BayStars Shutout as Tsutsugoh Debuts

The BayStars returned to Yokohama on Tuesday (October 5) to close out their 2010 makeup schedule with a game against the Giants then two against Hanshin.

Kenjiro Tanaka took the mound for the BayStars and promptly allowed a solo home run to lead-off Giant Hisayoshi Chono. That was really all that the Giants needed, but Alex Ramirez hit his league leading 48th home run of the season (10th against Yokohama) to leadoff the 4th inning, then 2 runs on 3 hits in the 5th sealed Tanaka's fate. In short, Yokohama lost 4-0 in 2 hours and 55 minutes.

The big news of the day was that rookie Yoshitomo Tsutsugoh was promoted to the top team and put into the starting lineup, batting in the #5 slot and playing first base.

With runners at first and second and one out in the first inning, Tsutsugoh popped out to shallow center for his first professional (ichi-gun) at bat. He hit another routine pop up to center in the bottom of the 4th with nobody on and 2 outs, retiring the side.

In the bottom of the 7th, with nobody on and one out, Tsutsuboh gave the ball a ride to deep center. It was looking promising, but center fielder Tetsuya Matsumoto jumped up at the center field wall and brought the ball back down with him. Aw. So close.

Tsutsugoh got one more chance. In the bottom of the 9th with two on and two out, Tetsuya Yamaguchi came high and tight to Tsutsugoh and hit him on the back arm as Tsutsugoh was trying to twist out of the way. That loaded the bases for the BayStars with Jose Castillo coming up next.

Hara-kantoku couldn't take any chances and called on Marc Kroon to close. Kroon got Castillo to ground into a force play at second, and the game was over.

My overall impression of Tsutsugoh? He's a big kid with a lot of power. And at the rate that balls fly out of Yokohama Stadium, the ni-gun home run and RBI king may one day duplicate that with the top team. And to distinguish him from Sho Tanaka (NIP), another high school star who took the ni-gun home run crown, Tsutsugoh didn't commit any errors. That's another good sign for the future.

Sho Nakata, not Tanaka.

Did Yokohama HS send a cheering section for him? He was still just a highschool student a year ago, after all...

- Sho Nakata, not Tanaka.

That's my Kanji dyslexia showing.

As for a cheering section, not that I saw.

Former BayStar Yoshimi was in attendance with a few of his new Lotte team mates, though. He cheered for Kizuka in his retirement outing. But I'll deal more with that later.

Oh, yeah, that sucks too. Kizuka was one of my favorite Baystars players for a very very long time. I'll have to try to get to Fan Fest this year to give the Yokohama Stadium mound a good final kick in his honor.