August 3rd Nohmi v Sugiuchi - Just pipped

Both sides wasted chances though perhaps Tigers wasted more against a rather ordinary Sugiuchi. Both pitchers were pitched too much as well but Hara showed more sense in pulling Sugiuchi after the sixth. Wada continued with Nohmi into the seventh where he gave up the winning run. He was replaced by Andoh who looked distinctly rusty but managed to escape with no damage. We also saw further use of Kurose which was puzzling to say the least as he adds nothing to the side. Perhaps Saka's mistake at second is held against him as he would be the natural first choice. All in all an intense hard fought match in which the Giants superiority gave them the victory. Scores

        1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R  H E
Tigers  2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 3 10 0
Giants  0 2 0 0 0 1 1 0 X 4 11 1

Starting Lineups

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

Giants
1. Chono (Centre)
2. Yano (Right)
3. Sakamoto (Short)
4. Abe (Catcher)
5. Murata (Third)
6. Lopez (First)
7. Bowker (Left)
8. Nakai (Second)
9. Sugiuchi (Pitcher)

Shunsuke started the game with a single to left. The knee jerk reaction of the bunt to second followed. Given the tightness of the game wasting outs like this was never going to be a good idea. Toritani struck out which brought up Murton. He got hold of a loose slider and blasted it into the left stand for a two run home run 2-0 Tigers and a good start. Arai hit to Sakamoto who gratefully accepted the catch to end the innings. Giants had something to prove having been shut out the night before and Nohmi struggled from the start. Chono singled right on a full count and then Yano flew out to right - no bunt here. Sakamoto hit to centre to set up runners on with only one out. Abe was next but managed to his first pitch straight at Toritani for an innings ending double play. Sekimoto led Tigers second off striking out looking - proof that Sugiuchi whatever his issues was still dangerous. Those issues were manifest the with very next batter as Sugiuchi dead balled Kurose - runner on first. Fujii struck out though and Nohmi grounded out to second. Tigers still held the lead. The last batter was Nohmi who grounded out to second ending that fleeting chance. Giants second started with a bang - Nohmi also had issues and Murata who was leading off the innings took full advantage of them hitting his third pitch into the right stand for a solo home run 2-1 Tigers. Then Lopez did the same to Nohmi's changeup only this time it went into the left stand where the ball had Tigers fans scrambling to avoid it 2-2 scores tied. Bowker also tried to hit over the wall but missed and struck out swinging and then Nakai hit to centre - another runner on. It wasn't Nohmi's best innings. Sugiuchi bunted Nakai to second but Chono flew out to centre and that innings was over. With the scores tied Tigers came roaring back in the third but ran into some very sound defence from Abe. Shunsuke flew out to left - a deep hit but always an out. Then Yamato singled nicely to centre. With Toritani at the plate the steal was signalled. However, the throw was good and Yamato was tagged out as he slid in. Then to add insult to injury Toritani singled right - a bit of a stretch and just beating the dive of Nakai but a comfortable hit. Murton was next and another steal was signaled. Once again Abe's arm came into action and Toritani was out ending the innings. Giants third was quiet with Nohmi pitching at his best and fooling the Giants batters with some nice inside pitches particularly Abe.

In Tigers fourth with one out Arai hit to Murata who let the ball escape him for an error. Arai was safe on first but the next two batters Sekimoto and Kurose failed to move him round and the innings was scoreless. Giants fourth was also quiet and now that Nohmi had settled down he was pitching some good stuff. However, the Giants have the ability to turn up the pressure gradually and this is what was happening, almost imperceptibily but it was happening. Tigers though were fighting hard - Fujii led off the fifth hitting to centre. Nohmi went to bunt but couldn't handle Sugiuchi's sliders and straights and popped the ball up to Abe in the end for the out. Having resisted the bunt Sugiuchi went and blew it as Shunsuke hit nicely left for a double - runners on second and third. Fujii seemed a bit slow round the base and possibly his leg is still giving him problems. He wouldn't have made home but when Yamato flew out to centre Fujii didn't try for home. It would have been a risky attempt but a full speed Fujii could have made it. Tigers still had runners on second and third and Sugiuchi walked Toritani to load the bases. Murton was next and he struck out swinging. The suspicion is that Sugiuchi engineered the walk so he could get his revenge for Murton's two run home run. Risky but Sugiuchi does like to grandstand. Giants fifth was quiet and no one made base at all. In fact it was all over rather quickly. With the game neatly poised Arai led off Tigers sixth with a single to left. Of course the next batter, Sekimoto laid down the usual bunt - all a bit of a waste as the following batter Ryota (pinch hitter) hit his first pitch to left. Arai was held up on third but Bowker was standing rather in so it was a wise stop - runners on first and third. Fujii was next and he decided to go for the squeeze play. The bunt was perfectly laid down along the first baseline and Arai was able to motor home for the run 3-2 Tigers, runner on second. Fujii was out of course but Tigers made second. One does feel though that the squeeze wasn't the right option for the situation. It only gave the Tigers one more run and didn't put any distance between them and the Giants. The latter could and as later in the game would show did, overhaul the Tigers. The final batter was Nohmi who struck out swinging ending the innings. With one down in the sixth Sakamoto hit to centre. Nohmi was feeling the pressure and Abe hit into left to put runners on first and second. Next was Murata who got hold of his second pitch and hit it emphatically into the left corner for a timely double 3-3 scores tied, runners on second and third. A sacrifice fly was on but the Giants would have to wait for the lead with Lopez hitting to Sekimoto at third for the second out. Then Bowker hit to second to end the innings.

Sugiuchi was replaced for Tigers seventh by Mathieson. This was undoubtedly the right move and Wada should take note of this and stop being so rigid in how he handles his starters. He retired the Tigers batters in order. Nohmi though pitched Giants seventh. He had thrown less than Sugiuchi it is true but hadn't been at his best and was tiring. The first batter was Nakai who picked up on Nohmi's changeup again like Lopez. The result was the same the ball flew into the left stand for a lead off solo home run 4-3 Giants and the lead for the home team for the first time. Once again Tigers fans fled from the ball as it landed in the stands. Hashimoto (replacement right) struck out swinging and then Chono grounded out to second. Finally, Yano also struck out but one didn't see Tigers coming back from that blow. To their credit they tried hard. With one out in the eighth Arai walked and was pinch run for by Tagami. Tagami was looking for the steal and set off as Mathieson let fly a wild pitch that bounced in front of Abe and flew past him on the outside. The decision to use Tagami as a pinch runner was justified with the Tigers infielder taking third. It just needed a good deep hit from Sekimoto to even the score but he struck out. This brought a change in pitching and Yamaguchi took over. He didn't start well walking Saka (replacement second) to put runnners on first and second. Fujii again went for his first pitch but this went straight into the glove of Nakai for the final out. Giants had survived the challenge. Andoh pitched Giants eighth and started by giving up a lead off single to Sakamoto. Abe hit a low liner to Sekimoto which kept Sakamoto anchored on first but then Murata hit right and Giants had runners on first and third. Lopez tried to hit right as wall but grounded out to Imanari (replacement first) who threw to Fujii trapping Sakamoto coming off third. Sakamoto was chased down and tagged out - runners on second and third. However, Suzuki (replacement left) hit straight to Toritani for the final out. Yamaguchi continued for Tigers ninth and got Imanari to ground out. Then Shunsuke singled right. Immediately following Yamato did the same, runners on first and second. Toritani flew out to right keeping the runners on their bases and Hara brought on Nishimura. He didn't start too well walking Murton on a full count to load the bases. Wada sent Hiyama to the plate - this is the situation to use your best pinch hitter. However, Giants just held on. Hiyama stretched too much for his fourth pitch - a fork - trying to hit into centre but only succeeding in hitting to Sakamoto who was able to throw to second for the force out to end the game. Giants victory.

Tigers had shown good spirit and fight but hadn't been able to overcome the Giants once they took the lead. The gap between the two teams has increased to 7.5 games and Tigers it seems are currently suffering from the lack of a viable relief. Failure of the coaches to develop the relief pitching or to rely on the good relief pitchers and an over reliance on starters going deep is beginning to produce signs of tiredness in the side. Tigers need to regroup and come up with a better strategy for handling their pitching.