August 28th Akiyama v Nakazawa - Akiyama's first win

It didn't take Akiyama long to get his first win but he had to work hard for it and it wasn't as straightforward as it seemed. Swallows were unable for the most part to exploit some rather good chances they had and their fielding to say the least was poor. Their pitching wasn't wonderful but until the ninth they had managed to restrict the Tigers to four runs. However, this wouldn't have made any difference to the victory - Tigers would have won comfortably with the four runs they scored. Standouts were Murton who woke up nicely and Arai who also hit well. Tigers have a good chance to take the series tonight but to be fair so do the Swallows who have been playing well of late. With Giants losing to Carp, Tigers assumed the lead yet again by percentage points but do need to win to consolidate their position. Standridge is possibly due to return on the 31st against the BayStars so things might be looking up. Scores

          1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R  H E
Tigers    1 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 5 9 15 0
Swallows  0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2  7 2

Starting lineups

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

Swallows
1. Aoki (Centre)
2. Tanaka (Second)
3. Iihara (Right)
4. Whitesell (First)
5. Hatakeyama (Left)
6. Aikawa (Catcher)
7. Miyamoto (Third)
8. Kawabata (Short)
9. Nakazawa (Pitcher)

Tigers started well though they needed a Tanaka mistake for the first hit. Murton's drive was intercepted by the Swallows second who failed to take cleanly and allowed Murton on first. This was ruled a hit but one wonders what the scorers were thinking because it was an error and put Murton onto second. This being the case Hirano bunted him to third. Toritani grounded out to second preventing the score which brought up Arai. He has been hitting to right more frequently and it has been paying off - once again he hit nicely to right to bring home Murton 1-0 Tigers, runner on first. Brazell hit to centre setting up runners on first and third but then Kanemoto flew out to centre to end the innings. Akiyama started nervously, walking Aoki who was bunted to second by Tanaka. Then Akiyama showed his stuff striking out a befuddled Iihara looking and getting Whitesell to ground out. He has a lot of raw edges but his talent is awesome and he should go far. Tigers second was quiet with the batters falling in order but Akiyama ran into trouble in Swallows second. This was probably a failure to show proper respect to the opposition. Hatakeyama led off with a two base hit to left. Aikawa grounded out to second but moved Hatakeyama round to third. This brought up Miyamoto who smoothly drove to left for a timely hit 1-1 scores tied, runner on first. Kawabata then hit his first pitch to left and Swallows had runners on first and second. Nakazawa bunted the runners to second and third for the second out which brought up Aoki. He was deliberately walked to get at Tanaka who flew out to right to end the innings. Tigers had avoided a difficult situation. Tigers then proceeded to re-establish a lead. Murton hit to first where Whitesell made a complete pigs ear of things - this was ruled an error. Once again Hirano bunted - this time to second and then Toritani hit a nicely guided shot to left. This still needed Hatakeyama to drop the ball which he did though to be fair it was a difficult take 2-1 Tigers runner on second. Arai hit to short who took Toritani going for third out but Arai was safe on first and then Brazell struck out to end the innings. Once again in the third Swallows would load the bases but this time without a run. Iihara struck out for the second time in the game but Whitesell walked. Hatakeyama flew out but Aikawa hit to left - runners on first and second. Miyamoto hit to Hirano and beat the throw to load the bases but then Kawabata hit his first pitch straight to Arai who made no mistake - end of innings.

Kanemoto managed a lead off walk in Tigers fourth but then was extinguished in a Johjima double play. Shunsuke Fujikawa then grounded out to end the innings. With the lead established Akiyama cooly retired the Swallows batters in order in the fourth. In Tigers fifth with one out Murton who had struggled against Tateyama ensured he wouldn't be forgotten blasting a solo home run 3-1 Tigers. Both Hirano and Toritani grounded out to end the innings but Tigers were pulling ahead. In Swallows fifth with two out Hatakeyama walked which brought up Aikawa. He hit to right centre and Murton running round pulled off an awesome diving catch to his left to end the innings. This was probably the moment that finished the Swallows off. Arai endured four straight changeups from Nakazawa before ruthlessly blasting his first straight into centre for another home run 4-1 Tigers. Brazell grounded out but Kanemoto walked This was the end of Nakazawa who hadn't really mastered things without being particularly appalling. He induced another Johjima double play to end the innings. For Swallows sixth Mayumi had learned his lesson and didn't attempt to pitch Akiyama beyond the fifth. He had thrown 90 pitches which is probably enough for the youngster. Nishimura took the mound and was untouchable retiring the batters in order.

Tigers seventh was pitched by Oshimoto who gave up a two out hit to Murton but then Murton tried to steal second and was thrown out to end the innings. One of the benefits for Tigers this season has been Kubota's pitching - after his early wobbles he has settled down and is his old untouchable self again. He pitched Swallows seventh and retired the top of the Swallows order 1-2-3 and preventing any momentum from even developing. Watanabe pitched Tigers eighth and started with a hit to Hirano. Then Toritani hit to set up runners on first and third. Arai struck out and Brazell hit into a double play to end the innings. Swallows had escaped but were no nearer a victory. Things stayed that way as Kubota pitched their eighth and retired the 4-5-6 batters in order. This is where Tigers won the game - the inability to cope with Kubota cut off the Swallows chances and Tigers had Kyuji Fujikawa to come next. Watanabe continued for Tigers ninth and gave up a hit to Asai (replacement centre). He was forced out by Johjima's ground out but Johjima was safe on first. Here Ogawa decided to switch pitchers and bring on De La Cruz. This was a big mistake. Shunsuke Fujikawa hit to left and then Hiyama (pinch hitter) walked to load the bases. Murton was next and he drove to right centre for a two base bases clearing hit 7-1 Tigers, runner on second. De La Cruz was quickly pulled (see the interesting videos of him on Tsubamegun) and replaced by Satoh, who to be honest wasn't much better. Hirano bunted - this was classified as a ground out but honestly was a bunt. Why it was necessary with a seven run lead is one of those questions which will never be answered. Murton on third and Toritani next. He hit to centre bringing Murton home 8-1 Tigers, runner on first. Arai hit to right to set up runners on first and third. Then Brazell hit to right driving in another run 9-1 Tigers but Arai was tagged out trying to go too far and the innings was over. This was really the icing on the cake because Tigers had the game won at 4-1 - Kubota had seen to that. Kyuji Fujikawa pitched Swallows ninth probably because Mayumi felt he needed some game practice. He was a bit casual about the whole thing - with one out Kawabata hit to left. Then Nitta also hit to right - poor fielding by Tigers allowed runners on second and third. Aoki grounded out bringing the runner on third home 9-2 Tigers, runner on second but really too little too late. Tanaka flew out to centre to end the game. Tigers victory.

Akiyama had won his first ever pro victory and was really thrilled by this. He had done well and pitched nicely but with considerable room for improvement. One hopes that Tigers develop this awesome young talent they have. Murton erased the memory of his four strike outs of the night before playing a big role in the victory but one must highlight Kubota's incredible seventh and eighth which made sure that Swallows wouldn't be able to bounce back.