September 3rd Kubo v Ishikawa - Ishikawa saves the Swallows bacon

Mayumi did not pull off his desired sweep and Tigers were beaten comfortably by a rather ordinary Swallows team. Still they now have a victory to build on. The difference between the sides was the pitching wtih Kubo being very poor and lacking awareness of the zone and Ishikawa being distinctly ordinary but showing great fighting spirit and application to keep the Tigers off the scoreboard. Once again it was the team that scored first that won and here Kubo basically generated his problems himself and the Swallows just took advantage of them. Carp are now breathing down Tigers necks having swept the Dragons but I think we can see this as the Carp's final last desperate attempt to salvage something from a disappointing season. This makes the next series against them very interesting. Scores

          1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R  H E
Swallows  0 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 4  7 0
Tigers    0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 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 Kawashims (Short)
8. Aikawa (Catcher)
9. Ishikawa (Pitcher)

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

Nohmi was replaced by Asai before the game started

Tigers would squander several chances early in the game which would cost them later. Swallows though started quietly falling in order to Kubo's pitching. Akahoshi started Tigers first with a hit and made second on Hirano's bunt. This was a fine bunt as the pitch from Ishikawa was fierce and bowled Hirano off his feet. Toritani's ground out took Akahoshi to third but then Kanemoto flew out to end the innings Swallows first hit came in their second, a two out right hit to Miyamoto but nothing came of this. Ishikawa got the first two outs in Tigers second but then Asai hit to right. Kanoh followed this with a drive down the left and Tigers had runners on first and second but Kubo was next and he grounded out to end the innings. Kubo's troubles really started with the third, Aikawa hit to centre and was bunted to second by Ishikawa. Fukuchi grounded out taking him to third but then Tanaka flew out to end the innings. Kubo had escaped this time. Tigers third was quiet as the batters fell in order.

Kubo started Swallows fourth by getting Aoki to fly out to left. Then he ran into trouble trying to shave the zone facing D'Antona. Admittedly the plate umpire was strict but this affected Ishikawa as well. Kubo showed a marked reluctance to try and throw strikes in the zone and ended up walking D'Antona. Guiel also had the same experience and he reached and hit nicely to centre. Then Kubo let go a wild pitch and dead balled Miyamoto to load the bases. Hardly inspired pitching. Kawashima was next and he hit a massive fly to right, more than enough time for D'Antona to tag up and amble home 1-0 Swallows, runners on first and third. Kubo then struck out Aikawa to end the innings. With Tigers one down Kanemoto led off the Tigers fourth with a two base hit to centre. Actually this was an error by Aoki who jumped and got the ball in his glove but allowed it to spill as he came down. Really, a centre fielder of his quality should take these. Arai hit to right to set up runners on first and third and then the innings turned a bit strange. Brazell hit to centre and unluckily the ball hit Ishikawa on the leg and stopped. Ishikawa was able to field and throw to third where Kanemoto was standing off base. He had the opportunity to return to base but seemed to be caught in two minds what to do. Swallows then ran him down but not before he had drawn Arai to third and Brazell to second. Asai was walked to load the bases and Ishikawa faced Kanoh. He hit straight to short who dropped the ball and was only able to get Asai out. This meant that Arai was home 1-1 scores tied, runners on first and third with two outs. Poor fielding by the Swallows all round. Kubo was next and he struck out to end the innings. Swallows next score in their fifth did start with a piece of luck. With one out Fukuchi took a swing and broke his bat but the ball flew perfectly for a right hit. Kubo then battled Tanaka and threw a low outside pitch well outside the zone which Fukuchi used to steal second. Kanoh had no chance to make the throw and this was very good work by the Swallows left. Tanaka then grounded out but Fukuchi was able to make third. Aoki was next and he turned the ball nicely to right for a hit 2-1 Swallows, runner on first. Swallows had capitalised very nicely on their chance. D'Antona flew out to end the innings. This time Ishikawa managed to hold the lead. He struck out Akahoshi but then Hirano hit. Another out and Kanemoto walked and Tigers had runners on first and second. Arai though failed and hit his first pitch to right where Guiel took an easy catch. Poor batting by the Tigers third. Guiel then took a more direct role in the game in Swallows sixth. He led off with a solo home run. The right field is a difficult place to hit home runs, either along the baseline or right centre are the most likely locations. The wind often holds up hits between these two areas. Guiel chose the right baseline for his home run putting it just inside the foul pole 3-1 Swallows. The next three batters flew out and the innings was over. Tigers sixth saw Ishikawa walk Kanoh but then Sekimoto (pinch hitter) hit deep to centre left and this time Aoki didn't make any mistake and the innings was over.

Kubo retired at the end of the sixth. He had been ineffective and would have bled more runs if he had continued. Kanemura took the mound and was very effective striking out Tanaka swinging with a superb palm ball. He is turning into an effective relief pitcher. Akahoshi led off Tigers seventh with a hit. He stole second but as it coincided with Hirano's ground out it didn't count. Toritani and Kanemoto though did nothing. For Swallows eighth Egusa took the mound and confirmed that he isn't pitching well at all. He got the first two outs and then walked Guiel. Miyamoto then broke his bat in the swing and luckily the ball flew well over Toritani. However, what happened next wasn't lucky. Toritani just let the ball run into left without trying to chase it down and Guiel kept on going to make third. Poor work by Toritani and good work by Guiel, runners on first and third. Egusa then walked Kawashima and pitched poorly walking him to load the bases. Next batter was Aikawa and Egusa quickly got two strikes against him. He then allowed the situation to deteriorate and really let Aikawa dominate him. He should have got the Swallows catcher out as the latter isn't a particularly good batter. Instead he pitched rubbish and tried to avoid the strike zone eventually walking Aikawa, oshidashi 4-1 Swallows, bases loaded. The final batter was Ishikawa who Egusa struck out but it had been an unsatisfactory innings for Tigers. Ishikawa returned for the Tigers eighth and why not, he had been in control. He started by getting Arai to fly out but then in a sign that he was possibly tiring gave up a two base hit to Brazell. Asai grounded out but then Kanoh who had an excellent game hit to right driving in the run 4-2 Swallows, runner on first with two out. Mayumi sent Takahashi (pinch hitter) to the plate. Ishikawa who struck him out with a chest high strike to which Takahashi rocked back and looked very angry. Mayumi and the whole coaching team also looked very angry and came out to argue that it was a ball not a strike. To be honest, from the replays it was high in the zone but looked a strike and a bit of brilliant pitching. However, the decision stood and the innings was over. Takahashi beat his bat in anger but one has to say he was outwitted. Swallows ninth was quiet with Tsutsui as pitcher retiring the batters in order. Ishikawa ran into trouble in the Tigers ninth. Akahoshi led off with a hit. This was followed by a Hirano hit off a clearly tiring Ishikawa, runners on first and second with Toritani, Kanemoto and Arai next. Toritani though hit his first hit straight to Terauchi (replacement first) who stepped on the sack and then threw to second for the double play. Not so good for the Tigers but Akahoshi was on third and Kanemoto was next. He grounded out weakly to second to end the game. Swallows victory.

Ishikawa had done well and even though he hadn't been at his best his application and hard work had won his team a vital victory. Kubo by contrast had been poor and lacked placement. Egusa too had struggled and is probably tired. Tigers had plenty of runners but no one driving them in. Kanoh had a superb game at the plate and behind it and had done all he could. Tigers took the series and reduced the games between to four but with the loss, the Carp crept to one game behind the Tigers. Tigers need to picke themselves up and beat the Carp which is very achievable if they play like they have been doing.