In the last series before inter-league play, the Dragons
faced off against the Swallows for their second series against the Tokyo team
in Aichi. The record against the Swallows hasn’t been bad this year but with
Swallows killer Drew Naylor out with injury, would his replacements be able to
replicate his ability?
In Game 7 against the Swallows this year Valdes would take up responsibilities on the mound for the
Dragons, while Naruse would be his opponent for the evening for the Swallows.
In a change to the line-up, Ricardo Nanita was elevated to
the #3 spot. Ohshima was given a run there against the Baystars and Hirata had
been hitting there before his injury, but the elevation up the order was given
to the Dominican veteran as he continues his impressive form.
Shota Sugiyama would be the first to open the scoring as his
triple in the 3rd to send Viciedo and Donoue into score, 2-0. The
Dragons would further extend their lead in the 3rd inning as a
Hirata double allowed Araki to score to make it 3-0. Ohshima continued his
great form (possible all-star?) with a triple to allow Sugiyama to score while
Araki obliged his outfielder with a single to stretch the lead to 5-0 in the 4th.
It wouldn’t all be smooth sailing though as
Iihara struck back for the Swallows in the 5th with a 2-run
homer.
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Sakaguchi would then put Yakult in reaching distance with
his three base hit that sent home Ohbiki and Hiyane, 5-4 in the 6th.
Valdes would then be withdrawn in the 7th inning for Yu Sato who,
showing his inexperience, put two on base before a wild pitch put both runners
into scoring positions. Sato was then withdrawn for Okada who walked his first
batter to really put the pressure on with bases loaded. Ohbiki would be the man
to claim the RBI but at the expense of a double-play, 5-5. From 5-0 down the
Swallows had crawled back onto level terms. The Dragons would be the ones to
chortle at the end of proceedings however as Nanita’s sac-fly allowed Ohshima
to score again to take the lead 6-5.
Shinji Tajima would be called on in the 9th inning to save
the game and did so with aplomb.
Okada claimed his second win of the season while Tajima kept
his scoreless record intact while claiming his 2nd save of the year.
Nanita was the hero of the night for hitting the winning runs while Araki and
Ohshima both claimed a hit a piece.
A close win that was almost taken away from the team at the
death (not unlike the last loss that the Swallows inflicted on us in their last
visit) but the team held on. It was perhaps a strange decision for Tanishige to
throw Sato into the fray at such an important juncture, but young lads need to
be exposed to these high pressure situations.
Saturday’s game would be contested between Jordan Norberto
and Hirofumi Yamanaka. Jordan has been in great form since starting his
Chunichi career and has proven to be an important piece of the starting
rotation this year (and one of the only consistent components at that).
Scoring would start late in the 6th but Hatakeyama would be
the one to get the scoreboard moving as his RBI single allowed Yamada to score
to put the Swallows 0-1 up. This however sprang the Dragons into life as
consecutive blows from Nanita and Viciedo invited Hirata to clean-up and even
up the scores. Kamezawa would then claim the lead, as today’s third baseman hit
a 2 RBI single to put the scores at 3-1. The Swallows would continue the
sparring however through Sakaguchi who sent one home while consecutive RBI
singles from Kawabata and Hatakeyama put the Swallows 3-4 to the good. Not
great pitching from Okada who was brought in to relieve for Jordan at the start
of the inning. Daisuke Sobue was brought in to limit the damage but he couldn’t
stop Imanami from getting on base off as Araki let one past him which
subsequently let one in to extend the lead to 3-5. The Dragons would get back within one from a
Hirata solo homer in 8th.
The Swallows however would extend their lead again in the
bottom of the inning through Nakamura who scored Takeuchi to make it 4-6. At the top of the 9th however, the
Dragons would expose the hole left by Tony Barnette’s return to the MLB as his
replacement Ondrusek gave up an RBI single to Ohshima before Kei Nomoto hit
with a sac-fly to even things up at 6-6!
Into extra innings now and it was to be the Swallows that
would prevail in the 11th with Hiroto Fuku pitching. Nakamura batted
in the winning runs as he did last time the Swallows visited Nagoya, while
Hiyane extended the lead to 6-9. The Dragons were unable to rally in the 11th
giving the Swallows a last gasp win.
Jordan pitched well again today as he fanned 7 batters but
walked 5 in his 6 innings. Tajima also kept his spotless record going as he
claimed the only hold for the Dragons on the night. Kamezawa was the surprise
with the bat tonight as his 3 hits rendered 2 RBIs in a very successful night
for the infield utility man. Ohshima, Nanita and Hirata all otherwise pitched
in with 2 hits a piece in a fairly productive night for the line-up. The game
was won and lost in the bullpen today however particularly with Okada’s
shocking give away of 4 runs.
The final game of the series would see Kazuki Yoshimi
maintain his spot in the starting rotation following his first win last week
against the Giants. Juri Hara, the rookie, would start for the Swallows. It
would be a story of Hispanic heraldry as Nanita and Viciedo made big
contributions.
It would be Nanita who would open proceedings in the 1st
inning as his RBI single allowed Ohshima to score to open things at 1-0. Nanita
would be at it again in the 3rd inning as he double the Dragons lead
with a solo homer, 2-0.
It wouldn’t stop there in the inning as Donoue’s double sent
Viciedo home, 3-0. The Swallows finally made a reply through the virtuous
Tetsuto Yamada as last year’s “Triple 3” man added to his collection of RBIs as
he hit Ohbiki home in the 4th.
Yoshimi however was otherwise doing his job of keeping the Swallows
honest and it was through that pressure created that Viciedo was able to do his
thing in the 7th inning. With Ohshima and Nanita on base the Cuban
took no pity on the first pitch from Matsuoka as he mashed a towering homer
into the back screen for a 3-run homerun! 6-1!
Fukutani was given relief duties in the 8th but
it was Okada who would close off the inning in a relatively low pressure
situation compared to the previous day to celebrate a bit 6-1 win.
The “Mash Brothers” or “El Masho Duo” were the standouts on the night. Nanita
grabbed two hits, including a homerun and milked a walk for his 2 RBIs. Viciedo would also take two hits, including
his wonderful dong, for 3 RBIs in a fantastic showing from the #3 and #4. Yoshimi only conceded 3 hits against a loaded
Swallows line-up which speaks volumes of his value to the team while Ryuya
Ogawa and Sobue both took home holds in a game where the bullpen looked much
healthier.
2 wins from 3 for the Dragons in the last game before the
inter-league break. A good way to go out. The loss and the almost loss in the
first game will be of worry to Tanshige but the results are all that matter and
a series win is always a good thing.
Ahead of the interl-league break, our first draft pick in
2015, Shinnosuke Ogasawara is set to
make his pro debut in a start against the Softbank Hawks. This is a game we
were never likely to win anyway, so hopefully the message to Ogasawara is to go
out there and do his thing without too much pressure. Looking forward to seeing
how the young fella will go! He will become the first HS rookie to debut in the
opening game of the inter-league play since its inception 14 years ago!
Moeyo Dragons!
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