July 17th Vogelsong v Ishikawa - Swallows steal victory

The headline wrote itself - one coudln't conceive of a more bizzare way to lose a match. The sad thing was that Vogelsong was awesome but didn't get the batting support he deserved. Overall the Tigers batting this series has been poor and lazy - they have generated 2 runs in all, neither of these from hits. Last night was more of the same, Ishikawa was there for the taking but the batters didn't perform. The ninth innings saw Kubota and Yano combine in a supreme example of bush league play to give away six steals - Hoshino must be regretting selecting Yano for the Olympic team after that debacle. Line scores

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

Starting lineups

1. Akahoshi (Centre)
2. Sekimoto (Second)
3. Asai (Right)
4. Kanemoto (Left)
5. Takahashi (First)
6. Toritani (Short)
7. Yano (Catcher)
8. Baldris (Third)
9. Vogelsong (Pitcher)

Swallows
1. Fukuchi (Right)
2. Miyamoto (Third)
3. Aoki (Centre)
4. Hatakeyama (First)
5. Tanaka (Second)
6. Iihara (Left)
7. Wilson (Short)
8. Fukukawa (Catcher)
9. Ishikawa (Pitcher)

Swallows first innings and leadoff batter Fukuchi struck out looking. Miyamoto hit but then Aoki hit into a double play and the innings ended. Tigers first saw Akahoshi walk and make second on the standard Sekimoto bunt. Asai was next and why he was batting third is a mystery - this is not a position he is suited for. He flew out and then Kanemoto grounded out to end the innings. Swallows second saw Tanaka hit but once again a double play extinguished the chance. Yano hit in the Tigers second but nothing happened from this either. Tigers batters were too keen to try and hit Ishikawa out of the ground and flew out too frequently. The Swallows third was slightly more exciting. Wilson struck out swinging then Fukukawa had a two base hit. He then stood watching on second as Vogelsong struck out the next two batters. In the Tigers third Vogelsong led off with a walk. He was joined on base by Asai who also walked. With two out Kanemoto was next but flew out and the innings ended. Ishikawa's control was not as good as Vogelsong's. The latters next innings (Swallows fourth) was sublime. Facing firstly Miyamoto, then Aoki and finally Hatakeyama he struck them all out looking. Truely awesome pitching. In Tigers fourth Takahashi led off with a hit but once again batters flying out meant he went nowhere.

The fifth saw the Swallows batters fall in order again and whilst Sekimoto hit in the Tigers fifth nothing came of this - with two out Asai once again proved ineffective. The Swallows sixth was likewise quiet - the side fell in order yet again. Tigers sixth was just the same. Vogelsong's seventh saw a Hatakeyama hit but next pitch Nakata hit into a double play to end the innings. Vogelsong retired at the end of the seventh - he had thrown 93 pitches and struck out seven. Crucially he had walked no one - if he can keep this level of performance up (and this must be classed as his best pitching for the Tigers) he could well be asked back next year. Tigers seventh was quiet and for the eighth Kubota was summoned to the mound. He walked Fukukawa but the last batter was Ishikawa who duly obliged by getting out. Tigers eighth saw Akahoshi hit and then move to second on the standard bunt. Asai struck out and then Kanemoto was walked to get at Katsuragi (replacement first). He proceeded to ground out and end the innings.

So to the ninth - Kubota returned and walked Fukuchi. He was bunted to second by Miyamoto but no problem. Next Aoki who was walked in four - what kind of pitches was Yano calling? Then came a double steal - Fukuchi to third and Aoki to second. It's always worth chancing Yano's arm as this hasn't been good this year. Hatakeyama was next and he also walked in four - Yano? The bases were loaded with one out. Tanaka was next and he was aiming for a squeeze play. Kubota bounced a pitch in the dirt which Yano failed to take and Fukuchi stole home 1-0 Swallows. To add insult to injury Aoki stole third and Hatakeyama stole second. I've said this before but a pitcher of Yano's class should never ever make such a mistake. It is not acceptable at all and really Tigers need to think about his replacements. Tanaka then hit the ball back to Kubota who messed up his throw - Aoki and Hatakeyama were home 3-0 Swallows. Both Kubota and Williams need training on how to deal with ground balls as they shouldn't be making these kind of errors either. With Tanaka on second Iihara flew out but Wilson hit and Swallows had runners on first and third. Finally just to rub it in Wilson stole second - making six steals in the innings equalling the record for this in NPB. The last batter Fukukawa struck out. Tigers final innings was pitched by Lim - a very reliable closer who Tigers have not figured out yet. Toritani led off with a hit but Lim retired the next three batters and Swallows had won.

Not exactly a classic victory - Swallows had needed Yano and Kubota's combined incompetence to win but you take your victories any way you can. All of the Swallows players had shown considerable sharpness and flexibility to work their second series victory over the Tigers. Tigers in contrast had been too rigid and used players who shouldn't have been in the side (Takahashi, Baldris, Asai). Okada needs to bring up the younger catchers and give them more playing time quickly. Kubota also is in danger of a spell in the second team.