August 24th Fujinami v Cabrera - Smaug the Golden is no more

It was almost like old times for the Dragons; shut down the opposition offense, grab a run or two and then in the final innings send for Smaug the Golden or Iwase. Their star closer was unbeatable and was a key part of the Dragons ability to win (it certianly wasn't their ablity to hit). However, Iwase is getting old but to Tigers he is still Smaug the Golden, unstoppable and unplayable. Only Yano came close to dethroning the king of saves but fell short. So when he entered the game in the ninth with a one run lead one fully expected the Tigers to be shut out yet again. But no - Tigers batters rallied and put Smaug to the sword battering the Dragon down with series of hits to give them an excellent series victory and their second in a row at Nagado. Long may it continue. Scores

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

Starting Lineups

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

Dragons
1. Fujii (Centre)
2. Ibata (Short)
3. Morino (Second)
4. Wada (Left)
5. Hirata (Right)
6. Clark (First)
7. Takahashi (Third)
8. Oda (Catcher)
9. Cabrera (Pitcher)

Cabrera started well and in fact would pitch rather nicely throughout the game. Two outs down though and Toritani singled left. Murton hit a liner straight to second for the final out. Fujinami who was making his first start after only four days rest (Tigers are now operating a five man rotation) didn't look so confident even though Shimizu as catcher did a good job. With one out Ibata singled and then Morino walked - runners on first and second with one out. Dragons were unable to exploit this situation. Wada flew out to centre at which Ibata touched up and took third but then Hirata grounded out to Toritani ending that innings. Tigers second was quiet - Cabrera having the best of the early stages. In Dragons second Clark led off with a single to right. He was forced out by Takahashi's ground out but Oda singled to centre to put runners on first and second. Fortunately, the next batter was Cabrera who struck out swinging giving Tigers a bit of breathing space. This was enough and Fujii also struck out swinging. Cabrera struck out both Shimizu and Fujinami in Tigers third but then ran into trouble with Nishioka whom he walked. Shunsuke could only ground out to second ending that innings. Ibata came round for his second at bat and worked a lead off walk for the start of Dragons third. Morino hit into a 4-6-3 double play and then Wada flew out. So far Tigers were keeping the Dragons runners away from the home plate.

Tigers wasted their fourth though. With one out Murton hit a double to left centre. Arai hit to third where Takahashi messed things up and put runners on first and second. Fukudome singled right which loaded the bases. Tigers had a good chance but Ryota mistimed his swing and flew to third in foul ground. Takahashi didn't miss that one but needed a sliding catch to secure it. Finally, Shimizu tried but struck out swinging to end the innings. Hirata led off Dragons fourth with a straight line drive into centre. The next three batters flew out though and Hirata stayed on first. Nishioka singled with one out in Tigers fifth but was forced out by Shunsuke, the double play not happening. Then Toritani grounded out to short to end the innings. Having missed out on a bases loaded chance Tigers succumbed to one of the Dragons. The Dragons fifth started with a poor piece of pitching Cabrera walking. Fujii hit right and then came the stupid bunt from Ibata moving the runners round to second and third. Morino walked to load the bases and Wada went for the sacrifice fly which was successful, 1-0 Dragons, runners on first and second. Fujinami struck Hirata out to end the innings. It didn't seem enough though and the Dragons had wasted a chance to build a good lead. Still a one run lead at Nagoya Dome would be difficult to overturn for the Tigers and their sixth seemed to demonstrate this with no one getting on base. Dragons sixth was quiet as the home team switched into cruise control with their lead established.

Tigers couldn't really do anything in their seventh either. True, Ryota did pick up a two out dead ball but then Nishioka hit back to Cabrera for the final out of the innings. Boyer took over for Dragons seventh and retired the first two batters but then Ibata singled to centre. Morino was next and he could only hit to Nishioka for the final out of the innings. Madrigal started Tigers eighth. He walked Imanari (pinch hitter and replacement right, Fukudome moving over to centre). Toritani grounded out which moved Imanari to second and then Asao took over the pitching duties. He got Murton to ground out and then struck out Arai to end the innings. Boyer continued for Dragons eighth and with one out gave up a single to Hirata. Tanishige (replacement catcher) bunted Hirata to second - a move of real stupidity as it enabled Boyer to focus on the final out which was Takahashi who flew out to end the innings. Tigers ninth and Iwase (Smaug the Golden) took the mound. He started poorly walking Fukudome but this was nothing as Iwase has often pitched with a runner on. Ryota swung and broke his bat which resulted in a force out of Fukudome but Ryota was safe on first. Sekimoto (pinch hitter) was next and rocketed a straight into centre for a double - runners on second and third. This was beginning to look promising for Tigers but they still needed to get the runner home. Here Dragons blew things - Asai (pinch hitter) hit to third where Takahashi screwed up for the second time, this error being costly. Ryota was home 1-1 scores tied with Saka (pinch running for Sekimoto) on third and Adsai on first. Nishioka hit into centre to bring in another run 2-1 Tigers, runners on first and second and the lead - off Iwase! Then Imanari hit left to load the bases. Toritani flew out to left - no run there and it looked like the lead would be managable for the Dragons. It was not to be Murton doubled in to centre and everyone went for home. Asai made it, Nishioka made but Imanari was tagged out as he slid in 4-1 Tigers and the end of the innings. Imanari hurt his knee slightly and was replaced by Fukudome at right with Asai taking the centre spot. Tigers had built a three run lead with one innings to go and even with the Dragons ability to counter attack this should have been insurmountable. Fukuhara took over the pitching with Fujii as catcher but the Dragons counter attack didn't come. Their hero Iwase had been beaten and they had no spirit left. Tanishige grounded out and then Donue (pinch hitter) singled to centre. Fujii flew out and then Ibata grounded out to end the game. Tigers victory.

Another series victory and Boyer's second victory of his career. The save went to Fukuhara who I believe now has 10 of them. It was an excellent victory by the Tigers who had overcome one of their biggest psychological hurdles. In fact it is safe to say now that they have played shi no rodo extremely well this year and are certain to end with a winning month - a truly marvelous feat. Both Nishioka and Fukudome really have made a difference.