April 5th Andoh v Ishikawa - Poor hitting wins the day

To answer Gotigersredsox question as most of the nuclear reactors in Japan are off line the 3.5 hour limit will continue for the time being. Andoh returned to the lineup as a starting pitcher and why not. He has a good record against Swallows and having recovered it was hoped that he would continue this. He did indeed do well and wisely Wada pulled him after the seventh - not over-pitching him. This was good management. Tigers batting was abysmal - only three hits on the night but all counted and one batter, Brazell was responsible for all the runs scored. Swallows despite having runners on in each innings couldn't capitalize at all and only scored in the ninth. Scores

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

Starting lineups

Tigers
1. Hirano (Second)
2. Yamato (Centre)
3. Toritani (Short)
4. Arai (Third)
5. Brazell (First)
6. Murton (Right)
7. Kanemoto (Left)
8. Fujii (Catcher)
9. Andoh (Pitcher)

Swallows
1. Tanaka (Second)
2. Ueda (Centre)
3. Milledge (Left)
4. Hatakeyama (First)
5. Kawabata (Short)
6. Miyamoto (Third)
7. Balentien (Right)
8. Aikawa (Catcher)
9. Ishikawa (Pitcher)

Tigers start was inauspicious - Ishikawa looked on form and retired the batters comfortably in the first. The bottom started with a ground out to Tanaka but Ueda hit. He reached second on Milledge's ground out but then Hatakeyama struck out swinging to end the innings. Tigers got their first runner on base in the second with Arai picking up what would be a rare walk. Brazell then hit straight to first for a double play and Murton grounded out. It was Kawabata's turn to hit in the Swallows second and he led off with a single to centre. Two consecutive ground outs took him to third but then the final batter Aikawa flew out in foul ground and that chance was gone. Tigers third was also quiet with the batters once again going down in order. Ishikawa, of all people led off Swallows third with a single but then fell to Tanaka's double play and that innings ended scoreless.

Tigers fourth and the batters went down in order again. Ishikawa so far had thrown a no hitter with one walk. Two outs followed in Swallows fourth before Kawabata singled for the second time in the game. This time he stayed on first as the next batter, Miyamoto struck out swinging. Arai led off Tigers fifth by flying out to second which brought up Brazell. He took his normal big swing and slammed the ball into the right stand for a solo home run 1-0 Tigers and also their first hit of the game. The next two batters couldn't do anything but Tigers had scored first and this is often vital in Tigers Swallows games. Balentien led off the Swallows fifth with a single but the anticipated counter attack didn't come and Balentien fell to a double play. Ishikawa was the final batter and he grounded out to short to end the innings. Tigers sixth was quiet but with two out in the Swallows sixth Milledge walked. Hatakeyama though lined out straight to Brazell to end that faint chance.

Tigers managed their second hit in the seventh - Yamato leading off with a single to left. Toritani grounded out which took Yamato to second and then Arai also grounded out taking Yamato to third. Next up was Brazell who repeated his performance of the fifth - once again putting the ball into the right stand, a two run home run 3-0 Tigers. Murton flew out but Tigers production had been rather good. Andoh pitched Swallows seventh and once again gave up a hit - a two out single to Balentien but once again Aikawa could do nothing and the innings was over. Tigers eighth brought a change of pitcher with Hirai taking the mound for his professional debut. Ordinarily, Ishikawa would have been delighted with his session, 7 innings with only one walk and three hits but the latter had been rather productive for the Tigers. Hirai had a good start retiring the batters in order. Andoh also left the mound after the seventh. He too had pitched well but importantly hadn't given up runs and in fact hadn't allowed Swallows to get any momentum. Enokida took over and once again his problems with Fujii manifested themselves. Yamada (pinch hitter) led off with a single to left and then Enokida dead balled Tanaka - runners on first and second with no outs. Enokida pulled himself together and got Iihara (pinch hitter and replacement second) to fly out. Milledge grounded out to Enokida which did take the runners to second and third but then Hatakeyama did exactly the same to end the innings with no score. Swallows had blown their last chance. Swallows pitcher for Tigers ninth was Watanabe. He walked Toritani with two out but then struck out Arai for the final out. Fujikawa pitched Swallows ninth and with two out faced Balentien. He has been giving up runs recently and did so again giving up a solo home run to the Swallows right 3-1 Tigers. The final batter Takeuchi struck out looking to end the game. Tigers victory.

A nice return on three hits and a very nice victory. Swallows hadn't really had any fight and neither, really had Tigers. Both sides struggled but Brazell's hot batting was the difference. Fujikawa picked up his first save and the victory went to Andoh who had pitched well and hadn't been over-pitched. One hopes a fit Andoh continues to generate wins.

A nice feel-good game and I'm happy for the two heroes! I've complained about Andoh getting so many chances the past couple seasons, but it was great to see him come back and pitch a great game. Brazell has already looked frustrated this year and is probably not happy about having to share first base with Johjima. So, it was good to see him have a great night against a pitcher who is off to a red-hot start. When you consider what opponents have done against Ishikawa this season so far, it makes Brazell's night even more impressive. Off to the stadium soon for the Koshien opener. Another cold, windy day, but who cares!