Tokyo Yakult Swallows 8

Yomiuri Giants 14

Streak: Lost 3   Last 5: WWLLL

(Tokyo Dome)

The Swallows dropped another one, and suffered their second big inning in as many days, as cross-town rivals, Yomiuri, returned to winning ways after being beaten in dramatic fashion by Yokohama last night.

Tonight’s lineup:

1. Aoki CF
2. Tanaka 2B
3. Iihara LF
4. Whitesell 1B
5. Guiel RF
6. Aikawa C
7. Hatakeyama 3B
8. Onizaki SS
9. Barnette P

The birds were actually up 7-3 after the end of the fourth. Yomiuri struck first with a three run Chono dinger in the second–quickly casting doubt on Barnette’s clean ride through the bottom of the opening inning.

But the birds came back with one hell of a two out rally in the top of the third. Whitesell homered to right, his third of the season, to make it 3-1. Guiel and Aikawa then singled. Hatakeyama brought them both around to score with a double to left. 3-3. The go-ahead run was provided by Onizaki with a double to center. 4-3 Tokyo.

Another two out rally lit up the visitor’s section in the following inning when Guiel’s two out homer to right scored three. 7-3 Tokyo.

But the next three innings would prove to be disastrous for Tokyo. Barnette, Watanabe and Hashimoto combined to give up 11 runs (all earned), and the Swallows found themselves down 14-8 Final.

That eighth run came care of another Whitesell solo homer in the seventh. That put his season tally at four.

The start of the sixth was rough for Tokyo’s starter–he gave up three consecutive hits before being yanked in favor of Watanabe. Barnette somehow escaped the loss despite giving up seven earned runs in five and 0/3′s innings of work. He threw 86 pitches and allowed six hits while striking out five and walking one. His record now stands at 3-5 and he has a 6.44 ERA.

Watanabe, who was pretty horrid yesterday, couldn’t record an out (HBP, BB) today, and ended up with the loss. He deserved it. His ERA climbed assertively to 8.31. Yes!

Oshimoto (two earned runs; 1/3 inning pitched; 3.57 ERA) and Takaichi (three earned runs; one and 2/3′s innings; 4.66) also helped add to the visiting team’s misery during that fateful trifecta of innings.

Not that orange baseball players are slouches at the plate this season, but still.

The only guy who didn’t give up a run was Hashimoto (one inning pitched; 4.97). Like Watanabe, he had arough outing last night, but he somehow managed to get through the top third of the Yomiuri lineup on only seven pitches.

Tokyo’s offensive player of the game was Whitesell who went 2-4 (two solo homers) and added a walk.

Game two of this series is tomorrow at Tokyo Dome. First pitch is at 6PM.

Random thoughts:

After 47 at-bats, Whitesell has 10 RBIs and boasts a 1.069 OPS.

Tokyo actually outhit Yomiuri in this contest 12-11.

Tokyo walked three Yomiuri batters and beaned one. All four of those runners later scored.

Yoshinori was sent down to the farm to make way for Barnette to start today’s game. No telling what the next move will be.

Yomiuri was wearing uniforms designed by a junior high school student in this game. I think the lightning bolts intimidated Tokyo’s pitchers.

Hanshin Tigers 11

Tokyo Yakult Swallows 4

Streak: Lost 2   Last 5: WWWLL

(Meiji Jingu Stadium)

Yoshinori was his same annoyingly inconsistent self to start things off today. Randy Messenger, on the other hand, looked sharp for Hanshin. He needs to quit that chewing tobacco habit though.

Starting lineup:

1. Aoki CF
2. Tanaka 2B
3. Iihara LF
4. Whitesell 1B
5. Guiel RF
6. Aikawa C
7. Miyamoto 3B
8. Morioka SS
9. Yoshinori P

Amazingly, Yoshinori made it through the first three innings without giving up a run. The first inning was classic Yoshinori. He got the first two outs without too much trouble but then loaded the bases with a walk and a couple of beanballs.

He got out of the inning by fanning Kanemoto on a check swing.

He also benefited from double plays in the third and fourth innings which greatly helped his ability to keep his pitch count under control and get out of innings before things got ugly.

Even though Messenger was locating his pitches well, Iihara reached base on a one out infield single. Whitesell then brought him all the way home on a double down the rightfield line that Murton had a hard time tracking down. Whitesell ended up on second and he later scored when Aikawa poked one up the middle. 2-0 Tokyo.

Yoshinori calmed down quite a bit after those two double plays. He really found his groove in the sixth when he started throwing 157 kph heaters to Arai. When he’s on, he hits his spots and his slider has a decent amount of movement on it.

Unfortunately, that only happens for about four or five outs every time he starts.

A safety bunt by Aoki started  off the bottom of the sixth. Tanaka was ordered too Tak-bunt, but fortunately both times he made contact he fouled it off. He ended up poking one between first and second which put runners on the corners with no outs.

Sadly, Tokyo’s first base coach, Iida, found it necessary to lecture Tanaka on the finer points of bunting as he stood safely on first. It wouldn’t matter in the long run as Messenger got three quick outs after that.

A bit more comedy came in the top of the seventh when Yoshinori took to shaking off all of Aikawa’s pitch calls after Brazell had singled to start things off. His temporary bout of ballsiness resulted in a double that put runners on second and third with no outs and Johjima at the plate.

Lin then came through with a one out hit that thanks to a little bit of a fielding gamble by Aoki ended up a triple that tied the score. 2-2.

A soft Toritani grounder to second scored the third run, and and a Hirano slice along the line in left scored a fourth. 4-2 Hanshin.

And that was the end of Yoshinori’s night.

Masubuchi took the mound with two outs, an inherited runner on second, and Murton at the plate.

Murton put his stamp on the game with a homer to center that put the score at 6-2 Hanshin.

And that six run inning was basically the end of the game.

The birds scored a couple more off of an Aoki double, and Johjima tacked another one on for the visitors with a solo shot to left off of Oshimoto.

Watanabe pitched the top of the ninth for the birds—his seventh appearance of the season in a Swallows uniform. He was yanked after allowing two hits and recording only one out. Hashimoto took his place on the mound. With runners on first and third, Murton bounced one over Miyamoto’s head at third to score another run. 8-4 Hanshin.

Hashimoto then lost his ability to find the underbelly of the strike zone. He ended up putting three pitches in the dirt and Arai on first. Bases loaded for Brazell.

Yamato then cleared the bases with a triple over the drawn-in outfield. 11-4 Hanshin.

Yoshinori (5-6; 4.45 ERA) took the loss and gave up five earned runs off of seven hits. It was nice to see him make it to the seventh inning for a change, but he definitely didn’t reassure the coaching staff with his performance in that inning.

Masubuchi (3.16), Oshimoto (3.09), Watanabe (4.15) and Hashimoto (5.40) made relief appearances today. Every one of Tokyo’s four relievers gave up at least one earned run in this contest.

Aoki, Tanaka and Aikawa had two hits each in this game. Whitesell and Guiel had 1-4 evenings–each hit a stand-up double.

Random thoughts:

Watanabe’s ERA was 0.00 through his first six appearances of the season.

Hanshin scored all 11 of its runs during the final third of the game.

Fujikawa sat back down in the bullpen as soon as the save opportunity disappeared. What a novel idea.

Chunichi beat Hiroshima tonight, so the birds are now an extra game behind third place.

Fujimoto was sent down to the farm team immediately after yesterday’s game for being such a klutz on defense. Morioka, who started at short today, took his place on the active roster.

Pitchers Katoh and Matsui were sent down today while Hashimoto and Kawabata took their places. All three of the recently promoted players made appearances in today’s game. None of them did anything worth remembering.

Tokyo Yakult Swallows 9

Chunichi Dragons 4

Streak: Won 5   Last 5: WWWWW

(Nagoya Dome)

The Swallows managed to put the finishing touches on their third five-game winning streak of the season (all of them in the post-Takada era) while taking full advantage of every opportunity given to them.

Tonight’s lineup:

1. Aoki CF
2. Tanaka 2B
3. Iihara RF
4. Whitesell 1B
5. Hatakeyama LF
6. Aikawa C
7. Miyamoto 3B
8. Fujimoto SS
9. Nakazawa P

With Yoshimi looking pretty solid on the mound for the Dragons, Aoki created a little bit of wiggle-room for the visitors in the third with an expertly-placed two-out double down the line in left. Tanaka then drew a walk to occupy the empty base. Iihara then came through with a clutch double high off the wall in right to score both Aoki and Tanaka. 2-0 Tokyo.

But Chunichi came right back in the bottom of that inning when Tanishige led off the inning by crushing a Nakazawa curveball. 2-1 Tokyo.

The Swallows scored again in the fourth. Aikawa’s one out single was his second hit of the game, and he was pushed to third on a very nice full-count poke by Miyamoto past the shortstop. Then, with runners on the corners, Fujimoto bounced the first pitch high enough into the air that Aikawa was able to scamper home. Fujimoto was out at first, but the two run lead was restored. 3-1 Tokyo.

Things nearly got very ugly in the bottom of that inning. Nakazawa walked the first batter and then a Tanaka fielding error on a potential double-play grounder left runners safe on first and second with no outs. Wada then fouled out to Whitesell for the first out. After the runners were able to advance when Aikawa forgot to catch the ball, Blanco walked as Nakazawa was advised to pitch around him. Bases loaded for Cesar. But he then popped up in foul territory, too, with Whitesell again on the receiving end for the second out.

And with Tanishige complaining about the ump’s strike zone (which ballooned wildly off the left side of the plate for most of the game), Aikawa was able to pick Morino off at second after he was a little slow getting back. Disaster averted.

Aoki led off the next inning with his second hit of the game, but Tanaka’s Tak-bunt was fielded nicely by the catcher and Aoki was out at second. Never feat, though, Iihara is here, and he came through with his second double in as many at-bats to put runners on second and third with one out.

The Swallows were able to score a run thanks to a wild pitch by Yoshimi with Whitesell at the plate. 4-1 Tokyo.

The birds couldn’t survive another defensive lapse as Fujimoto’s carelessness ended up costing the Swallows two runs. The runner mistakenly allowed on first and the runner that walked after that both scored on Oshima’s double off the wall in center. 4-3 Tokyo.

But the birds kept finding ways to score. In the sixth, Miyamoto and Fujimoto had back-to-back one-out singles to start things off. Ueda, pinch hitting for Nakazawa, then popped up softly to shallow left for out number two, but Aoki was able to bring Miyamoto home from third with a single between first and second. It was his third hit of the evening. 5-3 Swallows.

Oshimoto (2.91) pitched a scoreless bottom of the sixth, and Masubuchi (2.98) looked horrible but still held on in the bottom of the seventh. Matsuoka (1.66) took care of the eighth.

But the Swallows would put this one out of reach in the top of the ninth with Lim getting ready in the bullpen. Kawamoto drew a pinch-hit walk to lead things off. Aoki then thwacked his fourth hit of the game to put runners on first and second. Tanaka then Tak-bunted them over for the first out. Iihara then drew a walk to load the bases, and Takeuchi’s grounder to second was enough to score Kawamoto from third. Takeuchi was out at first, but the runners advanced. 6-3 Tokyo.

Fukuchi then brought both Aoki and Iihara home with a single to left. 8-3 Tokyo.

The fleet-footed Fukuchi was then able to score from first when Aikawa drilled one into the gap in left-center, and that was the end of Tokyo’s offensive attack for the evening. 9-3 Tokyo.

Chunichi got one run back in the ninth with Matsui (5.25) on the mound (fortunately Lim was told to take his spikes off once the birds started to run away with it in the ninth). 9-4 Final.

Nakazawa (3.78 ERA) got the win, his sixth of the year, and gave up only one earned run off of two hits. The one blemish on his evening was the five walks he issued–somewhat surprising given the size of the strike zone that the home plate umpire was going by.

Aoki was an impressive 4-5 at the plate with one RBI while Aikawa went 3-5 with an RBI. Both Miyamoto and Iihara had two hits on the evening while the latter also added a walk and an HBP.

The Swallows now return to Jingu for the start of a three game series against the second place Hanshin Tigers.

Random thoughts:

Today was Masubuchi’s 37th appearance of the season. I’d like to take this opportunity to kindly remind Mr. Ogawa that Masubuchi isn’t used to getting this much playing time, and that may help explain how terribly he looks on the mound. That’s nearly twice as many as he had in his first three seasons combined (19). Sure, he was a starter during those first three seasons, but through just shy of half a season, he’s already got his innings up to the second highest in his career. Please find a fourth middle reliever soon. Convert another potential starter if you have to. The poor guy is tired.

The Swallows outhit the Dragons 13-5 in this contest.

The birds were very effective at bringing runners home from third tonight. They always seemed to find a way. There was a very delicate mixture of clutch hitting and luck (wild pitch) working for the Swallows this evening.

Tokyo Yakult Swallows 10

Hanshin Tigers 6

Streak: Won 1  Last 5: WLLLW

(Koshien)

With D’Antona on the farm team, and Guiel and Whitesell watching from the bench, the Tokyo Swallows looked to avoid a Koshien sweep at the hands of the Hanshin Tigers with Mikinori Katoh on the mound for the first start of the season.

Tonite’s lineup:

1. Aoki CF
2. Fukuchi LF
3. Tanaka 2B
4. Hatakeyama 1B
5. Iihara RF
6. Miyamoto 3B
7. Onizaki SS
8. Kawamoto C
9. Katoh P

Katoh’s first pitch of the game was a strike right down the middle, but then he followed that up with four straight pitches outside the zone. Hanshin ended up plating two runners in that inning, and it looked like the temporary new-look Swallows (Whitesell will be back in the lineup once the swelling in his knee has subsided) were in for a long night. 2-0 Hanshin.

But they tied things in the top of the next frame. Hanshin starter, Andoh, got two easy ground0uts, but Miyamoto and Onizaki singled to instill a modicum of hope. Kawamoto then bounced one off the fence to score two and tie the game. 2-2.

Both teams got a runner on base in the third, but nobody scored. The real fireworks came in the top of the fourth when the Swallows dressed Andoh in a very colorful clown suit.

Iihara started things off with a single, and Miyamoto drew a walk to put two on with no outs. Ogawa couldn’t resist the Tak-bunt, but Onizaki fouled out to Johjima for the first red lamp of the evening.

Kawamoto then loaded the bases with a bloop single to center (his second hit in as many at-bats), and Katoh came through with his first big-league hit, an infield single spiked firmly into the dirt about a foot in front of home plate, to bring home the go-ahead run. 3-2 Tokyo.

And with Katoh still grinning from ear to ear on first base, Aoki brought home two more runs with a double to left. 5-2 Tokyo.

Fukuchi then grounded out for the third time in as many at-bats which brought up Hatakeyama with two outs. Remarkably, he managed to park a 2-1 slider in the center field bleachers. Grand slam! 9-2 Swallows.

Hanshin got one back in the bottom of that inning, but Hatakeyama would strike again (RBI single; Fukuchi scored) in the eighth to restore the seven run lead. 10-3 Tokyo.

Toritani, however, brought around a couple more in the bottom of the eighth for 10-5.

And wouldn’t you know it, Lim was in to pitch the ninth with a five run cushion. Not my first choice, but this is the way things work from a (Tokyo) managerial point of view.

He was sharp up to a point, but he threw one too many fastballs to Brazell which resulted in his 29th homer of the season. Lim ended up escaping the inning with only the one run against him. 10-6 Final.

Katoh (1-0, 3.55 ERA) took the win, the first of his pro career, in his first start (and sixth appearance) of 2010. He threw 77 pitches through five innings while giving up three earned runs off of six hits. He issued two walks against one strikeout.

The offensive player of the game was obviously Hatakeyama who came through with his second homer of the year (grand slam) and five total RBIs.

Aoki, Tanaka, and Kawamoto also had two hits each. Aoki and Tanaka added a walk to reach base three times while Kawamoto did the same plus the addition of a painful HBP to the ribs for a fourth appearance on the basepaths.

The Swallows return to Jingu tomorrow for the start of a three-game series versus Hiroshima.

Random notes:

The trio of Oshimoto (34th appearance), Masubuchi (35) and Matsuoka (36) are being flagrantly overused. I’ve grown used to this over the past few years, but I’d just like to point out once again that it will soon come back to bite us in the collective ass. While I can sympathize with the desire to lock the game down, there are a few other guys in the bullpen that can get through an inning without giving up more than a single run. With a six run cushion, I’d say that it’s worth giving our habitual middle-relief choices the night off.

Lim didn’t need to be used either, but you probably already figured that.

Fukuchi grounded out four times. And he forced Aoki out at second twice.

If double-digit hits are what we can expect from an all-Japanese lineup, then…

Chunichi Dragons 8

Tokyo Yakult Swallows 5

Streak: Lost 1   Last 5: WWWWL

(Akita Komachi Stadium)

Don’t let the article image fool you! The Swallows fail to extend their winning streak in a very sloppy game against the Chunichi Dragons. Aoki did manage to collect career hit #1000, but aside from that hit there’s nothing else worth remembering about this game.

The lineup:

1. Aoki (CF)
2. Tanaka (2B)
3. Iihara (LF)
4. Guiel (RF)
5. Whitesell (1B)
6. Aikawa (C)
7. Miyamoto (3B)
8. Fujimoto (SS)
9. Yoshinori (P)

Yoshinori started the game for the Swallows, and he made quick work of the Dragons’ first 3 batters in the top of the first inning. Little did we know then that Yoshinori was about to be taken out on a wild ride.

After the Swallows went down in order in the bottom of the first inning, Yoshinori took to the mound in the top of the second. He proceeded to walk the first 2 batters he faced, and then advanced them into scoring position by throwing a wild pitch. Cesar capitalized on the situation by smacking a single into left, to make the game 2-0 Dragons. Yoshinori got his first out on a strikeout to Oyama, but gave up a single to Donoue. Yoshinori got out number 2 on a groundout to short that advanced the runners, but it looked like Yoshinori might be able to get out of the inning only 2 down. No such luck, as Araki took a Yoshinori offering into right, to extend the lead to 3-0 Dragons. The Swallows finally got out of the inning when Hidenori grounds out to second.

The Swallows get lucky however, as it seems Dragons’ stater Nakata drank the same water Yoshinori drank. Nakata opened the bottom of the inning with 2 straight walks to Guiel and Whitesell. Aikawa launched a fly ball to deep right to advance a runner to third. Miyamoto got the Swallows on the board with a single to left, 3-1 Dragons. The wildness continued, as Nakata advanced the runners on a wild pitch of his own. Fujimoto strikes out weakly on a checked swing, bringing Yoshinori up to the plate. As if to atone for his mistakes in the top of the inning, Yoshinori smacked a single to left to tie the game at 3-3. Aoki wasn’t able to continue the scoring, and the inning ended on a ground out to short.

Unfortunately success at the plate didn’t translate to success on the mound for Yoshinori. He opened the inning with a walk to Morino and a double to Wada. Morino came around to score on a Blanco ground out, and Yoshinori gets the last 2 outs of the inning fairly quickly. However, that didn’t change the fact that the score was 4-3 Dragons.

Luckily for the Swallows, Nakata continued to struggle for the Dragons. He was pulled from the game after giving up back-to-back singles to Tanaka and Iihara to lead off the inning. Nakata’s replacement, Hisamoto looked to be getting things on track for the Dragons, getting Guiel and Whitesell to pop out weakly to the infield. Fortunately for the Swallows, Hisamoto didn’t have the Swallows completely figured out, as the team managed to tie and take the lead on another set of back-to-back singles. This time by Aikawa and Miyamoto. 5-4 Swallows

Yoshinori started the top of the forth with consecutive ground outs to short. He wasn’t able to make it a 1-2-3 inning, as Araki singled to center, and stole second on the next pitch. It looked like Yoshinori managed to get Hidenori to ground to short, but Fujimoto flubbed the ball short into the dirt in front of Whitesell. Araki managed to score on the error, tying the game at 5-5. Yoshinori was pulled at that point, and Oshimoto ended the inning with a strikeout, but the damage was already done.

Things slowed down until the top of the sixth inning. With Oshimoto still pitching, the Dragons get on base with a single by Donoue and a walk to the pinch-hitting Nomoto. The bases were loaded after Fujimoto got charged with a bobble on a ball hit weakly into the infield. Oshimoto managed to strikeout Hidenori, and Watanabe followed suit by getting Morino to swing at a slider outside. Masubuchi was brought in to face Wada, but wasn’t able to get the out. Wada’s hit rolled in between third baseman and the shortstop, and brought home 2 runs. 7-5 Dragons.

The Dragons scored an insurance run in the seventh to make the score, 8-5 Dragons. The Swallows got men on base every inning between the fifth and the eighth, including Aoki’s milestone hit in the sixth, but none of them came around to score. Iwase came in and got his league-leading 23rd save in the ninth. With Hiroshima’s 4-2 win over the BayStars, the Swallows fell back into 5th place in the Central League standings.

All in all a very sloppy game, and one we can hopefully write off as an aberration. The Swallows continue their trip away from Jingu, and will face the Tigers in a 3 game series starting Tuesday.

There was much cause for celebration in the month of June

How We Got There

The Swallows came into June fresh off the Takada firing, and were only 4 games into the Ogawa regime. The Birds were looking to build on the 1-2-1 record they had compiled under Ogawa, by exacting revenge on the Pacific League teams that had swept them in May.

How We Did

Interleague Revenge Tour

After having been swept by SoftBank, Seibu, and Lotte in May, the new look Swallows looked to return the favor to start off June. While the Swallows managed to take the first game of each revenge series, they couldn’t close the deal, ending with 1-3 records againstthe latter three teams. But at this point the fact that the Birds were winning games and not losing two straight were big improvement. So after matching their May win total (3) in only 6 games, the Swallows faced the Darvish-less Nippon Ham Fighters for the first time. The Fighters did not put up too much of a fight and were swept by the Swallows. This series sweep represented the first back-to-back wins the Swallows had recorded in 2 over months. Not content to stop there, the Swallows proceeded to sweep Rakuten and take the first game of the rain-rescheduled games against Nippon Ham. That five game winning streak was the longest winning streak for the Birds this season, and helped the team achieve an overall record of 9-14-1 during Interleague play. A record that, despite a 10 game losing streak, was not too far off the “bad” scenario I laid out in our Interleague preview.

Back to Regularly Scheduled Programming

The Swallows re-started their Contral League schedule against Hiroshima in a rain-shortened two game series. Unfortunately the team ran into Kenta Maeda, the Central League’s hottest pitcher, and took a loss to re-open their Central League campaign. Things were not looking good in game 2 of the series, but the Swallows managed a late comeback to even the series. Unfortunately the dramatic win didn’t translate into momentum, as the team faced their cross town rivals at Jingu stadium and lost the opening game. The Swallows won the middle game, but couldn’t take the series, as they lost handily in Game 3. The lack of positive momentum carried into Game 1 of the team’s next series against Hanshin. After that loss, the Swallows debuted their new offensive weapon, Josh Whitesell. The new look Swallows came from behind to beat the Tigers in Game 2, and took the series with a 8-4 thrashing in Game 3. The Swallows took the show on the road with a two game series against the Yokohama BayStars in Okinawa. The people of Okinawa got to see the Swallows shutout the BayStars in Game 1, and a nail-biting win for the Birds in Game 2. Thus the Swallows ended June on a 4 game winning streak, and a 14-8 record for the month. The Swallows also managed to avoid losing to the same team twice in a row.

Trends

Offensive Resurgence

The first thing that pops out at you when you look at the Swallows’ June stats is the increased offensive production. Of the 7 players that made at least 68 plate appearances (the minimum needed for batting title considerations this month), 4 had an OPS of over .900. The four players were Aikawa (1.062!), Iihara (.978), Aoki (.930), and Tanaka (.910). All four players have pulled their season batting averages to above .300. Also making a big splash in limited plate appearances were Hatakeyama and Kawamoto, who combined for 10 hits and 1 walk in only 21 plate appearances. Josh Whitesell rounds out the players with eye-popping numbers with 5 hits (including 2 homes and a triple) and 3 walks in 15 plate appearances, more on him later.

Not on the Bandwagon:

The 3 players not to have a .900+ OPS despite 68+ plate appearances were Guiel (.680), D’Antona (.617) and Miyamoto (.612). Guiel and D’Antona had eerily similar stat lines for the month, with the big difference coming from Aaron’s 2 extra walks and 4 beanings. Miyamoto on the other hand, struggled for most of the month, but may be on the way out of his prolonged slump. 8 of Miyamoto’s 19 hits have come in the last 7 games.

I think it goes without saying that Guiel and D’Antona shared the team lead with their 18 strikeouts, Aikawa was a distant third with 11.

Coming Up Short

Also underwhelming was the shortstop platoon of Fujimoto and Onizaki. The two players got most of the starts at shortstop in June, but neither player made any lasting impact on the team. Fujimoto and Onizaki both earned sub-.250 OBPs (.232 and .115 respectively) and had pitiful slugging percentages (.275 and .231). The rookie Takahiro Araki was also given 3 starts at short, but managed only 2 strikeouts and 1 sac bunt in his 8 plate appearances. While I do not expect superstar numbers to come out of the shortstop position, I do hope someone gets into a groove and manages an OPS of above .600.

Aoki the Leadoff Man

Prior to this season, Aoki’s fight song had a line calling him a spray hitting leadoff man. But as he got moved to the three hole and was asked to use his spray hitting prowess to drive in runners, the lyrics were changed to call him a shining number 1 of the world. But Aoki struggled in the role of run producer in May, so he spent most of June in the leadoff spot once again. Using his skill of putting the bat to the ball, and his legs, Aoki managed to produce 39 hits in June. Thanks to the offensive resurgence behind him, Aoki managed to come around to score a team leading 16 times. While Aoki did not hit any homeruns, he still demonstrated drive by hitting a team leading 8 doubles. Aoki was also a perrfect 2-for-2 in his steal attempts in June. It would have been nice if Aoki threatened to steal more often rather than being Tak-bunted over to second by Tanaka, something that happened 7 times in the month. The hot-hitting Hiroyasu would probably have seen more fastballs to hit, and more importantly would not have wasted valuable outs. But all in all a successful June for Aoki!

Starter Inconsistency

June was a bumpy ride for most of the Swallows’ starting pitchers. Swallows’ starters pitched gems like Tateyama’s 8 inning 1 run performance against the Fighters, Muranaka’s 8 innings of shutout ball against the BayStars, and Barnette’s 1 run 6 K performance against the Lions. Unfortunately they also let games get away like Tateyama’s 8 runs given up in 5 inning against the Fighters, and Barnette’s 7 runs given up in 2 and 2/3 innings. Overall, the Swallows starting pitchers compiled a 11-8 record (every Swallows lost was tagged to the starters), with an ERA of 4.40, a RIP of 1.50, 6.63 Ks per 9 innings, and 3.14 BB per 9innings, all over 129 innings. Only 4 of the Swallows 22 starts managed to last 7 or more innings. While the numbers are not horrible, the ERA and RIP numbers are of some concern.

Good To Be Lucky?

The one pitcher in the starting rotation that had a stellar record in June was the young Yoshinori. Yoshinori only allowed 5 earned runs over his 4 starts to earn a 3-0 record for the month. However, Yoshinori also managed to walk 19 batters in his 25 and 2/3 innings of work. Yoshinori has single-handedly walked almost a third of the batters that the Swallows walked in June. I worry whether Yoshinori can continue to get away with giving so many batter a free pass to first.

Sweet Relief

With no starter being able to finish games, the bullpen was called into action quite often. Masubuchi (13 games), Matsuoka (12), Oshimoto (11), and Lim (10) all made over 10 appearances in June. Masubuchi was often the first one off the bench after a starter was pulled. He inherited a total of 12 runners in relief and allowed only 4 to score. Oshimoto was called into pitch late-middle innings like Masubuchi and did fine work, recording 10 strikeouts and no walks in 9 and 1/3 innings. Matsuoka played the role of ace setup man, and he had a 10 appearance shutout streak going prior to a Kanemoto 2-run homer in his 11th appearance. Despite the blip, Matsuoka still had 14 strikeouts with a 0.55 RIP and a 1.64 ERA in 11 innings of relief, and he picked up a win and a save. Finally, Lim was once again a dominating closer in June. He was 8-for-8 in save situations, giving up only 3 hits without surrendering a run or walk. He also picked up 13 strikeouts in 10 innings. This bullpen quartet combined for a 1.98 ERA, 0.73 RIP, 10.32 strikeouts per 9 innings, and 0.66 walks per 9 innings.

Major Events

The Whitesell Signing

On June 7, the Swallows announced the signing of Josh Whitesell. Whitesell made his Swallows debut on the 26th of the month, and made a splash by homering in his first game. The signing still leaves some question as to how the team plans to proceed with its foreign players.

Tateyama Injury

On June 23rd, the veteran Tateyama looked to be bouncing back his previous bad outing by holding the Giants to 3 runs and striking out a season high 8 batters. At the bottom of the 6th inning Tateyama came up to bat, and proceeded to hit a double. Unfortunately Tateyama was caught in a awkward situation trying to get back to base on a liner to second. Tateyama did not pitch the next inning, and it was announced that he had fractured his right toe and that he would be out 3-4 weeks. The loss of Tateyama leaves the starting rotation shorthanded, especially with the demotion of Tony Barnette.

Player of the Month

My Player of the Month

Hiroyasu Tanaka and Ryoji Aikawa are my two candidates for Player of the Month. Both players swung an incredibly hot bat in June. Tanaka played every inning of every game in June, lead the team with 18 RBIs, and was the only player on the team to have more walks than strikeouts. Aikawa lead the team with 5 homeruns, and had the highest slugging percentage (.620) and OPS (1.06) among qualifying batters on the team. You can compare their numbers in the table below.

As you can see both players has a great June, and one wonders what kind of damage Tanaka would have wreaked if he didn’t have to bunt those 7 times. In the end I give the nod to Aikawa for giving us another power threat in the lineup. But really it could’ve gone to either player. Honerable mentions go out to Aoki, Iihara, Matsuoka, and Lim.

Quo Vadimus

July will see the Swallows play every Central league team at least once. The cozy scheduling seen in June because Interleague play comes to an end, as the Swallows will play their first 17 games of the month in 19 days, before the All Star break will the team a break. With fewer rest days, establishing a winning rotation will be key. Unfortunately without Tateyama or Barnette, the team currently only has 4 established starters on the roster. Takaichi has been rumored as a possible starter, calling up Ryo Kawashima is another option. Another storyline to be watching for in July is how the Whitesell situation settles out. Whitesell has started strong, and hopefully he keeps it up, but one wonders what will happen if/when he slows down. Also, as the weather heats up even more and fatigue settles in, I worry about the state of our bullpen. I hope the team doesn’t overuse the relief quartet, and hopefully another player (newly acquired Kouki Watanabe perhaps?) will step up into a key role. If the team keep improving I think a 14-7 record is very possible.

Aoki was voted into the 2010 All Star game by the fans

The final results of the fan votes for the 2010 NPB All Start game were released today. Swallows players were not faring well when the first set of results were announced in early June. However, the Swallows’ resurgence has helped put a number of players in respectable positions in the fan vote. Aoki lead all position players with 403,156 votes to play in the outfield. Aoki’s vote total was second only to Hiroshima pitcher Kenta Maeda, who garnered 435,375. Aoki will be joined in the All Star game outfield by the Giants’ Tetsuya Matsumoto (if he returns from injury) and Alex Ramirez.

While Aoki was the only Swallows’ player today to punch his ticket to the All Star game, a few more Swallows will no doubt follow after the players’ votes are cast and manager’s selections are made. Among the Swallows’ that had a strong showing in the fan vote were Lim (2nd among closers), Aikawa (3rd among catchers), rookie Nakazawa (5th among starting pitchers), Oshimoto (3rd among middle relievers), and Miyamoto (3rd among thrid basemen).

Hanshin Tigers 4

Tokyo Yakult Swallows 8

Streak: Won 2   Last 5: WLLWW

(Meiji Jingu Stadium)

Tokyo won a series against a Central League team for the first time since the beginning of April (4/2-4/4 versus Yokohama).

Today’s lineup:

1. Aoki CF
2. Tanaka 2B
3. Iihara RF
4. D’Antona 1B
5. Whitesell LF
6. Aikawa C
7. Miyamoto 3B
8. Onizaki SS
9. Yoshinori P

Yoshinori had one of his normal, crappy outings on the mound and did not deserve the win today. However, there may be a method to his recurring mediocrity–walking batters is definitely preferable to extra base hits.

But honestly, his inability to locate his pitches is infuriating. How many more seasons are we going to have to deal with this?

The Swallows started the scoring in the bottom of the second with Fossum on the mound for Hanshin. D’Antona fouled off five pitches before parking the 10th pitch of his at-bat, a 3-2 slider, in the reserved seats in left. 1-0 Tokyo.

It was D’Antona’s 11th home run of 2010. And D’Antona added another RBI in the third with a sac fly to right that brought home Aoki who had earlier reached base on a Toritani fielding error. 2-0 Tokyo.

For those keeping track, Tanaka was thankfully not able to properly lay down the Tak-bunt after Aoki reached base. The reason I say this is because he was soon hit in the foot by a pitch with two strikes against him.

But then came the inevitable rough inning for Yoshinori in the fifth. A walk, a botched pickoff attempt at second on a hit and run (Hirano struck out swinging), and another walk meant that it was runners on first and third with one out. Arai then brought home a run and Brazell did the same to level the score. 2-2.

The birds shrugged it off though and put three more runs on the board in the bottom of that inning. Tanaka and Iihara hit back-to-back one out singles before Whitesell cleared the bases with a hard-spinning blooper to shallow left that spun all the way back to the corner after Lin slipped on an invisible banana peel.

Whitesell had himself a stand-up two-RBI triple and his second spot on the hero’s podium in as many days.

Aikawa would later bring Whitesell home from third with a two out single to center. 5-2 Swallows.

In the sixth, Fukuchi had a pinch-hit double and scored on Aoki’s single off the wall in right. 6-2 Tokyo.

Kanemoto’s two run dinger in the eighth made things interesting with Matsuoka on the mound, but that was the end of the scoring for Hanshin. 6-4 Swallows.

Tokyo put two extra insurance runs on the board in the bottom of the eighth. This cancelled out Lim’s chance of getting a save, but whatever. Aikawa led off with a well-hit home run to left, and Miyamoto recorded his third hit of the game to the exact same spot in shallow right to keep things going. Two outs later, Aoki and Tanaka recorded back-to-back singles, the latter resulting in an RBI and a final scoreline of 8-4 Tokyo.

Lim (0.81 ERA) faced four batters and got out of the ninth on 11 pitches.

Yoshinori was only tagged with one of the two runs that crossed home on his watch. He threw 115 pitches in only five innings of work while allowing five hits, striking out four and walking six. The win brought his record to 4-5 while his ERA now sits at 4.06.

Matsuoka struck out the first two batters he faced in the eighth, but then he got a little bit sloppy and left some pitches up. The biggest mistake was that high 2-2 fastball that resulted in a two-run homer. Matsuoka’s ERA jumped from 0.93 to 1.50 in his 32nd appearance of the year. Yes, he’s being used too much. And no, Ogawa will probably not stop using him.

Oshimoto (3.38) and Masubuchi (4.46) pitched one scoreless inning each in relief.

Four Tokyo starters had at least two hits.

D’Antona, Whitesell and Aikawa recorded two RBIs each.

Random notes:

Today was Miyamoto’s second three-hit game of the season.

Yoshinori got behind in the count (2-0) to six of the batters he faced. He threw first pitch balls to nearly half of the batters that came to the plate during his five innings of work.

The birds outhit the Tigers 13-9. It was the first time in quite a while that Hanshin wasn’t able to record double-digit hits.

D’Antona and Whitesell, former teammates in Arizona, shared the heroes podium after today’s game.

Whitesell was 1-1 with a triple and two walks.

Following Aikawa’s homer, Onizaki’s Tak-bunt in the eighth failed as Arai threw to second to force Miyamoto out. Miraculously, the birds were still able to score.

Hanshin Tigers 9

Tokyo Yakult Swallows 4

Streak: Lost 2   Last 5: WLWLL

(Meiji Jingu Stadium)

The birds ran headlong into a hot-hitting Hanshin side in Barnette’s return to the top team after a short spell on the farm with gout.

Starting lineup:

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

This one was over before it ever really got started. Barnette gave up four earned runs in the top of the first, one in the second, and two more in the third. 7-0 Hanshin.

The Swallows finally got on the board in the sixth when Fujimoto (HBP) and Kawamoto (double) were plated care of an Aoki double to right. 7-2 Hanshin.

But the visitors got two more of their own off of middle reliever Matsui to make it 9-2.

D’Antona, Iihara and Aikawa would team up for a couple of runs in the eighth, but that was the end of the scoring for the night. 9-4 Final.

Barnette gave up seven earned runs in two and two-thirds innings while taking his fifth loss of the season against three wins. He allowed eight hits and three walks while not striking out a single batter. His ERA climbed to 5.87.

Takaichi (0.00), Matsui (5.63), Watanabe (0.00), and Oshimoto (3.49) also made relief appearances.

On offense, both Aoki and Iihara had three hits while Aikawa reached base twice.

Game two of the series is tomorrow afternoon at Jingu (2PM start).

Tokyo Yakult Swallows 1

Hiroshima Toyo Carp 5

Streak: Lost 2   Last 5: WWWLL

(Mazda Stadium)

Tokyo had to wait an extra day to re-start their Central League program after yesterday’s game in Hiroshima was rained out.  And for a while their return to CL duties was a tightly contested affair, until a disastrous 6th inning derailed the Swallows efforts.

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

Ishikawa started this one and fell behind in the 1st via a leadoff Higashide double and a Shima sacfly one out later for 1-0 Hiroshima.

Facing Carp ace Maeda was never going to be easy for the Swallows, and so it proved, as he largely held the Tokyo bats at bay throughout his 7 innings, giving up just 5 hits. His only major pinch came in the 3rd, as two two-out singles for Aoki and Tanaka, followed by a HBP for Guiel loaded the bases for D’Antona. But Jamie could only strike out and Maeda’s slender lead was safe.

After Ishikawa gave up two hits in the 2nd (but escaped with the Hiroshima lead still at one) he wouldn’t give up another hit until that fateful 6th. An inning in which, with one out on the board, he gave up: A solo homer to Shima (2-0), another solo shot to Huber (3-0), a single to Hirose and then a two-run homer to Akamatsu (5-0). All in consecutive at bats. Ouch.

That was it for Ishikawa as he was replaced by Oshimoto who got the final two outs of the inning.

And indeed that was about all she wrote for this one, with the Swallows adding a run in the 8th via a pinch-hit Hatakeyama solo homer (his first of the year) making it 5-1, but that would be the sum of all the Swallows scoring for the day as it ended 5-1 Final.

Ishikawa took the loss to put his record at 2-8/4.36.

De La Cruz and Takaichi both pitched hitless innings in relief, with the former making his second and latter making his first appearance of the year.

The two teams both registered 7 hits apiece, with that nasty 6th inning being the difference between the sides.

Tokyo return to Mazda ZOOOOOOM ZOOOOOOOOM Stadium tomorrow afternoon for the last game of the rained-shortened series.