April 6th Nohmi v Fujii - Giants trumped

Many thanks to Norway26 for his comments about watching past Tigers/Giants games over in 'The 1985 Tigers and Giants'. They were extremely readable. For a while this game looked bad for the Tigers but their batting pulled them through. Kanemoto picked up a much deserved hero interview but perhaps Arai should also have been on the podium as well. His two run home run was also vital.
Tigers also announced the acquisition of the Lotte pitcher Yusuke Kawasaki to join the relief. He will wear No. 62 and is intended to bolster Egusa who is currently the only left handed pitcher in the relief. On to the game. Scores

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

Starting lineups

Giants
1. Sakamoto (Short)
2. Matsumoto (Centre)
3. Ogasawara (Third)
4, Ramirez (Left)
5. Takahashi (First)
6. Edgar (Second)
7. Abe (Catcher)
8. Chono (Right)
9. Fujii (PItcher)

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

Nohmi started well - as in all Tigers/Giants game the atmosphere was electric and the ground packed. The players were also pumped up and Nohmi had to fight hard to retire the batters which he did 1-2-3. Fujii also had a similar problem - nothing in Nippon Ham would have prepared him for a game like this but he did well striking out two of the three batters he faced. Takahashi hit to centre in the Giants second but nothing came of this. Tigers second was quiet as Fujii continued to pitch well. Nohmi was showing signs of the nerves which used to plague him before the 2009 season. He started the Giants third by walking Chono and then gave up a hit to Sakamoto with one out. Matsumoto grounded out but the runners made second and third with Ogasawara next. He grounded out to second and this was a bread and butter out. Hirano didn't have to dive or jump and the ball came straight at him at a gentle pace. He gathered and threw - well to the side of Brazell who had no chance. Of course both Chono and Sakamoto made home and Ogasawara was safe on second 2-0 Giants, a costly error. This was Hirano's second error in as many games and it was a carbon copy of his previous one against the Dragons. The coaches need to look at this problem quickly. Nohmi was flustered and dead balled Ramirez, two runners on. He walked Takahashi to load the bases and it looked like the Giants were going to post a big innings. Edgar (Gonzalez) grounded out to end the innings and Tigers had escaped. Brazell led off Tigers third with a hit as they tried to get back into the game. He was bunted to second by Nohmi who does know how to bunt and then Murton hit straight to Sakamoto. The throw was accurate but Takahashi dropped it and Murton was safe with Brazell home 2-1 Giants, runner on first. Hirano grounded out but Tigers had reduced the margin.

This relaxed Nohmi a bit and for the Giants fourth he was much more relaxed striking out Abe and Chono and getting Fujii to ground out. Fujii after his fine start seemed to get more nervous. His second pitch to Toritani in Tigers fourth was dispatched into left centre for a two base hit. Kanemoto struck out and it was up to Arai. He drew a couple of balls and then got a lot of bat on his third pitch - a slider. This cleared the right centre wall for a two run home run 3-2 Tigers. Johjima flew out and Brazell struck out to a ball he thought missed the zone but didn't. Nohmi then retired the first two batters in Giants fifth but walked Ogasawara which left him Ramirez to face to get out of the innings. He managed to get the Giants No. 4 to hit into a straightforward ground out to Arai and Arai made no mistake. Tigers fifth was quiet as Fujii retired all three batters with comparative ease. Trouble came for Nohmi in Giants sixth. With Takahashi back in the dugout Edgar hit to right on a full count. Abe was next and he took his second pitch deep into the Koshien sweet spot which enabled Edgar to make home 3-3 scores tied, runner on second. The next two batters were Chono and Fujii which was rather a relief and Nohmi retired them both without further damage. So far, a well fought typical Tigers/Giants clash. Hara decided that Fujii would be able to pitch the Tigers sixth and here he faced Asai (pinch hitting for Hirano) as leadoff. Asai promptly pulled one to left for a single but Fujii struck out Toritani and things looked OK. Next was Kanemoto who tried to hit to right but then got a rather nice slider which he put over the right stand fence for a two run home run 5-3 Tigers. That was it for Fujii - he had shown some good pitching but his location had occasionally wandered at the wrong moments. Kubo took over on the mound and was able to get Arai and then Johjima.

Giants seventh came and Nohmi continued to pitch. With one out he gave up a hit to Matsumoto. Next was Ogasawara who hit to right bringing out a fine stop from Yamato (replacement second). He got the throw in but Ogasawara was just safe, runners on first and second. Ramirez popped one up to Toritani which kept the runners anchored on first and second but then Takahashi hit his first pitch into centre driving in a runner 5-4 Tigers, runners on first and second. Edgar hit deep to right and flew out to end the innings and leave Tigers with the lead just intact. Kubo continued for Tigers seventh and retired the batters in order. Kubota pitched Giants eighth and showed none of his earlier nerves efficiently retiring the Giants batters 1-2-3. Kaneto replaced Kubo for Tigers eighth and started with a hit to Murton. Mayumi asked Yamato to bunt and he barely avoided giving away a catch. This prompted Akahoshi - who was commentating - to remark that he wasn't very good with bunts either. Yamato then hit to move Murton to second and Kaneto lost it for a while and walked Toritani. He recovered, though, to strike out Kanemoto and Arai and end the innings safely. Fujikawa, of course, pitched Giants ninth. This was an unusual innings in many ways. Firstly Sakamoto was out then Matsumoto hit to right. Johjima went to the mound to have a word - at this point Fujikawa was throwing just fast straightballs and this is what enabled Matsumoto to hit. Ogasawara swung to soon and flew out but then Fujikawa, who continued to throw fastballs, gave up a hit to Ramirez - runners on first and third. This prompted another mound conference, this time with Kubo (Tigers pitching coach). Johjima said later it was all about reassuring Fujikawa but there also may have been an element of - 'throw the pitches I call'. Certainly, Kanoh had problems with Fujikawa not paying attention to the calls and it is possible that this is what was happening this time. This would explain the presence of Kubo who didn't actually say much but seemed to be there to reinforce Johjima. Finally, Fujikawa faced Takahashi who hit to centre, straight down the throat of Murton for the final out. Tigers victory.

This was a very good victory. Nohmi picked up the win (his second) and had pitched very well. Fujikawa recorded his third save of the season and the 130th save of his career. This puts him equal with Yamamoto - Tigers all time save leader. Kanemoto now has 444 home runs joint 13th on the all time list with Nagashima. Johjima had done well with his calling and Kubota had bounced back nicely.