July 17th Kanemura v Gonzalez - Sometimes TV is better

You cannot duplicate the sensation of being at a game though the TV set. The noise, the atmosphere are all unique. But sometimes TV offers more, capturing things you wouldn't see at the game. This was one of those games. Tigers dramatic win was wonderful for the fans watching but for those of us glued to the TV sets there was the added pleasure of the look on Ochi's face as he blew the match. The cameras lingered almost lovingly on that shocked and horrified expression which is something to be treasured by all non-Giants fans.

The big surprise of the game was Kanemura's start which was a well kept secret and the quality of his pitching. Quite simply he was excellent and the fact that the Giants were only able to generate three hits and one scoring chance off him indicates how good he was. Hara later commented that his palm ball was unplayable. Kanemura was economical and didn't walk anyone. Sadly he didn't pick up the victory which would have been a nice reward for his pitching. Once again Tigers clean up was anonymous and this was despite Gonazalez being a bit off his game. Scores

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

Starting lineups

Tigers
1. Hirano (Centre)
2. Sekimoto (Second)
3. Sakurai (Right)
4. Kanemoto (Left)
5. Brazell (First)
6. Arai (Third)
7. Toritani (Short)
8. Kanoh (Catcher)
9. Kanemura (Pitcher)

Giants
1. Sakamoto (Short)
2. Matsumoto (Centre)
3. Ogasawara (Third)
4. Ramirez (Left)
5. Kamei (Right)
6. Wakiya (Third)
7. Kimura (Second)
8. Tsuruoka (Catcher)
9. Gonzalez (Pitcher)

The first innings was quiet, no one got their batters on base. Kanemura was particularly effective in getting batters to ground out throughout the match and in the first started with three. Tigers second was also quiet, Gonzalez had started well. Kanemura though made his sole pitching mistake in the Giants second. With one out he was a bit too casual and Kamei drilled the ball into the right stand for a solo home run 1-0 Giants. Wakiya was next and he hit as Kanemura got a bit flustered but then Kimura flew out. Wakiya did steal second but then Tsuruoka grounded out. Tigers third was going to plan for Giants with two out and Kanemura at the plate However, Wakiya failed to pick up a weak ground ball and Kanemura was safe on first. Hirano then hit to right and Gonzalez walked Sekimoto to load the bases - a chance. Sakurai, in what was a poor game for him, grounded out to end the innings and Gonzalez was able to escape. This would become a familiar pattern in the game, Gonzalez having the luck to avoid giving up runs. Giants third was quiet as Kanemura showed great control.

Once again in Tigers fourth Gonzalez would escape. He gave up a hit to Brazell and then walked Toritani. This time he was able to get Kanoh to ground out and exit the innings safely. In Giants fourth Kamei hit to first and this should have been a straightforward ground out with Brazell throwing to first but the throw was poor and Kanemura couldn't take. Giants had a runner on first but Kanemura kept his cool and struck out Wakiya looking to end the innings. Tigers fifth saw Sekimoto walk but nothing came of this either. Kimura led off Giants fifth with a hit, once again a Kanemura/Brazell mix up but then was out in a very neat 5-4-3 Tsuruoka double play. Gonzalez then grounded out to end the innings. Gonzalez then showed some nice pitching in the Tigers sixth, his strikeouts of Kanemoto and Brazell were masterpieces. Kanemura was just as accomplished in his sixth and once again deployed his palm ball to devastating effect. Ogaswara, the last out was a bit miffed as he thought his ground out to first had bounced over the foul line but the umpire ruled it in. He stood and stared for a while looking quite churlish before returning to the dugout. The replay was inconclusive.

Hara decided to use Gonzalez for the Tigers seventh which was a bit risky as he was getting tired. This was borne out by the leadoff walk he issued to Toritani. Kanoh prepared to bunt but the pitch hit his fingers and was ruled a dead ball. Hara came out to argue the point perhaps thinking that the ball had hit the bat as well but the umpire was quite clear on his ruling. Replays showed clearly that the ball had not made contact with any part of the bat but only hit Kanoh's hand. Tigers now had runners on first and second with no outs. Hiyama (pinch hitter) was next and he hit a deep fly which Matsumoto took right by the wall as the ball died. However, Toritani was able to tag up and make third. A sacrifice fly would tie the game and this is, no doubt, what Mayumi had in mind when he sent Katsuragi to the mound (replacement right). Here things didn't go right. With the count at one and two Katsuragi got on top of a pitch and bounced it straight to second for the double play. Gonzalez was ecstatic punching the air several times in delight - his lead was still intact. To replace Kanemura, Mayumi turned to Egusa who was on form and once again struck out two batters out of the three he faced. It meant that Tigers still had a chance. For Tigers eighth Hara picked Obispo who didn't look that assured but had enough to get the first two outs. With the switch to a left handed batter Hara switched to Yamaguchi who got Kanemoto to ground out and end the innings. Giants eighth was pitched by Atchison who was also on form, battling Kimura but then striking out the next two batters to exit the innings. Yamaguchi returned in Tigers ninth to face Brazell whom he got to fly out to second and then Hara went to Ochi. Things were looking good for the Giants, they had a slim lead with one out and Arai next. This is where it started to go wrong. Ochi didn't pitch well, Arai swung and bounced one over his head to centre where it was fielded by Sakamoto who couldn't make the throw. Arai was safe on first. Toritani was next and slammed his first pitch, a low 147kph fastball into the right stands for a home run 2-1 Tigers. Tigers were now in the driving seat and the complexion of the game had changed. Of course, one wondered if Fujikawa would be on form enough to hold the one run lead but there was more to come. After a mound conference Kanoh hit nicely to right and then made second on a wild pitch. The next batter was Lin (pinch hitter) who took on Ochi's forkball and slammed that into the right stands for another home run 4-1 Tigers. Once again the cameras focused on Ochi's horrified expression. After this second home run Ochi was replaced by Micheal who has struggled to adjust to Central League conditions. He faced Katsuragi who redeemed his earlier failure by directing a solo home run into the right stand 5-1 Tigers. Both Sekimoto and then Sakurai then struck out but Tigers were now assured of victory. Despite it not being a save situation Mayumi was taking no chances and sent Fujikawa to the mound. He took his time and then struck out Ogasawara in three to end the innings. Tigers victory.

A great come from behind victory. Tigers had not taken advantage of the earlier chances but had come through at the death. Giants were stunned by the defeat - it wasn't just Ochi who was shocked the whole team was. However, the cleanup had not functioned effectively generating 1 hit from 13 at bats and this is why the Giants had dominated the game for as long as they had. Kanemura's pitching had been excellent and one hopes he can build on this start and continue to pitch like this.