June 19th Standridge v Nagai - In Mayumiland

Tigers returned to winning ways but once again we find that Mayumi cannot get things right. Standridge did pitch a complete game shutout and I am sure that he really wanted it but.... he threw 132 pitches which is too much. We hear a lot about how the season is long but if pitchers are going to be pitched at these levels early in the season then what happens later in the season? It was all a bit pointless, chasing after unnecessary milestones without much thought for the future. Mayumi could have switched Standridge after the seventh and used some of his underused relief. However, his macho desire to have his starters go as long as possible got in the way. This is poor management and seems to be about Mayumi's pride than any sound management of the team. Was it also necessary to give a hero interview to Fujii? - he played well but he wasn't that good. His calling was also partially responsible for Standridge thowing 132 pitches. Toritani would seem more deserving with 3 RBIs or Arai with two. Still Mayumi wants to reward one of his favourites (not that I dislike the little guy, its just that he isn't a particularly good catcher). Scores

               1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R  H E
Golden Eagles  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  4 2
Tigers         0 1 1 3 0 2 0 0 X 7 10 1

Starting lineups

Golden Eagles
1. Teppei (Right)
2. Hijirisawa (Centre)
3. Matsui (Short)
4. Garcia (First)
5. Kusano (Third)
6. Takasu (Second)
7. Yokogawa (Left)
8. Shima (Catcher)
9. Nagai (Pitcher)

Tigers
1. Murton (Right)
2. HIrano (Centre)
3. Toritani (Short)
4. Arai (Third)
5. Brazell (First)
6. Sekimoto (Second)
7. Lin (Left)
8. Fujii (Catcher)
9. Standridge (Pitcher)

Hey ho the final inter league game which Tigers needed to win to preserve a tied record against Golden Eagles. Off we went with the first innings. Teppei led off hitting to short and beating the throw to be safe on first. Hijirisawa bunted him to second and then Matsui hit a grounder to first where it was misfielded putting runners on first and third. Garcia flew out to right but Teppei stayed on first and didn't chance the run. Then Kusano grounded out to Standridge to end the innings. Tigers first saw a good start by Nagai with two batters quickly back in the dugout. Toritani hit but then Arai flew out and the innings was over. Golden Eagles second was quiet with a couple of strike outs to add to the pleasure. Sekimoto drew a one out walk in Tigers second. Lin hit to right but once again the running was conservative and Sekimoto was held up on third. Fujii hit to left - a nice but rather fortunate contact and Sekimoto was home 1-0 Tigers, runners on first and second. Standridge tried to bunt and failed. Then Murton grounded out to short. Teppei hit a single to left in Rakuten's third and with two out tried to steal second. He was thrown out and the innings was over. Hirano led off Tigers third with a two base hit to left. Toritani and Arai did nothing but then Brazell flew out to third who dropped and lost the ball as he collided with left. Whilst they were sorting out the confusion Hirano made home 2-0 Tigers, runner on first. Sekimoto hit to centre to set up runners on first and second but Lin struck out to end the innings.

Golden Eagles couldn't do anything in their fourth as Fujii and Standridge were working quite well together. Tigers though continued to score. Fujii led off the innings with a two base hit - his batting isn't bad at the moment. Nagai tried to pick him off but couldn't manage it. Standridge then managed to hit a grounder to Nagai which he failed to take and Tigers had runners on first and second with no outs. Two outs followed and then Toritani drove a two base to right bringing home another run 3-0 Tigers, runners on second and third. Arai hit to left to bring the runners home and then made second as the Rakuten players focused on the home plate 5-0 Tigers. Finally Brazell struck out swinging. Takasu led off Rakuten's fifth with a hit but one out later Shima hit into a double play. For once it was all going right for the Tigers. Tigers fifth was quiet but this would be Nagai's last innings. In Golden Eagles sixth, Teppei picked up his second walk of the day. Golden Eagles were not able to turn this into an advantage and Teppei stayed on first. Finally, Nagai was relieved for Tigers sixth with the pitcher being Jimenez. He started by getting the first two outs but then Hirano hit to left. Toritani followed and his first pitch was banged over the fence for a two run home run 7-0 Tigers. Arai walked but Brazell managed to fly out and end the innings.

Golden Eagles had by now had the stuffing knocked out of them and were easy meat for Standridge. Batters fell in order in the seventh. Tigers seventh was the same as the batters took their foot off the pedal. Now was the time to switch Standridge who had exceeded 100 pitches and done well. However, Mayumi kept him on the mound. To be fair Standridge was pitching well and didn't struggle - the Golden Eagles eighth was quiet as well. Jimenez was replaced by Mima for Tigers eighth. He also had no real problems and retired his three batters in order. Standridge then returned for his ninth innings. He was tired and it showed. Firstly he walked Teppei. Hijirisawa hit into a double play and there were two outs. Then Matsui hit a three base to right. However, Standridge wasn't to be denied and Makida (replacement left) grounded out to first. Tigers victory.

Tigers had won comfortably and could be happy with the result but it was against the worst team in Japanese baseball. Their inter league campaign has to be judged a failure with no series wins at all. There were some good performances it is true but no consistency. The tendency of Mayumi to ask pitchers to throw unnecessary complete games is worrying. Maybe he thinks it is motivational but it just tires them out. More sense especially as playing conditions are getting more humid would help here. Tigers now have a 4 day break before taking on the Giants at Koshien.