May 20th Standridge v Kikuchi - A different Arai mistake

This wasn't an auspicious game - Standridge struggled throughout his four innings of work but even so it needed a screw up by Arai to help Seibu score the runs that won them the game. In concurrence with his thought processes Wada put Conrad back into the lineup as right handed DH - there is a belief among Japanese baseball in general and Tigers in particular that switching left handed and right handed players will bring more likelihood of success depending on whether the pitcher is a right or left hander. Evidence for the success of this approach is scant but the belief persists and is fairly widespread. Conrad did hit and did so well but also hit into a double play and so must still be considered questionable. Scores

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

Starting Lineups

Tigers
1. Nishioka (Second)
2. Yamato (Centre)
3. Toritani (Short)
4. Murton (Left)
5. Takahiro Arai (First)
6. Ryota Arai (Third)
7. Conrad (DH)
8. Fujii (Catcher)
9. Asai (Right)

Starting Pitcher was Standridge

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

Starting Pitcher was Kikuchi

Tigers start saw Nishioka out but then Kikuchi lost the thread and managed to walk Yamato spraying balls all round the zone. He tightened up and struck out Toritani. Then Murton grounded out to end the innings. Akiyama singled in the bottom with one out. Kuriyama struck out swinging and as he did so Akiyama went for second and was thrown out to end the innings. All in all a solid start. Arai led off Tigers second with a single. Ryota then managed to hit into a double play - not helpful but it does happen. Then Conrad struck out swinging to end that innings. With one out in Lions second German singled - we actually saw him foul his second pitch trying to bunt it - sometimes batters get strange ideas. Then in a sign that all was not well Osaki also singled to set up runners on first and third. Kataoka walked in a barrage of low outside pitches to load the bases. Fujii was clueless as ever with his calls. Sumitani flew out to right but not far enough for German to attempt home - two outs. Then Nagae grounded out and Tigers had escaped a dangerous situation. With two outs in Tigers third Nishioka singled right but unlike Lions Tigers were unable to string consecutive hits or walks together and Yamato flew out to centre ending that chance. Lions third saw Akiyama single again, this time to centre. However, the next two batters struck out and the game was still scoreless.

Tigers fourth started with Toritani strike out swinging and Murton strike out looking. Arai though seemed to have Kikuchi figured and walked this time. This time Ryota broke his bat as he swung and only managed to ground out to short and end the innings. Lions fourth started with German flying out to right. Then Osaki drove along the line to right. Kataoka hit a grounder to short but Osaki was able to make second safely. Sumitani worked a walk but only one out was needed. Here things hit the fan. Nagae hit a grounder to Nishioka who fielded and threw to first for the ground out. Nishioka and Arai haven't really sorted their communication out and Nishioka isn't a particularly good thrower with Arai not always the best catcher. The mistake was Arai's this time though as he missed the catch and the error allowed Osaki to score from second 1-0 Lions, runners on first and third. It was a blow but not a disaster - that would come later as Standridge who hadn't been steady let the issue get to him. Asamura hit right to bring in another runner 2-0 Lions, runners on first and third. Akiyama hit to second where Nishoka fielded but could only stop the ball and not get the throw away - another run scored 3-0 Lions, runners on first and second. Kuriyama singled to bring in Asamura 4-0 Lions, runners on first and third. Standridge battled Ortiz and let go a wild pitch which Fujii missed and Lions scored another run 5-0, runner on second. Finally, Ortiz struck out. There was still the question of whether the Lions would hold the lead though. It was partially answered in Tigers fifth - no base runners. Lions were in with a good chance of taking the game. Wisely, Standridge did not return for Lions fifth and Tsuru took over the mound duties. He retired the batters in order and brought some much needed stability to Tigers. However, they were still struggling to get on base and Kikuchi was keeping them effectively and neatly out of the game. The three batters in the sixth were out in order. Sumitani led off Lions sixth with a single. He was bunted to second by Nagae - with a 5-0 lead, you seriously bunt? It is the appearance of action without actually taking action. By moving the runner round you appear to have taken action when all you have actually done is wasted an out. This also is a common feature of Japanese baseball. Asamura grounded out to second taking Sumitani to third and then Akiyama popped up to short to end the innings.

With two outs in Tigers seventh Kikuchi thought he could challenge Ryota Arai with a curve down the middle. It received it's deserved treatment being hammered into the back screen for a solo home run 5-1 Lions. This unsettled Kikuchi and woke up Conrad who doubled into centre. Fujii couldn't do anything though and flew out to right ending the innings. Tamaki came on for Lions seventh and dealt highly effectively with the clean up getting them all to ground out. Asai led Tigers eighth off with a single to left - by now Kikuchi was beginning to tire a bit. Nishioka hit into a double play but Yamato worked a walk. Toritani though grounded out to second to end the innings. Tagami also pitched Lions eighth and was also impressive, once again retiring the batters in order. Lions made a pitching change for Tigers ninth resting Kikuchi after eight good innings on 107 pitches. Note this is too sensible for Wada who would pitch his starters into the ninth in this situation. Togame took over and got Murton to ground out. Arai though doubled nicely to right. Then Ryota singled to put runners on first and third. The next batter was Conrad who hit spectacularly into a double play to end the game. Lions victory.

Commentary after the game seemed to attribute this defeat to the error by Arai in the fourth. Certainly it was bad and allowed a run to score but then it was only one run. Standridge should have been able to put it behind him and with the support of his catcher should have gotten the third out. This didn't happen and that is where the game was lost. Lions never really threatened after that and so the issue was Standridge who hadn't pitched well. Tigers batters also need to be commented on - they could have done more especially when Kikuchi was tiring. Conrad blew things in the ninth calling his much vaunted clutch ability into question.