April 24th Messenger v Maeda - A lucky swing

One doesn't want to take anything away from Dobayashi but his first career home run was a matter of a swing connecting with a pitch in the right place. Otherwise the game hung on the pitchers and both were superb with the luck going Maeda's way. That isn't to say he was bad - he was excellent but he did have his escapes. Kanemoto returned to the lineup batting six, something I can't say I was too happy with. The kind of drive and fire that Johjima brings was missing and his throw off Soyogi's single was instrumental in turning it into a two base. Scores

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

Starting lineups

Carp
1. Soyogi (Short)
2. Higashide (Second)
3. Maru (Centre)
4. Stavinoha (Left)
5. Hirose (Right)
6. Kurihara (First)
7. Dobayashi (Third)
8. Shirahama (Catcher)
9. Maeda (Pitcher)

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

Carp started quietly but with two outs Maru hit to Hirano. He fielded but bobbled the ball as he went to transfer and allowed Maru to reach base safely. Stavinoha was at the plate when Maru went for the steal. Another victim for Komiyama and the end of the Carp's first. Murton led off the Tigers first hitting deep into centre where Maru pulled off a sharp catch. Neither Hirano nor Toritani could get on base and Maeda's strike out of Toritani was sublime. Messenger was also pitching intelligently getting Stavinoha and Kurihara to strike out. Tigers second went much the same way with Kanemoto striking out looking to end the innings. Messenger struck out all three batters in the third - some very fine pitching. He has really matured as a pitcher. Maeda surprisingly started by dead balling Yamato to put the first runner on base. He was bunted to second by Komiyama. If we look at bunting in Japanese baseball we have to acknowledge that it is frequently done to give the appearance of taking action without actually doing anything substantial. The sheer pointlessness of having the No. 8 batter bunt so that the pitcher can drive the runner in seems to escape Japanese managers. However, the bunt shows you have tried and that is important. The far better action of working with Komiyama to improve his hitting is not considered. The bunt was successful and Yamato moved to third but then Messenger struck out as expected. It was up to Murton but he grounded out being unable to deal with Maeda.

Carp's fourth saw Soyogi swing and manage to put the ball over Arai's head into the left outfield. It was near the baseline but even so Soyogi was able to make second on Kanemoto's weak throw. Higashide bunted him to second and then Maru walked. Now Carp made a mess of things as Messenger and Komiyama combined to keep the runners locked on base. Stavinoha was induced to swing at a high pitch and fly out to second. Then Hirose hit to short to force out Maru with Toritani executing a neat backhanded toss to Hirano on second. Tigers fourth was quiet though once again Maeda produced a sublime pitch to dismiss Toritani looking again. Carp though couldn't get going either. Kurihara worked hard but flew out. However, Dobayashi and Shirahama didn't last as long. Maeda surprised everyone by walking Brazell at the beginning of Tigers fifth. Kanemoto hit a grounder to force out Brazell but he double play wasn't on. Then Yamato hit a grounder to third where Dobayashi made a complete mess of things eventually dropping the ball - runners on first and second. Komiyama swung at his first pitch and flew out to first - he really should have left that one alone and finally Messenger struck out looking. Carp's sixth was quiet. In Tigers sixth Hirano singled with one out. Toritani hit his first pitch straight to short for the double play. Another person who should have left his first pitch alone, there was no need to swing at all. This was Tigers first hit

Maru struck out looking to start off Carp's seventh and then Stavinoha walked. However, Hirose drove the ball into a double play and the innings was over. Tigers second hit came in the seventh with Arai leading off with a two base - a sign that Maeda was tiring. The ball actually hung in the air a while but the Carp fielders couldn't decide who was going to take it and in the end no one did. A great chance but Brazell struck out swinging and then Kanemoto grounded out. This did bring Arai to third and it was up to Yamato. He also swung at his first pitch and skied the ball to Shirahama. Messenger returned for Carp's eighth and here it might have been better to have gone for the relief but it all started well with Kurihara grounding out. This brought up Dobayashi who took two balls and then saw a 134 kph slider which Messenger had brought in but left a bit high. Dobayashi swung and connected nicely and the ball flew off into the outfield just clearing the fence to the right of the back screen - solo home run 1-0 Carp. This was Dobayashi's first career home run and he ran as if he didn't believe it. The next two batters did nothing but Carp had the lead. Wada pulled his usual stunt here and brought on pinch hitters - as if they were going to make any difference the way Maeda was pitching. Shibata led off Tigers eighth by flying out. A pinch hitter to replace Messenger wasn't such a bad idea but then Johjima swung too soon and flew out to short. Finally Murton struck out swinging. Tsutsui pitched Carp's ninth and was paired with the lamentable Okazaki. It showed in the pitching Soyogi leading off with a single to right. Maru's ground out took the runner to second and then Stavinoha walked. However, Tsutsui struck Hirose out with an awesome fireball to end the innings. Sarfate was drafted in for Tigers ninth. He didn't have an easy ride. Hirano managed to fly out to third for the first out. Toritani though stroked the ball nicely into right for a two base hit. Arai tried to hit along the first baseline but could only find Kurihara and was out even though Toritani moved to third. Finally, it was up to Brazell who didn't look particularly good and Hiyama here might have been a good idea. Brazell struck out swinging and the game was over. Carp victory.

Carp gave the hero interview to Dobayashi but the hero of the night had to be Maeda. Tigers had gotten to him in his previous start against them but this time he had had the extra. Neither team had shone in the batting stakes and just the piece of luck for Dobayashi seperated the team. Messenger had pitched very well for no reward but that is sometimes the case. Iwata had been poor and walked away with the victory the game before.