Mr. Control and the New Batting Prince

Yesterday's (7/19) game against the Hiroshima Carp was a great battle, with a knotted game through 7 innings, then a sayonara hit to send the Yokohama fans home happy.Yokohama starter Komiyama showed great control the whole evening and didn't give up a single base on balls (nor did he hit a batter). It seems to me that that makes two games in a row as he didn't walk a batter in 9 innings last week as well, but retired before the end of that game that went into extra innings. Komiyama now leads both leagues in complete games without giving up a walk (or hitting a batter) with three such games (four if you just count 9 innings thrown). In fact, in 4 games against Hiroshima this season, Komiyama has thrown 32 ²/₃rds innings straight without surrendering a single walk (or hit batsman).

In his hero interview, Komi-chan said that he felt that he had given up too many hits. Well, he did surrender 9 hits to the Carp, but they were spread out fairly well. I can't vouch for the first five innings, but from what I saw (6th inning on), he didn't get into any big pinch. The only run he gave up was a lucky home run by Kanemoto. With two down and nobody on in the 8th, Komiyama threw the ball low and outside - not an easy pitch to hit. Somehow that ball just managed to clear the left field fence for an opposite field "excuse me" home run.

Yokohama tied the game in the bottom of the 8th thanks to a triple by Rose and a sacrifice fly by Nakane. Oh, and Komada returned to the line up batting in the number six spot and playing first base. It was his first 1-gun appearance in a month after being penalized for leaving a game early on Fathers' Day. Komada went 2 for 3 and was taken out without arguement for a pinch runner in the bottom of the 7th.

Nonetheless, Hiroshima's Tatsukawa-kantoku made a strange move going to the bottom of the 9th. Sawazaki had held the 'Stars to just 1 run on 7 hits while striking out 4 and walking 3 over 8 innings and was well on his way to a complete game. OK, so he had just passed the 100 pitch mark in the 8th inning, having thrown 106 pitches.

But what was Tatsukawa doing in the 9th inning? He send right hand pitcher Oyamada to pitch to Tanishige, and he walked him. Then, left handed Hirose was send in to pitch to Saeki. Saeki laid down an attempt at a sacrifice bunt (something that Gondoh-kantoku has been doing more often lately), but Hirose decided to throw to second. His throw, though, was high and behind the covering second baseman. That put runners at first and second with nobody out.

Tatsukawa then decided to go with right hander Ken Yamazaki to throw to pinch hitter Manei (pinch hitting for Komiyama). Manei laid down a bunt and successfully moved both runners along. That brings the 'Stars' to the top of the order, and Tatsukawa-kantoku to the bull pen yet again.

This time he decided to bring in left handed Takahashi to face Ishii. And what did he do? He walked Ishii intentionally. (That was Ishii's second intentional pass this game.) So, I guess that Takahashi was really brought in to face switch hitting Rookie of the Year favorite Kinjoh. Actually, Kinjoh has been in a bit of a slump lately, having his batting average "plummet" to the .380's. He was 0 for 4 in the game coming into the 9th, failing to hit after Ishii had gotten on base all 4 times before. He wasn't going to make that 5 times.

With the infield in, Kinjoh pulled the ball (batting left handed) between first and second. Tanishige scored from third, sayonara! Ishii, after touching second base, came back and tackled the kid, with several other team mates dog piling on top. This was Kinjoh's second sayonara hit in a week, and he was similarly tackled by his team mates then, too. He said that it's rough finishing the game off in such a dramatic fashion.

After last night's game, Kinjoh, is just 32 plate appearances short of qualifying for a batting title. Since Kinjoh gets about 2 plate appearances closer each game, he should appear in the batting title standings in another 16 or so games. And when he does, I still think that the batting crown will be his. All hail the future king! The man from the "Golden Castle" (kin: gold, joh: castle).

[Format edited by: westbaystars on May 30, 2002 7:35 PM JST]