June 4th Uezono v Nagai - Tigers bounce back

A far more assured pitching performance saw Tigers bounce back and tie the series at Sendai. Once again a capacity crowd saw an enjoyable baseball match and in fact Nomura said he would like to play the Tigers every day (though he was also referring to the previous day's win) given the attendance. Uezono picked up his first win with an assured performance against a tough team. Line scores

              1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Tigers        0 1 1 0 3 0 0 0 0 5 7 0
Golden Eagles 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 8 0

Starting lineups
1. Akahoshi (Centre)
2. Sekimoto (Third)
3. Arai (First)
4. Kanemoto (Left)
5. Hiyama (DH)
6. Toritani (Short)
7. Ford (Right)
8. Noguchi (Catcher)
9. Fujimoto (Second)

Starting pitcher was Uezono

Golden Eagles
1. Rick (Third)
2. Teppei (Centre)
3. Kusano (Second)
4. Yamasaki (DH)
5. Fernandez (First)
6. Kenshi (Left)
7. Yokogawa (Right)
8. Shiokawa (Short)
9. Shima (Catcher)

Starting pitcher was Nagai

Akahoshi started with a hit as is often the case. His OBP is excellent. Sekimoto bunted him to second but Nagai was up to the challenge and both Arai and Kanemoto did nothing. Uezono got his first two outs and then gave up a hit to Kusano. He walked Yamasaki (once again the judgement of strikes and balls would be a farce) but struck out Fernandez on a full count to end the innings. Okada had included Hiyama in the side as DH and this decision was fully justified by the events in the match. He led off the Tigers second with a hit. Toritani walked and Tigers had runners on first and second with no outs. Ford grounded out which moved Hiyama round to third and then Noguchi struck out. Noguchi would show just as good judgement of strikes as Yano had the day before. He was truely awful swinging at anything. Next batter Fujimoto who hit a two base to left. Hiyama was home 1-0 Tigers and a lead they would not surrender. The final batter, Akahoshi struck out to strand Toritani and Fujimoto. Rakuten responded with a Yokogawa left two base hit with one out but Uezono stayed calm and struck out Shiokawa then got Shima to fly out to end the danger.

The third saw Nagai start brightly. He struck out Sekimoto looking (a very dubious call) then got Arai to strike out swinging. So far so good, next batter Kanemoto. He slammed a two base to left centre with the next batter being Hiyama. He hit to right a three base - Kanemoto ambled to the home plate and the score was 2-0 Tigers. Toritani struck out looking to end the innings. Uezono also started brightly in the bottom of the third. The first two batters went down in quick order but then Teppei hit. Next batter, Kusano also hit and Rakuten had runners on first and second. A wild pitch saw them advance to second and third but Fernandez got bundled up with a high pitch and fouled out to end the threat. Tigers fourth was quiet - two strikeouts (another Noguchi mess) and a fly out kept the bases clear. In Rakuten's fourth Shiokawa hit but then a Shima lineout ended the innings.

So to the fifth and Akahoshi walked. He was bunted to second by Sekimoto and then advanced to third on a wild pitch. Arai walked and this brought up Kanemoto. He watched a ball then hammered his second pitch to right for a three run home run 5-0 Tigers. The next two batters got out but Tigers lead was looking good. It would be trimmed in the bottom of the fifth though. Rick led off and hit. Then Teppei swung at his first pitch made a lucky contact and the ball flew to right for a home run 5-2 Tigers. Uezono stayed under control and got the next three outs.

For Tigers sixth Nomura switched to Aoyama. He started by walking Ford but then Noguchi tried to bunt. He made a complete mess of this task and was out with three failed bunts. Fujimoto hit to left and here was unlucky as Teppei was lucky. Fujimoto's hit died and he flew out to Yokogawa. Akahoshi grounded out to end the innings. Okada also changed pitchers at the end of the fifth. Watanabe was summoned and here we saw the difference between the elite relief and Tigers ordinary relief (I do wish Tigers would try and develop their ordinary relief more as some of them have very great potential). Watanabe gave up a hit to Kenshi. Next batter Yokogawa hit to Toritani who tried to turn a double play. Kenshi was out but Yokogawa was safe on first (once again Rakuten's running to first was impressive). Next batter, Shiokawa who hit to Toritani again. This time the double play was successful and the innings was over.

In the Tigers seventh Aoyama got the first two outs and then was switched (he did not look pleased about it) for Arime. Arime gave up a hit to Kanemoto (his third of the night) but then struck out Hiyama to end the innings. Rakuten's seventh was JFK and Tigers fans could relax slightly. This also meant a change of catcher as Yano was brought in to catch for the trio. Kubota picked up three ground outs with ease. Tiger's eighth saw Arime get the first out and then be switched for Matsumoto. He got the final two outs of the innings with Yano striking out to end the innings. Nomura's relief pitching changes were very effective.

Next was Williams who was in a fiery mood. He struck out Kusano in three balls with two fastballs and a slower curve which induced the batter to swing and miss. Next batter Yamasaki who walked and was very relieved to survive the barrage (he looked scared). Fernandez then tried to hit to first and the ball was fielded by Arai who fired it to Fujimoto for the first out. The ball then went back to first where Williams was standing on the sack for the third out - a very neat double play. The Tigers ninth was quiet with another dubious strike out - this time of Fujimoto. Rakuten's ninth was Fujikawa. Kenshi flew out to short and then the next two batters struck out to end the game. Tigers victory.

A competent controlled victory. Tigers were able to establish their dominance and seize the initiative which they never allowed Rakuten to challenge. Uezono turned in another very good performance and this time picked up his first victory. Okada had shown good sense in ensuring that he did not take too many risks. Fujikawa also picked up his 19th save and looked far more assured than his last outing.

Hi there thanks so much for the blog. Im living in Australia so its hard to get news on the Tigers. I log in every day to check the latest! Actually i was in Osaka recently and saw the Tigers v Swallows May 18 at Koshien.
It was my first time to a baseball game. It was the best sporting experience of my life even though the Tigers lost!!!
Anyhow even though i don't know the rules that well and don't know why Fujikawa only pitches late when the tigers are winning, i have become a baseball lover and true Tigers fan..
Thanks once again for your work. I look forward to the rest of the season....... Go tigers 2008

Thanks for your kind comments. Last time I saw Tigers/Swallows, Tigers lost as well.

The role of the closing pitcher is to guarantee the victory especially if scores are close. He will also be used in tie situations but if there is a likelihood of Tigers losing he will not be used. Closing pitchers earn a special recognition known as a 'save' which means that they helped the team win when the margin is three runs or less (which is easily overhauled). Relief pitchers get a recognition known as a 'hold' again with three runs or less margin. Fujikawa currently has 19 saves, the most in Japan. I hope this answers your question.

Cool thanks for clearing that up for me.
Ive got a bucket load full of other questions but perhaps your entries can answer them in time.
By the way why do the Tigers keep playing Ford? He either seems like a complete dunce or maybe his heart isn't into performing for the Tigers.

Ford is played because they paid money for him. However, he is struggling to adapt to the conditions of Japanese baseball. His fielding is fantastic and this helps but he needs to hit more.

Ford is another bust. He seems like a class guy, so I really want to support him, but I'm sick of the Tigers spending all this money on people just because they have big league experience. Better to bring up one of their own young guys. He's making way too much money for a good-fielding platoon player. He was awful again tonight with the bases loaded. At least he drew a walk and got hit by a pitch, but he needs to do more...

Agreed he needs to do more and at the moment looks like he will have a nice year in Japan then be back in the US. It is difficult to select foreign players given the difference in styles of baseball. Ford is just one of many who have difficulties adjusting.

Evaluating non-Japanese talent is always a gamble. That's why I wish they would have made an offer to someone like Alex who has proven himself in Japan. And the Carp are our farm team after all!
It still seems like NPB has an inferiority complex and feels awed by players with MLB experience. Yan, Spencer, and Ford all cost way too much money. Then again, it's nothing compared to what the Yankees wasted on Igawa!