No, No. I Insist - May 17, 2013

If you've been in Japan very long, you've experienced the traditional, "No, no. I insist. Please, take this." I've been told that this tradition was borne from the lack of goods (like food) during and immediately after The War. Neighbors were looking out for each other when they had, making it easier to receive when they were in need.

Nippon Ham came down to Yokohama riding a 9-game losing streak. The BayStars had lost only 4 in a row after finally working their way up to .500. Both teams did their best insisting that the other have a desperately needed victory. Leading 3-2, Nippon Ham allowed 3 runs while committing 5 errors in an attempt to give the game to their hosts. But, "no, no," said the BayStars. "You're much more in need."

To that end, with a 5-3 lead going into the 8th inning, Jorge Sosa gave up a leadoff home run to Fighting slugger Sho Nakata. That was Nakata's second home run, 4th hit, and 4th RBI of the game. Sosa managed to get out of the inning after a 2-out walk.

Then there was our "closer," Shun Yamaguchi. A leadoff double to right by substitute shortstop Takahiro Imanami was followed by an RBI single to left by Dai-kang Yoh. A sacrifice, wild pitch, and strikeout later put Yoh at third base with two down and Nakata coming to the plate. We'd seen enough of him and he was walked intentionally. Yamaguchi did manage to strike out Atsunori Inaba (struggling, hitting on .111 so far this season), but threw a wild pitch allowing the go ahead run to score 3 pitches earlier.

On a brighter note, Alex Ramirez did single to right with two down in the bottom of the 9th, followed by a single by Tatsuhiko Kinjoh. But nothing came of the mini-rally.

Considering that the BayStars have 8 wins to 12 losses at home, you can see that they're very hospitable hosts. "Please, take this win. We insist."