July 25th Andoh v Kawakami - Sekimoto's first Grand Slam

A good victory to win based on some fine pitching by Andoh and good hitting by Sekimoto. The Tigers Third/Second is a firm favourite with the fans who admire his bustling style and defensive strengths. The Dragons pitcher Kawakami was maybe not at his best and wasn't helped by some poor fielding particularly in the first. Tigers magic is now 44 (CM is 41). Line scores

        1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R  H E
Dragons 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1  5 1
Tigers  2 0 0 0 0 4 0 1 X 7 10 1

Starting lineups

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

Dragons
1. Araki (Second)
2. Ibata (Short)
3. Morino (Right)
4. Woods (First)
5. Wada (Left)
6. Nakamura (Third)
7. Koike (Centre)
8. Oda (Catcher)
9. Kawakami (Pitcher)

Andoh started superbly - striking out Araki and Morino in Dragons first and as the match went on, this would continue. Kawakami's start by contrast was nervous. He gave up a leadoff hit to Akahoshi. Next was Hirano who made to bunt but then in a good demonstration of speed switched in mid stroke to a hit. This went to Araki who was able to get Akahoshi going for second but not Hirano who was safe on first. Kawakami then faced Toritani who hit into right field. Hirano took off with third as his eventual destination and Morino unleashed a long throw which wandered and missed Nakamura to hit the fencing. Hirano slid into third and then continued to home 1-0 Tigers - a costly error. Toritani in the meantime had moved up to second. Kanemoto grounded out but Toritani was round to third and next was Sekimoto. He got a pitch which allowed him to hit over Ibata into centre field 2-0 Tigers. Katsuragi walked to put runners on first and second but the final batter, Yano, grounded out to end the innings. Andoh retired the Dragons in order in the second and Kawakami did the same. This happened again in the third with some fine pitching by both pitchers.

Dragons first chance and first hit came in the fourth. With Araki gone, Ibata hit - a two base. Next batter Morino who swung and hit but the ball was fielded by Katsuragi who threw to Andoh coming in for the out. Katsuragi didn't bother to look and the throw was terrible allowing Morino to reach first safely and Ibata to reach third. With one out and a two run lead the situation was serious especially as Woods was next. Fortunately, he hasn't been batting well and he hit straight to Sekimoto for classic 5-6-3 double play and the end of the danger. The Tigers fourth saw Katsuragi hit but nothing came of this. The Dragons fifth was quiet as Andoh kept the batters under. Tigers fifth was anything but quiet.

Andoh struck out and then Akahoshi hit to short and was quick enough to make first. Next Hirano who bunted and beat the throw (which pulled Woods off base) to make first. Both Akahoshi and Hirano showed themselves very sharp. Toritani grounded out advancing the runners to second and third and then Kawakami walked Kanemoto to load the bases. Sekimoto took two quick strikes but then worked the count full. Two fouls later, a high fastball followed which Sekimoto latched onto and turned along the third baseline for a Grand Slam 6-0 Tigers. This was Sekimoto's first career Grand Slam and a fine hit. Katsuragi struck out and the innings was over as was Kawakami's game. He hadn't been able to pitch consistently and had been out-psyched by Sekimoto who had hit five RBIs. Andoh gave up a leadoff hit to Inoue (pinch hitter) in the Dragons sixth but that was all and the innings ended quietly. Incidently, Dragons used their (pachimon) Arai as a pinch hitter. He wears the same number as the Tigers No.3 and this caused some amusement on the Tigers bench. Tigers sixth was pitched by Yamauchi who did well striking out all three batters he faced. Andoh was also smooth in the Dragons seventh - giving up a leadoff hit to Morino but then getting the next three batters. Yamauchi continued in the Tigers seventh and he gave up a leadoff hit to Akahoshi but then got the next three outs.

After the seventh one would have thought that Andoh would be replaced but no. He was going to pitch eighth. Was this too much? At first it looked likely, Koike hit a two base. Then Shimizu (replacement catcher) hit and Koike was home 6-1 Tigers. Delarosa (pinch hitter) struck out and then Araki grounded into a double play. Sekimoto led off Tigers eighth with a two base off Kongoh. Katsuragi hit and moved him to third then Yano hit a sacrifice fly and Sekimoto was home 7-1 Tigers - a memorable night for him. Tigers Arai returned after his injury as a pinch hitter but flew out to right. Finally, Andoh struck out - he was going to try for a complete game. Dragons ninth in fact proved to be straightforward and the batters tumbled in order, Araki, Morino and Woods to seal a fine victory for Andoh. He had thrown 114 pitches and given up only one run on five hits. He had walked no one while striking out seven.

A very assured victory. Tigers had taken control and had handled Kawakami very well. In fact the Dragons ace hadn't looked as good as the week before. Andoh had lifted his performance to another level after his poor pitching of the week before and worked a very well deserved win. Arai had returned and Sekimoto had come through when needed.

I was at this game and enjoyed the continued dominance of the Dragons. I have seen 3 Tigers--Dragons games this year and the Dragons are definitely overmatched and playing poorly. Amazing what Sekimoto has done. He was never one of my favorites, but I think starting this year on the bench is the best thing that happened to him. He had something to prove again and he's played great defense and also hit well all year.

Most Tigers fans like Sekimoto for his sheer hard work and for his hustle. He is probably the only Japanese player who will charge a catcher if the catcher is between him and the home plate. I have always found him entertaining and I think his early problems were more to do with lack of confidence. As he discovers he can do things he has grown as a player.

Wow, another big home run tonight! He chooses good times to hit home runs, as I think that out of his three, one was the grand slam and the other two are 3-run. I believe Sekimoto used to have a kind of nervous twitch when batting, causing him to blink constantly. It appears to be gone, and that might be one reason for his improved hitting.