September 1st Andoh v Tateyama - I wake from season's slump

Kanemoto is waking up after a long slump. It's too soon to say whether he is out of the slump but he has driven in runs in the past two games and is hitting more. This is what a No. 4 should be doing and is encouraging. Moving on to Imaoka, reports in the press that he is retiring are premature. Both the Tigers and the player have denied that this is his intention but it is difficult to see how he can continue next year given his continued non-performance.

Mayumi's declared goal for this series is to sweep the Swallows. As the Tigers are resurgent and the Swallows slumping this is actually a realisable goal this time. It will still be difficult though and explains Mayumi's strange pitching decisions this game. Yano started and did well with Andoh but ran into trouble with the relief. Egusa doesn't pitch well with Yano and we saw the effects with a bases loaded situation. Mayumi then used Atchison for the final out and went with Abe for the final innings. Whilst it is great to see Abe back in the relief after the idiocy of using him as a starter it is maybe not so wise to pitch him two days after a six innings start. Coupled with Yano and a lack of confidence he walked the first two batters. Here Mayumi really panicked and sent for Fujikawa - surely Tsutsui would have been a better option. Tigers had a five run lead - it was a clear non save situation. The Swallows were unlikely to come to life. Nishimura might also have been a good option - using your star closer is unnecessary. However, Mayumi is desperate to reach the Climax Series and really feeling the pressure now. Scores

          1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R  H E
Swallows  0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1  9 0
Tigers    1 0 0 3 0 2 0 0 X 6 11 0

Starting lineups

Swallows
1. Fukuchi (Left)
2. Hiroyasu Tanaka (Second)
3. Aoki (Centre)
4. D'Antona (First)
5. Guiel (Right)
6. Miyamoto (Third)
7. Keizoh Kawashima (Short)
8. Aikawa (Catcher)
9. Tateyama (Pitcher)

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

It was all hands to the pumps for Swallows as they recalled Miyamoto and D'Antona for this series. This game the move can't have been said to be successful but it may pay off in the later games. Andoh was his usual ordinary self - some good, some bad. He started by striking out Fukuchi then dead balled the very next batter, Tanaka. The next two batters though followed the recent Swallows pattern of being unable to convert the runner and the innings was scoreless. Tateyama started well but then Toritani latched onto a nice fat ball and hit it into the stands for the first run 1-0 Tigers. Kanemoto lined out to second but had started aggressively. Swallows second saw Andoh give up a one out hit to Miyamoto. In trying to work the double play he then gave up hits in succession to Kawashima and Aikawa to load the bases. Tateyama then tried a squeeze play for which Tigers were watching. Yano was on the ball and plate to get the runner coming from third and then throw to first for the out. Very nice work and end of innings. Asking for a sacrifice fly would have been a better option for the Swallows. Tigers second saw Arai hit but he was caught up in Brazell's first liner being off base when the ball reached first. Sakurai flew out and the innings was over. Swallows third was nice with Andoh finishing with a very good strike out of Aoki to end the innings. Tigers third was also quiet as Tateyama retired the batters in order.

So far the game was quiet but Tigers had the vital first score. Andoh cruised through Swallows clean up in their fourth and the action moved to the Tigers version. Hirano led off the innings with a hit. Then Toritani flew out. Kanemoto was next and reached for an outside pitch. He got enough bat and the ball flew up and just inside the left foul pole for a two run home run 3-0 Tigers. This is the way a streak starts, a hit, then a bit of luck and suddenly the runs are flowing (well we can hope that this happens, can't we?). Arai hit to centre and then Brazell walked to set up runners on first and second. Arai moved round to third on Katsuragi's (pinch hitter and replacement right) ground out. Yano then hit to centre driving in another run 4-0 Tigers runners on first and second. Finally Andoh struck out to end the innings. Andoh started the Swallows fifth well and got the first two outs but then gave up consecutive hits to Aikawa and Tateyama. Tanaka was next and he grounded out to end the innings. Tigers fifth was qiuet with the batters falling in order. In Swallows sixth Aoki led off the innings with a two base hit. Andoh once again gave up consecutive hits with a single to D'Antona which put runners on first and third with no outs. Next batter was Guiel who hit into a double play which was too tempting to ignore and left Aoki with an easy run in 4-1 Tigers. Miyamoto followed with a hit but then Kawashima struck out to end the innings. Tigers response was immediate. Kanemoto led off with a hit. Arai followed with a monster two base which allowed Kanemoto time to make home 5-1 Tigers, runner on second. Katsuragi's ground out took Arai to third and then Tateyama walked Yano. Here Mayumi sent a pinch hitter, Hiyama in to bat in place of Andoh. He hit to centre driving in the run 6-1 Tigers, runners on first and third. Finally Akahoshi flew out to end the innings. Andoh and Tateyama both pitched six innings. Coincidently they had both thrown the same number of pitches 103 but Andoh had done the better job giving up only one run as opposed to six from Tateyama.

Swallows seventh was pitched by Kanemura who gave up a two out hit to Fukuchi. Nothing came of this and the innings was scoreless. Hagiwara pitched Tigers seventh and gave up a hit to Toritani but then it was Kanemoto's turn to hit into a double play. Egusa pitched the Swallows eighth and was in trouble with Yano's calling again. More work is needed here as at the moment this pair do not get on though Egusa hasn't been pitching well of late. With one out he walked two batters in succession and then struck out Miyamoto. However another walk followed to load the bases. Mayumi panicked here and summoned Atchison to the mound. He blistered through Aikawa in four balls to end the innings. Arai faced Takagi in Tigers eighth and had his fourth hit of the game. However the next three batters then got out and he didn't advance beyond first. Swallows ninth was Abe who was coming off a start and was lacking in confidence plus being paired with Yano. He started the innings with two walks and then Mayumi panicked again and brought on Fujikawa. This was like taking a sledgehammer to crack a nut and unnecessary - Nishimura could have been used. Fujikawa struck out all three batters he faced without any problem. End of innings and Tigers victory.

The handling of the endgame by Mayumi could only be said to have been bizarre. He had runs to play with and should have left Egusa in. However, he doesn't understand relief pitching at all and Kido is no help either. Okada used to understand relief pitching and used them effectively. Still they had got the job done but some thought needs to be given to who to use with the relief. Yano is only partially effective and this shouldn't be the case. Batting was good and Tigers hit comfortably easily dominating a fading Swallows team. The sweep is still a tall order but it is a distinct possibility as Swallows need to play at a higher level than last night to win.