September 27th Iwata v Masahiro Yamamoto - Tigers turn

Masahiro Yamamoto is fading and so it was very useful that he started this game. After the loss of the night before it was important for the Tigers to bounce back and win this one. They stayed fourth as Swalllows also won and the series against the Swallows is going to be vital in determining the final placings. Carp lost to the Giants and are now 3.5 games behind Tigers - they look like they've shot their bolt and will not be challengers for the Climax Series which is now between Tigers and a revitalized Swallows. Iwata pitched well but then there was a strange decision to use Cheng in relief. Is he a starter or is he a relief pitcher? He gave up two runs but it didn't affect the result as Tigers built up a commanding lead and this time weren't about to let the Dragons get near it. Scores

         1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R  H E
Tigers   0 1 1 0 6 0 0 0 0 8 13 0
Dragons  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2  7 1

Starting lineups

Tigers
1. Hirano (Centre)
2. Sekimoto (Second)
3. Toritani (Short)
4. Kanemoto (Left)
5. Arai (Third)
6. Brazell (First)
7. Sakurai (Right)
8. Kanoh (Catcher)
9. Iwata (Pitcher)

Dragons
1. Araki (Second)
2. Ibata (Short)
3. Morino (Third0
4. Blanco (First)
5. Wada (Left)
6. Inoue (Right)
7. Nomoto (Centre)
8. Oyama (Catcher)
9. Masahiro Yamamoto (Pitcher)

Mayumi rejigged his batting lineup again bringing Sekimoto to second batter and Hirano to first. This allowed him to add power by putting Brazell at sixth though the latter would have a quiet game. Tigers started the first with a one out hit by Sekimoto. Both Toritani and Kanemoto then flew out to centre and so no result came of this. With his previous bad performance still fresh in the memory the question was how would Iwata pitch. He started shakely, giving up a hit to Ibata and then allowing the runner to advance to second when he threw a wild pitch. But he settled down and didn't permit Ibata to get any further. Yamamoto's troubles started in Tigers second. With two out Sakurai hit to centre. This was followed by Kanoh also blasting out one of his favourite centre hits just past the pitcher to set up runners on first and third. Unfortunately, the next batter was Iwata and it didn't look like the rally would get any further but Dragons were in for a surprise as Iwata hit to right. Runner home 1-0 Tigers, runners on first and third. Hirano grounded out to end the innings. Iwata took heart from this piece of luck and pitched a very controlled Dragons second innings retiring the batters in order and striking out two. Yamamoto's troubles continued in the Tigers third. He gave up a lead off hit to Sekimoto who advanced to second on a wild pitch. Toritani grounded out but took the batter to third and this allowed Kanemoto to hit the ball deep to centre for a sacrifice fly 2-0 Tigers. Arai then slammed a two base but Brazell flew out to end the innings. Once again it was up to Iwata to protect the margin and he did so very nicely and for the second innings in a row retired the batters in order. Vitally, the Dragons could get no momentum at all.

Tigers fourth was a struggle for Yamamoto. He gave up a hit to Sakurai and then walked Hirano to set up runners on first and second but Sekimoto didn't convert. Iwata walked Morino in Dragons fourth but then retired the next two batters to end the innings. Things then unravelled drastically in Tigers fifth. Toritani led off with a hit. Kanemoto walked and then Arai hit to centre driving in a run 3-0 Tigers, runners on first and second. Brazell flew out to centre which moved Kanemoto round to third and then Sakurai walked to load the bases. Kanoh was next and slammed his fourth pitch into the left stand for a grand slam - the first of his career 7-0 Tigers. Surprisingly, Ochiai left Yamamoto in and after striking out Iwata he then gave up a hit to Hirano. A throwing error allowed Hirano to reach second and Sekimoto hit to right driving in another run 8-0 Tigers, runner on first. Toritani flew out to end the innings which had put the match almost beyond reach. Tigers just needed to hold their nerve and pitch soundly. The shell shocked Dragons surrendered meekly in their fifth and were out in order. Yamai pitched Tigers sixth and retired the batters in order, getting everyone to ground out to short. Dragons sixth saw the glimmerings of a fightback but this was ruthlessly stamped on by Iwata. With one out Araki had a two base hit. Ibata walked which set up the double play chance which Morino duly exercised hitting to second and ending the innings.

Yamai returned for Tigers seventh and once again retired the batters in order. Iwata pitched the seventh of course but had to fight all the way. Blanco led off the innings with a hit. Wada then hit to left, a two base - runners on second and third with no outs. He then raised his pitching, Inoue struck out. The next batter Hirata (pinch hitter) flew out to right but not far enough for a sacrifice fly and finally Iwata struck out Koike (pinch hitter to end the innings). Great pitching to keep a clean sheet. Masato Kobayashi took over from Yamai for Tigers eighth and gave up a hit to Takahashi (pinch hitter). The next three batters all failed to do anything and Nohara (pinch running for Takahashi - why Mayumi felt it necessary to pinch hit for Hirano with an eight run lead is one of those little mysteries) stayed on first. Here we also had another bizarre decision - putting Cheng into the eighth in relief. He is due to pitch in the series against the Swallows as a starter so resting him for the important game would seem to be logical. There are relief pitchers for this kind of thing. He got two outs but then gave up a hit to Ibata. Morino hit to third and managed to make a two base out of it. Blanco was next and he hit a two base to left driving in both runners 8-2 Tigers, runner on second. This was the Dragons final flourish as Wada flew out to end the innings. Suzuki took Tigers ninth and retired the batters in order. This left the Dragons ninth and it was pitched by Tsutsui who could have profitably pitched the Dragons eighth as well. He had no problems and retired the batters in order to end the game. Tigers victory.

A comprehensive victory by the Tigers which kept their Climax Series hopes alive. They had outplayed the Dragons who do struggle against Iwata anyway. Kanoh and Iwata had been superb and with Kanoh's grand slam the match was as good as over. Better pitching and calling was the key and whilst Tigers had squandered a big lead in the previous game, this time there was no danger of that. This was Inoue's retirement game which unfortunately was spoilt for him by the Tigers win. However, the better side had won and won well.

Sorry if I missed this in a previous post, but did Asai get hurt as well? He was hitting really well, but then noticed he was gone from the line-up.

Yes - he pulled a leg muscle late in the game on the 25th.

Any word on how long he'll be out? It's a shame, as he was finally showing his potential.
Brazelle hasn't done much these days. Think it's lingering effects of the injury or just a slump?

No there is no indication of that yet but the injury is a pulled hamstring. Brazell will start hitting again - he just needs a bit of time.