April 23rd Andoh v Yoshimi - Succumbing to temptation

Tigers showed much more spirit and fight this match. Yoshimi pitched a quality start but so did Andoh. With Dragons unable to get momentum they were gradually ground down by the Tigers who seized some of their opportunities. Once again too many errors (3 in all) but a welcome victory for the Tigers. Box scores

        1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 R  H E
Tigers  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  0  0  3 4  9 2
Dragons 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0  0  0  0 1 10 1

Starting lineups

Tigers
1. Akahoshi (Centre)
2. Sekimoto (First)
3. Toritani (Short)
4. Kanemoto (Left)
5. Arai (Third)
6. Nohmi (Right)
7. Hirano (Second)
8. Kanoh (Catcher)
9. Andoh (Pitcher)

Dragons
1. Araki (Second)
2. Ibata (Short)
3. Morino (Third)
4. Blanco (First)
5. Wada (Left)
6. Nomoto (Right)
7. Fujii (Centre)
8. Oyama (Catcher)
9. Yoshimi (Pitcher)

This marathon would take 4 hours 35 minutes and end with the stadium half empty (lots of people had to get to work) but be worth it for the Tigers. Yoshimi would pitch very well but start shakely. In Tigers first he gave up a hit to Sekimoto and then walked Toritani with one out but the next two batters failed to convert the runners. Dragons first was quiet with the batters falling in order. This also happened in Tigers second as Yoshimi established his control. Dragons second was a bit more difficult for Andoh. With one out Wada hit. This was followed by a hit from Nomoto and then a wild pitch took the runners to second and third. Andoh walked Oyama to load the bases which fortunately brought up Yoshimi for the final out and the innings was scoreless. In Tigers third Yoshimi struck out the three batters he faced. Dragons third saw Ibata walk. Ibata stole second and then Andoh walked Blanco, runners on first and third with two outs. However, Wada snatched at one and flew out in foul ground to end the innings.

Yoshimi walked Kanemoto in the Tigers fourth but nothing resulted from this. Andoh was incontrol in the bottom and the batters fell in order. This was also the case in the Tigers fifth and the game moved to the Dragons fifth. Andoh's problem innings (he frequently struggles in the fifth). Yoshimi struck out but then an error by Hirano allowed Araki to reach first. He stole second and reached third on Ibata's hit. Danger beckoned. Morino was next and he hit a two base to right. Araki was home 1-0 Dragons but Ibata also tried to make home. The throw and relay were good and Kanoh tagged Ibata out. Morino was safe on second. Blanco was next and he hit to set up runners on first and third and things looked ominous. Once again Wada pulled at a pitch this time flying out to Toritani - end of innings with only one run given up. Akahoshi led off the top of the sixth with a hit as the Tigers tried to mount a counter-attack. He stole second and Sekimoto walked setting up runners on first and second with no outs. The next three batters surrendered meekly and Dragons retained their lead. Dragons sixth saw a Fujii hit and he advanced to second on a ground out but the final batter was Yoshimi and of course an easy out.

The seventh was quiet with both pitchers retiring the batters in order and at the end of the innings Andoh retired. Here Mayumi did not succumb to temptation. Andoh had pitched very well and even though he wouldn't pick up the win he had kept the Tigers in the contest. How much would be shown the very next imnings. With Andoh retiring this allowed Mayumi to use a pinch hitter and for this purpose he chose Hiyama. Ochiai succumbed to temptation and Yoshimi returned for his eighth innings. His third pitch was hammered into the centre stand by Hiyama for a solo home run 1-1 scores tied and Hiyama's first home run since 2007. Of course, Tigers fans were ecstatic as Hiyama is still wildly popular. Yoshimi pulled himself together and got the next three batters but the damage was done. Dragons eighth was pitched by Williams. With one out he walked Wada. Nomoto bunted him to second but this time asking Fujii to drive him in was too much as Williams struck him out swinging. Tigers ninth was pitched by Iwase as Ochiai once again gave into an assumption (this was that they would win the game in the ninth). He started with a two base to Kanemoto, not good. One out later Imaoka (pinch hitter) hit to short who messed up the throw and Tigers had runners on second and third. A sacrifice fly was all that was needed. Baldris (replacement second) was next and failed, driving the ball straight to Morino at third. Kanemoto still tried for home but was out, no run and runners on first and third. Kanoh grounded out and the chance was lost. Dragons ninth was pitched by Atchison who would have to contain an all out effort. He got the first two outs and then Araki hit. Ibata was next and he hit putting runners on first and third. Ibata stole second but Morino as he so often does in these crunch situations struck out and the game went into extra innings. Ochiai's decision to use Iwase in the ninth would come back to haunt him later on.

Tigers tenth was pitched by Saitoh and he gave up a two out hit to Sekimoto. This brought Takahashi to the mound to face Toritani who also hit. A wild pitch took the runners to second and third and then Kanemoto faced Takahashi. He struck out and the innings was over. Atchison returned for the Dragons tenth and gave up a one out hit to Wada. He was bunted to second by Oda (replacement catcher) but Fujii grounded out and the innings was scoreless. Hirai took the Tigers eleventh and gave up a hit to Fujimoto (replacement second). With two out he tried to steal second but was thrown out to end the innings. Fujimoto rarely steals and doesn't really have the ability but it was worth a try. Mayumi finally brought Fujikawa in for the Dragons eleventh. He started poorly giving up a hit to Tatsunami (pinch hitter). Koike (pinch hitter) grounded out to Fujikawa which kept Iwasake (pinch running for Tatsunami) on first. Araki flew out and then Iwasake stole second. This brought up Ibata who walked. Once again Morino was at the place in a crunch situation and once again he struck out swinging. To be fair Fujikawa has honed his strike out of Morino down to a fine art but still it was very useful. Down to his last few pitchers, Ochiai went with Nelson for Tigers twelveth. This didn't start well as Kanoh hit. He was bunted to second by Asai (pinch hitter) and here the bunt was justified. Nelson exited to be replaced by Payano who started by walking Akahoshi to set up runners on first and second. Sekimoto grounded out and Dragons just needed one more out to be safe. Toritani was next and he took his third pitch deep along the first baseline. It just stayed in for a three run home run 4-1 Tigers. Payano was replaced by Kikuchi who got Kanemoto to fly out to end the innings. After all the excitement the Dragons twelveth was a bit of an anticlimax. The stuffing had been knocked out of the Dragons and Fujikawa had no trouble retiring the batters in order to end the match. Tigers victory.

A hard fought victory in which Tigers really had to show some character and perseverence. Good pitching by Andoh had kept them in the hunt and as the Dragons faltered they were able to take advantage. Ochiai had made mistakes in his pitching strategy and this had cost the Dragons the match. Yoshimi had been pitched too long and then Iwase too early. Tigers though had kept on pressing and fought hard to secure the win. Mayumi still has a lot to learn but we may take this game as evidence that he is learning and that is a positive sign for the future.