July 17th Enokida v Miyaguni - The runs keep coming

A more focused batting performance by the Tigers demonstrating considerably more commitment and work produced this victory. Once again Fujii was crap in the seventh but even though Wada got it right in replacing his starter in time his choice of relief was strange to say the least. I suppose he thought what could go wrong with a six run lead forgetting what happened the game before. It very nearly happened again in this game as well and Tigers management compounded it by keeping Messenger in too long. Wada's policy of punishing the relief by pitching Messenger almost backfired very badly. Scores

        1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R  H E
Giants  0 0 0 0 0 1 5 0 0 6 12 1
Tigers  1 3 1 0 1 1 1 1 X 9 16 0

Starting Lineups

Giants
1. Nakai (First)
2. Terauchi (Second)
3. Sakamoto (Short)
4. Abe (Catcher)
5. Murata (Third)
6. Chono (Right)
7. Tani (Left)
8. Matsumoto (Cantre)
9. Miyaguni (Pitcher)

Tigers
1. Nishioka (Second)
2. Shunsuke (Centre)
3. Toritani (Short)
4. Murton (Left)
5. Takahiro Arai (First)
6. Imanari (Right)
7. Saka (Third)
8. Fujii (Catcher)
9. Enokida (Pitcher)

Yamato was held out of the side to allow his finger to rest longer as the All Star break was coming up. There was no point in risking further damage and so Shunsuke got the start despite his undistinguished fielding of the night before. Giants start to this game was quiet. They didn't get anyone on base in the first and Enokda started very well. Miyaguni was not on form and after getting Nishioka to fly out he gave up consecutive singles to Shunsuke and Toritani - runners on first and second. Murton flew out; no joy there. Arai was next and he is hot at the moment. A drive into the centre added another RBI to his collection 1-0 Tigers, runners on first and second. Imanari grounded out to end the innings but Tigers had showed much more enterprise. Giants found it difficult to get going even in the second and made a nervous Enokida work for his outs. Two of these went down and then Chono singled to centre. Tani was next and all he could do was ground out to Enokida to end the innings. Tigers second saw some good stuff and a little bad stuff. Saka walked to lead the innings off in four pitches. Then Fujii singled right to set up runners on first and third. Here we saw the bad stuff - Wada had Enokida bunt. It took Fujii to second - big deal but didn't score Saka. It was the most pointless waste of an out that one could imagine. Nishioka struck out swinging and it looked like the Giants would get out of the innings without damage. However, Shunsuke also exhibited the determination that Tigers batters would show throughout the game. He hit the ball past Miyaguni into centre and Saka was home 2-0 Tigers, runners on first and third. The ball hadn't gone far but Fujii had been able to take third. Toritani was next and he singled left where Tani fielded. Fujii was home 3-0 Tigers and Shunsuke went for third. As he did Tani threw to base trying for the out. His throw was terrible and missed by a mile. Shunsuke picked himself up and scooted home 4-0 Tigers, runner on second with Toritani also taking advantage of the Giants error. Murton managed to ground out to Miyaguni and end the innings. Tigers were building a commanding lead. With one out in Giants third Miyaguni singled left which surprised everyone but Giants weren't able to take advantage of this and Nakai and Terauchi were both soon out to end the innings. As he settled, Enokida was becoming more economical. Arai led off Tigers third singling to centre again past the dive of Terauchi. Then he took second on a pass ball which escaped Abe. Giants were having a torrid time of it. Imanari hit to second grounding out but taking Arai to third. The sacrifice fly was on and Saka hit straight and deep into centre. Arai tagged up and was home 5-0 Tigers. Finally Fujii struck out swinging which was also a surprise.

Giants as they do began to wind up the pressure in heir fourth. Two outs didn't signal anything but then Murata's double to left did. But here Giants got it wrong again. Chono hit to centre - not a deep ground drive but usable nonetheless. Murata had already rounded third and was halfway down the base path when the throw came in and it was a poor one pulling Fujii well to the right of home. Instead Giants third base coach with his back to the action held Murata up on third. A wasted opportunity but very useful for Tigers. Still Giants had runners on first and third. Next Chono stole second - the ball was fielded by Fujii who threw to second. It was a dismal throw losing power and being fielded by Nishioka in front of second base. Tani walked to load the bases and Hara sent Yano (pinch hitter) in next. He didn't do the job but grounded out to second to end the innings. Giants had wasted their chance. With Miyaguni being pinch hit for Giants new pitcher was Tahara. He started well and Tigers fourth was their only quiet innings. No one reached base. Giants fifth was also a quiet innings. Enokida kept the runners off base and Tigers could be said to be cruising with a comfortable margin. The peace induced by Tahara lasted only for the Tigers fourth. Toritani led off the Tigers fifth with a single to short beating the throw from Sakamoto. Murton struck out swinging but Arai hit nicely to right putting runners on the corners. Imanari belted his second pitch deep to left and Toritani tagged up and took home 6-0 Tigers, runner on first. Tahara walked Saka and then Fujii bringing up Enokida. Wada could have sent in a pinch hitter but with a six run margin it wasn't really necessary. Enokida struck out swinging. However, like the fourth Enokida was suddenly under a great deal of pressure in Giants sixth. He started by walking Sakamoto. Abe popped up to short; Nishioka had plenty of time to position himself under the ball as it came down. Then Murata also walked - runners on first and second. Chono struck out swinging and Takahashi (pinch hitter and replacement left) singled right to bring in Sakamoto 6-1 Tigers, runners on first and second. Yano was next and Enokida was having to work really hard but Yano wasn't the hero of the hour for the Giants this time. He struck out looking and ended the innings. Aoki took over the pitching duties for the Giants. Tigers sixth saw Nishioka lead off with a hit. Then Wada had Shunsuke bunt him to second. Is this for real? A batter who is hitting well and has already driven in runs is asked to bunt with a five run lead. It is clear that there is nothing in Wada's mind apart from knee jerk reactions. The bunt took Nishioka to second but Toritani flew out to centre marking another failure. Murton was next and hit right bringing in Nishioka 7-1 Tigers, runner on first. Arai hit hard to left but Sakamoto took a nice line catch at short to dismiss him and end the innings.

Wada had clearly learned something (or rather Nakahishi had) from the previous game's debacle as Enokida wasn't asked to pitch the seventh. Instead Messenger took the mound. The rationale behind this is totally obscure but perhaps it was to punish the relief for their failure the night before. But the cause of the failure Fujii was left in place and rapidly screwed the situation up. Kamei (replacement right) struck out swinging but then Nakai singled left. Bowker (pinch hitter and replacement first) followed and swung at his first pitch. His bat shattered but the ball looped up and over landing in the no mans land between Nishioka and Shunsuke; neither of them was able to reach it. Runners on first and second with one out. Sakamoto swung at his first itch and landed the ball just inside the right baseline for a timely double 6-2 Tigers, runners on second and third. Abe singled right and brought in another run 7-3 Tigers, runners on first and third. This was a good time to pull Messenger and go for the relief. He hadn't pitched with any energy and Fujii and been terrible behind the plate. A genuine relief pitcher would have been a good idea. Instead Messenger was left in. He did strike out Murata for the second out but then sent a lazy curve to Chono in the middle of the zone for his first pitch. Chono blasted this into the stands with a straight home run 7-6 Tigers. Finally the Tigers management woke up to the fact that they had created a disaster with their ill-considered experiment. Katoh replaced Messenger on the mound and rapidly disposed of Takahashi striking him out with aggression and pace. He should have pitched the entire seventh but at least the Tigers still held the lead. To their credit Tigers batting didn't give up. Kasahara pitched their seventh and saw Asai (replacement right) lead off with a single to centre. This time Wada had Saka bunt the runner to second. Fujii singled to second and managed to beat the throw to first - runners on first and third. Morita (pinch hitter) struck out swinging. What could Nishioka do? He walked to load the bases which brought up Shunsuke. At least Wada couldn't ask him to bunt - instead Shunsuke threaded the ball through the field for a timely single to centre 8-6 Tigers, bases loaded. Toritani struck out looking to end the innings but Tigers had the margin back again. Andoh pitched Giants eighth and with one out walked Kamei. Nakai popped up to first but then Bowker hit left - runners on first and second. Bowker seems to be gradually easing himself back into the swing of things which is worrying as he was a highly effective batter before his injury. Sakamoto went for a big hit but fell well short and was caught out by Shunsuke to end the innings. Giants were practically beaten. Mathieson pitched Tigers eighth and with two out faced Asai. Asai hit left putting the ball over the fence for a solo home run 9-6 Tigers. Saka singled to centre but Fujii grounded out to third. Giants ninth was pitched by Fukuhara who seems to be doing quite well as stand in closer even though he doesn't seem to like Fujii at all. He struck out Abe but then Murata singled left. Chono was lured into hitting weakly back to Fukuhara who turned and threw to second for the double play to end the game. Tigers victory.

The win went to Enokida but really had been due to the batting performance. Apart from the fourth Tigers batters had taken runs from every innings. A steady drip drip which the Giants had no answer to. Despite this though structural weaknesses in the Tigers were very visible. Management was poor and at times stupid and irrational. The sad thing is, is that Sakai-owner (also an idiot) has stated that Wada should be back next year. Wait til the end of the season you semi-senile old fool! Fujii once again failed in so many ways as a catcher - another poor seventh in particular stood out. What are Tigers going to do in the playoffs or the Japan series with a catcher who fluffs crunch situations against strong sides? The use of the pitching was also questionable with Messenger being totally unsuitable for the role he was thrust into. Tigers management seem to have no clue about what their pitchers can do and how to use them. The fact that the pitching is very good seems to be a product of earlier managements not this one and they are using a lot of stopgaps in the relief. Tigers are second in the Central League, 2.5 games behind the Giants but at the moment one can't see them taking the pennant. A second place finish is possible though one hopes that the addition of Fukudome proves a catalyst for more. They need to perform well in August particularly during shi no rodo which was a disaster under Wada last year. There is still a lot of work to do after the All Star break.