interleague play as a springboard to the top of the league. The Hawks feature strong bats with Jose Ortiz leading NPB in homeruns with 13, and Munenori Kawasaki leading the Pacific League batting race with a .358 average. Hiroki Kokubo is also having a good season, hitting .300 with 8 homeruns. The Hawks are also aggressive on the basepaths leading the league with 59 stolen bases. In terms of pitching, Toshiya Sugiuchi just can’t seem to lose, racking up 7 wins in 8 starts, and closer Takahiro Mahara has saved 12 games while giving up only 1 earned run. In Interleague play the Hawks hold a 15-9 record over the Swallows.

Saitama Seibu Lions
Coming into Interleague play the Lions sit atop the Pacific League with a 25-16 record, with a 5-5 record over their last 10 games. The Lions sit atop the league on the strength of their pitching staff that boasts a league leading team ERA of 3.62. The rotation features Kazuyuki Hoashi with his league leading ERA of 1.27, 2009 Sawamura award winner Hideaki Wakui, and the reliable young Takayuki Kishi. Brian Sikorski leads the league with 13 saves. The Lions batters aren’t too shabby either, with sluggers Takeya Nakamura, Hiroyuki Nakajima, and Dermal Brown. The Swallows hold a 14-10 record over the Lions in Interleague play, but have split the season series every year over the last 3 years. Also, the Swallows have met the Lions in the Japan Series 3 times, coming away with the title twice, in 1993 and 1997.

Chiba Lotte Marines
The post-Bobby Valentine Marines came out of the gates swinging, opening the season with a 9-2-1 over their first 4 series. They’ve cooled down somewhat since then, mostly by being confounded by the Hawks, but they are still feature a dangerous team with a 23-15-1 record. The Marines feature a very robust offensive attack with 5 of the top 10 batting leaders wearing Marine colours. The Marines are the only team with a team OPS over .800, .820 to be exact, the next closest team is Seibu with a team OPS of .752. In layman’s terms, the Marines are patient at the plate, hit for average, and power. Former Major Leaguer Tadahito Iguchi is arguably having the best season out of the Marines batters, leading the league in doubles, walks, and OBS. Although hard slugging Kim Tae-Kyun, young captain Tsuyoshi Nishioka, and team batting leader Takashi Ogino, all have cases to make. The pitching hasn’t been too shabby either, with a team ERA of 3.97. However, beyond young ace pitcher Yoshihisa Naruse, all the other Marines starters have been somewhat inconsistent. Historically the Swallows hold a slight edge over the Marines in Interleague play with a record of 13-11.

Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters
Last year’s Pacific League Champions have hit a serious snag in their quest to repeat, and are currently sitting at the bottom of the Pacific League standings with a record of 14-25-1. Things have started to look up for the Fighters as they have won 6 out of their last 10, and are on a 3 game winning streak going into Interleague play. The Fighters feature all-world pitcher Yu Darvish, who is leading the league with 78 strikeouts and who sports a health 1.79 ERA. Beyond Darvish, however, the Fighters have had trouble finding consistency in their starting pitchers. The Fighters feature 3 batters with .300+ batting averages in Kensuke Tanaka, Yoshio Itoi, and Tomohiro Nioka, but are having problems plating runners with only 145 runs batted in. The Fighters have only managed to hit 18 homeruns in 40 games, and their leading homerun hitter is former Swallows favourite Atsunori Inaba with just 4. The Swallows hold a 12-12 record against the Fighters in Interleague play, but that is distorted by the 5-1 record we recorded in the inaugural season of Interleague play.

Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles
After losing manager Katsuya Nomura, last year’s Pacific League runner up are reverting back to their losing ways with a 16-23 record. Momentum is also not on the Golden Eagles’ side, with a 4 game losing streak coming into Interleague play. The Golden Eagles are like the Fighters in many ways, except instead of having one über pitcher in Yu Darvish, the Golden Eagles have three good, but sometime inconsistent, pitchers in Masahiro “Ma-kun” Tanaka, Hisashi Iwakuma, and Satoshi Nagai. Those three pitchers combine for 9 out of the Golden Eagles’ 10 league leading complete games. Unfortunately the Golden Eagles’ haven’t been able to score any runs just like the Fighters. But whereas the Fighters had three batters hitting .300+, the Golden Eagles only have one, Yusuke Takatsu. Catcher Motohiro Shima is the only other regular hitting above .300, but he hasn’t had enough at bats to qualify for the inclusion on the leaderboard. Veteran Takeshi Yamasaki, who lead the league in homeruns in 1996 and 2007, leads the team in homeruns with 4. Overall, the Golden Eagles have hit an anemic 16 homeruns in 39 games, and feature a league low .653 team OPS. The Swallows hold a 17-7 lifetime advantage of the Golden Eagles in Interleague play.

How do you think the Swallows will do in Interleague play?

I think if our pitching stays strong and our bats wake up like we saw in the last series, I think we have a decent shot at coming out of Interleague play with a winning record. If we can get lucky with some pitching matchups, I can see us going 14-10 by beating up on Orix, Nippon Ham, and Rakuten. But then again, seeing the kind of season we’ve been having so far, I can also easily see us going 10-14 or worse. I’m also curious to see how Takada will rejigger the lineup when we have the DH available.

Tokyo Yakult Swallows 14

Orix Buffaloes 10

Streak: Won 3   Last 5: WLWWW

(Kyocera Dome)

After its low-scoring win over Orix yesterday, Tokyo looked to complete the sweep Sunday afternoon.

Ishikawa (6-3) took the mound for Tokyo, and Hirano (2-2) got the start for the Buffs. Orix has won only one of the nine games it has played so far in June, and the birds are 5-4 during that same time span.

Sunday’s starting lineup:

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

Tokyo got off to a quick start in this one courtesy of an Aaron Guiel triple (to left field!) that brought Tanaka (walk) and Aoki (single) around to score. Heading into the bottom of the first inning it was 2-0 Tokyo.

Former Tokyo infielder, Greg Larocca, added a run for the home team in the bottom of that inning, and then Orix scored another run in the third to make it 2-2.

And that’s when things officially got insane.

Aoki led off in the top of the fifth with the first of eleven straight base hits (a new NPB record by the way) which saw Tokyo put together one of the most unreal innings it has had in the last decade. They plated ten runs with Guiel and Iihara having multi-hit innings.

Guiel, if I can just take a moment to elaborate, smacked a grand slam in the inning (his 9th homer of the season), while Aoki and D’Antona both reached base twice. 12-2 Tokyo.

Orix got one back on a solo home run in the bottom of that inning to make it 12-3, before a Tanaka double in the sixth, and a D’Antona single in the seventh made it 14-3 Tokyo.

But then Hagiwara (3.07) and Maruyama (7.04) combined to walk four batters and set the plate for a home team grand slam off of Tokyo’s Hashimoto (2.89) to make it 14-8.

Orix scored two more off of Kida (5.67) before Lim (0.00) was called in to record the final out and end the game at 14-10.

Ishikawa was awarded the win on six innings of seven hit, three run pitching. His ERA stands at 3.81, and his record improved to 7-3.

On offense, Aoki, Guiel, and Iihara (despite not starting) had three hits each.

Aoki reached base five times, and D’Antona advanced safely four times (two walks apiece).

Takeuchi and Tanaka reached base three times each. The Swallows combined for 20 hits against Orix’s 12.

Guiel had, count ‘em, six RBIs, while D’Antona chipped in with three, and Tanaka had two.

And the sweep is complete.

The birds are now three games behind first place Yomiuri.

The next series will be played against the Chiba Lotte Marines at Jingu Stadium on Wednesday and Thursday nights.

Tokyo Yakult Swallows 3

Orix Buffaloes 1

Streak: Won 2   Last 5: LWLWW

(Kyocera Dome)

After finally getting a win against one of NPB’s surprise stories of the year, the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks, Tokyo made it halfway home before having to stop off in Osaka to finish up their four-game, mid-season flirtation with the Pacific league’s sixth-place team, Orix.

Tokyo is 2-0 this season against the Buffs, a team that has given up an NPB-worst 298 runs so far in 2009 (the birds have surrendered 172). Going into this game, Orix was the only Pacific league team on Tokyo’s schedule that they still have a chance to sweep.

Tokyo’s lineup:

1. Fukuchi (DH)
2. Kawabata (2B)
3. Aoki (CF)
4. Guiel (RF)
5. Iihara (LF)
6. Miyamoto (3B)
7. Yuuichi (1B)
8. Aikawa (C)
9. Kawashima (SS)

Yuuki (1-1) started this game for the birds with Vogelsong (0-2) getting the ball for the Buffs.

And it was basically over and done with after two innings.

Orix drew first blood in the bottom of the first with former Tokyo infielder, Greg Larocca, making his one hit of the night count. Oobiki scored to make it 1-0 Buffaloes.

But Tokyo would put the game away in the top of the second. Guiel drew a walk before Miyamoto’s one out double leveled things at 1-1.

Aikawa eventually blasted a two out homer to left to make it 3-1 Tokyo.

And no other runs scored after that.

Yuuki (2-1) notched his second win of the season on five innings of solid pitching in which he gave up only the one run off of five hits. The win helped him drag his ERA down to 3.93 while tallying three K’ and 2 BBs.

Kida (5.24), Matsuoka (1.69), and Igarashi (1.48) pitched an inning each of hold point-worthy relief, and Lim (0.00) notched his 17th save of the season.

Vogelsong (0-3; 6.84) took the loss for Orix.

On offense for Tokyo, both Guiel and Aikawa had two-hits each.

Aoki didn’t get a hit, but he got hit. Again.

Aikawa’s homer was his first of the season.

Lim finished the ninth inning on only seven pitches. Kida cleared the sixth with six.

All the other Central league teams lost. Yay!

The birds will attempt to complete the sweep tomorrow.