June 13th Andoh v Ishii - Andoh gets injured

Andoh took a ball on his shin and had to leave the mound. This was just as well as he had begun to deteriorate suddenly. He was replaced by Katoh and what was even more amazing was that Tigers were actually able to get a good performance out of the left hander. Murton returned to the lineup but didn't make much difference. Tigers batting was poor and even though Ishii is hot they do know him and should have done better. Andoh's meltdown was actually limited and a two run deficit shouldn't have been an issue. However, Tigers batting is not functioning and didn't respond as usual. All the usual embarrassments were there and one can't say it was a good performance.
On the subject of batting Tigers are constantly monitoring the MLB players. This is as much to avoid the possibility of compensation as the quality of the prospects. Currently, Fukudome is known to be unhappy and Tigers may be interested in him. This though is a questionable move. Whilst he would add runs his peak years were back in 2006/7 and then his production dropped off. There are also age (he is 35) and injury issues, one doesn't want to sign another Johjima. Furthermore, would Fukudome actually want to join Tigers. He didn't show much enthusiasm before he went to MLB and was more enthusiastic about the Giants. However, here the link would be Kataoka and PL Gakuin. One can't see him as a good signing. Scores

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

Starting lineups

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

Starting pitcher: Andoh

Lions
1. Kataoka (Second)\
2. Kuriyama (Left)
3. Nakajima (Short)
4. Nakamura (First)
5. Akiyama (Centre)
6. German (Third)
7. Osaki (Right)
8. Sumitani (Catcher)
9. Uemoto (DH)

Starting pitcher: Ishii

Playing Kanemoto at No. 4 is getting really annoying. He did have a small flurry but this was against careless pitchers. The evidence has accumulated that he no longer has the ability to bat consistently enough for the main RBI position in the lineup. It isn't a matter of pride but whether the batter will consistently drive in runs. Kanemoto doesn't do this and is just an embarrassment to himself and the team. Not that anyone else is performing but moving him will probably produce more confidence in the management and consequently a better performance. Wada's stubbornness here does not help Tigers win games and all his pontificating has no value if he doesn't manage sensibly. Tigers needed to get off to a good start and didn't really do so. Certainly, their first single came off the first with a two out drive to left from Toriitani. But Kanemoto grounded out to second to end the innings. Lions first was surprisingly similar; Nakashima singling left with two outs but Nakamura flew out to left. On the evidence of the first there was surprisingly little to separate the two pitchers or the two teams. Arai lined out to start Tigers second which brought up Murton. Would he be refreshed from his break? The answer was no and he rapidly grounded out to third. Brazell then completed the innings by grounding out to second. Much the same happened to the Lions. They grounded out with German flying out to right. Tigers third recycled Hirano for his second plate appearance but still he didn't do anything. With Hirano not hitting at all things must be bad - he is normally very reliable but his average is way down. Sumitani grounded out to lead off Lions third but then Uemoto walked. Andoh balked which seems to happen about once a year and Uemoto moved round to second. It didn't help as Kataoka grounded out to short locking Uemoto on second and then Kuriyama struck out swinging. All in all Andoh looked in control of things.

Tigers if possible were worse in their fourth than the other three innings. Yamato struck out looking and Toritani struck out swinging. Kanemoto flew out to centre and the innings was over. Andoh retired Nakashima first pitch in Lions fourth but appearances were deceptive. He suddenly went to pieces and an outside curve was hammered into the centre stand by Nakamura for a solo home run 1-0 Lions. Then Kuriyama got hold of an inside slider and managed to turn it right for another solo home run 2-0 Lions. German hit the ball at Andoh and it bounced off his shin. German was safe on first. Andoh was obviously in some discomfort and this was a good opportunity to switch a pitcher before he could do too much damage to the victory prospects so Tigers took it. Andoh was sent to hospital but was judged OK. In the meantime Katoh took over. He has a lot to prove but Komiyama was able to get him to do well. Osaki hit a grounder to second which took German to second and then Sumitani grounded out to short. Lions had a good lead but not an insurmountable one. Tigers though needed to do a bit more than they had been doing. They struggled to get out of the rut they found themselves in. Ishii controlled the fifth ruthlessly and non of the batters did anything. Once again Murton's rest didn't seem to have refreshed him and he flew out to centre. Katoh pitched Lions fifth and gave up a lead off single to Uemoto. Kataoka flew out to right and as Kuriyama struck out Uemoto tried to steal second. Komiyama's throw was excellent and he was tagged out to end the innings. Tigers sixth again saw the batters bundled up and unable to do anything. This time the Lions fielding was also sharper - this was not the Keystone Lions of Koshien and with the batters failing to hit an error was desperately needed. Watanabe took over for the Lions sixth and struck out Nakamura and Kuriyama, the two home run batters of the fourth to end the innings. Lions weren't finding scoring easy either but they were generating more hits than Tigers.

Tigers lucky seventh wasn't. Nos 2-3-4 fell in order. Ishii by now was enjoying himself and was looking for a complete game shutout. Watanabe continued for the seventh and struck out German looking - a nice start. Then Osaki hit along the right baseline for a two base hit. Sumitani worked the count full but Komiyama's calls were good and when Sumitani came to hit it was straight back to Watanabe for the out. Still Wada decided to switch pitchers and Tsutsui took over for the final out which proved to be Hirao (pinch hitter) who grounded out to Toritani. Tigers eighth saw Takahiro Arai, Murton and Brazell all fall in order. Tigers disease of swinging too early was very evident here and they looked a desperate side trying without hope to generate something. In Lions eighth Kuriyama singled to centre with one out. He stayed on first as Tsutsui and Komiyama bottled up the next two batters. So to Tigers ninth and Komiyama was pinch hit for by Asai. It didn't help Asai struck out looking. Ryota Arai then singled to centre - only Tigers second hit of the game and the first base runner since the first innings. Tigers had not picked up a single walk at all. Ryota Arai was pinch run for by Tagami but he was forced out by Hirano who grounded out to Kataoka. One more batter to get and this was Sekimoto (pinch hitter). One wonders why Wada continues to use him as a pinch hitter when he is singularly ineffective in the role. He flew out to centre to end the game. Lions victory.

Lions victory was built on superb pitching by Ishii who needed only 108 pitches to dispose of a demoralised Tigers. There's not a lot of positive things to take away from this game for Tigers fans. Komiyama's superb catching and the improved pitching of Katoh. However, if the batters do not get on base then the pitching doesn't matter. Tigers have a chance to bounce back and tie this series. They must hope for another Keystone Lions performance to give them a boost. Adding Fukudome to the side would not really help (and he wouldn't be available until next year at the earliest) as the issues lie with the management and their inability to get talented players to perform. It wasn't that Tigers were overwhelmed, they weren't. It was the sheer lack of spirit that they are showing. A victory might turn things around but that hasn't done so during the inter league series. New management would help.