April 20th Shimoyanagi v Saitoh - Kanoh's return

There is a very nice interview with Casey Fossum in today's Daily Yomiuri (28th April). They may be the Giants paper but they're actually doing a good job interviewing Tigers players. On another note Johjima was very annoyed at being pulled from the game against the Dragons and has vowed to play in every innings of the remaining games. Whilst Johjima does have a big ego he was fully justified in this case as there was absolutely no reason to switch him for Yano. Whether he can make his vow come true is another matter but consider this statement a shot across Mayumi's bows. Kanemoto hopes to return to left by the Inter-league but this will depend on how well his arm heals. In the meantime he will continue as a pinch hitter.
April 20th saw some nice work by Johjima as catcher as Shimoyanagi consistently showed a propensity to get runners on base. Kanoh at left field also proved to be a good idea and he contributed significantly to the victory. For the Carp this match was a huge disappointment as they failed to convert any of their opportunities into runs. Scores

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

Starting lineups

Carp
1. Higashide (Second)
2. Soyogi (Short)
3. Hirose (Right)
4. Kurihara (First)
5. Akamatsu (Centre)
6. Kokubo (Third)
7. Suenaga (Left)
8. Ishihara (Catcher)
9. Saitoh (PItcher)

Tigers
1. Murton (Centre)
2. Sekimoto (Second)
3. Toritani (Short)
4. Arai (Third)
5. Johjima (Catcher)
6. Brazell (First)
7. Sakurai (Right)
8. Kanoh (Left)
9. Shimoyanagi (Pitcher)

Shimoyanagi started the Carp first by disposing of Higashide and Soyogi and then gave up consecutive left hits to Hirose and Kurihara. With runners on first and second things looked ominous but Akamatsu flew out to end the innings. Whatever he is, Akamatsu is not a No. 5 batter and putting him in this position was a strange decision. Saitoh walked Sekimoto in Tigers first but Toritani hit into a double play to end the innings. Once again Shimoyanagi gave up consecutive hits, this time to Suenaga and Ishihara but this time with only one out. Carp now had runners on first and third with Saitoh next but he managed to hit into a double play and Tigers escaped without damage. In Tigers second Brazell walked but nothing came of this. So far Tigers had yet to generated a hit whilst Carp had wasted four. This waste continued in Carp's third with Hirose and Kurihara hitting consecutively yet again. Once again they failed to convert as Akamatsu flew out yet again to end the innings. Tigers third saw their first hit from Murton with two out but Sekimoto flew out and the innings was over. So far Carp had had the better of the game.

For a change Shimoyanagi gave up a lead off walk to Kokubo in Carp's fourth. However, Suenaga hit into the double play and the innings went nowhere. Saitoh had done pretty well in keeping the Tigers under control but this was all to change in the Tigers fourth. With one out Arai hit a two base. He made third on Johjima's ground out. Brazell walked and Sakurai drove his first pitch to left for a timely hit 1-0 Tigers, runners on first and second. Next up was Kanoh who blasted his fourth pitch over the centre field wall for a home run 4-0 Tigers. Shimoyanagi grounded out but the Tigers now had a nice lead. Carp tried to respond in their fifth, Higashide driving in a nice three base hit with one out. Soyogi tried to hit the sacrifice fly but only got as far as second and Kurihara flew out to right. Shimoyanagi was certainly living dangerously. Tigers fifth saw Murton lead off with a two base hit. A wild pitch took him to third. Sekimoto grounded out to second and then Toritani fouled one to first, but it was enough for Murton to make home 5-0 Tigers with Toritani on first. The next two batters failed to move him round though. Shimoyanagi returned for Carp's sixth and issued a lead off walk to Kurihara. With one out Kokubo hit to left centre and Carp had runners on second and third. Once again they failed to bring the runners home and the innings was scoreless. Tigers sixth saw Sakurai hit a two base to centre, over the head of Akamatsu but nothing came of this.

Shimoyanagi retired at the end of the sixth. He had been undistinguished but had somehow managed to get out of all the jams he had got himself into. This was no mean achievement and credit should be given to Johjima for steering his pitcher successfully through the shoals. He was replaced by Tsutsui who who got the first two outs but then walked Soyogi. Soyogi stole second and in one of those fielding mess ups so beloved of this year's Tigers the throw and Toritani did not connect and Soyogi was able to continue onto third. However, Hirose hit straight to Toritani for a ground out and an end to the innings. Carp's pitcher for Tigers seventh was Ueno, the ineffective Saitoh having been wisely replaced but rather after the damage was done. He gave up a hit to Toritani with two out but Arai struck out looking to end the innings. Nishimura pitched Carp's eighth and was effective and efficient in retiring the batters. Tigers got Hayashi for their eighth. He gave up a hit to Brazell but this didn't result in anything. For Carp's ninth Mayumi sent Kawasaki to the mound. He struck out his first two batters before getting Aizawa to fly out to end the game. Tigers victory.

This was Tigers first shutout victory and given the way Shimoyanagi allowed hits a bit of a surprising one. Tigers had done well though and picked up a well earned win. One has to question though why the Carp thought that Akamatsu was suitable for No. 5 batter. If this is going to be a continuing situation the Carp are really in trouble.