April 17th Uezono v Shimizu - The end of an era

This is the game where Kanemoto decided that his streak had to end. It also saw Kawasaki's debut in Tigers colours. Kubota didn't pitch well and Messenger once again demonstrated that he still has a lot to learn. BayStars were actually quite proficient and only needed to use three pitchers on the back of a strong performance from Shimizu. Scores

          1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R  H E
Tigers    0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 3  9 1
BayStars  0 2 0 0 0 2 0 3 X 7 13 0

Starting lineups

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

BayStars
1. Ishikawa (Short)
2. Hayakawa (Centre)
3. Uchikawa (First)
4. Murata (Third)
5. Sledge (Left)
6. Castillo (Second)
7. Yoshimura (Right)
8. Hosoyamada (Catcher)
9. Shimizu (Pitcher)

Tigers started with a Murton lead off hit. He made second on Toritani's ground out but then was stranded as Kanemoto failed to convert. Uezono walked Hayakawa in BayStars first but nothing came of this either. Shimizu ran into real trouble in the Tigers second. Arai hit and then Johjima hit. Brazell walked to load the bases and things looked dangerous for Shimizu, bases loaded with no outs. Here luck interviened. Sakurai lined out his first pitch straight to short who was quick enough to catch Johjima off base at second - two out with Uezono the next batter. He duly struck out and BayStars had escaped from a dangerous jam. Tigers really should not waste such golden opportunities. BayStars then proceeded to show them what to do. Sledge led off with a solo home run 1-0 BayStars. One out later Yoshimura hit a two base. Hosoyamada followed this with another two base hit 2-0 BayStars runner on second. The next two batters failed to advance their catcher but the BayStars had the lead. Tigers third innings was a damp squib with both Hirano and Toritani striking out looking. In BayStars third Hayakawa hit and then stole second. He made third on a ground out but Uezono struck out both Murata and Sledge to end the innings.

Tigers finally hit back in the fourth when Arai blasted a solo home run to centre 2-1 BayStars. Johjima hit again and with two out Sakurai walked. Once again it was up to Uezono with the inevitable result that the innings was finished. BayStars fourth was quiet with the batters falling in order. Tigers fifth saw Hirano hit a nice two base and make third on Toritani's ground out but Kanemoto failed to convert. Tigers are hitting nicely but do need to do more about stringing hits together. BayStars fifth was quiet with nothing of note happening. Tigers sixth also saw the batters fall in order. Things changed drastically in BayStars sixth. With one out Murata took a swing at his first pitch and deposited over the fence of the left stand for a solo home run 3-1 BayStars. Castillo hit a two base and then Yoshimura hit to left. Michael Westbay mentions that this normally would have been a first and third situation but because of Kanemoto's weak arm Castillo was able to score 4-1 BayStars, runner on first. Hosoyamada hit to centre and there were runners on first and third. The latter was able to engineer a dead steal but Uezono managed to strike out Shimizu to end the innings.

Tigers seventh was also quiet. Uezono was replaced for BayStars seventh by Kawasaki who got the first out. He was switched for Watanabe who gave up a two out hit to Uchikawa but got Murata to fly out and end the innings. Shimizu was replaced by Ushida who immediately ran into trouble in Tigers eighth. Hirano led off with a hit. This brought up Toritani who hammered the second pitch he faced over the right fence for a two run home run 4-3 BayStars. This prompted the exit of Ushida and the entrance of Yamaguchi. The pitching change brought immediate results and Kanemoto and Arai struck out to end the innings and the rally. Mayumi wisely decided to go with Kubota for BayStars eighth. However, whatever Kubota was thinking about it certainly wasn't his pitching. Normally he eats batters like Sledge and Castillo for breakfast but not this time. Sledge hit his third pitch to left for a solo home run 5-3 BayStars. Then Castillo hammered his first pitch to left centre for another solo home run 6-3 BayStars. Another hit followed to Yoshimura, runner on first with no outs and Mayumi decided it was time to change pitchers. He switched to Messenger who got the first out but Yamaguchi bunted Yoshimura to second. Uchikawa hit to left and once again Kanemoto was unable to throw hard enough and the runner was home 7-3 BayStars, runner on first. Finally Kinjoh (replacement centre) grounded out to end the innings. Tigers needed a good start for the ninth and Brazell supplied it hitting a nice two base. He was pinch run for by Yamato who made third on Sakurai's fly. However, this was as far as he got. Hiyama (pinch hitter) struck out and then Murton flew out to end the game. BayStars victory.

Kanemoto had basically been anonymous with the bat and poor in the field. His injury restricted his effectiveness and helped the BayStars. The game though had been very close and Tigers had had every chance of winning until the eighth. Then the BayStars were able to pull away and engineer a well deserved win.