August 12th Andoh v Greisinger - Another shut out

The fact that Tigers managed to be shut out again is quite disappointing. Whilst it may be too much to expect them to win every game it's also clear that they are not making enough effort and that they let certain pitchers dominate them. That being said they are still comfortable and have a seven game lead over the Giants. In 2005 the Dragons pulled back to within half a game at one point but the Tigers still won the pennant. So even though they are playing badly at the moment it is not yet a cause for concern. This game saw the welcome return of Lin to the side. Line scores

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

Starting lineups

1. Akahoshi (Centre)
2. Hirano (Second)
3. Toritani (Short)
4. Kanemoto (Left)
5. Lin (Right)
6. Katsuragi (First)
7. Sekimoto (Third)
8. Noguchi (Catcher)
9. Andoh (Pitcher)

Giants
1. Suzuki (Centre)
2. Kimura (Second)
3. Ogasawara (First)
4. Ramirez (Left)
5. Tani (Right)
6. Nioka (Third)
7. Tsuruoka (Catcher)
8. Sakamoto (Short)
9. Greisinger (Pitcher)

Tigers started quietly but managed a Toritani hit. Unfortunately nothing happened as Kanemoto flew out. Andoh's first innings was not as good - he walked Kimura and then threw an outside ball which Ogasawara was expecting. The Giants first baseman slammed the ball into the stand for a two run home run 2-0 Giants. Andoh then got Ramirez to fly out but Tani hit followed by Nioka - runners on first and third. Tsuruoka walked and the bases were loaded. Sakamoto though struck out and the innings was over. In Tigers second Sekimoto walked but Noguchi did nothing with the opportunity and the innings ended without any score. Andoh's second was better - he gave up a hit to Suzuki but that was extinguished by a Kimura double play. After the first Andoh would pitch well and would give the Tigers a chance to get back in the game. Greisinger was good but not dominating and the Tigers should have made more of the opportunities they were presented with. In the third Akahoshi hit with one out but neither of the following batters did anything. Giants third was quiet with the side being retired in order. In Tigers fourth Lin walked with one out and then Sekimoto hit - runners on first and second and this is something that Noguchi should have exploited. He didn't and the chance went begging. The Giants fourth was also quiet with Andoh retiring the side in order once again.

In Tigers fifth Akahoshi had another one out hit but once again no support. The Giants fifth was the same as the third and fourth - Andoh was pitching superbly by now and the batters couldn't do anything at all. The top of the sixth saw the Tigers big chance. Kanemoto hit followed by Lin to put runners on first and second with no outs. They were bunted to second and third by Katsuragi. Next up was Sekimoto who struck out and then the ineffective Noguchi who lined out and the threat was extinguished. The Giants sixth saw Tani's second hit of the night but nothing came of this. Apart from the first innings Andoh had pitched very well and kept the Giants under control. It is a pity his batters did not support him. Greisinger wasn't bad but he was vulnerable this game and the batting does need to improve.

Greisinger returned for the Tigers seventh and started by walking Hiyama (pinch hitter). He was pinch run for by Kanoh and advanced to second on a one out ground out. Toritani walked and Hara decided that a new pitcher was needed. Yamaguchi was summoned for the final out and got Kanemoto to ground out and end the innings. Greisinger had not been as economical as Andoh but crucially had kept the Tigers off the scoreboard. He had given up six hits and three walks and certainly the Tigers batters should have made something of this. Watanabe started for the Giants seventh and walked Tsuruoka. Kamei (pinch hitter) took the chance on his third strike and made first - this seems to be a flaw in Noguchi's catching. He allows too many of this sort of thing. The runners were bunted to second and third by Yamaguchi and Okada decided to bring on Egusa. He struck out Suzuki but wandered and gave up a two base hit to Kimura 4-0 Giants. Then Ogasawara hit and Giants had runners on first and third. Egusa left the mound to be followed by Abe. He was just as ineffective as the previous two pitchers and gave up a three run home run to Ramirez 7-0 Giants. The game was now out of the Tigers reach but given their batting it was unlikely that they could have won it anyway. Andoh's hard work had been wasted by Tigers relief pitchers who didn't show the kind of application needed. Sekimoto hit in the Tigers eighth but nothing came of this. Hashimoto pitched the Giants eighth and retired the side in order. The Giants pitcher for the Tigers ninth was Kaneto who had no problems dealing with the lazy batting which passes for Tigers batting these days. Giants victory.

A competently worked victory by an efficient Giants side. They had seized the initiative and held it throughout the game. Tigers had not shown the application needed at all. The ironic thing is that Tigers don't even have a shi no rodo to blame this year. They play six games at Kyocera Dome while the High School baseball tournament is on and they have only a few away games. They have no excuse for the lazy performance that almost everyone is putting in.