Laying an egg.

Key Points:

• How correct were our predictions from TS Podcast number seven?
• What grade would you give Tokyo’s performance thus far?
• General baseball-related stupidity
• Hand transplants

Enjoy!

Oh, and please let us know what you think about how the birds have done so far. What’s your grade?

Orix Buffaloes 4

Tokyo Yakult Swallows 1 

Streak: Lost 2 Last 5: LWLLL

(Meiji Jingu Stadium)

The run production woes continue.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Orix	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	4	4	1
Tokyo	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	6	0
W: Hirano (3-1, 2.52 ERA) L: Tateyama (3-3, 2.36 ERA)

What do you need to know? After Wednesday’s blowout victory over 2011 Japan Series champion Fukuoka, the birds are a bit constipated run-wise.

Not fun.

Tokyo	Order	Orix
Fukuchi (LF)	1	Moriyama (CF)
Tanaka (2B)	2	Nonaka (LF)
Milledge (CF)	3	Ohbiki (SS)
Balentien (RF)	4	Lee (1B)
Hatakeyama (1B)	5	Gotoh (2B)
Miyamoto (3B)	6	Baldiris (3B)
Aikawa (C)	7	Kawabata (RF)
Morioka (SS)	8	Suzuki (C)
Tateyama (P)	9	Nishi (P)

Tokyo got off on the wrong foot in the top of the second when a 1-2 Tateyama offering (maybe a forkball?) headed straight down the middle and Baldiris clubbed it into the stands in left for the first run of the game.

Tanaka then led off with a single in the bottom of the fourth, and was pushed over to third thanks to two beanballs (Balentien and Miyamoto receiving). Aikawa came through with a clutch walk that forced Tanaka home, but Morioka was once again unable to do anything productive at the plate with the bases loaded.

1-1.

And that was basically

Tateyama was decent, but he got zero run support.

it on offense for the birds.

Orix scored again in the top of the fifth. It was only one run, but it was more than enough.

1-2 Orix.

Tokyo loaded the bases once again in the sixth, but Fujimoto took Morioka’s place as the goat this time.

Orix put the game out of reach in the top of the ninth with Oshimoto on the mound. A leadoff walk was followed by Lee’s second home run in as many games.

1-4 Final.

Pitching

Tateyama took the loss on seven innings (98 NP), three hits (1 HR), three strikeouts, one walk (2 HBP), and two runs allowed (both earned). His record is now 3-3 with a 2.36 ERA.

Hidaka pitched a scoreless eighth, but Oshimoto allowed two more runs in the ninth to put the game out of reach. Hidaka now sports a 0.60 ERA through 18 appearances, and Oshimoto is now up to 2.12 on the ERA meter in as many appearances.

Hitting

Hatakeyama and Aikawa had two-hit games. Other than that, there wasn’t anything to write home about. Balentien earns two hat tips for an HBP and BB.

Baldiris takes one for: a) being the first to follow two hit Tokyo batsmen, and b) hitting a homer in his first at-bat.

Notes

Tsubamegun, meet Offensive Slump. Offensive Slump, Tsubamegun.

Morioka, as great as he is both as a player and a teammate, is 0-3 in bases-loaded situations over the last two days.

Fujimoto pinch hit for Morioka on both Saturday and Sunday in important situations. We can only imagine what that is doing to Morioka’s head. Not good, no matter how you look at it.

Tokyo outhit Orix 6-4, but your birds weren’t able to hit when it mattered. Same story three games in a row.

Milledge was back in center field tonight. He had an easy night as only one of Orix’s four hits came near him.

How we lost this game is beyond me.

Now that Tanaka is no longer on bunt duty, the Tsubamegun faithful are strenuously looking forward to the days, weeks, and months when he’s a consistent threat at the plate (in addition to his thus far gold glove performance in the field).

Strenuously.

Your Tokyo Swallows will be in Chiba on Tuesday and Wednesday for a two-game set against the Pacific League’s leading team. Both games start at 6:15PM.

]]> http://tokyoswallows.com/2012/05/20/52012-orix-home/feed/ 1 http://tokyoswallows.com/2012/05/15/2012-interleague-preview-part-1/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=2012-interleague-preview-part-1 http://tokyoswallows.com/2012/05/15/2012-interleague-preview-part-1/#comments Tue, 15 May 2012 06:10:36 +0000 Kozo http://tokyoswallows.com/?p=12629 It’s that time of year again! When Central League teams face off against their Pacific League counterparts. Things will get started for the Swallows on Wednesday evening at Jingu when they face off against the defending Nippon Series Champion Hawks. The Interleague format hasn’t changed over the last couple of years, and if anyone needs a refresher they can go check out our 2010 Interleague Preview which lays out the nitty gritty of the system. The only major change is that starting pitcher announcements will now be made for Interleague games. The only other difference I can see reading the old preview is how much stronger the Japanese yen has gotten in the last 2 years. (50 million yen now gets you around 626,000 USD.)

While the goal is always going to be finishing with a better record than the 11 other teams and winning Interleague, being the top Central League team would be a fine consolation if we can’t top the table. Since every game ahead of a Central League rival is a game that the other team will have to make up in the Central League. In a 6 team league these games can come in handy late in the season when teams will be hitting each other and making advances up the table can be harder.

Last year the Swallows finished 6th overall with a 10-12-2 record, which was 3 games behind the Dragons who finished fourth overall with a 14-10 record. The Hawks won Interleague outright with a 18-4-2 record.

For those of you, who like me, are so Swallows-centric and don’t follow the Pacific League here’s s short blurb about the teams the Swallows will face and players to watch. This preview will cover the first 3 teams the Swallows will face. I’ll cover the next 3 teams next week.

Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks: The defending champions have been chugging along despite losing key plays like Toshiya Sugiuchi, Tsuyoshi Wada, D.J. Houlten, and Munenori Kawasaki. Despite pre-season predictions of decline the Hawks are still in the thick of the PL race with a 19-17-2 record, which is good for 3rd in the league. The Hawks’ continued success is largely related to their ability to hit the ball. Former major leaguer Wily Mo Peña leads the PL with 8 homers, with a healthy .288/.345/.545 slash line. Nobuhiro Matsuda and Seiichi Uchikawa also bring quality hitting to the line up. In terms of pitching, the only big name left in the Haws’ rotation is Tadashi Settsu who is having a good season, with a 5-0 record with a 1.51 ERA in 7 starts. The last storyline worth tracking is Hiroki Kokubo gunning for 2000 career hits. With only 4 more hits left to reach the milestone, it’s possible that Kokubo will reach the milestone at Jingu.

Orix Buffaloes: The Buffaloes were the trendy pick to do well this season, but so far things have been pretty glum for the Buffaloes. The addition of Korean slugger Dae-Ho Lee has been a plus, but injuries to key players like T-Okada and Chihiro Kaneko have kept the Buffaloes from fielding their optimal lineup. The result has been a fight for the PL cellar with the Seibu Lions (more on that next week). Things may be looking up for the Buffaloes as Kaneko has looked good in his 2 starts this season, and Okada has recently rejoined the team. 10 year vet and former Giant Hiroshi Kisanuki has gotten off to a fairly hot start for the Buffaloes with a 1.87 ERA over 6 starts, including 2 complete games. Last year’s PL Interleague MVP, Tomotaka Sakaguchi has been showing his age with a .225/.250/.252 slash.

Chiba Lotte Marines: The Marines have rebounded nicely from the 2011 PL cellar, and currently top the PL. The Marines’ resurgence can be attributed in part to a strong rotation bolstered by the addition of the glad-to-leave-the Giants Seth Greisinger and rookie phenom Takahiro Fujioka to the duo of Yoshihisa Naruse and Yuki Karakawa. While Fujioka has gotten most of the rookie attention, Naoki Masuda has also contributed big time in his first season stabilizing the Marine’s bullpen. Another glad-to-leave-the Giants is Saburo who leads the team in OBP. Tadahito Iguchi is also putting up his usual solid early season numbers (.304/.367/.448). But otherwise, the Marines lineup lacks pop, and is overshadowed by their pitching.

The Swallows go into Interleague on a somewhat down note having lost 3 of their last 3 games, and seeing even more of their starters (Kawabata and Muranaka) be sent down to the farm. However, the lax Interleague scheduling will allow the team to give their pitchers plenty of rest and will hopefully give some players the chance to come back.

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.

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