May 29th Tsuru v Darvish - Darvish beaten

One would not have expected Tigers to best Fighters given their current interleague record. Furthermore, Tsuru had no wins to his name whilst Darvish has 67. This impression was maintained through the first three innings but in the fourth Tigers changed the whole complexion of the game. Tsuru pitched well and even though Tigers wasted their chances so did Fighters. Mayumi was so desperate to win that he used Fujikawa for two innings which is certainly unusual this early in the season. Kanemoto returned to the fourth batters position for this game and everyone else dropped down a level. Arai seemed to like this as he had a very good game going three for three. Scores

          1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R  H E
Tigers    0 0 0 2 0 1 1 0 0 4 11 0
Fighters  0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 10 1

Starting lineups

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

Pitcher was Tsuru

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

Pitcher was Darvish

Once again Mayumi shuffled his lineup, moving Hirano back to second and putting Saka at lead off. Toritani is still not back yet as his finger hasn't entirely healed. The other move was to restore Kanemoto to fourth batter which seemed to work very well. However, no signs of any improvement were visible in the first innings and Tigers batters duly surrendered tamely to Darvish. Morimoto did manage a hit off Tsuru with one out in Fighters first but good and effective pitching kept him locked on first and there was no score. Tigers then managed to waste their first chance. Kanemoto led off the second innings with a strike out looking - it was a very nice pitch by Darvish and one started to have doubts that he was fully ready. Arai though hit to centre. Brazell flew out but then Johjima and Sakurai both drew walks to load the bases. A bit of bother for Darvish but Shunsuke Fujikawa drove his second pitch straight to short for the final out. This brought Fighters batters to life. Itoi hit to let and then Koyano hit to right - runners on first and third of whom Takahashi brought one home with a left hit 1-0 Fighters, runners on first and second. Here Fighters stumbled - they had no outs so Nashida called for the bunt. It moved the runners round to second and third but really did nothing a hit could have accomplished. Kaneko walked to load the bases which makes you think Tsuruoka could have done the same and then Tanaka grounded out and no run was scored but the bases were still loaded. Morimoto drew another walk - oshidashi 2-0 Fighters bases loaded and then Inaba grounded out to third and the innings was over. A nice innings for Fighters but it could have been better. Still Darvish was in control and so a two run lead was not to be sneezed at especially as Tigers batters fell in order in the third. Fighters third was also similar and the score remained 2-0.

Darvish lost control of the game in Tigers fourth. Kanemoto started it all leading off with a two base hit to left centre. Arai hit but this was only to third who couldn't get the throw away in time and Tigers had runners on first and third with no outs. Brazell grounded out to first but an error ensured that the runner was home safely 2-1 Fighters, runners on first and third. Johjima then hit to third who couldn't make up his mind and by the time he threw another Tiger was home 2-2 scores tied runners on first and second. The next two batters fell conventionally but then Saka hit and the runner on second went for home. Fighters were ready and he was out to end the innings. Fighters couldn't respond - Tsuru took heart and retired the batters. In Tigers fifth Murton hit to centre but tried to stretch the single into a double and was out. Kanemoto struck out this time. In Fighters fifth Inaba hit a nice two base but nothing came of this and the innings was also scoreless. Tigers sixth saw Arai lead off with a hit to left. Brazell flew out but Arai stole second - strange days indeed. Arai is fast round he bases but not renowned for his stealing skills. Johjima hit to left to set up runners on first and third and then Toritani (pinch hitter) drove in the run 3-2 Tigers. Johjima tried to take two bases but was caught and tagged out on the base paths. Toritani meanwhile reached second but Fujikawa struck out to end the innings. Tigers had the lead. With Itoi struck out Koyano hit a two base for Fighters sixth. This didn't bring any reward as Tsuru kept control and retired the next two batters.

Fighters decided a new catcher was needed and so Tsuruoka was replaced by Ono. It didn't seem to make any difference. With one out Hirano walked. Murton hit and then Kanemoto walked to load the bases. Arai hit a nice sacrifice fly 4-2 Tigers, runners on first and second. Brazell hit to left but only succeeded in flying out to end the innings. Tsuru didn't return for the Fighters seventh, Mayumi judging rightly that he had pitched enough. Instead, Nishimura took the mound and rapidly ran into problems. Both Kaneko and Tanaka hit to centre and Fighters had runners on first and second with no outs. The next batter, Morimoto hit straight to Arai on third who stepped on the sack and threw to second for the double play. Morimoto was safe but the situation was considerably better for Tigers. Inaba then grounded out and the Tigers had gotten out of the innings. For Tigers eighth we saw Wolfe. He gave up a hit to Johjima but it was Yamato's (replacement second) turn to hit into a double play. Shunsuke Fujikawa then grounded out to end the innings. As I mentioned Mayumi was desperate to win this game and so he sent Kyuji Fujikawa to the mound. The Fighters eighth innings was a massacre as Fujikawa blasted his way through the three batters in short order. Tigers ninth was pitched by Takeda and with one out he gave up a hit to Hirano. Murton hit into a double play and the innings was over. If Fujikawa's first innings had been relatively easy he had to work hard in the second. Takahashi led off with a hit. The next two batters struck out but then Tanaka hit his second pitch to centre - runners on first and second. Then Morimoto walked to load the bases. This represented a big chance but Inaba who hadn't played well this game grounded out to second off his first pitch to end the game. Tigers victory.

This was a fine victory - Tigers had fought back and taken the lead. They had used their runs and pitchers effectively though surely Mayumi had a pitcher he could slot into the eighth instead of Kyuji Fujikawa. Egusa might have been suitable but the Nishimura's troubles caused him to panic. Things worked out well but Tigers do need to use their relief better. Tsuru picked up his first career win and is looking more and more like a very useful addition to the pitching lineup. The save was Kyuji Fujikawa's 12th but one hopes he doesn't see too many two innings games this early in the season.