Regular Season: Dragons vs Carp @Hiroshima, April 12th & 14th; Carp batter Dragons (and not in the tempura way)

Only two games were squeezed out this week as rain stopped play on the 13th. Maybe the water helped the Carp swim toward victory as they flattened the water averse Dragons in the third game of the series. A modest win would be the victors spoils in game one, but overall, it was a 13-2 series loss for the Dragons where hitting was a major problem.

Our first game was to be the first regional round for the Dragons as we headed out into the Hiroshima countryside to Kure City top play at what is a regular venue for these kind of games. The regional rounds bring teams all over the place to areas that don't otherwise see a lot of baseball or in a way to expand the fan base. The Dragons will be playing the Giants in regional Kyushu next week and will play their own regional games in Gifu city and in Shizuoka at later points in the city. It's a lovely initiative and gets the game out to more fans than the usual and gives a bit of a different atmosphere for the players.

Kure City Ballpark

Game 16 of the season would be at the Kure City ballpark as the Dragons played Hiroshima for the second time this year. The previous outings ended in a 2-1 series win for the Dragons in Nagoya with some pretty good performances to get the season rolling. What would come of things in Hiroshima though?

Shunta "Doctor K" Wakamatsu would start on the mound this game as per the rotation with Yusuke Nomura starting things off for the Carp.

Things would start remarkably well for Chunichi in the first inning. Nomura walked Ohshima to start things and hits to Araki and Takahashi quickly had the bases loaded with Viciedo coming up behind. The big Cuban slugger would continue his 13 game home run drought as he only managed a single to help Ohshima home.

With bases still loaded, Ricardo Nanita would unfortunately strike out and Fujii would make a complete meal of the chance as he ground out into a double play. The problems of the number 5 spot reared its ugly head again as it did against the Giants. The problem of Fujii not hitting his stride remains.

The Carp would turn equal things immediately in the bottom of the first. Tanaka with a single, Kikuchi flying out and Maru with a single put runners on 1st and 2nd with Chunichi OB, Hector Luna coming up to bat. A hit through centre from the Dominican sent Tanaka on his way home and Maru onto third. The Carp would turn the equalised score into a winning one when Brad Eldred hit left to Nanita, allowing Maru to run home but it was a fumble from the outfielder that allowed Luna to progress to third base, 2-1. Wakamatsu would however recover as he removed the dangerous Arai along with Suzuki to end the inning.

The Dragons would only must two more hits all game as they failed to claw the losing score back. Carp would improve their winning score in the 6th as Eldred added to his RBI with a home run, 3-1.

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A disappointing showing from the batting lineup. Wakamatsu didn't do a bad job, but he certainly didn't have much back up. Although he will be disappointed with only being able to take 4 strikeouts home with him after 8 hard worked innings. Takahashi and Viciedo both got on base twice this game, but that's about all that was positive about the batting today. 5 Chunichi hits to 9 Carp hits was the main difference today.

Game highlights:

The game schedule for the 13th would not go ahead, but starting pitcher plans would be moved to the 14th as Ryosuke Oguma took the the mound for his second start of the year. His near perfect spell in Nagoya last week was a joy to behold, but could he repeat the heat in Hiroshima? We went back to the Carp's natural home, not a stream, but the iconic Mazda Stadium.

Game 17 would be nothing less than a demolishing of the Dragons as the Carp ran riot in the home ground, driving home 10 runs to the Dragons one. Oguma, who had previously only considered one hit against the Baystars, conceded 8 hits including two homeruns in his 4 innings.

Kris Johnson would keep things quiet for the Carp.

The score would be opened by the Dragons in the 3rd inning as hits from Araki and Takahashi put the two on 3rd and 2nd base respectively.  Viciedo would then force Luna into an error (his first of the 3 on the night) at third to load the bases. Nanita would then get the chance to put his name in lights, but shorted out a couple of the neon bulbs as he ground out but allowed Araki to score, 0-1. Fujii would then put his best foot forward and forthrightly strikeout to end the inning.

The pain train would be on it's way for the Dragons in the bottom of the third. Johnson and Tanaka were quickly removed by Oguma, but it was the jackrabbit, Kikuchi that hit a single to get on base, this would be the first of many hits for the very in form second baseman. Batting at 3, Maru got the call and quite happily dispatched Oguma into the stands to make the score 2-1.

Luna would fly out to right field to make sure the pain stopped at just 2-1. At least for the time being. A rally from the Dragons would not be forthcoming as despite Donoue profiting from another Luna fumble, the lineup would not be able to make the Dominican pay for his mistake.

More excitement was to come in the 4th, if you are a Carp fan that is, as Brad Eldred decided it was time for another ball to join the fans as he smashed another over the fence to add to the homer he got off Wakamatsu in Kure 2 nights previous. 

This would be the inning that would bring the pain. Arai edged closer to his 2000 career hits with a single. Ishihara would later join him, but Johnson striking out would leave only one batter in reserve. This would prove to be more than enough as Tanaka singled to load the bases. Oguma, with his trademark pokerface looked unfazed, but a single from Kikuchi into left field would allow Arai and Tanaka to move home to make it 5-1. The scoring wouldn't stop there as Maru sent home Ishihara to make it 6-1. Thankfully the madness would stop with Luna grounding out. 

There wouldn't be a lot of time for a counter-attack thanks from the Dragons as they failed tomake anything count in the top of the 5th before the maraudering Carp went on another blitz, pressing their already sizeable advantage. Two walks to Eldred and Arai forced Tanishige's hand to pull Oguma from the mound as Ogawa went in to relieve. Ogawa would serve up another wallk to load bases. Ishihara would get a dead-ball to see another Carp float to home plate to make it 7-1. Johnson would not offer much help, but singles from Tanaka and Kikuchi put the Carp 9-1 up to beat the already dead horse of the Dragons defense. 

The last scoring play of the day would be Amaya sending home Arai to make it 10-1 in the bottom of the 6th. Shell-shocked, the Dragons seemed to give up as the game was taken well away from them. The Carp as well, seemingly happy with 10, played out the rest of the game at a much lower intensity. A clobbering that Chunichi will not be particularly happy with. The 8 runs conceded by Oguma was also a new personal low for the pitcher as he will look to rebuild in his next appearance.

 For the masochists in you, here are some highlights:

Two not so great results came out of the trip to Hiroshima but the Dragons will be back home for the weekend against the Tigers. 

So far in the aftermath, Ogawa has found himself sent to the seconds after he failed to stem the tide twice in his two appearances. Daisuke Sobue will be into the team to replace him.

With the batters failing to perform in these two games, eyes have been cast to when Ryosuke Hirata will be back but Tanishige is not looking to rush the captain back into the side. There have been suggested that he might be back next weekend against the Swallows, but I'm skeptical. 

On the Farm: Chunichi Dragons v Orix Buffaloes (April 12th & 13th)

Oooooh..give me a home where Ogasawaras doth roam, and the youths and the veterans
plaaaayyyy...

One Ogasawara?

Two Ogasawaras?
Oh my medication!

That's right, it's time for another farm update! We only have two games this round again as poor weather cancelled the final fixture. The Dragons 2-gun team has been in pretty good nick this year and they remain perched on the top of the table in the Western League.

The two games this week are the only farm games scheduled for the week so I can relax a little bit and focus on the weekend games (and the Hiroshima report) for the rest of the week.


We were back in Nagoya for these games and it would be a good series for the Dragons as they walked away with 2 wins in 2 to continue their time at the top of the table. A sold 7-2 win would accompany a more modest 6-5 win as the Chunichi batters continue to show prowess that we could only dream of with the first team at the moment.

Game 1 of the round would be played in decent weather with Junki Ito taking up the mound as part of the regular rotation with 20 year old, Koki Saito taking to the mound for Orix. It was to be a bad day for Saito but a very good one for Ito as the latter kept his composure to see out the win.

Pitching

Ito looks on.

Not too much to say about the pitching today, not in any detail at least, as only two pitchers took the mound today for the Dragons. Junki Ito was the man today as he pitched out 8 innings. It was only in his 7th that he conceded 2 runs as the young man showed what he's made of. Ito ended his bracket with lots of fours. 4 hits, 4 strikeouts, 4 walks. He faced 33 batters and threw just a touch over 100 balls in a very good effort from the youngster. A few more of these kinds of performances might have Tanishige having a closer look at him in future.

Toshiya Okada took the 9th inning and took a strikeout from the 3 batters he faced.

Batting

古本? More like 振本 amirite?

Some very good performances from the batting line-up overall as there were plenty of hits. The Greatest Hits collection would come from Furumoto who, fielding in the right today, hit two with two RBIs in his 4 at-bats. Yusuke Matsui would show why he was called up to the firsts not so long ago as he hit and scored twice as well as claiming an RBI. Hernandez and Nomoto would both end with two hits a piece as well. One significant statistic goes to Masato Matsui who managed to reap 3 walks and a sacrificial hit in his 4 at-bats. Not bad. Other RBIs went to Kondo, Watanabe, Mizowaki and Abe as the Dragons ran out deserved winners.

The development players have played consistently well for for Michihiro Ogasawara's side, and he must surely be happy with how the team is going.

Other interesting news to come out of the game was a first appearance for "development" player, former Baystars and Samurai Japan outfielder, Hitoshi Tamura. The veteran had been looking for work after he was released by Yokohama, and the Dragons extended a helping hand. Tamura was once a team-mate of our manager, Tanishige back when they played together at Yokohama. Tamura came in as a pinch-hitter but was unable to contribute.

Game 2 and subsequently the final game of the series would be a much closer affair as both teams were quick out of the blocks to pile on the runs. Dragons would take advantage in the 1st by piling on 3 runs after Orix added one at the top of the inning. Orix would continue to take advantage of Tatsuro Hamada's pitching and went 3-5 to the good by the top of the 3rd. Once Hamada was removed from the mound, Achira calmed things down and counter-attack would start in the 4th to make it 4-5. Now keeping the Buffaloes quiet, the equalizer came in the fourth inning, 5-5. The Dragons would have the last laugh with a walk-off double from Hernandez in the 9th inning.

The starting pitchers today would be the aforementioned Hamada and for the Buffaloes, Daiki Aoyama.

Pitching

Takuma Achira - あちらへどうぞう

Well, Hamada's form in pre-season is looking all the more miraculous as he got yoinked after 2 1/3 innings after giving up 5 runs to the Buffaloes. He gave up 7 hits and a walk to pile on the misery in what has been a terror year so far. An error from Mizowaki in the field didn't help either but I suppose if we're to be positive, he didn't walk too many today?
Achira would come into to calm things down and he pitched 2 full innings only giving up a single hit and 2 walks. Kaneko took over with 1 1/3 innings and took one  strikeout, conceding a hit and a walk. Muto as well would have 1 1/3 innings to show his stuff and allowed one hit and threw two strikeouts against his 5 batters. Toshiya Okada would have another chance to shape up as he conceded a hit and managed a strikeout in his 2/3 of an inning against 4 batters. Daisuke Sobue would walk away with the win however after he pitched the 9th inning and the last part of the 8th, taking two strike and giving up a walks and two hits.

Apart from Hamada, the bullpen really put the halt on the Orix attack and helped the batters as much as they could to turn the game around.

Mr No-motto continues his good touch

Batting

Kei Nomoto was at his industrious best as he took to the Buffaloes with 4 hits including 2 RBIs. A perfect outing from a man that has hit some good form of late. 6/8 against the Buffaloes this series. Not bad at all. Watanabe would also show more of what he has to offer as he chipped in with two hits, a walk and an RBI. Kondo, another trainee, kept his run of hits going as he hit one and walked once.  Hernandez and Yusuke Matsui would be the other RBI hitters today and it was the diminutive Domincan that would hit the winning RBI, a double in the final bracket in a sayonara win.

All in all a good couple of wins to keep the team on top. No significant movement between the rosters at present. Although with  3 straight losses for the first team, it's possible someone might get a call-up.

Regular Season: Dragons vs Giants @Nagoya Dome, April 8th-10th; Ohno's creation, Tie frustration, What in tarnation?

Alrighty, we're a little bit behind schedule but here's the what went down on the weekend between the Dragons and the Giants. The Giants have been in good nick this season proving that their batting has more depth to it than last year and that the pitching staff are just as good as they've always been.

Those of you familiar with the 1980s Tom Selleck goes to Japan experience, Mr Baseball might think that the Giants are the Dragons biggest rivals, and while you'd be technically correct, the really, really correct answer is everyone hates the Giants and the Tigers share a more intense hatred than anyone else. It's hard to nail down a "rival" for the Dragons, but geographically, it probably is more likely to be Hanshin with Osaka being closer. The Giants of course have been possible larger rivals due to the tag and tow between to two in vying for the Central League over the past decade or so.

Whatever the case may be, we were in for a cracker of a game with both teams having a fair share of wins heading into the match up.

The biggest news in the lead-up to this one would probably be the continued absence of Ryosuke Hirata who has been sidelined with injury as well as the return of pitching duo Kazuki Yoshimi and Hitoki Iwase from their respective long-term injuries. Iwase in particular would be making his comeback after nearly 2 years out of the game.

Game number 13 of the season was a return to the opening day starters as Yudai Ohno and Kyosuke Takagi took to the mound to start things. There would be good energy from the first inning from Ohno as he ran through the top order in succession nabbing Chono through a ground out and striking out Tateoka and Sakamoto. Takagi would follow suit, but would give up a base to Araki before seeing off Takahashi and Viciedo.

The second inning would bring much more excitement for both teams as the first scoring plays of the game took shape. Ohno would grab Garrett's scalp before allowing Cruz a base. This brought to the plate the 26 year old, Taishi Ohta who quite frankly, bullied Ohno, sending the lefty pitcher over the fence to register the first two runs of the game, 0-2.

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Ohno would give up one more hit to Murata but nabbed Kobayashi and Takagi to finish the inning.

The strike back from Chunichi would be swift as in the bottom of the second the Nagoya team hit back. Ohta would catch Nanita's foul ball before Fujii and Donoue managed to find themselves on 3rd and 1st base respectively. Katsura would fall victim to Takagi's change-ups as he struck out. Ohno would be the man to take guard and it would the pitcher that would help draw first blood as his timely hit into left-field sent Fujii home and moved Donoue onto second, 1-2.

 The scoring wouldn't stop there however as Ohshima joined the party with a line-drive to even up the scores at 2-2.

Araki could not help turn the score into a leading one as he flew out to center to end the inning.

Scoring would pick up again in the 4th. Fujii hit a double to lead off the inning while Donoue helped Fujii to third with a sacrifice bunt. Katsura would take up the bat for the next plate appearance and the young catcher would once again make a telling contribution with his bat as he ground out, but allowed Fujii to score to make it 3-2.

The game would close out without much incident as Ohno claimed man of the match honours for his RBI and winning pitching. Lots of credit too has to go to Naomichi Donoue who's fielding has been beyond reproach since replacing Issei Endo.

Game 14 would be, well at least for me, an exciting 0-0 (maybe that's the soccer fan in me) where the game took its tips and turns but unfortunately didn't pan out in the way either team had really hoped. Kazuki Yoshimi made his long awaited return to the mound as he started and finished 7 scoreless innings while a return was also made by Hitoki Iwase after his almost 2 years out of the first team.

The game was a very cagey one with both teams not doing their best with the pitches given to them and not converting when it was important. Mr Gibson of the J-Ball podcast pointed out to me that, while I was caught up with the excitement, both teams had a habit of swinging at bad pitches. He was probably right.

Young Kazuto Yaguchi kept up the pace with the veteran Yoshimi but it was the Giants pitcher who walked away with slightly better stats as he only allowed 2 hits and struck out 7 batters in his seven innings. Yoshimi however would have to settle for 5 conceded hits and 6 strikouts in his seven.

The most tense moment of the game was to come in the 7th inning when Yoshimi was replaced by Shinji Tajima. Usually one of the Dragons best relievers, Tajima did the unthinkable and loaded up the bases with walks following Kamei's short-fly out. Chono, Tateoka and Sakamoto walked to base and Tanishige was quick to yoink Tajima off the mound. He was to be replaced by the returning Iwase who was to come up against American slugger, Garrett Jones. Some tense moment followed as the veteran closer sized up his target, but it would be Iwase who would come out the savior as Jones hit into a double play to end the inning. Big sighs of relief from the crowd combined with a rambunctious roar for the triumphant return of the legendary pitcher.



Unfortunately there would be little else to write home about  as the game entered extra time only for nothing to come of it. 13 combined hits in total from both teams; not great. Iwase and Yoshimi's return however made for happy watching for Dragons fans looking forward.
Yoshimi has since been de-registered from the first team as he continues his reconditioning to get back to peak fitness.
Another milestone would be reached this game as Masahiro Araki made his 2000th game appearance. Araki is also only 99 away from 2000 hits. Let's hope he can do it this season




Game 15, the last of the series would be an unfortunate loss due to some very poor relieving innings. The game had far more to it than the previous one, but still a lot of negatives for the Dragons who just didn't do well enough against an inconsistent but dangerous Giants team.

Drew Naylor would start things for the Dragons while Nobutaka Imamura was on the mound for the Giants.

Naylor would start things off well, striking out Chono and ripping through the first two hitters to finish the first inning. The Chunichi reply was threatening as Araki made his way to first an then second as Shuhei ground out at first. Viciedo would then take a walk, but the problematic #5 spot in the line-up continued to be so as Akasaka struck out to end the first inning.

Some nervous moments would come for the Aussie in the second as he allowed a double to Garrett Jones but removed Cruz. Naylor would then give up a walk to Kita and Murata to load the bases for the first real tense moment of the game. Naylor would however fight back courageously to strikeout Kobayashi and Imamura to end the inning.

Obviously fired up, the Dragons went out to make it count in the bottom of the 2nd. Fujii continued his poor form as he flied out but Donoue would continue his good form with a single. Katsura continued his streak with the bat as he moved Donoue to third before Naylor fell victim to Imamura. Ohshima with his second at bat of the day would be the hero as he sent Donoue in to score with a timely hit into the left field, 1-0.

Katsura would unfortunately be gunned down at the home plate, perhaps reaching too far,  after a hit from Araki fell to right field.

The pitchers would trade notes for the next 3 innings or so showing good poise and purpose but it would be Imamura's turn to dig himself out of trouble in the 5th. After dismissing Araki, Imamura gave up a hit to Takahashi and a stroll to Viciedo. Akasaka's hit to the third-base allowed Takahashi to move to 3rd but sacrificed Viciedo at second to put runners on 1st and 3rd. Fujii would be the next to elect for a walk as Imamura loaded the bases. The sign was sent to the Giants bench and the starter was swapped out for Tsuchida who easily struck out Donoue to end the inning and escape a very pinch moment, scores still at 1-0.

The top of the 6th would see the equalizer from the Giants as a hit from Chono followed by a sacrificial bunt from Tateoka moved the former onto second. Sakamoto would strike out, but the American, Jones would make it all count by hitting a double to even up the scores at 1-1. Cruz would add himself to the bases but Naylor would once again strike out Kita to end the inning.

The score wouldn't remain the same for long however as Katsura made contact once again this series to move to first. Naylor would attempt a bunt but would ultimately fail to bring Ohshima to the plate. The multi golden glove winner hit a double into right field to put himself on second with Naylor on third. Recent record maker, Masahiro Araki would be the man in the spotlight as he converted his pitcher and centre-fielder's hard work by hitting a single down the ground to allow Naylor to score, 2-1.

Obviously foreseeing something bad on the horizon (pehaps a bad moon?) Giants manager, Yoshinobu Takahashi changed out his reliever to bring in Tone. Shuhei would fly out but allow runners to move to second and third. Two outs now gone brought Viciedo to the plate but he was walked to load the bases once again. The problematic #5 spot in the line-up reared it's ugly head again as Kudo, who had come in as a pinch runner for Akasaka, was replaced by Masahiko Morino who was making his first appearance of the season. The veteran has been turning it on for the 2-gun team, but unfortunately it wasn't to transfer to the biggest stage as he struck out to end the inning.

Naylor got mad with
himself.

Entering the 7th, things were going to get bad for the Dragons as after nabbing Murata, Naylor then gave up hit to Kobayashi and Friday night homer-hero, Ohta. Tanishige decided he'd had enough of the Aussie and the ball was given to Matayoshi to close out. A low slider would ground out Ohta as he was short of his ground at second base, but Tateoka would make the best of the situation as he hit one into the right-field to even up the scores at 2-2. Things would go from bad to worse for Matayoshi as he now gave up a double to Sakamoto to stretch the lead to 2-4. Unsurprisingly the right handed reliever was told to sit on the pine as Ryuya Ogawa came on to try and salvage the game. Ogawa would give up a hit to Jones to join Yoshikawa on base (Yoshikawa had come on to pinch-run for Sakamoto). Cruz would add to the condemnation of the bullpen as he doubled to send both runners home, 2-6. Hiroto Fuku, the rookie, would then face up against Daisuke Nakai who was pinch-hitting for Tone and would give up a hit to allow Cruz to canter home, 2-7.

There was a little bit of magic in the 8th as Donoue helped Chono on his way with this lovely piece of work.

One destructive innings however would be all she wrote for Dragons fans as the team failed to get itself back into the game. Only two more hits would come for the Dragons in the 8th and 9th inning but that would accompany two double-plays as well to end a pretty shocking game. It was all won and lost in the 7th and the Dragons have only themselves to blame for not getting more out of this one.

Matayoshi was apologetic in the aftermath explaining that "I didn't put it where the catcher had set it up."Tanishige however was in a much more philosophical mood as he put down the loss to "We came out to fight and we went down fighting." He was however quick to highlight the positives of the pitching as he mentioned how solidified the starting rotation is now compared to the start of the season. With Yoshimi, Oguma and Jordan all coming in and doing well, things do look positive. He did however say he would give some thought over the problematic number 5 spot in the line-up as Nanita, Akasaka and others have failed to impress in that spot so far to give Viciedo the support he needs.


In other new, Drew Naylor has since had a pow-wow with his "Japanese Dad," pitching coach Shigekazu Mori and translator, Luis Francis. The three apparently had a two hour chat about possible new approaches for Naylor in coming games.

Next games are against Hiroshima with one out in the countryside of Kure. Wakamatsu, Jordan and Oguma should be set to record some wins against a team I certainly consider we are equal to.

On the Farm: Chunichi Dragons v Hanshin Tigers (April 8th, 9th & 10th)

Weeeee're back on the farm after a very short intermission as I'm trying my best to catch up on some reports. We are in for a 3 gamer in today's report as for whatever reason no game was called off this time around. The Dragons took on the Hanshin Tigers in the second farm series clash of the Western League season. It would be an unfortunate overall loss to the Dragons, but there were lots of runs in an exciting three games against our geographically closest rivals.

The first game saw 2-gun regular starter, Yudai Kawai take the mound once again while Masaru Iwasaki took up duties for the Tigers. There would be a number of first-team hopefuls in the side as Okada took up the ball again today while Kamezawa, Hernandez and Akasaka played roles in the field and with the bat.

Pitching

I better shape up, coz we
need a....relief pitcher...

It would be the ubiquitous, Yudai to start things off and he would keep things tidy until his last inning where he allowed the Tigers back in the game with Naomasa Yokawa and others striking back to make the score 4-3 in the 6th. Yudai would finish with 6 strikeouts giving up 6 hits and a walk.  Achira would clean up the 6th inning as he run through 3 batters for no loss. Toshiya Okada would unfortunately give up 2 runs, including a homer,  against the 4 batters he faced, taking one strikeout in the process. Takeshi Kaneko restored some respectability as he remained scoreless after 1 1/3 innings giving up a walk and a hit but taking a strikeout. Mitsuma would take up closing duties and let go of another run. He would end his one inning with a strike, a walk and a hit to his name.

Not the greatest of work from the pitching staff.

Homerun to the Tokyo
suburb, Akasaka

Batting

Batting started off well in the first inning. Hernandez would send Kamezawa to make it 1-0 with 2 outs before Akasaka, fielding at first-base today, sent one over the fence to bring himself and Hernandez home to make it 3-0 in the first. A further RBI would be added by the man of the moment, Kondo to make it 4-0 in the 5th. Kondo would grab two hits today and strikeout twice in his 4 at-bats. Other notable performances go to Ishikawa who milked two walks as well as Kamezawa and Hernandez who both claimed two hits a piece.

Not a great day at the office for the bullpen, but these are the lessons that must be be learned at this level. A 4-6 loss at home is never a good look.


Game 2 of the series would be even less close as the Tigers made a blowout in the 5th against Iwata to pile on the runs and claim a 3-7 win.

Among the starting members today were some familiar faces with Muto returning to the second squad while Akasaka, Yusuke Matsui, Hernandez and Takeyama would make some contributions with the bat. New draftees, Takuya Kinoshita and Toshiki Abe would start while Yuu Satoh would relieve. Starting on the mound again was the ever erratic Shinji Iwata while Kouki Moriya took the mound for the Tigers.

Pitching

Iwata continues to struggle.

Iwata did well until the 6th inning but the remaining stats are what matters. The experienced starter conceded 5 in 4 1/3 innings giving up 6 hits and 3 walks while taking 6 strikes. Mitsuma finished off the 6th inning, gave up a hit and a walk but remained scoreless. Yuu Satoh took 2 strikeouts in his two scoreless innings against 6 batters. Unfortunately, Mutoh would give up a further two runs in his disappointing relief inning. Nishikawa took the tail inning and was able to remain scoreless as he took down his 3 batters with 9 balls.

Iwata might be lucky to keep his contract by the end of this year if he shows no further improvement.

Not to be confused with
ヒルナンデス

Batting

Hernandez would be the pick of the batters as he picked off two RBIs in two hits. Two strikeouts however tarnished that good record. Mizowaki would be the only other to register an RBI today for the Dragons as he helped the team to a 1-0 lead in the 3rd. Mizowaki would also make another hit as well as striking out to end his day. Watanabe, playing in left-field,  would also hit two, striking out once. Akasaka could make no notable contribution today while Matsui and Takeyama both struck-out as pinch hitters. Furumoto would be the only other to register some meaningful statistics as he got a hit and a walk as DH today.

2 losses in a row and both have been mostly due to blow-outs by the starting pitchers. All in all though, this is the development team. The main worry however is that the experienced ones are the one's stuffing it up.


The last game of the series taking place on Sunday, would be a refreshing but nail-biting win. Shinnosuke Ogasawara would continue in the starting rotation for the second team but once again find himself a bit lacking. Kamezawa, Hernandez and Takeyama would start in the field while Yusuke Matsui found himself at the DH.

Kohyo Aoyanagi would start on the mound for the Tigers.

Adapting to big ball takes time.

Pitching

Ogasawara opened things up and his starting jitters would continue as he gave up 3 in his second inning. Control seems to still be an issue as the youngster game up 4 walks and 4 hits to accompany his 4 strikes in 5 0/3 innings. Kaneko would not slow down the scoring either as he gave up a hit and a run to go with his single strikeout in 1 1/3 innings. Okada would restore some essence of sanity by keeping things scoreless against 5 batter in 1 inning. Muto would take home winning honours despite pitching only 2/3 of an inning, giving up a hit and a walk. Daisuke Sobue would grab another save for his collection, once again running through 3 batters in quick succession taking two strikeouts.

A much better showing...or at least a luckier one but the slow progress of Ogasawara is a minor worry. Easy to forget he is only 18 though.

A man that needs No-motto.

Batting

Kamezawa would be one of the scorers today after he walked twice. Hernandez grabbed two RBIs and walked once while Matsui grabbed a hit and walk for his troubles. Furumoto was the pick of the bunch as he hit twice and walked twice to do very little wrong. An unlikely hero would however emerge as Kei Nomoto came in as a pinch-hitter to claim a game winning double. Takeyama unfortunately would only trouble the scorers with a strikeout.
Young Watanabe would also show good form today as he picked up an RBI, took a walk, stole a base and struck out once.

A good performance from the batters saw this one out, but it did take some 8th inning heroics from Nomoto to make it possible.

A very mixed bag of results for the 2-gun team this round, with no huge standouts. Hernandez did his reputation no harm, but with Jordan and Naylor in the starting rotation and Ricardo Nanita in decent form, it's currently unlikely we'll see a return for the Dominican for a little while. My guess would be a drop in form from Nanita and disappointment with Donoue might bring the stocky infielder back into the fold.

In other roster news, Shota Tomonaga has been spending time with the first team, while Kazuki Yoshimi will be taking time off to recover after being de-reg'd despite starting against the Giants on Saturday. Akasaka as well is currently with the first team side after his home-run performance.

On the Farm: Chunichi Dragons v Softbank Hawks (April 5th & 6th)

We're back on the farm! I forgot to milk the cows this week and I dozed off in the hay so the report is a wee bit late this week (almost a week...eep).

Anyway, lets get down to business, as I have a first team and a second team report on the pile to get through today!

It was to be the second shortened 2-gun series in a row for the Dragons who would face off against the Softbank Hawks in Fukuoka. T

Performances in the first game today the main first-team pushers would actually make their push successful after this series as Morino and Fukuda both earned call-ups against the Baystars and the Giants. Mitsumata as well would join them to play small roles in both series. Kyouhei Kamezawa would remain with the seconds for the time being playing a role today as replacement at second base late in the game. Okada would make his first appearance in the 2-gun this year after being unceremoniously dropped after his poor performance against Hiroshima in Game 5.

Pitching

Dat look.

Things would start off with Junki Ito who has been somewhat of mainstay starter in the 2-gun
this year. The young prodigy would give up 7 hits, taking 4 strikeouts but conceding two from a Tu-Hsuan Lee double in the 7th. Itoh would be withdrawn with two outs as Okada took to the mound to complete one inning including 3 strikeouts and a walk against 4 batters. Mitsuma would continue his regular run in the seconds as he held on after seeing off two batter for a hit and a strikeout. Daisuke Sobue would conclude proceedings and claim the save as he took three straight strikeouts to end the game. Sobue looks to be doing better and better as a closer. Should certainly be a possible call-up if Fukutani ever goes off the boil or even as a late-inning reliever.

Overall a good opening spell from Ito, with a near-perfect relief performance from the bullpen.

The star keeps rising.

Batting

There were contributions throughout the batting line-up, but it was the experienced Fukuda and Morino along with the prodigious Kondo, that put in the runs at vital moments. Each picked up an RBI each in the 2-3 win. Morino would pick up two hits for the day while Fukuda and Kondo would also find another way to base with a walk a piece. Hits would also come from Akasaka, Ishikawa an Mizowaki to cap off what would end up being a close win.

The victory would ensure the Chunichi 2-gun's position at the top of the Western League for the time being.




Our second game of the series would end the exact same way as the last with 2-3 win to the Dragons. With Fukuda whisked away, Morino would move from the DH spot to first-base while the DH would be filled by Kei Nomoto. Issei Endo would make his first appearance in the 2-gun at short-stop while Kamezawa returned to the starting line-up to man second base. Aside from Mizowaki at 3rd, the infield would not have looked out of place in the first team last season. Nevertheless, with all out of favor for the time being, the hope for good production was high. Joining the de-registered first-teamers would be Tatsuro Hamada who returned for his first game since being humiliated after conceding 7 against the Carp in Game 5.

Pitching

Hamada on the come-back trail.

Humiliation would be at a minimum for Hamada today as he started on the mound. The southpaw would concede only 2 this time around to Kaneko and Kamamoto, only one being his fault as he took 6 strikeouts and gave up 7 hits. Focusing on the strike-zone this time around, Hamada only gave up two walks in his 5 1/3 innings. Takeshi Achira took the last of the 6th inning as well as the 7th as he relieved perfectly, taking two strikeouts and not allowing a single hit. Takeshi Kaneko would claim winning pitcher status today for his 1 inning of work where he forbade any hits but failed to take a strikeout. Daisuke Sobue would be the saviour again as he once again rolled three batters in a row this time only taking a single strikeout.

Furumoto with the trademark specs.

Batting

The pick of the potential first-teamers would be Morino who registered 2 hits, including the first RBI of the game. He also took a walk to make the best of his 3 at-bats today. Furumoto would be the next pick of the batsmen as the outfielder nailed the game winning double, despite striking out twice. Endo would make a triumphant return with the bat as he nailed 3 hits and stole a base in his 4 at-bats. Kamezawa as lead-off today would also make a hit but also strikeout once.

Once again a case of the big players standing up and carrying the team. This would prove to be Morino's last involvement with the 2-gun as he was called up for the series against the Giants. A just reward for his fine form.

The 2-3 win would solidify the Dragons spot at the top of the league. A statistic that will surely please the Michihiro Ogasawara who one must remember is still in his first year of tenure as a coach.

Two great results for the farm-team against the might of the Hawks.