May 21st Vogelsong v Ortiz - Tigers win despite the walks

Orix practically couldn't hit Vogelsong but they didn't need to. The walks he issued ensured that they got on base. Tiger's bats were strong though and the relief held up well. Co-incidently, it was Terry Collins last match in charge of Buffaloes. He resigned after the game and one must congratulate him for his efforts and hard work in putting up with the mangement of Orix. Whatever he does I wish him well. Line scores

          1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R  H E
Tigers    1 0 0 0 0 0 5 1 0 7 13 0
Buffaloes 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 3  5 0

Starting lineups

1. Akahoshi (Centre)
2. Hirano (Second)
3. Arai (First)
4. Kanemoto (Left)
5. Hiyama (DH)
6. Toritani (Short)
7. Ford (Right)
8. Noguchi (Catcher)
9. Baldris (Third)

Starting pitcher was Vogelsong

Buffaloes
1. Sakaguchi (Centre)
2. Muramatsu (Left)
3. Kitagawa (First)
4. Rhodes (DH)
5. Hamanaka (Right)
6. Gotoh (Second)
7. Ikki (Third)
8. Hidaka (Catcher)
9. Ohbiki (Short)

Starting pitcher was Ortiz

Tigers first started in familiar fashion, Akahoshi hitting and getting to first. This time Hirano didn't bunt but grounded out and it was left to Arai to move him round to third with another hit. With one out you expected a sacrifice fly and this is exactly what Kanemoto did 1-0 Tigers. Hiyama grounded out to end the innings. Buffaloes fell in order with some very nice pitching by Vogelsong. In the second Toritani hit and then got thrown out trying to steal second. Maybe someone should tell him to stop trying as he doesn't succeed often. Noguchi also hit but tried to go too far and was thrown out. The Buffaloes second also saw the side retired in order. In the Tigers third Hirano had his first hit of a three hit night but nothing came of this. The Buffaloes version saw the first runner on base - a walk, they would have to wait until the next innings for their first hit. Nothing happened though and the runner remained on first. The Tigers fourth was quiet but next time round Vogelsong was in the mood for more walks. First he walked Muramatsu, then with one out he walked Rhodes. Runners on first and second. Another out later Gotoh slammed his first ball for a two base entitled hit to centre 1-1 scores level runners on second and third. Luckily, Ikki was persuaded to fly out to end the innings.

Tigers fifth and Baldris took a dead ball. He then advanced to third on an Ortiz wild pitch but wasn't converted. However, this was a sign that Ortiz was tiring. The Buaffaloes fifth saw their second hit of the night but the runner, Sakaguchi, tried to steal second and was thrown out to end the innings. Kanemoto managed a hit next innings but that was all. So to the second round of walks in the Buffaloes sixth. With one out, Kitagawa and then Rhodes walked, runners on first and second. Hamanaka hit (his first in the regular season against his old side) to load the bases. Then Vogelsong dead balled Gotoh - walk in run 2-1 Buffaloes. With only one out Ikki decided to try a sacrifice fly 3-1 Buffaloes. The final batter grounded out but Vogelsong had not pitched well. He had walked five but four of these had been clustered in groups of two and he hadn't handled the pressure at all well.

The Tigers seventh started with more proof that Ortiz was tired. Toritani hit, Ford walked and Noguchi also hit. Bases loaded with no outs and at this point Collins decided to switch pitchers. Kikuchihara was summoned and faced Imaoka (pinch hitter). He got on base but the runner going for home was out, one down. Akahoshi grounded out to second and it was beginning to look like the Buffaloes were safe. Two outs, no sacrifices, runners locked on base. Next batter Hirano who isn't wonderful in these situations. This time was different. Hirano put his hit into the right corner for a three base 3 run shot 4-3 Tigers. Magnificent work. Kikuchihara exited to be replaced by Yamaguchi. Arai was next and he got hold of a 1-2 ball for his fifth home run (a 2 run) 6-3 Tigers. A quite amazing turnaround. How would the Buffaloes fight back? They faced Egusa who got the first out. Then Sakaguchi hit and there was a runner on base. The next batter grounded out but Kitagawa hit and Buffaloes had runners on first and third with two outs. Next batter Rhodes who collected his third walk of the evening bases loaded. Okada had had enough and Egusa was replaced by Kubota. How would he fare? Very well - he looked a lot more controlled and better. He got Hamanaka to ground out and the Tigers had overcome the Buffaloes challenge.

Hiyama led off the eighth with a hit (he was pinch run for by Fujimoto). One out later Ford smashed a two base and Fujimoto was home 7-3 Tigers. Ford has done well in this series and is slowly playing his way back into the regular first team. The innings petered out after that though. Kubota returned for the eighth and retired the Buffaloes in order. One can hope he is back to form. Tigers ninth saw another Hirano hit. He advanced to second on a balk. Kanemoto was deliberately walked but Fujimoto flew out to end the innings. Okada summoned Fujikawa for the ninth. This wasn't a save situation (the margin was 4 runs) but he wanted to secure the victory. This was a sound decision. Fujikawa retired the Buffaloes in order - Tigers victory.

A very nice victory. Hirano and Arai had really finished the Buffaloes and the relief pitching had held out. If Kubota is back this is a big plus. Vogelsong had been a curates egg but got the victory for his second win of the season. He does need to improve his control though. Arai is now one home run from his 200th.