2004 All Star Game 1

I did manage to get back in time this evening. And had a volunteer (thanks jballfan) who had started with the pre-game home run contest.

Well, read on for the first of the two games for this year's All Star Series.

TRANSCRIPT generated on: 2004/07/10 21:15
CHATROOM: 2004 All Star Series/Game 1
MODERATORS: westbaystars

15:05: westbaystars: It's just after 3:00 in the afternoon here in Yokohama and I'm heading out to help setup for this evening's events.
15:05: westbaystars: I'll start reporting once I get back.
15:06: westbaystars: I hope to see a helpful volunteer pick up the play-by-play while I'm gone.
15:06: westbaystars: See you all later.
18:00: jballfan: wow
18:00: jballfan: just in time
18:01: jballfan: I'll get you the starting lineup as soon as they announce it
18:01: jballfan: wow...they're ready for the homerun contest (i think)
18:01: jballfan: and they're introducing the likes of ralph bryant and hanshin great Randy Bas
18:01: jballfan: Bass
18:02: jballfan: first match-up: Enatsu Yutaka vs Takahsahi Yoshinobu
18:02: jballfan: Takahashi fouls first pitch
18:03: jballfan: pops second one to shallow right
18:03: jballfan: swings and misses third pitch
18:03: jballfan: 5th one popup to 3rd base
18:04: jballfan: Nakamura 1st pitch hits a line drive to center
18:04: jballfan: four pitch missed homer by 2 meters....right field
18:04: jballfan: Nakamura 2nd pitch homer
18:04: jballfan: 3rd, infield out
18:04: jballfan: 4th pitch, homerun
18:05: jballfan: 5th...popup to center
18:05: jballfan: Fukudome vs Jojima
18:05: jballfan: Fukudome pops up to center first pitch
18:06: jballfan: Fukudome pops up to catcher on third pitch
18:07: jballfan: Fukudome hits a HUGE foul to right for second pitch
18:07: jballfan: Jojima fouls
18:07: jballfan: sorry, I've been trying to keep up with the commentary, and I am keeping up, but the site is workin slowly for some reas
18:07: jballfan: reason.
18:08: jballfan: I know its not a problem from my side, as I have a DSL connection.
18:08: jballfan: I'll do my best to get in the importance stuff in until Westbay-San gets here.
18:08: jballfan: Although I don't know why I'm writing this...cause nobody else is here
18:09: jballfan: now Randy Bass and Bryant will take part in a HR contest
18:09: jballfan: first up, Randy
18:10: jballfan: first pitch, he looks at the strike, second and third pitch, infield fly
18:10: jballfan: he doesn't hit a HR in the next two pitches
18:10: jballfan: Bryant fouls first one
18:10: jballfan: line drive to right
18:11: jballfan: line drive to right
18:12: jballfan: the PL beat the CL 2-0 in the HR contest
18:12: jballfan: PL beats the CL 2-0 in the HR contest
18:13: jballfan: that must have been the least exciting HR contest I've seen...ever!...in NPB or MLB
18:14: westbaystars: I just got home. Looks like I made it in time.
18:14: jballfan: sorry for the messed up commentary
18:17: westbaystars: Not a problem.
18:17: westbaystars: Looks like you took care of the pre-game show.
18:18: westbaystars: I appriciate you coming in to fill in for me at such short notice.
18:19: jball_fan: no problem
18:20: jball_fan: no problem
18:20: westbaystars: ---
18:20: westbaystars: Top of First
18:20: westbaystars: ---
18:20: westbaystars: Shinjyo fouls off the first pitch by a kid, I didn't catch his name.
18:21: westbaystars: Aren't the players supposed to swing and miss? For safety reasons?
18:21: westbaystars: Chunichi's Yamamoto takes the mound for the Central League.
18:21: jball_fan: I thought the all star seclection was pretty good, altho I dont understand why Seinoul was left off
18:22: westbaystars: The first batter he'll face is former Hanshin Tiger and MLBer, Nippon Ham's Shinjyo.
18:22: westbaystars: Shinjyo hits the first pitch deep, but foul.
18:22: jball_fan: yea, Shinjo's known to do things out of the norm
18:23: westbaystars: Yes, Seguinol should be here. I hadn't noticed that he was missing.
18:24: westbaystars: With all the merger talks, I've missed a lot of other topics of late.
18:24: westbaystars: It takes me a long time to read some of these more management-oriented articles.
18:25: westbaystars: Shinjyo swings and misses a 2-2 pitch to strike out.
18:25: westbaystars: Just before throwing the ball, Yamamoto had a big grin on his face.
18:26: westbaystars: Did he think it would be funny to strike him out with a change-up?
18:26: westbaystars: Shinjyo's team mate, Ogasawara, comes up next.
18:28: westbaystars: Yamamoto, after being ahead in the count 2 strikes, 1 ball, brings the count full before...
18:28: westbaystars: ... strikeing Ogasawara out swinging on a pitch down the middle.
18:28: westbaystars: Two consecutive strike outs.
18:28: jball_fan: Haha, maybe, but the pitch looked more like a slider
18:28: westbaystars: Seibu's Wada comes up batting third.
18:30: westbaystars: After getting two quick strikes on Wada, Yamamoto got Wada to ground a weak grounder back to him ...
18:30: westbaystars: ... the pitch on the outside part of the plate.
18:30: westbaystars: The toss to first ended the inning.
18:30: westbaystars: It's been a perfect inning for Yamamoto against the Pacific League.
18:30: westbaystars: ---
18:30: westbaystars: Bottom of First
18:30: westbaystars: ---
18:31: jball_fan: perfect way for the Chunichi veteran to start off the game at home
18:32: westbaystars: Buffaloe Ace Iwakuma starts against the Central League's Imaoka.
18:32: westbaystars: Imaoka grounds Iwakuma's first pitch to the left side, and is thrown out.
18:32: westbaystars: One pitch, one out.
18:32: westbaystars: Next up is Chunichi's Tatsunami, playing at home at Nagoya Dome.
18:33: westbaystars: Tatsunami hits a slicer up the left field line, and it just lands fair in the left field corner!
18:34: jball_fan: oh yea, Iwakuma, me and my friends call him the "crazy kid"...
18:34: westbaystars: I don't think that Tatsunami thought it would stay fair, because he had to turn on the gas around first to make it ...
18:34: westbaystars: ... to second.
18:34: westbaystars: The Giants' Rhodes bats third, facing his former team mate.
18:35: westbaystars: Why "crazy kid"? He seems pretty straight forward.
18:35: westbaystars: "Boy next door" kind of aura.
18:36: westbaystars: Iwakuma strikes Rhodes out on four pitches, a ball low and inside.
18:36: westbaystars: Johjima throws to second, but Tatsunami gets back in time.
18:36: westbaystars: Home town nubmer four batter, Dragons' Fukudome comes up next.
18:37: jball_fan: yea, thats true, but his stats are what we are referring to by "crazy"
18:38: westbaystars: 97 strike outs to 22 walks. Yea, that's crazy.
18:39: jball_fan: the hometown heroes are off to a good start
18:39: jball_fan: Fukudome doubles home Tatsunami
18:39: westbaystars: Fukudome lines the ball over the jumping second baseman's head and into the right-center gap!
18:40: westbaystars: Central League takes a 1-0 lead.
18:40: westbaystars: Kanemoto (Hanshin) stands in next.
18:40: jball_fan: Hanshin's "aniki" Kanemoto up to bat
18:42: westbaystars: Iwakuma gets Kanemoto swing to retire the side.
18:42: westbaystars: But not before a pair of Dragon doubles put the Central League on top 1-0.
18:42: westbaystars: ---
18:42: westbaystars: Top of Second
18:42: westbaystars: ---
18:44: westbaystars: Daiei's Matsunaka leads off the Pacific League half of the second.
18:45: westbaystars: Matsunaka hit the ball deep.
18:45: jball_fan: here comes the REAL offense...Matsunaka and Jojima of the Hawks
18:45: westbaystars: Going, going, haittaaaaaa!
18:45: westbaystars: Matsunaka ties the ball game with a lead-off solo home run to left.
18:46: westbaystars: Johjima is up.
18:48: westbaystars: He grounds the ball to second for the first out of the inning.
18:49: westbaystars: Daiei's Zuleta bats sixth.
18:49: westbaystars: With Iguchi to follow, it looks like we have four Hawks in a row from #4 to #7.
18:50: westbaystars: Zuleta lifts a high fly ball.
18:51: westbaystars: It takes forever to come down, but when it does, the first baseman, Arias, calls it for the out.
18:51: westbaystars: Next up is Daiei's Iguchi, the fourth Hawk in a row.
18:52: westbaystars: Yamamoto's lost his control and throws three straight balls to Iguchi.
18:52: westbaystars: The next pitch is down the middle and swung on and lifted to center.
18:52: westbaystars: But well within Rhodes' range, just a shade toward right field.
18:53: westbaystars: Rhodes pulls the ball in and retires the side.
18:53: westbaystars: But the first Hawk of the inning hit a game tying home run to even things at 1-1.
18:53: westbaystars: ---
18:53: westbaystars: Bottom of Second
18:53: westbaystars: ---
18:55: westbaystars: The Giants' Takahashi Yoshinobu leads off the Central Second.
18:55: westbaystars: Furuta, in the third base coache's box, is imitating Takahashi's step.
18:56: westbaystars: Yoshinobu reaches out and knocks a base hit through the left side of the infield to give the Centrral League a ...
18:56: westbaystars: ... lead off base runner.
18:57: westbaystars: That brings up Hanshin's Arias.
18:57: westbaystars: He lifts the ball deeeeeeeep to left.
18:57: westbaystars: But just left of the foul poll in the upper deck.
18:58: westbaystars: But in the end, he lifts a high fly ball that first baseman Matsunaka calls and takes in.
18:58: westbaystars: Hanshin's Yano bats next.
19:00: westbaystars: Count goes full.
19:00: westbaystars: Yano check swings on ball four, and the first baseman rings him up for going too far.
19:01: westbaystars: That makes it two outs with a runner at first.
19:01: westbaystars: The Giants' Nioka is next.
19:02: westbaystars: And he takes stright three down the middle and at the knees.
19:02: westbaystars: Beautiful pitch.
19:02: westbaystars: That retires the Central League in order.
19:02: westbaystars: At the end of two complete, the game is tied 1-1.
19:02: westbaystars: ---
19:02: westbaystars: Top of Third
19:02: westbaystars: ---
19:04: westbaystars: Yokohama's Miura Daisuke takes the mound for the Central Legue.
19:05: westbaystars: He'll face Seibu's Nakajima in the #8 spot in the order.
19:05: westbaystars: Nakajima slaps a ball over the right side of the infield for a base hit.
19:06: westbaystars: The Pacific League has their lead-off man aboard.
19:06: westbaystars: Orix' Tani stands in next.
19:06: westbaystars: And on the second pitch, Nakajima takes off for second without a throw.
19:06: westbaystars: I don't think Miura was paying him any attention.
19:07: westbaystars: A couple pitches later, Tani lifts a fly ball deep to right.
19:07: westbaystars: Nakajima toutches up and breaks for third.
19:08: westbaystars: The throw in is not in time.
19:08: westbaystars: That puts a runner at third for top batting Shinjyo.
19:10: westbaystars: With the count full, Shinjo (that's how he spells it now) fouls a couple balls back.
19:10: westbaystars: The eighth offering from Miura is swung on and missed, strike three.
19:10: westbaystars: That sends Shinjo back on strikes for the second time this evening.
19:11: westbaystars: Ogasawara stands in next.
19:12: westbaystars: Miura throws a blooper for a ball to bring the count full.
19:12: westbaystars: After fouling one off, Ogasawara goes down swinging on a pitch inside and low.
19:13: westbaystars: Isn't that where Yamamoto got him?
19:13: westbaystars: Nonetheless, the Pacific League got a runner as far as third.
19:13: westbaystars: But no further.
19:13: westbaystars: ---
19:13: westbaystars: Bottom of Third
19:13: westbaystars: ---
19:14: westbaystars: Seibu's Matsuzaka Daisuke takes over for the Pacific League.
19:15: westbaystars: The first batter he faces is Hanshin's Imaoka, the top of the Central League order.
19:16: westbaystars: Matsuzaka gets Imaoka looking at strike three.
19:16: westbaystars: That was after throwing the fastest pitch of the evening, 153 kph.
19:17: westbaystars: Tatsunami stands in next.
19:18: westbaystars: And he walks on five pitches to put a runner on with Rhodes coming to the plate.
19:20: westbaystars: And Matsuzaka fools Rhodes with a stright on the outside part of the plate that Rhodes couldn't reach.
19:20: westbaystars: That makes two outs.
19:20: westbaystars: Fukudome stands in next.
19:21: westbaystars: Fukudome lifts that ball high to center, but not deep.
19:21: westbaystars: Shinjo comes in a little, catches the ball, and the side is retired in order.
19:21: westbaystars: At the end of three complete, the score remains 1-1.
19:21: westbaystars: ---
19:21: westbaystars: Top of Fourth
19:21: westbaystars: ---
19:24: westbaystars: I was away getting some water. What happened with the first batter?
19:25: westbaystars: Matsunaka grounds to first, the toss from Arias to the covering Miura is the second out of the inning.
19:25: westbaystars: That brings up Johjima.
19:25: westbaystars: He lifts the ball deep to left center.
19:26: westbaystars: There's nothing the outfield can do but turn and watch this one go.
19:26: jball_fan: sorry, i wasnt paying attention either
19:26: westbaystars: Johjima jogs around the bases and Daiei's two home runs put the Pacific League up 2-1.
19:26: jball_fan: oh now i remember, Wada flied out to left
19:26: jball_fan: yup, that's one each for the Daiei sluggers
19:27: westbaystars: They seem to take less time between innings than usual.
19:27: westbaystars: Zuleta follows lining the ball to Fukudome in right, and the side is retired.
19:28: westbaystars: But not before the Pacific League took a 2-1 lead on Johjima's deep solo home run to left-center.
19:28: westbaystars: ---
19:28: westbaystars: Bottom of Fourth
19:28: westbaystars: ---
19:29: westbaystars: The Central Legaue starts from #5 batting Kanemoto.
19:30: westbaystars: Matsuzaka hits 155 kph as Kanemoto fouls it off for strike two.
19:30: westbaystars: The next pitch, a fork, is watched for strike three.
19:30: westbaystars: Matsuzaka strikes Kanemoto out on three pitches.
19:31: westbaystars: Next up is Takahashi Yoshinobu.
19:31: westbaystars: Takahashi smiles nervously watching another 155 kph pitch go by, this one outside and high.
19:32: westbaystars: Matsuzaka looks like he's trying to throw harder, but he's losing his control in doing it.
19:32: westbaystars: But not to the point that he can't fool Takahashi, getting him swinging late at a ball outside.
19:32: westbaystars: That's two strike outs in a rwo.
19:32: westbaystars: Arias stands in next.
19:33: westbaystars: Arias lifts the ball back to the backstop.
19:34: westbaystars: Johjima goes back, and lunging at the last second to his left, makes the catch in front of the back net.
19:34: westbaystars: Matsuzaka shuts the Central League down in order.
19:34: westbaystars: At the end of four complete, the Pacific League leads 2-1.
19:34: westbaystars: ---
19:34: westbaystars: Top of Fifth
19:35: westbaystars: ---
19:36: westbaystars: In to pitch for the Central League is the Dragons' ace Kawakami.
19:37: westbaystars: Shima also comes in defensively in left for Kanemoto.
19:37: westbaystars: Iguchi grounds out to short for the first out.
19:38: westbaystars: That brings up Seibu's Nakajima.
19:39: westbaystars: Kawakami gets Nakajima looking at strike three on the outside corner.
19:39: westbaystars: That's two quick outs.
19:39: westbaystars: Tani (Orix) stands in next.
19:40: westbaystars: Kawakami hit's his max of 145 kph the pitch before striking Tani out swinging.
19:40: westbaystars: Kawakami had no problems with the bottom of the Pacific League order.
19:41: westbaystars: ---
19:41: westbaystars: Bottom of Fifth
19:42: westbaystars: ---
19:43: westbaystars: In to pitch for the Pacific League is Lotte's Watanabe.
19:43: westbaystars: Iwamura (Swallows) will pinch hit (I think) for Yano.
19:44: westbaystars: Watanabe is the pitcher who throws underhand.
19:44: westbaystars: Iwamura figures him out and lines a base hit to center.
19:45: westbaystars: Wow, he gets down just centemeters from the ground to release the ball.
19:45: westbaystars: That brings up the Giants's Nioka.
19:45: westbaystars: Nioka lines Watanabe's first pitch to Nakajima at short.
19:45: westbaystars: Iwamura didn't get far from first.
19:46: westbaystars: Back to the top of the Central League order in Imaoka.
19:46: jball_fan: didnt get to see the hit, but makes me happy to see that a Swallow is finally in the game
19:47: westbaystars: After working the count full, Imaoka swings late a pitch down the middle.
19:47: westbaystars: Strike three.
19:47: westbaystars: That makes two down with a runner at first.
19:47: westbaystars: Tatsunami comes to the plate.
19:49: westbaystars: Watanabe gets the Central League's leading hitter swinging at a pitch high and tight.
19:49: westbaystars: That retires the side.
19:49: westbaystars: After five complete, the Pacific League continues to lead the Central League 2-1.
19:49: westbaystars: ---
19:49: westbaystars: Top of Sixth
19:49: westbaystars: ---
19:53: westbaystars: For the half-time show, they're having a special cerimony for two new entries to the Hall of Fame.
19:54: westbaystars: The first is former Taiyo Whale pitcher Akiyama.
19:55: westbaystars: He was a side arm pitcher who threw in all four Nihon Series game for the 1960 Whales.
19:55: westbaystars: He also won both games of double headers five times.
19:55: westbaystars: The other inductee is Ichiro's former manager Ohgi.
19:57: westbaystars: Ohgi was also the Buffaloes' manager when Nomo was drafted to them.
19:59: westbaystars: Now the players leave their lines up the middle of the field and throw signed balls into the stands.
20:01: MHStevie: Greetings!
20:02: westbaystars: Good evening.
20:02: westbaystars: We're at a pause in the action.
20:02: westbaystars: Actually, a new battery just entered the game.
20:03: westbaystars: Gants's Uehara and Abe take the mound and catcher positions respectively.
20:03: westbaystars: And Shinjo welcomes them by ripping a base hit throught the left side on Uehara's first pitch.
20:04: westbaystars: Kintetsu's Nakamura comes up to hit for the first time this evening.
20:04: westbaystars: He apparently came in defensively last inning.
20:04: westbaystars: (Lots of defensive changes happen in these games without notice.
20:05: westbaystars: Nakamura lifts the ball up high and fould on the left side.
20:05: westbaystars: The ball hits the roof and bunces back fair!
20:05: westbaystars: Nakamura runs late to first, and isn't sure if he should be allowed to have a hit.
20:06: westbaystars: But that's the rule, if it hits the roof, it's played where it comes down.
20:06: westbaystars: Wada lines out to Shima now in left.
20:07: westbaystars: Matsunaka, who tied the game in the second with a lead off home run,
20:07: MHStevie: How high is that roof? That sounded like a towering shot!
20:07: westbaystars: flies out to right.
20:07: westbaystars: Shinjo tags and breaks for third.
20:08: westbaystars: The throw from Fukudome bounces just a little too high to make the touch, Shinjo is safe.
20:08: westbaystars: That brings up Johjima, who put the Pacific League up 2-1 in the fourth with a solo shot.
20:08: westbaystars: And he lines out to Fukudome in right to retire the side.
20:09: westbaystars: The roof is supposed to be "higher than anyone will likely hit the ball."
20:09: westbaystars: But it isn't.
20:10: westbaystars: ---
20:10: westbaystars: Bottom of Sixth
20:10: westbaystars: ---
20:10: westbaystars: It looks like we had an earthquake up above Tokyo, Ibaraki and Saitama area.
20:11: westbaystars: I didn't feel it down here south of Tokyo.
20:11: westbaystars: Fukudome leads off for the Central League.
20:12: westbaystars: He lifts the ball to left, an easy first out.
20:12: westbaystars: I'm still amazed every time they show Watanabe's delivery.
20:12: westbaystars: I wonder how many times he scrapes his hand on the ground.
20:13: westbaystars: That brings up Hiroshima's Shima.
20:13: westbaystars: Shima came in defensively earlier this game and bats for the first time.
20:13: westbaystars: Shima also lifts the ball high to left.
20:13: MHStevie: Is it like a fast-pitch softball delivery? I'm trying to visualize it here...
20:13: westbaystars: And the Central League goes down in order again.
20:14: westbaystars: I appear to have missed the first batter.
20:14: westbaystars: No, not like fast-pitch softball.
20:15: westbaystars: It's more side arm, but he spreads his legs wide with his step and reaches down a few centemeters from the ground.
20:15: westbaystars: ---
20:15: westbaystars: Top of Seventh
20:15: westbaystars: ---
20:16: westbaystars: Daiei's Zuleta, the DH for the Pacific League leads off.
20:17: westbaystars: he lifts the ball deep to left.
20:17: westbaystars: If it's fair, it's gone.
20:17: westbaystars: And yes, it stays fair!
20:17: westbaystars: That's the Hawks' third home run of the evening, lifting the Pacific League to a 3-1 lead.
20:17: MHStevie: Haitta!
20:18: westbaystars: That brings up the only Hawk in the starting lineup not to have a home run, Iguchi.
20:19: westbaystars: Iguchi draws a walk.
20:20: westbaystars: That brings up Lions' Nakajima, who's done an incredible job as a replacement for Matsui.
20:20: westbaystars: Nakajima lines the ball to left field, base hit.
20:21: westbaystars: Iguchi rounds second and heads to third, and Nakajima runs into second with a standup double.
20:21: westbaystars: That brings up former Hawk, current BlueWave Muramatsu.
20:21: MHStevie: *** Rhodes was the first batter in the bottom of the sixth.
20:22: westbaystars: Muramatsu came in defensively earlier.
20:22: westbaystars: And lines the ball to right, base hit.
20:22: westbaystars: One run is in.
20:22: MHStevie: *** He popped out to 3rd base on the very first pitch he saw,
20:22: westbaystars: Nakajima rounds thrid, the throw from Fukudome, is not in time!
20:22: westbaystars: Two runs in.
20:22: westbaystars: Matsumura heads to second on the throw to first.
20:23: westbaystars: Shinjo hits the first pitch to short. Matsumura holds at second, and Shinjo is the first out of the inning.
20:23: westbaystars: That brings up Nakamura.
20:24: westbaystars: *** Ah, that probably happened during commercial.
20:24: westbaystars: *** Thaks for the update.
20:24: westbaystars: Nakamura goes down swinging for the second out.
20:24: habs: greetings.
20:24: MHStevie: Greetings, habs!
20:25: westbaystars: Hi, Habs-san.
20:25: westbaystars: Isobe (came in defensively earlier) lifts a pop up to center.
20:25: westbaystars: No problem for Takahashi (who's now in center), and the side is retired.
20:26: westbaystars: But not before the third Hawk of the evening, Zuleta, hit the third home run of the game.
20:26: westbaystars: And a two run single by Matsumura put the Pacific League up 5-2.
20:26: westbaystars: ---
20:27: westbaystars: Top of Eighth
20:27: westbaystars: ---
20:27: MHStevie: I think you mean Muramatsu...
20:27: westbaystars: Sorry, I do that a lot with his name - reversing the characters.
20:28: westbaystars: Nippon Ham's Kanemura comes in to pitch.
20:28: westbaystars: --- Also, the score is 5-1.
20:28: westbaystars: The Central League scored first in the first on doubles by Dragons Tatsunami and Fukudome.
20:29: westbaystars: The Giants' Takahashi leads off this inning with a double to left, just inside the third base bag.
20:29: westbaystars: That brings up George Arias.
20:29: habs: The league as two all star games?
20:30: westbaystars: This year it's two. Some years it's three.
20:30: westbaystars: Arias hits the third base bag and the ball head into left field.
20:31: westbaystars: Takahashi rounds third, scores.
20:31: westbaystars: The throw to second is off line, giving Arias a double.
20:31: westbaystars: That brings up Iwamura (Swallows).
20:32: westbaystars: Iwamura gets his second hit in two tries this evening, hitting the ball through the right side.
20:32: westbaystars: Arias holds at third base, and the Central League has runners at first and third with nobody out.
20:33: westbaystars: That brings up Aka-Godzilla, Shima (Carp).
20:33: westbaystars: No, that's wrong.
20:33: westbaystars: It's LaRocca.
20:33: westbaystars: Pinch hitting.
20:34: westbaystars: Kanemura's been rather ineffective so far on the mound.
20:35: westbaystars: But he gets LaRocca swinging at a fork ball in the dirt outside.
20:35: westbaystars: That's his first out of the inning.
20:35: westbaystars: We go to the top of the order in Imaoka.
20:36: westbaystars: He lifts the ball deep to right.
20:36: westbaystars: Not deep enough for a home run, but plenty deep enough for a sacrifice fly.
20:37: westbaystars: And that just what he gets, bring the Central League to within two runs.
20:37: westbaystars: Giants' Kokubo comes up as a pinch hitter.
20:37: westbaystars: Kokubo hit home runs in each of the last three games before the break against the BayStars.
20:38: westbaystars: Two of those turned the game around to the Giants' favor for their eventual victory.
20:38: MHStevie: Heh heh... Imaoka SACed his teammate in, didn't he? That worked out nicely...
20:38: westbaystars: This time, though, Kanemura gets him swinging at a fork ball in the dirt, and the side is retired.
20:38: westbaystars: But the Central League got a pair of doubles and a sacrifice fly to score two.
20:39: westbaystars: They now trail 3-5.
20:39: westbaystars: ---
20:39: westbaystars: Top of Eighth
20:39: westbaystars: ---
20:40: westbaystars: Hiroshima's Kawauchi (I think) comes in to pitch for the Central League.
20:40: habs: Any Bay Star players?
20:41: habs: Playing
20:41: westbaystars: Miura pitched a couple of innings.
20:41: MHStevie: Is it the top of the eighth, or the bottom?
20:41: westbaystars: And Taneda is now in at short starting this inning.
20:42: westbaystars: Top. The Central League is the home team.
20:42: westbaystars: We lead off with the heard of the Pacific League scoring, Matsunaka, Johjima, and Zuleta.
20:43: MHStevie: OK, sorry... I got confused since the last half-inning was also announced as the top of the 8th...
20:43: westbaystars: Solo home runs by these three accounted for the first three Pacific League runs.
20:43: westbaystars: But Kawauchi (confirmed) strikes Matsunaka out swinging to lead off the inning.
20:44: westbaystars: *** It was? Sorry.
20:44: westbaystars: Johjima flies out to right, and Kawauchi has two quick outs.
20:45: westbaystars: Otis (of Orix) comes up to pinch hit.
20:45: westbaystars: And Kawauchi walks him of four pitches.
20:46: westbaystars: After a short word with Arias on first, Otis is called back for Daiei's Kawasaki as a pinch runner.
20:47: westbaystars: Nippon Ham's Kaneko, up for the first time this evening, after having come in defensively, lines a double to left.
20:47: westbaystars: Kawasaki holds at third.
20:48: westbaystars: Seibu's Nakajima comes up next.
20:48: westbaystars: He's had a single and double so far this evening, 2 for 3.
20:49: westbaystars: But he goes down swinging here for the second time.
20:49: westbaystars: That retires the side.
20:49: westbaystars: The Pacific League got runners to second and third, but no further.
20:50: westbaystars: Going to the bottom of the eighth, the score remains Central 3 - 5 Pacific.
20:50: westbaystars: ---
20:50: westbaystars: Bottom of Eighth
20:50: westbaystars: ---
20:52: westbaystars: Daiei's rookie Mise takes the mound for the Pacific League.
20:52: westbaystars: The first batter he'll face is Furuta.
20:53: westbaystars: Yakult's main catcher came in defensively last inning.
20:53: westbaystars: Furuta fouls off a no strike, three ball pitch.
20:53: westbaystars: And swings through the next one. Full count.
20:54: westbaystars: The next pitch is called strike three on the inside corner. A beautiful slider.
20:54: westbaystars: One away.
20:54: westbaystars: That brings up Fukudome, who doubled in team mate Tatsunami in the first.
20:55: westbaystars: He's since flown out to left and center.
20:55: westbaystars: Here Fukudome grounds to first.
20:56: westbaystars: Matsunaka fields the ball behind the bag, tosses to the covering Mise, and we have two outs.
20:56: westbaystars: Now it's Aka-Godzilla, and he lines out to Matsunaka at first on the first pitch.
20:56: westbaystars: Mise gets the Central League in order, bringing them down to their final chance.
20:57: westbaystars: At the end of eight complete, the Pacific League continues to lead 5-3.
20:57: westbaystars: ---
20:57: westbaystars: Top of Ninth
20:57: westbaystars: ---
20:58: westbaystars: Chunichi's set-upper Okamoto comes in to pitch for the Central League at his home ground of Nagoya Dome.
20:59: westbaystars: This is something that they do often, playing as many of the home all stars as they can.
20:59: westbaystars: Muramatsu leads off with a high fly to left.
20:59: westbaystars: Shima has it for a quick first out.
21:00: westbaystars: That brings up pinch hitter Fukuura (Lotte).
21:00: westbaystars: Fukuura gounds the ball up the middle.
21:00: westbaystars: But it's played just behind the bag by Taneda, and Fukuura becomes out number two.
21:01: westbaystars: Next up is Kintetsu's "Full Swing" Nakamura, who lives up to his nickname on the first pitch.
21:01: westbaystars: Unfortunately, he didn't get any wood on the ball.
21:02: westbaystars: Haittaaaaa!
21:02: westbaystars: A couple pitches later, Nakamura sends the ball deep to straight away center.
21:03: MHStevie: He got some wood on the ball there!
21:03: westbaystars: Takahashi in center positioned himself for the rebound that never came.
21:03: westbaystars: Team mate Isobe (Kintetsu) pops out to third in foul territory close to the plate.
21:03: westbaystars: That retires the side.
21:04: westbaystars: But not before Nakamura just cleared the center field fense to put the Pacific League up 6-3.
21:04: westbaystars: ---
21:04: westbaystars: Bottom of Ninth
21:04: westbaystars: ---
21:05: westbaystars: We're down to the Central League's last chance.
21:06: westbaystars: Seibu's closer Mori takes the mound.
21:06: westbaystars: Giants' Takahashi leads off for the Central League.
21:07: westbaystars: Takahashi lifts Mori's first pitch to left.
21:08: westbaystars: Not a problem for Fukuura (I think), now in left.
21:08: westbaystars: One pitch, one out.
21:08: westbaystars: Arias strikes out swinging on three pitches.
21:08: westbaystars: Mori's made very pitch count this inning so far.
21:08: MHStevie: Ato hitori!
21:09: westbaystars: Next up is Yakult's Iwamura.
21:09: westbaystars: Mori wastes two balls to Iwamura before getting him to ground out to second.
21:09: westbaystars: Game set.
21:09: westbaystars: ***
21:09: westbaystars: Game Final
21:10: westbaystars: Pacific League 6 - 3 Central League
21:10: westbaystars: ***
21:11: MHStevie: So will the Pa League be "home" for the game tomorrow?
21:11: westbaystars: I'm afraid that that's all I have time for this evening.
21:11: westbaystars: Oh, tomorrow will be at a third-party stadium.
21:12: westbaystars: I don't recall off the top of my head. Hold on....
21:12: westbaystars: It's at Nagano.
21:12: MHStevie: Thanks again for doing this... will you be here for tomorrow's game?
21:12: habs: You did a good job again.
21:13: westbaystars: That one isn't a dome, so weather may play a factor.
21:13: MHStevie: What I was asking was... will Pa League bat in the bottom of the innings tomorrow?
21:13: westbaystars: Thanks for joining everybody.
21:14: westbaystars: Especially jball_fan who started off with some coverage.
21:14: westbaystars: I don't know when I can join in tomorrow, but will try to get on ASAP.