Kaneko to Kensuke to Guts
Twas forty-four years since we'd last won a series
The reason for this had eluded all theories.
This season was different; more focused, intense
We had a great weapon: our infield defense,
Kaneko, Tanaka, and Guts.
More known for his fielding instead of his bat,
Our golden glove shortstop, team leader at that.
He zips through the air like a hachi or tonbo
For turning a grounder or double-play combo
Kaneko to Kensuke to Guts.
"The other Tanaka," as we used to know him,
Can hit 'em, can bunt 'em, can field 'em and throw 'em.
One play's in the outfield away from the bags
Next instant he's back, slapping down pickoff tags
And throwing the baseball to Guts.
Then over at first base (and sometimes at third)
As lithe as a tiger and sharp as a bird,
No liner gets past him, no throw is too high,
As steady as mountains and endless as sky
Our samurai batsman, our Guts.
The squadron of Dragons prepared their attacks
But we quenched all their fires, defending the sacks.
Though base runners happened, no runs would they get;
This talented keystone would end any threat,
Kaneko to Kensuke to Guts.
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Michael Westbay
(aka westbaystars)
Founder
In a nut shell, the Dragons scored first in the 4th inning. Tatsunami led off with a base hit to right, followed by Morino sacrificing him to second. After Inoue wend down swinging, Tanishige and Hidenori drew back to back walks on eight pitches to load the bases. Top batter Araki then grounded the ball to Ogasawara's right on the right side. He dove, knocked the ball down, but by the time he recovered the ball, he didn't have a play anywhere. The Dragons took a 1-0 lead.
The Fighters fought back though in the bottom of the fifth. Inada led off with a double up the middle. He was sacrificed to third by Tsuruoka, then came home on a 1-1 squeeze bunt by Kaneko. The Fighters' Small Ball ties the game.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Tanaka Kensuke lead off with a single up the middle over center fielder Hidenori's head. He stole second base, then moved over to third on a ground out to the right side. Seguignol just needed a long ball to take the lead, and hit it several rows back into the right field stands - two run home run! The Fighters take a 3-1 lead.
With one down in the bottom of the eighth, Inaba hits a dame oshi solo home run to right-center. The Fighters go up 4-1, an insurmountable lead the way the Dragons have been going offensively.
Darvish pitched himself into and out of jams all night. Two Dragons stranded in the second, two more in the third, and the bases loaded (and one run in) in the fourth. He settled down after the fourth, allowing just two more hits before Okajima came in to relieve him with a runner on and one out in the eighth.
Kawakami got tagged for the loss, giving up 3 runs on 6 hits through 6 (4 of those hits being in the fifth and sixth innings).
The game final: Chunichi Dragons 1 - 4 Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters
Fighters win 4, Dragons win 1.
The Fighters are now Nippon Ichi and will now move on to play in the Asian Series next month at Tokyo Dome.