August 29th Shimoyanagi v Kaneto - Giants rally is too late

This was a very big victory built on adding runs at a steady rate. Kaneto seemed unable to stop the Tigers scoring freely and by the time the Giants rallied the lead was too much. Williams unfortunately was poor. He doesn't seem able to maintain consistency. Luckily Atchison continues to show very good stuff. Okada left Shimoyanagi in too long and he might want to use the relief more rather than try and stretch his starters. The Magic Number switched on again - it is now 25 (CM is 18). Line scores

       1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R  H E
Giants 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 2 5 10 0
Tigers 3 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 X 7  9 0

Starting lineups

1. Akahoshi (Centre)
2. Hirano (Second)
3. Toritani (Short)
4. Kanemoto (Left)
5. Lin (Right)
6. Sekimoto (First)
7. Yano (Catcher)
8. Baldris (Third)
9. Shimoyanagi (Pitcher)

Giants
1. Kamei (Centre)
2. Kimura (Second)
3. Ogasawara (Third)
4. Ramirez (Left)
5. Tani (Right)
6. Lee (First)
7. Abe (Catcher)
8. Sakamoto (Short)
9. Kaneto (Pitcher)

Shimoyanagi started securely - he had no problems with the first three Giants and retired them easily. It was Kaneto's chance to shine next but he got off to a poor start. It's not that he was bad, just that his pitching was not good enough - he started by walking Akahoshi who was bunted to second by Hirano. Toritani grounded out to Kaneto who locked Akahoshi on second before throwing the Tigers short out. He then walked Kanemoto and Tigers had runners on first and second. The next batter was Lin who hit a bloop fly which like Kanemoto's against the Dragons landed between the fielders 1-0 Tigers and runners on first and third. Next was Sekimoto who hit the ball deep just beyond Kamei's glove for a two base hit. Both Kanemoto and Toritani made home 3-0 Tigers and a very good start. Yano tried to continue the rally but flew out. In Giants second Shimoyanagi struck out Ramirez but then Tani hit along the third baseline. Baldris dived but couldn't snag the ball and it deflected off his glove. This was unfortunate but instead of getting up to chase the ball Baldris banged the pitch in annoyance. He needs to focus on the main task not to let annoyance get in the way. Tani made third on Lee's ground out but then Abe grounded out as well - end of innings and no score. In Tigers second Baldris walked but then Shimoyanagi bunted into a double play - he was furious with himself. Akahoshi grounded out and the innings was over.

In Giants third Kamei hit but nothing came of it. In the bottom Kaneto walked Toritani. One out later Lin slammed a three base hit to right centre and Toritani was home 4-0 Tigers, runner on third. Sekimoto though struck out looking to end the innings. Tani walked in Giants fourth with two out and then Lee lined out to Sekimoto. He is proving a very good first base. Baldris hit a two base in Tigers fourth and advanced to third on Shimoyanagi's ground out. This brought up Akahoshi who stroked his first pitch over Kaneto into centre field 5-0 Tigers. Hirano grounded out but the steady flow of runs was putting the game out of the Giants reach. Shimoyanagi retired the Giants in order in their fifth and Hara went with a new pitcher for the sixth. This was Hayashi who proved just as ineffective as Kaneto. Toritani hit and advanced to second on a pass ball. Then Sekimoto hit a two base and Toritani was home 6-0 Tigers. Yano grounded out though and the innings was over.

Giants sixth was also quiet and once again they fell in order. The leadoff for the Tigers sixth was Baldris. He got a nice swing on a Hayashi pitch and planted the ball in the left stand for the second home run of his career 7-0 Tigers. Akahoshi walked but nothing came of this and the innings ended with just one run being scored. Up until now Shimoyanagi had given up only two hits and a walk and no runs. Okada decided to pitch him into the Giants seventh which was maybe a bit hopeful. Still the Giants would need a piece of luck to score. The leadoff was Ramirez who struck out looking to an excellent slider. Tani flew out and it looked like Shimoyanagi would continue his dominance. Lee was next and hit a weak shot in Shimoyanagi's direction. It bounced luckily away from him and Lee was safe. Abe swung and had a lucky hit along the first baseline for a two base - runners on second and third. This brought up Sakamoto who since his grand slam early in the season has been totally ineffective against the Tigers. This time was different and he hit to centre driving in both runners 7-2 Tigers. Nioka (pinch hitter) hit putting runners on first and second. Try as he might Shimoyanagi could not get that final out. Kamei was next and he hit to centre 7-3 Tigers. This was obviously enough, Shimoyanagi was not going to get the final out, he was just too tired. He left the mound to be replaced by Atchison who with five pitches struck out Kimura to end the innings.

Giants changed pitchers for the Tigers seventh, Fujita being chosen. He gave up a hit to Sekimoto but nothing came of this. Atchison pitched the Giants eighth and was in control retiring the batters in order and finishing with an excellent strike out of Tani. Tigers eighth started with a Baldris strike out and then Fujita walked Sakurai (pinch hitter) and Akahoshi, next up Hirano. He hit into a double play and the innings was over. So to the Giants ninth - a four run lead and Jeff Williams at the mound. Williams has struggled to maintain consistency and this would prove to be one of his poor innings. He gave up a leadoff hit to Lee and then struck out Abe. Sakamoto hit - which shouldn't have happened and Giants had runners on first and third. Ohmichi grounded out to Hirano who could only get that out. In the meantime Lee was home 7-4 Tigers - runner on second. Next batter was Takahashi (pinch hitter) who hit to left and Sakamoto was home 7-5 Tigers. Finally Williams got Ogasawara to fly out - Tigers victory.

A comprehensive victory in which Tigers had overwhelmed the Giants. The latter were never going to overhaul a seven run lead but Williams needs to develop more consistency. He doesn't really look comfortable in the closers role and batters are becoming more familiar with him. He didn't need to give up runs like he did and needs to focus more on where he pitches. Shimoyanagi picked up his 11th victory and apart from the final part of the seventh had pitched superbly. The Giants really needed to win this game and even though they are still in with a chance of winning the pennant their chances are beginning to fade.