April 20th Standridge v Torres - Giants cheat

Tigers sent a formal complaint to the commissioners office concerning the incident in the seventh where the umpire missed the dropped catch by Wakiya. Certainly Wakiya cheated in claiming the catch and was abetted by both Chono and Takahashi in a tawdry business which does the Giants no credit. However, watching the replays one could see that the umpire was unsighted and the actual drop would probably not have been visible even though the umpire was moving round to stay in position. A replay would have been very useful here and NPB might want to consider extending replays (but don't hold your breath waiting for action). This mistake was significant and did affect the result possibly even changing it. It is always sad to see a team receive a reward for cheating but one cannot blame the umpire who made an honest decision based on what he could see. The second incident which Mayumi challenged - Ogasawara's hit looked like the umpire got the call right with the ball just reaching the glove of Ryota Arai after Ogasawara's foot touched base - I never thought he was that fast.
Once again Standridge didn't look comfortable around the edge of the zone but really he only has himself to blame for the situation in the fourth. He needs to remain focused and not to let the strain get to him. Torres had similar problems in the early stages of the game but eventually was able to settle down. Scores

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

Starting lineups

Giants
1. Sakamoto (Short)
2. Wakiya (Second)
3. Ogasawara (First)
4. Ramirez (Left)
5. Takahashi (Right)
6. Chono (Centre)
7. Kamei (Third)
8. Katoh (Catcher)
9. Torres (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. Standridge (Pitcher)

Everything started nicely for Standridge - three Giants batters, three outs. Things did not go so well for Torres in the early stages though - nerves meant that he did not pitch at his best in the first few innings. Murton led the Tigers first off with hit. He was bunted to second by Hirano and one thinks this is just a waste. Toritani walked - for some reason Torres would have difficulty pitching to him in this game - runners on first and second. Arai then hit into a double play and the chance was lost. The Giants second was quiet for the first two outs and then Chono launched a huge straight hit which just hit the fence below the home run line. Once again Shunsuke demonstrated his weakness near the fence by failing to take the ball. Chono used the missed jump to make third safely. However, Kamei flew out to right and the innings was over. Tigers second started well with Brazell hitting a two base to left. Kanemoto walked but then Johjima grounded out to second. However, Tigers had runners on second and third and so things looked promising. Shunsuke was next and he hit to second where Sakamoto made another nice diving stop. Once again he couldn't get the throw away and Shunsuke was safe on first. Brazell was home 1-0 Tigers with Kanemoto on third. Standridge was the next batter and with one out a sacrifice was the obvious option. Instead Shunsuke tried to steal second and was thrown out making two outs and removing the chance of the sacrifice. This was an ill-considered decision whoever made it. Standridge flew out in foul ground to end the innings. Tigers were in the lead but might have had a bigger margin. Giants third was quiet though - Standridge held onto the lead well but was still throwing a lot of pitches. Tigers third started with two outs but then Toritani walked again. This time Arai hit to right to set up runners on first and second. Brazell was next and he once again blooped the ball over short where Sakamoto running back just couldn't reach it. Brazell is still not timing it correctly but is getting enough bat on the ball to hit it an effective distance. Toritani was home 2-0 Tigers, runners on first and third. Kanemoto though isn't timing at all and flew out in foul ground to end the innings.

We fast forward to Giants fourth with two outs and Tigers in control. There was no reason for Standridge to melt down but this is what he did. Firstly he walked Ramirez and then Takahashi - runners on first and second. Still this was just a wobble and not necessarily a bad situation. Chono hit one infield to third and this was a straightforward groundout but Standridge went to pick up the ball and couldn't grasp it. This wasn't ruled an error (at Koshien they are generous to Tigers players) which is what it was as it allowed Chono to reach first safely and load the bases. The next batter was Kamei who received a nice easy pitch which he punched into centre. Two runners were home 2-2 scores tied, runners on second and third. Johjima wisely deliberately walked Katoh to load the bases and get at Torres who struck out looking though Standridge needed a full count to do it. It was Johjima who led off Tigers response with a lead off hit in the bottom. He was bunted to second by Shunsuke - another unfathomable move. Standridge was next and he struck out looking. Murton tried to hit the ball out of the park and struck out looking. This was an inept innings from the Tigers point of view - the bunt was pointless. However, Torres seemed to have conquered his nerves and had shown some good pitching for the first time. Giants fifth was quiet as Standridge had recovered and got the batters to ground out. In Tigers fifth Toritani walked again and then stole second. Torres' pitching was assured by now and his straightballs were very effective. He struck out both Arai and Brazell to ensure that Tigers couldn't take advantage of their runner. Giants sixth saw Standridge begin to tire. With Ramirez back in the dugout he walked Takahashi. Kamei hit to put runners on first and second but then Standridge found a reserve of strength and struck out Kamei and Katoh to end the innings. His session was over and once again he had had trouble finding the edge of the zone. Tigers sixth was quiet as the batters fell in order.

Enokida pitched Giants seventh because Mayumi wanted to rest Kobayashi. After his baptism of fire against the Dragons he had a fairly easy ride. Ryal (pinch hitter) flew out to right and then Sakamoto hit into centre. Hirano went after it and with the ball behind him took off taking and holding an incredible catch on the dive to dismiss the Giants short. Enokida then struck out Wakiya swinging and the innings was over. Utsumi took over the mound duties for the Tigers seventh. He did not have a good outing. Ryota Arai (pinch hitter and replacement first) hit to Wakiya who messed up the take completely allowing Arai to reach first. Murton hit to left - runners on first and second with no outs. Hirano bunted the runners to second and third and here the bunt was justified. This brought up Toritani who hit a neat sacrifice fly to left. Ramirez was standing half way in but his throw is not strong and Ryota Arai was able to make home safely 3-2 Tigers runner on second. Arai came to the plate and Utsumi let fly a wild pitch which took Murton to third. Giants were really making a pigs ear of this innings. It got worse as Arai walked - runners on first and third. The next batter was Brazell who blooped his first pitch up into right. Wakiya went back after it and snagged the ball but then let it fall and hit the ground. He quickly scooped the ball back into his glove and claimed the catch. This was cheating but the umpire ruled that the out stood. Television replays showed the ball leaving the glove and hitting the ground but even after a discussion the umpires allowed the out to stand. This was significant because it would have put the Tigers 4-2 ahead and possibly led to more runs given how poorly Utsumi was pitching. Kubota pitched Giants eighth and faced Ogasawara who hit into the infield. Toritani charged in and threw to first but Ogasawara was just safe. Then things went wrong for the Tigers. Ramirez hit nicely to left and Kubota walked Takahashi. He was trying to work the bottom of the zone and was getting a bit too low - bases loaded with no outs. Chono swung at his first pitch and drove it along the third baseline where Arai's dive only succeeded in deflecting the ball away from the sack into foul ground. This could be classified as another error but it was ruled a two base hit (the throw to Johjima being non too good either). Two Giants were home 4-3 Giants, runners on second and third. Kubota had been rather unlucky to be in this situation. Kamei hit infield and another runner was home 5-3 Giants, runners on first and third. This was it for Kubota who was replaced by Kojima. Konta (pinch hitter) was next but Kamei stole second. This caused Johjima to deliberately walk Konta to set up another bases loaded situation still with no outs. Here Kojima did very well. Tani (pinch hitter) grounded out to Kojima so no run resulted. Then Yano (pinch hitter) struck out. Finally, Sakamoto grounded out to short to end the innings. Kojima had done well but Giants were now in control. Tigers eighth, pitched by Kuboh, by contrast was an anticlimax with the batters falling in order. Kojima started Giants ninth and got the first out before Mayumi switched to Fukuhara. He managed to get the next two outs without messing up and we moved to the final innings. This was pitched by Romero who got the first out but then gave up a hit to Murton. He then walked Hirano and Toritani (Toritani had four walks this game) to load the bases. Arai struck out swinging but a wild pitch brought a runner home 5-4 Giants, runners on second and third. Mayumi sent Hiyama to the plate but he couldn't hit this time and struck out swinging to end the game. Giants victory.

Tigers had been robbed by Giants cheating. It is fair to say that without Wakiya and Takahashi and Chono's compliance the scores would have been at least level. Possibly the Giants would have never gotten the three runs in the eighth and the Tigers could have won. Utsumi got the victory even though his pitching was dismal. Tigers had been tactically a bit inept in using the bunt and steal but should have won. Mayumi was furious abut the seventh and the fact that the second base umpire was badly positioned and hadn't seen the incident. However the umpires can not catch everything. There is a case for more replays but looking at the sports press this morning - despite the victory, the Giants reputation has been badly tarnished.