June 27th Fossum v Yoshinori - Kanemoto reaches 450 home runs

Fossum was better this game without being convincing. He still does not convince as a first team pitcher. Tigers batting against an average pitcher wasn't particularly good but the relief pitching was what cost them the game. Like the game against Yokohama they bled runs and really destroyed any chance of victory. None of them shone and Nishimura seems to be disintegrating before our eyes. He wasn't responsible for the defeat but still managed to give up runs. Mayumi does need to do something about the relief to stop the rot. Either he needs to speak to the coaching team or the players but as a manager his role should be to ensure that this sort of collective failure does not happen.
Kanemoto reached his 450th home run in this game - the 13th player in NPB history to manage it. That at least was some good news on what had been a disappointing series for Tigers. They had a very good chance of winning the Saturday game (blown by Nishimura) and up until the bottom of the fifth were in with a chance in this game (blown by the relief). Scores

          1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R  H E
Tigers    0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 0 4  9 1
Swallows  0 1 1 0 3 1 0 2 X 8 13 1

Starting lineups

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

Swallows
1. Aoki (Centre)
2. Tanaka (Second)
3. Iihara (Right)
4. D'Antona (First)
5. Whitesell (Left)
6. Aikawa (Catcher)
7. Miyamoto (Third)
8. Onizaki (Short)
9. Yoshinori (Pitcher)

Tigers start was poor - a 1-2-3 out innings. Thankfully the Swallows first was much the same in what would be Fossum's only good innings. Arai led off Tigers second with a hit. Brazell struck out yet again and even though he does lead Tigers in RBIs one feels he strikes out too much. Johjima grounded out to move Arai round to second and then Lin walked. Things looked promising but Sakurai flew out to short - snatching at a pitch. Fossum then gave up a lead off solo home run to D'Antona to start Swallows second 1-0 Swallows. Whitesell walked and then Miyamoto hit to right which set up runners on first and second. However, Yoshinori was the final out which enabled Tigers to escape with relatively little damage. Fossum then picked up a walk to start Tigers third but Toritani hit into a double play. Hirano then hit but fell to Murton's ground out. This was a waste by the Tigers. Swallows then extended the lead in the third. Aoki reached first on Toritani's error. Tanaka tried to bunt but collected a dead ball instead. Iihara hit to Fossum which forced out Tanaka but moved Aoki round to third. D'Antona hit a sacrifice fly to centre 2-0 Swallows, runner on first. This was Iihara who tried to steal second but was thrown out by Johjima who currently leads the central league in throwing out. Still, the situation looked good for Swallows.

Tigers fourth saw their biggest chance of the game - with two out, Yoshinori's control went. He walked Johjima, gave up a hit to Lin and then walked Sakurai to load the bases (the latter was deliberate to get at Fossum). Maybe Mayumi could have used a pinch hitter here but he elected to keep his pitcher in. Fossum struck out to end the innings. Swallows fourth saw Whitesell walk and then with one out Miyamoto added a hit to set up runners on first and second. The next two batters were Onizaki and Yoshinori whom Fossum was able to dispose of effectively. Toritani drew a walk to start Tigers fifth. He stole second and the wayward throw allowed him to advance to third. Hirano struck out but Murton walked. The hoped for double play didn't come off as Arai hit to centre 2-1 Swallows, runners on first and second. Brazell hit to right and Murton was home 2-2 scores tied, runners on first and second. Johjima flew out and then Lin grounded out but Tigers had eliminated the deficit. Swallows would restore it very rapidly though. Fossum returned for the fifth and with one out gave up consecutive hits to Tanaka and Iihara. Mayumi decided enough was enough and switched him with Uezono. Whilst the decision to replace Fossum was good, the choice of pitcher is more questionable. Was Uezono really the right pitcher to put in at that stage. D'Antona flew out but then Whitesell swung and plonked the ball into the left corner. As Lin went for hit he slipped and fell with the result that both runners were home (whereas only one would have probably made it if he had stayed on his feet). 4-2 Swallows, runner on third. Aikawa then hit to centre to bring Whitesell home 5-2 Swallows, runner on first. Finally, Miyamoto flew out to end the innings. Whitesell certainly made an impact in his games against Tigers but it is too soon to say whether he will prove to be a success as both his scoring hits had an element of luck in them. Still Swallows now enjoyed a comfortable lead. Yoshinori departed at the end of the fifth to be replaced by Oshimoto who retired the batters in order. Uezono was replaced by Watanabe who was pretty poor. Fukuuchi (pinch hitter) banged a two base off his second pitch and then Aoki hit to right 6-2 Swallows, runner on first. Tanaka hit into a double play to end the innings but the lead was ominous by now.

Tigers seventh was pitched by Masabuchi and saw Murton hit but then Arai hit into a double play to end the innings. Swallows seventh was taken by Watanabe again who this time was better and retired the batters in order. For Tigers eighth Swallows went with Matsuoka. he got the first two outs but then tried to get a bit too clever and gave up a hit to Lin. Mayumi sent in Kanemoto for his pinch hit appearance. He hammered a two run home run to right 6-4 Swallows. The next pinch hitter was Hiyama who couldn't do anything and flew out to end the innings. Once again, when Tigers scored Swallows were able to hit back immediately. Nishimura started their eighth and was useless giving up a lead off solo to Aikawa 7-4 Swallows. Then a hit to Miyamoto. He was replaced by Tsutsui who got two outs and then disintergrated. Aoki hit to right to set up runners on first and third. Then Tanaka hit and the runner was home 8-4 Swallows, runners on first and second. Exit Tsutsui to be replaced by Yokoyama making his professional debut. He got Iihara to ground out to end the innings. Ogawa was taking no chances and once again Lim took the mound. He was reliable and retired the Tigers batters in order to end the game. Swallows victory.

Tigers had failed again against a resurgent Swallows team. However, more questions need to be asked about the relief pitching. Once again supposedly talented relief pitchers failed to pitch up to standard. Interestingly it happened for a second time with Fossum who it must be admitted belongs in the second team. This defeat was not of such great import as both Dragons and Giants also lost but even so too many of these and Tigers could be on their way down. Mayumi as manager needs to do something to restore the confidence and performance of his relief. Nishimura has been haemorrhaging runs recently, Watanabe likewise is giving up too many runs and Tsutsui has been ineffective since he returned to the top team. Uezono doesn't like being a relief pitcher and doesn't really try and Yokoyama is far too new to form any judgment about. The only relief pitchers that Mayumi can rely on at the moment are Kubota and Fujikawa and as we know Kubota can suddenly go as well. Action taken now can avert a crisis later on.