August 12th Iwata v Asakura - Asakura rides his luck too far

This time Asakura didn't escape. He was still as variable as before and the Tigers still took a long time to figure him out but they managed to do so. Dragons were outclassed in this game as Tigers showed their ability. Iwata finally redescovered his form and pitched very well though was it necessary to pitch him for the complete game. After he gave up the run wouldn't a rest have been appropriate? There is no need to tire out your starters. Scores

         1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R  H E
Dragons  0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1  4 1
Tigers   0 0 0 2 0 0 4 0 X 6 14 1

Starting lineups

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

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

Dragons first started with trouble for Iwata. He gave up a lead off hit to Ibata - a three base lead off hit. It seemed that Arai did tag him out but the umpire ruled it safe. Iwata rose to the real challenge striking out the next three batters in a really incredible display of pitching. Asakura started reasonably well but gave up a two out two base to Toritani. This brought up Kanemoto who failed and grounded out to third. With two out in Dragons second Iwata had an amazing battle with Hidenori who belying his poor batting average did very well before hitting. The next batter was Ogawa who grounded out to Arai who generally had a good game. In Tigers second Katsuragi came up to bat with two outs. He hit to centre and then Kanoh followed with a hit. Here the scorer was generous as Morino messed up the take and dropped the ball. Iwata then hammred his first pitch back past Asakura for a hit. Araki fielded but Katsuragi who had made third had wandered too far from base. What he was thinking is difficult to fathom as he then tried to regain the base. Morino missed the first tag but got the second and Katsuragi was out to end the innings. This was a stupid out. Dragons third was quiet with the batters falling in order. Tigers third saw Toritani's second hit of the night but nothing came of this and you began to wonder if the game would follow the pattern of the night before.

Dragons fourth followed the pattern of the third with the batters falling in order but with Iwata adding to more to his collection of strikeouts. Kanoh's calling was superb and Iwata's pitching was at his best. The problems for Asakura continued though and actually worsened. In Tigers fourth Arai grounded out to short. This brought up Brazell who hammered his third pitch into the stand for a home run 1-0 Tigers. Katsuragi then hit a two base beating Lee to the wall and Ogawa took a trip to the mound to calm Asakura down. It didn't help as Kanoh hit to right. This time Katsuragi stopped firmly on third, once bitten twice shy as they say but setting up runners on first and third. Iwata was next - surely he wouldn't hit again. He did - putting the ball nicely to right for another run 2-0 Tigers runners on first and second. Hirano flew out but Kanoh tagged up and made third and then Yamato (who's theme music is 'Space Battleship Yamato' a famous anime). grounded out to end the innings. A very useful lead had been established but would Iwata be able to hold it? The answer was yes - Dragons three batters in the fifth all grounded out. Kanemoto hit in Tigers fifth and then made second on a wild pitch but didn't advance any further. Once again Iwata was in control in Dragons sixth and retired the batters in order. Asakura did the same in the bottom.

So to Dragons seventh and Iwata looked a bit tired. He was swinging pitches across Morino but failed to hit the zone or get Morino to bite, the result was a walk. Blanco hit and suddenly Dragons had runners on first and second with no outs and Iwata was in trouble. His response was excellent and he induced a 6-4-3 double play from Wada. However, he then relaxed - he had Morino on third and Lee drove his first pitch past Toritani's despairing dive into left for a hit 2-1 Tigers, runner on first. Hidenori hit straight back at Iwata who was able to field and throw to first for the final out. Tigers response was immediate and this time Askura's luck ran out. With one out Yamato hit and then stole second nicely. Toritani engineered a walk which brought up Kanemoto. You were resigned to him failing but instead he produced a centre hit which sailed over centre to hit the base of the wall. Both runners set off and of course Yamato was home but Toritani made three bases to reach home as well 4-1 Tigers runner on second. The next batter, Arai hit to set up runners on first and third and Ochiai decided enough was enough. Exit Asakura to the strains of 'Auld Lang Syne' and enter Masato Kobayashi. He has normally done well against Tigers and struck out Brazell. He was then replaced by Kawahara for the final out whose victim was due to be Sakurai (pinch hitter and replacement right). Sakurai hit nicely to centre, past the dive of Hidenori for a three base hit, 6-1 Tigers runner on third. Finally Kanoh flew out to centre to end the innings - Tigers had a game winning lead. Surprisingly Iwata returned for Dragons eighth and did well once again retiring the batters in order. Nagamine pitched the Tigers eighth and was just as successful. The first batter he retired was Iwata which once again was surprising. Yes your starter can go deep but was it really appropriate to pitch him for the entire nine innings. Why not give one of the relief a run out? Iwata got Araki out but then Arai made a rare error allowing Morino to reach first. This didn't matter as first Blanco and then Wada grounded out, end of innings. Tigers victory.

A very nice bounce back victory Tigers batting had taken advantage of the chances and Iwata had chipped in nicely. It wasn't really necessary for him to pitch the whole nine innings and it did take him 135 pitches. It was good pitching but really Mayumi needs to preserve his pitchers arms. Iwata had pitched very very well limiting Dragons to one walk and four hits but really he wasn't chasing a shutout so why the extra two innings? Just another indicator that Mayumi really is clueless. All the batters contributed except Hirano but he was sound in centre field tonight. Of course the best memory from the game is Iwata's first innings, striking out three batters in a row with a runner on third.