April 3rd Standridge v Nakata - Waiting for a winning streak

The uninspired start continues. Wada continues to demonstrate his complete lack of ability for a management role, Fujii continues to demonstrate his inability to manage the pitching and hold a lead or game, Ryota Arai still looks out of his depth at fourth (like last season) and Fukudome continues to shine. Fans are just waiting for the upturn, hopefully we will hit a winning patch and momentum will carry us forward. This game was replete with errors and Nishioka was held out of the side being replaced by Araki at second. Scores

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

Starting Lineups

Dragons
1. Ohshima (Centre)
2. Araki (Second)
3. Luna (Third)
4. Wada (Left)
5. Ibata (Short)
6. Morino (First)
7. Tanishige (Catcher)
8. Matsui (Right)
9. Kenichi Nakata (Pitcher)

Tigers
1. Araki (Second)
2. Yamato (Centre)
3. Toritani (Short)
4. Ryota Arai (First)
5. Fukudome (Right)
6. Murton (Left)
7. Conrad (Third)
8. Fujii (Catcher)
9. Standridge (Pitcher)

The Dragons didn't start with a bang. They were skittled out by Standridge in the first innings. Tigers were a bit better, Yamato singled with one out - a nice hit to left. Toritani grounded out taking Yamato to second but then Ryota also grounded out and the Tigers didn't take an early lead. Wada managed to draw a lead off walk in Dragons second but Ibata immediately hit into a double play. Morino then flew out to right to end the innings. Nakata returned the compliment walking Fukudome to lead off Tigers second. Murton struck out looking and Conrad and Fujii did nothing. So far Tigers could have been said to have a slight advantage. The stalemate continued in the top of the third with the three Dragons failing to get on base. Tigers did the same with Araki and Yamato both flying out to left. So far no score.

Dragons fourth started quietly, two outs both flyouts then Luna hit a two base into left field. Wada took five pitches before misjudging an outside pitch and striking out looking. Toritani flew out to lead off Tigers fourth and then Ryota Arai walked. Fukudome was next and with the count 2-2 Nakata looked to pick off Ryota at first. The throw was poor and Ryota was able to make third. Fukudome hit straight back to Nakata who fielded and locked Ryota on third before throwing Fukudome out at first. Murton walked which brought up Conrad. The ball went wild and Ryota scampered home 1-0 Tigers, runner on second. By now Nakata was a bundle of nerves and walked Conrad in four. Fujii was deliberately walked to get Standridge who struck out - this would be the end of Nakata's pitching though. Tigers now needed to hold the lead and this they singularly failed to do. With two outs in Dragons fifth there should have been no trouble even when Tanishige singled to left. Once again Dragons ability to read the calls came into play. Matsui singled deep to left centre for a double bringing Tanishige home from first 1-1 scores tied, runner on second. Then Ryoji Nakata (pinch hitting for Kenichi Nakata) hit to third. Conrad fielded and threw to first but as in the game before his throw was wild and Matsui was home 2-1. Ryoji Nakata used the mistake to take second but Ohshima flew out to centre. Still Tigers had blown the lead. Okada took over from Kenichi Nakata and retired all three batters in Tigers fifth with no one getting on base. It was something that Standridge should have done in the top. The Dragons sixth was also quiet with the batters falling in order. After the trouble of the fifth things were restored to normality. Dragons switched pitchers again bringing on Mutoh who was much better than the night before. He was able to retire the three batters he faced striking out Fukudome on the way.

Standridge returned for Dragons seventh - perhaps an innings too far with his pitch count as it was. He dead balled Ibata with his 100th pitch a signal that he needed to be replaced. Morino singled to set up runners on first and second - Standridge was tiring and Fujii is terrible with tiring pitchers. Tanishige also singled left to load the bases and with no outs Tigers were in trouble. Matsui flew out to right which of course brought the runner home 3-1 Dragons, runners on first and third. This was the end of Standridge who was replaced by Katoh. Clarke (pinch hitter) flew out to centre but not far enough for Morino to attempt the run and finally Ohshima grounded out to end the innings. Dragons hadn't really exploited their advantage but given their relief they had an unassailable advantage. Yamai started Tigers seventh and struck out Conrad. Hidaka (pinch hitter and replacement catcher) singled and Yamai was replaced by Kobayashi. Hiyama (pinch hitter) flew out and then Kobayashi was replaced by Oguma who faced Takahiro Arai. The latter struck out swinging. Certainly the switcho of pitchers had produced the desired result but it had been poor management of the relief by Takagi. Tsuru took over from Katoh and didn't fare well with Hidaka. Araki led off Dragons eighth with a single and then stole second. It was poor work by Tigers. Luna grounded out but Wada got another pitch down the middle and blasted it into the stands for a two run home run 5-1 Dragons. The next two batters failed to do anything and Tigers now had a chance to come back.Once again Tajima was the victim. Yamato led the bottom of the eighth off working an infield single. Toritani hit left - runners on first and second. Ryota Arai flew out moving Yamato round to third but Tigers needed more. They got it from Fukudome who hit a nice double into right centre bringing home both runners 5-3 Dragons, runner on third as Ibata messed up the relay. Murton batted truly abysmally though and struck out swinging in three. Then Conrad grounded out. Fujihara pitched Dragons ninth. He got Tanishige and then Matsui to fly out but Yamasaki (pinch hitter) singled. Next was Ohshima and with the count at 3-2 Fukuhara balked and Hirata (pinch running for Yamasaki) took second. However, Fujihara's next pitch was good and Ohshima swung and missed to end the innings. Tigers were still in with a chance but they faced Iwase and this was their death knell. Hidaka hit a grounder to short. Shunsuke (pinch hitter) grounded out to second and then Sekimoto (pinch hitter) also grounded out. Game over and Dragons victory.

Dragons ineptness in the fourth had gone unpunished. One can't really spurn chances like this and once one has the lead it should be held. Tigers have struggled to hold leads so far and the problem with Fujii (he is totally out of his depth) is rather worrying. Tigers need to avoid bleeding runs and tighten up in the battery. Wada needs to bring in Komiyama for more games. It is not that pitchers under Komiyama will win every game - they won't but they will win more. Once again Fukudome impressed though he needs more support under him. Neither Murton nor Conrad are doing well. Ryota Arai at fourth is a waste of space and needs to be replaced. He may have hot patches but is not consistent enough. Given how poor Dragons have been this series though, Tigers have every chance of winning the rubber game despite their problems.