September 13th Standridge v Yagi - Unlucky for Balentien

Did Tigers avoid pitching to Balentien? The answer is a positive no - he just didn't manage to put the ball over the fence but Tigers pitchers took him on and this game beat him soundly. The game which had been a quick game slowed down incredibly in the ninth but ended up with a narrow Tigers victory. Swallows fans will have you believe that they had a chance of victory but really they spent their time trying to avoid a bigger margin. There were some challenges but they were dealt with efficiently and effectively by a very impressive Tigers defence. Scores

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

Starting Lineups

Tigers
1. Nishioka (Second)
2. Shunsuke (Centre)
3. Takahiro Arai (First)
4. Toritani (Short)
5. Murton (Left)
6. Fukudome (Right)
7. Ryota Arai (Third)
8. Shimizu (Catcher)
9. Standridge (Pitcher)

Swallows
1. Yamada (Second)
2. Ueda (Centre)
3. Kawabata (Third)
4. Balentien (Left)
5. Yuichi (First)
6. Takeuchi (Right)
7. Aikawa (Catcher)
8. Morioka (Short)
9. Yagi (Pitcher)

The ground was packed with both Tigers and Swallows fans with the latter hoping to see Balentien take the single season home record. The game started with Nishioka singling left. Encouragingly, Shunsuke did not bunt - well done Wada but hit to centre and flew out. Nishioka stole second but then tried to steal third and was out. Arai though worked a walk but Toritani grounded out to short to end the innings. With one out in Swallows first Ueda worked a full count walk. This meant that Balentien would bat in the first innings. Kawabata's ground out force out Ueda but put the former on first and then it was Balentien's turn. He hit his fourth pitch hard and a huge roar went up with Balentien raising his hands but the ball died and landed in Shunsuke's glove to end the innings - a centre fly. Balentien was fated this game (as per his last game) to watch others get home runs. Murton led off Tigers second and swung left connecting well and propelling the ball into the left stand for a solo home run 1-0 Tigers. Fukudome struck out but Ryota walked. Shimizu singled right putting runners on first and third with one out. Here we saw Standridge attempt to bunt - I would have preferred to see him attempt to hit. He was out with three failures and then Nishioka struck out swinging. Swallows had escaped the innings surprisingly lightly given the circumstances. Standridge managed to dead ball Yuichi who was leading off Swallows second. However, Yuichi stayed on first as the next three batters failed to do anything to move him round. With one out in Tigers third Arai singled but also stayed on first as the batters did nothing. Yagi was proving very resistant and wasn't there to hit. Murton did hit left but fell to an excellent sliding take by Balentien at left. With one out in Swallows third Yamada singled and then was able to steal second - the only success in this department for the home team this game. Ueda struck out but then Kawabata walked - runners on first and second with two outs. Balentien next but Standridge struck him out swinging with a nice fast high straight.

Tigers fourth was quiet with no one getting on base. Yuichi led off Swallows fourth and stroked (and here the term is entirely appropriate) the ball into the left stand for a solo home run. It just made it but the swing and timing deserved nothing else 1-1 scores tied. The next three batters though were unable to get on base or do anything. Tigers response was immediate and appropriate. Standridge struck out but then Nishioka tripled; hitting over right - runner on third. Shunsuke was totally useless and grounded out to third in such a way that Nishioka couldn't make home. Arai was walked in four - he as would prove later in the game was dangerous even when getting out - runners on first and third. Next was Toritani who singled right to bring home Nishioka 2-1 Tigers, runners on first and second. Murton grounded out to short ending the innings. Standridge protected the lead well and Swallows fifth saw the batters fall in order. Tigers sixth was similar with the batters going down 1-2-3 and Fukudome and Ryota striking out swinging. With one out in Swallows sixth Balentien came up again and this time hit deep to right where Fukudome took the catch. Yuichi singled to centre then on the fumble by Shunsuke was able to take second. Standridge stumbled and Takeuchi was able to single and bring home the runner 2-2 scores tied, runner on first. Aikawa was next and he grounded out to end the innings.

Standridge led off Tigers seventh and singled - somehow threading the ball past pitcher and second into centre for a hit. Nishioka doubled left - runners on first and second with no outs. This brought a quick switch of pitchers and Yamamoto took over. Sekimoto (pinch hitter) swung and popped up to second for the first out. Arai though was different and hit deep to centre. Uemoto (pinch runner) tagged up and raced home 3-2 Tigers, runner on third with Sekimoto tagging up and taking third nicely. Things were nicely poised but Toritani failed to take advantage and struck out swinging. Still Tigers were back in the lead. Kubo took over for Swallows seventh and after his performance in the game against the Dragons seventh he is not the pitcher I would have chosen for this situation. However, Matsuda has been sent to ni-gun in a fit of pique by Wada as punishment for Fujii failing and so there aren't that many options available. It started extremely badly - the until then anonymous Morioka singled left tolead off the innings. Then Miwa (pinch hitter) singled left as well - runners on first and second with no outs. Yamada went to bunt but hit nicely towards third. Kubo fielded and fired the ball to Ryota for the force out. The throw wasn't the best but Ryota held it nicely for a clear out - the first out. To celebrate Kubo immediately gave up a hit to Ueda which loaded the bases. This was difficult but Kawabata hit into 4-6-3 double play to end the innings and Kubo could enjoy the congratulations and backslap of his catcher - blushes had been spared. Barnette pitched Tigers eighth and was very quick and efficient defying his abysmal ERA not allowing a runner on base. Kubota took over for Swallows eighth and faced Balentien as lead off. Here we saw intelligent calling and pitching. Shimizu used the outside edge of the zone. Kubota's placement was perfect and he announced his intention with his first pitch - a straight which just shaved the edge but had Balentien befuddled. The next pitch was a low slider which Balentien left and then Kubota went a bit higher with a fork. Balentien checked but was committed and the ball hit the bat and rolled back to Kubota who threw to first for the out. It had been a brilliant display by Tigers. Yuichi and Takeuchi were easy meat after that and the innings was scoreless. Here the game slowed down enormously. Ishiyama was the pitcher and he struck out Shimizu to lead off the Tigers ninth. Asai hit a double along the left baseline but Nishioka struck out looking to a pitch which curved back into him unexpectedly. Shibata walked and then a wild pitch which Aikawa really should have taken took the runners to second and third. Things looked dangerous. Ishiyama rather nervously walked Arai to load the bases. Here was a chance for Toritani but he struck out looking to end the innings. Fukuhara pitched Swallows ninth. Amazingly, Aikawa led the innings off with a single to right which went through Nishioka - possibly the only poor fielding by the Tigers that night. Kawabata went to bunt and Fukuhara fielded and threw to second for the out - runner on first. Then Kawashima (pinch runner) tried to steal second. This had been expected by Shimizu who put in a superb throw which allowed Toritani all the time he needed to make the tag. Next was Miyamoto (pinch hitter) who took a intermnable amount of time to walk. Really to spend so much time dealing with a retiring has been does not reflect well on Fukuhara. Finally Yamada hit to third and Ryota's bounce throw was well fielded by his brother for the out and the end of the game. Tigers victory.

The losing streak had been broken and Standridge had picked up his first win since August 15th. Great defence by Tigers and the ability to add that extra run had worn the Swallows out. Fukuhara now has 12 saves but it was Kubota who had looked impressive that night. Some surprisingly nice decision making by Wada as well in not over pitching Standridge.