August 30th Kanemura v Greisinger - Greisinger does it again

The Giants victory was due to one man - their pitcher Greisinger. He kept the Tigers under control with an excellent display of pitching. Giants themselves could not, with a few exceptions convert hits into runs. Kanemura was surprisingly effective but took the loss. The 'villan of the piece' (literary hyperbole here) was Egusa who had a rare off day. The Magic number remains at 25 (CM is 18). It is now a victory Magic Number and to have any chance of winning the Giants need to win all their upcoming games (incidently they have a CM now - its 25) or for Tigers to implode magnificently. Line scores

       1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R  H E
Giants 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 3 11 1
Tigers 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 2  6 0

Starting lineups

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

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

Kamei led off for the Giants with a hit. He was bunted to second by Furuki and then Kanemura walked Ogasawara. Ramirez grounded out moving Kamei round to third and then Lee hit 1-0 Giants. This was Kanemura's only run and he struck Tani out to end the innings. Akahoshi also started with a hit. He was bunted to second by Hirano and then advanced to third on a Toritani ground out. Kanemoto though didn't convert - flying out to left and then innings went scoreless. In Giants second Greisinger hit with two out but Kamei couldn't repeat his performance of the previous innings and struck out. Tigers second was quiet, Greisinger retiring the side in order. Giants third was more problematic for Kanemura. Ogasawara hit and with two out advanced to second on a Lee walk. Then Tani hit to left and Ogasawara tried for home. The throw from Kanemoto was good and he was tagged out at the plate - great work. But the thing was Ogasawara was prepared to try and Tigers should take something from this example. Sure you will fail sometimes but more often than not you will succeed. Nothing ventured nothing gained. Tigers third was quiet - everyone flying out to centre!

In Giants fourth Abe hit and was bunted to second by Greisinger but nothing came of this either. Tigers fourth was quiet again - Greisinger once again in control. Kanemura had by now settled down and retired the batters in order in the fifth. Greisinger though suddenly got a bit shaky. He walked Lin and then gave up a two out hit to Yano. Runners on first and second and a genuine threat. Okada turned to Hiyama (pinch hitter) to try and produce a score but he flew out in foul ground and the innings was over. Egusa was summoned to the mound. He has been pitching well this season but this innings was not one of them. Lee hit and was bunted to second by Tani. Then Abe had a two base hit 2-0 Giants. Next batter Sakamoto who previously had struggled against Tigers but this series seems to have gotten over it. Another two base followed 3-0 Giants. Sakamoto then tried to steal third but was thrown out. Finally Greisinger grounded out - this would prove a significant innings. Greisinger was shaky again in Tigers sixth. He gave up a hit to Hirano and this was followed by a Toritani three base hit 3-1 Giants - one out runner on third. A sacrifice fly would tie the score. Sadly it was not to be - Kanemoto grounded out to second and then Lin struck out. One has to admit, nice pitching by Greisinger.

Nohmi has now returned to the Tigers top team and he pitched the Giants seventh. They all fell in order. Greisinger had by now gotten over his shaky period and also retired the batters in order in the Tigers seventh. Giants eighth was pitched by Kubota who is still shaky. He started with a two base hit to Ramirez. A Lee hit put runners on first and third with no outs but this only motivated Kubota. Tani struck out. Abe flew out in foul ground to a nasty pitch. Finally, Sakamoto also flew out and Kubota exited the innings without damage. Tigers eighth was quiet as Greisinger was in control. He retired at the end of the eighth having thrown 108 pitches and only given up one run on four hits and a walk. Watanabe took Giants ninth and walked Kimura (pinch hitter). He was bunted to second by Kamei but Takahashi (pinch hitter) flew out. Ogasawara was deliberately walked Suzuki (who had entered as a pinch runner for Ramirez and then taken the Centre Field position grounded out). Kroon of course was the pitcher for the Tigers ninth. He was shaky, giving up a one out hit to Kanemoto. This was followed by a Lin hit and a Sekimoto walk to load the bases. Katsuragi grounded out allowing Fujimoto (pinch runner for Lin) to make home 3-2 Giants. Finally Yano struck out giving the Giants a narrow victory.

The Giants had just managed to sneak the victory. Kanemura took the loss but to be honest hadn't done so badly and didn't deserve the loss. Giants had just managed to take advantage of some of their chances and Greisinger's pitching had kept them in the lead. The games between are now seven but to have any realistic chance of the pennant the Giants did need to sweep this series.