Pro Yakyu Game of the Week: 8/1
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Re: Pro Yakyu Game of the Week: 8/1
[ Author: westbaystars | Posted: Aug 1, 2004 3:49 PM
| YBS Fan
]
As of 3:40 pm, the 6:20 game in Hiroshima is cancelled due to rain.
Re: Pro Yakyu Game of the Week: 8/1
[ Author: westbaystars | Posted: Aug 1, 2004 9:51 PM
| YBS Fan
]
There was still a threat of rain when the game began, but it cleared up to see a beautiful full moon-rise over the left field bleachers. We also had a new record set for most consecutive games playing full inning by Kanemoto. In the post game interview, it appeared that his wrist really hurt, as he was icing it.
Read on for another close, exciting game.
TRANSCRIPT generated on 2004/08/01 21:35
CHATROOM Game of the Week/Yomiuri Giants vs Hanshin Tigers
MODERATORS westbaystars
18:01 westbaystars - Just finished dinner and dashed over to the living room.
18:01 westbaystars - The game is just about to start.
18:01 westbaystars - ---
18:01 westbaystars - Top of First
18:01 westbaystars - ---
18:01 westbaystars - Kanezawa's first pitch to Nishi is fouled off.
18:01 westbaystars - The ball game is under way.
18:02 westbaystars - Sorry, that Kanazawa on the mound.
18:02 westbaystars - And he strikes Nishi out looking for out number one.
18:02 westbaystars - Nice pitch on the outside corner.
18:02 westbaystars - Shimizu follows.
18:04 westbaystars - Shimizu grounds the ball to second. Imaoka rushes in, fields the ball, but doesn't throw.
18:04 westbaystars - Actually, he failed to pick the ball up.
18:04 westbaystars - Shimizu is on with one out and Rhodes coming to the plate.
18:07 FlynnGiants - hello
18:08 westbaystars - Kanazawa picks Shimizu off of first with a 2-2 count to Rhodes.
18:08 FlynnGiants - crap
18:08 westbaystars - It looks like he just dove back before being touched from the center field camera.
18:08 westbaystars - Hi, Flynn.
18:09 westbaystars - Rhodes strikes out swinging on the next pitch, and the side is retired.
18:09 FlynnGiants - how's the crowd
18:09 FlynnGiants - loud I bet
18:09 westbaystars - Not a good start for the Giants, despite the one out runner.
18:09 westbaystars - ---
18:09 westbaystars - Bottom of First
18:09 westbaystars - ---
18:11 westbaystars - Very loud when Shimizu was picked off.
18:11 westbaystars - Imaoka lifts the first pitch to him from Satoh foul behind the plate.
18:11 FlynnGiants - I gotta head on out to Koshien, supposedly it's like the Fenway Park of Japan
18:11 westbaystars - The catcher comes over and makes the catch for out number one.
18:12 westbaystars - Akahoshi.
18:12 FlynnGiants - Hey, I checked out Japanese audio on your suggestion
18:12 FlynnGiants - surprisingly easy to comprehend, seeing as most of their baseball terms are taken from English
18:12 westbaystars - Akahoshi fouls out to Kokubo just left of third.
18:13 westbaystars - Two outs.
18:13 westbaystars - Right! The most confusion I had when I started listening to games was "foul ball" and "four ball."
18:13 westbaystars - They sound almost alike.
18:14 westbaystars - Koshien is one if, if not *the*, oldest ball park in Japan.
18:14 FlynnGiants - I just need to get the names down of the Giants players, then I'll be fine'
18:14 westbaystars - It's got beautiful vine covered bricks in front.
18:15 westbaystars - Unlike Finway, it's built semetrical.
18:16 westbaystars - Sekimoto lines out to Shimizu in left, and the Tigers are retired in order.
18:16 westbaystars - No score after one complete.
18:16 westbaystars - ---
18:17 westbaystars - Top of Second
18:17 westbaystars - ---
18:18 westbaystars - There are still a lot of clouds in the sky after Typhoon #10 passed.
18:18 westbaystars - There's still a chance of rain this evening.
18:18 westbaystars - Kokubo leads off the second for the Giants.
18:18 westbaystars - He strikes out swinging, but Yano fails to handle the ball.
18:19 westbaystars - Kokubo races up the first base line.
18:19 westbaystars - Yano has no throw. Furinige.
18:19 westbaystars - That's a good word for when you're listening to a game: furinige = steal first on strike out.
18:20 FlynnGiants - yay
18:20 FlynnGiants - ooh, trhanks
18:20 westbaystars - Takahashi comes up next, batting in the number five slot tonight.
18:21 FlynnGiants - Is it me or do most pitchers in Japan throw very slowly.
18:22 FlynnGiants - not much oomph on the fastballs
18:22 westbaystars - Most throw very slowly.
18:22 westbaystars - They try to out think the batter.
18:22 westbaystars - Takahashi hits a dribbler up the first base line.
18:22 westbaystars - Kanazawa bends down with plendy of time, but doesn't pick up the ball!
18:22 FlynnGiants - My kinda pitchers then
18:23 westbaystars - He bends down again, picks the ball up, fires to first, too late.
18:23 FlynnGiants - Me and my 80 mph heater
18:23 westbaystars - Save.
18:23 westbaystars - Runners at first and second, nobody out, Petagine at the plate.
18:23 westbaystars - Ah, that kind of slowly. Not the pace between pitches.
18:24 westbaystars - Petagine lines the ball to center, base hit
18:24 FlynnGiants - Most Japanese pitchers are fast workers?
18:24 westbaystars - Kokubo rounds third, heads home without a throw.
18:24 westbaystars - The Giants are on the board first.
18:24 FlynnGiants - He is one guy who's name I recognise immediately, Japanese commentators seem to take great pride in being able to roll..
18:24 FlynnGiants - the tongue at the "ine"
18:25 FlynnGiants - and the unusual sounding g
18:25 westbaystars - Without any data on hand, I'd say that most pitchers can throw in the low to mid 140 kph range consistantly.
18:26 westbaystars - A few reach the mid-150s.
18:26 FlynnGiants - Irabu threw very hard
18:27 westbaystars - Kanazawa goes full count to Nioka.
18:27 westbaystars - And Nioka watches strike three down the middle.
18:27 westbaystars - One out, runners remain at first and second.
18:28 westbaystars - There are some pitchers who work very fast - until runners reach base.
18:28 westbaystars - Abe stands in.
18:29 FlynnGiants - I like this guy
18:29 FlynnGiants - Abe can hit
18:30 westbaystars - *** Lotte's lead reduced to 2-1 over Seibu at Chiba Marine.
18:30 westbaystars - Abe takes ball four, and the bases are loaded.
18:30 westbaystars - Pitcher Satoh comes up to the plate.
18:31 westbaystars - Abe is an amazing player.
18:31 westbaystars - I agree.
18:32 westbaystars - Satoh strikes out swinging. Two outs.
18:32 westbaystars - That brings the Giants to the top of the order in Nishi.
18:33 FlynnGiants - I wonder if Abe might be the first Japanese catcher, can hit, young, supposedly good defensively
18:34 westbaystars - Fans thought Kanazawa had Nishi struck out, but the umpire called it ball two.
18:35 westbaystars - The next pitch is swung on and missed. Nishi wasn't close to getting Kanazawa's changeup.
18:35 westbaystars - The side is retire.
18:35 westbaystars - But the Giants managed to get one on Peta-chan's RBI single.
18:35 westbaystars - ---
18:35 westbaystars - Bottom of Second
18:35 westbaystars - ---
18:36 westbaystars - On TV they're showing a special on 80 years of Koshien. So now you know Koshien's age.
18:36 westbaystars - Kanemoto leads off the bottom of the second for Hanshin.
18:37 FlynnGiants - seems like a nice park
18:37 FlynnGiants - it's amazing all the stadiums are symmetrical though, no one's thought of having a funny shaped park?
18:38 westbaystars - Kanemoto grounds back to Satoh on the mound. He throws to first, and has the first out.
18:38 westbaystars - *** At Nagoya Dome, Alex just tied the game 3-3 in the bottom of the nineth.
18:39 westbaystars - Hi, Stevie. The Giants just took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second.
18:39 MHStevie - Ohayo gozaimasu from the U.S. east coast...
18:39 westbaystars - Hiyama flies out to right. Two out.
18:40 westbaystars - Yano steps in.
18:40 MHStevie - *** Chunichi has the bases loaded with 2 outs there, so that one may be over in a moment or two...
18:41 westbaystars - *** Nope. Radio just said they didn't do it. Stopped at one run.
18:41 westbaystars - Yano grounds out to second, and Hanshin goes down in order for the second time in two innings.
18:42 westbaystars - At the end of two complete, the Giants lead 1-0.
18:42 westbaystars - ---
18:42 MHStevie - *** Ah... Yahoo! hasn't caught up yet... =)
18:42 westbaystars - Top of Third
18:42 westbaystars - ---
18:43 westbaystars - I tend to find Yahoo about two batters behind the live action.
18:43 westbaystars - Shimizu leads off the third for the Giants.
18:45 westbaystars - Shimizu watches strike three go by. One out.
18:45 westbaystars - Yano held onto the ball, lower strike zone, down the middle.
18:45 westbaystars - That brings up Rhodes.
18:46 westbaystars - Rhodes' stated goal, according to ABC TV, is to be the Home Run King in both leagues.
18:47 westbaystars - But he grounds out to Yagi at first, who takes the ball to the bag himself, for out number two.
18:47 FlynnGiants - By the way, I found Yakyu on American TV
18:47 westbaystars - That brings up Kokubo who struck out and took first on a "furinige," then came around to score in the second.
18:47 westbaystars - That was one strike out that hurd Hanshin.
18:48 westbaystars - Where?
18:48 FlynnGiants - I think it's called J-TV, it's on digital cable, I was going through the guide today and saw they had last nights ..
18:48 FlynnGiants - Tigers-Giants gape on delay, my jaw dropped
18:48 westbaystars - What channel and available in what city/state?
18:49 westbaystars - Kokubo strikes out for the second time, swinging at a pitch way outside and low.
18:50 westbaystars - Yano caught the ball cleanly, and the Giants are down in order.
18:50 MHStevie - Hmmm... I'll have to see if that's available all over. I don't remember seeing that on digital cable around my home...
18:50 westbaystars - ---
18:50 FlynnGiants - Digital cable, anywhere I think
18:50 westbaystars - Bottom of Third
18:50 FlynnGiants - it's in the foreign channels package
18:50 westbaystars - ---
18:50 MHStevie - Though it could be on a higher tier (more expensive) package...
18:50 FlynnGiants - it's probably in Japanese
18:51 FlynnGiants - I don't have the channel ,myself
18:51 westbaystars - Veteran Yagi leads off for Hanshin.
18:52 westbaystars - Yagi lifts the ball to right.
18:52 westbaystars - Deep, not not deep enough.
18:53 westbaystars - Takahashi goes a little toward center, Rhodes goes a long way toward left.
18:53 FlynnGiants - It's called TV Japan
18:53 westbaystars - Takahashi makes the catch. Seven consecutive Tigers retired.
18:53 FlynnGiants - http://www.tvjapan.net/eng/index_e.asp
18:54 FlynnGiants - It's in some states, mostly east and west coast, basically, areas with Asian people
18:54 westbaystars - That brings up pitcher Kanazawa, batting in the number eight spot?
18:54 westbaystars - He strikes out swinging, two outs.
18:54 MHStevie - I have heard that name before... have to check that out...
18:55 westbaystars - Akahoshi is batting in the number nine slot. What's going on? Has Okada completely lost his mind?
18:55 FlynnGiants - Tomorrow they have the Hawks-Fighters game
18:56 westbaystars - That would be the one NHK showed this afternoon, I assume.
18:56 westbaystars - Since that channel appears to get their feed from NHK.
18:56 westbaystars - Akahoshi grounds the ball to third.
18:56 FlynnGiants - Unfortunately they do NOT show a lot of baseball
18:57 FlynnGiants - So it's a reasonable question whether you want to pay 25 bucks for one game a week, if that
18:57 westbaystars - Kokubo just misses. Imaoka just back hands the ball. The throw to first is way too late.
18:57 westbaystars - Hanshin has their first base runner of the evening.
18:58 westbaystars - On the first pitch to Imaoka, Akahoshi swipes second.
18:58 westbaystars - Abe's throw was to the wrong side of the bag, but even if it had been on, it would have been a close call.
18:58 FlynnGiants - OTOH, their listings on their website aren't totally accurate, the ones I had said there was a Giants-Tigers game today
18:58 FlynnGiants - and the website says no. But even so..1-2 games a week for 25 bucks, your call
18:59 MHStevie - No kidding... pretty expensive. I'm just curious to see where it shows up on our digital cable system...
18:59 westbaystars - Imaoka takes four straight balls, and the Tigers have runners on first and second with two outs.
19:00 westbaystars - Fujimoto lifts a high fly ball toward right-center.
19:00 FlynnGiants - Yeah
19:00 FlynnGiants - if it was Yomiuri TV, I would be there, but that is darned expensive for a game of the week
19:00 westbaystars - Rhodes calls Takahashi off, a few meters in front of the warning track.
19:00 westbaystars - Rhodes makes the catch, and the side is retired.
19:01 westbaystars - Hanshin finally got a couple of base runners, but failed to score.
19:01 westbaystars - At the end of three complete, the Giants continue to lead 1-0.
19:01 westbaystars - ---
19:01 westbaystars - Top of Fourth
19:01 westbaystars - ---
19:01 FlynnGiants - I guess I'll just have to move to Hawaii..poor me *sigh*
19:02 westbaystars - There are worse places to move to.
19:02 westbaystars - Takahashi leads off for the Giants.
19:03 FlynnGiants - Masahiro Kawai, then theYomiuri Giants, did the 512th sacrifice bunt in a game Against theYokohama Baystars..
19:03 FlynnGiants - How Japanese...
19:03 westbaystars - ... while ABC is showing a LiveDoor commercial. Aw, the irony.
19:04 westbaystars - We come back to live action on TV and the count is full.
19:04 westbaystars - Takahashi grounds the ball back toward the mound.
19:05 westbaystars - Kanazawa fails to grab the ball as it bounces over his shoulder and goes past second and into center field.
19:05 westbaystars - Base hit.
19:05 westbaystars - That brings up Petagine.
19:05 westbaystars - And before going home, Kanazawa throws to first.
19:05 westbaystars - Takahashi is caught so far off of first, he doesn't even dive.
19:06 westbaystars - That's Kanazawa's second pick off of the game.
19:06 westbaystars - And Kanazawa is a right handed pitcher.
19:06 westbaystars - Peta goes deep.
19:06 westbaystars - Kanemoto stops, looks,
19:07 westbaystars - the ball bounces off the top of the fense and back onto the warning track.
19:07 westbaystars - Petagine glides into second with a stand-up double.
19:07 westbaystars - That brings up Nioka.
19:07 FlynnGiants - close
19:08 westbaystars - Nioka slaps the ball through the right field hole.
19:08 westbaystars - Hiyama bobbles the ball, but Peta-chan was heading home anyway.
19:09 westbaystars - That bobble just guaranteed Peta-chan the score, rather than making it close.
19:09 westbaystars - Nioka holds to a single.
19:09 westbaystars - That brings up Abe.
19:09 westbaystars - The Giants are now up 2-0, by the way.
19:10 MHStevie - *** Are you getting updates on the Pa League games, Westbay-san?
19:10 westbaystars - They mentioned a while back that Lotte still had a one run lead.
19:10 FlynnGiants - Nice
19:10 westbaystars - It's been a while since the last update.
19:11 MHStevie - *** OK, I can use Yahoo! to keep you up on those games.
19:11 westbaystars - *** They just chmied in that Kintetsu has a 5 run lead over Orix.
19:12 MHStevie - *** Seibu just tied up Lotte in the top of the 4th, 2-2.
19:12 westbaystars - That'd be nice. I'll report as I hear things.
19:12 MHStevie - *** Kintetsu is leading Orix 6-1 in the 3rd.
19:13 FlynnGiants - the merger series!
19:13 westbaystars - I missed how Abe got on, but with runners at first and second, Satoh struck out trying to bunt a third strike.
19:13 westbaystars - Missing the ball entirely.
19:13 westbaystars - That makes it two outs, runners at first and second, Nishi at the plate.
19:14 westbaystars - Yes, the Merger Series. Both teams were outside the stadium collecting signatures against the merger.
19:14 FlynnGiants - hmm
19:14 MHStevie - *** Ozeki homered for Seibu to lead off the 4th and tie that game.
19:14 FlynnGiants - good to see Sabermetrics has entered Japan...
19:14 FlynnGiants - Boy can you imagine someone trying to play Weaverball in Japan?
19:14 westbaystars - I've been complaining that all the noise the Central League owners are making is against the leagues merging.
19:15 westbaystars - The players continue to protest the teams merging.
19:15 westbaystars - Nishi reaches for and misses a pitch way outside, and the side is retired.
19:15 westbaystars - The Giants managed another non-home run run and take a 2-0 lead.
19:16 westbaystars - ---
19:16 westbaystars - Bottom of Fourth
19:16 westbaystars - ---
19:17 westbaystars - Number three batter Sekimoto leads off the bottom of the fourth for Hanshin.
19:18 westbaystars - I'm not sure where the Sabermetrics reference comes from. Did I miss something?
19:18 FlynnGiants - still very loud?
19:18 FlynnGiants - The attempt to bunt
19:19 westbaystars - The radio doesn't seem to have microphones too close to the crowd. I've heard them louder in the past.
19:19 westbaystars - But it sure sounds loud.
19:20 westbaystars - 50,000 Tiger fans can make some noise.
19:20 westbaystars - Sekimoto lifts a high fly to left.
19:20 FlynnGiants - yeah
19:20 westbaystars - Shimizu takes a couple steps in. One step back. Steps in again, and makes the catch.
19:20 westbaystars - One out.
19:20 FlynnGiants - I've had my ears ringing at Fenway
19:21 westbaystars - Kanemoto comes up to bat.
19:22 westbaystars - If he finishes this game, he'll have played in 701 complete consecutive games, surpassing Mitake(?) for the Japan record
19:22 westbaystars - He's played every inning of every game since July 21, 1999.
19:22 westbaystars - He lifts a high fly to the left side.
19:23 westbaystars - Nioka goes toward second, toward third, and catches the ball on the dirt/grass border.
19:23 westbaystars - Two outs.
19:23 westbaystars - Hiyama comes up next.
19:26 westbaystars - Hiyama hits a line drive to left, but well within Shimizu's range.
19:26 westbaystars - Shimizu takes the ball in, and Hanshin is out in order for the third time in four innings.
19:27 westbaystars - At the end of four complete, the Giants lead 2-0.
19:27 westbaystars - ---
19:27 westbaystars - Top of Fifth
19:27 westbaystars - ---
19:27 FlynnGiants - go Giants
19:28 FlynnGiants - this is a big series for Hanshin isn't it? Saving a season kind of thing
19:28 westbaystars - Number two batting Shimizu leads off the fifth for the Giants.
19:29 westbaystars - I believe that it's their last home game for a few weeks due to the bit high school championships taking over Koshien.
19:30 westbaystars - They'll have at least one "home" series at Osaka Dome, though.
19:30 MHStevie - *** Saburo just singled home Kakiuchi for Lotte in the bottom of the 4th.
19:30 westbaystars - "Death Road" is what it's been called in the past.
19:30 MHStevie - *** Lotte retakes the lead on Seibu, 3-2.
19:30 westbaystars - Shimizu grounds out to second.
19:30 westbaystars - *** Dragons Sayonara win.
19:31 westbaystars - *** Kawai got the sayonara hit.
19:31 westbaystars - Rhodes gets his first hit in 20 at bats, a line drive base hit to left.
19:32 FlynnGiants - Nice
19:32 westbaystars - *** The Dragons' game has been going on since 3:00 this afternoon.
19:32 westbaystars - It's now 7:30.
19:32 westbaystars - Kokubo up to the plate.
19:32 FlynnGiants - how many innings?
19:33 westbaystars - I think he said 11.
19:33 westbaystars - Kokubo hits a looper to the right side, but Imaoka goes back and catches the ball in the grass.
19:33 MHStevie - *** Yeah, I think that was the bottom of the 11th.
19:33 westbaystars - And that brings out the pitching coach.
19:33 westbaystars - Yoshino is coming in to pitch.
19:34 westbaystars - Yoshino will pitch to Takahashi-kun.
19:37 westbaystars - *** Yes, the announcer just confirmed that it was 11 innings for the Dragons vs. Swallows game.
19:37 westbaystars - Yoshino's first pitch of the game is way outside to the left handed Takahashi. Ball one.
19:37 westbaystars - The next pitch is deep to rightl.
19:38 westbaystars - Hiyama goes back, and makes the catch on the warning track.
19:38 westbaystars - Three outs.
19:38 westbaystars - ---
19:38 westbaystars - Bottom of Fifth
19:38 westbaystars - ---
19:40 westbaystars - Yano lifts the first pitch to him up to shallow right.
19:40 westbaystars - Nishi goes back, Takahashi calls him off.
19:40 westbaystars - And when the ball finally comes down, Takahashi makes the catch.
19:40 westbaystars - One pitch, one out.
19:40 westbaystars - That brings up Yagi.
19:41 westbaystars - Ah, and I hear fireworks over at Hakkei-jima Sea Paradise, the island next to the one I live on.
19:41 westbaystars - They do fireworks often during the summer.
19:41 MHStevie - *** Buffs score one in the top of the 5th to increase their lead on Orix, 7-1.
19:41 westbaystars - Yagi lines the ball up the right field line.
19:42 westbaystars - Takahashi comes over, and on a dead run, makes the catch just in foul territory.
19:42 westbaystars - Two outs.
19:43 westbaystars - Tachikawa comes in to pinch hit for the pitcher in the number eight slot.
19:43 westbaystars - And the count goes full.
19:44 westbaystars - The full count pitch is grounded to the left side.
19:44 westbaystars - Kokubo back hands the ball.
19:44 westbaystars - He throws a one, two bounder to first.
19:44 westbaystars - And beats Tachikawa by a couple of steps.
19:45 westbaystars - So, Hanshin goes down in order for the fourth time this evening.
19:46 westbaystars - And a the end of five complete, the Giants continue to lead 2-0.
19:46 westbaystars - ---
19:46 westbaystars - Top of Sixth
19:46 westbaystars - ---
19:46 MHStevie - *** Kaizuka leads off the 5th with a HR for Seibu, once again tying up Lotte (3-3).
19:48 westbaystars - Petagine leads off the sixth inning.
19:49 westbaystars - Peta-chan is called out by the third base umpire for failing to check his swing.
19:50 westbaystars - I didn't think so at first, but the reply shows the bat going past the plate.
19:50 westbaystars - One out.
19:51 westbaystars - Nioka follows by grounding the ball right back up the middle over Fujikawa, who's in to pinch this inning.
19:51 westbaystars - That brings up Abe with a runner at first and one out.
19:52 westbaystars - *** Lotte failed to score in the fifth. Score remains 3-3.
19:53 westbaystars - Abe goes fishing for a fork ball in the dirt to strike out.
19:53 westbaystars - Two down, runner remains at first.
19:53 westbaystars - That brings up pitcher Satoh, who's thrown 80 pitches so far.
19:54 westbaystars - This is the most he's thrown in a game this season.
19:55 westbaystars - Satoh goes down swinging on a 2-2 pitch, and the side is retired.
19:56 westbaystars - The Giants have gone six inning without a home run. They have a hard time winning without the long ball.
19:56 westbaystars - ---
19:56 westbaystars - Bottom of Sixth
19:56 westbaystars - ---
19:58 westbaystars - Oh, yea. I read that Kinkade is practicing with the top team recently, and is expected to ...
19:58 westbaystars - ... play against Yokohama on August 10.
19:58 westbaystars - Akahoshi leads off the sixth flying out to Shimizu in left on the first pitch.
19:58 westbaystars - One quick out for Satoh.
19:59 westbaystars - That brings up the top of the order in Imaoka.
20:00 westbaystars - Imaoka lines the ball over Kokubo and into the left field corner.
20:00 FlynnGiants - Giants are still winning 2-0?
20:00 westbaystars - He rounds first and heads into second standing up.
20:00 westbaystars - Yes, the Giants still lead 2-0.
20:00 westbaystars - That's the first Tiger on base since the third inning.
20:01 westbaystars - Fujimoto comes up next.
20:02 westbaystars - Fujimoto lines the ball to center. The crowd gets excited, but Rhodes backs up a bit to make the catch.
20:03 westbaystars - One out, runner still at second.
20:03 westbaystars - That brings up Sekimoto.
20:04 westbaystars - Sekimoto gives the ball a ride to right, but Takahashi has it at the warning track.
20:04 westbaystars - And the side is retired?
20:04 westbaystars - Oh, yea. Akahoshi led off with an out.
20:05 westbaystars - At the end of sixth complete, the Giants continue to lead 2-0.
20:05 westbaystars - ---
20:05 westbaystars - Top of Sixth
20:05 westbaystars - ---
20:05 FlynnGiants - in other news. Jason Kidd got traded to the Mavs
20:05 westbaystars - ---
20:06 westbaystars - Top of Seventh
20:06 westbaystars - ---
20:06 westbaystars - Lead off batter Nishi leads off the Giants' seventh.
20:07 westbaystars - Nishi hits a short liner that shortstop Fujimoto makes a great play to get.
20:07 westbaystars - One out.
20:08 westbaystars - Shimizu comes to the plate as balloons start inflating in the background.
20:08 westbaystars - Shimizu lifts a 1-1 pitch to shallow center.
20:09 westbaystars - Two quick outs.
20:09 westbaystars - Fujimoto makes the catch behind the second base bag on the outfield grass.
20:09 westbaystars - That brings up Rhodes, and the stands are now pretty much full of long balloons of yellow, green, and red.
20:10 FlynnGiants - knock it out of the park
20:11 westbaystars - Welcome Mijow-san. The Giants lead 2-0 in the top of the seventh.
20:11 westbaystars - Two down, nobody on, Rhodes at the plate.
20:12 westbaystars - And Rhodes just takes ball four, so the balloons will have to wait.
20:12 westbaystars - Number four batting Kokubo steps in.
20:13 mijow - It's good to join you. My wife's watching the Sunday NHK drama so I've been kicked off the TV for a while.
20:14 MHStevie - Greetings, mijow-san!
20:14 westbaystars - Kokubo grounds to Fujimoto at short.
20:14 westbaystars - He throws to Imaoka covering second.
20:15 westbaystars - And the Giants are retired.
20:15 westbaystars - Everyone, get ready to release your balloons.
20:15 westbaystars - ---
20:15 westbaystars - Bottom of Seventh
20:15 westbaystars - ---
20:17 westbaystars - Kanemoto leads off.
20:18 westbaystars - Satoh is still on the mound for the Giants.
20:18 westbaystars - Kanemoto hits a slicing line drive to left-center.
20:18 westbaystars - Shimizu runs in and over hard, and makes the catch.
20:18 westbaystars - One out.
20:19 westbaystars - Hiyama linfts the ball high behind the second base bag.
20:19 westbaystars - Nioka goes back, and gives up.
20:20 westbaystars - Rhodes sees that, runs in as hard as he can, and the ball bounces in.
20:20 westbaystars - Rhodes wants to know why Nioka gave up on that.
20:20 westbaystars - It looks like Rhodes might have pulled a calf muscle in that dash.
20:20 mijow - All RIGHT. let's start a rally here!
20:21 westbaystars - Trianers go out. Rhodes streaches out.
20:21 westbaystars - He's laughing now, but still streaching out his calf.
20:22 westbaystars - Yano comes up with a runner on first and one out.
20:23 westbaystars - Giants' bullpen has two up. Okajima I recognize. Not the other one.
20:24 westbaystars - Satoh is at or about 100 pitches about now.
20:24 mijow - Take him out!
20:25 westbaystars - Yano works the count full.
20:25 MHStevie - *** Consecutive doubles from Mario and Kitagawa score two more for Kintetsu...
20:25 westbaystars - The shoubu pitch is grounded through the left side of the infield, base hit!
20:25 MHStevie - *** Buffs now lead Orix 9-1.
20:26 westbaystars - *** That game's getting a bit out of hand.
20:26 mijow - Go Tigers!
20:26 westbaystars - Ikegaya-pitching coach goes out to the mound.
20:26 westbaystars - Horiuchi-kantoku comes out.
20:26 MHStevie - Greetings, habs!
20:26 westbaystars - And Satoh is being relieved.
20:27 westbaystars - That's been a very high quality start for him.
20:27 westbaystars - The most he's pitched this season, mostly in long relief.
20:27 mijow - yes it sure was.
20:27 habs - Greetings everyone
20:27 westbaystars - Hi, Habs-san.
20:28 westbaystars - The Giants lead 2-0, with a beautiful full moon rising over the right field bleachers.
20:28 westbaystars - Nakamura is the pitcher coming in.
20:29 westbaystars - Yagi comes up to the plate.
20:29 westbaystars - Nakamura's first pitch is called strike one on the inside part of the plate.
20:30 mijow - Who's batting?
20:30 westbaystars - He fires to second for one.
20:30 westbaystars - The next pitch is grounded to Kokubo at third.
20:30 westbaystars - The relay to first is in time, and the side is retired.
20:30 mijow - Sorry yagi - didn't see it.
20:30 westbaystars - That was Yagi. He got the start at first today.
20:31 mijow - Well that was a short rally.
20:31 FlynnGiants - this game feels tense
20:31 FlynnGiants - I love a good pitchers duel
20:31 MHStevie - *** Make that 3 straight doubles for the Buffs... Ohnishi adds another. 10-1, Buffs!
20:31 westbaystars - Hanshin threatened, but still haven't managed to get a runner to third.
20:31 westbaystars - Home is a long way away.
20:31 westbaystars - ---
20:32 westbaystars - ---
20:32 westbaystars - Top of Eighth
20:32 westbaystars - ---
20:32 westbaystars - Williams comes in nto pitch for Hanshin.
20:32 mijow - Yes, Yagi started instead of Arias, didn't he? How's Arias anyway, after the beaning last night?
20:32 westbaystars - Top of Eighth
20:33 westbaystars - I think I read that he'll be taking some time off for the Olympics. Austrailia's team?
20:33 westbaystars - Takahashi takes Williams first pitch high and tight, bailing out of there.
20:34 westbaystars - Arias had a bat and appeared to be the pinch hitter should Yano have reached.
20:35 mijow - Ok, so he's OK then.
20:35 mijow - He looked very groggy last night.
20:36 westbaystars - Takahashi goes down swinging on a 2-2 pitch.
20:36 westbaystars - One out.
20:36 westbaystars - Peta-chan, who has an RBI hit and a double, stands in.
20:36 westbaystars - Williams goes right after him with two quick strikes.
20:37 westbaystars - A waste pitch outside and hight.
20:37 westbaystars - And another one way outside to even the count.
20:38 westbaystars - The 2-2 pitch looked close, but was a little to far inside, full count.
20:39 westbaystars - After a foul ball, Peta-chan strikes out swinging at a pitch high and a little away.
20:39 westbaystars - Consecutive strike outs.
20:39 westbaystars - That brings up Nioka.
20:40 westbaystars - The moon is rising over the left field bleachers, not the right. And it's a full circle.
20:40 westbaystars - Looks like a baseball hanging in the sky.
20:40 westbaystars - After getting ahead of Nioka with two strikes, Williams wastes a pitch low and away.
20:41 westbaystars - The next pitch just misses the outside corner, 2-2.
20:41 westbaystars - Nioka lifts the next pitch to right.
20:41 westbaystars - Himaya backs up to the fense.
20:41 westbaystars - He takes a couple steps in, and makes the catch.
20:41 westbaystars - The Giants are retired in order.
20:41 westbaystars - ---
20:42 westbaystars - Bottom of Eighth
20:42 westbaystars - ---
20:42 mijow - All right - Jeff comes through.
20:44 westbaystars - Williams said that he wants to pitch as much as he can for the Tigers before departing for Athens.
20:44 mijow - Thanks westbaystars-san - drama's over and I'm back to the TV now.
20:44 westbaystars - Noguchi leads off pinch hitting for Williams.
20:45 westbaystars - My pleasure. Hope the tube is as interesting.
20:46 westbaystars - Maeda is in to pitch for the Giants.
20:46 westbaystars - He gets Noguchi reaching for a pitch way outside, strike three.
20:47 westbaystars - That brings up number nine batting Akahoshi.
20:47 westbaystars - And the speedster slices the ball into the left field corner for a stand-up double.
20:48 westbaystars - Runner at second, one out, the top of the Tiger line-up to follow.
20:48 westbaystars - Horiuchi-kantoku comes out again, and Kubo will replace Maeda who faced just two batters.
20:49 westbaystars - Horiuchi isn't taking any chances.
20:52 westbaystars - Kubo's first pitch to Imaoka is high and away. Ball one.
20:52 MHStevie - *** Lotte loads the bases in the 7th, but can't score... still tied with Seibu, 3-3, going into the 8th.
20:53 westbaystars - Kubo throws three straight balls before coming in down the middle, taken for strike one.
20:54 westbaystars - The next pitch is low and outside, and the fork ball fools Imaoka who went fishing.
20:54 westbaystars - Full count.
20:55 westbaystars - The next pitch, a fork ball in the dirt before reaching the plate, is taken for ball four.
20:55 westbaystars - That brings up Arias, pinch hitting for Fujimoto.
20:56 westbaystars - And the volume level rises a notch.
20:56 westbaystars - Kubo gets ahead quickly with two strikes.
20:56 westbaystars - Arias grounds the ball to the right side.
20:57 westbaystars - Petagine fields the ball, scoops to Kubo covering for the force.
20:57 westbaystars - That makes it two down with runners at second and third.
20:58 westbaystars - Kataoka comes up to pinch hit for Sekimoto.
20:58 westbaystars - And Kubo misses with his first two pitches.
21:00 westbaystars - Kataoka fouls one off, then takes ball three.
21:00 westbaystars - Kataoka swings through a fork ball to bring the count full.
21:01 westbaystars - The next pitch is taken low, ball four.
21:01 westbaystars - That loads the bases for Kanemoto.
21:02 westbaystars - Kanemto would really like to do something to be the hero of thet game, with his new record coming up.
21:02 westbaystars - But before that, the Giants are changing pitchers again.
21:03 westbaystars - For those of you who weren't here, should Kanemoto complete this game, it will be his 701st ...
21:03 westbaystars - ... consecutive game playing full innings.
21:04 MHStevie - *** Tani was able to double in a run for the BlueWave, small consolation as they still trail 10-2 into the 9th.
21:05 westbaystars - He currently shares the Japan record with former Tiger Miyake.
21:06 westbaystars - Okajima's first pitch is taken by Kanemoto.
21:06 westbaystars - He thought it was high and tight, but the umpire calls it strike one.
21:06 westbaystars - Kataoka grounds the ball to short.
21:06 westbaystars - Nioka throws to first, and the side is retired.
21:07 westbaystars - Kanemoto failed to come through on this memorial game.
21:07 westbaystars - At the end of eight complete, the Giants still lead 2-0.
21:07 westbaystars - ---
21:07 westbaystars - Top of Nineth
21:07 westbaystars - ---
21:09 westbaystars - Abe leads off hitting the first pitch.
21:09 westbaystars - It's lifted to left where Kanemoto comes in to make the catch.
21:09 westbaystars - One quick out.
21:09 MHStevie - *** Correction: That was a single for Tani, which scored Hayakawa from second. Got confused there...
21:09 westbaystars - Williams was still on the mound, so I guess there was a double switch there last inning that I missed.
21:10 westbaystars - But he was just in there for one batter.
21:10 westbaystars - Andoh comes in to pitch for Hanshin.
21:12 westbaystars - Motoki comes up to pinch hit.
21:12 westbaystars - Andoh's first pitch is called strike one.
21:13 westbaystars - And he eventually brings the count full.
21:14 westbaystars - The shoubu pitch is outside and low, but the home plate umpire says that Motoki swung.
21:14 westbaystars - Strike three.
21:14 westbaystars - That's the second out of the inning.
21:14 westbaystars - Up to the top of the Giants' order in Nishi.
21:15 westbaystars - Andoh gets ahead with two strikes quickly, then throws a waste pitch.
21:15 westbaystars - The usual pattern after getting two strikes.
21:16 westbaystars - Next pitch is low, 2-2.
21:16 westbaystars - Then a pitch in the dirt to bring the count full.
21:17 westbaystars - The shoubu pitch is lifted deep to right-center.
21:17 westbaystars - Haittaaaaaaaaa.
21:17 westbaystars - Giants take a 3-0 lead.
21:18 westbaystars - That brings up Shimizu.
21:19 westbaystars - Andoh got Shimizu swinging on four pitches to retire the side.
21:19 westbaystars - But not before Nishi increased the Giants' lead to 3-0 with a 2-out solo home run.
21:19 westbaystars - ---
21:19 westbaystars - Bottom of Nineth
21:19 westbaystars - ---
21:20 westbaystars - The Giants needed that home run. Without a home run, their chances of winning have been slim to none.
21:21 westbaystars - Kisanuki comes in to close for the Giants.
21:23 westbaystars - *** Kintetsu won. Surprise.
21:23 westbaystars - Hiyama leads off fouling out to Abe behind home plate on the second pitch.
21:23 westbaystars - Hanshin's down to their last two outs.
21:25 westbaystars - Two outs.
21:25 westbaystars - Yano breaks his bat as he grounds out to short.
21:25 westbaystars - That brings up Toritani as a pinch hitter.
21:25 MHStevie - *** Yahoo!'s currently all messed up for me... trying to get updates, but I was figuring on that result.
21:26 westbaystars - Toritani grounds the ball up the middle.
21:26 westbaystars - Nioka makes a great dive for the ball, is up, throws to first, not in time.
21:27 westbaystars - The ball goes past Petagine at first and into the Hanshin dugout.
21:27 westbaystars - Toritani is given second base.
21:27 westbaystars - Noguchi grounds the ball throught the left side.
21:28 westbaystars - And Toritani comes around and scores from second to break up the shut-out.
21:28 westbaystars - Down to their last out, Hanshin hasn't given up yet.
21:28 westbaystars - That brings Horiuchi-kantoku out to talk to Kisanuki, not sending his pitching coach this time.
21:29 westbaystars - Akahoshi, a single and a double on the night, comes up.
21:30 westbaystars - He grounds the ball to Nioka at short.
21:30 westbaystars - Nioka throws to second, and just gets the force.
21:30 westbaystars - That concludes the game.
21:30 westbaystars - The Giants win 3-1.
21:31 westbaystars - ***
21:31 westbaystars - There's a special cerimony for Kanemoto breaking the record for most consecutive full-inning games.
21:31 westbaystars - But I'm going to call it a night there.
21:32 MHStevie - OK... thanks as usual for your great work!
21:32 westbaystars - I've had this last week off and need to make sure I get to bed early tonight.
21:33 westbaystars - Have a good one, all.
21:33 habs - Good job again
Read on for another close, exciting game.
TRANSCRIPT generated on 2004/08/01 21:35
CHATROOM Game of the Week/Yomiuri Giants vs Hanshin Tigers
MODERATORS westbaystars
18:01 westbaystars - Just finished dinner and dashed over to the living room.
18:01 westbaystars - The game is just about to start.
18:01 westbaystars - ---
18:01 westbaystars - Top of First
18:01 westbaystars - ---
18:01 westbaystars - Kanezawa's first pitch to Nishi is fouled off.
18:01 westbaystars - The ball game is under way.
18:02 westbaystars - Sorry, that Kanazawa on the mound.
18:02 westbaystars - And he strikes Nishi out looking for out number one.
18:02 westbaystars - Nice pitch on the outside corner.
18:02 westbaystars - Shimizu follows.
18:04 westbaystars - Shimizu grounds the ball to second. Imaoka rushes in, fields the ball, but doesn't throw.
18:04 westbaystars - Actually, he failed to pick the ball up.
18:04 westbaystars - Shimizu is on with one out and Rhodes coming to the plate.
18:07 FlynnGiants - hello
18:08 westbaystars - Kanazawa picks Shimizu off of first with a 2-2 count to Rhodes.
18:08 FlynnGiants - crap
18:08 westbaystars - It looks like he just dove back before being touched from the center field camera.
18:08 westbaystars - Hi, Flynn.
18:09 westbaystars - Rhodes strikes out swinging on the next pitch, and the side is retired.
18:09 FlynnGiants - how's the crowd
18:09 FlynnGiants - loud I bet
18:09 westbaystars - Not a good start for the Giants, despite the one out runner.
18:09 westbaystars - ---
18:09 westbaystars - Bottom of First
18:09 westbaystars - ---
18:11 westbaystars - Very loud when Shimizu was picked off.
18:11 westbaystars - Imaoka lifts the first pitch to him from Satoh foul behind the plate.
18:11 FlynnGiants - I gotta head on out to Koshien, supposedly it's like the Fenway Park of Japan
18:11 westbaystars - The catcher comes over and makes the catch for out number one.
18:12 westbaystars - Akahoshi.
18:12 FlynnGiants - Hey, I checked out Japanese audio on your suggestion
18:12 FlynnGiants - surprisingly easy to comprehend, seeing as most of their baseball terms are taken from English
18:12 westbaystars - Akahoshi fouls out to Kokubo just left of third.
18:13 westbaystars - Two outs.
18:13 westbaystars - Right! The most confusion I had when I started listening to games was "foul ball" and "four ball."
18:13 westbaystars - They sound almost alike.
18:14 westbaystars - Koshien is one if, if not *the*, oldest ball park in Japan.
18:14 FlynnGiants - I just need to get the names down of the Giants players, then I'll be fine'
18:14 westbaystars - It's got beautiful vine covered bricks in front.
18:15 westbaystars - Unlike Finway, it's built semetrical.
18:16 westbaystars - Sekimoto lines out to Shimizu in left, and the Tigers are retired in order.
18:16 westbaystars - No score after one complete.
18:16 westbaystars - ---
18:17 westbaystars - Top of Second
18:17 westbaystars - ---
18:18 westbaystars - There are still a lot of clouds in the sky after Typhoon #10 passed.
18:18 westbaystars - There's still a chance of rain this evening.
18:18 westbaystars - Kokubo leads off the second for the Giants.
18:18 westbaystars - He strikes out swinging, but Yano fails to handle the ball.
18:19 westbaystars - Kokubo races up the first base line.
18:19 westbaystars - Yano has no throw. Furinige.
18:19 westbaystars - That's a good word for when you're listening to a game: furinige = steal first on strike out.
18:20 FlynnGiants - yay
18:20 FlynnGiants - ooh, trhanks
18:20 westbaystars - Takahashi comes up next, batting in the number five slot tonight.
18:21 FlynnGiants - Is it me or do most pitchers in Japan throw very slowly.
18:22 FlynnGiants - not much oomph on the fastballs
18:22 westbaystars - Most throw very slowly.
18:22 westbaystars - They try to out think the batter.
18:22 westbaystars - Takahashi hits a dribbler up the first base line.
18:22 westbaystars - Kanazawa bends down with plendy of time, but doesn't pick up the ball!
18:22 FlynnGiants - My kinda pitchers then
18:23 westbaystars - He bends down again, picks the ball up, fires to first, too late.
18:23 FlynnGiants - Me and my 80 mph heater
18:23 westbaystars - Save.
18:23 westbaystars - Runners at first and second, nobody out, Petagine at the plate.
18:23 westbaystars - Ah, that kind of slowly. Not the pace between pitches.
18:24 westbaystars - Petagine lines the ball to center, base hit
18:24 FlynnGiants - Most Japanese pitchers are fast workers?
18:24 westbaystars - Kokubo rounds third, heads home without a throw.
18:24 westbaystars - The Giants are on the board first.
18:24 FlynnGiants - He is one guy who's name I recognise immediately, Japanese commentators seem to take great pride in being able to roll..
18:24 FlynnGiants - the tongue at the "ine"
18:25 FlynnGiants - and the unusual sounding g
18:25 westbaystars - Without any data on hand, I'd say that most pitchers can throw in the low to mid 140 kph range consistantly.
18:26 westbaystars - A few reach the mid-150s.
18:26 FlynnGiants - Irabu threw very hard
18:27 westbaystars - Kanazawa goes full count to Nioka.
18:27 westbaystars - And Nioka watches strike three down the middle.
18:27 westbaystars - One out, runners remain at first and second.
18:28 westbaystars - There are some pitchers who work very fast - until runners reach base.
18:28 westbaystars - Abe stands in.
18:29 FlynnGiants - I like this guy
18:29 FlynnGiants - Abe can hit
18:30 westbaystars - *** Lotte's lead reduced to 2-1 over Seibu at Chiba Marine.
18:30 westbaystars - Abe takes ball four, and the bases are loaded.
18:30 westbaystars - Pitcher Satoh comes up to the plate.
18:31 westbaystars - Abe is an amazing player.
18:31 westbaystars - I agree.
18:32 westbaystars - Satoh strikes out swinging. Two outs.
18:32 westbaystars - That brings the Giants to the top of the order in Nishi.
18:33 FlynnGiants - I wonder if Abe might be the first Japanese catcher, can hit, young, supposedly good defensively
18:34 westbaystars - Fans thought Kanazawa had Nishi struck out, but the umpire called it ball two.
18:35 westbaystars - The next pitch is swung on and missed. Nishi wasn't close to getting Kanazawa's changeup.
18:35 westbaystars - The side is retire.
18:35 westbaystars - But the Giants managed to get one on Peta-chan's RBI single.
18:35 westbaystars - ---
18:35 westbaystars - Bottom of Second
18:35 westbaystars - ---
18:36 westbaystars - On TV they're showing a special on 80 years of Koshien. So now you know Koshien's age.
18:36 westbaystars - Kanemoto leads off the bottom of the second for Hanshin.
18:37 FlynnGiants - seems like a nice park
18:37 FlynnGiants - it's amazing all the stadiums are symmetrical though, no one's thought of having a funny shaped park?
18:38 westbaystars - Kanemoto grounds back to Satoh on the mound. He throws to first, and has the first out.
18:38 westbaystars - *** At Nagoya Dome, Alex just tied the game 3-3 in the bottom of the nineth.
18:39 westbaystars - Hi, Stevie. The Giants just took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second.
18:39 MHStevie - Ohayo gozaimasu from the U.S. east coast...
18:39 westbaystars - Hiyama flies out to right. Two out.
18:40 westbaystars - Yano steps in.
18:40 MHStevie - *** Chunichi has the bases loaded with 2 outs there, so that one may be over in a moment or two...
18:41 westbaystars - *** Nope. Radio just said they didn't do it. Stopped at one run.
18:41 westbaystars - Yano grounds out to second, and Hanshin goes down in order for the second time in two innings.
18:42 westbaystars - At the end of two complete, the Giants lead 1-0.
18:42 westbaystars - ---
18:42 MHStevie - *** Ah... Yahoo! hasn't caught up yet... =)
18:42 westbaystars - Top of Third
18:42 westbaystars - ---
18:43 westbaystars - I tend to find Yahoo about two batters behind the live action.
18:43 westbaystars - Shimizu leads off the third for the Giants.
18:45 westbaystars - Shimizu watches strike three go by. One out.
18:45 westbaystars - Yano held onto the ball, lower strike zone, down the middle.
18:45 westbaystars - That brings up Rhodes.
18:46 westbaystars - Rhodes' stated goal, according to ABC TV, is to be the Home Run King in both leagues.
18:47 westbaystars - But he grounds out to Yagi at first, who takes the ball to the bag himself, for out number two.
18:47 FlynnGiants - By the way, I found Yakyu on American TV
18:47 westbaystars - That brings up Kokubo who struck out and took first on a "furinige," then came around to score in the second.
18:47 westbaystars - That was one strike out that hurd Hanshin.
18:48 westbaystars - Where?
18:48 FlynnGiants - I think it's called J-TV, it's on digital cable, I was going through the guide today and saw they had last nights ..
18:48 FlynnGiants - Tigers-Giants gape on delay, my jaw dropped
18:48 westbaystars - What channel and available in what city/state?
18:49 westbaystars - Kokubo strikes out for the second time, swinging at a pitch way outside and low.
18:50 westbaystars - Yano caught the ball cleanly, and the Giants are down in order.
18:50 MHStevie - Hmmm... I'll have to see if that's available all over. I don't remember seeing that on digital cable around my home...
18:50 westbaystars - ---
18:50 FlynnGiants - Digital cable, anywhere I think
18:50 westbaystars - Bottom of Third
18:50 FlynnGiants - it's in the foreign channels package
18:50 westbaystars - ---
18:50 MHStevie - Though it could be on a higher tier (more expensive) package...
18:50 FlynnGiants - it's probably in Japanese
18:51 FlynnGiants - I don't have the channel ,myself
18:51 westbaystars - Veteran Yagi leads off for Hanshin.
18:52 westbaystars - Yagi lifts the ball to right.
18:52 westbaystars - Deep, not not deep enough.
18:53 westbaystars - Takahashi goes a little toward center, Rhodes goes a long way toward left.
18:53 FlynnGiants - It's called TV Japan
18:53 westbaystars - Takahashi makes the catch. Seven consecutive Tigers retired.
18:53 FlynnGiants - http://www.tvjapan.net/eng/index_e.asp
18:54 FlynnGiants - It's in some states, mostly east and west coast, basically, areas with Asian people
18:54 westbaystars - That brings up pitcher Kanazawa, batting in the number eight spot?
18:54 westbaystars - He strikes out swinging, two outs.
18:54 MHStevie - I have heard that name before... have to check that out...
18:55 westbaystars - Akahoshi is batting in the number nine slot. What's going on? Has Okada completely lost his mind?
18:55 FlynnGiants - Tomorrow they have the Hawks-Fighters game
18:56 westbaystars - That would be the one NHK showed this afternoon, I assume.
18:56 westbaystars - Since that channel appears to get their feed from NHK.
18:56 westbaystars - Akahoshi grounds the ball to third.
18:56 FlynnGiants - Unfortunately they do NOT show a lot of baseball
18:57 FlynnGiants - So it's a reasonable question whether you want to pay 25 bucks for one game a week, if that
18:57 westbaystars - Kokubo just misses. Imaoka just back hands the ball. The throw to first is way too late.
18:57 westbaystars - Hanshin has their first base runner of the evening.
18:58 westbaystars - On the first pitch to Imaoka, Akahoshi swipes second.
18:58 westbaystars - Abe's throw was to the wrong side of the bag, but even if it had been on, it would have been a close call.
18:58 FlynnGiants - OTOH, their listings on their website aren't totally accurate, the ones I had said there was a Giants-Tigers game today
18:58 FlynnGiants - and the website says no. But even so..1-2 games a week for 25 bucks, your call
18:59 MHStevie - No kidding... pretty expensive. I'm just curious to see where it shows up on our digital cable system...
18:59 westbaystars - Imaoka takes four straight balls, and the Tigers have runners on first and second with two outs.
19:00 westbaystars - Fujimoto lifts a high fly ball toward right-center.
19:00 FlynnGiants - Yeah
19:00 FlynnGiants - if it was Yomiuri TV, I would be there, but that is darned expensive for a game of the week
19:00 westbaystars - Rhodes calls Takahashi off, a few meters in front of the warning track.
19:00 westbaystars - Rhodes makes the catch, and the side is retired.
19:01 westbaystars - Hanshin finally got a couple of base runners, but failed to score.
19:01 westbaystars - At the end of three complete, the Giants continue to lead 1-0.
19:01 westbaystars - ---
19:01 westbaystars - Top of Fourth
19:01 westbaystars - ---
19:01 FlynnGiants - I guess I'll just have to move to Hawaii..poor me *sigh*
19:02 westbaystars - There are worse places to move to.
19:02 westbaystars - Takahashi leads off for the Giants.
19:03 FlynnGiants - Masahiro Kawai, then theYomiuri Giants, did the 512th sacrifice bunt in a game Against theYokohama Baystars..
19:03 FlynnGiants - How Japanese...
19:03 westbaystars - ... while ABC is showing a LiveDoor commercial. Aw, the irony.
19:04 westbaystars - We come back to live action on TV and the count is full.
19:04 westbaystars - Takahashi grounds the ball back toward the mound.
19:05 westbaystars - Kanazawa fails to grab the ball as it bounces over his shoulder and goes past second and into center field.
19:05 westbaystars - Base hit.
19:05 westbaystars - That brings up Petagine.
19:05 westbaystars - And before going home, Kanazawa throws to first.
19:05 westbaystars - Takahashi is caught so far off of first, he doesn't even dive.
19:06 westbaystars - That's Kanazawa's second pick off of the game.
19:06 westbaystars - And Kanazawa is a right handed pitcher.
19:06 westbaystars - Peta goes deep.
19:06 westbaystars - Kanemoto stops, looks,
19:07 westbaystars - the ball bounces off the top of the fense and back onto the warning track.
19:07 westbaystars - Petagine glides into second with a stand-up double.
19:07 westbaystars - That brings up Nioka.
19:07 FlynnGiants - close
19:08 westbaystars - Nioka slaps the ball through the right field hole.
19:08 westbaystars - Hiyama bobbles the ball, but Peta-chan was heading home anyway.
19:09 westbaystars - That bobble just guaranteed Peta-chan the score, rather than making it close.
19:09 westbaystars - Nioka holds to a single.
19:09 westbaystars - That brings up Abe.
19:09 westbaystars - The Giants are now up 2-0, by the way.
19:10 MHStevie - *** Are you getting updates on the Pa League games, Westbay-san?
19:10 westbaystars - They mentioned a while back that Lotte still had a one run lead.
19:10 FlynnGiants - Nice
19:10 westbaystars - It's been a while since the last update.
19:11 MHStevie - *** OK, I can use Yahoo! to keep you up on those games.
19:11 westbaystars - *** They just chmied in that Kintetsu has a 5 run lead over Orix.
19:12 MHStevie - *** Seibu just tied up Lotte in the top of the 4th, 2-2.
19:12 westbaystars - That'd be nice. I'll report as I hear things.
19:12 MHStevie - *** Kintetsu is leading Orix 6-1 in the 3rd.
19:13 FlynnGiants - the merger series!
19:13 westbaystars - I missed how Abe got on, but with runners at first and second, Satoh struck out trying to bunt a third strike.
19:13 westbaystars - Missing the ball entirely.
19:13 westbaystars - That makes it two outs, runners at first and second, Nishi at the plate.
19:14 westbaystars - Yes, the Merger Series. Both teams were outside the stadium collecting signatures against the merger.
19:14 FlynnGiants - hmm
19:14 MHStevie - *** Ozeki homered for Seibu to lead off the 4th and tie that game.
19:14 FlynnGiants - good to see Sabermetrics has entered Japan...
19:14 FlynnGiants - Boy can you imagine someone trying to play Weaverball in Japan?
19:14 westbaystars - I've been complaining that all the noise the Central League owners are making is against the leagues merging.
19:15 westbaystars - The players continue to protest the teams merging.
19:15 westbaystars - Nishi reaches for and misses a pitch way outside, and the side is retired.
19:15 westbaystars - The Giants managed another non-home run run and take a 2-0 lead.
19:16 westbaystars - ---
19:16 westbaystars - Bottom of Fourth
19:16 westbaystars - ---
19:17 westbaystars - Number three batter Sekimoto leads off the bottom of the fourth for Hanshin.
19:18 westbaystars - I'm not sure where the Sabermetrics reference comes from. Did I miss something?
19:18 FlynnGiants - still very loud?
19:18 FlynnGiants - The attempt to bunt
19:19 westbaystars - The radio doesn't seem to have microphones too close to the crowd. I've heard them louder in the past.
19:19 westbaystars - But it sure sounds loud.
19:20 westbaystars - 50,000 Tiger fans can make some noise.
19:20 westbaystars - Sekimoto lifts a high fly to left.
19:20 FlynnGiants - yeah
19:20 westbaystars - Shimizu takes a couple steps in. One step back. Steps in again, and makes the catch.
19:20 westbaystars - One out.
19:20 FlynnGiants - I've had my ears ringing at Fenway
19:21 westbaystars - Kanemoto comes up to bat.
19:22 westbaystars - If he finishes this game, he'll have played in 701 complete consecutive games, surpassing Mitake(?) for the Japan record
19:22 westbaystars - He's played every inning of every game since July 21, 1999.
19:22 westbaystars - He lifts a high fly to the left side.
19:23 westbaystars - Nioka goes toward second, toward third, and catches the ball on the dirt/grass border.
19:23 westbaystars - Two outs.
19:23 westbaystars - Hiyama comes up next.
19:26 westbaystars - Hiyama hits a line drive to left, but well within Shimizu's range.
19:26 westbaystars - Shimizu takes the ball in, and Hanshin is out in order for the third time in four innings.
19:27 westbaystars - At the end of four complete, the Giants lead 2-0.
19:27 westbaystars - ---
19:27 westbaystars - Top of Fifth
19:27 westbaystars - ---
19:27 FlynnGiants - go Giants
19:28 FlynnGiants - this is a big series for Hanshin isn't it? Saving a season kind of thing
19:28 westbaystars - Number two batting Shimizu leads off the fifth for the Giants.
19:29 westbaystars - I believe that it's their last home game for a few weeks due to the bit high school championships taking over Koshien.
19:30 westbaystars - They'll have at least one "home" series at Osaka Dome, though.
19:30 MHStevie - *** Saburo just singled home Kakiuchi for Lotte in the bottom of the 4th.
19:30 westbaystars - "Death Road" is what it's been called in the past.
19:30 MHStevie - *** Lotte retakes the lead on Seibu, 3-2.
19:30 westbaystars - Shimizu grounds out to second.
19:30 westbaystars - *** Dragons Sayonara win.
19:31 westbaystars - *** Kawai got the sayonara hit.
19:31 westbaystars - Rhodes gets his first hit in 20 at bats, a line drive base hit to left.
19:32 FlynnGiants - Nice
19:32 westbaystars - *** The Dragons' game has been going on since 3:00 this afternoon.
19:32 westbaystars - It's now 7:30.
19:32 westbaystars - Kokubo up to the plate.
19:32 FlynnGiants - how many innings?
19:33 westbaystars - I think he said 11.
19:33 westbaystars - Kokubo hits a looper to the right side, but Imaoka goes back and catches the ball in the grass.
19:33 MHStevie - *** Yeah, I think that was the bottom of the 11th.
19:33 westbaystars - And that brings out the pitching coach.
19:33 westbaystars - Yoshino is coming in to pitch.
19:34 westbaystars - Yoshino will pitch to Takahashi-kun.
19:37 westbaystars - *** Yes, the announcer just confirmed that it was 11 innings for the Dragons vs. Swallows game.
19:37 westbaystars - Yoshino's first pitch of the game is way outside to the left handed Takahashi. Ball one.
19:37 westbaystars - The next pitch is deep to rightl.
19:38 westbaystars - Hiyama goes back, and makes the catch on the warning track.
19:38 westbaystars - Three outs.
19:38 westbaystars - ---
19:38 westbaystars - Bottom of Fifth
19:38 westbaystars - ---
19:40 westbaystars - Yano lifts the first pitch to him up to shallow right.
19:40 westbaystars - Nishi goes back, Takahashi calls him off.
19:40 westbaystars - And when the ball finally comes down, Takahashi makes the catch.
19:40 westbaystars - One pitch, one out.
19:40 westbaystars - That brings up Yagi.
19:41 westbaystars - Ah, and I hear fireworks over at Hakkei-jima Sea Paradise, the island next to the one I live on.
19:41 westbaystars - They do fireworks often during the summer.
19:41 MHStevie - *** Buffs score one in the top of the 5th to increase their lead on Orix, 7-1.
19:41 westbaystars - Yagi lines the ball up the right field line.
19:42 westbaystars - Takahashi comes over, and on a dead run, makes the catch just in foul territory.
19:42 westbaystars - Two outs.
19:43 westbaystars - Tachikawa comes in to pinch hit for the pitcher in the number eight slot.
19:43 westbaystars - And the count goes full.
19:44 westbaystars - The full count pitch is grounded to the left side.
19:44 westbaystars - Kokubo back hands the ball.
19:44 westbaystars - He throws a one, two bounder to first.
19:44 westbaystars - And beats Tachikawa by a couple of steps.
19:45 westbaystars - So, Hanshin goes down in order for the fourth time this evening.
19:46 westbaystars - And a the end of five complete, the Giants continue to lead 2-0.
19:46 westbaystars - ---
19:46 westbaystars - Top of Sixth
19:46 westbaystars - ---
19:46 MHStevie - *** Kaizuka leads off the 5th with a HR for Seibu, once again tying up Lotte (3-3).
19:48 westbaystars - Petagine leads off the sixth inning.
19:49 westbaystars - Peta-chan is called out by the third base umpire for failing to check his swing.
19:50 westbaystars - I didn't think so at first, but the reply shows the bat going past the plate.
19:50 westbaystars - One out.
19:51 westbaystars - Nioka follows by grounding the ball right back up the middle over Fujikawa, who's in to pinch this inning.
19:51 westbaystars - That brings up Abe with a runner at first and one out.
19:52 westbaystars - *** Lotte failed to score in the fifth. Score remains 3-3.
19:53 westbaystars - Abe goes fishing for a fork ball in the dirt to strike out.
19:53 westbaystars - Two down, runner remains at first.
19:53 westbaystars - That brings up pitcher Satoh, who's thrown 80 pitches so far.
19:54 westbaystars - This is the most he's thrown in a game this season.
19:55 westbaystars - Satoh goes down swinging on a 2-2 pitch, and the side is retired.
19:56 westbaystars - The Giants have gone six inning without a home run. They have a hard time winning without the long ball.
19:56 westbaystars - ---
19:56 westbaystars - Bottom of Sixth
19:56 westbaystars - ---
19:58 westbaystars - Oh, yea. I read that Kinkade is practicing with the top team recently, and is expected to ...
19:58 westbaystars - ... play against Yokohama on August 10.
19:58 westbaystars - Akahoshi leads off the sixth flying out to Shimizu in left on the first pitch.
19:58 westbaystars - One quick out for Satoh.
19:59 westbaystars - That brings up the top of the order in Imaoka.
20:00 westbaystars - Imaoka lines the ball over Kokubo and into the left field corner.
20:00 FlynnGiants - Giants are still winning 2-0?
20:00 westbaystars - He rounds first and heads into second standing up.
20:00 westbaystars - Yes, the Giants still lead 2-0.
20:00 westbaystars - That's the first Tiger on base since the third inning.
20:01 westbaystars - Fujimoto comes up next.
20:02 westbaystars - Fujimoto lines the ball to center. The crowd gets excited, but Rhodes backs up a bit to make the catch.
20:03 westbaystars - One out, runner still at second.
20:03 westbaystars - That brings up Sekimoto.
20:04 westbaystars - Sekimoto gives the ball a ride to right, but Takahashi has it at the warning track.
20:04 westbaystars - And the side is retired?
20:04 westbaystars - Oh, yea. Akahoshi led off with an out.
20:05 westbaystars - At the end of sixth complete, the Giants continue to lead 2-0.
20:05 westbaystars - ---
20:05 westbaystars - Top of Sixth
20:05 westbaystars - ---
20:05 FlynnGiants - in other news. Jason Kidd got traded to the Mavs
20:05 westbaystars - ---
20:06 westbaystars - Top of Seventh
20:06 westbaystars - ---
20:06 westbaystars - Lead off batter Nishi leads off the Giants' seventh.
20:07 westbaystars - Nishi hits a short liner that shortstop Fujimoto makes a great play to get.
20:07 westbaystars - One out.
20:08 westbaystars - Shimizu comes to the plate as balloons start inflating in the background.
20:08 westbaystars - Shimizu lifts a 1-1 pitch to shallow center.
20:09 westbaystars - Two quick outs.
20:09 westbaystars - Fujimoto makes the catch behind the second base bag on the outfield grass.
20:09 westbaystars - That brings up Rhodes, and the stands are now pretty much full of long balloons of yellow, green, and red.
20:10 FlynnGiants - knock it out of the park
20:11 westbaystars - Welcome Mijow-san. The Giants lead 2-0 in the top of the seventh.
20:11 westbaystars - Two down, nobody on, Rhodes at the plate.
20:12 westbaystars - And Rhodes just takes ball four, so the balloons will have to wait.
20:12 westbaystars - Number four batting Kokubo steps in.
20:13 mijow - It's good to join you. My wife's watching the Sunday NHK drama so I've been kicked off the TV for a while.
20:14 MHStevie - Greetings, mijow-san!
20:14 westbaystars - Kokubo grounds to Fujimoto at short.
20:14 westbaystars - He throws to Imaoka covering second.
20:15 westbaystars - And the Giants are retired.
20:15 westbaystars - Everyone, get ready to release your balloons.
20:15 westbaystars - ---
20:15 westbaystars - Bottom of Seventh
20:15 westbaystars - ---
20:17 westbaystars - Kanemoto leads off.
20:18 westbaystars - Satoh is still on the mound for the Giants.
20:18 westbaystars - Kanemoto hits a slicing line drive to left-center.
20:18 westbaystars - Shimizu runs in and over hard, and makes the catch.
20:18 westbaystars - One out.
20:19 westbaystars - Hiyama linfts the ball high behind the second base bag.
20:19 westbaystars - Nioka goes back, and gives up.
20:20 westbaystars - Rhodes sees that, runs in as hard as he can, and the ball bounces in.
20:20 westbaystars - Rhodes wants to know why Nioka gave up on that.
20:20 westbaystars - It looks like Rhodes might have pulled a calf muscle in that dash.
20:20 mijow - All RIGHT. let's start a rally here!
20:21 westbaystars - Trianers go out. Rhodes streaches out.
20:21 westbaystars - He's laughing now, but still streaching out his calf.
20:22 westbaystars - Yano comes up with a runner on first and one out.
20:23 westbaystars - Giants' bullpen has two up. Okajima I recognize. Not the other one.
20:24 westbaystars - Satoh is at or about 100 pitches about now.
20:24 mijow - Take him out!
20:25 westbaystars - Yano works the count full.
20:25 MHStevie - *** Consecutive doubles from Mario and Kitagawa score two more for Kintetsu...
20:25 westbaystars - The shoubu pitch is grounded through the left side of the infield, base hit!
20:25 MHStevie - *** Buffs now lead Orix 9-1.
20:26 westbaystars - *** That game's getting a bit out of hand.
20:26 mijow - Go Tigers!
20:26 westbaystars - Ikegaya-pitching coach goes out to the mound.
20:26 westbaystars - Horiuchi-kantoku comes out.
20:26 MHStevie - Greetings, habs!
20:26 westbaystars - And Satoh is being relieved.
20:27 westbaystars - That's been a very high quality start for him.
20:27 westbaystars - The most he's pitched this season, mostly in long relief.
20:27 mijow - yes it sure was.
20:27 habs - Greetings everyone
20:27 westbaystars - Hi, Habs-san.
20:28 westbaystars - The Giants lead 2-0, with a beautiful full moon rising over the right field bleachers.
20:28 westbaystars - Nakamura is the pitcher coming in.
20:29 westbaystars - Yagi comes up to the plate.
20:29 westbaystars - Nakamura's first pitch is called strike one on the inside part of the plate.
20:30 mijow - Who's batting?
20:30 westbaystars - He fires to second for one.
20:30 westbaystars - The next pitch is grounded to Kokubo at third.
20:30 westbaystars - The relay to first is in time, and the side is retired.
20:30 mijow - Sorry yagi - didn't see it.
20:30 westbaystars - That was Yagi. He got the start at first today.
20:31 mijow - Well that was a short rally.
20:31 FlynnGiants - this game feels tense
20:31 FlynnGiants - I love a good pitchers duel
20:31 MHStevie - *** Make that 3 straight doubles for the Buffs... Ohnishi adds another. 10-1, Buffs!
20:31 westbaystars - Hanshin threatened, but still haven't managed to get a runner to third.
20:31 westbaystars - Home is a long way away.
20:31 westbaystars - ---
20:32 westbaystars - ---
20:32 westbaystars - Top of Eighth
20:32 westbaystars - ---
20:32 westbaystars - Williams comes in nto pitch for Hanshin.
20:32 mijow - Yes, Yagi started instead of Arias, didn't he? How's Arias anyway, after the beaning last night?
20:32 westbaystars - Top of Eighth
20:33 westbaystars - I think I read that he'll be taking some time off for the Olympics. Austrailia's team?
20:33 westbaystars - Takahashi takes Williams first pitch high and tight, bailing out of there.
20:34 westbaystars - Arias had a bat and appeared to be the pinch hitter should Yano have reached.
20:35 mijow - Ok, so he's OK then.
20:35 mijow - He looked very groggy last night.
20:36 westbaystars - Takahashi goes down swinging on a 2-2 pitch.
20:36 westbaystars - One out.
20:36 westbaystars - Peta-chan, who has an RBI hit and a double, stands in.
20:36 westbaystars - Williams goes right after him with two quick strikes.
20:37 westbaystars - A waste pitch outside and hight.
20:37 westbaystars - And another one way outside to even the count.
20:38 westbaystars - The 2-2 pitch looked close, but was a little to far inside, full count.
20:39 westbaystars - After a foul ball, Peta-chan strikes out swinging at a pitch high and a little away.
20:39 westbaystars - Consecutive strike outs.
20:39 westbaystars - That brings up Nioka.
20:40 westbaystars - The moon is rising over the left field bleachers, not the right. And it's a full circle.
20:40 westbaystars - Looks like a baseball hanging in the sky.
20:40 westbaystars - After getting ahead of Nioka with two strikes, Williams wastes a pitch low and away.
20:41 westbaystars - The next pitch just misses the outside corner, 2-2.
20:41 westbaystars - Nioka lifts the next pitch to right.
20:41 westbaystars - Himaya backs up to the fense.
20:41 westbaystars - He takes a couple steps in, and makes the catch.
20:41 westbaystars - The Giants are retired in order.
20:41 westbaystars - ---
20:42 westbaystars - Bottom of Eighth
20:42 westbaystars - ---
20:42 mijow - All right - Jeff comes through.
20:44 westbaystars - Williams said that he wants to pitch as much as he can for the Tigers before departing for Athens.
20:44 mijow - Thanks westbaystars-san - drama's over and I'm back to the TV now.
20:44 westbaystars - Noguchi leads off pinch hitting for Williams.
20:45 westbaystars - My pleasure. Hope the tube is as interesting.
20:46 westbaystars - Maeda is in to pitch for the Giants.
20:46 westbaystars - He gets Noguchi reaching for a pitch way outside, strike three.
20:47 westbaystars - That brings up number nine batting Akahoshi.
20:47 westbaystars - And the speedster slices the ball into the left field corner for a stand-up double.
20:48 westbaystars - Runner at second, one out, the top of the Tiger line-up to follow.
20:48 westbaystars - Horiuchi-kantoku comes out again, and Kubo will replace Maeda who faced just two batters.
20:49 westbaystars - Horiuchi isn't taking any chances.
20:52 westbaystars - Kubo's first pitch to Imaoka is high and away. Ball one.
20:52 MHStevie - *** Lotte loads the bases in the 7th, but can't score... still tied with Seibu, 3-3, going into the 8th.
20:53 westbaystars - Kubo throws three straight balls before coming in down the middle, taken for strike one.
20:54 westbaystars - The next pitch is low and outside, and the fork ball fools Imaoka who went fishing.
20:54 westbaystars - Full count.
20:55 westbaystars - The next pitch, a fork ball in the dirt before reaching the plate, is taken for ball four.
20:55 westbaystars - That brings up Arias, pinch hitting for Fujimoto.
20:56 westbaystars - And the volume level rises a notch.
20:56 westbaystars - Kubo gets ahead quickly with two strikes.
20:56 westbaystars - Arias grounds the ball to the right side.
20:57 westbaystars - Petagine fields the ball, scoops to Kubo covering for the force.
20:57 westbaystars - That makes it two down with runners at second and third.
20:58 westbaystars - Kataoka comes up to pinch hit for Sekimoto.
20:58 westbaystars - And Kubo misses with his first two pitches.
21:00 westbaystars - Kataoka fouls one off, then takes ball three.
21:00 westbaystars - Kataoka swings through a fork ball to bring the count full.
21:01 westbaystars - The next pitch is taken low, ball four.
21:01 westbaystars - That loads the bases for Kanemoto.
21:02 westbaystars - Kanemto would really like to do something to be the hero of thet game, with his new record coming up.
21:02 westbaystars - But before that, the Giants are changing pitchers again.
21:03 westbaystars - For those of you who weren't here, should Kanemoto complete this game, it will be his 701st ...
21:03 westbaystars - ... consecutive game playing full innings.
21:04 MHStevie - *** Tani was able to double in a run for the BlueWave, small consolation as they still trail 10-2 into the 9th.
21:05 westbaystars - He currently shares the Japan record with former Tiger Miyake.
21:06 westbaystars - Okajima's first pitch is taken by Kanemoto.
21:06 westbaystars - He thought it was high and tight, but the umpire calls it strike one.
21:06 westbaystars - Kataoka grounds the ball to short.
21:06 westbaystars - Nioka throws to first, and the side is retired.
21:07 westbaystars - Kanemoto failed to come through on this memorial game.
21:07 westbaystars - At the end of eight complete, the Giants still lead 2-0.
21:07 westbaystars - ---
21:07 westbaystars - Top of Nineth
21:07 westbaystars - ---
21:09 westbaystars - Abe leads off hitting the first pitch.
21:09 westbaystars - It's lifted to left where Kanemoto comes in to make the catch.
21:09 westbaystars - One quick out.
21:09 MHStevie - *** Correction: That was a single for Tani, which scored Hayakawa from second. Got confused there...
21:09 westbaystars - Williams was still on the mound, so I guess there was a double switch there last inning that I missed.
21:10 westbaystars - But he was just in there for one batter.
21:10 westbaystars - Andoh comes in to pitch for Hanshin.
21:12 westbaystars - Motoki comes up to pinch hit.
21:12 westbaystars - Andoh's first pitch is called strike one.
21:13 westbaystars - And he eventually brings the count full.
21:14 westbaystars - The shoubu pitch is outside and low, but the home plate umpire says that Motoki swung.
21:14 westbaystars - Strike three.
21:14 westbaystars - That's the second out of the inning.
21:14 westbaystars - Up to the top of the Giants' order in Nishi.
21:15 westbaystars - Andoh gets ahead with two strikes quickly, then throws a waste pitch.
21:15 westbaystars - The usual pattern after getting two strikes.
21:16 westbaystars - Next pitch is low, 2-2.
21:16 westbaystars - Then a pitch in the dirt to bring the count full.
21:17 westbaystars - The shoubu pitch is lifted deep to right-center.
21:17 westbaystars - Haittaaaaaaaaa.
21:17 westbaystars - Giants take a 3-0 lead.
21:18 westbaystars - That brings up Shimizu.
21:19 westbaystars - Andoh got Shimizu swinging on four pitches to retire the side.
21:19 westbaystars - But not before Nishi increased the Giants' lead to 3-0 with a 2-out solo home run.
21:19 westbaystars - ---
21:19 westbaystars - Bottom of Nineth
21:19 westbaystars - ---
21:20 westbaystars - The Giants needed that home run. Without a home run, their chances of winning have been slim to none.
21:21 westbaystars - Kisanuki comes in to close for the Giants.
21:23 westbaystars - *** Kintetsu won. Surprise.
21:23 westbaystars - Hiyama leads off fouling out to Abe behind home plate on the second pitch.
21:23 westbaystars - Hanshin's down to their last two outs.
21:25 westbaystars - Two outs.
21:25 westbaystars - Yano breaks his bat as he grounds out to short.
21:25 westbaystars - That brings up Toritani as a pinch hitter.
21:25 MHStevie - *** Yahoo!'s currently all messed up for me... trying to get updates, but I was figuring on that result.
21:26 westbaystars - Toritani grounds the ball up the middle.
21:26 westbaystars - Nioka makes a great dive for the ball, is up, throws to first, not in time.
21:27 westbaystars - The ball goes past Petagine at first and into the Hanshin dugout.
21:27 westbaystars - Toritani is given second base.
21:27 westbaystars - Noguchi grounds the ball throught the left side.
21:28 westbaystars - And Toritani comes around and scores from second to break up the shut-out.
21:28 westbaystars - Down to their last out, Hanshin hasn't given up yet.
21:28 westbaystars - That brings Horiuchi-kantoku out to talk to Kisanuki, not sending his pitching coach this time.
21:29 westbaystars - Akahoshi, a single and a double on the night, comes up.
21:30 westbaystars - He grounds the ball to Nioka at short.
21:30 westbaystars - Nioka throws to second, and just gets the force.
21:30 westbaystars - That concludes the game.
21:30 westbaystars - The Giants win 3-1.
21:31 westbaystars - ***
21:31 westbaystars - There's a special cerimony for Kanemoto breaking the record for most consecutive full-inning games.
21:31 westbaystars - But I'm going to call it a night there.
21:32 MHStevie - OK... thanks as usual for your great work!
21:32 westbaystars - I've had this last week off and need to make sure I get to bed early tonight.
21:33 westbaystars - Have a good one, all.
21:33 habs - Good job again
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
Some rights reserved.
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