September 24th Resop v Miura - Miura is beaten

One wouldn't have bet on for Miura losing against Resop but that is what happened. Miura got worse as the match went on but Resop got better. He could have possibly picked up his first win if he had pitched the fifth innings - it didn't look like the BayStars were going to be able to hit back. However, Okada took him out for a pinch hitter in what proved to be the right decision as it generated 2 more runs. This game also saw much better batting from the Tigers though Kanemoto continues to underperform. Giants also won so the Tigers remain tied for the lead. Line scores

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

Starting lineups

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

BayStars
1. Ishikawa (Short)
2. Fujita (Second)
3. Uchikawa (First)
4. Murata (Third)
5. Yoshimura (Right)
6. Kinjoh (Centre)
7. Shimozono (Left)
8. Aikawa (Catcher)
9. Miura (Pitcher)

Resop would struggle in his first two innings. In fact, he gave up a lead off hit to Ishikawa. Fujita bunted him to second and then Uchikawa flew out. Murata was next and he hit the ball straight at Resop who took urgent avoiding action. This allowed the ball to reach centre and Ishikawa was home 1-0 BayStars. Yoshimura followed and drove the ball to right where Hirano made a superb dive to take the ball. He was up and able to throw the ball to first for the final out and stop the BayStars advancing further. Tigers first saw Akahoshi lead off with a hit. Hirano bunted him to second but Imaoka and Kanemoto both failed to convert and the innings ended scoreless. BayStars second started with a Kinjoh hit. Two outs later Miura hit to short and BayStars had runners on first and third but Ishikawa grounded out to short and the innings ended scoreless. Miura gave up his first hits in the second innings. Sekimoto and then Katsuragi hit and Tigers had runners on first and second with one out. However, he struck out Yano and Resop to exit without damage. So far it looked like Miura was in control and that Tigers would once again struggle.

The third innings changed this. Resop discovered his form and sailed through the BayStars cleanup crew getting Uchikawa, Murata and Yoshimura in order. Akahoshi flew out at the start of Tigers third. Hirano hit towards Miura who messed up the take and throw allowing Hirano to reach first safely. This was ruled a hit but really should have been ruled an error. Imaoka was next and tried to turn one along the third base line for a home run. It just drifted out. The next ball was too low and highlighted Miura's problem that night - he didn't control the bottom of the zone and his pitches dipped too much. The next pitch was a bit higher and Imaoka latched onto and slammed it into the backscreen for a straight home run 2-1 Tigers. Since his return Imaoka has hit four home runs 3 of which have been two run versions. Kanemoto was next and hit hard to right but the ball just died and Yoshimura took the catch by the fence. Finally Toritani grounded out to second but the Tigers had taken the lead. Resop continued to pitch well and even though he had to battle Kinjoh had enough to retire the batters in order.

Tigers fourth demonstrated Miura's control problems clearly. He walked Sekimoto - having trouble with his low pitches and then walked Katsuragi for the same reason. A wild pitch moved the runners round to second and third with no outs. Yano though struck out and with Resop next one expected a sacrifice fly or squeeze play. This didn't happen as Lin (pinch hitter) faced Miura. He hit to second but Sekimoto on third took off and sped home. He slid between Aikawa's legs to touch the plate before the throw from second arrived - safe! 3-1 Tigers with Lin on first and Katsuragi on third. Akahoshi was next and placed one over short into left field 4-1 Tigers with one out. Hirano hit to second to load the bases. Imaoka tried to hit a sacrifice fly but only reached short. Kanemoto failed again grounding out to second.

As Resop had been replaced Tigers needed a pitcher for the fifth and Fukuhara was summoned. He did well and retired the batters in order. Tigers fifth saw Katsuragi hit - a bloop single which was just out of reach of left field but nothing came of this. Fukuhara returned for the BayStars sixth and gave up a home run to Uchikawa. This wasn't a power hit but a perfectly timed swing depositing the ball into the left stand 4-2 Tigers. The next two batters though fell easily and the Tigers lead was intact. Tigers sixth was quiet. Tigers main relief seems to be AJF. Atchison took the mound for the BayStars seventh and with one out Shimozono swung at a pitch and broke his bat. This was fortuitous as what was a right fly turned into a right hit. Aikawa struck out looking and then Suzuki (pinch hitter) also broke his bat. This wasn't a fortuitous hit as it ballooned up into the glove of Toritani - end of innings.

Miura was replaced by Ushida. He hadn't been at his best and Tigers batters had taken full advantage of it. Ushida had no trouble getting his three batters to ground out. Williams was next and the previous night had been superb. Would he do the same this night? For the first two outs - yes, he was excellent striking out both Ishikawa and Nonaka (pinch hitter). Then he wobbled - Uchikawa hit. He got two quick strikes against Murata but then dead balled the BayStars third. Runners on first and second and Yoshimura was next. Once again Williams got the two quick strikes but then Yoshimura fouled a couple. Williams next pitch was an inside slider (the ball that he had tried against Murata but this time right) and Yoshimura struck out. A great piece of pitching.

Ushida returned for the Tigers eighth and started by walking Sekimoto. Katsuragi then battled Ushida for 12 pitches before trying the same shot as his previous at bat. This time it didn't come off and he flew out to left. Yano hit to short and was safe on first. The replays seemed to indicate that the ball reached base before him but the umpire, who was going to give him out, changed his call from out to safe so maybe Uchikawa had taken his foot off the base - runners on first and second. Ushida exited to be replaced by Takamiya. He dead balled Hiyama (pinch hitter) to load the bases. Akahoshi was next and hit to right dropping the ball just in front of the incoming Yoshimura who fired it to Aikawa. Sekimoto though was home safely 5-2 Tigers - bases loaded. Hirano followed and hit into an unusual 5-2-3 double play to end the innings. Fujikawa pitched the BayStars ninth and had no problems retiring the batters in order (Shimozono again breaking his bat). Tigers victory.

Tigers batting had been much improved this game. They had hit when they needed to and had showed that they didn't need to be over-awed by Miura. Imaoka's home run had given them that much needed burst of confidence. Resop had been unlucky not to pitch the fifth but Okada had made the right decision. The win went to Fukuhara who seems to be a decent middle relief. Fujikawa picked up his 35th save.