May 17th Standridge v Terahara - Kanemoto has a hit

For this starting series at Kyocera Dome, Tigers wore their grey away uniforms. The ni-gun team actually started in the 'black Tigers' uniform (an 11 innings 0-0 tie with the Giants). Tigers will wear the retro uniforms at Koshien. Kyocera Dome was not full - an indication of just how much Tigers fans dislike that ground and how unimportantly they view Orix in the scheme of things. As I have mentioned inter league isn't particularly of interest to Central League clubs anyway so they don't really try that hard.
Once again Uemoto impressed and was in fine form yet again. The reshuffled lineup worked well and it was pleasing to see Toritani at DH. Tigers could have won this one easily but for some poor pitching which made the scoreline closer than it should be. Standridge has had consistent problems locating his pitches all season and this game hadn't cured the issue. He failed to complete six innings but threw 116 pitches and this is something the coaches need to look at. Kobayashi was once again shaky and the choice of Watanabe to finish the sixth was certainly strange and almost fatal. Tigers held onto the win though which was a welcome relief but it was only the Buffaloes. Scores

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

Starting lineups

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

Staring pitcher: Standridge

Buffaloes
1. Moriyama (Right)
2. Kajimoto (Second)
3. Sakaguchi (Centre)
4. Okada (Left)
5. Hessman (First)
6. Kitagawa (DH)
7. Baldris (Third)
8. Maeda (Catcher)
9. Ohbiki (Short)

Starting pitcher: Terahara

Terahara started Tigers first well with Hirano flying out to left. Uemoto though hit and then stole second. He really is having a great debut. Terahara kept calm and struck out both Toritani and Arai to ensure that Tigers stayed scoreless. Standridge did not start well. The first three batters he faced all took full counts with the Buffaloes No. 2 Kajimoto walking. Sakaguchi hit to short and was too quick to be thrown out, runners on first and second. Okada struck out but Hessman hit into left for the runner to score 1-0 Buffaloes, runners on first and second. Kitagawa was next and he flew out to end the innings. Tigers didn't exactly do well in their second. Murton was completely befuddled by Terahara and struck out looking. Then Kanemoto popped his first pitch up and flew out. Brazell drew a walk but Johjima flew out to right and end the innings. Buffaloes second saw Baldris draw a lead off walk. Maeda bunted him to second and then Ohbiki also walked on another full count. Standridge's control wasn't good at all. Moriyama grounded out to second but this moved Baldris round to third. Luckily, Kajimoto struck out swinging and Tigers had avoided further damage. So far the game was tight with Buffaloes holding the advantage. Things were to change in the Tigers third. Terahara is an unreliable pitcher who has never been able to pitch with consistency and has often shown a willingness to go to pieces. He did this now - with one out Hirano hit to left. Next was Uemoto who hit his third pitch sweetly into right centre for a two base over. The field was in and Hirano was able to motor round from first for the tying run 1-1, runner on second. Toritani walked and then Uemoto stole third. Arai hit to right 2-1 Tigers, runners on first and second. Murton again struck out looking but then surprise. Kanemoto drove a straight into left centre for a bases clearing double 4-1 Tigers, runner on second. This was more a tribute to the poorness of the pitch than Kanemoto's current batting ability but it's always nice to see it happen. Kanemoto on second became Kanemoto on third because of a wild pitch but Brazell struck out looking to end what had been a semi-big innings for the Tigers. Buffaloes trimmed the lead immediately though in the bottom. With one out Okada blasted a solo home run into centre 4-2 Tigers. The next two batters failed to do anything and Tigers still had a reasonable margin.

Tigers fourth and would Terahara continue his poor pitching. The answer was yes. With one out Shunsuke hit his first pitch to right. He stole second. Hirano then bunted him to third - with one out and a batter hitting .309 you have that batter bunt? What was Bakayumi thinking? Uemoto stepped up to the plate and worked Terahara very effectively - looking nothing like a rookie but like a very experienced batter. He chose his pitch wisely and drove into left field for a timely two base hit 5-2 Tigers, runner on second. Toritani though flew out and the innings was over. Standridge then held the lead in the Buffaloes fourth retiring the batters in order - an important innings. Tigers fifth saw Terahara replaced by Kuwahara who immediately gave up a two base hit to Arai. Murton woke up to ground out to first and move Arai to third. Kanemoto flew out to left where Okada took a sliding catch and then made a fine throw to catch Arai off base for the touch out and the end of the innings. A bit of slackness by the Tigers. Buffaloes fifth was another quiet innings with the batters falling in order. Brazell led off Tigers sixth with a hit but stayed on first as no one moved him round. Standridge returned for Buffaloes sixth - a very risky proposition as he had already thrown 99 pitches and had control troubles. When will Mayumi actually pay attention to what happens on the field? He was rapidly in trouble. Okada grounded out but Hessman walked on a full count. Then Kitagawa hit to set up runners on first and second. Standridge was visibly tiring and maybe if Mayumi had removed him then Tigers wouldn't have given up the resulting run. Instead he stayed on and gave up a centre hit to Baldris bringing home a runner 5-3 Tigers, runners on first and second. Now Mayumi acted and replaced Standridge with Watanabe. This wasn't the best move as Watanabe has been known to start these situations with a walk and did just that this time walking Taguchi (pinch hitter and replacement right) to load the bases. Ohbiki hit to right to bring home a runner 5-4 Tigers, bases loaded. Watanabe exited to be replaced by Enokida who should have been the replacement for Standridge anyway. He struck out Shimoyama (pinch hitter) and then induced a flyout from Kajimoto, Kanemoto taking the catch near the wall. He couldn't stop his momentum and cannoned into it falling over but having the presence of mind to hang onto the ball. End of innings and Tigers still holding a slender lead.

Tigers seventh was pitched by Katsuki who gave up a hit to Arai but nothing came of this. Mayumi retained Enokida for Buffaloes seventh. Sakaguchi led off with a hit but stayed on first as the next two batters flew out and then Kitagawa struck out looking to a straight that shaved the outside of the zone to end the innings. Hirano pitched Tigers eighth and retired the batters in order. For Tigers eighth Mayumi used Kobayashi who was as shaky as ever. Possibly Kubota might have been better but when he fails he gives up more runs. Anyway Kobayashi struck out Baldris but then gave up a hit to Taguchi. He then threw a wild pitch to take the runner to second and walked Ohbiki - runners on first and second. Kobayashi seems to have trouble with runners on. Still he had his usual luck as well retiring the next two batters to end the innings without damage. Buffaloes pitcher for Tigers ninth was Kishida who also retired the batters in order. Fujikawa got the first two outs but with the chant at 'ato hitori' Hessman drove his first pitch into centre for a single. Kitagawa wasn't up to the challenge though and struck out swinging to end the innings. Tigers victory.

Tigers had held onto win what had become a tight game. Standridge picked up the win but he does need to do something about his control issues. Once again Mayumi had fluffed his pitching management and will probably never learn how to deal with pitching. Fujikawa picked up his 6th save and Kanemoto drove in two runs. Despite this Kanemoto still needs to move down the order but a best situation would be Lin as starting left. Lin made an appearance as a pinch hitter - a role in which he is wasted. Uemoto and Enokida were once again impressive with Uemoto being a live wire and earning another hero interview. Tigers won but still need to lift their game.