July 13th Standridge v Tohno - Giants lucky victory

Giants needed to win this game and they did so with a fair amount of luck and desperate play. Errors and lucky shots helped them get level and then some poor handling of the endgame by Mayumi also kept them in the running. Still this was an enthralling contest fully living up to the past games going down to the final innings. Once again a poor decision could be said to gift the Giants the victory.
Standridge was over-pitched again 126 pitches after 146 in his previous start; Tigers do need him to be fit for the end of the season as the race could be close. Andoh is going back to the bullpen for a while in the hope that he can recover his confidence. Scores

        1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 R  H E
Giants  0 0 2 0 0 0 2 0 0  0  0  3 7 14 0
Tigers  0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0  0  0  2 6 13 1

Starting lineups

Giants
1. Sakamoto (Short)
2. Matsumoto (Centre)
3. Ogasawara (Third)
4. Ramirez (First)
5. Abe (Catcher)
6. Chono (Right)
7. Edgar (First)
8. Wakiya (Second)
9. Tohno (Pitcher)

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

The start to the game was tight with both pitchers keeping a tight rein on the batters. Standridge showed signs of his previous match though, his control round the edges of the zone was almost non-existent and he had to rely on his curves a lot. In Giants first he gave up a two out hit to Ogasawara but then induced Ramirez to ground out to end the innings. Tohno started similarly and once again with two outs gave up a hit to Murton who would really be better back at leadoff batter. He is not driving in enough runs for a No. 3 but hits well and gets on base frequently. Standridge retired the batters in order in Giants second and Tohno did the same in Tigers second striking out all three batters he faced. However, this was more due to appalling swinging by the Tigers batters not to the brilliance of the pitcher. So far things were all square but this changed in Giants third. Wakiya struck out but then Standridge walked Tohno. This was very poor pitching with the final pitch being an attempt to shave the outside of the zone and missing comfortably. A failure to take a non-batter on would cost the Tigers. Sakamoto was next and he managed to get enough of the end of his bat on his second pitch and put it into left field for a two base hit, runners on second and third with only one out. This was a lucky hit as Sakamoto had no control of where it was going and once again we saw the weakness of Lin's arm - Tohno was able to trot to third quite easily. Matsumoto followed and he hit to first where Brazell dived but was unable to hold the ball deflecting it into right field with Hirano in hot pursuit. By the time he had retrieved the ball both runners were home 2-0 Giants, runner on first. Standridge then got Ogasawara to fly out and struck out Ramirez (who had a quiet game) to end the innings. Tigers third was quiet as the bottom of the order couldn't do anything against Tohno.

Abe led off Giants fourth with a hit and an out later Edgar also hit to set up runners on first and second. This looked a bit threatening for Tigers but Wakiya hit into a double play which got them out of the difficulty. Tohno then lost things in the Tigers fourth. Hirano led off with a hit which only just missed Tohno. Murton hit to left and Tigers had runners on first and second. Arai was next and his first pitch was dispatched to left for a timely hit 2-1 Giants, runners on first and second. Brazell followed and hammered his first pitch along the first baseline for a two base hit 3-2 Tigers, runner on second. Chono found difficulty in picking the ball up allowing the extra run to score and with one exception his performance in the field was indifferent. Johjima walked and then Lin hit to right. Brazell thundered round the bases and slid in safely 4-2 Tigers, runners on second and third - Lin having used the opportunity to steal second. It was close but he was safe. With no outs and runners on second and third Tigers should have made more of the situation. Unfortunately, Asai tried to direct one over Sakamoto who had to jump but held the catch, one out. A sacrifice fly would have been the better option. Standridge struck out swinging which brought up Toritani and Chono's exception. Toritani hit nicely to right and Chono made an excellent sliding catch as the ball passed him to end the innings. This was a lucky break for the Giants as it was a two run hit if he missed. Tohno led off Giants fifth and this time Standridge didn't try anything fancy but got him to ground out. Sakamoto and Matsumoto followed in short order and the innings was quickly over. Tigers fifth saw Tohno with more control and he was able to retire the batters in order. Standridge handled Ogasawara and Ramirez well in the Giants sixth but gave up a hit to Abe. However, Chono grounded out to end the innings. In Tigers sixth Johjima hit with two out but then tried to steal second. He was well out and whilst one admires Tigers enterprise one wishes that they restricted stealing to those who are likely to succeed.

Giants seventh started with an Edgar hit. However, both Wakiya and Takahashi (pinch hitter) struck out. Hara had decided that Tohno had pitched enough and wanted to try for runs. Mayumi take note. Sakamoto walked and Standridge looked a bit tired, he did need a mound conference at this stage. Next up was Matsumoto and he hit a straightforward first ground out. However, Brazell missed the take in what was a very basic error allowing the ball to bounce along the first baseline all the way into the corner. Of course, both runners scored 4-4 scores tied and Matsumoto could be said to have won the battle with Brazell comprehensively. It was a game changing error and another piece of luck for the Giants. Matsumoto was safe on third with Ogasawara next. He also hit to first but this time Brazell took the ball and touched the sack to end the innings. Tohno was replaced by Yamaguchi for Tigers seventh and he immediately gave up a hit to Asai. A great chance to get back into the lead but to general surprise it wasn't a pinch hitter at the plate but Standridge again. It would have been better to go to the bullpen at this point and concentrate on getting the run. Certainly a pinch hitter might not have done this but he wouldn't have done worse than Standridge who failed in his three bunt attempts and was out. A disastrous choice which gave Yamaguchi and the Giants that little extra boost they needed - one can say that this is the point the Tigers lost the game. However, more was to follow; Toritani struck out looking to a ball that looked outside the zone but with Hirano at the plate Mayumi signalled the steal. Asai was tagged out and the innings had been wasted. Asai is not a regular stealer and if you were going to steal it would be better to do so when Toritani was still at the plate - he is more likely to drive in the run. Once again Mayumi had shown a level of cluelessness which is difficult to understand. The chance of a run with Kubota and Kyuji Fujikawa to pitch the eighth and ninth should have been the clincher. Giants eighth saw Chono hit but nothing came of this - Standridge had managed that innings quite well but had thrown rather a lot of pitches. Yamaguchi ran into trouble with Hirano in Tigers eighth as he hit to centre. Murton though grounded out to Yamaguchi for the force out but no double play was possible. Arai hit to right - one which came off his bat and bounced just infront of Chono and hit him on the chin. Both Arai and Murton thought it was a fly and so only reached first and second. Brazell grounded out to second but moved the runners round to second and third and this was the end of Yamaguchi. He was replaced by Kubo who faced Johjima. The Tigers catcher hit to Ogasawara at third who made sure of the take and threw to first for the out. It must be said here that Johjima could have shown more hustle in trying to reach base. For Giants ninth Mayumi sent Kyuji Fujikawa to the mound showing he wanted to win the game though with his handling of the tactical options it is hard to see how he could. Kyuji started terribly - he dead balled Kudo with a wild pitch. Then Takahashi (replacement first) hit to left and Shunsuke Fujikawa (replacement left) slid in to take the ball as it reached the ground. Shunsuke was adamant he took the ball cleanly but the umpire - who was not in a position to see - ruled it safe. Mayumi came out to argue the issue but the umpire as is normal with these people refused to change his mind. The TV replays, of which there were only two, were inconclusive with MLB coverage we would have had about five angles but not with Japanese TV. The photograph in today's daily seems to indicate that the catch was clean but even so in these cases the benefit of the doubt should go with the fielding side NOT the batting side. The umpire had screwed up and we had another piece of Giants luck. Kyuji then unleashed a wild pitch which took the runners to second and third with no outs and it began to look like he would not escape this innings. He faced Sakamoto and raised his pitching forcing the Giants short to fly out in foul ground to Brazell, one out. Matsumoto was next and he fell to a barrage of fork and fastballs, striking out swinging. Finally, there was Ogasawara who also struck out swinging to some really brilliant pitching. Kyuji had screwed up but redeemed himself in a big way. Ochi pitched Tigers ninth and retired the batters in order - once again the innings was mishandled as Mayumi used it for Kanemoto's pinch hit appearance ( he should have been used in the seventh in place of Standridge) and then used Hiyama as the pinch hitter for Kyuji. In the ninth why not a pinch hitter with the potential to hit a home run? Every time the Tigers put the Giants under pressure Mayumi's blunders lifted the pressure. Hiyama grounded out to second to end the ninth and take the game into extra innings.

Giants tenth was pitched by Kubota who got the first two outs which included Abe striking out looking to a fantastic inside straightball. Chono hit but Yamato (replacement second) even though he stopped the ball was unable to get the throw away in time and Chono was safe. Edgar hit to left - the second lucky hit of the innings and Giants had runners on first and second. Kubota though then struck Suzuki (replacement centre) out to end the innings with more brilliant pitching. Toritani led Tigers tenth off with a hit. Hirano bunted him to second and then Abe deliberately walked Murton. This was a high risk strategy to say the least with Arai next and he hit into a double play to end the innings. Takahashi hit but Sakamoto hit into a double play and Odajima (pinch hitter) grounded out to Kubota to end the innings. Kroon pitched Tigers eleventh and retired the batters in order with Tigers batters batting ineptly. Nishimura pitched Giants twelveth and maybe here Watanabe would have been the better choice. He gave up a right hit to Ogasawara. Terauchi (replacement third) bunted him to second and Johjima decided to walk Abe to try and work the double play as had happened in the Tigers eieventh. This was not a good move as Nishimura can get panicky and Chono was next. It would have been more sensible to try for the out. Nishimura got panicky and left one in the zone for Chono to latch onto - a three run home run 7-4 Giants and another deliberate walk mess up. One hopes that Tigers drop these in future - the pitchers don't have the nerves for them. Tigers needed to respond but it looked like a forlorn hope. However, Asai led their 12th off with a hit. Sekimoto (replacement first) struck out but Toritani banged his second pitch over the fence for a two run home run 7-6 Giants and the game was suddenly very close again. Hirano tried to beat Kroon to first but was out and then Murton flew out to end the game. Giants victory.

As I mentioned Giants needed this victory desperately and it was desperation that won through. The gap between them and the Tigers was restored to 1.5 games with two more of the series to play. Tigers could have won the game but their errors and tactical mismanagement cost them the game. Trying tactics which have proved to be ineffective in the past is not a good idea - playing to your strengths is. Mayumi once again showed a general ineptness in handling his team however, this is just one game and Tigers have every chance to win the next two games as the Giants only just managed to win this one.