June 8th Nohmi v Naruse - Arai hits 1000

Nohmi did not pitch too much and was just a few pitches over 100 (103). He dominated Marines and even though scoring wasn't easy for Tigers and they needed the help of the umpire for one run the game belonged to Arai who reached the 1000 mark in RBIs (actually 1001). Scores

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

Starting Lineups

Marines
1. Nemoto (Second)
2. Kakunaka (Right)
3. Iguchi (First)
4. Imai (Third)
5. Kiyota (Centre)
6. Ogino (Left)
7. Suzuki (Short)
8. Kawamoto (Catcher)
9. Naruse (Pitcher)

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

Marines started with grounders but for some reason Nohmi found Iguchi difficult to deal with and walked him with two out. Imai was next and flew out to centre in the most straight forward way possible. Tigers started with a single from Nsihioka. Well it was more a piece of luck and the first indicator of what would be a dismal fielding performance from the visitors. Nishioka actually hit to first who had a hard time holding the ball and by the time Nishioka had arrived he dived head first onto the plate and was awarded first. Yamato bunted - the normal reflex move of a Japanese manager; Nishioka on second. Then Toritani hit a grounder to short - Nishioka on third but Tigers were running out of batters. Murton did not rise to the occasion and also grounded out to short ending the innings. Marines second was quiet - in fact the only batter who needed some work was the lead off batter, Kiyota who struck out swinging. Tigers second saw Ryota single with one out - in fact it might be fair to say is that he hit throught Imai as the Marines third did seem to get a glove on the ball but that didn't stop the balls progress. Fujii was next and singled to centre - runners on first and second. Next was Nohmi who hit deep but ended up flying out comfortably to left to end the innings. Marines third started nicely with two strike outs, Kawamoto and Naruse. This may have caused Nohmi to become complacent as the next batter Nemoto got hold of his first pitch and put it just over the fence for a solo home run to centre 1-0 Marines. It kind of stunned Nohmi but he possessed enough sense to take the catch that Kakunaka offered him. Tigers top of the order couldn't respond though and they fell 1-2-3 in the third.

Marines then tried to capitalise on the success in the third. They did so badly. Iguchi walked and then Imae singled to set up runners on first and second. So far so good. Then Itoh decided to bunt which let the Tigers off the hook. Especially as Kiyota was asked to bunt. Of course the bunt succeeded - runners on second and third with one out. However, the next batter Ogino hit straight to Toritani who threw to Fujii at home. This left Iguchi stranded between third and home and he was easily chased down and tagged out. Then Suzuki hit to Arai at first for another easy ground out - Marines had messed up. It got worse - Murton worked a lead off walk and next was Arai. He has been sitting on 999 RBIs for quite a few games but his second pitch - a straight right down the middle - was too inviting - and he hit it into the Tigers gaia who welcomed the ball like the return of the prodigal son, two run home run 2-1 Tigers. His teammates celebrated as if he had hit a sayonara and he received the obligatory presentation of flowers for the achievement. Asai followe this act and singled right but both Ryota and Fujii flew out to end the innings. Kawamoto led off Marines fifth flying out to second and then Naruse struck out again. Nemoto singled but Kakunaka could only ground out to second to end the innings. Nohmi led off Tigers fifth by hitting deep to right but it was always going to be a flyout. Then with Nishioka back in the dugout Yamato singled. Toritani though grounded out. Marines sixth was quickly over and no one got on base. Tigers sixth saw Murton lead off with another walk. No doubt wary of Arai he too walked - putting runners on first and second with no outs. This was looking serious for Marines. Wada being a fool had Asai bunt and here Marines came to Tigers rescue. The bunt was successful but Kawamoto threw to Imai at third for the force out. Imai dropped the ball which loaded the bases. Next was Ryota who batted, it must be said unintelligently. He was possibly trying to work a walk instead of swinging and adding the extra run. He struck out looking. Fujii followed and had the right idea - the first available pitch he tried to hit. This went to second who threw to base for the force out but Fujii beat the throw to first and Murton was home 3-1 Tigers, runners on first and third. Actually, replays showed that the umpire had messed up and the Marines had worked a double play. Fujii was not fast enough to beat the throw. Still the score stood. Finally, Nohmi tried to hit but could only ground out to second.

The Marines needed a boost in their seventh for their large fan turnout but couldn't get it - they fell in order and probably the fight had gone out of them. Tigers seventh was also quiet with no one getting on base. The Marines tried again in their eighth but even the addition of a pinch hitter (Ishimine as lead off) didn't change things and they were once again baseless. Minami took over the pitching for Tigers eighth and with one out walked Arai. Shibata (replacement right) flew out in foul ground but Ryota also walked - runners on first and second. Then Fujii walked - more by accident than design to load the bases. This brought up Nohmi who tried to hit deep but once again could only fly out. Nohmi faced Marines clean up for their ninth and his final challenge. Iguchi hit deep to right but Shibata tracked the ball and then jumped up just by the fence to take a nice catch. He made it look easy. Imai hit his first pitch to Nishioka for the ground out which left Kiyota. He hit deep to right where once again Shibata took the catch - this time to end the game. Tigers victory.

A very nice neat victory built on some excellent pitching by Nohmi. He had dominated and Marines had struggled. Naruse hadn't been too bad but thrown one bad pitch. One doesn't do that to a batter of Arai's quality. He and Nohmi shared the hero interview both deserving the accolade. Tigers have taken the series against the Marines 2-0-1 with one game to play. There are also two more series against the Fighters and Golden Eagles to play and then the inter league bore is over.