September 29th Kubo v Yoshinori - Swallows deflated

Tigers needed to win this game and need to win the final game of the series as well not only to take third place again but to maintain their chances of a Climax Series place. The number of games is against them with Swallows having four more games in hand over the Tigers. Currently the gap between Tigers and Swallows is 0.5 with Carp a further 2.5 games back. Finally we had a good performance from Kanemoto who hit in an important situation and drove in runs. Kubo wasn't that good but had the run support. Scores

          1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R  H E
Tigers    1 0 1 4 0 0 1 0 1 8 12 0
Swallows  0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2  6 2

Starting lineups

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

Swallows
1. Fukuchi (Left)
2. Hiroyasu Tanaka (Second)
3. Yuichi (First)
4. Aoki (Centre)
5. Hatakeyama (Third)
6. Guiel (Right)
7. Onizaki (Short)
8. Kawamoto (Catcher)
9. Yoshinori (Pitcher)

Hirano started the Tigers first nicely with a hit. An error took him to second and then he made third on Sekimoto's ground out. Toritani walked but Kanemoto flew out. Arai hit to right for a two base and Hirano was home 1-0 Tigers, runners on second and third. Brazell was walked to load the bases but then Sakurai flew out to end the innings. Kubo needed to protect the slender lead and did so with a bit of help from Aoki. Firstly though he walked Tanaka with one out and then gave up a hit to Yuichi which set up runners on first and third. Here Aoki lent a hand by hitting into a double play to end the innings. Tigers second was quiet as Yoshinori retired the batters in order. Swallows second saw more difficulties for Kubo as he walked Guiel. With two outs Kawamoto hit setting up runners on first and second but then the last batter was Yoshinori and there were no soft hits for him. He struck out to end the innings. Tigers third saw three strikeouts but unfortunately for Swallows they were sandwiched with a Toritani walk and then a Kanemoto scoring two base. Kanemoto's hit, a nice drive to left centre enabled Toritani to round the bases from third to make home 2-0 Tigers, runner on second. But as previously noted the next two batters struck out. Kubo managed to dead ball Fukuchi to start Swallows third. He made second on Tanaka's ground out but when Yuichi struck out it looked like he would be another stranded runner. Aoki had other ideas, though, and hitting to right planted a home run in the stands 2-2 scores tied. Hatakeyama grounded out and the innings was over.

The stasis lasted until the Tigers fourth - the very next innings. Kanoh made first on an error. He was bunted to second by Kubo but this was the second out. However, Yoshinori walked Hirano. A wild pitch followed which took the runners to second and third and then Sekimoto walked to load the bases. Next batter Toritani who hit nicely to right for a two base, two runners home 4-2 Tigers, runners on second and third. Kanemoto followed and hit a two base to left, 6-2 Tigers runner on second. Finally the third out came, Arai grounding out but Tigers were well ahead. Kubo then protected the lead but was shaky. With two out he walked Kawamoto. He then unleashed two wild pitches which took the runner round to third. This was unnecessary nerves and he needs to calm down. Finally, Noguchi (pinch hitter) grounded out to short but nothing Kubo had done had been convincing. For Tigers fifth the pitcher was Matsui who had an interesting innings. He gave up back to back hits to Sakurai and Kanoh but managed to survive the scare and get out of the innings without damage. Swallows fifth was Kubo's best innings. He retired the batters in order, the only time he did this in the game. Tigers sixth saw Sekimoto lead off with a walk but he was immediately out to a Toritani double play. Kanemoto grounded out to end the innings. Swallows sixth was Kubo's final innings. He had been ordinary throughout the game and would show this clearly this innings. With two out Guiel hit. Onizaki also followed with a hit and then Kawamoto walked to load the bases. This was enough for Mayumi who replaced Kubo with Atchison. He was much more assured than the previous and facing D'Antona (pinch hitter) struck him out to end the innings and get out of the jam.

Oshimoto started the Tigers seventh and immediately gave up a lead off home run to Arai 7-2 Tigers. The next three batters fell easily. Atchison surprisingly returned for Swallows seventh and with a five run margin you wondered why. He retired the batters smoothly in order. Tigers eighth was pitched by Hashimoto. He gave up a hit to Hirano but then Sekimoto hit into a double play and Swallows escaped damage. Tsutsui pitched Swallows eighth and was not at his best. With one out he walked Hatakeyama and then gave up a hit to Guiel. Onizaki struck out and then Mayumi brought on Fujikawa. This is absurd - there was no danger and the lead was big enough to use a different pitcher for the final out. Kawamoto immediately grounded out to short but this is stupid management by the Tigers kantoku. Lee took Tigers ninth and was in trouble straight away. Toritani led off with a hit. Arai walked and then Yamato (replacement second) hit to load the bases with two outs. Kanoh hit to short but Onizaki could only stop the ball and the run was scored 8-2 Tigers bases loaded and the icing on the cake. Fujikawa was the last batter and he struck out. Of course, the final innings was pitched by Fujikawa but think - using your star closer with a six run lead and and a clearly beaten opposition. Fujikawa retired the batters in order to end the game. Tigers victory.

A comfortable victory for the Tigers. The cleanup batters had all hit when needed and Tigers had cruised after the fourth innings. Why Mayumi thought he needed to use Atchison and Fujikawa though is a mystery. This looks like more panic management and even though this victory was vital it is not likely that the Swallows were going to come back from this margin. Kubo despite being ordinary hadn't bled runs like Shimoyanagi against the Dragons and really this kind of overuse does not indicate good management skills. Kubo picked up his 9th win and becomes the second Hanshin starter with a winning record. He may pitch poorly at times but he is a definite asset and a great acquistion for the Tigers.