July 25th Fujinami v Ishikawa - Payback

One doesn't expect a team going for a championship to blow out quite so spectacularly after a 12-0 victory the night before. However, this is just what Tigers did - playing a dismal game. Poor pitching and poor catching with Fujii having to be pulled in the eighth made the result embarrassing. Boyer once again looked out of his depth and one has to start questioning whether he is suitable for Japanese baseball. Swallows did have their backs to the wall but they weren't worth 11 runs and one can only say that Tigers made a mess of things. Scores

          1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9  R  H E
Tigers    1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1  4 1
Swallows  1 0 0 2 0 4 1 3 X 11 13 0

Starting Lineups

Tigers
1. Nishioka (Second)
2. Shunsuke (Centre)
3. Toritani (Short)
4. Murton (Left)
5. Takahiro Arai (First)
6. Imanari (Right)
7. Ryota Arai (Third)
8. Fujii (Catcher)
9. Fujinami (Pitcher)

Swallows
1. Yamada (Second)
2. Ueda (Centre)
3. Milledge (Left)
4. Balentien (Right)
5. Kawabata (Third)
6. Hatakeyama (First)
7. Morioka (Short)
8. Aikawa (Catcher)
9. Ishikawa (Pitcher)

It all started as if Swallows were in for another drubbing but poor Tigers play, good pitching by Ishikawa and some idiotic management from Wada would combine to lose the game. Nishioka led the game off with a double to left - hitting along the base line. Then Wada in burst of idiocy had Shunsuke bunt Nishioka to third. A pointless and stupid waste of an out. With a runner on second and no outs why bunt? You will get more runs by trying to hit and Shunsuke has been hitting well. Why restrict your ability to score runs in this way? It does defy logic. Next was Toritani who doubled to right bringing in the runner 1-0 Tigers, runner on second. The bunt had been totally unnecessary. Murton grounded out to short which kept Toritani on second and then Arai walked - runners on first and second. Imanari tried to hit to centre and flew out to end the innings. With the extra out available Tigers could have taken 3 possibly 4 runs from this innings instead of one. Fujinami did not start well and still looks unsure about night games. With one out Ueda singled. He chanced Fujii's arm successfully but then Milledge grounded out which took Ueda to third. Ballentien walked which indicated danger signs from Fujinami. Thus Kawabata hit into right to tie the scores 1-1, runners on first and third. Hatakeyama struck out swinging to end the innings. Here Ishikawa woke up and started to pitch well. The three Tigers went down in order. Fujinami retired the first two batters in Swallows second but then Ishikawa singled left. This was another sign that things were not all that right. However, Yamada grounded out weakly to Fujii and the innings was scoreless. Nishioka who seemed to be on form led off Tigers third with a single to left. Once again Wada went for the obligatory waste of an out, moving Nishioka to second. Then Toritani grounded out but didn't move Nishioka off second. Murton then hit his own grounder and the innings was scoreless. With one out in Swallows third Milledge was able to hit into left - Swallows were generating more hits this game and Fujinami was struggling. Balentien flew out to left though and Kawabata grounded out ending the innings. So far Fujinami was holding out but with very little support.

Tigers fourth saw the batters down in order with Ishikawa motoring by now. It was an amazing transformation and Tigers fans struggle to explain the complete switch. Hatakeyama flew out to start Swallows fourth but Morioka walked. Next was Aikawa who got two pitches in exactly the same place - the centre of the zone. The second was a straight which was hammered over the fence for a two run home run 3-1 Swallows. It was an amateur piece of pitching and Fujinami paid for it. Ishikawa singled again but Yamada flew out. Then Yamada struck out swinging in what was a satisfactory innings for Swallows. Tigers fifth should have seen a fightback but Tigers were incapable. Asai pinch hit for Fujinami but that didn't make any difference and no runner reached base. Watanabe took over for Swallows fifth and he doesn't normally get on with Fujii but worked well this innings. Balentien walked with one out and then with another out down Hatakeyama hit the ground out to Ryota at third. Ryota whose fielding is not the best fumbled this time and allowed runners on first and second. The next batter was Morioka who flew out to end the innings. With one out in the sixth Tigers generated another chance. Toritani hit a screeching line drive and reached second. Murton did nothing again and Arai walked. Imanari couldn't do anything and grounded out to end the innings. The Watanabe/Fujii communication problems re-emerged in the bottom of the sixth. Aikawa led off the innings with a single to left. Ishikawa attempted to bunt - he should have tried to hit and popped up to Fujii. Yamada singled and then Watanabe walked Ueda. Here Wada switched pitchers and brought Boyer on with the bases loaded and one out. This was a stupid decision. Whilst it is tempting to say that Boyer also doesn't get on with Fujii it is more truthful to say that Boyer hasn't adjusted and that he shouldn't have been placed in that situation. Tigers were still in with a chance at that point and really Wada should have used one of his better relievers. As it was Milledge grounded out to short but there was no double play - just a force out at second and a run scored 4-1 Swallows, runner on first and third. The next incident really did illustrate Boyer's issues and a loose pitch was punished by Balentien who drilled the ball right for a three run home run 7-1 Swallows. Kawabata struck out swinging but Swallows could begin their victory celebrations.

Tigers seventh saw the batters fall in order yet again - Tigers batters had used up their hits and walks and no one would get on base again this game. Swallows weren't finished and Tigers rather gave up - once again a management failing. It is the management's job to ensure that the team doesn't give up and continues to play. Boyer who was surprisingly still around after his disaster in the sixth walked Hatakeyama to lead off the Swallows seventh. Morioka hit right to set up runners on first and third but Aikawa could only ground out to second. Once again the double play didn't come off and the run scored 8-1 Swallows, runner on first. For some reason the fool in charge of the Swallows had Ishikawa bunt with one out. This was more for form than anything else and of course the next batter, Yamada was out flying out to left and ending the innings. Ishikawa continued into Tigers eighth in once again dominant style. All three batters went down without reaching base. Swallows eighth saw Takamiya take over the pitching duties but Wada didn't do the obvious and pull the worthless Fujii as well. Ueda struck out swinging and then Milledge got hold of his first pitch and hammered it into the Tigers oendan for a solo home run 9-1 Swallows. Still the penny didn't drop - Balentien singled left and Kawabata grounded out taking Balentien to second. For some reason Wada then decided it was enough of Fujii and replaced him with Komiyama. The latter couldn't rescue the situation though. Kawashima (pinch hitter and replacement short) took a wild swing and connected well enough to produce a two run home run 11-1 Swallows. Finally, Takeuchi (replacement first) flew out to left. There just remained the formality of Tigers ninth and a formality it was. The three batters were rapidly disposed of and the game was over. Swallows victory.

Tigers had humiliated the Swallows the game before and in their turn had also been humiliated. This is not the sort of performance one expects from a team going for the championship against a demoralised side. Swallows had had a superb performance from Ishikawa though and Tigers pitching and calling had been dismal. As I keep on saying the continued use of Fujii as starting catcher is embarrassing and he is quite clearly inadequate for the role. The choice of relievers was also poor and ill-considered and overall management was terrible. I mentioned that if Tigers were careful they needn't lose another game to the Swallows all season. They weren't careful and paid the price.