June 13th Messenger v Kisanuki - An old enemy

One wonders why such an uninspired pitcher as Kisanuki should have such a hold over Tigers batters. In what can only be described as a superlative performance the former pitched a complete game shutout on only two hits, a walk and 91 pitches. In contrast Messenger was over-pitched on the stupid basis that my pitcher can match your pitcher. What on earth was the point of having him start the eighth or the seventh for that matter. So far Tigers are doing well but one can see them fading as the season continues if this sort of stupidity goes on. Thankfully though Kisanuki is only a minor annual irritant, Wada is a constant one. Scores

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

Starting Lineups

Tigers
1. Nishioka (DH)
2. Yamato (Centre)
3. Toritani (Short)
4. Murton (Left)
5. Arai (First)
6. Saka (Second)
7. Fujii (Catcher)
8. Nohara (Third)
9. Shibata (Right)

Starting pitcher was Messenger

Fighters
1. Yoh (Centre)
2. Ohbiki (Short)
3. Abreu (DH)
4. Nakata (Left)
5. Inaba (First)
6. Koyano (Third)
7. Imanami (Second)
8. Ugumori (Right)
9. Tsuruoka (Catcher)

Starting pitcher was Kisanuki

This game was over very quickly and Tigers did field a rather uninspired batting lineup which may well have contributed to their defeat. The first was probably the longest innings for Kisanuki who struck out two of the three batters he faced but took 16 pitches to do it. Messenger also had a good first with two strike outs and five less pitches than Kisanuki. Here though Kisanuki got into his stride and was quickly through the next three Tigers batters with only Arai showing any resistance. Messenger though ran into trouble with his first pitch of Fighters second - this was blasted over the wall by Nakata for a lead off solo home run 1-0 Fighters. The next three batters went down in order and as it was only the second innings not anything to worry about. Kisanuki continued on his way though and all three batters fell in order - Tigers still needed a base runner. Apart from the home run Messenger was matching Kisanuki pitch for pitch and he retired all three batters in the Fighters third. So far neither team had put a runner on base.

Tigers fourth saw the top of the order go down quickly. Whilst Kisanuki was pitching well there were also some incredibly stupid swings coming from the Tigers batters who seemed to have lost their wits. With one out in Fighters fourth Messenger walked Abreu - not the sort of thing you want to do with Nakata next. Nakata singled to put runners on first and second and then Messenger threw a wild pitch which Fujii should have taken but missed. This moved the runners round to second and third and danger beckoned. Inaba grounded out to second preventing the score and then Ohtani (pinch hitter) walked to load the bases. Imanami was next and hit high to centre where despite the hopes of the Fighters fans Yamato took the innings ending catch. Then came Tigers first hit - a lead off double for the fifth from Murton. Arai hit back at Kisanuki who got his glove on it but couldn't hold. He grabbed the ball but his throw was poor and Arai was safe - Murton on third. Saka hit a grounder to short who of course threw to home for the out - no score to Tigers but runners on first and second. Fujii followed and hit to short again this time for a double play to end the innings. All this had taken just six pitches! To return the complement Ugumori doubled to lead off Fighters fifth. Tsuruoka laid down the usual pointless bunt to take him to third and then Yoh swung too soon and popped up to first for the second out. Finally Ohbiki grounded out to short. Tigers might have been struggling but Fighters were finding it difficult to score as well. After the excitement of the fifth Tigers sixth was quiet. We saw the return of the ineffective Imanari as a pinch hitter but that was all. With two out in Fighters sixth the fading Inaba singled to centre. He didn't get much further as Nakashima (replacement second) flew out to left to end the innings.

Tigers seventh was quiet - they had used up their hits quota and so no one got on base. Messenger started the Fighters seventh well getting Imanami to fly out. Another out followed and then Tsuruoka singled to centre. Yoh was next and singled as well, runners on first and third. Here Messenger should have been replaced - he had thrown 106 pitches and was clearly tired. Instead he continued and Ohbiki hit him nicely to centre to bring in the runner on third 2-0 Fighters. With the way Kisanuki was controlling the game it was the killer blow. Hoffpauir (pinch hitter and replacement DH) struck out swinging to end the innings. Tigers eighth saw Kisanuki make a mistake. With Arai out he walked Saka in four, for some reason losing the zone. This though didn't last long and Fujii grounded out to short which took Saka to second and then Imanari (now at right) flying out to end the innings. If leaving Messenger in for the whole of the seventh had been ill-considered than having him pitch the Fighters eighth was just sheer stupidity. The folly manifest itself immediately with Nakata slamming another lead off home run over the wall 3-0 Fighters. This finally brought a change in pitcher and Tsutsui took over. He got the first out but then walked Nakashima. Iiyama (replacement third) struck out swinging and Nakashima stole second Fujii missing this as usual. Ugumori though also struck out swinging to end the innings. Tigers ninth and Kisanuki went for his complete game shutout. This proved to be straight forward. The fight had gone out of Tigers and the three batters fell in order with Yamato the final batter swinging poorly at his first pitch and grounding out to end the game. Fighters victory.

Tigers took the series against the Fighters 3-1 but this defeat knocked them off the first spot in the Central League. They had been outclassed totally by Kisanuki who had dominated the whole game. Messenger hadn't been so good and is looking tired. However, this doesn't seem to be penetrating the minds of Wada and his cohorts who continue to insist on pitching Messenger too long. There was absolutely no point in putting Messenger in for the eighth innings and no logical value or reason except stupid posturing. This is not the way to win a pennant especially as there are many games still to play and more challenges to come.