July 18th Shimoyanagi v Kawakami - Yano is back

After his disappointing performance (in conjunction with Kubota) Yano was much more assured yesterday. He was even able to get a tag out on an attempted steal. Of interest as well was Okada's visit to the mound to talk with Fujikawa in the ninth. Here Fujikawa faced two of his great challenges - Woods and Wada and did enough to win the game. Line scores

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

Starting lineups

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

Dragons

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

Both starting pitchers were excellent and there was very little to choose between them. Kawakami generated more strike outs (10 to 6) but did give up one walk whilst Shimoyanagi walked no one. The first innings saw Toritani starting at no 3. Whilst he's not really a no. 3 batter he is the most suitable candidate apart from Kanemoto or Hiyama but Okada wants Hiyama mainly for pinch hitting duties. Facing Kawakami he launched a high hit along the third baseline which evaded Wada's leap for a three base hit. Kanemoto grounded out to short and the innings went nowhere. In Dragons first Morino managed a nice centre hit with the next batter being Woods. He would have a quiet game and this innings flew out to Kanemoto. Tigers second started with Katsuragi striking out - he found Kawakami difficult to handle and never really looked able to deal with the Dragons pitcher. Sekimoto though instantly hit his first pitch to centre. Yano grounded out but Fujimoto walked leaving Tigers with runners on first and second and the next batter Shimoyanagi. He tried hard but grounded out to third and the innings was over. Dragons second was quiet with Shimoyanagi weaving a kind of magic to strike out Wada and then Nakamura. Hirata grounded out and the action moved to the Tigers third. Kawakami struck out Akahoshi and then got the next two batters to ground out. Dragons third and the side fell in order - both pitchers were producing some superb stuff. Tigers fourth and Kawakami struck out the three batters he faced, Kanemoto, Katsuragi and Sekimoto. Dragons fourth saw Ibata lead off with a hit. He immediatley tried to steal second but Yano's throw was good and he was tagged out. The next two batters went nowhere and the innings ended. Tigers fifth was also quiet.

In the bottom of the fifth Nakamura hit. Toritani took the ball but he was standing deep and by the time the throw came in Nakamura was safe on first. Shimoyanagi didn't let this phase him and struck out Hirata and Tanishige in succession. Tigers sixth and Akahoshi struck out. Hirano hit and then waiting until Toritani struck out tried to steal second. Tanishige was alert to the ploy and threw him out to end the innings. The Dragons sixth started with a Kawakami strike out. Araki grounded out to Toritani but the throw was high and pulled Katsuragi off the base - Araki was safe. Next was Ibata who got hold of an inside pitch and deposited it in front of Hirano - runners on first and third with one out. Next batter Morino - he battled Shimoyanagi and then swung at a pitch which broke his bat. This allowed the ball to land just beyond Toritani and Araki was home 1-0 Dragons runners on first and second. The final batter was Woods who hit into a double play. Shimoyanagi looked comfortable with Woods and perhaps Tigers give him to much respect. He is a fine player but they tend to panic when faced with him. Tigers seventh saw Kawakami face Kanemoto. His second pitch was an outside fastball which Kanemoto hammered into the stands for a solo home run 1-1 scores level. Katsuragi grounded out and Sekimoto had his second hit of the game but then Yano hit into a double play and the innings was over.

Shimoyanagi returned for the Dragons seventh. He immediatley gave up a hit to Wada who was bunted to second by Nakamura. However the next two batters were quickly out and the scores remained level. Shimoyanagi retired at the end of this innings - he had pitched superbly and had been a trifle unlucky to give up a run. Once again he had been economical - using only 94 pitches. Kawakami returned for the Tigers eighth - he struck out the first two batters but then allowed a hit to Akahoshi. Hirano though grounded out and the innings ended. Dragons eighth was pitched by Jeff Williams. He showed no signs of his trouble with the Swallows and retired the Dragons in order. Kawakami had retired at the end of the eighth - he also had been superb, not as economical as Shimoyanagi but still an awesome performance. Ochiai went with Iwase who wasn't at his best. Toritani hit again then Takahashi (pinch hitting for Katsuragi) also hit. Runners on first and second with one out. Next batter Sekimoto who hit - bases loaded, next batter Yano. He steered a slider past Nakamura's glove for a timely hit 2-1 Tigers. Final batter Fujimoto who hit into a double play. The Dragons ninth saw Okada's first visit to the mound to encourage Fujikawa. First though Fujikawa got Morino to fly out then he walked Woods. Wada hit and Dragons had runners on first and second with one out. Nakamura flew out and it was ato hitori (one more batter - the Tigers chant in the ninth). Hidenori (pinch running for Woods) was round to third. This was when Okada paid his visit to the mound. Fujikawa faced Tatsunami who hit the ball straight back at him - pitcher ground out - Tigers victory.

A well worked victory based on a fine pitching performance. What had been surprising was Iwase's meltdown but these things happen. Tigers had kept things tight but unfortunately Shimoyanagi didn't pick up the victory for his fine performance. That went to Williams. Fujikawa recorded his 30th save and appreciated Okada's support.