October 10th Shimoyanagi v Kobayashi - Tigers fail

Tigers needed to win this game to keep their challenge alive but failed miserably. The offense particularly Toritani didn't offer much and really they needed to do more. As a result of their loss Giants took the pennant and a disastrous second half of the season was complete. Once the BayStars took the lead Tigers just gave up and showed no will or fire to compete. A poor end to the championship race and one which raises the serious question of whether Tigers are equipped to handle the post season. Line scores

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

Starting lineups

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

BayStars
1. Ohnishi (Left)
2. Fujita (Second)
3. Uchikawa (First)
4. Murata (Third)
5. Yoshimura (Right)
6. Kinjoh (Centre)
7. Ishikawa (Short)
8. Saitoh (Catcher)
9. Kobayashi (Pitcher)

Kobayashi would be mediocre throughout his pitching session but Tigers offense would fail to take advantage of it. He started by getting Akahoshi to fly out but then Sekimoto hit a two base shot to left. Next was Arai who hit a grounder to Murata who messed it up and Arai was safe on first. What was incomprehensible was that Sekimoto didn't advance to third - the chance was there. Kobayashi then walked Kanemoto and loaded the bases. With one out things looked good. Toritani though was abysmal - his strike out was stupid in the extreme. He swung at a low outside pitch which was nowhere near his bat. This also happened in the game against the Giants and he needs coaching on this aspect of the game. Lin also struck out to end the innings and Kobayashi had escaped. BayStars first was quiet as Shimoyanage retired the batters in order. Tigers second saw the bottom of the order do nothing and Yano, Hirano and Shimoyanagi fell in order. Likewise the BayStars in their second - Shimoyanagi was pitching really well. Tigers third started with an Akahoshi hit. He was bunted to second by Sekimoto and then advanced to third on an Arai flyout. Next was Kanemoto who got hold of a pitch and lifted it into the left stand for a home run 2-0 Tigers. There was a fair element of luck with this hit as it was caught by the wind. Later Yano would hit a far better shot to left but would fly out as the wind didn't catch it. Toritani flew out to end the innings. Shimoyanagi gave up a hit to Saitoh in BayStars third. Kobayashi bunted him to second and then Shimoyanagi unaccountably walked Ohnishi to set up runners on first and second with two outs. Fujita grounded out to Arai and the innings was over.

Lin was the leadoff batter for the Tigers and he swung at his first pitch which just drifted the wrong side of the right foul pole. His next pitch was dispatched to centre for a hit. No one gave him any support and he remained on first as the innings finished. BayStars fell in order with Uchikawa being struck out by a superb pitch from Shimoyanagi. Tigers fifth and with one out Sekimoto came to the mound. He got hold of a slider and hit it nicely to left for a solo home run 3-0 Tigers. If the folly of having him bunt Akahoshi isn't clear that hit should have demonstrated it. The next two batters did nothing and the innings was over. BayStars fifth was quiet with everyone grounding out in order - very good pitching by Shimoyanagi. Up till now he had given up one hit and one walk. Tigers sixth was quiet as the batters fell in order. Shimoyanagi returned for the BayStars sixth and why not - he had pitched well and was well within his capacity. He got Nishi (pinch hitter) to ground out and once again walked Ohnishi - this is totally incomprehensible. Fujita hit his second pitch to centre and BayStars had runners on first and second. Uchikawa was next and he hit his first pitch to centre for a run 3-1 Tigers. For some reason Shimoyanagi had suddenly lost it. He had thrown only 71 pitches but suddenly looked like he would not be able to get another out. Atchison replaced him and faced Murata. Here Atchison was poor - he threw only straightballs at Murata. No variation, just straghtballs. You wonder what he and Yano were thinking. Murata rapidly adjusted and crushed his fourth pitch into the left stand for a home run 4-3 BayStars and Atchison had blown the lead. Atchison then suddenly started to vary his pitches. Both Yoshimura and Kinjoh struck out flummoxed by the variation. But it was too late and makes the the stupidity of the pitching to Murata even more unfathomable.

Tigers still had a chance as there were three innings to go and the BayStars (the worst side in Japan) had only a one run lead but somehow you sensed that they wouldn't do it. Sanada pitched the Tigers seventh and was shaky. With one out Katsuragi (replacement right) hit. Akahoshi walked and a Sekimoto ground out moved the runners to second and third. Next batter was Arai but he hasn't been driving runs in at all (just one since his return from injury) and this at bat was no exception. He weakly grounded out to Sanada and the innings was over. Atchison returned for the BayStars seventh and gave up a hit to Suzuki but nothing came of this. Yamaguchi pitched the Tigers eighth and walked Hiyama (pinch hitter) but nothing came of this either. Okada went to Fujikawa for BayStars ninth. He started with a two base hit to Fujita of all people. Uchikawa bunted him to third but Murata and Yoshimura couldn't beat the Tigers closer and the innings ended without score. For Tigers ninth Terahara took the mound. The days when the Tigers could count on overwhelming him have vanished. Katsuragi hit again and was pinch run for by Fujimoto. He advanced to second on a Akahoshi ground out and then Sekimoto walked. A wild pitch set up runners on first and third but then Arai fluffed it again. He flew out to right and the game was over. BayStars victory.

Giants won at Yakult and so claimed the pennant. Tigers had blown their lead and to be honest had been pretty abysmal. Stupid pitching to Murata and then a lack of will to try and get back had ensured a BayStars victory. Credit to BayStars they had played well and had taken their chances and held onto the victory. Tigers had not played well and this performance in another crucial game has one worried. The games of the Climax series are all crucial games - how are the Tigers going to cope?