August 5th Iwata v Asakura - Shi no rodo continues

Akahoshi has started his rehabilitation under the watchful eye of Hirata (second team kantoku). The match against the Dragons saw Iwata blow the game in the seventh though his pitching is still not of his best. Kanoh worked hard to keep him going but even he couldn't prevent the meltdown. He did have some choice words to say on the subject to Iwata. Atchison was also poor allowing a scoring hit but generally Tigers pitchers have not reached the standards of last year. Time for a change in pitching coach. Tigers batting was abject again and even if the pitching and calling was improved from the night before the batting wasn't and this time they didn't even have the excuse of superb pitching. Asakura was good but not spectacular like Chen. One has to ask, 'Mummy, what is that man for?' about Kanemoto. His continued non-performance is getting to be an embarrasment. Scores

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

Starting lineups

Tigers
1. Hirano (Centre)
2. Fujimoto (Second)
3. Toritani (Short)
4. Kanemoto (Left)
5. Arai (Third)
6. Brazell (First)
7. Lin (Right)
8. Kanoh (Catcher)
9. Iwata (Catcher)

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

Asakura wouldn't start well and in fact he dead balled Hirano with the first pitch of the game. Fujimoto, back after a long break bunted Hirano to second and then Toritani hit to set up runners on first and third. Kanemoto then grounded out to first which prevented the run but permitted Toritani to move round to second. Here Tigers needed Arai to produce something but he grounded out tamely to third and the chance was lost. Dragons first was a 1-2-3 affair. Tigers second saw Lin (also back after a long spell) ground out to first but Blanco messed it up and Lin was safe. Kanoh grounded out in a kind of failed bunt which took Lin to second but of course Iwata did nothing. Dragons picked up their first hit in the second, a one out two base to left from Wada. The latter ended up on third after Fujii's ground out but got no further as Koike struck out. Tigers third was proceding quietly until Askaura got to Toritani. He took his fifth pitch deep to right for a solo home run 1-0 Tigers. Again Kanemoto grounded out to end the innings. Dragons response in their third was effective but a bit farcical. Oyama hit a two base to right centre and what was Iwata thinking serving up such an easy hit to a lightweight like Oyama. The bunt from Asakura was poor and Brazell decided to try and take Oyama going for third but the execution was bad and the Dragons runner was safe on third with Asakura safe on first. Ibata immediately hit the sacrifice fly to right 1-1 scores tied and the lead had been thrown away. Araki's ground out took Asakura to second and then Iwata dead balled Morino to acquire another runner. Iwata needs to have stronger nerves than this. Finally, he got Blanco to line out to Toritani to end the innings.

Arai led off the Tigers fourth with a hit and Brazell followed and Tigers had runners on first and second. Lin in rather a waste flew out to centre but this did move Arai round to third. Kanoh was next and he did need to do something significant but was impatient and hit his first pitch straight at third. Arai decided to try for home anyway but was picked off and Tigers had runners on first and second. Kanoh needs to think a bit more about his batting. It wasn't necessary to swing at his first pitch and more patience would have put the Tigers back in the lead. Of course, Iwata wasn't going to do anything and the Dragons had a lucky escape. Iwata was back on form in the fourth and retired the batters 1-2-3 for the second time in the match. Tigers fifth saw Toritani collect a walk but nothing came of this. Iwata managed to walk Asakura in the Dragons fifth but then Ibata hit into a double play and the innings was over. Asakura walked Arai but one out later Lin hit into a double play and ended the innings in Tigers sixth. Tigers were getting runners on but with a rather casual approach to batting were not moving them round. Morino produced a one out left hit in the Dragons sixth but got no further.

Asakura was surprisingly good in Tigers seventh getting his three batters in order. Iwata returned for the Dragons seventh and why not. He had pitched better than Asakura but whereas Asakura had the stamina and the nerve Iwata didn't . He got Fujii to ground out and then suddenly and unaccountably walked Koike in four. The same thing happened to Oyama and then Tatsunami (pinch hitter) hit to right to load the bases. Iwata later said he got nervous and this caused his arm to stiffen but what was he doing getting nervous in the first place? Kanoh was non too pleased at this mess and neither was Mayumi who replaced Iwata with Atchison. He did not pitch well this time and gave up a to Ibata 2-1 Dragons bases loaded. Araki grounded out to short which brought home another run 3-1 Dragons, runners on first and second. Morino was next but he flew out to end the innings. The Dragons now had a useful lead. Asao took the mound for the Tigers eighth Ochiai having decided (with perfect timing) to replace Asakura to go for the runs. He gave up a two out hit to Kanemoto but then Arai struck out swinging to end that chance. For Dragons eighth Egusa took the mound and was excellent and so much better pitching to Kanoh than to Yano. He struck out two of the three batters he faced. Dragons closer for Tigers ninth was of course Iwase. He walked Asai (replacement right) with one out. Another out followed and then Yano (pinch hitter hit) to set up runners on first and second. Iwase kept his head and got Takahashi (pinch hitter) to ground out to short to end the innings. Dragons victory.

Tigers seem settle into a comfort zone of mediocrity during this period. Instead of trying hard they just go to sleep and allow the history to dictate how they play. Of course, they are playing a strong team at the moment but they wasted chances and showed a general lack of application. They also tend to get worse and like last year don't even bother if they are in Osaka Dome. One can expect to lose to pitching performance like that of Chen's but to lose because you didn't wait and show patience should not be acceptable.