Milledge has been making the most of his plate appearances this pre-season.

Team News

• No idea whether this is for real or not, but Ogawa has said that he likes having Yuhei around because he can be used in the outfield or as a pitcher (LHP). Yuhei was a top pitching prospect that never panned out for the Swallows. He started working on converting to the outfield after the 2009 season.
• Tokyo lost 1-3 to the KIA Tigers of the KBO on February 27th. Both Tateyama and Yoshinori pitched well and were able to throw strikes. Yamada came up with the team’s lone RBI in the ninth.
• The farm team beat their counterparts from Fukuoka 1-0 on February 28th. Yuichi, playing first and batting cleanup, recorded the game’s sole RBI on a double in the bottom of the fourth.
• Tokyo played to a 4-4 draw against Hokkaido on March 3rd. Masubuchi started and pitched five innings while surrendering four earned runs. Not that it matters since it was just a pre-season game. On offense, Milledge (2-3, 1 run) and Hatakeyama (3-4, 1 run, 1 RBI) seem to be seeing the ball well. Balentien did not make the trip up north for this game.
• And they played to another draw, 3-3 this time, against Hokkaido on the following day. Yamada was 2-5 at the plate and Milledge had another 2-3 day as the starting DH. He tied the game in the top of the fourth with a solo shot to right off of Hokkaido reliever, Hisashi Takeda.
• It sounds like Kyuko’s rehab is going pretty well, and he may be able to make it back to the top team roster by the beginning of the regular season. Like Tateyama, he had surgery on his hand at the end of 2011 to deal with some blood-flow problems.
• However, Kawabata’s rehab is not moving along quite as quickly, and there is a strong likelihood that he won’t be ready to play by the beginning of the season.

Former Swallows News

• We reported earlier that Norichika Aoki‘s (Milwaukee Brewers) playing time took a serious hit when Ryan Braun avoided a 50 game suspension. However, starting right fielder Corey Hart just had arthroscopic surgery on his knee after an MRI showed a meniscus tear in his knee. He’ll miss the rest of spring training and might not be in the dugout when the season gets under way.
• Ryota Igarashi (Pittsburgh Pirates) retired the side when he pitched the eighth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays on March 3rd.

1. Rob Smaal, staff writer for the Asahi, recently wrote about the unlikely connection between former Swallows shortstop, Dave Hilton, and one of Japan’s best living authors, Haruki Murakami.

Apparently Murakami, a Swallows fan, was at Jingu on Opening Day of the 1978 season, and Hilton’s lead-off double turned out to be something like a magical stroke of inspiration for the now world-famous novelist.

Murakami recently wrote, “Something flew down from the sky at that instant, and whatever it was, I accepted it.”

Read the entire article here.

2. Neither surprising nor positive, the New York Mets have decided to let former Tokyo Swallow fireballer, Ryota Igarashi, look for work elsewhere. Due to a clause in Igarashi’s contract, that makes him a free agent after only two seasons in the bigs.

According to an article on MLB.com, Igarashi has signaled his intention to try and continue his playing career in North America, even if it means signing a minor league contract.

As was expected by those of us who watched Igarashi play for several years, he struggled with his command at the major league level and found himself getting dropped to triple-A on a regular basis.

Through two full seasons and 79 appearances (69 innings pitched), Igarashi compiled a 1.81 RIP, and an ERA of 5.74.

Read the entire MLB article here.

Hopefully if/when he plays in Japan again, he’ll give Tokyo first right of refusal on his services.

3. Media commentator Hideki Kuriyama, who played for the Swallows from 1985-89, is apparently a front-runner for the managerial job in Hokkaido that will be left open when Nashida steps down at the end of this season.

Nashida has had a very successful run in Hokkaido after he took over for Trey Hillman a few years ago, but he decided that he would not seek a contract extension after the 2011 season ends.

Kuriyama, 50, has no coaching or managing experience, so we’re not sure why Hokkaido would even consider throwing him into the top job. Expect him to be a media darling though, so maybe it’s more of a business decision than a baseball decision.

Igarashi in his NY garb.

Former Swallows reliever Ryota Igarashi is in Port St. Lucie with the Mets, where he was interviewed for a piece about him in the New York Daily News yesterday.

Among the article’s gems:

• The Swallows made only their second ever free agency signing (the first being catcher Aikawa), bringing over Atsushi Fujimoto over from Hanshin. Seriously underwhelming news there then. Another light-hitting infielder to go with the collection we already have, but hey, an extra body is welcome I guess. Welcome to Tokyo Atsushi. He will, perhaps fittingly, wear now-retired Tsubamegun hero Shiroishi’s number 10.
• Aaron Guiel was rewarded for his solid 2009 season (.267 avg, 27HR, 80RBI) with a two year contract worth 90 million yen in the first year with incentives. The popular Canadian could earn up to 270 million over the course of his contract. Good business by the Swallows there, and I will be glad to see Aaron back in Tokyo colours in 2010. Incidentally, Guiel has apparently expressed a desire to end his career with the birds. So maybe from this year you’ll actually be able to buy some merchandise with his name on it. No, scratch that, stupid idea.
• No news on the re-signing of infielder Jamie D’Antona, despite noises from the organization that they wanted him back for 2010 and from the man himself indicating he would like to return. Though given Jamie’s treatment at the hands of our esteemed manager at the tail end of last season, I wouldn’t be surprised if we don’t see Jamie back in a Swallows uniform this season. Let’s hope that’s not the case as, my lord, we need him.
• Apparently the Swallows are looking to change Norichika Aoki’s uniform number from the 23 he’s used in his career so far, to the number 1. The same number worn by such past greats as Tsutomu Wakamatsu, Takahiro Ikeyama and erm, Akinori Iwamura. They are looking for him to become the face of the organization (as if he wasn’t already), but was a number change really necessary?
• Salary negotiations are now pretty much done. Expect something on that to hit Tsubamegun in the near future (here are last year‘s).
• Generally not very good pitcher Yuhei Takai is currently trying to convert to an outfielder by swinging the bat hundreds of thousands of times during this offseason. He’ll be using an Ichiro model glove and a Aoki model bat. Hopefully some of the branding will rub off on the lad and he’ll make the grade. Good luck to him.
• Former Tokyo bullpen ace Ryota Igarashi who left the Swallows this offseason to take a shot at the MLB, has signed with the New York Mets. Being somewhat of a Mets fan myself this is indeed good news, but we here at Tsubamegun Towers are putting money down on when we’ll see the headline “IGARASHIT” after Ryota’s first meltdown.

That’s about it for the moment. Expect activity to increase on the site as we approach the pre-season, and please bear with us as we try to get things in order post-site re-jig.

Oh, and a belated Happy New Year to you all out there.

A couple of teams have apparentlyalready shown interest in the hard throwing right-handed pitcher: the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Texas Rangers.

Interestingly, the Pirates just acquired Akinori Iwamura in a straight-up trade with Tampa Bay. Iwamura was traded man-for-man with Jesse Chavez, a decent relief pitcher. The Rays apparently felt that Iwamura, just coming off a season cut short by a knee injury, was going to be too expensive to hold onto for a utility player. The Pirates, meanwhile, desperately need a second baseman (Iwamura played third for the Tokyo Swallows), and a healthy Aki Iwamura can definitely plug that gap for them.

If Igarashi ends up signing with Pittsburgh, then it would be a reunion of sorts for the two former Tokyo players. It would also be the first time that two former Tokyo Swallows players have ended up on the same MLB team.

Tokyo Swallows 4

Chunichi Dragons 7

Series: Chunichi 2-1 Tokyo

(Nagoya Dome)

Chunichi was definitely the better team today, but they should never forget that they had the flu and a little bit of Takada on their side. Either way, the season came to an end for the Swallows while the Dragons now inherit the unenviable task of overcoming a one game disadvantage in a best-of-seven series at Tokyo Dome versus Yomiuri.

Recognize these guys (other than Yoneno and Yoshinori)? This is what the flu can do to your roster.

That and Nakata pitched pretty damned well.

Tokyo’s lineup:

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

Chunichi’s lineup:

1. Ibata (SS)
2. Araki (2B)
3. Morino (3B)
4. Blanco (1B)
5. Wada (LF)
6. Nomoto (RF)
7. Fujii (CF)
8. Tanishige (C)
9. Nakata (P)

1st inning:

Tokyo got off to a decent start despite the odds. Miyamoto’s two out double was followed by an Aoki double to put the birds ahead 1-0.

Chunichi put two runners on against Tokyo’s third-choice-starter, Yoshinori, in the bottom of the first. However, Wada grounded out to Tanaka to end the threat.

2nd inning:

Tokyo sat down in order, but Chunichi were able to work consecutive one out walks (Fujii and

Aoki plated Miyamoto in the first inning.

3^rd inning:

Yoshinori started off with a karaburi (swinging) strikeout, and Aoki grounded out to first.

With two outs, Tanaka grounded out to third to bring the Dragons to the plate.

Araki batted first for Dragons.

After finally working a full count, Araki sliced one past the pitcher into center field. Excellent at-bat to be fair.

Morino followed with a pop fly to center, and Araki was caught stealing during Blanco’s second at-bat of the game. Blanco singled to right after the runner was removed, and Wada came to the plate with two outs and a runner on first.

Wada, as he’s done several times in this short series, came through with a big hit. An opposite field home run put the home team ahead 2-1.

Nomoto continued the two out rally with a single through the gap between third and short. And Araki (Tokyo’s pitching coach) finally came out of the dugout to have a chat with his young, control-challenged starter.

Fujii then punched a double down the left field line that put Nomoto on third.

Yoshinori intentionally walked Tanishige to get to the pitcher, Nakata.

With the bases loaded and two outs, Nakata struck out swinging.

4^th inning:

Miyamoto got behind in the count really quickly while flashing the bunt twice and eventually grounded out for the first out of the inning.

Aoki also went down  2-0 in a hurry (no feigned bunts involved), and ended up grounding out to short.

D’Antona for his part, did very well to lay off the outside sliders late in the at-bat and drew a two out walk.

Guiel struck out on a forkball to strand D’Antona on first.

Ibata was the first hitter for Chunichi and he struck out looking at a pitch on the outside of the plate. Araki struck swinging, and for a moment it looked as though Yoshinori had relocated the strike zone. Morino singled and represented a brief hiccup in Yoshinori’s inning as next man up, Blanco, struck out swinging at a healthy diet of outside sliders.

5^th inning:

Hatakeyama led off with a single to right, and Aikawa immediately started flashing the bunt. The bunt was successful, and Yoshinori was pulled in favor of Yuichi (doesn’t exactly inspire sentiments of hope, does it?).

Yuichi looked at a first strike, and then wasn’t able to pull the trigger on a second called strike. Yuichi swiped needlessly at the next pitch, a forkball in the dirt to illuminate a second red lamp on the board.

Fukuchi started his at-bat by swinging at, and missing, the first pitch. He held off on the second Nakata offering which was a fair bit wide, and he got burned pretty badly trying to catch up with the third pitch. To his credit, however, Fukuchi displayed a bit of patience and worked the count full. And he reached first on a walk.

With men on first and second, and two outs, Tanaka came to the plate. The first pitch was a ball, and Nakata missed wide with the next pitch as well. A called first strike and a foul ball later, the count was 2-2. Tanaka eventually came through with a single to right, but third base coach, Dobashi, decided to send Hatakeyama home and the big man was thrown out to end the inning.

The bottom of this inning started very, very badly. With Matsui on the mound for the birds, Wada and Nomoto led off with back-to-back singles.

Hatakeyama left to ponder what might have been (if he hadn't been waved home).

One of the scarier guys in the Chunichi lineup then came to the plate. Fujii has been hitting doubles like a madman in this series, and a double at this particular juncture of the game would be curtains for the Swallows’ chances.

Fujii worked the count full, but he fouled the 2-3 pitch off in an area that Hatakeyama could get to for the first out. Tanishige’s turn.

Tanishige singled into right field to score Wada from third, and that’s when things got slightly out of control. 3-1 Chunichi.

The hook came way too late. Matsui was left in long enough to record only one out but gave up four hits and three runs in the process. Oops.

Yoshikawa inherited a man on second with one out and quickly got behind 1-3. Ibata eventually drew a walk to put Chunichi’s seventh potential run on first base. But Araki and Morino succumbed to a pitcher they haven’t seen a whole lot in the last couple of years, and both runners were stranded.

6^th inning:

Miyamoto led things off for the Swallows who were now down by four runs. He took the first three pitches for balls before Chunichi’s first reliever, Kawahara, threw two called strikes. Miyamoto ended up grounding out to second for the first out.

Aoki tried a safety bunt on the first pitch, but it went foul for strike one. After all was said and done, Aoki drew a walk.

D’Antona grounded out but moved Aoki over in the process.

Guiel struck out swining to send the Swallows into the field.

Blanco singled to start things off for Chunichi. Wada then lucked out and his lunging rip at Yoshikaw’s outside pitch ended up in left field. Yoshikawa was, however, able to get Nomoto, Fujii, and Tanishige out to end the threat.

7th inning:

Hatakeyama, Aikawa, and Onizaki went down in order to make things even more desperate for the visitors while Inoue’s leadoff double was wasted by Ibata’s sacrifice bunt and the two quick outs that followed.

8th inning:

Fukuchi finally got his first hit of the series to start things off in the eighth. This one was an infield single to short. Tanaka followed with his second hit of the evening, a single to right. Miyamoto grounded out to first for the first out, but Aoki came through with his second rbi of the game on a single to right which plated Fukuchi. 5-2 Chunichi.

And Tanaka scored on D’Antona’s single to right to make it 5-3 Dragons.

Guiel drew a one out walk, but then Takada got creative and put Shida in the game to bat for Oshimoto.

Bad idea.

Double play.

Great.

Chunichi eighth:

Blanco drew a lead-off walk with Igarashi now on the mound, and he scored on Hirata’s one out triple. 6-3 Dragons.

Hirata quickly crossed home plate on Fujii’s second double of the game. 7-3 blue koala bears.

That was the end of the scoring for the home team though as Tanishige and Hidenori weren’t able to get anything else done (not like it mattered).

9th inning:

After Aikawa and Onizaki provided the first two outs of the inning, Fukuchi, Tanaka, and Miyamoto came up with back-to-back-to-back singles. Fukuchi scored on Tanaka’s single to make it 7-4.

And with two outs Aoki came to the plate. He represented the tying run, but Iwase was on the mound at this point, and the man that carried the team during the final third of the season (and through the playoffs) went down swinging to end the game.

7-4 Final.

Observations:

• The birds were lucky to keep the difference as small as it was. Yoshinori had only one short stretch where he could put the ball where Aikawa was calling for it (the fourth inning–Yoshinori’s last).
• Yoshinori lasted four innings and gave up two earned runs off of seven hits. He struck out five and (typically) walked four.
• Yoshinori burned through 96 pitches in his four innings of work.
• Matsui was terrible in relief, and he was left in the game a wee bit too long.
• Yoshikawa was shaky but didn’t allow any runs to score in 1 1/3 innings.
• Oshimoto was fine.
• Tanaka batted .462 in this series. And he is injured.
• The front half of Tokyo’s lineup had at least two hits each in this game. Fukuchi had two singles (finally!) while Miyamoto and Aoki had a single and a double each (Aoki also added a walk). Tanaka had three singles.
• D’Antona and Hatakeyama also had one hit each.
• The birds were outhit 16-11.
• Ochiai used five relievers to get through the last four innings.
• His starter, Nakata, pitched a good game.
• Dobashi (the third base coach) is an idiot for waving Fludge home on Tanaka’s hit in the fifth. What makes you think a guy of that size can outrun a throw from shallow right when he started his run from second base? Dobashi hasn’t made a bad call like that since the first half of the season…

And so that’s it for the Swallows’ season. They put up a good fight, but there was ultimately nothing they could do without a solid starter on the mound and half of the battery decimated by the flu.

Fukuchi and Hatakeyama weren’t very good at the plate in this series (they didn’t get a hit until today), but several other guys stepped up (I’m actually very surprised that Takada favorite, Yoshimoto, didn’t get a start in this series given Hatakeyama’s ‘Fludge’-like tendencies).

Tanaka, Aoki, D’Antona, and Guiel, on the other hand, put in several quality at-bats, and the first three in that short list batted .300 or better in this series. Guiel added several walks which was basically a continuation of his season-long ability to get on base.

I’ll withhold adding to the ‘Takada Count’ again as I don’t know how well the players on the bench were feeling. Given the circumstances, the birds put up a decent fight in this series, but a lot more will be required next season to give ourselves another shot at going to the Japan Series.

Tokyo Swallows 3

Chunichi Dragons 2

Series: Chunichi 0-1 Tokyo

(Nagoya Dome)

Game one of the 2009 Central League Climax Series kicked off in Nagoya with Chen on the mound for the home team, and Ishikawa taking the reigns for the visiting Tokyo Swallows.

And Tokyo came up with the goods versus a very sharp Chen.

The Swallows won the crucial first game to put some serious pressure on Chunichi’s game two starter and extend Tokyo’s winning streak to seven games.

Tokyo’s lineup:

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

In a bit of a surprise, Ishikawa took the mound for the birds today.

Chunichi’s lineup:

1. Ibata (SS)
2. Araki (2B)
3. Morino (3B)
4. Blanco (1B)
5. Wada (LF)
6. Tanishige (C)
7. Fujii (RF)
8. Hidenori (CF)
9. Chen (P)

First inning:

Fukuchi took a rip at the first pitch hesaw and grounded out weakly to short for out number one.

Tanaka also went after the first pitch he saw and fouled it off. Second pitch as well. Struck out swinging on the third pitch (outside).

Miyamoto similarly went after the first pitch he saw and fouled it off. Same for the second pitch. Third pitch ended up being a broken bat grounder to short. Chen was out of the inning on seven pitches (all strikes).

The Swallows came out swinging! They took a cut at all seven of the pitches they were offered in the first inning. That strategy didn’t work as they found themselves in the field on defense in a serious hurry. Chen didn’t look the least bit perturbed by the aggressiveness.

Luckily, the Dragons also went down in order as Ishikawa induced a series of grounders, two of which he fielded himself.

Second inning:

Aoki started off a little bit more patiently than the three guys before him. He waited until the second pitch to swing, but the result was still a grounder to third.

D’Antona, starting in his third game in a row, also started off swinging. He fouled off the first pitch before letting the next pitch sail wide for ball one. He checked his swing on the third pitch, but that one apparently scraped the outside of the zone. He held off on the next pitch as well, this one high, before Chen allowed the count to fill up with a pitch in the dirt. After fouling off the first full count pitch, D’Antona drew a walk to put the game’s first runner on base. A great seven-pitch at bat from D’Antona.

Guiel came to the plate with one out and also took the first pitch for ball one. The second offering was a sick slider that  dropped more than it tailed, and the third pitch was outside for ball two. The next pitch saw Guiel hit into a 6-3 double play to send the flock into the field.

Blanco started things off for Chunichi by bouncing one hard off the carpet for an infield single to short. D’Antona did a good job to keep a glove on it as the throw from Miyamoto must have rubbed off of his bandaged thumb on its way to first.

Wada helped us out by hitting a changeup into a 6-4-3 double play to put two outs on the board with Tanishige at the plate.

Tanishige struck out to end the inning.

Third inning:

Fludge (Hatakeyama) led off the third with a fouled off first pitch, and then Chen got him to look at a called second strike in the northwestern part of the zone. He sat down after flying out to Fujii in right for the first out.

Kawamoto looked at the first pitch for ball one before fouling off the second pitch. He wasn’t able to keep up with the third pitch, and after that he fouled off a soft curve while defending the plate. Ball two skidded past him in the dirt before Chen struck him out looking with a sharp inside fastball for the second out.

Ishikawa finished up the inning by politely striking out. To be fair to Ishikawa, however, he had one of the most productive at bats that the Swallows lineup had put together up to that point (second only to D’Antona’s). He was able to work six pitches off of Chunichi’s ace, Chen.

But that did little to change the fact that Chen had a healthy no-hitter going through three innings.

Fujii led off the Dragons’ third with a double off the foot of the wall in right. Hidenori bunted him over to third (stupid feet-first  slide into first, by the way; excellent diving play by Tanaka which made Hidenori look even dumber), and then Hatakeyama threw Fujii out at home trying to score on a grounder by Chen. Nice block by Kawamoto.

With Chen on first care of the aforementioned fielder’s choice, Ibata came to the plate with two outs. Ishikawa threw him four straight balls to put runners on first and second.

Araki also looked at a ball on the first pitch, but he grounded out to third on the next pitch with Hatakeyama throwing to second to get the force. Inning over.

Fourth inning:

Chen took the mound again in the fourth having  thrown only 35 pitches up to that point.

Fukuchi started this at bat much differently from his first. He looked at two straight called strikes before he had to foul of a pitch in order to stay alive. A pitch in the dirt finally saw Fukuchi draw one  in his favor, and that was followed by another low pitch to put the count at 2-2. Fukuchi eventually struck out swinging on another nasty Chen slider for out number one.

Tanaka also approached his second at-bat more patiently, but Chen threw another first pitch strike anyway. Tanaka eventually worked the count full, but  he grounded the next pitch at Morino for the second out.

Lots of ground balls in this game.

Miyamoto again came out swinging and fouled off the first pitch he saw. He got further behind in the count when he fouled off the second pitch as well. Chen kept attacking and Miyamoto was forced to foul off a third pitch. He finally got a ball on the fourth offering. The fifth pitch ended up in Araki’s glove on a soft liner that made it as far as the the circle at the back of the infield.

Ishikawa was also on 35 pitches through three. He didn’t look as dangerous as Chen, but he was definitely getting the job done.

First man up, Morino, watched a called first strike to start things off in the bottom of the fourth. After a couple of balls, the 1-2 pitch was a changeup that Morino swung about an hour too early on. At 2-2, Morino fouled off the next three pitches before finally flying out to left for the first out.

Blanco was responsible for the second out on another spiked grounder, this time to third.

With two outs, and after grounding into a double play in his first at-bat, Wada finally got through and lined the first pitch he saw over the wall in left-center. 1-0 Dragons.

Tanishige ended the inning by flying out to right.

Fifth inning:

Chen continued to look very good again at the start of the fifth. He got two quick strikes before throwing two junk pitches in the dirt to level the count against Aoki. Tokyo’s cleanup hitter then fouled off the next three pitches to keep the count at 2-2. On the eighth pitch of the at-bat, Aoki finally broke up Chen’s no-hitter by poking one between Morino and Ibata to put a runner on first for D’Antona.

D’Antona fouled off the first pitch before taking a high pitch for 1-1. The next pitch landed just barely foul in right to give Chen a slight advantage at 2-1 (please remember that the count is reversed in Japan—a full count is 2-3 over here). The next pitch, inside, earned Chen another strikeout.

Guiel fouled off the first pitch, and the 1-1 pitch was a while in coming as Chen started worrying about Aoki over on first. Eventually Guiel fouled that one off as well for 2-1. The next pitch was a fastball on the outside of the plate that Guiel looked at (and disagreed with the resulting call). Two outs.

It was then up to Fludge to get something done with Aoki still standing on first, but he could only strike out swinging against the rock-solid Chen.

But at least Aoki broke up his no-hit bid.

Fujii was the first at the plate for the Dragons after doubling in his first at-bat. And he jumped on another Ishikawa meatball for his second double of the game, this time to left.

Ochiai again had Hidenori bunt him over to third. But Chen quickly grounded out to first for out number two.

However, Ibata came through with a two out line drive to right that scored Fujii. 2-0 Dragons.

Araki finally gave us out number three by grounding out to Hatakeyama who again tested D’Antona with a terrible throw to first.

Sixth inning:

Kawamoto started things off for the Swallows in the sixth. He quickly found himself down 2-0 in the count, and two pitches later he struck out swinging.

That was, incidentally, the fourth strikeout in a row for Chen.

Ishikawa grounded out to the pitcher for the second out, and Fukuchi quickly flied out to right for out number three.

In the Dragons’ sixth, Ishikawa worked both sides of the zone before Morino finally drove a changeup into center to put a man on first with Tony Blanco at the plate. Blanco grounded out to short, but he was able to beat the double-play throw to first.

Wada, fresh off his homer in his last at-bat, saw three straight balls before he swung at, and fouled off, the fourth pitch. He took a full rip at the next pitch as well, and another foul ball meant that the count was suddenly full. Wada punched the next pitch into center on a hit and run, and Blanco was able to reach third to put runners on the corners with one out. Ishikawa’s pitch count was at 73 at this point.

But luckily we had Tanishige at the plate again. The 1-0 pitch (high and outside) looked a bit like Kawamoto was expecting some trickery that never materialized. The trickery came on the 1-1 pitch when Ochiai tried a squeeze that Tanishige fouled off. The veteran eventually struck out looking on a pitch right down the middle.

Fujii then came up for the two on with two outs situation. After two straight doubles, Ishikawa made sure not to put anything near the strike zone until the third pitch of the at-bat when Fujii looked at a fastball right down the middle. He lined the next pitch right at Tanaka for out number three and two stranded runners.

Seventh inning:

Tanaka was the first batter for the Swallows in the fateful (for Chen) seventh. He lined the second pitch he saw down the line in right to put the first Tokyo runner on second.

Miyamoto again took a swipe at the first pitch he saw and fouled it off about two meters shy of fair territory on the green in right. He would end up grounding out and moving Tanaka over to third in the process. I don’t know what was going on with Blanco over at first on that play because he seemed to think that the inning was over or something. Tanaka very nearly thought about trying for home on the big man’s mental lapse.

Aoki then came to the plate with one out and Tanaka on third.

On Chen’s 2-1 pitch, Aoki came through with another single to left that scored Tanaka from third. 2-1 Chunichi.

And then with Aoki on first, first baseman, Jamie D’Antona came to the plate. All you need to know is that D’Antona absolutely destroyed one into the stands in left-center to make it 3-2 Tokyo.

And that’s when Chen looked like he might cry. Tears or not, I still love the way he bounces his head off his right bicep before each pitch.

Chen then gave up a single to Guiel to put another runner within his periphery.

Fludge, having flied and struck out in his first two plate appearances, flied out to left this time for the second out.

Kawamoto then came to the  plate having struck out his first two times at the plate, and Chen quickly got out in front of him 2-1. But Kawamoto eventually worked the count full, and he found himself on first when Chen surrendered his first walk of the game.

Takada decided to put Noguchi in to hit for Ishikawa with two outs and runners on first and second. Noguchi flied out to second to end the Swallows’ inning.

After pitching six excellent innings, Chen saw his outing become fully forgettable in the seventh.

3-2 Swallows after the top of the seventh.

Oshimoto took the mound to face the Dragons in the bottom of the seventh.

Hidenori grounded out to short before Nomoto came in to pinch hit for Chen.

After several foul balls, Nomoto worked the count full but grounded out to D’Antona on the next pitch.

With two outs, it was Ibata’s turn again. And after Ibata did well to work the count full, Oshimoto struck him out looking with a hard, low fastball that he wasn’t able to swing at.

Eighth inning:

Fukuchi again grounded out when facing Chunichi’s first reliever, Asao.

Tanaka then entered the batter’s box for the Swallows. After scoring the last time he came to the plate (double), the fresh-off-an-injury second baseman kept the prepubescent Asao honest for a while before fanning on a high fastball for out number two.

Miyamoto again put the first pitch in play for another ground out.

And as expected, Igarashi took the mound for the bottom of the eighth.

Chunichi eighth: Araki led off for the home team. Araki had grounded out in all three of his plate appearances up to this part, but he saw four quick balls from Igarashi to put the tying run on first.

Morino (1-3 up to that point) then watched Igarashi throw yet another ball. Igarashi finally threw a strike on his sixth pitch of the inning. After getting Morino to foul off the third pitch, Igarashi then started to worry about Araki (number two in the league in steals this season behind Fukuchi) over on first. It was all for naught though. Even though the 2-1 pitch was advantageous for Kawamoto, his throw to second was wide right and Araki had his first steal of the playoffs.

But Morino grounded one hard at the mound that Igarashi did very well to catch. Araki had to stay put, and Igarashi threw comfortably to first to record the first out.

And then came Blanco. The first pitch was a forkball that never touched the dirt but somehow never endangered the underbelly of the strike zone. The second pitch was also low for 0-2. But Blanco managed to ground out again for the second out, and Araki was still on second.

Wada then came up with two outs. Two for three with a home run and single to center, Wada represented a significant threat to Tokyo’s lead. And Igarashi pitched to him like he knew it. The first two pitches were nowhere near the strike zone. Pitch number three was also conservative, about eight inches off the outside edge of the plate. With Tanishige on deck, there was little point in pitching to Wada, so ball four was swift in its efficacy.

Runners on first and second with two outs.

In comes Lim to finish up the inning.

Tanishige was very helpful in that he swung accidentally at the first pitch (a bit inside), and then he flailed away helplessly at Lim’s second offering. But after a bit of patience and a few foul balls, Tanishige was able to work the count to 2-2. Tanishige finally lost the  battle on a high fastball that he couldn’t keep up with. Runners stranded at first and second.

Tanishige makes me happy.

Ninth inning:

Takahahsi (3.08 ERA in 49 appearances during the regular season) took the mound for the Dragons in the top of the ninth.

Aoki (2-3 thus far) was the first bird at the plate for Tokyo. He took the first pitch for a ball before an identical pitch ended up a called first strike. Takahashi followed with two balls to make it 1-3. Aoki’s slap hit to left on the next pitch was easily caught by the drawn-in Wada.

D’Antona, fresh off of that huge home run in his last at-bat, came back up to bat with one out and nobody on. He pulled Takahashi’s 2-1 pitch big time for a bit of a home run fake, and he took another nice cut at the 2-2 pitch (foul). Looking more confident and dangerous by the moment, he held off on the next pitch to work the count full. After fouling off three straight pitches, he struck out swinging a bit early on what I believe was a slider.

Guiel grounded out to second to end the Swallows’ inning.

Chunichi’s ninth: Yuichi came in on defense for D’Antona at first and Yoshimoto took over for Fludge at third.

Fujii was Chunichi’s first batter in the bottom of the ninth, and he quickly found his way to first care of a check swing that Miyamoto wasn’t able to get to first base in time.

Hidenori again bunted to put the tying run on second.

With one out, the soon to retire Tatsunami came in to hit for the pitcher, Takahashi. But all he could do was fly out to shallow left.

And then Ibata came to the plate with two outs and a man on second. Chunichi’s best all-around hitter grounded out to second to end the game and give Lim a well-deserved save.

Final: Tokyo 3-2 Chunichi.

Observations:

• D’Antona had several good at-bats. He looks very confident at the plate, and he hit that ball so hard that Chen might never recover. He was the hero of the game (I still don’t understand why an opposing team’s player is allowed to be the hero, but whatever), and he gave a very detailed hero’s interview that was both confident and respectful at the same time. If you’ve read what we’ve written about the guy recently on this site, then a couple of his comments might have taken on extra meaning.
• Takada did briefly mention the potency of Tokyo’s cleanup (Aoki, D’Antona, and Guiel), but he was not specifically asked what he thought of D’Antona’s home run during his post-game interview.
• Lim looked good. Igarashi not so much, but he still basically got the job done after his rather rough start.
• D’Antona didn’t allow the penguin to put his helmet on him during the post-game interview.
• Come-from-behind wins are  hot.
• Tokyo had only five hits and four of them came in the seventh when Chen started leaving his pitches up in the zone.
• Four of Tokyo’s five hits came from the bats that the coaches have little control over (Aoki, D’Antona, and Guiel).
• Ishikawa threw 81 pitches and gave up two runs off of seven hits. He struck out two and walked one.

Yokohama BayStars 4

Tokyo Yakult Swallows 5

Streak: Won 2   Last 5: LWLWW

(Jingu Stadium)

Aaron Guiel. Aaron Guiel. Aaron Guiel!!

Tokyo’s Lineup:

1. Fukuchi (LF)
2. Kajimoto (2B)
3. Miyamoto (3B)
4. Aoki (CF)
5. Guiel (RF)
6. Yuichi (1B)
7. Kawamoto (C)
8. Onizaki (SS)
9. Yuki (P)

The Bay Stars compiled seven hits in the first three innings (resulting in three runs) to quickly chase Yuki from the game. Saeki came through with the rbi’s in both occasions as the visitors went up 3-0.

Yokohama starter, Fujie (6.51), actually had a no-hitter through four complete innings as things started to look a little bit bleak for the birds.

The Swallows, in desperate need of another win, finally started to get to Fujie in the fifth. After watching reliever, Hashimoto (1.35), throw two perfect innings, Yuichi and Kawamoto got things rolling with back-to-back singles. Onizaki’s “tak” bunt ended up getting Yuichi thrown out at third, so with one out there were still runners left on first and second.

Hatakeyama came in to pinch hit for Hashimoto, and he came through with  another single that loaded the bases for Fukuchi.

Last season Fukuchi hit .400 in bases loaded situations (15 chances), and he came up big again tonight with a double to the wall in right-center. Both Kawamoto and Onizaki scored to put the birds back in the game. 3-2 Yokohama.

Kajimoto and Miyamoto grounded out to strand the runners on second and third, but the momentum had swung back in Tokyo’s direction. In the sixth, Guiel (25th of the year) hit a one out solo home run to right to tie the game up at 3-3.

Meanwhile, Oshimoto (2.71) quietly worked a scoreless sixth and seventh innings for the Swallows, and Igarashi (3.19) got through the eighth on only five pitches. The three consecutive grounders to second were comical in that Hashimoto had induced the same result in the fourth.

Guiel would end up giving Igarashi the win (he’s now 3-2 with three saves) when he homered to right (his 26th) with Aoki on first (single) to give the birds the lead after eight innings. 5-3 Swallows.

Lim (2.11) was somewhat unlucky to give up a run while trying to get the save in the ninth, but such has been his luck as of late. Murata’s sliced blooper behind first base land just barely fair and the power-hitter was able to motor to second easily as the ball spun foul. Saeki then moved him over to third on a grounder to second, and he scored on a fielder’s choice at short. 5-4 Swallows.

Ishikawa finally struck out to end the game and keep Tokyo within a half of a game of the third place Hanshin Tigers. The save was Lim’s 27th of the year.

Observations:

• The birds now have two monumentally large games against the Tigers tomorrow and Friday.
• They are the last two games of the season for the Tigers and both of them are at Jingu. Hanshin can secure the third playoff spot by winning both of them.
• The birds have four more games left to play. In addition to the two games coming up versus Hanshin, they have games at Jingu versus Chunichi on Sunday and Yomiuri on Monday.
• The Tokyo Swallows must win three of their last four games in order to advance to the playoffs. If the birds take both of the Hanshin games, then they can lose the two games versus Yomiuri and Chunichi and still advance. If they split the mini-series with Hanshin, then they will need to win both of their remaining games.
• Considering that all four of those games are against the top three teams in the league, it would appear that the odds are definitely against them. The one thing that Tokyo has in its favor is home field advantage.
• With a typhoon threatening, team officials made the bold decision to go ahead with the game. It turned out to be the right decision as nothing more than a light drizzle harassed the few on-lookers.
• The official attendance at the game tonight is 7,408. That is a straight-up lie (unless they counted everyone within one kilometer of the stadium in that tally).
• Guiel hit his 25th and 26th home runs in this game. He was the difference. His three rbi’s earned him “hero” honors at the end.
• Yuichi also had a multi-hit game (2-4, two singles).
• The Swallows won their final seven games against the Bay Stars to finish the season at 11-13 against their stubborn neighbors from the south.

Tokyo Yakult Swallows 10

Yokohama BayStars 4

Streak: Won 1   Last 5: LLWLW

(Yokohama Stadium)

For quite a while, it looked as though Yokohama would frustrate Tokyo for the 14th time this year. But in the end, the Swallows extra class told as they put up eight runs in the 8th inning (ooh, a big inning, remember those?) to come from behind and keep their playoff hopes alive with a win in rainy Yokohama stadium.

Tokyo lined up as follows:

1. Fukuchi (LF)
2. Kajimoto (2B)
3. Miyamoto (3B)
4. Aoki (CF)
5. Guiel (RF)
6. Yuichi (1B)
7. Kawamoto (C)
8. Onizaki (SS)
9. Takagi (P)

Guiel returned to the fold in what was a big boost to the team (in my eyes anyway, not sure about Takada’s) adding some much needed power to the lineup in the absence of D’Antona.

Tokyo got off to a flyer in the 1st, as Fukuchi hit the third pitch he saw off Baystars starter Kuwahara into the the leftfield bleachers for 1-0 Tokyo. It was his fifth dinger of the year.

Takagi started for the birds but couldn’t hold onto the lead, as he gave up two runs off four hits (all singles) in the bottom of the 1st and it was 2-1 Yokohama.

Takagi had himself a 1,2,3 2nd inning before falling further behind in the 3rd, courtesy of a one-out solo homer from Uchikawa for 3-1 Yokohama. Takagi regained his composure to strikeout Murata and Saeki to escape the inning with the lead at 2 runs.

In the top of the 4th a two-out  Guiel walk followed by a Yuichi single put runners on first and second for Kawamoto. Alas the catcher could only ground out to third and the inning was done.

Then in a rather puzzling move, Takada replaced Takagi on the mound with the low-on-form Yoshinori. The decision backfired instantly as the youngster walked two and gave up a two-out RBI single to Kinjoh that put Yokohama comfortably ahead at 4-1. Luckily for Yoshinori, Kinjoh was thrown out trying to advance to second on the throw home and the inning was over.

The Swallows reduced the lead in the 5th, a leadoff solo homer from the impressive Onizaki (his second of the year/his career) and it was 4-2.

Matsui worked a scoreless one hit-fifth in relief of Yoshinori (whose ERA edged up to 3.52), coming into the game with 19 year old rookie catcher Yuhei Nakamura.

Guiel earned his second walk of the game in the 6th with one out, but Yuichi hit into a 6-4-3 double play (which to be fair, was very well fielded by the diving Yokohama shortstop Ishikawa) and the chance to cut the lead further was gone.

Matsui worked another scoreless inning in the 6th to put his ERA down to 3.08. Oshimoto (2.80) then put his recent affinity for giving up the long-ball to one side as he pitched a hitless 7th.

And so to the 8th and the Swallows faced reliever Takasaki on the mound. A Fukuchi single was followed up by a Kajimoto infield hit to put men on first and second with no outs. Miyamoto bunted for out number one, and the runners were moved along into scoring positions.

Yokohama then wheeled on the 100 year old ex-Yomiuri man Kudoh (okay, he’s 46) to face Aoki, but the white-hot Norichika hit a base-clearing single to centre and it was all-square at 4-4. Up stepped Guiel who then showed Takada what’s he’s been missing by blasting one over the wall in right and just-like-that it was 6-4 Tokyo.

It was Guiel’s 24th homer of the year, and Aaron ended the game with his average at .265 as he went 1 for 3 with two walks and two strikeouts on his return to the team.

Kudoh then walked Yuichi (who was promptly replaced by Noguchi at first) before Kizuka replaced the veteran on the mound. Noguchi stole second before Hatakeyama grounded out to short for out number two, with the runner holding at second. Onizaki then received an intentional walk before Nakamura took one on the right hand and the bases were loaded for Fukuchi.

The leftfielder thwacked one to the rightfield wall for a double, the bases cleared and Tokyo found themselves up 9-4. But the inning wasn’t quite over yet. During next-man Kajimoto’s at-bat Fukuchi stole third before the stand-in second baseman hit a grounder that hit the pitcher’s leg to short, allowing Fukuchi home and the runner to be safe at first. 10-4 Tokyo. Miyamoto then flew-out to right and the inning was over having seen 12 batters take the plate, 6 hits and 8 runs come home.

Just like old times, Igarashi (3.25) and Lim (1.99) worked hitless 8th and 9th innings respectively and it was 10-4 Tokyo Final. Both relievers were making their 55th appearances of the season.

Oshimoto took the win to put his record at 2 and 6. Takagi’s record remains at 3 and 0 with his ERA up to 1.70.

Tokyo outhit Yokohama 11-7. Fukuchi (.270) and Kajimoto (.316) both had three-hit evenings, while Onizaki (.414) had himself two.

Aoki (.301) went 1 for 5 with his two game-tying RBIs.

With Hanshin not playing today, this win puts Tokyo 0.5 games back of 3rd. Hanshin now have just three to play while Tokyo have five. The two sides will play each other at Jingu on Thursday and Friday (weather permitting).

Tokyo will face Yokohama for the final time this year at Jingu tomorrow evening. The season series now stands at 13-10 in the Baystars favour, though the Swallows have now won their last six meetings.

Hanshin Tigers 7

Tokyo Yakult Swallows 1

Streak: Lost 2     Last 5:  WWWLL

(Jingu Stadium)

The birds outhit the Tigers 12-10 but still got annihilated. Yuki pitched six rather solid innings but got roughed up a little in the seventh. Takada factored a bit in this one as well.

Tokyo’s lineup:

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

The Tigers put their collective claw mark on this game at the very start with a run in the first. Hirano’s lead-off single translated into a run when Kanemoto came up with a two out single. 1-0 Hanshin.

Yuki was able to calm down a bit after that. He was perfect through the second and third, and he allowed a single runner in both the fourth and fifth innings (both singles).

Meanwhile, the Swallows stranded one runner (Tanaka, single) in the first, and saw Hatakeyama kill a two out, bases loaded rally in the fourth with one of his trademark pop flies.

Hatakeyama, I hereby dub thee “Fludge” (which is short for “fly ball pudge boy”).

For the record, Fludge, I’m a big, big fan. And yes, everyone watching shares your dreams of you becoming a power hitter. But you really need to learn how to pull your left elbow and swing down a bit more. Until you can demonstrate solid contact on a more consistent basis, you are hereby banned from swinging up on the ball. Now go to your room.

Yuki’s textbook sac bunt in the fifth to move Kawamoto (single) over to second didn’t end up generating a run, and Kawamoto killed a two out, bases loaded situation in the sixth with a quick strikeout. During the sixth incidentally, with two on and one out, Takada started to make silly decisions. Guiel (1-2 up to that point) was replaced by Fukuchi.  Why would you replace one of the team’s best clutch hitters with its worst in that situation?

Anyway, Fukuchi struck out swinging and the rally ended quickly thereafter.

The top of the seventh was when things started to get out of reach for the birds. Arai’s two out single was followed by a Brazell homer to right that made it 3-0 Hanshin.

The Swallows stranded a runner in the seventh and two in the eighth.

Aoki reached the 150 hit mark for the fifth season in a row.

Then Igarashi (3.31) was brought in to pitch the ninth. Huh? Why Igarashi with a three run deficit? Surely Hashimoto, Yoshikawa, or Matsui would be a wiser choice, no? How many times do we need to put a valuable, late-inning pitcher in a situation where his talents are not needed (and he knows it) just to see him give up two, three, or four runs?

Mr. Takada, I can give you exhibit A, B, and C from any team in Japan showing why this often ends poorly, and I would need three hands to count all of the times I’ve personally witnessed Matsuoka, Oshimoto, Lim, and Igarashi allow an opposing team to expand a pre-existing lead this season.

Anyway, the long and short of it is that Igarashi got tagged with four runs in that inning. He faced four batters and gave up four hits. Hashimoto (1.80) did end up pitching in this game, but his entrance was roughly four batters too late. He allowed Igarashi’s last credited run on a sac fly, but he did retire the three batters he faced. 7-0 Hanshin.

The birds finally scored in the bottom of the ninth when Tanaka (one out single) was brought home by Aoki’s two out single to center. 7-1 yellow cats.

TAKADA COUNT: 13

Raising the count is mostly for replacing Guiel when he was due at the plate with two runners on and only one out. Fukuchi, for the record, was held out of the starting lineup because he’s slumping yet again. So then what’s the rationale for taking Guiel out of the game in that situation? Like I said, it’s possible that he was hurting for some reason, and if so then I’ll pull the count back down. But damn! That sure was a nonsensical decision otherwise.

Also a contributing factor was Igarashi’s appearance when the team was down by three runs. The 2009 season is a very good example of why pitchers should not be asked to assume a role that differs from the one they’ve become accustomed to.

Observations:

• Funny moment in the top of the first when Kanemoto, who was on first at the time, took off running for second even though Yuki hadn’t started his windup yet. Yuki easily turned and threw him out at second to end the inning. Hit and run is my guess, but either way it’s always fun to see a veteran make a rookie mistake (a la Miyamoto’s head-first slide last night).
• Miyamoto and D’Antona started this game despite nursing injuries. Both reached base once in five plate appearances (Miyamoto had a single and D’Antona drew a walk).
• Aoki’s batting average reached .300 on a 4-5 evening at the plate.
• Tanaka was the only other Tokyo player with a multi-hit game (two singles).
• Oshimoto (2.75) pitched a perfect eighth.
• Tonight’s loss means that the Swallows are now in fourth place again. They trail the third place Tigers by half a game.

The birds now have a day off before playing the Hiroshima Carp on Friday at 6 PM.