July 9th Messenger v Yamamoto - If it's Saturday it must be Akita

Yes - Tigers played at another rural stadium, this time in Akita. Mayumi continued with his idea that Murton should be fourth and Arai sixth because of poor performance. What about Kanemoto who hasn't driven in a run since??? Messenger continues to record victories which is very encouraging. He has always had the talent but sometimes lacked the run support and the consistency. It really is nice to see him on a good run. Scores

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

Starting lineups

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

Swallows
1. Aoki (Centre)
2. Tanaka (Second)
3. Whitesell (First)
4. Hatakeyama (Left)
5. Kawabata (Short)
6. Miyamoto (Third)
7. Balentin (Right)
8. Aikawa (Catcher)
9. Yamamoto (Pitcher)

Yamamoto's start was professional and impressive and Tigers first was an innings which didn't wake the scorers up - no one got on base. Messenger's interpretation of how to start was interesting - get Aoki to fly out then walk the next two batters. Still getting Hatakeyama to hit into a double play and end the innings is a nice way to exit the first and this is what Messenger did. Tigers second was quiet - nothing to set pen to paper for. Swallows second and the same - both pitchers were throwing nice stuff and the batters struggling. Tigers third included two strike outs but they don't really count as they were only Fujii (when is he going to move to seventh - he's currently way better than Kanemoto?) and Messenger. Swallows third included the strike out of Yamamoto but the real prize of Aoki who grounded out this time.

Tigers fourth saw things begin to happen. Yamamoto couldn't hold the line and with one out gave up a single to centre to Sekimoto. He was forced out by Toritani who stole second. Murton hit to Yamamoto who only managed to deflect it away from the fielders - runners on first and second. A wild pitch took them to second and third and then Brazell hit to Tanaka who fumbled. He recovered but not in time to record the out and Brazell was safe 1-0 Tigers, runner on first and second. Arai banged a two base to right which brought another run home 2-0 Tigers, runners on first and second. Kanemoto then flew out and the innings was over. Swallows needed to respond so Tanaka led the fourth off with a single to centre. Whitesell hit to left - runners on first and second with no outs. This looked ominous but then Hatakeyama very kindly lined out to Messenger who threw to Sekimoto at second. Sekimoto threw to first to get the second out. Sekimoto and Toritani collided and the runner going for second was safe. So no triple play but a nice double and Kawabata kindly finished the innings off by flying out to left. Tigers fifth was quiet with the batters falling tamely in order. Unfortunately, for the Swallows their fifth was also tamely quiet. Tigers sixth and with Sekimoto out, Toritani hit nicely to left centre for a two base. Murton's ground out took Toritani to third but Brazell walked. This was the end of Yamamoto who perhaps was disintergrating. He was replaced by Matsuoka who persuaded Arai to ground out to second with runners on first and third - end of Tigers sixth. Messenger then pitched a blinder for Swallows sixth. Yuichi (pinch hitter) struck out swinging as did Aoki and then Tanaka hit an easy grounder back to Messenger to end the innings.

Matsui took Tigers seventh and was immediately in trouble. He started by walking Kanemoto, being all over the place. Kanemoto was replaced by Asai who should have started the game anyway. Fujii bunted Asai to second and this brought another pitching change with a pachimon Watanabe taking the mound. He walked Hiyama (pinch hitter) to set up runners on first and second. Hirano flew out but Sekimoto also walked to load the bases. Toritani hit his first pitch to left bringing home a runner 3-0 Tigers, bases loaded. Next was Murton who struck out swinging to end the innings, admittedly on a full count but he merely replicated Arai in this situation. What's the difference? Enokida took over for Swallows seventh. A wise move by Mayumi who didn't try and push Messenger too far. Whitesell struck out but then Hatakeyama hit - a single to right. It was Kawabata's turn to hit to the pitcher who threw to first catching the runner off base for the out and the end of the innings. Watanabe started the Tigers eighth by stupidly dead balling Brazell. Not the best move and Brazell was pinch run for by Uemoto. Uemoto batting five is even more absurd than Shibata and shows that Mayumi has more than a bit of the poltroon in him. Uemoto didn't get the chance to show off his speed as Arai walked to set up runners on first and second with no outs. Asai bunted the runners to second and third which brought a change in pitcher - Oshimoto. Fujii hit to Tanaka who couldn't decide where to throw (too many choices) and so Fujii was safe on first, Arai on third and the runner home 4-0 Tigers. Lin flew out but Arai went for home anyway and the throw was wild so Tigers were 5-0 ahead. Finally, Hirano grounded out to end the innings with Fujii on second. Kobayashi pitched Swallows eighth and immediately gave up a single to right to Miyamoto. Balentin struck out but a wild pitch took Miyamoto to second. Aikawa flew out and then Fujimoto (pinch hitter) walked but the final batter of the innings, Aoki flew out to end the innings. It certainly wasn't his night. Kyuko pitched Tigers ninth and started by walking Sekimoto. Two outs followed before Uemoto hit to set up runners on first and second. One expects more from the No. 5 batter. The change had been pointless - Uemoto's speed hadn't been used and a more powerful batter had been replaced by a weaker one - go figure. Arai hit to third which loaded the bases and then Asai drew a walk - oshidashi 6-0 Tigers bases loaded. Finally, Fujii grounded out to first to end the innings. With a 6-0 lead Tigers weren't going to use Fujikawa and the real Watanabe took the mound. He retired the Swallows batters in order to end the game. Tigers victory.

Messenger picked up his fourth victory in a row and his sixth overall. He really is doing well. Swallows had made plently of mistakes which the Tigers had taken full advantage of. Like a lot of Tigers Swallows games the team that scored first would be the team that won and this time it was the Tigers who scored first.