April 14th Iwata v Bullington - Tigers first loss

This series went the standard way 2-1 with the Carp picking up their first win of the season which they were desperate to do so. A lot of their fielding had an air of really desperate attempts but they have improved considerably since the days of Marty Brown. Still I don't see them as contenders for even a playoff place as they are lacking in power. Tigers failed to exploit this and should have done more with Bullington who despite having some nice off speed stuff was there to be hit. One also questions the insertion of Iwata into the rotation but it was probably better to have him pitch his first game against the Carp than the Dragons. He didn't do too badly and was unlucky in some respects. Scores

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

Starting lineups

Carp
1. Soyogi (Short)
2. Higashide (Second)
3. Hirose (Right)
4. Tracey (Third)
5. Kurihara (First)
6. Iwamoto (Left)
7. Akamatsu (Centre)
8. Ishihara (Catcher)
9. Bullington (Pitcher)

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

Coming off a long lay off the question on the lips of every Tigers fan was how would Iwata do? We didn't have long to wait to find out. Soyogi led off Carp's first with a lucky hit which came off the top of the bat and ballooned into no mans land between second and right. He was bunted to second by Higashide and Hirose stepped to the plate. He faced two pitches before getting a 127 kph slider drifting to the outside of the zone. This he swung at and got the perfect contact putting the ball high and just over the left gaia fence for a two run home run 2-0 Carp. Not a good pitch but an element of luck as well in that the ball carried that far. Tracey struck out and then Kurihara grounded out to end the innings. Tigers first saw Murton fall quickly but then HIrano hit to left. However, a superb sliding catch by Iwamoto (who had an excellent game in the field) saw him out. Toritani though hit nicely to right and Arai walked setting up runners on first and second. Next was Brazell who struck out looking to end the innings. What he was thinking is difficult to fathom as the ball was a clear strike. Carp's second was quiet with the batters falling in order. In Tigers second Shunsuke hit to centre but with two outs and the next batter being Iwata the outcome was never in doubt and the innings was over. Carp's third was also quiet with no one getting on base. Tigers third brought Toritani up to the plate again and this time he hit to left. He then stole second knocking the ball from the glove of Higashide as he slid in. The ball spilled but Toritani couldn't take advantage of it as it didn't role far enough and was safe on second. Arai was next and drove his third pitch over shorts head nicely into left where Iwamoto fielded. Toritani pinned his ears back and rounded third for home as the throw came in. Once again an excellent piece of fielding by Iwamoto who threw precisely to Ishihara blocking home. Once again Ishihara was immovable and Toritani was tagged out getting nowhere near the plate.

Carp's fourth was quiet as was Tigers. The game was moving along at a fantastic pace but you felt that the Tigers batters should have been waiting more and choosing their shots with much more care. Bullington was there to be hit but it needed a bit of focus. In Carp's fifth Akamatsu managed a hit. Ishihara drove at Iwata who took the catch and threw to first catching Akamatsu well out of his ground to end the innings. Carp's sixth was also quiet and really one has to say Iwata had been impressive on his return. Tigers sixth brought Toritani's third at bat and this one he put along the left baseline for a two base hit. Then he watched as Arai and Brazell failed to do anything both grounding out.

Carp's seventh was following along the lines of the previous five innings when they had a real stroke of luck. With two out Kurihara hit and then Iwamoto swung wildly (one can only really describe it as such) and put the ball high and near the fence. Kanemoto went back to take it but spilled the ball falling over as he did so - a left fielder of his experience should not make such an elementary mistake. Kurihara set off but he isn't the fastest of runners and there was still a chance of preventing the run. This was blown by Shunsuke who picked the ball up but dropped it in making the throw. By the time the throw was made Iwamoto was on third and Kurihara was home 3-0 Carp. Akamatsu flew out to Toritani though and the innings was over. This really was bad luck for Iwata especially as it was ruled an earned run not a Kanemoto error which is what it was. Both Kanemoto and Johjima tried to blast the ball over the fence in the seventh but both flew out. However, Shunsuke drew a walk. Next was Iwata but Mayumi put in Lin as a pinch hitter and Lin responded well with a two base into the right corner - runners on second and third. Murton though hit straight to short to end the chance. Carp's eighth saw the first use of Watanabe this season as Iwata had been pinch hit for. He retired the batters in order using Bullington to practice his outside pitches before striking him out. Bullington returned for Tigers eighth and this time Arai hit a two base to right centre. Next was Brazell who struck out to end the innings. For Carp's ninth we saw Kojima in relief - a new role for him. He was good striking out two and retiring the batters in order. Nomura decided to switch pitchers for the ninth though he could have given Bullington a try at a complete game shutout - Bullington had thrown 104 pitches though. Sarfate took the mound to close the game down and was immediately in trouble. He faced Kanemoto as lead off and freed of the trouble of Bullington he drove the ball along the baseline for a two base hit. Johjima followed and put the ball high into left where Iwamoto showed exactly how take a high flyball. Next was Shunsuke who also hit left for a two base bringing Kanemoto home 3-1 Carp runner on second. Tigers had avoided the ignominy of a shutout and thoughts turned towards a miraculous win. Carp obviously had the same thought as their pitching coach came out to have a word with Sarfate. This worked but was helped by Hiyama (pinch hitter) suffering a rush of blood to the head and hitting out at his first pitch. He grounded out. The final batter was Murton who was dismal striking out swinging wildly at three pitches. Carp victory.

The game had been played at a terrific pace finishing in just over two hours (2:06). Iwata had only needed 72 pitches for his session and took the loss. He was a bit unlucky but had looked very impressive at times. Carp had ridden their luck but managed to hold onto the lead throughout the game. More application by Tigers batters could have easily produced a different result but one has to say Carp did deserve their victory.