After what we can call a fairly “meh” series in terms of
results against the Carp it was now time to switch focus to another dosey-doe with the Tigers.
The first game would be a show of youth against experience
with Yu Sato lining up against Randy Messenger. Sato would be hoping to build
on his first career win against the Baystars.
The Dragons would be the one to set the wheels rolling and
in a spectacular way. On a full-count in his first at-bat of the evening,
Ryosuke Hirata pulled a ball into the left stands to bring up his 5th
homer of the season.
Already close to half of his total last season (11).
Haraguchi would however come back to haunt the dragons in the 2nd as
he evened things up while Takayama pushed the scored into Hanshin’s favour at
3-1. Hirata would be at the centre of good things again in the 8th
as his hit brought the Dragons back within reaching distance. Pinch-hitting
specialist, Kei Nomoto would then step-up to put the Dragons on an even footing
with a timely single in the 9th to even the scores at 3-3. That wouldn’t be the end of the fun however,
as with bases loaded, Atsushi Fujii was given the chance to put the Dragons in
front and the switch-hitter obliged with a sac-fly into left field. Some mayhem
ensued as Endo was then found out at second to end the inning. Koji Fukutani
was in the heat-seat once more for the bottom of the 9th but he was
able to keep the Tigers quiet and seal a close 3-4 win in the picturesque
Koshien stadium.
Donoue and Hirata were the key men with the bat as the
captain snagged two RBIs while Donoue racked up 2 hits. Tajima took home
winning honours for his scoreless inning while Dolis for the Tigers took the loss.
The game would also be marked by the 25th
consecutive game where Shinji Tajima remained scoreless. A magnificent
milestone for the relief pitcher as he set a new Central league record. Tajima has been in top form and has shown
experience and verve where his partner, Matayoshi hasn’t.
Up next, the game would feature another youth vs experience
battle on the mound as a winless Daisuke Yamai took on Hanshin’s 22 yo. Yuya Yokoyama.
Haraguchi would continue his haranguing form against the
Dragons as his RBI sent Itayama home in the bottom of the 2nd. The
Dragons would reply in the 4th when Nanita helped send Hirata home
to even things up at 1-1. The lead wouldn’t last long however as in the bottom
of the same inning, Yamai loaded up the bases. A wild pitch was followed by a
dead ball against Yamato that clearly showed the veteran is struggling with his
control. Toritani would however hit a
sac-fly to allow a single runner home to reclaim the lead at 2-1. The Tigers
furthered their lead in the 5th with a solo homer from Gomez which
would prove to be Yamai’s last inning of the night.
The Dragons wouldn’t go out without a whimper though as in
the top of the 8th with Fujii and Araki on base, Hirata hit a single
to move Chunichi within a run of evening the tables. With runners in promising
positions and Viciedo and Nanita to come, there was hope of a come-back, but it
was to be for naught as both fell victim to Yuya Ando. That would prove to be
the end of the scoring as Fujikawa was brought in by the Tigers to make the
save and claim an important win.
Yamai’s inability to do anything of use has to ring alarm
bells. How many losses is he going to have to get before Tanishige decides to
get rid of him? I know injuries are bad, but surely there has to be someone
that will do a better job? Games with Yamai starting are all but a default loss
at present.
Hirata was the main man with the bat as he snaffled an RBI
and two walks for his trouble. Apart from the captain, there were minimal
contributions across the board with most of the top order taking a hit.
The last game of the series was to be another close encounter
of the baseball kind as Shintaro Fujinami faced off again Shunta Wakamatsu .
Yamai found himself de-registered from the team for the first time this season, while catcher Takuma Kato was brought in to bolster the catching stocks.
Scoring would start in the 1st with the big
Cuban, Dayan Viciedo helping Ohshima home to open the scores at 1-0. Fujinami’s
control was clearly lacking as he walked Donoue and threw a wild pitch to allow
Hirata to score to extend Chunichi’s lead. The lead however would be taken away
from the Dragons in the bottom of the 6th as Toritani and Fukudome
hit a single and a double respectively to put the scores at 2-2. In the bottom of the 9th with
extra inning looming, Matayoshi was given the ball to replace Fuku after the
latter saw Fukudome off, but it was to a be a folly of a decision as the
pitcher loaded up the bases and allowed a single to Haraguchi to end the game
with a walk-off win to the Tigers.
A game of much finer margins that was probably,
unfortunately, lost at the death thanks to some off colour clutch pitching.
Viciedo did his job and how as he claimed 3 hits and a walk in his 4 at-bats
while Sugiyama as well contributed two hits a walk plus a sac-hit to end a very
productive game.
A win combined with two close losses away from home isn’t
the worst way to end the week. The Dragons had their chances to win in the last
two games but simply couldn’t produce at the right moments. Up next await the
Giants; let’s see what we can do against them.
On a bit of side news, former Dragons slugger, Matt Clark has made the trip back to Japan to play for the Orix Buffaloes for the rest of the season. I wish him all the best.
After a good couple of series at home it was time for the
Dragons to make the trip back to Kanto to face off against the DeNA Yokohama
Baystars. The Dragons made quick work of the Baystars in Nagoya earlier this
season, and apart from a bore 0-0 draw, it was all positive for the Chunichi
boys. Now, away from home, how would the team face up?
This was actually a series I had tickets to due to my fan
club membership but due to the stadium being about an hour away from my
workplace and a good 2 hours away from home, I decided against attending this
time around. Regret it already. Nevermind!
Game 24 of our season would be a battle of the recently retired
managers and Tanishige, a legend for the Baystars and the Dragons, came up
against the only foreign manager in the league, Alex Ramirez. Tanishige
started his career in Yokohama and if you look at the league finishes before
and after he left, well, maybe there was a bit of correlation between Tanishige
and success.
Jordan was brought up to take on the Baystars in his 3rd
start for the Dragons this year. Kenta Ishida would be his opposing number,
starting for Yokohama.
The action would start with the Baystars today. Kuwahara
lead-off with a single while Ishikawa was fanned by Jordan. Shotaro Ide hit
what looked like it was going to be a single into the left-field, but a fumble
from Nanita allowed Kuwahara to get on to third base. The dangerman Tsutsugo
would step up next for the ‘stars and a sac fly into the right would be enough
to score Kuwahara and open the scores, 1-0. Jamie Romak was walked the next
ball, but a hit into foul territory from Kuramoto resulted in an easy catch to
end the innings.
The Baystars would continue the scoring in 2nd
inning as Yanagida (not the good one) lead off with a walk. Tobashira was
induced into a ground out before Ishida was fanned by Jordan to leave a runner
on second with two outs. Kuwahara, the scorer in the first inning would be the
next to step-up and it would be a handy hit into left field to send Tobashira
on his way, 2-0.
A quiet few innings followed before the DeNA men had another
breakthrough in the 4th. Kuramoto would get a hit but the poor man’s
Yanagida would fly out to a Jordan change-up. Tobashira took a liking to
another pitch as he moved Kuramoto to 3rd and put himself on 1st.
up would come the pitcher, Ishida and from a hit in the infield, he was able to
safely score Kuramoto and put himself on 1st base, 3-0. Kuwahara and
Ishikawa would subsequently fall victim to consecutive fly-outs to end the
inning.
With batting looking a bit dire, it was time for the Dragons
to turn it on and get back into the game. At the top of the 5th the
magic would start with a Viciedo double. Nanita would oblige his Hispanic
compatriot with a hit of his own into the centre to allow Viciedo to score,
3-1. The rally cry was there, but with Hirata hitting into a double play and
Donoue being struckout by Ishida, the innings was over in quick fashion.
A personnel change would come for Yokohama in the 6th
as Shibata was brought in for Ide, but the new defensive shift couldn’t stop
Shota Sugiyama from clearing the fence to rake a solo homer, 3-2.
Fukuda was
brought in to pinch-hit for Jordan but a ground out was all that would result.
A bit worrying for a guy who was absolutely mashing it in the 2-gun team
earlier in the year. Ohshima would be the next at the plate and the
centre-fielder would treat the visiting fans to a rare occurrence. On a count
of 1-2, Ohshima opened up his shoulders and whacked one into the right stand.
3-3.
Back to even terms in no time at all. Araki and Takahashi would try to
push the score to a winning margin, but it wasn’t to be with both grounding out
to end the inning.
With the Baystars now on the back foot, Fujioka was brought
to the mound to change the flow after a scoreless batting stanza. While he
would find success removing Viciedo, a hit and a walk to Nanita and Hirata put
the pressure on. While Fujioka fanned Donoue, Ramirez was happy to take him off
and replace him with Tanaka. It wouldn’t prove to be the most astute of
decisions as Sugiyama continued to fire as Romak mis-fielded a hit into the
right allowing Nanita and Hirata to score to put the Dragons into a winning
position for the first time of the day. 3-5.
Tani continued the mayhem as he
scored Sugiyama with his double to make it 3-6. Ohshima finished off the inning
as he was struckout by Tanaka.
The force was definitely with the Dragons at this point as
they sought to put the game well out of reach in the 8th. After
Araki and Takahashi failed to put up any resistance, up stepped the big Cuba,
the man, the moment, the dude, Dayan Viciedo. Squaring up his foe, allowing the
count to go to full, El Tank saw his moment and connected sweetly with a
delivery in the middle of the plate. Sensing the homerun immediately, Viciedo
dropped his bat in the “to hell with you bat” style and pumped up as ever
jogged the diamond, 3-7.
It would be the last of the scoring as Tajima closed
out the 9th for no score to cap off an exciting come from behind
victory.
3 big dingers in a great turn
around win for the Dragons and yet another poor showing from the Baystars. Highlights
Game 25 would be a different affair
all together with the ever predictably unpredictable Daisuke Yamai on the
mound. Yasutomo Kubo would pull the strings with the ball for the Baystars.
Both pitchers were winless going into this game. Who would be the first to
break their streak if either?
The scoring would start early
in the bottom of the first. Yamai induced Aranami into a ground out to start
things off. Ishikawa now stepped up to the plate and on a count of 2-1,
launched Yamai into the stands to grab a solo home run to rattle the Dragons
early, 1-0.
Otosaka fell victim to a change
up while Tsusugo got to base. Ide would however give Yamai one of his only 2 strikeouts
of the game to end the inning.
The Baystars continued their
assault in the third. Aranami flew out to centre but Ishikawa took a sneaky
bunt option which caught all by surprise and beat Yamai on the bounce as he ran
through first base. Otosaka next up hit
a double to move runners onto 2nd and 3rd. With Tsutsugo
next up and more than a few worries adding up over Yamai’s pitching, it was no
surprise that the big Yokohama hitter would make something happen. A hit to the short-stop would see Tsutsugo
out at first, but it allowed Ishikawa to run home and score to make it, 2-0.
Ide would be the last batter of the inning as his foul ball was caught by
Viciedo.
Still showing dangerous signs,
something that couldn’t be said of the Dragons line-up, the ‘stars took to the
4th inning. It would be a near carbon copy of the 1st
inning as Kuramoto ground out at second allowing Hyuma to walk-up. Then, on a
count of 1-0, Hyuma dispatched Yamai into the stands just right of the
backscreen to make it 3-0. Yamai was
visibly disappointed as he should be. He hadn’t thrown too bad stuff up to this
point but, well, it only takes one bad ball.
Yamai would unfortunately be at
the end of another dinger in the 6th as after a strike,
Tsutsugo got his 8th homer of
the season in almost the exact same spot as Hyuma. A change-up delivery in the outside
track was punished with authority to put the Baystars 4-0 to the good.
Yamai
would close out the inning with no further messy situations, but conceding 3
homeruns in 6 innings musn’t be a great feeling.
The Dragons would mount a
counter-attack of sorts in the top of the 7th inning with Nanita
leading off with a double. Hirata then managed a single to put runners on 1st
and 2nd. Donoue now stepped up to survey the situation and the
infielder would continue his good form with the bat as he hit a single to let
Nanita run home, 4-1. Sugiyama’s single would then load up the bases with
Morino coming in to pinch-hit for Yamai. The veteran would read his pitches
well and elect to walk to take the score to 4-2. Kubo, who had pitched well,
was withdrawn for Tanaka who up until today had a 0.00 ERA for the season.
Ohshima was able to hit a sack fly off Tanaka to allow Hirata to score to make
it 4-3. Kamezawa was withdrawn for Tani to pinch-hit, but the man in form
couldn’t make anything happen as he ground into a double play to end the
inning.
The bottom of the 7th
inning brought Iwase to the mound and Tani onto second base to replace Kamezawa
who had a fantastic game defensively showing his speed when ground fielding.
Tobashira started off the
proceedings with a single. Kuwahara was brought in to pinch-hit for Tanaka but
couldn’t make the best of his chance as he flew out. Aranami was then withdrawn
for Jamie Romak who was given a walk by Iwase to put runners on 1st and
2nd. Thanks to a rare mis-field from Donoue, Ishikawa then helped
load the bases with what probably should have been the start of a double play.
Otosaka would be the hero as his single scored two batters to move the score to
6-3. Tsusugo would not let up as he also singled to send Ishikawa home, 7-3.
Iwase, not doing his job, was taken off for Achira, the man doing the work in
the 2-gun. And while he loaded the bases after fanning Yanagida, he escaped by inducing
a ground out from Hyuma to end the inning.
The final nail in the coffin
came in the top of the 8th as after Achira dismissed Tobashira,
Kuwahara took a liking to tasty looking middle of the box straight ball and
scored the 4th Baystars homerun of the night, 8-3.
The Dragons tried their hardest
to fight back in the 9th but it would be to no avail as Gifu native,
Tomoya Mikami shut the Chunichi batting line-up down to end the game.
Not a great start lead to a
minor comeback but Iwase not hitting his straps meant that the game was taken
away from the Dragons despite turning the tide. Had it been a different pitcher
maybe it would have been a different story but we’ll never know. There were some good performances with the
bat with Ohshima, Nanita, Hirata, Donoue and Sugiyama all registering two hits
a piece, but it wasn’t a line-up that combined well enough together today.
Credit goes to Kubo for crafting good game at the start of the game to set-up
the win for the Baystars. Major questions still over Yamai’s head with some
wondering why a younger starter isn’t given a chance ahead of him, but as a
stop-gap while Ohno is out, Yamai appears to be the man that Tanishige wants. Credit
I think needs to go to Achira who made his first appearance this season for the
first team and did well despite conceding a homerun. Hopefully he will be considered
for long-relief duties in future. Highlights：
Into Game 26 of the season and
it was to be Oguma, who was one hit away from a no-hitter in his last start
against the Baystars took the mound against the Baystars. Yoshiki Sunada, yet
to claim a win this season was his opponent in the final game of the series
before the Dragons moved to Hiroshima for the weekend games.
Iwase removed from the first team as the only change in registration following his less than average performance.
It was an unusually cagey
opening that would be broken in the third inning by the Baystars. A double from
Tobashira started things before Sunada failed in his attempt to bunt. It wouldn’t
matter however as one of yesterday’s homerun heroes, Masayuki Kuwahara
continued where he left off hitting another one into the bleachers to open the
scores at 2-0. Ishikawa and Otosaka could not add to the bracket and left the
lead at two.
It would be an immediate reply
from the Dragons as Sunada walked Viciedo to begin the innings. Nanita was
beaten by a changeup, but the ever influential Ryosuke Hirata was brought to
the plate. The captain has made his presence known since returning from injury
at the outfielder would add to his homerun tally for the season with a lovely
strike into the left stand, 2-2.
Donoue
would be walked to follow up, but Katsura fly-out and Donoue’s failed steal
ended the inning prematurely.
Oguma kept up his good job as
he kept the Baystars quiet. An error made by Takahashi in the 5th
was the only black mark on an otherwise good defensive performance.
The 6th inning would
be opened up by Takahashi and the young star would well make up for his mistake
in the field, slamming another homerun into the left stand. 2-3 the score!
Viciedo would continue things
with a single and Nanita would add to that with a single that allowed the Cuban
to move to third base.
Obviously sensing danger,
Ramirez decided to substitute in Zach Petrick for Sunada. It wouldn’t stop a
thing as Hirata made another telling contribution by singling Viciedo on his
way home.
Donoue was caught at second to
tally the first out of the inning bringing Iori Katsura to the plate. Katsura
has shown a penchant for homers and today would be no different as he whalloped
a 3-run homerun to send the scores to 2-7!
It was a magnificent bat-flip to
follow as Katsura hit a fantastic no-doubter to continue the heated competition
for the catcher’s spot between he and Sugiyama and had Tanishige grinning ear
to ear.
Oguma continued the mayhem as he hit a double but Ohshima and Araki
couldn’t take advantage.
The last of the scoring would
come in the 7th inning. Nogawa would replace Petrick, and start
things off by walking Shuhei. Lack of control was noticeable as he also walked
Viciedo. Now correcting, Nogawa struck out Nanita and induced a ground out from
Hirata but it was a timely triple from Donoue that sent Shuhei and Viciedo home
to score and make it 2-9.
Hiroto Fuku was given the ball
for the last 2 innings and the young lefty did well to close out the remaining
innings under little pressure. He was able to strike out Romak and Tobashira in
a row while inducing a ground out from Yamashita to end the inning and a
fantastic hard hitting display.
All things went to plan for the
Dragons today and Oguma gained a little more confidence after being battered by
the Carp a week ago. No one can underestimate the influence of Hirata though as
it seemed the whole team took a lift when he started doing his thing.
Overall a very positive series
for the Dragons where we saw plenty of dingers and most importantly a series
win.
Before I get into the report I would just like to thank all of you, my readers, for doing what you do best, read. Since I started this blog a little under a month ago, I have received over 1000 views. That's a big complement to me and I really appreciate those of you reading what I write. I enjoy writing and I love talking about the Dragons so it's great to have so many to share with. Thank you all. I hope I can continue to keep the updates as frequent as I can, and maybe with a bit of luck, I might be able to make some improvements and throw up some feature articles when I get a bit of time off work.
Anyway, enough with the pleasantries. Lets get to the naughty bits. A big 3 games against Hanshin in our glorious home in Nagoya. The Tigers gave us a good match-up a the Kyocera dome in the opening series and 3 closely fought games lead to the Dragons walking way as 2-1 series losers. Dayan Viciedo announced himself to the NPB in those three games with 3 magnificent dongs. Would he be able to replicate the magic in Nagoya Dome? Let's see if the Tiger terror strikes fear into Hanshin hearts and turn them into the veritable kawaii kitties they can be.
Game 18 of the Dragons season started on a fine Friday night in the Nagoya Dome. Dominican Jordan Norberto made his second start in the rotation as Atsushi Nohmi started on the mound for the Tigers. Jordan wasn't able to grab a win in his starting debut as a draw against the Baystars was all the team could muster, but the lefty pitcher looked good in that outing and if the batting fired, he would get a win.
It was a solemn night however as Japan was rocked with a series of earthquakes in the southern island of Kyushu where the prefecture of Kumamoto was particularly affected. Masahiro Araki is a native of the area and it is possible that he was left out of the side on compassionate grounds. His family is okay for the time being as the prefecture continues to be rocked. Hiroto Fuku as well, a member of JR Kyushu last year, sent out his regards and well wishes to his former teammates and co-workers.
As for team changes; Toshiya Okada and Daisuke Sobue came in for an injured Yudai Ohno and a misfiring Ryuya Ogawa. The blow to Ohno is a big one as the Chunichi injury list grows, but the team would have to do without him as it was planned to move Daisuke Yamai back to the starting rotation to replace the influential lefty.
Now for the action:
Jordan worked through the first of the Tigers batting line-up grounding out two. The final out would come from a greedy Egoshi who was gunned down at second base by Katsura as he tried to steal.
The bottom of the second inning would bring the Dragons out for the first attack. Yohei Ohshima would start off well as he hit into the left to pick up a single. Taiki Mitumata, the former Buffalo, took one for the cause as he bunted to allow the speedster, Ohshima to get to second. Takahashi struck-out for what would not be the first time tonight to bring Viciedo to the plate with 2 outs and a runner on second base. The big Cuban rarely disappoints in these situations as he hit a single to put Ohshima into a scoring position at third base. Ricardo Nanita would step up to the plate as the 5th batter. I've become a bit of a Nanita fan as I really like his swing. It has a quick action and he uses a short bat, but it looks cool. That swing would come in handy as the 34 y/o outfielder knocked one into right field to allow Ohshima to score, 1-0.
Tetsuya Tani would come in behind the Dominican and the infielder would take to the first pitch served at him as he knocked it into a gap in the right field to allow Viciedo to score, 2-0.
Akasaka would however not be able to continue the scoring as he grounded out to second to end the inning.
Jordan would continue his own assault on the Tigers batting lineup as he went through three batters very quickly to turn over the reigns to the Chunichi attack once more. The innings would start of similarly to the last with two quick outs to begin the inning. Katsura struck-out while Jordan lackadaisically tried to put his bat in the general zone as he struck-out as well. Ohshima came up to bat once more and it was the same result as his previous at-bat, as the outfielder nicked another single through left-field. Mitsumata, this time without the luxury of an out up the sleeve to move Ohshima around again, grabbed a single of his own to put runners on first and second. Nohmi, still unable to get that last out, then faced young Shuhei Takahashi. Another pinch moment player, Shuhei took advantage of the off-tempo Nohmi and thrust his bat to guide the ball to the centre field to help Ohshima on his way home, 3-0.
With runners in front of him, Dayan Viciedo walked in to the situation he is made for. The tank did not disappoint as he whalloped a high and straight one into left field bleachers to rest triumphantly among the deflated Tigers fans, 6-0.
Nanita would add to his collection of hits but Tani couldn't recreate his first inning magic as he flew out to Egoshi in right field.
With the game all but won in the first two innings, Jordan could afford to be a bit more relaxed in his approach but still put in a great shift to lock the Tigers out of the game.
Nohmi found himself knocked out of the game after two innings as the Tigers went through 5 pitchers to finish out the game. For Jordan's first win, he served up only a single strike, gave up two walks and two hits in his 7 innings. Daisuke Sobue and Katsuki Matayoshi would fill in the last 2 innings to close out a big 6-0 win.
Ohshima had a great game with the bat and apart from scoring twice, he picked up 3 hits and a walk from his 5 plate appearances. Viciedo did similarly well. Aside from his 3-run homerun, he also added 2 hits to his 4 plate appearances. The lack of strikeouts for Viciedo so far is very impressive as he has been making contact extremely frequently. While he seems to excel at hitting the higher balls, his ability to dig out the lower ones has been a joy to behold. Special mentions too for Nanita (2H 1RBI 1W) and Tetsuya Tani (2H 1RBI 1W) who both added to the selection headaches for Tanishige. Tani and Mitsumata played well in the central infield positions which had been previously occupied by Araki and Donoue. The team looks good defensively at least. A massive 14 hits as well marked a watershed moment for the batting line-up that has struggled to put together anything substantial recently.
A great big win to start the series, and Viciedo showed that he likes the Tigers pitching, a lot, with his 4th homer against Hanshin in as many games.
Highlights:
Full game links on the Dragons Ustream. Innings 1-5 and 6-9.
Game 19 was to be another night to remember for all the right reasons. Daisuke Yamai stepped out of the bullpen tonight to start as he was called up to replace the injured Yudai Ohno. Yuta Iwasada would start on the mound for the Tigers.
Only one team change for the game as Jordan Norberto was put to rest and was de-registered from the team. Junki Ito, who has been regularly starting in the 2-gun, was added to the roster for the games against the Tigers. One interesting caveat to the line-up this game was the placement of Nobumasa Fukuda in left-field. Tanishige, obviously unimpressed with Akasaka's performance, decided he wanted to add kick to the line-up and place someone who is normally a first or third baseman out in the great deep green of the outfield. Mitsumata and Tani would retain their positions after their good performances.
Yamai started things on the Saturday afternoon and looked uncharacteristically in control of things as he only gave up 3 walks in his scoreless first 4 innings. Conversely, the Dragons batting line up looked uncharacteristically dire as Iwasada kept the line-up to only one hit (to Nanita) in the opening 4 innings.
Nanita's first double in the 2nd
It was however at the top of the 5th that things would start to get interesting.
Umeno, the Tigers catcher, latched onto one to register the first Tigers hit and the second hit of the day. Iwasada was brought to the plate but failed to trouble anyone as he went out bunting. Umeno would steal his way to second base while Toritani was walked by Yamai to put runners on first and second base. Up stepped former Minnesota Twin, Tsuyoshi Nishioka to assess the situation. Nishioka hit a double to bring Umeno home, 1-0. Egoshi would follow and he continued the scoring as he hit a sacrifice fly to allow Toritani to score, 2-0. Mauro Gomez would end the scoring stanza with a single of his own to put Nishioka through home base, 3-0. It all changed very quickly as the Tigers took advantage of some average pitching with some good hitting to set a good platform moving forward.
A counter-attack was launched in the bottom of the 5th as Tani and Sugiyama both hit singles, but another disappointing at-bat from Akasaka, pinch-hitting for Yamai, ended any hopes to immediately pin back the Tigers.
Okada would take over from Yamai and pitch well to keep the scoreline at 3-0. The counter-attack from the Dragons would continue to struggle as only one hit, a double from Nanita, could be mustered until the bottom of the 8th.
Nanita's 2nd double of the night in the 7th
While Tajima continued Okada's good work of keeping the Tigers out at the top of the inning, it was now getting to crunch time. Many times have the Dragons faded out toward the end of the game, but it wouldn't be the case this time. As Iwasada was withdrawn for Fukuhara, the pressure seemed to lift as Sugiyama started the stanza with a single. Tajima was then withdrawn for Atsushi Fujii. The much maligned outfielder has been nothing short of awful this season. The strikeouts, the very little production, the everything. Fujii just hasn't been with it. It was then a surprise when the same man hit a triple to score Sugiyama and bring the scores to 1-3.
Fukuhara was then quickly exchange for former Dragon, Akifumi Takahashi as the Tigers went into damage control. It worked momentarily with the dismissal of Ohshima but it would be Morino, pinch-hitting for Mitsumata, The veteran would ground out to second, but it would be enough to allow Fujii to slink into home to make it 2-3. Shuhei would unfortunately strikeout to end the inning. The game now in the balance, Iwase was brought to the mound and after claiming two victims, Koji Fukutani took over for one batter who he also sent on his way with an outer course change-up.
Now, at the bottom of the 9th inning with 2 runs to get to claim the win, it would be Mateo charged with saving the game from the hungry looking Dragons. Viciedo would take the first at bat and continue his great run of contact with a double.
Nanita would take a walk to get runners onto first and third. Tomonaga came on as a pinch-runner for Nanita to end the Dominican's night. Tetsuya Tani would unfortunately blow a bunting opportunity to be declared out. Next, up stepped Donoue, who had been subbed in earlier in the previous fielding innings. The #63 was given order to take a stroll to load the bases with 1 out. Mateo was reportedly having trouble getting his slider to work properly and the closer now had his work cut out for him. It was now Sugiyama's turn to step up to the plate to see if he could force a win or at least a draw out of the game. The catcher caught a hold of one to send it over the centre-fielders head, Viciedo came to home plate, scoring and now beckoning Tomonaga to come in for the win and it was the pinch-runner who would seal the victory 4-3 thanks to a walk-off double from the always reliable Sugiyama. Scenes. Tanishige had the biggest grin on his face as his team pulled of a momentous victory in the closing moments of the game.
Fukutani would be credited with the win for his 1/3 of an inning (baseball is weird isn't it?) and Mateo was credited with the loss and probably rightly so.
One would struggle to say this was a "deserved" victory. I certainly felt we got away with it but it speaks volumes that the team was willing to dig deep and try and bail Yamai out. 3 runs is a very chaseable total and it was great to have the batting lineup respond. It helped that the pitching wasn't on point either. The unlikely hero was Atsuhi Fujii who has looked like he couldn't hit the broadside of a heifer with a banjo recently, but it was a telling contribution from the Toyohashi native to get the ball rolling on the comeback trail.
Sugiyama and Nanita had the pick of the statistics with 2 hits and a walk a piece.
You can watch the 9th inning here:
Game 20 would prove to be another nail-biter as the game would once again be decided in the 9th inning. Drew Naylor took the mound for the Dragons while it was Minoru Iwata for the Tigers looking to help his team avoid the sweep.
Anderson Hernandez made his return to the team following Jordan's de-registering as Akasaka dropped from the first team to spend some time with the seconds after his average performances so far in the series.
Naylor opened proceedings in the first inning showing good pace and allowing one hit and striking out one to end his inning.
The Dragons attack started early as while Ohshima failed to get off the mark, Donoue, restored to the starting line-up, cracked a double to start things off. Shuhei, coming in at now his trademark 3rd spot in the line-up joined in the fun and smashed a double of his own that reached the right field fence and maybe should have been caught by Egoshi. But nonetheless, the Dragons were on the board, 1-0.
Viciedo's ground out would allow Shuhei to get on third, but Nanita couldn't make it count as he struck-out to end the inning.
Lots of action early on! The parries and thrusts would continue until the top of the fourth inning as Egoshi picked off a single to start things off. Gomez grounded out but that allowed Egoshi to gain ground and move to second base. Now, here's where it gets interesting. With Hague now up to bat, Egoshi had the guile to make a play to steal third base. While Sugiyama picked up on the run, a poor throw that Takahashi couldn't deal with allowed Egoshi to safely get into third and with ball passing the 3rd baseman and floating into the crowd, the Hanshin man took order to walk off to the home plate to even up the scores at 1-1. Naylor had been watching his man, but 9 times out of 10 a catcher will pick off a steal at third. Credit to Egoshi for having the courage to give it a go and for succeeding.
The next scoring play would come in the 6th inning and it was to be the Dragons to take the lead for a second time. Takahashi and Viciedo both took singles to begin the innings and who else but Nanita was there to hit a double to send home the big Cuban to take a 2-1 lead. It would spell the end of the night for Iwata to bring Ando to the mound. Tani would mess up another bunt as a mishit from Fukuda ended up grounding into a double play to end the inning.
The Dragons would come close to extending their lead in the 7th inning as Daiki Enokida replaced Ando and immediately allowed Sugiyama a single. Tomonaga came in as a pinch-bunter for Naylor to allow Sugiyama to second. Ohshima then took a dead ball to walk onto first while Donoue topped one to send the ball into the catchers hand. Takahashi would however take a scenic walk down the dirt road to load up the bases but uncharacteristically, Viciedo failed to make the best of the situation as he foul fly ball was caught to end the inning. A very tense ending was to be upon us. Tajima took down Nishioka, Egoshi and Gomez while the Dragons batters once again tried to push through to no avail as the former Dragon, Akifumi Takahashi took Fujii and Sugiyama out of the game with consecutive strikeouts following a sacrifice bunt from Araki earlier on to end the inning.
At the top of the 9th, it was the Tigers last chance to get something out of the game. Either a leveler to take it into extra time or a winner to snatch an unlikely victory. Koji Fukutani would once again take up closing duties. Things started well for the pitcher as he ground out Hague to start things. Toritani would hit a single before Yokota forced his captain into a ground out at second while moving to first base. This brought out Imanari to pinch-hit for Takahashi. Imanari hit into right field giving time for the speedy Yokota to get to third. Kanemoto, the Hanshin skipper then decided to go for broke as he brought in Kosuke Fukudome, who had been under an injury cloud, to pinch-hit for his last catcher, Okazaki. Whether it was the stature of the former Dragons star, the heat of the moment or just general nerves, Fukutani was sweating buckets for what was a mild, early Spring evening. The young closer stepped up, threw down his pitch and there was a sound of wood on ball as Fukudome somewhat miraculously split first and second to register a hit and even up the scores at 2-2.
Naylor was now denied a win in any case and Fukutani had blown his save. Amazingly, Fukutani was one of 4 pitchers on the day in the NPB to blow their saves. A poor day for closers!
The inning would end with a ground out on Takayama. Now without a recognized catcher, the Tigers threw the gear on Imanari to see out what was left of the game.
Takamiya took over from Takahashi in the bottom of the 9th and he was able to rip through Hernandez, Ohshima and Donoue to ensure that we would need extra innings to decide the game.
Matayoshi would have the honours to take the 10th inning and the man who looks a lot like Lupin III, dismissed Nishioka and Egoshi, gave a hit to Gomez and took credit for the centre-fly out of Matt Hague.
Takahashi would be at the head the bottom of the 10th inning and the prodigal son would keep doing what he does best, finding a way to base, as he elected to walk to first. Takamiya was then withdrawn to allow Fukuhara to try and restore parity. Viciedo would be the man to take guard. At a count of 3 balls and 1 strike the eyes of the Cuban glistened like sunlight reflecting off a cube of ice in a glass of Havana Club Reserva, it was coming. Here it was. a 140km straight ball on outer path. A big, hearty swing from the Tank and a longful gaze after the ball as it sailed into the right outfield bleachers to end the game with a walk-off homerun. 4-2. Who says baseball isn't exciting? A point to the dugout and a bit ol' smile on Dayan's face capped off another brilliant end to a game that honestly looked like it was getting away from us.
Tanishige apparently wasn't all that optimistic going into the final innings. He commented that "Whatever (Viciedo) did, he was going to be forgiven. It wasn't thought he'd get the excitement up, but he done did it."
Highlights:
A 3-game sweep of the Tigers would be a just reward for the fighting spirit of the team. They took advantage of poor pitching when it was presented and they backed up those that didn't perform. Ricardo Nanita has to be close to the player of the series as no one could stop his hitting. He has looked much improved this year and is certainly a valuable player with his present form.
In other news, due to the earthquakes in Kumamoto and Oita prefecture, the regional games scheduled against the Giants in Kumamoto and Kagoshima have been cancelled. All NPB teams have been collecting donations for the disaster stricken region and my heart goes out to them as well. The team has already decided on helping things with a 2 million yen donation ($20,000ish).
As of Monday, Junki Ito has been de-registered by the team which makes one wonder why he was registered at all as he failed to play any part in the two games he was available for.
It has also been announced that June 18th will be "Girls Day" at the Nagoya dome and all the ladies will receive a snazzy jersey for turning up.
There's also something else that I picked up on twitter that I thought that I would translate and share. It's the Dragons injury list. It's quite a long one when compared to the other teams and it is worrying in particular the amount of pitchers we have missing.
Chunichi Dragons Injury List
Number
Position
Name
Injury/Illness
6
OF
Ryosuke Hirata
Left groin/pelvic pain
18
P
Shota Suzuki
Side pain
20
P
Ryosuke Nomura
Right shoulder pain
22
P
Yudai Ohno
Left elbow discomfort
23
IF
Issei Endo
Right shoulder inflammation
26
OF
Mastaka Iryo
Body pain (unspecified)
36
IF
Ryota Ishioka
Slipped disc hernia
41
P
Takuya Asao
Right shoulder inflammation
42
P
Juan Jaime
Right shoulder pain
44
P
Raul Valdes
Left shoulder pain
51
P
Masashi Yamamoto
Back pain
58
P
Tomoya Yagi
Left elbow pain
68
C
Ryuichiro Akasaka
Fractured right thumb
203
P
Seiya Nakagawa
Right calf pain
210
P
Kaito Goya
Left shoulder pain
I can say however that Ryuichiro Akasaka appears to be on the mend as he appeared as a pinch-hitter against the Hawks in Tuesday's farm game, as did Ryosuke Hirata. Still, the amount of pitchers out injured is a worry with Endo and Asao in particular leaving holes. Jaime was very unlucky to get injured in his Spring training and is still recovering. He was brought in as a closer to cover for Fukutani, but with Iwase now back in action it looks unlikely that he'll be needed. Still a pitcher that can supposedly hit over 160km/h might be worth looking at if he can get back on his feet.
That's it for a big day of news and big 3 wins for the Dragons!
