I do love the goofy way in which the Tigers manage to fail after a fine performance. Still they are still in with a chance at the championship in an incredibly tight top three. The first game saw a rabid Maeda thirsting for revenge after being knocked around by Tigers batters in the previous game. The Tigers batters it has to be said froze like a collective bunch of bunnies in the headlights and managed all of 5 hits. No runs were scored. Fujinami meanwhile wasn't at his best (too much Tigers coaching) and steadily gave up runs which once again Umeno managed to keep down. Final score 6-0 Carp.
The second game was notable for Murton getting himself ejected. Wada's choice of batter for No 5 to replace him was sheer idoicy - Yamato. Nohmi threw eight innings and then in the eighth imploded but he was tiring and was paired with Tsuruoka. Actually the pairing had worked well until then chiefly on novelty value for Nohmi not catching quality. As Nohmi tired, Tsuruoka had no answer and 2 solo home runs in the eighth were the result. Tigers did pull one back in the ninth but final score 2-1 Carp. Tigers were now only 0.5 games ahead of the fish.
However, the Carp ran out of steam and with Umeno back behind the plate were able to exploit some good pitching by Iwasada. Tigers big chance came in the seventh and Wada went for a pinch hitter in place of Umeno. This worked and Tigers took the lead. Carp then collapsed and Tigers ran out 8-2 winners. They preserved a small gap between them and the Carp but also stayed in contention with the Giants as the gap also remained small. All in all it is turning out to be a reasonable shi no rodo. Tigers next play the Giants and then the Swallows.
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The second game was notable for Murton getting himself ejected. Wada's choice of batter for No 5 to replace him was sheer idoicy - Yamato. Nohmi threw eight innings and then in the eighth imploded but he was tiring and was paired with Tsuruoka. Actually the pairing had worked well until then chiefly on novelty value for Nohmi not catching quality. As Nohmi tired, Tsuruoka had no answer and 2 solo home runs in the eighth were the result. Tigers did pull one back in the ninth but final score 2-1 Carp. Tigers were now only 0.5 games ahead of the fish.
However, the Carp ran out of steam and with Umeno back behind the plate were able to exploit some good pitching by Iwasada. Tigers big chance came in the seventh and Wada went for a pinch hitter in place of Umeno. This worked and Tigers took the lead. Carp then collapsed and Tigers ran out 8-2 winners. They preserved a small gap between them and the Carp but also stayed in contention with the Giants as the gap also remained small. All in all it is turning out to be a reasonable shi no rodo. Tigers next play the Giants and then the Swallows.