Tigers Tour Recap: April 10 - 22, 2007

In previous years, when I have visited Japan to see the Tigers, I have posted recaps of each game as they happened. These have had mixed results, with some people being annoyed with the huge amount of Tigers threads. So, I decided this time to wait until all the games were completed and post one big message.

I was here this time as a member of the Tigers Oendan in the First Base Alps at Koshien. Unfortunately, this means that I was unable to actually see every play unfold. (In fact, I saw very few of them.) But, I can accurately convey the atmosphere at Koshien. I saw a couple of unbelievable games, and great performances from a couple players. In total, I watched the Tigers win 5, lose 6, and tie 1.

April 10 - Tigers 5, Dragons 2
Opening day at Koshien! How exciting. Esteban Yan (Estie, as the crowd cheers) got the win on opening day. The 5th inning saw seven consecutive batters reach base, scoring 4 runs in that inning. Esteban Yan got the win after six innings, and the familiar Kubota, Williams, Fujikawa threw the last three innings. What a great way to start a trip.

April 11 - Tigers 6, Dragons 6 (12 innings)
My first NPB tie! I have to say, I'm not a fan. I really wanted them to keep playing. But, it was better than a loss. The Tigers were playing catchup the whole game, both teams coming right out of the gate with a 3-run first. That always makes for an awesome game. Fukuhara got the surprise start. Just the day before I had read an article that it was going to be another week before he was healthy again. He gave up all six runs. The Tigers finally tied it up in the 8th off a 2-run double by Lin Wei-tsu. He's become quite popular in Koshien these days, especially with a slumping Hamanaka. This was the first game I went to that lasted past 10 PM, and come to find out that trumpets and drums are not allowed in Koshien after 10 PM due to a neighborhood noise ordinance. I found it hard to keep from laughing hearing everyone saying "bam-bam-bam-baba-bababa!" in lieu of the trumpets when the fanfare cheers happened.

April 12 - Tigers 3, Dragons 1
Can you say "Ryan Vogelsong"? I am now a huge fan. In his Koshien debut, he goes six innings, gives up only one run, and hits a two-run dinger in the second. Sure, it barely went over the left field wall way in the corner right next to the foul pole, but it counts just as much as one that hits the back screen. He's the hero of the game and declares in the post-game interview that he loves the Tigers fans. (Shocking to the Japanese, who don't use the word "love" quite so freely as Americans - I love pizza!) He also says that he can't wait to pitch again in Koshien, and that the Tigers will win the series. Good for you, Bogie! (Gotta love the cheering name pronunciations.) Kubota, Williams, and Kyuji fill out the last three innings, as is expected.

April 13 - BayStars 6, Tigers 4 (8-2/3 innings)
This game represents the single biggest debacle I've every seen in sports. I've never seen its equal in my life. The game was threatening rain the whole night, and the drizzle started in the bottom of the 6th. It wasn't bad. The forecast called for only 1/4" of rain, so I figured we'd be fine. In the bottom of the 6th, the Tigers were up 1-0, so I figured even if it did start raining and they called it, at least we'd get the win. Then, in the top of the 7th, rather than flip to Kubota, they left in Sugiyama, and he gave up 3. Hashimoto gave up 3 more in the 8th. The Tigers were fighting, though. With one run in the 7th and 2 in the 8th, it was 6-4. Egusa pitched a scoreless 9th, and the rain was picking up. Move to the bottom of the 9th. There's two outs, and Toritani is on base with Kanemoto at the plate. He's got two strikes on him, and the rain starts wailing on us. I mean - wailing. This is probably the heaviest rain I've ever seen. Big, huge drops of water coming down in sheets. (No, not Andy.) It was coming down in sheets, but on Kanemoto. We were cheering as hard as we could for Kanemoto to tie it up with one swing, but before he could, they suspended the game, and then called it, I assume because the field condition was so bad. The rain came down so fast, it ruined the field completely. I was pretty upset about this one. What a way to lose the game!

April 14 - BayStars 6, Tigers 0
In a game loaded with chances and disappointments, the Tigers couldn't get anything going as Nohmi pitched seven awesome innings and then got tagged for two in the ninth. It didn't matter that Sajikihara got nailed for four more, because the Tigers were caught with their tails between their legs.

April 15 - Tigers 10, Bay Stars 1
But revenge is sweet, and there's nothing better than a 7-run 1st inning. I mean, from there on, you're pretty much set, right? Well, I guess we'll see about that, but this time, the Tigers were set. The rookie Kojima gave up only 1 run in seven innings for an awesome Koshien debut. Toritani led off the game with an awesome home run to left center, and the BayStars' starter was removed in the 1st inning. The Tigers batted around and scored 7, and Kanemoto led off the 2nd with another home run, and he also hit another in the 8th.

April 17 - Dragons 5, Tigers 0 (Nagoya Dome)
After a day off, I traveled to the Nagoya Dome with a friend to catch the away series. I'm restricted to cheering only in Koshien, so I actually got to watch these games. Unfortunately, the Tigers got 3-hit by the Dragons' pitcher Yamamoto who went the distance. Esteban Yan suffered the loss, which was deserved at least since he gave up 5 runs.

April 18 - Tigers 9, Dragons 1 (Nagoya Dome)
The Tigers matched their win total from last year at the Nagoya Dome with their first win, which was a total blowout. Again, the Tigers had an awesome first inning of 6 runs and Kanemoto added three more with one swing of the bat in the 4th. Shimoyanagi gets the deserved win giving up only one run, although he was constantly in jams the whole time.

April 19 - Dragons 9, Tigers 7 (Nagoya Dome)
Lin Wei-tsu gets the start in right for Hamanaka in the second Vogelsong start of the trip. Vogelsong does really well (and has a 7-1 lead) until the 5th when he falls apart. He gets pulled with 2 outs in the 5th in favor of Egusa, a shame to miss a win that way. The Tigers pull out of the 5th with a 1-run lead, but Kubota comes in the 7th and blows it. This is the biggest win-turned-loss that I think I've ever witnessed in person, and it's heartbreaking.

April 20 - Tigers 5, Giants 4 (12 innings)
A total pitching duel. Sugiyama goes 7 innings giving up only one run, and the game is tied 1-1. Williams and Kyuji each take an inning, and Kubota takes the 10th and 11th. Going into the 12th inning, it looks like I'm going to catch my second baseball tie ever, when the ball is handed to Egusa. With runners on first and second and nobody out, the ball is hit back to Egusa, and he decides to make the play at third base, but throws it in the dirt and Imaoka can't scoop it out. Three runs score before the inning is out, and the mood at Koshien is rotten. Fans start filing out, heading into the bottom of the 12th. Fujimoto (pinch hitting) and Lin Wei-tsu both single, Toritani knocks them both in with a double, and Akahoshi knocks in Toritani to tie the game. After Kanemoto singles and Imaoka is intentionally walked to bring up the pitcher's spot with two outs, Kanoh (backup catcher) comes in for his NPB debut. He was drafted the same year as Akahoshi, but this is his first time up from the farm. He grabs a hold of it and sends it to the outfield grass, bringing in Akahoshi from 3rd, and all those crazy people who left early missed the end of an awesome game. Kanoh and Akahoshi were the heroes together. Welcome to the bigs, Kanoh!

April 21 - Giants 5, Tigers 2
The Tigers just couldn't take the lead, and just plain got beat. Nohmi gave up three runs in six innings, not too bad, but the Tigers' offense was just nowhere to be found - well, except in Kanoh. Kanoh got the start in place of Yano, and he went 3 for 4 with a solo shot in the 4th and a run in the 6th. Unfortunately, no amount of clapping could bring the Tigers back from this deficit, and it was a disappointing game.

April 22 - Giants 10, Tigers 3
In the final game of my trip, the Tigers were routed by the Giants. They gave up a "cycle" of sorts, 1 run in the 3rd, 2 in the 2nd, 3 in the 8th, and 4 in the 5th. Kojima started the game, and had nothing. Of course, neither did Fukuhara who came in for the 4th. Kanoh came in towards the end of the game and went 1 for 2, including a 2-run blast in the 9th, so he is officially the talk of the stadium.

Well, I hope you've enjoyed the recaps. I wrote these all just now from memory, so I hope I didn't mess anything up too bad. I thoroughly enjoyed my trip. I met quite a few Americans in the stands this trip, and I hope that the number of American fans continue to grow. I think it's exciting to see foreigners discovering this new brand of baseball.

I hope to return later this year for more games, and will be sure to send along some recaps if I do. We'll see how it goes though, as I have no solid plans just yet.