May 12th Kubo v Keppel - Uninspiring stuff from Tigers

Some things don't change. Mayumi doesn't know which pitchers to use in which innings and Tigers fielding is still as flaccid as ever. Jim Allen has written an excellent couple of articles in the Daily Yomiuri about when to use closers and star relievers. Whilst he's mostly talking about a ninth innings tie what he says is applicable to the ninth innings of this game. Why did Mayumi not use Kubota or Fujikawa? Either would have done better and though Nishimura is an excellent pitcher he was not the pitcher to use in this situation. It was almost as if he didn't really want to win the game. Nippon Ham had an excellent pitching performance from their starter Keppel who allowed very little but their offense was rather unimpressive and the result rather flattered them. There were some nice hits but several were lucky, Koyano in particular. Tigers inter-league uniforms were more retro pieces - with broad yellow stripes on the legs and piping on the sleeves and a black diamond pattern in the middle. Socres

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

Starting lineups

Fighters
1. Tanaka (Second)
2. Morimoto (Left)
3. Inaba (Right)
4. Koyano (Third)
5. Itoi (Centre)
6. Takahashi (First)
7. Kaneko (Short)
8. Tsuruoka (Catcher)
9. Keppel (PItcher)

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

Kubo started well and had no problems in the Fighters first. None of the batters looked particularly proficient and the ball was going where Kubo and Johjima wanted it to. Keppel's start was a bit more nervous. He gave up a hit to HIrano and then had problems with Toritani - in fact Keppel would find Toritani difficult to deal with all match. However, in a remarkably foolish move Mayumi ordered Hirano to steal - a move Fighters were ready for. The throw was good and the tag a formality. Toritani though walked but Arai grounded out to end the innings. In Fighters second Kubo faced Koyano and the umpire must have been wool-gathering (the umpires were quite impartial just not paying attention all the time) as the first three pitches were classified as balls. A strike then a hit followed. Itoi flew out and then Takahashi hit into a double play and that innings was quickly over. Tigers second saw Brazell hit - he was another batter who didn't seem to be troubled by Keppel but he also was not converted. In fact he was out next as Sakurai hit into a ground out which failed to become a double play. Kubo then retired the batters in order in Nippon Ham's third for a very satisfactory first three innings. Keppel had by now settled down and was pitching well. He also retired the batters in order, in particular, striking out the dangerous Murton.

Fighters fourth saw the game change but really Tigers didn't help their own cause with their poor play. For some reason Toritani and Arai were standing near second and third respectively and had left a huge gap between them. Fighters batters took full advantage of this tactical mistake and first to do so was Tanaka who hit to left. Morimoto bunted him to second and then Inaba hit into the gap - a very nicely timed shot which brought Tanaka home 1-0 Fighters. Here Inaba was then quite stupid and this gave an indication as to why Fighters are bottom of the Pacific League. As the throw came in he was standing in the middle of the basepath between first and second and not on base. Toritani was the relay but he threw to second and Inaba was sandwiched and tagged out by Brazell. A totally unnecessary out. Koyano was the next batter and he was just lucky. He hit his first pitch to right and Sakurai running to centre got his glove on it but dropped the ball. It wasn't the easiest of chances but Sakurai failed to hold the ball. This sort of chance needs to be taken but Tigers fielding has been poor under Mayumi. As it was Koyano was able to make second and amazingly it was not classed as the error it was but as a two base hit. Itoi walked which brought up Takahashi. He hit to short and Toritani let the ball go through him into centre field. This was a straightforward take and out which would have ended the innings and Toritani should have taken it. Koyano charged home and it was 2-0 Fighters, runners on first and second. Kaneko followed and hit to Hirano who made a brilliant stop and throw to get the final out. At the moment Hirano stands head and shoulders above the other fielders but is not favoured by Mayumi despite his run saving abilities. Keppel now had a lead to work with and proceeded to defend it very well. Tigers cleanup were supine before him and he had an easy fourth. Kubo bounced back in Fighters fifth and was able to retire the batters quite easily. Admittedly the bottom of the order but he still needed to get the outs. Brazell led off Tigers fifth with a hit that just drifted left of the left field foul pole. He then put one right but this also drifted foul. Finally he settled for a hit to right but Sakurai struck out swinging trying to check his swing once too often. He really didn't look au fait with the pitching. A neat double play finished the innings. Kubo then retired the top of the Fighters batting order in the sixth and finished with a superb strike out of Koyano who was flummoxed by the final pitch and didn't move. It seemed to sum up Koyano's actual ability rather well. Keppel though was still dominant and Tigers batters did nothing in their sixth.

With Fighters seventh Mayumi switched to Kawasaki who struck out Itoi looking with a very nice pitch which floated across the zone away from the batter. Then Mayumi decided to switch to Watanabe who walked Takahashi spraying balls around the zone without getting a strike. Kaneko then hit into a double play to end the innings. Nashida decided to retain Keppel and as a consequence had to endure a rather hairy Tigers seventh. Toritani led off the innings and drew a walk - Keppel not being able to figure him out. Arai grounded out to third but the double play did not come off and he was safe on first. Johjima hit back at Keppel who was only able to deflect the ball past short into left. Tigers had runners on first and third and a runner in a scoring position for the first time in the game. Brazell hit to short but once again the double play didn't come off and Arai was home 2-1 Fighters, runner on first. Kanemoto (pinch hitter) hit into right, first's dive just not being enough and Tigers had runners on first and second. Katsuragi was next but he grounded out straight to second and the innings was over. Watanabe returned for Fighters eighth and had rather a good innings. He struck out all three batters including Keppel who was obviously going to pitch another innings. This proved to be quite effective with two strike outs and a ground out. Here Mayumi should have gone with Fujikawa (or possibly Kubota) which would have given Tigers the boost they needed to take the game. Instead he chose Nishimura and the chance was lost. Nishimura started the ninth poorly walking Morimoto. This brought up Inaba who got his bat on a rather high pitch. It was a lucky home run as it just staggered over the fence but it would have probably guaranteed a run but anyway 4-1 Fighters. This seemed to wake Nishimura up and he struck out the next batter. Here Mayumi decided on another pitching change and brought Egusa on. He was very good retiring the next two batters to end the innings but rather a case of bolting the stable door. Mayumi's mishandling of the pitchers had blown another game. Even so there was still an outside chance with Keppel returning for the ninth innings. Either Nashida was very confident or he is really short of reliable closers. The first batter he faced was Toritani who got hold of one and put it along the third base line where it bounced off the foul pole for a solo home run. Rather lucky but like Inaba's they all count 4-2 Fighters. Arai waited and hit to centre. Tigers were in with a chance. Here Johjima's stupid batting blew the chance. All he needed to do was wait for a suitable pitch and do something useful with it. Instead he hit his first pitch straight to third for an easy double play. Sekimoto ( pinch hitter) was next and he is generally good in these sort of situations. This time was no different and he hit a straight two base over Morimoto who was poorly positioned. Once again Tigers had a chance but once again they would blow it. Kanoh (replacement left) also needed to wait but hit his first pitch straight to Keppel for an easy out and the end of the game. Fighters victory.

Keppel was delighted by his victory and complete game and very much enjoyed playing at Koshien in front of the Tigers fans. Nippon Ham had him to owe for the victory and he had allowed the Tigers very little leeway. However, the Tigers batters should have done more in the final innings. Despite the home run from Inaba and the margin, Keppel was tired and Nashida had blundered in trying for the complete game but the poor batting let the Fighters kantoku of the hook. Johjima threw his helmet down in frustration and he should be annoyed with himself. Mayumi's handling of the pitching was again poor and the fielding was also not up to standard allowing Fighters to score. This is not to take anything away from Keppel's pitching which was very very good but to note that Tigers allowed Fighters to dictate the game and then failed to bat as the circumstances demanded.