August 23rd Shimoyanagi v Imai - Even better

This was a fine victory based on perseverence and good hitting when needed. Kanemoto though is still in a slump and a solution is getting urgent. Tigers are closing in on Yakult and if they can keep on winning then they will have a chance of the Climax Series. This would certainly be a turn around and would definitely secure Mayumi his job. However, a fourth place finish is the most likely result for now. Still it is nice to see Tigers playing with some spirit. Sekimoto is 60-70% and is not due back soon. He is still experiencing some pain and discomfort and will not be rushed back. We could also be seeing the end of Carp's Marty Brown as manager as his side is failing to deliver and the game yesterday was a good example of this. Once again Shimoyanagi was not at his best and in a bold decision Mayumi replaced him after five innings. This didn't work out but it was good management. Scores

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

Starting lineups

Carp
1. Higashide (Second)
2. Akamatsu (Centre)
3. Phillips (Left)
4. Kurihara (First)
5. McClain (Third)
6. Kokubo (Short)
7. Amaya (Right)
8. Kura (Catcher)
9. Imai (Pitcher)

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

Shimoyanagi's first innings would be kind of surprising. It started brightly with the first two batters falling easily. Then Phillips hit to centre but still nothing to worry about. Shimoyanagi though got into an awful mess and left one in the zone for Kurihara to hit for a two run home run 2-0 Carp. Then McClain hit to right and Shimoyanagi walked Kokubo. Visions of another disaster like that of the first game of the series started to loom but Shimoyanagi struck out Amaya to end the innings. Imai would pitch very well apart from his first innings which started with Hirano engineering a walk. Yamato bunted him to second and then Toritani hit to left, a two base line hit drivng in Hirano 2-1 Carp, runner on second. Kanemoto grounded out to second which took Toritani to third but Arai could only ground out to short and the innings was over with Toritani stranded. Carp's second was much better by Shimoyanagi and the batters were out in order. Tigers second was the same as Imai settled down striking out Sakurai and then Yano to end the innings. Kurihara had his second hit of the night with two out in Carp's third but this time no one converted either. Imai was once again assured in the Tigers third and no runner made base in that innings.

Shimoyanagi ran into some slight trouble in Carp's fourth. With one out he walked Amaya and then gave up a hit to Kura. He managed to get the next two outs and end the innings without damage. Tigers fourth was quiet as Imai was now motoring and clearly in control. In Carp's fifth Phillips had a two base hit but once again things didn't go anywhere. With two out in the bottom Yano (who had a very good night behind the plate and with the bat) hit a two base. The next batter was Shimoyanagi but Mayumi decided to use a pinch hitter and in a bold decision sent Brazell to the plate. Brazell was deliberately walked for the second time in two nights which brought up Hirano with runners on first and second. He grounded out to third and Carp were out of that bind. For Carp's sixth Tsutsui was the relief and one is glad to see him being used properly again after the pointless experiment of using him as a starter. He was very comfortable retiring the batters in order and here the game began to shift Tigers way. Imai though still had some good pitches left in him and retired the Tigers batters smoothly in the sixth to preserve the lead.

Tsutsui pitched the Carp's seventh and gave up a hit to Higashide. The latter made second on Akamatsu's ground out and here Mayumi switched pitchers to Atchison. Another good decision as it didn't over pitch Tsutsui and Atchison then proceeded to strike Phillips out looking for the final out. By now Imai had thrown 93 pitches and Brown decided he had pitched enough and so Yokoyama the pitcher who had given up the losing run the night before took the mound. This often works as the pitcher is committed to avoiding the same mistake and pitches harder and better. It didn't work this time though. With one out Yokoyama walked Katsuragi. Sakurai then hit to centre followed by Yano hitting to centre - bases loaded with one out. Tigers were looking at a potential sacrifice fly to draw level but Carp were looking at a double play to end the innings. Yokoyama wasn't the pitcher for this and Brown replaced him with Schultz. He faced Hiyama (pinch hitter) who with comendable restraint drew a walk - oshidashi 2-2 scores tied, bases loaded. Hirano was next and he put the ball nicely into the right corner for a two base hit 4-2 Tigers runners on second and third. This brought up Asai (replacement centre Hirano having replaced Yamato at second) who punched out a single to centre driving in two more runs 6-2 Tigers, runner on first. With the Carp reeling from this onslaught Asai then stole second. However, Toritani struck out and Kanemoto grounded out to end the scoring for the innings but Tigers were in control now and coasting to victory. Hiyama had been used as a pinch hitter in place of Atchison and so Kanemura took the mound. He retired the Carp batters in order. For Tigers eighth Carp's pitcher was Makino. With two out he gave up a two base hit to Sakurai which brought up Yano. He hit his first home run of the season to left 8-2 Tigers. Yano would miss out on the cycle by a three base hit. Takahashi (pinch hitter) walked but Hirano flew out this time to end the innings. For Carp's ninth we saw Tigers No. 4 draft pick of 2008, Nishimura. He retired the Carp batters in order finishing with a strike out of Suenaga (pinch hitter). Tigers victory.

This victory put the Tigers 1.5 games clear of the Carp in fourth place. Tigers had done well once they had got past Imai who it might be said could have been risked for the seventh. Atchison picked up the win which is good work for one out and Yano had his first home run of the season. He had played well and had also called excellently. Tigers next take on the BayStars before another series against the Giants.