October 3rd Andoh v Ishikawa - Tigers pitchers let them down

Sakai-owner indicated that Mayumi must secure third place but didn't mention any sanctions if he failed. Sacking would be nice. This was a thrilling game in which Ishikawa was poor but actually improved as the game went on. Mayumi started the Andoh Yano combination and it was dismal. Mayumi generally mishandled the pitching this game. Carp lost so Tigers and Yakult are tied for third. Tigers struggled to keep up and saddled with their kantoku who could blame them. Both sides showed good running, Tigers being particularly aggressive and Kawamoto the Swallows catcher taking a battering. Scores

          1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R  H E
Swallows  0 1 3 0 0 2 0 0 0 6 12 0
Tigers    0 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 4  7 1

Starting lineups

Swallows
1. Fukuchi (Left)
2. Kajimoto (Second)
3. Miyamoto (Third)
4. Aoki (Centre)
5. D'Antona
6. Takeuchi (Right)
7. Onizaki (Right)
8. Kawamoto (Catcher)
9. Ishikawa (Pitcher)

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

The start for Andoh would be good but he would rapidly deteriorate. However, he retired the batters in order in the Swallows first. Ishikawa walked Toritani in the Tigers first but nothing came of this. Once again he would have to fight hard for his victory. Aoki led off the Swallow second with a walk. D'Antona flew out but then Andoh fed Takeuchi a pitch which said hit all over it. Takeuchi of course took the gift and hit nicely to left, runners on first and third. Onizaki then bounced one into the space between second and first but Brazell who took this one hesitated and the run was scored 1-0 Swallows, runners on first and second. As Brazell had hesitated there were no outs. Brazell would have a poor game at first this time and Onizaki would be very lucky with the bat. The next batter was Kawamoto who hit into a double play to end the innings. With one out in Tigers second Brazell hit to centre. Sakurai followed and he took a pitch nicely to left centre. Brazell set off at a terrific rate and rounded third heading for home. As the throw came in Brazell was sliding and despite Kawamoto blocking the plate Brazell's impetus was too much and Kawamoto was bulldozed out of the way. The ball was picked up by Ishikawa but Brazell tagged home safely 1-1 scores tied, runner on third. Yano was next and he hit into left past Onizaki's despairing dive for another run 2-1 Tigers runner on first. Yano would have a good game with the bat whatever the flaws with his calling were. Andoh bunted Yano to second but then Hirano grounded out to first. Andoh returned for Swallows third and you could tell that this was a risky decision as both Mayumi and Kido looked worried and consulted frequently. Andoh started by getting the first two outs but then gave up a hit to Kajimoto. He then unleashed a wild pitch which took Kajimoto to second and you saw exactly what Mayumi and Kido were worried about. But to be honest, Andoh should not have been starting anyway. Miyamoto was the next batter and one can only describe his performance as courageous and his contribution to the game as significant. He hit determindly putting the ball over Sakurai who was standing in for the single for a two base hit, 2-2 scores tied runner on second. Next was Aoki who received an insider slider for his third pitch and latched onto it nicely. This flew along the first baseline and had the legs to make it over the fence. I don't think Aoki was expecting the home run but that is what it was 4-2 Swallows. D'Antona grounded out to third and the innings was over. Toritani latched nicely onto his first pitch in Tigers third for a hit but Kanemoto and Arai failed to support him and the innings was scoreless.

Tsutsui replaced Andoh for Swallows fourth though still paired with Yano. He started he innings by walking Takeuchi. Onizaki laid down a nice bunt but then the next two batters were quickly out. Brazell started the Tigers fourth by grounding out but Sakurai hit nicely to right for a two base. Yano hit to centre and Sakurai set off for home. He rounded third and then slide into home bulldozing Kawamoto out of the way once again 4-3 Swallows. Takahashi (pinch hitter) grounded out which brought up Hirano. He got a sinker for his first pitch and dug this out nicely putting it over Onizaki for a hit. Yano shot off and rounded the bases coming in to home as the ball reached Kawamoto. The latter blocked the plate but Yano went over him and tagged home with his hand - safe! 4-4 scores tied, runner on second. Sekimoto hit nicely to left but flew out to Fukuchi to end the innings. For Swallows fifth Mayumi chose Sajikihara who was not at his best. The first two outs fell easily enough but then Miyamoto walked. Arai hit to centre and Miyamoto was quick enough to make third. D'Antona flew out to third and Tigers escaped. Tigers fifth was quiet as Ishikawa began to assert himself and in fact from this point on he would not let another Tiger get on base. For Swallows sixth Yano was replaced by Kanoh but the pitcher was still Sajikihara which was a mistake. Mayumi needed to use a different pitcher and didn't. Takeuchi flew out but four pitches into his at bat Onizaki took a swing and amazingly produced a home run, his first career home run and a total fluke 5-4 Swallows. This unsettled Sajikihara who then gave up a lucky two base to Kawamoto. Ishikwa struck out but then Fukuchi hit nicely to right centre for a three base, 6-4 Swallows runner on third. Egusa replaced Sajikihara and got Kajimoto to fly out to end the innings but Mayumi had blundered again. Tigers sixth was quiet as the batters fell in order.

Egusa continued for the Swallows seventh which proved to be a mistake. Miyamoto hit to left and then Egusa balked. This took Miyamoto to second and Egusa gave up a hit to Aoki, runners on first and third with no outs. D'Antona walked to load the bases and Mayumi decided enough was enough and Egusa was replaced by Kanemura. He was faced with an unenviable situation and started by getting Shida (replacement right) to hit to Arai. He fired the ball to Kanoh for the first out. Onizaki was next and he flew out to centre but not far enough and the runners stayed on base, two outs. The final batter Kawamoto hit to centre and also flew out. Fine pitching by Kanemura who had got out of a sticky situation. Unfortunately after all this good work Tigers seventh was also quiet as the batters fell easily in order. Atchison pitched Swallows eighth and gave up a hit to Kajimoto with two out. Kajimoto was looking to steal second and Kanoh knew this so for Miyamoto's final pitch he stood wide took the ball and lasered it to Toritani who tagged Kajimoto out. End of innings. Once agan nice work was wasted as Tigers eighth was quiet and over quickly. Cheng pitched Swallows ninth and got a nice first out. Aoki then hit to first and a ground out but Brazell who took the ball fired it too fiercely to Cheng who couldn't take. Once again poor work by Brazell who only needed a gentle toss to get the out. Aoki was safe on first as a result. Yuichi (replacement first) walked and Swallows had runners on first and second. Shida flew out to right but this took Aoki to third. Cheng got Onizaki to ground out to him and end the innings. Ishikawa returned for the Tigers ninth, Takada not wishing to risk his shaky relief and proved to be just as able as before. He retired the batters in order and had a quiet innings. Swallows victory.

Not a game that the Tigers really wanted to lose but with the choice of Andoh and Yano it was almost inevitable. The irony was that Yano had a very good night with the bat. Onizaki was the difference between the sides and he was just lucky but one had to admire Miyamoto's performance which was really impressive. He should have received the hero interview not Onizaki. Both Yano and Andoh should really not make anymore appearances as they are not up to the challenge anymore.